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2022

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Articles 1531 - 1560 of 1814

Full-Text Articles in Biology

Economic Costs Of Biological Invasions In The United States, Jean E. Fantle-Lepczyk, Phillip J. Haubrock, Andrew M. Kramer, Ross N. Cuthbert, Anna J. Turbelin, Robert Crystal-Ornelas, Christophe Diagne, Franck Courchamp Jan 2022

Economic Costs Of Biological Invasions In The United States, Jean E. Fantle-Lepczyk, Phillip J. Haubrock, Andrew M. Kramer, Ross N. Cuthbert, Anna J. Turbelin, Robert Crystal-Ornelas, Christophe Diagne, Franck Courchamp

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

The United States has thousands of invasive species, representing a sizable, but unknown burden to the national economy. Given the potential economic repercussions of invasive species, quantifying these costs is of paramount importance both for national economies and invasion management. Here, we used a novel global database of invasion costs (InvaCost) to quantify the overall costs of invasive species in the United States across spatiotemporal, taxonomic, and socioeconomic scales. From 1960 to 2020, reported invasion costs totaled $4.52 trillion (USD 2017). Considering only observed, highly reliable costs, this total cost reached $1.22 trillion with an average annual cost of …

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Knowledge Gaps In Economic Costs Of Invasive Alien Fish Worldwide, Phillip J. Haubrock, Camille Bernery, Ross N. Cuthbert, Chunlong Liu, Melina Kourantidou, Boris Leroy, Anna J. Turbelin, Andrew M. Kramer, Laura N.H. Verbrugge, Christophe Diagne, Franck Courchamp, Rodolphe E. Gozlan Jan 2022

Knowledge Gaps In Economic Costs Of Invasive Alien Fish Worldwide, Phillip J. Haubrock, Camille Bernery, Ross N. Cuthbert, Chunlong Liu, Melina Kourantidou, Boris Leroy, Anna J. Turbelin, Andrew M. Kramer, Laura N.H. Verbrugge, Christophe Diagne, Franck Courchamp, Rodolphe E. Gozlan

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Invasive alien fishes have had pernicious ecological and economic impacts on both aquatic ecosystems and human societies. However, a comprehensive and collective assessment of their monetary costs is still lacking. In this study, we collected and reviewed reported data on the economic impacts of invasive alien fishes using InvaCost, the most comprehensive global database of invasion costs. We analysed how total (i.e. both observed and potential/predicted) and observed (i.e. empirically incurred only) costs of fish invasions are distributed geographically and temporally and assessed which socioeconomic sectors are most affected. Fish invasions have potentially caused the economic loss of at least …

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Blue Mussel Hybrid Complex Shifts In The Gulf Of Maine Towards A Dominance Of Mytilus Edulis, Daniel Woods Jan 2022

Blue Mussel Hybrid Complex Shifts In The Gulf Of Maine Towards A Dominance Of Mytilus Edulis, Daniel Woods

Honors Program Theses

The Gulf of Maine (GOM) in the United States is the fastest warming body of water in the world. Due to a complex history of glaciation, the GOM has restricted circulation that causes it to function more akin to an enclosed sea. As climate change has disrupted the stable flow of the Gulf Stream, more warm-water currents are entering the GOM at higher frequency. This warming has had a profound impact on the distribution of the blue mussel, Mytilus spp., which inhabits the rocky intertidal habitat within the GOM as the main prey species to a keystone predator. Two sister …

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Dataset For: Mapping Fire History And Quantifying Burned Area Through 35 Years Of Prescribed Fire History At An Illinois Tallgrass Prairie Restoration Site Using Gis, Erin G. Rowland-Schaefer, Elizabeth M. Bach, Bill P. Kleiman, Holly P. Jones Jan 2022

Dataset For: Mapping Fire History And Quantifying Burned Area Through 35 Years Of Prescribed Fire History At An Illinois Tallgrass Prairie Restoration Site Using Gis, Erin G. Rowland-Schaefer, Elizabeth M. Bach, Bill P. Kleiman, Holly P. Jones

Research Datasets

Fire was important to pre-colonization prairies. In today’s remnant and reconstructed prairies, managers frequently employ prescribed fire, a historical management practice that limits woody encroachment, suppresses non-native species, and promotes nutrient cycling. However, few long-term prescribed fire spatial datasets are available for study. We used archived images of prescribed fire maps and hand-drawn fire records to generate a geospatial record of the prescribed fire history at Nachusa Grasslands, a combination remnant and restored preserve in northern Illinois. This record contains maps of the prescribed fire history of the preserve across the entirety of its 35-year history. We used the maps …

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Geographic Range Size As A Predictor Of Dispersal-Dependent Behavioral Traits In Two Clades Of A Terrestrial Salamander, Teah Evers Jan 2022

Geographic Range Size As A Predictor Of Dispersal-Dependent Behavioral Traits In Two Clades Of A Terrestrial Salamander, Teah Evers

Masters Theses

Animal movement has the potential to affect diverse processes within ecology and evolution including range expansion, gene flow, adaptation, and speciation. Two aspects of animal personality that are germane to dispersal are exploratory and aggressive behavior. These behavioral categories may represent a trade-off such that energy invested in territorial defense leaves little energy for movement and dispersal. The Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is a wide ranging, dispersal limited, terrestrial salamander with well documented phylogeographic divisions. I examined dispersal-relevant behavioral traits within two clades of P. cinereus with disparate geographic ranges. The Northern Clade (NC) has a range extending from …

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Analysis Of Hematocrit Levels In Walleye Sander Vitreus From Similar Waterbodies, Alyssa Hauser Jan 2022

Analysis Of Hematocrit Levels In Walleye Sander Vitreus From Similar Waterbodies, Alyssa Hauser

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Walleye Sander vitreus are a popular fish among anglers and hold a prominent place in Minnesotan’s identity as their state fish. Because of this, multiple management practices are used to ensure the continued health of their populations within Minnesota waters. In this study, the process of analyzing hematocrit levels was used to determine if the analysis of hematological parameters could be a useful tool in detecting differences in population health. To evaluate this, blood samples were acquired from age-0 and age-1 fish from two similar lakes and run through a hematocrit centrifuge to separate platelets from plasma to read the …

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The Effects Of Diet On Yellow Perch Morphology Throughout Lake Bemidji, Quiana L. Radaich Jan 2022

The Effects Of Diet On Yellow Perch Morphology Throughout Lake Bemidji, Quiana L. Radaich

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Morphology is very important as it looks at the arrangement of an organism’s parts to determine their functionality, development, and how they could have changed through evolution. It is also important for the identification of species as it can show how closely species are related. This study examines if the morphology of yellow perch changes throughout Lake Bemidji. Along with examining a subset of five stomachs for each group (A-F) of yellow perch collected to determine if diet was a driving force behind morphological changes. The data collected in this study suggested that morphology does change throughout Lake Bemidji and …

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Multiomic Hypotheses Underlying Behavioral Manipulation Of Camponotus Floridanus Ants By Ophiocordyceps Camponoti-Floridani Fungi, Ian Will Jan 2022

Multiomic Hypotheses Underlying Behavioral Manipulation Of Camponotus Floridanus Ants By Ophiocordyceps Camponoti-Floridani Fungi, Ian Will

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Parasitic manipulation of host behavior lies at the intersection of disease, animal behavior, and coevolutionary processes. In many of these interactions, the underpinning biology is brought into sharp focus as they are obligate relationships, under strong selection to bring about specific changes in host behavior that determine if the parasite will transmit or die. However, experimental and molecular techniques to understand these interactions are still developing and identification of the mechanisms of manipulation is a primary goal in the field. As such, we investigated host-parasite interactions between Camponotus floridanus (Florida carpenter ant) and Ophiocordyceps camponoti-floridani (Florida zombie ant fungus) from …

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An Expert-Curated Global Database Of Online Newspaper Articles On Spiders And Spider Bites, Stefano Mammola, Laura Segura-Hernández, Et Al. Jan 2022

An Expert-Curated Global Database Of Online Newspaper Articles On Spiders And Spider Bites, Stefano Mammola, Laura Segura-Hernández, Et Al.

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Mass media plays an important role in the construction and circulation of risk perception associated with animals. Widely feared groups such as spiders frequently end up in the spotlight of traditional and social media. We compiled an expert-curated global database on the online newspaper coverage of human-spider encounters over the past ten years (2010– 2020). This database includes information about the location of each human-spider encounter reported in the news article and a quantitative characterisation of the content—location, presence of photographs of spiders and bites, number and type of errors, consultation of experts, and a subjective assessment of sensationalism. In …

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Elucidation Of Novel And Established Campylobacter Species With Clinical And Agricultural Significance Through Phenotypic, Genotypic, And Taxonomic Investigation, Caoimhe Lynch Jan 2022

Elucidation Of Novel And Established Campylobacter Species With Clinical And Agricultural Significance Through Phenotypic, Genotypic, And Taxonomic Investigation, Caoimhe Lynch

Theses

Campylobacter spp. are well-established human, veterinary and economic pathogens, with a broad host range spanning from terrestrial and marine mammalian, avian and reptilian hosts. The scope of the study includes novel and notorious species within the genus, with reference to zoonotic agents Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli - the leading cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis in the EU and Ireland, Campylobacter fetus that represents the most common campylobacter causing bacteraemia and two novel species isolated from pigs not described in the literature previously. C. jejuni and C. coli isolates (n = 350) recovered from broiler caecal and neck skin samples, …

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Optimising The Carcass Merit Of Irish Beef Cattle Using Genetic And Non-Genetic Information At The Animal And Herd Level, David Kenny Jan 2022

Optimising The Carcass Merit Of Irish Beef Cattle Using Genetic And Non-Genetic Information At The Animal And Herd Level, David Kenny

Theses

Failure of beef carcasses to achieve desirable carcass specifications represent inefficiencies within the supply chain, namely greater carcass processing costs and the inability of the resulting primal cuts to conform to high-value market specifications. Analysis of a representative sample of prime Irish beef cattle conducted in this thesis determined that 59% of cattle fail to achieve the desired carcass specifications of the supply chain at slaughter. The objective of this thesis was to use readily available information to define strategies that could help to reduce this statistic. Firstly, the likelihood of Irish beef carcasses achieving the desired carcass specifications was …

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Development Of Hemic Neoplasia In The Soft-Shell Clam (Mya Arenaria) Along The East Coast Of The United States, Nicole B. Seitz Jan 2022

Development Of Hemic Neoplasia In The Soft-Shell Clam (Mya Arenaria) Along The East Coast Of The United States, Nicole B. Seitz

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Hemic neoplasia (HN) is a bivalve disease characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal hemocytes that invade solid tissue, similar to vertebrate leukemia, ultimately leading to death. High disease prevalence has been reported in many bivalve populations, yet disease etiology and development remain minimally understood. In this study, nine East Coast populations of soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) were evaluated between 2011-2012 to identify environmental and health factors associated with HN. PCA analysis and statistical testing were used to compare data at and between each population based on HN status. The percentage of organisms with terminal stage 4 HN (76-100% …

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Effect Of Metal-Containing Nanoparticles On Bacterial Biofilms And On The Microbiome Of Girardia Tigrina, Azar Saikali Jan 2022

Effect Of Metal-Containing Nanoparticles On Bacterial Biofilms And On The Microbiome Of Girardia Tigrina, Azar Saikali

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Anthropogenically-produced nanoparticles are a form of nanotechnology being used in industries including food and textiles. Humans and livestock are frequently exposed to metal-containing nanoparticles (MCNPs), that have been washed into streams and rivers, have been deliberately used in food packaging as antimicrobials, preservatives or for supplementation. The animal microbiome, which consists of a diverse community of microorganisms, provides a number of benefits to the host in terms of nutrition availability, immune support, and can influence behavior. Biofilms of diverse microbes may cause detrimental effects, for instance by causing dental diseases in humans. However, the scientific community has not reached consensus …

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Fibropapillomatosis And Chelonid Herpesvirus 5 Dynamics In Juvenile Green Turtles Of The Indian River Lagoon, Florida, Usa, Jake Kelley Jan 2022

Fibropapillomatosis And Chelonid Herpesvirus 5 Dynamics In Juvenile Green Turtles Of The Indian River Lagoon, Florida, Usa, Jake Kelley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor-forming sea turtle disease that mainly affects juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in coastal foraging sites. The cause of FP is unclear, but likely involves the putative pathogen chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5). The overall dynamics of this disease are poorly understood, in part due to the difficulty of inferring disease and infection statuses of turtles without evidence of FP. In this study, I investigated the FP disease system in juvenile green turtles of the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), Florida, USA, to better understand disease and pathogen dynamics. First, I developed a hierarchical model for predicting FP …

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Activity Patterns Among Head-Started Juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys Temminckii), Parker R. Golliglee Jan 2022

Activity Patterns Among Head-Started Juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys Temminckii), Parker R. Golliglee

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In contrast to many species of aquatic turtle, Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) are putatively nocturnal. Data supporting this assertion are chiefly anecdotal, however, and two recent studies cast doubt on this generalization. Differences in activity patterns may be related to variability in temperature and photoperiod across the species’ range and may be influenced by ontogenetic changes, as well. To assess this, I equipped juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtles spanning a range of different ages with activity data loggers. I used 4-year-old turtles were to measure latitudinal differences in activity which were reared in hatchery ponds spanning the species’ …

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Investigation Of The Neuroprotective Effects Of Grape Seed Extract On Trigeminal Ganglion Primary Cultures, Sophia Rose Antonopoulos Jan 2022

Investigation Of The Neuroprotective Effects Of Grape Seed Extract On Trigeminal Ganglion Primary Cultures, Sophia Rose Antonopoulos

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Migraine and temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are prevalent, debilitating orofacial pain conditions involving peripheral and central sensitization of the trigeminal system. The pro-inflammatory neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which is synthesized and secreted from trigeminal ganglion neurons, is implicated in the underlying pathology of migraine and TMD. Secreted CGRP modulates the excitability state of neurons and glial cells that express CGRP receptors. Recent studies from our lab in preclinical models of migraine and TMD have provided evidence that dietary supplementation with a proanthocyanin-enriched grape seed extract (GSE) inhibits trigeminal pain signaling. The effect of GSE was blocked by an antagonist of …

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Decomposition And Macroinvertebrate Shredder Colonization Of Autumnal Shed Sycamore Leaves In Mining-Contaminated Streams, Leslie Marie Hatch Jan 2022

Decomposition And Macroinvertebrate Shredder Colonization Of Autumnal Shed Sycamore Leaves In Mining-Contaminated Streams, Leslie Marie Hatch

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Leaf decomposition in streams is an important ecological function facilitated by bacteria, fungi, and macroinvertebrates. Metal contamination can decrease leaf decomposition rates and reduce macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity. In the current study, I focused on mining-contamination in well-buffered streams in two different Missouri mining districts with varying extents of mining contamination, Big River and Pierson Creek. I measured decomposition rates of sycamore leaves, and abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrate shredders in leaf pack experiments with a full-factorial design to determine the effects of metal contamination of leaves and stream substrates. Comparisons were made between leaf packs upstream and downstream of …

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Evaluating Exploitation Of White Crappie And Black Crappie In Three Southeast Kansas Reservoirs, Danci Lee Johnston Jan 2022

Evaluating Exploitation Of White Crappie And Black Crappie In Three Southeast Kansas Reservoirs, Danci Lee Johnston

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Populations of white crappie Pomoxis annularis and black crappie P. nigromaculatus were studied in three southeast Kansas reservoirs to assess exploitation and determine if current regulations were conducive for sustainable populations. Trap nets were used to sample crappie in Elk City Reservoir, Big Hill Reservoir, and Parsons City Lake. Crappie with length 210 mm and greater were tagged with FloyFD-94 tags that served as entries into a drawing for a US$300-valued reward to encourage tag reporting. Harvest and angler demographic information were collected when tags were reported. Postcard surveys and motion-sensed cameras were used in conjunction to estimate angler effort …

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Factors Related To Species Richness, Endemism, And Conservation Status Of The Herpetofauna (Amphibia And Reptilia) Of Mexican States, Geoffrey R. Smith, Julio A. Lemos-Espinal Jan 2022

Factors Related To Species Richness, Endemism, And Conservation Status Of The Herpetofauna (Amphibia And Reptilia) Of Mexican States, Geoffrey R. Smith, Julio A. Lemos-Espinal

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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Final Report Floating Upwelling System Harvest Road Oceans, Robert Michael, Scott Bennett Jan 2022

Final Report Floating Upwelling System Harvest Road Oceans, Robert Michael, Scott Bennett

Fisheries Occasional Publications

A Floating Upwelling System or FLUPSY is a mechanical system for the culture of seed stock during the nursery stage of commercial bivalve production.

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A Baraminological Analysis Of The Loons (Gaviiformes: Gaviidae) Reveals Their Holobaraminic Status, Timothy R. Brophy, Mary-Clark Matthews, Alexis Ramerth, Mckayla Guillory Jan 2022

A Baraminological Analysis Of The Loons (Gaviiformes: Gaviidae) Reveals Their Holobaraminic Status, Timothy R. Brophy, Mary-Clark Matthews, Alexis Ramerth, Mckayla Guillory

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

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Parent-Prompted Dysregulation: Do Parents Serve As Cues For Dysregulation In Some Children?, Daniel Lee Jan 2022

Parent-Prompted Dysregulation: Do Parents Serve As Cues For Dysregulation In Some Children?, Daniel Lee

Pitzer Senior Theses

Children occasionally encounter dysregulation when interacting with their parents in relatively neutral or positive scenarios. Given that the cause of dysregulation is usually relational, meaning it is often cued by someone who is seen to have power or control over the person, children could be particularly susceptible to dysregulation in the presence of their parents. However, when examining the existing literature, there appeared to be a lack of research and knowledge concerning this topic, with much of the literature focusing on the effect of child stressors on parental dysregulation. As a result, the term parent-prompted dysregulation was developed to refer …

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Characterizing Cellular Stress, Hippocampal Function, And Behavior In A Novel Rat Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Anne A. Schulman Jan 2022

Characterizing Cellular Stress, Hippocampal Function, And Behavior In A Novel Rat Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Anne A. Schulman

Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects over 5 million individuals in the United States alone. While AD is primarily thought of as a disease that destroys neural networks required for memory recall and formation, AD also cause impairment in emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, and executive function pathways. The cause of AD is unknown; however, the allele ApoE4 has been identified as a risk factor for the onset of AD. ApoE4 provides a valuable opportunity to study AD through animal models. This thesis utilized a human ApoE4 transgenic rat model (hApoE4) to investigate the biological and behavioral …

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Modeling Jadera Haematoloma’S Phenotypic Variation In The Context Of Its Developmental Plasticity, Michael C. Yorsz Jan 2022

Modeling Jadera Haematoloma’S Phenotypic Variation In The Context Of Its Developmental Plasticity, Michael C. Yorsz

Honors Theses

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of an organism to integrate information from environmental cues to inform the development of its phenotype and remains understudied in biology. Models of plasticity are needed because evolution in the presence of plasticity is poorly understood. Jadera haematoloma, a hemimetabolous true bug, is an excellent animal model of plasticity, exhibiting a non-linear plastic response to juvenile nutrition that biases adult development into groups with differences in flight capability, wing shape, and fecundity. However, there is a lack of literature consensus regarding the range of developmental outcomes in the species. Some publications report the presence …

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Revisiting Clickers: In-Class Questions Followed By At-Home Reflections Are Associated With Higher Student Performance On Related Exam Questions, Dana L. Kirkwood-Watts, Emily K. Bremers, Emily Robinson, Kathleen R. Brazeal, Brian A. Couch Jan 2022

Revisiting Clickers: In-Class Questions Followed By At-Home Reflections Are Associated With Higher Student Performance On Related Exam Questions, Dana L. Kirkwood-Watts, Emily K. Bremers, Emily Robinson, Kathleen R. Brazeal, Brian A. Couch

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Clicker questions are a commonly used active learning technique that stimulates student interactions to help advance understanding of key concepts. Clicker questions are often administered with an initial vote, peer discussion, and a second vote, followed by broader classroom explanation. While clickers can promote learning, some studies have questioned whether students maintain this performance on later exams, highlighting the need to further understand how student answer patterns relate to their understanding of the material and to identify ways for clickers to benefit a broader range of students. Systematic requizzing of concepts during at-home assignments represents a promising mechanism to improve …

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Developmental Validation Of A Bacterial Signature-Based Identification Method Of Forensically Relevant Human Biological Samples, Denise M. Wohlfahrt Jan 2022

Developmental Validation Of A Bacterial Signature-Based Identification Method Of Forensically Relevant Human Biological Samples, Denise M. Wohlfahrt

Theses and Dissertations

The confirmatory identification of body fluids is one of the most critical steps in criminal investigations, as it provides not only information on the source of the DNA, but it can corroborate evidence, aid in the reconstruction of a crime, and associate evidence with a person of interest. Current serological methods utilize biochemistry and immunology to identify biological evidence; however, these serological tests are mostly presumptive while only testing for one fluid at a time, potentially wasting precious evidence. More recently, forensic investigators have suggested the use of molecular methods such as mRNA, miRNA, or DNA methylation. While each of …

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Non-Linear Relationships Between Density And Demographic Traits In Three Aedes Species, Logan A. Sauers, Steven A. Juliano, Kelsey E. Hawes Jan 2022

Non-Linear Relationships Between Density And Demographic Traits In Three Aedes Species, Logan A. Sauers, Steven A. Juliano, Kelsey E. Hawes

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Understanding the relationship of population dynamics to density is central to many ecological investigations. Despite the importance of density-dependence in determining population growth, the empirical relationship between density and per capita growth remains understudied in most systems and is often assumed to be linear. In experimental studies of interspecifc competition, investigators often evaluate the predicted outcomes by assuming such linear relationships, ftting linear functions, and estimating parameters of competition models. In this paper, we experimentally describe the shape of the relationship between estimated population rate of change and initial density using laboratory-reared populations of three mosquito species. We estimated per …

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Avian Eggshell Coloration Predicts Shell-Matrix Protoporphyrin Content, Charles F. Thompson, Kara E. Hodges, Nathan T. Mortimer, Alysia D. Vrailas-Mortimer, Scott K. Sakaluk, Mark E. Hauber Jan 2022

Avian Eggshell Coloration Predicts Shell-Matrix Protoporphyrin Content, Charles F. Thompson, Kara E. Hodges, Nathan T. Mortimer, Alysia D. Vrailas-Mortimer, Scott K. Sakaluk, Mark E. Hauber

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Avian eggshell pigmentation may provide information about a female’s physiological condition, in particular her state of oxidative balance. Previously we found that female House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon Vieillot, 1809) with lighter, less-maculated, and redder ground-colored shells were older and produced heavier offspring than females laying more-maculated and browner eggs. The strong pro-oxidant protoporphyrin is responsible for this species’ eggshell pigmentation, so differences in pigmentary coloration may be related to eggshell protoporphyrin content and reflect female oxidative balance and condition during egg formation. Therefore, we tested the assumption that egg-surface coloration is related to the amount of protoporphyrin in the …

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Toward Building Science Literacy, Kathryn Rafferty Jan 2022

Toward Building Science Literacy, Kathryn Rafferty

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Reading scientific literature is a critical science competency that proves difficult to “teach.” Students enter our classes with varying science vocabularies, and many suffer imposter syndrome when reading technical reports because they do not yet identify as capable scientists. The “Science Literacy” assignment guides students to develop and expand strategies to read science articles. Over the semester, students read 5 to 6 articles ranging from peer-reviewed manuscripts to popular science magazines to science blogs about sequencing Ozzy Osbourne's DNA. In Canvas Discussion boards, they a guiding set of questions and then respond to their peers. This assignment is a low-stakes …

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Impacts Of Plastic Pollution On A Pelagic Marine Mammal, The Northern Elephant Seal, Lauren M. Kashiwabara Jan 2022

Impacts Of Plastic Pollution On A Pelagic Marine Mammal, The Northern Elephant Seal, Lauren M. Kashiwabara

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

As plastic pollution increases, top marine predators such as marine mammals are becoming increasingly susceptible to plastic particles and their additives. Plastic particles have been found in gastrointestinal tracts and scat of many marine mammals, and quantifying plastic pollution in those that are pelagic can provide insight into plastic pollution in mesopelagic ecosystems that are just beginning to be analyzed. Adapting well-developed laboratory techniques for microplastic (MP) isolation (i.e. density separation and chemical digestion), I isolated MPs from the scat of the deepest diving pinniped, the northern elephant seal (NES), and found that100% of scat samples (n=11) contained high counts …

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