Life and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Theses
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Global Metabolomic Profiles and Viability of Encapsulated Chondrocytes Exposed to Short-Term Simulated Microgravity
(2022)Shifts from physiological loading conditions, such as overloading or reduced loading, can lead to an imbalance that increases catabolic pathways resulting in cartilage degeneration consistent with that of osteoarthritis ... -
The Analysis of the Ebony Gene in Culex tarsalis Across the Major Drainage Basins of Montana
(2022)Many diseases are transmitted by vectors one of which is West Nile Virus (WNV). WNV has been in the United States since 1999 and Montana since 2002. The main vector for WNV in Montana is Culex tarsalis. Carroll College ... -
Spatial-temporal analysis on distribution and abundance of Missouri River fish from 2001-2021 seining data
(2022)Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and Northwestern Energy have conducted seining fisheries surveys on the Missouri River from 2001 to 2021, to determine the abundance and distribution of fishes that reside between five ... -
The Insects of Sevenmile Creek: A Pictorial Guide to Their Diversity and Ecology
(2022)Insects play an incredible variety of essential roles in all ecosystems; insect diversity is intimately linked with the diversity of other organisms, including plants and birds. In this fully illustrated report I present ... -
Assessing the Global Metabolic Response of Encapsulated Chondrocytes to Simulated Microgravity
(2021)Space sojourns are crucial for understanding aeronautics, physics, the solar system, and evaluating the possibility of interplanetary travel. However, there are many potential health risks associated with space travel such ... -
Creating an In Vitro Protocol to Analyze the Effects of Microgravity on Chondrocyte Metabolism: A Pilot Study
(2021)The effects of spaceflight on astronaut health have been of great importance for human space flight, and long-term space flight will require a better understanding of the physiological effect microgravity has on the human ... -
Shoreline Erosion and Geomorphology of Canyon Ferry Lake
(2021)Canyon Ferry Lake, east of Helena in Broadwater County, Montana was formed in 1954 when Canyon Ferry Dam was constructed across the Missouri River. Lakeshore residents have reported excessive erosion during recent years. ... -
Global Metabolomic Profiles of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease in In-Vitro Renal Microcysts
(2021)Autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a progressive genetic disease characterized by the formation of bilateral fluid-filled cysts on the kidneys. It is one of the most common forms of chronic kidney ... -
The influence of antimicrobial peptides, cutaneous microbial communities and water quality on the susceptibility of Columbia spotted frogs (Lithobates luteiventris) to Chytridiomycosis
(2020)Chytridiomycosis is a potentially deadly skin disease found in amphibian populations worldwide. The disease is caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) which grows on the skin of amphibians. The fungus can ... -
Can eBird Serve as an Adequate Surrogate for Field Observations in Assessing the Prevalence of Virally Competent Avian Hosts for West Nile Virus?
(2020)West Nile virus is a pathogen of concern within Montana. Due to the potential ramifications associated with the contraction of this disease, assessing risk remains important. Prior evidence indicates that the prevalence ... -
Molecular Diversity of West Nile Virus in Montana
(2020)West Nile virus (WNV) has been present in the United States since 1999 and like many RNA viruses, it is known to have high mutation rates. At Carroll College, a decade long project continues in which the state of Montana ... -
Cave Dwelling Dust Bunnies: Lint Accumulation and Microplastics in Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park
(2019-04-01)As Montana’s only “show cave”, Lewis and Clark Caverns attracts 65,000 people annually during the summer season, from May to September. Tours are guided, and visitors may pass through carefully but still leave lint particles ... -
Bioinformatic Analysis of The Flathead Lake Monster Bacteriophage
(2019-04-01)The Flathead Lake Monster (FLM) bacteriophage was noted to have an abnormally-long tail upon its discovery. Once its genome was sequenced, this research sought out to identify the 117 FLM gene products using the BLASTp ... -
Microsatellite Analysis of Culex tarsalis Populations in Montana
(2019-04-01)West Nile Virus (WNV) has been present in Montana since 2002. The primary vector of WNV in Montana is Culex tarsalis. At Carroll College, the purpose of the WNV project is to survey for the presence of the virus across the ... -
Growth and Production of Hops (Humulus lupulus) Varieties in the Helena Valley (MT)
(2019-04-01)Hops (Humulus lupulus) production has been rapidly increasing in the United States due to the rise in popularity of craft beer. The majority of the hops produced in the United States currently originates from Washington ... -
Analysis of Antimicrobial Peptide Efficacy Against Chytridiomycosis from Skin Secretions of Columbia Spotted Frogs (Lithobates luteiventris)
(2018-04-01)Amphibian populations have been declining in size in recent years. A major contributing factor to this decline is the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. Chytridiomycosis occurs when the zoospores of the fungus Batrachochytrium ... -
The Effects of UV Radiation on Metarhizium anisopliae
(2018-04-01)The development of fungal insecticides as biological control agents provides a safer, more natural approach to pest control than chemical insecticides. Metarhizium anisopliae, one of the most widely used mycoinsecticides, ... -
Investigating the Role of DNC-2 and DLI-1 on AMPA Receptor Mediated Behaviors in Caenorhabditis elegans
(2018-04-01)?-amino-3-hydroxy-5methylisoxazole-4-proprionic acid (AMPA) receptors (AMPARs) are protein complexes involved in excitatory neurotransmission. AMPARs are tetrameric structures consisting of the pairings of GluA1, GluA2, ... -
Influence of Avian Distributions on West Nile Virus Infection Rates
(2018-04-01)Evidence has shown that human infection rates for West Nile virus are largely dependent on viral amplification that occurs between competent avian host species and mosquito vectors. The threat of West Nile virus to humans ... -
Genetic Diversity of Dermacentor andersoni in Western Montana via Inter-simple Sequence Repeats
(2018-04-01)Demacentor andersoni (Ixodidae) is one of the most important disease vectors in Montana. Ticks transmit more animal disease agents than any other blood-sucking arthropods. Ticks are the second most important vector in ...