Scholarworks
ScholarWorks is an open access repository for the capture of the intellectual work of Montana State University (MSU) in support of its teaching, research and service missions. MSU ScholarWorks is a central point of discovery for accessing, collecting, sharing, preserving, and distributing knowledge to the Montana State University community and the world.
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Embodying the pioneers: handcart pioneers, Mormon Trail re-enactments, and sensory history
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2024) Petersen, Steve; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mark Fiege; Amanda Hendrix-Komoto (co-chair)
Sensory history provides scholars with a deeper understanding of the past by allowing them to tease out people's visceral experiences. The popularity of re-enactments also points to the value of sensory history. People create deeper connections to the past as they try to physically embody the past. Although there is great value in sensory history as a methodology to historians and those who engage in re-enactments, its use has been limited. By focusing on sensory history, historical accounts can reignite history for those who have turned away from the discipline. It can provide greater detail for those attempting to re-enact historical events. This dissertation calls for professional historians to take sensory history and re-enactments more seriously. The sensory history of the Martin and Willie handcart companies and the attempts to re-enact those events are an excellent case study. Latter-day Saints consider bodily refinement through trials essential for salvation. In October of 1856, two Mormon handcart companies became the quintessential example of enduring suffering to reach God. They became stranded in blizzard-like conditions 60 miles outside Casper, Wyoming at a place called Martin's Cove. Before a rescue party was able to reach them, over two hundred emigrants perished on the Mormon Trail. Today, thousands of young Latter-day Saints (Mormons) return to this place to re-enact their sensory experience for spiritual enlightenment. This dissertation argues that their attempts to recreate the pioneers' bodily experiences allow them to create a deeper connection with the past.
Secular critical theory: methodology and pedagogy
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2025) Moore, Wayne Edward; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robert Bennett
The American academy substantially avoids any discussion of the secular and when it does it largely frames the secular in a fundamentally negative manner. This negativity arises from the fact that such discourse is framed most completely by anti-secular voices with secularists largely being excluded from participation in the construction of the secular. Historically some efforts have been made to change this situation, but the hegemonic power of religious influence within the American academy has largely prevented this. The "secular university" should, perhaps, understand what it means to be secular, and such an understanding might contribute effectively to the promotion of a more critical, socially effective academy.
Canada thistle decline, a biocontrol opportunity?
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2024) Oli, Dipiza; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Alan T. Dyer; This is a manuscript style paper that includes co-authored chapters.
Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) poses a significant challenge in organic production systems, often forming expansive colonies that reduce crop yield and prevent effective harvest. To control this pest, our program seeks to weaponize thistle pathogens associated with colony collapse for use as bio-herbicides. Pathogens associated with colony collapse were Alternaria spp, Fusarium oxysporum, and Fusarium redolens. Controlled experiments, both in greenhouse and field conditions, were conducted to assess the pathogenicity and efficacy of the Fusaria isolates, while ensuring crop safety for Montana's predominant crops. Both F. oxysporum and F. redolens exhibited strong virulence, reducing thistle vigor by over 70% compared to untreated controls. Koch's postulates were fulfilled, confirming their pathogenicity. For the efficacy of the isolates greenhouse trials demonstrated a significant reduction in thistle health following inoculation with Fusarium species (p < 0.001). While Fusarium oxysporum isolates had no adverse effects on Montana's crops, Fusarium redolens isolate significantly reduced the emergence, vigor and dry weight of wheat, lentil, and chickpea in crop safety trials. Field trials showed no crop damage from the inoculation of these Fusarium species. We tested the field efficacy of three F. oxysporum isolates Bio-02, Bio-05, Bio-15, applied singly and in two-way combinations, at two locations: Highwood and Big Timber, Montana in the year 2023 and an additional Bio-42 isolate in the year 2024 in Highwood and Great Falls. In the year 2023, at Highwood, isolates Bio-02 and Bio-05 reduced thistle stands by 79.2% and 61.2%, respectively (p = 0.023). A negative correlation were observed between the reemergence of thistle in Highwood and necrosis in Big Timber (R 2 = 0.18, p = 0.01) in the year 2023. This research highlights the potential of Fusarium species to provide organic farmers with an effective, sustainable alternative to synthetic herbicides for controlling Canada thistle, advancing the goal of environmentally responsible agriculture in Montana.
Temporal evolution of liquid water content and propagation saw test results during the transition from a dry to wet snowpack
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2025) Lipkowitz, Joshua Eric; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jean Dixon; This is a manuscript style paper that includes co-authored chapters.
Wet slab avalanches are challenging to predict and may become more common in a warming climate. Despite their destructive potential, the mechanical processes governing wet slab avalanche release remain poorly understood. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by providing field-based insights into wet snow processes. Specifically, we examined the temporal evolution of propagation saw test (PST) results and liquid water content (LWC) measurements during the first critical melt event of the 2022-2023 season at our study site in the Madison Mountains of southwest Montana, USA. From April 10 to April 12, 2023, we completed 67 PSTs, 39 LWC profiles, and 6 snow profiles. During the first two days of sampling, increasing weak layer LWC and decreasing cut lengths marked a transition from low to consistently high propagation propensity. Elevated median LWC values above 6% for the weak layer and 10% for the slab characterized this high-propensity period. Near the beginning of Day 3, slab fractures signaled a shift to low propensity, and we no longer observed a clear relationship between weak layer LWC and cut length. Propagation mode shifted 19 hours before changes in cut length were observed, suggesting that while cut length may help signal the onset of high propagation propensity, propagation mode may help pinpoint the subsequent decline. We also observed temporal delays between changes in LWC and subsequent shifts in snowpack properties related to propagation propensity. Our results align with prior research that demonstrates that real-time LWC measurements alone may not reliably capture propagation propensity or be able to predict the peak or decline of wet slab avalanche activity. Integrating temporal LWC measurements with mechanical snowpack properties could improve predictive models. The temporal patterns and relationships we observed in our study show potential to improve our understanding of wet snow avalanches. Future work should validate the PST in wet snow, incorporate particle tracking velocimetry, and examine the temporal evolution of wet snowpack properties under laboratory conditions. A hybrid approach combining field and laboratory research offers a path toward advancing wet slab avalanche forecasting.
Investigating organized complexity in multicellular magnetotactic bacteria using culture independent techniques
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2024) Schaible, George Andrew; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Roland Hatzenpichler; This is a manuscript style paper that includes co-authored chapters.
The multiple independent emergences of multicellularity significantly altered the course of evolution on Earth, leading to the complex life forms inhabiting the planet today. However, the transition from a unicellular ancestor to a multicellular organism remains poorly understood. Because of the relative scarcity of multicellularity in the domains Bacteria and Archaea, research on the evolution of multicellularity has predominantly focused on eukaryotic model organisms. To help resolve how microbial life shifts from single-cellular to multicellular, this thesis investigates cellular differentiation of individual cells within multicellular magnetotactic bacteria (MMB), the only known example of obligate multicellular bacteria. MMB have been shown to lack a unicellular life stage, and instead grow as symmetrical, single-species consortia that orient themselves along Earth's geomagnetic field using a specialized organelle called the magnetosome. Because MMB have remained recalcitrance to cultivation, this dissertation necessitated the use of multiple culture-independent approaches capable of addressing the genomic and physiological underpinnings of the MMB lifecycle. A correlative microscopy workflow was developed to allow for species specific analysis of MMB morphology, biochemistry, and physiology. This was accomplished by performing stable isotope probing (SIP) on samples followed by fluorescence in situ hybridization to identify specific species. Next, electron microscopy was used followed by nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) and Raman microspectroscopy. Because Raman and NanoSIMS are becoming increasingly common for microbial SIP studies, the comparability of these techniques was explored, yielding an optimized approach for SIP-Raman- NanoSIMS studies. In addition to these methods, bioorthogonal non-canonical amino acid tagging was used to study the in situ activity as well as variation of protein synthesis within cells. Furthermore, single-cell metagenomics was performed on individual MMB allowing for a detailed analysis of MMB metabolic potential and clonality. The findings presented in this thesis expand our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the multicellular nature of MMB.