Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Genetic Population Substructure In Bison At Yellowstone National Park, Natalie D. Halbert, Peter J. P. Gogan, Philip W. Hedrick, Jacquelyn M. Wahl, James N. Derr

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Yellowstone National Park bison herd is 1 of only 2 populations known to have continually persisted on their current landscape since pre-Columbian times. Over the last century, the census size of this herd has fluctuated from around 100 individuals to over 3000 animals. Previous studies involving radiotelemetry, tooth wear, and parturition timing provide evidence of at least 2 distinct groups of bison within Yellowstone National Park. To better understand the biology of Yellowstone bison, we investigated the potential for limited gene flow across this population using multilocus Bayesian clustering analysis. Two genetically distinct and clearly defined subpopulations were identified …

The Management Of Feral Pig Socio-Ecological Systems In Far North Queensland, Australia, Gabriela Shuster

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The development of management programs for socio-ecological systems that include multiple stakeholders is a complex process and requires careful evaluation and planning. This is particularly a challenge in the presence of intractable conflict. The feral pig (Sus scrofa) in Australia is part of one such socio-ecological system. There is a large and heterogeneous group of stakeholders interested in pig management. Pigs have diverse effects on wildlife and plant ecology, economic, health, and social sectors. This study used the feral pig management system as a vehicle to examine intractable conflict in socio-ecological systems. The purpose of the study was …

Turtle Cam: Live Multimedia Interaction For Engaging Potential Visitor Population To Canaveral National Seashore, Brian Alfred Tortorelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project expands the outreach of the Canaveral National Seashore to its visitors, potential visitors, and virtual visitors through its goals in conservancy and preservation of its natural resources. This paper is involved with the current iteration of a series of digital media projects, the Sea Turtle Nest Camera, also known as, Turtle Cam. It details how and why this project was designed to be an ongoing initiative to assist in those goals.

Management In A Neotropical Show Cave: Planning For Invertebrates Conservation, Thais Giovannini Pellegrini, Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira

International Journal of Speleology

Lapa Nova is a dolomitic cave about 4.5 km long located in northwestern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The cave experiences intense tourism, concentrated over a single period of the year, during the Feast of Our Lady of Lapa. In order to evaluate the impacts felt by the invertebrate community from this tourism, a new methodology was proposed. Four types of areas (intense visitation area, outlying visitation areas, moderate visitation areas and no-visitation areas) were sampled for invertebrates. There was one sampling prior and another on the last day of the 128^th feast, to evaluate the effects of visitation on …

Reuse: Creating A Next Life For Common Items, Roslynn Brain, H. Waldbillig

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

If you are looking for ways to save money and add creative flair to your daily life, reusing everyday items you are likely to throw away could be the answer! We produce an average of 4.4 pounds each of trash a day in the U.S., which amounts to 1,600 pounds per person each year (Environmental Protection Agency, 2011). This yearly waste produced by each one of us is more than the typical weight of a Bison, America’s largest land animal! Often overshadowed by recycling, reusing is a zero-impact technique for waste prevention. By using a product or item in its …

Empathy-Based Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Approach To Conservation Policy And Decision-Making, Kaitlyn Delashmutt

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

In the late 20^th century, neuroscientists in Italy discovered a neuron in the brain capable of mentally mimicking the emotions derived from the actions of others (Rizzolatti and Craighero, 2004). It is the process that makes your elbow ache when someone else knocks their elbow on the counter or the uncontrollable smile that creeps up when someone smiles at you. No questions asked, people intuitively sense what others are feeling. The old school of thought was that humans deduced through logic and reason the actions of others and interpreted the emotions through a rational process (Carew et al, 2008). …

Climate Change And The Conservation Of Archaeological Sites: A Review Of Impacts Theory, Caithleen Daly

Articles

This article identifies the current state of knowledge in the literature regarding the possible impacts of future climatic change on archaeological sites and ensembles. Drawing on the literature review a matrix of potential impacts is collated to provide a simplified overview. This theoretical ‘menu’ is then tested by applying it to a vulnerability assessment of the World Heritage site of Skellig Michael in Ireland. The case study results reveal some knowledge gaps, particularly in regard to the impacts of climate change on buried archaeological remains.

Breeding Ecology Of The Pileated Woodpecker, Brandon Lennon Noel

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purported rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in 2004 was a monumental moment in conservation biology. Although controversy surrounds this and other sightings of ivory-billed woodpeckers within bottomland hardwood forests, the rediscovery of a species thought to have gone extinct revitalized optimism focused on its conservation. What knowledge we possess about ivory-billed woodpeckers comes from research done by James Tanner in the 1930s and his data are pseudo-replicated from just a few pairs. Tanner suggested that sweetgum-oak forest cover types were better quality habitats for ivory-billed woodpeckers and other woodpecker species …

Report Surveys Colorado River Basin Leaders: Collaborative Approaches To Dwindling Supplies Are Highlighted, Sarah Bates, University Of Montana Missoula. Center For Natural Resources And Environmental Policy

Navigating the Future of the Colorado River (Martz Summer Conference, June 8-10)

4 pages.

Press release "April 14, 2011"

"Executive Summary April 2011" of report, Thinking Like a River Basin: Leaders' Perspectives on Options and Opportunities in Colorado River Management

Full report available at:

http://www.carpediemwest.org/wp-content/uploads/Thinking_Like_A_River_Basin_8-20-13.pdf

Human-Wildlife Conflict On Small, Subsistence Farms In Kenya, Christopher B. Colonna

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

As human populations expand, wildlife suddenly competes with humans for resources and confrontation arises as a result. Rural Africa is typical of this problem. We surveyed local owners of small farms within the five villages surrounding Mount Kasigau in Southeast Kenya to quantify losses due to wildlife depredation on both subsistence and cash crops as well as to discover the patterns and variables influencing farmer-wildlife confrontations in the region. We found no statistically significant correlations among the value of damage per acre, the distance from the bush, or the distance to the nearest water source. We did find statistical significance …

Examination Of Qualitative Methodology Usefulness In Assessing Management Effectiveness Of Protected Areas: A Case Study Of Mexico, Carla Mora-Trejos

All Theses

Parks and Protected Areas (PAs) are an important approach for conservation of cultural and natural diversity worldwide (Bruner 2001; McNeely 1994; Rao & Geisler 1990). Their long term success depends on effective management in relation to the goals set forth for the PA. Measuring this can be complex and challenging and has been done in a variety of ways in order to better get at the answer of how to measure management effectiveness. The purpose of this research was to develop and test qualitative methodology designed to explore management effectiveness using all six elements from the WCPA framework (Hockings et …

Nebraska's Tern And Plover Conservation Partnership -- A Model For Sustainable Conservation Of Threatened And Endangered Species, Mary Bomberger Brown, Mark E. Burbach, John Dinan, Renae J. Held, Ron J. Johnson, Joel G. Jorgensen, Jeanine Lackey, Jeffrey F. Marcus, Gina S. Matkin, Christine M. Thody

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Implementing successful conservation programs is critical if we are to protect the earth's most imperiled species. These programs must respect state and federal legal concerns as well as local economic and social interests, Here we describe a sustainable partnership approach to Piping Plover and Interior Least Tern conservation in Nebraska, USA. Partners include industry groups, federal, state, and local agencies, and non-governmental organizations. The factor that unifies all partners is a desire to accomplish cooperative threatened and endangered species conservation. We believe that implementing this sort of partnership model could be useful in addressing the protection of other species of …

Modeling Habitat Associations For The Common Loon (Gavia Immer) At Multiple Scales In Northeastern North America, Anne Kuhn, Jane Copeland, John Cooley, Harry Vogel, Kate Taylor, Diane Nacci, Peter V. August

Natural Resources Science Faculty Publications

Common Loon (Gavia immer) is considered an emblematic and ecologically important example of aquatic-dependent wildlife in North America. The northern breeding range of Common Loon has contracted over the last century as a result of habitat degradation from human disturbance and lakeshore development. We focused on the state of New Hampshire, USA, where a long-term monitoring program conducted by the Loon Preservation Committee has been collecting biological data on Common Loon since 1976. The Common Loon population in New Hampshire is distributed throughout the state across a wide range of lake-specific habitats, water quality conditions, and levels of …

A Combined Visual And Acoustic Estimate Of 2008 Abundance, And Change In Abundance Since 1997, For The Vaquita, Phocoena Sinus, Tim Gerrodette, Barbara L. Taylor, René Swift, Shannon Rankin, Armando M. Jaramillo-Legorreta, Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

A line-transect survey for the critically endangered vaquita, Phocoena sinus, was carried out in October–November 2008, in the northern Gulf of California,Mexico. Areas with deeper water were sampled visually from a large research vessel, while shallow water areas were covered by a sailboat towing an acoustic array. Total vaquita abundance in 2008 was estimated to be 245 animals (CV = 73%, 95% CI 68– 884). The 2008 estimate was 57% lower than the 1997 estimate, an average rate of decline of 7.6%/yr. Bayesian analyses found an 89% probability of decline in total population size during the 11 yr period, …

A General Approach For Vitrification Of Fish Sperm, Rafael Cuevas Uribe

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this project was to develop streamlined protocols that could be integrated into a standardized approach for vitrification of germplasm for all aquatic species. Vitrification (freezing by formation of “glass” rather than crystalline ice) is simple, fast, inexpensive, can be potentially used to preserve samples in the field, and offers new options for germplasm management especially appropriate for small fishes. Sperm were studied from freshwater fish (channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus), viviparous freshwater fish (green swordtail Xiphophorus hellerii), and marine fishes (spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus, red snapper Lutjanus campechanus, red drum Sciaenops ocellatus, and southern flounder Paralichthys lethostigma). To …

The Subterranean Fauna Of A Biodiversity Hotspot Region - Portugal: An Overview And Its Conservation, Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira, Paulo A.V. Borges, Fernando Gonçalves, Artur R.M. Serrano, Pedro Oromí

International Journal of Speleology

An overview of the obligate hypogean fauna in Portugal (including Azores and Madeira archipelagos) is provided, with a list of obligated cave-dwelling species and subspecies, and a general perspective about its conservation. All the available literature on subterranean Biology of Portugal since the first written record in 1870 until today has been revised. A total of 43 troglobiont and 67 stygobiont species and subspecies from 12 orders have been described so far in these areas, included in the so-called Mediterranean hotspot of biodiversity. The subterranean fauna in Portugal has been considered moderately poor with some endemic relicts and it remains …

Cattle Ranchers And Conservation Easements, Roslynn Brain

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Factors Affecting Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus Minimus) Conservation In San Juan County, Utah, Phoebe R. Prather

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Due to loss of habitat, Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) currently occupy 8.5% of their presumed historical range. One population survives in Utah, occurring in San Juan County. The Gunnison Sage-grouse Rangewide Conservation Plan and the San Juan County Gunnison Sage-grouse Conservation Plan recommended management strategies to address identified conservation threats to the Utah population. I addressed three conservation strategies identified in the plans: 1) creation and enhancement of brood-rearing areas; 2) assessment of habitat conditions within the Gunnison Sage-grouse Conservation Area; and 3) prevention or reduction of perching events by avian predators on distribution line power poles.

From 2007-2009, I …

Developing A Management Tool To Estimate Unmarked Puma (Puma Concolor) Populations With A Remote Camera Array, Megan Pitman

All Theses

Puma (Puma concolor) ecological research, puma management, and puma conservation require a technique to efficiently estimate puma populations. Adequate population estimates for pumas are difficult to produce due to natural history characteristics of the species. Remote camera arrays present a promising new tool for surveying cryptic mammals, but techniques for estimating population levels of unmarked animals or species that are difficult to individually identify in photographs are needed. Our goal was to develop techniques to (1) determine the camera effort needed to detect resident pumas with 95% certainty and (2) estimate puma population density for unmarked pumas with a remote …

The Dickey Bird Scientists Take Charge: Science, Policy, And The Spotted Owl, Thomas R. Wellock

History Faculty Scholarship

In 1992, the Forest Service adopted a new operating policy, Ecosystem Management, which minimized the agency's timber production goals in favor of a more ecologically balanced view of its responsibilities. In explaining this shift, scholars have dismissed the possibility of internal reform, arguing that the Service could not change without irresistible external pressure from environmental activists and new public values supporting biodiversity. Viewing the Service's shift through the lens of the spotted owl controversy, however, demonstrates the important role agency culture played in instigating bureaucratic change. The Service's evolution stemmed from the rising influence of its scientists in policy formation. …

Slides: Climate Change Adaptation And The Federal Lands, Robert L. Glicksman

The Past, Present, and Future of Our Public Lands: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Public Land Law Review Commission’s Report, One Third of the Nation’s Land (Martz Summer Conference, June 2-4)

Presenter: Robert L. Glicksman, J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law, George Washington University Law School (Washington, D.C.)

12 slides

Slides: Grazing On The Public Lands, William G. Myers Iii

The Past, Present, and Future of Our Public Lands: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Public Land Law Review Commission’s Report, One Third of the Nation’s Land (Martz Summer Conference, June 2-4)

Presenter: William G. Myers III, Partner, Holland & Hart; former Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior (Boise, ID)

8 slides

The Impact Of Local Environmental Activist Organizations On State Environmental Policies, Molly Patricia Casperson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

In the past ten years, the state of Indiana has been recognized as having a poor environmental record, with an increasing carbon footprint, poor air and water quality, ineffective hazardous waste management, and few policy initiatives to correct the problems. Because most the environmental issues are "creeping" environmental problems (Moser and Dilling 42), citizens too easily dismiss them when other, more pressing issues, like job loss and high taxes become apparent. Ironically, Indiana is a state with a numerous active environmental groups, some with long histories in the state. While Indiana attracts criticism for its poor environmental record, many citizens …

Toward A Synthesis Of Conservation And Animal Welfare Science, David Fraser

Conservation Biology and Animal Welfare Collection

Conservation biology and animal welfare science are multidisciplinary fields of research that address social concerns about animals. Conservation biology focuses on wild animals, works at the level of populations, ecological systems and genetic types, and deals with threats to biodiversity and ecological integrity. Animal welfare science typically focuses on captive (often domestic) animals, works at the level of individuals and groups, and deals with threats to the animals’ health and quality of life. However, there are many areas of existing or potential overlap: (i) many real-life problems, such as environmental contamination, urban development and transportation, create problems for animals that …

A South County Almanac, Nevan Richard

Senior Honors Projects

Since its publication in 1949, “A Sand County Almanac: With Sketches Here and There” has served as the benchmark for writing about the environment and nature. “Sand County” was written by famed environmentalist Aldo Leopold, who for most of his lifetime worked towards the conservation of wildlife, forests, and other natural resources. In “Sand County,” Aldo Leopold recounts his experiences and observations in various essays and journal entries from his many years of living in Wisconsin, as well his travels across the North American continent. With its publication following Mr. Leopold’s death, it changed the face of conservation, later inspiring …

Forest Conservation In A Changing World: Natural Or Cultural? Example From The Western Carpathians Forests, Romania, Angelica N. Feurdean

Studia UBB Geologia

In order to plan for the future management of some of the most biodiverse forests of Europe, it is essential that we understand under which condition they arose and the time and processes responsible for their variability. Here, I highlight the main findings from the palaeoecological (pollen and charcoal), archaeological and historical investigation comprising the last 6000 years, in the Apuseni Natural Park, NW Romania and discuss the effect of the past land use and forest management on these forests. I then ask what does it mean in term of conservation values if these forests are not natural but a …

Conserving Migratory Land Birds In The New World: Do We Know Enough?, John Faaborg, Richard T. Holmes, Angela D. Anders, Keith L. Bildstein

Dartmouth Scholarship

Migratory bird needs must be met during four phases of the year: breeding season, fall migration, wintering, and spring migration; thus, management may be needed during all four phases. The bulk of research and management has focused on the breeding season, although several issues remain unsettled, including the spatial extent of habitat influences on fitness and the importance of habitat on the breeding grounds used after breeding. Although detailed investigations have shed light on the ecology and population dynamics of a few avian species, knowledge is sketchy for most species. Replication of comprehensive studies is needed for multiple species across …

Agenda: Us-Mexico Negotiations On Improved Colorado River Management: An Update, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, Western Water Policy Program, Colorado Water Conservation Board

US-Mexico Negotiations on Improved Colorado River Management: An Update (February 19)

The United States and Mexico are currently negotiating an international accord on a variety of Colorado River water matters, including the prospects for new water projects, conservation efforts, and operational improvements. Participants are invited to hear an update on these efforts from individuals directly involved in the negotiations, including Mario López Pérez, Engineering and Technical Standards Manager in the National Water Commission of México, who is responsible for binational water issues with the USA, Guatemala and Belize.

Slides: The Promise And Peril Of Oil Shale: Federal Law And Policy, David Bernhardt

The Promise and Peril of Oil Shale Development (February 5)

Presenter: David Bernhardt, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Denver, CO

13 slides

Slides: Oil Shale Water Needs, State Water Planning And The Colorado River Compact, Daniel R. Birch

The Promise and Peril of Oil Shale Development (February 5)

Presenter: Daniel R. Birch, Deputy General Manager & Chief Engineer, Colorado River District

17 slides