Biology Commons^™

Seasonal Patterns Of Nutrient Retention In A Restored Tidal Freshwater Stream Of The Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, Joseph Wood

Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient retention is governed by the interplay between physical processes that control the throughput of water and materials (i.e., water residence time), and by biological processes that govern transformation and uptake (e.g., microbial denitrification). A partial breach of the dam located on Kimages Creek (VA) re-established the historical (pre-1920) connection to the James River and provided a well-defined channel to gauge tidal exchange. We quantified tidal exchange as well as non-tidal (watershed) inputs on a monthly basis to assess Nitrogen (N) retention. Water and N fluxes were dominated by tidal exchange which was typically three times greater than inputs from …

Habitat Assessment Of A Newly Established Breeding Pond For The Population Of Western Toads, Anaxyrus Boreas, At The Bernard Field Station, Erin Alison Baumler

Scripps Senior Theses

This study was the first research endeavor ever conducted concerning the population of Western toads, Anaxyrus boreas, at the Bernard Field Station. Despite the current lack of information regarding this population, they will become a concern in future years because they are threatened by habitat destruction. Preceding this study, a single breeding pond has been available to this population, which has been in use for the past 20 to 30 years. However, it is likely that the current breeding pond will be destroyed and the will be land developed for human use. In order to provide these toads with …

Demonstration Of Loser Effects In A Novel Crayfish Species, Orconectes Virilis, Stephen C. Meade, Aaron Steele, Daniel A. Bergman Ph.D.

Honors Projects

Agonistic and aggressive behaviors are a common occurrence within crayfish populations in the natural world. These behaviors appear to be very important to individual crayfish in establishment of their social status and in dominance hierarchies that inevitably form within the populations. An important factor in the founding of these hierarchies and an individual’s status within them is the occurrence of winner and loser effects. The winner effect can be defined as the increased probability of an individual winning the next fight after a pervious winning experience. The inverse of this defines the loser effect. The winner effect is a well‐established …

Biomechanical And Morphological Changes In Leaf Abscission Zones During The Ontogeny Of Kalanchoe Pinnatum, Jillian Hodge

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Kalanchoe pinnatum is able to asexually reproduce with the help of its leaves. In K. pinnatum, embryos are embedded in the notches of a leafs margin. Through the process of abscission, when the plant is disturbed a leaf with embryos falls to the ground and the embryos grow into new plants. Thus, as leaves mature, they face conflicting functional demands to stay on the plant and continue their role in photosynthesis or fall off the plant and asexually reproduce. To examine if there is a point in the leafs development where abscission occurs more readily, I examined breaking strength in …

Growth, Larval Development And Metamorphosis In Small-Mouthed Salamanders (Ambystoma Texanum), Nicholas Timothy Zellmer

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The small-mouthed salamander (Ambystoma texanum), a common species in the midwestern United States, lays its eggs in temporary ponds during mid to late March once they have filled with water from the melting winter snow or early spring rains. For its relative abundance in the Midwest, there is little known about the life history of this species. My research followed the growth of small-mouthed salamander larvae in ponds between hatching, which occurred in early spring (mid-April), and metamorphosis, which occurred in midsummer (early June to mid-July). The research focused on the growth, larval development, and timing of metamorphosis with special …

Development Of A ‘Universal’ Rubric For Assessing Undergraduates’ Scientific Reasoning Skills Using Scientific Writing, Briana Eileen Timmerman, Denise Strickland, Robert L. Johnson, John R. Payne

Faculty Publications

We developed a rubric for measuring students’ ability to reason and write scientifically. The Rubric for Science Writing (Rubric) was tested in a variety of undergraduate biology laboratory courses (total n = 142 laboratory reports) using science graduate students (teaching assistants) as raters. Generalisability analysis indicates that the Rubric provides a reliable measure of students’ abilities (g = 0.85) in these conditions. Comparison of student performance in various biology classes indicated that some scientific skills are more challenging for students to develop than others and identified a number of previously unappreciated gaps in the curriculum. Our findings suggest that use …

Microsatellite Analysis Of Two Local Fox Squirrel (Sciurus Niger) Populations, Sajeena R. Horvath

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The objective of this study was to examine the genetic diversity of two geographically separated populations of Eastem fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) within the Indianapolis metropolitan area. One population was located on Butler University's campus and the other at Eagle Creek Park, located about 6.5 miles WNW from the Butler campus. DNA was extracted from tail hair samples collected by live trapping squirrels during the summers of 2007, 2008, and 2009. I used microsatellite analysis to examine the genetic variation between the two sites. Hair samples from 66 Butler squirrels and 30 Eagle Creek squirrels were analyzed using 4 microsatellite …

An Assessment Of The Potential Success Of Translocation As A Conservation Strategy For Western Toads (Anaxyrus Boreas) At The Robert J. Bernard Biological Field Station, Maya Higgins

Scripps Senior Theses

In response to imminent habitat destruction at the Robert J. Bernard Biological Field Station (BFS), translocation was assessed as a conservation strategy for a population of Western toads (Anaxyrus boreas). Currently, the BFS is home to a relatively unstudied population of Western toads, which rely on the existence of a seasonal breeding pond in open land owned by Harvey Mudd College on the west side of the field station. Unfortunately, there are plans to develop this plot of land within the next few years and so the breeding pond will be destroyed. In an effort to protect the …

Habitat Preference Of Nitrophila Species, Kari Hugie

Undergraduate Research Conference

Nitrophila occidentalis and Nirophlia mohavensis are both members of the same Family and Genus, and they both are found in the Great Basin region. They are the only members of the Genus Nitrophila native to the United States. Nitrophila occidentalisflourishes in the Great Basin, but Nitrophila mohavensis is endangered and limited to a few populations. Habitat analysis was done to the two species using GIS (Geographical Information Systems) to gain some new insight on how to preserve this endangered species. A discrete difference in soil alkalinity preference was found, which may help in saving N. mohavensis.

Regulation Of Renal Proximal Tubule Na-K-Atpase By Prostaglandins, Maryann Herman, Trivikram Rajkhowa, Facundo Cutuli, James E. Springate, Mary Taub

Biology Faculty/Staff Publications

Prostaglandins (PGs) play a number of roles in the kidney, including regulation of salt and water reabsorption. In this report, evidence was obtained for stimulatory effects of PGs on Na-K-ATPase in primary cultures of rabbit renal proximal tubule (RPT) cells. The results of our real-time PCR studies indicate that in primary RPTs the effects of PGE2, the major renal PG, are mediated by four classes of PGE (EP) receptors. The role of these EP receptors in the regulation of Na-K-ATPase was examined at the transcriptional level. Na-K-ATPase consists of a catalytic α-subunit encoded by the ATP1A1 gene, as well as …

Partitioning Of Minimotifs Based On Function With Improved Prediction Accuracy, Sanguthevar Rajasekaran, Tian Mi, Jerlin Camilus Merlin, Aaron Oommen, Patrick R. Gradie, Martin R. Schiller

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Background

Minimotifs are short contiguous peptide sequences in proteins that are known to have a function in at least one other protein. One of the principal limitations in minimotif prediction is that false positives limit the usefulness of this approach. As a step toward resolving this problem we have built, implemented, and tested a new data-driven algorithm that reduces false-positive predictions.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Certain domains and minimotifs are known to be strongly associated with a known cellular process or molecular function. Therefore, we hypothesized that by restricting minimotif predictions to those where the minimotif containing protein and target protein have …

A Molecular Investigation Of Inbreeding In Captive Addra Gazelles, Laney Redus

Biology Honors Theses

Captive breeding of individuals to augment or reestablish a wild population requires the maintenance of maximum possible genetic variation to reflect the genetic variation present in the original wild population and reduce the occurrence of genetic drift or inbreeding in the captive population. Critically threatened addra gazelles (Nanger dama ruficollis) have been maintained in a captive breeding program since 1969 (10-15 generations) with no introduction of genetic material beyond the original 22 founders, of which only 8 have recorded descendents in the current population. Results from this study show a strong relationship between infant mortality and inbreeding, and a substantial …

Gene Flow And Dispersal Of The Caddisfly, Neothremma Alicia, In The Rocky Mountains Of Utah: A Multiscale Analysis, Xioben Jiang

Theses and Dissertations

We determined genetic variance and gene flow across multiple scales (reaches, tributaries, and catchments) to examine the dispersal ability of the caddisfly, Neothremma alicia in streams along the Wasatch Range in the Rocky Mountains of Utah. Neothremma alicia is one of the most abundant caddisflies in this region. We generated DNA sequence data (mitochondrial COI) from 34 reaches, nested in 15 tributaries distributed across 3 adjacent catchments. We identified 47 haplotypes from a total of 486 individuals. The most abundant haplotype (H1) was found at all sites/reaches and comprised 44% of the total number of individuals sequenced. The remaining rare …

Patients Do Not Need Congressman Langevin’S Clone-To-Kill Bill, Nicanor Austriaco

Theology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Dna-Binding Peroxiredoxin Of Coxiella Burnetii Is Involved In Countering Oxidative Stress During Exponential-Phase Growth, Linda D. Hicks, Rahul Raghavan, James M. Battisti, Michael F. Minnick

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Coxiella burnetii is a Gram-negative, obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that resides within the harsh, acidic confines of a lysosome-like compartment of the host cell that is termed a parasitophorous vacuole. In this study, we characterized a thiol-specific peroxidase of C. burnetii that belongs to the atypical 2-cysteine subfamily of peroxiredoxins, commonly referred to as bacterioferritin comigratory proteins (BCPs). Coxiella BCP was initially identified as a potential DNA-binding protein by two-dimensional Southwestern (SW) blots of the pathogen's proteome, probed with biotinylated C. burnetii genomic DNA. Confirmation of the identity of the DNA-binding protein as BCP (CBU_0963) was established by matrix-assisted laser …

Tyrannobdella Rex N. Gen. N. Sp. And The Evolutionary Origins Of Mucosal Leech Infestations, Anna J. Phillips, Renzo Arauco-Brown, Alejandro Oceguera-Figueroa, Gloria P. Gomez, María Beltrán, Yi-Te Lai, Mark E. Siddall

Publications and Research

Background: Leeches have gained a fearsome reputation by feeding externally on blood, often from human hosts. Orificial hirudiniasis is a condition in which a leech enters a body orifice, most often the nasopharyngeal region, but there are many cases of leeches infesting the eyes, urethra, vagina, or rectum. Several leech species particularly in Africa and Asia are well known for their propensity to afflict humans. Because there has not previously been any data suggesting a close relationship for such geographically disparate species, this unnerving tendency to be invasive has been regarded only as a loathsome oddity and not a unifying …

Production Of Organic Acids And Adsorption Of Cd On Roots Of Durum Wheat (Triticum Turgidum L. Var. Durum), Bolaji A. Adeniji, Mackenzie T. Budimir-Hussey, Sheila M. Macfie

Biology Publications

A number of isolines of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum var durum) differ in their translocation of Cd. In the field, the high isolines accumulate twice the Cd in leaves and grain when compared to the low isolines. The hypothesis that differential accumulation of Cd is associated with differential production of organic acids was tested by measuring Cd content in tissues, Cd partitioning within the root, and organic acids in tissues. In solution culture, the high and low isolines of W9261-BG did not differ in any of the variables measured. Within W9260-BC, the low isoline had half the Cd …

A Toolkit For Rapid Gene Mapping In The Nematode Caenorhabditis Briggsae, Daniel C. Koboldt, Julia E. Staisch, Bavithra Thillainathan, Karen Haines, Scott Everet Baird, Helen M. Chamberlin, Eric S. Haag, Raymond D. Miller, Bhagwati P. Gupta

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

The nematode C. briggsae serves as a useful model organism for comparative analysis of developmental and behavioral processes. The amenability of C. briggsae to genetic manipulations and the availability of its genome sequence have prompted researchers to study evolutionary changes in gene function and signaling pathways. These studies rely on the availability of forward genetic tools such as mutants and mapping markers.

Results

We have computationally identified more than 30,000 polymorphisms (SNPs and indels) in C. briggsae strains AF16 and HK104. These include 1,363 SNPs that change restriction enzyme recognition sites (snip-SNPs) and 638 indels that range between 7 …

Seasonal Patterns Of Arthropod Diversity And Abundance On Big Sagebrush, Artemisia Tridentata, Monte P. Sanford, Nancy J. Huntly

Biology Faculty Publications

The sagebrush biotype is the largest in the western United States. This vast sagebrush community is thought to harbor equally vast and diverse arthropod communities, but these remain little explored. Our objective was to examine the diversity, abundance, and seasonal phenology of arthropod taxa found on the dominant shrub of the sagebrush ecosystem, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). We wanted to improve understanding of this little-studied arthropod assemblage that may play significant roles in the dynamics of sagebrush populations and the sagebrush ecosystem. We sampled free-living and gall-forming arthropods from a stratified random sample of sagebrush plants at the …

Bacteria Not An Energetically Favorable Food Source For Larvae Of Artemia Salina, Kenny Moore, William Jaeckle, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Larvae of the crustacean Artemia salina are reported to differentially ingest food particles of different sizes. We exposed 2-to-5-day-old A. salina larvae to equal volumetric concentrations (bead volume per mL) of 6 µm-diameter and 0.5 µm-diameter polystyrene beads. The clearance rate (volume cleared of particles per unit time) of each bead size was positively correlated with developmental stage of the larvae (r=0.598, p

Use Of Slide In-Situ Hybridization To Determine Pax9 Gene Expression In Moenkhausia Sanctaefilomenae, Golibe Eze-Echesi, Brian Walter, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Expression, Purification, And Characterization Of Porphobilinogen Synthase In Clostridium Perfringens, Kristina Dakis, David Bollivar, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Blocking Caspase Activation Inhibits Merlin From Inducing Caspase-Dependent Apoptosis, Lauren Geary, Katherine Eaton, Faculty Advisor, Wallace Ip, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Using Polystyrene Beads To Estimate Feeding Selectivity And Potential Energetic Consequences In The Rotifer, Brachionus Plicatilis, Stephen Little, William Jaeckle, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

Rotifers are free-swimming aquatic animals that feed by collecting particles through the use of cilia that are arranged around the mouth in two circular whorls. Specimens of Brachionus plicatilis exposed to 6µm and 0.5µm polystyrene beads (together or separately) captured the particles at significantly different rates. Calculation of the Jacob's Selectivity Index (D) revealed a significant selectivity for the larger (6µm) beads, over the smaller (0.5µm) beads (pB. plicatilis revealed that bacteria are not likely a significant energy source. Bacterial concentration ≥ 108 cells/ml (100 x typical values) are necessary for feeding on bacterial to support at least 33% of …

The Potential Effects Of Eggshell Porosity On Brown-Headed Cowbird And Dickcissel Incubation Periods, Brittany Childs, Miranda Kiefer, Given Harper, Faculty Advisor, William Jaeckle, Facutly Advisor, Brian Peer, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in nests of other species; the eggs are incubated and the offspring are then raised by the host. Grasslandnesting Dickcissels (Spiza americana) are commonly parasitized by Cowbirds. Cowbird eggs have been reported to hatch sooner than equivalently-sized host eggs, giving their hatchlings a competitive advantage over host offspring. Our study focused on the hypothesis that the apparent accelerated development of Cowbirds is caused by greater eggshell porosity which allows for increased availability of oxygen during incubation. The mean pore area of Cowbird eggshells …

Expression Of Porphobilinogen Synthase In Synechocystis 6803, Linda Agyapong, David Bollivar, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Winter Abundance And Habitat Preference Of Red-Tailed Hawks (Buteo Jamaicensis) In Northeastern And Central Illinois, Anna Groves, Given Harper, Faculty Advisor, Angelo Capparella, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Cadmium, Copper, Iron, And Zinc Concentrations In The Kidneys Of Grey Wolves (Canis Lupus) From Alaska, Idaho, Montana, And The Northwest Territories, Susan Blunck, Emily Jones, Kelly Petersen, Given Harper, Facutly Advisor, Jeffrey Frick, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.