1,720,955 research outputs found
Investigating Microplastic Ingestion in Ringed Seals (Pusa hispida) from the Eastern Canadian Arctic
No full textAnthropogenic pollution in the form of microplastics is present across the world’s oceans, including the Arctic. Ringed seals (Pusa hispida) play an essential role in Arctic marine food webs as predators for fish and invertebrates and prey for polar bears and humans. Their position in the food web may lead to the ingestion and accumulation of microplastics within their stomach, which poses risks to their overall health. However, limited data exist on the accumulation of microplastic within seal species from the Canadian Arctic. To better understand the extent of microplastic accumulation in ringed seals, thirty-five seal stomachs were collected in collaboration with Inuit hunters and trappers from Arviat and Resolute Bay, Nunavut, Canada. Stomachs were dissected, and contents passed through a series of sieves to fractionate contents based on size (< 53 µm - 1000 µm). The material in each sieve was digested for up to seven days using 20% potassium hydroxide, and anthropogenic particles were isolated using vacuum filtration. Optical microscopy was utilized to count and categorize plastics based on color and morphology, and polymer type was determined by Raman microspectroscopy. Preliminary results (n=6) reveal that ringed seals from both study sites ingest microfibers and micro-fragments less than <1000 µm. Confirmed microplastics were yellow or black and identified as polypropylene, polycarbonate, or polyester. This data will provide baseline information for future plastic pollution monitoring programs in the circumpolar arctic.
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Matthew Ross 
Post-management dietary dynamics in spottail shiner (Notropis hudosonius) and trout-perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus) from 2009-2011 and 2013 in Lac la Biche, Alberta
No full textPiscivorous fish stocking is a popular restoration strategy used to sustain fisheries as they provide quick recreational fishing benefits. However, fluctuations in predatory abundance could impose top-down effects on lower trophic level fish species like spottail shiner (Notropis hudosonius) and trout-perch (Percopsis omiscomaycus) resulting in dietary shifts. In 2005, the Lac lac Biche Alberta Fisheries Restoration Program was created to address depressed walleye (Sander vitreus) populations due to overfishing. Predatory double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) were culled and their eggs oiled, and walleye stocks were added to the lake in 2006 to restore walleye populations. The objectives of this research are to understand the diets of spottail shiner and trout-perch and to observe if the spottail shiner diet shifted after management. Stomach contents of thirty-five spottail shiners and ten trout-perch across Lac la Biche, Alberta from 2009-2011and 2013 were analyzed for four prey groups: macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, phytoplankton, and microplastics. Phytoplankton was the most consumed prey group in both spottail shiners and trout-perch, representing over 61% and 78% respectively of their diets. Phytoplankton and zooplankton consumption decreased whereas macroinvertebrate consumption increased. Sphaeriidae, Chironomidae, Chyprididae, and Stephanodiscaceae were consumed throughout all sampled years, although there were fluctuations in Cyprididae, Chironomidae, and Sphaeriidae between years, possibly demonstrating top down-effects on macroinvertebrate species prey abundance. An average of four microplastics were found in the stomachs of both species and consumption remained stable throughout 2009-2013. Evidence of top-down effects on spottail shiner and trout-perch diets due to walleye stocking is still unclear, as other possible indicators like pollution, could pose potential alternative stressors on feeding behaviors of lower trophic level species.
However, this study increases the knowledge of spottail shiner and trout-perch diets, fosters research on understanding this little-studied biota, and informs future policy and management practice.
Department: Biology
Faculty Mentors: Dr. David Locky and Dr. Mrinal Da
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Finding comfort in a world of uncertainty: Exploring Ecological grief and anxiety through support circles
No full textThe exponential effects of climate change have increased fear and uncertainty of youths’ and young adults\u27 futures, negatively impacting psychological well-being. Hickman et al. 2021, found that 60% of youth (aged 16-25) feel “very” or “extremely” worried about climate change, and 45% of participants say that climate anxiety affects their everyday life. MacEwan’s Wellness and Psychological Services (WPS) are seeing an increased prevalence of ecological grief and anxiety expressed by students, specifically those studying environmental science; however, there is very little support for these individuals. Grief circles have been used to address grief and loss in various ways in psychology. When facilitated well, group discussions and grief circles remain among the most effective ways to process eco-grief, eco-anxiety, and climate trauma. With this in mind, we decided to bring an eco-grief peer support group to MacEwan campus. This project brings together WPS, Eco-SAMU, and student groups to support participants as they process their experiences of eco-grief and eco-anxiety. This includes the creation of resources and the implementation of a facilitation training program for peer supporters to build skills and confidence to facilitate the volunteer-led eco-grief peer support circles. Ultimately, our initiative seeks to build the capacity of students, staff, faculty, and the wider community to empower action and environmental justice initiatives in a healthy, sustainable, and inclusive way. We envision this project becoming a staple Eco-SAMU program with the support of students and staff so that support circles can be held on a regular basis.
Faculty Mentors: Helena Dayal & Sydney Benne
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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