Digital Commons Network^™

Differential Lead Accumulation In Brassica Juncea, Brassica Rapa, And Lactuca Sativa And Evaluation Of Ground Level Barriers To Prevent Lead Contamination Of Produce Grown In Raised Beds, Celine Vera Richard

LSU Master's Theses

High lead (Pb) contamination of soils is a threat to human health. Urban area soils are frequently contaminated with lead from settling of gasoline exhaust, brake dust, and lead paint on homes, old playground equipment, etc. Exposure to soil-lead occurs by ingestion or inhalation and poses an elevated risk for young children. Indirect ingestion can occur through the food chain through activities such as growing certain vegetables with an ability to tolerate and accumulate lead in edible tissues. Many university extension systems recommend growing vegetables in raised beds as a reasonable reduced risk option for avoiding lead accumulation in garden …

Evaluation Of Louisiana Farm To School Programming: Harvest Of The Month And Local Food Procurement, Arin M. Shaffer

LSU Master's Theses

Farm to school is a growing movement that is beginning to draw serious interest in different parts of the United States due to its ability to connect communities with their local producers while providing many benefits. Farm to school entails three main components: school gardening, education and curriculum, and local food procurement. The farm to school movement is relatively new to the state of Louisiana and very little research has been conducted to evaluate the impact of the farm to school programs on local food procurement and the effect on school food environments. Case studies of three Louisiana parish school …

Within-Field Yield Prediction For Sugarcane And Rice Focused On Precision Agriculture Applications, Felippe Hoffmann Silva Karp

LSU Master's Theses

Food and energy security are two main topics when it comes to the on-growing world population. Rice and sugarcane play an important role in this scenario since sugarcane can be used for energy production and rice is one of major staple cereals. In this scenario, Precision Agriculture (PA) management strategies aims to improve productivity, efficiency, profitability, and sustainability, and can help agriculture to fulfill the needs of the growing population in a sustainable way. However, yield maps are essential for PA, but its adoption is still very low. Thus, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential …

Insecticide Resistance Management Approaches And Naturally Derived Toxicants For The Control Of Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera Frugiperda, Sarah Mccomic

LSU Master's Theses

Spodoptera frugiperda, the fall armyworm (FAW), is a major agricultural pest causing billions of dollars in damage annually to staple crops. Agricultural losses stemming from this pest continues to increase as resistance to commercialized insecticide classes evolves and spreads. Considering this, novel chemistries with new modes of action as well as novel resistance management strategies need to be developed to achieve continued control of FAW populations. This project consisted of two main goals. First, we aimed to develop a neurophysiological assay to enable a more precise understanding of pyrethroid and organophosphate resistance at the level of the nerve. We …

Boxwood Dieback: Molecular Detection, In-Vitro Fungicide Efficacy, And Host Susceptibility For Managing A New Emerging Disease Caused By Colletotrichum Theobromicola, Harleen Kaur

LSU Master's Theses

Boxwood (Buxus spp. L) is one of the most common and widely planted perennial ornamentals in both home gardens and commercial landscapes. Grown for its evergreen, dark green foliage, boxwood cultivation dates back to 4000 BC in Egypt. Although considered hardy, boxwood is susceptible to several plant pathogens. Recently reported boxwood dieback, a fungal disease caused by Colletotrichum theobromicola, has been spreading at an alarming rate within the United States. Boxwood dieback consists of symptoms that resemble to those caused by Phytophthora root rot, Volutella blight, and some abiotic disorders and can be easily misdiagnosed in nurseries and …

Novel Information About The Kinetic Effects Of Equine Shoe Modifications And Kinematic Effects Of Human Digital Devices For Improved Performance In Both Species, Pengju Wang

LSU Master's Theses

Equine shoes are frequently modified to enhance traction for horses that travel on paved surfaces for work, pleasure, or entertainment. Little is known about other common shoe modifications used to enhance traction like calks, tungsten carbide granules, or plastic composition. This information is vital to shoe design to protect the safety and welfare of all service, working, and leisure horses. The objective of the first part of this thesis was to quantify the effect of shoes with and without traction adaptions on kinetic measures in non-lame, light breed horses at a trot. Kinetic data was collected with a force platform …

The Life History And Population Dynamics Of Southern Flounder, Kenneth A. Erickson

LSU Master's Theses

Southern Flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma, are a coastal, estuarine-dependent flatfish species that inhabits the Southeastern US Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Throughout their range, Southern Flounder are exploited by both commercial and recreational fisheries. Recently, numerous sources have expressed concerns about Southern Flounder populations, with stock assessments indicating declines in spawning stock biomass and recruitment. To estimate life history traits needed for informed management, such as age, growth, and maturity, I collected 327 Southern Flounder from Louisiana and obtained 14,184 historical records from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Using a von Bertalanffy growth equation in a Bayesian …

Louisiana Southern Flounder: Commercial And Recreational Trends, David Russell Smith

LSU Master's Theses

Southern Flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) is a coastal flatfish species that supports recreational and commercial fisheries throughout Louisiana. The recreational and commercial sectors of the Southern Flounder fishery in Louisiana both lack current information that profiles the fishery’s ability to meet stakeholder interest. This project characterized the Louisiana Southern Flounder fishery through an evaluation of fishery-dependent data and a survey of coastal Louisiana anglers.

Fishery-dependent data was gathered to characterize the recreational and commercial Southern Flounder fisheries in Louisiana. This study had three objectives for this evaluation: 1) modeling landings data to evaluate any trends, 2) examine the seasonality of landings, …

Do Ground Layer Microhabitats In Old-Growth Pine Savanna Influence Recruitment Of Longleaf Pine?, Matthew Blanchard

LSU Master's Theses

Savanna tree populations typically share two demographic characteristics, high mortality of juvenile stages and low mortality of established trees. Juvenile savanna tree species escape demographic bottlenecks when they reach a safe size and annual mortality becomes low. Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) is the dominant tree species in pine savannas of the southeastern United States. The seeds and juvenile seedlings experience bottlenecks to recruitment to a safe size, the grass stage. Low intensity, frequent savanna fires facilitate establishment of seedlings, but also kill juvenile seedlings that have not grown sufficient above ground biomass. We hypothesized that juvenile seedlings escape the …

Isolation And Characterization Of Bacteria In A Toluene-Producing Enrichment Culture Derived From Contaminated Groundwater At A Louisiana Superfund Site, Madison Mikes

LSU Master's Theses

In an effort to better understand the role that various microbes may play in toluene production, bacteria from a toluene-producing enrichment culture derived from contaminated groundwater at a Superfund site were cultivated and isolated on low nutrient solid media. A total of 14 solid medium formulations containing varying pH ranges, carbon sources, solidifying agents, and incubation gas headspaces were used to obtain 278 isolates in pure culture. Isolated bacteria, identified using partial 16S rRNA gene sequences, were most closely related with the genera Anoxybacillus, Azospira, Bacillus, Bradyrhizobium, Cellulosimicrobium, Micrococcus, and Propionicimonas.

Further attempts …

The Collection Of Baseline Data On Insect And Plant Communities Across Multiple Salinity Zones Within Louisiana's Tidal Marshes, Benjamin G. Aker

LSU Master's Theses

Tidally influenced coastal marshes provide numerous important ecosystem services, but these habitats are experiencing extreme habitat loss. Louisiana’s coastal marshes in particular are vulnerable to land loss resulting from both anthropogenic and natural causes, but especially to subsidence and relative sea-level rise. In response, the Louisiana Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority has outlined and is currently implementing the largest ever attempt at habitat restoration. A major component of this habitat restoration attempt is the use of freshwater and sediment diversions to increase the input of low salinity water, sediment, and nutrients needed to slow marsh loss and build land. Coastal …

Ecology Of The Roseau Cane Scale (Nipponaclerda Biwakoensis, Hemiptera: Aclerdidae) In Coastal Louisiana, Leslie Alejandra Aviles Lopez

LSU Master's Theses

Common reed, Phragmites australis, is the dominant plant in the Mississippi River Delta (MRD), Louisiana. Phragmites australis stands reduce soil erosion from wave action, protect the oil infrastructure, and freshwater habitats. In the fall of 2016, widespread reed die-backs in the MRD were associated with outbreaks of an invasive scale Nipponaclerda biwakoensis (Hemiptera: Aclerdidae). Due to the recent detection of the scale, there was limited knowledge of its ecology in the adventive range, and its impacts on P. australis lineages. Therefore, the objectives of my thesis were to determine (1) the host specificity of the N. biwakoensis in important economic …

Contribution Of Velocity Congruency And Apparent Stiffness To Interference Of Bimanual Rhythmic-Discrete Movements., Marcelline E. Dechenaud

LSU Master's Theses

Many actions feature rhythmic and discrete movements, individually or in combinations. Rhythmic movements are defined as those having no clearly defined start and end-point, while discrete movements have a definite starting and ending posture. Performing a discrete movement against a base rhythm by the contralateral limb typically speeds up the rhythmic movement -- indicating the presence of bimanual coupling. While bimanual rhythmic/rhythmic interaction has been studied extensively in the field, understanding of the interaction between discrete and rhythmic movements has been less represented. In this thesis, I examined two potential sources of interlimb interference during rhythmic-discrete bimanual actions: 1) velocity …

Plant And Soil Responses To Sediment Deposition And Nutrient Enrichment In Healthy, Deteriorating, And Newly Created Coastal Marshes In Barataria Basin, Louisiana: Implications For Mississippi River Sediment Diversions, Gina N. Groseclose

LSU Master's Theses

To offset wetland loss in the Mississippi River Delta, sediment diversions that will re-introduce river water and sediment into wetlands are being planned for the lower Mississippi River. River diversions will also deliver high nutrient loads, which may reduce belowground plant productivity, reducing inputs of organic matter important for marsh accretion to keep pace with sea-level rise. However, belowground productivity responses to the combinatory effects of sediment and nutrients are unknown. To test the hypotheses that nutrient enrichment and sediment deposition interact to influence vegetation structure, belowground plant productivity and decomposition, and surface accretion, a field experiment was implemented in …

Fish Community Composition And Structure Near A Freshwater River Diversion In Southeastern Louisiana, Rachel L. Snider

LSU Master's Theses

Gulf of Mexico estuaries, particularly in Louisiana, are among the world’s most productive, with landings of commercially- and recreationally-important species exceeding all other contiguous US states. Coastal wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate because they have been impounded from Mississippi River water and sediment. Although controversial, one proposed solution is to re-route the Mississippi River through diversions and siphons to supply the freshwater and sediments necessary to rebuild vanishing wetlands, particularly in Barataria Bay and Breton Sound, LA. This strategy is one approach outlined in the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. This project aimed to describe the composition and structure …

Reproductive Effort Of Montastraea Cavernosa Across Depth In The Context Of Both Climate Change Refugia And Emergent Disease, Jeanne Bloomberg

LSU Master's Theses

As coral populations on shallow reefs decline globally, mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCE) have been suggested as potential coral refugia in the face of climate changes, leading to the development of a comprehensive deep reef refugia hypothesis. The current study assesses the climate and disease refuge potential of MCEs in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) for the gonochoric, broadcast-spawning species Montastraea cavernosa. Polyp, population, and total habitat fecundities were estimated across the species’ depth range, and changes to population oocyte production over time due to recent ecosystem disturbances were considered. The number of gonads producing oocytes in each polyp and oocyte …

Plankton Dynamics In An Urban, Subtropical Lake Prior To Lake Restoration, Jennifer C. Pulsifer

LSU Master's Theses

This research assessed plankton dynamics in two urban, subtropical lakes (University Lake and City Park Lake) shortly before a proposed and approved lake restoration project. Plankton dynamics were determined in University Lake by the dilution method to attempt to quantify growth rates of phytoplankton and grazing rates of zooplankton. Landry and Hassett’s (1982) dilution method has been widely used in marine systems to estimate rates of growth and grazing. In many marine systems, nutrients must be added to prevent nutrient limitation. However, it is assumed, due to the hypereutrophic conditions, that nutrients would not be a limitation in University Lake. …

Evaluating The ‘Small Changes, Healthy Habits’ Curriculum For Influencing Change In Eating And Physical Activity Behaviors, And Habit Formation In Adults, Praja Adhikari

LSU Master's Theses

This study evaluated the initial influence of the Small Changes, Healthy Habits (SCHH) pilot program on food/eating, and physical activity behaviors and habits among participants. A convenience sample of 56 adults (≥18 years old) with representation from communities in all five LSU AgCenter regions, was recruited for the program. Complete datasets from 47 participants were collected and used for the evaluation. The participant group was 83% female (n = 39), 89% 51 years or older, and living in rural areas; approximately 83% white (n=38), 13% African American (n=6), and 2% Asian (n=1). A 22-question participant survey was developed to quantify …

Sperm Decondensation And Male Pronuclear Formation In Bovine Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection, Lauren Gatenby

LSU Master's Theses

This study assessed the effects both DTT and progesterone have on bovine spermatozoa to induce decondensation or the acrosome reaction in order to facilitate male pronuclear formation after ICSI. Sperm prepared by swim-up in a 5 mM concentration of DTT displayed time dependent morphological changes resulting in decondensation over a 6-hour period. An estimated 90% of treated sperm displayed early changes in morphology after the second hour of incubation. Sperm displaying partial decondensation of the nucleus was estimated as 42% by the 3^rd hour and increased to 62% by the 5^th hour of incubation. Fully decondensed sperm or …

Assessing Breastfeeding Knowledge, Attitudes And Intention Among Adult Female Undergraduate And Graduate Students, Kritee Niroula

LSU Master's Theses

This study measured the breastfeeding knowledge, attitude and intention of adult female students of Louisiana State University. Participants (n=1039; mean age 20.12 ± 3.122 years) were recruited to complete the questionnaire. Racial/ethnic representation was White (76.1%), African American (14.3%), Asian (5.5%), American Indian/ Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander (0.8%) and Multi-racial (3.3%). The questionnaire was used to deliver a set of knowledge, attitude and intention items. Participants were evaluated based on their scores in each section. The questionnaire was pilot tested among five students for comprehensibility and understandability and necessary changes were made according to their suggestions. The …

Reconsidering The Obstetrical Dilemma: Correlations Between Head And Pelvic Size, Kelsey Catrice Fox

LSU Master's Theses

The Obstetrical Dilemma (OD) theory has become canon in biological anthropology. The OD posits that i] dystocia results from bipedal mothers and encephalized infants, ii] contrasting selection for bipedality and obstetrics hinders locomotive efficiency, and iii] the contradicting requirement of the fetus being small enough to pass through the birth canal yet being cognitively advanced enough to cling to its mother after birth. Females, theoretically, exhibit deficient gait efficiency for the sake of successful childbirth. An obstetric advantage theory has been posited where taller individuals with a larger head size have larger pelves. If the distance between the acetabulae increases …

Estimating The Onset And Extent Of Dieback Of Phragmites Australis Using The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index And Remotely Sensed Land Cover Classifications, Aimee M. Beaudette

LSU Master's Theses

Phragmites australis is cosmopolitan plant species with an invasive variety present throughout most of North America. In the Balize Delta, Louisiana, USA, P. australis plays an important role in combatting subsidence, maintaining navigation channels, and protecting interior fish and wildlife habitat from waves and storm surge. In 2016 a dieback of P. australis was reported by wetland managers, coinciding with the appearance of an invasive Asian scale insect (Nipponaclerda biwakoensis), though the specific cause is still unknown. Two previous efforts attempted to identify the onset of dieback conditions met with limited success. Using Landsat images from 1985 to …

Coastal Taxodium Distichum Growth Responses To Marine Influences And Stand Density, Stephanie Moothart

LSU Master's Theses

Ecological processes controlling transition areas of coastal wetlands between marshes (not forested) and swamps (forested) are poorly understood, despite important ecosystem services provided and strong interest in managing for ecosystem structure and function. The objective of this work was to identify how soil chemistry and stand density control individual-tree growth of the important coastal species baldcypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) and pondcypress (Taxodium distichum var. imbricarium (Nutt.) Croom) along a coastal salinity gradient. Tree cores, soil samples, and stand density measurements were collected for sixty cypress trees at the coastal Joyce Wildlife Management Area, Louisiana, which is a …

Temporal And Spatial Trends Of Dead Copepods In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico In Relation To The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Jessica L. Tolan

LSU Master's Theses

Zooplankton are a critical link between primary producers and higher trophic levels in the marine environment. They play a critical role in carbon cycling, are an important food source for commercially important species, and are excellent indicator genera for environmental changes that take place in marine ecosystems. This research quantified temporal and spatial patterns of dead copepods in response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DWH) site using ZooSCAN imaging technologies. Research showed that the proportion of dead copepods (showed evidence of decay but no physical damage due to predation) increased with depth, and at time periods closest to the …

Exploring Effects Of Background Music In A Serious Game On Attention By Means Of Eeg Signals In Children, Fettah Kiran

LSU Master's Theses

Music and Serious Games are separately useful alternative therapy methods for helping people with a cognitive disorder, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The goal of this thesis is to explore the effect of background music on children with and without ADHD. In this study, a simple Tetris game is designed with Beethoven, Mozart music, and no-music. There are different brainwave techniques for recording; among others, the electroencephalography (EEG) allows for the most efficient use of BCI. We recorded the EEG brain signals of the regular and ADHD subjects who played the Tetris we designed according to our protocol that …

Development Of High-Fiber Belgian Waffles And Evaluation Of Product Acceptance, Product-Elicited Emotion, And Purchase Intent By Millennial Consumers, 2253299685 Velasquez

LSU Master's Theses

Dietary fiber may help reduce LDL cholesterol levels and prevent cardiovascular diseases. The US-FDA recommends 14g of fiber/1000kcal consumed, but Americans consume/day. A product containing ≥5 grams of fiber/serving can be claimed as a high-fiber product. Adding dietary fiber to food affects their physicochemical properties and sensory quality, possibly leading to less product acceptability. This study was performed to assess selected physicochemical properties and consumer perception of “high-fiber” Belgian waffles. Waffles were formulated to have fiber contents of

Feeding Ecology Of Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) And Vermilion Snapper (Rhomboplites Aurorubens) Coexisting At The Louisiana Shelf-Edge Banks, Katherine M. Ellis

LSU Master's Theses

Niche partitioning, the process by which competing species use different subsets of the available resources, is commonly used to explain the coexistence of closely related species. In the northwest Gulf of Mexico on the shelf-edge banks, red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) and vermilion snapper (Rhomboplites aurorubens) are two coexisting closely related species. Yet, little is known about how these species partition resources. In this study, niche partitioning of red snapper and vermilion snapper was investigated using gut contents and stable isotopes. While dietary niche partitioning was apparent, the species relied upon similar prey and displayed isotopic niche overlap, …

Simulating Southern Rust Damage In Corn Through Defoliation, Michael Keith Shannon

LSU Master's Theses

The importance of leaf area to corn for grain production beginning at silking is well documented. However, being able to predict yield loss due to defoliators such as foliar plant diseases and insects that progressively increase in defoliation over time has been difficult to quantify. To address this issue, a leaf removal study was conducted at the Dean Lee Research and Extension Center located near Alexandria, Louisiana in 2017 and 2018. Two hybrids, differing in relative maturity were evaluated in this study. An early maturing hybrid (108 days in 2017 and 107 days in 2018) and a later maturing hybrid …

Louisiana Beef Cattle Marketing Strategies, Adam Barrilleaux

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to estimate the financial costs and returns of selected marketing strategies for cattle producers in the state of Louisiana. Cattle for the project were from the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center and commercial producers. Cattle were grouped by weight and sex and vaccinated, castrated, and handled using standard best management practices. The standard marketing practice for weaned calves in Louisiana of selling weaned animals at local stockyards was compared against alternative marketing of preconditioned calves through video auctions or after feedlot finishing. Feedlot cattle were sold both on live weight value and carcass weight …

An Ecopath With Ecosim Analysis On Offshore Petroleum Platform Influences On Gulf Of Mexico Red Snapper, Valentin Gomez

LSU Master's Theses

Offshore oil and gas platforms have had a significant presence in the Gulf of Mexico since the 1950s. An important secondary function of these structures is that they provide artificial habitat to fisheries, most notably Red snapper. Policy changes intended to reduce the risk associated with aging infrastructure have reduced the number of standing platforms from 4044 to 1867 from 2001 to 2018. The effect this loss of habitat has on Red snapper was tested by creating three scenarios of platform changes and modeling the perturbation from 2005 to 2050. The simulation was accomplished using the ecological model Ecopath with …