Digital Commons Network^™

Use Of A Population Viability Analysis To Evaluate Human-Induced Impacts And Mitigation For The Endangered Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit, David H. Lafever, Paige M. Schmidt, Neil D. Perry, Craig A. Faulhaber, Roel R. Lopez, Nova J. Silvy, Elizabeth A. Forys

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Rapid development and urbanization of the lower Florida Keys in the last 30 years has fragmented the habitat of the Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri), hereafter called marsh rabbit, and threatened it with extinction. On the Naval Air Station–Key West (NAS), Boca Chica Key, marsh rabbits exist as a meta-population of discrete habitat patches in a matrix of wetlands and airfield facilities. Airfield safety regulations require NAS to maintain vegetation below a minimum height on runway peripheries (clear zones). We developed a spatially-explicit, stage-structured, stochastic matrix model using the programs RAMAS-Metapop and ArcGIS. Model parameters were …

Intermittent Water Supplies: Challenges And Opportunities For Residential Water Users In Jordan, David E. Rosenberg, Samer Talozi, Jay Lund

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Intermittent access to improved urban water supplies is a large and expanding global problem. This paper describes 16 supply enhancement and 23 demand management actions available to urban residential water users in Jordan to cope with intermittent supplies. We characterize actions by implementation, costs, and water quantities and qualities acquired or conserved. This effort systematically identifies potential options prior to detailed study and shows that water users have significant capacity to affect demand. We suggest several methods to evaluate options and highlight the need to include local water management decisions in integrated water resources management and planning at utility and …

Pyrene Fate Affected By Humic Acid Amendment In Soil Slurry Systems, Y. Liang, D. Sorensen, Ronald C. Sims, Joan Mclean

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Background

Humic acid (HA) has been found to affect the solubility, mineralization, and bound residue formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, most of the studies on the interaction between HA and PAH concentrated on one or two of the three phases. Few studies have provided a simple protocol to demonstrate the overall effects of HA on PAH distribution in soil systems for all three phases.

Methods

In this study, three doses of standard Elliott soil HA (ESHA), 15, 187.5, and 1,875 μg ESHA/g soil slurry, were amended to soil slurry systems. ¹⁴C-pyrene was added to the systems along …

The Power Of Soil: Using It To Our Advantage, Judith L. Sims, R. Otis

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Interferon Alfacon 1 Inhibits Sars-Covinfection In Human Bronchial Epithelial Calu-3 Cells, Y. Kumaki, C. W. Day, M. K. Wandersee, B. P. Schow, J. S. Madsen, D. Grant, J. P. Roth, Donald F. Smee, L. M. Blatt, Dale L. Barnard

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

The primary targets for SARS-CoV infection are the epithelial cells in the respiratory and intestinal tract. The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) has been identified as a functional receptor for SARS-CoV. ACE-2 has been shown to be expressed at the apical domain of polarized Calu-3 cells. In this report, interferon alfacon 1 was examined for inhibitory activities against SARS-CoV on human lung carcinoma epithelial Calu-3 cell line and the other three African green monkey kidney epithelial cell lines. Interferon alfacon 1 demonstrated significant antiviral activity in neutral red uptake assay and virus yield reduction assay. The data might provide an important …

Ethylene Synthesis And Sensitivity In Crop Plants, Joseph F. Romagnano

Publications

The gaseous plant hormone ethylene is a small molecule that regulates developmental change. Research was conducted in three areas: sensitivity, synthesis, and alterations to synthesis. Vegetative pea plants were more sensitive than radish plants to atmospheric ethylene. Light intensity did not affect ethylene sensitivity. Ethylene synthesis rates were measured for unstressed cotton, corn, soybean, and tomato plants. The per-plant ethylene synthesis rate ranged from 0.1-80 pmol plant-1 s-1. However, when normalized to net photosynthetic rate, this range was 1-4 µmol of ethylene synthesis per mol of CO2 uptake. Diurnal cycles in ethylene synthesis were present in all crops studied. These …

Are Rivers Just Bigstreams? Using A Pulse Method To Measure Nitrogen Demand In A Large River, J. L. Tank, E. J. Rosi-Marshall, Michelle A. Baker, R. O. Hall Jr.

Biology Faculty Publications

Given recent focus on large rivers as conduits for excess nutrients to coastal zones, their role in processing and retaining nutrients has been overlooked and understudied. Empirical measurements of nutrient uptake in large rivers are lacking, despite a substantial body of knowledge on nutrient transport and removal in smaller streams. Researchers interested in nutrient transport by rivers (discharge >10000 L/s) are left to extrapolate riverine nutrient demand using a modeling framework or a mass balance approach. To begin to fill this knowledge gap, we present data using a pulse method to measure inorganic nitrogen. (N) transport and removal in the …

Chihuahuan Desertkangaroo Rats: Nonlinear Effects Of Population Dynamics, Competition, And Rainfall, M. Lima, S.K. Morgan Ernest, J. H. Brown, A. Belgrano, N. C. Stenseth

Biology Faculty Publications

Using long-term data on two kangaroo rats in the Chihuahuan Desert of North America, we fitted logistic models including the exogenous effects of seasonal rainfall patterns. Our aim was to test the effects of intraspecific interactions and seasonal rainfall in explaining and predicting the numerical fluctuations of these two kangaroo rats. We found that logistic models fit both data sets quite well; Dipodomys merriami showed lower maximum per capita growth rates than Dipodomys ordii, and in both cases logistic models were nonlinear. Summer rainfall appears to be the most important exogenous effect for both rodent populations; models including this variable …

On Estimating The Exponent Of Power-Law Frequency Distributions, Ethan P. White, B. J. Enquist, J. L. Green

Biology Faculty Publications

Power-law frequency distributions characterize a wide array of natural phenomena. In ecology, biology, and many physical and social sciences, the exponents of these power-laws are estimated to draw inference about the processes underlying the phenomenon, to test theoretical models, and to scale up from local observations to global patterns. Therefore, it is essential that these exponents be estimated accurately. Unfortunately, the binning-based methods traditionally utilized in ecology and other disciplines perform quite poorly. Here we discuss more sophisticated methods for fitting these exponents based on cumulative distribution functions and maximum likelihood estimation. We illustrate their superior performance at estimating known …

On The Relationship Between Mass And Diameter Distributions In Tree Communities, J. C. Stegen, Ethan P. White

Biology Faculty Publications

It has been suggested that frequency distributions of individual tree masses in natural stands are characterized by power-law distributions with exponents near -3/4, and that therefore tree communities exhibit energetic equivalence among size classes. Because the mass of trees is not measured directly, but estimated from diameter, this supposition is based on the fact that the observed distribution of tree diameters is approximately characterized by a power-law with an exponent -2. Here we show that diameter distributions of this form are not equivalent to mass distributions with exponents of -3/4, but actually to mass distributions with exponents of -11/8. We …

Zero-Sum, The Niche,And Metacommunities: Long-Term Dynamics Of Community Assembly, S.K. Morgan Ernest, J. H. Brown, K. M. Thibault, Ethan P. White, J. R. Goheen

Biology Faculty Publications

Recent models of community assembly, structure, and dynamics have incorporated, to varying degrees, three mechanistic processes: resource limitation and interspecific competition, niche requirements of species, and exchanges between a local community and a regional species pool. Synthesizing 30 years of data from an intensively studied desert rodent community, we show that all of these processes, separately and in combination, have influenced the structural organization of this community and affected its dynamical response to both natural environmental changes and experimental perturbations. In addition, our analyses suggest that zero-sum constraints, niche differences, and metacommunity processes are inextricably linked in the ways that …

An Examination Of Self-Reported Parenting Practices Among First-Generation Spanish-Speaking Latino Families: A Spanish Version Of The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, Melissa R. Donovick, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez

Psychology Faculty Publications

The present study examined the applicability of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire to a Spanish-speaking Latino population. Results of the reliability and concurrent validity testing suggest that the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire may be a valuable tool for use with Spanish-speaking Latino families. The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire in Spanish assessed parenting practices among 50 first-generation Spanish-speaking Latino families of primarily Mexican origin with a child between 4 and 9 years of age (n = 96 parents, n = 50 children). Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires in Spanish to assess parent and child behaviors. Results show that over 80% of parents included …

Functional Gene Losses Occur With Minimal Size Reduction In The Plastid Genome Of The Parasitic Liverwort Aneura Mirabilis, N. J. Wickett, Y. Zhang, S. K. Hansen, J. M. Roper, J. V. Kuehl, S. A. Plock, B. Goffinet, Paul G. Wolf, C. W. Depamphilis, Jeffrey L. Boore

Biology Faculty Publications

Aneura mirabilis is a parasitic liverwort that exploits an existing mycorrhizal association between a basidiomycete and a host tree. This unusual liverwort is the only known parasitic seedless land plant with a completely nonphotosynthetic life history. The complete plastid genome of A. mirabilis was sequenced to examine the effect of its nonphotosynthetic life history on plastid genome content. Using a partial genomic fosmid library approach, the genome was sequenced and shown to be 108,007 bp with a structure typical of green plant plastids. Comparisons were made with the plastid genome of Marchantia polymorpha, the only other liverwort plastid sequence available. …

Conservation Of Selection On Matk In Ferns Following An Ancient Loss Its Flanking Intron, A. M. Duffy, S. A. Kelchner, Paul G. Wolf

Biology Faculty Publications

The chloroplast gene trnK and its associated group II intron appear to be absent in a large and ancient clade that includes nearly 90% of fern species. However, the maturase protein encoded within the intron (matK) is still present and located on the boundary of a large-scale inversion. We surveyed the chloroplast genome sequence of clade-member Adiantum capillus-veneris for evidence of a still present but fragmented trnK intron. Lack of signature structural domains and sequence motifs in the genome indicate loss of the trnK intron through degradation in an ancestor of the clade. In plants, matK preferentially catalyzes splicing of …

Final Report For Irrigation Water Quality Monitoring Of The Jordan River, 2008, Richard C. Peralta, Bassel Timani

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of the Jordan River Water Quality Project is to assess the quality of irrigation water removed from the Jordan River at three diversion locations: Jordan Narrows (JN), Cahoon and Maxfield (CM), and Jordan & Salt Lake Canal (JSLC). During 2008, Salt Lake City Corporation personnel took water samples on 12 dates from April 18 to September 25, 2008. Utah State University Analytical Laboratories (USUAL), an EPAcertified laboratory, performed water analyses on the samples. USUAL is located at Utah State University (USU) in Logan, Utah.

Optimal In-Situ Bioremediation System Design Using Simulated Annealing, H. J. Shieh, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The presented procedure combines continuous simulated annealing (CSA) heuristic optimization with BIOPLUME II simulation for optimizing in-situ bioremediation system design. The design goal is to minimize the total cost of facility installation and operation needed to achieve contaminant plume containment and cleanup. System design elements include pumping rates and well locations. During optimization, pumping rates are treated as continuous variables, differing from previously reported simulated annealing combinatorial optimization for groundwater management. To improve computation efficiency, CSA annealing schedules employing four different temperature update functions (TUF) are contrasted. Each yields somewhat different optimal designs and requires different computation effort. An adaptive …

Statistical Issues In The Normalization Of Multi-Species Microarray Data, John R. Stevens, Balasubramanian Ganesan, Prerak Desai, Sweta Rajan, Bart C. Weimer

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Several species of bacteria are involved in the production of cheese, including Lactobacillus brevis and Lactococcus lactis. A custom-designed Affymetrix microarray was recently developed to study gene expression in three organisms on a single chip. This array contains only perfect match features for the coding and non-coding regions in the genomes of all three sequences. The multi-species nature of this array version raises interesting questions regarding the preprocessing or normalization strategies for the analysis of gene expression data. We present and evaluate several possible strategies using both cDNA dilution data and experimental expression data from a repeated measures design. …

Parenting Practices Among First Generation Spanish-Speaking Latino Families: A Spanish Version Of The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, Melissa R. Donovick, Melanie M. Domenech-Rodriguez

Psychology Faculty Publications

The present study examined the applicability of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire to a Spanishspeaking Latino population. Results of the reliability and concurrent validity testing suggest that the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire may be a valuable tool for use with Spanish-speaking Latino families. The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire in Spanish assessed parenting practices among 50 first-generation Spanish-speaking Latino families of primarily Mexican origin with a child between 4 and 9 years of age (n = 96 parents, n = 50 children). Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires in Spanish to assess parent and child behaviors. Results show that over 80% of parents included in …

Russian Wheat Aphid, Erin W. Hodgson, Jay B. Karren

All Current Publications

Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Hemiptera: Aphididae), was first found in the U.S. in 1986, and is currently found in 16 western states (Fig. 1). In Utah, Russian wheat aphid was first detected in wheat and barley in San Juan County in 1987; now it is confirmed in every Utah county but Daggett, Piute, and Rich. Russian wheat aphids can build up to high numbers and cause significant plant damage.

Snow Mold On Turfgrass, Kent Evans, Erin Frank, Taun Beddes, Jaydee Gunnell

All Current Publications

Shothole borers (Fig. 1) are bark beetles that may attack stressed or injured trees. They have a wide host range, including all fruit trees grown in Utah, quince, loquat, serviceberry, wild cherry, chokecherry, mountain ash, hawthorn and elm. In Utah, apple, cherry, pear, and hawthorn are preferred hosts.

Greater Sage-Grouse Ecology And Response To Natural Gas Development In Northeastern Utah 2007 Annual Report, Leah S. Smith, Terry A. Messmer

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Alfalfa Stem Nematode, Kent Evans, Clark Israelsen, Mike Pace

All Current Publications

Alfalfa Stem Nematode (ASN) is a nearly microscopic round worm that enters the alfalfa plant and lives in the stems and leaves, usually above ground. Under ideal conditions (wet weather in late winter or early spring, at 59-70°F), ASN can complete its life cycle from egg to reproducing adult in 19-23 days.

2007 Sgrp Report, Terry Messmer

All Current Publications

Information gained will be used to assist private landowners, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Soil Conservation Districts, and state wildlife agency field staff in the planning and implementation of habitat projects and practices on private lands to benefit sage-grouse and other sagebrush-steppe obligate species.

Science Plan For Potential 2008 Experimental High Flow At Glen Canyon Dam, Grand Canyon Monitoring And Research Center

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

No abstract provided.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, December 10, 2007, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Council on Teacher Education Report
• Retention and FYE Report
• Scholarship Advisory Board Report
• BFW Items
• Conflict of Interest Recommendations
• LEEDS Certification
• Course Evaluation Form
• Faculty Forum Attendance
• Salary Compression

Geochemical Reconstruction Of Late Holocene Drainage And Mixing In Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory, Janice Brahney, John J. Clague, Brian Menounos, Thomas W. D. Edwards

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

The level of Kluane Lake in southwest Yukon Territory, Canada, has fluctuated tens of metres during the late Holocene. Contributions of sediment from different watersheds in the basin over the past 5,000 years were inferred from the elemental geochemistry of Kluane Lake sediment cores. Elements associated with organic material and oxyhydroxides were used to reconstruct redox fluctuations in the hypolimnion of the lake. The data reveal complex relationships between climate and river discharge during the late Holocene. A period of influx of Duke River sediment coincides with a relatively warm climate around 1,300 years BP. Discharge of Slims River into …

Mathematically Modeling Pcr: An Asymptotic Approximation With Potential For Optimization, Martha J. Garlick

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

A mathematical model for PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is developed using the law of mass action. Differential equations are written from the chemical equations, preserving the detail of the complementary DNA single strand being extended one bas e pair at a time. The equations for the annealing stage are solved analytically. The method of multiple scales is used to approximate solutions for the extension stage. A map is then developed from the solutions to simulate PCR. The advantage of this model is the ability to use the map to optimize the process. Our results suggest that dynamically optimizing the extension …

Biological Assessment On The Operation Of Glen Canyon Dam And Proposed Experimental Flows For The Colorado River Below Glen Canyon Dam During The Years 2008-2012, U.S. Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region, Salt Lake City, Utah

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This document serves as the biological assessment for the Bureau of Reclamation's (Reclamation) re-initiation of consultation on the operation of Glen Canyon Dam and proposed experimental flows for the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam during the years 2008-2012. It is prepared by Reclamation as part of its compliance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), 87 Stat. 884, as amended, 16 U.S.C. section 1531 et seq. This document is designed to facilitate compliance with Sections 7 and 9 of the ESA with respect to potential effects to listed species within the United States (US).

Sagestep News, Winter 2007/2008, No. 5, Sagestep

Newsletters

Seasonal newsletter of SageSTEP.

Vulnerability Of Shallow Aquifers Of The Conterminous United States To Nitrate: Assessment Of Methodologies, Karthik Kumarasamy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Groundwater is an important natural resource for numerous human activities, accounting for more than 50% of the total water used in the United States. Groundwater is vulnerable to contamination by several organic and inorganic pollutants such as nitrate, heavy metals, and pesticides. Assessment of groundwater vulnerability aids in the management and protection of limited groundwater resources.

The focus of this thesis is to (1) statistically compare two groundwater vulnerability assessment models; modified DRASTIC (Acronym for Depth to water, net Recharge, Aquifer media, Soil media, Topography, Impact of vadose zone, and hydraulic Conductivity of aquifer) and ordinal logistic regression for NO …