Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Commons^™

Morphological Variation Of Lingual Glands In Wild American Alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis) Populations, Benjamin Angalet

Master's Theses

American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) inhabit diverse aquatic ecosystems including freshwater wetlands, swamps, and estuarine rivers. As apex predators, their physiological resilience has implications for ecosystem stability and long-term conservation. With projected sea-level rise and increasing saltwater intrusion into coastal freshwater habitats, understanding the osmoregulatory capacity of alligators is increasingly important. Unlike marine-tolerant crocodilians such as the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), which possess specialized salt-secreting lingual glands in addition to renal and cloacal mechanisms, the morphology and physiological significance of lingual glands in wild American alligators remain poorly understood. This study examined lingual gland morphology and plasma …

Systematics Of Disk-Winged Bats (Thyroptera), Courtney L. Klumpp

Capstone Showcase

This thesis investigates the evolutionary relationships among disk-winged bats in the genus Thyroptera, a small group of Neotropical bats known for the adhesive suction disks on their wings and feet that allow them to roost inside tightly rolled leaves. The distinctive morphology and behavior of these bats have not been extensively documented, and their phylogenetic relationships remain only partially resolved. The goal of this research is to better understand how these species are related to one another and to determine whether the five recognized species of Thyroptera form a single monophyletic group. To address this question, morphological and genetic …

Ammonia Regulation In Aedes Taeniorhynchus, A Salt-Water Mosquito, Joseph Edmonds

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The salt tolerant mosquito species Aedes taeniorhynchus has been observed in high salinity and ammonia conditions. Previous studies indicate Na+/K+ ATPase (NKA), the proton pump vacuolar-type H+ ATPase (VHA) and sodium-dependent cation-chloride cotransporters (NKCC’s) in sodium secretion in larval Aedes taeniorhynchus. However ammonia transporter such as Rh-protein, Amt1, and Amt2 have only been characterized in Aedes taeniorhynchus’s fresh water relative Aedes aegypti. Our research exhibits the expression of these transporters in A.taeniorhynchus using immunohistochemistry techniques. Evidence of VHA and NKA function in ammonia transport was characterized in vivo using drug antagonists in varying saline and ammonia concentrations. Ammonia flux rates …

Assessing The Osmoregulatory Capabilities Of American Alligator Lingual Glands, Benjamin Angalet, Nicholas S. Green

Symposium of Student Scholars

Crocodilians inhabit a wide variety of aquatic, marine, and estuarine habitats on 4 continents. Saltwater-adapted species and populations face considerable osmoregulatory challenges in maintaining homeostasis with respect to plasma salt [NaCl] concentration. In addition to the kidneys and cloaca found in all crocodilians, crocodiles possess a salt-secreting lingual gland whose presence and function is less understood in other crocodilians. This study investigates the lingual gland anatomy, physiology, and potential function of American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) populations exposed to varying salinity levels. At each of four sites (Jekyll Island, Sapelo Island, Okefenokee NWR, and Banks Lake NWR), we will capture 12 …

Metabolic Transitions In Embryos Of Artemia Franciscana: Regulation And Consequences For Oxidative Stress, Daniel Anthony Arabie

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Embryos of Artemia franciscana survive harsh conditions in diapause and anoxia-induced quiescence for years by undergoing deep metabolic transitions. I investigated the relationship between phosphorylation of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) and carbon flux to the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle during metabolic depression. The difference in catalytic activity of the PDH complex (PDC) in maximally phosphorylated and dephosphorylated samples was 16.5-fold. Western blot analysis confirmed the changes in phosphorylation of PDH. Analysis of PDH expression in diapause and post-diapause embryos via phospho-PDH showed no significant differences. Investigation of post-diapause embryos under anoxia showed that phosphorylation of PDH decreased and activated the enzyme. …

Study Of The Brain Anatomy Of Three Extinct Marsupials: Thylacinus Cynocephalus, Thylacoleo Carnifex, And Silvabestius Johnnilandi, Francisco Garcia

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

Marsupials are pouched mammals that today are mainly found in Australasia and South America. Marsupials have proven to be quite intriguing to evolutionary biologists who note how some marsupials resemble placentals in anatomy due to convergent evolution, with both marsupials and placentals filling similar niches in their respective environments. As of today, studies interested in marsupial brain evolution have published descriptions of cranial endocasts for several species of marsupials, with the number of descriptions seeing a massive boost over the last 20 years with the arrival of CT imaging technology. However, no comprehensive study of brain evolution in marsupials has …

The Role Of Elevation In The Migration, Physiology, And Genomic Diversification Of Birds, Jessie L. Williamson

Biology ETDs

Elevational gradients cause profound eco-climatic variation across short distances. Partial pressure of oxygen (PO₂) is a severe challenge that organisms face at high elevations; due partly to specialization on PO₂, most Neotropical bird species have narrow elevational ranges. However, a small fraction are elevational generalists that span sea level to high elevations, and a subset undertake extreme migratory journeys from low to high elevations biannually. My dissertation combines diverse approaches across levels of biological organization to understand how elevation impacts the ecology, evolution, physiology, and migration of montane birds. I examined ‘extreme’ elevational …

Patterns And Potential Mechanisms Of Phenotypic Changes In Urban Small Mammals, Leslie Lopez

Master's Theses

Urbanization is an example of human induced rapid environmental change that can have wide-reaching ecological effects, including habitat destruction, fragmentation, and alteration of local climates. Effects of urbanization have been shown to impact wildlife, as disturbances resulting from urbanization can create novel environments and selective pressures that could lead to changes in morphology, physiology, or both. Small mammals such as rodents are an ecologically important set of wildlife species because they are a key prey item for several predators, hold strong influence over plants as a primary consumer, and some species carry and transmit major human and animal diseases. Previous …

Comparing Ionoregulation And Modes Of Nitrogen Excretion Across The Life Cycle Of Parasitic And Non-Parasitic Lamprey Species, Shannon Davidson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Ionoregulation and nitrogenous waste (N-waste) metabolism in fishes has been extensively documented in teleosts and elasmobranchs, but less so in lampreys (Petromizontiformes). All lamprey species undergo metamorphosis which drastically changes their physiology and modes of feeding. However, differences in ionoregulatory mechanisms due to anadromous versus non anadromous life history strategies emerge following metamorphosis in different lamprey species. Furthermore, some species, such as anadromous juvenile sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), are parasitic and migrate to seawater (SW) to ingest blood protein from host fishes, while juveniles of freshwater (FW), non-parasitic species, such as the American brook lamprey …

Does Stress Physiology Mediate Disease Resistance In The Arizona Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma Mavortium Nebulosum)?, Megan Zerger

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

Amphibian biodiversity has greatly diminished in recent years due to disease. Panzootic pathogenic fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) causes the deadly disease chytridiomycosis (chytrid), a primary driver of catastrophic global amphibian declines and extinctions. The pathogenesis of chytrid is still unclear, as certain species and individuals within a species are differentially affected. Susceptibility and mortality of Bd are influenced by prolonged chronic stress. Prolonged glucocorticoid activity deleteriously affects many of the same physiological processes as Bd infections, and corticosterone is the primary glucocorticoid released by amphibians in response to stress. Thus, the objective of our study is to assess …

Heat Stressed Exercise Elicits Shifts In Cooling Strategies Across Body Mass In Tropical Songbirds, Kristen Dee Oliver

Biology ETDs

In resting animals, water use positively correlates with metabolic rate, for example smaller animals using proportionally more water per gram of body mass. However, animals also must endure heat and exertion, and evaporative cooling requires additional water use that may not scale similarly with body size. How evaporative water loss allometrically scales with body mass during heat-stressed exercise is poorly resolved, particularly for birds, yet is critically important for understanding the consequences of climate warming on the fitness of bird populations. Here, we evaluated how air temperature (T_a) influenced evaporative water loss during exercise (EWL_exercise) across …

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 …

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 …

Developing A Novel Place Preference Assay To Compare Drosophila Species Over Time, Martha M. Brinson

Honors Theses

Across phylogeny, integration of external factors, memory, and internal states of the organism dictate organismal behavior and mechanisms. The underlying genetic components can affect these behaviors such as in genomic changes arising from speciation. In this thesis, a new place preference assay was evaluated in the analysis and investigation of two species of Drosophila flies (D. melanogaster and D. simulans) to measure similarities and differences and their attraction to two different food substrates. Sleep and circadian measurements were also recorded during experimentation. The Drosophila Activity Monitor 5M (DAM5M) System and Sleep Circadian Analysis MATLAB Program (SCAMP) analysis were …

Relating Metabolic Phenotypes To Movement Behavior In Brook Trout, Jacob E. Bowman

All NMU Master's Theses

Brook trout movement-related life history strategies vary considerably and range from individuals that stay within the same 100 meters their entire life to individuals that are potamodromous or anadromous. Potential drivers of movement life histories have been the subject of much research in fish, with genetic subpopulation explanations often failing to explain the phenomenon. Metabolic phenotypes have been suggested as a possible driver for expression of different movement life histories. I investigated if metabolic phenotypes are related to movement strategies within a population of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Unnamed Creek, a tributary to the Rock River, Alger …

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 …

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 …

Late Embryogenesis Abundant Proteins And Mitochondrial Membranes From An Animal Extremophile: Insights Into Severe Water Stress, John Marcus Anderson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on two major topics germane to mechanisms by which animals tolerate extreme water stress. First, the impact of transgenic expression of late embryogenesis abundant proteins (LEA) on water stress tolerance of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster was investigated. The overall aim was to extend current understanding of the protective properties of LEA proteins documented with isolated cells to a desiccation-sensitive organism during exposure to drying and hyperosmotic stress. Four lines of D. melanogaster were created that expressed transgenes encoding selected LEA proteins originally identified in embryos of the extremophile Artemia franciscana. After 80% tissue water loss, …

The Neurological Asymmetry Of Self-Face Recognition, Aleksandra Janowska, Brianna Balugas, Matthew Pardillo, Victoria Mistretta, Katherine Chavarria, Janet Brenya, Taylor Shelansky, Vanessa Martinez, Kitty Pagano, Nathira Ahmad, Samantha Zorns, Abigail Straus, Sarah Sierra, Julian Keenan

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

While the desire to uncover the neural correlates of consciousness has taken numerous directions, self-face recognition has been a constant in attempts to isolate aspects of self-awareness. The neuroimaging revolution of the 1990s brought about systematic attempts to isolate the underlying neural basis of self-face recognition. These studies, including some of the first fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) examinations, revealed a right-hemisphere bias for self-face recognition in a diverse set of regions including the insula, the dorsal frontal lobe, the temporal parietal junction, and the medial temporal cortex. In this systematic review, we provide confirmation of these data (which are …

Ecophysiological Responses Of Two Closely Related Epigean And Hypogean Niphargus Species To Hypoxia And Increased Temperature: Do They Differ?, Tatjana Simčič, Boris Sket

International Journal of Speleology

Ecological performance of animals depends on physiological and biochemical processes that are adjusted to the environment. The responses to hypoxia or anoxia have been frequently studied in subterranean aquatic organisms in order to find potential adaptations to restrict oxygen conditions occurring in the underground habitats. However, some previous studies have compared phylogenetic distant epigean and hypogean species or the epigean and hypogean populations of the same species due to little chance to compare closely related epigean and hypogean species. Therefore, in this study, we compared the effects of exposure to hypoxia, followed by reoxygenation, and increased temperature on oxygen consumption, …

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 …

Creating A Georgia Southern Spider Collection: Can Dna Barcoding Help?, Guy B. Hobbs

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

With over 280 spider (Araneae) species recorded within the State of Georgia, USA, the need for a well-documented natural history collection with a usable voucher system is critical to continually assess spider diversity and their future ecological impact in this region. Spider identification can be daunting for the inexperienced taxonomist; it is time consuming and sometimes requires destructive procedures. Previous works have successfully used an alternative method, DNA barcoding, to correctly identify spider species while preserving their morphology. This study set forth to create the core of a well-documented spider collection within Georgia Southern University’s Institute for Coastal Plain Science …

Comparative Study Of Spectral Sensitivity, Irradiance Sensitivity, Spatial Resolution And Temporal Resolution In The Visual Systems Of Aratus Pisonii And Ocypode Quadrata, Ruchao Qian

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Autrum’s studies (1950, 1958) on terrestrial arthropods first revealed that the visual systems of arthropods reflected their lifestyles and habitats, demonstrating that rapidly moving predatory diurnal species tend to have better temporal resolution than slower moving nocturnal species. In order to test Autrum’s hypothesis that visual adaptions are driven by predator/prey interactions, the visual physiology of a nocturnal fast-moving predatory crab, the Atlantic ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata), and a diurnal herbivorous crab, the mangrove tree crab (Aratus pisonii), was examined and compared. Spectral sensitivity, irradiance sensitivity, and temporal resolution of the crabs were quantified using the …

The Role Of Melatonin In Biological Rhythms Of Songbirds, Clifford E. Harpole

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

In vertebrates, melatonin is a hormone that is produced and secreted at night and inhibited by light. This unique “darkness-only” expression profile makes it an intellectually appealing candidate for a means of transmitting temporal information to an individual, both time of day and time of year.

In passerine birds, “time of day” information is certainly transmitted via melatonin secretion. The primary producer of systemic melatonin in this family of birds is the pineal gland, and surgical removal of it causes a bird to become arrhythmic in constant conditions. I find that as pinealectomized house sparrows (Passer domesticus) become …

The Evolution Of Dragons, Laura J. Mayfield

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Dragons have been depicted in human art as early as 4500 BCE. For centuries, these fantasy creatures have inspired countless folk and fantasy tales, as well as appearing in the art of different cultures around the world. Now there are thousands of different depictions of these huge, flying, fire-breathing lizards, but are any of them possible? In this study, I reference peer-reviewed scientific articles, phylogenetic analysis, and paleoart studies to create biologically-sound dragons. Basing the dragon lineage on a real branch of webbed-winged scansoriopterygids—an extinct family of climbing and gliding maniraptoran dinosaurs—I explored the possible wing-structure, fire-breathing abilities, and effects …

Plasticity And The Impact Of Increasing Temperature On A Tropical Ectotherm, Adam A. Rosso

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Organisms may respond to climate change through behavior, genetic adaptation, and/or phenotypic plasticity. Tropical ectotherms are thought to be especially vulnerable to climate change because most have a narrow range of thermal tolerance while living close to their upper thermal tolerance limits. Additionally, many tropical species live in closed-canopy forests, which provide homogenous thermal landscapes that prevent behavioral compensation for stressfully warm temperatures. Finally, tropical ectotherms are thought to have decreased capacity for phenotypic plasticity because they have evolved in thermally stable environments. We tested gene expression patterns and phenotypic plasticity in the Panamanian slender anole by a) measuring changes …

Comparative Thermal Ecology Of Coastal And Inland Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Oreganus), Hayley Layne Crowell

Master's Theses

Global biodiversity is declining as a direct result of anthropogenic climate change. Ectothermic species have become focal organisms for studying the ecological effects of altered climates due to the clear relationship between environmental temperatures and ectotherms’ basic physiological functions. Historically, examinations of these effects have focused heavily on heliothermic lizards, and most others have tended to focus on single populations or sympatric species within a single community. Addressing the longterm energetic implications of environmental temperature variation will provide valuable insight into the cascading physiological effects that certain populations or species may experience as a result of altered climates.

In this …

Impact Of Intrinsic Physiological Factors In The Population Recovery Of Myotis Lucifugus (Little Brown Myotis) From White-Nose Syndrome, Caroline Burke, Caitlin Looney, Alissah Sillah, Christopher Richardson

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

White-nose Syndrome (WNS) has decimated populations of hibernating bats in the US. In particular, Myotis lucifugus (little brown myotis) has been one of the most affected. We investigated the energetic cost of innate immune response and Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) fungal activity on post-hibernating little brown myotis and the link with the recovery of local populations in New England from WNS. We captured bats at one of each of 4 colonies in Eastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire, consecutively, every 14 days to minimize disturbance to the colony. Blood samples were collected from each bat. Respirometry trials were performed on each …

Alternative Nad(P)H Dehydrogenase And Alternative Oxidase: Proposed Physiological Roles In Animals, Allison Mcdonald, Dmytro V. Gospodaryov

Biology Faculty Publications

The electron transport systems in mitochondria of many organisms contain alternative respiratory enzymes distinct from those of the canonical respiratory system depicted in textbooks. Two of these enzymes, the alternative NADH dehydrogenase and the alternative oxidase, were of interest to a limited circle of researchers until they were envisioned as gene therapy tools for mitochondrial disease treatment. Recently, these enzymes were discovered in several animals. Here, we analyse the functioning of alternative NADH dehydrogenases and oxidases in different organisms. We propose that both enzymes ensure bioenergetic and metabolic flexibility during environmental transitions or other conditions which may compromise the operation …

Identification Of The Alternative Oxidase Gene And Its Expression In The Copepod Tigriopus Californicus, Allison Mcdonald, Carly E. Tward, Willie Cygelfarb, Jaspreet Singh

Biology Faculty Publications

In addition to the typical electron transport system (ETS) in animal mitochondria responsible for oxidative phosphorylation, in some species there exists an alternative oxidase (AOX) pathway capable of catalyzing the oxidation of ubiquinol and the reduction of oxygen to water. The discovery of AOX in animals is recent and further investigations into its expression, regulation, and physiological role have been hampered by the lack of a tractable experimental model organism. Our recent DNA database searches using bioinformatics revealed an AOX sequence in several marine copepods including Tigriopus californicus. This species lives in tidepools along the west coast of North …