Life Sciences Commons^™

Birds And Bioenergy: A Modeling Framework For Managed Landscapes At Multiple Spatial Scales, Jasmine Asha Kreig

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the design and management of bioenergy landscapes at multiple spatial scales given numerous objectives. Objectives include biodiversity outcomes, biomass feedstock yields, and economic value.

Our study examined biodiversity metrics for 25 avian species in Iowa, including subsets of these species related to ecosystem services. We used our species distribution model (SDM) framework to determine the importance of predictors related to switchgrass production on species richness. We found that distance to water, mean diurnal temperature range, and herbicide application rate were the three most important predictors of biodiversity overall. We found that 76% of species responded positively to …

Root Stage Distributions And Their Importance In Plant-Soil Feedback Models, Tyler Poppenwimer

Doctoral Dissertations

Roots are fundamental to PSFs, being a key mediator of these feedbacks by interacting with and affecting the soil environment and soil microbial communities. However, most PSF models aggregate roots into a homogeneous component or only implicitly simulate roots via functions. Roots are not homogeneous and root traits (nutrient and water uptake, turnover rate, respiration rate, mycorrhizal colonization, etc.) vary with age, branch order, and diameter. Trait differences among a plant’s roots lead to variation in root function and roots can be disaggregated according to their function. The impact on plant growth and resource cycling of changes in the distribution …

Modeling Feral Hogs In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Benjamin Anthony Levy

Doctoral Dissertations

Feral Hogs (Sus scrofa) are an invasive species that have occupied the Great Smoky Mountains National Park since the early 1900s. Recent studies have revitalized interest in the pest and have produced useful data. The Park has kept detailed records on mast abundance as well as every removal since 1980 including geographic location and disease sampling. Data obtained via Lidar includes both overstory as well as understory vegetation information. In this dissertation, three models were created and analyzed using the detailed data on vegetation, mast, and harvest history. The first model is discrete in time and space and …

Mechanisms For Social Influence, Jeremy David Auerbach

Masters Theses

Throughout the thesis, I study mathematical models that can help explain the dependency of social phenomena in animals and humans on individual traits. The first chapter investigates consensus building in human groups through communication of individual preferences for a course of action. Individuals share and modify these preferences through speaker listener interactions. Personality traits, reputations, and social networks structures effect these modifications and eventually the group will reach a consensus. If there is variation in personality traits, the time to reach consensus is delayed. Reputation models are introduced and explored, finding that those who can best estimate the average initial …

Modeling Feral Cat Population Dynamics In Knox County, Tn, Lindsay E. Lee, Nick Robl, Alice M. Bugman, An T.N. Nguyen, Bridgid Lammers, Teresa L. Fisher, Heidi Weimer, Suzanne Lenhart, John C. New Jr.

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.