Digital Commons Network^™

Fluctuating Fire Regimes And Their Historical Effects On Genetic Variation In An Endangered Shrubland Specialist, Hernan Vázquez-Miranda, Kelly R. Barr, C. Craig Farquhar, Robert M. Zink

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Pleistocene was characterized by worldwide shifts in community compositions. Some of these shifts were a result of changes in fire regimes, which influenced the distribution of species belonging to fire-dependent communities. We studied an endangered juniper–oak shrubland specialist, the black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla). This species was locally extirpated in parts of Texas and Oklahoma by the end of the 1980s as a result of habitat change and loss, predation, brood parasitism, and anthropogenic fire suppression. We sequenced multiple nuclear loci and used coalescence methods to obtain a deeper understanding of historical population trends than that typically available …

The Firece Green Fire: Vol. 6 Issue 4, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Sustainability@Bsu - Fall 2015, Center For Sustainability, Bridgewater State University

Center for Sustainability Magazine

No abstract provided.

Simulated Use Of 'First-Order' Ponds To Reduce Peakflow In An Eroding River System, J. Thad Scott, Brian E. Haggard

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Droughtscape, Fall 2015, Kelly Smith

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

Contents

Director’s column.

NDMC 20th anniversary 2

Employment opportunity

Third quarter 2015 climate summary

Third quarter 2015 impacts summary

Workshop in Ethiopia

San Antonio multi-hazard tournament

Healthy soil is drought buffer

U2U Award

Cost-benefit analysis for utilities managing drought

NDMC helps with rural poll questions on climate

Introducing our post-docs

South Korean visitors

Environmental Education In Vietnam: A Case Study At Le Loi Elementary School, Emily Heck Heck

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of the research I conducted for this Independent Study Project was to get an in-depth understanding of how elementary school teachers and students think about the environment, environmental problems, and how to include environmental themes in education in Vietnam. I chose to focus on primary school-aged children, as they are a generation growing up in an era of global warming and daunting threats to the environment brought on by human activity. I conducted my research at Le Loi Elementary School in Hue, Vietnam, where I used a variety of research methods to learn from teachers and students including …

The Environment And Civil War: Exploring The Relationship Between The Environmental Performance Index And Incidence Of Internal Armed Conflict, Katerina N. Krohn

Student Publications

The state of the environment is receiving increasing attention. Environmental quality’s possible relationship to violent conflict attracts both popular and academic interest. Prior research has found support for the idea that environmental scarcity is related to higher occurrences of civil war. There have been few comprehensive quantitative studies regarding this relationship. This study tests a more general argument that higher environmental quality can lead to fewer occurrences of internal armed conflict. The study utilizes an environmental performance index found in the Quality of Government Standard Dataset to test its hypothesis. The study finds that the higher the environmental performance index …

Wildlife Crime And Other Challenges To Resource System Resilience, Patricia Anne Raxter

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Although wildlife crime has exploded in Africa over the past decade —“commercial poaching” now kills an estimated eight percent of the continent’s elephant population each year—some governments have proven more successful than others at protecting wildlife and preserving habitats. To explain this variation, this study examines how the policies of three states (Kenya, Tanzania, and Botswana) have enhanced or undermined the resilience of the continent’s elephant ecosystem. Using the social-ecological system framework, the study illustrates how each state’s changing practices have either exacerbated the stresses wrought by wildlife crime or successfully protected local populations from poaching. The study finds that …

Crowdsourcing Global Wastewater Data, Don Mosteller, Sam Cohen, Cory Nestor, Angel Hsu, Omar Malik

Yale Day of Data

No time to waste: Crowdsourcing global wastewater treatment data

Worldwide, over 80 percent of wastewater is discharged into water bodies without undergoing treatment, severely impairing human well-being and ecosystem vitality along the way. National performance on wastewater treatment is difficult to quantify and is poorly understood due to a lack of common definitions, poor data collection standards, and limited historical data. To address this, the Yale Environmental Performance Index (EPI), a research group that produces a biennial ranking of country-level environmental performance, developed a first-of-its kind national wastewater treatment indicator.[1]

The indicator assesses wastewater treatment performance for 183 countries, …

The Effect Of Urbanization On The Embodied Energy Of Drinking Water In Tampa, Florida, Mark Vincent Eli Santana

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing urbanization has serious implications for resource and energy use. One of these resources is drinking water. The increased amount of impervious surfaces associated with urban development is responsible for increased runoff during rain events, which may have a negative impact on the quality of nearby bodies of water, including drinking water sources. The growing populations associated with urbanization require a higher water demand. In addition, urban drinking water systems use energy to collect, treat, and distribute a safe reliable effluent to users. Therefore, this study focuses on the degree to which urbanization influences the embodied energy of drinking water …

Heirloom: A Piper's Orchard Abecadarian, Shin Yu Pai

The Goose

Poetry by Shin Yu Pai

Prescribed Fire Monitoring Report, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve 2014 (Iqcs Fire Number 285382, 285383, 266782, 285677), Sherry A. Leis, Sarah E. Hinman

United States National Park Service: Publications

Introduction

In 2014, the preserve’s federal and NGO partners conducted prescribed fires during March, April, and October that encompassed 8129.8 acres of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (TAPR). This was a unique burn year in that prescribed burns occurred in the spring, the traditional burn season, and the fall. Fall burns were conducted to support needed archaeological surveys as part of the environmental compliance for a symphony event scheduled for June 2015 at the preserve. Burns at TAPR were coordinated with local US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and various units of the National Park Service.

Burns …

A Geospatial Tool For Wetland Prioritization At The Watershed Scale, Debra Sue Blackmore, Heejun Chang

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

There is an increasing demand for assessing ecosystem functions for freshwater wetlands, especially when comparing or prioritizing among wetlands at the watershed scale. We estimated the relative potential of selected ecosystem functions for freshwater wetlands within a watershed using widely available geospatial data. We developed four functions to estimate 1) flood storage, 2) late season flow, 3) sediment retention and 4) temperature control in four pilot watersheds in Oregon (Tualatin, Coquille, Upper Grande Ronde and Sprague). These watersheds are geographically separated from each other representing diverse ecoregion environments. Spatial analysis and geographic information system (GIS) were designed for maximum re-use, …

Study On The Accumulated Temperature Distribution Model Of Snowmelt Flood Magnitude From The Perspective Of Ecological Environmental Protection Of Mountain Areas, Yang Liu, Xian Yong Meng, Zhi Hui Liu, Danlin Yu

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Mountain flood that causes landslide and other geological disasters can damage the fragile ecological environment in mountain areas. In this paper, threshold and distribution model of accumulated temperature based on snowmelt flood magnitude are designed in mountainous watershed. Meanwhile, input data for this model make use of ample reliable data that include remote sensing and so on. In detail, this model simulates the average watershed temperature by using the meteorologic re-analysis data of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and calculates the average snow depth by using hyperspectral remote sensing data. In addition, the model related data comprise long-term observation …

Public Engagement, Historians And Higher Education: A Retrospective Uk Case Study, Fiona Williamson

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Focussing on the practice of public engagement and the teaching of history in higher education, this article will argue that public engagement is a welcome platform for sustaining humanities education through the economic stagnation and educational changes that have impacted Europe in the early 21st century. However, effective public engagement is becoming an increasingly important practice that universities are implementing all over the globe. Based on a case study of a course module run at a UK university for final-year undergraduates, this article proposes a practical framework for humanities departments to embed public engagement into departmental teaching programmes. It will …

Quantifying Undisturbed Land In Minnesota's Prairie Coteau And Lac Qui Parle Valley Regions, Pete Bauman, Ben Carlson, Tanner Butler

Quantifying Undisturbed Lands in MInnesota's Prairie Coteau and Lac qui Parle Valley Regions

We employed simple GIS methods utilizing the Minnesota Farm Service Agency’s Common Land Unit (CLU) cropland data layer from 2013, along with 2013 USDA National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) county mosaic aerial imagery, to evaluate over 5 million acres of land in 14 southwest Minnesota counties, including all or portions of 10 counties within the Minnesota portion of the Prairie Coteau region and the entirety of four counties in the Lac qui Parle region. We utilized the CLU cropland layer to first identify and remove any areas with a cropping history, regardless of current land use. We then analyzed the …

Arctic Maritime Activities In Changing Climatic & Market Conditions: Impacts On Local Community Security & Adaptation, Julia Olsen, Grete K. Hovelsrud

ShipArc 2015 Conference

No abstract provided.

Transportation And Sanitation Drivers Of Land Use/Land Cover Change: Loss Of The Jamaica Bay Wetlands, Margaret Joy Cytryn

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an analysis (1830-2014) of the historical events of land use/land cover change in the Jamaica Bay estuary, identification of the agents of change, and a perspective on the potential drivers of transportation and sanitation in land use/land cover change.

Optimization Of Containership Speed Based On Operation And Environment Regulations, Changjiang Yu

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Research On The Ballast Water Management In Shenzhen Port Waters : Multiples Proposals For Prevention Of Invasive Species, Junhai Xu

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

A Study On Supervision Of The Port State Control To The Shipboard Ballast Water Under Bwm Convention : Analyzing The Roles Of The China, Guangbin Li

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

A Topographic And Lithologic Analysis Of The Kittatinny Ridge And Their Implications For Appalachian Erosional History, David Carl Sharpe

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The eastern-most ridge of the Appalachian Mountains, Kittatinny Ridge, extends from New York State south to West Virginia. The ridge is composed of erosion-resistant quartzite conglomerate throughout (Shawangunk Formation, Tuscarora Formation) underlain by sandstone, siltstone, slate and shale (Martinsburg Formation, Juniata Formation). The relatively consistent lithology of the Kittatinny Ridge makes it ideal for analyzing how variations in climate, glacial history and other topographic influences have impacted long-term erosion along the ridge. This project analyzed the lithologic consistency and topography of the Kittatinny Ridge at different locations and what geomorphological implications the results might have. Rock samples of the Shawangunk …

Exploration Of The Current State And Directions Of Dynamic Ridesharing, Joseph J. Di Gianni

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Dynamic ridesharing (DRS) is an emerging transportation service based on the traditional concept of shared rides. DRS makes use of web-based real-time technologies to match drivers with riders. Enabling technologies include software platforms that operate on mobile communication devices and contain location-aware capabilities including Global Positioning Systems (Agatz, Erera, Savelsberg, & Wang, 2012). The platforms are designed to provide ride-matching services via smartphone applications differing from early systems that used non-real time services such as internet forums, or telecommunications, where responses were not immediate.

The study of DRS is important when considering its role as an emerging transportation demand management …

Application Of A New Tree-Ring Based Drought Reconstruction Method At Multiple Forest Sites Across Indiana, U.S.A., Kayla Mechelle Pendergrass

Master's Theses

This thesis research used techniques of dendrochronology to investigate the efficacy of using multiple co-occurring species (MCOS) in a climate reconstruction model compared to a single species (SS) in four old-growth forests in Indiana: Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest (PM), Donaldson Woods (DW), Hoot Woods (HW), and Lilly Dickey Woods (LD). The objectives of this study were to [1] evaluate the climate response of all chronologies (n = 19; 7 species) to determine the most appropriate climate variable for reconstruction and [2] determine if the MCOS model outperforms the SS model at each individual study site. Model comparison was conducted …

Portland’S Food Economy: Trends And Contributions, Jamaal Green, Greg Schrock, Jenny H. Liu

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

The primary goal of this report is to document the scope, growth, and contribution of the food economy to the city of Portland and the region. Specifically, this report addresses the following research questions:

• What is the "food economy," and how is it defined?
• What is the size of Portland’s food economy, and how has it changed in recent years?
• How is the food economy distributed spatially within the city and the region? How is this changing?
• What kind of employment opportunities does Portland’s food economy offer? How do they compare to the broader economy?
• Who works in Portland’s food …

Selective Impact Of Disease On Coral Communities: Outbreak Of White Syndrome Causes Significant Total Mortality Of Acropora Plate Corals, Jean-Paul A. Hobbs, Ashley J. Frisch, Stephen J. Newman, Corey B. Wakefield

Fisheries Research Articles

Coral diseases represent a significant and increasing threat to coral reefs. Among the most destructive diseases is White Syndrome (WS), which is increasing in distribution and prevalence throughout the Indo-Pacific. The aim of this study was to determine taxonomic and spatial patterns in mortality rates of corals following the 2008 outbreak of WS at Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. WS mainly affected Acropora plate corals and caused total mortality of 36% of colonies across all surveyed sites and depths. Total mortality varied between sites but was generally much greater in the shallows (0–96% of colonies at 5 m …

Hyperlegality And Heightened Surveillance: The Case Of Threatened Species Lists, Irus Braverman

Journal Articles

My contribution to the Debate "Thinking about Law and Surveillance" focuses on the project of governing nonhuman species through care, briefly pointing to how law and surveillance are interwoven in this context and to how conservation's biopolitical regimes are increasingly becoming more abstract, standardized, calculable, and algorithmic in scope. I argue that conservation’s focus on governing through care lends itself to heightened modes of surveillance and to hyperlegality - namely, to the intensified inspection and regulation of both governed and governing actors. I start with some preliminary explanations about my atypical use of the terms surveillance, law, and biopolitics.

A Mixed Methods Assessment Of The Development, Use, And Educational Effectiveness Of University Campus Sustainability Tours, Ellen R. Barringer

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Campus sustainability tours are available at dozens of colleges and universities across the United States. These tours are considered a vital tool in interpreting the environmental and sustainable aspects of a campus to educate the campus community. Minimal quantitative data have been collected regarding their development, use, and effectiveness. In order to develop a dataset regarding the use of campus sustainability tours, surveys and interviews were sent to universities with such tours to discuss use and methods of development. A campus-wide electronic survey was sent to the Western Kentucky University (WKU) main campus community to determine their experiences with the …

Zero-Waste Planning At Higher Education Institutions: A Case Study Of Western Kentucky University, Kianoosh Ebrahimi

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Over the past two decades, the number of universities that pursue zero-waste strategies has steadily increased. However, more study is required on several interrelated factors, policy barriers, and infrastructural fundamentals, which each influence the efficiency of waste management structures (WM) at universities. In this work, the role of the aforementioned factors in implementing an efficient sustainable WM program at higher education institutions was investigated, using Western Kentucky University (WKU) as a case study. The objectives of this study were to identify and assess what type of WM strategies should be priorities for a university that may lack stringent WM infrastructure. …

Empirical Evidence For The Scale Dependence Of Biotic Interactions, Jonathan Belmaker, Phoebe Zarnetske, Sara Zonneveld, Sydne Record, Angela L. Strecker, Lydia Beaudrot

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Aim: Although it is recognized that ecological patterns are scale dependent, the exact scales over which specific ecological processes operate are still a matter of controversy. In particular, understanding the scales over which biotic interactions operate is critical for predicting changes in species distributions in the face of the ongoing biodiversity crisis. It has been hypothesized that biotic interactions operate predominately at fine grains, yet this conjecture has received relatively little empirical scrutiny. We use US woodpeckers as a model system to assess the relative importance of biotic interactions, environmental suitability and geographic proximity to other intraspecific occurrence sites, …