Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Effects Of Shelterwood Timber Harvesting On Understory Vegetation, Soil Nutrients, And Environmental Factors In A Virginia Piedmont Forest 3-5 Years Post-Harvest, Lisa B. Wilkins

Theses & Honors Papers

Shelterwood timber management methods impose moderate ground disturbance and allow increased light penetration to the understory after partial canopy removal. This study is a two-year segment of a long-term project analyzing understory vegetation patterns over time on shelterwood sites harvested in 1997 (n=4) and 1998 (n=2), and on mature, secondary-growth control sites (n=2). The sites were predominantly oak-hickory stands located in Appomattox and Buckingham counties, Virginia. Data were collected May - June of 2001 and 2002.Ten fixed plots were established on each of eight study sites and all plant species within the plots were identified. Coverage estimates were made for …

Breeding Bird Community Response To Vegetation Succession In Hardwood Shelterwood Cuts In The Virginia Piedmont, Pamela Coleman

Theses & Honors Papers

Population declines of many Neotropical migrant bird species (NTMs) in parts or all of their North American breeding ranges have prompted concern regarding the conservation of these species. Many NTMs have specific habitat requirements and are thus negatively affected by habitat alteration. In eastern North America, habitats have changed significantly since European settlement and those changes have had different impacts on different suites of breeding birds. Forest birds are frequently identified as species particularly sensitive to habitat changes though, more recently,marked declines of shrubland or early successional songbirds have raised concern. My goal was to examine the effects of a …

Closing The Loop: Recycling, Reformulation, And Reuse In Prince Edward, Amelia, Buckingham And Cumberland Counties, Andrea Louise Bridge

Theses & Honors Papers

Everything we do to the land, air, and water affects our quality of life on this planet. Since the beginning of time, human beings have generated and discarded trash. As the pollution of the United States continues to grow so have the problems with our nation's landfills. Americans throw away an average of 3.5 pounds of garbage per person each day, or approximately 160 million tons of it per year. Studies have been conducted that show that the majority of our trash consists of paper, yard trimmings, metal, plastics, glass, food wastes, rubber, leather, textiles, and miscellaneous inorganic materials.

Why …

Quantitative Comparison Of Fecal Coliform And Fecal Streptococci Counts Of Six Ponds In Charlotte Sounty, Virginia, Melissa Dunn Back

Theses & Honors Papers

Performing testing to detect for the presence of fecal coliform and fecal streptococci are the acceptable standard methods for judging the quality of water. Their presence and quantitation are presumed to be a predictive indicator of potentially more serious organisms being present. This study was initiated to look at the differences in fecal coliform counts between irrigation ponds and livestock ponds. The hypothesis was that livestock ponds would have a significantly higher count of fecal coliform and fecal streptococci than irrigation ponds. This hypothesis was accepted. Six privately owned ponds in Charlotte County, Virginia were used to evaluate for the …

An Evaluation Of Stream Flow Characteristics And Fecal Coliform Loads In Sayler's Creek Watershed, South Central Virginia, David Straton Gilbert

Theses & Honors Papers

The Sayler's Creek watershed is located within Prince Edward County, Nottoway, and Amelia Counties of the south central region of Virginia. The Sayler's Creek Watershed consists of two small creeks: Big Sayler's Creek and Little Sayler's Creek. The Environmental Protection Agency has Big Sayler's Creek listed as impaired and not Little Sayler's Creek. Based upon visual inspections of the Sayler's Creek watershed throughout the year, Little Sayler's Creek is inlpaired for fecal coliform instead of Big Sayler's Creek. Another hypothesis of this study is that fecal coliform levels are directly related to runoff from cattle ranches in the immediate floodplain …

Relationships Between Abundance Of Physically Complex Habitat And Benthic Macroinvertebrate Community Parameters In The James River, Nelson County, Va, Tammy Lee Shumaker

Theses & Honors Papers

This study shows the importance of structurally complex habitat on abundance and diversity of organisms in a benthic macroinvertebrate community in the James River, Nelson County, Virginia. Structural complexity was manipulated by attaching stones to five concrete blocks (12.8 ± 0.97% coverage; mean ± SE) and comparing organism abundance on these blocks and blocks lacking stones (0% coverage). Concrete blocks were randomly placed at a site in the James River on November 14, 1999 and collected on December 12, 1999. Macroinvertebrates and particulate organic and inorganic matter on the blocks were collected. Total invertebrate abundance, abundance of eight individual taxa, …

Bioindication Of Atmospheric Heavy Metal Deposition In The Blue Ridge Using The Moss Thuidium Delcatulum, Johathan Scott Schilling

Theses & Honors Papers

Heavy metals in the environment pose a risk to human health as well as to ecosystem health. These metals are released into the atmosphere as a result of industrial processes, and can be transported away from their sources to be deposited into the environment. Ectohydric mosses are known accumulators of atmospheric heavy metals, and their tissue can be used to quantify integrated deposition of these metals over time in the ecosystem.

In this study, the moss Thuidium delicatulum (Hedw.) was used to quantify lead (Pb), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni) concentrations in the central Blue Ridge of Virginia …

Breeding Bird Census On Four Shelterwood-Cut Stands In Buckingham County, Virginia, Sally Ann Statham

Theses & Honors Papers

The Breeding Bird Census (BBC) technique was used to study breeding bird populations on two paired shelter wood-cut oak stands in Buckingham County, Virginia. The four plots are part of a study to determine oak regeneration following controlled burns in the Virginia piedmont. There is an interest in determining how shelter wood-cut plots affect the breeding birds of Virginia. A total of twenty-seven bird species established and defended territories among the four plots. Ten bird species defended territories on all four plots. All of these species were birds characteristic of forest habitats.

An Evaluation Of Land Use Changes And Their Associated Hydrologic Impacts In The Birch Creek Watershed, Halifax County, Virginia 1986-1998, Melissa Anne Lloyd

Theses & Honors Papers

This project is a study of the water quality and land us e changes that have occurred in the Birch Creek watershed in Halifax County, Virginia from 1987 to 1998. The purpose of t his project i s to identify water quality trends and potential linkages to land use changes during the time frame of the study. The information was obtained by analyzing data collected by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The data had been gathered and archived, but not previously examined for trends or causal factors. Through the analysis, definite increasing and decreasing trends in the concentrations of …

Design And Implementation Of A Natural Resource Curriculum Guide Incorporating Selected Standards Of Learning At The Elementary Level, Martha Elizabeth Thompson

Theses & Honors Papers

The state Standards of Learning tests were given in 1998 and the results showed a 37% failure rate for science at the third grade level. This thesis project was meant to develop a way to improve these scores. An internship was completed at Holiday Lake 4-H Educational Center where a natural resource curriculum guide was developed. The guide was developed using activities tested at the 4-H Center. Activities were chosen that met selected Standards of Learning. A copy of the activities has been placed in the Longwood College Library for use by both pre-service and classroom teachers.

Breeding Bird Utilization Of Shelterwood-Cut Oak Stands In Buckingham County, Virginia, Kim Marie Mcdonald

Theses & Honors Papers

Breeding bird populations on three shelterwood cut oak stands in Buckingham County, Virginia were studied using Breeding Bird Census (BBC) techniques. The stands were cut partly or entirely during the year prior to the 1997 breeding season, when the BBCs were conducted. The plots were established as part of a study of oak regeneration following controlled bums in the Virginia piedmont. Canopy cover on the plots averaged 66.8% after the cuts and total basal area averaged 41915 cm2/acre. At least 23 species of birds had territories partly or entirely on at least one of the plots, and at least nine …

Establishment Of A Nighthawk Migration Monitoring Program, Jeri Paige Guilliams

Theses & Honors Papers

The Nighthawk Migration Monitoring Program was initiated in 1997 to study the Common Nighthawk, Chordeiles minor. Modeled after the Hawk Migration Association of North America's hawkwatching methodology, the program enlisted volunteers to record time of day for peak flight, time of season for peak flight, weather conditions affecting migration, and other data. Volunteers were enlisted by establishment of a web­ page and e-mail address, preparation and circulation of a brochure, and through mail.

Individual chapters of the Virginia Society of Ornithology and others expressing interest were sent a letter, brochure, a Nighthawk Count Report Form, and an instruction sheet for …

The Effect Of Wildlife Management Techniques On Grassland Birds In Central Virginia, Eric Wayne Rosenbaum

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of wildlife management techniques on grassland bird species . Grassland birds have been declining in number for the last twenty-five years (Kershner and Bollinger 1996). Their decline is attributed to overall habitat loss. This study was conducted at James River Wildlife Management Area in Nelson County, Virginia. Three grassland plots were selected to represent three different kinds of management. One plot was planted in wheat, another in corn, and one plot was burned. Birds within these plots were monitored for one year. Each plot was also subjected to a vegetational …

Breeding Behaviors In Notropis Alborus With Comments On Geographic Distribution In Virginia (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae), Carmen Marie Newman

Theses & Honors Papers

Objectives were to describe breeding behaviors in Notropis alborus (one of eight species in the Notropis procne species-group), and provide materials for study of the geographical distribution of the species in Virginia. Breeding behaviors (establishment of male territories, aggressive behaviors between males, and spawning behaviors) in N. alborus were identified with direct field observations and review of videotapes of behaviors recorded in Mines Creek (Roanoke River drainage), Mecklenburg County, Virginia in 1997. Collections were made with a common seine and backpack electroshocker at 45 localities within the reported range of the species in the Roanoke River drainage in the Piedmont …