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The Role Of Microbial Endosymbionts In Sorghum Halepense Invasions: Evidence Of A New Invasion Strategy, Microbially Enhanced Competitive Ability (Meca), Marnie Erin Rout

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Invasive plants can profoundly alter ecosystem processes, and tremendous economic costs are often associated with these disturbances. Attributes like higher growth rates, increased biomass, and enhanced chemical defenses have been documented in many invasive plants. When expanding into new ranges, these traits frequently allow invasive plants to outcompete native plant communities. Current theories suggest these invasive attributes are plant-regulated; however, my work shows that bacterial endosymbionts can regulate these traits in the invasive grass Sorghum halepense. Using culture and molecular approaches, I found the invasive grass harbors several bacterial organisms inside the roots and rhizomes. These bacterial endosymbionts were …

The Use Of Ct Analysis To Assess The Ages Of A Modern Human Tooth Sample: A Comparision With Dental Attrition And The Lamendin Method, Kristina Galdes

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

An analysis of 81 contemporary adult human teeth was conducted in order to determine which of three methods best determines age at death. The teeth were loaned from the University of Tennessee body farm to the University of Michigan’s Biomedical Research Laboratory and were comprised of central incisors, lateral incisors and canines. Each tooth was of known age and most were also associated with sex and ancestry. Three observers used Lovejoy’s (1985) method of dental attrition, the Lamendin et al. (1992) periodontosis method and micro computed tomography to determine how accurately each method was able to assess the ages at …

University Of Montana Forensic Case #12: Comprehensive Case Analysis, Lauren Leanne Richardson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The remains labeled University of Montana Forensic Case #12 (UMFC 12) were unearthed on August 30, 1983 during the construction of Cruse Avenue in Helena, Montana near the old School Administration Building on Allen Street. Construction workers, using a bulldozer accidently exposed the decomposing grave (Roesgen, 1983). It has been speculated that these remains might belong to a Chinese laborer dating back to the gold rush (Joyce, 1983). An 1884 map of Last Chance Gulch, in which the remains were discovered, indicate that a Chinese cemetery is in the area but the exact coordinates have never been determined (Joyce, 1983). …

In The Game Of Love, Play By The Rules: Implications Of Relationship Rule Consensus Over Honesty And Deception In Romantic Relationships, Katlyn Elise Roggensack

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this study is to investigate the implications of relationship rule consensus over the meanings of honesty and deception in romantic relationships. Relationship rules are implicit understandings developed over time that guide individuals’ behavior in relationships, but they are often ambiguous and unspoken. Honesty and deception rules are particularly vulnerable to different interpretations given that honesty is held to such high esteem, yet deception is common in relationships. Since deception becomes a salient source of conflict when discovered, coordination of these rules should be linked to relational quality. In part one of the study, in-depth interviews helped identify …

Indirect Interactions And Plant Community Structure, Erik Aschehoug

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

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Literature Meets Biology: An Evolutionary Approach To Literary Studies, Samantha Reneé Dwyer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The following thesis engages with the relatively young development in literary studies, called evocriticism, which uses scientific perspectives to look at literature. It first gives an overview of the current state of English departments and their decline in numbers, budgets, and cultural relevancy, mostly due to outdated modes of literary criticism and theory. It then introduces evocriticism as a new paradigm for studying literature. Literature and the arts are studied as human behaviors with possible adaptive benefits. Individual texts are interpreted through a scientific lens, using the theory of evolution to find cultural and biological human universals that can help …

Management And Life History Consequences Of Hybridization Between Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarkii Lewisi) And Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss), Matthew Philip Corsi

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The role of introductions of nonnative fishes in the decline of native fishes cannot be overstated. Westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi, WCT) are a salmonid native to the northern Rocky Mountains. These trout hybridize with rainbow trout (O. mykiss, RBT) where they are sympatric; however, in portions of the WCT range where RBT have been introduced, hybridization appears to spread rapidly and threatens continued existence of WCT. The conservation value of these hybridized populations is equivocal, and a better knowledge of the ecological, demographic, behavioral, and genetic consequences of hybridization is needed to better inform conservation strategies. I investigated …

Metadata Analysis Of The Montana Department Of Environmental Quality's Reference Stream Project Datasets, Jonathan Samuel Leiman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This Master’s Thesis examines certain aspects of the frequently incongruous relationship in the State of Montana between the natural science of water quality measurement and the actual practices to which water quality management research is put. These discordances can be the source of misunderstandings about the purposes and uses for which data were collected. Moreover, miscues regarding the sharing of information among stakeholders have become more significant as adaptive and shared management programs continue to expand. At the core of this study are assessments of the value of water quality data generated by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) …

Multiscale Effects Of Forest Roads On Black Bears (Ursus Americanus), Benjamin S. Jimenez

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As the vast network of roads continues to expand across the continent, so too does the necessity to understand the associated ecological effects. To appropriately assess the impacts of these roads on wildlife it is necessary to evaluate how they affect ecological processes at multiple spatial and temporal scales. In particular, where hunting is associated with road access, roads may induce heightened behavioral responses. I assessed the effects of forest roads on habitat selection and activity patterns of a population of black bears (Ursus americanus) in the Coeur d’Alene Mountains of northern Idaho, USA. This black bear population is exposed …

Efficacy Of Riparian Revegetation Projects In The Inland Pacific Northwest, Susan Wall

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Riparian areas have been severely damaged by the combined impacts of grazing, river regulation, development and other types of land use, so that many no longer provide key ecosystem functions and services. Revegetation is a common riparian restoration practice, but there is little information available on whether revegetation projects are effective. I reviewed the efficacy of riparian revegetation projects conducted in the inland Pacific Northwest (iPNW) between 1984 and 2007 based upon the Pacific Northwest Salmon Habitat Project (PNHSP) database. I found that 10% of the stream restoration projects in the iPNW included riparian revegetation (1,340 projects), and 11% of …

Experimental Litterfall Manipulation Effects On Soil Bacterial Community Structure And Soil Carbon Cycling In A Wet Tropical Forest, Jonathan Winston Leff

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Global changes such as increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations or climate change are likely to drive shifts in plant-derived carbon (C) inputs to terrestrial ecosystems via changes in litterfall and plant net primary production (NPP). However, the effects of shifting detrital C inputs on belowground microbial community function, C cycling and fluxes remain largely unknown, especially in tropical forest ecosystems. To investigate how shifts in bacterial community composition resulting from differences in C availability affect organic matter decomposition and how soil C pools and fluxes respond to shifts in C inputs, I utilized an in situ litter manipulation experiment …

Territoriality And Scent Marking Behavior Of African Wild Dogs In Northern Botswana, Margaret Parker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Conserving wide ranging, endangered species is challenging, and managers often lack information on movement and social dynamics. Wild dogs, Lycaon pictus, are large, wide-ranging carnivores and one of the most endangered animals in Africa. Unlike other large carnivores, wild dogs do not vocalize as a form of territorial advertisement so to explore mechanisms of communication and movement behaviors, I radio collared and observed a population of wild dogs in northern Botswana, to collect fine-scaled, contemporaneous movement data on neighboring packs of wild dogs, and collected scent marks from known individuals for chemical analyses and behavioral experiments.

To test whether wild …

Human Predation Risk And Elk Behavior In Heterogeneous Landscapes, Shawn M. Cleveland

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Elk (Cervus elaphus) are increasing in fragmented landscapes that result from exurban human development throughout western North America. This problem is increasing human-wildlife conflicts and represents a significant new challenge to wildlife managers. Elk hunting must be intensively managed, if allowed at all, to reduce public relations problems. For example, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks has focused three hunts on a rapidly growing (~11% annually) elk herd in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) of Missoula, Montana, USA. Their goals were to reduce population growth rate, crop depredation, and habituation to humans. However, little was known about the indirect …

Development Of Metal-Based Luminescent Probes For Applications In Biomolecular Structure And Dynamics, Ayesha Sharmin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

New transition-metal complexes containing luminescent properties have been designed and synthesized for application as structural probes for biomolecules. Potential DNA intercalators, 2- amino-anthracene substituted triosmium clusters, were synthesized by the reactions of 2-aminoanthracene with [Os3(CO)10(CH3CN)2]. The products [Os3(CO)10(μ-η2-(N-C(1))-NH2C14H8)(μ- H)], [Os3(CO)10(μ-η2-(N-C(3))-NHC14H9)(μ-H)], [Os3(CO)9(μ-η2-(N-C(3))-NHC14H8)(μ-H)2] and [Os3(CO)9(μ3-η2-(N-C(3))-NHC10H9)(μ-H)] obtained from this reaction have been structurally characterized by spectroscopic, photophysical and electrochemical techniques. Solid state structures are also reported for the complexes [Os3(CO)10(μ-η2-(N-C(3))-NHC14H9)(μ-H)] and [Os3(CO)9(μ-η2-(N-C(3))-NHC14H8)(μ-H)2]. To investigate bio-macromolecular dynamics on the sub-microsecond-to-microsecond timescale, a series of ruthenium based mono-nuclear metalligand charge-transfer complexes (MLCs) of formula [XRu(CO)(L–L)(L′)2][PF6] (X = H, TFA, Cl; L–L = 2,2′-bipyridyl, 1,10-phenanthroline, 5-amino-1,10-phenanthroline …

Why The Xwisten Crossed The River: Lithic Transport Strategies On The Canadian Plateau, Michael Todd Wanzenried

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As has been the case for thousands of years a single kind of stone material, referred to by different researchers as arrowstone, basalt, vitreous trachydacite, and/or dacite, provided the majority (often more than 75%) of many lithic assemblages in the Mid- Fraser region of south-western British Columbia. Most explanations for this have largely been insufficient for explaining the differential transport of lithic materials; no one has addressed why, in a lithic rich environment where a variety of jaspers, chalcedonies, and pisolites can be found in relative close proximity to many winter villages, Mid-Fraser foragers would target resources located much further …

Climate Change, Gene Flow, And The Legendary Synchrony Of Snowshoe Hares, Ellen Cheng

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In recent decades, climate change has been invoked in the apparent collapse of some of the best-known examples of cyclic and synchronous population dynamics among boreal species. Simultaneously, some studies have predicted that as species' ranges shift poleward and southern habitats fragment in response to climate change, we will lose the southern glacial refugial populations that have historically harbored species' highest genetic diversity and uniqueness. I investigated how climate change and habitat fragmentation may impact genetic and population dynamic processes for the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), a species historically recognized as a key driver of North American boreal community dynamics. …

Values Congruence: Its Effect On Perceptions Of Montana Elementary School Principal Leadership Practices And Student Achievement, Daniel Roy Zorn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between principal and teacher values congruence and perceived principal leadership practices. Additionally, this study considered the relationship between values congruence, leadership practices, and student achievement. The perceptions teachers hold regarding their principal's effectiveness have proven to be an important variable that influences the quality of the school, when quality is defined in terms of student achievement levels (Cotton, 2003; Marzano et. al., 2005). This study sought a better understanding of the factors that influence a teacher's perceptions of their principal's effectiveness to provide insight into the teacher/principal relationship and …

Alterations Of River Flow Regimes In The Northern Rocky Mountains, Usa, Alicia Arrigoni

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

I studied discharge data from stream gauges located in natural and anthropogenically-modified river basins of the Northern Rocky Mountains over 59 years. I applied linear and non-linear models to the data to determine what, if any, alterations have occurred in the annual flow regimes. By comparing the different results from the natural and anthropogenically-modified river basins, I was able to distinguish the impacts that climate change and anthropogenic modifications have had on flow regimes in the Northern Rocky Mountains over the period of record. I found that regional climate change has not significantly altered the natural flow regimes. However, I …

Shame, Guilt, Anger, And Seeking Psychological Treatment Among A Trauma Exposed Population, Katrina L. Bratton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between guilt-proneness, shameproneness, trait anger, PTSD symptoms, and willingness to seek treatment. A sample of 202 introductory psychology students completed questionnaire measures of each of these variables. Based on a self-report measure of PTSD symptoms, the sample was divided into 3 groups: trauma-PTSD group (n = 29); trauma-no PTSD group (n = 72); and a no trauma group (n = 101). Group comparisons revealed a trend that the PTSD group and the no trauma group reported higher levels of shame than the trauma-no PTSD group. The PTSD group also reported …

Synthesis And Structure Activity Relationship Studies Of A Natural Product-Derived Compound Library, Paul Whitney Swain Iii

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Infectious diseases will always be a public health concern. The incidence of bacterial strains found in clinical settings that exhibit resistance to our current arsenal of antimicrobial drugs has risen sharply in the past twenty years and is projected to keep rising. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) stated that more people die of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections per year in US hospitals than HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis combined. However, stagnation of research in the area of infectious diseases over the past forty years has left us dreadfully behind in the battle against these deadly pathogens.

Recently, researchers have …

Upper Triassic Corals And Carbonate Reef Facies From The Martin Bridge And Hurwal Formations, Wallowa Terrane (Oregon), Megan Ruth Rosenblatt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The diversity and abundance of Late Triassic scleractinian corals and carbonate microfacies were analyzed from the Wallowa terrane (southern Wallowa Mountains, Oregon) in order to determine regional and distant paleogeographic relationships during the Late Triassic time. Systematic identification of coral species and depositional environments between two formations in the Wallowa terrane (Summit Point Member of the Martin Bridge Formation and Excelsior Gulch of the Hurwal Formation) and one locality in the adjacent Olds Ferry terrane (Willow Spring of the “Upper” Huntington Formation) were used to analyze similarities between the Tethys realm (Northern Calcareous Alps) and the terranes of the North …

Sustaining A Conservation Legacy? An In Depth Perspective On The Interagency Bison Management Plan And The Potential For Collaboration, Jason Alan Brininstool

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bison management within Yellowstone National Park (YNP), and the later recognized Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), has been a contentious issue since the mid-1900s. At the same time the efforts of Congress and the National Park Service to literally bring the bison back from the brink of extinction qualifies the Yellowstone herd as a symbol of western heritage and culture, the wilderness standard, and one of the greatest victories of the early conservation movement in the United States (Schullery 1986). Currently, there are more than 150,000 bison in the United States, mostly contained in heavily managed reserves or on private ranches. …

Analytical Applications Of Surface-Modified Fused Silica Capillaries, Jesse James Stine

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fused silica capillaries have become a major tool for many applications in analytical chemistry. These capillaries are physically robust, permit gasses or solutions to be introduced and pumped through with relative ease, and due to their small dimensions allow fast mass transfer to and from the capillary walls as well as miniaturization of analytical systems. This dissertation describes two projects that utilize modification of fused silica capillary surfaces for specific analytical applications.

The first project is to reverse the charge on the capillary surface by immobilization of cationic polymers, thus creating a very stable coating for application to CE separations. …

Catechin, A Novel Root Exudate Of Centaurea Stoebe, Exhibits Pleiotropic Effects On The Soil Microbial Community And Individual Soil Isolates, And Undergoes Chemical Changes With Numerous Abiotic Factors From Soil, Jarrod Leroy Pollock

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Allelopathy has been studied for (±)-catechin, a root exudate of spotted knapweed, as a plausible mechanism that facilitates knapweed invasion in North America. Phytotoxic effects are observed in invaded fields as well as greenhouse experiments when employing catechin or growing spotted knapweed, demonstrating similar effects on native plant species. However, many studies ignore the impact of catechin on microbial populations in soil. Understanding the impact of catechin on microbial processes will greatly aid our understanding of how spotted knapweed invasion can alter soil chemistry and biological processes. Chapter 2 will address the impact of soil and media parameters on catechin …

Factors Influencing The Distribution Of Bull Trout And Westslope Cutthroat Trout West Of The Continental Divide In Glacier National Park, Vincent Stephen D'Angelo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The reported decline of native bull trout Salvelinus confluentus and westslope cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi populations west of the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park (GNP) prompted research to identify critical habitats and investigate factors influencing their distribution and relative abundance. I evaluated the association of six abiotic factors (stream width, elevation, gradient, large woody debris density, pool density, mean August stream temperature) and a biotic factor (the presence of nonnative lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush) with the occurrence and density of bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout in 79 stream reaches in five sub-drainages of the North Fork Flathead …

Female Competition And The Role Of Testosterone In A Polygynous System, Lars Stefan Ekernas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Testosterone plays an important role in male competitive ability, and it may play a similar function in females. Female-female competition for resources is often associated with high testosterone, both within females and in comparison to males. Positive associations between testosterone and competition are most likely to be seen in systems with high female-female competition. Resource defense polygyny may be one such system since females congregate on high-quality nutrient sources, leading to substantial opportunities for interference competition. I studied female Grant’s gazelle (Nanger granti), a classic resource defense polygynous species, to investigate female competition and its relationship to testosterone. I found …

Luminal Calcium Regulates Membrane Fusion In The Early Secretory Pathway, Marvin Bentley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Calcium is an important regulatory ion which acts as a trigger or is required at a basal level for many membrane fusion events. The role of calcium, and in particular luminal calcium, in regulating fusion in the early secretory pathway has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, I show that calcium has an inhibitory effect on homotypic coat protein complex (COPII) vesicle fusion. In particular, chelation of luminal calcium as well as fast chelation of extra luminal calcium, result in a significant increase of COPII vesicle fusion. Specific inhibition of Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPases using cyclopiazonic acid in the presence of …

Movements, Activity Range, Habitat Use, And Conservation Of The Jamaican (Yellow) Boa, Epicrates Subflavus, Erika Elise Miersma

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The endemic Jamaican boa, Epicrates subflavus, was once common throughout Jamaica. This vulnerable species is now fragmented into small populations throughout the island due to habitat loss, introduced species, human persecution and poaching. Conservation of the boa requires knowledge of the basic ecology of the boa and education of local people. Jamaican boas were studied in the community of Windsor in Jamaica’s Cockpit Country. Radio telemetry was used to examine the movements, activity ranges, and habitat use of twelve boas. In addition, an outreach program was undertaken to combat human persecution and poaching. Male Jamaican boas moved greater distances per …

Quantification And Reduction Of Exposure To Residential Woodsmoke Particulate Matter, Megan Ann Bergauff

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Particulate matter is released during combustion reactions and can be harmful to human health. One common source for human particulate matter exposure is through biomass burning, primarily from wildfires or stoves used for heating or cooking in the home. A method was developed for the analysis of seven selected chemical tracers of woodsmoke (levoglucosan, dehydroabietic acid, abietic acid, vanillin, acetovanillone, guaiacol, and 4-ethylguaiacol) in particulate matter. This method was used to analyze particulate matter collected in Libby, MT, a community where woodsmoke is the predominant component of the particulate matter, before, during, and after a woodstove changeout program. Ambient levels …

Short-Term Effects Of Wildfire On Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Habitat Ecology, Lacey Greene

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

We studied changes in vegetation and habitat selection by endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis candensis sierrae; hereafter Sierra bighorn) for 2 years following wildfire on winter ranges in eastern California. We hypothesized that wildfire would change both forage availability and predation risk. Green forage biomass on Sierra bighorn winter ranges rebounded quickly from wildfire. Within 2 years green forage biomass was equal in burned and unburned areas, although total forage biomass was greater in unburned areas. Plants in the burn had 3% greater crude protein but equivalent digestibility and phenology. Forage composition in burned areas was forb dominated compared …