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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Sea Surface Temperature Rises Shift Migration Patterns Due To Ecosystem Changes, Alexia Skrbic, Hesham El-Askary Dec 2016

Sea Surface Temperature Rises Shift Migration Patterns Due To Ecosystem Changes, Alexia Skrbic, Hesham El-Askary

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The continuing climate change is negatively impacting ecosystems, specifically oceans which are declining and food webs are being altered by the increase of greenhouse gases. The increase of the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is increasing sea surface temperature of the world’s oceans. Certain organisms lower on the food chain like phytoplankton and zooplankton are directly affected by the warming which alters how they process nutrients and their productivity. The limited amount of these primary producers in the oceans and specifically the location they inhabit directly affects all the organisms above them on the food chain. Several marine animals …


Chapman University 2016 Environmental Audit: Residence Life Dining Services Equipment, Alexandra Fw Sidun, Devon T. Bloss May 2016

Chapman University 2016 Environmental Audit: Residence Life Dining Services Equipment, Alexandra Fw Sidun, Devon T. Bloss

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Chapman University accommodates over 1700 student meal plans per day through the on-campus dining services provided by Sodexo Restaurant Services. The commercial-grade kitchens found in the Randall Dining Commons (RDC) of Sandhu Conference Center are frequently used to prepare food for students for every meal, seven days a week. The RDC kitchen facility has staff working around the clock and high consumption electrical, water, and gas appliances constantly running to parallel the high demand. The frequent use of commercial kitchen appliances results in an enormous consumption of energy and water resources leading to comparably high utility bills. Measuring the energy …


Effects Of El Niño On Ecological Growth Along Californian And Peruvian Coasts, Alexandra Sidun May 2015

Effects Of El Niño On Ecological Growth Along Californian And Peruvian Coasts, Alexandra Sidun

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This study examines the mechanisms of El Niño to further understand the ecological effects it may have along the Californian and Peruvian coasts. El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). While it is a global phenomenon, these two locations were investigated for their nearly equal and opposite conditions during storm months. California, which is in an extreme state of drought, often receives heavy rainfall during El Niño and understanding its potential effects is crucial. El Niño causes upwellings along the CA coast and warm water from the region displaces the normally cool waters along …


Evaluation Of Temperature Anomalies And Ocean Productivity During The 2004 Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake, Cora Byers, Brenna Mcnabb May 2015

Evaluation Of Temperature Anomalies And Ocean Productivity During The 2004 Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake, Cora Byers, Brenna Mcnabb

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The oceanic productivity of the Indian Ocean and temperature anomalies prior to the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (MW =9.3) and tsunami (December 26th 2004) were studied. Data was obtained via NASA’s Giovanni program to determine the effect on phytoplankton (primary producers) and temperature changes over the region of the earthquake. Seasonal trends were visible in the concentrations of chlorophyll a, coccolithophores, cyanobacteria, chlorophytes, diatoms and absorption coefficient, in addition to storm trends.


Possible Precursor Events To Earthquakes And The Resulting Effects On Organic Material In The Surrounding Water Bodies, Kiyoko Nakatsui May 2015

Possible Precursor Events To Earthquakes And The Resulting Effects On Organic Material In The Surrounding Water Bodies, Kiyoko Nakatsui

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Being located on the “Ring of Fire” Japan experiences many seismic events. Adding to this, it is located at the convergence of four fault lines where seismic activity will be even more frequent and severe. Although small tremors occurring in an area are indicators of an earthquake to come it only gives minutes of warning. Scientists are now trying to see if latent heat and gas release from fault lines can indicate an earthquake to come with hours or even days of warning. MODIS aqua and terra data will be analyzed in order to see if such precursors can be …


Assessing Water Quality In The Gulf Of Mexico Using Remote Sensing Data., Alliyah Thomas May 2015

Assessing Water Quality In The Gulf Of Mexico Using Remote Sensing Data., Alliyah Thomas

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Hypoxia, or oxygen depletion, is a process that occurs in conjunction with eutrophication. In hypoxic conditions the dissolved oxygen levels in the water column sink to unlivable conditions for the marine organisms causing them to flee or die. Despite efforts of improvement, the annual summer Gulf of Mexico dead zone continues to be a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems. The 2012 smaller than usual dead zone was a false indicator of future improvement. The 2012 dead zone decrease was connected to the drought and inability of large amounts of runoff to flow into the gulf. Water quality analysis was done …


How The Presence Of Plastic In The North Pacific Gyre Affects The Growth Of Thalassiosira Through Remote Sensing And Laboratory Replication, Jordynn Brennan, Hesham El-Askary Dec 2014

How The Presence Of Plastic In The North Pacific Gyre Affects The Growth Of Thalassiosira Through Remote Sensing And Laboratory Replication, Jordynn Brennan, Hesham El-Askary

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Through the use of remote sensing, we are able to determine the approximate location of the garbage patch in the North Pacific Gyre. Though remote sensing does not penetrate the surface of the ocean, monthly satellite images can be analyzed to determine the rate of growth or rate of decrease of certain parameters, such as atmospheric gases, phytoplankton, and dissolved organic matter. Over the past decade, data from the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (Giovanni program) has shown a significant increase in dissolved organic matter and chlorophyll a content in the area of the North Pacific Garbage …


The Non-Lethal Effects Of Climate Change On The Territoriality Of Lottia Gigantea, Tracey Gunanto, Christina Chavez, Jessica Martinez, William G. Wright Dec 2014

The Non-Lethal Effects Of Climate Change On The Territoriality Of Lottia Gigantea, Tracey Gunanto, Christina Chavez, Jessica Martinez, William G. Wright

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The intertidal zone has been described as ground zero for global warming. Here, the owl limpet, Lottia gigantea, adapted to the cool ocean temperatures, must withstand a few hours of baking sun during day-time low tides. This hardship is predicted to increase in frequency and severity in the future as the globe warms. Our research hypothesized that heat events compromise territorial behavior of L. gigantea. All observations and experiments were performed at Inspiration Point near Newport Beach, California. We measured the natural radiant temperature of tagged limpets during day-time low tides using a field-calibrated infrared “thermogun”. We also …