Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Bhargav, V Vikram, Thesis advisor (ths): Dorken, Marcel MD, Thesis advisor (ths): Freeland, Joanna JF, Degree committee member (dgc): Bowman, Jeff JB, Degree committee member (dgc): Shafer, Aaron AS, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Heterosis, expressed as phenotypic superiority over parental species, typically peaks in first generation hybrids (F1s), while later generations (F2 +) exhibit lower fitness. The decrease in hybrid fitness is called hybrid breakdown. The overall incidence of hybrid breakdown in invasive hybrid zones remains poorly understood. The Laurentian Great Lakes (LGL) region contains a hybrid zone… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The emergence of fungal hybrid pathogens threatens sustainable crop production worldwide. To investigate hybridization, the related smut fungi, Ustilago maydis and Sporisorium reilianum, were selected because they infect a common host (Zea mays), can hybridize, and tools are available for their analysis. Hybrid dikaryons exhibited filamentous growth on plates but reduced virulence and… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Genetic variation is the raw material and basis for evolutionary changes in nature. The loss of genetic diversity is a challenge many species are facing, with genomics being a potential tool to inform and prioritize decision making. Whole genome analysis can be an asset to conservation biology and the management of species through the generation of more precise and novel metrics. This… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Transactive response (TAR) DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) pathology, including fibrillar aggregates and mutations, develops in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and is characterized by hyperphosphorylation and aggregation patterns, a mechanism largely understudied. In addition, ALS remains without a cure. Herein, in vitro aggregation of phosphorylated TDP-43 was explored, and… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Using quarterly data from the six largest Canadian banks, we investigate the relationship between regulatory capital ratio and on-balance sheet liquidity created in the Canadian economy by "Big Six". We find a significant positive relationship between Tier 1 capital ratio and on-balance sheet liquidity creation for Canadian big six banks, implying that large banks in Canada… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are typically characterised by the aggregation of protein biomarkers into cytotoxic fibrils. Novel means of analysing these biomarkers are needed to expand the literature toward earlier diagnosis of these conditions. Electrochemical sensors could offer the sensitivity and… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Identifying population declines and mitigating biodiversity loss require reliable monitoring techniques, but complex life histories and cryptic characteristics of anuran species render conventional monitoring challenging and ineffective. Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection is a highly sensitive and minimally invasive alternative to conventional anuran monitoring. In this study, I… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This thesis aimed to determine what factors influence individual- and community-level shoreline stewardship attitudes and behaviours. Shoreline stewardship is part of the broader literature of environmental stewardship and place-based conservation. The needs and barriers limiting stewardship action were examined, as were the opportunities for increased impact. The Love Your Lake (LYL)… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Euglena gracilis is an enigmatic and adaptable organism that has great bioremediationpotential and is best known for its metabolic flexibility. The research done in this
dissertation addresses (1) how growth conditions impact cellular composition, and (2)
how chemometric approaches (such as statistical design of experiments and artificial
neural networks) are viable alternatives to the… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Shamess, Dean Skinner, Thesis advisor (ths): Cater, Bruce, Degree committee member (dgc): Lew, Byron, Degree committee member (dgc): Parker, James, Degree committee member (dgc): Pollanen, Marco, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Universities produce a significant and increasing share of basic research that is later commercialized by firms. We argue that the university's prominence as a producer of basic research is the result of a differential efficiency in research production that cannot be replicated by firms or individual agents - teaching. By using research accomplishments to signal knowledge and… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The residential sector is a major consumer of electricity, and its demand will rise by 65 percent by the end of 2050. The electricity consumption of a household is determined by various factors, e.g. house size, socio-economic status of the family, size of the family, etc. Previous studies have only identified a limited number of socio-economic and dwelling factors. In this thesis, we… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The Hudson Bay region is a sensitive environment, where anthropogenic (e.g., dams, diversions, and/or reservoirs) impacts have increased in recent decades, potentially influencing the functioning of the ecosystem. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) entering Hudson Bay comes from both terrestrial (allochthonous) and aquatic (autochthonous) sources. The chemical composition of DOM is important… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The tools and techniques used by Ontario's Middle Woodland potters to create designs on vessels have often been assumed in the literature. Pottery typologies currently use these assumptions to classify ceramics found in the archaeological record. Assumed, or suggested, tools and techniques include cord impression, cord-wrapped stick, fabric impression, fabric-wrapped paddle, incised… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This thesis evaluates a multi-stakeholder participatory planning initiative, NeighbourPLAN, in Peterborough, Ontario, and the role of the third-party broker, GreenUP, in establishing connections and networks of capacity between marginalized members of the community and contributing organizations, city, and experts. Participatory approaches to engage residents disenfranchised by… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): McDonough, Andrew Michael, Thesis advisor (ths): Watmough, Shaun A, Degree committee member (dgc): Aherne, Julian, Degree committee member (dgc): Hutchinson, Tom, Degree committee member (dgc): Sager, Eric, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>In this study we seek to better understand the potential effects of short-term (5-year) N fertilization on jack pine forest biogeochemistry, vascular plant community composition and to project a temporal endpoint of nitrogen leaching below the major rooting zone. Aqueous ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) was applied above the forest canopy across five treatment plots (20 x 80 m) four times… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): McLaughlin, Adam, Thesis advisor (ths): Holdsworth, David, Degree committee member (dgc): Hutchinson, Tom C., Degree committee member (dgc): Rutherford, Stephanie, Degree committee member (dgc): Classens, Michael, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>This thesis re-imagines the social sustainability of civic agriculture. This entails critically examining the idea of sustainability and exposing why a tendency to undertheorize its social dimension is problematic for how we think about sustainability, and consequently for how we do sustainability. What is demonstrated is that we can overcome this tendency by adopting Stephen McKenzie… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): LaPierre, Daniel Josef, Thesis advisor (ths): Conolly, James, Degree committee member (dgc): Morin, Eugene, Degree committee member (dgc): Janz, Lisa, Degree committee member (dgc): Hart, John P., Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>This case study focuses on geospatial patterns of decorative variation in pottery assemblages from 234 Northern Iroquoian village communities, occupied between ca. 1350–1650 CE. Previous interpretations of these assemblages' ceramic decorative variability have been based on the assertion that potters from these communities used collar decorative motifs as communicative social… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Lake of the Woods (LOW) is a large international waterbody which suffers from frequent and widespread algae blooms. Previous studies have highlighted the importance of the lake's largest tributary, the Rainy River (RR) and its significance in total phosphorus (TP) delivery to the LOW. Unfortunately, little is known about TP contributions from the RR and its tributaries within the… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The length of photoperiod can alter circadian rhythms and change fat depot mass whencombined with environmental temperatures below thermoneutral. To isolate photoperiod effects, we compared the effects of long and short photoperiod exposure at thermoneutrality in photoperiod sensitive, F1 generation adult male white-footed mice (P. leucopus). Mice were housed in long-day or short-day… more Year: 2021, 2021
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Decades of acidic deposition have depleted base cation pools in soil over large parts of eastern north America, including the Muskoka-Haliburton region of central Ontario. This region has also experienced a shift in forest species composition over the past 200 years, favouring sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) at the expense of species such as white pine (Pinus strobus L.) and eastern… more
