Life Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Commercial Harvest On The Density And Demography Of Aquatic Turtles In Arkansas, Andrhea Darleen Massey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United States is home to the second highest concentration of turtle species in the world, after Asia. As of 2018, there are 57 turtle species recognized within the US, 40% of which are listed as threatened or endangered, with the primary threats to population persistence identified as over-consumption and/or habitat loss. Within the US, the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) region represents the second highest turtle species richness, after the Mobile River Basin. The MAV region of Arkansas is one of the least regulated in terms of commercial aquatic turtle harvest and has undergone large-scale habitat conversion from bottomland hardwood …

Nitrous Oxide Emissions From Rice Production On A Silt-Loam Soil In Arkansas, Casey Rector

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a common crop grown in Arkansas under flooded-soil conditions. The saturated to nearly saturated soil makes rice production an ideal environment for the production of potent greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide (N2O). The objectives of this study were to i) evaluate the impact of water management practice (full-season-flood and intermittent-flood) and cultivar (pure-line and hybrid) on N2O fluxes, season-long N2O emissions, and global warming potential (GWP; 2016) and ii) evaluate the impact of tillage practice [conventional tillage and no-tillage (NT)] and type of urea fertilizer [ N-(n-butyl) thiosphosphoric triamide (NBPT)-coated and non-coated urea] on …

Environmental And Climatic Constraints On Large-Scale Camelina Production In Eastern Arkansas, Benjamin Robert Tracy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Camelina sativa is a cold weather crop that is typically grown in semi-arid environments in the Western United States, usually as a spring crop, but sometimes during the winter. Research analyzing climate data and soil hydrology is important to better understand the environmental and terrain conditions necessary for Camelina farming wherever it is proposed for large-scale production. This study focused on various conditions and constraints pertaining to the potential for Camelina as a crop biofuel in Eastern Arkansas. Due to interest in the economic potential of crop biofuels in this area, and in particular the low input costs for Camelina, …

Modifying A Cow-Calf Biophysical Simulation Model For Analyses Of Alternative Enterprises, Jennifer L. Lutes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cow-calf producers in the United States, tasked with providing beef calves for the beef industry, have had a multitude of difficulties to overcome in recent years. Producers in northwest Arkansas were negatively impacted by high hay prices coupled with low beef cattle market prices due to severe drought experienced in portions of 2010, 2011, and 2012. During this time they also faced high grain prices, due to a record low harvest, combined with portions of the corn harvest diverted from human and animal feed to ethanol production. Tight lending policies of this time, reminiscent of the housing market crash in …

A Reexamination Of The Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus Collaris Collaris) In Arkansas, Ashley A. Grimsley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Loss of suitable habitat is a threat to species worldwide. Habitat destruction, including loss, change, and fragmentation of habitat, is the leading cause of species extinction. Eastern collared lizards (Crotaphytus collaris collaris) are habitat specialists on glades. Both C. c. collaris and glade habitats are rare and of special concern in the state of Arkansas. Many glade populations have already been extirpated in the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri. Increasing knowledge of the distribution, habitat structure, and population dynamics of C. c. collaris is important to ensure the survival of this species in Arkansas.

A literature review of …