Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Changes In Students’ Mental Models From Computational Modeling Of Gene Regulatory Networks, Joseph Dauer, Heather E. Bergan-Roller, Gretchen P. King, Mckenzie Kjose, Nicholas J. Galt, Tomáš Helikar

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background: Computational modeling is an increasingly common practice for disciplinary experts and therefore necessitates integration into science curricula. Computational models afford an opportunity for students to investigate the dynamics of biological systems, but there is significant gap in our knowledge of how these activities impact student knowledge of the structures, relationships, and dynamics of the system. We investigated how a computational modeling activity affected introductory biology students’ mental models of a prokaryotic gene regulatory system (lac operon) by analyzing conceptual models created before and after the activity.

Results: Students’ pre-lesson conceptual models consisted of provided, system-general structures (e.g., activator, repressor) …

Isotope Summary Data, Andrew Kulmatiski

Browse all Datasets

Data includes deuterium tracer uptake data from plant species at the US Sheep Experiment Station.

Food Habits Of Coyotes (Canis Latrans) In The Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico, Suzanne J. Gifford, Eric M. Gese, Robert R. Parmenter

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife managers needed to understand coyote (Canis latrans) ecology in order to develop management plans on the nascent Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico. Managers concerned about low elk (Cervus elaphus) recruitment had observed an increase in sightings of coyotes and observations of coyote predation on elk calves. Our objective was to identify and quantify coyote diet, and assess the temporal variation in coyote diet on the Valles Caldera National Preserve, particularly as related to elk calf consumption. We examined coyote food habits using 1,385 scats analyzed monthly from May 2005 to November 2008. …

Retrospective Tillage Differentiation Using The Landsat-5 Tm Archive With Discriminant Analysis, Sonisa Sharma, Kundan Dhakal, Pradeep Wagle, Ayse Kilie

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Accurate and site-specific information on tillage practice is vital to understand the impacts of crop management on water quality, soil conservation, and soil carbon sequestration. Remote sensing is a cost-effective technique for surveillance and rapid assessment of tillage practice over large areas. A new empirical approach for accurately predicting tillage class using discriminant analysis (DA) on historical multitemporal Landsat-TM 5 imagery has been developed. Ground truth data were obtained from the USDA-NRCS at 48 locations (20 conventional till [CT] and 28 conservation tillage or no-till [NT]). Classification accuracies were obtained for the DA models using reflectance values of Landsat-5 TM …

Satellite-Based Decadal Change Assessments Of Pan-Arctic Environments, Liza K. Jenkins, Tom Barry, Karl R. Bosse, William S. Currie, Tom Christensen, Sara Longan, Robert A. Shuchman, Danielle Tanzer, Jason J. Taylor

United States National Park Service: Publications

Remote sensing can advance the work of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program through monitoring of satellite-derived terrestrial and marine physical and ecological variables. Standardized data facilitate an unbiased comparison across variables and environments. Using MODIS standard products of land surface temperature, percent snow-covered area, NDVI, EVI, phenology, burned area, marine chlorophyll, CDOM, sea surface temperature, and marine primary productivity, significant trends were observed in almost all variables between 2000 and 2017. Analysis of seasonal data revealed significant breakpoints in temporal trends. Within the terrestrial environment, data showed significant increasing trends in land surface temperature and NDVI. In the marine environment, …

Comparison Of Extraction Methods For Recovering Ancient Microbial Dna From Paleofeces, Richard Hagan, Courtney A. Hofman, Alexander Hübner, Karl Reinhard, Stephanie Schnorr, Cecil M. Lewis, Jr., Krithivasan Sankaranarayanan, Christina G. Warinner

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Objectives: Paleofeces are valuable to archeologists and evolutionary biologists for their potential to yield health, dietary, and host information. As a rich source of preserved biomolecules from host-associated microorganisms, they can also provide insights into the recent evolution and changing ecology of the gut microbiome. How- ever, there is currently no standard method for DNA extraction from paleofeces, which combine the dual challenges of complex biological composition and degraded DNA. Due to the scarcity and relatively poor preservation of paleofeces when compared with other archeological remains, it is important to use efficient methods that maximize ancient DNA (aDNA) recovery while …

Impact Of The Human Footprint On Anthropogenic Mortality Of North American Reptiles, Jacob E. Hill, Travis L. Devault, Jerrold L. Belant

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Human activities frequently result in reptile mortality, but how direct anthropogenic mortality compares to natural morality has not been thoroughly investigated. There has also been a limited examination of how anthropogenic reptile mortality changes as a function of the human footprint. We conducted a synthesis of causespecific North American reptile mortality studies based on telemetry, documenting 550 mortalities of known cause among 2461 monitored individuals in 57 studies. Overall 78% of mortality was the result of direct natural causes, whereas 22% was directly caused by humans. The single largest source of mortality was predation, accounting for 62% of mortality overall. …

Understanding Factors Related To Undergraduate Student Decision-Making About A Complex Socio-Scientific Issue: Mountain Lion Management, Ashley Alred, Jenny Dauer

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We outline an instructional strategy for supporting students’ science literacy skills using a structured decision-making tool in an interdisciplinary undergraduate course. Instructional tools support basing complex socioscientific issues decisions on a reasoned analysis of tradeoffs among multiple conflicting values rather than heuristics, such as social norms. We explored the factors related to students’ decision-making about mountain lion management by examining if students’ value orientations, identity, or knowledge predicted their management decisions before, during, and after engaging in structured decision-making where they performed a tradeoffs analysis. We found that student decision-making may align more closely to students’ value orientations and identity …

Effect Of Foliar Spray Application Of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles On Quantitative, Nutritional, And Physiological Parameters Of Foxtail Millet (Setaria Italica L.) Under Field Conditions, Marek Kolenčík, Dávid Ernst, Matej Komár, Martin Šebesta, Martin Urík, Edmund Dobročka, Ivan Černý, Ramakanth Illa, Raghavendra Kanike, Qian Yu, Huan Feng, Denisa Orlová, Gabriela Kratošová

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

It has been shown that the foliar application of inorganic nano-materials on cereal plants during their growth cycle enhances the rate of plant productivity by providing a micro-nutrient source. We therefore studied the effects of foliarly applied ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on Setaria italica L. foxtail millet’s quantitative, nutritional, and physiological parameters. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the ZnO NPs have an average particle size under 20 nm and dominant spherically shaped morphology. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry then confirmed ZnO NP homogeneity, and X-ray diffraction verified their high crystalline and wurtzite-structure symmetry. Although plant height, thousand grain weight, and grain …

Consolidated Climate Markets Mechanism Analysis—Case Studies Of China, Japan, And Taiwan, Jules Chuang, Hsing-Lung Lien, Akemi Kokubo Roche, Pei-Hsuan Liao, Walter Den

Water Resources Science and Technology Faculty Publications (Archived)

The post-Kyoto Protocol era has seen a transition to focus on the development of a renewable energy (RE) market as a primary instrument to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. This paper analyses the development of GHG reduction and RE market in China, Japan, and Taiwan that are geographically proximate but socioeconomically diverse, and each plays a different but significant role in the world’s economy. By deploying a consolidated model incorporating the key components of market drivers underlying the goal of achieving GHG reduction, we threaded through the policy- and market-instruments implemented for each of the case studies over the …

Vegetation Classification And Mapping, Niobrara National Scenic River, Tom Baldvins, Matt Ley, Joe Stevens, David Jones, Hannah Pilkington

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The vegetation inventory project at Niobrara National Scenic River (NIOB) classified and mapped vegetation within the park administrative boundary and estimated thematic map accuracy quantitatively. The project was conducted over a four year period from the summer of 2015 to the winter of 2019. Located in north-central Nebraska, approximately 76 miles of the park is designated as a wild and scenic river. The vast majority of land within the NIOB administrative boundary is private or state-owned.

The project follows guidance provided by the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program. The overall process includes initial planning …

Natural Resource Condition Assessment, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, David S. Jones, Roy Cook, John Sovell, Christopher Herron, Jay Benner, Karin Decker, Andrew Beavers, Johannes Beebee, David Weinzimmer, Rob Schorr

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

The National Park Service (NPS) Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) Program administered by the NPS Water Resources Division evaluates current conditions for important natural resources and resource indicators using primarily existing information and data. NRCAs also report on trends in resource condition when possible, identify critical data gaps, and characterize a general level of confidence for study findings. This NRCA complements historic resource assessments, is multi-disciplinary in scope, employs a hierarchical indicator framework, identifies and develops reference conditions/values for comparison against current conditions, and emphasizes spatial evaluation of conditions and GIS products.

Created in 1996, Tallgrass Prairie National …

Forum: Critical Decision Dates For Drought Management In Centraland Northern Great Plains Rangeland, Alexander J. Smart, Keith Harmoney, J. Derek Scasta, Mitchell B. Stephenson, Jerry D. Volesky, Lance T. Vermeire, Jeffrey C. Mosley, Kevin Sedivec, Miranda Meehan, Tonya Haigh, Justin D. Derner, Mitchel P. Mcclaran

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Ranchers and other land managers of central and northern Great Plains rangelands face recurrent droughts that negatively influence economic returns and environmental resources for ranching enterprises. Accurately estimating annual forage production and initiating drought decision-making actions proactively early in the growing season are both critical to minimize financial losses and degradation to rangeland soil and plant resources. Long-term forage production data sets from Alberta, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming demonstrated that precipitation in April, May, and June (or some combination of these months) robustly predict annual forage production. Growth curves from clipping experiments and ecological site …

Rabies Surveillance Identifies Potential Risk Corridors And Enables Management Evaluation, Amy J. Davis, Kathleen M. Nelson, Jordana D. Kirby, Ryan M. Wallace, Xiaoyue Ma, Kim M. Pepin, Richard B. Chipman, Amy Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Intensive efforts are being made to eliminate the raccoon variant of rabies virus (RABV) from the eastern United States and Canada. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services National Rabies Management Program has implemented enhanced rabies surveillance (ERS) to improve case detection across the extent of the raccoon oral rabies vaccination (ORV) management area. We evaluated ERS and public health surveillance data from 2006 to 2017 in three northeastern USA states using a dynamic occupancy modeling approach. Our objectives were to examine potential risk corridors for RABV incursion from the U.S. into Canada, evaluate the effectiveness of ORV …

Data Of Soil, Vegetation And Bird Species Found On Double-Crested Cormorant Colonies In The Southeastern United States, Leah Moran Veum, Brian S. Dorr, Katie Hanson-Dorr, R. J. Moore, Scott A. Rush

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

This data article provides the methods and procedures followed to collect and analyse soil, vegetation and bird data on three different treatment islands in Guntersville Reservoir, Alabama. Samples were collected from randomly selected plot points from islands that were placed into three different treatment types: Colony (currently occupied by Double-crested Cormorants) (Phalacrocorax auritus; n 1⁄4 5), Historic (historically occupied by cormorants and currently abandoned; n 1⁄4 3) and Reference (never occupied by cormorants; n 1⁄4 4). We compared vegetation and tree metrics such as structure and diversity, as well as soil chemistry and bird diversity and communities among islands within …

Relationships Between Soil Macroinvertebrates And Nonnative Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) In Hawaiian Tropical Montane Wet Forests, Nathaniel H. Wehr, Creighton M. Litton, Noa K. Lincoln, Steven C. Hess

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract Nonnative feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are recognized throughout the New World as a highly significant introduced species in terms of ecosystem alteration. Similarly, nonnative soil macroinvertebrates (e.g. earthworms, ground beetles) invade and alter the structure and function of native habitats globally. However, the relationship between feral pigs and soil macroinvertebrates remains largely unknown. This study analyzed relationships between these taxa using nine sites located inside and outside of feral pig management units representing a * 25 year chronosequence of removal in tropical montane wet forests in Hawai‘i. Soil macroinvertebrates were sampled from plots categorized as: actively trampled by feral …

The Wood Pellet Industry In The United States South: An Exploratory Study Of Resident Environmental, Social, And Economic Perceptions, Mason Thomas Leblanc

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis research provides insight into the wood pellet manufacturing industry from the perspectives of residents in the US South, focusing on environmental, social, and economic constructs. The region is the largest producer and exporter of wood pellets in the world. The focus of previous research on wood pellets has focused on environmental, energy, and economic attributes. This study is the first of its kind to expand the research to investigate in-depth socio-economic dynamics and fill a general gap in knowledge of the relationship between the wood pellet industry and public supply-side issues in the region. Two rounds of a …

Investing In The New Blue Economy: The Changing Role Of International Development Organizations In Catalyzing Private Sector Investment In Support Of Regional Strategic Action Programmes For The Sustainable Development Of Coasts And Oceans, Ryan Whisnant, Veerle Vandeweerd

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Over the last 20 years, governments sharing common coastal and ocean ecosystems have developed and agreed on concrete regional action programs to stop and, in some cases, reverse a trend of deteriorating coastal and ocean resources. Implementation of these action programs requires significant investments by the public and private sectors alike, with the potential for substantial economic growth and enhanced social well-being. For this to happen, new institutional arrangements, technologies, and financial vehicles and asset classes are needed to mainstream innovative “blue economy” projects that have the potential to transition economies and communities to more sustainable development paths.

This paper …

Reproductive Parameters And Female Breeding Season Survival Of Rio Grande Wild Turkeys In South Central Texas, Jacob White

LSU Master's Theses

Historically, Rio Grande wild turkeys in south central Texas have been at lower densities than other portions of the state. Within the Oak-Prairie Wildlife District of Texas, Rio Grande wild turkey regulatory restrictions are different for counties in the eastern and western portions of the ecoregion. Due to perceived increases in turkey density in the eastern portion of the ecoregion (hereafter 1-bird zone), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) considered increasing the bag limit to match counties in the western portion of the district (hereafter 4-bird zone) in order to increase hunting opportunities. However, if regulatory changes are to be …

Robust Observations Of Land-To-Atmosphere Feedbacks Using The Information Flows Of Fluxnet, Tobias Gerken, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Rong Yu, Paul C. Stoy, Darren T. Drewry

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Feedbacks between atmospheric processes like precipitation and land surface fluxes including evapotranspiration are difficult to observe, but critical for understanding the role of the land surface in the Earth System. To quantify global surface-atmosphere feedbacks we use results of a process network (PN) applied to 251 eddy covariance sites from the LaThuile database to train a neural network across the global terrestrial surface. There is a strong land–atmosphere coupling between latent (LE) and sensible heat flux (H) and precipitation (P) during summer months in temperate regions, and between H and P during winter, whereas tropical rainforests show little coupling seasonality. …

The Development And Application Of Functions Describing Pasture Yield Responses To Phosphorus, Potassium And Sulfur In Australia Using Meta-Data Analysis And Derived Soil-Test Calibration Relationships, Cameron J P Gourley, David Weaver, Richard J. Simpson, Sharon R. Aarons, Murray M. Hannah, Ken I. Peverill

Natural Resources Research Articles

An improved ability to predict pasture dry matter (DM) yield response to applied phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and sulfur (S) is a crucial step in determining the production and economic benefits of fertiliser inputs and the environmental benefits associated with efficient nutrient use. The adoption and application of soil testing can make substantial improvements to nutrient use efficiency, but soil test interpretation needs to be based on the best available and most relevant experimental data. This paper reports on the development of improved national and regionally specific soil test–pasture yield response functions and critical soil test P, K and S …

Resilience Reconciled, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Brian C. Chaffin, Dirac Twidwell, Ahjond Garmestani

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Resilience scholarship continues to inspire opaque discourse and competing frameworks often inconsistent with the complexity inherent in social–ecological systems. We contend that competing conceptualizations of resilience are reconcilable, and that the core theory is useful for navigating sustainability challenges.

Resilience as a scientific concept exploded in the early 2000s and is now being adopted by a range of disciplines and by a wide diversity of actors, from city planners to networks of global protectedarea managers. Resilience concepts are now integrated within national and international calls for proposals, research initiatives and centres in both the biophysical and social sciences. However, resilience …

Drought Early Warning And The Timing Of Range Managers’ Drought Response, Tonya R. Haigh, Jason A. Otkin, Anthony Mucia, Michael Hayes, Mark E. Burbach

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

'e connection between drought early warning information and the timing of rangeland managers’ response actions is not well understood. 'is study investigates U.S. Northern Plains range and livestock managers’ decision-making in response to the 2016 flash drought, by means of a postdrought survey of agricultural landowners and using the Protective Action Decision Model theoretical framework. 'e study found that managers acted in response to environmental cues, but that their responses were significantly delayed compared to when drought conditions emerged. External warnings did not influence the timing of their decisions, though on-farm monitoring and assessment of conditions did. 'ough this case …

The Tail Wagging The Dog: Positive Attitude Towards Livestock Guarding Dogs Do Not Mitigate Pastoralists’ Opinions Of Wolves Or Grizzly Bears, Daniel Kinka, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

While the re-establishment of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and wolves (Canis lupus) in the American West marks a success for conservation, it has been contentious among pastoralists. Coincidentally, livestock guarding dogs (LGDs; Canis familiaris) have been widely adopted by producers of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) in the United States to mitigate livestock depredation by wild carnivores. We surveyed pastoralists to measure how experience with and attitudes towards LGDs related to attitudes towards livestock predators, and found positive responses regarding LGDs and negative responses regarding wolves and grizzly bears. The more respondents agreed that LGDs reduce the need for lethal management …

Avian Taxonomic And Functional Diversity In Early Stage Of Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris) Stands Restored At Agricultural Lands: Variations In Scale Dependency, Myung-Bok Lee, Brian J. Gates, Robert J. Cooper, John P. Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

In agricultural landscapes, the Longleaf Pine Initiative (LLPI) and the Bobwhite Quail Initiative (BQI) aim to restore longleaf pine forests and early successional habitats, respectively. The early stage of longleaf pine stands and grass and forb vegetation produced by a combination of both restoration programs (LLPI-BQI) may form habitat conditions favorable to early successional bird species and other birds, increasing avian diversity. We investigated how the LLPI and BQI programs affected taxonomic and functional diversity of birds and abundance of early successional birds (grassland and scrub/shrub species), and what environmental characteristics were associated with the diversity and abundance of birds. …

Blue Biotechnology, Renewable Energy, Unconventional Resources And Products As Emerging Frontiers At Sea, Sheikh Aftab Uddin, Mohammad Mahmudul Islam

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Blue biotechnology, renewable energy and unconventional marine living resources are considered as emerging frontiers for enhancing ocean-based blue economy in Bangladesh. Blue biotechnology can help both fisheries and aquaculture industry by producing fish varieties that can become quicker, more beneficial, and greater with tastier flesh, by developing gene transfer technology to be used to develop the growth of fish or by using of monoclonal antibodies and DNA probes to new diagnostic strategies for pathogens. Transformation of marine bioresources (main, co-product and by-products) into food, medicine, animal feed and related bio-based items i.e. cosmetics, nutritional supplements, enzymes, agrichemicals etc could help …

Juvenile Hawksbill Residency And Habitat Use Within A Caribbean Marine Protected Area, Thomas H. Selby, Kristen M. Hart, Brian J. Smith, Clayton G. Pollock, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Madan K. Oli

United States National Park Service: Publications

Understanding the spatial ecology of highly mobile marine vertebrates is necessary for informing conservation and management strategies aimed at protecting such species. Buck Island Reef National Monument (BIRNM), off the coast of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, harbors critical foraging habitat for Critically Endangered juvenile hawksbills Eretmochelys imbricata that exhibit high site fidelity until sexual maturation. Using an array of fixed passive acoustic receivers that covered over 20.2 km2 at its largest configuration and in-water biannual sampling, we analyzed residency patterns and habitat use of 29 hawksbills. High recapture rates allowed for long- term data collection for some individuals, with …

Untapped Capacity For Resilience In Environmental Law, Ahjond Garmestani, J. B. Ruhl, Brian C. Chaffin, Robin K. Craig, Helena F.M.W. Van Rijswick, David G. Angeler, Carl Folke, Lance Gunderson, Dirac Twidwell, Craig R. Allen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Over the past several decades, environmental governance has made substantial progress in addressing environmental change, but emerging environmental problems require new innovations in law, policy, and governance. While expansive legal reform is unlikely to occur soon, there is untapped potential in existing laws to address environmental change, both by leveraging adaptive and transformative capacities within the law itself to enhance socialecological resilience and by using those laws to allow socialecological systems to adapt and transform. Legal and policy research to date has largely overlooked this potential, even though it offers a more expedient approach to addressing environmental change than waiting …

The Changing Role Of Rodenticides And Their Alternatives In The Management Of Commensal Rodents, Gary Witmer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rodents cause substantial damage and losses of foodstuffs around the world. They also transmit many diseases to humans and livestock. While various methods are used to reduce damage caused by rodents, rodenticides remain an important tool in the toolbox. However, like all tools, rodenticides have advantages and disadvantages. Several considerations are shaping the future of rodenticide use, including manufacturing and registration costs, concern about toxicity levels and nontarget animal hazards, potential hazards to children, reduced effectiveness of some formulations, and humaneness to the targeted rodents. Many of these disadvantages apply to anticoagulant rodenticides, and their use is being more restricted …

Student Support Program Outputs, Outcomes And Impacts Report

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Administrative Materials

The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) inititated its Postdoctoral and Student Support Programs in 2014. The following details their achievements.

Round One -- The institute first provided undergraduate, graduate student and postdoctoral support to faculty who were selected following a call for proposals in 2014. Support was awarded for two postdocs, five graduate students, and two projects with undergraduate students. By FY19 a small amount of support continues for Francisco Munoz-Arriola’s program. Outputs include presentations, grants and publications. The other faculty who have received support are: Vijendra Boken, UNK Geography & Earth Science; Carrick Detweiler, UNL …