Effects of Freshwater on Purple Sea Urchin and Bull Kelp Dynamicx at the Mouths of Rivers Along the Mendocino Coast

Marina Storey , Biological Sciences Graduate Student

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Urchins are voracious herbivores that mow down kelp forests turning them into urchin barrens. This regime shift from kelp forests to urchin barrens has led to the closer of the red abalone fishery which had an estimated value of $44 million dollars. In Mendocino CA, bull kelp has been observed persisting at the river mouths in making an interest to local and scientific communities. Urchins are known to not do well with lower salinities possibly leading to this phenomenon.

Effects of Habitat on Mesocarnivore Activity in the Coastal Dunes of Northern California

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

The Ma-le'l coastal dunes of northern California have been affected by the invasion of dense European beachgrass. In response, USFWS and BLM have removed beachgrass in an attempt to restore native ecosystem function. Mesocarnivores play vital roles in trophic webs, and previous research has suggested that they are more active in restored dunes than in areas with dense beachgrass. However, distance to nearby coastal dune forests could affect mesocarnivore activity and may have confounded previous work. We conducted an observational study using remote cameras and found the detection rate mesocarnivores declined with distance to forest.

Effects of Human Activity on Urban Birds

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

The rapid expansion of urban areas has reduced and eliminated habitats for birds. For the purpose of this study, the goal was to evaluate how bird abundance and species richness varied from sunrise to sunset along a gradient of human activity, and how it influenced the presence of species richness and abundance of birds throughout the day.

Effects of Human Development on the Spatial and Temporal Behavior of a Neighborhood Mesocarnivore Guild

Amanda Kanaly, Wildlife Undergraduate Student

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

This study researches how urbanization affects the spatial and temporal behavior of mesocarnivore species in the small city of Arcata, California. Specifically, the study tests whether different levels of urban development influence spatio-temporal interactions and the co-occurrence (or lack thereof) of two or more mesocarnivore species, and how habitat characteristics mediate these effects. By analyzing the correlation between habitat features and co-detection events, this research aims to shed light on the dynamics of mesocarnivore coexistence in urban and rural environments, and inform strategies to mitigate the impacts of urbanization on wildlife.

Effects of Ladder Training on Sprint and Change of Direction Performance

College of Professional Studies

Ladder training is a form of multidirectional lower limb plyometric training utilized by coaches and athletes in a variety of sports. Researchers have not examined how ladder training improves sprint and COD performance. The addition of 4 weeks of LT to a conventional pre-season strength and conditioning program seems to represent a time-efficient stimulus for improvement in sprint performance, stride frequency, and ground contact time. LT should be implemented as a warm up or neural priming exercise. These findings offer practitioners and athletes the ability to improve performance and induce kinematic adaptations at a desired period within the macrocycle.

Effects of moonlight illumination on animal-vehicle collisions

Sidney Wells, Wildlife Undergraduate Student

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Effects of moonlight illumination on animal-vehicle collisions

Effects of Participation in a Deliberative Democracy Initiative on Sense of Community

Marissa Morales, Psychology Undergraduate Student

College of Professional Studies

This poster examines the effects of participation in a deliberative democracy on neighborhood and city sense of community (SOC). The study consisted of 15 qualitative interviews of panelists, focusing on how their neighborhood and city SOC changed by taking part in the citizens' assembly. Interviews were coded and resulted in six primary themes: Pride in neighborhood; Knowledge of community; Working as a representative of the community on the panel; Social connectivity within neighborhood; Multiple perspective-taking; and Community advocacy. This study adds to the literature by highlighting ways citizens’ assemblies improve participants' sense of community more broadly.

Effects of Ramorum Leaf Blight on Tanoak and California Bay Foliage

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Redwood National Park, CA has recently been infected with Phytophthora ramorum, the pathogen that causes sudden oak death and ramorum leaf blight. Two common understory hardwoods, tanoak and California bay, are commonly infected by ramorum leaf blight. Foliage samples were collected from Tall Trees Grove and, photosynthetic capacity, stomatal conductance, and water potential readings were taken. Ramorum leaf blight decreased the photosynthetic capacity in both of the study species without affecting water use efficiency. The decline in photosynthesis leaves plants vulnerable, increasing the chances of further infection from separate pathogens.

Effects of Recreation on Wildlife

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This project will look at recreational areas and discuss proper management techniques to reduce the impact of recreation in coastal environments.

Effects of Rest Interval Duration on the Volume Completed During a High-Intensity Bench Press Exercise

College of Professional Studies

Between set rest intervals (RI) are one of the most important variables in resistance training; however, no known research has investigated the effects of RIs greater than 5-min during strength training. The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of three different RIs on training volume (TV) completed during a high-intensity bench press exercise. 15 resistance trained males completed 3 experimental sessions, during which 4 sets of the bench press were performed. Resistance trained males, with the goal of greater volume during strength training, would benefit from longer RIs. Specifically, using an 8-min RI between 4 consecutive sets of a bench press allows for a greater TV.