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Comparative Bioinformatic Methodologies In Paleogenetic Pathogen Identification In The Casas Grandes, Victoria Lynne Giovannangelo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The application of metagenomic tools to further elucidate ancient DNA (aDNA) holds promise in paleopathology, particularly for inferring disease patterns in ancient populations, especially in those that are understudied. This study conducts a comparative analysis of the efficacy of taxonomic pipelines--Kraken 2, HOPS/MALT, and HAYSTAC--in detecting pathogens within highly degraded aDNA samples extracted from 22 Medio Period Paquimé individuals from the Casas Grandes archaeological site in Northwest Mexico. The taxonomic results from the pipelines are compared with contamination detection program mapDamage, although concerns arose about the latter program’s ability to work with prokaryotes. Additionally, the findings are compared against prior …

Wilderness Recreation Trends And Impacts: A Case Study Of The Sawtooth Wilderness, Chelsea E. Phillippe

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Vitamin D And Athletic Performance: A Critical Assessment For Coaches And Athletes, Lauren Mcguigan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In addition to the well-established role of vitamin D in bone health, there is evidence to suggest that vitamin D may also be associated with the prevention of a wide array of non-skeletal, autoimmune, and chronic diseases. In addition, correlational studies suggest that maintaining a sufficient vitamin D status may positively influence athletic performance indicators, namely strength, power, speed, cardiorespiratory fitness, reaction time, coordination, and body composition. However, there is a lack of consensus among the Institute of Medicine and various vitamin D researchers in defining ideal vitamin D concentrations for both health and performance related benefits. Although this controversy …

Life History And Demography Of Trillium Ovatum Pursh. (Liliaceae)In Western Montana, Tarn Ream

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Trillium ovatum is a long-lived, spring ephemeral that grows in moist forest habitats of the western United States. Extensive investigations of Trillium, including T. ovatum, have been accomplished, yet no prior studies of T. ovatum have been conducted at the eastern edge of its distribution in Montana, where populations experience increased aridity and highly variable climatic conditions as compared to other regions where it occurs. This study examines life-history characteristics and demography of T. ovatum in three representative populations that were sampled over 9 growing seasons to determine: 1) life history stages, stage class structure, and yearly transitions among stage …

Population Dynamics Of The Columbia Spotted Frog (Rana Luteiventris): Inference From Long-Term Demography, Rebecca Marie Wahl Mccaffery

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Worldwide extinctions of amphibians are at the forefront of the biodiversity crisis, with climate change figuring prominently as a potential driver of continued amphibian decline. Changes in both the mean and variability of climate conditions may affect amphibian populations in complex, unpredictable ways. However, few studies have evaluated effects of climate change on individual vital rates and subsequent population dynamics of amphibians. I investigated the population dynamics of a high elevation population of the Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) in relation to climate variation over a ten-year period.

I documented an increase in survival and breeding probability as severity of …

Are Black Bears Declining In Montana? Inference From Multiple Data Sources In The Face Of Uncertainty, Julie Ann Beston

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Carnivores are managed both to maintain populations and reduce conflict with humans, but data-based decision-making is difficult due to the expense of data collection. When new fieldwork is impossible, we can benefit from available data in assessing populations. I used demographic and harvest data to assess the population status of black bears (Ursus americanus) in Montana.

I conducted a hierarchical Bayesian meta-analysis of black bear demographic studies to evaluate geographic structuring and estimate vital rates and population growth rate. Adult survival is higher in the west than the east, but the reverse is true for fecundity. The mean …

Biological Control: Effects Of Tyria Jacobaeae On The Population Dynamics Of Senecio Jacobaea In Northwest Montana, Kimberly Kay Crider

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Biological control, using introduced, specialist insects is a common strategy for controlling plant invasions. However, the efficacy of biological control agents in controlling their host plants is rarely quantified population level. I quantified the impact of a specialist biological control agent, the cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) on its host plant, tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) in northwest Montana. Cinnabar moth damage and its effects on important plant vital rates were tested with and without specialist herbivores. The presence of moth larvae corresponded to a reduction in population growth rates to less than one, compared to herbivore-free controls, indicating the potential for …

Causes And Consequences Of Prolonged Dormancy: Why Stay Belowground?, Jennifer R. Gremer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Prolonged dormancy is a stage in which mature plants fail to resprout during the growing season and instead remain alive belowground. Though it is relatively common, the causes and consequences of this intriguing stage have remained elusive. In this dissertation, I investigate the causes and consequences of prolonged dormancy in a long lived perennial herb, Astragalus scaphoides.

First, I use a combination of demography and ecophysiology to study the proximate mechanisms associated with prolonged dormancy. Analysis of a long-term demographic dataset indicates that both endogenous factors (e.g. age, condition, and history) and exogenous factors (e.g. climate and spatial variation) are …

Sage-Grouse And Energy Development: Integrating Science With Conservation Planning To Reduce Impacts, Kevin Eric Doherty

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Effective conservation planning in the face of rapid land use change requires knowledge of which habitats are selected at landscape scales, where those habitats are located, and how species ultimately respond to anthropogenic disturbance. I assessed sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) large scale habitat ecology and response to energy development in the winter and nesting seasons using radio-marked individuals in the Powder River Basin, Montana and Wyoming, USA. Landscape scale percent sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) cover at 4-km2 was the strongest predictor of use by sage-grouse in winter. After controlling for vegetation and topography, the addition the density of coal-bed natural gas wells …

Demography And Ecology Of A Declining Endemic: The Olympic Marmot, Suzanne Cox Griffin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Protected areas serve to conserve species, habitats, and ecological processes. However, biological systems within even large parks are increasingly affected by outside perturbations. The Olympic marmots (Marmota olympus) are ground-dwelling squirrel that inhabit high-elevation meadows almost exclusively within Olympic National Park Despite this protection, anecdotal reports in the 1990's of disappearances from historically occupied locations suggested that the species was in decline. I used demographic monitoring, habitat surveys, and non-invasive genetic sampling to evaluate population status of the species and consider the effects of several possible stressors. Olympic marmots disappeared from ~50% of well-studied colonies, and abandoned burrow complexes were …

Monitoring Program And Assessment Of Coyote Predation For Olympic Marmots, Julia Judyta Witczuk

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Witczuk, Julia J. M.S., Summer2007 Wildlife Biology MONITORING PROGRAM AND ASSESSMENT OF COYOTE PREDATION FOR OLYMPIC MARMOTS Chairperson: L. Scott Mills The Olympic marmot (Marmota olympus) is an endemic species to the Olympic Peninsula, Washington State. Although nearly all of its range is enclosed within Olympic National Park, declines and local extirpations of the species have been documented. The most plausible driver of the decline appears to be an increase in predator pressure. My thesis had two main objectives. First, I investigated the role of non-native coyotes (Canis latrans) in causing marmot mortality. Through park-wide carnivore scat analysis I determined …

Monitoring Survival Of Young In Ungulates: A Case Study With Rocky Mountain Elk, Nyeema Charmaine Harris

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Harris, Nyeema C., M.S., Spring 2007 Wildlife Biology MONITORING SURVIVAL OF YOUNG IN UNGULATES: A CASE STUDY WITH ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK Chairperson: Daniel H. Pletscher Survival of young is an important determinant of population growth and persistence in ungulate populations. Therefore, monitoring the survival of young is an essential component in many research and management programs. The primary techniques used to monitor survival of young in ungulate populations are age ratios, obtained from herd composition surveys, and telemetry studies of marked individuals. Concerns about survival of young and the impact of predators on recruitment have recently arisen because of reported …

Historical Demography Of The Coeur D' Alene 1900-1930, Christina Joy. Heiner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Dropout's Talk About Participation At School From Democratic Perspectives, Rosemary J. Hertel

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

A Biogeographical Approach To Plant Invasions: Ecology And Evolution Of An Invasive Ruderal In Native And Introduced Ranges, Joseì L. Hierro

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Landscape Ecology Of Snowshoe Hares In Montana, Paul Carlo Griffin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Survival And Dispersal Of Yellow Warblers In Montana, Amy B. Cilimburg

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Utilization Of Fungal Growth In The Estimation Of The Post-Mortem Interval, Becky D. Floyd

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Historical Demography Of The Chippewa-Cree Of The Rocky Boy's Reservation Montana 1917-1937, Annajeanette Presnell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Demographic View Of Northern Cheyenne Women In 1900, Reno L. Charette-Loparco

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Re-Evolution Of Resource Efficient Housing And The Guide To Resource Efficient Building Elements, Tracy Mumma

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Segmenting Bald Eagle Viewers Preferences And Attitudes: An Exploratory Study, Walter L. Bradford

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Facilitation Interference And Demography In The Rare Mustard Lesquerella Carinata Var. Languida., John T. Greenlee

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Demography Of Sapphire Rockcress (Arabis Fecunda Rollins : Brassicaceae) A Rare Endemic Montana Species, Roberta Walsh

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Program Evaluation Of The Confederated Salish And Kootenai Tribes' Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services Project, Nancy L. Arnold

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Effectiveness Of Supplemental Parent Training In Hearing Aid Listening Checks, Terris E. Foust

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of The Views And Qualifications Of Educational Interpreters For The Hearing Impaired In Fairfax County In Virginia., Mary Ann. Duffy

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Vision Screening And Its Importance For Hearing-Impaired Students., Kathleen B. Thomas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Successional Pathways Of A Grand Fir (Abies Grandis ) Forest Based On Thirty-Three Years Of Evidence, Carol Leslie Cloonan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Consumer Preferences For Mental Health Professionals: The Effects Of Being Informed, Dennis J. Woody

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.