Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Riparian Resilience In The Face Of Interacting Disturbances, Alexa S. Whipple

2019 Symposium

Riparian systems of the dryland western United States provide critical ecosystem functions such as diverse habitat for numerous species, flood attenuation and essential water storage in water-limited environments. These systems have experienced long term disturbance from anthropogenic activities including the grazing of livestock in dryland riparian systems and near extirpation of a keystone riparian species, Castor canadensis (beaver). However, increasing frequency of large-scale wildfires and climate change driven weather is altering the severity and scale of riparian disturbance. Beaver restoration has been gaining use to address long term riparian disturbances, yet little is understood regarding the impact of restored beaver …

Understanding Ngos And Their Effectiveness Through A Comparative Study Of Their Role In Redd+, Jessica Russo

Political Science Student Scholarship

This thesis explores the following question: what roles do NGOs play and how effective may they be in efforts at global governance? Through a comparative case study analysis of NGOs advocating for Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) and NGOs implementing REDD+ projects, specifically the Surui Forest Carbon Project located in the state of Rondônia, Brazil, I examine whether NGOs are more effective taking on the role as advocates or policy implementers. For this work, I will argue that independent of the multiplicity of roles that NGOs play, their effectiveness is a function of the level of their …

Epidemic Growth Rates And Host Movement Patterns Shape Management Performance For Pathogen Spillover At The Wildlife–Livestock Interface, Kezia R. Manlove, Laura M. Sampson, Benny Borremans, E. Frances Cassirer, Ryan S. Miller, Kim M. Pepin, Thomas E. Besser, Paul C. Cross

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Managing pathogen spillover at the wildlife–livestock interface is a key step towards improving global animal health, food security and wildlife conservation. However, predicting the effectiveness of management actions across host–pathogen systems with different life histories is an on-going challenge since data on intervention effectiveness are expensive to collect and results are system-specific.We developed a simulation model to explore how the efficacies of different management strategies vary according to host movement patterns and epidemic growth rates. The model suggested that fast-growing, fast-moving epidemics like avian influenza were best-managed with actions like biosecurity or containment, which limited and localized overall spillover risk. …

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, …

Unconventional Gas Extraction In Southwestern Pennsylvania: Complaints, Production, And Water Quality, Dannielle Pratt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dramatic rise in unconventional oil and gas extraction in Pennsylvania has presented a challenge to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in managing regulatory required data, and the uniformity of public access via their online databases. This study analyzed over a decade of all the oil and gas complaints and unconventional gas production in Washington County. Of the 1,811 wells drilled between 2004 and 2018, 1,683 are producing, 74 are plugged, 52 regulatory inactive, and 2 abandoned. The PADEP received 10,389 complaints from 2004 to 2018. Only 2,420 of 4,489 water quality complaints were resolved within the legally required …

Ethical Implications Of Population Growth And Reduction, Tiana Sepahpour

Student Theses 2015-Present

No abstract provided.

Development Of Digital Bathymetry Maps For Lakes Azuei And Enriquillo Using Sonar And Remote Sensing Techniques, Michael Piasecki, Mahrokh Moknatian, Fred Moshary, Jorge Gonzalez

Publications and Research

This article presents an improved algorithm for optimization and development of a digital bathymetric model (DBM) for Lake Azuei (LA) (Haiti) and Lake Enriquillo (LE) (Dominican Republic) using the ANUDEM method. Both sonar data and contour lines of the lakes’ layout extracted using Landsat imagery were compiled for bathymetry development. We show that the performance of the ANUDEM method was strongly dependent on the density and irregularity of the spatial distribution of the data. Changing the resolution of the output grids and deriving auxiliary topographically corrected contours improved the ANUDEM performance and minimized the systematic errors of the method. Statistical …

Wish You Were Here, Janie Stamm, Janie I. Stamm

Graduate School of Art Theses

The State of Florida is under threat from the effects of climate change. Rising sea levels are creeping up on to Florida’s coast, eroding the beaches and encroaching on heavily populated cities. Over my lifetime I will watch the water spill over the streets of my home town. I will watch the water flood the Everglades, pushing saltwater into freshwater habitats. I will watch the water begin to drown the state, taking Florida’s many little known histories along with it. This thesis serves as a document of Floridian life during the Anthropocene.

Within this thesis, I tell the story of …

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 …

Migratory Shorebird Adheres To Bergmann’S Rule By Responding To Environmental Conditions Through The Annual Lifecycle, Daniel Gibson, Angela D. Hornsby, Mary B. Brown, Jonathan B. Cohen, Lauren R. Dinan, James D. Fraser, Meryl J. Friedrich, Cheri L. Gratto-Trevor, Kelsi L. Hunt, Matthew Jeffery, Joel G. Jorgensen, Peter W.C. Paton, Samantha G. Robinson, Jen Rock, Michelle L. Stantial, Chelsea E. Weithman, Daniel H. Catlin

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The inverse relationship between body size and environmental temperature is a widespread ecogeographic pattern. However, the underlying forces that produce this pattern are unclear in many taxa. Expectations are particularly unclear for migratory species, as individuals may escape environmental extremes and reorient themselves along the environmental gradient. In addition, some aspects of body size are largely fixed while others are environmentally flexible and may vary seasonally. Here, we used a long-term dataset that tracked multiple populations of the migratory piping plover Charadrius melodus across their breeding and non-breeding ranges to investigate ecogeographic patterns of phenotypically flexible (body mass) and fixed …

Journey Throughout South Africa And Beyond, Rachel Fracasso

Library Research Scholars Program 2018-2019

By studying abroad in Cape Town, I discovered a new part of the world that I had yet to experience. My goal throughout this project was to document and organize these discoveries in an engaging way and share what I learned about South Africa and beyond in an interactive, visually appealing, educational, and engaging way. My project is photography based, and a collection of my photographs will be displayed in the Creative Studios in the Richter Library. These pictures are a representation of the most meaningful, special, surprising, and challenging parts of my study abroad experience from the Spring 2019 …

Discontinuity Analysis Reveals Alternative Community Regimes During Phytoplankton Succession, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr., Monika Winder

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

It is well-recognized in plankton ecology that phytoplankton development can lead to distinct peaks (i.e., blooms) during spring and summer. We used a 5-year (2007–2011) phytoplankton data set and utilized discontinuity analysis to assess resilience attributes of spring and summer blooms based on the cross-scale resilience model. Using the size structure (i.e., cross-scale structure as an indicator of resilience) in the sampled plankton data, we assessed whether spring and summer blooms differ substantially between but not within blooms; that is, whether they comprise alternative community regimes. Our exploratory study supported this expectation and more broadly resilience theory, which posits that …

Resource Assessment Report Western Rock Lobster Resource Of Western Australia. Addendum 1, Simon De Lestang, Jason How, Nick Caputi

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

The West Coast Rock Lobster Fishery was certified under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard in 2000, and was the first fishery in the world to be MSC certified. Since then it has successfully been re-accredited in 2006, 2012 and 2017. This document provides an update on changes to the fishery for annual audits by the MSC certification body and the annual stock assessment update for quota setting of the western rock lobster resource.

Assessing The Impacts Of Gold Mining Deforestation On The Giant Otter (Pteronura Brasiliensis) In Madre De Dios, Peru, Erica Carcelen

Sustainability and Social Justice

Gold mining activity is highly prevalent in the Madre de Dios region, Peru. This activity poses large environmental impacts including deforestation, sedimentation of rivers, and pollution from mercury used during extraction. Mining activity is a major threat to the endangered giant otter as it destroys its preferred riverine habitat. Moreover, mercury used during gold extraction bio-accumulates in fish, which constitutes the entirety of their diet. In order to conserve the giant otter, it is necessary to identify conservation priority areas. In a reactive conservation planning approach, the objective of this work was to prioritize areas suitable as giant otter habitat …

Watering The Desert: Azraq, Public Opinion, And Environmental Post-Materialism, Wesley A. Gerard

Venture: The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal

This article focuses on physical, socioeconomic, and political changes in the community of Azraq, Jordan. Azraq, a small town in northeastern Jordan, sits atop a large aquifer that has been heavily pumped by the government for several decades in response to an increasing nationwide demand for water. This has led to large-scale transformations in not only the physical landscape surrounding the aquifer, but also in the daily lives, economic statuses, and political opinions of the people living there. My research thus fits the case of Azraq into larger academic discourse on groundwater governance, resource access, and environmentalism. I use a …

Giant Beaver Palaeoecology Inferred From Stable Isotopes, Tessa Plint, Fred J. Longstaffe, Grant Zazula

Earth Sciences Publications

This is a multi-individual (n = 11), stable carbon and nitrogen isotope study of bone collagen (δ¹³C_col and δ¹⁵N_col) from the giant beaver (genus Castoroides). The now-extinct giant beaver was once one of the most widespread Pleistocene megafauna in North America. We confirm that Castoroides consumed a diet of predominantly submerged aquatic macrophytes. These dietary preferences rendered the giant beaver highly dependent on wetland habitat for survival. Castoroides’ δ¹³C_col and δ¹⁵N_col do not support the hypothesis that the giant beaver consumed trees or woody …

How A Changing Climate Impacts Apple Production In Nebraska, Logan Winters

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Since the industrial revolution, there has been an exponential increase in global fossil fuel use. This excessive use and burning of fossil fuels has caused a significant increase in carbon dioxide concentrations in our atmosphere. These greater concentrations of carbon dioxide have been found to have a correlation to increasing temperatures on earth as a whole as the concentration of carbon dioxide, along with other fossil fuel emissions, continue to also increase. The end result of this cycle is that we have warming on a global scale which leads to a changing climate.

The fact that the climate is changing …

Nitrate Accumulation In The Vadose Zone Of Waverly's Wellhead Protection Area, Cleome Mullison

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Agriculturally intensive areas such as Nebraska are faced with a growing threat: groundwater nitrate pollution caused by years of applying nitrogen based fertilizer. Nitrate pollution can be attributed to several factors such as manure from cattle ranching and wastewater plants, but Nebraska’s main threat is derived from years of leached nitrogen fertilizer. When nitrogen fertilizer is applied it has one of several fates: plant uptake, volatilization, leaching or run-off. When nitrates leach beyond the plant root system, they are unable to be absorbed by the plant and ultimately move slowly towards the regional ground water table. While nitrate accumulation in …

What Are The Prospects For -Omics-Based Molecular Technologies In Cancer Diagnostics And Treatment, Katya Eriksen

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States, following the heart disease. New technologies are needed to fight and eventually to eradicate cancer. Omic technologies is a new emerging field of cancer research that may offer cancer patients long awaited opportunities to get faster, more precise personalized medical care, while letting doctors do their job more effectively. The rapid development of omic technologies and large datasets promise a new type of health care system when the patients can be treated according to their own individualized molecular characteristics.

Proposal To Build A Green Roof On Top Of Hardin Hall On Unl's East Campus, Abbie Andersen

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The purpose of this study is to research the feasibility of implementing more green roofs around The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s campuses. To do this investigation a systematic literature review process was used gathering multiple relevant, peer reviewed articles from UNL’s “Encore” search engine. The data was then organized into categories that described the necessary considerations that needed to be made to retrofit green roofs, information on their many benefits, and finally the potential energy cost savings that can be obtained through use of a green roof. From here a proposal for a model green roof on top of UNL’s Hardin …

Review Of Birds Of Prey Of The West: A Field Guide, By Brian K. Wheeler, Daniel Casey

The Prairie Naturalist

Birds of prey epitomize much of what attracts us to birding. Many are large and easy to observe, particularly in open landscapes. Their predatory nature and behavior give them an added aura of wildness; their migrations can be spectacular. And even veteran birders should enjoy the challenge of identifying the myriad of plumage variations shown by different ages, sexes, subspecies, and color morphs. With his newest effort, Birds of Prey of the West, Brian Wheeler has compiled a comprehensive and enhanced field guide with illustrations that stunningly capture that variation, combined with enough additional context to make it a valuable …

How Are University's Handling Dining Hall Food Waste: Unl Study, Macrae Zappala

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

One of the biggest challenges with the American food system is that 30-40% of our food is wasted every year (EPA, 2018). There are many reasons why food is being wasted around Universities campuses, and there are many ways to divert that wasted material from the landfill. In 2016, a zero-food waste event was held in Harper dining hall, and they found around 70 pounds a night just from a dinner rush. The main objective is aimed to find out how the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL) handles their dining hall food waste. This study will look at what Big …

Seventh Grade Students' Understanding Of A Groundwater Modeling Tool, Holly White

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Water is a core topic in standards for science teaching and learning across the K-12 continuum (NGSS Lead States, 2013; National Research Council [NRC], 1966), though research has shown that the American public may possess relatively underdeveloped ideas about water systems (AMNH, 2005). Those who have a better understanding of groundwater systems tend to recognize the impacts that overuse has and express greater concern about conservation of the resource (Pan and Liu 2018). One way to support students’ learning about groundwater is through the use of groundwater modeling tools. Computer-based models have been shown to be effective in supporting K-12 …

Sustainable Dietary Solutions To A Multi-Dimensional Epidemic: A Practical Application Of The Mediterranean Diet To Nebraska, Samuel A. Virgillito

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

There is substantial evidence to suggest the major health and environmental benefits of the Mediterranean diet. When compared to the Western Pattern diet, the Mediterranean diet consistently ranks higher by both of these measures. Considering a looming environmental crisis and an already present health epidemic, a major dietary shift and overhaul of the current food system in America is necessary. Yet few studies aim to suggest the transferability of the Mediterranean diet to regions outside of the Mediterranean basin. Nebraska offers a unique case study as it reflects the contextually poor health of Americans and boasts a massive agriculture industry …

Food Insecurity Among University Of Nebraska–Lincoln Students, Lindsey Bremer

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A survey of 38 University of Nebraska-Lincoln students was conducted to determine the food insecurity levels of respondents. Food insecurity is defined as limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (Bickel et al, 2000). A systematic review of 8 food security studies on college and university students found an average food insecurity level of 43.5%, (Nazmi et al, 2018) while the national level is 11.8% (Coleman-Jensen et al, 2017). The research was driven by the question, What is the food insecurity rate among University …

Barriers Influencing The Success Of Green Teams, Jessica Van Buskirk

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This paper summarizes the barriers Green Teams in a variety of settings may face. A survey was sent to members of a Green Team project at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to obtain information on barriers faced in order to compare these barriers to other organizations and businesses barriers. This comparison was done by conducting a thematic analysis, which grouped barriers into themes. The themes were compiled and recommendations on how to overcome those barriers were made. Green Teams have many benefits including waste reduction, increased employee satisfaction, and saving the planet from further damage. This study tries to maximize …