5257 research outputs found
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179 - Chromosome Assembly Factor 1b in Zebrafish Retinal Development
Full text linkZebrafish possess the ability to regenerate body parts such as the heart, fins, pancreas, brain, spinal cord, kidneys, and retina. When zebrafish retinal damage occurs, Müller glia divide and create neuronal precursor cells, which go on to become replacement retinal neurons. This allows zebrafish to recover from retinal damage. However, mutant zebrafish cannot fully develop and regenerate retinal cells. In particular, the good effort (gef) mutant allele of the chaf1b gene is characterized by a period of normal development, followed by cell death in highly proliferative developing tissues, including the retina, brain, and pectoral fins. The gef mutant retinal cells appear unaffected until roughly two days post-fertilization. This suggests a requirement for Chaf1b at the switch from cycling retinal progenitor cells to post-mitotic differentiating cells. It is proposed that Chaf1b mutations are not immediately lethal due to maternal deposition of functional proteins in the egg. Chaf1b is a subunit of the chromatin assembly factor (CAF1) complex, which is responsible for the assembly of histones at the replication fork during S phase. The location of Chaf1b protein has not been rigorously tested. We are testing antibodies generated against Chaf1b in gef-mutant embryo and wild-type embryo lysates to determine whether maternally provided Chaf1b persists differentially in later embryonic cells
105 - Attention Bias Differences During Stressful Interactions
Full text linkAttention bias (AB) is a characteristic seen in individuals with anxiety, in which they attend to threatening or negative stimuli more frequently than neutral stimuli (Bar-Haim et al., 2007). To our knowledge, prior research investigating AB has not conducted experiments in true real-world situations, making results difficult to generalize to the real world. The present study adapted the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirchbaum et al, 1993) to assess attention bias in a real-life stressful situation. The TSST involves completing a brief speaking task in front of a panel; here the panel consisted of two confederates, one of which presents as attentive and affirmative (positive) and the other disengaged (negative). For this study, participants will wear PupilCore mobile eye tracking glasses to monitor eye gaze during the TSST, as well as during pre- and post-stressor social interactions. Data will be analyzed to compare eye gaze between the positive and negative social stimuli across task conditions. It is hypothesized that in the pre-stress interaction participants will exhibit greater attention to the negative than positive stimulus, and that this attention bias will increase during the stressful situation. This hypothesis will be tested by analyzing the dwell time from the pretest, non-stressful interaction, as well as comparing it to the TSST, stressful, interaction
095 - Compost to Carbon: Boosting Wetland Restoration with Soil Amendments
Full text linkWetlands provide vital ecosystem services, but widespread destruction has led to a significant loss in these services. In response, created wetlands have been implemented to offset these impacts, yet they often lack the ecological function of natural wetlands. One proposed method to improve restoration outcomes is the addition of soil amendments to accelerate succession. This study evaluates whether five years of leaf litter compost additions have improved soil characteristics in a created wetland. Soil samples were collected in Fall 2024 from the Mill Seat Wetland Restoration Area in Riga, NY, and analyzed for soil moisture (SM), soil organic matter (SOM), total carbon (TC), and total nitrogen (TN). SM and SOM were measured using drying ovens, with SOM quantified via loss-on-ignition (LOI). TC and TN were analyzed with a PerkinElmer Elemental Analyzer at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Aquatic Ecology Lab. Results show that natural reference wetlands had the highest levels of soil organic matter (SOM). However, SOM levels in the compost-amended wetland have increased over five years, indicating that the compost is promoting soil development. Total carbon (TC) and total nitrogen (TN) levels have also increased in the amended wetland, following the same upward trend as SOM. This comparison between reference wetlands and compost treated wetlands supports the objective that leaf litter compost improves soil quality and accelerates wetland succession. These findings suggest that soil amendments can be a valuable tool in improving the ecological function of restored wetlands and enhancing ecosystem services
061 - Leaf litter compost soil amendments in created wetlands may drive soil microbial succession toward an alternative community structure.
Full text linkThe loss of wetlands due to human activity has led to increased efforts in their creation and restoration. This study evaluates a created freshwater wetland and a natural forested wetland at the Mill Seat Wetland Restoration Area in Riga, New York. Since 2019, these wetlands have been subjected to experimental conditions involving leaf litter compost as a soil amendment. Previous research suggests that compost amendments enhance plant diversity, floristic quality, and nutrient availability while supporting key biogeochemical processes. However, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing indicates that the microbial community structure in amended wetlands may be diverging from that of reference wetlands. It remains unclear whether this shift is driven by environmental conditions created by compost addition or by the direct introduction of microbes from the compost itself. This study explores the role of leaf litter compost in shaping microbial community structure and influencing an alternative successional trajectory. We hypothesize that compost addition fosters a microbial community distinct from that of reference wetlands. In the Fall of 2024, we resampled the microbial community using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to analyze shifts since 2020. The 2024 data revealed an enrichment of the phylum Bacillota, likely due to both the direct introduction of microbes from compost and the favorable conditions it creates for their growth. These findings suggest that compost amendments influence microbial community structure, potentially altering wetland succession. By tracking microbial composition over time, this study underscores the role of compost in shaping microbial community structure within created wetlands
144 - Assessing the Use of Next Generation MinION Nanopore DNA Sequencing in Obtaining High Quality Data from Zebrafish to Inform Round Scad Fish Epigenetics under Global Climate Stress
Full text linkThe issue of climate change has been gaining increased awareness and attention globally in recent years. It is having various impacts on ecosystems all over the world, causing many species to become environmentally stressed. Epigenetics is a concept that is being studied more prevalently regarding climate changes. Due to the changing environment, stress-induced heritable traits may appear without changes to the genomic code, known as epigenetic alterations. One such epigenetic alteration is DNA methylation, which occurs in cellular responses to environmental stress. One major source of affordable protein in the Philippines comes from the wild Round Scad fish, which has recently been facing rapid decline in both its population and body size. The purpose of our study is to explore the patterns of DNA methylation in wild Round Scad to determine whether these changes are associated with an epigenetic response to global climate stress. Samples of Round Scad DNA were collected and isolated from the Philippines. Using nanopore MinION, a portable third-generation DNA sequencing technology, we are able to obtain high quality DNA sequences required for detection of methylation sites. However, the DNA sequences are difficult to obtain and are short, needing improvement. To facilitate our analysis, we are sequencing the genome of the Zebrafish for comparison. Here, we shall report on the initial data collected and our process navigating this technology. We anticipate that long term findings from this project will provide critical information to manage wild Round Scad and other marine fish facing similar environmental stressors
096 - Personality, Morphology, and Intraspecific Interactions in the Ant-Mimicking Spider, Myrmarachne formicaria
Full text linkThe Eurasian ant-mimicking spider Myrmarachne formicaria (Salticidae) is a relatively new arrival to North America and has spread throughout the Great Lakes region. M. formicaria has evolved remarkable ant-like appearances and behaviors, alongside enlarged chelicerae (jaws) in males. These chelicerae may be critical in competitive interactions as they spread them during confrontations with other males. The outcomes of these encounters could significantly impact courtship success. Our study aims to explore three main questions: (1) Do M. formicaria exhibit consistent variation in behavior that could be characterized as differences in personality? (2) If these spiders do exhibit consistent personalities, are these traits linked to physical features such as overall body size and chelicerae size? (3) Does personality or morphology influence the results of intraspecific interactions? To address these questions, we carried out several behavioral assays, repeated twice, to quantify potential personality traits. We measured voracity, defined as the intense drive to feed, as the time elapsed before attack on fruit flies. We assessed aggression as the time spiders spent displaying at a mirror. Finally, we assessed intraspecific interactions using a male-male duel assay that quantified aggression towards an opponent, time spent displaying, and other factors. Alongside these behavioral tests, we measured the spiders and analyzed the relationships between measurements, behavioral traits like aggression and voracity, and intraspecific encounter outcomes. Understanding these relationships could reveal how physical and behavioral traits influence female preferences and male courtship outcomes
007 - Heritage Lost: Geographies of National Register Property Delisting and Vulnerability (1970-2024)
Full text linkThe National Parks Service’s National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) program supports public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America\u27s historic and archaeological resources. Containing approximately 100,000 properties, the NRHP is comprised of properties deemed worthy of preservation. Although the National Register has significantly protected the nation’s cultural heritage, listing to the NRHP does not guarantee property protection in perpetuity. In fact, since 1970, more than 2400 properties have been delisted from the NRHP. These properties have been removed from the National Register for a variety of reasons ranging from property destruction due to natural hazards such as fire, to human modifications destroying a property’s historical integrity. Utilizing NRHP property data, GIS and statistical methods, this poster spatially analyzes the geography of delisted National Register properties. Revealed are spatial patterns of property delisting as well as trends in property types (e.g. buildings, structures, districts etc.) and historical significance (e.g. architecture, industry, social history etc.)
222 - A Land Use History of the Hemlock-Canadice State Forest through GIS
Full text linkThis project is a comprehensive land-use history of the Hemlock-Canadice State Forest through a series of maps and information compiled with GIS technology. The use of LiDAR-derived digital elevation models was central, enabling the mapping of historical features through visible differences in elevation. When combined with the use of georeferenced historical maps, the location and shape of still-present features indicating historical activity were identified and mapped. These include the foundations of cottages, old roads, skid trails from logging, and plow lines, which remain even after over 100 years