Digital Commons Network^™

Climatic Niche, Ecological Genetics, And Impact Of Climate Change On Eastern White Pine (Pinus Strobus L.): Guidelines For Land Managers, Dennis G. Joyce, Gerald E. Rehfeldt

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Approximately, 123,500 forest inventory and ecological ground plots representing eastern North America were used to predict the contemporary distribution of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) from climate. The random forests classification tree procedures produced an 8-variable algorithm that had an 8% overall error rate. Erroneous predictions of presence, or errors of commission, were 13%, while falsely predicting absence, or errors of omission were 1%. Climate-based multiple regression models were developed to describe patterns of genetic variation among 112 populations representing the range of P. strobus in Ontario, Canada east of Lake Superior. Degree days >5°C was the best …

Carbon Storage And Sequestration By Trees In Urban And Community Areas Of The United States, David J. Nowak, Eric J. Greenfield, Robert E. Hoehn, Elizabeth Lapoint

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Carbon storage and sequestration by urban trees in the United States was quantified to assess the magnitude and role of urban forests in relation to climate change. Urban tree field data from 28 cities and 6 states were used to determine the average carbon density per unit of tree cover. These data were applied to statewide urban tree cover measurements to determine total urban forest carbon storage and annual sequestration by state and nationally. Urban whole tree carbon storage densities average 7.69 kg C m^‒2 of tree cover and sequestration densities average 0.28 kg C m^‒2 of tree …

Modeling Harvest And Biomass Removal Effects On The Forest Carbon Balance Of The Midwest, Usa, Scott D. Peckham, Stith T. Gower, Charles H. Perry, Barry T. Wilson, Kirk M. Stueve

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to use an ecosystem process model, Biome-BGC, to explore the effects of different harvest scenarios on major components of the carbon budget of 205,000 km² of temperate forest in the Upper Midwest region of the U.S. We simulated seven harvest scenarios varying the (i) amount of harvest residue retained, (ii) total harvest area, and (iii) harvest type (clear-cut and selective) to assess the potential impacts on net biome production (NBP), net primary production (NPP), and total vegetation carbon. NBP was positive (C sink) in year 1 (2004) and generally decreased over the 50-year …

Small Geographic Range But Not Panmictic: How Forests Structure The Endangered Point Arena Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia Rufa Nigra), William J. Zielinski, Fredrick V. Schlexer, Sean A. Parks, Kristine L. Pilgrim, Michael K. Schwartz

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The landscape genetics framework is typically applied to broad regions that occupy only small portions of a species’ range. Rarely is the entire range of a taxon the subject of study. We examined the landscape genetic structure of the endangered Point Arena mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa nigra), whose isolated geographic range is found in a restricted (85 km²) but heterogenous region in California. Based on its diminutive range we may predict widespread gene flow and a relatively weak role for landscape variation in defining genetic structure. We used skin, bone, tissue and noninvasively collected hair samples …

Stand- And Landscape-Scale Selection Of Large Trees By Fishers In The Rocky Mountains Of Montana And Idaho, Michael K. Schwartz, Nicholas J. Decesare, Benjamin S. Jimenez, Jeffrey P. Copeland, Wayne E. Melquist

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The fisher (Pekania pennanti; formerly known as Martes pennanti) is a North American endemic mustelid with a geographic distribution that spans much of the boreal forests of North America. In the Northern Rocky Mountain (NRM) fishers have been the focus of Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing decisions. Habitat studies of West Coast fishers in California have consistently identified late-successional forests as important, providing direct implications for forest management and fisher conservation. In the NRM range very little is known about the habitat selection patterns of fishers relative to forest age and species composition, yet ESA petitioners have repeatedly listed habitat …

Integrating Biodiversity And Drinking Water Protection Goals Through Geographic Analysis, James D. Wickham, Curtis H. Flather

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Aim Biodiversity and drinking water share a common interest in land conservation. Our objective was to identify where that common interest occurs geographically to inform conservation planning.

Location The study focused on 2112 eight-digit hydrologic units (watersheds) occurring in the conterminous United States.

Methods Data on aquatic-dependent species occurrence, drinking water intakes, protected land status and land cover change were compiled for each watershed. We compared these four datasets after defining ‘hotspots’ based on attribute-specific thresholds that included (1) the 90th percentile of at-risk aquatic biodiversity, (2) with and without drinking water intakes, (3) above and below the median percentage …

Avian Mortality At Communication Towers In The United States And Canada: Which Species, How Many, And Where?, Travis Longcore, Catherine Rich, Pierre Mineau, Beau Macdonald, Daniel G. Bert, Lauren M. Sullivan, Erin Mutrie, Sidney A. Gauthreaux Jr., Michael L. Avery, Robert L. Crawford, Albert M. Manville Ii, Emilie R. Travis, David Drake

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Birds migrating to and from breeding grounds in the United States and Canada are killed by the millions in collisions with lighted towers and their guy wires. Avian mortality at towers is highly variable across species, and the importance to each population depends on its size and trajectory. Building on our previous estimate of avian mortality at communication towers, we calculated mortality by species and by regions. To do this, we constructed a database of mortality by species at towers from available records and calculated the mean proportion of each species killed at towers within aggregated Bird Conservation Regions. These …

Use Of Dairies By Postreproductive Flocks Of European Starlings, H. Jeffrey Homan, Jeffrey T. Lejeune, D. L. Pearl, T. W. Seamans, Thomas W. Seamans, A.A. Slowik, Mark R. Morasch, George M. Linz

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Knowledge of the behavior and movement patterns of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris L.) is important to wildlife managers that seek to resolve conflicts at livestock facilities. We captured and radio tagged 10 starlings at each of 5 dairies in northeastern Ohio. From September 19 to October 31, 2007, we obtained sufficient data from 40 birds to study their behavior and movements. The birds visited the dairies where they were initially captured (home sites) on 85% of the days, spending 58% of each day at the dairies. Onsite arrival and departure times were 2.5 h after sunrise and 3.1 h …

Stream Hierarchy Defines Riverscape Genetics Of A North American Desert Fish, Matthew W. Hopken, Marlis R. Douglas, Michael E. Douglas

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Global climate change is apparent within the Arctic and the south-western deserts of North America, with record drought in the latter reflected within 640 000 km2 of the Colorado River Basin. To discern the manner by which natural and anthropogenic drivers have compressed Basin-wide fish biodiversity, and to establish a baseline for future climate effects, the Stream Hierarchy Model (SHM) was employed to juxtapose fluvial topography against molecular diversities of 1092 Bluehead Sucker (Catostomus discobolus). MtDNA revealed three geomorphically defined evolutionarily significant units (ESUs): Bonneville Basin, upper Little Colorado River and the remaining Colorado River Basin. Microsatellite analyses …

A Comparison Of Bats And Rodents As Reservoirs Of Zoonotic Viruses: Are Bats Special?, Angela D. Luis, David T. S. Hayman, Thomas J. O'Shea, Paul M. Cryan, Amy T. Gilbert, Juliet R. C. Pulliam, James N. Mills, Mary E. Timonin, Craig K. R. Willis, Andrew A. Cunningham, Anthony R. Fooks, Charles E. Rupprecht, James L. N. Wood, Colleen T. Webb

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bats are the natural reservoirs of a number of high-impact viral zoonoses. We present a quantitative analysis to address the hypothesis that bats are unique in their propensity to host zoonotic viruses based on a comparisonwith rodents, another important host order. We found that bats indeed host more zoonotic viruses per species than rodents, and we identified life-history and ecological factors that promote zoonotic viral richness. More zoonotic viruses are hosted by species whose distributions overlap with a greater number of other species in the same taxonomic order (sympatry). Specifically in bats, therewas evidence for increased zoonotic viral richness in …

On The Edge: A Genetic Assessment Of Aplodontia Rufa From The Edge Of Their Distribution, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Jennifer Jeffers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Aplodontia rufa (mountain beaver) is considered the sole remaining extant genus and species of an ancient lineage that once broadly inhabited the Great Basin and is now restricted to the Pacific Northwest and portions of California and Nevada. Aplodontia rufa californica in Nevada is distributed patchily at the edge of mountain beaver distribution. Due to concern over the status of these populations this subspecies is listed in Nevada as sensitive. The Nevada Department of Wildlife is concerned about the status of Aplodontia rufa californica populations scattered across areas of central western Nevada and has worked to gain an understanding of …

Predictive Models For Escherichia Coli Concentrations At Inland Lake Beaches And Relationship Of Model Variables To Pathogen Detection, Donna S. Francy, Erin A. Stelzer, Joseph W. Duris, Amie M. G. Brady, John H. Harrison, Heather E. Johnson, Michael W. Ware

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Predictive models, based on environmental and water quality variables, have been used to improve the timeliness and accuracy of recreational water quality assessments, but their effectiveness has not been studied in inland waters. Sampling at eight inland recreational lakes in Ohio was done in order to investigate using predictive models for Escherichia coli and to understand the links between E. coli concentrations, predictive variables, and pathogens. Based upon results from 21 beach sites, models were developed for 13 sites, and the most predictive variables were rainfall, wind direction and speed, turbidity, and water temperature. Models were not developed at sites …

Effects Of Linking A Soil-Water-Balance Model With A Groundwater-Flow Model, Jennifer S. Stanton, Derek W. Ryter, Steven M. Peterson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

A previously published regional groundwater-flow model in north-central Nebraska was sequentially linked with the recently developed soil-water-balance (SWB) model to analyze effects to groundwater-flow model parameters and calibration results. The linked models provided a more detailed spatial and temporal distribution of simulated recharge based on hydrologic processes, improvement of simulated groundwater-level changes and base flows at specific sites in agricultural areas, and a physically based assessment of the relative magnitude of recharge for grassland, nonirrigated cropland, and irrigated cropland areas. Root-mean-squared (RMS) differences between the simulated and estimated or measured target values for the previously published model and linked models …

Chronology And Provenance Of Last-Glacial (Peoria) Loess In Western Iowa And Paleoclimatic Implications, Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis Iii, Helen M. Roberts, Stephen S. Harlan, James B. Paces, Richard L. Reynolds

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Geologic archives show that the Earth was dustier during the last glacial period. One model suggests that increased gustiness (stronger, more frequent winds) enhanced dustiness. We tested this at Loveland, Iowa, one of the thickest deposits of last-glacial-age (Peoria) loess in the world. Based on K/Rb and Ba/Rb, loess was derived not only from glaciogenic sources of the Missouri River, but also distal loess from non-glacial sources in Nebraska. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages provide the first detailed chronology of Peoria Loess at Loveland. Deposition began after ~27 ka and continued until ~17 ka. OSL ages also indicate that mass …

Origin Of The Sinai-Negev Erg, Egypt And Israel: Mineralogical And Geochemical Evidence For The Importance Of The Nile And Sea Level History, Daniel R. Muhs, Joel Roskin, Haim Tsoar, Gary Skipp, James Budahn, Amihai Sneh, Naomi Porat, Jean-Daniel Stanley, Itzhak Katra, Dan G. Blumberg

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Sinai-Negev erg occupies an area of 13,000 km² in the deserts of Egypt and Israel. Aeolian sand of this erg has been proposed to be derived from the Nile Delta, but empirical data supporting this view are lacking. An alternative source sediment is sand from the large Wadi El Arish drainage system in central and northern Sinai. Mineralogy of the Negev and Sinai dunes shows that they are high in quartz, with much smaller amounts of K-feldspar and plagioclase. Both Nile Delta sands and Sinai wadi sands, upstream of the dunes, also have high amounts of quartz relative …

A Global Standard For Monitoring Coastal Wetland Vulnerability To Accelerated Sea-Level Rise, Edward L. Webb, Daniel A. Friess, Ken W. Krauss, Donald R. Cahoon, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Jacob Phelps

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Sea-level rise threatens coastal salt-marshes and mangrove forests around the world, and a key determinant of coastal wetland vulnerability is whether its surface elevation can keep pace with rising sea level. Globally, a large data gap exists because wetland surface and shallow subsurface processes remain unaccounted for by traditional vulnerability assessments using tide gauges. Moreover, those processes vary substantially across wetlands, so modelling platforms require relevant local data. The low-cost, simple, high-precision rod surface-elevation table–marker horizon (RSET-MH) method fills this critical data gap, can be paired with spatial data sets and modelling and is financially and technically accessible to every …

The Geologic Records Of Dust In The Quaternary, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Study of geologic records of dust composition, sources and deposition rates is important for understanding the role of dust in the overall planetary radiation balance, fertilization of organisms in the world’s oceans, nutrient additions to the terrestrial biosphere and soils, and for paleoclimatic reconstructions. Both glacial and non-glacial processes produce fine-grained particles that can be transported by the wind. Geologic records of dust flux occur in a number of depositional archives for sediments: (1) loess deposits; (2) lake sediments; (3) soils; (4) deep-ocean basins; and (5) ice sheets and smaller glaciers. These archives have several characteristics that make them highly …

Customer Service Employees In Logistics, Dave Mcmahon, Stephen A. Lemay, Jeff Periatt, Rose Opengart

AMTP Proceedings 2013

This article provides a description of the changing needs and role of customer service employees, their competencies, job requirements, and training needs. Four key findings for developing effective training options are discussed. The data comes from an original research project funded by the Council of Logistics Management (CSCMP).

Relationship Of Demographic Traits And Situational Factor Determinants With The Tech Readiness Of Self-Service Consumers, Jon M. Martin

AMTP Proceedings 2013

Over the past 20 years, self-service technology (SST) has become prevalent as a service delivery option. To ensure that SST options reach full potential, firms need to understand what customer traits and situational factors are related to the propensity to use SSTs. From a subset of data and independent determinants from an original dissertation model on SST adoption, this study uses linear regression to examine: H1) the relationship between: H1) consumers’ tech readiness (TR) and the consumer demographics of age (AG), gender (GN), income (IN), education (ED), and ethnicity (ET) (H1), and H2) the relationship between consumer’s tech readiness and …

Pronounced Genetic Structure In A Highly Mobile Coral Reef Fish, Caesio Cuning, In The Coral Triangle, Amanda S. Ackiss, Shinta Pardede, Eric D. Crandall, Ma Carmen A. Ablan-Lagman, Ambariyanto, November Romena, Paul H. Barber, Kent E. Carpenter

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The redbelly yellowtail fusilier Caesio cuning has a tropical Indo-West Pacific range that straddles the Coral Triangle, a region of dynamic geological history and the highest marine biodiversity on the planet. Previous genetic studies in the Coral Triangle indicate the presence of multiple limits to connectivity. However, these studies have focused almost exclusively on benthic, reef-dwelling species. Schooling, reef-associated fusiliers (Perciformes: Caesionidae) account for a sizable portion of the annual reef catch in the Coral Triangle, yet to date, there have been no indepth studies on the population structure of fusiliers or other mid-water, reef-associated planktivores across this region. We …

Local Residents’ Responses To Tourism As A Framework To Understand Hosts’ Responses To Short-Term Missions, Jeremy Griffin

The Asbury Journal

The research on the perspectives of the hosts in short-term missions is beginning to gain a stronger presence in the literature on short-term missions. To analyze the hosts’ point of view in short-term missions, this article uses four theoretical frameworks from the anthropology of tourism that measure hosts’ attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of tourism, its development and impacts. The result is that the hosts may show advocacy, concession, contention, or resignation towards short-term missions.

Is Peacemaking Unpatriotic?: The Function Of Homophobia In The Discursive World, Mari J. Matsuda

Journal of Hate Studies

Self-doubt is not the custom in public debate. In adversarial speech performance, the voice of certainty carries weight. Probing, intersubjective, self-reflective conversation is odd. Yet if speech is a cornerstone of democracy, if developing better ways to live on this planet without destroying it is a prerequisite to our survival, we need to bring all the necessary ideas to the table. The First Amendment can save your life; the wrong idea can kill you. This is why I am concerned about the mechanisms by which speech is suppressed in daily life, and am searching to understand the ways in which …

Admissions Viewbook, 2013-2014, Illinois State University, Office Of Admissions

Admissions Viewbook

Recruitment booklet created by Illinois State University's Office of Admissions

Sex-Parate But Equal? The Legality Of Single-Sex Public Schools And Their Discriminatory Effect On Transgender Students, Bryana Turner

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that single-sex public schools are both legally problematic and harmful, particularly to transgender students. It contends that such schools violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and are unconstitutional under the precedent set by Brown v. Board of Education. The analysis highlights the discriminatory effects of single-sex education, which perpetuates gender stereotypes and fails to accommodate transgender students, who are disproportionately affected by such policies.

An Update On Vitamin D: The Role In Chronic Disease, Clinical Practice Implications, And The Current Status Of Nurse Practitioner Knowledge, Sara E. Robertson

DNP Projects

The discovery that a large portion of the United States population is vitamin D deficient, has led to hundreds of studies in the last decade which aim to discover the role of vitamin D in overall health and to determine what clinical consequences occur in a deficient state. The current clinical knowledge regarding vitamin D deficiency is reviewed, including the definition of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency and its correlation to chronic disease states; the risk factors and epidemiology of vitamin D deficiency; and appropriate clinical screening and treatment of vitamin D deficiency. A research study completed in 2012 to …

Affixing The Service Mark: Reconsidering The Rise Of An Oxymoron, Peter J. Karol

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Searching For Internet Freedom In China: A Case Study On Google's China Experience, Jyh-An Lee, Ching-Yi Liu, Weiping Li

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Virtues Of Thinking Small, Corinna Barrett Lain

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Lain argues that, in efforts to determine how close American states are to abolishing the death penalty, scholars should "think small," examining the ground level issues that affect its imposition. Among the issues she explores are exonerations of defendants, the legality and obtainability of lethal injection drugs, and the high costs of seeking and imposing capital punishment.

Phenology-Assisted Classification Of C3 And C4 Grasses In The U.S. Great Plains And Their Climate Dependency With Modis Time Series, Cuizhen Wang, E. Raymond Hunt Jr., Li Zhang, Huadong Guo

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Grassland ecosystems in the North America are primarily composed of C3 and C4 plant functional types (PFTs) that have different responses to the changing climate. Knowledge of their spatial distributions and temporal var- iations helps us better understand the ecological functions and climate dependencies of grasslands. This study used the 500-m MODIS surface reflectance products (MOD09A1) from 2000 to 2009 to extract NDVI time series of C3 and C4 grass PFTs in different floristic regions (tallgrass, shortgrass, and mixed-grass prairies.) A set of phe- nology metrics, including Start of Season, End of Season, Season Length, Peak NDVI, Peak Date, and …

Distinguished Historical Geography Lecture: Carceral Space And The Usable Past, Karen M. Morin

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.