Digital Commons Network^™

Nocturnal Foraging By Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias) And Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea Ajaja), Laura E. Josler, Johnny E. Owens, Sarrah E. Bristol, Leo N. Dutkewych, Abigail R. Kauke, Signe E. Renstrom, Ben G. Sheffield, Madelyne E. Vashaw, Avery J. Nesbitt, Melia K. Paat, Timothy D. Bransford, Elizabeth A. Forys

Florida Field Naturalist

The Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) and Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) are long-legged wading birds that can forage throughout a 24-hour cycle. Nocturnal foraging enables these species to take advantage of optimal foraging conditions and reduced competition. This study aims to investigate how environmental factors influence the nocturnal foraging behavior of these species. To monitor foraging activity, we deployed 17-18 infrared cameras from dusk until dawn from 4 October 2023 to 24 July 24 2024, covering two sampling periods across different habitats within Fort De Soto County Park, a barrier island complex in Tampa Bay, Florida. We compared the frequency …

Avian Mortality On U.S. Highway 1, Middle Keys, Monroe County, Florida, Usa, Adrianna Nelson, Anthony Sanchez

Florida Field Naturalist

No abstract provided.

“Lead”Ing Industrial Science: Studying Occupational Lead Poisoning In The Early 20th Century, Rebekah E. Dreyer-Rowe

Master's Theses and Capstones

Lead was essential to the creation and coalescence of industrial hygiene as a discipline in the United States from its early days in the 1910s through the 1930s when the first professional associations of industrial hygiene were formed. In the early years, Alice Hamilton was central to the burgeoning field, and her seminal study on lead poisoning in Illinois industries thrust both her and her methods into the spotlight. Industrial hygienists of her generation followed her methods and came away with similar conclusions: that occupational diseases were rampant in the US, even if few people were studying them. In the …

Chem 244a-003: Organic Chemistry Lab, Chunmeng Lu

Chemistry, Environmental and Forensic Science Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Chem 244a-103: Organic Chemistry Lab, Chunmeng Lu

Chemistry, Environmental and Forensic Science Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Chem 490-001: Chemical Ecology The Chemistry Of Living Things, Gullermo Jimenez Aleman

Chemistry, Environmental and Forensic Science Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Chem 244a-001: Organic Chemistry I Lab, Alfredo Castro

Chemistry, Environmental and Forensic Science Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Frsc 495-001: Senior Seminar, Kevin Parmelee

Chemistry, Environmental and Forensic Science Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Frsc 475-001: Forensic General & Lab, Hao Chen

Chemistry, Environmental and Forensic Science Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Chem 473-001: Biochemistry, Bhavani Balasubramanian

Chemistry, Environmental and Forensic Science Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Biol 315-003: Principles Of Neurobiology, Kristen Severi

Biology Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Biol 644-001: Physiological Mechanisms, John Yarotsky

Biology Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Indigenous Women’S Reproductive Traditions: Reclaiming Sovereignty Through 500 Years Of Colonization, Stephanie A. Sellers

Gettysburg College Faculty Books

In Indigenous Women’s Reproductive Traditions, Stephanie Sellers delves into the rich history of Indigenous women’s reproductive practices before European colonization. The book highlights traditional methods such as birth control, abortion, and child spacing, which were integral to maintaining agency over their bodies. Sellers explores how these practices were disrupted by European patriarchal structures and examines the impact of forced sterilization in the 20th century. Today, Indigenous women are reclaiming their rights through movements for reproductive justice, advocating for a return to their ancestral practices and redefining concepts of womanhood and motherhood on their own tribal terms.

Nature Journaling (Summer 2025), Rebecca Lauck Cleary

Staff Residencies

Rebecca Lauck Cleary, Communications Specialist in the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, went on nature walks and to the Memphis Botanic Garden, then wrote about and painted the natural world around me.

Cardiovascular And Aortic Wave Reflection Responses To Evening Binge Alcohol Consumption, Grant Thivierge, Ian Greenlund, Jeremy Bigalke, Carl Smoot, Jason R. Carter, John J. Durocher

Michigan Tech Publications

Evening binge alcohol consumption contributes to sleep disruption and autonomic dysregulation that persists into the following morning. However, its impact on morning-after arterial stiffness and aortic wave reflection remains unknown. Using a randomized, crossover, fluid-controlled design, we hypothesized that heart rate (HR), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), aortic augmentation index (AIx), and aortic pulsatile load (APL) would be increased acutely after binge drinking at night (study 1) and the morning-after binge drinking (study 2). Participants (n=33, 18 females, 15 males, age 25±1 years, BMI: 27±1 kg/m) completed binge alcohol (4-5 drink equivalent) and fluid control protocols. Study 1 examined cardiovascular …

The Bridwell Quarterly Issue 28 Summer 2025, Anthony Elia, Michelle S. Ried

Bridwell Library Publications

No abstract provided.

Synthetic And Analytical Methods For Metal Targeting Peptides For The Sensing And Removal Of Metals Across Various Matrices, Emily Andrews

Doctoral Dissertations

Metal chelators developed from peptides boast favorable attributes such as low toxicity, ease of synthesis, and high tunabilty to the target metal ion. It is for these reasons that peptides are used for metal sensing and sequestration in the body and environment. Herein, two unique sets of metal targeting peptides are discussed: (1) bifunctional Szeto-Schiller and Kelley peptide probes to signal the presence of and remove labile iron (Fe2+ and Fe3+) in the mitochondria, to mitigate the progression of Ferroptosis and (2) Pb2+ targeting peptides designed to exist in aqueous environments for the removal of toxic lead ions from waterways. …

Multiscale Modeling And Analysis Of Biomedically Relevant Uhmwpe-Based Composite Materials, Stanislav Buklovskyi

Doctoral Dissertations

The development of ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethylene (UHMWPE) based composite materials continues to present significant opportunities in biomedical engineering, particularly in joint arthroplasty and implant technologies. As applications expand, the need for accurate modeling of microstructure–property relationships to guide informed material design and manufacturing decisions is increasing. This dissertation presents a multiscale numerical modeling framework informed by X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) data to corelate the effective mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of biomedically relevant composite systems with their microstructure.

Two material systems are considered: UHMWPE reinforced with conductive carbon black (CB) nanoparticles, and porous UHMWPE with two processes of pores generation. For CB/UHMWPE …

From Structure To Specificity: Biophysical Characterization Of Functional Interfaces In Protein Systems, Logan M. Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

Proteins are nature’s dynamic molecular machines, operating across a spectrum from highly ordered scaffolds to intrinsically disordered systems, and executing functions that depend on both precise structures and conformational flexibility. Yet, the mechanistic rules linking sequence, structure, and activity particularly in disordered proteins and specialized functional adaptations remain incompletely understood. This dissertation addresses that gap by integrating structural biology, biophysics, and protein engineering to dissect molecular recognition, stability, and function across three diverse yet thematically connected protein systems. Building on this understanding of protein structure and function, the following four projects apply these concepts to address diverse biological questions, ranging …

Evaluating The Effects Of Agricultural Management Practices On Beneficial Arthropod Communities, Isaac Newton Ativor

Doctoral Dissertations

Arthropods provide essential ecosystem services to our agricultural landscapes. These ecosystem services include biological control of pest organisms, including weed seeds, and plant pollination. Concerningly, however, there has been a global decline in insect populations over the last decade, a major cause of which is agricultural intensification. Previous research has demonstrated that agricultural management practices can strongly influence the species composition and abundance of arthropod communities, and therefore presumably the ecosystem services or disservices these organisms provide; however, our understanding of these interactions remains limited. I conducted three studies to investigate whether agricultural practices common in annual row crop (tillage …

Investigations Into Prior Knowledge And Self-Efficacy As Predictors Of Exam Performance In General Chemistry, And Student Interactions With Chemistry Textbooks, Gordon Hunter

Doctoral Dissertations

The first chapter addresses the validity and reliability of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) as a tool for chemistry education research. The study shows that the original MSLQ did not meet modern standards of reliability and presents a modified version that better captures self-efficacy in chemistry-specific contexts. The revised instrument shows improved model fit, reinforcing the importance of refining assessment tools for chemistry education research.The effects of prior knowledge and self-efficacy on student performance in a first-semester general chemistry course are investigated in the second chapter. Self-efficacy, defined as a learner's belief in their capability to successfully accomplish …

Planning Responses To Drinking Water System Emergencies, Jingyan Huang

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite extensive efforts to ensure clean and safe drinking water, drinking water contamination emergencies remain a persistent challenge in the United States. These events can result in widespread public health impacts, economic losses, and long-term environmental damage, particularly when triggered by hazardous chemical releases. Effective management of such crises requires a dual focus on both technical preparedness and human decision-making. This dissertation addresses these challenges through a two-part investigation that bridges pre-incident planning and post-incident response. It is guided by two core research objectives: (1) to evaluate commonly applied emergency countermeasures from both resilience and sustainability perspectives; and (2) to …

Missing Child Incidents Resulting In Death: Distinguishing Features Between False Allegations, Wander-Offs, And True Child Abductions, Madison N. Sundberg-Alley

Doctoral Dissertations

Children are reported missing in the United States for a multitude of reasons every year. Often, law enforcement is tasked with investigating these disappearances and recovering the missing child. In some instances, determining the reason why a child is missing can be challenging. This study focuses on three types of missing child episodes that result in fatality: child abduction homicides (CAH), false allegations of child disappearance (FACD), and wander-offs (WO). This exploratory analysis contributes to a gap in the literature by identifying some possible differences between case types that may assist police in determining the likely explanation for the disappearance. …

Counting Kelp: Development And Assessment Of Modelling Approaches To Improve Understanding Of Kelp Bed Abundance And Resilience In The Gulf Of Maine, Constance N. Tyler

Doctoral Dissertations

Kelp habitats in the Gulf of Maine are threatened by rising ocean temperatures and marine invasions. The replacement of kelps with red turf macroalgae fundamentally alters these habitats and disrupts the ecosystem services they provide. Thorough assessment and monitoring of kelp habitats is needed for proper conservation of these habitats, but most long-term monitoring is performed using traditional survey methods that are restricted in the amount of space they can cover. Habitat modelling approaches are required to expand our knowledge of Gulf of Maine kelp habitats, and to better understand the interactions between kelp and red turf habitats across the …

Bio-Acoustical Statistical Signal Processing For Detection, Classification, And Population Estimation In Wildlife Monitoring, Yue Liang

Doctoral Dissertations

Sound is a primary way for many animal species to communicate, forage, navigate, and assess their environment. As a result, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), the recording and analysis of animal vocalizations, has become a valuable, non-invasive alternative to visual surveys. However, the massive volume of acoustic data generated annually, often reaching hundreds of terabytes, presents a significant challenge for efficient analysis. Since manual inspection of every frame in such data is infeasible, it is essential to develop automated detection and classification tools.

This thesis investigates and develops several statistical signal processing and machine learning techniques to address this challenge. The …

Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, Genomics In A Well-Mixed Estuarine System: Examining Population Structure, Viability, And Response To Stressors, Alyssa Strickland

Doctoral Dissertations

Eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, are foundational estuarine species that contribute to a variety of ecosystem services including water filtration, nutrient cycling, habitat creation, and shoreline protection. However, populations have declined due to disease, overharvesting, habitat loss, and climate change, especially in northern systems such as New Hampshire’s Great Bay Estuary (GBE), located in the Gulf of Maine, one of the world’s fastest warming waters. This dissertation uses genomic and transcriptomic approaches to understand the drivers of population structure, decline, and resilience in GBE oyster populations, aiming to aid restoration and aquaculture. Chapter 1 used low-coverage whole-genome sequencing to understand population …

Uncovering The Plant-Microbe-Permafrost Paradigm As It Relates To Soil Priming And Arctic Carbon Cycles, Sean Robert Schaefer

Doctoral Dissertations

Permafrost, or perennially frozen soil, covers approximately 25% of the northern hemisphere and contains over half of the world’s soil organic carbon stocks. Permafrost-affected regions are rapidly warming, resulting in ecosystem changes including permafrost thaw and a shift from sedge-dominated to shrub-dominated plant communities. As permafrost thaws, it releases previously unavailable compounds to plants and microorganisms. Plant root inputs can then stimulate the decomposition of thawed permafrost, increasing greenhouse gas emissions in a process called priming. Permafrost thaw increases the decomposition of previously frozen soil organic matter (SOM); however, the extent of decomposition is highly dependent on plants and their …

Addressing Economic Valuation Issues Of Outdoor Recreation: Case Studies Of Lake Michigan Invasive Carp And Plum Island Visits, Iris Tryfoni

Doctoral Dissertations

Environmental valuation is the process of assigning monetary value on environmental goods and services, which do not easily have market prices. It is, however, possible to over- or underestimate the economic valuation of outdoor recreation issues, specifically (1) recreational fishing and (2) beach recreation. Despite their different focuses, both case studies share a common objective of refining methodologies to better understand and address complex environmental issues from an economic perspective. Traditional recreation valuation techniques often lack explicit connection to ecology, which can be impacted by various factors. Addressing this gap, in the first part of my dissertation, I propose a …

Long-Term Patterns In The Relative Abundance Of Common Snook As A Factor Of Shifting Environmental Conditions In The Florida Coastal Everglades, Jordan A. Massie, Ryan J. Rezek, Rolando O. Santos, W. Ryan James, Natasha M. Viadero, Ross E. Boucek, Jennifer S. Rehage

Marine Science

Objective Environmental variability as a factor of climate change and water management can result in fluctuations in the abundance and distribution of fish populations from year to year, with either negative or positive effects depending on behavioral and physiological requirements and the ability to adapt to changing conditions. Variability in water levels can also influence prey availability, affecting predator abundance in seasonal foraging areas. In this study, our objective was to better understand how environmental variation has affected the relative abundance of Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis in the freshwater/estuarine habitats of Everglades National Park. Methods Electrofishing data over 17 years …

Linking Hydrology, Temperature, And Energetics: Global Change Implications For The Foraging Ecology Of A Generalist Predator, Mack White, W. Ryan James, Justin S. Lesser, Ryan J. Rezek, Jonathan R. Rodemann, Ross E. Boucek, Rolando O. Santos, Jennifer S. Rehage

Marine Science

Objective: The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of temperature, hydrology, and body size on the diet and energy requirements of a generalist predator, Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis (hereafter, “snook”), to gain a better understanding of predator–prey dynamics in the wake of global change. We first ask how temperature, hydrology, and body size influence the occurrence of fish, invertebrates, and empty stomachs in the diet of snook. Next, we model the energetic requirements of snook as a function of body size and temperature. Last, we use predation simulations to test how changes in prey quality, together with …