Title of dissertation: SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR IN GIANT DANIO Amanda Megan Chicoli, Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Professor Derek Paley Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program A fundamental problem in biology is understanding how and why things group together. Collective behavior is observed on all organismic levels — from cells an...

11 The growth of megacusps as shoreline instabilities is investigated by ex-12 amining the coupling between wave transformation in the shoaling zone, long-13 shore transport in the surf zone, cross-shore transport, and morphological 14 evolution. This coupling is known to drive a potential positive feedback in 15 case of very oblique wave incidence, leading to an unstable shoreline and the 16 c...

Freshwater habitats are under increasing threat due to invasions of exotic fish. These invasions typically begin with the introduction of small numbers of individuals unfamiliar with the new habitat. One way in which the invaders might overcome this disadvantage is by associating with native taxa occupying a similar ecological niche. Here we used guppies (Poecilia reticulata) from a feral popul...

[1] A sequence of three internal solitary waves of elevation were observed propagating shoreward along a near-bottom density interface over Oregon’s continental shelf. These waves are highly turbulent and coincide with enhanced optical backscatter, consistent with increased suspended sediments in the bottom boundary layer. Nonlinear solitary wave solutions are employed to estimate wave speeds a...