Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Currier, Charise A., Thesis advisor (ths): Freeland, Joanna, Thesis advisor (ths): Wilson, Chris C, Degree committee member (dgc): Morris, Todd J, Degree committee member (dgc): Schaefer, James A, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection uses species-specific markers to screen DNA from bulk samples, such as water, to infer species presence. This study involved the development and testing of species-specific markers for four freshwater pearly mussels (Unionidae). The markers were applied to water samples from intensively sampled mussel monitoring sites to compare species detections from… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>In this thesis, water mass distribution of dissolved organic matter (DOM) characteristics (i.e. molecular weight, fluorescent components, thiols and humic substances concentration) was observed in the Arctic Ocean. For the first time, DOM molecular weight (MW) in Beaufort Sea was assessed using asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation, as well as the first monitoring of thiols and… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Puccinia triticina, wheat leaf rust (WLR), is the most economically damaging fungal rust of wheat on a global scale. This study identified transcriptome changes in a recently emerged race of WLR in Ontario with a new virulence type relative to a possible ancestor race. Also, this study focused on detecting variation in candidate virulence genes and uncovering novel insight into WLR… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Using data drawn from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board's (WSIB) Survey of Workers with Permanent Impairments, this thesis explores if and how the human capital associated with education mitigates the realized work-disabling effects of permanent physical injury. Using Cater's (2000) model of post-injury adaptive behaviour and employment dynamics as the structural,… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>To study the Giardia intestinalis cell cycle, counterflow centrifugal elutriation (CCE) was used to separate an asynchronous trophozoite culture into fractions enriched for cells at the different stages of the cell cycle. For my first objective, I characterized the appearance of a third peak (Peak iii) in our flow cytometry analysis of the CCE fractions that initially suggested the… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>In 2008, the first North American water soldier (Stratiotes aloides) population was discovered in the Trent River, Ontario. Water soldier is an invasive aquatic plant with sharp, serrated leaves that has the potential to spread rapidly through dispersed vegetative fragments. Although it is too late to prevent water soldier establishment in the Trent River, its local distribution remains… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The release of domestic organisms to the wild is considered a threat to </p><p>biodiversity because the introduction of domestic genes through interbreeding can </p><p>negatively impact wild conspecifics via outbreeding and local extinction. In North </p><p>America, captive American mink (Neovison vison) are frequently escaping into the wild, </p… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Many consumers purchase sweatshop products, despite the hazardous conditions for workers. The psychological factors that influence (un) ethical garment purchasing are not well understood. Two studies explored consumers' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour. University students (Study 1; N = 130) said they would pay more for ethically-labelled garments, particularly students who were… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>In this thesis, we study modelling with non-linear ordinary differential equations, and the existence of positive solutions for Boundary Value Problems (BVPs). These problems have wide applications in many areas. The focus is on the extensions of previous work done on non-linear second-order differential equations with boundary conditions involving first-order derivative. The… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Poole, Sarah Kathleen, Thesis advisor (ths): Obbard, Martyn E., Thesis advisor (ths): Schaefer, James A., Degree committee member (dgc): Nocera, Joseph J., Degree committee member (dgc): Ray, Justina C., Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>I investigated site fidelity and habitat selection of American black bears (Ursus americanus) from 15 GPS-collared adult females in central Ontario, Canada over nine years. I used generalized linear mixed models to determine the factors affecting between-year variation in fall fidelity and the habitat selection in movement paths. I assessed second and third-order habitat preference by… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Stressors are often an inescapable part of an organism's life. While the effects of many stressors have been well studied individually, potential interactions between stressors exist that may result in greater than additive negative effects. Stressors may be linked by conflicting demands on energy budgets, interfering with important physiological pathways, or necessitating… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Tree harvesting alters nutrient cycling and removes nutrients held in biomass, and as a result nutrient availability may be reduced, particularly in naturally oligotrophic ecosystems. Selection harvesting is a silvicultural technique limited to tolerant hardwood forests where individual or small groups of trees are removed creating a "gap" in the forest canopy. In order for… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Volatility modelling is an important task in the financial markets. This paper first evaluates the range-based DCC-CARR model of Chou et al. (2009) in modelling larger systems of assets, vis-à-vis the traditional return-based DCC-GARCH. Extending Colacito, Engle and Ghysels (2011), range-based volatility specifications are then employed in the first-stage of DCC-MIDAS conditional… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This thesis proposes an agro-ecological zoning (AEZ) methodology of southern Ontario for the characterization and mapping of agro-ecological zones during the historical term (1981-2010), and their shifts into the long-term (2041-2070) projected climate period. Agro-ecological zones are homogenous areas with a unique combination of climate, soil, and landscape features that are important… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The Oak Ridges Moraine (ORM) is a key hydrogeologic feature in southern Ontario. Previous work has emphasized the importance of depression-focused recharge (DFR) for the timing and location of groundwater recharge to the ORM's aquifers. However, the significance of DFR has not been empirically demonstrated and the relative control of land cover, topography, and surficial geology on… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Invasive aquatic plants can create negative ecological, economic and social impacts when they displace local vegetation, interfere with shipping and navigation and inhibit water-based recreational activities. In 2008, the first North American occurrence of the invasive plant Stratiotes aloides (Water soldier) was identified in the Trent River, Ontario. This research measured offset… more Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Long-term studies of demographic processes such as survival and abundance conducted in unexploited systems provide unique insight into the natural population ecology of fish, but are rarely available. I used historical tagging records of a sanctuary population of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Algonquin Park, Ontario to investigate long-term population dynamics in an unexploited… more Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>It is universally accepted that human motor performance is variable in both its timing and spatial qualities. However, it is unclear to what extent motor variability impedes performance when learning a new skill and to what extent it enables our ability to learn. The first experiment examined whether performance during a test task depended on whether participants practiced to constrain… more Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This study assesses the bioavailable metal (Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb) species in the Athabasca-Mackenzie watersheds using diffusive gradient in thin films (DGT) devices. Metal toxicity is not only based on the concentration of metal in natural waters, but also on the nature of metal species. Four main forms in aquatic systems are: free ion, inorganic species, DOM bound (humic) species and metal… more Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The recent northward expansion of the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) in response to climatic changes provides a natural experiment to explore potential adaptive genetic variation within the clock gene Per1 in Peromyscus undergoing latitudinal shifts, as well as, the possibility of hybridization and introgression related to novel secondary contact with its sister species the… more
