Digital Commons Network^™

Hrísheimar: Fish Consumption Patterns, Wendi K. Coleman

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I examine the fish remain patterns at Hrísheimar, which have provided archaeologists with further evidence that inland sites such as those in the Mývatnssveit Region utilized both local freshwater and marine fish from the coastal regions as a part of their subsistence pattern.

Factors Influencing Parental Care And Home Range Size Of A Monomorphic Species, The Red-Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes Erythrocephalus), L. Abigail Walter

Theses and Dissertations

Parental care in animals can be costly and is shared between both parents in many bird species. Not surprisingly, most studies of how parental care is shared between the sexes are in sexually dimorphic species, and much less in known about sexually monomorphic species where sex cannot be determined in the field. This has prevented a full understanding of parental care behaviors – which are intrinsically linked to fitness – in species such as the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) that is experiencing population declines throughout much of its range. In this study we assessed whether Redheaded Woodpecker brooding time, nestling …

Nutrient Uptake Among Urban And Non-Urban Streams Within The Piedmont Physiographic Province Of Virginia, Joseph T. Famularo

Theses and Dissertations

To assess how urbanization impacts stream nutrient uptake, a series of instantaneous (i.e. slug) nutrient additions were conducted in 3 urban and 3 non-urban streams during open and closed canopy conditions. Single additions of N, P, and combined additions of N and P were performed at each site. These data were used to test the hypothesis that high N:P concentrations in urban streams would result in P-limited conditions, and to assess differences in nutrient uptake kinetics (i.e., the relationship between uptake and concentration) between urban and non-urban streams. The results show that there were no consistent differences in N vs. …

Evaluation Of Private Landowner Intention To Create Early Successional Habitat In Virginia's Appalachian Region, Hannah M. Coovert

Theses and Dissertations

As human land uses continue to expand rapidly across the landscape, the management practices of private landowners are an essential part of effective conservation of biodiversity. Conservation of early successional habitats (ESH) and the species that depend on them is a priority in the eastern United States, and efforts to create more ESH on private lands has primarily focused on forest landowners and the harvesting of timber. Private lands with significant pasture cover in a forested landscape present an additional opportunity to create and maintain ESH, yet our understanding of landowner values and attitudes about management strategies in pastures (i.e., …

Geospatial Analysis Of Invasive Plant Species And Their Threats To Ecological Functionality At The Vcu Rice Rivers Center, Erik W. Kellogg

Theses and Dissertations

Invasive plants are a significant threat to native ecosystems and to biodiversity. They are often strong competitors and have multiple techniques to outcompete native plants. Thus, controlling or removing invasive plants facilitates the restoration of native ecosystems. We used GPS technology coupled with field surveying techniques adapted from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to locate and identify invasive plants present within VCU’s Rice Rivers Center. We digitally overlaid a 50-meter x 50-meter grid system over the property. In each grid cell we recorded visual estimations of invasive plant coverage sorted into modified Daubenmire cover classes and used ArcGIS for …

Influence Of Environmental Features On Spermatophore Placement In Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma Maculatum), Megan A. Kuechle

Theses and Dissertations

Successful reproduction in salamanders is driven by behavioral, environmental, and temporal interactions among adults. While much of our understanding of salamander mating systems is based upon either courtship behavior of both sexes or aspects of female choice, the decisions made by males regarding where to place spermatophores is much less quantified. In this study, we mapped male spermatophore placement in the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) with respect to ecological and spatial locations within a vernal pool complex in Charles City County, Virginia. The overall goal was to use the spatial and ecological placement of spermatophores to determine if …

Carbon Cycling Along The James River Continuum, Timothy B. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Fluvial systems act as conduits for terrestrial carbon transport to coastal oceans. However, riverine systems not only transport allochthonous carbon, they transform and store carbon in many different ways. The different mechanisms of transformation and storage need to be considered for fluvial systems in order to accurately account for modifications to the carbon pool when developing carbon budgets. Of interest was to investigate the carbon dynamics in the James River, in Virginia, from headwaters to the tidal fresh estuary to gain a better understanding of carbon dynamics along the continuum. Sites along the river continuum were sampled for dissolved organic …

The Walls We Put Up - Loneliness And Belonging In Urban Co-Living, Richard Rozewski

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Concurrent issues of social isolation and loneliness have long been recognized as problems that affect seniors but it is also being proven to affect young people as well, specifically with the rise of new technologies and a perception of connectedness. Co-living provides one alternative design solution to traditional housing models which can unlock a range of social benefits.

MOTIVATION

Loneliness is an unfortunate reality of modern life and it is something that most people experience at least once in their life (Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008). A study carried out by Berguno, Leroux McAinsh, Shaikh (2004), showed that 80% of …

Characterizing Water Quality And Hydrologic Properties Of Urban Streams In Central Virginia, Rikki Lucas

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to characterize water quality and hydrologic properties of urban streams in the Richmond metropolitan area. Water quality data were analyzed for six urban sites and two non-urban sites. Geomorphological surveys and conservative tracer studies were performed at four urban sites and one non-urban site to describe intra- and inter- site variability in transient storage, channel geomorphology, and related hydrologic parameters. Urban sites showed elevated concentrations of nitrogen and more variable TSS concentrations relative to reference sites. Urban channels were deeply incised with unstable banks and low sinuosity. Little Westham Creek exhibited the greatest transient …

Groundwater Quality Assessment Of The Piney Point Aquifer In The Virginia Coastal Plain, Elizabeth J. Keily

Theses and Dissertations

The solid phase of an aquifer has an effect on the aqueous phase; if groundwater quality is degraded by the solid phase of an aquifer this is referred to as geogenic pollution. In this study, the Piney Point aquifer in the Virginia Coastal Plain was assessed for mechanisms that may release anions from the solid to aqueous phases and effect water quality. This was done by conducting leaching experiments modified from Balintova et al. (2013). Piney Point aquifer sediments and groundwaters were also analyzed to give a baseline for these experiments. Sedimentary analysis was found to be consistent with McFarland …

Development Of A Fluorescence Imaging Photometer-Based Method For Characterization Of Phytoplankton Communities, Cameron Maxwell Rekully

Theses and Dissertations

The development of methods for real-time characterization of phytoplankton community structure has important implications for environmental monitoring and the prediction of harmful algal blooms. Our research group has developed an instrument, the Fluorescence Imaging Photometer (FIP), which is capable of rapid classification of phytoplankton via imaging single-cell chlorophyll a fluorescence under different excitation conditions. Discrimination of cells from different taxonomic groups is achieved using optical bandpass filters that have been chosen to selectively excite pigments which occur in characteristic ratios that vary from one group to the next. The relative fluorescence intensity emitted by cells under these different excitation conditions …

Mitigating Hypothetical Bias: An Application To Willingness To Pay For Beach Conditions Information, Ruth Quainoo

Theses and Dissertations

Hypothetical bias continues to be a challenge for practitioners of the contingent valuation method (CVM). This study compared the effect of three hypothetical bias mitigation techniques in a CVM survey focused on estimating maximum willingness to pay for a beach conditions monitoring service among U.S. Gulf Coast beachgoers. Beach conditions information is known to affect beach patronage but no valuation study has yet estimated its value. The two techniques tested are: budget and substitutes cheap talk treatments and certainty follow-up. We presented a theoretically consistent model of budget-constrained utility maximization which accounts for the respondents’ subjective probability of a good …

Perceptions Of Education For Sustainable Development In Egypt: Prospective Changes In Teaching Practices, Hanan Salah Yusuf Abozaied

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the perceptions of university faculty members about the concept of Sustainable Development (SD) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It focuses on how their different perceptions influenced their teaching practices while addressing sustainability issues with students. The participants are 18 academics in the English department under the faculty of Arts and Humanities in a private university in Egypt. They teach two academic language courses in the advanced level for undergraduates in different disciplines. The study adopts a sociocultural theoretical framework. It uses a qualitative research design. A preliminary survey was conducted at the beginning of the semester …

Water Scarcity And Population Displacement In Southern Iraq: Perceptions And Reality, Tiba Fatli

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that water scarcity causes significant displacement in Iraq’s southern region. It makes two related sub-points. First, in addition to local factors, international and transnational factors contribute to water scarcity and attendant displacement in Southern Iraq. Second, the stakeholders – whether displaced populations, local government officials, federal policy makers, non-governmental organizations or international development organizations – focus on particular factors of water scarcity rather than addressing the causes holistically. In general, researchers and policy-makers underestimate or neglect water-related causes of displacement, not only in Iraq but globally. Even when addressed, emphasis is placed on local and national causes, …

Office Of Career Advancement Services: A Quantitative Study On Career Confidence As It Relates To Career Readiness, Tara Lynn Wiese

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the roles of self-efficacy, attitudes towards the services offered; strategies and guidance, and career planning play a part in how the student views their career knowledge base. The primary focus of the study is on the students who used the services of the Career Advancement Center located on the 2nd Floor in Savitz Hall. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of utilizing the career services, which are provided to the students on campus, and how it could help improve their career readiness. By studying students career confidence, the hope is to see if …

Climate Change And Threatened Heritage: Archaeology's Burden, Barry R. Gordon

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change and archaeology are currently intertwined, as more and more archaeologists around the world must deal with the effects it causes on the sites they work on. Threatened cultural resource sites are being swept away at alarming rates, and excavation projects are becoming more and more like salvage digs.

All Or Nothing: An Investigation Of The Interconnection Between Social And Environmental Sustainability, Stacie F. Waites

Theses and Dissertations

Marketers have made attempts to understand the disconnect between consumers’ expressed desire to engage in sustainable behavior and their lack of adoption of sustainable products with ambiguous results. Because companies that engage in sustainability initiatives often focus on either environmental or social sustainability, the broader impact of sustainability is not always understood. When a company makes a promise to be socially sustainable, consumers may also think that the company is environmentally sustainable and vice versa. Moreover, consumer evaluations of companies that make promises to be either socially or environmentally sustainable may be different if the company later delivers a success …

The Positive Developments And Applications Of Geospatial Technologies In Archaeology On Fort Benning, Georgia, Jane Mader

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the advantages of using geospatial technologies in the field of archaeology. The purpose of this study, conducted on Site 9CE16 on Fort Benning, Georgia, was to examine the ways in which Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to more accurately depict artifacts and features present on archaeological sites. With the research I gathered, I constructed an updated site map which can be viewed in Figures 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3. The map produced includes more features than were initially mapped at Site 9CE16 and help paint a clearer picture of the structures which existed at the original …

Morphologic Evolution Of A Nearshore Berm: One Year Monitoring At Ft. Myers Beach, Florida, Kristopher Jason Enfinger

Theses and Dissertations

Nourishment in the form of a nearhsore berm has become an important alternative method to protecting shorelines and introducing sediment back into the littoral system. In 2009, a nearshore berm was constructed at Ft. Myers Beach, Florida by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through maintenance dredging of a nearby navigational channel at Matanzas Pass. Constructed in the form of a nearshore bar, the berm was one of the shallowest placements in a low-wave energy setting. The Coastal Research Lab at the University of South Florida (USF-CRL) conducted field monitoring for the first four years after the construction. This project …

Characterization Of Ambient Noise, Rachel C. Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations

An Air Force sponsor is interested in improving an acoustic detection model by providing better estimates on how to characterize the background noise of various environments. This would inform decision makers on the probability of acoustic detection of different systems of interest given different levels of noise. Data mining and statistical learning techniques are applied to a National Park Service acoustic summary data set to find overall trends over varying environments. Linear regression, conditional inference trees, and random forest techniques are discussed. Findings indicate only sixteen geospatial variables at different resolutions are necessary to characterize the first ten ⅓ octave …

The Initiative Of Stem Schools In Egypt: Issues Of Process, Teachers' Compatibility And Governance, Lamis Abdelmeguid

Theses and Dissertations

This study discusses the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) initiative as the latest policy move undertaken by the Egyptian government to improve the education system and prepare future generations of professionals in these fields. The findings of this study are based on a case study of two schools in Egypt. Data was collected using face-to-face and focus group interviewing along with a review of documents. This thesis discusses the role of the different stakeholders, the program structure, the student and teacher selection processes, teaching techniques, curricula, assessments, sustainability plan, and the views of STEM graduates. The study highlights the …

Using A Custom Landscape Classification To Understand The Factors Driving Site Occupancy By A Rapidly Declining Migratory Songbird, Elizabeth K. Schold

Theses and Dissertations

Land cover classifications are useful in a broad range of ecological applications, yet publicly available classifications are not always useful for the needs of specific projects. Custom classifications are always a possibility, however, they can be financially or computationally out of reach for many researchers. Here we present a custom 1m resolution land cover classification created using freely available imagery and a random forest classification approach. This classification detected shrub cover more accurately and at a finer resolution than previous classifications. With the creation of this map, we were then able to examine landscape factors influencing occupancy dynamics of the …

A Global Investigation Of Cloud-Radiative Properties Through An Integrative Analysis Of Observations And Model Simulations, Erica Kay Dolinar

Theses and Dissertations

The cloud and radiative properties simulated in an assortment of global climate models (GCMs) and reanalyses are examined to identify and assess systematic biases based upon comparisons with multiple satellites observations and retrievals. The global mean total column cloud fraction (CF) simulated by the 33-member multimodel mean is 7% and 17% lower than the results from passive (Moderate Resolution Infrared Spectroradiometer, MODIS) and active (CloudSat and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation, CALIPSO) satellite remote sensing platforms. The simulated cloud water path (CWP), which is used as a proxy for optical depth, on global average, has a negative bias …

Understanding The Impact Of Land Use On Microbial Water Quality To Support Decisions For A Future Land Use Plan, Mohammed Tawfiq Aljassim

Theses and Dissertations

May River meandering through the Town of Bluffton, South Carolina has been known for its high level of water quality. The May River is one of the major sources of shellfish harvesting in South Carolina. Due to the non-point source pollution of fecal coliform, the water quality of the May River became degraded. As a result, shellfish harvesting classification in the May River was downgraded for the first time in its history. The rapid growth of the Town has led to a change in land use, which might be related to the increased levels of fecal coliform in the stream …

From Seeds To Shoreline®: A Place-Based Approach To Impacting Student Engagement And Achievement, Molly Lloyd

Theses and Dissertations

Place-based education refers to pedagogy that connects student learning with the local environment and students’ lives. Educators’ preoccupation with standardized test scores have increased the disconnect between formal education and student’s life experiences. Schools have developed systems of learning in isolated subjects through reading texts, listening to lectures, or watching videos rather than authentic, experiential learning. School districts have embraced a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and science) approach to education as a way of invigorating student learning. There are many approaches to integrating, hands-on, inquiry-based science lessons. As science PASS test scores have declined, educators are examining best STEM instructional …

Environmental Links To Ectopic Kidney Diseases, Firas Alhasson

Theses and Dissertations

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease in the western culture and worldwide. Its morbidity has been raising and it has become a burden on the public health. NAFLD is associated with other metabolic diseases such as Diabetic Mellitus and hypertension. NAFLD is a wide spectrum of symptoms, from an accumulation of fat in the liver (cirrhosis) to production of scar tissue (Fibrosis). The liver along with other distal organs such as the kidney and cardiovascular system can be damaged as ectopic manifestations of NAFLD. Contamination of drinking water with Cyanobacterium toxin (Microcystin) and water disinfection …

Migratory Patterns And Population Genetic Structure In A Declining Wetland-Dependent Songbird, Matthew G. Desaix

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding migratory connectivity is essential for assessing the drivers behind population dynamics and for implementing effective management in migratory species. Genetic markers provide a means to describe migratory connectivity, as well as incorporate population genetic analyses, however genetic markers can be uninformative for species with weak genetic structure. In this study, we evaluate range-wide population genetic structure and migratory connectivity in the prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea, a wetland-dependent neotropical migratory songbird, using high-resolution genetic markers. We reveal regional genetic structure between sampling sites in the Mississippi River Valley and the Atlantic Seaboard with overall weak genetic differentiation among populations …

"We Are...": Creating Discursive Spaces For The Construction Of Counter Narratives Through Photovoice As Critical Service Learning, Amanda F. Hall

Theses and Dissertations

Broader social issues that affect students’ lives manifest in the classroom and the current neo-liberal reform structures in education (e.g., the accountability movement combined with punitive discipline measures and structural classism/racism) fail to acknowledge the impact of these issues on student identity within school and community. While this era of standardized testing has brought about anti-democratic realities in schools of all sorts, it is also the case that schools that pass tests often enjoy a more liberatory climate while schools struggling to meet testing requirements are more likely to possess oppressive qualities. Not coincidentally, the more oppressive schools are often …

Improving The Conservation Of A Cryptic Endangered Freshwater Mussel (Parvaspina Collina) Through The Use Of Environmental Dna And Species Distribution Modeling, Bonnie A. Roderique

Theses and Dissertations

Conservation efforts that involve habitat protection, population augmentation, and species reintroductions require knowledge of the habitat requirements, distribution, and abundance of a species—information that can be challenging to acquire, especially for rare organisms with patchy distributions. In this thesis, I develop a protocol for the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) and create a Species Distribution Model for the endangered James spinymussel, Parvaspina collina (Unionidae). The results of this work show that eDNA is a robust tool for identifying species presence but not for estimating the relative abundance of populations. This study found that P. collina’s distribution is influenced by abiotic …

Forest Structural Complexity And Net Primary Production Resilience Across A Gradient Of Disturbance In A Great Lakes Ecosystem, Lisa T. Haber

Theses and Dissertations

Forests are an important component of the global carbon (C) cycle and contribute to climate change mitigation through atmospheric C uptake and storage in biomass and soils. However, the forest C sink is susceptible to disturbance, which modifies physical and biological structure and limits spatial extent of forests. Unlike severe, stand-replacing disturbances that reset forest successional trajectories and may simplify ecosystem structure, moderate severity disturbances may instead introduce complexity in ways that sustain net primary production (NPP), leading to the phenomenon of “NPP resilience.” In this study, we examined the linkage between disturbance severity and ecosystem biological and physical structural …