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...
The rapid accumulation of plastic waste in landfill, waterways and oceans is becoming a critical problem, one that current recycling technologies are not capable of solving. Recent proposed approaches in the depolymerization of waste plastics employ an Olefin-Intermediate Process (OIP), where feedstocks like polyolefin plastics are ‘activated,’ producing an olefin...
This work explores the mechanical properties of single-phase niobium alloy C103 from room temperature to 600°C for the purpose of expanding safe uses of the material into new applications. The study utilizes a symmetrically notched triaxial tensile specimens to manipulate the internal stress field in order to observe the changes...
There is a growing need for individualized instructional designs in 4-year institutions due to: 1) growing undergraduate enrollment trends across the U.S., 2) broader diversity in students backgrounds, and 3) the growing prevalence of asynchronous remote learning. With the growth in computer technology in education, tools such as adaptive intelligent...
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Julie D. Tucker Milo D. Koretsky
There is a growing need for individualized instructional
This thesis examines the experiences of international Latin American graduate students when taking on the role of graduate assistants while completing their academic program. Using phenomenology, a qualitative research approach, and relying on two main theories, Challenge and Support by Sanford (1966) and the Community Cultural Wealth Model, this study...
Understanding the magnitude and longevity of wildfire effects in forested watersheds and subsequent impacts to downstream aquatic ecosystems and communities requires congruent investigation into post-fire aquatic and terrestrial processes. However, results from wildfire studies are often confounded by pre- and post-fire land management actions and based on either hydrologic or...
There could be a geospatial and socio-ecological intersection between climate change, energy production, and sustainable fisheries management in the United States. Marine renewable energy generation efforts are currently being planned, studied, and initially implemented in the country as a response to climate change. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is...
Streams across the western United States are impaired from human alterations that have reduced freshwater habitat by simplifying channel complexity and disconnecting floodplains (Knox et al., 2022; Waples et al., 2008; Wohl, 2014). Climate change is likely to continue exacerbating these risks by warming summer surface stream temperatures (Crozier et...
Long-term, large-scale studies of meta-ecosystems provide critical information about how global change influences communities. In my dissertation, I analyzed data from studies encompassing 18 years (2006 – 2023) and over 1,000 km of coastline to investigate drivers of rocky intertidal community structure and dynamics. Specifically, I explored the roles of...
The growing urban development and the inadequate installation of settlements has caused environmental challenges such as landscape destruction, loss of urban tree biodiversity, therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the ecosystem services of urban trees in the 'Monumental Zone' of the city of Iquitos, in the Peruvian...