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Water Quality Study Of The Muchea Livestock Truck Wash, Simon Clarendon, David Weaver, Justin L.M Hardy, Claire Coffey, Robert Summers, David Rogers, Peta Richards

Resource management technical reports

Across Australia there is a lack of information on the quality of the water discharged from facilities that are used to wash livestock trucks. This water quality scoping study partially fills that information gap and provides a starting point for future planning, design and construction of livestock truck washes.

The study was undertaken in 2011–12 at the Western Australian Muchea Livestock Centre, and aimed to gain insights into water quality associated with the truck wash facility at that site. These insights can help to inform the planning for further construction of truck wash facilities throughout the state, and whether disposing …

Differences In Soil Water Changes And Canopy Temperature Under Varying Water × Nitrogen Sufficiency For Maize, Tsz Him Lo, Daran Rudnick, Kendall C. Dejonge, Geng Bai, Hope Njuki Nakabuye, Abia Katimbo, Yufeng Ge, Trenton E. Franz, Xin Qiao, Derek M. Heeren

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

Crop nitrogen (N) status is known to affect crop water status and crop water use. To investigate further the N effects on soil water changes and on canopy temperature, three water levels × four N levels were imposed on two growing seasons of maize in west central Nebraska, USA. Soil water changes were measured using a neutron probe, whereas canopy temperature was measured using infrared thermometers on a ground-based mobile platform. At all water levels, soil water losses over monthlong intervals were generally greater as N levels increased. Given equal water levels, early afternoon canopy temperatures were usually lower with …

Geology, Soils And Climate Of The Margaret River Wine Region, Peter J. Tille, Angela Stuart-Street, Peter S. Gardiner

All other publications

This report is an extract from the broader description and analysis of the Geology, soils and climate of Western Australia's wine regions. It expands on the brief descriptions in the second edition of 'Viticulture' (Coombe & Dry 2004) concerning the soils and landscapes of Western Australia’s main wine growing regions. We have tailored this report extract to the specific needs of the Margaret River wine region. It contains local soil names and soil-landscape zones and systems maps.

The wine industry recognises the importance of giving customers an understanding of the vines’ environment and how that may influence wine character …

Eagle Creek Post-Fire Monitoring For Water Temperature & Water Stage, Sylas Daughtrey

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

When investigating forested watersheds devastated by wildfire, the wide range of disturbance can lead to altering hydrological effects through the loss in ground cover vegetation, canopy cover, while also disrupting soil characteristics. Within the Pacific Northwest, forested drainages affected by post-fire disturbance are further altered in areas that experience seasonal rainfall and snow melt events. When looking at the post-fire sloped areas of Eagle Creek and Tanner Creek within the Columbia Gorge of Oregon, the loss of ground cover and organic matter throughout these two watersheds pose a legitimate concern for erosion events as well as hydrological changes due to …

Evaluation Of Groundwater Sodium And Sodium Uptake In Taxodium And Its Hybrids On Galveston Island, Texas, Daniel Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In September 2008, Hurricane Ike swept through the Gulf of Mexico striking the Gulf Coast, claiming hundreds of lives and causing billions of dollars in damage. The hurricane left behind elevated sea salt concentrations in the soil and groundwater, preventing the unaided return of live oaks and other species to the island. To determine effective ways to ameliorate the elevated Na⁺ concentrations in the soil, eight treatments were applied to the soil and combinations of three species of plants, live oak (Quercus virginiana), hybrid bald cypress (Taxodium ‘T406’), and yellow hibiscus (Hibiscus hamabo …

Joint Use Of Advanced Oxidation Process (Aop) And Advanced Reduction Process (Arp) For Alleviation Of Leachate Organic Matter (Lom), Ali Albalgane

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Landfilling is the dominant municipal solid waste (MSW) management option in the United States and many other countries. Leachate management and treatment represent an essential component in sustainable management of landfills. However, leachate organic matter (LOM) present in landfill leachate challenges existing treatment practices. The long-term goal of this study is to develop innovative treatment technologies for mitigation of LOM impacts for supporting sustainability in waste management and wastewater treatment. The overall objective of this thesis research aimed to investigate technical performance of the joint use of advanced oxidation process (AOP) and advanced reduction process (ARP) for treatment of mature …

Paleoenvironment Reconstruction Of The Eocene Southeastern Tethys Using Geochemistry Of Sedimentary Rocks, Liliana CalderóN Convers

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The Early Eocene hyperthermals are a series of transient global warming events that occurred between 54.09 and 52.63 Ma, and are considered as ancient analogues for future climate change. These hyperthermal events are well studied in the deep sea sites, but have not been investigated in the eastern Tethys Ocean. Here, we report new major and trace element geochemistry and stable carbon isotope data of the Early Eocene strata deposited in a shallow marine foreland basin prior to the main stage of India-Asian continent collision at Qumiba section in the Tingri County, southern Tibet. These geochemical data are used to …

Water Quality And Management Challenges In Urban New Jersey, Alessandra Rossi

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Exacerbation of extreme weather events and increasing urbanization are facilitating the pathway of pollutants towards the waterbodies with freshwater ecosystems being impacted more than terrestrial and marine ecosystems by anthropogenic stressors. We addressed here the three major threats to freshwater ecosystems, pathogens, litter, and eutrophication, integrating scientific findings with management inputs at the watershed level. We evaluated the relationship between environmental variables measurements and Escherichia coli counts with the intent to develop equations capable of predicting near-real-time E. coli concentrations in two riverine ecosystems to help decision makers in assessments of recreational safety. Results showed that the cumulative rainfall for …

Benthic Biological Monitoring Of The Elizabeth River Watershed (1999 And 2019), Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

A study of the macrobenthic communities of the Elizabeth River watershed was conducted in summer 1999 and again in summer 2019 – a 20-year span. The primary objective of the Benthic Biological Monitoring Program of the Elizabeth River watershed was to characterize the ecological condition of regional areas of the tidal waters of the Elizabeth River watershed as indicated by the structure of the benthic communities. These characterizations are based upon application of the Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (BIBI) developed for the Chesapeake Bay to five primary strata - the Mainstem of the river, the Lafayette River, …

The Legacy Of Mining In Southwest Missouri: Past And Present Conditions Of The Tri-State Mining District, Anastasia M C Mcclanahan

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The historic Tri-State Mining District (TSMD) of southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma has a history of lead and zinc mining that extended over a hundred years. During the district’s peak production period, the TSMD was one of the world’s largest producers of lead and zinc. The mining activities in the TSMD produced economic growth that supported the local communities and were essential to the victory of the Allied Forces during World War I and World War II. Beginning in the 1920s, the mining activities in the district slowly began to cease due to depletion of metal ores and …

Evaluating Particulate Matter 2.5 In The Yangtze River Delta, Muhammad Abdullah

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM_2.5) is a growing concern in industrialized countries. In China, high concentrations of PM_2.5 are causing devastating health and environmental effects for the people living there. Coal-burning for domestic and industrial purposes is the main culprit for decreasing air quality in China. The focus of this paper is on the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) located on the eastern coast of China. Hourly PM_2.5 readings from March 2015 to June 2016 were obtained from 125 air quality monitoring stations (AQMS) in 23 cities in the YRD. In this study, PM_2.5 readings were examined …

Plant Science Decadal Vision 2020–2030: Reimagining The Potential Of Plants For A Healthy And Sustainable Future, Natalie Henkhaus, Madelaine Bartlett, David Gang, Rebecca Grumet, Ingrid Jordon‐Thaden, Argelia Lorence, Eric Lyons, Samantha Miller, Seth Murray, Andrew Nelson, Chelsea Specht, Brett Tyler, Thomas Wentworth, David Ackerly, David Baltensperger, Philip Benfey, James Birchler, Sreekala Chellamma, Roslyn Crowder, Michael Donoghue, Jose Pablo Dundore‐Arias, Jacqueline Fletcher, Valerie Fraser, Kelly Gillespie, Lonnie Guralnick, Elizabeth Haswell, Mitchell Hunter, Shawn Kaeppler, Stefan Kepinski, Fay‐Wei Li, Sally Mackenzie, Lucinda Mcdade, David Stern

Arkansas Biosciences Institute

Plants, and the biological systems around them, are key to the future health of the planet and its inhabitants. The Plant Science Decadal Vision 2020–2030 frames our ability to perform vital and far-reaching research in plant systems sciences, essential to how we value participants and apply emerging technologies. We outline a comprehensive vision for addressing some of our most pressing global problems through discovery, practical applications, and education. The Decadal Vision was developed by the participants at the Plant Summit 2019, a community event organized by the Plant Science Research Network. The Decadal Vision describes a holistic vision for the …

An Evaluation Of Bird And Bat Mortality At Wind Turbines In The Northeastern United States, Daniel Y. Choi, Thomas W. Wittig, Bryan M. Kluever

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wind energy offers substantial environmental benefits, but wind facilities can negatively impact wildlife, including birds and bats. Researchers and managers have made major efforts to chronicle bird and bat mortality associated with wind facilities, but few studies have examined the patterns and underlying mechanisms of spatial patterns of fatalities at wind facilities. Understanding the horizontal fall distance between a carcass and the nearest turbine pole is important in designing effective search protocols and estimating total mortality. We explored patterns in taxonomic composition and fall distance of bird and bat carcasses at wind facilities in the Northeastern United States using publicly …

Estimation Of Wildlife Damage From Federal Crop Insurance Data, Sophie Mckee, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Aaron M. Anderson

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

BACKGROUND: Wildlife damage to crops is a persistent and costly problem for many farmers in the USA. Most existing estimates of crop damage have relied on direct assessment methods such as field studies conducted by trained biologists or surveys distributed to farmers. In this paper, we describe a new method of estimating wildlife damage that exploits federal crop insurance data. We focused our study on four crops: corn, soybean, wheat, and cotton, chosen because of their economic importance and their vulnerability to wildlife damage.

RESULTS: We determined crop-raiding hot spots across the USA over the 2015–2019 period and identified the …

Climate Change And Market-Based Insurance Feedbacks, Eric R. Holley, Adam Liska, Cory Walters, Geoffrey C. Friesen, Michael Hayes, Max J. Rudolph, Donald A. Wilhite

Adam Liska Papers

Climatic events have accounted for 91% of $1.05 trillion in insured costs for global catastrophic events from 1980 to 2016. Costs are driven by socio-economic development and increased frequency and severity of climatic disasters driven by climate change. Government policies to reduce systemic risk (e.g., cap-and-trade, carbon tax) have been a predominant approach for mitigation and adaptation. Alternatively, market-based incentives for climate change adaptation and mitigation already operate via the insurance industry to lessen impacts on society. Insurance feedbacks include changes in 1) premiums and insurance policies, 2) non-coverage, and 3) policy making and litigation. Alongside government policies, insurance feedbacks …

Influence Of Landscape Factors On Wildlife Presence And Road Mitigation Structure Performance, Taylor M. Hopkins

Theses and Dissertations

There are roughly 80 ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) remaining in the United States, with the entire population constrained to south Texas, with roadkill being a predominant source of mortality. To prevent additional roadkill and maintain wildlife movement, Texas Department of Transportation constructed 11.9 kilometers of wildlife exclusion fencing, 5 wildlife crossing structures (WCS), and 18 wildlife guards on State Highway 100. This thesis focused on determining the effort required for a control-impact monitoring study, the influence of biotic and abiotic factors around the roadway on wildlife presence, and the performance of mitigation structures and the road mitigation corridor. This …

Impact Of Disturbance Regimes On Community And Landscape Biodiversity In Atlantic Coastal Pine Barren Ecoregion Streams, Sean T. Mccanty

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Streams are dynamic systems shaped by geographic location, hydrology, riparian vegetation, and in-stream habitat. Furthermore, ecosystem disturbance plays a major role in structuring stream communities and ecosystem processes. Disturbances include natural occurrences, such as flooding, drought, and fire events and anthropogenic disturbances such as land use changes, damming, and pollution. Agricultural use acts as a press disturbance regime, homogenizing the surrounding landscape and simplifying in-stream habitat, leaving legacy effects after farming ceases. Active restoration is intended to ameliorate these effects by reintroducing variation, with the goal of shifting the ecosystem into a more diverse and natural state. The act of …

Fate And Transport Of Phosphorus-Containing Land-Applied Swine Slurry In A Karst Watershed, A. N. Sharpley, M. B. Daniels, K. R. Brye, K. Vandevender, J. Burke, L G. Berry, P. Webb

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Phosphorus distribution in pasture soils underlain with karst geology was determined on a 0.10-ha grid in 2014, 2016, and 2018. Two fields (Fields 1 and 12) received swine slurry from a concentrated animal feeding operation, whereas another (Field 5) received mineral fertilizer. All fields were grazed by cattle and periodically hayed. Mean Mehlich-3 extractable P in the top 10 cm increased (p ≤ .05 level) for Fields 1 (59–91 mg kg⁻¹) and 12 (63–122 mg kg⁻¹) between 2014 and 2018, with little change for Field 5 (45–47 mg kg⁻¹). Over the 5-yr monitoring …

Pathogens, Endosymbionts, And Blood-Meal Sources Of Host-Seeking Ticks In The Fast-Changing Maasai Mara Wildlife Ecosystem, Joseph Wang’Ang’A Oundo, Jandouwe Villinger, Maamun Jeneby, George Ong’Amo, Moses Yongo Otiende, Edward Edmond Makhulu, Ali Abdulahi Musa, Daniel Obado Ouso, Lillian Wambua

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The role of questing ticks in the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR), an ecosystem with intensified human-wildlife-livestock interactions, remains poorly understood. We surveyed the diversity of questing ticks, their blood-meal hosts, and tick-borne pathogens to understand potential effects on human and livestock health. By flagging and hand-picking from vegetation in 25 localities, we collected 1,465 host-seeking ticks, mostly Rhipicephalus and Amblyomma species identified by morphology and molecular analysis. We used PCR with high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis and sequencing to identify Anaplasma, Babesia, Coxiella, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, and Theileria pathogens and blood-meal remnants in 231 tick …

Testing Flowering Perennial Plants In A Bermudagrass (Cynodon Spp.) Lawn, Paige Elizabeth Boyle, Michelle Wisdom

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Most pollinating insects require a season-long succession of floral resources to fulfill life-cycle requirements. Incorporating forbs into turfgrass sites may create a season-long sequence of flowers to support foraging pollinators. However, persistence of forbs in warm-season turfgrasses such as bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) may be affected by the competitive nature of the turfgrass and routine management practices such as mowing. A 2-year study was conducted to evaluate seven forbs (Bellis perennis L., Lotus corniculatus L., Prunella vulgaris L., Trifolium fragiferum L. ‘Fresa’, Trifolium repens L. ‘Durana’ and ‘Resolute’, Trifolium subterraneum L.) for persistence and ability to produce floral resources …

The Assessment Of Co2 Exposures, Workload Demands, And Musculoskeletal Disorder Risk On Heart Rate For Select Craft Brewery Job Tasks, David L. Huizen

Dissertations

Americans have embraced craft beer, and the ensuing demand has resulted in an ever-increasing number of craft breweries opening over the past 20 years. Craft brewers are generally small employers and, as such, lack the resources necessary to address the safety and health of their employees adequately. Brewers face many safety and health hazards in their work environment. These hazards include exposures to carbon dioxide (CO₂), workload demand, and MSD risk. It is essential to evaluate these hazards in craft breweries as they handle carbon dioxide (CO₂) differently than large breweries by having the CO_{2 …}

Spatial Ecology And Resource Selection Of Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Ewes In A Prairie Badlands Population, Erin Wood

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

The basic spatial ecology and habitat relationships of female bighorn sheep in Nebraska are poorly understood. Establishing seasonal patterns of space use and resource selection for this population at the margin of their historical and current range addresses a key knowledge gap and provides important baseline information for ongoing conservation efforts in Nebraska. We deployed GPS radio-collars on 56 adult ewes in western Nebraska to quantify seasonal space use, movements, and resource selection of ewes. To investigate spatial ecology, we quantified movements of ewes and the factors that influence home range size, seasonal use, and spatial stability across seasons. Home …

Using Return Intervals And Nutrient Spiraling To Examine The 2019 Nebraska Flood, Alexa Davis

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

In March of 2019, flooding levels in many parts of Nebraska was the worst that streams and rivers had in decades, and in some locations, on record. Theses historic floods present an optimal case study to examine how current technological resources can be used to enhance our understanding of floods and how these floods impact in situ stream ecosystem processes like nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. Currently, there are only a few resources available to quantify the extent of floods; for my thesis, I will focus on satellite imagery and in situ water level gages. Unfortunately, due to technical issues with …

Evaluation Of Waste Management Facilities Through Land-Based Marine Litter Data: Case Study Of Kenjeran Beach, Surabaya, Rizal Bahri, Rachmaniyah Rachmaniyah, Darjati Darjati

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Marine litter surveys can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of policies to prevent litter pollution. This study aims to use land-based marine litter distribution data to evaluate the waste management facilities at Kenjeran Beach, Surabaya. The survey was carried out by systematically dividing 120 m length of the beach into five transects, with each transect having a length of 20 m. The litter was collected from the highest strandline, three times within three weeks. The collected litter was identified by count, weight, density, material, and object category. The waste management facilities at the beach, consisting of waste bins and …

Collaborative Research: Network Cluster: Dust In The Critical Zone From The Great Basin To The Rocky Mountains, Janice Brahney

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Bat Activity In A Southeast Nebraska Agricultural Landscape, Christopher Fill

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

Intensive agriculture is associated with biodiversity loss and species decline. Yet wild species, such as bats, may provide critical ecosystem services to agriculture, even in transformed landscapes. In the United States, bats have been estimated to save the agricultural industry billions of dollars per year. However, white-nose syndrome and habitat loss have led to the decline of many bat species in North America, including the federally threatened northern long-eared bat, Myotis septentrionalis.

To better evaluate the effectiveness of these pest-controlling services, and to increase understanding of bat foraging behavior in these extreme landscapes, I deployed 11 grids of 24 detectors, …

A Preliminary Investigation Of The Impact Of Forest Management Practices On Microhabitat Abiotic Variables In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Jasmine Williamson, Allison Bailey, Jacob Lougee, David Patterson, Jessica Patterson

Georgia Journal of Science

Existing research has demonstrated that forest management practices (e.g., clear-cutting, planting) can dramatically impact animal communities. This is particularly the case with amphibian populations due to their sensitivity to microhabitat alterations. However, few studies have investigated the manner by which forest management practices impact the abiotic variables most relevant to healthy amphibian populations. In this study we investigated how spatially localized forest management practices (i.e., at the scale of hundreds of meters) alter the microhabitat variables that have been shown important to amphibian population distributions. We assessed the relationship between forest composition and microhabitat abiotic variables across three localities with …

Beneficial Effect Of Injected Air Into Subsurface Drip Irrigation (Sdi) On Plant Growth Using Runoff From A Feedlot, D. Dissanayake

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

Due to water scarcity and increasing food demand, nonconventional water sources (e.g., human and animal wastewater) represent a valuable alternative to traditional water resources for agricultural use. Among these alternatives, treated animal wastewater, particularly feedlot runoff may represent a valuable solution in states like Nebraska due to its abundance. Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) is a low-pressure micro-irrigation system that delivers water to the crop root zone through buried drip tapes with embedded emitters at fixed intervals. Despite multiple advantages (great water application uniformity, high water use efficiency, and improve fertilizer application), SDI can lead to poor aeration in the rhizosphere …

Statement Of World Aquatic Scientific Societies On The Need To Take Urgent Action Against Human-Caused Climate Change, Based On Scientific Evidence [Dear Colleague Letter], Scott A. Bonar, Brian R. Murphy, Leanne H. Roulson, Jesse T. Trushenski, Douglas J. Austen, Michael Edward Douglas

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Dear Colleague Letter from the American Fisheries Society to fellow scientific societies, July 25, 2020, about the urgent need for responsive collective action to mitigate impending radical climate change. Includes the Statement of World Aquatic Scientific Societies on the Need to Take Urgent Action Against Human-Caused Climate Change, Based on Scientific Evidence, emphasizing the importance of aquatic ecosystems. Includes extensive citations and notes.

"Water is the most important natural resource on Earth as it is vital for life. Aquatic ecosystems, freshwater or marine, provide multiple benefits to human society, such as provisioning of oxygen, food, drinking water, genetic resources; regulation …

Effects Of Freshwater Crayfish On Influenza A Virus Persistence In Water, J. Jeffrey Root, Jeremy W. Ellis, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Several investigations have recently assessed the ability of some aquatic invertebrates to act as tools for avian influenza A virus (IAV) surveillance as well as their potential role(s) in IAV ecology. Because of this, as well as the high IAV seroprevalence rates noted in select mesocarnivores that commonly inhabit aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats, we evaluated the effects that freshwater crayfish have on IAV in water at three dose levels and monitored for the presence of IAV in crayfish tissues (gill and green gland) and haemolymph at multiple time points. At relatively high, medium 432 and low (approximately 10 , 10 …