Biology Commons^™

Spatial Ecology And Resource Selection Of Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Ewes In A Prairie Badlands Population, Erin Wood

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The basic spatial ecology and habitat relationships of female bighorn sheep in Nebraska are poorly understood. Establishing seasonal patterns of space use and resource selection for this population at the margin of their historical and current range addresses a key knowledge gap and provides important baseline information for ongoing conservation efforts in Nebraska. We deployed GPS radio-collars on 56 adult ewes in western Nebraska to quantify seasonal space use, movements, and resource selection of ewes. To investigate spatial ecology, we quantified movements of ewes and the factors that influence home range size, seasonal use, and spatial stability across seasons. Home …

Assessing Well-Being Of Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus) Through Major Events And Transitions, With Development And Aging, And Husbandry Changes, Sharon Stuart Glaeser

Dissertations and Theses

In this body of research, reproductive and adrenal hormones and behavior were used to evaluate individual and group responses to physiological, social, and environmental changes in zoo-housed Asian elephants, considering factors of sex, age, and life stage. Animals experience physiological, social, and environmental changes as part of their natural history and individual life experience. Measures of both positive and negative states are needed to assess the impact of these changes at the individual and group level. Such measures can help us better understand how animals cope with a changing environment, and can help inform management decisions. Through longitudinal analyses of …

Rapid: Covid-19 Induced Cessation Of Ecotourism And Supplemental Feeding: Implications For Wildlife Physiology, Reproduction, And The Microbiome, Susannah S. French

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Arabidopsis Heat Shock Granules Exhibit Dynamic Cellular Behavior And Can Form In Response To Protein Misfolding In The Absence Of Elevated Temperatures, Rosalie Lawrence , '12, Nicholas J. Kaplinsky

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Energy Stores And Life-History Transitions In Red-Sided Garter Snakes (Thamnophis Sirtalis Parietalis), Rachel Catharine Wilson

Dissertations and Theses

All organisms must prioritize investment in either reproductive or self-maintenance activities. Despite this established paradigm, our understanding of how organisms choose to prioritize certain behaviors and physiologies over others remains limited. It is likely that an organism's energy status not only influences variation in reproductive effort, but also transitions to and from reproductive activities. My dissertation aims to investigate how energy metrics (body condition index, adipocyte follicle size, and liver glycogen) relate to reproduction and associated life-history stages in red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis). Chapter two examines if energy metrics differ with migratory status and sex in …

Individual Learning Phenotypes Drive Collective Behavior, Chelsea N. Cook, Natalie J. Lemanski, Thiago Mosqueiro, Cahit Ozturk, Jürgen Gadau, Noa Pinter-Wollman, Brian H. Smith

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Individual differences in learning can influence how animals respond to and communicate about their environment, which may nonlinearly shape how a social group accomplishes a collective task. There are few empirical examples of how differences in collective dynamics emerge from variation among individuals in cognition. Here, we use a naturally variable and heritable learning behavior called latent inhibition (LI) to show that interactions among individuals that differ in this cognitive ability drive collective foraging behavior in honey bee colonies. We artificially selected two distinct phenotypes: high-LI bees that ignore previously familiar stimuli in favor of novel ones and low-LI bees …

No Oxygen, No Water: The Unique Physiology Of Annual Killifish Embryos Across Development, Daniel Erik Zajic

Dissertations and Theses

For most vertebrates, an abundance of oxygen is necessary for the production of ATP and the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. The absence of oxygen, even for brief periods, quickly leads to ATP depletion which can lead to irreparable damages to sensitive organs, such as the brain and heart. However, certain vertebrates demonstrate an extraordinary ability to thrive and recover fully from periods of no oxygen (anoxia). The annual killifish (Austrofundulus limnaeus) lives in ephemeral ponds in the Maracaibo basin of Venezuela and their embryos have the remarkable ability to not only survive anoxic periods for months, but also …

Short- And Long-Term Impacts Of A Deliberative Pedagogy In Introductory Biology And Chemistry Courses, Liz Rain-Griffith

Dissertations and Theses

There have been multiple national calls for curricular reform in college-level science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), including a need to instill democratic skills in students. Democratic skill building can be embedded in STEM classrooms through intentional "deliberative pedagogies" which include skills in: communication, collaboration, and application. We developed and implemented a deliberative pedagogy, Deliberative Democracy (DD), across introductory majors and non-majors biology courses and a majors chemistry course. In two separate studies, I took a longitudinal, qualitative research approach to understand introductory biology and chemistry students' experiences and perceptions of DD. For the first study, I tracked a cohort …

Elucidating Novel Mechanisms And Pathways Of Pathogenesis, Hdaci Resistance, And Disease Progression In B And T Cell Lymphomas Through Integrated ‘Omics Analyses, Jared Andrews

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic changes to the epigenome are essential regulators of cell differentiation and, when disrupted, can be oncogenic. Pervasive epigenetic alternations are a hallmark of many Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas (NHLs), a heterogeneous group of B and T cell cancers with an incidence of 80,000 new cases and 20,000 deaths in the U.S. per year. My thesis studies have defined the epigenetic landscapes of primary human B and T cell lymphomas and linked them to dynamic changes in the transcriptomes of these cancers. The first of these projects focused on mature B cell lymphoma/leukemia (BCL). To identify common and distinct epigenetic perturbations that …

Impacts Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Black Americans With Diabetes, Ted Studt

Biology Summer Fellows

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all Americans in varying ways, but it has hit the American Black population particularly hard. It also impacts immunocompromised individuals, especially those with conditions that involve damage to or hindering of the cardiovascular or respiratory systems. I found myself asking several questions – how much did this affect individuals who suffer from such conditions, especially those who are Black Americans; how much does systemic racism play in the current pandemic; what could be done about all this; and so on. Since I myself have lived with type I diabetes for almost two decades at the …

Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene Ornata) Copulating In Water: An Incidental Observation Or Ancestral Behavior, Ashley Forrester, Michael Rohde, Mary Harner, Carter Kruse, Keith Geluso

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Herein, we report the first observation of the terrestrial Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) copulating in water. To understand whether such an event reflected an isolated incident, we compiled observations reported in the literature of copulatory behaviors in water for other North American turtles. Our literature review revealed that other species of box turtles in North America, the Coahuilan Box Turtle (Terrapene coahuila) and Gulf Coast Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina major), occasionally also copulate in water. The vast majority of turtles in North America copulate in water, as most are semi-aquatic, including all species …

Growth And Immune Response Of Pond-Reared Giant Freshwater Prawn Macrobrachium Osenbergii Post Larvae Fed Diets Containing Chlorella Vulgaris, Gian Carlo F. Maliwat, Stephanie F. Velasquez, Sheila Marie D. Buluran, Melchor Tayamen, Janice A. Ragaza

Biology Faculty Publications

A 70-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Chlorella vulgaris supplementation in diets of giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) post larvae. Resistance of the prawns against Aeromonas hydrophila and several immune parameters (total hemocyte count and prophenoloxidase activity) were also assessed in the study. Iso-nitrogenous, iso-lipidic, and iso-caloric prawn feeds were prepared utilizing a fishmeal based positive control diet (F0) and four dietary treatments with C. vulgaris inclusion levels of 2 (F2), 4 (F4), 6 (F6), and 8 (F8) %. Post larvae of M. rosenbergii were stocked randomly (mean initial body weight of 0.39 ± …

Sensing Malignancy: Expanding Upon The Nematode Scent Detection Test, Morgan Alexandra Thompson

Dissertations and Theses

With the growing prevalence of cancer worldwide, research has increasingly focused on methods of early detection since the early detection of cancer can dramatically improve health outcomes for affected individuals. Ideally, early detection systems would be highly reliable yet cost-effective and easy to use. Toward development of such a system, Hirotsu et al. (2015), developed a "Nematode Scent Detection Test" (NSDT) that capitalizes upon the attraction of Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes to various tissue samples from cancer patients to detect multiple types and stages of cancer. However, it is currently unknown which G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), and/or ligands interacting with theses …

Morphology, Taxonomy, And Ecological Niche Modeling Of The Cochabamba Grass Mouse, Akodon Siberiae Myers & Patton, 1989, James George Dunn

Dissertations and Theses

The Cochabamba Grass Mouse, Akodon siberiae, is a small mouse (mean head+body length: 103 mm, N = 22) that occurs in a spatially restricted range in the Bolivian Yungas forests, the cloud forest transition zone between lowland Amazonia and the Andean Altiplano. Like many species in the genus, their appearance is very similar to that of other species in the genus: they are difficult to distinguish from their congeners, and are challenging to identify. In the absence of molecular data, A. siberiae specimens require a thorough and careful analysis of external and cranial features for identification. Furthermore, Akodon …

Genome Sequences Of Synechococcus Sp. Strain Mit S9220 And Cocultured Cyanophage Synmits9220m01, B. Shafer Belisle, Andres A.Avila Paz, Angelina R. Carpenter, Tayla C. Cormier, Adam J. Lewis, Linnea S. Menin, Daniel R. Oliveira, Bukyung Song, Amy Szeto, Elizabeth I. Tchantouridze, Kayleigh A. Watson, Mary T. Yohannes, Nathan A. Ahlgren

Biology

Synechococcus bacteria are unicellular cyanobacteria that contribute significantly to global marine primary production. We report the nearly complete genome sequence of Synechococcus sp. strain MIT S9220, which lacks the nitrate utilization genes present in most marine Synechococcus genomes. Assembly also produced the complete genome sequence of a cyanophage present in the MIT S9220 culture.

Structural Mechanism For Gating Of A Eukaryoticmechanosensitive Channel Of Small Conductance, Zengqin Deng, Grigory Maksaev, Angela M. Schlegel, Jingying Zhang, Michael Rau, James A.J. Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth S. Haswell, Peng Yuan

Biology Faculty Research

Mechanosensitive ion channels transduce physical force into electrochemical signaling that underlies an array of fundamental physiological processes, including hearing, touch, proprioception, osmoregulation, and morphogenesis. The mechanosensitive channels of small conductance (MscS) constitute a remarkably diverse superfamily of channels critical for management of osmotic pressure. Here, we present cryo-electron microscopy structures of a MscS homolog from Arabidopsis thaliana, MSL1, presumably in both the closed and open states. The heptameric MSL1 channel contains an unusual bowl-shaped transmembrane region, which is reminiscent of the evolutionarily and architecturally unrelated mechanosensitive Piezo channels. Upon channel opening, the curved transmembrane domain of MSL1 flattens and expands. …

Insights From Population Genomics To Enhance And Sustain Biological Control Of Insect Pests, Arun Sethuraman, Fredric J. Janzen, David W. Weisrock, John J. Obrycki

Biology Faculty Publications

Biological control—the use of organisms (e.g., nematodes, arthropods, bacteria, fungi, viruses) for the suppression of insect pest species—is a well-established, ecologically sound and economically profitable tactic for crop protection. This approach has served as a sustainable solution for many insect pest problems for over a century in North America. However, all pest management tactics have associated risks. Specifically, the ecological non-target effects of biological control have been examined in numerous systems. In contrast, the need to understand the short- and long-term evolutionary consequences of human-mediated manipulation of biological control organisms for importation, augmentation and conservation biological control has only recently …

Phase Transition Behaviour In Yeast And Bacterial Populations Under Stress, Stephen Ordway, Dawn King, David Friend, Christine Noto, Snowlee Phu, Holly Huelskamp, Fredrik Inglis, Wendy Olivas, Sonya Bahar

Biology Department Faculty Works

Non-equilibrium phase transitions from survival to extinction have recently been observed in computational models of evolutionary dynamics. Dynamical signatures predictive of population collapse have been observed in yeast populations under stress. We experimentally investigate the population response of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to biological stressors (temperature and salt concentration) in order to investigate the system's behaviour in the vicinity of population collapse. While both conditions lead to population decline, the dynamical characteristics of the population response differ significantly depending on the stressor. Under temperature stress, the population undergoes a sharp change with significant fluctuations within a critical temperature range, …

Wild Mice With Different Social Network Sizes Vary In Brain Gene Expression, Patricia C. Lopes, Barbara König

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Appropriate social interactions influence animal fitness by impacting several processes, such as mating, territory defense, and offspring care. Many studies shedding light on the neurobiological underpinnings of social behavior have focused on nonapeptides (vasopressin, oxytocin, and homologues) and on sexual or parent-offspring interactions. Furthermore, animals have been studied under artificial laboratory conditions, where the consequences of behavioral responses may not be as critical as when expressed under natural environments, therefore obscuring certain physiological responses. We used automated recording of social interactions of wild house mice outside of the breeding season to detect individuals at both tails of a distribution …

Cbd & Ethanol Disrupt Early Embryonic Development, Janasha Goffigan-Holmes

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

The heavily conserved neural circuits that govern the vertebrate reward system, receive sensory stimuli and produce appropriate, self-preserving responses that correspond to experience-based learning and are driven by the communication of dopamine. Many of these circuits lie within the endocannabinoid system (ECS). At the most basic level, the ECS drives homeostatic behaviors, such as seeking nutrients, avoiding danger, and reproductive function. Unfortunately, this system can be hijacked by psychoactive drugs which ultimately alter the expression of dopamine. Cannabis sativa has two main active ingredients, THC and CBD, which modify the ECS receptor’s ability to bind to hormones and neurotransmitters such …

Trans-Axonal Signaling In Neural Circuit Wiring, Olivia Spead, Fabienne E. Poulain

Faculty Publications

The development of neural circuits is a complex process that relies on the proper navigation of axons through their environment to their appropriate targets. While axon–environment and axon–target interactions have long been known as essential for circuit formation, communication between axons themselves has only more recently emerged as another crucial mechanism. Trans-axonal signaling governs many axonal behaviors, including fasciculation for proper guidance to targets, defasciculation for pathfinding at important choice points, repulsion along and within tracts for pre-target sorting and target selection, repulsion at the target for precise synaptic connectivity, and potentially selective degeneration for circuit refinement. This review outlines …

Collaborative Research: Diverse Selective Pressure On Fruit Chemical Traits From Mutualists And Antagonists As A Major Driver Of Chemical Evolution At The Whole Plant Level, Noelle G. Beckman

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Seed-Transmitted Wheat Mosaic Virus In Sweet Corn In Utah, Claudia Nischwitz

Biology Faculty Publications

Wheat mosaic virus (WMoV) (syn. High Plains virus) was first observed in corn in 1993 in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, and Texas (Seifers et al. 1997). The virus causes chlorotic streaks and mosaic on corn foliage, and it stunts ear development. When infected early in the season, plants frequently die. There are anecdotal reports of reduced seed germination rates in infected seed lots. The host range of the virus includes corn, small grains, and yellow and green foxtail. The virus is transmitted by the wheat curl mite (Aceria tosichella Keifer 1969). Seed transmission of WMoV at extremely low rates was …

The Mechanosensitive Ion Channel Msl10 Potentiates Responses To Cell Swelling In Arabidopsis Seedlings, Debarati Basu, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Research

The ability to respond to unanticipated increases in volume is a fundamental property of cells, essential for cellular integrity in the face of osmotic challenges. Plants must manage cell swelling during flooding, rehydration, and pathogen invasion-but little is known about the mechanisms by which this occurs. It has been proposed that plant cells could sense and respond to cell swelling through the action of mechanosensitive ion channels. Here, we characterize a new assay to study the effects of cell swelling on Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings and to test the contributions of the mechanosensitive ion channel MscS-like10 (MSL10). The assay incorporates both …

Fundamentals Of Biology Bio 110, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Covid-19: In The Absence Of Vaccination – ‘Mask-The-Nation’, Roy D. Sleator, Steven Darby, Alan Giltinan, Niall Smith

Department of Biological Sciences Publications

“In the absence of a vaccine, or effective antiviral, one of our only remaining strategies for controlling COVID-19 is to physically block the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the community”

Multivariate Analysis Of Open Field Exploration Identifies Latent Spatial And Social Behavioral Axes In Domestic Dogs, Budhaditya Chowdhury, Moira Van Staaden, Robert Huber

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Recent methodological advances in studying large scale animal movements have let researchers gather rich datasets from behaving animals. Often collected in small sample sizes due to logistical constraints, these datasets are however, ideal for multivariate explorations into behavioral complexity. In behavioral studies of domestic dogs, although automated data loggers have recently seen increasing use, a comprehensive framework to identify complex behavioral axes is lacking. Dog behavioral studies frequently rely on subjective ratings, despite demonstrable evidence that these are insufficient for identifying behavioral variables. Taking advantage of dogs' innate running abilities and readily available GPS data loggers, we extracted latitude-longitude coordinates …

Biogeography, Morphology, And Systematics Of The Mountain Cottontail, Sylvilagus Nuttallii (Bachman, 1837), Mammalia: Lagomorpha: Leporidae, Johnnie H. French

Dissertations and Theses

Widespread species often present taxonomic conundrums: are they truly a single panmictic species, or, is the widespread species in fact a polytypic species complex constituted by independently evolving, morphologically or otherwise cryptic species? One such broadly distributed taxon is Sylvilagus nuttallii, with distribution across the western United States, ranging from South Dakota to California, and from Canada to Arizona. The three subspecies constituting S. nuttallii are, however, geographically isolated and it has been hypothesized that they likely constitute independent, species level taxa. However, that study examined only two of the three holotypes, rather than broader geographic and non-geographic variation. …

Discovery Of Exosomes From Tick Saliva And Salivary Glands Reveals Therapeutic Roles For Cxcl12 And Il-8 In Wound Healing At The Tick–Human Skin Interface, Wenshuo Zhou, Faizan Tahir, Joseph Che Yen Wang, Michael Woodson, Michael B. Sherman, Shahid Karim, Girish Neelakanta, Hameeda Sultana

Faculty Publications

© Copyright © 2020 Zhou, Tahir, Wang, Woodson, Sherman, Karim, Neelakanta and Sultana.Ticks secrete various anti-coagulatory, anti-vasoconstrictory, anti-inflammatory, and anti-platelet aggregation factors in their saliva at the bite site during feeding to evade host immunological surveillance and responses. For the first time, we report successful isolation of exosomes (small membrane-bound extracellular signaling vesicles) from saliva and salivary glands of partially fed or unfed ixodid ticks. Our data showed a novel role of these in vivo exosomes in the inhibition of wound healing via downregulation of C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12) and upregulation of interleukin-8 (IL-8). Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) analysis …

Characterization Of The Overexpression Of The Native H+-Pumping Pyrophosphatase In The Microalga Picochlorum Soloecismus, Kimberly T. Wright

Biology ETDs

Microalgae are of interest for the creation of sustainable and cost competitive alternatives to petroleum-based fuels and chemicals. However, cultivation, extraction and processing of algal biomass requires improved yields to achieve economic feasibility. The advancement of microalgal biotechnology and various genetic engineering techniques allow the improvement of microalgae biomass for this purpose. Here, the characterization of the overexpression of the native vacuolar H+ pumping pyrophosphate (AVP1) in Picochlorum soloecismus was examined. AVP1 overexpression causes biomass increase in relevant plant crops. When overexpressed in this microalga it increases carbon storage in the form of starch in a closed laboratory photobioreactor. However, …