Five species of stoneflies (Zapada haysi, Plumiperla diversa, Taenionema pacificum, Isoperla petersoni, Arcynopteryx compacta) from the North Slope and Interior of Alaska were examined for seasonal patterns of emergence of adults and growth of nymphs. Generally growth was retarded during the winter in this region, and all species except I. petersoni completed growth prior to January. The life cycles of six stonefly species (Prostoia besametsa, Triznaka signata, Sweltsa coloradensis. Isoperla fulva, Skwala parallela, Claassenia sabulosa) are described from northern New Mexico. In this region growth was generally less retarded during the winter than in Alaska; P. besametsa completed all nymphal growth during late fall and winter. Drumming behavior of a Colorado population of Pteronarcella badia was described using an evolutionary framework to explain the maintenance of signal variation in this species. Laboratory experiments were used to explore the effect of intraspecific and interspecific interactions on spatial partitioning in P. badia and Claassenia sabulosa. P. badia exhibited clumping and distributed itself as the surface area of substrate in low densities; however, in the presence of C. sabulosa its distribution was random and different from available surface area. A field study was used to examine spatial partitioning by three New Mexico stonefly species (I_. fulva, P. besametsa, T. signata) and to ascertain patterns of microdistribution relating to several abiotic and biotic factors. Generally, there was an interaction of the measured abiotic parameters (current, water temperature, time) with nymphal size. Additionally, void space and sample volume were successfully used to compare biotic densities among leaf and mineral substrates, which were higher in leaf packs than in mineral substrates.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes various infections in humans, animals and plants. Type III secretion system (T3SS) is one of the essential virulence factors used by P. aeruginosa. In this study, a previously uncharacterized gene PA0466 and its role in T3SS regulation have been examined. The results indicate that PA0466 is a novel T3SS regulator. It regulates T3SS directly through an unknown pathway and has a minor effect on the GacA-RsmA pathway. Besides the role in the interaction between the pathogen and the host, T3SS may also play a role in the interspecies interaction. A real-time PCR based Competitive Index (CI) assay was used to compare the wild type and T3SS mutant with and without the presence of Staphylococcus spp.. The results indicate that PAO1 was more competitive than exsA mutant and the difference was even bigger in the presence of Staphylococcus, suggesting T3SS may play a significant role in bacterium-bacterium interaction.