Life Sciences Commons^™

Semillas Y La Ciudad: La Agricultura Urbana En Oaxaca De Juárez Como Un Aporte A La Soberanía Alimentaria, Katie Oberwager

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este proyecto trata de examinar el movimiento creciente de la agricultura urbana en Oaxaca de Juárez, México como un aporte potencial a la soberanía alimentaria. Las políticas económicas en los Estados Unidos tienen un efecto directo en las vidas mexicanas, y esto es especialmente la verdad con los campesinos mexicanos. Por ejemplo, el Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte ha causado la inundación de México con maíz barato. La mayoría de los campesinos mexicanos no pueden competir con estos precios bajos y han sido obligados a huir de su tierra en busca de trabajo en las ciudades o …

The Prospects Of Using Athrospira Platensis As A Malnutrition Treatment In Kenya, Kari N. Harris

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research was to explore the current efforts using spirulina as a malnutrition treatment in Kenya. There are currently five spirulina cultivation sites that growing spirulina, four of which are located in the Nyanza Province. Their production and scope of advocacy efforts are limited. Some of the cultivation sites have a better quality control measures and strategic plan in place for expanding cultivation. Significant efforts need to be made to improve the scope of production and create links with nutrition experts in other non-governmental organizations and at the national level.

Caterpillar Fungus Of The Tibetan Plateau, Lucas Crouch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Chongcao is a traditional Chinese medicine that can only be found on the Tibetan plateau. It is the result of a parasitic relationship between the Ghost moth Larva and the fungus Cordyceps Sinensis. Chongcao is highly prized among the Chinese as a medicine and the value is reflected in the market. The price of Chongcao increased by 900% between the years 1997 and 2008 (Winkler, 2010). In 2009 the market went down a slightly due to the 2008 financial crises but the price in 2010 recovered to 2008 levels. It is currently worth twice its weight in gold. (LA Times) …

A Study Of Corallivores Of Bawe And Chumbe Islands, Zanzibar, Rachael Mallon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Coral reefs are considered keystone ecosystems due to their socioeconomic, ecological, and educational value. In Zanzibar, Tanzania, reefs provide income and a protein source for large portions of the population. Fish are reliant upon reefs as grounds for feeding, breeding, and nursing. Reefs are related to mangrove and seagrass ecosystems; the three ecosystems are interconnected in their functions of protecting biodiversity of coastal organisms, coastal erosion, and improving water quality. Coral reefs are also subject to degradation by both anthropogenic and natural causes. Predation is one example of natural degradation of coral. Six species of corallivores were studied to compare …

Traditional Plant Use Of The Raglay In Cãu Gãy Village, Núi Chúa National Park, Alex Greene

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Members of the Raglay community of Cãu Gãy Village were interviewed to determine the extent and nature of their traditional reliance on plants. This community, located in the buffer zone of Núi Chúa National Park, was found to utilize 64 plant species for a wide variety of uses. Botanical specimens and photographs were used to identify 42 plants to species level, 13 to genus level, and 6 to family level, while 3 remained unidentified. For each plant, the Raglay name, local Vietnamese name, use, specific application, and preparation were documented, as well as any details of ritual or commercial significance. …

Guano Exploitation In Madagascar, Christina Buliga

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agriculture in Madagascar continues to remain largely undeveloped. Out of the eighty percent of Malagasy individuals that live in rural areas an overwhelming sixty five percent practice subsistence agriculture. With respect to the country as a whole this means that out of Madagascar's 58.2 million hectares of available land only 5.2 percent (3 million hectares) are farmed. And out of these 3 million hectares only 67% are cultivated permanently and only 11% are fertilized.

While there are several reasons for why Madagascar’s agriculture has remained largely undeveloped and for why Madagascar continues to rely on imported crops to meet its …

Stop Pummeling My Primates: Effects Of Land Use Change On Behaviors Of Papio Anubis Near Lake Manyara National Park In Mto Wa Mbu, Tanzania, Hannah Young

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The ever-increasing human population means more land is required for housing and agricultural needs to sustain the growing population. This study involves a group of olive baboons living in and on the boundary of Lake Manyara National Park in Mto wa Mbu, Tanzania. They leave the park everyday and travel to surrounding areas. There are three different habitats near the baboons’ exit point of the park, a residential area with houses and some people, an undisturbed area without homes and residents, and an agricultural area, full of farms and the most densely populated area. The object of this study was …

Landscape Factors Impacting Survival Of Sympatric Red-Necked Wallabies (Macropus Rufogriseus) And Swamp Wallabies (Wallabia Bicolor) In Urbanized Areas, Karen Zusi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Urbanization and infrastructure build-up often includes many processes that can damage the natural environment in surrounding areas. Road, powerline, and dam construction, as well as mining, drilling, and overall land-clearing, have severe impacts that resonate through the adjacent wildlife communities. Some species, however, are able to persist in the fringes of urban environments; the swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor, is one such example in Australia. A different species of macropod, the red-necked wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus), is similar to the swamp wallaby in many ways but has failed to persist in the outskirts of urban areas. This study aimed to quantitatively differentiate …

Sperm Use During Egg Fertilization In The Honeybee (Apis Mellifera), Maria Rubinsky

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A technique to quantify sperm use in honeybee queens (Apis mellifera) was developed and used to analyze the number of sperm used in different groups of honeybee queens. To do this a queen was placed on a frame with worker cells containing no eggs, and an excluder box was placed around her. The frame was put back into the colony and removed after two and a half hours. This method reduced stress on the queen so that she felt comfortable enough to lay eggs and did not require the queen to be killed so that she could be sampled multiple …

Pesticide Use And Awareness On Pemba Island, Brooke Shorett, Lauren Crask

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Use and awareness of pesticides by 301 farmers on Pemba Island, Tanzania, were surveyed, in order to assess practices and perceptions of pesticide use. Surveys were conducted in both peri-urban farms and rural farms, which were either irrigated or rain-fed. Results showed that while the overwhelming majority of farmers on irrigated fields used pesticides frequently, farmers located in rain-fed irrigation largely farmed without pesticides. Likewise, peri-urban farmers made use of pesticides far more than rural farmers. Of the farmers who did use pesticides, an average of Tsh 17,219 was spent annually on Rogol, Satunil, Dimethoate, Simithion, Thionex and Dursban. Most …

Seeing Stripes: A Study Of How Dominance Rank Within A Herd Of Resident Burchell’S Zebra (Equus Burchelli) At Ndarakwai Ranch Correlate To Frequencies Of Other Behaviors., Alexandra Clayton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Zebra are highly social ungulates that live in harems with a dominance hierarchy. This study attempted to determine if dominance rank within a herd of Burchell’s zebra (Equus burchelli) correlated to frequencies of other behaviors. It was predicted that adult zebra would display the most vigilance, with vigilance decreasing with dominance rank. This study took place at Ndarakwai Ranch in the west Kilimanjaro basin of northern Tanzania from 11/7/10 until 11/22/10. Scans (n=199), follows, and all-group observations were used to collect data on opportunistic sightings of Burchell’s zebra. Zebra were categorized into five age classes: stallion, adult females, sub-adults, juveniles, …

Development Of Predatory Behavior In Juvenile Fish: Evidence Of Attraction To Prey Chemical Alarm Cues By Naïve Coral Reef Predator, (Pseudochromis Fuscus), Shannon Odell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Chemical alarm cues and their function on the coal reef has become an area of increasing interest in the study of predator-prey dynamics (Smith 1999, Friesen and Chivers 2006, Holmes and McCormick 2010). One prominent question in understanding the evolutionary basis for the development of chemical alarm cues is determining how these cues benefit the sender directly (Chivers 1996). One way chemical alarm cues found in freshwater systems have been found to benefit the sender of the cue is through attraction of secondary predators to the chemical alarm cue, which then interfere with the primary attack and increase chances of …

Invernaderos: La Búsqueda Por El Trabajo Estable Y Seguro Y Un Medioambiente En Peligro, Elli Matkin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research is intended to discuss the rapid development of the “invernaderos” (greenhouses) on the coast of Spain and to expose both the social and environmental repercussions of such a massive agricultural project. The data was gathered through the use of both secondary sources and primary research. The author conducted a number of interviews both on the coast, in Motril and Carchuna, and inland in Granada city -- discussing the subject with owners of “invernaderos”, pesticide sellers, and cooperative workers.

The main conclusion of this research is that while the work of “invernaderos” is a security for many agricultural families …

Un Estudio Ecológico De Las Lagartijas Del Valle Seco De Buenavista Y De Los Valles Húmedos De La Josefina Y Salango, Ross Brennan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

La región costera del sur de la provincia de Manabí, Ecuador es un lugar de gran biodiversidad y endemismo. En esta zona el desierto peruano del Tumbes y el bosque húmedo del Chocó se encuentran. La gran cantidad de especies endémicas y la alta biodiversidad resultan de la interacción entre las dos regiones y la diversidad de hábitats que crean. Hay bosques secos tropicales y bosques húmedos muy cerca de Puerto López. Sin embargo, esta región está cambiando rápidamente debido a las actividades humanas; hay progresiva desertificación y otras amenazas a la diversidad. Además, no hay muchos estudios de la …

Rural Tree Decline In Tasmania’S Midlands: Stand Structure, Substrate Geology, And Carbon Content Analysis, Claire Superak

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The once densely forested dry sclerophyll landscapes of the Midlands of Tasmania are now characterized by vast spans of agricultural pasture with intermittent dead and ailing eucalypt trees. This landscape changing phenomenon, rural tree dieback, has come into the focus of a collaborative research team at the University of Tasmania sponsored by the nonprofit organization, Greening Australia. Through the efforts of this team of scientists of diverse backgrounds, Greening Australia aims to create an ecologically viable reforestation plan for the Midlands.

I conducted a pilot study focusing on a 400 ha plot within the Dennistoun Farm property in Bothwell, Tasmania …