Browsing by Department "Biological Sciences"
Now showing items 281-300 of 301
Testing Reprodutive Tradeoffs and Fitness Measures in Female Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus)
(2016-05-05)
Life history theory is a branch of ecology whose goal is to understand how animals optimize their survival and reproductive success. Under natural conditions, resources are finite and life history traits are subject to ...
Testing the Shared-Pathway Hypothesis through experimentation on the mating behavior, carotenoid biosynthesis, and mitochondrial function of Tigriopus californicus
(2022-07-13)
For decades, scientists have noted connections between individual condition and carotenoid-based coloration in terrestrial and aquatic animals. Organisms that produce more vibrant carotenoid-based coloration tend to have ...
Thermotolerance in Gossypium hirsutum
(2006-12-15)
Heat and drought are major factors that affect the annual cotton yield. Cotton farmers are always looking for plants that are more thermotolerant and drought tolerant to increase the yield. These characteristics can be ...
Transcriptional Adaptations to Low Salinity in Euryhaline Crustaceans
(2014-05-02)
The transfer of euryhaline crustaceans from full-strength seawater to low salinity is
known to induce a myriad of physiology changes corresponding with active ion uptake across the
posterior gill pairs. The goal of this ...
Tritrichomonas foetus: Search for a Potential Reservoir Host in Wild and Captive Rodents
(2012-10-31)
Tritrichomonas foetus is a parasitic protist that has economic importance because it causes a venereal disease in cattle and a bowel disease in domestic cats. The source of infection for feline populations is unknown; one ...
Ultrastructural, Immunohistochemical, and Biochemical Variation Amongst Symbiodinium Isolates
(2013-07-30)
Symbiodinium spp. reside intracellularly in a complex symbiosome (host and symbiont-derived) in a specific host-symbiont associations. Symbiodinium is a diverse genus with variation equivalent to that of other dinoflagellate ...
Understanding Ornamental Carotenoid Metabolism in the House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
(2018-07-18)
Carotenoids are the most common source of yellow, orange and red coloration in birds. However, like other vertebrates, birds cannot synthesize carotenoids de novo. To produce carotenoid-based coloration they must ingest ...
United States Commerce in Live Vertebrates: Patterns and Contribution to Biological Invasions and Homogenization
(2009-05-04)
The trade in live vertebrates is a threat to biodiversity, homogenizing distinct flora and fauna, introducing invasive species and parasites, and depleting wild populations. Because records of live vertebrates imported or ...
The Use of Ultrasound for Communication by the Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus)
(2007-08-15)
Communication signals are important regulators of mating behavior in many animals. Various pre- and post-copulatory mechanisms have been suggested to play a role in the reproductive success and mating strategies of many ...
Using Bioinformatics Tools to Explore Symbiotic Associations Between Marine Invertebrates and Microbes
(2023-08-03)
The relationships and interdependence of microbes and marine invertebrates play a critical role in maintaining the marine ecosystem and are also pointers to environmental health and biodiversity. Some of these symbiotic ...
Using Preparation for Future Learning to Change Student Attitudes about Race in Undergraduate Genetics Laboratories
(2023-04-18)
Racist actions and views are complex, can be implicit or explicit, and are not necessarily
acknowledged or understood by the people who are contributing to racism in society. These
views and actions have broad impacts ...
Using squamate systems to understand molecular underpinnings of evolutionary processes
(2022-12-02)
The solidification of evolutionary biology as a scientific theory provided a foundation for understanding the source of life’s variation, an objective that has since become a central aim in biology. While scientific ...
Variation in morphology and physiology of introduced populations of the Virile Crayfish, Faxonius virilis Hagen 1870
(2018-04-23)
Crayfish often show high levels of morphological variation between and within populations. Studies have shown that environmental factors can play a role in determining external morphology. Increased levels of phenotypic ...
Variation in populational size and composition within two summer colonies of endangered gray bats (Myotis grisescens)
(2006-05-15)
For >30 years, the endangered gray bat (Myotis grisescens) has been a priority in conservation efforts in the southeastern United States. As part of these conservation efforts, the Alabama Department of Conservation and ...
Venom allergen-like protein diversification in flatworms
(2019-07-16)
Flatworm Venom Allergen-like Proteins (VAPs) modulate mammalian and avian host immune responses, but their evolutionary origins and functions within symbioses (especially parasitism) remain poorly studied. Previous studies ...
Vigilance in Columbian Ground Squirrels: The Effects of Kinship and Mechanisms of the Group-size Effect
(2006-12-15)
Behavioral observations of Columbian ground squirrels (Spermophilus columbianus) were made to investigate two factors that can affect vigilance: the group-size effect and the presence of kin. Vigilance was timed in over ...
What do we really know about oxidative stress? Facing the problems with current oxidative stress studies in passerine birds.
(2017-07-27)
Oxidative stress occurs in organisms when there are not enough antioxidants to satiate reactive oxygen species formed during oxidative phosphorylation within the mitochondria. The excess in reactive oxygen species can cause ...
Wildlife Restoration via Forest Management in Fire-Suppressed Longleaf Pine Sandhills
(2011-12-02)
The once-extensive longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystem of the southeastern United States has been reduced to a fraction of its historic extent. A fire-adapted system, many remaining fragments have been fire-suppressed ...
Xyris tennesseensis: status survey, habitat restoration/management concerns, and relation to a new xyrid, Xyris spathifolia
(2008-08-15)
Xyris tennesseensis is a federally endangered, obligate wetland, perennial herb. It inhabits calcareous seeps, fens, and spring runs with a distribution restricted to the Interior Plateau and Ridge and Valley ecoregions ...
Yolk androgen deposition in two passerine species: Do females play favorites?
(2005-12-15)
Eggs of oviparous species contain variable amounts of androgens, such as testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and androstenedione (A4). Previous studies in birds show that yolk androgens of maternal origin have ...