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Presenters & Abstracts: College of Natural Resources & Sciences
Natural History and Basking Habits of Western Pond Turtles
- Gaby RusoWildlife BiologyUndergraduate Student
This research represents the preliminary results of a longer term project in Sequoia National Park, California. I used temperature dataloggers to investigate western pond turtle behavior to better understand their natural history and thus inform monitoring protocol and conservation. These data suggest that snorkel surveys used to monitor turtle populations may be more effective if conducted at night. In addition, these data indicate the potential for intraspecific niche partitioning among turtles according to age. These early results hint at unique turtle behavior that is otherwise difficult to observe for a cryptic species and thereby warrant further investigation.
NDCI Analysis and Change Detection for Coral Reef Habitats of Duncan Island In South Chinese Sea from 2016 to 2018
- Christopher LanzEnvironmental Science and ManagementUndergraduate Student
- Buddhika MadurapperumaEnvironmental Science and ManagementFaculty
Mismanagement of coral reef habitats for construction has impacted on rapid destruction of most biodiverse coral reefs of South Chinese sea. This project examines how coral reef habitats changed in Duncan island of South Chinese sea using object based image analysis (OBIA) and coral index. We estimated the coral changes over time with different land-use classes. The unchanged coral acreage was 7.80 acres between 2016-2017, 1.21 acres between 2017-2018 and 8.22 acres between 2016-2018. The coefficient of agreement for the classification is ranged from 0.55 to 0.60. NDCI Analysis of coral regions surrounding Duncan island revealed vegetation change in coral health.
Nest Tree Selection of Swainson's and Red-Tailed Hawks in Butte Valley, CA
Cristina Portillo, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & SciencesWe collected microhabitat data at nest trees to determine if Red-tailed Hawks and Swainson's Hawks showed a preference for certain tree characteristics. Microhabitat data included tree height, nest height, number of primary trunks, diameter at breast height, density of canopy, the presence or absence of lichen, lichen type, and local tree density. We used logistic regression to test the expectation that Red-tailed Hawks and Swainson's Hawks select older and larger trees relative to local availability. The implications of these results could inform which trees are selected for western juniper removal, which is an anticipated treatment conducted by the U.S. Forest Service in Butte Valley.
New Petrology and SEM imagery of the West China Peak Complex of the Ironside Mountain Batholith, Klamath Mountains, Trinity County, CA
- Desiree OtillioGeologyUndergraduate Student
The Ironside Mountain Batholith located in the Western Hayfork terrane in the Klamath Mountains province represents crustal derived plutonism that pre-dates the Nevadan Orogeny by 20Ma. Redating the Ironside Mountain Batholith will be done via U-Pb laser ablation of accessory zircons, this will yield an age of crystallization thus providing an age of emplacement, and constrain the pre-Nevadan orogeny. Barnes and Petersen dated the Ironside Mountain Batholith in 1992 using U-Pb, Pb-Pb, and K-Ar dating methods, and yielded a date in the Mid Jurassic from 169 Ma (K-Ar) to 174 Ma (U-Pb), with an accepted age of 170Ma.
Northern Harrier Foraging Modes in Habitats Around Humboldt Bay
Collin Silva, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & SciencesNorthern harriers are generalist predators known to occupy and forage over a variety of wetland and grassland types in North America. Whether Northern harriers adapt their foraging modes over different habitat types to maximize their success and energy intake is not known with any confidence. This study addresses this knowledge gap on a small scale around Humboldt Bay at various wetland and grassland sites.
Novel Tests of Gravity Below Fifty Microns
- Frank TrombettaPhysicsUndergraduate Student
- Alyssa JohnsonPhysicsUndergraduate Student
Gravity has been tested rigorously at distance scales from 1cm up to astronomical distances. The experiment being run in Humboldt State Universities Gravity Lab seeks to test gravity at previously untested distances below the centimeter level. To do this, a pendulum is suspended by a torsion fiber and oscillates in front of a movable mass. By moving the mass back and forth, one can measure a gravitational force on the pendulum by looking at the twist in the fiber. The data from the pendulum are then compared with well established theories of gravity to see if the accuracy of the theories at large distances translates to smaller scales.
Novel Tests of Gravity Below Fifty Microns
- Crystal CardenasPhysics and AstronomyUndergraduate Student
Due to the incompatibility of the Standard Model and General Relativity, tests of gravity remain at the forefront of experimental physics research. At HSU, undergraduates and faculty are developing an experiment that will test gravitational interactions at the twenty-micron distance scale, well below what has currently been tested. The experiment will measure the twist of a torsion pendulum as an attractor mass is oscillated nearby in a parallel-plate configuration which will provide a time-varying torque on the pendulum. The size and distance dependence of the torque variation will provide means to determine deviations from accepted models of gravity on untested distance scales.
Novel Tests of Gravity Below Fifty Microns
- Gabriela MartinezPhysics and AstronomyUndergraduate Student
- Jeremy JohnsonPhysics and AstronomyUndergraduate Student
- Ian GuerreroPhysics and AstronomyUndergraduate Student
Due to inconsistencies between General Relativity and the Standard Model, tests of gravity remain at the forefront of experimental physics. At Humboldt State University, undergraduates and faculty are designing an experiment sensitive enough to detect gravitational interactions below the 50 micron scale. The experiment measures the twist of a torsion pendulum as an attractor mass is oscillated nearby in a parallel plate configuration, providing time varying gravitational torque on the pendulum. The size and distance dependence of the torque variation will provide a means to determine any deviation from current models of gravity on untested scales.
Novel Tests of Gravity Below Fifty Microns
- Jack StillmanPhysics & AstronomyUndergraduate Student
- Nicholas HernandezPhysics & AstronomyUndergraduate Student
- Jeremy JohnsonPhysics & AstronomyUndergraduate Student
- Gabriela MartinezPhysics & AstronomyUndergraduate Student
- Noah DunkleyPhysics & AstronomyUndergraduate Student
- C.D. HoylePhysics & AstronomyFaculty
- Zane ComdenPhysics & AstronomyUndergraduate Student
- Hilde IsachsenPhysics & AstronomyUndergraduate Student
Theories attempting to unify the Standard Model and General Relativity often include features that violate the Weak Equivalence Principle and gravitational Inverse-Square Law. Motivated by these considerations, undergraduates and faculty at Humboldt State University are operating an experiment to probe gravitational interactions below the 50-micron length scale. The experiment employs a torsion pendulum whose twist is measured as an attractor mass is oscillated nearby. The size and distance dependence of the torque variation provides a means to determine the existence of deviations from expected behavior at untested scales.
Novel Tests of Gravity Below Fifty Microns
- Frankie TrombettaPhysicsUndergraduate Student
The Gravity Lab at Humboldt State is concerned with measuring the force of gravity at unprecedented distance scales. Theories new and old make predictions about how gravity should behave, but accurate measurements of gravitational forces between objects close together have remained challenging. The crux of the experiment lies in sufficiently silencing the non-gravitational forces acting at the measuring site, and accomplishing this requires applying at least a little knowledge from most undergraduate physics classes. The implications of progress in this lab make it exciting to a general audience while remaining beneficial from an undergraduate learning perspective.