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2015

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Articles 1021 - 1050 of 1751

Full-Text Articles in Biology

Environmental Impacts On Life History In Container Breeding Mosquitoes, Kathleen May Westby Mar 2015

Environmental Impacts On Life History In Container Breeding Mosquitoes, Kathleen May Westby

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I explore different ways that the environment impacts life history in mosquitoes in ways that may alter vectorial capacity. In chapter I, I tested if short-term sugar deprivation experienced after exposure to La Crosse virus altered infection rates in Aedes albopictus and if sugar treatment and virus infection status altered blood feeding behavior and fecundity. I found no evidence that sugar deprivation impacted infection rates or fecundity. Sugar deprivation did increase blood feeding. There was no effect of infection status on blood feeding or fecundity. In chapter II, I tested for effects of seasonal cues (temperature and …


Scientific Teaching: Defining A Taxonomy Of Observable Practices, Brian A. Couch, Tanya L. Brown, Tyler J. Schelpat, Mark J. Graham, Jennifer K. Knight Mar 2015

Scientific Teaching: Defining A Taxonomy Of Observable Practices, Brian A. Couch, Tanya L. Brown, Tyler J. Schelpat, Mark J. Graham, Jennifer K. Knight

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Over the past several decades, numerous reports have been published advocating for changes to undergraduate science education. These national calls inspired the formation of the National Academies Summer Institutes on Undergraduate Education in Biology (SI), a group of regional workshops to help faculty members learn and implement interactive teaching methods. The SI curriculum promotes a pedagogical framework called Scientific Teaching (ST), which aims to bring the vitality of modern research into the classroom by engaging students in the scientific discovery process and using student data to inform the ongoing development of teaching methods. With the spread of ST, the need …


Streamwise Vortices Destabilize Swimming Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis Macrochirus), Anabela Maia, Alex P. Sheltzer, Eric D. Tytell Mar 2015

Streamwise Vortices Destabilize Swimming Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis Macrochirus), Anabela Maia, Alex P. Sheltzer, Eric D. Tytell

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

In their natural environment, fish must swim stably through unsteady flows and vortices, including vertical vortices, typically shed by posts in a flow, horizontal cross-flow vortices, often produced by a step or a waterfall in a stream, and streamwise vortices, where the axis of rotation is aligned with the direction of the flow. Streamwise vortices are commonly shed by bluff bodies in streams and by ships' propellers and axial turbines, but we know little about their effects on fish. Here, we describe how bluegill sunfish use more energy and are destabilized more often in flow with strong streamwise vorticity. The …


Ecotypic Differentiation Of Mid-Atlantic Quercus Species In Response To Ultramafic Soils, Jerry Burgess, Katalin Szlavecz, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Christopher Swan Mar 2015

Ecotypic Differentiation Of Mid-Atlantic Quercus Species In Response To Ultramafic Soils, Jerry Burgess, Katalin Szlavecz, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Christopher Swan

Biological Sciences

Spatial heterogeneity of soil conditions combined with intraspecific variation confer site-specific edaphic tolerance, resulting in local adaptation and speciation. To understand the geoecological processes controlling community assembly of woodland tree species on serpentine and mafic soils, we investigated resource gradients and provenance (geographic area of propagule collection) as variables affecting typical representative upland oak (Quercus) species distribution. Accordingly, we conducted a year-long reciprocal transplant experiment in the greenhouse with serpentine and mafic soils, using seedlings of five oak species (Quercus marilandica, Q. stellata, Q. montana, Q. michauxii and Q. alba). All seedlings, regardless …


Fighting Microbial Drug Resistance: A Primer On The Role Of Evolutionary Biology In Public Health, Gabriel Perron, R. Inglis, Pleuni Pennings, Sarah Cobey Mar 2015

Fighting Microbial Drug Resistance: A Primer On The Role Of Evolutionary Biology In Public Health, Gabriel Perron, R. Inglis, Pleuni Pennings, Sarah Cobey

Biology Department Faculty Works

Although microbes have been evolving resistance to antimicrobials for millennia, the spread of resistance in pathogen populations calls for the development of new drugs and treatment strategies. We propose that successful, long-term resistance management requires a better understanding of how resistance evolves in the first place. This is an opportunity for evolutionary biologists to engage in public health, a collaboration that has substantial precedent. Resistance evolution has been an important tool for developing and testing evolutionary theory, especially theory related to the genetic basis of new traits and constraints on adaptation. The present era is no exception. The articles in …


South Coast Crustacean Managed Fishery Draft Management Plan 2015, Department Of Fisheries Mar 2015

South Coast Crustacean Managed Fishery Draft Management Plan 2015, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.


Tomato Whole Genome Transcriptional Response To Tetranychus Urticae Identifies Divergence Of Spider Mite-Induced Responses Between Tomato And Arabidopsis, Catherine Martel, Vladimir Zhurov, Marie Navarro, Manuel Martinez, Marc Cazaux, Philippe Auger, Alain Migeon, M. Estrella Santamaria, Nicky Wybouw, Isabel Diaz, Thomas Van Leeuwen, Maria Navajas, Miodrag Grbic, Vojislava Grbic Mar 2015

Tomato Whole Genome Transcriptional Response To Tetranychus Urticae Identifies Divergence Of Spider Mite-Induced Responses Between Tomato And Arabidopsis, Catherine Martel, Vladimir Zhurov, Marie Navarro, Manuel Martinez, Marc Cazaux, Philippe Auger, Alain Migeon, M. Estrella Santamaria, Nicky Wybouw, Isabel Diaz, Thomas Van Leeuwen, Maria Navajas, Miodrag Grbic, Vojislava Grbic

Biology Publications

The two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae is one of the most significant mite pests in agriculture, feeding on more than 1,100 plant hosts, including model plants Arabidopsis thaliana and tomato, Solanum lycopersicum. Here, we describe timecourse tomato transcriptional responses to spider mite feeding and compare them with Arabidopsis in order to determine conserved and divergent defense responses to this pest. To refine the involvement of jasmonic acid (JA) in mite-induced responses and to improve tomato Gene Ontology annotations, we analyzed transcriptional changes in the tomato JA-signaling mutant defenseless1 (def-1) upon JA treatment and spider mite herbivory. Overlay …


Insights From An Integrated View Of The Biology Of Apple Snails (Caenogastropoda: Ampullariidae), Kenneth Hayes Mar 2015

Insights From An Integrated View Of The Biology Of Apple Snails (Caenogastropoda: Ampullariidae), Kenneth Hayes

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Apple snails (Ampullariidae) are among the largest and most ecologically important freshwater snails. The introduction of multiple species has reinvigorated the field and spurred a burgeoning body of research since the early 1990s, particularly regarding two species introduced to Asian wetlands and elsewhere, where they have become serious agricultural pests.This review places these recent advances in the context of previous work, across diverse fields ranging from phylogenetics and biogeography through ecology and developmental biology, and the more applied areas of environmental health and human disease. The review does not deal with the role of ampullariids as pests, nor their control …


Successful Inquiry Based Activities In High School Physiology, Sowmya Anjur Mar 2015

Successful Inquiry Based Activities In High School Physiology, Sowmya Anjur

Faculty Publications & Research

Physiology and Disease students at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora employ inquiry driven activities to improve their understanding and articulation of the discipline. Students make heart models and make correlations with heart rate, lung capacity and blood pressure measurements. Students seemed to gain a better understanding of the cardiovascular unit as reflected in their heart unit assessment scores.


Textures And Traction: How Tube-Dwelling Polychaetes Get A Leg Up, Rachel Merz Mar 2015

Textures And Traction: How Tube-Dwelling Polychaetes Get A Leg Up, Rachel Merz

Biology Faculty Works

By controlling the traction between its body and the tube wall, a tube-dwelling polychaete can move efficiently from one end of its tube to the other, brace its body during normal functions (e.g., ventilation and feeding), and anchor within its tube avoiding removal by predators. To examine the potential physical interaction between worms and the tubes they live in, scanning electron microscopy was used to reveal and quantify the morphology of worm bodies and the tubes they produce for species representing 13 families of tube-dwelling polychaetes. In the tubes of most species there were macroscopic or nearly macroscopic (~10 μm–1 …


Addressing Misconceptions About Evolution, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll, Don Dosch Mar 2015

Addressing Misconceptions About Evolution, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll, Don Dosch

Faculty Publications & Research

"Leave with effective ways to identify and address misconceptions about evolution, with a particular focus on supporting explanations with evidence."


Exploring The Antibacterial, Antioxidant, And Anticancerproperties Of Lichen Metabolites, Gajendra Shrestha Mar 2015

Exploring The Antibacterial, Antioxidant, And Anticancerproperties Of Lichen Metabolites, Gajendra Shrestha

Theses and Dissertations

Natural products have been a significant source of new drugs, especially in treating cancer, infectious diseases, hypertension, and neurological disorders. Although many natural metabolites have been screened and yielded pharmaceutically important drugs, many potential sources of natural product drug therapies still need to be investigated, including lichens. Lichens are symbiotic systems consisting of a filamentous fungus and a photosynthetic partner (an eukaryotic alga and/or cyanobacterium). Lichens produce an impressive variety of unique secondary compounds and have been used as ingredients in folk medicines for centuries. Demonstrated biological roles based on lichen chemistry include: antibiotics, anti-proliferative, antioxidants, anti-HIV, anti-cancer, immunomodulation, and …


Increasing Expression Of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen In Maize Through Breeding, Erin Suzanne Miller Mar 2015

Increasing Expression Of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen In Maize Through Breeding, Erin Suzanne Miller

Master's Theses

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a common virus, with two billion people infected worldwide. It causes approximately 600,000 deaths each year, despite the availability of an effective vaccine since 1982. Maize as a platform for oral vaccination can supply a heat stable vaccine, which does not require syringes or trained personnel to administer. The Hepatitis B Surface antigen was transformed into maize and this seed was used to evaluate expression levels through the breeding process. The transgene was transferred into two elite maize inbreds by backcrossing. Highest expressing ears were selected each generation until approximately 99% commercial parent was …


The Mayfly Newsletter, Peter M. Grant Mar 2015

The Mayfly Newsletter, Peter M. Grant

The Mayfly Newsletter

The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.


Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Alters Fine Root Bacterial Abundance And Mycorrhizal Associations In Eastern Hemlock, Justin F. Vendettuoli, David A. Orwig, Jennifer Adams Krumins, Matthew D. Waterhouse, Evan L. Preisser Mar 2015

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Alters Fine Root Bacterial Abundance And Mycorrhizal Associations In Eastern Hemlock, Justin F. Vendettuoli, David A. Orwig, Jennifer Adams Krumins, Matthew D. Waterhouse, Evan L. Preisser

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

While the impact of aboveground herbivores on plant biomass and fitness has received considerable attention, there has been far less research on the corresponding belowground impacts. The belowground effects of aboveground feeding may be particularly noticeable for invasive and/or outbreaking herbivore species that reach high densities and can cause major damage and sometimes death. The hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae, is an invasive pest on the eastern seaboard of the United States that feeds on a native shade-tolerant conifer, the eastern hemlock Tsuga canadensis. Trees rapidly decline and die following infestation, and the invasion of this insect has devastated hemlock …


Mobilization Of Alu Elements Throughout Papio And Theropithecus Genomes, Emily Bennett Mar 2015

Mobilization Of Alu Elements Throughout Papio And Theropithecus Genomes, Emily Bennett

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.


Oncostatin M Binds To Extracellular Matrix In A Bioactive Conformation: Implications For Inflammation And Metastasis, Randall E. Ryan, Bryan Martin, Liliana Mellor, Reed B. Jacob, Ken Tawara, Owen M. Mcdougal, Julia Thom Oxford, Cheryl L. Jorcyk Mar 2015

Oncostatin M Binds To Extracellular Matrix In A Bioactive Conformation: Implications For Inflammation And Metastasis, Randall E. Ryan, Bryan Martin, Liliana Mellor, Reed B. Jacob, Ken Tawara, Owen M. Mcdougal, Julia Thom Oxford, Cheryl L. Jorcyk

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Oncostatin M (OSM) is an interleukin-6-like inflammatory cytokine reported to play a role in a number of pathological processes including cancer. Full-length OSM is expressed as a 26 kDa protein that can be proteolytically processed into 24 kDa and 22 kDa forms via removal of C-terminal peptides. In this study, we examined both the ability of OSM to bind to the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the activity of immobilized OSM on human breast carcinoma cells. OSM was observed to bind to ECM proteins collagen types I and XI, laminin, and fibronectin in a pH-dependent fashion, suggesting a role for electrostatic …


Mitigation Effectiveness For Improving Nesting Success Of Greater Sage-Grouse Influenced By Energy Development, Christopher P. Kirol, Andrew L. Sutphin, Laura Bond, Mark R. Fuller, Thomas L. Maechtle Mar 2015

Mitigation Effectiveness For Improving Nesting Success Of Greater Sage-Grouse Influenced By Energy Development, Christopher P. Kirol, Andrew L. Sutphin, Laura Bond, Mark R. Fuller, Thomas L. Maechtle

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sagebrush Artemisia spp. habitats being developed for oil and gas reserves are inhabited by sagebrush obligate species--including the greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus (sage-grouse) that is currently being considered for protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Numerous studies suggest increasing oil and gas development may exacerbate species extinction risks. Therefore, there is a great need for effective on-site mitigation to reduce impacts to co-occurring wildlife such as sage-grouse. Nesting success is a primary factor in avian productivity and declines in nesting success are also thought to be an important contributor to population declines in sage-grouse. From 2008 to 2011 we …


Drosophila Muller F Elements Maintain A Distinct Set Of Genomic Properties Over 40 Million Years Of Evolution, Sarah C.R. Elgin, Wilson Leung Mar 2015

Drosophila Muller F Elements Maintain A Distinct Set Of Genomic Properties Over 40 Million Years Of Evolution, Sarah C.R. Elgin, Wilson Leung

Biology Faculty Research

The Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D. erecta, D. mojavensis, and D. grimshawi F elements and euchromatic domains from the Muller D element. We find that F elements have greater transposon density (25-50%) than euchromatic reference regions (3-11%). Among the F elements, D. grimshawi has the lowest transposon density (particularly DINE-1: 2% vs. 11-27%). F element genes have …


Assessment Of Northern Bobwhite Survival And Fitness At Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas, Jacob W. Doggett Mar 2015

Assessment Of Northern Bobwhite Survival And Fitness At Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas, Jacob W. Doggett

Masters Theses

In the West Gulf Coastal Plains (WGCP) northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) numbers are declining faster than range-wide averages and such declines have been linked to the consequences of land management within the region. Management for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) has benefitted northern bobwhite by restoring mature pine-grassland ecosystems in some areas of the region; however, at Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, Crossett, Arkansas, USA, the bobwhite population was not increasing despite the availability of seemingly suitable habitat from management for the endangered species. To understand factors that may be affecting bobwhite survival on Felsenthal National …


A Preliminary Report On Escherichia Coli Strain Diversity In Cows, Alison T. Stivers Mar 2015

A Preliminary Report On Escherichia Coli Strain Diversity In Cows, Alison T. Stivers

Biological Sciences

Pyroprinting is a strain typing method that relies on the simultaneous pyrosequencing of the multi-copy rRNA intergenic transcribed spacer regions of E. coli (Black, et al., 2014). These pyroprints can be used to identify the source of E. coli in the environment. Currently, Cal Poly’s Center for Applications in Biotechnology (CAB) is augmenting the existing E. coli pyroprint library. By pyroprinting the intestinal E. coli of cows, we can quantify the strain diversity present, evaluate persistence, and determine the minimum sample size required for a complete overview of the cow intestinal E. coli population. These pyroprints can then be added …


Life Line March 2015, Otterbein Biology And Earth Science Department Mar 2015

Life Line March 2015, Otterbein Biology And Earth Science Department

Life Line - The Biology Department Newsletter

Trees - Erin Miller '97, Young Alumni Award Winner - Dave Sheridan joins the faculty - Melinda S. Phinney MD Award - OU Heritage Dr. of Osteopathy Early Assurance Program - China Visit


Addressing Misconceptions About Evolution, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll, Don Dosch Mar 2015

Addressing Misconceptions About Evolution, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll, Don Dosch

Evolution

"Leave with effective ways to identify and address misconceptions about evolution, with a particular focus on supporting explanations with evidence."


Rab Proteins And Alzheimer's: A Current Review Of Their Involvement In Amyloid Beta Generation With Focus On Rab10 Expression In N2a-695 Cells, Ivan Arano Rodriguez Mar 2015

Rab Proteins And Alzheimer's: A Current Review Of Their Involvement In Amyloid Beta Generation With Focus On Rab10 Expression In N2a-695 Cells, Ivan Arano Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis work describes the role of Rab proteins in amyloid processing and clearance in different cell pathways. It also describes an experimental approach used to analyze the expression effects of Rab10 in amyloid beta production. Since the main theory behind neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease claims that high levels of amyloid beta 42 (Aβ42) molecules trigger widespread neuronal death, control of Aβ42 has been a main target in Alzheimer's disease research. In addition, several studies show increased levels of particular Rab proteins in Alzheimer's pathogenesis. However, no review consolidates current findings in neurodegeneration of Alzheimer's with Rab protein dysfunction. The …


The Possible Effects Of Deleterious Rhizobacterial Combinations On The Growth Of The Weed Velvetleaf, Athena Smith, Robert Zdor Ph. D. Mar 2015

The Possible Effects Of Deleterious Rhizobacterial Combinations On The Growth Of The Weed Velvetleaf, Athena Smith, Robert Zdor Ph. D.

Posters, Presentations, and Papers

The use of biological agents in the control of the invasive weed velvetleaf Abutilon theophrasti is attractive due to this weeds development of herbicide resistance. One option is the utilization of deleterious rhizobacteria with amendments to optimize their effectiveness. Indole acetic acid (IAA)- producing Rhizobium rubi (AT3-4RS/6 (RS) and cyanogenic Pseudomonas putida ATH2-1RI/9 (RI) were used to inoculate soil with and without amino acid amendments. RS & tryptophan (a precursor of IAA synthesis) caused the least velvetleaf shoot growth. All roots were colonized by rhizobacteria, on average, 1.40E+10 CFU/ gram of dry root.


Temporal Patterns Of Nutrition Dependence In Secondary Sexual Traits And Their Varying Impacts On Male Mating Success, Malcolm F. Rosenthal, Eileen A. Hebets Mar 2015

Temporal Patterns Of Nutrition Dependence In Secondary Sexual Traits And Their Varying Impacts On Male Mating Success, Malcolm F. Rosenthal, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Variation in the quantity of nutrients ingested over an individual’s lifetime is likely to differentially affect distinct male secondary sexual traits and courtship signals, potentially providing females with information about a male’s past and present foraging history. We hypothesize that female choice is thus influenced by a male’s lifetime foraging history. To test this, we manipulated the quantity of nutrients (i.e. prey items) available to male wolf spiders, Schizocosa stridulans, using a fully crossed 2 × 2 design with low versus high prey quantity across juvenile and adult life stages, and assessed the impact of these diet treatments on male …


Geographic And Ontogenetic Variation Of Venom In The Rattlesnakes Crotalus Oreganus Oreganus And Crotalus O. Helleri, Eric Conrad Kyle Gren Mar 2015

Geographic And Ontogenetic Variation Of Venom In The Rattlesnakes Crotalus Oreganus Oreganus And Crotalus O. Helleri, Eric Conrad Kyle Gren

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

I investigated the extent of variation of venom protein composition (venome) and neurotoxicity in the Northern Pacific (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) and Southern Pacific (C. o. helleri) rattlesnakes, with special emphasis on geographic variation across the species’ California range. In the first of three empirical studies, I used reversed-phase liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to examine the venome of four C. o. helleri populations. Substantial geographic variation existed, with small basic peptides (myotoxic β-defensins) expressed in large amounts by all populations, metalloproteinases abundant in two populations but only moderate and trace amounts in the other two populations, and a potent presynaptic …


Identification Of Saccharina Groenlandica (Phaeophyceae) Around The Svalbard Archipelago: Dna Barcoding Using Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit 1 (Coi), Anniken Lydon Mar 2015

Identification Of Saccharina Groenlandica (Phaeophyceae) Around The Svalbard Archipelago: Dna Barcoding Using Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit 1 (Coi), Anniken Lydon

Master's Theses

In the Arctic, brown algae (kelps) and seaweeds are ecologically important: providing habitat, protection, and nutrients for invertebrate and vertebrate species living in nearshore environments. Migrations of biota between the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans have occurred periodically during Earth’s history leading to colonization of the Arctic Ocean. Around 3.5 Mya the “Great Trans-Arctic Biotic Interchange” occurred and the Laminariales order of kelp, thought to be of North Pacific origin, underwent a massive radiation and speciation event around the Arctic Ocean. Phylogenetic analysis performed on “Laminaria-like” specimens collected from six sampling locations around the Svalbard Archipelago identified …


Spiders Or Butterflies? Despite Student Preference, Gender-Biased Lesson Models Do Not Impact Interest, Attitude, And Learning In Biology, Amy N. Buxton Mar 2015

Spiders Or Butterflies? Despite Student Preference, Gender-Biased Lesson Models Do Not Impact Interest, Attitude, And Learning In Biology, Amy N. Buxton

Theses and Dissertations

Educational research often emphasizes the prevalent gender gap between males and females in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. While many studies have found a gender bias when it comes to specific areas of science, little has been done to analyze the effects of how we teach within each of these subjects. In our study, we took a new angle on gender research by specifically considering whether there is a gender gap in how the models (the specific lesson examples/content used to teach a broader biology topic) used to teach biology affect student interest, attitude, and learning. We first …


Latitudinal Variation In Lifetime Survival And Reproduction In A Burying Beetle, Clinton T. Laidlaw Mar 2015

Latitudinal Variation In Lifetime Survival And Reproduction In A Burying Beetle, Clinton T. Laidlaw

Theses and Dissertations

Temperature variation experienced across a latitudinal range is tied to changes in lifespan and life history across multiple taxa. Two patterns of adaptation to latitudinal temperature variation have been documented – counter-gradient (or co-gradient) variation, and local adaptation. To determine how natural selection has shaped life history variation in a burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis, we quantified lifetime patterns of reproduction in two populations that represent the geographic and temperature extremes occupied by the species. Lifetime reproduction was quantified at two temperatures that represented conditions typical for each population. Burying beetles from different extremes of their geographic range show considerable variation …