Digital Commons Network^™

Adaptive Resource Management And The Value Of Information, Byron K. Williams, Mitchell J. Eaton, David R. Breininger

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The value of information is a general and broadly applicable concept that has been used for several decades to aid in making decisions in the face of uncertainty. Yet there are relatively few examples of its use in ecology and natural resources management, and almost none that are framed in terms of the future impacts of management decisions. In this paper we discuss the value of information in a context of adaptive management, in which actions are taken sequentially over a time frame and both future resource conditions and residual uncertainties about resource responses are taken into account. Our objective …

A Supermatrix Analysis Of Genomic, Morphological, And Paleontological Data From Crown Cetacea, Jonathan H. Geisler, Michael R. Mcgowen, Guang Yang, John Gatesy

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Cetacea (dolphins, porpoises, and whales) is a clade of aquatic species that includes the most massive, deepest diving, and largest brained mammals. Understanding the temporal pattern of diversification in the group as well as the evolution of cetacean anatomy and behavior requires a robust and well-resolved phylogenetic hypothesis. Although a large body of molecular data has accumulated over the past 20 years, DNA sequences of cetaceans have not been directly integrated with the rich, cetacean fossil record to reconcile discrepancies among molecular and morphological characters.

Results

We combined new nuclear DNA sequences, including segments of six genes (~2800 …

Kentucky Landscapes Through Geologic Time, Daniel I. Carey

Map and Chart--KGS

We now understand that the earth’s crust is broken up into a number of plates, some of continental size, and that these plates have been moving— centimeters a year—throughout geologic history, driven by the internal heat of the earth. This movement creates our mountain chains, earthquakes, geologic faults, and volcanoes. The theory of plate tectonics (from the Greek, tektonikos: pertaining to building) attempts to describe the process and helps explain the geology of Kentucky.

The geologic story of the rocks that form Kentucky’s landscape began a half billion years ago when the area was covered by water. Deposits of sand, …

Distribution And Properties Of Vesicular Horizons In The Western United States, Judith K. Turk, Robert C. Graham

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Vesicular horizons are thin (usuallycm) surface or near-surface horizons characterized by the predominance of vesicular porosity. Th ey are widespread in arid and semiarid lands, occurring on every continent and covering 156,000 km2 of the western United States. Vesicular horizons have critical implications for management due to their role in controlling surface hydrology and dust mobilization. Th is study evaluates the distribution and varia-tion in expression of vesicular horizons across the western United States using the soil databases available from the USDA. A vesicular horizon index (VHI) that incorporates vesicular horizon thickness and the size and quantity of vesicular pores …

Potential For Speciation In Mammals Following Vast, Late Miocene Volcanic Interruptions In The Pacific Northwest, Ryan Thomas Mckenna

Dissertations and Theses

The impact of large-scale volcanic eruptions on landscapes can affect many processes ranging from interrupting or redirecting regional soil forming processes and hydrological systems to generating temporary changes in global climate. Though more studies exist every year, less is known of the direct impact of large-scale volcanic eruptions on ecosystems and extinction, while even less is known of their impact on speciation. In deposits throughout the Pacific Northwest a special combination and association of volcanic magnitude with palaeoecological yield frequently presents unique prospects for inquiry. In this study, particular attention is given to large, late Miocene ash-flow tuffs of central …

Designing And Using Virtual Field Environments To Enhance And Extend Field Experience In Professional Development Programs In Geology For K-12 Teachers, Frank Douglas Granshaw

Dissertations and Theses

Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly used to acquaint geoscience novices with some of the observation, data gathering, and problem solving done in actual field situations by geoscientists. VR environments in a variety of forms are used to prepare students for doing geologic fieldwork, as well as to provide proxies for such experience when venturing into the field is not possible. However, despite increased use of VR for these purposes, there is little research on how students learn using these environments, how using them impacts student field experience, or what constitutes effective design in light of emerging theories of geocognition.

To …

Late Devonian Paleontology And Paleoenvironments At Red Hill And Other Fossil Sites In The Catskill Formation Of North-Central Pennsylvania, Edward B. Daeschler, Walter L. Cressler Iii

Earth & Space Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Geomechanical Stability Analysis For Co2 Sequestration In Carbonate Formation, Xue J. Zhou

Theses and Dissertations

Geomechanical analysis is one of the fundamental pillars to build up the confidence of geological sequestration of CO2. Large scale CO2 sequestration in deep carbonate formation is a complicated geological process, which will non-reversibly transform the presumed equivalent and stable status of a sedimentary basin that formed over millions of years: chemically, hydraulically, geothermally, and geomechanically. In this dissertation, thermoporoelasticity guides the theoretical establishment of a conservative baseline for the geomechanical stability analysis of CO2 sequestration.

Extensive laboratory tests, including CO2 flooding tests, permeability tests, uniaxial and triaxial tests, Brazilian tensile strength tests, poroelasticity tests, point load tests, and fracture …

Locating Hot Spots Of Fecal Pollution In An Urban Watershed Of Central Kentucky Using Bacteroides 16s Rrna Markers, Tricia L. Coakley

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

The field of molecular fecal source tracking in the water environment has developed rapidly since the first PCR assays for general and host-­‐specific Bacteroides 16s rRNA markers were published. Numerous host-­‐specific molecular markers and PCR assays have been developed, adding greater specificity, sensitivity and quantitative methods to the array of options. The public demand for readying methods for transfer to the commercial lab, so that they may be used to generate data for public utilities, citizen action groups and regulatory agencies, has fueled the development of an entire new research community. These methods, however plentiful, have not found community agreement …

Antarctic Plant And Phytoplankton Response To The First Phase Of The Mid Miocene Climatic Optimum At South Mcmurdo Sound, Lee Foersterling

LSU Master's Theses

The Antarctic Drilling Program (ANDRILL) recovered 1138.54 m of sub-seafloor marine sediments with 98% core recovery at the AND2-2A drill site in South McMurdo Sound. Biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and isotopic dating (Acton et al., 2008) indicated that an Early to Middle Miocene section (223-1138.54 mbsf) was recovered. This study focuses on an interval with high concentrations of palynomorphs, located between 460.57 and 403.48 mbsf and dated to 16.7 Ma to 16.2 Ma according to the updated Acton et al. (2008) ANDRILL SMS age model. Palynological results show a pronounced increase in organic microfossils between 434.01 and 431.91 mbsf, compared to levels …

Stories Of The Proterozoic Earth: Paleoproterozoic Chuanlinggou Arcitarchs And Neoproterozoic ¹⁷O-Depleted Barite, Yongbo Peng

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two independent topics, both critical to understanding Earth history during the Proterozoic Eon. (1) Paleoproterozoic Chuanlinggou Acritarchs: The eukaryotic affinity of acritarchs from the Chuanlinggou Formation has been questioned because of lack of indisputable morphological evidence. In this study, Chuanlinggou acritarchs were examined by jointly using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. In most cases, an ovoidal group of acritarchs represents a half-vesicle following a complete longitudinal rupture, which is a morphological model different from a whole envelope with medial splits, as proposed by earlier studies. This ovoidal group displays a bipolar morphology, …

A 1-D Mechanistic Model For The Evolution Of Earthflow-Prone Hillslopes, Adam M. Booth, Joshua J. Roering

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In mountainous terrain, deep‐seated landslides transport large volumes of material on hillslopes, exerting a dominant control on erosion rates and landscape form. Here, we develop a mathematical landscape evolution model to explore interactions between deep‐seated earthflows, soil creep, and gully processes at the drainage basin scale over geomorphically relevant (>10³ year) timescales. In the model, sediment flux or incision laws for these three geomorphic processes combine to determine the morphology of actively uplifting and eroding steady state topographic profiles. We apply the model to three sites, one in the Gabilan Mesa, California, with no earthflow activity, and two …

Relationships Between Snake River Paleofloods, Occupational Patterns And Archaeological Preservation At Redbird Beach Archaeological Site In Lower Hells Canyon, Idaho, Tabitha Trosper

All Master's Theses

The Snake River basin drains 282,000 km² of the northwestern U.S. and is the largest tributary to the Columbia River. Redbird Beach, an archaeological site located in the lower Hells Canyon reach of the Snake River, contains extensive vertical exposures of archaeological materials interbedded with Snake River flood sediments. Redbird Beach formed in the lee of the Redbird Creek debris fan, is composed of interfingering deposits from large floods on the Snake River and locally-derived alluvial sediments from Redbird Creek. Through stratigraphic analyses of slackwater deposits, this study compares the temporal and spatial patterns of human occupation at Redbird …

Marine Vertebrate Remains From Middle-Late Devonian Bone Beds At Little Hardwick Creek In Vaughns Mill, Kentucky And At The East Liberty Quarry In Logan County, Ohio, John M. James

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Stratigraphic, lithologic, faunal and condont biozone analysis will provide insight to whether or not East Liberty Bone Bed, in Logan County, Ohio, and Little Hardwick Creek Bone Bed C, in Vaughns Mill, Kentucky, are chronostratigraphic correlations to one another; they are separated by 370 kilometers (230 miles). Material from each bed was collected and broken down in acid and analyzed. Remaining residue after acid treatment was analyzed under a dissecting microscope for lithological and fossil contents, identified from previous fossil vertebrate findings at other locations.

Final analysis of these beds showed that lithologically and faunally they are very similar. However, …

Evaluating Spawning Migration Patterns And Predicting Spawning Success Of Shovelnose Sturgeon In The Lower Missouri River, M. L. Wildhaber, S. H. Holan, G. M. Davis, D. W. Gladish, A. J. Delonay, Diana M. Papoulias, D. K. Sommerhauser

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Approaches using telemetry, precise reproductive assessments, and surgically implanted data storage tags (DSTs) were used in combination with novel applications of analytical techniques for fish movement studies to describe patterns in migratory behavior and predict spawning success of gravid shovelnose sturgeon. From 2004 to 2007, over 300 gravid female shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus) from the Lower Missouri River, that were expected to spawn in the year they were collected, were surgically implanted with transmitters and archival DSTs. Functional cluster modeling of telemetry data from the spawning season suggested two common migration patterns of gravid female shovelnose sturgeon. Fish …

Land Change Variability And Human–Environment Dynamics In The United States Great Plains, Mark A, Drummond, Roger F. Auch, Krista A. Karstensen, Kristi L. Sayler, Janis L. Taylor, Thomas Loveland

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Land use and land cover changes have complex linkages to climate variability and change, biophysical resources, and socioeconomic driving forces. To assess these land change dynamics and their causes in the Great Plains, we compare and contrast contemporary changes across 16 ecoregions using Landsat satellite data and statistical analysis. Large-area change analysis of agricultural regions is often hampered by change detection error and the tendency for land conversions to occur at the local-scale. To facilitate a regional-scale analysis, a statistical sampling design of randomly selected 10 km × 10 km blocks is used to efficiently identify the types and rates …

Introduction To “Environmental Contaminants In Biota, 2nd Edition”, W. Nelson Beyer, James P. Meador

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Ecotoxicology is the study of the movement of environmental contaminants through ecosystems and their effects on plants and animals. Examining tissue residues of these contaminants in biota is basic to ecotoxicology, both for understanding the movement of contaminants within organisms and through food chains, and for understanding and quantifying injuries to organisms and their communities. This book provides guidance on interpreting tissue concentrations of environmental contaminants.

Tissue concentrations have long been used both to identify the cause of toxicity in animals and as a measure of the severity of toxicity. More recently, they have been incorporated into environmental models, tying …

Lead In Birds, J. Christian Franson, Deborah J. Pain

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Lead is a highly toxic heavy metal that acts as a nonspecific poison affecting all body systems and has no known biological requirement. Absorption of low concentrations may result in a wide range of sublethal effects in animals, and higher concentrations may result in mortality (Demayo et al. 1982).

Lead has been mined and smelted by humans for centuries, but the use of lead-based products increased greatly following the Industrial Revolution. Consequently, lead today is ubiquitous in air, water, and soil, in both urban and rural environments (Eisler 2000). Vertebrates are exposed to lead mainly via inhalation and ingestion. A …

Spatial Patch Occupancy Patterns Of The Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit, Mitchell J. Eaton, Phillip T. Hughes, James D. Nichols, Anne Morkill, Chad Anderson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Reliable estimates of presence or absence of a species can provide substantial information on management questions related to distribution and habitat use but should incorporate the probability of detection to reduce bias. We surveyed for the endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) in habitat patches on 5 Florida Key islands, USA, to estimate occupancy and detection probabilities. We derived detection probabilities using spatial replication of plots and evaluated hypotheses that patch location (coastal or interior) and patch size influence occupancy and detection. Results demonstrate that detection probability, given rabbits were present, was <0.5 and suggest that naı¨ve estimates (i.e., estimates without consideration of imperfect detection) of patch occupancy are negatively biased. We found that patch size and location influenced probability of occupancy but not detection. Our findings will be used by Refuge managers to evaluate population trends of Lower Keys marsh rabbits from historical data and to guide management decisions for species recovery. The sampling and analytical methods we used may be useful for researchers and managers of other endangered lagomorphs and cryptic or fossorial animals occupying diverse habitats.

Estimating Age From Recapture Data: Integrating Incremental Growth Measures With Ancillary Data To Infer Age-At-Length, Mitchell J. Eaton, William A. Link

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Estimating the age of individuals in wild populations can be of fundamental importance for answering ecological questions, modeling population demographics, and managing exploited or threatened species. Significant effort has been devoted to determining age through the use of growth annuli, secondary physical characteristics related to age, and growth models. Many species, however, either do not exhibit physical characteristics useful for independent age validation or are too rare to justify sacrificing a large number of individuals to establish the relationship between size and age. Length-at-age models are well represented in the fisheries and other wildlife management literature. Many of these models …

Spatial Patch Occupancy Patterns Of The Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit, Mitchell J. Eaton, Phillip T. Hughes, James D. Nichols, Anne Morkill, Chad Anderson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Reliable estimates of presence or absence of a species can provide substantial information on management questions related to distribution and habitat use but should incorporate the probability of detection to reduce bias. We surveyed for the endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) in habitat patches on 5 Florida Key islands, USA, to estimate occupancy and detection probabilities. We derived detection probabilities using spatial replication of plots and evaluated hypotheses that patch location (coastal or interior) and patch size influence occupancy and detection. Results demonstrate that detection probability, given rabbits were present, was <0.5 and suggest that naı¨ve estimates (i.e., estimates without consideration of imperfect detection) of patch occupancy are negatively biased. We found that patch size and location influenced probability of occupancy but not detection. Our findings will be used by Refuge managers to evaluate population trends of Lower Keys marsh rabbits from historical data and to guide management decisions for species recovery. The sampling and analytical methods we used may be useful for researchers and managers of other endangered lagomorphs and cryptic or fossorial animals occupying diverse habitats.

Adaptive Resource Management And The Value Of Information, Byron K. Williams, Mitchell J. Eaton, David R. Breininger

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The value of information is a general and broadly applicable concept that has been used for several decades to aid in making decisions in the face of uncertainty. Yet there are relatively few examples of its use in ecology and natural resources management, and almost none that are framed in terms of the future impacts of management decisions. In this paper we discuss the value of information in a context of adaptive management, in which actions are taken sequentially over a timeframe and both future resource conditions and residual uncertainties about resource responses are taken into account. Our objective is …

A Loess–Paleosol Record Of Climate And Glacial History Over The Past Two Glacial–Interglacial Cycles (~150 Ka), Southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Kenneth L. Pierce, Daniel R. Muhs, Maynard A. Fosberg, Shannon A. Mahan, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Joseph M. Licciardi, Milan J. Pavich

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess accumulated on a Bull Lake outwash terrace of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 6 (MIS 6) age in southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The 9 m section displays eight intervals of loess deposition (Loess 1 to Loess 8, oldest), each followed by soil development. Our age-depth model is constrained by thermoluminescence, meteoric ¹⁰Be accumulation in soils, and cosmogenic ¹⁰Be surface exposure ages. We use particle size, geochemical, mineral-magnetic, and clay mineralogical data to interpret loess sources and pedogenesis. Deposition of MIS 6 loess was followed by a tripartite soil/thin loess complex (Soils 8, 7, and 6) apparently re!ecting the …

2011-2012 Unlv Mcnair Journal, Cyndy Anang, Sajar Camara, Pamela Cornejo, Carla Antonieta Farcello, Ilse Anahi Garcia, Natiera Magnuson, William L. Mccurdy, Lorena Munoz, Maxym V. Myroshnychenko, Ricardo Rios, Theodore Waldeck, Barbara Wallen, Ana Zuniga, Brenda M. Aguilar, Tiffany Alexandra Alvarez, Daniel N. Erosa, Paige C. Espinosa, Carla Antonieta Farcello, Julienne Jochel Paraiso, Nathaniel Derek Phillipps, Carmen Vallin, Jacent N. Wamala, Ernesto Zamora-Ramos

McNair Journal

Journal articles based on research conducted by undergraduate students in the McNair Scholars Program

Table of Contents

Biography of Dr. Ronald E. McNair

Statements:

Dr. Neal J. Smatresk, UNLV President

Dr. Juanita P. Fain, Vice President of Student Affairs

Dr. William W. Sullivan, Associate Vice President for Retention and Outreach

Mr. Keith Rogers, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach

McNair Scholars Institute Staff

Using Water Balance Models To Approximate The Effects Of Climate Change On Spring Catchment Discharge : Mt. Hanang, Tanzania , Randall E. Fish

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This project addresses the potential impacts of changing climate on dry-season water storage and discharge from a small, mountain catchment in Tanzania. Villagers and water managers around the catchment have experienced worsening water scarcity and attribute it to increasing population and demand, but very little has been done to understand the physical characteristics and hydrological behavior of the spring catchment. The physical nature of the aquifer was characterized and water balance models were calibrated to discharge observations so as to be able to explore relative changes in aquifer storage resulting from climate changes.

To characterize the shallow aquifer supplying water …

"The Need Obliged Us" : Culture As Capacity During The Hurricane Stan Emergency Response. A Case Study From Tectitan, Huehuetenango, Guatemala , Jesse Silverman

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

A major deficiency in disaster management plans is the assumption that pre-disaster civil-society does not have the capacity to respond effectively during crises. Following from this assumption a dominant emergency management strategy is to replace weak civil-society organizations with specialized disaster organizations that are often either military or Para-military and seek to centralize decision-making. Many criticisms have been made of this approach, but few specifically addresses disasters in the developing world. Disasters in the developing world present unique problems not seen in the developed world because they often occur in the context of compromised governments, and marginalized populations. In this …

Stable Isotope Studies Of Paleoenvironment And Paleoclimate From Afar, Ethiopia, Zelalem K. Bedaso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The sedimentary deposits of the Hadar Formation at Dikika and the Mount Galili Formation at Galili preserve a wealth of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic records spanning the last 5.29 Ma. Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of herbivore tooth enamel were analyzed for more than 600 specimens of 15 different taxa from 10 stratigraphic intervals. The application of carbon and oxygen isotopes here aims principally at reconstructing shifts in the relative abundance of C₄ grasses, and its implications for climate indicators including temperature, aridity, and seasonality. The full range of δ¹³C_enamel values throughout the Plio-Pleistocene signifies a …

Late Cretaceous Faunal Dynamics In The Western Interior Seaway: The Record From The Red Bird Section, Eastern Wyoming, Joshua Stephen Slattery

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studies examining bioevents (e.g., mass extinctions, faunal turnovers, diversification events) usually only scrutinize a short interval prior to such events, however, understanding their actual paleobiological implications requires a thorough understanding of the background conditions. The objective of this study is to document the background biodiversity dynamics in a single lithofacies of the Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale that was deposited in an offshore setting of the Western Interior Seaway (WIS) and to place these changes into an environmental context. To assess the background biodiversity dynamics, the concretionary faunas of the Baculites eliasi through B. clinolobatus biozones of the Pierre Shale in …

Biodegradation Of Bisphenol-A And 17b-Estradiol In Soil Mesocosms Under Alternating Aerobic/Anoxic/Anaerobic Conditions, Won-Seok Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soil-aquifer treatment (SAT) has been proposed as a method for reusing treated municipal wastewater. SAT is characterized by alternating cycles of aerobic and anaerobic conditions in the subsurface, in response to alternating cycles of flooding and drainage of a surface impoundment. It is not yet known how these alternating redox conditions affect the removal of potentially harmful endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) from treated effluent.

The overall objective of my doctoral research is to determine the fate of EDCs in alternating aerobic/anoxic/anaerobic conditions under simulated SAT conditions. To assess the fate of EDCs in simulated SAT conditions, I first had to develop …

High-Resolution Event Stratigraphy Of Mm-Scale Laminated Sediments From Coastal Salt Ponds: St. John, Us Virgin Islands, Rebekka Amie Larson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A multi-proxy approach is utilized on mm- to cm-scale laminated sediment records in coastal salt ponds on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands to characterize the sediments, identify their sources and depositional processes/events (heavy rainfall, tropical cyclones, tsunamis). Historical records are combined with high-resolution geochronology (short-lived radioisotopes, ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs, ⁷Be) and scanning elemental techniques (XRF and LA-ICP-MS) to link depositional events to how they are manifested in the sedimentary record. Volcanic rocks are the terrigenous sediment source and the sedimentary signature of terrigenous sediment in the geologic record consists of higher amounts of Al, Fe, Ti, Co, and …