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Evaluating Habitat Vulnerability And Sustainability Of Urban Seagrass Resources To Sea Level Rise, Cynthia A. Meyer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The seagrass resource provides essential ecosystem functions for many marine species. This research evaluated the vulnerability and sustainability of the seagrass resource in an urbanized area to the effects of sea level rise. The assessment required analysis of information regarding the biogeography of the seagrass resource, and developing a method to model the spatial extent of the suitable habitat for seagrass, and applying the model to predict the implications of simulated sea level rise scenarios on the seagrass resource.

Examining the biogeography of the seagrass resource required the development of a seagrass monitoring and assessment field survey and a comprehensive …

Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Amphibian Chytrid Fungus Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis Occupancy In Amphibian Habitats, Tara Chestnut

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Chytrid fungi are the most ancestral of the fungi and are global in distribution. There are over 1200 species of Chytridiomycota described from freshwater, marine and terrestrial systems in temperate, tropical and tundra environments. Chytridiales are characterized by a range of morphologies and share the flask- or pot-like shape of the zoosporangia, within which motile zoospores develop. Chytrids function primarily as plant saprobes and parasites, but some also parasitize animals. Chytrids are observed in conjunction with the decline of freshwater and marine algal blooms, they decompose excess pollen, and comprise the fungal flora in gut of herbivores. Some chytrids also …

Global Land Governance: From Territory To Flow?, Thomas Sikor, Graeme Auld, Anthony J. Bebbington, Tor A. Benjaminsen, Bradford S. Gentry, Carol Hunsberger, Anne Marie Izac, Matias E. Margulis, Tobias Plieninger, Heike Schroeder, Caroline Upton

Geography

This article reviews recent research on contemporary transformations of global land governance. It shows how changes in global governance have facilitated and responded to radical revalorizations of land, together driving the intensified competition and struggles over land observed in many other contributions to this special issue. The rules in place to govern land use are shifting from 'territorial' toward 'flow-centered' arrangements, the latter referring to governance that targets particular flows of resources or goods, such as certification of agricultural or wood products. The intensifying competition over land coupled with shifts toward flow-centered governance has generated land uses involving new forms …

Palaeoecological Analysis Of The Decline In Stromatolite Abundance During The Ordovician Period, Noran Mhm El-Sherif

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

A stromatolite is a laminated benthic microbial deposit. Its uniqueness arises from being present since the Precambrian to the present. Stromatolites recorded a peak time during the Mesoproterozoic, subsequently they witnessed abrupt rises and falls in abundance with the steepest decline in the Ordovician period, from which it never recovered from. There is no consensus yet regarding the reasons behind the decline of stromatolites. Thus the decline of these microbial deposits remains an enigma. Additionally, a literature gap exists regarding the reasons that specifically led to the Ordovician decline. Accordingly, the focus of this literature-based MSc. thesis is to find …

Predictive Models For Escherichia Coli Concentrations At Inland Lake Beaches And Relationship Of Model Variables To Pathogen Detection, Donna S. Francy, Erin A. Stelzer, Joseph W. Duris, Amie M. G. Brady, John H. Harrison, Heather E. Johnson, Michael W. Ware

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Predictive models, based on environmental and water quality variables, have been used to improve the timeliness and accuracy of recreational water quality assessments, but their effectiveness has not been studied in inland waters. Sampling at eight inland recreational lakes in Ohio was done in order to investigate using predictive models for Escherichia coli and to understand the links between E. coli concentrations, predictive variables, and pathogens. Based upon results from 21 beach sites, models were developed for 13 sites, and the most predictive variables were rainfall, wind direction and speed, turbidity, and water temperature. Models were not developed at sites …

Migration Patterns Among Young Adults In The United States: Environmental, Social, And Economic Explanations, Fangming Liu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Young adult migration is a key factor in community development. The goal of this paper is to study what kinds of places attract young adults and what kinds are losing them. Linear regression is conducted to analyze what place-specific factors explain migration patterns among young adults. These factors include economic, social, and environmental variables. This study finds that social and environmental factors are just as important as economic ones. Specifically, employment in the arts increases young adult net migration. Environmental variables, for example, natural amenities and protected federal lands are particularly important in rural settings in attracting young adults. These …

Summer Land Surface Temperature: Small-Local Variation In Intro-Urban Environment In El Paso, Tx, Mactar Mohamed

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

It has been well documented that rapid urbanization and population growth have led to the transformation of the natural landscape into anthropogenic urban land and changed such surface physical properties as albedo, energy balance, and surface roughness. Cities, therefore, will be warmer at the urban areas than the rural lands; this situation creates a phenomenon called Urban Heat Island (UHI).

In the recent decades, numerous approaches to study the variation of land surface temperature during daytime have emerged; however, little is known about the variation during nighttime. This study addressed the spatial variation of Summer Nighttime Land Surface Temperature …

Assessing The Equity Implications Of Greenspace Distribution In An Arid Region, Abdelatif Eldeb

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the last few decades, vegetation deterioration is receiving increased attention because of its adverse impacts on societal and human health, environmental sustainability, and quality of life. I have selected two cities in Chihuahua Desert region (El Paso and Juarez) as case study sites to develop a novel and applicable methodology for integrating remotely sensed data of different spectral and spatial resolutions into an analysis of the spatial distribution of an urban amenity. The primary objective of this research is to determine if the spatial distribution of greenspace in 2010 is equitable with respect to socio-demographics in El Paso and …

Weather Patterns Associated With Green Turtle Hypothermic Stunning Events In St. Joseph Bay And Mosquito Lagoon, Florida, Kelsey Roberts

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

January of 2010 brought record-breaking cold temperatures to Florida. Such freeze events can upset vulnerable populations of marine life and other species that rely on stable water temperatures. Sea turtles are one group of species that are particularly susceptible to abrupt drops in water temperature. When water temperatures drop below 10°C, a mass hypothermic stunning, or cold-stunning, event for sea turtles can be expected, with many debilitated turtles washing onshore with a very limited time window to be rehabilitated (Foley et al. 2007). The species of sea turtle that appears to cold-stun with the most frequency is the green turtle, …

Decomposition Of Ireland’S Carbon Emissions From 1990-2010: An Extended Kaya Identity, Tadhg O'Mahony

Articles

In recent decades, Ireland has been an important example of a development pathway where rapid economic growth was accompanied by rising energy demand and increasing carbon emissions. Understanding the driving forces of carbon emissions is necessary for policy formulation and decomposition analysis is widely used for this purpose. This study uses an extended Kaya identity as the scheme and applies the log mean Divisia index (LMDI I) as the decomposition technique. Change in carbon emissions is decomposed from 1990 – 2010 and includes a measure of the effect of renewable energy penetration. Results illustrate that scale effects of affluence and …

Ecosystem Metabolism In Coastal Plain Streams Of Southeast Louisiana : Environmental And Watershed Effects, Jonathan L. West

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Since its introduction in 1956, the use of open-system, diel dissolved oxygen curves for estimating the components of ecosystem metabolism in the lotic setting have been important in determining the current ecosystem theory of streams, both spatially among multiple systems and longitudinally within the same system, as well as identifying potentially impaired systems, especially when contrasted with streams considered unimpaired. Several factors have been identified as controls on both components of ecosystem metabolism and include light, nutrients, and stable substrates for gross primary production (GPP) and a source of organic matter (OM) for ecosystem respiration (ER). Stream size is important …

Did Irrigation Impact 20th Century Temperature In The High Plains Aquifer Region?, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Geologic Records Of Dust In The Quaternary, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Study of geologic records of dust composition, sources and deposition rates is important for understanding the role of dust in the overall planetary radiation balance, fertilization of organisms in the world’s oceans, nutrient additions to the terrestrial biosphere and soils, and for paleoclimatic reconstructions. Both glacial and non-glacial processes produce fine-grained particles that can be transported by the wind. Geologic records of dust flux occur in a number of depositional archives for sediments: (1) loess deposits; (2) lake sediments; (3) soils; (4) deep-ocean basins; and (5) ice sheets and smaller glaciers. These archives have several characteristics that make them highly …

Ice-Age Megafauna In Arctic Alaska: Extinction, Invasion, Survival, Daniel H. Mann, Pamela Groves, Michael L. Kunz, Richard E. Reanier, Benjamin V. Gaglioti

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Radical restructuring of the terrestrial, large mammal fauna living in arctic Alaska occurred between 14,000 and 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. Steppe bison, horse, and woolly mammoth became extinct, moose and humans invaded, while muskox and caribou persisted. The ice age mega fauna was more diverse in species and possibly contained 6x more individual animals than live in the region today. Mega faunal biomass during the last ice age may have been 30x greater than present. Horse was the dominant species in terms of number of individuals. Lions, short-faced bears, wolves, and possibly grizzly …

Origin Of The Sinai-Negev Erg, Egypt And Israel: Mineralogical And Geochemical Evidence For The Importance Of The Nile And Sea Level History, Daniel R. Muhs, Joel Roskin, Haim Tsoar, Gary Skipp, James Budahn, Amihai Sneh, Naomi Porat, Jean-Daniel Stanley, Itzhak Katra, Dan G. Blumberg

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Sinai-Negev erg occupies an area of 13,000 km² in the deserts of Egypt and Israel. Aeolian sand of this erg has been proposed to be derived from the Nile Delta, but empirical data supporting this view are lacking. An alternative source sediment is sand from the large Wadi El Arish drainage system in central and northern Sinai. Mineralogy of the Negev and Sinai dunes shows that they are high in quartz, with much smaller amounts of K-feldspar and plagioclase. Both Nile Delta sands and Sinai wadi sands, upstream of the dunes, also have high amounts of quartz relative …

Chronology And Provenance Of Last-Glacial (Peoria) Loess In Western Iowa And Paleoclimatic Implications, Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis Iii, Helen M. Roberts, Stephen S. Harlan, James B. Paces, Richard L. Reynolds

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Geologic archives show that the Earth was dustier during the last glacial period. One model suggests that increased gustiness (stronger, more frequent winds) enhanced dustiness. We tested this at Loveland, Iowa, one of the thickest deposits of last-glacial-age (Peoria) loess in the world. Based on K/Rb and Ba/Rb, loess was derived not only from glaciogenic sources of the Missouri River, but also distal loess from non-glacial sources in Nebraska. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages provide the first detailed chronology of Peoria Loess at Loveland. Deposition began after ~27 ka and continued until ~17 ka. OSL ages also indicate that mass …

A Global Standard For Monitoring Coastal Wetland Vulnerability To Accelerated Sea-Level Rise, Edward L. Webb, Daniel A. Friess, Ken W. Krauss, Donald R. Cahoon, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Jacob Phelps

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Sea-level rise threatens coastal salt-marshes and mangrove forests around the world, and a key determinant of coastal wetland vulnerability is whether its surface elevation can keep pace with rising sea level. Globally, a large data gap exists because wetland surface and shallow subsurface processes remain unaccounted for by traditional vulnerability assessments using tide gauges. Moreover, those processes vary substantially across wetlands, so modelling platforms require relevant local data. The low-cost, simple, high-precision rod surface-elevation table–marker horizon (RSET-MH) method fills this critical data gap, can be paired with spatial data sets and modelling and is financially and technically accessible to every …

Carbon Storage And Sequestration By Trees In Urban And Community Areas Of The United States, David J. Nowak, Eric J. Greenfield, Robert E. Hoehn, Elizabeth Lapoint

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Carbon storage and sequestration by urban trees in the United States was quantified to assess the magnitude and role of urban forests in relation to climate change. Urban tree field data from 28 cities and 6 states were used to determine the average carbon density per unit of tree cover. These data were applied to statewide urban tree cover measurements to determine total urban forest carbon storage and annual sequestration by state and nationally. Urban whole tree carbon storage densities average 7.69 kg C m^‒2 of tree cover and sequestration densities average 0.28 kg C m^‒2 of tree …

Bacillus Thuringiensis: Transgenic Crops, Julie A. Peterson, John J. Obrycki, James D. Harwood

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops, genetically modified to express insecticidal toxins that target key pests of corn, cotton, rice, potato, and other crops, have been rapidly adopted and have become dominant fixtures in agroecosystems throughout the world. Due to the constitutive nature of Bt toxin expression, insecticidal proteins may be found in nearly all plant tissues, presenting multiple sources for Bt toxins to enter the environment, thus creating complex direct and indirect pathways for non-target organisms to be exposed to insecticidal proteins. The environmental impacts of Bt crops have been widely debated, although both benefits and risks do exist. Benefits of …

The Relationship Between The Meaning Of Water And Sense Of Place : A Grounded Theory Study From Northern Thailand, Katesuda Sitthisuntikul

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The literature suggests that a subtle relationship exists for communities between the meaning of water and sense of place, making fertile ground for systematic investigation. The relationship has obvious importance in today’s world, where people’s reliance on water, and the need for reliable supplies, form part of a common discourse in natural resource management. Yet, there has been much less discussion of what water means to people, how it connects with peoples’ sense of place, and what that might mean for the way people interact with their surroundings. The methodology of constructivist grounded theory was therefore appropriate to investigate this …

Governing The Post-Socialist Transitional Commons: A Case From Rural China, Shitong Qiao

Faculty Scholarship

When the collective declines, who manages the collective-owned land? When the socialist state fails, who possesses the state-owned river? This Article concerns the governance of land and natural resources that are still owned by collectives or the state in rural China. No effective community governance has evolved in rural China to fill the authority vacuum left by the dissolution of the people’s commune system. As a result, such land and natural resources have become real commons. In describing these I use the term “transitional commons” to indicate both the crucial influence of the transitional political legal environment in their emergence …

Assessing The Feasibility Of Small Hydropower In Northern California, Andrea Peterson

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Small hydropower is an underutilized form of clean energy generation. In order for any potential for small hydropower to be developed or utilized, the amount of potential power needs to be estimated accurately. A number of studies have been conducted, though none of these studies have taken local climate into account, which affects the accuracy of their results. A number of places in Northern California have potential that has not yet been utilized, but a more accurate assessment of that potential is called for. Although studies can be conducted through a number of different methodologies, most use GIS technology to …

Assessment Of Disaster Losses In Rice Paddy Field And Yield After Tsunami Induced By The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, Yuei-An Liou, Hsueh-Chun Sha, Ting-Ming Chen, Tai-Sheng Wang, Yi-Ting Li, Yen-Cheng Lai, Min-Hsin Chiang, Li-The Lu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011 triggered an extremely destructive tsunami that hit the Tohoku region of Japan severely. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishes of Japan, Tohoku accounted for 27.59% of Japan’s rice yield in 2010. It is an impact to a country that relies on rice as its main food source. This paper utilizes remote sensing techniques to estimate the disaster losses in rice field and yield in Fukushima and Miyagi, the most severely damaged coastal prefectures of the Tohoku region, by using a developed Rice field Identification and riCe …

A Geomorphological Model For Landslide Detection Using Airborne Lidar Data, Jin-King Liu, Kuo-Hsin Hsiao, Peter Tian-Yuan Shih

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study analyzes multi-temporal LiDAR data of high accuracy and high resolution by installing a geomorphometric model for extracting landslides. First, two sets of LiDAR data were acquired for before and after a heavy rainfall event. The landslides which took place from 2005 to 2009 were classified automatically by satellite images, and subsequently the landslides were interpreted and edited manually. Geomorphometric parameters including slope, curvature, OHM, OHM roughness, and topographic wetness index were then extracted using stencils of landslide polygons overlaid on respective thematic maps derived from LiDAR, DEM and DSM. The ranges of every parameter were derived from the …

Rainwater Utilization To Reduce Flooding In Low-Lying Areas Of Taipei City, Taiwan, Andrew Lo

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

She-Zih is a low-lying area in Taipei City where the Tanshui River and Keelung River meet. Average elevation is about 2.5 m. Perennial flood events occur very often. The only flood prevention facility is the 6 m levee built around the perimeter to overcome 20-yr flood events. The main cause of the flooding problem is the instantaneous extreme high rainfall events that often exceed the drainage capacity of She-Zih. Current solutions to relieve this water hazard, suggested by the Water Resources Agency, include channel widening and many water pumping installations. At present, all emergency facilities are insufficient to combat unexpected …

Walmart's Sustainability Journey: Defining Sustainable Products (A), David G. Hyatt, Andrew Spicer

Wal-Mart Sustainability Case Project

In “Defining Sustainable Products (A),” we examine Walmart’s search for a systemic solution to define a sustainable product precisely. In this case, Matt Kistler, who succeeded Andy Ruben as the company sustainability leader in 2007, knows that the company is lagging behind on its espoused goal of selling sustainable products. The case asks students step into Kistler’s shoes as he leads Walmart’s sustainability office through a systematic review of the different models and frameworks available for measuring the sustainability of products presently in use. Eventually, the students face a decision about what Walmart should do to make systemic progress with …

Chemical Contaminants As Stratigraphic Markers For The Anthropocene, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Thousands and even millions of years from now, widespread anthropogenic contaminants in sediments would likely persist, incorporated into the geological record. They would inadvertently preserve evidence of our present era (informally designated as the Anthropocene Epoch) characterized by large human populations engaged in intensive industrial and agricultural activities.

Hypothetical geologists in the distant future would likely find unusually high concentrations of a wide variety of contaminants at stratigraphic levels corresponding to our present time, analogous to the iridium anomaly marking the bolide impact event at the close of the Cretaceous Period. These would include both organic and inorganic substances, such …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2012 Annual Report, Isabel W. Ashton, Michael Prowatzke, Stephen K. Wilson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

the last remnants of native mixed-grass prairie in the region. The Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (NGPN) surveyed 8 long-term monitoring plots in Scotts Bluff National Monument in 2012 as part of an effort to better understand the condition of plant communities in the park. We measured plant diversity and cover, estimated tree and shrub density, looked for the presence of exotic species that are of concern to park management, and evaluated the amount of human and natural disturbance at all plots. This effort was the second year in a multiple-year venture to document the current …

An Estimate Of Groundwater Recharge In The Nabogo River Basin, Ghana Using Water Table Fluctuation Method And Chloride Mass Balance, Melanie Lynn Krautstrunk

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Cambrian-Precambrian fractured sandstone aquifer in the Nabogo River Basin in the Sahelian Northern Region in Ghana is one of the most important sources for fresh water supply for the local rural communities there. Recent population growth and commercial agricultural interests in this region could have an impact on this critical water resource. Groundwater recharge estimates are determined in this study using the Water Table Fluctuation Method and Chloride Mass Balance and can be applied to future sustainability studies of the region's water resources. Recharge estimates of the Water Table Fluctuation Method are in a range of 10-143 mm/yr or …

Effects Of Silvicultural Management On Coast Redwood Forest Composition, Density And Structure In Santa Cruz And San Mateo Counties, Michael J. Papa

Master's Theses

The multiple-objective exploratory study investigates effects of various silvicultural management regimes commonly applied to coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens [D. Don] Endl.) forests in Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties, California, USA. A temporary forest inventory was installed in 24 harvest origin stands and 4 natural origin stands throughout the study area (sample area = 1189 acres). Data from the systematic sample of 233 one-quarter acre nested cluster plots (sample intensity = 4.9%) rendered overall forest descriptions in terms of species composition, density, and structure. The common forestry measures of trees per acre (TPA), basal area per acre (BA), and …