Biology Commons^™

Enhanced Neurogenesis In Subventricular Zone Of Rats That Voluntarily Ingest Fluoxetine And Simavastatin Combination Treatment, Tiffany L. Flannery

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Stroke is one of the leading causes of deaths as the risk factors, both controllable and uncontrollable, are many. We first concentrated on a stress-free way to deliver the drugs. Our preference was to have the animals ingest the drugs, which led us to a reliable method for orally administering medication to the animal models. Using three different drug combinations, we tested the effects on neurogenesis without stroke. We found the drug combination of Fluoxetine/Statin/Ascorbic acid increases neurogenesis 19 fold when compared with control. Lastly, we looked at the gene changes in the cortex of the animal models that had …

Impacts Of Invasive Alliaria Petiolata On Two Native Pieridae Butterflies, Anthocharis Midea And Pieris Virginiensis, Danielle Marie Thiemann

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Invasion of Alliaria petiolata has negative direct and indirect impacts on the systems in which they invade. This study focuses on further identifying impacts which this non-native A. petiolata has on herbivores whose range they have invaded. Oviposition on A. petiolata by the specialist butterfly, Pieris virginiensis, is known to be a mismatch event leading to larval death from sinigrin and alliarinoside. To observe if the related specialist, Anthocharis midea, falls into the same oviposition sink paired plot comparisons between native Cardamine concatenata and non-native A. petiolata were conducted. Early in the season paired-plot comparisons showed a preference for native …

Glaucous-Winged Gull Predation On Chicken Eggs Treated With A Uv-Blocking Agent, Athena T. Smith

Master's Theses

Egg cannibalism plays a major role in the life histories of Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) breeding at Protection Island, Washington. Gulls, along with other birds, visualize reflected ultraviolet (UV) light and I wondered if reflected UV light plays a role in determining which eggs are selected for cannibalization. Motivated by studies showing that tree-nesting bird eggs coated with a UV-blocking agent were less subject to predation than control eggs, I tested whether ground-nesting Glaucous-winged Gulls would preferentially predate control chicken eggs over those coated with a UV-blocking agent. Early during five mornings I formed artificial nests at randomly-determined …

Genetic Perspectives On Biodiversity In Rocky Mountain Alpine Streams, Scott Hotaling

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

In alpine regions worldwide, climate change is dramatically altering ecosystems, affecting biodiversity across habitats and taxonomic scales. For streams, the associated recession of mountain glaciers and snowfields, paired with altered precipitation regimes, are driving shifts in hydrology, species distributions, and basal resources – often threatening the very existence of some habitats and biota. Globally, alpine streams harbor particularly substantial species and genetic diversity due to significant habitat insularity and environmental heterogeneity: however, anthropogenic warming threatens to homogenize habitats through the reduction of the cryosphere, thereby reducing biodiversity from micro- to macroscopic organisms and genes to communities. Still, alpine stream biodiversity, …

Mitochondrial And Nuclear Patterns Of Conflict And Concordance At The Gene, Genome, And Behavioral Scales In Desmognathus Salamanders, Justin D. Kratovil

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Advancements in molecular sequencing have revealed unexpected cryptic genetic diversity and contrasting evolutionary histories within genes and between genomes of many organisms; often in disagreement with recognized taxonomy. Incongruent patterns between the mitochondrial and nuclear evolutionary history can have several plausible explanations, but widespread systematic conflict inevitably challenges our conceptions of species boundaries when there is discordance between coevolving and coinherited genomes. It is unknown to what degree mitonuclear conflict drives the process of divergence, or how ubiquitous these patterns are across the tree of life. To understand the evolutionary relevance of intergenomic discordance we must identify the conflicting patterns …

The Effect Of Cold On The Physiology Of Drosophila Larva Heart And On Synaptic Transmission At Crayfish Neuromuscular Junctions, Yuechen Zhu

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Ectothermic animals are susceptible to temperature changes such as cold shock with seasons. To survive through a cold shock, ectotherms have developed unique strategies. My interest is focusing on the physiological function of during cold shock and prolonged cold exposure in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). I used Drosophila melanogaster as a model system to investigate cardiac function in response to modulators (serotonin, acetylcholine, octopamine, dopamine and a cocktail of modulators) in acute cold shock and chronic cold shock conditions as possible mechanism to regulate heart rate in the cold. To examine if the dampened heart …

Nematodes Associated With Mammals In The Great American Biotic Interchange (Gabi), F. Agustin Jimenez, Juliana Notarnicola, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

The Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) is a large-scale zoogeographic event that illustrates the exchange and diversification of mammals between North and South America. This phenomenon was accelerated by the connection of both landmasses during the Pliocene. Support for this phenomenon includes the extant distribution of xenarthrans, didelphiomorph marsupials, hystricognath and cricetine rodents, sciurids and carnivores, as well as the distribution of fossils in the stratigraphic record and the coalescence of genotypes. Contrasting with the relatively well-documented role and history of mammals in GABI, the role of their parasites has been largely neglected. As a consequence, the reconstructions of the …

Phytophagous Insect Oviposition Shifts In Response To Probability Of Flower Abortion Owing To The Presence Of Basal Fruits, Shivani Jadeja, Brigitte Tenhumberg

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Phytophagous insects use a wide range of indicators or associated cues to avoid laying eggs in sites where offspring survival is low. For insects that lay eggs in flowers, these unsuitable sites may be created by the host plant’s resource allocation to flowers. In the sequentially flowering host plant, Yucca glauca, late-opening distal flowers are more likely to be aborted in the presence of already-initiated basal fruits because they are strong resource sinks. If flowers are aborted, all eggs of the phytophagous insect, Tegeticula yuccasella, within the flower die. We used the phytophagous insect T. yuccasella that lays …

Spatially Biased Dispersal Of Acorns By A Scatter-Hoarding Corvid May Accelerate Passive Restoration Of Oak Habitat On California’S Largest Island, Mario B. Pesendorfer, T. Scott Sillett, Scott A. Morrison

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Scatter hoarding by corvids (crows, jays, magpies, and nutcrackers) provides seed dispersal for many large-seeded plants, including oaks and pines. When hoarding seeds, corvids often choose nonrandom locations throughout the landscape, resulting in differential survival of seeds. In the context of habitat restoration, such disproportional storing of seeds in areas suitable for germination and establishment can accelerate expansion and recovery of large-seeded tree populations and their associated ecosystems. Here, we investigate the spatial preferences of island scrub jays Aphelocoma insularis during scatter hoarding of acorns (Quercus spp.) on Santa Cruz Island. We use a large behavioral data set on …

The Emerging Contribution Of Social Wasps To Grape Rot Disease Ecology, Anne A. Madden, Sean D. Boyden, Jonathan-Andrew N. Soriano, Tyler B. Corey, Jonathan W. Leff, Noah Fierer, Philip T. Starks

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Grape sour (bunch) rot is a polymicrobial disease of vineyards that causes millions of dollars in lost revenue per year due to decreased quality of grapes and resultant wine. The disease is associated with damaged berries infected with a community of acetic acid bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi that results in rotting berries with high amounts of undesirable volatile acidity. Many insect species cause the initial grape berry damage that can lead to this disease, but most studies have focused on the role of fruit flies in facilitating symptoms and vectoring the microorganisms of this disease complex. Like fruit flies, …

First-Year And Non-First-Year Student Expectations Regarding In-Class And Out-Of-Class Learning Activities In Introductory Biology, Tanya L. Brown, Brian A. Couch

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

National calls for teaching transformation build on a constructivist learning theory and propose that students learn by actively engaging in course activities and interacting with other students. While interactive pedagogies can improve learning, they also have the potential to challenge traditional norms regarding class participation and learning strategies. To better understand the potential openness of students to interactive teaching practices, we administered a survey during the first week of two sections of an introductory biology course to characterize how students envisioned spending time during class as well as what activities they expected to complete outside of class during non-exam weeks …

Biotic Interchange Has Structured Western Hemisphere Mammal Communities, Danielle Fraser, S. Kathleen Lyons

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Aim.— Many hypotheses posit that species-rich tropical communities are dominated by speciesspecies interactions, apparent as competitive exclusion or character displacement, whereas species-poor temperate communities are dominated by species-environment interactions. Recent studies demonstrate a strong influence of macroevolutionary and biogeographic factors. We simultaneously test for the effects of species interactions, climate, and biotic interchange on Western Hemisphere mammal communities using a phylogenetic and functional diversity approach.

Location.— Western Hemisphere.

Time period.— Modern

Major taxa studied.— Mammalia

Methods.— Using Western Hemisphere mammal distributional and body mass data, we calculate body mass dispersion, phylogenetic diversity (Net Relatedness Index), and assemblage-averaged rates of co-occurrence …

Tick Haller's Organ, A New Paradigm For Arthropod Olfaction: How Ticks Differ From Insects, Ann L. Carr, Robert D. Michell Iii, Anirudh Dhammi, Brooke W. Bissinger, Daniel E. Sonenshine, R. Michael Roe

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ticks are the vector of many human and animal diseases; and host detection is critical to this process. Ticks have a unique sensory structure located exclusively on the 1st pairs of legs; the fore-tarsal Haller's organ, not found in any other animals, presumed to function like the insect antennae in chemosensation but morphologically very different. The mechanism of tick chemoreception is unknown. Utilizing next-generation sequencing and comparative transcriptomics between the 1st and 4th legs (the latter without the Haller's organ), we characterized 1st leg specific and putative Haller's organ specific transcripts from adult American dog ticks, Dermacentor variabilis. The …

The Conservation Status Of Marine Bony Shorefishes Of The Greater Caribbean, Kent E. Carptenter, Christi Linardich, Gina Ralph, N. Cox, D. R. Robertson, H. Harwell, A. Acero P., W. Anderson Jr., F. Barthelat, J. -L. Bouchereau, J. J. Brown, J. Buchanan, D. Buddo, B. Collette, M. Comeros-Raynal, M. Craig, M. Curtis, T. Defex, J. Dooley, W. Driggers Iii, C. Elfes Livsey, T. Fraser, R. Gilmore Jr., L. Grijalba Bendeck, A. Hines, R. Kishore, K. Lindeman, J. -P. Maréchal, J. Mceachran, R. Mcmanus, J. Moore, T. Munroe, H. Oxenford, F. Pezold, F. Pina Amargós, A. Polanco Fernandez, B. Polidoro, C. Pollock, R. Robins, B. Russell, C. Sayer, S. Williams

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The greater Caribbean biogeographic region covered in this report (representing 38 countries and territories) encompasses an outstanding marine bony shorefish richness of approximately 1,360 species, with many (53%) being endemic. This report provides an overview of the conservation status of greater Caribbean shorefishes, with detailed information available through the IUCN Red List, and gives recommendations.

Acanthurus Albimento, A New Species Of Surgeonfish (Acanthuriformes: Acanthuridae) From Northeastern Luzon, Philippines, With Comments On Zoogeography, Kent E. Carpenter, Jeffrey T. Williams, Mudjekeewis D. Santos

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Acanthurus albimento is described as a new surgeonfish from northeastern Luzon from six specimens collected during extensive fish-market surveys in the Philippines. The new species is characterized by a distinctive white band below the lower jaw; many irregular, wavy, thin, blue lines on the head; a brown-orange pectoral fin with a bluish tinge on the outer membrane of the rays and a dark band on the posterior margin; a narrow rust-orange stripe along the base of the dorsal fin; and a large blackish caudal spine and sheath with the socket broadly edged in black. An analysis using the mitochondrial cytochrome …

Mismatch Tolerance During Homologous Recombination In Mammalian Cells, Shen Li

Theses and Dissertations

Homologous recombination (HR) serves critical roles in DNA repair to maintain genome stability, and the malfunction of HR contributes to carcinogenesis and cancer development. Current research focuses on the regulation against deleterious recombination between imperfectly matching sequences, which has been documented in certain myeloid leukemias, hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancers and other genetic diseases. Homology dependency of recombination was examined in cultured thymidine kinase-deficient mouse fibroblasts. Cells have chromosomal integration of DNA constructs harboring a herpes tk gene (the “recipient”) and a closely linked truncated “donor” tk sequence. The recipient was rendered non-functional by insertion of the recognition site for endonuclease …

The Soundscape Of The St. Johns River And Its Potential Impacts On The Habitat Use Patterns Of Bottlenose Dolphins, Carissa Deeann King

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The development of effective management plans for animal populations relies on an understanding of how the population is utilizing the habitat as well as the identification of any critical habitat areas. The St. Johns River (SJR), an urban estuary with a high level of anthropogenic disturbance, is home to a resident population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). In chapter one, SJR dolphin habitat use patterns, the factors that influenced these patterns, and the critical habitat areas were identified. Significant associations were found in most pair-wise comparisons between season, behavioral state, group size, water depth, and location, indicating that …

Characterizing The Role Of The E3 Ligase Itch In Gut Mucosal Homeostasis, Heather L. Mentrup

Theses and Dissertations

The mucosal barrier of the small intestine is highly dynamic, enabling the passage of nutrients that are necessary for the body’s function while simultaneously preventing a breach by harmful microorganisms that are damaging to the host. The effectiveness of the mucosal barrier is dependent on the cohesive relationship established between the luminal mucosal epithelium and the underlying immune compartment in the small intestine. The epithelium provides the first line of defense against pathogens by establishing a physical barrier separating the external environment from the body’s internal milieu, while the immune system secondarily responds to clear bacteria that have breached the …

The Role Of Lipocalin-2 In The Hepatic Microenvironment Of Colorectal Cancer Metastasis, Daniel Titus Hughes

Theses and Dissertations

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. The major cause of death is metastasis and the frequent target organ is the liver. When diagnosed early at a localized stage, the five year survival rate after resection is 90%. However, after metastasis has occurred, this drops to less than 12%. Metastasis is often asymptomatic and diagnosed at the final stage when therapeutic options are limited. Because of this, the genetic and cellular mechanisms regulating metastasis are still poorly understood. Recent studies have shown that prior to the arrival of cancer cells at the …

Determining The Population Dynamics And Reproductive Life History Of Commercially Important Tunas In The Gulf Of Mexico, Katrina C. Hounchell

Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is an important spawning ground for many commercially important fish species including yellowfin, skipjack, and blackfin tunas. In particular, it is an essential spawning habitat for Atlantic bluefin tuna, whose stock status is of great international concern. It is vital to the appropriate conservation management of these species to determine both the location of their spawning grounds and the genetic diversity found within them. Fish eggs are a fisheries-independent source of spawning information that can provide more accurate estimates of spawning sites compared to larvae. This study describes population diversity and reproductive life histories in …

Evolution Of Antagonistic Relationships In Proteins: A Case Study Of Radialis- And Diviricata-Like Genes, Ao Gao

Theses and Dissertations

The antagonistic relationship of proteins describes the opponent interactions that result in one protein suppressing the function of another. Developmental genetic studies of Antirrhinum majus demonstrated that two transcription factors from the MYB gene family, RAD and DIV, interact through antagonism to regulate floral dorsoventral asymmetry. Interestingly, similar antagonistic interactions were found among proteins of FSM1 (RAD-like), MYBI (DIV-like), and DRIF in Solanum lycopersicum, which is involved in fruit development. Here, we report on the homology of these antagonistic MYB proteins based on reconstruction of the phylogeny of I-box-like and R-R-type clades, where RAD- and DIV-like belong, …

The Status Of Snapping Turtles (Chelydra Serpentina) In Virginia: Population Viability, Demography, Regulatory Analysis, And Conservation, Benjamin C. Colteaux

Theses and Dissertations

Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) are being harvested in unprecedented numbers in the United States (US) to meet the needs of international markets. Over three million live snapping turtles from farm and wild caught stock were exported from the US to Asia in 2012-14 alone. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, records indicate that 29,860 snapping turtles were commercially harvested between 2000 and 2015. Size limits are often used to regulate harvest pressure in snapping turtles and other game species. I analyzed the historic harvest of eleven US states to test the efficacy of minimum-size limit regulations at reducing commercial …

Evolutionary Linkage Of Mimetic And Non-Mimetic Color Traits In A Coral Snake Mimicry Complex, John D. Curlis Jr

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Color polymorphism in aposematic mimicry systems is a perplexing phenomenon for evolutionary biologists, as theoretically the benefits of converging on a model phenotype should constrain the evolution of phenotypic diversity in these systems (i.e., color polymorphism should not occur). Nevertheless, color polymorphism in mimicry systems is prevalent throughout many taxa. In some of these systems, the evolution of color polymorphism results in the existence of non-mimetic morphs, such as those that are cryptic. The case of ground snakes (Sonora semiannulata) is unique in that color polymorphism encompasses both mimetic and cryptic morphs, as well as individual mimetic and …

Development Of A Molecular Assay For Caribbean Coral Identification, Elijah D. O'Cain

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

As coral cover has declined throughout the Caribbean, interest in the role that recruitment processes play in reef recovery has increased. Studies investigating these processes have been hampered by the inability to identify many species of coral larvae or recently settled recruits using morphology. In this study, the utility of targeting the non-coding internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions with a multiplex PCR assay to identify common Caribbean coral species was explored. To design this assay, a database of ITS sequences was developed for 17 Caribbean scleractinian coral species that are important reef builders and/or common in the Florida Keys. It …

Tgf-β: Its Role In The Differentiation And Function Of T Regulatory And Effector Cells, Sujuan Yang, Songguo Zheng

Turkish Journal of Biology

The cytokine transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) plays an important role in the maintenance of T cell homeostasis, immune tolerance to self-antigens, and T cell differentiation during immune responses. TGF-β has pleiotropic effects on adaptive immune responses, especially on the differentiation of T helper and T regulatory cell populations, which depends on the T cell differentiation status and the stimulation conditions. This review provides an update about the roles of TGF-β in T cell responses, especially in the regulation of Treg development and biological features under steady state and inflammation. We also discuss the additional roles that TGF-β plays in the …

The Application Of Mesenchymal Progenitor Stem Cells For The Reduction Of Oxidative Stress In Animals, Edyta Wojtas, Andrzej Zachwieja, Anna Zwyrzykowska, Robert Kupczynski, Krzysztof Marycz

Turkish Journal of Biology

Oxidative stress is the primary cause of lowering of the body's immune status. It arises as a result of intense metabolic processes in humans and animals that involve a decrease in antioxidant enzymes activity at the expense of increased production of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Consequently, this leads to oxidation of lipids, proteins, DNA, and RNA, causing cell proliferation reduction, faster cell aging, and subsequent degradation. Currently, there is a search for methods to maintain an oxidation-antioxidant balance. The results of many authors' research point to the effectiveness of the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in …

Th1 Cells In Cancer-Associated Inflammation, Güneş Di̇nç Akbulut, Di̇dem Özkazanç, Güneş Esendağli

Turkish Journal of Biology

The immune system is not only evolved to protect the body from pathogens, but it also recognizes and eliminates cancer cells. CD4+ helper T (Th) lymphocytes are central intercessors differentiated according to the character of physiological or pathological status. Generation of type 1 Th (Th1) cells is primarily associated with a pathological insult that must be removed through immune elimination. Upon interacting with other immune and transformed cells, Th1 cells can hamper cancer progression. Therefore, it is a major obstacle for tumor cells to become insensitive or resistant to Th1-oriented actions. The organism employs various mechanisms to return to a …

Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Induced Caspase-3 Activation-Related Inos Gene Expression In Adp-Activated Platelets, Özge Çevi̇k, Zelal Adigüzel, Ahmet Tarik Baykal, Azi̇ze Şener

Turkish Journal of Biology

Platelets are sensitive cells and are easily activated by different stimulants in the circulation system. It is known that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is a proinflammatory cytokine and plays a role in inflammation. The role of TNF-α in the apoptotic process in blood platelets is unknown. In order to study the formation of apoptosis in platelets after incubation with TNF-α and/or ADP, several biomarkers were chosen: phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure and P-selectin binding; cGMP, Cyt-c, and Ca2+ levels and NOS activation; and gene and protein expression of caspase-3 and iNOS. Platelets were incubated with 100 pg/mL TNF-α and/or 50 mM iNOS …

The Colonization Of, Qiuqiu Lin, Pengli Zhu, Rebeca Carballar-Lejarazú, Ivan Gelbic, Xiong Guan, Lei Xu, Lingling Zhang

Turkish Journal of Biology

In our previous study, several Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strains were isolated from bryophyte samples, indicating that bryophytes could serve as Bt reservoirs in the wild. SFR13 is a wild strain isolated from the bryophyta Physcomitrium japonicum. In order to understand its ecological properties, green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labelled SFR13 (SFR13GFP) was generated to evaluate the colonization capability in bryophytes, using dynamic tracing and cell counting to observe the process and patterns of colonization. Our results showed that genetic stability, growth curve dynamics, and insecticidal crystal production were not affected by GFP expression in Bt. Fluorescence microscopy was used to track the …

Expansion Of Human Umbilical Cord Blood Hematopoieticprogenitors With Cord Vein Pericytes, Betül Çelebi̇ Saltik, Beyza Gökçinar Yağci

Turkish Journal of Biology

The vascular niche is a site rich in blood vessels, whereas endothelial cells, pericytes, and smooth muscle cells create a microenvironment that recruits mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which is important for stem cell mobilization, proliferation, and differentiation. In this study, CD146 + pericytes were purified and enriched from the human umbilical cord vein. In order to define their direct role in hematopoiesis, we tested the CD146 + pericytes as compared with osteoblasts derived from umbilical cord blood (UCB) MSCs to sustain human UCB hematopoietic progenitor cells in noncontact coculture settings or in culture media previously …