Biology Commons^™

The Justice Challenge: Honors Endeavors Innovative Pedagogies Through The Grand Challenge Scholars Program, Jonathan Kotinek, Rebecca C. Bott-Knutson, Leigh E. Fine, Joy L. Hart, William Ziegler, Paul Knox, Timothy Nichols, Susan Sumner, Heidi Appel, Mark C. Andersen

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Honors practitioners from fourteen colleges and programs across the country at land-grant, public, and minority-serving institutions partner with agricultural experts to secure a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Higher Education Challenge grant focused on the themes of food justice, climate justice, and sustainable agriculture. Authors describe the program’s origin, objectives, and curricular outgrowths, highlighting its efficacy for empowering students in areas of systems thinking, career readiness, leadership in the service of addressing social needs, and learning through civic engagement.

Nilgai, Boselaphus Tragocamelus And White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus Use Of Water Troughs With And Without Remotely Operated Field Sprayers For Potential Treatment Of Cattle Fever Ticks, John A. Goolsby, Mauricio Cruz, Reyes Garcia Iii, Lauren P. Maestas, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Nilgai antelope, Boselaphus tragocamelus and white-tailed deer (WTD), Odocoileus virginianus are hosts of cattle fever ticks, Rhipicephalus (=Boophilus) microplus, in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Daily use of water troughs and ponds were observed to determine if these locations could be used for field treatment methods for cattle fever ticks using remotely operated field sprayers. Game cameras (n=16) were deployed between June 2020 and September 2022 at two private ranches in Cameron County, TX. Both nilgai and WTD visited water troughs equipped with motion detecting sprayers in similar numbers to ponds, but numbers of animal visits were …

Measuring And Modeling How Plant-Microbe Interactions Control Soil Carbon And Nitrogen Cycling In Managed And Unmanaged Ecosystems, Joanna Ridgeway

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Our understanding of how plant-microbe interactions regulate carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) retention in soil organic matter (SOM) remains uncertain. Conflicting evidence suggests that microbial decomposition can lead to the loss of unprotected particulate SOM, but also that microbial decomposition produces simpler compounds that preferentially form more persistent aggregate- or mineral-protected SOM pools. Further, uncertainty remains in how plant-microbe interactions alter SOM retention in these different pools through litter chemistry controls on microbial decomposition traits and rhizosphere priming. As a result, this uncertainty limits our ability to sustainably manage ecosystems and understand future feedbacks between terrestrial ecosystems and the global …

Quantifying The Impacts Of Genetically Engineered Crops And Deep Soil C Cycling On The Sustainability Of Bioenergy Crop Production, Zoe Pagliaro

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Bioenergy can help mitigate climate change by providing a carbon-neutral fuel source. However, multiple challenges exist to achieving carbon neutrality including converting lignocellulosic materials to fuel and enhancing soil C sequestration during the growth of the feedstocks. To address these challenges, there have been recent efforts to genetically modify feedstocks to produce more energy dense oils that increase fuel conversion efficiency and to cultivate deep-rooted perennial feedstocks that can enhance soil C storage. However, the C consequences and efficacy of these solutions remain largely uncertain.

To examine the C consequences of enhancing oil content of bioenergy feedstocks, I examined the …

Ecological Niche Comparison Among Closely Related Tree Species Of Lauraceae Using Climatic And Edaphic Data, Laura J. Giraldo-Kalil, Gonzalo E. Pinilla Buitrago, Andrés Lira-Noriega, Francisco Lorea-Hernández, Juan Núñez-Farfán

Publications and Research

ABSTRACT:

Edaphic specialization is considered to promote ecological differentiation among closely related species of Damburneya (Lauraceae) occurring in sympatry. However, little is known about the effects of soil and other key environmental factors like climate on the ecological niche and distribution of these tree species. Here, we assessed the role of climate and soil on niche divergence and potential distribution of four Damburneya species whose distributions span Central America and Mexico. We performed ecological niche modeling with MaxEnt using three sets of environmental data: climatic-only, edaphic-only, and a combination of both, to characterize species niches and suitable distribution areas. Niche …

Ubiquitination Of The Protocadherin-Γa3 Variable Cytoplasmic Domain Modulates Cell-Cell Interaction, Albert Ptashnik, Nicole Lamassa, Aliya Mambetalieva, Emily Schnall, Mike Bucaro, Greg R. Phillips

Publications and Research

The family of ∼60 clustered protocadherins (Pcdhs) are cell adhesion molecules encoded by a genomic locus that regulates expression of distinct combinations of isoforms in individual neurons resulting in what is thought to be a neural surface “barcode” which mediates same-cell interactions of dendrites, as well as interactions with other cells in the environment. Pcdh mediated same-cell dendrite interactions were shown to result in avoidance while interactions between different cells through Pcdhs, such as between neurons and astrocytes, appear to be stable. The cell biological mechanism of the consequences of Pcdh based adhesion is not well understood although various signaling …

Human–Black Bear Interactions And Public Attitudinal Changes In An Urban Ordinance Zone, Mark A. Barrett, Sarah E. Barrett, David J. Telesco, Michael A. Orlando

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human–bear (Ursus spp.) interactions (HBI) commonly occur in residential areas throughout North America. Negative HBI can be alleviated by using bear-resistant garbage cans (BRC) and by securing other bear attractants (e.g., bird feeders). Since the early 2000s, human and Florida black bear (U. americanus floridanus) densities have increased substantially throughout Florida, USA, concurrently producing an increase in HBI. In central Florida, an area with high densities of humans and black bears, we surveyed 2 neighborhoods that occurred in an urban ordinance zone established in 2016 that required residents to secure anthropogenic food sources. Residents were supplied with …

An Automatic System To Evaluate Bait Station Visitation By Brown Treesnakes And Mongooses, Robert T. Sugihara, William C. Pitt, Are R. Berentsen, Francis L. Benevides Jr.

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Understanding the temporal, spatial, and behavioral patterns of the free-ranging target species in response to candidate baits and baiting strategies is important to ensure control success. This information can also assist in the development and deployment of feeding stations and can exclude non-target species while constituting effective bait delivery and control strategies for certain invasive animals, especially at environmentally sensitive sites. We used passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags in conjunction with very-high frequency radio-telemetry to remotely record bait station visitations and evaluate bait attractiveness in separate field research studies of brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) on Andersen Air Force …

Pilot Study For Invasive Brown Treesnake Baiting In Residential Areas, Shane R. Siers, Juan-Carlos Mungaray, Jordan I. S. Barcinas, Jeried E. Calaor, Rachel M. Volsteadt, Martin Kastner, Scott M. Goetz, Melia G. Nafus, Thomas C. Hall

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The nocturnal brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis; BTS) was accidentally introduced to the island of Guam, USA, in the Western Pacific in 1945. The BTS has spread throughout all terrestrial habitats, causing wildlife loss and economic damage. Several tools and techniques have been developed to locally reduce BTS numbers and prevent their spread to other islands. The common analgesic acetaminophen has been registered as a low-risk pesticide to manage BTS in non-residential areas. Prior to a more intensive toxic baiting campaign on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, as part of a larger study to evaluate the effects of BTS …

Human–Alligator Incidents In The United States: Risky Human Behaviors Cause Most “Attacks”, Mark S. Teshera, Azar Kordbacheh, Frank J. Mazzotti

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Interactions between humans and American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), often resulting in negative outcomes for both participants, have occurred for centuries in the United States. As both populations increased over time, contact and conflict with one another became inevitable. Although human–alligator conflicts have been well documented, there has been no detailed classification of risk factors associated with human activities immediately preceding, and in most cases precipitating, an encounter. Herein, we provide a ranking system to categorize different human activities, based on risk levels, immediately preceding an encounter with an alligator. To complete our review in 2021, we initially gleaned …

The Protective Impact Of Growth Hormone Against Rotenone-Induced Apoptotic Cell Death Via Acting On Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress And Autophagy Axis, Özge Rencüzoğullari, Selay Tornaci, Yağmur Çeli̇k, Nayat Narot Taş, Pinar Obakan Yerli̇kaya, Eli̇f Damla Arisan, Ajda Çoker Gürkan

Turkish Journal of Biology

Human growth hormone (GH) is crucial modulator of cellular metabolisms, including cell proliferation and organ development, by stimulating insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which has various functions such as cell proliferation, tissue growth, survival, or neuroprotection. Therefore, GH is implicated as a critical player in the cell and can enhance neurogenesis and provide neuroprotection during the treatment of neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, the neuroprotective role of GH was investigated in rotenone-induced PD models for the first time. Both SH-SY5Y and SK-N-AS neuroblastoma cells were exposed to rotenone to mimic PD pathogenesis as stated in previous …

Rpi-1 (Human Dcdc2) Displays Functional Redundancy With Nephronophthisis 4 In Regulating Cilia Biogenesis In C. Elegans, Oktay İsmai̇l Kaplan

Turkish Journal of Biology

Projecting from most cell surfaces, cilia serve as important hubs for sensory and signaling processes and have been linked to a variety of human disorders, including Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS), Meckel-Gruber Syndrome (MKS), Nephronophthisis (NPHP), and Joubert Syndrome, and these diseases are collectively known as a ciliopathy. DCDC2 is a ciliopathy protein that localizes to cilia; nevertheless, our understanding of the role of DCDC2 in cilia is still limited. We employed C. elegans to investigate the function of C. elegans RPI-1, a Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog of human DCDC2, in cilia and found that C. elegans RPI-1 localizes to the entire ciliary …

Effects Of Growth Factor Deprivation On Mkn-45 Spheroid Cells, Özlem Türksoy, Gökhan Terzi̇oğlu

Turkish Journal of Biology

Background/aim: Serum and growth factor deprivation, a common cellular stressor in solid tumors, arises upon irradiation, chemotherapy, and antiangiogenesis. Spheroid body culture aims to enrich cancer stem cells by using low attachment conditions and some growth factors, such as basic fibroblast growth factor and epidermal growth factor to support the spheroid formation in serum-free spheroid culture. However, spheroid culture without any growth factors can imitate the tumor environment more realistically. In this study, we aimed to identify the effect of growth factor deprivation on the MKN-45 gastric cancer cell line in terms of stemness characteristics. Materials and methods: The spheroids …

Application Of Scanning Acoustic Microscopy For Evaluation Of Mmp Activation In Multiple Cancer Cell Lines With A Smart Probe, Hasan Ozan Otaş, Nasi̇re Uluç, İrem Demi̇rkan, Ayli̇n Alkan, Açelya Yilmazer, Seda Yaşa Ercan, Davod Khalafkhany, Nesri̇n Özören, Mehmet Burçi̇n Ünlü

Turkish Journal of Biology

Background/aim: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in the evaluation of many cancer types; however, the detection usually presents a challenge. Further assays for a better understanding of the fundamental roles of MMPs in pathophysiology are still needed. We aimed to use an activatable probe in scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) to evaluate acoustically if the probe can aid the visualization of the effects of in vitro MMP activity. Materials and methods: We applied scanning acoustic impedance microscopy to obtain acoustic impedance maps of the cell line models of HT1080, THP-1, and SK-MEL-28 with and without MMPSense 680 probe incubation. …

Understanding Human Gut Bacterial Interactions And Their Role In Colonization Resistance Against Clostridioides Difficile Using Mini-Bioreactor Array And Caenorhabditis Elegans As Model Systems, Achuthan Ambat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

C3 And C4 Grass Dominated Plant Communities Differ In Response To Future Larger And Less Frequent Rainfall, Zigeng Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is leading to larger and less frequent rainfall in the Northern Great Plains (NGP). We ask if this change in rainfall would influence carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling in the NGP. First, we collected soils from C3 and C4 grass dominated plant communities from western South Dakota and conducted an incubation experiment to explore the effects of soil water content (SWC) and temperature on soil respiration (Rs) and N mineralization rate (ΔIN). Second, we conducted a three-year rainfallmanipulation (RaMP) experiment with two distinct rainfall regimes (frequent/small and infrequent/large events with constant total monthly precipitation) and two grasses …

Island Meltdown: Demise Of The Abrolhos Painted Button-Quail Turnix Varius Scintillans In The Face Of Multiple Threats, Ryan Carter

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Island avifauna suffer high rates of extinction and decline. The major threats to island birds centre around the ecological impacts of invasive predators, competitors, and grazers. The Abrolhos Painted Button-quail (Turnix varius scintillans) is a subspecies that has been determined to be the 5th most likely taxon to become extinct in Australia. T. v. scintillans historically inhabited three islands in the Houtman Abrolhos archipelago off the mid-west coast of Australia. This study aimed to 1) confirm the status of T. v. scintillans on North Island and determine the main causes of decline, 2) model habitat variables with detections from camera …

Assessment Of Conservation Reserve Program Enhancements At Contract Renewal: Impact On Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) Habitat, Tristan L. Murphy

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a migratory species whose primary breeding range is the upper Midwestern United States. In 2022, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature listed the monarch as endangered due to milkweed and migratory habitat loss. One of the most promising opportunities for monarch recovery is to enhance habitat quality on private land currently enrolled in the USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). In order to qualify for re-enrollment in the program and continuation of annual government payments, farmers must show adequate habitat quality or enhance their site by overseeding after burning, herbicide application, …

The Angiogenic Potential Of Ph-Neutral Borophosphate Bioactive Glasses, Bradley A. Bromet, Nathaniel P. Blackwell, Nada Abokefa, Parker Freudenberger, Rebekah L. Blatt, Richard K. Brow, Julie A. Semon

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Borate bioactive glasses have gained attention in recent years due to their therapeutic and regenerative effects in vivo. However, borate bioactive glasses release alkaline ions, increasing the local pH and creating a toxic environment for cell culture studies. A partial compositional substitution of phosphate for borate can create a pH-neutral glass that does not significantly affect the local pH while still releasing therapeutic ions. In the present study, a series of Na-Ca-borophosphate bioactive glasses with different borate-to-phosphate ratios was evaluated in vitro and in vivo for cytotoxicity and angiogenic effects. Compared to more basic borate glasses, the pH-neutral glasses supported …

Edna Metabarcoding Of Avocado Flowers: ‘Hass’ It Got Potential To Survey Arthropods In Food Production Systems?, Joshua H. Kestel, Philip W. Bateman, David L. Field, Nicole E. White, Rose Lines, Paul Nevill

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In the face of global biodiversity declines, surveys of beneficial and antagonistic arthropod diversity as well as the ecological services that they provide are increasingly important in both natural and agro-ecosystems. Conventional survey methods used to monitor these communities often require extensive taxonomic expertise and are time-intensive, potentially limiting their application in industries such as agriculture, where arthropods often play a critical role in productivity (e.g. pollinators, pests and predators). Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of a novel substrate, crop flowers, may offer an accurate and high throughput alternative to aid in the detection of these managed and unmanaged taxa. Here, …

Lipidomic Features Of Honey Bee And Colony Health During Limited Supplementary Feeding, Clara E. Castaños, Mary C. Boyce, Tiffane Bates, A. Harvey Millar, Gavin Flematti, Nathan G. Lawler, Julia Grassl

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Honey bee nutritional health depends on nectar and pollen, which provide the main source of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids to individual bees. During malnutrition, insect metabolism accesses fat body reserves. However, this process in bees and its repercussions at the colony level are poorly understood. Using untargeted lipidomics and gene expression analysis, we examined the effects of different feeding treatments (starvation, sugar feeding and sugar + pollen feeding) on bees and correlated them with colony health indicators. We found that nutritional stress led to an increase in unsaturated triacylglycerols and diacylglycerols, as well as a decrease in free fatty acids …

Microscale Pollen Release And Dispersal Patterns In Flowering Grass Populations, Carl A. Frisk, Godfrey P. Apangu, Geoffrey M. Petch, Simon Creer, Mary Hanson, Beverley Adams-Groom, Carsten A. Skjøth

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Characterizing pollen release and dispersion processes is fundamental for knowledge advancement in ecological, agricultural and public health disciplines. Understanding pollen dispersion from grass communities is especially relevant due to their high species-specific allergenicity and heterogeneously distributed source areas. Here, we aimed to address questions concerning fine level heterogeneity in grass pollen release and dispersion processes, with a focus on characterizing the taxonomic composition of airborne grass pollen over the grass flowering season using eDNA and molecular ecology methods. High resolution grass pollen concentrations were compared between three microscale sites ( < 300 m apart) in a rural area in Worcestershire, UK. The grass pollen was modelled with local meteorology in a MANOVA (Multivariate ANOVA) approach to investigate factors relevant to pollen release and dispersion. Simultaneously, airborne pollen was sequenced using Illumina MySeq for metabarcoding, analysed against a reference database with all UK grasses using the R packages DADA2 and phyloseq to calculate Shannon's Diversity Index ( -diversity). The flowering phenology of a local Festuca rubra population was observed. We found that grass pollen concentrations varied on a microscale level, likely attributed to local topography and the dispersion distance of pollen from flowering grasses in local source areas. Six genera (Agrostis, Alopecurus, Arrhenatherum, Holcus, Lolium and Poa) dominated the pollen season, comprising on average 77 % of the relative abundance of grass species reads. Temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, turbulence and wind speeds were found to be relevant for grass pollen release and dispersion processes. An isolated flowering Festuca rubra population contributed almost 40 % of the relative pollen abundance adjacent to the nearby sampler, but only contributed 1 % to samplers situated 300 m away. This suggests that most emitted grass pollen has limited dispersion distance and our results show substantial variation in airborne grass species composition over short geographical scales.

Environmental Dna Metabarcoding As A Tool For Fish Community Assessment In Wetlands, Eric Ludwig

Masters Theses

"Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a genetically based method of assessing biodiversity in aquatic environments. While the efficacy of eDNA surveys has been well documented in riverine and marine systems, it has been relatively underemployed in freshwater wetland environments. In this study, we conducted an eDNA metabarcoding survey of fish diversity and its seasonal variation in a wetland along the Mississippi River in the Missouri Bootheel. Samples were collected from both permanent and seasonal water bodies including oxbow lakes, a shallow, man-made lake, a ditch, and a slough. For each of the 28 sites in this study, three water samples …