Digital Commons Network^™

Growing Agroecology: Two Case Studies From The U.S. Student Farm Movement, Amelia B. Armstrong

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Scholars and activists identify agroecology as a crucial science, practice, and movement to move towards more just, equitable, and sustainable agriculture and food systems. Yet, the exploitative industrial food system, that deepens inequalities like food insecurity (Clapp et al., 2025), reduces farmer autonomy (Rotz, 2015), and contributes to increased carbon emissions (Lin et al., 2011) and biodiversity decline (Rotz, 2015), still dominates. Understanding and mobilizing the different spaces that teach agroecology, then, is a crucial step in challenging the dominant industrial food system. Agroecology education in university settings is an important domain to investigate as potential contributors to this movement, …

Evaluating Multi-Year Transferability Of Single- And Multi-Class Machine Learning For Remote Monitoring Of Beaver-Engineered Landscapes, Harris J. Sloan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Long-term satellite image archives enable ecological monitoring at large scales, but manual extraction of fine-grained features (e.g., beaver dams) remains time-consuming. Machine learning models may automate these tasks, but their temporal transferability for multiannual monitoring is still poorly resolved.

We evaluated the performance of two complementary neural-network frameworks across a 100,000-hectare watershed in Montana USA, using a decade of satellite imagery (2014-2024): (i) a single-class ResNet-50 beaver dam detector, and (ii) a multi-class ResU-Net landcover classifier.

In 2024, the dam detector identified 352 of 404 mapped dams, achieving balanced accuracy = 93.6%, precision = 79.8%, recall = 87.1%, F1 = …

Between Care And Protection: Constraints On Political Authority In Kamala Harris's 2024 Presidential Campaign, Marissa Barbara Pax

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Competing expectations about strength, care, and protection shape how presidential leadership and authority are constructed in contemporary U.S. politics, particularly for members of marginalized communities. This thesis examines Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign as a case study to explore how candidates negotiate competing understandings of political authority through appeals to Lakoff’s (2002, 2008) Strict Father Morality and the Nurturant Parent Morality. An analysis of her campaign reveals that Harris repeatedly appeals to both moral frameworks, constructing authority through empathy, mutual responsibility, and care while also emphasizing threat identification, protection, discipline, and moral strength. Although Harris successfully mobilizes the rhetorical resources …

Eros And The Sublime: Tools For Reaching Toward An Altered Ecological Consciousness, Aineka Carlson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis explores connections between the Kantian sublime and Anne Carson’s ideas regarding “eros.” Since Kant’s Critique of Judgement was published in 1790, the Kantian sublime has grown in popularity and been utilized by theorists and creative writers alike. While the Kantian sublime is often associated with nature in popular culture, there are certain egocentric and phallocentric elements of this mode of thinking that might inhibit a biocentric mindset. Through a character study of Oryx from Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake, this thesis draws relations between the subjugation of women, nature, and the ways in which the popularized …

An Interdisciplinary Unit For Today's Learners: Integrating Science, English, And Art To Teach Climate Change, Sydney M. Ruby-Pasternak

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As today’s global challenges grow increasingly complex, interdisciplinary thinking is essential for students to make meaningful connections in their learning. Despite this need, high school students continue to have educational experiences in one-subject classrooms, often preventing them from engaging in integrated learning models. This professional project addresses the gap by developing a five-week interdisciplinary unit titled Brushstrokes of Change, which combines climate science with English language arts and visual arts to amplify student understanding of climate change concepts. This unit was designed for grades 9-12 and prioritizes 21^st-Century skills in critical thinking, communication, creativity, and collaboration through …

Unravelling The Physiological Impacts Of Fire On Western U.S. Conifers, Charlotte Chiara Reed

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildfires are inherently spatially heterogenous, with many trees within larger burned areas not immediately killed by fire. These surviving trees often sustain some level of fire injury, yet we lack a mechanistic understanding of how these injuries affect post-fire tree physiological function, thus affecting whether trees go on to recover or die. Current hypotheses differentiate effects of fire on tree carbon balance and hydraulic function, yet critical uncertainties remain about the relative importance of each, how they interact, and whether these impacts make trees more vulnerable to post-fire disturbances like drought. Via field experiments utilizing prescribed fires and two widespread …

A Social-Ecological Justice Approach To Ecotourism: Examples From Cockpit Country, Jamaica, Laurel Ann C. Curry

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Ecotourism aims to support local social, ecological, and economic systems sustainably, but its implementation often perpetuates social and environmental injustices. This work applies a new social-ecological justice (SEJ) framework to ecotourism, combining Pope et al.’s holistic approach with principles like ecological stewardship, economic repositioning, and collaboration tailored to specific contexts. Importantly, basic capabilities for full functioning of humans and other species were used in this research to measure areas of justice and injustice. Using a case study approach with the Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency (STEA) in Jamaica's Cockpit Country, co-created interview data were analyzed to evaluate its ecotourism program’s alignment …

Exploring The Potential For Cynophagy, Working Dogs, And Village Dogs At Housepit 54, Daniel O. Nohren

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Several field seasons at the Bridge River Archaeological Site have recovered a vast faunal assemblage subject of numerous archaeological and genetic investigations, several of which have focused on potential roles of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). In order to examine the highly fractured nature of the Housepit 54 canid assemblage, the calculation of a fracture freshness index was performed which created quantitative units of measure useful in the comparison of bone fracture taphonomy over time and across taxonomic groups. This method has been employed specifically to investigate the potential for exploitation of within-bone nutrients among both a sample of …

The Relationship Between Principals’ Transformational Leadership And Teachers’ Organizational Citizenship Behavior Within Public Primary And Middle Schools In Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, Chuxuan Yin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This non-experimental causal-comparative study was designed to explore the relationship between principals’ transformational leadership and teachers’ organizational citizenship behavior within public primary and middle schools in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, as well as the differences in principals’ transformational leadership and teachers’ organizational citizenship behavior based on demographic characteristics. A sample of 142 principals and 675 teachers was recruited. Data collection utilized two validated instruments: the Transformational Leadership Questionnaire for evaluating principals’ transformational leadership level, and the Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale for Primary and Middle School Teachers for measuring teachers’ organizational citizenship behavior level. Both descriptive statistics (frequency distribution, mean, standard …

As Above, So Below: Environmental Justice Stories Of Seeds, Mining And Migration, Cassidy M. Motahari

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Environmental justice issues directly impact the health, cultural heritage and livelihoods of communities. This multimedia master’s project examines how federal policies, legal frameworks and the prioritization of corporate interests perpetuate environmental justice issues in the western United States. Three distinct stories provide a more nuanced understanding of the impact of systemic inequities on seed saving, mineral extraction and humanitarian aid on public lands.

With four companies controlling over 60 percent of the global seed market, declining genetic diversity in seeds limits the potential to cultivate and develop crops that meet the regional and cultural needs of diverse growers. In a …

In The Clear: Timber Harvest Informs Elk Summer Nutrition And Resource Selection In A Densely Forested Landscape, Trevor C. Weeks

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As wildlife and habitats face unprecedented challenges in the form of landscape conversion, shifting disturbance regimes, and climate change, it becomes increasingly important for land and wildlife managers to find avenues for collaboration as they seek to maintain habitat to support robust wildlife populations. Timber harvest may provide one such avenue for collaboration. It has been shown to increase the quality and quantity of ungulate nutritional resources by reverting stands to early successional stages. Additionally, timber harvest may allow for a more precise application of such effects, as managers choose where and how to harvest timber. However, the exact effects …

Fluvial Geomorphic Resilience In Alluvial Mountain Rivers To Large Floods, Riley T. Henson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As hydroclimatic extremes intensify, large floods increasingly reshape river systems and threaten infrastructure. Fluvial geomorphic resilience, defined as a river’s resistance to, and recovery from, flood disturbance, offers a useful framework for understanding river response and guiding management. We assessed resilience at two scales: (1) a detailed geomorphic and hydraulic analysis of the June 2022 flood on East Rosebud Creek, Montana, which was part of broader flooding in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and (2) a broad-scale comparison of 12 flood-impacted alluvial mountain rivers across North America and Europe. We quantified resistance using active channel width ratios (W_R) and …

How Perceptions Of Trauma Impact The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Events And Drinking Habits Of College Students, Caitlin M. Ward

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been consistently linked to alcohol misuse across the lifespan; however, little research has examined how individuals’ perceptions of these experiences contribute to risky drinking behaviors. The present study investigated the associations among ACEs, perceived traumatic impact of childhood adversity, gender identity, and alcohol use among 211 undergraduate students ages 18 to 25 at the University of Montana (Missoula). Participants completed measures assessing ACE exposure, perceived trauma impact, depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), adult adverse experiences, and alcohol use (AUDIT). ACE scores significantly predicted higher AUDIT scores in an unadjusted model; however, this relationship was no longer significant …

Counselor Educators’ Understanding Of Ableism: A Mixed Methods Study, Cynthia Renee Boyle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Ableism, defined as beliefs and practices that prioritize able-bodiedness and lead to disability discrimination, is a prevalent but often overlooked form of oppression rooted in the historical American legacy of other forms of prejudice, discrimination, and is foundationally rooted in higher education through eugenics. Despite the counseling profession's mandate for multicultural competence, disability issues and ableism are often excluded from mainstream curriculum, contributing to a knowledge gap among counselor educators. This convergent mixed methods study explored and analyzed counselor educators’ understanding of ableism using a cross-sectional questionnaire administered to 48 participants. Quantitative results indicated a positive correlation between more formal …

Population Dynamics Of White-Tailed Deer In A Multi-Predator, Multi-Prey Context In Northern Idaho, Elizabeth J. Painter-Flores

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

My dissertation was motivated by a fundamental management question. If a manager wants to increase the population of species A, how will it affect ungulate species B and C, and predator species D and E, and which populations can be managed to support species A’s success? This question is pertinent for both predators and prey, and in northern Idaho, harvest is used to not only manage populations in an ecological sense but also as a service to the public in the form of hunting opportunities. Understanding these interactions will benefit managers in their decision-making process and ensure the long-term stability …

Climate Goodbyes: Reporting On Loss, Change And The Human Response In Montana, Madeline Jorden

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This portfolio explores how climate-driven environmental change intersects with long-standing tensions over natural resource management, tribal sovereignty, and rural identity in Montana. It consists of three stories: a historically low water year at Flathead Lake that intensified disputes between tribal dam operators and non-tribal waterfront homeowners; the first confirmed presence of invasive smallmouth bass in the Bitterroot River, signaling warming stream conditions and ecological disruption; and a political narrative from Colstrip, where coal industry workers cling to promises of revival amid economic and regulatory decline. Each piece illustrates how climate change acts not only as an environmental force but also …

Space Use, Habitat Selection, And Flight Behavior Of Eagles Across Northwestern North America, Stephen Bernard Lewis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding how behavioral strategies shape movement, space use, and risk exposure is essential for conserving long-lived raptors. In this dissertation, I use high-resolution GPS telemetry from bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) to examine how behavioral state, environmental context, and temporal dynamics structure raptor ecology across Alaska, British Columbia, and the western United States.

Chapter 1 used random forest classification of movement data from 43 bald eagles and 94 golden eagles to identify territorial, nesting, and floater seasons with high accuracy. Floaters comprised roughly one-third of all seasons in both species, and many individuals exhibited consistent state-specific …

Ecology-Driven Machine Learning For Predicting Risk Of Spread For Aquatic Invasive Species., Leif Eric Howard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Effective management of aquatic invasive species (AIS) requires predictive tools that leverage environmental and ecological data to forecast spread into uninvaded areas. However, species distribution models (SDMs) often struggle to capture key invasion processes such as dispersal, propagule pressure, and biotic interactions. This thesis integrates ecological, dispersal, and environmental predictors within a machine learning framework to enhance AIS risk prediction and model transferability across space.

In Chapter 2, 61 novel predictors were developed for 2,203 Minnesota lakes to model zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) occurrence, incorporating variables related to propagule pressure (e.g., boat visitation), community composition (e.g., fish species …

Establishing Metric Method’S To Identify Variation In Human Biological Sex Using The Upper And Lower Limb Bones Of Non-Population Specific Samples., Roland P. Sanchez

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sex estimation of human skeletal remains is a facet of the biological profile. The pelvis has been suggested as the best source to accurately predicting the biological sex, but not always available after the recovery of human remains. At times, only long bones of human skeletal remains are recovered for identification. It has been shown that metric measurements using long can accurately predict biological sex. The most common methods use discriminant functions to predict the likelihood an individual falls within a certain population. These studies rely on population specific collections of skeletal remains for increased accuracy. It’s advised to avoid …

Seahorsedad: A Study Of Metaphors In Transmasculine Birther’S Instagram Posts, Alexa Anne Runnion

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Dominant notions of pregnancy frame gestation as a solely female process. However, the experiences of transmasculine birthers challenge this assumption, demonstrating that pregnancy is not inherently tied to womanhood but is instead shaped by social and cultural narratives and representations. This paper explores the unique pregnancy and parental exercises of transmasculine birthers by examining public social media posts under the hashtag #seahorsedad on Instagram. Utilizing metaphorical criticism, I aim to uncover how transmasculine birthers, known within the community as “seahorse dads,” both uphold and resist traditional notions of gender, pregnancy, and parenting through a combination of textual and visual metaphor. …

Aspen Stands Enrich Bird Communities Following A Wildfire In A Montane, Mixed Conifer Forest, Cody Q. Lane

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fire is a major ecological force in most terrestrial systems, but the responses of animal communities to fire vary markedly across ecosystems due to variability in fire regimes and vegetation communities. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) is unique within coniferous forests of western North America for its ability to regenerate following wildfire via vegetative resprouting. As managers employ techniques to restore fire regimes and conserve declining aspen forests, it becomes important to understand how aspen alters postfire communities. Our objectives were to (1) assess how aspen interacted with fire severity and years since fire to influence avian species and …

Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Nutrient Limitation In A Western Montana River, Matthew T. Nichols

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Enhanced loading of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) is pervasive in rivers around the world. As a consequence of nutrient-rich conditions, many well-lit rivers experience severe algal blooms, which threaten water quality and aquatic habitats. Nutrient enrichment in the upper Clark Fork River, located in western Montana, has increased the productivity of benthic algae, Cladophora glomerata, which routinely forms extensive blooms during summer growing seasons (July – September). Addressing eutrophication in rivers begins with identifying the nutrients that contribute toward algal productivity. I deployed nutrient diffusing substrates (NDS), collected bi-weekly surface water samples, and conducted algal surveys at four …

Fuel Break Effectiveness – Determining Ignition Thresholds Based On Radiant And Convective Energy Transfer, Daniel Michael Jimenez

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Extended fire seasons and increased fire severity in and around protected ecosystems and the wildland urban interface (WUI) will increasingly challenge fire suppression, impact communities and threaten property and resources. Addressing this growing threat through proactive management solutions that protect values at risk requires improved fire behavior prediction capabilities.

Here I explore the radiant and convective energy transfer mechanisms of fire ignition or extinction associated with fuel discontinuities. Through a series of wind tunnel experiments I identified energy and ignition thresholds unique to changing wind speed, fuel moistures and fire line characteristics, and developed a multi-variate linear regression model to …

Indigenous Placemaking, Colonial Placetaking, And Indigenous Data Sovereignty: Implications Of Environmental Data Collection On Tribal Lands, Paige Nizhonii Kya'iyo Johnson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This project investigates how Indigenous Data Sovereignty protocols apply to environmental data collected on Tribal lands by federal and state entities. The 2011 and 2014 flooding of the Missouri River and a need for further soil moisture data led the United States Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District to implement a Mesonet weather station monitoring network across the Upper Missouri River Basin (UMRB). Historically, the Army Corps of Engineers has not included Indigenous perspectives into their decision-making, and this has caused Tribes to be distrustful of partnerships with them. The UMRB monitoring network will span across the Upper Missouri River …

Hormonal Decay After Death: Evaluating Dhea-S As A Potential Molecular Marker For Postmortem Estimation, Marisa Lydia Novak

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Post-mortem interval (PMI) estimation is a central component of forensic anthropological investigation, but traditional methods for estimating time since death lose accuracy after ~72 hours. Recent research indicates that some steroid hormones may undergo predictable degradation patterns after death, offering potential use as biochemical clocks for PMI estimation beyond this threshold. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and its sulfate form (DHEA-S) are of particular interest due to their metabolic stability, systemic influence, and association with trauma. This study investigates whether DHEA-S hormonal degradation patterns correlate with time elapsed since death and body temperature, evaluating their potential as biochemical PMI markers. 160 mL of …

Structural And Dynamic Properties Of Gas-Phase Molecules In High-Order Harmonic Generation: Insights From Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Calculations, Christopher Michael King

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

High-order harmonic generation, or HHG, is a highly nonlinear quantum optical process capable of generating X-ray/ultraviolet radiation. An atom or molecule is irradiated with a mid-IR laser at high intensity, ionizes, and then emits high-frequency light at integer multiples of the driving laser frequency when an ionized electron recollides with the molecular ion. A convenient tabletop source of coherent XUV light and a common seed for free-electron lasers, HHG can also serve as a self-probe of the source atom or molecule. In the latter case, the HHG spectrum can provide valuable insight into the structure and dynamics of the species …

Small Mammal Population Dynamics And Torpor Use In A Changing Subnivean Environment, Derik Butts

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite global temperature increases, winter soil surface temperatures in some northern regions might actually be getting colder due to diminishing snowpacks exposing the soil surface to ambient winter conditions. Small mammal species in northern temperate areas often utilize a microclimate beneath the snow, known as the subnivium, to escape harsh winter conditions. Exposure to winter conditions without the subnivium as a buffer could cause small mammals to experience physiological stress and population declines. In this thesis, I explore the impacts of a declining subnivium from two complementary perspectives. In chapter 1, we used a structural equation model (SEM) to test …

Structural Optimization And Stability Enhancement Of Uba(2) And Ntl9 Using The Computational Tool: Emcast, Bahar Ghazi Esfahani

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study enhances protein stability prediction by refining EmCAST (Empirical C-Alpha Stability Tool), a computational tool used to identify stabilizing mutations in protein domains. We applied EmCAST to two model proteins: the α-helical ubiquitin-associated domain 2 (UBA(2)) and the α/β N-terminal domain of ribosomal protein L9 (NTL9). Protein stability is critical for proper function, and mutations can lead to misfolding and disease. To validate EmCAST’s predictions, guanidine hydrochloride-induced denaturation was monitored using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy for both wild-type and mutant variants. Results guided refinements to EmCAST’s algorithm, incorporating new experimental datasets to improve accuracy. Additionally, we examined the assumption …

Slaying The Windigo: Fear And Faith In The Anthropocene, Daniel J. Irwin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis examines the changing affect of fear in the environment and how it is influencing writing in the Anthropocene. Chapter one lays the groundwork for the present moment of ecocriticism, examining how the relationship with the environment has changed throughout the history of ecocritical writing. The second chapter examines how fear has been an intrinsic element of environmental storytelling, starting with the romantic ideas of the sublime. With the recognition of the impact that humanity has had on Earth over the past several centuries, and the accelerating acceptance of the idea of the Anthropocene since the turn of the …

Social Connection And Disability: A Longitudinal Experimental Study Of Intervention Effectiveness And Moderators, Krys Standley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Social disconnection is an epidemic-level problem that is exacerbated for people with disabilities. There is a pressing need for theory-based research to illuminate the factors that contribute to effective interventions for improving social connection in this population.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were 1) to test the hypothesis that the Peer Collective, a six-week, online, group-based intervention centered on social support topics, would result in increased levels of social connection among community-dwelling adults with any types of disabilities and 2) to examine potential moderating effects in this hypothesized relationship.

Method: A longitudinal intervention study design with random assignment …