Sustainability Commons^™

5th Annual Sustainability Report, Saint Mary's College Of California

Sustainability Report

No abstract provided.

Resource Assessment Report Temperate Demersal Elasmobranch Resource Of Western Australia, Matias Braccini, Nick Blay, S. A. Hesp, Brett Molony

Fisheries research reports

This document provides a cumulative description and assessment of the TDER and all of the fishing activities (i.e. fisheries / fishing sectors) affecting this resource in WA. Future Resource Assessment Reports will assess the Statewide Sharks and Rays Resource. The report is focused on the temperate indicator species (whiskery, gummy, dusky and sandbar sharks) used to assess the suites of demersal sharks and rays that comprise this resource. These species are primarily captured by demersal gillnets used in the TDGDLF that operate in the West Coast and South Coast Bioregions. For the North Coast bioregion, no commercial fishing for sharks …

Resource Assessment Report: Temperate Demersal Elasmobranch Resource Of Western Australia, Matias Braccini, Nick Blay, S. A. Hesp, Brett Molony

Fisheries research reports

This document provides a cumulative description and assessment of the Temperate Demersal Elasmobranch Resource (TDER) and all of the fishing activities (i.e. fisheries / fishing sectors) affecting this resource in WA. Future Resource Assessment Reports will assess the State-wide sharks and rays resource.

The report is focused on the temperate indicator species (whiskery, gummy, dusky and sandbar sharks) used to assess the suites of demersal sharks and rays that comprise this resource. These species are primarily captured by demersal gillnets used in the Temperate Demersal Gillnet and Demersal Longline Fisheries (TDGDLF) that operate in the West Coast and South Coast …

Global Warming And The Sweetness Of Life : A Tar Sands Tale | Matt Hern, Liberal Arts Division, History, Philosophy, + The Social Sciences Department, Ncss Graduate Program

Nature-Culture-Sustainability Studies (NCSS) Lectures

Lecture, October 18, 2018. 6:15 pm, Room 521, College Building. The Liberal Arts division and the department of History, Philosophy + the Social Sciences welcome writer/activist Matt Hern for a talk called Global Warming and the Sweetness of Life: A Tar Sands Tale. Hern is co-author of the recent book Global Warming and the Sweetness of Life (MIT, 2018), which charts multiple trips through the tar sands of northern Alberta and documents the effects of global warming on indigenous communities. Hern and co-creators Am Johal and Joe Sacco offer new forms of thinking about global warming and ecological perils in …

Displacement: People, Culture, And Design Practice | A Presentation And Response To Life Lived In An Age Of Reconfigurations | Tony Fry, Liberal Arts Division, Ncss Graduate Program

Nature-Culture-Sustainability Studies (NCSS) Lectures

Lecture, September 5, 2018. 1:30 pm, Room 412 College Building, 2 College Street, Providence, RI 02903. In this talk Tony Fry will discuss the importance of design and the liberal arts. He will go on to suggest ways in which design understood as a form of politics will be central for building sustainable futures in radically changing times.

This event is sponsored by the Division of Liberal Arts graduate programs in Global Arts and Cultures and Nature-Culture-Sustainability Studies.

Tony Fry is one of the world’s leading scholars in the philosophy of design. He is the author of over 12 books …

Sdstate Sustainability Newsletter: Vol. 3 Issue 1, Jennifer Mclaughlin

SD State Sustainability Newsletter

Content:
SDSU Launches Sustainability Minor
Upcoming Events
While You Were Away
Recycling Update
Sustainability Tidbits

Australian Herring And West Australian Salmon Scientific Workshop Report, October 2017, Brent S. Wise, Brett W. Molony

Fisheries research reports

A scientific workshop was held on 25th – 29th September 2017 to review available data for Australian herring (Arripis georgianus) and determine current stock status using the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s (DPIRD) Risk-based Weight of Evidence Approach. Recommendations for future monitoring and assessments required to reduce uncertainties and establish sustainable catch levels were also made. Similar discussions were undertaken to establish monitoring and assessment approaches for establishing sustainable catch levels for West Australian salmon (Arripis truttaceus). The workshop was attended by DPIRD and non-DPIRD scientists, fishery managers from DPIRD and South Australia, commercial …

Australian Herring And West Australian Salmon Scientific Workshop Report, October 2017, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Fisheries research reports

No abstract provided.

Science, Advocacy, Policy, Planning: Tools For Advancing Transportation Equity, Garrett S. Mcallister

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The theme of this portfolio is how different tools and approaches can be used for advancing transportation equity. Broadly defined, transportation equity is about fairness in transportation. There are a number of ways this fairness can be assessed. The most common way to assess transportation equity is by looking at the fairness of outcomes, distributed geographically, socially, or even by mode of transportation. Equity can also be defined by the fairness of processes. The first half of the portfolio illustrates some of the problems with the current transportation system and how it is unhealthy (Piece 1) and unjust (Piece 2). …

Sdstate Sustainability Newsletter: Vol. 2 Issue 4, Jennifer Mclaughlin

SD State Sustainability Newsletter

Content:
More than Just the Environment
Earth Day Quiz
The Big Event
Climate Change & You
Sustainability Tidbeits

A Naturalist’S Guide To The Great Plains, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This book documents nearly 500 US and Canadian locations where wildlife refuges, nature preserves, and similar properties protect natural sites that lie within the North American Great Plains, from Canada’s Prairie Provinces to the Texas-Mexico border. Information on site location, size, biological diversity, and the presence of especially rare or interesting flora and fauna are mentioned, as well as driving directions, mailing addresses, and phone numbers or internet addresses, as available. US federal sites include 11 national grasslands, 13 national parks, 16 national monuments, and more than 70 national wildlife refuges. State properties include nearly 100 state parks and wildlife …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Aquatic Barriers Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Aquatic barriers is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Aquatic barriers measures the relative degree to which road-stream crossings (i.e., bridges and culverts) and dams may physically impede upstream and downstream movement of aquatic organisms, particularly fish. It is derived from a custom algorithm (see below for details) applied to dams and derived road-stream crossings. Briefly, each dam has an aquatic barrier score based either on dam height or attributes indicating whether the dam has a partial/complete breach. Similarly, …

University Of North Florida Environmental Center Annual Report 2018, Maria Mark, James W. Taylor, John Aloszka

Annual Reports

2018 Annual Report of the Environmental Center at the University of North Florida

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Habitat Loss, Mowing And Plowing, Microclimate Alterations, Edge Predators, Domestic Predators, Invasive Plants, And Invasive Earthworms Metrics, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

This document describes a suite of stressor metrics that assess different aspects of the effects of roads and development on ecological integrity (see technical document on integrity, McGarigal et al 2017). They share a common algorithm, but each has unique parameters. These metrics are obviously highly correlated, but each assesses a different aspect of the effects of roads and development on ecological integrity. These metrics are elements of the ecological integrity analysis of the Designing Sustainable Landscapes (DSL) project (McGarigal et al 2017). Consisting of a composite of 21 stressor and resiliency metrics, the index of ecological integrity (IEI) assesses …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Terrestrial Barriers Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan B. Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Terrestrial barriers is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Terrestrial barriers measures the relative degree to which roads and railroads may physically impede movement of terrestrial organisms. It is derived by assigning an expertderived score to each road/railroad class to reflect the increasing physical impediment of larger roads, and adjusting these scores at road-stream crossings (i.e., bridge or culvert) based either on a custom algorithm applied to field measurements of the crossing structure or predictions from a statistical model …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Biomass Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Vegetation biomass is an effective descriptor of the net primary productivity of an ecosystem. As such, it is a fundamental component of the ecosystem's trophic dynamics. In addition, vegetation biomass is an effective proxy for the successional development (or seral stage) of vegetation following a disturbance. Biomass is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Specifically, biomass measures the estimated above-ground live biomass (Mg/ha) of undeveloped forested (including forested wetlands) cells in 2010 based primarily on a spectral analysis of …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Topographic Wetness And Flow Volume Settings Variables, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Topographic wetness and flow volume are two of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). These variables are two ways of assessing the flow of water; they share an underlying algorithm. Topographic wetness gives an estimate of the amount of moisture at any point in the landscape based on topography, which has a major effect on species habitat, soils, and the nutrient cycle. It ranges, in arbitrary units, from low values at hilltops and steep upper slopes to high values in low, …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Tides Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan B. Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Tides is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Tides estimates the probability that a point is intertidal or subtidal. It is derived from a logistic regression model using tide range and elevation to distinguish mapped salt marshes from uplands.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Development Settings Variable, Hard Development Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Development and hard development are two of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Development represents all development, scaled from 0 to 10 by development intensity. Hard development is a subset of development, with a value of 1 for very high intensity development only. Both layers come from DSLland, the primary landcover map. These are dynamic settings variables, increasing with future urban growth.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Substrate Mobility Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan B. Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Substrate mobility is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Substrate mobility measures the realized mobility of the physical substrate, due to both substrate composition (e.g., sand) and exposure to forces (wind and water) that transport material. This is an important attribute of certain dynamic systems (e.g., coastal dune systems); given as a simple index of mobility (1 = stable, 10 = highly mobile). Substrate mobility is assigned by landcover class, derived from expert opinion. This settings variable is dynamic, …

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Wind Exposure Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Wind exposure is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Wind exposure gives the mean sustained wind speed (m/s) at 50 m height. High wind speeds can shape natural communities, especially on exposed high peaks.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Water Salinity Settings Variable, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

Water salinity is one of several ecological settings variables that collectively characterize the biophysical setting of each 30 m cell at a given point in time (McGarigal et al 2017). Salinity, which varies from 0‰ in freshwater to 30‰ in seawater, is a major driver of aquatic systems, as very few organisms can survive across this full range.

Designing Sustainable Landscapes: Index Of Ecological Integrity, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

The index of ecological integrity (IEI) is a measure of relative intactness (i.e., freedom from adverse human modifications and disturbance) and resiliency to environmental change (i.e., capacity to recover from or adapt to changing environmental conditions driven by human land use and climate change). It is a composite index derived from up to 21 different landscape metrics, each measuring a different aspect of intactness (e.g., road traffic intensity, percent impervious) and/or resiliency (e.g., ecological similarity, connectedness) and applied to each 30 m cell (see technical document on integrity, McGarigal et al 2017). The index is scaled 0-1 by ecological system …

Ecological Integrity Metrics: All Integrity Data Products, Kevin Mcgarigal, Brad Compton, Ethan B. Plunkett, Bill Deluca, Joanna Grand

Data and Datasets

The ecological integrity products represent a set of metrics corresponding to our ecosystem-based ecological assessment in 2010 (see Integrity document for details). The ecological integrity metrics include a variety of measures of intactness and resiliency. The individual metrics are also combined into a composite local index of ecological integrity (IEI).