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Articles 841 - 870 of 1922

Full-Text Articles in Water Resource Management

Impact Of Impervious Surfaces On Water Quality By Measurement Of Macroinvertebrates In Rock Island And Moline, Illinois, Kara Noonan Jan 2014

Impact Of Impervious Surfaces On Water Quality By Measurement Of Macroinvertebrates In Rock Island And Moline, Illinois, Kara Noonan

Urban Watershed Project

Streams have been degrading in quality since the introduction of impervious surfaces. Water concentrations have been altered as sediment and other pollutants have been introduced from severe erosion from runoff. As the water continues to change, the biotic integrity becomes disturbed. More specifically, aquatic invertebrate populations begin to change. More organisms that can tolerate poor quality streams are thriving as organisms that can only tolerate high quality streams are beginning to run thin. This study strives to find a spatial relationship between impervious surfaces around Rock Island and Moline, Illinois and the water quality within the streams by looking at …

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Assessing And Managing Freshwater Ecosystems Vulnerable To Environmental Change, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Hannah E. Birgé, Stina Drakare, Brendan G. Mckie, Richard K. Johnson Jan 2014

Assessing And Managing Freshwater Ecosystems Vulnerable To Environmental Change, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Hannah E. Birgé, Stina Drakare, Brendan G. Mckie, Richard K. Johnson

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Freshwater ecosystems are important for global biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services. There is consensus in the scientific literature that freshwater ecosystems are vulnerable to the impacts of environmental change, which may trigger irreversible regime shifts upon which biodiversity and ecosystem services may be lost. There are profound uncertainties regarding the management and assessment of the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to environmental change. Quantitative approaches are needed to reduce this uncertainty. We describe available statistical and modeling approaches along with case studies that demonstrate how resilience theory can be applied to aid decision-making in natural resources management. We highlight especially …

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Effects Of River Current Inflow On Dissolved Oxygen And Temperature Of Refuge Zones For Cisco In Lake Bemidji, Bryant C. Swenson Jan 2014

Effects Of River Current Inflow On Dissolved Oxygen And Temperature Of Refuge Zones For Cisco In Lake Bemidji, Bryant C. Swenson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The objectives of this study were to (1) determine if the inflow current from the Mississippi River affects temperature and dissolved oxygen in Lake Bemidji, (2) determine how the amount of suitable cisco Coregonus artedi habitat changes over the summer in Lake Bemidji, and (3) predict how much cisco habitat would be available under a climate warming scenario. Summer fish kill of cisco occurs in most years on Lake Bemidji resulting from low dissolved oxygen in the hypolimnion and high water temperatures in the epilimnion. Dissolved oxygen and temperature profiles provided evidence to suggest the north basin is more suitable …

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Using Posts To An Online Social Network To Assess Fishing Effort, Dustin R. Martin, Christopher J. Chizinski, Kent M. Eskridge, Kevin L. Pope Jan 2014

Using Posts To An Online Social Network To Assess Fishing Effort, Dustin R. Martin, Christopher J. Chizinski, Kent M. Eskridge, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Fisheries management has evolved from reservoir to watershed management, creating a need to simultaneously gather information within and across interacting reservoirs. However, costs to gather information on the fishing effort on multiple reservoirs using traditional creel methodology are often prohibitive. Angler posts about reservoirs online provide a unique medium to test hypotheses on the distribution of fishing pressure. We show that the activity on an online fishing social network is related to fishing effort and can be used to facilitate management goals. We searched the Nebraska Fish and Game Association Fishing Forum for all references from April 2009 to December …

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Changing Body Condition In Walleye With Reference To Ideal Sample Size Requirements, Kevin Longtin Jan 2014

Changing Body Condition In Walleye With Reference To Ideal Sample Size Requirements, Kevin Longtin

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The objective of this study was to determine if walleye Sander vitreus percent dry weight, a measure of condition, differed among summer months of 2014 on Maple Lake, Minnesota. A second objective was to determine if there was a relationship between condition and body temperature, total length, or wet weight. Between three and six walleyes were collected per month by hook and line methods. All fish had internal body temperatures taken at the time of capture and were oven dried in the laboratory at 80 °C in order to measure percent dry weight. There was no relationship between condition and …

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The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman Jan 2014

The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman

Honors Projects

Lake Erie has experienced harmful algal blooms with increased frequency since the mid-1990s due to excess nutrients from Rivers, such as the Maumee River, and largely agricultural watersheds. Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture contributes to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the degradation of water quality. This creates stress on aquatic fauna, reduced aesthetic quality, odor, and limits of the water for usage of drinking, recreation, and industry. This research paper asks what the contributions of having access to manure application records, soil records, and information about antibiotics have on what is known about manure management and antibiotic resistance, which has been …

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Defining The Physiochemical, Biological And Habitat Requirements For The Upper Extant Of Oncorhynchus Mykiss Distribution, Emily Powers Jan 2014

Defining The Physiochemical, Biological And Habitat Requirements For The Upper Extant Of Oncorhynchus Mykiss Distribution, Emily Powers

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The distribution of rainbow trout is strongly influenced by their habitat. As climatic conditions change, the distribution of rainbow trout populations will change along with them. The objective of this study was to identify the particular habitat parameters that rainbow trout select for in this lotic system and to specifically assess how this relates to the upper extant of their distribution. By assessing the distribution of the upper extant specifically, future research may be conducted to better assess climatic changes on a small and/or large scale basis. A 9,000 m section of the Clearwater River was used as the study …

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The Effects Of Angling Pressure On Northern Pike Size Structure, Ryan Carrow Jan 2014

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 …

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The Impact Of Dams On Nitrogen Cycling In The Messalonskee Stream, Rebecca K. Forgrave Jan 2014

The Impact Of Dams On Nitrogen Cycling In The Messalonskee Stream, Rebecca K. Forgrave

Honors Theses

The Messalonskee Stream in central Maine has five hydroelectric dams on 16.6km. Each dam drastically changes the flow regime of the stream, dividing it into segments with different patterns of sediment settling and organic matter retention. I investigated how these disruptions impact nitrogen cycling, specifically nitrification rates above and below each dam. I expected higher nitrification rates above the dams, where levels of organic matter are higher, and lower rates below the dam where scouring removes organic matter and fine sediment from the streambed. I measured sediment nitrification rates with a nitrapyrin-inhibition assay and potential drivers of nitrification including sediment …

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Assessing Resilience In Stressed Watersheds, Kristine T. Nemec, Joana Chan, Christina Hoffman, Trisha L. Spanbauer, Joseph A. Hamm, Craig R. Allen, Trevor Hefley, Donald Pan, Prabhakar Shrestha Jan 2014

Assessing Resilience In Stressed Watersheds, Kristine T. Nemec, Joana Chan, Christina Hoffman, Trisha L. Spanbauer, Joseph A. Hamm, Craig R. Allen, Trevor Hefley, Donald Pan, Prabhakar Shrestha

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Although several frameworks for assessing the resilience of social-ecological systems (SESs) have been developed, some practitioners may not have sufficient time and information to conduct extensive resilience assessments. We have presented a simplified approach to resilience assessment that reviews the scientific, historical, and social literature to rate the resilience of an SES with respect to nine resilience properties: ecological variability, diversity, modularity, acknowledgement of slow variables, tight feedbacks, social capital, innovation, overlap in governance, and ecosystem services. We evaluated the effects of two large-scale projects, the construction of a major dam and the implementation of an ecosystem recovery program, on …

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Refining Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Community Metrics For The Assessment Of Headwater Streams In New York State, Brian T. Duffy Jan 2014

Refining Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Community Metrics For The Assessment Of Headwater Streams In New York State, Brian T. Duffy

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The River Continuum Concept describes the structural and functional shift that occurs from sensitive headwater streams to the lowest reaches of large, non-wadeable rivers. New York State (NYS) maintains a long-established biological monitoring program using macroinvertebrate community assemblages for water quality assessment. However, headwater streams are rarely assessed, and no reference models are available, except those calibrated for lower-continuum wadeable streams and rivers. Current patterns of rural landuse change emphasize the need for more accurate assessment of previously neglected headwaters, in order to set natural reference standards for more accurate assessments of water quality. Ecoregion, drainage area (DA), elevation (elev.), …

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Self-Imposed Length Limits In Recreational Fisheries, Christopher J. Chizinski, Dustin R. Martin, Keith L. Hurley, Kevin L. Pope Jan 2014

Self-Imposed Length Limits In Recreational Fisheries, Christopher J. Chizinski, Dustin R. Martin, Keith L. Hurley, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

A primary motivating factor on the decision to harvest a fish among consumptive-orientated anglers is the size of the fish. There is likely a cost-benefit trade-off for harvest of individual fish that is size and species dependent, which should produce a logistic-type response of fish fate (release or harvest)as a function of fish size and species. We define the self-imposed length limit as the length at which a captured fish had a 50% probability of being harvested, which was selected because it marks the length of the fish where the probability of harvest becomes greater than the probability of release. …

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Panarchy: Theory And Application, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Lance H. Gunderson, C. S. Holling Jan 2014

Panarchy: Theory And Application, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Lance H. Gunderson, C. S. Holling

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The concept of panarchy provides a framework that characterizes complex systems of people and nature as dynamically organized and structured within and across scales of space and time. It has been more than a decade since the introduction of panarchy. Over this period, its invocation in peer-reviewed literature has been steadily increasing, but its use remains primarily descriptive and abstract. Here, we discuss the use of the concept in the literature to date, highlight where the concept may be useful, and discuss limitations to the broader applicability of panarchy theory for research in the ecological and social sciences. Finally, we …

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Discontinuities, Cross-Scale Patterns, And The Organization Of Ecosystems, Kirsty L. Nash, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Chris Barichievy, Tarsha Eason, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Nicholas A. J. Graham, Dean Granholm, Melinda Knutson, R. John Nelson, Magnus Nyström, Craig A. Stow, Shana M. Sundstrom Jan 2014

Discontinuities, Cross-Scale Patterns, And The Organization Of Ecosystems, Kirsty L. Nash, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Chris Barichievy, Tarsha Eason, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Nicholas A. J. Graham, Dean Granholm, Melinda Knutson, R. John Nelson, Magnus Nyström, Craig A. Stow, Shana M. Sundstrom

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Ecological structures and processes occur at specific spatiotemporal scales, and interactions that occur across multiple scales mediate scale-specific (e.g., individual, community, local, or regional) responses to disturbance. Despite the importance of scale, explicitly incorporating a multi-scale perspective into research and management actions remains a challenge. The discontinuity hypothesis provides a fertile avenue for addressing this problem by linking measureable proxies to inherent scales of structure within ecosystems. Here we outline the conceptual framework underlying discontinuities and review the evidence supporting the discontinuity hypothesis in ecological systems. Next we explore the utility of this approach for understanding cross-scale patterns and the …

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Predicted Avian Responses To Bioenergy Development Scenarios In An Intensive Agricultural Landscape, Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Rob B. Mitchell, Tim D. Mccoy, Qingfeng Guan Jan 2014

Predicted Avian Responses To Bioenergy Development Scenarios In An Intensive Agricultural Landscape, Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Rob B. Mitchell, Tim D. Mccoy, Qingfeng Guan

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Conversion of native prairie to agriculture has increased food and bioenergy production but decreased wildlife habitat. However, enrollment of highly erodible cropland in conservation programs has compensated for some grassland loss. In the future, climate change and production of second-generation perennial biofuel crops could further transform agricultural landscapes and increase or decrease grassland area. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is an alternative biofuel feedstock that may be economically and environmentally superior to maize (Zea mays) grain for ethanol production on marginally productive lands. Switchgrass could benefit farmers economically and increase grassland area, but there is uncertainty as to how conversions between rowcrops, …

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Introduction: Social-Ecological Resilience And Law, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Craig R. Allen, Craig Anthony Arnold, Lance H. Gunderson Jan 2014

Introduction: Social-Ecological Resilience And Law, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Craig R. Allen, Craig Anthony Arnold, Lance H. Gunderson

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Environmental law is intimately connected to ecological concepts and understanding. The legal instruments, institutions, and administration of law in the United States are predicated on assumptions that nature is globally stable and that the inherent variability in ecological systems is bounded. This current legal framework is based upon an understanding of ecological systems operating near an equilibrium, or if disturbed, moving back toward an equilibrium. Such assumptions make much current environmental law ill-suited for many pressing environmental issues (Ruhl 1999; Garmestani et al. 2009; Craig 2010; Verchick 2010; Benson and Garmestani 2011). Emerging environmental challenges, such as cross-boundary water governance …

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Self-Confidence Of Anglers In Identification Of Freshwater Sport Fish, Christopher J . Chizinski, D. R. Martin, K. L. Pope Jan 2014

Self-Confidence Of Anglers In Identification Of Freshwater Sport Fish, Christopher J . Chizinski, D. R. Martin, K. L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Although several studies have focused on how well anglers identify species using replicas and pictures, there has been no study assessing the confidence that can be placed in angler’s ability to identify recreationally important fish. Understanding factors associated with low self-confidence will be useful in tailoring education programmes to improve self-confidence in identifying common species. The purposes of this assessment were to quantify the confidence of recreational anglers to identify 13 commonly encountered warm water fish species and to relate self-confidence to species availability and angler experience. Significant variation was observed in anglers selfconfidence among species and levels of self-declared …

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Toxicity Of Copper Sulfate And Rotenone To Chinese Mystery Snail (Bellamya Chinensis), Danielle M. Haak, Bruce J. Stephen, Robert A. Kill, Nicholas A. Smeenk, Craig R. Allen, Kevin L. Pope Jan 2014

Toxicity Of Copper Sulfate And Rotenone To Chinese Mystery Snail (Bellamya Chinensis), Danielle M. Haak, Bruce J. Stephen, Robert A. Kill, Nicholas A. Smeenk, Craig R. Allen, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) is a freshwater snail native to Southeast Asia, Japan, and Russia and is currently classified as an invasive species in at least 27 states in the USA. The species tolerates a wide range of environmental conditions, making management of established populations difficult. We tested the efficacy of two traditional chemical treatments, rotenone and copper sulfate, on the elimination of adult Chinese mystery snails in laboratory experiments. All snails (N=50) survived 72-hour exposure to rotenone-treated lake water, and 96% (N=25) survived 72-hour exposure to pre-determined rotenone concentrations of 0.25, 2.5, and 25.0 mg/L. …

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Transdisciplinary Application Of Cross-Scale Resilience, Shana M. Sundstrom, David G. Angeler, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Jorge-H. Garcia, Craig R. Allen Jan 2014

Transdisciplinary Application Of Cross-Scale Resilience, Shana M. Sundstrom, David G. Angeler, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Jorge-H. Garcia, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The cross-scale resilience model was developed in ecology to explain the emergence of resilience from the distribution of ecological functions within and across scales, and as a tool to assess resilience. We propose that the model and the underlying discontinuity hypothesis are relevant to other complex adaptive systems, and can be used to identify and track changes in system parameters related to resilience. We explain the theory behind the cross-scale resilience model, review the cases where it has been applied to non-ecological systems, and discuss some examples of social-ecological, archaeological/ anthropological, and economic systems where a cross-scale resilience analysis could …

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Status Of Native Stream Fishes Within Selected Protected Areas Of The Niobrara River In Western Nebraska, Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Richard H. Stasiak, George R. Cunningham, Kevin L. Pope, Mark A. Pegg Jan 2014

Status Of Native Stream Fishes Within Selected Protected Areas Of The Niobrara River In Western Nebraska, Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Richard H. Stasiak, George R. Cunningham, Kevin L. Pope, Mark A. Pegg

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Lotic systems within the Great Plains are characterized by highly fl uctuating conditions through both space and time. Fishes inhabiting these systems have adopted specifi c life- history strategies to survive in such environments; however, anthropogenic disturbance to prairie streams has resulted in declines and extirpation of many native stream fi shes. Terrestrial protected areas (i.e., parks and reserves) are designated to support native fl ora and fauna and, it is assumed, to provide protection to native fi shes. We assessed the presence and relative abundance of stream fi sh populations within protected areas along the Niobrara River in western …

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Habitat Structure And Body Size Distributions: Cross-Ecosystem Comparison For Taxa With Determinate And Indeterminate Growth, Kirsty L. Nash, Craig R. Allen, Chris Barichievy, Magnus Nyström, Nicholas A. J. Graham Jan 2014

Habitat Structure And Body Size Distributions: Cross-Ecosystem Comparison For Taxa With Determinate And Indeterminate Growth, Kirsty L. Nash, Craig R. Allen, Chris Barichievy, Magnus Nyström, Nicholas A. J. Graham

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Habitat structure across multiple spatial and temporal scales has been proposed as a key driver of body size distributions for associated communities. Thus, understanding the relationship between habitat and body size is fundamental to developing predictions regarding the infl uence of habitat change on animal communities. Much of the work assessing the relationship between habitat structure and body size distributions has focused on terrestrial taxa with determinate growth, and has primarily analysed discontinuities (gaps) in the distribution of species mean sizes (species size relationships or SSRs). The suitability of this approach for taxa with indeterminate growth has yet to be …

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Consuming Fire Ants Reduces Northern Bobwhite Survival And Weight Gain, P. Evans Myers, Craig R. Allen, Hannah E. Birge Jan 2014

Consuming Fire Ants Reduces Northern Bobwhite Survival And Weight Gain, P. Evans Myers, Craig R. Allen, Hannah E. Birge

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Northern bobwhite quail, Colinus virginianus (L.) (Galliformes: Odontophoridae), population declines are well documented, but pinpointing the reasons for these decreases has proven elusive. Bobwhite population declines are attributed primarily to loss of habitat and land use changes. This, however, does not entirely explain population declines in areas intensively managed for bobwhites. Although previous research demonstrates the negative impact of red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on northern bobwhites, the mechanisms underlying this effect are largely unknown. To meet the protein demands of early growth and development, bobwhite chicks predominantly consume small insects, of which ants are …

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Quantifying Spatial Scaling Patterns And Their Local And Regional Correlates In Headwater Streams: Implications For Resilience, Emma Göthe, Leonard Sandin, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler Jan 2014

Quantifying Spatial Scaling Patterns And Their Local And Regional Correlates In Headwater Streams: Implications For Resilience, Emma Göthe, Leonard Sandin, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The distribution of functional traits within and across spatiotemporal scales has been used to quantify and infer the relative resilience across ecosystems. We use explicit spatial modeling to evaluate within- and cross-scale redundancy in headwater streams, an ecosystem type with a hierarchical and dendritic network structure. We assessed the cross-scale distribution of functional feeding groups of benthic invertebrates in Swedish headwater streams during two seasons. We evaluated functional metrics, i.e., Shannon diversity, richness, and evenness, and the degree of redundancy within and across modeled spatial scales for individual feeding groups. We also estimated the correlates of environmental versus spatial factors …

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Reducing Water Extractable Phosphorus In Poultry Litter Using Chitosan Treatment, Zachary Simpson, Brina Smith, David A. Zaharoff, Brian E. Haggard Jan 2014

Reducing Water Extractable Phosphorus In Poultry Litter Using Chitosan Treatment, Zachary Simpson, Brina Smith, David A. Zaharoff, Brian E. Haggard

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Phosphorus (P) is an important factor in the eutrophication of freshwater, and watershed sources include effluent discharges and the landscape. Poultry litter applied to the landscape can be a potential source of P, which is dependent on rainfall, runoff and dissolution. Chitosan, the deacetylated form of the biopolymer chitin, has been shown to have an effect on reducing water extractable phosphorus (WEP) in poultry litter when applied as a powder. The intent of this study was to measure the effect that poultry litter treatment (PLT), acetic acid and incubation time have on chitosan’s ability to reduce WEP in poultry litter. …

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State Of The River Report For The Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida: Water Quality, Fisheries, Aquatic Life, And Contaminants 2014, Environmental Protection Board, City Of Jacksonville, University Of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Lucy Sonnenberg, Gerry Pinto, Nisse Goldberg, Kimberly Mann, Radha Pyati, Gretchen Bielmyer-Fraser, Stuart Chalk, Peter Bacopoulos, Brian P. Zoellner Jan 2014

State Of The River Report For The Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida: Water Quality, Fisheries, Aquatic Life, And Contaminants 2014, Environmental Protection Board, City Of Jacksonville, University Of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Lucy Sonnenberg, Gerry Pinto, Nisse Goldberg, Kimberly Mann, Radha Pyati, Gretchen Bielmyer-Fraser, Stuart Chalk, Peter Bacopoulos, Brian P. Zoellner

State of the River Report

No abstract provided.

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Winter Survival Strategies Of Benthic Invertebrates In Temporary Habitats In A Northern Minnesota Lake, Cal Oldenburg Jan 2014

Winter Survival Strategies Of Benthic Invertebrates In Temporary Habitats In A Northern Minnesota Lake, Cal Oldenburg

Journal of Earth and Life Science

During the winter months in the northern hemisphere, above 40 degrees latitude, a freezing event occurs that can last several months. Some lakes may have large portions of the shallow littoral zone frozen completely solid down into the sediments. Invertebrates affected by these events have developed survival strategies to cope with the harsh environment. The two main strategies for invertebrates in these areas are to either migrate to a different area and recolonize the original area when it becomes available again, or to burrow into the sediments and withstand the freezing. A 1- month study took place on Lake Bemidji …

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"Mining" For A Reference Condition In Southern West Virginia Streams, Matthew Rouch Jan 2014

"Mining" For A Reference Condition In Southern West Virginia Streams, Matthew Rouch

Theses and Dissertations

Quarterly samples were used to estimate assemblage-level (all species combined) fish production within three minimally-impacted, southern West Virginia streams. The total annual fish production estimate was highest in Slaunch Fork (37.52 kg∙ha-1∙y-1), a tributary of the Tug Fork River, and lowest in Cabin Creek (10.59 kg∙ha-1∙y-1), a Guyandotte River tributary. Creek Chub Semotilus atromaculatus, Mottled Sculpin Cottus bairdii and Blacknose Dace Rhinicthys atratulus were the most abundant species among sites, accounting for >90% of all sampled individuals. Reference condition criteria were also selected and metrics calculated for each of the three …

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Addressing Public Health Risks Of Persistent Pollutants Through Nutritional Modulation And Biomimetic Nanocomposite Remediation Platforms, Bradley J. Newsome Jan 2014

Addressing Public Health Risks Of Persistent Pollutants Through Nutritional Modulation And Biomimetic Nanocomposite Remediation Platforms, Bradley J. Newsome

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Due to their relative chemical stability and ubiquity in the environment, chlorinated organic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) pose significant health risks and enduring remediation challenges. Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) provide a novel platform for sensing/remediation of these toxicants, in addition to the growing use of NPs in many industrial and biomedical applications, but there remains concern for their potential long-term health effects. Research highlighted herein also represents a transdisciplinary approach to address human health challenges associated with exposure to PCBs and NPs. The objectives of this dissertation research are two-fold, 1) to develop effective methods for capture/sensing and remediation …

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Effects Of Toxic Cyanobacteria (Microcystis Aeruginosa) On The Feeding And Reproduction Ecology Of The Copepod Eurytemora Affinis From Green Bay, Lake Michigan, Nicholas J. Barrett Jan 2014

Effects Of Toxic Cyanobacteria (Microcystis Aeruginosa) On The Feeding And Reproduction Ecology Of The Copepod Eurytemora Affinis From Green Bay, Lake Michigan, Nicholas J. Barrett

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Toxic Cyanobacteria is known to be a bad food source to consumers as well as a main contributor to harmful algal blooms. This study investigates the feeding relationship between an invasive copepod in the Great Lakes system, Eurytemora affinis, and a toxic strain of cyanobacteria, Microcystis aeruginosa. E.affinis has been shown to feed on toxic cyanobacteria. By measuring the filtering rate, ingestion rate, egg production and offspring size between three different food conditions, we hope to gain insight into the effects of toxic cyanobacteria on the feeding and reproduction of this copepod. Food sources include a good green algal …

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U.S. Drought Monitor, December 31, 2013, Matthew Rosencrans Dec 2013

U.S. Drought Monitor, December 31, 2013, Matthew Rosencrans

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for December 31, 2013 (12/31/13) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

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