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Graduate Theses & Dissertations
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- Mercury and Persistent Organic Pollutants in Remote Acid Sensitive Irish Lake Catchments
- A catchment-based study was carried out at three remote acid sensitive Irish lakes to determine concentrations of Hg and POPs and to investigate the factors governing the partitioning of these pollutants in various environmental matrices. Both Hg and POPs are an environmental concern due to their ability to travel long distances via atmospheric transport and their tendency to accumulate in biota and in various environmental compartments. Concentrations of POPs and Hg measured in this study were relatively low and consistent with concentrations measured at background levels around the world. Mercury concentrations appeared to be influenced by various site characteristics, specifically organic matter. Many of the POPs examined in this study appeared to be present as a result of long-range transport and more specifically; the physico-chemical properties of POPs appeared to dictate their distribution within soils, moss and sediment at each of the study catchments. Author Keywords:
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- Imagining a National Research Centre
- The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) convened in 2008 and focused on the impact of the residential school on Indigenous people in Canada. It was intended to initiate healing in Indigenous communities while contributing to new understandings between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. In 2015, the TRC's mandate must be completed, and its final task is creating a National Research Centre (NRC) at the University of Manitoba that will hold all of the documentation generated and collected throughout the TRC's tenure. In this thesis I examine many of the challenges the NRC faces, such as lack of funding, institutional oversight, and the enormity of balancing the needs of Indigenous survivors and their communities against building an accessible archive. At a broader level, questions remain about how successful the TRC has been in achieving reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, and how the NRC can work to fulfill this goal. Author Keywords: archives, Canada, Indigenous, museums, residential schools, truth and reconciliation
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- Hunnic Warfare in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries C.E.
- The Huns are one of the most misunderstood and mythologized barbarian invaders encountered by the Roman Empire. They were described by their contemporaries as savage nomadic warriors with superior archery skills, and it is this image that has been written into the history of the fall of the Western Roman Empire and influenced studies of Late Antiquity through countless generations of scholarship. This study examines evidence of Hunnic archery, questions the acceptance and significance of the “Hunnic archer” image, and situates Hunnic archery within the context of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. To achieve a more accurate picture of the importance of archery in Hunnic warfare and society, this study undertakes a mortuary analysis of burial sites associated with the Huns in Europe, a tactical and logistical study of mounted archery and Late Roman and Hunnic military engagements, and an analysis of the primary and secondary literature. Author Keywords: Archer, Barbarian, Bow, Hun, Roman, Weapon
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- Doing it Right
- The cyanidation technique is currently a viable technique for gold recovery that can replace the present amalgamation technique in Guyana. To implement this technique effectively, laboratory scale experiments and at scale runs were conducted to determine the best particle size of the ore, cyanide concentration, and leaching time. In addition, the profitability of cyanidation was compared to the amalgamation technique so as to describe the economic value of cyanidation. Results indicated that up to 94% of gold can be recovered from the ore using an ore particle size of 150 (105 µm), meshes, a cyanide concentration of 0.05% and leaching for 24 h. An economic comparison of this technique with the amalgamation technique indicated that although initial costs are high for the cyanidation technique, profits as high as 83% can be achieved after initializing this method whereas profits would be capped at approximately 25% for the amalgamation technique. Keywords: gold recovery, cyanidation, mercury amalgamation, activated car Author Keywords: activated carbon, cyanidation, gold recovery, mercury amalgamation
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- Why not give up? A study on the role of resourcefulness in goal pursuit
- Past research suggests that taking a process oriented approach, setting clear and concrete goals, and using both conscious planning and proactive coping are the best methods to be successful with goal pursuit. Also the literature has found that individuals scoring higher in general resourcefulness tend to be more successful at achieving goals than their less resourceful counterparts. My thesis looked at these goal pursuit behaviours under the lens of resourcefulness using a mixed methods approach. After completing Rosenbaum’s self-control scale (1980) assessing general resourcefulness, participants took part in a semi-structured interview asking them about a recent goal they had set and how they dealt with interfering obstacles. The hope was hearing differences about how highly and less resourceful people discuss their goals and setbacks would give a deeper understanding about the characteristics of success. The themes emerging from the interviews were: blame and excuses versus understanding and growth, internal versus external factors, living in the moment versus conscious planning and magical versus realistic thinking. In contrast to low-scoring participants, highly resourceful individuals grew from their setbacks, were internally driven, consciously planned, and thought realistically about their goals. Less resourceful individual, on the other hand blamed outside factors and made excuses, were only motivated externally, didn’t plan out their goals and believed their goals would just magically materialize over time. My discussion focuses on the ability to train lower resourceful individuals over longer interventions, and the applications of understanding and using resourcefulness as a lens in future studies. Author Keywords: Goal, Habits, Quitting, Resourcefulness, Self-Control, Success
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- Sex-Specific Graphs
- Sex-specific genetic structure is a commonly observed pattern among vertebrate species. Facing differential selective pressures, individuals may adopt sex-specific life historical traits that ultimately shape genetic variation among populations. Although differential dispersal dynamics are commonly detected in the literature, few studies have investigated the potential effect of sex-specific functional connectivity on genetic structure. The recent uses of Graph Theory in landscape genetics have demonstrated network capacities to describe complex system behaviors where network topology intuitively represents genetic interaction among sub-units. By implementing a sex-specific network approach, our results suggest that Sex-Specific Graphs (SSG) are sensitive to differential male and female dispersal dynamics of a fisher (Martes pennanti) metapopulation in southern Ontario. Our analyses based on SSG topologies supported the hypothesis of male-biased dispersal. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the effect of the landscape, identified at the population-level, could be partitioned among sex-specific strata. We found that female connectivity was negatively affected by snow depth, while being neutral for males. Our findings underlined the potential of conducting sex-specific analysis by identifying landscape elements that promotes or impedes functional connectivity of wildlife populations, which sometimes remains cryptic when studied at the population level. We propose that SSG approach would be applicable to other vagile species where differential sex-specific processes are expected to occur. Author Keywords: genetic structure, Landscape Genetics, Martes pennanti, Population Graph, sex-biased dispersal, Sex-Specific Graphs
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- Nitrogen and phosphorus bioavailability in soil amended with alkaline stabilized biosolids
- Agricultural land application of biosolids recycles nutrients and organic matter to the soil, however the effect of treatment process on nutrient availability requires further research for better nutrient management. This study examined the bioavailability of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in alkaline treated biosolids (TB) when amended into three different soils. Despite a 45% reduction in total N and P content during treatment, TB did not show reduced N or P availability compared with sewage sludge (SS). Results of a corn growth experiment and a soil incubation showed that TB amendment resulted in little mineralization and generally net immobilization of N, and 2% total P availability to corn from TB. Results suggest that TB are not a source of bioavailable N in the short-term, but can be used as a P amendment for corn. Nutrient management of agricultural land receiving these materials should focus on P added and liming properties. Author Keywords: Alkaline treated biosolids, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Soil fertility
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- Cytokinin Oxidase/Dehydrogenase (CKX) Gene Family in Soybeans (Glycine max)
- Glycine max (soybean) is an economically important plant species that registers a relatively low yield/seed weight compared to other food and oil seed crops due to higher rates of flower and pod abortion. Alleviation of this abortion rate can be achieved by altering the sink strength of the reproductive organs of soybeans. Cytokinin (CK) plays a fundamental role in promoting growth of sink organ (flowers and seeds) by increasing the assimilate demand. Cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase (CKX) is an enzyme that catalyses the irreversible breakdown of active CKs and hence reduce the cytokinin content. The current thesis uncovers the members of CKX gene family in soybeans and the natural variations among CKX genes within soybean varieties with different yield characteristics. The identification of null variants of OsCKX2 that resulted in large yield increases by Ashikari et al. (2005) provided a rationale for current thesis. The soybean CKX genes along with the ones from Arabidopsis, Rice and Maize were used to construct a phylogenetic tree. Using comparative phylogeny, protein properties and bioinformatic programs, the potential effect of the identified natural variations on soybean yield was predicted. Five genes among the seventeen soybean CKXs identified, showed polymorphisms. One of the natural variations, A159G, in the gene GmCKX16 occurred close to the active site of the protein and was predicted to affect the activity of enzyme leading to higher accumulation of CKs and hence increased seed weight. Use of such natural variations in marker assisted breeding could lead to the development of higher yielding soybean varieties. Author Keywords: CKX, Cytokinins, Seed weight, Seed Yield, SNPs, Soybeans
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- Ice age fish in a warming world
- In the face of climate change, the persistence of cold-adapted species and populations will depend on their capacity for evolutionary adaptation of physiological traits. As a cold-adapted Ice Age relict species, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) are ideal for studying potential effects of climate change on coldwater fishes. I studied the thermal acclimation capacity and aerobic metabolism of age 2+ lake trout from four populations across four acclimation temperatures (8ºC, 11ºC, 15ºC, and 19ºC). One population had marginally significant higher active metabolic rate (AMR) and metabolic scope across all temperatures. There was no interpopulation variation for critical thermal maximum (CTM), standard metabolic rate (SMR), or thermal acclimation capacity. Acclimation resulted in a 3ºC increase in thermal tolerance and 3-fold increase in SMR for all populations. At 19ºC, SMR increased and AMR declined, resulting in sharply reduced metabolic scope for all populations. The limited intraspecific variation in thermal physiology suggests that climate change may threaten lake trout at the species rather than population level. Author Keywords: Climate Change, Lake Trout, Metabolic Rate, Salvelinus namaycush, Temperature, Thermal Acclimation
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- Regional Assessment of Soil Calcium Weathering Rates and the Factors that Influence Lake Calcium in the Muskoka River Catchment, Central Ontario
- (MRC) in central Ontario was carried out to determine the range and spatial distribution of soil Ca weathering rates, and investigate the relationships between lake Ca and soil and catchment attributes. The MRC is acid-sensitive, and has a long history of impacts from industrial emission sources in Ontario and the United States. Small headwater catchments were sampled for soil and landscape attributes (e.g. elevation, slope, catchment area) at 84 sites. Soil Ca weathering rates, estimated with the PROFILE model, were low throughout the region (average: 188 eq/(ha·yr)) compared to global averages, and lower than Ca deposition (average: 292 eq/(ha·yr)). Multiple linear regression models of lake Ca (n= 306) were dominated by landscape variables such as elevation, which suggests that on a regional scale, landscape variables are better predictors of lake Ca than catchment soil variables. Author Keywords: Calcium, Lakes, Regional assessment, Regression, Soils, Weathering
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- Thinking Ahead
- The present thesis entails a qualitative investigation of the unique notion to transition media change from the current paper-based system to the potential use of information technology innovation for communication between health care providers and employers during return to work. Stakeholder perspectives on relevant communication phenomena were gathered from workers, employers, and health care providers with experience in return to work. Methods for analysis involved critical realist grounded theory, as well as the use of a prototype innovation, named the Return to Work Expert App, as a platform for participant evaluation and discourse. The study’s findings provided comprehensive and in-depth understanding of return to work communication, beyond its empirical regularities. The generative mechanisms of common communication problems that were discovered included situated reasoning, media as information (“the medium is the message”), epistemological disjuncture, egoism-altruism-collectivism quandary, and perspective taking. A novel theoretical framework based on ecological psychology was also advanced to offer a coherent and systematic understanding of the situated nature of health care providers’ reasoning and information development. Media change via the Return to Work Expert App was argued to be limited in handling and resolving many of the communication problems that can occur. However, the app had perceptible value and benefits to prospective users that suggested a distinct advantage over current paper-based practices. Opportunities for further development and research exist to address relevant challenges, most notable of all being the need to address the app’s burden of proof. For the interested reader, this thesis advances research and knowledge of provider-employer communication to a state that is truly fitting of the importance acknowledged of it in the field of return to work. Author Keywords: critical realism, ecological psychology, media change, return to work, stakeholder communication, technological acceptance
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- Evaluating Environmental DNA (eDNA) Detection of Invasive Water Soldier (Stratiotes Aloides)
- In 2008, the first North American water soldier (Stratiotes aloides) population was discovered in the Trent River, Ontario. Water soldier is an invasive aquatic plant with sharp, serrated leaves that has the potential to spread rapidly through dispersed vegetative fragments. Although it is too late to prevent water soldier establishment in the Trent River, its local distribution remains limited. In this study, environmental DNA (eDNA) was explored as a potential tool for early detection of water soldier. Species-specific markers were designed from chloroplast DNA regions matK and rbcL, and a qPCR assay with rbcL primers yielded the most sensitive detection of water soldier eDNA. Positive detections were obtained from six of 40 sampling locations, of which five were collected in Seymour Lake, an area with large patches of water soldier. As water soldier plants were known to be present at these sites, high eDNA concentrations were expected. The sixth positive detection from Trent Lock 5 (50 km downstream of Lake Seymour) was unexpected as it was obtained at a site with no water soldier sightings. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of eDNA detection from aquatic plants. Author Keywords: aquatic plant, eDNA, environmental DNA, invasive species, Stratiotes aloides, water soldier