Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons^™

The Effects Of Constructed Wetlands On Metal Solubilization And Bioavailability In Passive Mine Remediation, Elizabeth Cochran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The legacy of coal mining in Appalachia has left many watersheds impacted by abandoned mine drainage. The drainage degrades streams, groundwater and habitats with acidity and toxic heavy metals. The Lowber Passive Remediation System has been in operation since 2004 to remediate high amounts of dissolved Fe, SO₄, Al, and Mn. The site consists of six settling ponds and an extensive wetlands at the finish. This study investigated the resolubilization of Fe and Mn in the wetlands and the role of bacteria in resolubilization. During three seasons, field measurements of water quality and lab analysis of Fe, Mn, …

Assessing The Potential Impact Of Nanotechnology On The Purification Of Water, Noor Khan

Quest

Independent Research Paper

Research in progress for PHYS 2426: University Physics II

Faculty Mentor: Raji Kannampuzha, Ph.D.

The following paper represents research work done by students in a University Physics 2426 class, the second half of a two-semester introductory course in physics. It is a calculus-based physics course, intended primarily for physics, chemistry, math, and engineering majors. Students are introduced to the concept of academic research by learning to ask research-focused questions and then use the library resources to pursue outside research to find answers. For this assignment, students are asked to investigate a physical science, biological science, or technology …

Landuse And Soil Property Effects On Infiltration And Soil Aggregate Stability In The Lower Mississippi River Valley, Rebecca Lynn Anderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Following European settlement of the Lower Mississippi River Valley (LMRV), agricultural expansion and unsustainable, agriculturally related practices have caused groundwater depletion, soil erosion, and surface water contamination by eroded sediments and sediment-bound nutrients to become major environmental threats to the region. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of common landuses [i.e., native prairie, deciduous forest, coniferous forest, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grassland, and conventional-tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT) agriculture] on surface water infiltration and aggregate-stability-related properties [i.e., water-stable macroaggregate (WSA) size distribution, total water-stable macroaggregate (TWSA) concentration, and mean weight diameter (MWD)]. The overall infiltration rate …

Droughtscape, Spring 2019, Cory Matteson

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

From the Director

Wet and cool conditions bring drought relief to the West

Notable numbers from Q1

Drought impact summary, 1st quarter 2019

New research examines drought effects on state recreation areas

At Ethiopian space science workshop, NDMC climatologist sees promise in preparing for drought

U.S.- affiliated Pacific Islands now part of U.S. Drought Monitor

Water conservation tips for drought, flood and other disasters

Upcoming events

It's Essential: The Ylang-Ylang Trade On Nosy Be, James Sleigh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper attempts to describe the production and sale of Ylang-Ylang from cultivation of the tree to the export of the flower, and examines the roles and power that each stakeholder has in the value chain. From there, the paper will look at issues associated with the trade; namely of the threat to the terrestrial ecosystem and the profit imbalance in the industry. Finally, the paper turns to potential strategies to resolve the previously stated issues associated with the production and sale of Ylang-Ylang. As a whole I hope that the paper can be seen as a rough survey of …

Long Reach Lane At Long Marsh, Harpswell, 2018 Post-Project Monitoring Report; Year 5 Of 5, Matthew Craig

Publications

No abstract provided.

A Reply To The Comment On “Assessing Preservation Priorities Of Caves And Karst Areas Using The Frequency Of Endemic Cave-Dwelling Species” By Nitzu Et Al. (2018), Int. J. Speleol., 47 (1): 43-52, Eugen I. Nitzu, Ioana N. Meleg, Andrei Giurginca

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Comment On “Assessing Preservation Priorities Of Caves And Karst Areas Using The Frequency Of Endemic Cave-Dwelling Species” By Nitzu Et Al. (2018), Int. J. Speleol., 47 (1): 43-52, Oana T. Moldovan, Traian Brad

International Journal of Speleology

No abstract provided.

Estimating The Use Of Public Lands: Integrated Modeling Of Open Populations With Convolution Likelihood Ecological Abundance Regression, Lutz F. Gruber, Erica F. Stuber, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We present an integrated open population model where the population dynamics are defined by a differential equation, and the related statistical model utilizes a Poisson binomial convolution likelihood. Key advantages of the proposed approach over existing open population models include the flexibility to predict related, but unobserved quantities such as total immigration or emigration over a specified time period, and more computationally efficient posterior simulation by elimination of the need to explicitly simulate latent immigration and emigration. The viability of the proposed method is shown in an in-depth analysis of outdoor recreation participation on public lands, where the surveyed populations …

The Future Of Recreational Fisheries: Advances In Science, Monitoring, Management, And Practice, Jacob W. Brownscombe, Kieran Hyder, Warren Potts, Kyle L. Wilson, Kevin L. Pope, Andy J. Danylchuk, Steven J. Cooke, Adrian Clarke, Robert Arlinghaus, John R. Post

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Recreational fisheries (RF) are complex social-ecological systems that play an important role in aquatic environments while generating significant social and economic benefits around the world. The nature of RF is diverse and rapidly evolving, including the participants, their priorities and behaviors, and the related ecological impacts and social and economic benefits. RF can lead to negative ecological impacts, particularly through overexploitation of fish populations and spread of non-native species and genotypes through stocking. Hence, careful management and monitoring of RF is essential to sustain these ecologically and socioeconomically important resources. This special issue on recreational fisheries contains diverse research, syntheses, …

Age-0 Walleye Sander Vitreus Display Length-Dependent Diet Shift To Piscivory, Christopher S. Uphoff, Casey W. Schoenebeck, Keith D. Koupal, Kevin L. Pope, W. Wyatt Hoback

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The ontogenetic diet shift to piscivory can be energetically beneficial for fish growth and allows larger, more energetically profitable prey to be consumed. A shift to piscivory may be easier for longer individuals within a cohort due to larger gape size, and an early shift is likely advantageous, potentially leading to increased growth rates and survival. Such length-dependent ontogenetic diet shifts may explain the intracohort variability in length that is common for age-0 walleye (Sander vitreus). The objectives of this study were to describe seasonal intracohort variability in length, identify the timing of the shift to piscivory and …

Ecosystem Size Predicts Social-Ecological Dynamics, Mark A. Kaemingk, Christopher J. Chizinski, Craig R. Allen, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Recreational fisheries are complex adaptive systems that are inherently difficult to manage because of heterogeneous user groups (consumptive vs. nonconsumptive) that use patchily distributed resources on the landscape (lakes, rivers, coastlines). There is a need to identify which system components can effectively predict and be used to manage nonlinear and cross-scale dynamics within these systems. We examine how ecosystem size or water body size can be used to explain complicated and elusive angler-resource dynamics in recreational fisheries. Water body size determined angler behavior among 48 Nebraska, U.S.A. water bodies during an 11- year study. Angler behavior was often unique and …

Droughtscape, Winter 2019, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

From the Director

Drought intensified in California and Nevada, eased elsewhere

Year in Review: Drought spread and intensified in the West; record precipitation in the East

Drought impact summary for 4th quarter 2018

Drought impact summary 2018

Five states began drought plan updates in 2018

New web-based form makes submitting drought observations easier

FEMA risk assessment process tailored for drought

Upcoming events

On The Brink Of Extinction: The Fate Of The Pacific Northwest's Southern Resident Killer Whales, Sabrina Wilk

Pomona Senior Theses

The killer whales that roam the northeastern Pacific Ocean have been the objects of studies since the 1970s, making them the most well-studied population of orcas in the world. Three distinct ecotypes of killer whales (Orcinus orca), known as residents, transients, and offshores, share these waters. The ecotypes are morphologically and behaviorally distinct to the extent that some scientists consider them separate species, with residents eating salmon, transients specializing on marine mammals, and offshores preferring Pacific sleeper sharks and Pacific halibut. Resident populations have endeared themselves to the region's locals with their striking black and white markings and …

Isolation Of Rabies Virus From The Salivary Glands Of Wild And Domestic Carnivores During A Skunk Rabies Epizootic, Cornell University Jimenez, Terry R. Spraker, Jessica Anderson, Richard Bowen, Amy Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease of global importance. Rabies virus is shed in the saliva of infected hosts and is primarily transmitted through bite contact. Canine rabies has been eliminated from the US, but wildlife constitutes more than 90% of the reported cases of animal rabies in the US each year. In the US, several wild carnivore species are reservoirs of distinct variants of rabies virus (RV). After decades of apparent absence, the south-central skunk (SCSK) RV variant was detected in Colorado in 2007 and resulted in a large-scale epizootic in striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) populations in northern Colorado …

Habitat Characteristics And Nesting Ecology Of Golden Eagles In Arizona, Michele J. Losee

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) have a broad range globally and in general are well-studied. However, Arizona’s Golden Eagle population remained essentially unstudied until 2011, when Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) began nest surveys for cliff nesting Golden Eagles throughout the state. As a result of this data collection, the natural history of Arizona’s Golden Eagles is finally revealing itself. This dissertation outlined a reliable description of their nesting phenology that provides a framework for timing surveys and a baseline to monitor the effects of climate change on Golden Eagles. The mean date for egg-laying was February 14 and pairs …

Simulating Detection-Censored Movement Records For Home Range Analysis Planning, Lyndsie S. Wszola, Victoria L. Simonsen, Lucía Corral, Christopher J. Chizinski, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Home range estimation is an important analytical method in applied spatial ecology, yet best practices for addressing the effects of spatial variation in detection probability on home range estimates remain elusive. We introduce the R package “DiagnoseHR,” simulation tools for assessing how variation in detection probability arising from landscape, animal behavior, and methodological processes affects home range inference. We demonstrate the utility of simulation methods for home range analysis planning by comparing bias arising from three home range estimation methods under multiple detection scenarios. We simulated correlated random walks in three landscapes that varied in detection probability and constructed home …

Wave Energy In America, Chris Sukstorf

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

The United States has an untapped energy goldmine: our shores. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States his home to over 95,000 miles of shoreline. This shoreline is home to beaches, homes, and wildlife, but it could be home to more: wave energy.

Wave energy comes in many forms: some use the bobbing up and down motion of waves to generate energy in a similar motion of a piston; others store water during high tide and then release it during low tide like a dam. All said and done, the United States has the ability …

Why Lincoln Needs To Get Ahead Of The Emerald Ash Borer Outbreak, Bryce Meyer

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

The emerald ash borer was recently sighted in Lincoln, Nebraska this August. This was to be expected as they were also located in Douglas and Cass county. The emerald ash borer has been making its way west from Michigan and has also been detected in 61 counties in Iowa.

The emerald ash borer is a metallic green colored beetle that feeds on green ash, black ash, blue ash, and white ash trees. The insect can kill up to 99% of the ash trees that they come in contact with. The beetle is native to north-eastern Asia and is considered an …

“On-Bill Financing: A Bright Idea For Nebraska”, Lauren Taylor

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

In over 29 states, a program called On-Bill Financing (OBF) is being utilized to improve the energy efficiency of homes and livelihoods of the people living in them. These programs have been implemented all over the country for many years, in states like Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, and Michigan. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), OBF has been wildly successful, reducing energy inefficiency, cutting energy bills, and improving the comfort of homes across the country with no upfront costs.

But what exactly is this mysterious money-saving program, and why hasn’t Nebraska tapped into it yet?

The Department of …

Looking At The True Costs Of Environmental Degradation, Zachery Sehnert

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Progress is why we change, and innovation drives that progress. It is already very clear to scientists around the globe that our current framework for living is not sustainable. 97 percent of climate scientists are in consensus that there is a major threat to our ecosystem and action needs to be taken. Overpopulation, pollution, water scarcity, natural disasters, overfishing, deforestation are all issues that must be reevaluated with sustainability in mind. However only 49 percent of the general population share this belief, and even less, only 29 percent of CEOs are actively addressing climate change. The shortcoming for the general …

“Renewable Energy Implementation”, William Newcomb

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Finding and providing ways to produce energy in an environmentally clean way is becoming a major push for countries all around the world today. Renewable energy provides a clean way to produce energy efficiently without using our planets non-renewable resources. Renewable energy has been growing substantially in the United States in the last decade and is making its way towards becoming a major energy production method. So, what is stopping the United States from implementing renewable energy production into our country at a mass scale?

There are many barriers that are keeping renewable energy from becoming a main source of …

Nebraska’S Public Power Is Proof That Renewables Are (Literally) In The Public’S Best Interest, Jacob Monti

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Nebraska is the only state that has every electric utility publicly owned. This gives Nebraska a unique advantage of serving its customers rather than out-of-state shareholders. Since the goal is cheap power instead of profit margins and keeping shareholders happy, Nebraska rates are 16.8% below the national average. (EIA.gov)

So what does that mean for Renewable sources of electricity if cheap power is the main focus? Does cheap but dirty coal reign supreme?

Some might think that’d be a death blow for Renewables. Renewables (wind, solar, and hydro-electric power) are expensive and not profitable, right? WRONG.

Renewables make up just …

Lift On E15 Ban: Should Nebraskan Farmers Be Cheering?, Samantha Wattier

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

The common gasoline-ethanol mixture available at gas station pumps is 10% ethanol (E10). The Environmental Protection Agency had a ban on 15% ethanol (E15) during summer months. The news has been covering the talks of President Trump to lifting this summer ban and supporters in Iowa are excited.

Should Nebraska shout Hoorah, too? It is common knowledge Nebraska is better than Iowa. We should be excited, too, right?! NO.

Iowa has been tracking Fuel Revenue sales including those from ethanol blends and has been pushing for the E15 ban lift. Considering Iowa produces MORE corn and MORE ethanol than …

Recycling Just Got More Expensive. Can It Be Done Better?, Zachery Homolka

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

There was a time in history that America led the world in recycling. In World War Two, Americans were asked to recycle tin, steel, paper, and rubber for the war effort. The University of Southern Carolina states that children were so eager to participate, they went door to door collecting recyclable scraps to turn in to be made into tanks, planes, and ammunition. Yet, in 2017 the National Geographic estimated about 91% of plastic produced globally has not been recycled and instead is landfilled or littered into the environment. America is no longer leading the recycling charge, the World Economic …

Social Change For A Global Problem, Isabella Catalano

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

Recently, the United Nations' International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a new report[1], warning us that storms are becoming more volatile, sea surface temperatures are getting higher, global environment as a whole growing less predictable: in other words, things are about to get a whole lot worse than we predicted.

Unless, of course, we do something about it. The IPCC recommends cutting CO₂ emissions by 45% in order to curb just the worst of climate change's many effects.

There are a plethora of articles on the topic of just what, exactly, we as individuals can do: …

Why The Endangered Species Act Shouldn’T Be Endangered, Ryan Kendall

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies

The Trump Administration has announced that they intend to rework the endangered species act. Unsurprisingly, they plan to rework in ways that have the potential to undermine its effectiveness.

One would think that reworking the act would potentially increase its effectiveness, given the nearly fifty years that we have had to advance our knowledge since it was passed. Unfortunately, the opposite may very well be true.

The new changes to the act would allow for the decision of whether or not to list an animal to be made not just by scientific data, but also by determining the economic impact …

Evaluation Of A Sequential Pond System For Detention And Treatment Of Runoff At Skypark, Santa's Village, Elizabeth Caporuscio

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Understanding the extent to which human activities impact surface water resources has become increasingly important as both human population growth and related landscape changes impact water quality and quantity across varying geographical scales. Skypark, Santa’s Village is a 233.76-acre tourism-based outdoor recreation area located in Skyforest, California residing within the San Bernardino National Forest. The park is situated at Hooks Creek, the headwaters of the Mojave River Watershed, and is characterized by a diverse landscape that includes forest cover and human development, including impervious surfaces, a restored meadow, and recreational trails. In 2016, Hencks Meadow was considered degraded by human …

Keeping Pace With Relative Sea Level Rise: Marsh Platform Monitoring Shows Minimal Sediment Deficit Along The Louisiana Coast, Kelly Marie Sanks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent reports estimate that the marshes of the Mississippi Delta receive just 30% of the sediment necessary to sustain current land area1. An extensive monitoring campaign by the USGS and LCPRA provides direct measurements of sediment accumulation, subsidence rates, and deposit characteristics along the coast over the past 10 years2, allowing us to directly evaluate this sediment balance. By interpolating bulk density, organic fraction, and vertical accretion rates from 273 sites, a direct measurement of organic and inorganic sediment accumulation can be made. Results show that a total of 82 MT/year of sediment is delivered to the coast. Using a …

Can The Desiccation Of Great Salt Lake Be Stopped?, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Craig Miller, Sarah E. Null, R. Justin Derose, Peter Wilcock

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Great Salt Lake is a terminal lake, with its watershed in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains of Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. Like all terminal lakes, the water inflows are balanced only by evaporative loss from its surface—when inflows decrease the lake shrinks until evaporation matches that inflow.