Life Sciences Commons^™

Moving Forward: Preventing Water Shortage For Nevada, Sandra Blandon, Brianna Lyon

COLA 100: Feast and Famine In a Global World Poster Assignment

Southern Nevada is located in the arid Mojave Desert, which averages about 4 inches of rain each year. Southern Nevada gets about 90% of its water supply from the Colorado River. Seven western states and Mexico share the river. This means that The Colorado River provides water to 25 million people.

Restoration Of Biological Soil Crust On Disturbed Gypsiferous Soils In Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Eastern Mojave Desert, Lindsay P. Chiquoine

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances. Natural recovery takes many years. Active restoration decreases recovery time. Native BSC inocula, which included lichens and mosses, salvaged from gypsiferous soil habitats in Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA) in the eastern Mojave Desert were stored dry for two years and applied to disturbed soil after a road reconstruction in LMNRA and also used in laboratory experiments to test inoculation technique effectiveness. After 18 months, field results revealed positive relationships between inoculation and the presence of macroscopic BSC cover, cyanobacteria abundance, soil stability, and ammonium concentrations. Chlorophyll fluorescence monitoring of …

The Abundance And Distribution Pattern Of Quagga Mussels In The Las Vegas Bay Of Lake Mead, Nevada And Potential Correlation With Environmental Parameters, Scott Rainville

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The non-native quagga mussel [Dreissena bugensis (Andrusov, 1897)] was initially discovered in Boulder Basin of Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona on January 6, 2007. This occurrence marked the first biological invasion of dreissenid mussels in the Western U.S., following a significant North American range expansion of invasive quagga mussels from populations that invaded and colonized the Great Lakes Region in the Northeastern U.S. during 1991. This nonindigenous mollusk species quickly spread from Boulder Basin and became established throughout the entire reservoir by the end of 2007, with the exception of the inner Las Vegas Bay. There was an apparent absence of settled …

The Impact Of Creosote Bush (Larrea Tridentata) And Biological Soil Crust On Ca Distribution In Arid Soils Of The Mojave Desert, Brittany Myers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ca is an important nutrient that plays a role in membrane stability and cell repair in plant life. This study examines the impact of creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) and biological soil crust on calcium cycling and distribution in desert soils in order to explore the use of Ca as a biosignature. Samples of creosote bush, biological soil crust and eolian dust were taken at two field sites in the Mojave Desert. The first site is located in Eldorado Valley, NV, a soil formed on a young (800-1200 years) alluvial fan deposit; the second site is located on a late Holocene-aged …

Scorpion Phylogeography In The North American Aridlands, Matthew Ryan Graham

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Understanding the geographic, geologic, and climatic forces responsible for generating current patterns of biodiversity has been a central objective of phylogeography. To develop a better understanding of these processes in the North American arid lands, I used DNA sequence data and species distribution modeling to conduct three phylogeographic assessments incorporating four species of arid-adapted scorpions:Hadrurus arizonensis, H. jedediah, H. spadix,and Paruroctonus becki. In an assessment of H. arizonensis, phylogeographic patterns indicate that Pleistocene climate cycles and associated glacial refugia played a central role in structuring the genetic diversity of this species in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, mostly supporting predictions …

Take Pride In America Phase Iii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering April 25, 2012-July 24, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

• The GIS database continued to be populated with data.
• Hector’s Helpers added an additional youth group.
• The new website launched and social media efforts began.
• The pilot testing of the litter monitoring program continued.

The University of Nevada Las Vegas Public Lands Institute (PLI) designed the Take Pride in America (TPIA) Phase III work plan based on the strategic plan developed by the Southern Nevada Agency Partnership (SNAP) anti-litter and desert dumping team during Phase II of the program.

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending July 10, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• BLM informed UNLV that after investigating a concession contract as the appropriate BLM document for the future operating partner, they have concluded that an operating agreement is the preferred document and they are proceeding to complete such an agreement as soon as possible.
• Following a visit to the ranch with BLM, UNLV has completed temporary repairs to ranch house windows, which should mitigate deterioration of the ranch house from water
• UNLV participated in a one-half day meeting with BLM to review Condit’s Extended Content Package #1. As a result of the lack of progress by Condit, UNLV was requested to …

Exploring The Seed Bank Dynamics Of Red Brome: Longevity, Density, And Relationship To Fire, Benjamin S. Jurand

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research explores several untested aspects of the seed bank characteristics of red brome (Bromus rubens), an invasive annual grass in southwestern United States arid lands. Red brome is a formidable competitor to native plant species, both annual and perennial alike, and produces many seeds that germinate easily. The stalks of red brome contribute continuous-cover fuel loads that facilitate wildfires destructive to mature native Mojave Desert plant communities. This makes it a priority species for land managers, particularly when dealing with recovery after fire.

This project addressed questions related to the longevity of red brome seeds in soil seed banks …

Investigating Three Decades Of Vegetation Change In A Mojave Desert Mountain Range, Chris Lee Roberts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This project is a vegetation change study spanning 29 years in the Newberry Mountains of Southern Nevada. Long term monitoring data are crucial for understanding the effects of climate change on vegetation dynamics. Successful management intervention in vegetation change will require identification of early indicator plant species and their responses to climatic cues. This project is one of the oldest comparisons of resurveyed Mojave vegetation community plots with repeatable methodology and the longest survey interval reported for the southeastern Mojave Desert. 103 plots were relocated and resurveyed based on data methods in Jim Holland's thesis titled "A Vegetative Analysis of …

Prehistoric Foraging Strategies In The Piute Valley Of Southern Nevada, Christopher Alan Brosman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Piute Valley of Southern Nevada is an incredibly diverse but arid zone in the eastern portion of the Mojave Desert. Most of this diversity can be attributed to the elevation shifts ranging from the Colorado River basin to the peaks of the surrounding mountain ranges. These peaks and valleys provide a multitude of resource zones in which prehistoric hunter-gatherers could provision themselves throughout the year. For this thesis I have used archaeological survey, paleo-climate models, life-sciences data and ethnographic research to perform an in-depth land use analysis of prehistoric forager adaptations to this challenging but life-sustaining environment.

Recent investigations …

Natural And Constructed Wetlands For Ecosystem And Engineering Services In The Arid And Semi-Arid Regions, Achyut Raj Adhikari

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Las Vegas Wash (LVW) has undergone significant wetlands degradation and soil erosion over the past thirty years due to increasing flow resulting from urbanization and large rainfall events in the Las Vegas Valley Watershed. The increased flow and associated pollution load in the LVW and its adverse impact in Lake Mead have alerted stakeholders to pay a greater attention to explore alternative measures for rehabilitation of wetland ecosystems. This dissertation, using the case of changes in LVW, analyzes and describes ecological and engineering services provided by wetlands in arid and semi-arid regions and provides a knowledge base that can …

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering January 1, 2012 To March 31, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased by 4.96% over the last quarter. The database now contains 7,423 records.
• Results show an average of 1,259 visits per month, and with an average of 3,015 pages viewed per month.
• Get Outdoors Nevada supported 14 volunteer events in a variety of ways. These events utilized 364 volunteers whom contributed approximately 2,414 hours of service.
• Three community outreach events were attended, resulting in 293 direct contacts with 50 names added to the database.
• The automated volunteer orientation training project has been completed and disks have been delivered to the 4 agencies. …