Bridging the Gap Between Science and Society to Foster a Greater Understanding of the Climate Crisis

Born and raised on the East Coast, I have had the luxury of spending time patrolling the shoreline of the Gulf of Maine for the past two decades. As a member of a coastal Maine community, it was never a question that I wanted to dedicate my career to marine research, working to ensure society sustains the integrity and stability of our global oceans. After acquiring diverse experience within the realm of oceanography, I have continuously centered my work around a single focal point: climate change is beginning to alter ecosystems to a point where resources are becoming severely impacted. Unfortunately, in the wake of today’s climate crisis it is all too easy to turn a blind eye to the existential threat our planet faces. As climate change introduces changes at a timescale unlike any before, the need for careful assessment of the ocean’s integrity and stability only increases. Throughout my undergraduate education I conducted a project studying the rapid warming of the Gulf of Maine sea surface temperatures and its effect on biological productivity. This motivated a modeling project to study similar concepts on a global scale. Both experiences led to my current avenue of research as a graduate student studying nutrient cycling within subtropical regions of the global ocean. One of my top priorities as a young researcher is to emphasize the importance of communicating science with the general public in an effective way so that our global community can move forward together to tackle the crisis our environment is facing

Exploring Sea Surface Temperature’s Effect on Global Ocean Productivity in Our Changing Climate

Jessica investigates the multitude of variables that affect productivity of our global ocean and how that productivity relates to climate change

Does Nutrition Education in the Family and Consumer Sciences Classroom Promote Healthy Eating and Exercise Habits?

Many high school students do not practice healthy eating and exercise habits. According to the National Center for Disease Control, 18% of adolescents ages 12-18 are currently overweight (National Institutes of Health, 2006). Many are not aware of consequences associated with unhealthy lifestyles. To improve students' eating and exercise behaviors, students must acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with healthy practices. One venue for addressing this need is through nutrition education in the Family and Consumer Sciences classroom. The question of this study asks: Does nutrition education in the Family and Consumer Sciences classroom promote healthy eating and exercise behaviors? Findings of this study indicate that an increase in nutritional knowledge alone does not result in immediate changes of eating or exercise behaviors.  M.A.Ed

SPATIOTEMPORAL PATTERNS OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC NUTRIENT LABILITY ACROSS THE SUBTROPICAL NORTH PACIFIC

Net biologically produced organic matter integrated over an annual cycle in the euphotic zone of the global ocean is equal to annual net community production (ANCP). ANCP is limited by the rate of delivery of essential nutrients (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and iron (Fe)) to the sunlit surface ocean and the efficiency with which these nutrients are either metabolized or returned to the ocean’s interior. In subtropical oceans, which are regions of large-scale downwelling and consequently characteristic of nutrient-depleted surface waters, ANCP remains comparable to more nutrient replete ecosystems (~2 – 5 mol C m-2 yr-1). To understand what may fuel this productivity, analyses of dissolved organic matter (DOM) within the upper 500 meters of the subtropical North Pacific gyre were performed. Observed meridional gradients suggest the consumption of dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) and bioavailable dissolved organic nitrogen (bDON) may contribute bioavailable P and N on the order of 8.8 ± 2.2 mmol P m-2 y-1 and 14.3 ± 3.7 mmol N m-2 y-1 along the northward transit of waters from the southern edge towards the gyre core. Additionally, bioassay incubation experiments were performed within two vertically distinct layers of the euphotic zone to quantify the magnitude and rate of heterotrophic DOP remineralization in surface waters (5 m) and the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) (125 m) at two stations in the subtropical North Pacific; Station ALOHA (22.75°N) and 31°N along a transect on 158°W, north of Oahu, HI. Evidence for a measurable pool of labile DOP present in surface waters on the order of 25 – 60 nM was found to be consumed in ~5 days near the southern edge of the gyre at Station ALOHA. This consumption was ~1/3 of the latitudinal gradient in surface waters to 31°N, the core of the gyre. Additionally, a new method was deployed to estimate the fraction of the bulk dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) pool composed of bioavailable DON (bDON). A similar meridional gradient in surface ocean bDON was observed on the order of 230 nM N across the gyre, with a DON pool that was comprised of ~13.3 ± 3.5% bDON. The meridional gradients observed in the size of the surface ocean labile DOP and DON pools found in this study largely affirms the importance of upper-ocean lateral organic nutrient transport on supplying North Pacific subtropical gyre surface waters with bioavailable phosphorus and nitrogen and provides important observational data to validate existing models of marine organic nutrient cycling

It’s not the Internet; it’s television : deciphering the path for new narrative in an electronic world

textIt’s not the Internet; it’s television: deciphering the path for new narrative in an electronic world evaluates the changing processes and product of narrative on the Internet and in television through the revision of Jessica Gray’s pilot "Small town werewolves" and the FRINGE spec, "Three blind mice."Radio-Television-Fil

Modern myth in performance: claiming identity through a reading of fantasy withcraft

In this dissertation, I create a Wiccan dramaturgical lens to analyze three key fantasy sites: The Wizard of Oz film and stage adaptations (especially the Broadway musical Wicked), The Chronicles of Narnia film and theatrical adaptations, and the Harry Potter films and paratheatrical adaptations. These three fantasy stories have significant cultural impact and strong images of folkloric witches. My alternative reading shows how a subgroup can appropriate popular images for their own identity formation. I will analyze how signs, themes, and narrative tropes that otherwise seem ancillary or even anti-witch become highlighted and privileged, creating a different but equally legitimate counter-text for the Wiccan spectator (or for any spectator looking through a Wiccan dramaturgical lens). I model my primary methodology on Stacy Wolf’s A Problem Like Maria, where she gives a “queer” reading of popular musicals. Following Wolf’s lead, a Wiccan reading of these texts highlights how the witch images offer opportunities for Witchcraft practitioners to perform their own faith identity. Using the theories of Neo-Pagan identity as developed by academics well-grounded in the field of Witchcraft studies, I distill nine specific “identity markers” in three categories to locate and describe Wiccan spectatorship. After grounding my methodology in performance studies in my introduction, I explain the relevant Wiccan history, beliefs and practices in my first chapter. In my second chapter, I analyze “Wiccan culture” (relationship to other faith groups and society) in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939) and the musical Wicked. In my second chapter, I discuss “Wiccan beliefs” (theology) through a close reading of the film The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005) and the stage musical Narnia. In my fourth chapter, I identify Wiccan “practices” (the use of costumes, tools, and space in rituals) as found in the Harry Potter films and paratheatrical activities. In my final chapter, I make conclusions about this type of subcultural performance of identity and introduce the concept of ritual innovation based on “modern myth.” I argue that performance of fantasy witch images can be a tactical syncretism that alters/assimilates a new authenticity, bridging ancient folklore to modern religious identity

2021 Final Report on the Western Snowy Plover

In 2021, we continued with the monitoring of the Western Snowy Plover (WSP) population at Coal OilPoint Reserve as in previous years. The number of breeding adults this year (56) was higher than theaverage (37) for our site. The wintering population size (175) was just over the average (167). This year,predation was the primary cause of nest failure. There were three cases of take by people on Sands Beach. The eggs from 3 nests were removed and in 2 of the nests that had exclosures, the exclosure wasremoved and vandalized. Implementation of Australian crow traps this year prevented crow predation.However, one quarter of all nests were predated by skunks and an additional 8% were lost to unknownpredators. In response to the high levels of predation by skunks, all nests present on or laid after July 13thwere collected, incubated until near the hatching date, and then returned to the parents. The real eggswere replaced with wooden eggs so that the parents would continue incubating. COPR had a lower thanaverage hatching rate (35%) and a high fledging rate (72%) (this analysis excludes the 8 out of 8 neststhat hatched with the egg replacement technique). The number of fledged chicks per male (1.5) was belowaverage for our site but exceeded our site's recovery goal of 1.0 fledged chicks per male. 99% of nests(92) were initiated on the beach, and 1% (1) were initiated on the mudflats of the slough (delta)

Effect of Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Osteoarthritis of the knee is one the most common sources of chronic pain due to altered joint function.1 Current treatment modalities offer short term relief of symptoms but lack long term aid and regenerative properties.1 Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) offer regenerative and anti-inflammatory properties and can be collected from umbilical cord blood, adipose tissue, or bone marrow.4 The three studies included were all randomized controlled trials within the past 10 years that each utilized more than 30 participants who had a diagnosis of osteoarthritis and a mean age above 50 years old. MSCs were compared to corticosteroid injections, hyaluronic acid injections, and placebo. Primary results were assessed using symptom evaluation indices such as Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). All treatment modalities showed some level of symptom relief at six months; however, MSCs demonstrated continuing and improving scores at 12 months while all other treatment modalities decreased or returned to near baseline levels. Further investigation with larger sample sizes and longer follow up intervals are warranted to fully confirm the benefits of MSCs in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis