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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
A Performance Evaluation Of Architectural Coatings To Preserve Aerosol Paint On Concrete, Riley Morris
A Performance Evaluation Of Architectural Coatings To Preserve Aerosol Paint On Concrete, Riley Morris
All Theses
The growing movement of assigning cultural and heritage value to graffiti and street art is one without a preservation solution to ensure the longevity of these works in-situ in an outdoor environment. The goal of this thesis was to provide a comprehensive evaluation of six architectural topcoats’ performance when applied as a conservation treatment to outdoor aerosol graffiti and street art on concrete substrate. An artist’s quality, durable, color-fast spray-paint was applied to twenty-eight concrete test panels to mimic the application of graffiti or street art. Six topcoats, Prosoco SC-1, Prosoco Gloss n’ Guard WB, Keim Faceal Oleo HD®, Keim …
Isolated And Ephemeral Wetlands Of Southern Appalachia: Biotic Communities And Environmental Drivers Across Multiple Temporal And Spatial Scales, Joanna Hawley
All Dissertations
Throughout the world, wetlands are known to support a wide variety of taxa as well as high levels of biodiversity and species richness. Although the ecological significance of wetlands is well documented in the scientific literature, efforts to map and assess wetlands on regional or national scales (e.g., National Wetlands Inventory (NWI)) often overlook wetlands which are either very small (< 1 ha) or have ephemeral hydroperiods. While the vast majority of wetland research in the southeastern United States has focused on wetlands distributed across the coastal plain ecoregion, very little information exists on small and/or ephemeral wetlands in areas of southern Appalachia, although there are several notable exceptions. Despite the paucity of small wetland data in this region, the southeastern US is known as a hotspot for both aquatic biodiversity and species endemism. My goal with this project was to examine the biotic communities inhabiting small, ephemeral and geographically-isolated wetlands to identify the major environmental drivers that contribute to observed community patterns and species' distributions. I studied a set of small, mostly-ephemeral, mostly-isolated wetlands (N = 41) in the upper Piedmont and lower Blue Ridge ecoregions of South Carolina from January-June of 2010 and 2011 and focused my efforts on describing the structure, biotic communities and surrounding habitat characteristics of my study wetlands. I observed high levels of species richness and biodiversity in this previously-undocumented wetland system, despite the small size and ephemeral nature of study wetlands. My results indicated that the amphibian and benthic invertebrate communities of small, ephemeral wetlands responded to different environmental drivers (e.g., wetland depth, area, hydroperiod, canopy cover, surrounding land use types) occurring across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Additionally, the amphibian community was significantly influenced by a number of environmental variables occurring at both the within-pond scale and larger spatial scales (250 m, 500 m and 1 km surrounding land cover variables). By contrast, the benthic invertebrate community was significantly influenced primarily by variables occurring at the within-pond scale. This wetland system also served as both breeding and overwintering habitat for a variety of species such as wood frogs (Lithobates sylvatica), spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum), bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeiana), cricket frogs (Acris crepitans). This study highlights the ecological importance of small, ephemeral aquatic habitats in a region where little research exists regarding such systems; these often-unnoticed ecosystems are likely the result of a combination of historical anthropogenic and natural environmental process. These legacy wetlands (i.e., wetlands that are the unintended result of some human-induced environmental change in either the recent or long-term past) are found ubiquitously across the landscape and are often missed by coarse-filter mapping approaches (e.g., National Wetlands Inventory). I observed many study wetlands to be extremely small in size (< 0.05 ha) and that many wetlands were habitats of circumstance and opportunity rather than of permanence and predictability. The ephemerality of the majority of study wetlands demonstrates the biological significance of small, temporary habitats for many species requiring these habitats for breeding activity. Despite the small size and ephemeral nature of my study wetlands, I found that these wetlands represented a large proportion of amphibian biodiversity in the regional species pool and thus, are an important conservation feature at the local, landscape and regional scales. My study demonstrates that small, semi-isolated, mostly-ephemeral wetlands in southern Appalachia support high levels of biodiversity and are an important asset deserving of further study and conservation recognition.
Avian Community Response To Fire-Mediated Regeneration Of Native Pine Stands In The Mountains Of South Carolina, Curtis Walker
Avian Community Response To Fire-Mediated Regeneration Of Native Pine Stands In The Mountains Of South Carolina, Curtis Walker
All Theses
To assess the impacts of fire disturbance management on the avian community at Jocassee gorges in the mountains of South Carolina, a total of 1000 10-minute, 50 m radius point counts were conducted in treatment and control plots during the spring breeding seasons of 2011 and 2012. Comparisons of avian communities were made between the burned treatment sites and reference control sites to examine community and priority species response to prescribed fire. Values of species diversity, species richness, and total number of individuals were found to be significantly higher in the burned treatment plots than in the control plots as …
Adaptation Of Regional Representative Soil Project And Soil Judging For Cameroon, Celestine Che
Adaptation Of Regional Representative Soil Project And Soil Judging For Cameroon, Celestine Che
All Dissertations
Representative regional soils have agricultural, cultural, economic, environmental, and historical importance to Cameroon. Twenty seven regional representative soils have been identified in Cameroon. A set of laboratory exercises, assignments and exam questions have been developed utilizing the Regional Representative Soil Project (RRSP) that gives students an opportunity to practice interpretation of soil series descriptions, taxonomic classes, soil forming factors, and soil physical and chemical properties. The RRSP can be further enhanced and complemented with Soil Judging. Conventional soil judging as practiced in the United States has been adapted for Cameroon by a graduate student from that country using an undergraduate-level …
Attaining Sustainable Behavior Among Non-Environmentally-Motivated Individuals: A Formative Experiment, Brooklynn Wynveen
Attaining Sustainable Behavior Among Non-Environmentally-Motivated Individuals: A Formative Experiment, Brooklynn Wynveen
All Dissertations
Experts agree that overconsumption is a major problem in Western culture today, particularly in the United States. Thus, it is important to promote sustainable behavior among the general public. And yet, existing educational programming geared toward promoting such behavior changes remains appealing largely to environmentally-motivated audiences, as opposed to individuals with alternative (i.e., social and economic) motivations. In response to this discrepancy, I conducted a formative experiment with the goals of: 1) fostering participation among non-environmentally-motivated individuals in sustainable living educational programming; and 2) obtaining behavior change commitments, in the direction of more sustainable lifestyles, from those participants.
As part …
Examination Of Qualitative Methodology Usefulness In Assessing Management Effectiveness Of Protected Areas: A Case Study Of Mexico, Carla Mora-Trejos
Examination Of Qualitative Methodology Usefulness In Assessing Management Effectiveness Of Protected Areas: A Case Study Of Mexico, Carla Mora-Trejos
All Theses
Parks and Protected Areas (PAs) are an important approach for conservation of cultural and natural diversity worldwide (Bruner 2001; McNeely 1994; Rao & Geisler 1990). Their long term success depends on effective management in relation to the goals set forth for the PA. Measuring this can be complex and challenging and has been done in a variety of ways in order to better get at the answer of how to measure management effectiveness. The purpose of this research was to develop and test qualitative methodology designed to explore management effectiveness using all six elements from the WCPA framework (Hockings et …
Developing A Management Tool To Estimate Unmarked Puma (Puma Concolor) Populations With A Remote Camera Array, Megan Pitman
Developing A Management Tool To Estimate Unmarked Puma (Puma Concolor) Populations With A Remote Camera Array, Megan Pitman
All Theses
Puma (Puma concolor) ecological research, puma management, and puma conservation require a technique to efficiently estimate puma populations. Adequate population estimates for pumas are difficult to produce due to natural history characteristics of the species. Remote camera arrays present a promising new tool for surveying cryptic mammals, but techniques for estimating population levels of unmarked animals or species that are difficult to individually identify in photographs are needed. Our goal was to develop techniques to (1) determine the camera effort needed to detect resident pumas with 95% certainty and (2) estimate puma population density for unmarked pumas with a remote …
Risk Assessment Of Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard For Grassland Birds At The Mcentire Air National Guard Station, Eastover, South Carolina, Marla Hamilton
Risk Assessment Of Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard For Grassland Birds At The Mcentire Air National Guard Station, Eastover, South Carolina, Marla Hamilton
All Theses
ABSTRACT
There are strict regulations surrounding vegetation management at military airfields for the purpose of reducing Bird Aircraft Strike Hazards (B.A.S.H.). At military installations vegetation heights are set between 17 to 38 cm to discourage the use of animal species such as flocking birds, soarers (e.g. raptors), large wading birds (e.g. herons), and waterfowl that create hazards to flying aircraft. Within designated clear zones, managers have typically promoted the growth of non - non-native grasses without much consideration for how these plantings might impact B.A.S.H. potential, bird occupancy, or avian conservation. Grasslands and grassland associated avifauna are among the 'highest …