The work of this Master of Science thesis project is an analysis of salinity effects on nearshore epifauna along the western shore of Biscayne Bay in southeast Florida, USA. Field collection surveys have found a high probability of occurrence of bigeye mojarra (Eucinostomus havana) in salinities near 25 ppt. In a salinity gradient observation experiment test subjects of the same species and size class were also observed more frequently at 24 ppt. In this analysis presence and abundance patterns found in field surveys were compared with behavioral results obtained in the observation tank. This apparatus provided insight into distribution patterns of the bigeye mojarra (Eucinostomus havana) and possible changes in distribution that may result from habitat changes in the future. Historically, the western shore of Biscayne Bay was more freshwater marsh than the mangrove dominated marine environment that prevails today. Changes to fresh water inputs into the Bay are planned through projects of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). CERP is a joint Florida state and U.S. federal effort to redesign surface water flow through the canal system of South Florida, replenish the Everglades ecosystem, and restore a more natural quantity, timing, and distribution of flow into Biscayne and Florida Bays. Approved by the U.S. Congress as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000, CERP will be implemented by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). This plan is designed to restore the ecosystem from its freshwater core to the coastal wetlands recreating a condition close to that existing before the current system of flood control drainage canals was begun in 1903 and continued by the federal Central and Southern Florida Project in 1948 (www.evergladesplan.org). Changes are planned to divert a portion of canal flows to Biscayne Bay into coastal wetlands as sheet flow and surface runoff. Planned changes to freshwater delivery may change the habitat along the shoreline and thus the distribution of prey organisms living in this habitat. This may in turn affect predator fish important to local recreational and commercial fisheries as well as other predators such as wading birds. The analysis and prediction provided in this thesis work is important for better understanding the effects of restoration efforts on the Bay nearshore habitat and its condition as essential fish habitat, which is federally regulated by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens, 1996). The distribution of small fish and invertebrate inhabitants of the nearshore environment and habitat environmental qualities have been recorded over the past five years from throw-trap surveys of the western shoreline of Biscayne Bay as part of a CERP-sponsored monitoring program. This pattern is correlated with salinity, but there may be other factors affecting the distribution of this species.

Master of Science / Statistics / Suzanne Dubnicka / Preference testing is a popular method of determining consumer preferences for a variety of products in areas such as sensory analysis, animal welfare, and pharmacology. However, many prominent models for this type of data do not allow different probabilities of preferring one product over the other for each individual consumer, called overdispersion, which intuitively exists in real-world situations. We investigate the Two-Parameter variation of the Item Response Model (IRM) in the context of replicated preference testing. Because the IRM is most commonly applied to multiple-choice testing, our primary focus is the interpretation of the model parameters with respect to preference testing and the evaluation of the model’s usefulness in this context. We fit a Bayesian version of the Two-Parameter Probit IRM (2PP) to two real-world datasets, Raisin Bran and Cola, as well as five hypothetical datasets constructed with specific parameter properties in mind. The values of the parameters are sampled via the Gibbs Sampler and examined using various plots of the posterior distributions. Next, several different models and prior distribution specifications are compared over the Raisin Bran and Cola datasets using the Deviance Information Criterion (DIC). The Two-Parameter IRM is a useful tool in the context of replicated preference testing, due to its ability to accommodate overdispersion, its intuitive interpretation, and its flexibility in terms of parameterization, link function, and prior specification. However, we find that this model brings computational difficulties in certain situations, some of which require creative solutions. Although the IRM can be interpreted for replicated preference testing scenarios, this data typically contains few replications, while the model was designed for exams with many items. We conclude that the IRM may provide little evidence for marketing decisions, and it is better-suited for exploring the nature of consumer preferences early in product development.

A garantia de bem-estar animal é essencial para assegurar resultados científicos confiáveis, e as técnicas de enriquecimento ambiental, utilizadas nessa busca, não podem ignorar as preferências e necessidades da espécie em questão, tais como o modo de utilização do espaço disponível. Nosso objetivo foi analisar como 35 gatos domésticos (12 machos e 23 fêmeas) utilizam seu espaço e as influências do enriquecimento ambiental nessa questão, visto que tal grupo contempla características de animais de companhia e também de biotério, sendo modelo em diversas pesquisas científicas. A utilização do espaço vertical foi quantificada a partir de filmagens das camas continuamente disponíveis em 4 níveis (0,60; 0,88; 1,16 e 1,46 m) e de refúgios (enriquecimento) em 3 diferentes alturas: 0, 0,5 e 1,0 m. Os resultados indicaram predileção pelas camas mais elevadas (1,46 m); entretanto, houve diferença significativa no tempo de utilização apenas para os refúgios a 0,5m, reforçando a importância de testar e confrontar as preferências dos animais em diferentes circunstâncias. Quanto ao uso do espaço horizontal, a disponibilização de refúgios alterou a distribuição dos animais na área de teste e aumentou comportamentos ativos e passivos. Testamos a escolha entre refúgios descobertos (100%) e com 50% de cobertura e também entre refúgios com aberturas laterais de 25% e 100%. Preferências não identificadas no primeiro teste (100% e 50% descobertas) tornaram-se aparentes quando as aberturas estavam nas laterais: os refúgios com 25% de abertura lateral foram utilizados por mais tempo. Tais resultados podem estar relacionados a ansiedade dos animais confinados, podendo esse teste ser uma potencial alternativa ao labirinto em cruz elevado para estudos de ansiedade com felinos. As diferenças observadas entre machos e fêmeas podem apontar influência diferenciada entre gêneros do confinamento no comportamento de animais castrados. Nossas conclusões ressaltam a necessidade do enriquecimento ambiental bem fundamentado na manutenção do bem-estar animal e sua interferência no uso do espaço. / The guarantee of animal welfare is essential to ensure reliable scientific results, and the techniques of environmental enrichment, used in this quest, shall not ignore the needs and preferences of the species in question, such as how to use the available space. Our objective was to analyze how 35 cats (12 males and 23 females), use their space and the influences of environmental enrichment on this issue, since this group includes characteristics of pets and also of laboratory animals, being a model in several scientific studies. The use of vertical space was quantified through the filming of the continuously available beds in four levels (0.60, 0.88, 1.16 and 1.46 m) and the refuges (enrichment) in three different heights: 0, 0.5 and 1.0 m. Our results show that there is a preference for the higher beds (1.46 m); however, significant differences in time use was observed only for refuges in 0.5 m, reinforcing the importance of testing and comparing the preferences of animals in different circumstances. Regarding the use of horizontal space, the availability of refuges changed the distribution of animals in the test area and increased active and passive behaviors. We tested the choice between uncovered shelters (100%) and ones with 50% coverage and also shelters with lateral openings between 25% and 100%. Preferences which were not identified in the first test (100% and 50% uncovered) became apparent when the openings were on the sides: refuges with 25% side opening were used for a longer period. This finding may be related to the anxiety of confined animals, and this test may be a potential alternative to the elevated plus maze for studies of anxiety in cats. The differences observed between males and females may indicate the influence between genders of confinement on the behavior of castrated animals. Our findings highlight the need for well founded environmental enrichment in the maintenance of animal welfare and its interference with the use of space.

A garantia de bem-estar animal é essencial para assegurar resultados científicos confiáveis, e as técnicas de enriquecimento ambiental, utilizadas nessa busca, não podem ignorar as preferências e necessidades da espécie em questão, tais como o modo de utilização do espaço disponível. Nosso objetivo foi analisar como 35 gatos domésticos (12 machos e 23 fêmeas) utilizam seu espaço e as influências do enriquecimento ambiental nessa questão, visto que tal grupo contempla características de animais de companhia e também de biotério, sendo modelo em diversas pesquisas científicas. A utilização do espaço vertical foi quantificada a partir de filmagens das camas continuamente disponíveis em 4 níveis (0,60; 0,88; 1,16 e 1,46 m) e de refúgios (enriquecimento) em 3 diferentes alturas: 0, 0,5 e 1,0 m. Os resultados indicaram predileção pelas camas mais elevadas (1,46 m); entretanto, houve diferença significativa no tempo de utilização apenas para os refúgios a 0,5m, reforçando a importância de testar e confrontar as preferências dos animais em diferentes circunstâncias. Quanto ao uso do espaço horizontal, a disponibilização de refúgios alterou a distribuição dos animais na área de teste e aumentou comportamentos ativos e passivos. Testamos a escolha entre refúgios descobertos (100%) e com 50% de cobertura e também entre refúgios com aberturas laterais de 25% e 100%. Preferências não identificadas no primeiro teste (100% e 50% descobertas) tornaram-se aparentes quando as aberturas estavam nas laterais: os refúgios com 25% de abertura lateral foram utilizados por mais tempo. Tais resultados podem estar relacionados a ansiedade dos animais confinados, podendo esse teste ser uma potencial alternativa ao labirinto em cruz elevado para estudos de ansiedade com felinos. As diferenças observadas entre machos e fêmeas podem apontar influência diferenciada entre gêneros do confinamento no comportamento de animais castrados. Nossas conclusões ressaltam a necessidade do enriquecimento ambiental bem fundamentado na manutenção do bem-estar animal e sua interferência no uso do espaço. / The guarantee of animal welfare is essential to ensure reliable scientific results, and the techniques of environmental enrichment, used in this quest, shall not ignore the needs and preferences of the species in question, such as how to use the available space. Our objective was to analyze how 35 cats (12 males and 23 females), use their space and the influences of environmental enrichment on this issue, since this group includes characteristics of pets and also of laboratory animals, being a model in several scientific studies. The use of vertical space was quantified through the filming of the continuously available beds in four levels (0.60, 0.88, 1.16 and 1.46 m) and the refuges (enrichment) in three different heights: 0, 0.5 and 1.0 m. Our results show that there is a preference for the higher beds (1.46 m); however, significant differences in time use was observed only for refuges in 0.5 m, reinforcing the importance of testing and comparing the preferences of animals in different circumstances. Regarding the use of horizontal space, the availability of refuges changed the distribution of animals in the test area and increased active and passive behaviors. We tested the choice between uncovered shelters (100%) and ones with 50% coverage and also shelters with lateral openings between 25% and 100%. Preferences which were not identified in the first test (100% and 50% uncovered) became apparent when the openings were on the sides: refuges with 25% side opening were used for a longer period. This finding may be related to the anxiety of confined animals, and this test may be a potential alternative to the elevated plus maze for studies of anxiety in cats. The differences observed between males and females may indicate the influence between genders of confinement on the behavior of castrated animals. Our findings highlight the need for well founded environmental enrichment in the maintenance of animal welfare and its interference with the use of space.

This program of research was aimed at investigating a novel application of computer aided text analysis (CATA). To date, CATA has been used in a wide variety of disciplines, including Psychology, but never in the area of personnel selection. Traditional personnel selection techniques have met with limited success in the prediction of costly training failures for some occupational groups such as pilot and air traffic controller. Accordingly, the overall purpose of this thesis was to assess the validity of linguistic style to select personnel. Several studies were used to examine the structure of language in a personnel selection setting; the relationship between linguistic style and the individual differences dimensions of ability, personality and vocational interests; the validity of linguistic style as a personnel selection tool and the differences in linguistic style across occupational groups. The participants for the studies contained in this thesis consisted of a group of 810 Royal Australian Air Force Pilot, Air Traffic Control and Air Defence Officer trainees. The results partially supported two of the eight hypotheses; the other six hypotheses were supported. The structure of the linguistic style measure was found to be different in this study compared with the structure found in previous research. Linguistic style was found to be unrelated to ability or vocational interests, although some overlap was found between linguistic style and the measure of personality. In terms of personnel selection validity, linguistic style was found to relate to the outcome of training for the occupations of Pilot, Air Traffic Control and Air Defence Officer. Linguistic style also demonstrated incremental validity beyond traditional ability and selection interview measures. The findings are discussed in light of the Five Factor Theory of Personality, and motivational theory and a modified spreading activation network model of semantic memory and knowledge. A general conclusion is drawn that the analysis of linguistic style is a promising new tool in the area of personnel selection.