Life Sciences Commons^™

Restoration Of Biological Soil Crust On Disturbed Gypsiferous Soils In Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Eastern Mojave Desert, Lindsay P. Chiquoine

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are sensitive to anthropogenic disturbances. Natural recovery takes many years. Active restoration decreases recovery time. Native BSC inocula, which included lichens and mosses, salvaged from gypsiferous soil habitats in Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA) in the eastern Mojave Desert were stored dry for two years and applied to disturbed soil after a road reconstruction in LMNRA and also used in laboratory experiments to test inoculation technique effectiveness. After 18 months, field results revealed positive relationships between inoculation and the presence of macroscopic BSC cover, cyanobacteria abundance, soil stability, and ammonium concentrations. Chlorophyll fluorescence monitoring of …

The Contribution Of Environmental Variables On Small Mammal Species Richness And Relative Abundance In Eastern Nevada, Stephanie Harris

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to determine how four environmental variables: elevation, latitude, soil type, and vegetation impact the relative abundance of Peromyscus maniculatus and the species richness of small mammal populations in Eastern Nevada. In order to complete this study, a survey of small mammals was completed in the following 8 Eastern Nevada valleys: Delamar, Dry Lake, Dry Lake- Muleshoe,Cave, Lake, Snake, Spring, White River. In each valley, transects of Sherman live traps will be set up for 3 consecutive nights (O'Farrell et al 1977). Data on elevation, latitude, soil type, and vegetation were taken at each trap …

The Fate And Transport Of Nitrogen (N) And The Effect Of Emergent Plants On Natural Treatment Of N-Species At Las Vegas Wash, Nevada, Tanju Kiriscioglu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of emergent plant communities at Las Vegas Wash (the System) using a system dynamics modeling approach. Understanding the dynamics of nitrogen (N —major polluting nutrient in the Wash) that enters the System is important because it occasionally causes algal blooms, choking Lake Mead through excessive eutrophication. Emergent plant communities are an integral part of wetland ecosystems and they play a crucial role in natural treatment of nutrients. This study is intended to test this hypothesis.

The study makes use of Wash data from reliable sources (Las Vegas Valley Water District, …

Observed Omnivory In The Herbivorous Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis Aureus), Stephen M. Oliveira Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Gila seminuda, a native endangered species, and Oreochromis aureus, a nonnative invasive species, share the same habitat in the form of the Reid Gardner Power Plant intake ponds. The purpose of this study is to characterize the feeding habits of Oreochromis aureus within the Reid Gardner Power Plant intake ponds and address the potential predation habits of Oreochromis aureus. Stomach contents of O. aureus were identified and analyzed using chi-square and log-likelihood ratio techniques, with respect to mass, length, girth, gender, or spatial distribution of samples. Results showed omnivorous behavior with a 7.00% predatory/prey relationship, and no difference of feeding …

Habitat Preferences Of Four Species Of Lizards Found At The Las Vegas Springs Preserve, Scott Garncarz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Developing an understanding of the habitat usage of reptiles is important when trying to develop a management or restoration plan that is compatible with what is known of the reptile species that are being investigated. There are many lizard species found in the Mojave Desert, but there are only four known to inhabit the Las Vegas Springs Preserve (LVSP) in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the LVSP, sites are going to be restored with native Mojave Desert vegetation. Since there are many habitat types in the Mojave Desert, we must determine which types would be best suited for the four species …

Defining Soil Type And Habitat Characteristics Of The Arctomecon Californica, Philip S. Childers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A. californica can be considered a rare endemic species, which is believed to be restricted by unique soil relationships. These relationships make the species vulnerable to anthropogenic habitat disturbance. Although A. californica is listed as critically endangered by the state of Nevada, further research is needed before the species can be listed as federally endangered or threatened. This study used primary observational data and secondary GIS compatible data to characterize A. californica habitat. Representative sampling techniques were used to select observations from derived soil types. Although a majority of A. californica populations were found to occur in gypsic soil types, …

Assessment Of Potential Environmental Impacts Of Nature-Based Tours Originating Within Clark County, Nevada, Beth Domowicz

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this thesis was to assess the potential magnitude of negative environmental damage of nature-based tours originating in Clark County, Nevada. An ordinal ranking system was used for assessment of five variables. These variables were resource use, noise pollution, soil degradation, vegetation degradation, and wildlife disturbance. There were two proposed answers. The first was that as distance increased, negative tour impact would increase. This was not supported, since tours had high impacts for destinations that were close by and far away. The second was that most tours were not causing high damage to the environment. This hypothesis was …

Vegetation Analysis: A Graphical Analysis Of Plant Succession In Desert Communities Affected By Fire, Jeff Lantow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Mojave Desert is affected by fire every year. With each fire comes the removal of old growth and, in its place, new growth – consisting primarily of those species which thrive in disturbed areas. The focus of my research is to look at plant communities that have been disturbed by fire, and examine the successional pathway of these disturbed environments. The seven environments I analyzed were burned within the last twenty years and are found in the Coleogyne ramosissima ecotone throughout the Spring Mountain range near Las Vegas, Nevada. The data was collected with randomly chosen circle plots in …

Water Conservation In The Las Vegas Valley, Judith M. Keir

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis deals primarily with residential use of water in the Las Vegas Valley, an arid climate located in the Mojave Desert, and whether the education of people living here has any bearing on whether or not they conserve water. Many of the residents of the Las Vegas Valley have moved from other areas of the country, and perhaps are not aware of the fact that there is a limited supply of water available to the Valley. I believe that people are not necessarily wasteful, and that they would want to conserve water, if they were aware that conservation and …