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Residual Spatial Autocorrelation In Macroecological And Biogeographical Modeling: A Review, Guetchine Gaspard

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Macroecological and biogeographical modelers have predicted the distribution of species across space relying on the relationship between biotic processes and environmental variables. Such a method employs data associated, for instance, with species abundance or presence/absence, climate, geomorphology, and soils. Statistical analyses found in previous studies have highlighted the importance of accounting for the effects of spatial autocorrelation (SAC), which indicates a level of dependence between pairs of nearby observations. A consensus has existed that residual spatial autocorrelation (rSAC) can substantially impact modeling processes and inferences. However, more emphasis should be put on identifying the sources of rSAC and the degree …

Bioerosional Structures From The Late Pleistocene Coral Reef, Red Sea Coast, Northwest Saudi Arabia, Huri̇ye Demi̇rcan, Abdelbaset El Sorogy, Talal Alharbi

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

Herein, 20 ichnospecies belonging to 8 ichnogenera were identified in bivalves, gastropods, and corals (n = 701) from the Late Pleistocene coral reef along the Red Sea coast, northwest Saudi Arabia. The trace fossils were produced by clionid sponges (47.39%), endolithic bivalves (42.17%), polychaete annelids (5.42%), vermetid gastropods (3.81%), and acrothoracican barnacles (1.21%). The recognized ichnotaxa were Entobia geometrica, E. ovula, E. cf. goniodes, E. cf. retiformis, E. cretacea, Entobia isp., Gastrochaenolites torpedo, G. lapidicus, G. cf. dijugus, Gastrochaenolites isp., Oichnus paraboloides, O. simplex, Oichnus isp., Caulostrepsis taeniola, Caulostrepsis isp., Maeandropolydora cf. sulcans, Maeandropolydora isp., Renichnus isp., Centrichnus isp., and …

Pesticide Occurrence And Persistence Entering Recreational Lakes In Watersheds Of Varying Land Uses, Jessica Satiroff, Tiffany Messer, Aaron R. Mittelstet, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Currently little is known of newer pesticide classes and their occurrence and persistence in recreational lakes. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to (1) assess average pesticide concentrations and loadings entering recreational lakes in three mixed land use watersheds throughout the growing season, (2) evaluate pesticide persistence longitudinally within the lakes, and (3) perform an ecotoxicity assessment. Six sampling campaigns were conducted at three lakes from April through October 2018 to measure the occurrence and persistence during pre, middle, and post growing season. Polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) were placed in streams near lake inlets and monthly samples …

Occurrence Of Arsenite In Surface And Groundwater Associated With A Perennial Stream Located In Western Nebraska, Usa, Arindam Malakar, Rajesh Singh, Jeffrey Westrop, Karrie A. Weber, Christopher N. Elofson, Manish Kumar, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Dissolved arsenic typically results from chemical weathering of arsenic rich sediments and is most often found in oxidized forms in surface water. The mobility of arsenic is controlled by its valence state and also by its association with iron oxides minerals, the forms of which are both influenced by abiotic and biotic processes in aqueous environment. In this study, speciation methods were used to measure and confirm the presence of reduced arsenic species in the surface water of Frenchman creek, a gaining stream that crosses the Colorado- Nebraska border. Selective extraction analysis of aquifer and stream bed sediments shows that …

Compiled Dataset From The National Reservoir Research Program 1989 Dataset, Nicky M. Faucheux, Leandro E. Miranda

CFR Publications

This dataset was compiled from the National Reservoir Research Program 1989 dataset. The NRRP dataset includes data from rotenone and creel studies at reservoirs throughout the continental US during the 1980s. We compiled the species level biomass data into total biomass for each of five trophic guilds (piscivores, detritivores, herbivores, invertivores, and planktivores). This compiled dataset was used to investigate the Cascading Reservoir Continuum Concept across 16 river basins in a study conducted by the 2020 Management of Impounded Rivers Class.

Environmental Controls On The Spatial Distribution Of Greenfin Darters And Biodiversity In The Blue Ridge Mountains, Dri Tattersfield

CMC Senior Theses

Disproportionate concentrations of biodiversity in mountains worldwide suggest linkages between geologic processes and biodiversity that are not yet well understood. The Tennessee River Basin in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the southeastern U.S. is a global hotspot for freshwater fish biodiversity. To investigate drivers of biodiversity in the Tennessee River Basin, and explore links to geologic processes, I study the Greenfin Darter (Nothonotus chlorobranchius), a small fish endemic to the upper Tennessee River Basin. I use generalized linear models (GLMs) to evaluate the influence of topography, lithology, climate and land use on the distribution of the Greenfin Darter, …

College Of Natural Sciences 2021 Year-End Publication, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Page 2 Welcome, Table of Contents
Page 3 Our Departments: Highlights From 2021
Page 4 Overview of the College
Page 5 Overview of Bold & Blue
Pages 6, 7 Announcing the First Endowed Professorship in the College of Natural Sciences
Page 8 Spooky Science, Astronomy Outreach, SDSU Chemistry Research Features on Journal Cover
Page 9 Students Win Business Plan Competition With Aims to Improve Shelf Life of Produce, Summer Researchers
Page 10 NIH Grant Helps Unravel Rare Inflammatory Genetic Disorders, International Excellence in South Dakota
Page 11 The Next Frontier of Science Education: Virtual Reality, SDSU Researchers Uncover how Cancer …

Beaver Moderated Fire Resistance In The North Cascades And Potential For Climate Change Adaptation, Joseph John Weirich Iii

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Climate change and fire suppression have altered historic fire regimes, creating conditions for larger, more intense fires. Intense burns can alter watershed hydrology, increasing the potential for harmful channel incision, which impairs riparian ecosystem function by lowering the water table, disconnecting floodplains from aquatic environments. However, wetlands and functioning riparian zones can reduce burn intensity. Beaver, with their unique ability to build dams, can restore incised and degraded streams, store water, and expand wetland environments, potentially decreasing wildfire intensity, fire spread and create fire breaks across the landscape. My objective was to test the hypothesis that beaver impoundments increase landscape …

Moving The Needle On Prairie Conservation: A Palouse Prairie Restoration/Reconstruction Needs Assessment And The Effect Of Intra-Annual Soil Moisture Changes On Balsamroot Seedling Establishment, Sarah Hill

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

The Palouse prairie of Eastern Washington and Western Idaho is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States. After 140 years of intensive agriculture, less than 1% of prairie habitat remains, making Palouse prairie conservation and restoration a critical need. This study sought to: 1) conduct a thorough needs assessment for Palouse prairie restoration and reconstruction, identifying challenges and opportunities that when addressed, could increase Palouse prairie restoration successes, and 2) gain insight into the effects of intra-annual soil moisture fluctuations on the seedling establishment of Arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), since establishment of slow growing perennial species like …

The Potential For Remote Sensing Measurement Of Dissolved Organic Carbon As A Tool For Metal Risk Assessments, Mickey Nielsen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The biotic ligand model (BLM) is a tool used to quantitatively evaluate how receiving water chemistry affects the bioavailability of metals. Sensitivity testing can be used to understand how the model outputs vary in response to systematic changes in water chemistry inputs. This will allow users of such models to understand how accurate their input parameters must be for a specified level of confidence in the output. Our focus was on dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which is often the most limiting data for application of BLM approaches to metals risk management. To potentially address DOC data limitations remote sensing can …

Preclassic Cultural Eutrophication Of Lake Petén Itzá, Lowland Guatemala, By The Early Maya Of Nixtun-Ch'ich', Brooke A. Birkett

Masters Theses

"Paleolimnological evidence indicates the ancient Maya transformed lowland terrestrial ecosystems by felling forest vegetation to construct large civic-ceremonial centers and expand agriculture. The effects of prehistoric Maya land alterations on lake trophic status, however, remain poorly understood. We analyzed a 515-cm-long sediment core from Lake Petén Itzá, lowland Guatemala, to infer paleoenvironmental changes resulting from Maya occupation of the riparian archaeological site of Nixtun-Ch'ich'. Substantial increases in charcoal and fecal stanol concentrations indicate Maya occupation of the Candelaria Peninsula by the late Early Preclassic period beginning ca. 1400 cal yr Before the Common Era (hereafter BCE), despite scant archaeological evidence …

A Karst Feature Prediction Model For Prince Of Wales Island, Alaska Based On High Resolution Lidar Imagery, Alexander Lyles

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Investigation into surface karst formation is significant to hazard prediction, hydrogeologic drainage, and land management. Southeast Alaska contains over 600,000 acres of mapped carbonate bedrock, and some of the fastest recorded karst dissolution in the world. The objectives of this study are to develop and compare multiple semi-automated models to map and delineate karst features from bare-earth LiDAR imagery using ArcGIS Desktop 10.7, and to apply a preliminary geostatistical analysis of sinkhole morphometric parameters to highlight potential spatial patterns of karst evolution on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. A semi-automated approach of mapping karst features provides a dataset that minimizes …

Ecological Controls On The Campanian Distribution Of Hesperornis (Aves: Hesperornithiformes) In The Western Interior Seaway, Blake Chapman

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

The epicontinental Western Interior Seaway (WIS) of Late Cretaceous North America provided a unique marine habitat for cephalopods, fish, marine reptiles, and the foot-propelled diving seabird Hesperornis. While several predator-prey relationships among Hesperornis or other hesperornithiforms and other WIS animals have been hypothesized based on gut contents, bite marks, and coprolites/colonites, ecological relationships have not been quantitatively tested. Paleontological species distribution modeling (SDM) studies have focused on extinct non-marine taxa and marine invertebrates, with only two marine vertebrate studies of extant taxa. Here, two SDM methods were used to test the influence of vertebrate faunas, sedimentary rock type, paleogeography, …

Policy Analysis Of Emissions Cap And Trade: The United State And The European Union, Drew Bealby

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Effects of climate change are appearing each day therefore proactive steps need to be made to reduce these effects. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) notes that humans producing greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane, and nitrous oxide are the main reason the Earth’s overall temperature is rising (NASA 2019). A policy analysis was done on the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) along with comparisons to the United States’ emissions policies that are in place currently. The European Union (E.U.) itself is both an economic and political union of 27 countries in …

Elevating Dissolved Oxygen—Reflections On Developing And Using Long-Term Data, Nancy N. Rabalais

Gulf and Caribbean Research

This prospectus took me about as long to generate as my 36—year record of working on the issue of northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) oxygen deficiency, or so I felt. There was so much to cover, but I focused on the issue of hypoxia on the Louisiana continental shelf from the early 1980s to present and my participation in the research and outreach. Not that I was ignoring other aspects of my academic research career (e.g., stone crab populations and their differences in physiology and larval development along the nGOM coast; settlement of crab megalopae, especially blue crabs, on artificial …

Spatial Variability Of Sediment Amorphous Silica And Its Reactivity In A Northern Gulf Of Mexico Estuary And Coastal Zone, Elliot J. Kemp, Ryan R. Roseburrough, Emily A. Elliott, Jeffrey W. Krause

Gulf and Caribbean Research

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Canola Genotypes For Growth And Yield Under Different Environmental Conditions In South Dakota, Unius Arinaitwe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Canola (Brassica napus L) and carinata (Brassica carinata A. Braun) are potential oilseed crops for diversifying cropping systems and expanding into marginal lands impacted by saline and sodic soils in South Dakota (SD). However, genotypes that are high yielding, with high agronomic adaptability and stability over diverse environments, and salt tolerant have not been selected. One field experiment was conducted at two environments (Brookings - eastern SD and Pierre - western SD) from 2019 to 2020 to evaluate genotypes for growth and yield stability. Three greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate genotypes for salt tolerance in …

The Role Of Infrequently Mobile Boulders In Modulating Landscape Evolution And Geomorphic Hazards, Charles M. Shobe, Jens M. Turowski, Ron Nativ, Rachel C. Glade, Georgina L. Bennett, Benedetta Dini

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

A landscape’s sediment grain size distribution is the product of, and an important influence on, earth surface processes and landscape evolution. Grains can be large enough that the motion of a single grain, infrequently mobile in size-selective transport systems, constitutes or triggers significant geomorphic change. We define these grains as boulders. Boulders affect landscape evolution; their dynamics and effects on landscape form have been the focus of substantial recent community effort. We review progress on five key questions related to how boulders influence the evolution of unglaciated, eroding landscapes: 1) What factors control boulder production on eroding hillslopes and the …

Utilization Of Paenibacillus Polymyxa In The Recovery Of Lithium Bearing Minerals, Diana Bullen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In the global transition to green energy in the transportation and power production sectors, lithium has emerged as a viable solution, and crucial component, for the effective storage of renewable resources. To avoid further degradation of the land due to mining for virgin material, methods focused on recovering lithium must be developed. This research project seeks to explore a new way to recover lithium by using the bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa. The bacteria were grown and then applied to the lithium bearing mineral spodumene. Settling velocity profiles were constructed for different treatments of spodumene. It was found that the spodumene …

Advancement Of Full-Vector Variable-Temperature Magnetometry For Rock-Magnetic And Paleointensity Applications, Leonid Surovitskii

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Data on the variation of the direction and strength of Earth’s ancient magnetic field (absolute paleointensity) provide crucial information into the mechanisms of the geodynamo and the Earth’s thermal history. However, the use of conventional methods and instrumentation for absolute paleointensity determination has been hampered by physicochemical alteration of the samples caused by multiple high-temperature cycles and long experiment durations. The reliability and efficiency of the measurement process can be improved by the measurement of the full remanent magnetization vector simultaneously with the temperature cycling of a sample. Such as approach can also substantially expand the scope of materials available …

Experiential Learning In Soil Science: Evaluating Soil Quality In South Wollo, Ethiopia, Melissa Allen, Martha Mamo, Shimelis Beyene, Teshome Regassa, Gandura O. Abagandura, Solomon Abreha, Anthony James Mucia, Tsegaye Tadesse

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

This study abroad program provided an opportunity to enhance the international experience and research skills of University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) students within a multidisciplinary team’s research-education goal on improving food security in Ethiopia. The experiential study component of the project included preparatory sessions during the Fall 2015 Semester at the UNL followed by a four- to five-week fieldwork experience in Ethiopia. Teams from the UNL and an Ethiopian university participated in survey data collection and field soil evaluations from farms in the Gerado area of South Wollo, Ethiopia. Having students interact with farmers increased student self-confidence and enhanced their leadership …

The Rise And Fall Of Wiñaymarka: Rethinking Cultural And Environmental Interactions In The Southern Basin Of Lake Titicaca, Maria C. Bruno, José M. Capriles, Christine A. Hastorf, Sherilyn C. Fritz, D. Marie Weide, Alejandra I. Domic, Paul A. Baker

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Investigations of how past human societies managed during times of major climate change can inform our understanding of potential human responses to ongoing environmental change. In this study, we evaluate the impact of environmental variation on human communities over the last four millennia in the southern Lake Titicaca basin of the Andes, known as Lake Wiñaymarka. Refined paleoenvironmental reconstructions from new diatom-based reconstructions of lake level together with archaeological evidence of animal and plant resource use from sites on the Taraco Peninsula, Bolivia, reveal frequent climate and lake-level changes within major cultural phases. We posit that climate fluctuations alone do …

Selenium Removal And Pollution Swapping Potentials Of Passive Anaerobic Bioreactors Receiving Coal Slurry Impoundment Wastes, Md Anik Mahmud

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Worldwide, selenium is a major contaminant of concern for coal and metal ore mining industries. In coal mining regions of the eastern USA, for example, billions of liters of wastewaters with elevated Se oxyanion concentrations (primarily SeO₄^2- and SeO₃^2-) are generated during coal washing which is often stored in > 700 man-made impoundments built into remote mountain valleys. Because impoundments are unlined systems, they tend to leak contents into nearby streams, which has detrimental effects on sensitive biota, particularly fish. The primary goal of this project was to evaluate the capacity of passive anaerobic bioreactors (PAB) …

Carbonaceous Matter In The Atmosphere And Glaciers Of The Himalayas And The Tibetan Plateau: An Investigative Review, Chaoliu Li, Fangping Yan, Shichang Kang, Caiqing Yan, Zhaofu Hu, Pengfei Chen, Shaopeng Gao, Chao Zhang, Cenlin He, Susan Kaspari, Aron Stubbins

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Carbonaceous matter, including organic carbon (OC) and black carbon (BC), is an important climate forcing agent and contributes to glacier retreat in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau (HTP). The HTP – the so-called “Third Pole” – contains the most extensive glacial area outside of the polar regions. Considerable research on carbonaceous matter in the HTP has been conducted, although this research has been challenging due to the complex terrain and strong spatiotemporal heterogeneity of carbonaceous matter in the HTP. A comprehensive investigation of published atmospheric and snow data for HTP carbonaceous matter concentration, deposition and light absorption is presented, …

Last Interglacial Climate From Dendostrea Frons Oysters, Verrill Island, Bermuda, Lillian Minnebo

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

The Bermuda Islands preserve carbonates recording many past changes in sea level, including multiple warm and cool geologic intervals. Several localities expose shell-rich deposits from the Last Interglacial (~125,000 years ago), a time broadly similar to climate today that can potentially serve as an analog for future conditions. Here, we use δ18O analyses of fossil mollusks to estimate past temperatures and seasonality and compare our data with those from other species.

Eight Dendostrea frons oysters were sampled along their growth axes to reconstruct seasonal temperature curves. We report a mean δ18O value of -0.51 ± 0.17‰, corresponding to a temperature …

Organic-Input Impacts On Soil Carbon Flux, Storage, And Budget In Conservation Agricultural Soils, Central Washington, Usa, Jessica Hartman

All Master's Theses

The increase in global atmospheric CO₂ over the last 200 years has generated an urgent need for strategies for sequestering carbon (C). Soil C, which has been depleted by land use change and agricultural practices, is a prime target for C storage. Land management practices, including no-till, cover cropping and crop rotation, and the application of C amendments such as compost and biochar, are suggested to increase C in the soil. Spoon Full Farm, near Thorp, WA, was a conventional hay farm until 2016, when management practices changed to implement some of these C sequestration strategies. A prior CWU …

Investigation Of Defective Trees Using Electric Resistivity Method, Turgay İşseven, Yi̇ği̇t Yilmaz, Nedi̇m Gökhan Aydin

Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences

The resistivity method in geophysics is used to solve various geological and engineering problems. Recently, this nondestructive method has been used on trees to investigate possible infections within the trunks by scanning resistivity variations. In this study, the electrical resistivity method has been aimed to be applied on various trees in Istanbul, Turkey to test whether the method applies to trees via regular resistivity measurement devices used in geophysics. Firstly, a multi-channel resistivity device, that is designed to automatically take measurements on the ground, is modified to carry out the measurements on trees. The measured data are processed using two …

Glacial Deposits, Vol. 46, 2021, Department Of Geography, Geology, And The Environment

Glacial Deposits

Newsletter of the Department of Geography, Geology, and the Environment

A Reference Section For The Otavi Group (Damara Supergroup) In Eastern Kaoko Zone Near Ongongo, Namibia, P.F. Hoffman, Sara B. Pruss, C.L. Blättler, E.J. Bellefroid, B.W. Johnson

Geosciences: Faculty Publications

A reference section for the Otavi Group (Damara Supergroup) in the East Kaoko Zone near Ongongo is proposed and described. The section is easily accessible, well exposed, suitable for field excursions, and well documented in terms of carbonate lithofacies, depositional sequences and stableisotope chemostratigraphy. The late Tonian Ombombo Subgroup is 355 m thick above the basal Beesvlakte Formation, which is not included in the section due to poor outcrop and complex structure. The earlymiddle Cryogenian Abenab Subgroup is 636 m thick and the early Ediacaran Tsumeb Subgroup is 1020 m thick. While the section is complete in terms of formations …

Elevated Growth And Biomass Along Temperate Forest Edges, Luca L. Morreale, Jonathan R. Thompson, Xiaojing Tang, Andrew Reinmann, Lucy R. Hutyra

Advanced Science Research Center

Fragmentation transforms the environment along forest edges. The prevailing narrative, driven by research in tropical systems, suggests that edge environments increase tree mortality and structural degradation resulting in net decreases in ecosystem productivity. We show that, in contrast to tropical systems, temperate forest edges exhibit increased forest growth and biomass with no change in total mortality relative to the forest interior. We analyze >48,000 forest inventory plots across the north-eastern US using a quasi-experimental matching design. At forest edges adjacent to anthropogenic land covers, we report increases of 36.3% and 24.1% in forest growth and biomass, respectively. Inclusion of edge …