Current Search: info:fedora/islandora:personCModel (x) » Department of Biological Sciences (x) » Devlin, Donna (x) » Physiology (x)
View All Items
- Title
- Anatomy and physiology of the elasmobranch olfactory system.
- Creator
- Meredith, Tricia L., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
The olfactory system is the most highly developed system for molecular sensing in vertebrates. Despite their reputation for being particularly olfactory driven, little is known about how this sense functions in elasmobranch fishes. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the morphology and physiology of elasmobranchs to compare their olfactory system with teleost fishes and more derived vertebrates. To test the hypotheses that elasmobranchs possess greater olfactory sensitivities than...
Show moreThe olfactory system is the most highly developed system for molecular sensing in vertebrates. Despite their reputation for being particularly olfactory driven, little is known about how this sense functions in elasmobranch fishes. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the morphology and physiology of elasmobranchs to compare their olfactory system with teleost fishes and more derived vertebrates. To test the hypotheses that elasmobranchs possess greater olfactory sensitivities than teleosts and that lamellar surface area is correlated to sensitivity, I compared the surface area of the olfactory lamellae and the olfactory sensitivities of five phylogenetically diverse elasmobranch species. The olfactory thresholds reported here (10-9 to 10-6 M) were comparable to those previously reported for teleosts and did not correlate with lamellar surface area. Since aquatic species are subject to similar environmental amino acid levels, they appear to have converged upon similar amino acid sensitivities. To test the hypothesis that elasmobranchs are able to detect bile salt odorants despite lacking ciliated olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), the type of ORN that mediates bile salt detection in the teleosts, I quantified the olfactory specificity and sensitivity of two elasmobranch species to four, teleost-produced C24 bile salts. Both species responded to all four bile salts, but demonstrated smaller relative responses and less sensitivity compared to teleosts and agnathans. This may indicate that elasmobranchs don't rely on bile salts to detect teleost prey. Also, the olfactory system of elasmobranchs contains molecular olfactory receptors for bile salts independent of those that detect amino acids, similar to teleosts., In some elasmobranch species, each olfactory bulb (OB) is physically partitioned into two hemi-bulbs; however, the functional significance of this morphology is not fully understood. The organization of the OBs in three species with varying OB morphologies was examined to test the hypothesis that the elasmobranch OB is somatotopically arranged. Glomeruli in the OB received projections from ORNs in 3-4 olfactory lamellae situated immediately anterior. These results indicate a somatotopic arrangement of the elasmobranch OB, which may be unique among vertebrate olfactory systems and potentially led to the hemi-OB morphology.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3333058
- Subject Headings
- Condrichthyes, Sense organs, Condrichthyes, Physiology, Sharks, Physiology, Adaptation (Biology), Aquatic animals, Physiology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- A comparison of stability in swimming loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtle posthatchlings.
- Creator
- Dougherty, Erin., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
Posthatchling green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles overlap ecologically but differ morphologically. This study compared hydrodynamic stability between the two species during swimming to test for functional differences in body shape. Flipper movement paths, four stability measures (yaw, pitch, heave, and sideslip), and the relative positions of the centers of buoyancy and gravity were compared between species. Both centers of buoyancy and gravity lie in the anterior...
Show morePosthatchling green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles overlap ecologically but differ morphologically. This study compared hydrodynamic stability between the two species during swimming to test for functional differences in body shape. Flipper movement paths, four stability measures (yaw, pitch, heave, and sideslip), and the relative positions of the centers of buoyancy and gravity were compared between species. Both centers of buoyancy and gravity lie in the anterior body; their positions relative to one another differed with species, but showed no functional consequences. Neither species demonstrated substantial yaw, sideslip, or pitch. Both experienced upward heave with the flippers' downstroke and downward heave with the upstroke; however phase relationships differed between these limb and body motions. No differences were found between the two species. Despite obvious morphological differences, loggerheads and green turtles were similarly stable during swimming, suggesting that the species use different mechanisms to achieve stability.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/186689
- Subject Headings
- Sea turtles, Morphology, Sea turtles, Physiology, Animal locomotion, Marine ecology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Development of a novel assay for in vivo screening of neuromodulatory drugs and targeted disruption of cholinergic synaptic transmission in Drosophila melanogaster.
- Creator
- Mejia, Monica, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
Finding novel compounds that affect neuronal or muscular function is of great interest, as they can serve as potential pharmacological agents for a variety of neurological disorders. For instance, conopeptides have been developed into powerful drugs like the painkiller PrialtTM. Most conopeptides, however, have yet to be characterized, revealing the need for a rapid and straightforward screening method. We have designed a novel bioassay, which allows for unbiased screening of biological...
Show moreFinding novel compounds that affect neuronal or muscular function is of great interest, as they can serve as potential pharmacological agents for a variety of neurological disorders. For instance, conopeptides have been developed into powerful drugs like the painkiller PrialtTM. Most conopeptides, however, have yet to be characterized, revealing the need for a rapid and straightforward screening method. We have designed a novel bioassay, which allows for unbiased screening of biological activity of compounds in vivo against numerous molecular targets on a wide variety of neurons and muscles in a rapid and straightforward manner. For this, we paired nanoinjection of compounds with electrophysiological recordings from the Giant Fiber System of Drosophila melanogaster, which mediates the escape response of the fly.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3362560
- Subject Headings
- Drosophila melanogaster, Genetics, Drosophila melanogaster, Life cycles, Insects, Physiology, Developmental neurobiology, Neural transmission, Cholinergic mechanisms
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Electroreception in the obligate freshwater stingray, Potamotrygon motoro.
- Creator
- Harris, Lindsay L., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
Elasmobranch fishes use electroreception to detect electric fields in the environment, particularly minute bioelectric fields produced by potential prey. A single elasmobranch family (Potamotrygonidae) is composed of obligate freshwater stingrays endemic to the Amazon River. A freshwater existence has imposed morphological adaptions on their electrosensory system due to life in a high impedance medium. Because their electrosensory morphology differs from their marine relatives, freshwater...
Show moreElasmobranch fishes use electroreception to detect electric fields in the environment, particularly minute bioelectric fields produced by potential prey. A single elasmobranch family (Potamotrygonidae) is composed of obligate freshwater stingrays endemic to the Amazon River. A freshwater existence has imposed morphological adaptions on their electrosensory system due to life in a high impedance medium. Because their electrosensory morphology differs from their marine relatives, freshwater stingrays may demonstrate corresponding differences in behavioral sensitivity. The objective of this study was to quantify behavioral sensitivity of the obligate freshwater stingray Potamotrygon motoro to prey-simulating voltage. The voltage produced by common teleost prey of P. motoro were measured and replicated for behavioral trials. The best response was 10.62 cm, and the smallest voltage gradient detected was 0.005 mVcm-1. This sensitivity is reduced compared to marine species. The conductivity of the medium, more so than ampullary morphology, may dictate sensitivity of the elasmobranch electrosensory system.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3362382
- Subject Headings
- Fishes, Sense organs, FIshes, Physiology, Stingrays, Physiology, Fish culture
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MsrA) and aging in the anoxia-tolerant freshwater turtle (Trachemys scripta).
- Creator
- Bruce, Lynsey Erin., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
The enzyme Methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MsrA) repairs oxidized proteins, and may act as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS), making it a potential therapeutic target for age-related neurodegenerative diseases. The anoxia-tolerant turtle offers a unique model to observe the effects of oxidative stress on a system that maintains neuronal function following anoxia and reoxygenation, and that ages without senescence. MsrA is present in both the mitochondria and cytosol, with protein...
Show moreThe enzyme Methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MsrA) repairs oxidized proteins, and may act as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species (ROS), making it a potential therapeutic target for age-related neurodegenerative diseases. The anoxia-tolerant turtle offers a unique model to observe the effects of oxidative stress on a system that maintains neuronal function following anoxia and reoxygenation, and that ages without senescence. MsrA is present in both the mitochondria and cytosol, with protein levels increasing respectively 3- and 4-fold over 4 hours of anoxia, and remaining 2-fold higher than basal upon reoxygenation. MsrA was knocked down in neuronally-enriched cell cultures via RNAi transfection. Propidium iodide staining showed no significant cell death during anoxia, but this increased 7-fold upon reoxygenation, suggesting a role for MsrA in ROS suppression during reperfusion. This is the first report in any system of MsrA transcript and protein levels being regulated by oxygen levels.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2683139
- Subject Headings
- Oxidation-reduction reaction, Proteins, Chemical modification, Turtles, Physiology, Oxygen, Physiological effect, Aging, Molecular aspects
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Molecular mechanisms of neuroprotection in the anoxia tolerant freshwater turtle.
- Creator
- Kesaraju, Shailaja., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
Cardiac ischemia, stroke and some neurodegenerative disorders are all characterized by cell damage and death due to low oxygen levels. Comparative studies show that anoxia tolerant model systems present a unique opportunity to study "survival" instead of death in the complete absence of oxygen. The freshwater turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) is unique in its ability to survive total oxygen deprivation for hours to days, as well as reoxygenation insult after anoxia. The broad objective of...
Show moreCardiac ischemia, stroke and some neurodegenerative disorders are all characterized by cell damage and death due to low oxygen levels. Comparative studies show that anoxia tolerant model systems present a unique opportunity to study "survival" instead of death in the complete absence of oxygen. The freshwater turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) is unique in its ability to survive total oxygen deprivation for hours to days, as well as reoxygenation insult after anoxia. The broad objective of this study is to understand the modulation of key molecular mechanisms involving stress proteins and VEGF that offer neuroprotection and enhance cell survival in the freshwater turtle through anoxia and reoxygenation. In vivo analyses have shown that anoxia induced stress proteins (Hsp72, Hsp60, Grp94, Hsp60, Hsp27, HO-1); modest changes in the Bcl2/Bax ratio and no change in cleaved caspase-3 expression suggesting resistance to neuronal damage. These results were corroborated with immunohistochemical evidence indicating no damage in turtle brain when subjected to the stress of anoxia and A/R. To understand the functional role of Hsp72, siRNA against Hsp72 was utilized to knockdown Hsp72 in vitro (neuronally enriched primary cell cultures established from the turtle). Knockdown cultures were characterized by increased cell death associated with elevated ROS levels. Silencing of Hsp72 knocks down the expression of Bcl2 and increases the expression of Bax, thereby decreasing the Bcl2/Bax ratio. However, there was no increase in cytosolic Cytochrome c or the expression levels of cleaved Caspase-3. Significant increase in AIF was observed in the knockdown cultures that increase through anoxia and reoxygenation, suggesting a caspase independent pathway of cell death., Expression of the master regulator of hypoxia, HIF1 alpha and its target gene, VEGF, were analyzed at the mRNA and protein levels. The results showed no significant increase in HIF-1 alpha levels but anoxia VE GF The levels of stress proteins and VEGF returned to control levels during reoxygenation suggesting robust ROS protection mechanisms through reoxygenation. The present study thereby emphasizes Trachemys scripta as an advantageous model to examine anoxia and reoxygenation survival without major damage to the brain due to it's modulation of molecular mechanisms.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/165943
- Subject Headings
- Turtles, Physiology, Anoxemia, Proteins, Chemical modification, Oxygen, Physiological effect, Molecular neurobiology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Pelvic fin locomotion in batoids.
- Creator
- Macesic, Laura Jane., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
Although most batoids (skates and rays) are benthic, only the skates (Rajidae) have been described as performing benthic locomotion, termed 'punting'. While keeping the rest of the body motionless, the skate's specialized pelvic fins are planted into the substrate and then retracted caudally, which thrusts the body forward. This may be advantageous for locating and feeding on prey, avoiding predators, and reducing energetic costs. By integrating kinematic, musculoskeletal, material properties...
Show moreAlthough most batoids (skates and rays) are benthic, only the skates (Rajidae) have been described as performing benthic locomotion, termed 'punting'. While keeping the rest of the body motionless, the skate's specialized pelvic fins are planted into the substrate and then retracted caudally, which thrusts the body forward. This may be advantageous for locating and feeding on prey, avoiding predators, and reducing energetic costs. By integrating kinematic, musculoskeletal, material properties, and compositional analyses across a range of morphologically and phylogenetically diverse batoids, this dissertation (i) demonstrates that punting is not confined to the skates, and (ii) provides reliable anatomical and mechanical predictors of punting ability. Batoids in this study performed true punting (employing only pelvic fins), or augmented punting (employing pectoral and pelvic fins). Despite the additional thrust from the pectoral fins, augmented punters failed to exceed the punting c apabilities of the true punters. True punters' pelvic fins had greater surface area and more specialized and robust musculature compared to the augmented punters' fins. The flexural stiffness of the main skeletal element used in punting, the propterygium, correlated with punting ability (3.37 x 10-5 - 1.80 x 10-4 Nm2). Variation was due to differences in mineral content (24.4-48-9% dry mass), and thus, material stiffness (140-2533 MPa), and second moment of area. The propterygium's radius-to-thickness ratio (mean = 5.52 +-0.441 SE) indicated that the propterygium would support true and augmented punters, but not non-punters, in an aquatic environment. All propterygia would fail on land. Geometric and linear morphometric analyses of 61 batoid pelvic girdles demonstrated that pelvic girdle shape can predict punting and swimming ability and taxonomic attribution to Order., Characteristics of true punters' pelvic girdles, such as laterally facing fin articulations, large surface area formuscle attachment, and tall lateral pelvic processes are similar to characteristics of early sprawled-gait tetrapods' pelvic girdles. This dissertation demonstrates that punting is common in batoids, illustrates the convergent evolution of true punter and early tetrapod pelvic anatomy, and gives possible explanations for the restriction of elasmobranchs to aquatic habitats.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3171678
- Subject Headings
- Sharks, Ecology, Fins, Anatomy, Adaptation (Biology), Aquatic animals, Physiology, Fishes, Locomotion
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Studies on the role of vitamin D in asthma patients from a South Florida pulmonary practice.
- Creator
- Munim, Amjad., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
Vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency is widespread in asthma, and epidemiological studies point to an association between low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and poor asthma control and increased severity. In humans. Vitamin D is principally derived from sunlight induced cutaneous conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol to vitamin D and oral supplementation. We sought to determine if established and chronic-persistent adult asthma patients from a South-Florida pulmonary patient population, with...
Show moreVitamin D insufficiency/deficiency is widespread in asthma, and epidemiological studies point to an association between low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and poor asthma control and increased severity. In humans. Vitamin D is principally derived from sunlight induced cutaneous conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol to vitamin D and oral supplementation. We sought to determine if established and chronic-persistent adult asthma patients from a South-Florida pulmonary patient population, with abundant sunshine availability and oral vitamin D supplementation exhibit vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency. A trend to vitamin D insufficiency was observed in approximately 65% of both adult asthma patients and apparently healthy (non-asthmatic) volunteers. . The transcription factors required for Th9 conversion, PU.1 and IRF-4, were down-regulated by vitamin D. The generation of Th9 cells was inhibited equally by vitamin D and dexamethasone when used alone, but the effect was additive when both steroids were used in combination. Our studies using non-specifically stimulated cells were extended by analyzing the effect of vitamin D on allergen specific stimulation. The response of CD4+ T cells obtained from the blood of house dust mite positive asthmatics was studied. House dust mite allergen elicited a classical Th2 phenotype response (IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, and IL-13 cytokine profile) and vitamin D effectively inhibited those key Th2 cytokines. We conclude that vitamin D appears to be of significant clinical benefit in our cohort of patients, i.e., established chronic adult human asthma, by down-regulating key immune cells including Th9, Th17, and Th2 involved in this disorder.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3360948
- Subject Headings
- Vitamin D, Health aspects, Vitamin D, Physiological effect, Vitamin D, Therapeutic use, Vitamin D, Physiology, Vitamin D in human nutrition, Lungs, Etiology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), BCL-2, and BAX expression in fibropapilloma tumor tissue and skin tissue of sea turtles.
- Creator
- Bancalari-Schmidlapp, Angela., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
In sea turtles, the study of the etiology and development of fibropapillomatosis is not fully understood. Sea turtle fibropapillomatosis is a disease characterized by the proliferation of skin fibropapillomas and occasional internal fibromas. In this study, sea turtle fibropapilloma tumor and healthy tissue samples were used to look at VEGF, BCL-2 and Bax expression. Cancer tumors have a well established pattern of protein expression that involves overexpression of vascular endothelial growth...
Show moreIn sea turtles, the study of the etiology and development of fibropapillomatosis is not fully understood. Sea turtle fibropapillomatosis is a disease characterized by the proliferation of skin fibropapillomas and occasional internal fibromas. In this study, sea turtle fibropapilloma tumor and healthy tissue samples were used to look at VEGF, BCL-2 and Bax expression. Cancer tumors have a well established pattern of protein expression that involves overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), responsible for the growth of new blood vessels, and a high BCL-2 to Bax ratio that leads to uncontrolled cell proliferation. Real time PCR was used to analyze VEGF expression, and Western blot techniques were used to measure BCL-2 and Bax expression. The results indicated that expression of VEGF was not significantly higher in tumor vs. skin tissue. For the differential expression of BCL-2 and Bax, the results were not in agreement with the established levels found in cancer studies, showing no significant change in BCL-2 expression and significantly higher levels of Bax in tumor vs. healthy tissue.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/209981
- Subject Headings
- Sea turtles, Physiology, Cancer, Pathophysiology, Vascular endothelial growth factors, Pathophysiology, Cellular signal transduction
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Visual adaptations in sharks, skates and rays.
- Creator
- McComb, Dawn Michelle, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
The central importance of vision to an organism is evident in the anatomical and physiological adaptations within the eye that can be correlated to the organism's behavior and ecology. The goal of this study was to perform a functional analysis of adaptations within the elasmobranch visual system. An integrative approach was used to examine morphological and physiological adaptations in several species and link these adaptations to phylogeny, locomotion, habitat, behavior and ecology....
Show moreThe central importance of vision to an organism is evident in the anatomical and physiological adaptations within the eye that can be correlated to the organism's behavior and ecology. The goal of this study was to perform a functional analysis of adaptations within the elasmobranch visual system. An integrative approach was used to examine morphological and physiological adaptations in several species and link these adaptations to phylogeny, locomotion, habitat, behavior and ecology. Functional aspects investigated were eye position, pupil shape, spectral sensitivity, temporal resolution, the extent of the visual field and ultimately the integration of the visual and electrosensory systems. The elasmobranch eye adapts to the light environment of its habitat. Sharks from similar habitats had similar spectral sensitivities such as the bonnethead and blacknose sharks, both maximally sensitive to blue light of 480 nm. The spectral sensitivity of the scalloped hammerhead, which lives in a different environment, was maximally sensitive to green light (530 nm). The temporal characteristics of the eye also matched habitat and lifestyle. Species experiencing variable light conditions exhibited increased critical flicker-fusion frequencies, such as the bonnethead (31 Hz) and scalloped hammerhead (27 Hz), in contrast to deeper or more nocturnal species such as the blacknose shark (18 Hz). Elasmobranch visual fields correlated to each species' lifestyle, habitat and foraging strategy. Expansive monocular views, including a 360° panoramic view in the yellow stingray, were measured in species that rely on vision for vigilance against predators., The Atlantic stingray possessed large binocular overlaps (72°), which provided depth perception useful for tracking prey. By comparison, the frontal binocular overlaps of hammerhead species were larger than sharks with a more conventional head shape.This study quantified the range of the electrosensory system and the exte the visual field of several shark species, confirming both systems overlap around the head facilitating near seamless visual and electrosensory sensory function relevant to prey detection. The findings of this study indicate that ambient environmental light strongly influenced the function of the elasmobranch eye and that the extent of species' visual fields correlated with aspects of their morphology, locomotion and ecology.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/216410
- Subject Headings
- Visual discrimination, Chondrichthyes, Embryology, Form perception, Adaptation (Biology), Aquatic animals, Physiology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Visual and electrosensory ecology of batoid elasmobranchs.
- Creator
- Bedore, Christine N., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
The electrosensory and visual adaptations of elasmobranchs to the environment have been more studied than most other senses, however, work on these senses is mostly limited to descriptive analyses of sensitivity, morphology, and behavior. The goal of this work was to explore electrosensory and visual capabilities in a more ecological context. To gain an understanding of the content of bioelectric signals, the magnitude and frequency of these stimuli were recorded from a broad survey of...
Show moreThe electrosensory and visual adaptations of elasmobranchs to the environment have been more studied than most other senses, however, work on these senses is mostly limited to descriptive analyses of sensitivity, morphology, and behavior. The goal of this work was to explore electrosensory and visual capabilities in a more ecological context. To gain an understanding of the content of bioelectric signals, the magnitude and frequency of these stimuli were recorded from a broad survey of elasmobranch prey items... Color vision adaptations also correlated to the photic environment of each species; cownose rays inhabit turbid, green-dominated waters and had two cone visual pigments that maximize contrast of objects against the green background... Yellow stingrays were trichromatic and likely possess the ability to discriminate colors in their clear, reef and seagrass habitats, which are spectrally rich. Both species showed evidence of ultraviolet sensitivity, which may aid in predator and conspecific detection as an enhanced communication channel. Future studies should investigate the integration of sensory input and sensory involvement in intraspecific communication to gain more insight into ecological adaptations.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3362337
- Subject Headings
- Visual discrimination, Adaptation (Biology), Animal ecophysiology, Chondrichthyes, Physiology
- Format
- Document (PDF)