Digital Commons Network^™

Are We Providing Preferred Floral Resources For Bees In Our Neighborhoods? : Assessing The Relationship Between Small Scale Vegetation Metrics And Bee Presence In Se Portland, Hailey Wallace

Dissertations and Theses

Bee pollinators can thrive in highly urbanized environments if their preferred floral resources and habitat types are available. Enhanced pollinator habitats are being created globally, with a large local effort in Portland, Oregon. This project determined if we were providing the most preferred floral resources at enhanced pollinator sites for bees, if floral resources were available throughout the season, and if differences in dietary preferences between native and honey bees would allow for the identification of "native bee floral resources" in South East Portland. Bee pollinators were monitored from June to August at three enhanced pollinator sites in South East …

Drought Analyses Of The Horn´E PoˇZitavie Region (Slovakia) In The Period 1966–2013, Jaroslav Vido, Paulina Nalevankova, Jan Valach, Zbysek Sustek, Tsegaye Tadesse

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

+is study focuses on the characterization of historical drought occurrences in the Horn´e Poˇzitavie region of Slovakia over the period 1966–2013 using Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). Trend analyses were evaluated by the Mann–Kendall (MK) test as well as cumulative sum of rank difference (CRD) test. +e results showed that drought occurs in the region regularly (recurrent climate feature), while the trend analysis indicated the trend toward more arid climatic conditions. However, CRD trend analyses showed that the subtrend changed direction toward less drier conditions in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Analyses of SPEI trends in individual months showed a …

Estimating Live Fuel Moisture Using Smap L-Band Radiometer Soil Moisture For Southern California, Usa, Shenyue Jia, Seung Hee Kim, Son V. Nghiem, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Live fuel moisture (LFM) is a field-measured indicator of vegetation water content and a crucial observation of vegetation flammability. This study presents a new multi-variant regression model to estimate LFM in the Mediterranean ecosystem of Southern California, USA, using the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) L-band radiometer soil moisture (SMAP SM) from April 2015 to December 2018 over 12 chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) LFM sites. The two-month lag between SMAP SM and LFM was utilized either as steps to synchronize the SMAP SM to the LFM series or as the leading time window to calculate the accumulative SMAP SM. …

Bibliography Of Assorted Institute Of Agriculture And Natural Resources Publications

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Excess Thyroid Cancer Risk Following A Hypothetical Radiological Incident In Louisiana And Best-Case Risk Reduction Achieved By Thyroid Blockade, Garrett A. Otis

LSU Master's Theses

Radioactive isotopes of iodine are produced by nuclear power plants as a byproduct of nuclear fission reactions. If these isotopes are released into the environment, such as during a breach of containment, they constitute a health risk to exposed individuals. To mitigate the risk of thyroid cancer due to exposure to radioactive iodine, “iodide prophylaxis,” also known as “thyroid blockade,” can be used, usually by administration of potassium iodide (KI). In some areas of the world, KI has been provided to the general public by their governments as a precautionary measure against potential nuclear power plant incidents. However, in the …

Comparative Efficacy Of Novel Endolysins In Queso Fresco, Daniella Smith, Maxwell J. Holle, Dr. Michael Miller

PRECS student projects

Listeria monocytogenes is problematic for the manufacturing, storage, and consumption of ready-to-eat foods. This bacterium may cause listeriosis upon consumption often with deadly complications. Queso Fresco (QF), a pasteurized Hispanic-style fresh cheese (HSFC), has been shown to support the growth of L. monocytogenes. QF is the most widely produced and implicated HSFC in the U.S., representing a significant health hazard to at risk populations such as infants, pregnant women, elderly, and the immunocompromised. The objective of this research project is to evaluate the efficacy of ten novel antimicrobial endolysins in combatting L. monocytogenes contamination in a miniaturized lab-scale queso fresco …

Stress Induced Remodeling In The Nematode C. Elegans, Becky Rose, Rebecca Androwski, Nathan E. Schroeder

PRECS student projects

Caenorhabditis elegans is a model organism for studying genetics and neuroscience C. elegans is frequently studied to understand how genes and the environment interact to produce new phenotypes. We take advantage of an organism-wide stress response and genetic tools that provide an excellent model for studying how phenotypes are impacted by stress.

Verification Of Successful Kainic Acid Injections In A Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Mouse Model, Adrian J. Garcia, Robbie J. Ingram, Catherine A. Christian

PRECS student projects

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most prominent form of partial epilepsy in adults. Reproductive endocrine comorbidities appear in patients with TLE at significantly higher rates than in the general population. These comorbidities include polycystic ovary syndrome, hypothalamic amenorrhea, hyperandrogenism, irregular menstrual cycle, lower testosterone levels, hypogonadism, erectile dysfunction, and decreased semen motility. It is believed that gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons in the hypothalamus play an important role in the development of these comorbidities. The kainic acid (KA) mouse model is used to study epilepsy-associated changes in GnRH neurophysiology. Our lab recently observed that the activity of GnRH neurons is …

Fungal Endophytes Interact With Endophytic Yeast Isolated From Soybean Leaves, Baldemar Basurto, Natalie Christian, Katy Heath

PRECS student projects

Endophytes (endo = inside and phyte=plant) are microscopic fungi that live inside of the leaves of all species of plants and can have beneficial effects on their hosts. Previous work in our lab has shown a significant decrease of Sporobolomyces sp., an endophytic yeast, within soybean hosts exposed to elevated levels of CO₂. Sporobolomyces sp. has certain properties to enable them to act as natural biocontrol agents. This pink yeast may have untapped potential to protect crops from pathogenic organisms. If Sporobolomyces sp. interacts with fungal pathogens, it may have strong effects on other fungal endophytes in the community. The …

Direct Impacts Of Heat Stress On Illinois Soybeans, Jessica O'Connor, Charles Burroughs, Lisa Ainsworth

PRECS student projects

Rising global temperatures are challenging agricultural productivity and can affect soybean yield through many physiological and metabolic processes. Recent regression analyses indicate that soybean yield is depressed in warmer years. This research aims to help determine which processes are affected by heat stress, such as photosynthesis, plant development, leaf area index and yield. The experiment consists of two different varieties of commercial Illinois soybeans, which will be continually heated throughout the growing season in order to compare the physiological characteristics of the soybeans in the heated arrays to those growing in ambient conditions. Data collected on photosynthesis, plant development, leaf …

Effects Of Mycorrhizae On Struvite Dissolution Can Plant-Fungus Mutualism Increase The Viability Of A Sustainable Phosphorus Fertilizer?, Isako Battista Di Tomassi, Erinn Dady, Neha Chatterjee, Andrew Margenot

PRECS student projects

Phosphorus (P) is essential for all organisms. In agriculture, P, nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) are applied in large amounts as fertilizer. Monoammonium phosphate (MAP), a conventional fertilizer, is highly water soluble, causing high P and N concentrations in agricultural runoff, harming aquatic life. Struvite (NH4MgPO4 ·6H2O), a waste-water derived product with potential for use as a P fertilizer; has low water solubility, and phosphorus in struvite is not as accessible to plants as it is in MAP. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form mutualisms in which they receive carbon from plants in exchange for other nutrients, and assist in P …

Plasticity Or Local Adaptation?: Survival Of L. Parva Larvae In Varying Salinity, Kaitlyn Cortez, Lauren Mcdaniel, Becky Fuller

PRECS student projects

As environmental stressors continue to amplify, Lucania parva, or Rainwater Killifish, are expected to outlast other species in unpredictably fast changing environments, as they are unique in their ability to tolerate multiple salinities. The objective of this research is to understand what affects L. parva’s ability to tolerate salinity and discover the limitations the species might have to tolerating it. Understanding this fish’s biology will help with the conservation of aquatic ecosystems in Florida. Preliminary data and early trends suggest that during early larval stages, L. parva are plastic but the extent of their plasticity is limited as they cannot …

Construction Of A Tn5 Mutant Library In Xanthomonas Cucurbitae, Keirsten Kline, Rikky Rai, Sarah R. Hind

PRECS student projects

The health and yield of important crop plants around the world is a significant concern when faced with food scarcity in the generations to come. The Xanthomonas bacterial genus can infect more than 400 different plant species including economically important crops such as rice and soy. In Illinois, Xanthomonas cucurbitae can infect pumpkin and winter squash and cause bacterial spot disease (Figure 1) resulting in up to 100% yield loss of pumpkin crops. The disease caused by this pathogen has become one of the most significant threats to production of pumpkins in Illinois, the U.S. and the world.

There are …

Resident Perceptions Of Black Bear Management In South Central Kentucky, Hung-Ling (Stella) Liu, Michael J. Bradley, I-Chun Nicky Wu, James N. Maples

Health and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

The growth and sprawl of the American black bear (Ursus americanus ) population have been observed and monitored in the past two decades, especially in south-central Kentucky. To better manage human-black bear interaction and develop informed policy and best practices, the current study sought to 1) understand south-central Kentucky residents’ current knowledge of and previous experience with black bears, 2) investigate residents’ attitudes toward black bears and regulated hunting in wildlife management; and 3) identify residents’ level of acceptance of various black bear related management actions in south-central Kentucky. From February to April 2017, residents of London and Stearns districts …

Lithological Character And Sequence Stratigraphy Of The Ste. Genevieve Limestone In Western Kentucky, Zachary Dalton Creech

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Ste. Genevieve Limestone is a Mississippian-aged, carbonate-dominated stratigraphic unit that is a prominent hydrocarbon producer in the Illinois Basin, and is widely distributed in states such as Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. There has been relatively limited study focused on characterizing the Ste. Genevieve Limestone in terms of lithofacies, stacking patterns, and sequence stratigraphic context via analysis of roadcut exposures of the unit in western Kentucky.

The focus of this study is to use lithologic data collected from roadcuts and draft these data into cross sections for presentation of detailed stratigraphic columns that are locally correlative. Seven roadcuts were …

Development Of A Karst Tourism Management Index To Assess Tourism-Driven Degradation Of Protected Karst Sites, Keith R. Semler

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The intent of this research was to create and evaluate a karst tourism management index (KTMI). This index is intended to be a new management tool designed to quantify environmental disturbances caused specifically by tourism activities in karst regions, particularly show caves and springs. In an effort to assess the effectiveness of the index as a management tool in karst terrains, after development, the index was applied to six case study sites. A review of the management policies at each study site was conducted with the use of standard policy critique methods and semistructured interviews with managers at the study …

An Urban Karst Aquifer Resource Evaluation And Monitoring Toolbox, Rachel Anne Kaiser

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In urban karst areas, such as the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky and the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Area, groundwater quality faces a variety of threats. The development of residential, commercial, and industrial landuse types allows for a wide variety of groundwater pollutants to enter the karst groundwater systems. Various different models and indices have attempted evaluative approaches to identify issues in urban karst areas, but the methods vary by location and lack a focus on urban karst groundwater quality. There also exists a lack of a data-driven approach that is able to capture short- and long-term changes in threats to …

Transmission Dynamics Of Toxoplasma Gondii In Arctic Foxes (Vulpes Lagopus): A Long-Term Mark-Recapture Serologic Study At Karrak Lake, Nunavut, Canada, Emilie Bouchard, Stacey A. Elmore, Ray T. Alisauskas, Gustaf Samelius, Alvin A. Gajadhar, Keaton Schmidt, Sasha Ross, Emily J. Jenkins

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Transmission dynamics of Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite of importance for wildlife and human health, are enigmatic in the Arctic tundra, where free-ranging wild and domestic felid definitive hosts are absent and rarely observed, respectively. Through a multiyear mark-recapture study (2011– 17), serosurveillance was conducted to investigate transmission of T. gondii in Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) in the Karrak Lake region, Nunavut, Canada. Sera from adult foxes and fox pups were tested for antibodies to T. gondii by using serologic methods, including the indirect fluorescent antibody test, direct agglutination test, and modified agglutination test. The overall seroprevalence was 39% in adults …

Water Current, Volume 51, No. 1, Summer 2019

Water Current Newsletter

NWC Summer Spotlight: New Research, Events and Impacts

NWC Projects and Programs Are Heating Up

Where People Meet The Muck: An Integrated Assessment Of Beach Muck And Public Perception At The Bay City State Recreation Area, Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, Donna R. Kashian, Avik Basu, Joseph Depinto, Jason Duvall, Ray Fahlsing, Darrin Hunt, Frank Lupi, Bretton Joldersma

Biological Sciences Faculty Research Publications

In several regions of the Great Lakes, including Saginaw Bay, the proliferation of muck, decaying organics largely from aquatic plants such as Cladophora, has washed ashore, and is blamed for negatively affecting water quality and economic losses in the region. The current view is that excess nutrient loading into the system is a leading cause of this type of organic debris, though changes in food web dynamics may also be a contributing factor. Through an Integrated Assessment (IA) framework, we summarized the current state of knowledge on the causes and consequences of muck conditions at the Bay City State Recreation …

Relative Density And Resource Selection Of Urban Red Foxes In Lincoln, Nebraska, Kyle Dougherty

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

Since early reports of urban red fox (Vulpes vulpes) populations in Great Britain, red fox populations have been studied in many large cities throughout Europe, North America, and Australia. However, there has been relatively little research conducted in moderately sized North American cities. To further the ecological understanding of red foxes in moderately sized cities, we investigated relative density and resource selection of the urban fox population in Lincoln, Nebraska. We used presence-only data collected from a citizen science project and inhomogeneous point process models to investigate relative density of urban foxes and deployed GPS collars on ten red …

Unconventional Rock Requires Unconventional Analysis: Methods For Characterization, Shane K. Butler, Alexander Azenkeng, Blaise A.F. Mibeck, Bethany A. Kurz, Kurt E. Eylands

EERC Publications, Papers, & Presentations

Advanced image analysis techniques were applied to better understand and quantify factors that could affect CO₂ storage in the Bakken Formation, with an ultimate goal of improved method development to estimate CO₂ storage potential of unconventional reservoirs.

The Effects Of Economic Factors And Groundwater Policies On The Timing Of Well Drilling, Qianyu Zhang

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Understanding the factors that affect farmers’ irrigation decisions is critical for a better groundwater management. This study addresses the question of how economic, agronomic, and policy variables affect the timing of irrigation adoption in Nebraska. The key contribution of this paper is to identify farmers’ strategic responses to a particular type of policy intervention, a moratorium on well drilling. Our results estimate how farmers respond when a moratorium is announced but not enforced yet, and when neighboring areas implement a moratorium, which we refer as pre-regulation effect and policy spillover effect, respectively. Results show that farmers are more likely to …

Water Security And Wildfire In Municipal Source Watersheds Of The Western United States, Matthew V. Segura

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

The goal of this study is to investigate water resource security for large metropolitan areas in the western United States and to identify cities that are at potential risk of water resource degradation due to wildfire. In this study, source watersheds for western cities are identified and ranked based on the potential resistance and resilience of their water supply to wildfire impacts. Next, the wildfire hazard potential of each of these catchments is determined and erosion potential estimates are used to infer how water quality will be impacted if the watersheds burn. The findings identify large populous cities that receive …

Inventory Of Restoration Needs Of National Forest Lands Of The Contiguous United States: An Assessment Using Watershed And Terrestrial Ecosystem Classification Tools, Kevin Carns

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

Ecological restoration assists the recovery of degraded ecosystems by returning their structure, processes, and functions to within their natural range of variation, improving long term sustainability and resilience. The United States Forest Service has sought to increase the pace and scale of restoration treatments on lands that it manages in order to continue to provide important ecosystem services including timber production, fish and wildlife habitat, grazing, watershed protection, and recreation. The Agency developed two classification systems to identify restoration need on Forest Service managed lands, the Watershed Condition Classification (WCC) and the Terrestrial Condition Assessment (TCA). These two classification systems …

Not All Surveillance Data Are Created Equal—A Multi‐Method Dynamic Occupancy Approach To Determine Rabies Elimination From Wildlife, Amy J. Davis, Jordona D. Kirby, Richard B. Chipman, Kathleen M. Nelson, Tatiana Xifara, Colleen T. Webb, Ryan Wallace, Amy T. Gilbert, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. A necessary component of elimination programmes for wildlife disease is effective surveillance. The ability to distinguish between disease freedom and non‐detection can mean the difference between a successful elimination campaign and new epizootics. Understanding the contribution of different surveillance methods helps to optimize and better allocate effort and develop more effective surveillance programmes.

2. We evaluated the probability of rabies virus elimination (disease freedom) in an enzootic area with active management using dynamic occupancy modelling of 10 years of raccoon rabies virus (RABV) surveillance data (2006–2015) collected from three states in the eastern United States. We estimated detection probability …

Data From: Microplastic Concentrations In Two Oregon Bivalve Species: Spatial, Temporal, And Species Variability, Britta Baechler, Elise F. Granek, Matthew V. Hunter, Kathleen E. Conn

Environmental Science and Management Datasets

Microplastics are an ecological stressor with implications for ecosystem and human health when present in seafood. We quantified microplastic types, concentrations, anatomical burdens, geographic distribution, and temporal differences in Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula) from 15 Oregon coast, U.S.A. sites. Organisms were chemically digested and visually analyzed for microplastics, and material type was determined using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Microplastics were present in organisms from all sites. On average, whole oysters and razor clams contained 10.95 ± 0.77 and 8.84 ± 0.45 microplastic pieces per individual, or 0.35 ± 0.04 and …

Engineered Porous Media For Groundwater Contaminant Remediation: Applications Of Nano-Tio2, Sheng Yin

Theses and Dissertations

Nonmetallic Arsenic and hydrocarbon BTEX are the most common and harmful contaminants in groundwater. Many oxide, biological and metal based adsorbent materials have been investigated in the laboratory and in the field environment. These materials, especially for nano-TiO2, have been extensively studied in the laboratory due to its high efficiency and remediation outcomes. This research compared two different synthetic nano-TiO2, aggregated dendritic nano-scale anatase TiO2 and the polymorphed rutile nano-TiO2 attached to the surface of SiO2, to study the feasibility of nano-TiO2 in geoenvironmental engineering applications. Characterization of crystal structure, purity, and morphologic, microscopic features of the materials were examed …

Frugivorous Insects Reared From Chytranthus Obliquinervis Radlk. (Sapindales: Sapindaceae) With The Description Of A New Monophagous Species Of Grapholita Treitschke (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), Robert S. Copeland, Józef Razowski

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Ripe fruits of Chytranthus obliquinervis were sampled from a tree in Buda Forest in coastal Kenya. Four species of insects were reared from the fruits, two species of Tephritidae, an undescribed species of gelechiid moth, and a new species of tortricid moth, Grapholita chytranthusi Razowski, sp. n., described herein. No parasitoids were reared. Notes on the biology, distribution, and conservation status of the host and its pests are included.

Potassium Fertilization Effects On Yield For Wheat, Soybean, And Corn Grown In Coastal Plain Soils, Renada Davis

Theses and Dissertations

A study conducted on wheat, soybean, and corn crops was designed to assess the effect of potassium fertilization based on current potassium (K) fertilizer recommendations on crop yield, soil K levels, and plant tissue K concentration. The objectives of this study were to 1) evaluate the effect K fertilization has on crop yield; 2) To assess soil K levels through the duration of the experiment and the effect fertilization may have on soil K levels; and 3) to evaluate the effect of fertilization on plant tissue K concentrations. There was no statistical difference in yields between plots treated with the …