Native Alaskans and Wildlife Interactions and Issues

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

This project encompasses the relationship and issues connected to Alaskan Natives and wildlife. Their relationship to the land and wildlife is deeply rooted in their history, and most Alaska natives practice traditional hunting and gathering practices. Native Alaskan interactions with the natural world is interwoven in the way in which they define subsistence, which is synonymous with culture, identity, and self-determination and involves conservation and perpetuation of natural resources. The US Federal and Alaska State government define subsistence differently and have passed Acts and policies that interfere with the Native’s aboriginal hunting and fishing rights.

Native American Storytelling

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

We are focusing our topic on the role that animals have in Native American storytelling, and how these animal's behaviors in real life are reflected in the stories. Storytelling is a way of communication that Natives use to share knowledge between generations; often, these stories use animals as symbolism. Our group is composed of all zoology majors interested in studying animal behavior, and we will compare the personality traits and characteristics of these animals to their role played in these stories.

Natural History and Basking Habits of Western Pond Turtles

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

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

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

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 & Sciences

We 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

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

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 & Sciences

Northern 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

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

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

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

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

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

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.