Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Evaluating Trophic Rewilding As A Conservation Technique, Aaron Sieve

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The focus for this paper is to define specifically trophic rewilding, determine its efficacy as a conservation technique, and explore ways to lessen one of its key limitations. Trophic rewilding is the conservation technique whereby an extirpated keystone species or ecosystem engineer is reintroduced into a degraded habitat to restore ecological function by triggering trophic cascades. The technique is evaluated through analysis of the concepts of trophic cascades and ecosystem engineers. Key limitations of trophic rewilding are that a lack of population control in reintroduced may cause issues, that many times not enough is known about trophic cascades to be …

Effects Of Habitat Restoration On Soil Retention On Santa Rosa Island, Michael Perez, Kathryn Mceachern, Ken Niessen

STAR Program Research Presentations

Ranching began on Santa Rosa Island in the 1840’s, consequently introducing nonnative megafauna that put novel selective grazing pressures on endemic plant species. Their movement patterns also altered substrate integrity as the land became denuded of any stabilizing vegetation. Dense groves of island oak (Q. tomentella) are known to aid in sediment deposition and retention. The groves also function to collect water during periods of intense fog common to the island. This experiment sought to determine whether sediment is being lost or deposited on a ridge in the middle of the island containing a grove of Q. tomentella …

Great Plains Geology: A Personal Journey, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

From graduate school in 1962 to now, I achieved my goals and became a geologist and professor, travelling and doing research in the Great Plains and western Central Lowland physiographic provinces, and looking at geology in exotic places like the UK, China, Australia and New Zealand. Fast forward to 2013. I had enough experience and expertise on Great Plains geology by then that I was asked to write a short book of about 35,000 words on the geology of the Great Plains by the director of the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska, Dr. Richard Edwards. …

Characterizing The Volatilome Of Land-Disposed Sewage Sludge Under Seasonal Temperature Regimes, Hope L. Juntunen, Lucas Leinen, Vaille Swenson, R C. Hale, R Honour, Michael Gaylor, Patrick Videau

Research & Publications

About eight million dry tons of sewage sludge waste is generated in the US annually, with more than half of that now land-disposed on agricultural and forested lands. Though containing essential plant nutrients, sludge also harbors complex mixtures of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that result in toxic emissions therefrom. While ecotoxic impacts to sludged ecosystems are a primary concern, the stifling emissions are most obvious to and disconcerting for the public, which has led to increasing concerns for the safety of this practice. The large-scale disposal of sludge in the temperate rainforests of the Puget Sound Watershed has resulted in …

Greater Sage-Grouse Population Trends Across Wyoming, David R. Edmunds, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael S. O'Donnell, Adrian P. Monroe

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The scale at which analyses are performed can have an effect on model results and often one scale does not accurately describe the ecological phenomena of interest (e.g., population trends) for wide-ranging species: yet, most ecological studies are performed at a single, arbitrary scale. To best determine local and regional trends for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Wyoming, USA, we modeled density-independent and -dependent population growth across multiple spatial scales relevant to management and conservation (Core Areas [habitat encompassing approximately 83% of the sage-grouse population on ~24% of surface area in Wyoming], local Working Groups [7 regional areas for …

A Photosynthesis-Based Two-Leaf Canopy Stomatal Conductance Model For Meteorology And Air Quality Modeling With Wrf/Cmaq Px Lsm, Limei Ran, Jonathan Pleim, Conghe Song, Larry Band, John T. Walker, Francis S. Binkowski

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

A coupled photosynthesis-stomatal conductance model with single-layer sunlit and shaded leaf canopy scaling is implemented and evaluated in a diagnostic box model with the Pleim-Xiu land surface model (PX LSM) and ozone deposition model components taken directly from the meteorology and air quality modeling system—WRF/CMAQ (Weather Research and Forecast model and Community Multiscale Air Quality model). The photosynthesis-based model for PX LSM (PX PSN) is evaluated at a FLUXNET site for implementation against different parameterizations and the current PX LSM approach with a simple Jarvis function (PX Jarvis). Latent heat flux (LH) from PX PSN is further evaluated at five …

Landscape Features Affecting Northern Bobwhite Predator-Specific Nest Failures In Southeastern Usa, Susan Ellis-Felege, Shannon E. Albeke, Nathan P. Nibbelink, Michael J. Conroy, D. Clay Sisson, William E. Palmer, John P. Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Nest predation is a critical component in avian productivity and typically is the leading cause of nest failure for most birds. Several landscape features are thought to drive the behavioral interaction between northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; e.g., nest placement) and their predators (e.g., search methods for food acquisition). In order to understand habitat characteristics influencing predation, we studied bobwhite nests using 24-hour near-infrared video cameras. We monitored 675 bobwhite nests with cameras on 3 properties in northern Florida and southern Georgia, USA, during 2000–2006. To test the association between nest failures and specific failure causes with landscape structure, we calculated …

Status And Perspectives Of The Cosmic-Ray Neutron Method For Soil Moisture Estimation And Other Environmental Science Applications, M. Andreasen, K. H., Jensen, D. Desilets, T. E. Franz, M. Zreda, H. R. Bogena, M. C. Looms

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

High Resolution Land Cover Of Kansas (2015; Dataset), Darci A. Paull, Jakob W. Whitson, Abbey L. Marcotte, Greg C. Liknes, Dacia M. Meneguzzo, Todd A. Kellerman

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

This data publication contains 2015 high-resolution land cover data for each of the 105 counties within Kansas. These data are a digital representation of land cover derived from 1-meter aerial imagery from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP). There is a separate file for each county. Data are intended for use in rural areas and therefore do not include land cover in cities and towns. Land cover classes (tree cover, other land cover, water, or city/town) were mapped using an object-based image analysis approach and supervised classification.

Managing For Wildlife Habitat On Rangelands In The Great Plains, Maggi Sliwinski, Mark E. Burbach, Larkin Powell, Walter H. Schacht

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.

Agroforestry: Enhancing Resiliency In U. S. Agricultural Landscapes Under Changing Conditions, Gary Bentrup, Michele M. Schoeneberger, Toral Patel-Weynand

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Agroforestry, the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal production systems, is being deployed to enhance productivity, profitability, and environmental stewardship of agricultural operations and lands across the United States. This assessment provides a science-based synthesis on the use of agroforestry for mitigation and adaptation services in the face of climatic variability and change. It provides technical input to land-use sector issues in the National Climate Assessment (NCA) and serves as a framework for including agroforestry systems in agricultural strategies to improve productivity and food security and to build resilience in these landscapes. It also provides follow-up …

The Diffeology Of Milnor's Classifying Space, Jean-Pierre Magnot, Jordan Watts

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Statistical Survey Of Persistent Organic Pollutants: Risk Estimations To Humans And Wildlife Through Consumption Of Fish From U.S. Rivers, Angela L. Batt, John B. Wathen, James M. Lazorchak, Anthony R. Olsen, Thomas M. Kincaid

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

U.S. EPA conducted a national statistical survey of fish tissue contamination at 540 river sites (representing 82 954 river km) in 2008−2009, and analyzed samples for 50 persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including 21 PCB congeners, 8 PBDE congeners, and 21 organochlorine pesticides. The survey results were used to provide national estimates of contamination for these POPs. PCBs were the most abundant, being measured in 93.5% of samples. Summed concentrations of the 21 PCB congeners had a national weighted mean of 32.7 μg/kg and a maximum concentration of 857 μg/kg, and exceeded the human health cancer screening value of 12 μg/kg …

Taphonomic Problems In Reconstructing Sea-Level History From The Late Quaternary Marine Terraces Of Barbados, Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Although uranium series (U-series) ages of growth-position fossil corals are important to Quaternary sea-level history, coral clast reworking from storms can yield ages on a terrace dating to more than one high-sea stand, confounding interpretations of sea-level history. On northern Barbados, U-series ages corals from a thick storm deposit are not always younger with successively higher stratigraphic positions, but all date to the last interglacial period (~127 ka to ~112 ka), Marine Isotope Substage (MIS) 5.5. The storm deposit ages are consistent with the ages of growth-position corals found at the base of the section and at landward localities on …

Balancing Stability And Flexibility In Adaptive Governance: An Analysis Of Tools Available In U.S. Environmental Law, Robin Kundis Craig, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Craig R. Allen, Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold, Hannah E. Birge, Hannah Birge, Daniel A. Decaro, Alexander K. Fremier, Alexander K. Fremier, Hannah Gosnell, Edella C. Schlager

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Adaptive governance must work “on the ground,” that is, it must operate through structures and procedures that the people it governs perceive to be legitimate and fair, as well as incorporating processes and substantive goals that are effective in allowing social-ecological systems (SESs) to adapt to climate change and other impacts. To address the continuing and accelerating alterations that climate change is bringing to SESs, adaptive governance generally will require more flexibility than prior governance institutions have often allowed. However, to function as good governance, adaptive governance must pay real attention to the problem of how to balance this increased …

Smartphone Technologies And Bayesian Networks To Assess Shorebird Habitat Selection, Sara L. Zeigler, E. Robert Thieler, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Nathaniel G. Plant, Megan Hines, James D. Fraser, Daniel H. Catlin

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Understanding patterns of habitat selection across a species’ geographic distribution can be critical for adequately managing populations and planning for habitat loss and related threats. However, studies of habitat selection can be time consuming and expensive over broad spatial scales, and a lack of standardized monitoring targets or methods can impede the generalization of site-based studies. Our objective was to collaborate with natural resource managers to define available nesting habitat for piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) throughout their U.S. Atlantic coast distribution from Maine to North Carolina, with a goal of providing science that could inform habitat management in …

Camera System Considerations For Geomorphic Applications Of Sfm Photogrammetry, Adam R. Mosbrucker, Jon J. Major, Kurt R. Spicer, John Pitlick

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The availability of high-resolution, multi-temporal, remotely sensed topographic data is revolutionizing geomorphic analysis. Three-dimensional topographic point measurements acquired from structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry have been shown to be highly accurate and cost-effective compared to laser-based alternatives in some environments. Use of consumer-grade digital cameras to generate terrain models and derivatives is becoming prevalent within the geomorphic community despite the details of these instruments being largely overlooked in current SfM literature.

A practical discussion of camera system selection, configuration, and image acquisition is presented. The hypothesis that optimizing source imagery can increase digital terrain model (DTM) accuracy is tested by evaluating accuracies …

Channel-Planform Evolution In Four Rivers Of Olympic National Park, Washington, Usa: The Roles Of Physical Drivers And Trophic Cascades, Amy E. East, Kurt J. Jenkins, Patricia J. Happe, Jennifer A. Bountry, Timothy J. Beechie, Mark C. Mastin, Joel B. Sankey, Timothy J. Randle

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Identifying the relative contributions of physical and ecological processes to channel evolution remains a substantial challenge in fluvial geomorphology. We use a 74-year aerial photographic record of the Hoh, Queets, Quinault, and Elwha Rivers, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA, to investigate whether physical or trophic-cascade-driven ecological factors – excessive elk impacts after wolves were extirpated a century ago – are the dominant drivers of channel planform in these gravel-bed rivers.We find that channel width and braiding show strong relationships with recent flood history. All four rivers widened significantly after having been relatively narrow in the 1970s, consistent with increased flood …

Semi-Arid Grassland Bird Responses To Patch-Burn Grazing And Drought, Susan K. Skagen, David J. Augustine, Justin D. Derner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

As grassland birds of central North America experience steep population declines with changes in land use, management of remaining tracts becomes increasingly important for population viability. The integrated use of fire and grazing may enhance vegetation heterogeneity and diversity in breeding birds, but the subsequent effects on reproduction are unknown. We examined the influence of patch-burn grazing management in shortgrass steppe in eastern Colorado on habitat use and reproductive success of 3 grassland bird species, horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), lark bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys), and McCown’s longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii), at several spatial scales during 2011 …

Effects Of Industrial And Investigator Disturbance On Arctic-Nesting Geese, Brandt W. Meixell, Paul L. Flint

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Oil and gas development on the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) of Alaska, USA may have effects on Arctic-nesting birds. To estimate effects of industrial activity and investigator disturbance on avian productivity, we monitored nests of greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) with digital cameras and periodic nest visits during 2013–2014 at 2 sites on the ACP. A disturbed site was adjacent to human-made infrastructure and industrial clean-up activities initiated at the onset of the study and a control site was >2 km from sources of industrial disturbance. We assessed variation in estimates of incubation constancy, nest survival, and predator …