Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding Landowner Perceptions: Enhancing Conservation Easement Adoption In Missouri's Priority Landscapes, Mckenna N. Thompson, Jennah I. Klein, Robin M. Rotman, Sonja A. Wilhelm Stanis, Gus C. Raeker, Michele D. Baumer

Faculty Publications

Conservation of private lands is essential for protecting open space, supporting ecosystems and species, preserving resources, and facilitating outdoor recreation. One tool for private land conservation is a conservation easement – a voluntary legal agreement where a landowner surrenders certain rights to use or develop their property. This study explores landowner perceptions of perpetual conservation easements in areas of high conservation value in Missouri, focusing on landowners without existing easements. Through interviews, four themes emerge containing both motivations and constraints: prior knowledge, land protection, regulations, and finance. Many landowners were unfamiliar with conservation easements or had misconceptions or misunderstandings. The …

Mountain Communities During A Time Of War: A Case Study Of The Hutsul Region In The Carpathian Mountains Of Ukraine, Pavlo Rybaruk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the ethno-ecological technologies employed by the Hutsul people within the highland agrarian economy of the Carpathian Mountains. Over centuries, the Hutsuls have developed ethno-ecological technologies that maintain ecological integrity while supporting community livelihoods.

The study addresses three primary research questions: What are the most important ethno-ecological technologies of the Hutsul highland economy? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be applied to economic, agricultural, and tourism development in the Hutsul region? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be combined with contemporary approaches to encourage sustainable development in the region?

The research explores the devastating impact of the Russian …

Drivers Of Faunal Communities In Isolated Wetlands: Local And Landscape Determinants Of Assemblages, Joshua Holbrook

All Dissertations

Ecological interactions such as predation are vital to shaping the distribution of organisms. For interactions to occur, organisms must undertake movement, such as dispersal, that places them in proximity to the organisms with which they may interact. Geographically isolated wetlands (GIW) are productive and biodiverse ecosystems, but little is known on broad geographic scales about the determinants of their fauna. Fishes have difficulty colonizing GIW, whereas amphibians and macroinvertebrates are adept overland dispersers – though they may be sensitive to top-down control by fishes. To better understand these phenomena, I sampled 10-20 wetlands each at nine regions in North and …

Hyperspectral Indicators And Characterization Of Glyphosate-Induced Stress In Common Lambsquarters (Chenopodium Album L.), Mario Andrés Soto Valencia

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hyperspectral sensing enables detection of herbicide stress in weeds, but practical use requires strategies for redundancy control, rating variability management, and evaluator bias mitigation. This thesis evaluates common lambsquarters (Chenopodium album) under glyphosate exposure, aiming to identify key wavelengths, construct vegetation indices, and improve injury modeling. Greenhouse experiments used dimensionality reduction methods (principal component analysis, Relief F, Bayesian discriminant analysis) to isolate 34 unique wavelengths from about 3,200 bands. Calibration data were collected 14 days after treatment (DAT) to support wavelength selection and model development, while data from 27 DAT were used for independent validation. Class comparisons across six statistically …

Novel Approaches To Disinfecting Poultry Processing Wastewater For Reuse, Seth Olorunmijuwonlo Adesope

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water is an essential resource used in poultry processing, generating large volumes of foodborne pathogen-rich wastewater posing treats to public health. Treating poultry processing wastewater (PPW) is crucial for safe water reuse and sustainable development. Conventional disinfection methods like aerobic digestion and chlorination, although effective, impose considerable operational cost and generate harmful by-products. Integrated recycling systems such as advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) which destroy micro-organisms through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) present a promising opportunity for enhancing resources and sustainability. This study investigated the use of photo-electrochemical (PEC), specifically by combining electrochemical (EC) and photochemical (PC; Photosensitizer and …

Both Studying And Protecting Octopuses “On Their Own Terms”, Jennifer Jacquet, Janelle Kaz, Becca Franks, Christine Webb

Animal Sentience

Cephalopods – indeed, all animals – “must be seen on their own terms,” with respect for their autonomy and their ecological imperatives. This will provide greater scientific insight along with a more ethical and accurate understanding of minds beyond our own.

Indigenous And Tribal Nation Scientists And Universities, Elizabeth A. Sumida Huaman, Stephen J. Smith

Critical Internationalization Studies Review

No abstract provided.

An Integrated Ca–Markov Modeling Framework For Forecasting Land Use And Land Cover Dynamics In Arkansas, Usa, Rasool Vahid, Mohamed H. Aly

Environmental Dynamics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes significantly shape urban environments and directly impact ecological and socioeconomic systems. This study aims to explore these interconnections by employing the Cellular Automata–Markov (CA–Markov) model to assess and predict LULC dynamics in Arkansas. Historical LULC datasets from 2001 to 2021, obtained from the National Land Cover Database, were simplified from 11 into 5 classes to facilitate analysis and effectively map transitions. The model was validated by predicting LULC for 2016 and 2021 and comparing the predictions with the real maps, achieving an overall accuracy of approximately 91.9%, using model validation metrics, including precision, …

Correcting Class Imbalance Through Synthetic Training Data And 3d Modeling For Carabid Pitfall Trap Sampling, Blair Mirka

Geography ETDs

Crowdsourced biodiversity data provide an accessible foundation for large-scale ecological monitoring, but class imbalance limits automated species identification, particularly for rare taxa. This research explores the use of synthetic training data generated from 3D models of carabid beetle museum specimens to improve detection and classification performance for underrepresented species in crowdsourced datasets. High-resolution 3D models were created to simulate variation in lighting, orientation, and background. These synthetic images were incorporated into convolutional neural network training datasets at varying synthetic-to-real ratios to assess their impact on classification accuracy. Models were evaluated using controlled pitfall-trap imagery to examine the influence of scene …

Mathematically Modeling Stoichiometric Drivers Of Heterotrophic N2 Fixation, Corday R. Selden, Rebecca Everett, Halvor H. Halvorson, Megan E. Berberich, Luca Schenone, Angela Peace, Renn Schipper, Edwin Cruz-Rivera, James Powell, Keisuke Inomura, Robinson W. Fulweiler, Amy M. Marcarelli, J Thad Scott

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Artificial Light At Night Can Worsen Competitive Outcomes Between Native And Invasive Grasses, Shannon M. Murphy, Kylee Grenis, Anna A. Sher

Biological Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is an important global disturbance that affects community dynamics, but how it affects species interactions, such as competition, is not well understood and needs investigation. In plant communities, some exotic-invasive plant species seem to be facilitated by ALAN, which may alter competitive outcomes with native plant communities and promote invasion. Despite these intriguing results, whether ALAN affects competitive outcomes between native and invasive species is understudied. Here we tested how ALAN affects competitive outcomes between two native prairie grasses and two grasses that are exotic-invasive in North America. We planted each native species with a …

Deforestation Affecting Developing Nations, Nicole Villa

Sustainability Conference

Deforestation continues to be a growing problem around the globe, while it is affecting wildlife what can be overlooked is the challenges it’s creating for the livelihood of nations. This goes beyond losing the biodiversity of our ecosystems but social consequences with the scarcity of water in Malawi, rise in health risks in Democratic Republic of Congo and negative effects of agricultural expansion in Belize. Overall social conflict in these areas that are suffering to grow. Furthermore, I aim to cover the major challenges previously mentioned followed by counteracts of deforestation including action plan in Brazil, efforts of other countries …

Impact Of Physiological And Environmental Variation On The Behavioral Response Of The Two Biological Control Agents Of The Emerald Ash Borer To Host-Associated Odors, Vanshika Jindal

LSU Master's Theses

Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire; EAB) is an invasive pest that threatens ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) throughout North America and Europe. Since its introduction to North America, EAB has killed hundreds of millions of trees, resulting in severe ecological and economic damage exceeding 10 billion US dollars. Classical biological control involves the introduction of natural enemies from the native range of pests to manage their populations. Specialist parasitoid wasps have been released to reduce the populations of EAB. Detection and response to long-range attractants associated with EAB is critical for the location and parasitism by classical biological …

Assessing The Economic Impacts Of The Illegal, Unreported And Unregulated Fishing On The Namibian Coastal Communities : Challenges And Mitigation Strategies, Susana Kashinashilonga Angula

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Plastic Pollution In The Arctic Region And International Rules : Applicability And Limitations, Zhanfeng Lang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Guided Ungrading Example For Independent Research Projects In An Upper-Division Ecosystem Ecology Stem Course, Christine S. O'Connell

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Ungrading is a pedagogical approach that, in some iterations, emphasizes formative feedback and student self-assessment over traditional point-based grading. While increasingly popular in the humanities and social sciences, ungrading remains uncommon in STEM courses, particularly those that are content-intensive. This article presents a structured example of ungrading implemented in an upper-division ecosystem ecology course through a 7-week independent research project. Students used public or previously collected ecological data to investigate a scientific question, culminating in a short-format, manuscript-style research paper and a 10 min oral presentation. The project was scaffolded with multiple checkpoints, including structured reflections, peer review, and instructor …

Rewilding The Built Environment: Navigating Economic, Political, And Social Barriers To Urban Ecological Restoration, Carly E. Smith

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Urban rewilding offers a nature-based approach to restoring ecological processes in cities while advancing climate resilience, biodiversity, and public well-being. Unlike conventional green infrastructure, rewilding allows ecosystems to develop with minimal intervention, emphasizing succession, complexity, and long-term adaptability. This paper examines the political, economic, and social factors that frame how rewilding is understood and implemented in urban planning. Governmental frameworks often prioritize order, predictability, and short-term results, making it difficult to accommodate the uncertainty and ecological complexity that rewilding requires. Economic models struggle to capture its long-term value, frequently overlooking ecosystem services or reconciling competing land uses. Social perceptions of …

Understanding Rice Production Stagnation In The Philippines: Regional Evidence And Development Implications, Henry Bartelet, Alenn Jhulia D. Prodigalidad, Janelle S. Dy, Jan Gabriel N. Manzano

Quantitative Methods and Information Technology Faculty Publications

Despite decades of investment in agricultural research and rice development, the Philippines continues to face stagnation in domestic rice production. This persistent trend, occurring despite a sizable arable land base and large rural workforce, has contributed to the country’s growing reliance on rice imports to meet national food needs. In response, the government has implemented a tariff-based import system designed to fund domestic productivity improvements. While previous studies have explored the technical and environmental constraints affecting rice production, such as irrigation shortfalls, land degradation, and climate variability, few have examined recent national trends using regionally disaggregated data alongside qualitative insights. …

Motives And Community Energy: What Determines Participation In The U.S. And E.U., Belinda Litchtenfeld

Portugal: Sustainability and Environmental Justice

The shift to renewable energies has become a critical means of addressing the climate crisis. Community Energy (CE) has emerged as a ‘bottom-up’ transition to achieve decarbonization within a localized environment. The aim of this paper is to compare the motivations and framings of rural CE projects in the United States and European Union. The paper will compare the case of Loess Wind Farm, located in Rock Port, Missouri, with the Cedillo Solar Community in Caceres, Spain to determine how sociotechnical visions are shaped by the challenges facing communities. The elements of sociotechnical visions- meanings, knowings, doings, and organizings- as …

Size Matters: Linkage Between Bromeliad Traits And The Spider Communities They Host In A Disturbed Habitat, Alesandra Fairchild

Ecuador: Comparative Ecology and Conservation

Bromeliads are a plant group that have been praised for their ability to create unique microhabitats, hosting an abundant and diverse faunal community due to their unique structural characteristics. Unfortunately, as deforestation rates rise, this plant group is at risk of decreasing in both abundance and diversity, which puts their associated organisms at risk of losing essential habitat (e.g. spiders). In this study, the effect of bromeliad structural characteristics and forest disturbance was assessed in a mature and secondary forest by classifying bromeliad abundance by forest type, characterizing forest structure, and by analyzing spider abundance and diversity based on these …

Public Perception And Awareness Of Shark Nets In New South Wales, Drew Rosenfeld

Australia: Rainforest, Reef, and Cultural Ecology

Shark nets have been in use along the beaches of New South Wales since 1937, with the purpose of the nets to reduce human shark encounters near popular beaches. While the purpose of the nets is to protect personal safety, the nets also entangle and harm non target marine life. This study examined public perception and awareness of shark nets in NSW through a mixed method approach that utilized survey and interview data. In total, 201 surveys were administered on Bondi and Coogee beach. Five interviews were also carried out with key stakeholder groups. Results have shown that public perception …

What’S On The Menu? An Observational Study Of The Predatory Ecology Of Pseudochromis Fuscus, Navya Mittal

Australia: Rainforest, Reef, and Cultural Ecology

Understanding the foraging behaviour of small reef predators is important for determining how they influence reef fish and cryptobenthic community structure. This study examined the predatory behaviour of Pseudochromis fuscus, a mesopredatory reef fish known to consume high numbers of juvenile damselfish recruits. In contrast to previous studies, no successful captures of juvenile recruits were observed, despite numerous attempted strikes. Instead, benthic invertebrates appeared to be the primary food source across all three time periods examined (full moon, mass coral spawning, and new moon). Behavioural differences were observed among periods, with significantly higher pursuit attempts during the new moon, likely …

Chemistry And Biochemistry Affiliated Publications: Snapshot Of The Research Publications 2019-2024., Jeremy J. Smith, Lutishoor Salisbury

University Libraries Faculty Publications and Presentations

This report highlights the chemistry and biochemistry faculty publications for the period 2019-2024. It includes tables identifying the types of publications, the characteristics of the authors, inter-departmental and external cooperation, summary of the citations of the publications, and the JCR ranking of the journals in which they published.

Antibiotic Resistance Trends In Coliform Bacteria Of Kittitas County Waters, Kaitlyn Holbrook, Bella Blasingim, Cruz Veronica Guillen Mejia, Holly Pinkart

Journal of the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression

Project Mentor(s): Holly Pinkart, PhD

Since the mid-1900s, antibiotics have been developed to help fight against bacterial pathogens. However, bacteria can evolve rapidly and have evolved resistance to many types of antibiotics. Using coliform bacteria collected from waters around Kittitas County, BIOL 323 students at Central Washington University have identified a variety of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Kittitas County streams and canals. Antibiotic resistance was measured from 2014-2019 and compared to data collected in 2024. This study focuses on three antibiotics, ampicillin, kanamycin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. In the past (2014-2019) we saw no change in the trend of antibiotic resistance in collected …

Trophic Niche Overlap Between Native And Alien Fish Species: A Challenge For The Aquatic Ecosystems, Rana Manzoor Ahmad, Abdul Majid Khan, Mariya Basharat, Muhammad Rizwan, Neelam Shahzadi, Muhammad Imran

Journal of Bioresource Management

The different physiological and biological challenges are introduced not only on land but also in aquatic ecosystems due to increasing climatic changes and human needs. One of these challenges is the introduction of invasive alien species to the native freshwater ichthyofauna. These species not only disturb the ecological balance of the native water bodies but can also be a vector for parasitic diseases. The current study is designed to disclose the trophic niche overlap among exotic (Cyprinus carpio and Oreochromis mozambicus) and indigenous fish species (Labeo calbasu and Cirrhinus mrigala) from Head Baloki (Ravi River), Punjab, …

Pollen Loads Of Insects Caught In Cultivated Fields Of Oilseed Pennycress, Frank Forcella, Ellinor Sheik, Michael Zavada, Mark Bernards

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Although many insects are known to be associated with the floral canopies of oilseed pennycress (Thlaspi arvense), those that carry the crop’s pollen are unknown. During early spring of 2024 insects associated with pennycress flowers in Illinois and Minnesota were captured in sweep nets, frozen, sorted by species, and sonicated to remove pollen. Pollen grains were counted, and pollen loads per individual insect were calculated. Members of the orders Diptera, Hemiptera, and Hymenoptera accounted for 66%, 16%, and 14% of the 850 insects examined, but these same orders were responsible, respectively, for 18%, 3%, and 78% of the …

Warming Induces Unexpectedly High Soil Respiration In A Wet Tropical Forest, Tana E. Wood, Colin Tucker, Aura M. Alonso-Rodríguez, M. Isabel Loza, Iana F. Grullón-Penkova, Molly A. Cavaleri, Christine S. O'Connell, Sasha C. Reed

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Tropical forests are a dominant regulator of the global carbon cycle, exchanging more carbon dioxide with the atmosphere than any other terrestrial biome. Climate models predict unprecedented climatic warming in tropical regions in the coming decades; however, in situ field warming studies are severely lacking in tropical forests. Here we present results from an in situ warming experiment in Puerto Rico, where soil respiration responses to ⁺4 ^oC warming were assessed half-hourly for a year. Soil respiration rates were 42-204% higher in warmed relative to ambient plots, representing some of the highest soil respiration rates reported for any …

Gardens As Pathways To Environmental Education For All Ages, Lacey Anderson

The Cicadian

Gardens provide hands-on opportunities for environmental education that extend beyond food production, encompassing ecological literacy, sustainability practices, experiential learning, and community engagement. This article uses a creative nonfiction approach to examine the author’s personal journey from reluctant gardener to advocate for learning gardens. Through narrative reflection of her own family’s gardening experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, the author illustrates how gardening fosters intergenerational learning, socio-emotional development, and curiosity-driven exploration of ecological systems. The article highlights how gardens function as accessible entry points for lifelong learners of all ages, demonstrating that environmental literacy can emerge outside of traditional scientific expertise. Ultimately, …

Exploring The Relative Effects Of Natural Gas And Biogas Cooking On Indoor Air Quality In Residential Kitchens, Wande Benka-Coker, Kailey Sipe, Dinela Dedic, Alexander Jones, Bramley Hawkins, Emily Lyons, Matt Steiman, Megan L. Benka-Coker

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Indoor air pollution from gas stove combustion remains a public health concern, given links to adverse cardiorespiratory health effects, yet few studies have characterized or compared the air quality impacts of different gas-based cooking fuels. We investigated kitchen-level concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in four homes in Central Pennsylvania that used natural gas and/or biogas fueled stoves. We conducted time-resolved kitchen monitoring and assessed pollutant concentrations during cooking and non-cooking periods. We applied linear mixed-effect regression models with kitchen-level random effects and time-varying covariates to estimate the influence of fuel type on indoor air …

Tracing Priming Effects In Palsa Peat Carbon Dynamics Using A Stable Isotope-Assisted Metabolomics Approach, Christian Ayala-Ortiz, Moira Hough, Elizabeth K. Eder, David W. Hoyt, Rosalie K. Chu, Jason Toyoda, Steven J. Blazewicz, Patrick M. Crill, Ruth Varner, Scott R. Saleska, Virginia I. Rich, Malak M. Tfaily

Michigan Tech Publications

Introduction: Peatlands store up to a third of global soil carbon, and in high latitudes their litter inputs are increasing and changing in composition under climate change. Although litter significantly influences peatland carbon and nutrient dynamics by changing the overall lability of peatland organic matter, the physicochemical mechanisms of this impact—and thus its full scope—remain poorly understood. Methods: We applied multimodal metabolomics (UPLC-HRMS, ¹H NMR) paired with ¹³C Stable Isotope-Assisted Metabolomics (SIAM) to track litter carbon and its potential priming effects on both existing soil organic matter and carbon gas emissions. Through this approach, we achieved molecule-specific tracking …