Life Sciences Commons^™

The Use Of Biological Soil Health Indicators To Quantify The Benefits Of Cover Crops, Alexander Wu

Masters Theses

Soils provide many essential functions that support the world. With a decline in soil health, these functions also decrease in efficiency, and can threaten the health of billions of people around the world. Typically, soil health tests do not use biological indicators, however microbes drive and perform vital functions to increase soil health. One way to increase soil health is through the use of cover crops to reduce soil erosion during fallow periods, increasing soil organic matter, as well as collecting nutrients from soil into their biomass. These cover crops are then terminated through various methods such as herbicides, disk …

Geomorphology Of Tidal Wetlands: Impacts Of Extreme And Annual Flood Events To Salt Marsh And Mangrove Systems, Frances R. Griswold

Doctoral Dissertations

Tidal wetlands are vital for buffering coastal settings from the threats of accelerated sea level rise and storms. Understanding the factors that are most influential for the maintenance and recovery of tidal wetlands after extreme events compounded by future accelerated sea level rise is of the utmost importance, yet this knowledge is not well established. Two tidal wetland schemas investigated in this dissertation are mangrove systems in Vieques, Puerto Rico (including robust lagoonal-mangrove forest systems and fringing mangrove forests), and salt marshes in New England. While the climatic forcings, vegetation type, and locations are vastly different for these two tidal …

Rainbow Beach Sediment Grain Size Analysis, Northampton, Massachusetts, Brian Yellen

Data and Datasets

This dataset was prepared by Brian Yellen, a research assistant professor in the Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Yellen worked in conjunction with Melissa Grader of the USFWS and colleagues to conduct the associated field sampling.

This report provides information related to the substrate grain size at surveyed locations on Rainbow Beach on the Connecticut River in Northampton, MA (42.322125, -72.584928). This location is a known breeding site of the endangered puritan tiger beetle (PTB), Ellipsoptera puritana.

Perceptions Of Historical Climate Change And Park Policy: The Impact On The Fremont Cottonwood In Zion National Park, Kathleen Kavarra Corr

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite its “natural” appearance and the Organic Act 1916 mandate for preservation of the natural environment in National Parks, the Virgin River as it flows through Zion National Park’s Zion Canyon was transformed through massive flood control re-engineering projects in the 1930s. The armoring of the river has had significant impacts on riparian vegetation, particularly on the stands of native Fremont Cottonwood trees that once filled the narrow valley. What was the motivation for this massive flood control project carried out in an arid region with less than 15 inches of rain per year? This dissertation explores the motivations which …

Hydrologic Controls On Phosphorus Speciation And Mobilization In A Subalpine Watershed (East River, Colorado), Lucia Isobel Arthen-Long

Masters Theses

The cycling of phosphorus (P) through floodplain environments is critical to ecosystem productivity and has significant implications on both water quality and soil fertility. P export from soils in response to saturation has been well documented, but the relative vulnerability of specific P pools to mobilization remains poorly constrained, as do the mechanisms mediating its release. The prediction of P availability in and export from mountainous floodplain soils is of great importance as global climate change is projected to significantly alter precipitation regimes in alpine systems. This study combined a thorough characterization of P distribution across a hillslope to floodplain …

Physiological Constraints, Mechanisms, And Mineral Transformations Of Iron Reduction In Hyperthermophilic Crenarchaea, Srishti Kashyap

Doctoral Dissertations

Dissimilatory iron reduction by hyperthermophilic archaea occurs in many geothermal environments and typically relies on microbe-mineral interactions that transform various iron oxide minerals. However, the kinds of iron oxides that can be used, growth rates, extent of iron reduction, and the mineral transformations that occur due to this metabolism are poorly understood. This dissertation improves our fundamental understanding of the physiological mechanisms and mineral transformations of hyperthermophilic iron reduction using two model crenarchaea, Pyrodictium delaneyi and Pyrobaculum islandicum. Using growth yields and metabolite production rates, we demonstrated that a broad range of Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxides of variable thermodynamic stability was …

Does Invasion Science Encompass The Invaded Range? A Comparison Of The Geographies Of Invasion Science Versus Management In The U.S., Lara Munro

Masters Theses

Biases in invasion science lead to a taxonomic focus on plants, particularly a subset of well-studied plants, and a geographic focus on invasions in Europe and North America. Geographic biases could also cause some branches of invasion science to focus on a subset of environmental conditions in the invaded range, potentially leading to an incomplete understanding of the ecology and management of plant invasions. While broader, country-level geographic biases are well known, it is unclear whether these biases extend to a finer scale and thus affect research within the invaded range. This study assessed whether research sites for ten well-studied …

Processes, Patterns, And Predictions Of Soil Moisture Variation In Upland And Peatland Cranberry Farms In Massachusetts, Rebecca Brennan

Masters Theses

The American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) represents a vital sector of the economy of southeastern Massachusetts. Due to the hydrogeological and edaphic characteristics of peatlands, variations in soil drainage and soil moisture represent major management challenges for growers in Massachusetts. An emerging trend of upland (mineral soil) cranberry farms planted with new hybrid cultivars has the potential to enhance the profitability and long-term viability of cranberry production in Massachusetts. However, sparse data exist on soil moisture characteristics of peatland and upland cranberry farms. The purpose of this research was to elucidate the differences in soil moisture between upland and …

Supporting New England Communities To Become River-Smart: Policies And Programs That Can Help New England Towns Thrive Despite River Floods, Eve Vogel, Et. Al.

Water Reports

This report aims to help New England’s communities and their residents, as well as the governments thatserve them, to better deal with and adjust to riverfloods. It points to practical policy solutions at federal, state and regional levels that can support NewEngland communities to become what we call river-smart.

Assessing Kiln-Produced Hardwood Biochar For Improving Soil Health In A Temperate Climate Agricultural Soil, Emily J. Cole

Doctoral Dissertations

Soil quality has become a major factor used in assessing sustainable land management and the overall environmental quality, food security, and economic viability of agricultural lands. Recently, biochar has been touted as having many potential uses as a soil amendment for improving soil quality, specifically improving cation exchange capacity, pH and nutrient availability. However, soil biology also plays a significant role in biogeochemical processes that influence soil health and should be included in a more comprehensive study of soil health. This dissertation describes 4 projects within the same 3-year field study with the cumulative purpose of better understanding the effect …

Dissolution, Ocean Acidification And Biotic Extinctions Prior To The Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) Boundary In The Tropical Pacific, Serena Dameron

Masters Theses

The several million years preceding the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary has been the focus of many studies. Changes in ocean circulation and sea level, extinctions, and major volcanic events have all been documented for this interval. Important research questions these changes raise include the climate dynamics during the warm, but not hot, time after the decay of the Late Cretaceous greenhouse interval and the stability of ecosystems prior to the mass extinctions at the end-Cretaceous.

I document several biotic perturbations as well as changes in ocean circulation during the Maastrichtian stage of the latest Cretaceous that question whether the biosphere was …

Microbe-Mineral Relationships And Biogenic Mineral Transformations In Actively Venting Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Sulfide Chimneys, Tzihsuan J. Lin

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation uses a combination of microbiology, mineralogy, and geochemistry to understand dissimilatory iron reduction in hyperthermophilic archaea and the role and potential impact of these and other vent microorganisms within active deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimneys. The central objective of the dissertation is to determine if mineral composition and chimney type are among the primary determinants of microbial community composition and hyperthermophilic, dissimilatory iron reducer growth, in addition to other environmental factors such as nutrient availability, temperature, pH, and chlorinity. This is done using samples and organisms collected from the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the …

Qualitative And Comparative Analysis Of Stormwater Management In The Tan Brook Watershed, Natalia Von Hausen, Robert F. Smith

Research

The Tan Brook Watershed is both a daylighted and diverted underground stream that runs through the Town Center of Amherst and the campus of UMass Amherst. Various stormwater management practices have been used to infiltrate stormwater runoff from streets, lots, buildings and/or vehicles. These systems are custom-designed relative to the surrounding permeability of the soil, vegetation and geographical topography. Some systems have higher success rates than others.

Bioretention: Evaluating Their Effectiveness For Improving Water Quality In New England Urban Environments, Mary Dehais

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is one of the leading causes of water quality problems in the United States. Bioretention has become one of the more frequently used stormwater management practices for addressing NPS pollution in urbanized watersheds in New England. Yet despite increased acceptance, bioretention is not widely practiced. This study explores and evaluates the efficacy of bioretention for protecting urban water quality.

This research found that numerous monitoring methods are used by researchers and industry experts to assess the effectiveness of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) and low impact development (LID) practices that include bioretention. The two most common …

Growth Of Chromidia-Forming Vahlkampfiid Amoebae From Laguna Figueroa, Baja California Del Norte, Mexico And Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Under Limited Oxygen Gas Conditions, Melishia I. Santiago

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Paratetramitus jugosus, a vahlkampfiid amoebomastigote, was isolated into monoprotist/monobacterial (Bacillus sp.), cultures from laminated microbial mats (Laguna Figueroa, Baja California Norte, Mexico) and muds (Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts). Chromidia, roughly spherical (2-4 µm in diameter) were released from both walled spherical cysts (10-12 µm) and phagocytotic amoebic forms. Desiccation-resistant walled chromidia, at first spherical, resorb their walls and develop into small pleiomorphic phagocytotic amoeba. Small amoebae feed and mature into typical monopodial vahlkampfiid adults confirming previous work (Dobell, 1913, and especially the analysis of a larger encysting vahlkampfiid amoeba associated with Long Island oyster disease studied at Woods Hole …

A New Species Of Moropus (Mammalia, Perissodactyla, Chalicotheriodea) In The Batesland Formation, Great Plains Area Of North America, Carolyn Rounds

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The chalicothere Moropus was a rare perissodactyl present in the Great Plains region of North America through much of the Miocene. A temporal gap in named species of Moropus is present in the early Hemingfordian North American Land Mammal Age. This gap is filled by specimens currently referred to as Moropus sp. from the Batesland Formation in southwest South Dakota, and unnamed specimens of Moropus in the Runningwater Formation in northwestern Nebraska. A comparison of the fossils of Moropus nsp. from the Batesland Formation with those of previously described chalicothere species from the Greats Plains region, such as Moropus elatus, …

The Distribution, Composition, And Formation Of Sahara Desert Microbialites From The Base Of The Meski Plateau, Outside Erfoud, Morocco, Sean Faulkner

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Seven distinctly different museum-quality concretionary morphotypes of elongate, spheroidal, banded, botryoidal, columnar, rosette, and speleothem in regolith at two small sites at the base of the Meski Plateau near Erfoud, Morocco are described. Although most are isolated hand samples, the largest concretions are meter-sized blocks. Not one sample resembles any surrounding outcrop or bedrock. The barite rosettes formed first via periodic mixing of Ba2+/SO42- saturated solutions. They provided nuclei for cyclical precipitation-based concentric concretion development. The speleothem formed via precipitation from a carbonate-saturated solution in a large void within porous sandstone. The sand concretions formed when calcite precipitated around grains …

Ma, Connecticut River, Holyoke Dam, Brett Towler

Fish Passage Data Archive

No abstract provided.

Phosphorus Dynamics In Cranberry Systems; 310 Report To Ma Dep, Carolyn J. Demoranville, Brian L. Howes

Cranberry Station Research Reports and Surveys

No abstract provided.

Connecticut River 2020 Project: Cost And Economic Impact Analysis, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This project addresses the following issues:

1) Analysis of the cost of abating water pollution sources contaminating the Lower Connecticut River for the communities of Agawam, Chicopee, Holyoke, Ludlow, South Hadley, Springfield, and West Springfield.

2) Analysis of the impact of water pollution abatement measures on the economy of Hamden and Hampshire Counties.

3) Analysis of the impact of additional economic development on Hamden and Hampshire Counties resulting from an improved river resource.

4) Assessment and analysis of increased recreational activities resulting from a cleaner river resource.

The research was conducted by the Center for Economic Development at the University …