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Evaluating And Prioritizing Stream Restoration In Mined Appalachian Watersheds., Eric Mitchell Miller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The state of West Virginia requires stream mitigation to offset anthropogenic impacts to streams; consequently there is a high concentration of mitigation projects in the mountaintop mining/valley fill region. Projects are typically outside mine boundaries and sites are selected at the discretion of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. This dissertation evaluated current in-stream, natural channel design (NCD) structures and prioritized future project locations. First, we assessed the Little Coal River, which is one of the largest physical restoration projects in the state. The Little Coal drains 994 km2 with extensive historic and contemporary coal mining. The objectives of …

Wolf-Cougar Co-Occurrence In The Central Canadian Rocky Mountains, Ellen Brandell

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Cougars and wolves are top carnivores that influence the dynamics of an ecosystem, including prey behavior and dynamics, and interspecific competition. Studies about the interactions between wolves and cougars typically find wolves are dominant competitors to cougars. We examined single-species, single-season occupancy models and co-occurrence models of wolves and cougars in the Central Canadian Rocky Mountains to understand interactions between these two species on a grand landscape. Data was collected from 2012-2013 using remote wildlife cameras and separated into seasons. Naïve occupancy estimates were larger for wolves in both seasons, but both species had smaller ranges in winter. There were …

Three Essays On Public Organizations, Changgeun Yun

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Organizations play key roles in modern societies. The importance of organizations for a society requires an understanding of organizations. In order to fully understand public organizations, it is necessary to recognize how organizational settings affect subjects of organizations and organizing. Although public and private organizations interrelate with each other, the two types are not identical. In this dissertation, I attempt to describe public organizations in their own setting by discussing three important topics in public organization theory: (1) innovation adoption in the public sector; (2) representative bureaucracy; and (3) decline and death of public organizations.

In Chapter II, I scrutinize …

Changes In Carbon Pools Influenced By Changes In Soil Texture, Slope, And Aspect A Decade Following Wildfire In Black Spruce Forests Of Interior Alaska, Gregory Houle

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Topography and parent material (PM) texture control site drainage owing to changes in water holding capacity, infiltration, and insolation. In turn, these factors also affect fire regime. However, the interactive effects of site physiography, edaphic controls, and wildfire severity on ecosystem carbon accrual after wildfire are poorly understood. Throughout the summer of 2004 an area the size of Massachusetts burned in interior Alaska, and several studies were initiated to investigate the controls on organic layer consumption. In this study we re-sampled organic layer depths, below ground carbon stocks, and site revegetation from 38 burned black spruce sites from the 2004 …

Diagenetic Incorporation Of Sr Into Aragonitic Bivalve Shells: Implications For Chronostratigraphic And Palaeoenvironmental Interpretations, Maria C. Marcano, Tracy D. Frank, Samuel B. Mukasa, Kyger C. Lohmann, Marco Taviani

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Aragonite is easily altered during diagenesis, therefore presumed pristine when present. In effect, beyond polymorphic transformation to calcite, alteration paths of aragonite remain poorly understood despite heavy reliance on such material to produce palaeoenvironmental and chronostratigraphic interpretations. Previous work on core material from Southern McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, showed that unlike their calcitic counterparts, seemingly unaltered aragonite shell fragments invariably produced older than expected ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ages. In this study, we pursued additional analyses of these aragonite shells and of the porewater of the core to understand this discrepancy. Aragonite mineralogy was reconfirmed and elemental mapping of shell fragments …

Growth Rates And Variances Of Unexploited Wolf Populations In Dynamic Equilibria, L. David Mech, John Fieberg

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Several states have begun harvesting gray wolves (Canis lupus), and these states and various European countries are closely monitoring their wolf populations. To provide appropriate perspective for determining unusual or extreme fluctuations in their managed wolf populations, we analyzed natural, longterm, wolf-population-density trajectories totaling 130 years of data from 3 areas: Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior, Michigan, USA; the east-central Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota, USA; and Denali National Park, Alaska, USA. Ratios between minimum and maximum annual sizes for 2 mainland populations (n = 28 and 46 yr) varied from 2.5–2.8, whereas for …

Group Composition Effects On Aggressive Interpack Interactions Of Gray Wolves In Yellowstone National Park, Kira A. Cassidy, Daniel R. Macnulty, Daniel R. Stahler, Douglas W. Smith, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Knowledge of characteristics that promote group success during intraspecific encounters is key to understanding the adaptive advantages of sociality for many group-living species. In addition, some individuals in a group may be more likely than others to influence intergroup conflicts, a relatively neglected idea in research on social animals. Here we use observations of aggressive interactions between wolf (Canis lupus) packs over an extended period and use pack characteristics to determine which groups had an advantage over their opponents. During 16 years of observation in Yellowstone National Park from 1995 to 2010, we documented 121 interpack aggressive interactions. We recorded …

Optimizing Data Management With Disparities In Data Value, G. Shankaranarayanan, Adir Even, Paul D. Berger

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

When there is a disparity in the value of different data records and fields, there is a need for an optimization of data resources. Not all data necessarily contribute the same value. It depends on the usage of the data, as well as a variety of other factors. This paper presents models for optimizing data management in the presence of a disparity between the values contributed by different data. We expound on what disparity of data value represents and illustrate models to derive a numerical measure of such disparity. We then use real-world data from a large data resource used …

Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure And Toxicosis In Coyotes (Canis Latrans) In The Denver Metropolitan Area, Sharon A. Poessel, Stewart W. Breck, Karen A. Fox, Eric M. Gese

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Anticoagulant rodenticides are widely used in urban areas to control rodent pests and are responsible for secondary poisoning in many nontarget wildlife species. We tested the livers of five coyotes (Canis latrans) in the Denver Metropolitan Area, Colorado, US, for anticoagulant rodenticides. All five livers were positive for brodifacoum, with values ranging from 95 ppb to 320 ppb, and one liver was positive for bromadiolone, with a value of 885 ppb. Both of these rodenticides are second-generation anticoagulants, which are more potent and more likely to cause secondary poisoning than first-generation anticoagulants due to their accumulation and persistence …

A Coffee Berry Borer (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) Bibliography, Jeanneth Pérez, Francisco Infante, Fernando E. Vega

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

Native to Africa, the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), has gradually invaded most coffee-growing areas worldwide. Adult females colonize the coffee berry and oviposit within galleries in the coffee seeds. Larvae and adults consume the seeds, resulting in drastic reductions in yields and quality, negatively affecting the income of approximately 20 million coffee-growing families (~100 million people) in ~80 countries, with losses surpassing more than $500 million annually (Vega et al. 2015).

It has become evident that the coffee berry borer scientific community could greatly benefit from having access to a bibliography of the literature related …

Assessing Gull Abundance And Food Availability In Urban Parking Lots, Dan Clark, Jillian J. Whitney, Kenneth G. Mackenzie, Kiana K. G. Koenen, Stephen Destefano

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Feeding birds is a common activity throughout the world; yet, little is known about the extent of feeding gulls in urban areas. We monitored 8 parking lots in central Massachusetts, USA, during the fall and winter of 2011 to 2013 in 4 monitoring sessions to document the number of gulls present, the frequency of human–gull feeding interactions, and the effectiveness of signage and direct interaction in reducing human-provisioned food. Parking lots were divided between “education” and “no-education” lots. In education lots, we erected signs about problems caused when people feed birds and also asked people to stop feeding birds. We …

Quantifying Seabird Influence On Recovering Island Ecosystems, Stephanie Kong

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Species that compose island ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to extinctions. In New Zealand alone, since human settlement began around 1285AD, 41% of bird species have been driven to extinction. Seabirds play an important role on land and in terrestrial, intertidal and subtidal zones by subsidizing island ecosystems with guano. Additionally, burrow-nesting seabirds churn up the soil by digging the burrows in which they nest, resulting in significant soil disturbance, also called biopedturbation. Unfortunately, invasion of exotic species is among the leading causes of native species extinctions and consequent transformation of ecosystem function globally. One of the most damaging and widespread …

It's A Small World: Biogeography And Invasion In The Mouse Intestine, Ellen Lark

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Host associated systems are of particular interest to many microbiologists because invasion of these systems can lead to disease. One important host-associated systems is the intestinal microbiome, but in many studies, including those on pathogenesis, this system is represented by samples from one location (generally the feces or cecum). This body of work was initiated in part because I wondered why a large and diverse ecosystem was being was being represented by samples from only one habitat.

The biogeography of living organisms has an impact on landscape ecology studies, including those in the field of invasion ecology. Despite several studies …

Creating A Foundation For The Causal Relationship Between Libraries And Learning: A Proposed Application Of Nursing And Public Health Research Methods, Marcia A. Mardis, Sylvia K. Norton, Gail K. Dickinson, Shana Pribesh, Allison Cline, Sue Kimmel, Jody Howard

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Thomas Cook, a renowned causal research expert and professor of sociology, psychology, education, and social policy at Northwestern University (USA), called for school library researchers to parallel causality determination efforts in health-related fields. In this paper, we respond to Dr. Cook’s challenge with a proposed research design centered on Mixed Research Synthesis (MRS) as part of process validated by the U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation’s Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development. MRS studies, often used in nursing and public health research to develop causal theories, enable researchers to develop evidence summaries; identify and adjudicate rival and …

Testing For Isolation In Florida Raccoons (Procyon Lotor) Using Phylogenetics And Population Genetic Structure, Alexa Trujillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Molecular data are useful in determining if populations are isolated and for species delimitation. Researchers and managers currently recognize five subspecies of raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Florida, based largely on perceived geographic isolation due to the island ranges of four subspecies. In this study, I provide the first estimate of phylogenetic relationships and population divergences within Florida raccoons using a molecular dataset. I analyze the mitochondrial control region, cytochrome b gene, and eight nuclear microsatellite loci to test two hypotheses: 1) the five, morphologically and geographically-defined subspecies of raccoon in Florida represent genetically distinct populations and (2) due to differing …

Does The Journey Matter More Than The Destination? The Contribution Of Geospatial And Local Conditions To Invasive Pomacea Maculata Distribution Across Ranchland Wetlands, Steffan Pierre

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Geospatial characteristics such as isolation and avenues of connectivity influence an invader's pattern of dispersal and distribution. However many examinations of invasion success ignore the contribution of dispersal to patterns of invasion and focus only on the local environmental/habitat factors. This study examines the interaction of geospatial characteristics, that may influence dispersal, and local environmental factors, that may govern successful occupation, on the likelihood of invasion (invasability) of wetlands within an agriculturally modified landscape. I examined the current invasion of seasonal wetlands in south-central Florida ranchland by non-native apple snails (Pomacea maculata (Ampullariidae)) as a model system for understanding this …

The Influence Of Diet Composition, Plant Defensive Chemicals, And Winter Severity On The Nutritional Condition Of A Freeranging, Generalist Herbivore, Grace L. Parikh

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Herbivory requires animals to manage intake of toxic phytochemicals. Detoxification and excretion of these chemicals prevents toxicity, but is energetically expensive. I investigated the relationship between investment in detoxification and nutritional condition for moose on Isle Royale National Park (Alces alces) during winter, using urinary indices from urine samples collected in snow. The ratio of urinary urea nitrogen:creatinine is an indicator of nutritional condition, and the ratio of glucuronic acid:creatinine is an indicator of investment in detoxification. Nutritional condition declined with greater investment in detoxification. An alternative means of managing defensive chemical intake is to diversify the diet. Microhistological …

Restoration Of Headwater And Coastal Fens In The Lake Superior Basin Of Upper Michigan, James A. Bess

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

In 2009, research projects were initiated at Michigan Technological University to develop restoration techniques for headwater fens and coastal wetlands in the southern Lake Superior Basin in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The primary focus of these was to quantify the efficacy of using locally collected seeds as a technique for wetland restoration. Two primary sites were selected, the Sleeper Lake Fen complex in Luce County and the Portage Waterway-Keweenaw Bay region of Lake Superior in Baraga and Houghton Counties. At the Sleeper Lake site, a combination of heavy machinery, seeding and mulch application was used to restore a 1.6 km ditch …

Trade Liberalization And Trade Performance Of Environmental Goods: Evidence From Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Members, Qi He, Hong Fang, Miao Wang, Bo Peng

Economics Faculty Research and Publications

In this article, we study the impact of trade liberalization, including reductions in both tariff and nontariff trade barriers, on environmental goods (EGs) exports. Using bilateral trade data from 20 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation members, we find that tariff reduction in an exporting country has a larger positive impact on its exports of EGs than tariff reduction in an importing country. Our results also show that a lower nontariff barrier in an importing country increases its imports of EGs. A considerable amount of heterogeneity also exists in subsample results based on countries’ income levels.

A Comparison Of Whole Body Mercury Concentrations Of Mummichogs (Fundulus Heteroclitus) And Atlantic Silversides (Menidia Menidia), Daniel P. Ferons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few studies have focused on mercury cycling within salt marsh estuaries. Mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) and Atlantic silversides (Menidia menidia) are two species of forage fish that live year round in South Carolina salt marshes. During high tide, mummichogs feed from the water column, sediment, and off of smooth cordgrass while Atlantic silversides prey upon zooplankton. In this study, total and methyl mercury within mummichogs and Atlantic silversides from Dunn Sound, SC were quantified and compared over four seasons throughout 2014. Gut contents were also quantified and compared to determine if there was a dietary impact on the concentrations of total …

Three Studies On Cardiovascular Health: Modifiable Risk Factors And Health Expenditures In Medicare, Kristal Jo Aaron

All ETDs from UAB

This dissertation comprises a series of studies conducted on modifiable risk factors as they contribute to cardiovascular health and disease and their associated health service expenditures and utilization. Specific topics in this compilation include (1) exploring the role of dietary sodium and potassium intake in cardiovascular health and disease; (2) examination of direct health expenditures in the Medicare-linked REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort as associated with Life’s Simple 7 (LS7), a composite measure of cardiovascular health defined by the American Heart Association (AHA) that is based on seven modifiable risk factors (blood pressure, blood cholesterol, …

County-Level Homicide In The United States: An Analysis From A Social Disorganization Perspective, Julien Grayer

All ETDs from UAB

The United States has the highest rates of homicide among industrialized nations. The analysis of variations in the homicide rate lends itself to interpretation through various theoretical frameworks, one of which is social disorganization. Social disorganization is commonly used as a means to discuss crime in the context of neighborhoods and communities. The argument of social disorganization is that criminal activity is curbed by collective efficacy. That collective efficacy is affected by structural variables such as poverty, residential stability, and heterogeneity. The question then became whether social disorganization could be utilized for county-level analysis. The results showed that social disorganization …

The Effects Of Inter-Age Class Competition On Habitat Use In A Territorial Lizard, David Michael Delaney

All ETDs from UAB

All organisms have specific habitat requirements that allow them to properly function in the environment. However, optimal habitats often differ across age classes, and accordingly, juveniles shift habitat choice as they age. Field observations of the brown anole lizard (Anolis sagrei) suggest that juveniles perch in open-canopy areas on low vegetation whereas adults reside in forest edges on higher vegetation. I hypothesized that this age-specific habitat variation is because adults force juveniles to less preferred habitat. To address these issues, I conducted a series of experiments to examine the role of inter-age class competition in driving variation in perch use …

Studying Cellular And Molecular Interaction With Two-Photon Fluorescence Microscopy, Arifur Rahaman

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Advances in microscopy and fluorescent probes provide new insight into studying cellular and molecular interactions. Two-photon fluorescence microscopy is one of the most important recent inventions in cellular and molecular study. This technology enables noninvasive study at cellular and molecular levels in three dimensions with submicrometer resolution. Two-photon excitation of fluorophores results from the simultaneous absorption of two photons. This excitation process has a number of unique advantages, such as reduced specimen photodamage and enhanced penetration depth. In this study, we used our two-photon microscope to observe predatorial behavior of fast moving bacterivorous marine organism Cafeteria roenbergensis and quantify Mycobacterium …

Human-Managed Vs. Natural Grazing Systems: Exploring Effects Of Livestock And Wildlife Grazing At Multiple Scales, Megan Esther Mcsherry

Dissertations - ALL

Grazing by large herbivores is the most prevalent land use on grassland ecosystems, which cover greater than 40% of the earth's land surface and provide critical ecological and economic benefits. As such, understanding how grazing impacts different aspects of the ecosystem is of especially great importance. This study uses a range of approaches to explore the potentially contrasting effects of grazing across human-managed, livestock-grazed systems and natural, wildlife-grazed systems. The first chapter uses a short-term, small-scale approach in assessing differences across management type in plant community composition following a relaxation of grazing. Results reveal that livestock and wildlife grazers may …

Ecological Understanding Through Transdisciplinary Art And Participatory Biology, Brandon Ballengée

Other Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business Theses

In this study evidence is presented that suggests transdisciplinary art practices and participatory biology programs may successfully increase public understanding of ecological phenomenon. As today’s environmental issues are often complex and large-scale, finding effective strategies that encourage public awareness and stewardship are paramount for long-term conservation of species and ecosystems. Although artists and biologists tend to stay confined to their professional boundaries, and their discourses largely remain inaccessible to larger audiences, arguments here are presented for a combined approach, which may disseminate knowledge about ecology to non-specialists through novel art-science participatory research and exhibitions. Moreover, historically several scientists utilized varied …

The Mismanagement Of Limulus Polyphemus In Long Island Sound, U.S.A.: What Are The Characteristics Of A Population In Decline?, Mark Beekey, Jennifer Mattei

Biology Faculty Publications

Over the past 15 years, horseshoe crabs in Connecticut have gone from being considered a nuisance species to a species of Greatest Conservation Need in 2015. This has happened through first, its discovery as an economically important species, second through research of its ecological role in coastal estuaries, and third, through education of the public concerning its role in the environment and their own health. To manage horseshoe crab populations successfully requires long term monitoring, research and education. The use of annual or biannual trawl data trends to assess the success of management decisions is limited due to the high …

Consequences Of Vine Infestation: Linking Abiotic Influences And Biotic Interactions To Successional And Structural Changes In Coastal Communities, Spencer N. Bissett

Theses and Dissertations

Located at the interfaces of terrestrial and marine environments, coastal habitats are inherently vulnerable to the effects of global change. Barrier island systems in particular serve not only as protective buffers against storm events, but also as sentinel ecosystems for observation of the impacts of sea level rise, and of increasing storm frequency and intensity. In the mid-Atlantic region, shrub thickets of Morella species compose the dominant forest community. The often monospecific nature of these plant community assemblages is advantageous to ecological studies and cross-scale applications; the relatively low diversity facilitates transitions between scales. My objective was to investigate the …

A First Overview Of The Fauna Of Chloropidae Of Iran (Diptera, Acalyptratae), Zeinab Bazyar, Abu Fazel Dousti, Michael Von Tschirnhaus, Majid Fallahzadeh

Turkish Journal of Zoology

We present recent findings of Chloropidae in Iran and a first list of the Iranian species of this family. It includes 20 genera and 50 species (39 identified to species level), recorded up until 2014. Some European distribution records not included in Fauna Europaea are added. The courtship behavior of Polyodaspis sulcicollis is described for the first time.

Parasites Within Parasites: Transmission And Evolution Of Neorickettsia In Digeneans, Stephen Edward Greiman

Theses and Dissertations

Digeneans are endoparasitic flatworms with complex life cycles that involve two or more different animals as definitive and intermediate hosts. Some digenean species harbor bacterial endosymbionts belonging to the genus Neorickettsia (Order: Rickettsiales, Family: Anaplasmataceae). Neorickettsia occur in all life cycle stages of digeneans and are maintained by vertical transmission. Far from benign however, Neorickettsia may also be transmitted horizontally by digenean parasites to their vertebrate definitive hosts. Once inside, Neorickettsia can infect macrophages and other cell types. For some vertebrate species (e.g. dogs, horses and humans), neorickettsial infections cause severe disease. With a few exceptions, studies of Neorickettsia have …