Sustainability Commons^™

The Effect Of Soil Ph On The Integument Of Western Tiger Salamanders, Aaron Devine, Dennis M. Ferraro

UCARE: Research Products

This study was done in an effort to better understand the multifaceted issues in amphibian decline, specifically within the eastern regions of Nebraska, to determine whether or not human-induced acid rain contributed to the decline. This is a heavily important topic of research as amphibians worldwide are declining related to many issues that stem from climate change and several other environmental issues of that nature. This study looked to use acidic pH within soil from western Nebraska to determine the reactionary impacts (primarily lesions) the western tiger salamander had after being subjected to it. It was found that pH did …

Ecosystem Services In Managing Residential Landscapes: Priorities, Value Dimensions, And Cross-Regional Patterns, Kelli L. Larson, Jennifer L. Morse, Peter M. Groffman, Neil D. Bettez, Tara Trammell

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although ecosystem services have been intensively examined in certain domains (e.g., forests and wetlands), little research has assessed ecosystem services for the most dominant landscape type in urban ecosystems—namely, residential yards. In this paper, we report findings of a cross-site survey of homeowners in six U.S. cities to 1) examine how residents subjectively value various ecosystem services, 2) explore distinctive dimensions of those values, and 3) test the urban homogenization hypothesis. This hypothesis posits that urbanization leads to similarities in the social-ecological dynamics across cities in diverse biomes. By extension, the thesis suggests that residents’ ecosystem service priorities for residential …

Success Stories And Emerging Themes In Conservation Physiology, Christine L. Madliger, Steven J. Cooke, Erica J. Crespi, Jennifer L. Funk, Kevin R. Hultine, Kathleen E. Hunt, Jason R. Rohr, Brent J. Sinclair, Cory D. Suski, Craig K. R. Willis, Oliver P. Love

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The potential benefits of physiology for conservation are well established and include greater specificity of management techniques, determination of cause–effect relationships, increased sensitivity of health and disturbance monitoring and greater capacity for predicting future change. While descriptions of the specific avenues in which conservation and physiology can be integrated are readily available and important to the continuing expansion of the discipline of ‘conservation physiology’, to date there has been no assessment of how the field has specifically contributed to conservation success. However, the goal of conservation physiology is to foster conservation solutions and it is therefore important to assess whether …

Assessing The Cost Of Global Biodiversity And Conservation Knowledge, Diego Juffe-Bignoli, Thomas M. Brooks, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Richard B. Jenkins, Kaia Boe, Michael Hoffman, Ariadne Angulo, Steve Bachman, Monica Böhm, Neil Brummitt, Kent E. Carpenter

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Knowledge products comprise assessments of authoritative information supported by standards, governance, quality control, data, tools, and capacity building mechanisms. Considerable resources are dedicated to developing and maintaining knowledge products for biodiversity conservation, and they are widely used to inform policy and advise decision makers and practitioners. However, the financial cost of delivering this information is largely undocumented. We evaluated the costs and funding sources for developing and maintaining four global biodiversity and conservation knowledge products: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, Protected Planet, and the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas. These are …

Effects Of Epichloë Coenophiala−Tall Fescue Symbiosis On Plant-Microbe-Soil Interactions In A Temperate Pasture, Lindsey C. Slaughter

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Plants interact in myriad ways with microorganisms to influence ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, which can regulate ecosystem response to global change. One important plant-microbe symbiosis occurs between cool-season grasses and asexual fungal Epichloë endophytes, such as tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus) and Epichloë coenophiala. Because the common toxic strain of the endophyte (CTE) harms grazing livestock, non-livestock toxic endophyte (NTE) strains have been developed and are increasingly deployed in pastures. Little is known about how these symbioses impact other plant-microbe interactions and microbe-mediated soil processes in grassland ecosystems. I conducted three studies to determine how E. …

Juvenile Survival And Adult Return As A Function Of Freshwater Rearing Life History For Coho Salmon In The Klamath River Basin, Molly Gorman

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Scott and Shasta rivers, Klamath River tributaries, experience spatial disparity in habitat quality in spring and summer as a result of historical and current land-use. Juvenile Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) born in the upper tributary reaches often rear in natal streams before migrating to sea. However, those born in the lower reaches often encounter unsuitable habitat and emigrate during their first spring to seek non-natal rearing habitats. It is assumed that these early outmigrants are population losses. This study evaluated first-summer survival, and contribution to the adult population, of non-natal rearing juveniles in the Klamath River Basin. …

Ecoscience + Art Initiative: Designing A New Paradigm For College Education, Scholarship, And Service, Changwoo Ahn

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

The paper presents a new initiative, EcoScience + Art, which blooms at George Mason University. The creator explains the background, history, and recent activities of the initiative, and also introduces an on-going special project called “The Rain Project”, a student participatory project to design, construct, and monitor a green infrastructure (i.e., floating wetland) for sustainable stormwater management on campus. The special project is geared to design and present a new paradigm to integrate college education, scholarship, and service. The relevance of the initiative and the special project to STEAM education is discussed.

Insomniac Of The Soil: A Collection Of Poetry And Essays, Sarah E. Golibart

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

“Insomniac of the Soil” is a homage to a landscape that has deeply informed Sarah Golibart's life and her artistic voice – the tidewater flatlands of Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay peninsula where her family lives and where Golibart has worked on farms since high school. Both her poems and essays are earthy, imagistic, and grounded – quite literally – in the soil as well as in a sensibility of ecological ethics and sustainability. “Insomniac of the Soil” is also a love song to the fervent and fallow cycles of the soil.

Fisheries Management Paper No.273 - Blue Swimmer Crab Resource Of The Peel-Harvey Estuary Harvest Strategy, 2015-2020. Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

Harvest strategies for aquatic resources managed by the Western Australian Department of Fisheries (the Department) are formal documents prepared to support the decision-making processes required to ensure the management of these resources are consistent with the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). The objectives of ESD are reflected in the objects of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA), Section 3, and the draft Aquatic Resources Management Bill 2013 (ARMB), Clause 9, which will replace the FRMA once enacted.

The publication of these strategies is intended to make the decision-making considerations and processes for the management of specified aquatic resources …

Growth Of A Deep-Water, Predatory Fish Is Influenced By The Productivity Of A Boundary Current System, Hoang Minh Nguyen, Adam N. Rountrey, Jessica J. Meeuwig, Peter G. Coulson, Ming Feng, Stephen J. Newman, Anya M. Waite, Corey B. Wakefield, Mark G. Meekan

Fisheries Research Articles

The effects of climate change on predatory fishes in deep shelf areas are difficult to predict because complex processes may govern food availability and temperature at depth. We characterised the net impact of recent environmental changes on hapuku (Polyprion oxygeneios), an apex predator found in continental slope habitats (>200 m depth) by using dendrochronology techniques to develop a multi-decadal record of growth from otoliths. Fish were sampled off temperate south-western Australia, a region strongly influenced by the Leeuwin Current, a poleward-flowing, eastern boundary current. The common variance among individual growth records was relatively low (3.4%), but the …

Cures Garden Program - Martha Baldwin, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 10: Garden Ecology

No abstract provided.

Provisioning And Its Effects On The Social Interactions Of Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana) At Mt. Huangshan, China, Brianna I. Schnepel

All Master's Theses

The dispersal patterns of food resources has a significant effect on the composition of primate groups and social interactions within those groups. Humans often alter the dispersal of food. Non-humans often use affiliative behaviors to elicit tolerance or support from other group members. I investigated whether provisioned food resources alter the social interactions and group dynamics of Macaca thibetana. All-occurrence sampling and scan sampling were used for data recorded by camera traps. Trail-cameras were placed at six locations that contain natural and human food resources and recorded 60-second videos. Social behavior and proximity of the monkeys were recorded. I …

Fisheries Management Paper No.266 - Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery Bycatch Action Plan 2014-2019. Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

Bycatch is described as the part of the catch which is returned to the sea (usually referred to as non-retained or discarded) either because it has no commercial value or because legislative requirements preclude it being retained. Thus, this Bycatch Action Plan (BAP) includes unmarketable finfish and invertebrate species, along with endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species, such as marine mammals, reptiles and some elasmobranchs.

It is Government policy to minimise bycatch in all commercial fisheries. This BAP details a program of actions to address bycatch issues in the Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery (EGPMF), in accordance with the EGPMF …

Fisheries Management Paper No.265 - Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery Harvest Strategy 2014 - 2019 Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

This fishery-specific harvest strategy has been developed in line with the Department of Fisheries' (Department) over-arching Harvest Strategy Policy for Aquatic Resources (Department of Fisheries in prep.) and in consultation with licensees. The broad scope of the Harvest Strategy Policy for Aquatic Resources is consistent with the National Harvest Strategy Guidelines but as well as considering all retained target species, it also incorporates retained non-target species, bycatch' and other ecological components to ensure the risks to these elements are managed effectively.

The Exmouth Gulf Prawn Managed Fishery (EGPMF) harvest strategy outlines the longand short-term fishery-specific management objectives; a description of …

Beyond Sustainability: A New Conceptual Model, Molly Kerby, Gayle Mallinger

Gender & Women's Studies Faculty Publications

Over the last few decades, the notion of sustainability has become an interdisciplinary buzz word. Sustainability has been an integrative concept that includes three constructs or pillars: a) social; b) economic; and c) ecological. Until recently, theoretical approaches based on the three pillars approach have operated in silos rather than exploring the interconnectedness of the constructs. Few models have moved beyond the idea that logical relations exist among the constructs (social, economic, and ecological) to consider factors external to communities, nor have they examined the internal socio-economic factors that influence positive outcomes. While this conceptualization has raised awareness about the …

Predictors Patterns And Processes Of Extinction Risk In Porgies And Seabreams (Family: Sparidae), Mia Theresa B. Conteros

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

A variety of human-induced changes are having profound impacts on the marine environment, and no area on the planet remains unaffected by the detrimental effects of our activities. These stressors can potentially lead to synergistic effects, causing accelerated biodiversity loss and diminished ecosystem functioning. Identification and understanding of the factors that drive species to heightened risk of extinction are important goals in conservation.

The Sparidae are commercially important and ecologically complex marine fishes; global extinction risk assessments using the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species methodology show that 9% (13 species) have increased vulnerability to population declines from intense fishing …

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 …

Harvest Incentives: A Tool For Managing Aquatic Invasive Species, Bob Wiltshire, Nathan Stone, Marshall Meyers, Bill Hyatt, Lori Williams, Jason Goldberg, Susan Pasko, Leah Elwell

National Invasive Species Council

Conclusion

The success of any harvest incentive program to address aquatic invasive species will depend upon numerous biological, socioeconomic, and legal considerations. Programs that encourage harvest may be a successful management tool in targeting small, distinct populations; in high priority areas within a larger invasion; or they may play a supplementary role within larger control programs. Their use, however, will require careful review, planning, and monitoring to ensure success and that they do not unintentionally lead to further spread of invasive species, cause additional harm to native species, or waste valuable resources.

Water Water Everywhere: Analyzing Long Island's Water Issues And Finding Solutions For A Sustainable Future, Anthony T. Becker

2014 Student Theses

Over three million people call Long Island their home. With access to beautiful landscapes, world-renowned beaches, and proximity to New York City, it is no wonder that so many proudly call this geographic stretch of glacial till their home. However, throughout the years our actions do not necessarily reflect this affection we have to our home. Years of sprawl and human infestation across the island have resulted in widespread environmental degradation. Specifically, the water we drink and the beaches we enjoy have become endangered. I plan on studying the urban ecology of how intensified population growth led to the eutrophication …

Issue Brief: Asset Management For Stormwater, New England Environmental Finance Center, Sustainable Communities Learning Network

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Asset management is a strategic approach to maintaining and sustaining infrastructure in order to meet the needs of the community at the lowest overall life cycle cost. This approach helps communities know how and where to prioritize limited funds in order to achieve the greatest benefit. Often applied to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, this method is well suited to managing any assets, including stormwater systems.

This issue brief is intended to introduce local governments to the asset management process and to show how it can be applied in managing stormwater assets. It was adapted from an appendix written by …

Assessing The Homogenization Of Urban Land Management With An Application To Us Residential Lawn Care, Colin Polsky, J. Morgan Grove, Chris Knudson, Peter M. Groffman, Neil D. Bettez, Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Sharon J. Hall, James B. Heffernan, Sarah E. Hobbie, Kelli L. Larson, Jennifer L. Morse, Christopher Neill, Kristen C. Nelson, Laura A. Ogden, Jarlath O'Neil-Dunne, Diane E. Pataki, Rinku Roy Chowdhury, Meredith K. Steele

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Changes in land use, land cover, and land management present some of the greatest potential global environmental challenges of the 21st century. Urbanization, one of the principal drivers of these transformations, is commonly thought to be generating land changes that are increasingly similar. An implication of this multiscale homogenization hypothesis is that the ecosystem structure and function and human behaviors associated with urbanization should be more similar in certain kinds of urbanized locations across biogeophysical gradients than across urbanization gradients in places with similar biogeophysical characteristics. This paper introduces an analytical framework for testing this hypothesis, and applies the framework …

Identifying Priority Conservation Areas For The American Burying Beetle, Nicrophorus Americanus (Coleoptera: Silphidae), A Habitat Generalist, Jessica D. Jurzenski, Christopher F. Jorgensen, Andy Bishop, Roger Grosse, John Riens, W. Wyatt Hoback

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Conservation efforts leading to the recovery of the federally endangered American burying beetle (ABB), Nicrophorus americanus Olivier, have been challenging because of the unknown causes of its decline, difficulty in establishing habitat requirements, and unclear population distribution across the species’ range. Extant populations of this widespread generalist species occur in broadly separated regions of North America with varying habitat characteristics. A habitat suitability model for ABB in the Nebraska Sandhills was developed over the course of 3 years resulting in a final cross-validated spatial model. The succession of models from 2009 to 2011 indicated that most of the predictive variables …

The Effects Of Angling Pressure On Northern Pike Size Structure, Ryan Carrow

Journal of Earth and Life Science

A number of conditions within a lake system can affect northern pike (Esox lucius) size structure. Of these conditions, the amount of angling pressure may have the biggest effect on the size structure of northern pike in Minnesota lake systems. In this study, five private and five public lakes were chosen near Bemidji, Minnesota. Each lake was fished for twenty angling hours using live northern hog suckers (Hypentelium nigricans) or golden shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas). Total length (mm) and weight (kg) were measured for each northern pike caught. The number of fish houses that were …

Integrating Societal Perspectives And Values For Improved Stewardship Of A Coastal Ecosystem Engineer, Steven B. Scyphers, J. Steven Picou, Robert D. Brumbaugh, Sean P. Powers

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Oyster reefs provide coastal societies with a vast array of ecosystem services, but are also destructively harvested as an economically and culturally important fishery resource, exemplifying a complex social-ecological system (SES). Historically, societal demand for oysters has led to destructive and unsustainable levels of harvest, which coupled with multiple other stressors has placed oyster reefs among the most globally imperiled coastal habitats. However, more recent studies have demonstrated that large-scale restoration is possible and that healthy oyster populations can be sustained with effective governance and stewardship. However, both of these require significant societal support or financial investment. In our study, …

Growth Of Tropical Dasyatid Rays Estimated Using A Multi-Analytical Approach, Owen R. O'Shea, Matias Braccini, Rory Mcauley, Conrad W. Speed, Mark G. Meekan

Fisheries Research Articles

We studied the age and growth of four sympatric stingrays: reticulate whipray, Himanutra uarnak (n=19); blue mask, Neotrygon kuhlii (n=34); cowtail, Pastinachus atrus (n=32) and blue-spotted fantail, Taeniura lymma (n=40) rays at Ningaloo Reef, a fringing coral reef on the north-western coast of western Australia. Age estimates derived from band counts within sectioned vertebrae ranged between 1 and 27 years (H. uarnak, 1 - 25 yrs.; N. kuhlii, 1.5 - 13 yrs.; P. atrus, 1 - 27 yrs. and T. lymma, 1 -11 yrs.). Due to limitations of sample sizes, we combined several analytical methods …

Implications For Soil Microbe Research: Investigations Into The Feasibility Of Dna Amplification From Stained Roots And Temporal Patterns In Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities., Catherine Ausland

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are obligate biotrophs that form symbiotic relationships with 80% of vascular plants around the world. Because of their beneficial relationship with plants in almost all terrestrial ecosystems, the implication of utilizing AM fungi in ecological restorations is immense. The following investigations seek to increase knowledge of the community ecology of AM fungi in order to enhance the potential for use of AM in ecological restoration. The first investigation replicated a novel method of AM visualization in plant roots, utilizing ink and vinegar as less destructive staining agents, to determine whether molecular studies could be feasibly performed …

Gulf-Wide Decreases In The Size Of Large Coastal Sharks Documented By Generations Of Fishermen, Sean P. Powers, F. Joel Frodrie, Steven B. Scyphers, J. Marcus Drymon, Robert L. Shipp, Gregory W. Stunz

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Large sharks are top predators in most coastal and marine ecosystems throughout the world, and evidence of their reduced prominence in marine ecosystems has been a serious concern for fisheries and ecosystem management. Unfortunately, quantitative data to document the extent, timing, and consequences of changes in shark populations are scarce, thwarting examination of long-term (decadal, century) trends, and reconstructions based on incomplete data sets have been the subject of debate. Absence of quantitative descriptors of past ecological conditions is a generic problem facing many fields of science but is particularly troublesome for fisheries scientists who must develop specific targets for …

Comparison Of A Length Size Limit Of Northern Pike Population On Two Lakes In North Central Minnesota, Ethan A. Puttonen

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Fisheries managers use length size limits on northern pike (Esox lucis) to improve the size structure in select lakes. The objective of this study was to compare two similar lakes, one with a length size limit and one without, to determine if a length size limit is improving the northern pike size structure. Blueberry Lake showed a higher abundance of larger fish than Stocking Lake. Of the fish caught, 25% in Blueberry Lake were over 600 mm (24 in), and were in the protected slot. Stocking Lake had a smaller portion of fish of this size with only …

Barrow Island Ute Guide - Non-Indigenous Invertebrates, Frogs, Reptiles & Weeds, Mike Grimm, Kristofer Collett, Jessica Harrison, Peter Davis, Marc Widmer, Andras Szito, Rob Emery, Peter Mangano, John Botha, David Robinson, Brad Maryan

Biosecurity published reports

Barrow Island, the second largest island in Western Australia, is a Class A Nature Reserve and home to a variety of rare and endangered fauna and flora, some of which occur nowhere else. To protect fauna and flora it is essential workers and visitors to the island are aware of the risks that a non-indigenous species (NIS) poses to the ecological balance of Barrow Island.

Workers and visitors to Barrow Island need to be aware and keep their eyes open for any unusual fauna and flora that might be in accommodation units, recreation areas or the work place. Reports from …

Moving Forward: Preventing Water Shortage For Nevada, Sandra Blandon, Brianna Lyon

Anthropology 100: Feast and Famine In a Global World Poster Assignment

Southern Nevada is located in the arid Mojave Desert, which averages about 4 inches of rain each year. Southern Nevada gets about 90% of its water supply from the Colorado River. Seven western states and Mexico share the river. This means that The Colorado River provides water to 25 million people.