Environmental Education Commons^™

Seamless Lidar Surveys Reveal Rates And Patterns Of Subsidence In The Mississippi River Delta, Celeste E. Woock

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) data are used to report the temporal and spatial patterns of subsidence as well as the potential contributors to subsidence within the Barataria and Terrebonne Bays. In recent decades, subsidence in southeast Louisiana has become a topic of substantial and growing concern to the scientific community, the local residents, and all those invested in the region. Lidar data were acquired from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the LSU Center for Geoinformatics. The data has been manipulated to map the differenced Lidar, complete an instantaneous slope analysis, and determine the thickness of the Holocene …

Circumpolar Status Of Arctic Ptarmigan: Population Dynamics And Trends, Eva Fuglei, John-Andre ́ Henden, Chris T. Callahan, Olivier Gilg, Jannik Hansen, Rolf A. Ims, Arkady P. Isaev, Johannes Lang, Carol L. Mcintyre, Richard A. Merizon, Oleg Y. Mineev, Yuri N. Mineev, Dave Mossop, Olafur K. Nielsen, Erlend B. Nilsen, Ashild Ønvik Pedersen, Niels Martin Martin, Benoıt Sittler, Maria Hørnell Willebrand, Kathy Martin

United States National Park Service: Publications

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) and willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) are Arctic birds with a circumpolar distribution but there is limited knowledge about their status and trends across their circumpolar distribution. Here, we compiled information from 90 ptarmigan study sites from 7 Arctic countries, where almost half of the sites are still monitored. Rock ptarmigan showed an overall negative trend on Iceland and Greenland, while Svalbard and Newfoundland had positive trends, and no significant trends in Alaska. For willow ptarmigan, there was a negative trend in mid-Sweden and eastern Russia, while northern Fennoscandia, North America and Newfoundland had no significant trends. …

Stream Channel Monitoring In Northern Great Plains Network, Data Quality Standards, Darren J. Thornbrugh

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to document the standards used by the Northern Great Plain Network (NGPN) for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of monitoring data as described in the Protocol implementation plan for stream channel monitoring in the Northern Great Plains Network: narrative version 1.0 (Thornbrugh et al. 2019). The plan also serves as a guide for all NGPN personnel who are involved in protocol/program activities and as a resource for identifying memoranda, publications, and other literature that describe associated techniques and requirements in more detail.

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- April 2019, Natalie Umphlett, Rezaul Mamood, Warren Pettee, Paul Flanagan, Bill Sorensen, Jamie Lahowetz, Emily Brown, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Climate4Cities.......................2-3

Product highlight....................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

THREDDS workshop...............5

AASC webinar...........................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Protocol Implementation Plan For Cave Water Quality Monitoring In The Northern Great Plains Network, Narrative Version 1.0, Isabel W. Ashton, Justin S. Mills, Marc Ohms, Daniel Austin, Michael Wiles, Kara Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network includes thirteen park units located in five northern Great Plains states across six ecoregions. Two park units, Jewel Cave National Monument (JECA) and Wind Cave National Park (WICA), protect significant cave resources. These two caves are among the longest caves in the world and have an assortment of underground water resources ranging from drip sites to cave lakes. Subsurface water quantity and quality in the caves is a concern due to groundwater depletion and groundwater contamination from pesticides (aboveground applications), hydrocarbons (vehicle use and related activities), and wastewater effluent (sewage …

Redescription Of Anaschisma (Temnospondyli: Metoposauridae) From The Late Triassic Of Wyoming And The Phylogeny Of The Metoposauridae, Bryan M. Gee, William G. Parker, Adam D. Marsh

United States National Park Service: Publications

Metoposaurids are non-marine temnospondyls that are among the most common constituents of Late Triassic deposits, but despite their abundance, the evolutionary relationships of the group are poorly resolved and have not been fully addressed with modern phylogenetic methods. The genus Anaschisma is one of a number of poorly resolved metoposaurid taxa and was erected to describe two species from the Popo Agie Formation (Carnian) in Wyoming: Anaschisma browni and Anaschisma brachygnatha. Since being named, the genus has been repeatedly synonymized and separated with other taxa in the context of broader revisions of the Metoposauridae. At present, Anaschisma is considered …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring At Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2018 Data Report, Isabel W. Ashton

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2018 at Scotts Bluff National Monument (SCBL) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and Fire Ecology Program (NGPFire). This was the eighth year of combined monitoring efforts.

Crew members from NGPN visited eight long-term monitoring plots to collect data on the plant communities at SCBL. This work is part of a long-term monitoring effort designed to provide a better understanding of the condition of the vegetation community and how it changes over time. NGPN staff measured species richness, herb-layer height, native and non-native species abundance, …

Multivariate Analysis Of Hydrochemical Data For Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, And Surrounding Areas, Andrew J. Long, James B. Paces, William G. Eldridge

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota contain two of the six longest caves worldwide. These caves contain subterranean lakes that are important points of intersection between the water table of the Madison aquifer and the caves. During 2015 to 2017, several subterranean lakes were discovered in Jewel Cave, which previously was thought to be above the regional water table. The objectives of this study were to better understand the hydrology of the recently discovered subterranean lakes in Jewel Cave and to evaluate their relation or possible connection to similar lakes in Wind Cave. …

Bird Monitoring At Effigy Mounds National Monument, Iowa, Status Report 2009–2017, David G. Peitz, Lloyd W. Morrison, Kristen L. Mecke

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

In 2009, the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Network) initiated breeding bird surveys on Effigy Mounds National Monument (NM), Iowa, to address two objectives: (1) to monitor changes in bird community composition and abundance, and (2) to improve our understanding of relationships between breeding birds and habitat and the effects of management actions on such relationships. This report evaluates trends in the park’s breeding bird populations in the context of trends observed within the North American Bird Conservation Initiative’s (NABCI) Prairie Hardwood Transition Bird Conservation Region, the bird conservation region in which the park is located. By doing …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring At Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2018 Data Report, Ryan M. Manuel

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2018 at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and the Northern Great Plains Fire Effects Program (NGPFire). This was the eighth year of field work conducted by NGPN at AGFO.

In 2018, crew members from NGPN visited six long-term plant community monitoring (PCM) plots, four legacy plant community monitoring (LPCM) plots, and NGPFire visited one additional PCM plot to collect data on plant communities at AGFO. This collaborative effort is part of a long-term monitoring program established to better …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- January 2019, Natalie Umphlett, Rezaul Mamood, Warren Pettee, Gannon Rush, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Year in review............................2

Drought THIRA toolkit...........3

Product highlight....................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Other HPRCC news.................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Post-Glacial Fire History Of Horsetail Fen And Human-Environment Interactions In The Teanaway Area Of The Eastern Cascades, Washington, Serafina Ferri

All Master's Theses

Landscapes of the Pacific Northwest have been shaped by dramatic shifts in climate since the last glacial maximum and more recently, by human activity. However, it is unclear how past relationships between people, fire, and climate interacted on the landscape. The purpose of this research was to reconstruct the post-glacial fire history of a wetland known as Horsetail Fen, located in the Teanaway area of the eastern Cascades of Washington State. The goal was to evaluate how fire activity has varied under different climatic scenarios during the last ~16,000 years and in relation to human land-use actions. This lake was …

Using Redundant Primer Sets To Detect Multiple Native Alaskan Fish Species From Environmental Dna, Damian Menning, Trey Simmons, Sandra Talbot

United States National Park Service: Publications

Accurate and timely data regarding freshwater fish communities is important for informed decision-making by local, state, tribal, and federal land and resource managers; however, conducting traditional gear-based fish surveys can be an expensive and time-consuming process, particularly in remote areas, like those that characterize much of Alaska. To help address this challenge, we developed and tested five multi-species environmental DNA (eDNA) primer sets for the simultaneous detection of up to 37 target fish species in a single sample. Using these primer sets can reduce the cost and time needed to perform future studies of fish communities. Our results comparing multiple …

Recruiting And Retaining K9–16 Students Through Field- And Laboratory - Based Geoscience Experiences, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Arif M. Sikder, Krishna Mahabir, Ality Aghedo, Charren Cabaroy, Mildred M. Selby, Gugu Ginindza, Leonardo Sanchez

Publications and Research

Since 2004, we have been directly involved with the GSA to provide access and opportunities for K9-16 students, particularly those interested in the broader aspects of geoscience-related topics, to present their field-and- laboratory based research outcomes at professional conferences and to learn from each other. So far, well-over 400 students from the U. S. and abroad have taken advantage of this opportunity and participated our topical sessions. It is quite gratifying to report that many of these students, as a result of their attendance at the GSA conference, felt a continuing need for exposure to high-level professional venues with effective …

Niobrara National Scenic River, Socioeconomic Monitoring Pilot Implementation, Summer 2016, Resource Systems Group

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

This report describes the results of a visitor study at Niobrara National Scenic River (NSR) conducted from July 15 through July 24, 2016. During the sampling period, 253 visitor groups were contacted to participate in the survey. Of those groups, 217 agreed to participate in the study by accepting a mail-back survey packet. Questionnaires were completed and returned by 110 visitor groups, resulting in a completion rate of 51% among those visitor groups that agreed to participate in the study and an overall response rate of 43% for the study.

 This report profiles a systematic random sample …

Quality Assurance Plan For Monitoring White-Tailed Deer In The Heartland Inventory And Monitoring Network, United States National Park Service, Heartland Inventory And Monitoring Network

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

In accordance with guidelines set forth by the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Division, a quality-assurance plan has been created for use by the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network in the implementation of the White-tailed Deer Monitoring Protocol (HTLN 2018). This quality-assurance plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the Heartland Network for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of monitoring data. The policies and procedures documented in this quality-assurance plan complement the quality-assurance plans for other monitoring activities conducted by the Heartland Network and supplement the National Inventory and Monitoring Division …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- October 2018, Natalie Umphlett, Rezaul Mamood, Jamie Lahowetz, Warren Pettee, Dalton Van Stratten, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

ACIS GIS portal release..........2

ACIS maps enhancement.....3

Product highlight....................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Update on tribal engagement............................................. 5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Perils Of The Fungal Kingdom: Mycotoxins In Food And Feed, Adrianna Isobel Pribil

LSU Master's Theses

Humans and fungi have a complex relationship, especially in regards to the many fungal secondary metabolites that can be produced. When secondary metabolites are toxic to animals and humans they are defined as mycotoxins. Fungi can grow on crops pre-harvest and post-harvest, and have the potential to produce mycotoxins which occur regularly in animal feed and food for human consumption. In high doses, mycotoxins cause variety of problems that result in economic losses and extreme health issues. However, multiple mycotoxins will co-occur in nature and commonly occur in low doses. Thus chronic low daily doses of multiple mycotoxins overtime may …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- July 2018, Natalie Umphlett, Emily Brown, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

GRAINEX project......................2

Product highlights..................3

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

GIS Portal....................................4

Regional news..........................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Reilly R. Dibner, Nicole Korfanta, Gary Beauvais, Jonathan Bowler, Kit Freedman, Kelli C. Trujillo, Victoria H. Zero

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

In collaboration with the National Park Service, the University of Wyoming Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources and the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database completed the Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) for Scotts Bluff National Monument (NM). The purpose of the NRCA is to provide park leaders and resource managers with information on resource conditions to support near-term planning and management, long-term strategic planning, and effective science communication to decision-makers and the public.

Scotts Bluff NM was established in 1919. The purposes of the park include protecting and preserving the Mitchell Pass portion of the Oregon Trail and …

Morphological And Histological Description Of Small Metoposaurids From Petrified Forest National Park, Az, Usa And The Taxonomy Of Apachesaurus, Bryan M. Gee, William G. Parker

United States National Park Service: Publications

Metoposaurids are Late Triassic temnospondyls that are abundant components of freshwater deposi- tional settings. Although metoposaurids are represented by hundreds of specimens in collections around the world, the vast majority pertain to large-bodied, relatively mature individuals, and as a result, the early stages of ontogeny are still poorly characterised. Small-bodied metoposaurids from North America have traditionally been assigned to Apachesaurus gregorii, interpreted as a diminutive taxon, but this interpretation has not been rigorously tested. Here we provide a morphological description of two new small-bodied metoposaurid specimens from Petrified Forest National Park, AZ, USA. Both provide various anatomical details that improve …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Testing Methods To Mitigate Caribbean Yellow-Band Disease On Orbicella Faveolata, Carly J. Randall, Elizabeth M. Whitcher, Tessa Code, Clayton Pollock, Ian Lundgren, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Erinn M. Muller

United States National Park Service: Publications

Outbreaks of coral diseases continue to reduce global coral populations. In the Caribbean, yellow band is a severe and wide-spread disease that commonly affects corals of the Orbicella spp. complex, significantly impeding coral reproduction, and hindering the natural recovery of Orbicella spp. populations. Caribbean yellow-band disease (CYBD) lesions may be severe, and often result in the complete loss of coral tissue. The slow spread of CYBD, however, provides an opportunity to test methods to mitigate the disease. Here we report the results of in situ experiments, conducted within Buck Island Reef National Monument in St. Croix, USVI, to test the …

Winter Bat Activity In A Landscape Without Traditional Hibernacula, Amy M. Hammesfahr, Rene E. Ohms

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

Prior to 2014, bat research at Devils Tower National Monument (DETO) focused on bats present during the summer months. Biologists at DETO assumed local bats were strictly summer residents due to the presumed lack of typical habitat features associated with bat hibernation, such as caves and mines. This lack of traditional hibernacula features at DETO discouraged staff and research cooperators from studying winter bat populations. Despite the earlier assumption that bats were unlikely to hibernate on the monument, DETO documented significant winter bat activity through passive winter acoustic monitoring. This study is the first study at DETO that documents …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring At Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2017 Data Summary Report, Stephanie L. Rockwood

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2017 at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and the Northern Great Plains Fire Effects Program (NGPFire). This was the seventh year of field work conducted by NGPN at AGFO.

In 2017, crew members from NGPN visited six long-term plant community monitoring (PCM) plots and NGPFire visited eight additional PCM and fire plant community monitoring (FPCM) plots to collect data on the plant communities at AGFO. This collaborative effort is part of a long-term monitoring program established to better …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- April 2018, Natalie Umphlett, Crystal J. Stiles, Shellie Hanneman

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

Weather photo of the quarter.........................................1

Tribal climate summaries......2

Product highlights..................3

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

State Climate Extremes Committee.................................4

Update on research................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2017 Data Report, Ryan Manuel

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2017 at Scotts Bluff National Monument (SCBL) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) and Northern Great Plains Fire Ecology Program (NGPFire).

During the seventh full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited eight long-term monitoring plots on May 22-25, 2017 to collect data on the plant communities at SCBL. This is part of a long-term monitoring effort to better understand the condition of the vegetation at SCBL. NGPN staff captured data relating to species richness, herb-layer height, abundance of individual native and non-native …

Acoustic Surveys Of Bats At Northern Great Plains Parks And Preliminary Results From 2014-16, Daniel S. Licht

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

From 2014-16, the Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (Network)—in collaboration with the Midwest Regional Biologist—used acoustic methods to monitor bat populations at 12 Network parks. Six parks were monitored using the nascent North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) framework. Six other parks did not meet a priori criteria for inclusion in NABat so they were monitored using similar methods, but a non-systematic sampling frame.

Fifty-five NABat stations were established along with 62 non-NABat stations. Stations were typically monitored for 4-7 nights each year using equipment that records the echolocation calls of bats. Fourteen mobile survey routes …

Global Climate Change I-Ii, Kendall Barrett Sooter, Dione Rossiter, Costanza Rampini

Faculty Publications, Environmental Studies

Many different scientific observations and measurements indicate that Earth is experiencing global-scale changes in climate, i.e., in the long-term distributions of temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and extreme weather events. Scientific consensus considers most these changes to be caused or accelerated by human activities. The economic, ecological, social, and cultural challenges caused by global climate change will affect everyone on the planet, and are very likely to have disproportionate impacts on developing nations. In this course, we will study global climate change from an interdisciplinary perspective, incorporating natural and social science approaches to understanding processes and effects. We will study the …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- January 2018, Natalie Umphlett, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

Weather photo of the quarter.................................................. 1

2017 - year in review..............2

2017 climate in the High Plains............................................3

Update on La Niña..................3

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Product Highlight....................4

HPRCC Turns 30........................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6