Digital Commons Network^™

Similarity Of Nutrient Uptake And Root Dimensions Of Engelmann Spruce And Subalpine Fir At Two Contrasting Sites In Colorado, Melissa S. Lucash, Ruth D. Yanai, Karis J. Mcfarlane, Sarah E. Kulpa, Dustin M. Wood

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nutrient uptake capacity is an important parameter in modeling nutrient uptake by plants. Researchers commonly assume that uptake capacity measured for a species can be used across sites. We tested this assumption by measuring the nutrient uptake capacity of intact roots of Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanni Parry) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) at Loch Vale Watershed and Fraser Experimental Forest in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado. Roots still attached to the tree were exposed to one of three concentrations of nutrient solutions for time periods ranging from 1 to 96h, and solutions were analyzed for ammonium, …

Biofuels: Cultivating Energy, Not Invasive Species, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

Biofuels: Cultivating Energy, not Invasive Species, approved by ISAC on August 11, 2009

ISSUE

To provide alternatives to petroleum-based energy, the United States government has mandated a greater proportion of plant-based biofuels be integrated into its energy portfolio. However, certain plant species being proposed for biofuel production in the United States are invasive species or are likely to escape cultivation and become invasive. United States Executive Order (EO) 131121 defines invasive species as “alien [non-native] species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health” and states: “Each Federal agency whose actions …

Fisheries Research Report No. 181 - Developing Long-Term Indicators For The Sub-Tidal Embayment Communities Of Cockburn Sound, Danielle Johnston, C. Wakefield, A Sampey, J Fromont, D C. Harris

Fisheries Research Reports

Swan Catchment Council Project – 01-0506 T 2006 – 2008 program

The geomorphology of Cockburn Sound is unique to the lower west coast of Australia due to the relative paucity of sheltered nearshore marine embayments along this coastline. Numerous studies on many of the commercially and/or recreationally important species that inhabit Cockburn Sound have demonstrated that for many of them this marine embayment constitutes an integral part of their life history. Since the commencement of industrial and urban development in the mid 1950s, in the waters and along the shores of Cockburn Sound, the marine fauna utilising this area have …

Water Resources Review - Fall 2008, Vol 21, No. 1, Annis Water Resource Institute

AWRI Reviews

No abstract provided.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Vegetation Monitoring And Analysis: Year-End Progress Report, October 1, 2007 To September 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Vegetation Monitoring

Executive Summary

• The Weed Sentry program surveyed over 335 miles and 2,610 acres of transportation corridors on federal land in Clark County for incipient populations of exotic plants.
• 18 manuscripts attained in-press or published status and one manuscript was submitted for review this year. Among published manuscripts, are one documenting Sahara mustard germination patterns (Western North American Naturalist), one assessing exotic species distributions in Clark County (Environmental Monitoring and Assessment), and another is a synthesis of burro effects on Mojave Desert vegetation (Environmental Management), and one assessing vegetation in grassy remnants of the Las Vegas Valley (Desert Plants)
• Staff delivered …

Legislative Committee On Public Lands, Margaret N. Rees

Presentations (PLI)

The Public Lands Institute is dedicated to strengthening the national fabric that is essential for the protection, conservation, multiple use, and management of public lands.

The Current State Of Populations Of Diadema Antillarum On Isla Colón In Bocas Del Toro, Panamá, 25 Years After Mass Mortality, Leah T. Ritz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In January 1983, the worst recorded die-off of any marine animal hit the Caribbean beginning near the mouth of the Panama Canal and eventually wiping out nearly 99% of one of the most important herbivores in coral reef communities, Diadema antillarum—the long-spined sea urchin or Diadema. No populations of Diadema in the Western Atlantic are known to have escaped the drastic population declines. The loss of Diadema throughout the Western Atlantic has had long-lasting impacts on the structure and composition of many types of communities including coral reefs, mangrove roots, sea grass beds, and sand flats. Though the mortality was …

Fish Distributions And Nutrient Cycling In Streams: Can Fish Create Biogeochemical Hotspots?, Peter B. Mcintyre, Alexander S. Flecker, Michael J. Vanni, James M. Hood, Brad W. Taylor, Steven A. Thomas

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Rates of biogeochemical processes often vary widely in space and time, and characterizing this variation is critical for understanding ecosystem functioning. In streams, spatial hotspots of nutrient transformations are generally attributed to physical and microbial processes. Here we examine the potential for heterogeneous distributions of fish to generate hotspots of nutrient recycling. We measured nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) excretion rates of 47 species of fish in an N-limited Neotropical stream, and we combined these data with population densities in each of 49 stream channel units to estimate unit- and reach-scale nutrient recycling. Species varied widely in rates of N …

Finicky Fish Finish... Last! Pre-Visit Lessons (Grade 5), Discover Mojave: Forever Earth

Curriculum materials (FE)

In “Finicky Fish Finish…Last!” students use the Forever Earth vessel to explore what has happened to the Colorado River and the reasons why it is so difficult for the razorback sucker to thrive in a changed environment. Working as ichthyologists (fish biologists) at Lake Mead, students collect water quality data such as temperature, pH, and clarity -- to determine whether current habitat conditions are sufficient for survival of young razorback suckers. Students observe and identify non-native fish in Lake Mead as they learn how the razorback sucker interacts with these neighbors. Students assess whether Lake Mead is still a good …

Management Of The Houtman Abrolhos System. A Draft Review 2007 - 2017, Department Of Fisheries (Western Australia) On Advice From The Abrolhos Islands Management Advisory Committee

Fisheries Management Papers

This review contains a brief description of the Abrolhos System and its special values. It also states the goal and principal objectives for management during the next ten years (2006-2016), along with updated strategies to achieve these objectives. The document succinctly outlines the direction for multiple use management of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands as determined by the Abrolhos Islands Management Advisory Committee (AIMAC). The Committee’s role is to advise the Minister for Fisheries on management of the Abrolhos Islands and the Abrolhos Islands Fish Habitat Protection Area.

Impacts Of Predators On Northern Bobwhites In The Southeast, John P. Carroll, Susan N. Ellis-Felege, William E. Palmer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) is an important game bird that is intensively managed for hunting recreation in the southeastern United States. Despite interest regionwide, populations have been declining for much of the last 40 years (Brennan 1999). Population declines in the Southeast have occurred as a result of widespread habitat loss associated with land-use changes (Brennan 1999). These land-use changes include both conversion from agricultural to forest landscapes and changes in forest management practices, which result in dense forest canopies that shade required ground vegetation (Brennan 1999, Rollins and Carroll 2001). In addition, low-quality habitats may …

Vegetative And Invertebrate Community Characteristics Of Conservation Reserve Program Fields Relative To Gamebirds In Western Kansas, Elizabeth D. Doxon, John P. Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We examined vegetation and invertebrate characteristics, including insect biomass, insect-prey, six Families and seven Orders in four varieties of Conservation Reserve Program (CP10, improved CP10, CP2 and CP25) and wheat fields in western Kansas during Jun. and Jul., 2004 and 2005 relative to gamebird chick ecology. CP10 fields had less bare ground and forbs compared to the other Conservation Practices and CP25 fields had lost much of their original forb component by the end of the study. Although there was little forb component, CP10 fields had high invertebrate biomass. However, CP10 fields demonstrated sizeable declines in the estimated effect size …

Nutrient Cycling In Forage Production Systems, David A. Wedin, Michael P. Russelle

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

In most forage production systems, the nutrients needed for plant growth are provided by microbially mediated breakdown and release of plant-available mineral nutrients from dead plant tissues, livestock excreta, soil organic matter, and geochemically bound mineral forms. Even in fertilized forage systems, determining appropriate fertilizer application rates requires a "systems" approach on the part of the manager (e.g., Di and Cameron, 2000; Rotz et al., 2002). Fertilizer additions are simply one input in the system of inputs, outputs, pools, and fluxes that characterize nutrient cycling in a particular ecosystem.

Fisheries Occasional Publication No. 29 - Western Rock Lobster Fishery Effects Of Fishing On The Ecosystem - Scientific Reference Group (Chairman's Report No. 3, February 2005), Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Occasional Publications

The Western Rock Lobster Effects of Fishing on the Ecosystem Scientific Reference Group (the SRG) was convened jointly by the Department of Fisheries and the WA Fishing Industry Council (WAFIC). The SRG met on Tuesday 1 February 2005 at the Fremantle Sailing Club, and this document is the official report from that meeting.

Streamlining The National Environmental Policy Act Reporting Requirements: A Hard Look At The Healthy Forests Initiative, Jeffrey Alan Geller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has implemented the Healthy Forests Initiative (HFI) (2002), which streamlines the NEPA process for proposed forest fuel reduction projects. A key question is whether the USFS’s streamlined NEPA process produces an adequate environmental document and fulfills regulatory requirements. This thesis evaluates whether the streamlined approach practiced by the USFS under the HFI satisfies the NEPA requirements. A review of four streamlined documents assesses whether these requirements are met. The following NEPA requirements in particular are explored for each project to determine whether the NEPA requirements are met: consideration of a reasonable range of alternatives to …

Presentation To Mojave-Southern Great Basin Rac, Public Lands Institute

Presentations (PLI)

University manages selected SNPLMA projects as determined by the four federal agencies. Projects must be:

• Compatible with UNLV’s mission.
• Enhance education and research.
• Draw upon expertise of faculty, staff, and students.

Cesu Agreements: Beyond Traditional Science Applications, Margaret N. Rees

Presentations (PLI)

Partnering with four federal land-management agencies

• Bureau of Land Management
• National Park Service
• U.S. Forest Service
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Optimizing Allocation Of Monitoring Effort Under Economic And Observational Constraints, Scott A. Field, Andrew J. Tyre, Hugh P. Possingham

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Efforts to design monitoring regimes capable of detecting population trends can be thwarted by observational and economic constraints inherent to most biological surveys. Ensuring that limited resources are allocated efficiently requires evaluation of statistical power for alternative survey designs. We simulated the process of data collection on a landscape, where we initiated declines over 3 sample periods in species of varying prevalence and detectability. Changing occupancy levels were estimated using a technique that accounted for effects of false-negative errors on survey data. Declines were identified within a frequentist statistical framework, but the significance level was set at an optimal level …

Draft Plan Of Management For The Proposed Point Quobba Fish Habitat Protection Area., Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

Point Quobba is a popular site for locals and tourists for beach activities, fishing and snorkelling, and as a place for children to learn to swim and gain an awareness of the marine environment. The marine life and habitats of the area are of considerable scientific and recreational interest and are highly valued in the local community. However, they are at risk from their high level of use and from conflict between users due to their proximity to popular tourism, boat ramp, camping and settlement areas on-shore.

Fisheries Research Contract Report No. 2 - Towards An Assessment Of Natural And Human Use Impacts On The Marine Environment Of The Abrolhos Islands (Phase 1 : Data Consolidation And Scoping - Final Report For Frdc Project 2000/1 66), C. F. Chubb, K. Nardi

Fisheries Research Contract Reports

This project has drawn together existing research data relating to natural and human impacts on the Abrolhos Islands marine habitats. It has surveyed current uses of these habitats and placed anthropogenic impacts within the context of natural perturbations. Through public forum presentation and debate, this work has allowed real issues, not perceptions, to surface and be addressed properly. This was achieved by defining a strategic programme of research through a scientific workshop process involving all community stakeholders. A two volume Fisheries Research Report (WA) summarizes current knowledge and details the workshop proceedings and strategic research plan.

Water Resources Year In Review - Winter 2002, Annis Water Resources Institute

AWRI Reviews

No abstract provided.

Reseeding Of Grazing Gastropods And Bivalves Into The Marine Environment In Western Australia, Jane Borg

Fisheries Management Papers

The Department of Fisheries does not want to embark on what is ‘new territory’ in Western Australia without a policy framework to define what is to happen, why it is to happen, and what will happen if the project does or does not succeed. This paper therefore attempts to do three things. 1. It sets in place accepted definitions of reseeding and stock enhancement within the general context of fisheries management in Western Australia. 2. It discusses the policy issues associated with reseeding grazing gastropods and bivalves into the natural environment. 3. It proposes a framework or process to be …

Fisheries Occasional Publication No. 2 - Scientific Workshop On The Margaret River Marron, Brett Molony

Fisheries Occasional Publications

Purpose of the Workshop

To gather together and review the scientific evidence around genetic and sustainability issues necessary for the management of Margaret River Marron (MRM)

The outcomes of the day will be to provide scientific advice, options and priorities to the relevant Programs within the Department of Fisheries to promote the sustainability of marron within MR.

* Introduction to, and comparison of, genetic techniques available to researchers. Presenter - Phil Vercoe

* What do we know about the genetic diversity of marron and other Cherax? Presenter - Chris Austin

* Morphology and Hybrids Presenter - Craig Lawrence

* The …

Draft Plan Of Management For The Proposed Miaboolya Beach Fish Habitat Protection Area., Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

The aims of the proposal outlined in this draft management plan is to protect and rehabilitate the aquatic habitat of Miaboolya Beach, the associated mangrove ecosystem, and involve the community in their management.

By setting the area aside as a FHPA, the Department of Fisheries will establish a framework to promote and actively conserve all the habitats within the Miaboolya system, as described in Section 3 of this document.

Macrohabitat Composition Surrounding Successful And Depredated Northern Bobwhite Nests, Eric L. Staller, William E. Palmer, John P. Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Relationships among macrohabitat and depredation of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) nests are poorly understood. Yet, macrohabitat composition may influence the nest predator community and, therefore, the vulnerability of northern bobwhite nests to depredation. We determined if macrohabitat composition surrounding bobwhite nests influenced nest placement, nest success, and which predators were responsible for depredating nests. We characterized macrohabitats at 2 scales, 8 and 16 ha, by surrounding both bobwhite nests, and an equal number of random locations, with a circular buffer. Random points were placed within the area used by bobwhites on our study area. We then determined the …

Fisheries Research Report No. 130 - Environmental Requirements And Tolerances Of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) And Brown Trout (Salmo Trutta) With Special Reference To Western Australia: A Review, Brett W. Molony

Fisheries Research Reports

Both Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout) and Salmo trutta (brown trout) have a long history of translocation and culture and a wide knowledge base exists. O.mykiss is being considered as a candidate for inland aquaculture in the salinity affected areas of southern Western Australia and this review aims, in part, at providing relevant information to those considering a trout-framing venture in Western Australia. Both species of trout can survive a wide range of environmental conditions, including temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen and ammonia, with O.mykiss having a higher temperature tolerance than S.trutta. However, within the ranges of environmental conditions, each species …

The Savannah River Site: Site Description, Land Use And Management History, David L. White, Karen F. Gaines

Publications

The 78,000-ha Savannah River Site, which is located in the upper Coastal Plain of South Carolina along the Savannah River, was established as a nuclear production facility in 1951 by the Atomic Energy Commission. The site’s physical and vegetative characteristics, land use history, and the impacts of management and operations are described. Aboriginal and early European settlement was primarily along streams, where much of the farming and timber cutting have occurred. Woodland grazing occurred in the uplands and lowlands. Land use intensity increased after the Civil War and peaked in the 1920s. Impacts from production of cotton and corn, naval …

Remote Sensing And Geographic Information Systems For Decision Analysis In Public Resource Administration: Case Study In A Southwestern Watershed, William G. Kepner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Alternative futures analysis is a scenario-based approach to regional land planning that attempts to synthesize existing scientific information in a format useful to community decision makers. Typically, this approach attempts to investigate the impacts of several alternative sets of choices preferred by representative stakeholder groups relative to selected environmental or economical endpoints. Potential impacts from each of the scenarios are compared to current conditions of the region in terms of a set of processes that are modeled within a geographic information system. Future conditions are generally examined from the perspective of a recent baseline condition (versus empirically determined using a …

The Relative Importance Of Patch Area And Perimeter–Area Ratio To Grassland Breeding Birds, Christopher J. Helzer, Dennis E. Jelinski

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Habitat fragmentation has been implicated as a major cause of population decline in grassland birds. We tested the hypothesis that a combination of area and shape determines the use of grassland patches by breeding birds. We compared both species richness and individual species presence in 45 wet meadow grasslands in the floodplain of the central Platte River, Nebraska. Bird data were collected through the use of belt transects and supplemented by walking and listening outside transects. Our data supported our primary hypothesis that perimeter–area ratio, which reflects both the area and shape of a patch, is the strongest predictor of …

Inventory Of The Central Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion Of Kansas And Nebraska, Hillary Loring, Mike Bullerman, Kelly Kindscher

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

An inventory of potential high quality mixed-grass prairie ranches and large properties within the Central Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion of Kansas and Nebraska was conducted in the spring and summer of 1999. Emphasis during the inventory was placed on identification of relatively intact landscapes. Significant ranches within those untilled landscapes were visited. An interview of the owners or managers of those properties was coupled with a survey of the vegetation. Assessments of quality were based on species composition, continuity of ground cover, observations of livestock impact, and viability of the community types present.

The objectives of this study were to:

1) …