Indigenous Economies in Wisconsin: The Impact of Allotment Policies and the Indian New Deal, 1800s – 1930s

Indigenous peoples in Wisconsin experienced many significant economic changes during their history. Currently, there are eleven federally recognized tribal nations within the Badger State. Americans forced the Oneida and Stockbridge-Munsee peoples to move west, while the Menominee, Bodewadmi, Ho-Chunk, and Ojibwe homelands in Wisconsin preceded European settlement. This thesis looks at the histories of the Oneida, Stockbridge-Munsee, Menominee, Bodewadmi, Ho-Chunk, and six Ojibwe reservations in Wisconsin and the transition of economic dependence on seasonal natural resources to wages earned from tourism between the late 1800s and the Indian New Deal in 1934. Indigenous peoples have relied on seasonal economies that include the harvesting of berries and rice, hunting and trapping, fishing, and gardening. This was drastically altered during the late 1800s when government policy centered on allotment. Reservation timber was a significant resource for Native peoples when government officials gave them permission to cut and sell, but proved difficult to compete with white lumber companies that stripped their land by using clear-cutting methods. Once timber resources diminished in the 1920s, many Indigenous peoples in Wisconsin turned to the growing tourism industry and its wage-based economy. The Indian New Deal brought government relief and labor programs during the Great Depression. The Depression Era created unique challenges and opportunities for the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the federal government. Even though the desired impact of the Indian New Deal was never fully reached, its programs permanently altered the economies of Wisconsin reservations

Size increase with altitude in the Rufous-collared Sparrow (\u3cem\u3eZonotrichia capensis\u3c/em\u3e)

Heat is generated by the body volume and lost across its surface. Therefore larger homeotherms with their proportionately larger volume and smaller surface area will withstand cold better than small homeotherms, which has been addressed in some basic ecological principles. Bergmann’s Rule indicates that organisms at higher latitudes (and therefore lower temperatures) will be larger than those at lower latitudes, and Allen’s Rule indicates that appendage size is generally smaller in cooler temperatures. Both Bergmann’s and Allen’s rules relate body size to latitude and/or temperature, but environmental temperature also changes with altitude. We tested the possible relationship between body size and altitude in Rufous-collared Sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis), which are abundant and range from sea level to the snow line in the Andes in a narrow latitudinal range in Peru. Due to the range of temperatures, we expected a similar change in body size with altitude as described for latitude by Bergmann’s Rule and decreased appendage size at higher altitudes, consistent with Allen’s Rule. To estimate the change in size, we measured the tarsometatarsus and took the weight of 198 museum specimens from the Peruvian Andes. Our results supported Bergmann’s Rule: an ANCOVA demonstrated that tarsometatarsus length increased significantly with altitude, but did not differ significantly between males and females, nor was there an interaction between sex and altitude. However, we did not find support for Allen’s Rule because a similar analysis of the ratio of tarsometatarsus to body mass did not yield any significant relationships. Thus, while the size of birds may be affected by altitude, and thus temperature, size is also affected by other competing selective pressures

The Relationship between Lower Body Power and Sprinting Ability in Recreationally Trained College Men

College aged males who participate in competitive sports at a recreational level have very unique physical skills and abilities that lead them to compete in untraditional sports such as Ultimate Frisbee. This study examine the relationship between jumping ability and sprinting ability among 22 recreationally trained males who participate on a regionally competitive, club level Ultimate team. The subjects\u27 mean (± SD) age, height, weight, body fat percentage and fat free mass were 21.1±2.26 years, 179.88± 6.53 cm, 73.57± 7.38 kg, 11.26 ± 3.92 percent and 63.62± 12.44 kg respectively. To examine the relationship between jumping and sprinting, researchers measured the members of the Ultimate Frisbee team for 40 yard sprint (with a 10 yard split time recorded), standing broad jump (BJ), and vertical jump (VJ). Researchers used the results to calculate acceleration at 10 yards (10A), velocity at 40 yards (40V), horizontal sprinting power at 10 (10HSP) and 40 yards (40P), vertical jump power (VJP), and power relative to body weight (10bw, 40bw, VJbw), and fat free mass(10ffm, 40ffm, VJffm) for both sprinting power and vertical jump power. Testing took place over three days the week prior to the Regional Tournament and all participants signed a university approved IRB informed consent form before any testing was conducted. Pearson Product Correlations were run to examine the relationships between the variables. Level of significance was set to p\u3c0.05. There was a significant negative correlation between BJ and 40 yard sprint time (r=-.436), but there were no significant relationships observed between VJ and 10 and 40 yard sprint or BJ and 10 yard sprint. Significant relationships were observed between VJ and 10P (r=.471), VJP and 10 yard power (r=.823), VJP and 10ffm (r=.499), VJffm and 10ffm (r=.551), BJ and 10P (r=.557), VJ and 40P (r=.493), VJP and 40P (r=.850), and VJffm and 40ffm (r=.598). BJ was related to 40 yard sprint variables in that it correlated with 40V (r=.428), 40P (r=.653), and 40bw (r=.426). The highest correlations were found between measurements of power, so therefore it would be beneficial for recreational athletes to train using methodology that would increase power production in order to better prepare their bodies for vertical jumping, broad jumping and sprinting at distances of 10 and 40 yards. The statistical analysis showed that there is a relationship between jumping ability and sprinting ability in recreationally trained college males, but there is a need for more information pertaining to this relationship among recreational athletes and any physiological information specific to Ultimate Frisbee players

Bells for Bikes: Reducing Multi-User Conflict on Boise Trails

This Capstone Project is an effort to improve social perceptions toward mountain bikers and reduce multi user conflict through a social bridge building initiative which will donate bells to the local mountain bikers in Boise Idaho. It began with outreach to stakeholders to identify shared values and create a shared vision for how to approach these problems using donated bells. A fundraiser was started which could be advertised through social media by the stakeholders. In the spring of 2022 bells will be distributed directly to mountain bikers encountered on the trails by the Ridge to Rivers Rangers. The method of distribution will include an educational discussion about responsible bell usage, trail etiquette, and will act as a catalyst for Ridge to Rivers to engage the public and provide opportunities for different types of advocacy and collaborative participation

Diversification of Ergot Alkaloid Biosynthesis in Natural and Engineered Fungi

Ergot alkaloids are a complex family of tryptophan-derived mycotoxins produced by a diverse range of fungi that occupy a wide variety of ecological niches including soil saprotrophs, plant endophytes, pathogens of plants or insects, and opportunistic pathogens of humans and other mammals. Ergot alkaloids are a similarly diverse family of chemicals that elicit a variety of pharmacological activities in animals due to their resemblance to neurotransmitters and high binding affinity for neurological receptors, including those that bind adrenaline, dopamine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors. These structural similarities allow us to create medicines aimed at treating a range of neurological diseases and disorders including dementia, migraines, and Parkinson’s. The genes encoding ergot alkaloid biosynthesis are found clustered together in the genomes of the different fungi that make them. The fungus Metarhizium brunneum produces lysergic acid α-hydroxyethylamide (LAH), an ecologically and pharmaceutically relevant compound, as its main ergot alkaloid and secretes most of this compound into the surrounding environment. The first objective of this study involved engineering M. brunneum to produce the dihydrogenated versions of its natural ergot alkaloids, that is dihydrolysergic acid (DHLA) and dihydroLAH. The results showed that the fungus can produce both products and was also found to secrete most of both compounds at levels comparable to their unsaturated counterparts. The fungus Aspergillus leporis is a soil saprotroph that has been previously shown to have evolved the capacity for LAH production independently of species in the Clavicipitaceae. Two partial, fragmented gene clusters encoding different clavine-type ergot alkaloid branches were discovered in separate areas of the A. leporis genome and formed the basis for a second study. Chemical analyses indicated that fumigaclavine A production is encoded by one of the fragmented gene clusters. Concentrations of fumigaclavine A peaked around 15 days, following a decrease in LAH levels. The other partial cluster encoded two enzymes necessary to complete production of rugulovasines A and B, but rare production in A. leporis indicated some unknown environmental stimuli required for their production. Expression of these two genes in an appropriate background of M. brunneum allowed for confirmation of their function. The fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, an opportunistic human pathogen, is a known producer of fumigaclavines, another branch of clavine ergot alkaloids, and a distant relative to A. leporis. Due to this relation, A. fumigatus was chosen as platform with which to study the activity and localization of a novel gene from A. leporis, named easT, that encodes a putative major facilitator superfamily transporter. The results indicate that the transporter encoded by easT localizes to discrete regions of fungal hyphae independent of mCherry-tagged peroxisomes and plays a role in transport of ergot alkaloids and/or their precursors. Collectively, the results presented here showcase different ways that ergot alkaloid production can be diversified in both natural and engineered fungal systems