Digital Commons Network^™

Invitation To 2026 Ibba Annual Meeting: Oklahoma Biological Station, Oklahoma, 13 - 15 Nov 2026, Paula Cimprich

North American Bird Bander

No abstract provided.

Reinterpreting The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Dispute In The Nile Basin Through The Game Theories Of Attrition And Bargaining, Olileanya Amuche Ezugwu, Felix C. Chidozie, Adeola A. Adebajo

Journal of Strategic Security

Why have more than a decade of negotiations, mediation efforts, and diplomatic interventions failed to produce a binding agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)? This article examines the hydro-politics of the Nile Basin through the lens of game theory, focusing on how bargaining behavior, strategic persistence, and competing perceptions of gains and losses shape state interactions. Drawing on the game of attrition and the bargaining game, the study analyzes the evolving strategies of Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan in the context of dam construction, filling, and operation. Rather than viewing the dispute solely as a contest over water allocation, …

Quantifying Iron Recycling In The Nutrient-Rich North Atlantic Ocean, Adam Jackvony

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

The North Atlantic is a volatile region with low iron availability, where diatoms make up a majority of the phytoplankton. Due to iron’s low supply and high demand, it is often retained within the system and reused through iron recycling. Iron recycling helps predict fluctuations in diatom biomass, which directly impacts the biological carbon pump, transporting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the deep ocean. Estimating recycling rate allows for comparisons to other regions that have previously been studied creating a better understanding of the ocean-climate system and how different environmental factors influence the climate. Using assumed source water iron …

Abundance Of Free-Living Cyanobacterial Nitrogen Fixers On The West Florida Shelf, Ashley S. Gielazyn, Emma Graves, Christa Baranowski, Dreux Chappell, Kristen Buck, Salvatore Caprara

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Trichodesmium is a free-living, marine cyanobacterium that acts as a biological nitrogen fixer, capable of using typically unavailable dissolved nitrogen gas. It is responsible for producing up to half of the usable nitrogen that is necessary for the survival of marine organisms and environments. Researching the abundance of different nitrogen-fixing species allows for a greater understanding of the importance of nitrogen fixation in certain environments. Specifically on the West Florida Shelf (WFS), where nutrient levels are low, it is hypothesized that nitrogen fixers support a significant portion of primary productivity. This study used qPCR of the rnpB housekeeping gene to …

Necropsy Findings Reveal Potential Threats To Native Florida Chelonian Species, Paige A. Spurlock

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Necropsies are vital for providing researchers with more information on the underlying conditions that cause disease and death in wildlife. A standard herpetological necropsy, like any necropsy, requires one to look objectively at each specimen, without preconceived expectations as to the cause, beginning with thorough internal and external examination of organs and tissues. This summer, I conducted 15 Chelonian (turtle and tortoise) necropsies. Species included gopher tortoise (n=11), and seral freshwater turtle species (n=4). Beyond gross examination, I collected cloacal/oral swabs, liver, lung, kidney, spleen, and brain for potential testing. Most were in good condition. We found a range of …

Pyrodinium Bahamense Environmental Growth: A Study Of How Local Salinities Affect P. Bahamense Growth And Toxicity, Elsa M. Kusek, Valentina Arnold Villarreal

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

The Steidinger Scholar Internship at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute provides a unique and valuable research experience for undergraduate students through experiential learning. Over the summer of 2026, we’re integral team members of the Harmful Algal Blooms Biotoxins Team, helping to monitor the presence of Pyrodinium bahamense, a saxitoxin producing dinoflagellate, and its associated toxins in scallop tissues throughout the Pasco County Recreational Scalloping Zone. This monitoring is crucial to protecting human health, preserving Florida's resources, and informing management decisions. To further our understanding of P. bahamense, we explored the impact of salinity on growth, pH, stress, and …

Optimizing Cannabinoid Exposure In An In Vitro Alzheimer's Disease Model: A Dose- And Time-Dependent Analysis Of Δ9-Thc, 11-Oh-Thc, And Thc-Cooh, Janiellys Brito, Chuanhai Cao

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-β plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles, leading to progressive cognitive decline and synaptic dysfunction. Because current disease-modifying therapies for AD are extremely limited, there is a pressing need to investigate compounds that may influence underlying disease-related cellular processes. This study investigated the dose- and time-dependent effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), 11-hydroxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-OH-THC), and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH) to identify cannabinoid exposure conditions and to establish a framework for future AD research. N2a-APP cells, a mouse neuroblastoma cell line genetically modified to overproduce human amyloid precursor protein (APP) and serve as an …

Role Of She In Vascular Tubulogenesis, Jaylen E. Moore

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Vascular tubulogenesis is the process by which endothelial cells organize into hollow tubes that permit blood flow. Despite its importance, the molecular mechanisms governing tubulogenesis remain poorly understood, and defects in this process underlie a range of diseases. 
   
   Src homology 2 domain-containing E (She) was originally characterized as an endothelial-enriched adaptor protein that functions downstream of the ETS transcription factor Etv2 / Etsrp in zebrafish embryos. She’s protein sequence was also previously determined to be evolutionarily conserved between different vertebrates, including Homo sapiens. Even so, its role and biological function remained unknown. This study describes the discovery of she’s function …

Biological Regeneration Of Zeolite For Long-Term Nitrogen Management In Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems, Hsiang Yang Shyu, Nicole Norwine, Annette Breton, Robert Bair, Daniel Yeh

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Nitrogen pollution poses serious risks to human and ecological health, driving toxic algal blooms, degrading fisheries, and threatening communities that rely on clean water resources, making sustainable nitrogen removal technologies essential. This study evaluates whether zeolite—a naturally porous, cation‑adsorbing mineral with high NH₄⁺ capacity—can be biologically regenerated through nitrification and denitrification, eliminating the costly chemical regeneration typically required for long‑term use. A lab‑scale Nutrient Capture System (NCS) was constructed using a granular activated carbon (GAC) bed followed by two tidal‑flow zeolite beds to simulate the Modified Ludzack‑Ettinger process. Synthetic wastewater containing approximately 70 mg/L total nitrogen and 260 mg/L COD …

Exploring Biopolymer Nanofibrous Scaffolds For Wound Healing Applications, James Lewis

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Chronic wounds continue to present a significant clinical challenge due to delayed healing, persistent inflammation, and the high risk of infection, creating an urgent need for advanced therapeutic strategies beyond conventional wound dressings. Electrospinning has emerged as a powerful and scalable fabrication technique for developing nanofibrous scaffolds that mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM) while serving as localized drug delivery platforms. The unique structural characteristics of electrospun nanofibers, including their high surface-area-to-volume ratio, interconnected porosity, and tunable fiber morphology, enable efficient loading, protection, and controlled release of therapeutic agents, promoting a favorable healing environment. In this study, biocompatible and biodegradable …

The Invisible Threat: Traditional Culture-Based Monitoring Misses The Vbnc State, Sarah Fee

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

All living organisms share a fundamental biological drive to survive through adaptation. In drinking water systems, pathogens like E. coli utilize survival mechanisms to withstand the chemical disinfectants designed to eliminate them. While treatment with free chlorine or monochloramine successfully stops bacteria from multiplying into colonies, many cells respond to this oxidative stress by shifting into a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state. In this state, bacteria remain physically intact and potentially virulent but fail to grow on standard agar plates, effectively “disappearing” from the conventional monitoring used to verify water safety. This investigation resolves this monitoring blind spot by utilizing …

Designing Β-Barrel Membrane Protein Using Distributed Structure-To-Sequence Adapters., Tien Dao

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Membrane proteins, particularly β-barrel membrane proteins, play essential roles in cellular processes and have growing applications in biotechnology, biosensing, and sequencing technologies. However, de novo design of membrane proteins remains underexplored because current inverse folding models, are primarily trained on soluble proteins and have limited exposure to membrane protein structures. The scarcity of experimentally determined membrane protein structures further limits the development of deep learning models for membrane protein design. In this work, we investigate strategies to retrain ProteinMPNN for membrane protein sequence design by retraining the model on a number of membrane protein datasets consisting of α-helical and β-barrel …

Optimizing Silk Fibroin–Polyethylene Oxide Polymer Blends For Electrospun Nanofibrous Scaffold Fabrication, Lucas Niemas

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Cardiovascular disease remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality, often requiring surgical repair or replacement of damaged tissues. Current cardiovascular substitutes, including synthetic grafts, mechanical valve replacements, and biologically derived tissues, have improved patient outcomes but still face limitations such as thrombosis risk, limited remodeling capacity, mechanical mismatch, and durability concerns. Cardiovascular tissue engineering seeks to address these challenges by developing biomimetic scaffolds that support cell attachment, extracellular matrix synthesis, tissue integration, and in vivo adaptation. Silk fibroin is a promising natural biomaterial because of its biocompatibility, tunable degradation, favorable mechanical properties, and anti-inflammatory potential; however, its low solution …

Protocol For Nod Islet Isolation Using A Novel Two-Filter Purification System, Sama Nayakanti

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the inflammation and destruction of pancreatic islets by infiltrating immune cells. As T1D incidence continues to surge worldwide, it is necessary to develop therapies capable of strengthening and protecting islet function.

Our prior research has previously demonstrated the protective antioxidant effects of Cornus officinalis (CO), a medicinal herb with known anti-diabetes properties, using 1.1B4 and NIT-1 transformed pancreatic β-cell lines. Although these cell lines are valuable and cost-efficient β-cell models, they are not fully representative of primary β-cell biology, which may affect their antioxidant response to CO.

To this end, …

Chemical Effects Of Microplastics On Photochemistry In A Coral-Associated Zooxanthella, Meghan A. Hennings, Matz Indergard, John E. Parkinson

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Coral bleaching is the process by which corals lose their symbiotic microalgae in response to stressful conditions. These photosymbionts, known as zooxanthellae, give corals their color and sustain host growth through mutualistic nutritional exchange. Bleaching events are becoming more common and severe, driving research into coral conservation and the resilience of each partner in the symbiosis. Yet it is unknown how certain pollutants, such as microplastics, may affect bleaching outcomes. Previous research in our laboratory has demonstrated that the presence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics inhibits bleaching recovery in sea anemones (a coral model), but it remains unclear whether the …

Alterations In Intracellular Pathways By Structured Acoustics Across Mammalian Model Systems, Mary B. Holahan, A'Niya Jackson, Jose Rumbaut-Clark, Elaina Schuler, Arnav Chavda, Thanh Mai Nguyen, Junaina Nazneen, Ana Beatriz-Melgar, Sarah Hedenstad, Emily Hernandez

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Music can be defined as structured sound that serves as a “universal language” capable of influencing emotion, cognition, and social connectivity in humans. Its formal application into the medical profession began in the 20th century, following World War I and II.  Human subject research involving music therapy has since reported a myriad of health benefits such as those on emotional (e.g., anxiety, depression, and stress), neurological (e.g., cognitive impairment, sleep issues, and dementia), and physical well-being (e.g., pain, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia). However, the impact of such structured acoustics on biological processes at the cellular and molecular level remains unclear. Towards …

A Study Of Secondary Metabolites From The Deep Sea Bubblegum Coral Paragorgia Arborea, Nylah Barber

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Marine organisms produce chemically diverse metabolites that have significant pharmaceutical potential which makes them great sources of inspiration for future drug development. However, collecting marine organisms is costly, time-consuming, and ecologically problematic, making preserved museum specimens a valuable alternative for natural products research. In this study, the deep-sea octocoral Paragorgia arborea, obtained from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, was selected for further chemical analysis due to its antiviral activity against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) with no detectable cytotoxicity to healthy cells. The extract was purified through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and resulting fractions were analyzed using mass spectrometry …

Photophysical Study Of A Cyclopropenium Azobenzene-Based Photoswitch, Amya Culbreath, Gabriella Oliver, Chavdar Slavov

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Ionic liquids are salts that exist as liquids at or near room temperature and are of interest because their structures can be tuned to control properties such as viscosity, polarity, solvation environment, and molecular organization. Incorporating photoswitches into ionic liquids offers a strategy for introducing light-responsive behavior, where reversible structural changes can be used to dynamically modulate liquid structure and function. Here, we present the synthesis of a photoswitchable ionic liquid and investigate its dynamic properties using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. Our results provide insight into how molecular photoswitching influences ionic liquid structure and dynamics, guiding the development of ionic …

Towards The Asymmetric Total Synthesis Of The Oxeatamides, Myungkyung Kim

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Darwinolide and membranolide, natural products isolated from Dendrilla membranosa, an Antarctic sponge of the family Darwinellidae, have demonstrated activity against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilm. The oxeatamides, natural products from the New Zealand sponge Darwinella oxeata, are structurally related to membranolide and represent promising candidates for similar biological activity, yet remain synthetically underexplored due to their limited natural abundance and complex structures. Building on prior studies in the Leahy laboratory, which established the asymmetric total synthesis of membranolide and enabled the preparation of key nitrogenous intermediates toward the oxeatamides, efforts are now directed toward the first asymmetric total …

Glycoconjugate Binding: Lectin Affinity For Structurally Differing Sugars On Cavitands, Erica D. Janmey

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Lectins are proteins that interact with sugars on cell membranes and bind with known affinities. Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) can give insight into entropy (ΔS), enthalpy (ΔH), stoichiometry (n) and the dissociation constant, KD. Resorcin[4]arene cavitand glycoconjugates were synthesized by attaching one of three sugar derivatives of glucose, mannose, and lactose to each of the cavitands for the purpose of comparing binding strength for concanavalin A between the glycosides and their simple sugar. The glycoconjugate structure differs from that of glycans, and therefore the differences in interactions between the sugars on the cavitands must be investigated. The multivalent resorcinarene glycoconjugates …

Multi-Omics Informed Drug Response Prediction For Precision Medicine, Iyioluwa O. Adaramola, Anowarul Kabir

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Motivation: Treating cancer in patients is hard within precision oncology due to the heterogeneity in cancer cells. Developing predictive methods that estimate drug-responses in cancer cell lines can improve our understanding of treatment effectiveness. The goal of this study is to explore the fundamental and data-driven limitations of the existing advanced learning methods for drug response prediction for precision oncology.

Approach & Findings: We examine current state-of the-art methods that utilize multi-omics patient data and/or signaling pathways to predict drug response across various cell lines. Our analysis identifies that models that learn molecular and topological manifolds demonstrate richer representation of …

Computational Modeling Of Electrospinning For Predicting Nanofiber Fabrication And Process Optimization, Jadon J. Orr, Rhidita Rahman Khan

OneUSF Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Electrospinning is a widely used Fabrication technique for producing continuous polymeric nanofibers with application in designing more efficient optoelectronic devices, sensors, producing filtration systems, wound healing, tissue regeneration, drug delivery , forming advanced  functional nanomaterial structures. The successful formation of electro-spun fibers depends on complex interaction among polymer concentration, solution viscosity, molecular chain entanglement, solvent properties, applied voltage, tip-collector-distance, and solution flow rate. Determining the optimum electrospinning condition traditionally achieved through repeated experimental trial and error, makes the process time consuming, costly, and difficult to reproduce across different polymer-solvent systems. Developing computational tools capable of predicting fiber formation can significantly …

Seabirds In 3d: A Framework To Evaluate Collision Vulnerability With Future Offshore Wind Developments In The California Current System, Stephanie R. Schneider, Eli Wallach, Charles Chamberlin, David G. Ainley, Scott B. Terrill, Sharon H. Kramer, R. Glenn Ford, Janet Casey, Jarrod A. Santora, Lisa T. Ballance, Sophie B. Bernstein, Sadie Trush, Arne Jacobson

Marine Ornithology

Since the 1970s, numerous vessel and aerial surveys of marine birds, covering many thousands of square kilometers, have been conducted in the California Current System (CCS), providing insights into seabirds' horizontal (2D) diversity and abundance, including the identification of “hotspots.” Addressing knowledge gaps regarding seabird distribution patterns from a 3D (vertical) perspective, however, will be required if California (CA) is to use offshore wind (OSW) facilities to assist in reaching the state's 2045 renewable energy goals. Such an analysis will allow seabirds' vertical distribution to be considered when assessing potential OSW impacts, as collision vulnerability is greatest for birds flying …

Prologue To Special Section, David Ainley

Marine Ornithology

In 1972, the Pacific Seabird Group, “dedicated to the study and conservation of Pacific seabirds and their environment,” was founded by a group of idealistic US and Canadian Early Career Scientists (led by George Divoky, and egged-on by some older mentors) (Fig. 1). It was a heady time, with publication of Rachael Carson's Silent Spring, the first Earth Day, and the enactments of the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Clean Water Act. During this time, besides DDT and its effects on marine birds, major marine oil spills occurred in waters off Santa Barabara and San Francisco. …

Conserving Seabirds: Actions Of The Pacific Seabird Group During Its First 40 Years., Craig S. Harrison

Marine Ornithology

The Pacific Seabird Group (PSG), founded in 1972, is “dedicated to the study and conservation of Pacific seabirds and their environment.” During its first 40 years, PSG undertook scores of conservation actions, although as an all-volunteer organization, PSG lacked the capacity to implement many programs or projects. It achieved its conservation goals through leadership, raising issues, bringing the best science to decision makers, and serving as a catalyst for others to act. PSG has been especially influential in six areas: (1) eradicating invasive alien animals from seabird colonies; (2) conserving Marbled Murrelets Brachyramphus marmoratus; (3) protecting seabird colonies in …

Behavioral Insights Into The Galapagos Penguin Spheniscus Mendiculus: A Day In His Life—An Ethological Portrait., Jonathan Cueva, Wilson Iñiguez, Gregory Marshall, Christian Sevilla, Andrea Coloma, Lorena Venegas, Gustavo Jiménez-Uzcátegui

Marine Ornithology

The Galapagos Penguin Spheniscus mendiculus, endemic to the Galápagos Archipelago, faces increasing ecological pressures threatening its population. This study aimed to characterize its daily behavioral patterns to better understand its adaptations and vulnerability to ecosystem changes. In one breeding locality, the Marielas Islets, we mounted a Crittercam on a male penguin to assess interactions with its mate and its behavior over a 24-hr period. Behaviors were classified as Diving, Foraging, Grooming, Intraspecific Interaction, Interspecific Interaction, Loafing, Prospecting, Resting, Surface Dipping, and Swimming. We analyzed behavioral data using chi-square tests and transition heat-maps. Results revealed predominantly surface behaviors—Prospecting (41.2% of …

Breeding Parameters Of The Gull-Billed Tern Gelochelidon Nilotica In Boughrara Lagoon, Southeast Tunisia., Amel Neb, Slaheddine Selmi

Marine Ornithology

We provide, for the first time, data on the breeding parameters of the Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica in Tunisia, at Boughrara Lagoon. From May to July 2024, we monitored a breeding colony located on a small islet in the northern part of the lagoon. In total, 112 nests were monitored: 71 nests initiated in mid-May (early clutches) and 41 in early June (late nests). Clutch size ranged from one to four eggs (mean ± standard deviation [SD] = 2.51 ± 0.06), with no significant difference between early and late nesters. Egg volume ranged from 14.65 to 49.23 cm3 (mean ± …

Sex And Age Characteristics Of Northern Fulmars Fulmarus Glacialis Used In Programs To Monitor Plastic Ingestion., Jan A. Van Franeker, Susanne Kühn

Marine Ornithology

Carcasses of beached or accidentally killed Northern Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis, collected for monitoring plastic ingestion, have shown that the incidence of litter may vary over time and by region. Age, sex, and season of fulmar collection appear to affect the quantity of plastics ingested. More detailed analyses of monitoring data thus require reliable and consistent methods for assessing age and sex. Methods were first described in a monitoring manual in 2004 and later in international guidelines, but age and sex definition required further clarification. A large dataset of 3,790 dissected birds now allows for detailed descriptions of sex and …

Seabirds As Ecosystem Engineers: Providing Arthropod Habitat On Oceanic Islands., Kanon Mizukoshi, Kazuto Kawakami, Takashi Kamijo

Marine Ornithology

Seabirds play several important ecological roles on oceanic islands through their high-density breeding. Their ecosystem functions—such as nutrient cycling through excretion or terrestrial vegetation disturbance through trampling—are well known; however, little is known of their roles as ecosystem engineers. Nests and burrows can be densely concentrated in seabird colonies, by which seabirds can affect adjacent terrestrial ecosystems, especially affecting arthropods that use these structures as food or habitats. However, studies investigating the species composition of arthropods that inhabit seabird nests are limited. To characterize the arthropod faunas in seabird nests, this study surveyed and analyzed 90 nests of three seabird …

Comparing Counts Made From Drone-Based And Boat-Based Photography For Surveying Thick-Billed Murre Uria Lomvia Cliff Colonies., Ewan Macdonnell, Sarah E. Gutowsky, Kyle H. Elliott

Marine Ornithology

Surveys of cliff-nesting seabirds from sea level or ground level often miss individuals hidden by topography, leading to underestimates of abundance. Thick-billed Murres Uria lomvia are especially challenging to survey accurately due to their dense nesting on vertical cliff ledges in remote northern regions. In Canada, updated colony surveys are needed, as currently used population estimates, done from boats, are outdated. Drones offer better vantage points and may reduce availability bias (i.e., the proportion of birds present but not visible), but direct comparisons with boat-based counts are essential. We compared murre counts from drone- and boat-based photographs of six vertical …