Digital Commons Network^™

Mallard Nesting Ecology In The Great Lakes, Jonas Ian Davis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding how habitat features influence vital rates that drive population growth is fundamental for delivery of effective conservation programs. Past decisions in management of Great Lakes mallard (Anas platyrynchos) populations were based largely on paradigms established in the mid-continent because regional data were lacking. Recent sensitivity analyses from the Great Lakes Mallard Study show that population growth (i.e., λ) is most sensitive to changes in nest success (16%) and duckling survival (32%). In spring of 2001 to 2003, as part of the Great Lakes Mallard Study, 536 mallards were radio-marked at nine sites in four states (Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and …

Disruption Of 8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine Dna Glycosylase (Ogg1) Antioxidant Response Capacity By Sodium Arsenite, David Paul Cox

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine DNA glycosylase is the first step and rate-limiting enzyme involved in the removal of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine via the base excision repair pathway. Transcriptional regulation of human Ogg1 is sensitive to redox changes via modulation of intracellular glutathione. In response to changes in glutathione, changes in hOgg1 transcription occur similar to genes regulated by the transcription factor Nrf2. It was determined that positions - 47 to - 44 in the hOgg1 promoter are necessary for basal transcription of Ogg1 determined by site-directed deletion. This region is capable of interacting with nuclear protein determined by binding assays. Furthermore, transcription factor Nrf2 is …

A Comprehensive Case Report On University Of Montana Forensic Case 66, Christopher John Buckley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

UMFC 66 is an anatomical specimen from the Physical Anthropology Lab at The University of Montana-Missoula. It is a nearly complete skeleton that exhibits no trauma. I examined the literature on suitable approaches to estimating age from the skeleton, because age is difficult to estimate for this case and presents an interesting challenge. I also estimated sex, ancestry, stature, and weight. I concluded that UMFC 66 is an American Indian, perhaps 20 to 28 years of age with a relatively short stature of about 1.56m (5’01”), weighing approximately 115 to 129 pounds. There is severe osteomyelitis throughout the left lower …

The Contribution Of Spawning Pacific-Salmon To Nitrogen Fertility And Vegetation Nutrition During Riparian Primary Succession On An Expansive Floodplain Of A Large River, Michael Roger Morris

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Floodplain vegetation communities are mosaics of succession stages caused by erosion/redeposition as river channels migrate throughout their floodplains. Typically, plants colonizing alluvial deposits are severely N-limited, but N accumulates during succession, and this process determines long term fertility. The Kol River (Kamchatka, RU), received large annual N-subsidies from salmon and we sought to determine how salmon-N contributed to fertility during succession.

We constructed a vegetation chronosequence model and made N-fertility measurements within replicate succession stages before, during and after salmon runs. Natural abundance of 15N was used as a tracer of salmon-N.

We found that new alluvial deposits were N-poor, …

Training Comparison: 95%Vo2peak Vs. Race Pace Intervals, Laura Young

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

INTRODUCTION: Interval training intensities are typically based on percentages of VO2max, heart rate max, or lactate threshold. Interval training based on current race pace has not been evaluated. PURPOSE: This study examined intervals at 95% VO2peak compared to race pace intervals on VO2peak, ventilatory threshold, time trial performance, peak power output, and vertical jump height in recreationally active subjects. METHODS: 34 subjects were randomly assigned to one of four training groups (TM-95%, Cycle-95%, TM-RP, Cycle-RP). Pre- and post- study, all subjects performed a ramped protocol test to exhaustion on a treadmill or electronically braked cycle ergometer for determination of VO2peak …

Development Of An Environmental Law Curriculum For Kosovo Universities, Nebojsa Vlajic

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper aims to improve environmental problem solving in Kosovo by introducing an environmental law course to the Kosovo university system. No school in Kosovo currently teaches environmental law and lawyers practicing environmental litigation are nonexistent. There are not many experts who can be consulted or who can help draft the environmental laws Kosovo must enact in order to harmonize its laws with those of the European Union. Lawyers having proper and formal training for doing the Environmental Impact Assessment are also extremely limited in number. The first part explains the rationale for proposing an environmental law course at law …

Dynamic Human Relationships With Wilderness: Developing A Relationship Model, Bob G. Dvorak

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Dvorak, Robert, Ph.D., Summer 2008 Forestry

Dynamic human relationships with wilderness: Developing a relationship model

Chair: William T. Borrie

Wilderness managers are charged with the challenging goal of balancing resource protection and experience quality across a broad, value-laden landscape. While research has provided insight into visitor motivations, psychological outcomes, and meanings, a struggle exists to implement experiential concepts within current management frameworks. A need also exists to manage wilderness for concepts outside of setting attributes. This research posits the human experience of wilderness to be an evolving, enduring relationship. Therefore, research needs can be addressed by investigating and conceptualizing an …

Transcendental Idealism, Transcendental Realism, And The Possibility Of Objective Reference, Eric Dane Walker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The goal of my thesis is to understand why Kant thinks that transcendental idealism can secure empirical realism, the idea that there really exists an objective world that we can come to know through experience. I maintain that, according to Kant, the possibility of coming to know objective reality depends upon the possibility of referring to objects, which itself, Kant thinks, can be explained by transcendental idealism. The transcendental idealist worldview is supposed by Kant to explain the possibility of referring to objects because it recognizes that objects must conform to cognition and not the other way around. Therefore, I …

Lessons To Learn From All Out Invasion: Life History Of Brown Trout (Salmo Trutta) In A Patagonian River, Sarah Louise O'Neal

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Brown trout (Salmo trutta) are widely introduced throughout Patagonia, though their distribution and impact in the region remain poorly documented. Life history flexibility, and particularly partial migration play a major role in the ability of this species to adapt to Patagonian rivers. Consequently, this study explored habitat, distribution and life history of a partially migratory population of brown trout in the Rio Grande in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. It described what is known of the history of the invasion. Physical, chemical, and biological habitat data were collected for comparison between sites supporting resident fish with those supporting anadromous fish. Additionally, …

Seasonal Nutrient Dynamics In A Small-Scale Constructed Wetland Treating Primary Effluent With Applications Of Effluent Reuse In Biomass Production, Paul Thomas Miller

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Constructed wetlands have been investigated for use in the treatment of municipal wastewater. Species of nitrogen and phosphorus are the nutrients of focus and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS) and fecal coliform are the pollutants. Prior work has focused on design concepts, plant effects on nutrient and pollutant treatment, and annualized treatment performance characteristics. This work builds upon published design concepts and wetland plant community and its function and investigates seasonal treatment performance and the kinetics of treatment performance for certain nutrients and pollutants during each season. Previous engineering based work has broadly suggested that first order …

Sex-Specific Investment In Incubation And The Reproductive Biology Of Two Tropical Antbird Species, Brian A. Schwartz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Paternal care has been neglected in behavioral studies because it is rare among most animals. Birds express wide variation in male care across a broad life-history gradient, but such variation among species remains poorly explored. At the same time, contributions of male assistance with incubation have been largely overlooked with the assumption that incubation is a time of low parental energy expenditure. We compared male versus female biparental incubation effort between two tropical antbird species in the northern Andes of Venezuela. We found that males and females apportion reproductive effort differently between these two species, but that male contributions of …

Kings And Courtesans: A Study Of The Pictorial Representation Of French Royal Mistresses, Shandy April Lemperle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis explores the development in the pictorial representation of four important French royal mistresses. It looks at works depicting Agnès Sorel, mistress to Charles VII; Diane de Poitiers, mistress to Henri II; Gabrielle d’Estrées, mistress to Henri IV; and Madame de Pompadour, mistress to Louis XV. By placing the portrayals of these women within a historical context, it becomes apparent that there are links between the strength of the crown and the depictions of the mistresses. This thesis traces the development of the imagery associated with these women and demonstrates that as the crown became more and more powerful, …

Structure And Function Of A Neuronal Glutamate Transporter, Gregory Patrick Leary

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Glutamate transporters have a homotrimeric subunit structure with a large central water-filled cavity that extends partially into the plane of the lipid bilayer (Yernool et al., 2004). In addition to uptake of glutamate, the transporters also mediate a chloride conductance that is gated by Na+ and glutamate. Our data indicate that glutamate binding sites, transport pathways, and chloride channels reside in individual subunits in the trimer and function independently and that the anion channel is gated by alkali cations binding from either side of the membrane. We also investigated conformational changes during glutamate binding by incorporating a fluorescent probe into …

Wildlife Decomposition In West Central Montana: A Preliminary Study Conducted To Provide Field Investigation Material And Training For Wildlife Officers, F. Carleen Gonder

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

An issue with many poaching investigations is the discovery of carcasses in advanced stages of decomposition with little information to indicate time of death (TOD). To address TOD issues of carcasses found in a state of decomposition, and to provide training materials and field tools for investigating officers, this project was initiated to identify decomposition stages and to monitor decomposition rates for those stages in the west central area of Montana. A total of 15 carcasses were placed in electrified exclosures during various times of the year which provided seasonal variation and include: a pair of gray wolves (8 total) …

Custer's Last Drag: An Examination Of Tobacco Use Among The Seventh Cavalry During The Nineteenth Century, Shannon Marjorie Vihlene

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Tobacco has played an integral role in global history, and there are numerous historical records related to tobacco use over the past five hundred years. The odontological evidence recovered from the Custer National Battlefield infers a high frequency of tobacco use within the Seventh Calvary, yet nineteenth century historical records fail to mention such intensive use in the Seventh Calvary. This paper will briefly discuss late nineteenth century tobacco culture and apply that to a bioarchaeological research project associated with remains from the Custer National Battlefield to addresses this contradiction between historical and physical records.

Design, Synthesis And Biological Evaluation Of A Family Of Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 3 (Eaat3) Preferring Inhibitors, Terri Lynn Mavencamp

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This work describes the synthesis and initial characterization of the biological activity of a family of EAAT3 preferring inhibitors, L-β-benzyl aspartate (L-β-BA) and L-β-BA derivatives. L-β-BA and derivatives were initially synthesized in an approximate 2:1 ratio of diasteromers (threo:erythro), using base promoted enolate addition. Kinetic analysis of 3H-D-aspartate uptake into C17.2 cells expressing the hEAATs demonstrated that L-threo-β-BA is the more potent diastereomer (Ki values of 9 µM for EAAT1, 10.0 µM for EAAT2 and 0.8 µM for EAAT3), acts competitively, and exhibits a 10-fold preference for EAAT3 compared to EAAT1 and EAAT2. Electrophysiological recordings of EAAT-mediated currents in Xenopus …

Differential Growth Of Body Components Among Coexisting Passerines In Response To Nest Predation Risk, Yi-Ru Cheng

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Environmental sources of mortality can exert strong selection pressures on growth strategies across taxa. Studies of growth responses need to consider multiple body components because components can compete for resources during growth in an integrated growth strategy. However, such studies are lacking and little is known about the extent to which body components may differ in their growth responses to environmental selection pressures. Theory predicts that growth of body components with relatively higher advantages for survival should be prioritized. For example, increases in time dependent mortality, like nest predation risk in birds, should favor growth of body features that enhance …

Causes And Consequences Of The Postfire Increase In Deer Mouse (Peromyscus Maniculatus) Abundance, Rafal Pawel Zwolak

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildfire triggers an increase in deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) abundance. Here, I describe this phenomenon, investigate its causes, and explore the consequences of the postfire increase in mice for conifer recruitment in burned forest. I documented a shift in small mammal communities away from more specialized species such as red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi) and shrews (Sorex spp.) and towards greater abundance of generalist deer mice after a wildfire in montane forest. I conducted a meta-analysis of published studies on the abundance of small mammals in disturbed versus undisturbed forests and established that the pattern of increased deer mouse abundance holds …

Changes In Osteoarthritis Of The Elbow And Shoulder Joints In Women When Trasitioning From Hunting And Gathering To An Agricultural Subsistence, Kirsten Anne Green

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Changes in bone morphology have always been a concern of physical anthropologists who are trying to explain a culture's everyday activity. These types of changes, including arthritic and musculoskeletal, are based on subjective observation of the researcher and therefore subject to observer error. I used three samples; the Indian Knoll sample, the Nutwood and Rosedale Mound sample, and a control sample from the Terry collection I was able to employ a scoring method based on Hawkey (1988). This current research uses the scoring method for arthritic changes in women to test for changes in patterns of distribution and/or severity when …

Age At Death Estimation From The Sacral Side Of The Sacroiliac Joint, Misty Marie Keahi Rego

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis presents a new method of age estimation in adult human skeletal remains based on age related degenerative changes of the sacral side of the sacro iliac joint. It is inspired by the existing method of aging based on age related degenerative changes of the iliac side of the sacro iliac joint developed by Lovejoy et al. (1985). This new method uses a ten-year-wide incremental scale of age estimation. The development and testing of this method was done using the Documented Collection from the University of New Mexico's Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. Results suggest that utilizing sacral deterioration to …

Greater Sage-Grouse Response To Coal-Bed Natural Gas Development And West Nile Virus In The Powder River Basin, Montana And Wyoming, Usa, Brett Lincoln Walker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding how population dynamics respond to landscape-scale disturbance and disease are crucial for effective wildlife management and conservation. Two new potential stressors on greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations in the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming are coal-bed natural gas (CBNG) development and West Nile virus (WNv). I first examined how CBNG development, habitat, and other landscape features influenced trends in the abundance of displaying males and the status of sage-grouse leks. Second, I used rates of WNv-induced mortality and seroprevalence from radio-marked birds to estimate rates of WNv infection. Third, I studied the influence of female characteristics, season, …

Assessment And Mitigation Of Water Related Environmental Health Impacts In The Bagrami District Of Kabul Province, Mumtaz Ahmad

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

My paper includes: (1) an analysis of cases of waterborne diseases in Bagrami District from 2003-2007; (2) a review and assessment of the effectiveness of three recent water supply and sanitation projects carried out by aid organizations; (3) a description of a Bagrami water sanitation project that I helped manage in 17 villages in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in spring 2008; and (4) my recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of water supply and sanitation projects in Bagrami and other areas of Afghanistan based on insights gained from this study.

Mobile Genetic Elements In Coxiella Burnetii: Friends, Foes Or Just Indifferent?, Rahul Raghavan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The genome of the obligate intracellular pathogen Coxiella burnetii contains a large number of mobile genetic elements including two group I introns and an intervening sequence (IVS) that interrupt the 23S rRNA gene; an intein within dnaB (encoding replicative DNA helicase) and a homing endonuclease. The introns are self-splicing ribozymes and able to inhibit ribosome function and retard bacterial growth through internal guide sequence (IGS)-dependent and -independent mechanisms. The introns were found to be highly conserved in all eight genomic groups of C. burnetii, suggesting a role in C. burnetii's biology. It is not clear whether the introns are being …

Oxidative Stress And The Guanosine Nucleotide Triphosphate Pool: Implications For A Biomarker And Mechanism Of Impaired Cell Function, Celeste Maree Bolin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Oxidation of the guanosine (G) moiety, yielding the oxidized lesion 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (oxo82dG), in DNA has become a hallmark biomarker in assessing cellular outcomes induced by oxidative stress. It is well established that the guanosine nucleotide triphosphate pool is also susceptible to oxidative stress and suggested to be more available for oxidation than DNA due to the lack of protective histones and robust repair mechanisms for reducing the levels of all the products of oxidation. The oxidation of guanosine in the nucleotide triphosphate pool, resulting in oxidized guanosine 5'-triphoshate (oxo8GTP), has been overlooked due to the lack of a reliable method. …

An Outcomes Assessment Of Two Therapeutic Group Homes Serving Children With Reactive Attachment Disorder In A Rural Community, Brooke Rose Spangler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Archival data collected on 35 4-12-year-old children, each of whom completed treatment for reactive attachment disorder (RAD), was used to evaluate a treatment program in a rural northwestern community. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) (Achenbach, 1991) and Youth Outcomes Questionnaire (Y-OQ) (Burlingame, Wells, & Lambert, 1996) were completed by coding behaviors early in treatment and late in treatment from behavioral records. A correlational design was used, and t-test, repeated measures and fixed factor analyses of variance were conducted. Results showed that there was an overall decrease in the amount of maladaptive behaviors at the conclusion of residential treatment for attachment …

Comparison Of Trend Detection Methods, Katharine Lynn Gray

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Trend estimation is important in many fields, though arguably the most important applications appear in ecology. Trend is difficult to quantify; in fact, the term itself is not well-defined. Often, trend is quantified by estimating the slope coefficient in a regression model where the response variable is an index of population size, and time is the explanatory variable. Linear trend is often unrealistic for biological populations; in fact, many critical environmental changes occur abruptly as a result of very rapid changes in human activities. My PhD research has involved formulating methods with greater flexibility than those currently in use. Penalized …

My Brother The Buffalo: An Ethnohistorical Documentation Of The 1999 Buffalo Walk And The Cultural Significance Of Yellowstone Buffalo To The Lakota Sioux And Nez Perce Peoples, Sarah Anne Tarka

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study was prepared for the National Park Service to serve as documentation of the cultural significance of Yellowstone buffalo to two American Indian cultural groups, the Nez Perce and the Lakota Sioux, and of the 1999 Buffalo Walk and accompanying ceremony that took place within the boundary of the park. Both Lakota Sioux and Nez Perce peoples had leadership roles in the Buffalo Walk, which was a benchmark event in the history of the park and of Yellowstone buffalo management. Participants in the Buffalo Walk walked and rode more than 500 miles from Rapid City, South Dakota to the …

Sex And Diversity In The Invasive Plant Hieracium Aurantiacum, Eli Stuart Loomis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sexual reproduction is generally thought to provide long-term fitness advantages over asexual reproduction in the form of increased genetic diversity. Some work, however, suggests that asexual reproduction can also be advantageous. One situation when asexual reproduction provides an advantage is when colonizing a new range (Baker’s law), as in plant invasions. This study investigated the population structure of the invasive plant Hieracium aurantiacum. H. aurantiacum is an apomict – producing much of its seed asexually – and has become a common invasive in North America and New Zealand. The genetic diversity of H. aurantiacum was assessed over its invasive ranges …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of A Place-Based Conservation Education Program By Applying Utilization-Focused Evaluation, Alice B. Flowers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Lack of personal connection to the natural world by most American youth builds reason for assessing effectiveness of conservation education programs. Place-based learning is important in helping youth understand how their personal and societal well-being are linked and dependent upon their local habitats. Across Montana 2277 students in grades 3 - 10 participate in an interactive year long fishing education program with their teachers called Hooked on Fishing (HOF).

The purpose of my study was to assess the effectiveness of HOF, a place-based conservation education program established in 1996, and modeled after the national Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs …

Habitat Use And The Effects Of Disturbance On Wintering Birds Using Riparian Habitats In Sonora, Mexico, Jose Fernando Villasenor

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Riparian systems are important for breeding bird communities and are highly used as migratory corridors; however, their importance for wintering birds has not been assessed systematically. In order to assess the value of riparian areas for birds wintering in Sonora, data from 1,816 standard point counts were collected from 87 locations during January and February 2004-2006. A total of 253 species were detected across 14 vegetation types, including nine categories of riparian vegetation. The mean number of species and individuals detected per count was significantly higher in riparian vegetation than in non-riparian vegetation for migratory species, but not for residents. …