Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Environmental Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Environmental Sciences

Improvement Of A Low-Cost Diy Wave Gauge, Matthew F. Virden, Nigel A. Temple, Bret M. Webb, Eric L. Sparks May 2023

Improvement Of A Low-Cost Diy Wave Gauge, Matthew F. Virden, Nigel A. Temple, Bret M. Webb, Eric L. Sparks

The Journal of Extension

The impacts of waves on shorelines and nearshore ecosystems has highlighted the need for extension and other environmental professionals to have access to accurate and affordable wave measurements. The development of a low-cost DIY wave gauge improved the accessibility of these measurements; however, the original design was limited in battery life. Here, an improved version of the low-cost DIY wave gauge, the DIY Feather Wave Gauge, is presented with the same performance, longer battery life, smaller design, and cheaper cost along with tutorials, parts lists, and other resources. This new gauge has been used to improve shoreline management recommendations.


Effect Of Prescribed Fire And Mechanical Treatments On Northern Bobwhite Occupancy In Mesic Pine Flatwoods, Sarah K. Brown, William E. Palmer Sep 2022

Effect Of Prescribed Fire And Mechanical Treatments On Northern Bobwhite Occupancy In Mesic Pine Flatwoods, Sarah K. Brown, William E. Palmer

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

We examined whether roller-chopping, mowing, and prescribed fire used to restore groundcover in pine flatwoods habitats affected northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) occupancy. We surveyed bobwhites using repeated point counts (n = 3), April–June each year, to determine response to prescribed fire and mechanical treatments on Osceola National Forest (Osceola, 78 plots) and St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park (Sebastian, 11 plots) in Florida, USA, 2013–2019. We measured groundcover each year at randomly placed transects within 200-m radius point-count plots. To assess the importance of management covariates, we fit single season occupancy models to predict occupancy …


U.S. Public Opinion Of Reproductive Control Options For Free-Roaming Horses On Western Public Lands, S. Nicole Frey, Jeffrey L. Beck, John Derek Scasta, Loretta Singletary Jan 2022

U.S. Public Opinion Of Reproductive Control Options For Free-Roaming Horses On Western Public Lands, S. Nicole Frey, Jeffrey L. Beck, John Derek Scasta, Loretta Singletary

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Free-roaming horses (Equus ferus caballus; horses) inhabit public rangelands located primarily in 10 western U.S. states. Recent horse population increases are impacting rangeland ecosystems, native wildlife species and their habitats, and exacerbating conflicts with domestic livestock grazing. While contraceptives and physical sterilization are promising options to manage horse herd levels, public opinion concerning the use of fertility control is not well understood. To better inform policymakers, we completed a rigorous study of a random sample of public land stakeholders across the United States (n = 3,500) in 2020 using a Likert scale online survey to assess their …


Socio-Ecological Analysis Of Artisanal Gold Mining In West Africa: A Case Study Of Ghana, Richard Takyi, Rasha Hassan, Badr El Mahrad, Richard Adade Sep 2021

Socio-Ecological Analysis Of Artisanal Gold Mining In West Africa: A Case Study Of Ghana, Richard Takyi, Rasha Hassan, Badr El Mahrad, Richard Adade

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The surge in artisanal gold mining (AGM) activities and the associated environmental impact in Ghana have elicited several stakeholders' attempts to curb the problem. However, due to little understanding of the underlying issues, these efforts have been ineffective. This study aims to use a socio-ecological framework to analyze drivers of AGM activities, the environmental pressures, the state change, their impact on human welfare, and the management response as measures (DAPSI(W)R(M)) to the problem. Evaluate AGM's impact on Ghana's ability to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Data were collected from relevant literature on the subject and analyzed with …


Black Bears Recolonizing Historic Ranges: Indiana Human–Bear Interactions, Bradford J. Westrich, Emily B. Mccallen, Geriann Albers Jan 2018

Black Bears Recolonizing Historic Ranges: Indiana Human–Bear Interactions, Bradford J. Westrich, Emily B. Mccallen, Geriann Albers

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Over a century after extirpation from Indiana, USA, 2 American black bears (Ursus americanus) were confirmed in the state during the summers of 2015 and 2016. The first bear encountered a public and management agency unaccustomed to living with large carnivores, which resulted in intentional and unintentional feedings, habituation, and ultimately its euthanasia. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) attempted to learn from this encounter and began preparing for the next transient black bear. Education materials were created to help minimize human–bear interactions, promote living safely with bears, and inform about what to do when encountering a …


Retention And Efficacy Of Citizen Scientist Volunteers Of The Texas Quail Index, Kelly S. Reyna, Dale Rollins Nov 2017

Retention And Efficacy Of Citizen Scientist Volunteers Of The Texas Quail Index, Kelly S. Reyna, Dale Rollins

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The Texas Quail Index (TQI) was a 5-year, science-based project that utilized citizen scientists to collect data in the field, including 5 indices of bobwhite abundance in the spring, and 3 indices of bobwhite abundance in the fall. Over the course of the study, 84% of all volunteers dropped out of the program and <8% of all data sets were complete. Accordingly, we surveyed the volunteers by mail to determine the rate and cause of participation decline and to identify characteristics of a reliable volunteer. Results indicated that annual volunteer participation rate declined more rapidly as time and labor requirements increased. Similarly, 74.3% of survey respondents who dropped out of the study reported leaving because the project required too much time and work. Motives may have contributed to the volunteer attrition as 72% of volunteers joined the program to learn more about quail management; however 71% of those that left the program reported not gaining knowledge in that area. We recommend that project designs, for citizen-science projects, should incorporate the motives of volunteers and recruit those whose motives best align with project goals. We also recommend that citizen-science coordinators keep volunteer tasks short and within the interest of the volunteer, to increase retention. Finally, we recommend stipends for volunteers on large-scale, laborious projects.


Management And Social Indicators Of Soil Carbon Storage In A Residential Ecosystem, Midlothian, Va, Christopher M. Gough, Eliza A. Fritz Jan 2009

Management And Social Indicators Of Soil Carbon Storage In A Residential Ecosystem, Midlothian, Va, Christopher M. Gough, Eliza A. Fritz

Virginia Journal of Science

Soil carbon storage- defined here as carbon mass per unit ground area- is an important ecosystem service, sequestering carbon that might otherwise exist in atmospheric CO2 . Significant attention has focused on the effects that humans have on carbon cycling, but little is known about how human behaviors and attitudes relate to lawn carbon storage. The objectives of this study were to conduct household surveys in concert with soil carbon sampling in a 10-year-old exurban neighborhood near Richmond, Virginia to quantify differences in soil carbon storage between residential lawns and mixed pine-hardwood forest fragments, and to determine how lawn …


Climate. Renewables: Old Problem, New Answers, Michael Eckhart Jul 2007

Climate. Renewables: Old Problem, New Answers, Michael Eckhart

New England Journal of Public Policy

The article offers information on the first Agricultural Renewable Energy Forum to be held in New York on December 3, 2008.


Risk Is More Than Just A Number, Wim F. Passchier, Wim C. Reij Mar 1997

Risk Is More Than Just A Number, Wim F. Passchier, Wim C. Reij

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Summarizes efforts by the Health Council of the Netherlands to develop a national risk management approach.


Using Management Techniques To Solve Environmental Problems, Patrick D. Kelly Jun 1990

Using Management Techniques To Solve Environmental Problems, Patrick D. Kelly

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Arguing that little effective progress is being made in solving problems of varying urgency, this paper suggests a leadership role for science and engineering societies. It proposes that such societies attempt to prioritize problems and attempt to focus public awareness (and calls to action) in a more systematic way.