Digital Commons Network^™

Diets Of Double-Crested Cormorants In The Lake Winnebago System, Wisconsin, Ryan P. Koenigs, Daniel J. Dembkowski, Charles D. Lovell, Daniel A. Isermann, Adam D. Nickel

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorox auritus Lesson (cormorant) populations have increased throughout the Great Lakes region of North America causing concern related to the impact of cormorant predation on fish communities. A recent decline in yellow perch Perca flavescens (Mitchill) abundance within the Lake Winnebago System, Wisconsin, USA, prompted an assessment of cormorant diets to evaluate potential effects of cormorant predation on the sportfish community. Diets were collected from 883 cormorants (417 from Lake Winnebago and 466 from Lake Butte des Morts) between 2015 and 2017. Cormorant diets on both waterbodies consisted mostly of freshwater drum Aplodinotus grunniens Rafinesque and gizzard shad …

Evaluation Of A Warfarin Bait For Controlling Invasive Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa), James C. Beasley, Lindsay M. Clontz, Allison Rakowski, Nathan P. Snow, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

BACKGROUND: Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) cause widespread environmental and economic damage, and as a result are subjected to extensive control. Current management strategies have proven insufficient, and there is growing interest in use of toxicants to control invasive populations of this species. In 2017 a low-dose warfarin bait was federally approved for use in controlling wild pigs in the United States. However, no states have allowed use of this bait due to unanswered questions regarding welfare concerns, field efficacy, and non-target impacts.

RESULTS: All captive wild pigs fed 0.005% warfarin baits in no choice feeding trials succumbed in an average …

Using Dialogue To Contextualize Culture, Ecosystem Services, And Cultural Ecosystem Services, Karen Allen, Celia Castellano, Sophia Pessagno

Open Access Fund Publications

We propose an alternative methodology for engaging with multifaceted cultural ecosystem services (CES) in the Global South. We explore the use of dialogue as a tool for understanding CES in situ, while developing shared action steps toward CES conservation among stakeholders. We held six dialogue workshops in the rural Central Pacific region of Costa Rica that were designed to foster understanding of shared community values for ecosystem services and associated conservation challenges. In two of the workshops, we employed model-based reasoning through which we used maps as boundary negotiating objects to nurture dialogue on CES values, observations, and concerns. In …

Anti-Science Ideology, Shi-Ling Hsu

Scholarly Publications

Political attacks against scientists and scientific research are nothing new, though the Trump Administration appears to have increased both the breadth and the depth of such attacks. What is new, it seems, are attacks on science that are not in service of protecting any identifiable regulated industry. Under the Trump Administration, the attacks on science are more systemic, and aimed more at reducing scientific capacity in the federal government, rather than mere one-off policy interventions to help an individual industry.

This Article suggests that the Trump Administration, more than previous administrations, has sought to use science as part of a …

The Role Of Culture In Land System Science, Kelly Hopping

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

Land system science (LSS) has substantially advanced understanding of land dynamics throughout the world. However, studies that explicitly address the causative role of culture in land systems have been fairly limited relative to those examining other structural dimensions (e.g. markets, policies, climate). In this paper, we aim to start a discussion on how to better include culture in LSS. Through four examples, we show how aspects of culture influence land systems in myriad ways. Building on existing causal land system models, we propose a conceptual framework for the role of culture in land use and summarize promising methodological innovations for …

Tallgrass Prairie Center 2020-2021 Highlights, University Of Northern Iowa. Tallgrass Prairie Center.

Annual Reports

Contents:

--- Staff
--- From Our Director
--- Research and Restoration: Testing new methods for large-scale prairie reconstruction
--- Plant Materials: Iowa-source genetic diversity for Iowa’s roadsides and beyond
--- Iowa Roadside Management: Enhancing our public roadsides
--- Prairie on Farms: Making prairie practical
--- Irvine Prairie
--- Green Iowa AmericCorps: Land and Water Stewards expand TPC capacity
--- UNI Student Research: Can farmers’ favorite conservation program save the monarch?
--- Friend of the TPC and More
--- TPC Transitions
--- Community Engagement Coordinator: Anne Phillips
--- Iowa STEM Teacher Extern: Matt Switzer
--- Artist-in-Residence: Professor Erin Anfinson shows us …

Effects Of Salt Runoff On Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Colonies, Kendra Fink

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Aquatic macroinvertebrates bridge the gap in part between primary and secondary consumers, making them ecologically important for most aquatic systems. They are used as biotic indicators for water quality due to their sensitivity to pollutants and may be affected, specifically, by chloride ion concentrations in the water. Water quality can be evaluated by looking at species compositions and their respective tolerance values. To determine long-term effects of road salt on macroinvertebrate colonies, a total of 338 identified macroinvertebrates of 10 families (two generalized to class) at 9 sites were collected from before, after, and between three bridges on Turtle River …

Comparative Analysis Of Water Quality Monitoring Procedures In A Small, Eutrophic Lake, South-Central Minnesota, Owen Lott

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Understanding the spatial and temporal distribution of water quality variables in lakes is vital for assessing their overall health. So vital in fact, that numerous government agencies are tasked with testing and maintaining a healthy public surface water supply. This study focuses primarily on the efficacy of one of such agency’s procedure for monitoring surface water quality. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA) procedure for water quality testing does not account for neither the spatial nor temporal variability of water quality in small Minnesota lakes, including the lake at the center of this study, Bass Lake. Currently, the MPCA assumes …

Ecohydrology Of Epiphytes: Modelling Water Balance, Cam Photosynthesis, And Their Climate Impacts, Gretta Miller, Samantha Hartzell, Amilcare Porporato

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Epiphytes are aerial plants, often characterized by CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism) photosynthesis, which make up a significant portion of the biomass in some rainforests. Their unique characteristics have not yet been included in ecohydrological models, and their potential impact on local hydrometeorology is largely unexplored. This work introduces a water balance model for epiphytes, which adapts the soil‐plant‐atmosphere continuum model to represent a plant system without soil and couples it to the Photo3 photosynthesis model, which includes CAM photosynthesis. The model, which is parameterized with field data of Guzmania monostachia, accurately captures the observed hydraulic and photosynthetic behaviour of …

Pheasant Ecology In An Agricultural Landscape Of South Dakota, Sprih Harsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Habitat loss and fragmentation are the greatest threats to wildlife conservation. Grasslands are among the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. The large-scale conversion of North American grasslands to cultivation has been strongly associated with declines of grassland bird populations. The ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a common grassland bird which is negatively impacted by the conversion of grassland to cropland. Though pheasants are non-native to South Dakota, they have become naturalized in most of the state. However, with increases in agricultural intensification in South Dakota, indices of pheasant abundance from brood route surveys suggest that pheasant populations have declined to historically …

An Evaluation Of The Bighorn Sheep Population In Badlands National Park, Austin J. Wieseler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within the last century, bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in the badlands ecosystem of western South Dakota have been subjected to complete extirpation, reintroduction, disease die-offs, genetic bottlenecking, and population augmentation. Subsequently, the population in Badlands National Park (BNP) appears to have recovered, but it was unknown to what degree past events had influenced the population. From 2017-2019, we conducted research on 5 subherds within 2 management units in BNP to 1) survey for the presence of respiratory pathogens and estimate the prevalence of other potentially infectious diseases; 2) assess adult and lamb survival and cause-specific mortality; 3) estimate population size …

A Hydrologic Climate Study For An Arid Region, Ali Alsubeai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Water is the most precious natural resource in arid regions due to the limitation of water resources, expanding population, and increasing volumes of industrial and domestic waste. The purpose of this research was to evaluate methods to estimate water quantity in an arid region. The research consisted of three separate studies. In the first study, hydrologic models used to estimate water quantity were evaluated for suitability of use in arid regions. Most hydrologic models that have been used in arid regions were originally developed for humid regions. Rainfall events in arid regions can be characterized as short-term, high intense rainstorms …

Witnessing Pandora: Doing “Undone Science” At Chicken Sanctuaries, Heather Rosenfeld

Environmental Science and Policy: Faculty Publications

Farmed animal sanctuaries rescue, rehabilitate, and care for animals bred for use in agriculture. Because of the structure of veterinary training, regulations on species considered agricultural, and for other reasons, rescued animals such as chickens fall out of spaces of veterinary care and medical knowledge production. Given these knowledge and research gaps, this paper investigates how sanctuaries develop medical knowledge about chickens, focusing on hens bred for egg production. I develop the concept of “witnessing” as it has been used in science studies, feminist theory, and animal activism, arguing that sanctuary science and medicine can be understood as queer witnessing. …

Controls On No3-N Dynamics In The Upper Clark Fork River, Montana, Jacob Anthony Prater

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Studies relating ecosystem energetics to nutrient uptake in streams have generally found respiration to be a more dominant control on nutrient dynamics relative to primary production due to light limitation in most low-order systems. In this study, I measured biomass, hydrology, metabolism, and dissolved solutes in an open-canopy mid-order river located in western MT. Daily stream metabolism was modeled using a modified single-station, open-channel method, and measures of dissolved solutes were evaluated at both local and reach scales to examine how point-measures and those integrated through space represent biogeochemical behavior. Metabolic rates and standing stocks of benthic organic matter were …

2020 Kentucky River Watershed Watch: Annual Report, Malissa Mcalister, Steven Evans

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

The Quantitative Assessment Of Pond Scum: An Examination Of The Biogeochemistry Of Phosphorus Cycling In The Belgrade Lakes, Abbey M. Sykes

Honors Theses

The internal recycling phosphorus in freshwater lake bottom sediments represents a significant source of hypolimnetic phosphorus (P) release for many of Maine’s lakes. In summer months, Maine lakes often thermally stratify and the lake hypolimnion develops anoxia, leading to a reduction in redox potential at the sediment-water interface. These reducing conditions facilitate the reductive dissolution of ferric iron, and, since phosphorus is often present in freshwater lake sediments as solid FeOOH-PO₄ complexes, results in release of soluble phosphorus into the water column. Our current study presents field and laboratory data from sediment fractionation extractions designed to quantify concentrations of …

Artificial Reefs: A History, A Science, A Technology, Mairead D. Farrell

Honors Theses

Over the past 60 years, artificial reefs have expanded beyond the definition of a technology, and in turn have developed into a unique branch of marine science. To better emphasize this growth and separation, a brief history of artificial reef development and usage in chapter two shows some of the key shifts over time in this technology’s purpose and the materials used to achieve that goal. Likewise, to indicate the scientific development of artificial reefs as a branch of marine science, their usage for discovery and research is recorded in chapter three, along with the exponential increase in published scientific …

Health Risk Assessment Of Burmese Related To Heavy Metal Contamination In Ginger From Local Markets In Myanmar And Thailand, May Ko Ko

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Heavy metals are naturally present in the soil, but geologic and anthropogenic activities raise their concentrations to harmful levels for both plants and animals. This study aims 1) to determine the concentrations of heavy metals (As, Cu, Ni, Cd, Cr, and Pb) in ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) from the wholesale markets of Bangkok, Thailand, and from Yangon, Myanmar, and 2) to access cancer and noncancer risks of Burmese related to the consumption of heavy metal contaminated ginger. The online questionnaire was used to collect personal information and consumption rate. ICP-MS was used to investigate As, Cu, Ni, Cd, Cr, and …

Implementing Connectivity Conservation In Canada, Christopher J. Lemieux, Aerin L. Jacob, Paul A. Gray

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Sympatric Bobcats (Lynx Rufus) And Coyotes (Canis Latrans) In An Agricultural Landscape, Marlin M. Dart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bobcat (Lynx rufus) populations experienced declines in the Midwest during the 20th century due to land conversion for agriculture and over exploitation and were practically nonexistent in areas by the 1970-80s. Populations have been recovering following changes in land-use practices and habitat improvement. Eastern South Dakota was closed to bobcat harvest in 1977 but reopened in 2012 to select counties. Bobcats are elusive, have large home ranges, and occur at low densities, making monitoring their populations difficult. Camera trapping is an effective tool for monitoring elusive carnivores but can be burdened by low detection rates. Researchers often employ …

Revegetating Salt-Impacted Soils In The Northern Great Plains, Abigail P. Blanchard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the northern Great Plains (NGP), an estimated 10.6 million hectares of land are affected by naturally occurring salt-impacted soil. Naturally occurring salt impaction results when rainfall causes salts in parent material to move upward through the soil profile and remain in the root zone causing osmotic and ionic stress, negatively affecting seed imbibition, germination, and plant growth. Common methods to remediate saltimpacted soils were developed in the irrigated soils of the Southwestern U.S., are ineffective in the non-irrigated soils of the NGP, and can exacerbate the problem. Therefore, new methods to remediate salt-impacted soil in the NGP are needed. …

Effects Of Predator Management And Parasitism On Over-Water Nesting Diving Duck Production In Southwestern Manitoba, Trenton E. Rohrer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nest survival of upland nesting waterfowl (e.g., mallard [Anas platyrhynchos], blue-winged teal [Anas discors]) has been studied extensively in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America. Conversely, over-water nesting diving ducks’ nest survival is poorly understood, likely because over-water nests are more challenging to find, may be less concentrated, and searching for these nests is physically demanding. Nest depredation is considered a leading cause of duck nest failure and is considered a limiting factor on upland nesting waterfowl production in the PPR. Similar factors limiting upland nesting duck production may limit over-water nesting duck productivity, but studies of this …

A Speciation Modeling Study Of Heavy Metal Adsorption To Plastic In Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Units, Kaitlyn Hague

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microplastics are an emerging concern due to their harmful effect to organisms and their ability to facilitate transport of contaminants including heavy metals. Microplastics can enter the environment through wastewater treatment plants, landfill leachate, and littering. Once in the environment microplastics can be distributed throughout rivers, the ocean, and lakes. In order to understand the adsorption of heavy metals to microplastics a geochemical modeling study was completed using Visual Minteq. Lab tests were completed to better understand what constituents are available in wastewater at four different locations: influent, clarifiers, digesters, and effluent. These constituents were then used to observe how …

Heat Stress During Larval Stages On Coral Survivorship For M. Capitata, Sarah Woo

Pitzer Senior Theses

Very little is known about how heat stress during larvae stages effect larvae survivorship, early coral recruit settlement, and later stage coral survivorship. We focused on determining how heat stress during larvae stages effected Montipora capitata survivorship over time. After thermally stressing larvae, we asked how many larvae survived the treatment, how the treatment affected settlement, how many larvae survived the heat treatment but did not settle, and later stage coral survivorship experienced residual effects from the heat stress treatment. We exposed coral larvae to ambient seawater temperatures at 30°C and heated seawater temperatures to 34°C for an hour and …

Towards An Improved Understanding Of Biogeochemical Processes Across Surface-Groundwater Interactions In Intermittent Rivers And Ephemeral Streams, Lluís Gómez-Gener

Articles

Surface-groundwater interactions in intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), waterways which do not flow year-round, are spatially and temporally dynamic because of alternations between flowing, non-flowing and dry hydrological states. Interactions between surface and groundwater often create mixing zones with distinct redox gradients, potentially driving high rates of carbon and nutrient cycling. Yet a complete understanding of how underlying biogeochemical processes across surface-groundwater flowpaths in IRES differ among various hydrological states remains elusive. Here, we present a conceptual framework relating spatial and temporal hydrological variability in surface water-groundwater interactions to biogeochemical processing hotspots in IRES. We combine a review of …

Poised For Change: University Students Are Positively Disposed Toward Food Waste Diversion And Decrease Individual Food Waste After Programming, Manar Arica Alattar, Jennifer L. Morse

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Eaters (consumers of food) are responsible for 60% of waste along the food cycle in developed countries. Programs that target individual and household food waste behavior change are essential to addressing such waste. School cafeterias worldwide offer an opportune microcosm in which to educate on food and nutrition skills and change related behavior. No Scrap Left Behind, a cafeteria food waste diversion program, was developed, piloted, and assessed based on measures of both direct and indirect food waste behavior, and attitudes, knowledge, and emotions related to food waste. Participants had positive attitudes towards food waste reduction, engaged in food waste …

Sustainability Of Hard Apple Cider : An Environmental And Socio-Economic Assessment, Meghann N. Smith

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Agricultural sustainability is a fundamental requirement for environmental conservation, food production, and food security. In order to achieve agricultural sustainability, it is essential that policies are put in place to support sustainable practices, and that agricultural institutions are provided access supporting knowledge and technology. With this integral support, stakeholders can be better prepared to avoid issues such as eroding biodiversity and environmental quality as well as prepare for the inevitable challenges of climate change. This dissertation investigates the challenges and opportunities involved with the development of the hard apple cider industry in the United States’ Northeast. Hard apple cider is …

The Case Of Environmental Education Of Children, Mary Greagan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Invasive species are one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. Humans are one of the most pervasive vectors of invasive species spread which can be accelerated through different behaviors and pathways as a result of a lack of education and understanding. One of the most effective management efforts undertaken to fight invasive species spread and prevent further infestations is through education and advocacy. Currently, there are several educational resources dedicated to invasive species history, identification, and prevention. These resources range from school curriculums created for State School systems, to regional and national toolkits that contain lessons, identification resources, and activities …

Legacy And Emerging Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances : Analysis, Environmental Distribution, And Bioconcentration, Richard Anthony Brase

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) constitute a broad class of anthropogenic chemicals that have been used in numerous industrial and consumer-product applications since the late 1940s. The environmental persistence of these compounds in combination with their widespread commercial use have led PFAS to be recognized as contaminants of concern on the global scale. Despite regulatory efforts calling for the decreased use of certain perfluorocarboxylic and -sulfonic acids referred to as “legacy” PFAS, these compounds continue to be detected in both environmental and biological matrices. Moreover, manufacturers have begun to replace the legacy PFAS with emerging alternatives for which the regulations …

Residual Spatial Autocorrelation In Macroecological And Biogeographical Modeling: A Review, Guetchine Gaspard

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Macroecological and biogeographical modelers have predicted the distribution of species across space relying on the relationship between biotic processes and environmental variables. Such a method employs data associated, for instance, with species abundance or presence/absence, climate, geomorphology, and soils. Statistical analyses found in previous studies have highlighted the importance of accounting for the effects of spatial autocorrelation (SAC), which indicates a level of dependence between pairs of nearby observations. A consensus has existed that residual spatial autocorrelation (rSAC) can substantially impact modeling processes and inferences. However, more emphasis should be put on identifying the sources of rSAC and the degree …