Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Embodied Carbon: A Framework For Prioritizing And Reducing Emissions In The Building Industry, Natalie C. Wheating

Master's Projects and Capstones

Global climate change is one of the most impactful environmental issues in modern times, and the construction industry is known to be one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions—one of the key causes of climate change. Embodied carbon emissions of buildings are an often overlooked, but significant, influencer of a building’s overall carbon footprint. This gives rise to the need for improved life cycle analysis of buildings and identification of opportunities to reduce the total carbon footprint of a building throughout its life cycle. This paper analyzes the current state of the building industry that limits the ...

The Relationship Between Wildfire Dynamics And Soil Carbon In Boreal Forests Of Alaska: Forest Management For Emissions Reduction In A Changing Climate, James D. Heaster

Master's Projects and Capstones

The boreal region of Alaska has vast forests spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometers in the central portion of the state that is prone to large stand replacing summer wildfires. The region stores considerable quantities of terrestrial carbon sequestered in soil horizons down to 1 meter in depth that are strongly influenced by a combination of climate change, permafrost dynamics, vegetative composition, and fire regimes. Data and literature establish that the boreal region of Alaska (and the rest of the Arctic) has been steadily warming at a rate nearly double that of lower latitudes. This warming has resulted in ...

Effects Of Ponderosa Pine Ecological Restoration On Forest Soils And Understory Vegetation In Northern Arizona, Elena M. Thomas, Kenneth W. Farrish, Brian P. Oswald, Melinda G. Shaw-Faulkner, Scott R. Abella

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The human exclusion of wildfire and overgrazing by livestock since settlement have caused dramatic changes in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl ex Laws) forest ecosystems. These changes include increased numbers of tree stems, reduced understory cover and diversity, and the introduction of invasive, non-native understory species. This study evaluated the coverage and species composition of understory vegetation present in the “cool-season” (late spring and early summer) in a ponderosa pine forest on grazed and ungrazed plots that had undergone restoration treatments on three different soil/geologic parent material types near Flagstaff, Arizona, twelve years after tree thinning and grazing exclosure ...

Management Of Predators, Prey, And Aviation Safety At Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland: Can Coyotes Help Reduce Deer Strike Hazards?, Robert Lewis

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports

In the past 100 years, coyotes (Canis latrans) have expanded their range eastward. During their expansion, coyotes hybridized with gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the north and red wolves (Canis rufus) in the south. Coyotes were historically occupants of the plains, but now may be found in environments as varied as the sagebrush steppe, deserts, swamps, and inner cities. St. Mary’s County, MD, home to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (Pax River), was one of the last counties in the country to be colonized by coyotes. Pax River is a research and development/flight test and evaluation center, and ...

Heterogeneity Of Avian Breeding Habitat On Grazing Lands Of The Northern Great Plains, Maggi S. Sliwinski

Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources

Native rangelands in the Great Plains are largely privately owned and used for beef production. Vegetation heterogeneity is important for maintaining biodiversity, but private land may be more homogenous than desired. My research had two components: 1) to examine whether a variety of grazing strategies created vegetation heterogeneity in a large, intact rangeland, and 2) to understand beef producers’ attitudes about vegetation heterogeneity.

First, I sampled vegetation structure, composition, and bird abundance at multiple plots on eleven management units in Cherry County, Nebraska. Units were managed with commonly used grazing strategies (e.g., short-duration grazing and season-long continuous grazing). I ...

Problematizing Socio-Scientific Issues: An Approach To Understanding Student Decision-Making Using Construal Level Theory, Ashley M. Peterson

Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources

Socio-scientific issues (SSIs) are challenges at the intersection of science and everyday life that require use of scientific knowledge, argumentation skills, personal values, and morals to articulate science-informed decisions. While addressing SSIs, the ways in which individuals define a problem will influence the solution or decision reached. The problem definition can differ along many dimensions, including content and construal level. A construal is a mental construction of the past and future, other places and people, and unlikely events. Construal Level Theory (CLT) suggests pro-environmental intentions are associated with abstract situations. I explore the application of CLT to teaching and learning ...

Integration Of Hydrogeophysical Datasets For Improved Water Resource Management In Irrigated Systems, Catherine E. Finkenbiner

Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources

Water scarcity is predicted to be the major limitation to increasing agronomic outputs to meet future food and fiber demands. With the agricultural sector accounting for 80 – 90% of all consumptive water use and an average water use efficiency (WUE) of less than 45%, major advances must be made in irrigation water management. Precision agriculture, specifically variable-rate irrigation (VRI) and variable-speed irrigation (VSI) systems, offers the technologies to address and manage for infield variability and incorporate that into management decisions. The major limitation to implementing this technology often lies in the management of spatial datasets and the development of irrigation ...

Rock Art Management And Landscape Change: Mixed Field Assessment Techniques For Cultural Stone Decay, Kaelin M. Groom

Theses and Dissertations

As tourism continues to grow as one of the world’s most ubiquitous markets, the development and promotion of non-invasive techniques for cultural stone decay analysis and landscape change are vital to establishing conditional base-lines to best aid cultural heritage management (CRM) efficacy. Using rock art as a medium, this dissertation presents three independent case studies employing the Rock Art Stability Index (RASI) and repeat photography to explore the merits of mixed rapid field assessment techniques in relation to CRM and heritage tourism. While rock art is only one example of irreplaceable world heritage resources, examining how they decay and ...

Influence Of Stream Permanence, Predation, And Invasive Species On Crayfish In The Ozark Highlands With An Emphasis On Species Of Greatest Conservation Need (Orconectes Marchandi, Orconectes Eupunctus And Cambarus Hubbsi), Allyson Noelle Yarra

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the ecological importance of crayfish and the increasing vulnerability of freshwater systems due to habitat loss, invasive species, and hydrologic alteration, understanding crayfish-environment relationships is crucial in the context of aquatic species conservation. I sought to examine the influence of hydrologic variation among intermittent and permanent streams on crayfish occupancy, abundance, predation risk, and potential vulnerability to invasive species effects. I conducted crayfish and environmental data sampling during two consecutive summers across 20 Ozark streams of differing permanence levels (10 intermittent, 10 permanent). In these same streams, I conducted fish and scat surveys over the course of four ...

Elucidating The Effects Of Thiamethoxam Neonicotinoid On Honey Bee Learning Using The Proboscis Extension Response, David J. Shepherd

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this study, the effects of the neonicotinoid pesticide, thiamethoxam, are examined through the Proboscis Extension Response (PER) in honey bees (Apis mellifera). PER is a form of classical conditioning applied to honey bees through scent and reward association which quantifies learning rates. Results between groups treated with thiamethoxam did not differ significantly from untreated control groups. Potential reasons for these results are discussed. The method and experimental apparatus for testing the PER assay are also discussed.

Estimation Of Juvenile Striped Bass Relative Abundance In The Virginia Portion Of Chesapeake Bay: Annual Progress Report 2016-2017, Brian K. Gallagher, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey

Reports

The 2016 Striped Bass juvenile abundance index was 5.15 and was not significantly different from the reference mean of 7.77 observed in 1980-2009. Abundance indices in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in 2016 were not significantly different than their historic averages (1967-2015). Juvenile White Perch abundance indices in 2016 were near historic averages in the York and Rappahannock rivers, but below the historic average in the James River. Because a new seine net was used during the 2016 survey, catches of Striped Bass and White Perch were adjusted using preliminary calibration factors derived from paired hauls of ...

Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Report 2016, Susanna Musick, Lewis Gillingham

Reports

Through 2016, the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program (VGFTP) has maintained a 21-year database of records for tagged and recaptured fish. The program is a cooperative project of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament (VSFT) under the Virginia Marine Resources Commission-(VMRC) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) of the College of William and Mary (under the VIMS Marine Advisory Program).

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia's Rivers : 2016 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Rob Latour, Patrick Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the nineteenth year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2016, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007). We also report on a new fishery-independent monitoring program using staked gillnets to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run of river herring (A. pseudoharengus, and A. aestivalis) in the Rappahannock River. Data are also reported from two separate fishery-independent monitoring ...

Influences Of Catch-And-Release Angling On Fish Avoidance Behavior, Alexis D. Fedele

Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources

Newly opened recreational fisheries provide the opportunity to explore direct social impacts on controlled (i.e., managed), naïve (i.e., previously unexploited by anglers) population of fish. Herein, we examine the direct influence of angling on wild fish populations, and aim to identify the behavioral outcomes in fish resulting from angling through laboratory experiments. Using two naïve fish populations from newly opened reservoirs in Nebraska, we assessed the short-term (30 d) response of fish populations to recreational angling. At one reservoir, we noted declining catch rates in catch-and-release regulated fish but not in harvested-regulated fish. We hypothesized that catch-and-released fish ...

Trap-Neuter-Return Programs And The Importance Of Associated Public Awareness, Nicolette Sliwa

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The focus of this paper is to describe a typical Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program and highlight the major pros and cons surrounding this somewhat controversial method of managing the overwhelming free-roaming cat population. The effects of the species’ overabundance on the environment and human health are also discussed. Citing studies completed on TNR programs around the globe as well as mathematical models, the effectiveness of this method is compared to other, currently used alternatives. Finally, it has been suggested that the general awareness level a neighborhood possesses about the true goals of TNR programs has a potentially significant impact on the ...

Public Perception Of Leadership In The Municipal Solid Waste Sector, Allison Creeger

Environmental Studies Undergraduate Student Theses

No abstract provided.

The Giving Trees: The (Un)Sustainability Of Palm Oil In Indonesia, Amber Rosche

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Palm oil is the main source of cooking oil for much of Africa, Asia and Brazil. Due to the increasingly high demand for palm oil, countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia have cleared millions of acres of tropical rainforests to create space for oil palm plantations. This deforestation has led to extreme environmental and social concerns such as the burning of peatlands, the endangerment of a number of species, including the Sumatran Tiger, rhinos and orangutans, and the displacement of native populations. Indonesia is the world’s largest consumer and producer of palm oil, producing almost half of the world ...

Measuring Plant-Wide Energy Savings, J. Kelly Kissock, Carl Eger

J. Kelly Kissock

This paper presents a general method for measuring plant-wide industrial energy savings and demonstrates the method using a case study from an actual industrial energy assessment. The method uses regression models to characterize baseline energy use. It takes into account changes in weather and production, and can use sub-metered data or whole plant utility billing data. In addition to calculating overall savings, the method is also able to disaggregate savings into components, which provides additional insight into the effectiveness of the individual savings measures. Although the method incorporates search techniques and multi-variable least-squares regression, it is easily implemented using data ...

Estimating Relative Abundance Of Young-Of-The-Year American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Virginia Tributaries Of Chesapeake Bay, Spring 2016, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey

Reports

American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) is a valuable commercial species along the Atlantic coast of North America from New Brunswick to Florida. In the U.S., harvests have declined, with similar patterns occurring in the Canadian Maritime Provinces (Meister and Flagg 1997). An average of 62% of the annual landings of U.S. commercial harvest since 1993 have come from the Chesapeake Bay (personal communication from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division, 9 February 2015). In 2013, Virginia commercial landings were approximately 100,298 lbs; since mandatory reporting began in 1993, average annual landings in Virginia have been 193 ...

Tracking Decadal Changes In Striped Bass Recruitment: A Calibration Study Of Seine Surveys In Chesapeake Bay, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey, Olivia M. Philips, Brian K. Gallagher

Reports

In this study we estimated calibration factors necessary to maintain the long‐term integrity of the juvenile striped bass surveys in the Chesapeake Bay region. These surveys provide annual indices of recruitment (estimated as juvenile fish abundance in summer) and are used by fisheries managers in Virginia and Maryland to inform adjustments of annual harvest limits for striped bass from the commercial and recreational fisheries in Chesapeake Bay. During the multi‐decadal history of the survey, a potentially influential change occurred: VIMS deployed a net (the VA net) with a mesh material that differed from the standard net that MD ...