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This study examines the atmospheric (synoptic) controls on snowmelt and snow-free season carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes at Daring Lake, Northwest Territories. Atmospheric circulation patterns were derived from 500 hPa geopotential height and classified using the self-organizing maps artificial neural network. Snowmelt timing was not found to be influenced by atmospheric circulation patterns or large-scale teleconnection indices, but a shift from meridional to zonal atmospheric circulation marked the transition from pre-melt to melt period. Multiple linear regression identified heating degree days and incoming solar radiation as the most important meteorological predictors of melt length; however, the model would have benefitted from additional variables. Analysis of CO2 (net ecosystem exchange, NEE) during the snow-free season highlighted a strong correlation between NEE and temperature anomalies. Like the snowmelt period, no atmospheric circulation patterns were found to significantly influence NEE; however, these findings prompt further questions regarding snowmelt and CO2 fluxes in the Canadian low Arctic.

Author Keywords: atmospheric circulation, carbon fluxes, net ecosystem exchange, self-organizing maps, snowmelt, synoptic patterns

Animal migrations are ubiquitous and one of the most threatened ecological processes globally. Because of the multifaceted nature of migration – seasonal movements between home ranges – it can be difficult to tease apart the underlying mechanisms influencing this behaviour. It is necessary to understand these mechanisms, not only to deepen our fundamental understanding of migration in animals, but also because migrations in many species are vulnerable to environmental change. In Chapter 2, I first systematically identify the broad proximate drivers of migration and offer generalities across vertebrate taxa. I quantitatively reviewed 45 studies and extracted 132 observations of effect sizes for internal and external proximate drivers that influenced migration propensity. Through this meta-analysis, I found that internal and external drivers had a medium and large effect, respectively, on migration propensity. Predator abundance and predation risk had a large effect on migration propensity, as did individual behaviour. Of the studies that examined genetic divergence between migrant and resident populations, 64% found some genetic divergence between groups. In Chapter 3, I explore the genetic basis for migration and identified genes associated with migration direction from pooled genome-wide scans on a population of 233 migrating female mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) where I identified genomic regions including FITM1, a gene linked to the formation of lipids, and DPPA3, a gene linked to epigenetic modifications of the maternal line. These results are consistent with the underlying genetic basis for a migratory trait which contributes to the additive genetic variance influencing migratory behaviours and can affect the adaptive potential of a species. Finally, in Chapter 4 I used a pedigree-free quantitative genetic approach to estimate heritability and sources of environmental variation in migration distance, timing, and movement rate of the same population of mule deer. I found low heritability for broad patterns of migration timing, and greater variation in heritability for behaviours during migration, with low heritability for distance and duration and high heritability for movement rate along the route. Insights into the genetic and environmental sources of variation for migration are critical both for the eco-evolutionary dynamics of migration behaviour, and for the conservation of species whose migrations may be vulnerable to environmental change. My thesis reveals that broad patterns of migration are driven largely by environmental effects while within these broad patterns, migration behaviour is driven to a measurable degree by genetic variation.

Author Keywords: heritability, migration, Odocoileus hemionus, reduced representation sequencing, whole genome sequencing

Spatial reasoning and spatial structures are relatively new areas of research in mathematics education. In this study of children exploring spatial conceptions of grid structures, twenty-one children (ages 4-9) were given a series of tasks involving square grids during virtual interviews. As a result of an ideal-type analysis of the qualitative data, a typology of conceptions of grids emerged showing five distinct categories sequenced from very early conceptions of square grids (as a series of isolated cells) to more coordinated structuring (as related and intersecting rows and columns). The five categories - Single Cell Structuring, Partial Unit Building, Whole Figure and Parts-of-Figure Noticing, Composite Unit Structuring and Coordinated Structuring - are described through illustrative examples. Students' gestures, language and diagrams were considered together when constructing the types. Interestingly, the spatial structure of grids was not readily apparent to many students and in fact was found to be complex for students to conceptualize. With minimal research on grids as a spatial structure in the mathematics education research field, there is strong potential for further investigation in this area.

Author Keywords: Grids, Mathematics, Spatial reasoning, Young Children

The study examines the adaptive reuse of historical and heritage industrial sites in Peterborough, Ontario. Industrial-heritage sites face several challenges when being subjected to adaptive reuse. These challenges are largely concerned with the contamination of sites and how industrial buildings and sites can be transformed into reusable sites. The study adopted a qualitative research design and analysis. The study addressed the research gap about nature of adaptive reuse of historic and heritage sites in Peterborough. The study primarily focused on the challenges, best practices, stakeholder initiatives, and the nature of structures in contexts of adaptive reuse in Peterborough. Based on the findings of the study, COVID-19, political will, contamination and the design of heritage and industrial buildings or sites pose a challenge to implementing adaptive reuse practices. These findings provide evidence for policymakers and decision makers on how to apply best practices to adaptive reuse and cultural heritage.

Author Keywords: Adaptive reuse, Cultural, Heritage, Historical, Industrial, Structures

Many species of shorebirds depend on stopover sites to rest and refuel during their long-distance migrations. To determine how shorebirds use migratory stopover sites, we tracked three species of shorebirds at two stopover sites in British Columbia, Canada from 2018-2021 during northward and southward migration using automated telemetry. Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri) stayed longer at the Fraser River Estuary (4-8 days) compared to Tofino (2-6 days). We assessed habitat use of Sanderlings (Calidris alba), Semipalmated Plovers (Charadrius semipalmatus), and Western Sandpipers between beaches and mudflat at the Tofino stopover site. Time spent at the beach and mudflat habitats varied by species, tidal period, time of day, migration period, and human disturbance. This study shows that different stopover sites, and habitats within stopover sites, offer a unique set of characteristics used by birds exhibiting varying migration strategies, highlighting the importance of conserving a diversity of migration stopover locations and habitats.

Author Keywords: habitat use, human disturbance, length of stay, migration, shorebird, stopover site

ABSTRACT Patients who undergo chemotherapy often complain of a persistent 'brain fog' that can be present up to years after treatment ends. This fog is expressed as marked impairments in areas of learning, memory and mental health. As it stands, researchers have yet to determine the mechanism at fault for these impairments. The present experiment investigates if the neurogenesis that takes place in the subgranular zone of the hippocampus is suppressed as a result of chemotherapy treatment, and results in these impairments. In the following thesis, two models of chemotherapy are used to explore the treatment effects on Long-Evans rats. From here, three behavioural assessments and three measures of immunohistochemical techniques are used to explore the effects of Temozolomide on memory and anxious behaviour. Our findings support the current literature that suggests that Temozolomide suppresses adult hippocampal neurogenesis and results in cognitive and emotional impairments.

Author Keywords: adult hippocampal neurogenesis, Chemotherapy, Chemotherapy-Induced Cognitive Impairment, CICI, Long-Evans rats, Temozolomide

In 1995, Donald Judd's Chinati Foundation held its inaugural symposium titled "Art in the Landscape". During the roundtable discussion, walking artist Hamish Fulton asserted that there are fundamental differences between his art and American Land Art. Drawing on Fulton's assertion, this dissertation argues for the redefinition of British environmental art, conventionally called Land Art after the American tradition. Through the exploration of the work of several contemporary and living British artists, the British School of Aesthetic Chorography is articulated. The practice of aesthetic chorography involves an embodied experience of place, such as walking or gardening, which results in a creative response. This creative response is the place-work of aesthetic chorography and can take a plethora of forms including the attachment of language to place, the creation of an ephemeral marker, an image or a representation or the creation of a printed object which recalls the place in some way. Derived from the unfolding of this place-work, the role of language in art is a theme which is carried through the dissertation. The role of language in childhood, memory and constituting knowledge claims is also explored particularly as this relates to place and to loss and the conservational potential of language with respect to place is theorized in a place theory of language and a recollective theory of place. The conservational element of this work is further developed through the articulation of aesthetic chorography as a parochial tending practice which devotes attention to place as an experienced phenomenon. The persistence of parochial places and vernacular tending practices, however, require conservation. The heritage work of the Common Ground Trust in the UK which seeks to promote the "local distinctiveness" of places is explored and the keeping place is raised as a way of thinking about the engaged and living preservation of vernacular places, particularly in the face of environmental crisis.

Keywords: Aesthetics, Aesthetic Chorography, Art, Common Ground Trust, Concrete Poetry, Conservation, Critical Topography, Environmental Aesthetics, Environmental Ethics, Epistemology, Heritage, Keeping Place, Land Art, Landscape, Language, Lieu de Mémoire, Local, Memory, Monument, Parochial, Place, Place-work, Tending, Vernacular, Walking, Jonathan Bordo, Lionel L. Ferguson, Alec Finlay, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Hamish Fulton, Andy Goldsworthy, Donald Judd, Richard Long, Robert Macfarlane, Brian Nichols, Ferdinand de Saussure, Richard Skelton, Robert Smithson, James Turrell, W.J.T. Mitchell

Author Keywords: Aesthetic Chorography, Critical Topography, Heritage, Keeping Place, Landscape, Place

From the early days of colonization, the use of stereotypes has negatively impacted Indigenous women. One mode of transmitting those stereotypes is through fiction. This thesis examines Indigenous female characters in contemporary crime fiction, written by non-Indigenous Canadian authors, for evidence of stereotype depiction. Two novels were selected for this study, The Last Good Day by Gail Bowen, and Cold Mourning by Brenda Chapman. The books were critically scanned using characterization analysis for evidence the Indigenous female characters were depicted as stereotypical Indian Princess or squaw. Results indicated the characters did possess some traits associated with the stereotypes, but overall, the characters reflected a realistic depiction of Indigenous women. The characters are authentic, relatable Indigenous women in the two books discussed, and are examples of how characters who are Indigenous can be respectfully depicted in Canadian crime fiction.

Author Keywords: Colonization, Crime Fiction, Indigeneity, Indigenous women, Relationships, Stereotypes

Video games have always been intrinsically linked with the technology available for the progress of the medium. With improvements in technology correlating directly to improvements in video games, this has recently not been the case. One recent technology video games have not fully leveraged is Cloud technology. This Thesis investigates a potential solution for video games to leverage Cloud technology. The methodology compares the relative performance of a Local, Cloud and a proposed Hybrid Model of video games. We find when comparing the results of the relative performance of the Local, Cloud and Hybrid Models that there is potential in a Hybrid technology for increased performance in Cloud gaming as well as increasing stability in overall game play.

Author Keywords: cloud, cloud gaming, streaming, video game

An interesting question arises upon viewing the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz (MGM). The main character Dorothy Gale faces a long arduous journey on foot. Why did she not have a car? Women had formed strong associations with the automobile in its early years, yet they appeared to have weaker associations with the automobile a few decades later. A look back to three other "Dorothies" from the World War I era demonstrates the evolution of women's associations with the early automobile, and how war impacted them. In the pre-World War I years, women drivers appeared in film, while Dorothy Levitt wrote columns for other women on how to drive and repair a car and many other women invented safety technologies for automobiles. During World War I, the pinnacle of recognition for women's driving emerged with the woman ambulance drivers on the front lines. Dorothie Feilding was one of the first women to arrive in Belgium to drive ambulances, often while under fire. Feilding and many women like her were given war medals for their service, and their bravery was touted in newspapers. However, once the war ended, their accomplishments would be erased and ignored. In the post-World War I years, Dorothée Pullinger's experience as CEO of the Galloway factory illustrate how ideas of masculinity and femininity. promoted by governments after the war, impacted women. The Galloway factory in Tongland Scotland, was staffed by women engineers and workers. After World War I ended, these women were pushed out of their jobs. War-induced disability and its economic costs to governments were at the heart of gender inequities and served to displace women from automobile technology. Policies such as Britain's "Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act" set the stage for a script that constructed women's jobs as expendable and marketed ideas of the disabled soldier needing to "re-gain his manliness" by re-entering the labour force at women's expense. As a result, the state imbued a new relational, gendered analytic onto automobile use and production that remains with western society today. Keywords: woman's labour, woman driver, automobile, factory labour, gendered technology, World War I, ambulance, silent film, Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act, Galloway, Tongland, First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, Munro Flying Ambulance Corps, Dorothy Levitt, Dorothie Feiling, Dorothée Pullinger.

Author Keywords: ambulance, automobile, Galloway, gendering, women, world war I