Electronic Thesis or Dissertation

Threats such as climate change and increased anthropogenic activity such as shipping, are expected to negatively affect the Arctic. Lack of data on Arctic systems restricts our current understanding of these sensitive systems and limits our ability to predict future impacts. Lakes and ponds are a major feature of the Arctic landscape and are recognized as 'sentinels of change', as they integrate processes at a landscape scale. A total of 1300 aquatic sites were assessed for common chemical and physical characteristics. Geology type was found to be the greatest driver of water chemistry for Arctic lakes and ponds. Acid-sensitivity was assessed using the Steady State Water Chemistry model and a subset of 1138 sites from across the Canadian Arctic. A large portion of sites (40.0%, n = 455) were classified as highly sensitive to acidic deposition, which resulted in a median value of 35.8 meq·m―2·yr―1 for the Canadian Arctic. Under modelled sulphur deposition scenarios for the year 2010, exceedances associated with shipping is 12.5% (n = 142) and 12.0% (n = 136) for without shipping, suggesting that impacts of shipping are relatively small.

Author Keywords: Acidic deposition, Arctic lakes, Critical loads, Shipping emissions, Steady-State Water Chemistry Model, Water chemistry

This thesis explores Frankenstein's popular culture narrative, contrasting recent Frankenstein texts with the content of Mary Shelley's classic novel and James Whale's iconic films Frankenstein (1931) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935). The research investigates how Frankenstein's legacy of adaptations function intertextually to influence both the production and the consumption of Frankenstein texts, referring to this complicated and contradictory intertextual web as "the Composite Frankenstein."

This thesis present the Composite Frankenstein as a hermeneutic by which to view Frankenstein's collaborative and cumulative identity in popular culture, drawing on the work of other scholars on adaptation and intertextuality. Sarah Milner investigates the context of the key Frankenstein texts, the novel and the 1931 film; this research's goal is to destabilize the perception of authorship as an individual's mode of production and to investigate the various social processes that influence text creation and consumption.

Author Keywords: adaptation, authorship, Frankenstein, intertextuality, James Whale, Mary Shelley

I assessed how organisms having multiple biotic attributes may have conflicting niche determinants, and whether the realized niche reflects single or multiple attributes. All-female salamanders engage in two biotic states: hybridism and reproductive parasitism. Hybrids should occupy areas transitional to those used by parental species, whereas parasites that engage in competition with hosts should occupy habitats moderately suitable for hosts. Using niche models, I predicted realized niches for unisexual Ambystoma via a hybrid model (environmental predictors) and a parasite model (host suitability predictors). The hybrid model predicted that the unisexual niche would indeed be transitional between parental Ambystoma spp. The parasite model demonstrated unisexual salamanders occupied habitats moderately suitable for hosts, though model validation did not fully corroborate its predictive power. The hybrid model was more descriptive of unisexual occurrence than the parasite model. When species have competing ecological roles a primary biotic attribute may largely derive the realized niche.

Author Keywords: Ambystoma, hybrid, niche, parasite, range, unisexual

Hunting represents the principal tool for managing populations of migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus), but harvest may be affected by landscape features that govern animal distribution and hunter access. Such effects are unclear. I capitalized on an existing dataset of 21 355 caribou harvest records, 1980 – 2009, to determine the influence of landscape features on caribou harvest across the island of Newfoundland. Using a landcover map and spatial data for anthropogenic features, I modelled caribou harvest at the island scale for three phases of numerical change (growth in the 1980s, cessation of growth in the 1990s, decline in the 2000s) and harvest type (total harvest, resident harvest of males and females, resident harvest of males, resident harvest of females, and non-resident harvest of males) in relation to multiple putative predictor variables: proportion of lichen cover and distances to nearest forest cut, road, outfitter, transmission line, and town. I did the same analysis for seven individual Caribou Management Areas (CMAs).

At the island scale, the number of harvested caribou increased with proximity to the nearest forest cut and with greater proportions of lichen habitat. I attribute this to landscape features that provide forage for caribou, but also access and caribou visibility for hunters. Caribou harvest increased in proximity to transmission lines for the harvest of caribou by resident hunters in the 2000s, which could be a result of more risk-prone foraging Newfoundland caribou. Non-resident hunters harvested greater numbers of male caribou further from towns, likely a result of the placement of outfitter camps and activities. At the management area scale, in most instances, more caribou harvest occurred in close proximity to transmission lines. Proximity to forest cuts and high proportions of lichen were still important landscape features leading to a greater harvest. I conclude that the caribou harvest was largely governed by hunter access and visibility of their prey, augmented by open habitats preferred by caribou.

KEYWORDS

Caribou, Newfoundland, Rangifer tarandus, harvest, hunting, management area, landscape, human disturbances, game species vulnerability.

Author Keywords: caribou, game species vulnerability, harvest, hunting, newfoundland, rangifer tarandus

This study examines how student activism around the closure of Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School (PCVS), an inner-city school in a medium–sized Ontario town has influenced youths' life experiences, views on power, political engagement, and personal agency. Following a critical narrative methodology, this qualitative study, conducted four to five years after the school closure, focuses on interviews with fourteen participants who were part of the high-school group Raiders in Action and explores both what they learned from their protest and its influence on their lives over the ensuing years. The study identifies the researcher's subjective position as a teacher and an adult in solidarity with the group's work. Critical pedagogy, critical youth studies, and feminist approaches inform the researcher's perspective. This project is inspired by an image of young people as citizens who actively challenge and change educational institutions to create a more participatory democracy in our city, country, continent, planet.

Author Keywords: critical pedagogy, critical youth resistance, neoliberalism, school closure, student activism, youth organizing

The Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada is one of the largest point sources emitters of NOx in Canada and there

are concerns that elevated nitrogen (N) deposition will lead to widespread eutrophication impacts, including altered

species composition, similar to what has occurred in several parts of Europe. Atmospheric deposition rates as high as

25 kg N ha-1 yr-1 have been measured close to the industrial center. The role of the forest floor in regulating these

potential eutrophication effects was investigated following a 5-year enrichment study in which N was applied as

NH4NO3 above the canopy of a jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb) stand in northern Alberta close to Fort McMurray

at dosages ranging from 5 – 25 kg N ha-1 yr-1 in addition to background deposition of 2 kg N ha-1 yr-1. Chemical

analysis of lichen mats revealed that apical (upper) lichen tissue N concentration increased with treatment, as did the

necrotic tissue. When expressed as a pool, the fibric-humic (FH) material held the largest quantity of N across all

treatments due to its relatively large mass. Soil net N mineralization and net nitrification rates did not differ among N

inputs after five years of application. A 15N tracer applied to the forest floor showed that N is initially absorbed by the

apical lichen, FH material, and the foliage of the vascular plant Vaccinium myrtilloides in particular. After 2 years,

the FH 15N pool size was elevated and all other measured pools were depleted, indicating a slow transfer of N to the

FH material. Applied 15N was not detectable in mineral soil. The microbial functional gene ammonia monooxygenase

(amoA) was undetectable using PCR screening of mineral soil microbial communities in all treatments, and broad

fungal/bacterial qPCR assays revealed a weak treatment effect on fungal/bacterial ratios in mineral soil. This work

suggests that terricolous lichen mats, which form the majority of ground cover in upland jack pine systems, have a

large capacity to effectively retain elevated N deposition via the formation of stable humus.

Author Keywords: Biogeochemistry, Boreal Ecology, Lichen, Nitrogen Enrichment, Oil Sands

The growth of immature insects that develop on human remains can be used to estimate a post-mortem interval (PMI). PMI estimate confidence is negatively affected by: larval killing and preservation methods altering their size, limited morphological parameters to assess larval growth and therefore age, and few available alternate species development data. I compared live specimens to preserved specimens of the same development stages to assess the effects of killing-preservation techniques on morphology, and I introduce a new method that uses digital photography to examine maggot mouthparts for stage grading of Phormia regina. Digital photographic methods enable live insects to be quantified and improve approximations of physiological age. I then use these digital methods to produce a growth-rate model for a beetle commonly found on human remains, Necrodes surinamensis, providing data for PMI estimates that was previously unavailable.

Author Keywords: Forensic Entomology, Insect development, Morphometrics, Necrodes surinamensis, Phormia regina, Postmortem interval

Understanding the maintenance and spread of invasive diseases is critical in evaluating threats to biodiversity and how to best minimize their impact, which can by done by monitoring disease occurrences across time and space. I sought to apply existing and upcoming molecular tools to assess fluctuations in both presence and strain variation of frog virus 3 (FV3), a species of Ranavirus, across Canadian waterbodies. I explored the temporal patterns and spatial distribution of ranavirus presence across multiple months and seasons using environmental DNA techniques. Results indicate that ranavirus was present in approximately 72.5% of waterbodies sampled on a fine geographical scale (<10km between sites, 7,150 km2), with higher detection rates in later summer months than earlier. I then explored the sequence variability at the major capsid protein gene (MCP) and putative virulence gene (vIF-2α) of FV3 samples from Ontario, Alberta, and the Northwest Territories, with the premise of understanding pathogen movement across the landscape. However, a lack of genetic diversity was found across regions, likely due to a lack of informative variation at the chosen genetic markers or lack of mutation. Instead, I found a novel FV3-like ranavirus and evidence for a recombinant between FV3 and a ranavirus of another lineage. This thesis provides a deeper understanding into the spatio-temporal distribution of FV3, with an idea of how widespread and threatening ranaviruses are to amphibian diversity.

Keywords: ranavirus, frog virus 3, amphibians, environmental DNA, phylogenetics, wildlife disease, disease surveillance, major capsid protein, vIF-2α

Author Keywords: amphibians, environmental DNA, frog virus 3, phylogenetics, ranavirus, wildlife disease

The strong relationship between poverty and poor health has been well-established for millennia; however, the mechanisms through which this relationship manifests are only recently becoming understood. Perceptions of relative wealth and status, chronic stress, and immunodeficiencies are implicated in recent research studying the social determinants of health. The purpose of the current study is to access the detailed and contextualized perceptions of these relationships and contribute evidence-based policy suggestions to improve the health of the Canadian population. A qualitative approach was employed to provide a unique perspective in addressing the concerns identified within the literature, and fifteen semi-structured interviews with relevant experts were conducted and evaluated using a Content Analysis. The results of the current study suggested a consensus among the participants with regards to the income-related social factors which determine poor health outcomes. A basic income was also perceived to moderate these mechanisms to a certain degree, but was not considered the most effective policy solution. Emulating the progressive tax policies of more economically equal countries was the preferred approach to addressing the issues of poverty and poor health in Canada (though a basic income was not excluded as a potential subsection of these policies). A lack of political will was perceived to be one of the primary obstacles preventing such policies from coming into practice, and it was the conclusion of this paper that virtuous and knowledgeable political leaders are a necessity in the successful pursuit of improving the health of the Canadian people.

Atmospheric pollutant deposition poses a risk to ecosystem health; therefore, monitoring the spatial and temporal trends of deposition is integral to environmental sustainability. Although moss biomonitoring is a common method to monitor various pollutants in Europe, offering a cost-effective approach compared to traditional methods of monitoring, it is rarely used in Canada. The focus of this study was a spatial assessment of trace element deposition across a region with a known large-point source of emissions using the moss biomonitoring method. Moss tissues presented strong correlations with modelled deposition in the region, suggesting mosses are a valuable biomonitoring tool of trace element deposition, especially in regions dominated by large-point emission sources. Additionally, a moss species endemic to Canada was compared to commonly used moss species with results indicating this species (Isothecium stoloniferum) can be used reliably as a biomonitor. Moss biomonitoring is recommended as a compliment to fill in spatial gaps in current monitoring networks across the country.

Author Keywords: biomonitoring, bryophytes, Hylocomium splendens, moss, Pleurozium schreberi, trace elements