Matching Items (6)
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- All Subjects: conservation
- Creators: College of Integrative Sciences and Arts
Description
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal infection devastating bat populations throughout eastern North America. WNS is caused by a fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), that invades the skin of hibernating bats. While there are a number of treatments being researched, there is currently no effective treatment for WNS that is deployed in the field, except a few being tested on a limited scale. Bats have lowered immune function and response during hibernation, which may increase susceptibility to infection during the winter months. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a crucial component of the innate immune system and serve as barriers against infection. AMPs are constitutively expressed on skin and facilitate wound healing, stimulate other immune responses, and may also stay active on bat skin during hibernation. AMPs are expressed by all tissues, have direct killing abilities against microbes, and are a potential treatment for bats infected with Pd. In this investigation, the fungicidal activity of several readily available commercial AMPs were compared, and killing assay protocols previously investigated by Frasier and Lake were replicated to establish a control trial for use in future killing assays. Another aim of this investigation was to synthesize a bat-derived AMP for use in the killing assay. Sequences of bat-derived AMPs have been identified in bat skin samples obtained from a large geographic sampling of susceptible and resistant species. Contact was made with GenScript Inc., the company from which commercially available AMPs were purchased, to determine the characteristics of peptide sequences needed to synthesize an AMP for lab use. Based on recommendations from GenScript Inc., peptide sequences need to have a hydrophobicity of less than 50% and a sequence length of less than 50 amino acids. These criteria serve as a potential barrier because none of the known bat-derived sequences analyzed satisfy both of these requirements. The final aim of this study was to generate a conceptual model of the immune response molecules activated when bats are exposed to a fungal pathogen such as Pd. Overall, this work investigated sources of variability between trials of the killing assay, analyzed known bat-derived peptide sequences, and generated a conceptual model that will serve as a guideline for identification of immune response molecules on the skin of bats in future proteomics work.
ContributorsBarton, Madisen L (Author) / Moore, Marianne (Thesis director) / Penton, Christopher (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
For this project, I analyzed both the amount of overuse injuries or repetitive stress injuries occurring in college baseball and tried to understand why they were happening so frequently. I interviewed over a dozen people to get thoughts and messages on the subject from a variety of people from current college players, to Major League players, to current college coaches. While I spent the majority of the project working on the research and interviews of how these injuries effect college athletes, I always spent time speaking with journalists about the proper ways they go about reporting on injuries, especially those within college athletes. I found data that showed that the average rate of fastballs in Major League Baseball is going up and that is indirectly affecting the way in which players and specifically pitchers are learning to play as they go through college baseball. I got valuable perspective on how the game changing is affecting the injuries that are so common today. The most common occurring repetitive stress issue in baseball has been happening most with pitchers so much of the project is tailored toward the views of some of the best pitchers in college baseball. I found out how college pitchers are taking care of their bodies and using the offseason to help regain strength. Why do some pitchers not take as long an offseason as others? How intense is the pressure to stay healthy in college, as many of these athletes are pursuing professional baseball? What is the mental toll these student-athletes have on a day-to-day basis? All these questions and more are answered in the paper. Included in the long-form paper are all of the full transcripts from the interviews with players, coaches, trainers, doctors, and reporters.
ContributorsWerner, Robert Joseph (Author) / Kurland, Brett (Thesis director) / Dieffenbach, Paola (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
The use of genetic management in conservation has sparked much debate around the ethical and environmental impacts of the plans. A case study on the conservation of leopard frogs in Arizona was analyzed to better understand the benefits and issues surrounding genetic management plans. The first part of the case focuses on the recent management plan for Chiricahua Leopard Frogs implemented by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The goal of the plan is to better understand the genetic dynamics of the established Chiricahua Leopard Frog populations to develop a more effective management plan. The second part of the case focuses on the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s management of the Northern Leopard Frog. There was little success with the initial breed and release program of the native species, however a nonnative subspecies of Northern Leopard Frog was able to establish a thriving population. This case study exemplifies the many complications with genetic management plans and the importance of careful assessment of options when deciding on a genetic management plan. Despite the complexity of genetic management plans, it is an important method to consider when discussing the conservation of a species.
ContributorsTurpen, Alexa (Author) / Murphree, Julie (Thesis director) / Collins, James (Thesis director) / Owens, Audrey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
The Tale of the Tigers is a children’s picture book in which a tiger named Guava is transported from his world of Serenia to our world. In an attempt to find someone to help him with this situation, Guava meets another tiger named Papaya. After having his prey scared away by Guava, Papaya begins to explain the different hardships and dangers that tigers face in their natural habitat. Papaya also teaches Guava about the different programs and activities that humans have been doing to help increase and restore tiger populations. At the end of the story, Guava returns to his world and spreads awareness to those that live in Serenia about how tigers are threatened in other places and what’s being done to help them. Papaya uses basic ecological concepts to explain the importance of tigers in their ecosystem. These concepts include habitat loss, trophic levels, landscape fragmentation, and poaching. The story also incorporates different conservation methods, including captive breeding and the use of camera traps.
ContributorsMooney, Lena (Author) / Jesse, Lewis (Thesis director) / Meloy, Elizabeth (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
There is little research on volunteer tourism to primate sanctuaries. The purpose of this study was to help fill this knowledge gap and gain insights into how animal sanctuaries with volunteers in Costa Rica can be improved operationally to strengthen their conservation efforts. My research questions were: 1. How does volunteer tourism with primates in Costa Rica affect volunteers? 2. How does this volunteer tourism affect Costa Rica’s environment? The methodology used was an exploratory qualitative design that included a literature review of previous research and case studies and a visit with interviews at a primate sanctuary in Costa Rica. The findings did not generate sufficient data to answer the first research question. I did find that altruism was a key factor in recruiting effective volunteers. The study also found that conservation in Costa Rica relies on volunteer tourism to fill a human resource gap. This research will allow sanctuaries in Costa Rica to respond better to protect biodiversity.
ContributorsCavalier, Rebecca (Author) / Chhetri, Nalini (Thesis director) / Castillo, Elizabeth (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Terrestrial hermit crabs serve an incredibly important ecological role in seed dispersal and as decomposers along coastal shorelines. They have also become quite popular in the commercial pet trade, with one species, Coenobita clypeatus, being particularly favored. Typically, these hermit crabs are easily captured and removed from the wild with little protection in their native ranges. In Hermitage Bay, Tobago, there is little information about the population numbers, composition, shell preference, and substrate preference of C. clypeatus in their native habitat. In this study, we estimated population size, gastropod shell preferences, and substrate preference conditions when clustering. We conducted mark re-capture surveys in March, July, and December 2023 and collected morphological data from captured hermit crabs. Our results indicate that the estimated population was highest in July, with the variation being significant when using the Schnabel mark re-capture estimation formula. The most common overall shell type, Columbella mercatoria (West Indian Dove Shell), was prevalent among the smaller sized, younger hermit crabs; while the larger hermit crabs preferred Cittarium pica (West Indian Top Shell). The most preferred substrate for these terrestrial hermit crabs were areas with a mixture of sand and dirt, with high amounts of vegetation and leaf waste and low amounts of human litter. These results suggest a predominantly young population and that beach cleanups should focus on removing human litter entirely, while leaving leaf waste and other fallen logs and branches and not using the collected decomposing plant matter for bonfires. This can help maintain a healthy hermit crab population that continues to benefit the coastlines in Tobago as well as other ecosystems.
ContributorsLindteigen, Amy (Author) / Briggs, Georgette (Thesis director) / Mohammed, Ryan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2024-05