Life Sciences Commons^™

Non-Methane Hydrocarbon Source Apportionment And Btex Risk Assessment Of Winter 2015 In Roosevelt, Utah, Jerimiah Lamb

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Non-Methane Hydrocarbons (NMHC) monitored in Roosevelt Utah including Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (collectively known as BTEX) are associated with deleterious effects including cancer. This study was designed to assess the origin and effect of the toxicants and addressed two points: 1) Source identification using the USEPA’s Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) and NOAA’s Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model and 2) A human health risk assessment based on ambient concentrations of BTEX collected at the Roosevelt site. Model fit indicated that the primary contributor to total NMHCs was local oil and gas operations and was supported by previous …

Assessment Of Restoration Seedings On Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative Project Sites, Lacey E. Wilder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Overabundance of shrubs poses a major threat to semiarid ecosystems due to degraded understory vegetation. Previous efforts suggest a need for greater understanding of which management practices work best to improve these ecosystems. I sought to develop a better understanding of how the relative performance of commonly seeded species is influenced by three sagebrush removal techniques.

I calculated effect sizes for cover and frequency to estimate relative changes in abundance of 15 common plant species seeded at 63 restoration sites throughout Utah. Shrubs were reduced by fire or mechanical treatment. Effect sizes were assessed using meta-analysis techniques for two post-treatment …

Seasonal Distribution Of Sage-Grouse In Hamlin Valley, Utah And The Effect Of Fences On Grouse And Avian Predators, Heather Hedden Mcpherron

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) numbers have declined throughout the western US and are considered a species of concern in most of the eleven states that are within their range. Sage-grouse habitats have been reduced by approximately 44% since European settlement of the Western United States began (Miller et al. 2011). Loss of habitat has contributed to an average decline of sage-grouse populations by 33% across the range (Connelly and Braun 1997). To expand our knowledge of this species, I monitored 16 radio-collared sage-grouse captured from four leks in Hamlin Valley, Utah, USA in 2011 and 2012 …