Digital Commons Network^™

Noninvasive Monitoring Techniques: The Use Of Scat-Sourced Dna And Camera Traps To Monitor Mammalian Carnivore Species At The Ucf Arboretum, Zachary Montealegre

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The 800-acre University of Central Florida Arboretum Natural Lands functions as a conservation area, recreational space, and research site, making it essential to understand the ecological community it supports. Traditional wildlife monitoring methods such as mark-recapture and blood sampling can be effective but may stress animals or disrupt natural behaviors. To minimize these impacts, this study used non-invasive techniques, specifically scat-based DNA analysis and camera trapping, to assess carnivore species' presence. Two ecologically similar sites within the Arboretum were selected. Suspected carnivore scat was collected twice weekly over two months using both structured and opportunistic sampling. DNA was extracted, amplified, …

A Study Of Adaptive Reuse Of A Decommissioned Golf Course Through A Nature-Based Approach: Woodhaven Golf Course, Fort Wort Texas., Justin B. Watson Mr.

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Across the nation, golf courses are shutting down due to a lack of demand. Golf course developments began in the United States in the early 1950s During that era, demand for golf courses and housing was high. As golf’s popularity grew, developers saw golf courses in developments as high value-add amenities (Grooms, 2010). During the late 1990s and early 2000s, developers across the country raced to construct as many golf course communities as they could even as the number of golfers leveled out (Downey,2011).

Decommissioned golf courses across Texas are being underutilized as potential amenities for both the local community …

Evaluating The Use Of Precision Technology To Understand Differences Between Ketotic And Non-Ketotic Jersey Cows, Emily Kathryn Palermo

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Tmem116 Crispr-Mediated Knockout Prevents Proper Lens Regeneration In Iberian-Ribbed Newts, Damien T. Mann

Honors Theses and Capstones

Eye diseases like cataracts, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and glaucoma are widespread and detrimental conditions affecting many people across the globe. While there are reliable and successful treatments for those with cataracts that can reverse vision impediments, others like glaucoma and AMD have limited treatment options. Additionally, eye damage resulting from these conditions is commonly irreversible, establishing a need for new treatment options. The Iberian-ribbed newt, Pleurodeles waltl, is a salamander species primarily studied for their amazing regenerative capabilities. Particularly, these newts are capable of de novo lens regeneration after a complete resection, providing a unique opportunity to study regeneration …

Anuran Occupancy Of Created Wetlands Within Reforested Legacy Surface Mines In Kentucky And West Virginia, Jillian C. Newman, Steve Price, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Joshua Castle, John J. Cox, Jeffery L. Larkin, Christopher D. Barton

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Restoration of habitat is an important component of wildlife management. Surface coal mining has altered forest cover in the Central Appalachians, and most reclamation activities on previously mined lands result in non-native grasslands or shrub lands. The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA), which emphasizes non-native vegetation removal, soil decompaction, planting of native trees and shrubs, and, in some cases, wetland creation represents an alternative to grassland-based reclamation that may promote forest-associated wildlife on legacy surface mines. We used automated recording units to evaluate the response of anurans to created wetlands and the FRA in Kentucky and West Virginia, USA. We used …

Microglial Apoe Across Alzheimer’S Disease-Relevant Pathologies, Georgia Nolt

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

APOE exists as three common alleles (APOE2, APOE3, APOE4) that encode their corresponding protein isoforms (apoE2, apoE3, apoE4). Despite differing by only one or two single-amino acid substitutions, each APOE allele confers a distinct AD risk profile with APOE4 increasing risk by 28% and APOE2 decreasing risk by 14% compared to the most commonly expressed APOE3 allele. While traditionally considered “neutral,” APOE3 still accounts for ~36% of AD cases while APOE4 contributes ~57%, indicating that the majority of AD cases would not occur in the absence of the APOE3 and APOE4 alleles. Microglia, the resident phagocytic immune cells …

Characterizing Gut Microbial Communities And Symbiont-Mediated Detoxification In Herbivorous Insects, Rachel C. Vargas

Biology Dissertations

Insect gut bacteria are vital contributors to host physiology, yet the broader prevalence and fitness implications of symbiont-mediated detoxification remain poorly understood. This thesis investigates these dynamics across three research chapters. Chapter 1 uses 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize how grasshopper gut microbial communities vary across species, dietary breadths, and gastrointestinal segments. Chapter 2 evaluates the detoxification capacity of over 150 bacterial isolates from diverse herbivores against the plant allelochemicals phenethyl isothiocyanate, rutin, and chlorogenic acid to determine if host dietary specialization predicts microbial metabolic ability. Finally, Chapter 3 employs fitness bioassays to test whether inoculating generalist herbivores with detoxifying …

American Elderberry's Next Top Pollinator: Evaluating The Role Of Arthropods In Pollination, Jenny K. Burrow

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

American elderberry (Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis) is a woody deciduous shrub native to eastern North America. In addition to its long history of use by indigenous peoples, there is renewed interest in cultivating and consuming American elderberry, primarily driven by expanding health supplement markets. Despite recent advances in horticultural development of American elderberry, its pollination ecology remains poorly understood. In this field study, I evaluated the contribution of arthropod visitors to pollination of American elderberry. To do this, I first characterized the identities and abundances of arthropod visitors via timed arthropod collections and floral observations during peak flowering …

Human Plasma Extracellular Vesicles As An Exercise Mimetic To Preserve Skeletal Muscle Plasticity During Disuse, Alexander M. Fliflet, Yanqi Tan, Takeshi M. Barnes, Ane Nishitha Vijayan, Sung Jun Choi

Kinesiology & Sport Management Scholarship

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which extracellular vesicles (EVs) circulating in blood after exercise training act as an effective mimetic to maintain skeletal muscle mass during unloading and/or accelerate recovery after disuse. Ten healthy males (27.7 ± 7.1 y) were recruited for a 6-week progressive resistance and endurance training program. EVs were isolated from blood before (EVs) or immediately after training (ExerVs). EVs were intraperitoneally injected into male mice (4×; 3 × 108 particles/injection) during 14 days of hindlimb unloading (HU), then the muscles were collected immediately or 7 days after HU. ExerVs did …

How Effective Is Online Teaching Of Physiology Modules? Perception Of Rwandan Health Sciences Students, Abdullateef Isiaka Alagbonsi, Mojeed Akorede Gbadamosi, Mathieu Nemerimana, Makinde V. Olubiyi, Olufunke Onaadepo, Akaninyene Ubong Ime, Abdul-Rahuf Aderemi Feyitimi, Ruth Wanjiru Mungai, Florent Rutagarama, Simiat Elias

Biomedical Sciences, East Africa

Background: While blended teaching is approved in Rwandan medical education, the perceived effectiveness of online-only delivery for physiology modules remains unclear. This uncertainty limits its continued use. The present study assessed Rwandan health sciences students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of online teaching for physiology modules.

Methods: A total of 528 students from medicine and surgery (n = 300), pharmacy (n = 99), dentistry (n = 89), and clinical psychology (n = 40) programs at the University of Rwanda completed an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression and non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis) with corresponding effect …

Factors Affecting Detection Of A Cryptic Ambush Predator Using Camera Traps, With Implications For Snake Monitoring, Sarah Elizabeth Ebert

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Camera traps are becoming increasingly popular in wildlife research because they can be deployed for long time periods with little maintenance and are much less invasive than traditional trapping methods. However, they are primarily used to study large mammals and have not been extensively tested for snake species, many of which are cryptic and understudied. The Adapted-Hunt Drift Fence Technique (AHDriFT) arrays were designed to improve detection of herpetofauna by attaching camera traps to drift fences. In the summer of 2022, we installed 20 AHDriFT arrays at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in coastal South Carolina where we …

Umbralisib Antagonizes Multidrug Resistance In Abcb1- Overexpressing Cancer Cells, Letao Bo

Theses and Dissertations

Overexpression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, particularly ABCB1, is a major mechanism of multidrug resistance (MDR) and contributes to chemotherapy failure by reducing intracellular drug accumulation. Umbralisib is a dual inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta (PI3Kδ) and casein kinase 1 epsilon (CK1ε) that was developed for the treatment of hematologic malignancies; however, it was later withdrawn due to safety concerns. In the present study, we found that umbralisib has the potential to reverse ABCB1-mediated MDR. The MTT assay demonstrated that umbralisib significantly sensitized ABCB1-overexpressing KB-C2 and SW620/Ad300 cells, as well as ABCB1-transfected HEK293 cells. Mechanistic assays revealed that umbralisib enhanced …

Prevention Of Inflammation-Associated Neurodegeneration: Assessing The Efficacy Of N,N-Dimethylacetamide (Dma) In Lipopolysaccharide (Lps)-Induced Neuroinflammation Using C57bl/6 Mice, Teeshavi Devi Acosta

Theses and Dissertations

Neurological function is closely linked to both longevity and quality of life. While some degree of neurodegeneration occurs naturally with aging, pathological neurodegeneration leads to devastating functional decline. The mechanisms underlying these processes remain incompletely understood; however, neuroinflammation is recognized as a key driver of neuronal dysfunction and death. Emerging evidence indicates that neuroinflammatory cascades can precede and potentiate hallmark features of neurodegenerative diseases, including synaptic loss and cognitive decline observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway contributes to amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide production, further amplifying a cycle of inflammation and neuronal injury. Preclinical work from …

Effectiveness Of Walleye Stocking In Winter Kill Lakes, Tyler Haus

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Winter kill events, marked by extensive fish mortality due to hypoxic conditions under the ice, are a common phenomenon in shallow eutrophic lakes, especially in the northern lakes in the northern United States. These events can drastically alter fish communities and often result in the elimination of top predators. Though these lakes will typically slowly bounce back to what they were in a couple of years. This study evaluates the effectiveness of walleye, Sander vitreus, stocking in lakes after a winter kill. For this study, four known winter kill lakes that are consistently stocked with walleye were studied. Pre- …

Assessing Urban–Rural Differences In Largemouth Bass Abundance In Minnesota, Jonathan Gates

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Urbanization can significantly alter freshwater ecosystems and influence sport fish populations. This study examined differences in largemouth bass Micropterus nigricans catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) between urban and rural lakes in Minnesota and evaluated temporal changes between 2000–2010 and 2011–2021. Forty lakes (20 urban, 20 rural) were selected using Minnesota Department of Natural Resources fisheries survey data. Lakes were classified using NLCD 2019 land cover data, with ≥10% developed land designated as urban. Nonparametric analyses (Wilcoxon rank-sum and signed-rank tests) were used to assess spatial and temporal differences in CPUE. Results showed that rural lakes had consistently higher median CPUE than urban lakes …

Statewide Northern Pike Response To Minnesota’S 2018 Regulation Change, Elijah Wozniak

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Management of northern pike (Esox lucius) is challenging because it attempts to balance ecological sustainability with angler interests. Northern pike often stunt their own growth by diminishing the size and abundance of prey fish, their food source. Anglers are often displeased when small pike occur in high population densities. In response to populations of small northern pike, the DNR implemented a new, statewide northern pike regulation in 2018. The objective of this study was to determine whether the regulation successfully changed the mean weight, length, and CPUE of northern pike in Minnesota. The secondary objective was to test …

Neonicotinoid Bioaccumulation In Bluegill And Bullhead Within Lake Julia And Lake Zumwalde, Jake Stuber

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Brown Bullhead Ameiurus nebulosus, Yellow Bullhead Ameiurus natalis, and Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus are unique in their stark differences. Bullhead are scaleless bottom feeders that can tolerate high pollution and low O₂ conditions. In contrast, Bluegill are scaled, aggressive nesters and are less tolerant of high pollutants or low-oxygen conditions. Among these pollutants include a class of chemicals called neonicotinoids (hereafter referred to as neonics). Neonics are a class of insecticides primarily used within agriculture and pest management. Due to the effectiveness, application has escalated on a global scale. They have been well documented by many toxicology assessments. …

Comparison Of Calcified Structures To Estimate Ages Of Northern Pike Esox Lucius In Various Lakes, Kaed Rauk

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Northern pike Esox lucius are a dominant predatory fish in many aquatic systems. They can have significant impacts on the ecosystems they inhabit and are also a popular game fish among anglers. However, northern pike are a difficult species to age accurately. This study aimed to compare calcified aging structures to identify trends and determine which structure provides the most accurate age estimates. A total of 119 northern pike were sampled, and multiple structures from each fish were independently aged by two readers. The coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated for each structure to assess precision. Sectioned sagittal otoliths exhibited …

Indigenous Land Seizure & Environmental Injustice: Impacts Of Settler Colonialism, Lydia Moorman

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The fields of conservation and environmentalism prioritize ecosystem health, yet both emerged from western frameworks that displaced and criminalized Indigenous land stewardship. The idealization of “pristine wilderness” narratives served to justify the removal of Indigenous peoples from their homelands and erased millennia of sustainable land stewardship that had maintained ecological balance long before western conservation existed. These narratives not only misrepresented Indigenous relationship with land but also constructed a false dichotomy between humans and nature that positioned Indigenous presence as a threat rather than a source of ecological knowledge. Simultaneously, anthropogenic expansion; such as pipelines, mining, railroads, and other extractive …

Size Structure Comparison Of Bluegill In Lakes With And Without Special Regulations, Jenna Lawin

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Lots of individuals have mixed feelings about special regulations for all sorts of game fish species such as northern pike Esox lucius, crappie Pomoxis spp., sunfish Lepomis spp., and so on. One species commonly sought after by many is bluegill Lepomis macrochirus. Bluegill are often deemed easy to find, catch, and clean. This study looks at three different categories of lakes (all lakes contain bluegill populations). The three categories are lakes with a five sunfish limit, lakes with a ten sunfish limit, and lakes without any special regulations. This study provides valuable insight into the size …

Understanding Motor Competence In Autism And Developmental Coordination Disorder: From Everyday Performance To Underlying Postural Control Mechanisms, Crystal E. Alvarez

Kinesiology Dissertations

Motor competence plays a foundational role in children’s participation, physical activity, adaptive behavior, and overall quality of life. Although motor difficulties are highly prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (autism) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD), these challenges are frequently under-identified and insufficiently characterized, particularly in autistic populations. Existing research demonstrates substantial overlap in motor challenges across autism and DCD; however, relatively little work has integrated caregiver perceptions, standardized motor assessment, and mechanistic postural control measures within the same investigation. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to examine motor competence and postural control in autistic children, children with DCD, and neurotypical …

Small Mammal Communities Within And Land Coverage Around Southwestern Missouri Prairies, Kaitlyn J. Bebensee

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Land alterations can reduce the amount of suitable habitat necessary for persistence of an associated species. Within such constrained habitats, limited resources may elicit competition, which could cause shifts in abundance and occurrence of species. Missouri prairies have been declining in size, making it imperative to collect reference data on mammal populations within and land use types around remnants. For this study, I trapped small mammals in Southwestern Missouri prairies because they can be indicators of environmental health and can vary in abundance between prairies. I focus on the diet of two dominant small mammals, Peromyscus maniculatus and Microtus ochrogaster …

Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (Pfos)-Induced Disruption Of Mitochondrial Activity And Cell Adhesion In Liver Cells, Phuong Dam Nam Tran

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is a persistent environmental pollutant associated with potential hepatoxic effects and other health risks. Despite its widespread distribution, the mechanisms underlying its toxicities remain to be fully understood. To investigate PFOS toxicology, my study utilized HepG2 and THLE-2 human hepatic cell models to replicate conditions reflecting PFOS accumulation in the liver. Cell viability, cell stress, and cell death assays were conducted to assess the toxicological influence of the chemical on both cell lines. Total RNA extraction was performed, followed by cDNA sequencing, and RT-qPCR. The XTT viability assay revealed a dose-dependent decrease in number of viable cells …

Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus Niger) Occupancy In A Southern Missouri Woodland, Daniel Garten

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Species occupancy, which relates the probability of presence of a species at a specific place and time, is an important component of conservation and wildlife management. Principally it is used for estimation of a species’ distribution as well as understanding species interactions and quantifying environmental effects. The purpose of this study was to analyze occupancy of the Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) across multiple seasons (2019–2022) at Bull Shoals Field Station (BSFS), and to identify potential covariates associated with detection and colonization. Data were drawn from camera trap surveys from 26 sites during summer and fall seasons. Multi-season occupancy models …

N-Allylation Of Secondary Amides With Unsymmetrical Propionates, Remi Graff

Honors Theses

The combination of trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate (TMSOTf) and Et3N promotes the N-allylation of 4-methoxyacetanilide 2 with unsymmetrical propionates 1 (eq 1). The amide substrate is believed to undergo conversion to a nucleophilic silyl imidate in the presence of TMSOTf and the amine base, which concurrently promotes carbocation formation in the same flask through the loss of trimethylsilyl propionate, leading to N-allylation of the amide. A range of unsymmetrical propionates, accessed by varying the R and R’ substituents, react efficiently in this one-pot process with yields ranging from 44% to 99%, affording regioselective ratios of up to >20:1 through formation of regioisomers …

Development Of A Python Pipeline For The Inference Of Selection In Human Genomes And Applications To Adh1b*2, Aine Macdermott

Honors Theses

Human evolutionary genomics provides an avenue to understand how genetic variation has been impacted by the environmental pressures of the past, revealing how selective pressures impacted past populations and contributed to present-day biological diversity. In this thesis, I describe the construction of a Python-based computational pipeline designed to automate and integrate multiple analyses of positive selection across worldwide population datasets, including derived allele frequency calculation, haplotype-based tests of selection, RELATE-based genealogical inference, and CLUES2-based temporal modeling. By automating file preparation, format conversion, job submission, result aggregation, model comparison, and visualization, this pipeline streamlines the data interpretation process, and shifts focus …

Exploring Phosphoregulation Of Myo3a Using Quantitative Fluorescence Image Analysis In Cos7 Cells, Vu Hao Minh Nguyen Phan

Honors Theses

Myosin 3A (MYO3A) is an unconventional myosin involved in the formation and maintenance of hair-cell stereocilia of the sensory epithelia in the inner ear. The kinase domain has been implicated in phosphoregulation of MYO3A activity through intermolecular autophosphorylation. Previous studies using mass spectrometry identified two potential phosphorylation sites in the motor domain. To investigate the regulatory roles of these sites, we generated glutamic acid point mutations in our mchr-MYO3AΔK construct to mimic phosphorylation and assayed the constructs for their ability to tip-localize and influence filopodial density via transfection into COS7 cells. The phosphomimic constructs were less able to generate filopodia …

Field-Scale Evaluation Of Satellite- Derived Vegetation Indices And Image Timing For In-Season Nitrogen Management In Corn, Ana Morales-Ona, Katsutoshi Mizuta, James J. Camberato, Robert Nielsen, Yuxin Miao, Davide Cammarano, German Mandrini, Daniel Quinn

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Introduction: Traditional methods to determine the agronomic optimum nitrogen rate (AONR) for corn (Zea mays L.) rely on grain yield data, limiting in-season decision-making for nitrogen (N) management. Vegetation indices (VIs) derived from satellite imagery can serve as proxies for grain yield and help estimate in-season AONR, enabling timely sidedress applications. This study aimed to (1) quantify how VI–yield relationships vary during the vegetative period across fields with different tillage systems and crop residue; (2) determine whether VI–N response curves can be used to estimate AONR (AONRvi); and (3) assess the accuracy of AONRvi relative to yield-based AONR (AONRy). …

Ovipositional Behavior Of The Twig Girdler (Cerambycidae: Oncideres Cingulata) On Stems Of Mockernut Hickory (Carya Tomentosa) In Arkansas, R. Tumlison, L. Serviss

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Twig Girdler (Cerambycidae: Oncideres cingulata) is a long-horned beetle that girdles stems of certain species of trees to prepare a habitat for its offspring. The stems eventually die, break, and fall from the tree, but the beetle usually had already laid its eggs within the stems. Eggs are laid singly, almost always at growth rings or leaf bases. Because the space for the young to develop is finite, laying too many eggs could cause reproductive failure and too few eggs would be suboptimal. We hypothesized that the female laying eggs should be able to evaluate the stem and …

Biochemical Investigations Of F420-Dependent Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase From Cryptosporangium Arvum, Sarah T. Al-Noubani

2026 Spring Honors Capstones Projects

F₄₂₀-dependent glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (FGD) catalyzes the conversion of glucose-6-phosphate to 6-phosphogluconolactone using the deazaflavin, Cofactor F₄₂₀. FGD from Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been investigated due to its health relevance to prodrug activation. More recently, FGD from Cryptosporangium arvum (Cryar- FGD) has been investigated due to its broader substrate specificity toward multiple sugar phosphates. Kinetic and NMR studies have shown that Cryar-FGD has dual catalytic activity as a dehydrogenase and isomerase. Further investigations are being conducted on Cryar-FGD to characterize key residues involved in catalysis.

To investigate the catalytically active residues of Cryar-FGD, …