Digital Commons Network^™

A Survey Of The Orchid Diversity (Orchidaceae) In Sainte Luce, Petriky, And Mandena (Southeast Madagascar), Anne Kathleen Johnson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines the orchid diversity within three littoral forest sites in Southeast Madagascar. The sites, Sainte Luce, Petriky, and Mandena, are owned and managed by QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM), an ilmenite mining organization jointly owned by Rio Tinto and the Malagasy government. The littoral forest is a habitat type dwindling in surface area; as such, it is a high conservation priority, and a portion of each of these three sites will be conserved by QMM. This study produces a list of orchid species present in the three zones, a list of host tree species on which epiphytic orchid species …

Implications For Old-Field Restoration: Diversity And Abundance Of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi In Soils Of Restored York Gum (Eucalyptus Loxophleba Subsp. Loxophleba) Sites Vs. Remnants., Jessica Wong

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may be critical to the restoration of ecosystem function in old-fields. Whether the diversity of the plant community is promoted by the AMF community or is the driving force of AMF diversity is unknown. We investigated two questions in the context of old-field restoration in southwestern Australia: 1) Does restoration of the plant community achieve the restoration of AMF and 2) Is AMF species diversity and abundance influenced by the plant species composition? Our study sites were located in the Ridgefield Experiment in the University of Western Australia’s “Future Farm”. Soil samples were collected from beneath …

Evaluating Ceres Fair Food As An Urban Sustainable Food Initiative: A Comparison Of Retail Pricing, Wholesale Pricing And Food Miles For A Healthy Food Basket, Stella Chung

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

CERES Fair Food, an organic food delivery system in Melbourne, VIC was evaluated in terms of its transportation resource consumption, ability to enhance food security, and support of local organic farmers, which are key factors in sustainable food systems for urban areas.

Transportation resource consumption was analyzed by calculating the food miles for a selection of Fair Food’s products and comparing them to data on typical products consumed in Victoria. Most of Fair Food’s products had similar or lower food miles, particularly the fresh produce. But many assumptions had to be made in the calculations due to limited information. Food …

The State Of Artisanal Fisheries In Southern Unguja: Governance, Conservation And Community, Nathanial Colbert-Sangree

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Fifty-one fishermen in the coastal villages of Kizimkazi Dimbani and Jambiani were interviewed to discover the current state of fishing in these areas. Each area has its own Village Fishermen Committees and those committees were also a subject of interest, interviewing their members as well as Fishery Department Officials to gain an understanding of how the committees function and their success. Results of fishermen interviews revealed a large number of differences between Kizimkazi Dimbani and Jambiani. Village Fishermen Committees were well attended by participants in both villages and seem to function as strong institutions within the communities studied. Kizimkazi Dimbani …

Control Biologico De La Broca Del Cafe (Hypothenemus Hampei) En La Valle De Vilcabamba, Loja, Ecuador. Una Comparacion De Huertas Usando El Hongo Beauveria Bassiana, María Mugnani

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Today coffee has become one of the most popular beverages in the world and is cultivated in many countries. However, in recent years many areas of production, for example in the province of Loja, Ecuador in the valley of Vilcabamba, many are experiencing a threat in the form of a small Coleoptera species. Hypothenemus hampei, also known as la broca de café, passes the majority of its life cycle within the coffee berries and in the process of reproduction and colonization it destroys the bean that makes the beverage. This destruction of the bean no only affects the consumer, …

Las Carreteras Ya No Cantan: Una Investigación Sobre La Riqueza Y Diversidad De Especies De Anfibios En Sitios Sensibles A Lado Del Eje Vial N°4 En La Reserva Biológica Tapichalaca, Harrison Goldspiel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Tapichalaca Biological Reserve (RBT), located in Zamora Chinchipe Province in southern Ecuador, is a zone with high biodiversity and endemism. Although famous for the Jocotoco antpitta (Grallaria ridgelyi), the reserve is very rich in anphibians, especially frogs of the genus Pristimantis. RBT hosts at least 29 species of amphibians, including the new and endemic Hyloscirtust tapichalaca and 25 Pristimantis species (Meza-R. et al. 2008). RBT faces various threats, such as climate change, farms, and the exploitation of palm trees. One pertinent threat is Eje Vial N°4, a main road that passes through the reserve. This study investigated …

Old Dominion University Climate Change And Sea Level Rise Initiative, Spring 2012, Larry P. Atkinson (Editor)

CCSLRI Newsletters

Summer 2012 Newsletter of the Old Dominion University Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative

Marketing Analysis For Bonk Knob Shoals Located In Van Buren County, Tennessee, Lillian Lee Ehrmann

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide Alfred Crabtree, owner of Bonk Knob Shoals, with a marketing plan. Bonk Knob Shoals will be an upscale campsite nearby Spencer, TN in Van Buren County.

Statement of Objective: Bonk Knob Shoals is currently under development and the owner wants to gain insight to LOHAS tourists, so he can create a suitable business plan to attract people in that niche market. Marketing is a huge component of the business plan because Crabtree believes a significant amount of resources will be needed to increase tourism awareness of the upscale campsite, …

Reproduction And Population Characteristics Of White-Tailed Jackrabbits In South Dakota, Charles Dieter, Dustin Schaible

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

We evaluated the reproductive biology of314 white-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus townsendii) in 44 counties throughout South Dakota from June 2004 to September 2005. We classified jackrabbits as juveniles or adults based on the closure of the proximal epiphysis of the humerus using X-ray analysis. We determined annual reproductive activity through fluctuations in measured weights of reproductive organs for both sexes. The 2005 breeding season started in late February and proceeded until mid-July, approximately 142 days, allowing for females to potentially produce 3.3 litters. We found four distinct breeding periods by the overlap of estimated conception and parturition dates. Mean …

Using Slow-Release Permanganate To Remediate Pah Contaminated Water, Lindy Rauscher

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

No abstract provided.

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering January 1, 2012 To March 31, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased by 4.96% over the last quarter. The database now contains 7,423 records.
• Results show an average of 1,259 visits per month, and with an average of 3,015 pages viewed per month.
• Get Outdoors Nevada supported 14 volunteer events in a variety of ways. These events utilized 364 volunteers whom contributed approximately 2,414 hours of service.
• Three community outreach events were attended, resulting in 293 direct contacts with 50 names added to the database.
• The automated volunteer orientation training project has been completed and disks have been delivered to the 4 agencies. …

Environmental Status At Samunge Village (Tanzania) Following A Sharp Increase In Visitors, R Senzota

Tanzania Journal of Science

Starting early 2011, people from all over Tanzania, Africa and overseas flocked Samunge Village in northern Tanzania, to drink a cup of Carissa spinarum concoction claimed to treat diseases hitherto known to be incurable by conventional medicine including HIV-AIDS, hypertension and diabetes. The big number of visitors resulted into vivid environmental impacts including trampling on plants and animals, unplanned discarding of drink and food containers, haphazard sanitation undertakings and overall change in panorama. The present study made some quantification on environmental status in the village during the peak visitor days in March 2011. There was widespread trampling and denudation of …

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol. 2 Issue 21, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Low Level Exposure To Air Pollution And Risk Of Adverse Birth Outcomes In Hillsborough County, Florida, Maria B. Mainolfi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this retrospective cohort from 2002 through 2007, 104,003 singleton live births in Hillsborough County, Florida were analyzed to elucidate the relationship between feto-infant morbidity outcomes and prenatal exposure to six criteria air pollutants. This study is based on three linked databases: The Florida Hospital Discharge database; The vital statistics records of singleton live births; Air Pollution meteorological data from the Environmental Protection Agency. There are six common air pollutants, particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), particulate matter 10 (PM10), ground-level ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen (NOx), and lead (Pb). These pollutants are harmful to human health and the environment. The …

The Role Of Habitat Restoration And Conservation In The Changing Socio-Economic Conditions Of Grant County, Oregon, Kristen Lauren Senkyr

Dissertations and Theses

Habitat restoration has socio-economic as well as biophysical impacts. In Grant County, Oregon a recent influx of funding and technical resources for habitat restoration has led to focused monitoring efforts there to better understand the impacts. This study explores how local land use and land management practices are changing in Grant County as a result of restoration and other drivers. In-depth interviews were conducted with 17 landowners, land managers, and long time residents to document the change they have observed and identify how they are adapting. The results suggest that many interconnected social, economic, and ecological changes have taken place …

Invasionsoft: A Web-Enabled Tool For Invasive Species Colonization Predictions, Matthew W. Johnston, Samuel J. Purkis

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Predicting and averting the spread of invasive species is a core focus of resource managers in all ecosystems. Patterns of invasion are difficult to forecast, compounded by a lack of user-friendly species distribution model (SDM) tools to help managers focus control efforts. This paper presents a web-based cellular automata hybrid modeling tool developed to study the invasion pattern of lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) in the western Atlantic and is a natural extension our previous lionfish study. Our goal is to make publically available this hybrid SDM tool and demonstrate both a test case (P. volitans/miles) and a …

Comparative Analysis Of Two Biological Warfare Air Samplers Using Live Surrogate Agents, James C. Enderby

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force has several high-volume biological air samplers, including the XMX/2L-MIL and the Biocapture 650. Limited information is available on either in terms of its collection of viruses and bacteria. However, previous research on the XMX/2L-MIL has determined that modifications to the secondary flow rate and the use of a virus preserving collection media may provide improved virus collection rates. In this thesis, these modifications were investigated to determine their impact on the collection of viral and bacterial aerosols. Additionally, relative collection rates were compared against those for the Biocapture 650. MS2 bacteriophage was the viral surrogate …

Prototyping The Use Of Dispersion Models To Predict Ground Concentrations During Burning Of Deployed Military Waste, Val Oppenheimer

Theses and Dissertations

United States military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have often used open burning of solid waste as a means to achieve volume reduction and to minimize vector borne illnesses. Assessing exposures to burn pit emissions has proven challenging, requiring significant numbers of personnel and sampling equipment. This study examined the use of three common dispersion models to determine the feasibility of using software modeling to predict short-range exposures to burn pit emissions, in lieu of sole reliance on ground sampling. Four open burn tests of municipal solid waste were conducted at Tooele Army Depot, Utah. Aerial samples were collected above …

Emissions From Simulated Open Burning Of Deployed Us Military Waste, Brian D. Woodall

Theses and Dissertations

U.S. military forces have relied primarily on open burning as an expedient method of volume reduction and treatment of solid waste during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. This study is the first effort to characterize a broad range of pollutants and their emission factors during the burning of military waste and the effects that recycling efforts, namely removing plastics, might have on emissions. Piles of simulated military waste were constructed, burned, and emissions sampled at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Open Burn Testing Facility (OBTF), Research Triangle Park, NC. Three tests contained polyethylene terephthalate (PET #1 or PET) …

Habitat And Prey Availability Attributes Associated With Juvenile And Early Adult Pallid Sturgeon Occurrence In The Missouri River, Usa, Bryan D. Spindler, Steven R. Chipps, Robert A. Klumb, Brian D. S. Graeb, Michael C. Wimberly

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus is a federally endangered species native to the Missouri and lower Mississippi Rivers, USA. As part of recovery efforts, over 360 000 pallid sturgeon have been stocked into the Missouri River since 1994, and a standardized, long-term monitoring program was initiated in 2003. Understanding the distribution and habitat requirements of juvenile and early adult pallid sturgeon (fork length <720 mm, age <10 yr) is an important goal of the monitoring and recovery programs. In this study, we collected information on habitat characteristics and prey availability from the upper Missouri River along the Nebraska-South Dakota border and compared these attributes between capture (present) and non-capture (absent) locations (N = 59). To evaluate the relative influence of habitat and prey availability on pallid sturgeon occurrence, we examined several candidate models using an informationtheoretic approach. A prey availability model had the most support and included site-specific information on Diptera and Ephemeroptera abundance. A habitat-based model showed that juveniles and early adults were found in relatively deeper water and avoided areas where bottom velocities were greater than 1.2 m s−1. Although not as well supported as the prey-effects model (evidence ratio = 6.4), habitat features also provided a plausible model for predicting occurrence. The models developed here could be used to evaluate pallid sturgeon habitat potential in the Missouri River basin and help guide future monitoring and conservation management of this endangered species.

Heterogeneous Detection Probabilities For Imperiled Missouri River Fishes: Implications For Large-River Monitoring Programs, Joshua T. Schloesser, Craig P. Paukert, Wyatt J. Doyle, Tracy D. Hill, Kirk D. Steffensen, Vince H. Travnichek

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Occupancy modeling was used to determine (1) if detection probabilities (p) for 7 regionally imperiled Missouri River fishes (Scaphirhynchus albus, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus, Cycleptus elongatus, Sander canadensis, Macrhybopsis aestivalis, Macrhybopsis gelida, and Macrhybopsis meeki) differed among gear types (i.e. stationary gill nets, drifted trammel nets, and otter trawls), and (2) how detection probabilities were affected by habitat (i.e. pool, bar, and open water), longitudinal position (five 189 to 367 rkm long segments), sampling year (2003 to 2006), and season (July 1 to October 30 and October 31 to June 30). Adult, large-bodied fishes were …

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol. 2 Issue 19, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

A Long-Term Perspective On A Modern Drought In The American Southeast, N Pederson, A R. Bell, Troy A. Knight, C Leland, N Malcomb, K J. Anchukaitis, K Tackett, J Scheff, A Brice, B Catron, W Blozan, J Riddle

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

The depth of the 2006–9 drought in the humid, southeastern US left several metropolitan areas with only a 60–120 day water supply. To put the region's recent drought variability in a long-term perspective, a dense and diverse tree-ring network—including the first records throughout the Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint river basin—is used to reconstruct drought from 1665 to 2010 CE. The network accounts for up to 58.1% of the annual variance in warm-season drought during the 20th century and captures wet eras during the middle to late 20th century. The reconstruction shows that the recent droughts are not unprecedented over the last 346 years. …

Surficial Redistribution Of Fallout 131iodine In A Small Temperate Catchment, Joshua D. Landis, Nathan T. Hamm, Carl E. Renshaw, W. Brian Dade, Francis J. Magilligan, John D. Gartner

Dartmouth Scholarship

Isotopes of iodine play significant environmental roles, including a limiting micronutrient (¹²⁷I), an acute radiotoxin (¹³¹I), and a geochemical tracer (¹²⁹I). But the cycling of iodine through terrestrial ecosystems is poorly understood, due to its complex environmental chemistry and low natural abundance. To better understand iodine transport and fate in a terrestrial ecosystem, we traced fallout ¹³¹iodine throughout a small temperate catchment following contamination by the 11 March 2011 failure of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility. We find that radioiodine fallout is actively and efficiently scavenged by the soil system, where it …

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol. 2 Issue 18, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.

Geochemical And Strontium Isotope Characterization Of Produced Waters From Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction, Elizabeth C. Chapman, Rosemary C. Capo, Brian W. Stewart, Carl S. Kirby, Richard W. Hammack, Karl T. Schroeder, Harry M. Edenborn

Faculty Journal Articles

Extraction of natural gas by hydraulic fracturing of the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale, a major gas-bearing unit in the Appalachian Basin, results in significant quantities of produced water containing high total dissolved solids (TDS). We carried out a strontium (Sr) isotope investigation to determine the utility of Sr isotopes in identifying and quantifying the interaction of Marcellus Formation produced waters with other waters in the Appalachian Basin in the event of an accidental release, and to provide information about the source of the dissolved solids. Strontium isotopic ratios of Marcellus produced waters collected over a geographic range of ∼375 km …

Research, Monitoring, Assessment And Development Plan 2011 – 2012, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Occasional Publications

No abstract provided.

Physicochemical And Microbiological Quality Of Harvested Rainwater From An Agricultural Installation In Ireland, Sean O'Hogain, Liam Mccarton, Niamh Mcintyre, Jenny Pender, Anna Reid

Articles

Members of DTC Research Group. Dublin Institute of Technology was commissioned in 2005 by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government in Ireland to assess the feasibility of utilising rainwater to replace treated mains water for nonpotable uses. The project involved the design, installation, commissioning and monitoring of rainwater harvesting on a farm. Two monitoring programmes, Regime 1 and Regime 2, examined the physicochemical and microbiological quality of the harvested rainwater. Samples were taken monthly and tested. Regime 1 analysis showed that the microbiological quality of the rainwater from the site did not comply with the requirements of the …

Processing Quality Of Potato Tubers Produced During Autumn And Spring And Stored At Different Temperatures, Sergio T. De Freitas, Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira, Ana Cecilia S. Gomez, Auri Brackmann, Fernando Nicoloso, Dilson A. Bisognin

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The objective of this work was to access processing quality of potato clones (Solanum tuberosum) Asterix, SMINIA793101-3, and Missaukee cultivated during spring and autumn growing seasons and stored at 4, 8, 12, or 25ºC. Clones grown in spring had shorter dormancy than clones grown in autumn. Potato tubers grown in spring and autumn and stored at 4ºC, as well as tubers grown in autumn and stored at 8ºC had no sprouting for six months. Among clones grown in autumn, the longest dormancy period during storage at 12ºC was observed in the clone SMINIA793101-3, and at 25ºC was in the clone …

The Fierce Green Fire: Vol. 2 Issue 17, Wofford College Environmental Studies Program

The Fierce Green Fire

No abstract provided.