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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Development And Assessment Of A Spatial Decision Support System For Conservation Planning, Sean Murphy
Development And Assessment Of A Spatial Decision Support System For Conservation Planning, Sean Murphy
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Land conservation is frequently cited as the most effective means of limiting the detrimental effects of anthropogenic forces on natural resources. Because governmental entities can be hampered by fiscal and political concerns, land trusts are increasing relied on to protect habitat. However, these groups often lack the analysis and research tools necessary to meet their mission. Geographic Information System (GIs) technologies such as Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) offer the promise of allowing decision makers to explore their decision space at a landscape level of analysis. But critics have charged that research in this arena is largely anecdotal in nature. …
Pond-Breeding Amphibian Species Distributions In A Beaver-Modified Landscape, Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine, Jesse Cunningham
Pond-Breeding Amphibian Species Distributions In A Beaver-Modified Landscape, Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine, Jesse Cunningham
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In order to maintain pond-breeding amphibian species richness, it is important to understand how both natural and anthropogenic disturbances affect species assemblages and individual species distributions both at the scale of individual ponds and at a larger landscape scale. The goal of this project was to investigate what characteristics of ponds and the surrounding wetland landscape were most effective in predicting pond-breeding species richness and the individual occurrence of wood frog (Rana sylvatica), bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) and pickerel frog (Rana palustris) breeding sites in a beaver-modified landscape and how this landscape has changed over …
An Engineering, Economic, And Political Approach To Beach Erosion Mitigation And Harbor Development: A Review Of The Beach Communities Of Camp Ellis, Maine, Wells, Maine, And Cape May, New Jersey, Edmund Cervone
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The history of coastal engineering projects is fraught with problems. In this thesis I examine the federal navigation project at Wells, Maine. In Wells, an incomplete understanding of the coastal setting led to a faulty engineering design responsible for a poorly functioning inlet and harbor and damage to neighboring beaches and wildlife habitat. Project planners and designers did not account for all unforeseen problems that arose. Reviewing the history of Wells Harbor demonstrates how proper attention to the natural setting, economics, and the political environment is essential to a successful project and enables agencies and stakeholders better to address contingencies …