Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

2009 Annual Report Of The Water Quality Monitoring Project For The Water Quality Protection Program Of The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Joseph N. Boyer, Henry O. Briceño

SERC Research Reports

No abstract provided.

The 2009 Unlv Campus Sustainability Survey Report, Mark J. Salvaggio

Reports (USI)

In an effort to understand environmental awareness, concerns, practices, and values at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), the Urban Sustainability Initiative (USI) conducted its first campus environmental sustainability survey during the months of March, April, and May 2009. This pilot study was developed to collect baseline data from students, faculty, and staff members at the UNLV campus to be used in a longitudinal study that assesses attitudes and preferences towards environmental sustainability issues. This research project is guided by one of the major goals of USI, which involves reaching out to the academic community to help find workable …

Impact Of Heavy Metals On Childhood Behaviors And Development: A Uae Study, Said Yousef Ahmad Abdel Razeq

Theses

BACKGROUND: Environmental toxic metal exposure is well known to adversely affect children's development and behavior. To our knowledge, there are no studies that carefully examined this potential hazard in UAE and Gulf countries.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this case-control study was to determine blood concentrations of 12 heavy metals in school-age children in Al Ain City. The other aim was to correlate the blood levels with developmental (e.g., learning disability) and behavioral (e.g., Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) problems in children.

METHODS: One hundred and forty seven subjects (73 with developmental and/or behavioral disorders and 74 controls) participated in the study. The …

Problems Of Equity And Efficiency In The Design Of International Greenhouse Gas Cap-And-Trade Schemes, Jason S. Johnston

All Faculty Scholarship

This article argues that international greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade schemes suffer from inherent problems of enforceability and verifiability that both cause significant inefficiencies and create inevitable tradeoffs between equity and efficiency. A standard result in the economic analysis of international GHG cap and trade schemes is that an allocation of initial permits that favors poor, developing countries (making such countries net sellers in equilibrium) may be necessary not only to further redistributive goals but also the efficiency of the GHG cap and trade scheme. This coincidence of equity and efficiency is, however, unlikely to be realized under more realistic assumptions …

State Of The River Report For The Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida: Water Quality, Fisheries, Aquatic Life, And Contaminants 2009, Environmental Protection Board, City Of Jacksonville, University Of North Florida, Jacksonville University

State of the River Report

No abstract provided.

Anthropogenic Osmium In Rain And Snow Reveals Global-Scale Atmospheric Contamination, Cynthia Chen, Peter N. Sedwick, Mukul Sharma

OES Faculty Publications

Osmium is one of the rarer elements in seawater, with typical concentration of ≈10 x 10^-15 g g^-1 ( 5.3 x 10^-14 mol kg^-1. The osmium isotope composition (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio) of deep oceans is 1.05, reflecting a balance between inputs from continental crust (≈ 1.3) and mantle/cosmic dust (≈ 0.13). Here, we show that the ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios measured in rain and snow collected around the world range from 0.16 to 0.48, much lower than expected (>1), but similar to the isotope composition of ores (approximate to 0.2) …

Environmental Analysis Of Selected Estrogens And Androgens: Applying Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography And Combating Matrix Interference, Stacie L. Rice

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Investigations of environmental hormone contamination commonly utilize solidphase extraction (SPE) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography / (electrospray ionization) tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/(ESI)MS2) in the detection of estrogens. Matrix interference is widely reported. In this study, androgens were targeted alongside estrogens as environmentally co-introduced endocrine disrupting chemicals. Analytical methods were developed in parallel for detection of several hormones from each class, with comparison of protocols and instrumental parameters. Ultraperformance LC (UPLC®), an emerging technology advertised for reduced retention times, was used in place of HPLC for hormone separation. Applicability to diverse aqueous samples was tested. Matrix interference was combated with two …

Toxicology Of Decabromodiphenyl Ether In Avian Embryos: Disposition Of The Flame Retardant Bde-209 In Yolk-Injected Chicken Embryos (Gallus Gallus), Samantha D. Sifleet

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardant chemicals of toxicological concern present in humans, wildlife, and the environment. Deca-BDE is the highest production product due to historical use patterns and recent regulatory limitations on the other two commercial formulations (Penta-BDE and Octa-BDE) in the U.S and Europe. The EU banned Deca-BDE starting July 1, 2008. However, it remains in usage in North America and elsewhere in the world. BDE-209 is the dominant congener in all Deca- BDE commercial products. BDE-209 has been reported to under go metabolic debromination to lesser brominated and more toxic and bioaccumulative congeners. However, insufficient data …

Suchy System Oczyszczania Spalin Ze Spalania Odpadów Niebezpiecznych – Ocena Skuteczności Usuwania Substancji Gazowych I Możliwości Spełniania Standardów Emisyjnych, Robert Oleniacz

Robert Oleniacz

The research object was a medical waste incineration plant with a flue-gas treatment system based on dry sorption agent injection to combustion gases before a high-efficiency particulate collector. A combustion system was consisted with the fluidized bed reactor (starved air gasifier) and the secondary combustion chamber. As the dry absorbent was used a mixture of high reactive hydrated lime and activated carbon. Activated carbon content in the mixture was 5-10 % by mass. The absorbent was injected in the minimal recommended amount (4-5 kg/h). Applied collector was a ceramic filter with total filtration area of 120 m2 and guaranteed outlet …

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering October 1 – December 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased 8% over last quarter. The database now contains 6,431 records.
• Website activity increased, recording an average of 56,013 hits per month, an increase of 6% from last quarter, with an average of 5,211 pages viewed per month.
• Volunteer fall training has been completed.
• Three National Public Land Day and National Family Events have been completed.
• Two hundred and five people attended the Volunteer Recognition Event.

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Quarterly Report, Period Ending December 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Project 1: Technical input has been provided at four advisory team meetings attended this quarter.

Project 2: A formal report titled, Surface Water Monitoring for Indicator Bacteria in High-use Sites of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, has been prepared; an accompanying poster presentation for the Lake Mead Science Symposium is in preparation.

Project 3: A draft document titled, “Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-MAP): Quagga Mussels in Lakes Mead and Mohave” has been presented to an interagency core group to review and input. Six oral presentations related to quagga mussels are in preparation by this group for the Lake Mead …

Comparison Of The Fuel Needed To Transport Plastic Recyclables Verses Aluminum Recyclables From Yellowstone National Park, Melissa Dejonge

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Research has provided no definitive answers on whether PET plastic bottles or aluminum cans are a more environmentally sustainable choice as soda containers. This paper researches the fuel used in recycling each of these materials from Yellowstone National Park to processing locations. The data is used to determine which of these alternatives use less fuel in this process. It was found that plastics use more fuel when transported from Yellowstone National Park to the processing center. Aluminum uses less fuel per ton to transport from Yellowstone to the processing center. The conclusions from this research may have implications on which …

The Environmental And Economic Benefits Of Highway Access Management: A Multivariate Analysis Using System Dynamics, Dan Andersen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Better management of highway operations can be achieved, in part, by controlling vehicular access to adjacent properties and cross streets. This tactic, referred to as access management, has proven safety and operational benefits. However, doubts remain regarding its environmental and economic benefits.

I hypothesize that one environmental indicator, carbon emissions, will decrease with proper access management. Controlling access increases the speed at which vehicles travel, improving fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. My hypothesis relative to financial impacts is that access management will neither help nor harm businesses. Controlling access can reduce travel time which has the effect of increasing …

Inaugural Conference Of The Mosakowski Institute For Public Enterprise- Program, Jim Gomes

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

Program for University Research and the American Agenda: Discovering Knowledge, Enabling Leadership. The Inaugural Conference of the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise.

Refuge Update – November/December 2008, Volume 5, Number 6

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:

Do-It-Yourself Project Makes Sparks, page 3 The Departments of the Interior and Energy spotlight San Andres Refuge’s innovative (and largely homemade) renewable energy program.

In Oregon, a Refuge Teaches Teachers, page 5 Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge’s ambitious environmental education program acquires a solid reputation.

Focus on . . . International Conservation, pages 6-11 National resource managers around the world look to the Refuge System for on-the-scene advice and training.

Taking Pride, page 16 A former refuge complex project leader in Texas and a super-volunteer in Georgia win 2008 Take Pride in America Awards.

Seasonal Changes In A Eutrophic Lake, Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky, Richard D. Stockwell, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

WilgreenLake (Madison County, Kentucky) covers ~169 acres, formed in 1966 by damming Taylor Fork. The Wilgreen watershed drains residential developments, modified woodlands, cattle pasture, and some industrial/urban areas in the city of Richmond. The lake is deemed “nutrient impaired” by the EPA.

Our main objective is to document the seasonal changes in key lake parameters from summer stratification through fall overturn over 4 months of sampling, August through November, 2008. We collect temperature, oxygen, pH, and conductivity data from 19 stations at depth intervals of 1 meter using an YSI multi-probe. Concurrent with collecting these framework data, we take water …

The University As Your Partner: Adding Value To Conservation Initiatives, Margaret N. Rees, Public Lands Institute

Presentations (PLI)

The Public Lands Institute is dedicated to strengthening the national fabric that is essential for the protection, conservation, multiple use, and management of public lands

Some Significant Wildlife Strikes To Civil Aircraft In The United States, January 1990 – September 2008, Sandra Wright

Other Bird Strike and Aviation Materials

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, through an interagency agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration, compiles a database of all reported wildlife strikes to U.S. civil aircraft and to foreign carriers experiencing strikes in the USA. We have compiled over 82,057 strike reports from 1,418 USA airports and 207 foreign airports for January 1990 through December 2007 (7,666 strikes in 2007), but estimate that this represents only about 20% of the strikes that have occurred. The following examples from the database are presented to show the serious impacts that strikes by birds or other wildlife can have on aircraft. These examples, …

Hybridization Among Three Native North American Canis Species In A Region Of Natural Sympatry, Frank Hailer, Jennifer A. Leonard

Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery: Annual Reports

Background: Population densities of many species throughout the world are changing due to direct persecution as well as anthropogenic habitat modification. These changes may induce or increase the frequency of hybridization among taxa. If extensive, hybridization can threaten the genetic integrity or survival of endangered species. Three native species of the genus Canis, coyote (C. latrans), Mexican wolf (C. lupus baileyi) and red wolf (C. rufus), were historically sympatric in Texas, United States. Human impacts caused the latter two to go extinct in the wild, although they survived in captive breeding programs. Morphological data demonstrate historic reproductive isolation between all …

Take Pride In America In Southern Nevada: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering July 5, 2008 – October 5, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

• Take Pride in America in Southern Nevada wins national Take Pride in America Award for best state program and Senate recognition

• Zia Engineering begins work on Recycling Plan

• Name the Mascot contest drawing interest and support

• Dumping and litter prevention information for Northern Nevada added to web site

• Three events conducted this quarter

• Team reaches milestone of 60 events since inception

• Agreement with Spring Mountain Youth Camp finalized

Town Of Salisbury Harbor Plan -- Phase 1, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

This document presents information developed during the first phase of the planning process to develop a Harbor Plan for the Town of Salisbury, Massachusetts. The initial phase consists of compiling and mapping existing information on natural resources, uses of the waterways and shoreline, relevant government regulatory programs and jurisdictions, identifying issues, and conducting some analyses of recreational boating-related needs. A mooring plan and mooring field delineation plan are required by the Harbor Management Plan and will be periodically updated as needed. This phase concludes with a preliminary identification of long-term goals and the development of recommendations for next steps in …

Ocena Wpływu Arcelormittal Poland S.A. Oddział W Krakowie Na Jakość Powietrza, Marian Mazur, Robert Oleniacz, Marek Bogacki, Przemysław Szczygłowski

Robert Oleniacz

The work presents selected results of atmospheric dispersion modeling and air quality impact assessment for pollutant emissions from installations of ArcelorMittal Poland S.A. Unit in Krakow (Poland). The assessment was carried out for the most unfavourable emission variant probable to take place in the period 2007-2016. In the calculations were taken into consideration typical for steelworks particle matter pollutants (total dust, heavy metals, tar substances and PAHs including benzo-a-piren) and gaseous substances (SO2, NO2, CO, HC, HCl, HF, NH3, HCN, H2S, CS2, H2SO4, BTX, phenol and pyridine). As the result of estimations, carried out according to the Polish reference method …

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Shane Bevell, Jennifer Vaughan

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Scwds Briefs: Volume 24, Number 3 (October 2008), Gary L. Doster , Editor, Scwds Briefs, Michael J. Yabsley

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

Table of Contents:

Piroplasmosis in Florida Horses

Bovine TB Update

Newcastle Disease in Cormorants

Frog Virus in a Box Turtle

SCWDS Vesicular Stomatitis Research Update

Faculty and Staff Changes at SCWDS

Lead Study Results Reported

Lead Ammo and Tackle Review

Our Energizer Bunny

Corallivorous Reef Fishes As Potential Vectors Of Coral Disease Based On A Study Of Dietary Preferences, Tanya Rogers

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The prevalence of coral disease appears to be increasing worldwide, although little is known about how these diseases are transmitted between coral colonies. To examine whether corallivorous fishes could potentially act as disease vectors, this study examined whether and which fish species feed on diseased coral, and whether these fishes actively target diseased coral sections. Branches of Acropora muricata with brown band disease were filmed in the field, and bites taken by fishes on different sections of the coral (live tissue, tissue margin, disease band, dead skeleton, and algae) were recorded. For each fish species, electivity indices were calculated for …

Designing More Effective Air Quality Advisories, Justin Olexy

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Background: There is increasing concern about the impact of air quality on human health in urban environments and how to best reduce impacts through public policies. An NSF Biocomplexity Project - "Feedbacks between Urban Systems and the Environment" (FUSE), led by Portland State University, studies the human feedbacks and responses to air quality and heat advisories through data collected in city-wide phone surveys in Portland, OR and Houston, TX. On days when ozone levels are predicted to exceed air quality standards, regulatory agencies issue air quality advisories which ask residents to reduce certain air polluting behaviors such as driving …

New Book Chapter Reviewing Mojave Desert Revegetation Practices Is Forthcoming, Scott R. Abella

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

I was invited to write a chapter for a forthcoming book on Arid Environments to be published by Nova Science Publishers. This book is anticipated to appear in late 2008 or early 2009, and we will be able to provide additional details about the entire book at that time. I co-authored our chapter on revegetation with Alice Newton, Vegetation Manager at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. We systematically reviewed 23 published studies of planting or seeding native species in the Mojave Desert.

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Quarterly Report, Period Ending September 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Project 1: Technical input has been provided at eight advisory team meetings attended this quarter. Broad, overarching “Issues of Concern” developed for the Boulder Basin Adaptive Management Plan are currently under review by Drs. David Wong and Shawn Gerstenberger. A Selenium Management Plan is also under review.

Project 2: Data collected by the Southern Nevada Water Authority has been synthesized to summarize bacteria counts in high-use areas of Lakes Mead and Mohave. This information will be documented and interpreted for management use in a formal report in the upcoming quarter.

Project 3: A draft document titled “Suggested Standard Methods for …

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering July 1- September 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased 10% since June, 2008. The database now contains 5,706 records.
• Website activity decreased, recording an average of 48,361 hits per month, a decrease of 28% from last quarter, with an average of 4,925 pages viewed per month.
• Fall volunteer training has been scheduled.
• Fall events have been scheduled.

Refuge Update – September/October 2008, Volume 5, Number 5

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:

Rebuilding after Hurricane Ike, page 3 Texas and Louisiana refuges were severely damaged in mid-September.

A Crane Species Rebounding, page 5 At a Mississippi refuge, the world’s longest-running crane reintroduction program is succeeding.

Focus on. . . Refuge System Wetlands, pages 8-13 The Refuge System manages wetlands to enhance their value for migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, threatened and endangered species and a myriad of native fish, wildlife, and plants.

Fluttering Close to Extinction, page 17. Antioch Dunes Refuge is out to save the Lange’s metalmark butterfly.