Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Fishers' Ecological Knowledge And Stable Isotope Analysis: A Social-Ecological Systems Approach To Endangered Species Conservation, Kathryn Rose Wedemeyer-Strombel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Identifying developmental habitat is essential for understanding population structure and species resiliency, especially for critically endangered species. In long-lived, oceanic, migratory animals such as sea turtles, elucidating developmental grounds is particularly difficult. When data are deficient or challenging to acquire, scientists often lean towards traditional quantitative methods when a social-ecological systems approach could better provide crucial baseline data and guiding information. Fishers’ ecological knowledge (FEK), the combination of experiential and culturally transmitted knowledge, is expert knowledge and should be treated as such. In 2008, FEK led to the “rediscovery” of the critically endangered eastern Pacific (EP) population of hawksbill sea …

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga Cerulea) And Associated Species Response To Operational Silviculture In The Central Appalachian Region, Gretchen Emily Nareff

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this study, I assessed the response of Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea) and 5 additional songbird species to timber harvests prescribed through operational silviculture. The research took place in relatively contiguous mature deciduous forests in 4 states in the central Appalachian region—Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, USA.

For the first part of the study, I collected Cerulean Warbler abundance and territory data through point counts and territory mapping, respectively. I used the point count data to model Cerulean Warbler abundance pre- and post-harvest at 5 study areas (Kentucky [n=1], Virginia [n=2], West Virginia [n=2]) and post-harvest at …

Using Lidar To Approximate Keystone Structure And Evaluate Management Practices In Potential Habitats Of The Endangered Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides Melissa Samuelis), Brandyn Balch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Keystone structure is the spatial structure required by a given species, at a scale that is determined by that species’ needs and mobility. The endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis, hereafter KBB) has a keystone structure that incorporates trees and bushes to provide the mixture of sun and shade required to fulfil its life functions. Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) is a potentially invaluable tool for characterizing keystone structures. However, lidar has yet to be utilized to evaluate structural suitability of KBB habitats. Therefore, I investigated the use of lidar for characterizing critical attributes of KBB habitat structure, …

Viabilidad Socio-Ecológica Y Ambiental Para El Establecimiento De Un Programa De Aviturismo En Bosque De Morichal, Cumaral-Meta, Diana Jannette Peralta Baquero

Maestría en Agrociencias

El conflicto ambiental que se presentó en las ganaderías extensivas se aborda desde diferentes perspectivas. La principal, considera la deforestación como la mayor amenaza que causa la actividad ganadera productiva en los ecosistemas, ocasionando una alta pérdida de la diversidad biológica. Así, establecer la viabilidad socioecológica y ambiental de los programas de aviturismo como alternativa para mitigar los impactos generados por la ganadería en los bosques de morichal del caño El Oso y bajos inundables, en el municipio de Cumaral - Meta, acuerdos de riesgo entre los diferentes actores que determinan el estado de afectación de los principales componentes del …

Grammar And Variation: Understanding How Cis-Regulatory Information Is Encoded In Mammalian Genomes, Dana Michele King

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding how genotype leads to phenotype is key to understand both the development and dysfunction of complex organisms. In the context of regulating the gene expression patterns that contribute to cell identity and function, the goal of my thesis research is to how changes in genome sequence may impact impact gene expression by determining how sequence features contribute to regulatory potential. To accomplish this goal, I first leveraged the key regulatory role of pluripotency transcription factors (TFs) in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) and tested synthetically generated and genomic identified combinations of binding site for four TFs, OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, …

Climatic Range Filling Of North American Trees, Benjamin Seliger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the degree to which species distributions are controlled by climate is crucial for forecasting biodiversity responses to climate change. Climatic equilibrium, when species are found in all places which are climatically suitable, is a fundamental assumption of species distribution models, but there is evidence in support of climate disequilibria in species ranges. Long-lived, sessile organisms such as trees may be especially vulnerable to being outpaced by climate change, and thus prone to disequilibrium. In this dissertation, I tested the degree to which North American trees are in equilibrium with their potential climatic ranges using the ‘range filling’ metric, which …

Constructing A Data-Based Mortality Profile For Avian Tower Kills At Telecommunication Towers In Illinois, Rachel Dipietro

Theses and Dissertations

During spring and fall seasons, Neotropical migratory passerines travel nocturnally across the Western Hemisphere between their wintering and breeding grounds, often encountering man-made threats. One hazard that has gained considerable publicity in recent decades is the communication tower. While there have been many tower kill studies recorded, there has been no attempt at predicting the risk of towers based on their different attributes (e.g., height, type of light, landscape placement) spatially on a regional scale. The objective of this study was to create seasonal mortality profile maps in GIS for Illinois, based on tower attributes combined with key factors such …

Preventing Extinction Of At-Risk Plant Species In A Complex World, Holly Lee Bernardo

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Earthճ current biodiversity crisis is now considered a true mass extinction event, with species level extinction rates well above background rates and population level extinction rates orders of magnitude more common that species extinctions. There are many threats driving this loss of biodiversity. How each threat impacts the viability of a species is highly context dependent, but all are anthropogenic in origin and so as the human population continues to increase, so too will the pressure of these threats on our natural systems. Ultimately, how much a threat decreases the viability of a species depends on how that threat influences …

Analysis Of Temperature And Salinity Effects On Growth And Mortality Of Oysters (Crassostrea Virginica) In Louisiana, Troy Sehlinger

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Salinity (S) and temperature (T) control every facet of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) life cycle, principally reproduction, development, growth, and mortality. Previous studies conducted in in the Breton Sound (BR) and Barataria (BA) estuaries have reported differences in growth and mortality rates between the basins. In the present study, environmental conditions were synchronized to compare growth and mortality rates between basins at similar combinations of T and S. Results indicate that when T and S are the same (synchronized), seasonal oyster growth and mortality rates differ between BR and BA. Seasonal analyses revealed that as salinities increased …

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 …

Desalination Concentrate Disposal: Ecological Effects And Sustainable Solutions, Ryan Hanley

Global Honors Theses

Freshwater availability is a growing global concern, and desalination is often presented as the solution, but from this important technology comes issues of toxic waste. Ecosystems are delicate areas that contain species adapted to that specific location, and any chemical or physical changes can disrupt the fitness of species. The concentrate byproduct waste from desalination plants is toxic to species if the concentrate is not compatible with the receiving water body. A critical review of scientific articles, industry-leading books, conversations with industry experts, and information from the American Membrane Technology Association conference was used to analyze the current knowledge. Species …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

An Examination Of Beta Diversity Indices And Their Predictors In Two Large-Scale Systems, Philip Schroeder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Biodiversity is what conservation biology was developed to conserve. It is the physical manifestation of life as a concept and, be it for practical or idealistic reasons, all conservationists seek to protect or, in some cases, enhance it. Because of its monolithic importance to the field, much effort has been expended trying to better measure and understand it. Recently, greater attention has been paid to the partition of diversity; the observation that the total diversity of a system (γ) can be broken down into within-site diversity (α) and between-site diversity (β). In particular, it has been noticed that the β …

A Case-Study Of The African Leopard (Panthera Pardus Pardus) Population On The Nambiti Private Game Reserve, Erica Castaneda

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The Nambiti Private Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa is a nature reserve that aids in the conservation of some of the world’s most renown species. This includes members of the "Big Five," which is comprised of the African lion (Panthera leo), the African elephant (Loxidonta africana), the Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer), the black & white rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis and Ceratotherium simum, respectively), and the African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus). These animals represent the top five African animals desired by trophy hunters and by tourists hoping to view wildlife (Caro …

Ms Environmental Biology Capstone Project, Annamaria Marcel

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Due to the worldwide decline of biodiversity, protected nature reserves are necessary for species facing extinction. Many frog species have been experiencing rapid population decline and extinction due to the threat of the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which inflicts the highly transmittable and deadly disease chytridiomycosis. Chytridiomycosis causes increased skin tissue growth which disrupts respiration and the maintenance of water balance, which can ultimately lead to death. Certain ecological and geographical characteristics have been studied in order to assess their influence on Bd’s prevalence. Specifically, it is hypothesized that high elevations, lotic habitats, and low species richness have a positive …

Pollinator Power: Supporting Bees Through Ecoregion Specific Planting Guides, Maya Thomas

Scripps Senior Theses

The pollination of flowering crops by bees is an invaluable ecosystem service that supports biodiversity and much of the global agricultural system. Pollinators move pollen between the male structures of a plant to the female structures of a plant of the same species. This fertilizes the female plant, which then produces the next generation. This process also provides the pollinator with the nectar or pollen it needs to survive. While some plants transfer pollen through different means, the majority of plants need help from pollinators to reproduce. Depending on the means of pollination, pollination can be classified as abiotic or …

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 …

Sustainability At Sit: A Look At The Past, A Plan For The Future, Taliesin Haugh

Capstone Collection

Climate change threatens our world and way of life. Intelligent development and investment could mitigate the worst threats of climate change, while simultaneously providing continuous growth for the global economy. The New Climate Economy proposes efforts to combat this ecological collapse that would result in $30 trillion in new annual economic growth by 2030. Stockholm Resilience Center agrees, giving a framework based on global ecological systems that calls for five critical tasks that can bring growth and stability: Renewable energy

Sustainable local food production

New development models, based on what has worked globally

Reduction of wealth inequity

Education, health, and …

Persistence Of Stream Restoration With Large Wood, Redwood National And State Parks, California, Diedra L. Rodriguez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The conservation and recovery of anadromous salmonids (Oncorhynchus sp.) depend on stream restoration and protection of freshwater habitats. In-stream large wood dictates channel morphology, increases retention of terrestrial inputs such as organic matter, nutrients and sediment, and enhances the quality of fish habitat. Historic land use/land cover changes have resulted in aquatic systems devoid of large wood. Restoration by placement of large wood jams is intended to restore physical and biological processes. An important question for scientists and restoration managers, in addition to the initial effectiveness of restoration, is the persistence and fate of large wood installations. In this …

Walking As Ontological Shifter: Thoughts In The Key Of Life, Bibi (Silvina) Calderaro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

With walking as ontological shifter I pursue an alternative to the dominant modernist episteme that offers either/or onto-epistemologies of opposition and their reifying engagements. I propose this type of walking is an intentional turning towards a set of radical positions that, as integrative aesthetic and therapeutic practice, brings multiplicity and synchronicity to experience and being in an expanded sociality. This practice facilitates the conditions of possibility for recurring points of contact between the interiority perceived as ‘body’ and the exteriority perceived as ‘world.’ While making evident the self’s at once incoherence with it-self, it opens to a space beyond the …

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. …

Coexistence Of Confamilial, Folivorous Indriids, Propithecus Diadema And Indri Indri, At Betampona Strict Nature Reserve, Madagascar, Lana Kerker Oliver

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine how two confamilial and ecologically similar indriids, indri (Indri indri), and diademed sifakas (Propithecus diadema) maintain coexistence in Betampona Nature Reserve (BNR), an eastern lowland rainforest in Madagascar. These two species occur sympatrically throughout much of their species ranges and are similarly-sized folivorous primates. As anatomic folivores, they present an opportunity to investigate how niche differentiation and resource partitioning allow two sympatric primate species with similar feeding patterns to coexist. I examined coexistence strategies and the general behavioral ecology of each species by examining their activity patterns, dietary profiles, home range use, and daily path …

Influence Of Environmental Conditions And Inundation History On Bacterial Diversity Of Salt Marsh Soils In Southern Louisiana, Brandon M. Bagley

Masters Theses

Diversity patterns and controls on bacterial community composition were investigated from coastal salt marsh soils in southern Louisiana (USA) from 2012 – 2014. These salt marshes are part of an extensive coastal landscape that is experiencing land loss due to subsidence, sea-level rise, and anthropogenic activities, including from the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Prior to the oil spill, microbiology research focused predominately on biogeochemical roles and not on taxonomic representation in the soils or on understanding the significance of taxonomic diversity at the microbial level to marsh food webs or ecosystem dynamics. The purpose of …

Cranial Morphological Distinctiveness Between Ursus Arctos And U. Americanus, Benjamin James Hillesheim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite being separated by millions of years of evolution, black bears (Ursus americanus) and brown bears (Ursus arctos) can be difficult to distinguish based on skeletal and dental material alone. Complicating matters, some Late Pleistocene U. americanus are significantly larger in size than their modern relatives, obscuring the identification of the two bears. In the past, fossil bears have been identified based on differences in dental morphology or size. This study used geometric morphometrics to look at overall differences in cranial shape and used step-wise discriminant analysis to identify specific characters that distinguish cranial morphology between …

Distribution And Condition Of Stony Corals In The Veracruz Reef System National Park: A Management Perspective, Mauricio López Padierna

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The Veracruz Reef System (VRS) is located in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. It is comprised of 28 coral reefs in various stages of development and conservation. They are protected under the Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano National Park created in 1992. There are many threats to the reefs of the VRS, including the Port and city of Veracruz, which hosts half a million inhabitants and Mexico’s oldest active port. The inhabitants of Veracruz have used reef resources for thousands of years, as evidenced in archaeological sites on Sacrificios island, and constructions throughout the city, most notably in the San …

Soil Erosion Risk Factors And The Impacts Of Diversification On Organic Strawberry Farms Along California’S Central Coast, Kay Sterner

Pomona Senior Theses

Soil erosion is a major issue that threatens to undermine our current system of agriculture. Due to the fact that this system is in turn the number one cause of erosion, agricultural practices in the United States need to be rethought. This study explores how traditional ideas of erosion risks are related to observed erosion on organic strawberry farms along California’s Central Coast. In addition, diversified farming systems are addressed as a possible solution for the current unsustainability of our farming practices. The data from this research suggest that diversity of crops on farms could be linked to less soil …

Using Remote Site Incubators For Re-Introduction Of Arctic Graylng (Thymallus Arcticus) To The Big Manistee Watershed, Sunflower Wilson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Remote Site Incubators (RSIs) were developed for the incubation of salmonid eggs directly at a field site to enhance success and imprinting of young. These have been employed in the re-establishment of Arctic Grayling in Montana and are being laboratory tested for possible reintroduction of this species in the Big Manistee River, MI. Arctic Grayling, Rainbow and Brook Trout eggs, obtained from state hatcheries, were reared in a laboratory using flow through lake water to assess egg and fry survival using RSIs. Dead eggs and fry were removed daily and observations of developmental stages recorded. Rainbow Trout eggs were evaluated …

Public Perception Of Environmental Programs In The Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Landa De Matamoros, Queretaro, Mexico, Danielle Marie Salisbury

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

Biological or ecological corridors have recently been sought out as a solution to biodiversity loss due to habitat fragmentation. In eastern Mexico, the Mexican and German governments are collaborating to connect fragmented landscapes and Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) over five states across a Madrean Pine-Oak biodiversity hotspot through the implementation of the Ecological Corridor of the Sierra Madre Oriental (CESMO). One of the ways the CESMO is accomplishing its conservation goals is by extending environmental programs that are currently in place within NPAs to other areas within the corridor, but outside of NPA borders. However, the success of the corridor …

Carbon Stocks In Shade Coffee: Strategies For Enhancing Carbon Storage In Smallholder Systems In Jinotega, Nicaragua, Vanessa Katheryn Kichline

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

Climate change has recently shifted focus to adaptation and mitigation strategies in coffee production. Shade coffee systems, already widely recognized for their contribution to biodiversity and soil conservation, are now drawing attention for their role in carbon storage. Researchers have generally assumed that high carbon storage must come at the expense of reduced crop yields, implying that farmers must choose between sustainability and profit. This study uses field inventories of 70 farms in Jinotega, Nicaragua to estimate this tradeoff in smallholder shade coffee systems. Field inventories were used to develop three typologies representing different shade management strategies in use in …

The Effects Of Disturbance And Species Specific Interactions On Diversity In An Agent Based Forest Simulation, Matthew E. Mills

Theses and Dissertations

In ecology literature, there is much data which suggests that conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) and abiotic disturbances increase biodiversity in forests. This thesis elucidates the notion that not only do these two forces increase diversity, but they may also interact with one another in order to achieve higher levels of biodiversity. Abiotic disturbances, like fires and hurricanes, can indirectly impact conspecific effects because when these forces remove individuals from the landscape, the role of the conspecific effects will change. The interaction of these two factors in biodiversity are explored in an agent based forest simulation through a resource surface. …