Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Determining Scaphirhynchus Sturgeon Population Demographics And Dynamics: Implications For Range-Wide Management, Recovery, And Conservation, Martin J. Hamel

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sturgeons (Acipenseridae) have experienced world-wide declines as a result of anthropogenic effects such as over-harvest, habitat degradation, altered flow regimes, and pollution. Nearly all European and Asian sturgeon species have experienced population declines and have subsequently been classified as either threatened or endangered. North American sturgeons have experienced a similar plight in that all eight native sturgeon species are listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern. Direct linkages between North American sturgeon declines and anthropogenic effects are difficult to assess due to scale considerations, fluctuating environmental conditions, difficulty in capture, and the interaction of all these effects. To recover, …

Developing An Acoustic Method For Reducing North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena Glacialis) Ship Strike Mortality Along The United States Eastern Seaboard, Kaitlyn Allen Mullen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) are among the world’s most endangered cetaceans. Although protected from commercial whaling since 1949, North Atlantic right whales exhibit little to no population growth. Ship strike mortality is the leading known cause of North Atlantic right whale mortality. North Atlantic right whales exhibit developed auditory systems, and vocalize in the frequency range that dominates ship acoustic signatures. With no behavioral audiogram published, current literature assumes these whales should be able to acoustically detect signals in the same frequencies they vocalize. Recorded ship acoustic signatures occur at intensities that are similar or higher to those …

Bayesian Joinpoint Regression Model For Childhood Brain Cancer Mortality, Ram C. Kafle, Netra Khanal, Chris P. Tsokos

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

The Bayesian approach of joinpoint regression is widely used to analyze trends in cancer mortality, incidence and survival data. The Bayesian joinpoint regression model was used to study the childhood brain cancer mortality rate and its average percentage change (APC) per year. Annual observed mortality counts of children ages 0-19 from 1969-2009 obtained from Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database of National Cancer Institute (NCI) were analyzed. It was assumed that death counts are probabilistically characterized by the Poisson distribution and they were modeled using log link function. Results were compared with the mortality trend obtained using joinpoint software …

Bird Mortality In The Human Built Environment, Stacie Schwartz

Honors Theses

Human development is having a detrimental effect on bird populations around the world. One hundred million to one billion birds are killed every year from colliding with human-built structures. I explored factors influencing the inability of birds to avoid man-made structures. If we can better understand these reasons, we can find solutions to this problem. After a known bird avoidance method, fritted glass, was installed in the Wold building, I investigated whether this glass actually deters birds from striking windows. Strikes on windows were noted daily through observation of specific windows on campus. Results show that vegetation outside of windows …

Statistical Analysis And Modeling Of Brain Tumor Data: Histology And Regional Effects, Keshav Prasad Pokhrel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Comprehensive statistical models for non-normally distributed cancerous tumor sizes are

of prime importance in epidemiological studies, whereas a long term forecasting models

can facilitate in reducing complications and uncertainties of medical progress. The statistical

forecasting models are critical for a better understanding of the disease and supply

appropriate treatments. In addition such a model can be used for the allocations of budgets,

planning, control and evaluations of ongoing efforts of prevention and early detection of

the diseases.

In the present study, we investigate the effects of age, demography, and race on primary

brain tumor sizes using quantile regression methods to …

Age Dependent Analysis And Modeling Of Prostate Cancer Data, Nana Osei Mensa Bonsu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Growth rate of prostate cancer tumor is an important aspect of understanding the natural history of prostate cancer. Using real prostate cancer data from the SEER database with tumor size as a response variable, we have clustered the cancerous tumor sizes into age groups to enhance its analytical behavior. The rate of change of the response variable as a function of age is given for each cluster. Residual analysis attests to the quality of the analytical model and the subject estimates. In addition, we have identified the probability distribution that characterize the behavior of the response variable and proceeded with …

Population Ecology Of The Ribbed Mussel In Southeastern Louisiana, Aaron Jacob Honig

LSU Master's Theses

Benthic intertidal bivalves play an essential role in estuarine ecosystems by contributing to habitat provision, water filtration, and promoting productivity. As such, ecosystem level changes that impact population distributions and persistence of local bivalve populations may have large ecosystem level consequences, making it important to better understand the population distribution and ecology of native bivalve populations. Gametogenesis, recruitment, growth, mortality, size structure and density of the ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa, were examined across a salinity gradient in southeastern Louisiana. In summer 2012, 100-m transects were placed at interior and edge marsh plots to collect data on mussel density, and vegetation …

An Evaluation Of Oyster Stocks, Grow-Out Conditions, And Off-Bottom Culture Methods For Increasing Commercial Production Of Eastern Oysters (Crassostrea Virginica) In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Justin Morgan Leonhardt

LSU Master's Theses

This project examined the ecologically and economically valuable eastern oyster (Crassotrea virginica) in Louisiana with two field experiments. Little information has been gathered on the performance of local Louisiana oyster stocks and no study has focused on a comparison of stocks among variable estuarine conditions. Additionally, the use of alternative grow-out methods and intensive cage aquaculture has never been evaluated in Louisiana. For the first study, a dermo-resistant stock of oysters (LSU-OYS: ‘OBOY’) was compared to three wild oyster stocks along a salinity gradient. The objectives of this study were to determine the optimal oyster stock(s) and the ideal grow-out …