The connection between race and type of delivery has been an increasing public health concern for many years. It is significant because cesarean deliveries are more risky for both mother and baby. This research project analyzes the association between race and type of delivery among women in the United States. We used data (2017-2018 cycle) […]
B15: Uncovering the Northern Migration of Lyme Disease in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan
White footed deer mice (Peromyscus leucopus) serve as the primary natural host for the Lyme disease organism, Borrelia burgdorferi. The Lower Peninsula (LP) of Michigan is not yet completely colonized by B. burgdorferi; even though P. leucopus is present in every county of the state, infected mice have only been found in the southern and […]
B64: Comprehensive Examination of Elytron Mutants in the Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium castaneum
As members of the order Coleoptera, a highly diverse group of insects, the red flour beetle has specially modified wings called elytra for protection. While the wing gene network in other model organisms, such as D. melanogaster, is well studied, the genes that make up the wing gene network and relationships between these genes remain […]
C41: Inquires into Natural History and Colonial Persistence
Many natural history institutions built their collections by taking scientific specimens while on colonial expeditions, and the implementation of human culture or specimens rarely took consent of the parties involved into account. On a study abroad trip to London, England in January of 2024, I examined a few examples of colonial expeditions, racist rhetoric, and […]
C49: Inheritance of Maternal Ranging Patterns in White-Bellied Spider Monkeys (Ateles belzebuth) at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Ecuador
This research project is within the field of Biological Anthropology, specifically Primatology. In previous years, teams of researchers collected spatial data of observed individuals through Garmin handheld GPS units on two communities of White-Bellied spider monkeys at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Amazonian Ecuador. The spatial data has been used to build representations of home […]
C50: Ripeness of Spondias mombin, influence on feeding behaviour and food processing by Woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha) in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Author: Billy Browning, Anthropology Major Advisor(s): Kelsey Ellis, Department of Anthropology
A07: Comparing Social Dynamics Between Three Troops of Captive Western Lowland Gorillas
My general research area is biological anthropology. I observed eleven individuals across three troops of western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla) at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden between 2022 and 2023 (N = 105 hrs). Behavioral data were collected under the context of focal animal sampling to assess differences in social interactions and spatial proximity […]
A22: Impact of Nicotine and Alcohol Individually and Concurrently in ChAT-MOR Knockout Mice
Alcohol and nicotine are common substances that impact individuals individually and concurrently. This project aims to investigate the impact of nicotine and alcohol in ChAT-MOR mice individually and concurrently. Nicotine and ethanol both affect dopamine release through different mechanisms. We are specifically studying the impact of cholinergic interneurons on dopamine release within the striatum. CHAT-MOR […]
C16: Moth Diversity and Abundance in an Old Growth Eastern Deciduous Forest
Flying insect biomass is rapidly declining, despite insects being the most abundant and diverse group of animals on the planet. Research is only now revealing the extent of this ongoing decline, as most entomology-based research has remained focused on pest species in the past. It is vital that we begin to examine the extent of […]
B40: Using biologging data from turtles to assess repeatability and consistency in physiological behaviors
Animals exhibit a wide range of behaviors that can be influenced by their fitness, niche, energy costs, physiology, and general responses to environmental stimuli. This behavioral variation, commonly referred to as personality, is defined as consistent differences in behavior between individuals over time. For this study, we decided to monitor behavior using several biologging devices […]