Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2019, Atmospheric Sciences

The arid, high-elevation regions of the American Southwest are home to critical water resources and numerous species of plants and animals. Understanding the climatological controls in these complex environments, especially in the face of a changing climate, is critical for future planning and mitigation. This research utilizes an innovative, high-resolution Embedded Sensor Network (ESN) to investigate small-scale climatological conditions in Great Basin National Park (GBNP). The ESN, put in place in 2006 and maintained for over a decade, is comprised of 29 Lascar sensors. These sensors log hourly observations of near-surface temperature, dewpoint and relative humidity at locations spanning multiple topographic, hydrological, and ecological gradients within the park. From a maximum altitude of ~4000 m atop Wheeler Peak, the sensor locations run along a multi-mountain ridgeline spanning ~2000 m vertically, follow along two watersheds, and encompass multiple ecological environments including sub-alpine forests, alpine lakes, sagebrush meadows, and a rock glacier. Using this long-term dataset, a preliminary climatology for GBNP has been developed and analyzed. From 2006 to 2018, GBNP experienced an average near-surface lapse rate of –5.81°C/km, 0.7°C weaker than the commonly accepted alpine lapse rate of –6.5°C/km. Results also indicate that, on average, daily minimum temperatures in GBNP have increased by 2.06°C over the last decade. Variability is present, both temporally and geographically, in average temperatures, ground lapse rates and diurnal temperature ranges. These results indicate that courser-scale weather stations, such as the Wheeler Peak SNOTEL site, alone cannot account for the small-scale variability found in GBNP. This study offers an alternative, low-cost methodology for observing long-term conditions in mountainous environments at fine resolutions. In upcoming decades, climate change may continue to alter conditions in GBNP. In a region with critical (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Bryan Mark (Advisor); Steven Quiring (Committee Member); James DeGrand (Committee Member) Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences; Climate Change; Earth; Meteorology; Physical Geography

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2024, Biology

This dissertation is structured into five chapters. Chapter I: I provide a general introduction to my dissertation, primarily introducing the different influences on intraspecific variation and providing a background on local adaptation. Chapter II: I investigate the effects of environmental conditions and demographic history on populations of desert horned lizards (Phrynosoma platyrhinos). I evaluate the demographic history of P. platyrhinos and identify signatures of selection associated with climate, which may be indicative of local adaptation. I then link signatures of selection to genes and functional genomic elements. Chapter III: I explore the influence of environmental heterogeneity on intraspecific variation of the chisel-toothed kangaroo rat (Dipodomys microps). I discover signals of selection associated with both climate and vegetation. I also find evidence that selective pressures likely vary across the species distribution and develop a permutation test to identify populations that possess more putatively adaptive alleles than expected by chance. I also link signals of selection to genes and biological functions that may be related to previously identified morphological differences between populations. Chapter IV: I perform a meta-analysis to understand general patterns of putative local adaptation in terrestrial chordates. I use previously published datasets and analyze them using a common framework to test theoretical predictions regarding the relationship between environmental and demographic factors and signals of selection. I find that signals of selection follow theoretical predictions, and, importantly, find that constant variation is an important driver of signals of selection. Chapter V: I provide conclusions and future directions from my results.

Committee: Tereza Jezkova (Advisor); David Berg (Committee Member); Donghyung Lee (Committee Member); Richard Moore (Committee Member); Susan Hoffmann (Committee Member) Subjects: Bioinformatics; Biology; Climate Change; Evolution and Development

Master of Science, University of Toledo, 2019, Biology (Ecology)

Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata), an aquatic invasive plant, threatens to invade the Great Lakes Basin. Hydrilla creates dense webs that out competes native vegetation, reduces flow in canals, clogs intakes, and interferes with navigation of watercraft. Recreational boating has acted as a primary vector of spread for other aquatic invasive species and is expected be a primary vector for hydrilla spread. The goal of this project was to analyze the current distribution of hydrilla and identify the risk of introduction in the Great Lakes Basin via overland recreational boat transport. This goal was achieved by 1) assessing the current distribution of hydrilla to determine likely vectors of spread and 2) predicting the potential spread of hydrilla to the Great Lakes Basin via recreational watercraft and boat trailers and 3) identifying high risk areas for introduction. This analysis will aid in predicting and detecting the spread of invasive hydrilla into new waterways in the Great Lakes Basin.

Committee: Jonathan Bossenbroek PhD (Committee Chair); Richard Becker PhD (Committee Member); Daryl Moorhead PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Science

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2014, Atmospheric Sciences

The Great Basin National Park (GBNP) embedded sensor network (ESN) consisting of Lascar micro-loggers was established in 2006 to characterize near surface temperature and humidity. With respect to micro-logger networks, based on available literature, GBNP's ESN contains the densest deployment of micro-loggers (currently 15) above 3000 m in North America for a limited local area. Primary purposes were to assess local climate conditions, evaluate how climate may be changing and support other research projects with meteorological data. In this work, surface temperature lapse rates and surface specific humidity lapse rates were calculated and analyzed on three different time scales (annual, seasonal and monthly) using linear regression. Furthermore, the ESN was subdivided into different geographic subsets which encompass different elevation ranges and landcover types. Results indicated a calculated study-wide (2006 - 2012) mean annual temperature lapse rate, -6.0°C km-1, compared favorably to the common environmental lapse rate (ELR) value of -6.5°C km-1. However, surface temperature lapse rates varied considerably for different geographic subsets and time scales. Mean monthly temperature lapse rates for the entire study area varied from -3.8°C km-1 in January to -7.3°C km-1 in June. Additional variability was introduced when elevation zones were considered. For locations below 3000 m (all QC data), the mean monthly temperature lapse rate ranged from -3.6°C km-1 in January to -9.1°C km-1 in August. Perhaps more significant, in May and summer (JJA) surface lapse rates below 3000 m became quite steep. Here, surface lapse rates exceeded -9.0°C km-1 and approached the dry adiabatic lapse rate. Above 3000 m, surface mean monthly temperature lapse rates were more compressed ranging from -4.5°C km-1 in May to -7.3°C km-1 in September. Throughout summer, mean monthly temperature lapse rate differences between high elevations (> 3000 m) and low elevations (< 300 (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Bryan Mark (Advisor); Jialin Lin (Committee Member); Michael Durand (Committee Member) Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences; Environmental Science; Geography; Geophysical; Hydrologic Sciences; Hydrology; Meteorology; Physical Geography; Water Resource Management

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, Geological Sciences

The Ediacaran-Cambrian transition was an important time span from both geologic and biologic perspectives. It was a time of dramatic evolutionary changes such as the diversification of early metazoans, the development of resistant skeletons in many taxa, and the escalation of prey-predator systems. In North America, the transition is well recorded in terminal Neoproterozoic to Cambrian strata of Esmeralda County, Nevada, and adjacent Inyo County, California. Strata recording this transition are the Deep Spring Formation (Ediacaran-Cambrian), and the Campito, Poleta, and Harkless formations (Cambrian). For many years the Deep Spring, Poleta, and Harkless formations were informally divided into mappable members. New, formal names are proposed for the members of these formations. In ascending order the new members are the Dunfee, Montezuma, and Gold Point members of the Deep Spring Formation; the Lida, Indian Springs, and Clayton members of the Poleta Formation; and the Weepah and Alkali members of the Harkless Formation. Two formal members of the Campito Formation, the Andrews Mountain Quartzite and the Montenegro Member, have long been recognized. The Deep Spring Formation and succeeding formations have the transition from a microorganism-dominated record to the more diverse and complex record of the Phanerozoic. Stromatolites are common in the Dunfee Member of the Deep Spring Formation, and fossilized microbial mats (“wrinkle structures”) are present in siltstone layers of the Montezuma Member. Microbial mats or microbially stabilized substrates are inferred to be responsible for the fine preservation of Ediacaran trace fossils as well as sedimentary structures. In Cambrian strata, microbial related structures are mostly wrinkle structures and gas escape structures. Trace fossils have a trend toward increasing diversity, complexity, and abundance across the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, although behavioral patterns are conserved. These changes parallel faunal chang (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Loren E. Babcock PhD (Advisor); William I. Ausich PhD (Committee Member); Matthew R. Saltzman PhD (Committee Member); Steven K. Lower PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Paleontology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, Geological Sciences

Hydrologically closed basins in arid environments often pose ideal conditions for the development of inland saltwater lakes. In these regions, where the hydrology is balanced by dilute inflow waters and evaporation, these closed-basin lakes may progress through various degrees of evapoconcentration. This process may result in the precipitation of simple salts and the alteration of the relative chemical composition of a lake. Such “geochemical evolution” processes have been studied in detail particularly for the so-called major ions (Na, Ca, K, Mg, Cl, SO4, HCO3+CO3) and Si, but little work has been done on ions of moderate concentration. Due to the evaporative nature of these systems, the alkali metals, Li and Rb, and alkaline earth elements, Sr and Ba, may become highly concentrated and play a significant role in determining the geochemistry of a saline lake. Here, I present the first comprehensive study of the transport and fate of the minor alkali elements, Li, Rb, Sr, and Ba, in three distinct geographic settings illustrating three types of saline lakes as determined by their major anion abundance. Using lithium isotope analysis and mass balance calculations, I show that the minor elements in the McMurdo Dry Valleys are transported to “chloride-type” lakes by a combination of precipitation, chemical weathering and salt dissolution. Sr and Ba show evidence of removal in the lakes, but Li and Rb appear to be conservative to extremely high concentrations. This work discusses the potential removal mechanisms of these ions, particularly the formation of major and minor sulfate and carbonate minerals in the lakes. A major finding of this study is that brine type determines the removal mechanism of Sr and Ba, particularly if they are removed as sulfate or carbonate minerals. This study provides a platform for future exploration of the role of these and other minor elements in inland brines and playas.

Committee: William Berry Lyons (Advisor); Anne Carey (Committee Member); David Porinchu (Committee Member); Ozeas Costa (Committee Member); William Green (Committee Member) Subjects: Biogeochemistry; Earth; Environmental Science; Geochemistry; Geology

Master of Environmental Science, Miami University, 2004, Environmental Sciences

I interned with the Bureau of Land Management in Battle Mountain, NV through the Environmental Careers Organization of Boston, Massachusetts. The Sierra Pacific Power Company project was a construction of high tension power lines that traversed the Great Basin of the High Sierra Desert of northern Nevada that would join up two existing power stations. The project was implemented to provide a less expensive source of power from out of state generators to Nevada and Los Angeles, California and to address the increasing demand for energy. I chose this internship because of its potential to teach me more about the area of the Great Basin that I studied as an undergraduate in Environmental Science and its level of difficulty. The focus of my internship was as the project coordinator for the high tension lines that crossed public lands and private lands. This scenario presented many difficulties that would provide a broad spectrum of challenges. The stakeholders involved presented many different desires of land use and needs that would have a direct impact on the fragile ecosystem of the Great Basin area. In addition there were cultural concerns of the Western Shoshone that would be impacted by the project. The project was a huge success for all parties directly affected by it.

Committee: Gene Willeke (Advisor) Subjects: Environmental Sciences

Master of Science, Miami University, 2003, Zoology

The purpose of this thesis was to develop and evaluate predictive models of avian species occurrence across two years and three mountain ranges in the Great Basin of central Nevada. I modeled eighteen species' occurrences and evaluated them using independent data and four different measures of accuracy; correct classification rate (CCR), sensitivity, specificity, and the area under a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). Species occurrence rate affected all accuracy measures except AUC. Temporal variation in species distributions had a greater effect on model accuracy than spatial variation, however this was likely due to the extreme annual differences in occurrence rates in this study. Furthermore, no life history characters examined showed significant variation in model performance except for levels of species commonness. This occurred mainly for the accuracy measures that were affected by occurrence rate, and for models developed and evaluated using the temporal data sets exhibiting markedly different occurrence rates.

Committee: Robert Blair (Advisor) Subjects: Biology, Ecology

MA, Kent State University, 2011, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Anthropology

The high density of Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric Period habitation sites in northwest Ohio, south of the Western Basin of Lake Erie, suggests that this area experienced a period of significant human activity in late prehistory. It has generally been accepted that in this area the intensification of maize subsistence and a subsequent transition to a more sedentary, agrarian-based settlement pattern occurred during the transition between the Late Woodland and Late Prehistoric Periods (750AD-1450AD). This proposed settlement shift has been described by many as a transition from short-term, often seasonal occupations of lakeshore-oriented sand spits, prairies and major downstream drainages to more sedentary agricultural village settlements located upstream at secondary river confluences, well-drained ancient beach ridges, and/or defensible river bluff locations. While this proposed change in settlement patterns is frequently cited in academic literature, the primary data supporting this change is largely qualitative and anecdotal in nature. Geographical Information System (GIS) Technology provides a new approach to conduct a regional settlement pattern analysis of this area in order to substantiate, quantify, and characterize any proposed change in habitation patterns that may have occurred during this time period, subsequent to the intensification of maize subsistence. The settlement analyses presented in this thesis represent a first attempt to not only aggregate the necessary habitation site data to permit a comprehensive settlement analysis in this region, but also the first to utilize GIS technology combined with environmental data to do so. It is believed that a better understanding of changes in settlement patterns – spatially, chronologically and qualitatively – can help to provide new insight regarding the cultural change that was likely occurring during this transitional time period, as archaeologists are still in its early stages of developing a more co (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mark Seeman PhD (Advisor); Brian Redmond PhD (Committee Member); T. Kam Manahan PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Archaeology

Doctor of Philosophy in Regulatory Biology, Cleveland State University, 2009, College of Science

Cyanobacterial flora of microbiotic crusts of the Ethiopian Rift Valley System and the Great Basin in Idaho and Oregon were studied. Nine species of cyanobacteria were identified and morphologically characterized from the microbiotic crusts of the Rift Valley in Ethiopia. These included one species of Chroococcales, five species of Oscillatoriales, and three species of Nostocales. Similar studies were made for the microbiotic crusts of the Great Basin of Idaho and Oregon. A total of six morphospecies were morphologically characterized and identified, three species of Oscillatoriales, and three in Nostocales, were recorded in the regions. The cyanobacterial flora of the two continents was compared based on their molecular and morphological differences. Partial sequence data of the 16S rRNA gene (~85%) (Small sub-unit rRNA gene) and the 16S-23S ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) genes were obtained for all taxa from the Rift System and for selected morphospecies of cyanobacteria of the Great Basin. Based on the sequence data provided, morphospecies of cyanobacteria of the two continents tend to show variation in their phylogeny. The ITS regions of morphospecies of cyanobacteria of the two continents were also compared in relation to the D1-D1', V2, and box B helices. Based on morphological, ecophysiological and molecular data; four new species of cyanobacteria were defined from microbiotic crusts of the Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Among these new species, one belongs to Chroococcales, one belongs to Oscillatoriales, and two belong to Nostocales.

Committee: Jeffrey R. Johansen PhD (Advisor); Julie A. Wolin PhD (Committee Member); Faong Yuan PhD (Committee Member); Jeffrey Dean PhD (Committee Member); Bernard M. Walton PhD (Committee Member); Christopher A. Sheil PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, Geological Sciences

Environmental perturbations associated with the late-Permian mass extinction and Early Triassic recovery are widely studied, and our understanding of global events during this biotic crisis continues to improve. Marine carbonates preserve geochemical proxy records of global change, including a rapid rise in seawater 87Sr/86Sr that began the near Guadalupian-Lopingian (Middle-Late Permian) boundary and continued through the end of the Early Triassic. Linking the increase in 87Sr/86Sr to enhanced weathering rates that resulted from environmental disturbances and terrestrial extinction during the latest Permian is inconsistent with the onset of the 87Sr/86Sr rise approximately 10 million years earlier at the end of the Middle Permian. However, several recent studies indicate that the rate of 87Sr/86Sr rise increased during the late Permian, and this rise may be the result of enhanced weathering rates during the extinction and recovery interval. This study improves the resolution of the seawater 87Sr/86Sr record of the late Permian through Early Triassic through analyses of whole rock samples collected from Zal, Iran and Dawen, South China. The carbonate succession at Zal, Iran preserves the entire Early Triassic and was previously analyzed for δ13C. Analyses of Sr isotopes at a resolution similar to the δ13C record enables direct comparison between these two records, and also allows for determinations in the changes in rate of strontium rise. The Permian-Triassic boundary interval was sampled at higher resolution by analyzing rocks from a biostratigraphically constrained sections deposited at Dawen on the Great Bank of Guizhou, South China. These results indicate that the rate of strontium rise increased during the latest Permian, possibly as a result of elevated weathering rates during the post-extinction interval. The final chapter of this dissertation examines marine carbonates from the Confusion Range, Utah, recently shown to represent relatively conti (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Matthew Saltzman (Advisor); William Ausich (Committee Member); David Elliot (Committee Member); Stig Bergstrom (Committee Member) Subjects: Geology; Paleoclimate Science

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, Geography

In this dissertation, I have completed a research project that focused on reconstructing past climate and environmental conditions in the Great Basin of the western United States. This research project incorporates four discrete but interrelated studies. (1) The geochemistry of lake sediments was used to identify anthropogenic factors influencing aquatic ecosystems of sub-alpine lakes in the western United States during the past century. Sediment cores were recovered from six high elevation lakes in the central Great Basin of the United States. Mercury (Hg) flux varied among lakes but all exhibited increasing fluxes during the mid-20th century and declining fluxes during the late 20th century. Peak Spheroidal Carbonaceous Particles (SCP) flux for all lakes occurred at approximately 1970, after which SCP flux was greatly reduced. Atmospheric deposition is the primary source of Hg and anthropogenically produced SCPs to these pristine high elevation lakes during the late 20th century. (2) Chironomids are used to develop centennial length temperature reconstructions for six sub-alpine and alpine lakes in the central Great Basin of the United States. Chironomid-inferred temperature estimates indicate that four of the six lakes were characterized by above average air temperatures during the post-AD 1980 interval and below average temperatures during the early 20th century. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that sub-alpine and alpine lakes in the western United States have been, and are increasingly being affected by anthropogenic climate change in the early 21st century. (3) A sediment core representing the past two millennia was recovered from Stella Lake in the Snake Range of the central Great Basin in Nevada. The core was analyzed for sub-fossil chironomids and sediment organic content. The chironomid-based mean July air temperature (MJAT) reconstruction suggests that the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), was characterized by MJAT elevated 1.0°C above the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Bryan Mark PhD (Advisor); David Porinchu PhD (Advisor); Ellen Mosley-Thompson PhD (Committee Member); Alvaro Montenegro PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences; Geography; Paleoclimate Science; Paleoecology; Physical Geography

BA, Oberlin College, 2013, Anthropology

Areal linguistics is the study of diffused linguistic features across different languages which are geographically contiguous and culturally connected. My research attempts to standardize definitions for the vocabulary surrounding linguistic diffusion which will apply cross-areally. I also examine these definitions within the case study of the Pueblo and Southwest regions of North America. These areas have been culturally linked, but no agreement has been made as to whether or not these make up a linguistic area with sub-areas or are both part of a much larger area including the Great Basin, southern Plains, and southern Californian languages.

Committee: Jason Haugen (Advisor) Subjects: Linguistics