Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Climate Change On The Heart Rates & Growth Of Sea Slugs In The Gulf Of Maine, Jennifer Leigh Gibson

Master's Theses and Capstones

In the next 80 years, sea surface temperatures are expected to increase by 1.5o to 2oC and ocean pH is expected to drop by 0.06 to 0.32 units, with exacerbated effects seen in coastal waters. Temperature increase has already forced organisms to shift their range polewards and ocean acidification has negatively affected calcifying organisms. Interactive effects, only more recently studied, vary depending on phylum and life cycle stage. This study examined both the upper thermal tolerance and interactive effect of temperature and acidification on the heart rate of five cold-water species of nudibranchs (Aeolidia papillosa, Cuthona gymnota, Dendronotus frondosus, Flabellina …

Peak Vertical Floor Accelerations Of Tall Steel Structures, Georgian Tutuianu

Master's Theses and Capstones

To meet modern day challenges structural engineers must properly design not only the primary

structural elements of buildings but increasingly the secondary elements too. Damage or failure

of nonstructural components (NSCs) and their attachments can present large economic losses,

impaired building services and functionality, as well as life safety and emergency egress

concerns. To properly design these components, it is important to accurately estimate their

maximum acceleration demands including horizontal and vertical components of acceleration. In

an effort to better understand vertical acceleration demands of rigid NSCs in multistory buildings

and assess the building code provisions a 20-story office building, …

Integrated Organic Management Of Cabbage Aphid On Brussels Sprouts, Alina Sophia Harris

Master's Theses and Capstones

Growers across the globe and in Northeastern United States have reported economically damaging populations of cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae) in Brussels sprouts (Brassicacea). The pest affects the Brassicacea family, which includes economically important agronomic, forage, horticultural, and forage crops. However, cabbage aphid management in certified organic systems is very challenging because tools are limited and reports evaluating efficacy of insecticides used in organic systems are sparse. There are natural insect predators and parasitoids of aphids that may serve as biological control agents whose populations can be augmented using insectary plants. Use of alyssum insectary intercropping has been successful for control …

Exploring The Perceived Relationship Between Parent-Child Socialization And Adult Children's Romantic Experiences, Hung Yuan Lo

Master's Theses and Capstones

Romantic relationship experiences are related to experiences in the family of origin such as parenting, parents’ romantic history, and patterns of interaction within families. However, there is a lack of research about how adult children perceive their socialization about romantic relationships. This study used qualitative data from relationship history interviews (N= 35) to explore how adults discuss their parents’ influence on their romantic relationship development. The findings suggest that the level of support, love, and affirmation they perceived from their parents in childhood was reflected in their adulthood intimate relationships. Moreover, participants viewed their parents as either good or bad …

Mechanism Of By Product Formation From Different Water Matrices By Chlorination And Chloramination, Victoria Jane Hawkes

Master's Theses and Capstones

Application of chlorine-based disinfection to drinking water and wastewater leads to the formation of disinfection by-products that are harmful to human health. This paper presents research performed on the formation mechanisms of trihalomethanes (THMs) and nitrosamines (specifically NDMA) from chlorine-based disinfection practices. The formation of THMs and nitrosamines was investigated under a range of water matrices and disinfection conditions by developing a set of laboratory prepared water matrices containing natural organic matter (NOM), bromide and ammonium. In addition, two pretreated surface waters and one secondary treated wastewater effluent were selected to link experimental results to practice. THMs and nitrosamines were …

Going Beneath The Surface: The Ecology Of Metalimnetic Cyanobacteria Layers In Three New Hampshire Lakes, Sabina Perkins

Master's Theses and Capstones

Cyanobacteria blooms take different forms: surface scums, subsurface epilimnetic blooms, benthic mats, and in some lakes, metalimnetic layers. There is limited field research on the seasonal behavior of metalimnetic layers and the contribution of layer-produced cyanotoxins to the overall toxin profile of New Hampshire lakes. Three lakes in New Hampshire were monitored monthly pre-summer stratification through post-fall mixis in 2018, tracking the formation and persistence of deep-water cyanobacteria layers and the physical/chemical/light environments where they were found. Cyanobacteria abundance and dominance were quantified through cell counts using an Imaging Flow Cytobot (IFCB) and with phycocyanin fluorescence estimates. Persistent, nearly monospecific …

Risks And Correlates Of Intimate Partner Violence Among Lgb+ And Heterosexual College Students, Abby Sara Lachance

Master's Theses and Capstones

The issue of intimate partner violence (IPV) is widespread among members of all sexual identities. However, researchers have found sexual minority members to be at a heightened risk for experiencing IPV. This is not to say that LGBQ+ individuals are inherently more violent, but rather they experience intense stigma from the world around them. This stigma, whether it be institutionalized or enacted by peers or family members, can lead to negative health consequences such as depressive symptomology and problematic drinking behaviors. Both mental health issues such as depression and problem drinking have been shown to be linked to a higher …

Bystander Intervention Opportunity Among Adolescents: Demographic, Psychosocial, And Behavioral Associations, And Changes Over Time, Abigail Elizabeth Beaulieu

Master's Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine how demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral factors are associated with bystander opportunity among adolescents, and how bystander opportunity changes across one year. Participants for the study consisted of 1,322 adolescents who took an initial survey (Wave 1) and a survey one year later (Wave 4). Participants were 50.3% (n=658) female, 14.1% (n=182) identified as a sexual minority, and 88.9% (n=1140) identified as white, non-Hispanic, 11.1% (n=143) identified as non-white or Hispanic, with the mean age of 15.7 (SD = 1.2) years at Wave 1. Bystander opportunity was examined by measuring six individual opportunities. …

Evaluating Wood Fiber Soilless Substrates For Effects On Plant Performance And Nutrient Management In Container Crops, Crysta Harris

Master's Theses and Capstones

Sphagnum peat moss is the most commonly used soilless substrate component to produce containerized greenhouse bedding plants. Perlite is often blended with peat to achieve desirable physical properties. Increasing transportation costs and occasional shortages of peat and perlite have increased the need for alternative substrate components. Wood fiber materials produced from the extensive secondary processing of pine wood chips are a potential partial alternative to peat and perlite. Incorporating wood materials into soilless substrates may result in nitrogen immobilization, increasing the amount of fertilizer nitrogen needed during production. Wood materials also have a naturally higher pH compared to peat, requiring …

Disappearing Temporal Patterns, The Spatial Variability Of Co2 In Headwater Streams, Brian Eugene Saccardi

Master's Theses and Capstones

Using modified SIPCO2 sensors to collect CO2 data that provided spatiotemporal cover of five streams the verifiability of CO2 was quantified as well as insight into how differences in the stream channel or watershed characteristics affect CO2 patterns on a reach scale. This was tested by placing six sensors 100m apart and rotating them through five streams. This allowed for the pCO2 variability within these streams to be quantified and showed that pCO2 is variable through time and on small (100m) scales. The data shows that characteristics along a stream channel, such as slope can reduce pCO2 and that transitions …

Effect Of Cultivar And Substrate On The Efficacy Of Biopesticides To Suppress Pythium On Greenhouse Crops, Liza May Degenring

Master's Theses and Capstones

Oomycetes, such as Pythium, are soil-borne plant pathogens that can cause significant losses in greenhouse crop production due to their swimming zoospores and wide host range. Additionally, the increasing use of substrates that lack microbial diversity in greenhouse production creates a “biological vacuum” that can reduce the substrate’s capacity to resist microbial invasion by soil-borne diseases. The lack of competition by a natural microbial community and the environmental conditions of greenhouse production creates an ideal situation for the use of biopesticides. Biopesticides are commercial products that use beneficial microorganisms (biocontrol agents) to suppress disease and promote plant health. Greenhouse producers …

The Impacts Of Terrestrial Invasive Plants On Streams And Natural And Restored Riparian Forests In Northern New England, Chad Frederick Hammer

Master's Theses and Capstones

Non-native invasive species are a major cause of ecosystem degradation and impairment of ecosystem service benefits in the United States. Riparian areas are at high risk for invasion because they are among the most human-disturbed ecosystems in the world. Forested riparian areas provide us with many ecosystem services and are vital to streams and rivers as they increase habitat complexity and available resources for organisms of many trophic levels. In this study, I quantified the impacts of terrestrial invasive plant invasions by Japanese knotweed and woody invasive plant species on riparian forest structure, stream physical habitat, soil structure, and soil …

Environmental Testing Of An Open Water Maritime Security Barrier, Jackson Stacy Coyle

Master's Theses and Capstones

ABSTRACT

ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING OF AN OPEN

WATER MARITIME SECURITY BARRIER

by

Jackson S. Coyle

University of New Hampshire, September, 2019

A 60 m long Halo Triton floating security barrier, made up of four 15 m segments, was deployed at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) offshore research site from January to May 2018. The barrier was constructed with High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), allowing it to be robust, yet compliant, in order to function in high seas. Computer models of the Triton system’s sea keeping response and mooring system had been developed, yet required field testing for validation. The project entailed …

Divergent Controls On Stream Greenhouse Gas Concentrations Across A Land Use Gradient, Allison Herreid

Master's Theses and Capstones

Inland waters can be significant sources of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. However, considerable uncertainty remains in regional and global estimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from freshwater ecosystems, particularly streams. Controls on GHG production in fluvial ecosystems, such as water chemistry and sediment characteristics, are also poorly understood. The main objective of this study was to quantify spatial and temporal variability in GHG concentrations in 20 streams across a landscape with considerable variation in land use and land cover. Stream water was consistently supersaturated in CO2, CH4, and N2O, suggesting that small …

Environmental Regulation Of Cyanobacteria Aerosols From Low Productivity Lakes, Katharine Lorena Langley

Master's Theses and Capstones

Cyanobacteria produce a range of toxins harmful to both humans and wildlife. Microcystins (MCs) are common and potent cyanotoxins that inhibit protein phosphatases in the liver. Chronic exposures can result in tumor promotion and cancer. Toxicity primarily follows ingestion of MCs, however inhalation may be an important secondary and compounding route of exposure to cyanotoxins. The LD50 of intratracheally applied MC-LR is 50x lower than the oral LD50. While MCs are well documented in water, little is known about cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in aerosols and the factors that regulate the movement of cells and toxins into the air. To begin …

Flow Around Bluff Bodies With Corner Modifications On Cross-Sections, Rujun Liu

Master's Theses and Capstones

This research aims to illustrate how the flow around a cylinder changes when the cylinder’s cross-section is systematically changed from square to circle by modifying the corner radius.

Numerous research studies have been performed on the flow around circular cylinders and square cylinders leading to a relatively complete understanding of them. In the early 20th century, von Kármán and Rubach described the theoretical basis and provided an analytical solution to the flow around circular cylinders at low Reynolds number. Later, experiments on the flow around square cylinders were conducted by Nakaguchi, Bearman, and other researchers. However, until now, only a …

High-Frequency Motion Residuals In Multibeam Echosounder Data: Analysis And Estimation, Brandon Andrew Maingot

Master's Theses and Capstones

Advances in multibeam sonar mapping and data visualization have increasingly brought to light the subtle integration errors remaining in bathymetric datasets. Traditional field calibration procedures, such as the patch test, just account for static orientation bias and sonar-to-position latency. This, however, ignores the generally subtler integration problems that generate time-varying depth errors.

Such dynamic depth errors are the result of an unknown offset in one or more of orientation, space, sound speed or time between the sonar and ancillary sensors. Such errors are systematic, and thus should be predictable, based on their relationship between the input data and integrated output. …

Public Perceptions Of Adverse Childhood Experiences: Sentencing, Harm, And The Abuse Excuse, Crystal Marie Napoli

Master's Theses and Capstones

The ten Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been shown to have an association with future health outcomes and criminal conduct (Felitti et al., 1998; Cannon, Davis, Hsi, & Bochte, 2016). While some scholars and practitioners seek to use these findings to formulate a more “trauma-informed” orientation towards criminal behavior, others are skeptical towards this perceived expansion of the “abuse excuse” into the criminal justice domain. This study used a multi-methodological design to explore attitudes towards offenders who have experienced the ACEs. The researcher distributed a survey containing fictional vignettes to 302 participants. The results revealed that participants gave more lenient …

Aliens, Aircraft, And Accuracies: Surveying For Understory Invasive Plants Using Unmanned Aerial Systems, Kathleen A. Moran

Master's Theses and Capstones

Invasive (alien) plants are introduced species that can cause harm to native ecosystems, industries, or human health. Managing invasive species requires knowing where they are, and early detection of new populations increases the likelihood of local eradication. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are an emerging remote sensing technology that can capture very high spatial resolution imagery, are easily deployed, and may offer a more efficient alternative to extensive ground surveys to locate invasive plants. Imagery collected with UAS has been used to map invasive plants in open canopy habitats, but has yet to be tested for mapping invasive plants in forest …

An Investigation Of Nitrous And Nitric Acid Diurnal Cycles In Biomass Burning Plumes, Hannah Ruth Munro

Master's Theses and Capstones

The Western wildfire Experient for Cloud chemistry, Aerosol absorption, and Nitrogen (WE-CAN), an NSF funded multi-platform campaign, launched with the goal of expanding scientific knowledge of the complex chemical reactions taking place inside biomass burning plumes. As a part of the WE-CAN 2018 field campaign this investigation focuses on the diurnal cycles of nitrous and nitric acid in fresh and aged smoke plumes from the Rabbit Foot Fire in the Salmon-Challis National Forest, ID. The measurements of nitrous and nitric acid in smoke plumes were made with a dual Mist Chamber/Ion Chromatograph system installed in the NOAA CSD mobile laboratory. …

Assessing Disease Concerns On Quinoa And Evaluating Sources Of Disease Resistance In Chenopodium Species In New England, Haley Breanne Nolen

Master's Theses and Capstones

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a potential new crop for New England because of its high nutritional qualities and environmental adaptability; however, its susceptibility to disease such as downy mildew, caused by Peronospora variabilis Gaum is a significant obstacle. Downy mildew is a key disease of quinoa causing yield reductions up to 33% in tolerant varieties and 99% yield loss in susceptible varieties. Warm temperatures and high humidity in New England provide optimum conditions for pathogen infection and spread, negatively impacting quinoa growth and yield. This pathogen is able to persist in the seed coat of quinoa and overwinter in …

Water Quality Assessment Of A Novel Well Design: Event-Based Sampling And Geochemical Reactivity Experiments, Harrison Simbliaris

Master's Theses and Capstones

Arsenic contamination is a major human health issue both globally and within the United States with roughly 30% of privately sourced drilled wells in New Hampshire containing arsenic exceeding the MCL. A novel shallow well design has been developed by the US Geological Survey to remedy the issues of the traditional dug well design that resulted in it being phased out for drilled wells. By tapping into shallow glacial aquifers, the physiochemical parameters are favorable for the adsorption and removal of arsenic from drinking water. Event-based field time-series and laboratory batch dissolution experiments were carried out on crushed backfill media …

The Use Of Michaelis-Arbuzov Type Chemistry To Synthesize A Library Of Novel Phosphonamide Inhibitors Of Metallo-Β-Lactamases, Stacie Stuut

Master's Theses and Capstones

As a result of the constant overuse and misuse of antibiotics, bacteria have developed a variety of resistance mechanisms against them. One of the most effective forms of resistance are β-lactamase enzymes that work by hydrolyzing β-lactam antibiotics. There are four classes of β-lactamase enzymes: A, B, C and D. Class B enzymes, also known as metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs), are unique because they contain one or two Zn(II) ions in their active site. In order to combat these enzymes, scientists have developed inhibitors to be co-prescribed with already known antibiotics. The inhibitors preferentially bind to the β-lactamases while the antibiotics are …

Microbial Communities Regulate Nitrogen Use Efficiency By Balancing Tradeoff Between Resource Acquisition And Growth Rate, Bennett Edward Thompson

Master's Theses and Capstones

Microbial nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is the portion of N uptake that microbes allocate to growth versus mineralize as ammonium and is thus a critical parameter governing the transformation of organic to inorganic nitrogen. Microbial NUE is sensitive to changes in the soil environment, but its microbial controls remain untested. I performed an incubation where identical mesocosms were inoculated with three distinct microbial communities derived from agricultural land management (conventional, organic, and deciduous forest). Through this incubation, I explored three scales at which communities may exercise control over NUE: in how microbes alter their soil environment through system-level processes; through …

Fungal Physiological Response To Temperature And Nitrogen Availability, Shana Whitney

Master's Theses and Capstones

Microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE; the proportion of assimilated C allocated towards biomass production) is a powerful regulator of global soil C stocks, and there is a need to integrate accurate and dynamic CUE parameters into C-cycling models. However, there is uncertainty in the CUE-response to warming and increased N deposition and how this response may vary among groups of microbes. Here, we conducted a laboratory incubation of ten photogenically diverse fungal isolates grown in liquid culture to evaluate potential environmental and physiological controls over CUE. Isolates were grown at 15ºC or 25ºC and under low or high N concentrations. …

Food Safety For New Hampshire Oysters: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, Lia Tosiello

Master's Theses and Capstones

Oyster aquaculture in New Hampshire is a relatively new industry that has emerged in the last decade. Management of food safety is an integral part of the oyster growing process in this small community. In particular, Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a bacterium that can cause gastrointestinal illness in people who eat raw or undercooked seafood. Recently, New Hampshire created a policy to manage importation of oyster seed for V. parahaemolyticus-related human health concerns. This highlighted a need for data on V. parahaemolyticus in oyster seed. Therefore, the objectives of this research are to examine both social and microbiological aspects of food …

Science Diplomacy In The Atlantic Arctic: Assessing Potential Expansion Of The Distributed Biological Observatory (Dbo) To The Baffin Bay-Davis Strait Area, Claire Eaton

Master's Theses and Capstones

The scale and rate of climate change in the Arctic has increased the sense of urgency surrounding development of systems-level observing programs that aim to capture and analyze time series data related to environmental change. While the international scientific community has made great strides in program design and technological innovation, gaps in coverage remain between observing systems, presenting a complex interdisciplinary problem, or “grand challenge.” Research that aims to address global scale challenges, such as those faced in a rapidly changing Arctic, are often associated with extremely high operational costs and typically extend beyond the scope and capabilities of any …

Control Strategy Of Multirotor Platform Under Nominal And Fault Conditions Using A Dual-Loop Control Scheme Used For Earth-Based Spacecraft Control Testing, Sital Khatiwada

Master's Theses and Capstones

Over the last decade, autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have seen increased usage in industrial, defense, research, and academic applications. Specific attention is given to multirotor platforms due to their high maneuverability, utility, and accessibility. As such, multirotors are often utilized in a variety of operating conditions such as populated areas, hazardous environments, inclement weather, etc. In this study, the effectiveness of multirotor platforms, specifically quadrotors, to behave as Earth-based satellite test platforms is discussed. Additionally, due to concerns over system operations under such circumstances, it becomes critical that multirotors are capable of operation despite experiencing undesired conditions and collisions …

Effects Of Land Use On Wild Bee Functional Diversity, Katherine Akemi Odanaka

Master's Theses and Capstones

Globally, wild bees are facing major declines due to many different factors. Land use is regarded as one of the most damaging of these factors as changes in land use can result in the destruction of critical wild bee habitat and foraging resources. Relative abundance and species richness have been used as standard methods for measuring the health of wild bee communities yet neither abundance nor richness are able to quantify how landscape change affects the traits found in members of the population. Phylogenetic methods are a novel tool that can measure community structure by examining how traits influence population …

Measuring, Modeling, And Evaluating The Spatial Properties Of Northeast Oregon Forests Using Unmanned Aerial Systems, James Perkins

Master's Theses and Capstones

There is an ever expanding range of applications for the aerial images that unmanned aerial systems can uniquely provide. One such application is the use of high-resolution imagery for stand-level forest inventory. Inventory techniques utilizing unmanned aerial systems could be attractive where conditions demand high-resolution data, or where other aerial imagery sources are cost prohibitive. Here the effectiveness of unmanned aerial systems in this application was tested. Over the summer of 2015, a remote-controlled hexacopter equipped with a micro four thirds camera was flown over multiple 1600 meter-squared forested plots in Eastern Oregon. Additional ground-level validation measurements were collected including …