Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Solmundson, Kirsten, Thesis advisor (ths): Wilson, Paul, Thesis advisor (ths): Bowman, Jeff, Degree committee member (dgc): Patterson, Brent, Degree committee member (dgc): Manseau, Micheline, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Globally, wildlife populations are experiencing increasing rates of range loss, population decline, and extinction. Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) have experienced dramatic declines in both range and population size across Canada over the past century. Boreal caribou (R. t. caribou), one of twelve Designatable Units, have lost approximately half of their historic range in the last 150 years… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Giardia intestinalis is a parasitic protozoan that possesses a flavohemoglobin (gFlHb), an enzyme that plays a role in the detoxification of reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) via its nitric oxide dioxygenase (NOD) activity as well as its NADH-oxidase activity. This enzyme is a potential target for imidazole-based antigiardial drugs that act as ligands of… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Penney, Chantelle, Thesis advisor (ths): Wilson, Chris C, Thesis advisor (ths): Burness, Gary, Degree committee member (dgc): Scott, Graham, Degree committee member (dgc): Craig, Paul, Degree committee member (dgc): Freeland, Joanna, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Climate change is a major conservation concern, especially for many cold-adapted species. The rate of warming due to climate change will likely outpace adaptive responses, and many populations will likely need to rely on phenotypic plasticity to cope with environmental warming. It is currently unclear whether plasticity in physiological responses to warming will be sufficient to offset… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Estimation of population abundance from samples has inherent practical challenges. Moreover, analytical methods to estimate abundance may vary in statistical assumptions and prediction uncertainties. I evaluated the performance of design-based and model-based methods to estimate Canada geese (Branta canadensis) abundance based on aerial fixed-width transect surveys in the Hudson Bay… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Northern flying squirrels (NFS) are mycophagous specialists (fungi-dominated diet) thatmay be displaced with southern flying squirrel (SFS) range expansion, thereby limiting
fungal dispersal in forest communities. To understand the implications of squirrel
species turnover on mycophagy, we investigated the home ranges of both flying squirrel
species who are living in stable sympatry. We… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Cytokinins (CKs) are adenine derivative molecules that are present in all kingdoms of life. CKs are known to have a role in cell growth and development in plants. However, the role of CKs in vertebrate systems is not well understood. Frog virus 3 (FV3) is a type species of the Iridioviridae family, genus Ranavirus. FV3 is a major contributor to the amphibian population decline in North… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Wildlife translocation programs are widely employed as a strategy to reintroduce extirpated species into regions they once inhabited but no longer do. Reintroduction programs can be successful at re-establishing extirpated populations and also provide unique opportunities to study post-reintroduction population dynamics and behavioural ecology. The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is a… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The Wabigoon River is known for an historic mercury (Hg) pollution source, caused by a chlor-alkali facility operating in the 1960s. As legacy Hg contamination continues to cause serious adverse health effects to the local communities living in the Wabigoon River region, it is imperative to undertake additional research to understand the deposition and transport of historical mercury in… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Bonar, Maegwin, Thesis advisor (ths): Northrup, Joseph M, Thesis advisor (ths): Shafer, Aaron BA, Degree committee member (dgc): Koen, Erin, Degree committee member (dgc): Schaefer, James, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Animal migrations are ubiquitous and one of the most threatened ecological processes globally. Because of the multifaceted nature of migration – seasonal movements between home ranges – it can be difficult to tease apart the underlying mechanisms influencing this behaviour. It is necessary to understand these mechanisms, not only to deepen our fundamental understanding of migration in… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This study examines the atmospheric (synoptic) controls on snowmelt and snow-free season carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes at Daring Lake, Northwest Territories. Atmospheric circulation patterns were derived from 500 hPa geopotential height and classified using the self-organizing maps artificial neural network. Snowmelt timing was not found to be influenced by atmospheric circulation patterns… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Development of Forest Degradation Indicators from Long-term Trajectories of Multispectral Satellite Images, and their Projections into the Future
under Climate Change, in Ontario, Canada</p><p>Md. Mozammel Hoque</p><p>Ontario forests are affected by natural and anthropogenic disturbances leading to forest degradation, which significantly… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Arctic breeding shorebirds are often considered alternate or secondary prey to avian and terrestrial predators that primarily feed on cyclic populations of rodents. Predation risk can strongly influence habitat selection; however, there is limited understanding of how nest placement by shorebirds and subsequent risk of nest predation are affected by spatiotemporal patterns involving the… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Hiltz, Clinton David, Thesis advisor (ths): Aherne, Julian, Degree committee member (dgc): Helm, Paul, Degree committee member (dgc): Metcalfe, Chris, Degree committee member (dgc): Dang, Huy, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>This thesis determined the temporal dynamics of microplastics in the biosolid and final effluent of a WWTP for one year (October 2020–September 2021). The WWTP exported 354.1 ± 24.7 billion microplastic particles, or 296.7 ± 39.4 kg of microplastics; of this, 85.7% of counts and 86.6% of mass was exported via biosolids. As such, microplastic loads in biosolids need to be reduced before… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Animal migration is defined as the seasonal movement from one independent and non-overlapping range to another. Understanding how and why animals migrate is important not only to understand their life history processes but also for informing other important ecological processes such as the spread of wildlife disease and habitat alteration. Animal migrations have been impacted by human… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs), commonly known as Batten disease, are a family of fatal neurodegenerative disorders that primarily affect children. Several subtypes of NCLs have been reported, each being caused by a mutation in a distinct ceroid lipofuscinosis neuronal (CLN) gene; this results in aberrant lysosome function and the accumulation of lipoprotein aggregates (known… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Taylor, Courtney Erin, Thesis advisor (ths): Dunlop, Erin S, Degree committee member (dgc): Lauzon, Ryan, Degree committee member (dgc): Raby, Graham, Degree committee member (dgc): Rennie, Michael, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Lake Huron's food web has experienced drastic changes in response to multiple stressors including declines in offshore productivity, decreased trophic transfer efficiency and a transformation of the benthic food web. However, how these changes have affected the diets and isotopic niches of predatory fish is largely unexplored. My diet study analysed stomach contents from five… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Darwinian fitness is determined by the outcome of allocations of energy and nutrients to plant growth, survival, and reproduction. Allocations to reproduction differ from allocations to growth and survival because the products of reproduction (pollen, ovules, and fruits) are dispersed away from the plant and so the resources used to produce them cannot be re-allocated. As a result, and… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Fungi are a diverse group of organisms that play crucial roles in various ecological processes and have immense economic importance. Understanding the intricate mechanisms underlying fungal growth and development is fundamental to harnessing their potential and exploring their applications in different fields. Signalling molecules, such as hormones, have been identified as key regulators… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Agricultural and urban land uses have been linked to the recent resurgence of eutrophication and salinization issues in the lower Great Lakes. This thesis examined the relationship between watershed land use and stream nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), total phosphorus (TP), and chloride (Cl) concentrations across southern Ontario. Using a self-organizing map analysis, the watersheds were… more
