Thermal transport properties of a material are often difficult to measure, especially for
thin films, but they are important for materials that have applications in modern devices,
such as nano-scale electronics, thermoelectrics, and thermally resistive coatings. In this
thesis, we describe an apparatus developed to measure the thermal conductivity of...
The thermal conductivity, measured by the 3ω method, of amorphous films of Al₂P₁.₂O₆ (AlPO) deposited on Si substrates by an all-aqueous spin-coating technique is 0.93(3) Wm⁻¹K⁻¹. The thermal conductivity of a degenerately doped n-Si substrate is 85(5) Wm⁻¹K⁻¹ and of a more lightly doped p-Si substrate is 139(7) Wm⁻¹K⁻¹. The...
Native bees are critically important organisms that support biodiversity and crop production via their pollination services. Wildfires in temperate conifer forests can increase bee abundance and flowering plant density due to increased light exposure, but little information is available regarding how wildfire severity influences provisioning to bee offspring, which is...
1. Early competitive environments can shape the development of offspring across taxa. For example, competition for food can have downstream effects on offspring phenotypes and fitness; however, little is known about how early competition influences the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and its potential tradeoff with growth. Because baseline and...
Vital rates and population connectivity are fundamental concepts in animal ecology and such information is critical for successful conservation planning. The Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) is a species of conservation concern because of its strong association with forests recently burned by high-severity wildfire. However, several recent studies have found that...
Bee populations are declining around the globe, while the need for their pollination services is increasing with growing food demands by an expanding population. There is a need for innovative practices to increase pollination in agricultural environments without harming wild bee populations. However, the use of artificial visual attractants has...
The majority of households in the U.S., Great Britain, and Australia feed wild birds, and 53 million people in the U.S. spent more than $5 billion on bird food and feeding accessories in 2016. Given the massive scale over which it occurs, purposeful feeding of wild birds has the potential...
Future scenarios of global climate change rely on large-scale climate envelope models that do not account for local climatic conditions to which organisms most closely respond. Shifts in species distributions and phenology driven by climate change are well-documented, yet we lack a strong understanding of how climate change will influence...
Understanding the effects of habitat disturbance on a species' habitat selection patterns, and demographic rates, is essential to projecting the trajectories of populations affected by disturbance, as well as for determining the appropriate conservation actions needed to maintain those populations. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a species of conservation concern...