Digital Commons Network^™

Historical Sediment Record And Levels Of Pcbs In Sedimentsand Mangroves Of Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico, Lindsey Hanson

USF St. Petersburg campus Master's Theses (Graduate)

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were quantified in 18 surface sediment samples, 1 sediment core, and several mangrove tissue samples collected in Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico in September 2013. Total PCBs in surface sediments ranged from 0.42 to 1232 ng g-1 dw. Generally, higher levels were observed near the shore, close to urban and industrial areas. The levels suggest significant pollution in Jobos Bay with respect to PCBs. Two-thirds of the sites were dominated by lighter PCB congeners (tri- to penta-chlorinated PCBs) while one-third had heavy PCB congeners (hexa- to octa-chlorinated PCBs) dominant. Total PCBs in a sediment core indicated levels fluctuating …

2004-2016, A Brief Summary Of Annual Avian Abundance And Avian Use Of Drain Habitat In The Corrales Bosque, Hawks Aloft, Inc.

Multi-Species Reports (Hawks Aloft)

No abstract provided.

Deans' Council Meeting : 2016 : 12 : 14 : Minutes, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg. Office Of The Regional Vice Chancellor For Academic Affairs.

Deans' Council

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Effect Of Gasoline Prices On Transit Ridership And Unobserved Heterogeneity, Hojin Jung, Gun Jea Yu, Kyoung-Min Kwon

Journal of Public Transportation

Based on a unique scanner panel data set on debit and credit card transactions, we examined the effect of gasoline prices on individual choices between private vehicle use and public transit ridership. The unique feature of our data allowed us to address possible heterogeneity in the effect of gasoline prices and to explicitly incorporate the link between private vehicle use and public transit ridership. A series of empirical analyses reveal that there is significant heterogeneity in the effect of gasoline prices on fuel consumption and that financial constraints and commitment to vehicle use determine individual sensitivities to the price of …

Passenger Satisfaction And Mental Adaptation Under Adverse Conditions: Case Study In Manila, Andra Charis Mijares, Mio Suzuki, Tetsuo Yai

Journal of Public Transportation

Public transportation systems in several developing cities face congestion, air pollution, and safety problems, yet many passengers use them regularly. This study examines the structure of passenger satisfaction and the role of mental adaptation under such conditions. Metro Manila MRT-3 was analyzed as a case study.

The actual and perceived conditions at the MRT-3 were assessed using surveys. Results of the waiting time and PM_2.5 monitoring surveys revealed that passengers queue for 30 minutes, on average, while being exposed to unsafe levels of PM_2.5. The questionnaire survey results show some discrepancies between actual and perceived values, suggesting …

Archinsects And Arachnitects: The Leaf Structures That Arthropods Construct In The Protected Areas Of Monteverde, December 2016, Holly Eichrodt

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

This study aimed to understand which insect and arachnid families manipulate leaves to make shelters and for what purposes they make them. I investigated the types of structures they create and how this may benefit their survivorship within three diverse protected areas of Monteverde- Estación Biológica Monteverde, Bajo del Tigre and Rachel Dwight Crandell Reserve. I collected a total of 56 individuals in the orders Lepidoptera, Araneae, and Orthoptera. I quantified the different types of leaf modifications made as well as the plant family in which they were made. I wanted to determine if there was specificity within the different …

Zombie Fungi: Occurrence Of Arthropod Endoparasitic Fungi At Different Altitudes In The Monteverde Region, December 2016, Madeline Sandler

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Arthropod endoparasitic fungi consist of multiple genera that exploit the bodies of insects and arachnids as host organisms to spread their fungal spores and to obtain nutrients from the body of the host. Arthropod parasitic fungi can be classified into three families: Clavicipitaceae,Cordyipitaceae and Ophiocordycipitaceae . I conducted an observational study in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica where I collected and analyzed arthropods that have been parasitized with fungi by searching in different altitudes and life zones. My goal was to determine if there was an altitudinal gradient associated with the presence and abundance of arthropod parasitic fungi and …

Comparing Tardigrade Abundance And Diversity On Rock, Log, Live Tree, And Canopy In Monteverde, Costa Rica, December 2016, Lily Stander

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

This study surveyed the abundance and diversity of Phylum Tardigrada across four different substrates: rock, log, live tree, and canopy, in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Tardigrades are understudied micro-invertebrates that inhabit every biome on the planet. I collected twenty-eight samples, or 140 subsamples, by hand, soaked them in water for a minimum of four hours, and surveyed for tardigrades. I found and documented forty-five tardigrades. Ninety-one percent of tardigrades found were Class Eutardigrada, while the remaining nine percent were Class Heterotardigrada. Five genera were identified: Echiniscus, Pseudechiniscus, Macrobiotus, Paramacrobiotus, and Minibiotus. The canopy and live tree substrates produced equal abundance and …

A Review Of Reclaimed Water For Irrigation Use In An Urban Watershed, Anamarie Elizabeth Rivera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is well established that converting wastewater, a point-source of pollution, into reclaimed water makes management of nutrients more difficult. Not all service lines measure the volume of reclaimed water used by a customer, and frequently there are no restrictions on the amount of reclaimed water that is used. Nutrients applied in excess have the potential to runoff or leach through soils and contaminate surface and groundwater resources. This research attempted to determine if corresponding surface water quality monitoring sites in reclaimed service areas reflect elevated total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorous (TP) concentrations.

The Joe’s Creek Watershed in Pinellas …

Crow's Nest, October 17, 2016, Crow's Nest Staff

Crow's Nest

The October 17, 2016, issue of the Crow's Nest.

Conflict Of Interest In Exploitation And Utilisation Of Transboundary Natural Resources On Lake Victoria, Edmond M. Were

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

The management of Lake Victoria as a “regional common” is expected to adhere to the global principles of transboundary natural resource management. However, national interest and power asymmetry amongst riparian states buoyed by external demand have overwhelmed global and regional norms leading to incessant exploitation of the common resources. This paper uses idealist and realist perspectives of power relations to inform the analysis of conflicting interests in transboundary natural resource exploitation. It partly relies on 2012-2013 primary data from purposively selected Beach Management Units in Kenya and Uganda and secondary data from regional fisheries institutions. Notwithstanding the normative value of …

Trends In Mobile Transit Information Utilization: An Exploratory Analysis Of Transit App In New York City, Niloofar Ghahramani, Candace Brakewood

Journal of Public Transportation

Smartphone applications that provide transit information are now very popular. However, there is limited research that examines when and where passengers use mobile transit information. The objective of this research was to perform an exploratory analysis of the use of a smartphone application known as Transit App, which provides real-time transit information and trip planning (schedule) functionality. Backend data from Transit App were examined by time of day and day of week in the New York City metropolitan area. The results show that the pattern of both the trip planning feature and overall real-time information usage follow the typical pattern …

The Life And Times Of Landfills, Joshua O. Reno

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

American landfills are primarily understood as distinctly human and spatial creations, when in practice they are as much temporal as spatial and as much non-human as human. Based on a large landfill on the rural periphery of Detroit, this paper explores the emergent and polychronic forms of life fostered by controlled dumping. Landfill employees work with their ecological surroundings to satisfy regulatory directives and assemble ever-growing mountains of waste. The paper introduces the complex, practical negotiations that result by isolating and diagraming the distinct temporal scales at which nonhuman beings and powers aid in and disrupt the process of landfilling.

Full Issue 16(1/2)

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Full Issue 11(1/2)

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Shaping Climate Citizenship: The Ethics Of Inclusion In Climate Change Communication And Policy, Lauren E. Cagle

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The problem of climate change is not simply scientific or technical, but also political and social. This dissertation analyzes both the role and the ethical foundations of citizenship and citizen engagement in the political and social aspects of climate change communication and policy-making. Using a critical discourse analysis of a policy recommendations drafted by the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact, I demonstrate how climate change policy documentation naturalizes a particular version of citizenship I call “climate citizenship.” Based on environmental critiques of liberal and civic republican citizenship, I show how this “climate citizenship” would be more productive and ethical …

Pollutants And Foraminiferal Assemblages In Torrecillas Lagoon: An Environmental Micropaleontology Approach, Michael Martinez-Colon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Torrecillas Lagoon in the North Coast of Puerto Rico has experienced extensive anthropogenic influence over the past 400 years. Elevated concentrations of Potential Toxic Elements (PTEs) have been reported in surficial sediments. The main goal of this dissertation was to implement in Puerto Rico the use of benthic foraminifers as a bioindicators of PTEs and to compare the impact of Cu(II) on field samples with results of experimental work using cultures.

Analyses included geochemical assessment for bulk and carbonate- soluble bioavailable concentrations of PTEs in surface, core and pore-water samples, as well as analyses of grain-size, Percent Total Organic Carbon …

Characterization Of Minothems At Libiola (Nw Italy): Morphological, Mineralogical, And Geochemical Study, Cristina Carbone, Enrico Dinelli, Jo De Waele

International Journal of Speleology

The aim of this study is to characterize in detail, the mineralogy of different-shaped concretions as well as to investigate the physico-chemical parameters of the associated mine drainage and drip waters in the Santa Barbara level of the Libiola Mine (NW Italy) by several geochemical and mineralogical techniques. Under the term “minothems” we are grouping all those secondary minerals that occur under certain form or shape related to the conditions under which they formed but occur in a mine, or in any artificial underground environment (i.e., "mine speleothems"). Different types of minothems (soda straw stalactites, stalactites, and draperies) were sampled …

Costumbres, Creencias, Y “Lo Normal”: A Biocultural Study On Changing Prenatal Dietary Practices In A Rural Tourism Community In Costa Rica, Allison Rachel Cantor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the relationship between tourism, the nutrition transition, and prenatal dietary practices in the Monteverde Zone, Costa Rica. This rural tourism community, located in the central highlands of Costa Rica, has seen rapid growth and development since the tourism boom in the early 1990s, leading to changes in the local food system and increased food insecurity. This investigation added to this work by identifying the ways that prenatal dietary practices have shifted over time in the context of increased tourism and the concomitant nutrition transition, and by describing the relationship between food insecurity and nutritional status among pregnant …

Origins, Resources And Management Of Hypogene Karst

KIP Articles

No abstract provided.

Decadal Variability In The Oxygen Inventory Of North Atlantic Subtropical Underwater Captured By Sustained, Long-Term Oceanographic Time Series Observations, Enrique Montes, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Andrés Cianca, Michael W. Lomas, Laura Lorenzoni, Sennai Habtes

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Historical observations of potential temperature (θ), salinity (S), and dissolved oxygen concentrations (O₂) in the tropical and subtropical North Atlantic (0–500 m; 0–40°N, 10–90°W) were examined to understand decadal‐scale changes in O₂ in subtropical underwater (STUW). STUW is observed at four of the longest, sustained ocean biogeochemical and ecological time series stations, namely, the CArbon Retention In A Colored Ocean (CARIACO) Ocean Time Series Program (10.5°N, 64.7°W), the Bermuda Atlantic Time‐series Study (BATS; 31.7°N, 64.2°W), Hydrostation “S” (32.1°N, 64.4°W), and the European Station for Time‐series in the Ocean, Canary Islands (ESTOC; 29.2°N, 15.5°W). …

The Hominin Sites And Paleolakes Drilling Project: Inferring The Environmental Context Of Human Evolution From Eastern African Rift Lake Deposits, Jonathan Wynn, J. N. Wilson

Geology Faculty Publications

The role that climate and environmental history may have played in influencing human evolution has been the focus of considerable interest and controversy among paleoanthropologists for decades. Prior attempts to understand the environmental history side of this equation have centered around the study of outcrop sediments and fossils adjacent to where fossil hominins (ancestors or close relatives of modern humans) are found, or from the study of deep sea drill cores. However, outcrop sediments are often highly weathered and thus are unsuitable for some types of paleoclimatic records, and deep sea core records come from long distances away from the …

Developing Guidelines For Incorporating Managing Demand Into Wsdot Planning And Programming: Transportation Demand Management Guidance For Corridor Planning Studies, Cutr

Research Reports

No abstract provided.

24. Case Study: The Mathematics & Statistics Workshop At Bates College, Grace Coulombe

QMaSC: A Handbook for Directors of Quantitative and Mathematics Support Centers

No abstract provided.

2016 Cutr Annual Report, Cutr

CUTR Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Nutrient Supplementation On Host-Pathogen Dynamics Of The Amphibian Chytrid Fungus: A Community Approach, Julia C. Buck, Jason R. Rohr, Andrew R. Blaustein

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

1. Anthropogenic stressors may influence hosts and their pathogens directly or may alter host–pathogen dynamics indirectly through interactions with other species. For example, in aquatic ecosystems, eutrophication may be associated with increased or decreased disease risk. Conversely, pathogens can influence community structure and function and are increasingly recognised as important members of the ecological communities in which they exist.
2. In outdoor mesocosms, we experimentally manipulated nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and the presence of a fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), and examined the effects on Bd abundance on larval amphibian hosts (Pseudacris regilla: Hylidae), amphibian traits and community dynamics. We …

Gulf Of Mexico Low-Frequency Ocean Soundscape Impacted By Airguns, Sean M. Wiggins, Jesse M. Hall, Bruce J. Thayre, John A. Hildebrand

C-IMAGE Publications

The ocean soundscape of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has not been well-studied, although it is an important habitat for marine mammals, including sperm and beaked whales, many dolphin species, and a potentially endangered baleen whale species. The GOM is also home to high levels of hydrocarbon exploration and extraction, heavily used commercial shipping ports, and significant fishery industry activity, all of which are known contributors to oceanic noise. From 2010–2013, the soundscape of three deep and two shallow water sites in the GOM were monitored over 10 – 1000 Hz. Average sound pressure spectrum levels were high, > 90 dB …

Cave Protection As A Karst Conservation Tool In The Environmentally Sensitive Lagoa Santa Karst, Southeastern Brazil, Augusto S. Auler

KIP Articles

Karst areas in densely populated and industrialized areas in Brazil are under severe environmental pressure due to urbanization, quarrying, groundwater pollution, groundwater overpumping and cave vandalism. Although karst terrains receive no specific protection according to Brazilian environmental law, caves, regardless of rock type, are classified as belonging to the society, and must be studied in detail to have their significance (and related level of protection) determined. Most caves (>90 %) are of either maximum or high significance, which results in protection of not only the cave but also of an associated buffer zone. Given the very conservative definition of …

Undergraduate Catalog, 2016-2017, University Of South Florida St. Petersburg.

Undergraduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Productivity Of Ospreys (Pandion Haliaetus) Nesting In Highly Urbanized Pinellas County, Florida, Elizabeth A. Forys, Alison N. Clift, Alexandra A. Salsky

Florida Field Naturalist

No abstract provided.