Digital Commons Network^™

Wetland Soil Development Along Salinity And Hydrogeomorphic Gradients In Active And Inactive Deltaic Basins Of Coastal Louisiana, Amanda Fontenot

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal wetlands provide an abundance of ecosystem services that benefit society, such as essential habitat for commercial species, storm protection, nutrient cycling, and carbon storage. Louisiana faces rapid rates of relative sea level rise (natural subsidence and eustatic sea levels) that threaten wetland survival, which are amplified by a reduction of riverine sediment input. An important determining factor of marsh survival is the formation of wetland platform elevation, known as vertical accretion, which is determined by several processes including sediment deposition & erosion, below ground biomass (BGB) productivity, decomposition of organic matter, shallow & deep subsidence, and soil compaction. Feldspar …

Amplification Of Black Vulture (Coragyps Atratus) Dna From Regurgitated Food Pellets, Daniel R. Taylor, Bryan M. Kluever, John S. Humphrey, Iona M. Hennessy, Amber Sutton, William E. Bruce, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Studies that rely on noninvasive collection of DNA for birds often use feces or feathers. Some birds, such as vultures, regurgitate undigested matter in the form of pellets that are commonly found under roost sites. Our research demonstrates that regurgitated pellets are a viable, noninvasive source of DNA for molecular ecology studies of vultures. Our objectives were to amplify 5 microsatellite loci designed for distinguishing Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) and Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) in a single, multiplexed PCR, and to determine how long the target nuclear DNA persists after a vulture pellet is regurgitated and …

A Method For Estimating Songbird Abundance With Drones, Andrew M. Wilson, Darren Glass, Marisa A. Immordino, Precious S. Ozoh, Lauren Sherman, Mckenzie D. Somers

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Using drones to conduct airborne bioacoustics surveys is a potentially useful new way to estimate the abundance of vocal bird species. Here we show that by using two audio recorders suspended from a quadcopter drone it is possible to estimate distances to birds with precision. In an experimental test, the mean error of our estimated distances to a broadcast song across 11 points between 0 and 100 m away was just 3.47 m. In field tests, we compared 1 min airborne counts with 5 min terrestrial counts at 34 count locations. We found that the airborne counts yielded similar data …

Drivers Of Spatiotemporal Eukaryote Plankton Distribution In A Trans-Basin Water Transfer Canal In China, Yuying Li, Faisal Hayat Khan, Jiamin Wu, Yun Zhang, Yeqing Jiang, Xiaonuo Chen, Yinlei Yao, Yangdong Pan, Xuemei Han

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Planktonic eukaryotes are important components of aquatic ecosystems, and analyses of the whole eukaryotic planktonic community composition and function have far-reaching significance for water resource management. We aimed to understand the spatiotemporal variation and drivers of eukaryotic plankton distribution in the Middle Route Project of the South-to-North Water Diversion in Henan Province, China. Specifically, we examined planktonic assemblages and water quality at five stations along the canal and another one located before the dam in March, June, September, and December 2019. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the eukaryotic plankton community was primarily composed of 53 phyla, 200 genera, and 277 species, …

Disaster Resilience Versus Ecological Resilience And The Proposed Second Causeway To South Padre Island, Juliet Vallejo, Katia Sanchez, Evelyn Roozee, Owen Temby

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The barrier island of South Padre is located off the coast of Texas’s southern tip in Cameron County and is a popular tourist destination with over 4 million annual visits. The only road access to and from the island is a four-lane causeway, 2.3 miles in length, that routinely experiences heavy traffic. Twenty years ago, a barge crashed into the Queen Isabella Causeway, destroying a portion of the bridge. It quickly became apparent how reliant South Padre Island (SPI) is on the causeway and raised questions regarding its lack of disaster resilience. Local boosters and government responded by proposing and …

Coupling 210Pb And 14C To Constrain Carbon Burial Efficiency Of Blue Carbon Ecosystems, Tynisha R. Martin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Blue carbon ecosystems cover a small global area but have the potential to sequester large amounts of organic carbon (OC) from the coastal ocean in the sediment. Organic carbon is continually remineralized and exported in the dissolved form, which is currently only poorly accounted for in blue carbon budgets. Constraining carbon cycling in blue carbon systems is complicated by the range of carbon sources and sinks in the system and high export rates from the system. By coupling 14C and 210Pb chronometers to ascertain the amount of primary production stored within peat, it is possible to study carbon transport through …

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites - Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Bres No. 133 – Dexter Mill, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Dual Isotopic (O & N) Approach In The Assessment Of No3- Pollution In An Urban River, Abongwa T. Pride, Walter Den, Aarin Teague

Water Resources Science and Technology Faculty Publications (Archived)

Deterioration of urban waterways has become a major environmental concern as management and recreational goals are often hampered by poor water quality. The San Antonio River (TX, USA), whose upper reaches, including its headwaters, pass through a highly urbanized community, is vulnerable to pollution from a myriad of anthropogenic activities within its initial 17-km stretch. This investigation applied a dual-isotope approach to characterize water samples collected during the wet season (May–June, 2019) in order to assess the potential sources of nitrate in the urban stretch of river. The δ¹⁵N-_NO3 and δ¹⁸O-_NO3 values ranged from …

Relating Plant Community Structure To Carbon Dynamics In Semiarid Grasslands, Theodore D. Roper

Biology ETDs

Understanding how fine-scale changes in soil characteristics and plant community composition affect ecosystem functioning is key to predicting how biome shifts will affect regional and global carbon cycling. This is crucial in the dryland biomes of the US Southwest, projected to be one of the regions most affected by climate change. We examined fine-scale drivers of ecosystem function within two biomes – a Chihuahuan Desert grassland and Plains/Chihuahuan Desert ecotone – via long-term vegetation data, micrometeorological data, eddy covariance carbon flux measurements, and soil water and texture, finding that the ecotone site had over 30% higher soil water content, over …

Prediction Of Cultivation Areas For The Commercial And An Early Flowering Wild Accession Of Salvia Hispanica L. In The United States, Mohammad Hassani, Thomas Piechota, Hagop S. Atamian

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Salvia hispanica L., commonly known as chia, is a plant-based alternative to seafood and is rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid, protein, fiber, and antioxidants. In the Northern Hemisphere, chia flowering is triggered by the fall equinox (12-h light and dark, early October) and the seeds mature after approximately three months. Chia is sensitive to frost and end of season moisture which limits its cultivation to small areas in regions with temperate climate. The U.S. chia import has increased considerably over the years; however, chia is not widely cultivated in the United States. This study used the historical U.S. temperature …

Science Of The Total Environment, Benjamin Linhoff

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Recently, the subsoils of ephemeral stream(arroyos) floodplains in the northern Chihuahuan Desert were discovered to contain large naturally occurring NO₃⁻ reservoirs (floodplain:~38,000 kg NO₃-N/ha; background:~60 kg NO₃-N/ha). These reservoirs may be mobilized through land use change or natural stream channel migration which makes differentiating between anthropogenic and natural groundwaterNO₃⁻sources challenging. In this study, the fate and sources of NO₃⁻ were investigated in an area with multiple NO₃⁻ sources such as accidental sewer line releases and sewage lagoons aswell as natural reservoirs of subsoil NO₃⁻. …

Seasonal Climatic Niche And Migration Movements Of Double-Crested Cormorants, D. Tommy King, Guiming Wang, Fred L. Cunningham

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian migrants are challenged by seasonal adverse climatic conditions and energetic costs of long-distance flying. Migratory birds may track or switch seasonal climatic niche between the breeding and non-breeding grounds. Satellite tracking enables avian ecologists to investigate seasonal climatic niche and circannual movement patterns of migratory birds. The Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum, hereafter cormorant) wintering in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) migrates to the Northern Great Plains and Great Lakes and is of economic importance because of its impacts on aquaculture. We tested the climatic niche switching hypothesis that cormorants would switch climatic niche between summer and winter …

Nabat Ml: Utilizing Deep Learning To Enable Crowdsourced Development Of Automated, Scalable Solutions For Documenting North American Bat Populations, Ali Khalighifar, Benjamin S. Gotthold, Erin Adams, Jenny Barnett, Laura O. Beard, Eric R. Britzke, Paul A. Burger, Kimberly Chase, Zackary Cordes, Paul M. Cryan, Emily Emily, Christopher T. Fill, Scott E. Gibson, G. Scott Haulton, Kathryn M. Irvine, Lara S. Katz, William L. Kendall, Christen A. Long, Oisin Mac Aodha, Tessa Mcburney, Sara Mccarthy, Matthew W. Mckown, Joy O'Keefe, Lucy D. Patterson, Kristopher A. Pitcher, Matthew Rustand, Jordi L. Segers, Kyle Seppanen, Jeremy L. Siemers, Christian Stratton, Bethany R. Straw, Theodore J. Weller, Brian E. Reichert

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

1. Bats play crucial ecological roles and provide valuable ecosystem services, yet many populations face serious threats from various ecological disturbances. The North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) aims to use its technology infrastructure to assess status and trends of bat populations, while developing innovative and community-driven conservation solutions.

2. Here, we present NABat ML, an automated machine-learning algorithm that improves the scalability and scientific transparency of NABat acoustic monitoring. This model combines signal processing techniques and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to detect and classify recorded bat echolocation calls. We developed our CNN model with internet-based computing resources (‘cloud environment’), and …

   ---

   Go to article

Using Dietary Additives To Improve Palatability Of Diets Containing Single‐Cell Protein From Methanotrophic Bacteria In Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola Lalandi) Diets, Luke Pilmer, Lindsey Woolley, Alan J. Lymbery, Michael Salini, Gavin Partridge

Fisheries Research Articles

Single-cell protein (SCP) derived from methanotrophic bacteria has significant potential as a fishmeal alternative in aquafeeds. However, SCP has known palatability issues, to overcome these issues tuna hydrolysate and garlic powder were tested as palatability enhancers against basal diets without these additives. This study tested the inclusion of SCP at four dietary levels of 0%, 10%, 20% and 30%, representing 0%, 25%, 50% and 75% fishmeal replacement in juvenile yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) (YTK) diets. YTK were fed these diets in triplicate over 35 days. Compared with the control diet, fish fed the SCP10% diet ate less feed, …

Dossier: The Hunger Plan: The Holocaust, Resource Scarcity, And Preventing Genocide In A Changing Climate, Emily Sample

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Nazi leadership sought to exploit the biological fear of starvation and scapegoat the Jewish population and other “useless eaters” for taking more than their fair share. The Nazis utilized and hyperbolized well-known prejudices against Jewish people, and entrenched narratives of Jewish parasitism as a threat to current and future German lives. In this analysis, food scarcity was one of several reasons for the Holocaust, and the first step to seeking Lebensraum for pure Germans to live to the highest international standard. This article will focus on different aspects of the complex antisemitic rhetoric surrounding issues of resource scarcity, including Hitler’s …

Using An Affinity Analysis To Identify Phytoplankton Associations, Weiju Zhu, Zhaojian Ding, Yangdong Pan, Quanxi Wang

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Phytoplankton functional traits can represent particular environmental conditions in complex aquatic ecosystems. Categorizing phytoplankton species into functional groups is challenging and time-consuming, and requires high-level expertise in species autecology. In this study, we introduced an affinity analysis to aid the identification of candidate associations of phytoplankton from two data sets comprised of phytoplankton and environmental information. In the Huaihe River Basin with a drainage area of 270,000 km2 in China, samples were collected from 217 selected sites during the low-water period in May 2013; monthly samples were collected during 2006–2011 in a man-made pond, Dishui Lake. Our results indicated that …

Breeding Ecology Of Mottled Ducks In Southwestern Louisiana, Elizabeth Sophia Bonczek

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Mottled ducks are a resident species found in the southern United States that rely on coastal marsh and associated habitat to fulfill the needs of the entirety of their annual cycle. Population monitoring has revealed declines in western Gulf Coast (WGC) mottled ducks since 2008. Mottled duck populations are influenced by survival and recruitment, and changes in these factors may contribute to population declines. The overarching goal of this project was to identify the mechanisms potentially limiting WGC mottled ducks.

I captured adult female mottled ducks during molt on Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and adjacent lands in southwestern Louisiana from 2017–2019. …

Monitoring Whitebark Pine Stand Health In The Central Washington Cascades, Nancy H. Parra, Teresa J. Lorenz, Taza D. Schaming, Alison Scoville

Student Published Works

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) plays a vital role in colonizing newly disturbed areas, providing shade for other tree species to germinate, and supplying food for a variety of birds and mammals, such as Clark’s Nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis). Decline of whitebark pine populations has been attributed to several factors, including white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreaks, and fire exclusion. In 2009, the U.S. Forest Service began to install permanent plots in whitebark pine stands in Washington and Oregon as …

Watershed Prioritization To Reduce Nutrient Export: A Framework For The State Of Arkansas Based On Ambient Water Quality Monitoring Data, Erin Grantz, Brian E. Haggard

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The annual formation of the Northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone is driven by nutrient loading from the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB). Member States of The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task have developed statewide strategies to identify priorities and opportunities for nutrient export reduction in the MARB. In 2014, the State of Arkansas joined the Task Force and initiated an Arkansas Nutrient Reduction Strategy (ANRS), which currently prioritizes ten Hydrologic Unit Code 8 (HUC-8) watersheds (ANRD, 2014). These priority watersheds were not selected based on measured in-stream nutrient concentrations or trends, which impedes quantitative assessment, goal setting, and linking …

Defining Critical Or Hydrologic Conditions As Sampled During The Joint Study, Brian E. Haggard, Erin Grantz, J. T. Scott

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The “Joint Study” was conducted to fulfill the obligations of the second “Statement of Joint Principles and Actions” agreed to by the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The “Joint Study” affirmed the magnitude of Oklahoma’s Scenic River total phosphorus (TP) criteria (i.e., 0.037 mg/L), but it added the new caveat of applying the criteria to “critical conditions.” The primary purpose of this paper was to define “critical conditions” based on the range in base flow proportions (BFP) of total streamflow on days that were sampled in the “Joint Study,” where BFP is base flow discharge divided by total stream flow …

A Gis Suitability Model Evaluating Habitat Characteristics Influencing Beaver (Castor Canadensis) Lodge Site Selection And Lodge Occupancy In Central Adirondacks, New York, Amanda K. Jacobs

Theses - ALL

The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) represents a quintessential example of an "ecosystem engineer." Yet the species' landscape-scale impacts on hydrology, geomorphology, and ecosystem ecology are not uniformly distributed through landscapes or time. Understanding beaver lodge site selection and lodge fidelity through time can help to predict where the greatest effects of beaver activity may occur. In this research project, I seek to understand the relationships between beaver habitat suitability, the habitat variables that currently define suitable areas, and lodge occupancy over time. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to model habitat suitability, I use hydrologic, vegetative, and physiographic variables to …

Can Diatom Motility Indices Reflect Excess Fine Sediment Condition In Streams?, Christine L. Weilhoefer, Yangdong Pan

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The diatom motility trait is widely used in bioassessment studies, however, there is no strong consensus as to what environmental conditions diatom motility reflects. We used random forest models to explore the behavior of several diatom-based motility indices and examined whether stronger diatom motility-environmental relationships could be developed by controlling for environmental factors that influence natural sediment loads and factors that co-occur with anthropogenic sediment loading. Across the study area, median values of most stressors were low; streambed fine sediments ranged from 0 to 100% (median: 6.7%) and total phosphorus concentrations ranged from 0 to 2587 µg L−1 (median: 17 …

Whalers In “A Post-Whaling World”: Sustainable Conservation Of Marine Mammals And Sustainable Development Of Whaling Communities—With A Case Study From The Eastern Caribbean, Russell Fielding

Honors College Faculty Publications

The sustainable conservation of marine mammals depends not only upon considerations made for the marine mammals themselves. In many parts of the world, human societies have developed a deep reliance upon marine mammals as a food source. The sustainability and the equitable, sustainable development of these communities should be considered alongside efforts to conserve the marine mammals upon which people rely. As an example of the complexity inherent to simultaneous efforts on both fronts, this paper reviews and synthesizes two lines of research related to a small-scale whaling operation for odontocetes (dolphins and toothed whales) based in the Eastern Caribbean. …

Efficiency In The Upper Deschutes Basin: Understanding The Hydrosocial Implications Of Irrigation Canal Piping, Rebecca Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

In response to water scarcity, irrigation efficiency projects aim to conserve water for in-stream flow and agricultural use. Piping irrigation canals is a common irrigation efficiency method which reduces the loss of incidental recharge, resulting in trade-offs within a hydrosocial system. Few studies have focused on the consequences of canal piping and none have integrated a critical analysis of the social factors involved in deciding what constitutes 'efficient' water use. This study seeks to fill this gap by combining natural and social science to give attention to the scales and perspectives involved in irrigation efficiency canal piping and the material …

Wetlands As Social Ecological Systems, And Relationality In The Policy Domain, Pierre Horwitz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

A wetland policy perspective based on social ecological systems accepts that wetlands are part of landwaterscapes, that people are part of wetland ecosystems, and that the health of wetlands and the health of people are interdependent, evidence of the close, reciprocal and indivisible relationships between nature and culture. These relationships are storied and place-based, associated with place attachment, and are representations of relational values. They are most easily located wherever and whenever Indigenous and local peoples’ knowledge and interests are at play in wetland settings. Legal and administrative processes that recognise Chthonic law and rights for wetlands will elevate relational …

Predicting Contaminant Transfer Following Re-Established Connectivity In The Boardman River, Ross A. Gay

All NMU Master's Theses

Anthropogenic alteration of the environment began as soon as people settled the Great Lakes (GL) region with hydrologic alteration (dams) and discharges of man-made chemicals into the air and water as populations and industry expanded. Consequently, the GL became a reservoir of anthropogenic contaminants such as mercury (Hg), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethylene (DDT), and organochloride compounds. Migratory fish accumulate and magnify contaminants within their tissues and transport them across ecosystem boundaries. Re-established connectivity in the form of dam removal has the potential to allow contaminant laden migrants access to ecosystems previously inaccessible. Here I assess the contaminant burden of a …

Comparative Susceptibility Of Eastern Cottontails And New Zealand White Rabbits To Classical Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus (Rhdv) And Rhdv2, Fawzi Mohamed, Thomas Gidlewski, Mary L. Berninger, Heather M. Petrowski, Alexa J. Bracht, Carla Bravo De Rueda, Roger W. Barrette, Meredith Grady, Emily S. O'Hearn, Charles E. Lewis, Karen E. Moran, Tracy L. Sturgill, Lorenzo Capucci, J. Jeffrey Root

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) is associated with high morbidity and mortality in the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). In 2010, a genetically distinct RHDV named RHDV2 emerged in Europe and spread to many other regions, including North America in 2016. Prior to this study it was unknown if eastern cottontails (ECT(s); Sylvilagus floridanus), one of the most common wild lagomorphs in the United States, were susceptible to RHDV2. In this study, 10 wild-caught ECTs and 10 New Zealand white rabbits (NZWR(s); O. cuniculus) were each inoculated orally with either RHDV (RHDVa/GI.1a; n = 5 per species) or RHDV2 (a recombinant …

Effects Of Nutrient Enrichment On Mangrove And Saltmarsh Habitats, Elena A. Flores

Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient over-enrichment is a global threat to coastal and marine environments. Yet, system-specific attributes of estuarine and coastal ecosystems may result in large differences in their sensitivity and susceptibility to such threat. In tropical latitudes, plant species adapted to low-nutrient habitats generally have nutrient-conservation mechanisms that acquire, use, and internally recycle nutrients efficiently. Thus, a major challenge for managers and decision makers is to develop a predictive and holistic understanding of how nutrient loading alters ecosystem functions and therefore ecosystem services. The objective of the present research is to document short and long-term effects of persistent nutrient …

Solar Radiation And Soil Moisture Drive Tropical Forest Understory Responses To Experimental And Natural Hurricanes, J. Aaron Hogan, Joanne M. Sharpe, Ashley Van Beusekom, Sarah Stankavich, Samuel Matta Carmona, John E. Bithorn, Jamarys Torres-Díaz, Grizelle González, Jess K. Zimmerman, Aaron B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Tropical forest understory regeneration occurs rapidly after disturbance with compositional trajectories that depend on species availability and environmental conditions. To predict future tropical forest regeneration dynamics, we need a deeper understanding of how pulse disturbance events, like hurricanes, interact with environmental variability to affect understory demography and composition. We examined fern and sapling mortality, recruitment, and community composition in relation to solar radiation and soil moisture using 17 years of forest dynamics data (2003–2019) from the Canopy Trimming Experiment in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Solar radiation increased 150% and soil moisture increased 40% following canopy trimming of experimental …

Disentangling Thermal Effects Using Life Cycle Simulation Modelling On The Biology And Demographic Parameters Of Dolichogenidea Gelechiidivoris, A Parasitoid Of Tuta Absoluta, Pascal O. Aigbedion-Atalor, Martin P. Hill, Abdelmutalab G.A. Azrag, Myron P. Zalucki, Samira A. Mohamed

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Dolichogenidea gelechiidivoris (Marsh) (Syn. Apanteles gelechiidivoris) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a konoibiont larval endoparasitoid of the South American tomato pinworm Tuta absoluta (Meyrick), was imported into Kenya in 2017 for the first classical biological control of T. absoluta in Africa. We determined the thermal thresholds of D. gelechiidivoris, with T. absoluta as host, using life cycle simulation modelling. Life-table data of D. gelechiidivoris were generated at six constant temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 °C, 65 ± 5% RH, and 12L: 12D photoperiod). Multiple non-linear functions were fitted to model some aspects of the biology of the parasitoid, including its …