Biology Commons^™

The Velvet Ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae): Systematics, Biology, And Biogeography Of A Little-Known Family, George Charles Waldren

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Insects are a ubiquitous and species-rich component of the biologically-diverse planet we inhabit. The majority of insects are understudied, with many species awaiting formal description and their natural history yet to be discovered. Members of the family Mutillidae, commonly known as velvet ants, are one of these little-known insect groups. Velvet ants are technically wasps, and the wingless females superficially resemble true ants of the family Formicidae. Further, they frequently have a ‘velvety’ appearance and are often brightly colored to serve as a warning to would-be predators that they have the ability to inflict a painful sting. These insects are …

Elucidating The Evolution Of Sex Chromosome Dosage Compensation Using Beetles, Balan Ramesh

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Sex chromosomes are unique because of their role in sex determination. More importantly, sex chromosomes spend an unequal amount of time between the sexes which has significant consequences since it provides an opportunity to understand how evolutionary forces act on the genome. For example, in the XY system of sex determination, males are heterogametic and carry XY chromosomes, whereas females are homogametic and carry XX chromosomes. This difference in the gene dose of X- linked genes between the sexes can be catastrophic for interacting proteins if not balanced. In chapter 1, I introduce the background and current state of understanding …

Shprehitë E Të Ushqyerit Te Nxënsit E Shkollave Fillore Në Komunën E Gjilanit, Esra Spahiu

Theses and Dissertations

Ushqyerja është një nga faktorët kryesorë që ndikon në shëndetin e një individi, sidomos gjatë moshës shkollore, me qëllim që fëmija të rritet e zhvillohet mirë dhe të sigurojë shëndet dhe jetëgjatësi më të mirë. Studimet tregojnë se në Kosovë, ashtu si në botë, po shfaqet kërcënimi i mbipeshës dhe obezitetit (sidomos në moshën shkollore) të cilat shpesh pasohen me sëmundje të shumta kronike si në moshë të re edhe në moshë adulte. Qëllimi: Është që fëmijët të jenë sa më të shëndetshëm, më këtë punim jemi munduar që tu ofrojmë sado pak njohuri rreth ushqyerjes së shëndetshme të fëmijëve …

The Role Of Med31 And Med12 In Directing Adipogenesis Of Human Adult-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Joseph Straub

Doctoral Dissertations

Selective gene expression is crucial in maintaining the self-renewing and multipotent properties of stem cells. Mediator is a large, evolutionarily conserved, multisubunit protein complex that modulates gene expression by relaying signals from cell type-specific transcription factors to RNA polymerase II. In humans, this complex consists of 30 subunits arranged in four modules: head, middle, tail, and kinase. In our introduction, we show the state of the field of Mediator study with a focus on the critical kinase module. In the following chapters, we used siRNA knockdowns to investigate the roles of the highly-conserved core subunit MED31 and the kinase module …

Review On Honey Bee Colony Collapse: Problems, Consequence And Solutions, Mariela Rodriguez

Honor’s College Freeman Research Journal

This thesis manuscript is a review on how climate change, nutritional stress, and other factors contribute to colony collapse disorder (CCD). This is a phenomenon when majority of adult bees vacate their hive to die, leaving what little what little is left of the colony to fend for themselves. This phenomenon is considered a serious threat to global food biosecurity. The big question is on when and why honeybees abandon the colony and die. This phenomenon remains a mystery. Unable to study their carcasses for analysis to better serve the pollinator species, there has been a rise in research focused …

The Bombay Blood Group: How Does It Fit In The Human Blood Group, Maya Davis

Honor’s College Freeman Research Journal

The Bombay blood phenotype is one of the rarest ABO blood group. It is autosomal recessive allele and occurs due to a point mutation in the FUT1gene on chromosome 19. The H gene synthesizes the H antigen which is located on the red blood cells (RBCs). This thesis analyzes the Bombay phenotype, more specifically how it fits in the human blood group. It questions whether the differences between the Bombay phenotype and the ABO blood group affects its place as an actual blood group. The goal of this study is to increase the amount of knowledge regarding the Bombay phenotype …

The Phylogeography And Molecular Systematics Of Woodrats (Genus: Neotoma) In The American Southwest, Katrina M. Derieg

Biology ETDs

The American Southwest is a region where many biomes converge, harboring a wide variety of habitats ranging from desert to alpine environments. Habitat heterogeneity and the confluence of multiple species ranges make the American Southwest a biodiversity hotspot. Climate cycling throughout the Quaternary has driven the dynamics of changes in species’ ranges that are recorded by genetic signatures. For example, range expansion may lead to secondary contact between previously isolated populations or species. Contact can result in multiple evolutionary outcomes, including hybridization or the reinforcement and maintenance of independent lineages. I used multi-locus species tree methods to re-examine the nominal …

Involvement Of The Ino80 Chromatin Remodeling Complex In Cell Division And Genomic Stability, Ethan Chen

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cell division is a vital biological process for growth and development in both single and multi-cellular organisms—whereby the cell must duplicate its organelles and genome in entirety and appropriately distribute the copied contents to the daughter cells. Cells undergo a cycle of two distinct phases: interphase and mitosis. During interphase, the cell replicates its genomic DNA (in the form of chromosomes) located within the nucleus. DNA replication is carried out in a euchromatin state, where the chromosome structure is loose and easily accessible by DNA polymerase and other replication enzymes. Upon the completion of replication, chromatin is condensed into highly …

Mathematical Models Of Covid-19, Kate Faria

Honors Program Theses and Projects

For more than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a major public health issue, affecting the lives of most people around the world. With both people’s health and the economy at great risks, governments rushed to control the spread of the virus. Containment measures were heavily enforced worldwide until a vaccine was developed and distributed. Although researchers today know more about the characteristics of the virus, a lot of work still needs to be done in order to completely remove the disease from the population. However, this is true for most of the infectious diseases in existence, including Influenza, …

Investigation Of Fshr-1 Site Of Action And Signaling Initiation At The C. Elegans Neuromuscular Junction, Alyssa Lynn Ritter

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Millions of neurons in our bodies relay messages to various organ systems. Neuronal signaling involves a combination of electrical and chemical signals between neurons that create responses in the receiving neuron that are either inhibitory or excitatory. The nervous system relies on the balance between excitatory and inhibitory signaling (E:I balance) to maintain its function. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are cell surface proteins that play critical roles in regulating neuronal signaling by binding molecules that initiate intracellular relay pathways. One conserved GPCR known as FSHR-1, homologous to human follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) receptor, regulates neuromuscular signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans roundworms. …

Effects Of Differing Environmental Conditions On Bacteriophage Jenika, Gerard Nasser

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The dynamic role of bacteriophage in different environmental areas poses important questions about viral interactions with and control of bacteria. Bacteriophage play a vital role in the evolutionary track of bacteria. The evolutionary role of bacteriophage is affected by lysogenic conversion, transduction, mediated gene transfer, and the exertion of selective pressures. The objective of this research was to determine if there were changes in growth of the bacterial host Mycobacterium smegmatis and its bacteriophage Jenika given isolated changes in environmental conditions. Growth of the host, M. smegmatis, was documented using changes in optical density and growth of one of its …

Expert Level Microscopy For Everyone : Optimizing Microscopy Parameters With Modeling And Simulation, Ethan Woo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Multiplexed fluorescent imaging (MFI) has transformed biological investigation by providing spatial context to labeled analytes, such as DNA, RNA, and proteins. Multiplexed imaging techniques can track multiple analytes at once and thus has the potential to provide an unprecedented view into the complex relationships between various molecules, cells, and tissues. However, most researchers rarely use more than 3 fluorophores at a time due to the complex technological and procedural requirements for highly multiplexed imaging. Currently, a major obstacle in the field is the inability to quantify uncertainty in fluorescent images, making it difficult to draw quantitative conclusions from the images. …

Isolating Oral Bacterial Species From A Single Donor Through A Multi-Step Detection Method, Khalid Al-Lakhen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The human oral microbiome is one of the most complex microbiome communities in the human body and its role in maintaining health is not fully understood. Previous research shows that the transition from health to disease is accompanied by changes in community abundance and structure. To fully understand the symbiotic relationship formed between bacterial species that leads to the formation of a functional healthy biofilm structure, we must study the various structural relationships and subsequent molecular interactions among individual species within the biofilm. In this thesis, I have isolated a pure bacteria species from a single donor's dental plaque and …

Intergenerational Embodiment Of Stress : How The Broader Sociocultural Environment Can Shape Child Growth And Development, Elizabeth A. Holdsworth

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Childhood growth has been a means of identifying systemic, material inequalities within populations. The plasticity of growth is responsive to multiple environmental factors, most notably adequate nutrition, but also psychosocial stress. Psychosocial stress can be a function of the social and political economic ecology, reinforcing power hierarchies within societies. This dissertation proposes that childhood growth can also reflect inequality in the distribution of psychosocial stress exposure through mothers’ feelings of a chronically stressful environment conveyed through maternal-infant interactions.

Rna Modification Landscape And Its Contribution To Egg Production, Ian Thomas Rapisarda

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Germline stem cells differentiate into mature egg or sperm cells that go through the process of fertilization which gives rise to all sexually reproducing organisms. During this process of differentiation, germ cells undergo a switch from mitosis to meiosis that allows for proper development and specification of the future gamete. The mechanisms that facilitate this shift from mitosis to meiosis, however, are not well understood. To gain insight into this process, we used Drosophila oogenesis as our model. To identify what RNA modifications are present during oogenesis we genetically enriched for each stage of development and performed mass spectrometry. We …

Shelter Dogs Need A Home: The Effect Of Enrichment And Human Contact On The Welfare And Adoptability Of Shelter Dogs, Hannah G. Clark

Honors Projects

It comes as no surprise that an animal shelter can be a stressful place for dogs. Shelter conditions, accompanied by multiple, novel stimuli, produce a stressful environment that cause hormonal and behavioral responses in dogs housed in shelters. Many of the stereotypical behaviors produced by the stress of living in a shelter, which tend to worsen as length of stay increases, are undesirable to potential adopters. However, many studies have shown that enrichment with a variety of toys, exercise, and human interaction can buffer the stress response in shelter dogs and improve their well-being. Implementing obedience training and temporary fostering …

Hydrologic Variation Influences Stream Fish Assemblage Dynamics Through Flow Regime And Drought, Daniel D. Magoulick, Matthew P. Dekar, Shawn W. Hodges, Mandy K. Scott, Michael R. Rabalais, Christopher M. Bare

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Hydrologic variation can play a major role in structuring stream fish assemblages and relationships between hydrology and biology are likely to be influenced by flow regime. We hypothesized that more variable flow regimes would have lower and more variable species richness, higher species turnover and lower assemblage stability, and greater abiotic environment-fish relationships than more stable flow regimes. We sampled habitats (pool, run, and riffle) in three Runoff/Intermittent Flashy streams (highly variable flow regime) and three Groundwater Flashy streams (less variable flow regime) seasonally (spring, early summer, summer and autumn) in 2002 (drought year) and 2003 (wet year). We used …

Can Plant Functional Traits Explain Shifts In Community Composition In A Changing Arctic?, Katlyn Betway, Robert D. Hollister, Jeremy May, Jacob A. Harris, William Gould, Steve Oberbauer

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

The Arctic is warming more than twice the global average. Graminoids, deciduous shrubs, and evergreen shrubs have been shown to increase in cover in some regions, but not others. To better understand why plant response varies across regions, we compared change in cover over time with nine functional traits of twelve dominant species at three regions in northern Alaska (Utqiaġvik, Atqasuk, and Toolik Lake). Cover was measured three times from 2008 to 2018. Repeated measures ANOVA found one species showed a significant change in cover over time; Carex aquatilis increased at Atqasuk by 12.7%. Canonical correspondence analysis suggested a relationship …

Intact Landscape Promotes Gene Flow And Low Genetic Structuring In The Threatened Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, Nathan Kudla, Eric M. Mccluskey, Vijay Lulla, Ralph Grundel, Jennifer A. Moore

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

Genetic structuring of wild populations is dependent on environmental, ecological, and life-history factors. The specific role environmental context plays in genetic structuring is important to conservation practitioners working with rare species across areas with varying degrees of fragmentation. We investigated fine-scale genetic patterns of the federally threatened Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) on a relatively undisturbed island in northern Michigan, USA. This species often persists in habitat islands throughout much of its distribution due to extensive habitat loss and distance-limited dispersal. We found that the entire island population exhibited weak genetic structuring with spatially segregated variation in effective …

Effects Of Am Fungi From Conventional And No-Till Michigan Crop Fields On Plant And Soil Health, Derek Bennett

Masters Theses

Centuries of conventional till (CT) management in agriculture has depleted soil organic matter (SOM) by over 50%. While only comprising 5% in most soils, SOM provides soil with fertility and productivity. To compensate for SOM depletion, producers have been forced to increase their reliance on fertilizer and irrigation to maintain yields. In the coming decades, climate change is expected to challenge food production and threaten an already fragile system. With no remaining land left to cultivate, conservation management strategies such as no-till (NT) look to restore SOM and increase the resilience of food production for an ever growing, increasingly food …

On The Rocks: Changes In Substrate Alter Antipredator Behavior In Benthic Stream Fish, Sarah White

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Natural selection should strongly favor characteristics that make prey difficult for predators to distinguish from the background, including both morphological and behavioral crypsis. The Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) is a small, cryptic, benthic fish that inhabits gravel-bottomed streams and is preyed upon by predators such as the benthic Knobfin Sculpin (Cottus immaculatus) and the pelagic Longear Sunfish (Lepomis megalotis). In three experiments, I tested whether the behavior of darters was influenced by the opportunity for crypticity offered by their substrate and by the presence of cues from benthic and pelagic predators. First, darters in …

The Urban-Adapted Underground Mosquito Culex Pipiens Form Molestus Maintains Exogenously Influenceable Circadian Rhythms, Natalie R. Epstein, Kevin Saez, Asya Polat, Steven R. Davis, Matthew L. Aardema

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Genes known to affect circadian rhythms (i.e. ‘clock genes’) also influence the photoperiodic induction of overwintering reproductive diapause in the northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens f. pipiens. This suggests that molecular changes in one or more clock genes could contribute to the inability to diapause in a second form of this mosquito, Culex pipiens f. molestus. Temperate populations of Cx. pipiens f. molestus inhabit underground locations generally devoid of predictable photoperiods. For this reason, there could be limited fitness consequences if the hypothesized molecular changes to its clock genes also eliminated this mosquito’s ability to regulate circadian rhythms in response …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, May 2021, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 2, Issue 5.

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 - 3 Awards & Recognition
Page 4 Research Spotlight: Dr. Xiaoyang Zhang
Page 5 Upcoming Retirements
Page 6 - 7 Geography Alumni Social, Recent Media Coverage
Page 8 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 9 - 11 Spring 2021 Dean's List and Academic Recognitions

How Acetylation Regulates Metabolic Enzyme Function During Environmental Shifts, Jared Canonigo

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae can regulate the mechanisms of proteins through post-translational modification. These modifications play a vital role in functional proteomic activity because they can regulate protein activity, localization, and interaction with other cellular molecules. Such modifications include phosphorylation, methylation, and acetylation. The metabolic mechanisms of yeast became of keen interest to our lab because our lab noticed many stress defense proteins were being acetylated during stress heat shock. Notably, Adh1p and Adh2p showed both an increase and a decrease in acetylation at two lysine residues (K315 and K314) overtime during heat shock respectively, though the exact function …

New Applications For The Kinetic Exclusion Assay (Kinexa), Mark Harrison Smith

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the fundamental principles and applicability of the kinetic exclusion assay (KinExA), developed and marketed by Sapidyne Instruments of Boise, Idaho, since 1995. Chapter One reviews and consolidates the manufacturer’s guidance and many early papers that delineate the practical and theoretical aspects of the technology. In brief, KinExA is a two stage analytical system. In stage one, a number of solutions are prepared, whereby one of the partners is kept constant (the constant binding partner, or CBP), while the other (the titrant) is varied, usually in serial dilution. As the titrant is increased, the free CBP decreases, and …

Natural Noise Can Influence Bird Foraging And Vigilance Behavior, Kate Antonia Sweet

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Natural sounds are an often overlooked, yet important component of an animal’s habitat. The acoustic environment may be especially significant during foraging, because a noisy world can limit auditory surveillance. Here, we investigated how natural noise structures the foraging vigilance trade-off to understand how intense acoustic environments may have shaped antipredator behavior across the evolutionary past, and better inform conservation efforts in the present.

First, in Chapter 1, I directly compared the foraging and vigilance behaviors of captive song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) in anthropogenic and natural noise. We recorded foraging trials in 4 playback conditions (roadway traffic, whitewater …

Determine The Effects Of Propionate On The Activation Of Macrophages Against The Intracellular Pathogen Listeria Monocytogenes, Leah O. Allen

Honors Theses

The main goal of this research is to see how propionate, a common food preservative and an important metabolite in humans, alters the activation of our immune system. The effects of propionate on macrophage activation will be determined by using nitrite and LDH assays. For these assays, different concentrations of propionate will be tested to determine how macrophages respond to the activation by LPS and interferon gamma. Another goal of this project is to determine the effects of propionate and macrophage activation on intracellular survival of L. monocytogenes. A gentamicin protection assay will be used to better establish the role …

Leaf Phenology And Freeze Tolerance Of The Invasive Tree Pyrus Calleryana (Rosaceae) And Potential Native Competitors, Abby E. Hay

Honors Theses

Pyrus calleryana is quickly becoming one of the most problematic invasive species in the Eastern and Central part of the United States. Pyrus calleryana is an early successional species that quickly proliferates in highly disturbed soils such as old fields and younger prairies. Currently, this species poses a large threat to land managers as it changes the successional trajectories of forest and prairie systems, creating new novel ecosystems. Pyrus calleryana outcompetes most native early successional species and is relatively understudied. The mechanism in which Pyrus calleryana utilizes to dominate ecosystems are not fully understood, but one theory is Pyrus calleryana …

Determine The Effects Of Propionate On The Interactions Between Macrophages And Listeria Monocytogenes, Stephanie M. Johnson

Honors Theses

Listeria monocytogenes is an opportunistic and intracellular foodborne pathogen that can be deadly in high risk populations. During infection in the human body, L. monocytogenes may encounter macrophages, a type of white blood cell that is critical in innate immune response both by directly targeting invading pathogens and by eliciting adaptive immune responses. During intestinal as well as peripheral infections, both L. monocytogenes and macrophages may encounter propionate, a common gut microbiome metabolite. Although propionate is shown to have various regulatory and nutritional functions, its effects on infection outcome is not well understood. Therefore, the goal of this research is …

An Exploration Of The Widely Observed Mechanisms Permitting Freeze Tolerance & The Potential Of Cope’S Gray Treefrog, Dryophytes Chrysoscelis, Samuel A. Ripley

Honors Theses

Over 80% of the Earth’s surface is exposed to seasonal cold temperatures less than 5.0oC. Ectotherms implement a variety of strategies to survive seasonal, or permanent, cold exposure. Some of the most common overwintering strategies are migration, hibernation, and freeze avoiding behavior. However, freeze tolerance is a minority choice among ectotherms. This strategy permits organisms to survive between 50.0 to 70.0% of their total body water volumes frozen primarily in extracellular spaces for up to several months at a time. Freeze tolerant organisms undergo minimal supercooling of their body fluids to ensure ice formation is slow and produce a wide …