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Journal Of South Carolina Water Resources Volume 2, Issue 1

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

In our day-to-day work, ‘managing messes’ seems like an apt description of how we react to what needs to be done. I started this note last July when South Carolina was in the midst of a mild yet potentially deepening drought. The early October storm turned things upside down, disrupting the state, leading to the deaths of a dozen people, and producing damage estimated to be in the billions of dollars. As of November 10, Charleston has recorded 71 inches of rain and should surpass the record yearly rainfall of 73 inches, set in 1964.

As we work on recovery …

Model Results And Software Comparisons In Myrtle Beach, Sc Using Virtual Beach And R Regression Toolboxes, Matthew J. Neet, R. Heath Kelsey, Dwayne E. Porter, Dan W. Ramage, Adrian B. Jones

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

Utilizing R software and a variety of data sources, daily forecasts of bacteria levels were developed and automated for beach waters in Myrtle Beach, SC. Modeled results are then shown for beach locations via a website and mobile device app. While R provides a robust set of tools for use in forecast modeling, the software has an extensive learning curve and requires skilled statistical interpretation of results. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the “Virtual Beach” software package to address these concerns. To evaluate the utility of the more user-friendly Virtual Beach modeling toolbox, predictive models were developed and model …

Watershed Plan Implementation Challenges For Sms4s In Murrells Inlet, Dave Fuss, Dan Newquist, Sue Sledz, Tracy Jones, Daniel R. Hitchcock

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

This case study describes the plan development process, implementation strategies and initial and future challenges to implementation for the Murrells Inlet Watershed Plan (WRCOG, 2014). The Plan was crafted by a group of key stakeholders with community support and guidance to address fecal coliform bacteria loading in shellfish harvesting waters in the Murrells Inlet Estuary along the northeastern South Carolina coast. Stakeholders debated the interpretation of the data analysis and ultimately concluded that the primary pollutant sources were non-human, namely wildlife and domestic animals. Stakeholders also concluded that the loads from these sources were being delivered to the estuary via …

Rivers Institute Strategic Plan, University Of Dayton. Fitz Center For Leadership In Community

Rivers Institute Publications

Due to continued campus and community support, exceptional student leadership and the power of building a community around rivers, the Rivers Institute embarked on a new strategic planning process during the 2014-15 academic year with more than 30 participants. The result was a new vision, mission and long-term plan to 2020, which identified three main goals and many initiatives to help achieve each.

Detection, Occurrence And Fate Of Emerging Contaminants In Agricultural Environments, Daniel D. Snow, David A. Cassada, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Xu Li, Matteo D'Alessio, Yun Zhang, Yuping Zhang, J. Brett Sallach

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

A total of 59 papers published in 2015 were reviewed ranging from detailed descriptions of analytical methods, to fate and occurrence studies, to ecological effects and sampling techniques for a wide variety of emerging contaminants likely to occur in agricultural environments. New methods and studies on veterinary pharmaceuticals, steroids, antibiotic resistance genes in agricultural environments continue to expand our knowledge base on the occurrence and potential impacts of these compounds. This review is divided into the following sections: Introduction, Analytical Methods, Steroid Hormones, Pharmaceutical Contaminants, Transformation Products, and “Antibiotic Resistance, Drugs, Bugs and Genes”.

Of Life And Limb: The Failure Of Florida's Water Quality Criteria To Test For Vibrio Vulnificus In Coastal Waters And The Need For Enhanced Criteria, Regulation, And Notification To Protect Public Health, Felicia Thomas

Student Works

The nefarious duo of warming oceans and rising sea levels has created a menacing yet lesser-known climate change-induced problem: an increase in sea-borne diseases. For most, the biggest concern when diving into the ocean is a possible, though exceedingly rare, shark encounter; however, it is the unexpected, unseen risk of Vibrio vulnificus that poses the greater danger. Part I of this paper discusses Vibrio vulnificus cases along the coasts of Florida, examining both the illnesses that were contracted through exposure of open wounds to seawater and those contracted through the consumption of raw oysters from the Gulf Coast. Part II …

Methane Emissions As Energy Reservoir: Context, Scope, Causes And Mitigation Strategies, Xiaoli Chai, David J. Tonjes, Devinder Mahajan

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Methane (CH4) is now considered a bridge fuel between present fossil (carbon) economy and desired renewables and this energy molecule is projected to play an important role in the global energy mix well beyond 2035. The atmospheric warming potential of CH4 is 28-36 times, when averaged over a 100-year period, that of carbon dioxide (CO2) and this necessitates a close scrutiny of global CH4 emissions inventory. As the second most abundant greenhouse gas (GHG), the annual global CH4 emissions were 645 million metric tons (MMT), accounting for 14.3% of the global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Of this, five key anthropogenic sources: …

Earth Stewardship And The Missio Dei: Participating In The Care And Redemption Of All God Has Made, David M. Carlson

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This explanatory sequential mixed methods research project surveyed leaders and conducted focus group interviews in an ELCA synod. It evaluated earthkeeping practices and perceptions using several lenses: sustainability, globalization, global civil society, nature as active subject, stewardship as participating in God’s mission, perichoresis as modeling reciprocal relationships with nature, eschatological themes of redemption and reformation, and sacramental imagination. Results revealed concern about environmental challenges, openness to earth stewardship, significant differences by political preference, and more pronounced personal than congregational practices. Congregations with creation care teams have promising capacity to exhibit earth stewardship’s missional character through personal, congregational, and community engagement.

A Global Meta-Analysis Of Forest Bioenergy Greenhouse Gas Emission Accounting Studies, T Buchholz, M D. Hurteau, J Gunn, David Saah

Environmental Science

The potential greenhouse gas benefits of displacing fossil energy with biofuels are driving policy development in the absence of complete information. The potential carbon neutrality of forest biomass is a source of considerable scientific debate because of the complexity of dynamic forest ecosystems, varied feedstock types, and multiple energy production pathways. The lack of scientific consensus leaves decision makers struggling with contradicting technical advice. Analyzing previously published studies, our goal was to identify and prioritize those attributes of bioenergy greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions analysis that are most influential on length of carbon payback period. We investigated outcomes of 59 previously …

Contributions Of Organic And Inorganic Matter To Sediment Volume And Accretion In Tidal Wetlands At Steady State, J T. Morris, D C. Barber, John Callaway, R Chambers, S C. Hagen, C S. Hopkinson, B J. Johnson, P Megonigal, S C. Neubauer, T Troxler, C Wigand

Environmental Science

A mixing model derived from first principles describes the bulk density (BD) of intertidal wetland sediments as a function of loss on ignition (LOI). The model assumes that the bulk volume of sediment equates to the sum of self-packing volumes of organic and mineral components or BD = 1/[LOI/k₁ + (1-LOI)/k₂], where k₁ and k₂ are the self-packing densities of the pure organic and inorganic components, respectively. The model explained 78% of the variability in total BD when fitted to 5075 measurements drawn from 33 wetlands distributed around the conterminous United States. The …

Temporal Variability In Large Grazer Space Use In An Experimental Landscape, Edward J. Raynor, Anthony Joren, Adam Skibbe, Mark Sowers, John M. Briggs, Angela N. Laws, Douglas Goodin

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Land use, climate change, and their interaction each have great potential to affect grazing systems. With anticipated more frequent and extensive future drought, a more complete understanding of the mechanisms that determine large grazer landscape-level distribution under varying climatic conditions is integral to ecosystem management. Using an experimental setting with contrasting fire treatments, we describe the inter-annual variability of the effect of landscape topography and disturbance from prescribed spring fire on large grazer space use in years of variable resource availability. Using GPS telemetry, we investigated space use of plains bison (Bison bison bison) as they moved among watersheds managed …

To Exclose Nests Or Not: Structured Decision Making For The Conservation Of A Threatened Species, Jonathan B. Cohen, Anne Hecht, Kelly F. Robinson, Erik E. Osnas, Andrew Tyre, Christina Davis, Alison Kocek, Brooke Maslo, Scott M. Melvin

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Decisions regarding endangered species recovery often face sparse data and multiple sources of uncertainty about the effects of management. Structured decision making (SDM) provides a framework for assembling knowledge and expert opinion and evaluating the tradeoffs between different objectives while formally incorporating uncertainty. The Atlantic Coast piping plover provides an illustrative case for the utility of SDM in endangered species management because its population growth is simple to model, most populations are monitored, decision alternatives are well defined, and many managers are open to recovery recommendations. We built a model to evaluate the decision to use nest exclosures to protect …

Convergent Evolution In Social Swallows (Aves: Hirundinidae), Allison E. Johnson, Jonathan S. Mitchell, Mary B. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Behavioral shifts can initiate morphological evolution by pushing lineages into new adaptive zones. This has primarily been examined in ecological behaviors, such as foraging, but social behaviors may also alter morphology. Swallows and martins (Hirundinidae) are aerial insectivores that exhibit a range of social behaviors, from solitary to colonial breeding and foraging. Using a well-resolved phylogenetic tree, a database of social behaviors, and morphological measurements, we ask how shifts from solitary to social breeding and foraging have affected morphological evolution in the Hirundinidae. Using a threshold model of discrete state evolution, we find that shifts in both breeding and foraging …

Current Topics In Avian Conservation Genetics With Special Reference To The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, R.M. Zink

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Quantification And Mapping Of Surface Residue Cover For Maize And Soybean Fields In South Central Nebraska, Vivek Sharma, Suat Irmak, Ayse Kilic, Vasudha Sharma, John E. Gilley, George Meyer, Stevan Z. Knezevic, D. B. Marx

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The area cultivated under conservation tillage practices such as no-till and minimal tillage has recently increased in Midwestern states, including Nebraska. This increase, consequently, resulted in changes in some of the impacts of cropping systems on soil, such as enhancing soil and water quality, improving soil structure and infiltration, increasing water use efficiency, and promoting carbon sequestration. However, there are no methods currently available to quantify the percent crop residue cover (CRC) and the area under conservation tillage for maize and soybean at large scales on a continuous basis. This research used Landsat-7 (ETM+) and Landsat-8 (OLI) satellite data to …

Impact Perceptions And Acceptance Capacity Toward Piping Plovers Charadrius Melodus Among Visitors On A Public Beach In Nebraska, Usa, Joel G. Jorgensen, Mary Bomberger Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

On an increasingly crowded planet, shorebirds and humans are frequently found sharing the same ecosystems. This development requires that the managers of these human-wildlife ecosystems address human dimensions challenges in addition to those associated with species biology. To better understand such challenges, we evaluated impact perceptions and overall acceptance capacity in visitors on public beaches of Lake McConaughy, Nebraska, USA towards a federally- protected shorebird, the Piping Plover Charadrius melodus. Overall acceptance capacity for these birds was relatively high and perceptions of inconvenience caused by the presence of the birds were low. However, acceptance capacity and impact perceptions varied …

Potential Direct And Indirect Effects Of Climate Change On A Shallow Natural Lake Fish Assemblage, Jason J. Breeggemann, Mark A. Kaemingk, Timothy J. Debates, Craig P. Paukert, Jacob R. Krause, Alexander P. Letvin, Tanner M. Stevens, David W. Willis, Steven R. Chipps

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Much uncertainty exists around how fish communities in shallow lakes will respond to climate change. In this study, we modelled the effects of increased water temperatures on consumption and growth rates of two piscivores (northern pike [Esox lucius] and largemouth bass [Micropterus salmoides]) and examined relative effects of consumption by these predators on two prey species (bluegill [Lepomis macrochirus] and yellow perch [Perca flavescens]). Bioenergetics models were used to simulate the effects of climate change on growth and food consumption using predicted 2040 and 2060 temperatures in a shallow Nebraska Sandhill lake, …

A Framework For Understanding The Characteristics Of Complexity In Biology, Joseph Dauer, Jenny Dauer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Understanding the functioning of natural systems is not easy, although there is general agreement that understanding complex systems is an important goal for science education. Defining what makes a natural system complex will assist in identifying gaps in research on student reasoning about systems. The goal of this commentary is to propose a framework that explicitly defines the ways in which biological systems are complex and to discuss the potential relevance of these complexity dimensions to conducting research on student reasoning about complexity in biology classrooms. We use an engineering framework for dimensions of complexity and discuss how this framework …

Survival And Cause-Specific Mortality Of Female Eastern Wild Turkeys In Two Frequently-Burned Longleaf Pine Savannas, Andrew R. Little, John F. Benson, Michael J. Chamberlain, L. Mike Conner, Robert J. Warren

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Longleaf pine savannas have declined throughout the southeastern United States due to land-use change. Fortunately, natural resource professionals are currently restoring these ecologically and economically important savannas. Although efforts are underway to restore longleaf pine savannas, little information exists on female eastern wild turkey Meleagris gallopavo silvestris population dynamics in these systems. Therefore, we evaluated survival and cause-specific mortality of female eastern wild turkeys in two longleaf pine savannas in southwestern Georgia. We radio-marked 126 female wild turkeys during 2010–2013 and monitored their survival; 66 (52.4%) radio-marked females died during the study. We estimated causes of death for 37 mortality …

Monitoring Grassland Seasonal Carbon Dynamics, By Integrating Modis Ndvi, Proximal Optical Sampling, And Eddy Covariance Measurements, Enrica Nestola, Carlo Calfapietra, Craig A. Emmerton, Christopher Y. S. Wong, Donnette R. Thayer, John A. Gamon

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This study evaluated the seasonal productivity of a prairie grassland (Mattheis Ranch, in Alberta, Canada) using a combination of remote sensing, eddy covariance, and field sampling collected in 2012–2013. A primary objective was to evaluate different ways of parameterizing the light-use efficiency (LUE) model for assessing net ecosystem fluxes at two sites with contrasting productivity. Three variations on the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), differing by formula and footprint, were derived: (1) a narrow-band NDVI (NDVI680,800, derived from mobile field spectrometer readings); (2) a broad-band proxy NDVI (derived from an automated optical phenology station consisting of broad-band radiometers); and (3) …

Integrated Analysis Of Productivity And Biodiversity In A Southern Alberta Prairie, Ran Wang, John A. Gamon, Craig A. Emmerton, Haitao Li, Enrica Nestola, Gilberto Z. Pastorello, Olaf Menzer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Grasslands play important roles in ecosystem production and support a large farming and grazing industry. An accurate and efficient way is needed to estimate grassland health and production for monitoring and adjusting management to get sustainable products and other ecosystem services. Previous studies of grasslands have shown varying relationships between productivity and biodiversity, with most showing either a positive or a hump-shaped relationship where productivity peaks at intermediate diversity. In this study, we used airborne imaging spectrometry combined with ground sampling and eddy covariance measurements to estimate the spatial pattern of production and biodiversity for two sites of contrasting productivity …

Interannual Variability In Dry Mixed-Grass Prairie Yield: A Comparison Of Modis, Spot, And Field Measurements, Donald C. Wehlage, John A. Gamon, Donnette Thayer, David V. Hildebrand

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Remote sensing is often used to assess rangeland condition and biophysical parameters across large areas. In particular, the relationship between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and above-ground biomass can be used to assess rangeland primary productivity (seasonal carbon gain or above-ground biomass “yield”). We evaluated the NDVI–yield relationship for a southern Alberta prairie rangeland, using seasonal trends in NDVI and biomass during the 2009 and 2010 growing seasons, two years with contrasting rainfall regimes. The study compared harvested biomass and NDVI from field spectrometry to NDVI from three satellite platforms: the Aqua and Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) …

Caught Between A Rock And A Hard Mineral Encrustation: Long-Lived Aquatic Insects Accumulate Calcium Carbonate Deposits In A Montane Desert Stream, Eric K. Moody, Jessica R. Corman, Michael T. Bogan

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Aquatic ecosystems overlying regions of limestone bedrock can feature active deposition of calcium carbonate in the form of travertine or tufa. Although most travertine deposits form a cement-like layer on stream substrates, mineral deposits can also form on benthic invertebrates. However, little is known about which taxa may be prone to calcium carbonate encrustation and which life history traits may make taxa more susceptible to becoming encrusted. Here we report the presence of calcium carbonate deposits on live insects collected from a montane stream in the Madrean Sky Islands (Huachuca Mountains) of Arizona between 2011 and 2013. Life history differences …

Avian Interactions With Renewable Energy Infrastructure: An Update, Jennifer A. Smith, James F. Dwyer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Energy infrastructure is widespread worldwide. Renewable energy technologies, which are expanding their footprint on the landscape and their contribution to energy availability, represent a different kind of infrastructure from extractive energy technologies. Although renewable energy sources may offer a ‘greener alternative’ to traditional extractive energy sources, mounting evidence suggests that renewable energy infrastructure, and the transmission lines needed to convey energy from renewable energy facilities to users, may impact birds. Peer-reviewed literature historically has focused on the direct effects of electrocution and, to a lesser extent, collisions with overhead power systems, and on avian collisions at wind energy facilities, with …

Estimation Of Energy Balance Components Over A Drip-Irrigated Olive Orchard Using Thermal And Multispectral Cameras Placed On A Helicopter-Based Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Uav), Samuel Ortega-Farias, Samuel Ortega-Salazar, Tomas Poblete, Ayse Kilic, Richard Allen, Carlos Poblete-Echeverria, Luis Ahumada-Orellana, Mauricio Zuniga, Daniel Sepulveda

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A field experiment was carried out to implement a remote sensing energy balance (RSEB) algorithm for estimating the incoming solar radiation (Rsi), net radiation (Rn), sensible heat flux (H), soil heat flux (G) and latent heat flux (LE) over a drip-irrigated olive (cv. Arbequina) orchard located in the Pencahue Valley, Maule Region, Chile (35^◦25'S; 71^◦44'W; 90 m above sea level). For this study, a helicopter-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was equipped with multispectral and infrared thermal cameras to obtain simultaneously the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and surface temperature (Tsurface) at very high resolution (6 cm …

Acute 𝛽-N-Methylamino-L-Alanine Toxicity In A Mouse Model, Maitham Ahmed Al-Sammak, Douglas G. Rogers, Kyle D. Hoagland

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The cyanobacterial neurotoxin 𝛽-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is considered to be an “excitotoxin,” and its suggested mechanism of action is killing neurons. Long-termexposure to L-BMAAis believed to lead to neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Objectives of this study were to determine the presumptive median lethal dose (LD50), the Lowest-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level (LOAEL), and histopathologic lesions caused by the naturally occurring BMAA isomer, L-BMAA, in mice. Seventy NIH Swiss Outbred mice (35 male and 35 female) were used. Treatment group mice were injected intraperitoneally with 0.03, 0.3, 1, 2, and 3mg/g body weight L-BMAA, respectively, …

Rescaling Of The Complementary Relationship For Land Surface Evaporation, R. Crago, J. Szilagyi, R. Qualls, J. Huntington

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Metapopulation Viability Of An Endangered Shorebird Depends On Dispersal And Human-Created Habitats: Piping Plovers (Charadrius Melodus) And Prairie Rivers, Sara L. Zeigler, Daniel H. Catlin, Mary Bomberger Brown, Lauren R. Dinan, James D. Fraser, Kelsi L. Hunt, Joel G. Jorgensen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background: Many species are distributed as metapopulations in dynamic landscapes, where habitats change through space and time. Individuals locate habitat through dispersal, and the relationship between a species and landscape characteristics can have profound effects on population persistence. Despite the importance of connectivity in dynamic environments, few empirical studies have examined temporal variability in dispersal or its effect on metapopulation dynamics. In response to this knowledge gap, we studied the dispersal, demography, and viability of a metapopulation of an endangered, disturbance-dependent shorebird. We examined three subpopulations of piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) on the lower Platte and Missouri rivers …

Local Perspectives On Environmental Insecurity And Its Influence On Illegal Biodiversity Exploitation, Meredith L. Gore, Michelle L. Lute, Jonah H. Ratsimbazafy, Andry Rajaonson

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Environmental insecurity is a source and outcome of biodiversity declines and social conflict. One challenge to scaling insecurity reduction policies is that empirical evidence about local attitudes is overwhelmingly missing. We set three objectives: determine how local people rank risk associated with different sources of environmental insecurity; assess perceptions of environmental insecurity, biodiversity exploitation, myths of nature and risk management preferences; and explore relationships between perceptions and biodiversity exploitation. We conducted interviews (N = 88) with residents of Madagascar’s Torotorofotsy Protected Area, 2014. Risk perceptions had a moderate effect on perceptions of environmental insecurity. We found no effects of environmental …

Sustainable Grassland Management: An Exploratory Study Of Progressive Ranchers In Nebraska, Stephanie M. Kennedy, Mark E. Burbach, Maggi S. Sliwinski

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Well-managed grasslands provide numerous ecosystem services. Ranchers who employ sustainable grazing practices limit grassland conversion and conserve critical habitats. This phenomenological study explored the grassland management decisions of progressive ranchers in Nebraska. Each individual interviewed for this study is proactive about the state of their grasslands, whether they are motivated by financial or conservation factors. Throughout the evolution of their businesses, these ranchers have taken steps to improve their management techniques and continue to employ new strategies while planning for the long-term productivity of their grasslands. For policy makers and educators seeking to improve grassland management decisions, demonstrating new methods …