Digital Commons Network^™

Impact Of Adding Natural And Simulated Root Exudates On The Functioning Of Contaminated Soil, Bhagyashree P. Vaidya

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

No abstract provided.

Human-Wildlife Coexistence With Coyotes In Los Angeles County, Ca And Cook County, Il, Alan Eapen

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The expansion of coyotes (Canis latrans) into urban and suburban areas where human concentration is high has led to human-coyote conflicts often leading to increased management actions against coyotes. Recently in Los Angeles and Cook Counties, municipalities have developed coyote management plans to foster human-wildlife coexistence in an effort to reduce conflict, an emerging concept that promotes the cohabitation of humans and animals in shared landscapes. The thesis investigates coyote management plans and policies concerning human-coyote interactions in Los Angeles and Cook Counties to address human-wildlife. Using a case study analysis of Los Angeles and Cook Counties, this study analyzed …

Competing Behaviors Of Thermoregulation And Ambush Foraging In The Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus Horridus Horridus): A Mechanistic Assessment Of Thermal Conduction, Larry K. Kamees

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The interaction between the biophysical environment and ectotherm morphology elicits behaviors designed to maintain internal body temperature (Tb) within a range that promotes physiological functions. The short-term requirements of mass (energy requirements) and heat balance are subject to tradeoffs imposed by the organisms current physiological (heat and mass budgets) and environmental (biophysical, demographic, social, and predation) constraints and available resources. In temperate forests, extreme temperatures are common in summer even with intermittent sun exposure due to dense canopy cover. In Spring and Fall, temperatures can range from below freezing to 35 ℃ in 24 hrs. An ambush predator like the …

Nonbreeding Season Survival And Habitat Selection Of Northern Bobwhite In Northeastern Colorado, Joseph M. Wolske

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) have experienced range-wide population declines. Recent harvest data from northeastern Colorado suggests bobwhite populations have declined and populations can be sensitive to adult nonbreeding season survival. We monitored 157 bobwhites in northeastern Colorado, on the northern periphery of the species’ range, for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 nonbreeding seasons to estimate nonbreeding season survival and habitat selection. We used known-fate survival models to assess any variation in survival between the winter stages of early-winter, mid-winter, and late-winter, as well as sex, age class, and mass at the time of capture. Survival varied among winter stages, …

Societal Sustainability: Projects To Address The Three Dimensions Of A Sustainable Future, Braden K. Bateman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability is an important, commonly discussed societal goal regarding assurance of resources for the world to be able to enjoy a prosperous future. Three primary dimensions of sustainability include environmental, economic, and social sustainability, and objectives for various projects can be aimed at any of the three dimensions to pursue societal sustainability. Solar installations, which can be used to pursue environmental and economic sustainability, convert abundant sunlight to electricity, displacing fossil fuel use that contributes harmful greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The regulatory environment at the state level has a significant impact on the feasibility of solar projects. At present, …

Understanding Water Security In Portland, Oregon: Using Newspapers As Tools For Science Communication And Education, Julian Roth

University Honors Theses

Water insecurity is faced by a large percentage of the global population, particularly in urban areas, which face greater and more complex needs for water resources. Better tools are needed to be able to recognize and communicate water security issues in a way that reinforces water systems, engages all stakeholders, and recognizes early warnings of environmental injustice. This research examines utilizing public newspaper articles to produce these tools. Using a case-study approach, this thesis explores newspaper articles about water from 2014-2020 in the urban center of Portland, Oregon, to understand local water security issues and to build a system of …

Equilibria: Sustainability And Eco-Awareness In Music Production, Ashley A. Kahl-Placek

University Honors Theses

Cross-disciplinary exploration between science and the arts is one tool to help solve some of the biggest issues facing humans. Climate change and loss of biodiversity can be represented via sound art and contemporary music composition. Wholistic eco-awareness and sustainability are possible when projects are based in unique species-inspired soundscapes, the cultivation of targeted, action-inspiring lyricism, and a sustainable navigation of the marketing and distribution pathways of the music industry. From the fall of 2021 to summer of 2022, field recordings of unique ecosystems were collected and combined with songwriting rooted in a love and hope for the future of …

Evaluation Of Energy Release From Wildfires Across The Elevation Gradient, Isabelle Rose Butler

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Wildfires are an integral process in vegetative terrestrial land which shape ecosystem functions. A warming climate, however, has increased the size and severity of fires with significant ecosystem and societal implications. Furthermore, warming has changed characteristics of wildfires enabling a median upslope advance of 252 m in high-elevation forest fires from 1984 to 2017, allowing wildfires to burn in areas that were previously too wet to burn frequently. This exposed an additional 81,500 square kilometers (11%) of western US montane forests to fires.

In this thesis, I test the hypothesis that wildfires burn more intensely in high-elevation mesic forests than …

Epbc 2010/5491: Weaber Plain Development Project Annual Environmental Report - 1st May 2021 To 30th April 2022, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia, Kimberley Boab Consulting

Irrigated Agricultural Development in the North

This Weaber Plain Development Project EPBC Annual Environment Report for the period 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2022 has been developed in accordance with Condition 3 of the Commonwealth Environmental Approval for the Weaber Plain Development Project, EPBC 2010/5491, issued under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.

The Western Australian Government, Kimberley Agricultural Investment Pty Ltd (KAI) and the Yawoorroong Miriuwung Gajerrong Yirrgeb Noong Dawang Aboriginal Corporation (MG Corp) are completing farm development and conducting irrigated agriculture across the Weaber Plain, north of Kununurra in the eastern Kimberley region of WA.

This report has been prepared …

Red Drum (Sciaenops Ocellatus) Trophic Web Reconstruction Using Stable Isotopes In Two Systems In The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Elizabeth Mogus Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

Estuaries act as nurseries for many important fishes, including predators like Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus). Using gut content and stable isotope analyses to better understand juvenile S. ocellatus’ diet and role within the trophic web, a full year of data was collected on a quarterly basis to illustrate a change in diet based on resource availability at two study sites and for two non-overlapping S. ocellatus sizes. Panopeidae and Penaeidae were the most abundant prey items found in S. ocellatus stomachs for both sizes, sites, and four quarters representing over 50% of the diet. Stable isotope analyses …

Assessing Intra-Urban Particulate Matter (Pm2.5) Concentrations At The Lower Rio Grande Valley (Rgv), South Texas, Usa, Using Low-Cost Sensors, Esmeralda Mendez

Theses and Dissertations

Rapid technological developments of novel low-cost air quality sensors enable long-term ambient monitoring in neighborhood areas. In this study, spatial and temporal trends are analyzed by localized level monitoring with low-cost sensors (TSI BlueSky Air Quality Monitor). Eleven low-cost sensors were deployed across the Lower Rio Grande Valley, South Texas region: Brownsville, Edinburg, Weslaco, and Port Isabel. 24-hour PM2.5 concentrations are correlated with PM2.5 from existing Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Continuous Ambient Monitoring Stations (CAMSs) to express temporal and spatial heterogeneity from March 01, 2021, to March 31, 2022. Results indicated the deployed low-cost sensors as a better …

In Vivo Efficacy Of Pyrantel Pamoate As A Post-Exposure Prophylactic For Rat Lungworm (Angiostrongylus Cantonensis), John Jacob, Argon Steel, Lisa Kaluna, Steven Hess, Israel Leinbach, Carmen Antaky, Robert Sugihara, Lindsey Hamilton, Peter Follett, Kathleen Howe, Steven Jacquier, Supakit Wongwiwatthananukit, Susan Jarvi

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rat lungworm (Angiostrongylus cantonensis) is a neurotropic nematode, and the leading cause of eosinophilic meningitis worldwide. The parasite is usually contracted through ingestion of infected gastropods, often hidden in raw or partially cooked produce. Pharmaceutical grade pyrantel pamoate was evaluated as a post-exposure prophylactic against A. cantonensis. Pyrantel pamoate is readily available over-the-counter in most pharmacies in the USA and possesses anthelmintic activity exclusive to the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Administering pyrantel pamoate immediately after exposure should theoretically paralyze the larvae in the GIT, causing the larvae to be expelled via peristalsis without entering the systemic circulation. In this study, pyrantel …

Current Ecotoxicity Testing Needs Among Selected U.S. Federal Agencies, Patricia Ceger, Natalia Garcia-Reyero Vinas, David Allen, Elyssa Arnold, Raanan Bloom, Jennifer C. Brennan, Carol Clarke, Karen Eisenreich, Kellie Fay, Jonathan Hamm, Paula F.P. Henry, Katherine E. Horak, Wesley Hunter, Donna Judkins, Patrice Klein, Nicole Kleinstreuer, Kara Koehrn, Carlie A. Lalone, James P. Laurenson, Jessica K. Leet, Anna Lowit, Scott G. Lynn, Teresa Norberg-King, Edward J. Perkins, Elijah J. Petersen, Barnett A. Rattner, Catherine S. Sprankle, Thomas Steeger, Jim E. Warren, Sarah Winfield, Edward Odenkirchen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

U.S. regulatory and research agencies use ecotoxicity test data to assess the hazards associated with substances that may be released into the environment, including but not limited to industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, food additives, and color additives. These data are used to conduct hazard assessments and evaluate potential risks to aquatic life (e.g., invertebrates, fish), birds, wildlife species, or the environment. To identify opportunities for regulatory uses of non-animal replacements for ecotoxicity tests, the needs and uses for data from tests utilizing animals must first be clarified. Accordingly, the objective of this review was to identify the ecotoxicity test data …

Defining An Epidemiological Landscape That Connects Movement Ecology To Pathogen Transmission And Pace-Of-Life, Kezia Manlove, Mark Wilber, Lauren White, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Anni Yang, Marie L.J. Gilbertson, Meggan E. Craft, Paul C. Cross, George Wittemyer, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Pathogen transmission depends on host density, mobility and contact. These components emerge from host and pathogen movements that themselves arise through interactions with the surrounding environment. The environment, the emergent host and pathogen movements, and the subsequent patterns of density, mobility and contact form an ‘epidemiological landscape’ connecting the environment to specific locations where transmissions occur. Conventionally, the epidemiological landscape has been described in terms of the geographical coordinates where hosts or pathogens are located. We advocate for an alternative approach that relates those locations to attributes of the local environment. Environmental descriptions can strengthen epidemiological forecasts by allowing for …

Genomic Analysis And Characterization Of Surface Properties Of Naphthalene Degrading Acinetobacter Isolates, Gunn Emilie Berge

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

No abstract provided.

Land Use/ Land Cover Change Patterns And Trends In Two Dryland Regions, Omar Sulaiman Belhaj

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Development and climate change affect the environment in numerous ways and to varyingdegrees. This effect appears prominent and more influential in arid regions. Therefore, land use/ land cover in these regions experience profound changes such as plant cover decrease and extinction of some plant species. Also, land use/ land cover in these regions has critical impacts on the environment and its components, such as shrublands shrinking and losing the habitat of animal species. The degree of changes and effects reaches severe levels that become urgent to figure out the impacts and find solutions to stop or mitigate the negative consequences. …

Population Genetics Of Two Sympatric Species, The Round-Tailed Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma Modestum) And The Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus Texanus), In The Indio Mountains Of West Texas, Logan Miles Horne

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Population genetics of two sympatric species, the round-tailed horned lizard (phrynosoma modestum) and the greater earless lizard (cophosaurus texanus), in the Indio mountains of West Texas.

Chihuahuan Desert Rock Pool Community Assemblages: Patterns Of Taxonomic Diversity, Joseph Lee Mcdaniel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As climate change continues to become more prevalent, increasing temperatures and altering precipitation patterns will disrupt the environmental balance of ecosystems and spark the imminent threat of a 6th mass extinction event. Many researchers believe this has already begun, as losses for numerous taxonomic clades have been well documented; however, the loss of invertebrates is still unknown and may be much more severe than those of other animal clades. A significant factor contributing to the shortfall of invertebrate biodiversity loss is rooted in the lack of understanding of the diversity and distribution of these animals. There is still much to …

Biological Interaction Of Mn-Based Nanomaterials With Capsicum Annuum L. Under Salinity Stress, Yuqing Ye

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The foliar application of nanomaterials as a method to overcome abiotic stress is relatively new compared to their use as fertilizers or pesticides in agricultural practice. It is also vital to understand the interface between leaf and nanomaterials, as nanomaterials might translocate into crop edible tissues, thus, causing potential toxicity in living beings during food consumption. In this dissertation, salt-stressed Capsicum annuum L was exposed to manganese (Mn) -based nanomaterials (Mn2O3 nanoparticles (MnNPs) and graphene quantum dots doped with Mn (GQD-Mn)) at different stages (seed germination and full life cycle). The dissertation focuses on investigating the mechanism of how Mn-based …

Conservation Conflict: Rare Plant Conservation And Energy Development And Potential In The Colorado Plateau, Joshua Carrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Colorado Plateau provides numerous sources of energy, particularly natural oil and gas. This energy potential is being actively extracted for consumption on both public and private lands. Elements of biodiversity (e.g., listed and sensitive plant and animal species) are distributed among all land tenures, yet the laws protecting them can vary depending if they occur on public, private, or tribal land. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the geographic ranges of threatened, endangered, and sensitive species and their relationship to land ownership to preserve habitat and conserve species populations. I developed species distribution models (SDMs) to examine the predicted …

Comparing Fecal Dna Capture-Recapture Methods To Traditional Mark-Resight Methods For Estimating Abundance Of Mule Deer On Winter Ranges, Andi M. Stewart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Well-designed monitoring strategies are required to obtain accurate estimates of population abundance, which is important for evaluating conservation and management strategies. Obtaining abundance estimates using traditional survey methods, like aerial surveys, is not possible in all scenarios and can be expensive and risky. One survey method that has gained popularity in the last decade is fecal DNA-based capture-recapture (CMR). However, this method has not been evaluated on winter ranges or in snowy, winter conditions.

My first objective was to implement fecal DNA CMR to estimate abundance of mule deer in the Round Valley and Goodale winter survey areas in the …

Conservation Genetics Of A Declining Bumble Bee In Western North America; The Influence Of Geography, Dispersal Limitation, And Anthopogenic Activity, Ashley T. Rohde

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Conservation biology addresses the problem of species loss by identifying species in need of protection. Conservation biology has subfields to address different aspects of biodiversity loss, including genetics and sociology. I used genetic approaches to assess the conservation status of western bumble bees, a bumble bee species of conservation concern.

The western bumble bee is a bumble bee species that ranges from Alaska to New Mexico and as far east as Wyoming and Colorado. This species is disappearing in some places. It may soon be listed as endangered in the United States and is already listed as endangered in parts …

Effects Of Excessive Soil Phosphorus Accumulation On Loblolly Pine (Pinus Taeda L.) Seedlings, Hannah C. Bays

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many landowners in East Texas apply poultry litter to pastures as a source of nitrogen (N) for forage crops. After many years of repeated poultry litter application, soils can accumulate extremely high extractable phosphorus (P) concentrations, sometimes over 1000 mg kg^-1 of plant available P. Landowners report the conversion of these pastures to loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations is often problematic, with poor seedling survival and abnormal tree growth. This study was conducted to assess the effects of excessive soil phosphorus on loblolly pine seedlings. An outdoor pot study was conducted using bare root seedlings and triple …

Conservation Of Open-Canopy-Associated Wildlife: Multi-Scale Management Impacts On Imperiled Herpetofauna, Ethan Joseph Royal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The loss of open-canopy ecosystems throughout North America has precipitated declines in reptile and amphibian species associated with these habitat types. Current efforts to restore open-canopy ecosystems are underway in many areas, but the local distributions of, habitat characteristics required by and the effects of management actions on many herpetofauna species are poorly understood or entirely unknown. Research examining relationships among herpetofauna and their environments is often complicated by the extremely low detectability seen in many studies. We used landscape-scale, assemblage-level surveys to investigate the occupancy patterns and habitat associations of open-canopy-associated herpetofauna in two regions, as well as gain …

Final Butte Reclaimed Areas Maintenance And Monitoring (M&M) Plan In Accordance With Butte Reclamation Evaluation System (Bres), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Revised Draft Final Solid Media Management Program Plan, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

A Climate Of Confessionalization: Famine And Difference In The Late Ottoman Empire, Matthew Ghazarian

Environmental Science and Policy: Faculty Publications

After the 1877–78 Russo-Ottoman War, the Ottoman Empire saw the rise of ethnic and sectarian clashes in Anatolia, the Balkans, and elsewhere, and the task of explaining that rise remains unfinished. Many have examined the intellectual formations of ethnic and sectarian solidarities after 1878, but the availability of new ideas cannot alone account for their widespread uptake. Why after 1878 did ordinary people respond more to calls upon ethnic and sectarian solidarity? Drawing on sources surrounding the 1879 famine in the Ottoman East, this article steps away from imperial metropoles to examine overlapping environmental, financial, and technological disjunctures. Adopting the …

Nestedness And Modularity Of Avian Metacommunities Across Gradients Of Chesapeake Bay Island Characteristics, Grant Walter Bowers

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Islands are not only great models for understanding the ways in which communities are linked by the dispersal of their members to form metacommunities, but are of particular interest to conservationists. One important aspect of metacommunity structure is the degree of nestedness—whether or not less speciose communities are perfect subsets of more speciose communities. Another important metric of metacommunity structure is modularity—the degree to which communities belong to modules composed of other communities that share the same species but have little species overlap with communities from different modules. Environmental gradients have received insufficient attention as predictors of metacommunity nestedness and …

Exploring New Methods For Quantifying Soil Reduction, Redox Potential, And Iron Reducing Bacteria Using The Iris Method In Wetland Soils., Jessica Everett

Biology Theses

The presence of hydric soils is one of the key factors used to identify and delineate wetlands as specified by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The Indicator of Reduction in Soil (IRIS) Method, accepted by the National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils (NTCHS) can indicate iron reduction in soil which can identify hydric soil for wetland delineation efforts. This thesis was conducted to see if the IRIS method had potential for other uses such as quantifying relative measurements of iron reducing bacteria and to see if a colorimetric scale could be curated to bring less subjection to …

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Revised Final Residential Metals Abatement Program (Rmap) Plan, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.