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Measuring The Bioeconomic Impacts Of Prolonged Drought On A Lake Ecosystem: The Case For The Great Salt Lake, Utah, Arthur J. Caplan, Dong-Hun Go

Applied Economics Faculty Publications

We present a general-equilibrium (GE) bioeconomic model of Utah's Great Salt Lake (GSL) ecosystem that tightly links the lake's ecosystem with its regional economy and attendant international trading partners, thereby enabling full identification of dynamic feedback effects in the presence of prolonged drought. The drought modeled here mimics a drying climate's impact on the lake's nutrient pool. We demonstrate how prolonged drought affects key bioeconomic variables over time, and how the GSL bioeconomy recovers toward a new steady state. We also consider how two separate fishery-specific regulatory tools—a temporary harvest moratorium and ad valorum tax on the fishery's factors of …

Preserving Evolutionary History With Improved Confidence, K. Bodie Weedop, A. Ø. Mooers, C. M. Tucker, William D. Pearse

Ecology Center Publications

We thank Faith (2019) and Mindell (2019) for their insightful perspectives on our study of the impact of phylogenetic imputation on the assessment of evolutionary distinctiveness (ED; Isaac et al., 2007). As Mindell highlights, the finding that ED scores for species on a phylogeny are remarkably robust despite having species missing from that phylogeny is encouraging; our results suggest that we can be confident in moving forward with prioritization of the species for which we have data. This is important because in some cases, for example, it may take considerable time to obtain samples …

Past Management Spurs Differential Plant Communities Within A Giant Single-Clone Aspen Forest, Paul C. Rogers, Jan ŠEbesta

Ecology Center Publications

Sustainable aspen ecosystems hold great promise for global biodiversity conservation. These forests harbor relatively high species diversity, yet are threatened by fire suppression, land development, timber-focused management, extended droughts, and chronic herbivory. “Pando” is a high-profile quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) forest in Utah, USA which is putatively the ‘largest living organism on earth.’ Pando comprises an estimated 47,000 genetically identical stems, but is threatened by human impacts. Our interest in the present study is whether changes to the giant organism were affecting understorey vegetation and whether discrete zones are displaying divergent community compositions. For instance, recent research has demonstrated strong …

Sage‐Grouse Breeding And Late Brood‐Rearing Habitat Guidelines In Utah, David K. Dahlgren, Terry A. Messmer, Benjamin A. Crabb, Michel T. Kohl, Shandra Nicole Frey, Eric T. Thacker, Randy T. Larsen, Rick J. Baxter

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Delineation, protection, and restoration of habitats provide the basis for endangered and threatened species recovery plans. Species recovery plans typically contain guidelines that provide managers with a scientific basis to designate and manage critical habitats. As such, habitat guidelines are best developed using data that capture the full diversity of ecological and environmental conditions that provide habitat across the species’ range. However, when baseline information, which fails to capture habitat diversity, is used to develop guidelines, inconsistencies and problems arise when applying those guidelines to habitats within an ecologically diverse landscape. Greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage‐ grouse) populations …

Restoring Energy Deficits In Traumatic Brain Injuries: A Key To Effective Treatment, Savannah Daines, Brett Adams, Tye Harrison

Fall Student Research Symposium 2019

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when external forces cause the brain to move rapidly within the skull, resulting in an alteration of brain function. Following the initial injury, a cascade of cellular events known as the secondary injury reduces cerebral energy production and exacerbates pathological consequences. Conditions that close the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) provide effective treatment for TBI by restoring ionic balance and coupling of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation to ATP production. mPTP closure can be achieved during ketosis when the body metabolizes ketone bodies over glucose as a primary fuel source. Administration of exogenous ketones achieves therapeutic levels …

Cultivate Winter 2019/2020, Utah State University

Cultivate Magazine

Bi-annual magazine for the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.

Utah State Magazine, Winter 2020, Utah State University

Utah State Magazine

The quarterly magazine for friends and alumni of Utah State University.

Parsing The Effects Of Demography, Climate And Management On Recurrent Brucellosis Outbreaks In Elk, Gavin C. Cotterill, Paul C. Cross, Jerod A. Merkle, Jared D. Rogerson, Brandon M. Scurlock, Johan T. Du Toit

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

1. Zoonotic pathogens can harm human health and well‐being directly or by impacting livestock. Pathogens that spillover from wildlife can also impair conservation efforts if humans perceive wildlife as pests. Brucellosis, caused by the bacterium Brucella abortus, circulates in elk and bison herds of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and poses a risk to cattle and humans. Our goal was to understand the relative effects of climatic drivers, host demography and management control programmes on disease dynamics.
2. Using >20 years of serologic, demographic and environmental data on brucellosis in elk, we built stochastic compartmental models to assess the influences of climate forcing, …

Evaluation Of A Proprietary Slow-Release Oxytocin Therapy And Return Of The Luteolytic Mechanism In Mares, Brendan Andrew Sarnecky

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Prolonging function of the corpus luteum (CL) is a method of suppressing estrus that maintains secretion of endogenous progesterone to keep mares out of heat naturally. The use of oxytocin to prolong CL function is becoming more popular. In these therapies, upregulation of cyclooxygenase-2 is inhibited, which impairs prostaglandin F2α ( PGF2α) production. Intramuscular (IM) administration of 60 IU of oxytocin once daily from 7 to 14 days after ovulation is currently the most common treatment protocol. Although that protocol is efficacious in ≥70% of treated mares, the need for daily administration is a drawback to its use. A proprietary …

Parsing The Effects Of Demography, Climate, And Management On Recurrent Brucellosis Outbreaks In Elk, Gavin C. Cotterill, Paul C. Cross, Jerod A. Merkle, Jared D. Rogerson, Brandon M. Scurlock, Johan T. Du Toit

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Zoonotic pathogens can harm human health and wellbeing directly or by impacting livestock. Pathogens that spillover from wildlife can also impair conservation efforts if humans perceive wildlife as pests. Brucellosis, caused by the bacterium Brucella abortus, circulates in elk and bison herds of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and poses a risk to cattle and humans. Our goal was to understand the relative effects of climatic drivers, host demography, and management control programs on disease dynamics.

Using > 20 years of serologic, demographic, and environmental data on brucellosis in elk, we built stochastic compartmental models to assess the influences of climate forcing, …

Incorporating Natural Play Spaces Into Elementary Playgrounds For Child Developmental Benefits, Ariel L. Wright

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

Play environments are crucial to providing developmental opportunities for children and natural playgrounds provide a developmentally rich play environment. This study compared elementary school playgrounds and nature explore classrooms to determine what natural play spaces can be implemented into an elementary school playground for developmental benefits. The playgrounds were evaluated on safety, ADA requirements and what developmental affordances are encouraged through different play components. A Nature Playground Play Spaces List and handouts were developed, and a playground design exploration was conducted as an example for how the play spaces list can be used and to show what benefits can be …

Secondson, Jonathan Blake Heaton

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

This author’s introduction is an analysis of graphic literature and poetry, and the combining of the two to create graphic poetry. Themes are explored of what it means to be a second son in a world permeated by traditional values, regarding the prominence of the first son.

This thesis was split into five sections: Finding My Story—in which the author explains how he came to the main narrative content behind Secondson; Finding My Themes—in which the author discusses the four themes that are included in Secondson and the inspiration received from outside works of poetry; Finding My Genre—in which the …

Modern Uses Of Assistance Animals In The Usa: Definitions, Access, And The Laws That Protect Them, Tina Reisner

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

One of the most arguable issues in our society, and within the field of modern disability policy and law is the epidemic surrounding the use of service animals. With several cases for and against the use of service animals in public entities, there is constant discussion of what is a legitimate service animal and who is able to utilize them. In this thesis, I establish the definition of disability and discuss the laws and policies that legitimized the use of service animals within the public sphere. Specifically, this work will draw upon genres such as policies and laws of disability, …

Transition Portfolio, Sarah Atkinson

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

Teaching self-determination skills has been shown to be successful among those who are from Anglo-Saxon decent. However, not much has been done to study the effects of teaching culturally responsive self-determination skills to those who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The literature review in this transition portfolio addresses how teaching culturally and linguistically responsive self-determination skills can be useful to help individuals who receive special education services to more fully succeed in a post-high school setting.

Metal Storytellers: Reflections Of War Culture In Silverplate B-29 Nose Art From The 509th Composite Group, Terri Wesemann

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

Most people are familiar with the Enola Gay—the B-29 that dropped Little Boy, the first atomic bomb, over the city of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. Less known are the fifteen Silverplate B-29 airplanes that trained for the mission, that were named and later adorned with nose art. However, in recorded history, the atomic mission overshadowed the occupational folklore of this group. Because the abundance of planes were scrapped in the decade after World War II and most WWII veterans have passed on, all that remains of their occupational folklore are photographs, oral and written histories, some books, …

Accessing Healthy Food: Behavioral And Environmental Determinants Among Low-Income Populations, Abiodun Tolulope Atoloye

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

On average, low-income individuals have poorer diet quality compared to their high-income counterparts. However, improved food access may offer opportunities to improve diet among this population. This study examines how the low-income population navigates between barriers, resources, and opportunities to acquire healthy foods in different settings.

Chapter 3 examined how the use of a farmers’ market incentive program among the low-income population impacts F&V consumption. We observed no effect on F&V consumption due to program participation but users of the program have a significantly higher F&V consumption than non-users. Chapter 4 identified transportation difficulties as a barrier to the uptake …

Preschool Science: An Examination Of Classroom And Teacher Predictors, Donna S. Blaylock

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Science experiences during the preschool years is important because it helps build brain development in children, and improves school readiness. This exploratory study examined several characteristics of teachers and classrooms to see if any factors predicted time spent on science. Over 120 teachers participated, with teachers from Head Starts, university child development laboratories, home-based preschools, and other private preschool programs.

Findings suggest that preschool teachers are quite comfortable with teaching science, but science activities are reported to occur infrequently—one to three times a month. Teachers with higher levels of education and comfort levels with science are reported to be more …

The Response Of Utah Lake's Plant And Algal Community Structure To Cultural Eutrophication, Leighton R. King

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Human activities have long had a negative impact on the water quality of freshwater lakes around the world. Utah Lake, located in north-central Utah, has been a subject of such impacts, as the lake experiences recurrent harmful algal blooms during the summer months. Lake warnings and closures have made the public increasingly aware of the ecological and economic impact of these blooms. The objectives of this study were to: 1) compare historical and present-day water quality and ecosystem conditions using environmental data contained in sediment cores, 2) identify whether, and when, Utah Lake transitioned from clearwater to turbid conditions, and …

In Defense Of The Modern Company Town: Wyoming's Uranium Communities, Zachary R. Larsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Most people are at least aware that, in the past, companies that owned mines, lumber mills, and other large-scale industrial projects in isolated areas also ran company towns. For many people, such towns conjure up images miserable working conditions, exploitative company stores, and inadequate shacks for most workers, while managers live in relative luxury up on “snob knob.” Most people are also fairly certain that such towns, at least in the United States, died out about the same time as the horse and buggy. Several industries in Wyoming, however, continued to support company towns through the end of the 20th …

Investigating The Roles Of Bacterial Endosymbionts In The Evolution Of Adelgidae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha), Kathryn M. Weglarz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Insects form close partnerships, or symbioses, with bacteria. These partnerships allow the insects to use resources that would be unavailable to them otherwise. Certain insects, hemipterans, are able to feed on nutrient-poor plant-sap because these bacteria supplement their diets. While this association is beneficial for both the insect and bacteria, it also comes with consequences: the genomes of bacterial symbionts typically undergo extreme degradation, becoming small and lacking many genes necessary for typical bacterial functioning. In the Hemiptera, aphids, mealybugs, cicadas, true bugs, and their relatives, these bacterial partnerships tend to be stable over millions of years. However, adelgids (Aphidoidea: …

Herbage Characteristics Affecting Intake By Dairy Heifers Grazing Grass-Monoculture And Grass-Birdsfoot Trefoil Pastures, Marcus F. Rose

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pasture-based dairies have become more prevalent in recent years due to a higher proportion of organic milk demand and production. Organic certification requires that animals must graze at least 120 days in each growing season. However, dry matter intake is often limited when dairy animals receive most of their herbage from pasture, resulting in lower animal performance and milk production. The purpose of this study was to analyze the complimentary effect of high energy grasses with birdsfoot trefoil (BFT) tannins to improve intake of dairy heifers. Jersey heifers were rotationally grazed for 105 days in 2017 and 2018 on eight …

Evaluating Relationships Of Knowledge, Attitudes, And Perception Between Ranchers And Bureau Of Land Management Professionals, Calee L. Garn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages approximately 245 million acres in the U.S., the majority of which are in the western half of the country. There have been several conflicts in Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Arizona, since 2010 that have resulted in a fatality, armed militias, several incarcerations, and lawsuits facing the federal government. Following a preliminary needs assessment conducted in Box Elder County, Utah, and a comprehensive review of the literature, further research was needed to understand BLM professional (BLM managers or BLM specialists) and rancher perceptions regarding BLM policies and procedures. The study specifically looked at attitudes, …

Enteric Methane And Nitrogen Emissions In Beef Cattle Grazing A Tannin-Containing Legume Relative To Feedlot And Traditional Pasture-Based Production Systems, Raúl David Guevara Ballesteros

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Beef cattle production is highly criticized because of the high use of land and water resources, and by the pollution (e.g., the gas methane in a cow’s breath and nitrogen in urine) produced by cows fed in feedlots. In contrast to feedlots diets and grasses, some plants (e.g., legumes) contain bioactive compounds (condensed tannins) that reduce pollution and enhance animal nutrition. In my research, I observed that cows grazing a tannin-containing legume (birdsfoot trefoil; BFT) had methane emissions similar to cows fed a feedlot ration with comparable weight gains. Cows in the BFT treatment gained more weight than cows grazing …

The Farm As Place In A Changing Climate: Capturing Women Farmers' Experiences In Idaho, United States And Victoria, Australia, Tagen Towsley Baker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In Australia and the US, women play a vital role in the agricultural sector. However, historically farmwomen’s contributions to agriculture as well as their individual knowledge and social resilience to stressors like climate and climate change have been unrecognized and rendered invisible. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship from geography and the humanities, this dissertation explores the farm as place in a changing climate, drawing on women farmers’ experiences, under three distinct themes: identity, place, and photography. The dissertation research includes three distinct parts. First, incorporating non-fiction writing and photography, I explore my agricultural and religious heritage, as well as familial connections …

Expression Systems For Synthetic Spider Silk Protein Production, Michaela R. Hugie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Spider silk is a biodegradable and biocompatible natural material that is stronger than steel and more elastic than nylon. These properties make spider silk a desirable material for many commercial products, ranging from textiles to biomedical materials. Due to spiders’ cannibalistic and territorial nature it is impossible to farm them to produce spider silk at a high enough yield to meet product demands. Therefore, a bioengineered synthetic process is necessary to produce spider silk. Synthetic spider silk has been produced in bacteria, goats, yeast, plants, mammalian cells and silkworms, but none of these processes provided a commercially viable yield or …

A Model Explaining Medusahead Invasion And Novel Targeted Grazing Approaches Of Control, Casey N. Spackman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski) is currently one of the biggest threats to rangelands and livestock operations in the Western US. High silica concentrations in medusahead contribute to its invasiveness. I developed a model to explain how silica is involved in the invasion process, and attempted to manipulate silica to increase use of the grass by livestock. Experiments were conducted to determine: 1) whether rotational grazing on established forages of improved nutritional quality would provide supplemental nutrients to increase cattle use of medusahead; 2) evaluate intake of and preference for medusahead treated with a glyphosate herbicide at different rates …

Boundaries And Bridges In Rangeland Social-Ecological Systems: Studies Of Collaboration, Innovation, And Information Flow, Gwendŵr R. Meredith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Public rangelands are managed by a mixture of federal, state, and local governments. Often, these groups are charged with managing adjacent lands that are part of the same greater landscape. To do this effectively, communication and collaboration is required. This dissertation examines federal, state, and local agencies’ level of communication through three projects.

The first project examined barriers to agencies adopting management tools from each other. I found that individuals within agencies were mainly staying within their own agency when seeking advice, so individuals were not communicating about tools or their findings across agencies. Furthermore, agency policies and fear of …

Cost-Effective Synthesis, Bioactivity And Cellular Uptake Study Of Aminoglycosides With Antimicrobial And Connexin Hemichannel Inhibitory Activity, Yagya P. Subedi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Amphiphilic kanamycin is one of the promising class of compounds for the treatment of fungal infections in plants and animal. Factor that lead to the restricting of compounds for commercialization includes, the higher cost of production and poor stability of the compound. However, the new lead, identified from the synthesis and biological testing, can be synthesized on a large scale with a cost comparable to commercial antifungals. The newly reported lead is stable at the acidic and basic conditions. Additionally, this compound has an excellent activity towards Candida auris, a multidrug-resistant superbug.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death …

Effects Of Soil-Borne Pathogens On Seedling Establishment Patterns In Forest Systems, Eric P. Sodja

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Janzen-Connell mechanism is proposed to maintain plant diversity: predators and diseases of seeds reduce the number of seeds that survive near a parent tree, but allow seeds far from the parent tree to grow into adulthood. In the area where seeds don’t survive, seedlings from other tree species which are not affected by the seed consumer can grow. At large scales, this effect is thought to increase overall plant diversity. Soil-borne pathogens can contribute to seed mortality in this way, but we don’t know how important different parts of their lifecycle are in creating Janzen-Connell patterns. To determine the …

Finding The Time: Age-Depth Models In Rockshelters And Their Paleoenvironmental Implications, Caleb E. Ferbrache

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rockshelters are capable of preserving excellent environmental records within their sediments. But the matter of interpreting an environmental record from rockshelter sediments presents a significant hurdle in the form of dating. An “age-depth model” is typically used to estimate the age of environmental information extending through the deposit. An age-depth model calculates the changes in time between direct ages (like a radiocarbon age) and can provide an estimated age for any depth. While radiocarbon dating can provide an age for organic remains, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) can provide a direct age on quartz sand deposition and is particularly effective when …