Ben F. Brammell

Ben F. Brammell
Asbury University · Natural Sciences Department

Doctor of Philosophy

About

22
Publications
2,104
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279
Citations
Introduction
My lab's research utilzes a combination of field and laboratory techniques to address ecological questions. Most of our work currently focuses on environmental DNA (eDNA), the use of DNA animals shed to detect their presence.

Publications

Publications (22)
Article
Full-text available
In the past decade quantification of environmental DNA (eDNA) has become firmly established as an effective method for detecting the presence of organisms of research and conservation interest. Salamanders of the family Ambystomatidae are large, fossorial species; adults are rarely encountered above ground outside of their brief reproductive season...
Preprint
Full-text available
The mud salamander (Pseudotriton montanus) is a notoriously cryptic semi-aquatic Plethodontid found throughout much of the eastern United States, reports of decades passing between observations of this species in areas of known occurrence are common. Although it is listed as imperiled or in need of conservation throughout much of its range, with ex...
Book
Is a coherent worldview that embraces both classical Christology and modern evolutionary biology possible? This volume explores this fundamental question through an engaged inquiry into key topics, including the Incarnation, the process of evolution, modes of divine action, the nature of rationality, morality, chance and love, and even the meaning...
Article
Full-text available
The smallmouth salamander (Ambystoma texanum) is a widely distributed member of the family Ambystomatidae found throughout much of the central United States. We developed primers targeting a 147 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b region of the smallmouth salamander and tested these primers in silico, in vitro, and in vivo in labor...
Article
Full-text available
Environmental DNA (eDNA) uses DNA shed from organisms into the environment to detect their presence and provides an effective, non-invasive method to survey organisms in an efficient manner. Recent works have emphasized the need for careful development and both laboratory and field validation of eDNA assays. We developed species specific qPCR assay...
Poster
Full-text available
Ambystoma texanum (smallmouth salamander) is a widely distributed member of the family Ambystomatidae found throughout much of the central United States. We developed species specific primers targeting A. texanum cytochrome b and tested these primers in silico, in vitro, and in vivo in laboratory-based studies. We believe these validated tools will...
Article
Full-text available
Estimating fish abundance/biomass holds great importance for freshwater ecology and fisheries management, but current techniques can be expensive, time-consuming, and potentially harmful to target organisms. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has proven an effective and efficient technique for presence/absence detection of freshwater vertebrates. Additionall...
Poster
Full-text available
Mountain yellow-legged frogs (Rana muscosa and Rana sierrae) are endemic to high altitude lakes in the Sierra Nevada and historically one of the most abundant vertebrates in these areas. Despite the remote and undeveloped nature of these habitats, their populations currently exist at 7% of their historical localities. Environmental DNA (eDNA) utili...
Article
Organisms chronically exposed to organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can develop resistance to these chemicals, a condition associated with reduced inducibility of the biomarker enzyme cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A). This study addresses the CYP1A response of members of the families Ictaluridae and Centrarchidae, two fish famili...
Article
Full-text available
The Blackburn Fork watershed, located in middle Tennessee within the Highland Rim province, is home to a diverse collection of aquatic organisms. Previous works have surveyed the fish and invertebrate fauna of Blackburn Fork, although crayfish were largely ignored. This paper provides baseline data on the crayfish species present in this system as...
Article
Full-text available
Problem statement: The expression of six genes known to serve as bioindicators of environmental stress were examined using real-time quantitative PCR in liver tissue extracted from zebrafish ( Danio rerio , Hamilton) exposed to effluent and effluent containing stream water associated with the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP). Approach: The PG...
Article
Although Lepomis species are abundant in a wide variety of habitats throughout North America and could serve as potentially valuable biomonitoring tools, few studies have examined the induction of pollutant biomarkers in this genus. We hypothesized that the induction of cytochrome P-450 1A (CYP1A), a sensitive and widely used indicator of response...
Article
Old Woman Creek (OWC) National Estuarine Research Reserve and State Nature Preserve is one of only a handful of protected freshwater estuaries in the nation and is one of the few undisturbed natural areas found along the Ohio shore of Lake Erie. Located at the mouth of Old Woman Creek, about 5 km east of the city of Huron, OWC estuary represents a...
Article
It has become increasingly apparent that resident fish can develop resistance to chemicals in their environment, thus compromising their usefulness as sentinels of site-specific pollution. By using a stream system whose resident fish appear to have developed pollutant resistance (Brammell et al., Mar Environ Res 58:251-255, 2005), we tested the hyp...
Article
Full-text available
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity has traditionally been monitored as a biomarker of organophosphate (OP) and/or carbamate exposure. However, AChE activity may not be the most sensitive endpoint for these agrochemicals, because OPs can cause adverse physiological effects at concentrations that do not affect AChE activity. Carboxylesterases are a...
Article
Full-text available
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity has traditionally been monitored as a biomarker of organophosphate (OP) and/or carbamate exposure. However, AChE activity may not be the most sensitive endpoint for these agrochemicals, because OPs can cause adverse physiological effects at concentrations that do not affect AChE activity. Carboxylesterases are a...
Thesis
Cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A), a xenobiotic metabolizing enzyme found in allvertebrates, is highly induced following exposure to a number of organic contaminants.Several populations of teleosts residing in highly contaminated areas have been found toexhibit resistance to the toxic effects of contaminants, a condition characterized byreduced expression...
Article
Chronic exposure to organic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can lead to the development of resistance to these chemicals, a condition associated with reduced response of CYP1A1, a pollutant-inducible biomarker. We measured CYP1A activity (ethoxyresorufin o-deethylase, EROD) and PCB concentrations in feral fish from the Town Br...
Thesis
Thesis (M.S.)--Tennessee Technological University, 2000. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 34-43).

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