Red Rock Desert Learning Center: Evaluation Of Curriculum: Final Report, Lori Olafson, Gregory Schraw

Reports (RRLC)

The UNLV Center for Evaluation and Assessment developed an assessment instrument to evaluate curriculum for the proposed Red Rock Desert Learning Center science school’s fifth grade program. A 25-item Likert-type scale was created and administered before and after 68 pre-service and in-service teachers participated in each of five curriculum pilot sessions. The survey consisted of questions related to knowledge, pedagogy, and attitudes. Two open-ended questions were included on the post-survey.

Findings revealed significant gains in knowledge, pedagogy, and attitudes in each of five events from pre- to post-test. Gains over time were greatest for knowledge. Some events were rated more …

Eastern Washington University Commencement Program, 2006, Eastern Washington University

Commencement Programs

Program for Eastern Washington University's spring commencement in 2006

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Science, June 9, 2006, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Utah State University requests approval to offer a Master of Science Degree in Applied Environmental Geoscience in the Department of Geology effective Fall Semester 2006.

Educational Policies Committee Program Proposal, College Of Humanities And Social Sciences, June 9, 2006, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Utah State University requests approval to offer a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Communication and Journalism through the Department of Agricultural Systems Technology and Education effective Fall 2006.

Cold Event In The South Atlantic Bight During Summer Of 2003: Anomalous Hydrographic And Atmospheric Conditions, Alfredo Aretxabaleta, James R. Nelson, Jack O. Blanton, Harvey E. Seim, Francisco E. Werner, John M. Bane, Robert H. Weisberg

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Unusually cold seawater temperatures were observed along much of the U.S. eastern seaboard during the summer of 2003. In this study, hydrographic and atmospheric observations from spring through summer were analyzed to track the evolution of the cold water event in the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) and investigate links to various forcing mechanisms. The hydrographic observations included 13 cross‐shelf transects over the central region of the SAB, surface temperature time series from several NDBC stations, and bottom temperatures from a mid shelf mooring. Atmospheric data were obtained from NDBC stations. Additional data included water level from NOS stations and river …

Contract And Grant Awards Fiscal Year 2006, Office Of The Vice President For Research

Office of the Vice President for Research

I invite you to read this report Contract & Grant Awards, fiscal year 2006, which lists contract and grant (C&G) awards received by the University of New Mexico (UNM) during the period from July 1, 2005 - June 30, 2006 (FY06). These awards represent new funds that were acquired during FY06 by the main campus, branch campuses and education centers, and the Health Sciences Center (HSC). The HSC includes the School of Medicine, College of Nursing, and College of Pharmacy. The awards received for FY06 total $298.6M, of which $165.4M is attributed to the main campus and $133.2M to HSC. …

Dataset Analysis And Management For Use In An Ecological Analysis On Exposures To Heavy Metal Contaminated Air And Disease Rates Of Autism In The United States, David Dayya

UCHC Graduate School Masters Theses 2003 - 2010

No abstract provided.

Predictors Of Utilization Of Psychiatric Emergency Services, George Varai

UCHC Graduate School Masters Theses 2003 - 2010

No abstract provided.

Monthly Accomplishments For Turnbull National Refuge, June 2006, Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge Reports

A monthly report of accomplishments at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge written by Project Leader Nancy Curry.

Nesting Behavior In The Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus Mocinno: Trogonidae), June 2006, Amber Carr

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

The Resplendent Quetzal (Trogonidae) lives in the cloud forests of Central America. In Costa Rica, nest boxes have been placed in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve to increase the population sizes of these birds, which are listed as near threatened by C.I.T.E.S. Cameras placed inside the boxes from 2000 to 2003 as web cams and captured stills inside the nests. I used these four years of captured images and made external observations of two nests to study if there were differences in parental investment for incubation and rearing. I found evidence that 1. During incubation the female spent more total …

Social Network Destruction And Effective Practices For The Recovery Of Social Capital Assets, R. Drew Sellers

Student Scholarship

The workplace is ripe for establishing and growing professionally useful social networks. Social networks evolve as organizations change and individuals come and go. But, what happens when an organization destructs? Does the collapse of the organization which gave rise to the formation of these relationships claim the social networks as collateral damage? Or, do portions of social networks persist, expand to incorporate new members, and influence post collapse outcomes? This paper provides a set of concepts for understanding the recoverability of an individual’s social capital and social network assets when an organization destructs. It seeks to determine effective practices individuals …

The Effect Of Temperature And Humidity On The Bionomics Of Six African Egg Parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), A. Kalyebi, W. A. Overholt, F. Schulthess, J. M. Mueke, S. Sithanantham

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The life table statistics of six native Kenyan species/strains of Trichogramma and Trichogrammatoidea were established using a factitious host Corcyra cephalonica, Stainton (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), at eight different temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25, 28, 30, 32 and 35°C) and two humidity levels (40-50 and 70-80%). The objective was to select insects with superior attributes for augmentative release against lepidopteran pests in horticultural crops. Both temperature and humidity affected developmental time and life table parameters of the parasitoids but temperature played a more critical role. Developmental time was inversely related to temperature. The intrinsic and finite rates of increase increased with temperature …

Education In The Environment: A Hands-On Student Research And Outdoor Learning Experience: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending May 31, 2006, Margaret N. Rees

Reports (PLI Education)

During the past three months, the focus of the university’s efforts has included the following highlights:

• Forever Earth was scheduled for 18 days and benefited more than 400 individuals.
• Curricula for 5th, 6th, and 7th grades were created for the Forever Earth program; pre- and post-trip activities were also written.
• Activities for 5th and 6th grades were field tested on 7 Forever Earth trips.
• A 1000-gallon fuel donation was contributed to the Forever Earth program by Overland Petroleum Company, St. George, Utah.
• The Forever Earth marketing plan was completed.
• 12 Discover Mojave Outdoor World events were conducted for 104 participants; …

Hierarchical Models For Combining Ecological And Case-Control Data, Sebastien Haneuse, Jon Wakefield

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

The ecological study design suffers from a broad range of biases that result from the loss of information regarding the joint distribution of individual-level outcomes, exposures and confounders. The consequent non-identifiability of individual-level models cannot be overcome without additional information; we combine ecological data with a sample of individual-level case-control data. The focus of this paper is hierarchical models to account for between-group heterogeneity. Estimation and inference pose serious compu- tational challenges. We present a Bayesian implementation, based on a data augmentation scheme where the unobserved data are treated as auxiliary variables. The methods are illustrated with a dataset of …

Tamarix Aphylla: A Newly Invasive Tree In Southern Nevada, Lawrence R. Walker, Pamela L. Barnes, Elizabeth A. Powell

Western North American Naturalist

In the southwestern United States, the nonnative athel pine (Tamarix aphylla) was presumed to be sterile and therefore not as likely to spread as its widely distributed, nonnative congener, T. ramosissima. However, at Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA) in southern Nevada, populations of T. aphylla have recently spread beyond their limited pre-1990 distribution and now form extensive monospecific stands. Over a 3-year period, we quantified seed production and germination from 60 T. aphylla trees at LMNRA. The annual mean seed production period was 50.6 days, and the mean potential germination (under laboratory conditions) was 22%, indicating …

The Effect Of Livestock Grazing On The Rainbow Grasshopper: Population Differences And Ecological Correlates, Sandra J. Debano

Western North American Naturalist

This study examined the effect of livestock grazing on a common herbivore in semiarid grasslands of the Southwest: the rainbow grasshopper, Dactylotum variegatum. Population attributes and key environmental variables were compared between sites on active cattle ranches and sites on a 3160-ha ungrazed sanctuary. Although density of D. variegatum nymphs did not differ significantly between grazed and ungrazed sites, adult density was significantly lower on grazed sites, and sex ratios differed between grazed and ungrazed sites over time. Grazed sites had higher percentages of bare ground and fewer Baccharis pteronioides, a common shrub. However, only bare ground was …

Characteristics Of Swift Fox Dens In Northwest Texas, Brady K. Mcgee, Kerry L. Nicholson, Warren B. Ballard, Matthew J. Butler

Western North American Naturalist

The swift fox (Vulpes velox) was classified in 1995 as a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Since then, several studies have addressed survey methods for monitoring swift fox populations. The purpose of this paper is to assist field researchers in documenting the presence of swift foxes by identification of recently active den sites. We propose that swift foxes have unique external den characteristics that can be distinguished during aerial surveys. We collected data from 30 swift fox den complexes on both continuous rangeland and landscapes fragmented by cropland in northwest Texas. There were no differences …

Clay Mineralogy And Soil Formation In Moist Acidic Tundra And Moist Nonacidic Tundra Of Northern Sagwon Hls, Alaska, Patrick William Borden

Plant, Animal and Soil Sciences

Clay mineralogy, physical and chemical characteristics were studied in three sites of moist acidic tundra (MAT) and three sites in moist nonacidic tundra (MNT) in the Northern Sagwon Hills, Alaska. The major similarities found in physical characteristics between MAT and MNT were color, field texture and consistence. Dissimilarities were in the depth, boundary and thickness of the horizons as well as soil structure. The major similarities found in chemical characteristics across MAT and MNT were in % carbon and nitrogen, ammonium phosphorus, iron and aluminum contents. The major dissimilarities were in pH, cation exchange capacity, nitrate and base saturation. Upper …

Disease Mapping And Spatial Regression With Count Data, Jon Wakefield

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

In this paper we provide critical reviews of methods suggested for the analysis of aggregate count data in the context of disease mapping and spatial regression. We introduce a new method for picking prior distributions, and propose a number of refinements of previously-used models. We also consider ecological bias, mutual standardization, and choice of both spatial model and prior specification. We analyze male lip cancer incidence data collected in Scotland over the period 1975–1980, and outline a number of problems with previous analyses of these data. A number of recommendations are provided. In disease mapping studies, hierarchical models can provide …

Evolutionary Epidemiology Of Endemic Gal¿Pagos Birds And Their Parasites, Noah Kerness Whiteman

Dissertations

In order to better understand parasite diversification, I went to the Gal¿pagos Islands to study the ecology and evolution of a model bird-parasite system, which included four phylogenetically independent ectoparasite lineages infecting the Gal¿pagos Hawk (Aves: Buteo galapagoensis). The parasites comprised two lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera), a lousefly (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) and an avian skin mite (Acari: Epidermoptidae). Ultimately, my goal was to examine ectoparasite evolutionary epidemiology and disease susceptibility in relation to the host¿s ecological and colonization history. At the outset, I hypothesized that parasite natural history was key in influencing the coalescent process. Accordingly, I found differences …

Simple Sequence Repeats As Advantageous Mutators In Evolution, Yechezkel Kashi, David G. King

Publications

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) often serve to modify genes with which they are associated. The influence of SSRs on gene regulation, transcription and protein function typically depends on the number of repeats, while mutations that add or subtract repeat units are both frequent and reversible. SSRs thus provide a prolific source of quantitative and qualitative variation. Over the past decade, researchers have found that this spontaneous variation has been tapped by natural and artificial selection to adjust almost every aspect of gene function. These studies support the hypothesis that SSRs, by virtue of their special mutational and functional qualities, have …

The Yucca Mountain Legacy Project, Healing Ourselves And Mother Earth (Home), Jennifer Viereck, John Hadder, George Rice

Healing Ourselves and Mother Earth (HOME)

HOME envisions the Yucca Mountain Legacy Project as a proactive initiative to develop an environmental/health baseline before contamination from the NTS or the proposed Yucca Mountain Repository reaches surrounding communities. Phase I of the project is a stakeholder driven process to assist current residents immediately downstream. Our study will also be important to future generations who will be downgradient of the Pahute Mesa underground nuclear weapons testing area.

This research was completed money allocated during Round 6 of the Citizens’ Monitoring and Technical Assessment Fund (MTA Fund). Clark University was named conservator of these works.

If you have any …

Evolutionary Consequences Of An Introduced Predator: Adaptive Change In Daphnia Melanica In Response To Exotic Salmonids In The Sierra Nevada, Debra L. Fisk

Biology

The introduction of exotic species into a novel habitat, like all drastic environmental alterations, can lead to rapid evolution of both native and exotic species. Few studies have focused on the rapid adaptive evolution of native species to the introduction of a foreign species. Therefore, I wanted to determine if the introduction of exotic size-selective predators (salmonids) to alpine lakes in the Sierra Nevada, CA, has led to an adaptive response in the native prey species, Daphnia melanica. I conducted two common garden experiments with D. melanica from multiple populations, and collected data for morphological and life-history traits. With …

A Survey Of The Bees Of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Southern Utah: Incidence, Abundance, And Community Dynamics, Olivia Messinger

Biology

A survey of the bees of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, southern Utah, was conducted over a period of four years. Six hundred and fifty-six species were discovered within the monument, including numerous range extensions, several new species, and three genera new to the state of Utah. This is the richest bee landscape studied to date; reasons for the high diversity include the large elevation gradient, the richness of flowering plants, many of which are limited in distribution and require specific pollinators, and the many small local populations of species. To test the significance of these features on patterns of bee …

Monthly Accomplishments For Turnbull National Refuge, May 2006, Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge Reports

A monthly report of accomplishments at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge written by Project Leader Nancy Curry.

A Preliminary Benthic Invertebrate Study Of Jun Jaegyu Volcano : An Undersea Volcano In Antarctic Sound, Antarctica, Gina QuiñOnes

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Jun Jaegyu volcano, an Antarctic submarine volcano, was dredged in May 2004 for sediment and marine macroinvertebrates. The objectives of this study were to examine the benthic assemblages and biodiversity present on the newly discovered volcano. The volcano is located on the continental shelf of the northeastern Antarctic Peninsula, where recent changes in surface temperature and ice shelf stability have been observed. This volcano was swath-mapped during cruise 01 -07 of the Research Vessel-Ice Breaker Nathaniel B. Palmer. The volcano was studied using a SCUD video camera and a dredge along the flanks and crest. Results indicate a seafloor surface …

“From Margin To Center”: Processes And Relationships To Participation One Woman’S Ethnographic Journey Mirrored Through Community Research, Melise D. Huggins

Journal of International Women's Studies

In the closing two years of my doctoral degree that spanned ten years of my life, I was asked by a mentor to write a personal essay on my academic experiences at the university. That essay follows and is printed here not without the accompanying editing that marshaled its own questioning, self-reflection and analysis that comes with distance, wisdom, and the editor of a juried journal.

I was concerned to give a revisionist accounting now, another five or six years after the writing of the essay, to explain what my perspective was then as a disaffected African- American ABD (all …

A Framework For Understanding Ecological Traps And An Evaluation Of Existing Evidence, Bruce A. Robertson, Richard L. Hutto

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

When an animal settles preferentially in a habitat within which it does poorly relative to other available habitats, it is said to have been caught in an “ecological trap.” Although the theoretical possibility that animals may be so trapped is widely recognized, the absence of a clear mechanistic understanding of what constitutes a trap means that much of the literature cited as support for the idea may be weak, at best. Here, we develop a conceptual model to explain how an ecological trap might work, outline the specific criteria that are necessary for demonstrating the existence of an ecological trap, …

Phylogenetic Approach To The Study Of Triatomines (Triatominae, Heteroptera) = Abordagem Filogenética Em Triatomíneos (Triatominae, Heteroptera), Ester Tartarotti, Maria Tercília Vilela De Azeredo-Oliveira, Carlos Roberto Ceron

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Triatomines are insects belonging to the Hemiptera order, Heteroptera suborder, Reduviidae family and Triatominae subfamily. All members of this subfamily are hematophagous. Triatomines evolved from Reduviidae predators and they are probably polyphyletic in origin. The combination of anatomical, physiological and ethological factors observed in this group, as well as the plesiomorphic and apomorphic characters that differentiate the five tribes and fourteen triatomine genera reinforce the polyphiletic hypotesis. However if we consider the five groups of triatomines, the Rhodniini, Cavernicolini, Bolboderini, Linshcosteini and Alberproseniini tribes constitute monophyletic groups, while the Triatomini tribe is considered polyphyletic. The New World is the center …

Phylogenetic Approach To The Study Of Triatomines (Triatominae, Heteroptera) = Abordagem Filogenética Em Triatomíneos (Triatominae, Heteroptera), Ester Tartarotti, M. T. V. Azeredo-Oliveira, C. R. Ceron

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Abstracts

Triatomines are insects belonging to the Hemiptera order, Heteroptera suborder, Reduviidae family and Triatominae subfamily. All members of this subfamily are hematophagous. Triatomines evolved from Reduviidae predators and they are probably polyphyletic in origin. The combination of anatomical, physiological and ethological factors observed in this group, as well as the plesiomorphic and apomorphic characters that differentiate the five tribes and fourteen triatomine genera reinforce the polyphiletic hypotesis. However if we consider the five groups of triatomines, the Rhodniini, Cavernicolini, Bolboderini, Linshcosteini and Alberproseniini tribes constitute monophyletic groups, while the Triatomini tribe is considered polyphyletic. The New World is the …