Digital Commons Network^™

Lecturas Ecoculturales Del Caribe Hispánico Y Francés Y Del Brasil, Mariana Herring

Spanish and Portuguese ETDs

In this dissertation, we analyze a selection of works, both literary and filmic, in order to explore how they connect ecological realities with the social, economic and cultural realms. Through the analysis of novels, biographies and films by Caribbean and Brazilian authors, this analysis will focus, in particular, on how these works show the impact of the imposition of the plantation, the modernization discourse, the ongoing colonial experience, and the dismissal of traditional and local knowledge and practices, on ecological problems in the past and in the present. By ecological, we do refer to the interconnectedness between the human and …

Fluvial Geomorphic And Hydrologic Evolution And Climate Change Resilience In Young Volcanic Landscapes: Rhyolite Plateau And Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Benjamin Newell Burnett

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Quaternary volcanism associated with the last caldera cycle in Yellowstone National Park included emplacement of ash-flow tuffs, massive rhyolite flows ranging from 79 to 484 ka, and valley-filling basalts. This study examines (1) the evolution of spring hydrology with flow age on the Rhyolite Plateau, (2) initial development and evolution of stream networks on the rhyolite flows, and (3) the impact of the 630 ka caldera formation and volcanic flow emplacement on Lamar Valley incision rates.

Integrated stream networks formed within 79 kyr on the Rhyolite Plateau. Incision is focused on steep flow margins and knickpoints and is dependent on …

Neshnabé Futurisms: Indigenous Science And Eco-Politics In The Great Lakes, Blaire K. Topash-Caldwell

Anthropology ETDs

In the wake of global climate change anthropological work in Indigenous contexts has focused on crisis intervention. Well-intentioned scholarship has emphasized how climate change disproportionately affects Indigenous communities but in the process has also erased Native voice and agency—deleting them from the future all together. In this dissertation I argue that ecological revitalization projects by tribes, Women’s Water Walks from the ceremonial Midéwiwin Lodge, and Indigenous science fiction media together constitute “Neshnabé futurisms” that challenge or disrupt these dominant narratives. Neshnabé futurisms guide Native American ecologists, theorists, and activists in the Great Lakes region in mitigating and surviving ecological destruction …

Managing Riparian Succession And Stabilizing Native Plant Assemblages In The Middle Rio Grande State Park, Roman M. Lopez

Architecture and Planning ETDs

Anthropogenic alterations of hydro geomorphological conditions of the Rio Grande River have changed the processes that have created the mosaic of riparian habitats valuable for ecosystem functioning, wildlife, and enjoyment by residents. These changes have created conditions that have increased the frequency of historically unprecedented disturbances such as fire and aggressive invasion of exotic species. Restoration activities and planning efforts have begun to reverse these effects, yet large areas of the Middle Rio Grande State Park, commonly called the Bosque, are still being affected by ecosystem changes. Studies of the Rio Grande and other Riparian corridors suggest that lack of …

Sleep As An Evolved Behavior: Ecological Opportunity Costs And Sleep Optimization, Gandhi Yetish

Anthropology ETDs

Sleep problems afflict millions world-over. Treating this has been difficult because there is no consensus definition for “normal” sleep. People can vary in their personal sleep need, but the determinants of variation in sleep duration are largely unknown, as is the criteria to determine how much variation is normal. Given that most diurnal mammals (including primates) appear to sleep from sunset to sunrise, the leading explanation for sleep pathology in the post-industrial world has been that electronics, especially light illuminating devices, substantially reduce sleep duration. This assertion has heretofore only been tested experimentally. This research aims to resolve this issue …

Ecotone Conditions Along Pinon-Juniper And Ponderosa Pine Elevational Ranges, Jemez Mountains, Nm, Christopher Sanderson

Architecture and Planning ETDs

While climate variability is endemic to Southwest North America (SWNA), mounting evidence indicates the region is undergoing significant warming and becoming increasingly arid. Species are at or near their physiological limits at ecotone boundaries and are therefore particularly sensitive to climate change. Drought and warming associated tree mortality has been particularly acute in the semiarid forests and woodlands of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, USA, where ponderosa pine forests (Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum) and piñon--juniper woodlands (Pinus edulis and Juniperus monosperma) have been subject to cambium-feeding pine beetle (Dendroctonus spp., Ips spp) attacks and increased wildfire activity and severity. Grazing …

Too Wet For Frogs, Too Dry For Lizards: Role Of Changing Precipitation On Tropical Frogs And Arid Lizards, Mason J. Ryan

Biology ETDs

During the course of the Anthropocene, humans have modified the landscape and atmosphere resulting in increased global temperatures and intensification of the hydrologic cycle over the last 100 years. Amphibians and reptiles are especially vulnerable to climate change because of their ectothermic physiology and sensitivity to changes in water availability. The role of moisture or precipitation in ectotherm responses to climate change has not been well studied, but moisture plays a vital role in all aspects of the lives of lizards and frogs. It is exceedingly difficult to study the ecological effects of changing precipitation patterns due the stochastic nature …

Root Associated Microbes: The Mediators Between Plants And Soil, Sarah Dean

Biology ETDs

Globally, increasing human populations have either caused or accelerated several types of environmental change. Symbiotic microbes have powerful effects on plant fitness, yet little study has been done on how microbial-plant relationships are affected by environmental changes. In two different ecosystems I explore how either nitrogen (N) pollution or drought can alter root associated microbe (RAM)-plant relationships using Next Generation Sequencing. In moist-meadow alpine tundra at Niwot Ridge, CO, I examine the relative contribution of host identity, N enrichment, and plant neighborhood on RAM diversity and community composition in two co-dominant plant species; Geum rossii and Deschampsia cespitosa. In New …

Restraurant Regions : An Ecological Community Based Model Of Restaurant Chain Distribution In The United States, Stephen Griego

Geography ETDs

The scope of this paper is an exercise in regional identification within the geography of the United States. This paper applied a hierarchical clustering methodology to analyze the distribution of restaurants in the landscape. The clustering model utilized in this study is commonly used in analysis of ecological communities. Each restaurant chain was treated as an individual biological species, and the clustering software analyzed it as such. The individual restaurant chain locations were treated as individual samples in the environment. Wards (1963) algorithm was used to group the individual restaurant chain locations into related clusters using simple correlation as the …

Life History And Morphometric Variation Of Gambusia Nobilis At Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Alyssa Hopkins

Biology ETDs

The Pecos Gambusia, Gambusia nobilis, is an endangered, live bearing fish inhabiting sinkholes in a restricted range of the Pecos River Watershed in New Mexico and Texas. The sink holes at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge (BLNWR), Roswell, NM create isolated habitats with varying ecological conditions (habitat size, community composition, dissolved oxygen, salinity and pH). This ecological variation imposes unique selective pressures that may shape differences in life history characteristics and morphology between populations. The goals of this research were to characterize seasonal and population variation in 1) life history characteristics, 2) embryo development patterns, 3) morphology and 4) explore …

Growing Home: Sacred Space And Contemporary Ecotopia, Andrew Gingerich

Architecture and Planning ETDs

This thesis investigates the concept of ecocentrism and how an emerging ecocentric worldview might uniquely shape the built environment. This thesis is particularly interested in the role of sacred space in urban development, and how the notion of sacredness, unique to an ecocentric worldview, might affect various aspects of the built environment. These issues are explored in two basic parts. First, three basic worldviews are discussed\u2014the pre-modern worldview, the modern worldview, and the emerging ecocentric worldview--specifically on the topics of nature, space, and the city. Second, a qualitative research study of three ecotopian' communities is presented--Village Homes in Davis, CA; …

Feeding Ecology And Life History Strategies Of White-Faced Capuchin Monkeys, Elizabeth Eadie

Anthropology ETDs

Dietary niches have widespread effects on individuals life histories, behaviors, and morphologies. Capuchin monkeys inhabit a complex dietary niche that often entails hunting of relatively large vertebrate prey, tool-use, and extraction of embedded resources that other closely related and sympatric species do not exploit. In this dissertation I examine, a) how juvenile capuchins overcome the challenges of reliance on a difficult-to-acquire diet, b) at what age juveniles achieve maximum foraging return rates for difficult-to-acquire foods, and c) what nutritional benefits capuchins obtain from exploitation of these foods. In the process of addressing these questions I test two prominent hypotheses regarding …

Pollination Ecology Of Agave Palmeri In New Mexico, And Landscape Use Of Leptonycteris Nivalis In Relation To Agaves, Angela E. England

Biology ETDs

Where animals spend time can provide important clues to their ecological needs, but this information is very difficult to obtain for small volant animals. The research described in Chapter 1 was an attempt to discern how L. nivalis utilize the landscape in relation to the distribution of Agave havardiana in Big Bend National Park, Texas. I found that although the landscape use of Leptonycteris nivalis is centered on habitat with high concentrations of blooming A.havardiana, it is not restricted to those areas, and furthermore adults and juveniles may differ in their behavior. Adult females may remain near food sources in …

Reproductive Phenology Of Fishes Of The Rio Grande, New Mexico : A Genes-To-Community Approach, Trevor James Krabbenhoft

Biology ETDs

Reproductive phenology is a key life history attribute of long lived organisms that can strongly affect reproductive success and, ultimately, drive community composition. Understanding the ecological causes and consequences and genetic mechanisms shaping reproductive timing is key to predicting the outcome of environmental change (e.g., climate change). The three chapters that comprised this dissertation were focused on elucidating the ecological and genetic underpinnings of reproductive timing in the fish community of an arid-land river, the Rio Grande, New Mexico. In Chapter 1, we assessed reproductive phenology in the Rio Grande fish community with four years of young-of-year sampling data and …

Home/Land: Kiowa, New Mexico- A Grassland's Story, Heather R. Yaryan

Architecture and Planning ETDs

The purpose of this thesis was to illustrate how cultural and natural histories inform place-based community planning. Utilizing both cultural and natural histories, the planner may begin to see patterns of habitancy as they correlate to ecological fluctuations. I focused my research on Kiowa, New Mexico the community my family homesteaded in the grasslands of Northeastern New Mexico and took an auto-ethnographic approach to conducting my research. The story of Kiowa is both unique and universal. The intricacies of the land and people are, indeed, woven into a specific place and times. It is the intersection of Place and of …