Life Sciences Commons^™

Understanding Institutional, Social, And Ecological Systems Influencing Climate Change Adaptation And Water Governance In Wine Regions: A Comparative Case Study Of Oregon's Willamette Valley, Usa And Tasmania, Australia, Erin Upton

Dissertations and Theses

My research examines how water management decisions create opportunities or barriers to climate change adaptation in wine regions. Water is a critical resource for economic and environmental sustainability in wine grape growing regions. Climate uncertainty presents considerable risk and vulnerability to freshwater resources in wine producing regions where needs for access to water will increase with more frequent climate extremes. Climate adaptation in the wine industry is a complex problem that requires multi-disciplinary approaches. This research aims to strengthen the interface between water governance and technological and viticulture adaptation approaches. Water resources are shared across regions by stakeholders with varied …

Assessing A Fluorescence Spectroscopy Method For In-Situ Microbial Drinking Water Quality, Taylor Jeffery Sharpe

Dissertations and Theses

Waterborne disease is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease, in particular among high-risk populations in developing nations. State-of-the-art methods for the enumeration of microbial pathogens in drinking water sources have important limitations, including high initial cost, 24-48 hour delays in results, high staffing and facility requirements, and training requirements which all become especially problematic in the developing nation context.

A number of alternative approaches to microbial water quality testing have been proposed, with the goal of decreasing the required testing time, decreasing overall costs, leveraging appropriate technology approaches, or improving sensitivity or specificity of the water quality …

Pharmaceutical Contaminants As Stressors On Rocky Intertidal And Estuarine Organisms: A Case Study Of Fluoxetine, Joseph Richard Peters

Dissertations and Theses

Contaminants such as pharmaceuticals are of increasing concern due to their ubiquitous use and persistence in surface waters worldwide. Limited attention has been paid to the effects of pharmaceuticals on marine life, despite widespread detection of these contaminants in the marine environment. Of the existing studies, the majority assess the negative effects of pharmaceuticals over an exposure period of 30 days or less and focus on cellular and subcellular biomarkers. Longer studies are required to determine if chronic contaminant exposure poses risks to marine life at environmentally relevant concentrations. Also scarce in the literature is examination of whole organism effects …

The Response Of Zooplankton Communities In Montane Lakes Of Different Fish Stocking Histories To Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition Simulations, Jeffrey Thomas Brittain

Dissertations and Theses

Freshwater ecosystems are subject to a wide variety of stressors, which can have complex interactions and result in ecological surprises. Non-native fish introductions have drastically reduced the number of naturally fishless lakes and have resulted in cascading food web repercussions in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Additional anthropogenic influences that result from increases in global airborne emissions also threaten wildlife habitat. Atmospheric nitrogen deposition has been recognized as an anthropogenic contributor to acidification and eutrophication of wilderness ecosystems. Planktonic communities have shown declines in response to predation and shifts in composition as a result of nutrient inputs and acidification, both of …

Policy Analysis For Optimizing Native Fisheries On The Mckenzie River, Mary Ray

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

The impact of hatchery fish on native populations has been extensively studied, especially as environmental management has generally moved toward a conservation focus. In Oregon, the McKenzie River native rainbow trout population has been the focus of recent interest groups attempting to induce a change in management practices to support native fisheries. The McKenzie River Chapter of Trout Unlimited is interested in learning more about the impacts that hatchery stocked rainbow trout have on native river populations. It is the group's intent to seek a rule change to management by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. A review of …