Organic matter (OM) production and decomposition is important to wetland health as it serves to cycle nutrients throughout the ecosystem. Current wetland monitoring programs in the Laurentian Great Lakes focus on structural indicators, such as fish, bird, and vegetation communities but lack the use of functional metrics such as organic matter processing. In this study we aim to create a new suite of functional indicators that focus on OM production and decomposition. Decomposition rates were measured using mesh litter bags containing dried bulrush tissue (Schoenoplectus acutus) as well as by the use of cotton strips incubated for 8 weeks at 20 coastal wetlands of Lakes Michigan and Huron. Nutrient limitation of decomposition was also measured using nutrient diffusing bags containing nitrogen, phosphorus, and a combination of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. OM production rates were measured by periphyton biomass accrual on acrylic rods over an 8-week period. In addition, nutrient diffusing substrates were deployed to test the effects of nutrient limitation on algae growth. We predicted that decomposition rates would be positively associated with higher nutrient concentrations. We also predicted that algae growth rates would be greatest on substrates containing high nutrient concentrations. When developed, functional indicators could be used alongside current structural indicators to provide a better overall assessment of wetland health.

A profound irony underscored the Cold War-era U.S. government’s clandestine support of American dance and film; the main innovators in these forms were Russian immigrants themselves. One of these was Maya Deren, a largely unacknowledged avant-garde filmmaker, theorist, and creator of the “dance for camera” genre. She was born Eleanora Derenkowsky in Kiev, Ukraine and immigrated to the U.S. in 1922. Defying mainstream Hollywood trends, which followed linear, cause-and-effect story arcs, Deren created unique “dance for camera” films that emphasized the movements of the dancer and the camera. Her films created dances that could not exist in a live performance by utilizing film’s ability to cut instantly between scenes and play footage in reverse. Deren viewed film as “an art which makes its statement in terms of time and movement. This medium is not so much concerned with any single instant as with the change from instant to instant.” A dancer would begin a movement in one scene and complete the same movement in a different space entirely. In a single moment, the dancer could traverse space and time. By using such film tools, Deren expanded the limits of the human body.  Though many films today reflect her influence, mainstream film theory histories ignore Deren’s contributions. By analyzing Deren’s A Study in Choreography for the Camera (1945) using her own writings as well as contemporary film theory, I attempt to recuperate Deren to film theory history.

Do we embody our social identities? It is well known that men and women are taught to speak differently, but they also learn to move differently. Like in spoken language, differences exist between both individuals and groups of people in how they communicate non-verbally. Men and women have generally distinct sex differences which result from acculturation; how much is a result of biological factors and how do these overlap? I will undertake research that examines how sex is perceived based on movement alone. Using Kinect technology to document subjects performing movement prompts in the form of gender-ambiguous animations, I will solicit responses from viewers of the animations to determine how accurately the viewer judges the sex of the mover. I will measure the accuracy of their perceptions against several factors, which might influence gender performance including: the dance-experience of the mover, the music played for the mover, the movement prompt, and whether the mover is actively trying to embody a particular gender. This research will contribute to research on non-verbal expression of identity and inform representations of gender in the performing arts.

Little is known about the 19th Century painter Francois Leupalle and his 1832, oil on canvas painting, Marie Taglioni and Joseph Mazilier in the First Scene of La Sylphide. Despite Leupalle’s obscurity, many Romantic Ballet history books reproduce the painter’s La Sylphide as visual evidence for Romantic Ballet. Leupalle’s painting, then, represents not only La Sylphide but also the Romantic ballerina. In the 19th Century, the ballerina usurped the danseur and reached celebrity status. Through her pointe work, Taglioni helped to facilitate this radical shift. If her pointe work symbolized this sea change, why then does Leupalle illustrate Taglioni barefoot? Lithographs of this period predominantly portray dancing ballerinas, framing their pointe work; yet Leupalle’s barefoot ballerina kneels beside a kilted Scotsman, who slumbers in an armchair, surrounded by a vista of mist, light and foliage. This paper examines how Leupalle’s choice to portray Taglioni as barefoot affects scholars’ use of the painting as visual evidence for Romantic Ballet. Through analysis of the painting and archival documents, this research critiques the use of this image as visual evidence of the Romantic ballerina using male gaze and visual pleasure.