Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Assessment Of Village Chicken Production Systems In Kambata Tambaro And Wolaita Zones, Snnpr, Ethiopia, Aman Getiso, Fitsum Tessema, Mesfin Mekonnen, Addisu Jimma, Bereket Zeleke

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The study was conducted in four woredas (Damot Gale,Of a, Angacha and Hadero Tunto) the first two of them found in Wolaita zone and two of them in Kambata Tambaro Zone of SNNPR, Ethiopia respectively. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the study areas to assess village chicken production systems, productive and reproductive performance of village chicken and identifying constraints to village chicken production. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 240 farming households and administer a pre-tested and structured questionnaire. The results showed that the mean age of interviewed farmers was 37.8±9.3 years; average family size & chicken …

Yield Gap Analysis Of Field Crops: Methods And Case Studies, V. O. Sadras, Kenneth Cassman, Patricio Grassini, W. G.M. Bastiaanssen, A. G. Laborte, A. E. Milne, G. Sileshi, P. Steduto

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The challenges of global agriculture have been analysed exhaustively and the need has been established for sustainable improvement in agricultural production aimed at food security in a context of increasing pressure on natural resources. Whereas the importance of R&D investment in agriculture is increasingly recognised, better allocation of limited funding is essential to improve food production. In this context, the common and often large gap between actual and attainable yield is a critical target. Realistic solutions are required to close yield gaps in both small and large scale cropping systems worldwide; to make progress in this direction, we need (1) …

Bulletin No. 40: Salt Marsh Plants Of Long Island Sound, R. Scott Warren, Juliana Barrett, Margaret Van Patten

Bulletins

No abstract provided.

What Is Valuable?, Kelly Harer

SR & SC Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Turning Toward Feeling, Elizabeth D. Mcgrew

SR & SC Masters Projects

Five years ago, upon completing a 200-hour, 30-day intensive yoga teacher-training course, we took this group photo. Painted on the wall behind us are the words, “Feel pain? Change positions.” At that time in my life, my understanding of this assertion was shallow: if it feels as though something is ripping, pulling, or tearing, move out of the yoga pose. But as for other physical and emotional pain, I had been taught to sit with it and accept it, and by doing so I would demonstrate strength and continue to grow stronger. Turning away from pain seemed cowardly. It wasn’t …

La Igualdad De Género En Las Carreras De Conservación: Ucayali, Peru En Un Contexto Global, Anna Sangree, Mary Finley-Brook

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Las mujeres aportan las habilidades y las perspectivas importantes para la conservación, pero menos mujeres completan estudios superiores en campos como la silvicultura y la agronomía. Las mujeres que entran en estos campos profesionales también tienen menos oportunidades de alcanzar las posiciones del liderazgo. Las investigaciones internacionales sugieren que muchas veces los esfuerzos hacia la sostenibilidad son perjudicados por los bajos niveles de participación de las mujeres y la falta del liderazgo femenino. Este estudio conecta los resultados de una revisión de la literatura internacional con experiencias personales de los estudiantes, los docentes, y los administradores en la Universidad Nacional …

St. Norbert College As Arboretum: Mapping The Trees On Campus, Jordan A. Mayer, Jason Mills, David Hunnicut

GIS Library

St. Norbert College as Arboretum: Mapping the Trees on Campus - Take a virtual tour of the trees on campus.

The tour is a multimedia ArcGIS Online story map and is available here.

Many of the trees on the St. Norbert Campus were planted by Fr. Anselm Keefe (1895- 1974) in the mid 20th century. It was Fr. Keefe’s vision to beautify the campus by creating gardens that were accessible to the public. This included planting a diverse variety of trees, including one of every tree species native to Wisconsin. It was Keefe’s mission to make St. Norbert College …

Bringing The Passion Back: Using Your Expertise To Gain Experience, Improve Motivation, And Create Real Change In Global Agriculture, J.M.D. Motschenbacher

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Bathtub Ring. Shrinking Lake Mead: Impacts On Water Supply, Hydropower, Recreation And The Environment, Ning Jiang, Season Martin, Julia Morton, Skyler Murphy, Colorado River Governance Initiative

Books, Reports, and Studies

4 pages (includes color illustrations and color maps).

2015 Nebraska Water Monitoring Programs Report, Marty Link, Ryan Chapman

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is charged with monitoring, assessing, and to the extent possible, managing the state’s water resources. The purpose of this work is to protect and maintain high quality water and encourage or execute activities to improve poor water quality. Monitoring is done on nearly 17,000 miles of flowing rivers and streams, more than 134,000 acres of surface water in lakes and reservoirs, as well as the vast storage of groundwater in Nebraska’s aquifers.

Navigating A Pathway Toward Colorado's Water Future: A Review And Recommendations On Colorado's Draft Water Plan, Lawrence J. Macdonnell, Colorado Water Working Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

40 pages (includes color illustrations).

A Look At The Interim Guidelines At Their Mid-Point: How Are We Doing?, Colorado River Research Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

4 pages.

Explorations In The Gray Morality Of Conservation, Avery Whitlock

Art Honors Papers

I am interested in the areas of gray morality associated with conservation science. This science focuses on the protection of biological diversity primarily through the protection of species and their environments, and the management of human impact upon these.

This interest was sparked by personal explorations in scientific illustration and the field of conservation. The scientific observations and dynamic illustrations of John James Audubon led to my focus specifically on birds.

Similarly vital in realizing this interest were initial studies of motion I created through animation. Animated studies of motion, as fabrications of life, evolved into an interest of how …

Daily Soil Surface Co2 Flux During Non-Flooded Periods In Flood-Irrigated Rice Rotations, J. M. Motschenbacher, K. R. Brye, M. M. Anders, E. E. Gbur, N. A. Slaton, M. A. Evans-White

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Atmospheric Responses To North Atlantic Sst Anomalies In Idealized Experiments. Part I: Northern Hemispheric Circulation, Michael C. Veres, Qi Hu

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Idealized model experiments using the NCAR CESM1.0.5 under equinox conditions are designed and performed to address two fundamental questions about the effects of the sea surface temperature (SST) variation associated with the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) on circulation and precipitation in North America and Europe: 1) Is the observed relationship between the AMOSST and the warm-season precipitation in North America a statistical coincidence? and 2)Why is the response of negative precipitation anomaly to warm SST in the AMO fairly uniform across most of North America, whereas the positive precipitation anomaly in the cold SST rather spotty? Model experiments are done …

Estimation Of Crop Gross Primary Production (Gpp): Ii. Do Scaledmodis Vegetation Indices Improve Performance?, Qingyuan Zhang, Yen-Ben Cheng, Alexei I. Lyapustin, Yujie Wang, Xiaoyang Zhang, Andrew E. Suyker, Shashi Verma, Yanmin Shuai, Elizabeth M. Middleton

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Satellite remote sensing estimates of gross primary production (GPP) have routinely been made using spectral vegetation indices (VIs) over the past two decades. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI), the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), the green band Wide Dynamic Range Vegetation Index(WDRVI_green), and the green band Chlorophyll Index (CI_green) have been employed to estimate GPP under the assumption that GPP is proportional to the product of VI and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)(where VI is one of four VIs: NDVI, EVI, WDRVI_green, or CI_green). However, the empirical regressions between VI*PAR and GPP measured locally …

An Exploration Of The Moderating Effect Of Motivation On The Relationship Between Work Satisfaction And Utilization Of Virtual Team Effectiveness Attributes: A Mixed Methods Study, F. C. Day, Mark E. Burbach

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ua12/13 2015 Sustainability Report [Western Kentucky University], Wku Office Of Sustainability, Christian Ryan-Downing

Sustainability Publications and Resources

2015 was a great year for WKU Sustainability, marked by significant new initiatives, special recognitions, and continued progress in advancing sustainability in the way Hilltoppers live, learn, and work. This report highlights the sustainability accomplishments of WKU students, faculty, staff, the Office of Sustainability, and the campus community in 2015.

The Impacts Of Climate Change Mitigation Strategies On Animal Welfare, Sara Shields, Geoffrey Orme-Evans

Animal Welfare Collection

The objective of this review is to point out that the global dialog on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in animal agriculture has, thus far, not adequately considered animal welfare in proposed climate change mitigation strategies. Many suggested approaches for reducing emissions, most of which could generally be described as calls for the intensification of production, can have substantial effects on the animals. Given the growing world-wide awareness and concern for animal welfare, many of these approaches are not socially sustainable. This review identifies the main emission abatement strategies in the climate change literature that would negatively affect animal welfare and …

Accuracy Or Precision: Implications Of Sample Design And Methodology On Abundance Estimation, Lucas K. Kowalewski, Christopher J. Chizinski, Larkin A. Powell, Kevin L. Pope, Mark A. Pegg

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Sampling by spatially replicated counts (point-count) is an increasingly popular method of estimating population size of organisms. Challenges exist when sampling by point-count method, and it is often impractical to sample entire area of interest and impossible to detect every individual present. Ecologists encounter logistical limitations that force them to sample either few large-sample units or many small sample-units, introducing biases to sample counts. We generated a computer environment and simulated sampling scenarios to test the role of number of samples, sample unit area, number of organisms, and distribution of organisms in the estimation of population sizes using N-mixture …

A Unifying Gravity Framework For Dispersal, E. Jongejans, O. Skarpaas, M. J. Ferrari Et Al.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

2015 Academic Program Review School Of Natural Resources University Of Nebraska–Lincoln

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.

Integrating Hands-On Undergraduate Research In An Applied Spatial Science Senior Level Capstone Course, David Kulhavy, Daniel R. Unger, I-Kuai Hung, David Douglass

Faculty Publications

A senior within a spatial science Ecological Planning capstone course designed an undergraduate research project to increase his spatial science expertise and to assess the hands-on instruction methodology employed within the Bachelor of Science in Spatial Science program at Stephen F Austin State University. The height of 30 building features estimated remotely with LiDAR data, within the Pictometry remotely sensed web-based interface, and in situ with a laser rangefinder were compared to actual building feature height measurements. A comparison of estimated height with actual height indicated that all three estimation techniques tested were unbiased estimators of height. An ANOVA, conducted …

Evaluating An Unconfined Aquifer By Analysis Of Age-Dating Tracers In Stream Water, D. K. Solomon, T. E. Gilmore, B. Kimball, D. P. Genereux

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The mean transit time (MTT) is a fundamental property of a groundwater flow system that is strongly related to the ratio of recharge rate to storage volume. However, obtaining samples for estimating the MTT using environmental tracers is problematic as flow-weighted samples over the full spectrum of transit times are needed. Samples collected fromthe base flow of a gaining stream in the North Carolina Coastal Plain (West Bear Creek) that were corrected for exchange with the atmosphere yielded environmental tracer concentrations (SF₆ and CFC-11) very similar to flow-weighted values from nine or ten streambed piezometers that directly sampled groundwater …

Application Of Remote Sensing For Quantifying And Mapping Surface Energy Fluxes In South Central Nebraska: Analyses With Respect To Field Measurements, Vivek Sharma, Suat Irmak, Ayse Kilic, Denis Mutibwa

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Large-scale quantification of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) from various vegetation surfaces can aid in planning, managing, and allocating water resources. Field measurement of surface energy fluxes, including ETc, remains (and should remain) a crucial process for calibration and validation of satellite/remote sensing-based methods, which can provide important supporting information for water balance assessments and for analyzing the spatial distribution of energy fluxes on large scales. The Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) was evaluated in estimating surface energy fluxes in south central Nebraska using Landsat imagery and meteorological data. SEBS-estimated surface energy fluxes were compared to Bowen Ratio Energy Balance System (BREBS) …

2015 Interior Least Tern And Piping Plover Monitoring, Research, Management, And Outreach Report For The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Mary Bomberger Brown, Lauren R. Dinan, Joel G. Jorgensen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Abstract:

This document reports on our monitoring, research, management, and outreach activities during the past 12 months (2014–2015). We prepared it to inform our partners, cooperating agencies, funding sources, and other interested parties of our activities and to provide a preliminary summary of our results.

The lower Platte River and its major tributaries provide important nesting and migratory stopover habitat for two bird species of special conservation concern: the state and federally endangered Interior Least Tern (Sternula antillarum athalassos) and threatened Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus). The Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership (TPCP), based at the University …

A Mixed-Methods Approach To Assessing Success In Transitioning Water Management Institutions: A Case Study Of The Platte River Basin, Nebraska, Christina Hoffman Babbitt, Mark E. Burbach, Lisa Pennisi

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

To address increasing conflicts between surface water and groundwater users, the state of Nebraska has adopted a more localized and integrated approach in managing water resources. Integrated approaches offer promise in better managing connected water resources within the state; however, little review of the potential benefits and/or challenges of these actions has been conducted. This case study uses both qualitative and quantitative data collection efforts to take an in-depth look at how this new and innovative management system is working through the eyes of stakeholders living and working in the basin. Data collection reveals that overall the current water management …

Predictions Of Future Ephemeral Springtime Waterbird Stopover Habitat Availability Under Global Change, Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Andrew A. Bishop, Roger Grosse, Christopher F. Jorgensen, Theodore G. Lagrange, Randy G. Stutheit, Mark P. Vrtiska

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

In the present period of rapid, worldwide change in climate and landuse (i.e., global change), successful biodiversity conservation warrants proactive management responses, especially for long-distance migratory species. However, the development and implementation of management strategies can be impeded by high levels of uncertainty and low levels of control over potentially impactful future events and their effects. Scenario planning and modeling are useful tools for expanding perspectives and informing decisions under these conditions. We coupled scenario planning and statistical modeling to explain and predict playa wetland inundation (i.e., presence/absence of water) and ponded area (i.e., extent of water) in the Rainwater …

The Importance Of Scaling For Detecting Community Patterns: Success And Failure In Assemblages Of Introduced Species, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Michael P. Moulton, Crawford S. Holling

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Community saturation can help to explain why biological invasions fail. However, previous research has documented inconsistent relationships between failed invasions (i.e., an invasive species colonizes but goes extinct) and the number of species present in the invaded community. We use data from bird communities of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, which supports a community of 38 successfully established introduced birds and where 37 species were introduced but went extinct (failed invasions). We develop a modified approach to evaluate the effects of community saturation on invasion failure. Our method accounts (1) for the number of species present (NSP) when the species …

Effects Of Alternative Framing On The Publics Perceived Importance Of Environmental Conservation, Amanda E. Sorensen, Daniel Clark, Rebecca C. Jordan

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Effective communication of science to the general public is important for numerous reasons, including support for policy, funding, informed public decision making, among others. Prior research has found that scientists participating in public policy and public communication must frame their communication efforts in order to connect with audiences. A frame is the mechanism that individuals use to understand and interpret the world around them. Framing can encourage specific interpretations and reference points for a particular issue or event; especially when meaning is negotiated between the media and public audiences. In this study, we looked at the effect of framing within …