With only a handful of species known to the general public, many of the 4000 bees endemic to the United States go unnoticed. As crucial pollinators, bees are incredibly important to the environment. There is a notable lack of data regarding bees in the United States, thus data collection about bee species diversity and abundance is prudent. Citizen science, or the use of volunteers in ecological studies, is a relatively new concept, introduced only a century ago by ornithological and astronomical sciences. The invention of digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras makes it easy for novice photographers to take quality pictures, and they have become more accessible to citizen scientists in recent years. Our research introduces methods using visual observation and digital photography to study bee species diversity and abundance. It is impossible to identify most bee species without a microscope so we have taken a morphogroup approach, adapted from Xerces Society monitoring protocols, to gather data about bee species without needing an identification expert. We group bees into eight categories according to key characteristics visible to the naked eye, as similar-looking species are often closely related. Using digital cameras we implement two timed survey protocols, one tallying abundance and one “capturing” as many species on camera as possible. Two years of preliminary data has yielded information regarding the abundance, diversity, and phenology of bee groups on the UW Bothell/Cascadia College campus. Our surveys revealed the presence of all eight morphogroups on campus, 23% representing honey bees and 77% other bee species; bumble bee species (Bombus sp.) dominated in abundance representing 55% of all bees seen in 2018. Research has thus far informed improvements to monitoring protocols, identified bloom gaps on campus, and has resulted in the creation of UW digital photo archive documenting the findings of the research.

The United States presence in Africa is mostly militaristic and oil-driven, whereas China's recent foray into the continent has rattled the traditional conventions for doing business and investing on the continent. Through a series of Foreign Direct Investments, International Trade, Government Funded Contractual Projects and loans by the Chinese government, China has taken direct action to infiltrate the internal economies, politics and societies of many African nations. To frame where China lays in terms of economic investments and involvement, my research examines the current state of three African nations in which China invests. The markers within a nation include the profitability of a particular industry sector, previous political relations with China, the market size of an economy or nation, political security of a nation and geopolitical strategy. I focus on three Sub-Saharan nations in which China has previous practices or a history of investments, Tanzania, Zambia and Angola. Statistical data provided by loans or investments and first-hand accounts of events are used to support my arguments about China’s involvement in the affairs of these three nations. I discuss multiple value factors for a superpower to invest in a nation and how this influences that nation’s economy and politics. The end result takes the form of a review of China’s influence on these three nations. My study gives context and poses questions for future research on the economies and political strategy behind the investments made by world powers in African countries.

The Arab American population is severely understudied despite their recent but also historic presence in the United States. This underrepresentation in research signifies a void that translates to a lack of understanding towards Arab American culture. This qualitative study was conducted to make clearer the correlation between gender norms in the Arab American community and the acculturation of Arab American young adults into mainstream American society. Eight 30-45 minute interviews were conducted in a semi-structured form with Arab American young adults aged 18-24 years. It was hypothesized that Arab American women were more likely to separate, whereas Arab American men were more likely to integrate into American society. The results are discussed through the comparison of the gendered experiences of the participants against the framework of acculturation. This study identifies central questions and issues that are posed for the acculturation of Arab American young adults, and directions for future research.

The three year-long civil war in Yemen between Houthi militia, made up of Yemen's Zaidi-Shia Muslim minority, and the Saudi-led coalition over the restoring of each of their respective powers to the Yemeni government has had irreversible impact on both Yemeni people and society. Thousands have died, either directly from bombing or indirectly due to blockades put in place by the opposing forces, and hundreds have gone missing or been forcibly disappeared. Soaring inflation, in combination with years of blockades and bombs, have had disastrous effects on the economy of Yemen. As part of a seminar on Human Rights through UW Bothell, I explored policymakers' response to the ongoing crisis. My research took place in two phases: first was gathering data regarding the war, where I found that current UN reports project that if bombing continues and a resolution between the opposing parties is not reached soon, over 14 million people will die of starvation. Step two was to make a policy recommendation on behalf of the U.S. as a result of this research. Scholars have engaged in long-standing debates over what U.S. response should be to the crisis. In my research, I argue that the United States, as an ally of Saudi Arabia, must act immediately to end support of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen that is directly responsible for the deaths of thousands and for the dire humanitarian crisis of millions. No administration has gone to Congress to approve the involvement in Yemen's civil war, and thus, Congress must enact the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and end U.S. support of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. If the United States wants to be seen as a protector of human rights worldwide, we must stop aiding the blatant human rights abuses in Yemen.

Global warming is a real threat to our communities and the world at large, yet most publics may under-appreciate the threat, or yet be moved to action. This research explores the level of awareness and motivation at UW Bothell, specifically exploring the questions: What is the level of knowledge about global warming and fossil fuels from students, faculty and staff? Does knowledge or perception of these issues differ among U.S. students versus international students? How does awareness and motivation toward action correlate to having taken environmental coursework? Results will be presented from an anonymous, cross-sectional survey from three groups: students, faculty, and staff at UW Bothell (UWB) regarding knowledge, perception, usage, and interest or engagement in actions to reduce fossil fuel use and reduce climate warming. Based on related prior work, both quantitative and qualitative results are expected to show a range in perception, knowledge, and acceptance of global warming, as well as fossil fuel usage and energy conservation in relation to political affiliation, and prior exposure to environmental coursework. The study serves as a foundation for a future study to increase knowledge about global warming and energy conservation.

In 1980 Mt. St. Helens erupted, felling nearby trees into Spirit Lake. Today the remaining logs make up a floating mat covering 20% of the lake’s surface. This unique habitat niche has the potential to host various types of photosynthetic organisms. One such organism is cyanobacteria that has the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. A previous study on the nutrient budget in Spirit Lake suggested that nitrogen outflow was greater than inflow, and this study aims to investigate the potential role cyanobacteria has on the lake’s nitrogen budget. Our hypothesis is that cyanobacteria growing on these floating log mats, and possibly other benthic habitats in the lake, are the source of the larger outflow of nitrogen. Gathering samples from plankton tows, and artificial substrates anchored to the logs, we counted and calculated the relative abundance of the cyanobacteria compared to other phytoplankton. We found that the average relative abundance of cyanobacteria is about 13.08% across plankton tows and log mats. Over the sampling season relative abundance was low until early July then peaked in early August dropping off slightly over the month. Species richness of phytoplankton also increased significantly in August and remained high to the end of the month. We predicted based on the surface area of the log mats and fixation rates for an oligotrophic lake that the cyanobacteria only accounted for 0.01% of the excess nitrogen output. These results suggest that the dominant taxa on the log mat are not cyanobacteria, and that further investigation needs to be done into other potential habitat that might be more important for cyanobacteria. More extensive sampling needs to be done over the full length of the algal growth season, and the effects of seasonal weather patterns on nitrogen fixation need to be further investigated.