Digital Commons Network^™

Speciation, Species Concepts, And Biogeography Illustrated By A Buckwheat Complex (Eriogonum Corymbosum), Mark W. Ellis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The focus of this research project is the complex of infraspecific taxa that make up the crisp-leaf buckwheat species Eriogonum corymbosum (Polygonaceae), which is distributed widely across southwestern North America. This complex provides an ideal taxonomic group for research into population relationships and speciation. To avoid unnecessary debates about taxonomic validity or contentious issues regarding appropriate species definitions, the historical evolution of the species concept is first reviewed in detail, demythologizing an often-assumed species problem. Following that review, the E. corymbosum complex is examined specifically.

Although eight varieties of E. corymbosum are currently recognized based on morphological characters, this group …

From Cultural Traditions To National Trends: The Transition Of Domestic Mormon Architecture In Cache Valley, Utah, 1860--1915, Jami J. Van Huss

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As any architectural historian would argue, historic buildings are the most accessible, yet illusive documents of their founding culture, and as the relevant historiography argues, the early Mormon pioneer built environment in Utah is no exception. In fact, many Mormon architectural historians posit that due to the exclusivity and unusual circumstances of many Mormon settlements, their original structures have an exceptional ability to comment on the culture that erected them. The first permanent settlement in Cache Valley, Wellsville, provides a particularly lucrative opportunity to discover a great deal about the founding pioneers who established it due to the city's time …

Disordered: A Tale Of The Body, Elizabeth M. Benson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

While a body of creative nonfiction writing exists regarding experiences with various psychological disorders, few personal accounts have been written about the physical complications of Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Some memoirs tell a tale of serious illness in a straightforward narrative line. On the opposite end of this spectrum, other memoirs intentionally blur the lines of truth and heighten the confusion of a disorder. This thesis is as much a narrative of my experience with Generalized Anxiety Disorder as it is a response to the void in creative nonfiction surrounding this specific disorder and the narrative forms others have chosen to …

Stability Of Basin-Scale Internal Waves Within The South Arm Of The Great Salt Lake, Joshua David Soelberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The fluid circulation patterns, temperature distributions, and density gradients of the South Arm of the Great Salt Lake were modeled using the Estuary, Lake, and Coastal Ocean Model (ELCOM) from the Centre for Water Research at the University of Western Australia. The effort is part of a research study in conjunction with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Utah Water Research Lab located at Utah State University. The model was simulated for several different cases of salinity gradients over different time periods, using temperature and wind data from 2006. The model is then used to identify factors which …

A Novel Role For Non-Heme Iron In Myoglobin Oxidation: An Examination Of The Antioxidant Effects Of Iron Chelating Compounds In Meat And Myoglobin Model Systems, Karin E. Allen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Myoglobin (Mb) oxidation, and the subsequent browning, is the primary basis for consumer rejection of fresh retail beef. Considerable effort has been directed by the industry towards the development of techniques that can enhance color stability. However, the underlying mechanism of Mb oxidation has been studied extensively, but is still not entirely understood. Current models focus on the role of lipid oxidation byproducts, pH, and anionic ligands as promoters of Mb oxidation. It is known that chelation of iron and copper delays Mb oxidation and browning, but a clear role for these metals has not been established in any current …

Optimal Candidate Generation In Spatial Co-Location Mining, Zhongshan Lin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Existing spatial co-location algorithms based on levels suffer from generating extra, nonclique candidate instances. Thus, they require cliqueness checking at every level. In this thesis, a novel, spatial co-location mining algorithm that automatically generates co-located spatial features without generating any nonclique candidates at any level is proposed. Subsequently, this algorithm generates fewer candidates than other existing level-wise, co-location algorithms without losing any pertinent information. The benefits of this algorithm have been clearly observed at early stages in the mining process.

Design And Evaluation Of Oligonucleotide Microarrays For The Detection Of Bovine Pathogens, Ryan Weldon Black

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two microarray designs were developed and produced to screen for multiple bovine pathogens commonly found in the cattle industry today. The first microarray was designed, built, and processed in-house using conventional material and equipment and targeted Pasteurella multocida, Manheimia haemolytica, Histophilus somni, and Arcanobacterium pyogenes. For each pathogen, 12 perfect-match oligonucleotide probes, which were also designed in-house, targeted different sections of the respective 16S ribosomal genes, and were coupled with 12 corresponding mismatched probes for background. These arrays were able to produce distinct hybridization patterns for each pathogen that were easily visible without the need for …

Linking Space Use And Behavior In Clark's Nutcracker: An Explanation For Seasonal Variation In Space Use, Teresa J. Lorenz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Clark's Nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) are important seed dispersers for at least 10 species of conifer in western North America and are obligate mutualists for the subalpine tree, whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis). Despite the important role they play in forest regeneration, space use by nutcrackers has not been formally studied. Several hypotheses exist to explain their year-round space use patterns. I tested one hypothesis that Clark's Nutcrackers migrate altitudinally between summer and autumn in one population in the Cascade Range, Washington. In 2006 and 2007, I compared seasonal differences in summer and autumn space use by 26 …

From Sagebrush To Subdivisions: Visualizing Tourist Development In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 1967-2002, Clinton R. Pumphrey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Historians have long recognized the tendency of communities to embrace tourism when extractive practices like agriculture, mining, and ranching fail as a dominant economic strategy. Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is a prime example of this phenomenon in the American West. From its origins as a Mormon farming community in the late-nineteenth century, the valley evolved into an extensively developed tourist mecca by the end of the next. While this industry was initially supported by hotel-dwelling auto tourists, by the 1960s wealthy second-home buyers began to descend on Jackson Hole, buying up scenic property and constructing vacation homes. Over the next few …

Measurement Of Air Pollutant Emissions From A Confined Poultry Facility, Olumuyiwa Omotola Ogunlaja

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Air emissions from animal feeding operations have become a growing concern. Much work has been done to study occupational exposures and the exhaust concentrations associated with animal facilities; however little information has been provided about air quality around the houses. Ammonia (NH₃ ), ethanol (EtOH), nitrous oxide (N₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and particulate matter (PM _2.5 and PM₁₀) emissions were monitored in two different buildings for laying hens in northern Utah. Over the six-month sampling period, the observed average temperatures for the west and east fan banks of the high-rise building were 21.2±4 …

Combining Information To Answer Questions About Names And Categories, Ginger L. Kelso

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Children's language and world knowledge grows explosively in the preschool years. One critical contributor to this growth is their developing ability to infer relations beyond those that have been directly taught or modeled. Categorization is one type of skill commonly taught in preschool in which inference is an important aspect. This study explored the development of specific types of inferences within a categorization relation: those among naming items and categories, selecting items based on their names and categories, and answering questions that relate names and categories. Children learned names and categories for a set of unfamiliar cartoon characters through one …

The Effects Of Online Homework On Achievement And Self-Efficacy Of College Algebra Students, David Shane Brewer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study compared the effectiveness, in terms of mathematical achievement and mathematics self-efficacy, of online homework to textbook homework over an entire semester for 145 students enrolled in multiple sections of college algebra at a large community college. A quasi-experimental, posttest design was used to analyze the effect on mathematical achievement, as measured by a final exam. A pretest-posttest design was used to analyze the effect on mathematics self-efficacy, as measured by the Mathematics Self-efficacy Scale. The control group completed their homework using the textbook and the treatment group completed similar homework using an online homework system developed by the …

Treatment Of Saltcedar (Tamarix Spp.): Economics And Feasibility, Christopher L. Thompson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The invasive species Saltcedar is affecting water and land resources throughout the western states of America. Because of great water use capabilities and other ecosystem detriments, Saltcedar has been targeted for treatment.

For successful management of Saltcedar, individual landowners need to be aware of the costs and benefits of treating Saltcedar. Eleven of the most commonly reported treatment methods were evaluated for firm level economic feasibility. Evaluated on the basis of treatment cost, treatment effectiveness, Saltcedar water-use, and re-vegetation water-use, a production plan of ten years was created for each treatment method. Some treatment methods required re-treatment and were evaluated …

Garter Snake (Thamnophis) Natural History: Food Habits And Interspecific Aggression, Michael J. Edgehouse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Communication and recognition are closely intertwined and have been well documented in closely related species over the past several decades. These two types of behaviors often will aid in fostering or disrupting coexistence of similar species. Frequently, it is through different diet patterns that similar species will be able to coexist. This study uses data from 1972 through 2006 to demonstrate the diet of Thamnophis sirtalis, T. atratus, T. elegans, and T. couchii throughout their California range of sympatry with Taricha torosa. Additionally, an in depth examination of the diet of T. sirtalis, T. elegans, …

Are Delay Discounting, Probability Discounting, Time Perception, And Time Perspective Related? A Cross-Cultural Study Among Latino And White American Students, Ana Amelia L. Baumann Neves

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study aimed to evaluate (a) the extent to which different impulsivity measures would be related to each other and to a risk taking measure, (b) the extent to which impulsivity, risk taking, time perception and time perspective are related to each other, and (c) the extent to which these processes differ in Latino and White American students. Experiment I was conducted at Utah State University. One hundred and forty-three participants were exposed to the delay discounting, probability discounting and temporal bisection procedures, and answered the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI). Results showed …

Soil Moisture Responses In Traditional And Drought Adapted Landscapes In The Intermountain West, James Gregory

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water conservation in the Intermountain West will be an important issue in the future as population and demand for limited water resources increases. In Utah, outdoor water use accounts for up to 60% of total per capita water use with 67% of that outdoor water being used to irrigate non native plant species to maintain a uniform green appearance. The objective of this study was to measure intra landscape changes in soil water potential during a 21.5 day dry down from DOY 215 to 236.5 in the summer of 2005 and 2006. Four, 2 x 2 replicated traditional and drought …

Rereading And Rewriting Women's History, Jacqueline Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In Margaret Atwood’s nonfiction book Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing (2002), Atwood discusses the importance of the female writer’s responsibility, that to write as a woman or about women means that you take upon yourself the responsibility of writing as a form of negotiation with our female dead and with what these dead took with them—the truth about who they were. By rereading and rewriting our communal past, women writers pay tribute to our female ancestors by voicing their silent stories while also changing gender stereotypes, complicating who these women were, and acknowledging their accomplishments.

In her …

Measuring And Modeling Of Plant Root Uptake Of Organic Chemicals, Erik Dettenmaier

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Determining the root uptake of xenobiotic organic chemicals into plants is critical for assessing the human and ecological health risks associated with the consumption of plants growing in contaminated environments. Root uptake of xenobiotic organics occurs passively in conjunction with transpiration and the transport from root to shoot is ultimately controlled by passage through one or more lipid root membranes. The transpiration stream concentration factor (TSCF), the ratio between the concentration of a chemical in the xylem to that in the solution used by the roots, is used to describe the relative ability of an organic chemical to be passively …

Growing Wild: Crested Wheatgrass And The Landscape Of Belonging, Lafe Gerald Conner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Crested wheatgrass arrived in North America at the turn of the twentieth century through the foreign plant exploration missions sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture. During the first two decades of the new century, scientists tested the grass at agricultural experiment stations. They determined it was useful for grazing and particularly valuable because it could grow in drought conditions with little or no care and would continue to produce high quality feed even after several years of heavy use. Beginning in the 1930s federally sponsored land utilization and agricultural adjustment programs sponsored the use of crested wheatgrass for …

Movement Patterns And Multi-Scale Factors That Influence Exotic Brook Trout And Endemic Bonneville Cutthroat Trout Distribution And Abundance In The Mill Creek Drainage, Utah, Benjamin Keith Nadolski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Introduced brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are implicated as a primary factor leading to the decline in distribution and abundance of native cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii). However, not all introductions are successful, suggesting local conditions influence the success of invasions. Therefore, I sought to determine the multi-scale factor(s) that influence brook trouts’ invasion success of native Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah) habitats in Mill Creek, Utah. I conducted patch occupancy surveys to determine watershed-scale brook trout and cutthroat trout distribution. I also determined the relative abundance of brook trout and cutthroat trout at the …

Disturbance As Restoration In The Intermountain Sagebrush Steppe: Effects On Non Target Bird Species, Russell Edward Norvell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes in shrubsteppe passerine bird habitat associations in response to disturbance were investigated at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Spatial measures incorporated the effects of area at different ecological scales (nest site, territory, and landscape) to include ecologically meaningful extents. Temporal measures included seasonal and annual effects, and were designed to detect lagged responses should they occur. Local-to-landscape scale effects of mechanical restoration treatments on local extirpation and abundances of nine species indicated most were insensitive to changes in habitat quality, while abundance models showed only broad declines. Changing the availability of nesting habitat on both the attractiveness and quality …

Factors Affecting Landowner Participation In The Candidate Conservation Agreements With Assurances Program, Kendra Womack

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The United States’ Endangered Species Act of 1973 has been recognized as one of the most powerful laws enacted to protect endangered species in the world. Its protections for animal species extends onto private land, which has in some cases created conflict between the law, its enforcers, and private landowners. The Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA) program was developed in 1999 to provide a regulatory incentive for private landowners to engage in pro-active conservation for sensitive species to preclude the need for listing under the ESA in the future. Since 1999, however, there have only been 17 CCAAs signed, …

Long-Term Effectiveness Of Brief Multiple-Stimulus Without Replacement Preference Assessments On Individualized Education Plan Reading Progress Of Students With Severe Disabilities, Heather C. Thornton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To teach operant behaviors to individuals with severe disabilities, stimulus preference assessment (SPA) methods have been developed to accurately identify stimuli that may function as reinforcers. Previous researchers have used multiple-stimulus preference assessments without replacement (MSWO) effectively over a short time period to teach target behaviors to individuals with disabilities. The present study investigated the long-term effects of incorporating brief MSWO preference assessments into the instructional routine for students with severe disabilities on individualized education plan reading goal/objective progress. This was done by investigating the effectiveness of incorporating brief MSWO preference assessments by comparing reading goal progress when a random …

Combining Environmental History And Soil Phytolith Analysis At The City Of Rocks National Reserve: Developing New Methods In Historical Ecology, Lesley Morris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Historical ecology is an emerging and interdisciplinary field that seeks to explain the changes in ecosystems over time through a synthesis of information derived from human records and biological data. The methods in historical ecology cover a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. However, methods for the more recent past (about 200 years) are largely limited to the human archive and dendrochronological evidence which can be subject to human bias, limited in spatial extent or not appropriate for non-forested systems. There is a need to explore new methods by which biological data can be used to understand historic vegetation …

Utah Off-Highway Vehicle Owners' Specialization And Its Relationship To Environmental Attitudes And Motivations, Jordan W. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) use has grown enormously on Utah’s public lands and is one of the most contentious and difficult issues for federal, state, and local land management agencies to address and provide for. Despite OHV use’s meteoric rise in popularity and its ongoing public conflicts, little is known about OHV recreationists. This thesis develops a typology that identifies within-activity differences related to recreation specialization; it also determines differences in OHV owners’ environmental attitudes and motivations. Findings show Utah’s owners comprise a range of use along the recreation specialization continuum. Results also indicate that an OHV owners’ specialization level is …

Effects Of Foraging Sequence On The Ability Of Lambs To Consume Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue (Alkaloids), Birdsfoot Trefoil (Tannins), And Alfalfa (Saponins), Emily Lockard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

All plants contain primary and secondary compounds. Primary compounds are needed by plants and herbivores for maintenance, growth, and reproduction, while secondary compounds play roles as diverse as protecting plants from ultraviolet radiation, defenses against herbivores, pollination attraction, and stress resistance. Secondary compounds have nutritional and medicinal benefits for herbivores as well, especially when eaten in diverse combinations that complement one another. While complementarities among secondary compounds are an important but little understood area of plant-herbivore interactions, even less is known about how the sequences of eating plants with different compounds affects foraging behavior, though they may be critical. In …

A Three-Dimensional, Time-Dependent Circulation Model Of Utah Lake, Eric V. Callister

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Spatial and temporal variations of Utah Lake’s flow field were modeled using the Estuary Lake and Computer Model from the Centre for Water Research (CWR-ELCOM) at the University of Western Australia as part of an effort to increase understanding of the lake’s natural processes in order to restore the lake to its pristine, clear-water state and preserve the habitat of the June sucker, an endangered species. The model was validated using temperature measurements taken by sensors in 2007. The water temperature was a strong function of air temperature and incident short wave radiation, and was influenced to a lesser degree …

Sex-Biased Predation On Taricha By A Novel Predator In Annadel State Park, Amber Noelle Brouillette

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Newts of the genus Taricha have long been studied due to the powerful neurotoxin found in their skin. Tetrodotoxin (TTX) acts by blocking receptors in sodium channels, ultimately resulting in death via asphyxiation. The only documented predators of species in this genus have been snakes of the genus Thamnophis. Recently, predation on Taricha in Ledson Marsh in Annadel State Park, Santa Rosa, CA was discovered. Predation was in the form of laceration or evisceration, and tracking of predation from 1998-2008 showed that it was male-biased. Two species of Taricha were found living sympatrically at this location, the California newt …

Predator-Prey Relationships And Spatial Ecology Of Jaguars In The Southern Pantanal, Brazil: Implications For Conservation And Management, Sandra Maria Cintra Cavalcanti

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Pantanal wetland of Brazil is an important area for the conservation of jaguars (Panthera onca) and a stronghold for the species. Although our knowledge of jaguar ecology has increased since the first field studies in the mid 1980’s, a detailed study of this cryptic species remains challenging. In the following chapters, we investigated the ecology of jaguars in the southern Pantanal of Brazil. In Chapter II, we examined the foraging ecology of jaguars, documenting predation rates, patterns, and species killed. We found individual jaguars differed in the selection of their prey. There were differences in the proportion …

Approximations To Continuous Processes In Hierarchical Models, Amanda Cangelosi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Models for natural nonlinear processes, such as population dynamics, have been given much attention in applied mathematics. For example, species competition has been extensively modeled by differential equations. Often, the scientist has preferred to model the underlying dynamical processes (i.e., theoretical mechanisms) in continuous-time. It is of both scientific and mathematical interest to implement such models in a statistical framework to quantify uncertainty associated with the models in the presence of observations. That is, given discrete observations arising from the underlying continuous process, the unobserved process can be formally described while accounting for multiple sources of uncertainty ( …