Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Occupancy Analysis And Density Estimation Of Kori Bustards (Ardeotis Kori) And Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida Meleagris) For Use In Landscape Conservation Planning In The Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana, Kathryn R. Mccollum

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

For understudied species, more informed conservation planning and decision-making on both the local and landscape levels may be attained through the use of occupancy and abundance estimations. Here, we focus on two iconic bird species in eastern Botswana, kori bustards (Ardeotis kori) and helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris). The overall goal of this project was to better understand the hierarchy of factors that influence occupancy (ψ) and density of kori bustard and helmeted guineafowl populations within the Northern Tuli Game Reserve and how these factors may interact to affect landscape conservation and usage. We performed distance sampling …

Prescribed Fire Monitoring Report, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve 2014 (Iqcs Fire Number 285382, 285383, 266782, 285677), Sherry A. Leis, Sarah E. Hinman

United States National Park Service: Publications

Introduction

In 2014, the preserve’s federal and NGO partners conducted prescribed fires during March, April, and October that encompassed 8129.8 acres of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (TAPR). This was a unique burn year in that prescribed burns occurred in the spring, the traditional burn season, and the fall. Fall burns were conducted to support needed archaeological surveys as part of the environmental compliance for a symphony event scheduled for June 2015 at the preserve. Burns at TAPR were coordinated with local US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and various units of the National Park Service.

Burns …

Shorebird Migratory Stopover Responses To Local And Regional Change: Habitat Decisions In A Vanishing Landscape, Caitlyn Gillespie

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

Understanding the consequences of anthropogenic change for migratory species is challenging because although they have evolved to cope with environmental uncertainty, migrants still rely on predictable relationships within and among habitats to make informed decisions. Calidris shorebirds rely on ephemeral wetlands during northward migration through mid-continental North America, where favorable habitat conditions are annually and regionally unpredictable and increasingly altered by land-use change. During spring 2013 and 2014, we assessed Calidris habitat use in the Rainwater Basin (RWB) and the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) at both local and landscape scales. Although anthropogenic change has altered the wetland landscape in both …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, 2014 Annual Report, Michael Prowatzke, Stephen K. Wilson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2014 at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (AGFO) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN).

During the fourth full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited six plant community monitoring plots to collect data on the vegetation at AGFO. This is part of a long-term monitoring effort that will sample six of 15 randomly located upland plots every year, so that each plot is visited for two consecutive years and then rested for three years, on a five-year rotating basis. NGPN staff captured data …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring For Scotts Bluff National Monument, 2014 Annual Report, Michael Prowatzke, Stephen K. Wilson

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

This report presents the results of vegetation monitoring efforts in 2014 at Scotts Bluff National Monument (SCBL) by the Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN).

During the fourth full year of field work, crew members from NGPN visited eight plant community monitoring plots to collect data on the vegetation at SCBL. This is part of a long-term monitoring effort that will sample eight of 20 randomly located upland plots every year, so that each plot is visited for two consecutive years and then rested for three years, on a five-year rotating basis. Additionally, NGPN staff also visited …

The Effects Of Insecticide Dose And Herbivore Density On Tri-Trophic Effects Of Thiamethoxam In A System Involving Wheat, Aphids, And Ladybeetles, Michael M. Bredeson, R Neil Reese, Jonathan G. Lundgren

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

We assess how herbivore density and insecticide dose affects the tri-trophic interactions among thiamethoxam-treated wheat (Triticum sp.), Rhophalosiphum padi and the predatory Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer. In the first experiment 2nd and 4th instar C. maculata were fed aphids reared for 24 h on wheat plants treated with sub-lethal thiamethoxam soil drenches to assess the effect of insecticidal dose on the predator. In the second experiment a constant, sub-lethal thiamethoxam soil drench was used on wheat plants, but the plants were infested with different densities of aphids. Aphids from each density treatment were then fed to C. maculata 2nd instars. Insecticide …

Piecemeal Reform Of Trade And Environmental Policy When Consumption Also Pollutes, Mark R. Metcalfe, John C. Beghin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We incorporate endogenous (price-responsive) consumption pollution into a dual trade model to assess welfare effects of coordinated trade and environmental piecemeal reform in a small, open and distorted economy. Pollution is generated by production and consumption. Producers control the level of pollution and face incentives to abate both types of pollution. We identify sufficient conditions for welfare-improving reforms of trade and environmental policies. An additional domestic environmental policy instrument must be imposed on exportables because of their supply response to foreign environmental taxes.

Exploring Ways Social Media Data Inform Public Issues Communication: An Analysis Of Twitter Conversation During The 2012-2013 Drought In Nebraska, Adam Wagler, Karen J. Cannon

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

Social networking sites often are used to maintain close social ties, but increasingly they are used for information and news dissemination, specifically about major events and crises. In 2012, a historic drought struck the Midwest, destroying or damaging portions of major field crops in major agricultural production states. By the end of August 2012, 90% of Nebraska was declared in extreme or exceptional drought, leading to bans on irrigation, damaged crops, and record-low yields as well as damaging the state’s leading economic sector. This case study used social media monitoring and analysis to explore online Twitter conversations related to this …