Digital Commons Network^™

The Differences In Vegetation Type On North And South-Facing Slopes, Andrew Villablanca, Katherine Mccabe, Daniel Galuhn

Featured Research

Our project investigated the relationship between climate change and vegetation type conversion in the Santa Monica Mountains on north and south facing slopes. Our hypothesis is that with a shift in climate towards dryer, hotter, and longer summers, and shorter and dryer winters, we will see a shift in the density of native chaparral in the Santa Monica mountains, and possibly an influx of non-native species. We tested this hypothesis by choosing three study sites that were on north/south ridgelines to simulate a dryer, harsher climate (south) and a more temperate climate (north). Using the point-quarter method to measure the …

Exploring The Hydration Levels Of Malosma Laurina At Different Elevations On A Man-Made Trail, Eric S. Taylor, Brad J. Anderson, Brandon E. Stites

Featured Research

The purpose of this study is to examine the water potential of Malosma laurina at different elevations of a man made trail in the chapparal of the Santa Monica Mountains. Chaparral in the Santa Monica Mountains have been depleted because of human involvement effecting the chaparral ecosystem. Fire breaks and man made trails are a few of the major causes of the rapidly changing ecosystem and continues to cause stress among the plants. We are testing the effect that man made trails have on the water potential of Malosma laurina. This was measured by taking samples of Malosma laurina at …

A Comparison Of Water Potential And Mechanical Strength Of Tip And Base Leaves In Heteromeles Arbutifolia, Aaron Tsai, James Maynard

Featured Research

Heteromeles arbutifolia, commonly known as, Hollywood, is a plant that is extremely common in the California Chaparral ecosystem. It was observed that with Hollywood, the leaves grow on the tips of the branches predominantly. However, there are leaves that grow on the base of the branches that appear to be equally as healthy. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the leaves that grow at the tips of the branches or at the base of the branches were better suited to benefit the rest of the plant. Our hypothesis was that the leaves at the tips of the …

Mechanical Strength And Hydration Level Of Heteromeles Arbutifola And Eriogonium Cinerium, Erin Hayes, Allison Naasz, Ariel Mangum

Featured Research

The purpose of this study was to explore the hydration levels and mechanical strength of two species native to the same area: the dry Mediterranean region of the Santa Monica Mountains. The plants in this area must make adaptations to dry and arid climates, and We will compare how they stack up against each other in terms of drought resistance. Using Hollywood (heteromeles arbutifola) and Buckwheat (Eriogonium cinerium) we studied the different hydration levels and mechanical strengths and compared them. Both H. Arbutifola and the E. Cinerium are expected to mechanically stronger when hydrated.. We also expect the H. Arbutifola …

This Paper Is Only Skin Deep: The Socio-Cultural And Biological Reality Of Human Variation, Paige Jamieson

A with Honors Projects

This project is an anthropological study of human variation and "race".

Chemotherapy: The Physiological Cost Of A Cure, Megan Ellis

A with Honors Projects

This project focuses on the common long term side effects of cancer treatments, apart from cure. In addition to physiological function changes, it focuses on the chemical composition of chemotherapy drugs.

The Impact Of Seasonal Movements By Ovigerous American Lobsters (Homarus Americanus) On Egg Development And Larval Release, Jason Seth Goldstein

Doctoral Dissertations

The American lobster (Homarus americanus) supports one of the most economically successful fisheries in the Gulf of Maine. The continued success of this fishery is attributed in part to vigilant broodstock conservation through the preservation of ovigerous (egg-bearing) females. Previous studies of ovigerous lobster movements indicate that some, if not most, display seasonal inshore-to-offshore movement patterns. While it has been assumed that these movements serve to expose eggs to thermal regimes that are optimal for development, this theory has never been rigorously tested. In Chapter 1, I present results from ultrasonic tracking studies designed to determine if lobsters in coastal …

Calcium Homeostasis In Escherichia Coli, Muhammad Arif

Doctoral Dissertations

While the role of calcium ions as secondary chemical messengers has been well described in eukaryotic cells, little is known about calcium homeostasis in bacteria at the physiological and molecular level. No calcium influx gene has been identified so far. This dissertation focuses on calcium regulation of gene expression by (i) determining the effects of elevated and depleted calcium levels on global gene expression in wild-type cells (MG1655), (ii) employing transposon mutants (calcium-sensitive) and mutants that are defective in calcium transport, and (iii) performing quantitative analysis of a specific subset of 15 genes to elucidate their possible involvement in calcium …

Effects Of Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiotic Cyanobacteria On The Microbial Ecology Of The Coral, Montastraea Cavernosa, Jessica K. Jarett

Doctoral Dissertations

Corals form the physical structure of coral reefs, one of the most ecologically and economically important ecosystems in the world. The abundant and broadly distributed Caribbean coral Montastraea cavernosa forms a symbiosis with intracellular nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in some, but not all colonies, which make up approximately 30% of the population and display a characteristic orange fluorescence. Diverse and functionally important microbial communities of dinoflagellates, bacteria, Archaea, viruses, fungi, and other organisms are also associated with corals and together with the host compose what is termed the coral holobiont. Whether the cyanobacteria are mutualists, commensals, or parasites, and their effects on …

The Role Of Red-Backed Salamanders In Ecosystems, Daniel J. Hocking

Doctoral Dissertations

Ecosystems provide a vast array of services that benefit human societies, which can be divided into provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. Amphibians provide provisioning services in the form of food and use in medical advances. As one of the major vertebrate groups, amphibians also play an important part in cultures throughout the world. Finally, amphibians can be extremely abundant and play important roles in ecosystem supporting services, including altering both physical structure and ecosystem functions. In aquatic systems, tadpoles can alter sedimentation, water clarity, and filamentous algae growth. Additionally, amphibians affect ecosystem functions, including nutrient cycling, decomposition, and primary …

Tracking Environmental Trends In The Great Bay Estuarine System: An Examination Of Water Quality And Nuisance Macroalgal Blooms, Jeremy C. Nettleton

Doctoral Dissertations

Monitoring macroalgae populations is an effective means of detecting long term water quality changes in estuarine systems. To investigate the environmental status of New Hampshire's Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, this study assessed the abundance/distribution of macrophytes, particularly Gracilaria and Ulva species, relative to eutrophication patterns; compared historical (1970s-1990s) and current algal biomass/cover at several sites; and compared Ulva and Gracilaria tissue N/P content to ambient and historical levels. Nitrogen and phosphorus testing revealed that the estuarine system has become eutrophic, and Ulva and Gracilaria biomass/cover have increased significantly. The percent cover of Ulva species, at seasonal maxima, was …

Ecological Effects Of Ditching And Ditch-Plugging In New England Salt Marshes, Robert E. Vincent

Doctoral Dissertations

Anthropogenic activities in New England salt marshes have altered hydrologic flows in various ways, but unintended consequences from some of these habitat modifications have received little attention. Specifically, ditches have existed on salt marshes for decades, but the effects of these hydrologic alterations are only poorly understood. Ditch-plugging is a more recent methodology used for salt marsh habitat enhancement and mosquito control, but the long-term effects from this management practice are also unclear. I used natural tidal creeks and pools as controls to examine the effects resulting from ditching and plugging, respectively, on hydrology, soil characteristics, marsh surface elevation, plant …

An Investigation Of Non-Spatial Cognitive Abilities In An Asocial Corvid, The Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga Columbiana), Jan K. Tornick

Doctoral Dissertations

A great deal of research suggests that the cognitive abilities of birds in the family Corvidae (crows and jays) are comparable in many aspects to that of apes. Scientists have posited competing hypotheses to explain how complex cognitive abilities arise in a species or group of animals. One such hypothesis, the social-intelligence hypothesis, states that the demands of living in a large, dynamic group drive an animal's need for complex cognitive skills. The ecological-intelligence hypothesis, predicts that generalist foragers develop more highly flexible behaviors and a wider cognitive repertoire than specialist foragers. To date, cognitive research on corvids has focused …

Development Of Bio-Optical Algorithms To Estimate Chlorophyll In The Great Salt Lake And New England Lakes Using In Situ Hyperspectral Measurements, Shane Richard Bradt

Doctoral Dissertations

Chlorophyll is widely used to evaluate lake water quality, effectively integrating the chemical, physical and biological state of a lake. Assessment of chlorophyll conditions in lakes can be greatly enhanced by the use of remote sensing, allowing information to be gathered at spatial and temporal scales not possible with traditional limnological sampling methods. In order for remote sensing methods to provide accurate estimates of chlorophyll concentration, algorithms need to be developed with high-quality spectral data paired with water quality measurements and optimized for regional lake differences.

In this study, in situ hyperspectral optical measurements were used to develop algorithms to …

The Use Of Multibeam And Split-Beam Echo Sounders For Assessing Biomass And Distribution Of Spring-Spawning Atlantic Cod In The Gulf Of Maine, Christopher William Damon Gurshin

Doctoral Dissertations

This research focused on advancing the application of split-beam and multibeam echo sounding to remotely locate and describe spatial distribution, and to provide a relative measure of abundance of the spring-spawning Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the western Gulf of Maine. Specifically, the main objectives of this research were 1) to test the feasibility of a multibeam echo sounder to detect changes in volume backscatter proportional to incrementally decreasing quantities of cod held in a submerged cage, and to compare results to a split-beam echo sounder; 2) to describe the spatio-temporal distribution and estimate biomass of spring-spawning cod in the …

On The Reproductive Biology Of The Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus Thynnus, Jessica M. Knapp

Doctoral Dissertations

The Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, is a highly migratory species capable of traversing great distances throughout the North Atlantic Ocean, but spawning is known to occur only in the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico/Straits of Florida. The regulatory body charged with managing Atlantic bluefin tuna, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), currently recognizes two spawning stocks, eastern and western, separated by a management line at 45° W. The eastern stock spawns from May through July in the Mediterranean Sea with an age at first maturity of 3--4 years. Due in part to a …

The Historical Fisheries In The Mediterranean Sea: A Reconstruction Of Trawl Gear, Effort And Trends In Demersal Fish Stocks, Giacomo Chato Osio

Doctoral Dissertations

An extensive search of historical data sources and publications has been carried out in different countries of the Mediterranean. This lead to the construction of the largest compilation of historical fisheries information existing in the Mediterranean region. The goal first here was to quantify historical trawling effort. This shows that Mediterranean demersal communities underwent a much longer and more systematic exploitation than previously thought, very likely the longest known exploitation by means of trawls in Europe and North America. Analysis of the data available for the Catalonian, Italian and French areas showed a clearly emerging pattern: fishing capacity increased in …

Interaction Between The Coastal Ocean And The Estuarine Systems, Shivanesh Arvinda Rao

Doctoral Dissertations

Fluctuating winds change the interaction between an estuary and its adjacent coastal ocean. This change in the interaction determines how the wind-induced changes in the estuary influence the near-shore coastal ocean and vice-versa.

The first chapter examines the water properties in the near-shore coastal region close to estuaries after coastal upwelling. In regions where the time-integrated upwelling and down-welling wind stresses are comparable, there exists a region in the direction of a coastal Kevin wave propagation from an estuary, where the arrival of the plume in the near-shore region prevents the upwelled front from returning to the coast. The weakened …

The Ecological Role Of Feeding Disturbances Of The Atlantic Horseshoe Crab, Limulus Polyphemus, Wan-Jean Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the influence of localized disturbances on the heterogeneity of ecological communities at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Foraging disturbances by the epibenthic predator, Atlantic Horseshoe Crab Limulus polyphemus, on the intertidal mudflats of Great Bay estuary, New Hampshire, USA were used as the study system.

This study overcame methodological hurdles in the study of small localized disturbance over extensive areas of soft-sediments. Using a novel, low-cost technique to monitor Limulus foraging disturbances, Great Bay's tidal flats were found to be critical feeding habitats from late spring till fall. Foraging Limulus disturbed the benthos of Great Bay at …

Eating Quality And Variability In Carotenoid Content And Profiles In Winter Squash And Sweet Potato, Jennifer Bonina Noseworthy

Doctoral Dissertations

A comprehensive study at the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES) of 16 winter squash cultigens (Cucurbita spp.), including inbred lines and open pollinated and F1 hybrid cultivars from the University of New Hampshire breeding program, was undertaken to determine dry weight (%DW), soluble solids contents (%SSC) and carotenoid contents of mesocarp tissue, major attributes for determining acceptable eating quality and nutritional content. Data were recorded at harvest, either 40 or 60 days after pollination (DAP), and after 30 and 60 days of storage at 14 °C. Carotenoid contents were determined spectrophotometrically and using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

The …

Irruptive Migration Of Chestnut-Backed Chickadees To Southwestern Idaho, Jay D. Carlisle

Intermountain Bird Observatory Publications and Presentations

I document irruptive movements of the Chestnut-backed Chickadee to Lucky Peak in southwestern Idaho, over 80 km from its regular range. Chestnut-backed Chickadees were captured and/or observed at Lucky Peak in 2000, 2004, and 2008. To evaluate the context for this phenomenon, I also examined data on capture of all chickadees and other irruptive species at Lucky Peak and numbers of irruptive species recorded on Idaho Christmas Bird Counts (CBC) from 1997 to 2011. Though CBCs in the winter of 2004–05 (following the largest movement of Chestnut-backed Chickadees at Lucky Peak in fall 2004) found high numbers of many irruptive …

In Depth Analysis Of An Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear: Effects On The Mind And Body, Keimi Lew

Whittier Scholars Program

Injuries have always been a major concern for athletes; anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are among the most common serious injuries around. With the increase in reported ACL injuries, this has become a sort of epidemic especially among female athletes. Female athletes are three times more likely to experience a knee injury than a male athlete competing in the same sport. Since this increase in the last decade, researchers have developed several different hypotheses as to why females are more likely to experience these injuries. With these injuries there is a physical aspect, however, it is much more than that, …

Update Of Barton Springs Water Quality Data Analysis - Austin, Texas, Martha Turner

KIP Data Sets and Technical Reports

Barton Springs, the major discharge point for the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer, is primary habitat for the endangered Barton Springs salamander (Eurycea sosorum), supplies a portion of Austin's drinking water, provides winter and drought baseflow to the Colorado River downstream, and is an important recreational resource. Significant time trends in Barton Springs have not been previously identified. However, the passage of time, continuing development, and increased data collection efforts combined with recognition of the importance of variable recharge/discharge conditions has led to additional data analysis. The current analysis of long term water quality records (1975-1999) from Barton …

Brasileirinidae, A New Isopod Family (Crustacea: Isopoda) From The Cave In Bahia (Brazil) With A Discussion On Its Taxonomic Position, Simona Prevornik, Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira, Boris Sket

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Microsatellite And Mitochondrial Dna Analysis Of Dungeness Crab (Cancer Magister) From California To Northern British Columbia, Bryan Thomas Barney

Master's Theses

Genetic variation was assessed using mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers from Dungeness crab between Iceberg Bay, British Columbia and San Luis Obispo, California. We found little pattern in overall genetic variation between sites in both marker types, and no significant Isolation by Distance model was fit. Site-specific variation in mitochondrial DNA haplotype frequencies suggested the existence of three subpopulations associated with the Alaska Current, the Puget Sound, and the California Current, but microsatellite DNA evidence did not support it. The ratio between sampling size for microsatellite markers and fragment size polymorphisms was low, limiting the resolving power of microsatellite DNA …

Multi-Partner Interactions In Corals In The Face Of Climate Change, Koty H. Sharp, Kim B. Ritchie

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Recent research has explored the possibility that increased sea-surface temperatures and decreasing pH (ocean acidification) contribute to the ongoing decline of coral reef ecosystems. Within corals, a diverse microbiome exerts significant influence on biogeochemical and ecological processes, including food webs, organismal life cycles, and chemical and nutrient cycling. Microbes on coral reefs play a critical role in regulating larval recruitment, bacterial colonization, and pathogen abundance under ambient conditions, ultimately governing the overall resilience of coral reef systems. As a result, microbial processes may be involved in reef ecosystem-level responses to climate change. Developments of new molecular technologies, in addition to …

Karl E. Peace Papers, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

This collection consists of the personal and research papers of Karl E. Peace, Professor of Biostatistics at Georgia Southern University and namesake of the Karl E. Peace Center for Biostatistics and Survey Research. Materials span 1941 to 2018 and include, correspondence, teaching materials, published articles, and manuscripts. A small portion of 3 photographs and artists renderings are also included. This collection is still undergoing processing.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

Mechanosensitive Channels Protect Plastids From Hypoosmotic Stress During Normal Plant Growth, Kira M. Veley, Sarah Marshburn, Cara E. Clure, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Research

Cellular response to osmotic stress is critical for survival and involves volume control through the regulated transport of osmolytes [1-3]. Organelles may respond similarly to abrupt changes in cytoplasmic osmolarity [4-6]. The plastids of the Arabidopsis thaliana leaf epidermis provide a model system for the study of organellar response to osmotic stress within the context of the cell. An Arabidopsis mutant lacking two plastid-localized homologs of the bacteria mechanosensitive channel MscS (MscS-like [MSL] 2 and 3) exhibits large round epidermal plastids that lack dynamic extensions known as stromules [7]. This phenotype is present under normal growth conditions and does not …

Keratin 8/18 Filaments: Potential Modulators Of Death Signaling In Ovarian Granulosa Cells, Sarah E. Kinsman

Master's Theses and Capstones

Granulosa cell apoptosis is associated with follicular atresia; but the cellular mechanisms that drive this process, especially its cell specificity, are relatively unknown. Here, we determined that cultured granulosa cells abundantly express K8/K18 filaments and inhibition of protein synthesis enhances Fas-induced apoptosis. In this context, the roles of cFLIP, ERK1/2 and Akt are minimal but conversely, K8/K18 filaments have a prominent role in granulosa cell resistance to Fas-induced apoptosis. Keratin 8/18 filaments in granulosa cells provide a plausible mechanism to avoid Fas-induced apoptosis and this mechanism potentially involves the synthesis of labile proteins. The existence of K8/K18 filaments in granulosa …

The Influence Of Abiotic And Biotic Factors On Two Nudibranchs Feeding Upon Membranipora Membranacea In The Southern Gulf Of Maine, Megan I. Mcculler

Master's Theses and Capstones

The abiotic (temperature and flow rate) and biotic factors within fouling communities at three marinas located along the southern Gulf of Maine from June to December in 2010 and 2011 were surveyed. The goal of this study was to determine what is driving the recent population increase of the nudibranch, Corambe obscura, and whether the native nudibranch, Onchidoris muricata, is transitioning prey species. In addition, the affects of temperature on aspects of C. obscura's life history were determined by laboratory experiments.

Results suggest that abiotic factors influence basic community members such as the kelp host, Saccharina latissima, and the invasive …