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2015

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Characteristics And Accessibility Of Loaner Programs Used By Missouri String Teachers, Juliana Marie Georgiades Jan 2015

Characteristics And Accessibility Of Loaner Programs Used By Missouri String Teachers, Juliana Marie Georgiades

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purposes of my study were (a) to describe string instrument loaner programs and associated administrative practices in socioeconomically diverse schools and (b) to analyze the accessibility of string education with respect to school size and socioeconomic status. The research involved the responses to an electronic survey completed by 42 Missouri K-12 string teachers who taught at 119 schools spanning 20 school districts. Findings suggest that lower income schools were more likely to have students using school-owned instruments as their only instrument, more likely to not use loaner instruments that were shared between schools, and more likely to lack the …

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Bodies Bending Boundaries: Religious, Spiritual, And Secular Identities Of Modern Postural Yoga In The Ozarks, Kimberley J. Pingatore Jan 2015

Bodies Bending Boundaries: Religious, Spiritual, And Secular Identities Of Modern Postural Yoga In The Ozarks, Kimberley J. Pingatore

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Modern postural yoga is an amalgamation of practices that continues to defy traditional explanatory models that understand religious, spiritual, and secular to be mutually exclusive categories. In this project, I conduct in-depth interviews with yoga instructors in the Ozarks. In these interviews, I asked my informants to explain how they understand religious, spiritual, and secular. I then asked if and how they would use those words to describe yoga. These interviews revealed that religious, spiritual, and secular are not mutually exclusive, but are instead related, blended, and connected, especially when used to describe yoga. These findings inform my proposed explanatory …

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How To Attain Sustainable Education In Sierra Leone: A Policy Design For Sanda Tendaren Chiefdom, Ahmed Lamin Sheriff Jan 2015

How To Attain Sustainable Education In Sierra Leone: A Policy Design For Sanda Tendaren Chiefdom, Ahmed Lamin Sheriff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Socioeconomic inequalities affect the access to affordable and sustainable education in Sierra Leone: Sanda Tendaren Chiefdom. Education is a crucial part of the chiefdom's development. It has a direct affect on the living standards of the citizens of the chiefdom and a subpar system can negatively impact Chiefdom's economic development and stunt societal participation in political discourse. If access to affordability and sustainability of education are addressed seriously, the short and long-term impact for Sanda Tendaren chiefdom will be tremendous and lasting. Chiefdom villagers will have access to improved school buildings closer to their homes and education will be affordable …

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To Fidget Or Not To Fidget: The Effect Of Movement On Cognition, Kelsey Diane Grodner Jan 2015

To Fidget Or Not To Fidget: The Effect Of Movement On Cognition, Kelsey Diane Grodner

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research suggests that there is controversy regarding the effects of fidgeting. On one hand, fidgeting has been associated with inattention. On the other hand, the act of suppressing movement may have extensive costs to cognitive abilities. Thus, allowing fidgeting might be beneficial for attention. However certain fidgeting behaviors, such as large body movements, might be disruptive in certain situations, like a classroom or an office meeting. Fidget toys have been developed that allow for smaller fidgeting movements that are non-disruptive. Most previous studies have been conducted in an elementary school classroom and have used primarily observational data. Here we …

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Closing Time And Cheerleader Effects Are Moderated By Target Value, Jackie R. Mcdowell Jan 2015

Closing Time And Cheerleader Effects Are Moderated By Target Value, Jackie R. Mcdowell

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research on factors influencing evaluations of mate value has revealed seemingly contradictory results. Specifically, the Closing Time Effect predicts that individuals will be viewed as more attractive when there are fewer individuals to choose from, while the Cheerleader Effect predicts that individuals will be viewed as more attractive when they are in the presence of others. The current study evaluates the influence of baseline measures of attractiveness on each of these effects. Results indicate that low value individuals may be more subject to Closing Time Effects, while high value individuals benefit from the Cheerleader Effect. The influence of mating …

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Role Of Student Entitlement And Co-Production On Satisfaction, Deborah Jean Sisson Jan 2015

Role Of Student Entitlement And Co-Production On Satisfaction, Deborah Jean Sisson

HCBE Theses and Dissertations

The marketing of services has challenges uncommon to that of marketing products. By nature service offerings are intangible, heterogeneous, perishable, and simultaneously consumed and produced. This simultaneous consumption and production often requires the consumer to participate in the service delivery – co-production. Colleges and universities offer a service which requires high levels of co-production by students and is the setting for this research. As colleges/universities face greater challenges at this time, there is a need for better understanding of the role the student plays in the production process. The service marketing literature offers an understanding of the importance of the …

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Can Social Stories Lead To An Improved Theory Of Mind Amongst Individuals With Autism?, Margaret Rose Lorenzetti Jan 2015

Can Social Stories Lead To An Improved Theory Of Mind Amongst Individuals With Autism?, Margaret Rose Lorenzetti

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated whether Social Stories used in conjunction with perspective- taking questions would lead to an improved Theory of Mind (ToM) in three participants diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We assessed participants’ perspective taking in a baseline condition, implemented a Social Story condition, and tested participants’ perspective taking again in a post-intervention condition. ToM was assessed using two variations of the false belief measures, namely the change-location and unexpected-contents paradigms. Each Social Story included three perspective-taking questions that required participants to infer a character’s emotion or perspective. Results indicated that participants’ percentage scores of correct responses increased markedly …

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Conductive Patterns By Spray Pyrolysis Of A Self-Reducing Copper-Amine Complex Ink, Phenfar Benjapongvimon Jan 2015

Conductive Patterns By Spray Pyrolysis Of A Self-Reducing Copper-Amine Complex Ink, Phenfar Benjapongvimon

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

A conductive pattern prepared by spray pyrolysis of copper-amine complex ink on glass and polyimide (PI) substrates in nitrogen atmosphere. The complex ink was prepared by mixing copper (II) formate, diethanolamine, 25% ammnonia solution and distilled water. The effects of concentration of copper ion, spray pyrolysis temperature, annealing time, type of substrate, rate of deposition and benzimidazole coating were investigated. Concentration of copper ion affected size of copper particles generated. The patterns fabricated at 200 OC had higher packing density than those fabricated at lower temperature. The rate of deposition determined the thickness of well-sintered layer. Therefore, volume resistivity of …

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A Study Of Uplift Capacity Of Pipeline In Soils, Khamnoy Kounlavong Jan 2015

A Study Of Uplift Capacity Of Pipeline In Soils, Khamnoy Kounlavong

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This thesis aims to analyze the uplift capacity of a burial pipeline in two types of soil namely cohesionless soils and cohesive-frictional soils. Finite element analysis with two dimensional plain strain condition were employed to model and determine the limit load of this problem. Cohesionless and cohesive-frictional soils were model as Mohr-coulomb materials in the drained condition while a pipeline was modeled as plate element with an elastic material with high axial and bending stiffness to ensure its rigid behavior. Parametric studies of cohesionless soils and cohesive-frictional soils were performed to study effects of dimensionless variables, including 1) embedment depth …

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Numerical And Experimental Studies Of Undercut Slopesinclined Along A Bedding Plane, Rithy Ouch Jan 2015

Numerical And Experimental Studies Of Undercut Slopesinclined Along A Bedding Plane, Rithy Ouch

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Slope failures along a bedding plane were critical issues and mostly happened in an open pit mining project such as the Mae Moh Mine, Thailand. The prediction of maximum width to which the slope remains stable after an excavation process is required. The aim of this research is to investigate the stability and failure mechanisms of undercut slopes with and without shear pins resting on a bedding plane by means of physical and numerical models. Physical models of slip tests and undercut slopes were made of the humid silica sand No. 6 with 10% of water content and rested on …

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นวัตกรรมแอปพลิเคชันเพื่อช่วยการฟื้นฟูจิตใจของตนเองสำหรับผู้ที่ผิดหวังจากความรัก, สาหร่าย เพชรอักษร Jan 2015

นวัตกรรมแอปพลิเคชันเพื่อช่วยการฟื้นฟูจิตใจของตนเองสำหรับผู้ที่ผิดหวังจากความรัก, สาหร่าย เพชรอักษร

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยนี้เป็นการศึกษาวิจัยเกี่ยวกับการพัฒนานวัตกรรมแอปพลิเคชันBrighter Daysเพื่อช่วยการฟื้นฟูจิตใจของตนเองสำหรับผู้ที่ผิดหวังจากความรัก โดยนำเอาความรู้ทางด้านจิตวิทยามาประยุกต์กับวิทยาศาสตร์ในด้านของเทคโนโลยี เพื่อที่จะพัฒนาเครื่องมือแอปพลิเคชันที่ช่วยเหลือจิตใจซึ่งสามารถทำได้ด้วยตนเอง โดยมีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาความต้องการของผู้ที่ผิดหวังจากความรักในการใช้งาน ศึกษาการยอมรับเทคโนโลยีและวัดความพึงพอใจในนวัตกรรมแอปพลิเคชัน Brighter Days เพื่อช่วยการฟื้นฟูจิตใจของตนเองสำหรับผู้ที่ผิดหวังจากความรัก อีกทั้งยังวางแผนนำนวัตกรรมสู่เชิงพาณิชย์ โดยกลุ่มตัวอย่างในงานวิจัย เป็นชายและหญิงที่มีประสบการณ์การผิดหวังจากความรักจำนวน 436 คน อายุ 18 – 29 ปี และมีขั้นตอนการวิจัยแบ่งเป็น 3 ระยะและมีผลการวิจัยดังนี้ การวิจัยระยะที่ 1 เป็นการศึกษาจากผู้ที่ผิดหวังจากความรักจำนวน 400 คน พบว่า กลุ่มตัวอย่างร้อยละ 38.25 ต้องการใช้แอปพลิเคชันเพื่อช่วยการฟื้นฟูจิตใจของตนเองสำหรับผู้ที่ผิดหวังจากความรัก โดยกลุ่มตัวอย่างต้องการให้แอปพลิเคชันมีคุณลักษณะหลากหลายรูปแบบ ต่อมาการวิจัยระยะที่ 2 พัฒนาแอปพลิเคชัน Brighter Days เพื่อฟื้นฟูจิตใจตนเองสำหรับผู้ที่ผิดหวังจากความรัก โดยให้มีลักษณะตรงตามความต้องการของกลุ่มตัวอย่าง และการวิจัยระยะที่ 3 ศึกษาจากผู้ที่ผิดหวังจากความรักจำนวน 36 คน ที่ได้ทดลองใช้แอปพลิเคชัน Brighter Days เพื่อศึกษาการยอมรับนวัตกรรมแอปพลิเคชันและการนำนวัตกรรมออกสู่เชิงพาณิชย์ และเพื่อศึกษาความพึงพอใจของผู้ใช้ผลการวิจัยพบว่า ผู้ใช้มีความพึงพอใจโดยรวมอยู่ในระดับพึงพอใจมาก และการยอมรับเทคโนโลยีก็อยู่ในระดับการยอมรับที่มากเช่นกัน นอกจากนี้ ผู้วิจัยยังได้เสนอแผนการตลาดในการนำนวัตกรรมนวัตกรรมแอปพลิเคชัน Brighter Days ออกสู่การใช้งานในเชิงพาณิชย์ พร้อมทั้งเสนอการวางแผนงบการเงินสำหรับการลงทุน ซึ่งสามารถคืนทุนได้ภายใน 1 ปี

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Prospects For Detection Of Extragalactic Stellar Black Hole Binaries In The Nearby Universe, Matthew Benacquista, Jesus Hinojosa, Alberto Mata, Krzysztof Belczynski Jan 2015

Prospects For Detection Of Extragalactic Stellar Black Hole Binaries In The Nearby Universe, Matthew Benacquista, Jesus Hinojosa, Alberto Mata, Krzysztof Belczynski

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Stellar mass black hole binaries have individual masses between 10-80 solar masses. These systems may emit gravitational waves at frequencies detectable at Megaparsec distances by space-based gravitational wave observatories. In a previous study, we determined the selection effects of observing these systems with detectors similar to the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna by using a generated population of binary black holes that covered a reasonable parameter space and calculating their signal-to-noise ratio. We further our study by populating the galaxies in our nearby (less than 30 Mpc) universe with binary black hole systems drawn from a distribution found in the Synthetic …

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Detection Of Temporal Changes In Vegetative Cover On South Padre Island, Texas Using Image Classifications Derived From Aerial Color-Infrared Photographs, Ruben A. Mazariegos, Kenneth R. Summy, Frank W. Judd, Robert I. Lonard, James H. Everitt Jan 2015

Detection Of Temporal Changes In Vegetative Cover On South Padre Island, Texas Using Image Classifications Derived From Aerial Color-Infrared Photographs, Ruben A. Mazariegos, Kenneth R. Summy, Frank W. Judd, Robert I. Lonard, James H. Everitt

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Supervised image classifications developed from 23 x 23 cm aerial color-infrared aerial photographs (1:5,000 scale) were used to evaluate temporal changes in vegetative cover occurring within three 150 x 300-m research sites on South Padre Island, Texas. Use of high-resolution digitized imagery (ground pixel resolution of ca. 0.1 m) and survey-grade GPS for positional measurements of ground control points (20-25 1.0m2 targets within each research site) resulted in consistently high levels of geometric accuracy, with root mean square errors (RMSEs) ranging between 0.397 – 2.867. Similarly, use of relatively simple information categories (dry and wet sand, live and dead vegetative …

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One-Dimensional Triple Periodic Dual-Beam Microstrip Leaky-Wave Antenna, Zi Long Ma, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang Jan 2015

One-Dimensional Triple Periodic Dual-Beam Microstrip Leaky-Wave Antenna, Zi Long Ma, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this letter, a novel dual-beam microstrip leaky-wave antenna based on one-dimensional triple periodic (TP) structure is proposed. Through theoretical dispersion relation analysis, it is found that compared to the conventional periodic structure, TP structure has reduced the separation of space harmonics. Hence, more space harmonic modes are brought into the leaky-wave radiation region. Through proper design, m = - 1 and m = - 2 modes are excited simultaneously. Consequently, the forward and backward propagation waves of these two modes generate two radiation beams in the far-field region. At different frequencies, symmetrical and asymmetrical beam pairs are realized. It …

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Pausing At The Threshold, Patrick K. Morgan Jan 2015

Pausing At The Threshold, Patrick K. Morgan

Faculty Publications

Threshold concepts are increasingly inescapable at library conferences and in general information literacy discourse, and this visibility will likely only increase as they figure so prominently in the Association of College and Research Libraries inchoate Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Nevertheless, very little has been done to critically consider the wider intellectual ramifications of certain assumptions fundamental to their manifestation in library/information literacy instruction. This paper is an initial attempt to promote such discussions.

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The Mass Profile And Shape Of Bars In The Spitzer Survey Of Stellar Structure In Galaxies (S4g) : Search For An Age Indicator For Bars., Taehyun Kim, Kartik Sheth, Dimitri A. Gadotti, Myung Gyoon Lee, Dennis Zaritsky, Bruce G. Elmegreen, E. Athanassoula, Albert Bosma, Benne W. Holwerda, Luis C. Ho, Sebastien Comeron, Johan H. Knapen, Joannah Hinz, Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, Santiago Erroz-Ferrer, Ronald J. Buta, Minjin Kim, Eija Laurikainen, Heikki Salo, Barry F. Madore, Jarkko Laine, Karin Menendez-Delmestre, Michael Regan, Bonita De Swardt, Armando Gil De Paz, Mark Seibert, Trisha Mizusawa Jan 2015

The Mass Profile And Shape Of Bars In The Spitzer Survey Of Stellar Structure In Galaxies (S4g) : Search For An Age Indicator For Bars., Taehyun Kim, Kartik Sheth, Dimitri A. Gadotti, Myung Gyoon Lee, Dennis Zaritsky, Bruce G. Elmegreen, E. Athanassoula, Albert Bosma, Benne W. Holwerda, Luis C. Ho, Sebastien Comeron, Johan H. Knapen, Joannah Hinz, Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, Santiago Erroz-Ferrer, Ronald J. Buta, Minjin Kim, Eija Laurikainen, Heikki Salo, Barry F. Madore, Jarkko Laine, Karin Menendez-Delmestre, Michael Regan, Bonita De Swardt, Armando Gil De Paz, Mark Seibert, Trisha Mizusawa

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We have measured the radial light profiles and global shapes of bars using two-dimensional 3.6μm image decompositions for 144 face-on barred galaxies from the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies. The bar surface brightness profile is correlated with the stellar mass and bulge-to-total (B/T) ratio of their host galaxies. Bars in massive and bulge-dominated galaxies (B/T > 0.2) show a flat profile, while bars in less massive, disk-dominated galaxies (B/T ∼ 0) show an exponential, disk-like profile with a wider spread in the radial profile than in the bulge-dominated galaxies. The global two-dimensional shapes of bars, however, are rectangular/boxy, independent …

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Do Depressive Symptoms Predict The Incidence Of Myocardial Infarction Independent Of Hopelessness?, Patrick Pössel, Amanda M. Mitchell, Kimmo Ronkainen, George A. Kaplan, Jussi Kauhanen, Maarit Valtonen Jan 2015

Do Depressive Symptoms Predict The Incidence Of Myocardial Infarction Independent Of Hopelessness?, Patrick Pössel, Amanda M. Mitchell, Kimmo Ronkainen, George A. Kaplan, Jussi Kauhanen, Maarit Valtonen

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Depression and hopelessness predict myocardial infarction (MI), but it is unclear whether depression and hopelessness are independent predictors of MI incidents. Hopelessness, depression, and MI incidence rate 18 years later were measured in 2005 men. Cox regressions were conducted with hopelessness and depression serving as individual predictors of MI. Another Cox model examined whether the two predictors predict MI when adjusting for each other. Depression and hopelessness predicted MI in independent regressions but when adjusting for each other, hopelessness, but not depression, predicted MI incidents. Thus, these results suggest that depression and hopelessness are not independent predictors of MI.

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Investigation Of Lanthanide-Doped Anatase Tio2 Core-Shell Nanoparticles For Photocatalysis And Gas Sensing, Rezwanur Rahman Jan 2015

Investigation Of Lanthanide-Doped Anatase Tio2 Core-Shell Nanoparticles For Photocatalysis And Gas Sensing, Rezwanur Rahman

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Anatase TiO2 has been shown to be potential applications for photo-remediation of chemical waste as well as for photocatalytic splitting of water. The catalytic properties of TiO2 materials can be modified by doping with lanthanide (Ln) ions. In order to minimize the distortion and/or change of the structure of TiO2 nanoparticles, surface doping of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (~ 14 nm) with several Ln ions (Nd3+, Gd3+, Eu3+, Yb3+) has been successfully made. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman characterization shows that the anatase phase of treated nanoparticles is well preserved. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that the majority of the nanoparticles …

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Vitis Gene Expression Profiling Using Mixed Models, Yin Yin Jan 2015

Vitis Gene Expression Profiling Using Mixed Models, Yin Yin

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze gene expression in grapevine under different treatments using a mixed linear statistical model. The experiment involves two Vitis species (V. vinifera Cabernet sauvignon and V. aestivalis Norton) and applies two different treatments to them (inoculation with Erysiphe necator conidiospores and mock inoculation). There are three biological replicates measured at each of the following six assigned time points: 0, 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 hours. By setting up split-plot model for the data, statistical hypotheses concerning gene expressions, especially gene expressions in terms of treatment effect, are tested. The result of the …

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The Development And Validation Of Implicit Measures Of Emotional Intelligence, Louis Leo Oberdiear Jan 2015

The Development And Validation Of Implicit Measures Of Emotional Intelligence, Louis Leo Oberdiear

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Emotional intelligence (EI) has attracted much attention in the decades since Goleman's (1995) claim that EI is important for success in a wide range of social and professional roles. With this interest has come much debate about whether EI should be defined and measured as a set of abilities or as a set of dispositional self-perceptions. The latter is typically assessed with self-report measures that are susceptible to contamination related to inaccurate self-knowledge and impression management artifacts – problems that may be mitigated by implicit measures. This research used Implicit Association Test (IAT) procedures to develop implicit measures of EI …

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Cascading Effects Of Canopy Opening And Debris Deposition From A Large-Scale Hurricane Experiment In A Tropical Rain Forest, Aaron B. Shiels, Grizelle Gonzalez, D. Jean Lodge, Michael R. Willig, Jess K. Zimmerman Jan 2015

Cascading Effects Of Canopy Opening And Debris Deposition From A Large-Scale Hurricane Experiment In A Tropical Rain Forest, Aaron B. Shiels, Grizelle Gonzalez, D. Jean Lodge, Michael R. Willig, Jess K. Zimmerman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Intense hurricanes disturb many tropical forests, but the key mechanisms driving post-hurricane forest changes are not fully understood. In Puerto Rico, we used a replicated factorial experiment to determine the mechanisms of forest change associated with canopy openness and organic matter (debris) addition. Cascading effects from canopy openness accounted for most of the shifts in the forest biota and biotic processes, which included increased plant recruitment and richness, as well as the decreased abundance and diversity of several animal groups. Canopy opening decreased litterfall and litter moisture, thereby inhibiting lignin-degrading fungi, which slowed decomposition. Debris addition temporarily increased tree basal …

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Ecological Role Of Vertebrate Scavengers, James C. Beasley, Zach H. Olson, Travis L. Devault Jan 2015

Ecological Role Of Vertebrate Scavengers, James C. Beasley, Zach H. Olson, Travis L. Devault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Scavenging, or the consumption of dead animal matter, has been documented for a wide array of vertebrate taxa by naturalists and researchers for centuries. Yet, until recently, the importance of scavenging-derived nutrients to many vertebrate species has been largely unknown (DeVault et a1. 2003; Beasley et al. 2012b; Barton et al. 2013). As a result, the role vertebrate scavenging plays in food-web dynamics relative to that of microbes and invertebrates has been greatly underestimated (Wilson and Wolkovich 2011) and has thus become an important area of research. Indeed, in some ecosystems, vertebrates have been documented to assimilate as much as …

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Sunflower Bird Pests, George M. Linz, James J. Hanzel Jan 2015

Sunflower Bird Pests, George M. Linz, James J. Hanzel

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is annually planted on approximately 26 million hectares in Australia, China, Europe, India, North America, Paldstan, Russia, South America, and Ukraine (National Sunflower Association, 2014). Flocks of granivorous birds, ranging in size from a few to millions, can be found in every sunflower growing region and have been documented to cause serious economic losses (Linz et al., 2011) (Figure 7.1). Avian species that damage sunflower generally belong to the parakeet (Psittacldae), dove (Columbidae), cockatoo (Cacatuidae), sparrow (Passeridae), crow (Corvidae), and blackbird (Icterinae) families (De Grazio, 1989; Linz and Hanzel, 1997; Linz et al., 2011; Rodriquez …

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Boa Constrictor, Are R. Berentsen, Juan G. Garcia-Cancel, Edna M. Diaz-Negron, Oscar A. Diaz-Marrero, Alberto R. Puente-Rolón, Robert N. Reed, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2015

Boa Constrictor, Are R. Berentsen, Juan G. Garcia-Cancel, Edna M. Diaz-Negron, Oscar A. Diaz-Marrero, Alberto R. Puente-Rolón, Robert N. Reed, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

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Evaluating The Reliability Of Field Identification And Morphometric Classifications For Carnivore Scats Confirmed With Genetic Analysis, Robert C. Lonsinger, Eric M. Gese, Lisette P. Waits Jan 2015

Evaluating The Reliability Of Field Identification And Morphometric Classifications For Carnivore Scats Confirmed With Genetic Analysis, Robert C. Lonsinger, Eric M. Gese, Lisette P. Waits

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Scat surveys are commonly used to monitor carnivore populations. Scats of sympatric carnivores can be difficult to differentiate and field-based identification can be misleading. We evaluated the success of field-based species identification for scats of 2 sympatric carnivores—coyotes (Canis latrans) and kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis). We conducted scat surveys in the Great Basin desert of Utah, USA, during the winter and summer of 2013, and we detected 1,680 carnivore scats. We classified scats based on field identification, recorded morphometricmeasurements, and collected fecalDNA samples for molecular species identification. We subsequently evaluated the classification success of field identification …

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To Cross Or Not To Cross: Modeling Wildlife Road Crossings As A Binary Response Variable With Contextual Predictors, Shane R. Siers, Robert N. Reed, Julie A. Savidge Jan 2015

To Cross Or Not To Cross: Modeling Wildlife Road Crossings As A Binary Response Variable With Contextual Predictors, Shane R. Siers, Robert N. Reed, Julie A. Savidge

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Roads are significant barriers to landscape-scale movements of individuals or populations of many wildlife taxa. The decision by an animal near a road to either cross or not cross may be influenced by characteristics of the road, environmental conditions, traits of the individual animal, and other aspects of the context within which the decision is made. We considered such factors in a mixed-effects logistic regression model describing the nightly road crossing probabilities of invasive nocturnal Brown Treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) through short-term radiotracking of 691 snakes within close proximity to 50 road segments across the island of Guam. All …

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Animal Reactions To Oncoming Vehicles: A Conceptual Review, Steven L. Lima, Bradley F. Blackwell, Travis L. Devault, Esteban Fernández-Juricic Jan 2015

Animal Reactions To Oncoming Vehicles: A Conceptual Review, Steven L. Lima, Bradley F. Blackwell, Travis L. Devault, Esteban Fernández-Juricic

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Animal–vehicle collisions (AVCs) are a substantial problem in a human-dominated world, but little is known about what goes wrong, from the animal’s perspective, when a collision occurs with an automobile, boat, or aircraft. Our goal is to provide insight into reactions of animals to oncoming vehicles when collisions might be imminent. Avoiding a collision requires successful vehicle detection, threat assessment, and evasive behaviour; failures can occur at any of these stages. Vehicle detection seems fairly straightforward in many cases, but depends critically on the sensory capabilities of a given species. Sensory mechanisms for detection of collisions (looming detectors) may be …

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The Effect Of Social Context And Social Scale On The Perception Of Relationships In Monk Parakeets, Elizabeth A. Hobson, Darlene J. John, Tiffany L. Mcintosh, Michael L. Avery, Timonthy F. Wright Jan 2015

The Effect Of Social Context And Social Scale On The Perception Of Relationships In Monk Parakeets, Elizabeth A. Hobson, Darlene J. John, Tiffany L. Mcintosh, Michael L. Avery, Timonthy F. Wright

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Social relationships formed within a network of interacting group members can have a profound impact on an individual’s behavior and fitness. However, we have little understanding of how individuals perceive their relationships and how this perception relates to our external measures of interactions. We investigated the perception of affiliative and agonistic relationships at both the dyadic and emergent social levels in two captive groups of monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus, n = 21 and 19) using social network analysis and playback experiments. At the dyadic social scale, individuals directed less aggression towards their strong affiliative partners and more aggression …

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Evaluating Landowner-Based Beaver Relocation As A Tool To Restore Salmon Habitat, V. M. Petro, J. D. Taylor Ii, D. M. Sanchez Jan 2015

Evaluating Landowner-Based Beaver Relocation As A Tool To Restore Salmon Habitat, V. M. Petro, J. D. Taylor Ii, D. M. Sanchez

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Relocating American beavers (Castor canadensis) from unwanted sites to desirable sites (i.e., where damage exceeds stakeholder capacity) has been posited as a method to enhance in-stream habitat for salmonids in the Pacific Northwest region of the US; however, no studies have evaluated this method. From September–December 2011, we trapped and relocated 38 nuisance beavers using guidelines available to Oregon landowners. Release sites were selected from models that identified high values of beaverdamhabitat suitability and where dams would increase intrinsic potential of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Mean distance moved from release sites within 16 weeks post-release was 3.3 …

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Assessment Of Population Structure Of Coyotes In East-Central Alabama Using Microsatellite Dna, Dalinda L. Damm, James B. Armstrong, Wendy M. Arjo, Antoinette J. Piaggio Jan 2015

Assessment Of Population Structure Of Coyotes In East-Central Alabama Using Microsatellite Dna, Dalinda L. Damm, James B. Armstrong, Wendy M. Arjo, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Canis latrans (Coyotes) are a management concern in the southeastern US because of their potential impacts on agriculture, other wildlife species, and human health and safety. This region is part of a recent range expansion by Coyotes, and information about their population structure in the southeastern US is lacking. In this study, we used microsatellite DNA to assess genetic diversity and population structure among Coyotes in east-central Alabama. We detected high genetic diversity (HE = 0.78) and no population structure across the total sampling area. Additionally, we investigated population structure between urban and rural groups. We detected low but …

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