Digital Commons Network^™

What If The Key To Climate Change Is Hiding Under The Sea?, Shira Feder

Capstones

“We know more about outer space than we do the ocean,” says Vicki Ferrini, a research scientist at Columbia University with over 20 ocean expeditions under her belt. And as the woman leading Seabed 2030, the charge to map the world’s oceans—which are 85% unexplored—she knows how vital this is to combat climate change and exactly how she’s going to do it. Read it here: https://medium.com/@shira.feder/what-if-the-key-to-climate-change-is-hiding-under-the-sea-4503565c33a2

The Rockaway Project - Townes, Diara Jepris D. Townes

Capstones

The Rockaway Project is a story-driven website that provides information on the government response to Superstorm Sandy recovery on the Rockaway peninsula in Queens, New York. Dozens of climate resiliency projects have been delayed or remain unfinished, despite millions of dollars in funding and six years of promises. The website hosts audio, visual and digital content, gathered through interviews and data collection.

Link to capstone project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAq2BeR4bS0&t=1s

The Ecophysiology Of Photosynthetic Heat Tolerances In Tropical Plants, Timothy More Perez

Open Access Dissertations

Temperature governs several biological processes from molecular to macroecological scales. Underlying many ecological processes is the assumption that fitness is constrained by the physiological limits of species’ metabolic function. The thermal limits of metabolic function, termed thermal tolerances, are often assumed to directly translate into the environmental conditions that define species’ abiotic thermal niches. When species exceed their physiological thermal tolerances, it is expected to negatively impact fitness, and may therefore provide a basis for understanding the environmental constraints on species distributions. Given the rising temperatures caused by climate change, heat tolerances are of particular interest for understanding these constraints. …

Future Climate Change Will Have A Positive Effect On Populus Davidiana In China, Jie Li, Guan Liu, Qi Lu, Yanru Zhang, Guoqing Li, Sheng Du

Aspen Bibliography

Since climate change significantly affects global biodiversity, a reasonable assessment of the vulnerability of species in response to climate change is crucial for conservation. Most existing methods estimate the impact of climate change on the vulnerability of species by projecting the change of a species’ distribution range. This single-component evaluation ignores the impact of other components on vulnerability. In this study, Populus davidiana (David’s aspen), a tree species widely used in afforestation projects, was selected as the research subject under four future climate change scenarios (representative concentration pathway (RCP)2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5). Exposure components of range change as well …

Summer Dormancy And Survival Of Tall Fescue In Relation To Endophyte Presence, J. L. Thomas, Charles P. West, D. P. Malinowski

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

True summer dormancy in temperate perennial grasses is the ability to survive summer stresses by ceasing growth and senescing vegetative tissues independently of water supply, as opposed to summer-active grasses, which respond to rains by continuing growth, but senesce during droughts (Volaire and Norton 2006). Summer dormancy is a common drought-escape mechanism for Mediterranean-origin perennial grasses, but is also being considered as a potentially useful trait in semiarid to humid zones whose climates are not strictly Mediterranean, but where temperate grass survival is threatened by summer heat and water deficits (Malinowski et al. 2005). Moreover, summer dormancy may provide …

Watching Grass Grow: How Soil Moisture Affects Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizae And Growth In Little Bluestem, Laura M. Jones

Honors Scholar Theses

Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) are an ancient mutualism in which soil-dwelling fungi enhance plant absorption of phosphorus and nitrogen in exchange for photosynthates. VAM are sensitive to changes in soil moisture and nutrient content, fluctuating between mutualism and parasitism depending on conditions of drought stress and nutrient deficiency. Understanding how VAM respond to precipitation changes is crucial for both conservation and agricultural purposes. To test how soil moisture changes the effects of VAM colonization and growth in little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), a common prairie grass, I planted 300 seeds in a greenhouse in sterilized soil and soil inoculated with …

Parks, Recreation, And Opportunities: A Case Study Of East Bay Regional Park District's Climate Change Mitigation And Adaptation Strategies, Brett Walsh

Experience Industry Management

In the face of a global climate emergency, community parks & recreation and land management agencies are beginning to adopt a critical role in the fight against climate change. This study gathered information on efforts around the world and created a case study guide to examine the climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies of East Bay Regional Park District in the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. The study was conducted in hopes of shedding light on how small agencies can be proactive and contribute to larger efforts, creating greater regional impacts.

Modeling Lake Temperature Response To Climate Change In The Alaskan Arctic, Thomas Balkcom

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This thesis study focuses on simulating lake temperature and ice duration for four lakes at the Arctic Long-Term Ecological Research site, near the Toolik Field Station in Alaska. Model projections were driven by the representative global climate model outputs under different carbon emission scenarios. Results show that my simple lake model can reproduce historical lake temperature and ice duration observations, indicating the reliability of the model for future projections. Model projections show that JuneSeptember lake temperatures would increase by 4.3-5.8 °C from the historical period with most progressive carbon emission scenarios, but by 0.7-2.2 °C in the conservative scenarios. Results …

Climate Change And Big Business: The Endless Cycle, Angela Steele

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Climate change, as it stands, is a large topic. As it relates to business, it grows exponentially, yet relates to every single one of us. Before the nineteenth century, climate cycles were mostly naturally occurring. Unfortunately, in recent years anthropogenic (human) causes have been introduced. The largest problem is carbon dioxide, which is produced from numerous human activities but largely from the burning of fossil fuels, and leads to massive warming effects on our planet. That’s where business comes in: companies, such as those within the agriculture, fossil fuel, and sunscreen industries, seek multi-million dollar profits off of the warming …

Changes In The Diet And Body Size Of A Small Herbivorous Mammal (Hispid Cotton Rat, Sigmodon Hispidus) Following The Late Pleistocene Megafauna Extinction, Catalina P. Tomé, Emma A. Elliott Smith, S. Kathleen Lyons, Seth D. Newsome, Felisa A. Smith

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The catastrophic loss of large-bodied mammals during the terminal Pleistocene likely led to cascading effects within communities. While the extinction of the top consumers probably expanded the resources available to survivors of all body sizes, little work has focused on the responses of the smallest mammals. Here, we use a detailed fossil record from the southwestern United States to examine the response of the hispid cotton rat Sigmodon hispidus to biodiversity loss and climatic change over the late Quaternary. In particular, we focus on changes in diet and body size. We characterize diet through carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen …

Habitat Use Of The Climate-Sensitive Snowshoe Hare (Lepus Americanus) In The Manistee National Forest In Michigan’S Lower Peninsula, Spencer D. West

Masters Theses

Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) are a wide-ranging lagomorph that are important forest herbivores and a popular game species throughout their range. Across the southern boundary of their geographic range, snowshoe hares are experiencing population declines and possible extirpation due to increased predation pressure driven by climate change induced camouflage mismatch, competition for forage, degraded and fragmented habitat. One method of reversing the negative trends in snowshoe hare distribution is to increase and improve available hare habitat. A specific habitat analysis for local regions will most effectively advise managers how to target habitat management. I radio-collared 11 snowshoe hares in the …

Working With Environmental Economists, Annika Marie Rieger, Joerg Rieger

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Awareness of environmental degradation, culminating in the broad global transformations of human-caused climate change, is no longer a peripheral issue. And while there may be some debate of climate change, a simple denial is no longer an option in light of the data and the agreement of 97 per cent of scientists. In light of the sheer magnitude of the challenge, which has the potential to threaten human survival, much of what we know must be rethought, including traditional academic disciplines. In this essay, an environmental sociologist and a theologian enter into a conversation with environmental economists and others concerned …

Australian Grasslands Research At The Crossroads, Alan Robson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Grasslands research in Australia is at a crossroad. There are several difficulties. First, the decline of sheep production and dairying within Australia and increased cropping has focused attention on crop research rather than pasture research. Second, enrolments in agricultural and related education have declined, and graduate numbers are insufficient to meet demand for expertise. Third, there has been a move towards specialisation in research and there are relatively few generalist agricultural scientists able to integrate research results into agricultural ecosystems. There remain very many challenges. Adapting grassland production to minimize the emission of carbon dioxide and methane is a major …

Managing Grassland Systems In A Changing Climate: The Search For Practical Solutions, Jean-François Soussana, Luis Gustavo Barioni, Tamara Ben Ari, Rich Conant, Pierre Gerber, Petr Havlik, Alexandre Ickowicz, Mark Howden

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

By the end of the XXI^st century, a global temperature rise between 1.5 and 4°C compared to 1980-1999 and CO₂ concentrations in the range 550-900 ppm are expected, together with an increased frequency of extreme climatic events (heat waves, droughts, and heavy rain) that is likely to negatively affect grassland production and livestock systems in a number of world regions. Grassland management has a large potential to mitigate livestock greenhouse gas emissions at a low (or even negative) cost, by combining a moderate intensification, the restoration of degraded pastures and the development of silvo-pastoral systems. Climate change vulnerability …

Drew, Lala, Erika Chadbourne, Kate Brezak

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

LaLa Drew is a Black, queer, Georgia born, Maine native. Drew was raised in Gray, Maine with their adoptive family. Drew is a writer, poet, activist, performer, artist, teacher, and inspirational catalyst for change. Much of Drew’s community engagement focuses on raising awareness about the black identity and embodiment. They teach an after-school program in Lewiston, Maine where they help students learn about climate change, capitalism, and racism. Drew is also known for their work as a writer. Their work has been published in Ms. Magazine, The Maine Sunday Telegram, The Deepwater Column, and the Portland Phoenix. They write about …

Evaluating Climate Change Impacts On Drinking Water Reservoirs And Wastewater System Resilience In Connecticut, U.S.A., Cristina Mullin

Doctoral Dissertations

Societies depend on the proper functioning and resilience of critical infrastructure systems including those for drinking water and wastewater, but these systems are vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic stressors. For example, wastewater systems are especially susceptible to extreme weather events while drinking water systems are vulnerable to diminished source water quality — both of which can disrupt proper functioning. Climate change and human development, economic problems, and pollution further challenge water system resilience. Despite the criticality of these systems and known vulnerabilities, little scholarship exists that aims to interrogate their resilience. This dissertation attempts to narrow this gap in the …

The Effects Of Seasonal Variations, El Niño-Southern Oscillation, And Climate Change On The Tuna-Dolphin Association, Caitlynn Birch, Michael D. Scott, Zhi-Yong Yin, Lisa T. Ballance

Theses

Tuna and dolphins swim together in the waters of the eastern tropical Pacific, and this association has long benefitted tuna fishermen and intrigued scientists. Although the tuna-dolphin association is often referred to as a “mystery,” much is known about the association. Yellowfin tuna are primarily caught with spotted dolphins and, to a lesser extent, spinner dolphins; historically the spotted dolphin has borne the brunt of the bycatch mortality. The tuna-dolphin association is thought to be a product of the distinct oceanography of the ETP: a shallow mixed layer, a thick oxygen minimum zone, and warm surface waters. As the mixed …

Climate Change And Human Rights: Shaping The Narrative For Reflexive Responses From Civilization’S Leadership To Counter And Abate Climate Change And Enhance The Role Of Human Rights In The Rule Of Law, Michael Donlan

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article offers a bold new legal process for enhancing and upgrading the rule of law to enable civilization to cope with and counter the mounting damage and injustice caused by climate change. Climate change, once an unimaginable threat, is now a brutal, ubiquitous game changer that is leading inexorably to the demise of all humanity. Only by enhancing the rule of law and melding international law with domestic law can civilization fashion a coherent, global action plan for survival.

For almost three centuries greenhouse gases have been emitted around the world by the burning of fossil fuel, and—most alarming—these …

Effects Of Changed Asian Water Tower On Tibetan Plateau Ecosystem: A Review, Di Yangping, Zhang Yangjian, Zeng Hui, Tang Ze

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As the "water tower" of Asia, the Tibetan Plateau provides basic water resources for the regional ecosystems. Among the variety of water resources, natural precipitation is most relevant to ecosystems, and temperature also affects soil moisture availability by regulating evapotranspiration, thus affecting ecosystem process. From the aspects of community composition and structure, vegetation phenology, coverage and productivity, and water conservation function by ecosystems, this paper reviewed the series of impacts caused by changed water resources on the Tibetan Plateau ecosystems in recent years, and the underlying mechanism was further revealed. The shifted water conditions led to changes in community coverage, …

Climate Resilient Concrete Structures In Marine Environment Of Bangladesh, Sudarshan Srinivasan, Ian Gibb

International Conference on Durability of Concrete Structures

Bangladesh has a vast coastal infrastructure seriously affected by climate change and associated extreme environmental conditions. The rural construction sector in Bangladesh will be undergoing rapid growth in the next 10 years through rural infrastructure development programmes funded by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED in Bangladesh), owns the rural concrete infrastructure, maintains around 380, 000 linear metres of concrete bridges or culverts in the rural coastal areas and are planning to build more than 200,000 linear metres during the next ten years. In order to design and construct durable concrete structures …

Epidemic Spruce Beetle Outbreak Changes Drivers Of Engelmann Spruce Regeneration, Jessika M. Pettit, Julia I. Burton, R. Justin Derose, James N. Long, Steve L. Voelker

Ecology Center Publications

Climate‐mediated disturbances outside the range of historical variability can have severe consequences on vital, post‐disturbance regeneration processes. High‐elevation forests of the Rocky Mountains that are dominated by Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) are expected to be sensitive to climate change. Additionally, these forests have experienced recent epidemic spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreaks that have often resulted in >95% mortality of overstory Engelmann spruce. Therefore, the future distribution of Engelmann spruce forests depends largely on natural regeneration processes. We examined Engelmann spruce seedlings across gradients in soil moisture and stand structural …

Human Foraging Responses To Climate Change; Here Sorot Entapa Rockshelter On Kisar Island, Hendri A. F. Kaharudin, Mahirta Mahirta, Shimona Kealy, Stuart Hawkins, Clara Boulanger, Sue O’Connor

Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia

This study explores prehistoric human subsistence adaptations within the context of changing marine and terrestrial environments on the tiny Island of Kisar, beginning during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition around 15,000 years ago (ka). We use zooarchaeological data on faunal remains (vertebrates and invertebrates) recovered from Here Sorot Entapa rockshelter (HSE) in temporal relationship to climate data from Flores to document prehistoric human responses to regional sea-level, temperature, and associated habitat changes that occurred after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Human settlement intensity peaked during the colder drier conditions of the Bølling-Allerød period at 14.4-13 ka, and the site was abandoned during …

Degradation Of The Green Spaces Influence In The Heart Of Cities, Michael Pondělíček

UBT International Conference

Greenery inside cities is integral part of their urban area, which affects citizens and life in cities in essential way, supports quality of the city and especially its public space. Today greenery is integral and expected part of a complex, which we call "urbanity". In our geographical latitudes, conditions for beneficial effects of greenery are good so far, and it was possible to maintain the greenery without too high costs and with huge effect for urban area. In present time with growing influence of climate change on internal municipal environment occurs also increase of influence of a greenery on stability …

The European Union Perspective On Cultural Heritage And Climate Change Issues, Maria Kenig-Witkowska

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

The paper examines the European Union perspective on the cultural heritage and climate change issues. It starts with drawing up the international law approach to the subject. Whereas the studies on impact of climate change on human environment have become fundamental research in various fields of science, the international community has not yet carried on any serious discussion on the issue of the protection of the cultural heritage in this context. In the first part of this paper the cultural heritage and climate change issues will be discussed from two perspectives - the 1972 World Heritage Convention, and the 1992 …

Gardner-Webb Senior Interns With U.S. Embassy In Mali From Her Home In Shelby, N.C., Office Of University Communications

Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

Gardner-Webb University senior Grace Love is completing a sixth-month internship with the U.S. Embassy in Mali without leaving her home in Shelby, N.C. Through the Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) internship program coordinated by the U.S. Department of State, she is working with an assistant general service officer. Receiving instructions by email and phone, Love has updated a welcome book for families of embassy personnel and reformatted another book for the Marines and USAID (United States Agency for International Development) personnel who are currently in Mali.

Multi‐Scale Integration Of Tree Recruitment And Range Dynamics In A Changing Climate, Paige E. Copenhaver-Parry, Charles J. W. Carroll, Patrick H. Martin, Matthew V. Talluto

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Aim: The rate and magnitude of climate‐induced tree range shifts may be influenced by range‐wide variation in recruitment, which acts as a bottleneck in tree range dynamics. Here, we compare range predictions made using standard species distribution models (SDMs) and an integrated metamodelling approach that assimilates data on adult occurrence, seedling recruitment dynamics, and seedling survival under both current and future climate, and evaluate the degree to which information provided by seedling data can improve predictions of range dynamics.

Location: The interior west region of the United States.

Time period: 1990–2015.

Major taxa studied: Five widespread conifer tree species.

Methods: …

Phenotypically Plastic Responses To Predation Risk Are Temperature Dependent, Thomas M. Luhring, Janna M. Vavra, Clayton E. Cressler, John Delong

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Predicting how organisms respond to climate change requires that we understand the temperature dependence of fitness in relevant ecological contexts (e.g., with or without predation risk). Predation risk often induces changes to life history traits that are themselves temperature dependent. We explore how perceived predation risk and temperature interact to determine fitness (indicated by the intrinsic rate of increase, r) through changes to its underlying components (net reproductive rate, generation time, and survival) in Daphnia magna. We exposed Daphnia to predation cues from dragonfly naiads early, late, or throughout their ontogeny. Predation risk increased r differentially across temperatures …

Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge To Understand And Adapt To Climate And Biodiversity Change On The Pacific Coast Of North America, V. R. De Echeverria, Thomas F. Thornton

Faculty, Staff, and Students

We investigate the perceptions and impacts of climate change on 11 Indigenous communities in Northern British Columbia and Southeast Alaska. This coastal region constitutes an extremely dynamic and resilient social-ecological system where Indigenous Peoples have been adjusting to changing climate and biodiversity for millennia. The region is a bellwether for biodiversity changes in coastal, forest, and montane environments that link the arctic to more southerly latitudes on the Pacific coast. Ninety-six Elders and resource users were interviewed to record Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and observations regarding weather, landscape, and resource changes, especially as concerns what we term Cultural Keystone Indicator …

Blue Economy And Climate Change: Bangladesh Perspective, Subrata Sarker, Firdaus Ara Hussain, Mohammad Assaduzzaman, Pierre Failler

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Blue Economy is related to economic growth through the sustainable utilization of ocean resources with technological inputs to improve livelihoods. Economically important coastal and marine resources are the main components of the Blue Economy for Bangladesh. These resources are categorized into living, non-living, renewable resources and trade and commerce. As Bangladesh is vulnerable to climate change, related extreme events are making the coastal and marine resources vulnerable which may hamper the smooth Blue Economy development in Bangladesh. Climate change extreme events include warming trend, cyclone, sea level rise, droughts, erosion, tidal surge, saline water intrusion, flood, change in precipitation trend …

Combining Ecological Niche Modeling With Genetic Lineage Information To Predict Potential Distribution Of Mikania Micrantha Kunth In South And Southeast Asia Under Predicted Climate Change, Achyut Kumar Banerjee, Abhishek Mukherjee, Wuxia Guo, Wei Lun Ng, Yelin Huang

Journal Articles

Ecological niche models (ENM), an effective tool to predict the potential distribution of invasive species, are often built on assumptions of niche conservatism between native and invasive ranges and genetic uniformity of the invasive population. In this study, we have incorporated genetic information with ENM to generate projected distribution of the invasive species Mikania micrantha for which two genetic clusters were identified in South and Southeast Asia. Climatic niches were compared between native and invasive ranges, as well as between invasive ranges of two lineages by using multivariate and univariate analyses. Ecological niche models were built with MaxEnt, using occurrence …