Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item Building Wellness: Reimagining Space and Shaping Urban Lifestlye(2018) Bridge, Brandon; Noonan, Peter; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)What does it mean to live well? Philosophers and theorists have described the “good life” for thousands of years as the pursuit of happiness and success - living well. Today, Americans spend over 90% of their time indoors and in traffic. Whether an individual is indoors or outdoors, their bodies are continuously reacting to the queues of the surrounding environments. Indoor air quality, exposure to natural daylight, and proximity to views are just some of the triggers that influence a building occupant’s mood and wellness. With time being limited during the week, it’s often hard to maintain positive states of mental, physical, and occupational wellness on a daily basis. Through the exploration of space and connection to building occupant well-being, the goal is to redefine the daily lifestyles of Washington D.C. residents and employees through mixed-use development.Item QUANTIFYING CONTEXT-DEPENDENT OUTCOMES OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN SILENE STELLATA (CARYOPHYLLACEAE) AND ITS POLLINATING SEED PREDATOR, HADENA ECTYPA (NOCTUIDAE), A POTENTIAL MUTUALIST(2012) Kula, Abigail Rogers; Dudash, Michele R; Fenster, Charles B; Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Interactions with variable outcomes are particularly useful in allowing for the exploration of ecological conditions that give rise to and allow persistence of mutualistic interactions. Understanding the context and conditions under which outcomes of mutualistic interactions vary is critical to understanding their ecology. Of insect-plant mutualisms, pollination by pollinating seed predators is a unique interaction in which flowers and fruits are food for the pollinator's young, and outcomes range from obligate (e.g., figs-fig wasps) to facultative (e.g., Silene-Hadena). The facultative nature of Silene-Hadena interactions makes them ideal for a study of the role of ecological conditions in determining interaction outcomes and consequently may inform us of the conditions promoting mutualisms. My goals were to explore variation in the interaction outcome between Silene stellata and its pollinating seed predator, Hadena ectypa, under different ecological conditions and, in addition, to understand the role of plant traits in attracting oviposition and the role of oviposition in determining interaction outcomes. My research demonstrates that plants with longer corolla tubes had higher oviposition rates in each year, and I observed significant positive relationships between oviposition and predation and oviposition and fruit initiation. Further, this interaction is antagonistic for spatially isolated plants because low pollination levels of isolated plants resulted in lowered seed set compared with non-isolated plants, and predation was significantly higher for isolated plants. Finally, the magnitude of phenological synchrony between S. stellata flowering and H. ectypa oviposition and the effect of synchrony on flower and fruit predation varied between seasons. This interannual variability in the effect of synchrony on predation may be attributed to significant differences in within season patterns of flowering and oviposition. My research demonstrates a link between oviposition and host plant traits, the role of oviposition in host plant reproduction and the identification of two ecological scenarios under which the interaction outcomes between S. stellata and H. ectypa vary. This variation under different ecological scenarios, along with positive relationships between oviposition and both predation and fruit initiation, demonstrates a mechanism for the persistence of this interaction and other facultative pollinating seed predator interactions.Item Effects of barrier perches and stocking density on the behavior, space use, and leg health of the domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus)(2009) Ventura, Beth Ann; Estevez, Inmaculada; Animal Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The objective of this study was to discern whether providing enrichment in the form of barrier perches across a range of densities might improve leg and foot health and promote behavioral expression and more even use of space in broilers. To investigate this, 2,088 day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to one of three barrier treatments at one of three densities. Effects on behavior, space use, foot and hock health, tibia fluctuating asymmetry, fear and production were subsequently assessed. Higher densities appeared to compromise broiler welfare, seen by increased tibia length asymmetry, poorer foot and hock health, suppression of activity, increased disturbances, and decreased use of space. Conversely, barrier perches - particularly simple barriers - appeared to improve footpad quality, promote increased perching and activity, decrease aggression and disturbances, and improve use of the central pen space, all without negatively impacting production traits.Item FERTILIZATION SUCCESS IN THE EASTERN OYSTER Crassostrea virginica and HYDRODYNAMIC INFLUENCES OF OYSTER SHELL ON LARVAL RETENTION(2004-12-02) Pavlos, Nicole Vasiliki; Paynter, Kennedy T.; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Natural populations of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica typically form dense, vertically-oriented shell assemblages comprised of rough, irregular surfaces which likely influence local water flow, affecting the transit of particles, including gametes and larvae, over them. Since oysters reproduce externally, dense assemblages of simultaneously spawning oysters may maximize gamete interactions before dilution occurs. In the water column, developing larvae may be transported both passively (with large-scale water flow) and/or actively (due to vertical swimming). Once near the bed, larvae may become entrained in interstitial shell spaces among oysters or oyster shells, further increasing the likelihood of settling within an oyster community. Experiments conducted in this thesis showed fertilization success sharply decreased with increasing distance between introduced gametes in tanks without flow. In addition, more larvae were retained on flume beds covered with shell clumps than those without. Additional flume experiments suggested shell density and shell orientation significantly influenced larval retention.