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Lycosidae Abundance And Diversity Across Lawn And Leaf Litter Substrate, Sage O. Lockett, Dan Albrecht-Mallinger

UROP Posters

Significant knowledge gaps exist in how land-cover impacts ground-hunting spider populations. To fill these gaps, this study investigates a common family of ground-hunting spiders, Lycosidae, to determine differences in their abundance and diversity in deciduous leaf litter and managed turfgrass (lawn). The study was conducted within a forested ecosystem at Virginia Commonwealth University's Rice Rivers Center in Charles City County, Virginia. I placed 10 belt transects (1m x 20m) on lawn substrate and 10 identical transects in deciduous forest leaf litter substrate. I performed repeated visual census via eyeshine and manual capture of up to three individuals per transect …

From The Ground Up: A Complex Systems Approach To Climate Change Adaptation In Agriculture, Karen Buchsbaum

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Climate change presents an unprecedented challenge to global agriculture and food security. Small farms are especially vulnerable to the local impacts of large-scale drivers of change. Effective adaptation in agriculture requires working across scales, and geographic, political, and disciplinary boundaries to address barriers. I use elements of case study, agent-based modeling and serious games, to design a model of farmer decision-making using the sociocognitive framework of climate change adaptation. I examine how adaptation functions as a process, how complex dynamics influence farmer behavior, and how individual decisions influence collective behavior in response to climate change. This novel approach to adaptation …

Four-Dimensional Ecology Education (4dee) For Everyone: Teaching Ecology To Non-Majors, Vikki L. Rodgers, Sara E. Scanga, Justin R St Juliana, Erica S. Tietjen, Jon M. Honea, Loren B. Byrne, Zakiya H. Leggett, George Middendorf

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Originally developed for application to ecology courses for undergraduate majors, the Four-Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) Framework offers possibilities for adaptation to courses with ecology content for many other audiences. Recognizing the extraordinary range of classroom contexts and constraints, we developed some general, flexible recommendations and approaches to guide instructors in adapting the 4DEE Framework for an array of non-major audiences and classroom context needs. Our hope is that 4DEE-aligned courses for non-majors will provide these students with greater appreciation of ecology and inspire them to use their knowledge to address many critical environmental issues in their personal and professional lives. …

Better Understanding The Barred Owl, Adam Lee Potts

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis research presents an analysis of barred owl nest site selection in an understudied region of their expanded range. The barred owl has dramatically expanded its range westwards over the last 150 years, prompting multiple conflicting reinterpretations of their species account. Hypotheses of range expansion are reviewed to provide context for this study’s research. This study gathers empirical data on nest site selection in the mixed conifer forests of Montana’s Seeley-Swan and Mission Valleys. Eight barred owl nests were located following extensive territory surveys. Field measurements of tree height and diameter using USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot …

Integrating Western Science And Indigenous Knowledge For Just Practices In Conservation, Cierra Lea Keith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Quantifying Wastewater Contributions To The Upper Clark Fork River, Claire Utzman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Though algae are at the base of food webs in many rivers, large algal blooms are increasing in frequency and can cause problems with nutrient cycling, depletion of oxygen supplies at night, and release of toxic chemicals. One leading cause of algal blooms is nutrient loading into rivers, and controlling nutrient release in wastewater is one approach that can help limit algal growth. To reduce the intensity of algal blooms in the Clark Fork River in western Montana, numeric nutrient standards were put in place that regulated the release of the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus into the river from wastewater. …

Assessing Road Dust Impacts On Macroinvertebrates Community Structure In Canadian Arctic Lakes, Hong Yi Gao

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the Canadian Arctic, unpaved gravel roads are essential for regional accessibility but are also potential sources of road dust runoff. My study investigated the impacts of road dust from the Dempster and Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highways on adjacent freshwater ecosystems, focusing on water quality parameters and macroinvertebrate communities. Using a stratified random sampling design, 18 lakes were studied across two regions (boreal forest and tundra) and three distance categories from the road (0-300 m, 300-600 m, and > 600 m). Contrary to my initial hypotheses, findings revealed no significant differences in water quality or invertebrate communities relative to distance from the road. …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Snail Races: An Inquiry-Based Approach To Learn Invasive Species Ecology, Emma Grindle, Heather E. Bergan-Roller, Ashton Johnson, Grace Lunaburg, Jennifer A.H. Koop

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Inquiry-based lessons allow learning that is hands-on and student-driven, fostering engagement and retention of knowledge in any discipline. Here, we use this learning framework to engage students in exploring the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on animal dispersal as a means of connecting students to multiple ecological concepts. Instructors are provided with a guided lecture on key ecological concepts including the impacts of invasive species, dispersal mechanisms, and species interactions with the environment. Furthermore, the interactive lecture introduces students to the snail study system and explains the experimental process, which involves low-cost, readily available materials (e.g., kiddie pools). Students …

Ecosystem Structure And Function Across Western Dryland Ecosystems: A Cross-Site Comparison Of Semiarid Ecosystem Types In Colorado And Wyoming, Christopher W. Beltz, William K. Lauenroth, Ingrid C. Burke

Western North American Naturalist

Drylands extend over large portions of the globe, including a significant share of the western United States, yet they remain understudied. We examined ecosystem structure and function at 3 semiarid dryland sites in Colorado and Wyoming, each of which was dominated by a different ecosystem type and plant community—shortgrass steppe, mixed-grass prairie, and sagebrush steppe. This initial study was conducted to fill gaps in knowledge about how sagebrush steppe compares to dryland grasslands in the western United States. Soil respiration was higher at the sagebrush steppe than at the 2 grassland sites (P = 0.001). Aboveground biomass, microbial abundance, …

The Deep Ecology Movement

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

There are two great streams of environmentalism in the latter half of the twentieth century. One stream is reformist, attempting to control some of the worst of the air and water pollution and inefficient land use practices in industrialized nations and to save a few of the remaining pieces of wildlands as "designated wilderness areas." The other stream supports many of the reformist goals but is revolutionary, seeking a new metaphysics, epistemology, cosmology, and environmental ethics of person/planet. This paper is an intellectual archeology of the second of these streams of environmentalism, which I will call deep ecology.

An Evolutionary Pathway For Coping With Emerging Infectious Disease, Scott Lyell Gardner, Daniel R. Brooks, Walter A. Boeger, Eric P. Hoberg

Zea E-Books Collection

Emerging infectious disease (EID) represents an existential threat to humanity. EIDs are increasing in frequency and impact because of climate change and other human activities. We are losing the battle against EIDs because of improper assessment of the risk of EID. This stems from adherence to a failed paradigm of pathogen-host associations that suggests EIDs ought to be both unpredictable and rare. That, in turn, leads to policies suggesting that crisis response is the best we can do. Real-time and phylogenetic assessments show EIDs to be neither rare nor unpredictable—this is the parasite paradox that shows the failures of the …

Cadmium And Salinity Stressor Antagonism On Vallisneria Neotropicalis, Christopher P. Mikolaitis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Submerged macrophytes form the foundation of freshwater ecosystems. These organisms are sessile and are very susceptible to shifts in their environment. Heavy metals are of particular concern as they can be sequestered indefinitely in sediments and are readily taken up by rooted vegetation. In the presence of saltwater intrusions, these metals can interact with salt ions potentially changing their availability to submerged vegetation. In this study a freshwater macrophyte, Vallisneria neotropicalis, was used as a test species for interactive effects between Cd, a non-essential heavy metal, and salt stress. The metrics used to establish the individual as well as …

Using Machine Learning And Distributed Hydrologic Modeling To Predict Soil Texture, Surface Soil Moisture And Evapotranspiration In Jornada Experimental Range, Southwestern U.S., Jorge Andres Mayo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In water-limited ecosystems, detailed knowledge of the soil, vegetation, and atmosphere interactions is critical to understand the processes that control the partitioning of energy, water fluxes, and biogeochemical cycles within the critical zone. This Master's thesis is divided into two main contributing sections. The first, is on the use of machine learning to reconstruct missing soil type information, and the second, on the calibration and validation of a physically-based distributed hydrological model to estimate soil moisture and evapotranspiration within the Jornada Experimental Range of the U.S. in southern New Mexico. For the first contribution, three explainable, shallow machine-learning techniques are …

Development Of A 16s Reference Library For Edna Metabarcoding The Freshwater Fishes Of Western Ecuador., Hannah M. Willis, Olivia G. Schweikart, Windsor E. Aguirre

DePaul Discoveries

This project examines the use of the 16S locus to amplify neotropical freshwater fishes native to Western Ecuador in a newly created 16S reference library for DNA barcoding and eDNA metabarcoding applications. Among the orders Characiformes, Siluriformes, Cichliformes, Gobiiformes, Cryprinodontiformes, Gymnotiformes, and Perciformes, a compendium of 105 specimens were sequenced, with 43 representing new 16S sequences previously unavailable on Genbank.

Environmental Monitoring Of Heavy Metals Status In Semiarid Lands Of Northeastern Algeria, Rania Gacem, Hana Souahi, Chemseddine Fehdi, Abderrezzeq Chebout

Journal of Bioresource Management

With the rapid development of industry, heavy metal contamination is becoming among the most important environmental problems causing worldwide concern. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of soil heavy metal pollution in the semi-arid areas of Northeast Algeria. To evaluate the ecological state of soils, we investigated fifteen sites. The level of heavy metals (HMs) toxicity and soil characteristics likr pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, calcium carbonate, calcium, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium were assessed during this study. The results showed that the mean values of heavy metals were as follows in ppm: Zn (41.197 …

A Review Of Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons From Marine Mammals, Nadia G. Dresscher-Lambertus

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Eco-Interoception: What Plants, Fungi And Protista Have Taught My Body, Sara Riley Dotterer

Art Theses and Dissertations

To me, ecology is the relational, full-body awareness that I am made up of and deeply connected to everything around me; and for better or worse, this is reciprocal. I form ecotones, an ecological transitional zone between two ecosystems, with the world around me. I use this ecotonal lens to blur binaries and dissolve boundaries between me and the world “outside my body.” During my Masters of Fine Arts at Southern Methodist University, I have continuously explored and represented the lives of various more-than-human species outside of my body, including plants, fungi and protista through an ecotonal lens. Although these …

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Caitlyn Aldersea, Justin Bravo, Sam Allen, Anna Block, Connor Block, Emma Buechler, Maria De Los Angeles Bustillos, Arianna Carlson, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Noah Craver, Kate Dillon, Muskan Fatima, Angel Fernandes, Emma Finch, Colleen Cassidy, Amy Fishman, Andrea Francis, Stacia Fritz, Simran Gill, Emma Gries, Rylie Hansen, Shannon Powers, Jacqueline Martinez, Zachary Harker, Ashley Hasty, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Kathleen Hopps, Adelaide Kerenick, Colin Kleckner, Ci Koehring, Elijah Kruger, Braden Krumholz, Maddie Leake, Lyneé Alves, Seraphina Loukas, Yatzari Lozano Vazquez, Haley Maki, Emily Martinez, Sierra Mckinney, Audrey Mitchell, Kipling Newman, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Andrew Nguyen, Stevie Ostman, Casandra Pearson, Alexandra Penney, Julia Gielczynski, Tyler Ball, Anna Rini, Christina Rorres, Simon Ruland, Helayna Schafer, Emma Sellers, Sarah Schuller, Claire Shaver, Kevin Summers, Isabella Shaw, Madison Sinar, Claudia Pena, Apshara Siwakoti, Carter Sorensen, Madi Sousa, Anna Sparling, Alexandra Revier, Brandon Thierry, Dylan Tyree, Maggie Williams, Lauren Wols

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

Assessing The Appropriateness Of Free-Roaming Cat Management Strategies Based On Resident Perspectives In A Small Pennsylvania Municipality, Brianna Marks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The popularity and mismanagement of free-roaming cats has resulted in invasive populations responsible for over-predation of birds and small mammals and increased disease transmission to humans and animals (Bies, 2014; Crowley et al., 2020). Management effectiveness fluctuates between communities due to varying opinions of free-roaming cats by governments and the public, which can influence management development and success (Deak et al., 2019). This research assesses the relationship between community perspectives of free-roaming cats and management. A survey of residents in a small Pennsylvania municipality was conducted with questions pertaining to free-roaming cats and management preferences in the community. Over 50% …

The Bellarmine Bee Bed: Organizing A Native Plant Garden Using Feedback From The Local Community, Kate Moran

Undergraduate Theses

Animal pollinators are the cornerstone of healthy ecosystems. Their survival is essential for the persistence of entire food chains: from the flowers they cross-pollinate directly, to the animals who depend on those plants for nutrition. The establishment of pollinator gardens—particularly ones that consist of native plants—is an effective way to enhance their biodiversity, abundance, and well-being.

The main goal of this thesis is to construct a pollinator garden that maximizes the benefits for animal pollinators using feedback from local gardeners. A survey was used to gather information about the popularity and preferences of 40 flowering plants, and after analyzing the …

Habitat Effects On Scorpion Densities And Microhabitat Use By Centruroides Vittatus And Vaejovis Waueri In South Texas, Jonathan Beltran

Theses and Dissertations

Co-existence between Centruroides vittatus and Vaejovis waueri is influenced by environmental factors that shape their habitats. Differences in surface activity frequency between the two species suggest differential microhabitat use. The observed frequency of scorpions using microhabitats in the Martinez Ranch and La Union Ranch were not significantly different from the expected frequencies. Frequency of scorpions observed using microhabitats in La Union South was significantly different from the expected frequency (P<0.001). Microhabitat use of catclaw was lower than expected and higher than expected for other vegetation. Conditional comparisons of microhabitats were significantly different among habitats (P<0.001), size classes were significantly different among microhabitats (P<0.001), and size classes were significantly different among habitats (P<0.01). Microhabitat use by scorpions on the ground was higher among all habitats. Scorpion use of ground and grass were different among size classes. Size class I-II scorpions had a higher frequency than size class III. Scorpion density for C. vittatus was significantly different among habitats (P<0.0001) and scorpion density for V. waueri was significantly different among habitats (P<0.0001). Centruroides vittatus was significantly higher in the Martinez Ranch and in La Union South. Vaejovis waueri was significantly higher in La iv Union South. Associations between plant densities and scorpion size classes were tested. Plant densities had a significant association with C. vittatus size classes I and II in the Martinez Ranch. Association between plants had a significant correlation with C. vittatus size classes I and IV in La Union Ranch. Association between plants had a significant correlation with V. waueri’s total density. These associations may suggest plant densities may have a synergistic effect on scorpion densities. Soil type composition for the different habitats was hypothesized to influence scorpion densities. Maps for each site were created to show soil type compositions. Soil type findings suggest that La Union South had the soil types with the lowest soil strength. Vaejovis waueri was shown to have a higher density in La Union South where soils are sandier. Results indicate that co-existence between C. vittatus and V. waueri is possible because competition is low through minimal overlap in microhabitat use and intraguild predation avoidance.

Comparison Of Channel Catfish Populations In Two Northeast Kansas Impoundments, Ethan Thompson

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

In the summer of 2022, we sampled Channel Catfish populations at Brown State Fishing Lake and Sabetha City Lake, both located in Northeast Kansas. These impoundments are similar only in latitude and size with several differences in their fish populations, specifically with Channel Catfish. One is stocked annually with 200 mm intermediate Channel Catfish and the other is not. Surprisingly, the impoundment that is not stocked has a higher density of fish than the impoundment that is. This poster will present age, growth, length, and weight information and make inferences on the impacts of population density on those metrics.

Using Podcasts To Bring National Estuarine Research Reserves Into The Classroom For Grades 6-12, Kaitlyn M. Dirr

Senior Theses

In a typical classroom setting, there are significant challenges to exposing students to concepts related to earth sciences and the environment. These challenges are exacerbated when conveying lessons about geographic areas with limited access, such as oceans and coastlines (Louv, 2010). It is now more important than ever for environmental education to improve and adapt to our changing world. Educators may have the opportunity to bring these subjects to life by using media content such as podcasts to introduce students to new places and the scientists, managers and educators that work in those spaces. In the United States, there exists …

Discovering Dune: Essays On Frank Herbert’S Epic Saga., Edited By Dominic J. Nardi And N. Trevor Brierly, G. Connor Salter

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

G. Connor Salter reviews Discovering Dune: Essays on Frank Herbert’s Epic Saga, edited by Dominic J. Nardi and N. Trevor Brierly, considering its new contributions to studies of Frank Herbert's work. Essays included fit into four categories (Politics and Power, History and Religion, Biology and Ecology, and Philosophy, Choice and Ethics) and range from Herbert's use of ecology in Dune to how game theory may help explain certain characters' apparent ability to see the future. Discovering Dune also includes an appendix which contains the only up-to-date bibliography of Herbert's work (primary and secondary sources).

Individual-Level Responses To Rapid Climate Change In Common Terns (Sterna Hirundo) And Arctic Terns (Sterna Paradisaea), Kaiulani A. Sund

Student Publications

This study examines fine-scale environmental changes and intraspecific variation in the diet and foraging behavior of two seabirds in the Gulf of Maine, one of the fastest-warming regions of the ocean. This variation on the individual level, or behavioral plasticity, may help long-lived species to persist in rapidly changing environments. As the water warms, seabirds’ preferred prey (hake and herring) follow cooler waters deeper and farther offshore. It is unlikely that all individuals respond to changing food availability in the same way. For common terns (Sterna hirundo) and Arctic terns (Sterna paradisaea) breeding on Petit Manan …

Collection Of Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) In Two Types Of Arboreal Terrain In The Natural Park Of Belezma Batna (North-Eastern Algeria), Yougherta Abderrezak Habbari, Naama Frah, Meriem Bouterfa, Larbi Houichi

Journal of Bioresource Management

The inventory of the carabid family at two forest sites in the Belezma national park namely an oak grove site and a cedar site during a period ranging from May 2017 to April 2018, has shown the counting of 27 taxa that have been inventoried by Barber pitfall traps. The results showed that the Quercus ilex site has slightly more species (25 species) compared to the Cedrus atlantica one (23 species). However, the Harpalinae subfamily is quantitatively the better one represented at both sites. The Shannon and Simpson indices report slightly higher figures in the Cedrus atlantica site with respectively …

Ecological Complexity And Avoiding Pest Resurgence: Intuitions From Mathematical Ecology, Theresa Ong, John H. Vandermeer

Dartmouth Scholarship

Pest resurgence is defined by a predictable increase in pests following declines resulting from the implementation of pest management practices. This phenomenon is notorious; familiar in biblical references to cyclical plagues of locust and discussions of pesticide treadmills, where pests resurge following the evolution of pesticide resistance. Targeted “silver-bullet” approaches, whether chemical, mechanical, biological, or genetic in nature, apply a reductionist lens toward the removal of a specific target pest, often ignoring ecological context, by application of said silver-bullet. In this review article, we cover how past and recent developments in theoretical ecology and complex systems dynamics provide a general …

A Gis Look At Woody Plant Encroachment (Wpe): Mapping Grassland Degradation Through Habitat Succession, Brandon M. Wolf

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The grasslands of North America remain at a fraction of their historic range. Estimates of acreage remaining vary between 4% and 13%. Affectionately known as the Great Plains, these grasslands have been converted for agriculture, rangeland, infrastructure, and civilization itself. Woody Plant Encroachment (WPE) on the grasslands is a silent, often overlooked, serious threat. The use of a simple GIS can estimate current acreage of a grassland, its adjacent woodland corridor, riparian buffers, and predict future acreage based on trends and hypothetical management scenarios, or lack thereof. The American prairie, though a remnant of its former self, is still home …

Fostering Socio-Ecological Resilience To Wildfire By Interconnecting Knowledge Systems At Cal Poly Humboldt, Jeffrey M. Kane, Erin Kelly, Benjamin Graham, David Greene

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

The wildfire-related challenges of Northern California and many other regions in the western United States are daunting in scope and magnitude. Ecologically and culturally salient solutions that limit the negative impacts of wildfire and promote resilience of human and ecological systems will require newer approaches. Through Cal Poly Humboldt and the Fire Resilience Institute, there is greater emphasis on the interconnection of knowledge systems across education, training, research, and management. Here we highlight several on-going efforts that seek to enhance the fire resilience workforce, promote socio-ecological resilience through interdisciplinary projects, and inform management through monitoring and research projects that intentionally …