Life Sciences Commons^™

Fertilization And Tree Species Influence On Stable Aggregates In Forest Soil, Jacob E. Kemner, Mary Beth Adams, Louis M. Mcdonald, William T. Peterjohn, Charlene N. Kelly

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Abstract: Background and objectives: aggregation and structure play key roles in the water-holding capacity and stability of soils and are important for the physical protection and storage of soil carbon (C). Forest soils are an important sink of ecosystem C, though the capacity to store C may be disrupted by the elevated atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) compounds by dispersion of soil aggregates via acidification or altered microbial activity. Furthermore, dominant tree species and the lability of litter they produce can influence aggregation processes. Materials and methods: we measured water-stable aggregate size distribution and aggregate-associated organic matter …

Nitrogen Fertilization, Stand Age, And Overstory Tree Species Impact The Herbaceous Layer In A Central Appalachian Hardwood Forest, Lacey J. Smith, Kirsten Stephan

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Research Highlights: Herb-layer community composition, abundance, species richness, and Shannon–Wiener diversity index are shaped by nitrogen fertilization, disturbance history, and the overstory tree species in its immediate vicinity. Background and Objectives: While the herbaceous layer in deciduous forests is increasingly recognized for its importance in various aspects of forest ecosystem function, this study sought to describe the factors impacting the herbaceous layer. Specifically, this study’s objective was to quantify and compare herb-layer species composition, cover, and other community indices in watersheds with (a) different levels of N deposition, (b) different stand ages due to differing disturbance histories, and (c) different …

The Influence Of Location On Water Quality Perceptions Across A Geographic And Socioeconomic Gradient In Appalachia, Ross G. Andrew, Robert C. Burns, Mary E. Allen

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Abstract: Understanding perceptions of water quality held by residents is critical to address gaps in public awareness and knowledge and may provide insight into what defines communities that are more/less resilient to changing water conditions locally. We sought to identify spatial patterns of water quality perceptions gathered in a survey of Southern West Virginia (WV) residents during spring/summer 2018. Using over 500 survey responses across 15 counties, we calculated spatial autocorrelation metrics and modeled the relationships between overall water quality perceptions and county-level socioeconomic endpoints, such as poverty rate, per capita income, and education level. We identified significant differences across …

Differential Responses Of Net N Mineralization And Nitrification To Throughfall Reduction In A Castanopsis Hystrix Plantation In Southern China, Li Chen, Yuanguang Wen, Ji Zeng, Hui Wang, Jingxin Wang, Bernard Dell, Shirong Liu

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background

Many regions in the world are experiencing changes in precipitation pattern, which likely impact soil nitrogen cycling and availability. However, we know little about how soil nitrogen processes respond to drought stress under climate change.

Methods

A continuous 5-year experiment of throughfall reduction treatment (TRT) was conducted in a Castanopsis hystrix plantation in subtropical China to assess how soil nitrogen processes responded to a change in precipitation. Net nitrogen transformation, soil properties, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN), and microbial community phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs as bacteria, fungi and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)) were investigated in the wet …

Planning Emergency Shelters For Urban Disasters: A Multi-Level Location–Allocation Modeling Approach, Yijun Shi, Guofang Zhai, Lihua Xu, Quan Zhu, Jinyang Deng

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In recent years, cities are threatened by various natural hazards. Planning emergency shelters in advance is an effective approach to reducing the damage caused by disasters and ensuring the safety of residents. Thus, providing the optimal layout of urban emergency shelters is an important stage of disaster management and an act of humanitarian logistics. In order to study the optimal layout of emergency shelters in small mountain cities, this paper constructs multi-level location models for different grades of emergency shelters so as to minimize the travel and construction costs and maximize the coverage rate. Specifically, the actual service of emergency …

Nitrogen Self-Doped Activated Carbons Derived From Bamboo Shoots As Adsorbent For Methylene Blue Adsorption, Bingbing Mi, Jingxin Wang, Hongzhong Xiang, Fang Liang, Jianfei Yang, Zixing Feng, Tao Zhang, Wanhe Hu, Xianmiao Liu, Zhijia Liu, Benhua Fei

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Bamboo shoots, a promising renewable biomass, mainly consist of carbohydrates and other nitrogen-related compounds, such as proteins, amino acids and nucleotides. In this work, nitrogen self-doped activated carbons derived from bamboo shoots were prepared via a simultaneous carbonization and activation process. The adsorption properties of the prepared samples were evaluated by removing methylene blue from waste water. The factors that affect the adsorption process were examined, including initial concentration, contact time and pH of methylene blue solution. The resulting that BSNC-800-4 performed better in methylene blue removal from waste water, due to its high specific surface area (2270.9 m2 g−1), …

Effects Of Patch-Burn Grazing On Breeding Density And Territory Size Of Dickcissels, Bram H. F. Verheijen, Hannah L. Clipp, Alessandro J. Bartolo, William E. Jensen, Brett K. Sandercock

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Ongoing habitat loss and intensification of management of remaining grasslands have led to large population declines of grassland songbirds in North America. As an alternative to intensive and homogeneous use of rangelands, patch-burn grazing creates heterogeneity in vegetative structure across the landscape by restoring the historical interaction of fire and grazing by large ungulates. Patch-burn grazing can increase diversity and abundance of grassland songbirds, but effects on local breeding density and territory size remain unknown, despite both being important in regulating population dynamics of species. Understanding patterns of density and territory size across the landscape is especially important for species …

Wetland Seed Dispersal By White-Tailed Deer In A Large Freshwater Wetland Complex, Kelley L. Flaherty, James S. Rentch, James T. Anderson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Mechanisms of long-distance dispersal are important in establishing and maintaining plant popula- tions in isolated wetland habitats. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have been cited as long-distance dis- persers of both native and exotic plant species in North America; however, knowledge regarding their influence in wetlands is limited. Given traditional classification methods for seed dispersal, white-tailed deer are not likely viewed as important dispersal mechanism for wetland plants. We collected naturally deposited white-tailed deer faecal pellet piles from wetlands in Canaan Valley, West Virginia, USA. Pellet piles were cold-stratified and germi- nated seedlings over a layer of sterile potting mix. The …

Past And Future Drought In Mongolia, Amy Hessl, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Casey Jelsema, Benjamin Cook, Oyunsannaa Byambasuren, Caroline Leland, Baatarbileg Nachin, Neil Pederson, Hanqin Tian, Laia Andreu Hayles

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The severity of recent droughts in semiarid regions is increasingly attributed to anthropogenic climate change, but it is unclear whether these moisture anomalies exceed those of the past and how past variability compares to future pro- jections. On the Mongolian Plateau, a recent decade-long drought that exceeded the variability in the instrumental record was associated with economic, social, and environmental change. We evaluate this drought using an annual reconstruction of the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) spanning the last 2060 years in concert with simulations of past and future drought through the year 2100 CE. We show that although the …

Mammal Communities Are Larger And More Diverse In Moderately Developed Areas, Arielle Waldstein Parsons, Tavis Forrester, Megan C. Baker-Whatton, William J. Mcshea, Christopher T. Rota, Stephanie G. Schuttler, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Roland Kays

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Developed areas are thought to have low species diversity, low animal abundance, few native predators, and thus low resilience and ecological function. Working with citizen scientist volunteers to survey mammals at 1427 sites across two development gradients (wild-rural-exurban- suburban-urban) and four plot types (large forests, small forest fragments, open areas and residential yards) in the eastern US, we show that developed areas actually had significantly higher or statistically similar mammalian occupancy, relative abundance, richness and diversity compared to wild areas. However, although some animals can thrive in suburbia, conservation of wild areas and preservation of green space within cities are …

Structure Of The Ambrosia Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Mycangia Revealed Through Micro-Computed Tomography, You Li, Yongying Ruan, Matthew T. Kasson, Edward L. Stanley, Conrad P.D.T Gillett, Andrew J. Johnson, Mengna Zhang, Jiri Hulcr

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae and Platypodinae) rely on a symbiosis with fungi for their nutrition. Symbiotic fungi are preserved and transported in specialized storage structures called mycangia. Although pivotal in the symbiosis, mycangia have been notoriously difficult to study, given their minute size and membranous structure. We compared the application of novel visualization methods for the study of mycangia, namely micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and laser ablation tomography (LATscan) with traditional paraffin sectioning. Micro-CT scanning has shown the greatest promise in new organ discovery, while sectioning remains the only method with sufficient resolution for cellular visualization. All three common types …

Chitosan Biopolymer Promotes Yield And Stimulates Accumulation Of Antioxidants In Strawberry Fruit, Mosaddiqur Rahman, Julakha Akter Mukta, Abdullah As Sabir, Dipall Rani Gupta, Mohammed Mohi-Ud-Din, Mirza Hasanuzzaman, Md. Giashuddin Miah, Mahfuzur Rahman, Md Tofazzai Islam

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Strawberry is a well-known source of natural antioxidants with excellent free radical scav- enging capacity. This study determined the effects of chitosan application in field condition on plant growth, fruit yield and antioxidant activities in strawberry fruit. Foliar applications of chitosan on strawberry significantly increased plant growth and fruit yield (up to 42% higher) compared to untreated control. Increased fruit yield was attributed to higher plant growth, individual fruit weight and total fruit weight/plant due to the chitosan application. Surprisingly, the fruit from plants sprayed with chitosan also had significantly higher contents (up to 2.6- fold) of carotenoids, anthocyanins, flavonoids …

Tree Species Richness Enhances Stand Productivity While Stand Structure Can Have Opposite Effects, Based On Forest Inventory Data From Germany And The United States Of America, Laura Zeller, Jingjing Liang, Hans Pretzsch

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: In recent studies, mixed forests were found to be more productive than monocultures with everything else remaining the same.

Methods: To find out if this productivity is caused by tree species richness, by a more heterogeneous stand structure or both, we analyzed the effects of forest structure and tree species richness on stand productivity, based on inventory data of temperate forests in the United States of America and Germany.

Results: Having accounted for effects such as tree size and stand density, we found that: (I) tree species richness increased stand productivity in both countries while the effect of tree …

Genetic Analyses Reveal Cryptic Introgression In Secretive Marsh Bird Populations, Stephanie S. Coster, Amy B. Welsh, Gary Costanzo, Sergio R. Harding, James T. Anderson, Susan B. Mcrae, Todd E. Katzner

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Hybridization is common in bird populations but can be challenging for management, especially if one of the two parent species is of greater conservation concern than the other. King rails (Rallus elegans) and clapper rails (R. crepitans) are two marsh bird species with similar morphologies, behaviors, and overlapping distributions. The two species are found along a salinity gradient with the king rail in freshwater marshes and the clapper in estuarine marshes. However, this separation is not absolute; they are occasionally sympatric, and there are reports of interbreeding. In Virginia, USA, both king and clapper rails are …

Deformation And Failure Behavior Of Wooden Sandwich Composites With Taiji Honeycomb Core Under A Three-Point Bending Test, Jingxin Hao, Xinfeng Wu, Gloria Oporto, Jingxin Wang, Gregory Dahle, Nan Nan

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

A new type of Taiji honeycomb structure bonded outside with wood-based laminates was characterized from a mechanical standpoint. Both theoretical and experimental methods were employed to analyze comprehensively the deformation behavior and failure mechanism under a three-point bending test. The analytical analysis reveals that a Taiji honeycomb has 3.5 times higher strength in compression and 3.44 times higher strength in shear compared with a traditional hexagonal honeycomb. Considering the strength-weight issue, the novel structure also displays an increase in compression strength of 1.75 times and shear strength of 1.72 times. Under a three-point bending test, indentation and core shear failure …

Recycling Wood Waste From Construction And Demolition To Produce Particleboards, Rafael Rosa Azambuja, Vincius Gomes Castro, Rosilani Trianoski, Setsuo Iwakiri

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of construction and demolition (C&D) waste wood to produce of particleboard. The raw material was obtained from a waste recycling company and it was divided into four types of materials: MDF (medium density fiberboard), MDP (medium density particleboard), plywood and timber. After reduction of these wood product residues to particles, particleboards were produced, in the UFPR Laboratory, with urea-formaldehyde resin and a target density of 0,75 g / cm3 and their physical and mechanical properties were determined. Particleboards made from industrial Pinus spp. particles were also produced as control samples. …

Characterization Of Worm-Eating Warbler (Helmitheros Vermivorum) Breeding Habitat At The Landscape Level And Nest Scale, Patrick J. Ruhl, Kenneth F. Kellner, Jameson M. Pierce, Jeffrey K. Riegel, Robert K. Swihart, Mike R. Saunders, John B. Dunning Jr

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum) is typically described as a mature forest species requiring moderate to steep slopes and dense understory vegetation for breeding. However, nesting microhabitat characteristics vary regionally. Given the extensive variation in landscape topography, forest composition, and habitat structure across the breeding range, identification of important local landscape features and microhabitat characteristics is needed to formulate and implement improved conservation actions for the species. We characterized important habitat associations at two distinct scales (the landscape scale and the nest scale) to provide a detailed description of Worm-eating Warbler breeding habitat requirements in southern Indiana. Results from our …

Altered Spring Phenology Of North American Freshwater Turtles And The Importance Of Representative Populations, Fredric J. Janzen, Luke A. Hoekstra, Ronald J. Brooks, David M. Carroll, J Whitfield Gibbons, Judith L. Greene, John B. Iverson, Jacqueline D. Litzgus, Edwin D. Michael, Steven G. Parren, Willem M. Roosenburg, Gabriel F. Strain, John K. Tucker, Gordon R. Ultsch

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Globally, populations of diverse taxa have altered phenology in response to climate change. However, most research has focused on a single population of a given taxon, which may be unrepresentative for comparative analyses, and few long-term studies of phenology in ectothermic amniotes have been published. We test for climate- altered phenology using long-term studies (10–36 years) of nesting behavior in 14 populations representing six genera of freshwater turtles (Chelydra, Chrysemys, Kinosternon, Malaclemys, Sternotherus, and Trachemys). Nesting season initiation oc- curs earlier in more recent years, with 11 of the populations advancing phenology. The onset of nesting for nearly all populations …

Dendroclimatic Analysis Of White Pine (Pinus Strobus L.) Using Long-Term Provenance Test Sites Across Eastern North America, Sophan Chhin, Ronald S. Zalesny Jr, William C. Parker, John Brissette

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: The main objective of this study was to examine the climatic sensitivity of the radial growth response of 13 eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) provenances planted at seven test sites throughout the northern part of the species’ native distribution in eastern North America.

Methods: The test sites (i.e., Wabeno, Wisconsin, USA; Manistique, Michigan, USA; Pine River, Michigan, USA; Newaygo, Michigan, USA; Turkey Point, Ontario, Canada; Ganaraska, Ontario, Canada; and Orono, Maine, USA) examined in this study were part of a range-wide white pine provenance trial established in the early 1960s in the eastern United States and Canada. Principal …

Plant Probiotic Bacteria Bacillus And Paraburkholderia Improve Growth, Yield And Content Of Antioxidants In Strawberry Fruit, Mosaddiqur Rahman, Abdullah As Sabir, Julakha Akter Mukrta, Mohibul Alam Khan, Mohammed Mohi-Ud-Din, Giashuddin Miah, Mahfuzur Rahman, M. Tofazzal Islam

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Strawberry is an excellent source of natural antioxidants with high capacity of scavenging free radicals.

This study evaluated the effects of two plant probiotic bacteria, Bacillus amylolequefaciens BChi1 and Paraburkholderia fungorum BRRh-4 on growth, fruit yield and antioxidant contents in strawberry fruits. Root dipping of seedlings (plug plants) followed by spray applications of both probiotic bacteria in the field on foliage significantly increased fruit yield (up to 48%) over non-treated control. Enhanced fruit yield likely to be linked with higher root and shoot growth, individual and total fruit weight/plant and production of phytohormone by the probiotic bacteria applied on plants. …

Parasitaemia Data And Molecular Characterization Of Haemoproteus Catharti From New World Vultures (Cathartidae) Reveals A Novel Clade Of Haemosporida, Michael J. Yabsley, Ralph E.T. Vanstreels, Ellen S. Martinsen, Alexandra G. Wickson, Amanda E. Holland, Sonia M. Hernandez, Alec T. Thompson, Susan L. Perkins, Christopher A. Lawrence Bryan, Christopher A. Cleveland, Emily Jolly, Justin D. Brown, Dave Mcruer, Shannon Behmke, James C. Beasley

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: New World vultures (Cathartiformes: Cathartidae) are obligate scavengers comprised of seven species in five genera throughout the Americas. Of these, turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) and black vultures (Coragyps atratus) are the most widespread and, although ecologically similar, have evolved differences in morphology, physiology, and behaviour. Three species of haemosporidians have been reported in New World vultures to date: Haemoproteus catharti, Leucocytozoon toddi and Plasmodium elongatum, although few studies have investigated haemosporidian parasites in this important group of species. In this study, morphological and molecular methods were used to investi- gate the epidemiology and molecular biology of haemosporidian parasites of …

West Virginia's Wetlands, Jim Anderson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Wetlands, transitional areas between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water, covered an estimated 221 million acres of the conterminous 48 states in colonial days. Over 53 percent of those wetlands have since been lost to development. Wetlands have a long history of being drained or filled due to the expansion of the human population and the need for agricultural land as well as the negative connotations associated with wetlands such as mosquitoes. West Virginia is estimated to have 102,000 acres of wetlands, which …

Quantitative Acoustic Differentiation Of Cryptic Species Illustrated With King And Clapper Rails, Lydia L. Stiffler, Katie M. Schroeder, James T. Anderson, Susan B. Mcrae, Todd E. Katzner

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Reliable species identification is vital for survey and monitoring programs. Recently, the development of digital technology for recording and analyzing vocalizations has assisted in acoustic surveying for cryptic, rare, or elusive species. However, the quan- titative tools that exist for species differentiation are still being refined. Using vocali- zations recorded in the course of ecological studies of a King Rail (Rallus elegans) and a Clapper Rail (Rallus crepitans) population, we assessed the accuracy and effective- ness of three parametric (logistic regression, discriminant function analysis, quadratic discriminant function analysis) and six nonparametric (support vector machine, CART, Random Forest, k-nearest neighbor, weighted …

Wetland Seed Dispersal By White-Tailed Deer In A Large Freshwater Wetland Complex, Kelley L. Flaherty, James S. Rentch, James T. Anderson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Mechanisms of long-distance dispersal are important in establishing and maintaining plant populations in isolated wetland habitats. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have been cited as long-distance dispersers of both native and exotic plant species in North America; however, knowledge regarding their influence in wetlands is limited. Given traditional classification methods for seed dispersal, white-tailed deer are not likely viewed as important dispersal mechanism for wetland plants. We collected naturally deposited white-tailed deer faecal pellet piles from wetlands in Canaan Valley, West Virginia, USA. Pellet piles were cold-stratified and germinated seedlings over a layer of sterile potting mix. The percentage of germinated …

Factors Affecting Availability For Detection: An Example Using Radio-Collared Northern Bobwhite (Colinus Virginianus), Christopher M. Lituma, David A. Buehler, Evan P. Tanner, Ashley M. Tanner, Patrick D. Keyser, Craig A. Harper

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Avian monitoring strategies are usually linked to bird singing or calling behavior. Individual availability for detection can change as a result of conspecific factors affecting bird behavior, though the magnitude of these effects is difficult to quantify. We evaluated behavioral and temporal factors affecting Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) breeding season individual availability for detection during three common survey times (3 min, 5 min, 10 min). We conducted 10-minute surveys associated with radio-collared male Northern Bobwhites on Peabody Wildlife Management Area, Kentucky, from 2010–2011. We homed to within 50 m of radio-collared males and recorded number of distinct Northern …

Quantifying The Missing Link Between Forest Albedo And Productivity In The Boreal Zone, Aarne Hovi, Jingjing Liang, Lauri Korhonen, Hideki Kobayashi, Miina Rautiainen

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Albedo and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR) determine the shortwave radiation balance and productivity of forests. Currently, the physical link between forest albedo and productivity is poorly understood, yet it is crucial for designing optimal forest management strategies for mitigating climate change. We investigated the relationships between boreal forest structure, albedo and FAPAR using a radiative transfer model called Forest Reflectance and Transmittance model FRT and extensive forest inventory data sets ranging from southern boreal forests to the northern tree line in Finland and Alaska (N  =  1086 plots). The forests in the study areas vary widely …

Ecosystem Carbon Stock Loss After Land Use Change In Subtropical Forests In China, Shaohui Fan, Fengying Guan, Xingliang Xu, David I. Forrester, Wu Ma, Xiaolu Tang

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Converting secondary natural forests (SFs) to Chinese fir plantations (CFPs) represents one of the most important (8.9 million ha) land use changes in subtropical China. This study estimated both biomass and soil C stocks in a SF and a CFP that was converted from a SF, to quantify the effects of land use change on ecosystem C stock. After the forest conversion, biomass C in the CFP (73 Mg¨ ha´1 ) was significantly lower than that of the SF (114 Mg¨ ha´1 ). Soil organic C content and stock decreased with increasing soil depth, and the soil C stock in …

Differential Effects Of Conifer And Broadleaf Litter Inputs On Soil Organic Carbon Chemical Composition Through Altered Soil Microbial Community Composition, Hui Wang, Shi-Rong Liu, Jing-Xin Wang, Zuo-Min Shi, Jia Xu, Pi-Zheng Hong, An-Gang Ming, Hao-Long Yu, Lin Chen, Li-Hua Lu, Dao-Xiong Cai

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

A strategic selection of tree species will shift the type and quality of litter input, and subsequently magnitude and composition of the soil organic carbon (SOC) through soil microbial community. We conducted a manipulative experiment in randomized block design with leaf litter inputs of four native subtropical tree species in a Pinus massoniana plantation in southern China and found that the chemical composition of SOC did not differ significantly among treatments until after 28 months of the experiment. Contrasting leaf litter inputs had significant impacts on the amounts of total microbial, Gram-positive bacterial, and actinomycic PLFAs, but not on the …

Twenty‐Five‐Year Response Of The Herbaceous Layer Of A Temperate Hardwood Forest To Elevated Nitrogen Deposition, Frank S. Gilliam, Nicole Turrill Welch, Anne Hockenberry Phillips, Jake H. Billmyer, William T. Peterjohn, Zachariah K. Fowler, Christopher A. Walter, Mark B. Burnham, Jeffrey D. May, Mary Beth Adams

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Increasing rates of atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) present a novel threat to the biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Many forests are particularly susceptible to excess N given their proximity to sources of anthropogenic N emissions. This study summarizes results of a 25-yr treatment of an entire central Appalachian hardwood forest watershed via aerial applications of N with a focus on effects of added N on the cover, species richness, and composition of the herbaceous layer. Research was carried out on two watersheds of the Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF), West Virginia. The long-term reference watershed at FEF (WS4) was used as …

Simulated Data And Code For Analysis Of Herpetofauna Response To Forest Management In The Missouri Ozarks, Christopher T. Rota, Alexander J. Wolf, Rochelle B. Renken, Robert A. Gitzen, Debby K. Fantz, Robert A. Montgomery, Matthew G. Olson, Larry D. Vangilder, Joshua J. Millspaugh

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We present predictor variables and R and Stan code for simulating and analyzing counts of Missouri Ozark herpetofauna in response to three forest management strategies. Our code performs four primary purposes: import predictor variables from spreadsheets; simulate synthetic response variables based on imported predictor variables and user-supplied values for data-generating parameters; format synthetic data for export to Stan; and analyze synthetic data.