The ScholarShip

Featured Resource: Discover ECU Research Datasets in the Data Catalog Hub

The ScholarShip is a digital archive for the scholarly output of the ECU community. Its mission is to capture, preserve, and make available the intellectual output of East Carolina University's faculty, staff, and students.

Submit your work to the ScholarShip

How to submit work to the ScholarShip

Scholarly Communication Services

Communities & Collections in the ScholarShip

Select a community to browse its collections.

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8

Recent Submissions

Access status: Metadata only ,
Test title
(2026-09-24) No one
Access status: Open Access ,
Healthy eating in a food desert is hard, but not impossible
(2026-09-02) Mourning, Kyajia; Kolasa, Kathryn M.
This is a weekly Q and A newspaper column under the byline of Dr. Kathy Kolasa. Today's column is about overcoming barriers to having a healthy diet while living in a food desert.
Access status: Embargo ,
Quantum Harmonic Neural Networks: Application and Determination within the Context of Physics-Informed Neural Networks and Comparative Anomaly Detection
(2026-07) Baroupe-Qualls, Renaldo
At the juncture of quantum-defined systems and classical digital structures, cybersecurity and computing are at an inflection point where both domains converge. This thesis examined the intersection of quantum information science and artificial intelligence, focusing on quantum harmonic analysis and physics-informed neural networks (PINNs). The research approach evaluated data and system behavior from a scientific, experimental perspective. Comparative studies were conducted to assess the proposed hypothesis. Specifically, the research question explored machine learning architecture and artificial intelligence design components in which PINN integration was engineered to support high mathematical precision and anomaly detection within a cybersecurity setting. The study involved coded experimentation using designated AI structures enhanced with simulated quantum processing, producing quantitative output for analysis and scientific interpretation. Methodologies were employed to formalize experimentation with a Geometrically Coherent Quantum Harmonic Neural Network (GCQHNN) and an enhanced physics-informed neural network. The experiment evaluated statistical variability and compared the proposed networks with classical machine learning models and related algorithms when challenged by known and unknown cyberattack vectors.
Access status: Embargo ,
Salinity Gradient Influence on the Tar-Pamlico River Fish Community Structure
(2026-07) Strickland, Jordan Elizabeth
Saltwater intrusion is increasing in estuarine systems worldwide as a result of sea-level rise, altered freshwater inflows, and climate change impacts on the water cycle. Changes in salinity have the potential to alter fish community composition as some species experience physiological stress, barriers to reproduction and larval dispersal, alterations to migration patterns of adult fishes, and reductions in suitable habitat. However, estuarine species are known to be resilient to environmental changes. The saltwater-freshwater interface of the Tar-Pamlico River is understudied, since sampling efforts generally target only freshwater areas or downstream, saltier portions of the estuary. The purpose of this study is to investigate how salinity structures fish communities in the Tar-Pamlico River at this interface to better understand how fish communities may respond to future saltwater intrusion brought about by climate change. The results indicated that biodiversity generally increased as bottom salinity increased. This pattern was correlated with salinity variations more than other variables examined, such as dissolved oxygen, temperature, or spatial factors. Furthermore, salinity was found to be the most influential factor causing variance in fish community composition. In a Redundancy Analysis (RDA), we identified three key species contributing to differences in community composition: spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), and gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum). Using quotient curves and a Regional Oceanographic Modeling System (ROMS), we were able to identify the preferred salinity range of these species and determine how the spatial extent of this range varied under future climate and sea-level rise scenarios. The results indicated that suitable habitat for all three species is projected to move upstream.
Access status: Embargo ,
Along an expanding range: Parasitism and reproduction in the non-native green porcelain crab (Petrolisthes armatus) from Florida to North Carolina
(2026-07) Schulte, Mic
Climate-driven biological invasions and range expansions of marine and estuarine species are increasing in rate and frequency globally with rising ocean and sea surface temperatures. Species historically found at lower latitudes have migrated poleward to exploit increasingly favorable conditions in temperate regions. This trend is important to investigate as these organisms potentially disrupt recipient environments by altering ecosystem dynamics through novel species interactions (i.e. competition, predation, and parasitism). Along the western Atlantic, the northward movement of subtropical and tropical western Atlantic species up the southeast U.S. coast has been termed the “Caribbean creep”. One representative species of this phenomenon is the green porcelain crab (Petrolisthes armatus), an intertidal and subtidal filter-feeder inhabiting oyster reefs, mangroves, and rocky substrates. My research examined how parasitism by the marine bopyrid Aporobopyrus curtatus and reproductive maturity in P. armatus varied along a latitudinal gradient from the cryptogenic range in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, to the leading edge of the non-native range in Beaufort, North Carolina. This work represents the first range-wide study of A. curtatus infections in P. armatus in the United States. In 2024 and 2025, a total of 2,164 porcelain crabs were collected via passive samplers and by hand from sites in Florida (n = 5), Georgia (n = 1), South Carolina (n = 1), and North Carolina (n = 3). Upon analyzing patterns of bopyrid infection across the study range, generalized linear mixed models revealed that both individual infection probability and population-level infection prevalence decreased with increasing latitude. These findings are consistent with expectations of the enemy release hypothesis, which suggests that non-native species experience reduced pressure from parasites, pathogens, predators, and competition as they move into novel environments. Upon examining reproductive life history traits in Petrolisthes armatus, modeling showed that probability of ovigery varied with the interaction between body size and latitude, indicating that females at higher latitudes reached reproductive maturity at smaller body sizes. As tropical and subtropical species move into colder temperate environments, they are subjected to physiological stress that may impact their growth, development, and reproductive patterns. Together, these findings improve our understanding of how parasitism and reproductive traits vary across the range of Petrolisthes armatus in the southeast U.S., providing greater insight into the ecological processes that influence the establishment and success of these crabs and other invasive and range-expanding species.