Master of Science, Miami University, 2024, Biology

Floral traits, including color, morphology, and scent, play a crucial role in attracting specific pollinators, with floral scent being a significant component for both short- and long-range pollinator attraction. In dioecious systems, where male and female flowers are present on separate plants, sexual dimorphism of floral displays is driven by differing selective pressures on male and female reproductive success. In some dioecious species, females engage in Bakerian mimicry—offering no nectar rewards yet mimicking male pollination syndromes to deceive pollinators. Research has observed Bakerian mimicry in several species, but its evolutionary conservation within the largely dioecious Caricaceae family remains underexplored. We used Vasconcellea parviflora as a model to examine the characteristics of Bakerian mimicry within the Caricaceae. We characterized sexual dimorphism in floral display, collected and analyzed floral volatile quantity and composition, and assessed nectar production in males and females. We found that V. parviflora females have smaller floral displays and produce no nectar rewards unlike males. There is, however, increased emission rates of floral scent compounds in females relative to males, potentially representing an evolutionary trade-off in females between producing no nectar rewards at the cost of increased volatile production to ensure pollinator attraction.

Committee: Richard Moore (Advisor); Yoshinori Tomoyasu (Committee Member); Cassie Majetic (Committee Member) Subjects: Biochemistry; Biology; Botany; Ecology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2023, Computer Science and Engineering

One of the central goals of evolutionary biology is to quantify the fine variation in adaptive traits, subject to natural selection, and to identify the causal genes. One system where natural selection can be characterized precisely are the tropical Heliconius butterflies. Two species, Heliconius erato and H. melpomene, both warn off predators with bold wing patterns, and have evolved to resemble each other (mimicry). This thesis presents current work being done to expand machine learning (ML) algorithms to capture the biological mechanisms underlying mimicry in Heliconius butterflies. We apply an imageomics approach, which uses biology-guided ML to extract biological traits from images. Traditionally, a common point of contact between biology and computer science is to use ML and computer vision to classify species. To go beyond species classification towards identifying biological traits that are common or different between mimic pairs requires restructuring ML models to consider biologically relevant information. We translate the biological question into computational abstractions in several ways. First, we ask whether there is computationally detectable information from images in the similarity and difference of mimic pairs. Building upon previous work in this field, we use a convolutional neural network with triplet loss to create a latent embedding space, with different variations of the triplet chosen across species and co-mimic pairs. Pairwise comparisons across subspecies show that traditionally hypothesized co-mimics are significantly closer to each other in the embedding than are other subspecies pairs, providing a positive answer to our question. Having identified the pattern elements central to mimicry, we leverage biological knowledge of wing pattern development to link phenotypic variation with specific genotypes. The need to place landmarks manually is a common limitation of biological morphometric studies: here, we automate this process (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Wei-Lun Chao (Committee Member); Tanya Berger-Wolf (Advisor) Subjects: Biology; Computer Science; Conservation; Ecology; Genetics

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2021, Arts and Sciences: Biological Sciences

Animals use signals to manipulate the behavior of the multiple, distinct audiences they interact with, including predators, prey, and conspecifics. One example of this is Batesian mimicry. Batesian mimics resemble dangerous or unpalatable prey to avoid predators. They also face a unique challenge: being accurate enough mimics to deceive predators, while remaining detectable to potential mates. The tension of meeting the demands of distinct audiences may help explain the evolutionary puzzle of imperfect mimicry. One set of hypotheses explaining imperfect mimicry posits that different audiences exert conflicting selective forces resulting in morphological compromises on the part of the mimic. If these compromises arise from selective pressures originating from distinct vantage points (e.g., potential mates viewing animals head-on or from the side, while larger or aerial predators view animals from above), this creates an opportunity for detection and study of this phenomenon. In my thesis, I investigated the possibility that mimics may have more accurate mimicry when viewed from above to avoid detection from predators, but lower fidelity mimicry when viewed from the side to be visible to prospective mates. I studied the morphology of Synemosyna formica, an ant mimic, from a three-dimensional perspective as viewed by the visual systems of their different audiences. I also studied the movement of S. formica and how this might impact their mimicry. I found that S. formica exhibited higher mimetic fidelity in shape and color when analyzed from an overhead versus a lateral vantage point. This is consistent with the idea that mimicry helps these animals avoid predators that view them from above, while they adopt a less mimetic morphology to attain mates that view them laterally. However, I found mixed evidence for behavioral mimicry. Another example of animals using signals to manipulate the behavior of audiences is male courtship displays. Males of many species evolv (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Nathan Morehouse Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Elke Buschbeck Ph.D. (Committee Member); George Uetz Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2019, Psychology

Nonconscious behavioral mimicry is the tendency for people to unintentionally mimic the behaviors of others to facilitate liking and smooth social interactions. The proposed research examined how compassion and pride could differentially affect one's mimicry. Experiencing compassion was expected to increase nonconscious mimicry by increasing perceived self-other similarity, whereas pride was expected to reduce nonconscious mimicry by decreasing perceived self-other similarity and increasing feelings of power. In the experiment, participants were randomly assigned to watch a slideshow designed to induce compassion, pride, or no specific emotion. Then, participants were video recorded while interacting with a confederate who subtlety repeated a behavioral mannerism. Participants then completed measures of perceived self-partner similarity, rapport, and power. Contrary to the hypotheses, compassion did not lead to more mimicry, and pride did not lead to less mimicry (all compared to the control condition). There were also no significant effects of emotion induced on rapport or power. Greater dispositional compassion was associated with greater rapport with one's partner. The current research offers insights into the role of incidental emotion and the self in affiliative processes such as mimicry.

Committee: Allen McConnell PhD (Advisor); Heather Claypool PhD (Committee Member); Carrie Hall PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology; Social Psychology

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

This paper reviews some of the earliest thoughts about the introduction of natural elements such as biology and geology into architectural design and discusses several designers' contributions, showing how they pushed the concept forward. It then explores one of the most important features of sedimentary rock formations (commonly seen around the Great Lakes area), called “cross bedding.” After some digital and physical simulations of cross bedding's irregular waving surface, the paper discusses the potential architectural applications. Last, it introduces a design proposal using cross bedding as part of the building components to design a tourist center near Watkins Glen, NY, and the Finger Lakes.

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

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Arts and Sciences: English and Comparative Literature

“`Moments of Clarity' and Sounds of Resistance: Veiled Literary Subversions and De-Colonial Dialectics in the Art of Jay Z and Kanye West” employs rap music as an object of inquiry into the question of contemporary manifestations of anti-Black oppression, demonstrating the ways in which the art of rappers Jay Z and Kanye West in particular, covertly elucidates the conditions and discursive and ideological mechanisms of power that make possible the exploitation, repression, and destruction of Black bodies in America. In the first two chapters, I argue that this illuminative potential is, in part, what attributes to the political utility of mainstream rap music. My first goal is therefore to make apparent mainstream rap music's rightful place in Black liberation politics given its ability to unveil the functionality of age-old Eurocentric, white supremacist paradigms, such as rendering Black bodies incorrigibly animal, denying Black bodies access to subjectivity, or negating Black ontology. These ideologies give rise to exclusionary monolithic constructions of what it means to be human, pathological constructions of “blackness,” Black masculinity especially, and subsequently, the arbitrary conferral of power (to both state apparatuses and individuals racially coded as “superior”), which manifests in the form of systematic and institutional racism, and ultimately, Black male disembodiment. The final chapter of the dissertation underscores how the subversive capacity of the art form also owes to its sites of covert contestation of oppressive forces. Through Kanye West's art, my explications reveal the clandestine presence of colonial mimicry and hybridity. These de-colonial strategies undermine discursive constructions of “blackness” that emanate from what I term the "white supremacist-colonial monster." In short, visual and lyrical narratives of Jay Z's and Kanye West's art covertly illuminate how ideology justifies hegemony, given that epistemological inac (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Sharon Dean P.H.A. (Committee Chair); Myriam Chancy Ph.D. (Committee Member); Sharon Lynette Jones Ph.D. (Committee Member); Earl Wright Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2013, Psychology

Mimicry is an unconscious reaction of imitating other people's behaviors, postures, and facial expressions (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999). It has been shown to lead to a host of positive outcomes, such as increased liking and persuasiveness. Mimicry has not yet received any empirical attention in the courtroom. This research examines behavioral mimicry as a predictor of verdict preference. Specifically, the primary research question was whether a juror's mimicry of the plaintiff's attorney and defense attorney predicts verdict preference. Six mock trial videotapes were used (43 jurors in total). Jurors' mimicry behaviors, as well as commonly held nonverbal indicators of agreement and disagreement, were coded. It was hypothesized that overall mimicry would predict final predeliberation verdict preference, and that mimicry would be a stronger predictor of verdict preference than nonverbal agreement behaviors or disagreement behaviors. The hypotheses were partially supported. Although overall mimicry did not predict final predeliberation verdict, mimicry did predict verdict preference on a segment-by-segment basis. Furthermore, mimicry was a stronger predictor of verdict preference than nonverbal agreement behaviors or disagreement behaviors. These results suggest that mimicry may be a subtle means of communicating agreement with an attorney as she presents her argument. Attorneys can focus on jurors' mimicry as a tool for deselecting unfavorable jurors during jury selection and for assessing jurors' temporary preferences and reactions during evidence presentation.

Committee: Garold Stasser Dr. (Committee Chair); Susanne Abele Dr. (Committee Member); Carrie Hall Dr. (Committee Member); Monica Schneider Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Law; Psychology; Social Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2013, Psychology

Normally functioning humans are able to represent the internal states of others, an ability termed theory of mind. The ability has obvious fitness benefits, ranging from the mundane to the lifesaving, but particulars of how it operates are still debated. Adopting an embodied cognition stance, some authors (e.g., Iacoboni, 2009) have argued that behavioral mimicry, or personally reproducing the observable acts of a social other, may fundamentally underlie our ability to mind-read, yet this contention has received little empirical attention. Accordingly, I tested the hypothesis that mimicry can facilitate judgments of others' internal states, namely their intentions. In Experiment 1, participants viewed videos of an agent reaching toward one of two objects, cut early in the motion so as to leave the ultimately reached-for object ambiguous, and were asked to guess which was to be grasped. Participants who actively engaged their triceps brachii (the same muscle recruited to make reach motions) more accurately judged the intended object of another person. In Experiment 2, participants viewed targets immediately before they ultimately did or did not cooperate in a separate task and were asked to identify which decision they subsequently rendered. Disruption of the zygomaticus major (the muscle recruited for smiling, a signal of pro-social intent) led to impaired performance for noncooperating targets, but had no impact on cooperating ones. These findings provide some evidence of the role of mimicry in understanding the intentions of others and may therefore profit both the mimicry and theory-of-mind literatures. More broadly, it tentatively supports the burgeoning embodied cognition literature and shows that embodiment may have implications for valuable social-perceptual processes.

Committee: Heather Claypool (Committee Chair); Amy Summerville (Committee Member); David Waller (Committee Member); Devon DelVecchio (Committee Member) Subjects: Social Psychology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2008, Arts and Sciences : Biological Sciences

Myco-heterotrophic plants of the Monotropoideae (Ericaceae) have long been used as model organisms for studies of non-photosynthetic plant biology. These taxa have evolved unique morphological and life history adaptations, not found in most photosynthetic taxa, and experience a unique set of ecological and evolutionary limitations resulting from highly specialized associations with mycorrhizal fungi. Although much is known about the symbiotic mode of carbon acquisition and many convergent life history traits shared across myco-heterotrophic taxa, the reproductive ecology and population genetic structure of these plants is poorly understood. To assess the complexity and specialization in myco-heterotroph reproductive ecology, a comparative analysis was conducted between two closely related genera, Monotropa L. and Monotropsis Schwein. ex Elliot, using three plant species. Three consecutive years of field observations and manipulations on various components of plant reproduction revealed that the species Monotropa uniflora L. and color forms within the congener Monotropa hypopitys L. each exhibited unique reproductive traits (e.g., differences in seasonal timing and duration of reproductive development and phenology, specialization on Bombus spp. pollinators, and breeding systems), many of which differed considerably from Monotropsis odorata Schwein. ex Elliot. Additionally, 11 microsatellite markers were developed for Monotropa hypopitys to assess for the first time, the population genetic structure of myco-heterotrophic plants, while also addressing the appropriate taxonomic placement of the red and yellow color forms of M. hypopitys. Results from this study demonstrated relatively low to moderate levels of genetic variation and high levels of genetic differentiation across most populations. In addition, genetic structuring between red and yellow color forms was suggestive of speciation and the need for a taxonomic revision. Finally, analyses were conducted to deter (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Theresa Culley PhD (Advisor); Denis Conover PhD (Committee Member); Susan Dunford PhD (Committee Member); Eric Maurer PhD (Committee Member); A. Randall Olson PhD (Committee Member); Victor Soukup PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Botany; Ecology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2003, Psychology

Human beings are social animals; the need to belong and be accepted is fundamental, and social exclusion can be devastating. It is therefore not surprising that people have developed behaviors, even automatic behaviors, which may help them to maintain relationships with important others. Research on nonconscious behavioral mimicry suggests that mimicking the nonverbal behaviors of others creates liking and rapport, and may therefore represent one way for an excluded person to affiliate with someone new. The current studies explored this hypothesis. In both experiments, participants played a simulated online ball-tossing game and were excluded by three computer-controlled players. They then completed an ostensibly unrelated task with a confederate who was not aware of the exclusion that occurred during the ball-tossing game. Experiment 1 demonstrated that people who were recently excluded from a social group mimicked the behaviors of a confederate more than people who were included in that group. Experiment 2 extended this finding by showing that, in addition to creating liking and rapport, mimicking the behaviors of others may also address threatened belongingness needs. Specifically, female participants were excluded by an all-female or all-male group and then interacted with a female or male confederate. When the female participants were excluded by an ingroup (i.e., females) and the confederate was also an ingroup member, they mimicked the behavior of that confederate more. This effect appeared to be mediated by belongingness threat. To the extent that individuals felt that they had been excluded from the group and that they belonged to that group, they mimicked the ingroup confederate more. The results of these experiments suggest that mimicking the behaviors of others may be a pro-social consequence of being excluded. In addition, people may be able to regulate their group identities by affiliating through mimicry, even though mimicry happens without intention, (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Arkin (Advisor) Subjects: Psychology, Social

Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Sciences (Ph.D.), University of Toledo, 2005, College of Graduate Studies

Carbohydrate antigens, such as the capsular polysaccharide of Neisseria meningitidis, are considered T-independent in nature. T-independent antigens do not require T cell help to elicit an immune response and do not generate immunologic memory formation. Carbohydrate antigens have limited responses as immunogens and fail to elicit protective levels of antibodies in children less than 2 yr of age. In order to increase the immunogenicity of a capsular polysaccharide, it must be converted into a T-dependent antigen. T-dependent antigens have the ability to associate with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules and be presented to T cells. This generates a memory response and overcomes the immune tolerance associated with carbohydrate antigens in the young. One method of converting a carbohydrate into a T-dependent antigen is though the use of molecular mimicry. Molecular mimicry is defined as the ability of structurally unrelated molecules to exert the same biological effect. The concept of mimicry is based on the idiotypic network that suggests mimicry is the function of reproducing the binding interaction between an antibody and antigen. Recent studies have extended this concept by demonstrating the potential of phage display libraries in selecting peptides capable of mimicking the capsular polysaccharide, and thus eliciting anti-polysaccharide antibodies when used an immunogens. A natural extension of the observation that peptides can mimic polysaccharides is the development of DNA constructs that encode peptide mimics of capsular polysaccharides. DNA constructs have been shown to induce long lasting humoral and cellular responses, and can easily be altered to manipulate the magnitude and orientation of the desired immune response. Therefore, multiple DNA encoded epitope sequences representing specific carbohydrate and protein epitopes can be included in the construct design. Therefore, DNA immunization may be useful against encapsulated organisms by direct (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: M.A. Julie Westerink, M.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Health Sciences, Immunology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2010, Popular Culture

In the past milk has represented white, hegemonic society in the US through its association with middle-American wholesomeness and its red-checked table cloth. The recent shift from the good-guy-drinks-milk motif of films of the past to the villains-drinks-milk motif in films of modernity rejects the ideal society that milk represents through grotesque representations of its consumption and its consumers. In such recent US media as The Strain (2009), The Hills Have Eyes (2006), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-2009), Mr. Brooks (2007), Inglourious Basterds (2009), and The Professional (1994) milk's representation perverts its myth indicating a souring of society-as-we-know-it. As milk turns “bad” in these films, whiteness and those norms and values associated with whiteness lose their quality of invisibility and can be inspected accordingly. The following pages ultimately investigate representations of milk in the media and suggest that recent changes in those representations subvert the hegemonic image of the virtuous white body, his God-given beverage, and the issues often overlaid with race such as class, normality, cleanliness and morality.

Committee: Jeff Brown PhD (Committee Chair); Maisha Wester PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies