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Stories of Animal Psyche
Get PDFThere is an abundance of research on animal behaviors when faced with human activity: reports on urban coyotes, beaver-induced flooding, and more. However, this research is only available to people who seek out scientific articles to read, and thus the information remains undistributed to the wider population. This project is designed to bridge that gap, by taking such reports and transforming them into short stories– creative writing from the animal’s perspective, following them and their thoughts as they face the challenges presented by humans every day. A raccoon interrupts a marsh restoration project by eating ribbed mussels that are valuable to the revitalization of the wetland, a beaver rebuilds its dam time and time again despite sabotage by indignant humans, and a coyote family fends off deadly threats to their pups when fear of the small predators envelops a nearby town. An emotional, deep story will invoke a more passionate response than unfeeling, complicated reports, and can reach a much wider audience. In many cultures, telling stories has always been the way to pass knowledge from one generation to the next, so we are continuing that trajectory, in the hopes of spreading knowledge and understanding to those long deprived of it.NASUNY PlattsburghCenter for Earth & Environmental ScienceN/
Micro-rubber Menace: Pinpointing Particles in Freshwater Systems
No full textMicroplastics are a growing concern within freshwater ecosystems and can be found from many sources including landfills, tires, and textiles. They are transported many ways (e.g., wind, runoff, wastewater treatment plant discharges) and biofoul overtime, changing their density and location within the water column. One type of microplastic is microrubber, elastomer particles <= 1mm in size. These are often found from tire abrasion or polyisoprene rubber pellets. Rubber pellets were found in Lake Champlain long-term monitoring (LTM) samples, which were acquired during vertical net sampling that monitors for changes in phytoplankton, zooplankton communities while noting invasive species. We predicted that microrubber will be in greater abundance near urban sites. We examined LTM samples for microrubber and used Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and OpenSpecy to determine the plastics composition. Our results concluded that there was no pattern to microrubber distribution within Lake Champlain and that their presence was recorded lakeside from 2012 onward. In the future, we will continue to process more LTM and tributary samples, and research possible sources of microrubber. To limit the microplastics leaching into our freshwater systems, we must first identify the sources, then find ways to mitigate and manage plastic pollution.NASUNY PlattsburghCenter for Earth & Environmental ScienceN/ABegum, NurjahanStumpf, AndreaDegrenier, ArdenJefferson, Ann
The effects of mood state and self-compassion writing on social reactivity and executive function
No full textNASUNY College at New PaltzPsychologyMSHirshorn, ElizabethGeher, GlennWice, Matthe
Olive branch: an exploration of live performance technology
Get PDFNASUNY College at New PaltzHonorsN/
Adaptive Management Essential to Long-Term Nitrogen Removal Success in an Urban Tidal Wetland
No full textSurface waters in New York City (NYC) are polluted by billions of gallons of untreated wastewater annually from combined sewage overflows (CSOs), contributing to nutrient pollution and poor water quality. Coastal wetlands have the ability to improve water quality and reduce the risk of flooding, but NYC has lost over 85% of its wetlands to urban development. The loss of coastal wetlands in NYC has led to an increase in vulnerability to flooding from coastal storms, sea level rise, and pollution of local waterways. New nature-based infrastructure for restoring ecosystem services and stabilizing NYC’s shorelines uses natural materials such as marsh plants, shell bags, and rocks to attenuate wave energy, provide buffers, and remove pollutants from the water. Here we synthesize the results of a multi-year study of the Sherman Creek Living Shoreline in New York, NY. We conducted studies of shoreline habitat types pre- (2019) and post- restoration (2020), following a mussel-addition experiment (2021), and following the implementation of enhanced goose-exclusion techniques (2023). In each year, we collected sediment cores from shoreline habitat types (mudflat, rip-rap, existing marsh, new marsh) and performed continuous-flow incubations to quantify dissolved gas and nutrient fluxes, with the goal of comparing rates of nitrogen removal among habitat types. We also assessed above- and belowground biomass and sediment characteristics of each habitat. We found greater sediment organic content in the existing marsh, but similar rates of nitrogen removal via denitrification in the existing and newly restored marsh. Adding mussels to the marsh plants increased nitrogen removal. Post goose-exclusion, we saw plant growth similar to that of the existing marsh, showing that managing species interactions can have a positive effect on the benefits provided by living shorelines.NASUNY PlattsburghCenter for Earth & Environmental ScienceMSAlldred, MaryZarnoch, ChesterFuss, Coli
Analysis of random and directed migration of Dictyostelium discoideum mutants.
Get PDFDictyostelium discoideum is a model organism due to its similarities with human cells. Dictyostelium cells lacking an adhesion and migration regulator KrsB were mutagenized to look for candidates that can rescue these cells. Three mutants will be characterized by comparing their random and directed migration to wild-type and KrsB-null controls.Biological SciencesArtemenko, Yuli
Assessing Gammarus sp. Survival in Different Salinity Treatments of Pond Water at Rice Creek Field Station
Get PDFThe salinization of the Great Lakes due to human activities has had a profound impact on native aquatic organisms. The survival of scud (Gammarus sp.) was measured in three levels of salinity, with Gammarus having a much lower survival rate in higher salinities.Biological SciencesHellquist, C. Eri
Identity and density of herbivore taxa do not affect quantum yield and leaf tissue quality.
Get PDFHerbivory is the first step of the food web and provides energy to ecosystems. We studied how multiple herbivore taxa may influence tissue and quantum yield in milkweed leaves. Amount of herbivorous species did not affect quantum yield or dead tissue. Type of herbivorous species did not affect dead tissue.Biological SciencesHellquist, C. Eri
Generation of Dictyostelium discoideum Cells Lacking Adhesion Proteins Talin A and B Using CRISPR/Cas9
Get PDFDictyostelium discoideum is a common model organism used to study migration. Shear flow can be used as a signal to guide cell migration, although the mechanism is poorly understood. To determine the role of cell adhesion in this process, we are generating knockouts of adhesion mediator, Talin, using CRISPR/Cas9.Biological SciencesArtemenko, Yuli
Optimizing Neural Efficiency: Implementing Binarized Neural Networks for Binary Classification
Get PDFTo improve training stability and performance, this study introduces an improved Binary Neural Network (BNN) that uses a tan-based gradient approximation for binarization. The model's effectiveness in classifying tasks is demonstrated by comparing it to an implementation based on NumPy. Results from experiments show increased accuracy and convergence, which makes it more useful in settings with limited resources.Biomedical and Health InformaticsWang, Xiaolian