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Evaluation Of Avian Use Of Agricultural Cover Crops During The Winter, Migration Stopover, And The Breeding Season In Tennessee, Brittany Panos

Masters Theses

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service administers the cover crop program to provide technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers to sow herbaceous plant seeds to establish cover crops to protect agricultural fields from soil erosion during the non-growing season (late fall through spring). Soil retention and water quality benefits have been documented, but potential benefits for avian wildlife remain largely unknown. I used line-transect avian and vegetation surveys to examine use of cover crop fields by birds during the non-breeding period (winter), migration, and the breeding season. I compared avian use of cover crop fields with …

Competing Behaviors Of Thermoregulation And Ambush Foraging In The Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus Horridus Horridus): A Mechanistic Assessment Of Thermal Conduction, Larry K. Kamees

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The interaction between the biophysical environment and ectotherm morphology elicits behaviors designed to maintain internal body temperature (Tb) within a range that promotes physiological functions. The short-term requirements of mass (energy requirements) and heat balance are subject to tradeoffs imposed by the organisms current physiological (heat and mass budgets) and environmental (biophysical, demographic, social, and predation) constraints and available resources. In temperate forests, extreme temperatures are common in summer even with intermittent sun exposure due to dense canopy cover. In Spring and Fall, temperatures can range from below freezing to 35 ℃ in 24 hrs. An ambush predator like the …

Community Perceptions And Aesthetic Valuation Of Remediation Gardens, Rachel Bechtold

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Creating successfully remediated landscapes may rely on both natural resources and human perception in landscape design. Urban areas present a dynamic environment wherein communities and nature compete for resources and space. This dissertation study was designed to better understand aesthetic perceptions of native plants capable of land remediation in midwestern communities. Findings from this study show the importance of aesthetic perceptions of stakeholders towards rehabilitated landscapes and the importance of organizing indicators for future design decisions in an interdisciplinary fashion. Recommendations include continued evaluation of aesthetic perceptions for plant species in urban landscapes and modeling a more consistent framework for …

Contamination In The Upper Columbia: Smelting And Its Impact To The Environment And Human Health, Brenden Murphy

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The objectives of this project include discussing the historical context of the smelting that occurred in Washington and Canada over the past century and how political events shaped the geographies of the region(s). Another objective will be to assess the level of environmental impact to the Upper Columbia region and the potential health effects to organisms and humans from the pollution released from the smelters. We will also explore the interaction of different agencies and stakeholders and the political processes of environmental cleanup to which parties are held responsible. Explaining the different advocacy and conservation groups already involved in the …

Abundance, Distribution, And Growth Characteristics Of Three Keystone Vachellia Trees In Gebel Elba National Park, South-Eastern Egypt, Ahmed M. Abbas, Mohammed Al-Kahtani, Stephen J. Novak, Wagdi Saber Soliman

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study was conducted to evaluate the abundance and distribution pattern of three keystone Vachellia taxa in wadi Khoda and wadi Rahaba, Gebel Elba National Park, a protected area in south-eastern Egypt. These taxa included Vachellia tortilis subsp. tortilis, Vachellia tortilis subsp. raddiana, and Vachellia ehrenbergiana. In wadi Khoda, only two of these taxa were detected (V. tortilis subsp. raddiana and V. tortilis subsp. tortilis), while all three taxa were encountered in wadi Rahaba. The density of trees in wadi Khoda was 34.3 plant ha⁻¹ compared to 26.3 plant ha⁻¹ in …

Black Vulture Conflict And Management In The United States: Damage Trends, Management Overview, And Research Needs, Bryan M. Kluever, Morgan Pfeiffer, Scott C. Barras, Brett Dunlap, Lee A. Humberg

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contrary to rapid declines of many vulture (Accipitridae, Cathartidea) species worldwide, black vulture (Coragyps atratus) populations are increasing and expanding their range in North America. Vultures exhibit complex behaviors and can adapt to any human-dominated landscape or land use. These traits, combined with population growth and range expansion, have contributed to increased human–vulture conflicts. Our goal was to summarize the current status and trends in human–black vulture conflicts (hereafter human– vulture conflicts), review available management strategies, identify knowledge gaps, and provide recommendations to enhance management and understanding of this species and the associated conflicts. We found human–vulture conflicts …

Mammal Species Inventory Using Various Trapping Methods In Zone 4 Of Billy Barquedier National Park, Belize During Rainy Season, Mersady Redding

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Belize is a small country, but it is extremely ecologically diverse. Based on the few studies conducted in Belize, the abundance of mammals is low but diversity is high. Particular findings note the number and identity of species differed between four sites in the Maya Mountains of Belize, indicating that a data set from a single site is not representative of the Neotropical region. Insufficient data is available to estimate current species richness of many areas in Belize, including Billy Barquedier National Park (BBNP). The objective of this study was to explore trapping and documentation methods of terrestrial mammals in …

Traffic Noise And Sexual Selection: Studies Of Anthropogenic Impact On Bird Songs And Undergraduate Student Reasoning Of Evolutionary Mechanisms, Sarah Spier

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Humans have transformed much of the natural landscape and are continuing to do so at an accelerated rate, compromising natural areas that serve as important habitat for many species. Roads impact much of the environment as they fragment habitat and introduce traffic noise into the acoustic environment, deferentially affecting wildlife in roadside habitat. I explored how traffic noise affects the detection of birds based on whether their vocalizations were masked by traffic noise. Masked species detection was not affected by an increase in traffic noise amplitude, while there was a negative effect of traffic noise amplitude on unmasked species detection, …

Traffic Noise And Sexual Selection: Studies Of Anthropogenic Impact On Bird Songs And Undergraduate Student Reasoning Of Evolutionary Mechanisms, Sarah Spier

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Humans have transformed much of the natural landscape and are continuing to do so at an accelerated rate, compromising natural areas that serve as important habitat for many species. Roads impact much of the environment as they fragment habitat and introduce traffic noise into the acoustic environment, deferentially affecting wildlife in roadside habitat. I explored how traffic noise affects the detection of birds based on whether their vocalizations were masked by traffic noise. Masked species detection was not affected by an increase in traffic noise amplitude, while there was a negative effect of traffic noise amplitude on unmasked species detection, …

Potential Impact Of Climate Change On The Distribution Of Alpine Tundra In The Adirondack Mountains Of New York, Terry Allard

Atmospheric & Environmental Sciences

Given the potential for significant changes in climate over the next century, understanding how biome locations may shift in response to these changes may be useful in informing conservation efforts. In this work the potential effect of climate change on the distribution of alpine tundra in the Adirondack Mountains of New York is examined. The ecological niche modelling software Maxent was used to analyze the distribution of alpine tundra relative to 30 year 800m PRISM climate normal data and terrain aspect over the Adirondacks. Random points from surveyed areas of alpine tundra in the Adirondacks were used as presence data …

The Value Of Animal Behaviour As A Bio-Indicator Of Restoration Quality, Floyd Holmes

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Woodland restoration is a complex endeavour, and restoration ecology as a scientific discipline requires constant re-assessments and adjustments if it is to improve outcomes and better provide for biodiversity. The promise of effective restoration is often used to justify destructive processes that affect many of the world’s ecosystems. It is therefore imperative that those promises can be met, which comes down to restoration ecologists’ and land managers’ capacity to predict and facilitate desirable ecological changes in a timely and socio-economically responsible manner. As perspectives have changed, and knowledge has been gained over the past few decades there have been several …

The Planet, 2016, Spring, Jesse Nichols, Huxley College Of The Environment, Western Washington University

The Planet

No abstract provided.

Bibliographia Phytosociologica Et Floristica Mongolia: Pars Iv, Werner Hilbig

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

In Ergänzung zu den bisherigen drei Teilen der Bibliographie vegetationskundlicher, vegetationsökologischer, floristischer und pflanzengeographischer Arbeiten über die Mongolei wird in dieser Arbeit Teil IV der Bibliographie vorgelegt. Er umfasst im Wesentlichen den Zeitraum 2007 bis 2014. Auch Publikationen zur Vegetationsgeschichte und zum botanischen Naturschutz werden berücksichtigt.

English summary:

In addition to the hitherto existing three parts of the bibliography of geobotanical, ecological, floristic and plant-geographical papers on Mongolia the part IV of the bibliography is given. It comprises in the main point the period from 2007 until 2014. In addition, publications on vegetation history and botanical nature protection are considered.

Seasonal Habitat Selection Of The North American Porcupine (Erethizon Dorsatum) In A Coastal Dune Forest, Cara L. Appel

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Wildlife-habitat relationship studies are important for understanding the factors that determine where species occur in space and time. Habitat selection by generalist species should be studied on fine spatial and temporal scales to avoid masking important differences between seasons, localities, or orders of selection. I conducted the first study of habitat use and general ecology of North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) in a coastal dune environment. Specifically, I assessed changes in body mass, home range size, and habitat selection in relation to the potential for seasonal nutritional and survival bottlenecks as reported elsewhere. Although they are considered generalists, …

Recreation Ecology Of Colorado Fourteeners: An Assessment Of Trail Usage And Impacts, James C. Ewing

Master's Theses

The popularity of climbing Colorado’s 14,000 ft. peaks, or “Fourteeners”, has risen dramatically in recent years, raising important sustainability and management questions. Moreover, groups managing the peaks operate with major capital constraints so their efforts need to be informed, prioritized, and efficient. This paper gauges the dynamics of trail usage, explanatory variables, and recreational impacts across all 58 Fourteeners, and details evaluation adjustments that minimize error and produce results in-step with the resource management framework. Relative to a baseline study completed in 2005, substantial changes occurred in trail usage and impact dynamics. The greatest changes were concentrated on peaks previously …

Increased Taxonomic And Functional Similarity Does Not Increase The Trophic Similarity Of Communities, Thomas K. Pool, Julien Cucherousset, Stéphanie Boulêtreau, Sébastien Villéger, Angela L. Strecker, Gaël Grenouillet

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Aim: Despite a long-standing research interest in the association between the biodiversity (i.e. taxonomic and functional composition) and trophic structure of communities, our understanding of the relationship remains limited. Community assembly theory predicts that niche partitioning will result in communities with a diverse array of functional traits, which in turn may facilitate a correspondingly diverse array of trophic interactions that define the trophic niche of those communities. The aim of our study is to test this prediction.

Methods: We built a database composed of functional traits and stable isotope values (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) for …

Habitat Use Of The Key Largo Woodrat (Neotoma Floridana Smalli), Lauren J. Barth

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Key Largo woodrats are an endangered subspecies with an extremely limited habitat. This study sought to understand woodrat habitat preferences in order to guide management. Woodrats build stick nests from natural and artificial materials, so nest distribution and nest occupancy were used as indicators of preference. Distribution was determined by nest surveys, and remote cameras were used to assess occupancy. Forest structure, human disturbance, nest, and animal presence metrics were also collected. More nests were found along abandoned roads than along forest transects and more artificial nests were occupied than natural nests. These findings indicate that woodrats prefer areas with …

Finding Them Before They Find Us: Informatics, Parasites, And Environments In Accelerating Climate Change, Daniel R. Brooks, Eric P. Hoberg, Walter A. Boeger, Scott Lyell Gardner, Kurt E. Galbreath, David Herczeg, Hugo H. Mejía-Madrid, S. Elizabeth Rácz, Altangerel Tsogtsaikhan Dursahinhan

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Parasites are agents of disease in humans, livestock, crops, and wildlife and are powerful representations of the ecological and historical context of the diseases they cause. Recognizing a nexus of professional opportunities and global public need, we gathered at the Cedar Point Biological Station of the University of Nebraska in September 2012 to formulate a cooperative and broad platform for providing essential information about the evolution, ecology, and epidemiology of parasites across host groups, parasite groups, geographical regions, and ecosystem types. A general protocol, documentation–assessment–monitoring–action (DAMA), suggests an integrated proposal to build a proactive capacity to understand, anticipate, and respond …

Ecology Of Glacial Relict Fishes In South Dakota's Sandhills Region, Eli Felts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Native stream fish zoogeography has changed substantially across North America during the last century as habitat degradation, stream fragmentation and introductions of nonnative species have led to numerous extinctions, extirpations and altered distributions. Insufficient information regarding imperiled species often results in reactive, rather than proactive, management, and knowledge of species status and ecology is critical in identifying conservation priorities. South Dakota populations of three dace species (northern redbelly dace Chrosomus eos, finescale dace Chrosomus neogaeus, and pearl dace Margariscus margarita) are relict of Pleistocene Glaciation and are isolated from the northern core of their distribution, but little information exists regarding …

Climate And Vegetation Change In The Newberry Mountains, Southern Clark County, Nevada, Ross Joseph Guida

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ecological studies have shown worldwide that vegetation is being affected by climate change. Species are shifting to new elevations and physiographic positions to adapt to changes in their environment. More specifically, paleoecology studies in the Mojave Desert have shown shifting vegetation patterns in response to past warming and precipitation changes. Recent studies have shown mortality among desert plants related to extended drought and warming. However, few studies have shown how the geographic distribution of Mojave Desert species has changed during this most recent period of warming. This study addresses this gap in the literature by focusing on several plant species …

Development And Testing Of An Unmanned Aircraft System For Environmental Science, Jerald James Brady

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For some environmental science applications, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) are increasingly recognized for their capacity to collect remotely sensed data in a safer, more efficient and effective manner than is permitted with manned aircraft and satellite remote sensing platforms. To date, however, technological, human, and other challenges have constrained adoption of UASs in the environmental sciences. This study developed and tested a new UAS for an archetypical environmental science research group (stakeholder) composed of non-UAS experts. Specifically, this thesis: 1) Assessed the research and operational needs of the stakeholder to determine the optimum UAS platform; 2) Developed an Unmanned Aerial …

Differential Response Of Amp Activated Protein Kinase (Ampk) And Hsp70 To Temperature Stress In The Gastropod, Nucella Lapillus, Emily Zimmermann

All Theses And Dissertations

Populations of the gastropod Nucella lapillus are polymorphic for shell color, with light-colored shells predominating on warmer, wave-protected shores and dark-colored shells limited primarily to cooler, wave-exposed shores. During thermal stress, darker shells attain higher body temperatures than lighter shells. These results suggest that heat stress may determine field distribution patterns. However, there is currently little evidence of physiological consequences of thermal stress in these organisms. Following the guiding hypothesis that heat stress leads to cellular energy depletion, we explored whether the central energy regulator AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) is activated by heat stress. We compared this response in both …

The Planet, 2002, Winter, Levi Pulkkinen, Huxley College Of The Environment, Western Washington University

The Planet

No abstract provided.

An Environmental Education Field Guide For Mystic Lake Wetland Habitats, Linda Jean Ellingston

Theses Digitization Project

This curriculum guide is for grades four through six. It examines how wetlands, wildlife, and people interact and depend upon each other. The San Jacinto Valley wetland area is used as an example of wetland habitat destruction from population pressures that have changed the natural landscape. It is also used as an example of what habitat reconstruction can do to restore vital habitats. Through student contact with the wetlands increased awareness of the fragile interrelationships between the physical and biological components of a wetland habitat is gained. Students can use ecological themes to help them assimilate collected and given data …

The Virginia Wetlands Report Vol. 11, No. 2, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Wetlands Reports

• Northern Harrier, or Marsh Hawk. Julie G. Bradshaw
• Bay Anchovy. Lyle Varnell
• Geographic Information System (GIS) Data Exchange- The State of the Problem, Part 2. Marcia Berman
• General Assembly Passes, and Governor Signs Wetlands Mitigation Banking Legislation.
• Second Edition of the Virginia Wetlands Management Handbook Now Available.
• Wetlands Management Symposium: Wetlands Compensation Survey Results
• Westmoreland State Park. Pam Mason
• Literally, what is littoral sand movement? William Roberts

Raptor Use Of The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Richard Wayne Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Raptors are high trophic-level predators, and thus sensitive to environmental change. I conducted a basic ecological study of raptors using the Idaho National Environmental Laboratory (INEL), in southeastern Idaho, between 1991 and 1993 to assess effects of human activity on the site. Results were compared to previous raptor studies conducted on the INEL from 1974-1976 and in 1982, as well as with studies of rough-legged hawks, long-eared owls, and burrowing owls conducted during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Road-side raptor surveys were conducted from January through May in 1992 and 1993. Principle species recorded were rough-legged hawks, red-tailed hawks, …

The Planet, 1989, Spring, Volume 10, Issue 03, Aaron Coffin, Sara Olason, Huxley College Of The Environment, Western Washington University

The Planet

No abstract provided.

Monthly Planet, 1986, April, Miriam Ellard, Huxley College Of The Environment, Western Washington University

The Planet

No abstract provided.

Monthly Planet, 1985, Spring, David Kuester, Huxley College Of The Environment, Western Washington University

The Planet

No abstract provided.

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project At Dickey, Maine : Final Environmental Statement, Volume 1-4, U. S. Army Engineer Division, New England

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The proposed Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project in northern Maine is a multipurpose installation on the St.John River. The combination hydroelectric power and flood control project is located in Aroostook County, Maine, near the Canadian border. The two proposed earth fill dams located at Dickey are 10,200 feet in length with a maximum height of 335 feet. They would impound 7.7 million acre feet of water at a maximum pool elevation 910 feet mean sea level. A second earth filled dam located 11 miles downstream at Lincoln School would serve as a regulatory dam. It would be 2100 feet in lenqth, …