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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Natural Establishment Of Earthworms On Reclaimed Lignite Mine Soils, Lacey Russell, Kenneth Farrish, Jerry Leon Young, George Damoff, Brian Oswald Aug 2016

Natural Establishment Of Earthworms On Reclaimed Lignite Mine Soils, Lacey Russell, Kenneth Farrish, Jerry Leon Young, George Damoff, Brian Oswald

Student Publications

This two-year field study surveyed earthworm community characteristics on a chronosequence under afforested pine and hardwood lignite mine soils at the Beckville and Oak Hill lignite coal mines in east Texas. The following were used as indicators of earthworm community characteristics: reclamation type, forest cover type, age since reclamation and physical and chemical soil properties. The Beckville mine was sampled from February 2012 through March 2013; the Oak Hill mine was sampled from April 2013 through March 2014. The study was a 2x2x3 factorial design with reclamation type (mixed overburden vs. haul back), cover-type ((pine plantation (pp) and mixed pine …


Long-Term Overstory Vegetation Responses To Prescribed Fire Management For Longleaf Pine At Big Thicket National Preserve, Deanna M. Boensch Aug 2016

Long-Term Overstory Vegetation Responses To Prescribed Fire Management For Longleaf Pine At Big Thicket National Preserve, Deanna M. Boensch

Student Publications

At the western edge of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) range, federal land managers have burned the forests of Big Thicket National Preserve to bring back the structure and diversity of the longleaf pine forest. In the early 1990’s, a four year study was conducted by Rice University, and the National Park Service continued monitoring the study’s fire ecology research plots. After two decades of data collection, ordination was applied to species abundance data to examine changes in vegetation communities from a variety of prescribed fire treatments and controls. The vegetation data was separated by size class to …


Forage Yields In Turkey Hill Wilderness In East Texas For White-Tailed Deer, Brian P. Oswald, Kenneth W. Farrish, Bret Gentzler Jan 2016

Forage Yields In Turkey Hill Wilderness In East Texas For White-Tailed Deer, Brian P. Oswald, Kenneth W. Farrish, Bret Gentzler

Faculty Publications

Wilderness areas are often considered quality areas where natural processes occur without human activity. It is often assumed that these unmanaged areas will provide and support quality wildlife habitat. The objective of this study was to evaluate the forage production and stocking potential of an unmanaged wilderness area in east Texas. Four different community types were evaluated for forage yield, forage availability, and browse utilization for white-tailed deer. Results show that although a wide range of forage yields were measured in the spring, summer forage yield did not differ among the various communities. Availability also differed between community types, but …


Overstory Tree Mortality In The Ponderosa Pine And Spruce-Fir Ecosystems, Following A Drought In Northern New Mexico, Brian P. Oswald, Sean Dugan, Randy Balice, Daniel Unger Jan 2016

Overstory Tree Mortality In The Ponderosa Pine And Spruce-Fir Ecosystems, Following A Drought In Northern New Mexico, Brian P. Oswald, Sean Dugan, Randy Balice, Daniel Unger

Faculty Publications

Drought-caused tree dieback is an issue around the world as climates change and many areas become dryer and hotter. A drought from 1998-2004 resulted in a significant tree dieback event in many of the wooded areas in portions of the Jemez Mountains and the adjacent Pajarito Plateau in northern New Mexico. The objectives of this study were to evaluate and quantify the differences in tree mortality before and after a recent drought in the ponderosa pine and spruce-fir ecosystems, and to assess the effect of mechanical thinning on ponderosa pine mortality. Significant increases in mortality were observed in the unthinned …


Vegetative Community Development Over 30 Years Within Mixed Pine-Hardwood Mine Reclamation Sites In East Texas, Christy Christian, Brian P. Oswald, Hans M. Williams, Kenneth W. Farrish Jan 2016

Vegetative Community Development Over 30 Years Within Mixed Pine-Hardwood Mine Reclamation Sites In East Texas, Christy Christian, Brian P. Oswald, Hans M. Williams, Kenneth W. Farrish

Faculty Publications

The practice of mine reclamation aims to balance the energy needs of society with proactive environmental restoration of degraded land, and long-term studies of vegetative community development on reclaimed mine land have been invaluable in developing effective reclamation practices. This study investigated vegetative community characteristics (composition, richness, species importance)over a 30 year time frame in planted mixed pine-hardwood areas on reclaimed surface coal mine land in East Texas,United States. Reclaimed sites werecompared vegetatively to unmined reference forests. A chronological pattern wasshown for reclaimedcommunity developmentin both understory and overstorystrata. Understory community development exhibitednatural patterns, while theoverstory community varied with different groups …


Inhibition Of Enterobacter Cloacae And Klebsiella Oxytoca By Garlic (Allium Sativum L.) And Garlic Pills, Lucinda Choules, Dennis A. Gravatt, Stephen M. Kosovich, Wei Yuan, Ping Wang, Ron Havner Jan 2016

Inhibition Of Enterobacter Cloacae And Klebsiella Oxytoca By Garlic (Allium Sativum L.) And Garlic Pills, Lucinda Choules, Dennis A. Gravatt, Stephen M. Kosovich, Wei Yuan, Ping Wang, Ron Havner

Faculty Publications

Multidrug resistant infections and superinfections are increasing globally. Intrinsic and acquired resistance to multiple antibiotics by bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family exasperate treatment efforts by clinicians. Carbapenem antibiotics were once relied upon to treat multidrug resistant infections. However, Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections are becoming more common, requiring that an alternative treatment be found. This study trialed an ancient cure, Fresh Garlic Extract (FGE) created from garlic (Allium sativum L.) and commercially prepared garlic pills against two opportunistic Enterobacteriaceae in vitro utilizing: disc diffusion, well diffusion (introducing DIFF-bolts), and HPLC. FGE and four brands of garlic pills inhibited the growth …


Comparing Remotely Sensed Pictometry® Web Based Slope Distance Estimates With In Situ Total Station And Tape Slope Distance Estimates, David Kulhavy, Daniel Unger, Yanli Zhang, Phillip Bedford, I-Kuai Hung Jan 2016

Comparing Remotely Sensed Pictometry® Web Based Slope Distance Estimates With In Situ Total Station And Tape Slope Distance Estimates, David Kulhavy, Daniel Unger, Yanli Zhang, Phillip Bedford, I-Kuai Hung

Faculty Publications

Slope distance was measured between the top of 30 light poles and their respective ground level coordinate identified within a central parking lot on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas. Slope distance measured using Pictometry® hyperspatial 4-inch (10.2 centimeters) multispectral imagery within a web based interface was compared to in situ total station and tape measured slope distance. The range for mean slope distance for Pictometry®, total station, and tape measured slope distance was 0.05 meters. Mean slope distance was 15.36 meters, 15.37 meters, and 15.41 meters for Pictometry®, total station, …


Accuracy Assessment Of Pictometry® Height Measurements Stratified By Cardinal Direction And Image Magnification Factor, Daniel Unger, David Kulhavy, I-Kuai Hung, Yanli Zhang Jan 2016

Accuracy Assessment Of Pictometry® Height Measurements Stratified By Cardinal Direction And Image Magnification Factor, Daniel Unger, David Kulhavy, I-Kuai Hung, Yanli Zhang

Faculty Publications

The aim of this project was to ascertain if Pictometry® estimated height could be used in lieu of field-based height estimation. Height of a light pole measured with a telescopic height pole was compared to Pictometry® hyperspatial 4-inch (10.2 centimeters) multispectral imagery estimated light pole height on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas. Average percent agreement between light pole height and Pictometry® estimated light pole height summarized by Pictometry® image magnification factors at 100%, 125%, 150%, 200%, and 300% magnification were within 98% of light pole height with percent disagreement ranging from …


Incorporating Applied Undergraduate Research In Senior To Graduate Level Remote Sensing Courses, Richard Henley, Daniel Unger, David Kulhavy, I-Kuai Hung Jan 2016

Incorporating Applied Undergraduate Research In Senior To Graduate Level Remote Sensing Courses, Richard Henley, Daniel Unger, David Kulhavy, I-Kuai Hung

Faculty Publications

An Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture (ATCOFA) senior spatial science undergraduate student engaged in a multi-course undergraduate research project to expand his expertise in remote sensing and assess the applied instruction methodology employed within ATCOFA. The project consisted of performing a change detection land-use/land-cover classification for Nacogdoches and Angelina counties in Texas using satellite imagery. The dates for the imagery were spaced approximately ten years apart and consisted of four different acquisitions between 1984 and 2013. The classification procedure followed and expanded upon a series of concrete theoretical remote sensing principles, transforming the four remotely sensed raster images …


Effects Of First Thinning On Growth Of Loblolly Pine Plantations In The West Coastal Plain, Dean W. Coble, Jason Grogan Jan 2016

Effects Of First Thinning On Growth Of Loblolly Pine Plantations In The West Coastal Plain, Dean W. Coble, Jason Grogan

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research is to analyze thinning response in basal area and height growth of residual loblolly pine trees growing in plantations located in the West Gulf Coastal Plain. Thinning is a well-known silvicultural practice that increases the growing space available to desirable trees by removing competing trees.


Expansion Of The Manage Database With Forest And Drainage Studies, Daren R. Harmel, Laura E. Christianson, Matthew W. Mcbroom, Douglas R. Smith, Kori D. Higgs Jan 2016

Expansion Of The Manage Database With Forest And Drainage Studies, Daren R. Harmel, Laura E. Christianson, Matthew W. Mcbroom, Douglas R. Smith, Kori D. Higgs

Faculty Publications

The “Measured Annual Nutrient loads from AGricultural Environments” (MANAGE) database was published in 2006 to expand an early 1980s compilation of nutrient export (load) data from cultivated and pasture/range land at the field or farm scale. Then in 2008, MANAGE was updated with 15 additional studies, and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in runoff were added. Since then, MANAGE has undergone significant expansion adding N and P water quality along with relevant management and site characteristic data from: (1) 30 runoff studies from forested land uses, (2) 91 drainage water quality studies from drained land, and (3) 12 additional …


Use Of A Portable Sawmill For Forestry Instruction, Matthew Mcbroom, David Kulhavy, Jeremy Stovall, Ryan P. Grisham Jan 2016

Use Of A Portable Sawmill For Forestry Instruction, Matthew Mcbroom, David Kulhavy, Jeremy Stovall, Ryan P. Grisham

Faculty Publications

The Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX, has implemented an experiential learning exercise to improve student learning related to the forest products industry. During the week-long sophomore- or junior-level course Harvesting and Processing, forestry students tour multiple wood products facilities such as sawmills. These mills use complex technologies to maximize the lumber produced from each log, and students were having difficulty understanding the underlying concepts. As part of this course beginning in 2012, students began working in teams to estimate the lumber that will be recovered from a log and …


Evaluating Interactive Transect Area Assessments Hands-On Instruction For Natural Resource Undergraduate Students, Daniel Unger, Sarah Schwab, Ryan Jacques, Yanli Zhang, I-Kuai Hung, David L. Kulhavy Jan 2016

Evaluating Interactive Transect Area Assessments Hands-On Instruction For Natural Resource Undergraduate Students, Daniel Unger, Sarah Schwab, Ryan Jacques, Yanli Zhang, I-Kuai Hung, David L. Kulhavy

Faculty Publications

Undergraduate students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Spatial Science degree at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) receive instruction in the spatial sciences with a focus on hands-on applications. All undergraduate students take the course Introduction to Spatial Science which includes a comprehensive overview of spatial science incorporating a comparison of standard inexpensive area assessment techniques with high-end computer based area assessment methodologies. Students within this course were instructed how to assess the area of a surface feature on an aerial image with a ruler applying the transect method. Student's average Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) between a student's …


Quality And Yield Of Seven Forages Grown Under Partial Shading Of A Simulated Silvopastoral System In East Texas, J. Hill, K. Farrish, B. Oswald, L. Young, A. Shadow Jan 2016

Quality And Yield Of Seven Forages Grown Under Partial Shading Of A Simulated Silvopastoral System In East Texas, J. Hill, K. Farrish, B. Oswald, L. Young, A. Shadow

Faculty Publications

The goal of this project is to evaluate the growth and nutritional characteristics of seven forages, including various warm season native grasses, grown under simulated partial shading (50 percent typical of a loblolly pine silvopastoral system in east Texas. The results are from year two of a three year study. In order to meet the overall objective, individual, slatted shade structures were constructed that simulate the quantity, quality, and overall light regime found beneath loblolly pine stands arranged for silvopasture. The forages selected for the study include ‘Tifton 9’ bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum), ‘Tifton 85’ bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), ‘Alamo’ switchgrass (Panicum …


Spatial Distribution Of Earthworms In An East Texas Forest Ecosystem, Melissa A. Bozarth, Kenneth W. Farrish, George A. Damoff, James Van Kley, J. Leon Young Jan 2016

Spatial Distribution Of Earthworms In An East Texas Forest Ecosystem, Melissa A. Bozarth, Kenneth W. Farrish, George A. Damoff, James Van Kley, J. Leon Young

Faculty Publications

Earthworms were collected and identified in different ecological habitats of the Stephen F. Austin Experimental Forest (SFAEF) in the Piney Woods Ecoregion (PWE) of Texas. Earthworm spatial distribution data were collected over four distinct ecological habitats with a range of soil conditions and vegetative cover. A total of 128 sampling plots were surveyed in two different, broadly defined locations (mesic slope = 68 plots, dry-mesic upland = 60 plots). Using multivariate classification/ordination (TWINSPAN) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) of overstory vegetation data, these two locations were further divided into four distinct habitats: dry-mesic mixed upland, transitional zone, mesic slope and …


High Throughput Genomic Sequencing Of Bioaerosols In Broiler Chicken Production Facilities, Kate M. O’Brien, Michael S. Chimenti, Morgan Farnell, Tom Tabler, Thomas Bair, Joey Lynn Bray, Matthew W. Nonnenmann Jan 2016

High Throughput Genomic Sequencing Of Bioaerosols In Broiler Chicken Production Facilities, Kate M. O’Brien, Michael S. Chimenti, Morgan Farnell, Tom Tabler, Thomas Bair, Joey Lynn Bray, Matthew W. Nonnenmann

Faculty Publications

Chronic inhalation exposure to agricultural dust promotes the development of chronic respiratory diseases among poultry workers. Poultry dust is composed of dander, chicken feed, litter bedding and microbes. However, the microbial composition and abundance has not been fully elucidated. Genomic DNA was extracted from settled dust and personal inhalable dust collected while performing litter sampling or mortality collection tasks. DNA libraries were sequenced using a paired-end sequencing-by-synthesis approach on an Illumina HiSeq 2500. Sequencing data showed that poultry dust is predominantly composed of bacteria (64–67%) with a small quantity of avian, human and feed DNA (< 2% of total reads). Staphylococcus sp. AL1, Salinicoccus carnicancri and Lactobacillus crispatus were the most abundant bacterial species in personal exposure samples of inhalable dust. Settled dust had a moderate relative abundance of these species as well as Staphylococcus lentus and Lactobacillus salivarius. There was a statistical difference between the microbial composition of aerosolized and settled dust. Unlike settled dust composition, aerosolized dust composition had little variance between samples. These data provide an extensive analysis of the microbial composition and relative abundance in personal inhalable poultry dust and settled poultry dust.


Road-Edge Effects On Herpetofauna In A Lowland Amazonian Rainforest, Ross J. Maynard, Nathalie C. Aall, Daniel Saenz, Paul S. Hamilton, Matthew Kwiatkowski Jan 2016

Road-Edge Effects On Herpetofauna In A Lowland Amazonian Rainforest, Ross J. Maynard, Nathalie C. Aall, Daniel Saenz, Paul S. Hamilton, Matthew Kwiatkowski

Faculty Publications

The impact of roads on the flora and fauna of Neotropical rainforest is perhaps the single biggest driver of habitat modification and population declines in these ecosystems. We investigated the road-edge effect of a low-use dirt road on amphibian and reptile abundance, diversity, and composition within adjacent lowland Amazonian rainforest at San José de Payamino, Ecuador. The road has been closed to vehicle traffic since its construction in 2010. Thus, effects from vehicle mortality, vehicle-related pollution, and road noise were not confounding factors. Herpetofauna were surveyed using both visual encounter surveys and drift fences with pitfall and funnel traps at …


Habitat Use And Avoidance By Foraging Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers In East Texas, John N. Macey, Brent Burt, Daniel Saenz, Richard N. Conner Jan 2016

Habitat Use And Avoidance By Foraging Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers In East Texas, John N. Macey, Brent Burt, Daniel Saenz, Richard N. Conner

Faculty Publications

Picoides borealis (Red-cockaded Woodpecker) is an endangered bird endemic to the Pinus (pine) ecosystems of the southeastern US. Mature pine savannahs with a minimal midstory and lush herbaceous groundcover represent high-quality habitat. This study examines the foraging-habitat patterns of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in East Texas. We present a logistic regression model that best differentiates between foraged and non-foraged habitat. Increases in hardwood-midstory basal area have the greatest negative impact on the probability of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers selecting a habitat patch for foraging. Five additional variables negatively impact foraging probability: shrub height, diameter at breast height (DBH) of pine midstory, canopy closure, density …


Water Soluble Cationic Porphyrin Sensor For Detection Of Hg2+, Pb2+, Cd2+, And Cu2+, Matibur Zamadar, Christopher Orr, Miranda Uherek Jan 2016

Water Soluble Cationic Porphyrin Sensor For Detection Of Hg2+, Pb2+, Cd2+, And Cu2+, Matibur Zamadar, Christopher Orr, Miranda Uherek

Faculty Publications

Here we report the sensing properties of the aqueous solution of meso-tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphine tetrachloride (1) for simultaneous detection of toxic metal ions by using UV-vis spectroscopy. Cationic porphyrin 1 displayed different electronic absorptions in UV-vis region upon interacting with Hg2+, Pb2+, Cd2+, and Cu2+ ions in neutral water solution at room temperature. Quite interestingly, the porphyrin 1 showed that it can function as a single optical chemical sensor and/or metal ion receptor capable of detecting two or more toxic metal ions, particularly Hg2+, Pb2+, and Cd2+ ions coexisting in a water sample. Porphyrin 1 in an aqueous solution provides a unique …


A Technique Of Improved Medial Meniscus Visualization By Anterior Cruciate Ligament Graft Placement In Chronic Anterior Cruciate Deficient Knees, Christopher J. Vertullo, Lahann Wijenayake, Jane E. Grayson Jan 2016

A Technique Of Improved Medial Meniscus Visualization By Anterior Cruciate Ligament Graft Placement In Chronic Anterior Cruciate Deficient Knees, Christopher J. Vertullo, Lahann Wijenayake, Jane E. Grayson

Faculty Publications

It is customary to perform medial meniscus repair before anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) graft placement when undertaken as a combined procedure. However, in chronic ACL-deficient knees, intraoperative anterior tibiofemoral translation can cause the medial meniscus repair to be more technically challenging. Intraoperative anterior tibiofemoral translation can both reduce the visualization of the medial meniscus and make its reduction unstable. An operative sequence alteration of ACL graft placement and tensioning before medial meniscal repair improves medial meniscus visualization in chronically ACL-deficient knees by using the ACL graft’s ability to prevent anterior tibiofemoral translation. The technique sequence is as follows: (a) the …