Life Sciences Commons^™

An Evaluation Of Soils On Sólheimajökull Glacier Foreland: Using Invertebrates And Decomposition As Bio-Indicators Of Soil Quality, Carolyn Weisman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Anthropogenic climate change has led to the retreat of glaciers globally. As glaciers melt, they expose the underlying land- termed the glacier foreland. These forelands provide a natural laboratory for studying ecological succession after a massive disturbance, which is in this case glaciation. In this study, soil invertebrates and decomposition are used as bio-indicators of the soil quality in the foreland of Sólheimajökull Outlet Glacier. Soil cores were collected from five sites (A-E) located 300m apart moving away from the glacier terminus. The abundance of each observed invertebrate taxa and the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels were taken for 30 soil …

Climate Change, Spring/Summer 2007, Issue 16

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Heat Islands, Fall/Winter 2014, Issue 29

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Marine Invertebrates: Communities At Risk, Jennifer A. Mather

Jennifer Mather, PhD

Our definition of the word ‘animal’ centers on vertebrates, yet 99% of the animals on the planet are invertebrates, about which we know little. In addition, although the Census of Marine Life (COML.org) has recently conducted an extensive audit of marine ecosystems, we still do not understand much about the animals of the seas. Surveys of the best-known ecosystems, in which invertebrate populations often play a key role, show that the invertebrate populations are affected by human impact. Coral animals are the foundation of coral reef systems, which are estimated to contain 30% of the species in the ocean. Physical …

Incubation Under Climatewarming Affects Behavioral Lateralisation In Port Jackson Sharks, Catarina Vila Pouca, Connor Gervais, Joshua Reed, Culum Brown

Culum Brown, PhD

Climate change is warming the world’s oceans at an unprecedented rate. Under predicted end-of-century temperatures, many teleosts show impaired development and altered critical behaviors, including behavioral lateralisation. Since laterality is an expression of brain functional asymmetries, changes in the strength and direction of lateralisation suggest that rapid climate warming might impact brain development and function. However, despite the implications for cognitive functions, the potential effects of elevated temperature in lateralisation of elasmobranch fishes are unknown. We incubated and reared Port Jackson sharks at current and projected end-of-century temperatures and measured preferential detour responses to left or right. Sharks incubated at …

Negative Impacts Of The Beef Industry: Lab-Grown Meat, Stephanie Grass

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

The beef industry is harmful to the environment and human health and alternative solutions must be implemented in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. Water and grain are used in agriculture in abundance despite the negative environmental effects it causes. Cattle are the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the sector, also contributing to climate change. Antibiotics are used in large quantities without regard to potential future consequences. One potential solution for this problem is lab-grown beef, which demands very little from the consumer and would take pressure off the environmental issues the beef industry creates. Lab-grown …

Attendance Trends Threaten Future Operations Of America’S State Park Systems, Jordan Smith, Emily J. Wilkins, Yu-Fai Leung

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

This research examines how the operating expenditures of America’s state park systems will be affected by a continued growth in attendance consistent with observed trends as well as potential climate futures. We construct a longitudinal panel dataset (1984–2017) describing the operations and characteristics of all 50 state park systems. These data are analyzed with a time-varying stochastic frontier model. Estimates from the model are used to forecast operating expenditures to midcentury under four different scenarios. The first scenario assumes annual attendance within each state park system will continue to grow (or decline) at the same average annual rate that it …

A Formative Assessment Of The Vulnerability Context Of Three Indigenous Communities In Rural Ecuador For Improved Intervention Design, Ivy Blackmore

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nearly 20 % of the current world population are small-scale producers living in rural areas who rely on agriculture and related activities to support their families (IFAD, 2016; World Bank, 2008). Despite the almost 76 billion USD of official development assistance committed to agriculture improvement projects and associated activities over the past decade, many of the intended beneficiaries remain poor and struggle to meet their basic needs. The lack of success in addressing rural poverty highlights the need for quality research focused on understanding what type of intervention/s could help rural communities sustainably improve their livelihood security.

The goal of …

Blacklegged Tick (Ixodes Scapularis) Distribution In Maine, Usa, As Related To Climate Change, White-Tailed Deer, And The Landscape, Susan P. Elias

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted through the bite of an infected blacklegged (deer) tick (Ixodes scapularis). Geographic invasion of I. scapularis in North America has been attributed to causes including 20th century reforestation and suburbanization, burgeoning populations of the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) which is the primary reproductive host of I. scapularis, tick-associated non-native plant invasions, and climate change. Maine, USA, is a high Lyme disease incidence state, with a history of increasing I. scapularis abundance and northward range expansion. This thesis addresses the question: “To …

A Comparative Analysis Of Governance And Leadership In Agricultural Development Policy Networks, Jessica Rudnick, Meredith Niles, Mark Lubell, Laura Cramer

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Agricultural development initiatives feature many public and private organizations working together across sectors and scales to pursue the goals of food security and climate resilience. Policy networks are considered a crucial ingredient for the learning and cooperation needed to effectively implement agricultural development projects and increase community resiliency, yet very little comparative empirical data has been collected to assess where and how these networks operate. We contribute to filling this gap by characterizing the governance and leadership patterns within agricultural development policy networks that connect organizations working on climate resilience and food security activities in 14 smallholder farming communities across …

The Living Archive In The Anthropocene, Nora Almeida, Jen Hoyer

Publications and Research

This paper presents the concept of the living archive as a system which reflects how social behavior and cultural production are part of the Anthropocene. The authors explore how dominant narratives of both the Anthropocene and the archive work to consolidate power and maintain cultural and disciplinary divisions. The authors refute conceptions of the Anthropocene as a purely biophysical phenomenon that is alienated from cultural practice and of the archive as a comprehensive and nostalgic space. They then introduce the living archive as an alternative representational, creative, and reactive space and illustrate how the living archive can intervene in ecological …

Food And Earth Systems: Priorities For Climate Change Adaptation And Mitigation For Agriculture And Food Systems, Ana Maria Loboguerrero, Bruce M. Campbell, Peter J.M. Cooper, James W. Hansen, Todd Rosenstock, Eva Wollenberg

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Human activities and their relation with land, through agriculture and forestry, are significantly impacting Earth system functioning. Specifically, agriculture has increasingly become a key sector for adaptation and mitigation initiatives that address climate change and help ensure food security for a growing global population. Climate change and agricultural outcomes influence our ability to reach targets for at least seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. By 2015, 103 nations had committed themselves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, while 102 countries had prioritized agriculture in their adaptation agenda. Adaptation and mitigation actions within agriculture still receive insufficient support across …

2018 - California Water Plan Update - Public Review Draft

Miscellaneous Documents and Reports

California Water Plan Update 2018 provides recommended actions, funding scenarios, and an investment strategy to bolster efforts by water and resource managers, planners, and decision-makers to overcome California’s most pressing water resource challenges. It builds on progress made in California Water Plan Update 2013; reaffirms State government’s unique role and commitment to sustainable, equitable, long-term water resource management; and introduces implementation tools to inform sound decision-making.

2016 - California Land Use And Management - A Resource Management Strategy Of The California Water Plan

Miscellaneous Documents and Reports

Land use planning and management cuts across many resource management strategies. More efficient and effective land use is linked to several resource management strategies including watershed, water use efficiency, groundwater quality, flood management, parks and recreation, climate change adaptive management and agricultural lands stewardship. Directly development away from agricultural lands permits multi-objective management of these lands for agricultural preservation, floodplain management, water quality, habitat conservation, and sustainable development. In addition, planning for more compact and sustainable communities, both urban and rural, will assist in reducing reliance on the state-s water supply, and result in more efficient use of California’s water …

Does Household Capital Mediate The Uptake Of Agricultural Land, Crop, And Livestock Adaptations? Evidence From The Indo-Gangetic Plains (India), Sameer H. Shah, Courtney Hammond Wagner, Udita Sanga, Hogeun Park, Lia Helena Monteiro De Lima Demange, Carolina Gueiros, Meredith T. Niles

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains produce much of the wheat and rice grown in India. However, food production and millions of farm-based livelihoods in this region will continue to be adversely affected by hydro-climatic change and variation, reduced land productivity, and declining groundwater levels. Thus, agricultural adaptations are essential for protecting and improving upon intersecting goals of food security, poverty alleviation, and wellbeing. Household “capital” (e.g., natural, human, financial, physical, and social) is commonly cited as an indicator of livelihood adaptability and innovation. We develop a series of mediated structural equation models to empirically evaluate the validity of capital as …

The International Whaling Commission—Beyond Whaling, Andrew J. Wright, Mark P. Simmonds, Barbara Galletti Vernazzani

Mark P. Simmonds, OBE

Since its establishment in 1946 as the international body intended to manage whaling, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has expanded its areas of interest to ensure the wider conservation of whales. Several key conservation topics have been taken forward under its auspices including climate change, chemical and noise pollution, marine debris and whale watching. Work on each of these topics at the IWC has grown substantially since the 1990s and remains ongoing. Important developments were the establishment of the Standing Working Group on Environmental Concerns in 1996 and the IWC’s Conservation Committee in 2003. Trying to address this diverse set …

2010 - California Agricultural Vision - Strategies For Sustainability

Miscellaneous Documents and Reports

California is a major contributor to the global food supply and to the national security of the United States. To keep pace with growing demand for food, as the world’s population continues to expand, California agriculture must remain profitable and competitive in a global market by efficiently using resources and controlling production costs. California faces unprecedented challenges to its sustainability in the form of pressures on its profitability and productivity related to water, regulations, labor, invasive species, urbanization and many other factors.

A Multi-Scale Analysis Of Jaguar (Panthera Onca) And Puma (Puma Concolor) Habitat Selection And Conservation In The Narrowest Section Of Panama., Kimberly A. Craighead

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Over the past two centuries, large terrestrial carnivores have suffered extreme population declines and range contractions resulting from the synergistic anthropogenic threats of land-use change and indirect effects of climate change. In Panama, rapid land use conversion coupled with climate change is predicted to negatively impact jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor). This dissertation examined the environmental variables and scales influencing jaguar and puma habitat selection by season (annual, wet, and dry), using multi-scale optimized habitat suitability models and a machine-learning algorithm (Random Forests), in the narrowest section of Panama. The models derived from the data of an intensive …

Managing Urban Crow Populations In Japan, Tsuyoshi Yoda

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Crow (Corvus spp.) populations are increasing globally. This is cause for concern because overabundant crow populations can damage agricultural crops, harm native wildlife, and become a nuisance in urban areas. In Japan, the carrion (C. corone) and large-billed crow (C. macrorhynchos) can cause damage to crops and livestock. This damage is predicted to increase in Japan with climate change, especially when precipitation increases, inducing landscape changes that may favor crow populations and activities. In Japan, the primary control method used to manage crow damage is the destruction of nests by a crow control officer who …