Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Climate change at the air-water interface affects giant salmonfly (Pteronarcys californica) emergence timing and adult lifespan(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Roche, Alzada Lois; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Lindsey K. AlbertsonAquatic invertebrates experience complex temperature regimes throughout their life history, especially during the vulnerable life stage transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats. When climate warming interacts with snowmelt in high elevation systems, it creates a novel set of conditions in which spring water temperatures remain within a narrow range from year-to-year while summer water and air temperatures rise. Giant salmonflies (Pteronarcys californica) depend on spring water temperature cues to time their large, synchronous emergence in early summer, but it is unknown how variable temperatures after this springtime cue affect life-history traits. We experimentally tested how changes in temperature in the 6 weeks before and after emergence affect emergence timing, emergence success, and adult lifespans. We found that the timing of emergence was 2.8 days earlier with each degree of warming during the weeks preceding emergence. However, there was no evidence that emergence success was affected by higher water temperature within our test temperature range (13-23°C). In the terrestrial adult stage, adult lifespans were shortened by increased air temperatures, especially when water temperatures during the aquatic juvenile stage had also been increased. The predicted lifespan was almost five times longer at the coldest air and water temperature combination than at the warmest (28 vs. 6 days). The shortest lifespans observed (3 days) are not likely to prevent successful reproduction, given that salmonflies can mate and oviposit within days of emergence. Still, because salmonflies can oviposit repeatedly for up to 80% of their lifespan, shortened lifespans may reduce total egg production and thus fitness. Our results indicate that rising water and air temperatures will impact not only the life history of the insects, but also the organisms in the riparian zone that rely on salmonfly emergence by altering the timing, magnitude, and duration of the nutrients provided by these large-bodied aquatic insects.Item Spatial and temporal variability in movements and vital rates of sympatric salmonids in an unfragmented, inland watershed(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Lance, Michael James; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Alexander V. ZaleThe life history patterns and vital rates of stream dwelling fish can differ across biological, spatial, and temporal scales. We determined the movement patterns and vital rates of three abundant salmonids--brown trout (Salmo trutta), mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)--in the Smith River watershed of Montana, a system with three distinct geomorphic regions: the headwaters, semi-wilderness canyon, and prairie. We marked 7,172 fish with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, monitored their watershed-scale movements past 15 stationary PIT arrays over four years, and relocated fish between arrays by conducting mobile surveys along the Smith River and major tributaries. Fish movement patterns and survival probabilities varied seasonally, among species, and among locations within the watershed. Volume of movement and diversity of movers were both greatest in the canyon region and in lower portions of tributaries. Fish rarely left the canyon, but movement into the canyon from other regions was common among some groups of fish. Mountain whitefish were most likely to move and brown trout were least likely to move. The stream lengths traversed by fish followed a leptokurtic distribution with most fish travelling < 10 km and decreasing numbers of fish travelling farther. Distinct life history patterns were not evident as judged by the stream lengths traversed by tagged fish; rather, a continuous spectrum of distances traversed was apparent. Species-specific spawning periods were associated with increased frequency of movement by mountain whitefish and rainbow trout. Increases in the frequency of watershed-scale movements of all three species were associated mean daily water temperatures of 11.7-15.3°C, compared to periods when water temperatures were cooler or warmer. Annual probabilities of survival were highest among mountain whitefish (0.38-0.54) and lower among brown trout (0.16-0.38) and rainbow trout (0.08-0.39). Survival of rainbow trout and mountain whitefish was highest in the canyon. Survival of mountain whitefish was also high in the headwaters but was lowest in the prairie. Movements of fish in the Smith River watershed were diverse, allowed movement among habitats with different probabilities of survival, and probably contributed to meta-population function, population resiliency, and species diversity.Item Biophysical characterization of P22 bacteriophage and adenoassociated viruses(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2016) Kant, Ravi; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Brian Bothner; Aida Llauro, Vamseedhar Rayaprolu, Shefah Qazi, Pedro J. de Pablo, Trevor Douglas and Brian Bothner were co-authors of the article, 'Stability, biomechanics and structural changes in P22 bacteriophage during maturation' which is contained within this thesis.; Vamseedhar Rayaprolu and Brian Bothner were co-authors of the article, 'Understanding of P22 bacteriophage maturation by QCM-D' which is contained within this thesis.; Navid Movahed, Dewey Brooke, Antonette Bennett, Mavis Agbandje-McKenna and Brian Bothner were co-authors of the article, 'Prolonged incubation with liposome leads to PLA2 activation in adeno-associated viruses' which is contained within this thesis.; Vamseedhar Rayaprolu and Brian Bothner were co-authors of the article, 'Comparison of the visco-elastic properties of viruses, virus based nanomaterials and active protein cages' which is contained within this thesis.The dsDNA tailed bacteriophages comprise the largest evolving life form in the biosphere. They are not only the most abundant organism on Earth, but also plausibly the most ancient. The ancient origin of phage suggests that they have had the ample opportunity to undergo the evolutionary changes necessary to perform intricate coordinated biological functions. Therefore, characterizing a tailed bacteriophage will help not only to understand biology, but also help us to establish a relationship between structure and function. Viruses display a dynamic equilibrium between structural conformations, stability, flexibility and rigidity which is essential for the perpetuation of life cycle. Understanding this complex biophysical relationship is a daunting task and requires a combination of multidimensional approaches. P22 is a tailed bacteriophage and displays a series of structural transitions during maturation. To understand the important biophysical changes in the P22 at different stages of maturation, we have introduced a suite of orthogonal techniques to address the distinct properties of intermediates. These include Differential Scanning Fluorimetry which probes the thermal stability of P22 capsids, Hydrogen-Deuterium Mass Spectrometry, which probes the conformational flexibility and Atomic Force Microscopy and Quartz Crystal Microbalance with dissipation, which probe the biomechanical transformation in the capsids. P22 investigation using these techniques reveals the large scale structural arrangements along with the expansion. Global rearrangement results in an increase in stability, rigidity and reduced dynamics. The sum results of these studies indicate that expansion is accompanied by large scale inter-subunit rearrangements which lead to the enhanced hydrophobic core at different quasi-equivalent axes. We have also studied Adeno-associated viruses, which is used as a gene delivery vehicle for the treatment of genetic disorders. AAVs lipase contains a lipase domain and its activation is important for the successful infection. Activation mechanism of lipase domain is not thoroughly understood. To understand the mechanism, we have developed a Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry assay sensitive enough to measure lipase products. This assay confirms that prolonged incubation of AAVs with liposome is able to activate the lipase domain without the involvement of receptors and co-receptors.Item Scaling nitrogen retention from trees to forests through succession(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2016) Scott-Klingborg, Aaron James; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jack Brookshire; Jack Brookshire was an author of the article, 'Large trees dominate nitrogen retention across forest succession' submitted to the journal 'Ecology letters' which is contained within this thesis.; Jack Brookshire was an author of the article, 'Expression of sink-driven and transactional nitrogen limitation following stand-replacing disturbance in an inland pacific northwest coniferous forest' submitted to the journal 'Ecosystems' which is contained within this thesis.We seek to understand how the ability of trees to acquire and retain nitrogen (N) changes throughout their lifetimes. This capacity enables trees to act as carbon (C) sinks individually and collectively in forest ecosystems over successional time scales. We evaluate how properties that govern nutrient retention change with tree size and forest age, and how allometric relationships scale up to influence ecosystem-level patterns of N cycling and retention. Most generally, we hypothesized that changes in N uptake and recycling efficiency with increasing tree size would vary with forest age and N availability. Additionally, we evaluated changes in ecosystem-level C and N accumulation throughout secondary forest succession following clear-cut logging disturbances in an effort to understand how N limitation may become expressed over time and interact with forest successional dynamics. Our findings highlight the importance of large trees in ecosystem N cycling and growth. We find that increasing mass growth rates are matched by an increasing capacity to acquire and retain N without necessitating increases in growth efficiency. Research findings indicate that mortality of single trees may hold profound consequences for stand-level N retention in addition to C storage. At the ecosystem scale, we find N accumulation and limitation are dynamic processes that fluctuate in strength and source over forest succession, and that ecosystem accumulation of N was driven predominately by increasing N in plant biomass rather than in soil pools.Item Age-specific life table studies of potential strains or host races of Calophasia lunula (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (Hufn.) reared on Dalmation toadflax, Linaria genistifolia ssp. dalmatica (L.) Maire and Petitmengen, or yellow toadflax, Linaria vulgaris (Mill.)(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1995) Breitenfeldt, Todd AlanItem Ecological aspects of the life history of Agropyron smithii Rydb. in central Montana with related effects of selective herbicide treatments of rangeland(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1970) Jorgensen, Henry E.Item Studies on the behavior and life history of the mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni Girard)(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1970) Liebelt, James EdwardItem Doors, windows and other containers of thought(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1991) Jaeger, Timothy ScottBy taking external information, internalizing it, and re-presenting it within an art language, my work attempts to derive 'new understanding and insight regarding culture and the self. The difficulties of this life process are analogous to entering a maze whose chambers contain hidden truths. Each chamber holds multiple doors distorting and disorienting one’s choices in life. Metaphorically the maze represents culture with birth as its entrance and death as its exit. Each chamber is one’s past and each door is the present as well as passage into the future (symbolizing a transformation of consciousness). Mastery within the maze (culture) consists of questioning its parameters to establish truth from illusion.Item Achieving spiritual synthesis(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1988) Smith, Delia MastrojanniIn Birth Series I and II I invite the viewer to participate in the contemplation of some aspects of the mystery of birth. It is important to bear in mind that the Birth Series deals with the theme of birth in universal terms. The theme of birth is developed also with experimentation in mind by integrating new shapes with traditionally symbolic ones in an arrangement which is very often highly personal, ambiguously playful, and still manipulated and orchestrated with enough interest, I feel, to allow the viewer to engage in a personal discourse with the work regardless of what my specific intentions behind each piece were at the time of conception. Some of the work, for instance, deals with my personal vision of the human figure in the landscape, and the landscape as a metaphor for the human figure, carrier of life, as in Birth Series Nos. 3, 4, 20, and 11. It deals also with, the observation of metamorphoses which occur during the life forming process in nature, and which reveal themselves in terms of changing shapes and colors. Some of the images are linked to natural things ("seed", "water") as in Birth Series Nos. 7, 11, 13, and 15 as well as to visual-linguistic forms ("lozenge", "circles"), as in Birth Series Nos. 9 and 10. My creative expression evolves with images and compositional dynamics the way blues lyrics evolve in vivid objective correlatives. As in blues and later forms of jazz, I am concerned with rendition (mimesis) and experimentation. Shapes are like musical, poetic verses to me. One form inspires a whole trend of thoughts, thoughts based on what I am, what I know, and what I believe in.Item Sculptures(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 1987) Barnes, Cynthia DianneI use images which depict and demonstrate the cycles of life. There are trees which are bare, in leaf, and in fruit. The tree, whose roots are in the earth, and branches which stretch toward the sky, give protection to a myriad of animals. The snake, a creature grounded to the earth, and the bird that soars in the sky, find shelter in trees. I often observe birds in flight. With the onset of this spring, I began finding numerous dead birds. I collected them. Handling the birds, reflecting on them as symbols of freedom and flight, I thought of death as a release from this world. In making the birds exist in my art, they seem to have achieved immortality on earth, for I have perhaps interrupted the cycle, by denying them death. The myth of the Phoenix, consumed by fire and reborn has become a symbol of triumph over the mysteries of death. The birds, bugs, cats and snakes have undergone a transformation and have become for me, a way to help in my understanding of my relationship in this world, my collective past and offer a glimpse of the future.