Biology Commons^™

A New Taxonomy Of Altruism In Terms Of Prosocial Behaviors, Kristin Kaiser

Dialogue & Nexus

The definition of altruism has been studied, explained, and even confused by many scholars in various fields. The term itself has been inappropriately used to describe prosocial behaviors that do not fall within the definition of altruism. An evaluation of Grant Ramsey’s taxonomy of altruism, which includes biological altruism, psychological altruism, and helping altruism, proves that it is not adequate in categorizing organism’s behaviors. A new taxonomy, with the branches of kin selection, reciprocity, and aesthetic altruism, is presented and explained to clarify the definition of altruism and alleviate confusion about how to describe prosocial behaviors. Both naming systems are …

The Evolutionary Theodicy Problem, Houston Schoonmaker

Dialogue & Nexus

Evolutionary theodicies attempt to explain how innocent suffering, death, and extinction seen throughout the evolutionary process of evolution can coincide with believing in a loving God. Since Darwin, scholars have questioned the importance of studying natural selection at such an intricate level. With the knowledge of natural selection, the fact that great suffering is witnessed across nature permits doubts in discussions regarding a benevolent God that created the universe. In this paper, I begin with background information about evolution, theodicy, and how they are related. I look at two major perspectives: the belief that evolution ameliorates the theodicy problem or …

Neuroscience, Materialism, And The Soul: Limit Questions, Jeremy M. Aymard

Dialogue & Nexus

In light of recent discoveries in neuroscience linking the mind to physical processes, Christian philosophers have resorted to a more materialistic view of the human person, using neuroscience as support for their view that an immaterial soul does not exist. In this essay, I will point out a major flaw in the logic for defending a materialistic view, argue that either a bipartite or tripartite view of the human person is more aligned with Scripture, and hopefully point towards a more reliable means for attaining truth regarding human nature and the soul.

Intelligent Design: Should We Teach It?, Sarah-Kate Oliver

Dialogue & Nexus

Belief about the origins of the universe and mankind is an important aspect of most world religions. While many ‘progressive’ Christians view the Genesis accounts of creation as mythical or allegorical, some ‘fundamentalist’ Christians claim it is a literal and historical account of the origins of life. The scientific community, on the other hand, views Darwin’s Theory of Evolution as the definitive explanation of the origin of all species on Earth including humans. As science has continued to line up behind evolution, it has been integrated into the public school curriculum. The question examined by this paper is: should the …

Seedling Tolerance To Cotyledon Removal Varies With Seed Size: A Case Of Five Legume Species, Xiao Wen Hu, Rui Zhang, Yan Pei Wu, Carol C. Baskin

Biology Faculty Publications

It is generally accepted that seedlings from large seeds are more tolerant to defoliation than those from small seeds due to the additional metabolic reserves present in the large seeds. However, information on the effects of amount of seed reserves (cotyledon removal) from seedlings resulting from large vs. small seeds on seedling growth and long-term survival in the field is limited. Five legume species with different sizes of seeds were sown in the field and none, one, or both cotyledons removed 7 days after seedling emergence. Seedling biomass, relative growth rate (RGR) and survival were determined at different time. Cotyledon …

Evolution Of Mammalian Migrations For Refuge, Breeding, And Food, Gitanjali E. Gnanadesikan, William D. Pearse, Allison K. Shaw

Biology Faculty Publications

Many organisms migrate between distinct habitats, exploiting variable resources while profoundly affecting ecosystem services, disease spread, and human welfare. However, the very characteristics that make migration captivating and significant also make it difficult to study, and we lack a comprehensive understanding of which species migrate and why. Here we show that, among mammals, migration is concentrated within Cetacea and Artiodactyla but also diffusely spread throughout the class (found in 12 of 27 orders). We synthesize the many ecological drivers of round-trip migration into three types of movement—between breeding and foraging sites, between breeding and refuge sites, and continuous tracking of …

The Double-Edges Role Of Copper In The Fate Of Amyloid Beta In The Presence Of Anti-Oxidants, Hui Ye, Jing Yang, Xueli Zhang, Yiying Zhu, Emily Lenzowski, Yanli Tian, Can Zhang, Markus Hardt, Chunhua Qiao, Rudolph E. Tanzi, Anna Moore, Chongzhao Ran

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The biological fate of amyloid beta (Aβ) species is a fundamental question in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis. The competition between clearance and aggregation of Aβs is critical for the onset of AD. Copper has been widely considered to be an inducer of harmful crosslinking of Aβs, and an important triggering factor for the onset of AD. In this report, however, we present data to show that copper can also be an inducer of Aβ degradation in the presence of a large excess of well-known intrinsic (such as dopamine) or extrinsic (such as vitamin C) anti-oxidants. The degraded fragments were identified …

Epigenetic Response To Challenging Environmental Conditions, Marta Robertson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The discovery of epigenetic mechanisms has ignited speculation into their role in ecological and evolutionary processes. In particular, the contribution of epigenetic variation to adaptation or phenotypic plasticity that is distinct from genetic variation would be an important addition to existing evolutionary mechanisms. Although the research of epigenetic mechanisms from an ecological and evolutionary (or eco-evolutionary) perspective has been growing, it is still unclear how epigenetic variation might function in natural populations and settings and to what extent it might serve to mediate population response to changing environmental conditions over time. Over the course of my dissertation, I explored the …

Interacting Stressors And The Potential For Adaptation In A Changing World: Responses Of Populations And Individuals, Gareth R. Hopkins, Susannah S. French, Edmund D. Brodie Jr.

Biology Faculty Publications

To accurately predict the impact of environmental change, it is necessary to assay effects of key interacting stressors on vulnerable organisms, and the potential resiliency of their populations. Yet, for the most part, these critical data are missing. We examined the effects of two common abiotic stressors predicted to interact with climate change, salinity and temperature, on the embryonic survival and development of a model freshwater vertebrate, the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa) from different populations. We found that salinity and temperature significantly interacted to affect newt embryonic survival and development, with the negative effects of salinity most pronounced …

Family Living Sets The Stage For Cooperative Breeding And Ecological Resilience In Birds, Michael Griesser, Szymon M. Drobniak, Shinichi Nakagawa, Carlos A. Botero

Biology Faculty Research

Cooperative breeding is an extreme form of cooperation that evolved in a range of lineages, including arthropods, fish, birds, and mammals. Although cooperative breeding in birds is widespread and well-studied, the conditions that favored its evolution are still unclear. Based on phylogenetic comparative analyses on 3,005 bird species, we demonstrate here that family living acted as an essential stepping stone in the evolution of cooperative breeding in the vast majority of species. First, families formed by prolonging parent–offspring associations beyond nutritional independency, and second, retained offspring began helping at the nest. These findings suggest that assessment of the conditions that …

Tempo And Mode Of Performance Evolution Across Multiple Independent Origins Of Adhesive Toe Pads In Lizards, Travis J. Hagey, Josef C. Uyeda, Kristen E. Crandell, Jorn A. Cheney, Kellar Autumn, Luke J. Harmon

Biology

Understanding macroevolutionary dynamics of trait evolution is an important endeavor in evolutionary biology. Ecological opportunity can liberate a trait as it diversifies through trait space, while genetic and selective constraints can limit diversification. While many studies have examined the dynamics of morphological traits, diverse morphological traits may yield the same or similar performance and as performance is often more proximately the target of selection, examining only morphology may give an incomplete understanding of evolutionary dynamics. Here, we ask whether convergent evolution of pad-bearing lizards has followed similar evolutionary dynamics, or whether independent origins are accompanied by unique constraints and selective …

African-American Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Expression Profile Reveals Dysregulation Of Stress Response And Detox Networks., Hayriye Verda Erkizan, Kory Johnson, Svetlana Ghimbovschi, Deepa Karkera, Gregory Trachiotis, Houtan Adib, Eric P Hoffman, Robert G Wadleigh

Genomics and Precision Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Esophageal carcinoma is the third most common gastrointestinal malignancy worldwide and is largely unresponsive to therapy. African-Americans have an increased risk for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), the subtype that shows marked variation in geographic frequency. The molecular architecture of African-American ESCC is still poorly understood. It is unclear why African-American ESCC is more aggressive and the survival rate in these patients is worse than those of other ethnic groups.

METHODS: To begin to define genetic alterations that occur in African-American ESCC we conducted microarray expression profiling in pairs of esophageal squamous cell tumors and matched control tissues.

RESULTS: …

Growth And Survival Of Salamanders Exposed To Different Formulations Of Glyphosate-Based Herbicide, Jessica Johnson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Amphibian populations have been experiencing rapid declines worldwide in the past few decades. There are many proposed causations, including the use of agricultural chemicals such as herbicides. Glyphosate based herbicides are one of the most widely used herbicides. This study looks at the effects of different brands of glyphosate-based herbicides, including those intended for aquatic use, on the survival and growth of axolotl salamander larvae. Out of four brands of glyphosate herbicide (Aquamaster, Aquaneat, Helosate plus, and Roundup Pro), the survival rates of Roundup Pro were the lowest. Most mortality occurred between the 3 mg/L and 6 mg/L concentrations, during …

Current And Future Prospects Of The Biological Diversity Of Vertebrates In Teh Protected Areas Of A Megadiverse Country: Ecuador, Benjamin Bay, Dr. Jack Sites

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I collected, cleaned, and organized data on animal species in Ecuador, a megadiverse country (harbors a vast proportion of Earth’s species and is home to high numbers of endemic species). These data were crucial for a larger project which modeled the impacts of climate change on species conservation over time. I designed the algorithms that cleaned and organized these large data sets.

Divergence In Life History Traits Between Two Populations Of A Seed-Dimorphic Halophyte In Response To Soil Salinity, Fan Yang, Jerry M. Baskin, Carol C. Baskin, Xuejun Yang, Dechang Cao, Zhenying Huang

Biology Faculty Publications

Production of heteromorphic seeds is common in halophytes growing in arid environments with strong spatial and temporal heterogeneity. However, evidence for geographic variation (reflecting local adaptation) is almost nonexistent. Our primary aims were to compare the life history traits of two desert populations of this halophytic summer annual Suaeda corniculata subsp. mongolica and to investigate the phenotypic response of its plant and heteromorphic seeds to different levels of salt stress. Dimorphic seeds (F₁) of the halophyte S. corniculata collected from two distant populations (F₀) that differ in soil salinity were grown in a common environment under …

Callosciurus Prevostii (Rodentia: Sciuridae), Peter W.W. Lurz, Isabella Fielding, Virginia Hayssen

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Prevost's squirrel, Callosciurus prevostii (Desmarest, 1822), is a diurnal, medium-sized, arboreal squirrel. Its distribution extends from peninsular Thailand and Sumatra to northern Sulawesi, Borneo, and adjacent islands. It inhabits secondary forests, fruit orchards, as well as palm and coconut plantations. Fruit is the main component of its diet, but some arthropods are also eaten. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources lists C. prevostii as "Least Concern" due to its wide distribution and tolerance for some degree of habitat modification.

The Interaction Of Scale And Temperature In Elastically Powered Movements, Jeffrey P. Olberding

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For many animals, rapid movements place high power demands on underlying muscles. Storage of muscle energy in elastic structures and the subsequent rapid release of that energy can effectively amplify muscle power. Elastic recoil can also confer thermal robustness to performance in behaviors occurring at variable temperatures. Muscle contractile performance tends to decrease at lower temperatures, but elastic recoil is less affected by temperature. Here I examine the impacts of temperature and scale in systems using elastic recoil and I explore possible interactive effects on movement performance.

I explored the role that muscle contractile properties play in the differences in …

Functional Trade-Offs In Feeding Performance In Salamanders Of The Family Salamandridae, Charlotte M. Stinson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Performance is an organism’s ability to accomplish a particular task or behavior, and morphology can have a major impact on the performance of an organism. Salamanders are ecologically diverse and can feed using a variety of behaviors depending on the environment in which feeding occurs. Feeding is accomplished through the use of the hyobranchial apparatus, which lies along the oropharynx, and this structure can have competing roles; in aquatic environments the apparatus is used for suction feeding and works to depress the floor of the mouth, but during terrestrial feeding this structure projects the tongue forward out of the mouth. …

A Linkage Map For The Newt Notophthalmus Viridescens: Insights In Vertebrate Genome And Chromosome Evolution, Melissa C. Keinath, S. Randal Voss, Panagiotis A. Tsonis, Jeramiah J. Smith

Biology Faculty Publications

Genetic linkage maps are fundamental resources that enable diverse genetic and genomic approaches, including quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses and comparative studies of genome evolution. It is straightforward to build linkage maps for species that are amenable to laboratory culture and genetic crossing designs, and that have relatively small genomes and few chromosomes. It is more difficult to generate linkage maps for species that do not meet these criteria. Here, we introduce a method to rapidly build linkage maps for salamanders, which are known for their enormous genome sizes. As proof of principle, we developed a linkage map with thousands …

The Effects Of Nitrogen And Potassium On The Growth Of Brassica Rapa, Kimberly Truong

Best Integrated Writing

Truong conducted an experiment to observe the effect that nitrogen and potassium from organic sources has on plant growth. Truong makes suggestions for further research.

Using Bioinformatics To Increase The Number Of Tumors That Can Be Treated With Existing Drug Treatments, Jonathan Dayton, Stephen Piccolo

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Typically, tens or even hundreds of mutations are observed in the DNA of a single tumor by the time it has been detected1-4. Knowledge of these mutations may be useful in guiding the way the tumor is treated. In some cases, if a tumor has a mutation in a certain gene, this may indicate that the tumor can be treated with a certain drug. For example, the drug Trastuzumab is a targeted therapy for breast cancer patients with mutations in the HER2 gene5. In other cases, a mutation may be able to be targeted by a drug even if the …

Identification Of Antigenic Sarcoptes Scabiei Proteins For Use In A Diagnostic Test And Of Non-Antigenic Proteins That May Be Immunomodulatory, Majorie S. Morgan, S. Dean Rider, Larry G. Arlian

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Scabies, caused by the mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, infects millions of humans, and many wild and domestic mammals. Scabies mites burrow in the lower stratum corneum of the epidermis of the skin and are the source of substances that are antigenic or modulate aspects of the protective response of the host. Ordinary scabies is a difficult disease to diagnose.

Objective

The goal of this project was to identify S. scabiei proteins that may be candidate antigens for use in a diagnostic test or may be used by the mite to modulate the host’s protective response.

Methods

An aqueous …

A Global Community Effort To Decipher The Unique Biology Of Annual Killifish, Nibia Berois, Graciela Garcia, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Over the past 50 years, annual killifishes arose as alternative model organisms for studies of vertebrate biology. The annual fish offers exceptional advantages for studies of genetics, genomics, developmental biology, population dynamics, ecology, biogeography, and evolution. They inhabit extremely variable freshwater environments in Africa and South America, have a short lifespan and a set of unique and fascinating developmental characteristics. Embryos survive within the dry substrate during the dry season, whereas the adult population dies. Thus, the survival of the populations is entirely dependent on the buried embryos that hatch the next rainy season. Although Old and New World species …

Costs Of Group Locomotion: How Infant-Carrying And Group Members Mediate Walking Speed Decisions In North American And East African Populations, Leah M. Bouterse

Honors Projects

A major portion of humans’ activity-based energy expenditure is taken up by locomotion, particularly walking. Humans can offset the energetic expenditure of walking in numerous ways, both evolutionary (such as changes in body shape) and culturally. Behaviorally, people can choose to walk in a variety of ways, including alone or with a group, carrying loads, and walking quickly or more slowly. All of these behaviors have energetic outcomes and as such can be important windows into how populations and groups adjust to different constraints. While sex differences in speed of paired walkers have been established by others, the dynamics of …

Predicting Parturition In A Long-Gestating Species: Behavioral And Hormonal Indicators In The Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus), Heather Kelly Velonis

Dissertations and Theses

Captive populations of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in North America are not self-sustaining, and increasing reproductive success within captive populations is a high priority. The ability to accurately predict parturition can have a direct impact on elephant welfare. Elephants in captivity often require significant preparation and management throughout the birthing process, and complications during labor and delivery can necessitate immediate intervention, including stillbirth, protracted labor, maternal aggression towards a newborn calf, and dystocia. Being able to predict when parturition will commence can ensure appropriate staff is available and adequate monitoring is performed. Routine endocrine sampling can be used …

Assessment Of Five Chilling Tolerance Traits And Gwas Mapping In Rice Using The Usda Mini-Core Collection, Michael Schläppi, Aaron K. Jackson, Georgia C. Eizenga, Aiju Wang, Chengcai Chu, Yao Shi, Naoki Shimoyama, Debbie L. Boykin

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is often exposed to cool temperatures during spring planting in temperate climates. A better understanding of genetic pathways regulating chilling tolerance will enable breeders to develop varieties with improved tolerance during germination and young seedling stages. To dissect chilling tolerance, five assays were developed; one assay for the germination stage, one assay for the germination and seedling stage, and three for the seedling stage. Based on these assays, five chilling tolerance indices were calculated and assessed using 202 O. sativa accessions from the Rice Mini-Core (RMC) collection. Significant differences between RMC accessions made the five …

Modelling Climate Suitability For Ephedra Viridis In Space And Time, Anne Thomas, Richard Gill

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Climate change is expected to decrease soil moisture in the sensitive, water-limited ecosystems of America’s southwestern deserts, leading to shifts in plant distributions and altering ecosystem function. Studies have already documented the loss of desert grasses and the expansion of desert shrubs on the Colorado Plateau near Canyonlands National Park.i The objective of this work is to identify the climatic and biophysical factors influencing the distribution of an evergreen shrub, Ephedra viridis, and its expansion in plot-scale studies over the past 30 years.ii A gymnosperm and member of the plant division Gnetophyta, this shrub is unique because of its …

Alzheimer’S Risk Genes And Pathways Of Expression, Samantha Jensen, John Kauwe

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Although Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been the subject of research for nearly 100 years, these decades of research have not led to a unified understanding of the mechanisms behind the disease pathology1 ,2. Recent improvements in whole genome sequencing have made it possible for researchers to find a large number of mutations implicated in AD. Due to a high frequency of false positives and confounding factors, many mutations being investigated for therapies may not even have a causative effect on Alzheimer’s expression. Without concrete knowledge of the interactions of the proteins and genes implicated in the disease, drug development has …

Memory For Stimulus Sequences: A Divide Between Humans And Other Animals?, Ghirlanda Stefano, Johan Lind, Magnus Enquist

Publications and Research

Humans stand out among animals for their unique capacities in domains such as language, culture and imitation, yet it has been difficult to identify cognitive elements that are specifically human. Most research has focused on how information is processed after it is acquired, e.g. in problem solving or ‘insight’ tasks, but we may also look for species differences in the initial acquisition and coding of information. Here, we show that non-human species have only a limited capacity to discriminate ordered sequences of stimuli. Collating data from 108 experiments on stimulus sequence discrimination (1540 data points from 14 bird and mammal …

Species Identification Of Necrophagous Insect Eggs Based On Amino Acid Profile Differences Revealed By Direct Analysis In Real Time-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Justine E. Giffen, Jennifer Y. Rosati, Cameron M. Longo, Rabi A. Musah

Publications and Research

The colonization of decomposing remains by necrophagous insects such as blow flies is of forensic importance because the progression through the various stages of insect development can be correlated to time of death. The ability to infer this information hinges on accurate determination of the fly species that are associated with the entomological evidence collected. This evidence can include eggs, larvae, pupae, and puparial casings. Determination of the egg’s identity is particularly challenging because the eggs of multiple species are morphologically very similar. We report here that the species identity of fly eggs can be determined from their chemical fingerprint …