Digital Commons Network^™

Reading The Rangeland: A Guide To The Arid Shrublands Of Western Australia, Don Burnside, Alec Holm, Alan Payne, Georgina Wilson

All other publications

Managing the rangelands is complex. Soils and vegetation can vary considerably over short distances in distinct or subtle ways. Separating climatic from management influences on the condition of the land has always been difficult. Whether we live on a sheep station, in a country town, in an Aboriginal community, a mining camp, or even if we only visit the Australian outback, it is vital that we understand and appreciate the unique character and management requirements of the rangelands. Learning to ‘read the rangeland’ has been a slow process, involving the knowledge and skills of pastoralists, Aboriginal people and scientists. This …

1995 Platte River Basin Ecosystem Symposium Proceedings

Water Current Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Alternative Methods Of Predator Control, Crystal A. Wilbanks

Coyotes in the Southwest: A Compendium of Our Knowledge (Symposium Proceedings, 1995)

Acceptable solutions to animal damage problems must consider the social and recreational values of wildlife, regulation of population levels, potential hazards of chemical use, human safety and disturbance to biotic communities. The objective should be to reduce harm and economic loss of livestock to an acceptable level. This paper, reviews alternative, i.e. nonlethal, predator management methods. Alternative methods include guard animals, fencing, repellents, frightening devices and perhaps someday, immuno-contraception. The intent of animal damage control should be an integrated pest management approach tailored to fit the individual landowner's needs.

Coyotes In The Southwest: Foreword, Dale Rollins

Coyotes in the Southwest: A Compendium of Our Knowledge (Symposium Proceedings, 1995)

Long before the recent clamor over endangered species, predators and their management were controversial. The coyote (Canis latrans) is often at the center of such debates. Cursed by some, revered by others, respected by all, the coyote is an icon of the Southwest.

Historical Perspective On Coyote Control Methods In Texas, Robert L. Phillips, Gary L. Nunley

Coyotes in the Southwest: A Compendium of Our Knowledge (Symposium Proceedings, 1995)

A variety of control methods used over an 80-year period (1915–1995) contributed to the effective and successful coyote (Canis latrans) damage management program that exists in Texas today. Traps, toxicants, shooting, denning, and dogs were important during the early years of the Texas Animal Damage Control Service (TADCS) program. Aerial hunting and snares evolved as important control tools following the ban on strychnine and Compound 1080 in 1972. The livestock protection collar (LPC) has received increased use in recent years and has been useful in resolving difficult depredation problems. ADC policy along with changing state and federal regulations …

The Coyote In Southwestern Folklore, Wyman P. Meinzer

Coyotes in the Southwest: A Compendium of Our Knowledge (Symposium Proceedings, 1995)

Perhaps one of the first mentions of the coyote (Canis latrans) by Anglos in early-day journalism was from Mark Twain's notes during his travels through the plains frontier in the early- to mid-19th century. Touring the frontier region before its inevitable subjugation to ranching and farming, Twain wrote of the coyote and its larger more infamous cousin, the wolf(C. lupus), In words which left no doubt to the reader the popular sentiments for such predators of the day. Although derogatory in some respects, Twain did concede respect for C. latrans and made mention of …

The Coyote, Baxter Black

Coyotes in the Southwest: A Compendium of Our Knowledge (Symposium Proceedings, 1995)

I think I can speak for the coyote
With more understanding than most
Especially those who defend him
And live on the New Jersey coast

Audubon's Perspective On Coyotes, Dede Armentrout

Coyotes in the Southwest: A Compendium of Our Knowledge (Symposium Proceedings, 1995)

Audubon has a membership which probably spans all views of coyotes (Canis latrans) Audubon's staff views coyotes as biologically appropriate predators in most of the Southwest. We believe that they can be an asset to a well-managed ranch, but that they can also cause localized depredation which must be answered.

Our members value predators, including coyotes, for their natural role in ecological systems, including their influence on prey species. Many of our members travel broadly and spend money to view wildlife, and consider it a treat to see and hear coyotes.

Influence Of Vegetated Wetlands On The Water Quality Of Two Glacial Prairie Lakes, Lois Haertel, Walter G. Duffy, Daniel E. Kokesh

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

We investigated the influence of vegetated wetlands on water quality of two eastern South Dakota glacial prairie lakes. Surface water from a 5,880 ha pastured basin drains into a 90 ha upstream Typha wetland and enters Lake Enemy Swim passing 400 m through Typha-Scirpus littoral wetland. A second 1,290 ha basin characterized by row crops and pasture drains into a 260 ha open water slough entering L. Enemy Swim adjacent to Typha-Scirpus littoral wetland. Water enters Lake Cochrane from two smaller drainage basins. Water from a 180 ha basin consisting of a pasture and wet meadow enters the lake after …

The Use Of The National Information Infrastructure And High Performance Computers In Industry, Geoffrey C. Fox, Wojtek Furmanski

Northeast Parallel Architecture Center

We divide potential NII (National Information Infrastructure) services into five broad areas: Collaboration and televirtuality; InfoVISiON (Information, Video, Imagery, and Simulation on Demand), and digital libraries; commerce; metacomputing; WebTop productivity services. The latter denotes the broad suite of tools we expect to be offered on the Web in a general environment we term WebWindows. We review current and future World Wide Web technologies, which could underlie these services. In particular, we suggest an integration framework WebWork for High Performance (parallel and distributed) computing and the NII. We point out that pervasive WebWork and WebWindows technologies will enable, facilitate and substantially …

Basic Issues And Current Status Of Parallel Computing -- 1995, Geoffrey C. Fox

Northeast Parallel Architecture Center

The best enterprises have both a compelling need pulling them forward and an innovative technological solution pushing them on. In high-performance computing, we have the need for increased computational power in many applications and the inevitable long-term solution is massive parallelism. In the short term, the relation between pull and push may seem unclear as novel algorithms and software are needed to support parallel computing. However, eventually parallelism will be present in all computers -- including those in your children's video game, your personal computer or workstation, and the central supercomputer.

Stability And Resolution In Thermal Imaging, Lester Caudill, Kurt Bryan

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

This paper examines an inverse problem which arises in thermal imaging. We investigate the problem of detecting and imaging corrosion in a material sample by applying a heat flux and measuring the induced temperature on the sample's exterior boundary. The goal is to identify the profile of some inaccessible portion of the boundary. We study the case in which one has data at every point on the boundary of the region, as well as the case in which only finitely many measurements are available. An inversion procedure is developed and used to study the stability of the inverse problem for …

Graduate Bulletin, 1995-1996 (1995), Moorhead State University

Graduate Bulletins (Catalogs)

No abstract provided.

Avian Use Of Riparian Corridors And Adjacent Cropland In East-Central Nebraska, Rebecca L. Fitzmaurice

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

No abstract provided.

Estimating Transition Probabilities From Aggregate Samples Augmented By Haphazard Recaptures, D. L. Hawkins, Jerome Eisenfeld, C. P. Han

Mathematics Technical Papers - Archive

Transition probabilities provide a convenient summary of changes in a categorical trait over time in a population. The difficulties of estimating such probabilities based on only aggregate data from repeated sampling are well known. We give here a method for augmenting aggregate data with haphazard recapture data, which can dramatically improve the estimation precision of transition probabilities. The method requires a rather high sampling fraction to provide sufficient numbers of recaptures. It is based on a generalized nonlinear least squares strategy which yields transition probability estimates preserving their natural parameter space, and which are asymptotically efficient. The asymptotic theory is …

Impacts Of Irrigation Development On Anadromous Fish In The Yakima River Basin, Washington, Robert L. Tuck

All Master's Theses

Prior to Euroamerican development, the Yakima River Basin was a major producer of salmon. Total runs of approximately 800,000 have declined to 3,000-5,000, or less than 1% of original run size. Three species are extinct in the basin, including summer chinook, coho, and sockeye.

Irrigation development, including the construction of unscreened diversions, the blockage of spawning and rearing habitat by reservoir dams, and the dewatering of spawning and rearing habitat, began in the mid-1800's and today totals approximately 500,000 acres. Historical records provide a wealth of information documenting irrigation development and its consequences on anadromous fish populations.

Table Of Contents Volume Six, Number One, Winter 1995, Risk Editorial Board

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Table of contents for the journal RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (ISSN: 1073-8673)

Birds Associated With Blackbird Spring Feeding Sites In South Dakota, George M. Linz, David L. Bergman, William J. Bleier

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

From 2 to 16 April 1993, we conducted road-side surveys of birds using harvested fields of small grains, soybeans, and wm within 8 km of two blackbird roosts in east central South Dakota. Blackbirds, waterfowl, killdeer, homed larks, ring-necked pheasants, and western meadowlarks were the most common buds recorded. The frequencies of blackbirds, non-game birds, terrestrial game birds, and waterfowl was not equally distributed within the three habitats (P = 0.U.23).

Radon Reduction, Improvement Of Indoor Air Quality, And Energy Savings Through An Original Solar Ventilation System, Heather E. Rhoads

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study evaluated the improvement of indoor air quality and energy savings achieved, by an original solar ventilation system installed at test sites exhibiting elevated radon levels. Conventional residential energy conservation measures that limit air exchange rates between the indoors and outdoors have been shown to increase concentrations of radioactive radon decay products as well as other indoor air contaminants. Growing concern about radon lung cancer risks, carbon monoxide poisoning, and the "sick building syndrome" have increased demand for improved indoor air quality. Due to added heating and cooling loads, ventilation generally incurs substantial installation and operational costs. All commercially …

Free Α-Oxiranyl Amino Acids, David B. Berkowitz, Michelle L. Pedersen

David Berkowitz Publications

Analogues of natural amino acids, in which the α-proton is replaced by an unsubstituted epoxide ring, are potential mechanism-based inhibitors for pyridoxal phosphate dependent enzymes.¹ Yet, free α-oxiranyl amino acids have remained elusive until now. The synthesis of an α-(phenyl-substituted)oxiranyl amino ester has been reported. However, the accessibility and stability of the corresponding free, zwitterionic α-oxiranyl amino acid remained an open question.⁹

Preparations Of Polycarbynes, Reuben D. Rieke

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Polycarbynes prepared from a soluble source of electrons and an organic monomer or co-monomer containing at least one carbyne group in an ethereal, polyethereal, or hydrocarbon solvent are presented. A wide variety of arylcarbyne and/or alkylcarbyne monomers and co-monomers can be combined with a source of electrons soluble in an ethereal, polyethereal, or hydro-carbon solvent to form novel polycarbyne polymers. These polycarbyne polymers can be used to form synthetic diamond materials, fibers, and other materials that can withstand extreme conditions.

Preparation Of Doped Polycarbynes, Reuben D. Rieke

Department of Chemistry: Faculty Publications

Polycarbynes, such as doped polycarbynes, prepared from a soluble source of electrons and an organic monomer or co-monomer containing at least one carbyne group and, optionally, containing a doping agent, in an ethereal, poly ethereal, or hydrocarbon solvent are presented. A wide variety of arylcarbyne and/or alkylcarbyne monomers and co-monomers can be combined with a source of electrons soluble in an ethereal, polyethereal, or hydrocarbon solvent to form novel polycarbyne polymers. These polycarbyne polymers can be used to form synthetic diamond materials, fibers, and other materials that can withstand extreme con ditions.

Feeding Responses To Predator-Based Repellents In The Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia Rufa), Gisela Epple, J. Russell Mason, Evgueny Aronov, Dale L. Nolte, Richard Hartz, Ron Kaloostian, Dan Campbell, Amos Smith Iii

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Predator odors have potential as feeding repellents for mammalian herbivores, including Aplodontia rufa, the mountain beaver. However, the repellency of major chemical constituents of natural predator scents for this species has not been evaluated. In this study, the effects of several synthetic sulfur compounds from predator scents on feeding by mountain beavers were assessed and compared to the effects of coyote (Canis latrans) urine. Retrieval of food by mountain beavers from bowls scented with either coyote urine, diluted with water to different concentrations, synthetic components of predator scents, or control odorants was studied. The following synthetic compounds …

Disease And Coyotes In Texas, Danny B. Pence

Coyotes in the Southwest: A Compendium of Our Knowledge (Symposium Proceedings, 1995)

The coyote (Canis latrans) population in southern Texas has a recurring group of 3 common helminths and several peripheral species of lesser importance. Although recurrent group analyses have not been applied to other macro- or microparasite communities, there are certain infectious agents with high prevalences that could form recurrent groups, and that are potentially important in tams of impacting host population (i.e. coyote) abundance. While the current rabies epizootic involving coyotes in southern Texas is of public health concern, it probably will not have a major impact on the coyote population. Most likely, the net effect of canine …

North American Sea Urchin Fishery Management Strategies: Their Applicability To The Maine Green Sea Urchin Fishery, Kate Sullivan

Marine Affairs Theses and Major Papers

The Maine green sea urchin fishery has experienced dramatic growth since its inception in 1987. Landings have increased from 1.4 million pounds in 1987 to 41.6 million pounds in 1993 (NMFS, Fisheries Statistics). The reproductive gonads, referred to as roe or 'uni' are shipped fresh from Maine to japan, where the uni is a delicacy item fetching high unit prices on the Japanese fish market. The green sea urchin from Maine, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, is the third highest priced sea urchin product imported in Japan (Anon., 1989). Country-wide, sea urchin fisheries are one of the fastest growing fishing industries (Phu, …

Student Evaluations Of Teaching Effectiveness: The Interpretation Of Observational Data And The Principle Of Faute De Mieux, B. Burt Gerstman

Faculty Publications

Student opinion surveys are important but widely misunderstood tools for evaluating teaching effectiveness. In this brief review, an analogy is drawn between the use and interpretation of observational data for public health and biomedical research and the use of student opinion data in evaluating teach ing effectiveness. Sources of systematic error in the form of selection bias, information bias, and confounding are defined and illustrated. Original data concerning intermittent "quid pro quo" confounding (i.e., the effect of expected grades on student evaluations of teaching) are presented. Finally, the principle of faute de mieux ("lack of anything better") and the interpretation …

Linking Landscape Ecology And Ecosystem Health: The Case Of Lunigiana, Italy, Susan Anna Pellanda

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As ecosystem-based management is increasingly used to manage the environment, methods of applying these approaches to resolve environmental and natural resource issues must be established. The concept of ecosystem health can be used to assist in ecosystem-based management since it takes into account the environmental, economic, and social aspects of ecosystems. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the manner in which landscape ecology can be used to manage for the goal of obtaining a healthy ecosystem. This is achieved by studying the landscape of Lunigiana, Italy, an agricultural region located near Italy's northwestern coast. Particular emphasis is placed …

Photochemistry Of The Nitrite Ion, Laura J. Wilson '95

Honors Projects

Nitrogen containing compounds contribute to many environmental problems such as acid rain, air pollution, groundwater contamination, and smog formation. For example, when the atmosphere is heavily polluted with nitrites and aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrogen compounds can undergo photochemical reactions to produce harmful compounds that can adversely affect the environment. This project studied the photochemistry of the nitrite ion in aqueous basic solution. Both ·OH and NO· radicals are produced during photolysis, but the two radicals recombine in the presence of pure water causing no net reaction. Aromatic compounds present in the solution being photolyzed can act as scavengers reacting with either …

Organochlorine Pesticide Residues In The Neotropical Migratory Passerine Birds, Birthe Borup

Honors Projects

In 1874 Othmar Ziedlert a German chemist was working on the synthesis and characterization of substituted aromatic hydrocarbons. In the process of his work he synthesized dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane commonly known as DDT. It was not until 1930 that its use as an insecticide was detected by Paul Muller who found that it was effective against potato beetles (Leptinotarsal declineata) and clothes moths, (Tineola besselliella ) (Dunlap 1981). Pure DDT is a white crystalline solid with a melting point of 109 C, and a vapor pressure of 0.025mPa at 20 C. Technical grade DDT is a white amorphous powder, consisting of a …

Salinity, Radon, And Radon Precursors In The Soils Of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, Kevin L. Solie

Theses and Dissertations

High levels of indoor radon have been observed in many areas of the Red River Valley and particularly in Grand Forks County of North Dakota. Data from the University of North Dakota (UND) Radon Monitoring Facility indicated more than 80% of the dwellings tested had radon levels greater than the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) action limit of 4 pCi/l. High radon levels may pose a health threat (USEPA, 1986) to valley residents.

A review of existing data indicates that areas of the Red River Valley in North Dakota with elevated soil salinity also exhibit higher equivalent uranium (eU) …