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The Fierce Green Fire: Vol 5 Issue 17, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Changes In Spatial Patterns Of Caragana Stenophylla Along A Climatic Drought Gradient On The Inner Mongolian Plateau, Li-Na Xie, Hong-Yu Guo, Christopher A. Gabler, Qing-Fang Li, Cheng-Cang Ma

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Few studies have investigated the influence of water availability on plant population spatial patterns. We studied changes in the spatial patterns of Caragana stenophylla along a climatic drought gradient within the Inner Mongolian Plateau, China. We examined spatial patterns, seed density, “nurse effects” of shrubs on seedlings, transpiration rates and water use efficiency (WUE) of C. stenophylla across semi-arid, arid, and intensively arid zones. Our results showed that patches of C. stenophylla populations shifted from a random to a clumped spatial pattern towards drier environments. Seed density and seedling survival rate of C. stenophylla decreased from the semi-arid zone to …

Utilizing Illinois State University's Environmental Legacy And Historical Collections To Sustain A Global Future, Melissa Nergard

Theses and Dissertations

The scholarly capital of materials at Illinois State University includes numerous natural history collections from the mid-nineteenth century that hold significant research and historical value. Changes in pedagogical methods and academic leadership, however, created confusion and territorial competition in who would preserve and manage the collections. Consequently some specimens from those early collections have been both lost and forgotten. This thesis used a systems approach to track the material losses incurred when institutional support shifted in the 1870s, and the original collectors and curators left Central Illinois for national interests in Washington, D.C. Yet, historical environmental collections have become increasingly …

Historical Common Names Of Great Plains Plants, With Scientific Names Index. Volume I: Common Names, Elaine Nowick

Zea E-Books Collection

Containing thousands of entries of both vernacular and scientific names of Great Plains plants, the literature that informs this exhaustive listing spans nearly 300 years. Author Elaine Nowick has drawn from sources as diverse as Linnaeus, Lewis and Clark, and local university extension publications to compile the gamut of practical, and often fanciful, common plant names used over the years. Each common name is accompanied by a definitive scientific name with references and authority information. Interspersed with scientifically-correct botanical line drawings, the entries are written in standard ICBN format, making this a useful volume for scholars as well as lay …

Historical Common Names Of Great Plains Plants, With Scientific Names Index. Volume Ii: Scientific Names Index, Elaine Nowick

Zea E-Books Collection

Containing thousands of entries of both vernacular and scientific names of Great Plains plants, the literature that informs this exhaustive listing spans nearly 300 years. Author Elaine Nowick has drawn from sources as diverse as Linnaeus, Lewis and Clark, and local university extension publications to compile the gamut of practical, and often fanciful, common plant names used over the years. Each common name is accompanied by a definitive scientific name with references and authority information. Interspersed with scientifically-correct botanical line drawings, the entries are written in standard ICBN format, making this a useful volume for scholars as well as lay …

Growth Of A Deep-Water, Predatory Fish Is Influenced By The Productivity Of A Boundary Current System, Hoang Minh Nguyen, Adam N. Rountrey, Jessica J. Meeuwig, Peter G. Coulson, Ming Feng, Stephen J. Newman, Anya M. Waite, Corey B. Wakefield, Mark G. Meekan

Fisheries Research Articles

The effects of climate change on predatory fishes in deep shelf areas are difficult to predict because complex processes may govern food availability and temperature at depth. We characterised the net impact of recent environmental changes on hapuku (Polyprion oxygeneios), an apex predator found in continental slope habitats (>200 m depth) by using dendrochronology techniques to develop a multi-decadal record of growth from otoliths. Fish were sampled off temperate south-western Australia, a region strongly influenced by the Leeuwin Current, a poleward-flowing, eastern boundary current. The common variance among individual growth records was relatively low (3.4%), but the …

Investigating Seed Dispersal Distances And Long Distance Dispersal Mechanisms Of The Invasive Plant, Alliaria Petiolata, Christopher Loebach

Theses and Dissertations

Alliaria petiolata, an herbaceous plant, has aggressively invaded North American woodlands. It has been extensively studied to understand why it is a successful invader, but certain aspects of its biology have been understudied such as seed dispersal distances and long distance dispersal mechanisms (LDDM). My thesis experimentally measured A. petiolata seed dispersal distances and determined if epizoochory (external animal transport) is a LDDM. To measure dispersal distances, seed traps were placed around three A. petiolata seed point sources to capture dispersed seeds at increasing distances away from the point sources. Eight mathematical functions that describe dispersal distances were fitted to …

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol 5 Issue 16, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Development Modeling Of Lucilia Sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae), Amanda Roe, Leon G. Higley

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The relationship between insect development and temperature has been well established and has a wide range of uses, including the use of blow flies for postmortem (PMI) interval estimations in death investigations. To use insects in estimating PMI, we must be able to determine the insect age at the time of discovery and backtrack to time of oviposition. Unfortunately, existing development models of forensically important insects are only linear approximations and do not take into account the curvilinear properties experienced at extreme temperatures. A series of experiments were conducted with Lucilia sericata, a forensically important blow fly species, that met …

Joint Control Of Terrestrial Gross Primary Productivity By Plant Phenology And Physiology, Jianyang Xia, Shuli Niu, Philippe Ciais, Ivan A. Janssens, Jiquan Chen, Christof Ammann, Altaf Arain, Peter D. Blanken, Alessandro Cescatti, Damien Bonal, Nina Buchmann, Peter S. Curtis, Shiping Chen, Jinwei Dong, Lawrence B. Flanagan, Christian Frankenberg, Teodoro Georgiadis, Christopher M. Gough, Dafeng Hui, Gerard Kiely, Jianwei Li, Magnus Lund, Vincenzo Magliulo, Barbara Marcolla, Lutz Merbold, Leonardo Montagnani, Eddy J. Moors, Jorgen E. Olesen, Shilong Piao, Antonio Raschi, Oliver Roupsard, Andrew E. Suyker, Marek Urbaniak, Francesco P. Vaccari, Andrej Varlagin, Timo Vesala, Matthew Wilkinson, Ensheng Weng, Georg Wohlfahrt, Liming Yan, Yiqi Luo

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Terrestrial gross primary productivity (GPP) varies greatly over time and space. A better understanding of this variability is necessary for more accurate predictions of the future climate–carbon cycle feedback. Recent studies have suggested that variability in GPP is driven by a broad range of biotic and abiotic factors operating mainly through changes in vegetation phenology and physiological processes. However, it is still unclear how plant phenology and physiology can be integrated to explain the spatiotemporal variability of terrestrial GPP. Based on analyses of eddy–covariance and satellite-derived data, we decomposed annual terrestrial GPP into the length of the CO2 uptake period …

Signed Peer Reviews As A Means To Improve Scholarly Publishing, Linwood H. Pendleton

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Peer review is a necessary process with a long history of complaints, including over-solicitation of a small number of reviewers, delays, inadequate numbers of reviewers, and a lack of incentives to provide strong reviews or avoid reviews with little helpful information for the author. In the era of Web-based distribution of research, through working paper or project reports, anonymous peer reviews are much less likely. The Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics will use signed peer reviews and an open communication process among authors, reviewers, and editors. This approach, to be developed over time, should lead to stronger communication of …

The Journal Of Ocean And Coastal Economics: An Introduction And Invitation, Charles S. Colgan

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

The Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics publishes research, literature reviews, and application reports that use the theories and methods of economics to shape the understanding of oceans and their resources, and coastal regions. The Journal is intended for a broad audience of scholars and practitioners in economics and ocean and coastal management. "Oceans" includes the major oceans, bays, and estuaries, but other definitions may be proposed. Articles addressing both economic values and the measurement of economic activity in "ocean industries" are included, along with articles addressing the economy of coastal regions. The Journal uses an open peer review system …

Hydrographic Surveys At Seven Chutes And Three Backwaters On The Missouri River In Nebraska, Iowa, And Missouri, 2011-13, Justin R. Krahulik, Brenda K. Densmore, Kayla J. Anderson, Cory L. Kavan

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) cooperated with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Omaha District, to complete hydrographic surveys of seven chutes and three backwaters on the Missouri River yearly during 2011–13. These chutes and backwaters were constructed by the USACE to increase the amount of available shallow water habitat (SWH) to support threatened and endangered species, as required by the amended “2000 Biological Opinion” on the operation of the Missouri River main-stem reservoir system. Chutes surveyed included Council chute, Plattsmouth chute, Tobacco chute, Upper Hamburg chute, Lower Hamburg chute, Kansas chute, and Deroin chute. Backwaters surveyed …

Who Is At The Forest Restoration Table? Final Report On The Blue Mountains Forest Stewardship Network, Phase 1, Rebecca J. Mclain, Kirsten Wright, Lee Cerveny

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Forest collaboratives have emerged throughout the western U.S. as a governance model to address complex ecological challenges that occur at the landscape scale across multiple landownerships and jurisdictional boundaries. Collaborative groups typically involve multiple parties with diverse interests working together to address complex management challenges. Collaboratives often provide input on or make recommendations about public lands actions and decisions. The Blues Stewardship Project was developed to better understand the size, composition, participation, and diversity of forest collaboratives and to identify organizations that may not currently be represented at the collaborative ‘table.’

The study focuses on five collaborative groups in the …

Fundamental Principles Of Plant Pathology For Agricultural Producers [2015], Paul C. Vincelli

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

All crop plants produced in Kentucky have the potential to become diseased under certain conditions. Diseases of crops can affect yield and/or quality of the harvested commodity, which can impact profitability and increase the risks of farming.

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2014 Annual Report, Michael Prowatzke, Stephen K. Wilson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2014 at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN).

During the fourth full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited six plant community monitoring plots to collect data on the vegetation at AGFO. This is part of a long-term monitoring effort that will sample six of 15 randomly located upland plots every year, so that each plot is visited for two consecutive years and then rested for three years, on a five-year rotating basis. NGPN staff captured data …

Microbial Iron Mats At The Mid-Atlantic Ridge And Evidence That Zetaproteobacteria May Be Restricted To Iron-Oxidizing Marine Systems, Jarrod J. Scott, John A. Breier, George W. Luther Iii, David Emerson

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Chemolithoautotrophic iron-oxidizing bacteria play an essential role in the global iron cycle. Thus far, the majority of marine iron-oxidizing bacteria have been identified as Zetaproteobacteria, a novel class within the phylum Proteobacteria. Marine iron-oxidizing microbial communities have been found associated with volcanically active seamounts, crustal spreading centers, and coastal waters. However, little is known about the presence and diversity of iron-oxidizing communities at hydrothermal systems along the slow crustal spreading center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. From October to November 2012, samples were collected from rust-colored mats at three well-known hydrothermal vent systems on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Rainbow, Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse, and …

Rapid Imbibition Of Water In Fractures Within Unsaturated Sedimentary Rock, Chu-Lin Cheng, E. Perfect, B. Donnelly, H. Z. Bilheux, A. S. Tremsin, L. D. Mckay, V. H. Distefano, J. C. Cai, L. J. Santodonato

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The spontaneous imbibition of water and other liquids into gas-filled fractures in variably-saturated porous media is important in a variety of engineering and geological contexts. However, surprisingly few studies have investigated this phenomenon. We present a theoretical framework for predicting the 1-dimensional movement of water into air-filled fractures within a porous medium based on early-time capillary dynamics and spreading over the rough surfaces of fracture faces. The theory permits estimation of sorptivity values for the matrix and fracture zone, as well as a dispersion parameter which quantifies the extent of spreading of the wetting front. Quantitative data on spontaneous imbibition …

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol 5 Issue 15, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Morphological And Moisture Availability Controls Of The Leaf Area-To-Sapwood Area Ratio: Analysis Of Measurements On Australian Trees, Henrique Furstenau Togashi, Iain Colin Prentice, Bradley John Evans, David Ian Forrester, Paul Drake, Paul Feikema, Kim Brooksbank, Derek Eamus, Daniel Taylor

Natural Resources Research Articles

1. The leaf area-to-sapwood area ratio (LA:SA) is a key plant trait that links photosynthesis to transpiration. The pipe model theory states that the sapwood cross-sectional area of a stem or branch at any point should scale isometrically with the area of leaves distal to that point. Optimization theory further suggests that LA:SA should decrease toward drier climates. Although acclimation of LA:SA to climate has been reported within species, much less is known about the scaling of this trait with climate among species.
2. We compiled LA:SA measurements from 184 species of Australian evergreen angiosperm trees. The pipe model was …

Fluctuating Asymmetry In Menidia Beryllina Before And After The 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Savannah A. Michaelsen, Jacob F. Schaefer, Mark S. Peterson

Faculty Publications

Assessing the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill with a dependable baseline comparison can provide reliable insight into environmental stressors on organisms that were potentially affected by the spill. Fluctuating asymmetry (small, non-random deviations from perfect bilateral symmetry) is an informative metric sensitive to contaminants that can be used to assess environmental stress levels. For this study, the well-studied and common Gulf of Mexico estuarine fish, Menidia beryllina, was used with pre and post-oil spill collections. Comparisons of fluctuating asymmetry in three traits (eye diameter, pectoral fin length, and pelvic fin length) were made pre and post-oil spill …

Modeling Predator Habitat To Enhance Reintroduction Planning, Shiloh Michael Halsey, William J. Zielinski, Robert M. Scheller

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Context

The success of species reintroduction often depends on predation risk and spatial estimates of predator habitat. The fisher (Pekania pennanti) is a species of conservation concern and populations in the western United States have declined substantially in the last century. Reintroduction plans are underway, but the ability of the species to establish a selfsustaining population is affected by predation from its primary predator, the bobcat (Lynx rufus).

Objectives

To develop a habitat model that incorporates both habitat of the focal species and the spatial patterning of predator habitat. To locate areas of densely aggregated habitat that would be suitable …

The Evolution Of Non-Market Valuation Of U.S. Coastal And Marine Resources, Douglas Lipton, Dan K. Lew, Kristy Wallmo, Peter Wiley, Anthony Dvarskas

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

At the federal level, particularly within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), regulatory and programmatic needs have driven the continued development and application of non-market valuation approaches to marine and coastal resources. The evolution of these valuation approaches not only entails adopting the recommendations of the 1993 NOAA blue ribbon panel on contingent valuation, but also an expansion of stated preference approaches with increased use of stated preference choice experiments. Revealed preference approaches have also advanced with more sophisticated random utility models. We provide an overview of this evolution in the areas of natural resources damage assessment, protected resources, …

Developing A Comparative Marine Socio-Economic Framework For The European Atlantic Area, Naomi S. Foley, Rebecca Corless, Marta Escapa, Frances Fahy, Javier Fernandez-Macho, Susana Gabriel, Pilar Gonzalez, Stephen Hynes, Regis Kalaydjian, Susana Moreira, Kieran Moylan, Arantza Murillas, Michael O'Brien, Katherine Simpson, Dugald Tinch

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Availability and easy access to a wide range of natural and human-activity data on the oceans and coastal regions of Europe is the basis for strategic decision-making on coastal and marine policy. Strategies within Europe’s Integrated Maritime Policy, including the Maritime Strategy for the Atlantic Area, Blue Growth, Maritime Spatial Planning and Marine Data and Knowledge, require coherent and comparable socio-economic data across European countries. Similarly, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires member states to carry out economic and social analysis of their waters and the reformed Common Fisheries Policy includes a social dimension requiring socio-economic data. However, the availability …

What Have We Learned From The Deepwater Horizon Disaster? An Economist’S Perspective, Daniel R. Petrolia

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

This paper outlines what we have learned about the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil disaster from the economics discipline as well as what effect the DWH disaster has had on the economics discipline. It appears that what we know about the economic impact of the DWH spill today is limited, possibly because such analysis is tied up in the federal Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process and other state-led efforts. There is evidence, however, that the NRDA process has changed over time to de-emphasize economic valuation of damages. There is also evidence that economists may be producing fewer …

Global Warming And Population Responses Among Great Plains Birds, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

Based on an analysis of 47 years (1967–2014) of Audubon Christmas Bird Counts (CBC), evidence for population changes and shifts in early winter (late December) ranges of nearly 150 species of birds in the Great Plains states is summarized, a region defined as including the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Texas panhandle. The rationale for this study had its origins in Terry Root’s 1988 Atlas of North American Wintering Birds. Root’s landmark study provided a baseline for evaluating the nationwide winter distributions of 253 North American birds in the mid-20th century, using data from the National Audubon Society’s …

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol 5 Issue 14, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Sustainability, Efficiency And Equitability Of Water Consumption And Pollution In Latin America And The Caribbean, Mesfin Mekonnen, Markus Pahlow, Maite M. Aldaya, Erika Zarate

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This paper assesses the sustainability, efficiency and equity of water use in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by means of a geographic Water Footprint Assessment (WFA). It aims to provide understanding of water use from both a production and consumption point of view. The study identifies priority basins and areas from the perspectives of blue water scarcity, water pollution and deforestation. Wheat, fodder crops and sugarcane are identified as priority products related to blue water scarcity. The domestic sector is the priority sector regarding water pollution from nitrogen. Soybean and pasture are priority products related to deforestation. We estimate …

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol 5 Issue 13, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Agenda: Seeds Of Change: Responding To Global Change In A Bottom-Up World, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law, Posner Center For International Development, Resolve (Firm), Newmont Mining Corporation

Seeds of Change: Responding to Global Change in a Bottom-Up World (Martz Winter Symposium, February 12-13)

Sponsors: Posner Center for International Development, RESOLVE, Inc., Newmont Mining Corporation, and Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment.

Conference moderators, panelists and speakers included University of Colorado Law School professors Phil Weiser, Sarah Krakoff, Britt Banks, and Lakshman Guruswamy.

This conference is made possible through the generous support of donors who sponsored this year’s Martz Sustainability Symposium (including Newmont Mining Corporation) and those who have invested in our Clyde O. Martz Endowed Fund for Natural Resources Management (including Brian Dolan and Davis Graham and Stubbs LLP). The Martz Natural Resources Management Fund was established in the memory …