Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Investigating Heat Risk Messaging Using Social Media Studies And A Survey Experiment, Yajie Li

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Extreme heat causes hundreds of deaths each year in the United States even though cost-effective protective measures are available. Heat warning messages sent by government agencies have the potential to reduce the negative impacts by motivating people to take protective actions. To help reach the potential, this dissertation examined the content of warning messages and public responses to warning messages in the US. This research analyzed three kinds of data: 1) heat warning messages posted on Twitter, 2) public comments on heat warning messages posted on Facebook, and 3) experimental results collected using an online survey.

Results show that, for …

Cattle Browsing Sagebrush Steppe During Fall: Effects On Plant Community Structure And Influence Of Experience On Cattle Foraging Behavior And Body Weights, Charles A. Petersen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Historic and repetitious spring grazing by livestock, combined with altered fire regimes, has increased the density and abundance of big sagebrush and reduced the frequency of perennial grasses and forbs on many western landscapes. Periodic disturbance is critical for maintaining and improving sagebrush ecosystems. Compared with traditional disturbances – chemical, mechanical, and fire – strategic grazing with livestock offers several benefits. They include creating locally adapted cattle that can rejuvenate sagebrush steppe, which reduces costs associated with mechanical and chemical rejuvenation treatments and feeding cattle during winter, the major cost of ranch operation.

I evaluated the practicality of strategically timed …

The Impact Of Pesticides On The White-Faced Ibis, David E. Capen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) which nested in northern Utah was assessed as a species with a relatively low reproductive potential. Ibises normally laid either three or four eggs in a clutch and did not renest persistently, nor with good success, if initial nesting attempts failed. Evidence indicated that the birds did not breed until at least 2 years old. Competition for food, exposure to severe weather, and predation were conspicuous sources of nestling mortality. White-faced ibises usually fed in irrigated agricultural areas, where they came into direct contact with insecticides, such as DDT which was used routinely …

Sound Communication In The Uinta Ground Squirrel, Donna Mae Balph

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Numerous investigators have studied sound communication in animals in recent years. Most of these studies have been on birds, insects, or cetaceans, particularly the dolphin. Most of the studies on terrestrial mammals have been of the natural history type, and the authors have given an orthographic rendition of any sounds produced by that particular species. Few definitive studies have been done. There have been a few attempts to determine cause and function of sounds in mammals (Arvola, lImen, and Koponen, 1962; Bartholomew and Collias, 1962; Rowell and Hinde, 1962; Andrew, 1963).

No quantitative studies on sound communication in Citellus have …