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Articles 1 - 30 of 153
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Biophysical Resilience Capacity Of The Salish Sea’S Tidal Wetlands To Sea Level Rise, Kenna Kuhn
The Biophysical Resilience Capacity Of The Salish Sea’S Tidal Wetlands To Sea Level Rise, Kenna Kuhn
WWU Graduate School Collection
Tidal wetlands offer significant ecosystem services, cultural identity, and economic opportunities, but the impact that projected SLR will have on tidal wetlands in the Salish Sea is not known. In this thesis, I examine the exposure, watershed-scale biophysical resilience capacity, and jurisdictional variation in resilience capacity of the Salish Sea’s tidal wetlands to SLR. I quantify exposure, resilience, and jurisdictional variation using existing spatial data and analysis techniques. I employ a framework for biophysical resilience capacity developed by NOAA and NERRA. This study’s results indicate that there is substantial variation in wetlands area by watershed, from 0 km2 to …
Distribution And Mixotrophy Of Cryptophyte Phytoplankton In The Northern Gulf Of Alaska, Megan O'Hara
Distribution And Mixotrophy Of Cryptophyte Phytoplankton In The Northern Gulf Of Alaska, Megan O'Hara
WWU Graduate School Collection
The Northern Gulf of Alaska (NGA) is a productive subarctic marine ecosystem that supports high abundances of plankton, fishes, seabirds, and mammals. Research has shown that this high productivity is primarily controlled by seasonal and spatial heterogeneity in the lower trophic level food web. Marine cryptophytes are a crucial, yet understudied, phytoplankton group in the NGA. Cryptophytes have the capacity for mixotrophy (acquiring energy through photosynthesis and feeding) which can improve trophic transfer efficiency, increase cellular growth rates, and improve retention of nutrients in the water column. Field samples collected in spring, summer, and fall 2021 surveyed the contribution of …
Glacial Loss And Threatened Fish: The Future Of Mount Rainier’S Cold-Water Bull Trout Habitats, Kathleen C. Ewen
Glacial Loss And Threatened Fish: The Future Of Mount Rainier’S Cold-Water Bull Trout Habitats, Kathleen C. Ewen
WWU Graduate School Collection
Glaciers play a key ecological role in the river systems that they support. Cold-water reaches supplied by glacial ice serve as critical habitats for aquatic organisms that rely on specific thermal ranges to survive. Federally threatened Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus) require very cold temperatures, like those found in glacial systems, to complete their life cycles. However, glaciers are retreating due to climate change and are expected to continue diminishing throughout this century. Decreased glacial extent could result in warmer stream temperatures downstream from glaciers and, depending on the magnitude of stream temperature increase, cold-water habitats relied upon by Bull Trout …
Trophic Transfer Of Metals From Seaweed To Shellfish In An Aquaculture System, Sophia Boyd
Trophic Transfer Of Metals From Seaweed To Shellfish In An Aquaculture System, Sophia Boyd
WWU Graduate School Collection
Seafood, including fish, shellfish, and seaweed, are an important source of nutrients that could meet some of the increasing demand for food globally. In addition to nutrients, chemical contaminants can also be acquired from the environment by primary producers. Seaweeds take up a variety of inorganic and organic contaminants, including metals, that may pose risks to human health. Through trophic transfer, organisms can accumulate elevated levels of contaminants from consuming lower trophic-level organisms. Since particulate organic matter, including seaweed detritus, is a food source for filter-feeding bivalves, contaminants present in seaweed could transfer to shellfish via ingestion. The purpose of …
Coupling Unoccupied Aerial System Surveys And Elevation Measurements To Predict Native And Nonnative Eelgrass Cover In Padilla Bay, Jacqui Bergner
Coupling Unoccupied Aerial System Surveys And Elevation Measurements To Predict Native And Nonnative Eelgrass Cover In Padilla Bay, Jacqui Bergner
WWU Graduate School Collection
There are two primary species of eelgrass at the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Zostera marina, a native eelgrass, and Zostera japonica, a nonnative. Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) have been frequently used for eelgrass monitoring and mapping, especially for large populations like those in Padilla Bay. UAS imagery have resolutions of 10 cm or better and are much more cost and time effective than aerial surveys via traditional aircraft that may provide similar image resolutions. In this project, multispectral UAS imagery was coupled with a centimeter level Digital Elevation Model (DEM), created from Real Time Kinematic GNSS …
Impact Of Carbonaceous And Inorganic Nanomaterial Chemistry On Polymer Additive Release From Weathered Epoxy Composites, Haley Sefi-Cyr
Impact Of Carbonaceous And Inorganic Nanomaterial Chemistry On Polymer Additive Release From Weathered Epoxy Composites, Haley Sefi-Cyr
WWU Graduate School Collection
Nanomaterials (NMs) are small (< 100 nm), reactive, chemical species that can often be used as polymer fillers to improve mechanical strength and slow the degradation of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). Polymers can undergo physical and chemical weathering which can result in increased release of polymer additives and non-polymerized monomers from the polymer matrix. This project aimed to study how NM chemistry and environmental weathering impacts the release and transformation of relevant PNC systems. Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) PNCs were synthesized containing titanium dioxide (TiO2), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), or graphene oxide (GO) NMs. These composites were subjected to either simulated or natural weathering conditions to quantify and characterize their capacity to leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Environmental variables, including temperature and ultra-violet (UV) light, were investigated for their impact on additive release. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman microscopy were used to characterize the PNCs which were leached in water for one to five days at 25, 45, or 65 °C. The degree of weathering also varied from no weathering, outdoor weathering, or simulated weathering using UV light. Leachates were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry to quantify release of bisphenol A (BPA), tert-butylphenol (TBP), and nonylphenol (NP). There were significant differences between NM types for PNCs weathered outdoors and leached at 25 °C for 24 h, however only TBP was detected in the leachate. When compared to the blank epoxy, GO PNCs leached significantly less in the UV and in May outdoor weathered experiments, MWCNT PNCs leached significantly less when weathered outdoors in May and June, and TiO2 PNCs leached significantly less when UV weathered. Each of the NMs has potential to decrease TBP release through sorption or photodegradation. The carbonaceous NMs (GO and MWCNT) may sorb TBP, inhibiting its release, while TiO2 may photodegrade TBP. The unweathered PNCs leached the most TBP, followed by UV weathered, and then outdoor weathered. A possible explanation for this is photodegradation of TBP by UV light in the UV- and outdoor-weathered experiments leading to removal of TBP prior to leaching. Future experiments should include additional sorption trials and long-term natural weathering with microplastic generation to further explore the release and degradation mechanisms.
The Race Toward Carbon Neutral Ecotourism: Leveraging Life Cycle Analysis And Natural Climate Solutions For A Community Adventure Event, Ted Tarricone
The Race Toward Carbon Neutral Ecotourism: Leveraging Life Cycle Analysis And Natural Climate Solutions For A Community Adventure Event, Ted Tarricone
WWU Graduate School Collection
Global tourism is an interconnected framework of multiple industries that is influenced by and has impacts on economic, social, and environmental structures. Currently, tourism accounts for roughly 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is expected to grow with industry expansion. To develop a scalable system for ecotourism assessment, emission reduction, and solutions to meet carbon neutrality, a small (n=3894 participants) adventure relay race named Ski to Sea in Bellingham, WA was studied. A life cycle analysis (LCA) conducted on the race showed similar proportional results to other tourism LCAs, where transport made up over 80% of the 325 tonnes …
A Characterization Of Hyporheic Temperatures With Applications For Salmon Habitat Restoration In A Thermally Impaired River, Sydney Jantsch
A Characterization Of Hyporheic Temperatures With Applications For Salmon Habitat Restoration In A Thermally Impaired River, Sydney Jantsch
WWU Graduate School Collection
This thesis project is part of an ongoing study assessing the effectiveness of a potentially innovative habitat restoration strategy for Pacific salmon in thermally impaired rivers. This strategy uses engineered log jams (ELJs) to create pockets of cool-water refuge by forming deep scour pools and promoting localized upwellings of shallow subsurface (i.e., hyporheic) water. This project seeks to characterize the relationship between hyporheic temperature and overlying surface stream temperature to elucidate the extent to which hyporheic upwellings can deliver cool water to ELJ-formed pools during the summer low-flow season. Among six sites within a 2.7 km-long study reach on the …
The Economic And Emissions Reduction Potential Of Air Source Heat Pumps As A Replacement For Natural Gas And Electric Resistance Space Heating In The Contiguous United States, Joshua Schraer
WWU Graduate School Collection
It is widely believed that to reduce CO2 emissions the best strategy is to electrify everything, decarbonize the grid, and improve energy efficiency. This research looks specifically at the use of air source heat pumps (AHP) as a tool to reduce the CO2 emissions of heating energy in the residential sector. The landscape of residential energy use is complicated by a broad range of factors. We compare AHP, natural gas (NG), and electric resistance (ER) heating using data from energy prices, temperature, appliance efficiency, building efficiency and marginal emissions data from 2019 as well as modeled data of …
Impact Of Riverbank Lupine (Lupinus Rivularis) On Grand Fir (Abies Grandis) Ectomycorrhizal Symbioses, Andrew Labay
Impact Of Riverbank Lupine (Lupinus Rivularis) On Grand Fir (Abies Grandis) Ectomycorrhizal Symbioses, Andrew Labay
WWU Graduate School Collection
Lupine (Lupinus rivularis) is used in the revegetation of coarse sediments surrounding the Elwha basin in Washington State due to its ability to improve soil conditions. Previous research illustrated that seeding lupine with conifers increased growth and foliar nitrogen, however, decreased ectomycorrhizal (ECM) root colonization, an important symbiosis for conifers used in restoration. We hypothesized the observed decrease in ECM may be due to lupine increasing soil nitrogen, negating the need for a fungal symbiont. To investigate this, we explored the interaction between lupine and ECM colonization of grand fir (Abies grandis) in both a field …
Learning From Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Paralytic Shellfish Toxins In Butter Clams, Jackelyn Garcia
Learning From Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Paralytic Shellfish Toxins In Butter Clams, Jackelyn Garcia
WWU Graduate School Collection
Anthropogenic forcing of marine ecosystems is disproportionately impacting Indigenous food systems and the health of coastal Indigenous communities. With increasing harmful algal events, there is rising concern for access and health of coastal communities who rely on shellfish for commercial, food, subsistence, and ceremonial harvest. In the U.S West Coast, the dinoflagellate Alexandrium spp. may produce paralytic shellfish toxins, which can cause shellfish to become toxic and is of especial concern. While recent research has led to greater awareness of the risks associated with paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), the concern for harmful algae is not new. Coastal Indigenous communities have …
Evaluating Leaf Trait Variation In High Elevation Bristlecone Pine (Pinus Longaeva) Under Increasing Water Stress: Insights From Needle Length, Stomatal Density, And Cambial Growth, Audrey Salerno
WWU Graduate School Collection
Increasing aridification caused by climate change is altering growth patterns in trees. There is revived attention on how foliar traits respond to climate and the relationship of these traits to ring width. Bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva, DK Bailey), a long-lived conifer found at high elevations in the cool and dry intermountain west of America, is used in paleoclimate reconstructions by measurement of their annually resolvable tree rings. The species also has annually datable needles retained on their branches for an average of 45 years making it the ideal subject for research on foliar trait and growth relationships under …
Generations Of Stewards: Re-Indigenizing Youth Leadership, Learning, And Conservation Education, Drew Slaney
Generations Of Stewards: Re-Indigenizing Youth Leadership, Learning, And Conservation Education, Drew Slaney
WWU Graduate School Collection
My thesis is an exploratory case study into epistemologies (or worldviews) supported by organizations and agencies that develop outdoor conservation and education programs for Native youth called Native Youth Stewardship Programs (NYSPs). This subject relies on the content developed by Medin and Bang (2014) who state that an under-representation of Indigenous peoples in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields is largely the result of epistemological conflicts between educators and Indigenous students. I hypothesize that there is a considerable epistemological difference between the conservation entities developing programs to engage Native youth. These differences may create significant barriers with youth recruitment, …
Contaminants Of Emerging Concern In Puget Sound: Screening, Prioritization, And Estrogenic Mixture Response Assessment, Maya Faber
WWU Graduate School Collection
Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are chemicals used in daily life, such as pharmaceuticals, personal hygiene products, steroids, pesticides, and flame retardants. The environmental occurrence and toxicology of CECs are poorly characterized, and they are generally unregulated. Traditional toxicological approaches rely on in vivo methods to test whole organisms for apical endpoints, including survival, reproduction, and growth. This is time-consuming and costly, both financially and in terms of laboratory animal well-being, limiting ecotoxicological data for CECs. To overcome this challenge, we are utilizing alternative approaches, including New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), to perform a screening-level evaluation of CECs present in Puget …
Visual Characteristics Of Walleye Pollock And Chinook Salmon: Modeling Theoretical Visual Space And Target Contrast Of Trawling Materials In The Bering Sea, Rebecca Haehn
WWU Graduate School Collection
Walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) and Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are economic and cultural resources in Alaska. Chinook salmon bycatch is a large concern within the pollock fishery. Current strategies to reduce salmon bycatch include modifying trawl gear by implementing artificial light near or on escapement panels to increase salmon escapement. The visual characteristics of pollock and Chinook salmon were investigated to understand the perception of trawl gear. The visual pigments of each species were measured using microspectrophotometry (MSP). Pollock were dichromats with spectral sensitivity ranging from 449nm–518 nm and Chinook salmon were trichromats with sensitivity ranging …
Value Mapping And The Community Wildfire Protection Planning Process In Entiat, Wa, Katharine Kiendl
Value Mapping And The Community Wildfire Protection Planning Process In Entiat, Wa, Katharine Kiendl
WWU Graduate School Collection
Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) offer benefits for communities effected by wildfire risk and ignitions. CWPP’s serve several functions; they develop interlocal agreements between agencies that provide wildfire response and management, they develop hazard mitigation and wildfire education programs, and they define areas as wildland urban interface (WUI). The CWPP drafting process can impact the resources available to a wildfire risk community. However, despite the impact to communities effected by wildfire, CWPP planning is considered a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) allowing CWPP’s to be developed without public review. Given that community plans with public participation …
Methane Emissions In Port Susan Bay: The Missing Link In Carbon Accounting, Rachel S. Yonemura
Methane Emissions In Port Susan Bay: The Missing Link In Carbon Accounting, Rachel S. Yonemura
WWU Graduate School Collection
Coastal wetlands have the ability to sequester large amounts of “blue carbon” in sediments that would otherwise act as a harmful greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. The recently restored marsh in Port Susan Bay, Washington sequesters 231gC m-2 yr-1 and accretes 2.75cm of sediment per year. While this restored marsh stores nearly twice as much carbon as the nearby natural marsh, it can also emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas that has the potential to outweigh the benefits of carbon storage. It is critical to measure these emissions to determine if this site is a net source or …
Off-Channel Habitat Restoration Using Groundwater Infiltration Galleries In The Methow River Basin, Washington, Nicole Masurat
Off-Channel Habitat Restoration Using Groundwater Infiltration Galleries In The Methow River Basin, Washington, Nicole Masurat
WWU Graduate School Collection
Anthropogenic development in river floodplains has diminished the extent groundwater and surface water interact. This interaction plays an important role in the formation of floodplain habitats that provide essential refuge for stream biota when extreme seasonal conditions arise. To address the need for more off-channel habitat in the floodplain, a novel strategy of habitat construction was implemented by the Yakama Nation in the Methow River Basin. At two locations, groundwater infiltration galleries were installed in relic side channels disconnected from the mainstem by infrastructure. These installations collect subsurface flow and drain it to excavated channels connected to the mainstem channel …
Uav Remote Sensing Approaches To Mapping Glacier Ablation And Snow Algae Radiative Forcing In The North Cascades., Shannon Healy
Uav Remote Sensing Approaches To Mapping Glacier Ablation And Snow Algae Radiative Forcing In The North Cascades., Shannon Healy
WWU Graduate School Collection
The stability of our cryosphere relies on highly reflective snow surfaces that reflect solar radiation, thereby maintaining the energy balance of the earth. The advances in Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology allow for researchers to assess snow surfaces in remote terrain at unprecedented scales. With this thesis, we demonstrate the range of UAV applications to assess glacier ablation and map snow algae in the North Cascades. The first chapter employs a low-cost, light-weight UAV to measure ablation of the Sholes Glacier using Structure-from-Motion technology and validates the measurements with outlet stream discharge data collected by the Nooksack Indian Tribe. We …
Faith In A Changing Climate: Policy Framing And Southern Evangelical Christian Views On Climate Policy, Sydne Tursky
Faith In A Changing Climate: Policy Framing And Southern Evangelical Christian Views On Climate Policy, Sydne Tursky
WWU Graduate School Collection
As the effects of climate change become more severe, many environmentalists push for federal climate policy to limit greenhouse gas emissions. However, no federal climate policy has amassed enough support to pass, largely because of America’s contentious political climate. White evangelical Christians, who are often Republican, trend toward climate change skepticism and climate policy opposition. They comprise 25% of voters in the United States (National Election Pool, 2016). Therefore, climate policies must have bipartisan appeal to pass. Policy makers may generate bipartisan appeal through creative framing of climate policy that emphasizes more than just the environmental benefits of climate change …
Tire-Wear-Particle Leachate Toxicity To Americamysis Bahia: Analysis Of Sublethal And Molecular Effects, Karrin Leazer
Tire-Wear-Particle Leachate Toxicity To Americamysis Bahia: Analysis Of Sublethal And Molecular Effects, Karrin Leazer
WWU Graduate School Collection
Tire-wear particles (TWPs) are considered among the largest contributors of microplastics to the environment. They are subject to break-down due to environmental weathering, which allows for potentially toxic chemicals to be released from and sorbed onto the particles. In this study, leachate generated from “weathered” and “un-weathered” TWPs were used for sublethal toxicity tests with Americamysis bahia. Organisms were exposed for 2, 4, and 6 days and the effects endpoints included changes in respiration rate and molecular responses (i.e., changes in the abundance of transcripts after 4 days of exposure). A threshold for stimulated respiration rate was detected for weathered …
Transport Mechanisms Of Nitrate On The Washington Shelf, Liesl G. Danyluk
Transport Mechanisms Of Nitrate On The Washington Shelf, Liesl G. Danyluk
WWU Graduate School Collection
Nutrient supply is a fundamental driver of primary productivity, and often a limiting factor for organism growth in both open-ocean and coastal systems. Continental shelves are locations of high primary productivity in the world’s oceans because of high nutrient supply. Understanding the dominant transport mechanisms of nutrients in these locations is paramount to understanding patterns in primary productivity. While there have been extensive studies of nutrient transport and productivity on the Pacific Northwestern coast of the US (Davis et al., 2014, Siedlecki et al., 2015, Ware and Thomson, 2005, Banas et al., 2009), there is renewed interest in understanding these …
Responses Of The Symbiotic Sea Anemone Anthopleura Elegantissima To Microplastics, Robert Beck
Responses Of The Symbiotic Sea Anemone Anthopleura Elegantissima To Microplastics, Robert Beck
WWU Graduate School Collection
The Salish Sea, a large and complex fjord estuary, receives waters impacted by a watershed that includes 8 million people aggregated in several large urban and industrial centers. Microplastics, defined as plastic particles less than 5 mm in their largest dimension, are transported from this watershed into the Salish Sea where they are easily ingested by filter feeders, herbivores and predators. To measure effects of microplastics on one common and important intertidal species, we exposed the sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima to polyester microfibers at concentrations of 0, 0.01, or 0.1 g/L in the laboratory and measured the responses of the …
The Effects Of Ocean Acidification And Temperature Rise On The Thermal Tolerance And Critical Thermal Limit Of Pacific Herring (Clupea Pallasii), Nicole R. Singh
The Effects Of Ocean Acidification And Temperature Rise On The Thermal Tolerance And Critical Thermal Limit Of Pacific Herring (Clupea Pallasii), Nicole R. Singh
WWU Graduate School Collection
Anthropogenic climate change, including the interactive effects of ocean acidification and temperature rise, is projected to affect marine ecosystems by challenging the environmental tolerance limits of individual species. Such impacts have been documented in a handful of marine fishes, including major physiological effects experienced in early-life stages of Pacific herring, an important forage and commercial fish species widely distributed in coastal systems across the North Pacific. In this study, we investigated the effects of temperatures between 10- 16°C and two pCO2 levels (ambient and high pCO2) on hatching and survival of Pacific herring. Survival after acute temperature exposure was assessed …
The Photochemical Evolution Of Dissolved Black Carbon In Snow: A Case Study From The North Cascades, Molly Peek
The Photochemical Evolution Of Dissolved Black Carbon In Snow: A Case Study From The North Cascades, Molly Peek
WWU Graduate School Collection
Black carbon (BC) is partially combusted organic material from natural and anthropogenic sources, and is a highly effective driver of melt in the cryosphere. BC has been found in both populated and remote areas around the globe. This study follows the evolution of UV-exposed dissolved BC (DBC) in the cryosphere using the Benzenepolycarboxylic Acid (BPCA) markers B4CA, B5CA, and B6CA. Samples were collected from Mount Baker, Washington, and from both an in situ field study and a controlled photodegradation study, both using natural and anthropogenic BC standards. Both natural and experimental samples had a dominance of B5CA relative to other …
Analysis Of Eelgrass In Padilla Bay, Washington Using An Uncrewed Aerial System, Hannah Hein
Analysis Of Eelgrass In Padilla Bay, Washington Using An Uncrewed Aerial System, Hannah Hein
WWU Graduate School Collection
Eelgrass is an important part of coastal environments in the Pacific Northwest as it provides crucial habitat and moderates storm surge. Padilla Bay, Washington is home to one of the largest eelgrass meadows in North America and contains the native Zostera marina and the non-native Z. japonica. The relationship between these two species is of interest due to the influx of Z. japonica in previously unvegetated areas. I used an uncrewed aerial system (UAS) and a multispectral camera to study species dynamics. I compared the ability of values derived from the band data, two vegetation indices, and a principal …
Assessing The Use Of The California Sea Cucumber (Apostichopus Californicus) Within Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (Imta), Casey Pruitt
Assessing The Use Of The California Sea Cucumber (Apostichopus Californicus) Within Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (Imta), Casey Pruitt
WWU Graduate School Collection
There has been recent interest in Washington State, USA in the culture of the California sea cucumber (Apostichopus californicus) for both wild-stock enhancement and as an aquaculture resource. The species is a good candidate for Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), where the animals are supported entirely on the excess organic biodeposits from existing floating aquaculture operations (e.g., bivalves or finfish). In IMTA, excess nutrients and organic materials from higher-trophic-level organisms are taken up by lower-trophic-level species, providing both environmental benefits and secondary products for sale. Unfortunately, a reliable longterm tagging and tracking method is not currently known for A. …
Somatic Learning And Eco-Anxiety In Environmental Education Teacher Preparation, Pippa Hemsley
Somatic Learning And Eco-Anxiety In Environmental Education Teacher Preparation, Pippa Hemsley
WWU Graduate School Collection
This study investigated the potential for somatic pedagogies to address eco-anxiety among prospective environmental educators. Although it can also have positive effects, eco-anxiety often becomes an overwhelming experience that contributes to high levels of burnout and inaction. Somatic pedagogies are those that purposefully include a sensory-reflective component. A short curricular intervention was implemented in an environmental education curriculum class of 19 undergraduate students to explore how using somatic pedagogies to reflect on eco-emotions impacted readiness to address eco-anxiety in their future teaching, and in what ways somatic pedagogies might support environmental education teacher preparation. Using grounded theory methodology to analyze …
Bioaccumulation Of Metals In Whatcom County Estuaries By Native Tidal Plants, Margaret Critchlow
Bioaccumulation Of Metals In Whatcom County Estuaries By Native Tidal Plants, Margaret Critchlow
WWU Graduate School Collection
Estuaries are unique environments which provide many needed ecosystem services, but are threatened by anthropogenic activities. Contamination with metals represents a significant concern, as even small amounts can persist in the soil and affect biological functions. Phytoremediation, or the use of plants to take up contaminants from the soil, is one possible solution. There is a lack of research on estuarine phytoremediators native to the Pacific Northwest, as well as the ultimate fate of these metals following plant senescence. In this study, we evaluated the total metal concentration at three Whatcom County, WA estuaries and sampled four native plant species …
Soil Mesofauna And Microbial Community Response To Mixed Biochar And Compost Application In A Skagit Silt Loam, Jameson Goff
Soil Mesofauna And Microbial Community Response To Mixed Biochar And Compost Application In A Skagit Silt Loam, Jameson Goff
WWU Graduate School Collection
I sampled Skagit silt loam soils from a field trial at the WSU NWREC where biochar and compost were added to potato crops in late spring pre-planting. Soil mesofauna were sampled at mid and late-summer, while soil microbes were sampled at late summer exclusively. Soil treatments included mixed biochar and compost, compost-only, and an unamended control. Mesofauna were extracted with Berlese funnels and sorted to functional groups. F:B ratios and total microbial C were determined using microbiometer test kits. To test whether biochar and compost induced changes to soil mesofauna communities, I used permutational ANOVA. Differences in F:B ratios and …