Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Biology Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2021

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 1681 - 1710 of 2057

Full-Text Articles in Biology

Stress Response Of Largemouth And Smallmouth Bass: Barbless Hooks Versus Barbed Hooks C & R, Wesley Steinmetz, Carson Tembrock Jan 2021

Stress Response Of Largemouth And Smallmouth Bass: Barbless Hooks Versus Barbed Hooks C & R, Wesley Steinmetz, Carson Tembrock

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides and Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu are two of the most popular species of fish for anglers to target in Minnesota. In this study, Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass stress was characterized by handling time and recovery time. This study compares handling time and recovery time between barbed and barbless hooks. For Largemouth Bass, there was a significant relationship between recovery time and time out of the water for barbed (P = 0.02, R2 = 0.86) and barbless hooks (P < 0.01, R2 = 0.74). For Smallmouth Bass, there was no significant relationship between recovery time and time …

Go to article

First Report Of Yellow-Flowered Teasel, Dipsacus Strigosus Willd. Ex Roem. & Schult. (Dipsacaceae) In Indiana, A North American Record, Rebecca W. Dolan Jan 2021

First Report Of Yellow-Flowered Teasel, Dipsacus Strigosus Willd. Ex Roem. & Schult. (Dipsacaceae) In Indiana, A North American Record, Rebecca W. Dolan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

This paper reports the presence of Dipsacus strigosus Willd. ex Roem. & Schult. in Indiana. The species, native to western Asia, is naturalized in several locations in Europe. This is the first documented occurrence in North America. The new record was collected along a recently constructed bike path in a moist wooded area of the Butler University campus in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Like the two other species of the genus known in the Indiana, D. strigosus is likely to be invasive, so efforts will be made to eradicate this population. The plant should be monitored and looked for in other …

Go to article

Characterization Of Microbial Populations In Landfill Leachate, Umut M. Bicim, Hanna Fulford, Lori A. Hoagland, Alejandro R. Sanchez, Amisha D. Shah, Inez Hua Jan 2021

Characterization Of Microbial Populations In Landfill Leachate, Umut M. Bicim, Hanna Fulford, Lori A. Hoagland, Alejandro R. Sanchez, Amisha D. Shah, Inez Hua

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

In the United States, municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills remain a potential mining source of recoverable materials, including but not limited to critical, precious, and rare earth metals found in electronic waste. This is possible due to collectible leachate that filters through MSW landfills, carrying metals, nutrients of value, and microbes—some of which may hold key metal bioleaching properties—within. The purpose of this study is to begin analyzing leachate from MSW landfills in the American Midwest to understand the composition of microbial communities within these landfills. Landfill leachate samples sourced in northern Indiana, representing the landfill process during unique times …

Go to article

Stable Isotope Analysis Of An Invasive Crab Species, Charybdis Hellerii, In The Indian River Lagoon, Justin R. Meyer Jan 2021

Stable Isotope Analysis Of An Invasive Crab Species, Charybdis Hellerii, In The Indian River Lagoon, Justin R. Meyer

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The world has never been more connected than it is today. While this is true for people, it is also true for Earth's flora and fauna. Unfortunately, this connectedness has contributed to unprecedented invasive species introductions around the world. Most introductions result in an introduced species dying out in the newly invaded territory and never becoming established. Other introduced species establish and persist for years, but never have a noticeable effect on local ecosystems. However, occasionally, an invasive species gets introduced to a new area and has negative impacts on native plant and animal life. The Indo-Pacific swimming crab, Charybdis …

Go to article

Spatial Spread Of White-Nose Syndrome In North America, 2006-2018, Andrew M. Kramer, Alex Mercier, Sean Maher, Yaw Kumi-Ansu, Sarah Bowden Jan 2021

Spatial Spread Of White-Nose Syndrome In North America, 2006-2018, Andrew M. Kramer, Alex Mercier, Sean Maher, Yaw Kumi-Ansu, Sarah Bowden

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

White-nose syndrome has caused massive mortality in multiple bat species and spread across much of North America, making it one of the most destructive wildlife diseases on record. This has also resulted in it being one of the most well-documented wildlife disease outbreaks, making it possible to look for changes in the pattern of spatial spread over time. We fit a series of spatial interaction models to the United States county-level observations of the pathogenic fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, that causes white-nose syndrome. Models included the distance between caves, cave abundance, measures of winter length and winter onset, and species …

Go to article

Deep Learning For Supervised Classification Of Temporal Data In Ecology, César Capinha, Ana Ceia-Hasse, Andrew M. Kramer, Christiaan Meijer Jan 2021

Deep Learning For Supervised Classification Of Temporal Data In Ecology, César Capinha, Ana Ceia-Hasse, Andrew M. Kramer, Christiaan Meijer

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Temporal data is ubiquitous in ecology and ecologists often face the challenge of accurately differentiating these data into predefined classes, such as biological entities or ecological states. The usual approach consists of transforming the time series into user-defined features and then using these features as predictors in conventional statistical or machine learning models. Here we suggest the use of deep learning models as an alternative to this approach. Recent deep learning techniques can perform the classification directly from the time series, eliminating subjective and resource-consuming data transformation steps, and potentially improving classification results. We describe some of the deep learning …

Go to article

Alternative Promoter Use Governs The Expression Of Iglon Cell Adhesion Molecules In Histogenetic Fields Of The Embryonic Mouse Brain, T. Jagomäe, K. Singh, M.-A. Philips, M. Jayaram, K. Seppa, T. Tekko, Scott F. Gilbert, E. Vasar, K. Lilleväli Jan 2021

Alternative Promoter Use Governs The Expression Of Iglon Cell Adhesion Molecules In Histogenetic Fields Of The Embryonic Mouse Brain, T. Jagomäe, K. Singh, M.-A. Philips, M. Jayaram, K. Seppa, T. Tekko, Scott F. Gilbert, E. Vasar, K. Lilleväli

Biology Faculty Works

The members of the IgLON superfamily of cell adhesion molecules facilitate fundamental cellular communication during brain development, maintain functional brain circuitry, and are associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, autism, schizophrenia, and intellectual disabilities. Usage of alternative promoter-specific 1a and 1b mRNA isoforms in Lsamp, Opcml, Ntm, and the single promoter of Negr1 in the mouse and human brain has been previously described. To determine the precise spatiotemporal expression dynamics of Lsamp, Opcml, Ntm isoforms, and Negr1, in the developing brain, we generated isoform-specific RNA probes and carried out in situ hybridization in the developing (embryonic, E10.5, E11.5, …

Go to article

Incorporation Of Feeding Functional Group Information Informs Explanatory Patterns Of Long-Term Population Changes In Fish Assemblages, Jason C. Doll, Stephen J. Jacquemin Jan 2021

Incorporation Of Feeding Functional Group Information Informs Explanatory Patterns Of Long-Term Population Changes In Fish Assemblages, Jason C. Doll, Stephen J. Jacquemin

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to evaluate long term trends of fish taxa in southern Lake Michigan while incorporating their functional roles to improve our understanding of ecosystem level changes that have occurred in the system over time. The approach used here highlighted the ease of incorporating ecological mechanisms into population models so researchers can take full advantage of available long-term ecosystem information. Long term studies of fish assemblages can be used to inform changes in community structure resulting from perturbations to aquatic systems and understanding these changes in fish assemblages can be better contextualized by grouping species according …

Go to article

The Characterization Of The Function(S) Of Crag In Basement Membrane Polarity, Hemin Pankajkumar Shah Jan 2021

The Characterization Of The Function(S) Of Crag In Basement Membrane Polarity, Hemin Pankajkumar Shah

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The abundant epithelial cells play various roles in the development and maintenance of an organism, and their apical-basolateral polarity is a unique characteristic that is imperative to their function and integrity. This polarity is maintained via various environmental cues and tightly regulated intracellular trafficking, where the presence of the basement membrane (BM) provides a basal cue. The BM is a specialized extracellular matrix (ECM) secreted by the epithelial cells, which accumulates on the basal side and serves as their mechanical anchorage. Although the BM is of paramount importance in the apical-basolateral polarity and the loss of BM’s integrity is a …

Go to article

A Review Of Sars-Cov-2, Responsible For Covid-19: History, Biology, Infection Mechanism, Antigenic Vaccines, Their Risks And How An Alternate Rbd Vaccine Is Safer?, Zmg Sarwar Jahangir, Arleta Helena Marnik Jan 2021

A Review Of Sars-Cov-2, Responsible For Covid-19: History, Biology, Infection Mechanism, Antigenic Vaccines, Their Risks And How An Alternate Rbd Vaccine Is Safer?, Zmg Sarwar Jahangir, Arleta Helena Marnik

Publications and Research

The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)-CoV (Coronavirus)-2 S(spike)-protein mRNA/cDNA currently being used as vaccines are antigenic but not antigens against SARS-CoV-2, that causes COVID (Coronavirus Disease) -19. Furthermore, the mRNA and cDNA antigenic vaccines also have potentials for homologous as well as heterologous recombination, primarily into the somatic cell DNA of the vaccine recipients. On the contrary, a SARS-CoV-2 RBD-protein antigen, a part of the S-protein, will directly stimulate antibody production against SARS-CoV-2. Hence, a vaccine composed of SARS-CoV-2 RBD-protein as a safer, fast acting, and effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 and thus against COVID-19. This is also useful for some …

Go to article

The Influence Of Infant Formula On The Growth Of Commensal And Pathogenic Streptococcus Species In The Infant Oral Cavity, Geneva Waynick Jan 2021

The Influence Of Infant Formula On The Growth Of Commensal And Pathogenic Streptococcus Species In The Infant Oral Cavity, Geneva Waynick

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The oral microbiome is a complex community of microorganisms that can both reflect and greatly influence the health of the human host. A number of diseases are associated with dysbiotic oral microflora in infants and children, including dental (e.g. dental caries, gingivitis, and periodontal disease), and gastrointestinal diseases (e.g. pediatric appendicitis, celiac disease, and pediatric inflammatory bowel disease). A variety of factors can influence the composition of the oral microbial community in infants, including gestation length, mode of delivery, feeding method, and diet. This study focuses on the effects of diet on the growth of a commensal bacterium (Streptococcus …

Go to article

Investigating The Protective Effects Of Intestinal Gaba[Subscript A] Receptor Activation On An Animal Model Of Multiple Sclerosis, Hannah M. Kohl Jan 2021

Investigating The Protective Effects Of Intestinal Gaba[Subscript A] Receptor Activation On An Animal Model Of Multiple Sclerosis, Hannah M. Kohl

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, produced by neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) and by some species of intestinal bacteria. GABAA receptors are found not only in the CNS, but also in T cells and within the intestines. Past studies have indicated that GABA can have an anti-inflammatory effect and production of GABA by gut bacteria decreases in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). We examined whether administration of a positive allosteric GABAA receptor modulator, farnesol, ameliorates the progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of MS and whether those effects correlated with a decrease …

Go to article

Impacts Of Rock Climbing On Lichen And Bryophyte Communities At Mclellan Rocks And Sharon Climbing Areas, Spokane County, Wa, Giovanna M. Bishop Jan 2021

Impacts Of Rock Climbing On Lichen And Bryophyte Communities At Mclellan Rocks And Sharon Climbing Areas, Spokane County, Wa, Giovanna M. Bishop

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Saxicolous lichens and bryophytes dominate cliff communities of Eastern Washington State. A recent rise in the outdoor recreation of rock climbing has caused major concerns over its potential negative impacts on cliff-dwelling biodiversity. To better understand how rock climbing is impacting lichen, bryophyte and vascular plant communities in Spokane, WA, I surveyed two sites: McLellan Rocks and Rocks of Sharon, for the abundance, richness and diversity of lichens, bryophytes and vascular plants. Sixteen paired transects consisting of a climbed route and the unclimbed adjacent cliff face, with eight plots per transect for a total of 256, 0.5m2 plots were surveyed …

Go to article

Effects Of Salt Runoff On Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Colonies, Kendra Fink Jan 2021

Effects Of Salt Runoff On Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Colonies, Kendra Fink

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Aquatic macroinvertebrates bridge the gap in part between primary and secondary consumers, making them ecologically important for most aquatic systems. They are used as biotic indicators for water quality due to their sensitivity to pollutants and may be affected, specifically, by chloride ion concentrations in the water. Water quality can be evaluated by looking at species compositions and their respective tolerance values. To determine long-term effects of road salt on macroinvertebrate colonies, a total of 338 identified macroinvertebrates of 10 families (two generalized to class) at 9 sites were collected from before, after, and between three bridges on Turtle River …

Go to article

Characterizing The Cellular Dynamics Of Nup155 And A Clinically Identified Variant, Emily Storm Jan 2021

Characterizing The Cellular Dynamics Of Nup155 And A Clinically Identified Variant, Emily Storm

Dissertations and Theses

The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is a highly conserved, yet dynamic structure within the cell. As the sole point of communication between the nucleus and cytoplasm, maintenance of its function and composition is essential. Recent studies have shown that both NPCs and their constitutive components, nucleoporins (NUPs), can have diverse roles separate from canonical transport. In addition, mutations in individual NUPs have been linked to a wide variety of clinical diseases, however, the exact mechanism by which they cause pathology is often unclear. Recently, a point mutation in NUP155, R391H, was identified specifically in patients with familial atrial fibrillation. We …

Go to article

Strategies For Successful Mangrove Living Shoreline Stabilizations In Shallow Water Subtropical Estuaries, Rebecca Fillyaw Jan 2021

Strategies For Successful Mangrove Living Shoreline Stabilizations In Shallow Water Subtropical Estuaries, Rebecca Fillyaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Mangrove living shorelines are an effective alternative to hard-armoring, which combat erosion while also increasing habitat. To improve the success of future mangrove deployments, an experimental Rhizophora mangle living shoreline was deployed within Mosquito Lagoon, FL. A factorial design was used to test the impact of mangrove age, breakwater presence, and mangrove placement on mangrove survival and growth. Environmental factors were monitored to isolate the reason for mangrove mortalities. Mangrove age was represented by 3 developmental stages: "seedlings" at 11-months-old, "transitionals" at 23-months-old, and "adults" between 35 and 47-months-old. Mixed mangrove age groups were included to identify if seedling survival …

Go to article

Dirofilaria Immitis Prevalence In Canis Latrans In Kentucky, Melanie Ann Brandon Jan 2021

Dirofilaria Immitis Prevalence In Canis Latrans In Kentucky, Melanie Ann Brandon

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Dirofilaria immitis (canine heartworm) was found in forty-two (42) of the two hundred seventy-five (275) Canis latrans (coyote) necropsied in the state of Kentucky from November 27, 2019 through March 3, 2021. Thirty-five (35) of the positive cases were from western Kentucky region with the other seven spread across the state. With this group of coyotes, one hundred fifty-eight (158) were male and the other one hundred six-teen (116) were female. The estimated age ranged from a pup to senior dogs. A little over forty percent of the dogs were obtained through coyote/predator tournaments; the remaining were acquired from pest …

Go to article

Identification Of Loci Influencing Teosinte Crossing Barrier 1 (Tcb1) Efficacy In Maize By Quantitative Trait Loci (Qtl) Mapping And Genome-Wide Association Study (Gwas), Namrata Maharjan Jan 2021

Identification Of Loci Influencing Teosinte Crossing Barrier 1 (Tcb1) Efficacy In Maize By Quantitative Trait Loci (Qtl) Mapping And Genome-Wide Association Study (Gwas), Namrata Maharjan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pollen cross-contamination has been a major problem for maize breeders. Various mechanical methods applied to avoid the contaminations are ineffective. The genetic factors related to maize fertilization can be used to develop an effective method to prevent pollen contamination. Pollen rejection ability controlled by Teosinte crossing barrier 1 (Tcb1) is such a genetic system. Silks possessing dominant Tcb1-s reject pollen possessing the recessive allele (tcb1). Successful fertilization occurs when Tcb1-s pollen falls upon tcb1 silks. The efficacy of dominant Tcb1-s was, however, reduced when repeatedly backcross with maize inbred lines, which suggests that there are modifiers to Tcb1-s. To find …

Go to article

Pollinator Ecology In Agroecosystems Of Eastern South Dakota, Isabela Beatriz Vilella-Arnizaut Jan 2021

Pollinator Ecology In Agroecosystems Of Eastern South Dakota, Isabela Beatriz Vilella-Arnizaut

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community structure contributes to ecosystem persistence and stability. To understand the mechanisms underlying pollination and community stability of natural areas in a human influenced landscape, a better understanding of the interaction patterns between plants and pollinators in disturbed landscapes is needed. Furthermore, understanding the potential conservation value in green spaces such as botanical gardens could assist in preserving and bolstering plant-pollinator interactions. Our study takes place in the Northern Great Plains which still retains extensive tracts of remnant temperate grassland habitat within a matrix of varying land-uses. First, we used a network-based approach to quantify how temperate grassland attributes and …

Go to article

The Effects Of Saline Soil On Microbiome And The Isolation Of Root-Associated Microbes To Relieve Salinity Stress, Duncan Jakubowski Jan 2021

The Effects Of Saline Soil On Microbiome And The Isolation Of Root-Associated Microbes To Relieve Salinity Stress, Duncan Jakubowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing levels of salinity in once-viable lands for crop production is a serious and growing problem in the Northern Great Plains. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of saline soil on the microbial composition of plant roots and bulk soil, to measure metabolic changes in plant roots from saline soil, to determine the viability of root-associated microbes as inoculants to increase stress tolerance in plants, as well as determine the impact of saline soil on nitrogen cycling genes linked to greenhouse gas production. This study hypothesizes that high soil salinity levels have a significant impact on …

Go to article

Electrical Sensing In Non-Excitable Cells To Promote Galvanotaxis And Tissue Survival, Anyesha Sarkar Jan 2021

Electrical Sensing In Non-Excitable Cells To Promote Galvanotaxis And Tissue Survival, Anyesha Sarkar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weak DC fields have been shown to induce polarity, cell migration and cell proliferation in 2D cultures in vitro. To understand the mechanism by which non-excitable cells sense such weak EFs, we have investigated the mechanism of cathode-directed water flow (electro-osmosis) in the boundary layer of cells by reducing it with neutral, viscous polymers. Our results indicate that low molecular weight polymers decrease cathodal migration and promote anodal migration in a concentration dependent manner. High molecular weight polymers do not affect directionality and can be explained using porosity and hydraulic permeability between the polymers. These results provide the first evidence …

Go to article

Monitoring Landscape And Spectral Dynamics Of Subtropical Freshwater Wetlands That Have Undergone Hydrological Restoration, Sarah Parker Jan 2021

Monitoring Landscape And Spectral Dynamics Of Subtropical Freshwater Wetlands That Have Undergone Hydrological Restoration, Sarah Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Over the last century, millions of hectares of wetlands have been lost due to urban development and agricultural activities throughout the world. In the U.S., efforts have been made by federal and state legislation to restore wetland habitat in exchange for development on wetlands. To restore ecosystem function by reestablishing hydrological metrics (e.g., groundwater level fluctuations), wetland restoration aims to facilitate the growth of wetland vegetation to approximate the original conditions as a proxy for ecological integrity. In 1992, the first landscape-scale off-site mitigation project, the Disney Wilderness Preserve (DWP) was funded by the Walt Disney Company in Poinciana, Florida. …

Go to article

Correlations In Microplastic Abundance Between Water, The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, And Their Biodeposits In A Dynamic Florida Estuary, Casey Craig Jan 2021

Correlations In Microplastic Abundance Between Water, The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, And Their Biodeposits In A Dynamic Florida Estuary, Casey Craig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Estuaries have been identified as hotspots of microplastic pollution because they are transitional zones where coastal freshwater and oceans converge. Microplastics (MP) are transported through estuaries by a dynamic series of forces such as surface flow and tides, which influence MP abundances and trends. The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, is an estuarine bivalve known to ingest MP, resulting in negative impacts on organism physiology. I investigated MP pollution as a threat to C. virginica in a dynamic Florida estuary, the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), and determined there are both regional and small-scale spatial and temporal fluctuations in MP abundance. Tributaries …

Go to article

Lessons From Four Decades Of Monitoring Vegetation And Fire: Maintaining Diversity And Resilience In Florida’S Uplands, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii, Christy R. Abrahamson, Matthew A. Keller Jan 2021

Lessons From Four Decades Of Monitoring Vegetation And Fire: Maintaining Diversity And Resilience In Florida’S Uplands, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii, Christy R. Abrahamson, Matthew A. Keller

Faculty Journal Articles

Worldwide, humans are altering the fire regimes (fire-return intervals, severity, seasonality) of fire-prone ecosystems, fragmenting natural landscapes, and altering climates. Efforts to restore fire regimes in natural areas are usually guided by fire management plans (FMP) that rely on prescribed burning. Despite the common use of FMPs, limited efforts have gone to assessing vegetative and faunal responses. While some insights into responses to fire from short-term studies are available, there is less knowledge about FMP outcomes applied over multiple decades. Peninsular Florida hosts many fire-prone communities including globally threatened Florida scrub. We repeatedly sampled species composition and abundance during a …

Go to article

The Effects Of Food Supply On Reproductive Hormones And Timing Of Reproduction In An Income-Breeding Seabird, Shannon Whelan, Scott A. Hatch, Z. Morgan Benowitz-Fredericks, Charline Parenteau, Olivier Chastel, Kyle Elliott Jan 2021

The Effects Of Food Supply On Reproductive Hormones And Timing Of Reproduction In An Income-Breeding Seabird, Shannon Whelan, Scott A. Hatch, Z. Morgan Benowitz-Fredericks, Charline Parenteau, Olivier Chastel, Kyle Elliott

Faculty Journal Articles

Current food supply is a major driver of timing of breeding in income-breeding animals, likely because increased net energy balance directly increases reproductive hormones and advances breeding. In capital breeders, increased net energy balance increases energy reserves, which eventually leads to improved reproductive readiness and earlier breeding. To test the hypothesis that phenology of income-breeding birds is independent of energy reserves, we conducted an experiment on food-supplemented (“fed”) and control female black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla). We temporarily increased energy costs (via weight handicap) in a 2 × 2 design (fed/unfed; handicapped/unhandicapped) during the pre-laying period and observed movement …

Go to article

Seed Mix Design, Planting Time, And First-Year Mowing Management To Improve Multifunctionality And Cost-Effectiveness Of Tallgrass Prairie Reconstructions, Alec James Glidden Jan 2021

Seed Mix Design, Planting Time, And First-Year Mowing Management To Improve Multifunctionality And Cost-Effectiveness Of Tallgrass Prairie Reconstructions, Alec James Glidden

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The conversion of the Midwestern United States’ tallgrass prairies to agriculture has resulted in extensive habitat loss and degradation and a decline in the provisioning of ecosystem services. To restore these services the United States Department of Agriculture created the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) which provides incentives to agricultural landowners to implement conservation practices designed to meet goals pertaining to single ecosystem services. We studied the effects of seed mix design, planting time, and first-year management on the multifunctionality and cost-effectiveness of prairie reconstructions. We established research plots planted with one of three seed mixes either in the dormant (fall) …

Go to article

Genomic Analysis Of The Only Blind Cichlid Reveals Extensive Inactivation In Eye And Pigment Formation Genes, Matthew L. Aardema, Melanie L.J. Stiassny, S. Elizabeth Alter Jan 2021

Genomic Analysis Of The Only Blind Cichlid Reveals Extensive Inactivation In Eye And Pigment Formation Genes, Matthew L. Aardema, Melanie L.J. Stiassny, S. Elizabeth Alter

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Trait loss represents an intriguing evolutionary problem, particularly when it occurs across independent lineages. Fishes in light-poor environments often evolve “troglomorphic” traits, including reduction or loss of both pigment and eyes. Here, we investigate the genomic basis of trait loss in a blind and depigmented African cichlid, Lamprologus lethops, and explore evolutionary forces (selection and drift) that may have contributed to these losses. This species, the only known blind cichlid, is endemic to the lower Congo River. Available evidence suggests that it inhabits deep, low-light habitats. Using genome sequencing, we show that genes related to eye formation and pigmentation, as …

Go to article

A Baraminological Analysis Of The Landfowl (Aves: Galliformes), Timothy R. Brophy Jan 2021

A Baraminological Analysis Of The Landfowl (Aves: Galliformes), Timothy R. Brophy

Faculty Publications and Presentations

We performed a baraminological analysis on 60 extant landfowl taxa (Aves: Galliformes) using 102 morphological characters. Both baraminic distance correlation analysis and multidimensional scaling suggest the possibility of four holobaramins within the landfowl order: Megapodiidae, Cracidae, Numididae, and the remaining Phasianoidea. Hybridization, however, connects three of these holobaramins (six of the currently recognized families). Considering both sets of evidence, we conclude that the landfowl are composed of two holobaramins: Megapodiidae and [Phasianoidea + Cracidae]. The five currently recognized families in the superfamily Phasianoidea have, until recently, been considered subfamilies in a more broadly conceived family Phasianidae, so it should not …

Go to article

Use Of Small Molecule Fanconi Anemia Pathway Inhibitors As Sensitizing Agents To Laromustine., Sam W. Marchant Jan 2021

Use Of Small Molecule Fanconi Anemia Pathway Inhibitors As Sensitizing Agents To Laromustine., Sam W. Marchant

Honors Theses

Laromustine is an experimental chemotherapeutic sulfonyl hydrazine prodrug shown in clinical trials to be effective against acute myeloid leukemia. The mechanism of action of laromustine involves interstrand crosslinking, via chloroethylation, and enzyme inhibition, caused by carbamoylation. The work described herein aims to investigate whether inhibition of the replication-dependent interstrand crosslink repair Fanconi Anemia pathway further sensitizes cells to laromustine. By measuring metabolic activity immediately after drug exposure, we find laromustine to be equally as cytotoxic towards Fanconi Anemia deficient and wild type cells. However, through clonogenic assays we show Fanconi Anemia mutations sensitize cells to laromustine’s anti-proliferative effect. Furthermore, we …

Go to article

Effects Of Wastewater Effluent On Fish Fin Morphology Of Larval Fathead Minnows (Pimephales Promelas) And Swimming Performance Of Smallmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus Bubalus), Seth Michael Bogue Jan 2021

Effects Of Wastewater Effluent On Fish Fin Morphology Of Larval Fathead Minnows (Pimephales Promelas) And Swimming Performance Of Smallmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus Bubalus), Seth Michael Bogue

Masters Theses

The Sangamon River flows across central Illinois and is mostly free flowing except in the city of Decatur where it is impounded to form Lake Decatur. The Sanitary District of Decatur (SDD) is located approximately three miles downstream of the Lake Decatur dam. For a significant portion of the year, the stretch of the Sangamon River downstream of SDD is dominated by effluent due to limited discharge from the Lake Decatur dam. This has resulted in heavy nutrient loading, most notably phosphorus, and elevated levels of nickel and other compounds in the downstream section of the river. Smallmouth buffalo ( …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last