Callistoma costatum and Tegula funebralis, marine intertidal
snails from low and high littoral zones respectively, were exposed to
air for two, six and twelve hour periods, during which time their
oxygen consumption rates were measured. The animals were then
immersed in sea water and their respiration rates recorded for a...
The heart rate, oxygen consumption, survivorship, and 1-lactate
accumulation were determined in the intertidal limpets Collisella pelta
and Collisella digitalis in relation to laboratory desiccation at 15°C
or 30°C. Water loss was computed as a percentage of total initial body
water (wet weight - dry weight). Although water was lost...
Climate change is predicted to affect ecosystems, including systems already stressed by human impacts. One ecosystem that is already highly impacted by human land use is the cold headwater stream system of the Pacific Northwest. One method of assessing the function of an ecosystem is by using an indicator species....
Many species have complex life cycles in which a dispersive larval stage is
followed by a relatively sedentary adult stage. For such species, reproductive output
is often high and large variation in survivorship throughout early life-history phases
(eggs and larvae) can lead to dramatic fluctuations in recruitment which may in...
Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) are commonly used as indicators of an animal’s stress response in behavioral and eco-physiological studies. Stress in wild animals represents an immediate measure of the physiological response to changes in the environment, and, potentially, a prospective assessment of the animal’s health and well-being. In wild mammals,...
In this dissertation I study evolutionary patterns at genes encoding antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in frogs. AMPs are short, amphipathic, cationic, secreted proteins that kill bacteria and other pathogens through a non-catalytic mechanism that involves
binding to and disrupting the microbial cell membrane. In many animal taxa, positive selection is much...
The cytoplasmic isozyme of malate dehydrogenase (s-MDH) has been isolated from brine shrimp nauplii to a state of high purity with a protocol involving ammonium sulfate fractionation and chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, followed by sequential passes over cellulose phosphate columns at pH 5.8 then 5.0. The purified enzyme is free of...
Thais (Nucella) emarginata is a common predatory gastropod of the
rocky intertidal system of western North America. It is usually found at
low tide on top of its sedentary prey, barnacles and mussels. Thais
is also highly polymorphic for shell color, and breeding of isolated
females has shown that the...