This was an audiovisual exhibit showcasing 10 participants' portraits, artifact photos & audio stories. In a world full of polarization in the media and bias, my thesis project strives to highlight the similarities in our differences with stories from people of all different ages, backgrounds & lifestyles. And what topic is more human than home & belonging? Additional info, audio & photos from the event can be found at the website used during the event: https://gsorian18.wixsite.com/sob-thesis2024

Despite thousands of hectares of reforestation in Costa Rica, the landscape across the country remains fragmented by patches of large-scale commercial plantations and human communities. These patchy areas have a lack of suitable habitat and prey, meaning there is very little gene flow within meta populations of many mammal & predator species. This study aims to establish a baseline for mammal presence and diversity in the Las Tablas protected zone in order to better inform conservation and habitat restoration efforts. In a camera trap study conducted from January 2023 - May 2023, 37 non-baited cameras were placed across a study area of 328 square kilometers. Sites were selected using a stratified study design, with cameras deployed in forest, farm, and fragment habitat. A total of 839 independent videos captured 29 species of mammals and large-bodied ground birds from 10 different taxa. Videos were analyzed using the Sanderson Method (Harris et al. 2010), for relative abundance, naive occupancy, and absence-presence matrices. White-nosed coati (Nasua narica) had both the highest relative abundance and naive occupancy. Pearson’s correlation used to analyze the relationship between species richness at a site against camera effort as well as different landscape covariates (distance to national park border, distance to a riparian corridor, and patch size) showed effort and patch size to be the strongest predictor of a site’s richness. Shannon-weiner alpha diversity indices were calculated for the three different landscape types. Forest land types had the highest diversity indices while fragments had the lowest. This research provides a comprehensive baseline for mammal presence and diversity to better inform habitat restoration and jaguar conservation efforts in the Las Tablas region.

Abstract This paper examined the effect of therapy dog intervention in reducing self-reported stress levels among college students. The sample comprised 22 students at Arizona State University, predominantly honors students from Barrett, The Honors College. Participants were randomly assigned to interact with either Beau, a golden retriever, or Charlie, a black lab for 30 minutes. Participants completed pre- and post-test stress surveys adapted from the Perceived Stress Scale (Roberti et. al., 2000). Data analysis revealed a significant decrease in stress levels post-therapy dog intervention, with an average reduction of 41.42%. These findings suggest that therapy dog interventions hold promise as a stress reduction strategy for college students, especially honors college students. Despite limitations such as small sample size, gender imbalance, and the use of group averages, the information this study provides may provide insight into the direction of future research. Future research done with larger sample sizes, individualized assessments, and sample sizes consisting of only honors students is warranted to explore this causality.