Life Sciences Commons^™

Ectotherm Thermoregulation At Fine Scales: Novel Methods Reveal A Link Between The Spatial Distribution Of Temperature And Habitat Quality, Ian Axsom

Master's Theses

Investigating ecological questions at the scale of individual organisms is necessary to understand and predict the biological consequences of environmental conditions. For small organisms this can be challenging because we need tools with the appropriate accuracy and resolution to record and quantify their ecological interactions. Unfortunately, many of our existing tools are only appropriate for medium to large organisms or those that are wide ranging, inhibiting our ability to investigate the ecology of small organisms at fine scales.

In Chapter 1, I tested a novel workflow for recording animal movements at very fine spatial and temporal scales. The workflow combined …

An Integrated Approach For Controlling Verticillium Wilt Of Strawberry, Jack T. Koster

Master's Theses

Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa, Duch.) is an important crop in California, with more than 35,000 acres planted in 2018 resulting in a farm gate value of $3.1 billion. In 2020, California strawberry production accounted for more than 85% of national strawberry production and faces serious threats to production due to various soil-borne diseases. One such disease, Verticillium wilt, is caused by the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae and is commonly found in temperate zones around the world where strawberries are grown. Due to the phase-out of efficacious fumigants like methyl bromide, alternative disease management methods have become necessary to …

Determination Of Fungicide Resistance In Botrytis Cinerea On Wine Grapes In California's Central Coast Region, Evelyn Alvarez-Mendoza

Master's Theses

Botrytis bunch rot, caused by Botrytis cinerea, is a fungal disease that primarily affects the fruit of wine grapes. Infection of fruit consequently results in reduced yields and wine quality. These factors lead to significant economic losses for growers which prompts the implementation of management practices to control the disease. One objective of this study was to evaluate the level of resistance that populations of B. cinerea in the Central Coast region showed to various chemicals. A fungicide assay was conducted to determine resistant phenotypes to six fungicide active ingredients (pyrimethanil, iprodione, fenhexamid, fludioxonil, trifloxystrobin, boscalid). Thirty-five (2020) and …

Cofermentation, Post-Alcoholic, And Post-Malolactic Fermentation Blending Of Malbec, Merlot And Petite Sirah Wines, Armando Arturo Vega-Osorno

Master's Theses

A two-year study was conducted to assess the effects of cofermentation on red wine varietals. During the winemaking process, wines can be made from two or more varieties by picking, crushing and fermenting them together, a practice known as cofermentation. They can also be blended either after the completion of alcoholic fermentation or after malolactic fermentation. In the first year of the study, two grape varieties, Merlot (Mer), and Malbec (Mal) were cofermented. On the second year, a third varietal, Petite Sirah (PS) was also studied. Cofermented wines containing every possible binomial combination of the varietals was made and one …

Efficacy Of Chemical And Biological Stump Treatments For The Control Of Heterobasidion Occidentale Infection Of California Abies Concolor, Adrian Luis Poloni

Master's Theses

We conducted an experimental evaluation of treatments to limit Heterobasidion occidentale infection of white fir (Abies concolor) stumps and wounds in California mixed conifer forests. We tested the efficacy of urea, borate, and a mixture of two locally collected Phlebiopsis gigantea strains in preventing pathogen colonization of fir stumps and separately, urea and borate as infection controls on experimental stem wounds. These were paired with a laboratory test on ~100 g wood blocks with and without a one-week delay between inoculation and treatment. Urea, borates, and Phlebiopsis treatments all significantly reduced the stump surface area that was colonized …

Seed Longevity And Climatic Tolerance Of San Joaquin Wooly-Threads (Monolopia Congdonii; Asteraceae) An Endangered Plant From The San Joaquin Desert, California, Paul Excoffier

Master's Theses

San Joaquin wooly-threads (Monolopia congdonii; Asteraceae) is a federally-listed, endangered annual plant species from the desert areas of the San Joaquin Valley. Its limited range puts it at risk of extinction if the climate changes in such a way as to hinder its growth and reproduction. The primary aims of the study were to 1) determine how long-lived the seeds of the M. congdonii are, a key determinant of survival of desert annual plant populations through long droughts and 2) determine how severely hotter, drier conditions impact the ability of emerged plants to grow and reproduce. Secondarily, I …

Understanding Rare Species In California: An Assessment Of Camatta Canyon Amole (Hooveria Purpurea Var. Reducta) And A Meta-Analysis Of California Rare Plants In Literature, Kieran N. Althaus

Master's Theses

California is currently in the midst of a biodiversity crisis. There are approximately 5,000 native species of plants in California, a quarter of which are considered rare. Determining threats to these rare plants is often times difficult. Despite California's botanical resources, we still know very little about much of California’s rare plants. San Luis Obispo County is home to 2,000 of California’s native plant taxa, one- third of which are rare or endemic to the county. These species are of great local and environmental concern.

In Chapter 1, we attempted to assess the impact of non native species on a …

Distribution And Ecological Function Of Pacific Lamprey In The San Luis Obispo Creek Watershed, Parker Kalan

Master's Theses

Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) is an endemic species to coastal watersheds along the Pacific Rim in North America and Asia. The species' geographic distribution is retracting and has not been mapped precisely, and the ability for the species to provide ecosystem services, such as water filtration, for supporting watershed management has not been tested. The San Luis Obispo Creek watershed, California, USA is at the southern end of Pacific lamprey’s retracting distribution, and the San Luis Obispo watershed is impacted by degraded water quality, making investigation of Pacific lamprey in the San Luis Obispo Creek watershed of direct …

Specialized Named Entity Recognition For Breast Cancer Subtyping, Griffith Scheyer Hawblitzel

Master's Theses

The amount of data and analysis being published and archived in the biomedical research community is more than can feasibly be sifted through manually, which limits the information an individual or small group can synthesize and integrate into their own research. This presents an opportunity for using automated methods, including Natural Language Processing (NLP), to extract important information from text on various topics. Named Entity Recognition (NER), is one way to automate knowledge extraction of raw text. NER is defined as the task of identifying named entities from text using labels such as people, dates, locations, diseases, and proteins. There …

A Comparative Study Of The Effects Of Microalgae On Poultry Production, Taylor Kaitlyn O'Lear Reid

Master's Theses

Research has shown Spirulina to be a viable feedstuff in poultry production. Other species of microalgae are being studied to determine their effects on poultry production. This project compared four microalgaes: Hydrodictyon, Vaucheria, Uronema, and Spirulina and was broken down into three trials. The first experiment investigated the digestibility of an algae species, Spirulina, in broiler chicken diets. Eighty, 25-day-old Ross 708 broiler chicks were sorted into 20 metabolism cages and received one of two diets: Control Diet or Test Diet (75% basal diet + 25% Spirulina). The apparent ileal amino acid digestibility (AIAAD) of lysine, methionine, cysteine, threonine, isoleucine, …

The Effects Of Cofermentation Of Cider And Apple Pomace On Cider Attributes, Abigail D. Affonso

Master's Theses

Phenolics are critical to the sensory attributes and health benefits of hard cider due to their contribution to the flavor, mouthfeel, and antioxidant activity. With the increase in demand for cider, the use of dessert apple varieties has become more common leaving ciders lacking in phenolics. However, a promising method to increase their phenolic content is through maceration with apple pomace. This study evaluated the effect maceration with apple pomace during cider fermentation on the extraction of phenolic compounds, as well as its effect on the sensory properties of the final product. For this study, ciders were fermented with 0% …

Assessing Dietary Nutrient Adequacy And The Effects Of Season-Long Training On Body Composition And Metabolic Rates Of Men's Division I Collegiate Basketball Player, Morgan M. Nishisaka

Master's Theses

The success of performance in basketball may rely on both optimal body composition and nutrient intake. To our knowledge this is the first study to examine dietary intake adequacy and season-long effects on body composition and metabolism. The purpose of this study was to examine seasonal changes in body composition (BC), resting metabolic rate (RMR) and respiratory quotient (RQ), while also examining the dietary intake adequacy of NCAA DI male basketball players. BC, RMR and RQ were assessed during pre-season, in-season, and post-season (September, December, and March), while dietary assessment was collected in September and February. Results of this study …

Lytic Bacteriophages And Lactic Acid As Processing Aids Against Salmonella Spp. And Escherichia Coli O157:H7 On Marinated And Tenderized Pork Loins, Sherita Li

Master's Theses

Within the last decade, pork consumption has steadily increased and continues to be the most consumed meat globally. However, pathogenic bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics have also been increasingly found in pig farms, animals, and the environment. Bacterial food poisoning cases due to Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 appear to be linked with a variety of pork products. The meat industry has recognized that research is needed to combat the multi-drug resistance in foodborne pathogens with alternative methods of control. This study evaluated the effects of both E. coli- and Salmonella-specific lytic bacteriophages and …

Effects Of Intertidal Position On The Capacity For Anaerobic Metabolism And Thermal Stress Response In The Common Acorn Barnacle, Balanus Glandula, Kyra Anderson

Master's Theses

Intertidal habitats are characterized by dynamic, tidally-driven fluctuations in abiotic and biotic factors. Many of the environmental stressors that vary across the intertidal (e.g., temperature, oxygen, food availability, predation pressure) are strong drivers of metabolic rate in ectotherms. As such, we predicted that there may be pronounced differences in the metabolic and stress physiology of conspecific sessile invertebrates occupying at different relative tidal heights. The common acorn barnacle Balanus glandula represents an ideal model organism in which to investigate the possibility of tidal height-dependent physiological differences, owing to their wide distribution in the intertidal zone and their eurytolerant nature. In …