Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item The effects of working memory capacity on collaborative inhibition across categorized and unrelated lists(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2024) De Silva, Siyambalapitige Ninoo Nethmalie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michelle L. MeadeThe current study examined if working memory capacity (WMC) predicts collaborative inhibition and if this influence can be generalized across categorized and uncategorized lists. Across two experiments, participants' WMC was measured using the operation span, reading span, and symmetry span. They were then presented with the unrelated lists only (Experiment 1), or unrelated words lists and categorized word lists (Experiment 2). Participants were asked to recall the lists on their own or in collaboration with another participant (recall test 1). In addition, they were given a subsequent individual recall test (recall test 2), and an individual source monitoring recognition test. Results from both experiments showed collaborative inhibition in recall test 1 and post collaborative benefits in recall test 2. Importantly, the pattern of collaboration results did not vary across WMC. Higher WMC individuals and lower WMC individuals showed similar effects of collaboration across unrelated and categorized lists. These findings identify important parameters of if and when WMC influences collaborative memory. Moreover, future research can investigate if mechanisms such as attentional control, retrieval inhibition, and collaborative process variables related to collaborative inhibition play a role when WMC is at work.Item Rethinking water conflict and cooperation: a re-analysis of interviews in Montana and an example study from the Big Hole River watershed(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2024) Bjorklund, Erin Nicole; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sarah P. Church; This is a manuscript style paper that includes co-authored chapters.Climate change heightens the supply and demand imbalance for freshwater, increasing the potential for conflict between water users. However, conflict is not the only outcome, as water demands can also create space for cooperation. The Basins at Risk (BAR) scale is one of the most prominent numerical measurements for analyzing the level of conflict or cooperation in freshwater-related events reported in public news sources. However, few studies in the U.S. West and none within Montana have utilized this method and little has been done to investigate alternative applications of the BAR scale beyond news event analysis. Therefore, this study examines 1) water conflict and cooperation trends in Montana and 2) how interview data can contribute to nuanced understandings of water conflict and cooperation. The intensity and type of issue for water events in Montana were cataloged and analyzed in a re-analysis of 63 interviews conducted for the Montana Drought Vulnerability Assessment. Results revealed that from the perspective of Montanan water stakeholders, cooperation over water resources outweighs conflict, and low-intensity conflictive and cooperative events are more prominent. The re-analysis results informed the selection of an example study utilizing the BAR scale to analyze event data (n=314) and primary interviews (n=11) collected in the Big Hole Watershed, Montana. Event data was sampled from 7 Montana news sources between the years 2007 and 2023. Primary interviews were conducted in February, March, and April 2024 with a variety of stakeholders in the Big Hole River Watershed (e.g., anglers, ranchers, fishing guides, Big Hole Watershed Committee board members, Fish, Wildlife and Parks). These data show the value of including primary interviews in a study utilizing the BAR scale. Moreover, results from this study can help researchers and resource managers monitor and identify water conflict and cooperation, by showing a nuanced understanding of conflict and cooperation.Item Emergence of cooperative behavior in microbial consortia(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2018) Schepens, Diana Ruth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Tomas GedeonCooperative microbial communities and their impact are ubiquitous in nature. The complexities of the cross-feeding interactions within such communities invite the application of mathematical models as a tool which can be used to investigate key influences in the emergence of cooperative behavior and increased productivity of the community. In this work, we develop and investigate a differential equation model of competition within a chemostat between four microbial strains utilizing a substrate to produce two necessary metabolites. The population of our chemostat includes a wild type strain that generalizes in producing both metabolites, two cross-feeding cooperator strains that each specialize in producing one of the two metabolites, and a cheater strain that produces neither metabolite. Using numerical methods we consider three key characteristics of the microorganisms and investigate the impact on the emergence of mutual cross-feeding in the community. First, we investigate the impact that substrate input concentration and the rate and type (active vs. passive) of metabolite transport between cells has on the emergence of cooperation and multi-stabilities resulting from the competition. Second, we investigate the role that resource allocation within metabolic pathways plays in the results of the competition between cells with different metabolite production strategies. Introducing metabolite production cost into the model leads to new outcomes of the competition, including stable coexistence between different strains. Lastly, we examine the effect that an initial population of a non-cooperative cheater strain has on the outcome of competition. Our results show that the emergence of a cross-feeding consortia relies on the availability and efficient use of resources, ease of transport of metabolites between cells, and limited existence of cheaters.