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Understanding the Survival and Success of Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in Kamloops Within the Context of Diet and Behavioural Energetics, Comparing the Past and Present
No full textExisting literature on Red Squirrels highlights quite extensively the ecology of how these animals make their living mostly as cone hoarders, but also through diet supplementation with fungal fruiting bodies among other things. This study is designed to see how this life strategy affects the maintenance of body condition and survival of Red Squirrels through winter in the Kamloops region. Success will be measured through body condition and survival. Primary body condition metrics will be body weight, coat condition, and post-zygomatic breadth (jaw width). I will utilize mark and recapture as a measure of survival, as the territorial nature of Red Squirrels results in a notedly high trap fidelity. I will determine what extent they are using fungi as supplemental food by analyzing feces for presence of fungal spores. I am also using radio-telemetry to analyze the daily behaviours of Red Squirrels throughout the winter to determine what may be driving these behaviours. This study also aims to determine if overwinter success has changed in the past two decades when compared to the results of an honours thesis completed in 1999.
I am currently still in the process of collecting and analyzing data and will be finished in the month of March. Current trends are showing mostly good success over winter with very little deviation in body weight and coat condition. Preliminary observations of fungal fruiting bodies located at squirrel middens are pointing to conclusive use of mycophagy to supplement primary food consumption of cones
Fault Lines: Geography 2220, The Regional Geography of Canada
No full textWith this poster project, each pair created a poster investigating one \u27fault line\u27 in Canada\u27s Regional Geography. Fault lines refer to historic and ongoing socio-political tensions taking place in particular regions. Each poster explores the geographic dimensions of a particular fault line. With text and images, the students will convey complex politics and strategies for social change. The fault lines students have identified include Indigenous and Non-Indigenous relations, French-English tensions, and current and historic efforts to protect the environment
Video Assignments: Assessing Learning without papers
No full textThis presentation will focus on the use video and presentation software as a means of assessing student learning. For a number of years the presenter has assigned students in an introductory Interpersonal communication course, an assignment requiring them to create a self contained demonstration of relevant themes and topics. Working in teams, students also self- assess meta competencies related to communication and team work. This presentation will share the process, the pitfalls and discuss strategies for academic rigor based on a number of years of assigning this to students. Select samples of student work will be showcased
1 - Implications of TRU Global Competence Model on Beijing Vocational Colleges
No full textAs the international exchange center of China, Beijing is the home of more than 30,000 international institutions including embassies, foreign enterprises, media and international organizations. Many vocational college students in Beijing are expected to work with individuals from all over the world, but it is a challenge for them to know how to effectively interact and cooperate with people from multiple cultures in a professional context. Thus, it is crucial to provide the college students with global competence education. Research on global competence has gained momentum due to the rapid development of the internet and the increasing global economy. Developing a global and intercultural outlook is a lifelong process that education can shape (UNESCO, 2013, 2016). In order to behave in a globally competent manner, students need to be equipped with more than a high level of language proficiency. They also need to have the knowledge about issues of global and cultural significance, understand the perspectives and world views of others, engage in open and effective interactions in intercultural contexts as well as take reflective actions. TRU sets a good example on global competence education for Beijing vocational colleges. My project aims to better understand the TRU global competence program and its effectiveness and learn from the model. To achieve these goals, I utilize questionnaires on global competence with 300 students in Beijing and interviews with 15 TRU faculty and students involved in the TRU global competence program. In this presentation I will share my research findings
1 - Basic Online Accessibility
No full textWhile we celebrate the past 50 years our Future Friday sub-theme provides inspiration to consider what is to come. Accessibility is the way of the future. TRU prides itself as being an open university, yet if students or potential students cannot easily navigate and read our websites and online documents, we are creating barriers for them. In this presentation we will introduce ways to improve accessibility of common online/digital teaching materials, by considering elements such as headings, links, media, tables, images, and colour. We will consider ways to make complex images, such as charts, diagrams and illustrations, more accessible. By the end of this presentation you should be able to identify basic accessibility issues and propose solutions. You will also take away a resource toolkit for creating accessible materials
POSTER: How do Undergraduate Students Choose Elective Courses? The Role of Course Characteristics
No full textThe study uses survey data from 246 students in the School of Business and Economics to examine the role that characteristics of a course play when students choose elective courses. Over 80% of students surveyed consider course characteristics to be an important or a very important factor in choosing an elective course. One example of a specific course characteristic used in the survey is being interesting; 91% of students surveyed consider that as an important or a very important factor. Also, 86% consider a course being useful as important or very important. Other course characteristics considered important or very important are being fun (65% of students surveyed) and being easy (52% of students surveyed). The study broke down the sample by gender, year of study, and residency and examined how the different groups of respondents view each of the course characteristics in choosing their elective courses
Population Analysis of Invasive Goldfish (Carassius auratus) in Dragon Lake, BC
No full textThe common goldfish (Carassius auratus), an invasive species in British Columbia, has been introduced into several waterbodies containing rainbow trout throughout the province. In 2009, a productive population of goldfish was identified by the Ministry of Forest, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (MFLNRORD) in Dragon Lake, a eutrophic lake near Quesnel, British Columbia. Electrofishing was used to collect a sample of goldfish from Dragon Lake in order to analyze their population. The goldfish appeared to exist in 4 separate age cohorts, and there was a significant relationship between length and weight with a linear regression of the natural log of length and weight with an equation of y=-12.78+3.44x. The goldfish also displayed a growth rate that slowed between the ages of 5 and 6 years old. To limit damages caused by invasive goldfish the BC government should undertake immediate action to eradicate or reduce the goldfish population within Dragon Lake; public education to help eliminate further goldfish introductions is also needed
Analysis of Solar Potential in British Columbia: A Geospatial Reference to the Province’s Hotspots for Solar Generation
No full textIn today’s economy, energy generation has moved to the forefront of technological and environmental innovation with a growing shift towards renewable energy. Further investigation suggests that solar power generation is one of the most promising forms of renewable energy, compared to hydroelectric generation, as it is not as restricted by land or water. This project analyzes the viability of solar energy as a renewable resource within British Columbia (BC). By compiling spatial data of BC, we isolated variables of slope, elevation, solar azimuth and the resulting hillshade effect. Using Esri ArcGIS mapping software, we compiled this data onto a digital elevation model of a 1 metre resolution, to represent areas of the province that receive the greatest degree of incoming solar radiation, for the peak periods of each season. This data was then averaged out over the year, and visually represented through regional boundaries to better highlight areas of concentration. The preliminary results suggested that almost all of the province receives high amounts of solar radiation during most of the year, making a large proportion of the province suitable for solar power generation. When controlling for variables to highlight the best places to build solar panels, such as specified slope angles, we saw a slight reduction in viable area; however, not enough to cause any statistical significance. This resulted in the main conclusion that BC has a high geographical potential for solar power generation, and should be further explored by industry and government as an alternative, renewable source of energy
Development of Incubation Chambers for Studying Microbial Interactions in Permafrost
No full textDue to climate change, permafrost environments are changing: the active layer (which thaws seasonally) is thickening; permafrost (which has remained permanently frozen) thaw is accelerating, mobilizing the large reservoir of stored organic carbon. This stored carbon will be transformed into carbon dioxide and methane by microbial processes. Alteration of the permafrost environment can have important ecological effects, as new interactions develop between microorganisms in the thawing permafrost and with microbes in the active layer. With this knowledge, it is necessary to study how the microorganisms and the nutrients become mobilized within the permafrost and between the active layer and the permafrost. The purpose of this research is to develop a technique that will allow us to study how the microorganisms interact in the permafrost and predict what changes will occur in the microbial community. To study the nutrient and microbial mobility in permafrost, Escherichia coli DH5-alpha with the GFP plasmid will be placed in incubation chambers designed to permit or restrict microbial dispersal from the chambers. To test the chambers we will carry out qPCR to quantify the number of Escherichia coli DH5-alpha that disperse out of the chambers. The development of these incubation chambers will allow us to study how the interaction between the microorganisms from the active layer and the permafrost will affect the ecological processes that arise following permafrost thaw