Browsing by Author "Johnson, Matthew"

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    Philologia, Volume 8 : 2016
    Burlile, Andy; VeShancey, Zach; Dozier, Margaret; Robertson, Natalie; Nwankwo, Nneoma; Gass, Tyler; Martin, Meaghan; Furguson, Vernon; Lee, Demi; Litvak, Derek; Pope, Anna; Jamil, Lydia; Howe, Elizabeth; Skubic, Chantal; Skinker, Loren; Cooper, Kelly; Bartlett, Carson; Johnson, Matthew; Nozik, Daniel; Hughes, Emily; Nelson, Olivia; Lee, Demi; Kondos, Lacey; Heuple, Kara; Orndorff, Naomi; Heuple, Kara; Morris, Thomas (Virginia Tech, 2016)
    This year was very different than any in Philologia’s history; we’ve made the move to the Open Journals System provided through Virginia Tech’s Newman Library. The “journal” part of Philologia is now completely online at philologiavt.org. There you will find the full versions of the articles that are summarized in this magazine by the student editors. I am extremely thankful for the help the staff at Newman Library has given us throughout this transition. I am proud to continue Philologia’s tradition of publishing interdisciplinary works from across the college and showcase them through such a wonderful platform.
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    A Quantitative Survey of the Freshwater Mussel Fauna in the Powell River of Virginia and Tennessee, and Life History Study of Two Endangered Species, Quadrula sparsa and Quadrula intermedia
    Johnson, Matthew (Virginia Tech, 2011-01-28)
    Qualitative and quantitative sampling was conducted along a 165 km reach of the river from PRKM 269.4 near Dryden, VA to PRKM 104.8 near Harrogate, TN. Twenty-nine species were observed throughout the entire river, and the highest diversity of 23 species was collected at PRKM 152.6. Mussel abundances (mussels/person-h and mussels/m2) ranged from 0.33 to 21.98 mussels/person-h and 0.00 to 2.24 mussels/m2. Recent recruitment (individuals < 40 mm, depending on the species) was observed for 15 species, including the endangered Epioblasma brevidens, Lemiox rimosus, and Quadrula intermedia. The greatest number of species (6) with evidence of recent recruitment also was found at PRKM 152.6. Data from the quantitative survey were used to simulate several sampling protocols that could be used to develop a long-term monitoring program for the Powell River. Five sites, PRKMs 197.9, 171.4, 159.6, 152.6, and 129.4, were selected for long-term monitoring because of high mussel densities and species richness. Six sampling protocols were simulated using the statistical program MONITOR to determine which protocols, if any, could monitor statistically significant changes in mussel abundance at rates + 10%. Each of the simulated sampling protocols lasted between 15 and 30 y, and employed quantitative sampling at 3 to 5 y intervals. None of the sampling protocols simulated during this study were able to detect declines in mussel abundance < 10%. Two sampling programs were able to detect increases in mussel abundance > 6% when the level of significance was > 0.10, and four sampling programs were able to detect a density increase of > 8% when the level of significance was 0.05. Despite the inability to monitor declines in mussel abundances, a long-term monitoring program is needed for the Powell River. Because qualitative sampling has been repeatedly shown to document species presence more effectively than quantitative sampling, it should be used to monitor changes in species presence and distribution. Quantitative sampling should be employed to monitor juvenile recruitment and changes in size-class structure of populations. Quantitative sampling also should be conducted to monitor overall mussel abundance at sites. Despite the inability to statistically detect changes in mussel density in the Powell River, quantitative sampling can provide valuable information, and the data collected can be used to qualitatively monitor changes in total density at sites. Both species share a similar distribution in the Powell River. Eighteen specimens of Quadrula sparsa were collected between PRKM 230.9 and 152.6, and 68 individuals of Q. intermedia were collected between PRKM 230.9 and 129.4. The highest density of each species was collected at PRKM 152.6, and recent recruitment was observed at PRKMs 152.6 and 153.4. Fresh-dead and relic shells of both species were thin-sectioned to determine individual growth rate and life span. These species complete the majority of their growth during the first 10 y of life, and likely live for a total of 40 to 50 y. One gravid female of Q. intermedia was collected during this study, but no gravid females of Q. sparsa were observed.
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    Students’ Perceptions of Social Media Technology and its Use in Their Academic Journey
    Johnson, Matthew (Virginia Tech, 2024-08-09)
    Social media is a term used to describe digital platforms that connect and engage individuals worldwide. Such platforms can take the form of Instagram, X (formerly, Twitter), Canvas, LinkedIn, Discord, etc. Social media helps users “gain knowledge” of important topics “as well as others’ activities, thoughts, and stories” (Zhao & Zhou, 2020, p.1032). Since its creation, social media use has grown tremendously. So much so, that it has almost permeated every aspect of our lives. Educational spaces have especially shown evidence of an “increased use of social networking by students to perform academic activities” (Alamri, 2019, p.64). Social media is ever-present in classrooms, educational centers, and professional settings throughout the world. However, it was once stated that despite social media’s prevalence, teaching and learning “in colleges and universities” had “largely remained unchanged” (Tierney et al., 2014, p.2). Now, post the COVID-19 pandemic, many students have switched to online learning platforms to gain their education. Thus, this study was conducted to better understand and explore the changes that have come from social media’s presence in the classroom. The research from this study reveals that online master's students are reluctant to connect with their professors on social media. They also express skepticism of social media technology and its place within academia. Ultimately, this further suggests a need for continued research on other student populations to gather a more comprehensive understanding of how social media can be better used within such academic settings.
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    Successful breeding predicts divorce in plovers
    Halimubieke, Naerhulan; Kupan, Krisztina; Valdebenito, Jose O.; Kubelka, Vojtech; Carmona-Isunza, Maria Cristina; Burgas, Daniel; Catlin, Daniel H.; St Clair, James J. H.; Cohen, Jonathan B.; Figuerola, Jordi; Yasue, Mai; Johnson, Matthew; Mencarelli, Mauro; Cruz-Lopez, Medardo; Stantial, Michelle; Weston, Michael A.; Lloyd, Penn; Que, Pinjia; Montalvo, Tomas; Bansal, Udita; McDonald, Grant C.; Liu, Yang; Kosztolanyi, Andras; Szekely, Tamas (2020-09-23)
    When individuals breed more than once, parents are faced with the choice of whether to re-mate with their old partner or divorce and select a new mate. Evolutionary theory predicts that, following successful reproduction with a given partner, that partner should be retained for future reproduction. However, recent work in a polygamous bird, has instead indicated that successful parents divorced more often than failed breeders (Halimubieke et al. in Ecol Evol 9:10734-10745, 2019), because one parent can benefit by mating with a new partner and reproducing shortly after divorce. Here we investigate whether successful breeding predicts divorce using data from 14 well-monitored populations of plovers (Charadrius spp.). We show that successful nesting leads to divorce, whereas nest failure leads to retention of the mate for follow-up breeding. Plovers that divorced their partners and simultaneously deserted their broods produced more offspring within a season than parents that retained their mate. Our work provides a counterpoint to theoretical expectations that divorce is triggered by low reproductive success, and supports adaptive explanations of divorce as a strategy to improve individual reproductive success. In addition, we show that temperature may modulate these costs and benefits, and contribute to dynamic variation in patterns of divorce across plover breeding systems.