Exploring the Importance of Values, Place, and Perceptions in Conservation Decision-making in Maine: a Mixed Methods Approach

Conservation inherently involves intertwined ecological systems and human societies. In Maine, USA conservation decision-making brings together many viewpoints, values, motivations, and experiences to balance diverse goals. Socio-cultural, experiential, financial, and ecological factors can all influence an individual’s ability to make or support a decision. This dissertation aimed to broadly explore how people perceive their role in conservation decision-making in Maine. In doing so, we articulate a diverse set of perspectives, experiences, and values. We used a mixed methods approach which enabled an in-depth understanding of the complexity of conservation decision-making while providing the opportunity for different voices to be heard. Specifically, we focused on the experiences and perspectives of conservation practitioners, students and partners engaged in collaborative natural resource management, and those who are affected by and/or affect conservation decisions. We first conducted a qualitative interview study of practitioner experiences and values, which informed a quantitative survey study of public values and preferences, as well as a case study of a university-community conservation partnership. In Chapter 2, we describe the diverse values, goals, and motivations for conservation based on interviews with conservation practitioners. In Chapter 3, we further explore a particular subset of values from Chapter 2 related to practitioner perspectives around involving people in conservation based on the interviews. Chapter 4 introduces a case study to understand the role of place-based education within a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) college-level course. In doing so, we describe a specific application of engagement in a local context while also exploring student perceptions of engaging with conservation practitioners. In Chapter 5, we surveyed diverse individuals to understand their perceptions of moose and moose management in Maine. The survey results highlight hunter, recreationist, and landowner perspectives around environmental change. Together, this dissertation describes a diverse set of values, motivations, and experiences, which illuminate the following in the context of Maine: (1) whom or what is conserved, (2) how it is conserved, (3) who benefits from its conservation, and (4) how is power shared within decision-making or collaboration. Additionally, we share implications for conservation participation and engagement, communication, and education

Fostering Climate Change Resilience: A Socio-ecological Forest Systems Approach

As climate change continues to impact socio-ecological systems, those that rely on natural resources are highly sensitive to climatic changes. Maine’s forest industry provides for the economic and social well-being of many residents and is especially vulnerable to climate change impacts. Changes in growing season length and timing, forest health threats imposed by insects and pathogens, extreme weather events, shifting forest composition, and changes in natural disturbance severity and frequency have already begun, and are projected to continue, to impact forest systems in the Northeastern U.S. While climate change presents a threat to forest systems, opportunities also arise due to longer growing seasons and warmer temperatures. Socioeconomic pressures and biophysical impacts necessitate the implementation of adaptation strategies among forest managers to maintain and enhance healthy and resilient forest systems in Maine, as well as overcome threats and take advantage of opportunities. Identifying impacts, assessing vulnerabilities, and determining appropriate adaptation strategies are critical first steps in implementing effective adaptive management across the state. The goal of this study was to develop and implement an integrated framework to assess the vulnerability and enhance the resilience, via increased climate change adaptation, of Maine’s forest socio-ecological systems to climate change. The thesis uses a sequential mixed-methods approach to combine qualitative and quantitative data, to (1) understand stakeholder perceptions of climate change impacts and adaptation, and (2) to map biophysical and social vulnerability of Maine’s forest industry to climate change. Forest stakeholders in Maine generally have high perceptions of risk regarding climate change impacts, and identified and prioritized the following climate change impacts as having the greatest and most likely impact on the forest industry: forest health threats imposed by insects and pathogens, extreme precipitation events, shifts in forest composition, invasive species, and changes in forest productivity. The results of the vulnerability assessment also highlight the unique combinations of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to climate change among Maine counties. Management strategies that address prioritized and experienced impacts are widely accepted among stakeholders; however, stakeholders are less willing to formally incorporate climate change into the forest management planning process given barriers and limited access to incentives. Integration of research results indicate the persistence of uncertainty and complexity involved in climate change adaptation and present a challenge to increasing implementation of adaptation strategies among forest stakeholders. However, promoting opportunities for learning and enhancing management flexibility via communications that appeal to stakeholders’ perceptions, social norms, experiences, and values can increase the ability of Maine’s forest socio-ecological system to respond to change. The framework presented in this thesis can have widespread application elsewhere, given its theoretical and methodological groundings and its novel multi-method approach to study forest industry vulnerability and the potential for adaptation

Duty Of Disclosure -- Time To Reconsider After The Dawn Of The Information Age

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Rat Olfactory Bulb Mitral Cells Receive Sparse Glomerular Inputs

Center-surround receptive fields are a fundamental unit of brain organization. It has been proposed that olfactory bulb mitral cells exhibit this functional circuitry, with excitation from one glomerulus and inhibition from a broad field of glomeruli within reach of the lateral dendrites. We investigated this hypothesis using a combination of in vivo intrinsic imaging, single-unit recording, and a large panel of odors. Assuming a broad inhibitory field, a mitral cell would be influenced by >100 contiguous glomeruli and should respond to many odors. Instead, the observed response rate was an order of magnitude lower. A quantitative model indicates that mitral cell responses can be explained by just a handful of glomeruli. These glomeruli are spatially dispersed on the bulb and represent a broad range of odor sensitivities. We conclude that mitral cells do not have center-surround receptive fields. Instead, each mitral cell performs a specific computation combining a small and diverse set of glomerular inputs.Molecular and Cellular Biolog

Rat Olfactory Bulb Mitral Cells Receive Sparse Glomerular Inputs

Center-surround receptive fields are a fundamental unit of brain organization. It has been proposed that olfactory bulb mitral cells exhibit this functional circuitry, with excitation from one glomerulus and inhibition from a broad field of glomeruli within reach of the lateral dendrites. We investigated this hypothesis using a combination of in vivo intrinsic imaging, single-unit recording, and a large panel of odors. Assuming a broad inhibitory field, a mitral cell would be influenced by >100 contiguous glomeruli and should respond to many odors. Instead, the observed response rate was an order of magnitude lower. A quantitative model indicates that mitral cell responses can be explained by just a handful of glomeruli. These glomeruli are spatially dispersed on the bulb and represent a broad range of odor sensitivities. We conclude that mitral cells do not have center-surround receptive fields. Instead, each mitral cell performs a specific computation combining a small and diverse set of glomerular inputs.Molecular and Cellular Biolog

Effect of Tree Form on the Productivity of a Cut-to-Length Harvester in a Hardwood Dominated Stand

It is commonly accepted that tree form has an impact on the productivity of single-grip harvesters. However, it remains unclear, which elements of tree form are significant and to what degree they impact harvesting productivity. This is of particular importance in hardwood dominated stands, where hardwood trees often exhibit complex and variable stem and crown architecture that can complicate and prolong the processing phase. With the development of specialized harvesting heads, hardwoods, which were mostly subject to motor-manual operations, are now increasingly being cut and processed with fully mechanized harvesting systems. The goal of this pilot project was to determine the effect of tree form on the productivity of mechanized cut-to-length harvesting. A time and motion study of a single-grip harvester, operating in a hardwood dominated stand, suggests that the presence of a fork or a large branch on the main stem can reduce machine harvesting productivity by 15 to 20%

Glial cells influence cardiac permittivity as evidenced through in vitro and in silico models.

Excitation-contraction (EC) coupling in the heart has, until recently, been solely accredited to cardiomyocytes. The inherent complexities of the heart make it difficult to examine non-muscle contributions to contraction in vivo, and conventional in vitro models fail to capture multiple features and cellular heterogeneity of the myocardium. Here, we report on the development of a 3D cardiac μTissue to investigate changes in the cellular composition of native myocardium in vitro. Cells are encapsulated within micropatterned gelatin-based hydrogels formed via visible light photocrosslinking. This system enables spatial control of the microarchitecture, perturbation of the cellular composition, and functional measures of EC coupling via video microscopy and a custom algorithm to quantify beat frequency and degree of coordination. To demonstrate the robustness of these tools and evaluate the impact of altered cell population densities on cardiac μTissues, contractility and cell morphology were assessed with the inclusion of exogenous non-myelinating Schwann cells (SCs). Results demonstrate that the addition of exogenous SCs alter cardiomyocyte EC, profoundly inhibiting the response to electrical pacing. Computational modeling of connexin-mediated coupling suggests that SCs impact cardiomyocyte resting potential and rectification following depolarization. Cardiac μTissues hold potential for examining the role of cellular heterogeneity in heart health, pathologies, and cellular therapies

Bioprinting of a Cell-Laden Conductive Hydrogel Composite.

Bioprinting has gained significant attention for creating biomimetic tissue constructs with potential to be used in biomedical applications such as drug screening or regenerative medicine. Ideally, biomaterials used for three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting should match the mechanical, hydrostatic, bioelectric, and physicochemical properties of the native tissues. However, many materials with these tissue-like properties are not compatible with printing techniques without modifying their compositions. In addition, integration of cell-laden biomaterials with bioprinting methodologies that preserve their physicochemical properties remains a challenge. In this work, a biocompatible conductive hydrogel composed of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was synthesized and bioprinted to form complex, 3D cell-laden structures. The biofabricated conductive hydrogels were formed by an initial cross-linking step of the PEDOT:PSS with bivalent calcium ions and a secondary photopolymerization step with visible light to cross-link the GelMA component. These modifications enabled tuning the mechanical properties of the hydrogels, with Young's moduli ranging from ∼40-150 kPa, as well as tunable conductivity by varying the concentration of PEDOT:PSS. In addition, the hydrogels degraded in vivo with no substantial inflammatory responses as demonstrated by haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and immunofluorescent staining of subcutaneously implanted samples in Wistar rats. The parameters for forming a slurry of microgel particles to support 3D bioprinting of the engineered cell-laden hydrogel were optimized to form constructs with improved resolution. High cytocompatibility and cell spreading were demonstrated in both wet-spinning and 3D bioprinting of cell-laden hydrogels with the new conductive hydrogel-based bioink and printing methodology. The synergy of an advanced fabrication method and conductive hydrogel presented here is promising for engineering complex conductive and cell-laden structures

Forest Policies and Adaptation to Climate Change in Maine: Stakeholder Perceptions and Recommendations

Socioeconomic pressures require forest management to address the impacts of climate change. However, we must ask, Are current forest policies sufficient to deal with the impacts of climate change? Here, we report on two surveys of forest stakeholders in Maine including woodlot owners and forestry professionals and discuss their perceptions of the barriers to climate change adaptation. We conclude with several policy directions including reevaluating existing policies, expanding incentivebased policies, integrating adaptation efforts into mitigation efforts, and increasing communication and outreach