Other Life Sciences Commons^™

Using Biophysical Geospatial And Remotely Sensed Data To Classify Ecological Sites And States, Carson A. Stam

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Within the Intermountain West, vast expanses of big sagebrush shrubland and steppe are considered emblems of the western range. Currently, there are approximately 60 million hectares of big sagebrush within the 11 western states, four million of which are in the state of Utah. However, the historic distribution of sagebrush has been impacted by conversion to other types of land cover through juniper encroachment, urbanization, invasive weeds, and agricultural expansion. In Utah alone, big sagebrush communities have been reduced to approximately 55% of their historic extent. A primary and current example of the cumulative impact of big sagebrush loss is …

Population Dynamics And Movements Of Translocated And Resident Greater Sage-Grouse On Anthro Mountain, Utah, Natasha W. Gruber

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations have declined range-wide. Species translocations have been identified as a conservation strategy to augment declining populations in restored habitats. I evaluated protocols previously used to successfully translocate greater sage-grouse in Utah by comparing annual production, survival, habitat use, integration and seasonal movements of translocated birds and their chicks to the resident population. To conduct this study, I translocated 60 greater sagegrouse hens captured and radio-collared on Parker Mountain to Anthro Mountain in the spring of 2009 and 2010. I also captured and radio-collared 19 resident hens to serve as my control group. All …

Quorum Sensing And Other Aspects Of The Biology Of Candida Albicans, Kenneth W. Nickerson

Kenneth Nickerson Papers

Most dimorphic fungi exhibit cell density dependent effects in that they grow as yeasts when inoculated at > 10⁶ cells per ml and as mycelia when inoculated at < 10⁶ cells per ml. For Candida albicans, we discovered (2001) that this phenomenon (quorum sensing) is due to the production and secretion of the C₁₅ isoprenoid trans-trans farnesol. Since then, we found that C. albicans cells treated with sublethal levels of zaragozic acid (2003) or fluconazole (2004) produced 10-40X more farnesol and that these fluconazole treated cells were ca. 5X more toxic to mice following tail vein injection. This suggestion …

A Pilot Study: The Use Of A Survey To Assess The Food Knowledge Of Nutrition Students At Various Levels Of Nutrition Education, Chante Chambers

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A working definition of a concept known as ‘food literacy’ encompasses using basic food preparation knowledge that has been learned, understood, and practiced to make better food decisions. To advance these skills for client service, a post-secondary nutrition program would need to include objectives that allow application of knowledge. For this reason, the purpose of this study was to determine the difference in knowledge and application among students in 100, 200 and 400 level college nutrition course(s). A survey was developed to measure the food knowledge of these college students as they prepare for careers as health care professionals. The …

The Effects Of Habitat Manipulations On Utah Prairie Dogs (Cynomys Parvidens) And Their Habitat On The Awapa Plateau Recovery Area In South-Central Utah, Gretchen Elizabeth Caudill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah prairie dogs have been listed, in some capacity, under the Endangered Species Act since 1972. The lack of suitable habitat, particularly cool season grass cover,
has been identified as the primary factor impeding species recovery. Due to reproduction costs, Utah prairie dogs require a large quantity of cool season grasses. Lack of recovery has also been attributed to poor juvenile survival. Increased resources have been shown to increase weights, which would increase survival through the winter.

Beneficial habitat management techniques for Utah prairie dogs have yet to be determined for the Awapa Plateau recovery area. Utah prairie dogs require …

A Life Of Water, Sherry Pogorzelski

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

San Antonio High School Food Justice Program: A Handbook And Evaluation Of Edible Education, Katherine B. Tenneson

Pitzer Senior Theses

This senior environmental studies thesis explains and analyzes edible education through a food and gardening program at a continuation high school in Claremont, California. The first chapter situates the program-specific analysis by providing background information of the edible education movement, a history of the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California, and an explanation of why food is a powerful teaching tool. The second chapter delineates the program by describing all of its components and compiling essential resources and teaching documents. The third chapter is based on interviews with 9 of 12 involved students and 7 teachers, and thoroughly explains the outcomes …

Effect Of Plant-Derived Molecules On Acinetobacter Baumannii Biofilm On Abiotic Surfaces, Ryan P. Pelletier

Honors Scholar Theses

The emergence of multiple drug resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii has lead to an increased interest in finding alternative antimicrobial compounds for controlling the pathogen. The present study investigated the effect of three plant-derived antimicrobials, namely eugenol (EUG), carvacrol (CAR), and thymol (THY), on A. baumannii biofilms. Using concentrations equal to or greater than the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of each compound, the ability of EUG, CAR, and THY to inactivate the mature biofilms of three strains of MDR A. baumannii on polystyrene microtiter plates and stainless steel coupons was examined. All three plant-derived compounds significantly inactivated the bioflims of all …

Genetic Diversity And Genetic Structuring At Multiple Spatial Scales Across The Range Of The Northern Leopard Frog, Rana Pipiens, Ryan P. O'Donnell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Genetic diversity is the raw material for evolution: evolution cannot happen without genetic diversity, and the ability of a population to respond to a changing environment depends directly on how diverse its genes are. Understanding the distribution of genetic diversity is important for many reasons, including predicting whether species will be able to adapt to climate change and predicting the spread of invasive species. Information about the distribution of genetic diversity across the range of the Northern Leopard Frog, a declining species, will not only help us to ensure that the species can continue to evolve in response to changing …

Avian Response To Post Wildland Fire Reseeding Treatments In Great Basin Shrubsteppe, Adam B. Brewerton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildfire is often considered a destructive force. However, we have learned that fire is a natural part of many ecosystems and can even be productive by recycling nutrients, and allowing for regrowth. A natural pattern of fire frequency allows for native plants and animals to recover from its destructiveness and capitalize on its benefits. Environmental changes, such as exotic invasive species, like cheatgrass, and livestock grazing, can make recovery less likely. Cheatgrass also promotes fire. As cheatgrass establishes, fires become more frequent and larger, making it hard or impossible for native plants to recover. Land managers often reseed to restore …

Moss Mural, Chelsea Fredrikson

Senior Honors Projects

Moss Mural: Bridging the Arts and Sciences

Chelsea Fredrikson

Major: Fine Arts

Advisor: Robert Dilworth

Advisor Department: Fine Arts

Date 5-2012

Abstract

When we are young, in elementary school, we are encouraged to learn subjects together. Fine arts, science, math, and literature all work as one, and overlap to teach us valuable lessons and tools we can use as we grow. But as we become older school systems segregate subjects, forcing students to chose a direction. Do I have a creative mind, or a logical mind?

As an art student I’ve tried over the course of my college …

Mapping Fire Fuels Through Detection Of Canopy Biomass Loading In Juniper, Sagebrush, And Gambel Oak Communities, Sean Laroy Hammond

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fire fuel inventory processes are customarily labor intensive endeavors. There is a growing need for an increase in accuracy of these inventories at a landscape level, due in large part to the ever increasing development of Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). More accurate inventory and mapping of wildland fuels will facilitate a more accurate simulation of wildfire behavior and analysis of fire behavior given a myriad of fuels treatments. This paper examines one approach to inventorying fire fuels at a landscape level and developing fuel model maps to be utilized in landscape level fire behavior simulations for use by land managers …

Livestock Foraging Behavior In Response To Sequence And Interactions Among Alkaloids, Tannins, And Saponins, Tiffanny L. Jensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the past several decades, people worldwide have expressed a growing interest in reconstructing ecosystems to enhance ecological, economic, and social values. Yet, to do so we must find ways to enhance biodiversity, environmental quality and the sustainability of grazing lands. In all these instances, plants are the glue that binds soils, water, herbivores, and people. However, monocultures or simple grass-legume mixtures are not always ideal for intensively managed pastures due to their seasonality, susceptibility to pests, and monotony of plant nutrients and toxins. All plants contain so-called “toxins,” more appropriately referred to as secondary compounds, which are crucial in …

Modeling Freshwater Mussel Distribution In Relation To Biotic And Abiotic Habitat Variables In The Middle Fork John Day River, Oregon, Ericka E. Hegeman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Freshwater mussels are the most threatened taxonomic group in North America with extinction rates that exceed those of many species found in both terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems including fish, birds, and amphibians. Part of the reason that mussels are so threatened is because their larvae are parasitic on fish, making the completion of their life cycle dependent upon healthy fish populations. The imperilment of freshwater mussels is a cause for concern because of the benefits that mussels provide to freshwater ecosystems including habitat enhancement, substratum stabilization, nutrient cycling, and water clarification. Restoration and conservation efforts targeting western freshwater mussels have …

Drivers Of Nest Success And Stochastic Population Dynamics Of The Common Eider (Somateria Mollissima), David Thomas Iles

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Human-caused climate alterations to Arctic ecosystems have resulted in a constellation of impacts on the biological relationships within them, yet the consequences of these changes on the population dynamics of many species are poorly understood. Thus, an understanding of the drivers of variation in population performance is needed to inform the management and conservation of imperiled species. Here, we use a long-term dataset for the common eider, an Arctic-breeding sea duck, to examine the drivers of annual variation in nest survival, and evaluate the effects of variation in vital rates on population growth. Our chapter 2 results suggested that increased …

Identifying And Quantifying Sediment Sources And Sinks In The Root River, Southeastern Minnesota, Justin Collin Stout

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Fine sediment, normally understood to refer to sand, silts, and clays; is a natural constituent in all rivers. When in excess this fine sediment can degrade the habitat for aquatic life in these rivers, and carry with it many pollutants and nutrients which can cause adverse effects on wildlife and human populations.

Understanding how this fine sediment moves through a river system, from erosion off of hillslopes, transport through the river, and finally export from the mouth of the system is vital part to land and river management. However, predicting how fine sediment moves through a system is a difficult …

Ramphotyphlops Braminus (Brahminy Blindsnake): Predation, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

Ramphotyphlops braminus currently has the most widespread, near worldwide, nonindigenous distribution of any snake. In Florida, USA, R. braminus is rapidly expanding its distribution.

The stomach contents of a necropsied Dasypus novemcinctus (nine-banded armadillo) found on the premises of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Gaisesville in March 2011 included an intact adult R. braminus. Dasypus novemcinctus is nonindigenous in Florida. It has a primarily insectivorous diet but occasionally preys upon small vertebrates, including reptiles. This is the first record of R. braminus in the diet of D. novemcinctus.

Quorum Sensing Activity In Ophiostoma Ulmi: Effects Of Fusel Oils And Branched Chain Amino Acids On Yeast-Mycelial Dimorphism, A. Berrocal, J. Navarrete, C. Oviedo, K. W. Nickerson

Kenneth Nickerson Papers

Aims: For Ophiostoma (Ceratocystis) ulmi, the ability to undergo morphological change is a crucial factor for its virulence. To gain an understanding of quorum- sensing activity in O. ulmi as it relates to yeast-mycelium dimorphism control, this study examines the effects of branched-chain amino acids as well as their fusel alcohols and fusel acids as quorum sensing molecules.

Methods and Results: In a defined medium containing glucose, proline and salts, O. ulmi grew as yeasts when the culture was inoculated with a high density of spores (2-10⁷ CFU ml^-1) and as mycelia when inoculated …

Biology Department Newsletter, No.2, Sacred Heart University

Biology Newsletter

No abstract provided.