Life Sciences Commons^™

Occupancy Modeling Of Western Monarch Thanksgiving Counts: Negative Impacts Of Incomplete Resurveys And Uneven Sampling Efforts, Keegan M. Mclean

Biological Sciences

Western monarch butterflies (sp. Danaus plexippus) are undergoing a severe decline that rivals those occurring among insects across the globe. Despite the estimation of population abundance, growth rates, and extinction probabilities, no analyses have investigated spatiotemporal patterns of decline in the western monarch population. I performed occupancy modeling of Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count (WMTC) data. The data was constrained spatially and temporally, with sites grouped into occupancy bins by latitude and year. Occupancy probabilities (psi) were estimated for each intersection of a latitude and time bin and detection probabilities (p) were estimated for each time bin. Psi increased slightly and ...

Seasonal Controls On Nearshore Hypoxia In A Small Coastal Embayment, Stephen Alexander Huie

Physics

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is an important biogeochemical factor that strongly influences nearshore coastal ecosystems. Low DO (hypoxic) events can cause physiological stressful environments for ecological and economically important species, potentially leading to mass mortalities. In order to better assess drivers of coastal hypoxia, we collected data from monthly cruises on the inner shelf and nearshore moorings inside and outside a small coastal embayment (San Luis Obispo Bay on the Central California Coast) across the full upwelling season (March to August). During the late spring and early summer, we found that the nearshore near-bottom temperature-DO (T-DO) relationship aligned with the shelf ...

Early Wildfire Detection With Line Sensors, Virginia Yan

Master's Theses

Over the last few years, wildfires have become more devastating to communities as the fires are inevitably destructive to many homes, businesses, and ecosystems. Frequent wildfires also pose a significant threat to power grids and nearby residents as they can damage transmission lines and other electrical equipment, which in turn can cause major power shutdowns. Especially in western U.S., severe drought conditions and weather variability cause residents to become more vulnerable to wildfire disasters as their safety is threatened. We are incompetent to control the wildfires effectively despite existing advanced technologies. Hence, an algorithm based on energy conservation and ...

The Future Of Organic Insect Pest Management: Be A Better Entomologist Or Pay For Someone Who Is, David H. Headrick

Horticulture and Crop Science

Insect pest management in certified organic production systems presents considerable challenges for growers. The Federal National Organic Program (NOP) guidelines list acceptable tactics, but their effective use requires a considerable knowledgebase in entomology. The range of tactics allowed by the NOP are viewed as limiting by many growers and there are important elements missing from the list such as pest monitoring and identification. Educational programs must consider utilizing instructional methods and additional means of outreach that introduce new pest management tactics that are individualized, regionally appropriate and emphasize grower adoption and collaboration with local professionals. This review describes the challenges ...

Study Of Plants Used Against Infections By California Native American Tribes, Maria J. Rojas

Master's Theses

The objectives of this research were to evaluate the antibacterial activity and to determine the chemical composition of a list of medicinal plants used by Native Americans in California. Artemisia californica, Mimulus aurantiacus, Equisetum telmateia, Equisetum hyemale, and Marah fabacea were selected from a list of plants reported as having been used for ailments related to infections by tribes located in California. The extracts obtained through steam distillation from E. telmateia, E. hyemale and M. fabacea were assayed for in vitro antibacterial activity against 16 Gram-negative and 6 Gram-positive bacteria using disk diffusion assays and measuring the diameters of inhibition ...

Eelgrass (Zostera Marina) Population Decline In Morro Bay, Ca: A Meta-Analysis Of Herbicide Application In San Luis Obispo County And Morro Bay Watershed, Tyler King Sinnott

Master's Theses

The endemic eelgrass (Zostera marina) community of Morro Bay Estuary, located on the central coast of California, has experienced an estimated decline of 95% in occupied area (reduction of 344 acres to 20 acres) from 2008 to 2017 for reasons that are not yet definitively clear. One possible driver of degradation that has yet to be investigated is the role of herbicides from agricultural fields in the watershed that feeds into the estuary. Thus, the primary research goal of this project was to better understand temporal and spatial trends of herbicide use within the context of San Luis Obispo (SLO ...

Pressure Driven Desalination Utilizing Nanomaterials, Fangyou Xie

Master's Theses

Nanomaterials such as graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes, have demonstrated excellent properties for membrane desalination, including decrease of maintenance, increase of flux rate, simple solution casting, and impressive chemical inertness. Here, two projects are studied to investigate nanocarbon based membrane desalination. The first project is to prepare hybrid membranes with amyloid fibrils intercalated with graphene oxide sheets. The addition of protein amyloid fibrils expands the interlayer spacing between graphene oxide nanosheets and introduces additional functional groups in the diffusion pathways, resulting in increase of flux rate and rejection rate for the organic dyes. Amyloid fibrils also provide structural assistance to ...

Maleic Anhydride Compatibilized Peach Waste As Filler In Polypropylene And High Density Polyethylene Biocomposites, Caralyn Wong, Stephanie Jung, Joongmin Shin, Ajay Kathuria

Master's Theses

It is estimated that roughly 103, 515 tons of peach waste is produced annually in the US. The majority of the waste is disposed of in landfills, which contributes to climate change as they release 93 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent. Peach waste principally consists of remaining stone and seed after flesh removal. The agro-waste includes both cellulose and lignin, which can be utilized as a filler in plastic packaging to reduce carbon footprints and material cost. The objectives of this research are (1) to develop peach flour (PF)-filled biocomposites with a polyolefin matrix using maleic anhydride-g-high ...

Artificial Night Lighting And Anthropogenic Noise Alter Animal Activity, Body Condition, Species Richness, And Community Structure, Joshua Willems

Master's Theses

Sensory pollution from artificial night-lighting and anthropogenic noise have increased at a dramatic rate over the last several decades. Alterations to the sensory environment have been found to affect wildlife in a wide variety of ways including behavioral changes, physiological responses, changes in species interactions, and altered community structure. Increased levels of light and noise pollution can originate from many sources including roads, energy development and infrastructure, and urbanization. Even remote or protected areas are not immune to the effects of increased sensory disturbances with 63 percent of protected areas within the United States found to have been exposed to ...

Saturday Night Live Club Lamb Sale, Tyler P. Wilkerson

Agricultural Education and Communication

“Competition is said to be the backbone of the stock show industry,” (Davis, 1998). A statement spoken in a 1998 thesis paper on the junior livestock industry still holds water in today’s world. Youth livestock exhibition, especially in California, continues to grow in the number of youth participants and the number of livestock entries at shows (Switzer, 2019).

It is the responsibility of livestock breeders to breed, raise, and sell their livestock to maximize the opportunity for youth to acquire livestock to show. In his research, Wendt discusses the capabilities of purchasing livestock through online platforms. He speaks to ...

Creating A Livestock Show From The Beginning For The Benefit Of Youth In The Agriculture Industry And Continuing The Tradition Of Showing, Chloé Fowler, Matthew Durian

Agricultural Education and Communication

Youth throughout the country have been shown to benefit through organizations focused on leadership and real-world tangible skills. Organizations such as the National FFA Organization and 4-H Youth Development are key organizations for this growth. Livestock shows are another layer to these organizations and youth development. “Livestock shows provide interactions through different environments that expose participants to different cultures,” (Davis, 1998).

For these reasons it is important to provide more opportunities to the next generation of agriculture. There are currently 28 different livestock jackpots within the state of California throughout one year, (CJLA, 2020). Due to the large geographic landscape ...

Towards Equitable Communication: An Exploratory Study To Guide Knowledge Translation In Kinesiology, Akuekegbe Y. Uwadiale, Jafra D. Thomas

Kinesiology and Public Health

Resources at or below the 8th grade reading level is key if behavioral resources are to support end-user health literacy, a strong predictor of prevention-oriented health behaviors and health risk. To understand how readability issues effect physical activity resources, we performed a systematic review of the kinesiology literature. A sample of 18 original studies was obtained (M publication date=2010, SD=7.45), which on average reported public resources exceeded the 8th grade reading level by at least two grades. Thematic analysis resulted in 14 general ways material readability could be easily improved. Project findings will be discussed and next ...

Becoming Agricultured: Creating An Agriculture Literacy Podcast For Consumers, Madalyn C. Souza

Agricultural Education and Communication

Today’s consumers want to become more aware of where their food comes from. There is a need and a desire to bridge the gap between consumers and production agriculture. One way to reach consumers is through audio podcasts. Podcasts are digital audio recordings that are streamed online. The podcast Becoming Agricultured will be a platform to show the relationship between agriculture and the environment, food, fiber and energy, animals, lifestyle, the economy and technology. The podcast is aimed to tell agriculture's story through factual research and personal accounts of those involved in different sectors of the agriculture industry ...

Hericium Erinaceus: Erinacine A, Ventura Villanueva

Agricultural Education and Communication

Hericium erinaceus (Lion's Mane)

Erinacines - component found in Lion's Mane

A variety of mushroom that has been grabbing the attention of different pharmaceutical companies is the Hericium Erinaceus commonly known as Lion’s Mane. Lion’s Mane also known as, “Sheep’s head, Bear’s head, Bearded tooth carpophore, and Yamabushitmnnake” (Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus)). Lion’s Mane in nature is found growing off the dry bark of trees (Kuo, 2016). Nowadays there are many products in the market that sell Lion’s Mane mushroom powder as a superfood. Lion’s Mane mushroom is known to have ...

Public Relations Of Cal Poly Avocado Rootstock Trial, Angel Daniel Carrillo

Agricultural Education and Communication

Avocados have been one of California’s specialty crops for quite some time now. The industry has been motivating growers to implement the best management practices to ensure stable and increased production as much as they possibly can. California is the leading state in the country for avocado production. In 2019, California alone produced 109 tons of avocados (US Department of Agriculture, 2020). Unfortunately, root rot has made it a challenge to do so.

Root rot is a disease derived from the Phytophthora cinnamomi pathogen. This is an issue for avocado production worldwide. In efforts to find a method of ...

Increasing Groundwater Recharge Activity In The San Joaquin Valley Of California, Jacob Willhite, Jacob Willhite

Agricultural Education and Communication

Over the past several decades, groundwater has become a primary source of water used for agriculture in California. Surface water available for agricultural use has depleted due to declining rain totals and reallocation to environmental purposes. As a result, groundwater overdraft has become a severe challenge, especially in the San Joaquin Valley of California. This excessive overdraft causes a plethora of issues, one of the most serious being land subsidence (Faunt, Sneed, Traum, & Brandt, 2016). Studies suggest some areas of the San Joaquin Valley have experienced more than a 28-foot drop in the land level since the 1970’s (Alley ...

Graduate Internship Report - Central High School, Yesenia A. Ramirez

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship report includes reflections and supporting documentation required in meeting the twelve quality criteria for secondary-level Agriculture Education Programs in the State of California. The quality criteria are used to evaluate the quality of an agriculture program and determine its eligibility for Agriculture Incentive Grant funds. The supporting documentation includes information used to receive state and local funding, outline the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of Central West, the agriculture program, and the community.

Graduate Internship Report: Golden West High School, Amber R. Nagel

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship and project report includes documentation required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Golden West High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The supporting material includes information to receive state and local funding, outline the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of Golden West High School, the agriculture program and the community.

Engineering A Grapevine Pruning Training Tool For Use In Educational And Professional Environments, Catherine Anne Thornbury

Electrical Engineering

This report documents the design of a field-safe and portable tool that helps field hands identify how many wine grape nodes to prune per cane. This practice allows for a more bountiful harvest. The device indicates to the worker whether to leave one, two, or three nodes on a cane. The device is attachable to a set of industry-standard shears to allow for efficient and cost-effective pruning.

The device add-on can withstand a typical 8-hour workday and is able to be used in bright sun, clouds, and rain. Additionally, the device is able to differentiate between small, medium, and large ...

Cal Poly Pier Master Plan, Troy A. Lawson

Master's Theses

The Cal Poly Pier (Pier) Master/Facility Plan (FP) document provides the vision of the future for the Pier, a marine science research facility. The Plan facilitates project development and management of the Pier while meeting university and department research goals. Specifically, the FP document establishes goals and strategies to direct long-term development of the Pier, streamlines agency approval and permit requirements, provides context for pier management, and assists the permitting process for future development as it relates to regulatory permits and programmatic growth on the Cal Poly Pier to help meet goals of the Center for Coastal Marine Sciences ...

A Floristic Study Of The Cal Poly Swanton Pacific Ranch And A New Combination In Sanicula Crassicaulis (Apiaceae), Sanicula Crassicaulis Var. Nudicaulis, Reed J. Kenny

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

A Floristic Study of the Cal Poly Swanton Pacific Ranch and a New Combination in Sanicula crassicaulis (Apiaceae), Sanicula crassicaulis var. nudicaulis

Reed J. Kenny

Globally we are experiencing a biodiversity crisis and potentially a sixth mass extinction event. Plant specimens are one of the best, most concrete records of biodiversity that we can create. Despite this, the rate of plant collecting has declined steeply since World War II. Now more than ever, plant collections are vital, both for the purpose of quantifying the plant biodiversity in an area and for discovering previously unrecognized diversity.

In Chapter 1, we ...

Attractiveness Of English Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris L.) To Arthropod Natural Enemies And Its Suitability As A Dual Use Resource, Kristina K. Van Wert

Master's Theses

Current agroecosystem management practices have a negative effect on natural enemies and their ability to control insect pests. Conservation biological control through the addition of flowering resources can manage food resources for natural enemies. These floral resources can also provide multiple ecosystem services. Study goals were to determine if perennial Thymus vulgaris L. was attractive to natural enemies and if so, could it be a dual use resource encouraging pest management and providing harvestable product. In 2018 plots in three locations were used to examine the effect of habitat throughout the growing season on the attractiveness of T. vulgaris. Large ...

Portable Fluorescence Illuminator, Katherine Hui, Emran Baryal, Emmett Lambert

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review (FDR) document outlines the senior design project implemented by a team of three mechanical engineering students at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo for a professor in the biochemistry and chemistry department, Dr. Javin Oza. The project involved designing and manufacturing a portable ultraviolet fluorescence illuminator that will indicate the fluorescent glow of biomaterials for viewing purposes. The goal was to create a portable product out of recyclable material that can be used in field applications and increase accessibility to affordable science equipment. The initial sponsor and user interviews, technical background research, product research, and ...

Seasonal And Interannual Variability Of Phytoplankton Abundance And Community Composition On The Central Coast Of California, Alex Barth, Ryan K. Walter, Ian C. Robbins, Alexis Pasulka

Physics

Variations in the abundance and composition of phytoplankton greatly impact ecosystem structure and function. Within the California Current System (CCS), phytoplankton community structure is tightly coupled to seasonal variability in wind-driven coastal upwelling, a process that drives changes in coastal water temperatures and nutrient concentrations. Based on approximately a decade (2008-2018) of weekly phytoplankton measurements, this study provides the first characterization of the seasonal and interannual variability of phytoplankton abundance and composition in San Luis Obispo (SLO) Bay, an understudied region within the CCS. Overall, the seasonality of phytoplankton in SLO Bay mirrored that of the larger CCS; diatoms dominated ...

Inactivation Of Foodborne Pathogens During Cider Fermentation, In A Cider Model System And Commerical Cider, Kathryn K. Yamada

Master's Theses

Hard cider is an alcoholic drink made from fermented crushed fruit, typically apples. The popularity of this fermented alcoholic beverage has been on the rise within the last decade. Historically, hard cider has been deemed safe due to the presence of ethanol and the low pH. Although there is lack of scientific evidence to prove that hard cider will and can be safe from foodborne pathogens. Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes are three predominate foodborne bacterial pathogens of concern in the food and beverage industry. Escherichia coli O157:H7 in particular has been associated with fresh ...

Thermal Ecology Of The Federally Endangered Blunt-Nosed Leopard Lizard, Kathleen N. Ivey

Master's Theses

Recognizing how climate change will impact populations can aid in making decisions about approaches for conservation of endangered species. The Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia sila) is a federally endangered species that, despite protection, remains in extremely arid, hot areas and may be at risk of extirpation due to climate change. We collected data on the field-active body temperatures, preferred body temperatures, and upper thermal tolerance of G. sila. We then described available thermal habitat using biophysical models, which allowed us to (1) describe patterns in lizard body temperatures, microhabitat temperatures, and lizard microhabitat use, (2) quantify the lizards’ thermoregulatory accuracy ...

Patterns In Size Distribution And Catch Of Rockfish (Sebastes Spp.) In Fisheries-Independent And Fisheries- Dependent Hook-And-Line Surveys On The Central Coast Of California, Rose Elizabeth Dodgen

Master's Theses

Stock assessments are statistical models which characterize the state of a population of fish. Data for stock assessment models of West Coast nearshore groundfish come largely from fisheries-dependent sources. Incorporating fisheries-independent data would increase data availability. A potential source of fisheries-independent data which is comparable to existing fisheries-dependent data is the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP), a Marine Protected Area (MPA) monitoring study. We are interested in understanding the context in which CCFRP could be implemented into assessments of nearshore groundfish, specifically rockfish. To investigate this, we used management-relevant metrics to examine three questions concerning the implementation of CCFRP ...

Valorization Of Carrot Processing Waste, Alexandra M. Duval

Master's Theses

Commercial carrot processors produce up to 175,000 tons of carrot waste annually. Carrot Mash (CM) is the term referring to the waste by-product of peeled baby carrot processing. Transportation of carrot processing waste is expensive due to its high- water content (approx. 83-95%). High in bioactive compounds (carotenoids) and dietary fibers, it is expected that its conversion into a value-added by-product is of interest to the carrot processing industry. Hemicellulose-rich plant materials have proven to be a source of oligosaccharides, which are known for their beneficial prebiotic activity. The objectives of this research were to: 1) determine the effect ...

Heavy Metal Dissolution Mechanisms From Electrical Industrial Sludge, Viraj Gunarathne, Anushka Upamali Rajapaksha, Meththika Vithanage, Nadeesh Adassooriya, Asitha Cooray, Sudantha Liyanage, Bandunee Athapattu, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Avanthi Deshani Igalavithana, Deyi Hou, Daniel S. Alessi, Yong Sik Ok

Biological Sciences

In this paper, we investigate the release of heavy metals from sludge produced from an electrical industry using both organic and inorganic acids. Single and sequential extractions were conducted to assess heavy metals in different phases of the sludge. Metal release from sludge was investigated in the presence of three inorganic acids (nitric, sulfuric, and phosphoric) and three organic acids (acetic, malic, and citric) at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 2.0 mol L−1. Sequential extraction indicated the presence of Cu primarily in the carbonate fraction, Pb in the residual fraction, and Ni in the FeMn oxide fraction ...

Do Elevation And Aspect Predict Functional Trait Values In Alpine Plant Populations?, Karen Analiesa Bach

Biological Sciences

Alpine regions are among the hardest hit by global climate change, experiencing rising temperatures at a faster rate than lowland areas. Such fast rates of warming are predicted to cause rapid changes in alpine plant communities, including shifts in plant functional traits along elevation gradients. To investigate these effects within species, we examined the relationship between elevation, aspect, and functional traits of three common alpine plants in California; the shrub Holodiscus discolor var. microphyllus, the forb Calyptridium umbellatum, and the grass Trisetum spicatum. Functional traits examined included plant height, plant width, and Specific Leaf Area (SLA). These traits were measured ...