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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
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Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Evaluation Of Private Landowner Intention To Create Early Successional Habitat In Virginia's Appalachian Region, Hannah M. Coovert
Evaluation Of Private Landowner Intention To Create Early Successional Habitat In Virginia's Appalachian Region, Hannah M. Coovert
Theses and Dissertations
As human land uses continue to expand rapidly across the landscape, the management practices of private landowners are an essential part of effective conservation of biodiversity. Conservation of early successional habitats (ESH) and the species that depend on them is a priority in the eastern United States, and efforts to create more ESH on private lands has primarily focused on forest landowners and the harvesting of timber. Private lands with significant pasture cover in a forested landscape present an additional opportunity to create and maintain ESH, yet our understanding of landowner values and attitudes about management strategies in pastures (i.e., …
Valuing Natural Space And Landscape Fragmentation In Richmond, Va, Lee Wyatt Carpenter
Valuing Natural Space And Landscape Fragmentation In Richmond, Va, Lee Wyatt Carpenter
Theses and Dissertations
Hedonic pricing methods and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) were used to evaluate relationships between sale price of single family homes and landscape fragmentation and natural land cover. Spatial regression analyses found that sale prices increase as landscapes become less fragmented and the amount of natural land cover around a home increases. The projected growth in population and employment in the Richmond, Virginia region and subsequent increases in land development and landscape fragmentation presents a challenge to sustaining intact healthy ecosystems in the Richmond region. Spatial regression analyses helped illuminate how land cover patterns influence sale prices and landscape patterns that …
Using Macroinvertebrate Community Composition To Distinguish Between Natural And Anthropogenic Sedimentation, Amanda E. Schutt
Using Macroinvertebrate Community Composition To Distinguish Between Natural And Anthropogenic Sedimentation, Amanda E. Schutt
Theses and Dissertations
Excess fine sediment from human activity is a major pollutant to streams across the U.S.; however, distinguishing human-induced sedimentation from natural fine sediment is complex. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently implemented a protocol for the quantitative field assessment of human-induced sedimentation using measurements of stream geomorphology. Macroinvertebrate community composition, streambed sediment stability, and sediment composition were studied at 49 sites in the James River watershed in central Virginia. Sediment composition was found to be a stronger driver of community composition than sediment stability. Although I was not able to show that macroinvertebrate metrics were related to sediment stability independently …
An Environmental And Economic Assessment Of Future Municipal Solid Waste Disposal: A Case Study Of Select High Growth Regions Of Virginia., Joseph Krouse
Theses and Dissertations
This research analyzed environmental and economic factors associated with municipal solid waste (MSW) management of select high growth Planning District Commissions (PDCs) of Virginia. Current MSW management scenarios were compared to future hypothetical scenarios utilizing a regional landfill or waste-to-energy (WTE) combustion facility. Life-cycle inventory and full cost accounting methods of the Municipal Solid Waste Decision Support Tool, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were utilized to estimate annualized environmental emissions and economic costs. Model results and analysis indicate that a regional landfill would be the least cost intensive MSW management strategy in comparison to current management methods; however …
An Evaluation Of Mold In Public Schools In The City Of Richmond, Va, Stephen Asante-Ansong
An Evaluation Of Mold In Public Schools In The City Of Richmond, Va, Stephen Asante-Ansong
Theses and Dissertations
Forty-three (43) schools in the City of Richmond were used for this study. The rooms in these schools that were selected for testing were those rooms in which complaints about air quality were made by school staff. Tests were done to find out the counts of the different mold species present in these schools. Air-O-Cell (AOC) samples were taken in all schools, swab samples were taken in a few and in the rest biotapes were used. Samples that were taken were analyzed and interpreted at AmeriSci Laboratories, an accredited industrial hygiene laboratory. Documentation was done for the sampling methods. Statistical …
A Gis And Remote Sensing Based Analysis Of Impervious Surface Influences On Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus) Nest Presence In The Virginia Portion Of The Chesapeake Bay, Jennifer M. Ciminelli
A Gis And Remote Sensing Based Analysis Of Impervious Surface Influences On Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus) Nest Presence In The Virginia Portion Of The Chesapeake Bay, Jennifer M. Ciminelli
Theses and Dissertations
GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and remote sensing techniques were used to predict relationships between bald eagle nest presences and land type, distance to land type and impervious surface cover area. Data plots revealed bald eagle nest presence decreases in response to an increase in area of bareland; increases with an increase in area of forested land; decreases with an increase in distance (m) to shoreline, and decreases in response to an increase in area of impervious surfaces. Logistic regression models identified impervious surfaces as an indicator for bald eagle nest presence (P 24% as unsuitable. Unsuitable area covered 17.82% of …
Sub-Lethal Effects Of Hypoxia/Hypercapnia On Callinectes Sapidus In The York River Estuary, Virginia, Sandra R. Hypes
Sub-Lethal Effects Of Hypoxia/Hypercapnia On Callinectes Sapidus In The York River Estuary, Virginia, Sandra R. Hypes
Theses and Dissertations
This research examined effects of hypoxic environments on blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus in an estuarine environment. Hypoxic conditions were treated as a multiple stressor involving low dissolved oxygen (D.O.), increased carbon dioxide (hypercapnia), and low pH concurrently. The objectives were to: 1) identify hypoxiahypercapnia by monitoring D.O. and pH as an indicator of hypercapnia in shallow regions of the York River, 2) measure blue crab abundance, and 3) describe blue crab responses to hypoxiahypercapnia via field work at Taskinas Creek and lab measurements of respiration. Ambient D.O. and pH were positively correlated in the Taskinas Creek and York River sites …