Theses and Dissertations
This collection contains theses and dissertations of graduate students of the University of Alberta. The collection contains a very large number of theses electronically available that were granted from 1947 to 2009, 90% of theses granted from 2009-2014, and 100% of theses granted from April 2014 to the present (as long as the theses are not under temporary embargo by agreement with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies). IMPORTANT NOTE: To conduct a comprehensive search of all UofA theses granted and in University of Alberta Libraries collections, search the library catalogue at www.library.ualberta.ca - you may search by Author, Title, Keyword, or search by Department.
To retrieve all theses and dissertations associated with a specific department from the library catalogue, choose 'Advanced' and keyword search "university of alberta dept of english" OR "university of alberta department of english" (for example). Past graduates who wish to have their thesis or dissertation added to this collection can contact us at erahelp@ualberta.ca.
Items in this Collection
- 1Beck, Elizabeth M
- 1Blunt, Brian
- 1Cassidy, Ffion Louise
- 1Choo-Yin, Yemayá Yue
- 1Hagen, Mariel O
- 1Loots, Sarina
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Analysis of goldfish innate immunity following exposure to oil sands process affected water
DownloadFall 2013
The acute and sub chronic effects of oil sands process affected water (OSPW) and its toxic component, naphthenic acids (NAs) were examined. I exposed goldfish for one (acute), or 12 (sub chronic) weeks and examined immune gene expression, macrophage function, the ability of exposed fish to...
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Fall 2019
The extraction, transport and refining of crude oil generates a diverse group of contaminants that pose a risk to both fresh and saltwater fishes. Adult fish can detect and actively avoid exposure to these pollutants; however, the embryonic and larval fish cannot outswim a toxic plume and are...
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Fall 2014
The oil sands landscape in northern Alberta is interspersed with large tailings ponds that hold wastewater from bitumen mining and extraction processes. Recent monitoring results indicate that annually many thousands of birds, mostly migrating waterfowl, land on the ponds associated with this...
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Evaluation of Radar and Cameras as Tools for Automating the Monitoring of Waterbirds at Industrial Sites
DownloadFall 2014
Conflict occurs between people and birds at industrial sites around the world, where birds can endanger human lives (e.g. airports) and where bird populations are endangered by human activities (e.g. wind farms). Mitigating these conflicts requires accurate detection of birds and measures of...
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Spring 2014
Anthropogenic contaminants can impair olfactory responses to natural odorants. In fishes, these impairments may be used as a metric of sub-lethal toxicity. My studies aimed to determine the effects of two contaminant sources on fish olfaction as measured by electro-olfactography (EOG). The...
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Spring 2013
This study assessed the geographic distribution of mercury in water, and biota of the Athabasca River, and in snow and vegetation in its watershed. Mercury in the snowpack was significantly elevated within 46km of oil sands development relative to greater distances. Mercury was significantly...
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Monitoring Macrophage Immune Gene Expression Profiles as an Early Indicator System for Examining the Bioactivity of Oil Sands Process Affected Waters
DownloadFall 2021
Oil sands process-affected waters (OSPW) are by-products of bitumen (i.e. oil) extraction from the oil sands located in northern Alberta. These large volumes of water are held in tailings ponds and cannot be released due to their potential toxic effects. Overall, tailings ponds and mining...
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Reclamation of wetland habitat in the Alberta oil sands: generating assessment targets using boreal marsh vegetation communities
DownloadFall 2010
Thousands of hectares of wetlands are being destroyed by oil sands mining in Alberta, and the industry must undertake wetland reclamation to compensate for these losses. Wetland vegetation has developed at some previously mined sites, however reclamation is thus far exploratory, and limited in...
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Fall 2018
The continuing use of crude oil and development of the oil industry have resulted in complex hydrocarbon mixtures becoming common environmental contaminants. These contaminants, such as oil sands process affected water (OSPW) and crude oil, are especially of concern in aquatic ecosystems. OSPW...
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The impacts of metal and salts similar in composition to Oil sands processes affected water (OSPW) on Rainbow trout respirometry, gill structure, and gill enzyme dynamics
DownloadFall 2018
Remediation of Northern Athabasca Oil sands areas has become an essential goal for engineers, biologists and industry stakeholders. Tailing ponds containing oil sand process-affected water (OSPW) have been growing in number as a byproduct of bitumen extraction activity. Treatment of OSPW can...