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Social-Ecological Vulnerability To Environmental Extremes And Adaptation Pathways In Small-Scale Fisheries Of The Southern California Current, Juan Camilo Cardenas, Et. Al.

Economics Department Faculty Publications Series

Coastal ecosystems and human communities are threatened worldwide by climate change, and shocks from social, market and political change. There is an urgent global need to promote resilient food production and livelihoods in the face of these shocks. Small-scale fisheries (SSF) in rural settings can be particularly vulnerable as they frequently lack the resources, rights and infrastructure to respond to shocks originating outside the focal systems. We examined ecological and social outcomes of environmental extremes in a SSF socio-ecological system (SES) by using long-term oceanographic (between 2010-2019) and ecological (2006-2018) data tracking change in a kelp forest ecosystem of Baja …

Perilous Choices: Landscapes Of Fear For Adult Birds Reduces Nestling Condition Across An Urban Gradient, Aaron M. Grade, Susannah B. Lerman, Paige S. Warren

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

Predator fear effects influence reproductive outcomes in many species. In non-urban systems, passerines often respond to predator cues by reducing parental investment, resulting in smaller and lighter nestlings. Since trophic interactions in urban areas are highly altered, it is unclear how passerines respond to fear effects in human-altered landscapes. Nestlings of passerines in urban areas also tend to be smaller and lighter than their rural counterparts and are often exposed to high densities of potential predators yet experience lower per capita predation-the predation paradox. We suggest fear effects in urban habitats could be a significant mechanism influencing nestling condition in …

Large-Scale Patterns Of Green Turtle Trophic Ecology In The Eastern Pacific Oceans, Jeffery A. Seminoff, Lisa M. Komoroske, Diego Amorocho, Randall Arauz, Didiher Chacón-Chaverrí, Nelly De Paz, Peter H. Dutton, Miguel Donoso, Maike Heidemeyer, Gabriel Hoeffer

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

Trophic position and niche width are fundamental components of a species' ecology, reflecting resource use, and influencing key demographic parameters such as somatic growth, maturation, and survival. Concepts about a species' trophic niche space have important implications for local management and habitat protection, and can shed light about resilience to changing climate for species occurring over broad spatial scales. For elusive marine animals such as sea turtles, trophic niche is challenging to study, and researchers often rely on other metrics, such as isotopic niche, as a proxy. Here, stable isotope analysis (delta C-13 and delta N-15 values) was conducted on …

Species And Population Specific Gene Expression In Blood Transcriptomes Of Marine Turtles, Shreya M. Banerjee, Jamie Adkins Stoll, Camryn D. Allen, Jennifer M. Lynch, Heather S. Harris, Lauren Kenyon, Richard E. Connon, Eleanor J. Sterling, Eugenia Naro-Maciel, Kathryn Mcfadden

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

Background: Transcriptomic data has demonstrated utility to advance the study of physiological diversity and organisms' responses to environmental stressors. However, a lack of genomic resources and challenges associated with collecting high-quality RNA can limit its application for many wild populations. Minimally invasive blood sampling combined with de novo transcriptomic approaches has great potential to alleviate these barriers. Here, we advance these goals for marine turtles by generating high quality de novo blood transcriptome assemblies to characterize functional diversity and compare global transcriptional profiles between tissues, species, and foraging aggregations.ResultsWe generated high quality blood transcriptome assemblies for hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead …

Sunset Park, Brooklyn: Reclaiming An Urban Industrial Area And Creating Community, Yincheng Zhang

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Like many metropolises around the world, urban renewal in New York dominates the process

of urban development due to the scarcity of urban land resources and the ever-expanding population of New York. In the history of New York’s urban expansion, with the continuous expansion of the city’s outer edge and industrial relocation, industrial land originally on the edge of the city is gradually surrounded by residential areas.

The large area of vacant land and building also limits the further development of the region.

How to reuse the existing infrastructure and brownfield with the highly degraded environment is

particularly important for …

After Post-Development: On Capitalism, Difference, And Representation, Kiran Asher, Joel Wainwright

Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies Faculty Publication Series

The post‐development school associated with the thought of Arturo Escobar treats development as a discursive invention of the West, best countered by ethnographic attention to local knowledge of people marginalised by colonial modernity. This approach promises paths to more equitable and sustainable alternatives to development. Post‐development has been criticised vigorously in the past. But despite its conceptual and political shortcomings, it remains the most popular critical approach to development and is reemerging in decolonial and pluriversal guises. This paper contends that the post‐development critique of mainstream development has run its course and deserves a fresh round of criticism. We argue …

Progress And Challenges Of Protecting North American Ash Trees From The Emerald Ash Borer Using Biological Control, Jian J. Duan, Leah S. Bauer, Roy G. Vandriesche, Juli R. Gould

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

After emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, was discovered in the United States, a classical biological control program was initiated against this destructive pest of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). This biocontrol program began in 2007 after federal regulatory agencies and the state of Michigan approved release of three EAB parasitoid species from China: Tetrastichus planipennisi Yang (Eulophidae), Spathius agrili Yang (Braconidae), and Oobius agrili Zhang and Huang (Encyrtidae). A fourth EAB parasitoid, Spathius galinae Belokobylskij (Braconidae) from Russia, was approved for release in 2015. We review the rationale and ecological premises of the EAB biocontrol program, and then report …

Identify Adolescent Opioid Users And Provide Brief Multi-Contact Counseling: A Pilot Quality Improvement Project Guided By Prochaska’S Behavioral Change Model, Stephen Zombil

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Background and Review of Literature: The epidemic of opioid use/dependence is consuming many lives and destroying many families across the length and breadth of the United States and the world. Public health authorities, States, and local governments as well as the public have expressed, with growing alarm, an unprecedented rise in morbidity and mortality related to drug addiction and substance abuse. Despite the prevention efforts, drug addiction and substance abuse continue to be a major issue that needs multifaceted public health approaches to solve it. Purpose: The purpose of this pilot quality improvement project was to encourage behavioral …

Assessing The Economic And Flow Regime Outcomes Of Alternative Hydropower Operations On The Connecticut River's Mainstem, Luke Detwiler

Environmental & Water Resources Engineering Masters Projects

Hydropower provides a source of reliable and inexpensive energy, producing approximately 20% of the global energy supply, though it comes at a cost to riverine ecosystems. To maximize revenues, major hydropower facilities store and release water with respect to short-term changes in energy price, causing significant sub-daily flow regime alterations that impact downstream ecological communities. In the United States, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is responsible for hydropower regulation and this is administered, in part, during periodic relicensing of existing facilities. The process of relicensing provides the opportunity to evaluate the goals and concerns of interested parties and evaluate …

Gdgt Distribution In A Stratified Lake And Implications For The Application Of Tex86 In Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions, Zhaohui Zhang, Rienk Smittenberg, Raymond S. Bradley

Geosciences Department Faculty Publication Series

We investigated the relationship between distributions of GDGTs, GDGT-based proxies and environmental factors in a stratified lake in northwestern Norway. More than 90% of isoGDGTs were produced at the bottom of the oxycline, indicating a predominance of ammonia-oxidizing Group I.1a of Thaumarchaeota, supported by high crenarchaeol/caldarchaeol ratios. Dissolved oxygen content, rather than temperature, exercised a primary control on TEX₈₆ values. In spite of low BIT value in surface sediment, the reconstructed lake surface temperature was “cold” biased. MBT values in streams and lake surface water were significantly smaller than those in the catchment soil, suggesting in situ production of …

The Influence Of Sex And Season On Conspecific Spatial Overlap In A Large, Actively-Foraging Colubrid Snake, Javan M. Bauder, David R. Breininger, M. Rebecca Bolt, Michael L. Legare, Christopher L. Jenkins, Betsie B. Rothermel, Kevin Mcgarigal

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

Understanding the factors influencing the degree of spatial overlap among conspecifics is important for understanding multiple ecological processes. Compared to terrestrial carnivores, relatively little is known about the factors influencing conspecific spatial overlap in snakes, although across snake taxa there appears to be substantial variation in conspecific spatial overlap. In this study, we described conspecific spatial overlap of eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi) in peninsular Florida and examined how conspecific spatial overlap varied by sex and season (breeding season vs. non-breeding season). We calculated multiple indices of spatial overlap using 6- and 3-month utilization distributions (UD) of dyads …

Florivory Shapes Both Leaf And Floral Interactions, Nicole L. Soper Gorden, Lynn S. Adler

Biology Department Faculty Publication Series

Florivory, or the consumption of flowers, is a ubiquitous interaction that can reduce plant reproduction directly by damaging reproductive tissues and indirectly by deterring pollinators. However, we know surprisingly little about how florivory alters plant traits or the larger community of species interactions. Although leaf damage is known to affect floral traits and interactions in many systems, the consequences of floral damage for leaf traits and interactions are unknown. We manipulated floral damage in Impatiens capensisand measured effects on floral attractive traits and secondary chemicals, leaf secondary chemicals, floral interactions, leaf herbivory, and plant reproduction. We also examined relationships …

An Assessment Of Environmental Dna As A Tool To Detect Fish Species In Headwater Streams, Stephen F. Jane

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in the use of freely available DNA present in aquatic systems, otherwise known as environmental DNA (eDNA), as a tool for monitoring aquatic organisms. However, much remains unknown about the behavior of eDNA over a range of environmental conditions. This is particularly true in high gradient headwater streams, which have received less attention than other types of water bodies. In the summer of 2011, a headwater stream system with well established species distributions was sampled using eDNA techniques. Though species were detected where known to be present, detections also occurred where traditional …

Effects Of Invasive Winter Moth Defoliation On Tree Radial Growth In Eastern Massachusetts, Usa, Michael J. Simmons, Thomas D. Lee, Mark J. Ducey, Joseph S. Elkinton, George H. Boettner, Kevin J. Dodds

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

Winter moth, Operophtera brumata L. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), has been defoliating hardwood trees in eastern Massachusetts since the 1990s. Native to Europe, winter moth has also been detected in Rhode Island, Connecticut, eastern Long Island (NY), New Hampshire, and Maine. Individual tree impacts of winter moth defoliation in New England are currently unknown. Using dendroecological techniques, this study related annual radial growth of individual host (Quercus spp. and Acer spp.) trees to detailed defoliation estimates. Winter moth defoliation was associated with up to a 47% reduction in annual radial growth of Quercus trees. Latewood production of Quercus was reduced by up …

Social Enterprise In Latin America: Dimensions Of Collaboration Among Social Entrepreneurs, Kevin Moforte Madsen

School of Public Policy Capstones

No abstract provided.

Seasonal Variation Of Suicide Rates Within Alaska: Associations Of Age And Sex, Jonviea Chamberlain

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Background: Suicide rates among Alaska Natives in rural Alaska are almost 16 times higher than the national average. Some studies in northern latitudes have shown seasonal variation among suicide rates, with differences in patterns by age and sex, reasons for this variation and contributing factors are unclear. We modeled our hypotheses based on the assumption that vitamin D deficiency influences seasonal variation of suicide. We assessed the relationship between age, sex and seasonal variation of suicidal behavior in a rural region of Alaska. Methods: We utilized data from 804 individuals who exhibited lethal and nonlethal suicidal behavior (1990-2009). Information on …

The Lovely And The Wild: Considering Naumkeag, Carol Waag

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This paper investigates Fletcher Steele’s ideas about nature, and the fitness of gardens, in order to guide and support a reinvigoration of Naumkeag. Its aim is to highlight the protection of ecological resources while preserving aesthetic and historic integrity. This topic is particularly timely as The Trustees of Reservations are in the process of completing an extensive and unprecedented restoration plan, which will be carried out over the next five years. The Trustees have a long history of historic preservation and ecological conservation. This paper explores how these two aspects of their work can be integrated at Naumkeag, with particular …

Vernal Pool Vegetation And Soil Patterns Along Hydrologic Gradients In Western Massachusetts, Kasie Collins

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This study looks at relationships along the hydrologic gradient between and within six pools; including the vegetation community, soil characteristics and hydrology. Pool conditions were monitored weekly throughout the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons. Each pool was equipped with permanent platinum-tipped redox probes to quantify the severity and duration of soil reduction. We described and analyzed 12 soil profiles in each pool, distributed in summit/upland, basin, and rim/transition positions as defined by the high water line. The pools were systematically surveyed for understory vegetation during the 2012 growing season.

Vegetation patterns varied between study areas. No clear pattern of unique …

An Investigation Of Human-Error Rates In Wildlife Photographic Identification; Implications For The Use Of Citizen Scientists, Megan Chesser

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Rapid technological advancements in digital cameras and widespread public access to the internet have inspired many researchers to consider alternative methods for collecting, analyzing, and distributing scientific data. Two emerging fields of study that have capitalized on these developments are “citizen science” and photo-id in wildlife capture-mark-recapture (CMR) studies. Both approaches offer unprecedented flexibility and potential for acquiring previously inconceivable datasets, yet both remain dependent on data collection by human observers. The absence of rigorous assessment of observer error rates causes many scientists to resist citizen science altogether or to fail to incorporate citizen-collected data into ecological analyses. This same …

Town Of Braintree - Monatiquot River Watershed Study, Benjamin D'Agostino, Elizabeth A. Englebretson, Carli Foster, Jeffrey Scott Fulford, Edward P. Haynes, Tracy Murphy, Sparky Vonplinsky, Eric Wojtowicz

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Studio and Student Research and Creative Activity

Monatiquot River has played an important role in the Town of Braintree’s great industrial history. Over time, people’s relationship with the river has evolved from daily necessity and industrial utilitarian usage to scenery and recreational amenity. Currently, there is limited public physical access to the water and a lack of connection to regional greenway system. In addition, the extreme flood in March 2010 signified the prolonged urbanization impacts on floodplains and massive impervious surfaces in the watershed. Under the climate change effects, Braintree is likely to face more frequent and severe storms that affect safety and welfare of the increasing …

Communicating Climate Change Impacts With Stakeholders On The Coast Of Connecticut-Stewart B. Mckinney National Wildlife Refuge, Cynthia L. White

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

This research project consists of two parts, a scientific analysis of potential impacts of climate change on a coastal wildlife refuge, Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, and its surrounding area and a summary of the response by stakeholders to the information. The refuge with headquarters in Westbrook, CT consists of eleven units that span 70 miles along the coast of CT and include habitats such as saltmarsh, tidal flats, deciduous upland, rocky island, and barrier reef. Projected impacts over a span of 100 years include a projected loss of one quarter to one third of the dry land (which …

Density Of Drinking Establishments And Hiv Prevalence In A Migrant Town In Namibia, Brooke E. Nichols

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Given the established link between alcohol consumption and risk taking behavior, it is plausible that neighborhoods with higher density of drinking establishments will be associated with increased prevalence of HIV. We conducted an ecological study comparing neighborhoods in Luderitz, Namibia, to evaluate this relationship. We observed increased prevalence of HIV comparing high densities of registered and unregistered shebeens, bars, and total number of drinking establishments, as compared with low densities, were associated with increased prevalence of HIV (PR=3.02, 95% CI: 2.04-4.47; PR=1.71, 95% CI: 1.42-2.07; PR=1.55, 95% CI: 1.19-2.02). Our observation of increased prevalence associated with higher densities of drinking …

Beverage Consumption And Body Composition Among College-Aged Women, Matthew Sloan

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In the U.S., over 67 million adults are obese and 300,000 annual deaths are related to obesity. Among college-aged women, over 60% report daily consumption of caloric beverages. Prior studies indicate positive associations between these beverages and obesity, but conflicting results for diet drinks. Studies were limited, however, by obesity measures that failed to accurately assess abdominal adiposity or percent body fat, and few studies included college-aged women.

We examined this relationship among participants aged 18-30 in the University of Massachusetts Vitamin D Status Study (n=237). We assessed average diet in the past two months using a modified …

The Effects Of Environmental Temperature On Locomotor Performance And Growth Patterns In Spotted Salamander, Ambystoma Maculatum, Suellen Almeida

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TEMPERATURE ON LOCOMOTOR PERFORMANCE AND GROWTH PATTERNS IN SPOTTED SALAMANDER, AMBYSTOMA MACULATUM SEPTEMBER 2010 SUELLEN ALMEIDA, B.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMEHRST M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Duncan J. Irschick Variation in temperature has a profound effect on many aspects of an animal’s physiology, behavior, and performance capacities. Although animals are capable of coping with a range of temperature, they are adapted to specific boundaries of temperature. In an era of global climate change, it is fundamental to comprehend how organisms will react in relation to temperature-related stress and how warmer environmental temperature will …

Watershed Forest Management Information System (Wfmis), Yl Zhang, Pk Barten

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

Maintenance of a sustainable clean water supply is critical for our future. However, watershed degradation is a common phenomenon around the world that leads to poor water quality. In order to protect water resources, the Watershed Forest Management Information System (WFMIS), was developed as an extension of ArcGIS® and is described in this paper. There are three submodels to address nonpoint source pollution mitigation, road system management, and silvicultural operations, respectively. The Watershed Management Priority Indices (WMPI) is a zoning approach to prioritize critical areas for conservation and restoration management. It meets the critical need to spatially differentiate land cover …

Designing A Base Station For Living Routes In Auroville, India, Vandita Mudgal

Living Routes Student Projects

Living Routes is a Non Governmental organization based in Amherst, MA that sends students overseas for semester long courses affiliated by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The courses comprise of sustainable living practices, ecological studies and a lifestyle that supports nature. These sites are primarily eco-villages spread throughout the world. In some of them Living Routes has its own campus and in others they function from temporary guest houses and hired accommodations.

This LARP Master’s study project worked to develop the spatial design for a campus located in Auroville, India for Living Routes. As the course is more established in …

Designing Base Station For Living Routes Auroville, India, Vandita Mudgal

Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning Masters Projects

Living Routes is a Non Governmental Organization based in Amherst, MA that sends students overseas for semester long courses affiliated by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The courses comprise of sustainable living practices, ecological studies and a lifestyle that supports nature. These sites are primarily eco-villages spread throughout the world. In some of them Living Routes has its own campus and in others they function from temporary guest houses and hired accommodations.

This Master's study project worked to develop the spatial design for a campus located in Auroville, India for Living Routes. As the course is more established in Auroville, …

Constraints On Anaerobic Respiration In The Hyperthermophilic Archaea Pyrobaculum Islandicum And Pyrobaculum Aerophilum, Lawrence F. Feinberg, R. Srikanth, Richard W. Vachet, James F. Holden

Microbiology Department Faculty Publication Series

Pyrobaculum islandicum uses iron, thiosulfate, and elemental sulfur for anaerobic respiration, while Pyrobaculum aerophilum uses iron and nitrate; however, the constraints on these processes and their physiological mechanisms for iron and sulfur reduction are not well understood. Growth rates on sulfur compounds are highest at pH 5 to 6 and highly reduced (<−420-mV) conditions, while growth rates on nitrate and iron are highest at pH 7 to 9 and more-oxidized (>−210-mV) conditions. Growth on iron expands the known pH range of growth for both organisms. P. islandicum differs from P. aerophilum in that it requires direct contact with insoluble iron oxide for growth, it did not produce any extracellular compounds when grown on insoluble iron, and it …

Hydrologic Alteration In The Connecticut River Basin, Kim Lutz, Julie Zimmerman, Ben Letcher, Keith Nislow

Water Resources Research Center Conferences

We examined the spatial distribution of hydrologic alteration among the Connecticut River and its 44 major tributaries as a tool for watershed-scale conservation planning and to assist in development of strategies for mitigating threats to aquatic ecosystems in the basin. Specifically, we (1) examined the spatial extent and distribution of hydrologic alteration by developing indices of potential flow alteration for individual watersheds, (2) analyzed data from US Geological Survey stream gages with sufficient periods of record (i.e., at least 20-years pre- and post- dam construction) to determine the types and degree of hydrologic alteration, and created unimpaired flow data sets …

Diversity And Movement Patterns Of Passerine Birds Near An Urban Center On Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands, Ana M. Gabela

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Many insights into ecological and evolutionary processes have come from studies of island systems. Diversity, abundance, and movement of species are restricted on smaller islands, but these dynamics can become increasingly complex as island size increases.

In recent decades urbanization and the human population on the Galápagos islands has increased rapidly, affecting wildlife in unknown ways. During 2005 and 2006, we sampled birds along a 4-km transect extending northeast of the city of Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island. This allowed us to collect data on the potential impacts of rapidly growing urban center on passerine bird diversity and abundance. We …