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2017

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Articles 1111 - 1140 of 1882

Full-Text Articles in Biology

Internship At Zootah At Willow Park, Tyler Kron, Troy Cooper, Kim Sullivan Mar 2017

Internship At Zootah At Willow Park, Tyler Kron, Troy Cooper, Kim Sullivan

Biology Posters

Project: Creation of a quick and cost effective feed system for the animals. Reason: Regular feed is expensive ($5- $10 per 50lbs) About $80 - $160 per month for one type of feed (I.E. Wheat).


The Alfalfa Project, Josh Worley Mar 2017

The Alfalfa Project, Josh Worley

Biology Posters

Spider Silk is one of the most unique fibers produced in the natural world. Its mechanical properties are unparalleled and have the potential to revolutionize industries around the globe. However creating this silk as it exists in nature, is difficult. Due to inability to farm orb weaving spiders that produce silk, other hosts must be inserted. This is the point of emphasis at the Spider Silk Research lab at the BioInnovations Center at Utah State University. Hosts that are currently being researched are; Silkworms, E Coli, Alfalfa, and Goats. Each of these hosts is unique in its ability to produce …


Percent Of Cytopathic Effect In Vero Vs Vero-76 Cells, Taylor Redding, Skot Neilson, Craig Day, Jonna Westover Mar 2017

Percent Of Cytopathic Effect In Vero Vs Vero-76 Cells, Taylor Redding, Skot Neilson, Craig Day, Jonna Westover

Biology Posters

Vero cells and Vero-76 cells are both used to evaluate the antiviral effect of drugs in vitro. This study tested whether Vero and Vero-76 cells yield similar cytopathic effects when inoculated with yellow fever Virus (YFV) or Dengue Virus(DV). Each virus was plated on replicated 96 well plates of Vero and Vero-76 cells with different cell concentrations. The two cells lines did not give significantly different results for most cell and virus concentrations.


Testicular Microanatomy Of Rhabdophis Tigrinus During Thebreeding And Nonbreeding Seasons, Clayton Grover, Ryan Mccleary, Yosuke Kojima, Alex Foster, Alan Savitzky Mar 2017

Testicular Microanatomy Of Rhabdophis Tigrinus During Thebreeding And Nonbreeding Seasons, Clayton Grover, Ryan Mccleary, Yosuke Kojima, Alex Foster, Alan Savitzky

Biology Posters

Rhabdophis tigrinus, the Tiger Keelback, is native to East and Southeast Asia. It preys on amphibians, including the Japanese toad, Bufo japonicus. It secretes cardiotonic steroids known as bufadienolides (BDs) from its skin. Consumption of BDs is typically fatal in other snake species, but, R. tigrinus displays resistance to these toxins. After consuming toads, R. tigrinus sequesters BDs into glands on its neck. The adrenal glands of R. tigrinus are enlarged in comparison to similar species.


Genotypic Analysis Of The Canine Multidrug Resistance 1 (Abcb1) Gene In Miniature American And Australian Shephards, Arieanna White, Lee F. Rickords, Miriam Laker Mar 2017

Genotypic Analysis Of The Canine Multidrug Resistance 1 (Abcb1) Gene In Miniature American And Australian Shephards, Arieanna White, Lee F. Rickords, Miriam Laker

Biology Posters

Canine breeders who are breeding to improve genetics often utilize the ability to test breeding stock for deleterious alleles. A DNA sample, such as a cheek swab or blood sample, is sent to laboratory where they determine genotypes that the owner has requested to know. Once the breeder receives results, they are better able to plan crosses or decide if a dog should be castrated to avoid the inheritance of unwanted diseases. This is particularly important with purebred dogs due to the high ratio of homozygous alleles. I will be using canine DNA for the gene ABCB1 or Multidrug Resistance …


Making Electrospun Spider Silk Fibers Stronger, Dan Gil, Blake Taurone, Bailey Mcfarland, Justin Jones, Randolph V. Lewis Mar 2017

Making Electrospun Spider Silk Fibers Stronger, Dan Gil, Blake Taurone, Bailey Mcfarland, Justin Jones, Randolph V. Lewis

Biology Posters

Spider silk is one of the most robust and versatile fibers making it a topic of interest in the scientific community. Possessing strength and elasticity many have sought to create fibers comparable to natural spider silk. Up until recently many scientists have fallen short of creating said fibers. With the use of a technique called electrospinning, comparable spider silk fibers have been created. Electrospinning is the process of creating fibers from a polymer solution using an electrical field. This method leads to the formation of nanofibers. These Fibers can then be further modified by crosslinking, a technique traditionally used to …


Multiple Sequence Alignment While Assessing Saturation Across Sequence Data, K. Bodie Weedop, William D. Pearse Mar 2017

Multiple Sequence Alignment While Assessing Saturation Across Sequence Data, K. Bodie Weedop, William D. Pearse

Biology Posters

Constructing and analyzing phylogenetic trees is central to biological disciplines such as evolutionary and systematic biology. Accurate phylogenetic inference improves the estimation of evolutionary relationships, rates of molecular evolution, and Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). Careful alignment of sequence data is critical prior to any phylogenetic reconstruction, and there are many different multiple sequence alignment programs that are currently used (reviewed in Edgar & Batzoglou 2006). However, difficulty persists when using alignments to accurately determine actual genetic divergences. A major, yet under-explored, problem is saturation: the repetition of base substitutions at a single site within a sequence. Saturation causes issues because …


Virucidal Activity Of 70% Ethanol Vs Enveloped And Non-Enveloped Viruses, Nathan R. Clyde, Craig W. Day Mar 2017

Virucidal Activity Of 70% Ethanol Vs Enveloped And Non-Enveloped Viruses, Nathan R. Clyde, Craig W. Day

Biology Posters

Viruses contain genetic material packaged in a protein coat called the capsid. For some viruses, the capsid is surrounded by an envelope composed of a lipid bilayer derived from the host cell membrane (Figure 2). Virus structure determines the stability characteristics of the virus particle, such as resistance to chemical or physical inactivation (Lucas, 2010). To maintain a safe environment at the Institute for Antiviral Research, it is important to understand which viruses are resistant to which chemicals. Thus, the objective of this experiment was to test survival of the viruses listed in table 1, when exposed to various chemicals. …


Large Scale Production Of Spider Silk Protein In E. Coli, Paula F. Oliveira, David Christiansen, Amir Ghazi, Justin Jones, Randolph V. Lewis Mar 2017

Large Scale Production Of Spider Silk Protein In E. Coli, Paula F. Oliveira, David Christiansen, Amir Ghazi, Justin Jones, Randolph V. Lewis

Biology Posters

Spider silks have long been a focus of research due to their remarkable mechanical properties including strength, toughness and elasticity. Moreover, biodegradability and biocompatibility of spider silks make them beneficial to use in biomedical applications. Spiders cannot be farmed because of their territorial and cannibalistic nature. Hence, production of recombinant spider silks is the only feasible solution for large scale production Large scale production is still challenging due to the small recombinant protein size, low yield and low water solubility of bio-synthetic spider silk. The current study reports our progress as well as evolution of effective protocol for large scale …


Restoration Of Young Ovarian Function In Post-Reproductive Female Mice Significantly Improves Quality Of Life And Lifespan, Steve Gawrys, Jeffrey Mason Mar 2017

Restoration Of Young Ovarian Function In Post-Reproductive Female Mice Significantly Improves Quality Of Life And Lifespan, Steve Gawrys, Jeffrey Mason

Biology Posters

These studies were designed to elucidate the role of ovarian senescence in the increased susceptibility for postmenopausal females to become subject to disease when compared to premenopausal females. Current dogma hypothesizes that the inability of the senescent ovaries to produce hormones for the reproductively senescent female is responsible for the increase in disease. Preliminary lab work has shown that depletion of germ cells from the ovaries of a young mouse, then a transplanting the germ cell depleted ovaries to a postreproductive mouse produced improved health shown through increased life span and decreased cardiovascular and orthopedic diseases.


Nanoparticles: Lignification Of Wheat With Pseudomonas Chlororaphis O6 (Pco6), Stephanie Doxey, Astrid Jacobson, Anne Anderson Mar 2017

Nanoparticles: Lignification Of Wheat With Pseudomonas Chlororaphis O6 (Pco6), Stephanie Doxey, Astrid Jacobson, Anne Anderson

Biology Posters

Wheat production decreases due to many stresses. Drought stress and lodging (Fig. 1), caused by storms and overgrowth, both reduce yield [1]. My previous work showed induction of drought tolerance in wheat by root colonization of PcO6; drought tolerance was maintained when wheat seedlings were grown with CuO nanoparticles (NPs) (Doxey, Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium Dec 2016). The shoots of wheat grown with PcO6 and CuO NPs were more rigid than shoots grown without either treatment. This work examines whether the rigidity in the shoots was due to lignification as well as a higher water content. Toluidine Blue O (TBO) …


Assessing Fitness Of Culex Pipiens Mosquitoes Selected For Enhanced Survival To Methoprene, Parker H. Johnson, Nadya S. Keweshan, Scott A. Bernhardt Mar 2017

Assessing Fitness Of Culex Pipiens Mosquitoes Selected For Enhanced Survival To Methoprene, Parker H. Johnson, Nadya S. Keweshan, Scott A. Bernhardt

Biology Posters

West Nile virus (WNV) is the most widespread arthropod-borne viral disease in the United States and is transmitted primarily by Culex pipiens. Methoprene is a pesticide used to control mosquito populations. Evolution of resistance threatens the longevity of any given insecticide with continued use. The objective of this research is to examine any fitness costs associated with resistance to methoprene in Cx. pipiens. Fitness will be examined by measuring wing length in laboratory-reared methoprene resistant and susceptible colonies of Cx. pipiens. Wing length serves as a proxy for body size. It is hypothesized that methoprene resistance in Cx. pipiens mosquito …


Use Of 5-(Perylen-3-Yl)Ethynyl-Arabino-Uridine (Auy11) To Inactivate Rift Valley Fever Virus And Preserve Neutralization Epitopes, Kolton Williams, Brady Hickerson, Brian B. Gowen Mar 2017

Use Of 5-(Perylen-3-Yl)Ethynyl-Arabino-Uridine (Auy11) To Inactivate Rift Valley Fever Virus And Preserve Neutralization Epitopes, Kolton Williams, Brady Hickerson, Brian B. Gowen

Biology Posters

Rift Valley fever (RFV) is a mosquito-borne disease, endemic to Africa, and known to cause abortion in animals and hemorrhagic fever in humans. All enveloped viruses require the fusion of viral membranes with cellular membranes to enter into and replicate inside the host cell. These viruses have a universal objective: find the cell receptors that match the viral attachment proteins and use those to gain access to the cell membrane. The use of aUY11, a monosaccharide (sugar)-based compound, has previously shown to effectively use a biophysical approach in the inhibition of viral fusion of other enveloped viruses1. In this study, …


Linking Ecosystem Nitrogen Retention With Soil Microbial Community Structure, Preston Christensen, Bonnie G. Waring, Kenneth Smith Mar 2017

Linking Ecosystem Nitrogen Retention With Soil Microbial Community Structure, Preston Christensen, Bonnie G. Waring, Kenneth Smith

Biology Posters

Understanding the mechanisms behind nitrogen loss in soil through leaching of inorganic nitrogen helps us beWer understand mechanisms for retenMon. Hypothesis: we should see different levels of soil inorganic nitrogen in various agricultural treatments, due to the effects these treatments have on soil microbial communities. Fungi use N less efficiently than bacteria. Fungal-dominated soils should have more inorganic N than bacterial-dominated soils.


What Does Self-Reported Likability For Fruit And Vegetables Tell Us About Skin Carotenoid Levels?, Kurtis Hauck, Madison Hauck, Damon Joyner, Heidi Wengreen Mar 2017

What Does Self-Reported Likability For Fruit And Vegetables Tell Us About Skin Carotenoid Levels?, Kurtis Hauck, Madison Hauck, Damon Joyner, Heidi Wengreen

Biology Posters

In most cases, individuals who have a higher likeability of fruits and vegetables will consume more and reap health-related benefits because of it. However, other factors influence how the body digests, absorbs, and metabolizes the beneficial nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. Biomarkers, like carotenoids are measurable indicators of some biological state or condition. They can be helpful in understanding the relationships between dietary intake of nutrients and the other factors that may influence how a nutrient is being used in the body. Other factors known to influence skin carotenoids include body composition, exposure to environmental pollutants, or illness. Carotenoids …


Internship At Cache Meadow Veterinary Clinic, Andrea Nelson Mar 2017

Internship At Cache Meadow Veterinary Clinic, Andrea Nelson

Biology Posters

I was able to assist on multiple emergency surgeries, some including: an abdominal exploratory and a caesarean section. These procedures allowed me to learn proper surgical techniques as well as radiography techniques.


Extreme Makeover: Fern Edition, Tanner A. Robison, Paul G. Wolf Mar 2017

Extreme Makeover: Fern Edition, Tanner A. Robison, Paul G. Wolf

Biology Posters

With a few exceptions, all plants have chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are the organelles responsible for photosynthesis in plants. Interestingly, chloroplasts have their own genome -- called a plastome -- which is separate from the nuclear genome. The genetic composition of ferns, gymnosperm, and angiosperm plastomes are remarkably similar, revealing very little change over evolutionary time. There are however a few notable exceptions to the apparent stability of the plastome. A few lineages of both angiosperm and gymnosperm show dramatically higher rates of mutation and genetic rearrangement than those of their relatives, suggesting major genome destabilization. Vittariods are a group of ferns …


Hla-G 14bp Polymorphism In Autism, Cameron Page, Michael Benson, Thayne Sweeten, Anthony Torres, Martin Kharrazi, Lisa Croen Mar 2017

Hla-G 14bp Polymorphism In Autism, Cameron Page, Michael Benson, Thayne Sweeten, Anthony Torres, Martin Kharrazi, Lisa Croen

Biology Posters

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopment disorder characterized by deficits in communicative and social behaviors (Meltzer, 2017) . As of 2012 the CDC reported that 1 of 68 children born in the U.S. have ASD (Christensen, 2016). The immune systems of mother and child can be important in ASD. A signaling molecule, HLA-G, helps regulate maternal natural killer cell interaction with the fetus. A defect in HLA-G could increase NK cell activity, leading to abnormal neurodevelopment in the fetus (Carosella, 2008). Our study focuses on a 14 base pair insertion/deletion found in the HLA-G gene of autistic subjects and …


Spidentistry: The Intersection Of Dentistry And Spider Silk, Deven C. Smuin, Thomas I. Harris, Justin A. Jones, Randolph V. Lewis Mar 2017

Spidentistry: The Intersection Of Dentistry And Spider Silk, Deven C. Smuin, Thomas I. Harris, Justin A. Jones, Randolph V. Lewis

Biology Posters

Spider silks are an ideal material for periodontal chips/gels because they are biocompatible, biodegradable, lightweight, strong, and create no immune response. Furthermore, the various silks types and forms allow for tunable materials and properties. Spider silk materials may have an advantage over other products because of the ability to release medication more consistently over a longer period of time and be adjusted as needed. Unlike products currently on the market, our chip/gels are biocompatible, which aids in reducing the bodies immune response to periodontal treatment. The ability to incorporate multiple bioactive compounds into the spider silk materials allows them to …


Life History Differences Across A Latitudinal Gradient In Side-Blotched Lizards (Uta Stansburiana), G. D. Smith, P. A. Zani, S. S. French Mar 2017

Life History Differences Across A Latitudinal Gradient In Side-Blotched Lizards (Uta Stansburiana), G. D. Smith, P. A. Zani, S. S. French

Biology Posters

Latitudinal variation has long been known to affect life history. Bergmann and Allen made latitudinal “rules” for mammalian anatomy and Lack, Skutch, and Moreau described differences in life history in birds. Trade-offs occur between important life history processes, like self maintenance (immunity) and other expensive but necessary processes. It is likely that trade-offs occur mostly when resources are limited. Side-blotched lizards have a wide geographic range, and more northerly lizards have been observed to have longer lifespans than their southern conspecifics. We hypothesized that northern sideblotched lizards would invest more energy into self-maintenance compared to shorter-lived southern animals.


Got Bugs In Your Kefir?, Julienne Henrie Mar 2017

Got Bugs In Your Kefir?, Julienne Henrie

Biology Posters

What is Kefir ? Kefir is a type of fermented milk that is cultured with Kefir grains. Kefir grains make up the probiotic culture used to produce Kefir. These cauliflower-like grains contain mostly lactobacilli bacteria and yeasts held together by Kefiran, an exopolysaccharide structure. (Korsak et al. 2014). Kefir grains are Mesophilic. Mesophilic starters are cultured at room temperature, which allows the probiotics to remain active when consumed. Properties of mesophilic starters also give Kefir the liquid consistency it is known for. (Sarah, 2016). Kefir originated in the Caucasus Mountains thousands of years ago, the name coming from the Turkish …


Murder She Wrote: Death And Drama In Nesting Woodpeckers, Taylor Albrecht, Blake Christensen, Sammy Cowell, Phil Fischer, Ryan Gallegos, Teresa Lorenz, Mariah Panoussi, Taryn Rodman, Ryan Sabel, Allison Stassel, Kim Sullivan Mar 2017

Murder She Wrote: Death And Drama In Nesting Woodpeckers, Taylor Albrecht, Blake Christensen, Sammy Cowell, Phil Fischer, Ryan Gallegos, Teresa Lorenz, Mariah Panoussi, Taryn Rodman, Ryan Sabel, Allison Stassel, Kim Sullivan

Biology Posters

Woodpeckers serve as primary cavity excavators in fire-dominated forests. Secondary cavity users (SCU’s) rely heavily on cavities excavated by woodpeckers. Woodpecker species are declining, and some are now locally threatened. Management needs answers. How is woodpecker reproductive success impacted by the behavior of woodpeckers, SCU’s, and predators?


Culturing Viruses From Wild Deer In Utah, Brennan Winkler, Justin Moscon, Eric Dewart, Annette Roug, Bart Tarbet Mar 2017

Culturing Viruses From Wild Deer In Utah, Brennan Winkler, Justin Moscon, Eric Dewart, Annette Roug, Bart Tarbet

Biology Posters

In the Spring of 2016, two deer showing clinical signs of neurological illness were reported to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The animals were euthanized and post-mortem tissues collected for identification of any disease causing agents. Brain and spleen samples were sent to Dr. Eric Delwart, University of California-San Francisco for metagenomics evaluation. Mobukvirus (described once) and novel picornavirus and bovine parvovirus were tentatively identified. However, cell culture of the viruses is necessary for further characterization and genomic sequencing. If these novel viruses can be cultured, it may be possible to develop serologic tests for additional field investigations in …


Exploring The Potential For Artificial Reefs In Coral Reef Restoration: Responses And Interactions Of Associated Biota To Varying Experimental Treatments In The Mexican Caribbean, Audie Kirk Kilfoyle Mar 2017

Exploring The Potential For Artificial Reefs In Coral Reef Restoration: Responses And Interactions Of Associated Biota To Varying Experimental Treatments In The Mexican Caribbean, Audie Kirk Kilfoyle

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Coral reefs are being negatively impacted by various causes worldwide, and direct intervention is often warranted following disturbance to restore or replace lost ecosystem structure and function. An experimental coral reef restoration study involving standardized artificial reef modules (ReefballsTM) was conducted in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in the towns of Puerto Morelos and Akumal. The purpose was to explore the use of artificial structure for restoration and mitigation applications in a highly diverse and dynamic Caribbean coral reef environment by applying and evaluating the performance of select experimental treatments hypothesized to accelerate development of the associated biota. The first …


Presence/Absence And Density Data For Epipelagic Tows From 48 Stations In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico From R/V Blazing Seven Cruises Lf2015a And Lf2015b June 2015 And July 2015, Jay R. Rooker, R.J. David Wells Mar 2017

Presence/Absence And Density Data For Epipelagic Tows From 48 Stations In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico From R/V Blazing Seven Cruises Lf2015a And Lf2015b June 2015 And July 2015, Jay R. Rooker, R.J. David Wells

DEEPEND Datasets

Larval catch data after the oil spill is being used to improve our understanding of the causes of temporal variability as it relates to the Deep Water Horizon oil spill (DWHOS). Bongo and neuston net tows were conducted at 48 stations in both June and July, 2015 in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Cruise data collected at each site included latitude/longitude, date, time and environmental data (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen). The occurrence and density of selected epipelagic (e.g., billfishes, tunas, dolphinfishes, flyingfishes) and deep pelagic (e.g., lanternfishes, bristlemouths, marine hatchetfishes) fish larvae were quantified and are being used to extend …


The Phenology Of Sand Crabs, Lepidopa Benedicti (Decapoda: Albuneidae), Zen Faulkes Mar 2017

The Phenology Of Sand Crabs, Lepidopa Benedicti (Decapoda: Albuneidae), Zen Faulkes

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Albuneid sand crabs are widespread on sandy beaches around the world, but because they conceal themselves by digging in sand and are often found at low densities, little is known about their basic biology. Lepidopa species were collected from the beaches of South Padre Island, Texas, on the western coast of Gulf of Mexico, a location that had previously been suggested to act as a population sink. The site contained Lepidopa benedicti and L. websteri, although the latter was extremely rare (collected three times in 5 years). There was significant variation in abundance across the year, with higher densities …


Relationships Between Root Pathogen Resistance, Abundance And Expression Of Pseudomonas Antimicrobial Genes, And Soil Properties In Representative Swiss Agricultural Soils, Nicola Imperiali, Francesca Dennert, Jana Schneider, Titouan Laessle, Christelle Velatta, Marie Fesselet, Michele Wyler, Fabio Mascher, Olga Mavrodi, Dmitri Mavrodi, Monika Maurhofer, Christoph Keel Mar 2017

Relationships Between Root Pathogen Resistance, Abundance And Expression Of Pseudomonas Antimicrobial Genes, And Soil Properties In Representative Swiss Agricultural Soils, Nicola Imperiali, Francesca Dennert, Jana Schneider, Titouan Laessle, Christelle Velatta, Marie Fesselet, Michele Wyler, Fabio Mascher, Olga Mavrodi, Dmitri Mavrodi, Monika Maurhofer, Christoph Keel

Faculty Publications

Strains of Pseudomonas that produce antimicrobial metabolites and control soilborne plant diseases have often been isolated from soils defined as disease-suppressive, i.e., soils, in which specific plant pathogens are present, but plants show no or reduced disease symptoms. Moreover, it is assumed that pseudomonads producing antimicrobial compounds such as 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) or phenazines (PHZ) contribute to the specific disease resistance of suppressive soils. However, pseudomonads producing antimicrobial metabolites are also present in soils that are conducive to disease. Currently, it is still unknown whether and to which extent the abundance of antimicrobials-producing pseudomonads is related to the general disease resistance …


Loss Of The Rna Helicase Skiv2l2 Impairs Mitotic Progression And Replication-Dependent Histone Mrna Turnover In Murine Cell Lines, Alexis Marie Onderak, James T. Anderson Mar 2017

Loss Of The Rna Helicase Skiv2l2 Impairs Mitotic Progression And Replication-Dependent Histone Mrna Turnover In Murine Cell Lines, Alexis Marie Onderak, James T. Anderson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

RNA surveillance via the nuclear exosome requires cofactors such as the helicase SKIV2L2 to process and degrade certain noncoding RNAs. This research aimed to characterize the phenotype associated with RNAi knockdown of Skiv2l2 in two murine cancer cell lines: Neuro2A and P19. SKIV2L2 depletion in Neuro2A and P19 cells induced changes in gene expression indicative of cell differentiation and reduced cellular proliferation by 30%. Propidium iodide-based cell-cycle analysis of Skiv2l2 knockdown cells revealed defective progression through the G2/M phase and an accumulation of mitotic cells, suggesting SKIV2L2 contributes to mitotic progression. Since SKIV2L2 targets RNAs to the nuclear exosome for …


Hearing On The Fly: The Effects Of Wing Position On Noctuid Moth Hearing, Shira D. Gordon, Elizabeth Klenschi, James F. C. Windmill Mar 2017

Hearing On The Fly: The Effects Of Wing Position On Noctuid Moth Hearing, Shira D. Gordon, Elizabeth Klenschi, James F. C. Windmill

Dartmouth Scholarship

The ear of the noctuid moth has only two auditory neurons, A1 and A2, which function in detecting predatory bats. However, the noctuid's ears are located on the thorax behind the wings. Therefore, as these moths need to hear during flight, it was hypothesized that wing position may affect their hearing. The wing was fixed in three different positions: up, flat and down. An additional subset of animals was measured with freely moving wings. In order to negate any possible acoustic shadowing or diffractive effects, all wings were snipped, leaving the proximal-most portion and the wing hinge intact. Results revealed …


Cooperation And Competition Shape Ecological Resistance During Periodic Spatial Disturbance Of Engineered Bacteria, Cortney E. Wilson, Allison J. Lopatkin, Travis J. A. Craddock, William W. Driscoll, Omar T. Eldakar, Jose V. Lopez, Robert P. Smith Mar 2017

Cooperation And Competition Shape Ecological Resistance During Periodic Spatial Disturbance Of Engineered Bacteria, Cortney E. Wilson, Allison J. Lopatkin, Travis J. A. Craddock, William W. Driscoll, Omar T. Eldakar, Jose V. Lopez, Robert P. Smith

Biology Faculty Articles

Cooperation is fundamental to the survival of many bacterial species. Previous studies have shown that spatial structure can both promote and suppress cooperation. Most environments where bacteria are found are periodically disturbed, which can affect the spatial structure of the population. Despite the important role that spatial disturbances play in maintaining ecological relationships, it remains unclear as to how periodic spatial disturbances affect bacteria dependent on cooperation for survival. Here, we use bacteria engineered with a strong Allee effect to investigate how the frequency of periodic spatial disturbances affects cooperation. We show that at intermediate frequencies of spatial disturbance, the …