Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons^™

Phylogenomics Reveals Ancient And Contemporary Gene Flow Contributing To The Evolutionary History Of Sea Ducks (Tribe Mergini), Philip Lavretsky, Robert E. Wilson, Sandra L. Talbot, Sarah A. Sonsthagen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Insight into complex evolutionary histories continues to build through broad comparative phylogenomic and population genomic studies. In particular, there is a need to understand the extent and scale that gene flow contributes to standing genomic diversity and the role introgression has played in evolutionary processes such as hybrid speciation. Here, we investigate the evolutionary history of the Mergini tribe (sea ducks) by coupling multi-species comparisons with phylogenomic analyses of thousands of nuclear ddRAD-seq loci, including Z-sex chromosome and autosomal linked loci, and the mitogenome assayed across all extant sea duck species in North America. All sea duck species are strongly …

The Quantitative Assessment Of Pond Scum: An Examination Of The Biogeochemistry Of Phosphorus Cycling In The Belgrade Lakes, Abbey M. Sykes

Honors Theses

The internal recycling phosphorus in freshwater lake bottom sediments represents a significant source of hypolimnetic phosphorus (P) release for many of Maine’s lakes. In summer months, Maine lakes often thermally stratify and the lake hypolimnion develops anoxia, leading to a reduction in redox potential at the sediment-water interface. These reducing conditions facilitate the reductive dissolution of ferric iron, and, since phosphorus is often present in freshwater lake sediments as solid FeOOH-PO₄ complexes, results in release of soluble phosphorus into the water column. Our current study presents field and laboratory data from sediment fractionation extractions designed to quantify concentrations of …

An Examination Of Limiting Factors Of Chrysemys Picta Bellii (Western Painted Turtles) In The Lower Willamette River Basin, Oregon, James P. Holley

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Oregon’s two native freshwater turtle species, Chrysemys picta bellii (Western painted turtle) and Actinemys marmorata (Northwestern pond turtle), have seen significantly reduced population sizes since the founding of Portland in 1845, with estimates of up to 90% for A. marmorata. This project examined turtle nesting activity at 25 sites across a range of turtle populations and habitats around the Lower Willamette River Basin. All discovered turtle nesting activity was found in areas of high solar exposure. We found 93% of over 400 nest attempts to have been depredated across the 25 sites, well above most other reported rates. At …

Heat Stress During Larval Stages On Coral Survivorship For M. Capitata, Sarah Woo

Pitzer Senior Theses

Very little is known about how heat stress during larvae stages effect larvae survivorship, early coral recruit settlement, and later stage coral survivorship. We focused on determining how heat stress during larvae stages effected Montipora capitata survivorship over time. After thermally stressing larvae, we asked how many larvae survived the treatment, how the treatment affected settlement, how many larvae survived the heat treatment but did not settle, and later stage coral survivorship experienced residual effects from the heat stress treatment. We exposed coral larvae to ambient seawater temperatures at 30°C and heated seawater temperatures to 34°C for an hour and …

Impacts Of Extreme Environmental Disturbances On Piping Plover Survival Are Partially Moderated By Migratory Connectivity, Kristen S. Ellis, Michael J. Anteau, Francesca J. Cuthbert, Cheri L. Gratto-Trevor, Joel G. Jorgensen, David J. Newstead, Larkin Powell, Megan M. Ring, Mark H. Sherfy, Rose J. Swift, Dustin L. Toy, David N. Koons

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Effective conservation for listed migratory species requires an understanding of how drivers of population decline vary spatially and temporally, as well as knowledge of range-wide connectivity between breeding and nonbreeding areas. Environmental conditions distant from breeding areas can have lasting effects on the demography of migratory species, yet these consequences are often the least understood. Our objectives were to 1) evaluate associations between survival and extreme environmental disturbances at nonbreeding areas, including hurricanes, harmful algal blooms, and oil spills, and 2) estimate migratory connectivity between breeding and nonbreeding areas of midcontinental piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). We used capture …

Variation In Coral Thermotolerance Across A Pollution Gradient Erodes As Coral Symbionts Shift To More Heat-Tolerant Genera, Melissa S. Naugle, Thomas A. Oliver, Daniel J. Barshis, Ruth D. Gates, Cheryl A. Logan

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Phenotypic plasticity is one mechanism whereby species may cope with stressful environmental changes associated with climate change. Reef building corals present a good model for studying phenotypic plasticity because they have experienced rapid climate-driven declines in recent decades (within a single generation of many corals), often with differential survival among individuals during heat stress. Underlying differences in thermotolerance may be driven by differences in baseline levels of environmental stress, including pollution stress. To examine this possibility, acute heat stress experiments were conducted on Acropora hyacinthus from 10 sites around Tutuila, American Samoa with differing nutrient pollution impact. A threshold-based heat …

Evaluating The Biotic Condition Of Restored Streams In Kentucky’S Inner Bluegrass Region, Charles Cole Crankshaw

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Numerous stream restoration projects have been implemented in Kentucky’s Inner Bluegrass region to offset anthropogenic impacts. These projects range from full channel realignments to volunteer-led riparian installations. To assess the ability of said projects to restore stream habitat and biota, full restoration (n=12) and riparian (n=6) sites were compared to reference (n=6) and disturbed (n=12) sites using RBP and SVAP protocols, macroinvertebrate samples, and geomorphology. General trends for SVAP, RBP, and BI scores, starting with highest habitat or biotic quality, were reference sites, full and riparian restoration sites, then disturbed sites. The number of EPT taxa, another indicator of biological …

Applying A Novel Systems Approach To Address Systemic Environmental Injustices: Constructing Soil For Limiting The Legacy Of Lead (Pb), Sara Perl Egendorf, Peter M. Groffman, Zhongqi Cheng, Michael Menser, Jan Mun, Howard Mielke

Advanced Science Research Center

The knowledge of unsustainable human and Earth system interactions is widespread, especially in light of systemic environmental injustices. Systems science has enabled complex and rigorous understandings of human and Earth system dynamics, particularly relating to pollution of Earth’s land, water, air, and organisms. Given that many of these systems are not functioning sustainably or optimally, how might this field enable both rigorous understanding of the issues and experiments aimed at alternative outcomes? Here, we put forth a novel, multiscale systems science approach with three steps: (1) understanding the systemic issues at hand, (2) identifying systemic interventions, and (3) applying experiments …

Soil Response Of Helicopter Liming In The Monongahela National Forest, Jarrett Douglas Fowler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Soils in the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) are acidic due to sandstone parent material, acid deposition, uptake of base cations by vegetation, and release of organic acids by organic matter (OM) decomposition. Increases in soil acidity have caused declines in forest health and changed species composition and nutrient status. Liming can neutralize soil acidity, but no large-scale liming projects have been done on acid forest soils in the USA. In anticipation of acquiring funding for a proposed liming project in the MNF, in 2007 and 2009 10 sites were selected to sample and analyze soils before lime was applied. In …

Cascading Effects: Insights From The U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network, Christie A. Bahlai, Clarisse Hart, Maria T. Kavanaugh, Jeffrey D. White, Roger W. Ruess, Todd J. Brinkman, Hugh W. Ducklow, David R. Foster, William R. Fraser, Hélène Genet, Peter M. Groffman, Stephen K. Hamilton, Jill F. Johnstone, Knut Kielland, Douglas A. Landis, Michelle C. Mack, Orlando Sarnelle, Jonathan R. Thompson

Advanced Science Research Center

Ecosystems across the United States are changing in complex and unpredictable ways and analysis of these changes requires coordinated, long-term research. This paper is a product of a synthesis effort of the U.S. National Science Foundation funded Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network addressing the LTER core research area of “populations and communities.” This analysis revealed that each LTER site had at least one compelling “story” about what their site would look like in 50–100 yr. As the stories were prepared, themes emerged, and the stories were group into papers along five themes: state change, connectivity, resilience, time lags, and cascading …

Katanning Research Facility Carbon Footprint Assessment And Strategy To Achieve Carbon Neutrality By 2030, Stephen Wiedemann, Kristina Duff, Mandy Curnow, Perry J. Dolling, David Bicknell, Paul Sanford, John P. Collins, Gavin D'Adhemar

Climate Science Published Reports

As part of the Western Australian Government’s commitment to emissions reduction and the sustainable mitigation of climate change, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) identified that the Katanning Research Facility (KRF) is a significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter and that the site provides an opportunity to improve our understanding of emissions arising from agriculture, particularly livestock production. This report presents a baseline organisational carbon footprint assessment and a sustainable emissions reduction strategy with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality for the research facility by 2030.

KRF, with its intensive animal facilities and commercial farm setup, is the …

Infaunal Bivalve Density And Richness In North Inlet Estuary, South Carolina: Seasonal Patterns And Ecological Factors, Valerie M. Knowles, Juliana Harding

Honors Theses

Estuarine bivalves recruit to benthic habitats after the larvae are in the planktonic stage. The observed infaunal bivalve density relates to larval supply from adult reproduction during warmer months as well as larval and juvenile mortality post-recruitment. The purpose of this research was to examine annual and seasonal patterns of infaunal bivalve density and richness in the context of habitat water temperature and salinity. Cores were collected biweekly from Bly Creek in North Inlet estuary between January 2019 and February 2020. Temperatures ranged from 9-30 ºC and salinity ranged from ~17-36 psu. Bivalves were sieved out of the cores, counted, …

The Effects Of Multiple Stressors On Stream Communities: The Convergence Of Drought, Nutrient Pollution, And Invasive Species, Robert Joseph Fournier Iii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater systems experience multi-faceted degradation from a variety of ecological and environmental stressors. Three common stressors in these systems, drought, nutrient pollution, and invasive species, have wide-ranging effects on stream population- community- and ecosystem dynamics. We have a broad understanding of how each of these stressors works to influence stream systems independently. However, we still know relatively little about if, and how, these stressors might interact when they co-occur. Though drought is a natural part of many stream systems, all three of these stressors can be exacerbated or facilitated by anthropogenic actions. Accordingly, as human population and resource use continue …

Multidecadal Analysis Of Beach Loss At The Major Offshore Sea Turtle Nesting Islands In The Northern Arabian Gulf, Rommel H. Maneja, Jeffrey D. Miller, Wenzhao Li, Rejoice Thomas, Hesham El-Askary, Sachi Perera, Ace Vincent B. Flandez, Abdullajid U. Basali, Joselito Francis A. Alcaria, Jinoy Gopalan, Surya Prakash Tiwari, Mubarak Al-Jedani, Perdana K. Prihartato, Ronald A. Loughlan, Ali Qasem, Mohamed A. Qurban, Wail Falath, Daniele Struppa

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Undocumented historical losses of sea turtle nesting beaches worldwide could overestimate the successes of conservation measures and misrepresent the actual status of the sea turtle population. In addition, the suitability of many sea turtle nesting sites continues to decline even without in-depth scientific studies of the extent of losses and impacts to the population. In this study, multidecadal changes in the outlines and area of Jana and Karan islands, major sea turtle nesting sites in the Arabian Gulf, were compared using available Kodak aerographic images, USGS EROS Declassified satellite imagery, and ESRI satellite images. A decrease of 5.1% and 1.7% …

Swimming Point Benthic Community Condition Elizabeth River (2019), Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

The subtidal macrobenthic communities off Swimming Point in the Elizabeth River were quantitatively sampled in summer 2019. The primary objective of this study was to characterize the ecological condition of the benthos compared to benthic data collected in summer 2010 (Dauer 2011).

The estimated the level of degraded benthic bottom of the Swimming Point stratum (BIBI < 3.0) in 2019 was 64% ± 18.8% a decrease from the 2010 value of 84% ± 14.0%. The level of severely degraded bottom (BIBI ≤ 2.0) in 2019 was 28% ± 17.6% compared to the 2010 value of 52% ± 19.6%. The ecological condition of benthic communities at Swimming Point in 2019 were comparable to the values for the Mainstem segment of the Elizabeth River in 2019 which had an estimated degraded benthic bottom of 52% ± 19.6% and a value of 36% ± 18.8 of severely degraded bottom.

The BIBI and its metrics showed a mixture of improvements and degradations in benthic community condition. Compared to the previous benthic community condition reported in Dauer (2011) the 2019 Swimming Point benthos: (1) the average BIBI value improved significantly from 2.2 ± …

Hot But Not Dry: Modest Changes In Water Relations For An Epiphytic Bromeliad In A Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest, Saúl Hernández-Robinson, Eric A. Graham, Olivia Hernández-González, Roberth Us-Santamaría, José Luis Simá, Fernando Arellano-Martín, José Luis Andrade

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Premise of research. Epiphytic bromeliads endure intense seasonal environmental changes in the canopy of dry tropical deciduous forests. The analysis of the physiological responses of these epiphytes to environmental changes can be useful in assessing their plasticity, vulnerability, and adaptations to such extreme habitats.

Methodology. We measured microenvironmental variables and water relations for plants of the epiphytic bromeliad Tillandsia brachycaulos in three microhabitats within the canopy of a dry tropical forest. We measured individual plants for seasonal and spatial differences in light, leaf temperature, osmotic potential, cell wall elasticity, and relative capacitance as indications of their physiological responses …

An Open-Sourced, Web-Based Application To Improve Our Ability To Understand Hunter And Angler Purchasing Behavior From License Data, Nathaniel B. Price, Christopher J. Chizinski, Joseph J. Fontaine, Kevin L. Pope, Micaela Rahe, Jeff Rawlinson

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

State fish and wildlife agencies rely on hunters and anglers (i.e., sportspersons) to fund management actions through revenue generated from license sales and excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment. There is a need to develop new techniques that bridge the information gap on participation and provide agencies with an understanding of sportspersons at a resolution that can more directly inform efforts to engage sportspersons. Monitoring sportsperson participation using information about their license-purchasing behavior has the potential to reveal important patterns in recruitment (first-time purchase of a hunting or fishing license), retention (continued purchase of licenses across multiple years), and …

Water Quality Assessment In The Occurrence Of Acanthaster Spp. (Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish, Cots) On Coral Reefs In Menjangan Island, Bali, Indonesia, Novia Arinda Pradisty, Eghbert Elvan Ampou, Rizki Hanintyo

Makara Journal of Science

Aquatic stressors are known to cause biological impairment that can result in biodiversity loss in several Marine Protected Areas (MPA), including in Menjangan Island, West Bali National Park. The objectives of this study were to correlate the changes in water quality parameters with the biological effect of Crown-of-Thorns starfish (CoTS) population dynamics and to assess the most applicable parameters for continuous environmental monitoring. Field observations and surveys were conducted three times in 2017, during the wet season, dry season and season transition, in order to assess the effect of seasonal variability. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) was performed to determine the relationship …

Using Cold War-Era Satellite Imagery To Inform Historic Land Cover Classification, Nicholas Hamp-Adams

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Foliar Application Of Low Concentrations Of Titanium Dioxide And Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles To The Common Sunflower Under Field Conditions, Marek Kolenčík, Dávid Ernst, Martin Urík, Ľuba Ďurišová, Marek Bujdoš, Martin Šebesta, Edmund Dobročka, Samuel Kšiňan, Ramakanth Illa, Qian Yu, Huan Feng, Ivan Černý, Veronika Holišová, Gabriela Kratošová

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Nano-fertilisers have only recently been introduced to intensify plant production, and there still remains inadequate scientific knowledge on their plant-related effects. This paper therefore compares the effects of two nano-fertilisers on common sunflower production under field conditions. The benefits arising from the foliar application of micronutrient-based zinc oxide fertiliser were compared with those from the titanium dioxide plant-growth enhancer. Both the zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) were delivered by foliar application in nano-size at a concentration of 2.6 mg·L⁻¹. The foliar-applied nanoparticles (NPs) had good crystallinity and a mean size distribution under 30 nm. …

Nonnative Insect Invasions In Natural Ecosystems: Impacts, Policy, And Evaluation Of Drivers Using Underutilized Biocontrol Datasets, Ashley N. Schulz

Student Theses and Dissertations

The fundamental goal in invasion ecology is to understand what drives the success of nonnative species. To assess mechanisms of invasion, invasion ecologists traditionally study populations of nonnative species that have already established and spread within an environment. A less common method is to use data from classical biocontrol agents, which are also nonnative and have variable impacts with respect to efficacy and non-target effects. Further elucidation of mechanisms of invasion can help researchers develop better methods for detection, prevention, and control of nonnative species. To make progress in the battle against nonnative species, focus should be placed on both …

Algal Coverage Detection And Classification Using Envi: Correlation With Dissolved Oxygen Levels In Elkhorn Slough, Ca, Jason Dawson

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Estuaries are exposed to varying stressors, whether they be physical, chemical, or environmental. The most notable of stressors is eutrophication of coastal and inland ecosystems. This is a result of increased supply of nutrients fueling production within the system. One outcome of this increased nutrient load to the system is that of algal blooms. These blooms can impact the aesthetic appearance and degrade the quality of health of the system. Many of these coastal zones and waterways are critical habitats for many biological (some endangered) species and serve as recreational areas for human populations. Elkhorn Slough, California is one of …

Determinants Of The Carbon Footprint Of German Swimmers 2020., Ann-Marie Muehlbauer

Master's Theses

The current climate situation is placing our planet and future generations at risk, which demonstrates the urgency to combat climate change and conduct research to support this effort. Calculating the carbon footprint of active sport participation represents an important opportunity to conduct additional research. This study examined the environmental attitudes and practices of swim club members in Germany. The study had three goals: First, to calculate the total and partial carbon footprint of German swimmers; second, to understand how sport organizations induce participants to engage in pro-environmental behavior; and third, to analyze various factors associated with carbon footprint, such as …

Benthic Biological Monitoring Of The Elizabeth River Watershed (1999 And 2019), Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

A study of the macrobenthic communities of the Elizabeth River watershed was conducted in summer 1999 and again in summer 2019 – a 20-year span. The primary objective of the Benthic Biological Monitoring Program of the Elizabeth River watershed was to characterize the ecological condition of regional areas of the tidal waters of the Elizabeth River watershed as indicated by the structure of the benthic communities. These characterizations are based upon application of the Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (BIBI) developed for the Chesapeake Bay to five primary strata - the Mainstem of the river, the Lafayette River, …

The Assessment Of Co2 Exposures, Workload Demands, And Musculoskeletal Disorder Risk On Heart Rate For Select Craft Brewery Job Tasks, David L. Huizen

Dissertations

Americans have embraced craft beer, and the ensuing demand has resulted in an ever-increasing number of craft breweries opening over the past 20 years. Craft brewers are generally small employers and, as such, lack the resources necessary to address the safety and health of their employees adequately. Brewers face many safety and health hazards in their work environment. These hazards include exposures to carbon dioxide (CO₂), workload demand, and MSD risk. It is essential to evaluate these hazards in craft breweries as they handle carbon dioxide (CO₂) differently than large breweries by having the CO_{2 …}

Climatic Variability And Climate Change: U.S. College Freshmen Attitudes And Spatio-Temporal Effects On Cavity-Nesting Passerines, Sara Elizabeth Harrod

Student Theses and Dissertations

Despite the scientific consensus that human activities are the primary cause, many people deny the problem of climate change. If mitigation efforts are to be successful, we need to determine young individuals’ attitudes toward and knowledge of climate change. Successful mitigation efforts are important for humans, as well as wildlife and the environment. Wildlife populations are already being affected, with many documented cases of negative impacts. Effects on populations can occur through impacts on demographic parameters, and if parameters are synchronized across species or populations, this could prove disastrous if climate change negatively affects these parameters. Here, I surveyed first-semester …

Long-Term Ndvi And Recent Vegetation Cover Profiles Of Major Offshore Island Nesting Sites Of Sea Turtles In Saudi Waters Of The Northern Arabian Gulf, Rommel H. Maneja, Jeffrey D. Miller, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary, Ace Vincent B. Flandez, Joshua J. Dagoy, Joselito Francis A. Alcaria, Abdullajid U. Basali, Khaled A. Al-Abdulkader, Ronald A. Loughland, Mohamed A. Qurban

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Vegetation is an important ecological component of offshore islands in the Arabian Gulf (AG), which maintains long-term resilience of these islands. This is achieved by influencing sediment retention and moisture acquisition via condensation during periods of high humidity and by providing a variety of microhabitats for island fauna. The resilience of offshore islands’ ecosystems in the Saudi waters is important because they host the largest number of nesting hawksbill and green turtles in the AG. This study defines the characteristics and the long-term trends in vegetation cover of the offshore islands used by sea turtles as nesting grounds in the …

Vertebrates On The Brink As Indicators Of Biological Annihilation And The Sixth Mass Extinction, Gerardo Ceballos, Paul R. Ehrlich, Peter H. Raven

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

The ongoing sixth mass species extinction is the result of the destruction of component populations leading to eventual extirpation of entire species. Populations and species extinctions have severe implications for society through the degradation of ecosystem services. Here we assess the extinction crisis from a different perspective. We examine 29,400 species of terrestrial vertebrates, and determine which are on the brink of extinction because they have fewer than 1,000 individuals. There are 515 species on the brink (1.7% of the evaluated vertebrates). Around 94% of the populations of 77 mammal and bird species on the brink have been lost in …

Storm Surges In The Bohai Sea: The Role Of Waves And Tides, Yuanyi Li, Huan Feng, Guillaume Vigouroux, Dekui Yuan, Guangyu Zhang, Xiaodi Ma, Kun Lei

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

A storm surge is a complex phenomenon in which waves, tide and current interact. Even though wind is the predominant force driving the surge, waves and tidal phase are also important factors that influence the mass and momentum transport during the surge. Devastating storm surges often occur in the Bohai Sea, a semi-enclosed shallow sea in North China, due to extreme storms. However, the effects of waves on storm surges in the Bohai Sea have not been quantified and the mechanisms responsible for the higher surges that affect part of the Bohai Sea have not been thoroughly studied. In this …

La Habana: A History Of Society, Livelihood, Movement, And Land Use On The Iquitos-Nauta Highway, Katie Brown

Undergraduate Honors Theses

With increasing infrastructural projects and land titling in the Peruvian Amazon, many changes are occurring within small roadside communities. In this case study, we investigate how these changes impact livelihoods, land use, travel patterns, and social relations within the broader concepts of development, privatization of land, and commodification of nature. Specifically we focus on the caserío La Habana situated on the Iquitos-Nauta highway in the Loreto region of Peru. Semi-formal interviews and ethnographic methods were conducted to gather information on social organization, history of the community, land use practices, migration patterns, opinions on the road, and livelihood strategies. After data …