Life Sciences Commons^™

Yield Progress Of Perennial Ryegrass And Silage Maize - Genetic Gain Or Climate Change?, Antje Herrmann, A. Kornher, Friedhelm Taube

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Gains in annual dry matter yield (DMY) from breeding achieved during the last decades are reported to range between 2.5 and 6% per decade for perennial ryegrass (Wilkins & Humphreys, 2003). In contrast, accelerated progress in improving DMY has been achieved for silage maize, varying between 8 and 13% per decade (Lauer et al., 2001). These gains are mainly attributed to (i) genetic yield potential increase, (ii) improved crop management and (iii) increased stress tolerance. The potential impact of climate change on yield progress, however, is disregarded in most studies. The objective of this study therefore was to quantify …

Shifts In N-Efficiency Of Different Farm Types In Response To Climate Change, S. Dueri, P. L. Calanca, Juerg Fuhrer

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Climate change may affect European farms, but in contrast to individual crops - the sensitivity of whole farming systems has not been the subject of much research. At the farm level, where different farm units are linked through the availability and flow of nitrogen (N), effects on individual crops are interlinked, and through shifts in grasslands and related animal production with altered nutrient flows. Ideally, N flows into the system and N-export with products should be equal, and thus N-use-efficiency (NUE), expressed as the ratio of N export to N loss, would be maximal. The objective of this study was …

The Effect Of Extremes In Soil Moisture Content On Perennial Ryegrass Growth, A. Scott Laidlaw

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Seasonal distribution of rainfall in the UK and Ireland is predicted to become more variable (Sweeney, 2003). The problems of excessive soil moisture on grass utilisation and the effect of deficit in soil moisture on grass growth are well known. However the effect of excess rainfall on the growth of sown grass is less clear and is usually not taken into account in grass growth models. This study was carried out to investigate the potential impact of excess moisture on perennial ryegrass growth in the field and to investigate the relative effect of soil moisture varying from deficit to excess …

Forage Grass Phenology In Relation To Climate Change, G. Żurek

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Phenological phases of plants, such as heading or flowering are mainly driven by environmental factors such as pests, diseases, competition, soil properties, genetics, age and, most importantly, weather conditions (Menzel & Fabian, 1999; Menzel 2000). At the end of the last century there was an emerging recognition that phenological records can be especially useful in environmental monitoring and it has gained the UK government approval as an indicator of climate change (Sparks et al., 2000). The aim of this work was to analyse long-term trends in the mean heading date for Polish ecotypes of three forage grass species.

Long-Term Responses Of A Mesic Grassland To Manipulation Of Rainfall Quantity And Pattern, A. K. Knapp, J M. Blair, P. A. Fay, M. D. Smith, S. L. Collins, J. M. Briggs

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Climatic variability is an inherent feature of grassland biomes, with large fluctuations in temperatures combined with precipitation regimes characterised by floods and severe drought occurring on both an interannual and seasonal scale. Global climate models and emerging data indicate that extremes in precipitation regimes are increasing worldwide coupled with increases in temperature. Thus, variability in spatial and temporal patterns of water availability in grasslands, as directly influenced by altered precipitation patterns and indirectly by increased temperatures, will likely increase in the future. The objectives of our experiments were to experimentally manipulate rainfall amount and temporal patterns (amount and timing of …

Sources And Sinks Of Greenhouse Gases From European Grasslands And Mitigation Options: The ‘Greengrass’ Project, Jean-François Soussana, V. Allard, P. Ambus, C. Amman, P. Berbigier, C. Campbell, P. Cellier, E. Ceschia, P. Ciais, J. Clifton-Brown, S. Czóbel, R. Domingues, T. De Groot, R. Falcimagne, C. Flechard, J. Fuhrer, G. Gaborit, L. Horváth, A. Hensen, M. B. Jones, S. Jones, G. Kasper, K. Klumpp, P. Laville, C. Martin, C. Milford, Z. Nagy, A. Neftel, E. Nemitz, J. E. Olesen, A. Patterson, K. Pilegaard, A. Raschi, R. Rees, U. Skiba, P. Stefani, S. Salètes, P. Smith, M. A. Sutton, Z. Tuba, A. Van Amstel, A. Van Den Pol-Van Dasselaar, N. Viovy, N. Vuichard, M. Wattenbach, T. Wedinger

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Adapting the management of grasslands may be used to enhance carbon sequestration into soil, but could also increase N₂O and CH₄ emissions. In support of the European post-Kyoto policy, the European 'GreenGrass' project (EC FP5, EVK2-CT2001-00105) has three main objectives: i) to reduce the large uncertainties concerning the estimates of CO₂, N₂O and CH₄ fluxes to and from grassland plots under different climatic conditions and assess their global warming potential, ii) to measure net greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes for different management which reflect potential mitigation options, iii) to construct a model of …

Impact Of Climate Change On Potential Distribution And Relative Abundance Of The Migratory Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) In The Prairie Ecosystem Of Canada, Owen Olfert, R. Weiss

IGC Proceedings (1997-2023)

Climate is the dominant force determining the distribution and abundance of most insect pest species. There has been considerable concern in recent years about climatic warming caused by human activities and the affects of these changes on agriculture in North America. Warming conditions may affect insect populations by altering timing of emergence, increased growth and development rates, shorter generation times and reduced overwintering mortality (McCarthy et al. 2001). Given that the magnitude of predicted temperature change associated with global warming is beyond the historical experience of modern agriculture computer models are one method by which researchers can study the possible …

The Effect Of Dietary Thiaminase On Cardiac Function And Morphology In Lake Trout (Salvelinus Namaycush), Peter Baker

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thiamine deficiency from the consumption of invasive, high-thiaminase prey fishes is considered to be a major barrier for lake trout restoration in the Great Lakes. In fishes, an understudied aspect of thiamine deficiency is its effect on cardiac function. I examined the effects of dietary thiaminase on cardiac function and morphology in lake trout, specifically as they relate to thermal tolerance. Two hatchery strains of lake trout (Seneca and Slate) were raised on a control or thiaminase diet for nine months. The thiaminase diet was associated with significant ventricle enlargement, impaired cardiac function, and reduced thermal tolerance; these effects were …

Improving The Land Trust Model’S Impact On Environmental Conservation In Northern California, Peter Talbot

Master's Projects and Capstones

For years, the land trust sector of California and much of the United States has operated with a dollars and acres mentality that has prioritized fundraising as a result of acreage protected. Within California, nearly 5.8 million acres of land have been protected by 132 land trusts throughout the state. To accommodate for the diverse cross-section of land and the many needs of the population, land trusts take on numerous shapes and sizes. A unique aspect of this diversity is the rich agricultural and natural spaces found throughout the state. This mix of land and variety of land uses has …

Why Agriculture Productivity Falls: The Political Economy Of Agrarian Transition In Developing Countries, Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir

Purdue University Press Books

Why Agriculture Productivity Falls: The Political Economy of Agrarian Transition in Developing Countries offers a new explanation for the decline in agricultural productivity in developing countries. Transcending the conventional approaches to understanding productivity using agricultural inputs and factors of production, this work brings in the role of formal and informal institutions that govern transactions, property rights, and accumulation. This more robust methodology leads to a comprehensive, well-balanced lens to perceive agrarian transition in developing countries. It argues that the existing process of accumulation has resulted in nonsustainable agriculture because of market failures—the result of asymmetries of power, diseconomies of scale, …

Illuminating The Drivers Of Genomic Diversification In Lamprologine Cichlids Of The Lower Congo River, Naoko P. Kurata

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Freshwater fishes are extraordinarily diverse, considering their available habitats represent a tiny proportion of the earth’s surface. Rivers connect heterogeneous habitats in a linear form and provide excellent simplified models to understand how aquatic biodiversity evolves. In particular, the lower Congo River (LCR) in west Central Africa consists of a dynamic hydroscape exhibiting extraordinary aquatic biodiversity, endemicity, and morphological and ecological specialization. This system is thus an excellent natural laboratory for understanding complex speciation and population diversification processes. In my research, I explore various drivers of diversification, and adaptive evolution in rheophilic lamprologine cichlids endemic to the LCR, including Lamprologus …

Climate Change Imperils Pediatric Health: Child Advocacy Through Fossil Fuel Divestment., Sandra H. Jee, Elizabeth Friedman, Ruth A. Etzel, Vi T. Nguyen, Todd L. Sack, Kathi J. Kemper

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Climate change poses an existential threat to children's health. Divestment of ownership stakes in fossil fuel companies is one tool available to pediatricians to address climate change. Pediatricians are trusted messengers regarding children's health and therefore bear a unique responsibility to advocate for climate and health policies that affect children. Among the impacts of climate change on pediatric patients are allergic rhinitis and asthma; heat-related illnesses; premature birth; injuries from severe storms and fires; vector-borne diseases; and mental illnesses. Children are disproportionately affected as well by climate-related displacement of populations, drought, water shortages, and famine. The human-generated burning of fossil …

Effects Of Climate Change On Human Health, Sara El Houzaly, Richa Gupta

Publications and Research

The effects of climate change are evident worldwide as average global land and air temperatures have been rising, glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking with the concomitant rise in sea levels, extreme weather events have become more frequent, and oceans are warming and acidifying. Humanity is facing a big environmental challenge which not only impacts our habitat but will also have ramifications on our health. The present review describes a detailed examination of the scientific evidence proving the relationship between climate change and various fatal human diseases in different geographical regions. Our findings indicate that variations in the patterns of …

Physiological And Yield Responses Of Soybean Cultivars To Heat And Drought Stresses, Sadikshya Poudel

Theses and Dissertations

Soybean (Glycine max L.) is an important legume crop often exposed to heat and drought stresses during reproductive and early-seed setting stages, resulting in lower yields and seed quality. Ten soybean cultivars were phenotyped for individual (drought or heat) and combined stress tolerance. Under drought, reduced stomatal conductance and increased canopy temperature significantly reduced seed number (46%) and weight (35%). Heat stress alone reduced seed number (19%) and weight (23%) compared to control. Moreover, a degree increase in daytime temperature above 32 °C during the reproductive stage reduced seed weight by 4% and 7% under well-watered and drought conditions, respectively. …

Pasturelands As Natural Climate Solutions: A Socioecological Study Of Tree Carbon And Beef Production Trade-Offs, Bela Starinchak

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Forest restoration is the most effective natural climate solution, with the potential to sequester 37% of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) needed to reach the Paris climate mitigation goal. Cattle pastures offer an underutilized opportunity to increase global forest restoration efforts, improve biodiversity, and maximize carbon storage through the adoption of management strategies that prioritize the incorporation of trees into pasturelands. However, remote estimations of tree carbon storage in pastoral systems have never been field-verified and their accuracy is unclear. Furthermore, the effect of increased trees on cattle production is understudied across biomes. Lastly, the restoration potential of these …

Understanding Context Dependent Responses To Climate Change In Arizona Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma Mavortium Nebulosum), Kentrell Richardson

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Future emissions scenarios project climate change to increase average global temperatures by at least two ℃ in the next 50 years resulting in changes in local climate and causing increased variability within microclimates. Ectotherms are especially sensitive to climate change due to their dependence on environmental temperatures to regulate physiological functions. Changes in temperature are likely to impact thermally cued processes within amphibians and result in changes in variable magnitudes and directions within local populations.

Salamanders were placed in cups and partially submerged in a water bath and heated at a rate of ~0.27℃/ minute. Once salamanders were unable to …

Rapidly Changing Range Limits In A Warming World: Critical Data Limitations And Knowledge Gaps For Advancing Understanding Of Mangrove Range Dynamics In The Southeastern Usa, Rémi Bardou, Michael J. Osland, Steven Scyphers, Christine Shepard, Karen E. Aerni, Jahson B. Alemu I, Robert Crimian, Richard H. Day, Nicholas M. Enwright, Christopher A. Gabler

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Climate change is altering species’ range limits and transforming ecosystems. For example, warming temperatures are leading to the range expansion of tropical, cold-sensitive species at the expense of their cold-tolerant counterparts. In some temperate and subtropical coastal wetlands, warming winters are enabling mangrove forest encroachment into salt marsh, which is a major regime shift that has significant ecological and societal ramifications. Here, we synthesized existing data and expert knowledge to assess the distribution of mangroves near rapidly changing range limits in the southeastern USA. We used expert elicitation to identify data limitations and highlight knowledge gaps for advancing understanding of …

Influence Of Biochar As A Soil Amendment On Soil Water Content And Wild Blueberry Physiology, Abigayl Novak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maine wild (or lowbush) blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) continue to face challenges imposed by climate change. Reduced frequency of precipitation and increased drought conditions have negatively impacted this crop since it resides in sandy soils with limited retention of water and nutrients. The wild blueberry plants growing in water- and nutrient-poor sandy soils are likely to have poor resilience to drought, resulting in a decline in berry yield during drought years. Thus, there is an urgent need to find a drought management solution for wild blueberries. Compared with other drought management practices, such as irrigation systems, mulching, and adopting drought-resistant …

Climate Change And An Evolving Fishery: Do Declining Maternal Size And Planktonic Foods Affect Lobster Larval Survival In The Gulf Of Maine?, Alexander J. Ascher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many marine organisms exhibit bipartite life-cycles whereby reproductive adults dwell on the benthos while the larvae are pelagic. The pelagic stage is subject to mortality rates which far exceed those experienced by the organism during its benthic existence. The larval phase therefore represents an important bottleneck to larval recruitment. Small changes to survivorship in the plankton can have large consequences for subsequent year-class strength. Understanding the factors influencing successful larval recruitment is an important step towards predicting future stock abundances and maintaining healthy fisheries. The American lobster (Homarus americanus) is a large benthic crustacean which is economically and culturally important …

On The Resurrection Of Microbes: An Eco-Christological Approach To The Resurrection, Denys Janiga Osb

Obsculta

This article attempts to bring ecology and Christology into conversation through a transdisciplinary approach. It looks at the pastoral implications of eco-anxiety, resurrection ecology in the field of biotechnology, Church teaching on the Resurrection, and concludes by initiating an interpretation of the resurrection appearances in the Gospel of Luke through the lens of the microbiome.

Relationships Between Vector Mosquitoes And Climate Change Derived From Long Term Ecological Data In The United States, Nicholas Scott

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Climate change has significant ecological and societal consequences as evident from the past few decades. It has had a large impact on many species, including vector mosquitoes. Although how climate change impacts mosquitoes of the tropical world has been explored, temperate areas remain inadequately studied. Therefore, the medical and healthcare sectors are underprepared for treating mosquito-borne diseases (EEE and Western Nile virus). Based on a long-term ecological dataset covering the past ~10 years across 45 sites, we streamlined, processed, and subsequently analyzed data by building statistical models to understand changes among mosquito populations in the US in response to climate …

Hawk Mountain Raptor Migration Phenology’S Relation To Weather, Dale E. Parson, Eric Burgos

Computer Science and Information Technology Faculty

We have been studying year-round raptor migration phenology across the United States and North America for multiple decades now. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary’s Autumn migration hawk count began in 1934 and is the longest running raptor migration count in the world. A decline in total raptor counts passing through Hawk Mountain’s North Lookout is well documented and much research has already been done in what could be the main causes for this decrease in counts year-over-year. We know that cold front passages have long been associated with autumnal migration in northeastern North America. Using updated analysis techniques, we examined 60 years’ …

The Effects Of Recent Climate Change On Spring Phenology, With A Special Focus On Patterns Of Bee Foraging, Michael Stemkovski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The date on which plants flower and on which bees begin to pollinate varies year-to-year depending on differences in weather. This seasonal timing is known as phenology, and it is already clear that climate change has pushed the spring phenology of many species earlier by increasing temperatures. This is particularly clear in flowering plants, but studying how and why the phenology of pollinators is shifting is more difficult. Most flowering plants rely on pollinators such as bees for their reproduction, and most bees rely on flowers for their sustenance, so bee and flower phenology has to overlap for the crucial …

Local And Regional Landscape Characteristics Driving Habitat Selection By Greater Sage-Grouse Along A Fragmented Range Margin, Aidan T. Beers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In response to ongoing landscape change, wildlife species are likely to respond in varied ways. By studying habitat specialists, we are able to better understand the most likely ways in which the denizens of threatened ecosystems will react to those changes. Among the most threatened ecosystem types in North America are sagebrush ecosystems of the Intermountain West, where one of its most well-known residents, greater sage grouse (hereafter, “sage-grouse), have lost more than 50% of their habitat due to fire, invasive species, climate change, encroachment by coniferous forests and avian predators using it, and human-caused landscape conversion. Sage-grouse rely on …

Are Rising Seas Pushing Ghost Crabs Out Of Their Comfort Zone?, Finn Gillette

Honors Theses

Ghost crabs (Ocypode quadrata) can be found on sandy beaches bordering the western Atlantic Ocean. These semiterrestrial crustaceans are often found between the swash zone and the dunes on beaches. Dunes are critical refuges for ghost crabs during storms and extreme tide events. This makes them a useful indicator species for monitoring the effects of global warming-induced sea level rise on beach biota, as their distribution patterns among beach zones may correlate with shifts found in other species. Beach surveys conducted from 2015 onward assessed the population density of ghost crabs on beaches of Horry and Georgetown counties …

Higher Well-Being Individuals Are More Receptive To Cultivated Meat: An Investigation Of Their Reasoning For Consuming Cultivated Meat, Angela K. Y. Leung, Mark Chong, Tricia Marjorie Fernandez, Shu Tian Ng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

It is evident that over-consumption of meat can contribute to the emission of hazardous greenhouse gases. One viable way to address such climate impact is to make people become more aware of more sustainable diet options, such as cultivated meat. However, it is challenging to instigate change in people's meat-eating habit, and empirical works have been examining the psychological factors that are related to consumers' willingness to consume cultivated meat. Research has suggested that psychological well-being can play a role in the meaning-making of food consumption, with higher well-being individuals showing more recognition of other sociocultural benefits of consuming food …

A Programmatic Geographic Information Systems Analysis Of Plant Hardiness Zones, Andrew Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Plant Hardiness Zone Map consists of thirteen geographical zones that describe whether a plant can survive based on average annual minimal temperatures. As climate change progresses, minimum temperatures in all regions are expected to change. This work programmatically evaluates predicted future climate projection data and converts it to United States Department of Agriculture-defined hardiness zones. Through the next 80 years, hardiness zones are projected to move poleward; in effect, colder zones will lose area and warmer zones will gain area globally. Some implications include changes in crop growing degree days, which could alter crop productivity, migration and settlement of …

Climate Change, Admin Stem For Success

STEM for Success Showcase

This lesson plan teaches students about climate change and its effect on animals and insects. Students can then participate in a climate change fact or myth game and a climate change Pictionary game.

Physiological And Transcriptomic Responses Of Two Artemisia Californica Populations To Drought: Implications For Restoring Drought-Resilient Native Communities, Hagop S. Atamian Dr., Jennifer L. Funk

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

As climate change brings drier and more variable rainfall patterns to many arid and semi-arid regions, land managers must re-assemble appropriate plant communities for these conditions. Transcriptome sequencing can elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to changing environmental conditions, potentially enhancing our ability to screen suitable genotypes and species for restoration. We examined physiological and morphological traits and transcriptome sequences of coastal and inland populations of California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), a critical shrub used to restore coastal sage scrub vegetation communities, grown under low and high rainfall environments. The populations are located approximately 36 km apart but …

Inorganic Carbon Outwelling From A Mediterranean Seagrass Meadow Using Radium Isotopes, Claudia Majtényi-Hill, Gloria Reithmaier, Yvonne Y. Y. Yau, Oscar Serrano, Nerea Piñeiro-Juncal, Isaac R. Santos

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Seagrass meadows are ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems widely recognised for their potential role in climate change mitigation. Previous studies have focused mainly on carbon storage within meadows and sediments. However, little is known about contribution of outwelling (i.e., lateral transport) to seagrass carbon budgets. Here, radium isotopes (²²³Ra and ²²⁴Ra) were used to assess dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) outwelling from a Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica meadow during early autumn. DIC outwelling was 114 ± 61 mmol m ^{− 2} day ^{− 1} and exceeded above-meadow CO2 outgassing (3 ± 1 mmol m ^{− 2} day …