This thesis investigated multispectral detection of the invasive floating macrophyte, European Frog-bit, using Quickbird imagery and fuzzy image classification. To determine if the spectral signature of European Frog-bit were separable from other wetland vegetation, a species level land cover classification was conducted on a 6km section of the South Nation River in Ontario, Canada. Supervised and unsupervised imagery classification approaches were evaluated using the fuzzy classifiers, Fuzzy Segmentation for Object Based Image Classification (FS) and Fuzzy C-Means (FCM). Both approaches were sufficiently robust to detect European Frog-bit. User’s and producer’s accuracies for the European Frog-bit class were 81.0% and 77.9% for the FS classifier and 63.5% and 73.0% for the FCM classifier. These accuracies indicated that the spectral signature of EFB was sufficiently different to permit detection and separation from other wetland vegetation and fuzzy image classifiers were capable of detecting EFB in Quickbird imagery.

The movements of Western Chorus Frogs, Pseudacris triseriata triseriata, were studied from May 1, 1975, to May 16, 1975, on the Robert H. and Esther L. Cooper Woodland Area near Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana. The purpose of the study was to obtain detailed information on the day-to-day and hour-to-hour movements and habitat selection of the species immediately following the breeding season.Five Chorus Frogs were tagged with approximately 50 μc Co60 , and were released at a common point near a forest grassland interface. Study frogs were then located at two hour intervals for several 24-hour or 48-hour periods by searching the area of previous contact with a portable survey meter equipped with a scintillation probe.Horizontal movements are apparently random in direction and not influenced by habitat or meteorologic conditions other than moisture. They occur during daylight hours and at night and seem only to be influenced by moisture conditions of the microhabitat.Vertical movements are also influenced by moisture conditions, and occur primarily just before and after dawn.Chorus Frog preference for either a grassland or forest habitat was not determined by this study.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

The purpose of this study was to provide a model for teachers for the use of the oral tradition of the Indian in local history courses.<p>The study was based on two basic premises: that the Indian side of history is neglected in Canadian history books and school textbooks and that the Indian oral tradition is as valid an historical source as the traditional documentary evidence.<p>The Frog Lake Massacre, an incident during the Riel Rebellion in which eight white residents of Frog Lake were killed by some of the followers of Big Bear's band, was chosen to demonstrate this model. The Indian story of the Frog Lake Massacre has not been told in history books. Thus, it was proposed that the oral tradition for this event be traced, recorded and preserved for this study. Since the people involved in the Frog Lake Massacre fled from the area at the time of the troubles, three areas were chosen where it was suggested that there might be descendants of the people from the Frog Lake area. These were: Onion Lake Reserve and Poundmaker Reserve in Saskatchewan and Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana.<p>The selection of the Elders who could provide the information was left to the director of the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre, Smith Atimoyoo, and the Chippewa-Cree Research team at Rocky Boy. These people have been involved in cultural retention programmes and have familiarity with the various Elders and their expertise. For the purpose of this study, one Elder was chosen from each area -- Mrs. PeeMee (Poundmaker), Mr. Four Souls (Rocky Boy), Mr. Francis Harper (Onion Lake).<p>After the initial contact was made through the intermediaries, the researcher was introduced and the intent of the research explained, a time and place was arranged for the taping of the tradition.<p>In preparation for the interviews, an extensive study was made of the literature on the oral tradition and in particular the oral tradition of the Cree. Further consultations with Smith Atimoyoo provided invaluable information on the position of the Elders and how someone should approach them when requesting their help.<p>Four Souls was taped in his home by members of the Chippewa-Cree Research team, Mrs. PeeMee was interviewed in the home of her grandson in Saskatoon. Mr. Francis Harper was recorded in a field near his grandson's farm on Onion Lake Reserve.<p>A search of the literature revealed very little work on the collection and preservation of the oral tradition on Native North Americans. Vansina, working in Africa, examined oral traditions and devised certain criteria for testing their validity as historical sources.<p>The collected stories met the criteria for reliability -- the right of the person to tell that story.<p>In applying Vansina's criteria -- the characteristics of the historian himself i.e. who he was, his acculturation level, reaction to the researcher; characteristics of the tradition i.e. origin, type and transmission; the cultural environment i.e. cultural value of the tradition, purpose and function; mnemonic devices -- it was revealed that each historian fulfilled the criteria in a similar fashion. The only difference appeared in the purpose for telling the story. The more traditional Mrs. PeeMee told her account simply to remember and let her grand-daughter relive it with her. Francis Harper and Four Souls expressed a desire to right some of the stories which they had heard and considered untrue.<p>The study revealed that there is a Cree oral tradition concerning the Frog Lake Massacre. Three people from three separate areas covering over 500 miles gave essentially the same story with only differences in emphasis and perspective. Each account must be considered as a unique historical document for this event. Thus, the study showed there was an Indian oral tradition alive in Saskatchewan which is accessible and can be validated as historical evidence within its own frame of reference.<p>Suggestions were made for ways in which teachers could utilize this untapped resource without exploiting it.

Summary Clmatis Armandi has been used frequently in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of diuretic symptoms. The mechanism of its action is unclear. Possible action of this substance may involve alternation of electrolyte transport through the epithelia membranes. In this study¡Atransepithelial conductance of frog skin was measured in vitro in voltage-clamped Ussing chambers. Adding Clematis Armandi extracts to apical surface induced a conductance increment of 1.21 £gS and an apical to serosal Isc of 28.78 £gA/cm2. The Isc can not be completely blocked by apical application of amiloride. Nifedipine and TEA had no effect on Clematis Armandi induced Isc decrease. These data indicate that frog skin is highly responsive to the concentrated Clematis Armandi extracts. The increase in Isc reflects changes in transepithelial transport of Na+ ions modulated at apical membrane. The enormous increase in transepithelial conductance suggests that in additional to enhancement of amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels, Clematis Armandi may also modulate other pathways, such as Cl- ion channel modulation, which needs further investigation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Supervisor: Michael J. Ryan. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.

Thesis (M.S.)--California Polytechnic State University, 2010. / Title from PDF title page; viewed on March 18, 2010. Major professor: Royden Nakamura, Ph.D. "Presented to the faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo." "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree [of] Master of Science in Biological Sciences." "February 2010." Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-90).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 202-219). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

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Emerging infectious diseases, pollution and climate change are associated with amphibian extinction events worldwide; however, direct causation is often obscured by the interactions of these stressors. Elucidating the possible synergies between metal contamination and disease is, therefore, critical in advancing our knowledge of the co-evolutionary mechanisms in host-pathogen systems and helping with the ability to better forecast the spread of diseases in metal-stressed environments. Additionally, increasing ecotoxicological research has improved our understanding of the complex influence trace metals may have on the physico-chemical nature of aquatic systems; however, the discrepancy in concentration-response within the toxicological literature makes it difficult to accurately define the range of toxicity, often due to the variability in media used in experimentation. The first chapter of this thesis reports an evaluation of copper, nickel and copper/nickel concentrations on several Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates [Rana] pipiens) larvae life history traits within field collected smelting effluent water. Overall, results indicated that copper had a stronger negative impact on survival than nickel. However, tadpoles exposed to copper displayed increased growth and developmental patterns while those exposed to nickel demonstrated opposing life history traits. These results indicate that tadpoles are displaying different fitness strategies, in terms of survival and life history, in the presence of increased copper and/or nickel stress.

The decline of amphibian populations around the world is a well documented phenomenon. The Baw Baw Frog Philoria frosti belongs to a group of high-elevation, mountain-top amphibians in Australia that have undergone recent population declines, but an understanding of the responsible agents is deficient or absent for most species. The inability to diagnose agents of decline has mostly been attributed to a paucity of knowledge on the natural history of these species. / The discipline of conservation biology provided a scientific basis for commencing investigation into the decline of P. frosti. This thesis examines the pattern and extent of decline, and the autoecology and demography of the species, in order to provide a basis for evaluating conceivable decline-agents, and to establish a platform to commence diagnosis of the decline. (For complete abstract open document)