Research is currently being conducted in the Atlantic and Caribbean sea on marine biodiversity and population changes. Thousands of samples were taken from different coral reefs in the Caribbean and Atlantic oceans to help us understand how our habits are effecting the marine ecosystems. This ongoing research is finding that our habits have a negative effect on the ecosystem as well as our way of life. However, this can be slowed or even stopped with the effort of the human population. People in Chicago are able to help save our oceans by simply making the correct choices in the grocery store or when they go out for dinner. However, we first have to educate the general public about the global and local concerns.

Daphnia lumholtzi is an exotic zooplankter native to Africa, Asia, and Australia. It is best known for its extremely long head and tail spines, which serve as a defense against predators. My study investigated diel vertical migration, a behavioral predator-avoidance behavior present in many zooplankton species. Sampling data and vertical distribution graphs of the Newton Lake zooplankton community indicated that D. lumholtzi was migrating to avoid fish predators rather than Chaoborus flavicans, the only invertebrate in Newton Lake potentially capable of consuming D. lumholtzi. The existence of vertical migration in D. lumholtzi suggests that this species’ large spines are not enough to deter some predators. The existence of fish-induced vertical migration behavior in D. lumholtzi provides additional evidence that North American planktivorous fish are capable of consuming D. lumholtzi despite its large spines and indicates that D. lumholtzi may not significantly increase predation pressures on native zooplankton.

The demographics and dispersal of the Northern Spring Salamander was investigated in four New Hampshire headwater streams. Mark-recapture methods were used in 125 m sections of each stream. The Jolly-Seber Model in Program MARK was used to calculate population size, survival, and growth rates in three streams. Population sizes varied among streams, while survival and population growth rates were similar among streams. Directionality and probability of movement was calculated in four streams. The proportion of individuals moving in West Black Brook was largest (p = 0.520 versus p = 0.318, 0.357, 0.333), and this was the only stream without a significant upstream bias in movement. In examining predictors of movement in all streams, I found that the likelihood that an individual moves 1 m or more between recapture events was negatively related to its size (SVL). Large individuals defending territories may play a key role in forcing smaller individuals to search for refuge.

Working for ANL-W this summer, I created a Web application for the Electron Microscopy Laboratory which allows them to easily track and store pertinent information for samples being analyzed. The application was written in php and used an Oracle database. The application ended up having more than 30 pages of code and includes a custom built user management system and search engine.

Bulk metallic glasses are novel metal alloys with a unique amorphous structure that confers upon the material many interesting properties. This summer I worked on research involving various techniques to process a Zirconium-based metallic glass into a "metallic foam" for possible use as a structural material in energy-absorption applications.

This report presents the outcomes of experimental research on the behavior of bolted T-stub connections under cyclic loading conditions experienced during seismic events. A total of seven tests were performed: six by Dr. James A. Swanson (1998) at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and one at the Center Hill Large Scale Testing Facility as part of this REU project. Another connection test was designed and fabricated, which could not be completed due to time limitations. It is planned to be finished after the REU Site. Each test varied parameters such as beam size, bolt geometry, and T-stub geometry. The moment-rotation plots from experimental testing were analyzed along with the geometric and force related variables to develop prediction equations for seven parameters that describe the cyclic behavior of T-stub connections under seismic loading. The necessary parameters included ultimate moment, ultimate rotation, initial elastic stiffness, yield moment, yield rotation, transition moment, and a rigidity parameter. Regression analysis was performed for the formulation of the prediction equations for these parameters presented in this report. Calculated parameter values were then integrated into one of three mathematical models that idealize the moment-rotation behavior and provide an estimation of the energy dissipating capability of connections under monotonic and cyclic loading.

Precise GPS positions of selected points on the island of Dominica in the Lesser Antilles were taken for three concurrent days at each point. These measurements were then processed at the lab at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville using the GIPSY II-OASIS software developed by JPL. They were put into the 2000 International Terrestrial Reference Frame and compared to previous measurements from 2001. Velocity vectors were resolved for each point indicating the directions and speed at which each point was moving relative to each other. The background movement of the Caribbean plate was taken into account when determining these vectors.

Most treatments of free reed oscillation approximate the reed vibration as a sinusoidal oscillation of a cantilever beam in the fundamental transverse mode, although some evidence of the presence of the second transverse mode has been reported. Some new measurements of the oscillation of a free reed from an American reed organ mounted on a laboratory wind chest show that the second beam mode is present even at low amplitudes of oscillation, and is often observable in the transient period before the oscillation reaches full amplitude. Some evidence of higher frequency modes has also been observed. In addition to steady state oscillation, reed motion during two types of attack transients has been studied.

This presentation will discuss the summer portion of ongoing research focused on decay rates of pig carcasses in relation to temperature and other environmental factors. During the summer portion of this research, the decay process was observed and recorded in two separate pigs, one of which was located in the sun and the other in the shade. The presentation will discuss how the differences in temperature affected the decay rate of each carcass and how this relates to and furthers the study of forensics.

We investigated van der Waals interactions and the pairwise additivity theory using a computational program called GAMESS. The long term goal was to discover methods to predict protein structure.

The Driks lab is primarily interested in studying the proteins associated with the spore coat. My project entailed working with the genes that encode for two of the proteins present in the Bacillus subtilis spore coat: CotQ and YgaK. I overproduced the 5' portion of the CotQ protein in E. coli, and also created a ygaK disruption strain in E. coli which other members of the lab are continuing to attempt to transform into B. subtilis. The ultimate goal of the research I began is to provide evidence for the hypothesis that CotQ and YgaK are enzymes. This would support the current theory that the coat plays an active role in the maintenance of the spore.