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The Decline In Monarch Butterfly, Danaus Plexippus, Populations: An Example Of The Global Threat To Biodiversity, Olivia Sidoti

Honors Projects

Biodiversity encompasses the variety of all life on Earth and how these aspects of nature interact with each other. To have stable and abundant biodiversity, vast amounts of species and organisms are required within an ecosystem. As a result of the increase in negative impacts of human activities and behaviors on the health of nature, biodiversity has been decreasing. An example of the decrease in biodiversity is depicted by the recent decline of the monarch butterfly species. The monarch butterfly is an iconic North American insect that is experiencing a decline in its population due to threats such as deforestation, …

A Conservation Model: Costa Rican Conservation Strategies Effectively Preserve Their Threatened Primates, Ryan Belmont

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The wildlife of Costa Rica has experienced various anthropogenic threats over the last century including climate change and agricultural expansion. The mantled howler monkey (Alloutta palliata), Central American spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), white-faced capuchin (Cebus imitator), and the Central American squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedii) are Costa Rica’s native primates that face several anthropogenic threats such as deforestation for agriculture and climate change. In response to increased threats to its four native species of non-human primates, Costa Rica has implemented effective governmental conservation tactics such as the Payments for Environmental Services program, ecotourism …

Tamaulipan Thornforest Restoration: Factors Influencing Restoration Outcomes And Impacts Of Cover Crops During Replanting, Jerald Thomas Garrett

Theses and Dissertations

Though the rate of deforestation has slowed in recent years, it remains a primary cause of land cover change within forest ecosystems. The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas (LRGV) has lost nearly 95% of its native thornforest since the early 1900’s due to agricultural and urban expansion. The focus of this study is to assess the current vegetative state of restored thornforest sites located in the eastern LRGV and to evaluate the use of cover crops during replanting of native seedlings. Our assessment of restored thornforest sites revealed actively restored sites demonstrated higher overall averages of richness, abundance, and diversity …

Charcoal, Droughts, And Deforestation: Evidence From Mozambique, Kaitlin N. Paull

Master's Theses

Mozambique is prone to harsh weather conditions due to its geographic location, and these conditions are expected to worsen in the face of ongoing climate change. Many of Mozambique’s farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture, meaning their livelihoods are highly vulnerable to worsening weather trends. Some farmers have diversified their incomes with charcoal production, making use of Mozambique’s abundant forest resources. This study measures how reliance on charcoal as an income diversification strategy affects forest loss, and found inconclusive effects of rainfall on deforestation. However, the study does find that a one-unit increase in hot degree days increases the probability of …

Evaluating The Impact Of Climate Variability And Landcover Changes On Hydrologic Responses, Marisol Dominguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Projected climate and land cover changes in the 21st century profoundly impact the functioning of the earth’s water cycle. Identifying the components that contribute to the persistence and resilience of watersheds in light of climate change constitutes a research priority of global relevance, and will enable detect the areas most sensitive to climate variability and landcover changes. Global vulnerability of ecosystem services, particularly water service provision, needs to be urgently and continually assessed, given the unceasing human and climate-induced changes in land cover conditions worldwide. Given the increasing rate of extreme weather events, we present three interrelated research studies evaluating …

Algae Against Deforestation: Algae Oil As A Potential Palm Oil Substitute, Abiela Meek

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This capstone project is an effort to pursue sustainability through circular engineering design. With increasing interest in sustainable production of consumer products, creative and multifaceted solutions are the pathway forward to a more circular economy. Palm oil production is a key driver of deforestation worldwide and an unsustainable industry. As palm oil is a large player in the commodities market, evaluating a potential replacement provided a unique opportunity for sustainable circular engineering. High nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in wastewater are also a cause for environmental concern as they can lead to harmful algal blooms. By utilizing the nitrogen and phosphorus …

Balancing Interests In Forest Governance In Brazil And Indonesia, Annabel Mccormick Baldy

Environment and Sustainability Honors Papers

Forests play a major role in reducing levels of Greenhouse gasses which are a major contributor to global warming. Conversely, deforestation is a major contributor to climate change. This study examines the concept of good forest governance, dispelling notions that resource use needs to be a zero-sum game. Rather, it identifies local collective agreements as espoused by Elinor Ostrom in Governing the Commons as the best means of balancing the undeniable economic potential of converting forests to other uses (grazing, farming, and mining) with the more sustainable approach of protecting forests for their environmental benefit. For Ostrom, these collective agreements …

Evolving Deforestation Narratives In Practice: A Study Of The Un-Redd+ Readiness Programme In Nigeria, Stuart Clive Blackwell

Master's Theses

The UN-REDD+ Readiness Programme was conducted between 2009 and 2015. The REDD+ Programme in Nigeria began once the readiness program was completed. This study conducts a document analysis of the program utilizing a political ecology lens to determine the extent to which the program adheres to or strays away from critical narratives surrounding both drivers of deforestation and inclusion and autonomy of federal, state, and local communities. By examining the entirety of the available documentation of the REDD+ Readiness program in Nigeria using a political ecological lens, this study demonstrates both an evolution of the program itself, and an evolution …

Genetic Impacts Of Deforestation On Mouse Lemurs, Darice Westphal

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The impact of deforestation on the genetic structure of mouse lemurs is poorly understood. In this project, I assess deforestation of Madagascar’s terrestrial protected regions, quantify genomic wide genetic variation in two sympatric mouse lemurs, and evaluate the role of landscape structure in genetic relatedness patterns within two sympatric mouse lemur species. Overall deforestation rates across the 98 terrestrial protected areas in Madagascar are increasing, resulting in an average annual deforestation rate of 0.68% per year, with approximately 10,600 km² lost between 2000 and 2019. In a comparison of relatedness patterns between the sympatric gray mouse lemur (Microcebus …

Assessing The Efficacy Of Cites Restrictions On Malagasy Rosewood, Nicholas Cargill

Honors Theses

This paper seeks to determine whether the CITES trade restrictions on rosewood have been effective. Effectiveness will be measured by the amount of illegal logging the restrictions reduce. The Matt Hansen Global Deforestation dataset, which measures deforestation from year to year, will be analyzed in the Google Earth Engine Code Editor to determine the yearly amount of deforestation in Madagascar. This output will then be loaded into R and assessed using OLS estimation techniques to determine whether the ban had a significant impact on the amount of illegal logging occurring in Madagascar. Because CITES restrictions are lifted and restored with …

Historical And Future Role Of Wilmar Palm Oil In Deforestation Of Indonesian Borneo, Sam Coroniti Iii

Senior Theses

Borneo is one of the most biologically diverse locations on Earth, with thousands of endemic and rare species forming unique and intricate relationships throughout the ecosystems. Orangutans, elephants, leopards, tigers, rhinos, and many more species call this island their home, although population levels for all of the mentioned species have been in seriously decline over recent decades. The loss of primary rainforest that provides the most critical habitat for these species has occurred at the highest rate that has ever been seen on Earth, leading to extreme land conversion and greenhouse gas producing operations. The primary driver of these actions …

Differentiating Oil Palm Plantations From Natural Forest To Improve Land Cover Mapping In Ghana, Jacob C. Abramowitz

Theses

Tree crops like oil palm present a unique challenge in land cover mapping, as they are often misclassified as natural forest. The area cultivated with oil palm in Ghana has rapidly expanded since 2000, and production is expected to continue to increase. Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite data was used to map mature, closed-canopy oil palm extent in 2019 around a known oil palm mill in a Ghana study area that includes both industrial plantations and smallholders. The combination of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 inputs outperformed either input alone for mapping industrial oil palm. A separate accuracy assessment for this combined input …

Forests As Fuel? An Investigation Of Biomass’ Role In A Just Energy Transition, Brianna Cunliffe

Honors Projects

Although wood pellet biomass corporations frame their recent rapid growth as a victory for “green energy”, troubling evidence of their adverse impacts on climate and environmental justice calls for rigorous investigation of these claims. Contextualizing biomass within the envirotechnical regimes that have created industrial ‘sacrifice zones’ in BIPOC low-income communities in the US South, this paper recharacterizes it as an innovation within oppressive regimes. It further critiques carbon accounting frameworks that designate biomass as renewable despite its greater emissions per capita than coal and carbon debts created by deforestation that could take centuries to rectify. Biomass pellet production plants, cited …

Predicting Tropical Rainforest Deforestation Using Machine Learning, Remote Sensing & Gis: Case Study Of The Cross River National Park, Nigeria, Ossai Alu

Culminating Projects in Geography and Planning

Population growth, urban sprawl, agricultural expansion, and illegal logging has led to losses in forested land in most parts of the world, especially in a highly populated country like Nigeria. The Cross River National Park (CRNP) in southeastern Nigeria with an area just above 4000km² is designated a biodiverse hotspot and one of the oldest rainforests in Africa. As with all other tropical forests spread across the globe the CRNP is not immune to these factors that threaten its existence. The focus of this study is to analyze the change of forest cover at the Oban division of the …

Effects Of Temperature On Competition Between Macrocystis Pyrifera And Sargassum Horneri, Ann M. Bishop

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Climate change is driving an increase in the number of El Niño and marine heatwave events, especially in the last decade. These events when coupled with localized stressors can lead to dramatic changes to the local ecology. Kelp forests, found in temporal ecosystems across the world, are among the most vulnerable to these extreme environmental shifts. Off the southern west coast of North America, kelp forests are experiencing warmer waters and additional stressors from the introductions of new species brought in by boats through busy ports. This study examined how the 2014 heatwave and the 2015/16 El Niño coupled with …

Mapping The Suitability Of Cal Poly's Insulated Solar Electric Cookers (Isec) In Ghana, Togo, And Jamaica, Julia G. Kraatz

Social Sciences

The World Health Organization estimates that 3 billion people depend on biomass fuels for cooking, heating, and other day-to-day activities, which causes approximately 4.3 million people annually to die from illnesses attributable to indoor air pollution. The issue is especially pressing for women and children in developing countries, because women care for the home and are consequently responsible for attaining household fuels and cooking. In 2015, ISECs (Insulated Solar Electric Cookers) were developed at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, as a technology that utilizes solar electricity to directly cook food in a well-insulated chamber. They are capable of …

The Rainforest Is Burning: Trials And Triumphs Working Towards Conservation In Rural Madagascar, Kathryn Alessi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In late 2019, I spent almost four months in Ranomafana, Madagascar, a region in the southeast that houses tropical rainforest. The research I conducted is not analyzed in this capstone. Instead, I decided to write about my personal experience through a series of reflections that explore the difficulties I faced, as well as the moments of joy. Much of the information presented in this capstone and white paper come from my own experience and copious conversations I had with other people in Madagascar. Several of these conversations were recorded in my diary and fieldnotes, but most were recounted from my …

No More Shade: Deforestation And Rural-Urban Migration In Nigeria, Kambre Sims

Master's Theses

Some of the most well-documented motivating factors of migration in Nigeria include education, employment opportunities, and cultural conflicts. However, as the deforestation crisis has not improved and Nigeria has maintained its spot as the country with the most deforestation on Earth, access to critical forest resources may be in danger. In light of this crisis, this paper attempts to determine if deforestation has become a new motivating factor for migration as those in rural communities seek other avenues of obtaining those vital resources. Subsequently, Nigeria is also experiencing a housing crisis within its rapidly growing urban centers; obtaining and keeping …

Environmental Reforestation And Social Justice In Cameroon: A Test Case For Pope Francis' Concept Of 'Integral Ecology' In Laudato Sí, Augustin Vondou

Dissertations

The following quotation from Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Sí is one of the most quoted parts of his well-known encyclical: We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental. Strategies for a solution demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature (139).

This is a very challenging statement. Not everyone accepts this idea of an ‘integral ecology’; that is, the notion that the condition of human society is directly linked to the …

Three Essays On “Energy , Environment, And Developmental Economics”, Bolarinwa Ajanaku

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation examines topics related to renewable energy development and investment planning, energy markets, environment degradation and economic development. The substantial ecological costs of deforestation are well known and considered globally important due to biodiversity loss, land degradation, soil erosion, and contributions to climate change. The first essay focuses upon understanding the tradeoff between development and deforestation in Africa. In the second essay, spatial analysis and Geographic Information System (GIS) are applied to determine potential locations for wind farms development in the state of West Virginia. Lastly, the third essay examines the role of wind power penetration on wholesale electricity …

Policy Changes Impact In Deforestation Of The Brazilian Amazon, Iara Silva Jaques

Master's Projects and Capstones

Since discovered and inhabited, the Brazilian Amazon has been explored and impacted negatively by human activities. The conversion of forest to pastureland and farmland, as well as mining activities, road opening, wood and ore extraction and fire are historically the main causes of environmental damages and forest loss in the region. This project overviewed the latest changes in environmental policy and practices towards environmental protection conducted by the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, since he took office in 2019, and analyzed the progress of deforestation in the recent years under the new federal administration. Geographic Information System analysis were used to …

Conservation Potential And Mechanisms Of Avian Decline In Experimentally Fragmented And Regenerating Amazonian Rainforest, Cameron Lee Rutt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Twenty percent of the Brazilian Amazon has now been deforested, and deforestation rates are increasing. Yet the process of deforestation threatens biodiversity beyond the direct loss of habitat by inducing edge effects and creating forest fragments. In the tropics, among the most vulnerable birds to these human disturbances are a group of insectivorous species that forage on or near the ground. A variety of mechanisms have been proposed to explain these declines, but evidence for these hypotheses remains scare or equivocal. In this study, we examine three proposed mechanisms—physiological constraints to bright light, reduced breeding activity and nest success, and …

Sediment Yield In Salmon Creek After Decommissioning Logging Roads, Northern Humboldt County, California, Malia S B Gonzales

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Salmon Creek watershed is located in the Headwaters Forest Reserve in northern California and is known for the ecological value of its old-growth redwood forest, high biodiversity, and sensitive habitat for endangered species. The Bureau of Land Management primarily manages the Reserve. The land-use history of the Upper Salmon Creek watershed includes extensive timber harvest and road development. Watershed restoration in the Upper Salmon Creek watershed started in 2000 with the primary goal for the Reserve to protect and recover ecologic diversity and threatened native species. Since then, of the 23 miles, 13.5 miles of logging roads and 101 stream …

The Intersection Of Deforestation And Economic Growth In The Brazilian Amazon, Victoria Oceguera

Student Theses 2015-Present

Abstract

As a result of capital gain, deforestation of the Amazon in Brazil continues. Brazilian government's insufficient efforts to mitigate and enforce the preservation of these precious forests has ledto the commodification of the Amazon. Chapter 1 uses historical and quantitative data to examine the negative impacts of deforestation on indigenous communities and climate change. Chapter2 employs economics to analyze the role of business as a crucial component of deforestation in Brazil. Chapter 3 engages politics in Brazil to discuss interactions between key actors involved in the perpetuation of deforestation. Chapter 3 examines the interactions between politics and corruption involved …

The Effects Of Deforestation On Carbon Storage In Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, Rowan E. Cole

Masters Theses

With over one-fifth of the planet’s forested area, Russia has become a major source of round wood and wood products. In 2003, the Russian government established an energy policy aimed at reducing the negative impacts of industry on the environment and improving the nation’s environments as a whole. This study analyzes deforestation and logging activities in the forests along the Amur River in Khabarovsk Krai in the Russian Far East to determine the effectiveness of Russian government policy in achieving the goals put forward in the 2003 energy policy. Changes in land-use and land-cover will be assessed using 500-meter resolution …

Land Cover Changes Within And Around Protected Areas In Côte D’Ivoire From 1986 To 2017: A Case Study Of The Mabi-Yaya-Songan-Tamin Reserved Forests, Olena Boiko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tropical forests mitigate climate change, provide habitat for the most biologically diverse terrestrial communities, and yield ecosystem services that support human wellbeing. These forests are some of the most threatened ecosystems because of the increasing human impact on the environment. Côte d’Ivoire has one of the highest deforestation rates in sub-Saharan Africa, and the expansion of agriculture to produce cash crops, such as cocoa and rubber, is presented as the primary reason for forest loss. These changes are apparent even within the boundaries of the protected areas, which raises concerns about the effectiveness of the protection strategies. This project illustrates …

Through The Eyes Of Locals: A Changing Climate In Bolivia, Jacob D. Rex

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Deforestation and Agricultural Land-Use Change in Bolivia as a Function of Socio-Economic Realities.

This research combines semi-structured interviews of key informants and local participants, as well as field observations, which were conducted between January and April of 2019 in the Departments of Santa Cruz & Chuquisaca.

Applications Of Earth Observations For The Monitoring Of Deforestation Dynamics In The Peruvian Amazon, Andrea Puzzi Nicolau

Theses

In the context of global environmental change, deforestation in the Amazon is a major concern for sustainable resource management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation. Understanding the processes of land use and land cover that drive deforestation is relevant towards more sustainable land management and will aid global initiatives such as the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change's (UNFCCC) Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). This thesis addresses the use of Earth Observations to monitor deforestation dynamics in the Madre de Dios region of Peru. Two papers are presented; the first analyzes the spatial patterns of forest …

The Effect Of Anthropogenic Environmental Modifications On Malaria Vectors In Amazonian Peru And Brazil, Catharine Prussing

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Malaria is the most deadly vector borne disease, causing substantial morbidity and hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide each year. In the Americas, the incidence of malaria has increased steadily since 2014. The factors driving continued malaria transmission are complex and highly variable across endemic areas. These factors include inadequate access and financial commitment to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, and a failure to target interventions to heterogeneous malaria transmission patterns and vector populations. Nyssorhynchus darlingi (formerly Anopheles darlingi), the predominant malaria vector in Latin America, is known for behavioral, phenotypic, and genetic variability across its range, which allow it to …

Views From Above: Recent Forest History In The Far North Of Madagascar, Nathanael R. Bartosch

Honors Theses

This study is a spatial analysis of the forests west of Mt. d’Ambre National Park in the far northern portion of Madagascar. This area has little spatial, ethnographic, or historic data pertaining to the environment. After a research trip to this area from June to August 2017, the need for a temporal study of forest change materialized. Utilizing Landsat data, NDVIs were generated to assess forest cover density from 1978 to 2018. This spatial analysis saw deforestation across the study area. Deforestation in this area is mainly caused by agriculture, large foreign companies, recent immigration, and local exploitation of timber …