Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

The Ltar Cropland Common Experiment At Platte River/High Plains Aquifer, Ariel Freidenreich, Marty R. Schmer, Makki Khorchani, Girma Birru, Virginia L. Jin, Tala Awada, Rhae A. Drijber, Andrew Suyker, S. Carolina Córdova, Tyler Smith, Tim Kettler, Sandra Christofferson, Xiangmin Sun, Lidong Li

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Platte River/High Plains Aquifer (PR/HPA) region is characterized by cropland, pastures, and grasslands that are faced with changing climatic conditions and agricultural intensification. The PR/HPA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) site is located in Eastern Nebraska with the goal of improving resilience, sustainability, and profitability of agroecosystems through enhancing ecosystem services and environmental quality, developing strategies for efficient agricultural production, and mitigating and adapting to climate change. To meet this goal, a common experiment and five ancillary experiments have been developed to evaluate prevailing regional practices in grain crop production systems compared to alternative practices in rain-fed and irrigated systems. …

Eco-Cultural Restoration Of Mouralherwaqh: Site Description And Invasive Species Treatment Plan In King Salmon, California, Natalie Bridget Calderon, Myion Rickey, King Baptista, Owen Bardsley, Jillian Snowhook

Undergraduate Scholarship

In July of 2022, the Wiyot Tribe bought back one of their first pieces of ancestral forest within the Mouralherwaqh "more-RAH-share-wahg" village area (Wiyot, 2022). Before this repatriation, the Tribe owned less than 1% of their ancestral lands; after, the Tribe’s land holdings increased by 10% (Reclaiming Mouralherwaqh | Humboldt NOW | Cal Poly Humboldt, 2022). Mouralherwaqh is a 46 acre coastal site located near present day King Salmon, California and has high ecological and culturally significant values (Wiyot, 2022). Prior to the change of ownership, Mouralherwaqh was privately-owned and in 2014 underwent a clear-cut timber harvest within eight-acres of …

Influence Of Elevation On Plant Survivorship In Baduwa’T Estuary, Richard Louis Toledo Jr., Celine Aguilera, Rivé Prater, Claire Durbin

Undergraduate Scholarship

The Baduwa’t is a river in Humboldt County, California that has been adversely impacted by agricultural operations. Disturbances from agriculture have altered the surrounding ecosystems and hydrology of the river. The conservation stewardship group, California Trout, initiated a collaborative restoration project that created a new channel and off-channel pond to provide habitat for salmonids and other native fish in the estuary. As an extension of this project, sections of the site underwent revegetation efforts. The survivorship rates of this new vegetation were lower than anticipated and we were asked by California Trout to assess if the elevation on the site …

Riparian Revegetation: Re-Indigenizing The Powers Creek Tributary Of The Baduwa’T Watershed At Blue Lake Rancheria, California, Genesis Beltran, Ruben Lopez, Ben Stock

Undergraduate Scholarship

This project focuses on the ecological and cultural restoration of Powers Creek, a tributary of the Baduwa’t watershed at Blue Lake Rancheria, California. Riparian ecosystems play a critical role in biodiversity, water quality, and climate resilience, particularly for species like salmonids reliant on cold-water refugia. The restoration efforts, guided by Indigenous knowledge, addressed the removal of non-native competitive species such as Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) and French broom (Genista monspessulana) – which are shown to increase wildfire severity and challenge native plant communities – in addition to freeing established plantings of vegetative competition. Through collaborative planning …

Braving The Elements: Loss Of Metals From Mardi Gras Beads Due To Handling And Weathering, Thomas O. Carmichael, Ruth H. Carmichael

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The largest Mardi Gras celebrations in the U.S. are found along the Gulf of Mexico coast. With increasing awareness of and concern for environmental and human health risks due to pollution from Mardi Gras celebrations, there is a need for studies to quantify potential harms. We conducted a 2—part study to determine whether use—related handling and weathering of common Mardi Gras beaded necklaces results in loss of potentially harmful metals to the environment at levels of ecological or human health concern. Our data indicate that weathering and use—related handling can cause metals to be shed from the metallic coating of …

The Legal Crisis Within The Climate Crisis, Mark P. Nevitt

Faculty Articles

Climate change creates a difficult choice for property owners and governmental officials alike: Should they invest in costly climate adaptation measures or retreat from climate-exposed areas? Either decision is fraught with legal uncertainty, running headfirst into antiquated legal doctrines designed for a more stable world. Climate impacts to the coastline are forcing policymakers to consider four adaptation tools: (1) resisting climate impacts by building sea walls and armoring the shoreline; (2) accommodating those impacts by elevating existing structures; (3) managed retreat such as systematically and preemptively moving people out of harm’s way; and (4) reactively moving people to new locations …

Climate Risk, Insurance Retreat, And State Response, Mark P. Nevitt, Michael Pappas

Faculty Articles

Climate change is fundamentally destabilizing the private insurance industry, with many high-profile insurance companies exiting states in the face of catastrophic, climate-­induced risk. This rapid "insurance retreat" represents a major market signal in response to climate-exacerbated risks. Private businesses are making actuarial decisions, assessing that some locations are just too vulnerable to insure. At the same time, this insurance retreat also poses a policy challenge for states as they react to the mounting insurance gaps left by exiting private insurers.

This Article analyzes insurance retreat, its attendant policy challenges, and the lessons that can be drawn from state responses. It …

Investigating Drought Response And Paleoclimate Potential Of A New Network Of White Oak Chronologies In Western Kentucky, Usa, Audrey J. Heichelbech, Maegen L. Rochner, Megan Gibson

Undergraduate Research Events

In Kentucky, historic and paleo-climate data are limited, and current understanding of long-term climate change in the state relies on instrumental data spanning only 1895-present. Proxy data are necessary to extend the temporal and spatial span of climate information. One potential proxy source for Kentucky is tree ring data, but currently, only four such datasets are publicly available on the International Tree Ring Data Bank (ITRDB). Archaeological and archival timber sources may help to fill in this gap. In the 1940s, Florence Hawley-Ellis, the first woman dendrochronologist, collected samples of white oak (Quercus alba L.) from four counties in western …

Putting Biomonitors To Work: Native Moss As A Screening Tool For Solid Waste Incineration, Sarah Jovan, Eleonore Jacobson, Jason M. Unrine, Nasser Jalili‑Jahani, Bruce Mccune

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Solid waste incineration (SWI) can release numerous air pollutants although the geographic reach of emissions is not routinely monitored. While many studies use moss and lichens for biomonitoring trace elements, including around SWIs, few investigate the complex, multi-element footprint expected from SWI emissions. This study develops using native moss as a screening tool for SWI while also informing community concerns about an aging incinerator in rural Oregon, USA. Trained community volunteers helped collect 36 composite samples of epiphytic moss (Orthotrichum s.l.) along a 32-km transect from the SWI. We used ICP-MS to measure 40 elements in moss, including 14 rare …

Steps Towards Operationalizing One Health Approaches, Kim M. Pepin, Keith M. Carlisle, Dean Anderson, Michael G. Baker, Richard B. Chipman, Jackie Benschop, Nigel P. French, Suzie Greenhalgh, Scott Mcdougall, Petra Muellner, Emil Murphy, Dion R. J. Neale, Michael J. Plank, David T. S. Hayman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

One Health recognizes the health of humans, agriculture, wildlife, and the environment are interrelated. The concept has been embraced by international health and environmental authorities such as WHO, WOAH, FAO, and UNEP, but One Health approaches have been more practiced by researchers than national or international authorities. To identify priorities for operationalizing One Health beyond research contexts, we conducted 41 semi-structured interviews with professionals across One Health sectors (public health, environment, agriculture, wildlife) and institutional contexts, who focus on national-scale and international applications. We identify important challenges, solutions, and priorities for delivering the One Health agenda through government action. Participants …

Changing Fire Regimes And Nuanced Impacts On A Critically Imperiled Species, Jeremy T. Rockweit, Katie M. Dugger, Damon B. Lesmeister, Raymond J. Davis, Alan B. Franklin, J. Mark Higley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildfire activity throughout western North America is increasing which can have important consequences for species persistence. Native species have evolved disturbance-adapted traits that confer resilience to natural disturbance provided disturbances operate within their historical range of variability. This resilience can erode as disturbance regimes change and begin operating outside this range. We assessed wildfire impacts during 1987–2018 on the northern spotted owl, an imperiled species with complex relationships with late and early seral forest in the Pacific Northwest, USA. We analyzed population- and individual-level wildfire impacts across the frequent-fire portion of the owl’s geographic range at two spatial scales and …

Heating Decoys To Mimic Thermal Signatures Of Live Animals For Drones, Landon R. Jones, Cerise Mensah, Jared S. Elmore, Kristine O. Evans, Morgan B. Pfeiffer, Brad F. Blackwell, Raymond B. Iglay

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Method name

Heating animal decoys to mimic thermal signatures for drones

Abstract

Thermal sensors mounted on drones (unoccupied aircraft systems) are popular and effective tools for monitoring cryptic animal species, although few studies have quantified sampling error of ani- mal counts from thermal images. Using decoys is one effective strategy to quantify bias and count accuracy; however, plastic decoys do not mimic thermal signatures of representative species. Our objective was to produce heat signatures in animal decoys to realistically match thermal images of live animals obtained from a drone-based sensor. We tested commercially available methods to heat plastic decoys of …

Competitive Behaviors Between Black Vultures (Coragyps Atratus) And Turkey Vultures (Cathartes Aura) During Scavenging / Comportamientos Competitivos Entre Coragyps Atratus Y Cathartes Aura Durante El Carroñeo, Amanda M. Herbert, Patrick A. Zollner, Landon R. Jones, Marian L. Wahl, Grant N. Burcham, Bryan M. Kluever, Lee A. Humberg, Brandon M. Quinby

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Abstract

Interference competition occurs when an individual prohibits another’s access to a resource through antagonistic interactions. Despite considerable research on scavenger interactions at carrion, the limited evidence for competitive interactions between black vultures (Coragyps atratus) and turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) relies upon the frequency of antagonistic interactions without considering other forms of competition. Using remote cameras, we recorded the duration of aggression, scavenging, and vigilance behaviors exhibited by individual black vultures and turkey vultures scavenging stillborn domestic cattle carcasses within flocks composed of one or both vulture species. We tested for differences of durations of each …

The Texas Feral Swine Eradication And Control Pilot Program, David R. Pipkin, Bruce R. Leland, Katherine Garwood, Linda Tschirhart-Hejl, Michael J. Bodenchuk, John M. Tomecek

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The United States Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill) established the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program. The program funded US$75M for 5 years, split evenly between the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), both programs within the United States Department of Agriculture. The agencies solicited joint programs from states with high densities of feral swine in two phases. In Texas, NRCS and APHIS submitted three multi-county project areas along watersheds for Phase I funding and one eradication effort along with two crop protection projects in Phase II. …

Spatiotemporal Partitioning Of Two Invasive Ungulates In Guam [Abstract], Kelly J. Koriakin, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan P. Snow, D. Buck Jolley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Interspecific interactions are crucial in shaping ecosystem dynamics (Connell 1983, Tilman 1987, Barbosa and Castellanos 2005). Non-native ungulates have been introduced across the globe (Ferretti and Lovari 2014, Volery et al. 2021) and in environments where multiple invasives thrive, these co-occurring sympatric species may shift spatiotemporal patterns to minimize interspecific competition (Schoener 1974, Chesson 2000). Spatiotemporal shifts can lead to cascading effects to the native flora and fauna (Simberloff and Von Holle 1999). Given the potential negative impacts, understanding these interactions is vital for effective management of these ecosystems.

Two invasive ungulates, the wild pig (Sus scrofa) and …

Critically Interrogating Wolf Eradication And Management Policy Through A Settler Colonial Lens: Toward A Compassionate Future, Karen M. Winter

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This largely conceptual multi-article dissertation centers settler colonial theory in a critical interrogation of Wolf eradication and management policy (WEMP) toward the ultimate goal of dismantling injurious structures and systems that brutalize Wolf and other Indigenous animals. Wildlife policy and practice are contemporary manifestations of the long-standing historical project of settler colonialism and its quest for acquisition and ultimate control of Land. Thus, the ongoing hegemonic control of systems of wildlife management and the propensity toward lethal control are also inextricably linked to the oppression of Indigenous worldview about human relationship with the natural world. Settler colonialism, as the nexus …

Ethyl-Iophenoxic Acid As A Serum Marker For Oral Baiting Of Tasmanian Devils, Ruth Pye, David Nichols, Sally A. Nofs, Amy T. Gilbert, Andrew S. Flies

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Oral baits containing vaccines, medicants or toxicants have been delivered to a broad range of wildlife species to protect against or treat disease, or suppress populations. Ethyl-Iophenoxic acid (Et-IPA) is used as a biomarker to determine oral bait consumption by wildlife species to assess and refine baiting strategies. Et-IPA is a persistent biomarker in many eutherian mammal species but not in the two marsupial species, swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) and brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), tested to date. Et-IPA has not previously been evaluated in carnivorous marsupials. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), the largest extant …

Landscape-Scale Epidemiological Dynamics Of Sars-Cov-2 In White-Tailed Deer, Joshua Hewitt, Grete Wilson-Henjum, Derek T. Collins, Timothy J. Linder, Julianna B. Lenoch, Jonathan D. Heale, Christopher A. Quintanal, Robert Pleszewski, Dillon S. Mcbride, Andrew S. Bowman, Jeffrey C. Chandler, Susan A. Shriner, Sarah N. Bevins, Dennis J. Kohler, Richard B. Chipman, Allen L. Gosser, David L. Bergman, Thomas J. Deliberto, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Understanding pathogen emergence in new host species is fundamental for developing prevention and response plans for human and animal health. We leveraged a large-scale surveillance dataset coordinated by United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and State Natural Resources Agencies to quantify the outbreak dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in North American white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; WTD) throughout its range in the United States. Local epidemics in WTD were well approximated by a single-outbreak peak followed by fade out. Outbreaks peaked early in the northeast and mid- Atlantic. Local effective reproduction ratios of SARS-CoV-2 were between …

Probabilistic Genetic Identification Of Wild Boar Hybridization To Support Control Of Invasive Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa), Timothy J. Smyser, Peter Pfaffelhuber, Rachael M. Giglio, Matthew G. Desaix, Amy J. Davis, Courtney F. Bowden, Michael A. Tabak, Arianna Manunza, Valentin Adrian Bâlteanu, Marcel Amills, Laura Iacolina, Pamela Walker, Carl Lessard, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The rapid expansion of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) throughout the United States has been fueled by unlawful introductions, with invasive populations causing extensive crop losses, damaging native ecosystems, and serving as a reservoir for disease. Multiple states have passed laws prohibiting the possession or transport of wild pigs. However, genetic and phenotypic similarities between domestic pigs and invasive wild pigs—which overwhelmingly represent domestic pig and wild boar hybrids—pose a challenge for the enforcement of such regulations. We sought to exploit wild boar ancestry as a common attribute among the vast majority of invasive wild pigs as a means …

Efficacy Of X-Ray Phytosanitary Irradiation On The Infectivity And Reproduction Of Angiostrongylus Cantonensis In Experimentally Infected Rats, Susan I. Jarvi, Lisa M. Kaluna, Steven C. Hess, Lindsey Hamilton, Carmen Antaky, Robert T. Sugihara, Israel L. Leinbach, Yaeko Tagami, Argon Steel, Kathleen Howe, Steven Jacquier, Forrest Cookman, Jocelyn Diaz, John Jacob, Peter Follett

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a globally distributed nematode and the leading cause of eosinophilic meningitis in humans. As a global hotspot for this disease, Hawaii’s agricultural exports may be contributing to the spread of A. cantonensis. Phytosanitary irradiation doses of 150 or 400 Gy provide quarantine security against multiple insect pests. We evaluated the in vitro and in vivo effects of phytosanitary irradiation on infectious, third-stage A. cantonensis juveniles. In vitro experiments directly exposed juveniles to irradiation doses ranging from 200 to 1,000 Gy. Results showed low mortality and no dose response across all treatments 27 days post-irradiation. …