Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Reproductive Modes Of The Least Chub (Iotichthys Phlegethontis - Cope), Marianne Crawford

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The reproductive biology of the least chub Iotichthys phlegethontis (Cope) was studied from June 1976 to March 1978. Fish from both field and laboratory populations of the Leland Harris Spring Complex, Juab Co., Utah were utilized in the study. Reproduction in 1977 occurred from April to July in the field population and from April through August in the laboratory population.

Reproduction was determined from gross examination and weight measurements of testes and ovaries, breeding coloration in males and diameter measurements of ova.

Males and females matured at about the same size, 28 to 30 mm TL. The number of mature …

Petrology And Mineralogy Of Quaternary Basalts, Gem Valley And Adjacent Bear River Range, Southeastern Idaho, William D. Perkins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Quaternary basalts of Gem Valley, Idaho, are present as valley fill (Group 1) and as well defined flows in the Bear River Range (Group 2) east of Gem Valley. Minerals present in both groups of basalts include olivine (Fo₇₃ -Fo₃₉), augite (Wo₄₁ En₃₉ Fs₂₀), plagioclase (An₇₅ -An₄₀), and Fe-Ti oxides. Coexisting pairs of magnetite and ilmenite, and olivine and clinopyroxene in several samples indicate temperatures of crystallization from 958°c to 1167°c. The Group 2 basalts exhibit a cumulate texture with abundant large (2 cm) phenocrysts of plagioclase.

Chemically, the Gem …

Some Effects Of A Grazer, Hyalella Azteca On Ecosystem Level Properties In Aquatic Microcosms, Martin D. Werner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study to determine some ecosystem level effects of an aquatic invertebrate grazer, Hyalella azteca, was performed in aquatic ix microcosms. Impact of the grazer was assessed in three general areas: 1) inorganic nutrient levels of the microcosm water column, 2) productivity and respiration of the biotic community, and 3) plant community composition in the microcosms.

The grazing amphipod caused inorganic phosphorus and nitrogen (except ammonia) levels to be elevated in the microcosms. The increase was due, at least partially, to excretion of nutrients into the water by the amphipod. The presence of H. azteca did not significantly …

Spectral Signature Studies For Application In Deer Census Using Remote Sensing Techniques, Maran C. Pate

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was performed to determine the spectral signatures of deer and their natural background elements for censusing purposes. Consideration was given to atmospheric transmittance, acceptable flying weather, and terrain. Possible spectral bands between 0.3 and 14.0 μm were obtained (over a pathlength of 1500 feet at an altitude of 5000 feet) based upon atmospheric transmittance using the LOWTRAN 3B computer program. They are: 0.30 - 1.33, 1.49 - 1.79, 2.00 - 2.50, 3.00 - 3.16, 3.38 - 4.10, 4.59 - 5.05, and 8.00 - 13.33 μm, for transmittance greater than 75%. Weather conditions are favorable for flying and taking …

The Prior Distribution In Bayesian Statistics, Kai-Tang Chen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A major problem associated with Bayesian estimation is selecting the prior distribution. The more recent literature on the selection of the prior is reviewed. Very little of a general nature on the selection of the prior is formed in the literature except for non-informative priors. This class of priors is seen to have limited usefulness. A method of selecting an informative prior is generalized in this thesis to include estimation of several parameters using a multivariate prior distribution. The concepts required for quantifying prior information is based on intuitive principles. In this way, it can be understood and controlled by …

Structural Geology Of Eastern Part Of James Peak Quadrangle And Western Part Of Sharp Mountain Quadrangle, Utah, Steven L. Rauzi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A detailed study was made of the James Peak-Sharp Mountain area, in the southern part of the Bear River Range, Utah. The mapped area is located in north-central Utah between lat. 41°22'30" N. and lat. 41°30' N. and long. 111°42'30" W. and long. 111°46' W. It measures about 3.8 miles in the east-west direction and 8.7 miles in the north-south direction. The area is centered about 22 miles south-southeast of Logan, Utah.

Stratigraphic units of late Precambrian to Mississippian age underlie the mapped area. The Precambrian units include the Mutual and Browns Hole Formations. The Brigham, Langston, Ute, Blacksmith, Bloomington, …

Development And Validation Test Of A Mule Deer Habitat Rule, Glenn Gephart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A mathematical description of Rocky Mountain mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) habitat was developed and subjected to validation testing using correlation and multiple regression statistical techniques. Data were collected on a central Utah study area, which was divided into mountain and desert regions.

Data on deer utilization and several habitat components from 86 study plots visited in 1976 were used to develop a habitat rule. Data from 46 study plots visited in 1977 were used to test the accuracy of the rule. Deer utilization was determined from pellet group counts on 20 0.001 ha pellet plots at each …

Turbidity - Suspended Sediment Relations In A Subalpine Watershed, Thomas A. Holstrom

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect of particle size distribution of suspended sediment vii upon a turbidity reading at a known concentration has been relatively quantified for stream bank materials on the Moccasin Basin - North Fork Fish Creek (MB-NFFC) Watershed, located in northwestern Wyoming. As expected, an increase in the median particle size in suspension results in a decrease of turbidity at a given concentration. The relationship derived correlates the particle size distribution of a chemically dispersed stream-bank material sample, with the Coefficient of Fineness for a mechanically dispersed portion of the sample.

Effects Of Forage Availability On Voluntary Intake And Feeding Behavior Of Grazing Heifers, Anastasios S. Nastis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forage intake by animals is an important factor in determining production of livestock products from rangelands. However, relatively little is known of effects of such forage variables as availability and distribution in space upon intake. Even less is known about how the grazing animal modifies its feeding tactics when confronted with diminishing or limited supplies of available forage and how such altered behavior may affect the animal's energetic cost for existence. Forage intake, body weight gain, grazing time and biting rate of Angus heifers was related to forage availability and plant height on semiarid crested wheatgrass rangeland during the late …

Structural Geology Of The Northern Part Of Oxford Quadrangle, Idaho, Jerrold N. Mayer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The northern part of the Oxford Quadrangle, Idaho, includes parts of the Bannock Range to the west and the Portneuf Range to the east. These ranges are separated by Marsh Valley to the north and Cache Valley to the south. Red Rock Pass, the outlet of glacial Lake Bonneville, divides the two valleys. The mapped area is north of Preston, Idaho, and south of Downey, Idaho. The north-south dimension of the mapped area is 5.2 miles and the east-west dimension is 6.4 miles.

The stratigraphic units, within the mapped area, are Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Cenozic in age. The oldest rock …

A Μ-Model Approach On The Cell Means: The Analysis Of Full, Design Models With Non-Orthogonal Data, Richard Van Koningsveld

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This work considers the application of a µ-model approach on the cell means to a special yet important class of experimental designs. These include full factorial, completely nested, and mixed models with one or more observations per cell. By limiting attention to full models, an approach to the general data situation is developed which is both conceptually simple and computationally advantageous.

Conceptually, the method is simple because the design related effects are defined as if the cell means are single observations. This leads to a rather simple algorithm for generating main effect contrasts, from which associated interaction contrasts can also …

The Qr Algorithm, Hsiao-Yin Edith Chu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this section, we will consider two methods for computing an eigenvector and in addition the associated eigenvalue of a matrix A.

Estimation Of Floods When Runoff Originates From Nonhomogeneous Sources, David Ray Olson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Extreme value theory is used as a basis for deriving a distribution function for flood frequency analysis when runoff originates from nonhomogeneous sources. A modified least squares technique is used to estimate the parameters of the distribution function for eleven rivers. Goodness-of-fit statistics are computed and the distribution function is found to fit the data very well.

The derived distribution function is recommended as a base method for flood frequency analysis for rivers exhibiting nonhomogeneous sources of runoff if further investigation also proves to be positive.

Biology, Reproductive Potential And The Impact Of Fishing Pressure On The Bluegill Fishery Of Pelican Lake, Uintah County, Utah, Bob D. Burdick

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Certain aspects of the biology of two species of fish, bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), and the assessment of fishing pressure upon the sport fishery of Pelican Lake, Uintah County, Utah, a 680 ha warmwater lake, were studied between April 1, 1976 and June 30, 1978. The growth rate of bluegills (sexes combined) was fairly rapid; the mean back-calculated total lengths from ages one through nine were 55, 112, 166, 194, 211, 229, 245, 256 and 259 mm. The growth of largemouth bass was 104, 194, 271, 316, 350, 405 and 416 mm …

Information Transfer And Regulation In A Model Ecosystem With Environmental Stochasticity, M. Mckee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The concept of regulation in ecosystems has been given considerable attention in the ecological literature, but no formal treatment has been offered. This study proposes a rigorous definition of regulation which is derived from the mathematics of information and communication theory. A theoretical, mathematical equivalent of the definition is also offered which implies serious limitations as to the value of most traditional laboratory population studies and deterministic population models in understanding regulation in ecosystems. The empirical validity of this theoretical equivalence is tested through use of a competition model of two diatoms. Other observations concerning the relationship between environmental variability …

Two Basic Methodological Choices In Wildland Vegetation Inventories: Their Consequences And Implications, Donald Alan Shute

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In designing inventories of wildland vegetation, two of the many basic methodological choices are: 1) whether data are collected, reduced, and stored in discrete classes or as continuous variables, and 2) whether data are gathered as general purpose variables to bear upon many questions, or as specific purpose variables optimized for only one type of prediction. The effects of these two choices on accuracy of vegetation inventories to predict plant community production were examined by comparing regression models built upon differing sets of independent variables "inventoried" from a common data base. Contrary to expectations, discrete variables of classified community types …

Interrelationships Between Benthic Macroinvertebrates And Habitat In A Mountain Stream, John M. Payne

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study to determine habitat differences of benthic macroinvertebrates was conducted on the upper Strawberry River, Utah. The investigation was part of a large scale project to determine minimum stream flow requirements for trout. The effects of time, habitat, depth and velocity on the distribution of benthic fauna were evaluated.

Samples of benthic invertebrates (146 total) were collected every 2 months at 8 stations on the river from November, 1975 through August, 1976. Representatives of 59 taxa were collected. Eight taxa comprised 90 percent of the mean annual community standing crop in numbers. Biomass was not dominated by any group …

The Evolution Of Ibm's Information Management System-- A Significant Data Base/Data Communications Software Product, Brent W. Anderson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In the early 1970's it was said that data base management systems (DBMS) would be to the 70's what COBOL was to the 60's. Clearly, recognition of the need to manage and effectively utilize data has resulted in significant efforts to develop computer hardware and software to meet this great challenge.

On The Sampling Distribution Of Entropy Function, Pan Fu-Charo

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Since the introduction of Shannon's Entropy Function in a non-probabilistic setting [l], there has been an expectancy that it will provide a useful measure for the fuzzy cluster validity problem. We hope to demonstrate here (empirically) by Monte Carlo simulation that the entropy Hc(U) of fuzzy c-partitions (U) defined below has expectaction

E(H_c(U)) = ∑^c_k=2 1/k

and variance

Var(H_c(U)) = 1/n(∑^c_k=2 1/k₂ - (c-1)/(c+1)(π²/6) - 1).

Furthermore, for sufficiently large n, that H is approximately normal.

In this report we propose a method which generates the required fuzzy matrix …

A Discussion Of An Empirical Bayes Multiple Comparison Technique, Donna Baranowski

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This paper considers the application and comparison of Bayesian and nonBayesian multiple comparison techniques applied to sets of chemical analysis data. Suggestions are also made as to which methods should be used.

A Forest Kingdom Unlike Any Other, Kurt F. Ruppel

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Olympic National Park (ONP), a natural area 15% larger than Rhode Island, located on the Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington State, is a land of diverse contrasts and impressive beauty. It is also a land rich in natural resources (e.g. timber, water power, and recreational potential) that are strongly coveted by man. This dichotomy has led to a number of conflicts during the past hundred years over the policies directing the control, management, and use of this area. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the factors that have shaped that policy and to follow the changes that …