Digital Commons Network^™

Instances Of Conflict And Cooperation: An Exploration Into The Role Of Competition Between Usda-Wildlife Services And Wildlife Control Operators, Gary J. Bezzant Jr.

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In early 1994 the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal Damage Control agency implemented a directive providing guidance to help avoid competition between themselves and private businesses, known as Wildlife Control Operators (WCOs) engaging in similar work. Nearly two decades later some WCOs still complain about having to compete with the Animal Damage Control agency, now named Wildlife Services. Other businesses report enjoying a cooperative relationship with the agency.

I analyzed four policies that regulate competition between Wildlife Services and WCOs and found that there is a good amount of guidance given to Wildlife Services in regards to their competitive …

Determining Compost Carryover For Optimal Use In An Organic Corn Squash Rotation, Davey J.R. Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In 2008–2011 a graduate project was undertaken by Davey Olsen under the supervision of Utah State University (USU) Plant, Soils and Climate professors, Drs. Jennifer Reeve, Dan Drost, and Astrid Jacobson. The project investigated a new way of measuring the benefits of applying compost to organically certified horticultural crops. In particular, the carryover of these benefits in the three years following a one-time application was studied. A field trial at the USU Organic Farm modeled the carryover of nitrogen and phosphorus in a corn and squash rotation, while laboratory analysis investigated aspects of nitrogen availability and compost decomposition over time. …

Problem Solving Communication And Interpersonal Power Among Latino Adolescent Couples, Annel Cordero

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Few studies exist that examine Latino romantic relationships; even fewer assess interpersonal power among romantically involved Latino adolescent couples. This observational study investigated interaction, negotiation of power, and communication styles of Latino adolescents in current romantic relationships. Twenty-nine participating couples (ages 14-21) were recruited from a small Rocky Mountain community; all identified as being of Latino decent. Couples were digitally videotaped during problem solving conversations and completed a video recall procedure administered directly following the recording. The Quality of Relationship Inventory (QRI) was completed by all couple members as a measure of their overall relationship quality. In addition to this, …

Planning, Acting, And Learning In Incomplete Domains, Christopher H. Weber

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The engineering of complete planning domain descriptions is often very costly because of human error or lack of domain knowledge. Learning complete domain descriptions is also very challenging because many features are irrelevant to achieving the goals and data may be scarce. Given incomplete knowledge of their actions, agents can ignore the incompleteness, plan around it, ask questions of a domain expert, or learn through trial and error.

Our agent Goalie learns about the preconditions and effects of its incompletely-specified actions by monitoring the environment state. In conjunction with the plan failure explanations generated by its planner DeFault, Goalie diagnoses …

Exitus: An Agent-Based Evacuation Simulation Model For Heterogeneous Populations, Matthew T. Manley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Evacuation planning is important for businesses given the continuing occurrence of both natural and human-caused disasters throughout the world. Unfortunately, the traditional fire-drill approach is impractical for many large organizations but especially those responsible for airports and sports arenas. The purpose of this research was to develop a new computer program capable of simulating large scale evacuations in such buildings. The program, called Exitus, is different from other evacuation simulators in the way it considers the physical, psychological, and social characteristics of individuals with disabilities during emergency situations.

In this research, Exitus was used to simulate evacuations of three buildings …

Systematics Of Multillidae (Hymenoptera) With Special Emphasis On Dasymutilla And Their Allies, Kevin A. Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Velvet ants are solitary wasps that are excellent candidates as model organisms for studying evolutionary phenomena like mimicry and biogeography. They can also be used in conservation studies because of their local abundance. Their abundance, coupled with parasitic lifestyle on native pollinators, suggests they will be economically important as native pollinators are implemented more widely. Velvet ants, however, are rarely studied and their research potential is drastically hindered by lack of phylogenetic and taxonomic data and lack of interest in the scientific community. In this dissertation, I sought to overcome the hindrances to mutillid research with a holistic systematic research …

1. Improving The Yield Of Biodiesel From Microalgae And Other Lipids. 2. Studies Of The Wax Ester Biosynthetic Pathway And Potential Biotechnological Application, Bradley D. Wahlen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The production of biofuels and oleochemicals from renewable sources offers an opportunity to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. The work contained in this dissertation has focused on developing and improving methods for the production of biodiesel from non-traditional feedstocks and understanding biosynthetic pathways that result in the production of oleochemicals and fuels.

Pure vegetable oil can account for 70-80% of the total cost of biodiesel production. Many low-cost oils contain high amounts of free fatty acids, which are unsuitable for base-catalyzed transesterification. Herein an approach is described that efficiently accomplishes the simultaneous esterification and transesterification of both free fatty …

Evaluating Complementary And Alternative Medicine (Cam) Utilization In A College Sample: A Multisite Application Of The Sociobehavioral Model Of Healthcare Utilization, Kimberly M. Pratt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among U.S. college students and the general public is substantial and growing; however, research on the characteristics of college students who use CAM and the factors that influence their decision to use CAM is scarce. Even fewer studies have explored such factors within the framework of an empirically supported theory. The college years are seen as an important time for developing long-lasting health behaviors and in many ways college students play an important role in setting the foundation for future healthcare. Thus, it is important for healthcare practitioners to have a clear …

Caddisfly Larvae (Limnephilidae) As Predators Of Newt (Taricha Granulosa) Eggs: Another Player In The Coevolutionary Arms Race Revolving Around Tetrodotoxin?, Brian G. Gall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Some populations of newts (Taricha granulosa) possess large quantities of the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) in their skin and eggs. Many populations of garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) are resistant to this toxin and can consume large numbers of newts with no negative effects. Despite the wealth of information acquired on the interaction between newts and their predator, garter snakes, very little research has been conducted on possible interactions between newts and other predators. I conducted a suite of experiments examining for the presence of other predators on newts, specifically focusing on predators of their eggs and larvae. …

Clark's Nutcracker Seed Harvest Patterns In Glacier National Park And A Novel Method For Monitoring Whitebark Pine Cones, Monika E. Maier

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) is the primary seed disperser of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), which is in decline throughout its range. There is concern that a decline in whitebark pine will lead to a subsequent decline in local populations of Clark's Nutcracker. Because natural regeneration depends on the presence of Clark's Nutcracker, the process of harvesting whitebark pine seeds needs to be fully understood. In addition, resource managers need a cost-effective method for monitoring nutcracker occurrence in whitebark pine stands during the seed harvest season. I visited eleven study sites in Glacier National Park, Montana, where …

Water Infrastructure Challenges In Urbanizing Environments: A Case Study Of The 2009 Logan Canal Landslide, Kathryn Davis Henderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In July, 2009 in Logan, Utah, a wet, steep hillside failed, leveling a home below and destroying an irrigation canal that ran along the hill. Three people were killed. The event and the resulting policy changes present an opportunity to uncover how frames, or social constructions, play into the policy development cycle. This case also uncovers the nuances involved when old infrastructure takes on new social meanings. Planners and policymakers that pay attention to frames and social dimensions may be able to minimize conflict.

The landslide received immediate media attention and spurred state legislation on canal safety. The event had …

Integrating Remote Sensing And Ecosystem Models For Terrestrial Vegetation Analysis: Phenology, Biomass, And Stand Age, Gong Zhang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Terrestrial vegetation plays an important role in global carbon cycling and climate change by assimilating carbon into biomass during the growing season and releasing it due to natural or anthropogenic disturbances. Remote sensing and ecosystem models can help us extend our studies of vegetation phenology, aboveground biomass, and disturbances from field sites to regional or global scales. Nonetheless, remote sensing-derived variables may differ in fundamental and important ways from ground measurements. With the growth of remote sensing as a key tool in geoscience research, comparisons to ground data and intercomparisons among satellite products are needed. Here I conduct three separate …

Factors Influencing The Distribution Of Brown Trout (Salmo Trutta) In A Mountain Stream: Implications For Brown Trout Invasion Success, Christy Meredith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Brown trout (Salmo trutta), one of the world’s most successful introduced species in river and lake systems, negatively impacts native species through predation, competition, and systemwide effects. Thus, there is a need to understand factors controlling the distribution of brown trout, in order to prioritize and develop conservation and management strategies. Within the context of invasion success, I investigated how the physical characteristics of the Logan River influence the distribution of brown trout, as well as the potential for brown trout predation on a native fish, the mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi).

In chapter 1, I evaluated …

Production Of Biodiesel From Oleaginous Organisms Using Underutilized Wastewaters, Valerie Godfrey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As part of the BioEnergy Team at Utah State Univeristy, my research objectives have been centered around the common theme of innovating new methods and
technology for producing biological compounds and, by means of chemical conversion and/or extraction, isolating new forms of biodiesel available for transportation fuel.
Within the broad scope of this project, I focused on the replacement of freshwater in cultivating such biological systems with wastewaters. If accomplished and correctly
applied, such research would reduce the environmental impact of biodiesel production by reducing the demand for freshwater. It also would reduce production costs by reducing the amount of …

An Investigation Into Delta Wing Vortex Generators As A Means Of Increasing Algae Biofuel Raceway Vertical Mixing Including An Analysis Of The Resulting Turbulence Characteristics, Aaron H. Godfrey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Current standards of living and future prosperity are closely tied to the availability of sufficient and inexpensive energy resources. Currently society is fueled primarily by some form of fossil fuel. By their very nature these fuel sources are non-renewable, thus our current energy habits are unsustainable. Among the various renewable energy technologies is the capability to produce diesel fuel by colonies of algae. While this technology has many positive features it remains too expensive to be a realistic fuel source. The current work performed analysis using computer simulation of an aquatic environment commonly used to grow algae for the purposes …

A Multicase Study Of The Impact Of Perceived Gender Roles On The Career Decisions Of Women In Science-Related Careers, Stephen Frank Hren

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was done to determine how the perception of gender roles developed throughout childhood and early adulthood affected the career decisions of women who showed early promise in science. In addition, this study was done to determine if my experiences as a researcher would have any impact on me personally. Four women were chosen as case study participants, providing for comparison within and across cases.

Gender roles were found to relate to the career decisions made by the four cases in three ways: (a) support from family members, teachers, mentors, and collaborators; (b) opportunities within the family, school and …

Carbon Sequestration On Utah Rangelands: A Landowner Perspective, Seth Cook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Carbon sequestration is the removal of carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in plants and soil through natural processes. Rangelands can be managed to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change. Supported by the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, this study assessed Utah rangeland owners’ perceptions of carbon sequestration and explored factors influencing their likelihood of participation in relevant programs. Data were collected through interviews and a statewide survey of Utah rangeland owners. Over two-thirds of respondents were aware of carbon sequestration and viewed it positively. Those who thought the climate had been changing over the past 30 years tended …

A Baseline Study Of Biofuel Feedstock Growth On Non-Traditional Agronomic Land In Utah, Dallas A. Hanks

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nearly all highway, airport, and military areas in Utah cost money to maintain and are often safe harbor for noxious weeds and pests. This project hypothesized that money could be saved and biofuel feedstocks could be grown in these areas, improving sustainability. Agronomic conditions and growth methods were tested to determine if biofuel feedstock production could occur on these marginal, non-traditional plots of land. Models developed illustrate that maintenance costs for these areas can be nullified if oilseed crops grown yield 600 pounds/acre and are used for biodiesel production. This feedstock yield would result in approximately 25 gallons of biodiesel …

Cross Flow Filtration For Mixed-Culture Algae Harvesting For Municipal Wastewater Lagoons, Misheka Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The City of Logan Environmental Department has a goal to remove chemicals from the municipal wastewater that can cause algae growth in Cutler Reservoir that will impair use for recreation. The proposed plan to accomplish the goal is to grow algae within the 460-acre Logan Lagoon wastewater system, and then remove the algae from the treated wastewater that enters Cutler Reservoir. The collected algae may be used to produce biodiesel to fuel the City solid waste vehicles. The City will coordinate the development and implementation of this project with the assistance of the Utah State University Biological Engineering Department. The …

Modeling Spatial Surface Energy Fluxes Of Agricultural And Riparian Vegetation Using Remote Sensing, Hatim M.E. Geli

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Evapotranspiration (ET) represents the amount of water consumed by vegetation through transpiration plus the direct evaporation from the soil surface. Understanding the amount of ET is important as it represents a portion of fresh water that is consumed and not available for further use. ET is used as indication of how much water needed for agricultural activities. This research is aimed towards providing improved estimates of ET.

The technological advances in remote sensing provide us with images of the Earth’s surface from space, using satellites, and sometimes with more detail from aircraft. We used these data in …

Spider Community Composition And Structure In A Shrub-Steppe Ecosystem: The Effects Of Prey Availability And Shrub Architecture, Lori R. Spears

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Habitat structure is cited as an important factor influencing organisms, but few studies investigate whether habitat structure interacts with other environmental variables to affect community dynamics. The purpose of this study was to determine, using field experiments, the importance of prey availability and shrub architecture on a spider community in northern Utah, USA. We were also interested in determining whether surrounding shrub architectures influence spider and prey responses.

Our results suggest that spider distribution, abundance, and biodiversity are influenced by shrub architecture. Shrub architecture influenced spiders both directly and indirectly via associated changes in prey availability. Spiders were also directly …

Knowledge, Norms And Preferences For Tamarisk Management In The Green And Colorado River Corridors Of The Colorado Plateau, E. Clay Allred

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research was created collaboratively between the National Park Service and Utah State University as an explorative study addressing social implications of tamarisk management. It has created a stronger partnership between the university and the National Park Service in Moab, Utah. Through this research, Utah State University was able to find valuable social science data to aid public land managers in the planning and management of tamarisk control on the Colorado Plateau. Utah State funded a research assistant for one year to perform this research, totaling approximately $16,000.

This study focused on finding river user knowledge, preferences, and norms for …

Young Children‘S Mathematics References During Free Play In Family Child Care Settings, Shawnee M. Hendershot

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was undertaken to determine how children use math in their everyday activities, which includes caregiving environments outside of their home. Audio recordings were taken of children while they played. The researcher typed transcripts of the audio recordings in order to search for references to math. The different types of math that the children used were: (a) classification, (b) magnitude, (c) enumeration, (d) patterns and shapes, (e) spatial reasons, and (f) part/whole. An example of classification would be a child sorting blocks into groups based on shape. Magnitude is used when a child uses phrases to compare two or …

Assessing And Enabling Independent Component Analysis As A Hyperspectral Unmixing Approach, Matthew R. Stites

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Perhaps the most common way to distinguish materials is by color. For example, this is typically how one determines, from some distance, whether a material on the ground is grass (green), soil (brown), or asphalt (black). To accomplish this, most digital cameras (along with the human eye) produce images that are comprised of three different colors, called spectral bands: red, green, and blue. The combination of these bands enables material discrimination. Working in the same way, but on a much larger scale, hyperspectral imaging sensors produce images that are comprised of hundreds of spectral bands. This combination of bands enables …

Explaining The Paradox: Perceived Instructor Benefits And Costs Of Contributing To Massachusetts Institute Of Technology Opencourseware, Preston Paul Parker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) OpenCourseWare (OCW) project offers potential benefits and costs to three main categories of people: users, the
institute itself, and the instructors who provided the materials to the project. Little is known about the benefits and costs of the instructors, so that is what this study examines. Instructors put together the original educational materials and would seem to have the most to lose by contributing to OCW.

It appears that instructors recognize benefits of: (1) improved reputation, (2) networking, (3) supplementary opportunities, (4) improved course content, (5) course
feedback, (6) students accessing materials, and (7) …

The Relationship Between Salinity And Drought Tolerance In Turfgrasses And Woody Species, Nisa Leksungnoen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Both salt and water deficit make it difficult for plants to uptake water from soil. Thus, plants under those conditions may respond and deal with them similarly. The overall objectives of this study were to 1) determine visual appearance and physiological responses, and mechanisms to deal with salt and water deficit of turfgrasses and woody species, and 2) determine the relationship between salt and water deficit tolerance ability in those species.

Five turfgrass entries, ‘Gazelle’ and ‘Matador’ tall fescue (TF), ‘Midnight’ Kentucky bluegrass (KBG), PI368233 (Tolerant KBG), and PI372742 (Susceptible KBG), and three woody species, bigtooth maple (xeric-non saline), bigleaf …

Social Organization And Decision Making In North American Bison: Implications For Management, Ryan A. Shaw

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Social organization varies widely among herbivores, and the level of social organization in bison is widely debated. I hypothesized that when mother-daughter relationships are allowed to develop, bison form long-term associations. In my study, 25 treatment mothers were selected from a free-ranging herd and kept together with their calves, while 25 control females had their calves forcefully removed. Treatment mothers and offspring had by far the greatest number of associations with a greater percentage of individuals with a half weight index (HWI) > 0.50. The strongest associations (HWI > 0.31) were among treatment mothers and their offspring. Moreover, these associations persisted over …

Problem Solving In Latino Families, Eliza Torres

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this dissertation is to learn if the quality of problem solving, parent engagement, and child engagement improve as a result of participating in a parenting intervention. The quality of problem solving was coded by independent observers watching a 5-minute videotaped task. Parent and child engagement were also coded by an observer and were evident in behaviors such as making eye contact, using good social skills, using humor, minimizing problems, and showing empathy were also rated by individual coders who were blinded to treatment/control groups. Each parent-child pair had a total of three scores, one for each variable …

Planning And Management Modeling For Treated Wastewater Usage, Leila Ahmadi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Population growth, urbanization and water scarcity in many parts of the world has resulted in transfer of agricultural water to municipal and industrial users on one hand and excessive production of wastewater on the other hand. Due to importance of agriculture in food production and in the economy of many regions around the world,
water resources management and considering new water resources (such as treated wastewater) is critical.This study focused on analyzing the effects of population and
urban growth on water demand for various users and municipal wastewater quantity changes; as well as investigating the feasibility of wastewater reuse projects. …

Duckweed Uptake Of Phosphorus And Five Pharmaceuticals: Microcosm And Wastewater Lagoon Studies, Jonathan Bay Farrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah State University students under the direction of Dr. R. Ryan Dupont, Environmental Engineering, have been enthusiastically involved in researching ways to improve wastewater treatment at the nearby Wellsville Municipal Sewage Lagoons. Wellsville City, along with several other Cache Valley communities, has experienced some problems with their current wastewater facility, particularly with phosphorus removal, which will become more difficult to address as the population increases in the future. Excessive phosphorus causes unappealing algae blooms in ponds and reservoirs while also posing a threat to local fish. Brittany Wilkes, Brett Housley, and Naho Orita first looked into reducing phosphorus discharge by …