Digital Commons Network^™

Education In The Environment: A Hands-On Student Research And Outdoor Learning Experience: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending November 30, 2004, Margaret N. Rees

Reports (PLI Education)

During the past three-months, the focus of the university’s efforts has been 1) making progress on the hiring of permanent project managers for the Education in the Environment Strategy and the Forever Earth / Wonderful Outdoor World on the Water (WOW) projects; 2) completing legal review of the cooperative agreement and standard operating procedures required for the university to assume operations of the Forever Earth vessel; and 3) writing curriculum for the WOW and Forever Earth projects.

Landscape Assessment For The Buckskin Mountain Area, Wildlife Habitat Improvement, Bureau Of Land Management

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

No abstract provided.

Red Rock Desert Learning Center Core Group Meeting: November 16, 2004, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Reports (RRLC)

1. Introductions (5 min.)
2. Approval of Minutes from October 19 Meeting (5 minutes)
3. Presentation of Biology Curriculum Strands – Paul Buck (15 min.)
4. Discussion of Possible Advisory Board Structures – Michael Reiland (15 min.)
5. Update from Line and Space Architects – Les Wallach/Henry Tom (20 min.)
6. Discussion of Student Risk Analysis/Liability Issues (15 min.)
7. Standing Reports (10 minutes)
   A. UNLV/CESU Update – Nancy Flagg
   B. BLM Update – Michael Reiland
8. Committee Reports (5 min.)
   A. Building Committee – Angie Lara
9. Open Discussion / New Business (5 min.)
   A. January Meeting – Tuesday, January 18, 10:30 a.m., UNLV Paradise
   Campus
   B. Core …

Predators In Natural Fragments: Foraging Ecology Of Wolves In British Columbia’S Central And North Coast Archipelago, C. T. Darimont, M. H. H. Price, N. N. Winchester, J. Gordon-Walker, P. C. Paquet

Biogeography and Ecological Opportunity Collection

Aim Predator–prey dynamics in fragmented areas may be influenced by spatial features of the landscape. Although little is known about these processes, an increasingly fragmented planet underscores the urgency to predict its consequences. Accordingly, our aim was to examine foraging behaviour of an apex mammalian predator, the wolf (Canis lupus), in an archipelago environment.

Location Mainland and adjacent archipelago of British Columbia, Canada; a largely pristine and naturally fragmented landscape with islands of variable size and isolation.

Methods We sampled 30 mainland watersheds and 29 islands for wolf faeces in summers 2000 and 2001 and identified prey remains. We examined …

Law, Evolution, And The Brain: Applications And Open Questions, Owen D. Jones

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This essay discusses several issues at the intersection of law and brain science. If focuses principally on ways in which an improved understanding of how evolutionary processes affect brain function and human behavior may improve law's ability to regulate behavior. It explores sample uses of such "evolutionary analysis in law" and also raises questions about how that analysis might be improved in the future. Among the discussed uses are: 1) clarifying cost-benefit analyses; 2) providing theoretical foundation and potential predictive power; 3) assessing comparative effectiveness of legal strategies; and 4) revealing deep patterns in legal architecture. Throughout, the essay emphasizes …

Apparent Sibling Rivalry In The Freshwater Clam Sphaerium Striatinum, Mark Beekey, Ronald H. Karlson

Biology Faculty Publications

In Sphaerium striatinum, a freshwater brooding bivalve, up to 97.5% of offspring that adults initially produce fail to reach independence. Marsupial sacs, specialized extensions of gill filaments that act as nurseries, initially contain multiple offspring in various sizes and stages of development. However, by the time offspring reach later stages of development, marsupial sacs typically contain only one offspring. Brood mortality is hypothesized to be the result of competition among embryos for nutrients and/or space. Sphaeriid eggs do not contain enough yolk for offspring to complete development. Adults supply additional nutrients required to reach independence. Brood capacity is limited by …

Red Rock Desert Learning Center Core Group Meeting: October 19, 2004, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Reports (RRLC)

1. Introductions (5 min.)
2. Approval of Minutes from September 21 Meeting (5 minutes)
3. Review & Discussion of Suggested Core Curriculum Themes – Jeanne Klockow/Michael Reiland (20 min.)
4. Update from Line and Space Architects – Les Wallach/Henry Tom (20 min.)
5. Standing Reports (20 minutes)
   A. UNLV/CESU Update – Nancy Flagg
   C. BLM Update – Michael Reiland
6. Committee Reports (10 min.)
   A. Building – Angie Lara
   B. Design Oversight – David Frommer
   C. Educational Programs – Paul Buck
   D. Fund-Raising & Partnerships – Blaine Benedict
   E. NEPA – Charles Carroll
   F. Operations – Jack Ramsey
   G. Other Uses – Pat Williams
   H. Wild …

Effect Of Thermal Discharges On The Fish Assemblages Of A Nuclear Power Plant In Northern Taiwan, Ching-Yi Chen, Kwang-Tsao Shao, Yueh-Yuan Tu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The purpose of this paper is to study whether the thermal plume can affect the fish assemblages in the waters around the outlet area of the Second Nuclear Power Plant located at Kuosheng, a coastline between Yehliu and Chinshan village, northern coast of Taiwan. Both experimental and control stations of underwater census for reef fishes and of drift net sampling for pelagic or demersal fishes above sandy bottom were monitored four times per year from March 2001 to September 2004. The results show that no significant dif-ferences were found between the fish assemblages of the thermal waters and normal ambient …

Upwelling And Degree Of Nutrient Consumption In Nanwan Bay, Southern Taiwan, Chen-Tung Arthur Chen, Bing-Jye Wang, Li-Yu Hsing

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The newly proposed Degree of Nutrient Consumption (DNC) of upwelled waters was used to evaluate the upwelling process in Nanwan Bay off the southern tip of Taiwan. DNC values were found to be low in subsurface waters or in newly upwelled waters. In general, a low DNC value was detected alongside other traditionally used upwelling indicators such as lower temperature, pH and % oxygen saturation but higher salinity, nutrients and chlorophyll a. On the other hand, the DNC value could be several times higher in aged upwelled water found in the surface layer.

Nearshore Macrobenthic Communities Off Two Nuclear Power Plants In Northern Taiwan, I-Jiunn Cheng, Pou-Chung Ko, Shin-I Hu, Chien-Peng Hu, Trip-Ping Wei

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The nearshore macrobenthic communities outside the Nuclear Power Plants I and II were monitored on a seasonal basis from winter, 2000 to summer, 2004. The animal and sediment were sampled by scuba diving. The macrobenthic assemblages, sediment characteristics and total organic content were analyzed. The macrobenthos assemblages in terms of species richness, density and biomass was determined. The mean grain size and sorting (i.e. inclusive graphic standard deviation) of sediment were also determined. The small-sized annelids and crustaceans were the dominant macrobenthos. A total of 96 species of macrobenthos was found in the sediment near the Nuclear Power Plant I. …

The Coastal Currents Offshore The Nuclear Power Plants At Northern Taiwan, Jian-Hwa Hu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Coastal tidal currents play an important role to disperse the warm waters outlet from cooling system of a nuclear power plant (NPP). The modern technique of ship-board acoustic Doppler current profiler (SB-ADCP) was intensively applied to scan the current fields around the three NPPs at northern Taiwan. Sophisticated data processing provides time series of synoptic flow charts of vectors in grids associated with streamlines, allowing the visualization of how the bay like coastline input its boundary layer effect to the current field. The generation of cyclonic or anti-cyclonic vortices inside the bay in flood or ebb tide and their migration …

Taxonomic Composition And Seasonal Distribution Of Copepod Assemblages From Waters Adjacent To Nuclear Power Plant I And Ii In Northern Taiwan, Jiang-Shiou Hwang, Yueh-Yuan Tu, Li-Chun Tseng, Lee-Shing Fang, Sami Souissi, Tien-Hsi Fang, Wen-Tseng Lo, Wen-Hung Twan, Shih-Hui Hsiao, Cheng-Han Wu, Shao-Hung Peng, Tsui-Ping Wei, Qing-Chao Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The nuclear power plants are very important and cheap electric power source for Taiwan. However, the Nuclear Power Plant I and II (NPP I and II) are located in the northern Taiwan where the most populations inhabit. Therefore, the impact of operation of nuclear power plants on the surrounding environment, particularly in the surrounding waters, has drawn great attention to the public of Taiwan. Here we reported the first analyses on a three-year period of monitoring copepod assemblages in the adjacent waters to the NPP I and II. The copepod assemblages in the vicinity waters of NPP I and II …

Marine Environmental Radioactivity Near Nuclear Power Plants In Northern Taiwan, Chih-An Huh, Chih-Chieh Su, Yueh-Yuan Tu, Kwang-Tsao Shao, Ching-Yi Chen, I-Jiunn Cheng

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The levels and composition of environmental radioactivity at the outlets of nuclear power plants and nearby coastal environs in northern Taiwan have been investigated by gamma spectrometric analysis of seawater, algae, fish and sediment samples collected systematically in the past four years. The results show that anthropogenic radionuclides contribute very little to the total radioactivities in all types of samples. Samples from the outlet of the Second Nuclear Power Plant are more enriched in artificial nuclides, with average algae samples containing ~4 Bq/kg of 137Cs + 54Mn + 60Co (or 3.6% of the total activity) and average sediment samples containing …

Physical Properties Of Thermal Plumes From A Nuclear Power Plant In The Southernmost Taiwan, Sen Jan, Chen-Tung Arthur Chen, Yueh-Yuan Tu, Hsien-Shiow Tsai

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Circulation and hydrographic variations in the inner shelf of a semi-enclosed bay adjacent to a nuclear power plant of the southernmost Taiwan were analyzed using intensive observation data from 2003-2004. The dominant tide in the bay is a mixture of diurnal and semidiurnal components. Currents are dominated by tidal forcing which flows southwestward during flood and northeastward during ebb. The amplitudes of tidal currents range from 0.2 to 0.4 m/s. A persistent southwestward subtidal flow is present with a mean velocity of 0.15 m/s. The upwelled cold deep water in the central bay can intrude to the inner reach near …

Features Of The Fishing Ground Near The Third Nuclear Power Plant In Taiwan, Lei-Zong Cheng, Chen-Tung Arthur Chen

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The purpose of this study is to understand the features of the fishing ground near the Third Nuclear Power Plant in Taiwan such as the fish species, catch, the amount of money of catch, the distribution area of fishing ground , cost and income of each voyage. Five adopted fishing rafts were applied in this research to gather relevant data for the investigation from July 1996 to December 2003. There are 146 kinds of species have been found for the total catches, most of the operating area were located at the center of the sea in which the thermal effluent …

A Trophic Model For Kuosheng Bay In Northern Taiwan, Hsing-Juh Lin, Kwang-Tsao Shao, Jiang-Shiou Hwang, Wen-Tseng Lo, I-Jiunn Cheng, Lih-Huwa Lee

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Using the Ecopath with Ecosim software system, a mass-balanced trophic model of Kuosheng Bay, where the Second Nuclear Power Plant is sited on the coast, was constructed. This model comprised 17 compartments, ranging from a trophic level of 1.00 for primary producers and detritus to 3.97 for piscivorous fish. The geometric mean of the trophic transfer efficiencies was 6.5%. The lower efficiencies were attributable to high flows to detritus, suggesting that the food web was more dependent on detritus than on primary producers to generate total system throughput. The total system throughput, system production, and system biomass were comparable to …

Hydrographical Studies Of Waters Adjacent To Nuclear Power Plants I And Ii In Northern Taiwan, Tien-Hsi Fang, Jing-Fang Chen, Yueh-Yuan Tu, Jiang-Shiou Hwang, Wen-Tseng Lo

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

From 2000 to 2003, water samples were seasonally collected from the coastal area near nuclear power plants (NPPs) I and II to assess the ecological impact of thermal effluent on the water quality. The water quality in the investigated area during the survey periods was as follows: pH, 7.87-8.40; dissolved oxygen, 3.61-7.11 mL/L; chlorophyll a, 0.07-1.9 µg/L; nitrite, 0.02-7.42 µM; nitrate, 0.3- 15.4 µM; phosphate, 0.02-1.48 µM; and silicate, 0.84-46.82 µM. The concentrations of nutrients in the spring and winter seasons were relatively higher than those in the summer and fall seasons. The concentrations of chlorophyll a showed the reverse …

Seasonal And Spatial Distribution Of Phytoplankton In The Waters Off Nuclear Power Plants, North Of Taiwan, Wen-Tseng Lo, Jiuan-Jiuan Hwang, Pei-Kai Hsu, Hung-Yen Hsieh, Yueh-Yuan Tu, Tien-Hsi Fang, Jiang-Shiou Hwang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Species composition of phytoplankton was monitored seasonally in the waters off the First and Second Nuclear Power plants (NPP1 and NPP2), north of Taiwan during 2001-2002. In total, 290 phytoplankton samples were collected and 265 taxa of phytoplankton were recorded. Chaetoceros compressus, Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima, Skeletonema costatum, Thalassionema nitzschioides, and Lauderia annulata were the top five dominant species. Together they comprised 75% of the total phytoplankton cells. The species number and abundance of phytoplankton showed distinct seasonal, annual, and spatial changes, higher abundance in 2002 than 2001 and highest in August in both years and lowest in March in 2001 and …

Temporal Changes In Fish Assemblage From The Impingement Data At The Second Nuclear Power Plant,Northern Taiwan, Yun-Chih Liao, Li-Shu Chen, Kwang-Tsao Shao, Yueh-Yuan Tu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The main purposes of this study are to find out the temporal fluctuation of marine fish community based on impingement data collected at the Second Nuclear Power Plant in recent years (September 2000 to May 2004), and to compare the recent fish community structure data to that of an earlier period, around 14 years ago (July 1987 to April 1990). Comparison of the data collected recently to that collected 14 years ago showed that there were no yearly or monthly differences. However, the community structures reflected by clustering dendrograms or MDS ordination plots were quite different between earlier and recent …

Effects Of Nuclear Power Plant Thermal Effluent On Marine Sessile Invertebrate Communities In Southern Taiwan, Yalan Chou, Ta-Yu Lin, Chen-Tung Arthur Chen, Li-Lian Liu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The present study aimed at determining the impact of cooling water discharge from a Nuclear Power Plant in Kenting, Taiwan on the recruitment patterns of marine invertebrates. Field experiments were conducted over a six-year period in the vicinity of the power plant, with six control sites, five at influent areas, one at reference site, and three experimental sites at effluent areas. In general, among the monitoring sites, polychaetes and bryozoans were the most abundant organisms, and their recruitment on settlement plates was always higher in influent than in effluent areas. Partially as a result of a 5-week accidental shutdown of …

The International Lepidoptera Survey Newsletter, October 2004, International Lepidoptera Survey, Ron Gatrelle, Vitaly Charny

International Lepidoptera Survey Newsletter

Contents

Phyciodes incognitus by Ron Gatrelle (pages 1-4)

New findings of Mitchell’s Satyr (Neonympha mitchellii) in Alabama by Vitaly Charny (pages 5-6)

Fall 2004, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Nest-Building And Spawning Behaviors In Nocomis Effusus (Actinopterygii: Cyprindae), Eugene G. Maurakis, George E. Maurakis

Virginia Journal of Science

Spawning behavior in Nocomis effusus is described from direct observations and review of videotapes made in Yellow Creek (Cumberland River drainage), Tennessee in 2003. Nest construction (i.e., excavating a concavity, forming a platform, and building a mound), and spawning behavior in N. effusus where a single breeding male excavates a pit and spawns with females on the upstream slope of his nest is like that described for Nocomis asper and Nocomis biguttatus. In digging a spawning pit, a male N. effusus reshapes and reorganizes substrate materials that results in spawning areas on the upstream slope of the nest composed …

Benthic Biological Monitoring Program Of The Elizabeth River Watershed (2003), Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

Macrobenthic communities of the Elizabeth River watershed have been quantitatively sampled since summer 1999. This report presents the data from the fifth year of sampling in 2003. The three objectives of the Benthic Biological Monitoring Program of the Elizabeth River watershed are: (1) To characterize the health of the tidal waters of the Elizabeth River watershed as indicated by the structure of the benthic communities. ( 2) To conduct trend analyses on long-term data at 14 fixed-point stations to relate temporal trends in the benthic communities to changes in water and/or sediment quality. Trend analyses will be updated …

Strong Interactions Between Juvenile Caribbean Spiny Lobster (Panulirus Argus) And Caribbean Reef Octopus (Octopus Briareus) In The Florida Keys, Jennifer Anne Lear

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Coexisting species may simultaneously compete for resources and interact as predator and prey, creating a strong interaction that can alter the structure of animal communities. This type of interaction potentially occurs between juvenile Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and Caribbean reef octopus (Octopus briareus) within hard-bottom habitats in the Florida Keys, FL (USA), where octopuses may consume juvenile lobsters and also compete with them for limited crevice shelters. I conducted a series of field and mesocosm studies to investigate the nature of octopus-lobster interactions and their implications for the structure of their populations in the wild. …

A Phylogeny Of Genera Of The Fish Family Nemipteridae (Percoidei) Based On The Cytochrome B Gene, Denise R. Sliter

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The species level taxonomy of the Nemipteridae is well understood but existing morphological data is insufficient to hypothesize a phylogeny of the five genera of this family of percoid fishes. Furthermore, there are three distinct and widely disparate habitat requirements within nemipterids and little is known how these evolved. Species in the genera Pentapodus, Scaevius and Scolopsis are typically found around shallow reefs. Nemipterus species are also found in shallow-water, but they inhabit strictly soft sediment bottoms. Parascolopsis is the only deep-water genus and its species are also found over soft sediments. Complete cytochrome b gene sequences (1140 base …

Description Of A Multilevel Cryptic New Species Of Phyciodes (Nymphalidae: Melitaeinae) From The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Ronald R. Gatrelle

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Phyciodes incognitus is described as a new species from the medium to high elevation hardwood forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains, type locality: Duncan Ridge Road, 3,700 ft., Union County, Georgia, United States. Phyciodes incognitus is verified from four colonies in Union County, Georgia, United States, and Clay and Macon counties, North Carolina, United States. It is projected to range, in suitable habitat, as far north as montane Pennsylvania, United States (indicated by photos). Phyciodes incognitus possesses a unique set of character traits that are virtually identical to both P. tharos and P. cocyta but at differing character …

Red Rock Desert Learning Center Core Group Meeting: September 21, 2004, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Reports (RRLC)

1. Introductions (5 min.)
2. Approval of Minutes from August 17 Meeting (5 minutes)
3. Potential Tie-in with City of Las Vegas New Directions YouthArts Program –
   Markus Tracy (20 min.)
4. Presentation of Education in the Environment Curriculum Matrix and correlation to
   RRDLC curriculum development – Jeanne Klockow (30 min.)
5. Discussion of Policy-making Board for the Center – Michael Reiland (15 min.)
6. Discussion of Observatory Location – Michael Reiland (25 min.)
7. Standing Reports (20 minutes)
   A. Line and Space Architects Update – Les Wallach/Henry Tom
   B. UNLV/CESU Update – Nancy Flagg
   C. RRCNCA Capital Improvements Update – BLM
8. Committee Reports (10 min.)
   A. …

Education In The Environment Partnership, Public Lands Institute

Presentations (PLI Education)

• Update on Oliver Ranch
• Update on Forever Earth
• Update on WOW on the Water

Wild Justice And Fair Play: Cooperation, Forgiveness, And Morality In Animals, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

In this paper I argue that we can learn much about ‘wild justice’ and the evolutionary origins of social morality – behaving fairly – by studying social play behavior in group-living animals, and that interdisciplinary cooperation will help immensely. In our efforts to learn more about the evolution of morality we need to broaden our comparative research to include animals other than non-human primates. If one is a good Darwinian, it is premature to claim that only humans can be empathic and moral beings. By asking the question ‘What is it like to be another animal?’ we can discover rules …