Digital Commons Network^™

Defining An Epidemiological Landscape That Connects Movement Ecology To Pathogen Transmission And Pace-Of-Life, Kezia Manlove, Mark Wilber, Lauren White, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Anni Yang, Marie L.J. Gilbertson, Meggan E. Craft, Paul C. Cross, George Wittemyer, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Pathogen transmission depends on host density, mobility and contact. These components emerge from host and pathogen movements that themselves arise through interactions with the surrounding environment. The environment, the emergent host and pathogen movements, and the subsequent patterns of density, mobility and contact form an ‘epidemiological landscape’ connecting the environment to specific locations where transmissions occur. Conventionally, the epidemiological landscape has been described in terms of the geographical coordinates where hosts or pathogens are located. We advocate for an alternative approach that relates those locations to attributes of the local environment. Environmental descriptions can strengthen epidemiological forecasts by allowing for …

Genomic Analysis And Characterization Of Surface Properties Of Naphthalene Degrading Acinetobacter Isolates, Gunn Emilie Berge

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

No abstract provided.

Competing Behaviors Of Thermoregulation And Ambush Foraging In The Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus Horridus Horridus): A Mechanistic Assessment Of Thermal Conduction, Larry K. Kamees

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The interaction between the biophysical environment and ectotherm morphology elicits behaviors designed to maintain internal body temperature (Tb) within a range that promotes physiological functions. The short-term requirements of mass (energy requirements) and heat balance are subject to tradeoffs imposed by the organisms current physiological (heat and mass budgets) and environmental (biophysical, demographic, social, and predation) constraints and available resources. In temperate forests, extreme temperatures are common in summer even with intermittent sun exposure due to dense canopy cover. In Spring and Fall, temperatures can range from below freezing to 35 ℃ in 24 hrs. An ambush predator like the …

Nestedness And Modularity Of Avian Metacommunities Across Gradients Of Chesapeake Bay Island Characteristics, Grant Walter Bowers

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Islands are not only great models for understanding the ways in which communities are linked by the dispersal of their members to form metacommunities, but are of particular interest to conservationists. One important aspect of metacommunity structure is the degree of nestedness—whether or not less speciose communities are perfect subsets of more speciose communities. Another important metric of metacommunity structure is modularity—the degree to which communities belong to modules composed of other communities that share the same species but have little species overlap with communities from different modules. Environmental gradients have received insufficient attention as predictors of metacommunity nestedness and …

Ranchers' And Federal Land Managers' Perceptions Of Rangeland Management Across An Environmental Gradient, Calandria Puntenney

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Managing semi-arid rangelands to meet social-ecological goals requires monitoring of key ecological indicators that will inform management responses. These goals and monitoring objectives are in turn grounded in land managers’ understandings, or “mental models,” of how the rangeland system operates. Rangeland managers’ mental models are often highly place-specific, which can enable management actions to be matched to local conditions. In the western United States, ranchers and federal agency resource specialists, like those in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), are two of the primary groups involved in rangeland management. We compared ranchers’ and BLM agency specialists’ rangeland mental models in …

Conservation Conflict: Rare Plant Conservation And Energy Development And Potential In The Colorado Plateau, Joshua Carrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Colorado Plateau provides numerous sources of energy, particularly natural oil and gas. This energy potential is being actively extracted for consumption on both public and private lands. Elements of biodiversity (e.g., listed and sensitive plant and animal species) are distributed among all land tenures, yet the laws protecting them can vary depending if they occur on public, private, or tribal land. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the geographic ranges of threatened, endangered, and sensitive species and their relationship to land ownership to preserve habitat and conserve species populations. I developed species distribution models (SDMs) to examine the predicted …

Comparing Fecal Dna Capture-Recapture Methods To Traditional Mark-Resight Methods For Estimating Abundance Of Mule Deer On Winter Ranges, Andi M. Stewart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Well-designed monitoring strategies are required to obtain accurate estimates of population abundance, which is important for evaluating conservation and management strategies. Obtaining abundance estimates using traditional survey methods, like aerial surveys, is not possible in all scenarios and can be expensive and risky. One survey method that has gained popularity in the last decade is fecal DNA-based capture-recapture (CMR). However, this method has not been evaluated on winter ranges or in snowy, winter conditions.

My first objective was to implement fecal DNA CMR to estimate abundance of mule deer in the Round Valley and Goodale winter survey areas in the …

A Climate Resilience Research Renewal Agenda: Learning Lessons From The Covid-19 Pandemic For Urban Climate Resilience, Mark Pelling, Winston T. L. Chow, Eric Chu, Richard Dawson, David Dodman, Arabella Fraser, Bronwyn Hayward, Luna Khirfan, Timon Mcphearson, Anjal Prakash, Gina Ziervogel

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic opens an opportunity for enhanced research and action on inclusive urban resilience to climate change. Lessons and their implications are used to describe a climate resilience research renewal agenda. Three key lessons are identified. The first lesson is generic, that climate change risk coexists and interacts with other risks through overlapping social processes, conditions and decision-making contexts. Two further lessons are urban specific: that networks of connectivity bring risk as well as resilience and that overcrowding is a key indicator of the multiple determinants of vulnerability to both COVID-19 and climate change impacts. From …

Integrated Assessment Of Urban Overheating Impacts On Human Life, N. Nazarian, E. S. Krayenhoff, B. Bechtel, D. M. Hondula, R. Paolini, J. Vanos, T. Cheung, Winston T. L. Chow, Et Al

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Urban overheating, driven by global climate change and urban development, is a major contemporary challenge that substantially impacts urban livability and sustainability. Overheating represents a multifaceted threat to the well-being, performance, and health of individuals as well as the energy efficiency and economy of cities, and it is influenced by complex interactions between building, city, and global scale climates. In recent decades, extensive discipline-specific research has characterized urban heat and assessed its implications on human life, including ongoing efforts to bridge neighboring disciplines. The research horizon now encompasses complex problems involving a wide range of disciplines, and therefore comprehensive and …

The Effect Of Water Management And Ratoon Rice Cropping On Methane Emissions And Harvest Yield In Arkansas, Marguerita Leavitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable intensification of rice farming is crucial to meeting human food needs while reducing environmental impacts. Rice produces 8% of all anthropogenic CH4, which is a potent greenhouse gas. CH4 emissions can potentially be reduced by cultivation practices that minimize the number of days the fields are saturated, such as dry-seeding instead of water-seeding and irrigation using the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technique instead of delayed, continuous flooding (DF). Ratoon cropping, wherein a second crop of rice is grown from the harvested stubble of the first crop, can be used to produce additional yield with minimal labor, but may …

Conservation Of Open-Canopy-Associated Wildlife: Multi-Scale Management Impacts On Imperiled Herpetofauna, Ethan Joseph Royal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The loss of open-canopy ecosystems throughout North America has precipitated declines in reptile and amphibian species associated with these habitat types. Current efforts to restore open-canopy ecosystems are underway in many areas, but the local distributions of, habitat characteristics required by and the effects of management actions on many herpetofauna species are poorly understood or entirely unknown. Research examining relationships among herpetofauna and their environments is often complicated by the extremely low detectability seen in many studies. We used landscape-scale, assemblage-level surveys to investigate the occupancy patterns and habitat associations of open-canopy-associated herpetofauna in two regions, as well as gain …

Revised Draft Final Solid Media Management Program Plan, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Exploring New Methods For Quantifying Soil Reduction, Redox Potential, And Iron Reducing Bacteria Using The Iris Method In Wetland Soils., Jessica Everett

Biology Theses

The presence of hydric soils is one of the key factors used to identify and delineate wetlands as specified by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The Indicator of Reduction in Soil (IRIS) Method, accepted by the National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils (NTCHS) can indicate iron reduction in soil which can identify hydric soil for wetland delineation efforts. This thesis was conducted to see if the IRIS method had potential for other uses such as quantifying relative measurements of iron reducing bacteria and to see if a colorimetric scale could be curated to bring less subjection to …

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites - Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Bres No. 32 – Corra-2 Dumps, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites - Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Bres No. 37 – Josephine Shaft, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Haemosporidian Parasite Diversity In An Under-Surveyed Australian Avifauna, Ian R. Hoppe, Allison E. Johnson, Elizabeth Vanwormer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Haemosporidian parasites of birds are geographically widespread, have been detected in a phylogenetically diverse array of hosts, and have been the focus of extensive research due to both their impacts on birds and their similarity to vector-borne diseases of humans. Advances in molecular diagnostic tools have created a greater awareness of the genetic diversity of haemosporidian infections. Yet in spite of their more or less global distribution, comparatively little is known about the haemosporidians affecting birds in Australia. We screened blood from 889 birds (23 species) for haemosporidian blood parasite infections during the 2019 breeding season at Brookfield Conservation Park, …

Coupling Dendrochronology And Remote Sensing Techniques To Assess The Biophysical Traits Of Juniperus Virginiana And Pinus Ponderosa Within Grassland Communities In The Semi-Arid Grasslands Of The Nebraska Sandhills, Reece Allen

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

Woody species encroachment is occurring within the sandhills region in Nebraska, primarily driven by Juniperus virginiana and Pinus ponderosa, altering ecosystems and the services they provide. Effective, low cost, and cross-scale monitoring of woody species growth and performance is necessary for integrated grassland and forest management in the face of climate variability and change. In this study, we sought to establish a relationship between remote sensing-derived vegetation indices (VIs) and dendrochronological (raw and standardized tree ring width) measurements to assess the performance of encroaching woody J. virginiana and P. ponderosa located within the Nebraska National Forest in the sandhills. …

Stratospheric Effects On Uv, Speed Of Sound, Pressure, And Temperature, Joshua V. Chis, Joana Diaz, Brianna E. Ortiz, Imani G. Robertson, Jelani A. Shadd

DePaul Discoveries

The atmosphere is composed of several layers, each with its own distinct environment varying in temperature, pressure, and levels of UV radiation. Quantifying these varying parameters proves to be useful in understanding atmospheric composition in greater detail. Variance in the composition of the atmosphere allows for the study of the evolution of physical phenomena at different altitudes. Our group quantified this variance using a high-altitude weather balloon and designed an experimental method to observe the nature of sound propagation through varying altitudes. The goal was to develop an altitude-dependent model of the speed of sound by using an open-air, microcontroller-based …

Atmospheric Phosphorus Deposition Into A Fresh Water Wetland: Prairie Wolf Slough Restored Wetland, Isaac B. Daitzchman

DePaul Discoveries

Phosphorus is a major element needed for plant growth. Excess phosphorus from agricultural runoff and urban stormwater can enter waterways, resulting in growth of toxic algal blooms that are deleterious to local fauna. One way to remove phosphorus is by diverting agricultural and urban runoff into wetlands. One such wetland is Prairie Wolf Slough (PWS), located in north suburban Chicago, IL. Stormwater enters PWS through an inlet channel and exits through an outlet pipe into the Chicago River. A 16-year study documented that a significantly greater mass of phosphorus leaves PWS than enters through the inlet. This study accounted for …

Spatial Stream Modeling Of Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia Motacilla) Foraging Substrate And Aquatic Prey In A Watershed Undergoing Shale Gas Development, Mack W. Frantz, Petra B. Wood, Steven C. Latta

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We demonstrate the use of spatial stream network models (SSNMs) to explore relationships between a semiaquatic bioindicator songbird, Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla), and stream monitoring and benthic macroinvertebrate data in an area undergoing shale gas development. SSNMs allowed us to account for spatial autocorrelation inherent to these environmental data types and stream properties that traditional modeling approaches cannot capture to elucidate factors that affect waterthrush foraging locations. We monitored waterthrush along 58.1 km of 1st- and 2nd-order headwater stream tributaries (n = 14) in northwestern West Virginia over a two year period (2013–2014), sampled benthic macroinvertebrates in waterthrush …

Are Sharks Attracted To Caged Fish And Associated Infrastructure?, Charlie Huveneers, Yuri Niella, Michael Drew, Joshua Dennis, Thomas M. Clarke, Alison Wright, Simon Bryars, Matias Braccini, Chris Dowling, Stephen J. Newman, Paul Butcher, Scott Dalton

Fisheries Research Articles

Huveneers Charlie, Niella Yuri, Drew Michael, Dennis Joshua, Clarke Thomas M., Wright Alison, Bryars Simon, Braccini Matias, Dowling Chris, Newman Stephen J., Butcher Paul, Dalton Scott (2022) Are sharks attracted to caged fish and associated infrastructure?. Marine and Freshwater Research 73, 1404-1410.

https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22039

Ecological Restoration Strategies For Coal Mines In China Based On Vegetation Zones And Ecological Sensitivity, Zhou Hongxuan, Wang Zhaoqing, Pu Hongtong, Tao Guixin, Sun Jing

Coal Geology & Exploration

Coal is the main source of energy in China and the most important driver of our development for a long time. It is predicted that coal is going to be the main energy source for our social and economic development in the future. However, the long-term coal mining activities in China have caused serious damage to the ecological environment and comprehensive ecological restoration is urgently needed. At present, most coal mine ecological restoration is limited within a small scale in China, such as one or several mine areas, lacking of ecological restoration planning at the national spatial level, and corresponding …

Optimising Response To An Introduction Of African Swine Fever In Wild Pigs, Kim M. Pepin, Vienna R. Brown, Anni Yang, James C. Beasley, Raoul Boughton, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Ryan S. Miller, Sarah N. Bevins

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

African swine fever virus (ASFv) is a virulent pathogen that threatens domestic swine industries globally and persists in wild boar populations in some countries. Persistence in wild boar can challenge elimination and prevent disease-free status, making it necessary to address wild swine in proactive response plans. In the United States, invasive wild pigs are abundant and found across a wide range of ecological conditions that could drive different epidemiological dynamics among populations. Information on the size of the control areas required to rapidly eliminate the ASFv in wild pigs and how this area should change with management constraints and local …

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Colonization Response To Dike Removal In The Salmon River Estuary, Elinore Webb

Dissertations and Theses

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form symbiotic relationships with wetland plants and are important to the restoration of coastal estuaries. The purpose of this study was to assess the presence and colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Distichlis spicata from three formerly diked areas of the Salmon River Estuary to determine an initial understanding of the mycorrhizal community in tidal wetlands post-restoration. AMF were present in all four sample areas and total colonization ranged on average 39-72%. The reference site had the lowest levels of total colonization, which is contrary to the findings of studies of younger wetland restorations. Most importantly, …

Orthotrichum Lyellii As An Active Moss Biomonitor: Examining The Interplay Between Ambient Pm10, Bulk Deposition And Heavy Metals In An Urban Environment, Scott Bradley Kiel

Dissertations and Theses

The importance of monitoring and preventing pollution in the environment is a globally recognized issue. Of the criteria pollutants outlined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, particulate matter is among these least understood in relation to toxicity and most wide-spread. Many governments have employed continuous air quality monitoring networks to track ambient levels of particulate matter, but are often too widespread to capture the heterogeneity of the urban environment, especially for heavy metal deposition. In Portland, OR, the epiphytic moss Orthotrichum lyellii was successfully used as a low-cost passive biomonitor to increase the spatial resolution of pollution around the …

Iron And Magnesium Impregnation Of Avocado Seed Biochar For Aqueous Phosphate Removal, James Jihoon Kang, Jason Parsons, Sampath Gunukula, Dat T. Tran

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

There has been increasing interest in using biochar for nutrient removal from water, and its application for anionic nutrient removal such as in phosphate (PO₄³⁻) necessitates surface modifications of raw biochar. This study produced avocado seed biochar (AB), impregnated Fe- or Mg-(hydr)oxide onto biochar (post-pyrolysis), and tested their performance for aqueous phosphate removal. The Fe- or Mg-loaded biochar was prepared in either high (1:8 of biochar to metal salt in terms of mass ratio) or low (1:2) loading rates via the co-precipitation method. A total of 5 biochar materials (unmodified AB, AB + High Fe, AB …

Effect Of Ultraviolet Light Treatment On Microbiological Safety And Quality Of Fresh Produce: An Overview, Veerachandra K. Yemmireddy, Achyut Adhikari, Juan Moreira

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables have been associated in several foodborne illness outbreaks. Although investigations from those outbreaks reported that the contamination with pathogenic microorganisms may occur at any point in the farm to fork continuum, effective control strategies are still being widely investigated. In that direction, the concept of hurdle technology involving a sequence of different interventions have been widely explored. Among those interventions, ultraviolet (UV) light alone or in combination with other treatments such as use of organic acids or sanitizer solutions, has found to be a promising approach to maintain the microbiological safety and quality of …

Hybrid Conferences: Opportunities, Challenges And Ways Forward, Eleonora Puccinelli, Daniela Zeppilli, Paris V. Stefanoudis, Annaig Wittische-Helou, Marjorie Kermorgant, Sandra Fuchs, Lenaick Menot, Erin E. Easton, Alexandra A-T. Weber

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Hybrid conferences are in-person events that have an online component. This type of meeting format was rare before the COVID-19 pandemic, but started to become more common recently given the asynchronous global progression of the pandemic, the uneven access to vaccines and different travel regulations among countries that led to a large proportion of participants being unable to attend conferences in person. Here we report the organization of a middle-sized (581 participants: 159 onsite, 422 online) international hybrid conference that took place in France in September 2021. We highlight particular organizational challenges inherent to this relatively new type of meeting …

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites - Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Bres No. 34 – Eveline., Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites - Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Bres No. 37 – Josephine Shaft, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.