Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sustainable Irrigation Based On Co-Regulation Of Soil Water Supply And Atmospheric Evaporative Demand, Jingwen Zhang, Kaiyu Guan, Bin Peng, Ming Pan, Wang Zhou, Chongya Jiang, Hyungsuk Kimm, Trenton E. Franz, Robert F. Grant, Yi Yang, Daran R. Rudnick, Derek M. Heeren, Andrew E. Suyker, William L. Bauerle, Grace L. Miner

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Irrigation is an important adaptation to reduce crop yield loss due to water stress from both soil water deficit (low soil moisture) and atmospheric aridity (high vapor pressure deficit, VPD). Traditionally, irrigation has primarily focused on soil water deficit. Observational evidence demonstrates that stomatal conductance is co-regulated by soil moisture and VPD from water supply and demand aspects. Here we use a validated hydraulically-driven ecosystem model to reproduce the co-regulation pattern. Specifically, we propose a plant-centric irrigation scheme considering water supply-demand dynamics (SDD), and compare it with soil-moisture-based irrigation scheme (management allowable depletion, MAD) for continuous maize cropping systems in …

Magnitude And Uncertainty Of Nitrous Oxide Emissions From North America Based On Bottom-Up And Top-Down Approaches: Informing Future Research And National Inventories, R. Xu, Hanqin Tian, N. Pan, R. L. Thompson, J. G. Canadell, E. A. Davidson, C. Nevison, W. Winiwarter, H. Shi, S. Pan, J. Chang, P. Ciais, Shree Dangal, A. Ito, R. B. Jackson, F. Joos, R. Lauerwald, S. Lienert, T. Maavara, D. B. Millet, P. A. Raymond, P. Regnier, F. N. Tubiello, N. Vuichard, K. C. Wells, C. Wilson, J. Yang, Y. Yao, S. Zaehle, F. Zhou

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We synthesized N₂O emissions over North America using 17 bottom-up (BU) estimates from 1980– 2016 and five top-down (TD) estimates from 1998 to 2016. The BU-based total emission shows a slight increase owing to U.S. agriculture, while no consistent trend is shown in TD estimates. During 2007–2016, North American N₂O emissions are estimated at 1.7 (1.0–3.0) Tg N yr⁻¹ (BU) and 1.3 (0.9–1.5) Tg N yr⁻¹ (TD). Anthropogenic emissions were twice as large as natural fluxes from soil and water. Direct agricultural and industrial activities accounted for 68% of total anthropogenic emissions, 71% of …

Ten Simple Rules For Creating A Scientific Web Application, Jessica L. Burnett, Renee Dale, Chung-Yi Hou, Gabriela Palomo-Muoz, Kaitlin Stack Whitney, Steve Aulenbach, Robert Sky Bristol, Denis Valle, Tristan P. Wellman

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The use of scientific web applications (SWApps) across biological and environmental sciences has grown exponentially over the past decades or so. Although quantitative evidence for such increased use in practice is scant, collectively, we have observed that these tools become more commonplace in teaching, outreach, and in science coproduction (e.g., as decision support tools). Despite the increased popularity of SWApps, researchers often receive little or no training in creating such tools. Although rolling out SWApps can be a relatively simple and quick process using modern, popular platforms like R shiny apps or Tableau dashboards, making them useful, usable, and sustainable …

Soil Microbial Community Dynamics In Response To Prescribed Extreme Fires Following Juniperus Virginiana Invasion In The Loess Canyons Of Nebraska, Julie A. Fowler

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In Nebraska and other regions of the Great Plains, the conifer Juniperus virginiana (eastern redcedar) is converting grasslands to dense woodlands. This is driven by the interacting drivers of fire suppression, altered grazing regimes, climate change and other anthropogenic factors, impacting the provisioning of ecosystem services. This vegetation state transition modifies water resource regulation and biogeochemical cycles leading to altered edaphic properties including soil microbial community composition. To restore these grasslands and control J. virginiana spread, prescribed extreme burns are implemented as a management tool through local prescribed burn associations. We hypothesized that the alternative state transition to dense J. …

Constraints To Waterfowl Hunting By Hunters And Anglers In The Central United States, Matthew P. Hinrichs, Matthew P. Gruntorad, Julia A. Nawrocki, Mark P. Vrtiska, Mark A. Pegg, Christopher J. Chizinski

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Waterfowl hunting participation has been on the decline since the mid‐1980s. We used a web‐based survey to better understand waterfowl hunting constraints (i.e., factors that limit or prohibit participation and enjoyment in leisure activities) among hunters and anglers that hunted or did not hunt waterfowl in the central United States. Forty‐eight constraint items were condensed into 10 constraint factors: Rules and Regulations, Waterfowl Identification, Cost, Waterfowl Hunting Skills, Land Access and Permissions, Interference by Other Hunters, Travel, Social, Waterfowl Populations, and Views of Others. We observed significant effects of both state of residence and activity type (i.e., frequent waterfowl hunters, …

A Physiological Signal Derived From Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence Quantifies Crop Physiological Response To Environmental Stresses In The U.S. Corn Belt, Hyungsuk Kimm, Kaiyu Guan, Chongya Jiang, Guofang Miao, Genghong Wu, Andrew Suyker, Elizabeth A. Ainsworth, Carl J. Bernacchi, Christopher M. Montes, Joseph A. Berry, Xi Yang, Christian Frankenberg, Min Chen, Philipp Köhler

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) measurements have shown unique potential for quantifying plant physiological stress. However, recent investigations found canopy structure and radiation largely control SIF, and physiological relevance of SIF remains yet to be fully understood. This study aims to evaluate whether the SIF-derived physiological signal improves quantification of crop responses to environmental stresses, by analyzing data at three different spatial scales within the U.S. Corn Belt, i.e. experiment plot, field, and regional scales, where ground-based portable, stationary and space-borne hyperspectral sensing systems are used, respectively. We found that, when controlling for variations in incoming radiation and canopy structure, crop …

Biodiversity Scale-Dependence And Opposing Multi-Level Correlations Underlie Differences Among Taxonomic, Phylogenetic And Functional Diversity, Nadejda A. Mirochnitchenko, Erica F. Stuber, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Aim: Biodiversity is a multidimensional property of biological communities that represents different information depending on how it is measured, but how dimensions relate to one another and under what conditions is not well understood. We explore how taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity can differ in scale-of-effect dependence and habitat-biodiversity relationships, and subsequently how spatial differences among biodiversity dimensions may arise. Location: Nebraska, United States. Taxon: Birds. Methods: Across 2016 and 2017, we conducted 2,641 point counts at 781 sites. We modeled the occupancy of 141 species using Bayesian Bernoulli-Bernoulli hierarchical logistic regressions. We calculated species richness (SR), phylogenetic diversity (PD), …

Landscape Transformations Produce Favorable Roosting Conditions For Turkey Vultures And Black Vultures, Jacob E. Hill, Kenneth F. Kellner, Bryan M. Kluever, Michael L. Avery, John S. Humphrey, Eric A. Tillman, Travis L. Devault, Jerrold L. Belant

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Recent increases in turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) and black vulture (Coragyps atratus) populations in North America have been attributed in part to their success adapting to human-modified landscapes. However, the capacity for such landscapes to generate favorable roosting conditions for these species has not been thoroughly investigated. We assessed the role of anthropogenic and natural landscape elements on roosting habitat selection of 11 black and 7 turkey vultures in coastal South Carolina, USA using a GPS satellite transmitter dataset derived from previous research. Our dataset spanned 2006–2012 and contained data from 7916 nights of roosting. Landscape …

Towards A More Comprehensive Understanding Of Wild Pig (Sus Scrofa) Impacts On Agricultural Producers: Insights From A Texas Case Study, Keith M. Carlisle, Nicole Didero, Sophie Mckee, Julie Elser, Stephanie A. Shwiff

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

This research investigates the impacts of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa Linneaus) on agricultural producers in Texas, with the aim of identifying and describing all categories of wild pig impacts and quantifying the extent of producers’ over- or underestimation of their total wild pig-related costs in 2018, as compared to calculations based upon data subsequently provided by the producers about individual wild pig-related costs and losses. Based on interviews with 23 producers in 16 Texas counties, we identified more than 20 discrete categories of negative impacts and negligible positive impacts associated with wild pigs. Among them were categories that have …

Sex And Nest Type Influence Avian Blood Parasite Prevalence In A High-Elevation Bird Community, Marina D. Rodriguez, Paul F. Doherty, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Kathryn P. Huyvaert

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: The prevalence of avian haemosporidian parasites and the factors influencing infection in the Colorado Rocky Mountains are largely unknown. With climate change expected to promote the expansion of vector and avian blood parasite distributions, baseline knowledge and continued monitoring of the prevalence and diversity of these parasites is needed.

Methods: Using an occupancy modeling framework, we conducted a survey of haemosporidian parasite species infecting an avian community in the Colorado Rocky Mountains in order to estimate the prevalence and diversity of blood parasites and to investigate species-level and individual-level characteristics that may influence infection.

Results: We estimated the prevalence …

Reproductive Success Of Captive-Reared Allegheny Woodrats (Neotoma Magister) Released Into Genetically Depauperate Populations, Miracle M. Davis, Timothy J. Smyser, Scott A. Johnson, Joseph Duchamp, Jeffery L. Larkin, Robert K. Swihart, Jacqueline M. Doyle

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Habitat fragmentation and degradation have led to a proliferation of small and isolated populations that are vulnerable to genetic erosion. Reduction in habitat and concomitant declines in population connectivity can expediate the collapse of species that exist as natural metapopulations. In recent years, Allegheny woodrats (Neotoma magister) have experienced local extirpations and declines in genetic diversity across their range due to disease-related mortality, reduced food availability, and disruption of connectivity among subpopulations. In response, we developed a captive-breeding program to facilitate genetic management of isolated woodrat populations in Indiana. Between 2010 and 2012, 27 captive-reared individuals were released to four …

Economic Estimates Of Wild Hog (Sus Scrofa) Damage And Control Among Young Forest Plantations In Alabama, Micah Fern, Rebecca Barlow, Chris Slootmaker, John Kush, Stephanie Shwiff, Larry Teeter, Jim Armstrong

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Operating as ecological engineers, the increased distribution and abundance of wild hogs (Sus scrofa) has caused considerable socio-economic impacts. The international scope of economic research providing wild hog damage estimates are often confined to agricultural crops, while damage estimates among forest plantations are lacking. In Alabama, private landowners hold the majority of timberland acreage and are less equipped to absorb financial losses from wild hog damage than their industrial counterparts. A survey was conducted to estimate the economic impact of wild hogs, namely costs of damage and control, to privately owned forestlands. The survey was distributed in the …

Responses Of Turkey Vultures To Unmanned Aircraft Systems Vary By Platform, Morgan B. Pfeiffer, Bradley F. Blackwell, Thomas W. Seamans, Bruce N. Buckingham, Joshua L. Hoblet, Patrice E. Baumhardt

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A challenge that conservation practitioners face is manipulating behavior of nuisance species. The turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) can cause substantial damage to aircraft if struck. The goal of this study was to assess vulture responses to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for use as a possible dispersal tool. Our treatments included three platforms (fixed-wing, multirotor, and a predator-like ornithopter [powered by flapping flight]) and two approach types (30 m overhead or targeted towards a vulture) in an operational context. We evaluated perceived risk as probability of reaction, reaction time, flight-initiation distance (FID), vulture remaining index, and latency to return. …

Potential Use For Serosurveillance Of Feral Swine To Map Risk For Anthrax Exposure, Texas, Usa, Rachel M. Maison, Courtney F. Pierce, Izabela K. Ragan, Vienna R. Brown, Michael J. Bodenchuk, Richard A. Bowen, Angela M. Bosco-Lauth

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Anthrax is a disease of concern in many mammals, including humans. Management primarily consists of prevention through vaccination and tracking clinical-level observations because environmental isolation is laborious and bacterial distribution across large geographic areas diffi cult to confi rm. Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are an invasive species with an extensive range in the southern United States that rarely succumbs to anthrax. We present evidence that feral swine might serve as biosentinels based on comparative seroprevalence in swine from historically defi ned anthrax-endemic and non–anthraxendemic regions of Texas. Overall seropositivity was 43.7% (n = 478), and logistic regression revealed county endemicity …

Deterring Non-Target Birds From Toxic Bait Sites For Wild Pigs, Nathan P. Snow, Joseph M. Halseth, Justin A. Foster, Michael J. Lavelle, Justin W. Fischer, Michael P. Glow, Ingrid A. Messer, Seth M. Cook, Kurt C. Vercauteren

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Toxic baiting of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is a potential new tool for population control and damage reduction in the US. Field trials testing a prototype toxic bait (HOGGONE 2 containing 5% sodium nitrite [SN]), though, revealed that wild pigs spilled small particles of toxic bait outside of bait stations which subsequently created hazards for non-target species that consumed those particles, primarily passerine birds. To deter non-target birds from consuming particles of spilled bait, we tested four deterrents at mock bait sites (i.e., baited with bird seed) in north-central Colorado, USA during April–May 2020. We found a programable, inflatable deterrent …

Rehydrating The Landscape At Yanget, Geraldton, Western Australia, Jamie Bowyer, Rod O'Bree

Natural resources published reports

Rod and Bridie O’Bree’s farm is 25 km east of Geraldton in the Northern Agricultural Region of Western Australia. The long-term rainfall average is 486 mm although that has dropped to 354 mm over the last 30 years. They run a 150 head beef cattle herd, fatten 500-700 lambs annually and have a 40-60 head horse stud on the farm. They purchased the farm early in 2008 after one of the worst droughts in the area. There was little to no vegetation, brown or green, across the farm and all of the water from a 25 mm rain event ran …

American Burying Beetle, Plant Richness, And Soil Property Responses To Collapse Of Juniperus Virginiana Woodlands With Fire, Alison Ludwig

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Grasslands are declining in the Great Plains due to land use changes, woody plant encroachment, and loss of historic fire cycles. Prescribed burn associations have utilized prescribed fire to collapse invading woodlands and allow the restoration of grasslands. This fire is considered “extreme” because it is capable of changing the structure and function of an ecosystem. Our study site is the Loess Canyons Experimental Landscape, a long-term, ecoregion-scale experiment to apply prescribed fire across the region to restore grasslands. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project established the Loess Canyons ecoregion as a Biologically-Unique Landscape in 2005 with the state’s wildlife action …

How Do Genetic Relatedness And Spatial Proximity Shape African Swine Fever Infections In Wild Boar?, Tomasz Podgórski, Kim M. Pepin, Anna Radko, Angelika Podbielska, Magdalena Łyjak, Grzegorz Woźniakowski, Tomasz Borowik

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The importance of social and spatial structuring of wildlife populations for disease spread, though widely recognized, is still poorly understood in many host-pathogen systems. In particular, system-specific kin relationships among hosts can create contact heterogeneities and differential disease transmission rates. Here, we investigate how distance-dependent infection risk is influenced by genetic relatedness in a novel host-pathogen system: wild boar (Sus scrofa) and African swine fever (ASF).We hypothesized that infection risk would correlate positively with proximity and relatedness to ASF-infected individuals but expected those relationships to weaken with the distance between individuals due to decay in contact rates and …

Feasibility Discussion Of Potential Carbon Offsetting Options For Nebraska, Andrew Mwape

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of carbon offsetting options in the context of the state of Nebraska, this discussion shows that the choice and decisions about which option is better than the other depends on the interests at play and expected outcomes of the participation in carbon markets. However, irrespective of the motive to engage in emission reduction projects for carbon marketing, factors such as cost, and project efficiency can never be overlooked. Given the options discussed in this report, Nebraska has a lot of potential for carbon offsetting or emission reduction projects that would not only reduce and …

In-Vitro Micropropagation And Acclimatization Of Selected Florida Native Orchids, Andrew Mullin

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Florida is home to 106 native orchid species with the majority of them being endangered or critically imperiled, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Institute for Regional Conservation (IRC). In nature orchid germination rates are very low because they lack an endosperm, instead depending on an obligate relationship with a mycorrhizal fungus for nutrients. Most orchid seeds can be germinated in-vitro without the need for specific mycorrhizal fungi and therefore high rates of germination can be achieved. This study aims are a) to establish the fastest and most efficient in-vitro seed germination media and …

Correlated Evolution Of Distinct Signals Associated With Increased Social Selection In Female White-Shouldered Fairywrens, John Anthony Jones, Karan J. Odom, Ian R. Hoppe, Doka Nason, Serena Ketaloya, Jordan Karubian

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Conspicuous female signals have recently received substantial scientific attention, but it remains unclear if their evolution is the result of selection acting on females independently of males or if mutual selection facilitates female change. Species that express female, but not male, phenotypic variation among populations represents a useful opportunity to address this knowledge gap. White-shouldered fairywrens (Malurus alboscapulatus) are tropical songbirds with a well-resolved phylogeny where female, but not male, coloration varies allopatrically across subspecies. We explored how four distinct signaling modalities, each putatively associated with increased social selection, are expressed in two populations that vary in competitive pressure on …

Salient Experiences In Student Development: Impact Of An Undergraduate Stem Teacher Preparation Program, Amie S. Sommers, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Paula Jakopovic, Julio Rivera, Neal Grandgenett, John A. Conrad, William E. Tapprich, Christine E. Cutucache

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The need for a comprehensive, high-quality pipeline for the development of undergraduate pre-service teachers, especially those that represent a diverse student body, within STEM disciplines is acute. Here, we studied the NoyceSCIENCE program to determine the most impactful experiences offered to undergraduates through the lens of student development theory. We used qualitative coding to analyze data collected from journals (n = 29) written by students of varying backgrounds, and at varying levels within the program (i.e., the Scholar and Intern level) over a 3-year program running period. We observed that faculty mentorship, the ability of undergraduates to mentor others, volunteer …

Monitoring Agroecosystem Productivity And Phenology At A National Scale: A Metric Assessment Framework, Dawn M. Browning, Eric S. Russell, Guillermo E. Ponce-Campos, Nicole Kaplan, Andrew D. Richardson, Bijan Seyednasrollah, Sheri Spiegal, Nicanor Saliendra, Joseph G. Alfieri, John Baker, Carl Bernacchi, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, David Bosch, Elizabeth H. Boughton, Raoul K. Boughton, Pat Clark, Gerald Flerchinger, Nuria Gomez-Casanovas, Sarah Goslee, Nick M. Haddad, David Hoover, Abdullah Jaradat, Marguerite Mauritz, Gregory W. Mccarty, Gretchen R. Miller, John Sadler, Amartya Saha, Russell L. Scott, Andrew Suyker, Craig Tweedie, Jeffrey D. Wood, Xukai Zhang, Shawn D. Taylor

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Effective measurement of seasonal variations in the timing and amount of production is critical to managing spatially heterogeneous agroecosystems in a changing climate. Although numerous technologies for such measurements are available, their relationships to one another at a continental extent are unknown. Using data collected from across the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network and other networks, we investigated correlations among key metrics representing primary production, phenology, and carbon fluxes in croplands, grazing lands, and crop-grazing integrated systems across the continental U.S. Metrics we examined included gross primary productivity (GPP) estimated from eddy covariance (EC) towers and modelled from the Landsat …

The U.S. Inland Creel And Angler Survey Catalog (Creelcat): Development, Applications, And Opportunities, Abigail J. Lynch, Nicholas A. Sievert, Holly S. Embke, Ashley M. Robertson, Bonnie J.E. Myers, Micheal S. Allen, Zachary S. Feiner, Frederick Hoogakker, Scott Knoche, Rebecca M. Krogman, Stephen R. Midway, Chelsey L. Nieman, Craig P. Paukert, Kevin L. Pope, Mark W. Rogers, Lyndsie S. Wszola, T. Douglas Beard

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Inland recreational fishing, defined as primarily leisure-driven fishing in freshwaters, is a popular pastime in the USA. State natural resource agencies endeavor to provide high-quality and sustainable fishing opportunities for anglers. Managers often use creel and other angler survey data to inform state- and waterbody-level management efforts. Despite the broad implementation of angler surveys and their importance to fisheries management at state scales, regional and national coordination among these activities is minimal, limiting data applicability for larger-scale management practices and research. Here, we introduce the U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat), a first-of-its-kind, publicly available national database of …

Wildlife Responses To Livestock Guard Dogs And Domestic Sheep On Open Range, Daniel Kinka, Jeffrey T. Schultz, Julie K. Young

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are an attractant to carnivores; however, sheep are often accompanied by humans and livestock guardian dogs (LGDs; Canis familiaris), which defend sheep from depredation. Sheep also compete directly with wildlife for grazing resources. Although practiced for millennia in much of the world outside North America, the effect that transhumance has on wildlife is poorly understood. To test the effect of sheep bands (sheep, humans, and LGDs) on wildlife, we modeled the detection probability of wild mammals relative to the presence of sheep bands in the Northwestern United States. Sheep band presence was associated …

Mongooses (Urva Auropunctata) As Reservoir Hosts Of Leptospira Species In The United States Virgin Islands, 2019–2020, Hannah M. Cranford, A. Springer Browne, Karen Lecount, Tammy Anderson, Camila Hamond, Linda Schlater, Tod Stuber, Valicia J. Burke-France, Marissa Taylor, Cosme J. Harrison, Katia Y. Matias, Alexandra Medley, John Rossow, Nicholas Wiese, Leanne Jankelunas, Leah De Wilde, Michelle Mehalick, Gerard L. Blanchard, Keith R. Garcia, Alan S. Mckinley, Claudia D. Lombard, Nicole F. Angeli, David Horner, Thomas Kelley, David J. Worthington, Jennifer Valiulis, Bethany Bradford, Are Berentsen, Johanna S. Salzer, Renee Galloway, Ilana J. Schafer, Kristine Bisgard, Joseph Roth, Brett R. Ellis, Esther M. Ellis, Jarlath E. Nally

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

During 2019–2020, the Virgin Islands Department of Health investigated potential animal reservoirs of Leptospira spp., the bacteria that cause leptospirosis. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated Leptospira spp. exposure and carriage in the small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata, syn: Herpestes auropunctatus), an invasive animal species. This study was conducted across the three main islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), which are St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. We used the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), fluorescent antibody test (FAT), real-time polymerase chain reaction (lipl32 rt-PCR), and bacterial culture to evaluate serum and kidney specimens and compared the …

Rooting Out Genetic Structure Of Invasive Wild Pigs In Texas, Anna M. Mangan, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Michael J. Bodenchuk, Courtney F. Pierce, Timothy J. Smyser

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa), also called feral swine or wild hogs, are recognized as among the most destructive invasive species in the world. Throughout the United States, invasive wild pigs have expanded rapidly over the past 40 years with populations now established in 38 states. Of the estimated 6.9 million wild pigs distributed throughout the United States, Texas supports approximately 40% of the population and similarly bears disproportionate ecological and economic costs. Genetic analyses are an effective tool for understanding invasion pathways and tracking dispersal of invasive species such as wild pigs and have been used recently …

Overfishing Drives Over One-Third Of All Sharks And Rays Toward A Global Extinction Crisis, Nicholas K. Dulvy, Nathan Pacoureau, Cassandra L. Rigby, Riley A. Pollom, Rima W. Jabado, David A. Ebert, Brittany Finucci, Caroline M. Pollock, Jessica Cheok, Danielle H. Derrick, Katelyn B. Herman, C. Samantha Sherman, Wade J. Vanderwright, Julia M. Lawson, Rachel H.L. Walls, John K. Carlson, Patricia Charvet, Kinattumkara K. Bineesh, Daniel Fernando, Gina M. Ralph, Jay H. Matsushiba, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Sonja V. Fordham, Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The scale and drivers of marine biodiversity loss are being revealed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment process. We present the first global reassessment of 1,199 species in Class Chondrichthyes-sharks, rays, and chimeras. The first global assessment (in 2014) concluded that one-quarter (24%) of species were threatened. Now, 391 (32.6%) species are threatened with extinction. When this percentage of threat is applied to Data Deficient species, more than one-third (37.5%) of chondrichthyans are estimated to be threatened, with much of this change resulting from new information. Three species are Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct), representing …

Relationships Among Toilet Sharing, Water Source Locations, And Handwashing Places Without Observed Soap: A Cross-Sectional Study Of The Richest Households In Bangladesh, Mazbahul G. Ahamad, Mark Burbach, Fahian Tanin

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background: A high percentage of the richest households in Bangladesh lack soap at their handwashing places, a problem that is typically considered to be one of the poor. Objective: We investigated toilet sharing practices, locations of water sources, and relevant sociodemographic factors associated with the observed handwashing places that lack soap in the richest (ninth wealth decile) households in Bangladesh. Methods: We used data from the 2017-18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health (BDHS) Survey. Logistic regression technique was used to investigate how toilet sharing practices, water source locations, and different sociodemographic factors were associated with observed handwashing places without soap. Results: …

Determination Of Sustainable Zones For Groundwater Abstraction From The Multi-Layered Aquifer System In The Bengal Basin, Bangladesh, Anwar Zahid, Muhammad Qumrul Hassan, Nazrul I. Khandaker

Publications and Research

The use of deep groundwater (±300 m deep) is becoming an important issue in the Bengal Basin, due to both water quality problems and an acute shortage of available water in upper aquifers. In southeastern Bangladesh, multi-layered aquifer conditions exist with arsenic contamination at shallow depths, and high iron and brackish groundwater occurring mainly in the deeper layers. Many previous studies have offered explanations for the high concentrations of dissolved arsenic in groundwater - most of which proposed that the arsenic is derived from geo-genic sources and its release in groundwater is through natural processes, not the result of anthropogenic …