Biology Commons^™

Winter Habitat Selection And Genetic Relatedness Of Southern Flying Squirrels In Southwest Michigan, Sheila M. Miara

Masters Theses

Few studies have examined winter habitat selection for southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) in northern latitudes where winter conditions are harsher than southern latitudes and resource availability is particularly limiting. Winter den tree characteristics and use by 19 southern flying squirrels (10 females and 9 males) were investigated from November through February in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. The mean home range size using 100% minimum convex polygon for 18 individuals was 3.40 ha (±0.46 0.46 SE) and there was no significant difference between genders (P= 0.56) or ages (P=0.50). The mean 95% fixed kernel home range size was 0.15 …

Scorpion Phylogeography In The North American Aridlands, Matthew Ryan Graham

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Understanding the geographic, geologic, and climatic forces responsible for generating current patterns of biodiversity has been a central objective of phylogeography. To develop a better understanding of these processes in the North American arid lands, I used DNA sequence data and species distribution modeling to conduct three phylogeographic assessments incorporating four species of arid-adapted scorpions:Hadrurus arizonensis, H. jedediah, H. spadix,and Paruroctonus becki. In an assessment of H. arizonensis, phylogeographic patterns indicate that Pleistocene climate cycles and associated glacial refugia played a central role in structuring the genetic diversity of this species in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, mostly supporting predictions …

Responses To Predator Recognition Odors In Marmorkrebs, Loren Samantha Beard

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Marmorkrebs is a parthenogenetic crayfish with no indigenous populations. They have been introduced in several countries and could become an invasive species. Individuals introduced in Germany had longer, sharper spines, suggesting an adaptation to predators via developmental plasticity. This was tested by exposing juveniles to the odor of a fish during development and comparing them to controls. Subsequent spine length or sharpness did not differ. Other crayfish detect predators via an alarm cue, hemolymph, and exhibit avoidant behavior in response. I hypothesized that Marmorkrebs would also treat hemolymph as an alarm cue. The behavior of adult crayfish exposed to food, …

Characterization Of A Serine/Threonine Phosphatase Encoded By Mg_207 Of Mycoplasma Genitalium, Mario A. Martinez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Mycoplasma genitalium is a bacterium with no cell wall and the second smallest free-living organism. It is an intracellular parasite that causes urethritis in men and women. Symptoms of infection in women can be missed and include vaginal malodor and discharge, painful urination and sexual intercourse. M. genitalium infection is a serious, though preventable and treatable, infection. Recently, due its notable characteristics, many studies have revealed an enormous amount of genetic and structural information on this bacterium. Furthermore, many of its genes have been characterized. The uncovering of roles of genes involved in signal transduction via phosphorylation and dephosphorylation mechanisms …

Long-Term Survival Of Anoxia Despite Rapid Atp Decline In Embryos Of The Annual Killifish Austrofundulus Limnaeus., Jason Podrabsky, Michael Menze, Steven Hand

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Embryos of the annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus can survive for months in the complete absence of oxygen. Survival of anoxia is associated with entry into a state of metabolic dormancy known as diapause. However, extreme tolerance of anoxia is retained for several days of post-diapause development. Rates of heat dissipation in diapause II and 4 days post-diapause II embryos were measured under aerobic conditions and during the transition into anoxia. Phosphorylated adenylate compounds were quantified in embryos during entry into anoxia and after 12 hr of aerobic recovery. Rates of heat dissipation were not affected by exposure to anoxia in …

Herbivore Pressure Increases Toward The Equator, Robert Marquis, Diego Salazar

Biology Department Faculty Works

Increases in species diversity and density from higher to lower latitudes are well documented. Nevertheless, the consequences of these changes in diversity for structuring ecological communities and influencing biotic evolution are largely unknown. It is widely believed that this increase in species diversity is associated with increased intensity of ecological interactions closer to the equator. For plant–herbivore interactions in particular, the predictions are that, at lower latitudes, plants will be attacked by more individual herbivores, more herbivore species, and more specialized herbivores and, therefore, will suffer greater damage. We used a large-scale latitudinal transect from Mexico to Bolivia to quantify …

The Effects Of Endothelin-1 On Cell Migration Of Corneal Endothelial Cells, Leah B. Frazier

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Wound healing occurs through the processes of cell proliferation (mitosis) and/or cell migration. The corneal endothelium in humans is known to be mostly non-proliferative. As a result, wounds in the corneal endothelium heal by migration. A 21-amino acid peptide called Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is studied in the Crawford research lab and is a known mitogen, i.e. increases cell proliferation. Data suggests that Endothelin-1 can stimulate cell proliferation in the corneal endothelium. This fact led to the first hypothesis that ET-1 stimulated wound closure in this cell layer. I explored this hypothesis using a bovine model of corneal endothelial cells isolated and …

Effects Of Leaf Litter Diversity On Nutrients And Mosquito Communities In Neotropical Artificial Tree Holes, Rachel Komosinski

Theses and Dissertations

Inputs from terrestrial habitats to aquatic habitats are important for structuring aquatic communities. Terrestrial producer diversity in the tropics may decline due to anthropogenic causes. I investigated how tree diversity affects aquatic communities. We used leaves from three timber-producing species (Dalbergia retusa, Pachira quinata, and Tectona grandis) to test the effects of leaf litter species composition and richness on invertebrate aquatic communities in Gamboa, Panama. We quantified macroinvertbrate species richness and abundances, leaf litter mass loss, and dissolved carbon to nitrogen ratios (C:N) after 4 weeks. We found that litter types differed in breakdown and C:N. Tectona grandis had lower …

Correlation Between Morphological, Optical And Electrical Properties Of Zno:Al/Zno Double Layers And The Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cell Efficiencies, Pd Nsimama

Tanzania Journal of Science

The morphological, optical and electrical properties of magnetron sputtered ZnO:Al/ZnO double layers are reported and their correlations with their respective Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cell efficiencies are presented. The ZnO:Al/ZnO double layers were produced by using the established baseline RF process and plasma emission monitoring (PEM) DC reactive sputtering. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) were employed for the surface morphological measurements. The charge carrier concentrations, mobilities and AC resistivities were deduced from Drude’s model. The DC resistivities were determined from the four-point probe measurements. Transmittance and reflectance measurements were done by using the UV-VIS-NIR Lambda 900 …

A Multi-Gene Phylogeny Of Cephalopoda Supports Convergent Morphological Evolution In Association With Multiple Habitat Shifts In The Marine Environment, Annie R. Lindgren, Molly S. Pankey, Frederick G. Hochberg, Todd H. Oakley

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The marine environment is comprised of numerous divergent organisms living under similar selective pressures, often resulting in the evolution of convergent structures such as the fusiform body shape of pelagic squids, fishes, and some marine mammals. However, little is known about the frequency of, and circumstances leading to, convergent evolution in the open ocean. Here, we present a comparative study of the molluscan class Cephalopoda, a marine group known to occupy habitats from the intertidal to the deep sea. Several lineages bear features that may coincide with a benthic or pelagic existence, making this a valuable group for testing hypotheses …

Reproductive Characteristics Of A Populus Euphratica Population And Prospects For Its Restoration In China, Dechang Cao, Jingwen Li, Zhenying Huang, Carol C. Baskin, Jerry M. Baskin, Peng Hao, Weilei Zhou, Junqing Li

Biology Faculty Publications

Populus euphratica is a dominant tree in riparian ecosystems in arid areas of northwest China, but it fails to regenerate in these systems. This study evaluates causes for the failure of sexual and asexual regeneration of this species in the wild. P. euphratica disperses as many as 85743 seeds/m² during summer, and the seeds germinate to 92.0% in distilled water and to 60.8% on silt. However, very few seeds (3.6%) can germinate on unflooded soil. The seed-rain season is prolonged by temporal variability in seed dispersal among individuals, which ensures that seedling emergence can occur during favorable conditions (i.e., …

Sex-Specific Habitat Use And Responses To Fragmentation In An Endemic Chameleon Fauna, Philip Shirk

Theses and Dissertations

Chameleons are an understudied taxon facing many threats, including collection for the international pet trade and habitat loss and fragmentation. A recent field study reports a highly female-biased sex ratio in the Eastern Arc Endemic Usambara three horned chameleon, Trioceros deremensis, a large, sexually dimorphic species. This species is collected for the pet trade, and local collectors report males bring a higher price because only this sex has horns. Thus, sex ratios may vary due to differential rates of survival or harvesting. Alternatively, they may simply appear to be skewed if differences in habitat use biases detection of the sexes. …

Tcp Transcription Factor, Branch Angle Defective 1 (Bad1), Is Required For Normal Tassel Branch Angle Formation In Maize, Fang Bai, Renata Reinheimer, Diego Durantini, Elizabeth Kellogg, Robert Schmidt

Biology Department Faculty Works

In grass inflorescences, a structure called the “pulvinus” is found between the inflorescence main stem and lateral branches. The size of the pulvinus affects the angle of the lateral branches that emerge from the main axis and therefore has a large impact on inflorescence architecture. Through EMS mutagenesis we have identified three complementation groups of recessive mutants in maize having defects in pulvinus formation. All mutants showed extremely acute tassel branch angles accompanied by a significant reduction in the size of the pulvinus compared with normal plants. Two of the complementation groups correspond to mutations in the previously identified genes, …

Plant Lectin Can Target Receptors Containing Sialic Acid, Exemplified By Podoplanin, To Inhibit Transformed Cell Growth And Migration, Jhon Ochoa-Alvarez, Harini Krishnan, Yongquan Shen, Nimish Acharya, Min Han, Dean Mcnulty, Hitoki Hasegawa

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Cancer is a leading cause of death of men and women worldwide. Tumor cell motility contributes to metastatic invasion that causes the vast majority of cancer deaths. Extracellular receptors modified by α2,3-sialic acids that promote this motility can serve as ideal chemotherapeutic targets. For example, the extracellular domain of the mucin receptor podoplanin (PDPN) is highly O-glycosylated with α2,3-sialic acid linked to galactose. PDPN is activated by endogenous ligands to induce tumor cell motility and metastasis. Dietary lectins that target proteins containing α2,3-sialic acid inhibit tumor cell growth. However, anti-cancer lectins that have been examined thus far target receptors …

Activation Of P115-Rhogef Requires Direct Association Of Gα13 And The Dbl Homology Domain, Zhe Chen, Liang Guo, Jana Hadas, Stephen Gutowski, Stephen R. Sprang, Paul C. Sternweis

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

RGS-containing RhoGEFs (RGS-RhoGEFs) represent a direct link between the G(12) class of heterotrimeric G proteins and the monomeric GTPases. In addition to the canonical Dbl homology (DH) and pleckstrin homology domains that carry out the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) activity toward RhoA, these RhoGEFs also possess RGS homology (RH) domains that interact with activated α subunits of G(12) and G(13). Although the GEF activity of p115-RhoGEF (p115), an RGS-RhoGEF, can be stimulated by Gα(13), the exact mechanism of the stimulation has remained unclear. Using combined studies with small angle x-ray scattering, biochemistry, and mutagenesis, we identify an additional binding …

Serratia Marcescens: The Miracle Bacillus, Alan L. Gillen, Rebekah Gibbs

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The objectives of this article are to explain the mysterious appearance of crimson-colored bacteria on food and communion bread/wafers, over the centuries, as well as to describe the biological basis

Mechanical Stretch And Pi3k Signaling Link Cell Migration And Proliferation To Coordinate Epithelial Tubule Morphogenesis In The Zebrafish Pronephros, Aleksandr Vasilyev, Yan Liu, Nathan Hellman, Narendra Pathak, Iain A. Drummond

Neuroscience: Faculty Publications

Organ development leads to the emergence of organ function, which in turn can impact developmental processes. Here we show that fluid flow-induced collective epithelial migration during kidney nephron morphogenesis induces cell stretch that in turn signals epithelial proliferation. Increased cell proliferation was dependent on PI3K signaling. Inhibiting epithelial proliferation by blocking PI3K or CDK4/Cyclin D1 activity arrested cell migration prematurely and caused a marked overstretching of the distal nephron tubule. Computational modeling of the involved cell processes predicted major morphological and kinetic outcomes observed experimentally under a variety of conditions. Overall, our findings suggest that kidney development is a recursive …

Empowering The World Through Dentistry, Charles W. Vittitow

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Dentistry is a very specific trade that one develops after years of education and training. With this skill comes a great amount of power and opportunity to serve, and with great skill comes great responsibility. Many dentists have decided to answer the call of third world countries that lack proper health care and specifically dental care. They do this in a variety of ways from sending supplies, supporting a local clinic financially, or traveling to the country for a short-term trip where they provide dental care to as many patients as they are physically able to for 7 to 10 …

Energetic Costs Of Thermoregulation And Population Life-History Characterization In Eastern Collared Lizards, Casey Lee Brewster

Theses and Dissertations

Thermoregulation theory makes distinct predictions as to the optimal level of thermoregulation when the costs associated with the thermal habitat are less favorable. I designed a manipulative experiment to test the hypothesis that thermal constraints reduce growth rates in hatchling-collared lizards by imposing high and low cost thermoregulation treatments. Lizards thermoregulated similarly between treatments, but grew more slowly in the high cost thermoregulation treatment. My results suggest that the decrement to growth in the high cost treatment is primarily the result of energy diverted from growth to locomotion shuttling between suitable micro- habitats. I combined this experiment with a field …

Evaluating The Performance Of Computational Approaches For Identifying Critical Sites In Protein-Coding Dna Sequences, Matthew Lewis Bendall

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to link a particular phenotype to its causative genotype is one of the most challenging objectives for biological research. Although the genetic code provides an explicit formula for determining the sequence of amino acid phenotypes produced by a given nucleotide sequence, identifying specific residues that are functionally important remains problematic. Many computational approaches have been developed that use patterns observed in DNA sequences to identify these critical sites. However, very few research studies have used empirical data to test whether these approaches are truly able to identify sites of interest.In most empirical studies, the actual protein function and …

Foraging And Digestive Energetics In Montane And Lowland Salamanders, Cody Lund Barnes

Theses and Dissertations

Thermal physiology substantially limits the distributions of organisms across landscapes. Specifically, the thermal sensitivity of foraging and digestive energetics influence the quantity of energy available for allocating to specific life functions. I hypothesized that foraging and Specific Dynamic Action (SDA) performances would differ between montane endemic and lowland salamander species. I found that foraging energetics differed between the montane endemics, Plethodon ouachitae and P. caddoensis, in comparison to the lowland P. albagula. Differences in foraging energetics were particularly pronounced at the warmest temperature and the montane endemics were more thermally sensitive, suggesting that constraints in foraging energetics influence the elevational …

Osh6 Extends Replicative Lifespan By Transporting Sterols To The Vacuolar Membrane And Promoting Vacuole Fusion, Senetibeb Gebre

Theses and Dissertations

Families of oxysterol-binding proteins (OSBP) are proposed to be involved in sterol metabolism. The unique sterol composition of eukaryotic membranes requires proteins such as OSBPs that contribute to sterol homeostasis. This thesis explores the role of Osh proteins (OSBP homologues) in membranes of yeast vacuoles in light of lifespan extension. The results show that over-expression of OSH6 promoted vacuole fusion, an ergosterol-requiring process, and extended the replicative lifespan. It is found that the level of Osh6 decreased with age. This decrease is slowed in a mutant expressing elevated OSH6 levels. It is also found that the sterol-binding domain of Osh6 …

Physiological And Morphological Variation In A Stream Salamander, Desmognathus Brimleyorum, Vanessa K Hilliard Young

Theses and Dissertations

Habitats vary in their biotic and abiotic components across space and time. Variability can introduce challenges for organisms unless they have the ability to alter their physiology in a way that maximizes fitness in a variable habitat. My thesis investigated the physiological and morphological responses of the stream salamander Desmignathus brimleyorum to variations in thermal and physical habitat characteristics. Chapter one concentrates on changes in metabolic response and swimming performance of salamanders exposed to differing thermal treatments and tests the predictions of the optimal acclimation theory. Chapter two investigates differences in swimming performance with respect to tail morphology, as well …

Stoneflies Of Unusual Size: Population Genetics And Systematics Within Pteronarcyidae (Plecoptera), John S. Sproul

Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1. The family Pteronarcyidae (Plecoptera) is a highly studied group of stoneflies and very important to a wide variety of aquatic studies. Several phylogenies have been proposed for this group recent decades, however there is little congruence between the various topologies. The present study revises the phylogeny of the group by combining molecular data from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit II, ribosomal subunit 12S, ribosomal subunit 16S, and nuclear loci ribosomal subinit 18S and Histone H3, with published morphological data in a parsimony-based total evidence analysis. The analysis produced a well-supported phylogeny with novel relationships within the genus Pteronarcys. …

Evolutionary History And Phylodynamics Of Influenza A And B Neuraminidase (Na) Genes Inferred From Large- Scale Sequence Analyses, Jianpeng Xu, C. Todd Davis, Mary C. Christman, Pierre Rivailler, Haizhen Zhong, Ruben O. Donis, Guoqing Lu

Biology Faculty Publications

Background: Influenza neuraminidase (NA) is an important surface glycoprotein and plays a vital role in viral replication and drug development. The NA is found in influenza A and B viruses, with nine subtypes classified in influenza A. The complete knowledge of influenza NA evolutionary history and phylodynamics, although critical for the prevention and control of influenza epidemics and pandemics, remains lacking.

Methodology/Principal findings: Evolutionary and phylogenetic analyses of influenza NA sequences using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian MCMC methods demonstrated that the divergence of influenza viruses into types A and B occurred earlier than the divergence of influenza A …

Effects Of Short Shoot Number And Presence Of An Apical Meristem On Rhizome Elongation, New Short Shoot Production, And New Rhizome Meristem Production Of Thalassia Testudinum Banks And Solander Ex König Planting Units In Tampa Bay., Michael Vearl Meads

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thalassia testudinum Banks and Solander ex König is the dominant seagrass in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and the West Coast of Florida, yet little rhizome elongation, new short shoot production, or new rhizome meristem production data has been collected via direct measurement. A study of the rhizome growth of T. testudinum was completed in December 2004 in southern Tampa Bay that determined growth after 26.5 months. Two PVC planting frames each containing four rhizomes with 2 short shoots, two rhizomes with 4 short shoots, and two rhizomes with 8 short shoots were planted next to existing T. testudinum beds …

Assessing Whether Alpha-Tubulin Sequences Are Suitable For Phylogenetic Reconstruction Of Ciliophora With Insights Into Its Evolution In Euplotids, Zhenzhen Yi, Laura A. Katz, Weibo Song

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The current understanding of ciliate phylogeny is mainly based on analyses of a single gene, the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU-rDNA). However, phylogenetic trees based on single gene sequence are not reliable estimators of species trees, and SSU-rDNA genealogies are not useful for resolution of some branches within Ciliophora. Since congruence between multiple loci is the best tool to determine evolutionary history, we assessed the usefulness of alpha-tubulin gene, a protein-coding gene that is frequently sequenced, for ciliate phylogeny. Here, we generate alpha-tubulin gene sequences of 12 genera and 30 species within the order Euplotida, one of the most frequently …

The Effect Of Human Activities And Their Associated Noise On Ungulate Behavior, Casey L. Brown, Amanda R. Hardy, Jesse R. Barber, Kurt M. Fristrup, Kevin R. Crooks, Lisa M. Angeloni

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: The effect of anthropogenic noise on terrestrial wildlife is a relatively new area of study with broad ranging management implications. Noise has been identified as a disturbance that has the potential to induce behavioral responses in animals similar to those associated with predation risk. This study investigated potential impacts of a variety of human activities and their associated noise on the behavior of elk (Cervus elaphus) and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) along a transportation corridor in Grand Teton National Park.

Methodology/Principal Findings: We conducted roadside scan surveys and focal observations of ungulate behavior while concurrently recording …

Reproductive Biology Of The Southern Dwarf Siren, Pseudobranchus Axanthus, In Southern Florida, Zachary Cole Adcock

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The salamander family Sirenidae is composed of two extant genera, Siren and Pseudobranchus, each with two known species. Several questions regarding Sirenidae life history persist, and much of the available life history data for Pseudobranchus are attributed to studies of P. axanthus in northern Florida. Information on the reproductive biology of P. axanthus is limited, and historical references often suggest contradictory results. This study was undertaken to clarify information and expand on the limited data regarding P. axanthus reproductive biology, specifically for southern Florida populations. The study population was most likely the P. a. belli subspecies. P. axanthus in southern …

Surveillance Of Mosquitoes For Arthropod-Borne Viruses In El Paso, Tx., Stephanie Coronado, Douglas Watts

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012

West Nile encephalitis is the only arthropod-borne virus that causes annual cases of human illness in El Paso, Texas. Cases more commonly affect the young and elderly and the illness may range from a mild febrile disease to fatal encephalitis. The primary vector(s) of West Nile virus are Culex species mosquitoes, including Culex tarsalis and Culex quinquefaciatus. Further, surveillance is needed to determine the relative importance of these and possibly other mosquito species. More recently, cases of dengue fever and fatal hemorrhagic fever have been occurring in communities along the USA-Mexico border. Dengue has been endemic in Mexico since the …