Digital Commons Network^™

Towards Conserving Crop Wild Relatives Along The Texas–Mexico Border: The Case Of Manihot Walkerae, Gisel Garza, Crystian Sadel Venegas Barrera, Jon Dale, José Guadalupe Martínez-Ávalos, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Walker’s Manihot, Manihot walkerae, is an endangered species endemic to south Texas and northeastern Mexico and is a Crop Wild Relative (CWR) of the international and economically important crop cassava (M. esculenta). Manihot walkerae is globally endangered (IUCN’s Redlist, Texas list, USA); however, it is not recognized on the Mexican list of endangered species (NOM-059-SEMARNAT). We assessed the status of M. walkerae in Mexico and re-evaluated its global status. According to our analysis, M. walkerae should be considered an endangered species based on the IUCN’s assessment method and a threatened species in Mexico based on the Mexican criteria. Our findings …

Urban Forests And Their Potential To Combat Food Insecurity: Analyzing Street Trees In Baltimore, Md For Their Edibility, Victoria Bearden

Environment and Sustainability Honors Papers

Food insecure environments, in which residents lack consistent access to nutritious food materials, can occur in urban settings. Literature on urban forests suggests that trees can provide a range of provisioning ecosystem services, including edible uses. We consider this to determine if street trees in Baltimore, Maryland have the potential to provide nutritious food materials to address food insecurity in Healthy Food Priority Areas (HFPA), designated by Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. Our analysis utilizes the Plants For a Future database and the geospatial hotspot analysis tool in Esri’s ArcMap to determine the edible quality ratings (EQR) of …

Fighting Food Insecurity In New York City: What Role For Street Trees?, Kristen Cooney

Environment and Sustainability Honors Papers

There is growing recognition that urban forests have the potential to combat food insecurity via their edible parts, namely fruits, berries, and nuts. I researched New York City’s street trees, by locating trees with edible parts within food insecure communities, to analyze this potential.

Spatial And Temporal Distribution And Habitat Selection Of Native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout And Nonnative Utah Chub, Darcy K. Mccarrick, Jeffrey C. Dillon, Brett High, Michael C. Quist

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Henrys Lake, Idaho, is a renowned trophy trout fishery that faces an uncertain future following the establishment of Utah Chub (UTC) Gila atraria. Utah Chub were first documented in the lake in 1993 and have become abundant over the past two decades. Little is known about the ecology of UTC, but they typically have negative effects on salmonids in systems where they have been introduced. We sought to fill knowledge gaps in UTC ecology and provide insight on potential interactions with Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout (YCT) Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri. Ninety-four YCT and 95 UTC were radio-tagged in spring 2019 …

Individual Trophic Niche Specialization In American Beaver (Castor Canadensis), Jimmy Taylor, Robert Francis, Scott Rush, Bronson Strickland, Guiming Wang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The American beaver (Castor canadensis) has been described as a choosy generalist at the species/population scale, yet observational studies have shown little variation in diet among individuals. We compared isotopic values of δ¹³C or δ¹⁵N taken from hair of 32 beaver, representing seven colonies in northern Alabama, USA to determine 1) if colonies of beaver show overlap in isotopic niche width as a result of the similar use of food resources and 2) if individual trophic niche specialization occurs within colonies. Total Trophic Niche Width varied across the wetland with the widest being twice …

The Role Small And Medium Enterprises’ In Sustainability Coastal Media Solutions Goal 8 Un Sdg, Bridgette Devlin

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

No abstract provided.

Plant Wise, Sophia Llamas

Honors Projects

Conceptually, Plant Wise is the key to bridging the gap between preconceived ideas about vegan and vegetarianism and successfully integrating plant-based foods into your everyday life. Physically, Plant Wise is a self-educational, interactive booklet chock-full of activities intended for users to complete at their own pace. Inside this 56-page booklet, there are recipes, doodling spaces, weekly check sheets, activities to do with friends and family, challenges, and so much more. Plant Wise utilizes these activities and journaling opportunities throughout as a self-reflective vehicle to give users an experience to reflect on, which aids in the retention of what’s been learned …

E-Device Purchase And Disposal Behaviours In The Uae: An Exploratory Study, Ayisha Siddiqua, Maisa El Gamal, Waheed Kareem Abdul, Lama Mahmoud, Fares M. Howari

All Works

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the high-income countries in the Middle Eastern region and is vying for sustainable development in every sector. One of the UAE sustainable development goals is to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns; hence, the emphasis is on circular economy. UAE is one of largest consumers of e-devices, and their proper disposal is of paramount importance. E-waste disposal awareness leads to better disposal behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to understand the e-device purchase and disposal behaviour among university communities in the UAE. A survey was conducted among the students and …

A Nematode Community-Based Integrated Productivity Efficiency (Ipe) Model That Identifies Sustainable Soil Health Outcomes: A Case Of Compost Application In Carrot Production, A. Habteweld, A. Kravchencko, Parwinder Grewal, H. Melakeberhan

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Percent soil organic matter (SOM), pH and crop yield are among the biophysicochemical process-driven soil health indicators (SHIs). However, identifying sustainable soil health conditions using these SHIs is limited due to the lack of Integrated Productivity Efficiency (IPE) models. We define IPE as a concept that identifies best-to-worst-case soil health outcomes by assessing the effect of agronomic practices on weighted abundance of functional guilds (WAFG) of beneficial soil organisms and SHIs simultaneously. Expressing WAFG of all beneficial nematodes (x-axis) and SHIs (y-axis) as a percent of untreated control and regression of x and y reveals four quadrants describing worst-to-best-case outcomes …

Pre-Growth Environmental Stresses Affect Foodborne Pathogens Response To Subsequent Chemical Treatments, Amandeep Singh, Veerachandra K. Yemmireddy

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes are known to survive under different environmental stresses with an effect on their physiological properties. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different environmental stresses on the foodborne pathogens response to subsequent chemical treatments. Three types of pathogens Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes were subjected to different environmental stresses: (i) Desiccation (ii) high salt (iii) low pH, and (iv) temperatures (14, 23, and 37 °C) during their growth. The cells harvested at their early stationary growth phase were subsequently subjected to chlorine (100 …

Coastal Media Solutions: The Role Small And Medium Enterprises In Sustainability, Bridgette Devlin

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

No abstract provided.

Bacterial Metabolism Of Glucosinolates From Brassica: Association With Isothiocyanate Production, Stephanie Thomas, Jiaxuan Li, Michael J. Miller

PRECS student projects

Study Focus: To explore the alternative metabolic pathways of GSLs in bacteria, present on the surface of brassica vegetables.

Hypothesis: The alternative pathways used to metabolize GSLs in bacteria located on the surface of brassica vegetables, may contribute to the high variance of human gut GSL conversion to ITC.

Polinators In Peril - Are Illinois Native Bees Getting Smaller?, Anthony Lamb, Tristan Barley, Adam Dolezal

PRECS student projects

Why it matters.

Pollination services provided by native bees are an important natural process, providing ~150 billion dollars globally in agricultural gains.

A bee’s body size is a trait that is an important indicator of the nutritional environment. A loss of habitat results in a loss of rich nutritional environments as flowers and resource become more fragmented and scarcer.

It has been discovered that a bee’s body size is a determinant of their foraging range. The smaller the bee, the less distance they can travel for food, therefor, the more susceptible they are to habitat loss and resource limitation.

Tidelands Health Wellness Department: Sustainable Development Goals 3 And 4 In Georgetown County, Hailey Restuccia

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being

No abstract provided.

Making Forests, Making Communities: An Ethnography Of Reforestation In Monteverde, Costa Rica, Megan Brown

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

Reforestation is not just planting trees in the ground. More than net increase in forest cover, reforestation is a complex political endeavor undertaken by both humans and non-humans and a popular climate change mitigation tactic. However, little research has examined the dynamics between selection of specific reforestation strategies, health, and community resilience, particularly with attention to entanglements between the lives of both human and non-human forest dwellers. This ethnographic work, based on six months of in-person fieldwork and six months of digital ethnography, examines reforestation and forest relations in Costa Rica’s Monte Verde zone, a region which experienced widespread deforestation, …

Tidelands Health Community Care Resources Relations To Sdg Goals 3, 10, And 11 Sustainability 310: Methods/ Tools In Sustainability, Diquasha Simmons

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being

No abstract provided.

Exploring Amaranth’S Color Palette: Linking Phenotype, Plant Adaptation, And Human Health, Sarah Redman, Chance Riggins Ph.D.

PRECS student projects

Amaranthus is a genus containing species that are highly desirable, yet underutilized crops and species that are highly despised pernicious agricultural weeds.

• Cultivated species are primarily grown as nutritious pseudograins, colorful ornamentals, or leafy greens and are recognized for tolerance to heat, drought, and salinity.
• Weedy amaranths possess similar adaptive traits, in addition to evolved resistance to numerous herbicides, and pose severe challenges to global agriculture.
• Plant pigments (i.e., betalains, carotenoids) are central to understanding this impressive diversity of phenotypes and adaptive traits.

Zoo Education Efficacy In The Context Of The Modern-Day Zoo: A Study Of Aza-Accredited Zoos And Education Models, Taylor L. Ruscitti

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

Zoos have become a built-in component of society and play many roles. One of the roles includes being facilitators of education. Education serves to increase the positive public perception of zoos and works to continue to gain funds and support for a zoo’s overall purpose. Through a literature review and analysis, this thesis explores the modern-day context of zoos and analyzes how education can drive the zoo’s mission. The focus will be on Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) accredited zoos. While many other facilities that house an array of animals, AZA …

Ecosystem Service Trade-Offs In Coral Reefs: A Global Analysis, Megan E. Keene

Student Publications

Coral reefs are biodiversity hotspots that provide humans with extractive ecosystem services like fisheries and non-extractive services like tourism. Though no studies have examined these trade-offs among these services at a global scale, there are now large, open datasets that make this possible. Using these datasets, we asked whether spatial protection and the level of protection (World Database on Protected Areas) impacted coral reef tourism value (Atlas of Ocean Wealth). We also examined whether proximity to regions of high fishing effort, defined as the top 25th percentile of the average annual effort from Global Fishing Watch, impacted tourism values. Since …

A Mixed Methods Case Study: Effects Of Instructors’ Beliefs On Incorporation Of Sustainability Curriculum At A Midwestern University, Anna Oetting

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

The degree to which sustainability is taught is often varied and inconsistent across colleges, departments, and higher education institutions. However, educating students and future generations regarding the different pillars of sustainability, including economic, social, and environmental topics, is increasing in importance and urgency. A mixed methods case study utilized surveys and interviews to investigate why instructors incorporate sustainability, what impacts course incorporation of sustainability, and barriers that instructors face. This study found that instructors’ beliefs regarding the importance of sustainability relate to the extent to which sustainability is incorporated into their curriculum. Topics of sustainability incorporated into a class are …

Trophic Relationships Between Tadpoles And Other Aquatic Organisms In Sub-Tropical Ponds, Kira Cates

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Quantitative Study Of Orchids And Their Proximate Environments Over An Elevational Gradient On The Northern Slope Of Montagne D’Ambre, Hazel Schrader

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research investigated change in orchid populations and their proximate environments on the Northern slope of Montagne d’Ambre, a subhumid forest in Northern Madagascar. Orchid density, way of life (epiphyte or terrestrial), phenology, and associations were recorded over 100m elevation gradients and between forest types (primary, secondary, dry, and humid forests at the same altitude). Additionally, orchid preferences for certain heights in the forest and DBH of host trees were analyzed. The establishment of 50X20m plots in 100m elevation gradients combined with ground survey yielded significant results demonstrating change along with elevation as well as forest types. Orchid density increased …

Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 3 - April - June 2022, Institute For Global Health And Development

IGHD Newsletters

• Research Highlights
• Reflections from IGHD’s Associate Faculty
• Key Publications
• Webinars and Dialogues
• Celebration
• Collaborate With U

Development Of Enhanced Algae Strains And Sustainable Cultivation Processes For Production Of Algal Lipids For Biofuels And Bioproducts, Enlin Lo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The establishment of an algae industry is crucial for addressing global biofuel and bioproduct demand that meets the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) worldwide. Photosynthetic microalgae are excellent sources for food, fiber, fuel, feed, and fertilizer, which are the 5Fs of the SDG. However, at present, algae-based materials are not cost-competitive or sufficiently sustainable. Improved productivity, lower cultivation cost, and reduced use of resources are required to transition from lab to industry, necessitating the development of superior strains that have high productivity and can tolerate environmental stress, such as temperature and salinity, so they can be cultivated at large scale outdoors …

Thinking Creatively About Functional Diversity And Functional Traits (Bef), Shahid Naeem

Sustainability Seminar Series

Understanding the impacts of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functions and services represents a major focus of contemporary environmental biology, but its progress hinges on advances in the study of functional diversity. Traditional approaches to functional diversity, however, have centered on taking virtually any measure of an organism’s biology, or an organism’s functional traits (OFTs), often assuming that variation in OFTs among species reflects ecological and evolutionary tradeoffs. Contemporary issues, however, require more creative approaches to the quantification and analysis of OFTs. Here, I present results from four of our group’s research that illustrate the value of more creative approaches to …

Geothermal Development In Kenya: Gender Based Socio-Cultural And Socio-Economic Implications, Faye N. Ricker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an ethnographic case study that analyzes the gendered socio-cultural and socio-economic implications for a community that was displaced in order to develop a geothermal energy system in Kenya. The implications are rendered particularly interesting because the displaced community is also one of the communities served by the geothermal power grid. The analysis employs a composite framework of Feminist Political Ecology and the Political Ecology of Climate Change Mitigation. This work explores gendered perceptions and control of energy, livelihood activities, place attachment, and the cultural/spiritual significance of geothermal energy.

Geothermal energy is a potentially promising source of low-carbon …

Using Fine-Scale Aquatic Habitat Data To Construct Dreissenid Sdms In The Laurentian Great Lakes, Grace C. Henderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The invasion of the Laurentian Great Lakes by aquatic invasive species (AIS) has been the subject of investigation for decades, due to their dramatic alterations to the ecosystem and high economic costs. Two AIS with the largest impacts are dreissenid zebra and quagga mussels, and though these species have been studied extensively, questions remain about what factors control their distributions, and whether lake warming will alter these distributions. Species distribution models (SDMs) offer a powerful tool to examine the relationship between species presences and environmental variables, which are typically bioclimactic data. The creation of the Aquatic Habitat (AqHab) dataset containing …

Considering Sustainability From The Perspective Of Accountability: Rethinking Consumerism And The Environment, Tabassum Fahim Ruby, Madeline Mulcahey, Christine Recchi

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Professor Tabassum Ruby, Women’s and Gender Studies, with Madeline Mulcahey and Christine Recchi - Considering Sustainability from the Perspective of Accountability: Rethinking Consumerism and the Environment

Fungal Associations In An Urban Forest, Jordan Leis

Senior Theses

Fungal communities worldwide are scarcely understood in part due to their vast networks stretching underground or woven into the biomass of plant life. Even macrofungi which produce fruiting bodies colloquially called ‘mushrooms’ hold a transient lifestyle above soil. Urbanization has introduced another challenge towards studying fungi as highly disturbed soils and a lack of preferred host plant species can alter fungal community composition and prevalence. In the summer of 2020 the macrofungal community of Forest Park in Portland, Oregon was surveyed in addition to control sites in the Mount Hood National Forest. Fungi samples were identified by genus and when …

Resource Selection Of Deer Hunters In Georgia's Appalachian Mountains, Jacalyn P. Rosenberger, Andrew R. Little, Adam C. Edge, Cheyenne J. Yates, David A. Osborn, Charlie H. Killmaster, Kristina L. Johannsen, Karl V. Miller, Gino J. D'Angelo

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

White‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and hunters on 2 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) within the Chattahoochee National Forest of northern Georgia, USA, significantly declined in number from the 1980s to 2018. Managers were interested in understanding how they could manipulate hunter distribution according to deer management goals. To understand the spatial distribution of hunting pressure and factors driving hunter resource selection, we analyzed GPS tracking data from 58 deer hunters over the 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 hunting seasons. We evaluated hunter selection on 3 spatial scales relative to elevation, slope, and distance from roads, trails, wildlife openings, deciduous forest, mixed …