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    Monastic Diets and Aquatic Species: Examining Potential Fish Consumption at the Ghazali Monastery, Sudan Through Stable Isotope Analysis of Sulphur
    (University of Waterloo, 2026-01-28) Tham, Carita
    Stable isotope analysis can be applied in bioarchaeological contexts as a tool to assess paleodiet as this technique relies on naturally occurring differences in isotopic values in different food sources and environments. Previous research has been conducted to assess possible dietary composition of the monastic inhabitants of at the medieval Makurian site of Ghazali (ca. 680-1275 CE), Nubia using stable isotope analyses of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) on bone collagen of its monastic inhabitants. This showed a varied diet evidently comprising of both terrestrial plants and animals. Additionally, δ15N values observed in five individuals suggest potential aquatic species consumption in conjunction with terrestrial animal protein. However, no remains of aquatic species were identified during excavations at Ghazali, and little aquatic species were identified at other Makurian sites. This lack of evident aquatic species (e.g. fish) consumption at Ghazali brings forth numerous questions surrounding dietary practices both at Ghazali and within the broader region of similar Makurian monasteries. This research utilized stable isotope analysis of sulphur (δ34S) on human bone collagen in conjunction with previously presented δ15N values, in tandem with existing textual and bioarchaeological evidence from Egypt and Byzantium, to determine the presence or absence of fish in the diet of the monastic inhabitants at Ghazali. The sample consisted of 20 individuals from Cemetery 2, where 18 of these individuals were male monks. Analysis of δ34S, when coupled with previous δ15N values, revealed that four of these individuals showed evidence of possible fish consumption alongside terrestrial animal protein consumption.
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    Jewish Women in the Concentration Camp System in Germany, 1933-1945
    (University of Waterloo, 2025) Koepke, Alicia
    This Master’s Research Paper examines the experiences of Jewish women in the three women’s concentration camps of Nazi Germany: Moringen, Lichtenburg, and Ravensbrück in chronological order from 1933 until 1945. With the exception of various early provisional concentration camps in the early 1930s and women’s subcamps of former men’s camps towards the end of the war, women were largely relegated to one camp at a time (Moringen 1933-1938, Lichtenburg 1937-1939, Ravensbrück 1939-1945). As a result, studying the experiences of these women as they were transferred from one camp to the next throughout the Nazi period allows us to examine how women’s concentration camp experiences evolved and changed over time. In studying specifically the experiences of Jewish women, we see not only how gender, but also race, affected the treatment and experiences of female prisoners in these camps. Ultimately, the three main camps reflect both Nazi policies and social movements which affected how long Jewish women stayed in the camps, the reasons given for their arrest, and how they were treated and categorized within the camps. The secondary focus of this project was to examine life within the camps, how these women reacted to their imprisonment, how they survived months or even years in the concentration camp system, and how they interacted with fellow non-Jewish prisoners. Organized into three main sections (one for each camp examined) with some subsections to focus on particular aspects of each camp, this paper follows the development of the women’s concentration camp system in a chronological order. The lengthy introduction seeks to establish the origins of the Nazi concentration camp system, the particular difficulties in studying Jewish and female prisoners in the earliest camps, the subject of gender in historical analysis, and the available historiography on this topic. The section on Moringen is divided into two parts. The first section deals with the organization of the Moringen concentration camp, including an examination of the available primary sources which discuss the separation of Jewish women into their own “Judensaal” (Jewish Hall). The second section examines daily life within Moringen. Lichtenburg is examined in only one section, both because it served as a women’s camp for just over one year and because there are few sources dedicated to this camp. The final two sections examine Ravensbrück. Part 1 deals with the first period (1939-1942) in which Jewish women were imprisoned in the camp, ending with the final deportations of Jewish women to Auschwitz in the Fall of 1942 after which the camp remained “Judenrein” (“free of Jews”) for a short while. Part 2 on Ravensbrück deals with the late war years in the camp and the declining conditions from 1943 until liberation in 1945 during which thousands of Jewish women entered the camp from eastern camps and ghettos. This paper contributes to the historiography on gender and race in the German concentration camp system by examining both the development of the concentration camp system for women and the particular experiences and daily life and survival of Jewish women from 1933 until 1945.
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    Utilizing Existing Data to Measure Ecological Connectivity for Planning Southern Ontario’s Urban Growth: A Case Study of the Waterloo Region
    (University of Waterloo, 2026-01-27) Wiens, Cassandra
    Urbanization is an increasing threat to global biodiversity. Urban areas are often thought to preclude native plants and animals but are capable of supporting some species if properly managed. Urban planning tends to focus on maximizing human benefits of the urban landscape; however, urban greenspaces can enhance ecological services for humans and promote natural species diversity. Habitat quantity and quality should be the top priorities when managing urban greenspaces. In urban areas, quantity and quality may be limited by the area available, so other tools are needed to make advancements. Connectivity represents a metric that could help plan urban greenspaces. To explore the utility of connectivity tools for cities in Southern Ontario, resistance maps were developed for Kitchener, Ontario based on four animals (bats, deer, shrews and snakes) using 2019 aerial data. Scenarios were developed based on potential changes to the city by increasing either the number of habitat cells by 5% or 10% (showing potential backyard and small greenspace restorations) or the number of buildings cells to meet projected growth targets. These were created by selecting cells randomly and reassigning values based on desired fragmentation of the land type. The resulting resistance maps were analyzed using an “omnidirectional” method developed for Circuitscape that enabled landscape level analysis of connectivity. Urban connectivity differed for the four species based on the dispersal capability of each species with bats and deer having the most connectivity with maximum resistance values of 0.53 and 0.76 respectively and shrews and snakes the least connectivity with maximum resistance values of 1.07 and 1.33. Connectivity decreased with increasing urbanization, showing a gradient of increasing current as building density increased and urban green spaces decreased. All urban greenspaces, from yards to natural areas, were important for landscape connectivity and need to be maintained if not enhanced. Buildings represented the primary barrier for all species other than bats (due to their ability to fly over them). Roads and paved areas also posed barriers to all species and represented the strongest barrier for bats. Mitigation methods should be considered for these areas, with greenspaces planned through highly built areas. Of the three models, increased building density had the largest effect on habitat connectivity, changing the resistance values by 25-33% for deer, shrew, and snakes. Bats species only had a 5-6% increase in resistance because buildings are less of a barrier to bats. The models with increasing habitat amounts were difficult to visually differentiate from the 2019 baseline, and changes in resistance value were less than 1%. These maps did show some benefits for urban species. This was expected due to the larger number of cells changed in the increased building density scenario. Planning mitigation efforts around densification should be the top priority for maintaining connectivity, but creating and maintaining greenspaces should not be forgotten as increasing habitat provides benefits beyond connectivity. Overall, these results were expected, but this analysis did show the utility of connectivity mapping for Kitchener. Connectivity analysis is potentially a valuable tool for urban planners in Southern Ontario cities if habitat quantity and quality are already being maximized and with the caveat that connectivity planning should not justify the removal of existing habitat patches and care should be taken to avoid undervaluing small patches.
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    Mobility and the Landscape: Investigating mobility of individuals at Wadi Faynan 100 using minimally invasive strontium isotope analysis
    (University of Waterloo, 2026-01-27) Mah, Jessica
    In comparison to other sites in Jordan, life at the Early Bronze Age (~3600-3000BC) site of Wadi Faynan 100 (WF100) is still largely a mystery. To better understand the use of this site in relation to the EBA transformation of social organization toward urbanism, this study explores strontium isotopic variation using laser ablation-multicollector-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) to observe movement to and from the local area. Strontium (Sr) isotope ratios throughout the developmental periods of human enamel were used to indicate locality and patterns of mobility at WF100. Thirty-one samples consisting of a collection of permanent incisors, premolars, and first and third molars, in addition to two deciduous molars were analyzed alongside eleven local faunal samples. Initial results indicate variable patterns of mobility throughout the individual’s childhood development, with some increased instances of consistent locality in later childhood. This supports arguments for a more diversified and regionally specific social organization in EBA Jordan and Wadi Faynan, that may embrace a spectrum of sedentism and transhumance in childhood. These results highlight both the potential for, and challenges of conducting further LA-MC-ICP-MS analysis of Sr in the broader Jordan landscape and provide novel insights into EBA mobility using sequential dental sampling.
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    Filter Performance Optimization for Protozoan Pathogen and Particulate Contaminant Removal During Drinking Water Treatment
    (University of Waterloo, 2026-01-27) De Silva, Kalani
    Physico-chemical filtration (chemically assisted filtration; CAF) remains a critical barrier for the removal of particulate contaminants, including Cryptosporidium oocysts and emerging contaminants such as microplastics, during drinking water treatment. Ensuring consistent CAF performance becomes particularly challenging for systems reliant on high-quality source waters—those with low turbidity and low dissolved organic carbon concentrations—where traditional performance indicators such as turbidity may provide limited insight into the adequacy of coagulation, as source waters often already meet treated-water turbidity criteria prior to coagulation. Under these conditions, coagulant inadequacy or under-dosing may not be readily apparent, potentially resulting in insufficient particle destabilization and overestimation of Cryptosporidium oocyst removal by CAF and associated regulatory treatment credits. The goal of this research was to demonstrate the importance of particle destabilization for achieving reliable removal of protozoan pathogens and other particulate contaminants (including microplastics) by CAF for systems reliant on high-quality source waters. While the importance of coagulation in destabilizing particles for effective CAF is well known, its regulatory and operational relevance—particularly for HQSW—needs to be revisited given the public health importance of drinking water treatment. Pilot-scale performance demonstrations were conducted to: (1) demonstrate the inadequacy of filter effluent turbidity as an indicator of coagulant demand required to achieve ≥3-log protozoan removal by CAF; (2) evaluate zeta potential as an operational tool to indicate the sufficiency of particle destabilization needed to maximize protozoan removal by CAF; (3) investigate direct in-line CAF’s ability to achieve ≥3-log protozoan removal; (4) determine whether removal of microplastics exhibit behavior consistent with other colloidal particles during CAF; and (5) evaluate key methodological factors that contribute to variability and uncertainty in performance demonstrations to enhance confidence in interpreting measured CAF performance. Collectively, the findings reinforce that adequate coagulation and particle destabilization are fundamental drivers of CAF performance across particle types, treatment configurations, and methodological approaches. This work demonstrated that turbidity alone cannot indicate adequacy of coagulant application for high-quality source waters, whereas zeta potential offers a tool to guide coagulant dosing and confirm the particle destabilization needed to achieve ≥3-log protozoan removal by CAF, recognizing that sufficient destabilization range and associated coagulant doses vary with system and water quality specific conditions. At the same time, it also demonstrated performance demonstration methods commonly used to evaluate protozoan removal remain reliable and yield consistent results when particle destabilization is optimized. This work highlights opportunities to strengthen treatment guidance for the removal of protozoan pathogens by CAF for systems reliant on low-turbidity, low-DOC source waters, provides pilot-scale evidence supporting reconsideration of treatment credits assigned to direct in-line CAF, and offers foundational process understanding needed to inform regulatory policy on microplastics.