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Spatial And Temporal Genetic Structure Of Winter-Run Steelhead (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Returning To The Mad River, California, Steven R. Fong

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Distinct populations of steelhead in the wild are in decline. The propagation of steelhead in hatcheries has been used to boost population numbers for recreational fisheries and for use in conservation. However, hatchery breeding practices of steelhead can result in changes in genetic structure. I investigated the genetic structure of winter-run steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) returning to the Mad River, California, where a hatchery has been used enhance production for recreational fisheries since 1971. Genetic variability in Mad River steelhead was evaluated using 96 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among 4203 individuals, including the Mad River and nearby locations, and …

Top 30 Cm Soil C Org Stocks, Isotopic C Org Signature (13dc) And Fine Sediment Content (Silt And Clay %) Estimated In Soil Cores Sampled In Seagrass Meadows Around Australia, Ines Mazarrasa, Paul Lavery, Carlos M. Duarte, Anna Lafratta, Catherine E. Lovelock, Peter I. Macreadie, Jimena Samper-Villarreal, Cristian Salinas, Christian Sanders, Stacey Trevathan-Tackett, Mary Young, Andy Steven, Oscar Serrano

Research Datasets

This database contains data on top 30 cm soil biogeochemical properties from soil cores (minimum length of 30 cm) sampled in seagrass (n=201 cores) and adjacent unvegetated patches (n=39) around Australia.

Average biogeochemical properties per core along with information about type of environment, biotic characteristics and environmental conditions.

In particular, the variables included in sheet 1 are:

Core ID (column A): core code

Location (column B): name of the region of the sampling site.

Latitude / Longitude (columns C, D): latitude and longitude

Bioregion (column E): classified the sampling sites according to their location in Temperate-Southern …

Personal Carbon Trading, Carbon-Knowledge Management And Their Influence On Environmental Sustainability In Thailand, Dadang Dally, Kurhayadi, Yeti Rohayati, Soheil Kazemian

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, Econjournals. All rights reserved. The relationship between personal carbon trading, carbon knowledge management and their impact on the environmental sustainability has got very little attention. Inspired from this gap in the literature, present research is exploring the relationship between carbon trading, carbon knowledge and their combine impact on sustainability of the natural environment in Thailand. A questionnaire is designed based on the various factors of both exogeneous and endogenous variables of the study. A sample of 251 respondents was collected for both measurement and structural equation models. Additionally, some descriptive measures are also calculated and presented which provide …

Multi-Omics Strategies For Decoding Smoke-Assisted Germination Pathways And Seed Vigour, Utpal Bose, Angéla Juhász, James A. Broadbent, Setsuko Komatsu, Michelle L. Colgrave

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The success of seed germination and the successful establishment of seedlings across diverse environmental conditions depends on seed vigour, which is of both economic and ecologic importance. The smoke-derived exogenous compound karrikins (KARs) and the endogenous plant hormone strigolactone (SL) are two classes of butanolide-containing molecules that follow highly similar signalling pathways to control diverse biological activities in plants. Unravelling the precise mode-of-action of these two classes of molecules in model species has been a key research objective. However, the specific and dynamic expression of biomolecules upon stimulation by these signalling …

Evaluating Environmental Impact Assessment Report Quality In South African National Parks, Luke A. Sandham, Carla Huysamen, Francois P. Retief, Angus Morrison-Saunders, Alan J. Bond, Jenny Pope, Reece C. Alberts

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This research evaluates Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report quality for a selected sample of development projects in South African national parks. It applies an adapted version of an international EIA report quality review package to 24 developments within 10 national parks, across three EIA regimes. The results suggest good EIA report quality across all four quality review areas, with improvement over time, but also highlight particular weaknesses in terms of dealing with waste and, to a lesser extent, with significance and mitigation. To build on this research, the development of a sector-specific EIA report …

Seasonal Weather And Climate Prediction Over Area Burned In Grasslands Of Northeast China, Ali Hassan Shabbir, Jiquan Zhang, John W. Groninger, Eddie J. B. Van Etten, Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie, James A. Lutz, Carlos Valencia

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020, The Author(s). Grassland fire dynamics are subject to myriad climatic, biological, and anthropogenic drivers, thresholds, and feedbacks and therefore do not conform to assumptions of statistical stationarity. The presence of non-stationarity in time series data leads to ambiguous results that can misinform regional-level fire management strategies. This study employs non-stationarity in time series data among multiple variables and multiple intensities using dynamic simulations of autoregressive distributed lag models to elucidate key drivers of climate and ecological change on burned grasslands in Xilingol, China. We used unit root methods to select appropriate estimation methods for further analysis. Using the …

Exponential Increase Of Plastic Burial In Mangrove Sediments As A Major Plastic Sink, C. Martin, F. Baalkhuyur, L. Valluzzi, V. Saderne, M. Cusack, H. Almahasheer, P. K. Krishnakumar, L. Rabaoui, M. A. Qurban, A. Arias-Ortiz, Pere Masqué, C. M. Duarte

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 The Authors. Sequestration of plastics in sediments is considered the ultimate sink of marine plastic pollution that would justify unexpectedly low loads found in surface waters. Here, we demonstrate that mangroves, generally supporting high sediment accretion rates, efficiently sequester plastics in their sediments. To this end, we extracted microplastics from dated sediment cores of the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf mangrove (Avicennia marina) forests along the Saudi Arabian coast. We found that microplastics <0.5 mm dominated in mangrove sediments, helping explain their scarcity, in surface waters. We estimate that 50 ± 30 and 110 ± 80 metric tons of plastic may have been buried since the 1930s in mangrove sediments across the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, respectively. We observed an exponential increase in the plastic burial rate (8.5 ± 1.2% year-1) since the 1950s in line with the global plastic production increase, confirming mangrove sediments as long-term sinks for plastics.

An Investigation Into The Spatial Distribution, Habitat Selection And Resource Usage Of The Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) Inhabiting Urban Reserves Within Perth, Western Australia, Michael Thomas Main

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

I attempted to track a population of urban foxes in Kings Park, but due to collar failure, only one collar was retrieved. The GPS telemetry data from this fox produced home range estimates for minimum convex polygon (MCP) and kernel density (KD) of 0.302 km² and 0.331 km², respectively. The fox was predominantly active at night, with a ten-fold increase in movement during nocturnal periods when compared to daytime movements. Roads and man-made tracks were important for facilitating movement of the fox through its home range, with almost 97% of location fixes recorded within 100m of these features. The fox …

Pedogenic Processes In A Posidonia Oceanica Mat, Nerea Pineiro-Juncal, Carmen Leiva-Duenas, Oscar Serrano, Miguel Angel Mateo, Antonio Martinez-Cortizas

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Scientists studying seagrasses typically refer to their substratum as sediment, but recently researchers have begun to refer to it as a soil. However, the logistics of sampling underwater substrata and the fragility of these ecosystems challenge their study using pedological methods. Previous studies have reported geochemical processes within the rhizosphere that are compatible with pedogenesis. Seagrass substratum accumulated over the Recent Holocene and can reach several meters in thickness, but studies about deeper layers are scarce. This study is a first attempt to find sound evidence of vertical structuring in Posidonia oceanica deposits to serve as a basis for more …

Sampling Device-Dependence Of Prokaryotic Community Structure On Marine Particles: Higher Diversity Recovered By In Situ Pumps Than By Oceanographic Bottles, Viena Puigcorbe, Clara Ruiz-Gonzalez, Pere Masque´, Josep M. Gasol

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Microbes associated with sinking marine particles play key roles in carbon sequestration in the ocean. The sampling of particle-attached microorganisms is often done with sediment traps or by filtration of water collected with oceanographic bottles, both involving a certain time lapse between collection and processing of samples that may result in changes in particle-attached microbial communities. Conversely, in situ water filtration through submersible pumps allows a faster storage of sampled particles, but it has rarely been used to study the associated microbial communities and has never been compared to other particle-sampling methods in terms of the recovery of particle microbial …

The Importance Of Catchments To Mine-Pit Lakes: Implications For Closure, Mark Lund, Eddie Van Etten, Jonas Polifka, Marylin Quintero Vasquez, Ravish Ramessur, Dechen Yangzom, Melanie L. Blanchette

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Despite the large body of riparian literature for rivers and lakes, there are few studies on the catchments of mine pit lakes. Therefore, the broad objective of this research was to determine if catchment characteristics were related to pit lake nutrient concentrations. We hypothesised that: (1) catchment characteristics would vary among pit lakes, (2) pit lake catchments would differ from co-occurring naturally-forested catchments, and (3) connecting a pit lake (Kepwari) to a naturally-forested catchment via a river flow-through would increase C accumulation in the lake. The research was conducted in pit lakes of the Collie lake district in Western Australia …

Seagrass Losses Since Mid‐20th Century Fuelled Co2 Emissions From Soil Carbon Stocks, Cristian Salinas, Carlos M. Duarte, Paul Lavery, Pere Masque´, Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Javier X. Leon, David Callaghan, Gary A. Kendrick, Oscar Serrano

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Seagrass meadows store globally significant organic carbon (C_org) stocks which, if disturbed, can lead to CO₂ emissions, contributing to climate change. Eutrophication and thermal stress continue to be a major cause of seagrass decline worldwide, but the associated CO₂ emissions remain poorly understood. This study presents comprehensive estimates of seagrass soil C_org erosion following eutrophication‐driven seagrass loss in Cockburn Sound (23 km² between 1960s and 1990s) and identifies the main drivers. We estimate that shallow seagrass meadows ( < 5 m depth) had significantly higher C_org stocks in 50 cm thick soils (4.5 ± 0.7 kg C_org/m²) …

Riverine Biota As Environmental Indicators Of Artisanal Small-Scale And Large-Scale Gold Mining Impacts On Riverine Ecosystems In Brong Ahafo Region, Ghana, K. F. Macdonald, M. Lund, E. Van Etten

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

A study on two adjacent small ephemeral river systems in the upper Tano River Basin in Brong Ahafo, Ghana; one impacted by ASGM and the other by a modern large gold mining (LSM), showed that impacts of mining on river sediment and water quality and quantity were reflected in the macroinvertebrate and microbial communities. This study investigated the impacts of ASGM on the ecology of the Surow River and that of a large-scale mining (LSM, the Ahafo mine) on the Subri River between February 2013 and April 2014 Macroinvertebrate communities responded to the shift in river water and sediment qualities, …

Navigating Coasts Of Concrete: Pervasive Use Of Artificial Habitats By Shorebirds In The Asia-Pacific, Micha V. Jackson, Chi-Yeung Choi, Tatsuya Amano, Sora M. Estrella, Weipan Lei, Nial Moores, Taej Mundkur, Danny I. Rogers, Richard A. Fuller

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Loss and degradation of wetlands has occurred worldwide, impacting ecosystems and contributing to the decline of waterbirds, including shorebirds that occur along the heavily developed coasts of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). Artificial (i.e. human-made) wetlands are pervasive in the EAAF and known to be used by shorebirds, but this phenomenon has not been systematically reviewed. We collated data and expert knowledge to understand the extent and intensity of shorebird use of coastal artificial habitats along the EAAF. We found records of 83 species, including all regularly occurring coastal migratory shorebirds, across 176 artificial sites with eight different land uses. …

Using Climate Change Models To Inform The Recovery Of The Western Ground Parrot Pezoporus Flaviventris, Shaun W. Molloy, Allan H. Burbidge, Sarah Comer, Robert A. Davis

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Translocation of species to areas of former habitat after threats have been mitigated is a common conservation action. However, the long-term success of reintroduction relies on identification of currently available habitat and areas that will remain, or become, habitat in the future. Commonly, a short-term view is taken, focusing on obvious and assumed threats such as predators and habitat degradation. However, in areas subject to significant climate change, challenges include correctly identifying variables that define habitat, and considering probable changes over time. This poses challenges with species such as the western ground parrot Pezoporus flaviventris, which was once relatively common …

A Review Of Nyoongar Responses To Severe Climate Change And The Threat Of Epidemic Disease—Lessons From Their Past, Francesca Robertson, Jason Barrow

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Nyoongar people have lived in the South West of Western Australia for at least 50,000 years. During that time, they experienced significant climate change, including wide variations in temperature and rainfall, and hundreds of metres’ difference in sea levels. Nyoongar people have a long memory, and climate change is described in their stories and in the knowledge they hold about how life was lived in earlier times. There are artifacts and places that have been manipulated to be productive despite severe drought. COVID-19 disrupted the writing of this article, and the authors felt it appropriate to include Nyoongar responses to …

Sampling The Local Fare: Fishes At The Sam Israel House Pit (45gr76), Soap Lake, Washington, Adam Fruge

All Master's Theses

The Sam Israel site is a precontact archaeological complex with numerous fish bones at the north end of Soap Lake, Washington. Excavated in 1976, the fish remains recovered from there were never fully analyzed prior to this research. Since this inland Columbia Plateau site had thousands of fish bones, it contained untapped potential for our understanding of ancient local fish procurement. As such, I conducted a detailed analysis of 2,862 fish bone specimens from the Sam Israel House Pit locus to: study a larger sample of fish bones in greater detail than was done before; compare the distribution of fishes …

Modeling Cle Elum Reservoir Shoreline Erosion: Gis Analysis To Support Cultural And Environmental Resource Management, Yakima Basin, Washington, Michael H. Horner

All Master's Theses

In the Yakima Basin, managers are expanding reservoirs including Cle Elum Lake to increase the availability of water. The objective of this study was to examine areas prone to further shoreline erosion to inform resource management. This research included the use of airphotos and fieldwork to identify erosional shorelines. Erosion was verified in the field using a video survey as well as indicators such as shoreline slope, sediment size, and nearshore width. Near-term erosional segments were identified by more rapidly receding bluffs while long-term erosional segments included both bedrock cliffs and bluffs. Although most of the shoreline is depositional, near-term …

Distribution Of Invasive Plant Species On Debris Cones At Mount Rainier National Park, Shaun Morrison

All Master's Theses

Invasive plant populations within Mount Rainier National Park are a biological and ecological threat to the unique mountain landscape. A better understanding of their distribution and transport within the landscape is needed to improve invasive species monitoring for National Park Service management. This study investigates how invasive plant populations in Stevens Canyon are utilizing the debris cone disturbances and associated geomorphic processes to facilitate movement within the park. Vegetation transects were performed along Stevens Canyon Road (to observe the roadside community composition) and on the debris cone features (to observe species movement from the roadside). These vegetation observations are presented …

Predicting Student Sustainability Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behaviors: Effects Of Demography, Environmental Science Education, And Sustainability Intervention Programs At Georgia Southern University, Bailey Chandler

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This mixed-methods research approach assesses trends in sustainability knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors in the student population at Georgia Southern University (GS). Students completed a baseline survey in order to determine their knowledge and attitudes about sustainability and what sustainable behaviors they perform. A total of 1,328 useable responses to the baseline survey were gathered. Effects of race, academic class, gender, and prior completion of an environmental science course were tested, as well as the effect of campus (Statesboro and Armstrong). Previously taking an environmental science course and race/ethnicity were the two strongest indicators of knowledge score. Males scored higher than …

Evaluation Of The Relationship Between Land Use And Water Quality In Kittitas County, Wa, Lindsay Schulz

All Master's Theses

Water in Kittitas County is extremely valuable since it supports farming, recreation, and cultural activities, as well as environmental processes and a diversity of biological life while providing many ecosystem services. However, land conversions required by agricultural and urban land uses can negatively impact water quality and the biological function of the stream. I studied how forested, agricultural, and urban land use affect six streams. Fourteen sites were sampled, once each in July, August, and September 2019. Land use was calculated as a percentage of forested, agricultural, and urban land use within a 100-m buffer of the stream, upstream of …

Emulsion Characterization Study For Improved Bilgewater Treatment And Management, Daniela Diaz Hernandez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The need for proper management of bilgewater to meet discharge regulations (e.g., 15 ppm oil) has revealed the necessity to expand the current understanding of bilgewater emulsions. This study proposed to evaluate emulsion stability under various environmental conditions and to identify governing parameters for emulsion formation. The stabilizing properties of eight-commercial cleaners and two-neat surfactants were evaluated. In situ characterization techniques were used for monitoring emulsion stability. Additionally, a needle-type pH microsensor and fluorescence spectroscopy were used for analyzing mass transfer at the oil-water interface. Water quality of extracted bilgewater showed to highly vary between vessels (e.g., conductivity: 1.74 -- …

Mixed Ancestry From Wild And Domestic Lineages Contributes To The Rapid Expansion Of Invasive Feral Swine, Timothy J. Smyser, Michael A. Tabak, Chris Slootmaker, Michael S. Robeson Ii, Ryan S. Miller, Mirte Bosse, Hendrik-Jan Megens, Martien A.M. Groenen, Samuel Rezende Paiva, Danielle Assis De Faria, Harvey D. Blackburn, Brandon S. Schmit, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive alien species are a significant threat to both economic and ecological systems. Identifying the processes that give rise to invasive populations is essential for implementing effective control strategies. We conducted an ancestry analysis of invasive feral swine (Sus scrofa, Linnaeus, 1758), a highly destructive ungulate that is widely distributed throughout the contiguous United States, to describe introduction pathways, sources of newly emergent populations and processes contributing to an ongoing invasion. Comparisons of high-density single nucleotide polymorphism genotypes for 6,566 invasive feral swine to a comprehensive reference set of S. scrofa revealed that the vast majority of feral swine were …

The Role Of European Starlings (Sturnus Vulgaris) In The Dissemination Of Multidrug- Resistant Escherichia Coli Among Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Jeffrey C. Chandler, Jennifer E. Anders, Nicolas A. Blouin, James C. Carlson, Jeffrey T. Lejeune, Lawrence D. Goodridge, Baolin Wang, Leslie A. Day, Anna M. Mangan, Dustin A. Reid, Shannon M. Coleman, Matthew W. Hopken, Bledar Bisha

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Antimicrobial use in livestock production is a driver for the development and proliferation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Wildlife interactions with livestock, acquiring associated AMR bacteria and genes, and wildlife’s subsequent dispersal across the landscape are hypothesized to play an important role in the ecology of AMR. Here, we examined priority AMR phenotypes and genotypes of Escherichia coli isolated from the gastrointestinal tracts of european starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) found on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). European starlings may be present in high numbers on cAfos (>100,000 birds), interact with urban environments, and can migrate distances exceeding 1,500 km in North …

Reporting The Limits Of Detection And Quantification For Environmental Dna Assays, Katy E. Klymus, Christopher M. Merkes, Michael J. Allison, Caren S. Goldberg, Caren C. Helbing, Margaret E. Hunter, Craig A. Jackson, Richard F. Lance, Anna M. Mangan, Emy M. Monroe, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Joel P. Stokdyk, Chris C. Wilson, Catherine A. Richter

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is increasingly being used to detect the presence and relative abundance of rare species, especially invasive or imperiled aquatic species. The rapid progress in the eDNA field has resulted in numerous studies impacting conservation and management actions. However, standardization of eDNA methods and reporting across the field is yet to be fully established, with one area being the calculation and interpretation of assay limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ).

Aims: Here, we propose establishing consistent methods for determining and reporting of LOD and LOQ for single‐species quantitative PCR (qPCR) eDNA studies.

Materials …

Safety, Immunogenicity, And Efficacy Of Intramuscular And Oral Delivery Of Era-G333 Recombinant Rabies Virus Vaccine To Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus Fuscus), Amy T. Gilbert, Xianfu Wu, Felix R. Jackson, Richard Franka, Gary F. Mccracken, Charles E. Rupprecht

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Attenuated strains of rabies virus (RABV) have been used for oral vaccination of wild carnivores in Europe and North America. However, some RABV vaccines caused clinical rabies in target animals. To improve the safety of attenuated RABV as an oral vaccine for field use, strategies using selection of escape mutants under monoclonal antibody neutralization pressure and reverse genetics–defined mutations have been used. We tested the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of one RABV construct, ERA-g333, developed with reverse genetics by intramuscular (IM) or oral (PO) routes in big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Twenty-five bats received 5×10⁶ mouse intracerebral …

Psychological Drivers Of Risk-Reducing Behaviors To Limit Human–Wildlife Conflict, Stacy A. Lischka, Tara L. Teel, Heather E. Johnson, Courtney Larson, Stewart Breck, Kevin R. Crooks

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Conflicts between people and wild animals are increasing globally, often with serious consequences

for both. Local regulations or ordinances are frequently used to promote human behaviors that minimize these conflicts (risk-reducing behaviors), but compliance with ordinances can be highly variable. While efforts to increase compliance could be improved through applications of conservation psychology, little is known about the relative influence of different factors motivating compliance. Using concepts from psychology and risk theory, we conducted a longitudinal study pairing data from mail surveys with direct observations of compliance with a wildlife ordinance requiring residents to secure residential garbage from black bears …

The Limits Of Lead (Pb) Phytoextraction And Possibilities Of Phytostabilization In Contaminated Soil: A Critical Review, Sara Perl Egendorf, Peter M. Groffman, Gerry Moore, Zhongqi Cheng

Advanced Science Research Center

This review article focuses on lead (Pb), one of the most ubiquitous and harmful toxicants found in soil. Our objective is to address misconceptions regarding the ability of plants to uptake Pb through their roots and translocate it to above-ground tissues, and their ability to act as hyperaccumulators and thereby phytoextract Pb. In accordance with a number of cited definitions, we suggest that species capable of Pb phytoextraction can be rated with the following three criteria: (1) root uptake above a nominal threshold of 1,000 mg Pb/kg, (2) bioconcentration factor (BCF or shoot/soil concentration) >1, and (3) translocation factor (TF …

Can Farmers And Bats Co-Exist? Farmer Attitudes, Knowledge, And Experiences With Bats In Belize, Hannah G. Shapiro, Adam S. Willcox, Mallory Tate, Emma V. Willcox

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Bats (Chiroptera) are often viewed negatively by the public. Negative public perceptions of bats may hinder efforts to conserve declining populations. In Belize, the presence of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus and Diphylla ecaudata) exacerbates the potential for conflicts with humans because of the increased rabies transmission risks. To mitigate these risks, the Belize government provides farmers with assistance to trap and remove vampire bats. In June 2018, we surveyed farmers (n = 44) in and adjacent to the Vaca Forest Reserve in Belize to learn more about their attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with bats. This information may …

Implementing Eco-Friendly Housing Techniques In Western Montana: Green Home Montana: Eco-Friendly Housing And Living Practices - Final Capstone Portfolio, Nicolas Ray Ream, Karlyn Roberts, Savannah Willison, Dylan Trent

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

While the green building movement is common practice in the commercial realm, it is not yet widely popular with residential buildings. We considered the question “How can residents of western Montana adopt eco-friendly housing practices that are locally appropriate and relevant?” There is an opportunity to increase green living practices among renters and homeowners in western Montana through retrofitting, gardening, composting, and similar behaviors. By considering climatic factors relevant to the region, suggestions for relevant eco-friendly practices can be made available to homeowners and renters alike. We will research green living practices used in other countries with similar climatic factors …