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Herbaceous Plants In Forest Ecosystems: One Hundred Fundamental And Applied Questions, Harikrishnan Venugopalan Nair Radhamoni, Michelle Elise Spicer, Marlyse C. Duguid, Liza S. Comita, Emilio Bruna, Andrew J. Andrade, Julia I. Burton

Michigan Tech Publications

Aims: Herbaceous plants (herbs) found in the understory of forests contribute substantially to the biodiversity of these ecosystems, as well as being important socio-culturally, economically, and for advancing ecological theory. However, the ecology of herbs is less well understood compared with woody plants, despite evidence that herbs are physiologically and ecologically different. Similarly, herb research has focused on north temperate forests, with less information from forests in the tropics and Global South. Understanding this knowledge gap, and recognizing the critical importance of expanding and streamlining the scope of research on forest herbs, we set out to identify 100 fundamental and …

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale, Sarah R. Hoy, Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2025-2026

Insights On Global Rangeland Ecosystem Services Shaped By Grazing And Fertilization, Laura Yahdjian, Sofía Campana, Pedro M. Tognetti, Juan Alberti, Pamela Graff, Cecilia Molina, Elizabeth T. Borer, Eric W. Seabloom, Suzanne M. Prober, Andrew S. Macdougall, Anita C. Risch, Jodi N. Price, Sally A. Power, Isabel C. Barrio, Erika Hersch-Green, Philip A. Fay, Sumanta Bagchi, Jonathan D. Bakker, Dana Blumenthal, Elizabeth H. Boughton, Cynthia S. Brown, Miguel N. Bugalho, Marc Cadotte, Maria C. Caldeira, Jane A. Catford, Clinton Carbutt, Qingqing Chen, Scott L. Collins, Thomas W. Crowther, Carla D’Antonio, Christopher R. Dickman

Michigan Tech Publications

Rangelands are crucial to human well-being, but their ability to provide ecosystem services is threatened. We (1) quantified key ecosystem services provided by rangelands, (2) assessed short- and long-term impacts of fertilization (nutrient addition) and the exclusion of large grazing herbivores with fences (herbivore exclusion) on services, and (3) identified synergies and trade-offs among services. We measured indicators of ecosystem services and plant diversity at 79 sites across six continents in the global Nutrient Network. Short-term herbivore exclusion increased forage quantity and soil fertility, but longer-term herbivore exclusion decreased both along with plant richness and pollination. Nutrient addition improved forage …

Open Source Tools For Ecological Research, Alex P. Riebe

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis presents the development of an open source wireless sensor network for hibernacula manipulation with an emphasis on accessibility and reproducibility. It addresses the design of the electrical hardware, guidance on antennas and RF implementation, and design of an application-specific communication protocol, all with the explicit goal of enabling ecologists and other conservationists to be able to manufacture, deploy, operate, and maintain the system for their research. The resulting sensor network designed in this thesis is to control the temperature inside bat hibernacula during the winter to study the relationship between temperature and bat mortality rate due to White …

Enhancing Coastal Vulnerability Assessments And Policy Impacts On Socioeconomic And Environmental Equity In Michigan's Great Lakes Communities, Esther N. Acheampong

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Accelerating shoreline erosion, fluctuating lake levels, and climate-induced hazards are transforming the Great Lakes’ freshwater coasts, exposing the limitations of static and inequitable management frameworks. This dissertation investigates how Michigan’s coastal governance systems produce and manage vulnerability along the Lake Michigan shoreline by integrating geospatial modeling, institutional policy analysis, and environmental justice theory. It argues that both physical processes and institutional designs co-determine patterns of exposure, protection, and equity. The research begins by developing a refined Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) tailored for lacustrine environments, applying it to Muskegon County to assess how shoreline change, armoring, and seasonality influence localized risk. …

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale, Sarah R. Hoy, John A. Vucetich, Rolf O. Peterson

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2024-2025

Evaluating Challenges And Solutions For Buckthorn Classification In Shadowed Environments, Moses Tangwam

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Invasive species, such as buckthorns, pose significant ecological threats by displacing native vegetation and reducing biodiversity. This study examines the impact of shadows on the classification accuracy of buckthorns using drone-based multispectral imagery collected in a forested area near Michigan Technological University. Shadows impacted approximately 70% of the imagery, notably distorting reflectance in key spectral bands such as near-infrared (NIR) and red edge. The study evaluated vegetation indices like NDVI and the performance of machine learning models, specifically the Random Forest classifier, under these shadowed conditions. Conventional shadow correction techniques, including histogram normalization, Shadow Index (SI), and Inverse Distance Weighting …

Advancements In The Programmable Hyperspectral Seawater Scanner Measurement Technology For Enhanced Detection Of Harmful Algal Blooms, John J. Langan, Jungyun Bae

Michigan Tech Publications

The Programmable Hyperspectral Seawater Scanner (PHySS) represents a significant breakthrough in monitoring harmful algal blooms (HABs), specifically targeting the “Florida red tide” caused by Karenia brevis. By utilizing a Fourth-Derivative Spectral Similarity Index (SI), this study establishes a strong positive correlation between the SI and phytoplankton counts, underscoring the PHySS’s potential for early detection and effective management of HABs. Our findings suggest that the PHySS could act as a predictive tool, offering crucial lead time to mitigate the ecological and economic repercussions of blooms. However, this study also identifies certain limitations of the PHySS technology, such as its inability to …

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale, Sarah Hoy, Rolf O. Peterson, John Vucetich

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2023-2024

Bayesian Hierarchical Modelling Of Size Spectra, Jeff S. Wesner, Justin P.F. Pomeranz, James R. Junker, Vojsava Gjoni

Michigan Tech Publications

A fundamental pattern in ecology is that smaller organisms are more abundant than larger organisms. This pattern is known as the individual size distribution (ISD), which is the frequency distribution of all individual body sizes in an ecosystem. The ISD is described by a power law and a major goal of size spectra analyses is to estimate the exponent of the power law, λ. However, while numerous methods have been developed to do this, they have focused almost exclusively on estimating λ from single samples. Here, we develop an extension of the truncated Pareto distribution within the probabilistic modelling language …

Aboveground Biomass Density Estimation Using Deep Learning: Insight From Neon Ground-Truth Data And Simulated Gedi Waveform, Ashish Mahaur

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Accurately estimating Aboveground Biomass Density (AGBD) is crucial for managing Earth's carbon cycle and informing climate strategies. NASA's GEDI mission advances global forest mapping, but traditional linear models often yield less reliable AGBD estimates. This study enhances AGBD estimation using deep learning models with NEON ground-truth data and simulated GEDI waveforms. We compared 1D CNNs, LSTMs, and pre-trained CNNs to traditional models. The ResNet152 model outperformed linear regression, achieving an R² of 0.68, demonstrating a 17% improvement. Our experiments also demonstrate the importance of large, diverse datasets, particularly for training deep learning models.

Novel Analytical Approaches For The Study Of Energy And Nutrient Flow In Streams, Michelle Catherine Kelly

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation applied novel modeling, experimental and statistical approaches to overcome the challenges of measuring and analyzing energy and nutrient cycling in streams through 3 studies: (1) determining the predictors of respiration and denitrification in streams across the United States, (2) simultaneous estimation of denitrification and nitrogen (N) fixation rates, and (3) the impact of C lability metrics on the interpretation of C degradation in DOM incubation experiments. In the first study, I used predictive modeling approaches to show that respiration and denitrification were positively correlated across the landscape but were predicted by factors at different spatial scales. Denitrification rates …

Ecological Change And Livestock Governance In A Peruvian National Park, Kenneth R. Young, Eyner Alata, Rodney Chimner, Randall B. Boone, Gillian Bowser, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Beatriz Fuentealba, Jessica Gilbert, Javier A. Ñaupari, Molly H. Polk, Sigrid Resh, Cecilia Turin, Melody Zarria-Samanamud

Michigan Tech Publications

While the grazing of livestock has occurred for millennia in the Andes, current sustainability debates center on concerns with co-managing climate change and pastoralism. These discussions have special resonance in places protected by the state for biodiversity, scenery, and sustainable and traditional land uses, such as those found in protected areas and biosphere reserves. For this article, we integrate data from a social-ecological research project on the land use systems that affect high-elevation ecosystems in Peru’s Huascarán National Park, with special emphasis on the wetlands. We used land cover and land use data and insights from interactions with pastoralists to …

The Far-Reaching Effects Of Genetic Process In A Keystone Predator Species, Grey Wolves, Sarah Hoy, Philip W. Hedrick, Rolf O. Peterson, Leah Vucetich, Kristin Brzeski, John A. Vucetich

Michigan Tech Publications

Although detrimental genetic processes are known to adversely affect the viability of populations, little is known about how detrimental genetic processes in a keystone species can affect the functioning of ecosystems. Here, we assessed how changes in the genetic characteristics of a keystone predator, grey wolves, affected the ecosystem of Isle Royale National Park over two decades. Changes in the genetic characteristic of the wolf population associated with a genetic rescue event, followed by high levels of inbreeding, led to a rise and then fall in predation rates on moose, the primary prey of wolves and dominant mammalian herbivore in …

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale, Sarah Hoy, Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2022-2023

A Theoretical Framework For The Ecological Role Of Three-Dimensional Structural Diversity, Elizabeth A. Larue, Robert T. Fahey, Brandon C. Alveshere, Jeff W. Atkins, Parth Bhatt, Brian Buma, Anping Chen, Stella Cousins, Jessica M. Elliott, Andrew J. Elmore, Christopher R. Hakkenberg, Brady S. Hardiman, Jeremy S. Johnson, Daniel M. Kashian, Anil Koirala, Monica Papeş, Jamille B. St Hilaire, Thilina D. Surasinghe, Jenny Zambrano, Lu Zhai, Songlin Fei

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The three-dimensional (3D) physical aspects of ecosystems are intrinsically linked to ecological processes. Here, we describe structural diversity as the volumetric capacity, physical arrangement, and identity/traits of biotic components in an ecosystem. Despite being recognized in earlier ecological studies, structural diversity has been largely overlooked due to an absence of not only a theoretical foundation but also effective measurement tools. We present a framework for conceptualizing structural diversity and suggest how to facilitate its broader incorporation into ecological theory and practice. We also discuss how the interplay of genetic and environmental factors underpin structural diversity, allowing for a potentially unique …

Restoring Human And More-Than-Human Relations In Toxic Riskscapes: “In Perpetuity” Within Lake Superior’S Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Sand Point, Valoree Gagnon, Evelyn H. Ravindran

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Lake Superior’s Keweenaw Bay is the ancestral and contemporary homeland of the Anishinaabe Ojibwa and their relatives. It is also a toxic riskscape: Its waters, shorelines, and fish beings are polluted by an unknown tonnage of legacy mining waste rock called “stamp sands,” which contain unsafe levels of toxic compounds. This paper describes Ojibwa stewardship principles and reciprocal obligations, illustrating First Treaty With Gichi-Manitou practices of restoring relations within a toxic riskscape. Defined here, riskscapes are places and spaces where pollution/toxicity relations are continually reconfigured in literal, symbolic, and systemic ways. We share a story from Keweenaw Bay’s Sand Point …

A Spectral Three-Dimensional Color Space Model Of Tree Crown Health, William B. Monahan, Colton E. Arnspiger, Parth Bhatt, Zhongming An, Frank J. Krist, Tao Liu, Robert P. Richard, Curtis Edson, Robert E. Froese, John Steffenson, Tony C. Lammers, Randy Frosh

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Protecting the future of forests in the United States and other countries depends in part on our ability to monitor and map forest health conditions in a timely fashion to facilitate management of emerging threats and disturbances over a multitude of spatial scales. Remote sensing data and technologies have contributed to our ability to meet these needs, but existing methods relying on supervised classification are often limited to specific areas by the availability of imagery or training data, as well as model transferability. Scaling up and operationalizing these methods for general broadscale monitoring and mapping may be promoted by using …

High Daily And Year-Round Variability In Denitrification And Nitrogen Fixation In A Northern Temperate River, Kevin Nevorski, Amy M. Marcarelli

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Rates of nitrogen (N) cycling processes like denitrification and dinitrogen (N2) fixation, which together are the primary contributors to N2 flux rates from surface waters, may change at different time scales from seasons to weeks to days. Yet, we know little about the magnitude, mechanisms or drivers of these temporal changes, especially at shorter daily and weekly timescales. Quantifying variation in rates and drivers across temporal scales is essential to understand how nutrient cycling processes operate in aquatic ecosystems and predict how they may respond to shifting seasonal dynamics caused by global change (i.e., earlier snowmelt and extreme weather events). …

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale Annual Report 2021-2022, Sarah R. Hoy, Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2021-2022

Volume 2, Chapter 19-3: Bryophyte Defenses Against Bacteria, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Volume 4, Chapter 1-20: Aquatic And Wet Marchantiophyta, Class Marchantiopsida: Conocephalaceae, Part 1, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Volume 4, Chapter 18-5: Caves - Caverns, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Birds And Bioenergy Within The Americas: A Cross‐National, Social–Ecological Study Of Ecosystem Service Tradeoffs, Jessie L. Knowlton, Kathleen E. Halvorsen, David J. Flaspohler, Christopher R. Webster, Jesse Abrams, Sara M. Almeida, Stefan L. Arriaga‐Weiss, Brad Barnett, Maíra R. Cardoso, Pablo V. Cerqueira, Diana Córdoba, Marcos Persio Dantas‐Santos, Jennifer L. Dunn, Amarella Eastmond, Gina M. Jarvi, Julian A. Licata, Ena Mata‐Zayas, Rodrigo Medeiros, M. Azahara Mesa‐Jurado, Lízbeth Yamily Moo‐Culebro, Cassandra Moseley, Erik Nielsen, Colin Phifer, Erin Pischke, Chelsea Schelly, Theresa Selfa, Chelsea A. Silva, Tatiana Souza, Sam R. Sweitz

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Although renewable energy holds great promise in mitigating climate change, there are socioeconomic and ecological tradeoffs related to each form of renewable energy. Forest‐related bioenergy is especially controversial, because tree plantations often replace land that could be used to grow food crops and can have negative impacts on biodiversity. In this study, we examined public perceptions and ecosystem service tradeoffs between the provisioning services associated with cover types associated with bioenergy crop (feedstock) production and forest habitat‐related supporting services for birds, which themselves provide cultural and regulating services. We combined a social survey‐based assessment of local values and perceptions with …

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale Annual Report 2020-2021, John A. Vucetich, Rolf O. Peterson, Sarah R. Hoy

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2020-2021

Applications Of Machine Learning In Microbial Forensics, Ryan B. Ghannam

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Microbial ecosystems are complex, with hundreds of members interacting with each other and the environment. The intricate and hidden behaviors underlying these interactions make research questions challenging – but can be better understood through machine learning. However, most machine learning that is used in microbiome work is a black box form of investigation, where accurate predictions can be made, but the inner logic behind what is driving prediction is hidden behind nontransparent layers of complexity.

Accordingly, the goal of this dissertation is to provide an interpretable and in-depth machine learning approach to investigate microbial biogeography and to use micro-organisms as …

Volume 4, Chapter 8-6: Tropics: Epiphylls, Janice M. Glime, Tamás Pócs

Bryophyte Ecology Subchapters

No abstract provided.

Chapter 002 - Streams, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Volume 4: Habitat and Role

Explore the contents of Bryophyte Ecology, Volume 4, Chapter 2 - Streams by clicking the links above. For the Contents section of this ebook, as well as Volumes 1 through 5, please visit the Bryophyte Ecology Main Page.

Use CTRL+F to easily search within PDF files.

Ebook sponsored by Michigan Technological University and the International Association of Bryologists.

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale, 2019-2020, Sarah R. Hoy, Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2019-2020

Assessing Boreal Peat Fire Severity And Vulnerability Of Peatlands To Early Season Wildland Fire, Laura Bourgeau-Chavez, Sarah L. Grelik, Michael Billmire, Liza K. Jenkins, Eric S. Kasischke, Merritt R. Turetsky

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Globally peatlands store large amounts of carbon belowground with 80% distributed in boreal regions of the northern hemisphere. Climate warming and drying of the boreal region has been documented as affecting fire regimes, with increased fire frequency, severity and extent. While much research is dedicated to assessing changes in boreal uplands, few research efforts are focused on the vulnerability of boreal peatlands to wildfire. In this case study, an integration of field data collection, land cover mapping of peatland types and Landsat-based fire severity mapping was conducted for four early season (May to mid-June) wildfires where peatlands are abundant in …