Research Presentations - 2007
John Deere Chapter of Sigma Xi

7:00 - 8:30 pm, Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Science Building, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois
Parking is available in Lot H, just north of the building.  You may enter on the ground floor at either the north or
 south entrance.  The lecture hall is at the south end of the building.  There is handicap parking at the north entrance.

Below is the list of talks and posters that will be presented by the new associate members of the chapter inducted on Nov. 1.  The talks will all be in Room 102.  During the evening, the posters will be on display in the Atrium of the Science Building.  The students displaying posters will be introduced at 8:05 pm in Room 102.  At 8:10, in the Atrium, we will have refreshments, view the posters, and enjoy conversation with all of the presenters.

Research on song patterns was conducted at Green Wing Environmental Laboratory located in Amboy, Illinois. The top three to four birds that displayed the most song within each habitat were chosen to be tested individually and as a whole on their specific song patterns. Song pattern specification included which bird sang the most/least within each habitat and the difference in the number of bird songs in the early morning versus the late morning. Comparison of individual song patterns of each bird within each habitat exhibited variant averages when being compared to singing the most or least. Song patterns as a whole demonstrated a majority of birds preferring to sing in the early morning as opposed to the late morning.

Breeding productivity of avian species was assessed at Green Wing Environmental Laboratory, a field station of Augustana College located near Amboy, Lee County, Illinois. This study was conducted from May 25 to July 31, 2007. Seven species were assessed for daily nest survival, of which an adequate number of Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) and Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) nests were found to allow for significant conclusions. Daily nest survival for the Gray Catbird was determined at 0.962 and 0.916 for the Red-winged Blackbird. The major cause of nest failure for the Red-winged Blackbird was nest submersion from flooding and the major cause of nest failure for the Gray Catbird was biological depredation.

The male Common Yellowthroat is a small insect eating bird with a yellow throat and breast and a distinctive black mask. Its song is just as distinctive as its black mask with a high pitched "witchity, witchity, witchity witch." The number of songs heard was collected in five different habitats with a total of five hours each day recording data. After the study was conducted it was supported that the Common Yellowthroat was most likely to sing in the late morning compared to the early morning. The edge had the most songs heard compared to the prairie, wetlands, deciduous forest, and coniferous forest.

Antlions are a really interesting insect whose traps are very intricate; they live in the sand and are about half an inch long. They prey on ants, small beetles and small grasshoppers. From exploration I determined three different questions. The questions were what is the dispersion pattern of the antlions? Do antlion traps form around ant nests? And does the size of an antlion affect the diameter of its trap? These questions were answered by creating a grid and recording the number of antlions in each square. I also measured the length of the antlion, the diameter of the antlion trap, the radius around four different ant nests and the antlions that were present in that radius. The dispersion pattern of the antlions was clumped, there was no relationship between the antlions and the ant nests and there was a positive correlation between the size of the antlion trap and the size of the antlion.

Several different species of animals have demonstrated the ability to change their vocalizations in response to increased background noise. Evidence has been provided to support the hypothesis that birds will sing at a higher frequency in response to urban noise, which is primarily fairly low frequency (Slabbekoorn and Peet 2003, Katti and Warren 2004, Rheindt 2003, Wood and Yezerinac 2006). These studies were conducted in the field and observations were based on the fact that birds residing in noisier, urban areas had higher pitched songs than birds from quieter, more rural areas. My study was done in controlled laboratory conditions by recording the same birds under both quiet and noisy conditions.

Biodiesel, a promising renewable fuel consisting of the alkyl esters of fatty acids, can be synthesized via the transesterification of various vegetable oils with low molecular weight alcohols in the presence of either acidic or alkaline catalysts. Nanocrystalline metal oxides have shown promising catalytic activity in this and other reactions, and with this in mind, further investigations using MgO, Al₂O₃, and TiO₂ have been carried out. MgO showed strong catalytic activity, in accordance with its status as the strongest base of the three. Al₂O₃, a weak acid, failed to catalyze the reaction in any significant way, and TiO₂, a weak base, showed only very limited catalytic ability. The MgO catalyst requires higher temperatures and longer reaction time to achieve high yields, but may be reusable.

Poster Session
Introduction of the students who are presenting posters: Matthew Collinson-Pautz, Anthony Fina, Jacob Gorman, Kristen Krakovec, Deidre Leist, Kathleen Maloney, Emily Olson, Jessica Rhodes, Nathan Stadick, and James Walsh. (Room 102)

Subcellular localization studies provide valuable information by providing a better understanding of a protein's existence and distribution within the cell. The glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) genes, GDH1, GDH2 and GDH3, play a crucial part in several interrelated cellular processes in which their role is the biosynthesis of glutamate from 2-oxogluarate and ammonium. This current study strives to place a molecular epitope tag on the Gdh proteins. Epitope tagging involves placing a short, nonfunctional polypeptide sequence onto an active protein, which is easily recognized and bound by a specific antibody. Incorporation of epitope tag sequences at the C-terminus of Gdh1, Gdh2 and Gdh3 genes is achieved via PCR overlap extension. Insertion of these gene fragments into cloning vectors allow for the genes to ultimately be transformed and expressed in S. cerevisiae. Lysis of the recombinant strains and indirect Western blot analysis on subcellular fractions will provide a precise and reliable method to localize the Gdh proteins at the cellular level.

Do lichen and moss grow more frequently on the North side of trees? Study 1 examined how canopy cover was related to frequency of moss and lichen on the North side of trees. Study 2 examined the difference in occurrence of mosses and lichens between two habitats, an oak savannah and a deciduous forest, comparing the North and South sides. A x² test showed that the two habitats were significantly different from one another. Study 3 quantified the amount of lichen and moss on either side of a tree and, using a t-test, found that there is a significant difference for moss and lichen in the oak savannah. Taken together, moss is a good predictor of North IF a tree is exposed to large amounts of sunlight with limited surrounding canopy cover.

Bacterial DNA, containing unmethylated cytosine-guanine (CpG) dinucleotide motifs is a potent immunomodulator of inflammation. Oligonucleotides containing CpG motifs (CpG ODN) that are administered with allergen can prevent atopic sensitization and reverse airway remodeling in animal asthma models. These effects are often associated with induction of Th1 immune responses. CpG ODN may modulate allergic inflammation by the induction of FcgRIIb and inhibit IgE-mediated atopic responses to allergen. CpG ODN treatment increases mRNA and/or protein expression of FcgRIIb in human cells, including peripheral blood basophils. Characterization of CpG ODN influence on human basophil activation was completed by isolating basophils by density gradient and magnetic-beads; allergen and non-specific activation/degranulation of basophils; flow cytometry; RNA isolation and RT-PCR; histamine assay. In vitro exposure to Type B CpG ODN (CpG 2006) diminishes activation of basophils exposed to allergen (house dust) or anti IgE antibodies. CpG ODN incubation reduces basophil migration and promotes expression of FcgRIIb.

Spittle bugs are leafhoppers that live near forested environments. As nymphs, they spend their life living off of the moisture of a host plant to create a coating of spittle around their body to keep them moist until their exoskeleton if fully formed. For a period of five days, three sites - each with an area of 4 m² - were monitored to report any changes in spittle size and obtain an average spittle size for each day. Two sites were located near forest in a prairie complex, and the third site was located along the roadside. After the five day period, the averages were plotted and a rising trend was observed. It was also found that the average spittle size along the roadside was 0.3 cm³ larger on average than the sites in the prairie. The study also showed that in the prairie, golden rod is the plant of choice, while on the roadside, the red clover is the plant of choice.

Mitochondrial retrograde signaling (RTG) is a pathway of communication from the mitochondria to the nucleus under normal and physiopathological conditions. The best understood information of this pathway has been obtained from budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In yeast, RTG senses mitochondrial dysfunction and consequently, initiates the regulation of carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolism. Using CIT2, a known retrograde-responsive gene, the activity of Beta-Galactosidase and L-Glutamate was observed in wildtype (BY4742) and mutant (YSY8) transporters carrying the Cit2pr-lacZ reporter plasmid. Cells that were examined were grown overnight in a yeast nitrogen base containing glucose and necessary amino acids (excluding uracil). The cells were then transferred to a 2% acetate medium and harvested at different time intervals. In a model system, RTG is indicated to be turned on when Beta-Galactosidase levels are high and L-Glutamate levels are low. As expected from the model system, Beta-Galactosidase levels in the wildtype cell gradually increased over time and levels in the mutant elevated early, indicating upregulation of RTG in response to the carbon source change. L-Glutamate levels in the wildtype or mutant, however, did not correlate with the Beta-Galactosidase levels of corresponding experiments. Since these levels measure the whole-cell Glutamate, this suggests that the original model system may be more complex than previously thought.

Two Eastern Bluebird nesting boxes were observed in Green Wing Environmental Lab in Mink Meadow and the prairie. They were monitored for feeding rates of the nestlings and protection behaviors exhibited by the parents 3 times a day for two hour increments, and each box was monitored for 2 days. The feeding rate generally fell within a range of 3-5 minutes. In the Meadow, it was mostly males feeding the nestlings, while in the prairie, females fed nestlings about as often as males. The most common responses to threatening birds included approaching the bird, perching on the nesting box, and vocalizing

As the number of persons age 65 and older in the United States continues to grow, the demand for long-term care will increase correspondingly. In a survey of six states in 1998, a majority of responding nursing homes were dissatisfied with the amount of mental health services provided to their facilities. A survey was mailed to medical directors at nursing homes in both Nebraska and Iowa to determine whether or not the level of satisfaction is currently greater in the Midwest than it was in the 1998 survey. With a Mantel-Haenszel Chi-Square of 0.01, respondents were more likely to be satisfied if their facility had mental health services available. Medical directors of nursing homes in Nebraska and Iowa seem to be more satisfied than the states surveyed in 1998. Respondents were more likely to be satisfied if their facility had mental health services available. Psychiatrists visit a large majority of nursing homes in both Nebraska and Iowa; even the smallest towns have a psychiatrist available for residents.

The research project I was involved with this summer had an original hypothesis that herbicides, particularly sethoxydim, had a measurable impact on species diversity in aquatic ecosystems. To measure the impact several variables were observed over the course of a month (6/11-7/11). The variables were: Species diversity counts, Specific Conductance, Salinity, Dissolved Oxygen content, temperature, Ash free dry weight, Chlorophyll analysis, and Solid-phase extraction to detect the presence of herbicide residue in the water body. The samples were taken at Richardson Wildlife Foundation habitat preserve at four fishless ponds: Pintail, Mallard, South Widgeon, and Teal. Two ponds were sprayed, Pintail and Mallard. The other two served as our controls. After analysis of the variables the conclusion drawn was that herbicide did show trends consistent with an effect, but they were not statistically significant.

I researched the abundance and biodiversity of aquatic invertebrates in three lentic aquatic environments. Although the study was originally intended to compare differences in the diversity of certain organisms in the different structural zones of a pond, when it was determined that the ponds in question were too shallow and uniform to be divided in such a way the study was adapted to instead inventory all aquatic invertebrates over 1mm in length found within study areas. Specimens were collected by dipnetting, identified and counted, and returned. Representative specimens of each taxon were photographed to include in the presentation of the research results. A total of 850 specimens in 21 taxa were counted. Some of the taxa present indicated that the environments were likely low in dissolved oxygen and possibly polluted, although this could not be concluded without an additional study.

The original hypothesis of this research was that sethoxydim, a herbicide used to control invasive Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea) would have a measurable impact on species diversity of invertebrates in fishless aquatic ecosystems. Four fishless ponds at the Richardson Wildlife Foundation were monitored: Pintail and Mallard (both of which were sprayed on July 3), and South Widgeon, and Teal (unsprayed). To quantify the potential impact of the spray events, several variables were monitored over the course of a month (6/11-7/11) including: Invertebrate species diversity and richness, Specific Conductance, Salinity, Dissolved Oxygen, Temperature, Ash free dry weight, Chlorophyll, and Solid-phase extraction to detect the presence of herbicide residue in the water body. The spray event did not have a statistically significant effect on any of the measured variables. However, there were trends broadly consistent with increased decomposition and overall reduction in organic material in sprayed versus unsprayed ponds.