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Frost Tolerance, Deacclimation And Reacclimation Traits In Perennial Ryegrass, Mats Höglind, Hans Martin Hanslin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The ability of perennial grasses to harden and maintain frost tolerance throughout the winter is crucial for winter survival. This includes the ability to resist deacclimation during transient mild spells in winter, and the ability to reacclimate when cold temperatures return. The latter traits are especially critical in regions with cycles of freezing and thawing, and lack of a stable, insulating snowcover that can protect the plants from extreme air temperatures. Such conditions are typical for many coastal areas in Northern Eurasia and America, such as the southwestern coast of Norway. The climate is changing and one of the consequences …

Importance Of Grassland Management For Carbon Sequestration And To Mitigate Climate Change: A Review, Poonam Yadav, Sheela Choudhary, Sunil Dutt Choudhary, Praveen Kaushik

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grasslands, including rangelands, shrub lands, pastureland, and cropland sown with pasture and fodder crops, covered approximately 3.5 billion ha in 2000, representing 26 percent of the world land area and 70 percent of the world agricultural area, and containing about 20 percent of the world’s soil carbon stocks (Ramankutty et al., 2008). All ecosystems- forested ecosystems, agro-ecosystems, grassland, ecosystems etc. take up atmospheric CO₂ and mineral nutrients and transform them into organic products In undisturbed ecosystems, the carbon balance tends to be positive: carbon uptake through photosynthesis exceeds losses from respiration, even in mature, old-growth forest ecosystems.

Improving …

Simulating The Effect Of The Climate Change, Genotypes And Management On The Productivity Of Forage Cowpea In Semi-Arid Regions Of India, Suchit K. Rai, Sunil Kumar, D. Deb

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Climate variability and change due to increase in green house gases concentration and the resultant increase in temperature has led to notable changes in different sectors including water and agriculture which would impact food security (Rai et al., 2014) in many regions of the developing world, which are largely dependent on rainfed and labor intensive agricultural production (Ziervogel and Calder, 2003). Eco-physiological models are widely used especially the potential impacts of climate change (Gitay et al., 2001; White et al., 2011). The cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is an annual herbaceous legume cultivated for its edible seeds …

Change In Migration And Pasture Utilization By Brokpa Pastoral Nomads: A Sustainable Adaptation Strategy For Climate Sensitive Arunachal Pradesh!?, Sanjit Maiti, S. K. Jha, Sanchita Garai, Vijay Paul, G. Krishnan, A. K. Bera, D. Bhattacharya, S. M. Deb

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The north-eastern states of India specially Arunachal Pradesh, one of the bio-diversity hotspot, is expected to be greatly affected by climate change. Climate change will not only adversely impact the biodiversity of Arunachal Pradesh, but also affect the livelihood of local communities as they fully dependent on the natural resources. The Monpa is a primitive tribe inhabiting parts of West Kameng and Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The pastoral nomad of the Monpa tribe is popularly known as Brokpa. Transhumance system of livestock mainly yak (Poephagus grunniens L.) rearing is their main source of livelihood. In recent past, …

Soil Microbes Trade-Off Biogeochemical Cycling For Stress Tolerance Traits In Response To Year-Round Climate Change, Maria O. Garcia, Pamela H. Templer, Patrick O. Sorensen, Rebecca Sanders-Demott, Peter M. Groffman, Jennifer M. Bhatnagar

Advanced Science Research Center

Winter air temperatures are rising faster than summer air temperatures in high-latitude forests, increasing the frequency of soil freeze/thaw events in winter. To determine how climate warming and soil freeze/thaw cycles affect soil microbial communities and the ecosystem processes they drive, we leveraged the Climate Change across Seasons Experiment (CCASE) at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in the northeastern United States, where replicate field plots receive one of three climate treatments: warming (+5°C above ambient in the growing season), warming in the growing season + winter freeze/thaw cycles (+5°C above ambient +4 freeze/thaw cycles during winter), and no treatment. Soil …

Steady Heartbeat: Field And Laboratory Studies Indicate Unexpected Resilience To High Temperatures For The Ribbed Mussel Geukensia Demissa, Ashlyn N. Smith Ms.

Honors College Theses

Salt marshes are important ecosystems found along the coast of Georgia. Salt marshes are hosts to diverse organisms that interact with each other to promote many ecosystem services, such as storm buffering and flooding, and absorption of excess nutrients. Among these diverse organisms is the ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa. Mussels are a foundation species in this intertidal landscape, and without them the whole salt marsh would be negatively affected. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the thermal stress response of G. demissa to rising temperatures. Mussels were collected from three locations that were landlocked, close to a …

Fine-Scale Climates And Evolution Alter Species Responses To Climate Change, Christopher Nadeau

Doctoral Dissertations

Predictions suggest that climate change could cause the extinction of up to a million species. However, scientists debate the accuracy of these predictions. In this dissertation, I explore whether often-ignored aspects of climate and biology alter predictions of climate change impacts. In Chapter 1, I show that studies predicting extinction risk under climate change ignore important aspects of climate by using climate data with coarse spatial and temporal resolutions. In Chapter 2, I propose that the degree to which climates vary over space and time in a region can predict the vulnerability of species to climate change. I suggest that …

'It's My Responsibility': Perspectives On Environmental Justice And Education For Sustainability Among International School Students In Singapore, Tova Wilensky

Transformations: Presentation Slides

For those of us who are the next generation to come into adulthood during an ever worsening climate crisis, it’s important to ask ourselves, “How do we as the future generation lead for a sustainable future?” This study examines how international high school students studying in Singapore prioritize environmental decision-making both in their individual lives as well as public policy advocacy. From surveys of international students, and a smaller subset of open-ended interviews, our data gives insight into their views on climate change, environmental issues, and public activism as well as what themes in their environmental education may be inadequately …

Plant Genome Size Influences Stress Tolerance Of Invasive And Native Plants Via Plasticity, Laura A. Meyerson, Petr Pyšek, Magdalena Lučanová, Sara Wigginton, Cao Tri Tran, James T. Cronin

Faculty Publications

© 2020 The Authors. Plant genome size influences the functional relationships between cellular and whole-plant physiology, but we know little about its importance to plant tolerance of environmental stressors and how it contributes to range limits and invasion success. We used native and invasive lineages of a wetland plant to provide the first experimental test of the Large Genome Constraint Hypothesis (LGCH)—that plants with large genomes are less tolerant of environmental stress and less plastic under stress gradients than plants with small genomes. We predicted that populations with larger genomes would have a lower tolerance and less plasticity to a …

Differential Responses Of Maximum Versus Median Chlorophyll-A To Air Temperature And Nutrient Loads In An Oligotrophic Lake Over 31 Years, Nicole K. Ward, Bethel G. Steele, Kathleen C. Weathers, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Holly Ewing, Paul C. Hanson, Cayelan C. Carey

All Faculty Scholarship

Globally, phytoplankton abundance is increasing in lakes as a result of climate change and land-use change. The relative importance of climate and land-use drivers has been examined primarily for mesotrophic and eutrophic lakes. However, oligotrophic lakes show different sensitivity to climate and land-use drivers than mesotrophic and eutrophic lakes, necessitating further exploration of the relative contribution of the two drivers of change to increased phytoplankton abundance. Here, we investigated how air temperature (a driver related to climate change) and nutrient load (a driver related to land-use and climate change) interact to alter water quality in oligotrophic Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire, …

The Tropical Seagrass Halophila Stipulacea: Reviewing What We Know From Its Native And Invasive Habitats, Alongside Identifying Knowledge Gaps, Gidon Winters, Sven Beer, Demian A. Willette, Inés G. Viana, Kelcie L. Chiquillo, Pedro Beca-Carretero, Betty Villamayor, Tomás Azcárate-García, Rachamim Shem-Tov, Bridget Mwabvu, Luciana Migliore, Alice Rotini, Michelle A. Oscar, Jonathan Belmaker, Inbal Gamliel, Ana Alexandre, Aschwin H. Engelen, Gabriele Procaccini, Gil Rilov

Biology Faculty Works

Halophila stipulacea is a small tropical seagrass, native to the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean. It invaded the Mediterranean Sea 150 years ago as a Lessepsian migrant, but so far has remained in insulated, small populations across this basin. Surprisingly, in 2002 it was reported in the Caribbean Sea, where within less than two decades it spread to most of the Caribbean Island nations and reaching the South American continent. Unlike its invasion of Mediterranean, in the Caribbean H. stipulacea creates large, continuous populations in many areas. Reports from the Caribbean demonstrated the invasiveness of H. stipulacea …

Habitat Suitability And Distribution Potential Of Liberibacter Species (“Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus” And “Candidatus Liberibacter Africanus”) Associated With Citrus Greening Disease, Inusa Jacob Ajene, Fathiya Khamis, Barbara Van Asch, Gerhard Pietersen, Brenda Amondi Rasowo, Sunday Ekesi, Samira Mohammed

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Aim: To quantify current and predict future distribution of the citrus greening pathogens “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus” (Las) in Africa and “Candidatus Liberibacter africanus” (Laf) globally. Location: Africa. Methods: Three species distribution models (MaxEnt, BIOCLIM and Boosted Regression Trees) were used to predict the current and future potential distribution of Las in Africa, and the potential global distribution of Laf, using long-term bioclimatic variables. Two climate change scenarios (moderate and extreme) were employed to determine how future climate alterations may affect the potential distribution of Las in Africa. Presence data from global reports of Las, as well as the new positional …

Investigating The Effects Of Sea-Level Rise And Increasing Salinity On Procambarus Lunzi Of Sapelo Island, Georgia, Samuel Long

Biology Theses

Barrier islands have great ecological and economical importance and face a threat from increasing sea-level due to climate change. Erosion of existing freshwater lens and ocean inundation could greatly change freshwater availability on the island. This could have significant impacts on freshwater crayfish like Procambarus lunzi, which are complexly intertwined into the trophic food web of the island. This study’s goal was to investigate the salinity tolerance of this crayfish on Sapelo Island, Georgia, in an attempt to predict the possible effects and response to sea-level rise by this crayfish. Crayfish were wild-caught from the island in March, June, and …

Cultivating The Next Generation Of Pasture Scientists In Australia, Sarita Jane Bennett

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Current students coming through agricultural faculties in Australian universities have grown up in an era of low wool and meat prices, the introduction and acceptance of no-till farming as the norm and a general decrease in mixed farming landscapes in favour of continuous cropping. Since the collapse of the wool reserve price scheme in 1991, wool prices declined and income on wool producing farms followed suit. R & D during this period has also declined from 5-4% agricultural GDP in 1986 to only 3% in 2005 and has favoured research related to cropping rather than that related to pastures and …

Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Analysis Of Mangrove Ecosystems Using Gis, Kayla Caldwell

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is accelerating beyond what is natural due to excessive emissions from human activities. The sea level has been rising for many years and is currently at a rate of 3.6 mm/yr. Mangroves are known to only keep pace with a sea level rate of less than 1.2 mm/yr. Mangroves are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels if they are not able to keep pace through vertical sediment accretion or inland migration. To test the vulnerability of the south Florida mangrove ecosystems to sea level rise, this study analyzed changes in the mangrove forest coverage of the Oleta River …

Cryospheric Climatology: Emerging Branch Of Cryospheric Science, Luo Yong, Qin Dahe, Zhai Panmao, Ma Lijuan, Zhou Botao, Xu Xinwu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Since the 1980s, the establishment and development of modern climate system theory have promoted the cross integration of cryospheric science and climatology, thus giving birth to a new branch of cryospheric science-cryospheric climatology. The formation and evolution of cryosphere are closely related to the earth's climate. Now it is generally recognized that cryosphere is not only the product of climate under certain conditions, but also its changes affect the weather and climate, and affect the social economy and sustainable development of human beings. Cryospheric climatology is a science that studies the interaction between cryosphere and atmosphere and its physical mechanism. …

Microbes In Cryosphere: Opportunities And Challenges, Chen Tuo, Zhang Wei, Liu Guangxiu, Li Shiweng

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The cryosphere is one of the biomes on Earth. In recent years, studies on microorganisms in cold habitats has been mainly focused on the Earth's cryosphere, including glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, lake ice, and permafrost. Most of the microbial groups harboring in cryosphere are cold-adapted microbes, many of which are still unknown. Psychrophiles are important strategy resources in the fields of scientific research and low temperature biotechnology. The cryosphere also seals many unknown ancient pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and virus to animals, plants, and human beings. The cold habitats and harsh conditions in the cryosphere shape the diverse microbial populations …

Cryospheric Chemistry: Fingerprint To Decipher Climate/Environmental Changes And Anthropogenic Activities, Kang Shichang, Huang Jie, Mu Cuicui, Zhang Yulan, Xu Jianzhong, Dong Zhiwen, Du Wentao

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Cryospheric chemistry is a new discipline and one of important branch of cryospheric science. Pollutant emissions from anthropogenic activities have greatly altered the status of chemical components in the cryospheric environment since the Industrial Revolution. When this scenario is coupled with the rapid shrinkage of cryosphere under global warming, both anthropogenic activity and global warming have cooperatively influenced the biogeochemical cycling in the cryosphere and even on a global scale, which results in significant effects on climate and environment. In this paper, firstly, the role of cryospheric chemistry in the cryospheric science is introduced, and the discipline framework and research …

Study On Climatic And Environmental Changes Recorded In Ice Cores: From Science To Policy, Yao Tandong, Qin Dahe, Wang Ninglian, Liu Yongqin, Xu Baiqing

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Ice core is an important carrier of the past climatic and environmental change information. In this paper, we firstly introduced how ice cores record past climatic and environmental changes. Then, we elaborated the achievements of ice core research in the past climate change, levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases, solar activity, volcanic eruptions, and human activities. Thirdly, the role of ice core research in promoting relevant environmental policy making was stated, such as the ban on Pb additives in gasoline and greenhouse gas emission reduction policies. And finally, it was suggested that the state should establish a National Ice Core Facility …

Using Expert Knowledge To Develop Management Actions For Tasmanian Lowland Native Grasslands Under Climate Change, Kerry L. Bridle, Louise Gilfedder, Nicholas Macgregor

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Climate change projections for Tasmania suggest that the climate in 2070 will be warmer than present, with increasingly variable seasonal rainfall (Grose et al. 2010). Results from climate change modelling suggest that grassland communities may not exist over their current range in the future (Prober et al. 2012). Lowland temperate natural grasslands have been greatly reduced in areal extent since European settlement in the early 1800s. Two ‘Lowland temperate native grassland’ communities are listed as critically endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999): Themeda triandra grasslands and Poa labillardieri grasslands. Careful landscape planning for current …

Ecological Restoration Of Common Pastures Through A Community Led Multi-Stakeholder Partnership, Giresh Mohan, Sarvashish Roy

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Kalyanpura watershed, spread over 5,175 ha area with 16 villages, is situated in the drought prone district of Bhilwara in Rajasthan. Prior to project initiation, only 27% of the area in Kalyanpura was under agriculture and the balance was mainly accounted for by village commons used for livestock grazing and fuel wood collection. Although the area receives an average annual rainfall of 700 mm, the undulating landscape, shallow soil cover and the absence of any soil moisture conservation resulted in high runoff and degraded commons. Recurring droughts and absence of irrigation facilities made farm based livelihood vulnerable to seasonality, especially …

Predicting The Influence Of Climate On Grassland Area Burned In Xilingol, China With Dynamic Simulations Of Autoregressive Distributed Lag Models, Ali Hassan Shabbir, Jiquan Zhang, James D. Johnston, Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie, James A. Lutz, Xingpeng Liu

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The influence of climate change on wildland fire has received considerable attention, but few studies have examined the potential effects of climate variability on grassland area burned within the extensive steppe land of Eurasia. We used a novel statistical approach borrowed from the social science literature—dynamic simulations of autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) models—to explore the relationship between temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, wind speed, sunlight, and carbon emissions on grassland area burned in Xilingol, a large grassland-dominated landscape of Inner Mongolia in northern China. We used an ARDL model to describe the influence of these variables on observed area burned between …

Variation In The Microbiota Associated With Daphnia Magna Across Genotypes, Populations, And Temperature, Jonas Frankel-Bricker, Michael J. Song, Maia J. Benner, Sarah Schaack

University Author Recognition Bibliography: 2020

Studies of how the microbiome varies among individuals, populations, and abiotic conditions are critical for understanding this key component of an organism’s biology and ecology. In the case of Daphnia, aquatic microcrustaceans widely used in population/community ecology and environmental science studies, understanding factors that influence microbiome shifts among individuals is useful for both basic and applied research contexts. In this study, we assess differences in the microbiome among genotypes of D. magna collected from three regions along a large latitudinal gradient (Finland, Germany, and Israel). After being reared in the lab for many years, we sought to characterize any …

Symbiont Community Diversity Is More Variable In Corals That Respond Poorly To Stress, Lauren I. Howe-Kerr, Benedicte Bachelot, Rachel M. Wright, Carly D. Kenkel, Line K. Bay, Adrienne M.S. Correa

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Coral reefs are declining globally as climate change and local water quality press environmental conditions beyond the physiological tolerances of holobionts—the collective of the host and its microbial symbionts. To assess the relationship between symbiont composition and holobiont stress tolerance, community diversity metrics were quantified for dinoflagellate endosymbionts (Family: Symbiodiniaceae) from eight Acropora millepora genets that thrived under or responded poorly to various stressors. These eight selected genets represent the upper and lower tails of the response distribution of 40 coral genets that were exposed to four stress treatments (and control conditions) in a 10-day experiment. Specifically, four ‘best performer’ …

Surface Conditions Drive Changes In Groundfish Species' Populations Along California Coast, Danielle Marie Fabian

AES Theses

Oceans display physical variability over a range of temporal and spatial scales, influencing factors such as larval dispersal, nutrient availability, species migration, and biodiversity. Such variability is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Larvae and juveniles are particularly susceptible to changes in ocean variability, and changes in the early life stages of species populations ultimately impacts the adult stages. Physical consequences stemming from climate driven variability, including a loss of key prey species and changes in depth distributions of vulnerable fish species, could ultimately impact ecosystem services and threaten human food security and fisheries. The deep sea benthopelagic groundfish …

Assessment Of The Impact Of Climate Change On Land Use In The Emirate Of Abu Dhabi - An Environmental And Socio-Economic Perspective, Latifa Saeed Al Blooshi

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the impact of climate change on land use in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi – UAE. Climate change is a significant challenge resulting from natural and anthropogenic causes. Land use can stimulate changes in communities under climate change. The main objective of this dissertation is to assess the impact of climate change from an environmental and socio-economic perspective. In 2001, coastal sabkhas, mixed class and urbanized areas experienced an increase in temperature by (0.67, 1.14 and 1.16°C) respectively. In cities, urban areas are warmer than neighbouring rural areas. Unexpectedly, urbanization in desert areas in UAE led …

The Ingredients Of Scientific Illiteracy, Marghuerite Crowell

Georgia College Student Research Events

As technology and medicine flourish in 21st century America through science, so does fear and opposition. This fear and opposition stems from the lack of an individuals understanding or education in the scientific field; simply called “Scientific Illiteracy”. Pressing issues involved with scientific illiteracy include vaccination, climate change, and evolution. Through extensive research in reading scientific papers, political pieces, statistics, and referencing other’s expertise, the culprits of this phenomenon prove to surpass just a lack of scientific education. Scientific Illiteracy forms from people’s religion, politics, core beliefs, and emotions. “Anti-vaxxers” lack of education of the chemical makeup of vaccines, prompts …

Relationship Between Rainfall And Annual Forage Biomass To Build A Forage-Balance Guarantee System In Brazilian Semiarid, Ana Clara Rodrigues Cavalcante, Rodrigo Gregório Da Silva, Magno José Duarte Cândido, Jay Peter Angerer

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Semiarid regions around the world are characterized by elevated annual evapotranspiration and irregular rainfalls (Creswell and Martin, 1998), resulting in a negative water balance in most part of the year. The high rainfall variability associated to a high pressure on natural resources generated a scenario of degradation, which is worrying for the future of many rangelands. In this sense, it is urgent to understand the processes involved in the sustainability of vulnerable ecosystems to keep them productive and profitable. Among the rural activities in the semiarid regions, the raising of livestock has been contributed to become the farms viable. To …

How Climate Impacts The Composition Of Wolf-Killed Elk In Northern Yellowstone National Park, Christopher C. Wilmers, Matthew C. Metz, Daniel R. Stahler, Michel T. Kohl, Chris Geremia, Douglas W. Smith

Ecology Center Publications

1. While the functional response of predators is commonly measured, recent work has revealed that the age and sex composition of prey killed is often a better predictor of prey population dynamics because the reproductive value of adult females is usually higher than that of males or juveniles.
2. Climate is often an important mediating factor in determining the composition of predator kills, but we currently lack a mechanistic understanding of how the multiple facets of climate interact with prey abundance and demography to influence the composition of predator kills.
3. Over 20 winters, we monitored 17 wolf packs in Yellowstone National Park …

Natural Variation And Evolutionary Responses To Climate Change Stressors In Marine Invertebrates, Joanna Sarah Griffiths

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Our rapidly changing climate is putting many species at risk of extinction and there is an urgent need to understand how species will respond to these changes. In this dissertation, I evaluate how three species of marine invertebrates (corals, oysters, and copepods) respond to stressful conditions in their current environments and how plasticity and evolutionary adaptation could alter their response to future climate change stressors. I first employed a space for time study to elucidate population differences in the response of cold-water corals, Balanophyllia elegans, to future ocean acidification. I found evidence that upwelling history (natural low pH exposure) influences …