Digital Commons Network^™

Association Of State Wetland Managers 2012 Annual Report, Association Of State Wetland Managers

Documents from Environmental Organizations

No abstract provided.

Tutorial Report: Understanding Spatial Thought Through Language Use, Thora Tenbrink, Tommaso D'Odorico, Christoph Hertzberg, Güzin Mazman, Chiara Meneghetti, Nina Reshöft, Jinlong Yang

Journal of Spatial Information Science

The tutorial "Understanding spatial thought through language use" took place at the International Spatial Cognition Conference on August 31, 2012 at Kloster Seeon in Germany. This report outlines the main rationale for the tutorial along with central contributions by its participants, who considerably enhanced the success of the tutorial by sharing and discussing their own research experiences with respect to the analysis of language in spatial cognition contexts. The tutorial's website is http://knirb.net/TutorialSC2012.html.

Geospatial Images In The Acquisition Of Spatial Knowledge For Wayfinding, Pyry Kettunen, Katja Irvankoski, Christina M. Krause, Tapani Sarjakoski, L. Tiina Sarjakoski

Journal of Spatial Information Science

Geospatial images such as maps and aerial photographs are important sources of spatial knowledge that people use for wayfinding. The rapid development of geodata acquisition and digital graphics has recently led to rather complete geographic coverage of both traditional and novel types of geospatial images. Divergent types of geospatial images vary in their support of human acquisition of spatial knowledge. However evaluative studies about the acquisition of spatial knowledge from the diversity of geospatial images have been rare. In this article we review a variety of literature about the acquisition of spatial knowledge while paying particular attention to the role …

The Influence Of Landscape Variation On Landform Categorization, Maia Williams, Werner Kuhn, Marco Painho

Journal of Spatial Information Science

This paper compares the landform vocabularies of residents from two regions in Portugal. Participants described both their own and the other less familiar landscapes in response to video footage of the regions. The results indicate that participants used more detailed vocabularies to describe the known landscape compared to the less familiar study site with detail triggered by individual place recognition. A relationship between landform lexica content and landscape type was observed in the relative placement of detail within each vocabulary. The observed drivers of categorization were the salient features of the landscape (elevation and land cover) and utilitarian motivations (land …

Approaching The Notion Of Place By Contrast, Stephan Winter, Christian Freksa

Journal of Spatial Information Science

Place is an elusive notion in geographic information science. This paper presents an approach to capture the notion of place by contrast. This approach is developed from cognitive concepts and the language that is used to describe places. It is complementary to those of coordinate-based systems that dominate contemporary geographic information systems. Accordingly the approach is aimed at explaining structures in verbal place descriptions and at localizing objects without committing to geometrically specified positions in space. We will demonstrate how locations can be identified by place names that are not crisply defined in terms of geometric regions. Capturing the human …

Spatial Reasoning With Augmented Points: Extending Cardinal Directions With Local Distances, Reinhard Moratz, Jan Oliver Wallgrün

Journal of Spatial Information Science

We present an approach for supplying existing qualitative direction calculi with a distance component to support fully fledged positional reasoning. The general underlying idea of augmenting points with local reference properties has already been applied in the OPRAm calculus. In this existing calculus point objects are attached with a local reference direction to obtain oriented points and able to express relative direction using binary relations. We show how this approach can be extended to attach a granular distance concept to direction calculi such as the cardinal direction calculus or adjustable granularity calculi such as OPRAm or the Star calculus. We …

2011 Nanoelectronic Devices For Defense & Security (Nano-Dds) Conference: A Request For Funding To Support Attendee Participation. To Be Held Aug. 29 To Sept 1, 2011 At Nyu-Poly, Carl P. Tripp

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Intellectual Merit: The Nanoelectronic Devices for Defense & Security (NANO-DDS) Conference is a bi-annual science and technology event which has been organized for the purpose of reviewing the evolving research and development (R&D) activities in the arena of nanoelectronic devices that have direct relevance to critical capability needs for national defense & security in the future. The charter of this special conference is to unify and focus the very broad array of nanoelectronic and supporting nanotechnology activities that are currently engaged in reaching the long expected applications payoffs in core defense and security related areas such as sensing, data processing, …

Graduate School Presentation, University Of Maine

General University of Maine Publications

A presentation about the University of Maine Graduate School.

Faculty Senate Agenda, University Of Maine

General University of Maine Publications

Documents for meetings of the Full Faculty Senate

Economic Analysis Of Working Waterfronts In The United States, Alan W. Hodges, Thomas J. Stevens, Mohammad Rahmani, Robert Swett

Maine Sea Grant Publications

Waterfront communities in the United States, whether rural or urban, recreational or industrialized, have been subject to economic, technological, ecological, and demographic changes that challenge their continued existence or development. The purpose of this study is to document the current status, contribution to regional economies, and future prospects of U.S. coastal communities in order help promote their long‐term economic prosperity. A review of the relevant literature on economic valuation of waterfront and ocean‐related economic activities found that previous studies usually evaluated only one particular economic sector or specific region. The present study attempts to provide a comprehensive evaluation of all …

Maine Campus December 10 2012, Maine Campus Staff

Maine Campus Archives

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Research: Life Histories Of Species In The Genus Calanus In The North Atlantic And North Pacific Oceans And Responses To Climate Forcing, Jeffrey Runge, Andrew J. Pershing

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Species in the genus Calanus are predominant in the mesozooplankton of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. Their key role in marine food web interactions has been recognized in GLOBEC programs, both in the U.S. and internationally. Considerable knowledge of life history characteristics, including growth, reproduction, mortality, diapause behavior and demography has been acquired from both laboratory experiments and measurements at sea. This project reviews and synthesizes this knowledge and uses it to develop an Individual Based Life Cycle model for sibling species in two sympatric species pairs, C.marshallae and C. pacificus in the North Pacific Ocean and C. …

Maine Campus December 03 2012, Maine Campus Staff

Maine Campus Archives

No abstract provided.

Population Dynamics Of The Sub-Arctic Copepod Calanus Finmarchicus In The Gulf Of Maine: Demography And Mortality Estimation, Cameron R. S. Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Calanus finmarchicus is a widely distributed copepod species that dominants the zooplankton community in the Gulf of Maine. It is of particular interest in its role as a major food source for the endangered northern right whale and stocks of herring, mackerel and cod. More accurate coupled models to predict its distribution requires better life history models. However, due to the difficulty in estimating it, mortality is often used as a closure term in those models; the value is justified mathematically rather than ecologically. Instantaneous mortality is difficult to measure, but the Vertical Life Table method (VLT) has gained some …

Geosensor Data Representation Using Layered Slope Grids Sensors., Yongmi Lee, Young Jin Jung, Kwang Woo Nam, Silvia Nittel Editor, Mary-Kate Beard-Tisdale, Keun Ho Ryu

Publications

Environmental monitoring applications are designed for supplying derived and often integrated information by tracking and analyzing phenomena. To determine the condition of a target place, they employ a geosensor network to get the heterogeneous sensor data. To effectively handle a large volume of sensor data, applications need a data abstraction model, which supports the summarized data representation by encapsulating raw data. For faster data processing to answer a user’s queries with representative attributes of an abstracted model, we propose such a data abstraction model, the Layered Slopes in Grid for Sensor Data Abstraction (LSGSA), which is based on the SGSA. …

Mercury Bioaccumulation In Wood Frogs Developing In Seasonal Pools, Cynthia Loftin, Aram J K Calhoun, Sarah J. Nelson, Adria A. Elskus, Kevin Simon

Publications

Seasonal woodland pools contribute significant biomass to terrestrial ecosystems through production of pool-breeding amphibians. The movement of amphibian metamorphs potentially transports toxins bioaccumulated during larval development in the natal pool into the surrounding terrestrial environment. We documented total mercury (THg) in seasonal woodland pool water, sediment, litter, and Lithobates sylvaticus LeConte (Wood Frog) in Acadia National Park, ME. THg concentrations in pool water varied over the study season, increasing during April-June and remaining high in 2 of 4 pools upon October refill. Water in pools surrounded by softwoods had lower pH, greater dissolved organic carbon, and greater THg concentrations than …

Does Green Consumerism Increase The Acceptance Of Wind Power?, Caroline L. Noblet, John Thøgersen

Publications

In this paper, we discuss what might be termed an action-based learning approach to promoting important pro-environmental actions, such as support for or acceptance of environmental policy. Such an approach involves promoting simple and easy behaviours as entry points for more radical steps towards sustainability, referred to as “catalytic” or “wedge” behaviours. Despite the obvious need for innovative approaches to promote important pro-environmental behaviour, and sound theoretical backing for such concepts, there is a lack of research testing the key propositions of this approach. In a survey study based on a random sample of residents of the state of Maine, …

Testing The Predictive Performance Of Distribution Models, Volker Bahn, Brian Mcgill

Publications

Distribution models are used to predict the likelihood of occurrence or abundance of a species at locations where census data are not available. An integral part of modelling is the testing of model performance. We compared different schemes and measures for testing model performance using 79 species from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The four testing schemes we compared featured increasing independence between test and training data: resubstitution, random data hold-out and two spatially segregated data hold-out designs. The different testing measures also addressed different levels of information content in the dependent variable: regression R2 for absolute abundance, squared …

Minerva 2012, The Honors College

Minerva

This issue of Minerva includes a celebration of the life and impact of former Honors Dean, Charlie Slavin; a discussion of the Honors College's role in the University of Maine Blue Sky Strategic Plan; and profiles of student Kyle Franklin and alumni Heidi Crosby and Richard Becker.

Dawnbreaker Vol 60 No 2 (Winter 2012-2013), Dawnbreaker Staff

Maine Women's Publications - All

No abstract provided.

Sources To Seafood: Mercury Pollution In The Marine Environment, Celia Y. Chen, Charles T. Driscoll, Kathleen F. Lambert, Robert P. Mason, Laurie R. Rardin, Catherine V. Schmitt, N. S. Serrell, Elsie M. Sunderland

Maine Sea Grant Publications

In 2010, the Toxic Metals Superfund Research Program at Dartmouth College brought together a group of 50 scientists and policy stakeholders to form C-MERC, the Coastal and Marine Mercury Ecosystem Research Collaborative. The goal was to review current knowledge—and knowledge gaps—relating to a global environmental health problem, mercury contamination of the world’s marine fish. C-MERC participants attended two workshops over a two-year period, and in 2012 C-MERC authors published a series of peer-reviewed papers in the journals Environmental Health Perspectives and Environmental Research that elucidated key processes related to the inputs, cycling, and uptake of mercury in marine ecosystems, effects …

2011-2012 Status Of Women And Girls In Maine, Permanent Commission On The Status Of Women

Government Documents

No abstract provided.

2012 Report Status Of Women And Girls In Maine, Permanent Commission On The Status Of Women

Government Documents

No abstract provided.

Gentrification And Vulnerability Of Maine Fishing Communities, Cameron R. S. Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maine hosts numerous small fishing villages that contribute greatly to the States economy and culture. The cumulative effects of state and federal regulation, stock depletion and other socio-economic trends threaten these communities. Drawing on ethnographic research and interviews, we examine how gentrification is affecting the vulnerability and resilience of fishing communities. This study has revealed gentrification to be a complex process, which is merely the most readily recognizable symptom of forces that are reshaping the post-industrial landscape. Fishing communities can no longer be thought of as discrete entities isolated from broad social and economic changes. Technology and new markets have …

Integration Of Process Parameter Control And Digital Image Correlation Methods In An Investigation Of The Variability Of Marine Polymer Matrix Composite Material Properties, Keith Andrew Berube

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The very nature of continuous fiber composite materials, with their heterogeneous structure of layered and interwoven fibers bound together by a polymer resin matrix, lead to an inevitable variability in mechanical properties. This is especially true if the fabrication process is not well controlled. Unlike fabricating components with metals, where the properties of the material are known beforehand, the final properties of the composite material are determined during the process of fabricating the composite part. The research described herein was undertaken to better enable the use of polymer matrix composites in the marine construction industry by developing a knowledge base …

Assessing Allelopathic Effects Of Alexandrium Fundyense On Thalassiosira Sp., Emily R. Lyczkowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Production of allelopathic chemicals by the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense is one suggested mechanism by which this relatively slow grower outcompetes other phytoplankton, particularly diatoms. Despite well documented allelopathic potential of Alexandrium spp., the potency is variable. To further characterize allelopathic effects of A. fundyense on diatoms in the Gulf of Maine, I studied growth and nutrient acquisition by the chain-forming diatom Thalassiosira sp. in the presence and absence of allelochemicals. Thalassiosira cells, upon exposure to filtrate of A. fundyense cultures exhibited “bleaching” and both growth and nutrient utilization ceased for up to 4 days compared to controls. Results from …

Ecological Interactions Affecting Diatom Climate Reconstructions In Prairie Saline Lakes Of The Northern Great Plains (Usa), Courtney R. Wigdahl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sedimentary diatom profiles from saline lakes are frequently used to reconstruct lakewater salinity as an indicator of drought. However, diatom-inferred salinity reconstructions (DI-salinity) from geographically-close sites in the Great Plains (USA) have yielded disparate results. Here, I explore how within-lake ecological processes, such as physical changes in lake habitat and zooplankton grazing pressure, may affect the accuracy of diatom-based salinity reconstructions. I examined how relationships differed among drought, lake-level change, and diatom community structure over the last century by developing three-dimensional models of planktic:benthic habitat (P:B) relationships with lake level change. I explored the potential for zooplankton grazing influence by …

Responses Of Atlantic Salmon Stream Communities To Marine-Derived Nutrients, Margaret Quinn Guyette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examined responses of Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar) stream communities to experimental simulation of marine-derived nutrient input. Prior to construction of dams beginning in the early 1800s, Atlantic salmon and other anadromous species migrated from the ocean to spawn in Maine's extensive rivers and streams. Spawning fish transported marine-derived nutrients to these systems as carcasses, eggs, and waste products. These contributions may have influenced productivity in otherwise nutrient limited systems, bolstering growth and survival of young Atlantic salmon and other anadromous species and influencing other components of the stream communities.

This study involved a reach-scale experiment to explore …

Analysis Of Extracellular Proteins Expressed By Host, Crassostrea Virginica And Pathogen, Roseovarius Crassostreae In Roseovarius Oyster Disease, Erin Macro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Roseovarius Oyster Disease (ROD) involves the colonization of the inner shell of the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) by the marine alpha-proteobacterium Roseovarius crassostreae. The ensuing disease can result in upwards of 90% mortality in hatchery-raised juvenile (< 25 mm shell length) oysters. Symptoms of ROD include heavy, brown ring deposits of conchiolin on the surface of the shell, as well as uneven valve growth and shell curvature. Although the bacterium does not invade oyster tissue or digestive tract, fluorescent localization of an R. crassostreae biofilm on the inner shells of ROD-affected oysters, and toxic effects of R. crassotreae extracellular products on hemocytes and larval oysters suggest that a chemical warfare takes place between the R. crassostreae biofilm and the oyster host. In this thesis, I cultured R. crassostreae under laboratory conditions and analyzed the affects of physical growth condition, temperature, culture volume, and iron limitation on bacterial growth and bacterial extracellular protein (ECP) production. Culture growth rate increased with increasing temperature. Iron limitation resulted in slower growth but had no affect on maximum culture density. Iron limited cells produced a greater volume of ECPs, especially at low cell density. ECPs from liquid and solid-phase cultures were analyzed by LC-tandem mass spectrometry. The resulting protein sequences had high similarity to proteins in other bacterial species that act as virulence factors in other hosts, including metal transporters (2), proteases (2) and a surface-associated GroEL chaperonin. I also exposed live oysters to ECPs of live R. crassostreae cells by embedding a filter capsule into the oyster shell. I sampled extrapallial fluid from oysters pre-exposure and post-exposure and analyzed the relative expression of the oyster defense protein dominin in addition to the extent of brown shell deposition as a function of bacterial presence. The injury response due to capsule embedment masked any potential response by oysters to R. crassostreae ECPs.

Assessment Of Audio Interfaces For Use In Smartphone Based Spatial Learning Systems For The Blind, Shreyans Jain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent advancements in the field of indoor positioning and mobile computing promise development of smart phone based indoor navigation systems. Currently, the preliminary implementations of such systems only use visual interfaces—meaning that they are inaccessible to blind and low vision users. According to the World Health Organization, about 39 million people in the world are blind. This necessitates the need for development and evaluation of non-visual interfaces for indoor navigation systems that support safe and efficient spatial learning and navigation behavior. This thesis research has empirically evaluated several different approaches through which spatial information about the environment can be conveyed …