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Spatial Population Dynamics Of Recolonizing Wolves In The Western Alps, Francesca Marucco

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The wolf recolonized part of its former habitat in the South-Western Alps through dispersal from the Apennines beginning in the late 1990s. Prioritization of conservation actions and effective management of this species relies on estimates of wolf population trend, survival rates, occupancy parameters, and on the development of a spatially explicit population model. These estimates were lacking in Italy and Western Europe, and accurate and cost effective methods to assess these parameters have not been implemented.

I used genetic capture-mark-recapture techniques with long-term fecal genotyping data and applied open-population models to estimate survival rates and assess trend in abundance of …

Study On Regional Responses Of Pan-Arctic Terrestrial Ecosystems To Recent Climate Variability Using Satellite Remote Sensing, Ke Zhang

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

I applied a satellite remote sensing based production efficiency model (PEM) using an integrated AVHRR and MODIS FPAR/LAI time series with a regionally corrected NCEP/NCAR reanalysis surface meteorology and NASA/GEWEX shortwave solar radiation inputs to assess annual terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP) for the pan-Arctic basin and Alaska from 1983 to 2005. I developed a satellite remote sensing based evapotranspiration (ET) algorithm using GIMMS NDVI with the above meteorology inputs to assess spatial patterns and temporal trends in ET over the pan-Arctic region. I then analyzed associated changes in the regional water balance defined as the difference between precipitation (P) …

Assessing The Performance Of Sampling Designs For Measuring Abundance Of Understory Plants After Forest Restoration, Ilana Abrahamson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Accurate estimation of the responses of understory plants to natural and anthropogenic disturbance is essential for understanding efficacy and non-target effects of management and restoration activities. However, ability to assess changes in abundance of understory plants that result from disturbance may be hampered by inappropriate sampling methodologies. Conventional methods for sampling understory plants may be robust for common, well-distributed species, but may fail to adequately characterize the abundance of less-common species, which are often the taxa of management concern. I tested conventional and novel approaches to sampling understory plants to determine their efficacy (in terms of number of replicates and …

Mass Spectrometric Characterization And Fluorophore-Assisted Light Inactivation Of Human Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter, Ran Ye

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Glia-expressing excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (EAAT2) mediates the bulk of glutamate re-uptake in the human central nervous system (CNS) and is associated with a variety of neurological disorders. Our understanding of the structure and mechanism of this integral membrane protein is limited. The goal of this study was to use pharmacological, mass spectrometric (MS) and photochemical approaches to probe EAAT2. For MS characterization, a hexahis epitope was incorporated into the N-terminus of human EAAT2. The recombinant protein was functionally expressed in HEK 293T cells and purified through a single-step nickel column. In-gel and in-solution trypsin digestions were conducted on …

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi: Factors Affecting Soil Organic Matter Storage, Carl Lee Rosier

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are soil fungi forming symbiotic associations with majority of land plants. AMF alter soil organic matter (SOM) directly through stabilization of soil aggregates and indirectly providing a path in which plant fixed C02 is transferred below-ground. Understanding contributions of AMF to SOM via protein production and stabilization of soil aggregates will greatly aid our understanding of soil carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and mitigation of soil erosion. The work presented in chapter 2 challenges the glomalin extraction process and assesses the accuracy of the Bradford and monoclonal-antibody ELISA detection methods. My results clarify the contribution of glomalin …

Comparisons In The Cranial Form Of The Blackfeet Indians: A Reassessment Of Boas' Native American Data, Jenee Caprice Gesler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Franz Boas proposed almost one hundred yeas ago that cranial plasticity explained the differences in cranial form between European-born immigrants and their American-born children. Plasticity refers to the idea that the body responds to environmental forces during growth and development. If the environment does affect cranial growth and development, than differences should be seen in populations living under different ecological conditions. In this study anthropometric measurements will be used to test for differences in head and face measurements of members of the Blackfeet Nation using multivariate statistics. The tests are designed to detect differences between the three tribes of the …

The Edge Effect: Lateral Habitat Ecology Of An Alluvial River Flood Plain, Michelle Louise Anderson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

We describe the ecology of off-channel or "lateral" habitats as key attributes of the Shifting Habitat Mosaic (SHM) of a river flood plain at the Nyack Research Natural Area in northwestern Montana. Our working hypothesis was that lateral habitats are important to the cycling of energy and materials within the SHM and contribute greatly to the productivity and biodiversity of the floodplain ecosystem. We produce a quantitative description of temperature variation across aquatic and terrestrial habitats at Nyack. Thermal patterns across lateral habitats indicate vast differences exist between lateral habitats in habitat suitability for aquatic organisms over an annual cycle. …

The Methane Range: Coalbed Methane Development, Sage-Grouse Protection, And The Ranching Way Of Life, Jonathan George Hayes

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Coalbed methane development has proliferated across much of the western United States. Campbell County, Wyoming, in the Powder River Basin is one area that has seem some of the highest amounts of this development, most of it occurring on land where the surface use is livestock grazing, resulting in conflicts over resource use. This thesis takes a grounded theory approach to understanding the meaning that the ranchers that operate on this land have attached to this development. In doing so, this paper argues that these ranchers form opinions and attitudes based on how CBM has affected “the ranching way of …

El Milagro De Almeria, Espana: A Political Ecology Of Landscape Change And Greenhouse Agriculture, Robert Tyrell Wolosin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate changes in the landscape of Almería in southeastern Spain, particularly in relation to the emergence of the 80,000-acre greenhouse sector. This thesis questions why the province of Almería has the highest concentration of greenhouses in the world and determines what processes led to this industry. The research focuses on local-global scale interactions and environmental history analysis within a political ecology framework. The methods for data collection included literature review of secondary sources and four months living in Almería conducting interviews and field observations. Located in Europe’s driest desert, the greenhouses of Almería …

Evaluating The Design And Management Of Community-Based Ecotourism Projects In Guatemala, Kassandra Lynne Miller

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Community-based ecotourism (CBE) has become the newest buzzword in development circles for its purported ability to provide alternative income generation for families and incentives to protect natural resources. Organizations such as the World Bank, World Wildlife Federation and USAID have supported these small-scale projects across the globe. However, there has been much debate over the efficacy of these projects. They are often developed, managed, and even owned by NGOs, not by local communities. Economic benefits resulting from the project are often directed toward one or two people in prominent positions within the community and not evenly distributed. The increase in …

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 …

Shame, Guilt And Society's Conception Of Sex, Hailey M. Magsig

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There is a dominant conception of sex in American society that has profound effects on our sexual lives. Often this can be a negative influence because our society’s conception is distorted. My thesis considers how this skewed view on sex and sexuality results in the presence of shame and guilt in our sexual lives. I first define society’s conception of sex and present it visually through fashion advertising. Each of the pornographic elements (objectification, submission, hierarchy and violence) utilized in advertising are explained. The advertisements are meant to provide a visual portrayal of society’s conception of sex, which is relevant …

Spatial Population Dynamics Of Western Painted Turtles In A Wetland Ecosystem In Northwestern Montana, Kathleen Ann Griffin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Population dynamics are driven by the interplay between the positive forces of births and immigration and the negative forces of deaths and emigration. Understanding dynamics at the local and metapopulation level is key in wildlife conservation. Although data on turtle survival and movement rates are available, few studies use rigorous statistical analyses and none include examination of stage-specific seasonal survival simultaneous with movement estimates. I used capture-mark-recapture methods to estimate apparent survival rates and movement probabilities of adult and juvenile western painted turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii) across space and time in a wetland ecosystem in northwestern Montana. All wetlands within …

Adolescent Mothers: The Space Between What They Know And What They Do, Nicole Catherine Mccray

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Although the current rate of teen pregnancy in the United States is at a historic low (Martin et al., 2007), there are a number of risk factors associated with early parenthood. Adolescent parenthood is often embedded in a larger context of risk such as poverty, single parenthood, low educational attainment, a history of physical and emotional abuse, and engagement in risky behavior (Hans & Wakschlag, 2000). As parents, adolescent mothers tend to be less knowledgeable about child development, less stimulating in interactions with infants, less tolerant, and more punitive with punishment (Brooks-Gunn & Furstenberg, 1986). The children of adolescent mothers …

Conservation Of Pheasants In North West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Iftikhar Uz Zaman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Pheasants belong to the avian order Galliformes and are important environmental indicators. Among 49 species of pheasants in the world, 5 of them are endemic to Pakistan with distribution in the Himalaya and remote northern parts of the country. Due to increase in human population, encroachment, poaching, and habitat disturbance pheasants are threatened and vulnerable. Besides ecological importance of pheasants they have also aesthetic values which mainly contribute to their decline in population in wake of poaching in their native local habitat. Because cheer pheasant was extirpated locally and other pheasants were declared endangered or threatened by the 1UCN, the …

Using Noninvasive Genetic Sampling To Assess And Monitor Grizzly Bear Population Status In The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, Jeffrey Brian Stetz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildlife managers need reliable estimates of population size, trend, and distribution to recover at–risk populations, yet obtaining these estimates is costly and often imprecise. The threatened grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) population in northwestern Montana has been managed for recovery since 1975, yet no rigorous data were available to evaluate the program’s success. We assessed population status using data from a large noninvasive genetic sampling project and 33–years of physical captures. Our abundance estimate, Nˆ= 765 (CV = 3.8%), was more than double the working estimate. Based on our results, the total known, human–caused mortality rate was 4.6%, slightly above the …

Why Take The Risk?: Women's Interpretive Repertoires For Choosing Home Birth, Laura Ann St. Clair

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this project was to use a social constructivist approach to understand the perception of risk by mothers making the choice to give birth at home in Missoula, Montana. Social constructivism assumes that knowledge about risk is filtered through “social and cultural frameworks of understanding” (Lupton and Tulloch 2002, 321). The information gained from participants in this study was interpreted as a representation of the individual’s culture, including their beliefs, values and upbringing, as well as the influences of the individual’s social network which can include family members, spouses, friends, and community members. Various phenomena, elements or constructs …

“Redox Pumping” In The Near Surface Missoula Aquifer On The Floodplain Of The Clark Fork River: Surface Water And Groundwaterinteractions And Arsenic Related Chemistry At A Compost Facilitynear A Wastewater Treatment Plant, Donna Lee Smith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Arsenic transport in groundwater is evaluated at Eko Compost, a site with measurable levels of arsenic, organic carbon and nutrients in the ground water. The compost facility is located adjacent to the Missoula wastewater treatment plant on a contaminated floodplain of the Clark Fork River in the Missoula Valley, Montana, USA. This site was evaluated over two years for hydrological and chemical characteristics. A series of potentiometric surface maps was created over time and hydraulic conductivity and ground water movement were characterized. Water samples were also collected monthly and results from chemical analyses of the waters were contoured over the …

A Phenomenological Study Of Reiki Practitioners And Their Perceptions Of Reiki As It Relates To Their Personal Health, Tannis Mardece Hargrove

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this study was to understand the essence of becoming a Reiki practitioner and Reiki’s relationship to an individual’s personal health. The phenomenological research perspective utilized in this study allowed the data to speak for itself and represented the essence of Reiki and Reiki practitioners in Missoula, Montana. Ten Reiki practitioners were interviewed about their personal experience with Reiki. Interviewees were all volunteers, over the age of 18, who were trained in Reiki II or higher and had more than three years of experience practicing Reiki. Participants had practiced Reiki either on themselves or someone else regularly, which …

Changes In Forest Structure And Composition Associated With Unique Land Use Histories: Implications For Restoration, Cameron Edwards Naficy

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Many contemporary semi-arid forests of western North America are denser and have a greater proportion of shade tolerant species relative to pre- Euro-American settlement. While many causes have been invoked to explain these changes, the active suppression of fire since the early 1900s has been the most widely studied and cited. However, widespread logging in western North American forests has often predated effective fire suppression and has affected a majority of semi-arid forests. The extent to which historical logging has contributed to uncharacteristically high densities and other changes in contemporary forests have never been adequately quantified. Therefore, true elucidation of …

A Demographic And Landscape Analysis For Common Loons In Northwest Montana, Christopher Allan Moanikeala Hammond

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding the relationship between a species’ important vital rates and how they respond to environmental factors is essential for developing appropriate conservation strategies. Historically, breeding populations of common loons existed across much of the northwestern United States, but that area of distribution within the lower 48 states has been significantly reduced. Montana still has the largest breeding population of common loons in the western continental United States, averaging 40-70 territorial pairs annually. Most research to date on loon population dynamics, habitat use, and response to disturbance was conducted in much larger populations of the Midwest and Northeast United States and …

A Simple Gis Approach To Predicting Rare Plant Habitat: North Central Rocky Mountains, United States Forest Service, Region One, Erin Elizabeth Nock

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding the potential distribution of rare species is a key component in managing and regulating land-use activities. Predictive modeling of plant distributions rests on the assumption that correlations exist between the presence or absence of a species and selected climate, topographic, substrate, and land-cover variables. Using the DOMAIN algorithm along with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, a biophysical envelope model was applied to 21 rare plant species listed on the Region One Regional Forester’s Sensitive Species List. Environmental variables, including annual precipitation, mean May temperature, slope, aspect, elevation, geologic material and dominant vegetation type, were used as predictors. Model output …

Physical Activity Patterns In Missoula Youth, Laura Leigh Mohar

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Physical activity (PA) is a critical determinant of long term health and is necessary for the prevention of youth onset–adult diseases. It is recommended that all youth accumulate at least 60+ min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) most days of the week in bouts lasting at least 10 min. PURPOSE: To evaluate the PA patterns of Missoula youth in order to make better recommendations for PA interventions for a wellness policy. METHODS: 324 elementary and middle school students from 5 schools wore accelerometers on their wrists for 5 days. The data were converted to activity …

The Life History And Ecology Of Riverine Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus Nerka) In A Large Floodplain River, Tyler Huntley Tappenbeck

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The productivity and life history diversity of salmonids is linked to the complexity of habitat in large floodplain rivers. Dynamic floodplain processes are driven by flow, sediment transport, cut and fill alluviation, woody plant succession, and ecosystem engineers, notably beavers, that create dynamic and biophysically complex off-channel rearing and spawning habitats. Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) display some of the most variable life history traits of all Pacific salmon, using lake and river rearing strategies throughout rivers of the northern Pacific Rim. However, sockeye management has primarily focused on the lake-type life history with minimal regard to the importance of the …

Into The Den Of Evils: The Genizaros In Colonial New Mexico, Doris Swann Avery

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As a result of the Indian slave trade in the American Southwest, a group of detribalized Indians emerged in New Mexico during the Spanish colonial period. These Indians came to be known as the genízaros and, through the process scholars call ethnogenesis, developed their own identity by incorporating Hispano-Christian cultural practices while preserving their native ways. The genízaros were products of a widespread and lucrative trade in Plains Indian captives and, as such, they represented various tribes, including Apaches, Navajos, Comanches, Kiowas, Pawnees, Utes and Wichitas. The term “genízaro” emerged as a caste label during the Spanish colonial period and …

Comparison Of Silica Polyamine Composites And Crosslinked Polystyrene Resins, Jessica Lee Wood

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The development of silica polyamine composites (SPC) was inspired by the need for more environmentally benign ways of extracting and recovering technologically important and environmentally dangerous metals from waste streams. These solid phase adsorbents are designed to endure the extreme conditions associated with environmental remediation and the metal processing industry. In order for the silica polyamine composites to be viable in industry, their performance must meet or exceed the current methods of metal extraction from aqueous media. A study was undertaken to compare three silica polyamine composites: WP-2, BPAP, and CuWRAM, with their closest crosslinked polystyrene resin analogs. The studies …

Hierarchical Summer Habitat Selection By The North American Porcupine In Western Montana, Katie Ann Mally

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) has continually been a species of low priority for research and conservation efforts in the western United States. While many porcupine populations have been studied in North America, little to no research has been done on porcupines in western Montana or habitats of similar composition. More recently it has been noted that porcupine sightings have become rare in western Montana is areas where sightings were once common. Due to the overall lack of information about western porcupine populations it is imperative to gather basic natural history information in order to make informed management decisions. …

Studies Of The Dimerization And Packaging Signals In Hiv-2 Rna, Tayyba Tabassum Baig

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The investigation of sequences and structures in the 5' untranslated leader region (5'UTR) of HIV genomic RNA is essential for understanding viral replication because the 5'UTR regulates several essential functions by the alternate presentation and sequestration of signals through conformational changes. Our main focus in this study was to understand those sequences and structures that are involved in dimerization and packaging of HIV-2 RNA. Progressing from previous findings, we studied in detail a 10-nucleotide palindrome sequence (pal; 5'-GGAGUGCUCC-3') of the 5'UTR, located within the major packaging signal, upstream of the dimerization signal (SL1: stem loop-1). Pal has been shown to …

"Words Are No Good": The Curse Of Signification And The Curse Of Faulkner's South, Michael Joseph St. Thomas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this study I examine three of Faulkner’s novels that concern his fictional Yoknapatawpha County: As I Lay Dying (1930), Absalom, Absalom! (1936), and Go Down, Moses (1942). These novels, I argue, indicate a development in Faulkner’s relationship to the formalist hierarchy of art over real life. To show this development I will investigate the topic of language as an inadequate medium in characters’ relationships to nature and the past. In As I Lay Dying Faulkner presents words as something unable to achieve the transcendence his characters desire. In Absalom, Absalom! and Go Down, Moses the author extends this suspicion …

Exploring The Interaction Between Asymmetric Phosphonates And Acetylcholinesterase. Probing The Gorge And P-Site Via Customized Covalent Modification, Lilu Guo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Organophosphates (OPs) react with acetylcholinesterases (AChEs) to form a covalent bond at a specific serine residue in the active gorge, thereby providing a highly precise modification of this enzyme and an opportunity to explore protein structure, function and mechanism. The goal of this study is: 1) to show how covalent modification of AChEs by chromophore-linked OPs can be used to probe the active and peripheral sites of the protein and its local environment; 2) to differentiate AChE stereoselectivity with asymmetric phosphonothiolates.

Click chemistry was used as a key transformation method to prepare an array of chromophores linked to a reactive …