Digital Commons Network^™

Contemporary Challenges And Opportunities For The Management Of Bird Damage At Field Crop Establishment, Christophe Sausse, Alice Baux, Michel Bertrand, Elsa Bonnaud, Sonia Canavelli, Alexandra Destrez, Page E. Klug, Lourdes Olivera, Ethel Rodriguez, Guilllermo Tellechea, Sebastian Zuil

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bird damage, from sowing to crop establishment, is an important issue for farmers in many parts of the world. However, reliable and cost-effective solutions remain elusive because management tools and research on the subject are limited. The spatial variability of damage across landscapes and the adaptative behaviour of birds create further challenges. Additionally, the issue must be tackled at the landscape scale and involve a variety of stakeholders with conflicting interests and objectives. We summarize some of the challenges and opportunities identified to face these difficulties and address four major research directions for operational solutions including 1) crop damage assessment, …

The Little Things That Count: Mapping Diversity Of West Florida’S Shelf, Nicole L. Seiden

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biodiversity is essential to the ecosystem functions responsible for generating the multi-billion-dollar industries that the US relies on for food, storm mitigation, tourism and recreation, but is facing increasing natural and anthropogenic threats. High-resolution diversity data covering large spatial areas would enhance current ecology knowledge and better address conservation concerns in the Gulf of Mexico. However, acquiring and handling data of this nature is resource intensive and has not yet been established. In this study, high spatial resolution data was collected from gastropod living and death assemblages collected over 10 years from the West Florida Shelf (WFS). A multivariate regression …

Wildlife-Friendly Fence Policy On Federal Public Lands Managed By The U.S. Forest Service And Bureau Of Land Management, Joshua D. Elliott

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Many wildlife species are negatively impacted by the presence of fences on the landscape. Climate change is only exacerbating the problem as home ranges shift and species face heightened levels of stress. In recent decades, wildlife biologists have studied these impacts and devised ways of constructing fences to increase habitat connectivity and significantly reduce fence-related injury and mortality rates. Conservationists attempting to address this issue on a landscape level face significant challenges resulting from complex land ownership patterns, specifically across the western United States.

The two largest landowners in the U.S. are the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the …

Icdp Workshop On The Lake Tanganyika Scientific Drilling Project: A Late Miocene–Present Record Of Climate, Rifting, And Ecosystem Evolution From The World's Oldest Tropical Lake, James M. Russell, Philip Barker, Andrew Cohen, Sarah Ivory, Ishmael Kimirei, Christine Lane, Melanie Leng, Neema Maganza, Michael M. Mcglue, Emma Msaky, Anders Noren, Lisa Park Boush, Walter Salzburger, Christopher Scholz, Ralph Tiedemann, Shaidu Nuru, Lake Tanganyika Scientific Drilling Project Consortium

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

The Neogene and Quaternary are characterized by enormous changes in global climate and environments, including global cooling and the establishment of northern high-latitude glaciers. These changes reshaped global ecosystems, including the emergence of tropical dry forests and savannahs that are found in Africa today, which in turn may have influenced the evolution of humans and their ancestors. However, despite decades of research we lack long, continuous, well-resolved records of tropical climate, ecosystem changes, and surface processes necessary to understand their interactions and influences on evolutionary processes. Lake Tanganyika, Africa, contains the most continuous, long continental climate record from the mid-Miocene …

Surviving Under The Reign Of El Niño Southern Oscillation: An Analysis Of The Effects Of Extreme El Niño Events On The Oceanographic And Biological Environment Of The Galápagos Islands, Ava Mcilvaine

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is commonly known as the atmospheric and oceanographic powerhouse of the Southern Pacific Ocean. From phytoplankton to apex predators, ENSO controls the stability of species’ populations within this biodiverse ocean environment. El Niño’s 9-15 month alteration of the heat storage in the tropical Pacific drastically shifts the temperature, nutrient, and circulation gradient its marine life is accustomed to. A single degree change in the ocean’s surface layer temperature can have large consequences for marine species, and El Niño is commonly associated with Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies (SSTAs) between 2°- 6° Celsius. The potential danger El …

Climate Change Effects On Volcanoes In The Tropics: A Review Of The Deglaciation Of Antisana And Its Effects On Subsequent Water Streams And Rivers Over 20 Years, Callie C. Rominger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Located in the Northern end of Ecuador lies the stunning glacier of Antisana which attracts many tourists and whose runoff provides a significant amount of water supply for Quito. Climate change is posing threats to many ecosystems world wide but will have a more substantial impact on the volcanoes in the tropics because they do not have a seasonally altered climate. Small changes in the air temperature can have larger impacts on these areas that are adapted to constant temperatures with seasonal precipitation changes. Climate change, in recent years, had caused an increase in the glacial retreat of the Antisana …

Distribution, Density, Movement, And Support For Management Of Mountain Sucker, Pantosteus Jordani, In The Black Hills Of South Dakota, Seth J. Fopma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mountain Sucker, Pantosteus jordani, is a cold-water species native to the Intermountain West. Fringe populations of Mountain Sucker have experienced declines in recent decades. The population of Mountain Sucker found in the Black Hills of South Dakota represents the eastern fringe of the species’ native range. Recognized as both an indicator of biologic health and as a species of greatest conservation need in South Dakota, recent studies have suggested significant declines in both distribution and abundance. Despite the recent study of Mountain Sucker in the region, increased understanding of Mountain Sucker ecology is needed to effectively manage for the conservation …

Gulls As Sources Of Environmental Contamination By Colistin-Resistant Bacteria, Alan B. Franklin, Andrew M. Ramey, Kevin T. Bentler, Nicole L. Barrett, Loredana M. Mccurdy, Christina A. Ahlstrom, Jonas Bonnedahl, Susan A. Shriner, Jeffrey C. Chandler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In 2015, the mcr-1 gene was discovered in Escherichia coli in domestic swine in China that conferred resistance to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort used in treating multi-drug resistant bacterial infections in humans. Since then, mcr-1 was found in other human and animal populations, including wild gulls. Because gulls could disseminate the mcr-1 gene, we conducted an experiment to assess whether gulls are readily colonized with mcr-1 positive E. coli, their shedding patterns, transmission among conspecifics, and environmental deposition. Shedding of mcr-1 E. coli by small gull flocks followed a lognormal curve and gulls shed one strain >101 …

Validation Of A Screening Method For The Detection Of Colistin-Resistant E. Coli Containing Mcr-1 In Feral Swine Feces, Jeffrey C. Chandler, Alan B. Franklin, S. N. Bevins, Kevin T. Bentler, Jonas Bonnedahl, Christina A. Ahlstrom, Bledar Bisha, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A method was developed and validated for the detection of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli containing mcr-1 in the feces of feral swine. Following optimization of an enrichment method using EC broth supplemented with colistin (1 μg/mL) and vancomycin (8 μg/mL), aliquots derived from 100 feral swine fecal samples were spiked with of one of five different mcr-1 positive E. coli strains (between 10⁰ and 10⁴ CFU/g), for a total of 1110 samples tested. Enrichments were then screened using a simple boil-prep and a previously developed real-time PCR assay for mcr-1 detection. The sensitivity of the method was determined in …

Magnetocaloric Effect Near Room Temperature In Quintenary And Sextenary Heusler Alloys, Benjamin D. White, R. I. Barabash, O. M. Barabash, I. Jeon, M. B. Maple

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

An inverse magnetocaloric effect is studied in Ni₂Mn_1+xX_1-x-type Heusler alloys. Principally known for their shape-memory properties, these alloys also exhibit significant entropy and temperature changes (ΔS and ΔT_Ad, respectively) under adiabatic conditions when a modest magnetic field is applied. We investigated the impact on magnetocaloric properties of introducing substantial chemical disorder on the X-site (X = Si, Ga, In), of replacing Ni with nonmagnetic Ag, and of replacing a small amount of Mn with Gd. While a reduction in ΔS is observed in the first two cases, we observe a significant enhancement …

Saturated Hydrocarbon Analysis Of Liberty State Park Soils, Matthew Chi-Hymn Cheung

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Contaminated soils have been a concern in New Jersey since the Industrial Revolution (Gallagher, 2008). One site in particular has a variety of contaminants and is near the coast of Jersey City in Liberty State Park. Liberty State Park has been impacted by three significant changes. It was first a wetland in the 1600s, then became a New York dump site, and finally a railyard for the Central Railroad of New Jersey (Stanislaw, 2013). The whole land mass has mixed contaminants, including trace elements, heavy metals, organic wastes, and organic compounds. Currently, most of the state park has been dredged …

Miami-Dade Task Force: A Content Analysis Of How Coastal Communities View Sea Level Rise As A Threat, Francisco Alvaro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sea level rise (SLR) has become a serious threat for coastal communities in recent years. Many communities, including South Florida, are already having the security of their daily lives impacted as climate change causes SLR and other environmental impacts to worsen. This study reviews the Miami-Dade Sea Level Rise Task Force Report to determine how this coastal county government views SLR as a threat. Using mixed content analysis to analyze the report qualitatively and quantitatively, the Task Force's recommendations are categorized based on their focus on security, infrastructure, economics, and the environment. One finds the concerns of the people to …

Ripple Effects Of The Belo Monte Dam: A Syndemic Approach To Addressing Health Impacts For The Downstream Community Of Gurupá, Cynthia A. Pace

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the public health impacts of a large dam project on a downstream community using the framework of Syndemic Theory. The particular focus is the Belo Monte Dam, located in the Brazilian Amazon, and its impact on the community of Gurupá, Pará. At the present time the Belo Monte Dam, which is nearing completion, stands out in scale as being the world’s third largest dam complex. Gurupá is a community well known (and well-studied) in the social science literature as Amazon Town. The aims of this study are to assess the pre-existing public health of Gurupá, as well …

Emerging Infectious Disease And The Imperiled Relict Leopard Frog, Anthony Wayne Waddle

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the aquatic fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has emerged as a major contributing factor for worldwide amphibian declines. Although relatively recently described, the impacts from the disease this pathogen causes have been definitively tied to amphibian declines, including some that occurred decades ago. In some cases, declines of individual species occurred with little documentation and are thus poorly understood. The relict leopard frog (Rana onca = Lithobates onca) has experienced such a decline and by the latter part of the 20th century only occurred in two general areas in southern Nevada. Recent research has found …

Lichen Conservation In Eastern North America: Population Genomics, Climate Change, And Translocations, Jessica Allen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Conservation biology is a scientific discipline that draws on methods from diverse fields to address specific conservation concerns and inform conservation actions. This field is overwhelmingly focused on charismatic animals and vascular plants, often ignoring other diverse and ecologically important groups. This trend is slowly changing in some ways; for example, increasing number of fungal species are being added to the IUCN Red-List. However, a strong taxonomic bias still exists. Here I contribute four research chapters to further the conservation of lichens, one group of frequently overlooked organisms. I address specific conservation concerns in eastern North America using modern methods. …

Abundance And Habitat Preferences Of Introduced Muscovy Ducks (Cairina Moschata), Jacqueline Marie Perry Cahanin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Muscovy ducks are native only to Central and South America, Mexico, and parts of southern Texas and are considered invasive in some areas outside of their native range. Although they have been introduced worldwide, they remain largely unstudied. The primary focus of this study was to relate Muscovy duck abundance to habitat characteristics of wetlands in Tampa, Florida. Muscovy abundance was measured using point count methods at 21 wetland sites that occur within an eight km radius of the University of South Florida’s main campus. Habitat features at these sites were assessed using field methods and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) …

Effects Of Dredging-Related Pressures On Critical Ecological Processes For Organisms Other Than Fish Or Coral. Report Of Theme 9 - Project 9.1 Prepared For The Dredging Science Node, Jessie Short, Matthew Fraser, Dianne Mclean, Gary Kendrick, Maria Byrne, Julian Caley, Doug Clarke, Andy Davis, Paul Ertemeijer, Stuart Field, Sam Gustin-Craig, John Huisman, John Keesing, Mick Keough, Paul Lavery, Ray Mansini, Kathryn Mcmahon, Kerrie Mergersen, Michael Rasheed, John Statton, Jim Stoddart, Paul Wu

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study reviewed environmental windows for organisms other than corals and fish such as sessile invertebrates, macroalgae and seagrasses. Environmental windows are periods of critical importance to the life history of a marine species, like reproduction and recruitment.

Aims

• To review the scientific literature on the timing and spatial extent of critical ecological processes relevant to tropical WA for marine primary producers and invertebrates (i.e. organisms other than coral and finfish) and the state of knowledge regarding potential effects of dredging on these key ecological processes. The review also had a particular focus on ecological processes in marine primary producers …

Algal Growth Response To Nutrient Loading On The Lower Boise River, Idaho, Ian Penn

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Nitrate and phosphate concentrations in the Lower Boise River become increasingly elevated with distance downstream. While there is correlative evidence that there is algal growth from elevated nutrients, no one has formally evaluated the algal growth response from nutrient loading. We quantified algal biomass in response to increased nutrient concentrations by sampling benthic algal biomass from natural substrata (rocks) and artificial substrata that also assessed nutrient limitation along a 64 mile reach from near Diversion Dam to the city of Parma that exhibited an increase of nitrate (0.01 mg/L to 3.40 mg/L) and phosphate (below detection to 0.56 mg/L). Samples …

Study Of The Seasonal And Interannual Variability Of Phytoplankton Bloom In Arabian Gulf Using Modisdata, Malik Mutasim Malik Gasim

Theses

The Arabian Gulf is a semi enclosed large water body that experiences seasonal

variations and reversal of it water currents flow circulation. The Gulf waters are characterized by having high primary productivity and strong phytoplankton blooms at particular seasons within the year. Phytoplankton is a base of the food chain for marine species, providing an essential food resource for aquatic life. Marine phytoplankton affects the diversity of any marine ecosystem and drives its functioning and is strongly correlated with fishery yields. The primary

objectives of this research study are to answer key research questions related to phytoplankton blooms in the …

Changes In Wetland Conditions And Wetland Plant Communities In The Prairie Pothole Region After 50 Years, Ryann Cressey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wetlands in Stutsman County, North Dakota were revisited after 50 years to assess changes in wetland conditions and plant communities within wetland zones in the Prairie Pothole Region. In 1961-1966, Robert E. Stewart and Harold A. Kantrud conducted a study to investigate the relationship of wetland plant communities to variations of water permanence and chemistry on three study areas: Crystal Springs, Cottonwood, and Mt. Moriah. Within in this region, a severe drought occurred in 1988- 1992 followed by the longest deluge starting in 1993 with wetlands still impacted today. In 2013 and 2014, I revisited 80 of the original wetlands …

Spatial Variation In Tooth Shape Of Miocene Populations Of Carcharocles Megalodon Across Ocean Basins, Maxwell John Bertsos

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The extinct Lamniform species, Carcharocles megalodon, were some of the most geographically widespread apex predators in the fossil record. However, whether this cosmopolitan distribution was related to population level differences is unknown. The objective of this study is to assess whether variation in tooth morphology coincided with geographic dispersal. The underlying hypothesis is that variation in an aspect of functional morphology, such as tooth shape, suggests some level of population structuring. Detecting this relationship could potentially provide a mechanism that links population to functional relationships inherent in tooth morphology that may reflect period differences in ocean basins. This would offer …

Impacts Of Environmental Changes To The Middle Rio Grande Landscape On Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo's Cultural And Cermonial Sustainability, Andrea L. Everett

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Given future climate scenarios, this Thesis investigates how plausible climate changes will further impact the Native American community of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo's (Tiguas) cultural continuity and access to riparian ecosystem services along the Rio Grande River (specific to Tigua tradition; riparian vegetation used in ceremony, i.e. Gooding's and Coyote willow). The project aims to (1) describe and understand the relationship between regional climatic changes, anthropogenic changes, and major events in Tigua history, (2) identify rates and patterns of riparian vegetation changes, (3) evaluate impacts on cultural and provisioning ecosystem services relevant to Tigua culture, and relate these to climate …

Conserving California Condors In The 1980s, Noel F.R. Snyder

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

By the late 1970s, the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) was in serious trouble, with probably no more than about 30 birds left in existence, all in a mountainous region just north of Los Angeles that is vegetated mainly in chaparral and grasslands. All estimates of population size and trends offered since the early condor studies by Carl Koford in the 1930s and 1940s indicated a continuing decline toward extinction, and it appeared that few years were left before the species would be gone (see Koford, 1953; Wilbur, 1978). Evidently, the conservation steps that had been taken, including the …

Shorebird Migratory Stopover Responses To Local And Regional Change: Habitat Decisions In A Vanishing Landscape, Caitlyn Gillespie

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

Understanding the consequences of anthropogenic change for migratory species is challenging because although they have evolved to cope with environmental uncertainty, migrants still rely on predictable relationships within and among habitats to make informed decisions. Calidris shorebirds rely on ephemeral wetlands during northward migration through mid-continental North America, where favorable habitat conditions are annually and regionally unpredictable and increasingly altered by land-use change. During spring 2013 and 2014, we assessed Calidris habitat use in the Rainwater Basin (RWB) and the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) at both local and landscape scales. Although anthropogenic change has altered the wetland landscape in both …

The Contribution Of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge In Conservation Of Enguserosambu Community Forest, Tanzania, Agnes Sirima

All Dissertations

Community managed forests constitute a significant proportion of the world's forests, however, little is known regarding their condition or the details of how they are managed. Documented benefits of community managed forest include poverty alleviation and in some places a decrease in the rate of deforestation. Although some community based forests do not satisfy the IUCN definition of a protected areas, they provide valuable long term sustainability of forest products and many are also rich in biodiversity and support landscape conservation strategies. Forests are also home to many cultures including the indigenous people. Indigenous communities surrounding forest areas and other …

Strengthening Confidence In Climate Change Impact Science, Mary I. O'Connor, Johnna M. Holding, Carrie V. Kappel, Carlos M. Duarte, Keith Brander, Christopher J. Brown, John F. Bruno, Lauren Buckley, Michael T. Burrows, Benjamin S. Halpern, Wolfgang Kiessling, Pippa Moore, John M. Pandolfi, Camille Parmesan, Elvira S. Poloczanska, David S. Schoeman, William J. Sydeman, Anthony J. Richardson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Aim: To assess confidence in conclusions about climate-driven biological change through time, and identify approaches for strengthening confidence scientific conclusions about ecological impacts of climate change. Location: Global. Methods: We outlined a framework for strengthening confidence in inferences drawn from biological climate impact studies through the systematic integration of prior expectations, long-term data and quantitative statistical procedures. We then developed a numerical confidence index (Cindex) and used it to evaluate current practices in 208 studies of marine climate impacts comprising 1735 biological time series. Results: Confidence scores for inferred climate impacts varied widely from 1 to 16 (very low to …

Exploring The Link Between Otolith Growth And Function Along The Biological Continuum In The Context Of Ocean Acidification, Eric D. Wilcox Freeburg

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Oceans are acidifying as atmospheric CO₂ is drawn down. This process, known as ocean acidification (OA), is well known and documented. Over the next 100 years, pH of the surface ocean is projected to decrease by up to 0.35 units. This CO₂ draw down has a direct effect on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) balance in the ocean. OA is expected to impact calcifying organisms that rely on constituencies of the DIC system, specifically carbonate ion [CO₃2-]. It is clear that externally calcified structures, such as coral skeletons, bivalve shells, etc., will be significantly affected as pH, …

On Individual, Sex And Age Differentiation Of Indian House Crow (Corvus Splendens) Call: A Preliminary Study In Potohar, Pakistan, Waqas Hameed, Inayat Ullah, Safia Janjua, Fakhar -I- Abbas, Afsar Mian

Journal of Bioresource Management

Considering importance of acoustics studies in population biology, 500 calls of the Indian House Crow (Corvus splendens) were recorded in morning - mid-afternoon hours (January-February, 2009) from 23 sites of urban areas of Potahar (Punjab, Pakistan). Calls were recorded using Sony CFS 1030 S sound records (sampling rate = 48 KHz) and edited using Sound Analysis Pro (Version 1.02). software using FFT method rate 50%, data window 9.27 ms, advanced window 1.36 ms. Through editing of calls, we selected 60 (37 ♂♂, 17 ♀♀, 6 Juvenile ♂♂) good quality spectrograms for detailed analysis. Spectrograms were characterized by rapid frequency modulations …

Enhancement Of Gulf Killifish, Fundulus Grandis, Fitness And Reproduction, Joshua Thomas Patterson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Gulf killifish, Fundulus grandis, shows promise for commercial development as a marine baitfish species. Significant markets for F. grandis already exist throughout the Gulf Coast, with the vast majority of supply coming from wild-harvests, which can be hampered by seasonal availability and inconsistent fish health and size. The genus Fundulus also represents an important group of model vertebrates for biological study. A recent review paper described this genus as the premier teleost model for environmental biology. New information generated as a result of the work contained in this dissertation may be more broadly applicable to sister species of F. grandis, …

Scitech Book News Reviews, Susan Fingerman

Sci-Tech News

No abstract provided.