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Presenters & Abstracts: 2025
Identifying Optimal Temperature Ranges that Support Juvenile Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Growth within the Klamath Basin
Isabelle Shirah, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
This project looks at yearly temperature ranges and growth metrics for fish sampled at three sites along the klamath basin.
James' Fabulous Mobile Dog Food Pantry: A Grassroots Initiative!
James Brother, Social Work Graduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
I developed a mobile dog food pantry to meet the needs of unsheltered pets across Humboldt County. Using donations from various sources and implementing similar models used by local nonprofits, I developed access to pet food in areas with an unmet need.
Male Grouping Behavior in Giant Chacoan peccary
Finley Gralian, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
A behavioral observation of captive male Chacoan peccaries at Sequoia Park Zoo to identify whether the males group by age, genetic relatedness, or personality.
Measuring Success of Adaptive Management of European Soaring Birds
Nick Salgado-Stanley, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
While there has been an expansion of investment into renewable energy sources, less research has emerged concerning how to balance the economic benefit and conservation costs of new developments. One of the most economically productive wind developments in Europe rests to the north of the Strait of Gibraltar, in Tarifa, Spain. This is also one of the largest annual migration points for migratory birds traveling between Africa and Europe. Using historical data of bird collisions and employee reports of turbine stops, this study investigates the success of human observers protocol in preventing avian fatalities across a decade of migration seasons.
Moonlights Effect on Mesopredators Use of Trails in the Arcata Community Forest
Miranda Jones, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
A camera trap study of mesopredator trail use in relation to moonlight in the Arcata Community Forest.
Native Bee Diversity and Floral Host Preferences
Annette Moulay, Environmental Studies Undergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Native bees provide crucial and efficient pollination services (Kremin, 2002). However, habitat fragmentation due to urban sprawl can contribute to native bee biodiversity loss (Hung, 2017). The College of the Canyons Buzz team used native bee diversity as a proxy for biodiversity and conducted research on native bee diversity on both of our college facilities and at nearby locations from April 2022 through July 2024. 213 bees across 5 families and 18 genera were collected from the Valencia campus, and floral hosts were documented. The goal was to attain an initial Shannon’s H diversity Index for the Valencia campus with a plan to enrich the campus habitat to attract more diversity.
Novel Tests of Gravity Under 50 Microns
Abby Keltz, Physics & Astronomy Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
Attempts to unify the Standard Model and General Relativity often include features that violate the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) and/or the gravitational Inverse-Square Law (ISL). A violation would question our understanding of gravity. To further understand this, undergraduate researchers and faculty at Humboldt are experimenting to measure gravitational interactions below 50 microns. The experiment uses a composition dipole torsion pendulum next to an oscillating mass. This creates torque on the pendulum, the magnitude of which may provide evidence for deviations in the WEP or ISL.
Nowhere 2 Go Humboldt
Jasmine Guerra, Social Work Graduate Student
College of Professional Studies
Nowhere 2 Go Humboldt is a multi-media storytelling project which interviews and photographs people who are criminalized and displaced in Humboldt County.
Plant Traits Vary Across Microhabitats Under Solar Microgrids on Coastal Grasslands
Logan Holey, Forestry, Fire & Rangeland Management Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
The development of photovoltaic systems is increasing with growing demand for clean energy. Plant functional traits can be used to understand what plants are establishing in different microhabitats because traits respond to environmental constraints and fluctuations. We sampled three solar microgrids in coastal grasslands in Humboldt County for plant community composition and leaf traits. We found that plant traits varied by microhabitat indicating that microgrids apply an environmental filter in plant community assembly. Results from this study can be used to inform plant selection for habitat enhancement or restoration.
Plethodontid Salamander Microhabitat Selection
Freya Prissberg, Wildlife Undergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
My research is done on Ensatina and California slender salamander microhabitat selection in the Arcata Community Forest. Soil moisture, canopy cover, soil temperature, cover object length/width, foliage cover and salamander length and weight were all recorded. This data was used to determine if Ensatina and California slender salamanders show microhabitat selection for certain soil temperature, soil moisture, canopy cover or foliage cover.