Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of A Low-Cost Network Of Webcams For Monitoring Plant Phenology In A Chihuahuan Desert Shrubland, Libia Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Phenology is the study of the timing of natural events such as the schedule of plant life-cycle events like bud burst, flowering, seed set and senescence. Many factors control plant phenological dynamics including climate. As such, phenology has been shown in published literature to be one of the best biological indicators of climate variability and change. Recent advantages in digital photography and digital image processing have opened new opportunities for inexpensive, repeatable and automated capture of plant and landscape phenological dynamics. This technology, however, remains poorly studied in terms of its capacity to depict the development of different plant phenophases, …

Development Of A Web-Based Geographic Information System For Arctic Science, George Walker Johnson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Environmental science is a large field of study that requires the acquisition of data for decision making in solving environmental issues. Leveraging desktop geographic information systems (GIS) and web-based GIS (WebGIS) systems for assisting in the problem solving processes can benefit both the research community and policy makers for decision making activities. Ensuring interoperability between desktop, web, and server GIS is essential for maximizing access, sharing and manipulation of data. Interoperability is maximized through the adoption of best practices, use of open standards, and utilization of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI). While many of the interoperability challenges such as infrastructure, data …

Development Of An Expert System To Aid In The Selection Of Sustainability Design Engineering Methods, Pedro Renato Acosta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to present the development of an expert system to aid designers in the selection of design methods, in particular for sustainability methods. When practicing engineers need help in their design process, they look for design methods and tools; this is a challenge especially for inexperienced engineers in the sustainability area. Engineers, due to time constrains, will only utilize one or few methods during their professional life. The origin of this situation can be traced to engineering education, where it is typical that an instructor prefers one or few methods in particular, and even when …

Development And Testing Of An Unmanned Aircraft System For Environmental Science, Jerald James Brady

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For some environmental science applications, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) are increasingly recognized for their capacity to collect remotely sensed data in a safer, more efficient and effective manner than is permitted with manned aircraft and satellite remote sensing platforms. To date, however, technological, human, and other challenges have constrained adoption of UASs in the environmental sciences. This study developed and tested a new UAS for an archetypical environmental science research group (stakeholder) composed of non-UAS experts. Specifically, this thesis: 1) Assessed the research and operational needs of the stakeholder to determine the optimum UAS platform; 2) Developed an Unmanned Aerial …

Analysis Of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds In Wastewater Treatment Plants: A Perspective Of Trans-Boundary Waterborne Pollution, Roberto De La Torre

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recent decades have brought an increasing concern of potential adverse human and ecological health effects resulting from Endocrine Disruptor Compounds (EDCs). In particular from new emerging compounds such as natural estrogens (e.g., 17©¬-estradiol, estrone), synthetic estrogens (e.g., 17Â¥á-ethynylestradiol), bisphenol A (BPA), nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOS), and nonylphenol (NP). These chemicals which are also known as organic wastewater contaminants are released directly to the environment after passing through wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which often are not designed to remove them from the effluent. The occurrence of the aforementioned compounds in surface water is becoming of increasing concern worldwide, and has led to …

Comparison Of Two Environmental Health Education Methods To Reduce Exposure To Residential Pesticides In Hispanic, Patricia M. Juarez-Carrillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Exposure to pesticides is associated with adverse health outcomes including poisonings, short-term signs and symptoms, and long-term adverse health outcomes including developmental and cognitive impairments, certain types of cancer, and damages to the endocrine, nervous, and reproductive systems. This study tested two educational methods aimed to help Hispanic, Spanish-speaking mothers living in the U.S.-México border make informed decisions about pesticides applied in their homes. 230 women were randomly allocated to a) a small group talk, b) a graphic booklet, or c) a control group. The outcomes were the knowledge level about the risks of pesticides and the pest prevention …

Accumulation, Speciation, And Distribution Of Metal(Loids) In Plants: Applications Of Synchrotron Techniques In Environmental Sciences, Hiram Castillo-Michel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the last two decades, synchrotron based techniques have gained popularity and been increasingly used in environmental sciences. The present dissertation has relied significantly in the use of synchrotron based techniques to study the speciation, coordination, and distribution of toxic metal(loids) in plants. This study included three plant species: Parkinsonia florida, Prosopis juliflora, and Zea mays. P. florida is a plant species native to the semi-desert regions of North America. The cultivation characteristics of this shrub/tree suggest that it could be used for phytoremediation purposes in semiarid regions. P. florida plants were tested for their capacity to remove arsenic (As) …

Influence Of Orography On The Weather Patterns And Water Availability Of A Topographically Complex Chihuahuan Desert Region, Fernanda De La Cerda Camargo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Arid and semi-arid ecosystems cover a large extent of the planet's land surface and are highly susceptible to/and dependent on resource availability patterns, especially precipitation. Topography affects large scale weather patterns and redistributes precipitation which creates a variety of microclimates in complex landscapes; how these patterns are modified, however, is still not fully understood. Climate change models for arid and semi-arid ecosystems predict a change towards more extreme precipitation events; understanding the mechanisms involved in redistributing precipitation is crucial for the protection of these areas. Indio Mountains Research Station (IMRS) is located in the northern Chihuahuan Desert and seems to …

Monitoring Ecosystem Dynamics In An Arctic Tundra Ecosystem Using Hyperspectral Reflectance And A Robotic Tram System, Santonu Goswami

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Global change, which includes climate change and the impacts of human disturbance, is altering the provision and sustainability of ecosystem goods and services. These changes have the capacity to initiate cascading affects and complex feedbacks through physical, biological and human subsystems and interactions between them. Understanding the future state of the earth system requires improved knowledge of ecosystem dynamics and long term observations of how these are being impacted by global change. Improving remote sensing methods is essential for such advancement because satellite remote sensing is the only means by which landscape to continental-scale change can be observed.

The Arctic …

Assessing Data Quality In A Sensor Network For Environmental Monitoring, Gesuri Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Assessing the quality of sensor data in environmental monitoring applications is important, as erroneous readings produced by malfunctioning sensors, calibration drift, and problematic climatic conditions, such as icing or dust, are common.Traditional data quality checking and correction is a painstaking manual process, so the development of automatic systems for this task is highly desirable.

This study investigates machine learning methods to identify and clean incorrect data from a real-world environmental sensor network, the Jornada Experimental Range, located in Southern New Mexico. We evaluated several learning algorithms and data replacement schemes, and developed a method to identify the problematic sensor. The …

Linkages To Public Land Framework: Toward Embedding Humans In Ecosystem Analyses By Using “Inside-Out Social Assessment", Joanna Endter-Wada, D. J. Blahna

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

This article presents the ‘‘Linkages to Public Land’’ (LPL) Framework, a general but comprehensive data-gathering and analysis approach aimed at informing citizen and agency decision making about the social environment of public land. This social assessment and planning approach identifies and categorizes various types of linkages that people have to public land and guides the tasks of finding and using information on people in those linkages. Linkages are defined as the ‘‘coupling mechanisms’’ that explain how and why humans interact with ecosystems, while linkage analyses are empirical investigations contextualized both temporally and geographically. The conceptual, legal, and theoretical underpinnings of …

Flexible Use Of Anti-Predator Defences, Ximena J. Nelson, Robert R. Jackson

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Belonging to a size category that makes them vulnerable to a wide variety of predators, spiders have evolved a bewildering array of anti-predator adaptations, which can be clustered under two broad categories, primary and secondary defence. Primary defences are ploys by which the spider avoids provoking pursuit by, and interaction with, the predator. Camouflage and masquerade are especially common examples. Secondary defences come into play once an interaction with a predator is under way, and these are the defences that have been most thoroughly studied. However, elements of anti-predator defence may often be integrated into other aspects of the spider's …

Toward An Integrated History To Guide The Future, Sander Van Der Leeuw, Robert Costanza, Steve Aulenbach, Simon Brewer, Michael Burek, Sarah Cornell, Carole L. Crumley, J. A. Dearing, Catherine Downy, Lisa J. Graumlich, Scott Heckbert, Michelle Hegmon, Kathy A. Hibbard, Stephen T. Jackson, Ida Kubiszewski, Paul Sinclair, Sverker Sörlin, W. L. Steffen

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Many contemporary societal challenges manifest themselves in the domain of human?environment interactions. There is a growing recognition that responses to these challenges formulated within current disciplinary boundaries, in isolation from their wider contexts, cannot adequately address them. Here, we outline the need for an integrated, transdisciplinary synthesis that allows for a holistic approach, and, above all, a much longer time perspective. We outline both the need for and the fundamental characteristics of what we call ?integrated history.? This approach promises to yield new understandings of the relationship between the past, present, and possible futures of our integrated human?environment system. We …

Assessment Of A Countywide Stormwater Pond Improvement Project: Impacts Of The Hillsborough County Adopt-A-Pond Program, Anthony Thomas Betts

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Comparative research was conducted to assess the environmental impacts of the Adopt-a-Pond program, which operates throughout Hillsborough County, Florida. The Adopt-a-Pond program was established in 1992 and designed to address nonpoint pollution through outreach and stormwater pond enhancement. However, the program had never been thoroughly and scientifically evaluated. Therefore, assessments of water quality and vegetative characteristics were made at ninety Adopt-a-Pond participants and eleven control ponds to explore the potential impacts of the program on measurable environmental parameters. Statistical analysis of the results failed to demonstrate any statistically significant environmental improvements associated with the Adopt-a-Pond program, and measures of program …

Population Biology, Ecology, And Ecosystem Contributions Of The Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) From Natural And Artificial Habitats In Tampa Bay, Florida, Michael Drexler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this project was to document the status of oysters, Crassostrea virginica, from non-reef habitats throughout Tampa Bay, Florida, and assess the ecosystem contributions of those populations relative to reef-dwelling oysters. The aspects of oyster ecology studied here include condition, prevalence and intensity of disease (Perkinsus marinus - dermo), reproductive activity (including stage, fecundity, and juvenile recruitment), adult oyster density, and the faunal community associated with the oysters.

The predominant source of variation was seasonal, with lesser contributions among sites, and in most cases, little or no effect of the habitat type. Oysters populations from each habitat …

Pce Groundwater Quality Assessment Of The University Of Northern Iowa Campus Area, Brian Gedlinske

Graduate Research Papers

Perchloroethylene (PCE), is a colorless, nonflammable, and relatively insoluble chlorinated solvent once widely used for dry cleaning and metal degreasing operations. Because of its past widespread use, poor solvent management practices, and environmental persistence, PCE is a common contaminant found in groundwater supplies. Potential health concerns include liver problems and increased cancer risk.

This research paper presents the findings of an effort to better characterize the spatial, temporal, and transport attributes of a PCE groundwater plume that exists within the Devonian aquifer underlying the University of Northern Iowa campus and the surrounding area in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Findings reveal the …

Relative Abundance And Spatial Distribution Of Lepomid Sunfishes In The Peace River, Justin Henry Heller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines spatially continuous sampling data in order to investigate patterns of abundance and distribution of three recreationally important sunfish species (bluegill, redear, and spotted sunfish) along the main-stem of the Peace River, a large softwater river located in southwest Florida. A total of 467 electrofishing transects were sampled biannually from spring 2008 to spring 2010. Sampling sites ranged from the headwaters of the Peace River in Polk County, FL to the oligohaline waters located in Charlotte County, FL. All fish were collected with boat mounted electrofishing gear, and aquatic habitat and physiochemical water quality measurements were recorded at …

Evaluating The Effects Of Beach Nourishment On Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) Nesting In Pinellas County, Florida, Corey R. Leonard Ozan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The health of Florida's beaches are vital to the survival of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), as nearly half of the world's loggerheads nest on the states beaches. Many of the beaches utilized by the turtles have undergone nourishment projects in hopes of combating erosion of the shoreline, protecting beachfront property, and creating more suitable beaches for tourism. Although it is argued that beach nourishment benefits sea turtles by providing more nesting habitat, the effects of the Pinellas County nourishment projects on loggerhead nesting are unknown. Beach nourishment can alter the compaction, moisture content, and temperature of the sand, all …

The Role Of Nature In John Muir's Conception Of The Good Life, Randy R. Larsen

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Aristotle says our best moral guidance comes from considering the lives of exemplary individuals. I explore John Muir, as an exemplar of environmental virtue, and consider the role of Nature in his conception of the good life. I argue his conception consists of a web of virtue including various goods, values, and virtues. I suggest three virtues are cardinal: attentiveness, gratitude and reverence. I explore how Muir cultivated these virtues in Nature.

I argue Muir sought freedom from a popular conception of the good life, grounded in the gilded age values of money and materialism, and was sensitive to the …

Restoring Relationships: Indigenous Ways Of Knowing Meet Undergraduate Environmental Studies And Science, Nancy Leigh Rich

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As places to engage with changing and complex ideas, institutions of higher education offer a logical site for bringing Indigenous ways of knowing together with environmental studies and science. However, profound differences between Indigenous and Western knowledges, as well as ongoing colonialism, cultural biases of science, and the nature of mainstream academia, have discouraged this endeavor. Recent developments in undergraduate pedagogy now point the way.

Using critical inquiry and qualitative methodology, this comparative study developed recommendations for practice based on current undergraduate teaching practices that bring Indigenous ways of knowing together with environmental studies and science across a diversity of …

Dormant Ethnobotany: A Case Study Of Decline In Regional Plant Knowledge In The Bull Run Mountains Of Virginia, Susan Rene Leopold

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation introduces and applies the concept of dormant ethnobotany, a concept that helps explain the socio-economic, cultural and ecological aspects and implications of the transition away from active use of ethnobotanical knowledge and the factors that may lead to its re-emergence. Dormant ethnobotany is the study of relationships between people and plants that are inactive, but nonetheless still alive in memories, the historic record, and folklore and thereby capable of reemergence in support of the transition to a more sustainable society. The dissertation extends the field of ethnobotany from its current roots in the dynamic ethnobotany of indigenous peoples. …

Abundance Of Eukaryotic Microbes In The Deep Subtropical North Atlantic, Danielle Morgan-Smith, Gerhard J. Herndl, Hendrik M. Van Aken, Alexander B. Bochdansky

OES Faculty Publications

The meso- and bathypelagic ocean comprises the largest habitat on earth, yet we know very little about the distribution and activity of protists in this environment. These small eukaryotes are responsible for controlling bacterial abundance in the surface ocean and are major players in the material and energy transfer of pelagic food webs. In this paper, we quantify microbial eukaryotes in the deep North Atlantic, as well as provide a basic characterization of eukaryote community changes through the water column. To this end, we counted organisms using 2 different approaches: (1) catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH, also …

Anaplasmataceae As Human Pathogens : Biology, Ecology And Epidemiology, Marina E. Eremeeva, Gregory A. Dasch

Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

This review describes the biology, ecology, and epidemiology of known human pathogens in the family Anaplasmataceae that are transmitted by ticks and belong to the genus Anaplasma and genus Ehrlichia. We discuss the current status of diagnosis and surveillance of the diseases they cause, and address the challenges and new perspectives raised due to continuous recognition of new emerging human pathogens in the family Anaplasmataceae.

Elementary Teachers' Views Of Environmental Education, Rose M. Hotchkiss

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine teachers' views of environmental education (EE) at the elementary level. The study addresses teachers' attitudes toward the EE at the elementary school level and their self-efficacy in teaching EE.

The study's sample consisted of 201 randomly selected kindergarten through fifth grade United States public school teachers. The participants completed an on-line survey with eight percent of the respondents participating in follow up interviews. The questionnaire measured two constructs; Teachers Attitudes Toward EE and Teacher Efficacy in EE. Teachers Attitudes Toward EE had 3 subscales; Advocacy for EE, Stewardship in EE, …

Hybrid Inorganic/Organic Nanostructured Tandem Solar Cells: Simulation And Fabrication Methods, Patrick Michael Boland Jr.

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Organic solar cell technologies continue to be an extremely active area of scientific research. With their promise of providing low-cost, easily-processable, multi-application photovoltaics, these devices could very possibly be the most viable and practical form of renewable energy among many being explored. However, significant technological obstacles remain that must be overcome if this technology is to successfully realize the goal of providing abundant energy while simultaneously reducing dependence on fossil fuel-based sources. Compared with inorganic solar photovoltaics, power conversion efficiencies in organics are still too low to compete economically.

Much research has been accomplished over the past three decades in …

Mutation Of The Hof1 Pest Domain Affects Cytokinesis In Budding Yeast, Katherine E. Stockstill

Masters Theses

"Cytokinesis is the division of a cell into two daughter cells. Cytokinesis failure results in polyploidy, which may contribute to tumorigenesis or cause cell death. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein Hof1, which is required for efficient cytokinesis, is phosphorylated during mitosis. The hypothesis that MEN (mitotic exit network) dependent phosphorylation regulates Hof1 degradation, triggering completion of cytokinesis was tested. Hof1 contains a PEST sequence, which is rich in proline, glutamic acid, serine, and threonine, and is believed to be involved in protein degradation. To test the hypothesis, we created two non-phosphorylatable mutants of the Hof1 PEST domain tagged with GFP. The …

The Effect Of Habitat Change On Nutrient Removal In The Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana, Amy E. Scaroni

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers are the major sources of freshwater and nutrients to the Gulf of Mexico. Increased nutrient loads from these rivers exacerbate eutrophication in coastal receiving waters and contribute to the large area of hypoxia that develops seasonally in the Gulf. Levees along the Mississippi River have reduced contact between the river and the historic floodplain; this limits the ability of floodplain wetlands to naturally mitigate excess nutrients. However, the Atchafalaya River diverges from the Mississippi 217 km from the Gulf and enters a large river floodplain with a widely spaced levee system. This enhances the ability …

Marketing Forest-Based Ecotourism In Sri Lanka: Predicting The Ecotourism Behavior And Defining The Market Segment Through A Behavioral Approach, Polwattage K. Perera

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Tourism industry is one of the main drivers of the global economy and plays a key role in regional development. As negative environmental and socio-cultural impacts of mass tourism became apparent, the appeal of alternative forms of tourism, especially ecotourism, continued to gain a broad recognition. As a result, ecotourism became one of the fastest growing sectors in global tourism during the past decade. Being a fast-developing country with ample natural resources, Sri Lanka can benefit from adopting and promoting ecotourism. At present, Sri Lanka’s ecotourism resources remain largely under-utilized. With rising demand, ecotourism operators are under pressure to meet …

Aquatic Macroinvertebrate And Nekton Community Structure In A Chenier Marsh Ecosystem: Implications For Whooping Crane Prey Availability, Sung-Ryong Kang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A suitable foraging habitat model based on prey density, biomass, and energy values in varying hydrologic conditions can provide an objective quantifiable method to assess habitat conditions for the Whooping Crane (Grus americana). Nekton and macroinvertebrates are considered the important prey sources in Whooping Crane's diet at different times. This study focuses on the understanding of habitat relationships of nekton and macroinvertebrate assemblage in the Chenier Plain to provide a foundation for the development for foraging suitability models for the reintroduced Whooping Crane. In this dissertation, in a laboratory study I experimentally examined the effect of salinity on …

Fragmentation Sensitivity And Its Consequences On Demography And Host-Ectoparasite Dynamics In Amazonian Birds, Erik I. Johnson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Amazon rainforest is experiencing rapid deforestation due to ranching, agriculture, and urban development, which often leads to remnant patches serving as refugia for forest organisms. By mist-netting passerines in 11 forest fragments (1-, 10-, and 100-ha patches) and nearby continuous forest at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragmentation Project near Manaus, Brazil, I conducted a series of studies to identify mechanisms that drive population changes in fragmented landscapes. First, I examined the age structure of bird populations from six ecological guilds in fragments and continuous forest. Immatures are the dispersing age group in birds, and their relative abundance in …