Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Applied Statistics In Environmental Monitoring: Case Studies And Analysis For The Michigan Bald Eagle Biosentinel Program, Katherine Leith Aug 2014

Applied Statistics In Environmental Monitoring: Case Studies And Analysis For The Michigan Bald Eagle Biosentinel Program, Katherine Leith

All Dissertations

The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is an extensively researched tertiary predator. Its life history and the impact of various stressors on its reproductive outcomes have been documented in many studies, and over many years. Furthermore, the bald eagle population recovery in Michigan has been closely monitored since the 1960s, as it has continued to recover from a contaminant-induced bottleneck. Because of its position at the top of the aquatic food web and the large body of ethological knowledge, the bald eagle has become a sentinel species for the Michigan aquatic ecosystem. In April 1999, the Michigan Department of Environmental Qualtity, …


A Memento Of Complexity: The Rhetorics Of Memory, Ambience, And Emergence, Glen Southergill May 2014

A Memento Of Complexity: The Rhetorics Of Memory, Ambience, And Emergence, Glen Southergill

All Dissertations

Drawing from complexity theory, this dissertation develops a schema of rhetorical memory that exhibits extended characteristics. Scholars traditionally conceptualize memory, the fourth canon in classical rhetoric, as place (loci) or image (phantasm). However, memory rhetoric resists the traditional loci-phantasm framework and instead emerges from enmeshments of interiority, collectivity, and technology. Emergence considers the dynamics of fundamental parts that generate complex systems and offers a methodological lens to theorizing memory. The resulting construct informs everyday life, which includes interfacing with pervasive computing or sensing familiarity. Further, congruently with a neurological turn that contradicts simplification, this dissertation resituates rhetorical memory as generative …


Investigating The Impact Of Novel Iron Oxide Nanoparticles On Legionella Pneumophila Biofilms And Trophic Interactions, Brennen Jenkins May 2014

Investigating The Impact Of Novel Iron Oxide Nanoparticles On Legionella Pneumophila Biofilms And Trophic Interactions, Brennen Jenkins

All Theses

Microbial biofilms serve as the base of food webs and are important for nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems. Nanoparticles (NPs) that enter into these aquatic systems have the potential to settle and become trapped within biofilms. As NPs become further integrated into consumer products, understanding their fate and effects on aquatic ecosystems is of paramount importance. Previous studies from our lab show that gold NPs induce dispersal of Legionella pneumophila biofilms. NPs with platinum and iron oxide core chemistries also lead to similar dispersal events, however, silver core NPs do not seem to induce these events due to NP aggregation. …


Range Collapse, Genetic Differentiation, And Climate Change: An Ecological History Of The Diana Fritillary, Speyeria Diana And Projections For Its Future, Carrie Wells May 2014

Range Collapse, Genetic Differentiation, And Climate Change: An Ecological History Of The Diana Fritillary, Speyeria Diana And Projections For Its Future, Carrie Wells

All Dissertations

The geographic ranges of most plant and animal species are tied closely to climatic factors, including temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture. For this reason, recent changes in the global climate due to human activities are predicted to have profound effects on natural populations, communities and ecosystems over a relatively short period of time. Combined effects from global warming and other anthropogenic activities such as land-use changes, pollution, and habitat loss/fragmentation, are altering species' distributions faster than they can be documented. Recent climate change has also been shown to alter species' breeding behaviors and alter the synchrony and timing of species' …