May 2, 2025
Reception & Presentations 2pm to 5pm
Cal Poly Humboldt Library
Search Presenters & Abstracts
Presenters & Abstracts: Search
Success Factors of Wilderness Therapy Programming
Amanda Masse
Recreation Administration
Undergraduate Student
College of Professional Studies
In recent years, non-traditional therapeutic modalities have become increasingly popular options for the treatment of psychological and behavioral issues in youth at-risk populations. Research shows that this model has great promise of rehabilitative pathways for youth involved in the juvenile justice and psychiatric healthcare systems through the use of experiential education combined with traditional talk therapy modalities to improve self-esteem and self-efficacy. This is especially significant for youth at risk individuals who have previously been unsuccessful in other courses of therapy. This project examines success factors of wilderness therapy programs for youth at risk.
Risk of Concussion Based on Position in Men’s and Women’s Collegiate Soccer
Devin
Hauenstein
School of Applied Health
Graduate Student
College of Professional Studies
Identification of correlations between rates of concussion and soccer positions played will lead to improved safety protocols and athlete health. Improvements can be identified by understanding the minutes played per position as fatigue is a risk factor for obtaining a concussion, in training or in game conditions by men and women soccer players. PURPOSE: To determine whether a correlation exists between minutes of soccer played, soccer position played, and the incidence of concussion among men and women collegiate soccer players.
Microhabitat Use in the Wandering Salamander
Noah
Morales
Wildlife
Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
An evaluation of characteristics of tree stumps that make them conducive for the presence of the Wandering Salamander (Aneides vagrans). I looked at stump diameter, the relative abundance of cracks on the stumps, and the amount of surface and canopy cover around the stumps to determine if wandering salamander abundance is correlated with any of those variables.
Assessing and mitigating metabolic response of HEK293 cells to cytotoxic metals using ascorbic acid
Elizabeth
Kowalski
Biological Sciences
Undergraduate Student
Amar
Tojaga
Biological Sciences
Undergraduate Student
Brizeida
Mejia Espinoza
Biological Sciences
Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
We examined how HEK293 kidney cells responded metabolically to heavy metal poisoning by cadmium chloride (CdCl2), aluminum chloride (AlCl3), and cesium chloride (CsCl) using two fluorometric assays (resazurin and MitoTracker). We then attempted to mitigate adverse effects by treating these cells with ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
Does the Thatcher Effect extend to infant faces?
Adnan
Alyan
Psychology
Graduate Student
Nathan
Boone
Psychology
Graduate Student
Amanda
Hahn
Psychology
Faculty
College of Professional Studies
You will spend more time looking at faces than any other type of object in your lifetime. Because faces are such an important social signal, humans have developed a perceptual expertise for faces. Decades of research on the mechanisms of face processing have demonstrated that although faces contain both featural and configural information humans rely more heavily on configural processing strategies when viewing faces. However, this work has been done using almost exclusively adult facial stimuli. The current study uses a well-established configural disruption known as the Thatcher Effect (TE) to investigate the use of configural processing for infant faces.
Human Impacts on Songbird Abundance and Diversity
Chloe
Good
Wildlife
Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
My study investigates how human disturbances affect songbird diversity and abundance in Arcata, CA. Many songbirds try to adjust their behavior in response to human populated environments; however, adjustments can have intense effects on their survival, and serious ramifications beyond urban settings (Marzluff 1997). My findings aim to better inform conservation efforts of species specific requirements and minimize areas with human disturbances as needed.
Effects of Sea-level Rise on Marsh Bird Population
Alondra
Cardona
Wildlife
Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
The study focuses on the effects of tidal change on marsh bird communities. A positive trend in sea level rise has been detected for the past years with approximately 20 cm increase of sea level rise per century. This can affect bird populations on wetland habitats. This study will provide data on bird species diversity at the study site and determine what bird species are more susceptible to population decrease based on habitat loss from sea level rise. The study results can call more attention on the most vulnerable bird species to prevent species extinction in marsh habitats.
Analyzing Food Insecurity at Cal Poly Humboldt: Prevalence, Barriers, and Institutional Neglect
Alex
Neel
Social Work
Undergraduate Student
College of Professional Studies
An analysis into the different aspects of food insecurity we face on campus, from privatization of our food systems, administrative apathy, and consequences of food insecurity for students.
Effect of Size at Release on Tendency of Trinity River Hatchery Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to Return as Half-Pounders
Kaitlyn Manishin
Fisheries Biology
Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
I used scale analysis to estimate the half-pounder frequency among wild and hatchery steelhead from the Trinity River 2011 and 2012 smolt years and compare those estimates to the half-pounder frequency from 1993 until 2008. Hatchery steelhead from 2011 and 2012 had higher half-pounder tendencies than those from 1993 until 2008. Wild steelhead from 2011 and 2012 also showed increased half-pounder tendencies. This supports the hypothesis that increased size at release of hatchery steelhead is related to decline in the half-pounder life history, but also suggests that another factor influences the half-pounder tendency of these steelhead.
Community Currency for Humboldt
Katelyn Hill
Economics
Undergraduate Student
College of Professional Studies
I will conducting a feasibility study for the implementation of a local community currency in Humboldt County, in conjunction with the impacts (positive or negative) of starting a community currency. This study will be based off of examples of current successful community currencies.