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Project Final Report Watershed Center Of Excellence, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

KWRRI Research Reports

With the goal of providing a structured foundational background for watershed management to Kentucky’s watershed coordinators and other water quality professionals, the Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute developed the Kentucky Watershed Academy, a six-module series of core training content. The modules address the following subject areas:

• Module 1: The Clean Water Act & Related Water Quality Laws

• Module 2: Water Quality Basics

• Module 3: Dealing with Data

• Module 4: Land Use Impacts & Related Best Management Practices

• Module 5: Likely Partners

• Module 6: Effective Communications

As a result of this project, a total of …

Centering Climate Science In Learning, Déana Scipio, Priya Pugh, Kali Natarajan, Deb L. Morrison, Bethany Kogut, Karli Honebein, Michelle Grove, Jen Eklund

Climate, Water, and the Environment Research

The Washington State ClimeTime Network has been designed to build capacity for climate science learning, as well as broader NGSS implementation. As a network, we acknowledge the diversity of scientific histories and practices and continue to explore these variations to deepen our teaching and learning of climate science. This paper provides visions of what we mean by climate science centered learning, principles for fostering climate science learning, and guidance for capacity-building to achieve systemic implementation of climate science learning.

Use Of Otolith Microchemistry To Determine Natal Origins For Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix In The Lower Mississippi River Basin, C. Barshinger, M. Eggleton, J. Spurgeon

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Two Otolith Processing Methods For Silver Carp Age Estimation, J. N. Stevens, C. E. Barshinger, J. J. Spurgeon, M. A. Eggleton, S. E. Lochmann

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Eco-Cultural Restoration Of Mouralherwaqh: Site Description And Invasive Species Treatment Plan In King Salmon, California, Natalie Bridget Calderon, Myion Rickey, King Baptista, Owen Bardsley, Jillian Snowhook

Undergraduate Scholarship

In July of 2022, the Wiyot Tribe bought back one of their first pieces of ancestral forest within the Mouralherwaqh "more-RAH-share-wahg" village area (Wiyot, 2022). Before this repatriation, the Tribe owned less than 1% of their ancestral lands; after, the Tribe’s land holdings increased by 10% (Reclaiming Mouralherwaqh | Humboldt NOW | Cal Poly Humboldt, 2022). Mouralherwaqh is a 46 acre coastal site located near present day King Salmon, California and has high ecological and culturally significant values (Wiyot, 2022). Prior to the change of ownership, Mouralherwaqh was privately-owned and in 2014 underwent a clear-cut timber harvest within eight-acres of …

Influence Of Elevation On Plant Survivorship In Baduwa’T Estuary, Richard Louis Toledo Jr., Celine Aguilera, Rivé Prater, Claire Durbin

Undergraduate Scholarship

The Baduwa’t is a river in Humboldt County, California that has been adversely impacted by agricultural operations. Disturbances from agriculture have altered the surrounding ecosystems and hydrology of the river. The conservation stewardship group, California Trout, initiated a collaborative restoration project that created a new channel and off-channel pond to provide habitat for salmonids and other native fish in the estuary. As an extension of this project, sections of the site underwent revegetation efforts. The survivorship rates of this new vegetation were lower than anticipated and we were asked by California Trout to assess if the elevation on the site …

Implications Of Using Edna As A Monitoring Tool In The Elk River Estuary, Trinity Brooke Spencer, Christy Elaine Wheatley, Fernando Edgar Martinez

Undergraduate Scholarship

This study compares the efficacy of environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling to traditional capture-based methods such as seine netting and minnow trapping for monitoring fish assemblages in the Elk River estuary. The Elk River estuary is located in Humboldt County, California and hosts a diverse range of fish species due to its tidal influences and brackish habitat. A restoration is planned for this area, thus it is important to explore the effectiveness of different fish monitoring methods that could be used to evaluate restoration success. For this capstone project, we conducted a pilot study at five sites within the Elk River …

Riparian Revegetation: Re-Indigenizing The Powers Creek Tributary Of The Baduwa’T Watershed At Blue Lake Rancheria, California, Genesis Beltran, Ruben Lopez, Ben Stock

Undergraduate Scholarship

This project focuses on the ecological and cultural restoration of Powers Creek, a tributary of the Baduwa’t watershed at Blue Lake Rancheria, California. Riparian ecosystems play a critical role in biodiversity, water quality, and climate resilience, particularly for species like salmonids reliant on cold-water refugia. The restoration efforts, guided by Indigenous knowledge, addressed the removal of non-native competitive species such as Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) and French broom (Genista monspessulana) – which are shown to increase wildfire severity and challenge native plant communities – in addition to freeing established plantings of vegetative competition. Through collaborative planning …

Baduwa’T Estuary Riparian Restoration & Revegetation Plan, Brandon Patino, Blake Kennedy, Xitlalli Rodriguez

Undergraduate Scholarship

The Baduwa’t estuary Restoration Project in McKinleyville, California is a place of interest to community members for a variety of reasons – ecological, recreational, and tribal among some of them. The estuary connects the Mad River Watershed to the Pacific Ocean. The project opened four acres of habitat to juvenile salmon and steelhead populations that utilize the watershed while migrating to the ocean. Complications regarding the size and success of plant species and riparian zone expansion remained. Using a list of 9 targeted native plants, we created a botanical literature review focusing on native plants to guide future efforts to …

Assessing Wood Jam Formation In The South Fork Elk River In Headwaters Forest Reserve, California, Grant D. Bruchacek, Mark W. Buckton, Gus R. Figueroa, Kevin J. Hill

Undergraduate Scholarship

Salmonids are considered keystone species and play an integral role in the health of river ecosystems. Many of these species are federally recognized as threatened due to habitat loss and degradation. Large woody debris in streams and rivers creates suitable refugia and spawning habitat for salmonid species. Between 2021-2023 the Bureau of Land Management placed approximately 200 pieces of wood into the South Fork Elk River, as part of their accelerated recruitment program in an effort to reintroduce habitat complexity. A survey was conducted on a stretch of the Elk River to gather information on the size, type, composition, and …

Braving The Elements: Loss Of Metals From Mardi Gras Beads Due To Handling And Weathering, Thomas O. Carmichael, Ruth H. Carmichael

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The largest Mardi Gras celebrations in the U.S. are found along the Gulf of Mexico coast. With increasing awareness of and concern for environmental and human health risks due to pollution from Mardi Gras celebrations, there is a need for studies to quantify potential harms. We conducted a 2—part study to determine whether use—related handling and weathering of common Mardi Gras beaded necklaces results in loss of potentially harmful metals to the environment at levels of ecological or human health concern. Our data indicate that weathering and use—related handling can cause metals to be shed from the metallic coating of …

Applying The Disaster Risk Assessment Framework To Sargassum Inundation In Barbados, A. Karima Degia, Micaela Small, Hazel A. Oxenford

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Episodic influxes of pelagic Sargassum into the Caribbean result in inundation of coastlines with significant negative impacts to the environment, society, and economy. The spatial complexities of this issue demand a strategy that combines spatial planning with an analytical framework that can systematically unpack the underlying factors to inform effective management. We test the application of the United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) conceptual framework for disaster risk assessment to Sargassum inundation, with a focus on the hazard and exposure components of risk, using Barbados, a Caribbean Small Island Developing State (SIDS), as a case study. We first consider in …

Climatizing National Security, Mark P. Nevitt

Faculty Articles

Is climate change a national security issue? Human security? Ecological security? This Article addresses the growing nexus between climate change and various conceptions of security with a particular emphasis on climate change's national security impacts. This Article argues that there is a growing connection between national security and climate change and a corresponding need to address the normative implications of "climatizing national security." This connection can be observed through three lenses: mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions from military and national security sources); adaptation (investing in climate resilient infrastructure in an effort to prepare for climate impacts), and response (addressing climate-exacerbated …

Health Risk Assessment Of Heavy Metals Exposure From Blood Cockles : A Case Study In Samut Sakhon, Thailand, Nuttinan Jitsai

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study assessed the potential health risks from heavy metal exposure through the consumption of blood cockles (Anadara granosa) farmed in open-system aquaculture along the Tha Chin River, Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand. Environmental samples—sediment, surface water, and blood cockles—were collected from five farms during the dry season in December 2024. Six heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, and Zn) were analyzed using ICP-MS techniques. The highest mean concentrations in blood cockles were Zn (9.71 ± 1.46 mg/kg), As (0.61 ± 0.10 mg/kg), Cd (0.47 ± 0.40 mg/kg), Pb (0.13 ± 0.02 mg/kg), Cr (0.08 ± 0.02 mg/kg), and Hg...

Optimization Of Process Parameters For Carbon Dioxide Capture With K2co3/Al2o3 Solid Sorbent In Internally Circulating Fluidized Bed Using Computational Fluid Dynamics, Kaung Sat Han -

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry totaled 37.15 billion metric tons in 2022. Therefore, it is a priority to consider a method or a solution for reducing CO2 emission while the global energy sector is still dependent on hydrocarbon fuels. Among carbon capturing concepts, there are a lot of recent studies on the application of reversible gas-solid adsorption of CO2 on K2CO3/Al2O3 with reliable efficiency and reusability. The adsorption and desorption capacities of the sorbent are influenced by the operation parameters such as temperature, pressure, water vapor and flow patterns. Computational fluid dynamics software (CFD), which is …

Effects Of An Electrokinetic Barrier To Inhibit Heavy Metal Absorption In Rhizophora Mucronata Seedlings, Ivan Deleon De La Grange

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Developing an electrokinetic (EK) barrier to hinder mangrove seedlings from heavy metal (HM) absorption is a novel technology for conducting mangrove reforestation within contaminated environments. The objectives of this study were (1) to investigate mangrove seedlings in a saltwater environment under the presence of a micro-electric field with HM exposure, and (2) Discover the effects of HM exposure on the morphological changes of the seedlings in accordance with time. The experiment consisted of Rhizophora mucronata plants grown in a brackish hydroponic solution (HS) and analyzed for HM absorption and morphological changes over a period of four days as young seedlings …

Assessing Low Carbon Practices Of Thai Sugarcane Cultivation, Sahajanee Thaisonthi

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This research provides a comprehensive analysis of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Thailand’s sugarcane farming sector through policy scenario planning. Using scenario analysis, the study evaluates potential developments and informs adaptive policy frameworks to enhance the sector's sustainability and resilience. It assesses GHG emissions across Thailand's agricultural sector using data from government reports, academic studies, and industry sources. A structured life cycle framework was applied, focusing on soil preparation, plantation, maintenance, and harvesting stages. Key findings identified the “Clear Sky” scenario as the most promising for emission reduction, proposing policies such as full financial support for low-carbon …

Effects Of Fertilizers Usage In Conventional And Organic Cocoa Plantation In Thailand, Rusali Agrawal

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This paper explores the effects of conventional and organic farming practices on crops with similar cultivation methods, focusing on cocoa plantations in Thailand. Through a comprehensive review of literature and life cycle assessment (LCA) studies, this research investigates the carbon emissions from different agricultural systems and provides insights into sustainable farming practices. The study aims to elucidate the environmental consequences of conventional farming methods, including the heavy reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and benefits of transitioning to an organic heavy farming method.The analysis begins with an overview of conventional farming methods, highlighting their historical evolution and widespread adoption in …

Factors Affecting Electrocoagulation Process For Different Water Types: A Review, Shahad Fadhil Abed Al-Rubaye, Naseer A. Alhaboubi, Aiman H. Al-Allaq

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Raw water must meet specific physical, chemical, and biological requirements to be suitable for drinking. There are various techniques available for treating wastewater, and aside from conventional methods that involve chemicals, electrocoagulation is an efficient and advanced approach. Electrocoagulation has proven effective in treating many pollutants, including bacteria, viruses, iron, fluoride, sulfate, boron, hardness, and turbidity. Total suspended solids, organic and inorganic materials, chemical oxygen demand COD, biochemical oxygen demand BOD, and color. It finds extensive application in treating different types of water and wastewater due to its exceptional ability to remove diverse contaminants. Recently, electrocoagulation has garnered significant attention …

A “War” Over Lobster And Whales: The Issue-Attention Cycle, Media Discourse, And Political Ecology Of Right Whale Science And Conservation In Six Us Newspapers, Marcus Reamer, Catherine Macdonald, Julia Wester, Russell Fielding, Meryl Shriver-Rice

Honors College Faculty Publications

News organizations and journalists are important and influential actors in environmental politics. Their reporting on social and environmental issues often follows issue-attention cycles (IACs) that emphasize drama and problematization to maintain public interest. This study examined nearly 13 years of news coverage to understand the media discourse about the Critically Endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW) and its conservation. Content analysis and critical discourse analysis were used to analyze 356 texts published in six large US newspapers between January 1, 2010 and March 15, 2023. NARW conservation and management received increased public attention and an IAC began in 2017 after …

The Effects Of Seaweed Farming On Local Ecosystems In The United States, Reid Cohen

Pitzer Senior Theses

In my thesis, I explore how seaweed farming contributes to the regeneration of marine ecosystems, supports biodiversity, and assists in harmful nutrient removal. Seaweed farming is a relatively unexplored industry in the United States with huge carbon capturing potential. Seaweed farming poses a significant opportunity for a project that has the potential to sequester carbon, increase biodiversity, protect coastal ecosystems, naturally clean water, provide biofuel capabilities, substitute as livestock fodder which then decreases methane emissions, along with many more benefits. Kelp supports biodiversity in marine ecosystems and provides essential habitats for various species. The seaweed farming industry holds profound potential …

It’S Giving Genocide: What Feminist Theory, Indigenous Thought, And Queer Theory Have To Say About Climate Change, Owen George

MS in Environmental Studies Master's Theses

Climate change is having profound impacts on communities around the world. In some cases, and with time, more and more, the impacts of climate change are happening on a level that constitutes genocide. Raphaël Lemkin’s and Claudia Card’s definitions of genocide are most applicable to climate change as they have broader understandings of victim groups and social death, and they recognize that inaction to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm constitutes genocidal intent. The UN’s more rigid definition does, to a lesser extent, also apply to climate change. Across the three definitions examined here, the argument of climate change as genocide is …

The Sources And Fates Of Nutrients In The Deep Lake Watershed, Kiler Austin Kenison

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This water quality survey determined the sources and fates of nutrients within the Deep Lake watershed located in Stevens County, WA. Deep Lake is a 191-acre exorheic lake found just below the Canadian border in northeast Washington state. It is situated at the bottom of a narrow valley with steep walls and is fed throughout the year by snowmelt from tributaries descending the mountains surrounding it. Above and to the north of the lake, the tributaries are utilized by cattle ranchers as a water source for livestock while a small community of homes surrounds the lake. Water samples, discharge, and …

Groundwater Vulnerability Assessment And Dye Trace Of War Fork River In Daniel Boone National Forest, Will Hemenover

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Daniel Boone National Forest plays a key role in preserving much of Kentucky’s karst regions, natural resources including timber, mineral deposits, and biodiversity, including over 300 species of concern. The health of these environments is determined by surface and groundwater streams in the forest, and karst systems are an integral environment where these systems are active. War Fork, a tributary to the Kentucky River in Jackson County, Kentucky, is a remote and understudied hydrologic system in the Daniel Boone National Forest that contains recreational and logging land uses. Due to karst areas being susceptible to contamination because of rapid water …

Soil Biogeochemistry In Riparian And Restored Tidal Wetlands: Monitoring And Method Evaluation, Joseph Anthony Loffredo

Open Access Master's Theses

Although soils are essential for sustaining ecosystems, they are often overlooked in routine monitoring efforts during restoration projects. This thesis tries to address the interest in and challenges of measuring and monitoring soil biogeochemical properties and processes to evaluate restoration trajectories. In the first part of this thesis (Chapter 1), I monitored tidal marsh vegetation and soil biogeochemical responses to restoration by thin-layer placement (TLP) of dredged sediments in a greenhouse mesocosm study and a parallel field study at an active restoration site in southern RI. In the greenhouse, aboveground plant biomass in mesocosms treated with +5 cm and +10 …

A Praxis Towards Social Change Based On Foucault's Conceptualization Of Experience As Relational, Lila Maureen Wakeman

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

This project develops a praxis towards social change based on the works of Michel Foucault. It first establishes Foucault’s philosophical assumptions, methods, and political goal of countering “objectivizing” modern Western social forces. It then draws on sources from the three major phases of Foucault’s career to trace his development of a general conceptualization of experience as relational, or as non-exhaustively co-constituted by and through three indispensable kinds of social forces: knowledge, power, and ethics. It then evaluates implications of Foucauldian experience for efforts towards social change to conceptualize a general Foucauldian praxis towards social change. The praxis aims to affect …

The Efficacy Of Wetland Treatment Systems Used To Treat Runoff Mixtures From Different Landscapes Across Kentucky, Emily Nottingham

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

The overarching goal was to improve our understanding of the cumulative effect of increased use and occurrence of commonly detected contaminants of potential concern (CPCs) on nitrogen (N) transformation processes in wetlands. The central hypothesis was that those various mixtures of nutrients and CPCs entering treatment wetlands impact N removal pathways. The first study assessed the current state of the literature on the implications to N removal in wetlands in the presence of pesticides and antibiotics. 181 primary studies were identified. Removal efficiencies for nitrate varied widely across the studies, with CPCs impacting microbial communities. A knowledge gap remains in …

Iere Annual Report 2024, Erin Largo-Wight, Nicole Lowe, Kelly Rhoden, Abbey Townsend, Ruby Cox

Annual Reports

2024 Annual Report of the Institute for Environmental Research and Education

Trends And Patterns Of Plant Conservation Research In Borneo: A Review, Rizmoon Nurul Zulkarnaen, Sabri Mohd. Ali, Daniele Cicuzza

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Borneo hosts exceptional plant diversity, including numerous endemic species, but faces significant threats from rapid habitat loss driven by deforestation and land-use changes. This study aimed to analyze research trends and forecast future directions through a bibliometric analysis of Scopus data spanning from 1914 to 2023. The bibliometric analysis included publication outputs, citation patterns, thematic mapping, and keyword co-occurrence. We used VOSviewer to visualize bibliometric networks and the Bibliometrix package in R to perform advanced bibliometric analysis and interactive data exploration. The analysis revealed a continuous rise in publications (998 documents), with the Journal of Ecology identified as the most …

Building A Coordinated Framework For Research And Monitoring In Large-Scale International Marine Protected Areas: The Ross Sea Region As A Model System, Cassandra Brooks, Sharon Stammerjohn, Grant Ballard, Alice K. Duvivier, Eileen Hofmann, Michelle Larue, Cara Nissen, Alexander J. Orona, B. Jack Pan, Annie E. Schmidt, Nathan Walker, George M. Watters, John Weller

CCPO Publications

To fulfill their conservation potential and provide safeguards for biodiversity, marine protected areas (MPAs) need coordinated research and monitoring for informed management through effective evaluation of ecosystem dynamics. However, coordination is challenging, often due to knowledge gaps caused by inadequate access to data and resources, compounded by insufficient communication between scientists and managers. We propose to use the world's largest MPA in the Ross Sea, Antarctica as a model system to create a comprehensive framework for an interdisciplinary network supporting research and monitoring that could be implemented in other remote large-scale international MPAs. Our proposed framework has three key components: …