Dr. Soper (left) with her research students Spring 2019.
Description
In my lab my I investigate a wide range of topics that are primarily focused on understanding
how ecological and evolutionary factors interact to result in genotypic and phenotypic
expression of a wide variety of traits within a population. I am also interested
in understanding the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms behind population abundance
and distribution. Although most of my work during my dissertation and postdoctoral
appointment was focused on the freshwater snail from New Zealand, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, most recently I have significantly expanded my focus to the marine environment.
My lab now has two lines of questioning one that exists at the population level and
the other at the organismal level.
If you are a current UD undergraduate student and are interested in joining the lab,
please fill out this application (https://tinyurl.com/SoperResearchApp) and send me an interest statement via email (dsoper@udallas.edu).
Abundance and Distribution - Population Level
Why are populations more abudnant in certain regions of a habitat? Why are species
distributed in a particular geographic pattern? These questions have driven two major
projects in my lab.
Machine Learning for Underwater Exploration
This project is in collaboration with NOAA, MBARI, and CVision AI. NOAA has collected
hundreds of hours of video footage using the ship Okeanos Explorer and the accompanying Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer (D2) (see here for a short descriptive video). We are assisting with the development of software
that will enable researchers to be able to pin point the observation of specific organisms
(at various taxon levels) within the videos. This tool will help with reducing video
processing time and increase efficiency of data collection. The students also assist
with training data sets that ultimately enrich alogrithims that are used in software
development. This software feeds into MBARI's FathomNet, a collection of deep-sea
data. The goal is to make all of the video footage easily accessible to educators
and researchers that is searchable and efficient at data acquisition. Our lab hopes
this will enable us and others to more efficiently answer questions about species
distribution and abundance of organisms in the benthic ocean environments.
During Summer 2019, in collaboration with the RaffelLab at Oakland University, Freshwater Solutions, and the Hanington Lab at the University of Alberta, we collected snails, parasites, and water samples to determine species distribution
and abundance. Our goal is to better understand the life cycle and dynamics of the
parasites that cause Swimmer's Itch. Swimmer's Itch is a rash that is caused by humans swimming in waters that contain parasites that
have been shed by snails. We are seeking to better understand why swimmer's itch
occurs in areas where the snails and parasites that swimmer's itch has been primarily
attributed to do not occur.
How does gene expression lead to phenotypic differences?
In order to answer this very broad question, we utilize an endangered coral species, Orbicella faveloata (Mountainous Star Coral). This species is a stony boulder coral that exists in the shallow waters of the Caribbean. Stony corals are under threat of
extinction, and in collaboration with the Mote's Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration
(IC2R#) and the Stenesen Lab, we are investigating O. faveolata growth after microfragmentation, which is a process by which fragmenting a larger coral into tiny pieces exponentialy
increases its growth rate. This project has two aims: (1) to understand what areas
of the microfragments undergo rapid growth and (2) determine what transcriptional
targets are activated post-fragmentation.
Orbicella faveolatapolyp; Photo Credit: Deanna M. Soper
All stony corals are under significant threat to extinction. Global climate change,
decreasing pH as the result of increasing atmospheric CO2 levels, and increased disease
prevelance (i.e. Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease in the Florida Keys) have all reduced
populations across the world. This fact, makes the work we do important to not only
better understand basic coral biology, but also provide information to coral reef
restoration practioners to assist in mitigating the damage that has been incurred.
In a second project, we are using our scanning electron microscope (funded by the
Keck Foundation, see our SEM website here) to examine coral skeletal formation under increased temperature and decreased pH.
The goal is to understand how these altered conditions (predicted to be reached in
2100) will affect coral growth and formation.
Potamopyrgus antipodarum is an interesting snail to study because it has several characteristics that are uncommon
in other snail species. For example, this snail is dioecious, meaning that individuals
are either male or female. Males can be identified through external genitalia, which
they use to internally fertilize females. Females do not lay eggs, but rather undergo
"pregnancy" (internal gestation) and give live birth. Baby snails can sometimes be
born in their gestational sac (see videohere). In this project, we are documenting male reproductive structures to better understand
the heterogeneity present in this organ within and among populations. This project
is funded by the W.M. Keck Foundation.
I have also developed collaborations with the Cody and Stenesen Labs (at UD) utilizing Drosophila melanogaster. My collaboration with the Cody Lab investigates evolutionary changes to host and
parasite populations. The Stenesen Lab has a project focused on investigating a mutation
in pain reception and I have assisted with protocol development of behavioral assays.
Drosophila melanogaster has been utilized to better understand the Pseudomonas aeruginosa chronic and acute infection of cystic fibrosis patients. Drosophila melanogaster provides an opportunity to understand evolutionary changes in both host and parasite
because Drosophila have a short life span and infection can easily be performed. Here, we are undergoing
an experimental evolution project that utilizes coevolving host and parasite. We
are tracking genetic, behavioral, and morphological characteristics of both organisms.
Photo Credit: Angela Moore
Drosophila melanogaster infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared to unifected D. melanogaster.
Soper,D.M., Villafranca, N., Dieffenthaller, J.P., Dieffenthaller, M., Tompkins, H., Weglarz,
M., Vaughan, D., Hamlyn, S.B., Stenesen, D. (2022) Growth and Cyclin-E Expression
in the Stony Coral Species Orbicella faveolata Post Micro-fragmentation. The Biological Bulletin. 242(1): 40-47.
Soper, D. M. (2021) Education and Research: a symbiosis to better understand a novel coral disease. Frontiers in Marine Science. doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.669472.
White, P. S., Penley, M. J., Tierney, A. R. P., Soper, D. M., & Morran, L. T. (2019) Dauer life stage of Caenorhabditis elegans induces elevated levels of defense against the parasite Serratia marcescens. Scientific reports. 9(1): 1-9.
Soper, D.M., Hatcher, K.M., and Neiman, M. (2015) Documentation of Copulatory Behaviour in Triploid
Male Freshwater Snails. Ethology, Ecology, & Evolution. doi:10.1080/03949370.2015.1030781.
Soper, D.M., King, K.C., Vergara, D., and Lively, C.M. (2014) Exposure to parasites increases
promiscuity in a freshwater snail. Biology Letters. 10(4): 20131091.
Soper, D.M., Savytskyy, O.P., Neiman, M., Zolan, M.E., and Lively, C.M. (2013) Spermatozoa production
by triploid males in the New Zealand freshwater snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 110(1): 227-234.
Soper, D.M., Delph, L.F., and Lively C.M. (2012) Multiple paternity in Potamopyrgus antipodarum. Ecology & Evolution. 2(12): 3179-3185.
Soper, D.M. (2012) The reproductive biology of Potamopyrgus antipodarum at the organismal and cellular level. Dissertation, Indiana University.
Neiman, M., Paczesniak, D., Soper, D.M., Baldwin, A.T., and Hehman, G. (2011) Wide variation in ploidy level and genome
size in a New Zealand freshwater snail with coexisting sexual and asexual lineages.
Evolution. 65(11): 3202-3216.
Montgomery, B., Soper, D.M., and Delph, L.F. (2010) Asymmetrical conspecific seed-siring advantage in Silene. Annuals of Botany. 105(4): 595-605.
Hayden Tompkins, Visiting Research Scholar, Fall 2018-Spring 2019, M.S. from Miami
University '21
Meghan (Rearden) Dieffenthaller, B.S. '19, M.S. '21 from Colorado State University,
Visiting Research Scholar, Spring 2019, currently: Health Physicist 2 at Stratify/M.H.
Chew Associates
Abigail Sequeira, B.S. '19; M.S. from Texas A & M '22, Undergraduate Researcher Spring
2017-Spring 2019, currently: Ph.D. student at Penn State University
John Paul Dieffenthaller, B.S. '19, Undergraduate Researcher Summer 2018-Spring 2019,
currently: Science Educator (online) for Colorado Early Colleges
Virginia Green, B.S. '19, Undergraduate Researcher Summer 2018, currently: Ph.D. student
at Indiana University
Colette Ohotnicky, B.S. '18, Undergraduate Researcher Spring 2017-Spring 2018, Obtained
Master's Degree Oregon State University '20, currently: Science Teacher at Chesterton
Academy of John Paul II
Angela Moore, B.S. '18, Undergraduate Researcher Summer 2017, currently: P.A. student
at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston Physician Assistant Program
Former Democratic Congressman Daniel Lipinski, who represented Illinois’ Third District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2005-2021, has been named Pope Leo XIII Fellow on Social Thought at the University of Dallas.
The Institute for Homiletics at the University of Dallas was recently awarded a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help renew liturgical preaching and better reach Catholic youth and young adults. The Institute is a collaborative endeavor of The Catholic Foundation (Dallas) and the University of Dallas.
The University of Dallas (UD) announced the appointment of reference librarian and adjunct French instructor Ron Scrogham as interim dean of libraries and research of the Cowan-Blakely Memorial Library, and the appointment of longtime Politics Professor Richard Dougherty, Ph.D. ’93 M.A. ’89, to serve as interim dean of the Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts.