Assessing partnership development under the Michigan Department of Natural Resource's habitat grants programs using social network analysis

In recent years state wildlife agencies have begun to realize the need to build collaborations and partnerships among their constituents in order to further their conservation goals. This has been done through a variety of avenues including grant programs such as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' (MI DNR) wildlife habitat grant programs, which continue to provide funds to government, profit and non-profit organizations to develop land for wildlife habitat. Regarding grant programs facilitating partnerships, there has been no systematic assessment of whether this is a successful method to do so. The goal of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the MI DNR grant programs in building relationships. In this work, a social network analysis was conducted to assess the nature of partnerships among grant receiving and non-grant receiving conservation organizations. A selection model approach was used to determine what characteristics were driving the partnerships of this network. The outcome variable being modeled was support received from a partner. The results delivered visualizations of the network and insight into why these organizations were selecting one another as partners. Major driving forces in partnership selection were found to be grants, the scale of management, having received prior support and distance between organizations. This valuable information will serve as a platform to better understand the networks surrounding wildlife conservation and allow the MI DNR to address any shortcomings and gaps within the partnership network.Thesis (M.S.)--Michigan State University. Fisheries and Wildlife, 2019Includes bibliographical references (pages 42-47

Potential of Using Morphological and Functional Traits of Woody Species as Indicators of Dry Conditions in the Transition Zone of the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica) in the Rio De Janeiro State, Brazil

Plants have certain characteristics which allow them to respond to various environmental conditions, like changes in climate, water loss in the soil, lack of minerals; among others. In some of these so-called traits, the responses to climatic phenomena such as drought can be evidenced through morphological adaptations (spines, succulent tissues, trichomes, among others) or physiological adaptations (regulation of water potential at the cellular level, the concentration of nutrients, etc.) In certain areas of Brazil such as the Mata Atlântica biome, drought events are increasingly occurring and affecting human activities and the environment, and it is required to understand if tree species with traits adapted to dry conditions are occurring in drought-prone areas. For this reason, it is intended to find out the potential of using morphological functional traits of woody species as indicators of dry conditions in the transition zone of the Atlantic Forest. RJ Brazil. Therefore, this work was carried out considering a field phase in a drought-prone area known as “Mata de Tabuleiros” or Semideciduous Seasonal Lowland Forest that belongs to the domain of the Mata Atlântica, there were selected morphological traits in order to know which of them can give a hint as drought tolerant traits. On the other side, there was searched in the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden JABOT database for species with recorded characteristics related to drought adaptations. For the traits in the field, and the selected species from the database was elaborated a Species Distribution Model SDM in order to know how some climatic variables allow the distribution of species and morphological traits. As main result there was elaborated a set of trait indicators that can be considered for further analysis in the region; and also the results of the SDM obtained at large scale for the Mata Atlântica for the species selected from the database, and the SDM for the traits analyzed in the field in the Mata de Tabuleiros. Besides that, the consultations with experts in the subject were an important input that allowed to carry out this research. The use of morphological and functional traits is important to understand the interactions between organisms and their environment, in this case, to cope and tolerate a climate phenomenon like drought. Keywords: Mata de Tabuleiros, Drought tolerance, Morphological traits, Species Distribution Modelin

Haetosmia vechti.

20 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 26 cm.Herein we describe the nests (including structure, closure, orientation, and depth of cells) of the bee Haetosmia vechti Peters found nesting in Rehovot, Israel. The nesting biology of H. vechti mirrors the ancestral nesting biology within the Osmia group of the Osmiini. Nests in sandy soil consist of an excavated burrow, ending below in a small cluster of vertical cells. The cells possess firm walls of masticated leaf pulp of Centaurea procurrens Spreng. and Heliotropium suaveolens M. Bieb., and are covered with pebbles and sand grains. The last larval instar and pupa of Haetosmia vechti are described, as is its cocoon. The immature stages exhibit the basic features of megachilid bees, but tend to have a thinner body vestiture compared to other studied taxa. In addition, we report new information on and review published accounts concerning the pollen collecting behavior of the genus Haetosmia Popov, which contains three species. Pollen taken from scopal hairs of 68 females collected at 17 sites in Turkestan, Morocco, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates was identified as originating solely from Heliotropium L. (Boraginaceae), which strongly suggests that all three Haetosmia species are narrowly oligolectic on this plant genus. In females of all three species, the second segment of the labial palpus is densely covered with rather long, apically curved and capitate bristles, an adaptation to collect Heliotropium pollen from anthers that are hidden inside the narrow corolla tube. Similar pollen-harvesting bristles specifically adapted to exploit flowers of Heliotropium seem to have evolved independently a number of times on different continents, in bees of four families

Osmia (Ozbekosmia) avosetta.

22 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm. "March 4, 2010." Includes bibliographical references (p. 21-22).Herein we describe the nests (including construction, closure, orientation, and depth of cells) of the bee Osmia (Ozbekosmia) avosetta Warncke found nesting near Antalya, Turkey, and Sepidan, Iran. Cells are unusual in that they are lined by two layers of colorful flower petals that sandwich a thin middle layer of mud. Analyses of pollen taken from scopal hairs of specimens from the Turkish site were identified as solely from Onobrychis viciifolia Scop. (Fabaceae) whereas those from the Iranian site were from a related plant, Hedysarum elymaiticum Boiss. and Hausskn. These facts coupled with analyses of scopal pollen from 11 other sites in Turkey, Jordan, and Syria strongly suggest that this bee is oligolectic with respect to the plant tribe Hedysareae. The egg and last larval instar of Osmia avosetta are described. The presence of an egg taken from a cell and provisionally identified as belonging to Sapyga pulcherrima Morawitz suggests that this cleptoparasite may have this bee as one of its hosts. In addition, we report new information on and review published accounts concerning the use of whole petals or large petal pieces in the construction of cell walls of osmiine bees. Only Osmia (Ozbekosmia) avosetta and species of Osmia (Tergosmia) have three-layered cell walls with the middle layer made of mud. Recorded also are the similarities and differences exhibited in pollen and petal preferences and nest characteristics of species in these two related subgenera

SARS-CoV-2 Variants vs Antibodies

This video, provided by Digital World Biology, is from a series of tutorial videos for iCn3D, a web-based three-dimensional visualization and structural analysis platform for molecular structures. During the video, presenter Sandra Porter discusses using iCn3D to predict whether an antibody will be able to bind to new SARS-CoV-2 variants found on Nextstrain.org, a real-time tool for tracking and comparing SARS-CoV-2 variants. Topics taught in the video include:How to find a protein sequence from a variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 using NextStrain.org and the NCBIHow to use BLAST and iCn3D to align that sequence to the sequence of a spike protein in a molecular structure modelHow to identify and annotate the antibody binding site on a spike protein.How to identify positions in the spike protein where the variant sequence differs from the older sequence.How to use iCn3D to predict how a mutation in the variant sequence is likely to affect the chemical bonds between the antibody and the spike protein in the variant.This video runs 24:04 minutes in length. Additional videos in the series are available to view separately

Identifying and Viewing Ionic Bonds / Salt Bridges With iCn3D

This video, provided by Digital World Biology, is from a series of tutorial videos for iCn3D, a web-based three-dimensional visualization and structural analysis platform for molecular structures. During the video, presenter Sandra Porter guides viewers through step-by-step instructions on how to view and identify salt bridges and other ionic bonds in iCn3D. The tutorial includes examples illustrating the use of the molecular analysis tool along with other features in iCn3D's settings.This video runs 8:45 minutes in length. Additional videos in the series are available to view separately

Viewing Disufide Bonds in iCn3D

This video, provided by Digital World Biology, is from a series of tutorial videos for iCn3D, a web-based three-dimensional visualization and structural analysis platform for molecular structures. During this video, presenter Sandra Porter guides viewers through step-by-step instructions on how to identify, zoom in on, reposition, isolate, label, and change model style for disulfide bonds.This video runs 4:13 minutes in length. Additional videos in the series are available to view separately

Drug Discovery 1: How Does the New SARS-CoV-2 Protease Inhibitor Block Protease Activity?

This video, provided by Digital World Biology, is from a series of tutorial videos for iCn3D, a web-based three-dimensional visualization and structural analysis platform for molecular structures. During this video, presenter Sandra Porter offers step-by-step instructions on how to view and analyze the interaction between a protease drug and SARS-CoV-2. The video guides viewers on how to:Select the inhibitor, the inhibitor binding site, and amino acids in the active site.Identify amino acids in the inhibitor binding site.Annotate the inhibitor binding site and the two amino acids that form the catalytic dyad.Identify a covalent bond to the inhibitor.View the binding pocket for the inhibitor.Identify a hydrogen bond to the inhibitor and determine which amino acid forms this bond.This video runs 14:02 minutes in length. Additional videos in the series are available to view separately

Hackathon Introduction

This video, provided by Digital World Biology, is from the 2022 Antibody Engineering Hackathon, an event where teams collaborated to develop Course-based Undergraduate Research projects (CURES) for students studying biotechnology. In this video, presenter Sandra Porter introduces the Hackathon and its goals, walks through the rules, and lays the groundwork for participants. Porter also discusses the utility of using a Hackathon to develop ideas around antibody research curricula and why antibody engineering is the central focus of the event.This video runs 51:52 minutes in length. Additional videos in the series are available to view separately