GEORGIA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE Peer Reviewed Publication of the Georgia Academy of Science Georgia ISSN: 0147-9369 Vol. 73 No. 1 - 2015 Vol. http://www.GaAcademy.org for the Advancement of Science affiliated with the American Association Academy of Science GEORGIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE President: Richard W. Schmude, Jr. Dept. of Math & Nat Sci, Gordon College 419 College Dr., Barnesville, GA 30204 O: (770) 358-0728 • [email protected] President Elect: Shane A. Webb Dept of Biology, U of N Georgia Dahlonega, GA 30597 O: (706) 867-2947 • [email protected] Past President: Bob Powell Physics Department, Univ of W GA 1601 Maple St., Carrollton, GA 30118 O: (678) 839-4095 • [email protected] Vice-President: Susan Kirkpatrick Smith Geography & Anthropology, Kennesaw State U (770) 423-6247 • [email protected] Secretary: Joseph Sloop Georgia Gwinnett College 1000 University Center Ln, Lawrenceville, GA 30043 O: (678) 485-5021 • [email protected] Treasurer: James Nienow Biology Department, Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA 31698 • [email protected] O: (229) 333-5759 • Fax: (229) 245-6585 Journal Editor: John V. Aliff GA Perimeter College P.O. Box 506, Auburn, GA 30011 O: (678) 630-8119 • [email protected] COUNCILOR-AT-LARGE 2012-2015: Neal Chesnut, Dept of Physics, U of W GA, Carrollton, GA 30118 2013-2016: Sandra Rucker, Dept of Mathematical Sciences, Clark Atlanta U, Atlanta, GA 30314 2014-2017: Linda Jones, Dept of Biology, Young Harris College, Young Harris, GA 30582 SECTION COUNCILORS I. Biological Sciences Linda Jones, Dept of Biology, Young Harris College, Young Harris 30582 II. Chemistry S. Abegaz, Dept of Chemistry, Columbus State U, Columbus 31907 III. Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Alfred Mead, Biological & Environ Sci, GA College & State U, Milledgeville 31061 IV. Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering and Technology Javier Hasbun V. Biomedical Sciences Robert McDonough, Biology Dept, Georgia Perimeter College, Decatur 30030 VI. Philosophy and History of Science Ronald Mickens, Dept of Physics, Clark Atl U, Atlanta 30314 VII. Science Education Peter Roessle VIII. Anthropology M. Jared Wood, Sociology & Anthropology Dept, Georgia Southern U, Statesboro 30460 Historian: Vivian Rogers-Price, Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, Pooler 31322 Associate Journal Editor: Vacant Technical Program Chair: Barry Hojjatie, Dept of Physics, Astr & Geosci, Valdosta SU, 31698 Local Arrangements 2015: Koushik Banerjee, GA College & SU, Milledgeville 31061 GEORGIA JOURNAL OF SCIENCE Volume 73 2015 Number 1 CONTENTS PRESIDENT’S WELCOME: Richard W. Schmude, Jr., President, Georgia Academy of Science ....... 2 GCSU PRESIDENT’S WELCOME .......................................................................... 3 GCSU MAP .......................................................................................................... 4 GAS PROGRAM & ROOM ASSIGNMENTS ........................................................... 5 PROGRAM: Ninety-Second Annual Meeting of the Georgia Academy of Science, Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, Georgia March 13-14, 2015 ......................................................................... 6 Friday’s Sessions Section I: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES .............................................................. 19 Section II: CHEMISTRY ................................................................................ 23 Section IV: PHYSICS, MATHEMATICS, COMPUTER SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY ............................................ 25 Saturday’s Sessions Section I: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES .............................................................. 31 Section II: CHEMISTRY ................................................................................ 41 Section III: EARTH AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES ...................................... 47 Section IV: PHYSICS, MATHEMATICS, COMPUTER SCIENCE, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY ............................................ 53 Section V: BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES .............................................................. 58 Section VI: PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY OF SCIENCE ................................. 64 Section VII: SCIENCE EDUCATION ................................................................. 66 Section VIII: ANTHROPOLOGY ....................................................................... 68 History and Description of the Georgia Academy of Science ................................... 73 Membership information and application ............................................................... 74 2 GAS PRESIDENT’S WELCOME, COMMENTS AND REPORT FROM THE ACADEMY COUNCIL Hello Academy Members and Guests: Welcome to the 2015 meeting of the Georgia Academy of Science! The academy is grateful to President Steve Dorman for the invitation to meet at Georgia College. The academy is also grateful to Koushik Banerjee and his committee for organizing this meeting. Georgia College was founded in 1889 as a college for women. One famous student of this college is the writer Mary Flannery O’Connor. This college became co-educational in 1967. Currently 6600 graduate and undergraduate students are pursuing advanced studies at this institution. Georgia College has an observatory along with a variety of programs of study. If you get some free time please explore the town of Milledgeville. It was founded over 200 years ago. This town was the capitol of Georgia from 1804 to 1868. Important places to visit include the Oconee River, the Old State Capitol Building and the Bartram Educational Forest. Sincerely, Richard W. Schmude, Jr. President The Georgia Academy of Science 3 4 GEORGIA COLLEGE MAP 5 GAS 2015 PROGRAM Friday, March 13, 2015 12:00 PM Georgia Academy of Science Board of Directors Meeting HSB 211 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Oral Presentations HSB 213 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM On-site Registration HSB Student Commons 5:15 PM to 6:30 PM Opening remarks, Poster Presentations HSB 314 Refreshments Served 6:30 PM to 6:45 PM Break 6:45 PM to 7:30 PM Keynote Lecture A&S Auditorium Dr. Chryssa Kouveliotou of the Marshall Space Flight Center and UA-Huntsville will deliver our keynote address. Dr. Kouveliotou, a Fellow of the American Physical Society, is a recipient of several prestigious awards for her contributions to physics (2003 Rossi Prize, 2004 Descartes Prize, and 2012 Heineman Prize), and has helped develop multiple missions dedicated to the study of gamma-ray bursts and highly-magnetized neutron stars. The Transient High-Energy Sky High-energy transients exhibit themselves in many diverse ways: supernovae, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), magnetars, X-ray Binaries, Active Galactic Nuclei, among others. My work has focused predominantly in magnetars and GRBs; I will discuss here these transients, their properties and the evolution in the last 30 years of our knowledge of their nature and radiation mechanisms. Finally, I will briefly mention the findings of the NASA Astro- physics Roadmap team, who produced the long term (beyond the next 30 years) strategic planning of NASA. 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM Tour Historic Downtown Milledgeville (self guided) 8:30 PM to 10:00 PM Observatory Visit Saturday, March 14, 2015 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM Light Breakfast HSB Student Commons 8:00 AM to 12:00 AM Oral Presentations HSB Rooms 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Lunch Magnolia Ballroom 1:15 PM to 1:45 PM Student awards HSB 211 6 FRIDAY PAPER PRESENTATIONS *Denotes student presenter **Denotes student research in progress Section I: Biological Sciences Health Sciences Building, Room 144 Paul T. Arnold, Presiding 2:00 AN ASSESSMENT OF THE MOBILITY OF STEM LOOP DNA IN NATIVE AND DENATURING POLYACRYLAMIDE GELS**, Holly R. DuPlain* and A.C. Spencer 2:15 MORPHOLOGICAL AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL CHANGES USING ESSENTIAL OIL VAPORS AGAINST ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS IN GEORGIA PEANUTS, Reesheda T. Gilbert* and P.N. Achar 2:30 ASSESSMENT OF VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS FOR RESTORATION OF CRITICAL SANDHILL HABITAT AND CONSERVATION OF THREATENED REPTILE SPECIES**, Re- gan A. Phillips*, M. Elliot, L.M. Kruse, J.M. Moffett Jr., C.J. Tant and B.L. Simmons 2:45 DRILLING FREQUENCY OF CERITHIUM SPECIES IN THE BAHAMAS, Elizabeth Lemley*, M. DeVore and D. Freile 3:00 OCTOPUS DRILLING FREQUENCIES IN TWO CARIBBEAN COWRIE SPECIES (EROSARIA ACICAULARIS AND LU- CRIA CINEREA), Aeron Attwooll* and M. DeVore 3:15 Break 3:30 ALARM CUES IN PLANARIANS, Heather L. Perona*, J.L. Win- kler and F.S. Corotto 3:45 DOCUMENTING CHANGES IN MOTH LIFE CYCLE AND ABUNDANCE CAUSED BY URBAN WARMING**, Vy Tran*, Linh Do*, I.Y. Rickets, J. Pickering and J.M. Lochamy 4:00 HABITAT PREFERENCES, ABUNDANCE, AND POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS OF A STATE-ENDANGERED CRAYFISH CAMBARUS PARRISHI ALONG AN ELEVATION GRADI- ENT**, S. Weaver*, K. Cash* and J.G. Davis 4:15 A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR AGING THE SICKLEFIN RED- HORSE MOXOSTOMA SP. TO MEASURE ANNUAL GROWTH RATES**, Benjamin A. Farley*, W.H. Leatherwood and J.G. Davis 7 4:30 REIN TENSION DURING TROT AND CANTER IN DRESSAGE HORSES OF VARYING LEVELS**, Ashley Davenport*, B.K. Hull, D.S. Hanson, J.G. Davis and A. Roy 4:45 Posters (will be displayed through 5:30) Section II: Chemistry Health Sciences Building, Room 105 Ghislain Mandouma, Presiding 3:15 DETERMINING THE GLASS TRANSITION OF POLYSTY- RENE NANOSPHERES UNDER HARD AND SOFT CONFINE- MENT**, Nicole M. Sikes*, Rubicelys Torres Guzman and D. Wade Holley 3:30 EXPLORING SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION USAGE BY ORGANIC CHEMISTRY STUDENTS, Oneida E. Muniz* and Su- zanne R. Carpenter 3:45 A NOVEL AND GREEN SYNTHESIS OF SUBSTITUTED BEN- ZO[c]CINNOLINES AND DIBENZO[c,h]CINNOLINES AND THEIR CYTOTOXICITY SCREENING**,