The black-footed ferret is a meso-predator within the Great Plains region of North America. Before the 1900s, black-footed ferret populations were self-sustaining in large ecological patches throughout the geographical range of the Great Plains. During the 1900s, various factors such as the systematic extermination of prairie dogs (the primary food...
Two ecologically important lamprey species found in the endorheic Goose Lake Basin face conservation threats; however, relatively little is known about their habitat needs or spatial distribution. Lamprey and their habitat are often found to be patchy; to evaluate these relationships for the lamprey in this basin, I utilized a...
Nanoparticles are a hugely diverse category of material that have a wide variety of biomedical applications, and developing tools for biological research with high cellular uptake is critical to their effective application. However, rarely is attention paid to the exact mechanism by which this is occurring, with most studies focusing...
Motion planning is a cornerstone of autonomous robots, enabling robots to safely and efficiently perform tasks such as package delivery, infrastructure inspection, and manipulation. However, as the field of robotics matures, robotic systems are being developed that (1) are challenging to analytically model, (2) require computationally expensive model-based controllers, and...
Freshwater systems cycle carbon along a spatial and temporal biogeochemical continuum, across which ecosystem processes contribute to transformations of organic matter (OM). Various ecological constraints impact rates OM transformation and production and consumption of the energetic end of respiration, methane. Microbiological processing and complete reduction of carbon substrates to methane...
Coral reefs, found in tropical regions, are renowned for their rich biodiversity and their contributions to ecological, cultural, and economic aspects worldwide. The success of coral reefs hinges on the symbiotic partnership between corals and their dinoflagellate algae, from the family Symbiodiniaceae. The algae reside within the coral host’s gastrodermal...
This study examined water scarcity and vulnerability in Quintana Roo, along the northern Caribbean coast of Mexico where rapid growth of tourism in the past 40 years has limited the ability of rural and urban communities to obtain safe, reliable, and equitable access to water services and critical water infrastructure...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...
Rapid and sensitive detection of stress hormones, such as cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), can benefit the diagnosis of diseases related to adrenal gland disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, and more. Stress hormones fluctuate in a circadian rhythm, the highest in the early morning and the lowest at night;...