Biological Sciences Research

Research in the Department of Biological Sciences covers a broad range of biological disciplines across multiple hierarchical levels including molecular biology, microbiology, animal physiology, comparative anatomy, ecology, and evolution.

The department offers opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to learn and work alongside scientists making important scientific discoveries in their respective fields.

Faculty Research Areas

Recent Faculty, Student Publications

Recent Publications by Biological Sciences Faculty and Students

OHIO Faculty Co-Author

*OHIO Graduate Student Co-Author

OHIO Undergraduate Student Co-Author

2023 (through August)

*Adhicary, S., *Fanelli, K., Nakisli, S., Ward, B., *Pearce, I. and Nielsen, C.M. (2023). Rbpj deficiency disrupts vascular remodeling via abnormal Apelin and Cdc42 activity in brain arteriovenous malformation. Stroke 54.

Costa-Machado, L.F, E. Garcia-Dominguez, R.L. McIntyre, J.L. Lopez-Aceituno, A. Tapia-Gonzalez, Á. Ballesteros-Gonzalez, D. Fabregat, T. Eisenberg, J. Gomez, A. Plaza, A. Sierra-Ramirez, M. Perez, D. Villanueva-Bermejo, T. Fornari, M.I. Loza, G. Herradon, S.J. Hofer, C. Magnes, F. Madeo, J.S. Duerr, O.J. Pozo, I. del Pino, M.-I. Galindo, R.H. Houtkooper, D. Megias, J. Viña, M.C. Gomez-Cabrera, P.J. Fernandez-Marcos (2023) Peripheral modulation of antidepressant targets MAO-B and GABAAR by harmol induces mitohormesis and delays aging in preclinical models. Nature Communications 14:2779.

Arwa Elaagib and Tarig Higazi. (in press). Advances in the diagnosis of filarial nematodes. In: “Diagnosis of Pathogenic Organisms Causing Infectious Diseases” Editor:  Suliaman, IM. CRC press. Boca Raton FL USA.

*Fitschen-Brown, M., Morris M.R. (2023) Genotype and growth rates influence female mate preferences in Xiphophorus multilineatus: potential selection to optimize mortality-growth rate tradeoff. Plos One

Jenkins, J. R., I. A. Pope, M. A. Dykstra, J. J. Jenkins, C. R. Dykstra, and K. A. Williams. in press. Do standard behavioral assays predict foraging behavior of individual Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapilla) in response to a predator. Journal of Comparative Psychology.

Kolbe, J.J., S.T. Giery, O. Lapiedra, K. Lyberger, J.N. Pita-Aquino, M. Leal, D. A. Spiller, J.B. Losos, T.W. Schoener, and J Piovia-Scott. 2023. Experimentally simulating the evolution-to-ecology connection: divergent predator morphologies alter natural food webs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 120(24): e2221691120.

Machado, L.P.C., G.H.O. Caetano, V.H.L. Cavalcante, D.B. Miles, G.R. Colli (2023) Climate change shrinks environmental suitability for a viviparous Neotropical skink. Conservation Science and Practice. 5: e12895.

Miles, D. B., R.E. Ricklefs, and J.B. Losos. (In Press). How exceptional are the classic adaptive radiations of passerine birds? Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Muñoz-Nolasco, F. J., D. M. Arenas-Moreno, F. J. Gandarilla-Aizpuro, A. Bautist-del Moral, R. Santos Bibiano, D. B. Miles, and F. R. Méndez de la Cruz. (2023). Physiological ecology and vulnerability to climate change of a microendemic, habitat-specialist lizard in a tropical dry forest of Mexico. Climate Change Ecology. 5: 100066.

*Nakisli, S., Lagares, A., Nielsen, C.M.* and Cuervo, H.* (2023). Pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells in central nervous system arteriovenous malformations. Front Physiol 14.

Quintero-Pérez, R. I., F. R. Méndez de la Cruz, Y. López-Ramírez, D. M. Arenas-Moreno, D. B. Miles, E. Arenas-Ríos. (In Press) Prolonged exposure to thermal preference reduces sperm performance in a montane lizard. Journal of Thermal Biology 113: 1003526.

Reynolds, R.G., and S.T. Giery. 2023. Amphibians of the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands. in H. Heatwole & N. Rios-Lopez, eds. The Conservation and Biogeography of Amphibians in the Caribbean. Pelagic Press, Exeter, UK.

R Rockenfeller, M Günther, SL Hooper (2023) Sarcomere mechanics in the double-actin-overlap zone. Biophys J 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.08.002 (Reply to Comment to the Editor by Rode et al. (2023) Structurally motivated models to explain the muscle’s force-length relationship Biophys J 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.05.026 re Rockenfeller et al. (2022) Biophys J 121:1823-1855)

Sirén A., M. Zimova, C. S. Sutherland, J. Kilborn, R. Cliché, L. Prout, L. S. Mills, T. L. Morelli. 2023. A Great Escape: The role of climate, resource availability, and density-dependent dynamics on an iconic herbivore along its trailing edge. Ecography e06633.

Sisson, G. P. W. M. Roosenburg. (in press) The rocks are hotter on the other side of the fence: roadside habitats should inform mitigation design. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

Stec, H., Gambill, M., Whitmer, H., *Tompkins, K. Rios-Cardenas, O., Morris, M.R. (2023) Physiological cost to behavioral plasticity in a swordtail fish: clues to its evolutionary loss. Animal Behavior, 201, 167-174.

Urban, M.C., Nadeau C., and S.T. Giery. 2023.  Using mechanistic insights to predict the climate-induced expansion of a key aquatic predator. Ecological Monographs 93(3):e1575.

Williams, K. A., *L. R. Dykstra, *J. P. Sieg, and C. R. Dykstra. 2023. Consequences of topography on nest microclimate and reproductive success in an open-cup nesting passerine. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 135.

Williams, K. A., M. B. Shumar, L. J. Kearns, J. N. Mager, J. M. Lautenbach, B. T. Shirkey, M. A. Al-Saffar, A. M. Froehlich, R. J. Gates, D. G. Kovar, M. Kravitz, S. N. Matthews, C. K. Randall, N. A. Schell, M. Shieldcastle, and M. J. Wiley. (2023). The Second Ohio All-bird Conservation Plan (2023). Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative, Columbus, OH.

*Wittekind MA, Briaud P, Smith JL, *Tennant JR, Carroll RK. 2023. The Small Protein ScrA Influences Staphylococcus aureus Virulence-Related Processes via the SaeRS System. Microbiol Spectr. 11:e0525522.

Zimova M., B. C. Weeks†, D. E. Willard, S. T. Giery, V. Jirinec, R. Burner, B. M. Winger. 2023 Body size predicts the rate of contemporary morphological change in birds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 120(20), e2206971120.

2022

*Adhicary, S., *Nakisli, S., *Fanelli, K. and Nielsen, C.M. (2022). Neurovascular development. Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Health. Elsevier Publishing. ISBN: 978-0-12-818872-9.

Badiane, A., A. Dupoué, P. Blaimont, D. B. Miles, *A. L. Gilbert, M. Leroux-Coyau, A. Kawamoto, D. Rozen-Rechels, S. Meylan, J. Clobert, J.-F. Le Galliard. (2022) Environmental conditions, testosterone, performance, and parasitism explain colour signals variation in male common lizards Zootoca vivipara. Journal of Animal Ecology 91:1906 – 1917

Briaud P, *Zapf RL, *Mayher AD, McReynolds AKG, Frey A, Sudnick EG, Wiemels RE, *Keogh RA, Shaw LN, Bose JL, Carroll RK. 2022. The Small RNA Teg41 Is a Pleiotropic Regulator of Virulence in Staphylococcus aureus. Infect Immun. 90:e0023622

Chapman, A.D., Selhorst, S., LaComb, J., LeDantec-Boswell, A., Wohl, T.R., *Adhicary, S. and Nielsen, C.M. (2022). Endothelial Rbpj is required for cerebellar morphogenesis and motor control in the early postnatal mouse brain. Cerebellum

Chejanovski, Z.A., S.T. Giery, and J.J. Kolbe. 2022. Effects of urbanization on the trophic niche of the brown anole, a widespread invasive lizard. Food Webs 33:e00257.

Dupoué, A., P. Blaimont, F. Angelier, C. Ribout, D. Rozen-Rechels, M. Richard, D. B. Miles, P. Villemereuil, A. Rutschmann, A. Badiane, F. Aubret, O. Lourdais, S. Meylan, J. Cote, J. Clobert, J.-F. Le Galliard. (2022) In warm and declining populations, lizards are not born to live. Proceedings National Academy of Sciences USA 119: e2201371119

Evans, A., M. Zimova, S. T. Giery, H. Golden, A. Pastore, C. Nadeau, and M. C. Urban. 2022. An eco-evolutionary perspective on the Humpty-Dumpty effect and community restoration. Oikos e08978.

*Fitschen-Brown, M., Tudor, M. S., Hamlin, H., Morris M.R. (2022) Higher Cortisol in Muscle Correlates with Weaker Strength of Female Mate Preference in Swordtail Fish, Xiphophorus multilineatus. Animal Behavior 187, 63-69.

C Gebehart, SL Hooper, A Büschges. (2022) Load non-linearly modulates movement reflex gain in an insect leg via a distributed network of identified nonspiking interneurons. Curr Biol 32:3847-3854.e3

*Goerge, T. and D. B. Miles (2022) Testing the Pace-of-Life Syndrome: Thermal and Behavioral Correlates of Push-up Display Rate in Urosaurus ornatus. Behaviour 160: 145-168.

Grant, E.H., K.P. Mulder, A.B. Brand, D.B. Chambers, A. Wynn, G. Capshaw, M.L. Niemiller, J.G. Phillips, J.F. Jacobs, S.R. Kuchta, and R.C. Bell. 2022. Speciation with gene flow in a narrow endemic West Virginia cave salamander (Gyrinophilus subterraneus). Conservation Genetics 23: 727–744.

C Guschlbauer, SL Hooper, C Mantziaris, A Schwarz, NS Szczecinski, A Büschges. (2022) Correlation between ranges of leg walking angles and of passive rest angles among leg types in stick insects. Curr Biol 32:2334-2403.e3

Huey, R. B. , and D. B. Miles. (2022) Signatures of geography, climate, and foliage on given names of baby girls. Evolutionary Human Sciences. 4: e56.

Ingram, T., S.T. Giery, and J.B. Losos. 2022. Hierarchical partitioning of multiple niche dimensions among ecomorphs, species and sexes in Puerto Rican anoles. Journal of Zoology 18(2):127-134.

*Jensen EA, Young JA, Jackson Z, Busken J, Kuhn J, Onusko M, Carroll RK, List EO, Brown JM, Kopchick JJ, Murphy ER, Berryman DE. 2022. Excess growth hormone alters the male mouse gut microbiome in an age-dependent manner. Endocrinology.

*Joos, J., C. Pimiento, D.B. Miles, and J. Müller. (2022) Quaternary Megafauna extinctions altered body size distribution in tortoises. Proceedings of the Royal Society. B. 289: 20221987.

Kays R., (and 152 others including S.T. Giery and M. Zimova). 2022. SNAPSHOT USA 2020: A second coordinated national camera trap survey of the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ecology 103(10): e3775.

Kuchta, S.R., *M.M. Hantak, *B.P. Waldron, C.A. Hickerson, R. Lehtinen, C. Anthony. 2022. Hybridization between the woodland salamanders Plethodon cinereus and P. electromorphus. Ichthyology & Herpetology 110(3): 430-438.

Kumar, A. V., M. Zimova, T. E. Martin, L. S. Mills. 2022. Contrasting seasonal effects of climate change influence density in a cold-adapted species. Global Change Biology 28, 6228– 6238.

Lara-Resendiz, R. A, P. C. Rosen, B. Sinervo, D. B. Miles, F.R. Méndez-de La Cruz. (2022) Thermal quality to Gopherus evgoodei at the tropical deciduous forest and the consequences of habitat modification by buffelgrass. Journal of Thermal Biology. 104: 103192

Layman, C.A., O. Patterson Maura, S.T. Giery, J.E. Allgeier, and A.L. Rypel. 2022. Direct monetary inputs of scientists to the economy of Abaco Island, The Bahamas. Caribbean Journal of Science 52(1):16-23.

Daewoo Lee, Michael E. Adams (2022) Modification of Insect Sodium Currents by a Pyrethroid Permethrin and Positive Cooperativity with Scorpion Toxins. Korean Journal of Applied Entomology Vol.61 No.1(Special Issue) pp.117-128

McKellar SW, Ivanova I, Arede P, *Zapf RL, Mercier N, Chu L, Daniel G. Mediati DG, Pickering AC, Foster R, Kudla G, Fitzgerald RJ, Caldelari I, Carroll RK, Tree JJ, and Granneman S. 2022. RNase III CLASH in MRSA uncovers sRNA regulatory networks coupling metabolism to toxin expression. Nature communications 13:3560.

Nielsen, C.M.*, Zhang, X.*, Rangor, K., Wang, S. and Wang, R.A. (2022). Endothelial Rbpj normalizes Notch4-induced brain arteriovenous malformation in mice. J Exp Med 220(2): e20211390.

Preising, G.A., Gunn, T., Baczenas, J.J., Pollock, A., Powell, D.L., Dodge, T.O., Angel J., Kairuz, M., Savage, M., Lu, Y., *Fitschen-Brown, M., Cummings, M., Thakur, S.,  MichaTobler, M., Ríos-Cardenas, O., Morris, M.R., Schumer M. (2022) Recurrent evolution of small body size and loss of the sword ornament in Northern Swordtail fish. bioRxiv

*Radomski, T.P.,  S.R. Kuchta, and K. Kozak. 2022. Post-Pleistocene dispersal explains the Rapoport Effect in North American salamanders. Journal of Biogeography 49: 1048-1060.

Resendiz, R. D. B. Miles, P. Rosen, and B. Sinervo. (2022) Micro and macroclimatic constraints on the activity of a vulnerable tortoise: a mechanistic approach under a thermal niche view. Functional Ecology 36: 2227 – 2239.

R Rockenfeller, M Günther, SL Hooper. (2022) Muscle active force-length curve explained by an electrophysical model of interfilament radial spacing. Biophys J 121:1823-1855

Route, W.T., C.R. Dykstra, K. A. Williams, J. Campbell-Spickler, M. Martell, and R.L. Key. (2022). Breeding phenology and nestling morphology of bald eagles in the upper Midwestern United States. Journal of Raptor Research.

David F. Russell, Melanie Ahmetspahic, Lilia L. Neiman (2022) “Papilla cells may guard the entrance to ampullary organs of Polyodon electroreceptors”. Tissue and Cell 78, 101868.

David F. Russell, Anna Tucker, Barbara A. Wettring, Alexander B. Neiman, Lon Wilkens, Frank Moss (2022) “Noise effects on the electrosense–mediated feeding behavior of small paddlefish”. in: The Random and Fluctuating World, Eds. P.V.E. McClintock , L.B. Kish. Singapore: World Scientific. pp. 309–324.

David F. Russell, Wenjuan Zhang, Thomas C. Warnock, Lilia L. Neiman (2022) “Lectin binding and gel secretion within Lorenzinian electroreceptors of Polyodon”. PLOS One 17 (11): e0276854.

Selhorst, S.*, *Nakisli, S.*, Kandalai, S., *Adhicary, S. and Nielsen, C.M. (2022). Pathological pericyte expansion and impaired endothelial cell-pericyte communication in endothelial Rbpj deficient brain arteriovenous malformation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

*Song, J., Qian, Y, Evers, M., Nielsen, C.M. and Chen, X. (2022). Cancer stem cell formation induced and regulated by extracellular ATP and stanniocalcin-1 in human lung cancer cells and tumors. Int J Mol Sci 23: 14770.

Vorbach, B.S. L.A. Clayton, W.M. Roosenburg, T.M. Norton, L. Adamovicz, C.A. Hadfield, M.C. Allender. 2022. Prevalence of multiple reptilian pathogens in the oropharyngeal mucosa, cloacal mucosa, and blood of Diamond-backed Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) populations from Maryland and Georgia, USA Journal of Wildlife Diseases 58:782–790

Weeks, B.C., M. Klemz, H. Wada, R. Darling, T. Dias, B.K. O'Brien, M. Zhang, and M. Zimova. 2022. Temperature, size, and developmental plasticity in birds. Biology Letters 18(12), 20220357.

*Wittekind MA, Bonsall A, Frey A, Briaud P, Wiemels RE, Shaw LN, and Carroll RK. 2022. The novel peptide ScrA acts through the SaeRS two component system to regulate virulence gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus. Mol Microbiol. 117:1196-1212.

Wu, Q., D. B. Miles, M. Richard, A. Rutschmann, and J. Clobert. (2022) Intraspecific diversity alters the relationship between climate change and parasitism in a polymorphic ectotherm. Global Change Biology 28: 1301 – 1314.

Zimova M., D. Moberg, L. S. Mills, A. J. Dietz, and A. Angerbjörn. 2022. Color molt phenology and camouflage mismatch in polymorphic populations of Arctic foxes. Biology Letters 18(11), 20220334.