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Full-Text Articles in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

From Pixels To Plants: Remote Sensing Of California Invasive Plants, Kenneth Rangel May 2024

From Pixels To Plants: Remote Sensing Of California Invasive Plants, Kenneth Rangel

Master's Projects and Capstones

Invasive plants cause significant impacts to ecosystems, the economy, and human health. California has experienced significant plant invasions and is well suited to future invasion because of its Mediterranean climate and human disturbance. Eradication or control of invasive plant species requires a detailed understanding of their spatial distribution, which typically involves on the ground surveys that can be expensive or inconsistent. Remote sensing offers a potential alternative or supplement to in-person invasive plant mapping. This study performed a comparative analysis of 41 remote sensing studies that mapped the distribution of California invasive plants. I found that while high spectral resolution …


Joint Management Of Upland & Aquatic Habitat For The California Red-Legged Frog & California Tiger Salamander, Kyle E. Verblaauw Dec 2021

Joint Management Of Upland & Aquatic Habitat For The California Red-Legged Frog & California Tiger Salamander, Kyle E. Verblaauw

Master's Projects and Capstones

As federally and state protected amphibians, the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) and the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) are recipients of ample management focus. Both species face a variety of threats, including habitat loss and alteration, introduction of non-native species, spread of disease, and effects of climate change. While management plans for the California tiger salamander and California red-legged frog exist, they frequently do not consider both species in tandem and often contain multiple shortcomings. This document aims to address the shortfalls of current management by providing practical recommendations for jointly managing the upland and …


Bull Kelp (Nereocystic Lutkeana) Restoration And Management In Northern California, Olivia Johnson May 2020

Bull Kelp (Nereocystic Lutkeana) Restoration And Management In Northern California, Olivia Johnson

Master's Projects and Capstones

Northern California’s coastal marine ecosystems support one of the most productive and biodiverse habitats on the planet. Bull kelp forests (Nereocystic lutkeana) form habitats for an abundance of marine mammals, sea bird, fish, and invertebrates. In recent years, compounding ecological and climatic factors have disrupted the balance of the bull kelp forests and led to an unprecedented loss of bull kelp biomass and canopy cover. These areas that are typically teeming with marine life have shifted into a stable state of sea urchin barrens due to over grazing of bull kelp by purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus pupuratus). These sea urchin …


California Stream Condition Index (Csci) Score Analysis Of Streams Sampled From 1998 To 2017 In The San Francisco Bay Region, Jenna Rais Dec 2019

California Stream Condition Index (Csci) Score Analysis Of Streams Sampled From 1998 To 2017 In The San Francisco Bay Region, Jenna Rais

Master's Projects and Capstones

Human impacts to California’s streams have altered the state’s riparian and hydrological landscape. This is a critical issue with regard to natural resources, including ecosystem services such as water availability and water quality. Regulations have a limited amount of impact on the improvement of this landscape and can also become complicated by politics. Scientific advances have developed ways to quantify and describe the quality of streams, this includes the development of the California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) which is based on benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) population numbers and functions. This index allows scientists to not only score the quality of a …


The Mexican Water Forest: Benefits Of Using Remote Sensing Techniques To Assess Changes In Land Use And Land Cover, Maria F. Lopez Ornelas May 2016

The Mexican Water Forest: Benefits Of Using Remote Sensing Techniques To Assess Changes In Land Use And Land Cover, Maria F. Lopez Ornelas

Master's Projects and Capstones

In the past 30 years, anthropogenic activities like urbanization, agriculture, road fragmentation and deforestation have resulted in changes in the land use and land cover (LULC) in the Mexican Water Forest. Due to the important ecosystem services, and the natural resources this forest provides, in Mexico, it has become increasingly necessary to use new technologies and tools to support the planning, implementation and integration of forest management and conservation plans, as well as ecological and socioeconomic analysis of this ecosystem. Remote Sensing techniques and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been a true technological and methodological revolution in the acquisition, management …


Impacts To Anadromous Fish Through Groundwater Extraction, Aaron Hebert May 2016

Impacts To Anadromous Fish Through Groundwater Extraction, Aaron Hebert

Master's Projects and Capstones

California uses more groundwater than any other state in the United States in order to meet agricultural demand during the growing season when water is naturally least available due to the state’s Mediterranean climate. The state also hosts populations of anadromous fish that are otherwise found exclusively in the wetter Pacific northwest. Groundwater has historically helped maintain baseflow in the summer and fall low-flow periods and acted as a natural buffer against the regular droughts that occur in California. Today, groundwater provides 30-40% of the state’s water supply, but the pumping in many cases has reduced groundwater discharge and baseflow, …