Life Sciences Commons^™

Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Nitrogen And Carbon Biogeochemistry In A Wetland-Stream Sequence, Patrick E. Hurley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Studies of aquatic ecosystems often segregate streams from the influential ponds, lakes, and wetland zones that act as important transitions between terrestrial and fluvial systems. Across the aquatic landscape, these zones interact to form linked ecosystems that function as discrete nutrient processing domains, shifting biogeochemical signals due to spatial and temporal variability in hydrologic and biologic controls. Using a mass-balance approach, we profiled nutrient dynamics along a 23-km wetland-stream sequence over three seasons. Hydrologic, morphologic, and biologic conditions, as well as landscape attributes, were quantified to determine potential controls on biogeochemical cycling in a tributary of the Upper Clark Fork …

Adaptation To A Geothermal Soil Mosaic Shapes Genome-Wide Patterns Of Diversity And Differentiation In Yellowstone Monkeyflowers (M. Guttatus), Kory M. Kolis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Local adaptation across habitat mosaics can generate phenotypic divergence in the face of gene flow; however, adaptive divergence in reproductive traits may also create barriers to genetic exchange within and among distinct habitats. In plants, life-history, phenology, and mating system traits may lead to divergent selection over short (microgeographic) spatial scales. Changes to these traits are likely to directly affect patterns of gene flow and genomic diversity. In this study, we combined field, common garden, and population genomic approaches to investigate phenotypic and genetic variation in Mimulus guttatus (yellow monkeyflowers) adapted to a complex geothermal soil mosaic in Yellowstone National …

Harvesting Forest Biomass In The Us Southern Rocky Mountains, Lucas Patrick Townsend

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and other mixed conifer forests of the United States southern Rocky Mountains (SRM) evolved under a low-severity, high-frequency fire regime. With the arrival of Euro-American colonists, fire was excluded from most forests, causing stands to grow dense and become prone to uncharacteristic high-severity crown fires. To combat wildfire threat, restoration treatments are frequently used to restore historic stand structure and function, effectively reducing high-severity fire risk. However, these treatments may be costly and little information is available regarding the forest operations used in the SRM. In this thesis, five forest operations were studied in 2017 to …

Genomic Inference Of Inbreeding In Alexander Archipelago Wolves (Canis Lupus Ligoni) On Prince Of Wales Island, Southeast Alaska, Katherine Emily Zarn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Habitat loss and climate change are increasingly resulting in reduction and fragmentation of wildlife populations. Populations that have experienced fragmentation and decreases in abundance are at heightened risk of inbreeding due to reduced opportunities to mate with unrelated conspecifics. Prolonged or extensive inbreeding can result in inbreeding depression via the exposure of deleterious alleles in long runs of homozygosity. Alexander Archipelago wolves (Canis lupus ligoni) on Prince of Wales Island (POW) in Southeast Alaska are a small, isolated population of conservation concern that have experienced habitat loss and high harvest rates, and present an ideal system in which …

Prevention Of Crystalline Silica-Induced Inflammation By The Anti-Malarial Hydroxychloroquine, Rachel Dawn Burmeister

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Exposure to inhaled crystalline silica (cSiO2) is common in occupations where there is cutting, milling, or grinding of cSiO2 containing material. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates that over 2 million workers may be exposed to inhaled cSiO2 in the United States. Inhalation of cSiO2 causes acute and chronic inflammation and may lead pulmonary diseases such as silicosis, as well as an increased risk of developing autoimmune diseases.Unfortunately, treatment of cSiO2-induced lung diseases is limited and primarily focused on supportive care.

Inflammation caused by cSiO2 begins when, cSiO2 particles are phagocytized by alveolar macrophages. Interaction between the particle and …

Population And Breeding Ecology Of Sagebrush Steppe Songbirds, Kayla Ann Ruth

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sagebrush steppe is one of the most threatened ecosystems in North America. Domestic livestock grazing is the dominant land use of sagebrush steppe across the west. Rest-rotation grazing systems can be a conservation management tool, most recently, by the Natural Resource Conservation Service - Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI). The goal of SGI is to encourage private landowners to use a livestock grazing regime that maintains or improves habitat for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), as well as improve rangeland productivity. Songbirds are biological indicators that can assess the health of sagebrush steppe. Avian adult density estimates are often used …

Blasting The Farm: Chemical High Explosives And The Rise Of Industrial Agriculture, 1867-1930, Patrick Benjamin Swart

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Utilization Of Various Methods And A Landsat Ndvi/Google Earth Engine Product For Classifying Irrigated Land Cover, Andrew Nemecek

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Methods for classifying irrigated land cover are often complex and not quickly reproducible. Further, moderate resolution time-series datasets have been consistently utilized to produce irrigated land cover products over the past decade, and the body of irrigation classification literature contains no examples of subclassification of irrigated land cover by irrigation method. Creation of geospatial irrigated land cover products with higher resolution datasets could improve reliability, and subclassification of irrigation by method could provide better information for hydrologists and climatologists attempting to model the role of irrigation in the surface-ground water cycle and the water-energy balance. This study summarizes a simple, …

Environmental Variation And Sexual Selection In The Mountain Bluebird (Sialia Currucoides), Sara A. Berk

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sexual selection acts on traits that increase mating success, either through mating preferences or intrasexual competition for access to mates. For traits to be honest, we expect sexually selected traits to reflect individual condition at the time of trait development. Furthermore, when sexual selection operates through mating preferences, we also expect traits to indicate benefits (direct or indirect) that females receive for exercising their preference. If sexual selection acts through differential success in intrasexual contests over mates, we expect traits to indicate resource holding potential, or fighting ability. These links between individual condition, trait quality, and performance maintain honesty, because …

Tiger Monitoring In Bhutan Using Non-Invasive Genetic Tools, Tashi Dhendup

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Large carnivores are one of the most threatened group of animals in the world. They suffer from prey depletion, persecution by humans, and habitat loss and fragmentation which are extensively driven by anthropogenic activities. One such species is the tiger Panthera tigris. Tigers are found in thirteen countries in Asia and are protected across the range; however, tiger numbers have declined as an after effect of habitat loss, prey depletion and poaching. Human-induced changes have reduced the tiger's historical range to about 7% in which a little more than 3900 tigers are found. Most of these individuals currently exist …

Through The Eyes Of Locals: A Changing Climate In Bolivia, Jacob D. Rex

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Deforestation and Agricultural Land-Use Change in Bolivia as a Function of Socio-Economic Realities.

This research combines semi-structured interviews of key informants and local participants, as well as field observations, which were conducted between January and April of 2019 in the Departments of Santa Cruz & Chuquisaca.

Eating Insects: A Community Action Toolkit, Lily X. Chumrau, Charlotte Langner, Freya Sargent, Ellen Sears, Mary Mccormick

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The world’s human population has risen exponentially over the last 100 years and is expected to reach nine billion by 2050. Ensuring food security and resource sustainability is of global concern. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization endorses insect farming as an alternative to cattle, pork, sheep, and poultry industries because of their higher food conversion rate. Insect farming requires less arable land, less water, and produces less greenhouse gases than traditional livestock. The practice of eating insects, known as entomophagy, is not a new idea as two billion people around the world include insects in their diets. Unfortunately, …

Canis Lupus (Gray Wolf) Pup Survival In Yellowstone National Park, Anne Marie Jehle

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The aim of this study was to describe gray wolf (Canis lupus) pup survival rates throughout the summer months in Yellowstone National Park. Understanding pup survival has implications for trends in pack and population age structure, cooperative breeding ecology and other breeding tendencies, social hierarchies, and population fitness, among other elements of species-specific population ecology. A general understanding of trends in pup survival is also relevant to state and federal land that allow gray wolf harvest. Understanding such trends and survival ecology gives managers and biologists the opportunity to evaluate gray wolf populations at a more comprehensive level and implement …

Estimating Juvenile Recruitment Of Elk In An Occupancy Modeling Framework, Mateen A. Hessami

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Juvenile recruitment is a key parameter in understanding ungulate population dynamics. Traditional methods in population composition surveys, such as estimating young: adult-female ratio’s, can be precluded by cost, safety, and feasibility. The use of remote cameras provides a potentially cutting-edge tool to apply to wildlife population estimation techniques. While the prevalence of remote cameras in ungulate studies has increased, few studies have used cameras to estimate vital rates, such as recruitment or survival. Here, we tested the potential of remote cameras to estimate calf: cow ratios and calf survival of elk (Cervus elaphus) using the Royle-Nichols (2003) occupancy …

Biotic And Abiotic Associations With Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarkii Lewisi) In The North Fork Flathead River Basin In Northwestern Montana, Usa And Southeastern British Columbia, Can Under Current And Future Climate Scenarios., Kadie B. Heinle, Lisa Eby, Clint Muhlfeld, Vincent D'Angelo, Amber Steed, Andrew Whiteley, Mark Hebblewhite

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi; WCT) populations are declining across much of their native range due to threats such as habitat degradation, competition with non-native species, and climate change. Understanding how habitat characteristics impact distributions of nonhybridized WCT populations throughout a relatively pristine core conservation area is needed to inform management and conservation efforts. We investigated whether abiotic (e.g., gradient) and biotic (i.e., Bull Trout – Salvelinus confluentus) variables predicted WCT presence and predicted how future stream temperature projections for the area might be expected to alter distributions. We compared logistic regression models of WCT presence …

Effects Of Pag1 On Src-Family Kinase Trafficking In Neuroblastoma Cells, Makenzie E. Mayfield

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are known to help regulate cell behaviors including differentiation, proliferation and migration during embryonic development of the neural crest. RTKs are believed to initiate signaling cascades in response to extracellular cues in part by controlling localization of Src-family kinases (SFKs). The scaffolding protein PAG1 binds SFKs and is believed to influence SFK activity and location within the cell by promoting interaction of SFKs with regulatory proteins and by drawing SFKs into different components of the endocytic pathway. By targeting the PAG1 gene in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells with CRISPR/Cas9 plasmids, we created PAG1-mutant cell-lines in which …

Rates Of Water Loss And Metabolism In The Eggs Of Stick Insect Eurycantha Calcarata, Garret K. Jolma

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The thorny devil stick insect (Eurycantha calcarata) of New Guinea has eggs that take four months or more to develop—incredibly long for an insect. Long development times can be a challenge for eggs because of their finite resources, including nutrients, energy to support development, and water. I investigated the physiological mechanisms underlying long development times in stick insect eggs.

The first experiment examined rates of water loss and survival of eggs held in different experimental humidities (0, 75, or 100% RH). Eggs dried quickly in the 0% humidity “dry” container; and more slowly in the 75% humidity “intermediate” …

Effectiveness Of Lure In Capturing Northern Bog Lemmings On Trail Cameras, Keely Benson

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Fens and bogs are unique wetlands that support a diversity of small mammals and many other rare species. One such species is the Northern Bog Lemming (Synaptomys borealis). This species is being considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act, so determining their presence is helpful for management. Northern bog lemmings are difficult to trap and when they are caught, experience high mortality rates. Since they are hard to capture and study, it is difficult to determine presence/absence of this species for management purposes. This study used a non-invasive, trail camera method for detecting northern bog lemmings in Finley …

Longevity In Snowshoe Hares, Katrina L. Theisen, Alexander V. Kumar, L. Scott Mills

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

For small mammals subject to predation, individual longevity, or lifespan, is typically unknown. Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) are used as the focal species of this study to examine the assumption that small prey species do not typically live past one or two years of age. To test this assumption, we analyzed a 20-year capture-mark-recapture database to first index the lifespan of hares. We analyzed this database to determine which factors increased the odds of longevity in hares. Body condition and capture location were significant in increasing the odds of a hare being long lived, whereas sex of the …

Adaptation Under The Canopy: Coffee Cooperative And Certification Contributions To Smallholder Livelihood Sustainability In Santa Lucía Teotepec, Oaxaca, Meghan C. Montgomery

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The collapse and reorganization of global coffee markets associated with the “coffee crisis” have had profound, negative impacts on smallholder producer livelihoods throughout the world. In Mexico, the collapse of the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) coincided with withdrawal of government support for agriculture, which devastated producers dependent on coffee for their livelihoods. Smallholders responded by shifting livelihood strategies to diversify income, migrating, and converting primary forest cover to subsistence crops and pasture to support household livelihood security. In some instances, producers also joined or formed cooperative organizations to access specialty certifications that offer higher priced markets, extension information, and other …

Total Energy Intake And Self-Selected Macronutrient Distribution During Wildland Fire Suppression, Alexander N. Marks, Joseph A. Sol, Joseph W. Domitrovich, Molly R. West, Brent C. Ruby

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Introduction: Wildland firefighters (WLFF) work long hours in extreme environments resulting in high daily total energy expenditure (TEE). Increasing work shift eating episodes and/or providing rations that promote convenient feeding has shown augmented self-selected work output, as has regular carbohydrate (CHO) consumption. It remains unclear how current WLFF feeding strategies compare to more frequent nutrient delivery. Our study’s aim was to determine WLFFs’ self-selected field total energy intake (TEI), composition, and patterns feeding during wildland fire suppression shifts.

Methods: 86 WLFF (16 female, 70 male; 27.5 ± 6.4 yr) deployed to fire incidents across the United States throughout the 2018 …

Community-Centered Sustainable Conservation And Ecotourism Planning In The Bossou Forest Reserve, Guinea, West Africa, Destina Samani

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Ecotourism management has evolved over the years towards responsible conservation of the natural environment, sustaining the well-being of local people, enriching personal experiences and increasing environmental awareness. The development of a forest reserve is characteristic of the management–visitor–host community interface and the attendant competing interests in the face of new challenges, ideas and theories. In particular, host community participation in the conservation of the forest space tends to breakdown under weak ecotourism management, partly evident by the imbalanced exploitation of ecosystem services resulting in wildlife and society’s inability to cope effectively with the changes (Walker et al., 2016).

The Bossou …

Cognitive Impacts Of Age Based Stereotype Threat In Older Adults, Cali Caughie

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The present study examined the effects of age-based stereotype threat (ABST) exposure on cognitive performance in older adults. Forty-nine community volunteers age 65 and older were stratified by age and gender and then randomly assigned to either an ABST group or a Control group. The ABST group read a paragraph describing the expected negative effects of age on cognition and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in older adults. Participants in the Control group read a neutral paragraph of similar length and difficulty. It was hypothesized that individuals in the ABST group would perform worse on neuropsychological testing than individuals in …

Assessing The Robustness Of Time-To-Event Abundance Estimation, Kenneth E. Loonam

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abundance estimates can inform management policies and are used to address a variety of wildlife research questions, but reliable estimates of abundance can be difficult and expensive to obtain. For low-density, difficult to detect species, such as cougars (Puma concolor), the costs and intensive field effort required to estimate abundance can make working at broad spatial and temporal scales impractical. Remote cameras have proven effective in detecting these species, but the widely applied methods of estimating abundance from remote cameras rely on some portion of the population being marked or uniquely identifiable, limiting their utility to populations with naturally occurring …

Recovering Our Roots: The Importance Of Salish Ethnobotanical Knowledge And Traditional Food Systems To Community Wellbeing On The Flathead Indian Reservation In Montana., Mitchell Rose Bear Don't Walk

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis provides a culturally-comprehensive review of the plants utilized for food in the Bitterroot Salish tribe of northwestern Montana. As part of the larger Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CS&KT) of the Flathead Indian Reservation, the Bitterroot Salish historically utilized hundreds of plants for food, medicine and hygiene. This thesis aims to highlight food plants and their important cultural components. The information herein is a combination of history, ethnography, linguistics, ethnobotany, and first-hand experience with the current Salish community to provide a holistic framework of understanding traditional food plants today. A comprehensive plant list is provided with Latin, Salish …

The Effects Of Forest Gaps On Animal Communication Networks, Cedar Arran Mathers-Winn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

To avoid predation, many animals have evolved complex systems of anti-predator communication. Alarm calls are a key component of anti-predator behavior in many birds, and can provide detailed information about predators. Additionally, many birds and mammals produce and respond to each other’s alarm calls, creating a complex communication network. Furthermore, individuals may give alarm calls in response to the alarm calls of others nearby, without actually seeing a predator. This makes possible the spatial spread of alarm information, which can result in complex communication networks extending over a large area. However, this requires suitable habitat in which birds will be …

Shaping The Tools Of Battle : Sexual Selection, Contest Dynamics, And Weapon Divergence In The Asian Rhinoceros Beetle Trypoxylus Dichotomus, Jillian F. Del Sol

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Exaggerated weapons of sexual selection often diverge more rapidly and dramatically than other body parts, suggesting that relevant agents of selection may be discernible in contemporary populations. I examined the ecology, reproductive behavior, and strength of sexual selection on horn length in five recently diverged beetle populations that differ in relative horn size. I show that mating system ecology differs between these locations and corresponds with the local strength of contemporary selection on horn length. Comparisons of ecological conditions and selection strength across populations offer a critical first step towards meaningfully linking mating system dynamics, selection patterns, and diversity in …

Quantifying Coat Color Phenology Of Sympatric Snowshoe Hares And Weasels, Brandon Murray Davis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Avoiding Adverse Effects: New Ideas In Drug Discovery For Targeting Pparγ, Trey M. Patton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) has been a drug target to treat type 2 diabetes for the last 20 years when rosiglitazone and pioglitazone were approved by the FDA in 1999. While effective at increasing insulin sensitivity, these drugs cause serious adverse effects due to their full agonist characteristics. For that reason, drug discovery efforts have attempted to reduce or prevent the amount of agonist character of new PPARγ targeting ligands. Unfortunately, there have been no new FDA approved drugs for the receptor. There is a need for new ideas to produce better quality pharmaceuticals that lessen the impact of …

Colloidal And Truly Dissolved Metal(Loid)S In Wastewater Lagoons And Their Removal With Floating Treatment Wetlands, Lauren Sullivan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Climate change is predicted to cause continuing declines in late-season streamflow, thus increasing the relative contribution of wastewater effluent to surface water flows. Wastewater effluent represents a critical point source of metal and metalloid contamination to aquatic ecosystems and wastewater lagoons are the most common wastewater treatment system in the rural United States. Although the fraction of total wastewater metals and metalloids in "dissolved" forms (defined here asnm) likely drives the potential for negative effects on receiving waters, this broad operational definition lumps truly dissolved solutes (nm) with small colloids and nanomaterials (1-450 nm; hereafter colloids). This size distinction may …