Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Increasing The Recycling Rate In Clark County, Nevada, Emerald Laija

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate policies that could increase the amount of municipal solid waste recycled in Clark County, Nevada. Clark County has not met the Nevada State goal of a 25% recycling rate since it was established by the Nevada Legislature in 1991. Using the system dynamics problem solving approach, a model for Clark County was adapted from a model developed by Stave (2008) to test policy options. There was no feedback in the model due to the long lifespan of the landfill servicing Clark County and the relatively shorter time horizon of the …

Community Forests: Needs & Resources For Technical Assistance In Northen New England, Misha Mytar

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

The Community Forest Collaborative seeks to expand community ownership and management of forestland in northern New England and has documented the value of community forests both as a community investment strategy and as a component of regional landscape conservation strategies.

Research conducted over the last three years has determined that there needs to be a concerted effort to develop an infrastructure of support communities that want to acquire own and manage forestland. Two principle actions were recommended:

Expand resources for acquisition and management

and

Expand formalize and institutionalize technical assistance

Interannual Variation In Larval Yellow Perch Abundance In Eastern South Dakota Glacial Lakes And Relation To Sympatric Walleye Populations, Andrew C. Jansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Yellow perch Perca flavescens are a popular sportfish in eastern South Dakota glacial lakes. In addition to their recreational importance, yellow perch serve as a prey species for predators. Thus, understanding the factors that affect yellow perch population dynamics is a top priority among fishery managers in South Dakota. The objectives of this study were to 1) estimate the magnitude and duration for a decrease in water temperature that would induce mortality of yellow perch eggs, 2) investigate the relation between climatological variables and larval perch abundance in six eastern South Dakota glacial lakes, and 3) relate long-term larval perch …

Nesting And Brood-Rearing Success And Resource Selection Of Greater Sage-Grouse In Northwestern South Dakota, Nicholas W. Kaczor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding population dynamics and resource selection is crucial in developing wildlife resource management plans, particularly for sensitive species. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations have declined range-wide at a rate of 2% per year from 1965 to 2003. In South Dakota, populations have generally declined. Reasons for the decline are mostly attributed to human-induced factors such as sagebrush degradation and removal, improper range management practices, oil and gas exploration, and West Nile virus infection. Sage-grouse occupy habitats at the eastern edge of their range in western South Dakota. We conducted a 2-year study to investigate the nesting and brood-rearing ecology of …

Understanding The Motivations Of Rock Climbers: A Social Worlds Study, Amy Miller Ansari

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Rock climbing affects public lands through erosion, destruction of vegetation, and disturbance to historical sites. Minimum impact messages can help reduce impacts but requires understanding characteristics of the message recipient. The purpose of this study was to understand the motivations of rock climbers to help land managers design more effective minimum impact messages. This study assesses the motivations of rock climbers using a social worlds approach, focusing on the sub-worlds of. traditional climbers, sport climbers, and boulderers. I found that traditional climbers are most motivated to pursue a wilderness experience, climb in a natural wilderness setting, and climb in quiet …

Residential Building Energy Consumption And Loss Reduction Methods, Edward J. Balthazar

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Home energy costs can be a large monthly expense for many people. Reduction of home energy consumption has multiple benefits – personal cost reduction, increased comfort, and global stewardship. The author embarked on a multi-year series of projects to reduce energy losses. The projects include plugging air infiltration gaps, installing further insulation layers, and buying an energy efficient heat pump. Data for natural gas and electricity use and local weather are presented, with heating as the major energy use. A linear correlation between cold weather conditions and natural gas consumption, and a cyclical annual weather-energy algorithm were both developed. Conductive …

Broad Spatial Trends In Osprey Provisioning, Reproductive Success, And Population Growth Within Lower Chesapeake Bay, Kenneth Andrew Glass

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Urban Development On Breeding Bird Diversity: The Role Of Diet And Migration, Elise Anne Larsen

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Mercury Levels In Newly Independent Songbirds, Anne Moire Condon

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of An Augmentation Of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep At Badlands National Park, South Dakota, Teresa J. Zimmerman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Audubon’s (a.k.a. Badlands) bighorn (Ovis canadensis auduboni [Merriam 1901] now O. c. Canadensis [Shaw 1804]), described as a subspecies of bighorn sheep, was extirpated from its range by 1924. In 1964, 22 Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep were translocated from Pikes Peak, Colorado, to Badlands National Park (BNP) in southwestern South Dakota. Based on the estimated effective population size and analysis of molecular data, the bighorn sheep population at BNP underwent a population bottleneck at founding. Recommendations to restore genetic diversity in the BNP population included a mixed-sex augmentation (n > 30) from an outbred, native population of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. …

Treatment Of Industrial Wastewater Containing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients With A Membrane Bioreactor, With The Aim Of Reducing Resource Consumption, Pádraig Colm Ó'Maolcatha

Theses

The biodegradation of a selected active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) during wastewater treatment in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) was examined experimentally. A comparison study was conducted by operating a conventional activated sludge (CAS) pilot plant in parallel to the MBR. The MBR was operated under varying conditions of pH (pH6 and pH8), MLSS (6g/L and l0g/L) and SRT (20 days and 30 days) according to a full factorial design of experiments. In the CAS, pH and SRT were altered as above but MLSS was maintained at 3-4g/L. Comparable average API removal results of 95.5% and 95.7% were obtained for the MBR …

A Critical Examination Of Sustainability Considerations In Yukon Environmental Assessment—Past And Present, Louisa M. Clementino

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Northern regions of Canada, as a result of landscape characteristics and political and cultural dynamics, present unique challenges and opportunities for meeting sustainability goals through environmental assessment (EA) processes. In order to understand the significance of the EA process in the North and its applicability to fulfilling sustainability goals, the past and present EA regimes of the Yukon are evaluated adopting a sustainability-focused framework. Unique changes to the Yukon EA process, as a result of land claim agreements and devolution have created innovative structures and processes, reflective of the environmental, socio-economic, cultural and political circumstances of the region. The …