Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Distribution And Density Changes Of The Ecosystem Engineers, Rockweed And Kelp, In Narragansett Bay, Ri, Rebecca Venezia

Open Access Dissertations

Climate change and anthropogenic stressors in marine costal habitats include increased sea surface temperatures (SST) and precipitation. The impacts of these stressors can affect ecosystem engineer species, which create three-dimensional habitat space in and provide various ecosystem services that modify and maintain ecosystem resources. In Narragansett Bay, RI, USA there is anecdotal evidence that the habitat forming species of kelp, Saccharina latissima, and rockweeds, Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus spp, are changing but few long-term studies have been conducted to verify this. We compared the historical studies from the 1960s to 2010s on seaweeds in Narraganset Bay to modern SCUBA …

Showing Our Resolve, Michael Fernandez, Rachel E. Scott

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

[In the absence of an abstract, the opening of the editorial is provided.] New Year’s resolutions tend to be ephemeral things, conceived in the waking fog of the early morning (or afternoon, no judgment) on January 1 and usually abandoned before the first bloom of spring. Here at Library Resources & Technical Services (LRTS), we strive not to be fair weather planners, and so our resolution for 2025 (and beyond) has been years in the making. The editors of LRTS, working alongside Core Journal editors and within the broader family of American Library Association (ALA) publications, resolves …

Microplastics Detection, Characterization, And Cytotoxicity Evaluation Via Lab-On-Chip, Liyuan Gong

Open Access Dissertations

Microplastics (MPs) pose a growing challenge to the ecological system, prompting increasing research efforts in diverse directions. Accurate characterization of MPs is essential for understanding their properties, relying on efficient sampling and detection techniques. Additionally, studying the cytotoxic effects of MPs is critical for evaluating their impact on biological systems. Lab-on-chip (LoC) systems offer significant advantages for precise particle manipulation and compatibility with advanced analytical instrumentation, making them valuable for MP detection and characterization. Microfluidic-based on-chip cell-culturing systems provide a controllable, physiologically relevant microenvironment for more realistic in vitro tissue modeling. By leveraging advanced LoC concepts and integrating state-of-the-art machine …

Analysis Of Early Interventions To Retain Underrepresented Students In Computer Science, Michael Conti

Open Access Dissertations

Computer science, like many STEM disciplines, faces persistent challenges in recruiting and retaining women and individuals from racially and ethnically minoritized backgrounds. This study examines whether targeted interventions can produce sustained improvements in academic performance and sense of belonging among these underrepresented groups. By analyzing longitudinal data, this research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions in promoting equity and persistence in computer science education.

Using An Ecological And Cultural Lens To Examine The 1st Year Persistence And Science Identity Development Of At-Risk Biology Students Experiencing Multiple Equity-Minded High Impact Practices, Aura Fajardo Grandidge

Open Access Dissertations

In this study, I used an ecological and a cultural perspective to examine the first-year experiences of two cohorts of biology students exposed to multiple equity-minded High Impact Practices (HIPs) designed to promote their persistence and science identity development.

In chapter 1, I applied Graham et al.’s Persistence Framework (2013) and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1977) to investigate the bridges and barriers to persistence that biology students face while experiencing either an equity minded learning community, a first-year seminar, a course-based research experience, and/or an active learning introductory biology course. Using a mixed methods approach that focused on phenomenology, I …

Comprehensively Understanding And Manipulating The Heat Transfer Mechanisms In Next-Generation Battery Materials, Connor Jaymes Dionne

Open Access Dissertations

Rechargeable batteries are paramount to the further development of green energy infrastructure as they allow for energy storage during peak production times, energy distribution during off-peak times, and provide the impetus to transition away from standard combustion engines in the transportation sector. The ability for rechargeable batteries to safely charge and discharge over multiple cycles is key to their successful application and long-term use. Moreover, the growing use of rechargeable batteries necessitates designs utilizing materials that are abundant and accessible to meet the ever-increasing demands required by the green energy and transportation sectors.

To address these needs, we first investigate …

The Chemical Ecology Of A Caribbean Boulder Coral During Restoration And The Interplay Between Fish Predation And Microbiome Variation, Catherine E. Raker

Open Access Dissertations

Coral reefs are one of the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on the planet. In recent decades, however, climate change and other global threats have caused severe declines in live coral cover worldwide. Coral propagation, or “gardening,” is a popular strategy to attempt to restore healthy corals to degraded reefs. Slow-growing boulder corals are often restored using microfragmentation, where cutting coral colonies into roughly 1 cm² fragments can increase their growth rates up to 5x. However, extreme early mortality of fragments has been observed in the field, which has been at least partially attributed to predation. It has been …

Machine Learning Guided Insights Into Phonon Scattering Mechanisms For Tunable Thermal Transport In Materials From First-Principles, Niraj Bhatt

Open Access Dissertations

As device dimensions shrink in the current era of miniaturization, effective thermal management at the material level has become critical. In ultrasmall device lengths, traditional electronic heat transport becomes severely limited as boundary scattering effects curtail the electronic transport because the electronic mean free paths substantially exceed those of phonons. The resulting high-power- density devices generate thermal hot spots that compromise both performance and long-term reliability. This challenge has intensified the search for materials with superior phonon-mediated heat transport, a key requirement for effective thermal management in next-generation nanoelectronics. Accurately predicting thermal transport properties with near-experimental accuracy is therefore essential. …

The Clarke Museum, Josue Bermudez

IdeaFest 2025

This year, I had the opportunity to work with the Clarke Historical Museum, one of the largest in Humboldt County. I helped set up exhibits, worked on projects, and participated in community events. Through this, I learned how a small community preserves and shares its history. Balancing this with college was challenging, but the support from Josh and the Clarke staff made it manageable. This experience deepened my appreciation for public history and inspired me to pursue future work that connects education, culture, and community engagement.

Identifying Optimal Temperature Ranges That Support Juvenile Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha) Growth In The Klamath Basin, Isabelle Shirah

IdeaFest 2025

This project looks at yearly temperature ranges and growth metrics for fish sampled at three sites along the Klamath basin.

Corridor Proximity And Habitat Influence On Small Mammal Rescue Call Frequency, Fernando Herrera

IdeaFest 2025

This project spatially analyzes mammal wildlife rescue call data in McKinleyville, Arcata, and Eureka, CA, to understand how wildlife corridors influence the location and frequency wildlife are brought in for rehabilitation.

Scavenger Interactions With Marine Mammal Carcasses Along The Northern California Coast, Keith Erickson

IdeaFest 2025

My research looked into how scavengers are using marine mammal carcasses and what is affecting this relationship. I worked with the Marine Mammal Education and Research Program to obtain carcasses ranging from Crescent City down to Cape Mendocino. I used game cameras placed on the beaches to monitor scavenging activity, responding to a total of 9 California Sea Lion and 2 Harbor Seal carcasses from October to April.

Cal Poly Humboldt Presents Prasch Hall Facility Needs Assessment, Matthew Cherovsky

IdeaFest 2025

My senior project is a facility needs assessment of Prasch Hall Community Center in Blue Lake, California. It gathers feedback from community members and facility users regarding their overall satisfaction with the facility, and its programs. The surveys were given out to the public both physically and digitally to ensure accessibility. I then summarized the results in a report with charts, summaries for each of the questions, and both short-term (1-year) and long-term (5+ year) improvement plans. The goal is to help inform the City of Blue Lake’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan while strengthening community engagement and facility operations.

James' Fabulous Mobile Dog Food Pantry: A Grassroots Initiative!, James Brother

IdeaFest 2025

I developed a mobile dog food pantry to meet the needs of unsheltered pets across Humboldt County. Using donations from various sources and implementing similar models used by local nonprofits, I developed access to pet food in areas with an unmet need.

How Does Restoration Affect Food Web Dynamics Within Quail Populations In The Mckinleyville Land Trust Dow’S Prairie Educational Wetland?, Taylor Shaw, Jesika Gonzalez, Lorilynn Acosta, Logan Blank, Zen Godinez, Amir Malikyar, Nanette Durbin, Nievita Bueno Watts

IdeaFest 2025

The McKinleyville Land Trust’s Dow’s Prairie Educational Wetland is a 2.55-acre endangered coastal prairie wetland in California, conserved in 2009. Restoration efforts with the Wiyot Tribe and U.S. Fish & Wildlife removed invasives and reintroduced native plants, but coincided with declining California quail (Callipepla californica) populations. This study establishes the first baseline conditions, using wildlife cameras and botanical surveys to assess quail habitat suitability, examining invasive removal, predation, and fragmentation impacts. Findings will guide adaptive management to balance biodiversity and restoration, while honoring the Baduwa’t Wiyot’s ancestral homeland.

Habitat Variation And Shorebird Roosting Flocks Across Arcata Marsh, Karl Vanuska

IdeaFest 2025

This research project looks at how species composition in shorebird roosting flocks varies across different locations within Arcata Marsh. This research assesses how environmental factors, such as substrate type, vegetation cover, proximity to foraging areas, and tidal conditions, influence species richness and diversity at roosting sites. As well as if behavior may change due to species composition within roosting flocks.

Modeling Peak Photosynthesis In The Great Smoky Mountains, Crystal Diaz, Rachel Torres

IdeaFest 2025

This study examines how climate change is affecting plant phenology—the timing of seasonal growth—in the Great Smoky Mountains (GSM), a deciduous forest located between North Carolina and Tennessee. The research focuses on how variations in spring temperature and winter precipitation influence the timing of peak vegetation growth, measured using the Green Chromatic Coordinate (GCC). GCC is a spectral index that tracks the greenness of vegetation from RGB images, indicating leaf development and peak photosynthesis. Using data from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), the project aims to predict when peak GCC occurs each year.

Does Having Siblings Affect The Recognition Of Children’S Emotional Displays?, Jasper Toledo, Povheng Yam, Denise Dolan, Nathan Boone, Kaitlin Duskin, Andrew Greely, Aiden Ott, Amanda C. Hahn

IdeaFest 2025

This research study looks into whether participants with siblings are able to understand the emotional display in images of children more so than participants without siblings. We hypothesized that participants with younger siblings will have a greater likelihood to notice emotional responses in children due to alloparental caregiving behavior. Sixty images of children expressing six emotional displays were shown to participants. Overall, there was no difference in emotional recognition accuracy between participant groups. Specific emotional displays were recognized more than others for all groups, with the most recognized emotional display being happiness.

A Picc Dislodgement And Securement Solution, Judah O’Shaughnessy

IdeaFest 2025

This research project introduces a quality improvement initiative aimed at reducing or eliminating the risks associated with peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) dislodgement. While PICCs are a valuable and useful tool at providing safe and effective intravenous medication administration, they do have the vulnerability of dislodgement which can have catastrophic consequences resulting in patient harm or death. Nurse-led implementation of the subcutaneously anchored securement system and interventions at the patient, department, and policy level can reduce or eliminate PICC dislodgement and the risk associated with inadequate PICC securement.

Does Anthropogenic Noise Effect Passerine Diversity And Abundance On Campus?, Dee Paz Naranjo

IdeaFest 2025

Point count survey of passerine birds on Cal Poly Humboldt campus. Sites revisited multiple times to create a site occupancy model and examine species diversity, abundance, in relation to anthropogenic noise pollution on a landscape. As well, examine detection efficacy of other covariate factors.

Alcohol Use Disorder In Humboldt, Emily Monahan

IdeaFest 2025

Residents of Humboldt County have a higher-than-average incidence of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) when compared to the rest of California and the US. Local youth report drinking alcohol at a younger age, and more frequently than average. Alcohol related hospital admissions are frequent for those who have AUD. Addressing the problem starts at early intervention in adolescents and continues through adulthood. Humboldt county lacks resources for those suffering from AUD and a specialized detox facility would decrease the amount of hospital admissions for alcohol related diagnoses. Making these resources and facilities available to Humboldt County residents could help reduce Alcohol …

Comparing Mammalian Populations And Human Disturbance Between Different Units At The Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Erin Konefal

IdeaFest 2025

Comparing mammalian presence and diversity between different units of the Humboldt Wildlife Refuge

Fawn Awareness - A Health Education Initiative, Jessica De Laguna

IdeaFest 2025

"Fawn Awareness" is a year-long health education initiative highlighting the often-overlooked fourth stress response: Fawn, or the “Submit” response. Seen across the animal kingdom, submission can be just as vital for survival as fight, flight, or freeze. In humans, Fawn often develops in childhood as a way to maintain a sense of security with inconsistent caregivers, later manifesting as difficulty setting boundaries and chronic people-pleasing. This project includes a YouTube video, news article, and research paper featuring expert insight and real-life anecdotes to raise awareness and promote mental health through understanding this misidentified trauma response.

Adapting To Autism-Friendly Care In A Rural Hospital, Kelly Wheelock

IdeaFest 2025

This evidence-based quality improvement project reviews solutions for enhancing safety and outcomes in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within rural hospital settings. Through the application of the Revised Iowa Model and systematically reviewing peer-reviewed articles and professional guidelines, the project aims at addressing key challenges and proposing evidence-based solutions. Solutions include patient-tailored care, staff training, and hospital-level policy actions. A SMART goal aims at measurable enhancement in patient safety and satisfaction through a systematic multi-level process for autism-informed care.

Potawot Community Garden: Moving Beyond Land Acknowledgements, Chrys Furrer

IdeaFest 2025

Potawot Community Garden serves as an exemplary model of the environmental and social health impacts of returning Indigenous land to Indigenous hands. The College Corps program, with Potawot as a community partner, gives student fellows the opportunities to serve in support of Potawot's mission of enhancing Indigenous food sovereignty while mitigating food insecurity, restoring the land, and supporting the cultural healing of Indigenous community members as well as the broader community. This project invites readers to take action through volunteer involvement with organizations such as Potawot, making monetary donations to the Wiyot tribe, and advocating for Indigenous land rematriation.

Analyzing Soil Quality & Forage Potential Of Solar Microhabitats In Coastal Grasslands, Claudia Alfaro Hernandez, Logan Holey, Gabriel Abundis, Tonia Brito-Bersi, Justin C. Luong

IdeaFest 2025

As the global population grows, ensuring sustainable food and energy systems becomes increasingly important. While solar panels support clean energy goals, they can displace prime agricultural land and critical habitat for native grazers in coastal grasslands. Agrovoltaics—integrating solar infrastructure with land used for agriculture or grazing—offers a promising compromise. However, research on solar microgrids in coastal grassland ecosystems remains limited. This study examines how solar microgrids impact soil quality and forage potential in these sensitive landscapes.

Arcata House Partnership Housing Is A Human Right!, Grey Hildebrand, Juli-Ann Johnson, Jacquelyn Perez, Emma Wilson, Mariana Lara, Vanessa Luis

IdeaFest 2025

No abstract provided.

Factors Influencing River Otter Activity, Marley Vulker

IdeaFest 2025

This research investigates the factors influencing river otter (Lontra canadensis) diel activity along two contrasting study sites. Using camera traps from summer to fall 2023, I compare otter activity in two locations: the Eel River Estuary Reserve, an area of low human activity, and the Arcata Marsh, an area of high human activity. I explore whether otters exhibit different activity patterns depending on tidal phase and lunar phase. By comparing otter behavior in these contrasting environments, this study aims to understand how human activity and environmental conditions shape otter behavior, overall contributing to more effective conservation and habitat management strategies.

Nourishing Community Health, Levit Cantu

IdeaFest 2025

Open Door Health Centers is a nonprofit community clinic that provides affordable, accessible healthcare to underserved populations. As a College Corps Fellow, I work with the Member Services department, specifically supporting gardens and food resources. My role focuses on increasing access to fresh, healthy food through community garden initiatives and resource navigation. This experience has allowed me to support food security efforts while gaining insight into the intersection of health, nutrition, and community service.

Climate Anxiety: What Are The Effects Of Climate Change On Young People’S Development?, Benjamin Romo, Makayla Millea, Sami Alvarez

IdeaFest 2025

We reviewed nine peer-reviewed empirical articles on the effects of climate change on young people’s development. The problem is that climate change is so rapid that not many people know its severity and how it can affect us, our children, and our daily lives. We aim to shed light on the psychological side of climate change and present solutions we have found through the various articles listed.