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Environmental Sciences

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Theses and Dissertations

2022

South Texas

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South Texas Wildlife Activity Across A Fragmented Landscape And Road Mitigation Corridor, Caitlin K. Brett Dec 2022

South Texas Wildlife Activity Across A Fragmented Landscape And Road Mitigation Corridor, Caitlin K. Brett

Theses and Dissertations

Wildlife crossing structures (WCS) and roadside fencing are commonly installed to mitigate habitat fragmentation, wildlife road mortalities, and other negative effects that roads can have on the surrounding landscape. Eight such WCS were constructed below Farm-to-Market (FM)106 in Cameron County, Texas, across a 16 km corridor transecting the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. These WCS, paired with adjacent roadside fencing, were intended to prevent road mortalities of the endangered ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and to mitigate the barrier effect of FM106 on this and other meso-mammal species. This study will analyze camera trap data from roadside and habitat reference …


Conjunctive Management For Groundwater-Surface Water Resources: Numerical Modeling And Potential Assessment Of Managed Aquifer Recharge (Mar) At Lower Rio Grande Valley In South Texas, Dwight Zedric Q. Capus Dec 2022

Conjunctive Management For Groundwater-Surface Water Resources: Numerical Modeling And Potential Assessment Of Managed Aquifer Recharge (Mar) At Lower Rio Grande Valley In South Texas, Dwight Zedric Q. Capus

Theses and Dissertations

Texas is well known to frequent floods and droughts, and yet has mounting concerns in very imbalanced water availability and water demands from growth in population and economical activities. Capturing and storing water is essential to long-term and climate-smart management of the “already-scarce” water resources. This study aimed to apply numerical modeling to evaluate potentials and impacts of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) to regional groundwater systems in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Using Visual MODFLOW Flex 3D package, different scenarios were simulated for groundwater flow patterns and storage capacities. Water injections tested ranged between 7.30x105 ft3 to 3.65x109 ft3 , …


Incorporating Native Plants In Insectary Strips To Promote Insect Diversity And Below-Ground Beneficial Microbes In South Texas, Lindsey N. Richards Dec 2022

Incorporating Native Plants In Insectary Strips To Promote Insect Diversity And Below-Ground Beneficial Microbes In South Texas, Lindsey N. Richards

Theses and Dissertations

Farm edges are generally the most undisturbed areas in a farm with diverse vegetation and can enhance agrobiodiversity and provide crucial food and shelter for wildlife, insects, and soil biota. Planting native wildflowers with the ability to reseed and withstand local climatic conditions for semi-permanent vegetation around farm edges or in between crops has potential to biologically control pests. To test this, we ran a two-year study and installed three different flowering insectary strips on a certified organic vegetable farm in South Texas during the winter season. The treatments were: 1) a commercially sourced 17-species native wildflower seed mix; 2) …