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Archipelago On Lockdown: An Assessment Of The Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Philippines’ Micro, Small, And Medium Enterprises (Msmes) Across The Food Value Chain, Remund Jordan D. Labios, Dinah Pura T. Depositario, Nohreen Ethel P. Manipol, Renen Szillardo C. De Guzman, Dia Noelle F. Velasco

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

The paper examined the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the Philippines’ MSMEs across the food value chain and the strategies that food-based MSMEs employed to cope with disruptions. A food value chain framework was used to
analyze the food-based MSMEs, focusing on the input and service provision, production/farming, processing, transport and storage, retailing, and consumption. Results revealed the following: (1) different quarantine protocols across provincial and local boundaries contributed to the complexity of transporting inputs and products; (2) limited mobility of manpower contributed to the challenges of continuing business operations; (3) there was an observed increase in new financing programs …

Determining The Causal Link Of Honey Bee Gut Microbial Composition On Behavioral Maturation, Thi Lan Anh Nguyen, Cassondra L. Vernier, Gene E. Robinson

PRECS student projects

Emerging studies have supported the association between gut microbiome and host behaviors. However, it is unclear whether changes in the gut microbiome cause changes in host behaviors or vice versa. The European honey bee, Apis mellifera, is an excellent animal model for identifying the causal link between microbiome and behavioral changes over the lifetime of the host as the honey bee gut contains a simple microbiome composed of only nine bacterial taxa clusters. In honey bees, division of labor occurs through behavioral maturation where age determines what task a bee does. For example, older bees forage while younger bees perform …

An Assessment Of Swine Industry In The Philippines, Christian Paul L. Fang, Cenon D. Elca

Journal of Economics, Management and Agricultural Development

This paper assessed the performance of swine industry in the Philippines by synthesizing secondary data from 1990 to 2020. Inefficiencies in major swine value chain segments were identified. The factors affecting swine production and pork consumption were determined using multiple regression analysis. The bottlenecks found along the chain are yellow corn supply deficit, fragmented structures of yellow corn and backyard farms, high disease susceptibility of backyard farms, and compromised meat quality produced from private slaughterhouses. The own price, inventory, and slaughtered animals have significant direct effects on swine production. The retail price of pork and income have significant direct influences …

The Applicability, Efficacy And Risks Of Natural Sequence Farming In The Dryland Agricultural Zone Of South West Western Australia, Nik Callow, Rose Anne Bell

Natural resources commissioned reports

Natural sequence farming (NSF) is an approach to restoring degraded agricultural land, developed by Peter Andrews on his property Tarwyn Park in New South Wales. The approach aims to rehydrate the landscape by slowing the movement of water with a series of structures and then using this water to drive plant growth and improve soil function.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development engaged the University of Western Australia to review the applicability, efficacy and risks associated with using NSF principles and practices in the south-west dryland agricultural zone in Western Australia. The review has combined information from the …

Can In Vitro Phenotypes Of Fusarium Graminearum Indicate In Planta Aggressiveness?, Harrison Hall, Santiago Mideros

PRECS student projects

What is Fusarium graminearum and what does it do? Fusarium graminearum (F. graminearum), causes Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) in wheat and barley. FHB results in crop destruction and toxins that are harmful for human and animal consumption. There are several populations of F. graminearum present in North America and rates of in planta aggressiveness and toxin levels vary by Population. Visually, it is difficult to determine the aggression or toxin levels of an infection. However, it may be possible to determine this through in vitro growth. By using in vitro growth, it may be possible to determine in planta aggressiveness …

Effects Of Color Polymorphism And Lighting Environments On Male Bluefin Killifish Behavior, Elijah Davis, Ratna Karatgi, Becky Fuller

PRECS student projects

Polymorphism occurs when multiple, discrete phenotypes exist for a trait within the same species. Polyphenism, a form of phenotypic plasticity, occurs when the environment in which animals develop determines which discrete, morph is expressed. Color polymorphism occurs in male killifish anal fins where red, yellow, and blue color morphs are observed. Populations are found in both spring and swamp habitats. A polyphenism is present where males develop blue anal fins when raised in tea-stained water, which mimics swamps. My goal was to determine whether this plasticity is adaptive. Do blue males have an advantage in swamp water? Previous research involving …

Behavior And Genomics Of Nicotine-Seeking Larval Zebrafish, Kuzivakwashe Chinyanya, Andrew Button, Henning Schneider Phd

Annual Student Research Poster Session

Nicotine-use behavior is one of the main causes of preventable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Helping people quit nicotine products is a main goal of our projects. Developing a zebrafish model for nicotine use behavior could provide a tool for studying the underlying genetic, environmental and neuronal elements of nicotine use behavior. The high reproductive rate and short generation time of zebrafish as well as available genetic tools represent major advantages for studying potential links between behavior and genes in zebrafish. In our experiments, we use a behavioral assay for studying nicotine-choice behavior …

Water Current, Volume 53, No. 1, Summer 2021

Water Current Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Droughtscape, Summer 2021, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

DroughtScape, Summer 2021

Consumer Perceptions Of Plastic-Free Food Packaging, Cara Conner

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study surveyed consumers in Fayetteville, Arkansas to assess their perceptions of plastic-free food packaging. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, surveys were administered via email to Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences undergraduate students and faculty at the University of Arkansas. Eleven questions were asked in the survey. Numerical values were assigned to each answer option in order to interpret the results. The factors impacting consumer decisions to purchase foods packaged with or without plastic were ranked from greatest to least: sanitation/safety, availability where shopping, cost, shelf-life, and convenience. Food packaging materials were ranked from most to …

Understanding And Contextualizing Foraging Among Recreational Opportunities In The North Central United States, Iris I. Mcfarlin

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

Over the past few decades, there has been a resurgence in popularity and recognition of foraging for wild products and foods. Despite the cultural importance and ubiquity of foraging, there have been relatively few scientific investigations (as compared to other consumptive outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing) of the social factors influencing foraging behavior, landscape preferences, and the types of materials foraged in the United States. As such, there is a fundamental need to understand more about the practice and about those who participate. We conducted two surveys to gather information on foragers’ motivations and demographic characteristics and to …

Consulting Place As Stakeholder: Accessing The Input Of Ecological Community, Hunter Adkisson

Landscape Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This is a project about how landscape architects approach the landscape in their design process. Indigenous worldviews hold that the world is living and animate in its own right. When we consider stakeholder engagement in this light, the need arises to extend the definition of stakeholders to include the ecological communities of place – the flora, fauna, soils, and other non-human elements of place. To gather that input, I experimented with techniques to access a greater awareness of ecological community at two sites with different levels of urbanity and types of land management practices. This experimental approach was surprisingly successful …

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter, July 2021, University Of Northern Iowa. Iowa Waste Reduction Center.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter

Contents:

--- What is PFAS and How Does it Affect the Environment?
--- IWRC's STAR4D Program Awarded New Contract
--- Food, Recycling and PFAS Program Awarded Funding
--- Industry News

Range-Wide Declines Of Northern Spotted Owl Populations In The Pacific Northwest: A Meta-Analysis, Alan B. Franklin, Katie M. Dugger, Damon B. Lesmeister, Raymond J. Davis, J. David Wiens, Gary C. White, James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Charles B. Yackulic, Carl J. Schwarz, Steven H. Ackers, L. Steven Andrews, Larissa L. Bailey, Robin Bown, Jesse Burgher, Kenneth P. Burnham, Peter C. Carlson, Tara Chestnut, Mary M. Conner, Krista E. Dilione, Eric D. Forsman, Elizabeth M. Glenn, Scott A. Gremel, Keith A. Hamm, Dale R. Herter, J. Mark Higley, Rob B. Horn, Julianna M. Jenkins, William L. Kendall, David W. Lamphear, Christopher Mccafferty, Trent L. Mcdonald, Janice A. Reid, Jeremy T. Rockweit, David C. Simon, Stan G. Sovern, James K. Swingle, Heather Wise

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) inhabits older coniferous forests in the Pacific Northwest and has been at the center of forest management issues in this region. The immediate threats to this federally listed species include habitat loss and competition with barred owls (Strix varia), which invaded from eastern North America. We conducted a prospective meta-analysis to assess population trends and factors affecting those trends in northern spotted owls using 26 years of survey and capture-recapture data from 11 study areas across the owls' geographic range to analyze demographic traits, rates of population change, and occupancy parameters for spotted …

Snowier Winters Extend Autumn Availability Of High-Quality Forage For Caribou In Arctic Alaska, J. C, Richert, A. J. Leffler, D. E. Spalinger, J. M. Walker

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) rely on the short Arctic growing season to restore body condition, support the demands of lactation, and prepare for the long arctic winter, making them susceptible to even small changes in forage availability or quality. Body condition in the summer and autumn is linked to winter survival rates and fecundity in cows, critical factors in the productivity of caribou populations. Climate change predictions of warmer and wetter northern winters suggest increased snowfall over Alaska’s North Slope, which has recently been verified between 1995 and 2017. However, a comprehensive analysis of how deeper snow will affect caribou forage …

Determination Of Freedom-From-Rabies For Small Indian Mongoose Populations In The United States Virgin Islands, 2019–2020, A. Springer Browne, Hannah M. Cranford, Clint N. Morgan, James A. Ellison, Are Berentsen, Nicholas Wiese, Alexandra Medley, John Rossow, Leanne Jankelunas, Alan S. Mckinley, Claudia D. Lombard, Nicole F. Angeli, Thomas Kelley, Jennifer Valiulus, Bethany Bradford, Valicia J. Burke-France, Cosme J. Harrison, Irene Guendel, Marissa Taylor, Gerard L. Blanchard, Jeffrey B. Doty, David J. Worthington, David Horner, Keith R. Garcia, Joseph Roth, Brett R. Ellis, Kristine M. Bisgard, Ryan Wallace, Esther M. Ellis

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Mongooses, a nonnative species, are a known reservoir of rabies virus in the Caribbean region. A cross-sectional study of mongooses at 41 field sites on the US Virgin Islands of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas captured 312 mongooses (32% capture rate). We determined the absence of rabies virus by antigen testing and rabies virus exposure by antibody testing in mongoose populations on all three islands. USVI is the first Caribbean state to determine freedom-from-rabies for its mongoose populations with a scientifically-led robust cross-sectional study. Ongoing surveillance activities will determine if other domestic and wildlife populations in USVI are …

Testing A Bite-Shortened Hook To Minimize Fish Handling In A Recreational Fishery, Holden E. Harris, Brian K. Whalen, Andrew G. Gude, Michael S. Allen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Discard mortality can make fishing unsustainable, even in catch-and-release or highly regulated fisheries. However, fishing practices and gears that minimize hook injury, handling, and air exposure can considerably improve fitness and survival in released fish. This study tested whether modified hooks could allow anglers to successfully land and then release fish in the water and without handling. Standard, barbless, and bite-shortened hooks were used to catch Spotted Seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus (n > 75 per hook type), and logistic models were used to assess the differences in landing success and hook self-release success by hook type and categorical fish size. Average landing …

Landscape Of Stress: Tree Mortality Influences Physiological Stress And Survival In A Native Mesocarnivore, Jennifer R. Kordosky, Eric M. Gese, Craig M. Thompson, Patricia A. Terletzky, Lorin A. Neuman-Lee, Jon D. Schneiderman, Kathryn L. Purcell, Susannah S. French

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Climate change and anthropogenic modifications to the landscape can have both positive and negative effects on an animal. Linking landscape change to physiological stress and fitness of an animal is a fundamental tenet to be examined in applied ecology. Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone that can be used to indicate an animal’s physiological stress response. In the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, fishers (Pekania pennanti) are a threatened mesocarnivore that have been subjected to rapid landscape changes due to anthropogenic modifications and tree mortality related to a 4-year drought. We measured cortisol concentrations in the hair of 64 …

Risks Of Introduction And Economic Consequences Associated With African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever And Foot-And-Mouth Disease: A Review Of The Literature, Vienna Brown, Ryan S. Miller, Sophie C. Mckee, Karina H. Ernst, Nicole M. Didero, Rachel M. Maison, Meredith J. Grady, Stephanie A. Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

African swine fever (ASF), classical swine fever (CSF) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) are considered to be three of the most detrimental animal diseases and are currently foreign to the U.S. Emerging and re-emerging pathogens can have tremendous impacts in terms of livestock morbidity and mortality events, production losses, forced trade restrictions, and costs associated with treatment and control. The United States is the world's top producer of beef for domestic and export use and the world's third-largest producer and consumer of pork and pork products; it has also recently been either the world's largest or second largest exporter of pork …

Economic Losses Of Catfish To Avian Predation: A Case Report, Ganesh Kumar, Shraddha Hegde, David Wise, Charles Mischke, Brian Dorr

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian predation in catfish aquaculture has been a persistent issue throughout the history of the industry, and as production has expanded predation from piscivorous birds has intensified. Catfish ponds in the Mississippi River delta (in the Mississippi migratory flyway) provide a constant and readily accessible supply of forage for birds. Intensive foraging by fish-eating birds has led to a specific regulatory policy and numerous on-farm and regional management efforts. However, in 2016, legal challenges lead to recision of some federal policies and uncertainty as to allowable management, resulting in limitations on bird depredation. Estimating the extent of fish losses to …

Flood Hazard Mapping And Assessment Of Precipitation Monitoring System Using Gis-Based Morphometric Analysis And Trmm Data: A Case Study Of The Wadi Qena Watershed, Egypt, Wael M. Elsadek, Wael E. Mahmod, Mona G. Ibrahim

Applied Environmental Research

Wadi Qena is one of the Nile Valley areas particularly at risk of severe flash flooding, located in Egypt. The study aims to verify TRMM rainfall data (TRMM 3B42), using eight stations across Egypt as well as relies on morphometric analysis to generate a flood risk map based on the ranking method. Three process could be recognized through the study, calibration, correction and verification processes. The results discuss the match daily rainfall trends of TRMM and observed data, producing a correction equation for TRMM data with root mean square error (RMSE) value of 0.837 mm d-1 and R2= 0.238 (calibration …

Application Of Gis And Multi-Criteria Statistical Techniques In Assessing Water Quality In The Coastal Province Of Vietnamese Mekong Delta, Giao Thanh Nguyen, Thi Hong Nhien Huynh

Applied Environmental Research

The study was conducted to evaluate the quality and spatial distribution of surface water quality in Soc Trang, a coastal province using Geographic information system (GIS) and multivariate statistical analysis. Water monitoring data was collected from 19 sampling locations with 19 parameters were analyzed from February 2019 to August 2020. The results indicated that water quality was contaminated with organic matters, nutrients, coliforms and salinity. Water quality index (WQI=22–73) indicated that water quality was from poor to medium level. Cluster analysis (CA) classified 19 monitoring sites into 7 groups and 19 months into 3 seasons including rainy season, rainy season-early …

Adsorption Of Methylene Blue By Low-Cost Biochar Derived From Elephant Dung, Yanasinee Suma, Nittaya Pasukphun, Numfon Eaktasang

Applied Environmental Research

Elephant dung biochar (ED350) prepared by controlled heating at 350 ºC was used to adsorb methylene blue (MB) in an aqueous solution. The effects of adsorption time, pH, adsorbent dosage, and initial MB concentration were examined. Kinetic, isotherm, and thermo-dynamic models were then further analyzed to determine the adsorption. The results show that ED350 was found to be efficient within 180 min. The optimum pH of MB adsorption was 11. The Langmuir isotherm model was found to be the most suitable fit for the adsorption equilibrium data, with ED350 having a homogeneous surface. The calculated equilibrium parameter (RL) …

Riverology: Promoting Stewardship Of Rivers Through Youth Participation In Science And Art, Robin R. Dunbar

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This project focuses on mentoring children to help reduce marine debris in their local river by implementing one of ten lessons from an inquiry-based Riverology curriculum to empower youth voice, increase geo-literacy, and spatial thinking. Eighteen participants aged seven and eight, piloted Riverology Lesson 2: What Do I Know or Imagine about the Elizabeth River? that includes six steps: inquire, visualize, draw, share, act, and reflect. The children were asked to make drawings before and after viewing an Elizabeth River Story Map presentation (Dunbar, 2021a). The drawings were then compared to see if the participants included marine debris, stewardship solutions, …

Improvement Of Biochar Through Ozonization And Biosafety Of Genetically Engineered Cyanobacteria, Oumar Sacko

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Through the innovative technique of biochar post-production surface oxygenation by ozonization, we were able to improve certain properties of biochar. In project one, the incubation of an insoluble phosphate rock material (hydroxyapatite) with the wet ozonized pine 400 biochar and its filtrate resulted in a solubilization of 80 times more phosphate from hydroxyapatite (569.0 mg/L ± 6.4) compared to the pure water-hydroxyapatite control (7.2 mg/L ± 0.3). The ozonized biochar may provide a new possible way to unlock the phosphorus from insoluble phosphate mineral phases. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a key property of biochar when used as a …

Deep-Sea Biodiversity At The Extremes Of The Salas Y Gómez And Nazca Ridges With Implications For Conservation, Alan M. Friedlander, Whitney Goodell, Jonatha Giddens, Erin E. Easton, Daniel Wagner

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges are underwater mountain chains that stretch across 2,900 km in the southeastern Pacific and are recognized for their high biodiversity value and unique ecological characteristics. Explorations of deep-water ecosystems have been limited in this region, and elsewhere globally. To characterize community composition of mesophotic and deep-sea demersal fauna at seamounts in the region, we conducted expeditions to Rapa Nui (RN) and Salas y Gómez (SyG) islands in 2011 and Desventuradas Islands in 2013. Remote autonomous baited-cameras were used to conduct stationary video surveys between 150–1,850 m at RN/SyG (N = 20) and 75–2,363 …

Individual Exposure Potential Assessment For Livestock Based On Spatial-Temporal Analysis Of Gps Data And Behavior Patterns Classification In Cove Wash Watershed, Arizona, Zhuoming Liu

Geography ETDs

This thesis examined the geospatial and temporal grazing patterns of domesticated livestock to model individual-level exposure potential to abandoned uranium mine (AUM) waste in a tribal community in the Southwest United States. Lotek Litetrack Global Positioning System (GPS) collars collected data at 20-minute-intervals for 2 flocks of sheep and goats during the Spring and Summer of 2019. Depending on the flock and individual animals, tracking time ranges from 10 days to four months. This research developed a GIS-based exposure potential framework that built on existing methodologies in time geography, GIS, and exposure mapping. This thesis aims to: 1) classify GPS …

Improving Environmental Protection: One Imagined Touch At A Time, Luke Ingalls Liska

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Can imagined touch of flora and fauna (i.e., the plants and animals of the natural world) make you more willing to support environmental protection efforts? Across seven studies, I demonstrate that by asking consumers to imagine touching fauna, marketers can encourage consumers to become more engaged in environmental protection efforts. This effect occurs because imagined touch generates haptic imagery, which enhances a consumer’s emotional attachment to fauna. I demonstrate that emotional attachment to fauna induced via imagined touch enhances individual’s willingness to share Facebook posts, improves their willingness to support increased fines for environment-related offenses, and increases the number of …

Green Business And The Culture Of Capitalism: Constructing Narratives Of Environmentalism, Julia S. Jester

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are widespread colloquial arguments claiming that any actions taken to combat climate change will be bad for business and the economy, scaring people into continuing their support for the status quo for fear of their financial security. Alternatively, those attempting to combat ecological destruction have subsequently made transitions to sustainable development of products and shifting consumer behavior within this system. There is one core argument that both sides have, albeit in different ways – capitalism and environmentalism are seemingly incompatible; one cannot be successful without the eradication of the other. While it may appear there are only strict binary …

Avulsions Drive Ecosystem Services And Economic Changes In The Brazilian Pantanal Wetlands, Rômullo O. Louzada, Ivan Bergier, Fabio O. Roque, Michael M. Mcglue, Aguinaldo Silva, Mario L. Assine

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

The Pantanal wetland is a mosaic of landscapes that brings together rich biodiversity with the valuable activities of fishing, tourism and ranching. Human occupation and land use in the headwaters have intensified the rate of channel avulsions in the lower reaches of the largest megafan on the Taquari River. This study evaluates the long-term changes of landscapes in the active depositional lobe of the Taquari megafan from the perspective of local communities of pantaneiros. Maps derived from multiple decades of multispectral Landsat data have proven useful for studying land cover changes through the relationship between dry (terrestrial vegetation and …