Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Great Work Is Done While We Sleep, Julie Wildschut

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Human - Nonhuman Primate Conflict Mitigation Techniques In Mto Wa Mbu, Northern Tanzania, Lil Adams

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

Human-wildlife conflict is a widespread challenge faced by those living in regular contact with wildlife that can have profound impacts on livelihood outcomes for humans, wildlife, and their shared environment (Barua et al., 2013; Blackie, 2023). Human – non-human primate conflict is particularly crucial due to primates’ high capacity to live among human populations (Chapman & Chapman, 1990; Alberts & Altmann, 2006; Reader et al., 2011; Sinha & Vijayakrishnan, 2017), and is currently on the rise due to increasing contact between human and non-human primates (Hockings, 2016; Uddin et al., 2020). To characterize and analyze techniques currently being used to …

Arts-Based Sustainability: From New York To Malawi, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Recognizing that libraries serve multiple constituencies and subject areas, this chapter documents and advocates for development of transdisciplinary arts-based research (ABR) and culture-related projects linked to environmental challenges. Libraries contribute collections and spaces, as well as the research of library and information scientists. Libraries are currently among invisible contributors to sustainability planning and services. The chapter will link this invisibility to the value of what visual arts refer to as negative space elements in subjects ranging from traditional ecological knowledge to environmental science. Library collections, projects, and research contribute to education for sustainable development (ESD) as required to achieve the …

State And Transition Models For Mulga Rangelands Of Western Australia, Alison O'Donnell, Anna E. Richards, Suzanne Prober, Peter-Jon A. Waddell, Sarah Luxton, Ian Watson, Brett Abbott, Philip Thomas, Joshua E. Foster

Natural resources published reports

This report details a collaborative project between the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and CSIRO that focused on developing State and Transition Models (STMs) for mulga rangelands in Western Australia. The overarching aim of the project was to improve the common understanding of the characteristics and dynamics of mulga rangeland ecosystems and the expected impacts of management. Specifically, the project aimed to collate expert knowledge and monitoring information using a nationally consistent framework to develop quantitative and dynamic STMs. The geographic scope of the project covers the extensive mulga rangelands of Western Australia, particularly the Gascoyne …

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells In Electric Vehicles: Innovations, Challenges, And Pathways To Sustainability, Tarek Abedin, Jagadeesh Pasupuleti, Johnny Koh Siaw Paw, Yaw Chong Tak, Monowar Mahmud, Md Pauzi Abdullah, Mohammad Nur-E-Alam

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are leading the shift to sustainable energy, especially in fuel-cell electric vehicles. In PEMFCs, hydrogen is converted into electricity which contributes to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and decreased dependence on fossil fuels. Many works have been conducted to improve the power density and longevity of the whole system to be adopted in vehicles. The power density was considerably increased by a stack design incorporating lightweight material such as graphene-coated Ni form and weak carbon nanofiber films. Hydrogen refueling failures such as overfilling with hydrogen, hydrogen flow overfill, and hydrogen leakage need mitigation by developing advanced …

Indigenous Science And The Legacy Of Fire: Resilience, Fuels, Mosaics, And Eco-Cultural Landscapes In Oregon’S Coastal And Cascade Range, Julia Alcalá

University Honors Theses

Most of Oregon's western Cascade and Coastal range is a landscape that has historically been considered devoid of mid to low-intensity fires by Western science. However, for time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have been stewarding the forests through the use of "good fire," creating diverse and heterogenous landscapes with mixed fire regimes, ranging from less than a decade to several centuries since the last fire, resulting in a mosaic of patchy forest, oak savannas, prairies, and wetlands. Yet centuries of Indigenous displacement, cultural assimilation, and suppression of cultural burning contributed to this prevailing belief. Despite that, in recent decades, Western scientists …

Field Journal: The Excluded Middle, Carrie E. Kouts

Masters Theses

What does it look like to engage with organisms and landscapes at the periphery of anthropocentric value structures? How does one break the internalized myth that the “built” environment is excluded from the natural world? When does a hyper-mobile and hyper-commodified society confront the exponential crisis of animal death? Within this series of journal entries, field notes, collection observations, weird prose, and sensory musings, one will find questions on the nature of being human and the complex narratives of care we encounter in a world shared with more-than-humans. Each handwritten vignette and photograph from daily life weaves a non-linear and …

The State Of Municipal Scale Highest Use Urban Wood Reclamation Projects, Bradley C. Almond

Graduate Liberal Studies Theses and Dissertations

Millions of urban trees are downed annually for various reasons, such as storms, disease, or development. We are all witnesses to the loss of trees as we see the piles of woody waste assembled on the curbside, ready for public works pickup. Today, most urban wood waste ends up in landfills, mulching/chipping facilities, or firewood production. Each of these alternatives results in the release of sequestered carbon back into the atmosphere.

The initial research led to successful diversion from landfills to mulch and firewood operations. Then, the research shifted to converting urban wood waste for its best use, which outlined …

Enhancing Water Supply Resilience & Sustainability: Potential Solutions To Address Water Scarcity In Bogotá, Colombia, Sophia Alvarez Wong

Master's Projects and Capstones

Municipal water utilities are in urgent need of adapting to the intensifying impacts of climate change and population growth—key drivers of urban water scarcity worldwide. In rapidly expanding cities like Bogota, Colombia, these pressures have contributed to a severe water crisis driven by prolonged droughts, ecosystem degradation, increasing water demands, and overdependence on limited water sources. This study explores potential adaptation and management strategies that utilities can implement to sustainably strengthen supply system resilience and enhance water security, in the context of low- to middle-income regions. A series of comparative and case study analyses were conducted to assess the feasibility …

California Kelp Forests: An Analysis Of Macrocystis Pyrifera And Nereocystis Luetkeana Restoration After Decades Of Decline, Gabrielle K. Farrer

Master's Projects and Capstones

California’s kelp forests are some of the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on the planet. Centuries of anthropogenic degradation via habitat destruction and climate change have culminated in decreased kelp forest habitat at an accelerated rate since at least the 1850s (Scarborough et al. 2022; Rogers-Bennett & Catton, 2019; Kumagai et al. 2024; Smith et al. 2023). This study synthesizes major threats, past and present, to California’s kelp forests, including the overharvesting of multiple species, pollution from coastal development, and climate change impacts. I also examine current management practices regarding kelp forests such as the use of marine protected areas …

Natural Resource Enterprises - Income Diversification And Conservation Practices Implemented On Private Lands In The United States, Daryl Jones

Journal of Extension

Wildlife-related recreation is popular with Americans spending over $150 billion dollars annually. I have conducted educational workshops (>100 events) to train U.S. landowners in natural resource enterprises development offering recreational hunting, angling, and nature tourism excursions along with conservation management practices to enhance wildlife habitats on their lands. To measure impacts, I conducted a comprehensive mail survey study with participants since 2010. Findings revealed that landowners who initiated these enterprises earned annual incomes and implemented conservation practices on properties. More training for landowners is recommended to increase income diversification and conservation of wildlife habitats and stewardship on private lands.

Large Mammal Herbivores As Gardeners Of Tropical Forest Ecosystems, Kathryn Garner

Student Scholarship

Ecosystems worldwide are experiencing changes in structure and function as populations of fauna decline and experience local extinctions (Torres-Romero et al. 2020). Due primarily to their body size, large mammal herbivores (LMHs) are disproportionately prone to extinction from human activities such as agricultural expansion, deforestation, and anthropogenic climate change (Pringle et al. 2023). Additionally, as the number of domesticated LMHs (i.e. cattle, pigs, etc.) continue to increase in both density and distribution, their wild counterparts are continually displaced, resulting in increased competition for resources and an increased risk of disease transmission between domestic to wild species (Pringle et al. 2023; …

Examining Sustainable And Regenerative Viticultural Practices In The Rheinhessen Wine Region Of Germany, Claire Hoffmann

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

No abstract provided.

Assessing Biochar And Industrial Hemp To Remediate Heavy-Metal-Contaminated Soil, Sophie W. Sward

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Environmental degradation is becoming increasingly prevalent as global industrialization runs rampant. Anthropogenic activity, such as mining, deposits inorganic pollutants into the environment, leading to potential soil and water contamination. Traditional, engineering-based remediation and containment procedures alter soil structure and aggregate stability and affect the biological function of the area impacted by mining activities. Phytoremediation is a more energy-efficient, and therefore cost-effective, method of environmental restoration. Phytoremediation, on its own, works in soils that are less contaminated so that the selected plant can actually grow. Soil amendments, such as biochar, can be added to improve remediation potential in more contaminated soils. …

Ghosts In Glass: Ghost Crabs (Ocypode Quadrata) As Judges Of Glass Sand For Coastal Restoration, Emily Parrish

Poster Presentations

Coastal erosion is heavily impacting coastal ecosystems across the Gulf. For instance, the state of Louisiana loses a football field worth of land every 100 minutes (Couvillion, 2017). The drastic loss of coastline highlights the dire need for restoration in the Northern Gulf Coast. An unexpected solution to this sediment loss may solve two major environmental issues at once by diverting millions of tons of glass waste from entering America’s landfills each year. By crushing glass to create sand and gravel for coastal restoration, we may generate a consistent and sustainable source of substrate. Our goal is to determine the …

The Impact Of Irrigation On Agricultural Land Values In The United States Southeast And An Analysis Of Farmland Prices In South Carolina, Christopher L. Thomas

All Theses

Land is a key component of the agriculture industry in the United States. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, farm real estate (land and buildings) accounted for 82.8% of total US farm sector assets in 2022, consequently making land the largest source of wealth in a farmer’s investment portfolio and the primary source of collateral used for farm operating loans. The Southeastern region of the United States has seen rapid farmland appreciation and intense population growth in recent years. This research investigates the rising farmland prices across the Southeast from both a regional and state-level perspective. Chapter Two …

Evaluating Climate Benefits In The Conservation Reserve Program: Methane Emissions And Carbon Storage In Restored Wetlands, Annika Kuleba

All Theses

As climate change progresses, Nature-based Climate Solutions (NbCS) have emerged as a key strategy for mitigation. Historically, wetlands were drained to increase arable land area, resulting in habitat degradation and soil erosion. To address these issues, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) incentivizes wetland restoration under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), in which landowners retire agricultural land to reestablish native habitat. Although wetlands can act as carbon sinks, they are also sources of methane, a more potent greenhouse gas (GHG). Therefore, the effectiveness of wetlands as a NbCS remains under debate due to assumed high methane emissions. Wetland functions …

Novel Methods For Assessing And Prioritizing Road-Stream Crossings For Aquatic Organism Passage, Lesley E. Twiner

All Theses

Anthropogenic barriers such as dams and culverts have led to riverine habitat fragmentation and decreased fish diversity worldwide. Low-head structures such as culverts are far more abundant than large dams and may have a larger cumulative impact on river connectivity. Many efforts to inventory road crossing barriers and prioritize removal and restoration efforts do not consider temporal variation in flow. We used cameras to gain continuous water level monitoring data to quantify the relationship between precipitation events and outlet drop height. In the spring of 2024, we selected 25 culvert sites in upstate South Carolina and set up cameras to …

Assessment Of Lake Salvador Shoreline Dynamics To Support Restoration Of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation In Jean Lafitte National Historical Park And Preserve, Louisiana, Lydia V. Dipaola

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

High wave energy degrades shoreline habitat between Lake Salvador and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (JELA), Louisiana. JELA constructed a northern breakwater in 2004, and a southern breakwater in 2024 to protect the shoreline and promote restoration of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). This study analyzes Sentinel-2 imagery to quantify coastal loss along the JELA-Lake Salvador using the Change Polygon Approach, assessing annual, cumulative and major storm event-associated shoreline changes for January 2017-2025. SAV cover, nekton diversity, wave energy, and turbidity were measured before-and-after southern breakwater construction to monitor ecological and environmental outcomes. The JELA-Lake Salvador shoreline has lost …

Spatial Ecology And Predator–Prey Interactions Of Mountain Lions In California's San Francisco North Bay, Jacob A. Harvey

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Understanding spatial ecology and predator-prey interactions are central to wildlife ecology and conservation. We tracked mountain lions with GPS telemetry to evaluate space use, predator-prey interactions, and resource selection in California’s San Francisco North Bay, USA. In Chapter 1, we evaluated the influence of human disturbance on home range size, prey composition, and kill rates on black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) across an urban-rural gradient. Both males and females increased home range size with increasing development at low to moderate levels of development, but female home range size stabilized across greater proportions of development while male home range …

Assessing Spatial And Temporal Variation In Photoprotective Responses Of Deciduous And Evergreen Tree Canopies With Leaf Spectroscopy, Alexander Piper

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Environmental conditions frequently prevent carbon fixation by plants, leading to the absorption of excess light that can damage photosynthetic machinery if not dissipated. To do so, plants utilize several photoprotective mechanisms, some detectable remotely using Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI). Two components of PRI correspond to the facultative engagement of the xanthophyll cycle (ΔPRI) and constitutive changes in xanthophyll pigment pool sizes (PRI0), representing distinct mechanisms regulating shorter and longer-term photoprotection, respectively. Our understanding of interspecific and intraspecific variation in these mechanisms is limited, primarily because PRI components are often not clearly distinguished. This study aimed to assess the variation in …

Assessment Of Sampling Gears For Bigheaded Carp In Mid-Order Prairie Rivers In Nebraska, Brett M. Anderson

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and Bighead Carp H. nobilis (collectively bigheaded carp) have invaded tributaries to the Missouri River and Platte River in Nebraska, USA. Information pertaining to efficient sampling protocols for assessing bigheaded carp populations as well as benefiting removal efforts is needed. Herding is a method used to increase the capture efficiency and detection probability of adult bigheaded carp by simultaneously using active and passive sampling gears. During June-July 2023, four herding techniques were assessed regarding their ability to elicit directional movement past an enclosure gate. The combination of sound and electrofishing resulted in the highest mean …

Ghosts In Glass: Ghost Crabs As Judges Of Glass Sand For Coastal Restoration, Emily Parrish

Honors Theses

Over 60% of the Gulf of Mexico coastline is actively eroding, which has resulted in thousands of miles of lost coastline over the last 100 years. This drastic loss of coastal land highlights the dire need for coastal restoration across the entirety of the Gulf Coast. A vital aspect of restoring these eroded areas is replenishing eroded substrate, traditionally conducted through offshore dredging of substrates which comes with high economic and ecological costs. Recycled glass sand may be able to fill this role and reduce our reliance on dredging while lowering the amount of glass waste entering landfills each year. …

Environmental And Societal Impacts Of Agricultural Land Abandonment In Indonesia: A Bibliometric Review, Jane A. Landrum

Geosciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the past decades, Southeast Asia has faced one of the highest urbanization rates globally, with land conversion, agricultural land abandonment, and deforestation occurring simultaneously. High population growth rates and migration away from rural areas have also led to increased food insecurity, which has increased the need for agricultural production. In Indonesia, high rates of urbanization on the island of Java have historically prompted governmental policy solutions aimed at population redistribution and agricultural extensification (rather than intensification). The cost of this conversion of lands to agriculture often falls on the environment, with peatlands and forested lands being converted to large-scale …

Training Sensor-Agnostic Deep Learning Models For Remote Sensing: Achieving State-Of-The-Art Cloud And Cloud Shadow Identification With Omnicloudmask, Nicholas J. Wright, John M A Duncan, Nik Callow, Sally E. Thompson, Richard J. George

Natural Resources Research Articles

Deep learning models are widely used to extract features and insights from remotely sensed imagery. However, these models typically perform optimally when applied to the same sensor, resolution and imagery processing level as used during their training, and are rarely used or evaluated on out-of-domain data. This limitation results in duplication of efforts in collecting similar training datasets from different satellites to train sensor-specific models. Here, we introduce a range of techniques to train deep learning models that generalise across various sensors, resolutions, and processing levels. We applied this approach to train OmniCloudMask (OCM), a sensor-agnostic deep learning model that …

A Herpetofaunal Inventory Study Of Two National Wildlife Refuges In The Mississippi Delta And Associated Evaluation Of Trapping Efficacy, Andrew Holzinger

Master's Theses

The objectives of this project were to record the diversity and distribution of amphibian and reptile species present at Panther Swamp and Hillside National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) and to quantify trapping efficacy as a result of various methodologies under different habitat variables. The primary methods employed were two varieties of drift fence trap arrays consisting of 100-foot sections of silt fencing with buried 2.5-gallon buckets as pitfall traps and box traps placed at the end of each fence to capture larger organisms. When conditions permitted, aquatic trapping was also employed across the Refuges. A total of 55 species were documented, …

Promoting Sustainable Drinking Water Consumption At Bryant University, Matthew Gerdenich

Honors Projects in Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Many higher education institutions have either banned or restricted the sale of disposable plastic water bottles to address environmental pollution and climate change. This project seeks to gather knowledge and data related to disposable water bottle consumption at Bryant University that can be used to provide recommendations for promoting reusable water bottle use on campus. Additionally, the project seeks to find out why community members choose single-use water bottles over reusables ones and how to make reusable water bottle use more attractive and accessible. Primary research included a survey distributed to undergraduate students on campus as well as water samples …

Mine Closure Planning Must Face The Challenge Of Delivering Nature Positive Outcomes, Luis E. Sanchez, Angus Morrison-Saunders

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The need to address and reverse global biodiversity decline is imperative across all of society including the practices of mine closure planning. Nature Positive is the latest global biodiversity-focused initiative which calls for at least 30% of biodiversity to be enhanced through effective restoration relative to the 2020 baseline. This paper conceptualizes and explains what is necessary in mine closure planning and implementation to meaningfully contribute to this and other nature-positive goals, with some illustrative examples. Issues considered include application of the mitigation hierarchy, rehabilitation in mining and the time lag challenge for restoring biodiversity, biodiversity offsetting, conserving nature while …

Advancing Aerial Survey Techniques For Non-Breeding Waterfowl Populations: A Comprehensive Review And Application In Northeastern Louisiana, Victoria L. Drake

LSU Master's Theses

Aerial surveys play a crucial role in monitoring North America's waterfowl populations and habitat conditions, and consistency across geographies and years allows biologists to track trends through time. The goal of this project was to redesign the northeastern portion of the Louisiana wintering waterfowl survey to align with statistically robust transect surveys conducted in neighboring states within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. To identify the optimal sampling method, we evaluated three transect weighting schemes: stratified random (unweighted), stratified by watershed, and stratified by expert opinion. Approximately 10% of the total sampling area was randomly selected for each survey period, adhering to …

Trenching And Compost Sustain Grain Yield Increases Over Nine Years On Deep Sands But At A Cost, David J.M. Hall, Tom J. Edwards

Grain and Other Field Crops Research Articles

Context. Crops grown on deep sands on the south coast of WA are limited by soil physical and chemical properties including compaction and poor nutrition. Aims. Crops grown on deep sands on the south coast of Western Australia are limited by soil physical and chemical properties including compaction and poor nutrition. Our aim was to determine what effects deep-placed organic amendments have on soil properties and crop production in a deep sand and whether such amendments are profitable. Methods. A long-term field trial was conducted over nine years (2015–2023) to investigate soil amendments including lime (0 and …