Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Geospatial Approaches To Support Pelagic Conservation Planning And Adaptive Management, L. M. Wedding, Sara M. Maxwell, D. Hyrenbach, D. C. Dunn, J. J. Roberts, D. Briscoe, E. Hines, P. N. Halpin

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Place-based management in the open ocean faces unique challenges in delineating boundaries around temporally and spatially dynamic systems that span broad geographic scales and multiple management jurisdictions, especially in the 'high seas'. Geospatial technologies are critical for the successful design of pelagic conservation areas, because they provide information on the spatially and temporally dynamic oceanographic features responsible for driving species distribution and abundance in the open ocean, the movements of protected species, and the spatial patterns of distribution of potential threats. Nevertheless, there are major challenges to implementing these geospatial approaches in the open ocean. This Theme Section seeks to …

Influence Of Mission, Audience, And Policy Context On Issue Framing: A Case Study Of Mobilization Against Hydraulic Fracturing In The Marcellus Shale, Rezwana Zafar

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The case of mobilization against hydraulic fracturing by interest groups provided an opportunity to examine the influence of three factors (mission, audience, and policy context) on diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational framing. A comparative analysis was conducted of the mobilization activities of five national environmental organizations with a local presence in the Pennsylvania and New York Marcellus Shale regions. The organizations varied with respect to organizational mission, the audiences they were targeting (urban and rural), and the policy context in which they worked (pro and anti-hydraulic fracturing). Data came from eleven semi-structured in-depth interviews with organization personnel, and from the organizations' …

Revised Distributional Estimates For The Recently Discovered Olinguito (Bassaricyon Neblina), Using Museum And Science Records, Beth E. Gerstner

Dissertations and Theses

In the context of global change, a necessary first step for the conservation of species is gaining a good understanding of their distributional limits. This is especially important for biodiversity hotspots with high endemism such as the Northern Andes. The olinguito (Procyonidae: Bassaricyon neblina) is a recently described, medium-sized carnivoran found in Northern Andean cloud forests. A preliminary distributional model was published along with the original description, and I here provide revised distributional estimates using updated locality records and more current ENM methods. I build ecological niche models in Maxent using occurrence data (georeferenced museum records and citizen science-derived photo-vouchers) …

Evaluating Floating Treatment Wetlands To Improve Nitrogen Removal In A Wet Detention Pond, Zachary Marimon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wet detention ponds are used for stormwater treatment across the United States and reduce most pollutants by at least 60%, but only remove 30% of total nitrogen. Floating Treatment Wetlands (FTWs) are an emerging technology that uses aquatic plants suspended in the pelagic zone to remove nitrogen through vegetative assimilation and microbial denitrification. A before-after field experiment evaluated nitrogen removal in a an existing pond in Orlando, FL, retrofitted with BioHaven® FTWs planted with the aquatic macrophytes Juncus effusus (Soft Rush) and Pontederia cordata (Pickerelweed). Surface water samples were used to compare the nitrogen removal performance of the pond under …

Effects Of Epichloë Coenophiala−Tall Fescue Symbiosis On Plant-Microbe-Soil Interactions In A Temperate Pasture, Lindsey C. Slaughter

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Plants interact in myriad ways with microorganisms to influence ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, which can regulate ecosystem response to global change. One important plant-microbe symbiosis occurs between cool-season grasses and asexual fungal Epichloë endophytes, such as tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus) and Epichloë coenophiala. Because the common toxic strain of the endophyte (CTE) harms grazing livestock, non-livestock toxic endophyte (NTE) strains have been developed and are increasingly deployed in pastures. Little is known about how these symbioses impact other plant-microbe interactions and microbe-mediated soil processes in grassland ecosystems. I conducted three studies to determine how E. …

Environmental Leadership: Exploring Environmental Dissonance Involving Natural Resource Consumption And Ecosystem Degradation, Thomas L. Tochterman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As the corporate world, communities, and individuals become more globalized and demands on natural resources increase, a new emphasis on environmental leadership including a new pragmatic environmental ethos is needed to meet certain basic human needs of future generations. The research problem addressed in this study was the lack of knowledge concerning how environmental cognitive dissonance influences consumption practices related to inefficient resource utilization and ecosystem degradation. The purpose of this study was to provide an understanding of the breadth and depth of environmental cognitive dissonance among visitors to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The research questions addressed …

Financial Investment Management For Forest Sustainability, Zarina Ismailova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is paper is discussion about main problems of forest management, whether financial investment has a substantial impact on the long term perspective of forest landscape restoration and, more specifically, what strategy and what financial options are available to make the forest projects more sustainable. A few relevant questions to ask are: who are the main actors in the implementation of FLR projects; which steps have to be taken; and, which financial options would more suitable and would be feasible to implement. There are three main parts of this research to be investigated:

1. forest issues along with their respective solutions, …

Current Status Of Falcon Populations In Saudi Arabia, Albara M. Binothman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Falcons (Falco spp.) are widely used for falconry in the countries of the Middle East. During the 2015 breeding season, we surveyed historic and active nest sites of Barbary (Falco pelegrinoides pelegrinoides) and Lanner (F. biarmicus) Falcons in Saudi Arabia. Field and questionnaire surveys were conducted and personal contact with falconers was made to document the current distribution and price changes for Lanner Falcons, Barbary Falcons, Saker Falcons (F. cherrug), Peregrine Falcons (F. peregrinus), Gyrfalcons (F. rusticolus), and Hybrid Falcons in Saudi Arabia. We categorized our survey into three geographic groups; southwest (A), northwest (B), and central (C) regions of …

Use Of Photo-Identification And Mark-Recapture Techniques To Identify Characteristics Of The Stock Structure Of Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) Off Northern South Carolina, Daniela C. Silva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) stock assessment reports describe two coastal and two estuarine bottlenose dolphin stocks that utilize the waters of northern South Carolina (Waring et al. 2014), but coastal data from this area are lacking. Photo-ID mark-recapture surveys were conducted from 2013-2015 along two 50 km coastal transects centered on Murrells Inlet, SC; and from 2014-2015 along two 50 km transects covering both coastal and estuarine waters centered on Little River, SC. Capture histories of marked individuals were used to estimate abundance and, in conjunction with neighboring catalog comparisons, infer movements, residency patterns, and stock membership. Local abundance …

Texas Water Roadmap Forum: Workforce Education, Data, And Research. Institute For Water Resources Science And Technology, Rudolph A. Rosen

Water Resources Science and Technology Book and E-Book Publications and Reports

The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and National Science Foundation Coordination Network on Climate, Energy, Environment and Engagement in Semiarid Regions (NSF/RCN-CE3SAR) co-sponsored the 2016 Texas Water Roadmap Forum. Focusing on workforce education, data, and research, the forum was hosted by the Institute for Water Resources Science and Technology on the campus of Texas A&M University–San Antonio on November 29, 2016. The forum brought together Texans from diverse technical, academic, research, management, and business backgrounds in water to participate in the third in a series of water roadmap forums facilitated by NSF/RCN-CE3SAR. By envisioning a future Texas where water security …

Wetland Condition Matters: Amphibian Richness And Abundance Change Across Wetland Condition Gradient, Kari Dupler

Online Theses and Dissertations

In the past century, Kentucky has lost more than 80% of its wetlands, and because state-wide monitoring was historically minimal, this number is likely underestimated. The Kentucky Division of Water, with Eastern Kentucky University and a technical working group, developed a rapid wetland assessment method (i.e. KY-WRAM) to assess wetland quality and aid in establishing mitigation levels and long-term monitoring. Validation of the KY-WRAM’s ability to reflect wetland condition requires comparison to intensive biotic assessments of amphibian, plant, and bird communities. Wetland and amphibian surveys for the 2014 and 2015 seasons were conducted at 42 riverine wetlands in the Kentucky …

Assessing The Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Foraging Bats At Mammoth Cave National Park After The Arrival Of White-Nose Syndrome, Rachael Elizabeth Griffitts

Online Theses and Dissertations

Habitat use of bats may shift following population level impacts of White-nose Syndrome (WNS). Multiple bat species have experienced unprecedented population declines due to WNS, including federally listed Myotis sodalis (Indiana bat) and Myotis septentrionalis (northern long-eared bat). Specifically, the effect of WNS across forest landscapes is unclear in relation to prescribed fire. Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA) has employed a prescribed fire regime since 2002 and WNS was detected on MACA in 2013. Bat activity was monitored across burned and unburned sites at MACA before (2010-2012) and after the detection of WNS (2013-2016) using transects of acoustic detectors (Anabat …

A Rapid Physical Habitat Assessment Of Wadeable Streams For Mixed-Land-Use Watersheds, Lynne Hooper, Jason A. Hubbart

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Mitigating stream and river impairment is complex, particularly in mixed-land-use watersheds given the likelihood of integrated responses of stream restoration to coupled and ongoing terrestrial ecosystem disturbance and the need for periodic reassessment and maintenance. Traditional biological sampling (e.g., macroinvertebrate sampling or other biological indices) alone seldom identifies the cause of biological community impairment and large fiscal investments are often made with no apparent improvement to aquatic ecosystem health. A stream physical habitat assessment (PHA) can yield information that, when paired with land-use data may reveal causal patterns in aquatic physical habitat degradation and help to identify sites for rehabilitation …

Adiabatic Cooling And Warming, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

In order to understand how deserts form one needs to understand two processes called adiabatic cooling and warming.

Coal Geology: The Origin Of Coal, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

Coal forms from the tissues of plants with the major contributor being the woody tissues, cellulose and lignin, from trees growing in fresh-water wetlands. Land plants first evolved during the early Devonian and by the end of the period had adapted to most terrestrial environments. Beginning in early Pennsylvanian time, vast portions of the eastern portion of Laurentia were covered with coal-forming swamps and bogs, environments that were to be repeated throughout the remainder of the Paleozoic Era and again in the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary Periods. It was during these times that the combination of climatic conditions and wetland …

Coal Genesis, John J. Renton, Thomas Repine

Readings and Notes

Most textbooks classify coal as a sedimentary rock even though it does not fit the definition of a sedimentary rock. While a sedimentary rock is a "rock formed from the products of weathering and erosion", coal forms from the remains of land plants. In fact, coal doesn't even fit the definition of a rock. A rock is defined as "mixture of minerals" and minerals are defined as "natural occurring, solid, inorganic substances ..• " Coal is composed largely (􀀴90+%) of organic substances (macerals) which, by definition, are not minerals. If coal must be classified as a rock, because it forms …

Movements Of Sub-Adult Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha) In Puget Sound, Washington, As Indicated By Hydroacoustic Tracking, Anna Kagley, Joseph Smith, Kurt L. Fresh, Kinsey Frick, Thomas P. (Thomas Peter) Quinn

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Alternative forms of migratory behavior can have substantial consequences for the growth, survival, and fitness of the individuals involved. Salmonids vary in the tendency of individuals to migrate to marine waters (anadromy) or remain in freshwater habitats. In addition, substantial variation in migratory patterns can exist among anadromous and resident species. This talk summarizes our use of hydroacoustic telemetry to investigate the movement patterns of anadromous Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha remaining in the marine waters of Puget Sound after ocean entry rather than continuing out to the coastal waters of the North Pacific Ocean, as is typical of the species. …

2015 Olympia Oyster, Ostrea Lurida, Brooding Results From Northern Puget Sound, Jackie E. Dexter, Sarah K. Grossman, Courtney M. Greiner, Julie S. Barber, James T. Mcardle

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community recently began a restoration project to establish, expand, and research Olympia oyster, Ostrea lurida, populations on reservation tidelands. For our pilot project, we evenly distributed seeded cultch in two pocket estuaries in Similk and northern Skagit Bays during the summer of 2012 and spring of 2013. Subsequently, we initiated a long-term monitoring program that included measuring reproductive benchmarks to determine population expansion potential. While brooding data have been collected at one other site in northern Puget Sound (i.e. Fidalgo Bay), it is likely that oysters in pocket estuaries will be exposed to different environmental …

Problem To Progress: Understanding And Improving Permitting For Shoreline Armoring In Kitsap County, Kathlene Barnhart

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Kitsap County partnered with San Juan County and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to objectively review and assess the effectiveness of existing marine shoreline stabilization permitting programs in achieving a balance between applicant needs and protection of nearshore resources. Utilizing a T.A.C.T. approach (Troubleshooting, Action planning, Course correction and Tracking & monitoring), the agencies worked together to identify gaps and overlap in the permit review and monitoring process, as well as the effectiveness of permit provisions (conditions) through field assessment of recent marine shoreline armoring projects. Actions to correct these internal deficiencies and …

Cross-Border Citizen Action: Protecting The Salish Sea From The Risks Of Fossil Fuel Transport, Alexandra L. Woodsworth

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Currently, more than a dozen oil, coal and liquid natural gas projects are proposed on both sides of the border, threatening the health of the Salish Sea and its communities, as well as the global climate. Recent estimates suggest that if all the projects were to be approved, each year they would generate an extra 308 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and an additional 1,200 ship journeys through the already-busy waters of the Salish Sea. Each fossil fuel project proposed in BC and Washington is currently being assessed in isolation from the others by the government agencies that are …