Kaulana Na Wai Eha

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

In central Maui in the Wailuku district, a system of fresh water streams that sustained thriving Hawaiian communities since time immemorial is all dried up. Kaulana Na Wai Eha (the famous four great streams) is comprised of the Waihe’e river, Waiehu, Iao, and Waikapu streams. These waterways have been diverted since the beginning of the plantation era, to grow sugarcane. The sugarcane industry has now cease but the water is still being diverted and sold to private corporations, continuously draining the streams leaving no water for the surrounding community. I will be talking about the legal battle between the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. v. Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation.

Kinetic Evaluation of Putative Cellulase Enzymes for Cellulosic Biofuel

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Cellulose composed of glucose monomers is the most abundant biopolymer on earth, as the primary component of the plant cell wall. The enzyme cellulase breaks down the polysaccharide through hydrolysis at the β-1,4-glycosidic linkages. As cellulose is the most ample renewable biological resource and has a low-cost energy source based on energy content. The objective of this study is to evaluate clones of putative cellulases for their activity compared to commercially available products and identify potential cellulase protein activity found in cow rumen in order to optimize biofuel production.

Klamath Dam Removal

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Within our poster we will present the positives of the removal of the dams on the klamath and the effects that it will have on the water ways in that area. While doing this we will also inform about the history and importance of rivers like the Klamath that are being dammed. We will also cover the socio economic effects of the dam removal on indigenous groups that have thrived on salmonid populations. Scientists have speculated that the presence of the dams is responsible for the decline of salmonid in northern rivers. In conclusion we will make a hypothesis based on other dam removals to see what effect it will have on the area.

Kleptoplasty and Co-evolution in Humboldt Bay: A study of sea-slug, Alderia modesta, and Coenocytic Algae.

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Alderia modesta is a sacoglossan sea-slug that is capable of of kleptoplasty, a process where the sea-slug steals the chloroplast from the algae that it eats , phagocytizes it, and uses it to photosynthesize. In this experiment, different groups of A. modesta were fed three different species of coenocytic algae, all of which are known to be eaten by sacoglossans. The cerata (anatomical structures) were then plucked off and the chloroplasts were counted under a fluorescence microscope to compare which alga the sea-slug ingested the most. The experiment has yet to conclude, however, the alga with the highest ratio of chloroplasts is considered to have co-evolved with the sea-slug.

Kombucha: A Chemical Investigation

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Kombucha is a popular drink which has been consumed for centuries. Its chemical properties and usefulness have only recently been investigated by scientists. In our research, we aim to add valuable data to the kombucha fermentation reaction, and find novel uses for the various products of the fermentation.

Kriging Interpolation of Understory Light for Prediction Modeling of Stump Sprout Growth in Mixed Multiaged Stands in California

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

We studied conifer and hardwood regeneration response to experimental harvest treatments conducted ~100 years after the first harvest (clearcut). We examined relationships between understory light, varying overstory tree retention, and growth of coast redwood and tanoak stump sprouts arising after complete and partial harvest. First, we quantified understory light throughout this 30 ha experiment comparing four different retention treatments repeated at four sites. Then we related understory light to post-treatment stand density, treatment type, and regeneration. Redwood sprouts outperformed tanoak by different margins, and grew most rapidly in high light.

Language Use for the Next Fifty Years

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

There are approximately 6,900 languages spoken around the world today. Of those, there are ten languages deemed most widely spoken by humans. Due to the trends in globalization, it is important for companies that exist internationally to take into consideration language trends. In this research performed as part of the international contest in modeling, we seek to predict the future top ten languages based on the generalized Abrams-Strogatz model of language competition.

Leaf Dispersal Trends Among Pyrophytic and Mesophytic Oak Tree Species

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

We hypothesize that leaves from pyrophytic species (highly flammable species with historically frequent fire regimes) will disperse farther than leaves from mesophytic species (less flammable species with lower frequency fire regimes). To test this, we examined the leaf fall velocity and dispersal distance of four mesophytic and four pyrophytic oaks species from California by dropping ten leaves of each species from five different heights in the absence of wind. Preliminary results indicated that mesophytes dispersed farther than pyrophytes, and mean leaf fall velocity was slower in pyrophytes. Mesophytes could have traveled farther due to having lower surface area-to-mass ratio.

Leveraging Applied Problems to Enhance the Undergraduate STEM Experience

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Strong analytical skills and the ability to develop and analyze mathematical models are highly sought-after skills, especially when they are paired with the auxiliary skill set of strong scientific writing, the ability to collaborate across disciplines and effective visualizations of quantitative information. We focus on the development of these auxiliary skills by (1) offering training to teams who participate in COMAP’S Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) and (2) through the PIC Math course, a problem-solving course in which students work on problems provided by an industry client.

Likelihood of agonistic behavior by gull species in Humboldt County based on relative body size

Conor Somerville, Wildlife Undergraduate Student

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

This project is a behavioral study on 4 gull species of Humboldt County. Their agonistic behavior was studied, comparing the frequency of agonistic behavior toward members of other species based on relative body-size. This value was compared with the number of birds of each relative size they had access to. I found that most gulls tended to target members of their own species disproportionately, but Western gulls disproportionately targeted members of other species that were larger and smaller in size. This may have implications on gull behavior and management.