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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Wintertime Weather-Climate Variability And Its Links To Early Spring Ice-Out In Maine Lakes, Mussie Beyene, Shaleen Jain
Wintertime Weather-Climate Variability And Its Links To Early Spring Ice-Out In Maine Lakes, Mussie Beyene, Shaleen Jain
Publications
In recent decades, Maine lakes have recorded their earliest ice-out dates in over a century. In temperate regions, seasonal lake ice-cover is a critical phenomenon linking climate, aquatic ecosystem and society. And the lengthening of the ice-free period due to warmer climate has been linked to increased algal growth and declining lake water quality, warming of water temperatures leading to alterations in aquatic biodiversity, and the shortening of ice-fishing period and other traditional winter activities over lakes. In this study, historical record of eight lakes and six benchmarked meteorological stations in Maine for the period 1950–2010 were analyzed to (1) …
Evaluation Of A Waistband For Attaching External Radiotransmitters To Anurans, Luke Alexander Groff, Amber Pitt, Robert Baldwin, Aram J K Calhoun, Cynthia Loftin
Evaluation Of A Waistband For Attaching External Radiotransmitters To Anurans, Luke Alexander Groff, Amber Pitt, Robert Baldwin, Aram J K Calhoun, Cynthia Loftin
Publications
Radiotelemetry provides fine-scale temporal and spatial information about an individual's movements and habitat use; however, its use for monitoring amphibians has been restricted by transmitter mass and lack of suitable attachment techniques. We describe a novel waistband for attaching external radiotransmitters to anurans and evaluate the percentages of resulting abrasions, lacerations, and shed transmitters. We used radiotelemetry to monitor movements and habitat use of wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) in 2006 and 2011–2013 in Maine, USA; American toads (Anaxyrus americanus) in 2012 in North Carolina, USA; and, wood frogs, southern leopard frogs (L. sphenocephalus), and green frogs (L. clamitans) in 2012 …
Nonstationarity In Seasonality Of Extreme Precipitation: A Nonparametric Circular Statistical Approach And Its Application., Nirajan Dhakal, Shaleen Jain, Alexander Gray, Michael Dandy, Esperanza Stancioff
Nonstationarity In Seasonality Of Extreme Precipitation: A Nonparametric Circular Statistical Approach And Its Application., Nirajan Dhakal, Shaleen Jain, Alexander Gray, Michael Dandy, Esperanza Stancioff
Publications
Changes in seasonality of extreme storms have important implications for public safety, storm water infrastructure, and, in general, adaptation strategies in a changing climate. While past research on this topic offers some approaches to characterize seasonality, the methods are somewhat limited in their ability to discern the diversity of distributional types for extreme precipitation dates. Herein, we present a comprehensive approach for assessment of temporal changes in the calendar dates for extreme precipitation within a circular statistics framework which entails: (a) three measures to summarize circular random variables (traditional approach), (b) four nonparametric statistical tests, and (c) a new nonparametric …
Strengthening The Role Of Universities In Addressing Sustainability Challenges: The Mitchell Center For Sustainability Solutions As An Institutional Experiment, David Hart, Kathleen P. Bell, Laura Lindenfeld, Shaleen Jain, Teresa Johnson, Darren Ranco, Brian Mcgill
Strengthening The Role Of Universities In Addressing Sustainability Challenges: The Mitchell Center For Sustainability Solutions As An Institutional Experiment, David Hart, Kathleen P. Bell, Laura Lindenfeld, Shaleen Jain, Teresa Johnson, Darren Ranco, Brian Mcgill
Publications
As the magnitude, complexity, and urgency of many sustainability problems increase, there is a growing need for universities to contribute more effectively to problem solving. Drawing upon prior research on social-ecological systems, knowledge-action connections, and organizational innovation, we developed an integrated conceptual framework for strengthening the capacity of universities to help society understand and respond to a wide range of sustainability challenges. Based on experiences gained in creating the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions (Mitchell Center), we tested this framework by evaluating the experiences of interdisciplinary research teams involved in place-based, solutions-oriented research projects at the scale …
Understanding Social Resilience In The Maine Lobster Industry, Teresa R. Johnson, Anna M. Henry
Understanding Social Resilience In The Maine Lobster Industry, Teresa R. Johnson, Anna M. Henry
Publications
The Maine lobster Homarus americanus fishery is considered one of the most successful fisheries in the world due in part to its unique comanagement system, the conservation ethic of the harvesters, and the ability of the industry to respond to crises and solve collective-action problems. However, recent threats raise the question whether the industry will be able to respond to future threats as successfully as it has to ones in the past or whether it is now less resilient and can no longer adequately respond to threats. Through ethnographic research and oral histories with fishermen, we examined the current level …
Understanding And Informing Permitting Decisions For Tidal Energy Development Using An Adaptive Management Framework, Teresa R. Johnson, Jessica Spelke Jansujwicz
Understanding And Informing Permitting Decisions For Tidal Energy Development Using An Adaptive Management Framework, Teresa R. Johnson, Jessica Spelke Jansujwicz
Publications
Marine hydrokinetic (MHK) energy offers a promising new source of renewable ocean energy. However, the young industry is faced with significant challenges. Most notable is the challenge of regulatory uncertainty that is thought to hamper the successful deployment of new tidal energy technologies. Adaptive management may be one approach to deal with uncertainty and inform permitting decisions for hydrokinetic projects. In this study, we apply the concept of adaptive management to the Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project in Maine to better understand and inform permitting decisions. Using a social science approach of observation, interviews, and document analysis, we examine (1) …
Will Offshore Energy Face “Fair Winds And Following Seas”?: Understanding The Factors Influencing Offshore Wind Acceptance, Mario F. Teisl, Shannon K. Mccoy, Sarah J. Marrinan, Caroline L. Noblet, Teresa R. Johnson, Megan Wibberly, Sharon Klein
Will Offshore Energy Face “Fair Winds And Following Seas”?: Understanding The Factors Influencing Offshore Wind Acceptance, Mario F. Teisl, Shannon K. Mccoy, Sarah J. Marrinan, Caroline L. Noblet, Teresa R. Johnson, Megan Wibberly, Sharon Klein
Publications
Most offshore energy studies have focused on measuring or explaining people’s perceptions of, and reactions to, specific installations. However, there are two different types of acceptance: one surrounds the siting of projects while the other surrounds a more general acceptance of offshore energy. Understanding what drives this second type of acceptance is important as governments have implemented new financial incentives and policies to support renewable energy development; however, citizens and government officials may be increasingly opposed to some of these support mechanisms. Our paper fills a void in the literature by using regression approaches to better understand how people’s evaluations …
A Multilevel Evolutionary Framework For Sustainability Analysis, Timothy M. Waring, Michelle Ann Kline, Jeremy Brooks, Sandra Goff, John Gowdy, Marco Jansen, Paul Smaldino, Jennifer Jacquet
A Multilevel Evolutionary Framework For Sustainability Analysis, Timothy M. Waring, Michelle Ann Kline, Jeremy Brooks, Sandra Goff, John Gowdy, Marco Jansen, Paul Smaldino, Jennifer Jacquet
Publications
Sustainability theory can help achieve desirable social-ecological states by generalizing lessons across contexts and improving the design of sustainability interventions. To accomplish these goals, we argue that theory in sustainability science must (1) explain the emergence and persistence of social-ecological states, (2) account for endogenous cultural change, (3) incorporate cooperation dynamics, and (4) address the complexities of multilevel social-ecological interactions. We suggest that cultural evolutionary theory broadly, and cultural multilevel selection in particular, can improve on these fronts. We outline a multilevel evolutionary framework for describing social-ecological change and detail how multilevel cooperative dynamics can determine outcomes in environmental dilemmas. …