Disease represents a strong driving force of societal and cultural change, which repeats itself today. During the 14th century, the Plague ravaged Europe, and fear of illness, destruction, and hopelessness changed society. Fear of the Plague altered the religious climate of the entire continent and drove many to commit acts of violence. Lack of knowledge about the Plague changed the way medicine was taught and practiced, moving towards modern medicine. Governments began to take a more active role in the health of the citizens, and national legislation began having greater impacts at the local level. The centuries old economic structure began to crumble, setting the stage for more balanced, free-market trade. Those factors—mentality, medicine, law, and economics—elicited similar reactions in the 2014 Ebola Outbreak. Fear of Ebola resulted in violence. Medical researchers were inspired by the outbreak to learn more about Ebola and are looking for potential cures and vaccines. Laws restricting travel and advocating healthy practices dominated the infected countries. The economies of the diseased areas suffered. Little has changed in the nature of people in medieval Europe and today; though centuries have passed, societies respond to disease in the same fundamental ways. Disease represents a strong driving force of societal and cultural change, which repeats itself today. During the 14th century, the Plague ravaged Europe, and fear of illness, destruction, and hopelessness changed society. Fear of the Plague altered the religious climate of the entire continent and drove many to commit acts of violence. Lack of knowledge about the Plague changed the way medicine was taught and practiced, moving towards modern medicine. Governments began to take a more active role in the health of the citizens, and national legislation began having greater impacts at the local level. The centuries old economic structure began to crumble, setting the stage for more balanced, free-market trade. Those factors—mentality, medicine, law, and economics—elicited similar reactions in the 2014 Ebola Outbreak. Fear of Ebola resulted in violence. Medical researchers were inspired by the outbreak to learn more about Ebola and are looking for potential cures and vaccines. Laws restricting travel and advocating healthy practices dominated the infected countries. The economies of the diseased areas suffered. Little has changed in the nature of people in medieval Europe and today; though centuries have passed, societies respond to disease in the same fundamental ways.

Tallgrass prairies, a key feature of Iowa’s landscapes, are susceptible to woody encroachment. When undisturbed, this natural process makes it easy for woody species to invade open prairies and slowly transition them to forested areas. This study tests how herbivory and prairie diversity affect establishment of woody species in an experimental restored prairie within Ames, Iowa. We identified and measured all woody stems >0.5 m within four plots surrounded by fencing to exclude common herbivores (deer and voles) and in four plots without fencing. Each region contained areas with high and low diversity of prairie seedlings. Plots allowing herbivore access have fewer woody stems in both high and low diversity treatments than plots excluding herbivores, likely due to non-discriminant browsing by herbivores. Plots excluding herbivory had higher numbers of establishment in low diversity only and this was dominated by four species: Acer saccharinum, Cornus drummondii, Vitus riparia, and Pyrus calleryana. C. drummondii, V. riparia, and P. calleryana have fruiting seeds, which indicates that the more successful species tend to be frugivore dispersed. Overall, this study shows that areas with a lower diversity of non-woody prairie plants that exclude herbivory provide for higher establishment of invading woody seedlings.

The reproduction of plant species to produce seeds begins with pollination. The timing (phenology) of flowering is influenced by local environmental conditions such that neighboring plants are more likely to flower at the same time and cross-pollinate than are plants located further apart. In contrast to other flowering plants, which produce pollen and ovules simultaneously within the same flowers, wild figs (genus Ficus) produce separate male and female flowers that develop several weeks to months apart. For neighboring fig trees to cross-pollinate, they need to have flowering times that are out of phase with each other, with one tree bearing male flowers while another bears female flowers. As a result, if local environmental conditions synchronize flower production, neighboring fig trees will be less likely to cross-pollinate than trees located farther apart. We tested this prediction in the Sonoran Desert rock fig, Ficus petiolaris. Using information on flowering phenology collected from nine sites over four seasons, we calculated the probability of cross-pollination between trees as a function of the distance between them in the field. In contrast to predictions, we found significant but highly variable spatial patterns of flowering and opportunity for cross-pollination both within and across sites and seasons. An important consequence of this variation is that fig pollinators must traverse highly unpredictable distances to successfully cross-pollinate fig trees.

The U.S. Corn Belt is underlain by extensive drainage tile lines to support agricultural production, which significantly altered regional hydrology and nutrient transport processes. In, many cases, records of the precise location of main drainage tile lines are unavailable and can only be approximated using geospatial analyses. Using high-resolution topographic data, we estimated locations of drainage tile systems and compared the estimates to locations based on digitized tile maps for a set of drainage districts in Boone County, Iowa. We estimated spatial correspondence by percent error between generated drainage tile lines and actual locations of drainage lines. Our analysis suggest that the estimated drainage tile systems are reasonable representations of recorded main drainage lines for the set of drainage districts. This method of approximating drainage tile line locations can assist in estimating drainage tile line systems that do not belong to drainage districts and contain no records.

Different factors such as nutrient addition or herbivore loss are known to decrease plant species richness in tallgrass prairies. However, little is known about how variation in timing affects these factors. For example, an intense, brief addition of nitrogen (N) could have a greater effect on species richness versus persistent, low levels of N addition because of the community’s prolonged exposure to N. Furthermore, herbivore activity may reverse the effects of N temporal variation by balancing out the differences. The purpose of this project was to determine if adding a set amount of N to soil over different timeframes would change species richness with herbivory. To accomplish this, we added a constant amount of N to pots containing six tallgrass prairie plant species, in different temporal regimes. Half received all of the N pulse in the beginning of the experiment, while the other half received the same amount in weekly doses over four weeks. We measured percentage cover before and after simulated herbivory. Final biomass was also collected at the end of the experiment by cutting plants at the soil surface. We expect that the addition of N in the absence of herbivory will decrease plant species richness when compared to the N treatment with herbivory. We also expect that quick, intense levels of N will cause species richness to decline faster compared to smaller, persistent levels of N. This research addresses factors that possibly alter plant diversity in tallgrass prairie ecosystems.

Moths play important roles in local ecosystems and many species have important economic impacts. Moths are some of the most diverse organisms on Earth, composing about 10% of all known species. Eastern North America alone is home to thousands of species. Though they are incredibly diverse, and have large economic impacts, there is still little knowledge regarding the geographic distribution or population size for most of these species. Iowa is one of most diverse states for moths as it is situated between several broad areas with regionally endemic species including: the North, the Northeast, the Plains, and the annual migration of species from the South. In this study lights were used to attract specimens that were photographed and released. Over two seasons, 316 species were encountered from six different locations in Ringgold and Decatur counties. Several species encountered in this research project represent species that had previously never been observed in Iowa.

Between 40 and 90% of plant species, depending upon the region, produce a fleshy fruit and who eats the fruit can determine the outcome of a plant species’ survival. Passage through an organism's gut can strip the fruit or seed coat from a seed, and thus increase germination. Or, conversely, long retention times within a gut could damage the seed and decrease viability. Typically, to evaluate the impact of frugivores on seed viability and germination, studies conduct a feeding trial by feeding fruit to a frugivore, collecting seeds from the animal’s feces, and then attempt to germinate the seeds and compare their germination rates with a control group of seeds that was not ingested. Here, we review existing studies on the effects of ingestion by frugivores on the germination of seeds. We will evaluate the ecosystems in which these studies have occurred as well as the species that have been tested. Finally, we will assess whether ingestion by frugivores has an overall positive or negative effect on seed germination, and how this varies by region and frugivore type.

Prairie areas free of established trees create an ideal habitat for seedlings of nearby adult trees, making it easy for woody species to invade Iowa’s natural prairies and slowly convert them to forested areas. This study aims to determine possible patterns of establishment of woody species in a restored prairie area within Ames, Iowa, focusing on the effects of herbivory and surrounding herbaceous biodiversity. Oakridge Prairie is sectioned into eight plots (four allowing herbivory, four preventing herbivory) and each block has areas of low and high grass/forb diversity. Heights, species, and locations within diversity and herbivory treatments were recorded for all seedlings above 0.5 m within this prairie. There is a significant relationship between herbivory treatments on seedling abundance and height, but not for herbaceous plant diversity treatments. Herbivores strongly limit woody encroachment. Dispersal mode affects dispersal distance, with animal dispersed seeds traveling farther from their nearest conspecific. Animals, likely birds, are dispersing seeds into prairies. Prairie managers should consider the effectiveness of herbivory on reducing woody encroachment into natural prairie areas.

Introduction: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a common side effect of chemotherapeutic treatment experienced by dogs that can lower quality of life and functionality. These symptoms are likewise found in people receiving chemotherapy; however, human oncology has well-established protocols for preventing these side effects, while veterinary medicine does not. The objective of this research is to establish a baseline regarding current standard of care to determine how veterinary specialists are managing CINV in dogs receiving chemotherapy.

Introduction: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a common side effect of chemotherapeutic treatment experienced by dogs that can lower quality of life and functionality. These symptoms are likewise found in people receiving chemotherapy; however, human oncology has well-established protocols for preventing these side effects, while veterinary medicine does not. The objective of this research is to establish a baseline regarding current standard of care to determine how veterinary specialists are managing CINV in dogs receiving chemotherapy.

Materials & Methods: This research will be conducted through an online survey that will be sent via listserv to approximately 1800 veterinary specialists who utilize chemotherapy to treat dogs with cancer. The survey will inquire whether or not they accompany the most common chemotherapy treatments with prophylactic antiemetic therapy in order to prevent vomiting in dogs on Day 1 and Days 2-5 as well as to estimate the likelihood of vomiting expected during the given time periods. The veterinary specialists will then be asked to depict what types of antiemetic therapies they use to prophylactically or reactively treat vomiting. Finally, the veterinary specialists will be asked to indicate the most common appetite stimulants they use in treatment of inappetence for dogs receiving chemotherapy.

Results: The results are pending. IRB exemption has been submitted. Test runs to verify readability of the survey are underway currently. The survey should be sent out mid-March and the responses should be received early to mid-April.

Conclusion: Due to a lack of available results, the conclusion of this research is yet to be determined.

Pesticides have become a staple in agriculture. Even with modern advancements in agriculture pest control, there are pests that still persevere within our farming systems. The application of chemicals to crops is time consuming, costly, and can be environmentally compromising. Within Brassica plants the larval pest T. ni (Trichoplusia ni) consumes large amounts of plant product on a daily basis. Our project looked to see if native paper wasps (Polistes fuscatus), are capable of predating these pest larvae, at a rate that is high enough to benefit the plant. Established colonies were placed in a hoop house with young collard greens. T.ni were then placed on the collards, with half of those plants encased to prevent wasps from predating. Data were collected on the number of larvae predated over 3 hours each day. Leaf area was also measured at the end of the experiment to assess the benefits of wasp predation on plant growth. Combined, our data will help us see how paper wasps populations could aid agricultural production. Future research could then determine if predation levels are high enough to have an economic impact.