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Winging It Through Unprecedented Times: A Study Of Avian Admissions To Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers In The Eastern United States Amidst The Covid-19 Pandemic, Thea Tengstrom
Honors College
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has brought new research that examines the many ways in which humans impact wildlife. Wildlife rehabilitation is a tool that attempts to mitigate some negative effects of anthropogenic activity (domestic cats, window strikes), through specialized care to aid injured and orphaned animals. This study sought to investigate if the ‘Anthropause’, which saw a massive change in human behavior, demonstrated an influence on wild bird admissions to wildlife rehabilitation centers. Twelve centers were selected including both urban and non-urban centers throughout the eastern United States. Bird admission data between 2018 and 2021 were …
Evaluating The Effects Of Parasite Infections On Reproductive Ability In Maine Moose, Isabella Costa
Evaluating The Effects Of Parasite Infections On Reproductive Ability In Maine Moose, Isabella Costa
Honors College
Despite conservation efforts, moose have experienced increasing mortality rates. Winter ticks are known to cause anemia and lower reproductive potential in moose. Moreover, a genus of bacteria, Anaplasma spp., is known to cause a reduction in reproductive efforts in other animals, such as cattle. Because both winter ticks and Anaplasma spp. may affect female reproductive ability, the overall goal of this research was to determine if Anaplasma bacterial infections could be impacting female moose reproduction within the state of Maine. To address this, samples and biological data from moose were collected during hunter harvest, in collaboration with hunters and the …
Ecological, Molecular, And Electron Microscopical Investigations Of The Distribution Of Shell-Boring Polychaetes Along The Coast Of Maine, Emma Tomasetti
Ecological, Molecular, And Electron Microscopical Investigations Of The Distribution Of Shell-Boring Polychaetes Along The Coast Of Maine, Emma Tomasetti
Honors College
Blister worms are polychaete worms that live in various calcareous materials such as dead shells, red algae, limestone, and cinder blocks, along with cultured shellfish, such as oysters or sea scallops. These worms can be considered a pest due to their nature to burrow into their host’s substrate and create blisters that then fill with mud and detritus. In chapter 1, I worked closely with an oyster farm looking at the reproductive status of one species of blister worm, P. websteri, and the efficacy of cold storage as a method of ridding oysters of P. websteri. For chapter 2, I …
Does Urbanization Surrounding Stopping Sites Affect Migratory Behavior In American Woodcock (Scolopax Minor)?, Zoe Pavlik
Honors College
Urban landscapes may influence bird species in complex ways, with some species exploiting urban environments, others adapting to them, and others avoiding them. Migratory birds encounter urbanization not just during breeding and overwintering, but also at stopping sites during migration. Migration routes of American Woodcock (Scolopax minor), a bird species experiencing long term population declines, follow the east coast of the United States, including the major urbanized areas of the eastern seaboard. I explored the effects of urbanization around stopping sites on Woodcock migratory behavior using the percentage of impervious surfaces within a buffer surrounding the site as a measure …
Temperature And Energy Interactions In Small Tropical Mammals, Abe Grunwald
Temperature And Energy Interactions In Small Tropical Mammals, Abe Grunwald
Honors College
The study of mammalian energetics focuses on the complex connections between metabolic rate, body temperature, thermoregulation, and much more. Knowledge of mammalian energetics is skewed towards temperate endotherms, making assumptions about energetics biased towards the more studied temperate species. However, tropical endotherms live in environments that are quite different from temperate endotherms, resulting in differences in heat exchange between the endotherm and the environment. To understand how the different dynamic created between ambient temperature and thermoregulation impacts energetics in the tropics, I compare two species of tropical mammals, one with nighttime activity, the western tarsier (Cephalopachus bancanus), and one with …
Distribution Of Shell-Boring Polychaetes At Shellfish Aquaculture Sites Along The Northeast Coast Of The Us, Samantha Silverbrand
Distribution Of Shell-Boring Polychaetes At Shellfish Aquaculture Sites Along The Northeast Coast Of The Us, Samantha Silverbrand
Honors College
Coastal shellfish aquaculture has expanded substantially in recent years in Maine and New England as traditional wild fishery stocks have declined. As shellfish aquaculture has expanded, producers have become more concerned about marine worm pests (i.e., polychaetes) that infest cultured bivalves. In particular, worms from the genus Polydora (also known as “polydorids”) burrow into oyster and scallop shells where they feed and deposit mud. Bivalves cover over the muddy burrows creating blisters that can decrease their market value and hinder growth. Farmers and researchers have identified methods to control infestations of P. websteri, one common species of shell-boring worm. However, …
The Sociocultural Significance Of Maine's Oyster Based On Media Coverage Analysis, Syeira Clark
The Sociocultural Significance Of Maine's Oyster Based On Media Coverage Analysis, Syeira Clark
Honors College
Throughout the last decade, the oyster aquaculture industry in Maine has boomed, with 6 million pounds of oysters being harvested in 2021, about the amount that was harvested in 2016 (Cough, 2022). According to the founders of the Maine Oyster Trail, there are over 150 oyster farms currently operating on Maine’s coast, which is about twice as many as there were in 2016 (Maine Sea Grant). With this boom in the industry has come a wave of opportunity, as well as news coverage about the shellfish. This study examines the socio-cultural significance to the state of Maine. While the oyster …
Expression Of The Rag-1 Gene In Larval Yellowtail Kingfish, Gabriella Peluso
Expression Of The Rag-1 Gene In Larval Yellowtail Kingfish, Gabriella Peluso
Honors College
Aquaculture has taken over from capture fisheries as a primary global provider of seafood products. Seriola lalandi, or Yellowtail kingfish, has become a species of interest, as it is a fish notable for its marketability and culinary desirability. With the expansion of aquaculture and the increased amount of high-level operating facilities comes an increased risk of disease outbreaks. There are methods commonly used within these facilities for disease control, including incorporating nutritional feeds into the fishes’ diets, safe husbandry practices, and vaccinations. While these methods can be effective, they have caveats that must be considered. Adequate diets and improved …
I Ain't Afraid Of No Crab: Intertidal Gastropod Littorina Littorea Behavioral Response To Predation Risk By Carcinus Maenas, Isabelle Erin Smy
I Ain't Afraid Of No Crab: Intertidal Gastropod Littorina Littorea Behavioral Response To Predation Risk By Carcinus Maenas, Isabelle Erin Smy
Honors College
Littorina littorea is an intertidal, invasive gastropod species common in the Gulf of Maine. In this paper, I studied the avoidance and risk-reducing behavioral responses of L. littorea to predation risk by invasive crustacean species Carcinus maenas. Avoidance and risk-reducing behavior in this study are defined by the tendency to move towards the edge and out of a simulated tide pool and the tendency to reduce feeding. The goal of this study was to determine whether the exposure to chemical cues of predators resulted in an increase in avoidance behavior, risk-reducing behavior, and a reduction in the time before the …
An Overview Of The Potential Effect Of Climate Change On American Pine Marten, Jordyn Morel
An Overview Of The Potential Effect Of Climate Change On American Pine Marten, Jordyn Morel
Honors College
The impacts of climate change are only increasing, and yet not all those impacts have been studied on certain species. The American pine marten Martes americana (Turton, 1806) is one of the species potentially vulnerable to climate change. They are an important component of biodiversity as they hunt a variety of small mammals and feed on numerous plants. Martens are also important prey to many winged and terrestrial species. In Maine, they are an umbrella species that co-occur with eleven other species and their presence is also a good indicator of a healthy forest environment. I conducted a literature review …
Using Thermography To Determine Mechanisms Of Heat Loss In The Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys Volans), Colin Flynn
Using Thermography To Determine Mechanisms Of Heat Loss In The Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys Volans), Colin Flynn
Honors College
Climate change is one of the biggest factors currently affecting the health and energetics of animals. Species evolve to operate optimally under certain environmental conditions and changes in those conditions can be detrimental to the species. Previous studies have shown increased evaporative cooling in flying squirrels at higher temperatures but not much is known about their ability to use other avenues of heat loss such as thermal windows; areas of the body that exchange heat with the environment via convection. For example, the patagium of southern flying squirrels may also serve as a thermal window to aid in heat dissipation. …
The Incidence Of Staphylococcus Aureus Mastitis In Maine Dairy Cattle, Morgan Belvin
The Incidence Of Staphylococcus Aureus Mastitis In Maine Dairy Cattle, Morgan Belvin
Honors College
This project investigated the factors surrounding the incidence of Staphylococcus aureus (SA) mastitis in Maine dairy cattle. This type of mastitis is driven by an antibiotic resistant pathogen that is very contagious among cattle, though farmers are often unaware of how common this type of mastitis is and that it could be present in their herds. My hypothesis was that specific farm factors, like milkers performing other tasks during milking, as well as the act of pre-dipping versus not pre-dipping, would explain the increase in SA mastitis. A thirty-seven-question IRB-approved survey was subsequently distributed to farmers in the University of …
Riders On The Storm: Using Satellite Transmitters To Quantify American Woodcock Movement Behavior Following Extreme Weather Events, Katherine Trebilcock
Riders On The Storm: Using Satellite Transmitters To Quantify American Woodcock Movement Behavior Following Extreme Weather Events, Katherine Trebilcock
Honors College
The American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) has experienced steady declines in abundance over the past fifty years, which has raised questions as to why (Sauer et al. 1991). Migration for many birds, woodcock included, is energetically intensive, and may be the cause for greater mortality compared to other times of the year (Newton 2007). Despite this, there remains uncertainty in how conditions encountered during migration affect their movements and survival. One obstacle that birds must face is extreme weather, which has been increasing in intensity and occurrence due to climate change. How these events impact a migrating woodcock has been speculated …
Leveraging The Transparent Zebrafish To Test For Conserved Gene Function Between Mammals And Fish, Lena Stasiak
Leveraging The Transparent Zebrafish To Test For Conserved Gene Function Between Mammals And Fish, Lena Stasiak
Honors College
Throughout the United States and Europe, Candida albicans remains the most clinically significant fungus. While fungi account for thousands of deaths annually, the most clinically significant bloodstream infection in ICU patients, causing as high as 50% mortality, is disseminated candidemia. This systemic infection occurs when the normally commensal and harmless fungi, Candida albicans, becomes pathogenic in immunocompromised individuals. Many factors of the immune system can be paralleled between humans and zebrafish, which can be a useful model host to understand the cellular immune responses to infection. One particular gene known as myeloid differentiation factor 88 (myd88) has been previously found …
Variations In Plumage Wear In Three Closely Related Tidal Marsh Sparrow Species, Maeve Studholme
Variations In Plumage Wear In Three Closely Related Tidal Marsh Sparrow Species, Maeve Studholme
Honors College
Tidal marsh sparrow species like Saltmarsh Sparrows (Ammospiza caudacuta), Nelson’s Sparrows (Ammospiza nelsoni) and Seaside Sparrows (Ammospiza maritima) are particularly vulnerable to the environmental stressors related to climate change and human activity like sea-level rise, warming temperatures, and increased coastal development, as they nest in the grasses of tidal marsh ecosystems where the principal mode of nest mortality is flooding. With increased sea-level rise, these species may not be equipped to adapt to changing tidal cycles, and thus have reduced fitness and population sizes. Saltmarsh Sparrows are experiencing sharp declines in population, so it is more vital than ever to …
Quantifying Equine Behavior Utilizing Gps, Vanessa M. Cote
Quantifying Equine Behavior Utilizing Gps, Vanessa M. Cote
Honors College
GPS tracking systems have been around for many years and are used to track, map, determine precise locations, navigate, and get precise time measurements on a number of different animals, devices, vehicles, and much more. The use of GPS tracking systems on animals has been a huge breakthrough in the cattle industry since this means farmers no longer have to monitor their cattle manually, but can do remotely. The research that has previously been done on cattle tracking can now be applied to horses, although as horses are used in a much different manner than cattle the data will go …
How Weather Affects Total Mixed Rations And Why It Is Significant To Dairy Cattle, Juliana Baranowski
How Weather Affects Total Mixed Rations And Why It Is Significant To Dairy Cattle, Juliana Baranowski
Honors College
The objective of this study was to determine how weather affects the dry matter percentage of a TMR fed to dairy cattle. Daily feed samples were collected from the University of Maine’s J.F. Witter Teaching and Research Center and stored in a freezer until dry matters could be determined. The feed samples were later thawed out, then placed in an oven at 60oC for a minimum of three days. This allowed all the moisture to be evaporated so the DM could be calculated. The maximum, minimum and average temperatures, as well as the precipitation and humidity were obtained daily from …
Abundance Of Shell-Boring Polychaete Worms And Other Fouling Organisms In Aquacultured Oysters From Maine Used For Reef Restoration In Great Bay, Nh, Haleigh Wright
Honors College
Restoration projects on the oyster reefs in Great Bay, NH have been active since 2009 with the most recent involving the transfer of oysters from Maine oyster farms into the Bay. In an attempt to prevent the transfer of non-native species from oyster farms to the reefs, samples of oysters from each farm were inspected for shell-boring polychaete infestations. Polydora websteri, a common shell-boring species worldwide, was in high abundance in reference samples from oyster farms in Great Bay and in samples from the restoration grounds, themselves. A second shell-boring species, provisionally identified as P. onagawaensis, is present on oyster …
The Potential Use Of Tree Leaf Silage For Livestock Nutrition, Including Willow, Drumstick, Mulberry, And Acadia Species, Jade Chin
Honors College
Leaf silage has been historically used as ruminant feed, with multiple positive attributes such as being a secure, preserved feed source that is relatively accessible. However, the digestibility, nutritive value, and potential anti-nutritive factors are not well researched or known. The goal of this review is to examine recent literature on leaf silage and its potential advantages and practical limits of being utilized as livestock feed. The scope of this study was limited to willow (Salix spp.), acacia (Acacia spp.), mulberry (Morus alba and Broussonetia papyrifera), and drumstick leaf silage (Moringa oleifera), due to …
Human Facial Recognition In Holstein Heifers, Kendra Huth
Human Facial Recognition In Holstein Heifers, Kendra Huth
Honors College
Cattle see things differently than humans, but it is known that cattle can identify humans based on past encounters. For this study,I hypothesized that Holstein heifers are capable of differentiating between humans solely based on facial characteristics. Six Holstein heifers from J.F. Witter Teaching and Research Farm were trained and tested for 4 weeks using pictures of objects and faces, which the cattle have never seen. A fifth week of testing took place 6 weeks later to examine their long-term memory. Each heifer participated in 10 trials per day using a Y-maze configuration, with 2 photo options to choose from. …
Action Plan In Response To Future Pandemics, Amber Ferris
Action Plan In Response To Future Pandemics, Amber Ferris
Honors College
Zoonotic pandemics are rare and finding cures can be difficult, especially if the disease is new to scientists. Early containment can be challenging if protocols are not in place to help limit the spread. The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic hit suddenly, and the number of cases grew dramatically over a short period of time. The escalation of the disease outpaced the ability of many businesses and institutions to implement protocols to keep their practice safe while remaining open. This project researched the effect COVID-19 had on small animal veterinary practices. In order to answer the research question, “How has COVID-19 affected …
Control Of A Ruminant Pathogen, Parelaphostrongylus Tenuis, Using Poultry: Effects Of Gastropod Diets On Ducks, Tuuli Overturf
Control Of A Ruminant Pathogen, Parelaphostrongylus Tenuis, Using Poultry: Effects Of Gastropod Diets On Ducks, Tuuli Overturf
Honors College
Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, referred to as “brainworm,” is a parasite that originates in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus, WTD) and has the ability to spread and cause harm to livestock, particularly small ruminants. Larvae are shed in the feces of WTD and are picked up by gastropods (e.g.snails and slugs), where they mature to their infective stage. When livestock accidentally ingest the snails, the worms migrate through their spinal cord and around the brain, causing damage that can be fatal. Preventing brainworm infection is important to livestock owners, and a proposed method of mitigating risk is gastropod control. Snail …
Identifying Risk Factors Of Anaplasma Infection In Plains Zebra Of Etosha National Park, Namibia, Madison Stahle
Identifying Risk Factors Of Anaplasma Infection In Plains Zebra Of Etosha National Park, Namibia, Madison Stahle
Honors College
Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne illness that is caused by bacteria from the genus Anaplasma which infect the blood cells of their hosts. Anaplasmosis can affect the health and life expectancy of zebra, however, little is known about what makes drives the variability in infection within this species. The purpose of this study is to (1) determine the prevalence, and (2) identify risk factors for Anaplasma infections in plains zebra (Equus quagga) from the Etosha National Park, Namibia, including whether Anaplasma infections correlate with other parasite infections (ectoparasites and gastrointestinal parasites).Other possible risk factors for Anaplasma infection that are …
Characterizing The Range Shifts Of Two Peromyscus Species In Maine, Molly Bennett
Characterizing The Range Shifts Of Two Peromyscus Species In Maine, Molly Bennett
Honors College
In a changing climate, two species of mice in Maine (Peromyscus maniculatus and Peromyscus leucopus) are currently undergoing range shifts. The objective of my thesis is to determine the historical and current range of each species within the state of Maine. I used two approaches. I assembled ear biopsies collected this summer in Acadia National Park and throughout the state by the Gardner and Levesque labs to genotype the mice as either P. maniculatus or P. leucopus. Additionally, I summarized research that denotes where the two species were historically present around the state. These species are functionally impossible to tell …
Assessing Lipid Content In Migrating Alewife, Anthony Zenga
Assessing Lipid Content In Migrating Alewife, Anthony Zenga
Honors College
Alewife are a commercially, economically, and ecologically important fish, that expend large amounts of energy during their long migrations to spawning habitat. This energy demand can influence an individual’s chances of surviving and reproducing successfully. To understand how energy use may affect fitness, we captured alewife from the Souadabscook Stream over the course of their spawning migration. Fifty fish were sampled each week from May 12th to June 10th 2019. The lipid content of each individual was measured by using i) a Distell Fatmeter and ii) gravimetric analysis by measuring muscle moisture as an indirect method to assess lipid content. …
The Role Of Personality In Large Nut Dispersal By Sciurus Carolinensis And Its Implications For Seed Dispersal Across Human-Modified Landscapes, Skye Cahoon
Honors College
Small mammals are well known seed dispersers, but their efficiency at seed dispersal is directly affected by their personality type. Anthropomorphic habitat change shifts the distribution of personalities within small mammal populations, thus altering the mechanisms by which seeds are dispersed across these areas. Little is known about how small mammals interact with sidewalks, roads, or parking lots during the seed dispersal process despite these areas’ prevalence within human modified landscapes and the importance of understanding the ways in which seeds are transported across anthropomorphically altered regions. The goal of this study is to explore the role of personality in …
The Most Critical Resource: How Climate Change Fuels The Crisis In Syria And The Implications For The World At Large, Edward Medeiros
The Most Critical Resource: How Climate Change Fuels The Crisis In Syria And The Implications For The World At Large, Edward Medeiros
Honors College
The Syrian crisis, both domestic and international in scope, may well be the defining geopolitical challenge of the generation. Climate change may be the single greatest challenge to face humanity in the entirety of our species’ life history. The dramatic effects of climate change can be seen in the origins of the Syrian crisis when one looks to humanity’s single most critical resource: water. We take the word critical to have two meanings in this context: first, that water is essential to human survival and second that water is a resource in critical condition. Syria’s water crisis pre-dates the civil …
Landscape Factors Affecting Foraging Flight Altitudes Of Great Blue Heron In Maine; Relevance To Wind Energy Development, Lauren Dolinski
Landscape Factors Affecting Foraging Flight Altitudes Of Great Blue Heron In Maine; Relevance To Wind Energy Development, Lauren Dolinski
Honors College
In an attempt to increase alternative energy sources, there has been greater development of wind farms across the United States. This expanded development may pose a potential threat to birds that are flying overhead (EIA 2017, Leung and Yang 2011). More information is needed on the factors that affect a bird’s behavior while flying and if the current policies and dimensions of wind turbines interfere with flight altitudes. We used data from GPS-marked great blue herons (Ardea herodias) in Maine to classify their flight altitudes relative to wind turbine height and assess different landscape factors that affect flight …
Mmp13 Inhibition Does Not Rescue Gmppb-Deficient Skeletal Muscle In Zebrafish, Sean Driscoll
Mmp13 Inhibition Does Not Rescue Gmppb-Deficient Skeletal Muscle In Zebrafish, Sean Driscoll
Honors College
The dystroglycan protein is one of many that attach skeletal muscle fibers to the basement membrane at the myotendinous junction. In the alpha-subunit of the dystroglycan molecule, there are sugar chains that help with the adhesion of the molecule to the basement membrane. A mutation in any gene that codes for an enzyme that adds these sugar chains can result in a form of congenital muscle disease called secondary dystroglycanopathy. One of the genes that codes for an enzyme that adds sugar chains is GMPPB and a mutation in this gene results in GMPPB-associated dystroglycanopathy. Using zebrafish as a model …
Assessing The Effectiveness Of Attractants To Increase Detection Probabilities In Northeastern Mammals, Michael Buyaskas
Assessing The Effectiveness Of Attractants To Increase Detection Probabilities In Northeastern Mammals, Michael Buyaskas
Honors College
A primary problem with camera trapping in wildlife occupancy studies is the failure to detect an animal when it is present at the site. My objective was to determine the optimal attractant setup for maximizing detection probabilities of northeast mammalian communities. I carried out an camera trapping project in northern Maine, USA from August to November 2018, and tested 3 distinct attractant setup. Sampling stations consisted of four camera units, and each sampling unit constituted either a treatment or a control: 1) bait + lure (treatment), 2) bait only (treatment), 3) lure only (treatment), and 4) camera only (control). Data …