Department of Biology

The cells of the uterine endometrium are responsible for providing sugars and their derivatives to the developing embryo before and even after implantation. The storage of sugars (as glycogen) and delivery of glucose, pyruvate, and lactate is regulated by estrogens, progesterone, and possibly other hormones. Although dysregulation of these metabolic pathways may be a cause for infertility, the regulation is not yet understood. Students will help to develop a valid computer model of regulation of carbohydrate metabolism in mink or human uterine cell lines. Students may be tasked with caring for the cultured cells at various hormone levels, measuring enzyme kinetic constants, or measuring the production of, or steady-state levels of, metabolites in cultured cells. The measurements will become parameters of a computerized model that will then be used to develop hypotheses that can be tested about mechanisms of regulation and to predict which enzymes might be good therapeutic targets or identifiable risk factors for infertility. Biochemistry experience is preferred, but students who have taken at least general chemistry will be considered for positions.

Bioacoustics of Anurans in Costa Rica and Panama: Acoustic communication is very widespread among anuran amphibians. There are various types of calls including territorial, defensive/alarm, courtship and advertisement calls. Understanding how species use these calls is necessary to have a complete natural history. Further, calls can help distinguish unique species when cryptic species occur syntopically. For many species, call characters and behavior are well known. However, there remain species for which this information is lacking. In summer 2018, my lab observed anurans (frogs and toads) in Costa Rica and Panama. Our field studies targeted the collection of anuran calls using digital audio recorders. We captured the individuals for which we have audio recordings and obtained morphometric data, tissue and/or swab samples for genetic analysis. We also used various field equipment to measure environmental variables (air temperature, humidity, etc.) and utilized audio analysis software (Raven Pro and/or R seewave) to characterize calls. These analyses coupled with our field observations should result in publications that describe these natural history features for the first time. Target species included: Ecnomiohyla fimbrimembra, Craugastor melanostictus, and Pristimantis caryophyllaceus in Costa Rica; in Panama we targeted Pristimantis gaigei and Agalychnis lemur.

Reptile Communities in the Snake River Birds of Prey Area: Reptiles are an important component of terrestrial ecosystems both as predators and as prey. Generally, species are well adapted to the habitats in which they occur. However, due to anthropogenic changes, the landscape has changed in many areas in southwestern Idaho. A prime example of this is the extensive conversion of former desert shrublands to areas dominated by exotic annual weeds. The effect these changes have on reptile communities is largely unknown. This research will be a cooperative effort with Boise State University, the Idaho Army National Guard, and the United States Geological Survey to survey much of the northwestern portion of the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. We will utilize drift fence trapping arrays to capture snakes and lizards at various sites that have been surveyed in previous decades. Trapping efforts will also be supplemented with data obtained by visual encounter surveys, road encounters and targeted searches. These data will inform land managers of the impacts vegetation changes have had (if any) and may direct future management efforts.

For this project, different metal nanoparticles will be evaluated as antibacterial agents. Silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles will be tested for the antibacterial efficacy on a variety of bacteria strains, including E. coli and Staphylococcus species. The two main methods to test the antibacterial properties of the nanoparticles will be through disk diffusion and broth dilution assays. Broth dilution test: To test the potency of ZnO as an antibacterial agent, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) will be obtained. The MIC will be obtained by conducting a broth dilution test. Bacterial organisms will be grown up on LB plates. Single colonies of bacteria will be transferred to LB broth. Fresh LB broth will be mixed with various concentrations of ZnO. To obtain the desired concentrations of ZnO, ZnO will be serially diluted beginning with a concentration of 1.0 µg/L and ending at a 0.0625µg/L. Once the dilutions have been made, each test tube will be inoculated with an identical amount of test bacterium by adding broth cultures. The tubes will be incubated and the turbidity of each tube will be measured visually and/or by an ELISA plate reader.

Biology and Conservation of Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor): Understanding the biology and conservation issues of the Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) is becoming increasingly important. The 2014 State of the Birds Report for the US classifies the species as common but in a steep decline. North American Breeding Bird Survey data records a 61% decline from 1966 to 2014. To know how to better preserve their populations across their breeding range in North America we need to understand why populations are declining so drastically. We explore the effect of habitat on nest choice and nest success. The Morely Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area and the BLM-managed Owyhee foothills provide a large study area with varied land use creating different habitat qualities to test the impact of land use on breeding sites and success in southwestern Idaho. Additionally, we monitor behavior such as arrival and departure dates, courtship activity, and foraging activity using automatic recording units (ARUs) to gain a better understanding of how they use the study area on a seasonal basis.