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A Bayesian Method For Assessing Multi-Scale Species-Habitat Relationships, Erica F. Stuber, Lutz F. Gruber, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Context Scientists face several theoretical and methodological challenges in appropriately describing fundamental wildlife-habitat relationships in models. The spatial scales of habitat relationships are often unknown, and are expected to follow a multi-scale hierarchy. Typical frequentist or information theoretic approaches often suffer under collinearity in multiscale studies, fail to converge when models are complex or represent an intractable computational burden when candidate model sets are large.

Objectives Our objective was to implement an automated, Bayesian method for inference on the spatial scales of habitat variables that best predict animal abundance.

Methods We introduce Bayesian latent indicator scale selection (BLISS), a Bayesian …

Dam Removal In The Usa: Effects On River Water Quality, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Dam removal decisions should ideally be made after a thorough cost-benefit analysis. If dam obsolescence, structural safety, harm to fisheries, maintenance costs, and reservoir eutrophication are among the primary concerns, decommissioning would likely be favored. On the other hand, dams provide considerable benefits including water storage for agricultural and urban consumption, renewable electricity generation, support of navigational canal systems, flood control, and lakes for recreation. Because of these competing factors and interests, dam removal decision-making in the United States is often a slow process fraught with controversy, as in the case of the Klamath River.

Dams provided mechanical water power …

Monitoring Reduction Efforts For Pm2.5 In Ellensburg,Wa Using Community-Based Social Marketing To Examine Behavioral Change, Kelsey Gibbs

All Master's Theses

In 2011, Ellensburg, Washington was labeled by the Washington Department of Ecology as being vulnerable for violating National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate pollution (PM_2.5­). In the Kittitas Basin, winter-time frequent air inversions and stagnant air events trap pollution near the ground, elevating pollutant concentrations during winter months. Wood smoke from household burning has been identified by mobile PM_2.5 monitoring completed in 2015 as the primary source of PM­_2.5. This research utilizes community-based social marketing techniques to encourage behavioral change for wood burning in a targeted neighborhood in Ellensburg. Residents of the target neighborhood …

Swift Foxes In Southwestern South Dakota: Assessing The Current Status Of A Reintroduced Population, Sarah Ann Nevison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Swift foxes (Vulpes velox) were reintroduced into Badlands National Park between 2003 and 2006 after being nearly extirpated from South Dakota in the early 1900’s. Genetic analysis provided strong evidence that the reintroduction was successful, but viability analysis indicated the population may be in jeopardy with a high probability of extinction. Recently, the population has declined due to various biotic and abiotic factors (e.g., recent weather patterns, effects of plague [Yersinia pestis], and increased coyote [Canis latrans] numbers). No information on the status of swift foxes has been collected since 2009. Between 2014 and 2016, the objectives of this study …

Key Differences Between Lakes And Reservoirs Modify Climate Signals: A Case For A New Conceptual Model, Nicole M. Hayes, Bridget R. Deemer, Jessica R. Corman, N. Roxanna Razavi, Kristin E. Strock

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Lakes and reservoirs are recognized as important sentinels of climate change, integrating catchment and atmospheric climate change drivers. Climate change conceptual models generally consider lakes and reservoirs together despite the possibility that these systems respond differently to climate-related drivers. Here, we synthesize differences between lake and reservoir characteristics that are likely important for predicting waterbody response to climate change. To better articulate these differences, we revised the energy mass flux framework, a conceptual model for the effects of climate change on lentic ecosystems, to explicitly consider the differential responses of lake versus reservoir ecosystems. The model predicts that catchment and …

Using A Mixed-Methods Approach To Understand Urban Children's Nature Conceptions, Ecological Worldviews And Environmental Perceptions And Preferences Before And After Attending An Environmental Education Program, Alejandra Maria Bozzolasco

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The main objective of this dissertation is to utilize multiple instruments to measure urban children’s nature conceptions, ecological worldviews, and environmental perceptions and preferences, and to determine whether they are impacted by an environmental education (EE) intervention. This information is critical today in light of growing urbanization that is considered a contributor to nature deficit disorder (NDD) in which children, particularly urban children, are growing up distanced from the natural world, thereby impacting children’s development, public health, and the environment. Urban children from northern New Jersey who attended the New Jersey School of Conservation’s (NJSOC) EE program participated in this …

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 …

Condition Of Birds In Amazonian Rainforest Fragments And Second-Growth Forests, Angelica Maria Hernandez Palma

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Deforestation modifies otherwise intact expanses of forest into small, isolated fragments. In addition to fragmentation, deforestation also creates abrupt forest edges and large areas of regenerating vegetation where land is abandoned after clearing. Understanding how changes in the landscape affect the physical condition of birds is crucial for managing populations in human-modified landscapes. Here I use the biomarkers feather growth rate and feather quality (ptilochronology), fluctuating asymmetry (FA), and stress hormones from feathers (CORT), to estimate the physical condition of Amazonian understory birds living in forest fragments, second-growth forests, and continuous forests. Feather CORT revealed how fragmentation disrupts interspecific interactions; …

Human Gut Microbiota And Obesity: How Is Gut Microbiota Associated With Obesity Improvement Induced By Bariatric Surgeries Or Low-Calorie Diet Treatment?, Rui Zhang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

An increasing number of studies suggest that the complex microbial community of the human gut may have an important role in human health and disease conditions such as obesity and diabetes. However, the causal relationship among gut microbiota, obesity, weight loss, and the influence of bariatric surgery remains largely unknown. This study investigated the correlation between human gut microbiota and obesity via determining how gut microbiota is associated with obesity improvement induced by bariatric surgeries (BRS) and low-calorie diet (LCD) treatment. Specifically, we investigated the effects of various bariatric surgery (BRS) procedures and a low-calorie diet (LCD) treatment on the …

Complex Vegetation Dynamics At The Fire–Grazing–Drought Nexus, Christine H. Bielski

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The discipline of ecology long ago moved away from viewing systems as static entities where disturbance processes, environmental stochasticity, and spatiotemporal variability play minor roles in determining ecosystem structure and function. Ecological theory continue to develop frameworks and statistical techniques capable of describing the inherent complexity in natural systems. However, in dealing with the complexity in nature, many applied disciplines have yet to adopt such frameworks or statistical techniques. The objective of this study was bridge the gap between ecological theory and application by using complex systems theory to describe grassland vegetation dynamics at the fire-grazing-drought nexus. Chapters 2 and …

Temporal Foraging Patterns Of Nonnative Frogs (Eleutherodactylus Coqui) In Hawaii, Arthur C. Wallis, Robyn L. Smith, Karen H. Beard

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The Puerto Rican Coqui Frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui) is a nocturnal, invasive species that was introduced into Hawaii in the 1980s. Because they reach extremely high densities (up to 90,000 frogs/ha), they have the potential to affect invertebrate prey communities. Previously, researchers used frogs collected only at night to characterize their prey. Because Coquis use retreat sites near the forest floor during the day and understory perch sites at night, frogs collected at night might show different amounts and types of prey than would frogs collected in the morning. We analyzed stomach contents of 435 frogs collected in the morning (0300–0600 …

The Eco-Epidemiology Of Pacific Coast Tick Fever In California, Kerry A. Padgett, Denise L. Bonilla, Marina E. Eremeeva, Carol A. Glaser, Robert S. Lane, Charsey Cole Porse, Martin B. Castro, Sharon L. Messenger, Alex Espinosa, Jill Hacker, Anne Kjemtrup, Bonnie Ryan, Jamesina J. Scott, Renjie Hu, Melissa Hardstone Yoshimizu, Gregory A. Dasch, Vicki Kramer

Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Rickettsia philipii (type strain “Rickettsia 364D”), the etiologic agent of Pacific Coast tick fever (PCTF), is transmitted to people by the Pacific Coast tick, Dermacentor occidentalis. Following the first confirmed human case of PCTF in 2008, 13 additional human cases have been reported in California, more than half of which were pediatric cases. The most common features of PCTF are the presence of at least one necrotic lesion known as an eschar (100%), fever (85%), and headache (79%); four case-patients required hospitalization and four had multiple eschars. Findings presented here implicate the nymphal or larval stages of D …

Lessons From The Past: Unfolding The Dynamics Among Climate, Balkan Landscapes, And Humans Over The Past Millennium, Charuta J. Kulkarni

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The primary objective of this doctoral dissertation is to reconstruct the environmental history of the Central Balkans (Serbia) over the past millennium utilizing biological proxies (pollen, spores, and charcoal), geochemical signals through X-ray fluorescence (XRF), statistical analyses, and atomic mass spectrometry (AMS) ¹⁴C chronology. This dissertation establishes the first chronological framework for vegetation-landscape changes in Serbia and discusses the role of humans and climate as underlying processes.

Chapter 1 discusses the background and the nature of the research problem followed by the extensive literature review on the topic of the Holocene climate and paleoecology. The state of Holocene paleoecology …

The Economic Value Of Forest Park Ecosystem Services: Results Of Five Focus Groups Conducted In Spring 2016, Randall A. Bluffstone, Pablo Barreyro, Jenny Dempsey Stein, Cody Kent, Antonia Machado

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: This initial phase of research lays the foundation for a survey using contingent valuation (CV) and choice experiment (CE) methods. We asked select Portland residents what they care about most in Forest Park, their willingness to pay (WTP) for improving ecosystem services and how they generally think about the value of those goods and services. These results will help us narrow the experimental design of the forthcoming CV/CE study.

Approach: We conducted a focus group in each of Portland’s 5 “quadrants.” We chose each location - Skyline, St. John’s, Cully, Foster-Powell and Hillsdale - based on either its proximity …

Using Ecological Production Functions To Link Ecological Processes To Ecosystem Services, Randall Jf Bruins, Timothy J. Canfield, Clifford Duke, Larry Kapustka, Amanda M. Nahlik, Ralf B. Schäfer

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Ecological production functions (EPFs) link ecosystems, stressors, and management actions to ecosystem services (ES) production. Although EPFs are acknowledged as being essential to improve environmental management, their use in ecological risk assessment has received relatively little attention. Ecological production functions may be defined as usable expressions (i.e., models) of the processes by which ecosystems produce ES, often including external influences on those processes. We identify key attributes of EPFs and discuss both actual and idealized examples of their use to inform decision making. Whenever possible, EPFs should estimate final, rather than intermediate, ES. Although various types of EPFs have been …

Stream Microbial Communities As Potential Indicators Of River And Landscape Disturbance In North-Central Arkansas, Wilson Howard Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the past decade, 29 shale basins have been actively developed across 20 states for extraction of natural gas (NG) via horizontal drilling/hydraulic fracturing (=fracking). This includes ~5000 wells within the Fayetteville shale of north-central Arkansas. Development often impacts both river- and landscapes, and management requires catchment-level evaluations over time, with organismal presence/absence as indicators. For this study next-generation sequencing was used to identify/characterize microbial communities within biofilm of eight Arkansas River tributaries, so as to gauge potential catchment influences. Streams spanned a gradient of landscape features and hydrological flows, with four serving as ‘potentially impacted catchment zones’ (PICZ) and …

Applications Of Time-Lapse Imagery For Monitoring And Illustrating Ecological Dynamics In A Water-Stressed System, Emma Brinley Buckley

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

Understanding and perceiving the natural world is a key part of management, policy, conservation, and inevitably for our future. Increased demand on natural resources has heightened the importance of documenting ecosystem changes, and knowledge-sharing to foster awareness. The advancement of digital technologies has improved the efficiency of passive monitoring, connectivity among systems, and expanded the potential for innovative and communicative approaches. From technological progression, time-lapse imagery has emerged a valuable tool to capture and depict natural systems. I sought to enhance our understanding of a water-stressed system by analyzing imagery, in addition to integrating images with data visualization to illustrate …

Connecting To Nature, Community, And Self: A Conservation Corps Approach To Re-Engaging At-Risk Youth In Science Education, Sara Jo Linden

Dissertations and Theses

The social and environmental challenges of the coming decades will require that individuals possess environmental literacy: the understanding of natural systems combined with a sense of care for the earth, and the confidence and competency to act on its behalf. At the same time, disengaged youth need education environments that foster belonging and promote affective outcomes. The youth conservation corps model provides a natural context for engaging academically at-risk youth in environmental science education, while fostering connection to nature and student self-efficacy in ways that are experiential, relevant, and relationship-based. The focus of this study was a conservation corps program …

Plants' Native Distributions Do Not Reflect Climatic Tolerance, Tierney Bocsi, Jenica M. Allen, Jesse Bellemare, John Kartesz, Misako Nishino, Bethany A. Bradley

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Aim: Biogeographers have long known that plant species do not fully encompass their fundamental niche. Nonetheless, in practice, species distribution modelling assumes that plant distributions represent a reasonable approximation of their environmental tolerance. For ecological forecasting, projections of habitat loss due to climate change assume that many species will be unable to tolerate climate conditions outside of those found within their current distributional ranges. We aim to test how well occurrences in the native range approximate the climatic conditions in which plant species can survive.

Location: Continental USA. Methods: We compared the climatic conditions between occurrences in the US native …

Spatial Distribution And Geomorphic Factors Of Lead Contamination On Floodplains Affected By Historical Mining, Big Rover, S.E. Missouri, David Bower Huggins

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Historical mining in the Old Lead Belt resulted in lead (Pb) contamination of floodplain soils for over 170 km along the Big River in southeastern Missouri. The overall pattern of contamination are understood. However, Pb distribution across floodplain surfaces has not been investigated at the scale needed for site-level remediation planning. The goal of this project is to examine spatial distribution of Pb with more detail and identify the role of geomorphic processes. Predictive models are needed to evaluate factors affecting Pb distribution such as elevation, distance from the channel, and geochemistry. This study evaluates Pb distribution at three ~1km …

Assessment Of American White Pelican Predation And Reproductive Success Of Walleye In The Tamarac River, Mn, Jake Graham

Biology Graduate Theses

The Tamarac River is a major tributary of the Red Lakes MN, which provides an economically important multispecies fishery. The river experiences spring spawning migrations of northern pike, walleye, and white suckers. However, limited data exists related to reproductive success of fishes in the river. Furthermore, in the previous decade large congregations of American white pelicans (AWPE) have been observed using the Tamarac River as a foraging ground each spring. Assessing reproductive success of fishes in the Tamarac River provides a more holistic understanding of fish ecology in the river and the importance of the Tamarac River to the Red …

Determining Methods Of Propagation For The Investigation Of Intraspecific Variability Of Climate Change Responses Of Appalachian Plant Species, Gayle L. Tyree

Honors Theses

Species range migrations are a well-documented response to climate change (Loarie et al. 2009), with range shifts mainly occurring poleward or to higher elevations (Walther et al. 2002). As range shifts occur, variation in phenotypic traits within plant species across climate gradients could affect their abilities to acclimate or adapt to a changing climate (Hooper et al. 2005, Souza et al. 2011). In 2014 Dr. Jennifer Boyd (BGES) initiated a research project to examine potential intraspecific phenotypic variation within wide-ranging Appalachian plant species of responses to projected future atmospheric CO2 and temperature regimes. As an undergraduate research assistant, I focused …

Gaur (Bos Gaurus) Abundance, Distribution, And Habitat Use Patterns In Kuiburi National Park, Southwestern Thailand, Supatcharee Tanasarnpaiboon

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

Population status of gaur (Bos gaurus), a wild cattle, in most habitats where they are present, is still unknown. As the use of camera traps in wildlife studies are widespread, I developed photographic individual identification procedures and utilized encounter histories of gaur individuals from camera trap data to estimate gaur abundance and density using the spatially explicit capture-recapture analysis. The study was conducted at Kuiburi National Park, southwestern Thailand, comprised of dry evergreen forest, moist evergreen forest, and man-modified secondary forest during November 2013- January 2015. I conducted 71 direct observations in a savannah-like habitat area to observe …

Eastern Wild Turkey Nest Site Selection In Two Frequently Burned Pine Savannas, Andrew R. Little, Nathan P. Nibbelink, Michael J. Chamberlain, L. Mike Conner, Robert J. Warren

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Reproductive success is a critical factor affecting avian demographics and can be influenced by many factors including nesting chronology, predation risk, and fine-scale nest site selection.

Methods: We modeled the relative influences of habitat-related covariates at six spatial scales (nest site: 15-, 40-, 80-, 120-, 160-, and 200-m radii) on Eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) nest site selection in two pine savannas managed by frequent prescribed fire (≤3 years) in southwestern Georgia during 2011–2013.

Results: Nest site (15-m scale) habitat metrics (mean visual obstruction [cm] and canopy closure [%]) had the greatest influence on nest site …

Export Of Insect Ecosystem Services From Hayed Native Prairie, Wayne J. Ohnesorg

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Natural areas, such as prairie, have the potential to provide the benefits of pest suppression and pollination for agricultural production. In Nebraska, prairie is often used for hay production. The impact of prairie hay production management practices on beneficial arthropods is not well understood. Four prairie hay meadows adjacent to row crop fields were selected in northeast Nebraska. The goal was to assess the impact of haying them on beneficial arthropods and the movement of natural enemies into adjacent crop fields. Three management practices were evaluated for hay harvested from prairie meadows one cut per growing season, two cuts per …

Evolutionary Responses Of Invasive Grass Species To Variation In Precipitation And Soil Nitrogen, Monica A. Nguyen, Amy E. Ortega, Quoc L. Nguyen, Sarah Kimball, Michael L. Goulden, Jennifer L. Funk

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

1.Global climate models suggest that many ecosystems will experience reduced precipitation over the next century and the consequences for invasive plant performance are largely unknown. Annual invasive species may be able to quickly evolve traits associated with drought escape or tolerance through rapid genetic changes.

2.We investigated the influence of five years of water and nitrogen manipulations on trait values in a southern California grassland system. Seeds from two annual grass species (Avena barbata, Bromus madritensis) were collected from experimental plots and grown in a common environment over two generations. We measured 14 physiological, morphological, phenological, and …

Wildlife Underpasses: Frequency Of Use By Neotropic Mammals In Parque Natural Metropolitano, Panamá City, Panamá, Kelly Russo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a world of ever increasing globalization and urbanization, roads present wildlife with a number of challenges. They fragment habitats, disrupt animal movements, impact reproductive success and the fitness of individuals and populations, alter population dynamics, and cause unnatural levels of mortality. Fortunately, the numerous detrimental effects of roads can be alleviated by the proper implementation of mitigation structures, such as underpasses, sky bridges and vegetated overpasses. These mitigation structures are an important source of genetic connectivity, especially in a peri-urban reserve setting. This study seeks to understand what species of mammal utilize the wildlife underpasses below Via La Amistad, …

Drone Technology For Low-Cost Precision Mapping On Campus And In The Community, Suresh Muthukrishnan, Mike Winiski

Earth and Environmental Sciences Presentations

Proliferation of consumer grade small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAV) or drones brings many opportunities in the area of mapping and spatial analysis. Although misuse of drone technology is well-chronicled in the media, the important and positive role played by drones at the community level is often overlooked. At Furman University, we have integrated the use of drones into teaching, research, and various sustainability and safety initiatives on campus and with community partners. Using a combination of tools, including drones and GIS, we mapped the sprinkler irrigation network and streetlight locations on campus and in a local community. The general workflow …

Pharmaceutical Contaminants As Stressors On Rocky Intertidal And Estuarine Organisms: A Case Study Of Fluoxetine, Joseph Richard Peters

Dissertations and Theses

Contaminants such as pharmaceuticals are of increasing concern due to their ubiquitous use and persistence in surface waters worldwide. Limited attention has been paid to the effects of pharmaceuticals on marine life, despite widespread detection of these contaminants in the marine environment. Of the existing studies, the majority assess the negative effects of pharmaceuticals over an exposure period of 30 days or less and focus on cellular and subcellular biomarkers. Longer studies are required to determine if chronic contaminant exposure poses risks to marine life at environmentally relevant concentrations. Also scarce in the literature is examination of whole organism effects …

Hydrothermal Monitoring In Yellowstone National Park Using Airborne Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing, C. M. U. Neale, C. Jaworowski, H. Heasler, S. Sivarajan, A. Masih

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This paper describes the image acquisition and processing methodology, including surface emissivity and atmospheric corrections, for generating surface temperatures of two active hydrothermal systems in Yellowstone National Park. Airborne thermal infrared (8–12 μm) images were obtained annually from 2007 to 2012 using a FLIR SC640 thermal infrared camera system. Thermal infrared image acquisitions occurred under clear-sky conditions after sunset to meet the objective of providing high-spatial resolution, georectified imagery for hydrothermal monitoring. Comparisons of corrected radiative temperature maps with measured ground and water kinetic temperatures at flight times provided an assessment of temperature accuracy. A repeatable, time-sequence of images for …