Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Nebraska Water Leaders Academy Graduates’ Influence On Community Capitals And Community Capacity, Dakota W. Staggs, Mark E. Burbach, Gina S. Matkin, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

An overarching goal of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy is to prepare a diverse group of Nebraskans from across the state to impact change in their communities by working together to solve wicked water problems. With 136 graduates from across Nebraska there is potential for graduates to effect change and impact their communities’ capitals (i.e., Built, Financial, Political, Social, Human, Cultural, and Natural). This study explored the impact of Academy graduates on their communities’ capitals and community capacity to prepare for future challenges from the perspective of graduates and community members. Findings show that Academy graduates are impacting their communities …

A Conceptual Model Evaluation Framework For Adaptive Governance And Adaptive Management In Large-Scale Restoration Programs, Chadwin Smith

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Adaptive management (AM) has become a kind of plastic phrase applied as a formulaic panacea for most major species recovery and ecosystem restoration efforts now underway across the United States. AM emerged as an application of the scientific method to resource management, closely tying management to science learning through experimental actions. The phrase “learning by doing” best captures the premise behind developing an experimental management approach that could be applied on the larger scale of a river system or ecosystem. In nearly five decades of application, however, examples of successful AM implementation at large scales are few and conflict remains …

New England’S Underutilized Seafood Species: Defining And Exploring Marketplace Potential In A Changing Climate, Amanda Davis

Masters Theses

New England’s seafood industry has been searching for opportunities to diversify their landings and build resilience as it faces socio-economic challenges from a changing climate. Developing markets for underutilized species is one way the New England community could help their seafood industry build resilience. This thesis identified New England’s underutilized fish species and explored their marketplace potential by examining their availability in a changing climate, current availability to consumers, and consumers’ responses. In Chapter I, I account how New England’s seafood preferences have changed over time. In Chapter II, I identify New England’s seven underutilized seafood species: 1) Acadian redfish …

Core Commitments For Field Trials Of Gene Drive Organisms, Kanya C. Long, Luke Alphey, George J. Annas, Cinnamon S. Bloss, Karl J. Campbell, Jackson Champer, Chun-Hong Chen, Amit Choudhary, George M. Church, James P. Collins, Kimberly L. Cooper, Jason A. Delborne, Owain R. Edwards, Claudia I. Emerson, Kevin Esvelt, Sam Weiss Evans, Robert M. Friedman, Valentino M. Gantz, Fred Gould, Sarah Hartley, Elizabeth Heitman, Janet Hemingway, Hirotaka Kanuka, Jennifer Kuzma, James V. Lavery, Yoosook Lee, Marce Lorenzen, Jeantine E. Lunshof, John M. Marshall, Philipp W. Messer, Craig Montell, Kenneth A. Oye, Megan J. Palmer, Philippos Aris Papathanos, Prasad N. Paradkar, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Jason L. Rasgon, Gordana Rašić, Larisa Rudenko, J. Royden Saah, Maxwell J. Scott, Jolene T. Sutton, Adam E, Vorsino, Omar S. Akbari

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We must ensure that trials are scientifically, politically, and socially robust, publicly accountable, and widely transparent.

Gene drive organisms (GDOs), whose genomes have been genetically engineered to spread a desired allele through a population, have the potential to transform the way societies address a wide range of daunting public health and environmental challenges. The development, testing, and release of GDOs, however, are complex and often controversial. A key challenge is to clarify the appropriate roles of developers and others actively engaged in work with GDOs in decision-making processes, and, in particular, how to establish partnerships with relevant authorities and other …

Decline Of Novel Ecosystems Used By Endangered Species: The Case Of Piping Plovers, Least Terns, And Aggregate Mines, Joel G. Jorgensen, Stephen J. Brenner, Lauren R. Greenwalt, Mark P. Vrtiska

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Sand and gravel mining creates novel ecosystems along the Platte, Loup, and Elkhorn rivers in Nebraska, USA. Piping plovers and least terns are state and/or federally threatened and endangered species, respectively, that nest and raise young at these sites and their derivatives. Despite hosting relatively large numbers of piping plovers and least terns for decades, an important question that has largely gone unaddressed is whether the industry that has produced these novel ecosystems is stable and will continue to produce habitat consistently in the future. We evaluated how the number, size, and spatial distribution of different site types hosting different …

Species Distribution Modeling For Arid Adapted Habitat Specialists In Zion National Park, Sam Driver, Daniel R. Unger, David L. Kulhavy, Chris M. Schalk

Student Publications

The Arizona toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus) and Jones’ waxy dogbane (Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii) are habitat specialists with historical ranges in the desert southwest and specifically, Zion National Park (ZION). The machine learning method, MaxEnt, constructed species distribution models (SDMs) in ZION for the two study species at 30 m and 900 m spatial resolutions using climate, topographic, and remotely sensed data. Additionally, 900 m forecasting models were constructed to observe the shifts in suitable habitat for the years 2050 and 2070, based off two representative concentration pathway scenarios. Results indicate promising predictive power for both high …

Species Distribution Modeling For Arid Adapted Habitat Specialists In Zion National Park, Sam Driver, Chris M. Schalk, Daniel Unger, David Kulhavy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Arizona toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus) and Jones’ waxy dogbane (Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii) are habitat specialists with historical ranges in the desert southwest and specifically, Zion National Park (ZION). The machine learning method, MaxEnt, constructed species distribution models (SDMs) in ZION for the two study species at 30 m and 900 m spatial resolutions using climate, topographic, and remotely sensed data. Additionally, 900 m forecasting models were constructed to observe the shifts in suitable habitat for the years 2050 and 2070, based off two representative concentration pathway scenarios. Results indicate promising predictive power for both high …

Operationalizing Niche Construction Theory With Stone Tools, Radu Lovita, David R. Braun, Matthew J. Douglass, Simon J. Holdaway, Sam C. Lin, Deborah I. Olsezewski, Zeljko Rezek

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

One of the greatest difficulties with evolutionary approaches in the study of stone tools (lithics) has been finding a mechanism for tying culture and biology in a way that preserves human agency and operates at scales that are visible in the archaeological record. The concept of niche construction, whereby organisms actively construct their environments and change the conditions for selection, could provide a solution to this problem. In this review, we evaluate the utility of niche construction theory (NCT) for stone tool archaeology. We apply NCT to lithics both as part of the “extended phenotype” and as residuals or precipitates …

Policy Changes Impact In Deforestation Of The Brazilian Amazon, Iara Silva Jaques

Master's Projects and Capstones

Since discovered and inhabited, the Brazilian Amazon has been explored and impacted negatively by human activities. The conversion of forest to pastureland and farmland, as well as mining activities, road opening, wood and ore extraction and fire are historically the main causes of environmental damages and forest loss in the region. This project overviewed the latest changes in environmental policy and practices towards environmental protection conducted by the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, since he took office in 2019, and analyzed the progress of deforestation in the recent years under the new federal administration. Geographic Information System analysis were used to …

Leveraging Image Analysis To Compute 3d Plant Phenotypes Based On Voxel-Grid Plant Reconstruction, Sruti Das Choudhury, Srikanth Maturu, Ashok Samal, Vincent Stoerger, Tala Awada

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

High throughput image-based plant phenotyping facilitates the extraction of morphological and biophysical traits of a large number of plants non-invasively in a relatively short time. It facilitates the computation of advanced phenotypes by considering the plant as a single object (holistic phenotypes) or its components, i.e., leaves and the stem (component phenotypes). The architectural complexity of plants increases over time due to variations in self-occlusions and phyllotaxy, i.e., arrangements of leaves around the stem. One of the central challenges to computing phenotypes from 2-dimensional (2D) single view images of plants, especially at the advanced vegetative stage in presence of self-occluding …

Food System Resilience In Nigeria: Farmers Perspective, Azariah Lawal

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Disturbances are inherent in every socio-ecological system (SES). However, the spate and scope of upheavals in contemporary SES has increased dramatically in recent years. Agricultural systems are perhaps the most impacted when disasters occur because different aspects of agricultural production are directly affected. The burgeoning farmers-Fulani herdsmen conflict in West Africa is a manifestation of these challenges. When faced with events like these, contemporary food systems are faced with two options: collapse or transform. It is essential to have resilient agricultural systems because these systems lie at the nexus of resolving emerging global issues.

Nigeria is an important country in …

Population Characteristics And Movement Of Blue Catfish In The Kansas River, Quintin Dean

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus is a mobile, large-river species native to the Missouri River and its tributaries, including the Kansas River. Historical data regarding the Kansas River population is negligible, limiting managers’ ability to appropriately manage this population. Multiple anthropogenic barriers along the Kansas River create a gradient of connectivity within the Kansas River, and with the Missouri River, possibly limiting Blue Catfish movement. Additionally, the contribution of tributary-reservoir populations to the Kansas River remains unknown. My objectives were to: 1) describe population characteristics and 2) quantify stock contributions from the Missouri River and Kansas River tributary reservoirs to the …

Impacts Of Irrigated Agriculture On The Near Surface And Planetary Boundary Layer Atmosphere: Results From The Great Plains Irrigation Experiment (Grainex), Emilee Lachenmeier

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Modification of natural prairie grasslands into irrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Great Plains produced significant impacts on regional weather and climate including temperatures, precipitation, energy fluxes, and the planetary boundary layer (PBL) atmosphere. The Great Plains Irrigation Experiment (GRAINEX) during the 2018 growing season collected data over irrigated and non-irrigated crop fields to further understand these impacts. The data were collected during two intensive observation periods (IOPs) in early June (IOP 1: 30 May – 13 June of 2018) and late July (IOP 2: 16 July – 30 July of 2018). The data analyzed include latent (LE) and sensible …

Population Demographics, Distribution, And Environmental History Of Asian Carp In A Great Plains River, Jake Werner

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Bighead Carp H. nobilis, and Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus, collectively known as Asian carp, are a group of invasive fishes in the U.S.A. that have garnered much attention over the last couple decades. Most research devoted to this group of fishes has been focused in the Mississippi River basin with little investigation in the Missouri River drainage, particularly in tributary systems. The Kansas River is a major tributary to the Missouri River that has multiple anthropogenic barriers creating varying levels of connectivity within the Kansas River itself, and with the Missouri River. Information …

The Prairie Naturalist, Vol. 52, Issue 2, December 2020

The Prairie Naturalist

Comparing Native Bee Communities on Reconstructed and Remnant Prairie in Missouri • Joseph LaRose, Elisabeth B. Webb, and Deborah Finke

Patterns and Potential Causes of Changing Winter Bird Distributions in South Dakota • David L. Swanson, Reza Goljani Amipkhiz, and Mark D. Dixon

Greater prairie-chickens and sharp-tailed grouse have similarly high nest survival in the Nebraska Sandhills • Larkin A. Powell, Walter H. Schacht, Julia P. Ewalt, and Katie R. McCollum

Captive Ring-necked Pheasant Response to Very High Experimental Doses of Lead • Travis J. Runia and Alex J. Solem

Trends in a Greater Prairie Chicken Population Established by Translocation …

Remediating Contaminated Groundwater With An Aerated, Direct-Push, Oxidant Delivery System, James Reece, Mark Christenson, Ann Kambhu, Yusong Li, Clifford Harris, Steve D. Comfort

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

One of the biggest challenges to treating contaminated aquifers with chemical oxidants is achieving uniform coverage of the target zone. In an effort to maximize coverage, we report the design and installation of a novel aerated, slow-release oxidant delivery system that can be installed by direct-push equipment. By continuously bubbling air beneath a slow-release oxidant in situ, an airlift pump is created that causes water and oxidant to be dispersed from the top of the outer screen and drawn in at the bottom. This continuous circulation pattern around each drive point greatly facilitates the spreading of the oxidant as it …

Harmful Algal Blooms Threaten The Health Of Peri-Urban Fisher Communities: A Case Study In Kisumu Bay, Lake Victoria, Kenya, Amber Roegner, Lewis Sitoki, Chelsea Weirich, Jessica Corman, Dickson Owage, Moses Umami, Ephraim Odada, Jared Miruka, Zachary Ogari, Woutrina Smith, Eliska Rejmankova, Todd R. Miller

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Available guidance to mitigate health risks from exposure to freshwater harmful algal blooms (HABs) is largely derived from temperate ecosystems. Yet in tropical ecosystems, HABs can occur year-round, and resource-dependent populations face multiple routes of exposure to toxic components. Along Winam Gulf, Lake Victoria, Kenya, fisher communities rely on lake water contaminated with microcystins (MCs) from HABs. In these peri-urban communities near Kisumu, we tested hypotheses that MCs exceed exposure guidelines across seasons, and persistent HABs present a chronic risk to fisher communities through ingestion with minimal water treatment and frequent, direct contact. We tested source waters at eleven communities …

Improving Conservation And Recreation In Environments Shared By Humans And Bats, Hannah Shapiro

Masters Theses

White-nose syndrome (WNS) has drastically changed how caves are managed in the United States. This disease has killed millions of bats throughout eastern North America and continues to spread westward. Since the discovery of WNS, The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has acted to slow the spread of the disease through the development of educational programs and the deployment of decontamination measures. Despite the vast array of research on the biological and ecological aspects of bats and WNS, few studies focus on how visitor attitudes and knowledge of management strategies implemented in response to WNS impact the effectiveness of these …

Corn And Soybean Response To Wastewater-Recycled Phosphorus Fertilizers, Shane Ylagan

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The ability to recycle phosphorus (P) from wastewaters could provide a sustainable, continuous source of P that might also help protect surface water quality from P enrichment. The mineral struvite (MgNH4PO4·6H2O) is an understudied material that can be created from Pcontaining wastewater and has been shown to have agricultural fertilizer value. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of electrochemically precipitated struvite (ECST), chemically precipitated struvite (Crystal Green; CG), diammonium phosphate (DAP), monoammonium phosphate (MAP), rock phosphate (RP), and triple super phosphate (TSP) on corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) response in a 79-day greenhouse pot …

Projecting Water Available For Irrigation Use And Identifying Water Supply Stress Under Climate Change Scenarios In Selected U.S. Fruit And Vegetable Production Regions, Andrew Shaw

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change affects water resources differently across geospatial regions in the United States (U.S). There is a concern of how water availability will be affected by changes in long-term temperature and precipitation patterns, specifically in major production regions for eight fruit and vegetable crops. The effects on surface water available for irrigation use and supply stress in five regions containing 31 Agricultural Statistics Districts (ASDs) were assessed. The Water Supply Stress Index Model was used and modified to project water available for irrigation use across nine climate scenarios driven by historical data, five General Circulation Models, two population scenarios, and …

Aberdeen Creek Dredge Channel Data Report, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Nicholas J. Dinapoli

Reports

Aberdeen Creek is located on the York River in Gloucester County, Virginia (Figure 1). At the narrow confluence of the York and Aberdeen, the creek takes about a 90-degree bend to the north (Figure 2) and widens to about 700 to 800 feet (ft) for about 2,000 ft. The creek then divides into two branches, one continuing north and one going east. These two prongs narrow quickly and become thin meandering tidal channels with adjacent marsh. The land use around the creek is mostly agricultural and wooded with some residential properties along its east side and along the York River …

Hog Island Shore Protection And Habitat Restoration Living Shoreline Project, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Nicholas J. Dinapoli

Reports

Hog Island is an emergent estuarine marsh complex that is part of the overall Guinea marshes (Figure 1). These marshes are located at the confluence of Mobjack Bay and the York River in Gloucester County, Virginia. Hog Island is a high wave energy eroding shoreline along its south-face on the York River, and lower wave energy along its west and east flanks that occur on Monday Creek (Figure 2). The marsh consists mainly of grasses such as Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens. A higher, sandy area along the higher energy shorelines has some scrub shrub. Two small ponds and a …

Assessment Of Factors Influencing Migratory Landbird Use Of Forested Stopover Sites Along The Delmarva Peninsula During Autumn Migration, J. Andrew Arnold

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Autumn migration is a time when billions of birds move from breeding grounds in North America to wintering grounds in Central and South America, with many individuals relying on stopover habitats en route for resting and refueling purposes. These stopover sites are critical to the survival of the hundreds of species of migratory landbirds that migrate annually, and thus identifying important stopover sites is a high priority for conserving such taxa. The Delmarva Peninsula; a coastal region of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia along the mid-Atlantic flyway; consists of forested habitats with ample food and shelter that likely serves as quality …

Global Conservation Status Of Croaker And Drum (Family: Sciaenidae) And Role Of The Maw Trade, Claire E. Gorman

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Understanding threats and drivers of extinction risk is critical to conserving marine biodiversity. Although marine bony fishes are some of the most diverse and abundant vertebrates in the world, overexploitation is the major threat to these taxa. Species in the family Sciaenidae are important marine resources in many parts of the world, supporting small- and large-scale fisheries for consumption and the international maw (dried swimbladder) trade. Sciaenids exhibit a diverse array of life history characteristics, such as high fecundity, large body size, formation of spawning aggregations, and longevity. Some characteristics increase their susceptibility to anthropogenic stressors. Despite being ecologically and …

Assessing Grassed Waterway Implementation Using Acpf And Swat Models, Kirsten Schaefer

MSU Graduate Theses

Agriculture is the most significant contributor of nonpoint source pollutants in US waterways, with sediment being the most prevalent cause of impairments. Sediment loss mitigation occurs through Best Management Practices (BMPs), such as grassed waterways. Federal and state agencies incentivize the implementation of BMPs through cost-share programs for farmers. The investment of public funds has increased pressure to demonstrate the effectiveness and value of individual projects, necessitating the development of strategies for prioritizing projects based on the sensitivity of sites to sediment erosion and optimal locations for implementation. This study has three primary objectives: (i) document existing locations of grassed …

Davis Creek Dredge Channel Data Report, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Nicholas Dinapoli

Reports

Introduction Davis Creek is located in Mathews County, Virginia (Figure 1) and empties into Mobjack Bay, a small bay in the lower Chesapeake Bay. The creek has a narrow mouth that splits into three prongs (Figure 2). The eastern prong is shortest at 2,200 ft from the mouth, and the western prong is the longest extending about 3,000 ft from the mouth. The Marina on Davis Creek occurs on this prong. Land use adjacent to the creek is mostly residential with some agriculture and wooded properties. The headwaters do not have extensive marsh. Instead the creek terminates soon after the …

Timberneck Creek Dredge Channel Data Report, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Nicholas J. Dinapoli

Reports

Introduction Timberneck Creek is located in Gloucester County, Virginia (Figure 1). It is a long, but narrow creek that empties into the York River. The mouth is a wide embayment, but farther north, the creek narrows to about 400 ft wide and extends for about 2 miles to its marshy headwaters. The interior of the creek is irregular with many very small lateral creeks/marsh drainages emptying into the Timberneck. Timberneck Creek has never been dredged and a federally-defined channel does not exist at the site. As a new dredging project, the channel design must balance safety, economic, and sustainability requirements. …

Hole In The Wall Dredge Channel Data Report, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Donna A. Milligan, Christine A. Wilcox, Nicholas J. Dinapoli

Reports

Hole in the Wall (HITW) is located in Mathews County, Virginia (Figure 1). It is a natural channel between fetch-limited barrier islands that provides access from Chesapeake Bay to Milford Haven and Gwynn Island. Milford Haven is a unique tidal creek watershed occurring between Chesapeake Bay and the Piankatank River and consists of numerous lateral tidal creeks entering from Gwynn Island to the north and others entering from the south including Lanes Creek, Stutts Creek, Billups Creek, Stoakes Creek and Whites Creek (Figure 2). Presently, the barrier between Milford Haven and Chesapeake Bay includes the northern barrier and Rigby Island. …

From Drones To Soil Cores: Comprehensive Ecological Assessments For Enhancing Conservation Management Of Urban Forested Natural Areas, Mia T. Wavrek

Masters Theses

Urban natural areas are vegetated areas within cities that exhibit characteristics of non-urban natural areas in that they have relatively high levels of self-regulation (low or no level of management) of natural ecosystem processes and exhibit high taxonomic, genetic, and structural diversity. When these areas take the form of urban parkland, they are often managed for their social benefits to urban residents, while their ecological potential remains underutilized. Growing interest in enhancing biodiversity conservation in cities has highlighted the importance of improving the ecological planning and management of urban natural areas, particularly forested natural areas. For the variety of agencies …

Fish And Macroinvertebrate Response To Restoration And Conservation Efforts, Madison C. Cogar

MSU Graduate Theses

Fish and macroinvertebrate response to restoration and conservation efforts varies in regards to the size and structure of the system (e.g. headwater streams in WV versus large rivers such as the Mississippi River). This project reviews fish and macroinvertebrate rebound in treated acid mine drainage (AMD) streams in WV as well as macroinvertebrate drift patterns in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. AMD is a product of a chemical reaction resulting in an acidic water outflow from mining sites, which may harm aquatic life. As a response, passive AMD treatment systems have been installed. I tested the effectiveness of remediation by …