Salamanders are vital components of many aquatic ecosystems food webs and are often found in diverse habitats, including both urban and semi-rural environments. The northern dusky salamander, Desmognathus fuscus is a common salamander found throughout the southeastern United States and is an important predator of aquatic macroinvertebrates. However, very little is known about either diet or suitable survey techniques for this species in human altered habitats, which may vary based on level of urbanization (e.g., are either spring-fed, derived from ponds, modified ditches, etc.). Therefore, we used multiple survey methods (leaf litter bags, novel rock bags, and quadrat sampling) to quantify relative abundance of D. fuscus on Wingate University's campus, in Wingate, North Carolina. We also collected and identified aquatic invertebrates from bag sampling and diet items obtained from gastric lavage of adult salamanders from quadrat sampling. Leaf litter bags contained the highest relative abundance of salamanders (47) compared to rock bags (14), with quadrat sampling yielding primarily adult salamanders. We noted a significant difference among our two sites sampled in salamander relative abundance (Man-Whitney U test = 67.5, p < 0.001), possibly due to reduced water quality, canopy cover, or less available habitat. Aquatic worms represented the most frequent potential food item sampled from both bag types (61.9%), followed by Diptera nymphs (13.7%). Potential food items from leaf and rock bags as well as gastric lavage samples collected from Desmognathus were further identified using DNA barcoding. These food items included a variety of both aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates (annelid worms, springtails, chironomids, carpenter ants, shore flies, wasps, and wood lice). These results indicate urban salamanders may forage both in the stream and in the riparian zone or advantageously consume insects which fall into the stream. This study adds to our body of knowledge on the ecology of salamanders in urban stream environments.

Herbal preparations have been utilized in midwifery to facilitate the birthing process. Nevertheless, these preparations are not under the scrutiny of the Food and Drug Administration, and there is a lack of clinical trials to demonstrate their safety and effectiveness. The Angelica genus, including dong quai (Angelica sinensis), Angelica archangelica, and Angelica sylvestris, has been used by midwives to induce uterine contractions. The primary goal of this project was to investigate midwifery claims by measuring the contractile effects of A. sinensis, A. archangelica, and A. sylvestris on isolated Mus musculus uterine horns. All Angelica species, when tested at similar concentrations, produced contractile forces greater than that of the tissue's own spontaneous motility. Of the Angelica species, dong quai yielded the greatest contractile force. In addition, A. archangelica demonstrated concentration dependency when producing contractile forces. The results herein support that the Angelica species reported in midwifery literature do indeed induce contractions at the reduced level of isolated tissues. Future research that would demonstrate the absorption and distribution of the herbal constituents following oral consumption would lend more support to the use of these herbals at the organismal level.

Cities such as Flint, Michigan, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin serve as contemporary examples of how a lack of understanding of the environmental chemistry of freshwater reservoirs can render potable water engineering systems unsustainable for local residents. In many cities, green engineering functions to increase aesthetic appeal without a broader consideration for recovering ecosystem processes. Our objective was to evaluate the role of biodiversity in the environmental quality of freshwater by using an aquaponic system with Allium cepa as a simple model system. We hypothesized that plant growth and development, macroinvertebrate behavior, and water quality would be affected by changes in biological complexity. We further characterize how biological complexity in an aquaponic system impacts plant dynamics, macroinvertebrate behavior, and water quality. Our findings demonstrate how aquatic organisms can modify plant systems as well as water quality, and further suggest that biological complexity and diversity have the ability to ameliorate polluted water systems. We propose that green engineering infrastructure has the capacity to integrate and sustain ecosystem function recovery in urban contexts.

Although critical for the deicing of roads and bridges throughout the winter season in North America, road salts continue to have yearlong negative impacts on both anthropogenic and biological systems. Our objective was to measure the impact of four commonly used road salt ingredients on the dynamics of plant growth and development. Using onions as a model system, we hypothesized that exposing plants to different concentrations of sodium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, and magnesium chloride treatments would allow us to calculate the environmental concentration at which root development is halted by each road salt. We found that root growth decreased with sodium chloride, calcium chloride, and potassium chloride treatments, but increased with magnesium chloride. We used a linear model of root growth rates and concentrations to calculate the level at which each road salt becomes toxic to plants in the surrounding environment. We also apply the ecological theory of the principle of allocation to discuss how the chemical induction of root growth by magnesium chloride road salts may result in a life history trade-off that reduces investment toward plant-defense. The predicted trade-off in plant defense suggests that crop species in urban environments would be more susceptible to herbivory and as such would rely more on agricultural pesticides to sustain food security. We propose further studies to evaluate applications of plant defense theory in an urban context.