Digital Commons Network^™

Mathematical Modeling Of Optimal Seasonal Reproductive Strategies And A Comparison Of Long-Term Viabilities Of Annuals And Perennials, Anthony Delegge

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In 1954, Lamont Cole posed a question which has motivated much ecological work in the past 50 years: When is the life history strategy of semelparity (organisms reproduce once, then die) favored, via evolution, over iteroparity (organisms may reproduce multiple times in their lifetime)? Although common sense should dictate that iteroparity would always be favored, we can observe that this is not always the case, since annual plants are not only prevalent, but can dominate an area. Also, certain plant species may be perennial in one region, but annual in another. Thus, in these areas, certain characteristics must be present …

Instructional Readers: Teaching Content Through Vocabulary, Rachel E. Wood

Theses and Dissertations

This project resulted in the creation of a prototype for a new book series entitled Instructional Readers that will be linguistically engineered to assist English-language learners in acquiring academic and content-based vocabulary in the sciences. The development of the prototype represented a process of trial and error, with decisions firmly grounded in extensive research concerning linguistic features that assist vocabulary growth while reading. The end result, the prototype entitled Cellular Transport, reflects the author's best attempt to combine these features. The project write-up details the steps used in writing the prototype to aid in the creation of similar instructional …

What Humans Sound Like, Lauren Browning

English Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

California's Fading Wildflowers: Lost Legacy And Biological Invasions By Richard A. Minnich, Howard O. Clark Jr.

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

A Broken Hub Will Not Wheel: Water Reallocation In California, David Zetland Zetland

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

California's water transfer system depends on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to move water. Unfortunately, the Delta's ecosystem appears to be suffering from this use – and other uses. After discussing the stakeholders in the Delta, the causes of ecological decline, and the choices for change (including a radical political-economic market), I conclude that business-as-usual is over, that any solution is costly, and that the politicians and bureaucrats in the middle of this process benefit from conflict and inaction. The Delta will remain broken for the foreseeable future.

Ecosystem Services And Reallocation Choices: A Framework For Preserving Semi-Arid Regions In The Southwest, David S. Brookshire, David Goodrich, Mark D. Dixon, L. Arriana Brand, Karl Benedict, Kevin Lansey, Jennifer Thacher, Craig D. Broadbent, Steve Stewart, Molly Mcintosh, Doosun Kang

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

Conservation of freshwater systems is critical in the semi-arid Southwest where ground water and flood regimes strongly influence the abundance, composition, and structure of riparian vegetation. At the same time, these systems are in high demand for competing human uses. To address this conflict, natural scientists must evaluate how anthropogenic changes to hydrologic regimes alter ecological systems. A broad foundation of natural science information is needed for ecological valuation efforts to be successful. This paper examines how to incorporate hydrologic, vegetation, avian, and economic models into an integrated framework to determine the value of changes in ecological systems. We have …

Legislative Reallocation: How Compliance With Federal Legislative Initiatives Can Redistribute Water Resources, Melinda Harm Benson

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

Water allocation in the United States generally occurs through state administrative processes. Compliance with Federal legislative initiatives, however, can require the reallocation of water resources. Laws enacted to achieve protection of environmental, wildland and wildlife resources have increasingly played a role in the allocation of water, particularly in the West. This Article examines Washington's Methow Valley as a case study in which efforts to recover threatened and endangered aquatic species have achieved reallocations of water resources to protect environmental values. After a brief outline of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and its requirements, it examines how the ESA's consultation process …

Distribution And Dynamics Of Waterbird Habitat During Spring In Southern Oregon–Northeastern California, Joseph P. Fleskes, Christopher J. Gregory

Western North American Naturalist

The southern Oregon–northeastern California and extreme northwestern Nevada (hereafter "SONEC") region provides critical spring migration habitat for waterfowl and other waterbirds in the Pacific Flyway. Information on the dynamics and distribution of waterbird habitats in SONEC during spring is needed to guide conservation efforts in the region. We grouped 1992 National Land Cover Data classes into 5 potential waterbird habitat types and used Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper and Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus satellite imagery to map flooding of these habitat types in SONEC during February–May, 2002 and 2003. SONEC included 13,727 km² of potential waterbird habitat comprised …

Denning Chronology Of Black Bears In Eastern Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, Roger A. Baldwin, Louis C. Bender

Western North American Naturalist

Understanding factors influencing the timing of den entrance and emergence of black bears (Ursus americanus) provides insight for bear management. We determined den entrance and emergence dates for bears in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and related these dates to vegetative productivity, weather, habitat, and demographic factors to assess the influence of these factors on denning chronology. Date of den entrance was most strongly influenced by age class, precipitation, and proportion of human-use areas in annual home ranges. Den entrance was typically later for adult bears during wetter years and when annual home ranges contained a greater proportion …

Seed Dispersal, Seed Entrapment, And Seedling Recruitment In A Temporally Variable Desert Playa, Amanda N. Breen, James H. Richards

Western North American Naturalist

Natural establishment of seedlings in desert playas with temporally variable precipitation hinges on many factors, including seed production, seed dispersal, seed entrapment, seed germination, and seedling survival. We investigated natural seed dispersal patterns and the effects of surface texture, wind barriers, resource availability (water and nutrients), and protection from herbivory on seedling establishment in a desert playa. We hypothesized that the seed rain would be consistent throughout the year and that seedling establishment would improve in resource-amended plots with barriers to wind dispersal. Contrary to our hypotheses, seed flux peaked seasonally during the winter, and fertilization had no consistent effect …

Seasonal Patterns Of Arthropod Diversity And Abundance On Big Sagebrush, Artemisia Tridentata, Monte P. Sanford, Nancy J. Huntly

Western North American Naturalist

The sagebrush biotype is the largest in the western United States. This vast sagebrush community is thought to harbor equally vast and diverse arthropod communities, but these remain little explored. Our objective was to examine the diversity, abundance, and seasonal phenology of arthropod taxa found on the dominant shrub of the sagebrush ecosystem, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). We wanted to improve understanding of this little-studied arthropod assemblage that may play significant roles in the dynamics of sagebrush populations and the sagebrush ecosystem. We sampled free-living and gall-forming arthropods from a stratified random sample of sagebrush plants at the …

Biotic And Abiotic Factors Related To Redband Trout Occurrence And Abundance In Desert And Montane Streams, Kevin A. Meyer, James A. Lamansky Jr., Daniel J. Schill

Western North American Naturalist

Redband trout Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri in the Columbia River Basin of western North America occupy desert and montane streams with variable habitat conditions. In general, desert streams are lower in gradient and elevation, contain less large substrate and more silt substrate, are less shaded by overhead vegetation, and have higher summer water temperature than montane streams. Consequently, we assessed whether the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors and the occurrence and abundance of redband trout in southwestern Idaho differed between desert and montane streams (<25 m mean width). Increased occurrence of redband trout in desert streams was most strongly related to increased stream shading and decreased amounts of silt substrate, followed by increased amounts of cobble/boulder substrate and absence of piscivorous fish (i.e., smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieui and northern pikeminnow Ptychocheilus oregonensis). In montane streams, increased occurrence of redband …

Predation Of Adult Razorback Sucker And Bonytail By Striped Bass In Lake Mohave, Arizona–Nevada, Abraham P. Karam, Paul C. Marsh

Western North American Naturalist

We report 2 separate records from sport-fish anglers in Lake Mohave, Arizona–Nevada, that document the presence of endangered razorback sucker Xyrauchen texanus and bonytail Gila elegans in stomach contents of large (13+ kg) nonnative striped bass Morone saxatilis. These records suggest that striped bass, since their first appearance in Lake Mohave nearly 3 decades ago, may have played a role in population declines of the other 2 species. Current native-fish stocking programs at Lake Mohave continue to face significant obstacles to achieving population recoveries because all life stages of repatriated individuals, including mature adults, are vulnerable to predation.

Plovers Breeding In The Highlands Of Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, And San Luis Potosí, Central México, Jaime Luévano, Eric Mellink, Mónica Riojas-López

Western North American Naturalist

From April to July 2008, we surveyed for breeding plovers at 32 sites in the semiarid highlands of Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, in the Central Mexican High Plateau. We documented evidence or presumption of breeding Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus) at 3 sites, Killdeer (C. vociferus) at 15 sites, and Mountain Plovers (C. montanus) at 1 site. Our surveys showed that the region is important breeding ground for only the Killdeer. We documented an apparent breeding range extension of the Mountain Plover to slightly more than 200 km south of its previously …

Hispid Pocket Mouse (Chaetodipus Hispidus) In East-Central And Northeastern Nebraska, Keith Geluso, Greg D. Wright

Western North American Naturalist

The hispid pocket mouse (Chaetodipus hispidus) occurs throughout the Great Plains, mainly west of the Missouri River. In Nebraska, this species likely occurs throughout the state, but records of occurrence were lacking for east-central and northeastern counties. During a survey in 2008 for the plains pocket mouse (Perognathus flavescens) in eastern Nebraska, we documented C. hispidus in 10 new counties, including a modest range expansion into northeastern Nebraska. Many individuals were captured on moderately compact soils consisting of silt, but some also were captured on sandy and other friable soils. Most individuals were captured in areas …

The California Deserts: An Ecologic Rediscovery By Bruce M. Pavlik, Howard O. Clark Jr.

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Multiple Grasp-Specific Representations Of Tool Dynamics Mediate Skillful Manipulation, James N. Ingram, Ian S. Howard, J. Randall Flanagan, Daniel M. Wolpert

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Seasonal Patterns Of Arthropod Diversity And Abundance On Big Sagebrush, Artemisia Tridentata, Monte P. Sanford, Nancy J. Huntly

Biology Faculty Publications

The sagebrush biotype is the largest in the western United States. This vast sagebrush community is thought to harbor equally vast and diverse arthropod communities, but these remain little explored. Our objective was to examine the diversity, abundance, and seasonal phenology of arthropod taxa found on the dominant shrub of the sagebrush ecosystem, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). We wanted to improve understanding of this little-studied arthropod assemblage that may play significant roles in the dynamics of sagebrush populations and the sagebrush ecosystem. We sampled free-living and gall-forming arthropods from a stratified random sample of sagebrush plants at the …

New Documentary Features Alumna’S Personal Struggle To Shed Light On Cancer’S Connection To Environment, Rachel Hatch

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

To Think Nuclear, To Go Nuclear, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The article discusses three of the many psychological problematics about nuclear weapons, weapons employment, and war underlying the language of policies, programs, plans, treaties, and one’s support or rejection of them.

Prophylactic And Therapeutic Efficacy Of Avian Antibodies Against Influenza Virus H5n1 And H1n1 In Mice, Huan H. Nguyen, Terrence M. Tumpey, Hae-Jung Park, Young-Ho Byun, Linh D. Tran, Van D. Nguyen, Paul E. Kilgore, Cecil Czerkinsky, Jacqueline M. Katz, Baik Lin Seong, Jae Min Song, Young Bong Kim, Hoa T. Do, Tung Nguyen, Cam V. Nguyen

Department of Pharmacy Practice

Background: Pandemic influenza poses a serious threat to global health and the world economy. While vaccines are currently under development, passive immunization could offer an alternative strategy to prevent and treat influenza virus infection. Attempts to develop monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been made. However, passive immunization based on mAbs may require a cocktail of mAbs with broader specificity in order to provide full protection since mAbs are generally specific for single epitopes. Chicken immunoglobulins (IgY) found in egg yolk have been used mainly for treatment of infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Because the recent epidemic of highly pathogenic avian …

Analysis Of Mangrove Structure And Latitudinal Relationships On The Gulf Coast Of Peninsular Florida, Peter Novitzky

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The coastline of Florida has been formed by geomorphic processes which have created suitable habitats for certain vegetation and organisms. One type of vegetation is the mangrove; this plant has a latitudinal range of 24° to 32° N latitude which is associated with local climatic changes (Mitsch 2000). There are three species of mangrove found in Florida: red (Rhizophora), black (Avicennia), and white (Languncularia) (USGS 2006). Mangroves have adapted overtime to live in different ecosystems which cause mangroves, along the Florida coast, of the same species not be the same.

Climatic variation causes individual mangrove trees have structural differences such …

From Airport To Spaceport: Designing For An Aerospace Revolution, Paula Selvidge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

"Airports will shape business location and urban development in the 21st century as much as highways did in the 20th century, railroads in the 19th and seaports in the 18th" - John D. Kasarda, Ph.D. Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina http://www.aerotropolis.com/author.html

I say, spaceports will shape the urban development of the 21st century, more than airports, bringing about an aerospace revolution. Just as new technologies triggered the global revolutions of the past, so the invention of reusable spacecraft will revolutionize transportation.

The invention of such spacecraft suggests the need for a different kind of transportation hub: a spaceport. …

The Diversity Next Door, James Leiker

Many Voices - One Community

This past April, while helping lead a tour of the Fllint Hills for JCCC international students, Leiker is reminded of the diversity within Kansas.

Full Issue: Fall/Winter 2009-2010

Many Voices - One Community

Full issue of Many Voices - One Community for Fall/Winter 2009-2010

2010-04-12 Unm News Minute, University Of New Mexico Communication And Marketing Department

UNM News Minute 2010

No abstract provided.

Spartan Daily April 12, 2010, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 134, Issue 35

The Growing Concern About Mental Health Services And Medications: A Comparison Of Children On The Inside And The Outside Of The Foster Care System., Meghan Cunningham

College of Health Sciences Poster Presentations

Studies suggest a significantly higher use of psychotropic medications by children involved in foster care when compared to those children not in foster care. There are many unanswered questions about the mental health needs of the children in foster care, especially when looking at the much higher number of psychiatric diagnoses that this population has. In addition, there is a lack of consistent follow up mental health evaluations and consequently appropriate ongoing care. Financial factors in both biological and foster households often play a role in this. This may be due to the various professionals providing care for a child …

The Statesman, V. 53, I. 44, Stony Brook University

Stony Brook Statesman-Sucolian

v. 53, i. 44

Environmental Science Student Earns National Hollings Scholarship, April 12, 2010, Melanie Marquez

USF St. Petersburg Campus News and Press Releases

No abstract provided.