Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Environmental Dna For Conservation, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Biodiversity must be documented before it can be conserved. However, it may be difficult to document species with few individuals (Thompson, 2013; Goldberg et al., 2016), thus it requires a multitude of tools to detect species that occur in low numbers or are elusive (see the various chapters in this volume). One tool that has become useful for conservation efforts utilizes environmental DNA, which is DNA shed into the environment by organisms (eDNA; Taberlet et al., 2018). Typically this involves taking environmental samples such as soil, water, air, or using biological surrogates for sampling biodiversity (e.g. leeches, sponges, carrion flies, …

Allometric Regression Of Snake Body Length From Head Image Measurements, Shane R. Siers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

As in many fields of wildlife research and management, camera devices and photogrammetry have become an integral part of the toolkit for exploring otherwise‐unseen aspects of the biology, behavior, and control of the invasive brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) on Guam. Because brown treesnakes are cryptic and nocturnal, and nearly all aspects of their ecology are influenced by snake size, methods are needed to estimate snake size from images captured by infrared wildlife cameras. Unfortunately, it is difficult to capture images of an entire snake’s length at a controlled distance from a simple camera setup. Here, I describe the …

Increased Abundance Of The Common Raven Within The Ranges Of Greater And Gunnison Sage-Grouse: Influence Of Anthropogenic Subsidies And Fire, Jonathan B. Dinkins, Lindsey R. Perry, Jeffrey L. Beck, Jimmy D. Taylor

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The common raven (Corvus corax; raven) is native to North America and has increased in abundance, especially throughout western North America, during the last century. Human subsidies have facilitated raven dispersal into less suitable habitats and enabled these populations to maintain higher annual survival and reproduction. Concomitantly, overabundant raven populations are impacting other native at-risk species such as the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and potentially the Gunnison sage-grouse (C. minimus). Using Breeding Bird Survey data from 1995–2014, we evaluated raven count data to quantitatively describe changes in abundance and expansion into sagebrush ( …

A Novel Technique To Improve Capture Success Of Common Ravens, Lindsey R. Perry, Terrah M. Owens, Zachary T. Slick, Jimmy Taylor, Jonathan B. Dinkins

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Traditional trapping techniques for common ravens (Corvus corax; raven) require significant effort, often produce low capture rates, and cannot be used in some situations. We designed a 3-m noose pole to secure ravens from nocturnal roost locations while using a strobe spotlight to temporarily disorient them. We collected measures of trapping efficiency and contrasted them with padded leghold traps also used in the study. We effectively implemented our noose pole method in July and August of 2018, 2019, and 2020 in the Baker and Cow Lakes sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) Priority Areas of Conservation in eastern Oregon, USA, which yielded trapping …

Artisanal Mining Impacts In Urbanized Semi-Arid Environments: Lessons From Historic Arsenic Mining Near San Diego, California, James A. Wright

Theses

Anomalously elevated arsenic concentrations occur at an abandoned artisanal mine site in an open space recreational park in urban San Diego County, California. Although mining at the site ceased 100 years ago little to no remediation efforts took place leaving shafts, adits, waste piles and derelict infrastructure accessible by inquisitive hikers and adventurers frequenting Black Mountain Open Space Park. This study evaluates the geochemical mechanisms of As transport downgradient from the mine and examines the contribution of both climate and urbanization on the restriction of As mobility. Sediment As concentrations reach 2,320 mg/kg (483 times background crustal concentrations; n=73) along …

Soil Response Of Helicopter Liming In The Monongahela National Forest, Jarrett Douglas Fowler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Soils in the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) are acidic due to sandstone parent material, acid deposition, uptake of base cations by vegetation, and release of organic acids by organic matter (OM) decomposition. Increases in soil acidity have caused declines in forest health and changed species composition and nutrient status. Liming can neutralize soil acidity, but no large-scale liming projects have been done on acid forest soils in the USA. In anticipation of acquiring funding for a proposed liming project in the MNF, in 2007 and 2009 10 sites were selected to sample and analyze soils before lime was applied. In …

Grief, Loss, And Climate Change: Validation Of A Solastalgia Scale, Claire Luce

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change has been identified as a defining issue of this century (United Nations, n.d.). Climate change impacts human wellbeing including mental health. While much research has focused on the way that the effects of climate change cause increases in common mental disorders, mental health is not just the absence of these disorders (World Health Organization, 2014). Non-pathologized mental health responses to climate change, such as the grief and loss that results from climate change impacts, are a growing consideration for researchers. Solastalgia, or the distress experienced in the absence of the solace once provided by the environment in the …

Modeling Vegetation Effects On Barrier Island Evolution, Eric W. Schoen

Theses and Dissertations

Barrier islands play a significant role in protecting coastlines and harboring coastal habitats. In an effort to study and better understand the evolution of barrier island systems, a cellular model capturing various meteorological and environmental processes is proposed. Erosion due to wind, gravity, and marine processes are coupled with plant population effects. We demonstrate the inhibition of plant cover on sediment mobility, island migration, and erosion in the presence of sea level rise.

Change Detection And Landscape Similarity Comparison Using Computer Vision Methods, Karim Malik Wilfrid Laurier University

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Human-induced disturbances of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems continue at alarming rates. With the advent of both raw sensor and analysis-ready datasets, the need to monitor ecosystem disturbances is now more imperative than ever; yet the task is becoming increasingly complex with increasing sources and varieties of earth observation data. In this research, computer vision methods and tools are interrogated to understand their capability for comparing spatial patterns. A critical survey of literature provides evidence that computer vision methods are relatively robust to scale and highlights issues involved in parameterization of computer vision models for characterizing significant pattern information in a …

Evaluation Of A Low-Cost Uas And Phenocams For Measuring Grapevine Greenness, Timothy J. Hoheneder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Unpersoned aerial systems (UAS) could provide winegrowers with the potential to monitor vineyard productivity with ultra-high-resolution imagery and low operational costs. This ability could prove particularly valuable in the challenging cool-climate viticultural areas of Appalachia. Especially in this mountainous region of increasingly variable microclimates, there could be of great value from an ability to use UAS-measured greenness to monitor wine grape phenology and predict harvest quality and quantity. In this study, I assess how UAS-measured greenness relates to three complementary measures of field-based: leaf angle measurements, phenocam measured greenness, and leaf spectral measurements of greenness. After correlating these field-based measures …

The Nebraska Water Leaders Academy Graduates’ Influence On Community Capitals And Community Capacity, Dakota W. Staggs, Mark E. Burbach, Gina S. Matkin, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

An overarching goal of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy is to prepare a diverse group of Nebraskans from across the state to impact change in their communities by working together to solve wicked water problems. With 136 graduates from across Nebraska there is potential for graduates to effect change and impact their communities’ capitals (i.e., Built, Financial, Political, Social, Human, Cultural, and Natural). This study explored the impact of Academy graduates on their communities’ capitals and community capacity to prepare for future challenges from the perspective of graduates and community members. Findings show that Academy graduates are impacting their communities …

A Conceptual Model Evaluation Framework For Adaptive Governance And Adaptive Management In Large-Scale Restoration Programs, Chadwin Smith

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

Adaptive management (AM) has become a kind of plastic phrase applied as a formulaic panacea for most major species recovery and ecosystem restoration efforts now underway across the United States. AM emerged as an application of the scientific method to resource management, closely tying management to science learning through experimental actions. The phrase “learning by doing” best captures the premise behind developing an experimental management approach that could be applied on the larger scale of a river system or ecosystem. In nearly five decades of application, however, examples of successful AM implementation at large scales are few and conflict remains …

Core Commitments For Field Trials Of Gene Drive Organisms, Kanya C. Long, Luke Alphey, George J. Annas, Cinnamon S. Bloss, Karl J. Campbell, Jackson Champer, Chun-Hong Chen, Amit Choudhary, George M. Church, James P. Collins, Kimberly L. Cooper, Jason A. Delborne, Owain R. Edwards, Claudia I. Emerson, Kevin Esvelt, Sam Weiss Evans, Robert M. Friedman, Valentino M. Gantz, Fred Gould, Sarah Hartley, Elizabeth Heitman, Janet Hemingway, Hirotaka Kanuka, Jennifer Kuzma, James V. Lavery, Yoosook Lee, Marce Lorenzen, Jeantine E. Lunshof, John M. Marshall, Philipp W. Messer, Craig Montell, Kenneth A. Oye, Megan J. Palmer, Philippos Aris Papathanos, Prasad N. Paradkar, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Jason L. Rasgon, Gordana Rašić, Larisa Rudenko, J. Royden Saah, Maxwell J. Scott, Jolene T. Sutton, Adam E, Vorsino, Omar S. Akbari

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We must ensure that trials are scientifically, politically, and socially robust, publicly accountable, and widely transparent.

Gene drive organisms (GDOs), whose genomes have been genetically engineered to spread a desired allele through a population, have the potential to transform the way societies address a wide range of daunting public health and environmental challenges. The development, testing, and release of GDOs, however, are complex and often controversial. A key challenge is to clarify the appropriate roles of developers and others actively engaged in work with GDOs in decision-making processes, and, in particular, how to establish partnerships with relevant authorities and other …

Decline Of Novel Ecosystems Used By Endangered Species: The Case Of Piping Plovers, Least Terns, And Aggregate Mines, Joel G. Jorgensen, Stephen J. Brenner, Lauren R. Greenwalt, Mark P. Vrtiska

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Sand and gravel mining creates novel ecosystems along the Platte, Loup, and Elkhorn rivers in Nebraska, USA. Piping plovers and least terns are state and/or federally threatened and endangered species, respectively, that nest and raise young at these sites and their derivatives. Despite hosting relatively large numbers of piping plovers and least terns for decades, an important question that has largely gone unaddressed is whether the industry that has produced these novel ecosystems is stable and will continue to produce habitat consistently in the future. We evaluated how the number, size, and spatial distribution of different site types hosting different …

Operationalizing Niche Construction Theory With Stone Tools, Radu Lovita, David R. Braun, Matthew J. Douglass, Simon J. Holdaway, Sam C. Lin, Deborah I. Olsezewski, Zeljko Rezek

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

One of the greatest difficulties with evolutionary approaches in the study of stone tools (lithics) has been finding a mechanism for tying culture and biology in a way that preserves human agency and operates at scales that are visible in the archaeological record. The concept of niche construction, whereby organisms actively construct their environments and change the conditions for selection, could provide a solution to this problem. In this review, we evaluate the utility of niche construction theory (NCT) for stone tool archaeology. We apply NCT to lithics both as part of the “extended phenotype” and as residuals or precipitates …

Tree Canopy Effects On Roof-Harvested Rainwater In East Texas, Kimberly Gamez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nine experimental metal roofs with rainwater harvesting systems were constructed and water quality parameters were measured in 2016-2017 in order to evaluate the effects of arboreal overhang on roof-harvested rainwater quality collected in East Texas. Three treatments were evaluated: Rainwater collected from roofs without any overhanging tree vegetation, rainwater collected from roofs under predominantly Southern yellow pine tree cover, and rainwater collected from roofs under predominantly hardwood tree cover. Rainwater was collected from these roofs for one year. The effects of canopy cover on water quality parameters, comparison to drinking water standards, first-flush efficiency, and seasonal effects were evaluated.

Significant …

Challenges Of Electrifying Medium And Heavy Duty Vehicles In California And How These Challenges Can Be Overcome, Tracy Tilley

Master's Projects and Capstones

California is electrifying medium and heavy vehicles (vehicles weighing over 8,500 pounds) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide environmental justice for disadvantaged communities. These vehicles are used for delivery, construction, refuse collection or long haul trucking. The three main challenges of electrification are infrastructure, policy and funding. To address these challenges, policy analysis was used to review California’s policies already in place for electrification of medium and heavy duty vehicles. Comparative analysis was used to look at policies in other countries and environmental programs for strategies to help electrification efforts.

California faces a lack of infrastructure of medium and …

Leveraging Image Analysis To Compute 3d Plant Phenotypes Based On Voxel-Grid Plant Reconstruction, Sruti Das Choudhury, Srikanth Maturu, Ashok Samal, Vincent Stoerger, Tala Awada

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

High throughput image-based plant phenotyping facilitates the extraction of morphological and biophysical traits of a large number of plants non-invasively in a relatively short time. It facilitates the computation of advanced phenotypes by considering the plant as a single object (holistic phenotypes) or its components, i.e., leaves and the stem (component phenotypes). The architectural complexity of plants increases over time due to variations in self-occlusions and phyllotaxy, i.e., arrangements of leaves around the stem. One of the central challenges to computing phenotypes from 2-dimensional (2D) single view images of plants, especially at the advanced vegetative stage in presence of self-occluding …

Food System Resilience In Nigeria: Farmers Perspective, Azariah Lawal

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

Disturbances are inherent in every socio-ecological system (SES). However, the spate and scope of upheavals in contemporary SES has increased dramatically in recent years. Agricultural systems are perhaps the most impacted when disasters occur because different aspects of agricultural production are directly affected. The burgeoning farmers-Fulani herdsmen conflict in West Africa is a manifestation of these challenges. When faced with events like these, contemporary food systems are faced with two options: collapse or transform. It is essential to have resilient agricultural systems because these systems lie at the nexus of resolving emerging global issues.

Nigeria is an important country in …

Impacts Of Irrigated Agriculture On The Near Surface And Planetary Boundary Layer Atmosphere: Results From The Great Plains Irrigation Experiment (Grainex), Emilee Lachenmeier

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

Modification of natural prairie grasslands into irrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Great Plains produced significant impacts on regional weather and climate including temperatures, precipitation, energy fluxes, and the planetary boundary layer (PBL) atmosphere. The Great Plains Irrigation Experiment (GRAINEX) during the 2018 growing season collected data over irrigated and non-irrigated crop fields to further understand these impacts. The data were collected during two intensive observation periods (IOPs) in early June (IOP 1: 30 May – 13 June of 2018) and late July (IOP 2: 16 July – 30 July of 2018). The data analyzed include latent (LE) and sensible …