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ECOLOGICAL RELEASE AND NAÏVETÉ SHAPE PREY CONSUMPTION IN A RAPIDLY EXPANDING INVASIVE PREDATOR
No full textInvasive predators face novel eco-evolutionary pressures yet processes governing shifts in prey consumption and associated trophic benefits that promote invasion success remain poorly understood. Ecological release from competitors and enemies, combined with predator and prey naïveté, is likely to shape predator–prey interactions and prey consumption by invasive predators. Thus, we predicted ecological release and increasing naivete along invasion pathways will yield broader, more flexible diets at leading edges, intermediate diets in established regions, and narrower diets in native ranges. Thus, to test this prediction, we screened 543 intestinal samples using DNA metabarcoding to understand how and why diet diversity and composition shift along an invasion pathway for a successful generalist predator, the barred owl (Strix varia), spanning its native range in Minnesota and Wisconsin, established invasive range in Oregon and Washington, and the leading invasion edge in California. Barred owls consumed 135 species across 67 families and 12 classes. The diversity of prey families consumed doubled in both the established invasion (Hill-Shannon Diversity (H) = 22.8) and leading edge (H = 23.4) stages compared to the native stage (H = 10.5). Diet composition varied among invasion stages but not seasonally, with owls consuming a greater proportion of mammals and reptiles in their native range, amphibians in the established areas, and birds and invertebrates in leading edges. Biogeographic variation in prey availability did not appear to influence the diversity or composition of prey consumed. We suggest naïveté shapes prey consumption in range-expanding predators, leading to diets composed of nutritionally poor prey where naïveté is high. Flexibility in nutritional requirements allows predators to overcome nutritional deficiencies, promoting invasion success.
The critical need for supervisory competency in policing school officials
No full textA seminar paper presented to the graduate faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science – Criminal JusticeLaw Enforcement has quickly become a career of limited support and credibility after years of turmoil surrounding use of force events, perceptions of bias policing, and failure to make significant and recognized changes. To attack the culture of policing, change is both necessary and critical to garner public support. Through research on law enforcement training, leadership and supervisory development, and organizational influence, recommendations can be made to implement leadership development programming and other strategies to positively influence the nature of policing in the United States
The benefits from human resource departments using strategic human resource management (SHRM) strategies, when involved in change management initiatives
No full textA seminar paper presented to the graduate faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science – Organizational Change LeadershipOrganizations must be willing to transition from using traditional human resource management (HRM) strategies to utilizing strategic human resource management (SHRM) strategies when necessary. When rapid changes occur in organizations, it is essential to be prepared to manage the change effectively. Organizations can benefit from creating policies and procedures that help meet their goals and objectives. Strategic human resource management strategies can help create effective methods for human resources management, and corporate management can collaborate to develop procedures when human resources management is needed. Management must be willing to collaborate with human resources management to achieve greater success. Building a competitive edge is important. This paper will explore the role of human resources in change management initiatives, focusing on how strategic human resources management strategies play a critical role in the change process
(SPANISH) Caring Together for a Baby with a Complex Medical Condition: A Guide
No full textUna guía para apoyar a los padres trabajando juntos para cuidarse del bebé con una condición médica compleja
DEVELOPING A NOVEL ROBOT-AIDED TELEREHABILITATION SYSTEM FOCUSING ON HUMAN UPPER LIMB
No full textStroke remains a leading cause of long-term disability worldwide, placing an unsustainable burden on healthcare systems due to the requirement for high-intensity, one-on-one manual therapy. While robot-assisted rehabilitation offers a solution to deliver precise, repetitive training, its widespread adoption is currently constrained by interface complexity, the necessity for co-located clinical expertise, and the lack of interoperability between disparate robotic systems. This dissertation presents the design, implementation, and validation of a novel Cyber-Physical System (CPS) framework for immersive, robot-agnostic telerehabilitation. The research is grounded in the development of the Smart Robotic Exoskeleton (SREx), a 7-Degree-of-Freedom (DoF) upper-limb device governed by a real-time EtherCAT admittance controller. To enable safe remote operation over the public internet, a "Tri-Node" Teleoperation Topology was architected using Azure Web PubSub. This architecture implements a "Local Authority" safety philosophy, where deterministic hardware constraints (velocity limits, collision prediction) reside at the edge, rendering the patient safe from network latency or jitter. To bridge the spatial and cognitive gaps inherent in telemedicine, the framework introduces two critical interfaces. First, a Mixed Reality (MR) based Digital Twin interface allows remote therapists to manipulate a "Ghost" robot to define Passive Range of Motion (PROM) limits and design functional Active Assist tasks in a shared 3D environment. Second, an Intelligent User Interface (IUI) integrates a Large Language Model (LLM) within a Neuro-Symbolic architecture. This system translates natural-language spoken commands into robot control commands, utilizing a physics-based "Pre-Flight Probe" to ensure that AI-generated trajectories are kinematically safe before execution. Experimental validation with healthy participants demonstrated the system’s ability to maintain stable control loops (≈ 10 Hz) with minimal jitter over commercial broadband.2027-01-2
The need for smarter officers: Educational requirement recommendations to peace officer standards and training boards
No full textA seminar paper presented to the graduate faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science – Criminal JusticeDespite the growing complexity of modern policing and the reform demands to improve police officer performance and training, few states require officers to hold a college degree, and field training and recertification standards vary widely. This paper aims to persuade law enforcement licensing boards to increase education and training requirements in policing. To accomplish this, this paper uses existing literature to explore the history of education in policing, the current trends and perceptions of education in law enforcement, and how education impacts policing outcomes in areas such as use-of-force, misconduct, performance, and self-efficacy. Then, using Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa as case studies, this research highlights the potential for structured higher education, formalized field training, and robust continuing education to improve officer competence. The Cognitive Development, Constructivist, and Adult Learning Theories serve as the foundation for recommendations. Recommendations begin by offering Minnesota’s Professional Peace Officer Education (PPOE) model as a viable framework for a higher education requirement in policing. Next, a formal field training requirement is emphasized as a critical bridge between academic learning and practical experience, addressing gaps that can occur when officers enter the field without formal assessment. Finally, increased recertification training requirements, particularly in non-technical areas such as bias reduction, de-escalation, and trauma-informed care, are discussed as a method to enhance professional development by linking real-world experiences to ongoing curriculum. Overall, this study provides evidence-based recommendations for POST boards to create a comprehensive, structured educational framework that strengthens officer performance while fostering a culture of lifelong learning in policing
Identifying Potential Sources of Natural Recruitment for Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) in Green Bay, Lake Michigan
No full textHistorically, Green Bay, Lake Michigan, supported a self-sustaining muskellunge Esox masquinongy population. However, like many muskellunge populations throughout the Great Lakes, they were extirpated from Green Bay by the mid-1930s. Re-establishing a self-sustaining population within Green Bay is a goal of several active management and restoration efforts, including the Lower Green Bay and Fox River Area of Concern (AOC) Remedial Action Plan and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Great Lakes Spotted Musky management plan. Annual stockings within lower Green Bay and the Sturgeon Bay area have resulted in the creation of a world-renowned trophy fishery. However, limited evidence of natural reproduction suggests that natural recruitment of muskellunge is low and the population remains reliant on stocking. Several recent research studies have focused on understanding the influence of habitat characteristics associated with muskellunge egg deposition and successful hatching in Green Bay tributaries. The results of these studies suggest that major tributaries to Green Bay may provide limited suitable spawning habitat for muskellunge and potentially low hatching success. However, both anecdotal evidence and telemetry data suggest that nearshore (≤ 1000 m from shore) locations in lower Green Bay proper, including the Sturgeon Bay area, may represent a potential source of natural recruitment. Due to uncertainties surrounding muskellunge natural recruitment in nearshore, non-tributary habitats within Green Bay, my objectives were to determine if: 1) successful hatching occurs in nearshore locations in Green Bay proper, including locations in the Sturgeon Bay area; 2) presence of eggs or age-0 muskellunge at a location is related to a suite of habitat characteristics including dissolved oxygen concentration, water temperature, substrate composition, substrate diversity, coarse woody habitat presence, depth, bottom slope, aquatic vegetation relative abundance, distance from shore, and shoreline alteration; and 3) muskellunge spawning in the Sturgeon Bay area contribute to the overall Green Bay population. During 2024 and 2025, a total of 312 individual sites in lower Green Bay and the Sturgeon Bay area were sampled for eggs using a combination of a diaphragm pump, D-frame dip nets, and egg mats. A total of 281 individual sites were sampled for larval muskellunge using a combination of conical ichthyoplankton trawls and D-frame dip nets. Fifty-seven sites were sampled for juvenile muskellunge using a seine. In addition, habitat characteristics were recorded at each site. To assess patterns in habitat use, I characterized and compared distributions of habitat variables between sites where eggs and/or age-0 muskellunge were and were not present. For this, I utilized box-and whisker plots and Mann-Whitney U tests (α = 0.05) for habitat variables with continuous data (dissolved oxygen concentration, water temperature, substrate composition, substrate diversity, depth, bottom slope, and distance to shore). For categorical habitat variables (shoreline alteration, aquatic vegetation relative abundance, and coarse woody habitat presence), I created contingency tables showing the frequencies of each category and used chi-square tests to determine if these frequency distributions differed between sites where eggs and/or age-0 muskellunge were and were not present. Using these distributions and the results of these comparisons I attempted to develop a series of general guidelines to characterize where muskellunge eggs and age-0 muskellunge were found relative to where they were not to help guide future sampling and habitat restoration efforts. Muskellunge eggs were collected at 14 sites, with four sites in lower Green Bay, nine sites in Little Sturgeon Bay, and one site in Sawyer Harbor. Egg sites were characterized by shallow (< 1 m), near shore (≤ 10 m) habitats with relatively high substrate diversity. Nine age-0 muskellunge were captured, with two captured in Sawyer Harbor and seven captured in Little Sturgeon Bay. Age-0 muskellunge were associated with shallow (≤ 1.25 m), near shore (< 8 m) habitats that included coarse woody habitat, aquatic vegetation, and organic matter within the substrate. To assess contribution of adult muskellunge that spawn in the Sturgeon Bay area to the overall Green Bay population, 20 individuals across Little Sturgeon Bay, Sawyer Harbor, and Sturgeon Bay proper were implanted with acoustic transmitters during the annual spawning window. Three individuals were tagged in 2024 and 17 were tagged in 2025. Data collection is ongoing and will span the ten-year battery life of the transmitters. Preliminary detection data from the three individuals tagged in 2024 suggests that muskellunge spawning in the Sturgeon Bay area leave the area and move into southern Green Bay after spawning. Two of three individuals were subsequently detected within or near the Lower Green Bay and Fox River AOC, with one individual detected on a receiver located near the northern boundary of the Lower Green Bay and Fox River AOC and another individual detected by a receiver located along Renard Island. Muskellunge hatching is occurring in the Sturgeon Bay area, particularly in Little Sturgeon Bay and Sawyer Harbor. Little Sturgeon Bay yielded both the highest number of sites with eggs and the highest number of age-0 muskellunge. This evidence indicates that these locations support both viable spawning and nursery habitat. In light of these observations, managers could adjust current stocking strategies and stock additional muskellunge within Little Sturgeon Bay and Sawyer Harbor to promote natural recruitment under the premise that stocked fish will eventually return to these locations to spawn. This approach could support progress toward establishing a self-sustaining muskellunge population within Green Bay
Context Dependent Effects of Large Carnivores on Mesocarnivores: Pumas and Foxes in Patagonia
No full textLarge carnivores often structure mesocarnivore communities through strong negative suppressive effects such as killing, predation, and resulting fear. However, it is increasingly apparent that ecological context can strongly influence the nature and strength of these large carnivore effects. Research assessing variability of interactions among carnivores remains limited, especially within the same community in different contexts. To better understand this variation, we quantified the spatial and temporal response of South American foxes (Lycalopex griseus and Lycalopex culpaeus) to puma (Puma concolor) presence and provisioning of guanaco (Lama guanicoe) carrion in Monte León National Park and Parque Patagonia, Argentina. We built models of puma space use and guanaco killsite location in each site utilizing movement data from puma GPS collars and GPS cluster investigation data, respectively. We integrated these models with trail camera data as detection covariates in occupancy models for foxes. Despite both sites being a steppe ecosystem and having identical carnivore and similar terrestrial vertebrate communities, we found patterns of puma space use and hunting varied between sites. These differences created different landscapes of risk (puma use) and reward (guanaco carrion), which drove different spatio-temporal responses of foxes. In Monte León, where pumas were concentrated, predictable, and risk and reward were correlated, foxes showed
strong spatial avoidance of pumas and their hunting areas. In Parque Patagonia, where pumas were dispersed, unpredictable, and risk and reward were largely uncorrelated, foxes showed only weak temporal avoidance and of pumas and hunting areas. This difference in puma behavior and fox response appears to be the result of geography and a colony of Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) which concentrated high-densities of pumas into canyons in Monte León, conditions which were not present in Parque Patagonia where more complex terrain did not link pumas strongly to any geographic feature, leading to a more dispersed distribution.
These results show the response of mesocarnivores to large carnivores is not fixed, but a dynamic response to myriad conditions that vary even between similar sites with the same carnivore community
Risk management best practices in the consumer goods industry supply chain: Combating Disruption and volatility
No full textAn Educational Project presented to the graduate faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science - Integrated Supply Chain ManagementGlobalization has made supply chains more complex, exposing organizations to a greater risk of disruptions. In the consumer goods industry, everyday household essentials are critical to people’s daily lives. Disruptions can directly affect millions of households and significantly impact organizational performance. This study examines supply chain risk management (SCRM) practices in the consumer goods industry to identify strategies that can strengthen supply chain resilience and agility amid disruption and volatility. Drawing on secondary analyses of case studies, academic journals, and industry research, this paper explores how supply chain leaders can better anticipate disruptions and mitigate their vulnerabilities by adopting best practices. The goal of this paper is to provide a framework for those leaders to increase operational continuity, maintain their consumers’ trust, and reduce the impact of disruptions and volatility
CHARACTERIZING AND DIAGNOSING SUBCLINICAL MASTITIS IN DAIRY SHEEP
No full textSubclinical mastitis, defined as intramammary inflammation in the absence of observable clinical signs, is a major health, welfare, and production challenge in dairy sheep. Yet, its detection and management remain limited by the subtle nature of the disease, lack of methods for accurate early diagnosis, and scarce antimicrobial resistance information. This thesis investigates subclinical mastitis from two complementary perspectives: ewe activity measures and milking-parlor events as potential indicators of disease, and the bacterial etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of intramammary infections in a commercial dairy sheep farm.
In the first research chapter, it was evaluated whether ewe behavior and milking parlor events differed between ewes with and without subclinical mastitis, using the California mastitis test (CMT) to define the ewe’s mastitis status and somatic cell count (SCC) as a quantitative measure of inflammation. Leg-mounted loggers quantified lying time and overall movement outside of the milking parlor, while video observations during milking captured ewe behavioral responses (stepping, weight shifting, and sitting on the rear rail), alongside operational events including human handling and milking-machine detachments. CMT-positive ewes had significantly higher SCC than CMT-negative ewes, consistent with the expectation that elevated CMT scores reflect increased inflammation. Behavioral differences were subtle: although milking-parlor behaviors and overall movement outside of milking did not differ by mastitis status, CMT-positive ewes spent more time lying at night than CMT-negative ewes, suggesting a context-dependent behavioral expression of pain or illness. Parity and seasonal conditions influenced several behaviors such as detachment, weight shifting, and bar sitting, underscoring the importance of environmental and individual factors when interpreting behavioral indicators.
The second research chapter characterized the bacterial species associated with subclinical mastitis and evaluated antimicrobial susceptibility across ten commonly used antibiotics. Non-aureus staphylococci dominated the pathogen profile,
particularly Staphylococcus simulans, S. epidermidis, and S. auricularis, while Staphylococcus aureus was absent, likely reflecting effective farm management and culling practices.
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed frequent resistance to penicillin-class drugs among non-aureus staphylococci, whereas erythromycin and tetracycline generally remained effective. However, many organism–drug combinations lacked Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) breakpoints, limiting interpretability and highlighting the need for sheep-specific standards.
Taken together, these findings demonstrate that subclinical mastitis in dairy sheep involves subtle behavioral changes, substantial etiologic diversity dominated by non-aureus staphylococci, and notable β-lactam resistance. The results support a management framework that integrates CMT-based screening with targeted bacteriological culture, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and attention to parity and seasonal factors. This integrated approach can improve early detection, guide responsible antimicrobial use, and enhance both udder health and animal welfare in dairy sheep production systems