Stephen Smith '02 - The Thought Process of a Cell: Modeling Information Flow Through Signal Transduction Networks
STEPHEN SMITH '02
Seattle Children's Research Institute
https://map.oxy.edu/?id=1103#!m/267711
Ryan Terrill: Evolutionary Interactions of Feather Molt in Birds
The ability of feathers to serve many functions such as flight, thermoregulations, crypsis, and sexual signaling simultaneously or serially has allowed for the evolution of many unique life-history strategies in birds; which has in turn allowed for colonization of all of earth’s habitats outside the deep ocean. Combining these functions of feathers provides birds with many novel niches not used by any other vertebrates, especially related to their ability to track ephemeral resources over large areas.
Dr. Esther Chen: A bacterial signaling pathway critical for a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis
BIOLOGY SEMINARS | SPRING 2018
Dr. Esther Chen
California State University, Fullerton
A bacterial signaling pathway critical for a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis
Dr. Marisa Tellez: Sinking Your Teeth into Crocodile Conservation Through Community Stewardship
Conservation is not just about wildlife, it is about people and communities. The success of any wildlife conservation program relatively parallels the involvement and support from local communities, thus working alongside communities and partner organizations is imperative to empower people with the knowledge of co-existence and sustainability to ensure long-term conservation efforts.
Joan Dudney ’06 - Tracking a tree killer: blister rust and the future of white pines in the southern Sierra Nevada
White pine forests in the Sierra Nevada, a primary source of water and carbon cycling services for California, are under threat by increasing temperatures, bark beetles, and disease. Combining long-term surveys with isotope analyses, I assessed the current status of white pines in the southern Sierra. These results are being used to help list whitebark pine as an endangered species and provides the first comprehensive evidence for sugar pine decline.
Case Prager ’08 - Impacts of climate and multiple dimensions of biodiversity on arctic and alpine ecosystem carbon dynamics
As human-altered landscapes now dominate our earth, greater emphasis has been placed on understanding which species decline, persist, or increase in these altered or newly created habitats, and the consequences of changing biological diversity for ecosystem and Earth-system functioning. This body of work has grown exponentially since its emergence just two decades ago, and a great amount of effort has been placed on developing theory and empirical methods to describe the nature of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) and the mechanisms (e.
Department of Kinesiology 2018 Senior Symposium
9:00-9:25 Laura Yoon - Effects of Breast Milk-Derived MicroRNA on Infant Immune System Development
9:25-9:50 Ryan Banard - The Effects of Specific Exercise Intensity on Neuron Degeneration in ALS Individuals
9:50-10:15 Keanu Yamaoka - Gut Microflora Maintenance: The Hidden Key to Immunity Against Type 2 Diabetes
10:15-10:40 Amanda Rissberger - The Role of Oxidative Stress, Endothelial Dysfunction and Inflammation in Mediating Ischemic Stroke Risk in Migraineurs with Aura
10:40-10:55 BREAK
2018 Biology Honors Presentation
Species distribution models, which use bioclimatic variables to map the current range of a species, are frequently projected into the future to predict how a species’ range will shift under environmental change. Maintaining accurate and up-to-date current and future species distribution models is important to identify potential regional extinctions, conservation sites, and implications for ecosystems. As California’s largest oak, Quercus lobata Née (valley oak) is of particular significance as a keystone species in oak ecosystems.
Dr. Shannon J. Sirk ‘01 - Engineering Commensal Microbes
The human body is a complex ecosystem supporting symbiotic relationships with thousands of microbial species. By some estimates, human commensal microbial cells outnumber human cells by a factor of ten and harbor three hundred times as many protein coding genes. Such symbiotic microorganisms are integral to the health and metabolism of not only humans, but also animals, insects, and plants.
Andrea Bonisoli-Alquati - Oxidative stress and life history: Ecological and evolutionary lessons from nuclear accidents
Exposure to ionizing radiation can imbalance the antioxidant system, inducing oxidative stress. The oxidative status of an organism is increasingly regarded as the currency underlying life history trade-offs, such as the one between survival and reproduction. Landscape-level radioactive contamination can thus function as a natural laboratory where to investigate the nexus between life-history and physiology.