Listing of MS Theses

2024 Theses

Emiley Purvis  (Advisors Dr. Erin Wiley) The Effects of Fertilization on Defoliation Recovery in River Birch (Betula nigra) and Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)

Donovan Clark (Advisors Dr. Tammy Haselkorn) Investigating the Stability and Fitness Effects of Environmental Chlamydiae in Their Social Amoeba Hosts

Connor Tolly  (Advisors Dr. Ben Cash and Dr. Rick Noyes) Assessment of Metapopulation Dynamics for Pungitius pungitius in the Hudson Bay Lowlands

Sam Hoggard (Advisors Dr. Arijit Mukherjee) Investigating the Effects of Diffusible Signals From Plant Growth-Promoting Bacterium, Azospirillum brasilense, on Rice at Developmental and Molecular Levels

2023 Theses

Caroline Danforth (Advisor: Dr. Amrita Puri) The Effects of Congruity on Processing of Individual Digits and Digit Sets

Seth Dixon (Advisor: Dr. Arijit Mukherjee) Investigating the Gene Expression Changes in Shoots of Salt-Stressed Rice Plants Upon Inoculation With Azospirillum Brasilense

Chance Garrett (Advisors: Dr. Ginny Adams and Dr. Reid Adams) Variation of Fish Communities of Four Adventitious Streams with Differing Flow Regimes in the Kings River Watershed, Arkansas

Sam Little (Advisor: Dr. Erin Wiley) The Physiological Response of Sweetgum (Liquidambar Styraciflua) to Fire Restoration Management Efforts in Central Arkansas

Anthony Pignatelli (Advisor: Dr. Hal Halvorson) The Ecological Stoichiometry of Food Webs in Urban Streams of Central Arkansas

Tanner Senti (Advisor: Dr. Matt Gifford) Prey and Macronutrient Availabilities Influence Diet of a Common Insectivorous Predator, Sceloporus Consobrinus

Grant Williams (Advisor: Dr. Brent Hill) An Analysis of Resveratrol Supplementation on the Biophysical Properties of the Tibia and Femur from Hindlimb Unloaded Female Mice

Molly Wozniak (Advisor: Dr. Hal Halvorson) Macroinvertebrate Assemblage Responses to Land Use, Water Chemistry, and Habitat in Low-Gradient Arkansas Streams

2022 Theses

Britteny Berumen (Advisor: Dr. Mark Bland) Comparing Public and Private High School Biology Teachers’ Acceptance and Teaching of Evolutionary Theory in Arkansas

Misty Boatman (Advisor: Dr. Mark Bland) Assessing Evolution Education in Public Schools in the State of Arkansas: Is the Light On?

Zachariah Degon (Advisor: Dr. Arijit Mukherjee) Investigating the Genetic Pathways Regulating Growth Promotion and Salt Tolerance During Interactions Between Non-Legume Plants and Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria

Michael Deutsch (Advisor: Dr. Matt Gifford) Non-Consumptive Effects on Prey Physiology, Maternal Investment, and Offspring Phenotypes in the Prairie Lizard

Kira Gibbs (Advisor: Dr. Tammy Haselkorn) The Effect of Season and Microhabitat on Social Amoeba Diversity and Symbiont Prevalence

Meghan Jones (Advisor: Dr. Kari Naylor) Analyzing the Relationship Between the Mitochondria and the Cytoskeleton in Mitochondrial Dynamics

Joseph Miller (Advisors: Dr. Ginny Adams and Dr. Reid Adams) Status, Distribution, and Detectability of the Peppered Shiner (Notropis Perpallidus) in Arkansas

Benjamin O’Connell (Advisor: Dr. Erin Wiley) The Interactive Effects of Heatwaves and Defoliation on Quercus Palustris Performance and Drought Tolerance

Jackson Renfroe (Advisor: Dr. Ben Cash) Survey of Bee Communities in Differently Managed Sites in Central Arkansas

2021 Theses

John Cook (Advisor: Dr. Arijit Mukherjee) Characterization of Molecular Responses During Associations Between Rice and Different Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria

Stephany Crabtrey (Advisor: Dr. Kari Naylor) Honey’s Influence on the Antibiotic Susceptibility and Virulence Factory Activity of Seven Pathogenic Bacteria Species

Taylor Dague (Advisor: Dr. Amrita Puri) Semantic and Perceptual Processing in Visual Search and Ensembles

Tori Hebert (Advisor: Dr. Hal Halvorson) Land Use Effects on Nutrient Limitation, Priming Effects, and Detritivore Feeding in a Central Arkansas Watershed

Joshua Hines (Advisor: Dr. Tammy Haselkorn) Optimizing Molecular Methods for Determining Aquatic Hyphomycete Community Membership in a Salinity Gradient: A Microcosm Study

Billy Huggins (Advisor: Dr. Mindy Farris) Vitamin D3 Promotes Longevity in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Kristyn Killian (Advisor: Dr. Kari Naylor) Identifying Binding Proteins of FszA and FszB in Dictyostelium Discoideum

Sarah Martin (Advisor: Dr. Vickie McDonald) Determination of Bat Species’ Use of Artificial Bark Enhanced Habitat at Select Sites in North and Central Arkansas

Danny Morrill (Advisors: Dr. Ginny Adams and Dr. Reid Adams) Temporal Trends in Fish Assemblage Structure in the Current River Drainage, Missouri over Eighty Years

Justin Mosbey (Advisor: Dr. Matt Gifford) A Reproductive Life History of the Arkansas Prairie Lizard (Sceloporus Consobrinus)

Lucus Ratz (Advisor: Dr. Jeff Padberg) Thalamocortical Connections of Electrophysiologically-Defined Auditory Cortex in the Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypus Novemcinctus)

Joseph Redinger (Advisor: Dr. Matt Gifford) Effect of a Top Predator (Crotaphytus Collaris) on Prey Populations, Community Structures, and Ecosystem Function in Ozark Glades

Calvin Rezac (Advisors: Dr. Ginny Adams and Dr. Reid Adams) Spatiotemporal Response of Fish Communities in the Spring River Basin, Arkansas to Chronic Pasture Land-Use

2020 Theses

George Gavrielides (Advisors: Dr. Ginny Adams, Dr. Reid Adams, and Dr. Matt Connolly) Examining Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Fish Assemblage Structure in the Eleven Point River Drainage Basin, Arkansas After Forty Years

Katherine Lang (Advisor: Dr. Matt Gifford) Performance Tradeoffs in the Prairie Lizard: A Multilevel Approach

Eleni Sallinger (Advisor: Dr. Tammy Haselkorn) The Bacterial Microbiomes of Social Amoebae

Grant Wiggins (Advisor: Dr. Arijit Mukherjee) Using Molecular Genetic Approaches to Investigate the Associations Between Rice and Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria, Azospirillum Brasilense

2019 Theses

Danielle Braund (Advisors: Dr. Sally Entrekin and Dr. Katherine Larson) Agricultural Type and Amount: Resources and Habitat Interact to Affect Nutrient Concentrations and Macroinvertebrates in Headwater Streams

Andrew Feltmann (Advisor: Dr. Matt Gifford) The Effect of Selection and Drift on Phenotypic Diversification in the Eastern Collared Lizard

Landon Gatrell (Advisor: Dr. Mindy Farris) Glucose Availability Impacts Proteotoxic Stress in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Samantha Hewett (Advisor: Dr. Kari Naylor) Both Manuka and Non-Manuka Honey Types Inhibit Antibiotic Resistant Wound-Infecting Bacteria

Jennifer Main (Advisors: Dr. Ginny Adams and Dr. Reid Adams) Fish Assemblage Dynamics in The Strawberry River, Arkansas, in Relation to Land-Use Changes and Farm Pond Proximity Within The Watershed

Anastasia Mogilevski (Advisors: Dr. Sally Entrekin and Dr. Katherine Larson) Changes to Microbial and Shredder Activity Are Ion-Specific with Unclear Consequences to Overall Stream Detrital Processing

Mason Rostollan (Advisor: Dr. Leah Horton) Characterization of Environmental Health Risks in Kanembwe, Rwanda

Heather Saco (Advisors: Dr. Ginny Adams and Dr. Reid Adams) Changes in Land Use and Fish Community Composition in Four Ozark Highland Streams over Four Decades

Brooke Skinner (Advisor: Dr. Jeff Padberg) Retinal Projections in the Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus Novemcinctus)

Brianna Trejo (Advisor: Dr. David Dussourd) Impact of Girdling on Time and Energy Allocation in Notodontid Caterpillars

2018 Theses

Amber Anderson (Advisors: Dr. Matt Gifford) Determinants of Dispersal in the Ouachita Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus Brimleyorum

Aaron Burgad (Advisors: Dr. Ginny Adams and Dr. Reid Adams) Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Fish Community Structure During Watershed Alteration in Two Ouachita River Systems

Nicholas Dial (Advisors: Dr. Rick Noyes and Dr. Katherine Larson) The Role of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Mediating Heavy Metal Tolerance and Accumulation in Two Plant Species

Michelle Furr (Advisors: Dr. Ginny Adams and Dr. Reid Adams) Changes in Fish Assemblage Patterns over 40 Years in Two West Central Arkansas Rivers

Angela Lenard (Advisor: Dr. Matt Gifford) Mechanisms Influencing Countergradient Variation in the Prairie Lizard, Sceloporus Consobrinus

Sage Shaddox (Advisor: Dr. Brent Hill) The Effects of Microgravity on Vascular Tone in Female Mice

Geoffry Spooner (Advisor: Dr. Reid Adams) The Migration Dynamics of the Ohio Shrimp, Macrobrachium Ohione, in the Lower Mississippi River

2017 Theses

Ethan Clement (Advisor: Dr. Calin Marian) In Vitro OCT4 and NANOG Expression in Senescent Human Foreskin Fibroblasts

Lori Monday (Advisor: Dr. Ben Cash) Associations Between Corticosterone Physiology and the Proportion of Melanism on the Plastron in Red-Eared Slider Turtles (Trachemys Scripta Elegans)

Marci Polett (Advisor: Dr. Matt Gifford) Effects of Embryonic Environment on Offspring Phenotype and Fitness in Sceloporus Consobrinus

Chris Robinson (Advisor: Dr. Matt Gifford) Proximate and Ultimate Mechanisms Underlying the Evolution of Color

Stephanie Stoughton (Advisor: Dr. Sally Entrekin) Components of Urbanization and Urban Proximity Influence Water Quality in Low Gradient, Headwater Streams

Jacklyn Thomas (Advisor: Dr. Arijit Mukherjee) Molecular Genetic Analyses of the Formation of Nodule-like Structures and Beneficial Rice-Bacterial Interactions

2016 Theses

Lucy Baker (Advisor: Dr. Sally Entrekin) Landscape Natural Characteristics Interact with Human Activities to Alter Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities

Ian Clifton (Advisor: Dr. Matt Gifford) Morphological Variation Within and Among Populations of Diamond-Backed Watersnakes (Nerodia Rhombifer) and Its Genetic Basis

Derek Filipek (Advisor: Dr. Ginny Adams) Phylogeography and Historical Demography of the Queensnake (Regina Septemvittata)

Hunter Lawrence (Advisor: Dr. Jeff Padberg) Tonotopic Organization and Thalamocortical Connections of the Auditory Cortex in the Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypus Novemcinctus )

Elizabeth Morrison (Advisor: Dr. Mark Bland) Male Fixation Patterns on Female Breasts: A Study on Sexual Selection in Humans

Nicholas West (Advisor: Dr. Kari Naylor) Investigation into the Role of the Dynamin-Like Proteins in the Mitochondrial Dynamics of Dictyostelium Discoideum via Cytoskeletal Disruption

2015 Theses

Aeden Custer (Advisor: Dr. Mark Bland) Pre-service Teachers Knowledge and Acceptance of Evolution Across Teaching Disciplines

Brittany Furtado (Advisor: Dr. Ginny Adams) Fish Assemblage Composition Along a Gradient of Unconventional Natural Gas Development in North-Central Arkansas Streams

Garrett Grimes (Advisor: Dr. Reid Adams) Investigating a Marine Fish in Freshwater: Population Dynamics of Striped Mullet Mugil Cephalus in the Arkansas River, USA

Holli Hall (Advisor: Dr. Mark Bland) Acceptance of Evolution Among American College Students at Two Arkansas Regional Universities

Ryan Hiltenbrand (Advisor: Dr. Arijit Mukherjee) Formation of Nodule-Like Structures in Rice and Underlying Transcriptomic Responses to Auxin

Brad Moffit (Advisor: Dr. Jeff Padberg) The Effective Frequency Range and Auditory Sensitivity of Dasypus Novemcinctus

Chris Naus (Advisor: Dr. Reid Adams) Fish Nursery Habitat Function of the Main Channel, Tributaries, and Oxbow Lakes of a River-Floodplain System

Duy Nguyen (Advisor: Dr. Ben Rowley) Characterization of Gym Microbes

Harold Owiti (Advisor: Dr. John Choinski) Fatty Acid Desaturase Gene Expression During Gossypium Hirsutum and G. Barbadense Leaf Expansion

Luke Pearson (Advisor: Dr. Ben Cash) Seasonal Corticosterone and Gonadal Steroid Concentrations of the Ouachita Map Turtle (Graptemys Ouachitensis) in the Arkansas River

Samantha Pike (Advisor: Dr. Matt Gifford) Prey Preference and Feeding Performance in Two Populations of Diamondback Water Snakes, Nerodia Rhombifer

Steven Polaskey (Advisor: Dr. Sally Entrekin) Controls on Litter Decomposition in Arkansas Valley Streams

Johnathan Rylee (Advisor: Dr. Jeff Padberg) Comparative Neuroanatomy and Topography of Sensory Cortex in the Nine-Banded Armadillo (Dasypus Novemcinctus)

Laken Woods (Advisor: Dr. Kari Naylor) The Role of the Cytoskeleton in Mitochondrial Dynamics