Physiology Commons^™

Internal Vertebral Morphology Of Bony Fishes Matches The Mechanical Demands Of Different Environments, Dana Baxter, Karly E. Cohen, Cassandra M. Donatelli, Eric D. Tytell

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Fishes have repeatedly evolved characteristic body shapes depending on how close they live to the substrate. Pelagic fishes live in open water and typically have narrow, streamlined body shapes; benthic and demersal fishes live close to the substrate; and demersal fishes often have deeper bodies. These shape differences are often associated with behavioral differences: pelagic fishes swim nearly constantly, demersal fishes tend to maneuver near the substrate, and benthic fishes often lie in wait on the substrate. We hypothesized that these morphological and behavioral differences would be reflected in the mechanical properties of the body, and specifically in vertebral column …

Effects Of Temperature On Growth, Metabolic Rate, And Lower Dissolved Oxygen Tolerance Of Speckled Peacock Bass Cichla Temensis, Manuel E. Coffill-Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

I examined the effects of temperature (25, 30, and 35°C) on growth, standard metabolic rate (SMR), and lower dissolved oxygen tolerance (LDOT) of juvenile Speckled Peacock Bass Cichla temensis. Fish were acclimated to 150-L aquaria for 7 weeks before the growth, SMR, and LDOT experiments. The growth study lasted 58 days and fish acclimated to 25 and 30°C displayed similar growth rates, while fish acclimated to 35°C had very poor growth rates. The SMR and LDOT experiments were performed using intermittent respirometers. Fish acclimated to 25°C had the lowest SMR, followed by 30°C, and finally 35°C. The highest LDOT …

Maternal Responses In The Face Of Infection Risk, Patricia C. Lopes, Brenna M. G. Gormally, Aubrey Emmi, Delilah Schuerman, Chathuni Liyanage, Ursula K. Beattie, L. Michael Romero

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

When animals are sick, their physiology and behavior change in ways that can impact their offspring. Research is emerging showing that infection risk alone can also modify the physiology and behavior of healthy animals. If physiological responses to environments with high infection risk take place during reproduction, it is possible that they lead to maternal effects. Understanding whether and how high infection risk triggers maternal effects is important to elucidate how the impacts of infectious agents extend beyond infected individuals and how, in this way, they are even stronger evolutionary forces than already considered. Here, to evaluate the effects of …

A Multi-Species Study On Several Types Of Visitor Effects On The Behavior And Physiology Of Animals At The Oregon Zoo, Laurel Berylline Fink

Dissertations and Theses

The visitor effect on zoo animals is one of the expanding research topics in zoo animal research. As visitors are a mandatory feature of zoological institutions, understanding their effects on zoo animals is imperative for maximizing zoo animal welfare. Zoo animals are subject to many anthropogenic influences: visual, olfactory, and audible, for example. This dissertation investigates several of the effects of visitor presence and its relative influence on six mammalian species: cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), African painted dogs (Lycaon pictus), Asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus & Elephas maximus borneensis), giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata & …

Effects Of Sunrise/Sunset Lighting On Corticosterone Levels In Coturnix Quail (Coturnix Coturnix), Hannah Feuerborn

Poultry Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Both genetics and environment play an important role in the growth, performance and overall welfare of poultry species. Current commercial production practices typically do not mimic the natural environmental conditions of ancestral poultry species, specifically lighting requirements. In nature, poultry species are subjected to natural day length and the slow rising and setting of the sun. This is compared to commercial conditions in which lights are sudden on/off, not mimicking the natural trajectory of the sun in terms of light intensity and exposure. The current study aimed to evaluate the impact of genetics and the effect of sunrise/sunset lighting on …

The Influence Of Temperature And Body Size On Food Consumption In Prairie Lizards (Sceloporus Consobrinus), Morgan Pelley

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Understanding the effect of temperature on physiological and digestive processes, such as voluntary consumption rate, is critical for assessing the impact of climate change. Food consumption is required for lizard survival and reproduction and its rate is dependent on temperature. For ectotherms, as temperatures increase, the amount of food consumed to meet the energy requirements related to survival and reproduction must also increase. Information on the amount of food voluntarily consumed may aid in determining if lizards can meet energy requirements. Such information could also aid in predicting survival of lizard populations, through construction of predictive climate change models. In …

Life Line Spring 2022, Otterbein Biology And Earth Science Department

Life Line - The Biology Department Newsletter

In this Issue:

A CURE for the Typical STEM Classroom; Attracting Cardinals; Svitana Provides Training to IHS; The Cardinal Science Scholar Program; Mornings with Manatees; Viewing the Department from a New Perspective; Science Lecture Series Features Dr. Tyrone Hayes; Internship with Beinhower Brothers Drilling Company; New Student Chapter: The Botanical Society of America; STEM Art Show 2021; Got Bones?; The Robert and Ann Harting Endowed Award; Grossology Returns; Class Flocks to National Aviary

Maternal Drivers Of Reproductive Output In The Lizard Family Scincidae: A Phylogenetic Comparative Approach, William Zang

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of squamates, comprising over 1,300 species of lizards with a variety of life history and ecological traits. This diversity includes three reproductive modes, where some species reproduce via oviparity (egg-laying), viviparity (live birth) or use of a mixed strategy (females switch modes). In this study, it was sought whether reproductive output differs between scincid species using these reproductive modes. Reproductive output is defined as the average product of offspring abundance and size per reproductive event, representing the reproductive effort of an individual. Additionally, the importance of phylogeny (evolutionary relatedness) and a suite …

Effects Of Sunrise/Sunset Lighting On Corticosterone Levels In Coturnix Quail (Coturnix Coturnix), Hannah M. Feuerborn, Sara K. Orlowski

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Both genetics and environment play important roles in the growth, performance, and overall welfare of poultry species. Current commercial production practices typically do not mimic the natural environmental conditions of ancestral poultry species, specifically lighting. The current study aimed to evaluate the impact of genetics and the effect of sunrise/sunset lighting on the stress response of 4 genetic lines of Coturnix quail. The 4 lines utilized in this study included high stress (H), low stress (L), stress control (R), and Arkansas randombred (A) quail lines. Day old chicks from these lines were placed in one of two environmentally controlled rooms. …

Fertility Control Options For Management Of Free-Roaming Horse Populations, Ursula S. Bechert, John W. Turner Jr., Dan L. Baker, Douglas C. Eckery, Jason E. Bruemmer, Candace C. Lyman, Tulio M. Prado, Sarah R. B. King, Mark A. Fraker

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The management of free-roaming horses (Equus ferus) and burros (E. asinus) in the United States has been referred to as a “wicked problem” because, although there are population control options, societal values will ultimately determine what is acceptable and what is not. In the United States, free-roaming equids are managed by different types of organizations and agencies, and the landscapes that these animals inhabit vary widely in terms of access, size, topography, climate, natural resources, flora, and fauna. This landscape diversity, coupled with contemporary socioeconomic and political environments, means that adaptive management practices are needed to …

Estrogen Regulation Of Daily Metabolic Rhythms In Female Mice, Oluwabukola Omotola

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Circadian rhythms are approximately 24-hour cycles of behavior, physiology, and gene expression. In mammals, these circadian rhythms are generated by clocks located in nearly every tissue in the body. The function of circadian clocks is to synchronize physiology and behavior with environmental cycles such as the light-dark cycle. After menopause, when circulating levels of estrogens are very low, women are more susceptible to obesity comorbidities such as metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, suggesting that estrogens regulate these processes. Estrogens could protect females from metabolic dysfunction by regulating circadian rhythms. Consumption of diets that are high in fat contribute to obesity. …

Effects Of Melatonin Implantation On The Activity Levels Of Captive Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax Nivalis), Zoë Ward

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In vertebrates, melatonin regulates many components of the circadian rhythm; depending on the organism’s location and time of year, the pineal gland will produce melatonin accordingly, controlling the sleep-wake cycle and breeding physiologies. However, locations at the poles in which the sun is above the horizon for multiple days at a time pose unique challenges for the organisms living there. The goal of this study was to examine how the implantation of melatonin in an arctic-breeding songbird affects its activity levels and circadian rhythm. The subject of this study, the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), is a small songbird …

Toxic Effects Of Silver Ions On Early Developing Zebrafish Embryos Distinguished From Silver Nanoparticles, Martha S. Johnson, Preeyaporn Songkiatisak, Pavan Kumar Cherukuri, Xiao-Hong Nancy Xu

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Currently, effects of nanomaterials and their ions, such as silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and silver ions (Ag⁺), on living organisms are not yet fully understood. One of the vital questions is whether nanomaterials have distinctive effects on living organisms from any other conventional chemicals (e.g., their ions), owing to their unique physicochemical properties. Due to various experimental protocols, studies of this crucial question have been inconclusive, which hinders rational design of effective regulatory guidelines for safely handling NPs. In this study, we chronically exposed early developing zebrafish embryos (cleavage-stage, 2 hours post-fertilization, hpf) to a dilution series of …

Strong Inferences About Pain In Invertebrates Require Stronger Evidence, Edgar T. Walters

Animal Sentience

Evidence for sentience in animals distantly related to humans is often sought in observations of behavioral and neural responses to noxious stimuli that would be painful in humans. Most proposed criteria for painful sentience in “lower” animals such as decapod crustaceans have no necessary links to the affective (“suffering”) component of pain. The best evidence for painful affect in animals is learned aversion to stimuli associated with noxious experience, and conditioned preference for contexts associated with relief from aversive consequences of noxious experience, as expressed in voluntary behavior. Such evidence is currently lacking for any invertebrate except octopus.

Assessing The Behavioral Response Of Westslope Cutthroat Trout To Olfactory Cues In A Two-Choice Y-Maze, Hannah Marie Condron

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

The goal of this study was to determine which olfactory cues were most attractive to Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi (WCT) in a two-choice Y-maze. WCT used in this study were from Kings Lake and Paqua Creek in Pend Oreille County, Washington, and tested in 2018 and 2019. The different odorants tested in this study were population-specific pheromones produced by WCT from the same population, conspecific pheromones produced by WCT from the second population, and water obtained from each population’s natal stream. The water Kings Lake WCT were reared in for one year at the Spokane Hatchery was also …

Design And Validation Of Artificial Feeders To Study Feeding Preferences And Growth Of Hematophagous Juvenile Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon Marinus), Gracie Li-Ting-Wai

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The parasitic and invasive land-locked sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus populations contributed to the collapse of the Great Lakes fisheries in the mid-1900s, while native anadromous populations are currently under threat and require conservation efforts for protection. Despite the increasing concern for both populations of this species, the juvenile stage of the sea lamprey’s life cycle has not been well studied. This is due, in part, to ethical concerns raised around holding live host fish with juveniles and the lack of an alternative feeding method to maintain these juveniles in the laboratory. The feeder should be designed to minimize fouling of …

Relationship Of Winter Hair Coat Shedding Ability Of Purebred Angus Dams With Mineral Status, Apparent Forage Digestibility, Uterine Artery Hemodynamics, And Calf Growth And Development, Randy Hunter Burnett

Theses and Dissertations

Winter hair coat shedding ability in southern U.S. cattle production has previously been associated with differences in adjusted birth and weaning weights of calves from dams that shed by June or later (Gray et al., 2011; Cauble et al., 2019). This study was developed to research possible avenues of why these relationships exist with winter hair coat shedding ability. The primary objectives of the following experiments were to: 1) evaluate how mineral status relates to winter hair coat shedding ability, 2) evaluate how winter hair coat shedding ability relates to apparent digestibility of forage, 3) evaluate winter hair coat shedding …

The Art Of Amphibian Conservation: Linking In-Situ And Ex-Situ Populations Of Endangered Species Through Genome Banking, Isabella Joann Burger

Theses and Dissertations

Limited breeding success in captive breeding programs has necessitated the development of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to preserve and increase genetic variation and population numbers of both captive and wild amphibian groups. ART has been shown to be successful in numerous anuran species, and current studies focus on the application of ART in ex-situ populations. The focus of this project is to show that linking in-situ and ex-situ amphibian populations through sperm cryopreservation, genome banking, and in-vitro fertilization is possible, with the goal of increasing gene diversity throughout groups in order to produce self-sustaining, wild populations in the future. Specific …

Genome-Wide Analyses Of Genomic Variation Regulating Differential Stress Responses In Japanese Quail, Steven Anthony Shumaker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As consumer demands for poultry grow, producers work to improve bird productivity in both meat and egg production. This endeavor is multifaceted, as many different factors play a part in influencing the productivity of birds, including environmental conditions, overall health, and genetic potential. One aspect controlled for in all aspects of poultry production optimization is stress management. Mitigation of stress is of primary concern to producers, as improper stress management can have many deleterious effects on chickens. Stress management requires an understanding of poultry stress responses and their physiological mechanisms, which can be more deeply understood through genomic analysis. Chapter …

Ecological Correlates Of Alligator Snapping Turtle Bite Performance, Ashley Herrin Gagnon

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is one of many turtle species facing conservation challenges. Nearly extirpated in the 1980s, it is currently the subject of a head-start initiative, of which, any lasting behavioral or physiological effects were—until now—unknown! To evaluate the ability of captive-reared individuals to excel in natural habitats, and to foresee any future research or conservation challenges regarding this animal, I explored a suite of variables that influence bite performance and behaviors including captive or free-ranging status, and environmental conditions including body temperature and season. My results indicated that free-ranging M. temminckii outperform those residing …

The Effect Of Freeze-Thaw Events On Dna Integrity In The Gray Treefrog (Hyla Versicolor), Georgia Ficarra

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Freeze-tolerant gray treefrogs survive winter by producing natural cryoprotectants and accommodating ice formation within extracellular spaces. While frozen, gray treefrogs endure hyperglycemia, dehydration, and anoxia due to the halt of all bodily functions. Upon thawing, the frogs’ anoxic cells receive a rapid influx of oxygen, which can cause oxidative damage to vital macromolecules including DNA. Previous studies have suggested freeze-tolerant frogs avoid oxidative damage after freeze-thaw events by elevating antioxidant activity, but recent work has shown upregulated DNA repair encoding genes in post-freeze frogs. The objective of this thesis is to assess the cellular costs of freezing by measuring oxidative …

James Davidson Fawcett (1933–2020): Imbibing With The Kiwi, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

An obituary and summary of the life of James D. Fawcett (1933-2020), herpetologist and instructor and professor of Biology at University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1972-2015. Includes bibliography of his works, list of master's theses chaired, and recollections of former students.

The Potential Influence Of Abiotic Conditions On Mussel Species Abundance In San Francisco Bay, Alexandra G. Farrell, M. Christina Vasquez Dr.

Honors Thesis

Climate change has negatively altered seawater conditions, which may have severe implications for marine ecosystems. Mussels are susceptible to environmental changes since they are primary consumers and filter-feeding bivalves. Two species of particular interest to the West Coast of the U.S. are Mytilus galloprovincialis and M. trossulus. M. trossulus is native to the California Coast and was historically prevalent from Southern California to Washington. However, with increased shipping and rising seawater temperature, M. galloprovincialis, an invasive species from the Mediterranean, pushed the species range of M. trossulus poleward. M. trossulus is more tolerant of cold seawater with variable salinity while …

Sickness Behaviors Across Vertebrate Taxa: Proximate And Ultimate Mechanisms, Patricia C. Lopes, Susannah S. French, Douglas C. Woodhams, Sandra A. Binning

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

There is nothing like a pandemic to get the world thinking about how infectious diseases affect individual behavior. In this respect, sick animals can behave in ways that are dramatically different from healthy animals: altered social interactions and changes to patterns of eating and drinking are all hallmarks of sickness. As a result, behavioral changes associated with inflammatory responses (i.e. sickness behaviors) have important implications for disease spread by affecting contacts with others and with common resources, including water and/or sleeping sites. In this Review, we summarize the behavioral modifications, including changes to thermoregulatory behaviors, known to occur in vertebrates …

Morph- And Sex-Specific Differences In Corticosterone Of The Arizona Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma Mavortium Nebulosum), Megan Zerger

Scholars Week

Life history morph, sex, and body condition are traits that may influence stress within salamander populations because of differences in physiology and environmental conditions. Given widespread declines and the effects chronic stress can have on amphibian health, it is important to understand within-population drivers of stress and how population level variation may influence population viability. Thus, the objective of our study was to assess how corticosterone varies within the Arizona tiger salamander (Ambystoma mavortium nebulosum) population at the Mexican Cut Nature Preserve. We used a non-invasive skin swabbing method to collect baseline and elevated corticosterone from paedomorph (aquatic …

Life Line March 2021, Otterbein Biology And Earth Science Department

Life Line - The Biology Department Newsletter

In this issue:

A Note from the Chair; The Department Welcomes Dr. Rich; Senior Research Symposium Goes Virtual; Three Department Faculty Members Win Teaching Awards; Svitana Helps NGWA Go Online; Carter '15 Earns Ph.D. in Nuclear Forensics; Revamping a Campus to Return to our Cardinal Community; Professor Uses Novel Teaching Practices During Pandemic; Otterbein Introduces Signature STEM Series to Increase Connection; Young Receives Career Award; Malacogy in a Time of COVID; COVID Conversations; Canine Rabies Vaccination in Ethiopia; The Cardinal Science Scholar Program; Bird Anatomy.

Data From: Recovery From Discrete Wound Severities In Side-Blotched Lizards (Uta Stansburiana): Implications For Energy Budget, Locomotor Performance, And Oxidative Stress, Susannah S. French, Spencer B. Hudson

Browse all Datasets

Wounding events (predation attempts, competitive combat) result in injuries and/or infections that induce integrated immune responses for the recovery process. Despite the survival benefits of immunity in this context, the costs incurred may require investment to be diverted from traits contributing to immediate and/or future survival, such as locomotor performance and oxidative status. Yet, whether trait constraints manifest likely depends on wound severity and the implications for energy budget. For this study, food intake, body mass, sprint speed, and oxidative indices (reactive oxygen metabolites, antioxidant capacity) were monitored in male side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana) healing from cutaneous wounds of discrete …

Functional Influence Of 14-3-3 (Ywha) Proteins In Mammals, Elizabeth Barley, Santanu De

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

The 14-3-3 (YWHA) proteins are homologous, ubiquitous, and conserved in most organisms ranging from plants to animals and play important roles in regulating key cellular events such as cell signaling, development, apoptosis, etc. These proteins consist of seven isoforms in mammals, termed under Greek alphabetization: beta (β), gamma (γ), epsilon (ε), eta (η), tau/theta (τ), sigma (σ), and zeta (ζ). Each of these isoforms can interact with a plethora of binding partners and has been shown to serve a distinct role in molecular crosstalk, biological processes, and disease susceptibility. Protein 14-3-3 isoforms are scaffolding proteins capable of forming homodimers and …

Physiology Of Ischyrobacter In Cephalotes Guts, Yangzhou Su, John T. Wertz

Summer Research

Nitrogen is an essential element for living organisms. For herbivorous ants like Cephalotes (Turtle ants), obtaining sufficient nitrogen is difficult. Previous studies have shown that the diet of turtle ants is nitrogen-limited. Hence they rely on bacterial gut symbionts to provision nitrogen through uric acid recycling. Metagenomic studies suggest the nitrogen recycling process involves multiple symbionts that together can degrade uric acid and produce amino acids. Of the symbionts in the ant gut, the recently cultured Ischyrobacter davidsoniae st. CV33 is an abundant member of the gut community that can degrade uric acid. What is not known is if this …

Comparing Interrelated Stress Measures To Differentiate Acute And Chronic Stress In Urban Freshwater Turtles, Katherine Caldwell

Honors Program Theses

As urban areas grow in size and number, there are increasing impacts on the wildlife. While some species adapt, others cannot thrive in these conditions. Stress is the biological response to a stimulus that threatens homeostasis, which can be used to understand the condition of an individual. While acute stress is beneficial for survival, chronic stress can lead to deleterious impacts. A majority of turtles can be classified as declining in number or endangered, yet there is little understanding of their physiological stress response. This study examined how various stress measures—including corticosterone (CORT) in plasma, nails and leeches, metabolic measures, …