Aeroecology, a field emerging since its conceptualization in 2008 and rooted in World War II radar technology, explores the ecological dynamics of the aerosphere. This interdisciplinary field holds promise for understanding pollution, disease transmission, and agricultural pest management. While the aerosphere comprises biotic and abiotic components influencing aerosol microbiome composition, gaps remain in characterizing bioaerosols, particularly amidst climate change challenges. This study investigates the impact of urbanization, specifically heat and cool island effects, on airborne microorganisms. We hypothesized that aerosol microbial richness, diversity, and evenness would vary with the time and location of heat and cool island effects. In La Verne, we observed changes in microbial richness related to heat and cool island effects with respect to time of day (p = 0.0001) and the interaction between time of day and location (p = 0.0331). However, microbial diversity and evenness remained unaffected by time of day, location, or the interaction between these factors (p > 0.05 respectively). Notably, the south campus of the University of La Verne exhibited the highest aerosol microbial richness (p ≪ 0.001), whereas Las Flores Park displayed significant changes in aerosol microbial richness between the (morning) urban cool island effect and (afternoon) urban heat island effect (p = 0.02). Our findings emphasize the need for further research on aerosol microbiome dynamics in urban environments to better understand their impacts on human health and the environment, contributing to sustainable urban planning.

Dental caries is the most prevalent childhood disease, affecting nearly 30% of children worldwide. Caries occur when oral bacteria form biofilms on tooth surfaces and produce acidic by-products from residual metabolites. While regular brushing and mouth washes are effective measures for some, additional preventative methods are needed to decrease caries in individuals colonized by aggressive biofilm-forming species. Previous research has demonstrated that zingerone, a component of ginger, can decrease biofilm formation in other bacterial species, perhaps by preventing communication and coordination of gene expression. This project investigated if zingerone reduces biofilm formation in the oral bacteria Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus gasseri. Each bacterial species was grown and placed in a Drip Flow Biofilm Reactor and treated with a diluted media and zingerone solution. Biofilm formation was analyzed using a confocal microscope and Live/Dead stain. Although biofilm formation of both strains decreased with zingerone treatment, there was not a significant difference between experimental and control groups for S. mutans. Only two trials of L. gasseri were completed in this study; therefore, statistical analysis was not yet possible to determine if the reduction of biofilm in this species was significant. Nevertheless, this research models the dynamic environment of medical treatments and can be used as a bridge between traditional static biofilm assays and clinical trials. Additional trials with increased sample size may reveal zingerone's ability to significantly decrease biofilm formation in a simulated mouth environment.

Stress is felt by people every day and is often needed for motivation. However, extreme levels of stress can be harmful to a person, causing long-term health concerns such as heart disease, depression, or anxiety. Exercise can be used to limit the detrimental effects of stress. This study compares the stress reduction of various types of exercise. Workouts in this study varied by the workout's purpose and motivation, and the workout's intensity. Changes in heart rate, blood pressure, saliva pH, and self-evaluated stress levels were used as markers of stress levels. No significant differences were seen between the forced and recreational groups, but the intensity of workouts was seen to play a role, as seen by the reduction of stress levels in higher intensity workouts (0.8 drop in stress levels as compared to 0.4 in the lower intensity workout). Because of this, high-intensity exercise should be recommended to people looking to decrease their stress levels.

Standard statistical approaches use p values to compare treatments suggesting only that differences exist or do not. By themselves, p values do not indicate the size of an effect in a study. Comparing only p values across studies risks giving undo emphasis to very large studies with very small effects. Strict reliance on p values misses biologically important patterns and small sample size compounds this risk. Calculating unitless standardized effect sizes facilitates comparisons of response variables measured in different units and among published studies. We combined null hypothesis testing using t tests with calculation of Cohen's d and its confidence intervals to look past p values in two study systems. First, we measured benthic metrics under stream bridges and upstream of bridges. Secondly, we removed the dominant vegetation in experimental ponds and compared responses of organisms to this perturbation. Bridges reduced macroinvertebrate richness and abundance, but statistically significant reductions in corelated benthic metrics under bridges were undetectable. Large standardized effect sizes of reductions in EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) richness and Ephemeroptera supported our hypothesis that bridges would reduce benthic diversity. No significant differences were found between pond treatments despite robust effect sizes supporting hypothesized reductions in most organisms. We conclude standardized effect sizes provide a more reasoned and nuanced approach to evaluating differences between means in biologically important variables.

Longer, more severe dry seasons are impacting wildlife populations that depend on stable seasonality. Howler monkeys in tropical rainforests rely on consistent seasonal durations for food. We investigated mantled howler monkeys' (Alouatta palliata) response to seasonality at La Selva Research Station, Costa Rica, by comparing their activity and spatial cohesion patterns across seasons. We predicted monkeys would rest less, feed and travel more, and be less spatially cohesive during the dry season than the wet season due to decreased resources. We collected 553 hours of data on monkey activity and spatial cohesion using instantaneous focal sampling across wet and dry seasons from 2018-2023. Monkeys spent significantly less time resting and more time feeding, with a higher median distance between nearest neighbors in the dry season compared to the wet season (resting: 69.0% vs. 75.3%; feeding: 14.7% vs. 7.9%; neighbor distance: 2.1m vs. 1.5m). These results suggest lower nutritional yields in the dry season require increased feeding while decreased feeding competition during the wet seasons enables higher spatial cohesion. Since many primates rely on stable seasonality, primates across the tropics will likely need to modify their behavior as climate change continues to increase the length and severity of dry seasons. It is therefore crucial to examine how howler monkeys and other primates respond to seasonal changes over many years to understand the impacts of climate change more fully, and to determine the limits of behavioral flexibility in the face of climate change.