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Biomechanical Properties Of Hemlocks: A Novel Approach To Evaluating Physical Barriers Of The Plant-Insect Interface And Resistance To A Phloem-Feeding Herbivore, Paul Ayayee, Fuqian Yang, Lynne K. Rieske

Entomology Faculty Publications

Micromechanical properties that help mediate herbivore access may be particularly important when considering herbivorous insects that feed with piercing-sucking stylets. We used microindentation to quantify the micromechanical properties of hemlock, Tsuga spp., to quantify the hardness of the feeding site of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae. We measured hardness of the hemlock leaf cushion, the stylet insertion point of the adelgid, across four seasons in a 1 y period for four hemlock species growing in a common garden, including eastern, western, mountain, and northern Japanese hemlocks. Leaf cushion hardness was highest in the fall and winter and …

Lone Madrone Winery And Bristols Cider, Kallo Collines, Asher Hoffman, Paul Ogden

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Neil Collins, the award winning wine maker at Tablas Creek and Lone Madrone wineries, is originally from Bristol, England, where he grew up enjoying apple ciders. This case follows his transition from the culinary to wine industry, and how he learned wine making from some the best wine makers in the Central Coast of California to become the head wine maker at an established winery and part owner of his own smaller winery. The case also explores how his cider making hobby became a commercial business, and the growth of the fledgling US cider industry.

Precipitation And Fire Impacts On Small Mammals In Shortgrass Prairie, Whitney J. Priesmeyer, Raymond S. Matlack, Richard T. Kazmair

The Prairie Naturalist

The southern Great Plains and the northern part of the Texas Panhandle have received less attention from a biological perspective than other parts of the state. Although there is substantial information on the effects of fire on small mammals in the tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies, there is a lack of understanding of fire influences in the shortgrass prairie, specifically on small mammals. We conducted our study on the Cross Bar Cooperative Management Area (CMA), a 4,856 ha shortgrass prairie within the Texas panhandle. Our objective was to determine the effect of three different fire return frequencies and precipitation on diversity …

Vegetarian Dietary Patterns: Mortality, Colorectal Cancer, And Food Consumption, Michael John Orlich

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Objective Vegetarian dietary patterns represent longstanding, real-world diets consumed by a minority of persons. Studies of important health outcomes of such diets, particularly for all-cause mortality and colorectal cancer risk, have yielded inconsistent results. We sought to examine these outcomes (mortality and colorectal cancer incidence) in a large North-American cohort. We also sought to further characterize potentially important differences in the food consumption patterns of these diets. Design Baseline diet was measured by a quantitative food frequency questionnaire among more than 96,000 Seventh-day Adventists in the US and Canada, enrolled from 2002-2007. Dietary patterns were defined, based on the reported …

Surface-Soil Properties Of Alder Balds With Respect To Grassy And Rhododendron Balds On Roan Mountain, North Carolina—Tennessee, James T. Donaldson, Zachary C. Dinkins, Foster Levy, Arpita Nandi

ETSU Faculty Works

We analyzed soils in Alder Bald, Grassy Bald, and Rhododendron Bald communities on Roan Mountain to infer the influence of vegetation on soil and to help guide management strategies. In all vegetation types, soils were acid (pH = 4–5) sandy loams. We found vegetation-associated differences for organic content, cation exchange capacity, acidity, two plant macronutrients (K, Mg), and three cations (Fe, Na, Zn). We predicted that nitrogen compounds would be highest in the Alder Bald because Alnus viridis ssp. crispa (Green Alder) can harbor nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Organic content was highest at the alder-bald sites, ammonium was similar among vegetation types, …

Selenium Levels In Rice Samples From High And Low Risk Areas For Esophageal Cancer, Hadi Rahimzadeh-Barzoki, Hamidreza Joshaghani, Somayeh Beirami, Morteza Mansurian, Shahryar Semnani, Gholamreza Roshandel

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between selenium (Se) concentration in rice and the incidence of esophageal cancer (EC) in a high risk area in Northern Iran. METHODS: This ecological study was conducted in Golestan province of Iran in 2012. In this area, 45714 acres of land are cultivated by rice. A total of 69 rice samples were taken. We investigated Se concentrations by the voltammetric method. Statistical analysis was performed using the Pearson correlation test and Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: The mean (+/-SD) Se level in rice samples was 0.229 (+/-0.145) mg/kg. The Se concentration was significantly higher in rice …

Diurnal Raptors Of Buffalo County, Nebraska, Thomas L. Freeman

The Prairie Naturalist

Diurnal birds of prey are apex predators, which often are utilized as indicators of potential environmental change (Newton 1979, Rodriguez-Estrella et al. 1998). While the Platte River Valley of Nebraska and the central plains are recognized as important winter habitat for numer- ous bird of prey species (United States Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] 1981, Root 1988), there are few published studies describing the distribution and abundance of raptors in Nebraska (Mathisen and Mathisen 1968, Craighead and Craighead 1969, USFWS 1981). In addition, studies summarizing the long-term distribution or density of Falconi- formes in Nebraska are limited due to the …

Mate Replacement And Alloparental Care In Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo Regalis), Shubham Datta, Will M. Inselman, Jonathan A. Jenks, Kent C. Jensen, Christopher C. Swanson, Robert W. Klaver, Indrani Sasmal, Troy W. Grovenburg

The Prairie Naturalist

Alloparental care (i.e., care for unrelated offspring) has been documented in various avian species (Maxson 1978, Smith et al. 1996, Tella et al. 1997, Lislevand et al. 2001, Literak and Mraz 2011). A male replacement mate that encounters existing broods has options, which include alloparental care or infanticide. Infanticide may be beneficial in some species (Rohwer 1986, Kermott et al. 1990), but in long-lived avian species, like the ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) that do not renest within a season, infanticide might be detrimental. Adoption and rearing success likely provide direct evidence of competence of replacement mates as potential parents for …

Photosynthetic Thermal Tolerance And Recovery To Short Duration Temperature Stress In Desert And Montane Plants: A Comparative Study, David William Gallagher

Master's Theses

• Climate change models predict an increase in frequency and amplitude of extreme weather events, including heat waves. To better predict how the composition and distribution of plant assemblages might respond to these changes in temperature, it is important to understand how species currently respond to these extremes. Photosynthetic thermal tolerance (T₂₅)and photosynthetic recovery (RT₂₅) were quantified in 27 species. We also studied the relationships between T₂₅, RT₂₅ and leaf mass per area (LMA). Leaf temperature was also monitored in the field.
• Leaves used in this study were collected from two distinct …

Nonlinear Internal Waves, Internal Bores, And Turbulent Mixing In The Nearshore Coastal Environment, Ryan K. Walter

Physics

The nearshore coastal environment is generally taken to be one of the most productive and ecologically important parts of the ocean. The nearshore is also a complex environment from a physical standpoint, due in large part to the widespread and often irregular occurrence of nonlinear internal waves (NLIWs) that frequently appear more bore-like than wave-like. Indeed, this region of the ocean can be thought of as the “swash zone” for larger-scale internal wave fields on the continental shelf. These nearshore NLIWs and bores have considerable implications for the cross-shelf exchange and transport of nutrients, sediments, contaminants, larvae, and other scalars; …

Biodiversity Index Value Of Benthic Invertebrates' Community In Relation With Variation Of Some Environmental Properties In Rivers Tigris And Diyala Within Baghdad City., Dahlia M. Ali Hassan Al-Kinani, Emaduldeen A. Al-Mukhtar

Baghdad Science Journal

This study was carried out to determine the effects of some environmental variables on biodiversity index value of benthic invertebrates' community in samples that collected monthly from two adjacent sites nearby the confluence of Tigris and Diyala rivers within Baghdad city that’s from November 2007 - October 2008. Results showed differences in chemical and physical characteristics for each river. Where the annual averages of these characteristics in Rivers Tigris and Diyala respectively for: water temperature (20, 19) Cº, pH (8, 8), Dissolved oxygen DO(8,4 ) mg/l , EC(1152,2979)µc/cm , Turbidity (28,74) NTU, Total Hardness of CaCO3 (485,823)mg/l, and finally NO3 …

A Study Of The Physical And Chemical Characteristics Of The Waters Of The Central Marshes In Southern Iraq After Restoration, Jameelah W. Ogaili, Abdul Rahman A. Al-Kubaisi

Baghdad Science Journal

some ecological (physical and chemical varible) of water samples were studies monthly from December 2008 to May 2009 at two stations( St.1) Al - Chibayesh marsh and (St.2) Abu – Zirik marsh which are located in the south of Iraq . These variables included : Temperature, pH, EC, Dissolved oxygen , Total alkalinity, Nitrate, Sulphate, and phosphate, Si-SiO2 and Ca ,Mg, Cl, The marsh Considered as fresh water and alkaline. Abu-Zirik less than Al-Chibayesh.

New Records Of Naidid Worms (Oligochaeta: Naididae) In Euphrates River, Haifa J. Jaweir, Elham O.S. Al-Janabi

Baghdad Science Journal

Naidid worms were sorted from 27 samples of aquatic macrophyta including ceratophyllum demersum , Potamogeton crispus and, Hydrilla verticellat with associated filamentous algae were collected from Euphrates River at Al-Mussayab city, 60 Km southwest Baghdad. The result of sorted worms revealed the presence of eight species of subfamily Naidinae, which are consider as new records for Iraq, including Stephensoniana trivandrana; Paranais frici, Ophidonais serpentine, Specaria josinae, Dero (Dero) evelinae , Dero (Aulophorus) indicus , Nais pseudobtusa and finally N. stolci. This investigation includes morphological descriptions for each species illustrated by identification criteria photos.

Multi-Timescale Dynamics Of Land Surface Temperature, Peng Fu

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spatial and temporal patterns of land surface temperature (LST) have been used in studies of surface energy balance, landscape thermal patterns and water management. An effective way to investigate the landscape thermal dynamics is to utilize the Landsat legacy and consistent records of the thermal state of earth’s surface since 1982. However, only a small proportion of studies emphasize the importance of historical Landsat TIR data for investigating the relationship between the urbanization process and surface thermal properties. This occurred due to the lack of standardized LST product from Landsat and the unevenly distributed remote sensing datasets caused by poor …

Use Of Remote Sensing To Assess Changes In Wetland Plant Communities Over An 18-Year Period: A Case Study From The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Great Salt Lake, Utah, Melina Santos Vanderlinder, Christopher M. U. Neale, David E. Rosenberg, Karin M. Kettenring

Western North American Naturalist

Successfully managing wetlands requires monitoring changes in plant community composition. We used remote sensing techniques to document the replacement of desirable native wetland vegetation with invasive species in response to catastrophic flood disturbance in the 1980s and to evaluate wetland vegetation management between 1998 and 2010. We conducted our study at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge wetlands, which are located on the northeastern arm of the Great Salt Lake in northern Utah. We acquired high-resolution airborne multispectral imagery of the refuge in 1992 and 2010 to quantify changes in vegetation cover over time. We produced classified vegetation maps for …

Phylogeography Of The Scaled Quail In The American Southwest, Damon Williford, Randy W. Deyoung, Rodney L. Honeycutt, Leonard A. Brennan, Fidel Hernández

Western North American Naturalist

We used sequences from the mitochondrial control region to examine the phylogeography and historical demography of the Scaled Quail and to determine whether the geographic distributions of mtDNA genealogy were concordant with the distribution of the subspecies. Overall, the Scaled Quail exhibited lower haplotype and nucleotide diversity than other quail species. The highest levels of haplotype diversity were found in 3 Texas counties: Dimmit, La Salle, and Hudspeth. The Scaled Quail exhibited no phylogeographic structure among its 16 haplotypes, and the patterns of genetic variation were not congruent with potential geographic barriers or current subspecies taxonomy. The geographic distribution of …

The Influence Of Breeding Experience On Nest Success In Red-Winged Blackbird, George M. Linz, Richard S. Sawin, Mark W. Lutman

Western North American Naturalist

The Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is a polygynous species, and females are typically responsible for the majority of parental care. Despite their limited involvement, males can contribute to reproduction through nest defense and the feeding of nestlings. Some aspects of nest defense may be learned, and older males are more likely to feed young, suggesting that males with previous breeding experience may enjoy higher nest success than their naïve counterparts. We manipulated territory ownership on 10 wetlands in central North Dakota in order to examine the influence of breeding experience on reproductive success. We found no evidence that …

Presence Of The Exotic Weevil (Rhinocyllus Conicus Fröelich) At High Elevations In The Rocky Mountains Of Colorado, Julia J. Hicks, Susan W. Beatty, Timothy R. Seastedt

Western North American Naturalist

We examined the presence of the exotic weevil Rhinocyllus conicus Fröelich on native thistles at high elevations in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. We tested whether the distribution of R. conicus was related to elevation by performing 2 separate studies. First, transects along an elevation gradient were sampled in Rocky Mountain National Park and presence/absence of R. conicus was scored to infer relationships between environmental variables and weevil occurrence. Second, an experiment was conducted on Niwot Ridge to determine whether weevils were able to complete their reproductive cycle and overwinter at an elevation where they do not currently exist. Results …

Apparent Adoption Of Orphaned Cougars (Puma Concolor) In Northwestern Wyoming, Travis D. Bartnick, Marilyn Cuthill, Derek Craighead, Howard B. Quigley

Western North American Naturalist

Cougars (Puma concolor) are widely distributed throughout the western portion of North America and are generally described as solitary carnivores. Most cougar social interactions have been described as instances of parental care, intraspecific strife, or breeding. We report an apparent case of an adoption of orphaned juveniles in a wild cougar population. We used radiotelemetry and direct visual observations to document an adult female, her 3 dependent offspring, and 2 orphaned juvenile males physically interacting, sharing bed sites, and sharing kills in the late winter of 2007/2008. We consider the potential benefits and/or negative effects of these social …

Identifying The Provenance Of Leach's Storm Petrels In The North Atlantic Using Polychlorinated Biphenyl Signatures Derived From Comprehensive Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography With Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry., David Megson, Thomas A. Brown, Glenn W. Johnson, Gwen O'Sullivan, Anthony W.J. Bicknell, Stephen C. Votier, Maeve C. Lohan, Sean Comber, Robert Kalin, Paul J. Worsfold

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

PCB signatures can be used for source identification, exposure studies, age dating and bio-monitoring. This study uses comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-ToFMS) to produce a PCB signature comprised of over 80 PCBs for individual Leach's storm petrels (Oceanodroma leucorhoa). The Leach's storm petrel is a relatively small, elusive, understudied pelagic bird, which only returns to remote islands under darkness during the breeding season. Samples were obtained from 25 Leach's storm petrels found dead in Canada and the UK following storm events in 2006 and 2009. Tissue samples were extracted and analysed by GCxGC-ToFMS and results showed …

Behavior, Physiology, Biological Age, And Cultural Role Of Long-Lived Bering Sea Seabirds, Rebecca C. Young

Biological Sciences

This dissertation focuses on the intersection of behavior, physiology, and biological age. Biological age is a measure of an organism's progress through life, and it incorporates chronological age as well as the actions of environment and innate quality at the individual level. We estimate biological age using telomere length as a biomarker. Telomere degradation in relation to oxidative stress links it directly to purported proximate mechanisms of aging under the free radical theory of aging. Short telomeres, or telomere loss, have been related to ecological indicators of lowered fitness. Our work focuses on aging in the thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia), …

Spatial Variability In Plant And Soil Properties On New Zealand Seabird Islands, And The Effects Of Introduced Rats, Melody S. Durrett

Biological Sciences

Seabirds are ecosystem engineers with two major impacts on island ecosystems: they bring large quantities of marine nutrients to the terrestrial environment in the form of guano, carcasses, feathers, eggs, and spilled food, and they disturb the soil surface. Burrowing seabirds can denude the soil surface of all seedlings and leaf litter, plowing them under and loosening the soil. However, seabirds are colonial, and burrows are not evenly spaced over the surface of an island, producing spatial variability within a single island that might reveal how seabird activities control island ecosystem function. In this dissertation I review seabird island ecology …

Herbicide Safening To Aid In The Establishment Of Three Native Warm Season Grass Species, Jesse Spencer Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Difficulties with stand establishment are a major factor limiting further agronomic use of native warm season grasses. One significant cause of stand failure is competition with rapidly growing annual weed species during the early development of the perennial native grass. Broad spectrum preemergent herbicides can provide the needed weed control, but only if tolerance exists in the desired grass. Herbicide safeners, synthetic compounds that protect crops from herbicide injury, applied as seed treatments offer a potential strategy to achieving the needed herbicide tolerance where it does not naturally occur. This study tested the efficacy of five herbicide safeners (benoxacor, fenclorim, …

Arthropod Abundance And Diversity In Restored Longleaf Pine Savannas At Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve, Cara B. Nighohossian

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to determine whether changes in arthropod community structure in restored longleaf pine savannas corresponds to differences in vegetation structure often associated with burn frequency. Longleaf pine savannas are fire-maintained ecosystems characteristic of the southeastern United States and have experienced severe declines (around 97%) since European settlement. Changes in fire regime have been instrumental in the declines. Restoration of these ecosystems has involved reinstitution of periodic burnings to promote and maintain vegetative characteristics of the savannas. This study investigates trends in arthropod communities from areas heavily invaded by hardwood shrubs against those dominated by longleaf …

Comparative Biology Of Three Species Of Costa Rican Haeterini, Laura Alexander

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Documenting life history characteristics of populations, especially of herbivorous insects such as butterflies, is fundamental to the ecological study of tropical rainforests. However, we know relatively little about tropical forest butterflies. Here, I combine information gathered using the mark-release-recapture (MRR) approach with manipulative and observational experiments in a natural environment to explore aspects of the population biology of three closely-related species of Costa Rican fruit-feeding understory butterflies (Cithaerias pireta, Dulcedo polita, and Pierella helvina), specifically: vertical stratification, attraction to and persistence in fruit-baited traps, relative abundance and distribution, movement patterns, probabilities of recapture and daily survival, …

How To Approach Research : A Guide For Child Life Specialists, Emily L. Springer

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This how-to guide aims to increase the understanding of research and provide child life specialists and students a concise and easy tool to access information about how they incorporate research into their work.

Ultraviolet Radiation, Aging And The Skin: Prevention Of Damage By Topical Camp Manipulation, Alexandra Amaro-Ortiz, Betty Yan, John A. D’Orazio

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Being the largest and most visible organ of the body and heavily influenced by environmental factors, skin is ideal to study the long-term effects of aging. Throughout our lifetime, we accumulate damage generated by UV radiation. UV causes inflammation, immune changes, physical changes, impaired wound healing and DNA damage that promotes cellular senescence and carcinogenesis. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and among the malignancies of highest increasing incidence over the last several decades. Melanoma incidence is directly related to age, with highest rates in individuals over the age of 55 years, making it a clear age-related disease. …

Dissolved Nutrient Ratios And Concentrations Affect Fungal Reproduction And Community Structure Associated With Submerged Leaf Litter And Wood, Jennifer Fitzgerald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Litter-associated fungi are important intermediaries in carbon and energy flow in streams. They can obtain nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from both the substrate and the water column. I tested the effects of dissolved nutrients (dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) 40-975 µg/L, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) 2-135 µg/L, N:P ratios 2:1, 16:1, 128:1) on fungi associated with leaf litter (maple and rhododendron) and wood in streamside channels at Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research site, North Carolina. This study addressed two main questions: (1) will fungal reproduction (sporulation rate of aquatic hyphomycetes) peak at a dissolved N:P ratio similar to nutrient stoichiometry …

An Ecological Framework To Assess Sustainability Impacts For An Evolving Consumer Electronic Product System, Erinn G. Ryen

Theses

Consumer electronics have revolutionized the manner in which we work, read, and entertain ourselves. However, this transformation comes at a high cost, with significant energy input and emissions releases across all stages of the electronic product life cycle. The limited success of per product efficiency improvements, often formulated in the field of industrial ecology, does not address the electronic product system as a whole because escalating consumption may actually offset any individual impact reductions. Additionally, existing industrial ecology models fail to effectively capture energy, material, and waste flows associated with real consumption patterns, as consumers purchase, use, and discard a …

Refining Dendrochronology To Evaluate The Relationship Between Age And Diameter For Dominant Riparian Trees In The Redwood Creek Watershed, Devin Barry

Master's Projects and Capstones

Methods of dendrochronology by means of incremental coring

have been refined in this study for specific use in northern

California riparian floodplains. Little information is available

on riparian dendrochronology because of the challenges of

analyzing riparian tree species. Three dominant tree species

(Alnus rubra, Umbellularia californica, Acer macrophyllum)

in the floodplain of Redwood Creek were evaluated for the

relationship between age and diameter at breast height (DBH)

using a least squares linear regression analysis. Through this

study, complications with analysis for the riparian tree species

led to a more thorough investigation as to enhancing core

quality and annual growth ring …