Life Sciences Commons^™

Overcoming Barriers To Aquatic Plant Restoration: Addressing Gaps In Species Identification And Planting Techniques In The Intermountain West, Kate A. Sinnott

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Aquatic ecosystems provide many critical and economically valuable benefits, including drinking water, food, recreational opportunities, and water supply for irrigation and agriculture. However, the health of these systems has been severely impacted by human activities such as pollution, land conversion, and introductions of harmful species. Restoring native aquatic plants can help reverse this damage and reestablish benefits, though it is not a common practice. With an objective to increase capacity for aquatic plant restoration in the Intermountain West, I identified and addressed two major barriers: 1) a lack of confidence in aquatic species identification among wetland professionals, and 2) underdeveloped …

Determining The Impact Of Post-Harvest Water Management On Chironomid Abundance, Agrochemical Biomass And Potential Trophic Biomagnification, Mason Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Agriculture has diminished shorebirds’ natural habitat in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Remaining natural stopover sites are supplemented with agricultural fields during the fall and winter. This study evaluates the impact of 4 different post-harvest water management strategies on shorebird food abundance and potential agrochemical biomagnification. Chironomid samples estimated abundance, biomass, and chironomid agrochemical concentration in each field. A risk assessment of agrochemical biomagnification to shorebirds was made across all treatments. Of treatments represented on all study sites, winter treatment had greatest chironomid abundance and biomass. Models indicated that days since flood initiation, start date, and temperature are significant predictors of …

Amphibian Occupancy And Diversity On A Post-Mined Landscape, Emma M. Buckardt

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Amphibian populations are declining globally, with habitat loss and fragmentation being a leading cause for their decline. Anthropogenic changes to a landscape, such as urbanization, agriculture, and surface mining, leave few native habitats intact, which can influence amphibian populations and communities to varying degrees. Amphibians can provide insight into the health of ecosystems because they are sensitive to changes in their environment. Thus, they can be considered indicator species in anthropogenically altered wetlands. The goal of this study was to characterize amphibian communities that are using surface mined lands that have undergone vegetative succession. For Chapter I, we used call …

Nutrient Uptake And Water Quality In Great Salt Lake Wetland Impoundments, Rachel L. Buck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Great Salt Lake (GSL) is the largest inland body of water on the Pacific flyway, a major pathway for migratory birds in the Americas that extends from Alaska to Patagonia. The lake is surrounded by approximately 360,000 acres of wetlands, providing critical food, shelter, cover, nesting areas, and protection to between 4–6 million birds that visit each year. Impounded wetlands were created as part of the GSL ecosystem to support waterfowl habitat. These large, shallow, submergent wetlands are diked to control water levels to sustain aquatic plants which are an important food source. Besides providing critical habitat, these impoundments …

Selenium Burdens In Painted Turtles (Chrysemys Picta), Holly A. Gerberding

Honors Thesis

Tile drain systems are a critical advancement in agriculture that move excess water from crop fields to streams, ditches, and wetlands. Selenium is a necessary mineral but is considered toxic at high levels. Previous research indicates that wetlands with tile drains are at a higher risk for elevated selenium concentrations. Selenium enters the aquatic ecosystem via these tile systems and us taken up by invertebrates and continues to bioaccumulate mainly via direct transfer in higher trophic level taxa such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. For this study, painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) served as a model organism to …

The Best Management Practices For Addressing Human-Caused Riparian And Wetland Degradation, Aldo Lopez

Master's Projects and Capstones

Riparian and wetland ecosystems accomplish a variety of significant ecological purposes, especially in the State of California where a majority of these ecosystems have been removed, degraded, or altered due to human interferences. A large portion of this interference comes from a strong agricultural presence throughout the state. In order to combat further ecological loss, private and public entities have begun strong restorative and managerial efforts. This project reviews the effects of agriculture in riparian and wetland areas, and what are the best management practices focusing on the Santa Clara River Watershed and the Elkhorn Slough found in Monterey Bay. …

Understanding Wetlands And Irrigation In The Little Snake River Basin, Wyoming, Lindsey Washkoviak

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The Little Snake River Basin (LSRB) is a managed basin in South-central Wyoming located within the Colorado River watershed facing severe water shortages. There is increased pressure on water resource managers and agricultural producers to adopt water efficiency practices that could negatively affect wetland resources. However, studies have begun to quantify the importance of irrigation for recharging groundwater, maintaining late season instream flows, and maintaining and creating wetlands that provide wildlife habitat and ecosystem services.

In the LSRB there are 11,636 acres of wetlands; 56% of which overlap with irrigation. Conversion to more efficient irrigation could reduce water availability to …

The Distribution, Abundance, And Gut Microbiome Of Ribbed Mussel, Geukensia Demissa, Across Natural And Restored Salt Marshes In Jamaica Bay, New York, Bethany Freynk

Student Theses and Dissertations

Coastal wetlands perform valuable functions by protecting shorelines from floodwaters and storm surges, providing habitats for marine species, and improving local water quality. Unfortunately, over half of the area of global wetlands has been lost over the past century. Locally, in Jamaica Bay (Queens, NY), loss of wetlands has exceeded 98%. Restoration of Jamaica Bay marshes began in 2003. Ribbed mussels, Geukensia demissa, live symbiotically with marsh plants and have been shown to stabilize sediments and provide organic nutrients that enhance marsh plant growth. Mussels are suspension feeders, which collect algae from seawater and deposit organic matter in marsh sediments. …

Incorporating Multi-Spectral Imaging Into Long-Term Upland Breeding Bird Monitoring, Kyle William Schumacher

Master's Theses

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas, United States partnered with Fort Hays State University Hays, KS in 2014 to begin a collaborative research project that aimed to develop a long-term monitoring protocol guided by the Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the refuge published in 2013. This plan identified specific wildlife taxa underrepresented in management impact assessments throughout the property. As a result of this plan, surveys were established to monitor interactions between upland breeding birds and the vegetation community. I conducted point count surveys in 2016, 2017, and 2018 for 122 observation points across four transects. I measured seventeen vegetation variables …

An Assessment Of How Plant And Mycorrhizal Communities Have Been Affected Along A Mine-Impacted Watershed In The Northwest Territories, Kevin Maccoll

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Giant Mine is an inactive gold mine located nine kilometers north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Giant Mine has been the source of arsenic trioxide for the Baker Creek watershed since it opened over 60 years ago. Although arsenic levels in the creek are above the limits considered to be biologically relevant, there is no concrete evidence that plants and mycorrhizae have actually been affected. This study provides an initial assessment of the impacts mining activity at Giant Mine has had on plants and mycorrhizae in the Baker Creek watershed. Nine sites were sampled around Giant Mine: five sites downstream from …

The Forgotten Cousin In Freshwater Community Ecology: Tidal Freshwater Wetlands, Jack R. Mclachlan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Tidal freshwaters are unique in their placement in the landscape, forming where freshwater riverine flows are sufficient to overwhelm the saline water of the incoming tide, but not strong enough to suppress tidal water-height fluctuations. Tidal freshwaters and their wetlands have been overlooked by freshwater and marine researchers alike; neither discipline considers tidal freshwaters to fall under their purview. Invertebrate communities in tidal freshwaters are thought to be species depauperate; the consensus is that they support fewer taxa than nearby non-tidal freshwaters, but little is known about how these communities are structured. This study investigated how tidal hydrology, an atypical …

Impacts Of Wetland Characteristics On Duck Use In The Prairie Pothole Region (Ppr) 1987-2013, Fred Thomas Oslund

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since 1987 the Waterfowl Breeding Populations and Production Estimates, also called the Four Square Mile Survey, has been conducted annually in the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region. The survey was designed to assess the influence of the Small Wetlands Acquisition Program on contributions to continental waterfowl populations (Cowardin et al. 1995). Each year cooperators visit sample wetlands during two survey periods, collecting data on observed waterfowl and pond conditions. Along with ground counts, aerial photography of sample areas is collected annually, capturing habitat conditions. My objective was to assess the influence of local and landscape factors on duck pair densities. Local …

A Vegetation-Based Index Of Biotic Integrity For Wetlands Of Kentucky, Noelle Newman Smith

Online Theses and Dissertations

Wetland ecosystems have experienced severe declines across the United States, prompting efforts to assess the status of remaining wetlands and regulate their development. The Clean Water Act and the policy of “No Net Loss” have resulted in a system of permitting and mitigation for impacts to wetlands. Professional judgments of wetland quality are inherent in regulatory decisions related to preservation and mitigation, but many states, and until recently including Kentucky, have no standard, quantifiable means of assessing wetlands to guide the decision process. A rapid assessment method has recently been developed for Kentucky, but there is no intensive assessment method …

Population Genetics Of Wood Frogs (Lithobates Sylvaticus) In A Forested Ridge-Top Wetland Ecosystem, Jennifer R. Strong

Online Theses and Dissertations

An important aspect of conservation biology is understanding how land-use changes impact biodiversity. Ridge-top wetlands are unique habitat for pond-breeding amphibians and the Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF) contains natural forested ridge-top wetlands in close proximity to constructed wetlands intermixed across the same landscape. Genetic data can be used to address current population status, probability of persistence, and population connectivity. The objective of this study was to determine the amount and distribution of population genetic diversity of wood frogs in natural ridge-top wetlands and what factors influence this. Genetic data were analyzed for nine microsatellite DNA loci from twenty-five wood …