Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Sex And Nest Type Influence Avian Blood Parasite Prevalence In A High-Elevation Bird Community, Marina D. Rodriguez, Paul F. Doherty, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Kathryn P. Huyvaert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: The prevalence of avian haemosporidian parasites and the factors influencing infection in the Colorado Rocky Mountains are largely unknown. With climate change expected to promote the expansion of vector and avian blood parasite distributions, baseline knowledge and continued monitoring of the prevalence and diversity of these parasites is needed.

Methods: Using an occupancy modeling framework, we conducted a survey of haemosporidian parasite species infecting an avian community in the Colorado Rocky Mountains in order to estimate the prevalence and diversity of blood parasites and to investigate species-level and individual-level characteristics that may influence infection.

Results: We estimated the prevalence …

Potential Use For Serosurveillance Of Feral Swine To Map Risk For Anthrax Exposure, Texas, Usa, Rachel M. Maison, Courtney F. Pierce, Izabela K. Ragan, Vienna R. Brown, Michael J. Bodenchuk, Richard A. Bowen, Angela M. Bosco-Lauth

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Anthrax is a disease of concern in many mammals, including humans. Management primarily consists of prevention through vaccination and tracking clinical-level observations because environmental isolation is laborious and bacterial distribution across large geographic areas diffi cult to confi rm. Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are an invasive species with an extensive range in the southern United States that rarely succumbs to anthrax. We present evidence that feral swine might serve as biosentinels based on comparative seroprevalence in swine from historically defi ned anthrax-endemic and non–anthraxendemic regions of Texas. Overall seropositivity was 43.7% (n = 478), and logistic regression revealed county endemicity …

Longleaf Pine Restoration In The South Carolina Sandhills Wiregrass Gap, Jacob W. Murray

All Theses

Longleaf pine restoration has been a topic of great concern and intrigue in the southeast and has taken on new fervor in recent decades as restoration methods continue to develop. Many landowners and forest managers are now pursuing ecological forestry and restoration ecology in great numbers as a new form of land management. However, niche regions can often be overlooked, as is the case with the Carolina Sandhills Wiregrass Gap, an area devoid of wiregrass and one that is on the outskirt regions of the historical longleaf pine range. Field studies were conducted pre- and post-harvest during two growing seasons …

Identification Of Phosphorous Loading Point Source Facilities To 303(D) Listed Nutrient Impaired Waters Through Watershed Delineation Using Arcgis For Life Cycle Assessment Applications, John Zimmerman

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The work done for this project is part of a larger “life cycle assessment (LCA) of novel electrochemical phosphorus recovery technology at the wastewater treatment plant and U.S. watershed scales” (Morrissey 2019). The goal of that LCA is to determine “environmental impacts of implementing electrochemical struvite recovery at the wastewater treatment plant, U.S watershed, and global scales” (Morrissey 2019). This project’s goal is to identify locations deemed more sensitive to eutrophication impacts. The results will be used as part of the life cycle inventory (LCI) accounting for geographically explicit phosphorus flows. The waters identified as impaired were sourced from the …

How Are Agricultural Research Projects Conceiving Innovation? An Assessment Of The European Union Multi-Actor Projects, Samuel Brea Martinez-Collado

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Horizon research programs are the European Union’s lighthouse for innovation and research concerning the agri-food chain, the management of natural resources, and the bioeconomy. Their innovation strategy approach is one that pursues the practical application of the research via the collaboration of all actors involved. Such strategy is the reflection of a Multi-Actor Approach as their procedure to enhance innovation. This paper presents the main trends and directions 101 Multi-Actor Projects (MAPs) are following on said approach towards innovation. The analysis is based on the use of well-defined “pathways” and “measures” proposed in the Guidelines for Evaluation of Innovation in …

How Do Genetic Relatedness And Spatial Proximity Shape African Swine Fever Infections In Wild Boar?, Tomasz Podgórski, Kim M. Pepin, Anna Radko, Angelika Podbielska, Magdalena Łyjak, Grzegorz Woźniakowski, Tomasz Borowik

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The importance of social and spatial structuring of wildlife populations for disease spread, though widely recognized, is still poorly understood in many host-pathogen systems. In particular, system-specific kin relationships among hosts can create contact heterogeneities and differential disease transmission rates. Here, we investigate how distance-dependent infection risk is influenced by genetic relatedness in a novel host-pathogen system: wild boar (Sus scrofa) and African swine fever (ASF).We hypothesized that infection risk would correlate positively with proximity and relatedness to ASF-infected individuals but expected those relationships to weaken with the distance between individuals due to decay in contact rates and …

Feasibility Discussion Of Potential Carbon Offsetting Options For Nebraska, Andrew Mwape

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of carbon offsetting options in the context of the state of Nebraska, this discussion shows that the choice and decisions about which option is better than the other depends on the interests at play and expected outcomes of the participation in carbon markets. However, irrespective of the motive to engage in emission reduction projects for carbon marketing, factors such as cost, and project efficiency can never be overlooked. Given the options discussed in this report, Nebraska has a lot of potential for carbon offsetting or emission reduction projects that would not only reduce and …

Low Impact Sampling Of Speleothems – Reconciling Scientific Study With Cave Conservation, Claire L.V. Macgregor, John C. Hellstrom, Jon D. Woodhead, Russell N. Drysdale, Rolan S. Eberhard

International Journal of Speleology

Speleothems are increasingly valued as important paleoclimate archives and yet the removal of samples from caves can come at a cost to natural heritage, impacting delicate environments with limited mechanisms for repair. Conservation of cave environments is a key responsibility for scientists and, with this in mind, we are working to develop and implement techniques that allow us to extract valuable scientific data, with minimal impact. In this study, we demonstrate the utility of low-impact reconnaissance dating surveys on caves in southern Tasmania and southwest Western Australia as a precursor to the removal of stalagmites for paleoclimate reconstruction. Small flakes …

The Danov Archive, Victor Fet, Alexander Kogan

Open Access Books

This memorial volume compiles materials about Rostislav Dаnov (1941—1993) of St. Petersburg (Russia), a naturalist, artist, and snake-hunter, who worked for many years in Turkmenistan (West Kopetgagh Mts). The book celebrates Dаnov’s 80th birthday. It includes previously unpublished artwork and scientific illustrations by Dаnov as well as his texts, research papers, various memoirs, biographic information, and unique photographs. The book is intended for everyone who is interested in history of science and conservation in Central Asia and the USSR.

Фет В, Коган А, составители. Дановcкий архив. Библиотека Университета Маршалла, Хантингтон, Западная Виргиния, 2021. 494 с. Этот том содержит материалы о …

Shifts In The Acute Stress Response In Red-Eared Sliders (Trachemys Scripta) During The Activity Season, Jennifer Lauren Terry

Student Theses and Dissertations

Tradeoffs may occur among biological processes if individuals are energetically challenged. Glucocorticoids (GC) promote essential daily processes and energy reprioritization during stressful or energy-demanding periods and provide insight to an individual’s energetic state. I captured 123 wild adult red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta) outside of Cherry Valley, Arkansas in the Arkansas Delta between May and October 2019 to assess energy tradeoffs between innate immunity and GC secretion. I collected blood samples at 0–3, 30, and 60 min and used plasma in bacterial killing assays and radioimmunoassays to assess innate immunity and corticosterone concentrations, respectively. Tradeoffs were not evident in this population …

Incorporating Chlorophyll-A Levels Into An Integral Projection Model Of Gizzard Shad (Dorosoma Cepedianum) In The Upper Mississippi River, Raquel Castromonte, Gregory J. Sandland, James Peirce

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Correlated Evolution Of Distinct Signals Associated With Increased Social Selection In Female White-Shouldered Fairywrens, John Anthony Jones, Karan J. Odom, Ian R. Hoppe, Doka Nason, Serena Ketaloya, Jordan Karubian

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Conspicuous female signals have recently received substantial scientific attention, but it remains unclear if their evolution is the result of selection acting on females independently of males or if mutual selection facilitates female change. Species that express female, but not male, phenotypic variation among populations represents a useful opportunity to address this knowledge gap. White-shouldered fairywrens (Malurus alboscapulatus) are tropical songbirds with a well-resolved phylogeny where female, but not male, coloration varies allopatrically across subspecies. We explored how four distinct signaling modalities, each putatively associated with increased social selection, are expressed in two populations that vary in competitive pressure on …

Salient Experiences In Student Development: Impact Of An Undergraduate Stem Teacher Preparation Program, Amie S. Sommers, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Paula Jakopovic, Julio Rivera, Neal Grandgenett, John A. Conrad, William E. Tapprich, Christine E. Cutucache

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The need for a comprehensive, high-quality pipeline for the development of undergraduate pre-service teachers, especially those that represent a diverse student body, within STEM disciplines is acute. Here, we studied the NoyceSCIENCE program to determine the most impactful experiences offered to undergraduates through the lens of student development theory. We used qualitative coding to analyze data collected from journals (n = 29) written by students of varying backgrounds, and at varying levels within the program (i.e., the Scholar and Intern level) over a 3-year program running period. We observed that faculty mentorship, the ability of undergraduates to mentor others, volunteer …

Monitoring Agroecosystem Productivity And Phenology At A National Scale: A Metric Assessment Framework, Dawn M. Browning, Eric S. Russell, Guillermo E. Ponce-Campos, Nicole Kaplan, Andrew D. Richardson, Bijan Seyednasrollah, Sheri Spiegal, Nicanor Saliendra, Joseph G. Alfieri, John Baker, Carl Bernacchi, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, David Bosch, Elizabeth H. Boughton, Raoul K. Boughton, Pat Clark, Gerald Flerchinger, Nuria Gomez-Casanovas, Sarah Goslee, Nick M. Haddad, David Hoover, Abdullah Jaradat, Marguerite Mauritz, Gregory W. Mccarty, Gretchen R. Miller, John Sadler, Amartya Saha, Russell L. Scott, Andrew Suyker, Craig Tweedie, Jeffrey D. Wood, Xukai Zhang, Shawn D. Taylor

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Effective measurement of seasonal variations in the timing and amount of production is critical to managing spatially heterogeneous agroecosystems in a changing climate. Although numerous technologies for such measurements are available, their relationships to one another at a continental extent are unknown. Using data collected from across the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network and other networks, we investigated correlations among key metrics representing primary production, phenology, and carbon fluxes in croplands, grazing lands, and crop-grazing integrated systems across the continental U.S. Metrics we examined included gross primary productivity (GPP) estimated from eddy covariance (EC) towers and modelled from the Landsat …

The U.S. Inland Creel And Angler Survey Catalog (Creelcat): Development, Applications, And Opportunities, Abigail J. Lynch, Nicholas A. Sievert, Holly S. Embke, Ashley M. Robertson, Bonnie J.E. Myers, Micheal S. Allen, Zachary S. Feiner, Frederick Hoogakker, Scott Knoche, Rebecca M. Krogman, Stephen R. Midway, Chelsey L. Nieman, Craig P. Paukert, Kevin L. Pope, Mark W. Rogers, Lyndsie S. Wszola, T. Douglas Beard

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Inland recreational fishing, defined as primarily leisure-driven fishing in freshwaters, is a popular pastime in the USA. State natural resource agencies endeavor to provide high-quality and sustainable fishing opportunities for anglers. Managers often use creel and other angler survey data to inform state- and waterbody-level management efforts. Despite the broad implementation of angler surveys and their importance to fisheries management at state scales, regional and national coordination among these activities is minimal, limiting data applicability for larger-scale management practices and research. Here, we introduce the U.S. Inland Creel and Angler Survey Catalog (CreelCat), a first-of-its-kind, publicly available national database of …

Rooting Out Genetic Structure Of Invasive Wild Pigs In Texas, Anna M. Mangan, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Michael J. Bodenchuk, Courtney F. Pierce, Timothy J. Smyser

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa), also called feral swine or wild hogs, are recognized as among the most destructive invasive species in the world. Throughout the United States, invasive wild pigs have expanded rapidly over the past 40 years with populations now established in 38 states. Of the estimated 6.9 million wild pigs distributed throughout the United States, Texas supports approximately 40% of the population and similarly bears disproportionate ecological and economic costs. Genetic analyses are an effective tool for understanding invasion pathways and tracking dispersal of invasive species such as wild pigs and have been used recently …

Wildlife Responses To Livestock Guard Dogs And Domestic Sheep On Open Range, Daniel Kinka, Jeffrey T. Schultz, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are an attractant to carnivores; however, sheep are often accompanied by humans and livestock guardian dogs (LGDs; Canis familiaris), which defend sheep from depredation. Sheep also compete directly with wildlife for grazing resources. Although practiced for millennia in much of the world outside North America, the effect that transhumance has on wildlife is poorly understood. To test the effect of sheep bands (sheep, humans, and LGDs) on wildlife, we modeled the detection probability of wild mammals relative to the presence of sheep bands in the Northwestern United States. Sheep band presence was associated …

Mongooses (Urva Auropunctata) As Reservoir Hosts Of Leptospira Species In The United States Virgin Islands, 2019–2020, Hannah M. Cranford, A. Springer Browne, Karen Lecount, Tammy Anderson, Camila Hamond, Linda Schlater, Tod Stuber, Valicia J. Burke-France, Marissa Taylor, Cosme J. Harrison, Katia Y. Matias, Alexandra Medley, John Rossow, Nicholas Wiese, Leanne Jankelunas, Leah De Wilde, Michelle Mehalick, Gerard L. Blanchard, Keith R. Garcia, Alan S. Mckinley, Claudia D. Lombard, Nicole F. Angeli, David Horner, Thomas Kelley, David J. Worthington, Jennifer Valiulis, Bethany Bradford, Are Berentsen, Johanna S. Salzer, Renee Galloway, Ilana J. Schafer, Kristine Bisgard, Joseph Roth, Brett R. Ellis, Esther M. Ellis, Jarlath E. Nally

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

During 2019–2020, the Virgin Islands Department of Health investigated potential animal reservoirs of Leptospira spp., the bacteria that cause leptospirosis. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated Leptospira spp. exposure and carriage in the small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata, syn: Herpestes auropunctatus), an invasive animal species. This study was conducted across the three main islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), which are St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. We used the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), fluorescent antibody test (FAT), real-time polymerase chain reaction (lipl32 rt-PCR), and bacterial culture to evaluate serum and kidney specimens and compared the …

Overfishing Drives Over One-Third Of All Sharks And Rays Toward A Global Extinction Crisis, Nicholas K. Dulvy, Nathan Pacoureau, Cassandra L. Rigby, Riley A. Pollom, Rima W. Jabado, David A. Ebert, Brittany Finucci, Caroline M. Pollock, Jessica Cheok, Danielle H. Derrick, Katelyn B. Herman, C. Samantha Sherman, Wade J. Vanderwright, Julia M. Lawson, Rachel H.L. Walls, John K. Carlson, Patricia Charvet, Kinattumkara K. Bineesh, Daniel Fernando, Gina M. Ralph, Jay H. Matsushiba, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Sonja V. Fordham, Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The scale and drivers of marine biodiversity loss are being revealed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment process. We present the first global reassessment of 1,199 species in Class Chondrichthyes-sharks, rays, and chimeras. The first global assessment (in 2014) concluded that one-quarter (24%) of species were threatened. Now, 391 (32.6%) species are threatened with extinction. When this percentage of threat is applied to Data Deficient species, more than one-third (37.5%) of chondrichthyans are estimated to be threatened, with much of this change resulting from new information. Three species are Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct), representing …

Floodplain Forests Vegetation Dynamics Driven By Water Deficits Across Scales, Nga Thanh Nguyen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Restoration of floodplain ecosystems relies on identifying the most crucial hydrologic process which has been altered by human and climate. Flooding is a well-known dominant hydrologic process for floodplain ecosystems, but surprisingly little is known about drought's role in structuring ecosystems. In addition, several issues remained uncertain, such as the nature of drought within floodplains and the sensitivity of floodplain species-specific growth to climate. These gaps of understanding have in common in missing observations of mechanistic pathways of vegetation response to water deficits at multiple scales in time and space.Generally, this research contributed to floodplain management by expanding our understanding …

Analysis Of Marine Plastic Litter Policies In Ghana, Perfect Ashai

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Community Action On Marine And Coastal Litter : Case Study Through The Prism Of Social Media Groups In A Maltese Locality (Mellieha), Tessy Umbuwa Anjide

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Examining The Island States Process Of Planning, Preparedness, And Response To The Oil Spills Using A Case Study Of The Mv Wakashio Oil Spill, Ishara Gihan Dharmasiri

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Blue Carbon Marine Habitats In Nigeria : Ecosystem Services, Threats And Implication For Ecosystem Based Management, Oluremi Taiwo Filani

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Challenges And Potential For Egyptian Oil Spill Contingency Plan : A Comparative Study For Improving Oil Spill Preparedness : Case Study Gulf Of Suez And North Sea, Ahmed Raafat Reiad Nasreldin

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Scenario-Based Analysis Of The Domestic Law Of Argentina In The Context Of The Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention, Laura Noelia Sanchez

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Assessment Of The Awaraness Level Of Coastal And Upland Communities In Nigeria On The Impacts Of Marine Litter On The Ocean And Its Ecosystem Services., Yakubu Abubakar

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Oil Pollution On The Atlantic Coast Of Cameroon, Gwendoline Akeng

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Natural Resource Damage Assessment For Oil Spills In Sri Lanka : The Application Of Habitat Equivalency Analysis, Sayakkara Mesthrilage Dinishiya Athukorala

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Policy Response For Marine Plastic Debris In Timor Leste, Maria Jeronimo Viana

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.