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  Genetic Diversity of Rhyacophila fuscula in the upper Susquehanna River drainage basin

  Kletzel, Mackenzie (2023)

  Macroinvertebrates play an important role in freshwater streams (Luell 2020). Different macroinvertebrates have different tolerances to pollution. There are three main groups that these macroinvertebrates can be categorized into whether they have no tolerance for pollution, moderate pollution tolerance and tolerance to pollution (Luell 2020). These different tolerances allow us to use macroinvertebrates as bioindicators to infer the quality of the stream (Luell 2020; Ab Hamid and Md Rawi 2017). Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) are three orders of macroinvertebrates that are commonly used to assess stream quality (Moskova 2008). This work will focus on members of the order Trichoptera, or caddisflies. Rhyacophila is a genus in the family Rhyacophilidae. The genus can be found in North America, Asia, and Europe (Prather et al. 2001). Across North America there are 126 known species (Prather et al. 2001), 34 of which are present in eastern North America and approximately 19 can be found in New York (Prather et al. 2001). In the larval stage, they are aquatic and become terrestrial as adults. Larvae are found in cold freshwater streams with high levels of dissolved oxygen (Prather et al. 2001). Prather et al. (2001) stated that Rhyacophila are univoltine, meaning that they have one generation per year, although some species are known to have multiple cohorts in the stream at any one time (Manuel and Folsom 1982). In the Susquehanna River basin, Rhyacophila have been found, and are commonly encountered, by SUNY Oneonta classes. Manolo Benitez sampled Cripple Creek for a stream ecology course and morphologically identified the Rhyacophila collected as R. fuscula. The overall goal of this thesis research was to identify the most commonly encountered Rhyacophila species found in the upper Susquehanna River drainage basin and examine the population structure amongst 12 different populations.
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  The Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is an Effective Model Organism for a Variety of Biological Concepts

  Shaw, Bethany K. (2023-05)

  The red-backed salamander (RBS, Plethodon cinereus) is increasingly recognized as a model organism for a variety of biological subdisciplines, in part due to its ubiquity and abundance throughout northeastern North America (Fisher-Reid et al. 2021). These salamanders can be used for both field- and lab-based work as they are human-tolerant (Arenas et al. 2015). Some of the biological fields using RBS as a model organism include terrestrial ecology, amphibian ecology, evolutionary biology, regeneration, ecotoxicology, and animal behavior (Fisher-Reid et al. 2021). These salamanders are ecologically influential in forest ecosystems, where their biomass in some locations exceeds that of birds during peak breeding season and may be equal to that of all small mammals combined (Burton & Likens 1975). Of the eight most studied salamanders RBS is the only Plethodontid salamander; RBS is an important inclusion considering that more than half of all salamander species are part of the family Plethodontidae and many of the species are declining (Fisher-Reid et al. 2021). Because RBS are highly philopatric and abundant, studies of its population genetics have been used to ask biogeographic questions at a variety of spatial and temporal scale (Fisher-Reid et al. 2013, Cameron et al. 2017). In ecotoxicology, RBS have been used to study how military waste products and pesticides enter and affect terrestrial food webs (Johnson et al. 2004, 2007, 2010; Bazar et al. 2008, 2009, 2010). In animal behavior, RBS has been used to describe changes in territorial behavior based on food availability (Jaeger et al. 2016). Considering that amphibians are the most threatened vertebrate class due anthropogenic changes to their habitat, it is important that more amphibian model organisms are included in research so that we may understand them better with the aim to conserve them. This master’s research and thesis focuses on two ways in which we can use RBS as a model organism. Chapter 1 assesses the efficacy of marking RBS with Visual Implant Elastomer (VIE) for mark-recapture surveys. Understanding and implementing best practices for marking RBS or other small, terrestrial animals, can allow researchers to ask and more effectively test ecological questions which require accurate tracking of individuals over time. Chapter 2 describes how RBS tail regeneration can be impacted by different proportions of their tail being autotomized and the implications for a lengthy wound healing process.
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  A Survey on Audience Interests and Expectations for Planetarium Shows

  Stengler, A. Erik (International Planetarium Society, 2021)

  Identifying the public’s interests in astronomy topics helps planetariums create entertaining and impactful shows for their audience. During the creation process for a new show for SUNY Oneonta’s planetarium, a survey was conducted to gauge the public’s interests. A total of 109 participants filled out a digital survey that asked if they had previously attended a planetarium show, what topics interested them the most, and what they would want to learn about and see in a planetarium show. The survey showed that constellations and the Solar System remain popular choices and that beyond that, respondents´ choices may be strongly influenced by their previous exposure to astronomy topics.
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  Presentation of Colonial Geography: Race and Space in German East Africa, 1884-1905

  Unangst, Matthew (2023-02)

  Dr. Matthew Unangst of the History department uses excerpts from his new book to illustrate the ways in which Europeans combined ideas about race and geography to establish and justify colonialism in Africa. The book, Colonial Geography: Race and Space in German East Africa, 1884-1905, charts changes in conceptions of the relationship between people and landscapes in mainland Tanzania during the German colonial period. In German minds, colonial development would depend on the relationship between East Africans and the landscape. The book argues that the most important element in German imperialism was not its violence but its attempts to apply racial thinking to the mastery and control of space. Utilizing approaches drawn from critical geography, Colonial Geography posits that the development of a representational space of empire had serious consequences for German colonialism and the population of East Africa. In this lecture, Dr. Unangst demonstrates how spatial thinking shaped ideas about race and colonialism in the period of New Imperialism for all European empires, not just Germany.
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  Cómo gestionar programas de digitalización en museos

  Viladot, Pere; Soler, Marta; Hidalgo, Javier; Stengler, A. Erik; Fernández, Guillermo (Congreso Internacional de Museos y Estrategias Digitales (CIMED), 2021)
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  Patient decision-making modes and causes: A preliminary investigation

  Bullinger, Jonathan M.; Kantor, Paul B.; Gal, Celia S. (Wiley, 2012-05)

  A recent study of patient decision making regarding acceptance of an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) provides a substantial but nonrandom sample (N = 191) of telephone interviews with persons who have made an affirmative decision regarding an ICD. Using a coding scheme developed through qualitative analysis of transcribed interviews, these data can be subjected to exploratory statistical analysis. The reasons given by respondents for getting the ICD differed by both region and gender, and show some correlations with whether the device has or has not delivered any stimulation (shocks) since implantation. Cluster analysis reveals association among certain important themes in the discussion of the decision process, particularly linking rather opposite concepts into clusters related to specific dimensions. The results suggest the importance, to patients, of maintaining the integrity of the self by asserting control and independence. The majority of the respondents (61%) have not received the primary intended benefit of the device (stimulation). Thus, the findings suggest that psychological benefits alone of having the device (such as anxiety reduction) serve to justify acceptance of a computerized device. Implications for other lines of computerized health support and for further study of these issues are discussed.
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  A Theory of Brand WW2

  Bullinger, Jonathan M.; Salvati, Andrew J. (Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture, 2011)

  Myths about the Second World War, grounded within stores of knowledge, often act as narrative templates to be drawn upon by collective memory. These myths and memories are transformed and commodified in a reductive manner into a brand encompassing simplistic narratives, easily recognized visual signifiers (including logo, colors, and associated symbols), and emotional cues that connect with the audience. This posits a theory that what most individuals today interact with is not a fragment of memory related to World War Two but rather a reductive representation sold as BrandWW2.
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  Marvel tells / sells its own history: figureheads, promotion, curation, and application, 1982-1987

  Bullinger, Jonathan M. (Taylor & Francis, 2022)

  This research explores Marvel Comics Group’s (MCG) efforts to actively construct and sell its own history during the early-to-mid 1980s. This active historicization was achieved through persistent promotion by company figurehead Stan Lee and fans-turned-professionals actively curating the history in an official capacity. The historical reference products focused on the growing direct market-based older fan types of cultists, enthusiasts, and petty producers and younger, newer consumers and fans attracted to the authority of both history and official releases. These reference materials included encyclopaedias (Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe), a promotional arm (Marvel Age), an official history (The Marvel Saga), commemorative ceremony (1986ʹs 25th Anniversary), and New Universe that in contrast reaffirmed the specialness of the original Marvel Universe. MCG’s efforts from 1982 to 1987 provide a rare instance to watch history actively be constructed, curated, sold, and applied and to illustrate to us the power inherent within such actions.
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  Experiential Branding and Curating the Social Space

  Bullinger, Jonathan M. (University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, 2015)

  The branding of experience, which works to strengthen consumption practices by tying them into social and group behavior, is an extension of previous efforts that likewise attempt to brand traditionally non-commodified societal institutions including education (Twitchell, 2004), religion (Banet-Weiser, 2012; Twitchell, 2004), and our everyday lives (Moor, 2007). The logic of branding has crept into areas of our lives that previously were not branded – into large institutions like schools and museums and into micro-level everyday experiences and social relationships. This is possible today, in part, due to the rise of networked, social-media-based, smart phone technology that transforms our communication and looking into labor. This communication is increasingly visual; photos, gifs, video, and emoticons, for example, mirror the basic components of a brand.
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  Audio Tour: African American Monument at Little Falls Church Street Cemetery

  Reyes, Natalie (2021)

  "African American Monument at Little Falls Church Street Cemetery" written by Natalie Reyes and narrated by Robert Katz. Part of the Little Falls Historical Society Museum's self-guided audio tours, created by the SUNY Oneonta Cooperstown Graduate Program of Museum Studies.
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  What Have We Lost? Modeling Dam Impacts on American Shad Populations Through Their Native Range

  Zydlewski, Joseph; Stich, Daniel S.; Roy, Samuel; Bailey, Michael; Sheehan, Timothy; Sprankle, Kenneth (Frontiers, 2021-10)

  American shad (Alosa sapidissima) are native to the east coast of North America from the St. Johns River, Florida, to the St. Lawrence River region in Canada. Since the 1800s, dams have reduced access to spawning habitat. To assess the impact of dams, we estimated the historically accessed spawning habitat in coastal rivers (485,618 river segments with 21,113 current dams) based on (i) width, (ii) distance from seawater, and (iii) slope (to exclude natural barriers to migration) combined with local knowledge. Estimated habitat available prior to dam construction (2,752 km2) was 41% greater than current fully accessible habitat (1,639 km2). River-specific population models were developed using habitat estimates and latitudinally appropriate life history parameters (e.g., size at age, maturity, iteroparity). Estimated coast-wide annual production potential was 69.1 million spawners compared with a dammed scenario (41.8 million spawners). Even with optimistic fish passage performance assumed for all dams (even if passage is completely absent), the dam-imposed deficit was alleviated by fewer than 3 million spawners. We estimate that in rivers modeled without dams, 98,000 metric tons of marine sourced biomass and nutrients were annually delivered, 60% of which was retained through carcasses, gametes and metabolic waste. Damming is estimated to have reduced this by more than one third. Based on our results, dams represent a significant and acute constraint to the population and, with other human impacts, reduce the fishery potential and ecological services attributed to the species.
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  Considerations of variability and power for long-term monitoring of stream fish assemblages

  George, Scott D.; Stich, Daniel S.; Baldigo, Barry P. (Canadian Science Publishing, 2021-02)

  Little attention has been given to optimizing statistical power for monitoring stream fish assemblages. We explored the relationship between temporal variability and statistical power using 34 metrics from fish community data collected annually at six sites over 10 years via electrofishing. Metric variability differed by the life stage and group of species considered, use of abundance or mass data, and data standardization technique. Lower variability was associated with community data, abundance data, and time-based standardizations, while greater variability was associated with young-of- the-year data, mass data, and area-based standardizations. Simulation-based power analysis indicated metric choice, and to a lesser degree, monitoring design (annual, biennial, endpoints, or haphazard sampling) influenced power to detect change. Across a fixed number of surveys (N = 60), endpoints sampling performed best. The N needed to detect change was heavily dependent upon metric choice for all monitoring designs, with the most biologically specific metrics requiring greater N. Large savings in effort and resource expenditure can be obtained utilizing biologically relevant metrics that are robust to temporal noise within an appropriate sampling design.
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  fishStan: Hierarchical Bayesian models for fisheries

  Stich, Daniel S.; Erickson, Richard A.; Hebert, Jillian L. (Journal of Open Source Software, 2022-03)

  Fisheries managers and ecologists use statistical models to estimate population-level relations and demographic rates (e.g., length-maturity curves, growth curves, and mortality rates). These relations and rates provide insight into populations and inputs for other models. For example, growth curves may vary across lakes showing fish populations differ due to management actions or underlying environmental conditions. A fisheries manager could use this information to set lake-specific harvest limits or an ecologist could use this information to test scientific hypotheses about fish populations. The above example also demonstrates how populations exist within hierarchical structures where sub-populations may be nested within a meta-population. More generally, these hierarchical structures may be both biological (e.g., different lakes or river pools) and statistical (e.g., correlated error structures). Currently, limited options exist for fitting these hierarchical models and people seeking to use them often must program their own implementations. Furthermore, many fisheries managers and researchers may not have Bayesian programming skills, but many can use interactive languages such as R. Additionally, programs such as JAGS often require long run times (e.g., hours if not days) to fit hierarchical models and programs such as Stan can be more difficult to program because it is a compiled language. We created fishStan to share hierarchical models for fisheries and ecology in an easy-to-use R package.
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  A 14-year Survey of the Parasites of Yellow Perch from Canadarago and Otsego Lakes, New York

  Reyda, Florian; Silvester, Kimberly; Hidalgo, Adriana; Loscerbo, Alyssa; Salinas, Yanlee (2022)

  Over the past 14 years the SUNY Oneonta fish parasitology lab has conducted a survey of the parasites found in yellow perch (Perca flavescens) in Otsego and Canadarago lakes, with emphasis on winter sampling via ice fishing. Survey work has also been conducted during the summer months. For every fish examined, all components of the digestive system were examined for parasites, and in many samples, full necropsies, i.e., examinations of most of the body organs, were performed. Parasites that were collected were preserved and subsequently prepared as whole mount slides using conventional parasitological techniques, and then examined with a compound light microscope. Parasites were subsequently identified to genus or species based upon the reference literature. Following identifications of parasites, comparisons were made between the two lakes, which respectively represent oligotrophic and eutrophic water bodies. This project has been reported on in previous years by other students. The major contribution of our study is to increase the taxonomic level of precision of identifications from genus to species, in many instances. In this poster we report on and present images of multiple species of parasitic worms, including species of acanthocephalans (thorny headed worms), nematodes, trematodes (flukes), cestodes (tapeworms) and monogeneans, as well as some parasitic protozoans and leeches.
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  A New Species of Thorny-headed Worm (Acanthocephala: Neoechinorhynchus), a Parasite rom White Sucker (Catostomidae) from Oneida Lake

  Reyda, Florian; Mendez, Gustavo (2022)

  This study is a result of extensive fish parasite survey work in North America with a heavy emphasis on water bodies in New York state. One objective was to assess the diversity of acanthocephalans which are also known as thorny-headed worms. My study specifically branched out of the bigger study when Dr. Reyda, other students and I encountered a new species of acanthocephalan from two localities in New York, Oneida Lake and Sandy Creek, an eastern tributary of Lake Ontario. This new species appears to be rare since it was only seen in a few white suckers out of over 150 examined in total. Permanent slides were made of the parasite which was then examined and measured using a light microscope. This made it possible to distinguish the new species from the many other species of Neoechinorhynchus in North America that parasitize fishes. This worm was distinguished from other species of Neoechinorhynchus in white sucker in its possession of an unusually large cement gland in males. Other comparisons are currently underway in the laboratory. The unique nature of this species is further supported by DNA sequence data of the large ribosomal subunit that was obtained in a separate, ongoing study. This project is still underway as further work is needed and more samples of the parasite are needed for it to be formally described as a new species. The significance of this work is to show that there are still new species of organisms waiting to be discovered throughout the United States.
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  A New Species of Thorny-headed Worm (Acanthocephala: Neoechinorhynchus), a Parasite from Two Species of Redhorse Fish (Catostomidae: suckers) in North America

  Reyda, Florian; Fleming, Morgan; Bulmer, Emily (2022)

  We encountered a new species of Neoechinorhynchus (Acanthocephala) during extensive fish parasite survey work in North America that focused on catostomid fishes (suckers). Among our samples of Moxostoma specimens from the Red River in Manitoba, Canada, the Kanawha River in West Virginia, and the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania we encountered specimens of genus Neoechinorhynchus inconsistent with previously known species. All fish utilized in this study were captured via boat electroshocking, and subsequently examined with a dissecting microscope for parasitic worms. All acanthocephalans encountered were stored in tap water and after ~24 hours switched to 70% ethanol. They were then stained and mounted onto slides with Canada Balsam and subsequently examined with a Leica DM 2500 microscope. Measurements of 9 male and 12 female specimens of this new species were then compared to available published data for other North America fish-parasitizing species of Neoechinorhynchus, and in some cases, to type specimens. This new species differs from all but six of the 30+ species of Neoechinorhynchus from the USA and Canada in its possession of body walls that are thicker dorsally than ventrally, and in having lemnisci that are markedly unequal in length. Although the new species is similar to N. buckneri, N. bullocki, N. carinatus, N. cristatus, N. prolixoides, and N. prolixus in terms of body wall thickness and lemnisci, it can be distinguished from each of those species based on hook lengths of anterior, middle, and posterior hooks on the proboscis. Our morphologically-based conclusion that that this species is distinct from each of those 6 species is corroborated by sequence data for the large ribosomal subunit obtained in another ongoing study. Our study calls attention to the potential for more discovery of novel species in North America.
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  Money Gone Up in Smoke: The Tobacco Use and Malnutrition Nexus in Bangladesh

  Husain, Muhammad Jami; Virk-Baker, Mandeep; Parascandola, Mark; Khondker, Bazlul Haque; Ahluwalia, Indu (Ubiquity Press, 2017)

  Background: The tobacco epidemic in Bangladesh is pervasive. Expenditures on tobacco may reduce money available for food in a country with a high malnutrition rate. Objectives: The aims of the study are to quantify the opportunity costs of tobacco expenditure in terms of nutrition (i.e., food energy) forgone and the potential improvements in the household level food-energy status if the money spent on tobacco were diverted for food consumption. Method: We analyzed data from the 2010 Bangladesh Household Income and Expenditure Survey, a nationally representative survey conducted among 12,240 households. We present 2 analytical scenarios: (1) the lower-bound gain scenario entailing money spent on tobacco partially diverted to acquiring food according to households' food consumption share in total expenditures; and (2) the upper-bound gain scenario entailing money spent on tobacco diverted to acquiring food only. Age- and gender-based energy norms were used to identify food-energy deficient households. Data were analyzed by mutually exclusive smoking-only, smokeless-only, and dual-tobacco user households. Findings: On average, a smoking-only household could gain 269-497 kilocalories (kcal) daily under the lower-bound and upper-bound scenarios, respectively. The potential energy gains for smokeless-only and dual-tobacco user households ranged from 148-268 kcal and 508-924 kcal, respectively. Under these lower- and upper-bound estimates, the percentage of smoking-only user households that are malnourished declined significantly from the baseline rate of 38% to 33% and 29%, respectively. For the smokeless-only and dual-tobacco user households, there were 2-3 and 6-9 percentage point drops in the malnutrition prevalence rates. The tobacco expenditure shift could translate to an additional 4.6-7.7 million food-energy malnourished persons meeting their caloric requirements. Conclusions: The findings suggest that tobacco use reduction could facilitate concomitant improvements in population-level nutrition status and may inform the development and refinement of tobacco prevention and control efforts in Bangladesh.
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  Development and calibration of a dietary nitrate and nitrite database in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study

  Inoue-Cho, Maki; Virk-Baker, Mandeep; Aschebrook-Kilfoy, Briseis; Cross, Amanda J.; Subar, Amy F.; Thompson, Frances E.; Sinha, Rashmi; Ward, Mary H. (Cambridge University Press, 2015-12)

  Objective: Nitrate and nitrite are probable human carcinogens when ingested under conditions that increase the formation of N-nitroso compounds. There have been limited efforts to develop US databases of dietary nitrate and nitrite for standard FFQ. Here we describe the development of a dietary nitrate and nitrite database and its calibration. Design: We analysed data from a calibration study of 1942 members of the NIH-AARP (NIH-AARP, National Institutes of Health-AARP) Diet and Health Study who reported all foods and beverages consumed on the preceding day in two non-consecutive 24 h dietary recalls (24HR) and completed an FFQ. Based on a literature review, we developed a database of nitrate and nitrite contents for foods reported on these 24HR and for food category line items on the FFQ. We calculated daily nitrate and nitrite intakes for both instruments, and used a measurement error model to compute correlation coefficients and attenuation factors for the FFQ-based intake estimates using 24HR-based values as reference data. Results: FFQ-based median nitrate intake was 68·9 and 74·1 mg/d, and nitrite intake was 1·3 and 1·0 mg/d, in men and women, respectively. These values were similar to 24HR-based intake estimates. Energy-adjusted correlation coefficients between FFQ- and 24HR-based values for men and women respectively were 0·59 and 0·57 for nitrate and 0·59 and 0·58 for nitrite; energy-adjusted attenuation factors were 0·59 and 0·57 for nitrate and 0·47 and 0·38 for nitrite. Conclusions: The performance of the FFQ in assessing dietary nitrate and nitrite intakes is comparable to that for many other macro- and micronutrients.
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  Healthcare and Wellness Practitioner Confidence in Provision of Nutrition Education and Use of Evidence-Based Nutrition Resources

  Riddle, Emily; Kennedy, Caroline; Snow, Cassandra; Barre, Laura (Oxford AcademicAmerican Society for Nutrition, 2022-06)

  Objectives: Differences in messaging from healthcare and wellness practitioners can lead to consumer confusion and mistrust in nutrition. The regular use of evidence-based nutrition resources by practitioners could improve consistency in patient education. The confidence registered dietitians (RDNs) and non-RDN practitioners have in providing nutrition education and the use of evidence-based nutrition resources in patient education is not known. Objectives: 1) To evaluate how confident RDN and non-RDN practitioners are in providing nutrition education, and 2) to evaluate RDN and non-RDN use of evidence-based nutrition resources.
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  The U.S. Housing Bubble: Implications for Monetary Policy and the Global Supply of Saving

  Storrie, Christine L. (North American Business Press, 2019)

  A VAR framework is used to determine impacts of key variables thought to have impacted house prices around the time of the housing boom. Separate models are used to capture traditional and nontraditional policies monetary policies during that time. Results show house prices respond to shocks in the federal funds rate and increases in the Fed’s balance sheet as well as shocks in net capital inflows but do not move in response to changes in mortgage or delinquency rates. The inclusion of higher lag orders is necessary to capture the delayed response of important variables affecting the housing market.

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