The phenomenon of helicopter parenting, or a parent’s overinvolvement in their children’s lives, has been previously studied in populations of college students. Helicopter parenting is associated with negative effects on child well-being and parental closeness in this population. Current research is sparse, however, with very little research examining helicopter parenting in non-college student populations. The current study aims to (1) replicate previous findings on the effects of helicopter parenting in a non-student population; (2) explore the relationship between helicopter parenting and wellbeing substance use, and justice involvement; and (3) examine associations between demographic variables and helicopter parenting. This poster focuses on the methodology being implemented in the current study, as well as an examination of current literature surrounding helicopter parenting.

Terror management theory suggests that the potential for anxiety from the awareness of death can be buffered by a cultural worldview. Mind-body dualism, the belief that the mind and the body are separate, might affect people’s mortality concerns. Given that the body is threatening given its vulnerability to death, individuals who perceive the mind and body as being connected (vs. separate) should experience higher mortality-related thoughts and defense of their cultural beliefs. Past research found that mind-body dualism was related to afterlife belief, which was able to buffer existential concerns (Heflick et al., 2015). Based on these findings, the current research investigated how mind-body dualism moderated the effect of the creaturely body on death-related concerns. The result showed that people who perceived the mind-body relationship as more separate showed significantly fewer death concerns after reading an essay emphasizing the creatureliness of the body, whereas people who held beliefs in a more interrelated mind-body relationship showed heightened death concerns after the creaturely body prime.

Reintroductions have become increasingly common to help restore populations of Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum). Reintroduction success of any species can be shaped by many factors including genetics, selection of suitable reintroduction sites, etc. Our primary goal has been to determine whether release techniques- specifically site selection and release method- contribute to the reintroduction success of captive-bred hatchling Texas horned lizards. In 2020 and 2021, we reintroduced over 500 captive-bred hatchling Texas horned lizards from the Ft. Worth, Dallas, and Caldwell Zoos to Mason Mountain WMA (Mason County, TX). Lizards were randomly assigned to one of two release sites and were placed either in clumps of 20+ lizards (Site 2 2020 & Site 1 2021) or were dispersed 5 m from one another (Site 1 2020 & Site 2 2021) at release. We used harmonic radar to track lizards and monitor survivorship outcomes and growth rates from release (September or October) until most lizards began brumating in early December. We found that survival outcomes were associated with both release site (χ22, 509 = 34.5, p<0.0001) and release method (χ22, 509 =15.09, p=0.005). We achieved the highest survivorship (26.4%) when lizards were dispersed at Site 1. Preliminary dietary and prey availability assessments suggest that survivorship differences between locations may be related to differences in food availability. Our findings suggest that future reintroduction attempts may have higher success rates if 1) sites are selected that meet the specific resource requirements of hatchlings, and 2) lizards are dispersed from one another at release.

Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, which is a spore forming bacterium. Even though the anthrax toxins and capsule, encoded on 2 plasmids pXO1 and pXO2, play crucial role in the pathogenesis of anthrax infection, evidence suggests that chromosomal genes also play a role. The ClpX ATPase was discovered to be crucial for B. anthracis virulence via protection against host antimicrobial peptides. In this study, we want to investigate the role of clpX in regulation of other stressors including acidic stress, temperature stress, salt stress, and non-cell envelope active antibiotics. We found that clpX is necessary for survival in an acidic environment and growth under heat stress. We demonstrate that acidic stress resistance is mediated by the formation of the ClpXP protease using a ClpX complementation plasmid that is incapable of interacting with ClpP. There is no association between clpX with other stressors. We conclude that the ClpX is required for B. anthracis pathogenicity via defenses against host antimicrobial peptides and for survival in an acidic environment. Understanding the role ClpX in the regulation of stress responses will ultimately infer us with new target for either directly combating infection or improving the efficacy of already available medicines.

Impacts of Pollen-Donor Distance and Nutrient Availability on
Reproductive Success in a Carnivorous Plant

Halia Eastburn and John Horner

The maintenance of genetic diversity has important consequences for the survival of plant populations. Because plants are sessile, the distance between plants is often inversely correlated with relatedness. Therefore, the distance between pollen-donor and recipient can determine the level of inbreeding or outbreeding. Both pollen-donor distance and nutrient availability can affect reproductive success in populations of flowering plants. Populations of the carnivorous plant Sarracenia alata have dwindled and become extremely fragmented due to human development and agriculture. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of pollen-donor distance and prey capture on reproductive success in S. alata. We hand-pollinated flowers with pollen from varying distances [0 m (self-pollinated) and 35, 60, 90, 125, and 190 m], and we prevented prey capture in half of our study plants. We measured seed production and germination to estimate reproductive success. Pollen-donors from greater distances sired a greater number of seeds but pollen-donor distance did not affect germinability. There was no effect of prey capture alone nor an interaction of pollen-donor and prey capture on seed production or germination. More research is needed to understand nutrient allocation for reproduction over multiple years and natural variance in prey capture which might affect reproductive output in subsequent seasons.