Systems Biology Commons^™

Do Plants Have The Cognitive Complexity For Sentience?, Ricard V. Solé

Animal Sentience

Are plants sentient? Like other aspects of the cognitive potential of plants, this is a controversial issue, often driven by analogies and seldom supported on solid theoretical grounds. Sentience is understood in cognitive sciences as the capacity to feel. I suggest that because of plants’ evolved adaptations to morphological plasticity, sessile nature and ecological constraints, they are unlikely to have the requisite cognitive complexity for sentience.

The Bellarmine Bee Bed: Organizing A Native Plant Garden Using Feedback From The Local Community, Kate Moran

Undergraduate Theses

Animal pollinators are the cornerstone of healthy ecosystems. Their survival is essential for the persistence of entire food chains: from the flowers they cross-pollinate directly, to the animals who depend on those plants for nutrition. The establishment of pollinator gardens—particularly ones that consist of native plants—is an effective way to enhance their biodiversity, abundance, and well-being.

The main goal of this thesis is to construct a pollinator garden that maximizes the benefits for animal pollinators using feedback from local gardeners. A survey was used to gather information about the popularity and preferences of 40 flowering plants, and after analyzing the …

Rapid Assesment Of Aquatic Insect Diversity And Abundance Used To Evaluate The Quality Of Stream Restoration, Kaleb Stephen Kindoll

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

Stream and wetland restoration activities seek to improve the function of aquatic ecosystems. Measurement of the diversity and abundance of aquatic insects are commonly used to evaluate the success of restoration efforts, but these measurements are often very time consuming. In this study, we attempt to construct an efficient method that can be used to rapidly assess the diversity and abundance of aquatic insects as a measure of the quality of stream restoration. We suspended uniform sized pieces of cardboard paper coated with adhesive to trap insects in three different environments: one restored and two unrestored streams with similar characteristics. …

Analysis Of Germany’S Experience On Development Of Biosphere Reserves And Suggestions To China, Yijie Xian, Ning Liu, Na Qiao, Qiang Fang, Qunli Han, Ding Wang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Germany has integrated biosphere reserves into the national strategy of sustainable development, and has built an outstanding biosphere reserve system nationwide, which has played a key role in maintaining the stability of ecosystem, exploring sustainable use of natural resources, innovating social development models, prospering local economies and providing an important platform to carry out comprehensive research on human and nature relationship. The experience of Germany includes:long and solid accumulation in the development of protected areas; deep understanding from authorities and the folk of the concept of Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) and the value of biosphere reserves, and more …

Land Systems, Soils And Vegetation Of The Southern Goldfields And Great Western Woodlands Of Western Australia - Volume 2, Peter-Jon A. Waddell, Paul Galloway

Technical Bulletins

This technical bulletin defines and maps the land resources of the southern Goldfields region of Western Australia (WA). The southern Goldfields region, as featured in this bulletin, covers 151,753 km². The western and eastern borders are variable because they align with various cadastral boundaries. The western survey border, which in part follows the WA State Barrier Fence, demarcates cleared agricultural land from the intact, western extent of the Great Western Woodlands. The eastern border abuts the westernmost Nullarbor pastoral lease boundaries, except for the north-easternmost and south-easternmost edges which continue into Crown land. Major towns are Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie …

Fine Characterization Of Leafing Phenology In The Brazilian Atlantic Forest By Optical And Microwave Remote Sensing, James B. Bell

Dissertations and Theses

Tropical forests provide important ecosystem functions in the global biosphere, but they remain among the most poorly understood elements of land surface models, especially with regard to their seasonal dynamics. For instance, in seasonally dry forests, the pattern of the annual green-up in their canopies closely follows annual patterns of rainfall. The same, however, does not occur in wet forest canopies which are dominated by evergreen trees. In the latter, water is not scarce enough to limit leaf photosynthetic function. Canopy leafing phenology in these forests is therefore poorly characterized by optical remote sensing methods which are not sensitive to …

Land Systems, Soils And Vegetation Of The Southern Goldfields And Great Western Woodlands Of Western Australia - Volume 1, Peter-Jon A. Waddell, Paul Galloway

Technical Bulletins

This technical bulletin defines and maps the land resources of the southern Goldfields region of Western Australia (WA). The southern Goldfields region, as featured in this bulletin, covers 151,753 km². The western and eastern borders are variable because they align with various cadastral boundaries. The western survey border, which in part follows the WA State Barrier Fence, demarcates cleared agricultural land from the intact, western extent of the Great Western Woodlands. The eastern border abuts the westernmost Nullarbor pastoral lease boundaries, except for the north-easternmost and south-easternmost edges which continue into Crown land. Major towns are Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie …

Larval Ecology Of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus): New Insights From Otolith Microstructure, Biotic, And Abiotic Analyses From The Gulf Of Mexico And Mediterranean Sea, Estrella Malca

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Atlantic bluefin tuna (ABT), Thunnus thynnus, spawn in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and the Mediterranean Sea (MED). Spawning occurs within narrow temporal and environmental parameters. Efforts to characterize growth of ABT in wild conditions revealed a wide range of growth variability during the early life stages. This series of studies examined potential biotic and abiotic influences of larval growth from seven ABT cohorts, and identified several key drivers of growth for this commercially valuable species. A detailed investigation of larval dynamics using otolith microstructure was conducted as follows. First, companion growth curves and stable isotope analysis from the same …

Modularity And Boolean Network Decomposition, Matthew Wheeler

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

The Nonlinearity Of Regulation In Biological Networks, Santosh Manicka, Kathleen Johnson, Michael Levin, David Murrugarra

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Modularity In Gene Regulatory Networks, Mehak Kapoor, Claus Kadelka

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Symmetry-Inspired Analysis Of Biological Networks, Ian Leifer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The description of a complex system like gene regulation of a cell or a brain of an animal in terms of the dynamics of each individual element is an insurmountable task due to the complexity of interactions and the scores of associated parameters. Recent decades brought about the description of these systems that employs network models. In such models the entire system is represented by a graph encapsulating a set of independently functioning objects and their interactions. This creates a level of abstraction that makes the analysis of such large scale system possible. Common practice is to draw conclusions about …

Inferring Dynamics Of Biological Systems, Tracey G. Oellerich

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Combining Pharmacokinetics And Vibrational Spectroscopy: Mcr-Als Hard-And-Soft Modelling Of Drug Uptake In Vitro Using Tailored Kinetic Constraints, David Perez-Guaita, Guillermo Quintas, Zeineb Farhane, Roma Tauler, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Raman microspectroscopy is a label-free technique which is very suited for the investigation of pharmacokinetics of cellular uptake, mechanisms of interaction, and efficacies of drugs in vitro. However, the complexity of the spectra makes the identification of spectral patterns associated with the drug and subsequent cellular responses difficult. Indeed, multivariate methods that relate spectral features to the inoculation time do not normally take into account the kinetics involved, and important theoretical information which could assist in the elucidation of the relevant spectral signatures is excluded. Here, we propose the integration of kinetic equations in the modelling of drug uptake and …

Effective Dose Fractionation Schemes Of Radiotherapy For Prostate Cancer, Jose Alvarez, Kathleen M. Storey, Pavitra Kannan, Heyrim Cho

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

Radiation therapy remains as one of the main cancer treatment modalities. Typical regimens for radiotherapy comprise a constant dose administered on weekdays, and no radiation on weekends. In this paper, we examine adaptive dosages of radiation treatment strategies for heterogeneous tumors using a dynamical system model that consist of radiation-resistant and parental populations with unique interactive properties, namely, PC3 and DU145 prostate cancer cell lines. We show that stronger doses of radiation given in longer time intervals, while keeping the overall dosage the same, are effective in PC3 cell lines, but not in DU145 cell lines. In addition, we tested …

Effects Of Foliar Application Of Zno Nanoparticles On Lentil Production, Stress Level And Nutritional Seed Quality Under Field Conditions, Marek Kolenčík, Dávid Ernst, Matej Komár, Martin Urík, Martin Šebesta, Ľuba Ďurišová, Marek Bujdoš, Ivan Černý, Juraj Chlpík, Martin Juriga, Ramakanth Illa, Yu Qian, Huan Feng, Gabriela Kratošová, Karla Čech Barabaszová, Ladislav Ducsay, Elena Aydın

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Nanotechnology offers new opportunities for the development of novel materials and strategies that improve technology and industry. This applies especially to agriculture, and our previous field studies have indicated that zinc oxide nanoparticles provide promising nano-fertilizer dispersion in sustainable agriculture. However, little is known about the precise ZnO-NP effects on legumes. Herein, 1 mg·L⁻¹ ZnO-NP spray was dispersed on lentil plants to establish the direct NP effects on lentil production, seed nutritional quality, and stress response under field conditions. Although ZnO-NP exposure positively affected yield, thousand-seed weight and the number of pods per plant, there was no statistically significant …

Review Of Spiders Of North America, By Sarah Rose, Michael L. Draney

The Prairie Naturalist

A field guide to spiders, the dominant terrestrial predator group, has long been a desire for North American naturalists, biologists, and spider fans, but not surprisingly, the first “real” field guide has been a long time coming. The diversity of spiders, with over 50,000 known species globally (World Spider Catalog 2022) and around 4,000 in North America north of Mexico (Rose 2022), is well beyond the diversity of more traditional field guide targets such as birds (about 1,000 species north of Mexico; American Birding Association 2022) or butterflies (about 725 species north of Mexico; North American Butterfly Association 2022). Also, …

Review Of Methods For Ecological Research On Terrestrial Small Mammals, By Robert Mccleery, Lynda R. Lafond

The Prairie Naturalist

Small mammals are used in ecological studies throughout the world, yet the subject has lacked a clear reference that included upto- date methods pertaining to passive detection, molecular, and statistical approaches. In Methods for Ecological Research on Terrestrial Small Mammals, McCleery and his coauthors build on previous research references (Braun 2005, Sutherland 2006, Krebs 2014, Silvy 2020) and present methodologies specific to the study of small mammals that are applicable globally. Written as an asset for novice and experienced small mammal researchers alike, Methods for Ecological Research on Terrestrial Small Mammals is organized in a logical format, providing readers …

Review Of The Duck Factory: A History Of Waterfowl In North Dakota, By Mike Jacobs And Erik Fritzell, Douglas Johnson

The Prairie Naturalist

It was by geological accident that North Dakota became the heart of duck production in the continental United States. When the Wisconsin glaciation retreated some 11,000 years ago, it left an uneven layer of glacial till over much of North Dakota and nearby states and provinces, an area termed the Prairie Pothole Region. Large blocks of ice in the glacial till eventually melted and formed depressions that became wetlands, or prairie potholes. These were embedded in a matrix of soil that, with millennia of growth by deep-rooted prairie plants, became rich topsoil. The wetlands, surrounded by luxuriant grassland, were ideal …

Second Twenty-Five Year Index: Volumes 26–50, 1994–2018, Jane E. Austin

The Prairie Naturalist

The first 50 years of the Prairie Naturalist reside on the shelves of libraries and personal collections. The articles and notes published over those years provide invaluable knowledge about Great Plains biota, communities, conservation, and landscape ecologies. Awareness of the wealth of information in those 50 print volumes has been limited, relying on references from other published papers or the limited number of articles that have been made available online by authors. This index serves as resource for individuals to digitally tap into the information published since 1994. This index, together with the first 25-year index, serves to complement the …

Review Of Loon Lessons: Uncommon Encounters With The Great Northern Diver, By James D. Paruk, Kristin Bianchini

The Prairie Naturalist

Gavia immer Brunnich (Common Loon) is a bird that has captivated bird watchers, wildlife enthusiasts, campers, cottagers, and others interested in the natural world for centuries. The loon also features prominently in Native American mythology. For many, the loon symbolizes the wildness of the north, and it is often used as a sentinel of lake health. Indeed, the Common Loon has inspired a wealth of literature, both scientific and popular, describing this species’ ecology, behavior, and fitness in the face of environmental changes. To this literature, Loon Lessons: Uncommon Encounters with the Great Northern Diver adds a complete and accurate …

Convergence Properties Of Solutions Of A Length-Structured Density-Dependent Model For Fish, Geigh Zollicoffer

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal

We numerically study solutions to a length-structured matrix model for fish populations in which the probability that a fish grows into the next length class is a decreasing nonlinear function of the total biomass of the population. We make conjectures about the convergence properties of solutions to this equation, and give numerical simulations which support these conjectures. We also study the distribution of biomass in the different age classes as a function of the total biomass.

Identification Of Control Targets In Boolean Networks Via Computational Algebra, Alan Veliz-Cuba

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Building Model Prototypes From Time-Course Data, David Murrugarra, Alan Veliz-Cuba

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Chemoimmunotherapy Treatment Strategies On A Mathematical Model Of Cancer Evolution, Sandra M. Lopez, Yolocuauhtli Salazar, Paul A. Valle

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Mathematical Model Describing The Behavior Of Biomass, Acidity, And Viscosity As A Function Of Temperature In The Shelf Life Of Yogurt, Manuel Alvarado, Paul A. Valle, Yolocuauhtli Salazar

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Neural Network Controller Vs Pulse Control To Achieve Complete Eradication Of Cancer Cells In A Mathematical Model, Joel A. Quevedo, Sergio A. Puga, Paul A. Valle

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Reconstructing Mathematical Models With Chaotic Attractors Via Genetic Algorithms, Luis A. Ramirez Islas, Paul A. Valle

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

The Classification Of Basket Neural Cells In The Mammalian Neocortex, Sreya Pudi

Senior Theses

Basket neuronal cells of the mammalian neocortex have been classically categorized into two or more groups. Originally, it was thought that the large and small types are the naturally occurring groups that emerge from reasons that relate to neurobiological function and anatomical position. Later, a study based on anatomical and physiological features of these neurons introduced a third type, the net basket cell which is intermediate in size as compared to the large and small types. In this study, multivariate analysis was used to test the hypothesis that the large and small types are morphologically distinct groups. The results of …

Of Biodiversity, Boundaries, And Distribution: The Myxomycetes Of The Philippines And Beyond, Sittie Aisha Bustamante Macabago

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains a compilation of independently performed studies primarily focusing on the myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds) from the Philippines and integrating local and worldwide data to demonstrate regional and global trends. The major themes include the following: (I) a review of the diverse group of spore-producing amoeboid protists, including the myxomycetes; (II-IV) diversity assessments in three different groups of islands in the Philippine archipelago; (V) mapping the myxomycetes found in the Philippines for databasing and analyzing the geocoded data; (VI) a study on regional boundaries, including the Philippines, using myxomycete species composition; and, (VII) creating a global species distribution …