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Presenters & Abstracts: 2023
Habitat Selection of Northern Harriers in Grasslands and Coastal Wetlands in Humboldt County, CA
Riley Sullivan, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
Habitat selection is a well-studied behavior that strongly influences how a species interacts with the surrounding ecosystem. Countless studies address the habitat selection of raptors in the interest of conservation, but the habitat preferences and selection of the Northern Harrier specifically are poorly studied. I conducted a series of point counts between the Arcata Bottoms and the Arcata Marsh to compare the rate of Northern Harrier sightings between each zone.
HARNESSING THE POWER OF OPEN PEDAGOGY FOR COLLABORATIVE AND INNOVATIVE EDUCATION
Juergen Riedelsheimer, Psychology Graduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
This presentation will explore how open pedagogy can transform students from passive knowledge consumers to active knowledge producers. The use of active learning approaches, which emphasize student-centered and collaborative learning, has been shown to improve learning outcomes and engagement. Project-based and experiential learning can equip students with critical thinking and problem-solving skills to apply in real-world situations. This presentation will provide examples of successful implementations and discuss the challenges educators may face when moving towards a student-centered, knowledge-producing model.
Honor Our Elders
Josh Ringland, Social Work Graduate Student
College of Professional Studies
Older adults are a growing population in the United States and many elders suffer from physical, sexual, mental, isolation and financial abuse without any obvious signs. Through the research and evaluation of a growing number of elder abuse cases, Humboldt County’s Civil Grand Jury issued a report, Silver Tsunami Warning, explaining the concerns of elder abuse. Through this community project, my community partner, Adult Protective Services and I will bring mindfulness of elder abuse through promoting World Elder Abuse Awareness Month, advocate prevention of elder abuse, and educate how to report elder abuse through a visual campaign of banners advertised throughout Humboldt County.
How Anthropogenic Disturbance Affects Terrestrial Wildlife Use and Presence in a California Coastal Dune Ecosystem
Joshua Zastrow, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
My research looks at the influence of anthropogenic (human) disturbance upon the terrestrial mammalian community. The specific anthropogenic variables that I tested for against wildlife presence, use-rates, and species richness was human use intensity, human and domestic animal use intensity, building density (per mile), and distance to major roadway. The study area completed between February 20th and April 5th, 2023, within Humboldt County, California, USA. The transects were placed parallel to the coastline along an area of rural suburban, lite industrial, agricultural, and wildlands, within a coastal dune ecosystem.
Humboldt County GIS Data Archive
Liam del Aguila, Computer Science Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
This project is a webpage and potentially touch-screen kiosk which displays GIS datasets currently held by the school. This includes student and faculty projects concerning a variety of geographic data about Humboldt County. The Alpha version of this website is currently in development in coordination with the library and geospatial faculty at Cal Poly Humboldt.
Humboldt County Homeless College Student - Photovoice Project
Maia Miglio, Social Work Undergraduate Student
College of Professional Studies
The Homeless College Student Photovoice Project unveils the resiliency of Humboldt students. From living in cars to showering at public campsites, learn about the challenges homeless students face. This digital gallery utilizes various mediums. Photos, recorded stories, and transcripts are available for interaction. Information is disseminated from 2018 research by Pam Bowers and Marissa O’Neill. A submission board for personal stories is available, in light of recent protests and events. This gallery of growth and strength hopes to inspire change within our community.
Humboldt County Postpartum Needs Assessment: Life After Birth
Elisa Miller, Social Work Graduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
It is estimated that one in every five women experiences a mental health disorder like Postpartum Depression or Anxiety after giving birth. Humboldt County is one of the 35 out of 61 counties in CA that have recognized Perinatal Mental Health disorders as an issue. In order to improve postpartum care in Humboldt County a needs assessment was conducted of people who have given birth in Humboldt County over the last 10 years. Two Zoom storytelling focus groups of 6 people each and seven individual interviews were conducted. A thematic analysis of the data was conducted and presented in a report along with several recommendations.
Hummingbird Aggression and Use at Artificial Feeders with Varying Sugar Concentrations
Aviva Saadatfar, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
Territorial hummingbirds often display aggressive behaviors to gain access to high-quality food sources. Previous studies have found that hummingbirds prefer to feed from feeders that have sugar concentrations that are slightly higher than regular flower nectar concentrations (20-25% sugar). However, to maximize their energy intake, hummingbirds may not always choose artificial feeders with the highest sugar concentration available to them. I used artificial feeders with varying sugar concentrations to determine if hummingbirds display more aggression and/or spend more time at feeders based on their sugar concentrations.
Identifying Pleistocene Ursus fossils from dental morphology analyses of American black bear (Ursus americanus) and brown bear (Ursus arctos) specimens
Tananya Alberts, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
This project aimed to use black and brown bear teeth measurements in order to see if species identifications can be made for fossil bears. Using specimens across four Californian natural history museums, we found that one tooth measurement was sufficient to identify between the two species.
Improved Measurement of the Newtonian Gravitational Constant
Alexandra Papesh, Physics & Astronomy Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
The Newtonian gravitational constant, G, is one of the oldest known fundamental constants in nature, and yet it is known with the least precision of all other fundamental constants. The research group at IUPUI, in collaboration with Cal Poly Humboldt, will use multiple approaches within a singular torsion pendulum apparatus to precisely determine G. Specifically, measurements will be made using the angular acceleration feedback and time of swing methods in the same apparatus, which was carefully designed for reduced error in both techniques. We expect to obtain a measurement at the 2 ppm level using these new methods.