Tested to see if salinity levels in water had an affect on feeding in water fowl. Looking at dabbling and diving ducks, I saw which one exhibited most feeding. Species studied were Buffleheads as diving ducks(Bucephala albeola) and Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) as dabbling ducks.

The American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) is a highly invasive species that has successfully colonized different habitats around the world. The level of genetic variability in a population may help determine how resistant a population is to pathogens and how persistent an invasive population may be over time. Our project’s objective was to isolate and characterize the genetic diversity of a rapidly evolving immune gene in an invasive bullfrog population near the Mad River in Humboldt County, CA. We isolated four genetically distinct alleles from 16 frogs. When included with alleles from related species, we detected positive selection acting on putative binding sites.

This project studied the minimum song note frequencies of Song Sparrows in two different environments. Our results suggest that vocal plasticity arose as an adaptation in response to loud ocean surf, rivers, and wind.

Work was done studying mirohabitat selection of two local plethodontid salamander species, Batrachoseps attenuatus (California slender salamander), and Ensatina eschscholtzii (common ensatina). Results imply that the most significant factor is the relative humidity of the microhabitat.

My research project is on the effects of the COVID-19 Anthropause on community science participation in California.

Perches are necessary for raptor species in both their foraging and roosting behavior. The distribution of foraging and roosting raptors is influenced by the availability of perches and prey. However, little is known about the influence of different available perch types, within a habitat, has on raptors. My research aimed to address the question of whether local raptor abundance and richness correlates with the availability of a variety of perch types in a habitat.

Anabaena sensory rhodopsin (ASR) is a prokaryotic photoactive transmembrane G protein coupled receptor extracted from the cyanobacterium Nostoc. The potential for ASR and its transducer, ASRT, to transcribe/translate prokaryotic genes into products by light signals is an extremely attractive possibility for future membrane research. Nanodiscs are a useful tool for studying membrane proteins because they serve to create a stable amphipathic environment. In the present study, 6x-His ASR has been extracted, isolated, purified, and inserted into a MSP nanodisc with ApoA1 and DMPC. We examine ApoA1 insertion into the nanodisc via SDS-PAGE and chemiluminescent western blot analysis.

Glufosinate is an important agricultural herbicide, and in this project we attempt to use computational chemistry to better understand how modifications to its structure impact the properties of a nucleophilic functional group important to its mechanism of action. Though ultimately the uncertainty of these calculations proved too large to draw useful conclusions about the mechanism, we were able to establish a reasonable range for the functional group pKa that excluded older conflicting literature values and to provide insight into how steric factors may cause the substitutions to behave differently within the active site than they do in solution.

A study comparing roadkill abundance between urban and rural transects on highway 101.

2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, commonly known as 2,4-D, is a widely utilized pesticide in weed control. 2,4-D is considered toxic, and may pose detrimental effects to wildlife if used recklessly. Here we sought to quantitatively analyze for the presence of 2,4-D on the fur of local fauna found in Humboldt county, namely Gray fox, Brush rabbit, and Deer mice. We used purification techniques such as washes, as well as extraction techniques including liquid-liquid extraction, and analysis through gas chromatography (GC) in order to visualize 2,4-D. Positive results could spell trouble for the local wildlife, and have severe consequences.