Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2019, Biological Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

The use of artificial or restored nesting habitats for diamondback terrapin conservation has received increased interest due to its early success and the continued degradation of natural nesting sites. Terrapins nesting on Poplar Island, a man-made island in the Chesapeake Bay, show a strong avoidance of vegetation which, coupled with vegetational encroachment over time, has resulted in a pattern of nest compression within the island's most active nesting beaches. This pattern, while currently not detrimental, could make the Poplar Island population susceptible to increased predation rates. For the success of the island's terrapin population to continue, measures should be taken to remove and control vegetation within the current nesting beaches. Modeling of terrapin nest site choice further emphasizes the importance of open and elevated areas. Additionally, vegetation was found to directly influence the incubation temperature within the nest. However, the effect of the low-lying vegetation was not dramatic enough to shift the expected sex-ratio of the offspring away from a significant female-bias. The expected 6:1 female-biased sex ratio is not as dramatic as the observed population sex ratio. This could be evidence of the effect of male-biased sources of mortality within the population, however further research is necessary to verify these findings.

Committee: Willem Roosenburg (Advisor); Viorel Popescu (Committee Member); Joseph Johnson (Committee Member) Subjects: Animals; Biology; Conservation; Ecology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1985, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Agriculture

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2016, Chemical Engineering

Declining nonrenewable petroleum resources combined with political and environmental concerns over fossil fuels have necessitated the search for alternate energy sources. Plant (lignocellulosic) biomass, which includes the fibrous, woody, and generally inedible portion of plant matter, is an abundant, inexpensive, and sustainable source of organic carbon that can be processed to produce fuel ethanol and a variety of other chemicals. The biological conversion of cellulosic biomass to ethanol could offer high yields at low costs, but only if more improvement is seen in technology for releasing simple sugars from recalcitrant biomass. Lignocellulosic biomass is composed of three major components- cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The cellulose and hemicellulose portions when hydrolyzed into glucose and pentose sugars, can be fermented to produce fuel. The pretreatment of biomass is a crucial step, and in recent years, ionic liquids (ILs) have been gaining recognition as environmentally benign solvents for biomass pretreatment, owing to their favorable properties Although a promising route, IL pretreatment still harbors several critical aspects that require further investigation, and the goal of this dissertation is to address these concerns. A key aspect that influences the economic viability of the ionic liquid pretreatment technique is the recovery and reuse of ILs. The extent of recovery of the IL under investigation, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EMIM-Ac), is investigated and the results are presented in chapter 3. It is shown that the ionic liquid does not irreversibly adsorb onto the biomass and can be recovered in the displacement solvent (water is used as antisolvent for separating ionic liquid from the biomass after pretreatment) at different biomass loadings. Nearly complete recovery of IL in wash solutions is achieved and no appreciable loss in its effectiveness for subsequent pretreatment is observed for over 9 recycle stages. However, the water (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Sasidhar Varanasi (Committee Chair); Jared Anderson (Committee Member); Bryant Hanson (Committee Member); Glenn Lipscomb (Committee Member); Constance Schall (Committee Member) Subjects: Chemical Engineering

MFA, Kent State University, 2016, College of the Arts / School of Art

Draped Interiors is a title that is meant to reference my interest in textiles and their relationship to supports that are common to domestic spaces. Juxtaposing cloth with wooden structures, which often reference furniture or other forms of interior architecture, sets up a dialogue between the hard and soft or rigid and fluid. These opposing characteristics also create a dynamic connection of both line and plane. Cloth is soft, planar, and malleable. It is affected by gravity while wooden moldings, dowels, or simple 1 x 2s are linear elements with structural integrity. Wood has, for a very long time, been used as the most practical material for household construction. It provides the bones that can give shape, support, and definition to form and space. The role of the textile is then like the skin, which covers the bones with the associations of feelings like warmth and comfort. All of my sculptures combine familiar forms and materials in unexpected and unusual ways that deny function and inspire mystery. This abstraction of the real alters our awareness of these objects and our relationship to them. Focusing on line and plane, and the relationship of hard and soft, my wooden fabric constructions challenge our expectations. Inspired by objects that many of us see every day in the home, these reconfigurations provoke different perceptions and invite various interpretations.

Committee: Janice Lessman-Moss (Advisor); Isabel Farnsworth (Committee Member); Gianna Commito (Committee Member) Subjects: Fine Arts

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2011, Biological Sciences

My study was conducted to understand tree community structure and how soil moisture and fire frequency influence them. Eighteen plots were placed in the Edge of Appalachia Nature Preserve of unglaciated southern Ohio: nine within a prescribed burn site and nine control sites outside the burn. Sites were stratified in triplicate across GIS-derived integrated soil moisture index (IMI) classes. Burning was done in 1996. Overstory species dbh and sapling species were sampled 1997, 2001, and 2008. Overstory stems were located in 2009 using range finders. Stem locations were loaded into GIS using novel techniques to quantify individual stem IMI values. Nonmetric multi-dimensional scaling identified greater heterogeneity among intermediate and mesic sites than xeric sites. Multi-response permutation procedures did not detect community differences between burned and unburned sites, but did detect strong (A=0.3 to 0.2, T=-3.6 to -4.1) distinct community differences that were statistically significant (P < 0.05) among xeric, intermediate, and mesic IMI classes. Analysis of variance identified significant initial effects of burning on Carya saplings and overstory Sassafras albidum stems, as well as lasting effects significant on Carpinus caroliniana. ANOVA detected significant differences across all sampling years in sapling relative number for Acer rubrum, Sassafras albidum, and Carpinus caroliniana saplings, as well as Quercus prinus, and Liriodendron tulipifera overstory stems between IMI classes. Bonferroni adjusted Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to identify and quantify IMI habitat restrictions of species. Quercus prinus dominated xeric sites (IMI quartiles 18-24), Carya occupied intermediate sites (IMI quartiles 22-44), Acer saccharum occupied intermediate to mesic sites (IMI quartiles 33-44), Sassafras albidum (IMI quartiles 20-40, IMI median 43) and Liriodendron tulipifera (IMI quartiles 39-45) were restricted to mesic sites. My r (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: James Runkle PhD (Advisor); James Amon PhD (Committee Member); Thomas Rooney PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Ecology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2010, Environmental Studies (Arts and Sciences)

The efficacy of headstarting programs to supplement populations of long-lived, late-maturing organisms is unknown. Despite this fact, headstarting programs have been criticized for not addressing or mitigating the actual causes for population declines. Over the last five years, 642 diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) hatchlings were headstarted and released at the Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project (PIERP) in the Chesapeake Bay. I conducted a mark-recapture study to determine the effectiveness of headstarting in this population. I trapped terrapins using fyke nets and tall crab pots. Captured terrapins were tagged and I recorded morphometrics, mass, sex, and age. I compared the PIERP population to a 23 year mark-recapture study in the Patuxent River (PR) of a non-headstart supplemented population where data were collected in the same manner and commercial crab fishing does not occur. The sex ratio of the PIERP population was highly female biased (9:1). There was no difference in size or age distributions among the two populations, with both skewed toward larger and older individuals. I estimated the population size at PIERP to be 204-406 individuals and a stage-structured Leftkovich matrix population model indicated that the PIERP is declining (λ=0.940). The low population growth rate and similarities between the PIERP and PR populations suggest that headstarting is not increasing hatchling and juvenile survival. I suggest that the lack of juvenile and male turtles in the PIERP population and ineffectiveness of headstarting are caused by differential mortality of these groups due to bycatch in crab pots and support the conclusion that headstarting is a "halfway technology" that does not address the initial causes for population declines. I recommend that headstarting not be considered a viable management strategy until mortality caused by crab pot bycatch is resolved through the use of bycatch reduction devices and spatial restrictions on commerc (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Willem Roosenburg PhD (Advisor); Steve Reilly PhD (Committee Member); Glen Jackson PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Animals; Biology; Ecology; Environmental Science

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2009, Environmental Studies (Arts and Sciences)

Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project is a unique solution for the dredge material placement and restoring decreasing habitat in the Chesapeake Bay. Since 2002, a long-term terrapin monitoring program has been documenting diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin habitat use. Northern diamondback terrapins, hatchlings may either emerge from their nest in the fall and seek other overwintering hibernacula, or remain inside their natal nest to emerge the following spring, known as delayed emergence. Results from the 2007-08 nesting season found that compaction and the presence of ice nucleating agents (as a measure of crystallization temperature) affected nest emergence timing in hatchlings. Fall emerged nests had lower bulk density (less compacted) and had a higher potency of ice nucleating agents compared to spring emerging nests. With proper management, areas such as Poplar Island may become areas of concentration for terrapins and thus provide a source population for the terrapin recovery throughout the Bay.

Committee: Willem M. Roosenburg Dr. (Advisor); Jared DeForest Dr. (Committee Member); Matthew White Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology