Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Sensitive Wildlife Species Monitoring And Analysis: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Wildlife Monitoring

Project 1. Relict Leopard Frog Monitoring, Management, and Research

• Fall surveys completed at all natural and translocation sites.
• Coordination for a potential translocation site on BLM lands in the Gold Butte area ongoing – the aim is that this site will be ready for translocations in 2008.
• Coordination ongoing for evaluation of a translocation site on BLM lands in the Black Mountains, AZ – the plan is to complete compliance in 2008.
• Coordination and assistance provided to UNLV research efforts on habitat improvements at Blue Point, Rogers, and Pupfish Refuge springs.
• Relict Leopard Frog Conservation Team meeting held in December. …

Fecal Microbe Distribution And Abundance Used As A Possible Proxy For Nutrient Source Identification In Eutrophic Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky, Theresa A. Aguiar, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Wilgreen Lake is a eutrophic lake that has been listed on the EPA’s 303d list as nutrient impaired. Potential sources of this impairment are from humans, cattle manure and fertilizers. We suspect that the majority of nutrients originate from human sources. As a possible proxy for nutrient input, we test our hypothesis by examining fecal microbe distribution and abundance in the lake.

We took water samples at 19 sampling locations on 4 occasions. Sampling spanned 26 June to 15 August with the last 3 sampling events occurring at roughly two-week intervals. These samples were then processed using IDEXX methods, which …

Coastal Maritime Forests In Virginia – Delineation And Distribution, Marcia Berman, Harry Berquist

Reports

This project had two major goals. The first builds on an earlier effort by the Virginia Department of Forestry, who delineated maritime forests using remote sensing techniques. Their project integrated land use and soils data to generate a map that defines potential boundaries of maritime forest. This study follows an identical approach with two major exceptions. The first is the soils data used in this study is mapped at a much finer scale. The second is this study has a field validation component that reviewed random sites around selected locations to ground-truth the remote sensing output. The Virginia Department of …

Ocena Wpływu Planowanego Zakładu Termicznego Przekształcania Odpadów Komunalnych Na Jakość Powietrza W Krakowie, Robert Oleniacz, Maria Pilch

Robert Oleniacz

The work presents air quality impact assessment for the planned Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) plant in Krakow with a established capacity of 255000 tons per year. The evaluation is based on assumption that air pollutant emissions from the incinerator will be at the highest allowed level resulting from emission limit values for waste incineration plants with operation time each of two planned lines 7500 hours per year. Calculation results for the one of the considered localization of the MSWI plant in Krakow (district of Nowa Huta) support the thesis that building the incineration plant of this size will not …

An Update On Groundwater Conditions At The Site Of The York College Cuny Campus In Southeastern Queens County, New York City, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Zarine Ali, Edward A. Molteni

Publications and Research

The wells operated by the Jamaica Water Supply Company in Queens represent the only large scale utilization of groundwater for public water supply in New York City in recent years. These wells were shut down, for the most part, beginning in 1996. Since that time, water table elevations in the area, which had been drawn down by the withdrawal activity of the Jamaica Water Supply Company, have risen significantly causing some high groundwater problems, including flooding of basements. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) has held public hearings on a contemplated resumption of ground water withdrawal in …

An Assessment Of Factors Affecting Fleet Fuel Performance, Carlo D. Smith, John L. Kent, Cory J. Roberts

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

Improving fuel performance in all modes of transportation is becoming more important as fuel prices increase and concerns over environmental issues rise. This is particularly relevant in the class 8 motor carrier sector which accounts for the majority of fuel consumption among all classes of motor freight movement. The present study evaluated the extent that existing technologies, systems and policies designed to improve fuel efficiency have been and are expected to be adopted by current class 8 fleets. Results suggest that while many of the efforts of suppliers to the industry are focused on new technologies, there remains an opportunity …

Drought Scape- Fall 2007, The National Drought Mitigation Center

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Fall 2007 Outlook

Diverse Impacts Reported in Summer of 2007

Decadal Climate Cycles Hold Predictive Potential

Drought Experts Take Roadmap to Congress

NDMC Research Updates

Soil Survey Of The Bettink Dairy Farm, Riverway Road, Northcliffe, Peter J. Tille, Tilwin Westrup

Resource management technical reports

This soil survey of the Bettink dairy farm in Northcliffe, Western Australia aimed to: provide detailed soil descriptions to add to information associated with the environment in which the dairy industry in Western Australia is located; collect soil samples at predetermined standard depths from documented farm locations for nutrient analysis; map soils with similar characteristics based on description and analysis.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Monitoring And Evaluation Of Sensitive Wildlife: Annual Progress Report, Period Ending September 30, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Wildlife Monitoring

Project 1. Relict Leopard Frog Monitoring, Management, and Research

• Diurnal and nocturnal surveys completed at all natural and translocation sites during the spring – the most striking finding was the lack of frogs observed at Rogers Springs and lower Blue Point despite repeated survey efforts.
• Relict leopard frog annual translocation effort completed – a total of 1365 late stage tadpoles and 592 post-metamorphic frogs from the head-start facilities were released at existing translocation sites.
• Mark-recapture effort at Rogers Spring abandoned because of the lack of frogs; assistance provided for a mark-recapture study at upper Blue Point Spring.
• Potential translocation sites …

Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (Cdom) Workshop Summary, Catherine A. Corbett

Reports

The Charlotte Harbor NEP hosted a 2-day technical exchange workshop on CDOM as an imperative first step in implementation of the program’s numeric water quality targets to initiate a dialogue with local researchers and resource managers on the importance of CDOM dynamics and the roles it plays in estuaries. Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program hosted the technical exchange workshop to discuss and gain a better understanding of CDOM dynamics in the Lemon Bay, Charlotte Harbor and Estero Bay watersheds.

Land Cover Types Of The Las Vegas Wash, Nevada, Seth A. Shanahan, Dave Silverman, Art Ehrenberg

Publications (WR)

Vegetation type, extent, continuity, and structure are some of the most important factors that determine wildlife diversity and distribution. Other contributing factors that shape wildlife communities include disturbance, competition, climate, and water availability. Because vegetation communities in the southwestern U.S. gradate sharply along zones of soil moisture, wildlife are often restricted to specific vegetation types. Along the Las Vegas Wash (Wash), Nevada, more than 250 wildlife species have been documented to occur in distinct wetland, riparian, and upland vegetation types. Recent studies have investigated the diversity and distribution of amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals, and reptiles (Shanahan 2005, 2005a, Van Dooremolen …

Reclamation: Managing Water In The West, Steinaker Reservoir Normal Water Surface Elevation Increase Final Environmental Assessment And Finding Of No Significant Impact, U.S. Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Reclamation, W. Russ Findlay

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This document is an environmental assessment (EA) of the proposal to raise the normal water surface elevation from 5517.8 feet above mean sea level (msl) to 5520.5 msl for Steinaker Reservoir in Uintah County, Utah. The Uintah Water Conservancy District (UWCD) has requested Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) authorization for this action. The Steinaker State Park, managed by the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation, maintains several campgrounds, an entrance station and other associated buildings and associated infrastructure. Modifications or relocations of some of these facilities would be needed in conjunction with an increase in the reservoir’s normal water surface elevation.

Antarctica, The Southern Ocean, And Climate Evolution: Insights From Drilling, Coring, And Geophysical Surveys, Timothy R. Naish, Ross Powell

ANDRILL Research and Publications

1.P2.A-1: The diatom record of the ANDRILL – McMurdo Ice Shelf project drillcore
Reed Scherer, Diane Winter, Charlotte Sjunneskog, and Paola Maffioli4

1.P2.A-2: Preliminary ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar results from the AND-1B core
Jake I. Ross, William C. McIntosh, and Nelia W. Dunbar

1.P2.A-3: Preliminary chronostratigraphy for the upper 700 m (upper Miocene–Pleistocene) of the AND-1B drillcore recovered from beneath the McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Gary S. Wilson, Richard H. Levy, Greg Browne, Fabio Florindo, Stuart A. Henrys, Ian Graham, William C. McIntosh, R. M. McKay, T. R. Naish, Christian Ohneiser, Ross D. Powell, Jake I. Ross, Leonardo Sagnotti, Reed …

Risk Assessment For Hazardous Materials Incident, Washington County, Tennessee: Road Transportation, Rail Transportation, And Hazardous Materials Storage., Steed Kenlee Stagnolia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to provide a quantitative risk assessment for road transportation, railway transportation, and storage of hazardous materials in Washington County, Tennessee. A roadside survey, railroad hazardous materials survey, and a chemical inventory were conducted. It revealed an estimated 267,858 HAZMAT shipments per year on primary and secondary roadways and an estimated total of 9.4 x 109 tons of HAZMAT shipped by rail per year. There are 49 facilities that store a daily average of 33,722,700 lbs of HAZMAT. The risk of a hazardous materials incident occurring in Washington County is highest for Interstate transportation. The risk for …

Northern High-Latitude Ecosystems Respond To Climate Change, Andrew Godard Bunn, Scott J. Goetz, John S. Kimball, Ke Zhang

Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The northern high latitudes are an area of particular importance to global climate change. As a system dependent on freezing conditions, the top of the planet contains vast amounts of carbon in biomass, soils, and permafrost that have the potential to interact with the atmosphere through the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and cryosphere. If released en masse, this carbon would greatly exacerbate the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Over the past 2 years, a growing body of research has provided evidence of substantial but idiosyncratic environmental changes, with some surprising aspects, across the region. This article reviews some recent …

Welcome And Opening Remarks, Richard L. Bruggers

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Greetings and welcome to Fort Collins. We at the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) have had the privilege of organizing and hosting four international symposia since 1993. The first three were on the topics of contraception and wildlife, repellents in wildlife management, and the economics of wildlife damage management.

Today, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our fourth symposium: the International Symposium on Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species. I know our Symposium’s organizing committee has strived to bring you a diverse group of international speakers….all of whom are working on the cutting edge of invasive species research, management, and …

The Political, Economic And Management History Of A Successful Exotic Eradication: The Case Of Black-Tailed Jackrabbits In One Part Of Florida, Richard M. Engeman, Bernice Constantin, Jeffrey Bunting

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Black-tailed jackrabbits are a prolific, mobile species that became established at Miami International Airport, Florida. These animals posed a potential threat for colonization through additional parts of Florida if they were able to spread beyond the expansive airport property. Moreover, their carcasses from collisions with vehicles and aircraft attracted large scavenging and predatory birds to the airport, causing potential airstrike hazards. While the jackrabbits ultimately were successfully eradicated, the political, economic and management paths to that success were convoluted. We describe that history here and how a beneficial outcome was ultimately achieved.

Managing Starlings In Australia – Can Drc-1339 Be The Answer?, Tina Bentz, Steven Lapidge, David Dall, Ronald G. Sinclair

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are one of the most abundant and widespread bird species on earth. Introduced to Australia in the late 1850s, their highly adaptive ecology has enabled them to become a major pest. Concerns include public health and safety, economic impacts, detrimental environmental effects, and bird strikes at airports. Unfortunately current Australian control methods are ineffective and more efficacious, humane methods need to be developed. A feasibility study was undertaken of the likely risks/benefits of avicide DRC 1339 (3-chloro-4-methylbenzenamine hydrochloride) in Australia. This included a risk-analysis, a multi-industry survey and non-toxic bait trials to assess target-specificity. …

The Role Of Early Detection And Rapid Response In Thwarting Amphibian And Reptile Introductions In Florida, Todd S. Campbell

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Prevention is the best policy for dealing with introduced species. However, biologists often spend an inordinate amount of time studying their spread and impacts rather than focusing on what should be done to thwart their establishment in the first place. Amphibian and reptile introductions are reaching epidemic proportions in Florida, largely due to irresponsible behavior by pet owners and the pet industry, but also due to ineffective preventive policies and actions. Prevention of additional amphibian and reptile introductions in Florida will require a comprehensive approach involving legal restrictions of certain problematic species, a massive public education effort, and a well-funded …

Ecology Of An Invasive Predator In Hawaii, Steven C. Hess, Heidi Hansen, Paul C. Banko

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Cats (Felis catus) brought to Hawaii in the 1700s now occupy most habitats throughout the islands, including montane and sublapine zones. We studied home range, population genetics, diseases, and diet of feral cats on Hawai`i Island. Feral cats on Mauna Kea live in low densities and exhibit some of the largest reported home ranges. While 95% kernel home range estimates for 4 males ( x = 1418 ha) were nearly twice as large as 3 female home ranges ( x = 772 ha), one male maintained a home range of 2050 ha. Population genetics revealed that Mauna Kea …

Considering Control Of Invasive Barred Owls To Benefit California Spotted Owls: Possible Justification And Draft Methods, Kent B. Livezey, Richard M. Engeman, Dennis F. Rock, Donald A. Yasuda

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Invasive, but native to North America, barred owls (Strix varia) are negatively affecting site occupancy, reproduction, and survival of federally threatened northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina), thereby confounding the land-based conservation strategy for northern spotted owls. Barred owls are moving southward into the range of non-federally listed California spotted owls (S. o. occidentalis), but are not, at this time or in the foreseeable future, a threat to the California spotted owl population. We recommend consideration of barred owl control in the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains, while barred owl numbers are low enough to …

Methods And Strategies For Managing Feral Hog Damage In Grain Production Areas In Central Texas, T. J. Muir, Gary Mcewen

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Texas Wildlife Services (WS) personnel conduct feral hog damage management projects to protect a variety of resources in Texas. For the past 12 years, WS personnel have conducted feral hog (Sus scrofa) damage management projects on an 11,000 acre wildlife management area (WMA) and surrounding farmlands located in central Texas. The WMA is managed by the United States (US) Army Corp of Engineers and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Surrounding areas are farmlands and the primary crops grown there are corn and grain sorghum. Feral hogs have damaged area grain crops and the US Army Corp of Engineers …

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

No abstract provided.

Developing A New Toxin For Potential Control Of Feral Cats, Stoats, And Wild Dogs In New Zealand, Elain C. Murphy, Charles T. Eason, Steve Hix, Duncan Macmorran

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

The endemic fauna of New Zealand evolved in the absence of mammalian predators and their introduction has been responsible for many extinctions and declines. Predator control will have to be on-going if some native species are to survive on the mainland. Currently, predator control relies largely on labourintensive trapping, so the development of humane predator-specific toxins would provide valuable additional control methods. Para-aminopropiophenone (PAPP) is being investigated as a toxin for feral cats (Felis catus), stoats (Mustela erminea), and wild dogs (Canis familiaris). Carnivores appear to be much more susceptible to PAPP than birds, …

Prioritization Of Action On Non-Native Species – Progress In Great Britain, Niall Moore

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

There is an increasing number of calls for action on a wide range of invasive non-native species, but only a limited resource to deal with them. It is clearly important for policy makers and others to be able to prioritize where these scarce resources are directed in order to maximize their conservation benefit. Coordination of effort, and knowledge sharing are clearly important as are risk assessment methods which attempt to quantify the risk posed by a range of species that are either present or are likely to invade. Great Britain, as an island, has advantages over continental landmasses in that …

Impacts Of Introduced Species On An Island Ecosystem: Non-Native Reptiles And Amphibians In The Us Virgin Islands, Renata J. Platenberg

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Island ecosystems are highly sensitive to the impacts of introduced species. Non-native invasive snakes, lizards, and amphibians can introduce diseases into native populations and have other deleterious effects through predation, competition, and habitat manipulation. The United States (US) Virgin Islands are situated on the Puerto Rican Shelf in the Caribbean Sea and have a long history of human impacts and species introductions. Two species, the green iguana (Iguana iguana) and the red-legged tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria) were historically introduced and have become naturalized with little apparent impact to the local ecosystem. Recent years, however, have seen the …

Climate Matching As A Tool For Predicting Potential North American Spread Of Brown Treesnakes, Gordon H. Rodda, Robert N. Reed, Catherine S. Jarnevich

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Climate matching identifies extralimital destinations that could be colonized by a potential invasive species on the basis of similarity to climates found in the species’ native range. Climate is a proxy for the factors that determine whether a population will reproduce enough to offset mortality. Previous climate matching models (e.g., Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Prediction [GARP]) for brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) were unsatisfactory, perhaps because the models failed to allow different combinations of climate attributes to influence a species’ range limits in different parts of the range. Therefore, we explored the climate space described by bivariate parameters of …

Flotation Materials For Aerial Delivery Of Acetaminophen Toxic Baits To Brown Treesnakes, Peter J. Savarie, Tom C. Mathies, Kathleen A. Fagerstone

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubes are effective bait stations for delivering dead neonatal mice (DNM) treated with the oral toxicant, 80 mg acetaminophen, to brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) in accessible jungle forest on Guam. However, PVC tubes are not practical for delivery of baits to remote areas of jungle or the forest canopy. Further, it is important that baits entangle in the canopy and not fall to the ground where they can be scavenged by non-target animals such as crabs. Data from helicopter aerial deployment of untreated DNM with radio transmitters that landed on the ground in areas of …

Population Ecology And Some Potential Impacts Of Emerging Populations Of Exotic Parrots, Douglas E. Runde, Will C. Pitt, J. T. Foster

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Parrots have been transported around the world since the 1400s and about 44 species have established populations outside of their native ranges. At least 70% of these introduced species were identified as potential agricultural pests, compared to only 15% of all parrot species. At least 74 exotic psittacines have been reported in the wild in the United States, but only nine species were considered established. Since 1990, 24 psittacine species have been sighted in the wild in Hawai`i, about 21 species regularly occur on the main islands and at least five appear established. Past history of successful introduction, recent status …

Habitattitude™: Getting A Backbone About The Pet Release Pathway, Jamie K. Reaser, N. Marshall Meyers

Managing Vertebrate Invasive Species

Many people would not consider their family complete without a pet. Unfortunately, for some pet owners, circumstances arise that prevent them from being able to properly care for their companions and pet abandonment has become one of the most common pathways of vertebrate species introduction. It is also one of the most challenging pathways to address once the animals become established, eradication and control programs face significant public scrutiny and are often challenged by “animal rights” groups. Prevention measures are thus the key to minimizing the size and impacts of the “pet release pathway.” Habitattitude™ is a proactive campaign designed …