Interannual variability of epibenthic communities in the Chukchi Sea, Alaska

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2015Epibenthic communities contain a wide range of organisms and serve an important role in marine ecosystems. They are involved in carbon remineralization, benthic production, and are important prey items for higher trophic levels. Arctic epibenthic communities may be experiencing significant changes in species composition, abundance, and biomass at both short and long term time scales. While epibenthic communities may be responding to long term shifts in the environment, differentiating long term trends from short term interannual variation can be problematic. The present study examined interannual differences of epibenthic communities and potential environmental drivers of their variability in the Chukchi Sea. For this, a plumb-staff beam trawl was used to sample epibenthic species composition, abundance, and biomass of the dominant invertebrate taxa at 71 stations around the Chukchi Sea during the ice free seasons of 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013. Over the entire study area and within a smaller area with the most temporal coverage, the largest separation was between 2009 and 2013, with more difference between 2009 to 2010 than between 2012 and 2013. Crustaceans were the most significant contributors to community composition, based on abundance, and biomass. The important environmental drivers that varied along with the epibenthic community in some but not all years included bottom water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, mean sediment chlorophyll a, and sediment organic matter. In contrast, sediment grain size was important in all years and, therefore, was the least likely to contribute to the biological variability among years. While these data provide a benchmark on interannual variability of epibenthic communities in the Chukchi Sea, more monitoring is essential to determine long term trends

An Experimental Test of Buffer Utility as a Technique for Managing Pool-Breeding Amphibians

Vegetated buffers are used extensively to manage wetland-dependent wildlife. Despite widespread application, buffer utility has not been experimentally validated for most species. To address this gap, we conducted a six-year, landscape-scale experiment, testing how buffers of different widths affect the demographic structure of two amphibian species at 11 ephemeral pools in a working forest of the northeastern U.S. We randomly assigned each pool to one of three treatments (i.e., reference, 100m buffer, 30m buffer) and clearcut to create buffers. We captured all spotted salamanders and wood frogs breeding in each pool and examined the impacts of treatment and hydroperiod on breeding-population abundance, sex ratio, and recapture rate. The negative effects of clearcutting tended to increase as forest-buffer width decreased and be strongest for salamanders and when other stressors were present (e.g., at short-hydroperiod pools). Recapture rates were reduced in the 30m, but not 100m, treatment. Throughout the experiment for frogs, and during the first year post-cut for salamanders, the predicted mean proportion of recaptured adults in the 30m treatment was only 62% and 40%, respectively, of that in the reference treatment. Frog sex ratio and abundance did not differ across treatments, but salamander sex ratios were increasingly male-biased in both cut treatments. By the final year, there were on average, only about 40% and 65% as many females predicted in the 100m and 30m treatments, respectively, compared to the first year. Breeding salamanders at short-hydroperiod pools were about 10% as abundant in the 100m versus reference treatment. Our study demonstrates that buffers partially mitigate the impacts of habitat disturbance on wetland-dependent amphibians, but buffer width and hydroperiod critically mediate that process. We provide the first experimental evidence showing that 30-m-wide buffers may be insufficient for maintaining resilient breeding populations of pool-dependent amphibians, at least during the first six years post-disturbance

Meeting the Challenge of Cultural Diversity: Ideas and Issues for the Public Speaking Course

Cultural diversity has become a central concern at most levels of education. The term itself has become so accepted and commonplace that we often do not stop to ask what cultural diversity means for our respective fields. R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr., president of the American Institute for Managing Diversity at Morehouse College in Atlanta, defines diversity as building systems and a culture that unite different people in a common pursuit without undermining their diversity. It\u27s taking differences into account while developing a cohesive whole (Gordon, 1992, p. 23). This seems a fruitful way to view cultural diversity in communication education. Our challenge is not only to accommodate diversity, but to actually use it to bring new and richer perspectives to ... our whole social climate (Winikow, 1990, p. 242). The public speaking dimension of the basic communication course could better meet the challenge of cultural diversity by addressing training of graduate assistants, course content, and public speaking assessment

Using the Electronic Patient Portal to Engage Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions

Three in four Americans aged 65 and older is living with multiple chronic conditions. These patients have complex care needs and stand to benefit from tools facilitating engagement in their healthcare. Little is known regarding use of the electronic patient portal as a tool to support self-care in patients with multiple chronic conditions. The purpose of this multiple-methods study was to (1) explore characteristics and patterns of portal use by patients with multiple chronic conditions and (2) to understand the perceived usefulness of this tool to improve self-care. In phase 1, the quantitative phase, data from electronic health records and web server log files were analyzed. Patients (n=500) who were 45 years or older, registered portal users, and diagnosed with at least two chronic conditions were included in the analysis. No significant differences in portal use were found according to demographic characteristics, distance separating the patient from their primary care provider, and practice size and location. There was a significant difference between patients who accessed the portal to send a message to the provider and patient entered data in regards to logins (p\u3c .001 and p=.03). In phase 2, the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with patients (n=9) and providers (n=7) were conducted to understand how patients learn about the portal and their perceptions of usefulness for improving self-care in patients with multiple chronic conditions. Twelve categories related to four broad themes: 1) how patients are introduced to the EPP, 2) perceived benefits of the EPP, 3) perceived barriers to using the EPP, and 4) perceptions of using EPP for self-management of chronic illness were revealed. Implications for further research, policy, and practice are presented

Student perceptions of the impact of precollege programs

Precollege-to-college outreach is abundant, with programs established on college campuses throughout the nation. Precollege programs provide students with knowledge pertinent to academic success and successful transitions between educational systems. The programs are also viable options in the effort to overcome disadvantage and disparity, and may best serve students who are considered underserved, and who encounter a multitude of barriers that inhibit their pursuit of a college education. A mixed-method, case study methodology was used to explore the perceptions of students who participated in two university precollege engineering programs. The findings of this study suggest that well defined and organized outreach efforts, with clear agendas and objectives, are perceived by participants as beneficial to their academic persistence and successful socialization into postsecondary environments. The findings also suggest that precollege programming may better serve students who are considered underserved, rather than students who have a precedent of exhibiting academically successful behaviors

The Leadership Factor in Management Education: Examining the Impact of an Industry Speakers Series on Leadership Efficacy in a Minority Serving MBA Program

Management education has changed considerably over the last few decades. MBA programs are coming to the realization that providing just quantitative and analytical training is insufficient. Upon conferral of their graduate degree, their alumni will add more value through their ability to lead and manage others than through their talents and abilities as individual contributors. In these more senior roles, an entirely different interpersonal skill set is required. However, faculty in one minority serving MBA program found that the “leadership efficacy factor” – self-confidence and belief in the ability to succeed as a leader – needed to first be addressed. One program that was recently implemented to impact students’ leadership efficacy was an industry speaker series. With the use of a pre- and postsurvey, this research will examine the findings and lessons learned from this progra

Telehealth implementation in nursing homes amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

"The COVID-19 pandemic forced nursing homes (NH) to adapt in response to the evolving crisis including rapid implementation of telehealth services. The study purpose was to investigate telehealth implementation using a human factors framework SEIPS model= System Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety Determine interactions between system components: person, technologies, environment, tasks, and organization."--Introduction