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Georgia Southern University

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Theses/Dissertations

Ecology

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Measuring The Success Of A Coastal Sand Dune Restoration On Tybee Island: Plant Growth, Sand Accretion, And Implications For Management, Shannon Matzke Jan 2021

Measuring The Success Of A Coastal Sand Dune Restoration On Tybee Island: Plant Growth, Sand Accretion, And Implications For Management, Shannon Matzke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastal communities are developing rapidly in the face of increased risks of sea level rise and hurricanes stemming from anthropogenic climate change. In the US, erosion is projected to cost $530 million/year in property loss, but beaches and dune systems can minimize these losses. Dunes are vital to coastal protection, particularly when they are colonized by native plant species that stabilize sand with their root systems and accumulate sand by trapping particles with their stems and leaves. Dune construction can be used as a nature-based solution to climate change, but more studies are needed to fully understand the best practices …


Movement In Cats, Valerie N. Plummer Jan 2018

Movement In Cats, Valerie N. Plummer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Feral cats (Felis catus) are listed as one of the '100 world's worst invasive alien species'. There are as many as 70-100 million feral cats in the United States as well as an estimated 117-157 million domestic indoor and outdoor cats. Management efforts include a nonlethal feeding and sterilization program known as "trap-neuter-release" (TNR) where cats are surgically sterilized and returned to the environment. Population size and structure, immigration rates, spay/neuter rates, and data on spatial use all play a role in whether TNR is a viable management option. This study focuses on population structure and spatial use. …


Cultivating Ecological Literacy And Rethinking Our Connections To Nature, Sean Fretwell Jan 2017

Cultivating Ecological Literacy And Rethinking Our Connections To Nature, Sean Fretwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I explore the complex, often contested, relationships between humankind and nature. I consider the changing state of these relationships as they are influenced by factors rooted in science, technology, and economics. I also examine these relationships as they relate to human activities with agriculture. Considering the present state of environmental crisis and the abundance of evidence indicating the deleterious activities of humankind as primary causes for the many global calamities, I argue for revising industrially-driven ideologies; particularly those driven by the economic paradigm of capitalism and self-interest. Additionally, I submit that a return to kinship with nature …