Clonal integration and ramet development in quaking aspen

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Anson Call and Dr. Samuel St. Clair, Department of Plant and Wildlife Science Introduction Clonal plants are important contributors to natural environments and can have disproportionate effects on ecosystem function. In the mountain west, the clonal species Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen) is critical in helping to regulate ecosystem function; healthy aspen stands support a diverse […]

Effect of harvester ants on invasive and native plant establishment on disturbed sites in Rush Valley, Utah

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Amy Clark and Samuel B. St. CLair, Plant and Wildlife Science Department Introduction Invasive species pose a serious threat to earth’s ecosystems. This is a problem especially in the arid west where millions of acres of Great Basin shrubland have become dominated by invasive weeds such as cheatgrass and halogeton following disturbances like fire. Both […]

Genetic Variation within Cotton Tissues

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Kimberly Clemons and Dr. Joshua Udall, Plant and Wildlife Sciences Introduction The purpose of the copy number variation (CNV) project was to determine if there is a variation in the DNA content between tissue types of Gossypium hirsutum and Gossympium barbadense. Specifically if the cotton fiber cells contain CNV that contribute to the increased output […]

Biological control of Agrilus liragus through Entomopathogenic fungi

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John Watkins Abstract This project was funded with the intent that possible biological controls could be found to control the population explosions of bark boring beetles. We hypothesized that due to the prevalence of beetle outbreaks in the West, we would find enough Agrilus liragus specimens to culture native entomopathogenic fungi. We hoped to sequence […]

Metabolic Transformational Effects of Endosymbionts on Withanolides of Datura wrightii

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Trevor Smart and Brad Geary, Plant and Wildlife Sciences Recent research has been published determining the presence of anticancerous withanolides in the plant Datura wrightii. These withanolides have been found to be antiproliferative towards cancers such as breast cancer, gliobastoma, and head and neck cell carcinoma [1,2]. There also have even been some studies showing […]

Effects of Temperature and Water Potential on the Ability of Fusarium Strains from Die-off Soils to cause Cheatgrass Seed Mortality

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Samuel Saunders, Travis Poh and Dr. Bradley Geary, Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences INTRODUCTION Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is a highly flammable invasive annual grass that dominates millions of acres of the Great Basin. A common phenomenon in cheatgrass monocultures is die-off or stand failure (Baughman and Meyer in press). Fungal isolates of the genus […]

Variation of Chemical Defense in the Quaking Aspen: Targeted Defense for Resource Conservation

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Adam Olson and Dr. Sam St. Clair, Plant and Wildlife Sciences Introduction Browse damage to the quaking aspen (Populus Tremuloides) has dramatically increased in recent years due to proliferate wildlife densities, especially elk, in the central Rocky Mountains (Kaye et al. 2005). To protect itself from this, the quaking aspen produces chemical compounds called phenolic […]

The Effects of Seed Coatings on Arid Grassland Species Germination

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Karen Campbell and Dr. Bryan Hopkins, Plant and Wildlife Sciences Introduction The governments of the United States spend millions of dollars every year to reseed native species after a wildfire. However, less than 1% of all the seeds they lay actually germinate. By coating seeds in various fertilizers, we hope to increase the rate of […]

Fungal Pathogen Responsible for Cheatgrass Seedling Death in Dieoffs in the Great Basin: Bleach Blond Syndrome in the Great Basin

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JanaLynn Franke and Dr. Brad Geary, Plant and Wildlife Sciences Introduction With the accidental introduction of B. tectorum into the Western United States came a massive shift in the ecosystem, resulting in complete monocultures of B. tectorum. Seed and seedling pathogens present in the soil are aware of the macroscopic change and are shifting their […]

Phytotoxicity of Cytochalasins Produced by Pyrenophora semeniperda on Bromus tectorum Seeds

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Ashley Muñoz (Finch) and Dr. Bradley Geary, College of Life Sciences Introduction Bromus tectorum is an invasive species, commonly known as cheatgrass, that has caused major problems by disrupting the native plant ecosystem in the Intermountain West through a dramatically altered fire regime that has increased in frequency from 30-100 years to almost every 5 […]