Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Population, Progeny And Power: Analyzing Population Growth, Family Planning And The Factors That Contribute To High Child Bearing Rates In Kizanda Village, Tanzania, Jade Enright

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The population growth rate is reaching an astounding level in Tanzania and Eastern Africa. It is applying increasing pressure on things like social services, land availability, job opportunities, conservation and localized resources. This study looks at the perceptions of both men and women surrounding social and environmental factors contributing to the high population growth rate. It looks more specifically at factors including childbearing, birth control methods and their effectiveness, and how the birth rate correlates with changing quality of life. This study was conducted in Kizanda Village in the West Usambara Mountains of Northern Tanzania, a region following the trend …

Mama Nyani: A Study Of The Correlation Of Behaviors And Habitat In Papio Anubis, Madison Beran

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the population in Tanzania continues to grow more people are in search of jobs. In Northern Tanzania a village named Mto Wa Mbu is conveniently located directly adjacent to Lake Manyara National Park. With its good location and weather for crops, many people have moved there in hopes to earn some money from the 1 million tourists that visit Tanzania per year. As more people move to Mto Wa Mbu the pressure between animals and the people has increased. With the national park directly across the street from housing both animals and people can easily access each other’s homes. …

Stars, Long Fingers, And Signals: A Study On Grass Species Diversity, Density, Frequency, And Veld Analysis At Ndarakwai Wildlife Ranch, Reena Walker, Theresa Schaffner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was the first step to assessing veld quality and grass species diversity at Ndarakwai Wildlife Ranch in West Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in an effort to better inform management decisions that affect grasses and grazers. Our study was performed from April 5 to April 26, 2014. We utilized compass line quadrat method (n=600) in six sub-populations within three sample frames to achieve non-representative, random data set on richness, diversity, frequency, and density, with metadata from which we extrapolated veld indicators through secondary-source knowledge. Across all sample frames, we found 43 specimens: identified 29 to species, 7 to genus, and left …

Bioremediation Of Polluted Zanzibar Seawater: The Nutrient And Bacterial Bioextraction Potential Of Native Seaweeds And Bivalves, Katie Bergman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Stone Town, Zanzibar, increasing populations and insufficient sewage treatment has greatly increased harmful levels of nutrients and anthropogenic-sourced contaminants along the city’s coastal waters. In this study, the nutrient and bacterial bioextractive abilities of local species of bivalves (A. antiquata, P. margaritifera) and seaweeds (E. denticulatum, U. reticulata) were examined in order to determine the potential for these species to remedy the local polluted waters. It was hypothesized that due to bivalves’ suspension-feeding activity, both species of bivalves would be able to decrease turbidity and fecal indicator bacteria (Enterococci) levels in sample polluted …

From Holy To Holistic: Working Towards Integrated Management Of The Bagmati River Corridor, Lauren Platman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Bagmati and its tributaries have been an integral part of the Kathmandu Valley civilization. The river not only became a source of sustenance for the Valley's population but also gained religious-cultural significance. However, rapid urbanization and increasing industrial activities have transformed this once pristine river into an open sewer. Governmental organizations, NGOs, and community members are working towards improving the conditions of the Bagmati River through restoration projects and public awareness campaigns. Because of the large number of actors, collaboration on projects is vital in order to avoid duplication or conflict. After nearly thirty years of failed restoration projects …

Influencias Antropogénicas En El Mantenimiento De Los Senderos En El Género De Hormigas Corta Hojas Atta, Glen Zinck

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Leaf-cutter ants have been shown to rigorously maintain their trunk trails throughout the year and regardless of if they have traffic. The behaviors of this clearing mechanism of the ants has been well-documented with different natural obstacles such as leaves and twigs, yet the comparative energy and time used by the ants with anthropogenic obstacles still remains unknown. In order to determine the differences in time and energy for moving these obstacles, both natural and artificial obstacles were tested in tandem during these trials. I used different sizes of blockers to see if the surface area and weight factored into …

Land Management And Land-Cover Change Have Impacts Of Similar Magnitude On Surface Temperature, Sebastiaan Luyssaert, Mathilde Jammet, Paul C. Stoy, Stephen Estel, Julia Pongratz, Eric Ceschia, Galina Churkina, Axel Don, Karl Heinz Erb, Morgan Ferlicoq, Bert Gielen, Thomas Grünwald, Richard A. Houghton, Katja Klumpp, Alexander Knohl, Thomas Kolb, Tobias Kuemmerle, Tuomas Laurila, Annalea Lohila, Denis Loustau, Matthew J. Mcgrath, Patrick Meyfroidt, Eddy J. Moors, Kim Naudts, Kim Novick, Juliane Otto, Kim Pilegaard, Casimiro A. Pio, Serge Rambal, Corinna Rebmann, James Ryder, Andrew E. Suyker, Andrej Varlagin, Martin Wattenbach, A. Johannes Dolman

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Anthropogenic changes to land cover (LCC) remain common, but continuing land scarcity promotes the widespread intensification of land management changes (LMC) to better satisfy societal demand for food, fibre, fuel and shelter. The biophysical effects of LCC on surface climate are largely understood, particularly for the boreal and tropical zones, but fewer studies have investigated the biophysical consequences of LMC; that is, anthropogenic modification without a change in land cover type. Harmonized analysis of ground measurements and remote sensing observations of both LCC and LMC revealed that, in the temperate zone, potential surface cooling from increased albedo is typically offset …

The Status Of Coastal Birds On Uzi Island: A Coastal Survey Of Birds And Their Interactions With Fishermen And Seaweed Farmers, Anna Curtis-Heald

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Birds are useful environmental indicators and play important roles in the lives of people. A survey of coastal birds was completed around the shores of Uzi Island, Zanzibar. Intertidal flats surveyed at low tide proved to be the most diverse. Mangrove habitat surveyed at high tide was less diverse, yet a mangrove island hosted an abundance of roosting birds.

Although the coastal bird species found on Uzi are of “Least Concern” according to IUCN ratings, conservation of bird habitat, such as mangroves, is a vital step in maintaining biodiversity. Human subjects reported that fishermen and seaweed farmers do not disturb …

Arizona's Vulnerable Populations, Jonathan G.S. Koppell, Warren Prostollo, Jay Kittle, Arlan Colton, Kim Demarchi, Darryl Dobras, Susan Goldsmith, Billie Fidlin, Jim Holoway, Tara Jackson, Rita Maguire, Elizabeth Mcnamee, Patrick Mcwhortor, Ray Newton, Pat Norris, Steve Pedigo, Scott Rhodes, Fred Rosenfed, Chad Sampson, David Snider, Bob Strain, Marissa Theisen, Devan Wastchak, Terri Wogan, Larry Woods, Antonia Adams-Clement, Nina Babich, Andrea Banks, Eric Bjorklund, Luke Black, Luis De La Cruz-Parra, Richard Fabes, Felicia Ganther, Joseph Garcia, Maria Harper-Marinick, Kevin Hengehold, Lane Kenworthy, Julie Knapp, Kelly Mcgowan, Ray Ostos, Kathleen Perales, Suzanne Pfister, Michael S. Shafer, Julia Grace Smith, Ed Strong, Cynthia Zwick

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

Arizona’s vulnerable populations are struggling on a daily basis but usually do so in silence, undetected by traditional radar and rankings, often unaware themselves of their high risk for being pushed or pulled into a full crisis. Ineligible for financial assistance under strict eligibility guidelines, they don’t qualify as poor because vulnerable populations are not yet in full crisis. To be clear, this report is not about the “poor,” at least not in the limited sense of the word. It is about our underemployed wage earners, our single-parent households, our deployed or returning military members, our under-educated and unskilled workforce, …

An Evaluation Of Two Traps And Sets For Trapping The Plains Pocket Gopher, Stephen M. Vantassel, Andrew J. Tyre, Scott E. Hygnstrom

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We investigated the efficiency of DK-1 and Macabee® pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) traps placed in lateral tunnels in both open and closed tunnel sets in rangeland and nonirrigated alfalfa fields in Nebraska. We observed no statistical difference between the traps in capture efficiency when used in open, versus closed, tunnel sets. Trapping of pocket gophers was more effective in rangeland (probability of capture in a single tunnel system using 3 traps; 63%) than nonirrigated alfalfa fields (26%). We did not determine whether this variance was due to behavioral differences between Geomys bursarius and Geomys lutescens. We found that trapping pocket …

Examples Of Non-Noetherian Domains Inside Power Series Rings, William Heinzer, Christel Rotthaus, Sylvia Wiegand

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Given a power series ring R∗ over a Noetherian integral domain R and an intermediate field L between R and the total quotient ring of R∗, the integral domain A = L ∩ R∗ often (but not always) inherits nice properties from R∗ such as the Noetherian property. For certain fields L it is possible to approximate A using a localization B of a particular nested union of polynomial rings over R associated to A; if B is Noetherian, then B = A. If B is not Noetherian, we can sometimes identify the prime ideals of B that are not …

Demographic Survey Of The Sohisika (Schizolaena Tampoketsana) At Ankafobe, Madagascar, James Lucas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Droughtscape, Spring 2014, Kelly Smith

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

Contents

Director’s report

Outlook . 2

Drought climate recap 3

Drought impacts .

DroughtAtlas

Missouri River Basin pilot 9

NASA Horn of Africa project 10

U2U tools and social science . 12

Consulting for Turkey 14

Czech drought monitoring 14

Trouble In Paradise: State Of Coastal Erosion Of Unguja Tourist Destinations Shoreline Analysis And Community Responses Of Nungwi And Paje Beaches, Emily Pitman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Beach erosion is a significant problem facing the coastlines of Zanzibar. This study addresses the current status of coastal erosion for the beaches of Paje and Nungwi, Unguja Island, Zanzibar. These sites were selected for their popularity as tourist destinations and likelihood of significant anthropogenic influence on shoreline change. Field observations were made and indicators of erosion were recorded during transects in both locations. Sediment samples were collected at fixed intervals along the transects and then analyzed statistically for grain size distribution trends at the Institute of Marine Science. Interviews were conducted with village residents to determine community response, and …

Association Of Drd4 Gene Polymorphisms With Range In Species Of The Genus Copsychus, Jocelyn B. Miller

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Invading Fly: Innovative Pest Management Solutions For Control Of Bactrocera Invadens In Pemba, Zanzibar, Mccall Calvert, Lindsay Gucker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

An integrated pest management study was conducted targeting the invasive fruit fly, Bactrocera invadens, on the island of Pemba, Zanzibar. Male annihilation technique (MAT) traps were set in geographically dispersed sites featuring mango fruit hosts. Three locally sourced essential oils,eucalyptus citriodora, clove and lemongrass were tested against the standard attractant methyl eugenol. Rainfall quantities at each site were collected and interviews with local farmers were conducted on the subject of B. invadens infestation and management. Over the course of the two week study, April 2^nd to April 18^th, 2014, methyl eugenol baited traps had an …

Trail Degradation In Parque Internacional La Amistad: An Intersection Of Design, Management And Use, Jordan Stark

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

National parks are created and used for a variety of purposes but are primarily important for the conservation of natural resources and use by visitors. While park use is meant to be non-destructive, human interaction causes changes in ecosystems, leading to conflicts between these goals. Here, I examine the causes of trail degradation and impacts on surrounding forests in Parque Internacional la Amistad (PILA), Panama. This park is a world heritage site with the primary goal of preserving some of the world’s most diverse ecosystems including rare and endangered species. However, the park entrance in Las Nubes, Cerro Punta receives …

New Statistical Methods For Analysis Of Historical Data From Wildlife Populations, Trevor Hefley

Department of Statistics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wildlife biologists, many times with the help of ordinary citizens, have developed and maintained long-term datasets for monitoring the status of wildlife populations. These datasets can range from a collection of citizen-reported sightings of a rare species, to datasets collected by biologists using standardized methods. The commonality is that these datasets span a temporal and spatial scale that is beyond the scope of most scientific studies. Ensuring the continued persistence of wildlife populations requires predictions of the impact of human actions. Regardless if the predictions are quantitative or qualitative, the best we can do is use the past data to …

Coastal And Ocean Economic Summaries Of The Coastal States 2014, Pat Johnston

Publications

The following summaries of the ocean and coastal economies were prepared by the National Ocean Economics Program as a companion the State of the U.S. Ocean and Coastal Economies 2014. The U.S. report, its appendices, and these state summary reports are available on the NOEP website at www.OceanEconomics.org/download.

Productivity And Carbon Dioxide Exchange Of Leguminous Crops: Estimates From Flux Tower Measurements, Tagir Gilmanov, John M. Baker, Carl J. Bernacchi, David P. Billesbach, George G. Burba, Saulo Castro, Jiquan Chen, Werner Eugster, Marc L. Fischer, John A. Gamon, Maheteme T. Gebremedhin, Aaron J. Glenn, Timothy J. Griffis, Jerry L. Hatfield, Mark W. Heuer, Daniel M. Howard, Monique Y. Leclerc, Henry W. Loescher, Oliver Marloie, Tilden P. Meyers, Albert Olioso, Rebecca L. Phillips, John H. Prueger, R. Howard Skinner, Andrew E. Suyker, Mario Tenuta, Bruce K. Wylie

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Net CO₂ exchange data of legume crops at 17 flux tower sites in North America and three sites in Europe representing 29 site-years of measurements were partitioned into gross photosynthesis and ecosystem respiration by using the nonrectangular hyperbolic lightresponse function method. The analyses produced net CO₂ exchange data and new ecosystem-scale ecophysiological parameter estimates for legume crops determined at diurnal and weekly time steps. Dynamics and annual totals of gross photosynthesis, ecosystem respiration, and net ecosystem production were calculated by gap filling with multivariate nonlinear regression. Comparison with the data from grain crops obtained with the same method …

Quantifying And Modeling Stream–Aquifer Interactions In The Elkhorn River Basin, Nebraska, Can Liu

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

This study combined statistical analyses, field investigations and numerical groundwater flow modeling to quantify the connectivity between the Elkhorn River and its adjacent aquifers in Nebraska. The Mann-Kendall trend tests were conducted to detect increasing or decreasing tendencies on the time series data of streamflow, which were collected from eighteen gauging stations in the Elkhorn River and its tributaries. Decreasing trends were not found in the annual streamflow data.

Field investigation of streambed hydraulic properties was performed in the Elkhorn River near Winslow and Norfolk. Vertical hydraulic conductivities (K_v) of the shallow streambed sediments were obtained by …

Slides: Thoughts On Regulatory Mechanisms For Natural Resource Development: Alternatives To Command And Control, Including A Look At Open Source Approaches, Stanley Dempsey

Natural Resource Industries and the Sustainability Challenge (Martz Winter Symposium, February 27-28)

Presenter: Stanley Dempsey, Chairman, Royal Gold

17 slides

Agenda: Natural Resource Industries And The Sustainability Challenge, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, University Of Colorado Boulder. The Colorado Law Energy Innovation Initiative

Natural Resource Industries and the Sustainability Challenge (Martz Winter Symposium, February 27-28)

"An International Conference hosted by The Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment and The Colorado Law Energy Innovation Initiative."

For more than two decades, sustainability has gained currency as a broad organizing principle for efforts to develop and use energy, natural resources, and the environment in ways that allow society to meet its needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. More recently, sustainability has been embraced by businesses across multiple sectors as part of a broader movement of corporate social responsibility. Hardly a day goes by without news of another corporate initiative …

Slides: Comments Of Jeff Bingaman, Jeff Bingaman

Natural Resource Industries and the Sustainability Challenge (Martz Winter Symposium, February 27-28)

Presenter: Jeff Bingaman, former Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and U.S. Senator from New Mexico

6 slides

Study Of Dockage In Gloucester’S Designated Port Area: Summary, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

The Urban Harbors Institute (UHI), University of Massachusetts Boston assisted the Gloucester Fisheries Commission to conduct a study of commercial dockage in Gloucester Inner Harbor. The study presents a review of existing conditions and expected needs to serve as the basis for the Fisheries Commission to formulate recommendations for ensuring sufficient commercial dockage to support the future fishery. Strategies for the future Gloucester fisheries include measures to increase landings of groundfish, landings of alternative species, and value-added processing.

The Dockage Subcommittee of the Fisheries Commission was instrumental to the study, meeting periodically to guide the process, reviewing progress, and providing …

Stochastic Models To Generate Geospatial-, Temporal-, And Cross-Correlated Daily Maximum And Minimum Temperatures, Guillermo A. Baigorria

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Weather generators are tools used to downscale monthly to seasonal climate forecasts, from numerical climate models to daily values for use as inputs for crop and other environmental models. One main limitation of most of weather generators is that they do not incorporate neither the spatial/temporal correlations between/within sites nor the cross-correlations between variables, characteristics specially important when aggregating, for example, simulated crop yields, freeze events, or heat waves in a watershed or region.Three models were developed to generate realization of daily maximum and minimum temperatures for multiple sites. The first model incorporates only spatial correlation, whereas temporal correlation using …

The Value Of Conservation Easements: An Analysis Of The Effects Of Conservation Easements On Property Values In Central Vermont., Jonathan Decker

Capstone Collection

This capstone research aims to explore the possibilities of an association between changes in the fair market value of landed properties and their proximity to land parcels containing conservation easements. The study attempts to provide a greater understanding of how conservation easements provide benefits to Vermont municipalities. These benefits are described as ecosystem services, and their value was proxied by increases in the fair market value of transferred real-estate located within two distinct radiuses of the conserved land.

The study focuses on two specific properties located in the towns of Marshfield and East Montpelier. For each town, four separate datasets …

Phylogeny And Population Genetics Of The Endangered Dwarf Bear-Poppy, Arctomecon Humilis Coville (Papaveraceae) Using Microsatellite Markers, Joshua Simpson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The genus Arctomecon (Papaveraceae) is comprised of three narrowly endemic rare species that are largely restricted to gypsum soils of the eastern Mojave Desert. The small, remaining populations of these species have become increasingly isolated by urban development and habitat fragmentation. Arctomecon humilis is federally listed as endangered due to its limited distribution within a ~15 km radius of an actively expanding city. Organizations involved with land management and conservation have called for greater insight into the genetic variation and population structure of the remaining subpopulations as they make important decisions regarding where to focus their efforts and resources.

The …

Magnitude Of The Freshwater Turtle Exports From The Us: Long Term Trends And Early Effects Of Newly Implemented Harvest Management Regimes., Ivana Mali, Michael W. Vandewege, Scott K. Davis, Michael R.J. Forstner

CALS Publications

Unregulated commercial harvest remains a major threat for turtles across the globe. Due to continuing demand from Asian markets, a significant number of turtles are exported from the United States of America (US). Beginning in 2007, several southeastern states in the US implemented restrictions on the commercial harvest of turtles, in order to address the unsustainable take. We have summarized freshwater turtle exports from the US between 2002 and 2012 and demonstrated that the magnitude of turtle exports from the US remained high although the exports decreased throughout the decade. Louisiana and California were the major exporters. The majority of …

Estimating Temperature Fields From Modis Land Surface Temperature And Air Temperature Observations In A Sub-Arctic Alpine Environment, Scott N. Williamson, David S. Hik, John A. Gamon, Jeffrey L. Kavanaugh, Gwenn E. Flowers

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Spatially continuous satellite infrared temperature measurements are essential for understanding the consequences and drivers of change, at local and regional scales, especially in northern and alpine environments dominated by a complex cryosphere where in situ observations are scarce. We describe two methods for producing daily temperature fields using MODIS ―clear-sky‖ day-time Land Surface Temperatures (LST). The Interpolated Curve Mean Daily Surface Temperature (ICM) method, interpolates single daytime Terra LST values to daily means using the coincident diurnal air temperature curves. The second method calculates daily mean LST from daily maximum and minimum LST (MMM) values from MODIS Aqua and Terra. …