Digital Commons Network^™

Low Levels Of Hybridization Between Sympatric Cold-Water-Adapted Arctic Cod And Polar Cod In The Beaufort Sea Confirm Genetic Distinctiveness, Robert E. Wilson, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Philip Lavretsky, Andrew Majewski, Einar Árnason, Katrín Halldórsdóttir, Axel W. Einarsson, Kate Wedemeyer, Sandra L. Talbot

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

As marine ecosystems respond to climate change and other stressors, it is necessary to evaluate current and past hybridization events to gain insight on the outcomes and drivers of such events. Ancestral introgression within the gadids has been suggested to allow cod to inhabit a variety of habitats. Little attention has been given to contemporary hybridization, especially within cold-water-adapted cod (Boreogadus saida Lepechin, 1774 and Arctogadus glacialis Peters, 1872). We used whole-genome, restriction-site associated, and mitochondrial sequence data to explore the degree and direction of hybridization between these species where previous hybridization had not been reported. Although nearly identical …

Valuing Angling On Reservoirs Using Benefit Transfer, Richard Melstrom, Mark A. Kaemingk, John C. Whitehead, Nicholas W. Cole, Christopher J. Chizinski, Kevin L. Pope

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Economic assessments are rarely applied to inland recreational fisheries for management purposes, especially when compared to fish, habitat, and creel assessments, yet economic assessments can provide critical information for management decisions. We provide a brief overview of economic value, key terminology, and existing economic techniques to address these issues. Benefit transfer, a technique used to measure economic value when an original analysis is not practicable, is conducted by drawing on existing estimates of economic value in similar contexts. We describe an application of benefit transfer to measure the economic value of several recreational fisheries in Nebraska, USA. We examine two …

Final Bpsou Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Colorado Dump-West Lot Remedial Action Work Plan (Rawp), Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Genetic Freedom Of The Seas In The Age Of Extractivism: Marine Genetic Resources In Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, Irus Braverman

Contributions to Books

Published as Chapter 4 in Laws of the Sea: Interdisciplinary Currents, Irus Braverman, ed.

Areas beyond national jurisdiction are the largest environment on earth and marine genetic resources are its new, and perhaps final, frontier. It is no wonder, then, that the scope and protection of marine genetic resources in this oceanic space have been hotly contested and that a new doctrine for ocean governance has been coined in this context: mare geneticum. This chapter examines different definitions of marine genetic resources debated in the ongoing treaty negotiations over areas beyond national jurisdiction (the BBNJ), the conflicting interests involved, and …

Amphibious Legal Geographies: Toward Land–Sea Regimes, Irus Braverman

Contributions to Books

Published as ine introduction to Laws of the Sea: Interdisciplinary Currents, Irus Braverman, ed.

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the juridical thinking that has enshrined the land/sea divide into contemporary governmental infrastructures, disciplinary traditions, and regulatory apparatuses, and charts the disastrous implications that such a legal fixation on the land/sea binary has wrought on human and other-than-human lifeworlds. As the collection proceeds, a second broad theme emerges, building on the first: when one rethinks the abstraction of law as played out on the ground, the …

Draft Final 2021 Unreclaimed Sites Sampling Ur-03 Site Evaluation Summary Report, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

On Capturing Human Agency And Methodological Interdisciplinarity In Socio-Hydrology Research, David J. Yu, Melissa Haeffner, Hanseok Jeong, Saket Pande, Juliane Dame, Giuliano Di Baldassarre, Glenda Garcia-Santos, Leon Hermans, Rashata Muneepeerakul, Multiple Additional Authors

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Socio-hydrology has expanded and been effective in exposing the hydrological community to ideas and approaches from other scientific disciplines, and social sciences in particular. Yet it still has much to explore regarding how to capture human agency and how to combine different methods and disciplinary views from both the hydrological and the social sciences to develop knowledge. A useful starting ground is noting that the complexity of human–water relations is due to interactions not only across spatial and temporal scales but also across different organizational levels of social systems. This calls for consideration of another analytical scale, the human organizational …

Assessment Of Microplastics In Southeastern Florida Forage Fishes, Maria Kappos

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Microplastics threaten the health of numerous marine organisms at all trophic levels. Currently, the topic is well studied among larger predators such as marine birds, dolphins, pelagic fishes, and even herbivorous organisms such as manatees. However, knowledge of microplastics present in organisms at lower trophic levels is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of microplastics in lower trophic level forage fishes. To gain a clear depiction of microplastics in the forage fishes of South Florida, four locations were sampled. These locations were classified into two categories, urban (Port Everglades and Northern Biscayne Bay) and …

Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites – Field Sampling Plan (Fsp) Bres No. 34 – Eveline (Dated July 22, 2022), Nikia Greene

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Revised Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Colorado Dump – West Lot Remedial Action Work Plan (Rawp) (Dated July 29, 2022), Nikia Greene

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Heavy Metal Levels And Sources In Suspended Particulate Matters Of The Glacier Watersheds In Northeast Tibetan Plateau, Rui Wu, Zhiwen Dong, Xiping Cheng, Janice Brahney, Xiaoyu Jiao, Lihua Wu

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

This study collected summer meltwater runoff samples from several glacier watersheds of the northeast Tibetan Plateau during June-July 2017, and measured the concentrations of 17 trace elements (Li, Be, Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Rb, Mo, Cd, In, Sb, Cs, Ba) in meltwater suspended particulate matter (SPM), in order to reveal the elemental concentration, spatial distribution, and water quality in remote glacier watershed under regional anthropogenic activities. Results showed that, the concentration of heavy metal elements was relatively high in Yuzhufeng Glacier basin, ranging from 0.57 μg/L (In) to 1,551.6 μg/L (Ba), whereas in Qiyi Glacier basin …

Approval Letter For The Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Blacktail Creek Pumping Test Quality Assurance Project Plan (Qapp) (Dated July 5, 2022), Nikia Greene

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites - Field Sampling And Investigation Plan (Fsp) Bres No. 50 – Zelia, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Butte Priority Soils Operable Unit (Bpsou) Draft Final Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites - Field Sampling And Investigation Plan (Fsp) Bres No. 08 – Belle Of Butte, Mike Mcanulty

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Examining Pollution And Forest Health: An Application Of Lichens As Bioindicators And Sentinal-5p Tropomi In Urban State Parks In Shelby County, Megan V. Farrell

Documents

This is a 51 page study on air pollution in urban areas by comparing the amounts of epiphytic lichen present at both T.O Fuller Park and Shelby Forest. This study shows the use of monitoring such environmental impacts.

Rock Climbing And Conservation In Land Management: Can They Coexist?, Marissa Heller

Geography ETDs

As participation in outdoor recreation is growing in the U.S., a dilemma is presented for conservation planners and land area managers who must manage the increasing demand for recreation while simultaneously working to protect species. Rock climbers and other outdoor recreationalists have asserted that a relationship exists between recreation and the conservation of public lands. However, mounting evidence suggests that rock climbing continues to cause a multitude of negative impacts to ecosystems. Here, I investigate the extent to which land management practices allow for rock climbing and conservation to coexist, and how it is that well developed plans protect ecologically …

Characterization Of Municipal Water Sources For The Mexico-Lerma-Cutzamala Basin Region, Ian F. Hirons

Sustainability and Social Justice

The Mexico and Toluca Valleys in central Mexico are part of one of the most heavily populated megalopolises in the western hemisphere where consistent access to safe, affordable, and quality water sources figures to be a decisive challenge in the era of climate change. This professional project report compiles a range of statistics and information about the vital liquid for 29 municipalities located in and around the Mexico City and Toluca areas. This contribution is derived from a broader team research endeavor that seeks to gauge the impacts and adaptive processes to climate change within those regions. By doing so, …

Investigations Of The Potential For Irrigated Agriculture On The Bonaparte Plains: Hydrogeology, Aquifer Properties And Groundwater Chemistry, Don Bennett, Paul Raper, Robert Paul, Tim Pope, Richard J. George Dr

Resource management technical reports

‘Cockatoo Sands’ is a common name for the Cockatoo Sands family of soils (comprising red to yellowish-red sands, sandy earths, and loamy earths) that have formed from quartz sandstone colluviums in relatively isolated patches throughout the East Kimberley region of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Cockatoo Sands are recognised as potentially suitable for irrigated agriculture because they are generally well drained and not subject to waterlogging or inundation. These characteristics allow them to be cultivated and prepared for planting various crops during the wet and dry seasons of northern Australia.

Expanding agricultural production onto the Cockatoo Sands around Kununurra …

Storing Water For The Environment: Operating Reservoirs To Improve California’S Freshwater Ecosystems, Sarah Null, Jeffrey Mount, Brian Gray, Kristen Dybala, Gokce Sencan, Anna Sturrock, Barton Thompson, Harrison Zeff

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

California’s freshwater ecosystems—its lakes, rivers, floodplains, meadows, natural and managed wetlands, and estuaries—are a vital part of the state’s natural infrastructure. These ecosystems provide numerous benefits, including water supply, hydropower, flood control, fisheries, recreation, and cultural and aesthetic value. They are also home to the nation’s most diverse array of plant and animal communities, with numerous freshwater species found only in California (Jensen et al. 1993; Grantham et al. 2017).

An Integrated Gis & Flood Vulnerability Index Approach To Evaluating Risk & Environmental Equity In Urban Karst Communities, Chloe Cooper

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examines how the usage of an integrated GIS (Geographic Information Systems), flood vulnerability assessment, and management approaches can aid in hazard response planning in karst groundwater systems, particularly in urban environments. In order to also better understand the impacts of flood events on socially vulnerable groups, this research was focused on historically excluded communities. Additionally, place-based vulnerabilities were primarily assessed based upon three main factors in the vulnerability framework and how these components intersect: social, environmental conditions, and economic. By understanding which areas of the City of Bowling Green, an iconic urban karst area, are most vulnerable and …

Fire And Human Management Of Late Holocene Ecosystems In Southern Africa, Benjamin Davies, Mitchell J. Power, David R. Braun, Matthew J. Douglass, Stella G. Mosher, Lynne J. Quick, Irene Esteban, Judith Sealy, John Parkington, J. Tyler Faith

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Globally, fire is a primary agent for modifying environments through the long-term coupling of human and natural systems. In southern Africa, control of fire by humans has been documented since the late Middle Pleistocene, though it is unclear when or if anthropogenic burning led to fundamental shifts in the region's fire regimes. To identify potential periods of broad-scale anthropogenic burning, we analyze aggregated Holocene charcoal sequences across southern Africa, which we compare to paleoclimate records and archaeological data. We show climate-concordant variability in mid-Holocene fire across much of the subcontinent. However, increased regional fire activity during the late Holocene (~2000 …

Secondary Science Teachers Use Of Models In Teaching And Learning About Earth’S Climate, Kimberly Carroll Steward

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

Global climate change (GCC) presents unprecedented global concerns, notably food supply limitations, unsustainable use of natural resources, and widespread environmental degradation. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports a 0.85 °C increase in global average temperatures between 1880 and 2018 and a 50% increase in global carbon dioxide emissions since 1990 (Stocker et al., 2018). As a result of the urgency of the situation, there is a strong emphasis on empowering citizens through outreach and education. There is a need to adequately prepare the next generation of scientists, politicians, business leaders, and other people; it is crucial to foster …

Environmental Communication: Changing The Attitude-Behavioral Gap In Science Communication Utilizing Strategic Messaging, Carrie Helgeson Nelms

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

National Polls in the United States consistently find the public’s beliefs and attitudes about climate change and other environmental issues significantly diverge from those held by the science community. A communication gap between the findings on the causes and effects of environmental issues and the public’s inability to interpret or refuse to accept these findings are possible causes of this divergence. This communication gap constitutes a threat to society because of inaction to environmental problems and points to needed changes in scientific messaging that better informs and motivates behavioral change. The present research employed a strategic message design to affect …

Analysis Of Seismicity And Related Seismic Risk In Muslim Countries: Case Studies From Afghanistan And Pakistan, Ikramuddin Bahram

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How communities respond to a natural hazard is influenced by how they perceive it. This dissertation evaluated the gap between intent and action regarding earthquake hazards in Muslim countries with a focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Cultural biases provided predictions of risk perceptions and risk-taking preferences that were often more powerful than measures of knowledge and experience. In Muslim communities, perception of risk was influenced by the teachings of Islam and related rituals, traditions, and culture.

This study evaluated the seismicity and earthquake hazard in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Assessments of seismic risk and perception of danger were conducted to examine …

Assessing Consumer Demand, Producer Profitability, And The Environmental Impacts Of Conservation Agriculture Adoption In Sub-Saharan Africa, Willy Byamungu Mulimbi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores three aspects of conservation agriculture (CA) in the Sub-Saharan African region (SSA). The first article examines the demand side of CA and explores whether urban maize (Zea mays L.) consumers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) would be willing to pay a premium for CA-produced maize flour. The second article estimates the effects CA provides to adopters and their farms in smallholder farming systems in the DRC, focusing on changes in soil properties and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) yields. The final article uses a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to monetize the environmental impacts of adopting …

Integrated Assessment Of Urban Overheating Impacts On Human Life, N. Nazarian, E. S. Krayenhoff, B. Bechtel, D. M. Hondula, R. Paolini, J. Vanos, T. Cheung, Winston T. L. Chow, Et Al

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Urban overheating, driven by global climate change and urban development, is a major contemporary challenge that substantially impacts urban livability and sustainability. Overheating represents a multifaceted threat to the well-being, performance, and health of individuals as well as the energy efficiency and economy of cities, and it is influenced by complex interactions between building, city, and global scale climates. In recent decades, extensive discipline-specific research has characterized urban heat and assessed its implications on human life, including ongoing efforts to bridge neighboring disciplines. The research horizon now encompasses complex problems involving a wide range of disciplines, and therefore comprehensive and …

Replication Data For: A Closer Look At Underground Natural Gas Pipeline Leaks Across The United States, Younki Cho, Kathleen M. Smits, Nathaniel L. Steadman, Bridget A. Ulrich, Clay S. Bell, Daniel J. Zimmerle

Earth & Environmental Sciences Datasets - Archive

Underground natural gas (NG) pipeline leakage can result in methane (CH₄) buildup and migration through the soil. What is not well understood in such scenarios is how the soil conditions affect the gas migration behavior, particularly in regard to the relative contributions of specific soil properties such as soil moisture content. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of soil properties on CH₄ concentration and migration from leaking underground NG pipelines. Site characteristics such as surface cover and spatial dimensions, soil samples, and gas concentration data were collected from over 70 gas leakage sites …

Gaging Downstream Transport Of Cyanobacteria In The Raritan River Basin, Kyle R. Clonan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Cyanobacteria dominated Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) have the potential to release toxic compounds harmful to human health. Few studies have examined the potential for cyanobacteria travelling from lacustrine HAB sources through fluvial systems used for potable water supply. The Raritan Basin Water Supply Complex (RBWSC) sources potable water for several utilities serving more than 1.5 million people in central New Jersey. The RBWSC features three lentic waterbodies with persistent HABs; discharges from these waterbodies all reach the downstream drinking water intakes. The objectives of this study were to 1) review the persistence of cyanobacteria during fluvial transport from upstream, cyanobacteria-dominated …

Application Of A 14c-Assay To Assess Methanotrophic Biodegradation Of Tce In Low Ph Groundwater, Evan Groome

All Theses

Current biological strategies for remediating trichloroethylene (TCE) in low pH aquifers (i.e., pH14C-TCE assay was developed to determine pseudo first-order rate constants for the degradation of TCE in microcosms containing soil and groundwater from the Boeing Michigan Aeronautical Research Center (BOMARC) superfund site, where the pH ranges from 4.1 to 4.9. The ¹⁴C-TCE assay was also adapted to calculate soil-normalized rate constants for data from this site, as well as data that Szwast²¹ collected from the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC). In addition to natural attenuation, biostimulation through amendments of methane and nutrients were also assessed. This treatment …

Simulating The Changes Of Invasive Phragmites Australis In A Pristine Wetland Complex With A Grey System Coupled System Dynamic Model: A Remote Sensing Practice, Danlin Yu, Nicholas A. Procopio, Chuanglin Fang

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Biological invasion has been one of the reasons that coastal wetlands gradually lose their ecological services. The current study investigates the spread of a commonly found invasive species in coastal wetlands in Northeastern US, the Phragmites australis. Within a relatively pristine wetland complex in coastal New Jersey, we collected high-resolution multispectral remote sensing images for eight years (2011–2018), in both winter and summer seasons. The land cover/land use status in this wetland complex is relatively simple, contains only five identifiable vegetation covers and water. Applying high accuracy machine learning algorithms, we are able to classify the land use/land cover in …