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Reproductive Consequences Of Exposure To Sediment Extracts From The South Branch Of The Potomac River On Japanese Medaka (Oryzias Latipes), Seth R. Davis
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
An intersex condition, defined as the presence of oocytes in the testes of male gonochoristic fish, has been observed in smallmouth bass in the South Branch of the Potomac River, West Virginia, which indicates exposure to exogenous estrogens. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC's) are generally hydrophobic and would tend to be found within the sediment of aquatic environments. Few studies have attempted to show the effects of exposure to EDC's on fish using sediment chemical extracts. We have developed a mass sediment extraction technique using 2 solvents (hexane, ethyl acetate:acetone 50:50) to determine the effects of extracted chemicals from three sites …
Use Of Native Seed Mixtures To Improve Erosion Control And Wildlife Habitat On Log Landings Following Timber Harvest In The Upper Elk Watershed Of West Virginia, Lisa R. Tager
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Foresters in West Virginia follow BMP guidelines by reseeding retired log landings with inexpensive grasses that quickly provide erosion control. However, these grasses typically are not native nor do they provide high quality forage for wildlife. I developed 3 native seed mixtures for log landing reclamation that would maintain sediment control, as well as enhance wildlife habitat. These mixtures included an erosion control mixture, a wildlife mixture, and a wildflower mixture. I assessed sediment control, biomass production, vegetation structure, forage quality, and small mammal usage of my native mixtures and a commonly used, nonnative traditional mixture in 2005 and 2006. …
Stream Water Quality And Benthic Macroinvertebrate Ecology In A Coal-Mining, Acid-Sensitive Region, George T. Merovich Jr.
Stream Water Quality And Benthic Macroinvertebrate Ecology In A Coal-Mining, Acid-Sensitive Region, George T. Merovich Jr.
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Acid mine drainage (AMD) and acid rain are important sources of impairment to streams in the Tygart Valley and Cheat River basins in north central West Virginia, USA. Due to a network of abandoned mined lands and bond forfeiture sites in this coal-mining region, AMD represents severe, but rather localized impacts to water quality. AMD is a consequence of the chemical oxidation of reduced geological minerals (sulfides) usually associated with coal during mining operations. The reactions produce aqueous solutions high in sulfates and dissolved metals when the minerals are exposed to the oxic environment through land disturbance. In addition, the …
Breeding And Post-Breeding Forest Bird Community Dynamics In Regenerating Clearcuts And Two-Age Harvests In The Central Appalachians, Molly Erin Mcdermott
Breeding And Post-Breeding Forest Bird Community Dynamics In Regenerating Clearcuts And Two-Age Harvests In The Central Appalachians, Molly Erin Mcdermott
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Two-age harvesting has been used more frequently in the management of Central Appalachian hardwood stands as an alternative to clearcutting, but long-term responses of avifauna to these harvests have not been investigated during the breeding season. No studies have examined post-breeding bird communities in these harvests; recent research concerning post-breeding use of early-successional habitats has only examined clearcuts. Greater cover from predators and increased food resources in young seral forests are suspected factors behind the attraction of mature-forest birds post-breeding, and one goal was to test these hypotheses. In addition to microhabitat characteristics, avian habitat use of forest fragmented by …
Comparison Of Two Electrofishing Gears (Backpack And Parallel Wires) And Abundances Of Fishes Of The Upper Greenbrier River Drainage, Angela D. Burns
Comparison Of Two Electrofishing Gears (Backpack And Parallel Wires) And Abundances Of Fishes Of The Upper Greenbrier River Drainage, Angela D. Burns
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
The type of electrofishing gear influences capture efficiencies and abundance estimates of stream fishes. Few studies have examined the Holton and Sullivan (1954) parallel wires method of electrofishing. For this study, I modeled removal data with seven sampling occasions of three common species, western blacknose dace (Rhinichthys obtusus), fantail darter (Etheostoma flabellare), and mottled sculpin ( Cottus bairdi) from 10 paired sites in the upper Greenbrier River drainage, West Virginia, and estimated capture efficiencies of two electrofishing gear types (the Holton and Sullivan parallel wires method with alternating current and backpack units with pulsed-direct current). Ten candidate models represented alternative …
Productivity And Carbon Budgets Of Harvested Central Appalachian Forests, Sarah C. Davis
Productivity And Carbon Budgets Of Harvested Central Appalachian Forests, Sarah C. Davis
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Land conversion and industrial pollution are two of the most influential vehicles for anthropogenic perturbation of natural terrestrial processes and both have increased dramatically over the course of the last century. This research explores the role of Central Appalachian hardwood forests in the global carbon (C) balance during a century of regeneration with changing land use and atmospheric pollution. Most of the forests in this region were logged in the early 1900s. During the century the followed, nitrogen (N) deposition rates became especially high in parts of Central Appalachia where an increasing number of regenerated mature forests are now undergoing …