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A Year In Syntropy: Exploring Syntropic Agriculture, Ajah Eills

College Honors Program

Syntropic agriculture is a form of sustainable agriculture that originated in Brazil around 25 years ago. Although it has since spread throughout Brazil and Australia, there has yet to be a comprehensive study of the driving scientific principles behind syntropy. For my thesis, I conducted literature research and interviews with farmers, with the goal of describing the ecological principles on which syntropy is based, including its primary goal to improve soil health. Much of my thesis contrasted syntropic agriculture with conventional agriculture as practiced in the United States today, but I also explored the differences between syntropic agriculture and other …

The Potential Influence Of Abiotic Conditions On Mussel Species Abundance In San Francisco Bay, Alexandra G. Farrell, M. Christina Vasquez Dr.

Honors Thesis

Climate change has negatively altered seawater conditions, which may have severe implications for marine ecosystems. Mussels are susceptible to environmental changes since they are primary consumers and filter-feeding bivalves. Two species of particular interest to the West Coast of the U.S. are Mytilus galloprovincialis and M. trossulus. M. trossulus is native to the California Coast and was historically prevalent from Southern California to Washington. However, with increased shipping and rising seawater temperature, M. galloprovincialis, an invasive species from the Mediterranean, pushed the species range of M. trossulus poleward. M. trossulus is more tolerant of cold seawater with variable salinity while …

Microbial Assemblages In Relation To Host And Environmental Surroundings, Mark Fischer

Senior Honors Theses

The goal of this study was to determine if the microbiome between two crayfish microhabitats were different from one other, in addition to the surrounding water and sediment. This project was a field-based study in which all environmental samples and crayfish were collected from a central Virginian freshwater stream. Molecular techniques were employed to sequence bacterial DNA from the various sample types and Qiime 2 was used to analyze statistical differences. The results from this study aligned well with the initial hypothesis in that the alpha-diversities between all of the sample types were statistically different (P<0.05) except for the gill chamber and surrounding water microbial assemblages. In addition, the Beta-diversity was statistically different when the bacterial composition of one sample type was compared to the composition of the other samples (P<0.05). This data aids in our understanding of the significance of microbes within a freshwater ecosystem and how they are distributed among freshwater organisms, such as the crayfish.

Disentangling The Effects Of Vapor Pressure Deficit And Soil Water Availability On Canopy Conductance In A Seasonal Tropical Forest During The 2015 El Niño Drought, Yilin Fang, L. Ruby Leung, Brett T. Wolfe, Matteo Detto, Ryan G. Knox, Bryan Powell, Charlotte Grossiord, Chonggang Xu, Bradley O. Christoffersen, Pierre Gentine

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Water deficit in the atmosphere and soil are two key interactive factors that constrain transpiration and vegetation productivity. It is not clear which of these two factors is more important for the water and carbon flux response to drought stress in ecosystems. In this study, field data and numerical modeling were used to isolate their impact on evapotranspiration (ET) and gross primary productivity (GPP) at a tropical forest site in Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama, focusing on their response to the drought induced by the El Niño event of 2015–2016. Numerical simulations were performed using a plant hydrodynamic scheme (HYDRO) …

Lesson Plan: Sounds Of Your Study Site, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

In this lesson, students will conduct a survey of noise in the study site. They will begin to explore the idea that noise has an impact on the ecosystem and its inhabitants. In small groups, they will use a decibel meter, data sheet and aerial photograph of the study site to collect data on a section of the site. Students will then share this information with classmates to create a map of the noise of your schoolyard. Then students will listen to prerecorded bird songs against urban noise. They will compare the bird songs and the characteristics that make them …

Student Pages - Sounds Around Your Study Site: Conducting A Noise Survey, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

The goal of this lesson is to conduct a survey of noise at your study site. In small groups, you will use a decibel meter, data sheet and an aerial photograph of your site to collect data on a particular section. You will then share this information with your classmates to create a map of the noise of your schoolyard.

Student Pages - Answer Key - Sounds Around Your Study Site: Conducting A Noise Survey, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Behavioral Plasticity, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

In the previous lessons, students learned about the importance of noise in the urban environment. In response to urban noise as well as other characteristics of urban ecosystems, organisms modify their existing behaviors to maximize their fitness and likelihood of survival. This lesson focuses on behavioral plasticity, which is the idea that organisms’ behaviors are flexible and can be modified in response to their environment. Students complete an activity in which they investigate the plasticity of their own behaviors. The class then discusses how this analogy is similar and different compared to urban species as well as how the plasticity …

Structure Cards, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Student Pages - How Do Behaviors Impact Survival?, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

Species constantly engage in a variety of behaviors or activities that help increase their chance of survival. For example, a bird may build a nest or a coyote might communicate to other coyotes through howling. In this activity, you are going to explore the plasticity of behaviors – the ability of an organism to change or modify its behaviors based on the external conditions. Specifically, you will examine your own behaviors, but then consider how your behaviors would be similar or different from other species. You will then consider how the plasticity of an organism’s behaviors impacts its chance of …

Student Pages - Answer Key - How Do Behaviors Impact Survival?, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Developing A Persuasive Scientific Argument, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

In this lesson, students examine their data and construct an argument that answers their original research question. Students apply what they have been learning about behavioral adaptations to make sense of their bioacoustics data. After analyzing their data in groups and writing up their arguments, they present their research studies to the class, including their research question, methodology, and conclusions from their data. As part of these presentations, the class will discuss the validity of the different groups’ claims and whether they are supported by the data collected from the field as well as the various science concepts they have …

Presentation Template, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Student Pages - Developing A Persuasive Scientific Argument, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Comparing Our Results, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

The purpose of this lesson is for students to compare their findings to that of other similar studies. The goal of the lesson is two-fold. First, students should understand the big idea that organisms living in urban ecosystems have modified their behavior in response to the impacts of the humans that live there. Second, this lesson should reinforce the concept of sample size as well as help students understand that we still have many gaps in our understanding of animals in cities.

Student Pages - Comparing Our Results, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Expanding Grass-Based Agriculture On Marginal Land In The U.S. Great Plains: The Role Of Management Intensive Grazing, Tong Wang, Hailong Jin, Urs Kreuter, Richard Teague

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Life Cycle Assessment Comparing End Of Life Treatment For Paper And Plastic Bags, Olivia Tsamparlis

Honors Projects in Science and Technology

This research focuses on the effects plastic, paper, and textile grocery bags have on our environment. This project aims to answer two questions: Based on an LCA approach of the disposal stage, which is better for the environment: plastic or paper? Which type of grocery bag, paper or plastic has a higher sustainability potential based on end of life data? LCA software and assessment tools identified the risks paper, plastic, and textile waste has on the environment the disposal stage. OpenLCA was used as a platform to compile the life cycle data. To obtain the data needed, the European reference …

Assessment And Improvement Of Performance Of Septic Systems In Cold Climates (Year 1), Stu Geza, Todd Menkhaus, Lianping Li, Galen Hoogestraat

SDWRI Publications and Reports

Onsite septic systems are used for wastewater treatment for households not connected to sewers. There is a concern about surface and groundwater pollution when effectiveness becomes limited due to soil texture, soil temperature, neighborhood density, and distance to water resources. The goal of this study was to assess treatment performance of local soils and selected treatment media. Lab-scale column experiments were conducted using wastewater from Wastewater Reclamation Facility in Rapid City. The experiments were conducted inside and outside the lab to evaluate the effect of temperature. The columns outside the lab were subject to seasonal variation in temperature. Moisture content, …

Terra Dispositions: A Lithospheric Investigation Of Wet-Matter, Alec Rovensky

Architecture Senior Theses

Human intervention of the landscape by damming, filling wetlands and over-extracting is resulting in the rapid perversion of water bodies through the desertification or flooding of terrain and the ensuing contamination of reservoirs. In turn, these changes are disrupting ecosystems, reshaping geological borders, and causing irreversible damage that poses a threat to clean water supplies. As humans exert agency over local hydrology, there is scarce consideration of the ensuing ecological consequences. This thesis aims to expose the ecological transformations of territories laced with human agency by examining the residues left by water in order to deviate from the misplaced nostalgia …

Marketing Agroforestry Products: Lessons From Producers

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

This publication shares producer experiences with marketing agroforestry products, including how producers entered — or created — the markets for their products. These individual stories highlight a diversity of experiences, from family-run farms to intermediaries assisting with market access. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other federal, state, and local programs can provide capital or technical assistance to farmers at different phases of market development. The case studies in this publication highlight programs and resources available through USDA.

While marketing tree crops and non-timber forest products can be a challenge for producers, there is room for growth and opportunities …

Managing Climate Change And Weather Extremes For Nature-Based Tourism Organizations In The United States, Siyao Ma

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Weather and climate serve as profound motivators for tourism travels. Much of the United States (US) has experienced a warming trend as well as higher extreme weather frequency, and the trends are projected to be continued. Consequently, the changing climate is expected to have both direct and indirect impacts on tourism decision-making and travel patterns due to the complex relationship between climate, weather, and outdoor recreation. Climate resources capture the integrated effects of varied meteorological variables that interact with humans in different ways and can be categorized along a spectrum of quantifiable values. This dissertation proposed a Camping Climate Index …

Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes (Cnts) For Water And Wastewater Treatment: Preparation To Application, Mian Muhammad-Ahson Aslam, Hsion-Wen Kuo, Walter Den, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Sultan, Hadeed Ashraf

Water Resources Science and Technology Faculty Publications (Archived)

As the world human population and industrialization keep growing, the water availability issue has forced scientists, engineers, and legislators of water supply industries to better manage water resources. Pollutant removals from wastewaters are crucial to ensure qualities of available water resources (including natural water bodies or reclaimed waters). Diverse techniques have been developed to deal with water quality concerns. Carbon based nanomaterials, especially carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with their high specific surface area and associated adsorption sites, have drawn a special focus in environmental applications, especially water and wastewater treatment. This critical review summarizes recent developments and adsorption behaviors of CNTs …

Habitat Characteristics Or Protected Area Size: What Is More Important For The Composition And Diversity Of Mammals In Nonprotected Areas?, Wenbo Li, Jinhua Li, Peipei Yang, Bowen Li, Chao Liu, Lixing Sun

Biology Faculty Scholarship

The margins of protected areas are usually considered to have greater forest degradation, and given that most mammals live outside protected areas, researchers and conservation practitioners are increasingly recognizing that nonprotected areas must be incorporated into conservation strategy. However, the strategy used to manage these areas still involves increasing the size of protected areas, while not considering the habitat characteristics and requirements of the species. In this study, during a 3-year period, camera trap and habitat characteristic surveys were used to estimate composition, diversity, and habitat characteristics of mammals to determine habitat characteristics or increase the size of protected areas …

Observing Changes In Vegetable Production Through Alternative Agricultural Practices, Austin Grey Livingston

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Locally, responsibly grown produce is becoming more popular as consumers are shifting to organic products or those obtained at a local farmer’s market. The importance of soil health through conservation practices is increasing as the negative effects of industrial production are apparent. The over-application of synthetic fertilizers, soil erosion from wind and water, and nutrient leaching in high vegetable production areas has initiated a need for the investigation of alternative management practices. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of tillage and cover crops in the production of green beans and okra. In 2019 and 2020, …

Factors Affecting Irrigation Water Use In Southwest Missouri And Soil Microbial Response To Irrigation And Crop Residue, Shirley M. Dobbs

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Sustainable use of water resources in Southwest Missouri requires a better understanding of factors that influence groundwater use by crop producers. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of weather patterns and edaphic factors on water used for agricultural irrigation. Groundwater withdrawal data from 14 high-use agricultural irrigation wells were monitored between 2009 and 2016 as part of the Southwest Missouri Irrigation Project. Stepwise and linear regression was used to assess the relationship of weather and edaphic factors in response to annual water use from each well. Precipitation volume, number of precipitation events, average maximum and minimum …

Occupancy Of Small Mammals In Missouri’S Fragmented Prairies, Morgan Elizabeth Rodery

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Prairies once extended across much of Missouri, but now are dwindling and often surrounded by agriculture or other developed land. This has resulted in a mosaic-like landscape made up of small patches that are often isolated and distant from other patches. The theory of Island Biogeography posits that species richness of habitat patches exists as a dynamic equilibrium between colonization and extinction rates and that larger islands should contain more species than smaller islands. The purpose of this study is to examine how occupancy of a small mammal prairie specialist, the prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster, and other small mammal …

Economic And Ecosystem Impacts Of Gm Maize In South Africa, Kristiina Ala-Kokko

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

White maize in South Africa is the only staple crop produced on a widespread commercial basis for direct human consumption using genetically modified (GM) cultivars. Using a combined economic and environmental approach, we estimate the total welfare benefits attributable to GM white maize in South Africa for 2001-2018 are $694.7 million. Food security benefits attributable to GM white maize in South Africa also manifest through an average of 4.6 million additional white maize rations annually. To achieve these additional annual rations using conventional hybrid maize, the additional land required would range from 1,088 hectares in 2001 to 217,788 hectares in …

A Comparison Of The Environmental Effects Of Renewable And Non-Renewable Energies, Jordan Moore

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study presents current energy data from the United States and data from literature reviews to create life cycle assessments (LCA) for comparing the environmental impacts of wind and coal-fired energy generation and use. The environmental impacts were evaluated using emissions data, principally carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide equivalents from methane. Other environmental impacts such as avian mortality and land use were compared as well. The LCA includes four phases: raw materials, transportation, use/retail, and waste. Overall, wind energy has a smaller environmental impact than coal-fired energy for the raw materials, transportation, use/retail, and waste phases. Wind energy resulted …

Effect Of Abiotic Factors On Enzyme Activity In Brownfield Soils, Diane Hagmann

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Several factors can influence soil function, including biotic and abiotic. Biotic factors are those that are living, like microorganisms. Abiotic factors are those that are non-living, and include heavy metals, organic contaminants, pH, and nutrients. Liberty State Park in Jersey City (N.J., U.S.A), is a 100-ha brownfield was once a major rail yard that was restricted public access in 1969. The site without any intervention of humans grew a forest. The primary objective of this dissertation is to understand the impacts of both inorganic and organic contaminants on soil function in addition to provide strategies that can override the negative …