Browsing by Author "Hood, Wendy"

Now showing items 1-20 of 24

Changes in Concentrations of Heat Shock Protein 60, 70 and 90 of a Wild Songbird in Responses to Distinct Stress Challenges

Fu, Xiaoyu (2013-01-09)

Wild songbirds, such as the House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) require physiological mechanisms to maintain the homeostasis in face of stress threats. One of the primary mechanisms to protect system integrity is production ...

The developmental environment and metabolism in the house mouse (Mus musculus)

Sirman, Aubrey (2014-07-09)

The environment under which an individual develops plays an important role in determining its physiological phenotype. Maternal diet is one of several variables that can have lasting impacts on offspring phenotype. ...

The Effect of Male Plumage Coloration on Parental Effort in Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis)

Costantini, Maria (2013-07-15)

In iteroparous species, there is tradeoff between current and future reproductive investment. Parents that invest more in current offspring will provide resources that give those offspring better chances of survival and ...

The effects of dietary and skeletal calcium availability on reproductive performance of mammals

Schmidt, Christina (2011-12-01)

Investment in offspring production often requires the mobilization of endogenous resources, a strategy which may negatively impact maternal condition. In mammals, skeletal ossification in growing offspring requires ...

Effects of dietary protein intake on fecal and milk microbiota

Warren, Matthew (2016-08-03)

Microorganisms in milk have traditionally been assumed to be contaminants, but recent data suggest that these microbial communities naturally reside in milk and may contribute to vital maternal effects. Investigators have ...

Energetic tradeoffs between reproduction and longevity in the house mouse (Mus musculus)

Mowry, Annelise (2015-07-21)

Energy investment in reproduction comes at the cost of other life history traits, including future reproductive output and ultimately, lifespan. The disposable soma theory suggests that there is a negative relationship ...

The Evolution of Live Birth and the Insulin and Insulin-like Signaling Network in Sceloporus Lizards

Westfall, Aundrea (2018-07-18)

Transitions to live birth have occurred in approximately 150 different vertebrate lineages, with 115 of these alone within the clade encompassing snakes and lizards. Many questions remain about how this transition occurs ...

The evolution of milk composition and lactation strategy of the Columbian ground squirrel, Urocitellus columbianus

Skibiel, Amy (2012-06-19)

The evolution of parental care improved the efficiency of the reproductive process, allowing for the production of fewer offspring with a higher probability of survival. This adaptation is exemplified in the taxon named ...

The impact of maternal protein intake and litter size on organ and stress axis development in the house mouse (Mus musculus)

Chen, Chih-Wei (2015-07-24)

The phenotype of an individual is determined by interactions between its genotype and its surrounding environment. Through these interactions, an individual can express a greater range of characteristics than dictated by ...

Investigating mitochondria-induced premature aging due to reproduction and environment in semi-natural enclosed wild-derived house mice

Williams, Ashley (2023-05-02) ETD File Embargoed

Reproduction is a highly energetic process requiring both prenatal and postnatal investment for female mammals. Under the disposable soma theory (DST), prenatal investment includes reallocation of resources used to maintain ...

The Mechanistic Basis for Improved Metabolic Health in Females Following Lactation

Hyatt, Hayden (2017-07-25)

Human epidemiological data show that breastfeeding reduces the mother’s prevalence of many disease conditions such as obesity, type II diabetes, and hypertension compared to mothers that give birth but do not breastfeed. ...

Mitochondrial behavior, morphology, and animal performance

Heine, Kyle (2021-10-18)

We have a limited understanding of the proximate mechanisms that are responsible for the development of variation in animal performance and life-history strategies. Many components of an organism’s successful life history–for ...

Mitochondrial function and oxidative stress in response to induced reactive oxygen species and reproduction

Park, Noel (2018-07-24)

Mitochondria are pivotal in the survival of complex organisms, generating metabolic energy in all eukaryotic cells by breaking down carbohydrates, fatty acids, and protein from diet and converting them to ATP (adenosine ...

Mitochondrial Respiration, Oxidative Capacity, and Oxidative Stress in Skeletal Muscle

Parry, Hailey (2021-04-09)

Biologists and physiologists have been interested in the differences between birds and mammals for many years. Part of this is due to the distinct differences observed in fat breakdown in these animals. Importantly, fat ...

The Molecular Underpinning of Life-History Evolution: Roles of the IIS network and the Building of a Reptilian Model

Beatty, Abby E (2021-07-12)

The Insulin and Insulin-like Signaling (IIS) network regulates cellular processes including pre- and post-natal growth, cellular development, wound healing, reproduction, and longevity. Despite their importance on the ...

Nesting ecology of reptiles: Effects of maternal nesting behavior and egg incubation environments on offspring phenotypes and fitness

Pruett, Jenna (2021-07-13)

Understanding the role of the environment in shaping phenotypic variation has been a goal at the heart of evolutionary biology since its inception. Through the work that led to the modern synthesis framework, we see that ...