Digital Commons Network^™

Disturbance Reduces Fungal White-Rot Litter Mat Cover In A Wet Subtropical Forest, D. Jean Lodge, Ashley E. Van Beusekom, Grizelle González, Mareli Sánchez-Julia, Sarah Stankavich

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Fungi that bind leaf litter into mats and produce white-rot via degradation of lignin and other aromatic compounds influence forest nutrient cycling and soil fertility. Extent of white-rot litter mats formed by basidiomycete fungi in Puerto Rico decreased in response to disturbances—a simulated hurricane treatment executed by canopy trimming and debris addition in 2014, a drought in 2015, a treefall, and two hurricanes 10 days apart in September 2017. Percent fungal litter mat cover ranged from 0.4% after Hurricanes Irma and Maria to a high of 53% in forest with undisturbed canopy prior to the 2017 hurricanes, with means mostly …

Reykjanes Mantle Convection And Climate: Crustal Objectives, Ross E. Parnell-Turner, Anne R. Briais, Leah J. Levay, Ying Cui, Anita Di Chiara, Justin P. Dodd, Deborah E. Eason, Sarah A. Friedman, Katharina E. Hochmuth, Boris T. Karatsolis, Danielle E. Leblanc, Melody R. Lindsay, David D. Mcnamara, Sevasti E. Modestou, Bramley Murton, Suzanne B. O’Connell, Gabriel T. Pasquet, Paul N. Pearson, Sheng Ping Qian, Yair Rosenthal, Sara Satolli, Jose M. Cuevas, Jamie L. Shamrock, Takuma Suzuki, Saalim M. Syed, Nicholas J. White, Alexandra Yang Yang

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The five primary sites proposed for International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 395, which was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, were cored during IODP Expedition 395C. The Expedition 395C operations, shipboard measurements, and sampling were adjusted to account for the absence of a sailing science party. The Expedition 395/395C objectives are (1) to investigate temporal variations in ocean crust generation at the Reykjanes Ridge and test hypotheses for the influence of Iceland mantle plume fluctuations on these processes, (2) to analyze sedimentation rates at the Björn and Gardar contourite drifts, as proxies for Cenozoic variations of North Atlantic deepwater …

Paths Of Coexistence: Spatially Predicting Acceptance Of Grizzly Bears Along Key Movement Corridors, Abigail H. Sage, Vicken Hillis, Rose A. Graves, Morey Burnham, Neil H. Carter

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

Landscape connectivity is important for conserving wildlife in spaces shared with humans. Yet, differences in human attitudes and behaviors within movement corridors can lead to spatial variation in the risks humans pose to wildlife. Mapping the spatial pattern of attitudes toward wildlife provides a useful tool for measuring this variation and promoting connectivity. We surveyed ranchers (n = 505) in the High Divide region in eastern Idaho and western Montana (United States) about their attitudes toward grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) – a species that can pose risks to livestock and human safety. We assessed spatial variation in …

Singing Strategies Are Linked To Perch Use On Foraging Territories In Heart-Nosed Bats, Grace C. Smarsh, Ashley M. Long, Michael Smotherman

Faculty Publications

Acoustic communication allows animals to coordinate and optimize resource utilization in space. Cardioderma cor, the heart-nosed bat, is one of the few species of bats known to sing during nighttime foraging. Previous research found that heart-nosed bats react aggressively to song playback, supporting the territorial defense hypothesis of singing in this species. We further investigated the territorial defense hypothesis from an ecological standpoint, which predicts that singing should be associated with exclusive areas containing a resource, by tracking 14 individuals nightly during the dry seasons in Tanzania. We quantified the singing behavior of individuals at all perches used throughout the …

Belowground Mechanism Reveals Climate Change Impacts On Invasive Clonal Plant Establishment, Surendra Bam, Jacqueline P. Ott, Jack L. Butler, Lan Xu

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Climate change and disturbance can alter invasion success of clonal plants by differentially affecting the clonal traits influencing their establishment as young plants. Clonal traits related to the vegetative reproduction of native Pascopyrum smithii and non-native Bromus inermis grass seedlings were evaluated under altered precipitation frequencies and a single grazing event. Pascopyrum smithii maintained similar vegetative reproduction under three simulated precipitation frequencies whereas B. inermis vegetative reproduction declined as precipitation became more intermittent. Vegetative reproduction of the non-native B. inermis was greater than the native P. smithii under all simulated precipitation frequencies except the most intermittent scenario. A single grazing …

Economics Of Cormorant Predation On Catfish Farms, Carole Engle, Ganesh Kumar, Terrel Christie, Brian S. Dorr, Brian Davis, Luke Roy, Anita Kelly

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The Double-crested Cormorant is the primary avian predator on catfish farms causing significant economic losses primarily due to 1) on-farm expenditures related to bird-management activities and 2) value of the catfish lost to cormorants. This comprehensive economic study quantified these two economic effects by surveying catfish farms in the delta regions of Mississippi and Arkansas. On-farm expenditures for bird scaring were used to quantify bird-management costs. Economic losses from fish consumed by cormorants were quantified by evaluating data from field studies of the abundance, distribution, and diet of cormorants in the Mississippi delta. This study found that catfish farmers …

Identifying Available Resources And Agricultural Practices Useful In Soil Fertility Management To Support Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato Cultivation On Smallholder Farms In Mozambique, Rafaela Feola Conz, Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira, Abdul Naico, Maria Isabel Andrade, Johan Six

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Orange-fleshed sweet potato is an important source of macro-and micronutrients for humans, particularly in resource-poor rural communities. However, sweet potato cultivation removes large amounts of nutrients from the soil. Hence, soil fertility replenishment is vital to secure long-term food production. The lack of access to fertilizers hinders the ability of farmers to supply and replenish soil nutrients, intensifying food insecurity. This study aimed at identifying locally available organic residues and agricultural practices with potential application in soil fertility management to prevent soil degradation in southern Mozambique. We conducted a survey to gather information on the farmers’ demographics and farming systems …

Design And Fabrication Of Nanostructured Electrodes For Complementary Electrochemical And Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting, Kholoud El Sayed Abousalem

Theses and Dissertations

Designing highly active, durable, and nonprecious electrodes for overall water splitting is of urgent scientific importance to realize sustainable hydrogen production. Accordingly, the need to search efficient energy production systems is of crucial necessity. In this thesis, two various systems for sustainable hydrogen production have been reported using electrochemical and photoelectrochemical pathways. In the first part of the thesis, electrochemical water splitting involving both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has been established. To this end, an innovative approach is demonstrated to synthesize flower-like 3D homogenous trimetallic Mn, Ni, Co phosphide catalysts directly on nickel foam via …

Water Insecurity, Water Borrowing, And Psychosocial Stress Among Daasanach Pastoralists In Northern Kenya, Leslie Ford, Hilary J. Bethancourt, Zane Swanson, Rosemary Nzunza, Amber Wutich, Alexandra Brewis, Sera Young, David Almeida, Matthew J. Douglass, Emmanuel K. Ndiema, David R. Braun, Herman Pontzer, Asher Y. Rosinger

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This article quantifies Daasanach water insecurity experiences in Northern Kenya, examines how water insecurity is associated with water borrowing and psychosocial stress, and evaluates if water borrowing mitigates the stress from water insecurity. Of 133 households interviewed in 7 communities, 95% were water insecure and 74.4% borrowed water three or more times in the prior month. Regression analyses demonstrate water borrowing frequency moderates the relationship between water insecurity and psychosocial stress. Only those who rarely or never borrowed water reported greater stress with higher water insecurity. The coping mechanism of water borrowing may help blunt water insecurity-related stress.

A History Of Wright State University's Department Of Geological Science, Paul J. Wolfe

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

A history of Wright State University's disbanded and reintegrated Department of Geological Sciences written by department faculty member Paul J. Wolfe. Wolfe describes the development of the program, the faculty throughout the years, and the programs offered through the department.

Temperature And Predator Effects On Green Crabs (Carcinus Maenas) And Their Distribution In South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Elissa Connolly-Randazzo

Dissertations and Theses

The invasive green crab (Carcinus maenas) has increased in abundance and distribution among Oregon's estuaries. Its global success in establishing in new environments and tolerance for abiotic stressors, such as temperature, raises concern for C. maenas to negatively influence native crab species, especially given global climate change. To improve in predicting invasion impacts, this work analyzed the results from a controlled tank experiment at Portland State University and the field data on a population of C. maenas in South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve (SSNERR). The aquarium experiment documented predation pressure on C. maenas across a range of …

The Social Networks Of Manureshed Management, Gwendwr Rhiannon Meredith, Sheri Spiegal, Peter J. A. Kleinman, Daren Harmel

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Manureshed management—the strategic use of manure nutrients that prioritizes recycling between livestock systems and cropping systems—provides a comprehensive framework for sustainable nutrient management that necessitates the collaboration of many actors. Understanding the social dimensions of collaboration is critical to implement the strategic and technological requirements of functional manuresheds. To improve this understanding, we identified aspirational networks of actors involved in manureshed management across local, regional, and national scales, principally in the United States, elucidating key relationships and highlighting the breadth of interactions essential to successful manureshed management. We concluded that, although the social networks vary with scale, the involvement of …

Benefits Of Cover Cropping Systems In Walnut Orchards As Sustainable Agricultural Practice, Ana Medic, Consuelo B. Baez Vega

CSU Journal of Sustainability and Climate Change

In recent years walnut orchards implemented cover crops in between rows to improve soil’s quality, lessen soil’s erosion, increase organic matter, manage nutrient movement and availability, enhance water retention, and expand microbe, insect, and flora diversity. Commonly selected cover crops in California are from families Poaceae, Brassicaceae, and Fabaceae. Considerations should be made when choosing a particular cover crop mixture to enhance multiple benefits and improve sustainable practices in orchard settings. An experiment was conducted in a walnut orchard to compare functionality and benefits of three systems multi-crop, monocrop, and no vegetation cover crop system. The following components were evaluated: …

Future Of Winter In Northeastern North America: Climate Indicators Portray Warming And Snow Loss That Will Impact Ecosystems And Communities, Elizabeth Burakowski, Alix Contosta, Danielle Grogan, Sarah Nelson, Sarah Garlick, Nora Casson

Faculty Publications

Winters in northeastern North America have warmed faster than summers, with impacts on ecosystems and society. Global climate models (GCMs) indicate that winters will continue to warm and lose snow in the future, but uncertainty remains regarding the magnitude of warming. Here, we project future trends in winter indicators under lower and higher climate-warming scenarios based on emission levels across northeastern North America at a fine spatial scale (1/16°) relevant to climate-related decision making. Under both climate scenarios, winters continue to warm with coincident increases in days above freezing, decreases in days with snow cover, and fewer nights below freezing. …

Effects Of Green Crab (Carcinus Maenas) Across Variable Densities Of Eelgrass (Zostera Marina), Kimberly Alexis Brown

Dissertations and Theses

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) plays a critical role in estuarine ecosystem function by sustaining a variety of marine and freshwater species, but it's increasingly threatened by the aggressive non-native green crab (Carcinus maenas). The abundance of C. maenas is on the rise within the coastal environment of Oregon and it is imperative to know how these populations will affect the long-term health of Z. marina. C. maenas have been linked to declines in Z. marina coverage and shellfish abundance, but there has been no research on to what extent the density of Z. marina affects its …

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Npl Site Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit, Josh Bryson

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

2021 Final Butte Reduction Works (Brw) Smelter Area Mine Waste Remediation And Contaminated Groundwater Hydraulic Control Site Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp) For Microbial Analysis And Biotreatability Study, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Npl Site Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit, Atlantic Richfield Company, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Uranium 233: The Nuclear Superfuel No One Is Using, Maris Hanson

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

Nuclear power offers more energy in less physical space than solar and wind and yields more energy per pound than fossil fuels. However different nuclear fuels yield different waste profiles and create different beneficial products. Uranium 233 (U233) resists use in nuclear weapons, yields beneficial daughter products, and produces dramatically less of the most problematic waste products than Uranium 235 (U235). U233 results from reactions with Thorium, a plentiful, ubiquitous element currently considered waste from rare earth mines. Additionally, U233 functions well in a liquid fuel reactor resulting in safer, more efficient reactors than current solid fuel U235 or Plutonium …

Effects Of Foliar Application Of Zno Nanoparticles On Lentil Production, Stress Level And Nutritional Seed Quality Under Field Conditions, Marek Kolenčík, Dávid Ernst, Matej Komár, Martin Urík, Martin Šebesta, Ľuba Ďurišová, Marek Bujdoš, Ivan Černý, Juraj Chlpík, Martin Juriga, Ramakanth Illa, Yu Qian, Huan Feng, Gabriela Kratošová, Karla Čech Barabaszová, Ladislav Ducsay, Elena Aydın

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Nanotechnology offers new opportunities for the development of novel materials and strategies that improve technology and industry. This applies especially to agriculture, and our previous field studies have indicated that zinc oxide nanoparticles provide promising nano-fertilizer dispersion in sustainable agriculture. However, little is known about the precise ZnO-NP effects on legumes. Herein, 1 mg·L⁻¹ ZnO-NP spray was dispersed on lentil plants to establish the direct NP effects on lentil production, seed nutritional quality, and stress response under field conditions. Although ZnO-NP exposure positively affected yield, thousand-seed weight and the number of pods per plant, there was no statistically significant …

Machine Learning Approach To Simulate Soil Co2 Fluxes Under Cropping Systems, Toby A. Adjuik, Sarah C. Davis

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Graduate Research

With the growing number of datasets to describe greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, there is an opportunity to develop novel predictive models that require neither the expense nor time required to make direct field measurements. This study evaluates the potential for machine learning (ML) approaches to predict soil GHG emissions without the biogeochemical expertise that is required to use many current models for simulating soil GHGs. There are ample data from field measurements now publicly available to test new modeling approaches. The objective of this paper was to develop and evaluate machine learning (ML) models using field data (soil temperature, soil …

Exploring Old Data With New Tricks: Long-Term Monitoring Indicates Spatial And Temporal Changes In Populations Of Sympatric Prairie Grouse In The Nebraska Sandhills, Danielle J. Berger, Jeffrey J. Lusk, Larkin A. Powell, John P. Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The contiguous grasslands of the Sandhills region in Nebraska, USA, provide habitat for two sympatric, grassland-obligate species of grouse, the greater prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) and the plains sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus jamesi). Collectively referred to as prairie grouse, these birds are monitored and managed jointly by wildlife practitioners who face the novel challenge of conserving historically allopatric species in shared range. We reconstructed region-wide and route-specific prairie grouse population trends in the Sandhills, using a 63-year timeseries of breeding ground counts aggregated from old reports and paper archives. Our objective was to repurpose historical data …

Reef Sediments Can Act As A Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Vector, Michael S. Studivan, Ashley M. Rossin, Ewelina Rubin, Nash Soderberg, Daniel M. Holstein, Ian C. Enochs

Faculty Publications

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first observed in 2014 near Virginia Key in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Field sampling, lab experiments, and modeling approaches have suggested that reef sediments may play a role in SCTLD transmission, though a positive link has not been tested experimentally. We conducted an ex situ transmission assay using a statistically-independent disease apparatus to test whether reef sediments can transmit SCTLD in the absence of direct contact between diseased and healthy coral tissue. We evaluated two methods of sediment inoculation: batch inoculation of sediments collected from southeast Florida using whole colonies of diseased Montastraea cavernosa, …

Saving The Campus Farm: One Approach To Leveraging Institutional Support For A Campus Farm Space, Julia L. Angstmann

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The number of university and college campus farms have increased 13-fold since 1992 to over 300 campuses (LaCharite, 2016). According to reporting by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) (2018), 80% of campus farm spaces are less than 5 acres in size and 86% are located on campuses with no agriculture school (AASHE, 2018). Campus farms provide a rich interdisciplinary social context of community based, sustainable agriculture that spans the entire suite of social and physical sciences as well as non-STEM fields such as business, religious studies, and communication. Yet, the majority of these farm …

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites - Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Bres No. 30 – Atlantic-1, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

A Call For The Library Community To Deploy Best Practices Toward A Database For Biocultural Knowledge Relating To Climate Change, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Abstract

Purpose – In this paper, a call to the library and information science community to support documentation and conservation of cultural and biocultural heritage has been presented.

Design/methodology/approach – Based in existing Literature, this proposal is generative and descriptive— rather than prescriptive—regarding precisely how libraries should collaborate to employ technical and ethical best practices to provide access to vital data, research and cultural narratives relating to climate.

Findings – COVID-19 and climate destruction signal urgent global challenges. Library best practices are positioned to respond to climate change. Literature indicates how libraries preserve, share and cross-link cultural and scientific knowledge. …

Investigating The Effects Of Climate Change On The Phenology Of Achillea Millefolium, Aquilegia Coerulea, And Penstemon Cyanocaulis, Hannah O’Toole, Kailey Hicks, Lisa Long, Jackson Garske, Anna Sher

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

As the effects of climate change are starting to unearth themselves, the impacts can be observed by tracking the patterns of cyclical natural phenomena also known as phenology, and monitoring how they have changed over time. These cycles are at the crux of making ecosystems viable for their local biodiversity, and understanding the ongoing change allows for further understanding of the ecosystem’s change over time. In this study, we look at the ordinal flowering dates of the Achillea millefolium, Aquilegia coerulea, and Penstemon cyanocaulis over the past century. Our data give insight into how warmer temperatures occurring earlier in …

The Use Of Microalgal Sourced Biodiesel To Help Underground Mines Transition To Battery Electric Vehicles, Corey A. Laamanen, Kyle Moreau, Sabrina M. Desjardins, Shannon H. Mclean, John A. Scott

Journal of Sustainable Mining

The use of fossil fuel sourced diesel underground has various associated health and environmental hazards, and additional energy demand and costs associated with necessary ventilation. One way to reduce these impacts is by utilizing a biodieselblend, which generates lower levels of harmful emissions from underground equipment and can be produced regionally, reducing the impact of transportation. Furthermore, this would help allow use of existing machinery during transition towards more widespread electrification underground. Therefore, the concept of an integrated supply and use chain within the mining industry is examined based on biodiesel from acidophilic photosynthetic microalgae cultivated using CO 2 in …

Application Of Entropy Method For Estimating Factor Weights In Mining-Method Selection For Development Of Novel Mining-Method Selection System, Elsa Pansilvania Andre Manjate, Mahdi Saadat, Hisatoshi Toriya, Fumiaki Inagaki, Youhei Kawamura

Journal of Sustainable Mining

Mining-method selection (MMS) is one of the most critical and complex decisionmaking processes in mine planning. Therefore, it has been a subject of several studies for many years culminating with the development of different systems. However, there is still more to be done to improve and/or create more efficient systems and deal with the complexity caused by many influencing factors. This study introduces the application of the entropy method for feature selection, i.e., select the most critical factors in MMS. The entropy method is applied to assess the relative importance of the factors influencing MMS by estimating their objective weights …

The Chemical Characterization Of Microplastic Polymer Composition From Various Littoral Environments On Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Leah Kosovsky

Chemistry Honors Papers

The increasing abundance of microplastic pollution in marine environments is a rising concern, and it has the potential to negatively affect the health and sustainability of marine organisms and ecosystems. Microplastics can harm organisms through a variety of chemical, biological, and physical mechanisms. The extent to which they are harmful varies greatly and is significantly dependent on the chemical and physical makeup of the plastic polymer. Due to this variability, it is important to characterize microplastic samples in various environments to better understand the risks associated with the debris in certain areas. Through field research, a spatial analysis of the …