Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Incorporating Climate Change Predictions In Ecological Risk Assessment: A Bayesian Network Relative Risk Model For Chinook Salmon In The Skagit River Watershed, Eric J. Lawrence

Institute of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry Publications

Climate change is expected to have widespread impacts on future ecosystem services in the Puget Sound and around the world. It is important that climate change be included in ecological risk assessment so that changing climate variables and potential interactive effects with chemical stressors can be taken into account. In this research, I focused on the question of how water temperature changes generated by climate change interact with organophosphate pesticide toxicity to affect Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) population size in the Skagit River, WA. To answer this question, I conducted an ecological risk assessment using the Bayesian network relative risk …

Can Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Protect Rubus Idaeus From The Effects Of Soil-Borne Disease And Parasitic Nematodes?, Erika J. Whitney

Institute of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry Publications

Chemical controls for agricultural pests and diseases can have detrimental effects on human health and the environment. One alternative is to introduce soil microbes, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), that can improve crop resilience to pests and pathogens. While many plants form symbioses with AMF, not all crops benefit from inoculation. We conducted three studies that questioned the effect of AMF from various sources on R. idaeus growth and resilience to pests/pathogens. First, in a small observational study, we investigated whether AMF colonization of raspberry roots covaried with stand vigor. In two subsequent greenhouse experiments, we asked (1) if …

Evaluating Impacts Of Nanopesticides And Microplastics In An Agricultural Rhizosphere, Emma Nordlund, Manuel Montaño

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The goal of this project was to develop a methodology for assessing the behavior and effects of two emerging contaminants in an agricultural environment. A greenhouse experiment was conducted using corn as a model organism with Kocide-3000-O and polyester microfibers as treatments. Additional benchtop experiments were carried out to evaluate the bioavailability and other chemical properties of the microfibers and nanopesticide.

Incorporating Characteristics Of Gene Drive Engineered Ae. Aegypti As Methods To Reduce Dengue And Zika Virus Into The Bayesian Network – Relativ Esian Network – Relative Risk Model, Using P E Risk Model, Using Ponce, Puer Once, Puerto Rico As A Case Study, Steven R. Eikenbary

Institute of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry Publications

This study proposes the use of the Bayesian network relative risk model (BN-RRM) to estimate the risk associated with the release of gene drives as vectors to control disease, using Ponce, Puerto Rico as a case study. Bayesian networks are an appropriate risk assessment tool for quantitatively and probabilistically examining complex systems involving multiple stressors acting on multiple endpoints in a wide variety of situations. The emerging field of synthetic biology has the capacity to drastically alter ecological systems with the use of gene drive engineered organisms as a method to alter population dynamics. The purpose of the release of …

San Francisco Delta Risk Assessment Year 1 Report, Wayne G. Landis, Steven R. Eikenbary, Ethan A. Brown, Colter P. Lemons, Emma E. Sharpe, April J. Markiewicz

IETC Publications

The Relative Contributions of Contaminants to Environmental Risk in the Upper San Francisco Estuary: Progress Report Year 1

Prepared for: The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Prepared by: Wayne G. Landis, Steven R. Eikenbary, Ethan A. Brown, Colter P. Lemons, Emma E. Sharpe, and April J. Markiewicz

Institute of Environmental Toxicology, Huxley College of the Environment

Western Washington University

Bellingham, WA 98225

June 30, 2020

San Francisco Delta Risk Assessment Year 1 Report Appendices, Wayne G. Landis, Steven R. Eikenbary, Ethan A. Brown, Colter P. Lemons, Emma E. Sharpe, April J. Markiewicz

IETC Publications

The Relative Contributions of Contaminants to Environmental Risk in the Upper San Francisco Estuary: Progress Report Year 1: Appendices

Prepared for: The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Prepared by: Wayne G. Landis, Steven R. Eikenbary, Ethan A. Brown, Colter P. Lemons, Emma E. Sharpe, and April J. Markiewicz

Institute of Environmental Toxicology, Huxley College of the Environment

Western Washington University

Bellingham, WA 98225

June 30, 2020

San Francisco Delta Risk Assessment Year 1 Report & Appendices, Wayne G. Landis, Steven R. Eikenbary, Ethan A. Brown, Colter P. Lemons, Emma E. Sharpe, April J. Markiewicz

IETC Publications

The Relative Contributions of Contaminants to Environmental Risk in the Upper San Francisco Estuary: Progress Report Year 1 and Appendices

Prepared for: The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Prepared by: Wayne G. Landis, Steven R. Eikenbary, Ethan A. Brown, Colter P. Lemons, Emma E. Sharpe, and April J. Markiewicz

Institute of Environmental Toxicology, Huxley College of the Environment

Western Washington University

Bellingham, WA 98225

June 30, 2020

Quantification And Characterization Of Nanoparticulate Zinc In An Urban Watershed, Shaun Bevers, Manuel David Montaño, Laya Rybicki, Thilo Hofmann, Frank Von Der Kammer, James F. Ranville

Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The recent expansion in the use of nanomaterials in consumer and industrial applications has led to a growing concern over their behavior, fate, and impacts in environmental systems. However, engineered nanoparticles comprise only a small fraction of the total nanoparticle mass in aquatic systems. Human activities, particularly in urban watersheds, are increasing the population of incidental nanoparticles and are likely altering the cycling of more abundant natural nanoparticles. Accurate detection, quantification, characterization, and tracking of these different populations is important for assessing both the ecological risks of anthropogenic particles, and their impact on environmental health. The urban portion of the …

Assessing Impacts Of Rising Pco2 On Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Swimming Mechanics, Darby Finnegan

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Concern over the impacts of water acidification on fishes is growing due to their value commercially and ecologically. Although research has found that acidification negatively affects fish development, growth, and their ability to take up oxygen, little is known about how these effects translate to biomechanical changes in swimming behavior. We sought to determine whether freshwater acidification altered the performance and biomechanics of Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout) swimming using a circulating swim tunnel. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to complete our experiment, but we will provide our preliminary results, as well as a description of the experimental …

Integrating Synthetic Biology Derived Variables Into Ecological Risk Assessment Using The Bayesian Network – Relative Risk Model: Gene Drives To Control Nonindigenous M. Musculus On Southeast Farallon Island, Ethan A. Brown

Institute of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry Publications

Ecological risk assessment has not been conducted for the proposed environmental applications of synthetic biology. To develop a quantitative framework for risk assessment of synthetic biology, I selected Southeast Farallon Island as a case study for modeling the deployment of gene drive modified house mice to reduce impacts to threatened species. Southeast Farallon Island is part of the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The island is populated by invasive house mice that impact indigenous species. Gene drive technology has been proposed as a method to suppress invasive rodent populations through CRISPR-mediated genome editing. I applied the Bayesian Network – Relative …

Original Environmental Education Lessons And Curriculum, Waverly Shreffler

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This project is a culmination of my learning through Huxley and the Honors Program designed with the intent of exercising creativity, reflection, and resourcefulness to better myself as a future educator. I have designed a curriculum with five unique units and several coinciding lesson plans with ninth and tenth grade learners in mind. This work reflects my educational philosophy of bringing traditional curricular disciplines into relation through interdisciplinary teaching and multimodal learning. As an Environmental Education student, it has become my duty to acknowledge Place, Indigenous Knowledge, and social justice as integral to the future of education. I try to …

Cownose Ray Movement And Behavior In The Intertidal Zone, Glenna Dyson-Roberts

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Environmental, temporal and life history factors are known to influence and cause variation in cownose ray Rhinoptera bonasus movements, but their use of the intertidal zone has not been fully studied. Cownose rays eat ribbed mussels, an obligate intertidal species; thus their intertidal visitation may be important. We investigated cownose ray movement, from fixed Dual Frequency Identification Sonar (DIDSON) at the Rutgers Cape Shore Laboratory mudflats, relative to water temperature, diel pattern, diurnal conditions, tidal phase, current speed, and heading. Behavioral Observation Research Interactive Software (BORIS) was used to digitally record cownose ray appearance in 170 randomly selected ten-minute sonar …

Current And Historical Estuary Extent In Major River Deltas Of The Puget Sound: A Comparison Of Estimates, Ashley Arthur

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Puget Sound estuaries and their associated tidal wetlands have experienced extensive loss and degradation since land use conversion and the construction of tidal barriers began in the 1850s with the arrival of Euro-American settlers. Efforts to restore tidal wetlands in the Puget Sound require knowledge of the historical and current extent of tidal wetlands, but tidal wetland loss estimates vary from 53% to slightly over 80%. Thus, this study compared estimates of the current and historical extent of tidal wetlands in the 16 major river deltas of the Puget Sound produced by Brophy et al. (2019), Ramirez (2019b), and Simenstad …

Call Of The Chorus Frog: An Undergraduate Experience In Field Research In The Elwha River Basin, Nicole Vandeputte

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In scientific disciplines, students are not often taught to write in a way that is easily understood by people outside of their field. It is my goal to learn to communicate scientific research to a broad audience in a way that is both understandable and interesting. In spring of 2019, I participated in Huxley’s environmental science field camp. We traveled to the Elwha River basin in Olympic National Park and conducted wildlife research projects of our own design. My group’s research assessed amphibian habitat in two areas of the park, one of which was recently exposed after the removal of …

Evaluation Of A Bayesian Network For Strengthening The Weight Of Evidence To Predict Acute Fish Toxicity From Fish Embryo Toxicity Data, Adam Lillicrap, S. Jannicke Moe, Raoul Wolf, Kristin A. Connors, Jane M. Rawlings, Wayne G. Landis, Anders Madsen, Scott E. Belanger

Institute of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry Publications

The use of fish embryo toxicity (FET) data for hazard assessments of chemicals, in place of acute fish toxicity (AFT) data, has long been the goal for many environmental scientists. The FET test was first proposed as a replacement to the standardized AFT test nearly 15 y ago, but as of now, it has still not been accepted as a standalone replacement by regulatory authorities such as the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). However, the ECHA has indicated that FET data can be used in a weight of evidence (WoE) approach, if enough information is available to support the conclusions related …

Lake Whatcom Monitoring Project 2018/2019 Report, Robin A. Matthews, Angela Lee Strecker, Michael Hilles, Joan Pickens, Robert J. Mitchell, Geoffrey B. Matthews, Western Washington University

Lake Whatcom Annual Reports

This report describes the results from the 2018/2019 Lake Whatcom monitoring program conducted by the Institute for Watershed Studies at Western Washington University (www.wwu.edu/iws).

The major objectives in 2018/2019 were to continue long-term baseline water quality monitoring in Lake Whatcom and its major tributaries; collect storm runoff water quality data from representative streams in the watershed; and continue collection of hydrologic data from Austin and Smith Creeks.

Knowledge Exchange And Social Capital For Freshwater Ecosystem Assessments, Lauren M. Kuehne, Angela Strecker, Julian Olden

Publications

The 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA) provided crucial environmental protections, spurring research and corresponding development of a network of expertise that represents critical human capital in freshwater conservation. We used social network analysis to evaluate collaboration across organizational types and ecosystem focus by examining connections between authors of freshwater assessments published since the CWA. We found that the freshwater assessment network is highly fragmented, with no trend toward centralization. Persistent cohesion around organizational subgroups and minimal bridging ties suggest the network is better positioned for diversification and innovation than for learning and building a strong history of linked expertise. Despite …

European Green Crab Mitigation In Whatcom County, Patty Barry, Melissa Browning, Alexis Bryson,, Harrison Fuchs, Etilet Maipi

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This report presents a background on the invasive European green crab ( Carcinus maenas ), describes a variety of techniques to monitor and manage their presence in the region, and puts forth several comprehensive strategies for mitigating a potential invasion of C. maenas in the Salish Sea. C. maenas was likely initially introduced to the Pacific coast of the United States as larvae carried in ballast water, though they are also spread as larval by currents and as hitchhikers in seafood transport. C. maenas tolerates a wide range of salinities, temperatures, and habitats, they prey on virtually any available species, …

An Investigation Into Morocco's Water Crisis, Elliese Wright

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

For my honors senior project, I will attempt to answer the following questions: 1) What are some of the primary causes of water shortages in rural Morocco (primarily focusing on the south eastern area of Morocco). 2)What are the ways governments and NGO’s are trying to fix the problem? 3) How are rural communities affected by water shortages?

To answer this question, I am going to use a combination of field work, such as visiting, observing, and talking to people in the rural villages when possible, contacting people who are currently working on NGO projects or people who have already …