Digital Commons Network^™

Short Term Effectiveness Of High Density Large Woody Debris In Asotin Creek As A Cheap And Cheerful Restoration Action, Reid Camp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In response to human impacts, river restoration and rehabilitation actions have become a priority in the United States. In the Pacific Northwest, most restoration actions are focused on repairing degraded freshwater habitat to increase or improve Pacific salmonid production. However, traditional river restoration actions remained largely unchanged for over 100 years despite a lack of definitive evidence that the actions were effective. More recently, there has been a surge in process-based restoration actions, which aim to reestablish the physical and biological processes that maintain fluvial and floodplain environments by targeting the root causes of degradation in a watershed. Cheap and …

Non-Suitable Habitat A Cause For Declining Bobolink Populations In Northern Utah, Bethany Q. Unger

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryxivories, populations are declining in Utah. I characterized the habitat conditions of known bobolink nesting sites in Utah and compared these conditions to those for nest sites in Wisconsin where bobolinks are abundant. My habitat assessment included identifying vegetation species, vegetation cover, pH, temperature, and precipitation at each site location. Vegetation cover different between Utah and Wisconsin nest sites. Precipitation varied for both locations with no correlation between water availability and bobolink presence. One possible driver for the reduction in bobolinks throughout Utah is the drastic increase in temperature. Other possible external factors include livestock grazing, edge distance, …

The Impact Of The Updated National School Lunch Program Meal Standards On Fruit And Vegetable Consumption Among Elementary School Students In Cache County Utah, Jillian C. Fox

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Due to the short time the updated National School Lunch Program standards have been in place since fall of 2012, few research studies have explored what effect these new standards have had on fruit and vegetable (F/V) consumption, particularly among elementary school students. Because the new standards require schools to offer students more F/V than before, researchers are interested to know if F/V consumption has indeed increased.

The participants in the study were enrolled in a program to motivate students to eat more F/V – the Food Dudes program. The results of the data analysis found that most students, regardless …

Examining The Association Between Children's Fruit And Vegetable Intake At And Away From School, Velarie Yaa Ankrah Ansu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Several school-based interventions aimed at increasing fruit and vegetables (FV) intake among children have demonstrated success in short-term interventions. The Fit Game is a school-based intervention aimed at encouraging children to consume increasing amounts of FV during a game, which is a narrative. Just as children are being encouraged to eat FV at school, so is it equally important for them to eat FV at home. Parents strongly influence the amount of FV children consume at home. The aim of this thesis is to examine associations between factors that influence consumption of fruits and vegetables at and away from school …

A Century Of Geomorphic Change Of The San Rafael River And Implications For River Rehabilitation, Stephen T. Fortney

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Suspended-load rivers are subject to rapid geomorphic changes. In particular during the Holocene Epoch, arroyos of the Colorado Plateau experienced several periods of rapid erosion and aggradation. The most recent period of entrenchment occurred around the turn of the 20th century. The mechanisms responsible for the modern period of aggradation that has followed the most recent period of entrenchment have not been well documented. The research presented in this thesis reveals the mechanisms responsible for modern alluviation of the San Rafael River, which drains the Colorado Plateau

The lower 87 km of the San Rafael River, which enters the Green …

Structural And Compositional Patterns In Forest Communities In The Intermountain West Across Multiple Scales, Marcella A. Windmuller-Campione

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) strives to use science-based research to both protect and enhance the management of natural resources. From this overarching goal, the USDA has a specific objective to protect the health and sustainability of forest and rangeland ecosystems. Based on this specific objective, an Advisory Board of natural resource scientists within the Quinney College of Natural Resources (QCNR) was awarded a National Institute of Food and Agricultural (NIFA) grant to train two PhD and two MS students. Their research would focus on managing for resilient forest ecosystem in the Intermountain West.

With input from the …

Ecology, Behavior And Taxonomy Of Anurans From Brazil's Atlantic Forest, Rodrigio Barbosa Ferreira

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Anura is a diverse group with more than 7382 species described, which represents 88% of the species belonging to the Class Amphibia. Anurans are among the first organisms to be affected by environmental stressors, so when they show decline in the wild, it is a warning to other species, including humans. It is alarming that one-third of the world’s anurans are facing extinction. Following the same trend, a substantive portion of the 988 recognized species of the Atlantic Forest have suffered population declines and local extinctions, attributed primarily to habitat changes.

Despite the unique life history characteristics that make amphibians …

Participant Perceptions Of Range Rider Programs Used To Mitigate Wolf-Livestock Conflicts In The Western United States, Molly Parks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Range Rider Programs (RRPs) are one example of a proactive non-lethal tool that has been implemented in western United States to mitigate gray wolf (Canis lupus) and livestock conflicts. Because RRPs are an emerging non-lethal tool that little is known about, I selected a qualitative research approach to examine participant perceptions to further contemporary understanding of how these efforts are implemented and potential benefits. I surveyed 51 participants from 17 Range Rider Programs (RRPs) in Montana, Washington, and Oregon to determine participant perceptions regarding effectiveness of RRPs as a non-lethal approach to mitigate wolf-conflicts.

I developed a RRPs typology based …

Modeling The Ecological Consequences Of Visitor Behavior In Off-Trail Areas Of Dispersed Recreation Use, Ashley L. D'Antonio

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parks and protected areas are often created to protect important social, ecological, or cultural resources from impairment. In the United States, a large majority of these parks and protected areas are also public land where recreational activities such as hiking or scenic driving are allowed. Managers of many parks and protected areas must therefore try to protect resources while also allowing for recreation use that may put these resources at risk for damage. The field of recreation ecology is interested in understanding how recreation use in parks and protected areas can sometimes cause ecological impacts to vegetation, soil, wildlife, water, …

Matching Watershed And Otolith Chemistry To Establish Natal Origin Of An Endangered Desert Lake Sucker, Deanna Strohm

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Like many native endemic desert freshwater fish species, the June Sucker (Chasmistes liorus) is currently listed as endangered. Managers have increasingly turned to habitat restoration as a key component to recovery plans. For endangered species, one of the primary outcomes of habitat restoration is that it should result in successful reproduction and recruitment of individuals into the adult population. Confirmation of natural recruitment as a function of habitat restoration can only be achieved by establishing natal origins.

Recent research has proven the validity of otolith microchemistry, a technique that analyzes small quantities of elements, to trace potamodromous fish …

Virulence Evolution Of Fungal Pathogens In Social And Solitary Bees With An Emphasis On Multiple Infections, Ellen G. Klinger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The health of pollinators, especially bees, is of the utmost importance to success of many agricultural ecosystems. Microorganisms can cause diseases in bees; such microbes are pathogenic. The ability of a pathogen to cause harm to its host (such as a bee) is termed its virulence. Studying the evolution of different levels of virulence can lead researchers to a better understanding of pathogens, and potentially predict how much harm a pathogen can cause in the future. We studied the evolution of virulence levels for a fungal disease of bees. This group of fungi is composed of 28 species, and some …

The Effectiveness Of Livestock Exclosures In The Restoration Of Steelhead Onchorychus Mykiss Habitat And Populations In The John Day River Basin Of Eastern Oregon, Matthew Archibald

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

On March 25, 1999, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) listed the anadromous Oncorhynchus mykiss (O. mykiss), or steelhead, population in the Middle Columbia Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and deemed that the federal Columbia River Hydropower System (FCRPS) posed jeopardy to this ESU. To mitigate for the impacts of the dams, the FCRPS Biological Opinion issued by NMFS, emphasized improving spawning and juvenile rearing habitat in the tributaries to achieve recovery of the population.

A Comparison Of Random Forest-Based Methods For Racial/Ethnic-Specific Classification Of Obesity, Sun Young Jeon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Obesity is typically defined using body mass index (BMI) and its established cut-off. However, some studies have highlighted the importance of developing racial/ethnic-specific classifications of obesity that reflect different body compositions and fat distributions. Using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data and Random Forest classification, this paper attempts to identify important body measures and cut-offs for predicting obesity-related health risks among White, Hispanic and Black male populations in the U.S. In particular, this paper compares the performance of three Random Forest-based methods for dealing with class imbalance: weighted Random Forest (WRF), Random Forest with down-sampling (DS), and Random …

Novel Techniques To Determine Soil Evaporation Rates: Heat Pulse Probe And Automated Microlysimeter, Kashifa Rumana

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Increase in world population rate has augmented the global water use in municipal, industrial, and agricultural sectors, with renewable water resources changing
very little with time. Climate change and variability, degradation of water quality as a result of industrial waste streams, animal manure and waste, application of chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, etc. have largely influenced the quantity and quality of soil water. Root zone water helps sustain the agricultural industry by providing much of the water needed for irrigation. It is critical to monitor the soil water availability, especially within the plant root zones. The subsurface water tends to …

Microbial-Derived Oils And Value-Added Products: Biosynthesis And Applications For Biofuel Production, Alex T. Mccurdy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Efforts are being made to replace petroleum-derived fuels with biofuels in a cost competitive manner. It is apparent that the continued use of petroleum is futile as population and technological growth put increasing pressure on the demand for cheap energy and chemicals. Diminishing resources, civil unrest in the Middle East, and the impact of using petrochemicals on the environment are critical driving forces for research in generating renewable petroleum replacements that can be produced with a limited carbon-footprint. Today, biofuels are derived mostly from land-based plants, but their potential for displacing petroleum is limited due to the competition with available …

Aqueous Solvation Method For Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins, Justin A. Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Spider silk is a remarkable material that has recently garnered significant international interest due to its broad applicability and natural composition. Spider silk fibers demonstrate unparalleled mechanical properties and their biocompatability will allow them to replace products currently on the market such as fibers, threads and sutures that are made from traditional polymers. As spiders cannot be farmed, an emphasis in the Lewis lab is being placed on producing recombinant spider silk proteins (rSSP) in a variety of hosts, including alfalfa, goats, silkworms and Escherichia. coli. To this end, alfalfa, goats and silkworms are being generated with unique rSSP's …

Ecology And Behavior Of Coyotes In Urban Environments At Varying Spatial Scales, Sharon A. Poessel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As urban development continues to increase throughout the world, wildlife species, including carnivores, will be affected either positively or negatively. Coyotes (Canis latrans) have learned to efficiently adapt to highly developed areas, and conflicts between humans and coyotes, such as attacks on humans and pets, are increasing. We conducted three studies of urban coyotes to understand the factors affecting habitat use by coyotes so that wildlife managers can reduce human-coyote conflicts. Each study was conducted at progressively larger scales, with the first study at a fine scale using captive coyotes, the second study at a local scale in the …

Binding Interactions Of (R)- And (S)-Hydroxypropyl-Com Dehydrogenases And The Zinc Knuckle Proteins Air1 And Air2, Jeremy W. Bakelar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A thorough understanding of protein function requires knowledge of how proteins interact with their substrates and with other proteins. The work entailed in this dissertation describes the binding interactions of proteins from two different model systems: (1) the dehydrogenase enzymes R- and S-HPCDH and (2) the zinc knuckle proteins Air1 and Air2.

R- and S-HPCDH are highly similar enzymes (42% identical) that function in a unique metabolic pathway found in the soil bacterium Xanthobacter autotrophicus. The bacterium produces R- and S-HPCDH simultaneously to facilitate the transformation of two different forms of the organic …

Contribution Of A Novel Obligatory Heterofermentative Nonstarter Lactobacillus Species To Late Gassy Defect In Cheddar Cheese, Fatih Ortakci

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Cheddar cheese is usually aged for 3 to 24 months at temperatures ranging from 5 to 13°C. Ripening at elevated temperatures hastens the process, reducing manufacturing costs and enabling manufacturers to bring the product to market more quickly. However, cheeses ripened at elevated temperatures sometimes exhibit late gassy defect that may cause a textural defect, commonly referred to as slit defect. This results in crumbling and
losses during cutting of as much as 50%, making slit defect a major economic issue in the cheese industry. Moreover, loose or blown cheese packages are unsuitable for sale in the supermarkets due to …

Introducing Two New Weed Control Tools: A "Smart" Spray Wand And A Wildland Weed Treatment Time Model, Bryan E. Dayton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildland invasive weed treatment, a primary task of land managers, is expensive. Variables including weed canopy cover, slope, land cover, and weed visibility can affect treatment time and cost. A partnership was established with the Department of Plants, Soils, and Climate at Utah State University, Providia Management Group (PMG Environmental LLC) and Jardyne Technologies to develop a wildland weed treatment time model to better understand the effect of these variables on treatment time.

The “smart” spray wand (SSW) is a new precision tool used to develop this model. The SSW is a spray wand with an integrated GPS and a …

Implementation Of Online Tutoring Program To Increase University Student Information Retention, April Litchford

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis discusses an online tutoring program, MasteringNutrition©, that was implemented as a required portion of an entry level collegiate nutrition course. The tutoring program was introduced to test the ability of the program to improve memory of nutrition information taught during the course. The MasteringNutrition© program combines various teaching techniques that have been successful in increasing student learning. The major techniques discussed include: Socratic questioning, metacognition, and problem based learning. These techniques are incorporated into the MasteringNutrition© program.

To test the effect of the Mastering© tutoring program, ten questions specific to course learning objectives were asked of students in …

Improvement Of Nutrient Utilization Efficiency, Ruminal Fermentation And Lactational Performance Of Dairy Cows By Feeding Birdsfoot Trefoil, Rachael G. Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Condensed tannins (CT) are compounds that have shown potential to reduce the environmental impact of dairy farming waste products. In two live animal studies and a continuous culture study, it was hypothesized that feeding birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus, BFT), a CT-containing legume, would improve nutrient utilization, milk, and component yield of dairy cows compared with feeding alfalfa hay or grass pasture in two studies, while feeding BFT forage would decrease methane production and improve rumen fermentation in addition to concentrate supplementation was the hypothesis of the third study. Reduction in milk urea nitrogen (MUN) and …

Factors Contributing To The Conservation Of Phacelia Submutica (Boraginaceae), A Threatened Species In Western Colorado: Reproductive Biology And Seed Ecology, Alicia M. Langton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Conservation and recovery plans for rare species require biological and ecological information to discern how they may be susceptible to human disturbances. Phacelia submutica is a threatened annual species in western Colorado. Human activities including energy development, recreation, and livestock grazing are occurring within the species’ range. To provide conservation practitioners with a scientific basis for management, this research aimed to elucidate elements of the species’ ecology. Chapter 2 describes the reproductive biology of P. submutica. Potential insect pollinators were not observed during two years of observations. Floral traits and development ensure self-pollination and reduce the likelihood that insects …

Effect Of High Intensity Ultrasound On Crystallization Behavior And Functional Properties Of Lipids, Yubin Ye

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The elimination of trans-fatty acids from food formulations has resulted in the search of new lipids and novel processing conditions that can provide optimum functional properties in fats while providing good nutritional properties. High intensity ultrasound (HIU) has been extensively studied on sonocrystallization of lipids since early 2000. Sonocrystallization refers to the induction of crystallization by HIU without generating any chemical changes. This dissertation aims to provide information on the effects of HIU on crystallization behavior and physical properties of different shortenings based on previous sonocrystallization research. Results in this dissertation showed that HIU successfully induced the crystallization of …

Potential Of Forage Kochia And Other Plant Materials In Reclamation Of Gardner Saltbush Ecosystems Invaded By Halogeton, Rob C. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Gardner saltbush ecosystems are increasingly being invaded by halogeton, a competitive annual weed that increases soil surface salinity and reduces plant biodiversity. This study was established on the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, in the Ashley National Forest near Manila, UT to evaluate the ability of forage kochia, Russian wildrye, tall wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass and Gardner saltbush, in monocultures and binary mixtures with Gardner saltbush, to establish and compete in ecosystems dominated by halogeton. A dormant seeding, with and without prior disking, was conducted to determine the ability of plant materials to establish. A spaced-plant evaluation was used to determine …

Effects Of Environmental Water Transfers On Stream Temperatures, Logan Elmore

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Low streamflows and warm stream temperatures, caused mainly from agricultural diversions, currently limit available habitat and productivity of trout, including native Lahontan cutthroat trout in Nevada’s Walker River Basin. Environmental water purchases, which transfer water from willing sellers to instream uses (i.e for fish), are being evaluated to improve instream habitat. To determine which environmental water purchases to prioritize, this study was undertaken to build a computer model in order to simulate stream temperatures under differing environmental water transfer scenarios. Model runs simulate a range of environmental water transfers at major diversions and reservoirs throughout the Walker River Basin. Results …

Greater Sage-Grouse Seasonal Habitat Models, Response To Juniper Reduction And Effects Of Capture Behavior On Vital Rates, In Northwest Utah, Avery Cook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) is a species of conservation concern in Utah and across their range throughout the western US and southern Canada. Sage-grouse decline is primarily a result of declines in sagebrush habitat on which sage-grouse depend for winter, summer, nesting, and brood habitat. Detailed site-specific knowledge of sage-grouse ecology and distribution in needed to effectively conserve the species. To expand knowledge of local populations within the West Box Elder Sage Grouse Management Area (SGMA) in NW Utah and gain insights into the effectiveness of vegetation treatments intended to benefit sage-grouse, I radio marked and …

Validation Of A Noninvasive Technique For The Assessment Of Physiological Stress In Coyotes (Canis Latrans), Erika T. Stevenson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Quantifying physiological stress may aid in a better understanding of how animals survive various environmental conditions. One noninvasive technique for assessing physiological stress in animals is to extract steroid hormones from fecal samples. This technique has the potential to aid in wildlife conservation by providing a better understanding of behavior and welfare for a variety of species. The objectives of the study were to (1) determine responses in plasma and fecal steroid hormone concentrations for coyotes (Canis latrans), (2) determine which steroid hormone (cortisol or corticosterone) was better for examining physiological stress responses for coyotes, and (3) determine …

Analytical Comparison Of Bovine Parentage Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, Joshua Jeffrey Dallin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Often on cattle operations and dairy farms, where multiple bulls are exposed to cows either by live cover or artificial insemination, error can be present in parentage record keeping for breed registries or production use. Research has evolved to the integration of using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to answer questions where cases of unknown parentage may exist. With the evolution of the research, differentiated panels have been created specifically for parentage analysis. Our objective was to complete an analytical comparison between two specific panels, a proven 88 parentage SNP panel and a recently developed 25 SNP panel. A smaller panel …

Effects Of Plant Stress On Facultative Apomixis In Boechera (Brassicaceae), Mayelyn Mateo De Arias

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In flowering plants, apomixis is asexual reproduction by seeds. Apomixis allows the production of offspring with the same genetic characteristics as the mother plant. Fertilization is not required. Apomixis could become a tool for naturally cloning high-yielding crop hybrids through their own seed. However, apomixis does not occur in major crop plants, except for citrus. In the present study, genes that might cause apomixis in naturally occurring apomictic plants were investigated. Sexual and apomictic species of the genus Boechera were exposed to stressed and non-stressed conditions. Effects of these treatments on the expression of apomixis was then measured. Stress triggered …