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Island Life And Isolation: The Population Genetics Of Pacific Wrens On The North Pacific Rim, Christin L. Pruett, Angela Ricono, Cory Spern, Kevin Winker

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Conservation of intraspecific variation is a growing focus of conservation biology. Island populations can make up a large portion of the variation of widespread species, as they are often isolated and exhibit differences in phenotype and genetic structure compared with mainland populations. We genotyped 169 Pacific Wrens (Troglodytes pacificus) from 9 locations and 6 subspecies in Alaska, USA, and British Columbia, Canada, to examine the population structure, genetic diversity, and likelihood of genetic rescue of island populations of conservation concern. We found that 25% of genetic variation was partitioned among conservation units delineated by subspecies, suggesting that the present framework …

Climate Change And The Threat Of Novel Marine Predators In Antarctica, Kathryn E. Smith, Richard B. Aronson, Brittan V. Steffel, Margaret O. Amsler, Sven Thatje, Hanumant Pratap Singh, Jeffrey S. Anderson, Cecilia J. Brothers, Alastair Brown, Daniel S. Ellis, J. N. Havenhand, W. R. James, P.-O. Moksnes, A. W. Randolph, T. Sayre-Mccord, J. B. Mcclintock

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Historically low temperatures have severely limited skeleton-breaking predation on the Antarctic shelf, facilitating the evolution of a benthic fauna poorly defended against durophagy. Now, rapid warming of the Southern Ocean is restructuring Antarctic marine ecosystems as conditions become favorable for range expansions. Populations of the lithodid crab Paralomis birsteini currently inhabit some areas of the continental slope off Antarctica. They could potentially expand along the slope and upward to the outer continental shelf, where temperatures are no longer prohibitively low. We identified two sites inhabited by different densities of lithodids in the slope environment along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Analysis …

Repeated Thermal Stress, Shading, And Directional Selection In The Florida Reef Tract, Robert Van Woesik, Kelly R. Mccaffrey

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Over the last three decades reef corals have been subjected to an unprecedented frequency and intensity of thermal-stress events, which have led to extensive coral bleaching, disease, and mortality. Over the next century, the climate is predicted to drive sea-surface temperatures to even higher levels, consequently increasing the risk of mass bleaching and disease outbreaks. Yet, there is considerable temporal and spatial variation in coral bleaching and in disease prevalence. Using data collected from 2,398 sites along the Florida reef tract from 2005 to 2015, this study examined the temporal and spatial patterns of coral bleaching and disease in relation …

Bumper V1.0: A Bayesian User-Friendly Model For Palaeo-Environmental Reconstruction, Philip B. Holden, H. John B. Birks, Stephen J. Brooks, Mark B. Bush, Grace M. Hwang, Frazer Matthews-Bird, Bryan G. Valencia, Robert Van Woeslk

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

We describe the Bayesian user-friendly model for palaeo-environmental reconstruction (BUMPER), a Bayesian transfer function for inferring past climate and other environmental variables from microfossil assemblages. BUMPER is fully self-calibrating, straightforward to apply, and computationally fast, requiring ~2 s to build a 100- taxon model from a 100-site training set on a standard personal computer. We apply the model’s probabilistic framework to generate thousands of artificial training sets under ideal assumptions. We then use these to demonstrate the sensitivity of reconstructions to the characteristics of the training set, considering assemblage richness, taxon tolerances, and the number of training sites. We find …

Boosting The Electrochemical Performance Of Li₁.₂Mn₀.₅₄Ni₀.₁₃Co₀.₁₃O₂ By Atomic Layer-Deposited Ceo₂ Coating, Yan Gao, Rajankumar L. Patel, Kuan-Yu Shen, Xiaofeng Wang, Richard L. Axelbaum, Xinhua Liang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

It has been demonstrated that atomic layer deposition (ALD) provides an initially safeguarding, uniform ultrathin film of controllable thickness for lithium-ion battery electrodes. In this work, CeO₂ thin films were deposited to modify the surface of lithium-rich Li_1.2Mn_0.54Ni_0.13Co_0.13O₂ (LRNMC) particles via ALD. The film thicknesses were measured by transmission electron microscopy. For electrochemical performance, ∼2.5 nm CeO₂ film, deposited by 50 ALD cycles (50Ce), was found to have the optimal thickness. At a 1 C rate and 55°C in a voltage range of 2.0-4.8 V, an initial capacity of …

Glaucous-Winged Gull Predation On Chicken Eggs Treated With A Uv-Blocking Agent, Athena T. Smith

Master's Theses

Egg cannibalism plays a major role in the life histories of Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) breeding at Protection Island, Washington. Gulls, along with other birds, visualize reflected ultraviolet (UV) light and I wondered if reflected UV light plays a role in determining which eggs are selected for cannibalization. Motivated by studies showing that tree-nesting bird eggs coated with a UV-blocking agent were less subject to predation than control eggs, I tested whether ground-nesting Glaucous-winged Gulls would preferentially predate control chicken eggs over those coated with a UV-blocking agent. Early during five mornings I formed artificial nests at randomly-determined …

Theory Of Mind And Negation, Jasmine Buckins

Master's Theses

Problem

There is an extensive amount of research on theory of mind, which is the ability to attribute mental states (e.g., beliefs, intents, desires, knowledge, etc.) to oneself and others and to comprehend that others have beliefs, desires, intentions and perspectives that may be different from one’s own. Some researchers have investigated the potential prerequisites or developmental milestones that may be required in order for a theory of mind to be developed in young children. Some researchers have concluded that certain factors play a role in theory of mind development. These factors include environmental, cognitive and linguistic components. However, in …

Department Of Fisheries Annual Report To Parliament 2016/17, Government Of Western Australia Department Of Fisheries

Department of Fisheries Annual Reports

This annual report provides an overview of the Department and its operations for the financial year ended 30 June 2017. It has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Financial Management Act 2006, the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 and the Public Sector Commission’s Annual reporting framework – 2016/17 reporting year.

The 2015 Capstone Design Survey Results: Current Practices And Changes Over Time, Susannah Howe, Laura Rosenbauer, Sophia Poulos

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Capstone design courses are common in engineering design programs, but they vary substantially across institution and department. The goal of the decennial capstone design survey initiative is to capture data from capstone design courses every ten years to identify current practices and changes over time. In keeping with its predecessor surveys, the 2015 capstone design survey included questions on course logistics, pedagogy, evaluation, faculty, students, projects and teams, expenses and funding, and sponsors. The 2015 survey captured data from 522 respondents at 256 institutions, documenting the variety of implementation strategies for capstone design programs across the U.S. These data include …

Temperature Measurements In A Manufactured Rf Plasma Jet In Various Ar/N$_{2}$ Mixtures, Mohammad Nasir Rostami Ravari, Alireza Ganjovi, Farideh Shojaei, Amir Falahat

Turkish Journal of Physics

In this paper, using the optical emission spectroscopy technique, a comparative study is performed on the argon excitation and nitrogen vibrational temperatures in the plasma discharge medium of a manufactured RF plasma jet. The argon contribution in the Ar/N$_{2}$ mixture is varied from 70% to 98% and the obtained optical emission spectra from argon and molecular nitrogen are analyzed. The highest emission intensities of neutral argon (Ar I) are recorded in the wavelength range of 790-850 nm. It is seen that, at the higher argon percentages in the mixture, the emission intensity from all the formed species in the plasma …

Discovering A Novel Antifungal Target In Downstream Sterol Biosynthesis Using A Squalene Synthase Functional Motif, Kristin Brooke Linscott

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

The sterol biosynthetic pathway is essential for growth of all eukaryotic cells and the main target of antifungal agents. The emergence of resistance to these antifungals in an already ill patient population indicates a need to develop drugs that have a broad spectrum of activity among pathogenic fungi and have minimal patient toxicity. Squalene synthase is the first committed step in the sterol pathway and has been studied intensively for development of antifungal agents. While the overall architecture of this enzyme is identical throughout eukaryotes, it was shown that plant and animal genes cannot complement a squalene synthase knockout mutation …

Investigation Of The Physiological Role Of Rin Gtpase In Cell Death, Axonal Injury, And Inflammation Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Megan Pannell

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a progressive disorder, in which the primary injury results in the initiation of a complex cascade of secondary biochemical and metabolic changes resulting in lasting neurological dysfunction and cognitive impairment. The heterogeneous nature of the disease has complicated the development of pharmacological agents to improve the outcomes of TBI; to date, no therapeutic treatment has been shown to be effective in clinical trials. Treatments targeting multiple secondary outcomes (cell death, axonal degeneration, and inflammation) may provide enhanced therapeutic efficacy following TBI.

Small Ras family GTP-binding proteins govern diverse cellular processes by directing the relay of …

Invasion Dynamics Of The Exotic Liana Euonymus Fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Mazz. (Wintercreeper), Todd J. Rounsaville

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Elevated atmospheric CO₂ has been implicated as a driver of increased liana abundance worldwide. Known as disturbance creators and beneficiaries, lianas possess the potential to significantly influence forest ecosystems. I investigated the early-invasion dynamics of Euonymus fortunei (wintercreeper), an evergreen liana that is invading forests in eastern North America, disrupting native plant communities and ecosystem functions.

Wintercreeper is widely cultivated as an ornamental groundcover, frequently invading natural areas via asexual stem growth. Invasion of remote natural areas is dependent upon seed transport and may occur less frequently. I examined the mechanisms of seed dormancy by conducting a ‘move-along’ experiment …

Genetic Perspectives On Biodiversity In Rocky Mountain Alpine Streams, Scott Hotaling

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

In alpine regions worldwide, climate change is dramatically altering ecosystems, affecting biodiversity across habitats and taxonomic scales. For streams, the associated recession of mountain glaciers and snowfields, paired with altered precipitation regimes, are driving shifts in hydrology, species distributions, and basal resources – often threatening the very existence of some habitats and biota. Globally, alpine streams harbor particularly substantial species and genetic diversity due to significant habitat insularity and environmental heterogeneity: however, anthropogenic warming threatens to homogenize habitats through the reduction of the cryosphere, thereby reducing biodiversity from micro- to macroscopic organisms and genes to communities. Still, alpine stream biodiversity, …

Profiling The Action Of Acetylcholine In The Drosophila Melanogaster Larval Model: Heart, Behavior, And The Development And Maintenance Of Sensorimotor Circuits, Cole A. Malloy

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Understanding the role of various chemical messengers in altering behaviors and physiological processes is a common goal for scientists across multiple disciplines. The main focus of this dissertation is on characterizing the action of an important neurotransmitter, acetylcholine (ACh), modulating larval Drosophila melanogaster neural circuits and heart. In this dissertation, I provide important insights into the mechanisms by which ACh influences the formation and performance of select neural circuits, while also revealing significant details regarding its role in additional physiological functions, including cardiac pace making. In Chapter 1, I provide a general overview of ACh action in mammals and flies …

Mitochondrial And Nuclear Patterns Of Conflict And Concordance At The Gene, Genome, And Behavioral Scales In Desmognathus Salamanders, Justin D. Kratovil

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Advancements in molecular sequencing have revealed unexpected cryptic genetic diversity and contrasting evolutionary histories within genes and between genomes of many organisms; often in disagreement with recognized taxonomy. Incongruent patterns between the mitochondrial and nuclear evolutionary history can have several plausible explanations, but widespread systematic conflict inevitably challenges our conceptions of species boundaries when there is discordance between coevolving and coinherited genomes. It is unknown to what degree mitonuclear conflict drives the process of divergence, or how ubiquitous these patterns are across the tree of life. To understand the evolutionary relevance of intergenomic discordance we must identify the conflicting patterns …

Using Genomics To Understand Population Demographics In The Context Of Amphibian Conservation, Schyler O. Nunziata

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Understanding the demography of species over recent history (e.g., < 100 years) is critical in studies of ecology and evolution, but records of population history are rarely available. Large single nucleotide polymorphism datasets generated with restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq), in combination with demographic inference methods, are improving our ability to gain insights into the population history of both model and non-model species. However, to assess the performance of genetic methods it is important to compare their estimates of population history to known demography, in both simulation and empirical settings. Here, I used a simulation approach to examine the potential for RADseq datasets to accurately estimate effective population size (N_e) in Wright-Fisher populations over the course of stable and declining population trends, and distinguish stable from steadily declining populations over a contemporary time scale (20 generations). Overall, my results reveal that demographic inference using genome-wide data can be successfully applied to estimate N_e, and the detection of population-size declines. Next, I assess these methods in an empirical study from a wetland with 37 years of amphibian mark-recapture data to study the utility of genetically-based demographic inference on salamander species with documented population declines (Ambystoma talpoideum) and …

The Effect Of Cold On The Physiology Of Drosophila Larva Heart And On Synaptic Transmission At Crayfish Neuromuscular Junctions, Yuechen Zhu

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Ectothermic animals are susceptible to temperature changes such as cold shock with seasons. To survive through a cold shock, ectotherms have developed unique strategies. My interest is focusing on the physiological function of during cold shock and prolonged cold exposure in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). I used Drosophila melanogaster as a model system to investigate cardiac function in response to modulators (serotonin, acetylcholine, octopamine, dopamine and a cocktail of modulators) in acute cold shock and chronic cold shock conditions as possible mechanism to regulate heart rate in the cold. To examine if the dampened heart …

Genomic Perspectives On Amphibian Evolution Across Multiple Phylogenetic Scales, Paul Michael Hime

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Genomes provide windows into the evolutionary histories of species. The recent accessibility of genome-scale data in non-model organisms and the proliferation of powerful statistical models are now providing unprecedented opportunities to uncover evolutionary relationships and to test hypotheses about the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity. This dissertation work reveals shallow-scale species boundaries and population genetic structure in two imperiled groups of salamanders and demonstrates that the number and information content of genomic regions used in species delimitation exert strong effects on the resulting inferences. Genome scans are employed to test hypotheses about the mechanisms of genetic sex determination in …

Oceans In Peril: Grand Challenges In Applied Water Quality Research For The 21st Century, Alexandria B. Boehm, Niveen S. Ismail, Lauren M. Sassoubre, Elizabeth A. Andruszkiewicz

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Oceans cover most of the planet and 60% of the world's population lives near the coast. Anthropogenic activities along coastlines and in the open ocean have placed the oceans in peril. According to a Pew Oceans Commission Report, among the greatest threats to the ocean are land-based runoff from coastal development, nutrient pollution, overfishing, and invasive species. Here, we describe threats due to microbial, nutrient, chemical, and plastic pollution in addition to declining biodiversity and describe fundamental and applied research needed to mitigate the threats. While the research needs are diverse, we identify several research foci that transcend individual threats: …

Multivoiced Authors, Lior Zemer

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

From many sources we have inherited a rich panoply of images about the "good author." The prevalent image of the good author as a unique individual who deserves a right in the works he creates and recognition for his contribution to the common stock of knowledge, occupies contemporary legal scholarship on copyright. Scholars argue that the law privileges owners with entitlements incompatible with the social nature of the creative act, and in this way disturbs the expectation that copyright law will "promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts." In their arguments they claim that authorship is less an …

Using Pre-Lecture Activities To Enhance Learner Engagement In A Large Group Setting, Gemma Kinsella, C. Mahon, S. Lillis

Journal Articles

The disadvantage to students of beginning a module with no prior knowledge or inaccurate knowledge is well documented. For learners, the development of the necessary prior knowledge to facilitate their learning is essential. The use of screencasts, whether prior to or during class, is becoming more widespread. There is a need, however, to better understand how these are used and whether or not there is any impact on overall learner engagement and academic achievement when a component with instantaneous feedback (such as a multiple choice quiz) is embedded into the pre-lecture screencast activity. In this study, pre-learning activities consisting of …

All My (Almost) Children: Rawlings's Ambivalence About Motherhood And Adoption, Lisa Kerr Dunn

The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Journal of Florida Literature

No abstract provided.

Vol Xxv (2017)

The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Journal of Florida Literature

No abstract provided.

Gradient Coverslip (Gcvsl) : A Novel Way To Culture Cells Under Hypoxia, Brenda Smith Wright

Dissertations

Solid tumors can have areas of hypoxia. Hypoxia is associated with changes in tumor cell metabolism, with radiation therapy resistance, with chemotherapy resistance, and with tumor aggressiveness. Yet most cell culture research and drug studies are based on cell lines grown in atmospheric oxygen (normoxia). Our hypothesis was that differences in protein levels, differences in mitochondrial morphology, and differences in killing of cells by drug compounds in normoxic and hypoxic conditions would be observed. Normoxic conditions were achieved by culturing cell lines in humidified incubators supplemented with 5% CO2. Hypoxic conditions were achieved by culturing cells in a culture chamber, …

The Influence Of Pre-Professional Curricula On Components Of The Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument, Molly Goldwasser, Kyle Covington

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate any association between pre-enrollment curricula and clinical performance in physical therapy professional schools. Specifically, does the type of undergraduate institution (as defined by Carnegie classification type) influence performance on components of the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument? Methods: The study methods include a retrospective quantitative review of student educational records from the Duke Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) classes of 2013 to present. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to determine significance of the dependent variables. Results: Results indicated that when the Carnegie Classifications were consolidated to five categories, there was …

Family Law And Female Empowerment, Andrea B. Carroll

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

"I Am The Master": Some Popular Culture Images Of Ai In Humanity's Courtroom, Christine Corcos

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Using Exogenous Hormone Application To Suppress Axillary Shoot Development In Tobacco, W. Jesse Carmack

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

The variability in the number of basal axillary shoots (ground suckers) among all tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) varieties, has increased since the hydroponic transplant production system became the standard. The larger root ball of hydroponically produced transplants compared to traditionally produced transplants potentially generates a difference in the ratio of auxin (inhibits axillary shoot formation) to cytokinin (promotes lateral branching), that induces basal axillary shoot development. Starting in 2014, studies were conducted to investigate whether the addition of synthetic auxins or cytokinins to hydroponic transplant production could prevent ground sucker formation. Different tobacco cultivars, with high or low ground sucker …

Testing Cross-Sectional And Prospective Mediators Of Internalized Heterosexism On Heavy Drinking, Alcohol Problems, And Psychological Distress Among Heavy Drinking Men Who Have Sex With Men, Alexis Kuerbis, Ethan Mereish, Marie Hayes, Christine Davis, Sijing Shao, Jon Morgenstern

Publications and Research

Objective: Minority stress theory is often used as a causal explanation for substance use among lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations. This study tested whether drinking to cope with stress (DTC), loneliness, and gay community participation (GCP) mediated the relationship between one type of minority stress (i.e., internalized heterosexism, IH) and behavioral health outcomes. Method: Utilizing secondary data analysis and the PROCESS procedure, relationships between IH, the mediators (DTC, loneliness, and GCP), and outcomes (heavy drinking, alcohol problems, and psychological distress) were explored, both cross-sectionally and in a lagged manner, among both treatment seeking and non-treatment seeking problem drinking men who …