RSS 1.0Theses and Dissertations-Biology
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Mechanisms of Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae fitness when grown in co-culture
(2016-11-22)Vibrio cholerae is a gram negative bacillus that possesses a single flagellum and is commonly known to have two toxigenic strains: serogroups O1 and O139; both are causes of epidemics. V. cholerae normally lives in brackish ... -
Detectability Affects The Performance of Survey Methods - A Comparison of Sampling Methods of Freshwater Mussels in Central Texas
(2018-11-08)Designing effective surveys for freshwater mussels (Unionidae) is a challenge, because they are spatially clustered and often found in low densities. The objective of this study was to examine how the effectiveness of three ... -
Interspecific Spacing between Harvester Ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) and Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta) Colonies along the Invasion Gradient in Texas
(2018-09-27)Invasive species can be devastating to ecosystems and their impacts on native species are innumerable. The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) invasion is a threat to many native species and is one hypothesized ... -
Effects of Red Imported Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta) on Juvenile Houston Toads (Bufo houstonensis) in a Coastal Prairie Grassland
(2016-07-25)The Houston toad (Bufo houstonensis) was first described in 1953 in Houston, Texas, but has since been extirpated from the area. Houston toad populations have been in a nearly continuous decline across their known distribution ... -
Histone variant H2A.Z substitution mediated by the SWR1-like complex is a novel transcriptional regulatory mechanism controlling defense genes and immunity in plants
(2016-07-21)Plants have evolved a complex immune system as a result of an evolutionary arms race between the host and various pathogens. One of the most vigorous immune responses in plants involves resistance (R) proteins, which detect ... -
Effects of urbanization on stress response of Texas Eurycea salamanders
(2016-04-29)No abstract prepared. -
Fitness of Escherichia coli when in Mixed Culture with Enterococcus faecalis
(2016-07-07)Escherichia coli (E. coli) coexists with many different species, such as Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis), in the gastrointestinal tract of many animals. Under normal circumstances, the two bacteria live alongside each ... -
Optic Nerve of Zebrafish (Danio rerio): An Animal Model for Human Aging
(2017-04-25)The optic nerve is the cranial nerve that sends messages from the eyes to the brain and is part of the central nervous system (CNS). Astrocytes help maintain neuronal health within the CNS. In humans, senescence of astrocytes ... -
Ecological Factors of Rodent Assemblage Structure Affecting Hantavirus Prevalence at Varying Spatial Scales
(2017-06-30)Zoonotic pathogens are the dominant cause of novel and reemerging infectious diseases. Hantaviruses (family Bunyaviridae) and their associated human diseases occur globally and differ according to their geographic distribution ... -
Using Data Mining Techniques to Predict Groundwater Levels: A Case Study of the Edwards Aquifer
(2017-04-20)No abstract prepared. -
An investigation of relationships between student acceptance of evolution, tree-thinking, and eye movement among different instructional interventions
(2017-04-12)Evolution is the unifying theme for the field of biology and is one of the most well developed and supported scientific theories to date. Although overwhelming evidence exists supporting evolution, evolution is considered ... -
Inhibition of quorum signalling and biofilm formation in Chromobacterium violaceum in the presence of cadmium, cobalt and nickel divalent cations
(2016-04-13)Bacteria are single celled organisms capable of acting as a single unit by sensing and responding to population density via a phenomenon called quorum signaling. Quorum signaling regulates a variety of phenotypes including ... -
Salmonellae in the intestine of Hypostomus plecostomus in the San Marcos River
(2016-07-25)Heavy rainfall events have been associated with outbreaks of many waterborne diseases including salmonellosis. Salmonellosis is caused by members of the genus Salmonella that can enter water systems through sewage ... -
Exploring Tradeoffs of Alternative Life History Strategies in Two Texas Butterfly Species
(2018-04-10)The evolution of gregarious feeding is an intriguing problem in ecology. It occurs in many phytophagous insects and typically coincides with eggs lain in large clutches. Despite many benefits to gregarious feeding, including ... -
Consequences of Long-Term Changes in Fish Community Structure on Ecosystem Functioning in a Subtropical Spring-Fed River
(2018-04-19)In this study, I examined patterns of long-term changes in the composition of the fish community in the spring-influenced upper San Marcos River (central Texas, USA) and the ecosystem functioning implications of compositional ... -
Assessing seasonal diets of waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) in central Texas
(2018-04-10)I investigated the seasonal diets of waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) located on the Mason Mountain Wildlife Management Area from June 2016 to March 2017. I used microhistology and DNA analysis techniques on freshly collected ... -
Roosevelt Elk Response to a Newly Available Forage Patch
(2018-04-09)According to optimal foraging theory, herbivores will use a new foraging patch intensely to become familiar with a new resource. To better understand how herbivores incorporate new habitat into their home range, I examined ... -
Population Viability of Reddish Egrets (Egretta rufescens) in Texas: A System Dynamics Approach to Conservation and Management of North America’s Rarest Heron
(2018-04-16)Reddish egrets (Egretta rufescens) are a threatened waterbird species that inhabit coastal areas of North, Central, and South America, including Cuba and the Bahamas. An estimated one-third to one-half of the global E. ... -
Host plant association and spatial autocorrelation as drivers of genetic differentiation among populations of a regionally host-specific insect herbivore
(2018-04-11)Disentangling the processes responsible for structuring patterns of biodiversity at all spatial scales challenges biologists as such patterns represent evolutionary and ecological processes coupled with spatial autocorrelation ... -
An Investigation of Preservice Teachers’ Engagement and Perceptions of Science Learning in Outdoor Learning Environments
(2018-06-19)Science education programs that use both formal and informal instruction provide students with more engaging experiences than when only using traditional instruction. However, educators often do not know of, or are ...
