2002 Program Abstracts

 

COLONIZATION OF ARTIFICIAL CAVITIES AT BIOSPHERE II

R. L. KETNER, E. C. OMANA & S. M. SHUSTER

  In natural marine habitats, intertidal invertebrates will recruit to and inhabit small cavities in 225 ml3 concrete cylinders (ACs). These artificial cavities simulate natural cavities abandoned by infaunal burrowers in coral rubble. The invertebrate inhabitants of the 2.5x106 liter “ocean” in Columbia University’s Biosphere2 (BIO2) (Figures A&B). are poorly known. To investigate the BIO2 invertebrate fauna, we introduced 200 ACs to the floor of the ocean along a 2x4 m grid. At 2-week and 6-week intervals, we collected 15 and 20 randomly-selected ACs, respectively. After 6 weeks, 18% of the cavities were occupied by invertebrates. Of the 63 total inhabitants, 26% were ophiuroids; 26% were amphipods, 17% were annelids and 21% were Cirolana parva, a common marine isopod inhabiting coastal Caribbean habitats. Preliminary results on natural populations in Panama indicate that breeding C. parva pairs form in abandoned sipunculid tubes in coral rubble. The pairs we found in our BIO2 ACs were identical to those found in nature. Our results indicate that ACs provide a simple, nondestructive method for collecting and studying marine invertebrates in this unique, man-made environment.

    

MATE CHOICE IN THE CONFUSED FLOUR BEETLE, Tribolium confusum

JAY NAGTALON & LEE DRICKAMER

 We studied the effect of free female mate choice on female fecundity and offspring viability in the flour beetle, Tribolium confusum.  We performed choice tests to test whether females of these species do actively choose males and to identify a female’s preferred and non-preferred mate.  Virgin females were then bred with males that they preferred or did not prefer.  Additionally, we randomly mated virgin females with virgin males as a control. We asked four questions,

  1. “Do females actively choose males?”
  1. “Do females prefer one male over another?”
  1. “Do females prefer neither male, and thus actively avoid them?”  
  1. “Do females mated with preferred males have greater?”

productivity than females mated with non-preferred males?”  Our results from the mate choice tests suggest that T. confusum females actively choose males.  Our measures for productivity, however, are still in progress.     

   

  SIMPLIFYING THE CODING SYSTEM OF ACHIEVEMENT IMAGERY USING THE MULTIFACETED RASCH MODEL

RAMOS, E., C. VEGA, K. KEENAN, K. ROMERO, V. BARTON, & V. BLANKENSHIP

  Introduction: Although the Picture Story Exercise (PSE) is widely used for power and intimacy assessments, it is often not considered as a measure for achievement due mostly to it’s complex coding system. Objective: This study seeks to simplify the current coding system of the PSE for achievement motivation and to increase the reliability of the measure.  Method: The Rasch model was used to implement changes in the coding system for the achievement measure which decrease the complexity of the system and increase the reliability.  Results:  The 11 category coding system was reduced to a more efficient 8 category system. In addition, The reliability of the original data taken from a random sample of 100 cases based on Cronbach’s Alpha was .15 (Blankenship, 2001).  The new system increased the reliability to .72.

   

  EFFECTS OF ENDOSULFAN ON ADRENAL FUNCTION OF THE BULLFROG, Rana catesbeiana

PRIYANKA SHAH, MARIA SMITH, & CATHY PROPPER

  This study looked at the effect of endosulfan on adrenal function of the bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana. The frogs were divided into 4 treatment groups of 0, 1, 5 and 10 ppb endosulfan. Frogs were treated for 8 days during which time a feeding test, an open field box test and a release call test were performed. On the 8th day the frogs were killed and trunk blood was collected. The brain, pituitary, interrenals, liver and gonads were also removed. The plasma was used to quantify corticosterone levels. Western blots will be used to quantify SF-1 levels in the tissues. There was a main effect of endosulfan dose on overall feeding behavior (p = 0.02). The corticosterone immunoassay showed that a trend exists towards a main effect of dose on baseline corticosterone levels (p = 0.058).

   

  RELIABILITY MEASUREMENT OF ACHIEVEMENT IMAGERY USING THE MULTIFACETED RASCH MODEL

VEGA, C., E. RAMOS, K. KEENAN, K. ROMERO, V. BARTON, & V. BLANKENSHIP

This study is designed to measure the reliability between three different facets: participant ability, item difficulty, and rater reliability, for use in the analysis of the picture story exercise measuring achievement.  The pictures story exercise originally designed by John Atkinson in 1948 has not been redesigned in 50 years.  After the reformation of the PSE, the multifacet Rasch Model was used in analyzing the data gleaned from a five story, twenty item, PSE for achievement.  The Rasch model showed a greater increase in participant and item reliability.  The rater agreement was within acceptable limits according to the Rasch model. 

 

PARALLEL EVOLUTION OF JAW PROTRUSION IN Danio rerio AND Betta splenens

KATIE WICKMAN & ALICE GIBB

  Upper jaw protrusion, an extension of the mouth during suction feeding, is hypothesized to substantially improve prey capture and, in turn, fish success.  Due to the advantages of upper jaw protrusion, the adaptation has evolved in two independent fish lineages, in order Cypriniformes and superorder Acanthopterygii.   This parallel evolution leads to both similarities and differences in the mechanism and behavior of the different lineages.  In this study, we compared the feeding behavior of representatives of the two lineages, Danio rerio and Betta splendens.  Through high speed digital imaging, we captured feeding sequences of the fish for analysis.  From the images captured, various displacements of the head and jaw movements were measured.  Results indicate that the feeding behaviors of the two species are very similar, despite their independent evolution.  However, significant differences in premaxillary protrusion, time to premaxillary protrusion, and hyoid depression may be generated by differences in the underlying mechanism of upper jaw protrusion.  These results could also be contributed to differences in native ecologies of the fish and their jaw use, such as bubble nest production in Betta splendens.

   

  Oh the Possibilities of Possible Selves: The Effect of Role Models , Self-Esteem and Time Orientation

Dyan Ferraris, Heidi A. Wayment, Becky Wai-ling Packard

  This study investigated the relationships between role models and possible selves.  Survey data were collected from traditional-aged college women (sample I: n =26; sample II: n = 65).  Independent t-tests and Pearson Correlations were conducted to examine hypothesis.  It was hypothesized that having a positive role model would be positively related to the salience of hoped-for selves, and unrelated to salience of feared-selves.  Furthermore, this salience of both kinds of possible selves were hypothesized to be related to individual difference variables (e.g., self-esteem, time orientation).  Results indicated that participants reported having a positive role model were more likely to have salient hoped-for possible selves.  Second, participants with higher self-esteem and future time orientation had hoped-for selves that they described as vivid and more likely to come true (e.g., salient).  Third, participants with lower self-esteem and past time orientation had more salient feared selves.  Future research and implications of these data are discussed.