Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Conservation And Variation In Agricultural Landscapes: A Survey Of Insect Populations Across Naranjilla Cultivation Methods In The Eastern Andean Cloud Forest, Ian Zakelj

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study compared insect biodiversity among five sites in agricultural landscapes and natural forest in the El Placer community in the valley of the Rio Pastaza in the eastern Andean cloud forest. The area is of vital importance to conservation, as it falls in the ecological corridor between the Sangay and Llanganates national parks. The primary crop produced by the residents of El Placer is naranjilla, and it is cultivated in a variety of manners, mostly with intensive chemical use. The goal of the study was to find out which types of practices were the least harmful to the insect …

From River To Ridge: The Influence Of Elevation And Habitat On Herpetofauna Species Abundance And Diversity In The Llanganates-Sangay Ecological Corridor, Ecuador, Elle Hankin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ecuador is one of the most reptile-diverse countries and is home to the highest abundance of amphibians per unit area, with new species being discovered frequently. The Río Pastaza basin is located to the east of the Andes and is characterized by a steep elevational gradient, converging tropical forest types, and high levels of biodiversity and endemicity. Visual surveying was conducted at night for a total of 48 hours in four different study sites to investigate the influence of elevation and habitat on herpetofauna diversity and abundance. Two comparisons were drawn between the four study sites, grouping SKIS and Waska …

Water: The Gift And The Curse: A Climate Change Preparedness Study On An Increased Rainfall Scenarios In The Yunguilla Cloud Forest, Ecuador, Emilia Dick Fiora Del Fabro

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this project was to try and better understand the risks posed to the Yunguilla community in an increased rainfall climate change scenario. While climate modeling is not exact, many models do predict increased rain and storm intensity in this area (“Explainer…”, 2018). This project studies erosion risk, and the potential damage to crops through a series of experiments and mapping.

The first experiment used three hydration percentages 50, 75 and 100, to water two crop types, Fragaria and Caspium, and monitored plant health to see the water's effect. The hydraulic stress testing did not model an increased …

Assessing The Threat Of Coral Decline On Fish Diversity In Response To Temperature, Ryland Talmadge

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Misali, a PECCA-protected island off the east coast of Pemba, Tanzania, is considered to be a marine biodiversity hotspot with a protected Non-Extractive Zone (NEZ) and remaining Extractive Zone (EZ). Upon protection, the island’s fringe reefs faced severe coral bleaching during the 1998 bleaching event, estimated to kill up to 70% of corals. Since the event, several others have occurred in addition to restructuring the management plan in 2006 to expand the region to 1000km. While the damage from the most recent coral bleaching event in 2020 has yet to be surveyed, this study investigates the current reef health in …

The Relationship Between Substrate Composition, Community Structure And Feeding Preferences Of Parrot Fishes (Scaridae) In Anmardub, Guna Yala Coastal Reefs, Caitlin Amman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Coral reefs are important marine ecosystems, as they support biodiversity and generate buffer zones, yet their abundance is incredibly limited globally. One of the main threats that coral reefs face is excessive macroalgal coverage, which limits sunlight from reaching corals, and thus, limits the energy that can reach them. Parrot fish (Scaridae) are keystone herbivores, as they consume macroalgae growing on corals, which aids in reef survivability. While there is previous research on the abundances, sizes, and feeding habits of Scaridae species in the Caribbean, there is no published research on how community structure and feeding preferences of parrot fishes …

Los Impactos Del Cambio Climático En Las Comunidades Aymaras En Putre, El Valle De Azapa Y Arica, Lindsey Kaufman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: How is climate change affecting Aymara communities in Putre, the valley of Azapa, and Putre?

Objectives: To understand the effects of climate on communities by 1) describing which environmental problems exist and their impact on agriculture and ranching, 2) understanding the patterns of migration away from the ancestral land, 3) exploring the connections to the social determinants of health that exist with these change, and 4) analyzing the significance of these changes in the agriculture for the communities’ traditions and connection to the land.

Background: Aymara communities have historically inhabited agricultural and ranching lands in …

Aquatic Diversity In A Changing Tropical Andean Glacierized Catchment: Macroinvertebrates Reveal Possible Important Consequences To The Chimborazo Region As Glaciers Recede And The Climate Continues To Change, Tanner Thomas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Tropical Andean glaciers are retreating rapidly, and their disappearance will have drastic consequences for the people and ecosystems that depend on them. While they have begun to receive the attention they deserve in scientific literature, much is still not known. Majority of these investigations have taken place on the Volcán Antisana, while other important glacierized systems, like the Volcán Chimborazo have received little attention. This investigation aimed to a) evaluate the possible effects of glacier loss and climate change on aquatic ecosystems by comparing glacial meltwater, non-glacial and mixed streams, and b) to evaluate the effects of pasture intensity on …

How Social Media’S Rhetoric Shapes The Social Identity Of Online Groups: Forming, Confirming And Reinforcing And The Algorithmic Role, Crystal Rose

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The world has become integrated with technology at a rapid rate. The rhetoric of online platforms, due to technology integration, allows people to connect, converse, and meet others who have common character traits. Eyman (2015) defines rhetoric as an action that intends to persuade and form meaning. These platforms are referred to as "social media," which are online networks made by people who use rhetoric to form, confirm, and reinforce the connections of platform users with common character traits: Hobbies, thoughts, race, gender, or religion. These common character traits make up one's social identity. This study details the findings of …

Genes Involved In Cell Division In Acinetobacter Baumannii Are Coregulated By Umudab And Ddrr, Belinda Candra, Xiaohong Li, Eric Rouchka, Deborah Cook, Janelle Hare

2022 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

In the presence of DNA damage, the multi-drug resistant bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii employs the proteins UmuDAb and DdrR to repress the expression of error-prone polymerases.

Estimating Fish Diet In Lake Turkana, Kenya, Julia G. Sharapi

Student Publications

Lake Turkana, located in northern Kenya on the Ethiopian border, is the world’s largest permanent desert lake. Over 90% of its flow originates from the Omo River in Ethiopia, which causes the lake to have seasonal rises and falls in water level. The Omo River has been subject to the construction of five dams (the Gilgel Gibe dams) and several irrigation projects. These developments will impact the amount of water entering the lake, with implications for lake chemistry and productivity, littoral habitat availability, and the breeding biology of the lake’s fishes. Though ongoing upstream changes are likely to have serious …

Sea Level Rise And Public Perceptions Of Climate Change At Otter Point Creek Estuarine Reserve, Md, Haley A. Bechtel, Meghan L. Junis, Keylen Lucero Garcia

Student Publications

Freshwater tidal marshes are essential stopover points for migratory birds traveling up and down the east coast of North America. Given the importance of these habitats, we examined the effects of sea level rise on vegetation health and vegetation migration at Otter Point Creek Estuarine Reserve. We aimed to test three predictions: 1) vegetation health will decline over time during vegetation growth periods, 2) vegetation migration of less water-tolerant species will occur with movement into higher elevation plots, 3) people will be aware that there are impacts of climate change on species around them and themselves. We used a combination …

The North ‘Helicoptering’ Into The South: A Meta-Analysis Of Parachute Science In Ecological Field Studies, Alexandros Economou-Garcia

Student Publications

Science is increasingly collaborative, but scientists from the Global North (GN) often fail to collaborate with local scientists or to build local scientific capacity when conducting research in the Global South (GS). This practice is known as “parachute science” or “helicopter science”. In addition to ethical concerns, this practice is problematic in the field of ecology because it may reduce the likelihood that the research will inform local resource management and science policy. I hypothesized that, because research has become increasingly collaborative, there would be a decline in parachute science over time. In addition, I hypothesized that papers that included …

Occurrence And Ecosystem Effects Of Hiking Off-Trail In Michaux State Forest, Diana Biesecker, Quinn Doherty, Kevin S. Ganjon

Student Publications

American public lands provide significant outdoor recreational opportunities that enhance an individual's physical and mental well-being. Hiking is an example of a highly accessible and affordable recreational activity that is popular and easy for people to engage in no matter how experienced they are. While hiking has improved the well-being of many individuals, its impacts on local ecosystems are often disregarded. For our research, we focused on the impacts that hikers deviating off-trail may have on a local ecosystem in Michaux State Forest in Southern Pennsylvania. Through partnering with the foresters at Michaux State Forest and using AllTrails data, we …

Leveraging Land Easements For Grassland Bird Habitat Conservation, Amy N. Marigliano, Hayden E. Dubniczki, Sarah W. Westrick

Student Publications

In addressing the decline of North American grassland bird populations, it is important to consider the various interdisciplinary approaches that can be employed in their conservation. OECMs, or “other effective area-based conservation measures” encompass a wide array of strategies which can be leveraged to conserve natural landscapes and species. Land easements implemented by the Land Conservancy of Adams County (LCAC) are an example of one such strategy. The LCAC seeks primarily to preserve the rural character of Adams County but has more recently turned their focus toward environmental conservation. In partnering with the Land Conservancy, this case study aimed to …

3d Library From Body Size From Unconventional Specimens: A 3d Geometric Morphometrics Approach To Fishes From Ancestral Pueblo Contexts, Jonathan Dombrosky, Thomas F. Turner, Alexandra Harris, Emily Lena Jones

Anthropology Faculty & Staff Publications

Animal body size estimation from zooarchaeological specimens often relies on specific, one-dimensional (i.e., conventional) measures from skeletal elements. Here, we introduce an animal body size estimation technique for archaeological fishes that relies on 3D reference scans and the calculation of centroid size, a standard 3D geometric morphometric proxy measure for organism size. Centroid size-based estimations on whole caudal vertebrae are strongly correlated with a widely accepted measure (i.e., centrum width), but the scalability and flexibility of the centroid size-based approach allows for use on a wide variety of fragmented remains. We use zooarchaeological fish remains (subfamily Ictiobinae) from late pre-Hispanic …

Sex Differences In Lateral Hypothalamic Extracellular Glucose Concentrations During Cumulative Dosing Of Methamphetamine In Rats, Joshua A. Jolton

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The present study experimentally investigated sex differences in lateral hypothalamic glucose concentrations following cumulative dosing of methamphetamine. Male (n=17) and female (n=11) rats were surgically implanted with enzyme-based glucose biosensors in the lateral hypothalamus. Rats then received a saline injection followed by four methamphetamine doses (0.025 mg/kg, 0.05 mg/kg, 0.1 mg/kg, and 0.2 mg/kg) spaced 55 minutes apart. We found that while there was a general decrease in glucose baseline throughout the study for both sexes, the magnitude of the decrease was significantly greater in females compared to males. On a rapid timescale, fixed sex effects existed at the lower …

Superfund And Society Benumbed: An In-Depth Look At Environmental Justice In South Carolina, Sydney A. Hampton

Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the relationship between superfund sites in minority communities and their public health through the lens of social vulnerability. Various demographic parameters were used to assess the risk associated with minority communities and exposure to hazardous waste. After investigating the history of the Environmental Justice movement, three superfund sites of interest in South Carolina, and demographic and public health data; each community was analyzed to determine association between exposure to hazardous waste and minority status. Each examined community exhibited characteristics contributing to heightened social vulnerability, potentially causing increased susceptibility to negative health outcomes from exposure to hazardous waste.

Using Deep Learning And Uav Imagery To Detect Elkhorn Coral In St. Croix’S East End Marine Park, Samuel Wyatt

Master's Theses

Elkhorn coral, or Acropora palmata, is an important reef building species that promotes species abundance and other ecological services to the communities in the US Virgin Islands. We captured high resolution imagery of a reef in St. Croix’s East End Marine Park using a Wingtra One UAV. We then used deep learning techniques to detect individual coral colonies. We compared two deep learning models, FasterRCNN and MaskRCNN, and found that the models achieved accuracy shores up to 0.78. These scores improved when examining only larger corals in shallow waters. The model was able to both detect Elkhorn coral and …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, March & April 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 3

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2-3 Awards and Recognition
Page 4 2022 URSCAD - CNS Snaps
Page 5 Geography Convention Recap
Page 6 Attention Students!
Page 7-8 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 9 Spring Break Outreach, Adopt the Pantry,
Page 10 Discovery on Tap Event
Page 11 CNS Students Visit State Capital
Page 12 Celebrating 50 Years of Sally
Page 13 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 14 Grants Awarded and Bio-Micro Day of Scholars
Page 15 -17 2022 Geography Convention Snaps
Page 18 Sally Krueger's 50th Work Anniversary

2022 Research Day Program, Lincoln Memorial University

Research Day

This program contains abstracts and presentation summaries from LMU's 2022 Annual Research Day conference.

Essays On Socioeconomic Shocks And Policies In Agriculture, Wilman Iglesias

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The three chapters of this doctoral dissertation estimate the responses of agricultural productivity, production value of agriculture, and crop supply to some external shocks and policies. Using unique panel datasets for Colombia and the United States, this research provides new insights regarding the responsiveness of agriculture to some socioeconomic effects and related market policies. Chapter 1 studies the impact of armed conflicts in rural areas on legal agricultural productivity in Colombia by using a production function that includes violence shocks such as the forced intra-national displacement of the rural population from 1995 to 2017. Chapter 2 investigates the effect of …

Trend Analysis Of Physical Activity Measurement Research Using Text Mining In Big Data Analytics, Seungbak Lee, Minsoo Kang

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Measurements of physical activity taken in a valid and reliable way are essential in characterizing the relationship between physical activity and health outcomes. Given the steadily growing interest in the physical activity measurement and the lack of research to identify current trends, this study investigated the research trend of physical activity measurement by applying four text data mining techniques (i.e., future signal, keyword network analysis, keyword trend, and keyword association rule). A total of 54,670 publications from 1982 to 2021 were collected from PubMed. As a result, the current study 1) confirmed two weak signal topics (i.e., “validity of physical …

The Effects Of Wearable Health Technology On Cancer Survivors’ Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, And Weight: A Meta-Analysis, Daphne Blount, Rui Zhang, Anne Blaes, Zan Gao

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Wearable health technology (WHT) has been suggested as a health intervention in preventing or reducing health risk factors in clinical populations. Cancer survivors exhibit risk factors prior to cancer diagnosis and acquire comorbidities as a result of their treatment. These conditions may increase likelihood of cancer recurrence and reduce quality of life by inhibiting survivors’ physiological function and predisposing them to other maladies. Several studies have suggested WHTs as an intervention in mitigating these risks. However, there lacks a comprehensive review of the current evidence to determine the efficacy of WHT interventions. Thus, a literature search of WHT studies within …

International Approach Of Physical Activity And Health: Accomplishment And Challenges, Yuanlong Liu

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

No abstract provided.

Path Associations Between Preservice Physical Educators’ Beliefs About Epistemology And Their Value And Self-Efficacy For Sport Education And Teaching Games For Understanding, Ken R. Lodewyk

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Teachers’ beliefs about epistemology – that is, their personal broad mental representations about the nature of reality, knowledge, and how people know and learn – have been associated with the many educational outcomes both in the classroom and in physical education. Little is known about whether these beliefs predict physical educators’ value (i.e., interest, importance, like, and usefulness) and self-efficacy (i.e., confidence in performing) for using constructivist teaching models such as sport education and teaching games for understanding. As a result, this study examined path associations from beliefs about epistemology (epistemic worldviews and epistemological beliefs) to value and self-efficacy for …

Examining 24-Hour Activity And Sleep Behaviors And Related Determinants In Latino Adolescents And Young Adults With Obesity, Erica G Soltero, Neeku Navabi, Kiley B Vander Wyst, Edith Hernandez, Felipe G Castro, Stephanie L Ayers, Jenny Mendez, Gabriel Q Shaibi

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background.

Few studies have examined 24-hour activity and sleep behaviors and their contribution to type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Latino adolescents and young adults with obesity.

Aim.

This study included quantitative data on T2D risk and 24-hour activity and sleep behaviors and qualitative data on individual, social, and environmental behavioral determinants.

Method.

A 7 day, 24-hour, wrist-worn accelerometer protocol assessed moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviors (SB), sleep, and sleep regularity, in adolescents (N = 38; 12–16 years) and young adults (N = 22; 18–22 years). T2D-related outcomes included adiposity (BMI, BF%, waist circumference), fasting, and 2-hour glucose. …

Identification And Evaluation Of Tools Utilised For Measuring Food Provision In Childcare Centres And Primary Schools: A Systematic Review, Audrey Elford, Cherice Gwee, Maliney Veal, Rati Jani, Ros Sambell, Shabnam Kashef, Penelope Love

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Children aged 2–11 years spend significant hours per week in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and primary schools. Whilst considered important environments to influence children’s food intake, there is heterogeneity in the tools utilised to assess food provision in these settings. This systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate tools used to measure food provision in ECEC and primary schools. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) was followed. Publications (2003–2020) that implemented, validated, or developed measurement tools to assess food provision within ECEC or primary schools were included. Two reviewers extracted and evaluated studies, cross …

Good Cop/Bad Cop: A Comparative Analysis Of Affiliative And Aggressive Behaviors By Adult Female And Male Olive Baboons With Infants At Randilen Wildlife Management Area, Tanzania, Jesse Elop

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigated the infant-directed behaviors of adult male and female olive baboons in Randilen Wildlife Management Area in April of 2022. The objectives were 1) To determine the difference between olive baboon males and females in frequency and duration of listed behaviors towards infants; 2) To classify the interactions of adult male and adult female olive baboons with infants as either primarily affiliative or primarily aggressive; 3) To determine the frequency of selected behaviors at different reproductive phases (lactation, estrus, neutral, indeterminant) amongst female olive baboons towards infants. A single baboon troop in Randilen Wildlife Management Area was observed …

A Quantitative Study Of Orchids And Their Proximate Environments Over An Elevational Gradient On The Northern Slope Of Montagne D’Ambre, Hazel Schrader

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research investigated change in orchid populations and their proximate environments on the Northern slope of Montagne d’Ambre, a subhumid forest in Northern Madagascar. Orchid density, way of life (epiphyte or terrestrial), phenology, and associations were recorded over 100m elevation gradients and between forest types (primary, secondary, dry, and humid forests at the same altitude). Additionally, orchid preferences for certain heights in the forest and DBH of host trees were analyzed. The establishment of 50X20m plots in 100m elevation gradients combined with ground survey yielded significant results demonstrating change along with elevation as well as forest types. Orchid density increased …

Earth Stories: A Narrative Understanding Of Farmlife In Pokhara, Nepal, Grace Holmes

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Humans love to tell stories. The purpose of this Creative ISP is to collect stories, of the plants and of the earth, render them through quotations and summary, and then discuss and reflect on how these stories could describe the relationship between people and the land. I hope a narrative understanding of our dependence on agriculture can bridge the gap in modern society that separates us so fundamentally from the earth that we live on.