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Center For Grassland Studies, Volume 23, Issue 2, Summer 2017

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

2017 Nebraska Grazing Conference

Grazing Livestock Systems Internship

2017 Fall Seminar Series & Leu Lecture

PGA Golf Management Club Officers Selected for 2017-2018

Workshop … The Changing Face of Engagement: Reaching the 21st Century Forest and Rangeland Client

Congratulations, Graduates!

CGS Alumni Updates

2017 Nike Golf Camp

Kudos to PGAM Faculty and Staff

Frank L. and Mary Bruning Honored with First Annual Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition Lifetime Achievement Award

Roadside Vegetation in Nebraska

Katie Cumming—Grazing Livestock Systems Graduate Research Assistant

An Update on Prairies in the Sky: Green Roofs

Spring Creek Prairie’s Outdoor Dinner Fundraiser

UNL Alum Qualifies for 99th …

The Interacting Roles Of Climate, Soils, And Plant Production On Soil Microbial Communities At A Continental Scale, M. P. Waldrop, J. M. Holloway, D. B. Smith, M. B. Goldhaber, Rebecca E. Drenovsky, K. M. Scow, R. Dick, D. Howard, B. Wylie, J. B. Grace

2017 Faculty Bibliography

Soil microbial communities control critical ecosystem processes such as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and soil organic matter formation. Continental scale patterns in the composition and functioning of microbial communities are related to climatic, biotic, and edaphic factors such as temperature and precipitation, plant community composition, and soil carbon, nitrogen, and pH. Although these relationships have been well explored individually, the examination of the factors that may act directly on microbial communities vs. those that may act indirectly through other ecosystem properties has not been well developed. To further such understanding, we utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate a set of …

Response To Drought Of A Stream Fish Assemblage In A High Elevation Stream In The Intermountain West, Richard M. Simkins

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most influential disturbances for stream fish assemblages is large-scale declines in flow caused by periods of drought. Although stream characteristics are known to influence the response of stream fishes to drought, we asked if ecological traits of stream fishes determine, in part, their population level response to drought. To test for ecological trait-based responses to drought in a stream fish assemblage, we quantified species abundances over a period of 5 years that represented a wet to dry period. We sampled stream fishes in Yellow Creek, Wyoming, USA, a high elevation stream dependent on snow-storage for most of …

The Ecology Of Acequias In The Mora Valley: Patterns, Processes And Place-Based Knowledge, Shannon Marie Rupert

Biology ETDs

In northern New Mexico, early settlements were clustered for protection of the people and access to water for domestic and agricultural uses was critical to their success. Irrigation ditches, known as acequias, brought water to the people, and were central to community life. These earthen ditches of varying lengths were built between one hundred and several hundred years ago, and most are still operational today. They divert water away from natural streams and across the landscape, through a system of man-made channels, until the unused water is diverted back into natural watercourses. These lateral channels appear to function as extensions …

Incidence Of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma And Residential Proximity To Superfund Sites In Kentucky, W. Brent Webber, Ramona Stone

Public Health Sciences Faculty Publications

The rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in Kentucky and the U.S. began to rise in the mid-20th century. Plausible mechanistic explanations exist for linkages between the development of NHL and exposures to specific chemicals. Several of these chemicals are present in sites within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program. This study investigated a possible association between residential proximity to Superfund sites in Kentucky and incidence of NHL over a period of 18 years. Cumulative incidence rates per 100,000 persons were calculated at the census tract level, within 5 km–10 km and <5 km from Superfund sites. Geographically weighted regression was necessary to create best-fitting models due to spatial autocorrelation and nonstationarity. Residential proximity to Superfund sites in Kentucky was associated with higher incidence of NHL; the average cumulative incidence of NHL per 100,000 decreased as the distance to the hazardous sites increased. This study confirmed previous research findings of an association between residential proximity to environmentally hazardous sites and the cumulative incidence rates of NHL. Future research should take into account the chemical profile of each site, to identify the most hazardous sites. Potential intervention strategies are presented based on the results of this study.

Mechanisms In Ecology, Viorel Pâslaru

Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty

New mechanistic philosophy has not examined explanations in ecology although they are based extensively on describing mechanisms responsible for phenomena under scrutiny. This chapter uses the example of research on the shrub Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle) to scrutinize individual-level mechanisms that are generally accepted and used in ecology and confronts them with the minimal account of mechanisms. Individual-level mechanisms are for a phenomenon, are hierarchical, and absent entities play a role in their functioning. They are distinguished by the role played by properties in determining activities and organization. The chapter also considers the experimental methods for discovery of individual-level mechanisms, …

An Outdoor Curriculum Based In Phenology And Ecology Promoting The Environmental Stewardship Of Middle School Students, Alyssa R. Polovitz

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Many students are not spending enough time in nature, and therefore may lack a passion and understanding of the environment. The literature defines this problem as the nature-deficit disorder, and it explains a need for outdoor and place-based education. This capstone developed a curriculum to help answer the research question, How can an outdoor curriculum based in phenology and ecology that promotes environmental stewardship in middle school students be developed? This emerged from the educator’s passion for the outdoors and nature and helping students develop a similar love and appreciation for the environment. Results provide a weeklong outdoor study that …

The Diet Of The Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon Kentucki) In An Old Growth Forest Of Southeastern Kentucky, Jacob M. Hutton, Steven J. Price, Stephen C. Richter

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Examining the diet of salamanders is important for understanding their effects on invertebrate communities and the interactions among sympatric salamander species. We

examined the diet of the Cumberland Plateau Salamander, Plethodon kentucki (Mittleman), in an old growth forest in southeastern Kentucky. A total of 763 prey items were recovered from 73 salamanders with an average of 10.75 prey items per stomach. The four most important prey groups were Formicidae (ants), Araneae (spiders), Coleoptera (beetles), and Collembola (springtails). Overall, we found a total of 58 different prey types in the stomach contents from 20 invertebrate orders. This study represents one of …

Can Big Whales Inspire Big Behaviors? A Study Of Environmental Communication, And Nature Immersion, Theresa Soley

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Direct contact with wild nature is becoming harder for people to access in present times, yet research suggests that experiencing nature is important to the formation of environmental values, which may lead to conservation behaviors. My thesis experiment theorizes that direct contact with nature has the ability to impact people's behavioral beliefs and intentions toward the environment, applying Icek Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the New Ecological Paradigm Scale as measures. A questionnaire was administered post-whale watching trips in Juneau, Alaska to determine whether whales, direct experience with charismatic megafauna, could stimulate positive attitudes and behaviors toward recycling. …

Implementing Multilevel Food And Nutrition Security Frameworks In Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges And Opportunities For Scaling Up Pulses In Ethiopia (A Research Note), Lisa F. Clark

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Increasingly, there is global consensus that pulse crops can help address ongoing nutrition and food security challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. Evidence shows that scaling-up production and consumption of pulses grown in sub-Saharan Africa has the potential to make positive contributions to socioeconomic and environmental sustainability. By taking a systems approach to analyze policy documents and stakeholder reports on food and nutrition security, this article argues that policy asymmetries within multilevel governance frameworks challenge efforts to scale-up existing pulse value chains in this region, specifically Ethiopia. It demonstrates that policy sectoralization and siloing between the nutrition and agriculture agendas contribute to …

Does One Size Fit All? The Importance Of State Natural Resource Damage Assessment Laws, Elizabeth Conti

Catholic University Law Review

Natural Resource Damage Assessments (NRDAs) are necessary for the purpose of ensuring restoration and revitalization to natural resources harmed or destroyed by environmental contaminations, whether natural or manmade. Many federal laws such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (CWA) are available to assess damages to natural resources. However, their effectiveness is limited due to factors such as lack of resources and funding, political intervention, and a multitude of damages to assess spread throughout the country. Many states have taken the lead in enacting NRDA …

Profiling Bat Activity And Species Presence In Managed Longleaf Pine Landscapes, Margaret Hunt

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Restoration of native flora or reintroduction of at-risk fauna includes management practices that while encouraging presence and proliferation of target species, may adversely affect non-focal species. An endemic ecosystem undergoing restoration within the southeastern U.S. is that of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris). Bats inhabit key ecological niches in forest ecosystems, including the longleaf pine ecosystem, and can be indicators of ecosystem condition. This study investigated the effects of current forest management practices and landscape management history on bat species presence and activity levels within habitat undergoing longleaf pine restoration. We deployed bat detectors in two wildlife management …

Capacity Of Blood Plasma Is Higher In Birds Breeding In Radioactively Contaminated Areas, Magdalena Ruiz-Rodríguez, Anders P. Møller, Timothy Mousseau, Juan J. Soler

Faculty Publications

Background Environmental pollution in general, and radioactive contamination in particular, may deeply affect host-parasite relationships and their consequences for the evolution of organisms. The nuclear accident that occurred more than 30 years ago in Chernobyl resulted in significant changes in diversity and richness of microbial communities that could influence characteristics of animal-bacteria interactions, including host immune responses and competitive interference by bacteria. Given the high mortality rate of birds breeding in radioactively contaminated zones, those with stronger defences against infections should experience significant fitness advantages.

Methodology/Principal Findings Here we characterized antimicrobial capacity of barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) from different Ukrainian …

Bacterial Community Profiles And Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Abundance In Individual Oysters And Their Association With Estuarine Ecology, Ashley L. Marcinkiewicz, Brian M. Schuster, Stephen H. Jones, Vaughn S. Cooper, Cheryl A. Whistler

New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station Publications

Oysters naturally harbor the human gastric pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus, but the nature of this association is unknown. Because microbial interactions could influence the accumulation of V. parahaemolyticus in oysters, we investigated the composition of the microbiome in water and oysters at two ecologically unique sites in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire using 16s rRNA profiling. We then evaluated correlations between bacteria inhabiting the oyster with V. parahaemolyticus abundance quantified using a most probable number (MPN) analysis. Even though oysters filter-feed, their microbiomes were not a direct snapshot of the bacterial community in overlaying water, suggesting they selectively accumulate some …

Pathologists' Diagnosis Of Invasive Melanoma And Melanocytic Proliferations: Observer Accuracy And Reproducibility Study., Joann G Elmore, Raymond L Barnhill, David E Elder, Gary M Longton, Margaret S Pepe, Lisa M Reisch, Patricia A Carney, Linda J Titus, Heidi D Nelson, Tracy Onega, Anna N A Tosteson, Martin A Weinstock, Stevan R Knezevich, Michael W Piepkorn

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.

Golden Mouse (Ochrotomys Nuttalli) And White-Footed Mouse (Peromyscus Leucopus) Dietary Resource Partitioning Under Experimental Field Conditions, Alexander D. Wright, Gary W. Barrett

Georgia Journal of Science

Ochrotomys nuttalli and Peromyscus leucopus are two small-mammal species that have similar life histories. This results in a relationship with a high degree of sociality between the two species, including extreme niche overlap. We investigated differences in diet preference and daily caloric intake under experimental field conditions in order to clarify this close relationship. Diets were based on reported food preferences in their natural environment. Five food resources were provided to 20 adult individuals (10 male, 10 female) of each species for three consecutive days. Individuals were contained in separate covered mesocosm tanks located in a riparian forest ecosystem. White-footed …

Effects Of An Early Life Immune Challenge On Body Growth, Personality, Mating Behaviors, And Brain Development Of Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia Guttata), Ahmet Kerim Uysal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The developmental stress hypothesis predicts that an aversive condition, such as decreased food intake, predation, and social isolation, in the early developmental stage could have long term effects on behaviors and brain development of an animal. In nature, bird nestlings are susceptible to various factors, such as malnutrition, infections, and parasites. Effects of early life stress on adulthood have been extensively studied with some stressors including malnutrition. However, immune challenges as an early life stressor and their long-term programming effects on adult behaviors are yet to be studied in detail. The goal of the current study was to investigate changes …

Divergence In Life History Traits Between Two Populations Of A Seed-Dimorphic Halophyte In Response To Soil Salinity, Fan Yang, Jerry M. Baskin, Carol C. Baskin, Xuejun Yang, Dechang Cao, Zhenying Huang

Biology Faculty Publications

Production of heteromorphic seeds is common in halophytes growing in arid environments with strong spatial and temporal heterogeneity. However, evidence for geographic variation (reflecting local adaptation) is almost nonexistent. Our primary aims were to compare the life history traits of two desert populations of this halophytic summer annual Suaeda corniculata subsp. mongolica and to investigate the phenotypic response of its plant and heteromorphic seeds to different levels of salt stress. Dimorphic seeds (F₁) of the halophyte S. corniculata collected from two distant populations (F₀) that differ in soil salinity were grown in a common environment under …

Verification Of Echosounder Measurements Of Thickness And Spatial Distribution Of Kelp Forests, Huamei Shao, Kenji Minami, Hokuto Shirakawa, Takashi Maeda, Toshiaki Ohmura, Yoshikazu Fujikawa, Norishige Yotsukura, Masahiro Nakaoka, Kazushi Miyashita

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Acoustic methods can be used to assess seaweed meadows. The accuracy of the methods is a key factor in the estimation of seaweed distribution and conditions. We obtained and verified thickness and spatial distribution values measured using an echosounder. We determined the thickness of seaweed growing in the coastal waters off Higashidoori-mura, Aomori, Japan on June 5-6, 2013. Acoustic data were collected using an on-board quantitative echosounder at 120 kHz. The thickness was also directly measured at 14 points. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the thickness determined by the acoustic and direct methods was calculated. A survey to …

Library And Information Services To The Visually Impaired Persons, Junaid Rayini

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Visually impaired people have the same information needs as sighted people. Just as sighted people might read a newspaper, listen to a CD or download electronic information from the Internet; visually impaired people also want access to relevant information in their chosen accessible format. Developing an efficient library service for print-disabled people is extremely important, because there are significantly fewer books available commercially in accessible formats compared to what is published in print for the general public. Libraries have a moral obligation to make information available to all categories of users regardless of their gender, age, race, political affiliation or …

Relative Selection Strength: Quantifying Effectsize In Habitat- And Step-Selection Inference, Tal Avgar, Subhash R. Lele, Jonah L. Keim, Mark S. Boyce

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Habitat-selection analysis lacks an appropriate measure of the ecological significance of the statistical estimates-a practical interpretation of the magnitude of the selection coefficients. There is a need for a standard approach that allows relating the strength of selection to a change in habitat conditions across space, a quantification of the estimated effect size that can be compared both within and across studies. We offer a solution, based on the epidemiological risk ratio, which we term the relative selection strength (RSS). For a "used-available" design with an exponential selection function, the RSS provides an appropriate interpretation of the magnitude of the …

Wolbachia-Host Interactions And The Implications To Insect Conservation And Management, Amy Michelle Truitt

Dissertations and Theses

Parasitic reproductive endosymbionts are emerging as formidable threats to insect biodiversity. Wolbachia are prevalent maternally inherited intra-cellular bacteria found in >50% of arthropod species. These symbiotic bacteria interact with their hosts in diverse ways, most often they alter host reproduction causing four conditions that all selectively favor infected females: feminization, male killing, parthenogenesis, and cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). Furthermore, depending on strain-type and host genetic background, Wolbachia are known to affect insect behavior, expand or shift host thermal tolerance ranges, and confer anti-viral protection to their hosts. Because Wolbachia both reside in and are transmitted with host cell cytoplasm, mitochondria and …

Meiobenthic Invertebrates Community Associated With Aquatic Plant Ceratophyllum Demersum Salamiyat Irrigation Canal / North Baghdad, Prof. Dr. Haifa J. Jaweir, Rana Sabah Hassan

Baghdad Science Journal

The aim of the present study is to study the meiobenthic invertebrate's community associated with the aquatic plant Ceratophyllum demersum in Al-Salamiyat irrigation canal / north Baghdad, with the chemical and physical parameters of the canal water, during the study period from September 2015 to May 2016. Two sites were chosen for sample collection, the first site (S1) at the beginning of the canal near it's connection with Tigris river, and the second site (S2) after 10 km from the first site. The chemico-physical analysis results revealed that the water temperature ranged from 10-30oC, and pH values ranged between 6.9-7.8, …

The Association Of Dietary Quality With Colorectal Cancer Among Normal Weight, Overweight And Obese Men And Women: A Prospective Longitudinal Study In The Usa, Rosalie A. Torres Stone, Molly E. Waring, Sarah L. Cutrona, Catarina I. Kiefe, Jeroan Allison, Chyke A. Doubeni

Sociology

Objective: Lower body mass index (BMI) and higher dietary quality reduce the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). A full understanding of how these associations vary by sex and weight is lacking. Methods: We used data from the National Institutes of Health - American Association of Retired Persons (NIH)-AARP) Diet and Health Study for 398 458 persons who were 50-71 years old in 1995-1996 and followed through 2006. Exposures were dietary quality as reflected by the Mediterranean Diet, the Healthy Eating Index-2010 and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension score, stratified by BMI category. The outcome was CRC diagnosis from cancer …

Incorporating Place And Space: A Hierarchical Spatial Approach To Exploring Preventable Congestive Heart Failure Hospitalizations In New York City, Rachael Weiss Riley

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Faced with rising medical care costs, increasing prevalence, and widening health disparities, preventing congestive heart failure (CHF) hospitalizations is a central public health concern. Despite evidence of geographical clustering in preventable CHF admissions, there is a lack of research designed to examine spatial patterning of CHF and the local area neighborhood determinants that contribute to this variability. This study sought to assess and evaluate the importance of both space and place in analyzing preventable CHF hospitalizations and readmissions by applying appropriate statistical techniques, clarifying the assumption inherent in each method, and interpreting the findings within the context of existing …

Correlates Of Immune Defenses In Golden Eagle Nestlings, Benjamin M. Dudek, Julie A. Heath

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

An individual’s investment in constitutive immune defenses depends on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. We examined how Leucocytozoon parasite presence, body condition (scaled mass), heterophil-to-lymphocyte (H:L) ratio, sex, and age affected immune defenses in golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) nestlings from three regions: California, Oregon, and Idaho. We quantified hemolytic-complement activity and bacterial killing ability, two measures of constitutive immunity. Body condition and age did not affect immune defenses. However, eagles with lower H:L ratios had lower complement activity, corroborating other findings that animals in better condition sometimes invest less in constitutive immunity. In addition, eagles with Leucocytozoon infections had higher …

A Comparative History Of Resurrection Plants, John Charles Ryan

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "A Comparative Literary History of Resurrection Plants" John Charles Ryan assembles a comparative history of resurrection plants through textual analysis of early botanical commentaries, herbal references, prose, poetry, and other sources. Resurrection plants include a diverse range of botanical species, typically of arid regions, that appear to come back to life after complete desiccation. Historical and contemporary observers—from sixteenth-century herbalist John Gerard to contemporary Australian poet John Kinsella—have expressed an abiding fascination for resurrection plants' capacity to survive harsh environmental conditions. The plants court their own deaths by paring down—then restoring—physiological processes in relation to shifting ecological …

The Impact Of The Medieval Climatic Anomaly On The Archaeology At Edwards Air Force Base, Jessica Amanda Porter-Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

A series of severe and prolonged droughts occurred throughout the Northern Hemisphere between approximately 1150 BP to 600 BP. This phenomenon is referred to as the Medieval Climatic Anomaly and has been shown to have differentially impacted various regions of the world. Previous studies have suggested causal links between the Medieval Climatic Anomaly and observed culture change.

The goal of this study was to examine the Antelope Valley region of the Mojave Desert for evidence of impacts on human populations related to the Medieval Climatic Anomaly. To achieve this goal, a sample selection of archaeological sites was chosen from lands …

Revisioning Ecology: Oikos Logos And A Human Niche, James Inabinet

Coastlines

No abstract provided.

Acute Memory And Psychotomimetic Effects Of Cannabis And Tobacco Both ‘Joint’ And Individually: A Placebo-Controlled Trial, C. Hindocha, T. P. Freeman, J. X. Xia, N. D. C. Shaban, H. V. Curran

Publications and Research

Background. Cannabis and tobacco have contrasting cognitive effects. Smoking cannabis with tobacco is prevalent in many countries and although this may well influence cognitive and mental health outcomes, the possibility has rarely been investigated in human experimental psychopharmacological research.

Method. The individual and interactive effects of cannabis and tobacco were evaluated in 24 non-dependent cannabis and tobacco smokers in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, 2 (cannabis, placebo) × 2 (tobacco, placebo) crossover design. Verbal memory (prose recall), working memory (WM) performance including maintenance, manipulation and attention (N-back), psychotomimetic, subjective and cardiovascular measures were recorded on each of four sessions.

Results. Cannabis …