Life Sciences Commons^™

Health Professionals’ Roles In Animal Agriculture, Climate Change, And Human Health, Aysha Z. Akhtar, Michael Greger, Hope Ferdowsian, Erica Frank

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

What we eat is rapidly becoming an issue of global concern. With food shortages, the rise in chronic disease, and global warming, the impact of our dietary choices seems more relevant today than ever. Globally, a transition is taking place toward greater consumption of foods of animal origin, in lieu of plantbased diets. With this transition comes intensification of animal agriculture that in turn is associated with the emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases, environmental degradation, and the epidemics of chronic disease and obesity. Health professionals should be aware of these trends and consider them as they promote healthier and more …

Decision Support Tools To Address Climate Change: Climate Model - Land Surface Models, Zea Mays L. (Corn) Phenology And Evapotranspiration-Yield Sensitivity Models For Nebraska, Usa., Jane A. Okalebo

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nebraska's climate is highly variable and is expected to change in the future with anthropogenic global warming (AGW), resulting in warmer spring and summer temperatures coupled with more erratic rainfall events. This has strong implications for agriculture in the region, yet it is not clear that current modeling and decision-support tools are adequate to address these looming changes and provide planning, mitigation and adaptation strategies. To address climate change and its implications to agriculture in Nebraska, a set of robust decision support tools are very crucial. This study herein are divided into three chapters, with each chapter addressing a specific …

Effects Of Ocean Acidification On The Dissolution Rates Of Reef-Coral Skeletons, Robert Van Woesik, Kelly Van Woesik, Liana Van Woesik, Sandra Van Woesik

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Ocean acidification threatens the foundation of tropical coral reefs. This study investigated three aspects of ocean acidification: (i) the rates at which perforate and imperforate coral-colony skeletons passively dissolve when pH is 7.8, which is predicted to occur globally by 2100, (ii) the rates of passive dissolution of corals with respect to coral-colony surface areas, and (iii) the comparative rates of a vertical reef-growth model, incorporating passive dissolution rates, and predicted sea-level rise. By 2100, when the ocean pH is expected to be 7.8, perforate Montipora coral skeletons will lose on average 15 kg CaCO3 m􀀀2 y􀀀1, which is approximately …

Evidence Of Climate Variability And Tropical Cyclone Activity From Diatom Assemblage Dynamics In Coastal Southwest Florida, Emily R. Nodine

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Estuaries are dynamic on many spatial and temporal scales. Distinguishing effects of unpredictable events from cyclical patterns can be challenging but important to predict the influence of press and pulse drivers in the face of climate change. Diatom assemblages respond rapidly to changing environmental conditions and characterize change on multiple time scales. The goals of this research were to 1) characterize diatom assemblages in the Charlotte Harbor watershed, their relationships with water quality parameters, and how they change in response to climate; and 2) use assemblages in sediment cores to interpret past climate changes and tropical cyclone activity.

Diatom assemblages …

A Quantitative Approach To The Development Of Ecological Sites And State-And-Transition Models, Matthew W. Van Scoyoc

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Changes in land-use and climate can trigger changes in ecosystem conditions and may be driving ecosystems toward undesired “states” that provide inadequate ecosystem services. If these changes are drastic enough, energy intensive restoration programs are necessary to restore ecosystems to previous states. Landscape classification systems based on “ecological potential” offer a robust framework to evaluate and manage ecosystems. The ecological site concept is one such landscape classification system that has been developed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and describes ecosystems and ecosystem dynamics relative to “reference conditions” and response to disturbance. Ecological sites have gained popularity with …

Impacts Of Spatial, Environmental, And Compositional Differences On Community-Level Flowering Phenology, Isaac William Park

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates three important topics related to flowering phenology throughout the United States. First, this work evaluates the utility of herbarium records for estimating historical variation in community-level flowering phenology, and evaluate the relationship of such estimates to satellite-derived greenup timing at regional scales. This dissertation then reconstructs historical variations in flowering phenology throughout the spring, summer, and autumn across South Carolina for the years 1951 through 2009. These estimates will then be compared to seasonal temperature variations throughout this period. Finally, this dissertation develops novel herbarium-based methods to separate intraspecific phenological variations over space from changes in flowering …

A Functional Framework For Improved Management Of Western North American Aspen (Populus Tremuloides Michx.), Paul C. Rogers, Simon M. Landhausser, Bradley D. Pinno, Ronald J. Ryel

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Quaking or trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) forests occur in highly diverse setting across North America. However, management of distinct communities has long relied on a single aspen to-conifer successional model. We examine a variety of aspen dominated stand types in the western portion of its range as ecological systems; avoiding an exclusive focus on seral dynamics or single species management. We build a case for a large-scale functional aspen typology based on existing literature. Aspen functional types are defined as aspen communities that differ markedly in their physical and biological processes. The framework presented here describes two “functional types” …

Herbivory Strains Resilience In Drought-Prone Aspen Landscapes Of The Western United States, Paul C. Rogers

Aspen Bibliography

Aims: Aspen forests around the northern hemisphere provide rich biodiversity compared to surrounding vegetation types. In both North America and Europe, however, aspen are threatened by a variety of human impacts: clear-felling, land development, water diversions, fire suppression, and both wild and domestic ungulate herbivory. We conducted a landscape assessment of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) for the purpose of identifying key components of resilience. Specifically, we strove to test novel measures linking plant-animal interactions, compare crucial functional differences in aspen types, and make appropriate restorative recommendations based on the outcome of these assessments. Location: The Book Cliffs region of eastern …

Water Availability As The Driving Factor Of Growth And Physiological Function Of Co-Occurring Scrub Species In Central Florida, Tammy Foster

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida scrub is a xeromorphic upland shrub community dominated by evergreen oaks that resprout after fire, occurring on moderately to excessively well-drained nutrient-poor sand. Scrub is home to several threatened and endangered animal species (e.g., Florida scrub-jay, gopher tortoise, and indigo snake) and rare and endemic plants. Urban development and agriculture has greatly reduced and fragmented scrub habitat, and because of this Florida scrub is considered one of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States. Climate change is a further threat to Florida scrub. Under a warmer and drier climate, scrub species will be exposed to more frequent and …

Predicted Avian Responses To Bioenergy Development Scenarios In An Intensive Agricultural Landscape, Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Rob B. Mitchell, Tim D. Mccoy, Qingfeng Guan

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Conversion of native prairie to agriculture has increased food and bioenergy production but decreased wildlife habitat. However, enrollment of highly erodible cropland in conservation programs has compensated for some grassland loss. In the future, climate change and production of second-generation perennial biofuel crops could further transform agricultural landscapes and increase or decrease grassland area. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is an alternative biofuel feedstock that may be economically and environmentally superior to maize (Zea mays) grain for ethanol production on marginally productive lands. Switchgrass could benefit farmers economically and increase grassland area, but there is uncertainty as to how conversions between rowcrops, …

Terrestrial And Submarine Evidence For The Extent And Timing Of The Last Glacial Maximum And The Onset Of Deglaciation On The Maritime-Antarctic And Sub-Antarctic Islands, Dominic A. Hodgson, Alastair G. C. Graham, Stephen J. Roberts, Michael J. Bentley, Colm Ó. Cofaigh, Elie Verleyen, Wim Vyverman, Vincent Jomelli, Vincent Favier, Daniel Brunstein, Deborah Verfaillie, Eric A. Colhoun, Krystyna M. Saunders, Patricia M. Selkirk, Andrew Mackintosh, David W. Hedding, Werner Nel, Kevin Hall, Matt S. Mcglone, Nathalie Van Der Putten, William A. Dickens, James A. Smith

Marine Science Faculty Publications

This paper is the maritime and sub–Antarctic contribution to the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) Past Antarctic Ice Sheet Dynamics (PAIS) community Antarctic Ice Sheet reconstruction. The overarching aim for all sectors of Antarctica was to reconstruct the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice sheet extent and thickness, and map the subsequent deglaciation in a series of 5000 year time slices. However, our review of the literature found surprisingly few high quality chronological constraints on changing glacier extents on these timescales in the maritime and sub–Antarctic sector. Therefore, in this paper we focus on an assessment of the terrestrial and …

How Do Various Maize Crop Models Vary In Their Responses To Climate Change Factors?, Simon Bassu, Nadine Brisson, Jean-Louis Durand, Kenneth J. Boote, Jon Lizaso, James Jones, Cynthia Rosenzweig, Alex Ruane, Myriam Adam, Christian Baron, Bruno Basso, Christian Biernath, Hendrick Boogaard, Sjaak Conijn, Marc Corbeels, Delphine Deryng, Giacomo De Sanctis, Sebastian Gayler, Patricio Grassini, Jerry Hatfield, Steven Hoek, Cesar Izaurralde, Raymond Jongschaap, Armen Kemanian, Christian Kersebaum, Soo-Hyung Kim, Naresh Kumar, David Makowski, Christoph Muller, Claas Nendel, Eckart Priesack, Maria Virinia Pravia, Federico Sau, Iurii Shcherbak, Fulu Tao, Edmar Teixeira, Dennis Timlin, Katharina Waha

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Potential consequences of climate change on crop production can be studied using mechanistic crop simulation models. While a broad variety of maize simulation models exist, it is not known whether different models diverge on grain yield responses to changes in climatic factors, or whether they agree in their general trends related to phenology, growth, and yield. With the goal of analyzing the sensitivity of simulated yields to changes in temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations [CO2], we present the largest maize crop model intercomparison to date, including 23 different models. These models were evaluated for four locations representing a wide …

Global Priorities For Marine Biodiversity Conservation, Elizabeth R. Selig, Will R. Turner, Sebastian Troëng, Bryan P. Wallace, Kristin Kaschner, Ben G. Lascelles, Kent E. Carpenter, Russell A. Mittermeier

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

In recent decades, many marine populations have experienced major declines in abundance, but we still know little about where management interventions may help protect the highest levels of marine biodiversity. We used modeled spatial distribution data for nearly 12,500 species to quantify global patterns of species richness and two measures of endemism. By combining these data with spatial information on cumulative human impacts, we identified priority areas where marine biodiversity is most and least impacted by human activities, both within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ). Our analyses highlighted places that are both accepted priorities for …