Angela Jensen and Dr. Leigh Johnson, Department of Biology Speciation is a scientific “gray area.” Conservation biologists are familiar with the many different proposed definitions for a species, encased in the 10 or so existing species concepts. Individual organisms of the same species are inherently different, possessing a wide variety of characteristics and behaviors. When […]
Family-level phylogeny of Orthoptera (Arthropoda: Insecta) Based on Complete Mitochondrial Genome Data
Kevin Hiatt and Dr. Michael Whiting, Department of Biology Introduction The insect order Orthoptera (grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets) is the most diverse member of the group of polyneopteran insect orders, with more than 23,000 described species (Kevan 1982). Previous studies have recovered the monophyly of the two orthopteran suborders Caelifera (grasshoppers) and Ensifera (crickets and […]
The Effects of Daidumene lineata on the Intertidal Rock Pools
Preston Wilson and Professor Russell Rader, Department of Biology My experiment was to test the effect Diadumene lineata has on the marine life of the intertidal rock pools in the northwest. However, due to unfortunate circumstances there were not any Diadumene Lineata in the area of Coos Bay, Oregon. After discovering that they did not exist […]
Teasing out the “why’s” of Evolution: A Functional Assessment of B-class Protein Complexes
Holly Waddel and Dr. Clinton Whipple, Department of Biology The evolution of floral development is caused by changes in gene function. The model for floral morphology is the ABC model of floral development (Coen & Meyerowits, 1991). In this model, A genes control sepals, A + B genes control petals, B + C genes control […]
Screening of Secondary Chemicals from Selected Species of North American Lichens Against Various Pathologenic Bacteria
Jocelyn Raphael and Dr. Larry St. Clair, Department of Biology Lichens consist of a fungus occurring symbiotically with a photosynthetic organism (such as an alga and/or cyanobacterium). Lichens are known to produce a high number of secondary metabolites. Studies have shown that these secondary compounds have various biological roles such as antibiotic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, […]
Early Parental Death, Genetic Variants and Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease: Building a Risk Profile from the Cache County Study on Memory, Health and Aging
Michael Peterson and Dr. John Kauwe, Department of Biology Introduction A person’s predisposition to Alzheimer’s Disease is known to be influenced by both genetic factors as well as environmental factors. One know environmental factor is that known to affect risk for disease is early parental death. The purpose of this research is to better understand […]
Genetic Relationships of Cottus bairdii in Butterfield Springs, Nevada, to Other Population of Cottus bairdii
Sun Yeong Oh and Dr. Dennis Shiozawa, Department of Biology The goal for this project was to evaluate the genetic relationships of the freshwater sculpin, Cottus bairdii, in Butterfield Springs, Nevada, with other populations of C. bairdii. We planned to examine several mitochondrial genes, ND1, ND2, and the control region, to identify the most likely […]
Polyomavirus Phylogenetics in Relation to Host Switches
David Morris and Dr. Keith Crandall, Department of Biology Evolutionary Biology is not a branch of biology that spends much time in the public eye. It just doesn’t have flashy results like cloning or evocative naturalist documentaries to captivate the imagination. However, this doesn’t mean that evolutionary biology is any less essential to our understanding […]
What Fatty Acids in Dairy Cow Feces may Predict Resistance or Susceptibility to Production-Related Metabolic Diseases
Brian Melville and Professor Beverly Roeder, Department of Biology Dairy cows supply an important food source for humans, and any disease that hurts production threatens this source. Once a cow has a PRMD (production related metabolic disease) there are many signs and symptoms that are readily observed and tested for, but it would be useful to […]
The Effect of Male Dominance on Female Mate Choice in Poecilia gillii
Michael McEntire and Dr. Jerald Johnson, Department of Biology Research Summary Female mate choice (intersexual selection) and male dominance interactions (intrasexual selection) can each play important roles in sexual selection. These two mechanisms tend to be discussed in isolation. The goal of this study is to explore the interaction between these two forms of sexual […]