Life Sciences Commons^™

Green Turtle Nesting Activity On Yeniyurt Beach, Hatay, Türkiye: Six-Year Results (2017–2022), Bektaş Sönmez

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Conducting long-term conservation and monitoring activities for sea turtles provides a more precise depiction of their population status compared to studies conducted across a single year. The frequency of the nesting activity may fluctuate dramatically over time, depending on the environmental conditions. This study aimed to examine the nest count, female abundance, and reproductive output of green turtles on Yeniyurt beach in the eastern Mediterranean between 2017 and 2022. The beach was surveyed annual monitoring at consistent intervals. Temporal variations in the number of nests and the abundance of females were analyzed using the Mann-Kendall and Sen Slope tests. A …

Dietary Observations Of Adult Pleurodema Nebulosum (Anura: Leptodactylidae) From Argentina, Gabriel Natalio Castillo, Cynthia J. González- Rivas

Turkish Journal of Zoology

This study is the first to examine the diet composition of adult Pleurodema nebulosum specimens based on an analysis of the gastrointestinal contents of 78 individuals. Analyzed herein were 40 specimens from a site disturbed due to anthropogenic action and 38 from a protected area in Argentina. Differences were found in the trophic consumption at both sites. In the protected area, P. nebulosum presented an active foraging mode, with a diet specialized in prey items from the Formicidae family. At the disturbed site, this amphibian showed a sit-and-wait foraging mode, with a generalist diet where it consumes Hemiptera and Coleoptera. …

Buzzworthy Messaging: Assessing Residents’ Perceptions Of Labels To Better Promote Pollinator Gardening, Colby J. Silvert, Laura A. Warner, Cody Gusto, John M. Diaz, Rachel E. Mallinger

Journal of Extension

Consumers appear more likely to purchase plants with labeling indicating pollinator-friendly production or high pollinator resource value. No standardized label for pollinator-supporting plants or landscape practices exists in the United States, which has proliferated the variety of labels used by the industry. This mixed-methods study aims to provide insight into residents’ preferred pollinator-related labelling for plants and landscape practices in order to help Extension professionals and green industry stakeholders improve outreach, marketing, and communications efforts. Findings suggest a butterfly-friendly label would be most effective for marketing while residents would accept and favorably perceive labels emphasizing either pollinator-friendly or bee-friendly attributes.

Regulatory, Structural And Functional Studies Of The Adp-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase From Photosynthetic And Heterotrophic Organisms, Gabriela Martinez-Ramirez

Dissertations

The production of biofuels like ethanol has increased with the transition to renewable energy. Starch can be converted into ethanol through chemical modification. Increasing the availability of starch is crucial to fight back climate change thus, researchers have focused on the biotechnological modification of plants. This modification is known as transgenics, where a plant is modified by the insertion of genes, to make it as productive as possible. The genes inserted code for enzymes that control pathways responsible for the synthesis of certain biomolecules, in this case starch. The synthesis of starch in plants (as glycogen in both photosynthetic and …

Mechanistic Study Of Dna Ligase Iv-Mediated Double-Strand Break Repair In Non-Homologous End Joining, Tasmin Naila, Alan E. Tomkinson

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is a crucial double-strand break repair pathway in mammalian cells, resolving DNA damage from ionizing radiation and during V(D)J recombination. Although DNA Ligase IV is the only mammalian DNA ligase involved in NHEJ, it functions as a single-turnover enzyme in vitro. Recent cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) studies revealed two LigIV molecules at the NHEJ synapse, supporting the hypothesis that two ligase molecules are needed for DSB repair by NHEJ. This study aims to validate this hypothesis by providing evidence for coordinated ligation at optimal distance and polarity preference for catalytic activity by LigIV. We determined that coordination …

A New Record Of Fleas From Nilgai Antelope In Southern Texas And Fleas From Other Wildlife, Sarah E. Mays Maestas, Jason Tidwell, John A. Goolsby, Lauren P. Maestas

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Wildlife are hosts of ectoparasites, such as fleas and ticks that may transmit human and animal pathogens. Little is known about the ecology of many ectoparasite species native to southern Texas, or their role in pathogen maintenance and transmission. Much attention has been given to the role of nonnative nilgai antelope as cattle fever tick hosts and agents of dispersal, but little attention has been given to other ectoparasites that may utilize nilgai antelope as hosts. As southern Texas is a hot-spot for flea-borne (murine) typhus, it is important to examine flea species presence, abundance, and host use in this …

Cognition And Inflammation In Youth With Perinatal Hiv, Megan Niehaus, Julie Mannarino, Jacob Bolzenius, Tori Frerichs, Robert Paul

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Background: Perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV) remains a major global health challenge. Approximately 90% of the global population of PHIV reside in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs) where access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains incomplete, particularly for PHIV. With PHIV, the brain is exposed to the virus during critical periods of brain development without the immunological benefits from ART. Unlike adults with horizontally acquired HIV whose nadir CD4+ Tcell count is a strong correlate of cognitive difficulties that persist after sustained use of ART, cognitive symptoms among PHIV youth are independent of traditional HIV disease metrics. Prior studies indicate that PHIV …

Characterizing Border Associated Macrophages During Spinal Cord Regeneration, Addison Vogt, Dana Shaw, Mayssa Mokalled

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The human central nervous system has limited regenerative ability, with injuries to the spinal cord (SC) often resulting in paralysis. Alternatively, zebrafish have enhanced innate regenerative capacity and regain full motor function following spinal cord injury (SCI). Immune activation following SCI is necessary to provide a permissive environment for tissue repair, but the immune pathways necessary for SC regeneration are not well characterized. In previous data, we have found that while immune activation is persistent into the chronic phases of SCI response in mammals, zebrafish achieve full immune clearance within 48 days post SCI. We hypothesize that one key distinction …

Mechanisms Underlying Age-Associated Exacerbation Of Pulmonary Veno-Occlusive Disease, Amit Prabhakar, Meetu Wadhwa, Rahul Kumar, Prajakta Ghatpande, Aneta Gandjeva, Rubin M. Tuder, Brian B. Graham, Giorgio Lagna, Akiko Hata

Biology

Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) is a rare but severe form of pulmonary hypertension characterized by the obstruction of pulmonary arteries and veins, causing increased pulmonary artery pressure and leading to right ventricular (RV) heart failure. PVOD is often resistant to conventional pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) treatments and has a poor prognosis, with a median survival time of 2–3 years after diagnosis. We previously showed that the administration of a chemotherapy agent mitomycin C (MMC) in rats mediates PVOD through the activation of the eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2) kinase protein kinase R (PKR) and the integrated stress response (ISR), resulting …

Nursery Cultural Practices Influence Morphological And Physiological Aspen Seedling Traits: Implications For Post-Fire Restoration, Aalap Dixit, Owen Burney

Aspen Bibliography

Aspen forests are threatened by the impacts of a changing climate and are showing large-scale mortality with meager natural regeneration to restore these loses. Therefore, there is an increasing demand for high-quality aspen seedlings to assist with forest restoration efforts. Nursery cultural practices can be used to alter aspen seedling traits to improve adaptability to dry planting conditions. In this study, the effects of container size (SC10 and D30; 158 and 590 mL, respectively) and nursery irrigation treatment (high and low irrigation; 90% and 70% container capacity, respectively) on seedling growth and a suite of morphological and physiological traits were …

Regulation Of Spermatogenesis By The Btb Transcription Factor Ribbon, Madeline Kyung Hee Hakala

Master's Theses

The transcription factor Ribbon (Rib) plays an essential role in Drosophila testis development and function. Increased expression of rib throughout development results in significant morphology defects in the adult testis. If overexpression is limited to germ cells and somatic cells in the adult, more mild defects are observed. To better understand how Rib regulates spermatogenesis, we are interested in identifying its transcriptional targets in this context. Through bulk RNA sequencing, differential expression analysis, and subsequent filtering of results, we identified 301 genes with significant changes in expression when rib was overexpressed. Given the previously described role of Rib in the …

Effects Of Revegetation Approaches On Wetland Plant Community Reassembly Under Hydrologic Extremes, Maddie Houde, Karin Kettenring

Browse all Datasets

Active revegetation is often necessary to recover native plant communities in disturbed or degraded wetlands. However, active revegetation has been pursued less in wetlands than other ecosystems and thus, there are few established best practices to guide implementation. Additionally, wetland revegetation is challenging due to dynamic hydrology becoming more extreme and high invasive plant propagule pressure that can limit native plant recruitment and favor invasive plant dominance. In this study, we tested the efficacy of varied revegetation approaches on native plant reassembly and invasion resistance in semi-arid wetlands subject to seasonal hydrologic fluctuations. In a Great Salt Lake wetland in …

How Does Your Garden Grow? Development Of A Calculator To Evaluate The Economic And Dietary Impact Of Edible Gardens, Sofia O. Sanchez, Katie Funderburk, Erin Reznicek, Sondra M. Parmer

Journal of Extension

Edible gardens can increase fruit and vegetable availability and access. Weighing produce is a method to evaluate gardens, however there are limited methods that translate garden yields to dietary yields and that document Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) garden yields. We developed a Garden Harvest Calculator to evaluate edible garden economic and dietary impact. Over three spring-to-summer growing seasons, 12 – 18 gardens produced 6,499 pounds of produce worth $11,606.95. This equates to 24,922 cups, enough for 4,984 adults to meet dietary recommendations. SNAP-Ed supported gardens may positively contribute to dietary needs while reducing barriers to food access.

Tracing Atlantic Sea Scallops Using Radio Frequency Identification (Rfid) Technology, Will Shoup, David Rudders, Jonathon Peros

Journal of Extension

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) represents a technology that has the potential to enhance many aspects of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery. Driven by fishery management and market forces, fishery product traceability benefits fisheries managers, consumers, and fishermen. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of RFID technology in the scallop fishery, a solution is proposed that would help establish clear Chain of Custody (CoC) so that the scallop supply chain can be better documented. Implementation and acceptance of any new technology will hinge on effective communication and extension efforts that can leverage the multi-benefit aspects of adopting RFID into the fishery.

Impacts Of Stormwater And Land Cover On The Abundance, Transport, And Composition Of Anthropogenic Litter In Urban Watersheds, Bailey Austin Schwenk

Master's Theses

Anthropogenic litter (AL; trash) is defined as any manufactured item that ends up in the environment. AL consists of many different materials including glass, metal, and plastic, the latter of which typically represents a dominant constituent and has been a major focus of research. Plastic litter and other AL types are pervasive to all types of ecosystems, are persistent in the environment, and are increasing. Rivers are a major conduit transporting AL to oceans. However, rivers also retain and transform AL. More research is needed to understand AL dynamics within rivers, which will improve global models of AL movement and …

Neoadjuvant Parpi Or Chemotherapy In Ovarian Cancer Informs Targeting Effector Treg Cells For Homologous-Recombination-Deficient Tumors, Yikai Luo, Yu Xia, Dan Liu, Xiong Li, Huayi Li, Jiahao Liu, Dongchen Zhou, Yu Dong, Xin Li, Yiyu Qian, Cheng Xu, Kangjia Tao, Guannan Li, Wen Pan, Qing Zhong, Xingzhe Liu, Sen Xu, Zhi Wang, Ronghua Liu, Wei Zhang, Wanying Shan, Tian Fang, Siyuan Wang, Zikun Peng, Ping Jin, Ning Jin, Shennan Shi, Yuxin Chen, Mengjie Wang, Xiaofei Jiao, Mengshi Luo, Wenjian Gong, Ya Wang, Yue Yao, Yi Zhao, Xinlin Huang, Xuwo Ji, Zhaoren He, Guangnian Zhao, Rong Liu, Mingfu Wu, Gang Chen, Li Hong, Cocpo Consortium, Ding Ma, Yong Fang, Han Liang, Qinglei Gao

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) is prevalent in cancer, sensitizing tumor cells to poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition. However, the impact of HRD and related therapies on the tumor microenvironment (TME) remains elusive. Our study generates single-cell gene expression and T cell receptor profiles, along with validatory multimodal datasets from >100 high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) samples, primarily from a phase II clinical trial (NCT04507841). Neoadjuvant monotherapy with the PARP inhibitor (PARPi) niraparib achieves impressive 62.5% and 73.6% response rates per RECIST v.1.1 and GCIG CA125, respectively. We identify effector regulatory T cells (eTregs) as key responders to HRD …

Small Gtp-Binding Protein Gdp Dissociation Stimulator Influences Cisplatin-Induced Acute Kidney Injury Via Perk-Dependent Er Stress, Yuxue Yang, Ting Xiong, Ti Wang, Xiwei Chen, Ziwei Ma, Bangyun Zuo, Dong Ning, Ruilong Song, Xuesong Liu, Daxin Wang

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Cisplatin is a common anticancer drug, but its frequent nephrotoxicity limits its clinical use. Small GTP-binding protein GDP dissociation stimulator (smgGDS), a small GTPase chaperone protein, was considerably downregulated during cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (CDDP-AKI), especially in renal tubular epithelial cells. SmgGDS-knockdown mice was established and found that smgGDS knockdown promoted CDDP-AKI, as demonstrated by an increase in serum creatine, blood urea nitrogen levels and the appearance of tubular patterns. RNA sequencing suggested that protein kinase RNA-like ER kinase (PERK), which bridges mitochondria-associated ER membranes, was involved in smgGDS knockdown following CDDP-AKI, and then identified that smgGDS knockdown increased phosphorylated-PERK …

Using Airborne Edna To Assess Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges Tsugae) Infestations And Their Impact On Michigan Coastal Forests, Keely C. Dunham

Masters Theses

Invasive species colonization degrades ecosystem structure and function, creating a cascade of ecological consequences. Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA, Adelges tsugae) is an invasive insect that has killed millions of eastern hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis), a foundation species in North America. HWA feed on eastern hemlocks, resulting in tree mortality within several years. In Michigan, land managers depend on early detection to contain infestations and respond through forest-level management. Environmental DNA (eDNA) applications have recently become a powerful biomonitoring tool for invasive species detection. This thesis had two main objectives: we investigated whether molecular analyses could assess HWA infestation level and we …

Pattern, Process And The Evolution Of Sexual Dimorphism In Three-Spine Stickleback Fish Gasterosteus Aculeatus From Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Katie Van Dame

Master's Theses

Males and females of a species often differ from one another in phenotype—a phenomenon known as sexual dimorphism. Sexual dimorphism is most often attributed to sexual selection. However, sexual dimorphism also derives from natural selection when resource competition generates disruptive selection favoring specialization on different resources, resulting in niche partitioning and the evolution of dimorphism in traits related to competition. Sexual dimorphism may be an important route to increased individual fitness (i.e., more resources, more survival). For example, ecologically driven divergent selection between sexes may derive from differences in their environments, resulting in the evolution of dimorphism in traits related …

The Scaffolding Function Of Lsd1 Controls Dna Methylation In Mouse Escs, Sandhya Malla, Kanchan Kumari, Carlos A García-Prieto, Jonatan Caroli, Anna Nordin, Trinh T T Phan, Devi Prasad Bhattarai, Carlos Martinez-Gamero, Eshagh Dorafshan, Stephanie Stransky, Damiana Álvarez-Errico, Paulina Avovome Saiki, Weiyi Lai, Cong Lyu, Ludvig Lizana, Jonathan D Gilthorpe, Hailin Wang, Simone Sidoli, Andre Mateus, Dung-Fang Lee, Claudio Cantù, Manel Esteller, Andrea Mattevi, Angel-Carlos Roman, Francesca Aguilo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Lysine-specific histone demethylase 1 (LSD1), which demethylates mono- or di- methylated histone H3 on lysine 4 (H3K4me1/2), is essential for early embryogenesis and development. Here we show that LSD1 is dispensable for mouse embryonic stem cell (ESC) self-renewal but is required for mouse ESC growth and differentiation. Reintroduction of a catalytically-impaired LSD1 (LSD1MUT) recovers the proliferation capability of mouse ESCs, yet the enzymatic activity of LSD1 is essential to ensure proper differentiation. Indeed, increased H3K4me1 in Lsd1 knockout (KO) mouse ESCs does not lead to major changes in global gene expression programs related to stemness. However, ablation of LSD1 but …

Targeting Igf2 To Reprogram The Tumor Microenvironment For Enhanced Viro-Immunotherapy, Min Hye Noh, Jin Muk Kang, Alexandra A Miller, Grace Nguyen, Minxin Huang, Ji Seon Shim, Alberto J Bueso-Perez, Sara A Murphy, Kimberly A Rivera-Caraballo, Yoshihiro Otani, Eunju Kim, Seung-Hee Yoo, Yuanqing Yan, Yeshavanth Banasavadi-Siddegowda, Hiroshi Nakashima, E Antonio Chiocca, Balveen Kaur, Zhongming Zhao, Tae Jin Lee, Ji Young Yoo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The FDA approval of oncolytic herpes simplex-1 virus (oHSV) therapy underscores its therapeutic promise and safety as a cancer immunotherapy. Despite this promise, the current efficacy of oHSV is significantly limited to a small subset of patients largely due to the resistance in tumor and tumor microenvironment (TME).

METHODS: RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was used to identify molecular targets of oHSV resistance. Intracranial human and murine glioma or breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) tumor-bearing mouse models were employed to elucidate the mechanism underlying oHSV therapy-induced resistance.

RESULTS: Transcriptome analysis identified IGF2 as one of the top-secreted proteins following oHSV treatment. …

90y Sir-Spheres Activity Measurement With New Siros D-Vial Delivery Kit, Benjamin P Lopez, S Cheenu Kappadath

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

A new 90Y SIR-Spheres delivery kit (SIROS D-vial and shield) has been introduced with a different physical form from the legacy V-Vial kit. Here, we establish the dose calibrator settings and exposure-rate-to-activity conversion factor to assay 90Y SIR-Spheres activity in the new SIROS kit.

Methods: Eight D-vials with initial 90Y activities from 1.2 to 6.6 GBq within acrylic shields were assayed with dose calibrators and exposure-rate meters until activities decayed to approximately 0.1 GBq. The dose calibrator settings resulting in the lowest median activity errors and the best-fit slope of exposure rate versus activity were identified.

Results: SIROS D-vial 90Y …

Perilous Consequences Of Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia In Afflicted Cancer Survivors: A Comprehensive State Of The Art Review, Salma A. Fereig, Mona Gamal Arafa, Ghada Mamdouh Elzaafarany, Mona Mohamed Ahmed Abdelmottaleb, John Youshia

Pharmacy

Due to researchers’ great efforts during previous and current centuries to cure cancer, a remarkable increase in the number of cancer survivors has been observed. However, side effects of chemotherapeutic agents greatly affect the quality of life of cancer cases, usually referred to as cancer stigma, the most psychologically traumatizing of which is chemotherapy-induced alopecia (anagen effluvium). Unfortunately, there is no preventive protocol for chemotherapy-induced alopecia to date. The only suggested technique is vasoconstriction by scalp cooling during and after chemotherapy sessions to minimize the absorption of cytotoxic agents within the hair follicle area; a technique that is not very …

Methane Fluxes In Tidal Marshes Of The Conterminous United States, Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Jaxine Wolfe, Scott D. Bridgham, Sara Knox, Gavin Mcnicol, Brian A. Needelman, Julie Shahan, Ellen J. Stuart-Haëntjens, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Patty Y. Oikawa, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Joshua S. Caplan, Margaret Capooci, Kenneth M. Czapla, R. Kyle Derby, Heida L. Diefenderfer, Inke Forbrich, Gina Groseclose, Jason K. Keller, Cheryl Kelley, Amir E. Keshta, Helena S. Kleiner, Ken W. Krauss, Robert R. Lane, Sarah Mack, Serena Moseman-Valtierra, Thomas J. Mozdzer, Peter Mueller, Scott C. Neubauer, Genevieve Noyce, Katrina V. R. Schäfer, Rebecca Sanders-Demott, Charles A. Schutte, Rodrigo Vargas, Nathaniel B. Weston, Benjamin Wilson, J. Patrick Megonigal, James R. Homquist

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) with atmospheric concentrations that have nearly tripled since pre-industrial times. Wetlands account for a large share of global CH4 emissions, yet the magnitude and factors controlling CH4 fluxes in tidal wetlands remain uncertain. We synthesized CH4 flux data from 100 chamber and 9 eddy covariance (EC) sites across tidal marshes in the conterminous United States to assess controlling factors and improve predictions of CH4 emissions. This effort included creating an open-source database of chamber-based GHG fluxes (https://doi.org/10.25573/serc.14227085). Annual fluxes across chamber and EC sites averaged 26 ± 53 g CH4 …

Vegetation Masking Of Remote Sensing Data Aids Machine Learning For Soil Fertility Prediction, Hans Edwin Winzeler, Marcelo Mancini, Joshua Michael Blackstock, Zamir Libohova, Phillip R. Owens, Amanda J. Ashworth, David Miller, Sergio Silva

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Soil nutrient content varies spatially across agricultural fields in hard-to-predict ways, particularly in floodplains with complex fluvial depositional history. Satellite reflectance data from the Sentinel-2 (S2) mission provides spatially continuous land reflectance data that can aid model development when used with point observations of nutrients. Reflectance from vegetation is assumed to obstruct land reflectance of bare soil, such that researchers have masked vegetation in models. We developed a routine for masking vegetation within Google Earth Engine (GEE) using Random Forest classification for iterative application to libraries of S2-images. Using gradient boosting, we then developed soil nutrient models for surface soils …

Determination Of Calcium Digestibility And Bioavailability In 5 Limestone Sources Using Commercial Broiler And Crossbred Chickens, R. L. Drysdale, P. L. Utterback, Benjamin Parsons, C. M. Parsons

Poultry Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Three experiments were conducted to determine effect of feeding 5 commercial limestones varying in solubility (88–97%), mean particle size (500–700 microns), and geographical origin on Ca bioavailability and digestibility in commercial broiler and crossbred chickens. In Experiment 1, both crossbred and commercial chickens were used to measure the effect of dietary Ca level on tibia bone ash to develop a slope-ratio Ca bioavailability assay. Chickens were fed diets that contained Ca levels ranging from 0.20% to 0.95% from 9 to 22 d-of-age. Regressions of bone ash (mg/tibia and %) on supplemental Ca intake yielded large linear responses in both types …

Prospective Exploratory Evaluation Of Cepheid Xpert Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Host Response Cartridge: A Focus On Adolescents And Young Adults, Marva Seifert, Donald G. Catanzaro, Michael Gracia, Naomi Hillery, Sabira Tahseen, Faisal Masood, Uzma Majeed, Rebecca E. Colman, Rehan Syed, Antonino Catanzaro, Timothy Rodwell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background. An accurate, rapid, non-sputum-based triage test for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) is needed. Methods. A prospective evaluation of the Cepheid GeneXpert Mycobacterium tuberculosis Host Response cartridge (Xpert- MTB-HR), a prototype blood-based host response mRNA signature assay, among individuals presenting with TB-like symptoms was performed in Pakistan and results were compared to 3 reference standards: Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra, bacteriological confirmation (Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra and/or culture positivity), and composite clinical diagnosis (clinician diagnosis, treatment initiation, Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra, and/or culture positivity). Analyses were conducted both for the entire study cohort and separately in the adolescent and young adult cohort (aged 10–24 years). …

A Marine Knowledge System For Ocean Affairs: Integrating Data, Evaluating Usage, And Enabling Sustainable Marine Management, Yu-Jen Pan

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study presents the evolution and assessment of the Marine Knowledge Education System (MKES), designed to improve user acceptance among students in professional marine science courses in Taiwan. The MKES leverages real-world maritime cases from the General Coast Guard Administration and is built upon existing technologies like cloud services, social networks, and data analysis tools. The technology acceptance model (TAM) provides the theoretical underpinning for the assessment of user confidence. Data was collected from 190 participants through purposive sampling. Path analysis confirmed all hypothesized relationships within the TAM with statistical significance (p < 0.001). Additionally, paired-sample t-tests revealed a significant increase in student acceptance of the MKES after integrating it into the marine science curriculum. These findings underscore the capacity of the MKES as a digital learning tool to enrich course pedagogy and improve student learning outcomes, thereby offering valuable support in advancing the education of professional marine managers.

Insights Into Foraging Behavior From Multi-Day Sound Recording Tags On Goose-Beaked Whales (Ziphius Cavirostris) In The Southern California Bight, Shannon N. Coates, David A. Sweeney, Erin A. Falcone, Stephanie L. Watwood, Brenda K. Rone, Stacy L. De Ruiter, Jay Barlow, Karin A. Dolan, Ronald P. Morrissey, Nancy A. Dimarzio, Susan M. Jarvis, Russel D. Andrews, Gregory S. Schor

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Goose-beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) are deep-diving cetaceans known for their elusive nature and specialized foraging behavior. In 2019 and 2020, six telemetry tags were deployed on these whales in Southern California, resulting in 395 h of acoustic and diving data. Foraging dives were manually identified by the presence of echolocation pulses and buzzes, and generalized additive models assessed factors influencing foraging behavior. The median bathymetric depth at foraging sites was 1,419 m (IQR = 359), and the maximum dive depth was highly correlated with bathymetry depth. Individuals started echolocating on descent at a median depth of 410 m (IQR = …

A Revision Of Hong Kong Harvestmen : Biodiversity, Ecological Preferences And Geographical Distribution, Kai Teck Desmond Tan

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

Opiliones, or harvestmen, is a common animal found throughout the world, there are currently over 6,650 species worldwide but the actual number is estimated to exceed 10,000, making it the third largest order in the class Arachnida. Despite its diversity, it is a rather understudied group. In Hong Kong, there are four described species, but the most recent relevant literature dates back to the at least the early 20th century. This thesis focuses on two common species found in Hong Kong: one previously described species (Heterobiantes geniculatus) and one new species (Pseudoleiobunum lutulentum sp. nov.). I …