ASSESSING FOREST FEATURES AND NOCTURNAL FLYING INSECT DIVERSITY AS PREDICTORS OF EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL OCCUPANCY IN FORAGING HABITAT

Eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus), an insectivorous caprimulgid, have seen an approximate 2.76% annual population decrease since the 1960s, with their breeding and foraging ecology largely unknown due to their nocturnal and cryptic behavior. I conducted research to assess abiotic and biotic variables correlated with detection, and occupancy probability, and prey species diversity on ~104,000 hectares of forest in West Virginia, owned by the private timber company Weyerhaeuser. Previous literature indicates that Eastern whip-poor-will, and their prey, require ephemeral habitat such as recently cleared and early successional forests, like those historically created by forest fires, wind shears, hurricanes, and tornados. Research measuring the effects of forest stand specific, landscape features, and available prey species diversity with Eastern whip-poor-will occupancy has not been conducted. This gap in our knowledge of Eastern whip-poor-will is addressed by this thesis which includes three chapters examining how both abiotic and biotic factors affect the likelihood of Eastern whip-poor-will occupancy in sampled forest stands in central Appalachia. In Chapter 1, I review pertinent literature to caprimulgid and Eastern whip-poor-will specific relationships with forest management and timber practices. I discuss the current ecological knowledge of Eastern whip-poor-will and the current rate of decline of the species including possible explanations. The foraging and breeding habitat requirements of the species are unique in that they differ in terms of vegetative structure. I outline that this research assesses the foraging ecology and therefore foraging habitat of Eastern whip-poor-will, which is typically ephemeral and considered early successional in structure. Finally, I provide my own research objectives and the rationale behind them based on our current gaps in knowledge pertaining to Eastern whip-poor-will, possible landscape predictors, and detection rates with available prey diversity. In Chapter 2, I examined how Eastern whip-poor-will detection and occupancy in their foraging habitat was influenced by forest-stand specific features. I evaluated relationships among landscape and stand-level variables to Eastern whip-poor-will occupancy on Weyerhaeuser property in West Virginia. I surveyed using Autonomous Recording Units from June-July 2021 and 2022. Results indicate that lunar illumination as measured by percentage significantly influenced detection probability. On surveys with lesser illumination detection probability decreased. Elevation, distance to riparian area (in meters), basal area, % ground cover of grass, solidago, and forb were the most influential occupancy probability predictors. Ecological implications from my results suggest Eastern whip-poor-will selected early successional forest areas at lower elevations, with limited basal area and vegetative structure indicative of early age (e.g., grasses) to forage for insect prey. In Chapter 3, I measured available nocturnal prey richness, evenness, abundance, and approximate biomass among forest stands ranging from 0 – 20 years old, against Eastern whip-poor-will occupancy on Weyerhaeuser property in West Virginia. Specific prey groups measured were nocturnal volant Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. I failed to reject the null hypothesis that any prey diversity metrics were correlated with Eastern whip-poor-will occupancy probability. Additionally, richness, evenness, abundance, and total biomass of captured prey values were significantly positively influenced by basal area, and to a lesser degree stand age. Percent ground cover of forb and bare ground also negatively significantly affected prey species richness. Capture rate of moths was significantly influenced by the temperature at opening of the trap. Results suggest that available prey species are not a primary signal that Eastern whip-poor-will consider when determining foraging habitat, instead likely honing on vegetative structure cues (see Chapter 2). According to my findings, early successional forest structure is to be maintained to encourage both available prey species abundance and Eastern whip-poor-will occupancy. In conclusion, my results add to our understanding of this cryptic nocturnal species whose foraging ecology and landscape preferences are largely unknown

Conceptual design studies of 1985 commercial VTOL transports that utilized rotors, Volume 1

Results of conceptual design studies of commercial rotary wing transport aircraft for the 1985 time period are presented. Two aircraft configurations, a tandem helicopter and a tilt rotor, were designed for a 200 nautical mile short haul mission with an upper limit of 100 passengers. In addition to the baseline aircraft two further designs of each configuration are included to assess the impact of external noise design criteria on the aircraft size, weight, and cost

Direct Democracy, State Governments, and the Re-energized GMO Debate : Implications of California's Proposition 37

It is often convenient to divide the world into those countries that have been generally accepting of agricultural biotechnology and those that are not. While the debate over biotechnology continues to rage where biotechnology has not been accepted, in adopting countries the debate is often seen as being over. This has been the case for the United States. In fact, the debate over agricultural biotechnology has continued but has not had a high profile. The debate in the United States has been re-energized due to California's 2012 Proposition 37, which would have required labeling of GM-foods in the state. Given the importance of California in both the national food system and national politics, Proposition 37 had national and international ramifications. While Proposition 37 was rejected by a narrow margin, it has spurred other state- and municipal-level initiatives regarding the regulation of biotechnology. This article examines the political dynamics underlying Proposition 37 and the economic implications of similar regulatory initiatives becoming law in the future. The article argues that proposed measures can have a major influence on attempts to regulate in other jurisdictions

Categorizing how students use collaborative technologies in a globally distributed project.

Possibilities for collaboration in globally distributed projects have radically changed with the introduction of new Collaborative Technologies (CTs) in the Web 2.0 era. The use of such technologies in the context of students collaborating in a globally distributed project is little explored in research. A better understanding would provide opportunities for improving the collaboration, and more importantly is that a better understanding would improve the possibility of scaffolding, and student learning in general. In this paper we present results from a study of students' use of CTs in a globally distributed project with a focus on the challenges encountered in trying to collaborate using this technology. The study is focused on a few aspects of how a combination of CTs could be utilized and issues associated with their set up and adaption for use. We discuss potential reasons for the observed patterns of technology use and how they influenced the collaboration environment around a globally distributed student project

Eyetracking metrics reveal impaired spatial anticipation in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia.

Eyetracking technology has had limited application in the dementia field to date, with most studies attempting to discriminate syndrome subgroups on the basis of basic oculomotor functions rather than higher-order cognitive abilities. Eyetracking-based tasks may also offer opportunities to reduce or ameliorate problems associated with standard paper-and-pencil cognitive tests such as the complexity and linguistic demands of verbal test instructions, and the problems of tiredness and attention associated with lengthy tasks that generate few data points at a slow rate. In the present paper we adapted the Brixton spatial anticipation test to a computerized instruction-less version where oculomotor metrics, rather than overt verbal responses, were taken into account as indicators of high level cognitive functions. Twelve bvFTD (in whom spatial anticipation deficits were expected), six SD patients (in whom deficits were predicted to be less frequent) and 38 healthy controls were presented with a 10×7 matrix of white circles. During each trial (N=24) a black dot moved across seven positions on the screen, following 12 different patterns. Participants' eye movements were recorded. Frequentist statistical analysis of standard eye movement metrics were complemented by a Bayesian machine learning (ML) approach in which raw eyetracking time series datasets were examined to explore the ability to discriminate diagnostic group performance not only on the overall performance but also on individual trials. The original pen and paper Brixton test identified a spatial anticipation deficit in 7/12 (58%) of bvFTD and in 2/6 (33%) of SD patients. The eyetracking frequentist approach reported the deficit in 11/12 (92%) of bvFTD and in none (0%) of the SD patients. The machine learning approach had the main advantage of identifying significant differences from controls in 24/24 individual trials for bvFTD patients and in only 12/24 for SD patients. Results indicate that the fine grained rich datasets obtained from eyetacking metrics can inform us about high level cognitive functions in dementia, such as spatial anticipation. The ML approach can help identify conditions where subtle deficits are present and, potentially, contribute to test optimisation and the reduction of testing times. The absence of instructions also favoured a better distinction between different clinical groups of patients and can help provide valuable disease-specific markers

Eyetracking metrics reveal impaired spatial anticipation in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia.

Eyetracking technology has had limited application in the dementia field to date, with most studies attempting to discriminate syndrome subgroups on the basis of basic oculomotor functions rather than higher-order cognitive abilities. Eyetracking-based tasks may also offer opportunities to reduce or ameliorate problems associated with standard paper-and-pencil cognitive tests such as the complexity and linguistic demands of verbal test instructions, and the problems of tiredness and attention associated with lengthy tasks that generate few data points at a slow rate. In the present paper we adapted the Brixton spatial anticipation test to a computerized instruction-less version where oculomotor metrics, rather than overt verbal responses, were taken into account as indicators of high level cognitive functions. Twelve bvFTD (in whom spatial anticipation deficits were expected), six SD patients (in whom deficits were predicted to be less frequent) and 38 healthy controls were presented with a 10 × 7 matrix of white circles. During each trial (N = 24) a black dot moved across seven positions on the screen, following 12 different patterns. Participants' eye movements were recorded. Frequentist statistical analysis of standard eye movement metrics were complemented by a Bayesian machine learning (ML) approach in which raw eyetracking time series datasets were examined to explore the ability to discriminate diagnostic group performance not only on the overall performance but also on individual trials. The original pen and paper Brixton test identified a spatial anticipation deficit in 7/12 (58%) of bvFTD and in 2/6 (33%) of SD patients. The eyetracking frequentist approach reported the deficit in 11/12 (92%) of bvFTD and in none (0%) of the SD patients. The machine learning approach had the main advantage of identifying significant differences from controls in 24/24 individual trials for bvFTD patients and in only 12/24 for SD patients. Results indicate that the fine grained rich datasets obtained from eyetracking metrics can inform us about high level cognitive functions in dementia, such as spatial anticipation. The ML approach can help identify conditions where subtle deficits are present and, potentially, contribute to test optimisation and the reduction of testing times. The absence of instructions also favoured a better distinction between different clinical groups of patients and can help provide valuable disease-specific markers