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Articles 1 - 27 of 27
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Macrolichen Inventory Of The Horse Mountain Botanical Area, Six Rivers National Forest, California, Usa, Sarah Norvell Conway
Macrolichen Inventory Of The Horse Mountain Botanical Area, Six Rivers National Forest, California, Usa, Sarah Norvell Conway
Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects
Macrolichen diversity and community composition was determined for an area of high botanical interest in the Coast Ranges of Northern California – the Horse Mountain Botanical Area (HMBA) in Six Rivers National Forest. The Coast Ranges have been suggested to have high epiphytic macrolichen diversity, yet detailed site-specific macrolichen surveys are lacking for the area. Here we present comprehensive data on macrolichens of the HMBA integrated with environmental metadata at the landscape level. Twenty 0.4 ha sampling plots were positioned across the varying habitats of the HMBA and macrolichens were intensively sampled from all substrata. Out of 888 total collections, …
Incorporating Native Plants In Insectary Strips To Promote Insect Diversity And Below-Ground Beneficial Microbes In South Texas, Lindsey N. Richards
Incorporating Native Plants In Insectary Strips To Promote Insect Diversity And Below-Ground Beneficial Microbes In South Texas, Lindsey N. Richards
Theses and Dissertations
Farm edges are generally the most undisturbed areas in a farm with diverse vegetation and can enhance agrobiodiversity and provide crucial food and shelter for wildlife, insects, and soil biota. Planting native wildflowers with the ability to reseed and withstand local climatic conditions for semi-permanent vegetation around farm edges or in between crops has potential to biologically control pests. To test this, we ran a two-year study and installed three different flowering insectary strips on a certified organic vegetable farm in South Texas during the winter season. The treatments were: 1) a commercially sourced 17-species native wildflower seed mix; 2) …
Environmental Effects On Constructed Wetland Microbial Diversity And Function In The Context Of Wastewater Management, Sandrine Grandmont-Lemire
Environmental Effects On Constructed Wetland Microbial Diversity And Function In The Context Of Wastewater Management, Sandrine Grandmont-Lemire
Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects
Microbial communities play a crucial role in ecosystems, yet we know little about how microbial diversity influences ecosystem functioning. An important gap in our understanding is how environmental change affects microbial Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function relationships (BEF). These complex interactions between microbial biodiversity and ecosystem function can influence major biogeochemical processes, such as the nitrogen cycle in wetland ecosystems, which play an important role in managing wastewater. To address the effect of biodiversity on function, my study investigates the BEF relationships between microbial diversity and the function in terms of ammonia removal from wastewater at the Arcata Wastewater Treatment Facility (AWTF) both …
Regenerative Agriculture Effects On Invertebrate And Bird Communities And Insect-Provided Ecosystem Services, Alex Michels
Regenerative Agriculture Effects On Invertebrate And Bird Communities And Insect-Provided Ecosystem Services, Alex Michels
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Conventional agricultural practices can have unintended consequences on the environment and wildlife. Insects and birds are declining at rapid rates around the world, and the current conventional agricultural paradigm is a major driver through habitat loss and the intensification of production. Invertebrates in agroecosystems provide services to both farmers and the rest of society. Regenerative systems may promote the functioning of an agroecosystem by influencing invertebrate abundance, diversity, and ecosystem services and mitigate bird and insect declines through conservation practices that increase soil health, reduce disturbances, and increase biological diversity. Here I address knowledge gaps of the effects of regenerative …
Preliminary Results Of Measurements Of Potentially Cancerogenic 1,4-Dioxane In Surface Water Of Twin Lakes Preserve, Wantagh, Ny, Lijo Jose Varghese
Preliminary Results Of Measurements Of Potentially Cancerogenic 1,4-Dioxane In Surface Water Of Twin Lakes Preserve, Wantagh, Ny, Lijo Jose Varghese
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
1,4-dioxane is a volatile organic compound categorized by the United States Environmental Protection agency (EPA, 2017) as a possible human carcinogen potent to cause tumors in humans. Even though this compound poses significant environmental danger when it contaminates water sources, it is surprisingly less studied, and how it behaves in surface water is less understood. The biggest 1,4-dioxane plume in the United States is located in Long Island region of New York. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of 1,4-dioxane in surface water and document the influence of existing 1,4-dioxane plume to Twin Lakes Preserve. To …
Characterizing The Relationship Between Species Richness And The Seasonal Phenomenon Of Tropical Fish Dispersal In New England Waters, Michael E. O'Neill
Characterizing The Relationship Between Species Richness And The Seasonal Phenomenon Of Tropical Fish Dispersal In New England Waters, Michael E. O'Neill
Graduate Masters Theses
The Gulf Stream exerts tremendous influence over oceanographic conditions in the Northwest Atlantic as it transports tropical water to higher latitudes. As the Gulf Stream’s path traverses the east coast of North America, there are implications for the biogeography of marine ecosystems within this range and beyond. While the meandering eddies and warm core rings generated by the Gulf Stream persist year-round, the seasonal warming of New England’s coastal waters afford many tropical species transported by the current temporary residence through the summer and fall. Many aspects that shape this phenomenon and its impact on coastal ecosystems remain a mystery. …
Master’S Project: Exploring And Supporting Social And Ecological Dimensions Of Pollinator Habitat Enhancement In Burlington, Vt, Victoria Hellwig
Master’S Project: Exploring And Supporting Social And Ecological Dimensions Of Pollinator Habitat Enhancement In Burlington, Vt, Victoria Hellwig
Rubenstein School Masters Project Publications
Urbanization and other manmade impacts threaten critical pollinator species like the bumblebee, whose populations are significantly affected by habitat loss. In response, activists in the City of Burlington are enhancing habitat to increase biodiversity through collaborative partnerships in urban green spaces. In an effort to explore and support pollinator habitat enhancement in Burlington, I examined social interactions involved in a group highly motivated to enhance habitat at Lakeview Cemetery and Champlain Elementary School, with an emphasis on power dynamics and place meanings of these sites. In conjunction with this exploration, I created landscape designs, planted a native habitat garden, and …
Conservation Of Terrestrial Salamanders Through Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Management In Eastern Hemlock Forests Within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Jonathan Lawrence Cox
Conservation Of Terrestrial Salamanders Through Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Management In Eastern Hemlock Forests Within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Jonathan Lawrence Cox
Masters Theses
Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae; HWA), an invasive aphid-like arthropod, was first documented on the east coast of the United States in the 1950s. HWA is an herbivore which primarily feeds at the needle base of hemlock tree species (Pinaceae: Tsuga). With no evolutionary defenses and few biotic controls, the eastern and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga canadensis and Tsuga carolinensis) serve as the primary diet of HWA in eastern North America. The invasive pest began to spread rapidly throughout the hemlock’s range causing defoliation and death of the trees within 4 – 10 years. With the …
Impact Of Disturbance Regimes On Community And Landscape Biodiversity In Atlantic Coastal Pine Barren Ecoregion Streams, Sean T. Mccanty
Impact Of Disturbance Regimes On Community And Landscape Biodiversity In Atlantic Coastal Pine Barren Ecoregion Streams, Sean T. Mccanty
Graduate Doctoral Dissertations
Streams are dynamic systems shaped by geographic location, hydrology, riparian vegetation, and in-stream habitat. Furthermore, ecosystem disturbance plays a major role in structuring stream communities and ecosystem processes. Disturbances include natural occurrences, such as flooding, drought, and fire events and anthropogenic disturbances such as land use changes, damming, and pollution. Agricultural use acts as a press disturbance regime, homogenizing the surrounding landscape and simplifying in-stream habitat, leaving legacy effects after farming ceases. Active restoration is intended to ameliorate these effects by reintroducing variation, with the goal of shifting the ecosystem into a more diverse and natural state. The act of …
Wildlife Ecology And Conservation In A Suburban Preserve Matrix: Applications Of Long-Term Monitoring Data, John Peter Vanek
Wildlife Ecology And Conservation In A Suburban Preserve Matrix: Applications Of Long-Term Monitoring Data, John Peter Vanek
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
Wildlife is important to humans, offering economic, nutritional, ecological, and socio-cultural value. However, vertebrate biodiversity is being lost at rates 100 times greater than the background extinction rate, threatening human livelihood via the loss of ecosystem services. These human-induced species losses are primarily due to habitat destruction, which is increasingly tied to urban development. Conservation of wildlife resources is therefore imperative in a world where more than 50% of the human population, and 80% of people living in the United States, now live in urban areas. In this dissertation, I demonstrate how monitoring data can be applied to answer questions …
Examining Biodiversity Metrics And The Utility Of Dna Barcoding In The Northern Great Plains, Sarah Herzog
Examining Biodiversity Metrics And The Utility Of Dna Barcoding In The Northern Great Plains, Sarah Herzog
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Due to heavy threats to remaining global floral and faunal diversity, it is imperative we can identify species and quantify ecosystem health to find best practices for land management and conservation. The tallgrass prairies of the Northern Great Plains are one example of a heavily imperiled ecosystem. The tallgrass prairies have been reduced to less one percent of their historical extent and are facing continued loss. Genetic approaches and evolutionary theory offer insights for identifying species and assessing how biodiversity metrics may correlate with ecosystem processes. My two projects aim to address two facets imperative to conservation in the tallgrass …
Mammal Species Inventory Using Various Trapping Methods In Zone 4 Of Billy Barquedier National Park, Belize During Rainy Season, Mersady Redding
Mammal Species Inventory Using Various Trapping Methods In Zone 4 Of Billy Barquedier National Park, Belize During Rainy Season, Mersady Redding
Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses
Belize is a small country, but it is extremely ecologically diverse. Based on the few studies conducted in Belize, the abundance of mammals is low but diversity is high. Particular findings note the number and identity of species differed between four sites in the Maya Mountains of Belize, indicating that a data set from a single site is not representative of the Neotropical region. Insufficient data is available to estimate current species richness of many areas in Belize, including Billy Barquedier National Park (BBNP). The objective of this study was to explore trapping and documentation methods of terrestrial mammals in …
Identifying Marine Key Biodiversity Areas In The Greater Caribbean Region, Michael S. Harvey
Identifying Marine Key Biodiversity Areas In The Greater Caribbean Region, Michael S. Harvey
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Anthropocene biodiversity extinction rates are increasing, suggesting a possible sixth global mass extinction event. Biological conservation planners are consequently seeking ways to more effectively protect species at national, regional and global scales. In 2010, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) issued a number of conservation goals (Aichi Targets), including the establishment of protected areas (PA) in terrestrial, freshwater and marine areas of eminent conservation concern by 2020 to reduce and eventually eliminate species’ extinctions, as well as preserve hotspots of biodiversity and dynamic ecosystems. While well-established, adequately enforced PAs increase the likelihood of preserving species and habitats most at risk …
Conservation Of Ecosystem Services And Biodiversity In Vermont, Usa, Keri B. Watson
Conservation Of Ecosystem Services And Biodiversity In Vermont, Usa, Keri B. Watson
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Supporting a growing human population while avoiding biodiversity loss is a central challenge towards a sustainable future. Ecosystem services are benefits that people derive from nature. People have drastically altered the earth’s land surface in the pursuit of those ecosystem services that have been ascribed market value, while at the same time eroding biodiversity and non-market ecosystem services. The science required to inform a more balanced vision for land-cover change in the future is rapidly developing, but critical questions remain unanswered regarding how to quantify ecosystem services and ascribe value to them, and how to coordinate efforts to safeguard multiple …
Can Increasing Grass-Fungal Endophyte Symbiotic Diversity Enhance Grassland Ecosystem Functioning?, Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
Can Increasing Grass-Fungal Endophyte Symbiotic Diversity Enhance Grassland Ecosystem Functioning?, Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences
The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is important in maintaining agroecosystem sustainability. Plant-microbe symbioses, such as exists between the grass tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceum) and the asexual fungal endophyte Epichloë coenophiala, can be utilized to enhance agroecosystem functions, such as herbivore resistance. “Novel” E. coenophiala strains that vary in the production of mammal- and insect-toxic compounds have been identified, inserted into tall fescue cultivars, and are planted in pastures globally. Novel fungal endophyte-tall fescue associations may have divergent ecosystem function effects. This study assessed effects of different fescue-endophyte symbiotic combinations on pasture ecosystem function, including aboveground …
No Farm Is An Island: Pollinators And Pollination In Agricultural Landscapes, Charles C. Nicholson
No Farm Is An Island: Pollinators And Pollination In Agricultural Landscapes, Charles C. Nicholson
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Productive, resilient and sustainable agricultural systems are required to meet the immediate needs of a burgeoning human population, while avoiding ecosystem collapse. Agriculture provides food, fiber, fuels and other products for our current population of 7 billion and is still the major livelihood for 40% of people worldwide. By replacing natural habitat and employing chemical inputs, agriculture also negatively impacts biodiversity and impairs the provision of ecosystem services. This poses a challenge for agriculture as these impacted services are often those required for high yielding and high-quality crop production. Evidence is accumulating that agricultural management can safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem …
Fungi Of Forests: Examining The Diversity Of Root-Associated Fungi And Their Responses To Acid Deposition, Donald Jay Nelsen
Fungi Of Forests: Examining The Diversity Of Root-Associated Fungi And Their Responses To Acid Deposition, Donald Jay Nelsen
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Global importance of forests is difficult to overestimate, given their role in oxygen production, ecological roles in nutrient cycling and supporting numerous living species, and economic value for industry and as recreational zones. Fitness of the forest-forming trees strongly depends on microbial communities associated with tree roots. In particular, fungi impact tree fitness: mycorrhizal species provide water and nutrients for the trees in exchange for C, endophytic fungi play key roles in host defense against pathogenic organisms, and saprotrophic fungi decompose dead organic matter and facilitate nutrient cycling. In addition, pathogenic fungal species strongly affect forest fitness. Despite their importance, …
Rethinking Urban Green Infrastructure As A Means To Promote Avian Conservation, Allen Lau
Rethinking Urban Green Infrastructure As A Means To Promote Avian Conservation, Allen Lau
Master's Projects and Capstones
There is an under-recognized potential for cities to use urban green infrastructure to contribute to avian biodiversity conservation. At the global scale, climate change and growing urbanization are primary global drivers leading to decline and homogenization in world bird populations. Birds are fundamental and intricate species in ecosystems, and even in urban areas, act as indicator and regulator species contributing to healthy ecosystem function. While many cities have recognized the economic and social benefits associated with green spaces, such as the vast benefits ecosystem services provide to the urban dweller, the use of green spaces to concurrently contribute to avian …
Lichen Conservation In Eastern North America: Population Genomics, Climate Change, And Translocations, Jessica Allen
Lichen Conservation In Eastern North America: Population Genomics, Climate Change, And Translocations, Jessica Allen
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Conservation biology is a scientific discipline that draws on methods from diverse fields to address specific conservation concerns and inform conservation actions. This field is overwhelmingly focused on charismatic animals and vascular plants, often ignoring other diverse and ecologically important groups. This trend is slowly changing in some ways; for example, increasing number of fungal species are being added to the IUCN Red-List. However, a strong taxonomic bias still exists. Here I contribute four research chapters to further the conservation of lichens, one group of frequently overlooked organisms. I address specific conservation concerns in eastern North America using modern methods. …
How Do Designers Of The Built Environment Attempt To Make Ecological Sustainability Sensory Legible?, Carly L. Bartow
How Do Designers Of The Built Environment Attempt To Make Ecological Sustainability Sensory Legible?, Carly L. Bartow
Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses
This paper attempts to provide a theoretical framework for making ecosystem function and ecologically sustainable design more perceptible or sensible to people through architecture and the built environment. Design features of the Bertschi School Science Wing and the Bullitt Center in Seattle, Washington are incorporated to illustrate the sensory legibility of ecological sustainability criteria.The criteria are available to designers to help educate a building's occupants on environmentally sustainable design and motivate more sustainable behavior.
Green Roofs And Urban Biodiversity: Their Role As Invertebrate Habitat And The Effect Of Design On Beetle Community, Sydney Marie Gonsalves
Green Roofs And Urban Biodiversity: Their Role As Invertebrate Habitat And The Effect Of Design On Beetle Community, Sydney Marie Gonsalves
Dissertations and Theses
With over half the world's population now living in cities, urban areas represent one of earth's few ecosystems that are increasing in extent, and are sites of altered biogeochemical cycles, habitat fragmentation, and changes in biodiversity. However, urban green spaces, including green roofs, can also provide important pools of biodiversity and contribute to regional gamma diversity, while novel species assemblages can enhance some ecosystem services. Green roofs may also mitigate species loss in urban areas and have been shown to support a surprising diversity of invertebrates, including rare and endangered species. In the first part of this study I reviewed …
Invasive Plant Ecology In Vermont: Insights From Spatial Analysis And Interactions Of Garlic Mustard (Alliaria Petiolata) With Native Plants And Invertebrates, Chenin Kathleen Limback
Invasive Plant Ecology In Vermont: Insights From Spatial Analysis And Interactions Of Garlic Mustard (Alliaria Petiolata) With Native Plants And Invertebrates, Chenin Kathleen Limback
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Causes and patterns of invasive plant species establishment and success depend broadly upon their ecology, including habitat suitability and interactions with other plants and animals. Here I examine the traits and distribution of invasive plants in Vermont, using spatial analysis, laboratory and field studies. I used GIS to investigate environmental factors correlated with presence of 19 invasive plant species in Vermont campgrounds. My results support the assumption that human dispersal of invasive plant seed and stock may be more important than natural dispersal of these plant species to new sites. I also investigate in-depth the relationships of invasive herbaceous garlic …
Defining Biodiversity: A Local Assessment Of The Tahuayo River, Peru Using Self-Directed Photography, Rozsika D. Steele
Defining Biodiversity: A Local Assessment Of The Tahuayo River, Peru Using Self-Directed Photography, Rozsika D. Steele
All Master's Theses
The Área de Conservación Regional Comunal Tamshiyacu Tahuayo (ACRCTT), located in Loreto, Peru, protects 420,000 hectares of the Amazon basin. In 2009, the ACRCTT received formal government recognition after three decades of advocacy and conservation work by resident communities. Local resource users who live a subsistence lifestyle possess sophisticated Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) that can be used to identify which constituents of biodiversity are culturally relevant. This information can help resource managers develop an operational definition of biodiversity. Self-directed photography is a research method that allows participants the opportunity to direct data collection and empowers them to visually communicate their …
Biogeography And Conservation Of Tidal Marsh Bird Communities Across A Changing Landscape, Maureen D. Correll
Biogeography And Conservation Of Tidal Marsh Bird Communities Across A Changing Landscape, Maureen D. Correll
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Given the current mass extinction crisis and continued fragmentation of resources worldwide, the outlook is dire for global biodiversity. Rising global temperature, sea levels, and storm frequency all create environmental conditions that can drive change in species abundance and distribution across a landscape. Those species reliant upon a single type of habitat and resource for survival, termed “specialists”, are particularly vulnerable to change due to their inability to utilize a variety of resources well. As a result, specialism is now considered one of the dominant factors determining extinction of species. In this dissertation I explore the effects of disturbance on …
Rock Creek Restoration Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Report, Daniel Bedell
Rock Creek Restoration Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Report, Daniel Bedell
Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports
Stream restoration is widely used to rebuild habitat for native fisheries, but it is not well understood how current habitat reconstruction practices affect biological diversity. Citizen Science programs have potential to provide supplemental macroinvertebrate data for effectiveness monitoring of reach-scale restoration projects but variability in training, experience and collection methods can make interpretation difficult. The Clackamas Water Environment Services Watershed Health Education Program (WHEP) is an example of a Citizen Science-based program actively collecting biological data from restored streams. The purpose of this project was to use WHEP student-collected data to detect benthic macroinvertebrate community responses to stream restoration practices. …
Investigations Of Phytoplankton Diversity In Chesapeake Bay, Todd Arthur Egerton
Investigations Of Phytoplankton Diversity In Chesapeake Bay, Todd Arthur Egerton
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Characterizing the diversity of a community in relation to environmental conditions and ecosystem functions are core concepts in ecology. While decades of research have led to a growing comprehension of diversity in many ecosystems, our understanding in aquatic habitats and microbial organisms remains relatively limited. Phytoplankton represent a diverse and important group that contribute approximately half of global primary productivity and are intrinsically connected to changing environmental conditions, especially in systems as dynamic as estuaries. To better understand the ecological processes governing phytoplankton composition and diversity, spatial and temporal patterns of environmental parameters and their relation to the algal community …
The Contribution Of Environmental Variables On Small Mammal Species Richness And Relative Abundance In Eastern Nevada, Stephanie Harris
The Contribution Of Environmental Variables On Small Mammal Species Richness And Relative Abundance In Eastern Nevada, Stephanie Harris
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
The purpose of this study is to determine how four environmental variables: elevation, latitude, soil type, and vegetation impact the relative abundance of Peromyscus maniculatus and the species richness of small mammal populations in Eastern Nevada. In order to complete this study, a survey of small mammals was completed in the following 8 Eastern Nevada valleys: Delamar, Dry Lake, Dry Lake- Muleshoe,Cave, Lake, Snake, Spring, White River. In each valley, transects of Sherman live traps will be set up for 3 consecutive nights (O'Farrell et al 1977). Data on elevation, latitude, soil type, and vegetation were taken at each trap …