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- All Subjects: Photodegradation
- All Subjects: psychology
Description
Animal psychology is the study of how animals interact with one another, their environment, and with humans. This can be done in two different settings, the wild and captivity, and through two different approaches, academic research and practice. Academic research relies primarily on behavioral observation for data collection. Practice uses behavioral observation as well, but allows for a more hands on experience and lets the practitioner make improvements in the quality of life. I interviewed two people, one who practices in captivity, and one who does research in the wild. Dr. David Bunn has done research on wild animals in Kruger National Park in South Africa for over twenty years, studying human-animal interactions. Hilda Tresz has worked in zoos nearly forty years and specializes in chimps. Working within the same field, but utilizing a different setting and approach makes a big difference in the feel of the job. Though I found many differences between the two by doing my own research and from conducting interviews, there are many similarities to note as well. The general field of animal psychology is very rewarding, requires a lot of patience, and leads to a better understanding of animal behavior and how to care for specific species of animals. Working with captive animals allows for the opportunity to make a big difference in animal's lives through behavioral enrichment and general care. Working in the wild allows us to understand the innate animal behaviors displayed. Through practice, people get more hands on experience; while through research, you get to observe animals in their native habitats. Each setting and approach has it's own benefits depending on what each person's goals are for their job.
ContributorsDaniel, Mckenna Lynne (Author) / Childers, Daniel (Thesis director) / Hall, Sharon (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The nutrient dynamics of degradation have been studied almost exclusively in mesic (not arid or semi-arid) ecosystems. In arid ecosystems, we do know that photodegradation can cause significant mass loss and that lignin plays a dual role in the processes of degradation: it slows biodegradation due to its rigid chemical structure but can speed up photodegradation via the carbon mineralization process. This experiment attempts to assess the nutrient dynamics of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) that occur while overall mass is being lost via photodegradation. We took Ambrosia deltoidea litter from 5 sites within the Phoenix city core and 5 sites downwind of the city of Phoenix. Half of this litter was N and P enriched from a previous experiment and half was control. We split the litter into UV opaque and UV transparent litter bags that had holes punched in them to allow microbial interaction. These bags were picked up at sampling periods of 10, 20, 30, and 40 weeks. All samples were then tested for mass loss, lignin content, carbon (C) content, N content, and P content. We found that downwind samples lost more mass than the core. There was little effect over time on N content and little disparity in P trends between the samples. P behaved as expected with an initial rise due to microbial interaction and then a decline as the microbes released P. Lignin concentration rose in a similar fashion at both core and downwind sites confirming that lignin remains in litter through the process of photodegradation. One interesting result was an logarithmic-like decrease in C:N ratio and C:P ratio for the downwind samples but a fairly constant ratio in the core samples. It is clear that these decreasing ratios result not from increased N or P, but instead from rapidly decreasing C. Overall, we conclude that neither N nor P is affected significantly by photodegradation at either site. N deposition appears to slow mass loss, but speed up N release, at least in the early stages of decomposition.
ContributorsChristman, Maximilian Peter (Author) / Ball, Becky A. (Thesis director) / Hall, Sharon (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
The climate conversation is growing more important and necessary than ever. The media has a way of promoting a "doom and gloom" sentiment over conservation efforts and what the public has the power to do in terms of making a change. Now due to the effects of COVID-19 on the population's attention spans and memories, there is a need for a way to communicate climate science effectively and to encourage those who feel discouraged by climate change to find their inner power. The answer lies in photography. Making science accessible and intriguing through the art of photography is what can get people more interested and empowered to fight against climate change and alter their attitudes towards environmentalism. This thesis explains psychological research and the reasons why people feel helpless in terms of our global future. In then dives into human subjects research conducted on ASU's campus and how the survey results argue in favor of the paper's hypothesis. Additionally, ways to get involved and reasons why we need to remain hopeful are discussed.
ContributorsGorlick, Vanessa (Author) / Hall, Sharon (Thesis director) / Makings, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / The Sidney Poitier New American Film School (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
Decay of plant litter represents an enormous pathway for carbon (C) into the atmosphere but our understanding of the mechanisms driving this process is particularly limited in drylands. While microbes are a dominant driver of litter decay in most ecosystems, their significance in drylands is not well understood and abiotic drivers such as photodegradation are commonly perceived to be more important. I assessed the significance of microbes to the decay of plant litter in the Sonoran Desert. I found that the variation in decay among 16 leaf litter types was correlated with microbial respiration rates (i.e. CO2 emission) from litter, and rates were strongly correlated with water-vapor sorption rates of litter. Water-vapor sorption during high-humidity periods activates microbes and subsequent respiration appears to be a significant decay mechanism. I also found that exposure to sunlight accelerated litter decay (i.e. photodegradation) and enhanced subsequent respiration rates of litter. The abundance of bacteria (but not fungi) on the surface of litter exposed to sunlight was strongly correlated with respiration rates, as well as litter decay, implying that exposure to sunlight facilitated activity of surface bacteria which were responsible for faster decay. I also assessed the response of respiration to temperature and moisture content (MC) of litter, as well as the relationship between relative humidity and MC. There was a peak in respiration rates between 35-40oC, and, unexpectedly, rates increased from 55 to 70oC with the highest peak at 70oC, suggesting the presence of thermophilic microbes or heat-tolerant enzymes. Respiration rates increased exponentially with MC, and MC was strongly correlated with relative humidity. I used these relationships, along with litter microclimate and C loss data to estimate the contribution of this pathway to litter C loss over 34 months. Respiration was responsible for 24% of the total C lost from litter – this represents a substantial pathway for C loss, over twice as large as the combination of thermal and photochemical abiotic emission. My findings elucidate two mechanisms that explain why microbial drivers were more significant than commonly assumed: activation of microbes via water-vapor sorption and high respiration rates at high temperatures.
ContributorsTomes, Alexander (Author) / Day, Thomas (Thesis advisor) / Garcia-Pichel, Ferran (Committee member) / Ball, Becky (Committee member) / Hall, Sharon (Committee member) / Roberson, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020