Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Hiltz, Clinton David, Thesis advisor (ths): Aherne, Julian, Degree committee member (dgc): Helm, Paul, Degree committee member (dgc): Metcalfe, Chris, Degree committee member (dgc): Dang, Huy, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>This thesis determined the temporal dynamics of microplastics in the biosolid and final effluent of a WWTP for one year (October 2020–September 2021). The WWTP exported 354.1 ± 24.7 billion microplastic particles, or 296.7 ± 39.4 kg of microplastics; of this, 85.7% of counts and 86.6% of mass was exported via biosolids. As such, microplastic loads in biosolids need to be reduced before… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Animal migration is defined as the seasonal movement from one independent and non-overlapping range to another. Understanding how and why animals migrate is important not only to understand their life history processes but also for informing other important ecological processes such as the spread of wildlife disease and habitat alteration. Animal migrations have been impacted by human… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs), commonly known as Batten disease, are a family of fatal neurodegenerative disorders that primarily affect children. Several subtypes of NCLs have been reported, each being caused by a mutation in a distinct ceroid lipofuscinosis neuronal (CLN) gene; this results in aberrant lysosome function and the accumulation of lipoprotein aggregates (known… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Taylor, Courtney Erin, Thesis advisor (ths): Dunlop, Erin S, Degree committee member (dgc): Lauzon, Ryan, Degree committee member (dgc): Raby, Graham, Degree committee member (dgc): Rennie, Michael, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Lake Huron's food web has experienced drastic changes in response to multiple stressors including declines in offshore productivity, decreased trophic transfer efficiency and a transformation of the benthic food web. However, how these changes have affected the diets and isotopic niches of predatory fish is largely unexplored. My diet study analysed stomach contents from five… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Darwinian fitness is determined by the outcome of allocations of energy and nutrients to plant growth, survival, and reproduction. Allocations to reproduction differ from allocations to growth and survival because the products of reproduction (pollen, ovules, and fruits) are dispersed away from the plant and so the resources used to produce them cannot be re-allocated. As a result, and… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Fungi are a diverse group of organisms that play crucial roles in various ecological processes and have immense economic importance. Understanding the intricate mechanisms underlying fungal growth and development is fundamental to harnessing their potential and exploring their applications in different fields. Signalling molecules, such as hormones, have been identified as key regulators… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Agricultural and urban land uses have been linked to the recent resurgence of eutrophication and salinization issues in the lower Great Lakes. This thesis examined the relationship between watershed land use and stream nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), total phosphorus (TP), and chloride (Cl) concentrations across southern Ontario. Using a self-organizing map analysis, the watersheds were… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Due to climate change and managed care, birds may face interacting effects of novel diets and environmental temperatures. I examined how captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) responded to a 6-month acclimation to either thermoneutral or cool temperatures when provided with saturated or unsaturated fatty acid enriched diets. Body mass was lower on the unsaturated fatty acid diet,… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Animals are essential to freshwater biogeochemistry and productivity. Through their excretion, aquatic consumers release bioavailable nutrients and carbon that can vary with animal taxonomic rank, trophic position, and abiotic factors such as light and nutrient supply. In fresh waters, light and nutrient supply is often modulated by dissolved organic matter (DOM), a "murky"… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Phosphorus is the growth-limiting nutrient in freshwater environments. Dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) refers to phosphorus within dissolved organic matter (DOM). Much of DOP is bioavailable, but it is poorly understood due to its complexity. This thesis explores the export DOP to Lake Erie from its tributaries, by investigating its speciation and concentration seasonally through… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Knight, Caitlyn, Thesis advisor (ths): Kapron, Carolyn, Degree committee member (dgc): Tobin, Stephanie, Degree committee member (dgc): Huber, Robert, Degree committee member (dgc): West, Sarah, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Cadmium is a toxic metal that has detrimental effects on blood vessel development and function. To examine the effect of varying concentrations of cadmium on angiogenesis, two in vitro assays were used. First, developing yolk sac blood vessels were studied in gestation day 8 mouse embryos exposed to medium alone, 1.25, or 1.75 μM cadmium chloride (CdCl2). Embryos exposed to 1.25 μM… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Giardia intestinalis is the causative agent of a diarrheal disease in mammals, but the mechanisms of disease pathogenesis are unclear. While proteins secreted by Giardia affect the host cells, the potential of hormone secretion has not been investigated to date. Cytokinins (CKs) are classified as phytohormones, but little is known about their role beyond plants. Mass spectrometry-based… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Population cycles are characterized by predictable temporal oscillations in population size and are influenced by densities of both predators and prey. These oscillations are influenced by the predator functional response, i.e. the influence of prey density on predator kill rate. The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a predatory mammal with cyclic northern populations driven by snowshoe… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>We studied the physiological and molecular responses of lab-grown Daphnia pulex to shifts in dietary (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and cyanobacteria) and growth media (calcium) nutrient supply using a set of potential biomarkers via qPCR. Each examined nutrient had a strong effect on Daphnia mass-specific growth rate, and we found significant dose-dependent effects of treatment level (… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Understanding threats to declining species at multiple stages of their annual cycle is important for determining the cause of their declines and conserving their populations. To assess potential responses to changing habitat and predators under climate change, I compared the nest site characteristics, responses to human intruders, and migratory patterns between Short-billed Dowitchers… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Schaffer, Zivi Raiden, Thesis advisor (ths): Power, Ian M, Degree committee member (dgc): Rausis, Kwon, Degree committee member (dgc): Aherne, Julian, Degree committee member (dgc): Dang, Huy, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Dissolved inorganic carbon in drainage waters is a direct measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2) removal from enhanced rock weathering (ERW) in soils. In this study, square metre scale field experiments (2021–2023) were conducted in Peterborough Ontario, Canada, each amended with kimberlite residues from Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine (Northwest Territories, Canada) or olivine powder at high… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>A key knowledge gap in aeolian transport research concerns the adjustment of saltation processes to the extreme conditions found within high-latitude regions. A series of wind tunnel experiments were carried out under full climate control and over a wide range in humidity. Particle entrainment and transport within shearing flows of varied wind speed were monitored over beds of varied… more Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Dissolved organic matter (DOM) plays a vital role in lake ecosystems, yet its temporal and spatial variations in lakes remain poorly understood. This study investigates DOM dynamics in boreal lakes during the warm season and the Laurentian Great Lakes ice during winter. Sampling 10 boreal lakes in early and late June 2022, revealed subtle changes in DOM in the epilimnion and hypolimnion… more Year: 2023, 2023
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Orr, Amanda, Thesis advisor (ths): Stotesbury, Theresa, Thesis advisor (ths): Wilson, Paul, Degree committee member (dgc): Stotesbury, Theresa, Degree committee member (dgc): Wilson, Paul, Degree committee member (dgc): Stock, Naomi, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Access to human blood for forensic research and training in bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA) can be difficult due to many ethical, safety and cost concerns. Mammalian blood alternatives can be sourced, especially from local and willing abattoirs, but some concerns remain, and the added difficulties of high variation and species-specific differences in cellular components pose other… more Full Text: The design of DNA-containing biomaterials for forensic science A Thesis Submitted to the Committee of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Science TRENT UNIVERSITY …
Year: 2023, 2023
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Objectives/purpose: This study examined the psychosocial health (including resilience, hope, social functioning, mental wellbeing, and stress) of childhood cancer patients attending a recreational oncology camp (ROC).Methods: Childhood cancer patients enrolled for ROC participated in a survey on the first (T1) and last (T2) day of camp, and 3 months post-camp (T3). This survey included… more Full Text: THE EFFECT OF ONCOLOGY CAMP ON THE PSYCHOSOCIAL HEALTH OF CHILDHOOD CANCER PATIENTS A Thesis Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the Faculty of Arts and Science …
