Life Sciences Commons^™

Farming: It's Not Just For Farmers Anymore, Jennifer Schmidt

Pomona Senior Theses

Agricultural education, originally the province of land grant institutions, has recently entered the liberal arts curriculum. This represents a profound shift from the origins of agricultural education, when it was intended primarily as vocational training for future farmers, and has important implications for the future of the American food system. The first chapter of this thesis addresses the history of agricultural education: what was it originally like, and why did it come to be heavily criticized in the late twentieth century? Formal agricultural education changed significantly in response to these criticisms, making it more environmentally sustainable and bringing it into …

Biodynamic Agriculture: A Valuable Alternative To The Industrial Farming System, Eden K. Olsen

Scripps Senior Theses

Since the Scientific and Industrial revolutions, advancing technologies and cutting-edge science have enabled our society to continually promote a growing global economy. Industrial growth has increasingly become a top priority for most governments, notably in the agricultural realm. The advances towards agricultural industrialization began in the 17^th century and escalated during the Green Revolution, which examined the possibility of using synthetic fertilizers and mechanization in farming to decrease labor and improve yields. Although seen as economically beneficial, the shift from an agrarian lifestyle to industrial farming has created an ecological, economic, and ideological crisis to our modern world. This …

Urban Farm And Community Garden Hybrid Models: A Case Study Of The Huerta Del Valle Community Garden, Leah Hochberg

Scripps Senior Theses

This study examines models of community gardens and urban farms and determined a successful hybrid model for future implementation at the Huerta del Valle Community Garden. This was accomplished through analyzing the unique benefits and drawbacks of community gardens and urban farms as defined by the author, and then determining the components of each model that would maximize Huerta del Valle’s social and economic potential. Community gardens are defined in this thesis as places where community members can grow their own food in individual plots, and these spaces often contribute to community building, hands-on gardening education, and improved food access. …

Spreading The Char: The Importance Of Local Compatibility In The Diffusion Of Biochar Systems To The Smallholder Agriculture Community Context, Laura C. V. Munoz

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis enters the context of smallholder agriculture communities in the developing world. It explores the potentials of biochar and what biochar systems could bring to the smallholder communities while simultaneously bringing environmental benefits. It then acknowledges the challenges of diffusion –the spreading of an unfamiliar innovation. It seeks to answer the question of what will make diffusion of biochar systems more successful in the smallholder context, fixating on the characteristic of compatibility as well as the role local community members can play in making a new biochar system more visible to the rest of the communities.

The Foraging Areas Of Attine Ants At The Firestone Reserve, Costa Rica, Elana A. Goldstein

Scripps Senior Theses

In tropical forest systems, attine ants are the dominant herbivores. They construct large nest structures that include foraging trails that extend to multiple plant sources throughout the forest. These foraging areas vary from nest to nest and they are highly dynamic over time and season changes. It was expected that characteristics of both the nest structure and the surrounding environment would affect the size of nest foraging areas. In this study, COMPASS survey software and ArcGIS were used to map the foraging trails and calculate the foraging areas of 12 attine ant nests located on the Firestone Reserve, over the …

Implementing Green Roofs On Movie Theaters And Shopping Centers: Business Cases In Profitable Sustainability, Ryan J. Miller

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis presents the business case for installing green roofs on movie theaters and shopping centers. These businesses can then derive increased profits from the environmental benefits of reduced energy use and increased stormwater retention. After presenting the basic design and benefits of a green roof, the thesis develops stand-alone business plans for a movie theater and shopping center. The author finds that green roofs are a profitable sustainability solution for the commercial enterprise.

Effects Of Phylogeny On Structural Correlations Of Vertebrate Eyes, Amanda Yl Jacobs

Scripps Senior Theses

Common ancestry prevents scientists from using traditional statistical tests in dimensional comparisons that span entire clades. Data in these cases are non-independent, so a variety of special statistical methods have been developed specifically for phylogenetic comparative analyses. A phylogenetic least squares method was used to re-examine four published datasets detailing structural correlates of eyes while factoring in the different ways the phylogeny was expected to affect the covariance in trait values. All analyses were carried out in a strict phylogenetic context, using published time-calibrated phylogenies and the statistical platform R. Specifically, Pagel’s lambda was used to determine how much of …

The Environmental, Social, And Economic Impacts Of Hydraulic Fracturing, Horizontal Drilling, And Acidization In California, Christina Whalen

CMC Senior Theses

The oil extraction mechanisms of hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling, and acidization have recently spread throughout the state of California. This thesis explores and assesses whether federal and state legislation should approve of fracking operations in California after studying its effects on human health, the environment, and the economy. This thesis assesses the impacts of fracking; analyzes the role of current legislation and regulation; compares California fracking to fracking in other states and countries; and provides recommendations for future action.

The Impact Of Sea Surface Temperature On Outbreaks Of Acanthaster Planci On The Great Barrier Reef, Laura A. Grossman

Scripps Senior Theses

The causes of increasing outbreaks of Acanthaster planci on the Great Barrier Reef have been a point of hot debate in recent years. It is unknown whether the increased success is due to nutrient runoff, salinity levels, or a decrease in predation, among other possibilities. In this paper I argue that the primary influence on outbreak status is sea surface temperature. From existing literature, I demonstrate that sea surface temperature in the Great Barrier Reef has increased by 0.4°C per year over the past three decades. I attempt to tie this increase with an increase in frequency of A. planci …

Shoulder Impingement In Water Polo Players, Kelly A. Davis

Scripps Senior Theses

Water polo is a highly dynamic and physically demanding sport that has heretofore not inspired nearly as much research as other overhead sports such as baseball or swimming. As in almost all overhead sports, water polo puts its players at high risks for shoulder injuries since the motions required to perform the sport at an optimum level push the limits of normal shoulder function.

Human shoulders are inherently unstable as a tradeoff to their flexibility. Because of this instability, many structures are required to work concurrently to keep the shoulder in place. These structures include muscles, ligaments and cartilages. It …

Examining The Intersection Of The Cognitive Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Bilingual Brain, Irina Rabkina

Scripps Senior Theses

Two conflicting findings characterize cognitive processing accompanying bilingualism. The “bilingual advantage” refers to improved cognitive performance for bilingual compared to monolingual participants. Most bilingual advantages fall under the umbrella of cognitive control mechanisms, most frequently demonstrated using the Stroop task and the Simon task (e.g., Bialystok, 2008; Coderre, Van Heuven, & Conklin, 2013). The “bilingual disadvantage,” on the other hand, refers to bilinguals’ diminished performance on tasks that require word retrieval or switching between languages. This study examined the intersection of the bilingual advantage and the bilingual disadvantage to investigate whether they stem from a single cognitive control process. The …

Relative Importance Of Male Song On Female Mate Selection In The Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia Guttata), Casey Sprague

Scripps Senior Theses

In the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), song and its social context play an important role in female mate selection. The song of the zebra finch is unique in that it can only be produced by males, which makes the species ideal for analyzing the components of male song that influence female song preference and mate selection. There are three consistent features of zebra finch song that affect female mate preference: 1) the amount of time a male sings, 2) the size and complexity of his song repertoire, and 3) the structural conformation to species or population norms (reviewed …

Evaluating The Potential Risks And Rewards In The Implementation Of A Redd+ Policy In Uganda, Sage Schaftel

Pitzer Senior Theses

In this thesis, I analyze the potential for a REDD+ program to succeed in Uganda at this time, and I explore why this may or may not be possible. REDD+, which stands for Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation, aims to enhance carbon stocks while also conserving and sustainably managing forests. In doing so, REDD+ not only works to offset carbon emission levels and conserve forests and forest biodiversity, but also provides financial benefits to REDD+ participant countries, thus improving the livelihoods of local people living adjacent to forests. This program is widely regarded as the most effective and least risky …

Trait Evolution In Anseriformes: Is Evolution Of Body Mass, Diet, Locomotory Behavior, And Diel Activity Pattern Correlated?, Zoe M. Kao

Scripps Senior Theses

The morphologies and behaviors of animals evolve and diversify, filling ecological niches in their environments. In this study I examine how a morphological trait, body mass, and three ecological traits, namely diel activity patterns, diving/non-diving locomotion, and diet, evolve in the Anseriformes (waterfowl). Through ancestral state reconstructions using a maximum likelihood approach the evolution of these traits was compared to see if any patterns of trait coevolution emerged. Body mass was compared to each ecological trait using a phylogenetic ANOVA to test if there were body size differences between ecological groups. The pattern of male and female body mass evolution …

Wetlands And Greenhouse Gas Fluxes: Causes And Effects Of Climate Change – A Meta-Analysis, Robert E. Ventura

Pomona Senior Theses

Climate change is one of the largest problems facing this generation. Anthropogenically caused increases of greenhouse gas emissions is a significant culprit to this problem. Although the obvious problems such as cars, industry, and urbanism garnish a significant amount of the criticism, natural sources such as wetlands are also beginning to contribute to this issue. This is becoming increasingly significant as wetlands shift from being sinks of greenhouse gases to becoming sources as various anthropogenic impacts, including global warming itself, begin to affect the health of the wetlands. The aim of this project is to look at four common types …

Characterizing A Novel Monoclonal Ampa Receptor 1/2/3 Antibody In The Hippocampus And Prefrontal Cortex Of Rat, Monkey, And Human, Sebastian Aguiar

Pitzer Senior Theses

The excitatory, ionotropic glutamatergic AMPA receptor is the most common membrane-bound receptor in the central nervous system. AMPARs and the NMDA receptors are central to synaptic plasticity, memory, and mechanisms of neurodegeneration. The AMPAR is an obligate heterotetramer, composed of subunits GluA1-4. Subunit permutation determines ion conductance, trafficking and other functional characteristics. Few available antibodies are subunit-specific, disabling researchers from accurately visualizing differential AMPAR subunit distribution in the nervous system. This study sought to visualize a novel monoclonal GluA1/2/3 antibody with functional avidity for three of four receptor subunits and to characterize the ultrastructural localization of these receptors using confocal …