Digital Commons Network^™

Using Soil Geospatial Properties And Environments To Explore Microbial Diversity, Sharon Faye Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soil microorganisms help maintain nutrient cycling, control carbon sequestration, impact plant productivity, and influence several soil chemical and physical properties; yet, the processes that control the microbial composition of soil and how environmental changes may affect the composition and activity of these organisms at different scales remains a difficult and intriguing puzzle for soil scientists, ecologists, and modelers. Wetlands are endangered and important ecosystems that provide several services, which are directly linked to soil function. However, few wetland assessments consider the soil environment and microbial ecology. Linking soil microbial community composition and distribution patterns to soil physio-chemical properties would provide …

Gut Microbiomes Of Sympatric Amazonian Wood-Eating Catfishes (Loricariidae) Reflect Host Identity And Little Role In Wood Digestion, Mark Mccauley, Donovan P. German, Nathan K. Lujan, Colin R. Jackson

Faculty and Student Publications

© 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Neotropical wood-eating catfishes (family Loricariidae) can occur in diverse assemblages with multiple genera and species feeding on the same woody detritus. As such, they present an intriguing system in which to examine the influence of host species identity on the vertebrate gut microbiome as well as to determine the potential role of gut bacteria in wood digestion. We characterized the gut microbiome of two co-occurring catfish genera and four species: Panaqolus albomaculatus, Panaqolus gnomus, Panaqolus nocturnus, and Panaque bathyphilus, as well as that of submerged wood …

Rapid Invasion By The Annual Grass Ventenata Dubia Into Protected-Area, Low-Elevation Sagebrush Steppe, Melissa Nicolli, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Devin S. Stucki, Matthew Shinderman

Western North American Naturalist

Wiregrass (Ventenata dubia [Leers] Coss.), an annual grass from the Mediterranean region of North Africa and Eurasia that has aggressive invasion potential in many North American plant communities, has only recently been reported in low-elevation sagebrush steppe. We first encountered wiregrass in 2014 in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, a low-elevation steppe protected area in central Oregon. This discovery was incidental to formal vegetation monitoring that was initiated in the monument in 2009. We first encountered wiregrass in monitoring plots in 2016, and, from plot data, we documented rapid spread during 2017–2019. Wiregrass infestation increased within our …

Allopatric And Sympatric Drivers Of Speciation In Alviniconcha Hydrothermal Vent Snails, Corinna Breusing, Shannon B. Johnson, Verena Tunnicliffe, David A. Clague, Robert C. Vrijenhoek, Roxanne A. Beinart

Graduate School of Oceanography Faculty Publications

Despite significant advances in our understanding of speciation in the marine environment, the mechanisms underlying evolutionary diversification in deep-sea habitats remain poorly investigated. Here, we used multigene molecular clocks and population genetic inferences to examine processes that led to the emergence of the six extant lineages of Alviniconcha snails, a key taxon inhabiting deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. We show that both allopatric divergence through historical vicariance and ecological isolation due to niche segregation contributed to speciation in this genus. The split between the two major Alviniconcha clades (separating A. boucheti and A. marisindica from A. kojimai, …

A Framework For Incorporating Benefits From Urban Forests Into Planning For Livable Cities: A Case Study Of Forest Park, Carole Hardy

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Urban forests provide an escape from the noise and chaos of cities. Other services can be overlooked and under-valued. Urban forests cool and filter the air, sequester carbon, filter water removing toxins and sediments from urban runoff, provide habitat for wildlife and improve human health and well-being. Commonly urban forests in the United States (US) lack funds for restoration and research because there is lack of understanding of the need to actively manage what are perceived as wild lands. Generally urban forests are highly disturbed and novel ecosystems that require ongoing active management to remove invasive species, replant native species …

Soil Seed Bank Of Three Populations Of Capparis Decidua (Forssk.) Edgew, Abdulaziz M. Assaeed

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Occurrence Of North American Porcupine (Erethizon Dorsatum) In The Black Hills, South Dakota, Lenora M. Dombro, Earl Perez-Foust, Daniel Roddy, Daryl E. Mergen, Robert A. Gitzen

Western North American Naturalist

During the twentieth century, the North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) was common in the Black Hills of western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming. However, the low number of recent observations in the region has led to concern that porcupine populations have declined. We conducted systematic surveys to assess porcupine occurrence at two hundred and sixty-three 1-ha sites in the Black Hills National Forest, Custer State Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and Wind Cave National Park during 2016–2017. We observed no porcupines or recent feeding sign. We also noted few recent observations in information compiled …

Branches Over Ripples: A Waterside Journal By Brian Bartlett, Jenna Butler

The Goose

Review of Brian Bartlett's Branches Over Ripples: A Waterside Journal

Pearl River Negotiation Simulation: Negotiating The Future Of Dams, Natallia Leuchanka Diessner, Catherine Ashcraft, Weiwei Mo, Cuihong Song

New Hampshire EPSCoR

The role-play included in this packet is a facilitated, multi-issue negotiation simulation for eight or nine participants about the management of five dams in the hypothetical Pearl River basin. This role-play is meant to be used in conjunction with a system dynamics model, which simulates potential environmental and economic outcomes under different dam management alternatives in the Pearl River basin. The user interface for the system dynamics model can be accessed at: https://ddc.unh.edu/dam-system-dynamics/. The science-based role-play negotiation simulation provides opportunity for discussion of complex topics surrounding human-environment interactions, use of scientific data and modeling in environmental decision-making under uncertainty, …

Mathematical Silences, Matthew Nathan Petersen

Dissertations and Theses

Previous studies have shown that mathematicians employ lengthy silences in their collaborations, contrary to the norms that govern every-day collaborations. Such results shows the relevance of an investigation of silence in mathematical collaboration. This dissertation builds off these results in a series of three papers. The first paper describes a methodology that can be employed in the investigation of silence in mathematical collaboration. The second paper analyses silence in the mathematical collaboration of students in junior-level introductory proof classes. It identifies two forms of mathematical activity, reading and ruminating, that students regularly engage in, and which violate the norms of …

Leaf Traits And Performance Vary With Plant Age And Water Availability In Artemisia Californica, Jennifer L. Funk, Julie E. Larson, Gregory Vose

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Background and aims
Leaf functional traits are strongly tied to growth strategies and ecological processes across species, but few efforts have linked intraspecific trait variation to performance across ontogenetic and environmental gradients. Plants are believed to shift towards more resource-conservative traits in stressful environments and as they age. However, uncertainty in how intraspecific trait variation aligns with plant age and performance in the context of environmental variation may limit our ability to use traits to infer ecological processes at larger scales.

Methods
We measured leaf physiological and morphological traits, canopy volume, and flowering effort for Artemisia californica (California sagebrush), a …

The Role Of Strategic Governance In Reducing Infant Mortality Under Crisis Conditions, Lynn Christine Finley

Dissertations and Theses

The infant mortality rate (IMR) in some developing countries has decreased faster than the global average even though these countries lack strong economic growth, good governance, and democracy (often acknowledged precursors to improved health outcomes). What accounts for the improvement of the IMR in the absence of these traditional pathways to health gains? Some scholars suggest that the concept of "strategic governance" might help direct attention to intermediary factors that reduce neonatal deaths in countries that experience crisis conditions. The main objective of this dissertation is to investigate the set of governance practices that have reduced IMR in two such …

Small-Bodied Fish Surveys Demonstrate Native Fish Dominance Over 300 Kilometers Of The Colorado River Through Grand Canyon, Arizona, Ron B. Kegerries, Brandon Albrecht, Mark C. Mckinstry, Ron J. Rogers, Richard A. Valdez, Adam L. Barkalow, Eliza I. Gilbert, Harrison E. Mohn, Brian Healy, Emily Omana Smith

Western North American Naturalist

The Colorado River in Grand Canyon is highly regulated, with hypolimnetic releases that are generally unfavorable for endemic native fishes. However, both long-term drought and changes in dam operations have led to changes in river conditions, including the addition of approximately 125 km of riverine environment due to the contraction of Lake Mead. Through sampling of small-bodied fish, we were able to describe the Grand Canyon fish community and define the current native fish distribution from near Bright Angel Creek downstream to Pearce Ferry. Beginning in 2014 and continuing through 2018, we sampled the fish community via seining and documented …

Safe And Effective Disinfection Of Show Cave Infrastructure In A Time Of Covid-19, Hazel A. Barton

International Journal of Speleology

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has been responsible for over 650,000 deaths worldwide. Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs primarily through airborne transmission or direct human contact, demonstrating the importance of social distancing measures and the use of face masks to prevent infection. Nonetheless, the persistence of coronavirus on surfaces means that disinfection is important to limit the possibility of contact transmission. In this paper, the potential for various surfaces in show caves to serve as sources for SARS-CoV-2 infection is examined. Given the isoelectric potential (pI) of SARS and SARS-like coronaviruses, it is likely that they are …

A Floristic Study Of The Cal Poly Swanton Pacific Ranch And A New Combination In Sanicula Crassicaulis (Apiaceae), Sanicula Crassicaulis Var. Nudicaulis, Reed J. Kenny

Master's Theses

Globally we are experiencing a biodiversity crisis and potentially a sixth mass extinction event. Plant specimens are one of the best, most concrete records of biodiversity that we can create. Despite this, the rate of plant collecting has declined steeply since World War II. Now more than ever, plant collections are vital, both for the purpose of quantifying the plant biodiversity in an area and for discovering previously unrecognized diversity.

In Chapter 1, we conducted a floristic survey of the Cal Poly Swanton Pacific Ranch. The Swanton Pacific Ranch (SPR) is located north of the small town of Davenport California, …

Advancing Ecohydrology In The 21st Century: A Convergence Of Opportunities, Andrew J. Guswa, Doerthe Tetzlaff, John S. Selker, Darryl E. Carlyle-Moses, Elizabeth W. Boyer, Michael Bruen, Carles Cayuela, Irena F. Creed, Nick Van De Giesen, Domenico Grasso, David M. Hannah, Janice E. Hudson, Sean A. Hudson, Shin'ichi Iida, Robert B. Jackson, Gabriel G. Katul, Tomo'omi Kumagai, Pilar Llorens, Flavio Lopes Ribeiro, Beate Michalzik, Kazuki Nanko, Christopher Oster, Diane E. Pataki, Catherine A. Peters, Andrea Rinaldo, Daniel Sanchez Carretero, Branimir Trifunovic, Maciej Zalewski, Marja Haagsma, Delphis F. Levia

Engineering: Faculty Publications

Nature-based solutions for water-resource challenges require advances in the science of ecohydrology. Current understanding is limited by a shortage of observations and theories that can further our capability to synthesize complex processes across scales ranging from submillimetres to tens of kilometres. Recent developments in environmental sensing, data, and modelling have the potential to drive rapid improvements in ecohydrological understanding. After briefly reviewing advances in sensor technologies, this paper highlights how improved measurements and modelling can be applied to enhance understanding of the following ecohydrological examples: interception and canopy processes, root uptake and critical zone processes, and up-scaled effects of land …

Conservation Status Of The Recently Described Ecuadorian Amazon Parrot Amazona Lilacina, Rebecca Biddle, Ivette Solis Ponce, Paul Cun, Simon Tollington, Martin Jones, Stuart Marsden, Christian Devenish, Eric Horstman, Karl S. Berg, Mark Pilgrim

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Amazona lilacina is a threatened species endemic to Ecuador, existing across a patchwork of mangroves, lowland coastal forests, agricultural and community owned land. The species was described in 2014 and listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List, however, full assessment of the population was lacking. Using a combination of field observations, roost surveys and community questionnaires, conducted over the last 20 years, we provide up-to-date information on the species’ Extent of Occurrence, estimate its global population size, and evaluate its level of threat. Our results suggest the species occurs across an area of 19,890 km2 in three distinct geographically …

Dyslexia Beyond The Word: An Ecological Study Of Specific Reading Disorder, Benjamin T. Carter

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation discusses the effects of dyslexia on reading behavior and cognition. It does so by first outlining the overall incidence of dyslexia, providing current definitions, giving a history of scientific inquiry and discussing relevant contemporary research. Thirteen different analyses are then discussed (ten a priori and three post-hoc). Individuals with dyslexia were found to have increased fixation duration, first run dwell time, total dwell time, and refixation probability. The dyslexia group was also highly sensitive to lexical predictability. Within the reading network, the BOLD response was depressed in dyslexia during reading in the following regions: the left medial and …

Laws Restricting Access To Abortion Services And Infant Mortality Risk In The United States, Roman Pabayo, Amy Ehntholt, Daniel M. Cook, Megan Reynolds, Peter Muennig, Sze Yan Liu

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objectives: Since the US Supreme Court′s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, states have enacted laws restricting access to abortion services. Previous studies suggest that restricting access to abortion is a risk factor for adverse maternal and infant health. The objective of this investigation is to study the relationship between the type and the number of state-level restrictive abortion laws and infant mortality risk. Methods: We used data on 11,972,629 infants and mothers from the US Cohort Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Files 2008–2010. State-level abortion laws included Medicaid funding restrictions, mandatory parental involvement, mandatory counseling, mandatory waiting period, and …

Ecology And Christian Education: How Sustainability Discourse And Theological Anthropology Inform Teaching Methods, Chad Rimmer

Consensus

This paper will sketch theoretical synergies between sustainability discourse and a Christian ecotheological approach to religious education, and point to pedagogical possibilities for bridging the two disciplines. Theology and natural science operate with certain anthropological assumptions. Those underlying anthropologies inform the teaching methods of environmental and religious education. Anthropologies that conceive of human being outside of ecological relationships are a root problem of our current ecological crisis. Many economic, political and social discourses colonize people from the land, particularly children, exacerbating the root causes of sustainability. This paper affirms that linking sustainability discourse and religious education is a way to …

Adaptative Strategy Of Powerful Country Of Science And Technology For Modernization Of China's Space Governance, Fan Jie

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As an important field in the construction of ecological civilization, spatial governance is a relatively weak field in China's governance system. In the past 40 years of rapid economic development, unbalanced regional development, disharmony between nature and society, and disordered spatial structure have become prominent problems. In the support of space governance, science and technology have problems such as the division of natural sciences and social sciences, the imperfect data co-construction and sharing mechanism, and the disconnection of scientific research and decision-making management, which seriously hinders the need for the modernization of governance systems. The formation of an adapting strategy …

Community Music Therapy For Marginalized Middle School Students, Karen J Mathews

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Abstract

Community Music Therapy has been a recent development in the field of Music Therapy. Community Music Therapy occurs at the intersection of traditional Music Therapy and Community Music. Community Music Therapy incorporates principles of psychology, sociology, and ecology. Studies indicate that goals of self-efficacy, voice, social justice, and group cohesion are well met through the use of Community Music Therapy. This paper explores a project using Community Music Therapy with a group of self-selected middle school students in addressing concerns and emotions around equity, diversity, and inclusion. The results of this project demonstrated that Community Music Therapy is an …

Human And Ecological Responses To The Northern White River Ash Eruption, Holly A. Smith

Anthropology

The White River Ash northern lobe (WRAn) volcanic eruption deposited a blanket of tephra (volcanic ash) along the Yukon-Alaska border ~1625 cal BP (calibrated years before present). Currently, there has been limited investigation into the effect of this natural disaster on the environment and local hunter-gatherer populations. This research seeks to analyze and explore the potential ecological and cultural responses to the WRAn event. To address this question, paired archaeological and palynological studies bracketing the WRAn were conducted. Excavations at the Forty Mile/Ch'ëdä Dëk Territorial Historic Site in the Yukon (LcVn-2) revealed a multicomponent site including cultural deposits dating to …

Science, Perception And Scale: An Interdisciplinary Analysis Of Environmental Change And Community Adaptive Capaciy, Jesse E. Grunblatt

Biological Sciences

The discrepancy between science-based assessments of climate change and public acknowledgement of climate change has been extensively documented at a national level. The relationship of science-based assessments and public awareness of environmental change at the local community level is less studied. An understanding of how science-based information informs local perception is important to ensure that science communication effectively supports community decision making. This dissertation explores the gap between science-based assessments and local perception of environmental change within a framework of adaptive capacity. The research is divided into three interrelated studies that provide: 1) an assessment of community perception of local …

Diet And Movement Of Depredating Male Sperm Whales (Physeter Macrocephalus) In The Gulf Of Alaska, Lauren A. Wild

Fisheries

Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) remove fish from commercial fishing gear in high latitude foraging grounds. This behavior, known as depredation, occurs in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) sablefish longline fishery and has increased in frequency and severity since the mid-1990s. Sperm whale foraging ecology and movements in the GOA are poorly understood but are important considerations to how depredation impacts fishery resources and whale behavior. The goals of this dissertation were to use stable isotope analysis to evaluate trophic connections between sperm whales and their prey, estimate the proportional contribution of various prey items to sperm whale diets, and use …

Alaska's Shrinking Glaciers: Integrated Glaciological Research For Hydrological, Ecological, And Environmental Education Applications, Joanna Young

Geosciences

As air temperatures in Alaska are rising, glacier melt is accelerating and affecting hydrological resources and downstream ecosystem function. The extent to which glacier loss may change hydrological regimes in coastal climates, and how that may impact nearshore marine conditions, is uncertain. Moreover, from a social-ecological standpoint, many citizens today are disconnected from these types of environmental changes, in part due to isolation from visible climate change impacts. This dissertation addresses the dual need for examining recent Alaska glacier changes and resulting hydrological and marine impacts, and for exploring education strategies that leverage glacier changes for environmental identity development. In …

A Comprehensive Look At The Benefits Of Traditional Ecological Knowledge Of Native American Indigenous Communities For Fire Management Practices In Northern California, Christopher Mishima

Master's Projects and Capstones

Wildfires are currently ravaging California, destroying the land and the livelihood of many vulnerable communities. This research explores the value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) as a tool to aid in the fight against wildfires. Revitalization of Native American culture and traditional practices, such as prescribed burns, can transform current fire management practices. This research examined the connections among three aspects of fire management: Native American TEK, non-native ecological field studies and modelling, and current government fire policies and management practices. Through primary interviews and case studies, this research found that the Native American communities in the West have a …

Variability Among Later Stone Age Hunter-Gatherers, Mica Jones

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The hunting and gathering way of life is the most enduring and resilient in human history. However, the ways that a wild food-based subsistence system affects people’s social and economic organization are often oversimplified and variability is poorly understood. In general, there’s been a tendency, particularly among non-Anthropologists, to assume that hunter-gatherer societies are static and that historic groups represent an earlier, simpler way of life. This is particularly true in Africa, where small, highly mobile groups are common ethnographically. However, dramatic rainfall fluctuations over the last ~30,000 years significantly altered resources available to hunter-gatherers in diverse environments of northern …

Photographic Validation Of Target Versus Nontarget Take Of Brown Treesnake Baits, Shane R. Siers, Aaron B. Shiels, Cynthia G. Payne, Francinem M. Chlarson, Craig S. Clark, Stephen M. Mosher

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Use of toxic baits or other tools for managing nuisance species must ensure that the species of interest is adequately targeted while exposure to nontarget species is minimized. Nontarget takes of acetaminophen‐laced baits for control of invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) on Guam may put those animals at risk of lethal intoxication and render the bait unavailable to the intended target species. We used wildlife cameras to identify species removing toxic and nontoxic baits from brown treesnake bait stations designed to exclude nontarget taxa in 2015 and 2016. Throughout various sites and habitat types, and balanced by season (wet vs. …

Public Perspectives And Media Reporting Of Wolf Reintroduction In Colorado, Rebecca Niemiec, Richard E.W. Berl, Mireille Gonzalez, Tara Teel, Cassiopeia Camara, Matthew Collins, Jonathan Salerno, Kevin Crooks, Courtney Schultz, Stewart Breck, Dana Hoag

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In the state of Colorado, a citizen ballot initiative to reintroduce gray wolves (Canis lupus) is eliciting polarization and conflict among multiple stakeholder and interest groups. Given this complex social landscape, we examined the social context surrounding wolf reintroduction in Colorado as of 2019. We used an online survey of 734 Coloradans representative in terms of age and gender, and we sampled from different regions across the state, to examine public beliefs and attitudes related to wolf reintroduction and various wolf management options. We also conducted a content analysis of media coverage on potential wolf reintroduction in 10 major daily …