University of Lethbridge Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
- ItemBackyard wilderness: an interdisciplinary investigation of the urban ecology of Lethbridge(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Psychology, 2025) Armstrong, V. Leila; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Barrett, Louise; Henzi, PeterA century ago, nature was seen as unpredictable, dangerous, and chaotic, and the goal was to tame it, map it, and exploit it for its resources. Increasingly, this campaign was replaced by the need to protect and preserve. Nature is now often seen as a pristine retreat, a virgin wilderness in need of our stewardship. Both views share the perception that we exist outside of nature and act upon it. In this thesis, I address this dichotomy and advance Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing’s work on assemblages and collaborative survival. I consider art as research in two chapters, Chapter 2, “The Nature-Culture Divide: Making Change at the Unruly Edges,” and Chapter 3, “Beyond Boundaries.” These lay the foundation for the art-making components of the project, which are reported in Chapter 6, “Backyard Wilderness: the art.” Following this, I describe a camera trap study and two surveys conducted in Lethbridge, Alberta, in which I asked a series of questions regarding the prevalence of wildlife in the city, and resident attitudes toward wildlife. Finally, as noted above, my art project, Backyard Wilderness examines the narratives we construct around our relationships with urban wildlife with the goal of advocating for coexistence. Coexistence doesn’t have to be a simple celebration of the creatures that rummage through our trash cans or spray our dogs. Instead, cohabitation can be a realization that urban wildlife enhances our experiences of our yards and gardens and helps us to embrace more sustainable practices.
- ItemAn examination of the impact of settler colonialism on Blackfoot food security and sovereignty: a landscape and policy approach(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Anthropology, 2025) Gonzalez, Erica; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Cuéllar, Andrea; Million, TaraThe thesis examines how the destabilization of food security and the diminishment of food sovereignty occurred for the Blackfoot Peoples in Treaty 7 (the Blackfoot Treaty) territory between 1877 and 1913. Using an ethnographic archival approach, I analyze documents from Library and Archives Canada and the Galt Museum. The study focuses on three areas: the criminalization of the Sundance as a disruption to food sovereignty, the use of rations to destabilize food security, and the imposition of agriculture, ranching, and industries as tools of assimilation as an impact on food security and sovereignty. The archival documents indicate that the destabilization of Blackfoot food security and the decline of food sovereignty were influenced by colonial land and assimilation policies. These policies disrupted ceremonies and restricted mobility under the guise of promoting self-sufficiency and civilization. While the impacts of policies varied across reserves, the policies consistently disrupted land-use practices. In short, the thesis demonstrates that food was central to colonial governance, used to dismantle Blackfoot destabilization of food security and the diminishment of food sovereignty by attempting to replace them with settler economies.
- ItemTesting the ability of distribution models to map rare plant communities in Waterton Lakes National Park(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Biological Sciences, 2025-12-23) McGale, Carisa M.; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; McCune, Jenny L.Effective biodiversity conservation requires understanding the distributions of both individual species and the communities they form. However, few studies have assessed methods for modelling the distributions of ecological communities. I compared two modelling approaches for predicting seven rare plant communities in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada: community distribution models (CDMs), which treat communities as units, and stacked species distribution models (s-SDMs), which model the component species of each community and then assemble these predictions. Consistent with the individualistic view of ecological communities, s-SDMs consistently outperformed CDMs, especially for communities with few occurrence records. Model accuracy was largely unaffected by recent wildfire disturbance, suggesting that these models are just as useful in disturbed landscapes. My findings show that s-SDMs are an effective approach for mapping rare vegetation communities and can help managers locate, monitor, and protect these assemblages.
- ItemDiscovering disease resistance responses of field pea to major root rot pathogens using RNA-seq and comparative genomics(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Biological Sciences, 2025) Pandit, Sijan; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Schultz, Elizabeth; Chatterton, SyamaPea root rot complex (PRRC) is caused by a assemblage of soil-borne fungal and oomycete pathogens, including Aphanomyces euteiches, Fusarium spp., Rhizoctonia solani, and Pythium spp., which collectively cause severe yield losses in pea production worldwide. Studies have confirmed Aphanomyces euteiches and Fusarium avenaceum as major and highly destructive contributors to the complex. Research on the pea root rot complex and its associated pathogens has improved understanding of pathogen diversity, host resistance mechanisms, and disease management strategies. However, the lack of fully resistant cultivars and the complexity of PRRC continue to pose challenges. With the ultimate aim to develop effective solutions for controlling this economically devastating disease through resistant breeding strategies and sustainable management practices, I studied pea defense responses involved in partial resistance to two major pathogens of PRRC, A. euteiches and F. avenaceum, using integrated genomic tools. I performed both field experiments and greenhouse experiments to validate multiple genotypes for their susceptibility and partial resistance to the respective pathogens. I also performed preliminary experiments to determine the pattern and timing of pathogen colonization. Finally, by performing RNAseq on roots inoculated with both A. euteiches and F. avenaceum, I found pathways and candidate defense genes related to both pathogens that may help develop resistant pea cultivars.
- ItemBlack women in Canadian sport: the implications of equity, diversity, and inclusion policies in USport(Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Women and Gender Studies, 2025) Onookome-okome, Efetobore; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science; Adams, CarlyThere have been various academic works dedicated to the inclusionary practice in the world of elite sporting programming, some of which have touched upon the subject of racism, specifically the treatment of Black athletes. Recently, the debate surrounding the representation of the Black body in athletics has gained immense popularity in academic spaces. However, there continues to be a research gap regarding the treatment of Black women. This research explores this relationship and establishes a discursive space for this aspect of sporting scholarship. It examines the experiences of Black women athletes across two USport institutions, the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge, utilizing the oral histories of Black women athletes and one-on-one interviews with USport administrators. This research investigates the correlation between the treatment of Black women athletes and institutional policies. This research concludes that there remain inconsistencies regarding the intent of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion policies and the experience of Black women athletes in USport, as well as the presence of racist and gendered behaviours towards these bodies in USport.