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Articles 1 - 7 of 7
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The Tortoise (Wildfire) And The Hare (Heavy Winter Grazing) For Promoting Heterogeneity And Improving Ecosystem Services, Lucas W. Zilverberg
The Tortoise (Wildfire) And The Hare (Heavy Winter Grazing) For Promoting Heterogeneity And Improving Ecosystem Services, Lucas W. Zilverberg
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Northern Great Plains (NGP) mixed-grass prairie developed under fire, grazing, and periodic droughts, which created a heterogeneous landscape. Since European settlement, heterogeneous landscapes have declined due to fire suppression and the maximization of livestock production, leading to the need for an alternative management practice. Our overall project objective was to determine if heavy winter grazing could be used as an alternative to patch-burn grazing for promoting heterogeneity and improving ecosystem services in the NGP. Fire has been used very effectively in patch-burn grazing management to create heterogeneity in pastures in some areas, however burning is not readily adopted in …
Winter Snow Depth In Arctic Alaska Results In Complex Changes In Caribou Forage Quality, Jessica C. Richert
Winter Snow Depth In Arctic Alaska Results In Complex Changes In Caribou Forage Quality, Jessica C. Richert
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) rely on the short growing season for much of their annual nutrition, making them susceptible to even small changes in forage quantity and quality. Body condition in the summer and fall is linked to winter survival rates and fecundity in cows, critical factors in the robustness of caribou populations. Due to a warmer, wetter climate, snowfall is predicted to increase over Alaska’s North Slope in the next several decades. Deeper snow results in higher soil temperatures, allowing microbial mineralization of nitrogen to continue throughout the winter and increasing the availability of nitrogen for plants in spring and …
Stoichiometric Homeostasis In Two Native And Two Invasive South Dakotan Grasses, Joshua Thonas Harvey
Stoichiometric Homeostasis In Two Native And Two Invasive South Dakotan Grasses, Joshua Thonas Harvey
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Increased nutrient availability has been widely linked to the success of invasive plants, however a general mechanism explaining these observations is lacking. Stoichiometric homeostasis (H), which is the regulation of internal nutrient concentrations, has been used to explain changes in plant community diversity under alterations in nutrient availability. One hypothesis holds that plants with high regulation (larger H) decrease in abundance in nutrient enriched conditions but are stable in nutrient deficient and drought conditions, likely due to extensive root systems. Additionally, plants with low regulation (lower H) increase in abundance under nutrient enriched conditions but are sensitive to drought …
Effect Of Water Velocity And Temperature On Energy Use, Behavior, And Mortality Of Pallid Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus Albus Larvae, Joseph Thomas Mrnak
Effect Of Water Velocity And Temperature On Energy Use, Behavior, And Mortality Of Pallid Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus Albus Larvae, Joseph Thomas Mrnak
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Pallid Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus are a federally endangered species endemic to the Missouri River basin. Natural reproduction has been limited for decades and a recruitment bottleneck is hypothesized to occur during the larval stage of development. Understanding factors that affect survival of Pallid Sturgeon larvae is key given their critical status and ongoing recovery efforts. In this study, I evaluated the effects of water velocity and temperature on energy use, behavior, and mortality of endogenously feeding Pallid Sturgeon larvae (< 25 mm TL). In the first experiment, I examined the effect of water velocity (0 – 8.3 cm s−1) on larval growth, energy density, swimming activity, and mortality. Larval growth rate at 16.3 °C was similar across …
Maximizing Ecosystem Services Provided To The New Oil Crop Brassica Carinata Through Landscape And Arthropod Diversity, Shane Stiles
Maximizing Ecosystem Services Provided To The New Oil Crop Brassica Carinata Through Landscape And Arthropod Diversity, Shane Stiles
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Prairies, once spanning the Upper Midwest, have now largely been replaced by agriculture. The lack of resources available to pollinators in agricultural fields and the practices employed by farmers to maximize yield has led to a decline in insect and pollinator diversity. There is a need to better understand how ecosystem services provided by a diverse insect community scale to current farming practices as they relate to crop yield. We sought to explain how landscape heterogeneity relates to insect and pollinator diversity, as well as how insect diversity relates to crop yield across common farming practices. To evaluate how farming …
Diversifying Cornfields By Interseeding Cover Crops: Practical Implications And The Response Of Invertebrate Communities, Michael Bredeson
Diversifying Cornfields By Interseeding Cover Crops: Practical Implications And The Response Of Invertebrate Communities, Michael Bredeson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The lack of suitable habitat conditions for beneficial organisms in simplified agroecosystems leads to unstable invertebrate communities and overreliance on chemical control of herbivores. It is possible to manage pest populations without agrichemicals by manipulating farmland so that herbivores are impaired by plant-driven bottom-up and enemy-driven top-down antagonisms. Interseeding cover crops between established crop rows is a method used by farmers to improve habitat suitability for natural enemies and hinder host-finding, feeding and movement by herbivores. Here I address three important research gaps related to interseeding cover crops. A calcium carbonate seed coating, used to improve seed-broadcasting efficiency, was tested …
Prairie Dogs And Livestock In Rangeland Systems: Balancing Biodiversity And Production In The Northern Mixed-Grass Prairie, Jameson Robert Brennan
Prairie Dogs And Livestock In Rangeland Systems: Balancing Biodiversity And Production In The Northern Mixed-Grass Prairie, Jameson Robert Brennan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A major constraint of beef production within the Standing Rock Reservation has been identified as a reduction in rangeland quality due in large part to wide-scale colonization by black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). The desire exists within the community to design a holistic framework which incorporates livestock management with the goal of increasing production and rangeland health while still maintaining increased diversity associated with prairie dogs. Prairie dogs reduce the carrying capacity of cattle on rangelands by up to 50% on occupied hectares through direct consumption of vegetation and waste due to clipping to improve detection of predators. Livestock stocking …