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Articles 241 - 270 of 520

Full-Text Articles in Earth Sciences

On Inter-Organizational Trust, Control And Risk In Transboundary Fisheries Governance, Gordon M. Hickey, Hunter T. Snyder, Jasper R. Devries, Owen Temby Dec 2021

On Inter-Organizational Trust, Control And Risk In Transboundary Fisheries Governance, Gordon M. Hickey, Hunter T. Snyder, Jasper R. Devries, Owen Temby

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Inter-organizational collaboration is often considered essential to transboundary fishery governance, due, in part, to the high levels of task interdependence, the remote and often treacherous conditions, and the limited levels of information available to any policy actor on resource status. In the high seas, Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) are responsible for sustainably managing highly migratory and straddling fish stocks through the implementation of ecosystem-based approaches and ensuring adequate inter-jurisdictional cooperation. A central question facing RFMO governance is therefore how to structure and sustain inter-organizational transboundary collaboration under high uncertainty? This paper presents the case of the North Atlantic Salmon …


Managing Water Resource And Land Use In Lower Rio Grande Valley Of South Texas Using A Groundwater Vulnerability Model, Leslie Soto Sanchez Dec 2021

Managing Water Resource And Land Use In Lower Rio Grande Valley Of South Texas Using A Groundwater Vulnerability Model, Leslie Soto Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations

The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) has three Metropolitan Statistical Areas. These are Brownsville-Harlingen, Laredo, and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, the latter with a population of around 1 million people and had an estimated growth of 62% from the period of 2010-2018 (Texas State Data Center, 2020). Low precipitations, intensive agricultures as well as growth in the manufacturing and tourism industries have resulted in an increasing concern of scarce water supply especially the region relies primarily on a single water source, the Rio Grande River. These circumstances could potentially disrupt economic development, negatively affecting the local manufacturing industry, agriculture, and the community. With …


Methodological Challenges In Studying Trust In Natural Resources Management, Antonia Sohns, Gordon M. Hickey, Jasper R. De Vries, Owen Temby Nov 2021

Methodological Challenges In Studying Trust In Natural Resources Management, Antonia Sohns, Gordon M. Hickey, Jasper R. De Vries, Owen Temby

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Trust has been identified as a central characteristic of successful natural resource management (NRM), particularly in the context of implementing participatory approaches to stakeholder engagement. Trust is, however, a multi-dimensional and multi-level concept that is known to evolve recursively through time, challenging efforts to empirically measure its impact on collaboration in different NRM settings. In this communication we identify some of the challenges associated with conceptualizing and operationalizing trust in NRM field research, and pay particular attention to the inter-relationships between the concepts of trust, perceived risk and control due to their multidimensional and interacting roles in inter-organizational collaboration. The …


Binational Reflections On Pathways To Groundwater Security In The Mexico–United States Borderlands, Rosario Sanchez, José Agustin Breña-Naranjo, Alfonso Rivera, Randall T. Hanson, Antonio Hernández-Espriú, Rick J. Hogeboom, Anita Milman, Jude A. Benavides, Adrian Pedrozo-Acuña, Julio Cesar Soriano-Monzalvo Nov 2021

Binational Reflections On Pathways To Groundwater Security In The Mexico–United States Borderlands, Rosario Sanchez, José Agustin Breña-Naranjo, Alfonso Rivera, Randall T. Hanson, Antonio Hernández-Espriú, Rick J. Hogeboom, Anita Milman, Jude A. Benavides, Adrian Pedrozo-Acuña, Julio Cesar Soriano-Monzalvo

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Shared groundwater resources between Mexico and the United States are facing unprecedented stressors. We reflect on how to improve water security for groundwater systems in the border region. Our reflection begins with the state of groundwater knowledge, and the challenges groundwater resources face from a physical, societal and institutional perspective. We conclude that the extent of ongoing cooperation frameworks, joint and remaining research efforts, from which alternative strategies can emerge, still need to be developed. The way forward offers a variety of cooperation models as the future offers rather complex, shared and multidisciplinary water challenges to the Mexico–US borderlands.


Pre-Sowing Treatments Improve Germinability Of South Texas Native Plant Seeds, Kaitlynn Lavallee, Pushpa Soti, Hansapani Rodrigo, Rupesh R. Kariyat, Alexis Racelis Nov 2021

Pre-Sowing Treatments Improve Germinability Of South Texas Native Plant Seeds, Kaitlynn Lavallee, Pushpa Soti, Hansapani Rodrigo, Rupesh R. Kariyat, Alexis Racelis

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The incorporation of native plant species is central to restoration efforts, but this is often limited by both the availability of seeds and the relatively low viability and germination rates of commercially available seeds. Although pre-sowing treatments are commonly used to improve germination rates of seeds, the efficacy of these treatments is found to vary across species. In this study, we tested how four pre-sow treatments (physical scarification, acid scarification, cold stratification, and aerated hydropriming) affected the viability and seed germination rates of 12 commercially available plant species native to south Texas and commonly used in restoration efforts. Our results …


Lignin, Sugar, And Furan Production Of Industrial Hemp Biomass Via An Integrated Process, Jikai Zhao, Jason Griffin, Kraig Roozeboom, Juhee Lee, Donghai Wang Nov 2021

Lignin, Sugar, And Furan Production Of Industrial Hemp Biomass Via An Integrated Process, Jikai Zhao, Jason Griffin, Kraig Roozeboom, Juhee Lee, Donghai Wang

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Traditional pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass is often accompanied by washing and disposal of wastewater, which leads to overuse of water and loss of by-products. The objectives of this study were to validate the potential of an acid-base integrated process for simultaneous sugars, furans, and lignin production without washing and wastewater discarding. The difference in conversion performance among different biomass resources was also demonstrated. Parallel acetic acid (HOAc, pH = 2.25) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH, pH = 13.46) pretreatments followed by solid and liquid integration were applied to four genotypes of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) biomass that were harvested …


First Ecological Characterization Of Whip Black Coral Assemblages (Hexacorallia: Antipatharia) In The Easter Island Ecoregion, Southeastern Pacific, Jan M. Tapia-Guerra, Cynthia M. Asorey, Erin E. Easton, Daniel Wagner, Matthias Gorny, Javier Sellanes Nov 2021

First Ecological Characterization Of Whip Black Coral Assemblages (Hexacorallia: Antipatharia) In The Easter Island Ecoregion, Southeastern Pacific, Jan M. Tapia-Guerra, Cynthia M. Asorey, Erin E. Easton, Daniel Wagner, Matthias Gorny, Javier Sellanes

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

One of the main priorities of marine scientific research is to provide practical information and guidance for biodiversity conservation and management. In this context, the identification of key and fragile habitat-forming species is particularly important. Despite their ecological importance, whip corals in the order Antipatharia remain poorly studied around the world, and especially in the South Pacific. During recent expeditions to explore mesophotic and deep benthic habitats around Rapa Nui (Easter Island), dense assemblages of whip black corals were observed in situ. We here report the first detailed description of the distribution and abundance of these black coral assemblages …


Next-Generation Ensemble Projections Reveal Higher Climate Risks For Marine Ecosystems, Derek P. Tittensor, Camilla Novaglio, Cheryl S. Harrison, Ryan F. Heneghan, Nicolas Barrier, Daniele Bianchi, Laurent Bopp, Andrea Bryndum-Buchholz, Gregory L. Britten, Matthias Büchner Nov 2021

Next-Generation Ensemble Projections Reveal Higher Climate Risks For Marine Ecosystems, Derek P. Tittensor, Camilla Novaglio, Cheryl S. Harrison, Ryan F. Heneghan, Nicolas Barrier, Daniele Bianchi, Laurent Bopp, Andrea Bryndum-Buchholz, Gregory L. Britten, Matthias Büchner

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Projections of climate change impacts on marine ecosystems have revealed long-term declines in global marine animal biomass and unevenly distributed impacts on fisheries. Here we apply an enhanced suite of global marine ecosystem models from the Fisheries and Marine Ecosystem Model Intercomparison Project (Fish-MIP), forced by new-generation Earth system model outputs from Phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6), to provide insights into how projected climate change will affect future ocean ecosystems. Compared with the previous generation CMIP5-forced Fish-MIP ensemble, the new ensemble ecosystem simulations show a greater decline in mean global ocean animal biomass under both strong-mitigation …


Disentangling Diverse Responses To Climate Change Among Global Marine Ecosystem Models, Ryan F. Heneghan, Eric Galbraith, Julia L. Blanchard, Cheryl S. Harrison, Nicolas Barrier, Catherine Bulman, William Cheung, Marta Coli, Tyler D. Eddy, Maite Erauskin-Extramiana Nov 2021

Disentangling Diverse Responses To Climate Change Among Global Marine Ecosystem Models, Ryan F. Heneghan, Eric Galbraith, Julia L. Blanchard, Cheryl S. Harrison, Nicolas Barrier, Catherine Bulman, William Cheung, Marta Coli, Tyler D. Eddy, Maite Erauskin-Extramiana

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Climate change is warming the ocean and impacting lower trophic level (LTL) organisms. Marine ecosystem models can provide estimates of how these changes will propagate to larger animals and impact societal services such as fisheries, but at present these estimates vary widely. A better understanding of what drives this inter-model variation will improve our ability to project fisheries and other ecosystem services into the future, while also helping to identify uncertainties in process understanding. Here, we explore the mechanisms that underlie the diversity of responses to changes in temperature and LTLs in eight global marine ecosystem models from the Fisheries …


Moving Conferences Online: Lessons Learned From An International Virtual Meeting, Paris V. Stefanoudis, Leann M. Biancani, Sergio Cambronero-Solano, Malcolm R. Clark, Jonathan T. Copley, Erin E. Easton, Franziska Elmer, Steven H. D. Haddock, Santiago Herrera, Ilysa S. Iglesias Oct 2021

Moving Conferences Online: Lessons Learned From An International Virtual Meeting, Paris V. Stefanoudis, Leann M. Biancani, Sergio Cambronero-Solano, Malcolm R. Clark, Jonathan T. Copley, Erin E. Easton, Franziska Elmer, Steven H. D. Haddock, Santiago Herrera, Ilysa S. Iglesias

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

We consider the opportunities and challenges associated with organizing a conference online, using a case study of a medium-sized (approx. 400 participants) international conference held virtually in August 2020. In addition, we present quantifiable evidence of the participants’ experience using the results from an online post-conference questionnaire. Although the virtual meeting was not able to replicate the in-person experience in some aspects (e.g. less engagement between participants) the overwhelming majority of respondents found the meeting an enjoyable experience and would join similar events again. Notably, there was a strong desire for future inperson meetings to have at least some online …


A Drone-Based Survey For Large, Basking Freshwater Turtle Species, Amy P. Bogolin, Drew R. Davis, Richard Kline, Abdullah Rahman Oct 2021

A Drone-Based Survey For Large, Basking Freshwater Turtle Species, Amy P. Bogolin, Drew R. Davis, Richard Kline, Abdullah Rahman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Conservation concerns are increasing for numerous freshwater turtle species, including Pseudemys gorzugi, which has led to a call for more research. However, traditional sampling methodologies are often time consuming, labor intensive, and invasive, restricting the amount of data that can be collected. Biases of traditional sampling methods can further impair the quality of the data collected, and these shortfalls may discourage their use. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, drones) for conducting wildlife surveys has recently demonstrated the potential to bridge gaps in data collection by offering a less labor intensive, minimally invasive, and more efficient process. Photographs and …


Complete Mitochondrial Genomes Of Two Species Of Stichopathes Brook, 1889 (Hexacorallia: Antipatharia: Antipathidae) From Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Cynthia M. Asorey, Javier Sellanes, Daniel Wagner, Erin E. Easton Oct 2021

Complete Mitochondrial Genomes Of Two Species Of Stichopathes Brook, 1889 (Hexacorallia: Antipatharia: Antipathidae) From Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Cynthia M. Asorey, Javier Sellanes, Daniel Wagner, Erin E. Easton

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

We report the complete mitochondrial genomes of two antipatharian species, Stichopathes sp. SCBUCN-8849 and Stichopathes sp. SCBUCN-8850, collected between 120 and 180 m depth off Rapa Nui (∼ −27.1°, −109.4°). The size of the two mitogenomes are 20,389 bp (29.0% A, 15.2% C, 19.9% G, and 35.9% T) and 20,463 bp (29.0% A, 15.3% C, 19.9% G, and 35.8% T), respectively. Both mitogenomes have the classic Hexacorallia gene content of 13 protein-coding, two rRNA, and two tRNA genes plus a COX1 intron with embedded HEG as found in the Antipathidae and other antipatharian families.


Land-Use Dynamics Associated With Mangrove Deforestation For Aquaculture And The Subsequent Abandonment Of Ponds, Aslan Aslan, Abdullah F. Rahman, Scott M. Robeson, Muhammad Ilman Oct 2021

Land-Use Dynamics Associated With Mangrove Deforestation For Aquaculture And The Subsequent Abandonment Of Ponds, Aslan Aslan, Abdullah F. Rahman, Scott M. Robeson, Muhammad Ilman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Highlights

  • SAR data is useful for tracking dynamic changes in mangrove ecosystem.

  • Time series SAR data can be used to estimate lifespan of pond.

  • During 22+ years, over half of the mangrove forest in Mahakam Delta has been converted to aquaculture.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the spatiotemporal dynamics of large area mangrove deforestation, aquaculture pond building, and the subsequent abandonment of ponds in a large delta in Indonesia, namely the Mahakam Delta. So, we developed and applied a novel methodology for exploring the lifespan of aquaculture ponds. Using historical multispectral and radar data, the …


Assessing Changes In Clusters Of Wildlife Road Mortalities After The Construction Of Wildlife Mitigation Structures, Thomas J. Yamashita, Trinity D. Livingston, Kevin W. Ryer, John H. Young Jr., Richard Kline Oct 2021

Assessing Changes In Clusters Of Wildlife Road Mortalities After The Construction Of Wildlife Mitigation Structures, Thomas J. Yamashita, Trinity D. Livingston, Kevin W. Ryer, John H. Young Jr., Richard Kline

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Collisions with vehicles can be a major threat to wildlife populations, so wildlife mitigation structures, including exclusionary fencing and wildlife crossings, are often constructed. To assess mitigation structure effectiveness, it is useful to compare wildlife road mortalities (WRMs) before, during, and after mitigation structure construction; however, differences in survey methodologies may make comparisons of counts impractical. Location-based cluster analyses provide a means to assess how WRM spatial patterns have changed over time. We collected WRM data between 2015 and 2019 on State Highway 100 in Texas, USA. Five wildlife crossings and exclusionary fencing were installed in this area between September …


Reproductive Characteristics Of Red Snapper Lutjanus Campechanus On Artificial Reefs In Different Jurisdictions, Catheline Y. M. Froehlich, Adam M. Lee, Ramiro Oquita, Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro, J. Dale Shively Sep 2021

Reproductive Characteristics Of Red Snapper Lutjanus Campechanus On Artificial Reefs In Different Jurisdictions, Catheline Y. M. Froehlich, Adam M. Lee, Ramiro Oquita, Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro, J. Dale Shively

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Reproductive activity of Red Snapper Lutjanus campechanus (Poey, 1860) at artificial reefs (ARs) are only recently being investigated. Yet, the management of the fishery differs on a regional basis with state and federal jurisdictions, and reproductive differences among regions have not been investigated. To compare the reproductive activity of L. campechanus among state (inshore) and federal (offshore) jurisdictions, individuals were collected in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico from four ARs on a quarterly basis for 2 yrs. Inshore sites exhibited fishing pressure year round whereas offshore sites only had fishing season open during a few months of summer. Collected individuals …


Molecular Characterization And Expression Of Cytochrome P450 Aromatase In Atlantic Croaker Brain: Regulation By Antioxidant Status And Nitric Oxide Synthase During Hypoxia Stress, Md Saydur Rahman, Peter Thomas Aug 2021

Molecular Characterization And Expression Of Cytochrome P450 Aromatase In Atlantic Croaker Brain: Regulation By Antioxidant Status And Nitric Oxide Synthase During Hypoxia Stress, Md Saydur Rahman, Peter Thomas

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

We have previously shown that nitric oxide synthase (NOS, an enzyme) is significantly increased during hypoxic stress in Atlantic croaker brains and modulated by an antioxidant (AOX). However, the influence of NOS and AOX on cytochrome P450 aromatase (AROM, CYP19a1, an enzyme) activity on vertebrate brains during hypoxic stress is largely unknown. In this study, we characterized brain AROM (bAROM, CYP19a1b) cDNA in croaker and examined the interactive effects of hypoxia and a NOS-inhibitor or AOX on AROM activity. The amino acid sequence of croaker bAROM cDNA is highly homologous (76–80%) to other marine teleost bAROM cDNAs. Both real-time PCR …


Endophytic Beauveria Bassiana Increases Galling Of ‘Rutgers’ Tomato Roots With Meloidogyne Incognita, Shalini Yerukala, Ernest C. Bernard, Kimberly D. Gwinn, David M. Butler, Parwinder Grewal, Bonnie H. Ownley Aug 2021

Endophytic Beauveria Bassiana Increases Galling Of ‘Rutgers’ Tomato Roots With Meloidogyne Incognita, Shalini Yerukala, Ernest C. Bernard, Kimberly D. Gwinn, David M. Butler, Parwinder Grewal, Bonnie H. Ownley

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Beauveria bassiana is endophytic in many plant species and has been shown to protect host plants against insect pests and plant pathogens. However, less is known about its activity against plant-parasitic nematodes. In vitro and plant assays were conducted to determine the effect of B. bassiana 11-98 (Bb) on Meloidogyne incognita (root-knot nematode; RKN). Beauveria bassiana was confirmed as an endophyte in ‘Rutgers’ tomato and colonization patterns of Bb in ‘Rutgers’ (highly susceptible to RKN) were compared with those in ‘Mountain Spring’ (less susceptible to RKN). In greenhouse tests with ‘Rutgers’ at 30 and 60 days after treatment (DAT) with …


Assessing The Anthropogenic Footprint On The Channel Sinuosity Of The Rio Grande The Delta, Edoardo Davila Aug 2021

Assessing The Anthropogenic Footprint On The Channel Sinuosity Of The Rio Grande The Delta, Edoardo Davila

Theses and Dissertations

The Rio Grande has been an emblematic feature and a source of life for the Rio Grande Valley. Since Pre-Historic times, it has provided the resources that allowed communities to thrive in a land where water is scarce. Large scale anthropogenic activities including, primarily in the form of river diversions and dam construction, have negatively impacted the river. Twenty-three major dams, and many small ones built on the main channel and many of its tributaries in the last century, have drastically reduced water discharge and virtually eliminated sediment delivery to the delta. This study explores how the channel sinuosity …


Assessing Long-Term Coral Coverage At East And West Flower Garden Banks, Rebekah Alicia Hernandez Aug 2021

Assessing Long-Term Coral Coverage At East And West Flower Garden Banks, Rebekah Alicia Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

Coral reefs provide critical habitat for diverse benthic communities; however, more than 10% of existing reefs have been lost as a result of natural and anthropogenic stressors. While there has been a decline in reefs around the world, East and West Flower Garden Banks (FGBs), part of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS), have maintained > 50% live coral cover for over 27 years as revealed by the FGBNMS long-term monitoring (LTM) program. In the 1980’s, the LTM program at East and West FGBs was developed in response to the expansion of oil and gas exploration, anchoring, and fishing impacts …


Biochar Applications To The Remediation Of Lead And Polychlorinated Biphenyl Contaminated Water, Victory Itua Igberase Aug 2021

Biochar Applications To The Remediation Of Lead And Polychlorinated Biphenyl Contaminated Water, Victory Itua Igberase

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the performance of biochar materials as adsorbents to remove Pb and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in aqueous solutions. Batch adsorption and column experiment packed with biochar and geomaterials (pumice) in 1:1 volume ratio was evaluated to address the efficacy of biochar in removing Pb while only batch adsorption was employed for PCB removal with biochar materials. Overall, PT biochars performed the best (42–53 mg g−1) followed by BE biochars (10–32 mg g−1) and AB biochars (17–27 mg g−1) while high temperature biochars were favored in terms of maximum Pb adsorption capacity. Column Pb breakthrough showed similar results, with …


Soil Chemistry Modification By Guinea Grass In Semi-Arid Soils: A Litter Mediated Positive Feedback, Vanessa Elizabeth Thomas Aug 2021

Soil Chemistry Modification By Guinea Grass In Semi-Arid Soils: A Litter Mediated Positive Feedback, Vanessa Elizabeth Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Nutrients are a key component of healthy soils. Their composition plays an important role in plant growth through nutrient cycling and directly influences the functioning of plant communities in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. Shifts in macronutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen may be initiated by invasive growth as a driver for competition with native plants. The goal of this study is to explore the plant soil feedback in an exotic invasive plant, Guinea grass (Pancium maximum), an invasive bunch grass originally from Africa, across different habitat types in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV). To determine a positive plant …


Protistan Grazing Impacts Microbial Communities And Carbon Cycling At Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents, Sarah K. Hu, Erica L. Herrera, Amy R. Smith, Maria G. Pachiadaki, Virginia P. Edgcomb, Sean P. Sylva, Eric W. Chan, Jeffrey S. Seewald, Christopher R. German, Julie A. Huber Jul 2021

Protistan Grazing Impacts Microbial Communities And Carbon Cycling At Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents, Sarah K. Hu, Erica L. Herrera, Amy R. Smith, Maria G. Pachiadaki, Virginia P. Edgcomb, Sean P. Sylva, Eric W. Chan, Jeffrey S. Seewald, Christopher R. German, Julie A. Huber

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Microbial eukaryotes (or protists) in marine ecosystems are a link between primary producers and all higher trophic levels, and the rate at which heterotrophic protistan grazers consume microbial prey is a key mechanism for carbon transport and recycling in microbial food webs. At deep-sea hydrothermal vents, chemosynthetic bacteria and archaea form the base of a food web that functions in the absence of sunlight, but the role of protistan grazers in these highly productive ecosystems is largely unexplored. Here, we pair grazing experiments with a molecular survey to quantify protistan grazing and to characterize the composition of vent-associated protists in …


Comparative Study Of Leachate Characterization: Implication For Sustainable Environmental Management, Osakpolor Marvellous Omorogieva, Victory Itua Igberase Jul 2021

Comparative Study Of Leachate Characterization: Implication For Sustainable Environmental Management, Osakpolor Marvellous Omorogieva, Victory Itua Igberase

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Understanding the sources of environmental stressors, the role of geology, climate and technology would provide a guide to solving the problems posed by such stressor. The study examine the sources of wastes in Ikhueniro open dumpsite located in Benin city, Nigeria and characterize the leachate emanating from it. This will assist in adequate design of managerial scheme to tackle the menace posed by it while putting into consideration the role of geology, climate and technology. The key objectives are to carry out field study, characterize wastes in the dumpsite and collect raw leachate emanating from the wastes heap in order …


Effects Of Scarification, Phytohormones, Soil Type, And Warming On The Germination And/Or Seedling Performance Of Three Tamaulipan Thornscrub Forest Species, Paula Luera, Kimberly Wahl-Villarreal, Bradley O. Christoffersen, Abeny Treviño, Pushpa Soti, Christopher A. Gabler Jul 2021

Effects Of Scarification, Phytohormones, Soil Type, And Warming On The Germination And/Or Seedling Performance Of Three Tamaulipan Thornscrub Forest Species, Paula Luera, Kimberly Wahl-Villarreal, Bradley O. Christoffersen, Abeny Treviño, Pushpa Soti, Christopher A. Gabler

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Tamaulipan thornforests of south Texas and northeast Mexico are an ecologically and economically important conservation hotspot. Thornforest restoration is limited by native tree and shrub seedling availability for planting. Seedling shortages arise from low seed availability and knowledge gaps regarding best practices for germinating and growing the 70+ thornforest species desired for restoration plantings. To fill key knowledge gaps, we investigated three ecologically important thornforest species with low or highly variable germination or seedling survival rates: Ebenopsis ebano, Cordia boissieri, and Zanthoxylum fagara. For each, we quantified the effects of different dosages of chemical seed treatments used to promote …


Deep-Sea Biodiversity At The Extremes Of The Salas Y Gómez And Nazca Ridges With Implications For Conservation, Alan M. Friedlander, Whitney Goodell, Jonatha Giddens, Erin E. Easton, Daniel Wagner Jun 2021

Deep-Sea Biodiversity At The Extremes Of The Salas Y Gómez And Nazca Ridges With Implications For Conservation, Alan M. Friedlander, Whitney Goodell, Jonatha Giddens, Erin E. Easton, Daniel Wagner

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges are underwater mountain chains that stretch across 2,900 km in the southeastern Pacific and are recognized for their high biodiversity value and unique ecological characteristics. Explorations of deep-water ecosystems have been limited in this region, and elsewhere globally. To characterize community composition of mesophotic and deep-sea demersal fauna at seamounts in the region, we conducted expeditions to Rapa Nui (RN) and Salas y Gómez (SyG) islands in 2011 and Desventuradas Islands in 2013. Remote autonomous baited-cameras were used to conduct stationary video surveys between 150–1,850 m at RN/SyG (N = 20) and 75–2,363 …


Miscanthus Biomass For Alternative Energy Production, Jikai Zhao, Donghai Wang, Valentina Pidlisnyuk, Larry E. Erickson Jun 2021

Miscanthus Biomass For Alternative Energy Production, Jikai Zhao, Donghai Wang, Valentina Pidlisnyuk, Larry E. Erickson

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Biomass such as Miscanthus that is produced using phytoremediation can be used as a biofuel. In some locations it is used for heating homes that are located close to where it is produced. This chapter considers alternative energy technologies for Miscanthus and other plants, including liquid fuels such as ethanol, methane from anaerobic digestion, and pyrolysis (thermal Processing). Pretreatment alternatives to convert cellulose to glucose are reviewed because the economics of ethanol production from Miscanthus are impacted by the efficiency of cellulose hydrolysis to glucose. Size reduc tion of Miscanthus is often the first step in the process because enzymes …


Miscanthus As Raw Materials For Bio-Based Products, Valentina Pidlisnyuk, Larry E. Erickson, Donghai Wang, Jikai Zhao, Tatyana Stefanovska, John R. Schlup Jun 2021

Miscanthus As Raw Materials For Bio-Based Products, Valentina Pidlisnyuk, Larry E. Erickson, Donghai Wang, Jikai Zhao, Tatyana Stefanovska, John R. Schlup

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

There is great interest in products from Miscanthus because large quantities of biomass can be produced annually. There are simple uses such as bedding for animals, mulch for horticulture applications, and insulation to improve energy conservation. Miscanthus has excellent natural absorbent qualities which makes it very attractive for spill management and as a bedding material. Compostable foodservice ware has been produced from Miscanthus to replace products from plastic that do not biodegrade. Building applications include fiber board, particleboard, and composites. Miscanthus has high-quality cel lulose for material applications and is an excellent source of cellulose where high quality is important. …


In-Depth Analysis Of N2o Fluxes In Tropical Forest Soils Of The Congo Basin Combining Isotope And Functional Gene Analysis, Nora Gallarotti, Matti Barthel, Elizabeth Verhoeven, Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira, Marijn Bauters, Simon Baumgartner, Travis W. Drake, Pascal Boeckx, Joachim Mohn, Manon Longepierre May 2021

In-Depth Analysis Of N2o Fluxes In Tropical Forest Soils Of The Congo Basin Combining Isotope And Functional Gene Analysis, Nora Gallarotti, Matti Barthel, Elizabeth Verhoeven, Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira, Marijn Bauters, Simon Baumgartner, Travis W. Drake, Pascal Boeckx, Joachim Mohn, Manon Longepierre

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Primary tropical forests generally exhibit large gaseous nitrogen (N) losses, occurring as nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N2O) or elemental nitrogen (N2). The release of N2O is of particular concern due to its high global warming potential and destruction of stratospheric ozone. Tropical forest soils are predicted to be among the largest natural sources of N2O; however, despite being the world’s second-largest rainforest, measurements of gaseous N-losses from forest soils of the Congo Basin are scarce. In addition, long-term studies investigating N2O fluxes from different forest ecosystem types (lowland and montane forests) are scarce. In this study we show that …


Development Of A Cyberinfrastructure For Assessment Of The Lower Rio Grande Valley North And Central Watersheds Characteristics, Linda Isabel Navarro Navarro May 2021

Development Of A Cyberinfrastructure For Assessment Of The Lower Rio Grande Valley North And Central Watersheds Characteristics, Linda Isabel Navarro Navarro

Theses and Dissertations

Due to an increase in urbanization in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), there have been substantial modifications to hydrology causing a decline in water quality to the Laguna Madre watershed. The major concern is the inflow of freshwater from the North and Central waterways released to the Lower Laguna Madre which is designated as an impaired watershed for high concentrations of bacteria and low dissolved oxygen. The objective of this study is to perform a watershed characterization to determine potential pollution sources of each watershed by developing a cyberinfrastructure and collect a wide inventory of data. The objective will …


Unravelling The Role Of Pgpr "Pseudomonas Fluorescens" In Semi- Arid Soils Of The Rio Grande Valley, Mandip Tamang May 2021

Unravelling The Role Of Pgpr "Pseudomonas Fluorescens" In Semi- Arid Soils Of The Rio Grande Valley, Mandip Tamang

Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1: In this chapter, we have provided a review on the components of rhizosphere engineering and the potential use of PGPR and its challenges to serve as an efficient component for sustainable agriculture.

Chapter 2: In this chapter, we isolated 35 different strains of a PGPR, Pseudmonas fluorescens and characterized various plant growth promoting traits such as production of ammonia, protease, Indole acitic acid (IAA), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (ACC) deaminase, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and souliblization of zinc and phosphate.

Chapter 3: In this chapter, we tested the influence of plant beneficial soil microbe, P. fluorescens, on the growth and …