THE ART OF WAR: PATTERNS AND MECHANISMS UNDERLYING PREDATOR-INDUCED PLASTICITY OF AMPHIBIANS

Organisms often employ phenotypic plasticity as a strategy to cope with variable environments. This is particularly true of predation threats, wherein prey induce defenses to reduce detection or capture by predators. In order to produce appropriate defenses, prey must be able to discern useful information from environmental cues. Despite the pervasive production of inducible defenses, we understand very little of how much useful information is conveyed to organisms in cues, or how the subsequent plastic responses vary within groups of organisms. To address the need for comparative studies of phenotypic plasticity, we sought to examine morphological and behavioral defenses of five species of Ambystoma salamander larvae in response to larval dragonfly (Anax junius) chemical cues in a common garden environment. Dragonfly cues induced relatively few morphological changes across species. Likewise, salamanders did not vary in their refuge use during the experiment, though several species reduced their activity in the presence of predators early in development. Our results suggest that behavioral and morphological defenses in Ambystoma are highly variable among species and the genus appears to be less plastic than tadpoles and other salamander species. To understand what types of information prey are capable of responding to in their environment, we raised grey treefrog tadpoles (Hyla verisciolor) in the presence of cues isolated from different stages of an attack sequence by larval dragonflies (A. junius) or larval dragonflies THE ART OF WAR: PATTERNS AND MECHANISMS UNDERLYING PREDATOR-INDUCED PLASTICITY OF AMPHIBIANS Heather Michelle Shaffery, M.S. University of Pittsburgh, 2013 iv consuming different combinations of grey treefrog tadpoles and snails (Helisoma trivolvis) across different temporal sequences. When exposed to a predator consuming grey treefrogs, tadpoles reduced their activity, increased their hiding behavior, and induced deeper tails. As we exposed prey to more types of cues from an attack sequence, they also increased tail depth and hiding behavior but did not change their activity. Additionally, treefrog tadpoles generally increased their defense as the biomass of treefrogs consumed increased, regardless of whether heterospecifics were being consumed. Our results suggest that treefrogs can gain cue information from all portions of an attack sequence, and that both temporal patterns of feeding and diet content of predators influence the type and magnitude of induced prey defenses

The Odonata of Isle Royale, Michigan

This paper presents a list of the Odonata recorded from Isle Royale National Park, located in northwestern Lake Superior. Collections from Isle Royale include 38 species of Anisoptera and 12 species of Zygoptera. The list is typical of the boreal regions of North America, and includes nine new records for Isle Royale and one new record for the state of Michigan

Paired and LIM class homeodomain proteins coordinate differentiation of the C. elegans ALA neuron

The ancient origin of sleep is evidenced by deeply conserved signaling pathways regulating sleep-like behavior, such as signaling through the Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In Caenorhabditis elegans, a sleep-like state can be induced at any time during development or adulthood through conditional expression of LIN-3/EGF. The behavioral response to EGF is mediated by EGFR activity within a single cell, the ALA neuron, and mutations that impair ALA differentiation are expected to confer EGF-resistance. Here we describe three such EGF-resistant mutants. One of these corresponds to the LIM class homeodomain (HD) protein CEH-14/Lhx3, and the other two correspond to Paired-like HD proteins CEH-10/Chx10 and CEH-17/Phox2. Whereas CEH-14 is required for ALA-specific gene expression throughout development, the Prd-like proteins display complementary temporal contributions to gene expression, with the requirement for CEH-10 decreasing as that of CEH-17 increases. We present evidence that CEH-17 participates in a positive autoregulatory loop with CEH-14 in ALA, and that CEH-10, in addition to its role in ALA differentiation, functions in the generation of the ALA neuron. Similarly to CEH-17, CEH-10 is required for the posterior migration of the ALA axons, but CEH-14 appears to regulate an aspect of ALA axon outgrowth that is distinct from that of the Prd-like proteins. Our findings reveal partial modularity among the features of a neuronal differentiation program and their coordination by Prd and LIM class HD proteins

A mathematical model for top-shelf vertigo: the role of sedimenting otoconia in BPPV

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is a mechanical disorder of the vestibular system in which calcite particles called otoconia interfere with the mechanical functioning of the fluid-filled semicircular canals normally used to sense rotation. Using hydrodynamic models, we examine the two mechanisms proposed by the medical community for BPPV: cupulolithiasis, in which otoconia attach directly to the cupula (a sensory membrane), and canalithiasis, in which otoconia settle through the canals and exert a fluid pressure across the cupula. We utilize known hydrodynamic calculations and make reasonable geometric and physical approximations to derive an expression for the transcupular pressure $\Delta P_c$ exerted by a settling solid particle in canalithiasis. By tracking settling otoconia in a two-dimensional model geometry, the cupular volume displacement and associated eye response (nystagmus) can be calculated quantitatively. Several important features emerge: 1) A pressure amplification occurs as otoconia enter a narrowing duct; 2) An average-sized otoconium requires approximately five seconds to settle through the wide ampulla, where $\Delta P_c$ is not amplified, which suggests a mechanism for the observed latency of BPPV; and 3) An average-sized otoconium beginning below the center of the cupula can cause a volumetric cupular displacement on the order of 30 pL, with nystagmus of order $2^\circ$/s, which is approximately the threshold for sensation. Larger cupular volume displacement and nystagmus could result from larger and/or multiple otoconia.Comment: 15 pages, 5 Figures updated, to be published in J. Biomechanic

State Highlights 10/10/1951

This is the student newspaper from Western State High School, the high school that was on the campus of Western Michigan University, then called State Highlights, in 1951

Physiological Studies of Heat Stress Acclimation During a Specific Exercise Regimen

Eleven subjects were used to determine if the exercise regimen of racquetball could be used as a heat stress acclimator. Core temperature, skin temperature, sweat production, and weight loss were recorded during a racquetball match. Skin and core temperatures were determined by using thermistors. Sweat was collected with modified stress electrodes. Weight loss was recorded by comparing nude weights at the beginning and end of a match. The results indicated that an hour of strenuous racquetball play caused a significant increase in core temperature with subsequent sweating which resulted in a significant decrease in skin temperature and weight loss. The exercise regimen of racquetball can act as a good heat stress acclimator because it produces sufficiently high levels of hyperthermia

Minimal generating and normally generating sets for the braid and mapping class groups of the disc, the sphere and the projective plane

We consider the (pure) braid groups B_{n}(M) and P_{n}(M), where M is the 2-sphere S^2 or the real projective plane RP^2. We determine the minimal cardinality of (normal) generating sets X of these groups, first when there is no restriction on X, and secondly when X consists of elements of finite order. This improves on results of Berrick and Matthey in the case of S^2, and extends them in the case of RP^2. We begin by recalling the situation for the Artin braid groups. As applications of our results, we answer the corresponding questions for the associated mapping class groups, and we show that for M=S^2 or RP^2, the induced action of B_n(M) on H_3 of the universal covering of the n th configuration space of M is trivial.Comment: 18 page