Life Sciences Commons^™

Estuarine Blue Infrastructure: Final Priority Conservation Areas For Chesapeake Bay And Its Tidal Tributaries And Back Bay – Version 2.0 (Revised 09/2010), Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

This project is an extension of earlier efforts within the coastal zone of Virginia to build a platform for enhanced Blue and Green Infrastructure planning. This project is motivated by an interest in extending statewide conservation efforts into estuarine systems and recognition that land use decisions on the upland effect water quality and habitat health in the receiving waters. The project in its entirety has been accomplished in distinct parts. Part one develops a Cumulative Resource Assessment to evaluate the distribution of aquatic natural resources within waters of Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay waters, Back Bay of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and the …

Slides: Climate Change Adaptation And The Federal Lands, Robert L. Glicksman

The Past, Present, and Future of Our Public Lands: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Public Land Law Review Commission’s Report, One Third of the Nation’s Land (Martz Summer Conference, June 2-4)

Presenter: Robert L. Glicksman, J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law, George Washington University Law School (Washington, D.C.)

12 slides

Slides: Grazing On The Public Lands, William G. Myers Iii

The Past, Present, and Future of Our Public Lands: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Public Land Law Review Commission’s Report, One Third of the Nation’s Land (Martz Summer Conference, June 2-4)

Presenter: William G. Myers III, Partner, Holland & Hart; former Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior (Boise, ID)

8 slides

Toward A Synthesis Of Conservation And Animal Welfare Science, David Fraser

Conservation Biology and Animal Welfare Collection

Conservation biology and animal welfare science are multidisciplinary fields of research that address social concerns about animals. Conservation biology focuses on wild animals, works at the level of populations, ecological systems and genetic types, and deals with threats to biodiversity and ecological integrity. Animal welfare science typically focuses on captive (often domestic) animals, works at the level of individuals and groups, and deals with threats to the animals’ health and quality of life. However, there are many areas of existing or potential overlap: (i) many real-life problems, such as environmental contamination, urban development and transportation, create problems for animals that …

W103- Closure & Rehabilitation Of Waste Storage Facilities, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

No abstract provided.

W097-Permit Termination Template, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

No abstract provided.

W096-Name Of Persons And Or Firms Removing Litter, Manure And/Or Process Wastewater From Cafos, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension

Animals/Livestock

No abstract provided.

W095-Agreement For The Removal Of Litter, Manure And/Or Process Wastewater From A Cafo, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

No abstract provided.

W094-Tennessee Phosphorus Risk Index, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

In a waterbody, P is required for algae growth. In most waterbodies, the limited supply of P limits algae growth. Large amounts of P promote rapid growth of large amounts of algae or algae "blooms." This excess algae damages aquatic habitats by reducing sunlight penetration, reducing dissolved oxygen levels and promoting the growth of a toxic form of microscopic marine life. In short, it can result in fish kills, reduce aesthetic value and could make the water less desirable for livestock watering. An example of actions taken to prevent P enrichment of surface water is the lowering of phosphate levels …

W093-Procedures For Manure And Litter Sampling, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

Nutrient composition of manure varies with a number of factors, including animal type, bedding, ration, storage and handling, environmental conditions, field application method, age of manure, timing of sampling and sampling technique. This variability makes book values (or averages) an unreliable source for determining application rates of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Each livestock production operation and manure management system is unique, and an individual farm’s manure analysis can vary from average values by 50 percent or more. Testing manure may better indicate how animal management and other factors actually affect nutrient contents and will allow for more accurate calculation of …

W092-Terminating A Permit, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

A CAFO covered under a general permit must notify the TDEC when the CAFO is no longer in operation. The TDEC retains the right to deny termination of coverage until receipt of the necessary notice and information from the permittee.

CAFO operators should remember that a closure/rehabilitation plan for the waste system was submitted as part of the original permitting process. That closure plan should have met NRCS standards and addressed the maintenance of the facility until proper closure is completed within 360 days. The TDEC may not consider the CAFO closed or terminate the permit until the closure plan …

W091-Annual Report, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

All CAFOs must submit an annual report to TDEC and TDA between January 1 and February 15.

W090-Recordkeeping, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

Recordkeeping is an essential component of a CAFO permit. A producer must keep records current to satisfy the requirements of the regulations. Additionally, without current records, inspectors cannot determine and producers cannot prove the nutrient Management plan (NMP) has been implemented as approved. All records required by the regulation must be maintained for five years, and must be made available to TDEC or EPA upon request.

W089-Discharge Events, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

All wastewater discharges from a CAFO to waters of the state of Tennessee are prohibited. For existing CAFOs, new dairy CAFOs and new cattle CAFOs, an exception will be made when either chronic or catastrophic rainfall events cause an overflow from a facility properly designed, constructed, maintained and operated to contain all process wastewater from the operation (such as wash water, parlor water, watering system overflow, etc.), plus all runoff from a 25-year, 24-hour rainfall event. For new swine and poultry CAFOs, the exception will be made if the facility was properly designed, constructed, maintained and operated to contain all …

W088-Cafo Inspections, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

As a condition of the permit, the producer must allow personnel from the TDEC or the U.S. EPA to inspect the regulated CAFO. They are required to present their credentials and will only inspect a facility “at reasonable times.” This does not mean that they may only inspect the facility at the owner’s convenience. It simply means that most inspections will be conducted during normal business hours. Large CAFOs are required to undergo a yearly inspection at a minimum. Medium CAFOs may be inspected less often.

W087-New Construction On Cafos And Construction Of New Cafos, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

Any liquid waste management system that is constructed, modified, repaired or placed into operation after April 13, 2006 must be designed, constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with final design plans and specifications that meet or exceed standards in the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide and other guidelines as accepted by the Departments of Environment and Conservation, or Agriculture.

W086-Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

A Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) is a group of conservation practices and management activities that will ensure both production and natural resource protection goals are achieved. A CNMP will contain actions that address water quality criteria for the feedlot, production area and land on which the manure will be applied. It addresses natural resource concerns dealing with soil erosion, manure and organic by-products, and their potential impacts on water quality.

W084-Transferring Manure, Litter Or Wastewater To A Third Party, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

No abstract provided.

W085-Nutrient Management Plans, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

All Large CAFOs with dry litter operations, all Medium CAFOs and all designated CAFOs are required to develop, submit for state approval, implement and keep on site a site-specific Nutrient Management Plan (NMP). These NMPs are very different than the plans previously required by regulations. They are extensive and focus on many aspects of livestock operations, from application of manure to conservation practices.

W083-No Potential To Discharge Determination, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service

Animals/Livestock

AFO that does not land apply manure, litter or process wastewater may request that it be determined to have no potential to discharge. If approved, the CAFO would not have to be permitted. In Tennessee, the only type of operation that could potentially meet the “No Potential to Discharge” requirements would be poultry operations that have covered litter storage and remove all litter from their operation. Any CAFO that land applies litter, manure or wastewater cannot meet the requirements. Dairy and swine operations typically do not remove all waste and wastewater from their operation because of the enormous expense of …

Conserving Migratory Land Birds In The New World: Do We Know Enough?, John Faaborg, Richard T. Holmes, Angela D. Anders, Keith L. Bildstein

Dartmouth Scholarship

Migratory bird needs must be met during four phases of the year: breeding season, fall migration, wintering, and spring migration; thus, management may be needed during all four phases. The bulk of research and management has focused on the breeding season, although several issues remain unsettled, including the spatial extent of habitat influences on fitness and the importance of habitat on the breeding grounds used after breeding. Although detailed investigations have shed light on the ecology and population dynamics of a few avian species, knowledge is sketchy for most species. Replication of comprehensive studies is needed for multiple species across …

A New Species Of Gekko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) From Tà Kóu Nature Reserve, Binh Thuan Province, Southern Vietnam, Van Tri Ngo, Tony Gamble

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

A new species of Gekko Laurenti is described from Ta Kou Mountain, an isolated granitic peak in Ta Kou Nature Reserve, Ham Thuan Nam district, Binh Thuan province, southern Vietnam. The species is distinguished from its congeners by its moderate size, with snout to vent length (SVL) reaching a maximum 107.0 mm; dorsal pattern of 5–8 white vertebral blotches between the nape and sacrum and 6–8 pairs of short white bars on the flanks; 11–14 precloacal pores in males; 14–17 longitudinal rows of smooth dorsal tubercles; and 18–20 broad lamellae beneath the fourth toe. Gekko takouensis sp. nov. is the …

Genetic Variation In Past And Current Landscapes: Conservation Implications Based On Six Endemic Florida Scrub Plants, Eric S. Menges, Rebecca W. Dolan, Robert Pickert, Rebecca Yahr, Doria R. Gordon

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

If genetic variation is often positively correlated with population sizes and the presence of nearby populations and suitable habitats, landscape proxies could inform conservation decisions without genetic analyses. For six Florida scrub endemic plants (Dicerandra frutescens, Eryngium cuneifolium, Hypericum cumulicola, Liatris ohlingerae, Nolina brittoniana, and Warea carteri), we relate two measures of genetic variation, expected heterozygosity and alleles per polymorphic locus (APL), to population size and landscape variables. Presettlement areas were estimated based on soil preferences and GIS soils maps. Four species showed no genetic patterns related to population or landscape factors. The …

Niche Specialization And Conservation Biology Of Cicindela Nevadica Lincolniana, Tierney R. Brosius

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As with many organisms across the globe, Cicindela nevadica lincolniana is threatened with extinction. Understanding ecological factors that contribute to extinction vulnerability and what methods aid in the recovery of those species is essential in developing successful conservation programs. Here we examine behavioral mechanisms for niche partitioning along with improving techniques for captive rearing protocol and increasing public awareness about the conservation of this local insect. Ovipositional selectivity was examined for Cicindela nevadica lincolniana, Cicindela circumpicta, Cicindela togata, Cicindela punctulata, and Cicindela fulgida. Models reflect that these species of co-occurring tiger beetles select different ranges of salinity in which to …

Where The Tiger Survives, Biodiversity Thrives, Philip J. Nyhus, Ronald Tilson

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

New Records Of Bats From The British Virgin Islands, Gary G. Kwiecinski, Jean-Pierre Bacle, Kevel C. Lindsay, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

As currently understood the bat fauna of the British Virgin Islands consists of five species – Noctilio leporinus, Brachyphylla cavernarum, Artibeus jamaicensis, Tadarida brasiliensis , and Molossus molossus. Our knowledge of distribution of bats in the British Virgin Islands is far more limited than that in the United States Virgin Islands. As part of ongoing research on the bats of the Virgin Islands, recent brief surveying periods in the British Virgin Islands have produced new records for some islands. Also, our researching of existing museum collections has discovered unreported new records. Our new data adds information for five species …

How Effective Are Posted Signs To Regulate Tourism? An Example With New Zealand Fur Seals, Alejandro Acevedo-Gutiérrez, Lisa Acedvedo, Olga Belonovich, Laura Boren

Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Increased tourism has augmented harassment to wildlife and posted signs are commonly used to manage such interactions. This study determined whether signs increased tourist compliance with regulations to remain >10 m from New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri ) at Kaikoura Peninsula. We observed 362 tourist groups interacting with seals. The percentage of groups in which all members respected the posted distance was similar whether tourists saw the signs or not [60.6% vs. 65.9%; G(l ) = 0.98, p 0.32]. Results indicate that posted signs were ineffective in increasing compliance to regulations and suggest that alternative approaches must be considered …

Responses Of Bats To Forest Fragmentation In The Mississippi River Alluvial Valley, Arkansas, Usa, Rex E. Medlin Jr., Matthew B. Connior, Karen F. Gaines, Thomas S. Risch

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Intense conversion of bottomland hardwood forests to rice and soybeans in the Mississippi River Valley of Arkansas has restricted the remaining forest to isolated fragments. Habitat fragmentation has proven to be detrimental to population sustainability of several species, and is the subject of intense study with often species and latitude specific responses. We compared both coarse land area classes and landscape fragmentation metrics from six 30 km × 30 km subsets centered on publicly owned management areas to bat captures obtained from a 2005 population study. Patch density was the strongest predictor of total captures (R 2 = 0.801, p …

Do Zoos And Aquariums Promote Attitude Change In Visitors? A Critical Evaluation Of The American Zoo And Aquarium Study, Lori Marino, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Randy Malamud, Nathan Nobis, Ron Broglio

Zoos and Aquariums Collection

Modern-day zoos and aquariums market themselves as places of education and conservation. A recent study conducted by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) (Falk et al., 2007) is being widely heralded as the first direct evidence that visits to zoos and aquariums produce long-term positive effects on people’s attitudes toward other animals. In this paper, we address whether this conclusion is warranted by analyzing the study’s methodological soundness. We conclude that Falk et al. (2007) contains at least six major threats to methodological validity that undermine the authors’ conclusions. There remains no compelling evidence for the claim that zoos …

Aldo Leopold’S Land Ethic And The Great Lakes: A Paradigm For Understanding The Morality Of Aquatic Invasive Species Management, M. Andrew Sanford, John Uglietta, Phd

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

Abstract: This essay explores what obligations we have to protect the Great lakes ecosystem from the threat of aquatic invasive species within the context of Aldo Leopold‟s seminal essay in environmental philosophy The Land Ethic. In this essay I argue that Leopold‟s land ethic provides a consistent and dynamic paradigm for how we perceive and protect the natural environment. The land ethic is summarized in what I call Leopold’s Edict which directs us to preserve the health and beauty of the natural environment. The land ethic implies that people interested in conservation must develop a firm understanding of what …