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The Power Of Multiplying: Reproductive Control In American Culture, 1850-1930, Virginia B. Engholm

Theses and Dissertations--English

Prior to the advent of modern birth control beginning in the nineteenth century, the biological reproductive cycle of pregnancy, post-partum recovery, and nursing dominated women’s adult years. The average birth rate per woman in 1800 was just over seven, but by 1900, that rate had fallen to just under than three and a half. The question that this dissertation explores is what cultural narratives about reproduction and reproductive control emerge in the wake of this demographic shift. What’s at stake in a woman’s decision to reproduce, for herself, her family, her nation? How do women, and society, control birth?

In …

Assessing The Link Between Coastal Development And The Quality Of Fish Habitat In Mangrove Tidal Tributaries, Justin Micheal Krebs

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To assess the potential influence of coastal development on the quality of estuarine habitat for nekton, we characterized land use and the intensity of land development surrounding small tidal tributaries of Tampa Bay. Based on this characterization, we classified tributaries as undeveloped, industrial, urban or man-made (i.e., mosquito-control ditches). Over one-third (37%) of tributaries were determined to be heavily developed, while fewer than one-third (28%) remain relatively undeveloped. We then examined the nekton community from eleven tributaries in watersheds representing the defined land-use classes. Whereas mean nekton density and species richness were both independent of land use, nekton-community structure differed …

Assessment Of Fertility Potential In Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus): An Elisa-Based Biomarker Analysis, Leslie Schwierzke Wade

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As apex predators in coastal systems, bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are susceptible to persistent organic pollutant (POP) accumulation and retention over time, which has prompted continued interest in understanding the extent to which contaminant body burdens or other stressors are sufficient to cause adverse sublethal effects on energetic fitness, immune function, or reproduction. Increasing our knowledge of reproductive endocrinology in bottlenose dolphins may provide insight into changes in reproductive rates, thereby expanding the capacity to assess conservation status. This study used the Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) technique to examine peptide fertility hormones [inhibin A, inhibin B and anti-Müllerian …

Aspects Of The Life History Of The Snowy Grouper, Epinephelus Niveatus, In The Gulf Of Mexico, Kelley Kowal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge of many life history parameters are essential to properly assess and manage fish species. Although the snowy grouper, Epinephelus niveatus, is a commercially valuable fish, which is harvested throughout the Gulf of Mexico, little is known about its age, growth, and reproduction from this region. In this study, snowy grouper from the northern and eastern regions of the Gulf of Mexico were examined primarily using commercially-derived samples that were collected between 1984 and 2004. A total of 1,200 snowy grouper with fork lengths between 242 and 1,190 mm were collected. Sectioned saggital otoliths were used to determine the age …

Micronektonic Community Composition And Trophic Structure Within The Bathypelagic Zone In The Eastern Gulf Of Mexico, Scott E. Burghart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Earth's most extensive living space is found in the bathypelagic zone of the oceans, yet research in these areas is scant. The micronekton of the bathypelagic zone in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (EGOM) was investigated with the goals of comparing its community structure and trophic interactions with those of the well-studied overlying mesopelagic micronekton. Significant changes in faunal structure were found, including shifts in dominant families as well as species. Compared to the mesopelagic zone, the bathypelagic community had increased abundance and biomass contributions from the Gonostomatidae, Oplophoridae,and Eucopiidae, with a simultaneous decrease in the importance of the …

Comparison Of Hatching Failure In A Wildland And Suburban Population Of The Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma Coerulescens), Sonya Christine Leclair

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Egg hatchability has been correlated with many factors, including clutch size, presence of helpers, timing of breeding and predation risk. Hatching failure is higher in a suburban population of Florida Scrub-Jays than in a wildland population, but the reasons for this pattern are unclear. An analysis of long-term demographic data on scrub-jays in both habitats revealed the factors that best explained variation in hatching failure, and an experiment tested whether two potential site factors, ambient temperature and predation risk, could increase hatching failure in the suburbs.

Although a global model was best supported by the data for occurrence of partial …

Re-Constructing The Image Of The Voluntarily Childfree: An Ethnographic Exploration Of Media Representation And The Childless By Choice, Eddy Sass

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, like most other parts of the world, there is a commonly held belief that all capable couples should have children. This belief has contributed to the development of a pro-natalist ideology or concept that having children is good. This pronatalist belief tends to spill over into the media, as well. Yet, there are those individuals who do not subscribe to the parenthood belief structure and to the manner in which the media frame the parenthood debate. These people are known as the voluntarily childfree or the childless by choice. This thesis is an exploratory ethnographic examination …

Reproductive Characteristics, Multiple Paternity And Mating System In A Central Florida Population Of The Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus Polyphemus, Jamie Colleen Colson-Moon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I studied the reproductive characteristics and mating systems of a central Florida population of gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus). Using x-radiography, females were monitored for stage in egg-shelling and clutch size. Eggs began to appear on x-ray photographs in the first week of May in both 2001 and 2002; however, fully shelled eggs were not found before the end of May. In total 55% of the females x-rayed were gravid. Clutch sizes ranged from 4-12 with a mean of 7.29, with a mean clutch mass of 40.9 g. Clutch size increased with an increase in mean carapace length and …