Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Assessing The Relationships Between The Spatial Variation In Land-Use Spatial Patterns And Surface Water Quality, Majed A. Khater

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the association between the spatial patterns of urban land uses and surface water quality parameters at the watershed outlet. The aim of the study was to understand the strength and nature of this relationship, and examine new methods of classifying and quantifying contributing urban land-uses and their spatial patterns. The hypothesis of this research was: in an urban watershed, the variation in the spatial patterns of contributing land uses will have a significant impact on the surface water quality parameters at the watershed outlet.

This relationship between urbanization and water quality is …

Sedimentation, Hydrology, And Bottomland Hardwood Forest Succession In Altered And Unaltered Tributaries Of The Hatchie River, Tn, Aaron R. Pierce

Doctoral Dissertations

Hydrologic and sedimentation processes are critical in determining floodplain site conditions and the distribution of bottomland hardwood (BLH) forest communities (Hodges 1997). Channelization of streams associated with BLH wetlands has occurred extensively throughout the southeastern United States, altering the hydrologic and sedimentation processes that sustain these systems. In western Tennessee, channelization and past land-use practices have resulted in drastic geomorphic and hydrologic changes including excessive sand deposition on floodplains, and in extreme cases, the formation of valley plugs and shoals.

Our understanding of the processes associated with valley plugs and shoals, their rates and variability, and their impacts on BLH …

Conservation Of Grassland Bird Populations On Military Installations In The Eastern United States With Special Emphasis On Fort Campbell Army Base, Kentucky, James J. Giocomo

Doctoral Dissertations

Grassland bird populations have decline significantly over the past 30 years because of the dramatic decrease of native grasslands through clearing of non-forested land for agriculture, and discontinued use of fire. It is imperative to understand the distribution and productivity of these birds and the potential for grassland management to enhance these declining populations, especially in land areas where the landuses may be compatible with grassland bird conservation.

This study was conducted to provide needed basic life history and nest site habitat use information as well as information about populations and potential region-wide habitat availability to enhance current and future …

The Challenge Of Realizing Sustainable Natural Resource Management On Private Lands: Problems And Promise, Jamey L. Pavey

Doctoral Dissertations

Today’s natural resource problems are more complex than ever and many have yet to be effectively addressed in the United States by regulations or management policies. The challenges presented by these problems require new approaches to the governance of natural resources in the United States. These approaches must recognize that the governance of natural resources is not only a technical task, but a social process. The management of natural resources on private lands presents a unique set of problems and a unique set of opportunities to provide environmental benefits. However, without adequate incentives, landowners are unlikely to manage their land …

Simulated Browsing Impacts On Aspen Sucker's Survival And Growth, Koketso Tshireletso

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Western forests dominated by aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) are highly regarded by most resource managers for their ability to provide a variety of benefits (Bartos and Mueggler 1982, Mueggler 1988). They noted aspen to be beneficial for production of livestock forage, wildlife habitat, and scenic beauty, and they are a potentially valuable source of wood products. However, in the West, communities are concerned about the dwindling acreage of aspen. The decline of aspen has been partly attributed to excessive ungulate browsing (Smith et al. 1972, Collins and Urness 1983, Bartos and Campbell 1998). Long-term grazing exclosures have also revealed …

Observed Omnivory In The Herbivorous Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis Aureus), Stephen M. Oliveira Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Gila seminuda, a native endangered species, and Oreochromis aureus, a nonnative invasive species, share the same habitat in the form of the Reid Gardner Power Plant intake ponds. The purpose of this study is to characterize the feeding habits of Oreochromis aureus within the Reid Gardner Power Plant intake ponds and address the potential predation habits of Oreochromis aureus. Stomach contents of O. aureus were identified and analyzed using chi-square and log-likelihood ratio techniques, with respect to mass, length, girth, gender, or spatial distribution of samples. Results showed omnivorous behavior with a 7.00% predatory/prey relationship, and no difference of feeding …

Effects Of Human Disturbance On The Breeding Success Of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis), Caitlin Rebecca Kight

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Grassland And Woodland Bird Occurrence And Habitat Selection In The Prairie-Forest Transition Zone Of Minnesota, Thomas Robert Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Numerous species of woodland and grassland nesting birds have experienced population declines in the midwestern United States. Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation are suspected to be two of the underlying causes for the population declines of woodland and grassland birds. The Minnesota Valley Wetland Management District (WMD) covers 14 counties in southeastern Minnesota in the transition zone between forested and prairie ecoregions. Little information is available relative to which birds are using grassland or woodland habitat within the WMD and how their presence or absence is related to the available habitat conditions. Therefore, my study objectives were to: 1) determine …

Digital Vertical Aerial Camera System For High-Resolution Site Inspections In Conservation Easment Monitoring, Kenton Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A three-level satellite to ground monitoring scheme for conservation easement monitoring has been implemented in which high-resolution imagery serves as an intermediate step for inspecting high priority sites. A digital vertical aerial camera system was developed to fulfill the need for an economical source of imagery for this intermediate step. A method for attaching the camera system to small aircraft was designed, and the camera system was calibrated and tested. To ensure that the images obtained were of suitable quality for use in Level 2 inspections, rectified imagery was required to provide positional accuracy of 5 meters or less to …

Response Of Vegetation And Endangered Waterbirds To Habitat Management Techniques At Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge, James Andrew Rader

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Habitat selection, reproductive effort, and habitat utilization of Hawai’ian stilts (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni) and Hawai’ian coots (Fulica alai) was studied on Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge in Mau’i, Hawai’i. Nesting behavior was confirmed following management treatments on the northern shore of Kealia Pond. Nests were dispersed or randomly spaced within vegetation patches or newly created mudflat habitat. Pickleweed and makai were the dominant vegetation surrounding the nest setting and utilized for nest substrate by Hawai’ian stilts and Hawai’ian coots respectively. Mechanical control treatments were implemented through monotypic stands of pickleweed to increase interspersion of open water and promote native vegetation. …

Meiofauna Abundance And Distribution In Chesapeake Bay: Relationships With Environmental Stressors, Sediment Toxicity And Macrofauna, William J. Metcalfe

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Macrofauna-based biocriteria to assess impairment in aquatic communities are well-developed and have been widely accepted as useful for coastal monitoring programs worldwide. Meiofauna-based methods are not as well developed, but meiofauna are intimately associated with sediments through their life cycles and are functionally important. Thus, an understanding of meiofauna relationships with environmental quality is also important. Relationships between the abundance and composition of major meiofauna taxa for two shallow water habitat types (protected, with muddy sediment; exposed, with sandy sediment) were investigated along gradients associated with changing land use, sediment contamination and environmental stressors in Chesapeake Bay. Principal component analysis …