Digital Commons Network^™

Tradeoffs Between Three Forest Ecosystem Services Across The State Of New Hampshire, Usa: Timber, Carbon, And Albedo, David A. Lutz, Elizabeth A. Burakowski, Mackenzie B. Murphy, Mark E. Borsuk, Rebecca M. Niemiec, Richard B. Howarth

All Materials

Forests are more frequently being managed to store and sequester carbon for the purposes of climate change mitigation. Generally, this practice involves long-term conservation of intact mature forests and/or reductions in the frequency and intensity of timber harvests. However, incorporating the influence of forest surface albedo often suggests that long rotation lengths may not always be optimal in mitigating climate change in forests characterized by frequent snowfall. To address this, we investigated trade-offs between three ecosystem services: carbon storage, albedo-related radiative forcing, and timber provisioning. We calculated optimal rotation length at 498 diverse Forest Inventory and Analysis forest sites in …

Nutritional Effects On Reproductive Performance Of Captiveadult Female Coyotes (Canis Latrans), Eric M. Gese, Beth M. Roberts, Frederick F. Knowlton

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Interactions between animals and their environment are fundamental to ecological research. Field studies of coyote (Canis latrans) reproductive performance suggest mean litter size changes in response to prey abundance. However, this relationship has been assessed primarily by using carcasses collected from trappers. The objective of this study was to assess whether nutritional manipulation prior to mating affected reproduction in adult female coyotes. We examined the effects of caloric restriction during the 7 months prior to estrus on the reproductive rates of 11 captive female coyotes and the subsequent initial survival of pups through two reproductive cycles. This was …

Limited Transmission Of Emergent H7n9 Influenza A Virus In A Simulated Live Animal Market: Do Chickens Pose The Principal Transmission Threat?, Angela Bosco-Lauth, Richard A. Bowen, J. Jeffrey Root

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Emergent H7N9 influenza A virus has caused multiple public health and financial hardships. While some epidemiological studies have recognized infected chickens as an important bridge for human infections, the generality of this observation, the minimum infectious dose, and the shedding potential of chickens have received conflicting results. We experimentally tested the ability of domestic chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) to transmit H7N9 to co-housed chickens and to several other animal species in an experimental live animal market. Results indicated that an infected chicken failed to initiate viral shedding of H7N9 to naIve co-housed chickens. The infected chicken did, however, …

Geospatial Approaches To Support Pelagic Conservation Planning And Adaptive Management, L. M. Wedding, Sara M. Maxwell, D. Hyrenbach, D. C. Dunn, J. J. Roberts, D. Briscoe, E. Hines, P. N. Halpin

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Place-based management in the open ocean faces unique challenges in delineating boundaries around temporally and spatially dynamic systems that span broad geographic scales and multiple management jurisdictions, especially in the 'high seas'. Geospatial technologies are critical for the successful design of pelagic conservation areas, because they provide information on the spatially and temporally dynamic oceanographic features responsible for driving species distribution and abundance in the open ocean, the movements of protected species, and the spatial patterns of distribution of potential threats. Nevertheless, there are major challenges to implementing these geospatial approaches in the open ocean. This Theme Section seeks to …

A Study Of The Application Of A Bring Your Own Device Strategy In An Elementary School, Carol Louise Scholz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Numerous studies have been published on the efficacy of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) at the U.S. secondary and postsecondary school levels to increase student access to technology. However, there is a lack of data on the efficacy of a BYOD AUP to increase elementary student technology access. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to determine if a BYOD AUP at the U.S. K-5 level would increase students' access to technology as necessitated by the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This study was grounded in social transmission and transformative theories. …

Sociodemographic Differences In Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Impact: A Systematic Review, Alexandra Nichole Montano

Public Health Theses

IMPORTANCE: The majority of literature related to disparities in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has been focused on sociodemographic differences in vaccine uptake. Now nearly ten years after the introduction of the vaccine, and with a better understanding of disparities in uptake, a small but growing body of evidence is beginning to examine the impacts of the vaccination campaign. Monitoring disparities in the impact of the vaccine is crucial in order to better understand the full implications of the vaccine and to properly guide future programs and recommendations.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature on the impact of the human papillomavirus …

The Role Of Folate In The Association Between Perinatal Air Pollution Exposure And Birth Outcomes In Lanzhou, China, Rebecca Ann Wong

Public Health Theses

Background: China’s rapid economic and industrial development over the past few decades has been accompanied by tremendous increases in air pollutant emissions and come at a serious cost to the environment and public health. Recent research has revealed an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes associated with perinatal air pollution exposure. Although the mechanisms by which air pollutants contribute to adverse birth outcomes have not yet been established, folate intake has been shown to counteract several of the hypothesized biological pathways.

Hypothesis: Dietary folate intake and folic acid supplementation modify the association between perinatal air pollution exposure (PM10, NO2, SO2) …

The Effect Of Union Status On Injury Risk And Severity In A Manufacturing Cohort, Khaled Abdulrahman Altassan

Public Health Theses

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of union status on risk of injury among a cohort of aluminum manufacturing workers.

Methods: This cohort study included all hourly employees at 19 U.S. plants, which were in operation between 2000 and 2007. Workers were classified into unionized and non-unionized groups. The final dataset combined a human resources database, which includes information about job history and socio-demographic information, and an incident management system, which includes information on work-related injuries. Injuries were classified by severity into four mutually exclusive categories: injuries requiring first aid, medical treatment, work restriction, and lost work time. …

Modern Foraminiferal Assemblages Of The Denmark Strait, Laura Larocca

Dissertations and Theses

Foraminifera occupy a geological range from the early Cambrian to the present day. Their well preserved shells, high relative abundance, and short response time to changing environmental conditions make foraminifera ideal proxies for environmental change. Benthic foraminifera are a valuable but poorly understood paleobiological proxy for the reconstruction of environmental conditions on continental shelves occupied by arctic and subarctic waters. This study identifies, examines, and quantifies calcareous benthic foraminiferal faunas from a sediment core taken from the Denmark Strait. Our analysis of three-thousand individuals from ten discrete samples aim to provide a better understanding of the modern patterns of foraminiferal …

Integration Of Multispectral Camera Systems For Enhanced Visualization Biological Studies Using Uas, Subin Shahukhal

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to enhance visualization of warm-blooded animals and analyze the vegetation in which they are located using a camera system mounted on Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The results are coherently displayed in a single image at the same spatial location so that biologists will have accurate animal counts along with vegetation conditions. Application of aerial imagery has been used to analyze the vegetation health and determining the number of the animals by the wildlife service. However, a major obstacle of the research is to combine the two imaging systems to obtain the same spatial image …

Purpose And Satisfaction Of Activities In Rural Communities Using Ecological Momentary Assessment, Jennifer Lauren Wong

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Individuals’ wellbeing have been investigated through one of two primary perspectives, hedonic or eudaimonic. The hedonic perspective has focused on studying happiness and considers individuals’ maximization of their pleasurable moments as the pathway to happiness (Henderson & Knight, 2012). The eudaimonic perspective suggests that people should live a life of virtue and that actualizing their potential is the pathway to wellbeing (Henderson & Knight, 2012). Both perspectives have used retrospective recall to investigate individuals’ wellbeing. This method has given researchers a better understanding of individuals’ overall wellbeing, but is unable to describe their wellbeing as it varies throughout the day. …

An Assessment Of The Populations Of Sylvilagus Brasiliensis Andinus In Páramos With Different Vegetation Structures In The Northeastern Andes Of Ecuador, Juanita García, Esteban Suárez, Galo Zapata-Ríos

Neotropical Biodiversity

For the first time in Ecuador, a defecation rate is calculated from three captured páramo rabbit Sylvilagus brasiliensis andinus individuals. Combining this defecation rate, the pellet count method, and Novaro et al.'s (1992) hare density equation, páramo rabbit densities were calculated in four páramo localities with different vegetation structures. A correlation was found between the páramos' vegetation diversity and páramo rabbit densities. This study shows that pellet counting is an economical and non-invasive method that permits the estimation of páramo rabbit abundances in páramo ecosystems. Páramo rabbit abundances may serve as a tool to measure the effects of human activity …

Transforming The Aquatic Urban Landscape: Nutrient Status And Management Of Stormwater Basins, Lindsay Skovira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization is a largely irreversible anthropogenic change that degrades environmental quality, including aquatic ecosystems. Stormwater ponds are a popular best management practice (BMP) to mitigate the effects of urban land use on downstream water bodies and contribute significantly to the total area of aquatic ecosystems in some urban watersheds. My research investigated the distribution of stormwater ponds and examined how different urban land uses influenced biophysicochemical conditions and management of those ponds in a rapidly developing suburban watershed in the Econlockhatchee River basin in Florida, USA. I evaluated limnological and ecological parameters in randomly-selected ponds distributed among three urban land-use …

Trade-Offs Between Three Forest Ecosystem Services Across The State Of New Hampshire, Usa: Timber, Carbon, And Albedo, David A. Lutz, Elizabeth A. Burakowski, Mackenzie B. Murphy, Mark E. Borsuk

Dartmouth Scholarship

Forests are more frequently being managed to store and sequester carbon for the purposes of climate change mitigation. Generally, this practice involves long-term conservation of intact mature forests and/or reductions in the frequency and intensity of timber harvests. However, incorporating the influence of forest surface albedo often suggests that long rotation lengths may not always be optimal in mitigating climate change in forests characterized by frequent snowfall. To address this, we investigated trade-offs between three ecosystem services: carbon storage, albedo-related radiative forcing, and timber provisioning. We calculated optimal rotation length at 498 diverse Forest Inventory and Analysis forest sites in …

Contributions On The Spider Families Nesticidae And Pholcidae (Araneae) From Argentina, Victor Manuel Torres, Paolo Luciano Pardo, Andrea Ximena Gonzalez-Reyes, Sandra Monica Rodriguez-Artigas, Jose Corronca

Turkish Journal of Zoology

A new species of Nesticus Thorell, 1869, N. Salta sp. Nov., and a new species of Guaranita Huber, 2000, G. Dobby sp. Nov., are described from the Chaco Serrano ecoregion of Salta Province (Argentina). The female of G. Yaculica Huber, 2000 is described for the first time, and the known distribution of G. Munda (Gertsch, 1982) is enlarged to Jujuy Province, northern Argentina.

From Seed To Sky: Impacts Of Explosive Compounds On Vegetation Across Spatial And Developmental Scales, Stephen M. Via

Theses and Dissertations

Explosive compounds are broadly distributed across the globe as a result of nearly two centuries of munitions use in warfare and military activities. Two explosive compounds have seen disproportionate use; RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine) and TNT (2-methyl- 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene), being the most commonly found explosives in the environment. The effects of explosives on biota have been studied in great detail; however, there is a general lack of understanding with regard to broader ecological impacts of these contaminants. My dissertation objective was to follow the impacts of explosive compounds on vegetation across scales. Impacts on vegetation at the species scale alter community composition via …

Niche Differentiation Among Malagasy Carnivorans : An Analysis Of Evolution In A Spatiotemporally Isolated Carnivoran Clade (Eupleridae : Carnivora), Michael C. Taylor

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

To occupy an ecological niche, a carnivoran species must possess the necessary morphotype to consistently capture and process resources. In theory, two species would inevitably compete with one another if they occupied the same niche. Carnivoran diversity is related to niche differentiation, which can be facilitated spatially, temporally, or morphologically. Differences in diet preference and prey preference among carnivorans are effectively indicated by variations in craniodental morphology. Eupleridae is the sole carnivoran lineage in Madagascar and many of its species coexist in its eastern lowland rainforests and other ecoregions. This study described, in detail, the craniodental morphology of eight euplerid …

A Study Of Boundary Spanning : Pastors' Perceptions Of Their Role As Boundary Spanners In The Elca, Rachel Carrie Berry

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This project examined pastors' roles as boundary spanners regarding information received from the synodical expression in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Twenty-six pastors from the Northern Illinois Synod of the ELCA were interviewed and transcriptions were analyzed using the constant comparative method of inductive analysis. Two research questions were posed to explore boundary spanning from a pastor's perspective. The results echoed the literature on boundary spanning responsibilities and challenges, expanding the boundary spanning research field into the realm of religious organizations and leadership. Implications of this research and further areas of study are provided.

An Examination Of Plant Community Composition In Six Carolina Bays On The Coastal Plain Of South Carolina, Katherine L. Altman-Goff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically high rates of human impact and recent Supreme Court cases, which have affected the regulation of geographically isolated wetlands in the United States, suggest that Carolina bays may be at high risk of human impacts in the future. Conservation efforts should be established based on applied ecological data and, if regulations by state and federal agencies are unable to conserve Carolina bay wetlands, it may be important to prioritize individual bays for preservation on protected lands. I examined plant community composition, diversity, richness, and rarity and soil parameters in six Carolina bays across South Carolina, using a replicated ecological …

Ghost Bears: The Plight Of The North Cascades Grizzly Bear, Adam Bowler

Seattle Journal of Environmental Law

No abstract provided.

Why Black Homeowners Are More Likely To Be Caribbean-American Than African-American In New York: A Theory Of How Early West Indian Migrants Broke Racial Cartels In Housing, Eleanor Marie Brown

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Why are the black brownstone owners in Harlem and Brooklyn disproportionately West Indian? The landlords, West Indian-American? The tenants African-American? These are tough questions. For students of housing discrimination, West Indian Americans have long presented a quandary. If it is reasonable to assume that racial exclusions are being consistently applied to persons who are dark-skinned, one would expect to find that housing discrimination has had similar effects on West Indian-Americans and African-Americans. Yet this is not the case: West Indian-Americans generally own and rent higher quality housing than African-Americans.

Moreover, these advantages began long ago. For example, when racial covenants, …

Variability In Antibacterial Chemical Defenses In Caribbean Sponges Of The Genus Aplysina, Savannah Stockton

Honors Theses

Coral reefs represent one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth, providing habitat for at least 25% of all marine species. Coral ecosystems are faced with many stressors, both physical and biological, that are causing their continuing decline. Understanding the impacts of these stressors, and the resilience of coral reefs, is important to the long-term survival of these critical ecosystems. As a major constituent of marine communities, sponges are an important phylum contributing to the ecology of coral reefs. Like other components of coral reef habitats, sponges also face a wide variety of biological stressors including pathogens, predators, and competitors. …

Special Topic: Wildlife And Wing Energy: Are They Compatible? Introduction, Michael Hutchins, Bruce D. Leopold

Human–Wildlife Interactions

No abstract provided.

Diet Of The Endangered Big-Headed Turtle Platysternon Megacephalum, Yik-Hei Sung, Billy C.H. Hau, Nancy E. Karraker

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

Populations of the big-headed turtle Platysternon megacephalum are declining at unprecedented rates across most of its distribution in Southeast Asia owing to unsustainable harvest for pet, food, and Chinese medicine markets. Research on Asian freshwater turtles becomes more challenging as populations decline and basic ecological information is needed to inform conservation efforts. We examined fecal samples collected from P. megacephalum in five streams in Hong Kong to quantify the diet, and we compared the germination success of ingested and uningested seeds. Fruits, primarily of Machilus spp., were most frequently consumed, followed by insects, plant matter, crabs and mollusks. The niche …

Methods For Measuring Individually Experienced Temperature And Food Intake In Controlled Thermal Environments, Molly Bernhard

All ETDs from UAB

The three studies to be presented assess individual-level heat exposure in free-living urban and rural environments and assess food intake in randomized controlled trials in a 2-hour exposure, and a 7-hour crossover heat exposure. The first interest was broad: examining heat exposure and its relation to potential health outcomes. To examine whether heat exposure could be measured in free-living organisms, a light and temperature monitoring device was repurposed and used in a pilot study of individual-level heat exposure in urban and rural community members. Differences between the current and most commonly accepted way of estimating heat exposure, weather station datasets, …

Rural Hos[Ital Closure In Alabama - Post Aca, Dennis Otto Mccay

All ETDs from UAB

RURAL HOSPITAL CLOSURES IN ALABAMA: POST ACA DENNIS O. MCCAY HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION ABSTRACT Rural hospitals differ from their urban counterparts with regard to two main areas. First, rural hospital patients are usually older, of lower income, and less healthy than those in urban areas. Second, their facilities tend to be smaller, older, and more prone to staff shortages than those in an urban environment. Rural hospitals have been closing at higher rates than their urban counterparts for a number of years, but more so since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The objective of this research …

Exploring The Relationship Between Childhood Obesity And Proximity To The Coast: A Rural/Urban Perspective, Sophie L. Wood, Philippe R. Demougin, Sahran Higgins, Kerryn Husk, Benedict W. Wheeler, Mathew White

Peninsula Medical School

Abstract Childhood obesity is one of the 21st century's most serious global health challenges. Research suggests that better access to ‘greenspace’ (e.g. parks) may encourage physical activity and reduce the risk of obesity amongst children. We extend earlier work by considering childhood obesity in relation to proximity to the coast, using data from England's National Child Measurement Programme. Results suggest that although the overall prevalence of childhood obesity is slightly lower at the coast (−0.68% points comparing <1 km to >20 km, p<0.001), the relationship depends on area type. Specifically, although a coastal proximity gradient (lower obesity rates nearer the coast) was found for rural areas and smaller cities and towns, it was not present among large urban conurbations (interaction p-value<0.001). Coastal environments and access to them are changing in many areas, and research to explore potential impacts on child health is warranted.

Marine Ecoregion And Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Affect Recruitment And Population Structure Of A Salt Marsh Snail, Steven C. Pennings, Scott Zengel, Jacob Oehrig, Merryl Alber, T. Dale Bishop, Donald R. Deis, Donna Devlin, A. Randall Hughes, John J. Hutchens, Jr., Whitney M. Kiehn, Caroline R. Mcfarlin, Clay L. Montague, Sean P. Powers, C. Edward Proffitt, Nicholle Rutherford, Camille L. Stagg, Keith Walters

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Marine species with planktonic larvae often have high spatial and temporal variation in recruitment that leads to subsequent variation in the ecology of benthic adults. Using a combination of published and unpublished data, we compared the population structure of the salt marsh snail, Littoraria irrorata, between the South Atlantic Bight and the Gulf Coast of the United States to infer geographic differences in recruitment and to test the hypothesis that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill led to widespread recruitment failure of L. irrorata in Louisiana in 2010. Size-frequency distributions in both ecoregions were bimodal, with troughs in the distributions consistent …

Metagenomic Signatures Of Bacterial Adaptation To Life In The Phyllosphere Of A Salt-Secreting Desert Tree, Omri M. Finkel, Tom O. Delmont, Anton F. Post, Shimshon Belkin

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

The leaves of Tamarix aphylla, a globally distributed, salt-secreting desert tree, are dotted with alkaline droplets of high salinity. To successfully inhabit these organic carbon-rich droplets, bacteria need to be adapted to multiple stress factors, including high salinity, high alkalinity, high UV radiation, and periodic desiccation. To identify genes that are important for survival in this harsh habitat, microbial community DNA was extracted from the leaf surfaces of 10 Tamarix aphylla trees along a 350-km longitudinal gradient. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing, contig assembly, and binning yielded 17 genome bins, six of which were >80% complete. These genomic bins, representing three phyla …

Alcohol Outlet Density And Intimate Partner Violence In A Nonmetropolitan College Town: Accounting For Neighborhood Characteristics And Alcohol Outlet Types, Aleksandra J. Snowden

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

There is a growing evidence of an ecological association between alcohol outlet density and intimate partner violence. It is reasonable to assume, however, that not all types of alcohol outlets contribute equally to criminal behavior, and to date, most ecological studies have been of large urban cities. Using Bloomington, Indiana, block groups as units of analysis and controlling for several structural characteristics associated with violence rates, I estimated spatially lagged regression models to determine if the variation in alcohol outlet density, including total outlets and disaggregating by on- and off-premise outlets, is related to intimate partner violence density. Results suggested …