Digital Commons Network^™

Team Process Review Of The Accelerated Urban Initiative: Toledo Public Schools, Kevin O'Brien, Claudette Robey, Larry C. Ledebur, Billie K. Geyer, K. Toth, Michael Mcgoun

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Thermal Imaging Applications In Urban Deer Control, Earl Hodnett

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Control of burgeoning populations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a challenging endeavor under the best of circumstances. The challenge is further complicated when control programs are attempted within an urban or suburban area. Wildlife managers often consider management techniques and equipment which have a proven track record. New challenges require new and innovative techniques. The deer management program in Fairfax County, Virginia has employed thermal imaging technology in a variety of ways to better address these unique challenges. In addition to the more commonly used aircraft-mounted FLIR (forward looking infrared), this program utilizes vehicle-mounted and hand-held thermal …

Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Colony Dynamics In South Dakota Over A 10-Year Period, Kathleen Fagerstone, Howard Tietjen, James Glahn, Greg Schenbeck, Jean Bourassa

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Between 1968 and 1978, aerial photography was used to monitor distribution of blacktailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies on a 400-square mile area in South Dakota, including parts of Buffalo Gap National Grassland, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and Badlands National Monument (now Badlands National Park). Aerial photographs were taken of the study area in 1968 and annually from 1974 through 1978 at a scale of 1:20,000 (1968) and 1:15,840 (1974- 1978). Prairie dog colonies were identified on the photographs, outlined, and the outline transferred to USGS topographic maps for colony size measurements. This technique reliably detected changes in …

Deer-Vehicle Crash Patterns Across Ecoregions In Michigan, Krishnan Sudharsan, Shawn Riley, Brent Riley, Brian Maurer

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) impact the economic and social well being of humans. We examined large-scale patterns behind DVCs across 3 ecoregions: Southern Lower Peninsula (SLP), Northern Lower Peninsula (NLP), and Upper Peninsula (UP) in Michigan. A 3 component conceptual model of DVCs with drivers, deer, and a landscape was the framework of analysis. The conceptual model was parameterized into a parsimonious mathematical model. The dependent variable was DVCs by county by ecoregion and the independent variables were percent forest cover, percent crop cover, mean annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and mean deer density index (DDI) by county. A discriminant function …

Grassland And Woodland Bird Occurrence And Habitat Selection In The Prairie-Forest Transition Zone Of Minnesota, Thomas Robert Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Numerous species of woodland and grassland nesting birds have experienced population declines in the midwestern United States. Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation are suspected to be two of the underlying causes for the population declines of woodland and grassland birds. The Minnesota Valley Wetland Management District (WMD) covers 14 counties in southeastern Minnesota in the transition zone between forested and prairie ecoregions. Little information is available relative to which birds are using grassland or woodland habitat within the WMD and how their presence or absence is related to the available habitat conditions. Therefore, my study objectives were to: 1) determine …

Nitrate Reductase Activity In Macroalgae And Its Vertical Distribution In Macroalgal Epiphytes Of Seagrasses, Erica Young, Paul Lavery, Beverley Van Elven, Mat Dring, John A Berges

Research outputs pre 2011

Macroalgal epiphytes within seagrass meadows make a significant contribution to total primary production by assimilating water column N and transferring organic N to sediments. Assimilation of NO3 – requires nitrate reductase (NR, EC 1.6.6.1); NR activity represents the capacity for NO3 – assimilation. An optimised in vitro assay for determining NR activity in algal extracts was applied to a wide range of macroalgae and detected NR activity in all 22 species tested with activity 2 to 290 nmolNO3 – min–1 g–1 frozen thallus. With liquid-N2 freezing immediately after sample collection, this method was practical for estimating NR activity in field …

Microwave Backscatter Modeling Of Erg Surfaces In The Sahara Desert, Haroon Stephen, David G. Long

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

The Sahara Desert includes large expanses of sand dunes called ergs. These dunes are formed and constantly reshaped by prevailing winds. Previous study shows that Saharan ergs exhibit significant radar backscatter (σ°) modulation with azimuth angle (f). We use σ° measurements observed at various incidence angles and f from the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT), the SeaWinds scatterometer, the ERS scatterometer (ESCAT), and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission's Precipitation Radar to model the σ° response from sand dunes. Observations reveal a characteristic relationship between the backscatter modulation and the dune type, i.e., the number and orientation of the dune slopes. Sand dunes …

Conservation Element Of The Las Vegas 2020 Master Plan, City Of Las Vegas, Nevada

Publications (SD)

There is a dual purpose to the Las Vegas 2020 Master Plan Conservation Element. The first purpose is to address the requirements of state law, as provided in the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 278.150(4). This section of the NRS requires that governing bodies in Nevada counties with a population of 400,000 or more ensure that their master plans address a stipulated list of subjects, including a conservation plan.

Modeling Corrosion In Oxygen Controlled Lbe Systems With Coupling Of Chemical Kinetics And Hydrodynamics, Samir Moujaes, Yitung Chen

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The corrosion of structural materials is a major concern for the use of lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) systems for nuclear applications such as in transmuter targets or fast reactors. Corrosion in liquid metal systems can occur through various processes, including, for example, dissolution, formation of inter-metallic compounds at the interface, and penetration of liquid metal along grain boundaries. Predicting the rate of these processes depends on numerous system operational factors: temperature, system geometry, thermal gradients, solid and liquid compositions, and velocity of the liquid metal, to name a few. Corrosion, along with mechanical and/or hydraulic factors, often contributes to component failure. …

Quantitative And Qualitative Assessment Of Groundwater Resources In Al-Khatim Area, Uae, Ahmed Khaled Othman

Accounting Dissertations

The UAE has achieved remarkable progress in transformation from separated small emirates to a modem union country with a high standard of living. The country is however, considered an extreme arid region. In spite of these harsh conditions, The UAE government has encouraged plantation in towns, villages and country side. This has led to sharp increase in the agricultural sector particularly during the last three decades. As the irrigated land kept increasing, there was a deep concern about the water demand and the impact of agriculture activities on groundwater systems. Al-Khatim area is considered one of the most

important agricultural …

Focus Group Conference Report And Pathways Ranking Guide: June- August 2005

National Invasive Species Council

This document represents the second version of a guide and process for pathway definition, analysis and prioritization. It is expected that this document will undergo another trial test and revision prior to full implementation, though we strongly believed this is a ‘workable’ product that only requires refinement.

Throughout this systems development process, the Pathways Work Team struggled with several issues relevant to scientific data and public policy. While this report in no way attempts to resolve such intricate issues, it is essential that these considerations be brought to the forefront for future decision-making efforts and as such are enumerated below: …

Spatial Patterns Of Cadmium And Lead Deposition On And Adjacent To National Park Service Lands In The Vicinity Of Red Dog Mine, Alaska, L. Hasselbach, J.M. Ver Hoef, J. Ford, P. Neitlich, E. Crecelius, S. Berryman, B. Wolk, T. Bohle

United States National Park Service: Publications

Heavy metal escapement associated with ore trucks is known to occur along the DeLong Mountain Regional Transportation System (DMTS) haul road corridor in Cape Krusenstern National Monument, northwest Alaska. Heavy metal concentrations in Hylocomium splendens moss (n =226) were used in geostatistical models to predict the extent and pattern of atmospheric deposition of Cd and Pb on Monument lands. A stratified grid-based sample design was used with more intensive sampling near mine-related activity areas. Spatial predictions were used to produce maps of concentration patterns, and to estimate the total area in 10 moss concentration categories.

The Use Of Discontinuities And Functional Groups To Assess Relative Resilience In Complex Systems, Craig R. Allen, L. Gunderson, A. R. Johnson

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

It is evident when the resilience of a system has been exceeded and the system qualitatively changed. However, it is not clear how to measure resilience in a system prior to the demonstration that the capacity for resilient response has been exceeded. We argue that self-organizing human and natural systems are structured by a relatively small set of processes operating across scales in time and space. These structuring processes should generate a discontinuous distribution of structures and frequencies, where discontinuities mark the transition from one scale to another. Resilience is not driven by the identity of elements of a system, …

Population Histories Of Right Whales (Cetacea: Eubalaena) Inferred From Mitochondrial Sequence Diversities And Divergences Of Their Whale Lice (Amphipoda: Cyamus), Zofia A. Kaliszewska, Jon Seger, Victoria J. Rowntree, Amy R. Knowlton, Kim Marshalltilas, Nathalie J. Patenaude, Mariana Rivarola, Catherine M. Schaeff, Mariano Sironi, Wendy A. Smith, Tadasu K. Yamada, Susan G. Barco, Rafael Benegas, Peter B. Best, Moira W. Brown, Robert L. Brownell Jr., Robert Harcourt, Alejandro Carribero

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Right whales carry large populations of three ‘whale lice’ (Cyamus ovalis, Cyamus gracilis, Cyamus erraticus) that have no other hosts. We used sequence variation in the mitochondrial COI gene to ask (i) whether cyamid population structures might reveal associations among right whale individuals and subpopulations, (ii) whether the divergences of the three nominally conspecific cyamid species on North Atlantic, North Pacific, and southern right whales (Eubalaena glacialis, Eubalaena japonica, Eubalaena australis) might indicate their times of separation, and (iii) whether the shapes of cyamid gene trees might contain information about changes in the population …

Ringed And Bearded Seal Densities In The Eastern Chukchi Sea, 1999–2000, John L. Bengtson, Lisa M. Hiruki-Raring, Michael A. Simpkins, Peter L. Boveng

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Aerial surveys were conducted in 1999 and 2000 to estimate the densities of ringed (Phoca hispida) and bearded (Erignathus barbatus) seals in the eastern Chukchi Sea. Survey lines were focused mainly on the coastal zone within 37 km of the shoreline, with additional lines flown 148–185 km offshore to assess how densities of seals changed as a function of distance from shore. Satellite-linked time-depth recorders were attached to ringed seals in both years to evaluate the time spent basking on the ice surface. Haulout patterns indicated that ringed seals transitioned to basking behavior in late May …

Preliminary Evaluation Of A Lake Whitefish (Coregonus Clupeaformis) Bioenergetics Model, Charles P. Madenjian, Stephen A. Pothoven, Philip J. Schneeberger, Daniel V. O'Connor, Stephen B. Brandt

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We conducted a preliminary evaluation of a lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) bioenergetics model by applying the model to size-at-age data for lake whitefish from northern Lake Michigan. We then compared estimates of gross growth efficiency (GGE) from our bioenergetics model with previously published estimates of GGE for bloater (C. hoyi) in Lake Michigan and for lake whitefish in Quebec. According to our model, the GGE of Lake Michigan lake whitefish decreased from 0.075 to 0.02 as age increased from 2 to 5 years. In contrast, the GGE of lake whitefish in Quebec inland waters decreased from …

Quantification And Prediction Of Stream Dryness In The Interior Highlands, Justin M. Homan, Nicholas M. Girondo, Charles J. Gagen

Faculty Publications - Biological Sciences

Although ecological studies have noted streams drying in the Interior Highlands, published measurements of streambed dryness are lacking. Clearly, stream drying has the potential to affect benthic macroinvertebrate and fish communities. In 2003, we initiated an assessment of streambed dryness for three streams in the Ouachita Mountains representative of the Central Hills, Ridges, and Valleys. In the following summer, we applied the approach to 15 similar size watersheds in three distinct ecoregions of the Interior Highlands: Ouachita Mountains-Athens Plateau, Ozark Highlands-Springfield Plateau, and Lower Boston Mountains. Repeated dryness measurements were recorded in each stream and correlated to nearby USGS stream …

Historical Context And Hazardous Waste Facility Siting: Understanding Temporal Patterns In Michigan, Robin Saha, Paul Mohai

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

This article tests the proposition that, beginning in the 1970s, historic growth of public environmental concern and opposition to waste facilities, as well as changes in the policy environment increasingly encouraged hazardous waste facilities siting to follow the path of least (political) resistance and resulted in environmental inequities. Our longitudinal analysis of sitings in the State of Michigan from 1950 to 1990 reveals a distinct temporal pattern supporting our hypotheses. Whereas significant racial, socioeconomic, and housing disparities at the time of siting were not in evidence for facilities sited prior to 1970, patterns of disparate siting were found for facilities …

Streambank Erosion Associated With Grazing Practices In The Humid Region, Carmen T. Agouridis, Dwayne R. Edwards, Stephen R. Workman, José R. Bicudo, Benjamin K. Koostra, Eric S. Vanzant, Joseph L. Taraba

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The effects of cattle grazing on stream stability have been well documented for the western portion of the U.S., but are lacking for the east. Stream and riparian damage resulting from grazing can include alterations in watershed hydrology, changes to stream morphology, soil compaction and erosion, destruction of vegetation, and water quality impairments. However, few studies have examined the successes of best management practices (BMPs) for mitigating these effects. The objective of this project was to assess the ability of two common BMPs to reduce streambank erosion along a central Kentucky stream. The project site consisted of two replications of …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: York River (1985-2003), Daniel M. Dauer

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded and some areas and indicators show continuing degradation. Progress in reducing nutrient inputs has made demonstrable improvements and we expect that continued progress toward nutrient reduction goals, along with appropriate fisheries management and chemical contaminant controls, will result in additional improvements to the Bay. Findings from the last 18 years of the monitoring programs are highlighted below. In 1995, the Virginia DEQ instituted changes to its analytical techniques for …

Strategy For The Implementation Of An Industrial Land Bank, Kevin O'Brien, Kirstin S. Toth, Matthew Sattler, Michael Mcgoun, Jacob Duritsky

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

The City of Cleveland plans to create a long-term vision for industrial and commercial land reuse in order to better serve the business and neighborhood interests of its citizens. The implementation of an industrial land bank is one critical way in which to fulfill this goal. This study aimed to develop a strategy to aid the city in the operation and management of rehabilitating commercial and industrial properties for reuse. The objectives of the project were to: * Incorporate a strategy understood by senior managers at the city that identifies a broad economic redevelopment vision, especially for brownfields. * Include …

Assessing The Accuracy Of Respondents Reports Of The Location Of Their Home Relative To A National Forest Boundary And Forest Cover, John D. Baldridge, James T. Sylveste, William T. Borrie

Society and Conservation Faculty Publications

This paper assesses the accuracy of responses to a question that asks the location of respondents’ homes relative to a National Forest boundary. The analysis also assesses the accuracy of respondent reports on forest cover in the area surrounding their home. We find non-ignorable error in the responses to both questions. The remainder of this paper is divided into three sections. First, the methods used for this study are described as are limitations of the study. Second, we illustrate the study’s results. Finally, we discuss our results and conclusions.

Fracture Behavior Of Wood Plastic Composite (Wpc), Gi Young Jeong

LSU Master's Theses

In this study, the effect of notch length on impact strength and fracture toughness was examined to exploit the use of wood plastic composite (WPC) as structural materials. Impact and fracture toughness test methods and estimation procedures were carried out. To evaluate the impact strength of WPC, five different notch sizes with two different fiber orientations on the load head were prepared. In terms of fracture mechanics, notch length was converted to stress concentration factor and the relationship between stress concentration factor and impact strength was determined. Fracture surface of impact specimens was investigated to evaluate the fracture mechanism of …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: Rappahannock River (1985-2003), Daniel M. Dauer, Harold G. Marshall, John R. Donat, Michael F. Lane, Suzanne C. Doughten, Frederick A. Hoffman

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded and some areas and indicators show continuing degradation. Progress in reducing nutrient inputs has made demonstrable improvements and we expect that continued progress toward nutrient reduction goals, along with appropriate fisheries management and chemical contaminant controls, will result in additional improvements to the Bay. Findings from the last 18 years of the monitoring programs are highlighted below. In 1995, the Virginia DEQ instituted changes to its analytical techniques for …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: James River (1985-2003), Daniel M. Dauer, Harold G. Marshall, John R. Donat, Michael F. Lane, Suzanne C. Doughten, Frederick A. Hoffman

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded and some areas and indicators show continuing degradation. Progress in reducing nutrient inputs has made demonstrable improvements and we expect that continued progress toward nutrient reduction goals, along with appropriate fisheries management and chemical contaminant controls, will result in additional improvements to the Bay. Findings from the last 18 years of the monitoring programs are highlighted below.

In 1995, the Virginia DEQ instituted changes to its analytical techniques for …

Population Dynamics Of A Diverse Rodent Assemblage In Mixed Grass-Shrub Habitat, Southeastern Colorado, 1995–2000, Charles H. Calisher, James N. Mills, William P. Sweeney, J. Jeffrey Root, Serena A. Reeder, Emily S. Jentes, Kent Wagoner, Barry J. Beaty

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We followed seasonal and year-to-year population dynamics for a diverse rodent assemblage in a short-grass prairie ecosystem in southeastern Colorado (USA) for 6 yr. We captured 2,798 individual rodents (range, one to 812 individuals per species) belonging to 19 species. The two most common species, deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis), generally had population peaks in winter and nadirs in summer; several other murid species demonstrated autumn peaks and spring nadirs; heteromyids were infrequently captured in winter, and populations generally peaked in summer or autumn. Interannual trends indicated an interactive effect between …

Temporal Variation In Nutrient Uptake Capacity By Intact Roots Of Mature Loblolly Pine, Melissa S. Lucash, J. Devereux Joslin, Ruth D. Yanai

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nutrient uptake is generally thought to exhibit a simple seasonal pattern, but few studies have measured temporal variation of nutrient uptake capacity in mature trees. We measured net uptake capacity of K, NH+ 4, NO 3 −, Mg and Ca across a range of solution concentrations by roots of mature loblolly pine at Calhoun Experimental Forest in October 2001, July 2001, and April 2002. Uptake capacity was generally lowest in July; rates in October were similar to those in April. Across a range of concentrations, antecedent nutrient solution concentrations affected the temporal patterns in uptake in July but not in …

Interval Neutrosophic Sets And Logic; Theory And Applications In Computing, Haibin Wang, Florentin Smarandache, Yan-Qing Zhang, Rajshekhar Sunderraman

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

This book presents the advancements and applications of neutrosophics. Chapter 1 first introduces the interval neutrosophic sets which is an instance of neutrosophic sets. In this chapter, the definition of interval neutrosophic sets and set-theoretic operators are given and various properties of interval neutrosophic set are proved. Chapter 2 defines the interval neutrosophic logic based on interval neutrosophic sets including the syntax and semantics of first order interval neutrosophic propositional logic and first order interval neutrosophic predicate logic. The interval neutrosophic logic can reason and model fuzzy, incomplete and inconsistent information. In this chapter, we also design an interval neutrosophic …

Effects Of Fire On Home Range Size, Site Fidelity And Habitat Associations Of Grassland Birds Overwintering In Southeast Texas, Heather Quebedeaux Baldwin

LSU Master's Theses

Understanding habitat affinities of wintering grassland birds is pertinent to their conservation. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the 1) effect burn history has on vegetation structure in coastal prairie; 2) habitat associations of the most common avian species; and, 3) home range size and site fidelity of Le Conte's Sparrow (LCSP). Data were collected on sites with 1-, 2- and 3-year burn histories during the winter of 2002 at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. Line transects were conducted to estimate bird abundance and vegetation measurements were recorded for herbaceous density, shrub density, and community type. Twenty-six Le …

Late-Holocene Flooding And Drought In The Northern Great Plains, Usa, Reconstructed From Tree Rings, Lake Sediments And Ancient Shorelines, M. D. Shapley, W. C. Johnson, D. R. Engstrom, W. R. Osterkamp

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

During the AD 1990s the Waubay Lakes complex in eastern South Dakota experienced historically unprecedented high water levels. Property damage from this flooding led to an examination of the occurrence of past pluvial episodes and their relation to climate. A lOOO-year hydroclimate reconstruction was developed from local bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) tree-ring records and lake-sediment cores. Analysis of lake shoreline and drainage features provides late-Quaternary geomorphic context for this high-resolution record. Tree-ring width and shell geochemistry of the ostracode Candona rawsoni show marked coherence, indicating synchronous responses to moisture balance in vegetation and lake salinity; geomorphic evidence …