Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Niobrara National Scenic River, Socioeconomic Monitoring Pilot Implementation, Summer 2016, Resource Systems Group

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

This report describes the results of a visitor study at Niobrara National Scenic River (NSR) conducted from July 15 through July 24, 2016. During the sampling period, 253 visitor groups were contacted to participate in the survey. Of those groups, 217 agreed to participate in the study by accepting a mail-back survey packet. Questionnaires were completed and returned by 110 visitor groups, resulting in a completion rate of 51% among those visitor groups that agreed to participate in the study and an overall response rate of 43% for the study.

 This report profiles a systematic random sample …

Quality Assurance Plan For Monitoring White-Tailed Deer In The Heartland Inventory And Monitoring Network, United States National Park Service, Heartland Inventory And Monitoring Network

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

In accordance with guidelines set forth by the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Division, a quality-assurance plan has been created for use by the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network in the implementation of the White-tailed Deer Monitoring Protocol (HTLN 2018). This quality-assurance plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the Heartland Network for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of monitoring data. The policies and procedures documented in this quality-assurance plan complement the quality-assurance plans for other monitoring activities conducted by the Heartland Network and supplement the National Inventory and Monitoring Division …

Examining Patterns In Nest Predation Using Artificial Nests, Victoria L. Simonsen

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

The use of artificial nests to study the predation of avian nests has faced disregard by ecologists due to inconsistencies found between the survival rates of real and artificial nests across studies and reviews. The negative perception of artificial nests providing an inconsistent assessment of survival has thus fostered the perception that artificial nests are a secondary option to be used to overcome logistical hurdles associated with achieving sufficient sample sizes in systems where study species are rare or elusive, or as merely a preliminary method to study predation across gradients. We argue that the greatest mistake ecologists have made …

Groundwater Recharge Response To Reduced Irrigation Pumping In Western Nebraska, Justin Philip Gibson

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

Given current and continued investment in irrigation scheduling technologies, a need exists to better estimate the longevity and magnitude of water savings at watershed level to avoid the paradox of irrigation efficiency. This paradox occurs within a watershed as not all irrigation inefficiencies lead to the system losing water. For example, irrigation pumping rates in excess of crop water demand may lead to enhanced groundwater recharge or surface runoff that migrates to a stream. Thus, increases in efficiency may not lead to similar magnitudes of water savings. I hypothesize that water savings longevities are short given previous work demonstrating rapid …

An Investigation Of Habitat Suitability Factors And Their Interactions For Predicting Gopher Tortoise Habitat, Abigail V. Lavallin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis evaluates the interaction between four habitat factors vital to the gopher tortoise in Florida. Federally and state listed as threatened throughout its entire range, the gopher tortoise is vital to protect, not only for itself individually but its burrows provide an essential habitat to over 300 species making it a key stone species within its environment. Historic habitat modeling methods are reviewed for the gopher tortoise to highlight the gap on this topic. This research expanded on the methods utilized by Baskaran et al. (2006) evaluating the soil, landcover, percentage of canopy cover and the depth to water …

Eddy Flux Measurements Of Sulfur Dioxide Deposition To The Sea Surface, Jack G. Porter, Warren J. De Bruyn, Eric S. Saltzman

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Deposition to the sea surface is a major atmospheric loss pathway for many important trace gases, such as sulfur dioxide (SO2). The air–sea transfer of SO2 is controlled entirely on the atmospheric side of the air–sea interface due to high effective solubility and other physical– chemical properties. There have been few direct field measurements of such fluxes due to the challenges associated with making fast-response measurements of highly soluble trace gases at very low ambient levels. In this study, we report direct eddy covariance air–sea flux measurements of SO2, sensible heat, water vapor, and momentum. The measurements were made over …

Longitudinal Study Of The Attitudes And Behaviors Of Environmental Education Program Participants., Kasie R. Dugas

LSU Master's Theses

The goal of this longitudinal study was to measure the attitudes and behaviors of participants of the Marsh Maneuvers program over the course of the last 25 years. The goal of the Marsh Maneuvers program is to educate students into becoming environmentally literate adults. Environmental literacy is considered herein to be people possessing knowledge about and positive attitudes and behaviors towards the environment. Although students learn basic science and environmental knowledge in the classroom, true environmental literacy is believed to require more hands-on understanding of the material. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program, the following three objectives were completed. …

Influence Of Salinity, Sunlight, And Sediment On The Toxicity Of Pesticides In Three Non-Target Organisms, Emily Noelle Vebrosky

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Pesticides used in the United States must undergo registration by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), after a multitude of analyses ranging from environmental fate to aquatic toxicological impacts to human risk exposure. Testing varies for each chemical, some requiring more testing than others. In many cases, environmental factors are restricted in the analysis of chemical behavior and organismal testing is limited to larvae. Many pesticides are formulated to breakdown in the environment by means of photolysis, hydrolysis, or oxidation, either to ensure low-persistence, limited transport, or to form the active ingredient (pro-pesticides). Environmental influences on chemical behaviors include …

Land-Use/Land-Cover Changes And Their Influence On The Ecosystem In Chengdu City, China During The Period Of 1992–2018, Xiaojuan Lin, Min Xu, Chunxiang Cao, Ramesh P. Singh, Wei Chen, Hongrun Ju

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Due to urban expansion, economic development, and rapid population growth, land use/land cover (LULC) is changing in major cities around the globe. Quantitative analysis of LULC change is important for studying the corresponding impact on the ecosystem service value (ESV) that helps in decision-making and ecosystem conservation. Based on LULC data retrieved from remote-sensing interpretation, we computed the changes of ESV associated with the LULC dynamics using the benefits transfer method and geographic information system (GIS) technologies during the period of 1992–2018 following self-modified coefficients which were corrected by net primary productivity (NPP). This improved approach aimed to establish a …

Tracking Drought Perspectives: A Rural Case Study Of Transformations Following An Invisible Hazard, Theresa Jedd, Deborah J. Bathke, Duane Gill, Bimal Paul, Nicole Wall, Tonya K. Bernadt, Jacob Petr, Anthony James Mucia, Milan Wall

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Rural towns are especially susceptible to the effects of drought because their economies are dependent on natural resources.However, they are also resilient in many ways to natural hazards because they are rich in civic engagement and social capital. Because of the diverse nature of drought’s impacts, understanding its complex dynamics and its effects requires a multidisciplinary approach. To study these dynamics, this research combines appreciative inquiry, the Community Capitals Framework, and a range of climatological monitoring data to assess the 2012–14 Great Plains drought’s effect on McCook, Nebraska. Community coping measures, such as water-use reduction and public health programs, were …

Sustaining Wetlands To Mitigate Disasters And Protect People, Joanna Endter-Wada, Karin M. Kettenring, Ariana E. Sutton-Grier

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Hurricanes, flooding, droughts. Weather‐related disasters are dominating news cycles and causing widespread destruction, most recently with Typhoon Mangkhut and Hurricane Florence. The US had the most catastrophic hurricane season on record in 2017, with hundreds of billions of dollars in estimated damages. California is experiencing unprecedented tragedies from widespread wildfires and increased vulnerability to storms. Disasters that were once uncommon appear to be the new norm globally, and evidence suggests the frequency and impacts of extreme events will increase further with climate change.

Droughtscape, Fall 2018, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

From the director

Drought greatly improves in Southern Plains and South

Texas, Missouri, and Colorado logged late-summer impacts

Memory, remote sensing and a new research methodology

Navigating the U.S. Drought Monitor

Planners discuss the barriers to effective drought mitigation planning

Exploring climate issues from a county management perspective

Strategic Framework for Drought Risk Management and Enhancing Resilience in Africa

Mena global policy forum looks from data to mitigation

About us

State-by-state drought classification table developed by NDMC graduate student

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- October 2018, Natalie Umphlett, Rezaul Mamood, Jamie Lahowetz, Warren Pettee, Dalton Van Stratten, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

ACIS GIS portal release..........2

ACIS maps enhancement.....3

Product highlight....................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

Update on tribal engagement............................................. 5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

The Viability Of Community Composting At The Melbourne Food Hub, Bailey Mcneill

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My research assessed the viability of a community compost site at the Melbourne Food Hub modeled after other successful compost hubs and based on local demand. I surveyed 72 people at the Alphington Farmer’s Market, located at the Food Hub site, and 31 people answered the survey online for a total of 103 responses. In addition, I interviewed ten people working with existing community compost hubs around Melbourne to find out what compost systems they use, how community members engage with the site, what their biggest problems have been, and their motivations for composting.

My survey found that the majority …

Wood Waste And Race: The Industrialization Of Biomass Energy Technologies And Environmental Justice, Sarah Mittlefehldt

Journal Articles

In the 1980s, engineers developed new ways to use one of humanity’s oldest fuel sources—wood—to create electrical power. This article uses envirotechnical analysis to examine the development of a wood-burning power plant in Flint, Michigan, and argues that when public officials began working with major energy corporations to build industrial biomass facilities in the 1980s and 1990s, new energy technologies designed to run on renewable fuels became part of an entrenched fossil fuel–based power structure that maintained deep historical inequalities. Like other examples of environmental injustice, the burdens of industrial-scale biomass power systems tended to fall on poor, nonwhite communities. …

Further Evidence For The Invasion And Establishment Of Pterois Volitans (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae) Along The Atlantic Coast Of The United States, H. Scott Meister, David M. Wyanski, Joshua K. Loefer, Steve W. Ross, Andrea M. Quattrini, Kenneth J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We document the continues population expansion of red lionfish, Pterois volitans, the first documented successful introduction of an invasive marine fish species from the western Pacific to Atlantic coastal water of the United States. Red lionfish are indigenous to the Indo-Pacific and have apparently established one or more breeding population on reefs off the southeastern United States. Fifty-nine specimens, most presumably adult red lionfish, were documented or collected on live-bottom reefs North Carolina, South Caroline, and Florida, and on a manmade structure off Georgia. Observation/collection depths and bottom water temperatures for these fish ranged from 4-99 m and 13.8-24.4 …

Marine Threats Overlap Key Foraging Habitat For Two Imperiled Sea Turtle Species In The Gulf Of Mexico, Kristen M. Hart, Autumn R. Iverson, Ikuko Fujisaki, Margaret M. Lamont, David Bucklin, Donna J. Shaver

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Effective management of human activities affecting listed species requires understanding both threats and animal habitat-use patterns. However, the extent of spatial overlap between high-use foraging areas (where multiple marine species congregate) and anthropogenic threats is not well-known. Our modeling approach incorporates data on sea turtle spatial ecology and a suite of threats in the Gulf of Mexico to identify and map “hot spots” of threats to two imperiled turtle species. Of all 820 “high” threats grid cells, our tracked turtles foraged at least 1 day in 77% of them. Although threat data were not available outside the U.S. Exclusive Economic …

Estimating Dominant Runoff Modes Across The Conterminous United States, Brian Buchanan, Daniel A. Auerbach, James Knighton, Darrick Evensen, Daniel R. Fuka, Zachary Easton, Michael Wieczorek, Josephine A. Archibald, Brandon Mcwilliams, Todd Walter

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Effective natural resource planning depends on understanding the prevalence of runoff generating processes. Within a specific area of interest, this demands reproducible, straightforward information that can complement available local data and can orient and guide stakeholders with diverse training and backgrounds. To address this demand within the contiguous United States (CONUS), we characterized and mapped the predominance of two primary runoff generating processes: infiltration‐excess and saturation‐excess runoff (IE vs. SE, respectively). Specifically, we constructed a gap‐filled grid of surficial saturated hydraulic conductivity using the Soil Survey Geographic and State Soil Geographic soils databases. We then compared surficial saturated hydraulic conductivity …

Eddy Covariance Flux Errors Due To Random And Systematic Timing Errors During Data Acquisition, Gerardo Fratini, Simone Sabbatini, Kevin Ediger, Brad Riensche, George Burba, Giacomo Nicolini, Domenico Vitale, Dario Papale

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Modern eddy covariance (EC) systems collect high-frequency data (10–20 Hz) via digital outputs of instruments. This is an important evolution with respect to the traditional and widely used mixed analog/digital systems, as fully digital systems help overcome the traditional limitations of transmission reliability, data quality, and completeness of the datasets.

However, fully digital acquisition introduces a new problem for guaranteeing data synchronicity when the clocks of the involved devices themselves cannot be synchronized, which is often the case with instruments providing data via serial or Ethernet connectivity in a streaming mode. In this paper, we suggest that, when assembling EC …

Short-Term Low Salinity Mitigates Effects Of Oil And Dispersant On Juvenile Eastern Oysters: A Laboratory Experiment With Implications For Oil Spill Response Activities, Meagan N. Schrandt, Sean Powers, F.Scott Rikard, Wilawan Thongda, Eric Peatman

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico were exposed to oil and various associated clean-up activities that may have compromised oyster reef health. Included in the exposure was oil, dispersant, and in some locales, atypical salinity regimes. Oil and dispersants can be detrimental to oysters and the effects of salinity depend on the level. In addition to these extrinsic factors, genetic diversity of oyster populations may help the oysters respond to stressors, as demonstrated in other systems. We used a 3×3×2 factorial design to experimentally examine the effects …