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Effects Of Forest Age And Composition On Coleoptera Associated With Fungal Fruiting Bodies In Southwest Ohio, Jeffrey M. Brown

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Mature forests often harbor greater biodiversity than younger woods. As this relationship of forest age to biodiversity has not been examined for all taxa, this study sought to document the diversity of mycophilous beetle communities in deciduous forests of southwest Ohio and understand how they vary in relation to forest age. I surveyed fungus associated beetles using baited traps at eight forested sites in the Dayton, Ohio region. Traps were surveyed three times during 2018 to account for seasonal variation, something that has not been done for this geographic region. Forest age had no significant effect on beetle abundance or …

Optimization Study Of A Combined Wind-Solar Farm For A Specified Demand, Venkat Siddhartha Rama

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At the present time, using wind and solar energy for producing electricity in the United States is becoming cost competitive. According to Lazard’s 2019 [36] levelized cost of energy (LCOE) analysis of a number of energy sources used for producing electricity in the United States, wind and solar are cheaper than natural gas and coal. While capital, maintenance, operation, and fuel costs are included in LCOE numbers, energy source intermittency is not. Intermittency is an important issue with wind and solar energy sources, but not with natural gas or coal energy sources. Combining wind and solar energy sources into one …

Lead In Tap Water Of Public Schools Near Dayton, Ohio, Baylee Stark

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Lead (Pb) is a human-health concern, especially with regard to exposures of children. Lead contaminated drinking water is a primary route of exposure for children; however, water sampling for Pb is voluntary in schools with a public water supply. This study examined Pb in tap water from public schools around Dayton, OH. Schools were selected to span a range of ages (construction year) and community socioeconomic status. Of the 28 schools contacted, seven responded "affirmatively" to sampling, two responded "negatively", and 19 did not respond. None of the schools that were sampled had Pb concentrations exceeding the U.S. EPA guidelines …

Monitoring Ohio Bat Communities And Populations Using Mobile Acoustics, Molly C. Simonis

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The goal of my thesis is to: 1) provide baseline information of where Ohio bats are foraging in Wright State University's (WSU) campus woods in relation to forest age and habitat (Chapter 1), 2) determine potential roost availability for local bats (Chapter 1), and 3) examine changes in state-wide species composition following the introduction of White-nose Syndrome (WNS; Chapter 2). In Chapter 1, I created walking bat acoustic routes and used generalized linear models to determine what forest ages and habitats had the greatest bat activity in the WSU campus woods. I conducted habitat transects throughout all forest ages to …

Anthropogenic Noise Alters Avian Community Composition In Temperate Forests, Chelsea Jill Wright

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Noise is an under-appreciated source of pollution that can influence the spatial distribution of birds. In this study, I examined how noise frequency and intensity (both background noise (kHz) and decibel levels (dB)) affected avian richness, density, and number of birds that sing with the same frequency as anthropogenic noise (low note frequency). I also examined the responses of two species in detail, the Eastern Wood Pewee and the Acadian Flycatcher, because they lack song plasticity. I examined whether they responded to noise by avoiding "noisy" areas or shifting their song frequency. I examined the response of bird communities to …

Methylmercury Bioaccumulation In Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma Maculatum) In Southern Ohio, Rachel Alex Walker

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Mercury (Hg) is a volatile element increasing in concentration in the environment as a result of anthropogenic emissions. Microorganisms can transform mercury into monomethylmercury (MMHg), the form of Hg that bioaccumulates, biomagnifies, and can harm humans and wildlife. Most studies of MMHg bioaccumulation in wildlife have focused on aquatic organisms due to consumption of fish being the primary route of human exposure to MMHg. However, organisms in terrestrial ecosystems also are exposed to MMHg that may impact ecosystem biodiversity, food-web dynamics, and organisms and ecosystem health. I investigated bioaccumulation and maternal transfer of MMHg in spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) captured …

Glacial Drift Thickness And Vs Characterized Using Three-Component Passive Seismic Data At The Dominion Stark-Summit Gas Storage Field, North Canton, Ohio, Cheryle Ann Boggs

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The Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) of broadband seismometer recordings, was explored in this study as a means of characterizing the varying depth to bedrock beneath a glacial drift surface layer. Data were collected using fifteen Guralp CMG-3ESPCD 3-component seismometers deployed from January 15, 2010 to March 16, 2010 over the Stark-Summit gas storage field of Dominion East Ohio. Using Antelope seismic analysis software, I used the HVSR of these seismic data to evaluate the apparent resonance frequency of the glacial drift surface layer and its dependency upon the thickness and shear velocity of the glacial drift. I also …

Phosphorus Mass Balance For Hypertrophic Grand Lake St. Marys, Ohio, Astrea Taylor

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A phosphorus (P) budget was created for Grand Lake St Marys (GLSM), a hypertrophic lake in Ohio with a highly agricultural watershed. Inputs totaled 71,200 ± 8,400 kg P, with tributaries contributing the majority of P inputs at 60,100 ± 4,500 kg P (84%). Other inputs included benthic flux at 9% (internal loading), point-source discharges into streams at 5%, and atmospheric deposition at 1%. Rainfall in 2011 was greater than average, which may affect results when comparing this P budget to years with average rainfall. Transport of P by two rivers draining GLSM was approximately three times greater than benthic …

The Biogeochemistry Of Carbon Isotopes In Local Lakes, Stephen Edward Sadurski

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Photosynthesis, respiration, and decay of organic matter all involve the transfer of carbon among the carbon-bearing species in the systems. These biogeochemical processes also fractionate the carbon isotope composition, which results in changes to the carbon isotope composition of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) pool. This thesis presents two separate, but related studies regarding the influence of biogeochemical processes on carbon isotopes in local lakes. Crystal Lake is a small but deep glacial lake (12.5 acres, 11.9 meters). The study shows that during thermal stratification, the heaviest carbon can be found in the epilimnion near the surface, where photosynthesis dominates …

Soil Moisture, Fire, And Tree Community Structure, William Patrick White

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My study was conducted to understand tree community structure and how soil moisture and fire frequency influence them. Eighteen plots were placed in the Edge of Appalachia Nature Preserve of unglaciated southern Ohio: nine within a prescribed burn site and nine control sites outside the burn. Sites were stratified in triplicate across GIS-derived integrated soil moisture index (IMI) classes. Burning was done in 1996. Overstory species dbh and sapling species were sampled 1997, 2001, and 2008. Overstory stems were located in 2009 using range finders. Stem locations were loaded into GIS using novel techniques to quantify individual stem IMI values. …

Marine Vertebrate Remains From Middle-Late Devonian Bone Beds At Little Hardwick Creek In Vaughns Mill, Kentucky And At The East Liberty Quarry In Logan County, Ohio, John M. James

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Stratigraphic, lithologic, faunal and condont biozone analysis will provide insight to whether or not East Liberty Bone Bed, in Logan County, Ohio, and Little Hardwick Creek Bone Bed C, in Vaughns Mill, Kentucky, are chronostratigraphic correlations to one another; they are separated by 370 kilometers (230 miles). Material from each bed was collected and broken down in acid and analyzed. Remaining residue after acid treatment was analyzed under a dissecting microscope for lithological and fossil contents, identified from previous fossil vertebrate findings at other locations.

Final analysis of these beds showed that lithologically and faunally they are very similar. However, …

Trace Metal Fluxes In Southwest Ohio Watersheds, Avani Naik

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Land-use and watershed characteristics affect the cycling and transport of trace metals in rivers. I investigated the influence of different land uses and water physicochemistry on loadings, partitioning, and speciation of Hg, Zn, Cr, Ni, V, Cd, Cu, and Pb in three contrasting watersheds near the Dayton, Ohio metropolitan area over a 13-month period; Wolf Creek (urban/residential), Holes Creek (urban/residential), and Little Miami River (agricultural). Metal concentrations were related positively to discharge in each stream. Dissolved organic ligands appear to influence trace-metal partitioning between filtered and particle phases, however, particle-associated metals were dominant in each site. Total Hg concentrations and …

Hydrogeochemistry And Water Quality Of Echo Hills, Joel M. Kimball

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Ground water of the Echo Hills area in Clark County, Ohio was investigated for common water contaminants such as nitrate and coliform bacteria. Thirty-four water samples were collected from locations including private wells, streams and a spring. Nine of those samples were selected for nitrogen isotope analysis. Three locations were chosen for a tracer test. Additionally, well log data, historical water quality data, and GIS data were obtained from the Clark County Health Department in Springfield, Ohio. Results show that local agriculture likely has the greatest impact on ground water quality in Echo Hills especially the north-eastern portion, with local …

Using Geographic Information Systems To Select Sites For Wetland Restoration In West Central Ohio's Agricultural Areas, Janice M. Hartkorn

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The Mississippi River Basin, includes a major part of Ohio has encountered increasing phosphorus and nitrogen loads from agricultural fields since the 1800's when intensive agriculture moved into the Midwest. Agriculture has drained ninety percent of Ohio's native wetlands. A portion of those drained wetlands can be restored to functional wetlands to intercept excess nutrients from non-productive or low yield agricultural fields to improve overall water quality. Little is known about finding potential restoration sites, partly because of the difficulty in locating sites capable of supporting successful restoration.

This study investigated the utility of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a …