Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2018, Integrated Bioscience

Melanins are a class of ubiquitous pigments that provide not only coloration to the organisms in which they produced, but also serve as a mechanism for thermoregulation, protection from ultraviolet radiation and cytotoxicity induced by free radicals, as well as numerous other beneficial roles. In most animals, melanins are housed in organelles called melanosomes. Melanosome morphology correlates with melanin-based coloration in birds and mammals, but melanosome diversity is limited in basal amniotes. Approximately 10 years ago, the study of melanosomes, melanin, and coloration was extended to the fossil record by the reinterpretation of microbodies preserved in fossil feathers initially interpreted as bacteria as remains of melanosomes. However, despite countless lines of evidence for this hypothesis that have been described since, some authors argue that the bacterial hypothesis is equally parsimonious. This dissertation will address some of the concerns of purveyors of the bacterial hypothesis and discuss the evolutionary history of melanosomes and melanins. We first tested the hypothesis that striped fossil feathers are the result of bacterial preservation through taphonomic experimentation. We found that modern keratinolytic bacteria preferentially colonize unpigmented stripes in modern feathers over melanized stripes, so it is unlikely that this hypothesis was supported in ancient ecosystems. We also found that bacteria and biofilms preserved in association with fossil integument are dissimilar to microbodies interpreted as fossil melanosomes. We began the second part of this dissertation by describing an enantiornithine bird that exhibits a mix of juvenile skeletal characteristics and sexual ornaments. Melanosomes preserved in its feathers are similar in morphology and arrangement to those in modern iridescent feathers, which are predominantly used to attract mates. We also described melanosomes associated with the fossilized skin of amphibians and lamp (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: R. Joel Duff Ph. D. (Advisor); Matthew Shawkey Ph. D. (Committee Member); Liliana D'Alba Ph. D. (Committee Member); Julia Clarke Ph. D. (Committee Member); John Senko Ph. D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Paleontology

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Biomimicry refers to the work of people who realize that the organic structures or surviving outcomes of nature are not only seemingly beautiful but also durable and who apply them to human inventions by designing with the methods of nature. There are many projects around the world utilizing biomimicry, even from before the term was commonly used. Furthermore, biomimicry is increasingly employed in architecture. In this thesis, I will examine the design of an airport building through biomimicry. Because of a correlation between flights, airplanes, airports, and feathers, I have selected a feather for my biological inspiration. The structural pattern of feathers allows them to sustain their shape and function in flight. Understanding the principle of this structure, which is based on interlocking systems of hooks (barbicels) with three different hierarchies (rachis, barbs and barbules), allows a plausible formulation for a lightweight long-span structure of an airport by designing a feather-like canopy unit. The site I have selected for this examination is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), which is in decline due to decreased demand. Hoping for a revitalization, the airport management plans to combine Concourse A and Concourse B as one compact concourse in 2023 to reduce the waste, maintenance fees, and unnecessary spaces. Based on these needs from CVG, I propose a new concourse by mimicking a feather's structure to design an innovative new airport facility.

Committee: Christoph Klemmt A.A. Dipl. (Committee Chair); Elizabeth Riorden M.Arch. (Committee Member) Subjects: Architecture

MFA, Kent State University, 2015, College of the Arts / School of Art

What I Lived for addresses themes of identity and the projection of identity. In this series, the imagery combined in each piece constructs a narrative regarding the wearer's connection with nature, or feelings of biophelia. It becomes evident that more important than the wearer's actual communion with the outdoors is the notion that others would associate the natural world with the wearer. While such identities we construct for ourselves may not hold up over extreme testing, through the completion of this thesis body of work it becomes clear that they are nonetheless critical for self awareness.

Committee: Kathleen Browne (Advisor); Gianna Commito (Committee Member); Isabel Farnsworth (Committee Member); Sean Mercer (Committee Member) Subjects: Fine Arts

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2014, Integrated Bioscience

A key question in evolutionary biology is the origin and evolution of morphological innovations. Iridescent colors in feathers are produced by the interaction of light refracting through nanostructurally organized arrays of keratin and melanin-containing organelles (melanosomes), and are responsible for the brightest and most diverse colors found in birds. Such diversity arises from minute changes to nanostructural components, and birds have evolved extensive modifications to the shape and composition (hollowness) of melanosomes, providing a labile template for selection to act. Further, feather colors play a crucial role in intraspecific communication, sexual and social selection, and prezygotic isolation. Thus, this system is ideal for examining how complex morphologies arise ontogenetically and how they affect color diversification. I explored how this nanostructural arrangement emerges developmentally, showing that organization takes place in the final stages of feather growth, potentially through self-assembly. This implies that the fine-tuning color-producing structures can result from changes in the relative concentrations of different components and the timing of feather maturation. Further, quantitative variation to the degree of long-range order is responsible for variation in the degree of glossiness. Gloss was negatively associated with the thickness of the keratin layer, and positively with the continuity of the underlying melanosome layer. As a consequence, a continuum from matte black to iridescent colors can be observed. In African starlings, transitions from the ancestral rod-shaped melanosome to more optically complex morphologies occur irreversibly and towards greater optical complexity. As innovations to melanosome morphology evolve, novel colors can evolve up to forty times faster, as the optical complexity of these structures allows for different aspects of coloration to be modified independently. As a consequence, these innovations also provid (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Matthew Shawkey Dr. (Advisor); Todd Blackledge Dr. (Committee Member); Richard Londraville Dr. (Committee Member); Jutta Luettmer-Strathmann Dr. (Committee Member); Dustin Rubenstein Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Evolution and Development