Digital Commons Network^™

Management Of Invasive Bullfrogs, Jason Martz

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The purpose of the paper was to look at control methods that are being used currently in the field to control the bullfrogs. Also, to see the future of management and control of the bullfrog. Investigate to see if these plans could possibly be used in Lincoln, NE in places like Pioneers Park. The bullfrog has outcompeted many native species when it invades an ecosystem. It is considered one of the worst invaders in the world. Once established it is very hard to eradicate. So it is important to understand and investigate control being used currently. Literature review was used …

College Students’ Use Of Farmers’ Markets In Lincoln, Nebraska, Amber Reinkordt

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of college students’ use of local farmers’ markets in Lincoln, Nebraska and the barriers that prevent college students from attending farmers’ markets, and noting the incentives that could motivate them to attend.

Currently there are no research articles about college students and their attendance at farmers' markets. There are, however, articles pertaining to getting students on the farm, school gardens, low income families and making farmers' markets more accessible and affordable, health benefits for customers who shop locally, and environmental, economic, and societal benefits of local farm operations.

Soil Health After Intense Ponderosa Pine Forest Fire In North Central Nebraska, Amanda Hefner

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

In late July 2012, the Region 24 Complex fire consumed over 76, 000 acres of north central Nebraska. This area consists of ponderosa pine forest with high densities of eastern redcedar, deciduous hardwood forest, and Sandhills prairie. This incredible event provided an occasion to examine the effect of the fire on soil nitrification and soil erosion at The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve. Eighteen 900m² plots were established in regions chosen for their topographic location (footslope, midslope, and ridgetop), forest density, and directional slope (north vs. south facing slope). Each plot was split into nine subplots with 25 erosion …

Characterizing The Effect Of Suspended Carbon Nanotubes On The Bioavailablility Of Adsorbed Fluoranthene To P. Promelas, Erica N. Linard

All Theses

The introduction of carbon nanomaterials into the environment has increased exponentially in the last decade, causing environmental as well as health concerns. One concern is the interaction that such nanomaterials have with the biota in the aquatic ecosystem and the direct and indirect toxic effects that may result. Previous research has documented a positive influence of natural organic matter (NOM) on the stability of carbon nanotube (CNTs) suspensions in surface waters. Further, research has quantified the ability of these carbon nanomaterials to adsorb aquatic contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Though both CNTs and PAHs can co-occur in wastewater …

Antimicrobial Resistance Of Channel Catfish Intestinal Microflora In The Arkansas And Ninnescah Rivers In Kansas, Jordan R. Hofmeier

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Antimicrobial compounds have been used by humans to counteract bacterial infections since 1910. Overuse of these compounds in clinical and agricultural applications has led to rapid evolution and global spread of antimicrobial resistance and rivers are the main receiving body for antimicrobials and resistant bacteria from urban effluents and agricultural runoff. When antimicrobial-resistant bacteria enter the aquatic environment, water acts as a physical pathway for their distribution. Subsequently, resistance genes become established in natural systems and pose threats to human health and ecological processes. Due to these potential threats, antimicrobial resistance in the aquatic environment should be closely monitored. To …

Minimizing The Cost Of Competition In The Black-Crested Titmouse: Status Signaling, Dominance, And Foraging Behavior, Philip Queller

Biology Honors Theses

Status signals allow senders and receivers to minimize the costs of competition by minimizing the need for costly physical fights. While much research has focused on demonstrating that individuals respond to status signals in both breeding and non-breeding contexts, less is known about how the function of status signals may change as resource availability changes seasonally. In this thesis, I provide a basic review of status signaling in birds and report the results of an investigation on status signaling in the black-crested titmouse during different environmental conditions. The black-crested titmouse is a socially monogamous passerine that defends territories throughout the …

Moving Towards Sustainable Coastal Development In South Asia By Linking Coastal Climate Change Adaptation With Integrated Coastal Zone Management Through The Instrumentality Of Law, Tony George Puthucherril

PhD Dissertations

For long, coastal management focused on the sustainable utilization of coastal resources and avoidance and management of conflict, as well as the promotion of complementarities between users. However, with rising sea levels and other climate change impacts, coastal management has become increasingly complex. This thesis investigates the legal instruments underpinning the management of coastal zones, exploring the concept of sustainable coastal development (SCD) and the relevance of the integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) process. Specifically, the discourse analyzes how law and legal regimes play a backbone role in strengthening and supporting ICZM implementation by facilitating the linkage between ICZM and …

The End Of Sustainability, Melinda Harm Benson

Law of the Rio Chama

No abstract provided.

Managing Complex Water Resource Systems For Ecological Integrity: Evaluating Tradeoffs And Uncertainty, Ryan Richard Morrison

Law of the Rio Chama

No abstract provided.

University Of Central Florida Undergraduate Catalog, 2014 - 2015, University Of Central Florida

UCF Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Climate Change On The Potential Distribution Of 12 Endemic Lizards Of The Genus Plestiodon Of Mexico, Mayra Oyervides

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Anthropogenic global climate change is a large scale threat to biodiversity. Species distribution models (SDMs) were created to assess the possible effects of climate change on the distribution of 12 Plestiodon lizards of Mexico. Species presence data was obtained from online databases, literature, and field data. Occurrences were correlated with 19 climatic variables from www.worldclim.org to model species' current suitable habitat. These models were then projected to future (2050) conditions for which bioclimatic information was downloaded from the CCAFS website. Forecasts were made using 4 General Circulatory Models, 2 IPCC scenarios, and the software MaxEnt. Models were replicated 10 times …

The End Of Sustainability, Melinda Harm Benson, Robin Kundis Craig

Publications

No abstract provided.

Abstracts 2014: Highlights Of Student Research And Creative Endeavors, Columbus State University

Abstracts: Highlights of Student Research and Creative Endeavors

No abstract provided.

Dirty Recycling: Auto Salvage And Its Potential Impacts On Marginalized Populations, Ethan B. Dively, Nicholas C. Ferreri, Cole D. Rossiter

Student Publications

The salvage yard represents the final waypoint in the cradle-to-grave cycle of the automobile. Residual amounts of petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and acids used in automobiles can be extremely harmful to human health and the environment if not managed correctly. The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which minority populations were exposed to the hazards of the auto salvage industry. Census data for population, income, race/ethnicity, sex, and age were organized using ArcGIS software. Population demographics were analyzed in the areas surrounding 98 auto salvage yards found in Philadelphia and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia County, …

Wheels On The Bus: School Transportation As A Reflection Of Sprawl, Autumn C.E. Arthur, Natasha M. Eulberg, Kevin C. O'Malley

Student Publications

The second half of the twentieth century constituted a change in land use ideology and development practice brought about by the rise of the automobile, increasing economic upward mobility, and privatization of the family home. During this time, the districting and building of public schools similarly changed, turning schools from local community centers to regional and de-contextualized places of education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which these development practices have caused children to rely on car and bus transportation to get to and from school. Using the variable of distance within a GIS analysis …

Analysis Of Automobile Advertisements In American Magazines, Asnika Bajracharya, Lukwesa K. Morin, Kendall H. Radovich

Student Publications

The automobile is one of the most important products in American consumer culture. Throughout the history of the automobile industry in America, advertising has been an important strategy for marketing automobiles and their features to consumers on a mass scale. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how print (magazine) automobile advertisements have changed through time (1960-2013) and across different genres of magazines: general (National Geographic, New Yorker), male-oriented (Esquire), female-oriented (Cosmopolitan), and ethnic (Ebony). The trends that we examined included: numbers and proportions of car advertisements, relative numbers of domestic and foreign car advertisements, and the mix of …

All That Sprawl, Y’All: An Analysis Of Development On Steinwehr Avenue And York Street In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, From 1971 To 2014, Elizabeth K. Emmons, Kalley S. Hansel, Daly Simpson

Student Publications

The advent of the automobile transformed the American landscape in the 20th century. In conjunction with the increasing importance of the automobile, numerous post-WW II government programs such as the Interstate Highway System encouraged suburban sprawl. Towns and cities adjacent to tourist attractions, known as gateway communities, face unique problems caused by sprawl. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is an example of a gateway community as it includes the Gettysburg National Military Park. Two study sites, portions of Steinwehr Avenue and York Street, were studied to analyze the effects of sprawl in Gettysburg. The sites were analyzed using ArcGIS, data compiled from historic …

A Form In The Road: U.S. Foreign Policy And The Path Toward Globalization In The Middle East, 1945-2014, Joshua P. Brotka

History Theses

This thesis examines the history of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East since 1945. From the start of the Cold War immediately following the conclusion of WWII and up to the present day (2014), U.S. policy has been subject to many revisions and simultaneously, upheld national security measures. As the world heads toward an era where globalization is most prevalent, the United States will have to make drastic decisions regarding its foreign policy in the Middle East. Its alliance with Israel, oil interests, Islamic fundamentalism, an evolving Muslim society, and supporting a national security agenda has forced the United …

Rediscovering Nature: Tree Exercises And Psychology, Kendra Woodglass

Senior Theses

One's place in the natural world is an ancient topic of discussion. A search for connection to nature and understanding the role we humans play in the greater universe, has been prevalent in cultural, religious and spiritual beliefs for all of human existence. In the modern era, people in wealthy, developed nations are increasingly losing touch with the natural world. This lack of connection robs people of the comfort and disease preventing benefits given to us by nature. Having a connection to nature provides a specific lens through which to see the world, which can help to improve one's overall …

Comparison Of Different Methods For Estimating Log-Normal Means, Qi Tang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The log-normal distribution is a popular model in many areas, especially in biostatistics and survival analysis where the data tend to be right skewed. In our research, a total of ten different estimators of log-normal means are compared theoretically. Simulations are done using different values of parameters and sample size. As a result of comparison, ``A degree of freedom adjusted" maximum likelihood estimator and Bayesian estimator under quadratic loss are the best when using the mean square error (MSE) as a criterion. The ten estimators are applied to a real dataset, an environmental study from Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC), …

The Impact Of World Bank’S Conditionality-Ownership Hybrid On Forest Management In Cameroon: Policy Hybridity In International Dependence Development, Asongayi Venard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many developing countries depend on the World Bank for development assistance, which the Bank often provides with policy reform conditions. Resistance to World Bank’s conditionality caused the Bank to posit “ownership” as a country’s real assent to its development policies. The combination of ownership and conditionality invalidates the neocolonial, false-paradigm and dualism theses in explaining the international dependence development model. This study explains this model by investigating how the relationship between conditionality and ownership in the context of this model impacts forest management in Cameroon.

Integrating theoretical and methodological insights mainly from political science, economics, geosciences, and sociology, the study …

Understanding Selenium Distribution In Lake Mead Using A Three-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Based Water Quality Model, Xiaolu Wei

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Shallow groundwater and surface drainages in Las Vegas Wash are known to have elevated level of selenium which mainly comes from the naturally occurring geological hotspots on the southeast side of the Las Vegas Valley. Selenium fate and transport after it enters into Lake Mead from the Las Vegas Wash are not clearly understood. An open sourced three-dimensional Environmental Fluid Dynamic Code model (EFDC), developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, was used to model movement of selenium in the Boulder Basin, Lake Mead. The model was calibrated by observed data from 2006 to 2007. The concept of Lagrangian …

Spatiotemporal Analysis Of The January Northern Hemisphere Circumpolar Vortex Over The Contiguous United States, Thomas J. Ballinger, Michael J. Allen, Robert V. Rohli

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

January 2014 will be remembered for the sensationalized media usage of the term "polar vortex" which coincided with several polar air outbreaks. A United States polar vortex (USPV) perspective is presented to better understand the January spatial and temporal variability of this regional component of the Northern Hemisphere circumpolar vortex. Use of the monthly mean 5460 m isohypse to represent the location of the USPV extent and area revealed that the spatial features of the January 2014 USPV were not extreme relative to certain 1948–2013 Januaries. Furthermore, the Arctic Oscillation (AO), Pacific-North American (PNA) Pattern, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) …

Hand, Wrist, Forearm And Finger Occupational Injuries In Pork Processing: Comparison By Work-Site And Source Of Injury, Autumn Cummings

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This study looked at injury incident reports from Farmland pork processing plant in Crete, Nebraska. Over a 25-week period in 2012, 300-injury incident reports were analyzed by body part injured. After determining the upper extremities to be the major source of injury, they were then analyzed further with work-sites where injuries occurred, and the source of the injury. Fingers along with hands, wrists and forearms were found to be the majority of the body parts injured. Common among these body parts injured were the location of the incident in the plant. Most of the injuries occurred in the cold work-sites, …

The Impacts Of Environmental Education On Youth And Their Environmental Awareness, Katherine A. Grimmette

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The purpose of this article is to identify the effects of environmental education (EE) programs on youth, including: creating environmental awareness, building a connection to the environment, and changing the perceptions youth has on the environment. The study examines the EE program, Science Camp Explore, hosted at the Cedar Point Biological Station and Lake McConaughy Water Interpretive Center in Ogallala, Nebraska. The camp emphasized two main themes, soil and water. To acquire data the study called for a mixed method of questionnaires, cognitive maps (drawing exercise), and the 3CM model. In order to measure the awareness of the pre and …

Development Of A Molecular Method For Detecting The Causative Agent Of Swimmer's Itch (Trichobilharzia) In Freshwater Ecosystems, Heidi Mcmaster

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cercarial dermatitis, commonly known as swimmer's itch, is caused by penetration of larvae of the schistosome,Trichobilharzia, into the dermis and epidermis layers of the skin. Symptoms are characterized by painful swelling and itching at the site of penetration. The normal hosts for the life cycle of the schistosome are aquatic birds and aquatic snails. The most frequently used method of detection forTrichobilharziais microscopy. With increases in the occurrence of cercarial dermatitis outbreaks in freshwater in the Southwestern United States, it is becoming increasingly important to develop and standardize a molecular method for rapid detection that can assist health professionals and …

Finite Difference Modeling Of Surface-~Wave Scattering For Shallow Cavity Detection, Heston Travis Norcott

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Data collection and analysis of scattering of Rayleigh-type surface waves are investigated for locating shallowly buried cavities. Surface-based seismic experiments conducted by others at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Engineering Geophysics Test Site (EGTS) demonstrate scattering of Rayleigh waves caused by buried empty barrels (essentially air-filled cavities). The interpretation of the data is complicated by factors such as the presence of a high-velocity geologic layer just below the cavity.

This research uses a finite-difference seismic wave propagation code to compute time histories for a model that represents the Engineering Geophysics Test Site. By adding cavities to a background …

Perchloroetylene And Dibutyltin Dichloride Removal From Packed Column By Surfactant Solution, Seelawut Damrongsiri, Chantra Tongcumpou, David A. Sabatini

Applied Environmental Research

Surfactant enhanced remediation is viewed as a potential method for removing organometallic compounds from contaminated aquifers. Dibutyltin dichloride (DBT), as a representative organometallic compound, was applied in sand packed columns to observe its solubilization behavior compared to that of perchloroetylene (PCE), a normal organic solvent. Ottawa sand was used as the porous media. A mixture of DBT and PCE was applied as the contaminant. The tracer study exhibited the plug flow condition with a retention time of 79.9 min. The surfactant solution was a mixture of 3.6 wt% SDHS and 0.4 wt% C16DPDS with various concentrations of CaCl2.The column experiments …

Production Of Charcoal Briquettes From Palmyra Palm Waste In Kirimat District, Sukhothai Province, Thailand, Chanphen Chumsang, Pitak Upan

Applied Environmental Research

Palmyra palm is a significant economic crop in Kirimat District, Sukhothai Province, and generates large quantities of husks, stalks and shells as by-products and wastes, which impacts on the local environment. This study investigated (1) production of compressed charcoal briquettes from Palmyra palm husks, fruit calyx and shells, whose physical properties and thermal performance were tested and analyzed according to Thai Community Product Standard (tcps 238/2004); (2) the economic return of the production process. The results showed that 40%of shells of a mature palm fruit and 90% of the husk and fruit calyx of young palm fruit are left over. …

Development Of Gis Database For Insecticide Usage And Toxicity Among Thai Farmers In Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, Anun Chaikoolvatana, Wacharapong Saengnill, Jaruwan Wongbutdee, Nawaporn Saisingh

Applied Environmental Research

Widespread use of pesticides in Thai agriculture has led to serious adverse health impacts on users. This study developed a GIS database using the QGIS tool to investigate insecticide usage and toxicity tofarmers in Ubon RatchathaniProvince in northeastern Thailand. Primary data collection involved recording exact locations of residential houses using geographic positioning system (GPS). Secondary dataincluding transport routes, natural and environmental resources, and records of rainfall and ground temperatureswere also collected. The data were integrated asGIS mapping data. Eighteen farmers participated in the study and submitted themselves tomeasurements of cholinesterase (ChE) levels and 2 blood sample collections for comparison with …