OU - Other Undergraduate Student Scholarship
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Undergraduate Open Access A Gigantic Shark from the Lower Cretaceous Duck Creek Formation of Texas(6/3/15) Frederickson, Joseph A.; Schaefer, Scott N.; Doucette-Frederickson, Janessa A.Three large lamniform shark vertebrae are described from the Lower Cretaceous of Texas. We interpret these fossils as belonging to a single individual with a calculated total body length of 6.3 m. This large individual compares favorably to another shark specimen from the roughly contemporaneous Kiowa Shale of Kansas. Neither specimen was recovered with associated teeth, making confident identification of the species impossible. However, both formations share a similar shark fauna, with Leptostyrax macrorhiza being the largest of the common lamniform sharks. Regardless of its actual identification, this new specimen provides further evidence that large-bodied lamniform sharks had evolved prior to the Late Cretaceous.Undergraduate Open Access Black liquor and the hangover effect: fish assemblage recovery dynamics following a pulse disturbance(5/25/15) Piller, Kyle R.; Geheber, Aaron D.Anthropogenic perturbations impact aquatic systems causing wide-ranging responses, from assemblage restructuring to assemblage recovery. Previous studies indicate the duration and intensity of disturbances play a role in the dynamics of assemblage recovery. In August 2011, the Pearl River, United States, was subjected to a weak black liquor spill from a paper mill which resulted in substantial loss of fish in a large stretch of the main channel. We quantified resilience and recovery of fish assemblage structure in the impacted area following the event. We compared downstream (impacted) assemblages to upstream (unimpacted) assemblages to determine initial impacts on structure. Additionally, we incorporated historic fish collections (1988–2011) to examine impacts on assemblage structure across broad temporal scales. Based on NMDS, upstream and downstream sites generally showed similar assemblage structure across sample periods with the exception of the 2 months postdischarge, where upstream and downstream sites visually differed. Multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) indicated significant seasonal variation among samples, but found no significant interaction between impacted and unimpacted assemblages following the discharge event. However, multivariate dispersion (MVDISP) showed greater variance among assemblage structure following the discharge event. These results suggest that 2 months following the disturbance represent a time period of stochasticity in regard to assemblage structure dynamics, and this was followed by rapid recovery. We term this dynamic the “hangover effect” as it represents the time frame from the cessation of the perturbation to the assemblage's return to predisturbance conditions. The availability and proximity of tributaries and upstream refugia, which were not affected by the disturbance, as well as the rapid recovery of abiotic parameters likely played a substantial role in assemblage recovery. This study not only demonstrates rapid recovery in an aquatic system, but further demonstrates the value of continuous, long-term, data collections which enhance our understanding of assemblage dynamics.Undergraduate Open Access A Study Of The Electrical, Microphysical, And Kinematic Properties Of The 29 May 2012 Kingfisher Supercell(2014) DiGangi, Elizabeth; MacGorman, Donald R.; Biggerstaff, Michael; Ziegler, Conrad; Shapiro, Alan; Postawko, SusanA supercell thunderstorm formed as part of a cluster of severe storms near Kingfisher, OK on 29 May 2012 during the Deep Convective Clouds & Chemistry (DC3) experiment. This storm produced 5” hail, an EF-1 tornado, and copious lightning over the course of a few hours. For part of the storm's lifetime, observations were obtained from mobile polarimetric radars and a balloon-borne electric field meter (EFM) and particle imager, while aircraft sampled the chemistry of the inflow and anvil. In addition, the storm was within the domain of the 3-dimensional Oklahoma Lightning Mapping Array (LMA), and the National Weather Service’s KTLX WSR-88D radar.Undergraduate Open Access Digital Media, Authority, and the Roman Catholic Church(2015-03) Hickey, Katherine; Rhinesmith, ColinThe purpose of this study is to identify the discursive and hegemonic interplay between the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and American Catholics in digital media. It will use the Year of Consecrated Life (YCL) as a case study to illuminate how American Catholics negotiate discourses of power, oppression, and agency within the Catholic tradition. The appeal of the YCL for the study is two-fold: (1) it is a year-long (November 2014 - February 2016) social, spiritual, and technological campaign undertaken by the Vatican that will reveal the latest Vatican media practices, and (2) the topic of religious life, which remains a Catholic practice perceived as quixotic and perpetuating gender norms. This poster presents a literature review and methodology to answer the following research question: How do Catholics respond to, engage with, and negotiate Vatican regulations of technology use? By attending to the textual discourse of the Roman Catholic Church, the study intends to address a gap in the literature regarding the exertion and use of authority by religious leaders through digital media, as well as the discursive mechanisms used by religious members through digital media to subvert and challenge their leaders’ authority.Undergraduate Open Access Reflections on the American Lyceum: The Legacy of Josiah Holbrook and the Transcendental Sessions(10/2/14) Khrapak, VyacheslavThis is a postprint of the published article.