Climatic and geographic predictors of life history variation in Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus): A range-wide synthesis

Elucidating how life history traits vary geographically is important to understanding variation in population dynamics. Because many aspects of ectotherm life history are climate-dependent, geographic variation in climate is expected to have a large impact on population dynamics through effects on annual survival, body size, growth rate, age at first reproduction, size-fecundity relationship, and reproductive frequency. The Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) is a small, imperiled North American rattlesnake with a distribution centered on the Great Lakes region, where lake effects strongly influence local conditions. To address Eastern Massasauga life history data gaps, we compiled data from 47 study sites representing 38 counties across the range. We used multimodel inference and general linear models with geographic coordinates and annual climate normals as explanatory variables to clarify patterns of variation in life history traits. We found strong evidence for geographic variation in six of nine life history variables. Adult female snout-vent length and neonate mass increased with increasing mean annual precipitation. Litter size decreased with increasing mean temperature, and the size-fecundity relationship and growth prior to first hibernation both increased with increasing latitude. The proportion of gravid females also increased with increasing latitude, but this relationship may be the result of geographically varying detection bias. Our results provide insights into ectotherm life history variation and fill critical data gaps, which will inform Eastern Massasauga conservation efforts by improving biological realism for models of population viability and climate change

Master's Chamber Music Recital

The thesis for the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance consists of one solo recital and one full-length ensemble recital. I performed the ensemble recital on April 28, 2002 and the solo recital on August 29, 2002.Arts, Faculty ofMusic, School ofGraduat

From Bach to Busoni: transcription as visionary process in Ferruccio Busoni's Fantasia Contrappuntistica

This thesis begins with a historical synopsis of the compositional considerations and processes that inspired Busoni’s Fantasia Contrappuntistica. A meeting in Chicago with Bernhard Ziehn and Wilhelm Middelschulte provided the impetus for the composition of the Fantasia Contrappuntistica. At this meeting, Busoni was shown Ziehn’s solution to the uncompleted Fuga a 3 Soggetti from Bach’s Art of Fugue, as well as Ziehn’s novel compositional technique employing symmetrical inversion of harmonies. Busoni’s efforts following this meeting resulted in four different forms of the Fantasia Contrappuntistica which were published throughout the course of his career. The second section of the thesis surveys the overall structure of the Fantasia Contrappuntistica with reference to Busoni’s love of architecture and also to the architectural drawings he provided for the structure of the work. The remainder of the thesis explores some of Busoni’s aesthetic principles (as presented in his Entwurf Einer Neuen Asthetik Der Tonkunst) and how they are realised in the Fantasia Contrappuntistica. Transcription is shown to be a broadly-defined process in Busoni’s thought, operating on many different levels in the realisation of musical works in general and of the Fantasia Contrappuntistica in particular. Transcription as a process is discussed largely with reference to Ziehn’s solution for completing Bach’s unfinished work. Ziehn’s concept of symmetrical inversion of harmony is also discussed, with reference to those sections of the Fantasia, such as the Chorale Prelude, Intermezzo, and Variations, in which Busoni is more composer than transcriber. These two compositional ideas, the completion and transcription of Bach’s work and the application of a new compositional technique, are linked in the thesis to the words Fantasia and Contrappuntistica respectively.Arts, Faculty ofMusic, School ofGraduat

The Spatial Ecology of the Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus c. catenatus) in Northern Michigan

We investigated the spatial ecology of the eastern massasauga (Sistrurus c. catenatus) at a study site unique in that it was near the northern extent of the species\u27 geographic range and had a sandy substrate and extensive mixed coniferous forest. Forty-six individuals were radiotracked for at least one complete season between 2002 and 2004 or 2006 and 2007. Males had larger home ranges and core areas, range lengths, and movement rates than nongravid females, which in turn had larger movement parameters than those of gravid females. Movement rates and distances were not constant throughout the activity season, with males making greater movements as the activity season progressed and gravid females making the longest movements immediately following parturition. Total area used during the activity season was intermediate relative to that used by massasaugas at other sites, with minimum convex polygons around outermost observations during the active season averaging 16.7 ha. Movement indices at our site were much larger than reported indices from study sites in the central or southern portions of the massasauga\u27s geographic range and more similar to those from Ontario and New York. The trend for increased movements at northern latitudes may have implications for managers attempting to provide sufficient habitat for viable populations and minimize interactions between snakes and roads or other anthropogenic disturbances

Kinetic barrier networks reveal rate limitations in ion selective membranes

While polymer membranes are used to remove salts from environmental and industrial electrolytes, it remains a significant challenge to engineer them to isolate a single dissolved species from complex mixtures, which is important for lithium mining, battery and magnet recycling, and microelectronics. Underpinning this challenge has been a lack of understanding of rate-limiting mechanisms in selective ion transport. Here, we show that hydrated ions exhibit higher free energies of activation when crossing solution–membrane interfaces (i.e., partitioning) than when diffusing through polymers, which challenges historical assumptions embedded in widely used models of membrane performance. We further articulate a framework benchmarked with quantitative capabilities for predicting how functionality within polymer membranes or at their surfaces affects the selectivity towards individual dissolved species