Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Variability Of Lacustrine Sediment Proxy Responses To Late Holocene Climate Change As Modified By Lake Specific Processes: A Review Of Ecological And Geophysical Processes Across Northern And Eastern Iceland, Mallory Mintz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Consistenly-deposited lake sediments provide some of the highest resolution records of local and global climates in the past, offering the potential to better understand modern climate change in the context of past climate variability. In relating proxies to their respective climate regimes, the environmental cues that the specific proxies reacted to must be isolated from the general noise of possible local influences. In this investigation, biogenic silica (BSi), total organic carbon (TOC), δ13C values, and carbon: nitrogen ratios were analyzed between lakes through northern Iceland, to review possible complicating factors specific to the use of lacustrine proxies in the interpretation …

Benthic Algae And Diatom Communities In Seagrass Meadows Under Three Different Human Impact Regimes In Bocas Del Toro, Panamá, Averyl Cheng

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Bocas del Toro, Panamá, widespread tourism has been the main source of revenue and has become an increasing threat to seagrass meadows and the organisms they support. This study aimed to investigate and describe algae and diatom communities under three different regimes of anthropogenic disturbance: high, medium and low human impact. The biodiversity was analyzed by measuring the algae and diatom assemblages with Shannon-Weiner’s Biodiversity Index, Evenness Index and Sorensen’s coefficient. The data obtained from these three diversity indices were compared to the areas along an anthropogenic disturbance gradient of high, medium and low impact. A total of 12 …

Evaluation Des Impacts Sociaux Et Ecologiques De La Gestion Communautaire De La Forêt D’Analabe, Nicole Israel-Meyer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Le transfert de gestion des forêts de l’Etat vers les communautés locales est l’une des approches que le gouvernement malgache a implémentées pour à la fois conserver la biodiversité locale et continuer le développement rural. Cette étude cherche à comprendre les impacts sociaux et écologiques de la gestion communautaire de la forêt d’Analabe par le VOI Fanarenana. La forêt d’Analabe se trouve dans le secteur d’Antanandava du district Majunga II dans le nord-ouest du pays. En utilisant une méthodologie mixte, l’étude a exposé que dans les trois ans d’opération du VOI Fanarenana, la forêt est plus saine et la majorité …

Fish Diversity And Coral Health Of Tanzania's Reefs: A Comparative Study Between The Ushongo Village Reef And The Fungu Zinga Reef Over Time, Della Turque, Corinne Casper

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The world’s oceans are becoming increasing acidic due to global climate change, posing a threat to marine ecosystems, including coral carbonate systems. Environmental threats are exacerbated by human development stressors as well: growing populations, dependency on marine resources, and unsustainable practices invaluable marine ecosystems at risk. Tanzania’s coral reef system extends for 3580 km2 (Muhando et al. 2008) near the Tanga region, serving over half a million people who are highly dependent on fishing and other marine resources as their livelihoods (Samoilys et. al. 2008). With Tanzania’s population rapidly growing, the unsustainable pressure on coral reefs for sustenance and livelihood …

Investigating Effects Of Climate Change On Glaciers And Proglacial Landscapes In Southeast Iceland: Fluvioglacial Behavior Of Sólheimajökull And Seljavallajökull, Roberta B.C. Miller

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Seljavallajökull glacier, part of the Eyjafjallajökull glacier system, and Sólheimajökull, part of the Mýrdalsjökull glacier system, are two glaciers that extend into valleys in the southeast part of Iceland. Due to climate warming, both of these glaciers are part of a melting ice cap. They are located nearby to one another, and Sólheimajökull has been extensively studied for its outwash plain sedimentology, retreat history, pro-glacial geomorphology and has been steadily monitored by the Glaciological Society of Iceland. Seljavallajökull has also been monitored by this group, but it has not been studied for sediment profiles and landscape chronology as Sólheimajökull …

La Lluvia Y El Océano Oculto: El Estudio Del Unu Cambio Y Su Relación Con Viracocha En Chinchero / The Rain And The Occult Ocean: The Study Of The Change And Its Relationship With Viracocha In Chinchero, Edgar J. Payano

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Chinchero es una comunidad pequeña donde tradiciones han permanecido, pero a la misma vez el ambiente se está cambiando rápidamente. Una de las actividades más importante de Chinchero es el cultivo seco. El cultivo seco depende de la temporada de lluvias. Mi investigación se trata del unu cambio porque mezclan fuentes de aguas sagradas para atraer lluvia durante sequias. Chinchero siempre ha sufrido de sequias y el unu cambio es un método de prevención desde los tiempos pre-incaicas. Con pocas fuentes de agua en Chinchero, tienen que buscar y utilizar fuentes sagradas afuera de sus inmediaciones. Al otro lado de …

Continuing Efforts To Alleviate "Orange Pain" An Internship With The Da Nang Association Of Victims Of Agent Orange/Dioxin, Loan Heilner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This year marked the 55th anniversary of Vietnam’s Agent Orange Disaster. Decades after the end of the war, Vietnamese people are still largely being affected by the remnants of the United States’ Agent Orange herbicide sprays. Dioxin chemical has now been confirmed detrimental to human and environmental well-being, but unfortunately it still remains in high concentrations in certain areas of Vietnam. Dioxin chemical is passed on through genetics to new generations, but one of the leading causes of dioxin-related health defects today are due to environmental residue. In Da Nang, Agent Orange was stored and loaded at the local airbase …

Coral Disease In Chumbe Island Coral Park: A Baseline Survey Of The Prevalence Of Coral Disease And Other Afflictions Within Chumbe Marine Protected Area, Hannah Turley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Coral mortality from disease and other afflictions is a rising concern for reefs around the world. The aim of this study was to provide to a baseline for the prevalence of coral disease and other afflictions, which indicate compromised coral health, in Chumbe Island Coral Park, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Chumbe's reef experienced a widespread bleaching event earlier this year and this baseline study will provide a starting point to see how the bleaching event affected the prevalence of disease and other afflictions within the reef. A baseline study will also allow the park to investigate if their current monitoring procedures are …

Proxy Dating In Iceland Testing The Validity Of Silene Acaulis As A Phytometric Proxy, Madelyn Grant

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Climate change is causing drastic changes in the cryosphere, particularly in the Arctic region where average warming is 1.9 times greater than in the rest of the world due to Arctic amplification. Understanding the response of essential climate variables such as glaciers and ice caps to rapid Arctic warming is essential to predicting future changes in the Arctic region and around the world. Proxy dating methods can help construct a record of warming-induced glacial retreat in areas where long-term monitoring systems are not in place. In Arctic regions, the cushion plant Silene acaulis represents one of the only feasible proxies …

What Is The Taste Of Co2? The Sustainability Of Icelandic Food Systems In The Face Of Climate Change, Molly Peek

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Food security in the arctic and subarctic is an area of growing research and concern as climate change continues to alter the availability of traditional foods eaten in remote areas, especially as shipping food has questionable sustainability and contributes to rising CO2 levels. Previous research has noted changes in the Icelandic diet making it more reliant on foreign imports, although there is still strong localized agriculture. Because of its geothermal activity, Iceland has a unique advantage over other highlatitude countries in growing food with a minimal carbon footprint, although that potential is unequal throughout the country. This study utilized available …

Problemas Con La Producción De Café En Los Yungas / Problems With Coffee Production In Los Yungas, Rob Hefferon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Bolivia tiene un de los mejores climas y alturas para la producción de café en el mundo pero sólo califica como el productor numero 36 del mundo con 89,000 sacos de café en los años 2015/2016.[1] Hay un grupo de problemas que afectan la producción a largo y corto plazo. Los problemas son complicados, pero no son nuevos y la comunidad de cafetaleros está introduciendo innovaciones creativas para enfrentarlos y elevar el nivel de producción de café en Bolivia. A largo plazo, los bolivianos intentan elevar el perfil y conocimientos sobre el café boliviano mundialmente y también enfrentar el …

The Importance Of Nature: An Investigation On How Geography Influences Well-Being, Christina Cobb

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The objective of this community service project (CSP) was to study how a community’s location, specifically within nature, influences their well-being. I hoped to see how the community’s location, within Chapada Diamantina national park, influences the many ways health is promoted, and how these ways are affected by their location within nature. This project was built upon a review of the literature, which found that there is a theoretical basis for the notion that contact with nature is beneficial, a term deemed Biophilia. There is a robust body of academic research that highlights the health benefits deriving from contact …

The Importance Of Rivers In Protected Areas: Macroinvertebrate Sampling Reveals The Impact Of Humans And Highways On Water Quality, Marie-Claire Harrison

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The water quality and level of contamination of two rivers in a cloud forest ecosystem in the Mejía region of Ecuador, the Tupí River and the Pilatón River were assessed through benthic macroinvertebrate sampling at various sites along the rivers. Many different biological indices were then used to assess water quality at each site. Pollution in the form of grey water, black water, and petroleum negatively impacted the water quality of the both rivers as they pass through the town of La Esperie. Differences in river structure and size also played a role in determining the prevalence of certain benthic …

Human Creativity As A Vehicle For Societal Change: Can Social Action Through Art And Music Drive Positive Societal Change In Jordan?, Marina Qutab

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This case study addresses a gap in the research on society and culture as it examines the relationship between social action through human creativity and positive societal change in Jordan. This relationship was studied through the following methods: six formal interviews with three Musicians, one Artist, one Organizational Behavior and Work Psychologist, and one Cognition and Didactics Researcher; one informal interview with a Jordanian taxi driver; and 30 oral surveys provided to students at The University of Jordan. The researcher’s main goal was to investigate how human creativity expressed through music and the arts can address current pressing environmental and …

Harpy Eagle (Harpia Harpyja) Conservation: Juvenile Behavior And Diet At A Nest Near Pijibasal, Darien, Hannah Rodgers

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja), the largest and most powerful bird of prey in the Americas, is declining throughout its range in Neotropical forests. Hunting and deforestation threaten populations in the most important remaining eagle habitat in Central America, the Darien province of Panama. These eagles may have the longest postfledging juvenile dependency of any raptor, though juvenile behavior during this period is poorly studied. This study monitored an 11-month-old juvenile for 7 days at a nest near the indigenous community of Pijibasal in order to study behavior and diet. Researchers recorded the juvenile’s location and behavior, studied prey remains …

Reef Fish And Coral Assemblages On Hospital Point And Near Bastimentos Island, Panama, Elaine Shen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Because worldwide declines coral reef health are of major concern, studying coral reefs through the lens of conservation efforts at local scales is essential for determining and monitoring effective policy measures. In the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, there are conflicts of interest between exploitative rapid tourism development, overfishing practices, and national efforts to conserve the local marine biodiversity. Coral and reef fish species abundance richness, diversity, evenness, and similarity were measured to see how coral and reef fish assemblages changed between protected and unprotected areas. A total of 329 fish and 322.5 square meters of benthos were analyzed using underwater …

Water Resource Change And Management: Implications Of Climate Change And Water Resource Management For Pastoral Herders In Bayan Ulgii, Rachel Ryan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mongolia is the 8th most vulnerable country in the world to climate change. The water regime of Mongolia is therefore experiencing intensive change with significant effects in the availability, distribution, and security of water resources. The implications of this change are exacerbated when aligned with poor water resource management, an issue that is prevalent as water regime change challenges current water management systems. These implications specifically affect the vulnerable rural population of Mongolian herders who maintain the practice of nomadic pastoralism. In the western province of Bayan Ulgii, the change in the numerous glaciers and other water resources that are …

Un Nuevo Fenómeno En Un Mundo De Tradición: Percepciones Del Cambio Climático En La Isla De Taquile / 99/5000 A New Phenomenon In A World Of Tradition: Perceptions Of Climate Change On The Island Of Taquile, Daniel Meagher

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El cambio climático amenaza el estilo de vida tradicional de los agricultores de subsistencia de los Andes. Este trabajo resume y analiza las percepciones del cambio climático de los Taquileños, una comunidad de 2.500 campesinos indígenas de subsistencia que viven en la isla de Taquile en el Lago Titicaca. Esta comunidad no está aislada del mundo exterior, y hay una fuerte presencia de la iglesia cristiana y el turismo.

Los datos fueron recolectados a través de entrevistas y observación participante entre las fechas del 2 de noviembre al 15 de noviembre, 2016. Las veinte entrevistas contienen las perspectivas de siete …

Trends In Nectar Concentration And Hummingbird Visitation: Investigating Different Variables In Three Flowers Of The Ecuadorian Cloud Forest: Guzmania Jaramilloi, Gasteranthus Quitensis, And Besleria Solanoides, Sophie Wolbert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Many variables affect hummingbird visitation to flowers, including nectar concentration, time of day, corolla length and other aspects of flower morphology, and elevation. Nectar concentration was measured from flowers of three Ecuadorian subtropical montane species: Guzmania jaramilloi, Gasteranthus quitensis, and Besleria solanoides. Concentration values were compared across varying times of day, corolla lengths, and elevations to determine the effects of these variables on flower nectar concentration. Camera traps were also used to observe hummingbird visitation to the above three flower species. After running regression and ANOVA analyses, nectar concentration was found to be positively correlated with time …

The Effects Of Sub-Lethal Predation On The Reproductive Output Of Acanthaster Planci (Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish), Emily Mucha

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Wide-scale declines in live coral cover have been observed throughout history. Modern day coral populations face a multitude of environmental disturbances, however one of the most devastating to the reefs in the Indo-Pacific is the crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci), which feeds on the tissues of live corals. The rate at which these individuals feed combined with the explosion of populations in times of outbreak have been seen to exert some of the biggest pressures on coral reefs to date. Following recent episodes of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) outbreaks, research on the organism has become increasingly prevalent on the scientific …

A Review Of Climate Change Induced Effects On Avian Prey Species And Their Consequences For Arctic Fox Populations Of Western Iceland, Mikala Jordan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Island arctic fox populations are considered to carry the future wellbeing of the global population. Iceland has an island population with two arctic fox eco-types: western/coastal and eastern/inland. The western fox population is protected by the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve; no such protection exists for the eastern fox population. Food sources in both regions differ from each other and vary from summer to winter, but reliable and ample winter time food sources are the most critical for fox population’s survival. A literature review on arctic foxes and their prey species in the face of climate change is important for understanding possible …

Use Of Cycling Paths Along The Morogoro Brt Line, Ford Sanger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the urban population continues to increase rapidly in Dar es Salaam it will become increasingly important to find sustainable means of urban transportation. With planned infrastructure improvements in the city to help alleviate traffic congestion, bicycles, which represent a largely underutilized form of urban transportation, have the potential to play a large role in the future of the city. Through background research, direct observations, community surveys, and interviews, both formal and informal, this study sought to understand the impact of the recent addition of bike lanes along the first phase of the Dar Bus Rapid Transit line. It was …

Kompa As A Lesson In Value Or A Semi-Voyeristic Appreciation Of The Bamboo Basket In Dolpa, Maxwell Shaw-Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This “study” explores two central topics: 1.) The logistics and details of basket weaving as both a skill and a business in Dolpa and 2.) The cultural value of the woven bamboo basket, also in Dolpa. My fieldwork started in lower Dolpa, (Dunai and Bysagar), peregrinated north into the Tarap Valley, and then returned back down to Dunai. From my research I attempt to provide an insight into the way people, of all walks of life in Dolpa, think and relate to this tool (kompa), and then attempt to derive larger moral implications from what I have observed. …

Balancing The Local And The Global: Understanding Alternative Education In Modern Ladakh, Hannah Ryde

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For nearly thirty years, the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) has addressed the shortcomings of the education system in Ladakh (la dwags), a mountainous region under the rain-shadow of the Himalayan Range in Jammu and Kashmir State of Northern India, through education reform in government schools and the creation of alternative education programs. These programs attempt to support students who have failed in, and been failed by, the Ladakhi government education system and are designed to fill in gaps in the curricula of mainstream schools through supplemental academics and skill-based learning, while simultaneously building confidence …

Epigeal Fauna Of Bosque Protector Cerro Candelaria, Justine Albers

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Pitfall traps are commonly used to sample epigeal fauna, and are especially utilized for the collection of ground-dwelling arthropods; however, this sampling method has yet to be employed in Cerro Candelaria, a protected cloud forest reserve in Tungurahua, Ecuador. Pitfall trap systems were established at two different sites in the reserve that differed in elevation and forest type. Although individuals from 4 different phlya, 11 classes and 17 orders were encountered over the duration of the study, pitfalls were most effective at sampling Coleoptera, which comprised 40% of the total catch across both sites. The two communities of beetle …

They Come Like The Clouds: Governing The Mountainous Periphery, Jared Sousa

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper addresses the extension of governmental power into the mountainous periphery of the village of Dho Tarap in the Dolpa District of Nepal. New technologies, new markets, and new social dynamics are penetrating the Himalaya and reshaping the connections that mountain people have to the outside world. In this context of connectivity and modernity, the people of Dho Tarap are also being thrust into far closer proximity to the Nepali government. After a series of geopolitical moves in Nepal and China in the 1960s, Dho Tarap as part of an isolated border region has been a part of a …

David Vs. Goliat: Políticas Y Prácticas Exitosas De La Decoin (Defensa Y Conservación Ecológica De Intag) Durante La Lucha Contra La Minería En Intag, Ecuador, Ana Teresa Colón García

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este es un análisis cualitativo que se enfoca en la organización DECOIN(Defensa y Conservación Ecológica de Intag) y su influencia en la resistencia, con éxito hasta el presente, contra proyectos de extracción minera que podrían acarrear un grave y muy y negativo impacto ambiental en la zona de Intag, Ecuador. En base a entrevistas con líderes y aliados de la organización y residentes de varias comunidades de la zona de Intag, discuto y analizo estrategias que ha implementado la organización tales como la compra de tierras, creación de alternativas económicas, concientización ambiental y defensa de derechos humanos para lograr desincentivar …

An Assessment Of Soil Erosion On Pemba Island Using The Universal Soil Loss Equation, Emily Gillispie

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Healthy soil is necessary for maintaining agricultural productivity, which is the basis of the economy on Pemba Island, Tanzania. Soil erosion is a notable concern for subsidence-farming villages, as it reduces the agricultural potential of farmland through the loss of nutrients, organic matter, and depth of quality growing soil (Georhing, 2009). The island of Pemba is the perfect case study for soil erosion, as their economy is largely based in agriculture, and the combined hilly topography and monsoonal climate make it highly susceptible to soil erosion. Yet, Pemba’s main cash crops are clove and fruit trees, which have potential to …

The Annapurna Road: Development And Tourism On The Annapurna Circuit, Benjamin Skach

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Annapurna Circuit has oft been called one of the best treks in the world. Its popularity has brought countless trekkers to the region, resulting in a strong local dependence on tourism. In recent years, plan to develop rural regions of Nepal have resulted in extensive road networks being built along the route of the circuit. These roads have helped some locals and hurt others. This study investigates the implementation of the roads in Annapurna Conservation Area and the effects on both trekkers and locals. Further, it examines the New Alternative Trekking Trails that have been implemented along sections of …

Foraging Time And Food Resource Use Of Geoffroy’S Tamarin (Saguinus Geoffroyi) In An Urban Forest Landscape, Parque Natural Metropolitano, Ciudad De Panamá, Panamá, Rachael Pruitt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Saguinus geoffroyi, a small neotropical primate that ranges from the Chocó region of Colombia along the Pacific coast of Panamá to the eastern side of the Azuero peninsula. They are known to be a disturbance tolerant species and are mostly found in secondary growth and forest edges where understory growth is moderately dense. They have 3 main food sources: insects, small fruits and exudates (plant saps), which are located in different layers of the forest, although the composition of these may change depending on the season. This study attempted to determine the common food resources, foraging time and location of …