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Articles 1 - 17 of 17
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Locomotion And Life History In A Leaping Primate: Mechanics And Energetics Of Movement Throughout The Propithecus Lifespan, Nicholas Heslep
Locomotion And Life History In A Leaping Primate: Mechanics And Energetics Of Movement Throughout The Propithecus Lifespan, Nicholas Heslep
Masters Theses, 2020-current
Arboreal primates are typically altricial, exhibit long juvenile periods, and use dynamic locomotor behaviors that can be challenging and risky. Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) have particularly slow life histories for their size, with long juvenile periods, protracted reproductive careers, and long life spans. Slow somatic growth poses potential mechanical challenges for juvenile sifaka who use thigh-powered vertical clinging and leaping to follow group members during travel. I examined mechanical and energetic costs of movement in developing sifaka. I instrumented 8 wild sifaka (3 yearlings, 3 subadults, 2 adults) in 4 social groups with inertial sensors measuring tri-axial acceleration for …
Identifying Key Stream Restoration Variables In An Agriculturally Impaired Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Julia Portmann
Identifying Key Stream Restoration Variables In An Agriculturally Impaired Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Julia Portmann
Masters Theses, 2020-current
The Chesapeake Bay watershed spans several states, supports diverse ecosystems, and is crucial to local economies. However, agricultural practices in this region impair water quality. The Smith Creek watershed, within the Shenandoah Valley, was designated a showcase watershed in 2010 by the United States Department of Agriculture to demonstrate the efficacy of implementing restoration projects. We sampled fifteen farms ranging from unrestored to thirty-six years since restoration. At each site, we conducted a kick-net survey for macroinvertebrates, measured canopy cover, algal density, substrate size, and bank height and angle. We identified macroinvertebrates to family and calculated the Chesapeake Basin-wide Index …
Modeling Species Distribution And Habitat Suitability Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius) In Virginia, Jacob D. J. Peters
Modeling Species Distribution And Habitat Suitability Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius) In Virginia, Jacob D. J. Peters
Masters Theses, 2020-current
American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a well-known and sought-after medicinal plant native to North America that is facing increased threat of extinction due to overharvesting, herbivory, and habitat loss. Species distribution and habitat suitability models may be valuable to landowners interested in sustainable harvest or to institutions interested in the conservation and restoration of the species. With unequal sampling efforts across a region of interest, it is likely that some locations with appropriate habitat may be misrepresented in model predictions. This study refined a state-derived species distribution model for ginseng through increased sampling effort across the Cumberland Plateau …
Splitting Up A Complex Mess: The Effectiveness Of Statistical Analysis On Delimiting Species Complexes, Sara N. Schoen
Splitting Up A Complex Mess: The Effectiveness Of Statistical Analysis On Delimiting Species Complexes, Sara N. Schoen
Masters Theses, 2020-current
Recent studies have highlighted a need for more refined tools in species delimitation. This is especially true when considering diversity within species complexes, where members are morphologically similar and traditional tools have thus far failed to provide clearly defined boundaries between species. This project seeks to refine our traditional tools of species delimitation and apply new tools to the challenges created by species complexes. The focus organisms of this study are the anurans of the Limnonectes kuhlii complex. This species complex comprises more than 25 species of stream frogs from Southeast Asia. Traditionally, morphometrics (particularly linear measures) has been the …
Antibacterial Properties Of Novel Amphiphiles, Ariana Simeone
Antibacterial Properties Of Novel Amphiphiles, Ariana Simeone
Masters Theses, 2020-current
Hospital acquired infections, particularly antibiotic resistant infections, are a growing concern due to their infection and mortality rate, as well as their growing economic burden, and it has been estimated that by the year 2050 the associated mortality rate will be around 10 million deaths per year. A solution to this is better means of prevention, and amphiphiles, compounds with at least one hydrophilic head group and at least one hydrophobic tail, are promising candidates for stopping the spread of infectious bacteria. Novel amphiphiles with two bipyridinium head groups, separated by a hydrophobic carbon spacer of varying lengths, and each …
Decrypting Female Attractivity In Garter Snakes, Holly Rucker
Decrypting Female Attractivity In Garter Snakes, Holly Rucker
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Pheromones are utilized by many species as sexual signals driving mate choice, and pheromone production in vertebrates hinges on sex hormone action. Female red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis) produce a skin-based sex pheromone used by males for mate detection and selection. Estradiol is necessary for pheromone production, yet the specific mechanisms within the skin are unknown. Central to this is the metabolism of testosterone to estradiol via the enzyme aromatase. It is hypothesized that female garter snakes synthesize estradiol locally in the skin and maintain pheromone production via tissue-specific regulation of aromatase. Further, I hypothesize that female …
Sustainable Agriculture: Integration Of Aquaponics At Punta Leona Hotel And Club In Costa Rica, Cailin Sierra Dyer, Paris Riley Smith
Sustainable Agriculture: Integration Of Aquaponics At Punta Leona Hotel And Club In Costa Rica, Cailin Sierra Dyer, Paris Riley Smith
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Sustainable agriculture is becoming an increasingly important method of food production. As human populations continue to grow, attendant food demand has been increasingly met via agribusiness, including monoculture crop production and factory farming. As is well documented, the rise of agribusiness has led to resource degradation and declining stocks on which “sustainable agriculture” relies. This paper describes a local attempt to re-establish “sustainable agriculture” through the development of an aquaculture system that mimics a naturally occurring cycle that integrates fish and plants. The system was constructed over a three-week period in Punta Leona, Costa Rica. First, the ground was cleared …
Impacts Of Educational Programming At Dolphins Plus On Visitor Knowledge, Attitude And Behavior, Carley Rice
Impacts Of Educational Programming At Dolphins Plus On Visitor Knowledge, Attitude And Behavior, Carley Rice
Masters Theses, 2010-2019
Zoos, aquariums, and similar institutions have been transitioning for many years from venues of entertainment to institutions of informal environmental education. This transition has led to these institutions claiming missions of conservation and education. The conservation education impacts of zoos and aquariums are not well understood. The literature is limited and at times inconclusive. Claims of conservation and education should be formally evaluated through survey research projects to determine validity. These types of studies will shed light on these institutions and aid in improving educational programs to best benefit conservation of wildlife, habitats and the environment. The purpose of this …
The Combined Effects Of Soil Fertility And Soil Amendments On The Growth And Mycorrhizal Associations Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius), Emily Ann Murray
The Combined Effects Of Soil Fertility And Soil Amendments On The Growth And Mycorrhizal Associations Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius), Emily Ann Murray
Masters Theses, 2010-2019
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are fungi that form symbiotic associations with 70-90% of plant families. They are known to allow for the extension of the root system as well as an increase in plant size by assisting with the uptake of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. The role that AMF play in plant health and success has led to the development of commercial inoculum, which is used in agricultural settings. However, soil fertility, and soil amendments are known to affect AMF and plant associations. This study intends to look at how cultivated American Ginseng seedlings are affected by commercial …
Compost Land Management And Soil Carbon Sequestration, Kylene A. Hohman
Compost Land Management And Soil Carbon Sequestration, Kylene A. Hohman
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Extensive fossil fuel burning has released carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Under proper ecological conditions plants convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into stable soil organic matter, a natural and efficient means of mitigating climate change. In the symbiotic relationship between mycorrhizae and plants, mycorrhizae provide plants with essential nutrients in exchange for carbon sugars leaked from the plants. Mycorrhizae convert carbon sugars to an exudate called glomalin, a protein that assists in developing soil aggregates composed of sand, silt, and clay. These aggregates, called humus, store carbon for hundreds of years under healthy ecological conditions. Compost prompts soil microbes to aerobically …
Nonlinear Dynamics Of Filaments In Free Space And Fluids, Victoria Kelley
Nonlinear Dynamics Of Filaments In Free Space And Fluids, Victoria Kelley
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
The purpose of this paper is to study a straight rod, held at both ends, with a known twist and tension or compression. We study the stability of this steady state when the system is dominated either by inertia or drag. In order to do this, we first replicate the work of Goriely and Tabor to look at the case with inertia, without drag. After conducting the analysis for that case, we then apply their framework to perform a linear stability analysis of a model that is without inertia, but with hydrodynamic drag. Our motivation is the study of locomotion …
Population Projection And Habitat Preference Modeling Of The Endangered James Spinymussel (Pleurobema Collina), Marisa Draper
Population Projection And Habitat Preference Modeling Of The Endangered James Spinymussel (Pleurobema Collina), Marisa Draper
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
The James Spinymussel (Pleurobema collina) is an endangered mussel species at the top of Virginia’s conservation list. The James Spinymussel plays a critical role in the environment by filtering and cleaning stream water while providing shelter and food for macroinvertebrates; however, conservation efforts are complicated by the mussels’ burrowing behavior, camouflage, and complex life cycle. The goals of the research conducted were to estimate detection probabilities that could be used to predict species presence and facilitate field work, and to track individually marked mussels to test for habitat preferences. Using existing literature and mark-recapture field data, these goals were accomplished …
Insomniac Of The Soil: A Collection Of Poetry And Essays, Sarah E. Golibart
Insomniac Of The Soil: A Collection Of Poetry And Essays, Sarah E. Golibart
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
“Insomniac of the Soil” is a homage to a landscape that has deeply informed Sarah Golibart's life and her artistic voice – the tidewater flatlands of Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay peninsula where her family lives and where Golibart has worked on farms since high school. Both her poems and essays are earthy, imagistic, and grounded – quite literally – in the soil as well as in a sensibility of ecological ethics and sustainability. “Insomniac of the Soil” is also a love song to the fervent and fallow cycles of the soil.
Using Capture-Mark-Recapture Techniques To Estimate Detection Probabilities & Fidelity Of Expression For The Critically Endangered James Spinymussel (Pleurobema Collina)., Alaina C. Esposito
Using Capture-Mark-Recapture Techniques To Estimate Detection Probabilities & Fidelity Of Expression For The Critically Endangered James Spinymussel (Pleurobema Collina)., Alaina C. Esposito
Masters Theses, 2010-2019
The critically endangered James Spinymussel (Pleurobema collina) is a species of freshwater mussel endemic to Virginia’s James and Dan River basins. In the last 20 years, P. collina has experienced a substantial decline in numbers and currently occupies approximately 10% of its original habitat; however, little information is known about this species to assist in conservation. A 230-meter reach of transitional habitat in Swift Run was selected for repeat observations to estimate detection probabilities using a Capture-Mark-Recapture framework. In June 2014, visual scouting began to locate and tag P. collina (including other mussels in the community) with PIT …
Impacts Of Consumer Horticulture On Stormwater And Nutrient Management: Investigating Public Perception, Knowledge, And Practices In The Shenandoah River Watershed, Christopher P. Parker
Impacts Of Consumer Horticulture On Stormwater And Nutrient Management: Investigating Public Perception, Knowledge, And Practices In The Shenandoah River Watershed, Christopher P. Parker
Masters Theses, 2010-2019
The South Fork Shenandoah River is a tributary to the Chesapeake Bay that is a significant contributor to nitrogen and phosphorus that enter the Bay and leads to increased eutrophication. These nutrients also cause problems in the South Fork Shenandoah River. The United States Environmental Protection agency has implemented strict regulation to reduce nutrients entering the Bay by developing the Chesapeake Bay TMDL. While the TMDL has strict regulation on wastewater treatment, agriculture, and industry, there are still sources of nutrients entering the Bay through unregulated sources. Urban/suburban runoff is one of these sources, particularly runoff from home owner’s lawns. …
Examining The Effectiveness Of Ecotourism As A Funding Source For Protected Area Management In Guyana, Jordan S. Flagel
Examining The Effectiveness Of Ecotourism As A Funding Source For Protected Area Management In Guyana, Jordan S. Flagel
Masters Theses, 2010-2019
Protected areas in tropical rainforests serve many important ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration. These areas are often in need of donor or grant funding to operate as governments in tropical forested countries are not always able to provide adequate funds for protection. This paper focuses on the Iwokrama International Center for Rainforest Conservation and Development in the South American country of Guyana, which has had funding issues since the global economic crisis of 2008 and an accompanying shift in donor country financial priorities. Increasing the amount of sustainable ecotourism in the Iwokrama reserve was identified as a potential source for …
Colloidal And Biological Properties Of Triscationic Amphiphiles With One Or Two Tails, John N. Marafino
Colloidal And Biological Properties Of Triscationic Amphiphiles With One Or Two Tails, John N. Marafino
Masters Theses, 2010-2019
The decline in the development of novel antimicrobials, combined with the misusage and over prescription of antibiotics, has contributed to the increasing prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant infections. Thus development of effective novel disinfectants could reduce the transmission of pathogens and decrease the risk of infection by antibiotic resistant organisms. The antimicrobial activity of amphiphiles, compounds with hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, was first reported in 1935, and has influenced the synthesis of amphiphiles with variations in structure. In this study, three series of amphiphiles were synthesized by two subsequent Menshutkin reactions. Each amphiphile contains one or two hydrocarbon tails ranging from 8 …