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Articles 1 - 27 of 27
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Identification Of Morphemes And The Effect Of Memory Load On Second Language Learning, James A. Hebert
Identification Of Morphemes And The Effect Of Memory Load On Second Language Learning, James A. Hebert
Honors Theses
No abstract provided.
Toxic Landscapes, Environmental Justice, And The Community: An Assessment Of Citizen Participation In Superfund Site Remediation Across Vulnerable Populations, Simone Justine Domingue
Toxic Landscapes, Environmental Justice, And The Community: An Assessment Of Citizen Participation In Superfund Site Remediation Across Vulnerable Populations, Simone Justine Domingue
LSU Master's Theses
The environmental justice movement has made progress toward unveiling environmental inequalities and addressing these inequalities through the empowerment of low-income and minority communities. Federal agencies like the EPA have incorporated environmental justice principles into their operating frameworks, with the goals of ensuring every community is treated similarly when it comes to the implementation of environmental statutes, and ensuring community members are active participants in environmental activities that affect community well-being. Community involvement at federal Superfund sites is rarely conceptualized as an event related to environmental justice despite the role it has in shaping decisions at hazardous waste sites. This study …
If You Build It, What Will Come? Assessing The Avian Response To Wetland Restoration In The Mississippi River Bird’S Foot Delta Through Multiple Measures Of Density And Biodiversity, Lauren Rae Sullivan
If You Build It, What Will Come? Assessing The Avian Response To Wetland Restoration In The Mississippi River Bird’S Foot Delta Through Multiple Measures Of Density And Biodiversity, Lauren Rae Sullivan
LSU Master's Theses
Multiple wetland restoration and enhancement techniques are used in Louisiana to combat land loss and provide habitat for waterbirds. We investigated the avian response to three wetland restoration techniques in the Lower Mississippi Bird’s Foot Delta to determine if the different habitat types resulted in differences in the value of edge habitat. Species richness, guild richness, total bird density, bird density by foraging guild, and bird abundance relative to distance from the marsh edge was compared among (i) crevasse splays, a type of sediment diversion which allow the river to build new wetlands, (ii), beneficial use of dredged material marshes, …
Three Year Assessment Of Nearshore Crude Oil Contamination In The Gulf Of Mexico Using Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia Patronus) As An Indicator Species: Menhaden Watch, Gregory Michael Olson
Three Year Assessment Of Nearshore Crude Oil Contamination In The Gulf Of Mexico Using Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia Patronus) As An Indicator Species: Menhaden Watch, Gregory Michael Olson
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Approximately 4.9 million barrels of crude oil along with natural gas were released into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) from April to July 2010 (Deepwater Horizon, DWH, spill). Impacts of this magnitude seldom occur in the GoM (Ixtoc I was the last spill close to this magnitude occurring in 1979), and one cannot predict when they will happen. Major constituents of concern found in crude oil are Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), which often have low volatility that allows for prolonged existence in the environment. PAHs are compounds of concern according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), with one …
Hybridization And Population Structure Of Western Gulf Coast Mottled Ducks, Robert Joseph Ford
Hybridization And Population Structure Of Western Gulf Coast Mottled Ducks, Robert Joseph Ford
LSU Master's Theses
Rates of hybridization between species that do not normally interbreed have increased due to human impacts on natural environments, such as habitat alteration or introductions of non-native species. Human-induced hybridization can be detrimental to wildlife and contribute to species extinctions. In Florida, feral Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) hybridize with endemic Mottled Ducks (A. fulvigula) at rates close to 9%. However, levels of hybridization between these two species have not been extensively examined in the western Gulf Coast (from Alabama to northern Mexico) despite the potential impact on the Mottled Duck lineage. In this study, I examined the degree of hybridization between …
Impact Of Exposure To Weathered Crude Oil And Accumulation Of Pahs In Crawfish (Procambarus Clarkii), Brittany Lynn Chichester
Impact Of Exposure To Weathered Crude Oil And Accumulation Of Pahs In Crawfish (Procambarus Clarkii), Brittany Lynn Chichester
LSU Master's Theses
The number of pipelines transporting crude oil and other refined petroleum products across the U.S. has increased 15.4% from 2004 to 2013. In Louisiana, over 3,450 miles of liquid petroleum pipelines crisscross the state. In January 2013, crude oil was accidentally released from an underground pipeline into Bayou Sorrel, Louisiana. This freshwater wetland is located within the Atchafalaya River Basin which is home to large populations of wild crawfish that could be impacted by the crude oil released. This study aims to assess the potential lethal impacts that crude oil spill may have produced in adult crawfish (P. clarkii) and …
Effects Of Inbreeding On Endangered Red Wolves (Canis Rufus), Kristin E. Brzeski
Effects Of Inbreeding On Endangered Red Wolves (Canis Rufus), Kristin E. Brzeski
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Inbreeding depression, the reduction in offspring fitness caused by mating among close relatives, is widespread in small populations and a major concern in conservation biology because it can affect population persistence. The negative effects of inbreeding results in the evolution of inbreeding avoidance behaviors; within small populations, such behaviors may encourage individuals to select mates outside of their respective species. Mate choice may also be facilitated by variation at major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, a gene group critical for immune response and disease resistance. Given broad impacts of inbreeding and MHC variation on fitness and behavior, evaluating their effects is …
A Spatial Dynamic Model Of Population Changes In A Vulnerable Coastal Environment, Kenan Li
A Spatial Dynamic Model Of Population Changes In A Vulnerable Coastal Environment, Kenan Li
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Achieving coastal sustainability in low-lying coastal areas is a great challenge. This study developed a spatial dynamic model to study the coupled natural-human responses in the form of population changes in the Lower Mississippi River Basin region. The goal was to identify the key social-economic factors (utility) and selected environmental factors (such as hazards damage, elevation, and subsidence rate) that affect population changes, as well as how population changes affect the local utility and the local environment reciprocally. The study area was partitioned into the “north’ and the “south” by a hypothetical boundary to test the differences of the emergence. …
Microtopographic Ecohydrology Of A Forested Wetland In Louisiana, Yu-Hsin Hsueh
Microtopographic Ecohydrology Of A Forested Wetland In Louisiana, Yu-Hsin Hsueh
LSU Master's Theses
Coastal wetland forest ecosystems rely on the intimate interactions of hydrology, salinity, and coastal forest vegetation. The boundary between marsh and forest is often where hummock-swale terrain exists. It remains unknown as to the degree to which trees may experience varied salinity level within hummocks provided with freshwater flux. This study examined the hydrological regime of the hummock-swale terrain that resulted in salinity variation and whether freshwater source exists for baldcypress. Natural tracers of stable isotopes of water and salinity were applied to understand the sources of water. To better examine the tracers used, we conducted several experiments to gain …
Analyzing Site Suitability For Baldcypress (Taxodium Distichum) Regeneration Along A Hydrologic Gradient In South Louisiana Swamps, Marcus Rutherford
Analyzing Site Suitability For Baldcypress (Taxodium Distichum) Regeneration Along A Hydrologic Gradient In South Louisiana Swamps, Marcus Rutherford
LSU Master's Theses
The future of Louisiana’s coastal cypress-tupelo forests is threatened by prolonged or permanent flooding during the growing season. Permanent inundation prevents baldcypress seedlings from becoming established. The upper limit of submergence with respect to adequate planted baldcypress seedling performance has not been effectively tested under actual field conditions. Similarly, an effective method for determining a site’s regeneration potential based on present vegetation attributes has not been developed. To test first-year performance of planted baldcypress seedlings under varying levels of submergence, I planted 900 of both 1-0 and 2-0 age-class bare-root seedlings across 12 different sites covering a range of hydrologic …
Effects Of Hydrologic Modifications On Flooding In Bottomland Hardwoods, Erin Johnson
Effects Of Hydrologic Modifications On Flooding In Bottomland Hardwoods, Erin Johnson
LSU Master's Theses
Complex fluvial processes influence floodplains. River modifications in the 1930s have affected hydrogeomorphic processes influencing the lower White River in southeastern Arkansas. The overall objective of this study was to better understand the hydrologic and geomorphic influence on the floodplain forest. We used the HEC-RAS model to quantify hydrologic relationships within the floodplain before and after 1930s river modifications. The model can replicate flooding within 3-5 m. Despite river modifications, HEC-RAS modeling showed headwater floods influenced the upper reach of the floodplain while backwater floods from the Mississippi River influenced the lower reach of the floodplain. Post-1930s incision that occurred …
Effect Of The Herbicide Atrazine On Phytoplankton, Water Quality, And Ecosystem Functions In Louisiana Estuaries, Alexis Victoria Starr
Effect Of The Herbicide Atrazine On Phytoplankton, Water Quality, And Ecosystem Functions In Louisiana Estuaries, Alexis Victoria Starr
LSU Master's Theses
Pesticides are used primarily for agricultural purposes in the US and while these chemicals provide many benefits, the inherent toxicity of the compounds pose a substantial risk to the environment. These chemicals may enter water bodies in areas with a high proportion of agricultural land use through surface run off, ground water discharge, and erosion, and negatively impact non-target aquatic organisms. As a result, Louisiana’s estuaries may be vulnerable to a variety of compounds, including the herbicide atrazine. Atrazine is used extensively throughout the Midwest and has been known to enter the Mississippi River through surface runoff and ground water …
Hydrological Influences On Catahoula Lake In An Altered Floodplain, Lincoln Dugue
Hydrological Influences On Catahoula Lake In An Altered Floodplain, Lincoln Dugue
LSU Master's Theses
Floodplain lakes in floodplains of large rivers undergoing intensive alterations are subject to hydrologic alteration. One example is in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) and pivotal habitat for wildlife. Catahoula Lake has experienced hydrologic regime alterations over the past ~150 years that may be contribute to changes in the habitat with expansion of woody plants. A Diversion Channel was constructed in 1972 to provide the natural, annual de-watering of the lake to maintain its ecological integrity, but ecologic changes are still occurring. Our general goal is to understand the hydrologic regime of the lake, particularly the historical hydrologic regime …
Planktonic Influence On The Toxicity Of Hewafs (High-Energy Water Attenuated Fractions), Erin Elizabeth Saal
Planktonic Influence On The Toxicity Of Hewafs (High-Energy Water Attenuated Fractions), Erin Elizabeth Saal
LSU Master's Theses
The Deep Water Horizon oilrig explosion led to the release of 6.8 ± 1.7 x 108 kg or 4.9 million barrels of petroleum hydrocarbons into the Gulf of Mexico. The spill persisted from the end of April to mid July 2010 affecting a significant portion of the Gulf coast. The effects of this spill are being studied in labs across the country, and this thesis investigated high-energy water accommodated fractions (HEWAFs) as a potential tool for use in this effort. Water accommodated fractions (WAFs) are mediums containing only the fraction of petroleum that remains in aqueous phase after a mixing …
Site-Specific Habitat And Landscape Associations Of Rusty Blackbirds Wintering In Louisiana, Sinead Mary Borchert
Site-Specific Habitat And Landscape Associations Of Rusty Blackbirds Wintering In Louisiana, Sinead Mary Borchert
LSU Master's Theses
The Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) has gained notoriety in recent years as one of the fastest declining North American bird species, with a global population loss of as much as 95%. Causes of the decline are not completely understood, but the high rate of forested wetland change in the southeastern United States suggests that wintering habitat degradation may be a primary driver. To better inform management on critical wintering grounds, I surveyed 68 sites in Louisiana where Rusty Blackbirds had been known to occur to address how occupancy changes with habitat type and colonization and extinction rates vary with ground …
Forest Stakeholders, Policies And Trade In India's Forest Sector, Joy Das
Forest Stakeholders, Policies And Trade In India's Forest Sector, Joy Das
LSU Master's Theses
The thesis examines a panel of trade flows during 2009-2013, exploring the influence of regulatory quality on the pattern of forest products imports by India from 143 partner countries. The study applies a pooled regression model followed by Generalized Least Squared (GLS) technique and a more robust Feasible Generalized Least Squared (FGLS) method of estimation with regulatory quality, distance between the partner country and India, total forest area of partner country, GDP and population indicators to assess the impact of partner country’s regulatory quality and other trade-related factors on imports of forest products by India. The results support the notion …
Cellulose Nanofibers From Energycane Bagasse And Their Applications In Core-Shell Structured Hydrogels, Yiying Yue
Cellulose Nanofibers From Energycane Bagasse And Their Applications In Core-Shell Structured Hydrogels, Yiying Yue
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Cellulose fibers (Cellulose I, cellulose II and cellulose I/II Hybrid fibers) were successfully extracted from energycane bagasse by using a combined NaOH and NaClO2 treatment. After the delignification process, most lignin and hemicellulose were removed with a 27.4wt% yield of cellulose fibers, and the mean diameter of cellulose fibers decreased from 137±46 (raw fiber bundles) to 12±5μm (unpacked fibers). The raw bagasse fibers showed a three-step pyrolysis process, while isolated cellulose fibers had a one-step pyrolysis process. NaClO2 treatment caused the reduction of cellulose thermal stability due to its acting on lignin and cellulose. With 10h NaOH treatment, the ribbon …
A Study Of Resiliency In New Orleans Neighborhoods Ten Years After Hurricane Katrina, Paul Ramnauth Algu
A Study Of Resiliency In New Orleans Neighborhoods Ten Years After Hurricane Katrina, Paul Ramnauth Algu
LSU Master's Theses
Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005, flooding over eighty percent of the Greater New Orleans area and causing a mass exodus of the local population. Statistical analysis was used to quantify recovery at a neighborhood level and answer the following questions: What is the recovery rate of New Orleans neighborhoods ten years after Hurricane Katrina? What factors account for variation in recovery rates among neighborhoods? Six neighborhoods in Orleans Parish were selected for further study based on their unique geographical and recovery metrics. Recovery rates among the seventy-two neighborhoods were based on a comparison of United States Postal …
Game Theoretic Analyses Of The United States-Canada Softwood Lumber Trade, Rajan Parajuli
Game Theoretic Analyses Of The United States-Canada Softwood Lumber Trade, Rajan Parajuli
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
The ongoing softwood lumber trade dispute between the United States (U.S.) and Canada is one of the most contentious and largest bilateral trade battles over the recent decades. The bilateral trade debate is mostly because of the different forestland ownership systems in the U.S. and Canada, and the alleged timber subsidies by provincial governments to Canadian lumber producers. The Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) 2006 between the U.S. and Canada is the latest transitory solution of this dispute, entailing Canada to impose mandatory export charges on its lumber shipments to the U.S. In order to understand this trade dispute from a …
Fish Assemblage Response To Environmental Gradients And Altered Dendritic Connectivity In The Red River Basin, Central Louisiana, Catherine Nell Reuter
Fish Assemblage Response To Environmental Gradients And Altered Dendritic Connectivity In The Red River Basin, Central Louisiana, Catherine Nell Reuter
LSU Master's Theses
Louisiana’s small streams provide critical habitat for diverse ecologically and economically important fish species. However, the relationship between these fish assemblages and habitat variables remains poorly understood. The role of anthropogenic alteration of dendritic stream connectivity is of specific interest and has been shown to significantly influence stream ecology. This study explored the interaction among watershed characteristics, stream connectivity, stream physico-chemistry, and fish assemblages in little-studied Red River basin of central Louisiana as well as how reservoir littoral zones compared to streams, both in terms of fish assemblage and habitat. Fish and habitat were sampled in 21 headwater streams, half …
An Analysis Of Risk Perceptions And Attitudes Towards Climate Change Among Residents Of Southeastern Louisiana, Heather Marie Brown
An Analysis Of Risk Perceptions And Attitudes Towards Climate Change Among Residents Of Southeastern Louisiana, Heather Marie Brown
LSU Master's Theses
Climate change is an important issue of concern, as its environmental impacts are already beginning to manifest in various means, such as through sea level rise and increased frequencies of storms. Areas of high vulnerability to the effects of climate change, such as southeastern Louisiana, are prime locations to initiate research in determining what factors influence individual’s risk perceptions towards climate change. This study aims is to identify key factors, specifically in the areas of socioeconomic, demographic, exposure, and attitudinal attributes, which affect climate change risk perceptions. The study area is that of the zip codes around Lake Pontchartrain in …
The Effects Of Tropical Storms And Hurricanes On Phytoplankton And Nutrient Concentrations In Wetland-Estuary Transition Zones Along The Gulf Coast, Tiffany Chantelle Johnson
The Effects Of Tropical Storms And Hurricanes On Phytoplankton And Nutrient Concentrations In Wetland-Estuary Transition Zones Along The Gulf Coast, Tiffany Chantelle Johnson
LSU Master's Theses
Two consecutive storms made landfall along the Northern Gulf of Mexico on June and August 2012 (Tropical Storm Debby, 06/26/2012; Isaac, 08/28/2012, Category (Cat) 1 Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale). Each storm passed within 48 to 273 km of one of seven wetland-estuary transition zone sampling sites, and indirect storm effects associated with changes in freshwater discharge and an inflow of inorganic nutrients were observed at five of the seven sites. To assess the impacts of the 2012 hurricanes on hydrology, nutrient concentrations, and phytoplankton concentrations at transition zones along the Gulf Coast, a within-sites analysis along with a seasonal analysis were …
Measuring Social Vulnerability To Environmental Hazards In The Dutch Province Of Zeeland, Ryan Hamilton Kirby
Measuring Social Vulnerability To Environmental Hazards In The Dutch Province Of Zeeland, Ryan Hamilton Kirby
LSU Master's Theses
The Netherlands is a kingdom known for resisting the perils of natural disaster and keeping records of how these great feats were accomplished. The Dutch have measured physical risk through methods such as the intricate VNK models to predict flood scenarios, but little research has been conducted to examine how the people living in affected areas could be impacted from a natural disaster event. This study employs fine-scale data to construct a social vulnerability index for the 164 districts of the low-lying delta province of Zeeland. The methodology used to measure social vulnerability is built on recent social vulnerability and …
Metacommunity Dynamics And The Biogeography Of Central Louisiana Crayfishes, William Robert Budnick
Metacommunity Dynamics And The Biogeography Of Central Louisiana Crayfishes, William Robert Budnick
LSU Master's Theses
The greatest diversity of crayfishes, especially of rare Orconectes species, is found in the central Louisiana watersheds (Red River, Mermentau, Calcasieu, and Vermillion-Teche), and most species are widely distributed among the drainages. The purpose of this research was to lay groundwork for species distribution and metacommunity modelling for crayfishes in this region. To address this goal, two field studies were performed in the summers of 2013 and 2014, as well as an indoor laboratory study. Analyses of broadly distributed species indicated no significant correlations between species abundances and habitat variables nor any significant environmental gradients for those species. Within-drainage variability …
Population Abundance And Transience Of Selected Coastal Plain Crayfishes, Samantha Lott
Population Abundance And Transience Of Selected Coastal Plain Crayfishes, Samantha Lott
LSU Master's Theses
Crayfish are important for stability, determining ecosystem structure, and ecosystem functions in freshwater habitats. Louisiana has many endemic species of crayfish, but most are poorly described. This study investigated the populations of some of the lesser known crayfishes in the South Central Plains. Specifically, the goals were to examine movement, movement across anthropogenic barriers, and estimate population size of 10 species reported from the area: Procambarus natchitochae, P. vioscai, P. clarkii, P. acutus, P. zonangulus, P. tulanei, P. kensleyi, Orconectes maletae, O. lancifer, and O. palmeri. In combination with a field team, I sampled twelve wadeable streams with DC backpack …
Factors Influencing Mottled Duck Nest Success On The Atchafalaya River Delta, Brendan Caillouet
Factors Influencing Mottled Duck Nest Success On The Atchafalaya River Delta, Brendan Caillouet
LSU Master's Theses
The Atchafalaya River Delta system along with the Wax Lake Outlet Delta and the Mississippi River Delta are the only three areas in Louisiana where land is being gained. Beneficial use of dredge spoil from shipping channel maintenance is used on the Atchafalaya River Delta to supplement natural accretion. These dredge spoil islands have the ability to provide valuable nesting habitat for a variety of waterbirds, including Mottled Ducks. Previous studies on these islands reported mammalian predation to be a significant cause of nest failure for Mottled Ducks. I tested the hypothesis that predator reduction through trapping would increase Mottled …
Wading Bird Food Availability In Rice Fields And Crawfish Ponds Of The Chenier Plain Of Southwest Louisiana And Southeast Texas, Cullen C. Foley
Wading Bird Food Availability In Rice Fields And Crawfish Ponds Of The Chenier Plain Of Southwest Louisiana And Southeast Texas, Cullen C. Foley
LSU Master's Theses
Wading birds in southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas rely heavily on rice fields and crawfish ponds as foraging areas; however, little information exists on food availability throughout the annual crop cycle. The objectives of this study are: 1) Develop a classification for rice and crawfish fields based upon tillage, forage crop (for crawfish fields), water depths, vegetation density, vegetation height, and other visible parameters; 2) Quantify the distribution of rice and crawfish fields in various stages across the landscape through time; 3) Determine the effects of rice and crawfish field types and landscape characteristics on wading bird use; and, 4) …