Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Considering The Use Of The Terms Strain And Adaptation In Prion Research, Robert M. Zink

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Evolutionary biologists and disease biologists use the terms strain and adaptation in Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) research in different ways. In evolutionary biology, a strain is a nascent genetic lineage that can be described by a genealogy, and a phylogenetic nomenclature constructed to reflect that genealogy. Prion strains are described as showing distinct host range, clinical presentation, disease progression, and neuropathological and PrP biochemical profiles, and lack information that would permit phylogenetic reconstruction of their history. Prion strains are alternative protein conformations, sometimes derived from the same genotype. I suggest referring to prion strains as ecotypes, because the variant phenotypic …

Testing A Global Standard For Quantifying Species Recovery And Assessing Conservation Impact, Molly K. Grace, H Resit Akcakaya, Elizabeth L. Bennett, Thomas M. Brooks, Anna Heath, Simon Hedges, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Michael Hoffmann, Axel Hochkirch, Richard Jenkins, David A. Keith, Barney Long, David P. Mallon, Erik Meijaard, E.J. Milner-Gulland, Jon Paul Rodriguez, P J. Stephenson, Simon N. Stuart, Richard P. Young, Pablo Acebes, Joanna Alfaro-Shigueto, Silvia Alvarez-Clare, Raphali Rodlis Andriantsimanarilafy, Marina Arbetman, Claudio Azat, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Ruchi Badola, Luis M.D. Barcelos, Joao Pedro Barreiros, Sayanti Basak, Danielle J. Berger, Sabuj Bhattacharyya, Gilad Bino, Paulo A.V. Borges, Raoul K. Boughton, H Jane Brockmann, Hannah L. Buckley, Ian J. Burfield, James Burton, Teresa Camacho-Badani, Luis Santiago Cano-Alonso, Ruth H. Carmichael, Christina Carrero, John P. Carroll, Giorgos Catsadorakis, David G. Chapple, Guillaume Chapron, Gawsia Wahidunnessa Chowdhury, Louw Claassens, Donatella Cogoni, Rochelle Constantine, Christie Anne Craig, Andrew A. Cunningham, Nishma Dahal, Jennifer C. Daltry, Goura Chandra Das, Niladri Dasgupta, Alexandra Davey, Katharine Davies, Pedro Develey, Vanitha Elangovan, David Fairclough, Mirko Di Febbraro, Giuseppe Fenu, Fernando Moreira Fernandes, Eduardo Pinheiro Fernandez, Brittany Finucci, Rita Foldesi, Catherine M. Foley, Matthew Ford, Michael R.J. Forstner, Nestor Garcia, Ricardo Garcia-Sandoval, Penny C. Gardner, Roberto Garibay-Orijel, Marites Gatan-Balbas, Irene Gauto, Mirza Ghazanfar Ullah Ghazi, Stephanie S. Godfrey, Matthew Gollock, Benito A. Gonzalez, Tandora D. Grant, Thomas Gray, Andrew J. Gregory, Roy H.A. Van Grunsven, Marieka Gryzenhout, Noelle C. Guernsey, Garima Gupta, Christina Hagen, Christian A. Hagen, Madison B. Hall, Eric Hallerman, Kelly Hare, Tom Hart, Ruston Hartdegen, Yvette Harvey-Brown, Richard Hatfield, Tahneal Hawke, Claudia Hermes, Rod Hitchmough, Pablo Melo Hoffmann, Charlie Howarth, Michael A. Hudson, Syed Ainul Hussain, Charlie Huveneers, Helene Jacques, Dennis Jorgensen, Suyash Katdare, Lydia K.D. Katsis, Rahul Kaul, Boaz Kaundra-Arara, Lucy Keith-Diagne, Daniel T. Kraus, Thales Moreira De Lima, Ken Lindeman, Jean Linsky, Edward Louis Jr., Anna Loy, Eimear Nic Lughadha, Jeffrey C. Mangel, Paul E. Marinari, Gabriel M. Martin, Gustavo Martinelli, Philip J.K. Mcgowan, Alistair Mcinnes, Eduardo Teles Barbosa Mendes, Michael J. Millard, Claire Mirande, Daniel Money, Joanne M. Monks, Carolina Laura Morales, Nazia Noareen Mumu, Raquel Negrao, Anh Ha Nguyen, Nazmul Hasan Niloy Md., Grant Leslie Norbury, Cale Nordmeyer, Darren Norris, Mark O'Brien, Gabriela Akemi Oda, Simone Orsengio, Mark Evan Outerbridge, Stesha Pasachnik, Juan Carlos Perez-Jimenez, Charlotte Pike, Fred Pilkington, Glenn Plumb, Rita De Cassia Quitete Portela, Ana Prohaska, Manuel G. Quintana, Eddie Fanantenana Rakotondrasoa, Dustin H. Ranglack, Hassan Rankou, Ajay Prakash Rawat, James Thomas Reardon, Marcelo Lopes Rheingantz, Stephen C. Richter, Malin C. Rivers, Luke Rollie Rogers, Patricia Da Rosa, Paul Rose, Emily Royer, Catherine Ryan, Yvonne J. Sadovy De Mitcheson, Lily Salmon, Carlos Henrique Salvador, Michael J. Samways, Tatiana Sanjuan, Amanda Souza Dos Santos, Hiroshi Sasaki, Emmanuel Shutz, Heather Ann Scott, Robert Michael Scott, Fabrizio Serena, Surya P. Sharma, John A. Shuey, Carlos Julio Polo Silva, John P. Simaika, David R. Smith, Julia L.Y. Spaet, Shanjida Sultana, Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Vikash Tatayah, Philip Thomas, Angela Tringali, Hoang Trinh-Dinh, Chongpi Tuboi, Aftab Alam Usami, Aida M. Vasco-Palacios, Jean-Christophe Vie, Jo Virens, Alan Walker, Bryan Wallace, Lauren J. Waller, Hongfeng Wang, Oliver R. Wearn, Merlijin Van Weerd, Simon Weigmann, Daniel Willcox, John Woinarski, Jean W.H. Yong, Stuart Young

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a “Green List of Species” (now the IUCN Green Status of Species). A draft Green Status framework for assessing species’ progress toward recovery, published in 2018, proposed 2 separate but interlinked components: a standardized method (i.e., measurement against benchmarks of species’ viability, functionality, and preimpact distribution) to determine current species recovery status (herein species recovery score) and application of that method to estimate past and potential future impacts of conservation based on 4 metrics (conservation legacy, …

Impact Of Whitetail Deer Overpopulation With Hunting On The Decline, Matthew J. Lamprinos

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The whitetail deer is a key species for Pennsylvania’s forests, but their ecological balance has been disturbed by unregulated growth and urban sprawl. The deer population in Pennsylvania has exploded since the 1880’s causing a wide range of damage on the ecosystem, and humans. To reduce deer populations to sustainable levels, the Pennsylvania Game Commission relies heavily on hunters to dedicate time in the fall to go out and fill the tags the they issue. Hunter participation all around the world is decreasing for a variety of reasons. Fewer hunters out in the field causes revenue losses for the Game …

Moderate Grazer Density Stabilizes Forage Availability More Than Patch Burning In Low-Stature Grassland, Edward J. Raynor, Devan Allen Mcgranahan, James R. Miller, Diane M. Debinski, Walter H. Schacht, David M. Engle

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Spatially patchy fire creates landscape-level diversity that in turn stabilizes several rangeland ecosystem services, including forage production and habitat availability. To enhance biodiversity and livestock production, efforts are underway to restore fire regimes in rangelands throughout the Great Plains. However, invasive species such as tall fescue Schedonorus arundinaceus syn. Festuca arundinacea, initially introduced for forage production, hamper prescribed fire use. Grazer density, or stocking rate, modulates the effect of patchy fire regimes on ecological patterns in invaded, seminatural rangeland pastures. We compare three diversity–stability responses—temporal variability in aboveground plant biomass, portfolio effects among plant functional groups, and beta diversity in …

Using Enclosed Y-Mazes To Assess Chemosensory Behavior In Reptiles, M. Rockwell Parker, Andrea F. Currylow, Eric A. Tillman, Charlotte J. Robinson, Jilian M. Josimovich, Isabella M.G. Bukovich, Lauren A. Nazarian, Melia G. Nafus, Bryan M. Kluever, Amy A. Yackel Adams

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Reptiles utilize a variety of environmental cues to inform and drive animal behavior such as chemical scent trails produced by food or conspecifics. Decrypting the scent-trailing behavior of vertebrates, particularly invasive species, enables the discovery of cues that induce exploratory behavior and can aid in the development of valuable basic and applied biological tools. However, pinpointing behaviors dominantly driven by chemical cues versus other competing environmental cues can be challenging. Y-mazes are common tools used in animal behavior research that allow quantification of vertebrate chemosensory behavior across a range of taxa. By reducing external stimuli, Y-mazes remove confounding factors and …

Removal Of Carbamazepine Onto Modified Zeolitic Tuff In Different Water Matrices: Batch And Continuous Flow Experiments, Othman A. Al-Mashaqbeh, Daniel D. Snow, Diya A. Alsafadi, Layal Z. Alsalhi, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is the most frequently detected pharmaceutical residues in aquatic environments effluent by wastewater treatment plants. Batch and column experiments were con-ducted to evaluate the removal of CBZ from ultra-pure water and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent using raw zeolitic tuff (RZT) and surfactant modified zeolite (SMZ). Point zero net charge (pHpzc), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) were investigated for adsorbents to evaluate the physiochemical changes resulted from the modification process using Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br). XRD and FTIR showed that the surfactant modification of RZT has created an amorphous surface with new alkyl …

Occurrence And Potential Transformation Pathways Of Nitrogen Species In The Intermediate Vadose Zone, Jordan Shields

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nebraska is a large agricultural producing state with a heavy reliance on groundwater resources and nitrogen fertilizer application to maintain output. Poor management, such as excessive fertilizer application, improper timing, and over irrigation can lead to contamination of groundwater. Nitrate is the leading groundwater contaminant in Nebraska and chronic consumption at medium to high concentrations leads to adverse health effects. Nitrate, a highly soluble anion, is present in the root zone in numerous forms and undergoes biogeochemical transformations before being leached through the profile. In order to predict the timing and quantity of nitrate contamination in groundwater, researchers study the …

Unprecedented Migratory Bird Die-Off: A Citizen-Based Analysis On The Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Mass Mortality Events In The Western United States, Di Yang, Anni Yang, Jue Yang, Rongting Xu, Han Qiu

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Extensive, severe wildfires, and wildfire-induced smoke occurred across the western and central United States since August 2020. Wildfires resulting in the loss of habitats and emission of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds pose serious threatens to wildlife and human populations, especially for avian species, the respiratory system of which are sensitive to air pollutions. At the same time, the extreme weather (e.g., snowstorms) in late summer may also impact bird migration by cutting off their food supply and promoting their migration before they were physiologically ready. In this study, we investigated the environmental drivers of massive bird die-offs by …

Observational And Modeling Analysis Of Land-Atmosphere Interactions Over Adjacent Irrigated And Rainfed Cropland During The Grainex Field Campaign., Eric Rappin, Rezaul Mahmood, Udaysankar S. Nair, Roger A. Pielke Sr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Continued scientific study has revealed that land use and land cover change play a key role in climate and that the application of irrigation is an important biogeophysical contributor to climate modification across spatial scales. The Great Plains Irrigation Experiment (GRAINEX) was conducted in the spring and summer of 2018 to investigate Land-Atmosphere interactions just prior to and through the growing season across adjacent, but distinctly unique, soil moisture regimes (contrasting irrigated and rainfed fields). GRAINEX was uniquely designed for the development and analysis of an extensive observational dataset for comprehensive process studies of Land-Atmosphere interactions, by focusing on irrigated …

Evaluation Of Harvesting Time For Industrial Hemp (Cannabis Sativa L,) Pilot Project Varieties Grown In South Florida, Jordan W. Prats

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A field study was conducted to observe the natural development of cannabinoids in three daylength sensitive industrial hemp varieties Bubba Kush (BK), Emerald Flower (EF), and Golden Sunset (GS). Plants were configured in a randomized block design with 3 replications. Once 50% of the plants within a variety reached reproductive growth, plants were sampled weekly until senescence and analyzed through a HPLC-UV/DAD. The results from the study indicate that all three varieties of industrial hemp tested in field study reached reproductive growth within the first week of transplanting. This is due to a 12-hour day-length at the time and the …

Competitive Reductive Removal Of Chromate And Pertechnetate Via Zero-Valent Iron, Jonathan Williams Ramirez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Treatment to immobilize radioactive waste is of concern for long-term storage, avoiding future environmental exposure. Most production of Technetium-99 (⁹⁹Tc) occurred as a byproduct of development of legacy nuclear weapons research. Zero-valent iron (ZVI) is a promising reductant of Tc(VII) to a less mobile ⁹⁹Tc(IV). However, more redox-sensitive contaminants can compete in the reductive process. Therefore, it is important to examine the effects of competitive contaminants and quantify the effects on the reductive removal rates of ⁹⁹Tc. Chromate, Cr(VI), is a redox-sensitive contaminant that is expected to be present in legacy waste present in the Hanford …

Distribution And Trends Of Endemic Hawaiian Waterbirds, Eben H. Paxton, Kevin Brinck, Adonia Henry, Afsheen Siddiqi, Rachel Rounds, Jennifer Chutz

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Four endemic species of wetland-dependent waterbirds occur on the main Hawaiian Islands, all of which have experienced sharp population declines and are listed as endangered species. Twice per year, state-wide surveys are conducted to count waterbirds, but these surveys are evaluated only infrequently. We used a state-space approach to evaluate long-term (1986–2016) and short-term (2006–2016) trends and current distribution and abundance of endemic Hawaiian waterbirds. The most numerous species was the Ae‘o, or Hawaiian Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni), with a 5-year estimated average abundance of 1,932 individuals, followed by ‘Alae Ke‘oke‘o, or Hawaiian Coot (Fulica alai), …

Changes In Fire Weather Climatology Under 1.5 ◦C And 2.0 ◦C Warming, Rackhun Son, Hyungjun Kim, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, Jee-Hoon Jeong, Sung-Ho Woo, Ji-Yoon Jeong, Byung-Doo Lee, Seung Hee Kim, Matthew Laplante, Chun-Geun Kwon, Jin-Ho Yoon

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The 2015 Paris Agreement led to a number of studies that assessed the impact of the 1.5 ◦C and 2.0 ◦C increases in global temperature over preindustrial levels. However, those assessments have not actively investigated the impact of these levels of warming on fire weather. In view of a recent series of high-profile wildfire events worldwide, we access fire weather sensitivity based on a set of multi-model large ensemble climate simulations for these low-emission scenarios. The results indicate that the half degree difference between these two thresholds may lead to a significantly increased hazard of wildfire in certain parts of …

Protocol For Monitoring Fish Communities In Small Streams In The Heartland Inventory And Monitoring Network, Version 2.0, Hope R. Dodd, David G. Peitz, Gareth Rowell, Janice A. Hinsey, David E. Bowles, Lloyd W. Morrison, Michael D. Debacker, Jennifer L. Haack-Gaynor, Jeffrey M. Williams

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

Fish communities are an important component of aquatic systems and are good bioindicators of ecosystem health. Land use changes in the Midwest have caused sedimentation, erosion, and nutrient loading that degrades and fragments habitat and impairs water quality. Because most small wadeable streams in the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network (HTLN) have a relatively small area of their watersheds located within park boundaries, these streams are at risk of degradation due to adjacent land use practices and other anthropogenic disturbances. Shifts in the physical and chemical properties of aquatic systems have a dramatic effect on the biotic community. …

Ecological Risk Assessment Of Managed Relocation As A Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, Aviv Karasov-Olson, Mark W. Schwartz, Julian D. Olden, Sarah Skikne, Jessica J. Hellmann, Sarah Allen, Christy Brigham, Danielle Buttke, David J. Lawrence, Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Gregor W. Schuurman, Melissa Trammell, Cat Hawkins Hoffman

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

Changing climate and introduced species are placing an increasing number of species at risk of extinction. Increasing extinction risk is increasing calls to protect species by relocating, or translocating, them to locations with more favorable biotic or climatic conditions. Managed relocation, or assisted migration, of species entails risks to both the conservation target organisms being moved as well as the recipient ecosystems into which they are moved.

Recognizing this risk, calls have been made for practitioners interested in considering a managed relocation project to engage in a serious risk assessment prior to advancing a project. We engaged a …

Great Expectations: Deconstructing The Process Pathways Underlying Beaver-Related Restoration, Caroline S. Nash, Gordon E. Grant, Susan Charnley, Jason B. Dunham, Hannah Gosnell, Mark B. Hausner, David S. Pilliod, Jimmy Taylor

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Beaver-related restoration is a process-based strategy that seeks to address wide-ranging ecological objectives by reestablishing dam building in degraded stream systems. Although the beaver-related restoration has broad appeal, especially in water-limited systems, its effectiveness is not yet well documented. In this article, we present a process-expectation framework that links beaver-related restoration tactics to commonly expected outcomes by identifying the set of process pathways that must occur to achieve those expected outcomes. We explore the contingency implicit within this framework using social and biophysical data from project and research sites. This analysis reveals that outcomes are often predicated on complex process …

Sars-Cov-2 Exposure In Escaped Mink, Utah, Usa, Susan A. Shriner, Jeremy W. Ellis, J. Jeffrey Root, Annette Roug, Scott R. Stopak, Gerald W. Wiscomb, Jared R. Zierenberg, Hon S. Ip, Mia Kim Torchetti, Thomas J. Deliberto

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In August 2020, outbreaks of coronavirus disease were confirmed on mink farms in Utah, USA. We surveyed mammals captured on and around farms for evidence of infection or exposure. Free-ranging mink, presumed domestic escapees, exhibited high antibody titers, suggesting a potential severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 transmission pathway to native wildlife.

We report a wildlife epidemiologic investigation of mammals captured on or near properties in Utah, USA, where outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection occurred in farmed mink. Mink farms are relatively common in the United States, and most are small family farms. The US …

Avian Visual Ecologists Should Consider Uv Absorbance And All Sensory Modalities: A Response To Wisenden Et Al. (2020), Sean T. O'Daniels, Scott J. Werner, Ken Yasukawa

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In a recent publication, Wisenden et al. (2020) examined responses of territorial male Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) to models constructed with ultraviolet (UV)-reflective red epaulets for the purpose of determining if the addition of UV reflectance to epaulets ("UV+") changed the effectiveness of signals to receivers relative to "control" epaulets under field conditions. The authors hypothesized that "UV+epaulet coloration represents a visual signal with increased efficacy in territorial interactions." They presented behavioral data but no visual modeling data. Our aims in this commentary are to suggest alternative terms to those used by the authors, to express concern about the use …

Toxicity Of Sodium Nitrite-Based Vertebrate Pesticides For European Starlings (Sturnus Vulgaris), Scott J. Werner, Shelagh T. Deliberto, Hailey E. Mclean, Katherine E. Horak, Kirt C. Vercauteren

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In the 21st century, invasive animals rank second only to habitat destruction as the greatest threat to global biodiversity. Socially-acceptable and cost-effective strategies are needed to reduce the negative economic and environmental impacts of invasive animals. We investigated the potential for sodium nitrite (SN; CAS 7632-00-0) to serve as an avian toxicant for European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris L.). We also assessed the non-target hazard of an experimental formulation of SN that is being developed as a toxicant for invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa L.). In gavage experiments with European starlings, we identified a lowest observed adverse effect level …

Operational Carbon Footprint Of The U.S. Water Sector’S Energy Consumption, Louis J. Zib Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Accounting of energy-related GHG emissions in the water sector have largely been conducted at single utilities or cities and rarely at a regional or country scale. In this study, we assess the carbon footprints of operational energy use for 76 wastewater utilities and 64 water utilities across the United States. Additionally, we investigate water-related GHG emissions at a sub-annual scale through three case cities to understand how GHG emissions change at the monthly scale. We estimate the total drinking water and wastewater GHG emissions associated with electricity, biogas, natural gas, and fuel oil consumption across the United States to be …