Schedule and Program - North Carolina Academy of Science

Seasonal Resource Competition, Biodiversity, and Habitat Selection inWildlife Sanctuaries of Amboseli EcosystemElizabeth A. Fisher*, Shem MwasiGuilford CollegeWildlife sanctuaries in the Amboseli ecosystem of Kenya have served a dual purpose of wildlife dispersal area andlivestock grazing area. It was thus essential to determine whether the presence of livestock affects wildlife withinthe sanctuaries in order to propose suitable management practices to conserve wildlife. Foot transects were takenin Osupuko, Motikanju, Kilitome, Kimana, and Elerai-Rupet Wildlife Sanctuaries during early wet season 2010,late dry season 2010, and early wet season 2011 to assess temporal and spatial presence of wildlife and livestockwithin the sanctuaries and specific habitats. Jaccard’s similarity index, Pianka’s habitat overlap index, Simpson’sdiversity index, and Ivlev’s habitat selection index were used to assess seasonal resource use interactions betweenwildlife and livestock. Overall, the presence of potential for resource competition and overlap did not dictate thesame trends in wildlife diversity and selection of habitats in any sanctuary. In three out of five wildlife sanctuariesthere was a seasonal trend in which wildlife and livestock selected different habitats in the early wet season andboth selected the same habitat in late dry season. There was no consistent trend among the sanctuaries as towhich habitats were seasonally selected for. Presence of livestock did not always negatively affect wildlife; this mayindicate coexistence of these animals due to abundance of resources. In areas that livestock do seem to negativelyaffect wildlife there may be an overabundance of livestock thus causing overuse of the resources available.Individualized grazing plans should be created for every wildlife sanctuary.Cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in piedmont North Carolina lakesLaura Fondario and P.A. RubleeUNCGPotentially cyanotoxin producing cyanobacterial species, such as Anabaena planktonica, Aphanizomenon spp.,Anabaena spp., Microcystis aeruginosa, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Lyngbya woolei and Nodularia spp.have all been found in NC lakes. If growth is extensive it can result in cyanotoxin production, hypoxic zones,increase human health risks, and increase morbidity of fish, invertebrates, and plant communities. Six lakes weresampled in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Surface and integrated water samples were taken bimonthly in June-September and once during October, November, January and March. Quantitative PCR will be used to probefor six cyanobacterial species and three cyanotoxin regulatory genes. Once specific toxin producing bacteria/toxin genes have been found in samples, microcystin and cylindrospermopsin specific ELISAs will be conductedon those samples to evaluate toxin levels. Phycobillins will also be measured in order to determine overallcyanobacteria abundance and raw lake water samples will be preserved using Lugol’s solution for microscopicevaluation of overall biomass and cyanobacteria diversity. I will evaluate relative abundances/ratios of theindividual species of cyanobacteria, as well as correlations between cyanobacterial abundances and cyanotoxinlevels. If toxin production is strongly correlated with cyanobacteria abundance it has implications for managementstrategies to reduce risk of human exposure.Prevalence of Methacillin Resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA) on CampbellUniversity Campus and the Efficacy of Current Cleaning ProductsMarcus Ford*, Victoria Ellis, Morgan Campbell, Sandra Westergaard, John Bartlett,Campbell UniversityMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a Gram positive microorganism has the capability to mutate atimpressive rates. This quality allows the bacteria to resist antibiotics manufactured to suppress them. MRSA hascaused upheaval in hospitals and schools, particularly in moist, communicable areas such as showers and lockerCampbell University - 43