{"title":"Effects of anthropogenic habitat disturbance on the home range size and habitat preference of the Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)","authors":"A. Brown, S. G. Mech, James M. Drasher","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.95.1.0028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.95.1.0028","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) is a vulnerable species with decreasing population density from anthropogenic development and habitat loss. To determine the impact of electric utility pole replacement and vegetation maintenance on the home range size and habitat preference of T. carolina carolina, we radio-tagged 13 box turtles and located them weekly from April to November 2019, recording several habitat measurements at each location. We performed a principal component analysis of vegetation data and estimated home range size using 95% minimum convex polygon (MCP), kernel, and Brownian-bridge methods. Our data indicate that turtles prefer shrub cover and avoid rocky areas. While there was no significant difference between male and female home range size, a post hoc analysis dividing females into right-of-way (ROW) and non-ROW groups revealed a significant difference in female home range size, which may result from accessibility of higher-quality nesting sites within the ROW compared with surrounding forest stands.","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48068284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Identification of model systems expressing circFAT3","authors":"Andrea Smiley, Meredith Tate, S. Georgi","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.95.1.0059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.95.1.0059","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Recent RNA-seq studies have identified thousands of potential circular RNAs (circRNAs) in a variety of organisms and tissues. While experimental studies have begun to elucidate the biological roles of some circRNAs, the functions of the vast majority are not yet understood. As a first step to determining circRNA function, molecular techniques must be used to verify their expression in suitable model systems. In this study we use PCR and Sanger sequencing to identify model systems in three different organisms (human, chicken, and zebrafish) that each express circFAT3, a 3-kb circular RNA derived from the gene FAT3. We further characterize the expression levels of circFAT3 and its host mRNA during chicken retinal development. Our results suggest that circFAT3 is evolutionarily conserved and shows a dynamic expression pattern that is independent of its linear host mRNA.","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48183837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Environmental factors do not contribute significantly to shell shape in the Sprite Elimia, Elimia Proxima (Gastropoda: Pleuroceridae)","authors":"Shepard, Minton","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.93.1.0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.93.1.0001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70854859","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The herpetofauna of Wallops Island, Accomack County, Virginia: A case\u0000 study of a vulnerable community","authors":"Delis, Meshaka","doi":"10.5325/jpennacadscie.93.2.0132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5325/jpennacadscie.93.2.0132","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":85037,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70855133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}