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Effects Of Vegetation Structure On Fire Behavior And Wiregrass Seedling Establishment In Xeric Sandhills, Evelyn Wenk Aug 2009

Effects Of Vegetation Structure On Fire Behavior And Wiregrass Seedling Establishment In Xeric Sandhills, Evelyn Wenk

All Theses

The xeric sandhills on Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge have a monospecific overstory of longleaf pine and an understory dominated by turkey oak and wiregrass. The understory vegetation is spatially heterogeneous within stands, with small patches dominated by either turkey oak or wiregrass, or lacking understory vegetation. I described the fuel complexes created by the variable vegetation structure, in terms of their chemical and physical properties, and used prescribed fire to test for differences in fire behavior among the vegetation types. In addition, I compared the effects of the vegetation structure and below-ground competition on the establishment of wiregrass.
Turkey …


Relationships Between Impervious Surfaces And Surface Water Quality In Hunnicutt Creek Watershed, Clemson, South Carolina, Swaros Dumrichob Aug 2009

Relationships Between Impervious Surfaces And Surface Water Quality In Hunnicutt Creek Watershed, Clemson, South Carolina, Swaros Dumrichob

All Theses

Hunnicutt Creek watershed drains to the eastern edge of Clemson University campus. The landscape of this part of campus changes from a natural park like botanical garden to one dominated by academic buildings. The campus area has changed in time as well with increasing impervious areas such as roads, parking lots, roof tops and decreasing the amount of forested land leaded to the impairment of water quality in this creek. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the relationships between water quality indicators and percent imperviousness at a watershed level. Eight sampling sites were assigned at each sub-watershed within …


An Assessment Of Cognitive Level Of Instruction Presented In Animal Science Courses And The Impact On Development Of Cognition In Undergraduates, Laura White May 2009

An Assessment Of Cognitive Level Of Instruction Presented In Animal Science Courses And The Impact On Development Of Cognition In Undergraduates, Laura White

All Dissertations

To be successful in life, students will need to learn to make good decisions; many of them. Quality decision making is paramount for student success in future employment and their personal lives. To make a quality decision, one must weigh all possible options and understand as many of the implications of that decision as possible. Relating options and outcomes to previous experience is advantageous. The qualities mentioned above are reliant on critical thought processes. It is imperative that graduates seeking employment possess a balanced combination of base knowledge and independent thought combined with critical thinking ability. In order to produce …


Development Of Basic Meat Science Curriculum Standards For Secondary Agricultural Education: Delphi Model, John Duke May 2009

Development Of Basic Meat Science Curriculum Standards For Secondary Agricultural Education: Delphi Model, John Duke

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to develop basic meat science topics and standards for secondary agricultural education. A Delphi panel was used to develop the instrument. The Delphi panel was composed of four members from academia and industry and four
from the top ten national meat FFA Career Development Events coaches from 2000 to 2005. Two Delphi rounds were used to develop the survey instrument. The modified Delphi started with an outline of basic meat science topics developed by an expert panel
from 16 university basic meat science syllabi. The Delphi panel added or deleted topics, topics were …


Management Strategies To Improve Development Of Replacement Heifers Utilizing Tall Fescue-Based Systems, Margaret Miller May 2009

Management Strategies To Improve Development Of Replacement Heifers Utilizing Tall Fescue-Based Systems, Margaret Miller

All Theses

Research was conducted to determine the effect of tall fescue and alternative management regimens on reproduction in replacement beef heifers. Angus _ Simmental heifers (n = 48; 318 ± 4.99 kg initial BW) stratified by weight and pubertal status were assigned to one of three replicated grazing treatments: (1) toxic endophyte-infected tall fescue (TF); (2) toxic endophyte-infected tall fescue with a soybean oil supplement (TFO); or (3) mixed winter annual species (cereal rye, annual ryegrass, crimson clover and hybrid turnip) (M). Tall fescue endophyte infection level was between 74 and 94%. Pastures were grazed from December 12 to April 24. …


Population Reconstruction Model To Analyze Harvest And Banding Data For Mourning Doves In South Carolina, Christopher Chumbley May 2009

Population Reconstruction Model To Analyze Harvest And Banding Data For Mourning Doves In South Carolina, Christopher Chumbley

All Theses

Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) call count indices for South Carolina indicate a negative trend over the past 42 years (1.2% decline per year, p < 0.05). Total harvest estimates in the state increased from 2003-2007. Banding data from doves banded in South Carolina and data from annual examinations of harvested mourning dove wings during 2003-2007 were collected and analyzed. Data sets used contained 6,600 banded doves and 21,240 harvested dove wings. Survival estimates from band recovery analyses for adult and juvenile doves were 0.44 (± 0.04 SE) and 0.35 (± 0.06 SE), respectively. Survival rates were constant from year to year while recovery rates differed annually for adults and juveniles. The average natural mortality estimates for adults and juveniles in the presence of hunting were 0.45 ± 0.122 and 0.47 ± 0.189, respectively, during the study period. The average harvest and kill rates for adults and juveniles were also estimated. Age-at-harvest ratios adapted from annual wing examinations during the harvest were used with recovery rates to derive estimates of annual productivity in the population. Linear regression analysis of productivity estimates found a significant decline in productivity during 2003-2007 (-0.21, p < 0.10). The average productivity estimate was 1.43 (± 0.33 SE) juveniles per adult and the estimated productivity required to maintain a stable population was 1.60 (± 0.30 SE). The effects of constant survival rates, varying hunting mortality estimates and declining productivity estimates were discussed in relation to breeding populations in rural areas of South Carolina.