Digital Commons Network^™

Use Of Seeded Exotic Grasslands By Wintering Birds, Andrew D. George, Timothy J. O'Connell, Karen R. Hickman, David M. Lesliee Jr.

The Prairie Naturalist

Despite widespread population declines of North American grassland birds, effects of anthropogenic disturbance on wintering habitat of this guild remain poorly understood. We compared avian abundance and habitat structure in fields planted to the exotic grass Old World bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum; OWB) to that in native mixed-grass prairie. During winters of 2007–2008 and 2008–2009, we conducted bird and vegetation surveys in six native grass and six OWB fields in Garfield, Grant, and Alfalfa counties, Oklahoma. We recorded 24 species of wintering birds in native fields and 14 species in OWB monocultures. While vegetation structure was similar between field …

Whooping Cranes Consume Plains Leopard Frogs At Migratory Stopover Sites In Nebraska, Keith Geluso, Brad T. Krohn, Mary J. Harner, Michael J. Assenmacher

The Prairie Naturalist

Whooping cranes (Grus americana) currently consist of a single, wild population that migrates annually from breeding grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, to wintering grounds on and around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge along the Texas coast, USA (NRC 2005). This population reached a low of less than 20 individuals in 1941 (Allen 1952) but has rebounded to over 250 individuals (Chavez-Ramirez and Wehtje 2012, Gil-Weir et al. 2012). Whooping cranes migrate approximately 4,000 km each spring and autumn, traversing much of the North American Great Plains (Lewis 1995) and periodically landing along rivers, wetlands, and other …

Reservoir Mixing Effect On Dinitrogen Gas Distribution Within The Metalimnion Of A Man-Made Lake, Mary Elizabeth Young

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The increasing environmental distribution of nitrogen has not only lead to changes in the global nitrogen cycle, but has also lead to many complex environmental consequences. Aquatic systems are particularly sensitive to high nutrient loading, and denitrification occurring in small lakes accounts for half the global release of dinitrogen. The objective of this study was to assess whether mixing events within the metalimnion increase denitrification rates. It was hypothesized that mixing events bring oxygen from the epilimnion and ammonium from the hypolimnion, simulating a coupled nitrification-denitrification process in the metalimnion. The dinitrogen-nitrogen (N2-N) concentration for three treatments of 0, 50, …

Assessing The Effects Of Invasive Ligustrum Sinense And Lonicera Japonica On Rare And Federally Threatened Scutellaria Montana, Jordan J. Sikkema

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Few studies have directly evaluated the competitive interactions between invasive and co-occurring rare plants. Federally threatened Scutellaria montana Chapm. (large -flowered skullcap) is a rare herbaceous perennial endemic to southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. The forest understory habitat in which S. montana typically occurs often also contains invasive Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet) and Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle), and these and other invasive plant species have been recognized as a potential threat to its conservation. To directly investigate the effects of invasive L. sinense and L. japonica on S. montana, a two-year field-based removal experiment was conducted in an S. montana …

The Imperative Of Conserving California's Foothill Oak Woodlands, Lauren Phillips

Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Distribution Of Seaside Sparrows (Ammodramus Maritimus) During The Breeding And Nonbreeding Seasons, Bonnie J. Slaton

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Mass Bays Resource Inventory: Summary And Findings From The Review Of Plans And Assessments, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

The Massachusetts Bays Program (MBP) contracted with the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) of the University of Massachusetts Boston to conduct a review of papers, presentations, reports, and other relevant material produced from 1996 (the last CCMP) to present, that might inform the MBP’s update of their Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP). The review focused on five topics identified as priority topics by the MBP: water quality, invasive species, climate change/vulnerability, continuity of estuarine habitat, and estuarine habitat protection in the geographic region of the Mass Bays Program, particularly the 47 nearshore estuaries and embayments identified in the 2012 MBP …

Assessing The Biodiversity And Susceptibility Of Trees In Maxwell Park To Future Invasive Tree Pest Outbreaks, Genevieve Alexander '14

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The purpose of this project was to assess tree susceptibility to invasive tree pest outbreaks in a Central-Illinois urban park. Tree biodiversity in Maxwell Park, located in the Town of Normal, Illinois, was evaluated assuming that the greater the tree biodiversity in a park, the more resilient the park would be to future invasive tree pest outbreaks. The Town of Normal Parks and Recreation Department served as the community partner for this project. By determining Maxwell Park’s current level of biodiversity, proposed new trees for future replacement plantings could be identified to help increase biodiversity and decrease the potential for …

Macroscopic Investigation Of Ionic- And Nano-Silver Toxicity To Soil Nitrification Process, Abdurrahman Masrahi

All Theses

The worldwide production of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) has grown rapidly in our era because of the popular applications in industrial and consumer markets. Especially silver (Ag) NP is one of mostly common ENPs in our consumer products due to its unique antimicrobial property. However, release of AgNPs into environment through wastewater treatment plants poses a question that what impact AgNPs have on microbially mediated processes in environment (e.g., nutrient and trace element cycles). In the last decades, numerous toxicological studies of AgNPs on bacteria have been conducted in pure culture systems, and several different antimicrobial mechanisms of AgNPs have been …

Sequential Autotrophic-Heterotrophic Culture Of Scenedesmus Spp. For Lipid Production, Jazmine Taylor

All Theses

Algae are fascinating organisms that are receiving growing attention for their versatility on many fronts of research areas. Immense amounts of research is being conducted to find solutions to challenges in energy and climate change. A large portion of research is focused on algae as a potential solution to both of these issues. The focus of this research is to look at algae closer to home as a local, economical resource to aid in solving both of these problems. The algal genus Scenedesmus was tested for growth in a bi-phased scheme: photoautotrophically for carbon sequestration then heterotrophically on glycerol for …

Long-Term Residue And Water Management Effects On Soil Respiration And Soil Aggregate Stability In A Wheat-Soybean, Double-Crop System In Eastern Arkansas, Sharon Faye Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability in agriculture is paramount to assuring continued production from our most naturally fertile soils. Storing carbon (C) in soil as organic matter through sustainable agricultural management practices can both remove atmospheric C and improve soil quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of water management (irrigation and dryland), residue management [burn and no-burn, conventional (CT) and no-tillage (NT)] and residue/fertility level (high and low) on soil respiration and aggregate stability in a wheat- (Triticum aestivum L.) soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], double-crop system in a silt-loam soil (Aquic Fraglossudalf) in the Mississippi River Delta …

Spatial And Temporal Participation In Recreational Fishing, Dustin R. Martin

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

Buffering inland fisheries against large-scale changes in ecosystem function, climate regimes, and societal valuations of natural resources requires progressive management approaches that incorporate fish and angler dynamics at large spatial and temporal scales. Current paradigms of inland fishery management generally utilize waterbody-specific, fish-centric frameworks designed to regulate fish populations directly, and anglers indirectly, through fish stock enhancement and harvest regulation. In reality, anglers are the most manageable component of a fishery but management of anglers requires explicit consideration of their behavior (e.g., spatial and temporal patterns of participant use), which, unlike fish populations, operates at a scale larger than a …

Determining Scaphirhynchus Sturgeon Population Demographics And Dynamics: Implications For Range-Wide Management, Recovery, And Conservation, Martin J. Hamel

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

Sturgeons (Acipenseridae) have experienced world-wide declines as a result of anthropogenic effects such as over-harvest, habitat degradation, altered flow regimes, and pollution. Nearly all European and Asian sturgeon species have experienced population declines and have subsequently been classified as either threatened or endangered. North American sturgeons have experienced a similar plight in that all eight native sturgeon species are listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern. Direct linkages between North American sturgeon declines and anthropogenic effects are difficult to assess due to scale considerations, fluctuating environmental conditions, difficulty in capture, and the interaction of all these effects. To recover, …

An Investigation Into The Interactions Of Gold Nanoparticles With Aquatic Vascular Macrophytes, James Glenn

All Dissertations

Nanomaterials (NMs) have promised lighter, stronger, smaller and more efficient products in areas such as electronics, medicines and even environmental sectors. This investigation started at the base of the food chain and characterized NMs interactions with aquatic plants. Citrate capped gold nanoparticles were used as a model nanoparticle to track fate and gain insight on factors that influence gold nanoparticle (AuNP) bioavailability and absorption. Four species of aquatic macrophytes were investigated. Azolla caroliniana, Myriophyllum simulans, Egeria densa and Myriophyllum aquaticum were selected due to growth habitat, leaf morphology and root structure. Because aquatic plants absorb the majority of their nutrients …

Assessing Growth Response To Climate Controls In A Great Basin Artemisia Tridentata Plant Community, Lorenzo F. Apodaca

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An assessment of the growth response of key vegetative species to climatic variability is vital to identifying possible local impacts on ecosystems faced with imminent climate change. With current climate projections in Nevada predicting a shift to an even more arid climate with greater year-to-year variability, the imperative exists to identify the effects of specific climatic controls on plant growth and to research methods to assess large-scale vegetative changes, especially in more remote areas where readily available data sets may be lacking. This study utilized annual growth ring indices constructed from big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentatassp.tridentata) stems collected in Spring Valley, …

Origin Of High Levels Of Ammonium In Groundwater, Ottawa County, Michigan, Derrick Lingle

Masters Theses

Groundwater from wells located in and around Hemlock Crossing Park in Ottawa County, Michigan has elevated levels of ammonium. High ammonium concentrations in potable water wells are a common indicator of anthropogenic impact, such as landfill leachate or agricultural activity. Ammonium can also occur in groundwater through the decay of natural organic material. Along with the retrieval of a complete glacial sediment core via rotasonic drilling, numerous chemical and isotopic parameters were used to determine the source of ammonium in the impacted aquifer.

Buried organic material, deposited during the Athens subepisode interglacial period, is in contact with groundwater containing elevated …

Arachidonic Acid Reverses The Pyriproxyfen And Ibuprofen Induced Toxicity In Daphnia Magna, Gautam Kumar Ginjupalli

All Dissertations

Healthy reproduction and neonatal sex ratios of Daphnia are crucial to the health of the aquatic ecosystems in which Daphnia play principal roles in trophic transfer of nutrients. Combinations of environmental factors such as availability and quality of diet, overcrowding, hypoxia, reduced photoperiods and fall in ambient temperatures perturb normal parthenogeneic reproduction and induce sexual reproduction through male production. Male production provides a mechanism for overcoming specific stressors such as overcrowding and overwinter pond desiccation. However, it also induces a decrease in the Daphnia population that could have adverse implications on the pond ecosystem that depend on Daphnia . Interestingly, …

Ecology And Impacts Of Coyotes (Canis Latrans) In The Southeastern United States, Cady Etheredge

All Dissertations

Recent coyote (Canis latrans ) colonization of the southeastern United States has prompted speculation on the top-down effects of a new top predator on systems which have gone without a strong predator presence since the extirpation of the red wolf (Canis rufus ). This dissertation reports on the results of a series of investigations of the potential impact of coyotes on raccoons (Procyon lotor ) and other management issues related to coyotes in the Southeast. Chapters 1-3 present indirect field tests of the Mesopredator Release Hypothesis. Chapter 4 presents an overview of the current knowledge of the …

A Northward Range Extension Of The Hispid Cotton Rat (Sigmodon Hispidus) In Missouri, Cody W. Thompson, Elmer J. Finck

The Prairie Naturalist

The hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) is a widely distributed rodent with a geographic range extending from north-central Mexico to southern Nebraska and central Virginia and from southeastern Arizona east to Florida (Carleton et al. 1999, Peppers and Bradley 2000, Wilson and Reeder 2005) with isolated populations in Arizona (Bradley et al. 2012) and California (Clark 1972). Range expansions for the species have been well documented (Clark 1972, Farney 1975, Benedict et al. 2000, Wright et al. 2010, Wills et al. 2011). The majority of these range expansions have occurred across the Central Plains during the 20th century …

Evaluation Of Three Nest Searching Methods For Ring-Necked Pheasant, Jeffery W. Stackhouse, Kevin K. Sedivec, Benjamin A. Geaumont

The Prairie Naturalist

Ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) are a highly sought after game bird and as such, much research has been conducted regarding their ecology (Warner 1981, Trautman 1982, Johnson and Knue 1989). Perhaps the most investigated aspect of pheasant ecology is the species’ reproductive season (e.g. Linder et al. 1960, Dumke and Pils 1979, Leif 1994) with many studies focusing on nesting habitat (Baskett 1947, Clark et al. 1999). Results from previous research have acknowledged the difficulty associated with locating pheasant nests in their preferred cover types (Hanson 1970, Evrard 2000). Studies of pheasant nesting ecology have been based on …

How Important Is A Quality Manuscript Review?, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

Temperatures are finally starting to cool a bit (for those of us in the northern Great Plains region) and Thanksgiving break is just around the corner.

I offer my reflections in the spirit of encouraging each of you to take a break from your professional obligations and spend time with friends and family enjoying nature and everything it has to offer this fall.

Associations Between Iron Concentration And Productivity In Montane Streams Of The Black Hills, South Dakota, Cari-Ann Hayer, Benjamin M. Holocmb, Steven R. Chipps

The Prairie Naturalist

Iron is an important micronutrient found in aquatic systems that can influence nutrient availability (e.g. phosphorus) and primary productivity. In streams, high iron concentrations often are associated with low pH as a result of acid mine drainage, which is known to affect fish and invertebrate communities. Streams in the Black Hills of South Dakota are generally circumneutral in pH, yet select streams exhibit high iron concentrations associated with natural iron deposits. In this study, we examined relationships among iron concentration, periphyton biomass, macroinvertebrate abundance, and fish assemblages in four Black Hills streams. The stream with the highest iron concentration (~5 …

For Logs, For Traditional Purposes And For Food: Identification Of Multiple-Use Plant Species Of Northern Amazonia And An Assessment Of Factors Associated With Their Distribution, Anthony Ravindra Cummings

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation examines the multiplicity of uses associated with tree and palm species of the Rupununi, Southern Guyana and the factors associated with their distribution. As tropical forests continue to decline the most significant response has been to understand the implications for the carbon cycle, with the impacts on forest dwelling peoples and wildlife, inadequately addressed. Multiple-use plants, individual species which at their most critical level provide food for wildlife, non-timber forest products and are commercially logged, provide a suitable lens for appreciating additional ecosystem services that may be compromised as tropical forests decline. I completed a plant inventory in …

Permaculture, Roslynn Brain, Blake Thomas

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Survey Of Heavy Metals In Water, Soil And The Surrounding Plants In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Erving W. Morelius

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Heavy metal pollution of the environment in recent years has become a major issue of importance for both human and environmental health. Samples were investigated for the potential pollution of the area as it is a vital produce producing area. During the study plant, soil and water samples were collected from the Donna Reservoir and Canal System to test the concentration of various heavy metals. The heavy metals tested included both potentially toxic and micronutrients in the samples which included arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, nickel and sulfur. During the study, a sixty day sampling period was used to …

Factors Affecting The Surface-Mediated Reduction Of Plutonium In The Presence Of Pure Mineral Phases, Amy Hixon

All Dissertations

The overall objective of the research is to investigate the mechanistic and kinetic aspects of the surface-mediated reduction of plutonium. The first chapter is a critical review of plutonium sorption to pure mineral phases. The objective is to study if and how the mechanisms by which plutonium interacts with mineral surfaces are connected to mechanisms for the surface-mediated reduction of plutonium. The main conclusion of the review is that advanced spectroscopy, microscopy, and molecular modeling are needed to fully understand not only the surface structure of pure mineral phases, but also the coordination and bonding environment of plutonium surface complexes. …

Long-Term Recovery Of South Indian Creek Following Interstate Construction, Clara Mcclure

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The expansion of Interstate 26 from Erwin, TN to the North Carolina border was a project that potentially adversely impacted South Indian Creek because of the steep landscapes and potential for erosion. Several studies have shown the short-term, negative effects of road construction on the water quality of nearby water bodies. Non-point source pollution is the major source of water pollution in the United States. The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the long-term effects of the construction of Interstate 26 on South Indian Creek to see if there has been any ecological recovery. The Environmental Health Sciences …

Determining The Feasibility Of Implementing An Effective Fungiculture Program With The Peace Garden At Illinois Wesleyan University, Mackenzie Rivkin '14

Outstanding Senior Seminar Papers

The Peace Garden at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU), the organic garden at the small liberal-arts university in Bloomington, Illinois, is devoted to growing nutritious, pesticide-free food to be sold locally in an attempt to counterbalance the various food-related issues which stem from conventional food systems. Mushrooms, fungi with many nutritional benefits, are not currently produced by the Peace Garden. However, the unique nature of mushrooms may be attractive to certain consumers and could further contribute to the Peace Garden's mission if produced. This study, conducted September to December 2013 is guided by the following question: What is the feasibility of …

Salamander Colonization Of Chase Lake, Stutsman County, North Dakota, David M. Mushet, Kyle I. Mclean, Craig A. Stockwell

The Prairie Naturalist

Salt concentrations in lakes are dynamic. In the western United States, water diversions have caused significant declines in lake levels resulting in increased salinity, placing many aquatic species at risk (Galat and Robinson 1983, Beutel et al. 2001). Severe droughts can have similar effects on salt concentrations and aquatic communities (Swanson et al. 2003). Conversely, large inputs of water can dilute salt concentrations and contribute to community shifts (Euliss et al. 2004).

Chase Lake is a large, shallow, alkaline lake in east-central North Dakota most famously known for supporting one of the largest breeding colonies of the American white pelican …

A Simple Device For Measuring The Minimum Current Velocity To Maintain Semi-Buoyant Fish Eggs In Suspension, Julias S. Mueller, Brandon D. Cheek, Qingman Chen, Jillian Groeschel, Shannok K. Brewer, Timothy B. Grabowski

The Prairie Naturalist

Pelagic broadcast spawning cyprinids are common to Great Plains rivers and streams. This reproductive guild produces non-adhesive semi-buoyant eggs that require sufficient current velocity to remain in suspension during development. Although studies have shown that there may be a minimum velocity needed to keep the eggs in suspension, this velocity has not been estimated directly nor has the influence of physicochemical factors on egg buoyancy been determined. We developed a simple, inexpensive flow chamber that allowed for evaluation of minimum current velocity needed to keep semi-buoyant eggs in suspension at any time frame during egg development. The device described here …