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Classifying And Mapping Native Grasslands Of South Dakota's Northern Prairie Coteau And Characterizing Habitat For Dakota Skipper Conservation, Diane M. Narem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Native tallgrass prairie is becoming increasingly rare due to conversion and degradation, putting pressure on endemic prairie species such as the federally threatened Dakota skipper butterfly (Hesperia dacotae). To develop a conservation plan for the butterfly in South Dakota, accurate vegetation classification, mapping, and characterization are critical. The objectives of this study were to 1) rank prairie condition, 2) classify and map upland prairie, 3) characterize and compare vegetation at Dakota skipper inhabited and formerly inhabited sites, and 4) identify potential Dakota skipper habitat within a 225 mi2 (58,275 hectares) study area of the SD Prairie Coteau. Condition metrics were …

Studying The Effects Of Theraflu On The Growth Of Selenastrum Capricornutum, Hannah Gray Boren

Honors Theses

Algae contribute to self-purification of streams and rivers and are necessary as food for fish and as components of aquatic food webs (1). However, too much or too little algae may create or be indicative of a problem. If nutrients are present in large amounts, algae growth may become excessive, resulting in algal “blooms.” These algal blooms can change the chemistry of the water, making it toxic to other aquatic occupants, including fish, birds, animals, and other plants (1). On the other hand, if nutrients in the water are limiting or are exhausted, algae growth is inhibited, which results in …

Inducing Stress Early And Reducing Stress Late To Increase Soybean (Glycine Max) Yield, Gary L. Gregg

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Relatively little change in national soybean (Glycine max) yield over the previous years have led many farmers to creating management regimes focused on plant stress. Field experiments consisting of two different relative maturity (2.8RM and 4.5 RM) soybean cultivars were established at three locations across Kentucky in 2013 and 2014. Each maturity group received a single application, sequential applications, or a combination of the following treatments: N’N-diformyl urea, lactofen, lambda-cyhalothrin with thiamethoxam, and azoxystrobin with propiconazole. Relative maturity and yield environment*treatment interactions were observed to be significant (p 0≤.05). 4.5 RM soybean cultivars yielded significantly greater (800 kg …

School Gardens: Cultivating A Child’S Nutritional Habits, Environmental Knowledge, And Sustainability Practices, Jeffrey Meltzer

Honors Theses

School gardens have existed since the late nineteenth century and today are becoming increasingly popular in many parts of the world, including where I studied in Maine and Australia (AUS). Multiple organizations support school gardens in Maine, including the Maine School Garden Network, which has over 125 registered school gardens. In AUS, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation primarily supports the school garden movement and has over 800 registered school gardens. While many researchers have studied school gardens, few have compared two countries, focused on environmental sustainability, or investigated Maine in particular. This thesis combines information from literature reviews, and …

Vegetation-Based Metrics Of Biotic Integrity For Assessing The Ecological Condition Of Wetlands Of Kentucky, Tanner Matthew Morris

Online Theses and Dissertations

Over the last two centuries, wetland acreage across the world has significantly declined due to human disturbances. It has been estimated that Kentucky has lost over 80% of its wetland area. In response to these losses occurring across the United States, the Clean Water Act was passed to halt this dramatic decline and to restore the ecological integrity of waters of the United States. To enforce the Clean Water Act, a number of ecological assessment techniques have been developed to quantify the ecological quality of the waters of the United States. Kentucky recently adopted a rapid method for assessing the …

A Comparison Of Management Strategies For The Federally Endangered Running Buffalo Clover (Trifolium Stoloniferum) On The Blue Grass Army Depot, Ky, Alexi David Dart-Padover

Online Theses and Dissertations

Running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a federally endangered plant that appears to depend on habitat disturbance, although proposed management strategies such as cattle grazing, mowing, and herbicide application have never been compared in a controlled study. We evaluate the efficacy of these techniques on the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) in Madison County, KY, where one of T. stoloniferum’s largest populations occurs. Fifty-nine patches of T. stoloniferum on the BGAD were treated annually between 2012 and 2014 with combinations of mowing and grass-specific herbicide. Patches of T. stoloniferum also were exposed to one of three types of cattle exposure …

The Vascular Flora Of Boyle County, Ky, Heidi M. Braunreiter

Online Theses and Dissertations

The vascular flora of Boyle County, Kentucky, was conducted from March 2013 to March 2015. Boyle County is located in central Kentucky and is part of the Bluegrass Physiographic Section. A total of 127 families, 392 genera, and 722 species, varieties, and subspecies were documented from Boyle County. Twelve plant communities were described: acidic mesophytic forest, acidic sub-xeric forest, acidic xeric forest, Bluegrass woodland, bottomland ridge/terrace forest, calcareous mesophytic forest, calcareous sub-xeric forest, depression pond/mudflat, dry limestone cliff/outcrops, riparian forest, wet prairie/meadow, and one rare state-listed plant community, the shale/siltstone glade. Five rare species with state rankings were discussed: American …

The Status Of The Genus Taxus In Kentucky, Robert Reed Pace

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study involved a detailed study of the genus Taxus in Kentucky. A thorough examination was conducted, including a review of the literature, examination of field and herbarium specimens from both native and non-native species, microscopic analysis of leaf ultrastructure, chemical analysis of taxane content, and the construction of GIS models to predict the occurrence of the native species. In the review and examination of morphological features, it was found that the best features for separation of the taxa were plant height, the number of the rows of stomata per abaxial leaf band, and the location of papillose cells on …

Decadal Scale Responses Of Soil And Ecosystem Processes To Forest Restoration In Rocky Mountain Conifer Forests, Peter Ganzlin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Decades of fire suppression have left much of the forest in the intermountain western United States exceedingly dense, and forest restoration techniques – including thinning and prescribed fire – are increasingly being used in an attempt to mitigate the potentially disastrous effects of severe wildfire, to enhance tree growth and regeneration, and to stimulate soil nutrient cycling. While many of the short-term effects of forest restoration have been established, the long-term effects on soil biogeochemical and ecosystem processes are largely unknown. In this thesis I present two manuscripts documenting and synthesizing these long-term impacts. The first chapter focuses on the …

Dinámica De Crecimiento De Una Pradera Brachiaria Brizantha Cv Toledo En Función De Las Variables Dasométricas, Diego Fernando Barreto Ocampo

Zootecnia

Cada kilogramo de forraje que se produce tiene un costo para cada productor, lo que explica que una pradera desperdiciada en forma de hojas muertas que no fueron consumidas al momento del pastoreo equivale a una alta perdida de dinero, al mismo tiempo se afecta la respuesta animal al ofrecer praderas de baja calidad nutritiva. Por otra parte después de un pastoreo, una gran cantidad de hojas ha sido removida y la planta utiliza las reservas de carbohidratos solubles para el rebrote. No solo es importante tener en cuenta los criterios para ofrecer pasto de buena calidad a los animales, …

Analysis Of Plant Analytes Using Capillary Electrophoresis And High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Umme Kalsoom

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Plants contain an enormous array of organic and inorganic components, the analysis for which may involve a wide range of methods. The focus of this study was to develop high performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis methods for the analysis of three classes of analytes: osmoregulants, minerals and amino acids.

Firstly, this study explored the potential of capillary electrophoresis for the analysis of three very common osmoregulants (proline, glycine betaine and mannitol). A diverse array of methods has been reported for determining each of these analytes, however, the literature on osmoregulants and their analysis is quite disjointed and traverses both …

A Neuro-Genetic Hybrid Approach To Automatic Identification Of Plant Leaves, Oluleye Hezekiah Babatunde

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Plants are essential for the existence of most living things on this planet. Plants are used for providing food, shelter, and medicine. The ability to identify plants is very important for several applications, including conservation of endangered plant species, rehabilitation of lands after mining activities and differentiating crop plants from weeds.

In recent times, many researchers have made attempts to develop automated plant species recognition systems. However, the current computer-based plants recognition systems have limitations as some plants are naturally complex, thus it is difficult to extract and represent their features. Further, natural differences of features within the same plant …

Study Of Factors Affecting Growth And Development Of Narrow Brown Leaf Spot Of Rice Caused By Cercospora Janseana (Racib.) O. Const., Kirandeep Kaur Mani

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Studies evaluated the effects of planting date, cultivar susceptibility, fungicide application timing, nitrogen management, and tillage practices on the severity of narrow brown leaf spot of rice (NBLS) caused by Cercospora janseana. All factors evaluated affected NBLS severity. The mid-April planted rice had less NBLS as compared to mid-May, late planted rice. Propiconazole fungicide (Tilt) application at panicle initiation or early boot stage was found equally effective in terms of disease reduction in mid-April planting while panicle initiation stage was the best time to apply fungicide in the late planting (mid-May). Early onset and higher severity of NBLS was observed …

Evolutionary Relationships Among Fungal Soybean Pathogens And Molecular Marker Development In The Genus Cercospora, Sebastian Albu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Cercospora leaf blight (CLB) and purple seed stain (PSS) are common soybean diseases in the Gulf South of the United States (USA). For nearly a century, Cercospora kikuchii has been considered as the only pathogen causing these diseases. However, previous reports of genetic diversity among isolates collected throughout Louisiana suggested the presence of multiple lineages or species. Recent systematic studies classified species of Cercospora using a taxonomic system based on phylogenetic analysis of five nuclear loci (legacy genes). Using a similar approach, cercosporoid fungi tentatively identified as C. kikuchii were evaluated along with 53 other species of Cercospora. No …

Genetic And Transcriptomic Analyses Of The Rice Pathogenic Bacterium, Burkholderia Glumae, Reveal The Important Roles Of The Regulatory Gene, Tepr, For Bacterial Survival In Environmental Stresses, Jingyu Peng

LSU Master's Theses

Burkholderia glumae causes bacterial panicle blight in rice by producing the phytotoxin, toxoflavin, as a major virulence factor. Production of toxoflavin is negatively regulated by tepR, which encodes a sigma 54-dependent response regulator. In order to gain insights into the comprehensive biological functions of tepR, the genome-wide transcriptional profile dependent on tepR was analyzed through comparative transcriptome analysis between a tepR defective mutant and the wild-type strain, resulting in the identification of 238 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis indicated that genes involved in flagella assembly and stress response were highly enriched in tepR defective strain. Kyoto …

Effects Of Minor Elements On Cercospora Kikuchii, Cercospora Leaf Blight And Rust On Soybeans, Brian Michael Ward

LSU Master's Theses

Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most widely grown crops in the world. Many pathogens attack soybeans, but of particular importance to tropical and subtropical areas such as Louisiana is Cercospora leaf blight (CLB). This disease is caused by the fungus Cercospora kikuchii and favored by high temperatures. This fungus utilizes a toxin, cercosporin, as its primary pathogenicity factor. Soybean rust (SBR), caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi, is another common disease that occurs in Louisiana under cooler environmental conditions of spring and fall. Both diseases occur regularly in Louisiana and may result in severe yield losses. Cercospora kikuchii has recently …

Do Epidermal Cell Types Have An Effect Upon Ultraviolet Patterns On Flower Petals?, Margaux Flaherty

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Flower petal epidermal cell shape and ultraviolet patterns called nectar guides may have a considerable impact on pollinator behavior and consequently, the reproductive success of the floral species. Similarly, flower petal epidermal cell shape may have an effect on floral color; however, these effects have only been measured in the visible light range (Whitney et al., 2009). This study attempts to determine if epidermal cell shape has an effect upon ultraviolet floral patterns. Experimental results show that all of the floral species studied seem to have a conical epidermal cell shape, but varying levels of ultraviolet reflectance and absorbance; …

Target-Directed Biosynthetic Evolution: Redirecting Plant Evolution To Genomically Optimize A Plant’S Pharmacological Profile, Dustin Paul Brown

Theses and Dissertations--Neuroscience

The dissertation describes a novel method for plant drug discovery based on mutation and selection of plant cells. Despite the industry focus on chemical synthesis, plants remain a source of potent and complex bioactive metabolites. Many of these have evolved as defensive compounds targeted on key proteins in the CNS of herbivorous insects, for example the insect dopamine transporter (DAT). Because of homology with the human DAT protein some of these metabolites have high abuse potential, but others may be valuable in treating drug dependence. This dissertation redirects the evolution of a native Lobelia species toward metabolites with greater activity …

Evaluating A Novel Endophytic Grass For Its Potential To Reduce Invertebrate Populations And Associated Bird Strike Risk At Airports, Diana M. Miller

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Aircraft strikes are a significant safety hazard on airports worldwide. Wildlife management at airfields is the most effective tactic to reduce airstrike risk – to modify the habitat to be undesirable to animals. Tall fescue grasses containing a fungal symbiont may serve that purpose. They produce alkaloids that convey resistance to some grass-feeding invertebrates, which might in turn reduce incidence of insectivorous birds. A commercial endophytic grass (Avanex™) consisting of ‘Jackal’ tall fescue infected with a unique endophyte (AR 601) is purported to contain especially high levels of alkaloids and to reduce bird populations if planted at airports. I evaluated …

Disaggregating The Effect Of Drought And Heat Stress During Flowering On Spikelet Fertility In Rice, Lisa Straussberger

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to rice’s wide geographic distribution, extending from 50°N to 35°S, rice is

forecasted to be the most vulnerable crop to warming global climates. Previous studies have

predicted lower rice yields and increasing rice yield variability due to higher frequencies of heat

stress events, and a higher variability in precipitation patterns due to global warming. As such,

understanding the effects of drought and heat stress intensity and frequency on rice yields is of

upmost importance to feeding the growing global population.

Given that drought and high-temperature stress often occur together, it is essential to

disaggregate the two individual stressors and …