Garbage in the diet of carnivores in an agricultural area

Human food waste is considered to be richer in carbohydrates, lipids and proteins than most natural food supplies; however, it is very well digested in scats. So, as an indication of this kind of food in the diet, we have used each indigestible, anthropogenic origin element found in faeces (e.g., glass, plastic, rubber, etc.). There are few studies discussing the importance of garbage in the diet of mammalian predators living in farmland; definitely,  most focus on this issue in urban areas. We studied the contribution of garbage in the diet of raccoon dog  (Nyctereutes procyonoides), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), marten (Martes sp.), polecat (Mustela putorius), stoat (Mustela erminea), American mink (Neovison vison) and Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) in the agricultural areas of western Poland in 2006-2010. In addition, we examined the spatial changes in the diet of red fox and polecat. The largest contribution of garbage was found in scats of raccoon dog (8.8%), red fox (4.8%) and marten (4.3%). The diet of polecat, stoat and Eurasian otter contained 2.5%, 1.7% and 0.2% garbage items respectively. The most frequent item was plastic. Our analysis showed that garbage consumption by red fox and polecat was greater  closer to human settlements. The results reveal a continuous gradient in the garbage consumption that corresponds with the degree of synanthropization of particular species

Adaptive Skiing: A Culture of Its Own

Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Ski & Snowboard Program provides me challenges and a life-long impact. Every winter for the past five years I have been volunteering for this organization and every year I learn something new about myself and others. By reflecting upon my experiences, I am expanding more about the importance of volunteering, leadership and global citizenship

Learning to Do Well Through Making Errors

Looking back to the beginning of the semester, I do not fully understand what exactly I would be doing for an hour every Thursday afternoon. The guidelines Dr. Miller-Pomije provided me were simply that – guidelines. What I did during these recitation sessions for General Chemistry I students was up to me. Through these sessions, I learned more effective teaching strategies, ways to foster students’ learning, and approaches that simply did not work. As a result, I now feel better prepared for graduate school teaching experiences

The Role of Environmental Education in Steam Education

Research has shown that both STEAM education and environmental education have similar goals: equipping students with 21st-century skills such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. These skills are essential for students to know in order to be successful in their future careers. However, while both STEAM education and environmental education have similar goals, they are often not taught together. This project takes time to answer the question: How can incorporating more environmental education into STEAM help create students that are equipped with skills needed for future careers? The supplemental curriculum designed for this project is intended to be woven into a pre-existing STEAM curriculum, Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Launch. The project involved creating two environmental education lessons to fit into current STEAM units. The lessons teach about the environment, contain a STEAM component, expose students to nature, and have a teamwork aspect. The curriculum is designed to fit within PLTW Launch, but lessons can be adapted to be stand-alone and be taught by any educator, regardless of position or experience. The goal of this project was to interweave STEAM education and environmental education to have students experience nature and teach essential communication, teamwork, and critical thinking skills to best prepare students for their futures

Implementing Standardized Nursing Assistant Exam Practices Across Multiple Campuses

The purpose of this study is to investigate best practices for administering the Nursing Assistant Competency Exam, to be developed into a resource guide provided to all MinnState test sites, hosted through private online forum

Survival and development of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) embryos and fry as related to egg size and quantitative genetic variation

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2002The effect of egg weight on survival and development of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) embryos, alevins, and fry was analyzed; in addition, embryo survival was investigated in relation to additive genetic variation. Embryonic survival to eyeing, development time to hatch, yolk weight, somatic tissue weight, yolk use rate, somatic tissue growth rate, and the survival of first-feeding fry was recorded relative to egg weight. The analyses demonstrated significant egg weight effects on development time to hatch, yolk weight, somatic tissue weight, yolk use rate, and somatic tissue growth rate on alevins. Weight and length of post-emergent fry (17 weeks post-ponding) were also significantly affected by initial egg weight. However, egg weight did not affect survival of eyed eggs or fry. Differential family-specific survival of eyed eggs indicated the presence of significant additive genetic variation

Katelynn Malecha Honors Portfolio

Katelynn Malecha\u27s honors portfolio captured in November 2017