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Spontaneous Plant Colonization Of Newly Established Green Roofs: An Experimental Approach, Braden Matthew Coats
Spontaneous Plant Colonization Of Newly Established Green Roofs: An Experimental Approach, Braden Matthew Coats
Masters Theses
Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI) increases heat risks in densely developed environments. Ecosystem services provided by green spaces are known to mitigate UHI. Green roofs, designed as novel ecosystems, transform less-utilized spaces like rooftops into functional areas, executing ecosystem functions in densely populated urban environments where traditional green spaces are less common. Research has examined ways to reduce the obstacles of implementing green roofs to maximize accessibility and efficiency of the performed ecosystem services. Research involving plant community dynamics found that maximizing biodiversity on green roofs enhances the ecosystem services provided. Utilizing spontaneous colonizing species, or species that are not …
Evaluation Of Avian Use Of Agricultural Cover Crops During The Winter, Migration Stopover, And The Breeding Season In Tennessee, Brittany Panos
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 …
Mercury Biomagnification In Aquatic Food Webs Of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Zachary Winston Clark
Mercury Biomagnification In Aquatic Food Webs Of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Zachary Winston Clark
Masters Theses
Mercury is a widespread pollutant threatening human, fish, and ecosystem health on a global scale. Biomagnification concentrates mercury in upper trophic level organisms including predatory fishes, a primary route of dietary mercury exposure for humans. However, mercury biomagnification is not well understood in stream ecosystems, especially in places with no known point sources of contamination. A 2016 study revealed that Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomeiu mercury concentrations varied between three streams in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), Tennessee USA. However, the reason for this spatial variation in mercury concentrations is not understood. Our objectives were to (1) measure environmental and …