Bachelor of Science (BS), Ohio University, 2022, Journalism

Spread Out! is a podcast about the pandemic, the national parks and people's place in nature. Weaving together interviews with National Park Service employees and other experts, extensive research and the author's personal experience, each episode illustrates how visitors have both impacted and been impacted by national parks throughout the course of the pandemic. The four-part series visits parks from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Grand Canyon to Denali National Park, including an entire episode about the newest national park: New River Gorge. Outdoor recreation increased substantially during the initial stages of the pandemic and overall park service visitation has been growing consistently since 2016. Spread Out! discusses why these changes matter and how we can take better care of the parks – while squeezing in more than a few fun facts and stories along the way.

Committee: Geoffrey Buckley (Advisor); Bernhard Debatin (Advisor) Subjects: Environmental Studies; Journalism

MA, Kent State University, 2020, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography

Wildlife corridors promote biodiversity, abate landscape fragmentation and – in areas of urban development – are often refuges for fauna. Yet, they appear at odds with their main goal of conserving wildlife's natural habitat, especially when applied to a real-world context, because they are typically located in areas prone to anthropogenic disturbances. The literature varies over how concurrent use affects wildlife. One such space where this occurs is urban parks where wildlife movement overlaps spatially with recreationists. Park visitors utilize formal trails and depart from them to create informal trails. Many negative consequences toward wild biota have been attributed to informal trails, which contribute to anthropogenic-induced fragmentation and, indirectly, disturbances within the matrix. The overlap of trails with wildlife corridors begs the questions: are wildlife using the shared corridors within the reservations or should landscape, resource and trail managers be directing their efforts elsewhere to facilitate wildlife movement? Also, to what degree, if any, will wildlife move through corridors shared with humans? To answer these questions, baseline and biodiversity data needed to be established first. Employing round-the-clock, passive, remotely triggered camera pairs in two urban parks in greater Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., scenarios were tested along a continuum of wildlife-anthropogenic interfacing that occurs on trails. Formal and informal trails in Cleveland Metroparks were studied, in addition to an area with restored informal trails. Examining the majority of terrestrial, animal wildlife, likelihood of Verified Use was established for each species, guild, and as a whole. Verified Use was defined as any species being detected on both cameras in the pair within a +/- five minute window. I found that non-consumptive, anthropogenic use of trails did not necessarily hinder terrestrial wildlife's movement as suggested in the literature. In situ, not (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Kaplan (Advisor); Timothy Assal (Committee Member); Emariana Widner (Committee Member); Patrick Lorch (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Geography

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2018, Environment and Natural Resources

Zoos and aquaria are constantly expanding upon their animal habitats and creating new visitor experiences. In addition to traditional interpretive signage, some institutions are incorporating innovative features such as videos and interactive elements into their exhibits. While there has been some research on how these new exhibit elements might impact visitor learning, what remains to be researched is how different elements of exhibit design influence the emotional connections made between visitors and animals during a zoo visit. This study sought to investigate 1) zoo visitors' empathy for charismatic and non- charismatic animals, 2) what types of exhibit elements visitors interact with, and 3) whether specific exhibit design elements can be used to influence visitor empathy for the two types of animals. It was hypothesized that these exhibit elements can influence visitor empathy for animals, and specifically, those elements with more “layers” or technological features such as videos or interactive elements will be more influential. It was also predicted that zoo visitors will have high levels of empathy for wildlife, especially for charismatic species. It was expected that there would be gender and age differences in empathy for wildlife as well. To test these hypotheses, participants were recruited at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to complete a survey measuring their empathy for a charismatic and non-charismatic species, represented by a polar bear and jellyfish, and their perception of each exhibit element's contribution to their empathy for those two species. The data were analyzed using correlations, t-tests, ANOVAs, and regression analysis. Results from data analysis suggest that zoo visitors express high levels of empathy for wildlife and slightly higher empathy for charismatic species. They also suggest that different exhibit elements do influence visitor empathy for both charismatic and non-charismatic species, and visitors perceive the elements of (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kristi Lekies (Advisor); Alia Dietsch (Committee Member); Emily Buck (Committee Member) Subjects: Museum Studies; Social Research; Wildlife Conservation