ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0359-7220
Current Organisations
Oklahoma State University
,
Oklahoma State University Stillwater
,
Duke-NUS Medical School
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Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 20-08-2014
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-12-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2008
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-2004
DOI: 10.1644/020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2011
DOI: 10.1890/10-0623.1
Abstract: Many arthropods engage in mutualisms in which they consume plant-based foods including nectar, extrafloral nectar, and honeydew. However, relatively little is known about the manner in which the specific macronutrients in these plant-based resources affect growth, especially for carnivorous arthropods. Using a combination of laboratory and field experiments, we tested (1) how plant-based foods, together with ad libitum insect prey, affect the growth of a carnivorous ant, Solenopsis invicta, and (2) which macronutrients in these resources (i.e., carbohydrates, amino acids, or both) contribute to higher colony growth. Access to honeydew increased the production of workers and brood in experimental colonies. This growth effect appeared to be due to carbohydrates alone as colonies provided with the carbohydrate component of artificial extrafloral nectar had greater worker and brood production compared to colonies deprived of carbohydrates. Surprisingly, amino acids only had a slight interactive effect on the proportion of a colony composed of brood and negatively affected worker survival. Diet choice in the laboratory and field matched performance in the laboratory with high recruitment to carbohydrate baits and only slight recruitment to amino acids. The strong, positive effects of carbohydrates on colony growth and the low cost of producing this macronutrient for plants and hemipterans may have aided the evolution of food-for-protection mutualisms and help explain why these interactions are so common in ants. In addition, greater access to plant-based resources in the introduced range of S. invicta may help to explain the high densities achieved by this species throughout the southeastern United States.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-10-2011
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2010
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 17-08-2016
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-12-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.7063
Abstract: Arthropods are abundant and erse animals in many terrestrial food webs. In western Oklahoma, some shrublands are interspersed with discrete, dense thickets of tall, woody vegetation, known as mottes. Some of these shrublands are managed with prescribed burning. The goal of this study was to examine whether prescribed burning interacted with habitat type (i.e., shrubland versus mottes) to affect ground‐dwelling arthropod communities. Arthropods were collected in pitfall traps at four s ling locations in relation to mottes in the center of mottes, and three plot location in shrublands 1 m, 15 m, and 50 m away from the edge of the motte. There were three treatment levels for burning: one year postburn (burned in dormant months of 2017), two years postburn (burned in dormant months of 2016), and unburned (burned in dormant season of 2014 and prior). There were no significant interactions between prescribed burning and habitat type. Mottes had a different community of arthropods compared with the surrounding shrubland. Mottes also had lower overall abundance, but a higher ersity of arthropods. In terms of fires, arthropod communities one year after burning were different from those two or more years after burning. There was no effect of burning on overall arthropod abundance, but plots that were one year since burning had significantly lower ersity compared with plots that were two or more years postburn. The results of this study suggest that both fire and mottes can independently facilitate heterogeneity in arthropod communities, but they do not appear to interact with one another.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2023
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.10348
Abstract: Arthropod consumption provides amino acids to invertebrates and vertebrates alike, but not all amino acids in arthropods may be digestible as some are bound in the exoskeleton. Consumers may not be able to digest exoskeleton in significant amounts or avoid it entirely (e.g., extraoral digestion). Hence, measures that do not separate digestible amino acids from those in exoskeleton may not accurately represent the amino acids available to consumers. Additionally, arthropods are taxonomically erse, and it remains unclear if taxonomic differences also reflect differences in amino acid availability. Thus, we tested: (1) if there were consistent differences in the content and balance of amino acids between the digestible tissue and exoskeleton of arthropods and (2) if arthropod Orders differ in amino acid content and balance. We measured the amino acid content (mg/100 mg dry mass) and balance (mg/100 mg protein) of whole bodies and exoskeleton of a variety of arthropods using acid hydrolysis. Overall, there was higher amino acid content in digestible tissue. There were also significant differences in the amino acid balance of proteins in digestible tissue and exoskeleton. Amino acid content and balance also varied among Orders digestible tissues of Hemiptera contained more of some essential amino acids than other Orders. These results demonstrate that arthropod taxa vary in amino acid content, which could have implications for prey choice by insectivores. In addition, exoskeleton and digestible tissue content differ in arthropods, which means that whole body amino acid content of an arthropod is not necessarily a predictor of amino acid intake of a predator that feeds on that arthropod.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-09-2015
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 09-2019
DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/609/7/072008
Abstract: The EU Directive 2010/31 abstained from prescribing harmonized and strict requirements for nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEBs), to provide EU countries flexibility and room for maneuver in setting national targets, in view of the impact of local climatic conditions and specific territorial and socio-economical features on heating and cooling needs. Benchmarks are usually provided in terms of primary energy needs, however the definition of accurate calculation methodologies, notably as regards the cooling share, is a rather challenging task. Nonetheless, its accomplishment is cardinal to countries, like Mediterranean ones, were the building performance is mostly dictated by summertime sensitivities. This paper presents a cutting-edge approach to nZEB performance analysis: the monthly quasi steady-state (EN 13790 as implemented in Italian UNI/TS 11300) and hourly dynamic calculation methods (developed under the standard UNI EN ISO 52016-1:2018) are compared, with due attention to the cooling energy consumption, to spot pros and cons of a finer temporal discretization. Potential nZEB design alternatives in three different Italian climatic zones are contemplated and used to confront the effectiveness of the above procedures.
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 28-10-2009
Abstract: We tested whether the carbohydrate and amino acid content of extrafloral nectar affected prey choice by a predatory ant. Fire ants, Solenopsis invicta , were provided with artificial nectar that varied in the presence of carbohydrates and amino acids and were then provided with two prey items that differed in nutritional content, female and male crickets. Colonies of fire ants provided with carbohydrate supplements consumed less of the female crickets and frequently did not consume the high-lipid ovaries of female crickets. Colonies of fire ants provided with amino acid supplements consumed less of the male crickets. While a number of studies have shown that the presence of extrafloral nectar or honeydew can affect ant foraging activity, these results suggest that the nutritional composition of extrafloral nectar is also important and can affect subsequent prey choice by predatory ants. Our results suggest that, by altering the composition of extrafloral nectar, plants could manipulate the prey preferences of ants foraging on them.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-04-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-021-87935-Z
Abstract: Spiders were recently shown to be adversely affected by field-realistic concentrations of a broad scale of neonicotinoid insecticides. Among the reported effects of neonicotinoids on invertebrates were declines in lipid biosynthesis and upregulation of β-oxidation, while vertebrate models suggest increased adipogenesis following treatment with neonicotinoids. Therefore, we hypothesized that there exists synergy between the effects of diet and concurrent exposure to field-realistic concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides. To address this hypothesis, we fed first instars of the large wolf spider Hogna antelucana with two types of diets and exposed them to field-realistic concentrations of three formulations of neonicotinoids (thiamethoxam, thiacloprid and acetamiprid). We then measured the growth of the tested spiders the lipid and protein content of their bodies and their behavior, including ballooning, rappelling, and locomotor parameters. The two tested diets consisted of casein-treated and sucrose-treated Drosophila melanogaster . The dietary treatments affected the lipid and protein content of the spiders, their body weight and carapace length but did not affect any of the measured behavioral parameters. Surprisingly, we did not find any effects of acute exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides on the lipid or protein reserves of spiders. Exposure to neonicotinoids altered the behavior of the spiders as reported previously in other spider species however, these effects were not affected by dietary treatments. Overall, the dietary treatments did not have any major synergy with acute exposure to field-realistic concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides.
Publisher: PeerJ
Date: 10-01-2017
DOI: 10.7717/PEERJ.2803
Abstract: Algae encompass a wide array of photosynthetic organisms that are ubiquitously distributed in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Algal species often bloom in aquatic ecosystems, providing a significant autochthonous carbon input to the deeper anoxic layers in stratified water bodies. In addition, various algal species have been touted as promising candidates for anaerobic biogas production from biomass. Surprisingly, in spite of its ecological and economic relevance, the microbial community involved in algal detritus turnover under anaerobic conditions remains largely unexplored. Here, we characterized the microbial communities mediating the degradation of Chlorella vulgaris (Chlorophyta), Chara sp. strain IWP1 (Charophyceae), and kelp Ascophyllum nodosum (phylum Phaeophyceae), using sediments from an anaerobic spring (Zodlteone spring, OK ZDT), sludge from a secondary digester in a local wastewater treatment plant (Stillwater, OK WWT), and deeper anoxic layers from a seasonally stratified lake (Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, OK GL) as inoculum sources. Within all enrichments, the majority of algal biomass was metabolized within 13–16 weeks, and the process was accompanied by an increase in cell numbers and a decrease in community ersity. Community surveys based on the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene identified different lineages belonging to the phyla Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria (alpha, delta, gamma, and epsilon classes), Spirochaetes, and Firmicutes that were selectively abundant under various substrate and inoculum conditions. Within all kelp enrichments, the microbial communities structures at the conclusion of the experiment were highly similar regardless of the enrichment source, and were dominated by the genus Clostridium , or family Veillonellaceae within the Firmicutes. In all other enrichments the final microbial community was dependent on the inoculum source, rather than the type of algae utilized as substrate. Lineages enriched included the uncultured groups VadinBC27 and WCHB1-69 within the Bacteroidetes, genus Spirochaeta and the uncultured group SHA-4 within Spirochaetes, Ruminococcaceae , Lachnospiraceae , Yongiibacter , Geosporobacter , and Acidaminobacter within the Firmicutes, and genera Kluyvera , Pantoea , Edwardsiella and Aeromonas, and Buttiauxella within the Gamma-Proteobaceteria order Enterobacteriales. Our results represent the first systematic survey of microbial communities mediating turnover of algal biomass under anaerobic conditions, and highlights the ersity of lineages putatively involved in the degradation process.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-01-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S13059-021-02266-6
Abstract: Genes contain multiple promoters that can drive the expression of various transcript isoforms. Although transcript isoforms from the same gene could have erse and non-overlapping functions, current loss-of-function methodologies are not able to differentiate between isoform-specific phenotypes. Here, we show that CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) can be adopted for targeting specific promoters within a gene, enabling isoform-specific loss-of-function genetic screens. We use this strategy to test functional dependencies of 820 transcript isoforms that are gained in gastric cancer (GC). We identify a subset of GC-gained transcript isoform dependencies, and of these, we validate CIT kinase as a novel GC dependency. We further show that some genes express isoforms with opposite functions. Specifically, we find that the tumour suppressor ZFHX3 expresses an isoform that has a paradoxical oncogenic role that correlates with poor patient outcome. Our work finds isoform-specific phenotypes that would not be identified using current loss-of-function approaches that are not designed to target specific transcript isoforms.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 02-2006
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.8869
Abstract: Global climate change is causing increased climate extremes threatening bio ersity and altering ecosystems. Climate is comprised of many variables including air temperature, barometric pressure, solar radiation, wind, relative humidity, and precipitation that interact with each other. As movement connects various aspects of an animal's life, understanding how climate influences movement at a fine‐temporal scale will be critical to the long‐term conservation of species impacted by climate change. The sedentary nature of non‐migratory species could increase some species risk of extirpation caused by climate change. We used Northern Bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus hereafter bobwhite) as a model to better understand the relationship between climate and the movement ecology of a non‐migratory species at a fine‐temporal scale. We collected movement data on bobwhite from across western Oklahoma during 2019–2020 and paired these data with meteorological data. We analyzed movement in three different ways (probability of movement, hourly distance moved, and sinuosity) using two calculated movement metrics: hourly movement (displacement between two consecutive fixes an hour apart) and sinuosity (a form of tortuosity that determines the amount of curvature of a random search path). We used generalized linear‐mixed models to analyze probability of movement and hourly distance moved, and used linear‐mixed models to analyze sinuosity. The interaction between air temperature and solar radiation affected probability of movement and hourly distance moved. Bobwhite movement increased as air temperature increased beyond 10°C during low solar radiation. During medium and high solar radiation, bobwhite moved farther as air temperature increased until 25–30°C when hourly distance moved plateaued. Bobwhite sinuosity increased as solar radiation increased. Our results show that specific climate variables alter the fine‐scale movement of a non‐migratory species. Understanding the link between climate and movement is important to determining how climate change may impact a species’ space use and fitness now and in the future.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-03-2019
DOI: 10.1002/PS.5365
Abstract: Recent research on multiple invasive ant species has revealed the importance of carbohydrates for achieving high activity levels and outcompeting native ants. However, comparatively little is known about the role of diet and macronutrient preferences for uptake of insecticidal baits used to control invasive ants. We tested whether diet affected yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes Fr Smith) survival and behavior, and whether bait preference would be complementary to past diet. We found that colonies fed only crickets for 28 days had fewer live workers and queens, and less brood per live queen than colonies fed crickets + honeydew but did not differ significantly from colonies fed only honeydew. Colonies that had been fed only crickets were more active (as assessed by interaction with a novel object), retrieved 16-17 times more bait per worker overall, and consumed more of the six bait types than cricket + honeydew and honeydew-only fed colonies. However, prior diet did not affect bait choice. The two highest sugar bait formulations combined accounted for most of the bait consumed across all treatments (cricket-only 74.8% ± 28.1 cricket + honeydew 69.2% ± 12.4 honeydew-only 62.5% ± 30.4). Yellow crazy ant colonies fare better without protein than without carbohydrates. Yellow crazy ants ate the most bait when fed only crickets but did not choose baits complementary to their previous diet. Baits in a sugar-rich carrier may be most effective for the control of yellow crazy ants, regardless of the relative availability of macronutrients. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 08-11-2012
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 09-06-2014
Publisher: University of Notre Dame
Date: 2005
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 08-2004
Publisher: BMJ
Date: 03-09-2015
DOI: 10.1136/GUTJNL-2015-309482
Abstract: GI stromal tumours (GISTs) are clinically heterogenous exhibiting varying degrees of disease aggressiveness in in idual patients. We sought to identify genetic alterations associated with high-risk GIST, explore their molecular consequences, and test their utility as prognostic markers. Exome sequencing of 18 GISTs was performed (9 patients with high-risk/metastatic and 5 patients with low/intermediate-risk), corresponding to 11 primary and 7 metastatic tumours. Candidate alterations were validated by prevalence screening in an independent patient cohort (n=120). Functional consequences of SETD2 mutations were investigated in primary tissues and cell lines. Transcriptomic profiles for 8 GISTs (4 SETD2 mutated, 4 SETD2 wild type) and DNA methylation profiles for 22 GISTs (10 SETD2 mutated, 12 SETD2 wild type) were analysed. Statistical associations between molecular, clinicopathological factors, and relapse-free survival were determined. High-risk GISTs harboured increased numbers of somatic mutations compared with low-risk GISTs (25.2 mutations/high-risk cases vs 6.8 mutations/low-risk cases two s le t test p=3.1×10 Our data suggest that SETD2 is a novel GIST tumour suppressor gene associated with disease progression. Assessing SETD2 genetic status and SETD2-associated epigenomic phenotypes may guide risk stratification and provide insights into mechanisms of GIST clinical aggressiveness.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-08-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.6581
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1093/JUE/JUX004
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 21-07-2015
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2021
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.8280
Abstract: Insectivores gain macronutrients and elements from consuming arthropod prey, but must also deal with indigestible components (i.e., exoskeleton) of prey. For ex le, avian chicks (e.g., northern bobwhites Colinus virginianus ) have limited gut space, and ingesting prey with relatively higher proportions of indigestible components may impact assimilation efficiency, growth, and survival. The ability of insectivores to choose higher quality prey would depend on prey taxa varying consistently in nutritional content. We tested whether there were consistent differences among taxonomic orders of arthropod prey in their macronutrient (protein and lipid), elemental (C and N), and exoskeleton content. We used northern bobwhite chicks as our focal insectivore and focused on their potential prey as a case study. We also tested the influence of indigestible exoskeleton on the measurement of macronutrient content and the ability of elemental content to predict macronutrients. We found large and consistent variation in macronutrient and elemental content between arthropod orders. Some orders had consistently high protein content and low exoskeleton content (i.e., Araneae) and are likely higher quality prey for insectivores. Abundant orders common in the diets of insectivores, like Hymenoptera and Coleoptera, had high exoskeleton content and low protein content. We also found support for the ability of elements to predict macronutrients and found that metabolizable (i.e., exoskeleton removed) elemental content better predicted macronutrient content. A better understanding of arthropod nutrient content is critical for elucidating the role of spatial and temporal variation in prey communities in shaping the growth and survival of insectivores.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-10-2018
DOI: 10.1111/OIK.05685
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Date: 07-2019
DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/296/1/012025
Abstract: Climate change, heat waves and weather extremes unveil the need to counteract excess heat and its dramatic consequences on energy, economy, outdoor liveability and, above all, health. In the urban context, further concern arises from the concerted action of cities’ materials, fabric, layout, density and activities, which are responsible of heat and pollutants entrapment, of wind force breaking and sweltering microclimates. Ready-to-use, high-impact, smart, cost and energy-effective countermeasures are the only ones having chances to be widely implemented in the short haul. Against this backdrop, this work presents the results obtained from an experimental c aign conducted on a single mitigation technology, meant to reach high local temperature reductions and empowered with climate-adaptive features to be applicable close to any vulnerable target (e.g. schools, hospitals, hospices …): a web of smartly controlled mist sprayers. A prototype was designed and its impacts on the local microclimate were thoroughly characterized. Notably, the nozzle density was investigated to delineate the tradeoffs between evaporative cooling global magnitude and spatial dilution: in fact, by rarefying water emission, a larger air volume can partake to the cooling as it gets harder to reach saturation conversely the point spatial temperature drop might weaken and become negligible, jeopardizing the whole mitigation strategy. This paper discloses such a controversial point and provides guidelines for the correct design of mist cooling systems for Urban Heat Island counteraction.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-11-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2019
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 07-08-2013
DOI: 10.1126/SCITRANSLMED.3006086
Abstract: Genome-wide mutational signatures of the group 1 carcinogen aristolochic acid are observed in urothelial cancers and liver cancers from Asia.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-01-2021
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-12-2012
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-12-2009
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-009-1518-3
Abstract: Cannibalism is hypothesized to have evolved as a way to obtain a high-quality meal. We examined the extraction of lipid and protein by female wolf spiders, Hogna helluo, during sexual cannibalism of males and predation of crickets. Most food-limited females did not cannibalize males but immediately consumed a size-matched cricket. When consuming male H. helluo and crickets, female H. helluo only consumed 51% of the male body while they consumed 72% of the cricket body. While males had higher protein content in their bodies than crickets and other insects, female H. helluo ingested similar amounts of protein from male H. helluo and crickets. Female H. helluo extracted 47% of the protein present in male H. helluo and 67% of the protein present in crickets. Females were able to extract nearly all of the lipid present in male H. helluo and crickets. However, crickets and other insects had almost 4 times higher lipid content than male H. helluo. The ratio of lipid to protein consumed from crickets appeared more similar to the nutritional requirements of egg production than that of males. Taken together, female hesitancy to engage in cannibalism, low extraction of nutrients from males and a low ratio of lipid to protein in the food extracted from males suggest that males may be poor-quality prey items compared to common insects such as crickets.
Publisher: American Arachnological Society
Date: 04-2013
DOI: 10.1636/P12-79.1
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-05-2013
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.12116
Abstract: Understanding why food chains are relatively short in length has been an area of research and debate for decades. We tested if progressive changes in the nutritional content of arthropods with trophic position limit the availability of a key nutrient, lipid, for carnivores. Arthropods at higher trophic levels had progressively less lipid and more protein in their bodies compared with arthropods at lower trophic levels. The nutrients present in arthropod bodies were directly related to the nutrients that predators extracted when feeding on those arthropods. As a consequence, nutrient assimilation shifted from lipid-biased to protein-biased as arthropods ascended trophic levels from herbivores to secondary carnivores. Successive changes in the nutritional consequences of predation may ultimately set an upper limit on the number of trophic levels in arthropod communities. Further work is needed to examine the influence of lipid and other nutrients on food web traits in a range of ecosystems.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-10-2016
Abstract: Global warming and predation risk can have important impacts on animal physiology and life histories that can have consequences for ecosystem function. Zhang et al. () recently tested the separate and interactive effects of warming and predation risk on the body composition of Daphnia magna. By measuring both the elemental and biochemical composition of in iduals, they showed that D. magna body elemental composition responded opposite to theoretical predictions and previous studies but that these changes were explained by adaptive life-history shifts in allocation to protein in eggs versus body lipid reserves. Photograph by Joachim Mergeay. Zhang, C., Jansen, M., De Meester, L. & Stoks, R. (2016) Energy storage and fecundity explain deviations from ecological stoichiometry predictions under global warming and size-selective predation. Journal of Animal Ecology 85, 1431-1441. Understanding the mechanisms through which energy and nutrients flow through ecosystems is critical to predicting and mitigating the consequences of climate change and other ecological disturbances. Ecological stoichiometry and nutritional geometry, using data on elements and macromolecules, respectively, have independently made major contributions towards this goal. Zhang et al. () provide data demonstrating that these two major frameworks can provide complementary insight into the consequences of global warming and predation risk for the physiology and life-history traits of a key aquatic herbivore, Daphnia magna. This study should catalyse further work to unite these two parallel and complementary frameworks.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 22-09-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.JINSPHYS.2016.08.008
Abstract: The metabolic rate of an animal affects the amount of energy available for its growth, activity and reproduction and, ultimately, shapes how energy and nutrients flow through ecosystems. Standard metabolic rate (SMR when animals are post-absorptive and at rest) and specific dynamic action (SDA the cost of digesting and processing food) are two major components of animal metabolism. SMR has been studied in hundreds of species of insects, but very little is known about the SMR of praying mantises. We measured the rates of CO
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 10-01-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2022
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-04-2005
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-005-0086-4
Abstract: While many species show positive relationships between population density and habitat patch area, some species consistently show higher densities in smaller patches. Few studies have examined mechanisms that may cause species to have negative density-area relationships. We tested the hypothesis that greater reproduction in edge versus interior habitats and small versus large fragments contributes to higher densities of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) in small versus large forest fragments. We also examined vegetation structure and foraging tray utilization to evaluate if greater reproduction was a result of higher food availability. There were greater number of litters and proportion of females producing litters in the edge versus interior of forest fragments, which may have contributed to greater population growth rates and higher densities in edge versus interior and small versus large fragments. Data on vegetation structure and giving-up densities of seeds in artificial patches suggest that food availability may be higher in edge versus interior habitats and small versus large fragments. These results, in an area with few or no long-tailed weasels, provide a distinct contrast to the findings of Morris and Davidson (Ecology 81:2061, 2000) who observed lower reproduction in forest edge habitat as a result of high weasel predation, suggesting that specialist predators may be important in affecting the quality of edge habitat. While we cannot exclude the potential contributions of immigration, emigration, and mortality, our data suggest that greater reproduction in edge versus interior habitat is an important factor contributing to higher densities of P. leucopus in small fragments.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.JINSPHYS.2019.04.006
Abstract: Predators feed on a ersity of prey that can vary widely in nutrient content. While prey nutrient content is known to have important consequences for life history traits, less is known about how it affects physiology and behavior. The purpose of this study was to test how diet affected the physiology and behavior of the wolf spider Hogna carolinensis. We hypothesized that higher protein intake would result in a lower metabolic rate due to less energy intake. Further, we also expected the high protein group to exhibit increased activity levels and aggression in an attempt to increase energy intake. Spiders were maintained on three different treatment diets in order to simulate prey with differing macronutrient composition: high protein, intermediate, and high lipid. Spider respiration was measured to quantify the baseline metabolic rate (SMR), digestive metabolic rate (SDA), and active metabolic rate (AMR). We found no significant effect of diet on metabolic rates. However, the SDA coefficient (i.e. digestive cost relative to prey content) was higher in the high protein group, meaning that this group metabolized a greater portion of their prey during digestion and had a lower net energy intake from prey. In our behavioral assays, spiders in the high protein group were significantly more active and attacked prey more quickly in their first trial. Our results demonstrate that diet had relatively little effect on predator metabolism but more of an effect on behavior. These findings suggest that diet regulation should be analyzed by studying multiple responses together, including metabolism and behavior, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of diet on organism performance and fitness.
Publisher: American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Date: 18-05-2022
DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-21-2072
Abstract: DNA repair protein MSH2 binds and regulates cell adhesion genes by enabling enhancer–promoter interactions, and loss of MSH2 causes deficient cell adhesion and bromodomain and extraterminal motif inhibitor synthetic lethality in gastric cancer.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-03-2018
DOI: 10.1111/OIK.04766
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-2023
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 21-07-2015
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2010
DOI: 10.1890/09-2080.1
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-10-2006
Publisher: American Society for Clinical Investigation
Date: 04-05-2020
DOI: 10.1172/JCI126726
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-11-2018
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-018-4308-Y
Abstract: Predators often feed on a wide range of prey that can vary in behavior, morphology, and physiology. The net benefits that predators gain from prey are likely related to both prey nutrient content and prey morphology or defenses. For invertebrates, the exoskeleton is a morphological trait that varies widely among species and during ontogeny and could affect nutrient extraction by predators. The goal of this study was to determine how prey exoskeleton content affected predator nutrient intake, assimilation, and excretion by comparing spiders feeding on either larval or adult mealworms of similar size. We found that the proportion of prey energy invested in digestion was greatest in spiders consuming adult mealworm beetles which had higher amounts of exoskeleton than larvae. Further, spiders extracted a greater proportion of elements, macronutrients, and energy from the larval mealworms, which had lower amounts of exoskeleton. Interestingly, total nitrogen content of prey was not a predictor of nitrogen assimilation as spiders assimilated more nitrogen from the larval mealworms, which had lower total nitrogen content. While adult beetles had higher total nitrogen content, their discarded remains of prey had large amounts of nitrogen that was nutritionally unavailable for spiders (i.e., exoskeleton). These results suggest that prey exoskeleton can affect assimilation efficiency by predators, and that a combination of macronutrient and elemental analyses may be needed to examine the quality of prey for predators and the potential consequences of predation for nutrient flows (e.g., consumer assimilation, egestion, and excretion) in ecosystems.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-09-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2023
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 09-2008
DOI: 10.1086/589518
Abstract: Sexual cannibalism varies widely among spiders, but no general evolutionary hypothesis has emerged to explain its distribution across taxa. Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) also varies widely among spiders and could affect the vulnerability of males to cannibalistic attacks by females. We tested for a relationship between SSD and sexual cannibalism within and among species of spiders, using a broad taxonomic data set. For most species, cannibalism was more likely when males were much smaller than females. In addition, using phylogenetically controlled and uncontrolled analyses, there was a strong positive relationship between average SSD of a species and the frequency of sexual cannibalism. This is the first evidence that the degree of size difference between males and females is related to the phylogenetic distribution of sexual cannibalism among a broad range of spiders.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 25-10-2016
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-05-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.JINSPHYS.2017.06.007
Abstract: Sexual cannibalism has long been hypothesized to be a foraging decision in which females consume males for the nutrients in their bodies. While few studies have documented fecundity benefits of sexual cannibalism, several recent studies have documented benefits of cannibalism to egg hatching success or offspring survival. We tested if small supplements of dietary essential nutrients fed to female spiders, Argiope bruennichi, would result in increases in offspring survival similar to those seen following sexual cannibalism. All female spiders were prevented from cannibalizing their mates and subsequently fed either: a dead male spider, or a similarly-sized dead fly with one of four nutrient supplements (water control, dietary essential fatty acids, dietary essential amino acids, or nonessential amino and fatty acids). Females that consumed a small supplement of dietary essential amino acids produced offspring that survived simulated overwintering conditions significantly longer than offspring of other treatments. While a previous study found a significant effect of cannibalism on offspring survival using field-collected males as prey, the current study, which used lab-reared males as prey, found no effect of sexual cannibalism on offspring survival. Hence, our results suggest that dietary essential amino acids, which may be sequestered by males from their diet, could be valuable supplements that increase the success of the offspring of cannibalistic females. Further work is needed to determine the source and identity of these dietary essential amino acids and if other essential nutrients (e.g., trace elements, vitamins, etc.) may also be limiting in female diets and affect offspring success.
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 05-12-2011
Abstract: Mutualisms play key roles in the functioning of ecosystems. However, reciprocally beneficial interactions that involve introduced species also can enhance invasion success and in doing so compromise ecosystem integrity. For ex le, the growth and competitive ability of introduced plant species can increase when fungal or microbial associates provide limiting nutrients. Mutualisms also may aid animal invasions, but how such systems may promote invasion success has received relatively little attention. Here we examine how access to food-for-protection mutualisms involving the red imported fire ant ( Solenopsis invicta ) aids the success of this prominent invader. Intense interspecific competition in its native Argentina constrained the ability of S. invicta to benefit from honeydew-producing Hemiptera (and other accessible sources of carbohydrates), whereas S. invicta dominated these resources in its introduced range in the United States. Consistent with this strong pattern, nitrogen isotopic data revealed that fire ants from populations in the United States occupy a lower trophic position than fire ants from Argentina. Laboratory and field experiments demonstrated that honeydew elevated colony growth, a crucial determinant of competitive performance, even when insect prey were not limiting. Carbohydrates, obtained largely through mutualistic partnerships with other organisms, thus represent critical resources that may aid the success of this widespread invasive species. These results illustrate the potential for mutualistic interactions to play a fundamental role in the establishment and spread of animal invasions.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.JINSPHYS.2019.02.004
Abstract: Temperature strongly influences the physiology and behavior of ectotherms. Persistence within different environments can be limited by thermal tolerances. These thermal tolerances can also shift through life stages and differ between sexes. The critical thermal maximum (CT
Publisher: Annual Reviews
Date: 12-2009
DOI: 10.1146/ANNUREV.ECOLSYS.110308.120238
Abstract: Sexual cannibalism, the consumption of the male by the female before, during, or after mating, can be a striking ex le of sexual conflict with potentially large fitness consequences for males and females. In this review, we examine how ecological and phylogenetic factors may affect the occurrence and frequency of sexual cannibalism within and among species. Ecological factors such as food and mate availability may primarily influence cannibalism by affecting the benefit of cannibalism for females. Phylogenetic factors such as feeding mode, sexual size dimorphism, certain mating behaviors, and genetic constraints may influence the vulnerability of the male to the female or the propensity of females to attack males. Although in some cases it may be difficult to separate the effects of co-occurring factors, in other cases comparative and phylogenetic approaches may aid in determining the influence of ecological and phylogenetic factors for the evolution of sexual cannibalism.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2007
DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2656.2007.01310.X
Abstract: 1. Pulsed food resources are often considered equivalent in their potential impact on the reproduction and population dynamics of consumers, but differences in the attributes of food pulses and their distribution in the landscape may cause differences in their effects. 2. We tested whether a perishable pulsed resource (periodical cicadas, Magicicada spp.) had similar effects on the population dynamics of a generalist forest rodent, Peromyscus leucopus, as have been reported for a cacheable pulsed resource (acorn mast). 3. Because the availability of periodical cicadas may vary between edge and interior habitat, we also tested whether habitat type (edge vs. interior) and fragment size affected the abundance of cicadas and P. leucopus. 4. Nearly 90% of the variation in the relative population densities of P. leucopus was explained by the variation in the relative densities of periodical cicadas, and fragments with more cicadas tended to have more reproductive female mice and litters. 5. We found more cicadas and more P. leucopus in edge than interior habitat, but no differences in the relative densities of either in relation to fragment size. 6. Data from a non-emergence year revealed no differences other than the presence of periodical cicadas that could explain the 50% higher relative densities of P. leucopus in the emergence year. 7. At the beginning of the emergence of periodical cicadas, the three fragments with the highest numbers of emergence holes had three times more mice than the fragments with the lowest numbers of emergence holes, suggesting that P. leucopus is able to anticipate the emergence of periodical cicadas and increase reproduction prior to the pulse. 8. Hence, despite differences in perishability, seasonal timing and nutritional quality of pulsed food resources in a fragmented landscape, they appear to have similar positive effects on the population dynamics of the generalist rodent, P. leucopus and, in fact, P. leucopus may be able to anticipate resource pulses.
Publisher: American Arachnological Society
Date: 15-03-2023
DOI: 10.1636/JOA-S-21-044
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-06-2014
DOI: 10.1111/OIK.01421
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 27-02-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2008
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-01-2018
Publisher: Brill
Date: 2007
DOI: 10.1163/156853907780756012
Abstract: While a great deal of research has examined mate choice, variation in behavior during copulation can also have important consequences for the fitness of males and females. We examined the relationships between male and female characteristics (age, size and condition) and copulation duration in the wolf spider Hogna helluo (Araneae, Lycosidae). In addition, we used these relationships to test if males control copulation duration. In this species, males mount the dorsal surface of females and females make no visible attempts to terminate mating. Male age was positively related to the duration of copulation. In addition, male condition was negatively related to the duration of copulation such that poor condition males mated for longer durations. If a group of outlier copulations are removed from the analysis, then male age is no longer a predictor of mating duration but male condition becomes an even stronger predictor of mating duration. Males that engaged in long copulations were more likely to be cannibalized following mating. Our data provide support for the hypothesis that males exert the primary influence on copulation duration in H. helluo . Older and poor condition males may engage in longer copulations to increase their paternity with the current female because they may have a lower chance of escaping postcopulatory sexual cannibalism or surviving to find another female.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-07-2022
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.9150
Abstract: In nature, food is often variable in composition and availability. As a consequence, predators may need to seek non‐prey food sources. Some predators are known to feed on nectar when food is limited. Nectar and other carbohydrate resources could also be beneficial when prey are more abundant if it helps predators balance protein‐biased diets. We tested if an actively hunting predator, the jumping spider, Phidippus audax , benefited from liquid carbohydrates when prey were not limited. We also tested if the benefit of carbohydrates varied with the nutrient content of prey (i.e., from protein to lipid biased). Spiders were reared on one of six live prey, Drosophila melanogaster , treatments that ranged from high protein to high lipid. Half of the spiders were given access to a 20% sucrose solution. After 2 months, we measured spider mass, cephalothorax width, instar duration, percent body fat, survival, and estimated number of prey eaten. Spiders reared on high‐protein diets with carbohydrates were larger and heavier than spiders on other treatments. Access to carbohydrates also increased percent body fat and survival across prey treatments. Our results suggest that carbohydrates may be a valuable component of spider diets, especially when prey have high protein and low lipid content as is commonly observed in prey in the field. Our results highlight the importance of diet balancing for predators, and that liquid carbohydrates can be an important nutrient to supplement a diet of prey rather than just being an energy supplement during periods of starvation.
Publisher: American Arachnological Society
Date: 12-2005
DOI: 10.1636/S03-64.1
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-09-2012
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-012-2477-7
Abstract: Animals frequently experience resource imbalances in nature. For ants, one resource that may be particularly valuable for both introduced and native species is high-carbohydrate honeydew from hemipteran mutualists. We conducted field and laboratory experiments: (1) to test if red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) competed with native ants for access to mutualisms with aphids, and (2) to quantify the effects of aphid honeydew presence or absence on colony growth of native ants. We focused on native dolichoderine ants (Formicidae, Dolichoderinae) because they are abundant ants that have omnivorous diets that frequently include mutualist-provided carbohydrates. At two sites in the southeastern US, native dolichoderine ants were far less frequent, and fire ants more frequent, at carbohydrate baits than would be expected based on their frequency in pitfall traps. A field experiment confirmed that a native ant species, Dorymyrmex bureni, was only found tending aphids when populations of S. invicta were suppressed. In the laboratory, colonies of native dolichoderine ants with access to both honeydew and insect prey had twice as many workers and over twice as much brood compared to colonies fed only ad libitum insect prey. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that introduced ants compete for access to mutualist-provided carbohydrates with native ants and that these carbohydrates represent critical resources for both introduced and native ants. These results challenge traditional paradigms of arthropod and ant nutrition and contribute to growing evidence of the importance of nutrition in mediating ecological interactions.
Publisher: Annual Reviews
Date: 07-01-2015
DOI: 10.1146/ANNUREV-ENTO-010814-020917
Abstract: In this review we highlight recent advances in four areas in which nutrition shapes the relationships between organisms: between plants and herbivores, between hosts and their microbiota, between in iduals within groups and societies, and between species within food webs. We demonstrate that taking an explicitly multidimensional view of nutrition and employing the logic of the geometric framework for nutrition provide novel insights and offer a means of integration across different levels of organization, from in iduals to ecosystems.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-01-2012
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-06-2008
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2022
Publisher: University of Notre Dame
Date: 2005
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2010
Location: United States of America
No related grants have been discovered for Shawn Wilder.