Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>A meta-analysis revealed that while there is often a greater degree of contamination of soils and sediments with metals, contamination by mercury (Hg) is a large concern owing to its toxicity at low concentrations. The case study in Guyana characterized Hg and concentrations of other metals (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in soil and sediment within gold mined areas. Metal… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Bonnett, Sarah, Thesis advisor (ths): Nol, Erica, Thesis advisor (ths): Smith, Paul A, Degree committee member (dgc): Nol, Erica, Degree committee member (dgc): Smith, Paul A, Degree committee member (dgc): Brown, Glen, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Climate change affects birds' reproductive ecology by altering breeding timing, distribution, and habitat suitability. Snowmelt patterns complicate these changes affecting habitat availability and suitability for birds and their arthropod prey. Snow varies as a function of both large-scale climate patterns and local-scale topography. I used elevational gradients as a proxy for local… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Innovative strategies to manage copious waste streams by upcycling feedstocks to valorized products which are then used in environmental remediation applications is an attractive circular economy model. This thesis explores this approach using waste wood generated from the milling of Chlorocardium rodiei (greenheart), a tropical hardwood species abundant in Guyana. We evaluate the… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Forests play a critical role in the global carbon cycle, acting as carbon sinks that remove and store an estimated 0.4 to 4.1 Pg of atmospheric carbon annually. However, historical acid deposition and timber harvesting have disrupted nutrient cycles, leading to nutrient-deficient soils that hinder tree growth, particularly for sugar maple (Acer saccharum), a keystone species in Ontario… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The TATA-binding protein (TBP) is a key regulator of eukaryotic transcription initiation. The TBP homolog from Giardia intestinalis (gTBP) is highly divergent among all TBPs; notably lacking three of the four phenylalanine residues to unwind double- stranded DNA. I show that gTBP preferentially binds to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) in two modes based on sequence and protein concentration… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Mutations in the CLN7 (MFSD8) gene, causes CLN7 disease, a subtype of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis. MFSD8 is a lysosomal transmembrane protein that transports chloride across membranes. Experimentation regarding Dictyostelium discoideum revealed that mfsd8 deficiency altered lysosomal enzyme activity. During starvation, the aggregation of mfsd8¬¬- cells was delayed, and cells formed… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Microsatellites and microhaplotypes are genetic markers that, through DNA amplicon sequencing, generate genotypes to distinguish between individuals from wildlife populations. Here, these markers were sequenced in caribou (Rangifer tarandus) specimens using Oxford Nanopore's MinION DNA sequencer for the first time. Microsatellite loci previously sequenced with an Illumina MiSeq were… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Trait variation in wild populations is shaped by the interaction of genetics and the environment. Given these interactions, this thesis explored trait variation in white-tailed deer from two angles: one focused on broad-scale environmental factors, the other on fine-scale genetic mechanisms. The first chapter investigated how climate and habitat variation influence antler size,… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Since the mid-Pleistocene, evolutionary histories of North American species were shaped by extreme climatic oscillations involving major range and habitat shifts at a rapid pace. The peopling of the continent and the subsequent human colonisation waves created further pressures affecting North American faunal and plant populations. Cervidae (deer family) are a diverse group which arrived… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Rare earth elements (REEs) are in high demand globally for the green transition and high technologies. The growing demand leads to their release into aquatic ecosystems from various point and non-point sources, which creates urgency to investigate their fate and enrichment. This thesis further investigates the biogeochemical fate and REE uptake mechanisms throughout aquatic ecosystems.… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Flavohemoglobins are enzymes primarily implicated in nitrosative stress due to their high nitric oxide (NO) dioxygenase activity and transcriptional upregulation in response to NO. Giardia intestinalis assemblages A, B, and E possess flavohemoglobins (gFlHb) that may function beyond their NO dioxygenase activity, potentially contributing to oxidative stress regulation, as transcriptional… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Increasing wildfire frequency, driven by climate change, can change the concentration andcomposition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) exported from land into receiving waters by
removing terrestrial vegetation, changing soil hydrology, and interrupting microbial degradation.
In this thesis, I tested how wildfire impacts the molecular composition and reactivity of DOM. I
compared DOM… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Understanding habitat needs of a species is critical, especially for species reintroduced to an area or expanding their range. I evaluated roost tree selection and survival probability of GPS-tagged eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) from 2017–2020 and 2022 in Peterborough County, Ontario, Canada. Fine-scale roost tree selection was associated with larger trees, with… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Andreas, Peter Frank, Thesis advisor (ths): Emery, R.J. N, Degree committee member (dgc): Beresford, David V, Degree committee member (dgc): Kisiala, Anna B, Degree committee member (dgc): Morrison, Erin N, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Using Drosophila deficiency (Df) and Over Expression (OE) (GAL4/UAS>dCas9-VPR; sgRNA) gene systems, it was demonstrated that Dmel_CG31381 and Dmel_CG11089 are functional tRNA isopentenyltransferase (EC 2.5.1.8) genes (tRNA IPT1 and IPT2) critical to the first committed step in insect cytokinin biosynthesis. IPT Df mutants showed significant decreases in total CK levels and IPT1/… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Lowes, William Holden Hubert, Thesis advisor (ths): Brenner, Ingrid, Degree committee member (dgc): Woodend, Kirsten, Degree committee member (dgc): West, Sarah, Degree committee member (dgc): Moayedi, Yas, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Heart failure (HF) is a condition with several possible etiologies that influence patient symptomatology, including response to exercise. The purpose of this review was to assess how cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameters used for risk stratification differ and are associated with mortality and adverse cardiac events in patients with different HF etiologies. We completed a… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Migration, space use, and phenology play key roles in shaping avian populations and are therefore critical for conservation. My thesis examines the migration strategies and non-breeding spatial requirements of Virginia's beach-nesting American Oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus), as well as the nesting phenology of mid-Atlantic American Oystercatchers and Piping Plovers (… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Crop losses due to pathogens, pests, and weeds account for 20–40% of global production, with fungal pathogens responsible for the most significant yield reductions and economic impact. The diseases caused by fungi spread through dormant spores, which protect its genetic material under adverse conditions. Dormancy is maintained until favorable germination conditions are met. Despite their… more Year: 2025, 2025
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This thesis aimed to address potential sources of bias in electronic fish tagging studies in order to advance the methods used by future studies. I first provided a review and meta-analysis of intracoelomic tagging effects in fishes, summarizing the existing literature and assessing the extent to which previously identified research gaps have been filled. I also included the first large-… more
