Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Light Pollution Research Through Citizen Science, John Kanemoto

STAR Program Research Presentations

Light pollution (LP) can disrupt and/or degrade the health of all living things, as well as, their environments. The goal of my research at the NOAO was to check the accuracy of the citizen science LP reporting systems entitled: Globe at Night (GaN), Dark Sky Meter (DSM), and Loss of the Night (LoN). On the GaN webpage, the darkness of the night sky (DotNS) is reported by selecting a magnitude chart. Each magnitude chart has a different density/number of stars around a specific constellation. The greater number of stars implies a darker night sky. Within the DSM iPhone application, a …

An Interpretive Plan Guide For Wilderness Park In Lincoln, Nebraska, Rachel J. Ward

Community and Regional Planning Program: Professional Projects

Wilderness Park, located in Lancaster County, Nebraska, is a public park of unique ecological and historical value to the city of Lincoln and to the surrounding region. The natural and historical features of the park present an opportunity to communicate environmental and historical topics that are relevant on local, national, and global levels, as well as inspire a lively sense of pride in the community. The problem is that many topics relevant to Wilderness Park are not currently being interpreted at the park, and that there are relatively few interpretive resources available to park visitors.

The purpose of this project …

Response Of Grassland Songbirds To Grazing System Type And Range Condition, Stephen K. Davis, Brenda C. Dale, Tom Harrison, David C. Duncan

The Prairie Naturalist

Much of the remaining prairie in Canada is grazed by cattle and most grassland birds of conservation concern occupy such habitat. Identifying vegetation features related to grassland bird habitat selection that can be easily understood and measured by professional range managers and livestock producers on private lands is an important step towards conserving and restoring remaining grasslands. We conducted grassland bird surveys on 28 native mixed-grass prairie pastures in southern Saskatchewan to determine whether grazing system type (season-long vs. rotational) influenced avian abundance. Grazing system had no influence on abundance of grassland passerines. Conservation agencies that promote particular grazing systems …

Legacy Effects In Prairie Restoration: A 73-Year Spatial History, Thomas D. Brock

The Prairie Naturalist

Black Earth Rettenmund Prairie State Natural Area, one of the highest quality prairie remnants in southern Wisconsin’s Driftless Area, has been the target of extensive restoration efforts since it was acquired by the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in 1986. In the present work, I analyzed the spatial history of this prairie using a Geographical Information System (GIS) and an extended series of air photos, on-the-ground surveys, early maps, and land-use records. In 1937, when the first air photo was taken, the site was nearly devoid of trees and shrubs. In subsequent years, the site became progressively woody until at the time …

The Significance Of Micro-Prairie Reconstruction In Urban Environments, Bruno Borsari, Neal Mundahl, Malcom F. Vidrine, Marc Pastorek

The Prairie Naturalist

An aggressive urban sprawl during the last half century has not only contributed to habitat disturbance and extirpation, as well as a loss of knowledge and appreciation for biodiversity. Across the United States, prairie reconstruction has been a very effective approach for developing sustainable landscape designs in city parks and other open spaces. The purpose of this work is to focus on restoration and reconstruction of selected micro-prairies as a vehicle for enhanced place-based education and to partially remediate the consequences of global climate change and loss of pollinators. From the coastal prairies of southwestern Louisiana, to the eastern edge …

Introduction—23rd North American Prairie Conference, Dr. Douglas J. Cattani, Dr. Nicola Koper, Dr. Pamela Rutherford, Dr. Richard K. Baydack

The Prairie Naturalist

Building upon the tradition started in Illinois by Peter Schramm in 1970, with the first conference on prairies and prairie restoration, the North American Prairie Conference (NAPC) has developed a tradition of excellence in native prairie research, conservation, education and restoration of one of the worlds’ most productive, yet most endangered, ecosystems. It has spawned great interest, enthusiasm and efforts to better understand, appreciate, manage and conserve this vital part of North America’s natural and cultural history.

In early August 2012, the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg hosted the 23rd NAPC. The theme of the 2012 conference was “Celebrating Our …

Historic Distribution And Ecology Of Tall-Grass Prairie In Western Canada, Darcy C. Henderson, Nicola Koper

The Prairie Naturalist

Rapid settlement and agricultural development of western Canada in the late 1800s and early 1900s nearly eliminated the tall-grass prairie, and pre-empted a detailed description by ecologists. A combination of literature review and historical ecological analysis of soils, climate, and composition data are applied to estimate the historic distribution, and area occupied by tall-grass prairie in southern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. The resulting area estimate of 20,830 km² is more than three times any previously reported value. Some confusion of terms from the first half of the 1900s, and the impact of invasive species on vegetation patterns observed …

Prairie Restoration: Bridging The Past And The Future, Daryl D. Smith

The Prairie Naturalist

Tallgrass prairie once dominated most of mid-continent North America. Conversion of this prairie to cropland was rapid and extensive. Today, it is the most decimated ecosystem in North America with less than two percent remaining. Prairie reconstruction began at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum in the 1930s. Thirty years later, exemplary initiatives by a group of highly motivated restorationists in Illinois and Iowa became a part of the legacy of restoration ecology. Their work generated widespread public interest in prairie restoration and initiated the ongoing biennial North American Prairie Conference. Since then, practitioners have made significant advances in reconstruction and …

Effects Of Compost On Prairie Seedling Establishment And Seed Production, Thomas R. Rosburg, Emiy Sibigtroth, Adam Palmer

The Prairie Naturalist

Compost is a commonly used soil amendment in horticultural and agricultural practices that is generally known to improve soil conditions and plant growth. We conducted a field experiment to investigate the application of compost to prairie production plots as a method to improve seedling establishment and growth and the seed production of established plants. We evaluated the effect of compost depth and tillage on the survivorship, growth, reproduction and ecophysiology of several prairie plant species commonly used in restoration. Results were mixed; for some species, transplants in compost–amended plots incurred lower survivorship and reduced growth compared to control plots. When …

Reproductive Failure In Largeleaf Wild Indigo In A Restored Prairie In Southeastern Minnesota, Neal D. Mundahl

The Prairie Naturalist

Native prairie restorations in many regions of the United States have been hindered by various herbivores consuming plant reproductive parts or products. I conducted field studies of a population of largeleaf wild indigo (Baptisia lactea) on a restored prairie in southeastern Minnesota during the growing seasons of 2010–2012 to determine the cause(s) of repeated reproductive failure. I assessed plants for browsing damage caused by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during the period of flowering and with a deer exclosure experiment involving caged and non-caged plants. I compared reproductive output (numbers of seed pods, viable seeds) of caged …

Association Of Soil Conditions And Grass Species With Variable Cover Of Leafy Spurge, Terence P. Mcgonigle, Jeremy L. Timmer

The Prairie Naturalist

Variation in soil conditions and grass cover was assessed across a range of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) cover values on a sandy rangeland in Manitoba, Canada. Soil conditions varied by site but not in relation to cover of leafy spurge. We observed a significant negative relationship between total grass cover and increasing cover of leafy spurge. Only porcupine grass (Hesperostipa spartea [Trin.] Barkworth) had a negative relationship with leafy spurge, falling from high cover at low weed occurrence to only trace levels at the highest leafy spurge abundance. Neither prairie Junegrass (Koeleria macrantha [Ledeb.] Schult.), rough …

Soil Chemical Responses To Fire Seasonality And Frequency In A Texas Grassland, Domingo M. Jariel Jr., R. James Ansley, Betty A. Kramp, David L. Jones

The Prairie Naturalist

On a clay-loam mixed grassland dominated by honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr.) in northern Texas, we quantified soil pH, soil organic carbon (OC), electrical conductivity (EC), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu) in response to various effects of summer and winter fire treatments from 1991–1996. We conducted summer fire between August and September, and winter fire between January and March. Treatments that included summer fires increased soil pH, EC, Na, and Cu and temporarily decreased soil OC and Mn (P ≤ 0.05). The winter fire treatment …

The Sandy Glacier Cave Project: The Study Of Glacial Recession From Within, Eduardo L. Cartaya

The International Workshop on Ice Caves

The Sandy Glacier Cave Project is a National Speleological Society (NSS) sponsored study on the unique system of glacier caves located on the Sandy Glacier on the western flank of Mt Hood, Oregon. While the study primarily targets the structure, layout and ice volume change of the ever moving cave system by conducting annual grade 5 surveys, numerous tangential observations and trends have been recorded that are of great interest to the study of glacial recession, watershed hydrology, micro-biology and astro-biology, as well as the study of organic specimens and remains being thawed out of the ice mass by the …

Stable Isotope Composition Of Perennial Ice In Caves As An Aid To Charaterizinging Ice Cave Types, Charles J. Yonge

The International Workshop on Ice Caves

Stable isotope studies of perennial ice from western North American ice caves suggest that three main types can be defined: cold trap, permafrost, and cold zone. Some complex cave systems may comprise two or more types. While 14 caves were sampled from the region, in this study, 9 definitive sites were examined in more detail where they exemplified classic perennial ice features: massive ice, hoar frost, ice stalagmites and so on. Stable isotopes of the ice (d¹⁸O and d²H) assist in the understanding the origin of the freezing moisture, whether from direct snow (cold trap), moist …

Evaluation Of Evaporative Drivers And Hydrologic Influences Using Energy And Water Budget Techniques At A Shallow Saline Lake In The Western Sandhills Of Nebraska, Usa, Colin Peake

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

The western Sandhills of Nebraska contain many shallow lakes and wetlands that interact strongly with groundwater and the overlying atmosphere. The region is semi-arid, and most of the lakes are saline, supporting a wide range of ecosystems. Water levels and salt concentrations are highly sensitive to variations in precipitation, evaporation, and groundwater fluxes, making the Sandhills an excellent laboratory for examining the effects of climate on the water balance of interdunal lakes. In this study, we investigate the atmospheric controls on evaporation rates, as well as the water balance of Alkali Lake, one of the more saline lakes in the …

Building Envelope For Energy-Efficient Residential Homes, A Case Study For The U.S. Department Of Energy Challenge Home Student Design Competition, Milica Tajsic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the continuous rise of population and expansion of urban areas, the need for additional housing and infrastructure is growing rapidly. Building sector is consuming a vast majority of the natural resources to meet the needs of urbanization and is in need of efficient, sustainable solutions that are viable for the customer, the economy and the environment. The building sector is both the problem and the solution to the issues of the carbon footprint of our society (Architecture 2030, 2011).

The envelope (roofs, walls, and foundations) and windows typically account for 36% of overall energy use, or about 14.3 quads …

Biomass Scoping Study: Opportunities For Agriculture In Western Australia, Kim Brooksbank, Mitchell Lever, Harriet Paterson, Melissa Weybury

Bulletins 4000 -

This 2014 report aims to provide a summary of national and international activity in the use of agricultural by-products for the production of bioenergy and biofuels. The summary is primarily an internal report for the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), but will hopefully be of some value to industry proponents that are interested in pursuing the opportunities provided by what are currently low value agricultural waste products. We outline three processes for obtaining energy from these by-products that may be appropriate for the farming sector in Western Australia (WA).

Venturing Through The Tall Grass: Experiencing The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, Christie L. Borkowsky, Erin Zahradka

The Prairie Naturalist

The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve (hereafter the Preserve) was established in 1989 with a goal of protecting a vanishing habitat and to educate the general public of the importance of native grasslands (M. Latta, Nature Manitoba, personal communication). Starting in the early 1990s, an annual Prairie Day event was organized in early August to provide a means of interaction between prairie enthusiasts, the general public and local residents. Self-guiding interpretive trails with rustic amenities were established in 1996 and 2004. School programs, tours, and a simple two-page newsletter have been used to promote the Preserve and bring out visitors …

Project Prairie And Tallgrass Education On The Rice Lake Plains: A Journey From 1870 To Today And Beyond, Todd Farrell, Mark Rupke, Mark Stabb

The Prairie Naturalist

Project Prairie began in 2011 as a curriculum-linked integrated environmental studies program to showcase the Rice Lake Plains (RLP), a tallgrass prairie landscape of sandy rolling hills located at the eastern extent of the Oak Ridges Moraine in southern Ontario. Project Prairie provides educators both indoor and outdoor activities that support their curriculum and share the story of the RLP. Project Prairie provides teacher and student resources that focus on the RLP from the mid-nineteenth century to present day. Learning objectives of Project Prairie are developed from the subjects of science, social science, language arts, geography, history, and Aboriginal culture. …

Notes: Oriental Bittersweet In Grasslands Near Eastern Bluebird Nest Boxes, Neal D. Mundahl

The Prairie Naturalist

Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.; hereafter OB) is an invasive, woody vine that has been expanding its range westward in North America since its introduction from East Asia in the mid-1700s for horticultural purposes (Albright et al. 2009, United States Department of Agriculture [USDA] 2012). Although typically a woodland problem in the United States (McNab and Meeker 1987), OB can invade grassland habitats (Fike and Niering 1999), likely sprouting from seeds dropped by birds and mammals (McNab and Meeker 1987, Greenberg et al. 2001, Sarver et al. 2008) and often developing into large, shrub-like tangles of intertwining stems (Fike …

Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve: Providing Habitat For Protected And Provincially Rare Species, Christie L. Borkowsky

The Prairie Naturalist

The establishment of the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in 1989 secured some of the largest and highest quality parcels of tall grass prairie remaining in the province. Shortly after securement by either Nature Manitoba (formerly Manitoba Naturalists Society) or Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation, seasonal staff from the Critical Wildlife Habitat Program (CWHP) began inventory efforts to document the various floral and faunal species occurring on these acquisitions. With the addition of the Nature Conservancy of Canada to the Preserve partnership, the Preserve has grown in size to nearly 5,000 ha. The list of species identified on the Preserve has …

Potential Impacts Of Bison Wallows On A Restored Tallgrass Prairie Community, Kimran Miller, Johanna Foster, Kristen Nielsen, Mary O'Loughlin

The Prairie Naturalist

When bison (Bos bison) repeatedly roll on the ground, they denude vegetation and create wallows (semi-permanent bare areas) that alter the native prairie plant community. Responses to these wallow-related disturbances are not as well documented in restored prairies. From 1 June to 1 September 2010 and from 3 June to 6 August 2011, we examined potential responses at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, a restored prairie with resident bison. We hypothesized that plants and beetles would vary along a disturbance gradient. Our predictions were: (1) near wallows, plants with weedy lifestyles would have highest cover and biomass compared …

A Floristic Survey Of Selected Sites In The Loup River Valley, Nance County, Nebraska, Diane M. Flynn, Steven J. Rothenberger

The Prairie Naturalist

The Loup River Valley of Nebraska contains natural, undisturbed wet meadows with significant plant diversity. Even though these sites are infrequent and are often intermixed with heavily grazed pastures or cultivated fields, they support numerous plant and animal species that do not occur elsewhere. We surveyed three study sites (an ungrazed wet meadow; a grazed wet meadow; and a riparian area) that totaled approximately 68.8 ha during the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons. We compiled an annotated vascular plants checklist for the study area that included 244 plant species of which about 49% (119) were new county records. The mean …

Climate Change: Threats To Social Welfare And Social Justice Requiring Social Work Intervention, Lauren Caroline Achstatter

21st Century Social Justice

The article looks at climate change though a social development framework, with emphasis on social justice and social welfare. It evaluates how market-based capitalism continues to contribute to the problem while ignoring the warnings from the scientific community. The article goes on to report that despite the devastation of climate change, concerns – mainly financial in nature - continue to hinder progress towards reform. The article then argues that given the evidence, climate change qualifies as a topic of interest for social workers. The article goes on to advocate for social work involvement highlighting some suggested areas for action.

A Conservation Status Index, As An Auxiliary Tool For The Management Of Cave Environments, Christiane Ramos Donato, Adauto De Souza Ribeiro, Leandro De Sousa Souto

International Journal of Speleology

The conservation of the Speleological Heritage involves bioecological, geomorphological and anthropogenic studies, both from inside the caves and from the external environments that surround them. This study presents a method to rank caves according to their priority for conservation and restoration. Nine caves were evaluated: indicators related to the environmental impacts and the vulnerability status presented by those caves (intrinsic features) and the values scored in a ‘Cave Conservation Index’ (CCI) were established. We also used a rapid assessment protocol to measure cave vulnerability for prioritization of conservation/restoration actions (RAP-cr) comparing natural cavities with the same lithology, due …

Juvenile Green Sturgeon (Acipenser Medirostris) And White Sturgeon (Acipenser Transmontanus) Behavior Near Water-Diversion Fish Screens: Experiments In A Laboratory Swimming Fume, Jamilynn B. Poletto, Dennis E. Cocherell, Natalie Ho, Joseph J. Cech Jr., A. Peter Klimley, Nann A. Fangue

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Water diversions that extract fresh water for urban, industrial, and agricultural uses, as well as export to southern California, are prevalent throughout the Sacramento–San Joaquin watershed. Many water diversions are fitted with fish-exclusion screens designed to prevent fish from entrainment (i.e., being drawn in). The impact of fish screens on the behavior of migrating juvenile fishes remains largely unknown, especially for threatened species such as sturgeon. We placed individual juvenile green (Acipenser medirostris) or white (Acipenser transmontanus) sturgeon in a laboratory swimming flume in the presence of standard fish screens (2 mm bar spacing) at two …

Development Of A Public Education Website: Building Bridges Over Water, Angelina Mckee

Agricultural Education and Communication

Website created by Angelina McKee to educate the public about water resource issues. Water is the basic unit of life, water resources are the basis for what societies and ecosystems are founded upon. Water shortages and droughts are more prevalent in our ever-changing world. It is no shock that there are discrepancies between various stockholders on either sides of the dry riverbed. This senior project resulted in the development of a website that addresses global water resources, water use in California, water conservation, and water allocation. The website informs the public on water resources and related issues and will hopefully …

A Win-Win On Agricultural Lands: Creating Wildlife Habitat Through Agroforestry, Gary Bentrup

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

With increasing demands from society for limited resources, agroforestry will likely be one source of solutions as people find it increasingly necessary to achieve multiple social, economic, and ecological objectives on the same plot of land. Indications are that this is a growing field, so wildlife biologists of the future may want to consider incorporating agroforestry into their career development.

Droughtscape, Summer 2014, Kelly Smith

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

Contents

Director’s report

Outlook

Drought & climate summary

Drought impacts

International drought monitoring and planning

Visiting scholars

North American Drought Monitor Forum

New primary Dust Bowl source

New additions to online webinar archive

Community Capitals Framework Institute

The Effects Of Radar On Avian Behavior: Implications For Wildlife Management At Airports, Eleanor R. Sheridan

Open Access Theses

Airports are areas with a high availability of resources for wildlife to forage, breed, and roost. Airports also have different types of radars to assist with air traffic control as well as tracking of wildlife that could become a risk for aircraft. The effect of radar electromagnetic radiation on wildlife behavior is not well understood. The goal of this study was to determine if bird behavior is affected by radar in two contexts: static radar (e.g., surveillance radar) and approaching radar (e.g., aircraft weather radar). We used brown-headed cowbirds as a model species. In the static radar context, we performed …