Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Environment and Natural Resources

Forests across the U.S. have been shaped by indigenous stewardship for centuries, and more recently by colonial land managers. Presently these forests are facing multiple stressors such as fragmentation, plant and pest invasion, and climate change. Non-native, ‘invasive' plant species pose a threat to forest ecosystems and are responsible for disrupting the structure and function of these systems, outcompeting native plant species and disrupting soil health. This study investigates (a) management effects on plant communities in an invaded eastern hardwood forest in Coshocton, OH, and (b) decomposition of litter from native and invasive species in managed and unmanaged research plots. The research site contains remnant oak-hickory forest, used in recent history for timber production followed by several decades of disuse. During this period of non-management, several invasive species became abundant throughout the site, including Celastrus orbiculatus vine and Ligustrum vulgare shrub. In addition to infiltration by invasive species, the process of mesophication is underway in some areas of the research site, altering moisture and light availability while driving the community towards a maple-beech dominated composition. In the first chapter of this research, we utilize disturbance-based management practices in invaded forests plots. Our objectives are to (i) investigate how woody plant communities shift with time from treatment and (ii) determine whether treatment effect is contingent upon the passage of time. This research contributes to our understanding of invasive plant management and exemplifies the use of goats as an alternative to fire for the purpose of driving community shifts in invaded oak forests. Research plots were established throughout the site to capture the variety of biotic and abiotic conditions. Each plot underwent one of four treatments: (a) mechanical clearing, (b) high intensity goat browsing, (c) low intensity goat browsing, (d) no tr (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: G. Matt Davies (Advisor); Stephen Matthews (Committee Member); Horacio Lopez-Nicora (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Science

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2021, Environmental Science

Eastern oak-hickory forests are threatened by multiple factors including the increasing abundance of invasive species and the process of mesophication, the transition from xeric (shade intolerant but drought tolerant) to mesic (shade tolerant but drought intolerant) species. The encroachment of forest understories by both invasive and native mesic species has altered regeneration and recruitment processes. Increasing invasive species and mesophication have created a need for further research on how biotic and abiotic filters and species functional traits influence regeneration of native trees. Research focused on understanding different controls on the regeneration and recruitment of native tree species, and the efficacy and efficiency of two invasive species control methods, was performed at The Ohio State University's Pomerene Forest Laboratory in Coshocton, Ohio. To understand processes of regeneration and recruitment, abiotic and biotic filters were used in generalized linear models to identify patterns in abundance of 19 plant functional types × size class combinations, while Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) was used to describe patterns in understory species composition. Models of functional type abundances were found to have a wide range of predictive ability across the functional type × size class combinations, due to small sample sizes and other ecological conditions not examined in this research (such as land use history). The abundance of the functional types was influenced by invasive species. The invasive species' high plasticity allowed higher levels of establishment in areas rich in available resources and forced native trees to regenerate and recruit in conditions not suitable to their functional traits. Species composition was heavily influenced by invasive and native shrubs, isolating the Walnut/Oak canopy community group from the other 4 canopy community groups. After regeneration and recruitment patterns were identified, restoration ma (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: G. Matthew Davies (Advisor); Benjamin Wenner (Advisor); Roger Williams (Committee Member); Matthew Dickinson (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Science; Natural Resource Management

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2021, Environment and Natural Resources

Background: Oak and hickory species (Quercus spp. and Carya spp.) dominance and establishment in eastern forests have been threatened due to fire suppression, shade-tolerant species encroachment, and non-native species invasion. Conservation grazing could be an economically and ecologically sustainable alternative to control non-native plants. Before introducing goat browsing in oak-hickory forests the general and browsing behavior of goats and the economic return of conservation grazing need to be assessed. Objective: The objective of this study was to understand the general behavior and browsing selection of the goats; and quantify the costs and income of conservation grazing. Methodology: Research was implemented at OSU's Pomerene Forest Laboratory (Coshocton, OH). The understory biomass was estimated using field measurement of woody plant density and size (height and diameter) via allometric equations. Conservation grazing was implemented during July and August of 2020 in 12 circular browsing plots of 20-m diameter. Mature Boer-crossed does were randomly assigned to high- (1,019 goat days ha-1) or low browsing pressure (509 goat days ha-1). General and browsing behavior were measured via direct observation through days 1 to 4 of browsing. Seven categories of behavior were recorded: Browsing, ruminating, walking, plant interaction, standing and resting, laying down and resting, and other activities. The “bite category” method was used to estimate browsing behavior and browse preferences. The browse composition and availability were characterized via hierarchical cluster analysis (browse clusters). The vegetation nutritional quality was analyzed for carbohydrates, protein, and fiber. Goats' browsing preferences were evaluated using the Jacob Selectivity Index (JSI). Two generalized linear mixed effects models were implemented to quantify the effect of browse clusters, species, and duration of browsing on JSI. The daily browse intake (DBI g-1) and goats' diet were (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: G. Matt Davies Ph.D (Advisor); Benjamin Wenner Ph.D (Advisor); Marília Chiavegato Ph.D (Committee Member); Sayeed Mehmood Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences; Ecology; Environmental Economics; Natural Resource Management

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2020, Biological Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

Throughout studies of mammalian feeding, the tongue has not received the attention of other structures, such as the skull, jaw, and the masticatory muscles. However, the tongue is vital to this behavior, aiding in ingestion, transport, processing, and swallowing. The tongue also plays a critical role in drinking in adult mammals, which, like feeding, is critical to survival. This dissertation aims to address some of the gaps in our understanding of both the role of the tongue during these oral behaviors, and how the tongue is able to perform these roles through complex movements and shape deformations. The foundation of this work pairs the existing workflows of X-Ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM) with the implantation of additional soft-tissue markers throughout the body of the tongue. This allows for accurate and precise animated reconstructions of the movements in vivo of the jaw relative to the skull, and the tongue markers relative to both structures, all in calibrated 3D space. These animations contain biologically relevant data because skeletal or tongue marker movements can be registered to coordinate systems based on anatomy. Here, we conduct a series of analyses on tongue and jaw kinematics in 7 mammalian species, with representative carnivorans, marsupials, and artiodactyls to address specific functional and biomechanical hypotheses about chewing and drinking, but that have evolutionary implications for our understanding of form and function. We demonstrated differences in tongue-jaw coordination between chewing and drinking in the pig, suggesting important differences in the central control of these behaviors. We showed there is biomechanical heterogeneity in regional tongue deformations, as suggested by its anatomical heterogeneity, while following the predictions set forth by the muscular hydrostat model. We demonstrated that lapping mechanisms, including the patterns of tongue deformation and tongue-jaw coordination appear to be largely c (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Susan Williams (Advisor); Lawrence Witmer (Committee Member); Johnson Joseph (Committee Member); Ayres Tyler (Committee Member) Subjects: Animals; Biology; Biomechanics

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1960, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Health Sciences

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2011, English (Arts and Sciences)

The following is a compilation of personal essays I have written while studying creative nonfiction at Ohio University. Each essay contains elements of personal reflection, narrative, and research on topics including sacraments, home, faith, personal identity, and whistling. Though disparate in subject matter, each of these essays speaks to my efforts to “tell true stories and tell them well enough that they resonate with readers in the same way good writing--and good music--resonate with me.”

Committee: Dinty Moore (Committee Chair); Eric LeMay (Committee Member); Janis Holm (Committee Member) Subjects: American Literature; Bible; Biblical Studies; Evolution and Development; Families and Family Life; Fine Arts; Folklore; Language; Literature; Music; Performing Arts; Religion; Spirituality; Womens Studies; World History; Zoology

Master of Science, Miami University, 2010, Botany

Different disturbances in similar habitats should produce unique successional assemblages of plants. Plant species cover data was collected to investigate the effects of three common disturbances–fire, bulldozing, and bulldozing followed by goat grazing–on early-successional coppice communities on Eleuthera, The Bahamas. For each disturbance type, both the ground layer (< 0.5 m) and shrub layer (> 0.5 m) were sampled in eight patches (> 1 ha) of varying age (1-28 yr) since disturbance. Results suggest that goats accelerate succession by quickly removing non-woody ground cover, and increase the representation of woody ground cover; these results also suggest that managed goat grazing delays plant succession by inhibiting growth of tree species and maintaining early-successional shrubs. These effects may lead to different coppice successional trajectories, and may have important conservation implications for the threatened Kirtland's warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii), who's wintering habitat consists of early-successional coppice rich in Lantana fruits.

Committee: Dr. Charles Kwit PhD (Advisor); Dr. Elisabeth Schussler PhD (Advisor); Dr. Thomas Crist PhD (Committee Member); Dr. M. Henry H. Stevens PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Botany; Ecology

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2007, Theatre

The Goat or, who is Sylvia? is a character-driven story about an architect whose life crumbles when he falls in love with a goat. The actual focus of the piece lies on where the boundaries of “love” within an allegedly “liberal” society are, and how incommunicable such inclinations are. The play also features many language games and grammatical arguments in the middle of catastrophes and existential disputes between the characters. As director of the play my production concept integrates two particular fields of my interest and knowledge: theatre and television production. The idea is to bring Albee's absurdist story one step further by combining the live theatre experience with the live television element. Besides a dramaturgical analysis of Albee's play, this thesis further investigates the influence of the classic Greek tradition of tragedy as well as a possible link between Albee's tragic comedy and Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona, while also incorporating Bertolt Brecht's theories on Epic Theatre into the analysis and actual performance.

Committee: Roger Bechtel (Advisor) Subjects: Theater