Digital Commons Network^™

Trapping Soybean Looper (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) In The Southeastern Usa And Implications For Pheromone-Based Research And Management, Daniel E. Fleming, Jeffrey A. Davis, Fred R. Musser, Silvana V. Paula-Moraes, Ronald C. Stephenson, Christopher A. Wheeler, Earl Eugene Ringpis, Tyler S. Crum, J. Khai Tran

Faculty Publications

Novel strategies for the management of soybean looper, Chrysodeixis includens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), are needed due to its increasing importance, costs, and challenges of management in soybeans (Glycine max [L.] Merr.; Fabaceae) in the Americas. Pheromone-mediated mating disruption may be 1 such novel strategy, but an effective tool for estimating mating disruption success must be found. The technique of trapping male moths using pheromone baited traps is a common method for assessing mating disruption technology. This paper reports on the testing of 2 trap types and 3 commercially available lures containing (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate as the major active component. Trapping was …

Machine Learning Applied To K-Bentonite Geochemistry For Identification And Correlation: The Ordovician Hagan K-Bentonite Complex Case Study, Achim D. Herrmann, John T. Haynes, Richard M. Robinet, Norlene R. Emerson

Faculty Publications

Altered tephras (K-bentonites) are of great importance for calibration of the geologic time scale, for local, regional, and global correlations, and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Thus, de-finitive identification of individual tephras is critical. Single crystal geochemistry has been used to differentiate tephra layers, and apatite is one of the phenocrysts commonly occurring in tephras that has been widely used. Here, we use existing and newly acquired analytical datasets (electron probe micro-analyzer [EPMA] data and laser ablation ICP-MS [LA-ICP-MS] data, respectively) of apatite in several Ordovician K-bentonites that were collected from localities about 1200 km apart (Minne-sota/Iowa/Wisconsin and Alabama, United States) to test …

A Continuous Adjustment: The Impact Of Covid-19 On International Graduate Students, Carla Albornoz Moraga

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

International graduate students have endured unique obstacles during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the experiences of eight international graduate students from various countries and academic backgrounds. The following questions guided this study: (1) What were the experiences during the 2020 school year for international students throughout COVID- 19?; (2) What were the day-to-day experiences of international graduate students during COVID- 19?, and (3) How did the international graduate students cope and adjust as they lived through a pandemic? Analysis of the data demonstrated the impact on the international graduate students’ preconceived expectations of the academic and socio-cultural experiences, as …

An Examination Of Retail-Level Purchasing Behavior For Healthful Food In Louisiana, Marcus Coleman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Consumer access and choice for quality and affordable healthful foods at the retail-level is at the forefront of discussions related to the nutritional status of consumers in many communities across the United States. In Louisiana, many consumers live in food environments where retail options for quality and affordable healthful foods are limited, not affordable, or not available. Addressing these issues is complicated by the fact that literature focused on consumer access and choice for healthful foods at the retail-level in Louisiana is inadequate to play a significant role in addressing issues related to purchasing behavior for healthful foods faced by …

Population Structure In Two Imperiled Sparrows With Differing Vagility, Amie Elizabeth Settlecowski

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Characterizing population structure and genetic differentiation can inform the management of imperiled species and the relative influences of ecological and evolutionary factors on species evolution. One trait that is expected to influence the amount of population structure a species exhibits is vagility, or the ability to move across the landscape. Species with higher vagility may be more likely to disperse, potentially facilitating gene flow among populations and limiting population structure. My dissertation focuses on characterizing population structure in 2 imperiled sparrows that are both largely nonmigratory with broad distributions in eastern North America: Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima) and Bachman’s Sparrow …

Assessment Of Risks To Listed Species From The Use Of Atrazine In The Usa: A Perspective, Philip N. Smith, Kevin L. Armbrust, Richard A. Brain, Wenlin Chen, Nika Galic, Lula Ghebremichael, Jeffrey M. Giddings, Mark L. Hanson, Jonathan Maul, Glen Van Der Kraak, Keith R. Solomon

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Probabilistic Rainfall Generator For Tropical Cyclones Affecting Louisiana, Gabriele Villarini, Wei Zhang, Paul Miller, David R. Johnson, Lauren E. Grimley, Hugh J. Roberts

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Thunderstorms Producing Sferic-Geolocated Gamma-Ray Flashes Detected By Tetra-Ii, Deirdre Smith, Jill Trepanier, Samer T. Alnussirat, Michael L. Cherry, Marc D. Legault, Donald J. Pleshinger

Faculty Publications

The terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF) and Energetic Thunderstorm Rooftop Array (TETRA-II) detected 22 X-ray/gamma-ray flash events associated with lightning between October 2015 and March 2019 across three ground-based detector locations in subtropical and tropical climates in Louisiana, Puerto Rico, and Panama. Each detector array consists of a set of bismuth germanate scintillators that record X-ray and gamma-ray bursts over the energy range 50 keV–6 MeV (million electron volts). TETRA-II events have characteristics similar to both X-ray bursts associated with lightning leaders and TGFs: sub-millisecond duration, photons up to MeV energies, and association with nearby lightning (typically within 3 km). About …

Network Analysis To Identify Critical Links For Relief Activities During Extreme Weather Events, Kate Kyung Hyun, Stephen P. Mattingly Ph.D, Mehrdad Arabi

Publications

As one of the principal lifeline systems, transportation networks are crucial for evacuation and delivering essential resources and services during the response and recovery phases of extreme weather events and must remain intact to enhance regional resiliency. The conventional evaluation measures that estimate the vulnerability or criticality of road network based on travel time or link volumes do not capture the community impacts due to disruptions. This study seeks to develop a framework to evaluate road network infrastructure criticality during extreme weather events by introducing measures that evaluate the vulnerability of roads users, rather than the physical aspects of link …

Range-Wide Population Genetic Analysis Of Seaside Sparrows (Ammospiza Maritima) Supports At Least Five Distinct Population Segments That Do Not Align With Current Subspecies Descriptions, Kathryn E.C. Davis, Amie E. Settlecowski, Mackenzie R. Roeder, Carolyn Enloe, Thomas Virzi, Margaret E. Hunter, Stefan Woltmann, Sabrina S. Taylor

Faculty Publications

As an obligate salt marsh species, Seaside Sparrows (Ammospiza maritima) are vulnerable to numerous threats including climate change, coastal erosion, sea-level rise, and both natural and anthropogenic disasters. Of the 9 recognized subspecies, 2 are extinct and 1 is endangered. Previous genetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and microsatellite loci showed that current taxonomy does not accurately reflect underlying genetic diversity, with possible consequences for the distribution of conservation resources. To further inform Seaside Sparrow management, we comprehensively describe genetic structure among 24 range-wide sampling locations that include all extant subspecies. We inferred population structure from several thousand single-nucleotide polymorphisms …

Causes And Characteristics Of Electrical Resistivity Variability In Shallow (<4 M) Soils In Taylor Valley, East Antarctica, William S. Gutterman

LSU Master's Theses

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are the largest ice-free region in Antarctica and are characterized as a polar desert environment. Soils in the region are typically very dry (<1% soil water by weight) and remain frozen for most of the year. Increases in air temperature and incoming solar radiation during the austral summer generate meltwater from glaciers, ground ice, and snow patches supplying moisture to soils and altering the physical and chemical makeup of the subsurface. Previous studies have utilized airborne electromagnetic surveys (AEM) to analyze groundwater systems in the deep subsurface but have not yet examined soil moisture in the shallow (<4 m) subsurface. Here, I used electrical resistivity data from two AEM surveys (2011 and 2018) and soil geochemical data from three transects to characterize the spatial heterogeneity of soil properties in the near-subsurface of lower Taylor Valley. Soil resistivities from 2011 and 2018 range from 33.2 Ωm to 3535 Ωm with low elevations of <100 meters above sea level (masl) typically displaying the lowest resistivities and high elevations displaying greater resistivities. Liquid brine fractions were empirically estimated from electrical resistivity values using Archie’s Law and range from 0.3% to 68.2% for soils with resistivities <200 Ωm. Additionally, soil transect data show greater percentages of fine-grained sediments (<63 µm) exist at elevations <100 masl where soil resistivities begin decreasing. Resistivity variability in the subsurface is ultimately controlled by the site history, local and regional climate, soil salinity, soil moisture, soil lithology.

The Evolution Of Dietary Adaptations In Small Mammals: From Muscles To Microbes, Mark Thomas Swanson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation provides critical insights on the pattern and process of evolution in front-end and back-end dietary adaptations of mammals. I found that the position of the rodent masseter muscle, a complex front-end adaptation that improves the efficiency of mechanical digestion, has convergently evolved numerous times, suggesting that selective pressure for this adaptation has been strong. For back-end adaptations, I found gut bacterial taxa that likely aid in chemical digestion of food have predictable associations with host diet across host species in natural environments. To detect patterns in gut microbial community structure that are related to host factors such as …

A Semiotic Approach To Visual Analysis Of Dress: Symbolic Communication Of Clothing Color, Cut, And Composition Through The French Film Costumes Of Anaïs Romand, Leigh Danielle Honeycutt

LSU Master's Theses

This study examines the communicative role of clothing in film. Using the skillful costume canvas of French designer Anaïs Romand, we explore the possible visual messages and potential cultural and linguistic meanings that clothing choice conveys. This analysis uses Roland Barthes’ Theory of the “Five Codes” from his book S/Z as well as psychological sources about color analysis as its methodological basis. Images from each of the five period piece films were chosen and analyzed using semiotics. The costumes in all five films chosen for analysis were designed under the direction of Anaïs Romand and were all either nominated for, …

A Geospatial And Statistical Analysis Of Dropout In Louisiana Public High Schools, Michael D. Stein

LSU Master's Theses

Students dropping out of high school is a nationwide problem, plaguing communities and often greatly reducing the prospects of a quality life for those students who do not complete their high school educations. Louisiana consistently has among the highest public high school dropout rates in the United States, and often the highest. This geospatial and statistical study aims to identify the factors that correlate with high school dropout in Louisiana public high schools, specifically, and to produce detailed maps of the dropout rates across the state to identify the schools most afflicted.

Extensive school-level data from five academic years (2014-15 …

Single-Family Residential Flood Loss Reduction Through Freeboard, Ehab Said Gnan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The lack of flood loss estimation methods conducted on a micro-scale level that consider the full loss‐exceedance probabilities curve poses a significant problem in flood risk assessment. Also, the lack of robust benefit-cost analysis (BCA) that quantifies benefits at the micro-scale level leads to sub-optimal results, and therefore sub-optimal decisions when determining the optimal freeboard. Further, flood loss assessments focus on owner-occupied housing and neglect rental housing. These loss assessment deficiencies underscore the need for a robust assessment that quantifies the life-cycle benefits for all stakeholders and provides actionable information to enable informed decisions.

This research presents a comprehensive methodology …

Vertical Feature Delineation For Flood Hazard Assessments At The Coastal Land Margin, Shu Gao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Coastal and riverine flooding constitutes a major environmental hazard that affect millions of people residing along the world’s coastline. Improved understanding of the driving mechanisms that can cause flooding within coastal watersheds requires advanced hydrologic and coastal storm surge simulation. Such advanced simulation is dependent upon an accurate digital elevation model (DEM) for the optimal topographical representation of the true domain in the discretized model grid (mesh). However, it is not possible to afford mesh resolution as fine as contemporary DEMs, resolved at sub-10 meters, due to the impractical computational expense. Therefore, significant elevation barriers such as roadbeds, levees, railroads, …

Environmental Perception In Colombia's Páramo Protected Areas, Juliana Delgado

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the gap between farmers' environmental perceptions in Téquita, a small village in Colombia, and the definition of protected areas has led to a conflict for the use of natural resources. I examine if the protected area's policies have dealt with the social and ecological issues in the páramos and recognized the social construction of the landscape, farmers' identities, and their interpretations about work and land. The case study focuses on Güina High Mountain in the Guantiva-La Rusia páramo complex, which recently the Colombian government declared as a protected area. In light of anthropologist Tim Ingold's meaning of …

Breeding Ecology Of Mottled Ducks: A Review, Elizabeth S. Bonczek, Kevin M. Ringelman

Faculty Publications

Mottled ducks (Anas fulvigula) are endemic to the Gulf Coast of North America, and their range stretches from Alabama to the Laguna Madre of Mexico, with a distinct population in peninsular Florida and an introduced population in South Carolina. As one of the few non-migratory ducks in North America, mottled ducks depend on a variety of locally available habitat throughout the annual cycle, and threats to these landscapes may affect mottled ducks more acutely than migratory species. Annual population monitoring has revealed declines in mottled duck populations in Texas and Louisiana since 2008, and the genetic integrity of the Florida …

Microbial Abundance And Enzymatic Activity From Tussock And Shrub Soil In Permafrost Peatland After 6-Year Warming, Yanyu Song, Lei Jiang, Changchun Song, Xianwei Wang, Xiuyan Ma, Hao Zhang, Wenwen Tan, Jinli Gao, Aixin Hou

Faculty Publications

Soil microbes and enzymes in permafrost peatland are sensitive to temperature changes, which might result in more potential loss of carbon and increase in available nitrogen from permafrost peatlands in a warming world. We previously demonstrated that 3-year warming could affect soil microbial abundance and enzymatic activity. However, soil microbial abundance and enzymatic activity in permafrost peatlands under long-term climate warming is not well understood. Therefore, a 6-year field manipulation experiment was used to assess the impact of long-term warming on soil microbial abundance and enzymatic activity in a permafrost peatland in northeastern China. Results showed that 6-year warming increased …

Non-Destructive Trace Element Analysis Of Burials From Moho Cay, Belize, April Alyce Walton

LSU Master's Theses

The study of skeletal material macroscopically and microscopically can yield a plethora of information about interments’ lives. Studying bones at an elemental level can provide further details regarding dietary habits, residency, and migration patterns, which are important areas of research for Maya archaeology. Currently, research on bone composition is conducted through destructive methods, especially for archaeological bone. The use of non-destructive methods for testing bone composition such as with a portable x-ray fluorescence machine can also be suitable for the study of archaeological bone. This study has two main goals: to understand the interments' lives through strontium trace element and …

Ancient Pottery Making At Cerro San Isidro, Nepeña Valley, Peru, Kaitlyn M. Lowrance

LSU Master's Theses

Located in the Nepeña Valley of north-central Peru, Cerro San Isidro was first documented in the 1930s when the valley was initially surveyed. While numerous sites along the valley, particularly those located in the lower valley, have been extensively researched since this initial survey, members of the Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica Cerro San Isidro (PIACSI) conducted the first formal excavations in 2019. My thesis project analyzes the ceramic artifacts – in particular pottery fragments – from that field season in order to evaluate continuity and change in morphological and technical styles from the Early Horizon through the Late Intermediate Periods …

Using Tree-Ring Research To Introduce Students To Geoscience Fieldwork, Clay S. Tucker, Jill C. Trepanier, Pamela B. Blanchard, Ed Bush, James W. Jordan, Mark J. Schafer, John Andrew Nyman

Faculty Publications

Environmental education is key in solving environmental problems and for producing a future workforce capable of solving issues of climate change. Over the last two decades, the Coastal Roots Program at Louisiana State University (LSU) has reached more than 26,676 K-12 students in Louisiana to teach them environmental science and has brought them to restoration sites to plant 194,336 school-grown trees and grasses. The codirectors of Coastal Roots are continually searching for opportunities to enrich the experience of teachers and students in connecting school subjects, Coastal Roots, and stewardship. In school year 2018/19, students in five local schools entered a …

Resistance Of The Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera Frugiperda, To Transgenic Bacillus Thuringiensis Cry1f Corn In The Americas: Lessons And Implications For Bt Corn Irm In China, Fangneng Huang

Faculty Publications

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), is a major target pest of Bt crops (e.g., corn, cotton, and soybean) in North and South America. This pest has recently invaded Africa and Asia including China and the invasion has placed a great threat to the food security in many countries of these two continents. Due to the extensive use of Bt crops, practical resistance of S. frugiperda to Cry1F corn (TC 1507) with field control problems has widely occurred in Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, and the mainland United States. Analyzing data generated from decade-long studies showed that several factors might …

Nutrition Interventions In Low-Income Rural And Urban Retail Environments: A Systematic Review, Linda Fergus, Katherine Seals, Denise Holston

Faculty Publications

Background: Nutrition interventions promoting healthy food choices aim to address health challenges of residents in low-income environments. Research about the effectiveness of nutrition interventions in low-income populations is limited, particularly for those in rural areas. Behavioral economics (BE) strategies demonstrate effectiveness for improving eating behaviors in some settings. However, the efficacy of BE interventions in retail food stores serving low-income populations residing in rural and urban geographies is nascent. Objective: This systematic literature review aims to identify and compare nutrition interventions implemented in rural and urban low-income retail food stores, including BE strategies when applied. Methods: This review was conducted …

The Moderating Role Of The Built Environment In Prenatal Lifestyle Interventions, Suzanne Phelan, Fred Marquez, Leanne M. Redman, Sonia Arteaga, Rebecca Clifton, Brian A. Grice, Debra Haire-Joshu, Corby K. Martin, Candice A. Myers, Jeremy Pomeroy, Eileen Vincent, Linda Van Horn, Alan Peaceman, Maxine Ashby-Thompson, Dympna Gallagher, Xavier Pi-Sunyer, Trisha Boekhoudt, Kimberly Drews, Greg Brown

Clinical Research Faculty Publications

This study examined whether the neighborhood built environment moderated gestational weight gain (GWG) in LIFE-Moms clinical trials. Participants were 790 pregnant women (13.9 weeks’ gestation) with overweight or obesity randomized within four clinical centers to standard care or lifestyle intervention to reduce GWG. Geographic information system (GIS) was used to map the neighborhood built environment. The intervention relative to standard care significantly reduced GWG (coefficient = 0.05; p = 0.005) and this effect remained significant (p < 0.03) after adjusting for built environment variables. An interaction was observed for presence of fast food restaurants (coefficient = −0.007; p = 0.003). Post hoc tests based on a median split showed that the intervention relative to standard care reduced GWG in participants living in neighborhoods with lower fast food density 0.08 [95% CI, 0.03,0.12] kg/week (p = 0.001) but not in those living in areas with higher fast food density (0.02 [−0.04, 0.08] kg/week; p = 0.55). Interaction effects suggested less intervention efficacy among women living in neighborhoods with more grocery/convenience stores (coefficient = −0.005; p = 0.0001), more walkability (coefficient −0.012; p = 0.007) and less crime (coefficient = 0.001; p = 0.007), but post-hoc tests were not significant. No intervention x environment interaction effects were observed for total number of eating establishments or tree canopy. Lifestyle interventions during pregnancy were effective across diverse physical environments. Living in environments with easy access to fast food restaurants may limit efficacy of prenatal lifestyle interventions, but future research is needed to replicate these findings.

Wildfires: Vegetation Recovery And The Potential For Future Fires, Moses Okonkwo

LSU Master's Theses

Analysis of satellite imagery combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), often allows for observing the increasing changes in land cover dynamics. These changes are often on a macro scale buoyed by natural hazards such as wildfires. This study examines the vegetation recovery dynamics by using multispectral data and also gleaned insight in the applications of Hyperspectral satellite imagery in the study of vegetation dynamics. Both Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) (multispectral) and the Earth-Observing One (EO-1) (hyperspectral) data are freely available; however the former has a limited spatial and temporal coverage. The relationship between vegetation recovery, elevation, aspect and …

"Airbnb Go Home:" Tourism Frictions And Short-Term Rentals In New Orleans, Madeline R. Fussell

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the concerns and conflicts around short-term rental (STR) properties in New Orleans neighborhoods. Using data from collected from critical discourse analysis, semi-structured interviews and social media posts, this paper analyzes the ways the city of New Orleans, residents of the city, STR hosts, and platforms like Airbnb discuss issues of safety, displacement, rising costs of living, as well as responsible STR practices. To understand the complexities of the issues people, have with short-term rental properties, this project approaches STRs from a housing and gentrification lens to understand the role these properties play within in the daily atmospheres …

Penguins Past And Present: Trace Elements, Stable Isotopes, And Population Dynamics In Antarctic And Sub-Antarctic Penguins And Seals, Allyson K. Kristan

LSU Master's Theses

Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic are remote regions where the impacts from climate change and anthropogenic activities are increasingly apparent. Previous studies show that the Antarctic is warming and has been affected by anthropogenic contaminants. Marine predators such as penguins and seals are commonly used in these regions as sentinels of ecosystem health as predator tissues can be used as non-invasive proxies of diet, population trends, and contaminant exposure. This thesis includes two separate studies which investigate the influence of climate change and human activity on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic ecosystems. First, Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) eggshell samples were collected …

Villa-Lobos’S Segunda Sonata-Fantasia For Violin And Piano: An Analysis And Performance Guide, Maira Braga Cabral

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study focuses on Villa-Lobos’s Segunda Sonata-Fantasia for Violin and Piano, written between 1913 and 1914. A brief biography of Villa-Lobos until 1915 provides the context of the period during which he composed the piece. Next, Villa-Lobos’s main influences are presented, a list that includes European nineteenth-century aesthetics, Impressionism, Brazilian popular music, Wagner’s motivic treatment, and Brazilian indigenous music. Next, the main compositional devices used by the composer are discussed, providing examples from the Segunda Sonata-Fantasia and from other pieces by Villa-Lobos. A structural analysis of the piece is presented, focusing on the form, thematic approach, and harmonic processes.

The …

Ecosytem Services: Delivering Decision-Making For Salt Marshes, Philine S. E. Zu Ermgassen, Ronald Baker, Michael W. Beck, Kate Dodds, Sophus O. S. E. Zu Ermgassen, Debbrota Mallick, Matthew D. Taylor, R. Eugene Turner

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.