Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparative Analysis Of Hysplit And Airpact To Estimate Wildland Fire Smoke Emissions For Public Health Applications, Maxwell Enger, Deborah Ross, Carl Spangrude

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The burning of biomass releases a variety of pollutants, but the most commonly monitored in terms of public health is PM2.5. Examining how wildfire specific PM2.5 is transported through the atmosphere is important because these particulates pose serious health risks. Many types of models exist to simulate the dispersal of wildfire smoke, but the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model and the Air Indicator Report for Public Awareness and Community Tracking (AIRPACT) system can produce spatially explicit pollution transport simulations. This analysis will utilize PM2.5 as the species to compare the outputs of HYSPLIT and AIRPACT along with a …

Spatial Variation In Faunal Remains At 48pa551, A Middle Plains Archaic Period Archaeological Site In The Sunlight Basin, Wy, Kaylen E. Gehrke

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The archaeological site, 48PA551, is located in the Sunlight Basin near Cody, Wyoming and dates to the Middle Plains Archaic period (about 4000 years ago). New research suggests that the site can shed a light onto people of the past and how they used their landscape. The previous inhabitants of this landscape left behind many faunal remains (animal bones) resulting from subsistence practices. In this project the faunal data will be analyzed to find spatial patterns and try to predict how certain areas of the site were being used. I spent 3 weeks this summer at this site digging up …

Behavioral Plasticity To Reduce Camouflage Mismatch In Snowshoe Hares, Lindsey Barnard

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Snowshoe hares seasonally molt from a brown pelage in the summer to a white pelage in the winter. This coat color change allows them to maintain camouflage needed for survival. Climate change threatens snowshoe hares by increasing the number of days individuals are white on a brown background, thereby decreasing defense effectiveness and increasing the likelihood of predation. It is unknown whether or not snowshoe hares will genetically adapt as quickly as climate change is occurring. Behavioral plasticity, however, is a mechanism that may allow this species to quickly adapt to fewer days of snowpack. To investigate the tendency for …

Assessing The Efficacy Of A Qualitative Approach For Monitoring Vegetation Responses After Floodplain Restoration, Dylan C. Branscum, Laura Long, Abigail Zenner

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The United States spends over one billion dollars annually on riparian ecosystem restoration. Given this large investment, there is a need to understand whether or not restoration projects are successful. Towards that end, some projects and programs invest in effectiveness monitoring, but the extent to which it is actually useful depends on the adequacy of the sampling design. Despite this, little work has been done to assess the adequacy of sampling designs for even the most common monitoring programs, and there is little information about the costs and benefits of intensive quantitative versus rapid qualitative approaches. To improve understanding of …

Looking Past, Looking Forward: America's National Parks, Archaeology And Climate Change, Rachel Blumhardt

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

America’s National Parks are rich with cultural history, flora, fauna and some of nature’s most impressive landscapes. As climate change continues to accelerate, these parks and their cultural and natural resources are being threatened. In this project, I will present a colorful, informational powerpoint that concentrates on 4 specific parks: Yellowstone National Park, National Park of American Samoa, Glacier Bay National Park and Mesa Verde National Park. I will focus on the archaeology and cultural significance of these parks, while also examining the ways that climate change is putting these, and other associated assets of the parks, at risk. I …

Assessing The Effects Of Culling As A Management Tool For Urban Mule Deer Populations, Hamilton Q. Platt

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Cities and towns are expanding across the western United States into historic areas of wildlife habitat. Many species such as white-tailed deer, mule deer, and even elk are adapting to effectively live alongside humans in urban areas. However, animals and humans living in close proximity often creates problems with public safety as animals can become aggressive to people or damage property. Our study looks at how the City of Helena, Montana is managing a population of overabundant urban mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) using culling in order to reduce population density. We used distance sampling data to determine that the population …

Evidence Of Arthritis In A 92-Year-Old Female Cadaveric Specimen, Sydney Ladas

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Arthritis describes a group of chronic diseases that includes over 100 separate diagnoses, the pathologies of which affect primarily joints and surrounding joint tissue. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as soon as the year 2040, the number of U.S. adults diagnosed with arthritis will reach 78 million. Osteoarthritis, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis are the most common forms of arthritis; each can lead to permanent and debilitating joint damage, especially within aging populations. It is possible to find evidence of arthritic pathogenesis within the joints of living and cadaveric specimens alike. Here the joint health of a …

Effects Of Climate Change On Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever And Public Health Implications In Western Montana, Ella B. Baumgarten, Maxwell Enger, Benjamin V. Hickey, Ronan Kennedy, Tiffany Matthews, Sydney Qualls

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

As climate change progresses, vector-borne diseases will spatially spread to novel environmental niches. Among those vector-borne diseases is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), a tick-borne disease (TBD) that is caused by the bacteria Rickettsia Rickettsii. To predict the spread of RMSF, we modeled future climate scenarios using environmental variables from western Montana. Using this model, we have designed a protocol to enable and promote public awareness of vector-borne diseases. These interventional measures aim to anticipate and decrease disease prevalence through distribution of information about risk factors, symptoms, and treatment options. Our health promotion strategy encompasses two crucial aspects in outreach: …

Establishing Groundwater Nitrate/Nitrite Levels In Hamilton, Montana & Local Area, March 2019, Qwinn T. Lulis

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

No abstract provided.

Investigating Ocean Tidal Models, Bodhi Landry-Stahl

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Two factors govern Earth's elastic response to the periodic redistribution of ocean tides: the properties of the crust and upper mantle and the weight of the ocean water loading the surface. Using models for Earth structure and the ocean tides, it is possible to predict surface displacements caused by the tides. I hypothesize that the world's ocean-tide models agree well with one another in the open ocean but disagree at locations with complex coastlines and bathymetry. Tidal models for the open ocean generally have better empirical constraints from satellite altimetry compared to a coastal environment. To test my hypothesis, different …

Altering Cough Reflex Sensitivity With Aerosolized Capsaicin Paired With Behavioral Cough Therapy, Claire Malany, Sarah Campbell

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The feasibility of treating patients with cough hypersensitivity with a progressive desensitization model was suggested to be effective through our preliminary study conducted last year. We exposed five heathy participants to progressive doses of aerosolized capsaicin, a known cough stimulant, while implementing cough suppression strategies. All five participants achieved a reduction in cough sensitivity following treatment. We will now use the same research model with patients with chronic refractory cough (CRC). The study will commence in three phrases. The baseline phase will consist of the following measures: (1) cough sensitivity testing using increasing concentrations of pharmaceutical-grade aerosolized capsaicin, delivered via …

A Comparative Study Of Phonological Processes Between Canadian-French-Speaking And American-English-Speaking Children With Speech Sound Disorders, Margot Diffendaffer, Carley Stone

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Children with speech sound disorders (SSD) produce incorrect speech sounds in observable patterns known as phonological processes. Previous research by MacLeod and Glaspey (2018) showed that children’s phonological processes differed based on the child’s native language. In their research, MacLeod and Glaspey compared the phonological process inventories of French- and English-speaking children.They found that English-speaking children produce a significantly larger inventory of phonological processes than French-speaking children. The purpose of the current study is to find more specific developmental data for both of the languages by comparing the frequency of phonological processes produced by French-speaking children with speech sound disorders …

Prevalence Of Extreme Discrimination Against Lgbtq+ High School Students In Rural Communities, Cara L. Grewell

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The purpose of this project was be to identify whether there are higher levels of extreme discrimination against LGBTQ+ youth in rural high schools based on sexual orientation and/or gender expression in comparison to urban high schools. Generally, as seen within the United States, smaller, rural communities tend to be comprised of primarily conservative families, so I sought to investigate if there is a correlation between rural communities and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals.

To complete this research project, I analyzed existing data and literature regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender expression, identifying data and personal stories specific to …

How Epidemiological Transitions Affect Mortuary Ritual: A Study Of Infant Burials In The Missoula City Cemetery, Hannah W. Pepprock

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Mortuary populations are often replete with two types of individuals: the very old and the very young. Our interpretation of the archaeological record has the tendency to disregard these two populations, perhaps because we assume their positions in society are of little value in death, or simply because we do not understand the mortuary ritual afforded to them. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mortuary ritual afforded to a select cohort of individuals interred at the Missoula City Cemetery and to interpret their burials in comparison to epidemiological shifts in Missoula, Montana during a select time frame. …

The Early Bird Gets The Worm: Comparisons Of Recent Post-Fire Avifaunal Communities In Montana Subalpine Forests, Allison H. Hendryx

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

As the frequency of wildfire increases throughout the Rocky Mountain West, it has become increasingly important to understand how wildfire may impact natural resources and wildlife habitat. Characterizing avifaunal communities is one method to determine how a habitat changes after disturbance. Research shows that different avifaunal communities assemble according to combination of time-since-fire and fire severity due to differences in habitat structure and resource availability. However, data are lacking regarding how avian communities may change during the year of the fire. Yet, one can expect avian communities would change due to transitory differences in habitat and resources the year of …

Using Data And Research In Social Work As Catalysts For Effective Community Change, Haley Lee Eakin

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Montana communities are faced with complex social issues. It is imperative that data and technology be leveraged to understand where these issues stem from, how they connect, and possible solutions. Due to its low population density, Montana is a data desert. There is scarce data collected at the local level and only a small portion of the data collected is made publicly available. This often leaves social workers and other service providers without digestible and easily accessible data to use in their decision-making processes, grant proposals, and practices. In response to this, myself and a small team of social workers …

The Consolidation Of Corn: A Case Study To Inspire Design For The Wicked Problems Of Our Time, Sophie Mae Moon

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

This research project addresses the issue of consolidation in the American food system through a case study of corn production. This research describes the status quo of corn production in the United States, focusing particularly on the role of the federal government and producers in identifying the causes and influences leading to the consolidation of corn production. This project also describes the effects of the consolidation of corn production on producers, consumers, citizens, and the environment. Beyond identifying the influences contributing to the consolidation of corn, and the impacts of consolidation on people and the environment, this research project investigates …

Climate Change And Groundwater Access Provisions In Native American Water Rights Settlements, Marea Rene Kuehl

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

In the United States, access to use water comes in the form of legally allocated rights to specific quantities from specific sources. On Native American reservations, this legal process has often been absent. Through tribal water rights negotiations and settlements, the United States government has attempted to determine the access rights and quantities available to tribes on and around their reservation lands. Over the past 50 years, many Native American tribes formally settled outstanding water rights claims through a combination of state court adjudications and congressional legislation. This paper explores provisions built into settlements that address the rapidly changing water …

Effect Of Expression Level And Amino Acid Sequence On Hcmv Glycoprotein Complexes, Charlotte Langner

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is asymptomatic in healthy individuals, but can cause severe disease in immunocompromised people. On the virus envelope, glycoproteins gH/gL form a trimer with gO or a pentamer with UL128-131. These glycoprotein complexes interact with receptors on the host cells to initiate viral fusion and thus are promising sites for vaccine development. The levels of trimer and pentamer significantly influence the infectivity of the virions. Clinical strains of HCMV differ in the relative amounts of trimer and pentamer in the virus particles, however, the mechanism controlling the level of trimer and pentamer is still not clear. My …

Masques And Luggage: Sociocultural Anxieties As Manifested Through "Empty Spaces" In The Tempest And The Sheltering Sky, Dusty S. Keim

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

When the world is in chaos, where do we go to rediscover ourselves and make sense of it all? In this paper, I posit that the locales of the desert and the ocean are conceptualized as “blank” or “empty” in the Western imagination, and serve as sites to stage and asses the existential angst caused by sociocultural upheaval. Both The Tempest (1610) by William Shakespeare and The Sheltering Sky (1949) by Paul Bowles use the ocean and the desert, respectively, as spaces in which to stage and asses the angst borne of the massive sociocultural and national upheavals the authors …

The Role Of Participatory Gis In Community-Centered Ecotourism Management In The Bossou Forest Reserve, Guinea, Sydney Qualls

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The Bossou Forest Reserve in south-eastern Guinea provides critical habitat for a semi-isolated and endangered population of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). This population, which is recognized as a critically endangered species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has declined to only seven total chimpanzees. Major factors leading to the demise of this species include human exploitation, deforestation, infrastructure development, and natural disasters. Interviews and community surveys conducted in surrounding communities demonstrate that local residents are exploring conservation strategies. One of the main foci is assessing the role of ecotourism in generating awareness about the chimpanzees …

Enhancing The Anti-Tumor Efficacy Of T Cells With Naturally Occurring Plant Stilbenes, Elle Richardson, Andrea Leigh Soles

Undergraduate Publications

Despite advances in treatment options, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States. Many therapies use immune cells, specifically T cells, for cancer therapy. To enhance tumor recognition by T cells, chimeric antigen receptors consisting of signaling domains fused to receptors that recognize tumor antigens can be created and expressed in T cells. One receptor that is a prospective target for a chimeric antigen receptor is PD1 because the ligands for the PD1 receptor are expressed on many cancer types. Our lab has genetically engineered a chimeric PD1 (chPD1) receptor and has shown that chPD1-expressing T …

Post-Fire Competition Between Native Ceanothus Spinosus And Exotic Grasses, Katarina Carter, Nina Duchild

Featured Research

In our experiment, we investigated the post-fire competition between native Ceanothus spinosus and exotic grasses in low and high-density fuel sites. We hypothesized that C. spinosus seedlings in the high-density fuel site would be larger and more numerous than seedlings in the low-density fuel site, due to differences in competition from exotics. Our results showed that there was no significant difference in seedling height of C. spinosus in the high-density fuel site (5.33 ± 0.55 cm) and in the low-density fuel site (4.31 ± 0.51 cm). There was also no significant difference in the average number of seedlings in the …

Physiological Performance Of Ceanothus Spinosus In Hot Burn And Cool Burn Sites, Rishi Gattu, Christian Hill, Chris Kulpaca

Featured Research

After the Woolsey Fire, many fire adapted plants will resprout. However, increased fire frequency has negatively impacted the reproduction of many native species, while enhancing the survivorship of many invasive species. We compared the physiological performance of Ceanothus spinosus resprouters in areas that burned hotter compared to areas that burned cooler. We hypothesized that resprouters in hotter burn sites would have better physiological performance than resprouters in cooler burn sites. The resprouters in hotter burn sites would have better performance because of decreased competition from invasive species. We measured physiological performance using a Li-Cor LI-6400, specifically photosynthesis, transpiration, and stomatal …

A Post-Fire Comparison Of Resprouts To Unburned Malosma Laurina Shrubs In The Santa Monica Mountains Of Southern California, Anthony Joseph Adducci Ii, Sierra Jo Smith, Dylan Jesse Waddill

Featured Research

Fire is a cornerstone to Mediterranean ecosystems but increased droughts, climate change and human interference has caused a shift in fire frequency and severity. This experiment accessed the physiological performance of Malosma laurina resprouts in burned areas compared to mature Malosma laurina in unburned areas. Specifically, we hypothesized that the stomatal conductance, photosynthesis rate, and electron transport rate of the burned resprouts would all be higher than the unburned shrubs as there are more nutrients available in the soil post-fire and the resprouts have a larger root to stem ratio. Using the LI-6400 Portable Photosynthesis System, we measured the physiological …

A Survey Of Post-Fire Chaparral Species’ Densities Using Point Quarter Sampling, Emma C. Stenz, Brandon R. Grinovich, Catherine H. William, Michael E. Gayed, Stephen D. Davis, Grace Palmer

Featured Research

The purpose of this observational study was twofold: to add to the existing data regarding the plant species composition of the Pepperdine hillsides and to set in place a foundation for post-fire chaparral recovery studies that will ensue over the coming years through various programs and classes. The 2018 Woolsey Fire burned nearly all of the natural environment surrounding Pepperdine University and the greater Malibu region, so it is a matter of urgency to take this opportunity to learn more about how this natural environment of the chaparral responds to a catastrophic event like fire. We focused primarily on facultative …

Soil Respiration In Burned And Unburned Sites Of The Santa Monica Mountains, Sydney C. Jones, Micah S. Kim, Sierra H. Ball, Stephen D. Davis

Featured Research

Soil respiration (the flux of CO₂ released by the soil due to microbial and root respiration and organic matter decomposition) can be affected by fire (Qu et al., 2009, Richards et al., 2012, Ryu et al., 2009). After the 2018 Woolsey Fire in the Santa Monica Mountains, we hypothesized that soil respiration would be greater in unburned soil than in burned soil. This is because fire can decrease soil nutrient concentration, which could decrease soil microbial concentration and also because fire could burn and kill soil microbes and roots. To test this relationship, we recorded soil respiration on three …

The Presence Of Fungal Pathogen, Botryosphaeria Dothidea, In Post-Fire Malosma Laurina Resprouts, Georgiana Gibson, Sarah Parker, Lauren Van Tress

Featured Research

Botryosphaeria dothidea is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that infects plants, causing cankers to form on branches and stems, ultimately causing cell cavitation and embolism in the plant. Botyrosphaeria dothidea was found in much of the chaparral vegetation present in the Santa Monica Mountains prior to the November 2018 fire. In this study, we focused on the presence of Botryosphaeria dothidea in the chaparral plant Malosma laurina on Pepperdine University’s campus in 2 different populations: unburned and resprouts. We looked at whether the November 2018 fires had eliminated the pathogen from post-fire Malosma laurina resprouts, using the unburned Malosma laurina population …

Comparative Fitness Of Post-Fire Transplant Stipa Pulchra And Wild Stipa Pulchra In Competition With Avena Fatua, Ashley Bonin, Madison Cook, Sara Head

Featured Research

In the Spring Semesters of 2016 and 2017, research was conducted on the relative fitness of Stipa pulchra in the transplant garden on the Drescher campus at Pepperdine University. The first study in 2016 examined the fitness of Stipa pulchra and Avena fatua in the transplant and wild gardens after a five year drought in California. In the results of this experiment, the hypothesis was supported when observing that the wild S. pulchra depicted higher fitness that the transplant S. pulchra in areas of stomatal conductance, height, water potential, percent sun and dark-adapted fluorescence. The second study in 2017 investigated …

Post Fire Seedling And Resprout Survival Of Melasma Laurina, Matthew Sturtevant, Gil So

Featured Research

For this research project we set out to see how seedling and resprout survival rate of melasma laurina would fare in the post fire environment found around pepperdine. The expected seedling survival was set to be 1% and the resprout survival was at 100%. From our field research we found that the the seedling survival was 41% and the resprout 57.3%. By using a T-test we had a p value < 0.001 for both data sets, this means that our data deviated greatly from our expected data and meant that we had to reject our hypothesis.