Current Search: info:fedora/fau:CurrentETDs (x) » United States (x) » Macbeth. (x)
View All Items
Pages
- Title
- Double take: looking beyond the first glance at Bush v. Gore and the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Creator
- Lewis, Kathryn Nicole., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
The presidential election of 2000 was not the first United States presidential election to end with uncertainty. The contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore was not the first to introduce Americans to disputed vote tallies in crucial swing states, to the possibility of separate and competing slates of potential electors, or even to the notion that one person's vote really might matter after all. History had already born witness to many of those prospects during the 1877 presidential race...
Show moreThe presidential election of 2000 was not the first United States presidential election to end with uncertainty. The contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore was not the first to introduce Americans to disputed vote tallies in crucial swing states, to the possibility of separate and competing slates of potential electors, or even to the notion that one person's vote really might matter after all. History had already born witness to many of those prospects during the 1877 presidential race between Samuel Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes, which Hayes ultimately won. The 2000 election was novel, however, in the sense that it inspired a series of legal battles that culminated in a landmark United States Supreme Court case. Bush v. Gore (531 U.S. 98) provoked questions concerning the legal meaning of equality, the nature of federalism, and the role the Supreme Court should play in determining how state courts should interpret state laws.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2004
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11571
- Subject Headings
- Trials, litigation, etc, Trials, litigation, etc
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Spectral decomposition of grid data.
- Creator
- Donovan, Andrew., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Spectral decomposition is a method of expressing functions as a harmonic series, and can be used for the simplification of complicated physical problems. This type of analysis requires knowledge of the function at all points on a circle or sphere. In problems where the function is known only at discreet points, regular intervals in a rectangular grid, for example, numerical methods must be employed to compute approximate coefficients for the harmonic expansion. In this paper, we investigate...
Show moreSpectral decomposition is a method of expressing functions as a harmonic series, and can be used for the simplification of complicated physical problems. This type of analysis requires knowledge of the function at all points on a circle or sphere. In problems where the function is known only at discreet points, regular intervals in a rectangular grid, for example, numerical methods must be employed to compute approximate coefficients for the harmonic expansion. In this paper, we investigate numerical methods for computing Fourier coefficients of a two dimensional function at a fixed radius, and spherical harmonic coefficients in three dimensions on a sphere of fixed radius.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11572
- Subject Headings
- Inverse problems (Differential equations), Boundary value problems, Differential equations, Partial, Mathematical physics, Harmonic analysis
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Hot-cold medicine revisited: another look at the debate over its origin.
- Creator
- Bourget, Sarah., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Anthropologists like George Foster have argued over the origin of Latin American hot-cold medicine since the 1950s. Some argue that it originated within the indigenous populations of Latin America while others argue that hot-cold medicine originated from European humoral medicine. In this paper, I take another look at this debate, focusing on how its practice varies from community to community and relating the debate to changes that have occurred in the discipline of anthropology in recent...
Show moreAnthropologists like George Foster have argued over the origin of Latin American hot-cold medicine since the 1950s. Some argue that it originated within the indigenous populations of Latin America while others argue that hot-cold medicine originated from European humoral medicine. In this paper, I take another look at this debate, focusing on how its practice varies from community to community and relating the debate to changes that have occurred in the discipline of anthropology in recent years. I also look at other lines of evidence, such as the linguistics used in association with hot-cold medicine and the nearly universal existence of the hot-cold dichotomy, in order to support the theory that hot-cold medicine originated within the indigenous groups of Latin America.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11573
- Subject Headings
- Traditional medicine, Alternative medicine, Medical anthropology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Ritual for revolution: Anarcho-Primitivism and globalization.
- Creator
- Degani, Michael, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
In the last 15 to 20 years, the failure of Communism as a viable revolutionary project has turned many on the Left to its historical rival: Anarchism. Merging with environmental discourses like deep ecology and the struggle for indigenous rights, Anarcho-Primitivism models its utopian discourse on ethnographic descriptions of hunter gatherer societies and mythologized notions of the "Noble Savage." Furthermore, its adherents retain high rates of visibility in the burgeoning antiglobalization...
Show moreIn the last 15 to 20 years, the failure of Communism as a viable revolutionary project has turned many on the Left to its historical rival: Anarchism. Merging with environmental discourses like deep ecology and the struggle for indigenous rights, Anarcho-Primitivism models its utopian discourse on ethnographic descriptions of hunter gatherer societies and mythologized notions of the "Noble Savage." Furthermore, its adherents retain high rates of visibility in the burgeoning antiglobalization movement, notorious for their black uniform and tactics of property destruction. My paper critically and pragmatically engages their attempts to invoke "the Primitive" as a metaphor for resisting the ascendance of global capitalism in the twenty-first century.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11574, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT11574
- Subject Headings
- Anarchism, Civilization, Modern, Politics and culture, Globalization, Right and left (Political science)
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Personal dictatorships and the breakdown of authoritarianism: Cuba and the third wave of democratization.
- Creator
- Velez, Jared., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
From 1974-1990, more than thirty of the world's authoritarian regimes transitioned to democracy in what Samuel Huntington terms the third wave. Sixteen years following the conclusion of the third wave of democratization, the Castro regime remains the official government of the Cuban state. I examine what factors led to the continued existence of the Castro administration. Several factors account for the prolonged tenure of the Castro administration. Fidel was able to increase his political...
Show moreFrom 1974-1990, more than thirty of the world's authoritarian regimes transitioned to democracy in what Samuel Huntington terms the third wave. Sixteen years following the conclusion of the third wave of democratization, the Castro regime remains the official government of the Cuban state. I examine what factors led to the continued existence of the Castro administration. Several factors account for the prolonged tenure of the Castro administration. Fidel was able to increase his political power through the monopolization of information. The ability of the Castro regime to maintain authority was further exacerbated as a result of the country's dependence on Soviet financing, the repositioning of a weakened Catholic Church, contradictory foreign policies of external actors such as the United States, and a powerless civil society.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11576
- Subject Headings
- Democracy, History, Democratization, Castro, Fidel, 1926-, Politics and government
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The Grasp of the Ice-Cold Hand: The Emergence of a New Kind of Gothic in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.
- Creator
- Stellner, Alexis M., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
This study provides evidence for an age bias in face recognition. Younger adults viewed short video clips of young actors or of actors over the age of 60 performing everyday actions. One week later, participants were tested on their memory for these events. Recognition event types included same, completely new, and conjunction items. In conjunction items, a familiar actor performed a familiar action that had actually been performed by someone else during encoding. Participants performed well...
Show moreThis study provides evidence for an age bias in face recognition. Younger adults viewed short video clips of young actors or of actors over the age of 60 performing everyday actions. One week later, participants were tested on their memory for these events. Recognition event types included same, completely new, and conjunction items. In conjunction items, a familiar actor performed a familiar action that had actually been performed by someone else during encoding. Participants performed well at picking out the new and old events, but had more difficulty distinguishing between the conjunction events. Younger adults were significantly worse at recognizing the conjunction items when the age of the actor was different from encoding to retrieval. This study supports the hypothesis that people are better able to recognize and distinguish others within a similar age range compared to people outside that range.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11578, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT11578
- Subject Headings
- Face perception, Human information processing, Social aspects, Cognitive psychology, Cognition, Age factors
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Creating conservation: the role of zoos in the future of biodiversity conservation.
- Creator
- Selby, Megan, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Once seen as entertainment organizations, many American zoos now strongly promote themselves as agencies of biodiversity conservation, a reorientation prompted in part by growing public concern about endangered species. Funding, research, conservation efforts, and captive breeding programs are the concrete tools that allow zoos to lay claim to their contributions, but it is their more subtle cues that leave a lasting impression with zoo visitors. The exhibits, layout, signage, and...
Show moreOnce seen as entertainment organizations, many American zoos now strongly promote themselves as agencies of biodiversity conservation, a reorientation prompted in part by growing public concern about endangered species. Funding, research, conservation efforts, and captive breeding programs are the concrete tools that allow zoos to lay claim to their contributions, but it is their more subtle cues that leave a lasting impression with zoo visitors. The exhibits, layout, signage, and presentations reflect prevailing attitudes about nature, wildlife, exotic species, and shape ideas about how animals live their lives and what they are like in the wild. This project examines tensions between the public presentation of conservation goals and concrete contributions to conservation. Zoos are one of the few places where the public can see firsthand many animals in an up-close environment and the impact of zoos on the future of conservation may be dependent upon resolving such tensions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11579
- Subject Headings
- Wildlife conservation, Zoos, Philosophy, Animal welfare, Human-animal relationships
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- "It is our duty to sing": a defense of the mythic method in David Jones's In parenthesis.
- Creator
- Snyder, Matthew J., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Great War veteran David Jones's poem about the war, In Parenthesis, has been attacked by literary critics Paul Fussell and Evelyn Cobley on the grounds that the poem, usually read as an instance of "literature of protest" against the war, indicates Jones's ideological complicity with the war through its extensive allusions to heroic Celtic myth, British literature, and Catholic liturgy. This thesis argues that Jones's intricate allusive network represents a mythopoetic method of endurance, a...
Show moreGreat War veteran David Jones's poem about the war, In Parenthesis, has been attacked by literary critics Paul Fussell and Evelyn Cobley on the grounds that the poem, usually read as an instance of "literature of protest" against the war, indicates Jones's ideological complicity with the war through its extensive allusions to heroic Celtic myth, British literature, and Catholic liturgy. This thesis argues that Jones's intricate allusive network represents a mythopoetic method of endurance, a way of making order amidst the chaos of the Western Front. Jones's mythopoetic method, which I call allusive "seeing," serves as both a psychological defense mechanism against the war's strangeness and horror and a protest against the perception that because of the industrial, unheroic nature of the Great War, the soldiers who fought and died in it cannot be considered heroes.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11580
- Subject Headings
- Jones, David, 1895-1974, Views on war, World War, 1914-1918, Literature and the war, War poetry, English, History and criticism, War and literature, History and criticism
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Optimizing pretreatment for the detection of phosphorus oxyanions using ion chromatography.
- Creator
- Sempertegui Plaza, Tito S., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Phosphorus (P) is required for all living organisms. Fully oxidized pentavalent (+V) is the principal form in organisms, however studies on Desulfotignum phosphitoxidans show the enzymatic metabolism of reduced P oxyanions. Thus a natural source of reduced P is expected. Geothermal waters are naturally occurring reducing environments and ion chromatography has been used for the detection of submicromolar concentrations of P, yet the detection of reduced oxyanions is complicated by fluoride...
Show morePhosphorus (P) is required for all living organisms. Fully oxidized pentavalent (+V) is the principal form in organisms, however studies on Desulfotignum phosphitoxidans show the enzymatic metabolism of reduced P oxyanions. Thus a natural source of reduced P is expected. Geothermal waters are naturally occurring reducing environments and ion chromatography has been used for the detection of submicromolar concentrations of P, yet the detection of reduced oxyanions is complicated by fluoride and hydrogen carbonate with similar elution times as hypophosphite(+I) and phosphite(+III) respectively. Studies had shown that simplifying the matrix through pretreatment with silver and sulfonic acid cartridges improves IC limits of detection (LODs). The effects of pretreatment are dependant upon the total concentration of ions in solution. The purpose of this study is to determine IC phosphorous oxyanion LODs and to maximize signals by analyzing the relationship between filtering techniques, effective concentration of P oxyanions, and total ions in the matrix.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11581
- Subject Headings
- Water, Analysis, Arsenic compounds, Analysis, Selenium compounds, Trace analysis
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Free markets and free governments in Latin America.
- Creator
- Rossknecht, Timothy L., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Latin America has undergone a "third wave" of democratization and free market economic reforms, known as "neoliberalism." Neoliberalism radically altered what had been statist or corporatist economic systems, under austere programs that mandated deregulation, privatization, currency devaluation, and the elimination of protective tariffs and subsidies. Seventeen Latin American nations were examined in the aggregate, comparing levels of economic reform with measures of political and civil...
Show moreLatin America has undergone a "third wave" of democratization and free market economic reforms, known as "neoliberalism." Neoliberalism radically altered what had been statist or corporatist economic systems, under austere programs that mandated deregulation, privatization, currency devaluation, and the elimination of protective tariffs and subsidies. Seventeen Latin American nations were examined in the aggregate, comparing levels of economic reform with measures of political and civil rights and freedoms, poverty, inequality, and popular support for democratic institutions and practices. The tests were repeated within two in-depth case studies, Argentina and Mexico. In all three cases, neoliberalism was statistically linked with increased political rights and freedom, but failed to improve levels of poverty and inequality, and was shown to be partially responsible for downturns in popular support for democratic institutions (i.e. Parliament) and practices (i.e. labor unions, legal protests).
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11582
- Subject Headings
- Neoliberalism, Latin America, Economic conditions, Economic stabilization, Social aspects, Democratization, History
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- "...At the ear of Eve": hearing, gender, and the physiology of the fall in John Milton's Paradise lost.
- Creator
- Pollari, Niina., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
The organ of hearing, in John Milton's Paradise Lost, is inextricably connected with both the physical and the spiritual; it is the point of entry through which Satan's words enter Eve's brain, subsequently process, and lead eventually to the fall of mankind. Its symbolic importance is also indisputable, as it is a metaphor for the feminine passivity and penetrability that make Milton's Eve a particularly vulnerable target. There is, however, already a pre-existing connection between the ear...
Show moreThe organ of hearing, in John Milton's Paradise Lost, is inextricably connected with both the physical and the spiritual; it is the point of entry through which Satan's words enter Eve's brain, subsequently process, and lead eventually to the fall of mankind. Its symbolic importance is also indisputable, as it is a metaphor for the feminine passivity and penetrability that make Milton's Eve a particularly vulnerable target. There is, however, already a pre-existing connection between the ear and its role in Paradise Lost. The seventeenth-century medical texts of Milton's contemporaries gender the physiology of the ear and the process of hearing and therefore contribute to its importance in the pivotal temptation scene; that is, the rhetoric surrounding the physiology of the ear is the down fall of humankind in the epic poem. As a result of the dangerous connection between science and language, Milton's characters are already predestined to sin.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11583
- Subject Headings
- Symbolism in communication, Fall of man, Body, Human, in literature, Literature and science, History
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Convergence in measure with speed.
- Creator
- Petrus, Cass Apollo., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Definitions of convergence range from very strong (such as the concept of uniform convergence) to weaker and weaker versions like convergence in measure. We shall give a background in integration, measure theory, and convergence; then we move on to define convergence in measure with speed. We define three versions of convergence in measure with speed with an inner speed factor, an outer speed factor, and one with both speed factors. We then give examples of functions that fall under each of...
Show moreDefinitions of convergence range from very strong (such as the concept of uniform convergence) to weaker and weaker versions like convergence in measure. We shall give a background in integration, measure theory, and convergence; then we move on to define convergence in measure with speed. We define three versions of convergence in measure with speed with an inner speed factor, an outer speed factor, and one with both speed factors. We then give examples of functions that fall under each of these categories and prove important results relating convergence in measure with speed to existing definitions.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11585
- Subject Headings
- Mathematical analysis, Functions of real variables, Convergence (Mathematics)
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Lenguaje, identidad y transculturaciâon en la literatura boricua: Rosario Ferrâe y Esmeralda Santiago.
- Creator
- Pelletier, Michelle., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
The Jones Act of 1917 gave U.S. citizenship to all Puerto Ricans, who were then able to move easily between the island and the United States. A constant transfer of people ensued and the process of transculturation accelerated. Puerto Ricans zealously strive to maintain their identity and to culturally set themselves apart, most visibly through the use of the Spanish language. Thus, some find it scandalous that Puerto Rican authors, such as Rosario Ferrâe and Esmeralda Santiago, would dare...
Show moreThe Jones Act of 1917 gave U.S. citizenship to all Puerto Ricans, who were then able to move easily between the island and the United States. A constant transfer of people ensued and the process of transculturation accelerated. Puerto Ricans zealously strive to maintain their identity and to culturally set themselves apart, most visibly through the use of the Spanish language. Thus, some find it scandalous that Puerto Rican authors, such as Rosario Ferrâe and Esmeralda Santiago, would dare publish works in English. Both authors received university-level education in the United States, but their experiences have been very different, and their works provide a worthwhile comparison. Ferrâe had not written a novel in English until she published The House on the Lagoon in 1995, and she always translates her own prose work. Santiago writes exclusively in English and does not translate her own work. The second of her three memoirs, Almost a Woman, published in 1998, relates the story of her time in New York City until she is twenty-one years old. This thesis examines the transculturation of Puerto Ricans in U.S. society and their struggle to hold onto Spanish as a way of maintaining their identity as seen in The House on the Lagoon and Almost a Woman.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11587
- Subject Headings
- Spanish American fiction, Women authors, History and criticism, Group identity in literature, Social conflict in literature, Literature and society
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Touched by the Holy Spirit: the Pentecostalization of Venezuela and the 1998 presidential election.
- Creator
- Grant, Jensen, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Despite the fact that when surveyed 92.4% of the Venezuelan population self identified as Catholic, a large swath of Venezuelans stand Pentecostalized. Pentecostalization in Venezuela seems to take the form of growth in the Catholic Charismatic Movement. The study shows Châvez gained a majority of those whose self identified affiliation is evangelical as well as a majority of those who hold Pentecostal beliefs. The relationship between religion and voting patterns in the 1998 Venezuelan...
Show moreDespite the fact that when surveyed 92.4% of the Venezuelan population self identified as Catholic, a large swath of Venezuelans stand Pentecostalized. Pentecostalization in Venezuela seems to take the form of growth in the Catholic Charismatic Movement. The study shows Châvez gained a majority of those whose self identified affiliation is evangelical as well as a majority of those who hold Pentecostal beliefs. The relationship between religion and voting patterns in the 1998 Venezuelan Presidential case has not been explored. The study does this, concluding that although Venezuela is by and large Pentecostalized, a desire in political and governmental change was the most salient reasons for Venezuelans when they voted for President in 1998.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11590
- Subject Headings
- Elections, History, Religion and politics, History, Pentecostalism, History, Pentecostal churches, Presidents, Election, Politics and government
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- An introduction to the Abacoa Greenway.
- Creator
- Blubaugh, Carmen., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Greenways are corridors of relatively intact natural vegetation through otherwise disturbed habitat that typically connect larger protected natural areas. The establishment of greenway systems throughout the United States is a testament to the increasing recognition of the necessity to incorporate wild areas within urban and other disturbed landscapes for the sake of biological sustainability and the emotional welfare of human residents. In my thesis, I examine a local greenway in Jupiter,...
Show moreGreenways are corridors of relatively intact natural vegetation through otherwise disturbed habitat that typically connect larger protected natural areas. The establishment of greenway systems throughout the United States is a testament to the increasing recognition of the necessity to incorporate wild areas within urban and other disturbed landscapes for the sake of biological sustainability and the emotional welfare of human residents. In my thesis, I examine a local greenway in Jupiter, Florida, the Abacoa Greenway, which is both product and component of the greenway movement, a recent and revolutionary phenomenon in urban planning. I evaluate the greenway's ecology, the specific functions it serves, and its significance within the broader realm of environmental ethics. The primary protected habitats are a mixture of scrubby pine flatwoods and shallow wetland basins. The flatwoods provide important habitats for numerous native species, including the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) and the many commensal species that live in the tortoises' burrows. The shallow wetland basins also serve a number of purposes, including a surface water management system. As a whole, the greenway is an important resource for human recreation and environmental education, including scholarly research by students and faculty at Florida Atlantic University. It serves as important link between people and nature in an urban setting where they might otherwise be completely estranged.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11594
- Subject Headings
- Greenways, Biological diversity conservation, Government policy, Nature conservation, Government policy, Ecology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Paradise impaired: duality in Paradise lost.
- Creator
- Bernhard, Katherine Joy., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
This thesis examines the duality of meaning conveyed by John Milton's use of language in the epic poem, Paradise Lost, specifically repetition, pairing, alliteration and puns. Following a long tradition of close readings, especially critics RA. Shoaf and Christopher Ricks, I argue that Milton conceives the Fall of Adam and Eve as a falling into polysemy, or multiplicity of signification. Very few critics have undertaken a close reading of words that signal coupling in the poem, and their...
Show moreThis thesis examines the duality of meaning conveyed by John Milton's use of language in the epic poem, Paradise Lost, specifically repetition, pairing, alliteration and puns. Following a long tradition of close readings, especially critics RA. Shoaf and Christopher Ricks, I argue that Milton conceives the Fall of Adam and Eve as a falling into polysemy, or multiplicity of signification. Very few critics have undertaken a close reading of words that signal coupling in the poem, and their relationship to pairs and oppositions relevant to Genesis. Shoaf identifies pairs and oppositions in the poem as duals and duels, and connects them to binaries in the theology. However, he overlooks a great deal of evidence which supports his theory of the dual and the duel, and also disregards many significant examples of duality in Milton's wordplay that other critics identify, including alliterative pairs and words that convey ancient etymologies.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11595
- Subject Headings
- Criticism and interpretation, Milton, John, 1608-1674, Language, Narration (Rhetoric), Discourse analysis, Narrative, Semiotics
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Diet-based defensive secretions in harvestmen.
- Creator
- Whitaker, Graham., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Harvestmen are known to secrete a wide range of defensive chemicals in order to protect themselves from predators. An earlier study examined the phylogenetic pattern of defensive secretions produced by 22 species of harvestmen. This research, however, assumed that there is a genetic link between the defensive secretions. I wished to determine whether harvestmen defensive secretions may be diet-based by introducing several irritants into their food and then testing their secretions in the same...
Show moreHarvestmen are known to secrete a wide range of defensive chemicals in order to protect themselves from predators. An earlier study examined the phylogenetic pattern of defensive secretions produced by 22 species of harvestmen. This research, however, assumed that there is a genetic link between the defensive secretions. I wished to determine whether harvestmen defensive secretions may be diet-based by introducing several irritants into their food and then testing their secretions in the same manner. I performed a GC-MS analysis on 13 samples from the Vonones sp. But I found no initial GC-MS readings that showed this species of harvestmen to contain any irritants in their secretions. The absence of irritants does not allow any evaluation of whether harvestmen secretions are genetically or dietarily based.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11596
- Subject Headings
- Opiliones, Identification, Arachnida, Physiology, Predation (Biology)
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The effects of the cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula and artificial shading on the seagrass Halodule wrightii.
- Creator
- Tiling, Kathryn A., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
Extensive blooms of the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula occurred during 2006 in Halodule wrightii seagrass beds. We examined the effects of L. majuscula blooms on seagrass by removal treatments and assessed if this was primarily an effect of shading by conducting artificial shade treatments. We tested the effects of L. majuscula removal and artificial shading on fifty individual 0.25 m2 experimental seagrass plots infested with L. majuscula in a fully crossed, two-way experiment....
Show moreExtensive blooms of the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula occurred during 2006 in Halodule wrightii seagrass beds. We examined the effects of L. majuscula blooms on seagrass by removal treatments and assessed if this was primarily an effect of shading by conducting artificial shade treatments. We tested the effects of L. majuscula removal and artificial shading on fifty individual 0.25 m2 experimental seagrass plots infested with L. majuscula in a fully crossed, two-way experiment. Measurements included blade elongation, biomass, and stem density. Blade lengths of H. wrightii were significantly increased by the presence of artificial shading and L. majuscula. L. majuscula removal resulted in increased below ground biomass in shaded plots, suggesting an increase in stores, when possible, for accelerated recovery following a shading event. Adverse L. majuscula effects occurred after declines in bloom biomass indicating that L. majuscula can have a prolonged negative effect on H. wrightii production.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11597
- Subject Headings
- Cyanobacteria, Biological control, Seagrasses, Physiology, Seagrasses, Effect of salt on, Restoration ecology, Halodule wrightii, Morphology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Fluctuating craniodental asymmetry in the southern African cheetah Acinonyx jubatus jubatus.
- Creator
- Sabshin, Stephanie Julia., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) continues to be an object of intensive study with respect to its genetic heterozygosity and its drastic decline in the wild. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) has been used to evaluate the levels of inbreeding and monomorphism in the cheetah. A measurement of craniodental FA was undertaken to compare the southern African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) with previously collected craniodental FA measurements from the East African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus raineyi)....
Show moreThe cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) continues to be an object of intensive study with respect to its genetic heterozygosity and its drastic decline in the wild. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) has been used to evaluate the levels of inbreeding and monomorphism in the cheetah. A measurement of craniodental FA was undertaken to compare the southern African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) with previously collected craniodental FA measurements from the East African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus raineyi). Unlike their counterparts, the southern African cheetah did not show significant asymmetry. These findings suggest that fluctuating asymmetry cannot be used as a determination of genetic depletion in cheetahs.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11598
- Subject Headings
- Endangered species, Wildlife conservation, Anthropometry, Craniometry
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Territory size of the Florida Scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) at Savannas Preserve State Park.
- Creator
- Smith, Theresa E., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
- Abstract/Description
-
The Florida Scrub-jay is the only bird endemic to the state of Florida, and is entirely restricted to pyrogenic xeric oak scrublands. The species is listed as Threatened, and all populations throughout the state are in decline. The major causes of decline are habitat modification due to development and fire suppression. Preservation and proper fire management is crucial for the continued survival of the species. The territories of three families of Florida Scrub-jays at Savannas Preserve...
Show moreThe Florida Scrub-jay is the only bird endemic to the state of Florida, and is entirely restricted to pyrogenic xeric oak scrublands. The species is listed as Threatened, and all populations throughout the state are in decline. The major causes of decline are habitat modification due to development and fire suppression. Preservation and proper fire management is crucial for the continued survival of the species. The territories of three families of Florida Scrub-jays at Savannas Preserve State Park were delineated, and the area calculated using 100% MVCP analysis and compared to work previously published by Cowan (2005). The results of this study show that Savannas Preserve State Park oak scrub habitat is deteriorating, but that aggressive fire management can restore the scrub to optimal Florida Scrub-jay habitat.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/11599
- Subject Headings
- Savannas Preserve State Park (Fla.), Florida Scrub-jay, Distribution, Bird populations, Wildlife conservation
- Format
- Document (PDF)