Water Resource Management Commons^™

A Tale Of Two Rivers: Unveiling Water's Secrets Across Continents, Jace Bell, Mohammad Iqbal

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Dry Run Creek outside of Cedar Falls, Iowa in the United States and New Town Rivulet surrounding Hobart, Tasmania in Australia are two comparable hydrological water flows. From the natural sources of the water flows to the watershed impacts from industrial, municipal, and agricultural practices further downstream, the similarities and differences of the physical, chemical, and geomorphological properties of these two hydrological systems on separate continents will permit further understanding of Earth’s comprehensive ecosystem on two continents.

Water from seven sites along the Cedar River and the Mississippi River and at Prairie Lake, Alice Wyth Lake, and Big Woods Lake …

Light Alters Leaf Breakdown Rates And Metabolic Activity In Anthropogenically Impacted Nebraska Streams, William Reilly Farrell

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

Algal growth influences carbon breakdown rates in aquatic ecosystems; however, the magnitude and direction of these effects differ based on ecosystem context. To explore algal priming effects on decomposition in anthropogenically impacted ecosystems, I conducted light manipulation experiments in three streams, each surrounded by different land uses (i.e., predominantly urban, row crop, or concentrated animal feeding operation) across Nebraska. I measured leaf breakdown rates, metabolic activity, fungal and algal biomass, and leaf percent carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) to assess the effect of light differences. These streams were impacted by sedimentation and turbidity over the course of the leaf incubation. …

Pronghorn Survival And Resource Selection In Western Nebraska's Agriculturally Dominated Landscape, Katie Piecora

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

Nebraska’s pronghorn population has been stable over the last decade, yet their presence on the landscape remains a contentious subject amongst private landowners. Conversion of grassland for crop production and increased anthropogenic activity has drastically altered pronghorn behavior throughout their current range, however basic ecology and resource use by pronghorn in Nebraska remains poorly understood. Establishing baseline population metrics and seasonal patterns of resource use for this population at the eastern periphery of the species range is critical to guide management actions. We deployed GPS collars on 110 adult pronghorn to quantify survival, mortality risk, and seasonal resource selection in …

Babesa Sewage Treatment Plant As A Vital Artificial Wetland Habitat For A Multitude Of Avian Species, Pelden Nima, Mahendra Timsina, Tenzin Jamtsho, Pema Khandu

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study aimed to glean basic ecological aspects on diversity and abundance, temporal variation and guild composition of the birds at Babesa Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). The line transect method was used as the sampling technique from November 2021 to October 2022. A total of 80 species belonging to 58 genera, 29 families, and 11 orders were detected, of which three, namely, River Lapwing Vanellus duvaucelii, Falcated Duck Mareca falcata, and Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca, are ‘Near Threatened’ with the remaining being ‘Least Concern’. The highest species richness was recorded in the winter (6.29), the highest species diversity in the …

Waterbody Size Predicts Bank- And Boat-Angler Efforts, Derek S. Kane, Kevin L. Pope, Keith D. Koupal, Mark A. Pegg, Christopher J. Chizinski, Mark A. Kaemingk

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Bank- and boat-angler efforts are logistically difficult and costly to estimate, preventing landscape-scale estimates that are required to address current and future challenges (e.g., climate change, invasive species) for inland recreational fisheries. Using a large Nebraska, USA, recreational fishery dataset (N = 67 waterbodies), we demonstrate that waterbody size can be used to predict bank- and boat-angler efforts across a heterogeneous landscape of extra small (< 104 ha) and large (> 647 ha) waterbodies. Bank and boat anglers respond to waterbody size, however these relationships appear to be unique between the two angler types. Boat-angler efforts increased as a function of waterbody size, whereas bank-angler …

Evaluation Of Bio-Friendly Formulations From Siderophore-Producing Fluorescent Pseudomonas As Biocontrol Agents For The Management Of Soil-Borne Fungi, Fusarium Oxysporum And Rhizoctonia Solani, Gaber Attia Abo-Zaid, Ahmed Salah Abdullah, Nadia Abdel-Mohsen Soliman, Ebaa Ebrahim El-Sharouny, Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar, Yiming Su, Ahmed Abdelkhalek, Soraya Abdel-Fattah Sabry

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Secretion of siderophores by Pseudomonas aeruginosa F2 and P. fluorescens JY3 was evaluated on chrome azurol S (CAS) agar plates and their inhibitory effect was inspected against Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani. Production of siderophores as biocontrol agents from F2 and JY3 was accomplished in two optimized media. Afterward, cell-free supernatants of the bacterial cultures containing siderophores were used for the preparation of two bio-friendly formulations for the management of F. oxysporum and R. solani under greenhouse conditions. The investigated bacterial isolates, F2 and JY3, showed antagonistic activity in vitro against F. oxysporum and R. solani and produced siderophores …

Adsorptive–Photocatalytic Performance For Antibiotic And Personal Care Product Using Cu0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4, Chanat Chokejaroenrat, Chainarong Sakulthaew, Athaphon Angkaew, Apiladda Pattanateeradetch, Wuttinun Raksajit, Kanokwan Teingtham, Piyaporn Phansak, Pawee Klongvessa, Daniel D. Snow, Clifford E. Harris, Steven Comfort

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The amount of antibiotics and personal care products entering local sewage systems and ultimately natural waters is increasing and raising concerns about long-term human health effects. We developed an adsorptive photocatalyst, Cu_0.5Mn_0.5Fe₂O₄ nanoparticles, utilizing co-precipitation and calcination with melamine, and quantified its efficacy in removing paraben and oxytetracycline (OTC). During melamine calcination, Cu_0.5Mn_0.5Fe₂O₄ recrystallized, improving material crystallinity and purity for the adsorptive–photocatalytic reaction. Kinetic experiments showed that all four parabens and OTC were removed within 120 and 45 min. We found that contaminant adsorption and reaction …

Variability In Consumption And End Uses Of Water For Residential Users, Camilo J. Bastidas Pacheco, Jeffery S. Horsburg, Attallah A. Nour

Outreach

Research Objective/Summary: In most large urban water systems in the US, the residential sector consumes the majority of total supplied fresh water. In a world plagued with increasing water scarcity and climate change stresses, understanding individual home water end-uses is vital to water management and conservation. We studied the end uses of water in residential homes, both indoor and outdoor to find patterns and variations in consumption over time. Results indicate a need for more efficient water fixtures, particularly toilets, and provide an opportunity to promote conservation behavior.

Water Current, Volume 55, No. 2, Summer 2023

Water Current Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Droughtscape, Summer 2023, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

DroughtScape, Summer 2023

Monitoring Dam Stability Using Psi And Sbas Analysis, Rejoice Thomas, Wenzhao Li, Shahryar Fazli, Nikolay Grisel Todorov, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Water preservation and maximization of its efficient use is key in areas facing water scarcity like California. One of the most important resources available to us are dams, which are useful to address a variety of needs like water supply, flood control, and maintaining environmental flows. However, if not managed properly, dams can be disastrous to humans and wildlife alike, different water species, habitats, and even impact water quality for a region. In this context, we have used newer Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry techniques like Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) and Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) to estimate the displacement rates at …

Dynamic Fallowing In The Middle Rio Grande: A Look At The Environmental Water Leasing Program, Jared Wood

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

The Environmental Water Leasing Program (EWLP) is a federally-funded collaborative effort of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that has paid irrigators in the Middle Rio Grande to temporarily lease water rights and forgo their water use so that it may be used to provide environmental flows for the endangered Rio Grande Silvery Minnow. The program operates in a sometimes socially contentious context, in a region with an overallocated, legally constrained water system, to offer much needed water management flexibility. While dynamic fallowing payments for ecosystem services programs like the EWLP are common policy …

Groundwater Budgeting And Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Of Water Supply At Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Maximiliano Trujillo

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

Water resources management is becoming increasingly complex in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, where the negative impacts of climate change and growing demand for a fully allocated river put further strain on diminishing water supply. The precarity of future water availability emphasizes the importance of fully accounting for existing water rights allocations and understanding how ever changing social and ecological processes might hinder those rights from being fully realized. This study aimed at improving knowledge of the groundwater budget at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico by utilizing experimental methods of Darcy Flow analysis to estimate groundwater flow …

Irrigation And Innovation: Understanding Barriers To Innovative Actions To Manage Drought On Middle Rio Grande Farms, Eleanor C. Hasenbeck

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

The Rio Grande has irrigated agricultural land in central New Mexico since time immemorial. Today, agriculture in New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande valley is adapting to an increasingly scarce water supply due to long-term drought and climate change (Dunbar et al., 2022). As supply is decreasing, demands are increasing because of several factors: an increase in evapotranspiration (Dunbar et al., 2022); population growth in the Middle Rio Grande valley (NM LFC, 2021); and legal obligations to provide water for endangered species and to Texas and Mexico (NM ISC, 2017). Agriculture is largest water use by sector in the Rio Grande …

Motivations And Barriers To Participation In Community Outreach And Engagement Among Environmental And Water Resources Students And Postdocs, Sydney Donohue

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

There is a need to utilize knowledge exchange avenues between academia and non-academic communities in order to advance environmental science and engineering education. Many universities and research centers attempt to enhance knowledge sharing by organizing broader impact outreach events such as lab tours, demonstrations, hands-on activities, and public presentations. Anecdotally, at two NSF-funded centers, the Transformation Network and Center for Water and the Environment, we have seen that only the same small subset of students and postdocs frequently participate while over 70% of those invited never volunteer. This study aims to survey environmentally-focused undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs’ motivations …

Mentoring Experiences Of Undergraduate Students And Faculty Members In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics, Pamela Martínez Oquendo

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

I present a comprehensive view of mentoring experiences of undergraduate students and faculty members in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In Chapter 1, I describe a brief outline of this dissertation. In Chapter 2, I present an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the lived experiences of former STEM undergraduate mentors of the Nebraska STEM For You (NE STEM 4U) afterschool mentoring program. In Chapter 3, I describe how the ramifications of faculty mentorship influence the science pipeline using a qualitative synthesis. In Chapter 4, I describe how the STEM faculty-student mentoring engagement involves a strong psychological support component using a …

Cadmium And Salinity Stressor Antagonism On Vallisneria Neotropicalis, Christopher P. Mikolaitis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Submerged macrophytes form the foundation of freshwater ecosystems. These organisms are sessile and are very susceptible to shifts in their environment. Heavy metals are of particular concern as they can be sequestered indefinitely in sediments and are readily taken up by rooted vegetation. In the presence of saltwater intrusions, these metals can interact with salt ions potentially changing their availability to submerged vegetation. In this study a freshwater macrophyte, Vallisneria neotropicalis, was used as a test species for interactive effects between Cd, a non-essential heavy metal, and salt stress. The metrics used to establish the individual as well as …

Incorporation Of Carbon Dioxide Production And Transport Module Into A Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum Model, Sahila Beegum, Wenguang Sun, Dennis Timlin, Zhuangji Wang, David Fleisher, Vangimalla R. Reddy, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Carbon dioxide release from agricultural soils is influenced by multiple factors, including soil (soil properties, soil-microbial respiration, water content, temperature, soil diffusivity), plant (carbon assimilation, rhizosphere respiration), atmosphere (climate, atmospheric carbon dioxide), etc. Accurate estimation of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) fluxes in the soil and soil respiration (CO₂ flux between soil and atmosphere) requires a process-based modeling approach that accounts for the influence of all these factors. In this study, a module for CO₂ production via root and microbial respiration and diffusion-based carbon dioxide transport is developed and integrated with MAIZSIM (a process-based maize crop growth …

Exploratory Data-Driven Models For Water Quality: A Case Study For Tampa Bay Water, Sandra Sekyere

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water, a crucial resource for sustaining life, covers approximately 70% of the earth's surface. Nonetheless, the quality of water is deteriorating rapidly due to the rapid growth of urban areas and industries, which is a worrying trend causing harm to human health and the ecosystem. Water quality forecasting has a key role in water resources management by enabling effective pollution control, ecosystem monitoring, and decision-making.

Previously, traditional statistical models were used to forecast water quality, but they were unable to examine the non-linear relationships between water quality parameters, and they assumed that all datasets were distributed normally. This study uses …

Assessing Downstream Aquatic Habitat Availability Relative To Headwater Reservoir Management In The Henrys Fork Snake River, Christina N. Morrisett, Robert W. Van Kirk, Sarah E. Null

Watershed Sciences Student Research

Reservoirs are sometimes managed to meet agricultural and other water demands, while also maintaining streamflow for aquatic species and ecosystems. In the Henrys Fork Snake River, Idaho (USA), irrigation-season management of a headwater reservoir is informed by a flow target in a management reach ~95 km downstream. The target is in place to meet irrigation demand and maintain aquatic habitat within the 11.4 km management reach and has undergone four flow target assignments from 1978 to 2021. Recent changes to irrigation-season management to maximize reservoir carryover warranted investigation into the flow target assignment. Thus, we created a streamflow-habitat model using …