Progress 03/15/18 to 03/14/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The final target audience of this project included the undergraduate student involved in research efforts at the University of Kentucky. This student had been directly involved with experiments, data analysis, written repots and an in-person presentation of his findings. Other audiences include members of the scientific community, including interactions at the Society of Integrative Biology meeting in January 2019, and the Entomology Society of America meeting in November 2019. The efforts of this project were divided into two goals: research objectives and professional development. The first goal has been obtained, and target audiences have been described above. The second goal has also been obtained. Target audiences include students and faculty at Transylvania University, and the University of Kentucky. Guest teaching occurrred at both locations, with non-major and introductory biology students. Changes/Problems:There was one major change to the methodology of one of the objectives. Goal 1, objective 2: Test the hypothesis that spiders have seasonal shifts in prey preference and that seasonal regulation of nutrition is critical for overwintering success. The original methodology described a lab study using spiders in a prey-choice arena, with visual access to different prey types, and data were to be collected as time spent in each area in proximity to the different prey. However, after many failed designs of prey-choice arenas, and overall failed attemps at this, a change was made. Instead of looking at diet specifics for the wolf spider, the PI (LPotts) decided to collect spiders from the field and analyze for nutrient reserves. This answered the questioin of seasonal regulation of nutrition, but just using different, and more reliaable,methodology. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training activitiesare those in which individuals with advanced professional skills and experience assist others in attaining greater proficiency. Training activities may include, for example, courses or one-on-one work with a mentor. Professional developmentactivities result in increased knowledge or skill in one's area of expertise and may include workshops, conferences, seminars, study groups, and individual study. Include participation in conferences,workshops, and seminars not listed under major activities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of this project have been disseminated to communities of interest. The following is a list of how the results have been disseminated: 1. Published Journal Articles, see cover sheet for citations. 2. Guest teaching using methodology and discussing results from the project. Communities include an honors course on climate change at the University of Kentucky, non-major senior students at Translyvania University, and biology students in an entomology class at Centre college. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The two main goals of this project focused on reseach into the overwintering wolf spider, and professional development of the PI (LPotts). Both goals were accomplished with multiple successes described below. Goal 1: Investigate direct and indirect effects of winter climate change on a keystone predators, the wolf spiderSchizocosa stridulans. Objective 1: Investigate the lethal and sub-lethal consequences of winter warming by testing spiders' cold tolerance and adaptive responses to simulated winter warming. 1. Major activities and experiments conducted: This objective was accomplished. A lab study was conducted in the winter of 2018-19, using incubators set to three different winter warming thermal treatments to compare spider responses to both low temperature and energetic gains. Spiders were brought in from the field, placed in programmed incubators set at one of three winter treatments for a total of 16 weeks (8 weeks of temperature decline to simulate winter, another 8 weeks of temperature inclines to simulate spring re-warming). 2. Data collected:Spiders were tested at weeks 4, 8 and 16 for two analyses of their low temperature tolerances, critical thermal minimum (CTmin) and supercooling point (SCP), body size (mass of spider) and energetics (amount of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates). 3. Summary statistics, discussion of results: Spiders showed plasticity in their locomotion response at low temperatures (CTmin). Spiders in the lowest temperature treatment were able to maintain movement at the lowest temperatures. However spiders did not show plasticity in their low temperature thresholds (SCP), as we expected based on previous literature and findings from similar spider species. Spiders in the variable winter treatment showed the highest overall weight gain, an unexpected result given current knowledge on temperature and body size in ectotherms. Spiders showed varied responses in nutrients across treatments, with the most striking finding being increased reservers of lipids over the entire winter and decreased reserves of carbohydrates. We expect lipids were being stored due to overload of prey items given to spiders (with little energetic needs to move around, locate prey), and carbohydrates may have decreased due to their importance in spider energetics, a theme not well understood for predator nutrient profiles. 4. Key outcomes realized: Some key outcomes realized from this research was the importance to studying variable winter climtates in studies poised to understand outcomes of climate change on ectotherms. The variable winter treatment, despite having the same average temperature as the warmer winter treatment, had drastically different responses in both locomotion at low temperatures and body size and energetics in the spiders. This suggests temperature and physiology are not as simply related as past studies have shown, instead variation around the mean produces drastic responses from ectotherms. ?Objective 2: Test the hypothesis that spiders have seasonal shifts in prey preferences and that seasonal regulationof nutrition is crucial for overwintering success. 1. Major activities and experiments conducted: This objective was accomplished. During the winter of 2016-17, spiders were collected and brought to the lab for analysis of weight gain, energetics and samples were sent to a collaborator for cryoprotectant analyses. 2. Data collected: Spiders from October-March were collected monthly and analyzed foranalysis of weight gain, energetics and samples were sent to a collaborator for cryoprotectant analyses. 3. Summary statistics, discussion ofresults: Spiders showed a 3.5-fold increase in mass from october through march. Protein levels showed an increase through February, then a sharp decline, most likely due to a sharp increase in weigh gain during that time. Lipids showed overall declines, perhaps due to spiders using their stored energy to get through low-prey monthsand carbohydrates were varied, perhaps as a result of inconsistent feeding in the field. Cryoprotectants showed unxpected normal distributions, with the highest amounts in known arthropod cryoprotectants in december and january, teetering off in early and late winter months. Despite the accumulation, values were minimal when compared to other insect taxa, suggesting spiders accumulate low levels of cryoprotectats to help protect against very cold temperature days. 4. Key outcomes realized: A key outcome realized from this research was the massive weight gain in spiders over the winter. Previously only hypothesized, and similar findings only found in one other wolf spider species from Sweden. This was a crucial piece of information explaining why these spiders have numerous adaptations to survive low temperatures. Another important outcome was the findings that protein levels were able to increase through the winter, despite the limited prey availabilities. Finallly, this study joins the one other study describing wolf spider cryoprotectant accumulation during the winter. Goal 2: Enhance professional development of the project director through teaching and mentoring undergraduates.? Objective 1: Engage in formal teaching training by participating in educational workshops 1. Major activities and experiments conducted: Major activites included particpating in numerous educational workshops provided by the Center for Education Learning and Teaching (CELT) at the University of Kentucky. Workshops covered topics such as First-generation students, syllabus creation, and research mentoring styles. 2. Key outcomes realized: Participating in CELT workshops allowed for a broader world view of higher ed teaching, and encouraged engagement and involvement into the teaching community at UK. Objective 2: Guest lecture at Translyvania University 1. Major activities and experiments conducted: Major activities included an opportunity to complete a semester as an adjunct faculty at Transylvania University. The PI (LPotts) designed a brand-new course on climate change for non-major biology students. The course focused on both the science and political scene of climate change technology and ecological and physiological consequences. Teaching methods included active-learning techniques such as turn and talks, open writing discussion prompts, debate sessions and creative projects showing learned skills. This course also included a laboratory component, where the PI developed a lab activity covering fruit fly phenotypic plasticity and thermal acclimation in response to cliamte change. The activity was published in an open-source pedagogical journal. 2. Key outcomes realized: Key outcomes of this obejctive was not only the experience of being a faculty member at a small college, but also publishing in an educational journal on a developed lab activity. Objective 3: Mentor undergraduate students in the laboratory 1. Major activities and experiments conducted: Major activites of this objective included mentoring a senior undergraduate student through all aspects of scientific research. The student was enrolled in a research credit course, and at the end of his time in the lab was able to write up a synthesis of his findings and present them to his class and instructor. 2. Key outcomes realized: The undergraduate student was very successful, helping the PI with various research tasks, and also conducting his own research projects within the scope of the listed objectives. He successfully defended his research and presented his findings to his course with top grades. Upon graduation from the University of Kentucky, he was accepted into the Dental Program at UK.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Potts, L. J., Koat�l, V., Simek, P., & Teets, N. M. (2020). Energy balance and metabolic changes in an overwintering wolf spider, Schizocosa stridulans. Journal of Insect Physiology, 126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104112
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Potts, L. J., Garcia, M. J., & Teets, N. M. (2020). Chilling in the cold: Using thermal acclimation to demonstrate phenotypic plasticity in animals. CourseSource. https://doi.org/10.24918/cs.2020.21
|
Progress 03/15/18 to 03/14/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary audience of this project at this stage has been mostly the undergraduate student at the University of Kentucky. This student has been directly involved with expeiments and data analysis. Future audience includes other members of the scientific community, once the research has been diseminated. The efforts of this project have been divided into the two goals of the project: research goals/objectives and professional development. The first goal, efforts have been made. These include preparing talks for a scientific meeting attended in January 2019, and currently analyzing data from the planned experiments. Professional development efforts have included guest teaching at a local liberal arts institution, Transylvania University. Dr. James Waggoner has been facilitating this guest teaching and providing critic and feedback. Guest teaching included teaching two entry-level biology classes at Transylvania University, with formal feedback from Dr. Waggoner. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided numerous opportunities for training and professional development. The project director (graduate student, Leslie Potts) has trained one undergraduate student for the experiments and data analyses of the project. These were completed in the fall and winter of 2018/19. Professional development of the project director has been made in the form of guest teaching at Transylvania University, under the critic of Dr. James Waggoner. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The next reporting period, the project director plans to accomplish the goals pertaining to the reseach of the project (goal 1, objective 1 and 2). The main data collection has been made, and analysis is currently underway. Manuscripts planned to be finished by August 2019. The USDA ARFI meeting in August of 2019 will be attended to disseminate the work as well as one other professional meeting in the fall of 2019. Goals pertaining to the professional development will be completed in the fall of 2019, with objective 1 being met. This includes attendind education workshops through the Center for Learning and Teaching at the University of Kentucky.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The goals of this project were divided into two areas, research goals and objectives, and professional development. The first set of goals, objectives 1 and 2 have been run as experiments, and data collected. Currently, this data is being analyzed, and plans to have results in a written manuscript are in the works. The second set of goals, objectives 2 and 3 have been met and completed. Objective 2 has been accomplished in the fall of 2018, and future plans to continue guest teaching have been made. Objective 3 has been accomplished, with training one undergradutae student in the spring of 2018 and experiments run, data analyzed by them in the fall of 2018. Objective 3, attending educational workshops planned to be completed in fall of 2019.
Publications
|