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Electronic Theses and Dissertations

2015

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Associations Of Lifestyle Factors With Bone Accrual In Child And Adolescent Amateur Swimmers, Codruta Andy Collins Nov 2015

Associations Of Lifestyle Factors With Bone Accrual In Child And Adolescent Amateur Swimmers, Codruta Andy Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maximizing bone mass during growth is important to prevent osteoporosis later in life. Swimming competitively at elite levels during growth does not offer an osteogenic advantage. Swimmers have lower bone mass than athletes who engage in high-impact activities and have similar or lower bone mass than sedentary individuals. Amateur swimmers, who train less intensely than their elite counterparts, may also be at risk of training-related bone mass deficits, but their bone accrual has not been characterized. This dissertation examines determinants of bone accrual over a two-year period in a cohort of 234 Caucasian of 8- to 18-year-old amateur swimmers and …


Diet Reconstruction And Niche Of Lake Ontario Top Predators And Corresponding Prey Species, James Adam Mumby Nov 2015

Diet Reconstruction And Niche Of Lake Ontario Top Predators And Corresponding Prey Species, James Adam Mumby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lake Ontario supports a diverse offshore fish community consisting of salmonids and forage fish with little known about the resource partitioning and habitat use of these species. To assess this, I used stable isotopes to determine the isotopic trends (forage fishes only), niche structure and overlap of both salmonids and forage fishes. I also estimated the salmonid trophic position (TP) and diet using stable isotopes. Forage fishes had high resource partitioning but was low between Myoxocephalus thompsonii and Cottus cognatus. Regional and temporal discrete subpopulations driven largely by nitrogen were only present in Alosa pseudoharengus, Osmerus mordax and Neogobius melanostomus. …


Chateaubriand And His Influence On The Early French Romantics' Perspective On Nature, Kyra Kalina Sanchez Clapper Aug 2015

Chateaubriand And His Influence On The Early French Romantics' Perspective On Nature, Kyra Kalina Sanchez Clapper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work analyzes Chateaubriand's writings on America and compares them to Rousseau's philosophical writings on nature. In doing so, Iargue that Chateaubriand showed an exception interest in nature without human intervention - unlike Rousseau, who had an anthropomorphic approach to nature. By emphasizing Chateaubriand's nonanthropomorphic approach to nature, this paper rejects the monolithic view of FrenchRomanticism and contributes a deeper understanding of this important trend eighteenth century onwards.In order to arrive at a global picture of Chateaubriand's idea of nature, the primary source I will analyze are Chateaubriand's Atala, Voyage en Amerique, and Memoires d'outre-tombe and Rousseau's Discours sur l'origine …


Rural Opioid And Other Drug Use Disorder Diagnosis: Assessing Measurement Invariance And Latent Classification Of Dsm-Iv Abuse And Dependence Criteria, Billy Brooks Aug 2015

Rural Opioid And Other Drug Use Disorder Diagnosis: Assessing Measurement Invariance And Latent Classification Of Dsm-Iv Abuse And Dependence Criteria, Billy Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rates of non-medical prescription drug use in the United States (U.S.) have increased dramatically in the last two decades, leading to a more than 300% increase in deaths from overdose, surpassing motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of injury deaths. In rural areas, deaths from unintentional overdose have increased by more than 250% since 1999 while urban deaths have increased at a fraction of this rate. The objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that cultural, economic, and environmental factors prevalent in rural America affect the rate of substance use disorder (SUD) in that population, and …


Effects Of Different Agricultural Management Systems On Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Diversity, Community Structure, And Ecosystem Services., Charles Bradford Gottshall Aug 2015

Effects Of Different Agricultural Management Systems On Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Diversity, Community Structure, And Ecosystem Services., Charles Bradford Gottshall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Disturbances associated with row-crop agricultural management systems include mechanical (tillage and cultivation) and chemical (fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides) inputs and are often co-occurring. Many soil microbes are sensitive to these disturbances, including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), important plant mutualists in agricultural systems. AMF associate with many crop plants and provide direct benefits through root pathogen protection, drought resistance, nutrient acquisition and uptake, as well as contribute to ecosystem services by improving overall soil fertility. Examining how different row-crop management system disturbances affect the AMF community is important for understanding and enhancing benefits provided by these important mutualists, and key to …


The Evolution And Ecology Of Individual Specializations Amongst A Group Of Dietary Generalists., Carl S. Cloyed May 2015

The Evolution And Ecology Of Individual Specializations Amongst A Group Of Dietary Generalists., Carl S. Cloyed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines individual diet specializations (IS) in a group of ecologically similar and evolutionarily related frogs and toads. Individual specialization is known to have widespread ecological and evolutionary effects. In an initial literature review (Chapter 2) I build a comprehensive theoretical framework showing how different types of population diversity can help, halt, or hinder sympatric speciation. I argue that IS can be maintained indefinitely in populations yet fail to lead to speciation because it is influenced by ecological conditions that may change. Additionally, IS can potentially aid niche partitioning among similar species, increasing species coexistence and resulting in less …


Testing For Isolation In Florida Raccoons (Procyon Lotor) Using Phylogenetics And Population Genetic Structure, Alexa Trujillo Jan 2015

Testing For Isolation In Florida Raccoons (Procyon Lotor) Using Phylogenetics And Population Genetic Structure, Alexa Trujillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Molecular data are useful in determining if populations are isolated and for species delimitation. Researchers and managers currently recognize five subspecies of raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Florida, based largely on perceived geographic isolation due to the island ranges of four subspecies. In this study, I provide the first estimate of phylogenetic relationships and population divergences within Florida raccoons using a molecular dataset. I analyze the mitochondrial control region, cytochrome b gene, and eight nuclear microsatellite loci to test two hypotheses: 1) the five, morphologically and geographically-defined subspecies of raccoon in Florida represent genetically distinct populations and (2) due to differing …


Does The Journey Matter More Than The Destination? The Contribution Of Geospatial And Local Conditions To Invasive Pomacea Maculata Distribution Across Ranchland Wetlands, Steffan Pierre Jan 2015

Does The Journey Matter More Than The Destination? The Contribution Of Geospatial And Local Conditions To Invasive Pomacea Maculata Distribution Across Ranchland Wetlands, Steffan Pierre

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Geospatial characteristics such as isolation and avenues of connectivity influence an invader's pattern of dispersal and distribution. However many examinations of invasion success ignore the contribution of dispersal to patterns of invasion and focus only on the local environmental/habitat factors. This study examines the interaction of geospatial characteristics, that may influence dispersal, and local environmental factors, that may govern successful occupation, on the likelihood of invasion (invasability) of wetlands within an agriculturally modified landscape. I examined the current invasion of seasonal wetlands in south-central Florida ranchland by non-native apple snails (Pomacea maculata (Ampullariidae)) as a model system for understanding this …


A Comparison Of Whole Body Mercury Concentrations Of Mummichogs (Fundulus Heteroclitus) And Atlantic Silversides (Menidia Menidia), Daniel P. Ferons Jan 2015

A Comparison Of Whole Body Mercury Concentrations Of Mummichogs (Fundulus Heteroclitus) And Atlantic Silversides (Menidia Menidia), Daniel P. Ferons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few studies have focused on mercury cycling within salt marsh estuaries. Mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) and Atlantic silversides (Menidia menidia) are two species of forage fish that live year round in South Carolina salt marshes. During high tide, mummichogs feed from the water column, sediment, and off of smooth cordgrass while Atlantic silversides prey upon zooplankton. In this study, total and methyl mercury within mummichogs and Atlantic silversides from Dunn Sound, SC were quantified and compared over four seasons throughout 2014. Gut contents were also quantified and compared to determine if there was a dietary impact on the concentrations of total …


Quantifying The Effects Of Boat Wakes On Intertidal Oyster Reefs In A Shallow Estuary, Donna Campbell Jan 2015

Quantifying The Effects Of Boat Wakes On Intertidal Oyster Reefs In A Shallow Estuary, Donna Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There have long been concerns about the negative impacts of recreational boating activity in the Indian River Lagoon system (IRL), especially in Mosquito Lagoon (ML), the northernmost part of the IRL. My research is focused on the impacts of boat wakes on intertidal reefs formed by the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. There has been a 24% loss of oyster habitat in ML since 1943, where natural oyster reefs have been replaced by dead oyster reefs which do not serve the same ecological function. While there is anecdotal and correlative evidence that this loss is a result of boat wakes, no …


Settlement History And Interaction In The Manialtepec Basin Of Oaxaca's Central Coast, Victoria Menchaca Jan 2015

Settlement History And Interaction In The Manialtepec Basin Of Oaxaca's Central Coast, Victoria Menchaca

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the focus of over 70 years* of archaeological research, Oaxaca, Mexico, is one of Mesoamerica*s best understood regions. Yet, despite the volume of work in Oaxaca, information about one of its key resource areas, the central Pacific coast, remains limited. Specifically, the ambiguous role of Oaxaca*s Central Coast in interregional relationships during pre-Hispanic times to the sites of Monte Alban and Tututepec has been a chronic problem and major source of debate for decades. The purpose of this thesis is to begin clarifying the role of Oaxaca*s Central Coast in interregional networks and its pre-Hispanic history. Analysis utilized surface …


Environmental Effects On Spatial Biogeography Of Microbial Communities And Examination Of Trophic Impacts Through Analysis Of Gut Microbiome In Fish, Dilraj Sanghera Jan 2015

Environmental Effects On Spatial Biogeography Of Microbial Communities And Examination Of Trophic Impacts Through Analysis Of Gut Microbiome In Fish, Dilraj Sanghera

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater estuaries throughout the Great Lakes region receive nutrient loadings and trace metals from agricultural runoffs and urban centers. Such anthropogenic stressors have been previous demonstrated to affect the microbial community composition in polluted ecosystems. This thesis explores the microbial biogeography of 18 tributaries to understand the relationship between the microbial community structure and habitat profiles, and the impacts of these microbial communities on fish microbiomes. Partial Mantel test showed a significant correlation (R2 =0.16) between environment and bacterial community structure while controlling for spatial distance. Canonical correspondence analysis demonstrated distinct clusters corresponding with specific environmental drivers’ characteristic of specific …