In my undergraduate honors thesis, I strive to convey my idea that dance is more than just movement, it’s one of the many artistic tools used to express emotions; which therefore has the power to storytell without words. It is my hope to create a captivating form of art that you not only view, but can interact and interpret.
The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, is a large species that it is commonly distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. Despite the bull sharks global distribution, little is known about its life history. In particular, the limited reproductive information suggests the bull shark is placental viviparous, assumed to have a biennial cycle, and that newborn pup nurseries are near the coast. In order to conserve and protect any species, an understanding of the habitats where reproductive events occur is needed. In order to better understand the habitat use in Biscayne bay, Fla, and whether certain areas are critical during the reproductive cycle of bull sharks, I will evaluate circulating levels of the hormones progesterone, estradiol, and testosterone using radioimmunoassay. These samples were collected by the University of Miami opportunistically between 2012-2020 shipped to Arizona State University, where they were analyzed. For my study a total of 73 mature samples, 27 females and 46 males, were collected over the sampling period. The results indicated that Biscayne bay is an important gestation area for bull sharks. The hormonal trends for males and females demonstrated an interesting reproductive cycle, which were further supported through other placental viviparous reproductive patterns. Females had a low level of estradiol throughout most of the year, besides in the summer where there were no sharks in the bay due to movement to estuaries. During their return to the bay, there was a peak in progesterone indicating early pregnancy. Male testosterone levels indicated that there was a production in sperm right before females speculated peak in estradiol.
This thesis utilizes GIS mapping to analyze the severity of four threats: ocean acidification, sea surface temperature, artisanal fishing, and destructive fishing, in conjunction with coral species distribution. This project produced maps that depicts each of these threats and shows the distribution of its severity. Compiling this data we can see that ocean acidification is the most pressing threat in the Caribbean to coral and that neither type of fishing really has a large effect. A species named Madracis carmabi is also flagged to be of particular concern as it is severely threatened by both ocean acidification and sea surface temperature.
Corynorhinus townsendii, a bat species residing in north-central Arizona, has historically been observed hibernating in highly ventilated areas within caves and abandoned mines, but there is little to no specific data regarding this tendency. Understanding how air movement may influence hibernacula selection is critical in bettering conservation efforts for Arizona bats, especially with white-nose syndrome continuing to devastate bat species populations throughout the United States. My study aimed to begin filling in this knowledge gap. I measured wind speed in three known Arizona hibernacula during the winter hibernation season and combined this data with the locations of bats observed throughout each of the three survey locations. I modeled our findings using a generalized linear model, which confirmed that wind speed is indeed a predictor of C. townsendii roost selection.
As the future for our planet it is our job to understand what is happening in our world especially in an age of technology. We have the world at our fingertips yet many of us do not know what is happening around the world. Anthropogenic and natural threats are wreaking havoc on the sea turtle population from coral bleaching to bycatch(Shaver et al., 2020). We have come together as a population to reduce the amount of plastic straws in the oceans, but many have stopped there. Not realizing that sea turtles are keystone species that keep the oceans and the wildlife within it healthy (Why do sea turtles matter? 2020). All are listed under the Endangered Species Act but some of those most threatened species are the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, which are critically endangered and Leatherbacks which are endangered (Bandimere, 2020). Sea Life Survival is a board game that creates an interactive learning experience based on many different childhood favorite games. Learning takes on many forms and fun is definitely the best way to learn (de Freitas, 2018). This game provides a way to gain information while also experiencing an engaging and entertaining adventure. Understanding why people play games helped create a game that met the components of intention and enjoyment in order to produce a game that people would want to play (Hamari & Keronen, 2017). The purpose of the game is to spread information on sea turtles in a way that presents them in a light hearted way while still touching on the tragic life that some sea turtles succumb to. Future improvements to the game would include party packs which would showcase the new knowledge that has been discovered.
