This is a project to gather and tell the story of food, people, and the land that connects them. It is a work of creative nonfiction: one that combines narrative, participatory research, and scholarly reflection to trace the efforts of the Humboldt Co . . .

Neurogenesis is the growth and regeneration of new or damaged neurons in the brain. This process is partially controlled by BDNF, which increases with exercise in rodents. Exercise improves recovery and decreases risk of developing neurodegenerative d . . .

The Caspar Creek watershed, in coastal Northern California, features many gullies in its tributary valleys that deliver sediment directly into the perennial channel network. These gullies may help explain rates of sediment delivery in the watershed. S . . .

The development of industry, mining activity, irrigation of waste water, and the application of sewage sludge to agricultural lands have increased the release of metals into our ecosystems causing serious environmental problems and posing threats to h . . .

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is time-efficient and has physiological benefits similar to or greater than that of continuous training (CT); however, there are mixed results regarding how HIIT protocols influence affect. The dual-mode model ( . . .

Lyme borreliosis is recognized as the most common emerging tick-borne disease affecting humans in the United States. In northwestern California, the ecology of Lyme borreliosis is complex, with several potential reservoirs, multiple tick vectors, and . . .

Seagrass beds are productive, structurally complex ecosystems that support an abundant and diverse assemblage of animals. Although light is clearly important to seagrass productivity, grazers also alter this aspect of plant communities. Grazers may in . . .

Exposure to Anaplasma phagocytophilum and ticks in gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) in northern Humboldt County, California. Granulocytic anaplasmosis is an emerging zoonotic tick-borne disease with over 1300 human cases documented in the US sinc . . .

I compared prey use and reproduction of common murres (Uria aalge) at two spatially disjunct colonies during 2006 and 2007 to examine if prey use of murres differed between locations and investigate how foraging ecology affects murre productivity. Pre . . .

A sampling design that can provide estimates of abundance with low variance is very valuable to biologists working with limited budgets and time. Estimates that are precise even with low sampling efforts allow researchers to cheaply and confidently mo . . .

Place-based education is an instructional approach that engages students with their local environment, which can enrich the educational experience and improve scientific literacy. This project is a place-based secondary-level life science curriculum i . . .

In 2000, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) instituted a set of accreditation standards known as Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC2000). Embedded in this set of criteria was the mandate that engineering institutions implement co . . .

Provenience of first Canary Islands populations is still a matter of dispute after a few centuries of enquiry. The amount of material culture exhibiting Classical Mediterranean craftsmanship alludes that the islands must have been populated earlier th . . .

Central and state governments have been successful in recent years in getting farmers to buy new solar photovoltaic (PV) pump systems or to replace current diesel or electric pump sets through policies involving capital subsidies that range from 30% t . . .

In this study I tested the ability of the pollination syndrome model to predict the most effective pollinator of a tropical forest tree, Hibiscus elatus (Malvaceae), at three sites in Jamaica, West Indies. The floral characteristics of this species su . . .

Reflection is well-established in the literature as an essential element of high-quality service-learning. This is true for all forms of service-learning including co-curricular (non-academic) immersion trips such as the week-long Alternative Spring B . . .

Bacterial endosymbionts often contribute to the nutritional fitness of their host, as seen with Buchnera endosymbionts in aphids and Wolbachia endosymbionts in Cimex lectularius. Conventionally, amino acids and vitamins provided by bacterial endosymbi . . .

Male teachers in Early Childhood Education (ECE) have been a subject of controversy. They are viewed by many with suspicion and thought to be lacking in the skills needed to care for young children. Some are advanced quickly into administrative positi . . .

Morphological changes in the Dry Creek (Sonoma County, California) associated with Warm Spring Dam, have reduced habitat availability for rearing fish, and potentially altered the community structure of benthic invertebrates that form the prey-base fo . . .

Since Humboldt County is a somewhat isolated region, community members may feel limited by their ability to access available modes of transportation, which can be restricted by high gasoline prices and fixed annual incomes. During the last several yea . . .

I examined the relationship between nonbreeding dunlin (Calidris alpina) roost use on Arcata Bay and energy balance (proximity hypothesis), predation, and predation risk. Individuals used roosts that were closer to their last foraging locations than r . . .

Spartina densiflora, a non-indigenous, invasive, perennial cordgrass has colonized and modified roughly 90% of the remaining salt marsh habitat in Humboldt Bay, California. As part of a region wide effort to ameliorate the effects of this invasion, tw . . .

African American college students continue to experience challenges both academically and personally at predominantly White colleges and universities. Predominantly White Colleges and Historically Black Colleges and have been the focus of prior resear . . .

Associated with the northern strands of the San Andreas fault system in California is a series of small intermontane basins. While it is tempting to ascribe their formation to simple ‘pull-apart’ tectonics along the dominantly strike-slip fault strand . . .

This thesis is a qualitative exploration of “new second generation” South Asian Americans. Alejandro Portes and Min Zhou’s concept of the “1.5 generation” and “new second generation” illustrate a diverse and understudied demographic population that hi . . .