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The School Neighborhood Environment For Childhood Obesity In A Rural Texas Community, Jin Young Choi, David Pate

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This paper examines the school neighborhood environments related to childhood obesity in a rural community in Texas, focusing on the assessment of three aspects: socioeconomic characteristics, food environment, and physical activity environment. Different methodological approaches were employed to characterize the aspects of the school neighborhood environments. Most public schools in the community were located in low-income neighborhoods. There were disproportionately high concentrations of fast food restaurants and convenience stores within the active travel-to-school zone. Most of the students who lived in the active travel-to-school zone did not walk or bike to school, and student safety was identified as the predominant …

Understanding Affordances: History And Contemporary Development Of Gibson’S Central Concept, Dobromir Dotov, Lin Nie, Matthieu M. De Wit

Journal Articles

Gibson developed the affordance concept to complement his theory of direct perception that stands in sharp contrast with the prevalent inferential theories of perception. A comparison of the two approaches shows that the distinction between them also has an ontological aspect. We trace the history and newer formalizations of the notion of affordance and discuss some competing opinions on its scope. Next, empirical work on the affordance concept is reviewed in brief and the relevance of dynamical systems theory to affordance research is demonstrated. Finally, the striking but often neglected convergence of the ideas of Gibson and those of certain …

Ecopsychology And Race : An Exploratory Study, Luke B. Woodward

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

While ecopsychology has brought critical attention to the relationship between the natural environment and the human psyche, very little has been written about how race and racism shape our experience of the natural world. This qualitative study asked the following central question: How are race and racism relevant to ecopsychology in theory and practice? Twelve semistructured interviews were conducted with a racially diverse group of ecopsychologists, environmental justice activists and spiritual leaders. Interview data emphasized the importance of employing a broad definition of ecopsychology that encompasses not only the relationship between psyche and nature, but the relationship between psyche, nature …

Coordinated Distributed Experiments: An Emerging Tool For Testing Global Hypotheses In Ecology And Environmental Science., Lauchlan H. Fraser, Hugh Al Henry, Cameron N. Carlyle, Shannon R. White, Carl Beierkuhnlein, James F. Cahill Jr, Brenda B. Casper, Elsa Cleland, Scott L. Collins, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Alan K. Knapp, Eric Lind, Ruijun Long, Yiqi Luo, Peter B. Reich, Melinda D. Smith, Marcelo Sternberg, Roy Turkington

Department of Forestry & Natural Resources Faculty Publications

There is a growing realization among scientists and policy makers that an increased understanding of today's environmental issues requires international collaboration and data synthesis. Meta-analyses have served this role in ecology for more than a decade, but the different experimental methodologies researchers use can limit the strength of the meta-analytic approach. Considering the global nature of many environmental issues, a new collaborative approach, which we call coordinated distributed experiments (CDEs), is needed that will control for both spatial and temporal scale, and that encompasses large geographic ranges. Ecological CDEs, involving standardized, controlled protocols, have the potential to advance our understanding …

The Importance Of The Rare: The Role Of Background Symbiodinium In The Response Of Reef Corals To Environmental Change, Rachel N. Silverstein

Open Access Dissertations

Reef ecosystems throughout much of the tropics are predicted to decline in coral cover and diversity as a result of ongoing climate change (ocean acidification, temperature increases, sea level rise), disease, pollution, and overfishing. Corals may be able to respond to some of these stressors by associating with diverse algal symbionts (Symbiodinium spp.) which vary in their physiological traits and therefore expand corals’ realized niche space. This dissertation used high-sensitivity molecular techniques to investigate the presence and functional role of "background" or "rare" Symbiodinium, which occur at low abundance, and therefore may not be detected using standard molecular methods. First, …

A Survey Of Invasive Exotic Ants Found On Hawaiian Islands: Spatial Distributions And Patterns Of Association, Camie Frandsen Martin

Theses and Dissertations

An intensive sampling of all ant species encountered on 6 Hawaiian Islands: Big Island, Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, and Lanai took place between 1988 and 1996. Species presence and absence was recorded at each site. Using remote sensing, variables were added insitu and used throughout my analysis. Species accumulation curves suggest that sampling was comprehensive. There is a significant trend between island area and species richness which validates the Theory of Island Biogeography for invasive species. Islands were found to be significantly nested by area, order, and tourism. Cluster analysis shows a link between elevation, land-use and island, and species …

Using Marine Snails To Teach Biogeography And Macroevolution: The Role Of Larvae And Dispersal Ability In The Evolution And Persistence Of Species, Jonathan R. Hendricks

Faculty Publications

While some marine animals are capable of traveling great distances, many have limited mobility as adults and spend the majority of their lifetimes in a small geographical area or may even be cemented to a single place. While it might be expected that species with limited mobility would have small geographic distributions, some nevertheless occur over very large areas. This is the case for some marine snails (gastropods). A key factor that impacts the geographic distribution of marine snails is the type of larvae they have during the phase of their life history that follows hatching from an egg. Because …

Winter Microhabitat Foraging Preferences Of Sympatric Boreal And Black-Capped Chickadees In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Alec R. Lindsay Ph. D., Zach G. Gayk

Faculty Works

We examined differences in microhab- itat use between Boreal (Poecile hudsonicus) and Black- capped chickadees (P. atricapillus) where they co-occur near Marquette, Michigan, USA. Twenty-four Boreal and 37 Black-capped chickadees were followed during 60 hrs of field observation. Boreal Chickadees foraged only in three conifer species, 76% of which were black spruce (Picea mariana), while Black-capped Chickadees foraged widely across six coniferous and three deciduous tree species. Analysis of foraging data categorized by zones within conifer trees indicated high niche overlap (0.676) between Boreal and Black-capped chickadees across all foraging zones. Individual comparisons on a zone-by-zone basis revealed a significant …

The Variegated Mud-Loving Beetles (Coleoptera: Heteroceridae) Of Mississippi And Alabama, With Discussion And Keys To The Species Occurring In The Southeastern United States, Jonas G. King, Paul K. Lago

Insecta Mundi

We review the variegated mud-loving beetle fauna of the southeastern United States (Coleoptera: Heteroceridae), with an emphasis on Mississippi and Alabama. A key is presented to all species known to occur in the southeastern US, and includes several extra-limital species. Descriptions, illustrations and distribution maps are presented for each species. One new species, Tropicus nigrellus, is described and a lectotype is designated for Heterocerus schwarzi Horn. Our molecular data suggest that many previously recognized generic concepts are unnatural. As a result, the following generic synonymies are proposed: Culmus Pacheco 1964, Damfius Pacheco 1964, Efflagitatus Pacheco 1964, Erus …

Assessing The Impacts Of Dams On Nutrient And Sediment Loading In The Kalamazoo River Using The Soil And Water Assessment Tool (Swat), Daniel Henry Serfas

Masters Theses

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to the Kalamazoo River Watershed in order to evaluate the impacts that several dams within a superfund site "Area of Concern" have on the sediment, nutrients, and streamflow of the system. It was hypothesized that the SWAT model could be used to recreate the watershed in hopes of estimating the amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment that would result from the removal of the dams. The model would then be used to evaluate dam removal scenarios to come up with a best management practice (BMP).

The model was calibrated, however, during …

Estimating Water Flux And Storage Using Displacement Measurements In Saprolite At Depth, Clay Freeman

All Theses

Water storage in the soil is important for many hydrologic problems, but measuring how the storage changes at an appropriate scale remains a challenge. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the feasibility of estimating change in water content in soil by measuring vertical displacement in underlying soils. This approach is appealing because the averaging volume of the displacement scales with the depth at which the measurements are taken. This should result in measurements of changes in soil moisture that are averaged over regions 10s to 100s of meters across, a measurement scale that is much larger than that …

Phenotypic Plasticity Of Rattlesnake Trophic Morphology, Matthew Thomas Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The trophic morphology of gape-limited predators constrains the shape and size of prey items they can ingest. Trophic morphology consists of any morphological feature that is involved in the handling and ingestion of food. Diet has a profound effect on the morphology of many gape-limited predators. Identifying how prey type and resource level affect the morphology of different populations is an essential step in understanding the mechanisms contributing to patterns of morphological diversity. Species interactions (Chapter 1) induce plasticity in morphology that can lead to increased fitness, morphological divergence, and eventually speciation.

In Chapter 2, a laboratory study tested the …

Habitat Modeling Of Three Endemic Crayfish Species In The Black River Drainage Of Missouri And Arkansas: Factors Affecting Distribution And Abundance, Matthew Stephen Nolen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Ozark faunal region of Missouri and Arkansas harbors a high level of aquatic biological diversity, especially in regards to endemic crayfish. Orconectes eupunctus, Orconectes marchandi, and Cambarus hubbsi are three such endemics that are threatened by a limited natural distribution and the invasions of Orconectes neglectus. I sought to determine how natural and anthropogenic factors influence these three species across multiple spatial scales. Local and landscape data were used in decision tree analyses (CART) to determine their influence effect on presence/absence and density of the three species. Predictive models were validated using k-fold cross validation. O. eupunctus presence was …

Life History Variation Of Common Terns In The Gulf Of Maine, Jeffery Bryant Kimmons

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Life history is the inheritable rules that determine energy and time allocation towards different competing functions in the energy budget of an organism. Reproductive effort varies as organisms make reproductive decisions based on available energy. Factors influencing life histories are those that change energy and time budgets such as diet, competition, and environmental conditions.

Common tern (Sterna hirundo) life history phenotypes vary between islands in the Gulf of Maine. Common terns on offshore islands (>10km from mainland) and nearshore islands (5 to 10km from mainland) lay smaller clutches, hatching chicks with slower growth rates than common terns …

Public Land Management Values: A Delphi Study Of Austrian And Pacific Northwest United States Recreation Resource Managers, Jessie Meybin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There is a continuing global increase in recreational visitor use of public land. This rise in visitation can be a good thing if a proactive management plan utilizing strong methodology to anticipate impacts to an area and sustain its natural and social resources is in place. Although a wide spectrum of issues is presented to each management, few of the concepts are new to any of the administrators. With increasing duties, newly emerging concerns, and decreasing time, there is little room or patience for error concerning the implementation of any management derivatives or techniques. If the existing research on all …

The Conservation Biology And Ecology Of The African Leopard Panthera Pardus Pardus, Ross Tyzack Pitman

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The African leopard Panthera pardus pardus is an apex predator, and a reliable indicator of a healthy ecosystem. Currently assessed as ‗near threatened‘ by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, leopards are exposed to a range of threats that include: habitat loss and/or degradation, depletion of natural prey, conflict with people, consumptive- and non-consumptive practices, and the illegal trade of leopard products. Leopards have disappeared from 37% of their historical range, and are continuing to decline. Leopards have been extirpated across many areas of Africa, especially where people are densely populated, which has left patchily distributed leopard populations throughout …

Conservation Genetics Of A Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma Maculatum (Shaw 1802)) Local Population In Southeast Tennessee, Daniel Scott Armstrong

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Currently there is a worldwide amphibian decline with numerous causes. Because of this, it is important to understand how genetic variation in local amphibian populations is affected by disturbance. The goal of this study was to assess the genetic impacts of past chemical and ammunition storage and present industrialization on a local population of Ambystoma maculatum (Shaw 1802) using thirteen microsatellite markers. Most loci exhibited no loss of heterozygosity but the low effective population size may indicate vulnerability to future declines. No population substructure or sex-biased dispersal was detected. Possible explanations for the reduction in genetic diversity at four loci …

Faunal Distribution And Relative Abundance In A Silurian (Wenlock) Pinnacle Reef Complex - Ray Reef, Macomb County, Michigan, Jennifer L. Trout

Masters Theses

Niagaran (Silurian) reefs are important sources of hydrocarbons in the Michigan Basin. In addition, some of these reservoirs have been used for gas storage and may be potential CO2 sequestration sites.

Despite extensive research on Niagaran reefs, most studies concerning faunal abundance and distribution have been qualitative studies conducted by paleontologists with an emphasis on taxonomy, paleoecology, and evolution.

This study is the first quantitative study of relative abundance and general distribution of fauna throughout a single Wenlock reef located in the southern trend of the Michigan Basin. This study will build on previous work done by WMU students and …

Walleye Trophic Position Before And After A Gizzard Shad Extirpation, Bethany J. Bethke, Justin A. Vandehey, Mark J. Fincel, Brian D.S. Graeb, Mark T. Porath

The Prairie Naturalist

Walleye (Sander vitreus) are an ecologically and recreationally important sport fish species. Reduced growth and condition in walleye can occur when prey availability is limited. In two Nebraska reservoirs, walleye consumed gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) as their primary prey until a winterkill extirpated the gizzard shad in 2001. Because of the winterkill, walleye in the two reservoirs had to change to alternative prey items. Our objective was to determine if stable isotope analysis on archived walleye scales can be used to detect a known food web shift in two reservoir food webs. We quantified the changes …

Perceived Neighborhood Safety And Psychological Distress: Exploring Protective Factors, Jaime Booth, Stephanie L. Ayers, Flavio F. Marsiglia

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

While a growing body of literature has established a relationship between "disordered" neighborhoods and psychological distress, less is known about the specific mechanisms at work. Using data collected in the 2008 Arizona Health Survey (N = 4,196), hierarchal linear regression was conducted to assess both the independent effect of perception of neighborhood safety on psychological distress, as well as the mediating effects of powerlessness, social isolation and mistrust. The findings suggest that the more safe individuals feel in their neighborhood, the less psychological distress they experience (b = 1.07, SE = .17, p < .001). This relationship appears to be partially mediated by feelings of powerlessness, social isolation and mistrust, indicating potential risk and protective factors.

The Effects Of Bison On Cattle Winter Range In The Henry Mountains Of South Central Utah: Resolving A Conflict, Ian M. Ware

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The American Bison in the Henry Mountains are one of the last free-roaming, genetically pure herds of bison remaining in North America. Over the last decade, the herd has used a cattle winter range during the summer and early fall, creating a conflict between the wildlife officials who manage the bison population, and Bureau of Land Management officials and local ranchers who manage the rangeland. At the heart of this conflict is the question of whether bison are negatively impacting the rangeland resource, potentially reducing the abundance of preferable plant species. Negative impacts could include reduced forage availability in the …

Bacteriophage Ecology In A Commercial Cucumber Fermentation, Jean Lu, Ilenys M. Perez-Diaz, Janet S. Hayes, Fred Bredit Jr.

Faculty Articles

To reduce high-salt waste from cucumber fermentations, low-salt fermentations are under development. These fermentations may require the use of starter cultures to ensure normal fermentations. Because potential phage infection can cause starter culture failure, it is important to understand phage ecology in the fermentations. This study investigated the phage ecology in a commercial cucumber fermentation. Brine samples taken from a fermentation tank over a 90-day period were plated onto deMan-Rogosa-Sharpe agar plates. A total of 576 lactic acid bacterial isolates were randomly selected to serve as potential hosts for phage isolation. Filtered brine served as a phage source. Fifty-seven independent …

Community Structure And Ecological Specialization In Plant-Ant Interactions, Paola Barriga

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Positive associations among species have contributed to the maintenance of biodiversity. These interactions are typically studied in pairwise fashion where two interacting organisms are the focus. This dissertation uses network theory to analyze positive plant-ant associations in three Neotropical forests. Obligate plant-ant mutualisms were used, where plants host the ants in domatia and provide food bodies while the ants protect the plants and can feed them. A network approach was used to depict all obligate plant-ant interactions within a community. The main questions asked at the community level were: 1) Do network structure and levels of specialization change geographically and, …

Comparison Of Three Collection Techniques For Capture Of Coleoptera, With An Emphasis On Saproxylic Species, In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Usa, Michael L. Ferro, Matthew L. Gimmel, Kyle E. Harms, Christopher E. Carlton

Insecta Mundi

Collection methods and/or habitats sampled influence how many and which species are captured during entomological surveys. Here we compare Coleoptera catches among three survey activities, each using a single collection method, at the same study sites in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. Activities included: short-term flight intercept trapping (FITs); sifting/Berlese funneling of leaf litter and extremely decayed downed coarse woody debris; and using emergence chambers containing coarse woody debris of various decay classes. In total, 2472 adult beetle specimens, representing 217 lowest identifiable taxa within 164 genera and 42 families, were collected during the FIT survey. Each survey activity …

Comparison Of The Coleoptera Communities In Leaf Litter And Rotten Wood In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Usa, Michael L. Ferro, Matthew L. Gimmel, Kyle E. Harms, Christopher E. Carlton

Insecta Mundi

The community within extremely decayed downed coarse woody debris, here referred to as decay class V (CWD5), has never been systematically sampled. The presumption has been that rotten wood is eventually overrun by surrounding soil and litter inhabitants. Leaf litter and CWD5 were sampled for Coleoptera with a sifting/ Berlese technique at three primary and three secondary forest sites in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, USA, during fall 2006 and spring 2007. A total of 4261 adult beetle specimens, representing 216 lowest identifiable taxa within 159 genera and 28 families, were collected. Sixty-six species (31%) were represented by single …

Children's Lead Poisoning In The Eastern United States: A Spatial Data Mining Approach, Thaddeus Grace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The focus of this thesis is to determine whether an association rule mining appraoch could be used to uncover associations between socioeconomic variables and childhood lead poisoning in the eastern Unied States. The association rule analysis was able to discover three prominent variables that were linked with childhood lead toxicity. Counties with high rates of holder housing, high single female head of householders, and a low proportion of Hispanic residents were found to be associated with higher rates of childhood lead poisoning. Geographic information systems (GIS) was utilized to visually illustrate the spatial distribution of each of the three association …

Preliminary Checklist Of Lichens Reported From Wyoming, Dorothy E. Tuthill

Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist

Although lichens are a common feature in Wyoming, there has been no attempt to compile a statewide list of species since 1900. A number of surveys have been conducted in the state, especially in Yellowstone National Park and other federally managed parks and forests, though little attention has been given to lower-elevation regions of the state. The literature search conducted for this project yielded nearly 800 species names, which number was reduced to 608 currently accepted taxa. Collection locations and references are provided for each taxon, as are global ranks (conservation status, from NatureServe.org), and a brief discussion of some …

Linking Old-Growth Forest Composition, Structure, Fire History, Climate And Land-Use In The Mountains Of Northern México, Citlali Cortes Montano, Peter Z. Fule, Donald A. Falk, Jose Villanueva-Diaz, Larissa L. Yocom Kent

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Old-growth forests are biologically and ecologically valuable systems that are disappearing worldwide at a rapid rate. México still holds large areas covered by temperate forests in the mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental, but few of these retain old-growth characteristics. We studied four sites with remnant old-growth forests in Mesa de las Guacamayas, a site in the Sierra Madre Occidental in northwestern Chihuahua, to assess their composition, structure, and age characteristics. Overstory tree densities and basal areas at each site were based on measurements of all trees >1.3 m tall. The overstory was dominated by large Pinus durangensis, P. strobiformis, …

Challenges In Predicting The Future Distributions Of Invasive Plant Species, Chad C. Jones

Botany Faculty Publications

Species distribution models (SDMs) are increasingly used to predict distributions of invasive species. If successful, these models can help managers target limited resources for monitoring and controlling invasive species to areas of high invasion risk. Model accuracy is usually determined using current species distributions, but because invasive species are not at equilibrium with the environment, high current accuracy may not indicate high future accuracy. I used 1982 species distribution data from Bolleswood Natural Area, Connecticut, USA, to create SDMs for two forest invaders, Celastrus orbiculatus and Rosa multiflora. I then used more recent data, from 1992 and 2002, as validation …

Ecology And Population Dynamics Of Sclerocactus Mesae-Verdae (Boissev. & C. Davidson) L.D. Benson, Janet J. Coles, Karin L. Decker, Tamara S. Naumann

Western North American Naturalist

The population dynamics of Sclerocactus mesae-verdae were documented annually in 3 plots over 20 years in southwestern Colorado. Demographic studies of this duration are rare but they are necessary to gain a more accurate estimate of population trends in long-lived desert species. Sclerocactus mesae-verdae was federally listed as threatened in 1979; this study was initiated in 1986 with the objective of determining whether Colorado populations were growing, declining, or stable. Data collected yearly around 1 May included diameter, vigor, and flower/fruit counts for 1629 stems belonging to 659 plants. We used regression analysis to estimate the mean, variance, and average …