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Microstratigraphic Analysis Of Fossil Distribution In The Lower Hornerstown And Upper Navesink Formations At The Edelman Fossil Park, Nj, Kristyn K. Voegele, Paul V. Ullmann, Tara Lonsdorf, Zachary Christman, Michael Heierbacher, Brian J. Kibelstis, Ian Putnam, Zachary Boles, Shane Walsh, Kenneth J. Lacovara

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

Maastrichtian–Danian sediments of the Navesink and Hornerstown formations at the Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park of Rowan University in Mantua Township, New Jersey, have long intrigued paleontologists. Within the basal Hornerstown Formation occurs the Main Fossiliferous Layer (MFL), a regionally well-known and diverse bonebed. The lithostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic position of this fossil layer have been debated for more than 50 years, fueling debate over its origin. Herein, we present the results of a microstratigraphic analysis of the fossil composition and distribution of the MFL undertaken to rectify these discrepancies. Through methodical top-down excavation, we recorded the three-dimensional position of …

Automated Detection Of Marine Glacier Calving Fronts Using The 2-D Wavelet Transform Modulus Maxima Segmentation Method, Julia Liu, Ellyn M. Enderlin, Hans-Peter Marshall, Andre Khalil

Geosciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Changes in the calving front position of marine-terminating glaciers strongly influence the mass balance of glaciers, ice caps, and ice sheets. At present, quantification of frontal position change primarily relies on time-consuming and subjective manual mapping techniques, limiting our ability to understand changes to glacier calving fronts. Here we describe a newly developed automated method of mapping glacier calving fronts in satellite imagery using observations from a representative sample of Greenland’s peripheral marine-terminating glaciers. Our method is adapted from the 2-D wavelet transform modulus maxima (WTMM) segmentation method, which has been used previously for image segmentation in biomedical and other …

College Of Natural Sciences Scholarship Brunch Program, November 6th 2021, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

This is the program for the first annual College of Natural Sciences Scholarship Brunch, held on November 6th, 2021 at McCrory Gardens.

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, November 2021, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 2, Issue 11

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 Awards & Recognition
Page 3 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 4 2021 Day of Scholars
Page 5 Astronomy Outreach
Page 6 SDSU Faculty & Students Host American Society for Microbiology Annual Conference
Page 7 Scholarship Brunch
Page 8 Open PRAIRIE Data, SI Final Exam Review Sessions
Page 9 Aamlid Family Anatomy Lab Photos

Nutrient Cycling In Tropical And Temperate Coastal Waters: Is Latitude Making A Difference?, Christian Lønborg, Moritz Müller, Edward C. V. Butler, Shan Jiang, Seng Keat Ooi, Dieu Huong Trinh, Pui Yee Wong, Suryati M. Ali, Chun Cui, Wee Boon Siong, Erik S. Yando, Daniel A. Friess, Judith A. Rosentreter, Bradley D. Eyre, Patrick Martin

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Tropical coastal waters are highly dynamic and amongst the most biogeochemically active zones in the ocean. This review compares nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) cycles in temperate and tropical coastal waters. We review the literature to identify major similarities and differences between these two regions, specifically with regards to the impact of environmental factors (temperature, sunlight), riverine inputs, groundwater, lateral fluxes, atmospheric deposition, nitrogen fixation, organic nutrient cycling, primary production, respiration, sedimentary burial, denitrification and anammox. Overall, there are some similarities but also key differences in nutrient cycling, with differences relating mainly to temperature, sunlight, and precipitation amounts and patterns. …

Acoustic/Gravity Wave Phenomena In Wide-Field Imaging: From Data Analysis To A Modeling Framework For Observability In The Mlt Region And Beyond, Jaime Aguilar Guerrero

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Acoustic waves, gravity waves, and larger-scale tidal and planetary waves are significant drivers of the atmosphere’s dynamics and of the local and global circulation that have direct and indirect impacts on our weather and climate. Their measurements and characterization are fundamental challenges in Aeronomy that require a wide range of instrumentation with distinct operational principles. Most measurements share the common features of integrating optical emissions or effects on radio waves through deep layers of the atmosphere. The geometry of these integrations create line-of-sight effects that must be understood, described, and accounted for to properly present the measured data in traditional …

The Role Of Indigenous Knowledge In The Effective Collective Management Of The Communal Rangelands, A. Finca, S. Linnane, D. Getty, J. H. Slinger

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Numerous scientific studies have highlighted the complexities associated with the collective management of communal rangelands. To date, policy interventions in rangelands have largely ignored people’s traditional ways of managing, with adverse effects on rangeland productivity. Thus, local knowledge has not been considered in spatial planning, despite the fact that local rural communities are often repositories of key indigenous knowledge. Hence this study set out to evaluate the role of indigenous knowledge in the management of the communal rangeland in Cata and Guquka, now and in the future. This was achieved through the use of Participatory GIS (PGIS), specifically participatory mapping …

Slow Slip Events And The Earthquake Cycle, Nicholas K. Voss

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Slow Slip Events (SSEs) represent a new type of strain release along faults, which have onlybeen recognized as a global phenomena with the growth of precision space-borne geodetic techniques. These events represent an important part of the strain budget on faults, sometimes bounding the area of co-seismic release and perhaps limiting the amount of seismic energy release. SSEs have also been suggested to proceed large megathrust earthquakes including the great 2011 Tohoku and 2015 Iquique earthquakes. I document a series of SSE along the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. These events take place both before and after the 2012 M7.6 …

Proposals For Innovation And Improvement Of The Quality Of Life In Caprine Pastoralist Communities Of Subsistence In The Monte Desert, Argentina, E. M. Abraham, C. Rubio, D. Soria, L. Corso, A. Therburg, D. Bran, A. Maggi, P. Maccagno, C. Policastro, S. Verón, V. Pietragalla, M. Wilson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In a satisfactory alliance between the main environmental policy organizations and the academy, the National Observatory on Land Degradation and Desertification (ONDTyT) is created. The ONDTyD provides information regarding status and trends of land degradation/desertification in order to promote prevention and mitigation measures used for advising public and private decision-makers in Argentina. It is based in the development of 17 Pilot Sites that constitutes the local level network, providing bio-physical and socio-economic indicators of land degradation.

In this network the pilot site of the Monte, the largest dry region of Argentina (Lavalle desert, Mendoza), aims to improve the living conditions …

Participatory Management Of Rangeland Hydrology – A New Socio-Ecological Technology To Effectively Adapt To And Mitigate Climate Change: Case From Morocco, Lhoussaine Bouchaou, El Hassane El Mahdad, El Hassan Beraaouz, Abdelfettah Sifeddine, Alessandro Rizzo, Mohamed Hssaisoune, Hanane Reddad, Abdelghani Chehbouni, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Morocco’s drylands cover over 90% of the land area; low and irregular rainfall and high potential evaporation contribute to extremely high-water deficits. These phenomena have greatly impacted rangeland hydrology and nomadic and transhumant pastoralism. To adapt to this predominant water deficit, the inhabitants of these areas have developed two forms of lifestyles, which include household and livestock mobility: (i) a pendulum movement for seasonal transhumance between the mountains and their bordering plains; and (ii) random nomadic mobility regulated by the sporadic frequency of rains and thus water availability. In both cases, this mobility is controlled by the degree of development …

Assessing The Vertical Displacement Of The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam During Its Filling Using Dinsar Technology And Its Potential Acute Consequences On The Downstream Countries, Hesham El-Askary, Amr Fawzy, Rejoice Thomas, Wenzhao Li, Nicholas Lahaye, Erik Linstead, Thomas Piechota, Daniele Struppa, Mohamed Abdelaty Sayed

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), formerly known as the Millennium Dam, is currently under construction and has been filling at a fast rate without sufficient known analysis on possible impacts on the body of the structure. The filling of GERD not only has an impact on the Blue Nile Basin hydrology, water storage and flow but also poses massive risks in case of collapse. Rosaries Dam located in Sudan at only 116 km downstream of GERD, along with the 20 million Sudanese benefiting from that dam, would be seriously threatened in case of the collapse of GERD. In this …

Geology & Geography News, Georgia Southern University

Earth, Environment & Sustainability: News & Publications (2013-2021)

• Homecoming Alumni Breakfast 2021

Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research In The Biosphere Reserve In Mapimi, Mexico: A Multidimensional Participatory Observatory Of Rangeland/Pastoral Systems, V. M. Reyes Gómez, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, N. Martínez Tagüeña, I. Espejel Carvajal, S. Lucatello, M. A. Bowker, C. L. Lauterio Martínez

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Since the creation of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Mapimi (BRM) in Mexico 45 years ago, pastoralism has undergone a series of transformations. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, horse breeding flourished until 1900; thereafter extensive cattle production lasted for six decades. Only recently, farmers have adopted alternative management types for organic meat production. National and international efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require basic, applied, and participatory research efforts. In the socio-ecological pastoral system BRM, first halophytic ecosystems were examined for their ecohydrological role in rangeland productivity. In 1996, a long-term ecological research site was installed to monitor …

Wildlife Conservation And The Role Of The Indigenous Communities Living Around Conservation Areas, N. Parmisa, K. A. Galvin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The Indigenous Kenyan Maasai community has coexisted with the wildlife surrounding it for decades from Nairobi National Park, Maasai Mara and Amboseli. These parks border Maasai lands. Although the northern, eastern, and western perimeters of the Nairobi National Park are fenced, the southern part is not. It is at this point that the Maasai community’s land meets the park. This area also acts as a wildlife dispersal area where wildlife can freely migrate to other parks, including Maasai Mara and Amboseli. The park is only 117sq kms and its vitality depends on the plains to the south where the Maasai …

Producing Useful Knowledge For Sustainable Development, K. A. Galvin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Africa makes a relatively minor contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions compared with developed nations, yet the African continent will be increasingly vulnerable to climate change processes in the coming decades. Critical challenges include meeting basic needs for food, water, shelter, and other necessities without undermining biodiversity and ecosystem services. Coordination efforts to address multiple global change related stressors has generally occurred at the national level and taken an external approach, with national governments favoring collaboration with foreign-based NGOs and other international institutions. However, the involvement of actors at the local level correlates with decisions that are better adapted to …

Hydrochemical Characteristics And Genetic Mechanism Of High Tds Groundwater In Xinjulong Coal Mine, Zhang Yuzhuo, Xu Zhimin, Zhang Li, Lyu Weikui, Yuan Huiqing, Zhou Lijie, Gao Yating, Zhu Lulu

Coal Geology & Exploration

Based on historical water quality data and sampling test results, using Piper three-line diagram, correlation analysis, hydrogen and oxygen isotope, Gibbs diagram, ion ratio and saturation index, etc., the hydrochemical characteristics and genetic mechanism of the groundwater with high TDS in Xinjulong Coal Mine area were explored. The results show that with the proceeding of mine construction and coal mining, the water chemistry environment in the study area has changed. The water chemistry type is no longer a single SO₄-Na type, with SO₄·HCO₃-Na and SO₄-Ca·Mg type appearing in the deep limestone water. …

Assessing Morphological Response And Vulnerability Of Barrier Islands To Extreme Storms In Northwest Florida, Jacob Adam

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Barrier islands shield the mainland coast from the effects of extreme storms such as increased wave energy and storm surge. During these events, however, barrier morphology can be altered by erosive forces. Thus, compromising the protection offered and leading to increased impact on the mainland. The St. Joseph Peninsula, located in the Northwest of the Gulf of Mexico, is one such barrier at threat from storm-induced erosion. Presented here is an assessment of morphology change induced by two major storms to impact the peninsula, Hurricanes Dennis 2005 and Michael 2018. These changes characterize the erosive/depositional patterns that can be expected …

The Role Of Women In Rural Livestock: Which Women? Which Livestock?, Gabriela Litre, Daniela Nogueira, Alessandra Matte, Virginia Courdin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

We explore the conceptual and empirical limitations of the question about “the role of women in rural livestock production” as well as the widespread assumption that women in livestock are subsistence or smallholder farmers. While this is correct in many situations, “essentialist” development discourses often disregard new demographic trends and the heterogeneity of live-stock production systems. Our research, which focuses on the livelihoods of women involved with livestock production in the Pampas’ grasslands of Brazil, proposes: 1) to critically analyse some of the most widely spread assumptions about women involved in beef livestock production, including the belief that women are …

Transdisciplinary Research In Practice: Lessons From Participatory, Folklore And Community-Supported Approaches In The Greater American West, H. Wilmer, L. Carr Childers, L. M. Porensky

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Rapid social and ecological changes on global rangelands amplify the challenges to achieving biodiversity conservation, rural economic viability and social well-being, and rangeland sustainability. These dynamics create a need for transdisciplinary science that is inclusive of ecological, sociological, and participatory approaches in order to rebuild meaningful working relationships between scientists, ranchers and managers, and other rangeland stakeholders. In real application, however, transdisciplinary science faces numerous social, ethical, and logistical challenges, including the question of how the work might benefit rangeland stakeholders. Our objective is to advance rangeland researchers’ toolbox for meaningful engaged research by describing three lessons from transdisciplinary projects …

Towards A Holistic Understanding Of Pastoralism, M. Cabeza, P. Manzano, D. Burgas, L. Cadahía, J. Eronen, Á. Fernández-Llamazares, S. Bencherif, Ø. Holand, M. Fortelius, O. Seitsonen, María E. Fernández-Giménez, K. A. Galvin, N. Chr. Stenseth

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Pastoralism is a globally-important livelihood, with large social, environmental and economic importance across much of our planet. Yet, it is also a vulnerable practice with widespread crises, urgently calling for better systemic understanding. The current disciplinary compartmentalization of research not only hampers this but allows perpetuation of unfortunate misconceptions. Furthermore, a long-standing marginalization of the livelihood prevails, with pastoralism being largely overlooked in international environmental and economic forums or sustainability agendas.

Here we call for transformative approaches to pastoralism research that can advance an integrated understanding of these social-ecological systems through a comparative lens. We develop a framework that uses: …

Rangelands And Pastoralism In Central Asia And Mongolia: Challenges And Perspectives, T. Ulambayar

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Livestock herding contributes 10-45% of national GDPs across the Central Asia and Mongolia (CAM) region while supporting the livelihood of nearly one-third of the region’s population. Over 171 million herds graze the region's rangelands, occupying 65-73% of the territories in Central Asia (CA) and Mongolia. Traditional pastoralism has been affected dramatically by climate change. For the last decades, the annual mean air temperature has risen two to three times higher than the global average in CA and Mongolia respectively. Annual precipitation has a decreasing trend over the same period, causing increased aridity, a decline in lakes and rivers leading to …

User-Based Pasture Management In Kyrgyzstan: Achievements, Challenges, And Trends, Andrei Dörre, Ulan Kasymov

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In Kyrgyzstan, a high mountain country in Central Asia, grasslands occupy almost half of the territory. These extensive resources represent the basis for seasonally mobile animal husbandry, which is relevant for both individual households and the national economy. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Kyrgyzstan’s transition into a market economy, these formerly state-owned grasslands were parceled out and privatized. Considerable socio-economic distortions and ecological problems occurred during this process. In order to meet such unintended effects, a legal framework for user-based pasture management was established in the course of an institutional learning process. This package of measures corresponded …

Knowledge About And Knowledge With: Contributions From Feminist Research To Knowledge Co-Production For Pastoral Systems, F. Ravera, María Fernández-Giménez, E. Oteros-Rozas

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Globally, the gender dynamics of rangeland social-ecological systems have received scant attention. Further, research paradigms, methods and methodologies that leave little room for equitable engagement with research participants and genuine action-oriented research-practice partnerships dominate in pastoralist/rangeland studies. Our research is informed by a feminist philosophy of science and based on decolonial and feminist political ecology studies that focus on gendered science and knowledge production. Feminist research calls for reflection on who produces knowledge and how such knowledge is used and shared. Feminist practices such as reciprocity, care, and positionality, cultivate awareness of the power dynamics embedded in the research process …

Brazilian Pampa Rangelands: Challenges In The Face Of Soybean Expansion, J. G. Moriera, R. G. Maciel, Paulo D. Waquil, J. F. Tourrand

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The Pampa biome extends throughout the Uruguayan territory, part of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. It is characterized by being a natural pastoral ecosystem, in which livestock represents the best option for sustainable use for food production purposes, and favors the conservation of its rangelands. In addition to contributing to the conservation of natural pastures, it was along with livestock activities that the gaucho's way of life was developed. However, the cultivation of soybeans and eucalyptus plantations in the Pampa in all its extension is the localized version of the global dynamics of valuing the production of agricultural commodities affecting various …

Social-Ecological Innovations And Outcomes Of Community-Based Conservation In Africa: Implications For The Future, K. A. Galvin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Community-based conservancies (CBCs) are growing in numbers throughout Africa, particularly in the arid and semi-arid (ASAL) regions where pastoralists raise livestock and live among much of Africa’s remaining wildlife. CBCs emerge around national parks and other protected areas of wildlife spaces apart from people. Community conservancies, in contrast to national parks, are land tenure and land use governance arrangements to conserve wildlife while providing for the livelihoods of African pastoralists. Some conservancies develop by communities in partnership with public agencies, while others are associated with non-government organizations and/or the private sector. Others are more top-down in origin, supported by large …

Revisiting The Reciprocity Of Human-Ecological Systems: Integrating Extensive Agriculture And Transhumant Pastoralism In The Northern States Of India, Aayushi Malhotra, Sailaja Nandigama

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

India’s primary sector is characterised by the age-old practices of agriculture and pastoralism that have traditionally remained symbiotic in nature. However, these relationships are dwindling in the light of uneven development focus and increasing climatic hazards. The current mode of local development practices is directly affecting the overall environment while simultaneously increasing the vulnerability of the resource-dependent communities. Pastoralism, along with the agricultural enterprise that is expanding with the support of irrigation network, is recognised as a major community-based occupation in the northern region of India. Despite that, pastoralism remains highly neglected in policy circles, whereas agriculture persists to be …

On The Move – Do Domestic And Wild Ungulate Species Distributions Overlap In The Mongolian Gobi?, L. M. Michler, P. Kaczensky, O. Ganbaatar, A. C. Treydte

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area (Great Gobi B), wild and domestic ungulates seasonally share the forage of the semi-desert and desert habitat. Around 130 herder families are grazing their livestock, mainly goats and sheep, in the protected area in winter. Wild ungulates of global significance in Great Gobi B include the reintroduced Przewalski’s horse (Equus ferus przewalskii),which had previously been extinct in the wild. To determine potential habitat overlaps between Przewalski’s horses and livestock, we mapped the movements of 19 livestock herds monitored via GPS collars and ranger observations of Przewalski’s horse herds over a …

Crossing The Great Divide: Bridging The Researcher–Practitioner Gap To Maximize The Utility Of Remote Sensing For Invasive Species Monitoring And Management, Kelsey Parker, Arthur Elmes, Peter Boucher, Richard A. Hallett, John E. Thompson, Zachary Simek, Justin Bowers, Andrew B. Reinmann

Advanced Science Research Center

Invasive species are increasingly present in our ecosystems and pose a threat to the health of forest ecosystems. Practitioners are tasked with locating these invasive species and finding ways to mitigate their spread and impacts, often through costly field surveys. Meanwhile, researchers are developing remote sensing products to detect the changes in vegetation health and structure that are caused by invasive species, which could aid in early detection and monitoring efforts. Although both groups are working towards similar goals and field data are essential for validating RS products, these groups often work independently. In this paper, we, a group of …

Linking Demand With Supply For Tropical Forage Genetic Resources To Reach Impact At Scale, M. Peters, S. Burkart, U. Ohmstedt, C. Castiblanco, E. Stern, A. Nicolayevsky, K. Enciso, M. Díaz, S. Mwendia, S. Douxchamps, A. O. Notenbaert, B. Lukuyu, K. Fuglie

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Over the last decades a wealth of information on tropical forage genetic resources has been collated and is accessible to users ranging from farmers, development practitioners and researchers to decision makers and academia, e.g. through online tools such as Tropical Forages: An interactive selection tool (www.tropicalforages.info). However, while genetic diversity is being conserved by international gene banks, adoption of improved tropical forages is still far from reaching its full potential. Major bottlenecks in our view include lack of awareness of available forage genetic resources, confirmation of adaptation in a wide range of bio-physical, socio-economic, political and cultural contexts …

Rebuilding A Tropical Forages For The Future Network – A Call For Resuscitating Enthusiasm For A Commodity With Great Prospects And Innovation Potential, B. C. Pengelly, B. L. Maass

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A series of Forages for the Future newsletters, outlining some of the latest tropical and subtropical forage (TSTF) research and development impacts and expertise, has been published since 2016. Amongst the research highlights were Brazilian scientists’ focus on grasses such as Urochloa, Megathyrsus maximus, Paspalum and Cenchrus purpureus, and on legumes, especially Arachis and Stylosanthes. Argentinian researchers are similarly targeting Acroceras macrum and Setaria sphacelata; while Indian and ILRI (East Africa) researchers are using plant breeding to overcome disease constraints in Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus and associated hybrids). Also demonstrated were successfully using genetic …