Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1931, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1969, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1959, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

MS, Kent State University, 2019, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

Wetlands are complex ecosystems with unique biogeochemical and hydrological characteristics. These aspects can be traced to the following biogeochemically distinct domains: sediments, porewater, and surface water. Sulfur can play a critical role in aquatic ecosystems, with potential to influence the biogeochemical cycles of freshwater nutrients and metals. Inorganic sulfur can occur in the natural environment in multiple oxidation states. In the presence of oxygen, reduced sulfur readily oxidizes to form sulfate. Wetland hydrology controls the redox states of sulfur, as well as governing the fates trace metals, major cations, and anions in the wetland ecosystem. By examining wetland hydrology and characterizing the biogeochemistry of different wetland domains (sediment, porewater, and surface water), the export and forms of inorganic sulfur in the wetland can be characterized. The study site for this project was a constructed wetland at the Cleveland Metroparks' Watershed Stewardship Center in Parma, Ohio. The study site had interior zones of differing depths and a dynamic hydrologic regime, which could cause a variation in nutrient residence times and transformations within the wetland. To understand the wetland's hydrology and its relationship to sulfate biogeochemistry, interior water levels, outflow discharge, precipitation, water chemistry, sediment chemistry, and porewater chemistry were monitored from June 2015 to October 2016. High concentrations of sulfate were found in the interior zones (arithmetic mean: 185.7 mg/L) and outflow (arithmetic mean: 228.4 mg/L), while inflow concentrations were variable (ranges across inflows: 9.417-902.2 mg/L). Sulfate concentrations in surface water were found to be the highest in the interior and outflow following an extensive drydown period in Summer 2016. High concentrations of sulfate could also signal that sulfide was present in the wetland, but sulfide was below detection in porewater. However, wetland sediments c (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Anne Jefferson (Advisor); Lauren Kinsman-Costello (Advisor); Elizabeth Herndon (Committee Member) Subjects: Biogeochemistry; Environmental Geology; Environmental Management; Environmental Science; Freshwater Ecology; Geology; Hydrologic Sciences; Hydrology; Natural Resource Management; Water Resource Management

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1967, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Biology

Master of Science, Miami University, 2024, Biology

Human-induced climate change has been impacting ecological systems around the world. These impacts include increases in temperature and changes in precipitation. Freshwater mussels are one of the taxonomic groups most affected by these changes, leading to the decline of many species of mussels. I sought to improve population estimates for the Black River population of the Texas Hornshell mussel (Popenaias popeii), in Eddy County, NM. I investigated changes in demographic parameters through a 27-year mark-and-recapture study, discovering that the total population is decreasing by about 1.67% per year with individual survival rates at 81.5% per year. In 2023-2024, I repeated a population census using methods that were also used in 2011-2012 and 2017-2018. Combining the results of the three censuses, I generated a zero-inflated Poisson model to predict abundance within the river with good fit to the testing data, which improved estimate precision by 80% compared to previous methods. I found that estimated model error doubles every 5 years into the future and that reduced sampling designs can produce good estimates with limited decrease in precision. Reduced sampling and this model combined with periodic complete surveys should allow managers to control costs while precisely assessing abundance.

Committee: David Berg (Advisor); Tereza Jezkova (Committee Member); Kentaro Inoue (Committee Member); Hank Stevens (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Conservation; Ecology; Statistics

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Environmental Science

Rapid human development over the last several centuries has resulted in harm to many ecosystems, and aquatic ecosystems are especially at risk. Human activities near and in streams and rivers has greatly affected aquatic organisms, including in the state of Ohio. One such organism is the Popeye Shiner (Notropis ariommus), a North American minnow that has experienced widespread declines as well as extirpations from many streams; in Ohio, the species is present only in Scioto Brush Creek. The two overarching goals of this study were to 1) examine the status of the state endangered Popeye Shiner (Notropis ariommus) in Scioto Brush Creek by determining its present abundance and distribution, as well as compare these results to past surveys conducted in 1985 and 2006, and to 2) characterize the broader fish community in Scioto Brush Creek, again comparing past and present results. To achieve these goals, study sites in Scioto Brush Creek were selected based on previous sampling locations, where the method used in the past (1985 – seine, 2006 – boat electrofishing) was replicated. The most significant driver of N. ariommus distribution was river mile; catch per unit effort (CPUE) was negatively correlated with river mile, although only for seine sites. Body size was also related to river mile, with mean body size increasing significantly as distance upstream increased. Riparian land use (agriculture, canopy cover), in-stream habitat (Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Score), and fish community metrics (percent insectivores, percent tolerant) were also examined, but were not significantly correlated with N. ariommus CPUE. Comparisons between past and present surveys revealed that N. ariommus relative abundance had not changed significantly between years, indicating that the population has been relatively stable. Altogether, results suggest that lower reaches of Scioto Brush Creek are important habitat for juveniles, while upper reaches may be where spawning occurs. Such infor (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lauren Pintor (Advisor); Audrey Sawyer (Committee Member); Stephen Matthews (Committee Member) Subjects: Aquatic Sciences; Biology; Ecology; Environmental Science; Wildlife Conservation

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1963, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2024, Plant Biology (Arts and Sciences)

Rapid advancements in genetic methods and bioinformatic tools are leading to broader applications across various organisms and research questions, often becoming more cost effective for non-model species. In this dissertation, I utilize these current genetic resources to achieve three overall goals: (i) test the utility of chloroplast genomic data to infer phylogenetic relationships to fully resolve relationships among genera and add to the growing information about the chloroplast genome characteristics in the Batrachospermales, (ii) assess the genetic variation of across fiver major drainage basins in eastern North America and determine the origin of dispersal of Batrachospermum gelatinosum following the Pleistocene glaciation and (iii) document the bacterial community diversity and composition of Batrachospermum gelatinosum across spatial and temporal scales. Adding eight new chloroplast genomes to the Batrachospermales, I established that chloroplast genomic data provided strong support for relationships among a clade of seven genera. My phylogeographic study of Batrachospermum gelatinosum revealed genetic partitioning among five major drainage basins, with no admixture detected within basins; unexpectedly, genetic diversity did not show a geographic pattern and varied widely across sites, likely due to intragametophytic selfing contributing to reduced genetic diversity in some streams. I found that the origin for B. gelatinosum following the Pleistocene glaciation was likely the Mid-Atlantic, though more sampling is needed to clarify these patterns as intragametophytic selfing likely eroded genetic diversity following these dispersal events, complicating demographic history analysis. Finally, I determined the diversity and composition of the bacterial community associated with B. gelatinosum varied across both spatial and temporal scales. However, much of this variation remains could not be explained by physical and chemical stream condi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Morgan Vis (Advisor); Stacy Krueger-Hadfield (Committee Member); Shawn Kuchta (Committee Member); John Schenk (Committee Member); Harvey Ballard (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Freshwater Ecology; Plant Biology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1972, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1962, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1925, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1964, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1969, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1920, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, Miami University, 2024, Biology

Duckweed, aquatic macrophytes in the family Lemnaceae, are used in phytoremediation because of their ability to uptake nutrients but are also viewed as pests due to their tendency to rapidly reproduce and cover ponds. This study examined how the interaction of duckweed and nitrogen addition impacts amphibian metamorphosis. Because duckweed has been shown to alter light and algal levels and amphibian larvae consume algal food resources, I hypothesized that duckweed presence negatively impacts amphibian larval development by altering algal levels and that this effect intensifies with nitrogen fertilizer addition. To test this, I conducted mesocosm studies with three species of anuran larvae, in which I manipulated two factors, duckweed (present or absent) and ammonium nitrate (present or absent), and measured abiotic conditions of the aquatic environment, algal abundance, and metamorphosis endpoints. The addition of nitrogen benefited anuran metamorphosis, although no increases in algal abundance were measured. Despite impacts on abiotic factors in the aquatic communities, duckweed had no negative impacts on anurans and some positive effects, such as increasing northern leopard frog biomass, which suggests that duckweed at densities used in this study do not pose a threat to habitat quality for amphibian larval development.

Committee: Michelle Boone (Advisor); María González (Committee Member); David Gorchov (Committee Member) Subjects: Ecology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Biological Sciences

Urban surface water runoff contains high levels of salt and nitrate, particularly in northern climates of the United States. We hypothesized that increased salt and nitrate concentrations would reduce total biomass and cause complete taxonomic shifts of benthic algae. To investigate and quantify the multi-tiered responses of benthic algal assemblages to the impacts of road salt and nitrate, we created artificial flow-through streams with terracotta vessels with nutrient diffusing substrates (NDS) containing varying concentrations of both salt (0-7500 mg/L) and nitrate (0-5.9 mg/L) and incubated for 56 days during the summer. Diatom concentrations were significantly impacted by salt, and the combination of salt and nitrate on sampling days 4 and 28. Over the range of tested nitrate conditions, some cyanobacteria increased over time. Within the eukaryotic community, several algal family abundances changed significantly over time. The response of diatoms was complex, with treatment only significantly impacting specific genera. Overall, this study shows salt and nitrate, as well as the combined effects of the two, significantly impact benthic algae assemblages and community development.

Committee: Christopher Ward PhD (Advisor); Rex Lowe PhD (Committee Member); Paul Moore PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Aquatic Sciences; Biology; Ecology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology

Artificial propagation, called in vitro propagation, has been commonly used to metamorphose juvenile freshwater mussels without the need of a fish host, making it a useful tool for conservation biology. To improve our success of in vitro propagation, we must first expand our current limited knowledge of the larval development of mussels. The key to this is understanding what nutrition is needed for the successful development and propagation of healthy juvenile mussels. In this study, we compare media of various compositions to assess the growth of larval mussels. Growth is evaluated via analysis of the transcriptome, which can reveal internal processes happening within an organism. This study combines the accessibility of in vitro propagation with gene expression analysis of larval growth between growth media of different compositions with the goal of improving in vitro juvenile mussel propagation. Glochidia were extracted from adult Lampsilis siliquoidea mussels, pooled, and separated into three media groups: Leibovitz's L-15 Medium (L-15), Medium 199 (M199), and M199 with 50μL of lipids from concentrate (M199 + lipids). Glochidia developed in an incubator until signs of metamorphosis were present. Percent metamorphosis in the newly metamorphosed juveniles propagated in each of the three media was calculated and compared. Juveniles were collected from each dish, rinsed with sterile ultrapure water, and snap frozen in liquid nitrogen. RNA was extracted from the samples and sequenced on the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 sequencer with output as 100-base-pair paired-end reads. Assembly of the de novo transcriptome was performed and differentially expressed transcripts between the three groups were identified. Percent metamorphosis was significantly different between the L-15 medium and the M199 medium, but not different between the M199 medium and M199 medium with the addition of lipids. Differential expression was detected in 22,066 transcripts between L-15 and M199, a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ieva Roznere (Advisor); Jim Hood (Committee Member); Lindsey Bruckerhoff (Committee Member); Meg Daly (Advisor) Subjects: Conservation; Organismal Biology; Zoology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Electrical and Computer Engineering

This dissertation focuses on the coordinated operation and expansion planning of power and freshwater systems in regions experiencing freshwater shortages. Our work is motivated by the important challenges posed by the increasing installation of desalination plants, which rely almost exclusively on electricity to produce freshwater, and link power and freshwater systems. We propose models and solution techniques to address these challenges, namely, comprehending the coordinated operation of power and freshwater systems, investigating such coordination in the case of high renewable penetration, and studying the expansion planning and operation of fully renewable power and freshwater systems. Each of these challenges is comprehensively analyzed in separate chapters of this dissertation. The first challenge pertains to coordinating the operation of power and freshwater systems. We propose a model that integrates the dispatch of the freshwater system with the network-constrained scheduling of the thermal units of the power system, where the freshwater electric loads are incorporated into the supply-balance constraints of the power system. This model is mixed-integer nonlinear due to the nonlinear constraints describing the operation of the freshwater system. To achieve tractability, we employ a piecewise linearization technique to approximate nonlinear single-variable constraints and a triangular linearization to approximate nonlinear two-variable constraints. We conclude that a coordinated operation of the power and freshwater systems yields lower operation costs for both systems as compared to an uncoordinated operation. The second challenge pertains to the integration of weather-dependent renewable units and its impact on the coordinated operation of power and freshwater systems. We propose a model that integrates the dispatch of the freshwater system with the network-constrained scheduling of the thermal units of the power system, and includes a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Antonio Conejo (Advisor); Mahesh Illindala (Committee Member); Stephanie Stockar (Committee Member); Rebecca Haidt (Committee Member) Subjects: Electrical Engineering

Bachelor of Science, Wittenberg University, 2023, Biology

The Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is a widespread North American species, and its subspecies found in Ohio is the Midland Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata). While it is generally a widespread species and less at risk than other freshwater turtle species, understanding different local populations of the species can help us better understand the species as a whole, as well as factors that may play a role in conserving other freshwater turtle species. I conducted a mark-recapture study over the course of two separate study periods to assess the Midland Painted population in Conrad Balliet Family Nature Preserve's Pond, a local pond in Clark County, Ohio. Of the turtles recorded, 28 individual turtles were captured, and there was a 1.33:1 ratio of male turtles to female turtles and a 0.19:1 ratio of juveniles to adult turtles. Males tended to be in higher abundance in traps when there were few females and accounted for more recaptures than females. The estimated population size for the pond is 30 Midland Painted turtles. Males were smaller in size than females, in carapace length and width, plastron length and width, shell height, and weight. This information, and further studies on the pond's population, can serve to inform conservation methods for this species and other applicable freshwater turtle species as is relevant.

Committee: Richard Phillips (Advisor); John Ritter (Committee Member); Kathleen Reinsel (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences; Animals; Biology; Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management; Zoology