Digital Commons Network^™

A Decade Implementing Ecosystem Approach To Fisheries Management Improves Diversity Of Taxa And Traits Within A Marine Protected Area In The Uk, Bede F.R. Davies, Luke Holmes, Anthony Bicknell, Martin J. Attrill, Emma V. Sheehan

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

AimEcosystem Approach to Fisheries Management has highlighted the importance of studying ecosystem functions and services, and the biological traits that drive them. Yet, ecosystem services and the associated benefits that they provide are rarely the motive for creating marine protected area (MPA). Therefore, many MPA monitoring projects do not explicitly study these functions and services or the underlying biological traits linked to them.LocationLyme Bay MPA, located in the SW of England, was established in 2008 to protect the reef biodiversity across a 206-km2 area, which includes rocky reef habitats, pebbly sand and soft muddy sediments. Mobile demersal fishing was excluded …

Fully Probabilistic Reliability And Resilience Analysis Of Coastal Structures Based On Damage Evolution Simulation, D Malliouri, N Martzikos, V Tsoukala

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

An integrated methodology is presented to ensure coastal structures’ resilience to extreme wave conditions i.e. their ability to withstand further wave actions without reaching their ultimate limit state. Specifically, a fully probabilistic reliability analysis of a rubble mound breakwater is performed here, in combination with a prediction analysis of the expected time of the structure’s maintenance. The methodology combines information on the joint probability density function of significant wave height, spectral peak wave period, and storms’ duration and calculates the probability of occurrence of different levels of damage in the structure’s lifetime via the use of a fully probabilistic reliability …

Cphelps Et Al. Disease, Natural And Aquaria E. Radiata Microbiome Asv (Amplicon Sequence Variant) Table, Charlie M. Phelps

Research Datasets

This ASV table is the raw sequencing abundances for the Chapter 4 dataset with accompanying metadata.

Infant Imitation: Detecting Risk In The First Year With Pediatrac™, Samantha Levick

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Imitation has pervasive associations with social and communicative development. However, few methods have been developed to measure this construct in typically developing infants, and even fewer are available for atypical populations, such as infants born preterm. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a particular risk of premature birth, is associated with atypical imitation and social communication. Although imitation emerges in infancy, most current screening and diagnostic tools for ASD cannot be utilized prior to 12 months. The present study aimed to develop and validate a caregiver-report measure of infant imitation; characterize imitation profiles at 4, 6, and 9 months in term and …

Castor Oil Conversion To Biodiesel: A Process Simulation Study, Islam M. Al-Akraa

Chemical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Valuable Biodiesel Catalyst From Solvay Wastewater, Mai Hassan Roushdy, Rana Adel Bayoumi

Chemical Engineering

Biodiesel is considered a renewable, green fuel as it is derived from renewable living resources like animal fats or vegetable oils. This research is utilized to investigate the possibility of using Solvay wastewater as a source of biodiesel catalyst, which is CaO. CaCl2 from Solvay wastewater reacts with CO2 to produce CaCO3. CaCO3 is then heated to produce pure CaO. Waste cooking oil, wastewater, and CO2, which are considered dangerous materials to the environment, are used to produce valuable products. This research has environmental and economic benefit benefits of using waste materials as a replacement for raw materials. The selected …

Castor Oil Conversion To Biodiesel: A Process Simulation Study, Yaser M. Asal Mr, Islam M. Al-Akraa, Ahmad M. Mohammad, Razan Aymen

Chemical Engineering

The aim of this study is to highlights the importance to shift from the use of traditional fossil fuels to biodiesel as a clean energy source. A simulation study has been conducted using ASPEN HYSIS software for the biodiesel production form castor oil. The simulation was run and the properties of the produced biodiesel were highlighted. The optimum conditions resulted in 88 % conversion.

The Angle Of Attack: Rapping Technique Predicts Skill In Hermit Crab Contests, Sarah M. Lane, Tomas O. Cornwell, Mark Briffa

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Highest Densities Of Mountain Hares ( Lepus Timidus ) Associated With Ecologically Restored Bog But Not Grouse Moorland Management, Carlos P.E. Bedson, Philip M. Wheeler, Neil Reid, Wilson Edwin Harris, David Mallon, Simon Caporn, Richard Preziosi

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Ecological Correlates Of Extinction Risk And Persistence Of Direct-Developing Stream-Dwelling Frogs In Mesoamerica, Hector Zumbado-Ulate, Kelsey Neam, Adrián García-Rodríguez, Leticia Ochoa-Ochoa, Gerardo Chaves, Jonathan E. Kolby, Sofía Granados-Martínez, Andreas Hertz, Federico Bolaños, Daniel Ariano-Sánchez, Robert Puschendorf, Catherine L. Searle

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Synthetic Microplastic Abundance And Composition Along A Longitudinal Gradient Traversing The Subtropical Gyre In The North Atlantic Ocean, Winnie Courtene-Jones, Simon Van Gennip, Juliette Penicaud, Emily Penn, Richard C. Thompson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Plastic pollution has been reported in the North Atlantic Ocean since the 1970s, yet limited data over subsequent decades pose challenges when assessing spatio-temporal trends in relation to global leakages and intervention strategies. This study quantified microplastics within the upper ocean along a longitudinal transect of the North Atlantic and its subtropical gyre. Microplastics were sampled from surface and subsurface (−25 m) water using a manta trawl and NIKSIN bottle respectively. The surface water polymer community varied significantly between geographic positions (‘inshore’, ‘gyre’, ‘open ocean’), and was significantly influenced by fragment quantity. Compared to other positions, the North Atlantic gyre …

Long‐Term Effects Of Artificial Nighttime Lighting And Trophic Complexity On Plant Biomass And Foliar Carbon And Nitrogen In A Grassland Community, Vinka Anic, Kevin J. Gaston, Thomas W. Davies, Jonathan Bennie

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Ocean Connectedness And Consumer Responses To Single-Use Packaging, Sohvi Nuojua, Sabine Pahl, Richard Thompson

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Single-use packaging items constitute a large proportion of the plastic litter found in the marine environment. Consumer decisions contribute to the accumulation of this pollution in the environment. Here we undertook two studies to assess consumer responses to different types of single-use packaging. Moreover, we introduce a new measure of ocean connectedness adapted from nature connectedness measures and investigate its association with consumer response. In Study 1, 60 UK undergraduate students completed a packaging rating task and a survey on ocean connectedness in a laboratory environment. In the rating task pictures of bottled drinks with unique combinations of packaging recyclability …

Pleistocene Depositional Environments And Links To Cryosphere-Ocean Interactions On The Eastern Ross Sea Continental Slope, Antarctica (Iodp Hole U1525a)., Maxine V. King, Jenny A. Gales, Jan Sverre Laberg, Robert M. Mckay, Santis L De, Denise K. Kulhanek, Phil J. Hosegood, Antony Morris

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Bioaccumulation, Release And Genotoxicity Of Stainless Steel Particles In Marine Bivalve Molluscs, Emily L. Vernon, Awadhesh N. Jha, Maria F. Ferreira, Danielle L. Slomberg, Veronique Malard, Christian Grisolia, Mickaël Payet, Andrew Turner

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Biodeterioration And Bioprotection Of Concrete Assets In The Coastal Environment, Jessica R. Bone, Rick Stafford, Alice E. Hall, Roger J.H. Herbert

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The deleterious effects (biodeterioration) and the protective benefits (bioprotection) of biological colonisation on manmade structures have long been debated. Lichens, biofilms, algae, bivalves and gastropods contribute both directly and indirectly to damaging substrata in the coastal zone which can enhance abiotic erosive forces that exploit biologically induced superficial damage. There is mounting evidence that these same species may also provide protective benefits. This debate often impacts approaches to managing fouling on concrete assets in the coastal environment. The net benefit or detriment a species or assemblage has on a structure is spatially and temporally dynamic and subject to the influence …

Quantifying The 3d Structure And Function Of Porosity And Pore Space In Natural Sediment Flocs, Tj Lawrence, Sj Carr, Jat Wheatland, Aj Manning, Kl Spencer

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Purpose Flocculated cohesive suspended sediments (flocs) play an important role in all aquatic environments, facilitating the transport and deposition of sediment and associated contaminants with consequences for aquatic health, material fluxes, and morphological evolution. Accurate modelling of the transport and behaviour of these sediments is critical for a variety of activities including fisheries, aquaculture, shipping, and waste and pollution management and this requires accurate measurement of the physical properties of flocs including porosity. Methods Despite the importance of understanding floc porosity, measurement approaches are indirect or inferential. Here, using μCT, a novel processing and analysis protocol, we directly quantify porosity …

Individual And Collective Behaviour Of Fish Subject To Differing Risk-Level Treatments With A Sympatric Predator, Alexander D.M. Wilson, Timothy M. Schaerf, Ashley J.W. Ward

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The ability to adapt behaviour according to context is vital to the success of many organisms, particularly when it comes to mitigating risk, across time and space, in unpredictable environments. While many studies have examined the role of predation threat in shaping behaviour, very few have quantitatively investigated prey responses across different elements of perceived risk or ecological contexts. Here, we present a detailed analysis of how mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) adapt their individual and collective behaviour in five experimental treatments designed to replicate different core elements of predator threat. As risk increased, within and across treatments, fish decreased movements across …

An Evaluation Of The Seagrass Walk, An Immersive Living Arts Piece Installed At The National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth, Uk. A Report Funded By The Green Minds Project, S Rees, A Morgan, C Parrott

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Improving Adherence Among Hispanic Adults With Type Ii Diabetes: A Culturally Sensitive Self-Management Program, Beatrice Arozarena Murillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Low health literacy can lead to a lack of disease perception or understanding of one’s disease process, treatment plan, and state of health, which could potentially lead to nonadherence, further health disparities, and poor health outcomes (Hugtenburg et al., 2013). The purpose of this project was to evaluate whether an online platform that provides Hispanic patients with evidence based and culturally sensitive diabetic education and support in the form of a video, would improve adherence and health outcomes. Upon the completion of the 3-month program that consisted of bi-weekly check-ins, results showed that there were overall improvements in the participants’ …

The Effects Of Plant-Based Diets On Hypertension, Jennifer Ezavin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

In 2019, the leading cause of death in the United States was cardiac disease associated with high blood pressure. High blood pressure has had profound consequences on people’s lives leading to stroke and even death. As a preventive measure, providers have encouraged lifestyle changes in order to help alleviate the burden of this condition. One of these consist of altering eating habits to a strictly plant-based diet. With the help of Doctor Sarah Long DNP, ten participants suffering from high blood pressure have volunteered to alter their eating habits for four weeks to further demonstrate the efficacy of plant-based diets. …

Community-Based Approach To Promote Heart Healthy Behaviors In Hispanic Women, Yesenia Gonzalez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), quality improvement (QI) project was to increase heart disease risk awareness while implementing healthy lifestyle behaviors in Hispanic women between the ages of 30-65. The literature presents that all women are at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD); with ethnic minorities being disproportionally affected. Following recruitment, participants attended a weekly wellness program guided by the Pasos Adelante curriculum over a 12 week period. Lifestyle behaviors were assessed by using the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II) questionnaire, CV knowledge was assessed with a brief true or false questionnaire, and the Godin-Shephard …

Consequences Of Thermal Plasticity For Hypoxic Performance In Coastal Amphipods, Michael Collins, Manuela Truebano, John I. Spicer

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Regulation Of Gene Expression During Ontogeny Of Physiological Function In The Brackishwater Amphipod Gammarus Chevreuxi, C. Mcandry, M. Collins, O. Tills, J. I. Spicer, M. Truebano

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

Synchronized Seed Germination And Seedling Growth Of Black Cumin, Mohammed Elsayed El-Mahrouk, Mossad Khairy Maamoun, Yaser Hassan Dewir, Antar Nasr El-Banna, Hail Z. Rihan, Ahmed Salamh, Ahmed A. Al-Aizari, Michael P. Fuller

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Black cumin (Nigella sativa) is an important medicinal plant in the pharmacological industry. It is cultivated on a commercial scale, but its seeds have a slow, unsynchronized germination rate. Enhancing seed germination is crucial for improving the production of black cumin. The influence of presowing treatments [gibberellic acid (GA3), potassium nitrate, salicylic acid, and stratification at 4 °C] on seed germination was assessed. Seed germination was determined daily for 30 days, and germination parameters, including final germination percentage (FGP), corrected germination rate, number of days to reach 50% of FGP, and seedling length vigor index, were evaluated. Endogenous contents of …

Developing And Implementing A Community-Based Hospitality Awareness And Training Program In The Green Bay Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Titus Naftanaila

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Most churches in North America usually consider themselves as welcoming and friendly to guests and existing church members. However, they may excel in programs and ministries, but visitors evaluate many as uncaring and cold. During my 25 years of ministry, I personally have pastored three mid-sized Adventist churches where a constant number of guests confirmed the difference of perception. The inhospitality of the church deprives the guests and the new converts of the essential benefits for emotional and spiritual growth with a direct impact on the retention rate.

Method

A community-based hospitality awareness and training program was developed and …

A Strategy To Help Parents Realize And Fulfill Their Role As The Disciple-Makers Of Their Children In The New Eden French Church, Wilfrid Louis Jean

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

The New Eden French Seventh-day Adventist Church in Neptune, New Jersey, has been facing the challenge of any church situated in the metropolitan area. One of most significant responsibilities for any parent is to raise their children according to God's will. New Eden French Church has a large number of children (birth to age eighteen) growing up in the church. Pastoral observation suggests a lack of understanding on the part of parents regarding fulfilling their biblical role as disciple-makers of their children. I noticed a lack parental cleverness and resources indispensable to address their issues. This lack of success …

A Cross-Cultural And Cross-Ethnic Model Of Integrated Ministry To Second-Generation Immigrant Youth In The Seventh-Day Adventist Church In Dublin, Dan-Gheorghe Serb

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Dublin, like most major cities in Western Europe, is a multicultural and multiethnic city. Most members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Dublin are first-generation immigrants who tend to import their native brand of Adventism into Dublin local churches. Moreover, outside the church worship experience, immigrant members are inclined to gravitate toward mono-ethnic and mono-cultural interactions. Their children are the New Irish and are thus better integrated into Irish culture and society. This situation seems to destabilize young people in the church, with many second-generation immigrant Generation Z youth showing disinterest in church life, and some of them leaving …

Irradiance Source For Exoplanet Atmospheric Spectra, Savannah Lyons

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The quantity and diversity of the known exoplanets have grown in recent years. This has brought about a need for more efficient methods of narrowing down the list to those exoplanets most likely to sustain life. The Atmosphere in a Test Tube project, which began at the University of Padova, Italy, is accomplishing this in a laboratory setting through examination of exoplanet atmospheric responses to photosynthetic bacteria under simulations of the irradiance conditions of a planet’s host star. The goal of this project was to design and construct a second-generation apparatus at Eastern Michigan University. The team focused on an …

The Role Of Caregiver-Reported Emerging Social Attention In Predicting Duration Of Orienting And Social Communication, Casey E. Swick

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Early identification of atypical development could lead to opportunities for earlier intervention, ultimately improving developmental outcomes. Early signs of atypical attention, social attention, and social communication development emerge in infancy, yet age at diagnosis of neurodevelopmental difficulties does not typically occur until well after the first year of life. In order to achieve this goal of early identification, sensitive and accessible tools are needed to identify infants at risk for atypical development. This study examined whether caregivers could report on emerging social attention behaviors in the first days to weeks of life with a novel, experimental scale (PediaTrac SSIP). This …