Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Individual Specialization In Migration Phenology And How Restored Habits Are Used By Native And Nonnative Fishes, Austin Garner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Native fish species around the world have declined due to habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and the spread of non-native species. Because these problems often happen at the same time and interact, recovery efforts can stall unless they address all of the factors limiting a species' comeback. The June sucker (Chasmistes liorus), native only to Utah Lake, UT, has declined for many of these reasons, though its recovery effort has made significant progress due in large part to a successful hatchery program. Yet, the recovery efforts have not yet been able to establish a self-sustaining population in Utah Lake, …

Behavioral And Landscape Factors Affecting The Effectiveness Of Egg-Bait Management For Common Ravens In The Great Basin, Usa, Sierra L. Pederson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Common Ravens have become increasingly common across the Great Basin of the western USA, largely because human activities, such as roads, agriculture, livestock operations, and human-made structures, provide them with abundant food, water, and nesting sites. As raven numbers have grown, so has their impact on vulnerable species like the greater sage-grouse. Like many other ground-nesting species, greater sage-grouse eggs and chicks are especially susceptible to predation. To help reduce raven numbers in sensitive areas, wildlife managers often place hard-boiled chicken eggs treated with a toxin (DRC-1339) on the landscape, expecting that ravens will die after eating these eggs and …

Long-Term Spatiotemporal Change In Coral Reef Fish Populations And Communities In The Philippines, John Christopher Whalen

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The Visayas Region of the Philippines is a global epicenter of marine fish biodiversity. Hypotheses attribute this peak of species richness within the Coral Triangle to processes that occur at geological time scales. However, changes in biodiversity may occur on ecological time scales, allowing for the assessment of the potential impact of anthropogenic activities. Recent declines in genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity have been observed in the tropics, including the Philippines. Within the Philippines the Visayas Region is considered the epicenter of species adversity due to anthropogenic stressors such as habitat degradation, overfishing, and harvesting individuals for the aquarium trade. …

Harnessing Airborne And Spaceborne Lidar For Large-Area Assessment Of Canopy Structural Complexity, Tahrir Ibraq Siddiqui

Theses

Forests play a vital role in global carbon cycling, biodiversity conservation, and the provision of ecosystem services. Accurate quantification of forest carbon sequestration rates – or forest production – therefore is essential for understanding ecosystem dynamics and informing sustainable forest management practices. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems, as an active remote sensing modality, have emerged as a powerful tool for capturing detailed structural information of forests. Studies employing terrestrial LiDAR demonstrated that canopy structural complexity (CSC) metrics are strongly correlated with forest production at stand to landscape scales. While terrestrial LiDAR systems provide highly detailed maps of internal canopy …

Reconstructing Stand-Age Structure In A Wet Miombo Woodland Using Dendrochronology, Zambia, Clara Tiyembekeze Zulu

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dendrochronological research in tropical Africa has remained limited, leaving critical gaps in stand-age structure and climate-growth relationships in seasonally dry tropical woodlands. This study reconstructed stand-age structure and assessed climate sensitivity in the wet Miombo woodland of African Explosives Limited (AEL) forest, Copperbelt Province, Zambia. Field sampling was conducted during four African Dendrochronology Fieldschools (2021-2024) using a Modified Variable Area Transect (MVAT) design across nine plots. The series intercorrelation was 0.351; the average mean sensitivity was 0.423. The oldest tree was 170 years old, and more than 70% of the sampled species showed potential for dendrochronology. Markhamia obtusifolia was the …

The Use Of Heavy Solvents For Separating Seed From Soil, Edward D. Carter, Stephen Challis, Ian G. Ridgway

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Problems related to separating seeds from soil in ecological studies involving seed-seedling dynamics of annual pastures are discussed. The special roles of non-flammable chlorinated solvents as flotation agents in separating seed from soil are described. Studies showed that there was a slight, but significant (P < 0.05), overall effect of these chemicals on germination of seed of six species and cultivars: however, perchloroethylene appears to have no effect on germination.

Integrating Georeferencing And Fire Anatomy Modeling In Canyon Fire Experiments Using Thermal Uav Remote Sensing, Xiangyu Ren, Bo Yang, Alexander I. Filkov, Katherine M. Wilkin, C. David Benterou, Owen Hussey, Craig B. Clements

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Background: Wildfires profoundly impact ecosystems and human health, making them a critical research focus. Drone-mounted Thermal Infrared (TIR) sensors are widely used for active fire monitoring due to their ability to penetrate smoke and capture real-time fire dynamics. Aims: This study addresses the challenges of georeferencing TIR data accurately, caused by limited fire anatomy modeling, imprecise georeferencing, the coarse resolution of TIR imagery and the dynamic nature of fire behavior. Methods: We collected a one-hour TIR dataset capturing a fast-moving controlled fire in a California canyon, US, alongside auxiliary data of multispectral and in situ meteorological observations. We developed an …

Exotic Two-Spined Trap-Jaw Ants (Odontomachus Haematodus) In Urban Parks Of Hattiesburg, Mississippi: Recommended Sampling Methods And Notes On Nesting Biology, Caroline M. Marley, Vinny Halsey, Lila Blackburn, Kayla D. Stan, Kaitlin M. Baudier

Midsouth Entomologist

The two-spined trap-jaw ant, Odontomachus haematodus (Linnaeus), is native to South America and was introduced to the United States via Mobile, Alabama in the mid-twentieth century. Misidentification as a native congener for several decades has inhibited the study of the ecology of O. haematodus in its introduced range within the Gulf Coastal Plain. We conducted a multimethod survey to: 1) assess the abundance of O. haematodus across urban parks in Hattiesburg, MS, the northernmost published record in this species’ exotic range, 2) establish which sampling methodologies are most effective for conducting urban surveys of O. haematodus, and 3) study …

Review Of Phytoplankton Community Structures And Their Environment In Ugandan Waters: A Case Of Murchison Bay And Napoleon Gulf, Northern Lake Victoria, Samiha M. Gharib, Ahmed M. Heneash, Mohamed A. Heneash

Blue Economy

Victoria Lake has seen a significant deterioration in water quality since the 1960s, facing serious ecological challenges due to physicochemical, and biological processes, as well as human activities in the surrounding watershed. The primary factor contributing to this decline is eutrophication, which has caused a shift in the dominant phytoplankton species from diatoms to nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. This shift has resulted in persistent algal blooms. This review centers on the Ugandan waters of Lake Victoria, specifically in Napoleon Gulf and Murchison Bay. It examines the composition of phytoplankton species, their numerical abundance, spatial distribution, and total biomass, as measured by chlorophyll …

From Fields To Flu: Mapping H5n1 Zoonotic Risk In California Rice Fields, Mariati Messinger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 threatens agriculture, wildlife, and public health in California, where flooded rice fields in the Central Valley provide surrogate wetland habitat for migratory waterfowl and may create ecological interfaces for viral spillover into poultry systems. This quantitative ecological study examined whether county-level rice acreage, Lesser Snow Goose activity, and their interaction were associated with poultry HPAI H5N1 outbreak incidence during complete winter seasons available for analysis. Guided by One Health and disease ecology frameworks, secondary data from USDA, eBird, PRISM, and public surveillance sources were analyzed for 36 county-winter observations using negative binomial regression, logistic …

A Socio-Ecological Study Of Coyote And Human Interactions In San Francisco Bay Open Space Preserves, Zhiyi Zhou

Master's Theses

Urban open space preserves support both intensive recreation and wildlife, but the information on carnivore activity and visitor perceptions is limited. This study combined camera-trap monitoring and on-site visitor surveys to evaluate activity patterns of medium- to large-bodied mammals and perceptions of coyotes at Windy Hill and Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserves (South San Francisco Bay Area). From October 2024 to July 2025, thirteen cameras recorded 213,681 photo events; detections were standardized as detections per 1,000 camera-hours. Ten mammal species and two avian species were detected, including four focal carnivores: coyote (Canis latrans), bobcat (Lynx rufus), mountain lion (Puma …

Time Series Analysis Of Temperature And Pollen Exposure On Asthma Outcomes In Atlanta, Georgia, Victoria Okereke-Viktorsson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The effects of climate change contribute to volatile temperature changes, which coupled with pollen exposure pose a significant threat to asthmatic people, potentially impacting methods for asthma management. The purpose of this ecological time-series study was to use the carbon dioxide theory of climate change, Dutch hypothesis, and social ecological model to estimate the relationship between average temperature and average pollen concentrations on average asthma morbidity outcomes for adults living in metropolitan Atlanta from 2020 to 2022 (N = 37,913). Results varied in terms of years, socioeconomic status (SES) vulnerability, gender, and racial group. Overall, a linear regression model revealed …

Dietary Stability Of The Eurasian Beaver Revealed By Hair Stable Isotopes, Linas Balčiauskas, Rasa Vaitkevičiūtė Koklevičienė, Andrius Garbaras, Inga Garbarienė, Laima Balčiauskienė

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) is a keystone ecosystem engineer whose expanding populations increasingly occupy agricultural landscapes. Hair stable  isotope analysis was applied to reconstruct assimilated diet in 56 legally  hunted beavers in Lithuania in 2024–2025. Stable carbon isotope values were tightly  clustered (–25.53 ± 0.10‰ SE), while those for nitrogen showed greater variability (5.38 ± 0.20‰ SE), indicating limited interindividual dietary differentiation.  Generalized linear models revealed no significant effects of sex, year, or month, and  age-related differences were limited to the youngest individuals. Comparison with  published Polish data showed no significant differences in mean isotope values.  Overall, the results …

Olli Fall 2026 Catalog, Toniann Leavitt

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

No abstract provided.

Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Vaccine Uptake For Measles Outbreaks In Katsina State, Nigeria, Zeenat Kabir Asma'i

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Measles remains a public health concern in Nigeria despite the availability of effective vaccines, yet limited research has comprehensively examined spatiotemporal patterns and contextual determinants of vaccination coverage and measles incidence in Katsina State. Guided by the socioecological model, this quantitative ecological study examined spatiotemporal patterns of measles incidence among children aged 9–59 months of age across 183 wards in 34 local government areas of Katsina State, Nigeria, from 2018 to 2022. Confirmed cases (n = 376) were analyzed using negative binomial regression and spatial methods, including Moran’s I, SaTScan, and geographically weighted regression (GWR). Urban wards had higher incidence …

Herbaceous Plants In Forest Ecosystems: One Hundred Fundamental And Applied Questions, Harikrishnan Venugopalan Nair Radhamoni, Michelle Elise Spicer, Marlyse C. Duguid, Liza S. Comita, Emilio Bruna, Andrew J. Andrade, Julia I. Burton

Michigan Tech Publications

Aims: Herbaceous plants (herbs) found in the understory of forests contribute substantially to the biodiversity of these ecosystems, as well as being important socio-culturally, economically, and for advancing ecological theory. However, the ecology of herbs is less well understood compared with woody plants, despite evidence that herbs are physiologically and ecologically different. Similarly, herb research has focused on north temperate forests, with less information from forests in the tropics and Global South. Understanding this knowledge gap, and recognizing the critical importance of expanding and streamlining the scope of research on forest herbs, we set out to identify 100 fundamental and …

Learning Across Landscapes: An Interactive Minnesota Ecology Book, Blake Berney

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project focused on the development of an educational book introducing elementary-aged readers to Minnesota’s native trees and the biomes in which they may be found. The project was influenced by teachings from the Dakota, Ojibwe, and current work from the Minnesota DNR. The book explores Minnesota’s major biomes and highlights native trees through accessible descriptions, photographs, activities, and connections to the landscapes and communities where these species are found. Information was then adapted for an elementary-school audience and organized into a cohesive educational resource. Design work included creating the book’s layout, incorporating original photographs and interactive activities, and …

The Impact Of Perceived Sustainable Design Characteristics On Enhancing Well-Being In Residential Environments: An Empirical Study, Zainab Ibrahim Abass

Iraqi Journal of Architecture and Planning

Creating a sustainable living environment is crucial to improving well-being and reducing stress among urban populations, particularly through architecture, urban planning, and public health research. The growing importance of environmental sustainability for human health is limited by current empirical research on the impact of sustainable housing on well-being, due to insufficient conceptualisation and assessment of the perceived attributes of the residential environment. This study aims to examine the potential impact of perceived sustainable design characteristics on well-being using both quantitative and qualitative indicators to establish criteria for examining residents' views on sustainability attributes. Data were collected from high-density housing areas …

“A Beautiful Mess: Rebirthing Through Earth, Dance, And The Divine”, Mikayla Douglas

MFA in Dance Theses

A Beautiful Mess: Rebirthing Through Earth, Dance, and the Divine by Mikayla Douglas is a culmination of research, creative practice, and lived experience that was developed during her time at Saint Mary’s College of California in the MFA Dance Program. This thesis investigates the shared dialogue between eco-somatics, eco-phenomenology, motherhood, nature, and the BIPOC birthing body. Through the use of outdoor somatic practices, personal reflection and stories, Mikayla Douglas explores how nature can serve as a site of healing, embodiment, and reclamation for Black and Brown birthing bodies. The research of this thesis work is grounded heavily in both scholarly …

Just Opt For Caesarean Section And Pick The Birthdate': A Qualitative Study Exploring Women's Delivery Preferences After Caesarean Section In Urban Tanzania, Daudi Gidion, Columba Mbekenga, Miriam Mgonja, Marleen Temmerman, Muzdalfat Abeid

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Objectives To explore perspectives, preferences and decision-making regarding mode of delivery after a previous caesarean section among women in urban Tanzania.

Design A descriptive qualitative study using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Setting A private tertiary hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Participants 11 women with one previous caesarean section who delivered at the study site were interviewed on the third day after delivery. Participants were purposively sampled to include both modes of delivery: five women underwent repeat caesarean section and six attempted a trial of labour after caesarean (TOLAC).

Results Thematic analysis identified four key …

Zheng Zhenduo And The Problem Of Priority In World Literature, Daniel M. Dooghan

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

This essay investigates how Zheng Zhenduo (郑振铎 1898–1958) developed a theory of world literature in response to threats to China both politically from without and culturally from within. Centered on an analysis of his 1922 article “A View on the Unification of Literature” (Wenxue de tongyiguan 文學的統一觀), the essay argues that although Zheng believed like many of his contemporaries in the transformative effects of reading world literature in translation, that does not constitute the entirety of his theorization of world literature. Instead, he accepted the first-move advantage of other national literatures in defining both world literary standards and literature …

The Relationship Between Access To Basic Safe Drinking Water And Under-Five Mortality In Indonesia: An Ecological Study, Jasmin Jadevra Fezantino, Raquel Amanda Salmasari, Hanania Carrisa, Zahra Annisaa Hudaya

Jurnal Nasional Kesehatan Lingkungan Global

Infant mortality remains a worrying public health issue, particularly in areas with poor access to drinking water and sanitation. In 2020, Papua Province recorded an infant mortality rate of 49.04 per 1,000 live births and West Papua 47.23. These figures are far above the national average. This study aims to determine the relationship between access to safe drinking water and infant mortality rates in provinces in Indonesia. This study used an ecological design with secondary data from the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey and the 2023 Directorate of Public Health. The analysis was descriptive and followed by a Spearman correlation test. …

Spatial Mapping Of Malaria Cases And Risk Factors Of Its Spread In West Java Province In 2019: An Ecological Study, Nazhira Haliza Putri, Azkia Afiatun Najah Wahyudi, Suhayla Bilqisth Abdi, Mutmainnah Mutmainnah, Nasywan Grananda Rahmantoro, Grace Napitupulu

Jurnal Nasional Kesehatan Lingkungan Global

Malaria is a significant health problem in Indonesia, especially in West Java Province which is at high risk due to its population density and environmental conditions. The incidence of malaria is associated with climate factors (rainfall, humidity, and air temperature). This study aims to study the spatial mapping of malaria cases and their relationship with climate factors. This study used an ecological study design. Secondary data from the West Java Health Office and the West Java Central Statistics Agency in 2019. Univariate and bivariate analysis with the study population covering the entire population of West Java, with a sample of …

Patterns And Determinants Of Measles Among Suspected Cases In Jakarta: Insight From Surveillance Data 2022-2024, Widya Inayah, Nurhayati Adnan Prihartono, Retno Henderiawati, Oktaviana Nugraheni, Dwi Gayatri

Jurnal Epidemiologi Kesehatan Indonesia

Measles remains a public health concern in Indonesia, including Jakarta, contributing to the country’s disease burden. Sustained transmission during 2022-2024, despite reported vaccination coverage above  90%, suggests the presence of vulnerable groups. This study aimed to describe patterns and identify factors associated with laboratory-confirmed measles in Jakarta during 2022-2024. A cross-sectional study was conducted using routine surveillance data from all individuals reported as suspected measles cases during the study period. Descriptive analysis summarizes the distribution, while multivariable analysis identifies associated factors. Of the 4,194 suspected cases of measles, 22.8% were laboratory-confirmed positive. Showed a fluctuating temporal pattern, increasing from 20.6 …

Environmental Assessment Of The Shatt Al-Basra Canal: Petroleum Hydrocarbons, Heavy Metals And Water Quality, Mohammed A. Jasim Aldoghachi, Bassam A. B. Alabdul Aziz, Shurooq Al-Mosawi

Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Marine Science

The environmental assessment of the Shatt al-Basra Canal in the area of the regulatory was studied. Petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy elements (cobalt (Co), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr)) in the waters of this area were analyzed. In addition, some water quality characteristics were evaluated (salinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, oxygen, biological oxygen demand (BOD₅), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrate (NO_3^-), nitrite (NO_2^-), phosphate (PO₄ ^-3), and ammonia (NH₃). Petroleum hydrocarbons had been recorded in studied area and dominated with medium-chain alkanes, namely decane …

Light-Driven Zonation And Community Structure Of Aerophytic Microalgae In A Tropical Limestone Cave (Gua Tempurung, Malaysia), Wan Maznah Wan Omar, Mohammad Basri Eshak, Luthfiana Aprilianita Sari, Zulaihat Hamza Abdullahi, Yusuf Abdullahi

International Journal of Speleology

Cave ecosystems host specialized phototrophic biofilms structured primarily by light availability, yet quantitative assessments of aerophytic microalgal community organization in tropical limestone caves remain limited. This study investigated spatial variation in the structure of aerophytic microalgal communities across four ecologically distinct zones (entrance, transition, penetration, and low light) of Gua Tempurung, Malaysia. Stratified sampling was conducted during three seasonal periods. Dominant phototrophic morphospecies were identified using microscopy, and community composition was analyzed in relation to key environmental variables. Twenty-three dominant microalgal morphospecies were recorded across the cave gradient. Cyanobacteria constituted the major component of both richness and abundance, followed by …

Vector-Borne Viral Diseases In Horses, Sunutcha Suntrarachun

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Vector-borne viral diseases are major threats to equine health worldwide. These infections are transmitted by arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes, biting midges, and horseflies, resulting in clinical manifestations ranging from mild febrile illness to severe neurological, respiratory, circulatory, or hematologic disorders with high mortality rates. Major equine vector-borne viral diseases include African horse sickness (AHS), equine infectious anemia (EIA), equine encephalomyelitis (Eastern: EEE, Western: WEE, and Venezuelan: VEE), West Nile virus (WNV), and Japanese encephalitis (JE). Each disease is caused by a distinct viral pathogen and transmitted by specific vectors that influence their epidemiology and geographic distribution. Transmission occurs through …

Air Pollution And Public Health: Global Evidence And Implications, Mohammed Obaid Al-Mansoori

Al-Bahir

Globally, the issue of air pollution keep being one of most serious challenges that affecting environment and human health, coming from emissions of industries, transport, agriculture and also from the fuel people use in homes, in addition to natural events that make the situation worse. This review try to bring together the available evidences about the sources, types, and the health impacts of the main air pollutants, including the gaseous ones like SO₂, O₃, NO₂, and CO, and the particulate matter (PM₁₀, PM₂.₅). Exposure for short or long time to these pollutants is linked with many harmful outcomes, such as …

The Effect Of Weight Training With Blood Flow Restriction On Muscle Strength Development In Mma, Tomáš Kozák, Marek Kokinda, Pavel Ružbarský

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: This study aimed to elucidate the effect of weight training with blood flow restriction (BFR) on explosive power and isokinetic strength in combat athletes. Materials and methods: The sample included 12 male MMA fighters divided into a control (19.50±0.50 years) and an experimental (18.00±1.00 years) group. Participants trained twice weekly for 8 weeks, with BFR in the experimental group. Explosive power was assessed using following tests by Optogait: countermovement push-up, kneeling countermovement push-up and kneeling squat push-up for upper limbs and countermovement jump, countermovement jump with free arms and squat jump for lower limbs. Isokinetic strength was measured by …

Destination “Burning River”: Restoration And Placemaking In A Rust Belt City, Mia Compton-Engle

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio caught fire from industrial pollution. Media narratives reframed the river fire as a symbol of environmental degradation, discursively transforming the Cuyahoga River from a place of industrial sacrifice to a place deserving ecological stewardship. Consequently, the river fire catalyzed the modern American environmental movement and local urban river restoration, materially transforming the Cuyahoga River from a place of industrial waste to a place of natural beauty and socioeconomic opportunity. Thus, urban river restoration presents an opportunity for novel placemaking: a local microcosm of the global turn towards urban sustainability. However, there is …