Digital Commons Network^™

Utpa Undergraduate Catalog 2005-2007, University Of Texas Pan American

UTPA Archives - Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Utb/Tsc Commencement – Winter 2005, University Of Texas At Brownsville, Texas Southmost College

Brownsville Archives - Legacy Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

The International Human Right To Culture: Reclamation Of The Cultural Identities Of Indigenous Peoples Under International Law, Marina Hadjioannou

Chapman Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Sample Size On Rapid Bioassessment Scores And Management Efficiency, Uttam Kumar Rai

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid bioassessment method for stream bio monitoring generally uses a fixed count of 200 macro invertebrates as the standard subsample size. This number has been argued to be too small to provide accurate estimates on the richness of macro invertebrate communities and is believed to give misleading information pertaining to stream health. In this study, I used data collected from multiple habitats from 29 streams located in several subecoregions of Georgia to examine how the rapid bioassessment scores perform across subsample sizes of 100, 200, and 300 organisms. Subsample sizes of 100 and 200 organisms were found to underestimate …

Utb/Tsc Undergraduate Catalog 2005-2006, University Of Texas At Brownsville, Texas Southmost College

UTB/TSC Archives - Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Utpa Graduate Catalog 2005-2007, University Of Texas Pan American

UTPA Archives - Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Collection Of Works By Faculty And Staff - 2005, University Of Texas At Brownsville

Digital Books

This annual publication provides a listing of books, journals, videocassettes, compact discs, and software produced by various faculty and staff of the former University of Texas at Brownsville.

The Catcher In The Rye: A Teaching Unit, Audrey Michelle Farrugia

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The main goal of this unit is for students to critically think about the novel and the world around them. This unit is built on students responding to and exploring elements within the novel. With each discussion and experience, simply have the students write. The culmination of all their writing placed and bound together will create a journal.

As the students read, they are to highlight quotes they wish to discuss or respond to. This will allow the students to critically think about and process what they have read. It also teaches students how to pick out important concepts within …

The Synthesis And Characterization Of Bicyclooxacalixarenes, Kevin J. Selby

Honors Theses

Bicyclooxacalixarenes were synthesized in high yield via a selective, room temperature Sn Ar reaction of phluoroglucinol with 2,6-dichloropyridines. Functionality on the 2,6-dichloropyridioe was varied by changing the electron-withdrawing groups in the 3 and 5 positions (using chlorine, nitro groups, and cyano groups) and the side-chains in the 4-position (using ethyl, butyl, phenyl and ρ-tolyl groups). The resulting cage-like molecules were studied by X-ray crystallography and tested for metal complexation.

Role Of Private Owners In The Conservation Of Exotic Species, Jessica L. Beetz

Honors Theses

This study examines the private ownership of exotic species, a topic very relevant to conservation that has long been ignored in the public sphere of policy and discussion. The private ownership of exotic species is a multifaceted issue that affects not only conservation, but also the domestic industry, world trade and education. The volume of trade in live animals is remarkably high and growing, making studies that investigate the implications of this trade on the endangered and threatened species even more pressing. This thesis investigates whether or not animal species held in captivity by private owners benefit conservation of their …

Burial Of Terrestrial Organic Matter In Marine Sediments: A Re-Assessment, David J. Burdige

OES Faculty Publications

Calculations based on recent observations indicate that approximately one third of the organic matter presently being buried in marine sediments may be of terrestrial origin, with the majority of this terrestrial organic matter (TOM) burial occurring in muddy, deltaic sediments. These calculations further suggest that the remineralization of terrestrial organic matter in the oceans is also much less efficient than that of marine organic matter. These two underappreciated observations have important implications in terms of our understanding of the controls on the global carbon cycle. From a paleoceanographic perspective, the results presented here also suggest that changes in TOM burial …

Iron In The Sargasso Sea (Bermuda Atlantic Time-Series Study Region) During Summer: Eolian Imprint, Spatiotemporal Variability, And Ecological Implications, Peter N. Sedwick, T. M. Church, A. R. Bowie, C. M. Marsay, S. J. Ussher, K. M. Achilles, P. J. Lethaby, R. J. Johnson, M. M. Sarin, D. J. Mcgillicuddy

OES Faculty Publications

We report iron measurements for water column and aerosol samples collected in the Sargasso Sea during July-August 2003 (summer 2003) and April-May 2004 (spring 2004). Our data reveal a large seasonal change in the dissolved iron (dFe) concentration of surface waters in the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study region, from ∼1-2nM in summer 2003, when aerosol iron concentrations were high (mean 10 nmol/m^-3), to ∼0.1-0.2nM in spring 2004, when aerosol iron concentrations were low (mean 0.64 nmol/m^-3). During summer 2003, we observed an increase of ∼0.6nM in surface water dFe concentrations over 13 days, presumably due to …

A Unique Seasonal Pattern In Phytoplankton Biomass In Low-Latitude Waters In The South China Sea, Chun-Mao Tseng, George T. F. Wong, I.-I. Lin, C.-R. Wu, K.-K. Liu

OES Faculty Publications

A distinctive seasonal pattern in phytoplankton biomass was observed at the South East Asian Time series Study (SEATS) station (18°N, 116°E) in the northern South China Sea (SCS). Surface chlorophyll-a, depth integrated chlorophyll-a and primary production were elevated to 0.3 mg/m³, ~35 mg/m² and 300 mg-C/m²/d, respectively, in the winter but stayed low, at 0.1 mg/m³, ~15 mg/m² and 110 mg-C/m²/d as commonly found in other low latitude waters, in the rest of the year. Concomitantly, soluble reactive phosphate and nitrate+nitrite in the mixed layer also became …

Chemistry Of Surface Waters: Distinguishing Fine-Scale Differences In Sea Grass Habitats Of Chesapeake Bay, Emmanis Dorval, Cynthia M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

We tested the hypothesis that the physical and chemical processes acting in sea grass habitats of the lower Chesapeake Bay are spatially structured and that dissolved elemental chemistry of sea grass-habitat surface waters have their own unique identity. We sampled surface waters from July to September 2001 in five sea grass habitats of the lower bay: Potomac, Rappahannock, York, Island (Tangier-Bloodsworth), and Eastern Shore. Dissolved Mg, Mn, Sr, and Ba concentrations were measured by sector field inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. As expected, Mg, Sr, and Ba exhibited conservative behavior, but Mn exhibited nonconservative behavior along the salinity gradient. Spatial differences …

Biophysical Mechanisms Of Larval Fish Ingress Into Chesapeake Bay, Jonathan A. Hare, Simon Thorrold, Harvey Walsh, Christian Reiss, Arnoldo Valle-Levinson, Cynthia Jones

OES Faculty Publications

Selective tidal stream transport is hypothesized as a dominant mechanism by which larvae of marine animals move through estuarine openings. For larvae moving from the shelf to estuarine habitats, selective tidal stream transport proposes that larvae are higher in the water column during flood tide and lower in the water column during ebb tide. Although a number of studies conclude that selective tidal stream transport is the mechanism responsible for larval ingress, few studies consider alternative mechanisms or consider passive explanations for tidal patterns in larval distributions. We examined the biophysical mechanisms responsible for larval ingress into Chesapeake Bay using …

Variability Of Sea Ice Cover In The Chukchi Sea (Western Arctic Ocean) During The Holocene, Anne De Vernal, Claude Hillaire-Marcel, Dennis A. Darby

OES Faculty Publications

Dinocysts from cores collected in the Chukchi Sea from the shelf edge to the lower slope were used to reconstruct changes in sea surface conditions and sea ice cover using modern analogue techniques. Holocene sequences have been recovered in a down-slope core (B15: 2135 m, 75°44'N, sedimentation rate of ~1cm kyr-¹) and in a shelf core (P1: 201 m, 73°41'N, sedimentation rate of ~22 cm kyr^-1). The shelf record spanning about 8000 years suggests high-frequency centennial oscillations of sea surface conditions and a significant reduction of the sea ice at circa 6000 and 2500 calendar (cal) …

Do Viruses Affect Fecundity And Survival Of The Copepod Acartia Tonsa Dana?, Lisa A. Drake, Fred C. Dobbs

OES Faculty Publications

Naturally occurring viruses are extremely abundant in aquatic systems, and they infect bacteria, cyanobacteria, prokaryotic and eukaryotic phytoplankton, heterotrophic nanoflagellates, fish and mammals. Viral infections of single-celled organisms have been studied intensively in the past decade, but little is known about the effects of viruses on aquatic metazoans, other than for some economically important species. Because zooplankton assemblages are often dominated in number and biomass by copepods, we used them as model organisms to study the effects of naturally occurring viruses on higher trophic levels. We attempted to induce viral infection in laboratory-reared cultures of the estuarine copepod Acartia tonsa …

Ridding Ships' Ballast Water Of Microorganisms, Fred C. Dobbs, Andrew Rogerson

OES Faculty Publications

( First paragraph) A complex assemblage of microorganisms exists in nearly every aquatic system on earth. In lakes and oceans, every milliliter of water contains about 10² protists (single-celled eukaryotes), 10⁶ bacteria, and 10⁷–10⁹ viruses. Therefore, billions of microorganisms inevitably enter ships’ ballast tanks during normal operations. It has been argued that microorganisms must certainly be frequent invaders of coastal ecosystems, given the high densities of bacteria and viruses in ballast water—10⁸ and 10⁹ organisms per liter, respectively (1)—their potentially high reproductive rates, broad tolerances to physical conditions, and ability to form resting …

Development Of A Porous Silicon Flow-Through Field Effect Sensing System For Chemical And Biological Detection, Jeffrey Clarkson

Theses

With an increasing need for homeland security, and breakthrough advancements in sensing applications, the demand for highly sensitive, compact, biological and chemical sensing devices is evident. Macroporous silicon (MPS) is an ideal material for meeting these demands because it exhibits a large degree of internal surface area and is fully compatible with silicon technologies. Since the surface is sensitive to charged molecules, localized field effects from analytes interfaced with MPS will cause modulation of a space charge region in the semiconductor. In this work, a porous silicon based sensing system is designed, fabricated, and characterized. The unique properties of porous …

The Effect Of Growth Rate, Phosphorus Concentration, And Temperature On N-2 Fixation, Carbon Fixation, And Nitrogen Release In Continuous Cultures Of Trichodesmium Ims101, Margaret R. Mulholland, Peter W. Bernhardt

OES Faculty Publications

With the use of continuous culture systems, rates of dinitrogen (N₂) and carbon (C) fixation and nitrogen (N)- and C-based doubling times were assessed in Trichodesmium IMS101 growing exponentially at steady state dilution rates of 0.10, 0.20, and 0.33 d^-1 (doubling times of 10, 5, and 3 d - within the range reported for natural populations). Rates of C fixation, N₂ fixation, and N release were examined in replicate culture systems with several techniques. Biomass-specific C uptake varied little with population doubling time, but N₂ fixation and N release varied markedly among treatments. Total daily …

Hydrographic And Biological Changes In The Taiwan Strait During The 1997-1998 El Niño Winter, S. Shang, C. Zhang, H. Hong, Q. Liu, G. T. F. Wong, C. Hu, B. Huang

OES Faculty Publications

During the 1997–1998 El Niño event, the average sea surface temperature (SST) in the Taiwan Strait (TWS) in the winter was ~1.4°C higher than that of the winter climatological mean. The areal ratio of the warm water (≥2°C above the regional mean) to the cold water (≥2°C below the regional mean) in the TWS increased by 25% while the area of the eutrophic water (chlorophyll a >1 mg m^-3) was halved. Field observations also indicate that the mixed layer in the TWS became more nutrient-poor during this winter. These observations are consistent with a diminished advection of the …

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

No abstract provided.

Social Fields, Belief In Psi, And Their Effects On Mental Telepathy, Brandy Mcwhorter

Masters Theses

The current study was designed to explore two major issues involving the existence of mental telepathy. The first goal was the exploration of the relationship between psi ability, specifically mental telepathy, and belief in psi phenomena. In addition, the value of social field theory as an explanation and potential facilitator of telepathic communication was explored. A small group of research assistants attempted to telepathically send 1 of 4 target locations to large groups of participants acting as receivers. The receivers answered a question on a 7-point-scale indicating their level of belief in mental telepathy. Two separate runs of 16 trials …

Land-Use Changes And Stream Productivity: Effects On Stream Communities And Food-Chain Length, Christopher A. North

Masters Theses

In recent years stream ecologists have come to realize that in order to better understand the processes that occur within streams it is important to incorporate some knowledge of the surrounding landscape into their studies. Previous work on Hurricane Creek indicated that agricultural activities and the proportion of cropland has an impact on stream water chemistry and community metabolism within Hurricane Creek, Illinois. Thus, this study examined stream community composition and food-chain length to ascertain the effects of water quality differences resulting from agricultural land-use practices. The four sites chosen for this study on Hurricane Creek were sampled four times …

Seasonal Movements And Habitat Selection Of Raccoons In A Grassland-Agricultural Landscape, Roberta K. Newbury

Masters Theses

Raccoon (Procyon lotor) populations are very high in Illinois due in part to low pelt value and reduced hunting pressure (Gehrt et al., 2002); furthermore, Illinois' agricultural landscape is conducive to high raccoon densities. Such agricultural areas are known to provide a large, reliable food source for raccoons (Pedlar et al., 1997), and higher predator abundance (e.g. raccoons) at northern latitudes may reflect a greater abundance in cropland (Dijak and Thompson, 2000). Other factors known to increase raccoon numbers are edge effects due to habitat fragmentation and the suppression or eradication of top predators (Soulé et al., 1988; Pedlar et …

Benthic Algal Community Structure And Bioaccumulation Of Mercury In A Coastal Watershed, Lucie Novoveska

Masters Theses

Largemouth bass in the Fish River watershed of coastal Alabama are known to contain relatively high concentrations of mercury (>1 µg g¹). g the source of which is unknown. I used benthic microalgal assemblages in effort to assess spatial distribution of mercury in the Fish River and its tributaries. Artificial substrates were deployed for 3-week exposure periods at 13 sites on 4 separate occasions. When analyzed by cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy. mercury concentrations in periphyton ranged from 0.066 µg g (Pensacola Branch) to 0.493 µg g¹ (Barner Branch). Principal component analysis indicated that physical and chemical environments among …

Resilience Of An Amphibian Community Following The Removal Of Introduced Fish, Leroy J. Walston

Masters Theses

Introduced species have become one of the most important anthropogenic impacts in aquatic ecosystems and are implicated in the declines of many native amphibian populations. Despite the effects of introduced species on amphibian populations, there is little information concerning the responses of amphibians following the removal of introduced fish. I conducted a field experiment to assess the amphibian community-level responses to the removal of introduced fish, and determine the effects of fish removal on smallmouth salamander (Ambystoma texanum) larval dynamics. Species diversity of the amphibian community and smallmouth salamander juvenile recruitment improved following the removal of fish. My results indicate …

The Perceptions Of Muslim International Students On The Roles Of Muslim Women, Kevin Vicker

Masters Theses

The purpose of the present study was to examine perspectives of Muslim international students on the roles of Muslim women based upon the length of the students' exposure to Western societal culture and values. Prior research explored varying Muslim perceptions and beliefs regarding Muslim women, American stereotypes of Muslims and Muslim beliefs, and general problems faced by Muslim international students studying in the United States. No research specifically analyzed Muslim international students' perceptions regarding Muslim women. The present study was conducted using in-depth life history interviews with four devout Muslim international students. The sample included two students from Pakistan, one …

Natal Dispersal Of Beavers In The Embarras River Watershed In Central Illinois, Erin A. Cleere

Masters Theses

Dispersal is an important mechanism influencing the dynamics, genetics, spatial distribution and size of wildlife populations (Gese and Mech 1991). Natal dispersal may afford individuals breeding opportunities and access to resources, while reducing inbreeding and competition with family members. However, dispersal also can be risky if mortality rates are high or if mates or suitable habitat are unavailable. When dispersal costs are high, subadults may be better off remaining in their natal territory.

Although a number of previous studies have investigated natal dispersal in beavers (Castor canadensis), conclusions regarding the percentage of subadults that disperse, timing of dispersal, evidence of …

Size And Reproductive Activity Of A Geographically-Isolated Population Of Ambystoma Jeffersonianum In East-Central Illinois, Sarabeth Klueh

Masters Theses

When utilizing small isolated wetlands, amphibian populations are often small in size, susceptible to stochastic extinction processes, and have little to no contact with other populations. The persistence of such populations can be ascertained only by obtaining data that allow the prediction of the population’s growth, trajectory, and propensity to achieve a sustainable size. The success of a salamander population can be determined by the number of metamorphosing larvae leaving a pond, and thus, the number recruited into the terrestrial adult population. The Jefferson salamander, Ambystoma jeffersonianum, is a state-threatened species, occurring at fewer than 15 ponds within Illinois. In …