Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Analyzing Sea Level Rise Adaptation & Mitigation Strategies In Louisiana And The Netherlands, Jonah Mcdowell

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Sea level rise is an increasingly dangerous threat. As a byproduct of climate change, this is an issue that has the potential to impact countless people, animals, and ecosystems across the globe. As sea level rise continues to worsen, it is imperative that coastal communities develop their own strategies and plans to combat this problem. This study focuses on two areas, the state of Louisiana and the country of the Netherlands, and studies how they have responded to this problem. These locations were chosen because sea level rise is proportionally more severe at these two locations compared to other areas …

Analyzing The Effects Of Cold Frontal Passage On The Feeding Habits Of Micropterus Salmoides (Largemouth Bass), Ethan Lang

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

For many decades, it has been theorized as to what happens to the feeding habits of largemouth bass (Micropterus Salmoides) when a significant short term weather change occurs. Here in the midwest and all throughout the United States cold front boundaries are a weather phenomenon that occur on a regular basis. They can occur on a very large or small scale and have a rapid effect on the weather locally. These cold front systems have been looked at as one of the main drivers to having an effect on the feeding habits of largemouth. However, up until this point, any …

Roots Of Passion In Environmental Unl Students, Shane Vrbicky

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

“Passion” is an elusive idea - a simple word invented by man - able to depict vastly different realities and meanings dependent entirely on the user. Highly influential in nature, the simple thought of a passion within human beings can evoke a wide spectrum of strong emotions from pure joy and satisfaction to utter desperation and dread. Sometimes people have never known a life without their passion, guided by a headstrong feeling towards a path they have always dreamed of. Sometimes people can never seem to find passion, not knowing where to look and yet constantly chasing after it. Sometimes …

The Decline Of Upland Birds In Nebraska: Maximizing Limited Habitat, Hunter Tesarek

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Ring-necked Pheasants were introduced into the United States around 150 years ago and since then have become an important species both culturally and economically. There population health is of growing concern as upland bird populations in much of the United States have been declining rapidly throughout the latter half of the last century. In Nebraska millions of acres have been transformed from habitat that benefits upland birds into row crop agriculture, mostly in the form of corn and soybeans. Rural Mail Carrier Surveys conducted for pheasants from 1960 through 2020 in comparison to change in acres harvested depict the relationship …

Place-Based Pedagogies In Post-Secondary Science Education: A Scoping Literature Review, Megan Swain

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

How do we connect students to a class and how do educational professionals create those connections? What makes an educational experience memorable? How do we cultivate students who are passionate and engaged? These are all important questions in educational fields and ones that have increasing importance in a world of growing virtual education. This thesis aims to look deeper into one method, place-based education that attempts to answer some of these questions.

Place-based education (PBE) is a pedagogy that utilizes the local physical environment and community as an educational tool. Educators focus lessons on places, people, and things surrounding their …

Identifying A Consumer-Producer Agricultural Knowledge Gap, Aspen Rittgarn

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The purpose of this paper and online survey was to see if an agricultural knowledge gap between consumers and producers be found. Low agricultural literacy rates can lead to misconceptions of the agriculture industry, unhealthy food choices, environmentally unfriendly product choices, food waste, etc. The hypothesis for this thesis is that those born in the mid1960s to early 1980s (Generation X) will be the start of an increased knowledge gap. The survey was compiled of both qualitative and quantitative questions and questions were inspired by American Farm Bureau’s AITC Benchmarks. Responses were analyzed and the results revealed that my participants …

Evaluating Ecosystem Health Of The Salt Creek Basin Through Two-Eyed Seeing, Shelby Serritella

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Few instances of prior research into socio-ecological health have brought together both Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Western science, especially in Nebraska. This study attempts to fill this gap in Lancaster County, Nebraska by using “Two-Eyed Seeing”. This equitably combines both Indigenous Knowledge Systems (qualitative data), obtained through oral interviews with Indigenous community members, and Western science (quantitative data), obtained through USGS, UNL, and U.S. Drought Monitor databases, to assess ecosystem health. Changes to the Salt Creek Basin were collected and analyzed through this Two-Eyed Seeing framework. Results found that there are high levels of consensus between both knowledge systems regarding …

Sust 489 Capstone: Library Of Things Project, Jadyn Ford, Lewis Hall, Dan Hanson, Matthew Helm, Hanah Long, Devin Mcginley, Breana Spinler, Kacy Tubbs

Sustainability & Environment Projects

Each year, the Sustainability 489 Capstone class works with a community partner whose needs align with the initiatives of the Department of Sustainability. This year, the SUST 489 class received a recommendation from Dr. Joe Kantenbacher to work with the Vermilion Public Library. Our class worked with Daniel Burniston, Vermillion Public Library Director, to best identify the needs of the Vermillion community. The class, our library partners, and our professor Dr. Meghann Jarchow worked together to decide upon a Library of Things project, where we will assist the library in providing items for library patrons to check out.

Effect Of Elevated Temperature And Roundup Exposure On Oxidative Stress And Antioxidant Status In The American Oyster, Afsana Chowdhury

Theses and Dissertations

Aquatic organisms are frequently exposed to various environmental stressors. In this study, we observed the short-term (1-week) combined dose-dependent effect of Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, and high temperature (30°C) on the morphology of gills and digestive glands, expression of heat shock protein-70 (HSP70), dinitrophenyl protein (DNP), nitrotyrosine protein (NTP), antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT) and superoxidase dismutase (SOD) in tissues of American oyster (Crassostrea virginica). Histological analyses showed an increase in mucous production in the gills and digestive glands, hemocyte aggregation in the connective tissues as well as structural change of the lumen in the digestive glands …

Flow Monitoring And Tidal Exchange Ratio Estimation For The Bahia Grande After Widening Of The Carl Joe Gayman Pilot Channel: Bahia Grande, Cameron County, Tx, Sabas Lopez Iii

Theses and Dissertations

The Bahia Grande (BG) is an 8,500-acre set of coastal bays and wetlands located between Brownsville and Port Isabel, Tx, near the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) coastline. In 2005, the Carl Joe Gayman Pilot Channel was constructed to address hypersalinity concerns that resulted from natural and anthropogenically-caused tidal isolation since the early 1940’s. In 2022, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) increased the channel’s width and depth in anticipation of increasing tidal exchange ratios by a factor of two to three. Once the channel widening was complete, two SL-1500-3G side-looking acoustic doppler current profilers (ADCPs) were periodically deployed beneath the …

Opportunities And Challenges For Cooperative Extension Becoming A Major Actor In Climate Change Mitigation And Adaptation, Dakoeta R. Pinto

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Addressing climate change in the United States is an increasingly complex issue that requires social and technological changes throughout the country, which the Cooperative Extension System (Extension) can influence. Based at land-grant universities, their goals are to bring relevant science and innovation to the people of the United States. For a successful low-carbon transition, there are certain elements of society that must be influenced by innovators like Extension. Extension’s historical roots in agriculture prevail today with most of their programming focusing on this sector. However, there is a movement within Extension to expand their programmatic efforts to address more contemporary …

Regeneration Of Quaking Aspen And Understory Vegetation Change After Fire Risk Reduction Treatment, Allison M. Trudgeon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is a keystone species that, when coexisting with conifers (i.e., seral aspen), often undergoes stand-replacing disturbances to sustain long term vigor. Historically, mixed-to-high severity fire reduced fuels and regenerated aspen, but such disturbances have become less common in recent decades. This has often led to high fuel loading, and many seral aspen stands are at now risk of an unpredictable, high-severity fire, posing a threat to development in the wildland-urban-interface. The lack of a commercial market for aspen, and the risk of conducting prescribed fire, means there are few alternate management options. This has …

Practical Improvements For Pivot And Surface Irrigation, Jonathan A. Holt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Irrigation is critical to meeting global food and fiber demands. Optimizing agricultural irrigation may help sustain production levels, while reducing its demand for water. This research evaluated precision sprinklers and drip irrigation for pivots, five pivot track mitigation tools, three scientific irrigation scheduling (SIS) methods, sensors for surface irrigation cutoff, and automating surface systems to implement surge irrigation. With pivots and surface irrigation being the most common methods for irrigation in the West, small improvements from these tools could result in significant water savings.

Low energy precision application (LEPA) sprinklers and mobile drip irrigation (MDI) were tested on two pivots. …

From Mountain Streams To Urban Rivers: An Assessment Of Microplastic Sources And Characteristics, Macy Gustavus

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Plastic products are produced and discarded at an alarming rate. Bottles, bags, toys, and clothing break down into tiny plastic pieces called microplastics, ranging in size from an eraser on the top of a pencil to smaller in size than a red blood cell. Microplastics are becoming so common in the environment that they travel in the atmosphere, rivers, and ocean currents in ways that are similar to other types of Earth Systems Cycles (i.e., the water cycle). In this study, we explored microplastic sources and sinks in a freshwater river system and how seasonal changes in discharge affect how …

Recreational Fishing Participation In Utah: Comparing Active And Non-Active Angler Constraint Perceptions With The Use Of License Purchase Data, Will Rempel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As a leisure activity, recreational fishing provides numerous social, physical, and psychological benefits to its participants. It can also provide socioeconomic opportunities to specific communities, and as an outdoor activity can create support for natural fisheries resources and public lands. License and equipment taxes are also important funding mechanisms for state wildlife managers. Though fishing participation as a percentage of the population has overall decreased in the last century, there is a recent increase in fishing participation. However, participation dynamics result in a shifting cycle of entries, departures, and re-entries to the sport. In an effort to maintain participation and …

Biochar As A Lake Management Option For Harmful Algal Blooms: Lab Experiments And Bioassays, Brittany Mc Intyre

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are an increasing global concern for water management due to their increased frequency, distribution, and toxin production. In freshwaters the growth of cyanobacteria (commonly known as blue-green algae), due to anthropogenic nutrient enrichment is the primary driver of HABS; these are often referred to as cyanoHABs. The management of cyanoHABs should be focused on in the watershed through best management and conservation practices or the physical, chemical and biomanipulation of the lake or reservoir that is experiencing these blooms. In this study, we examine the use of biochar as an option for the management or treatment …

Consumer Valuation And Preferences For Sustainably Produced Rice In Ghana, Vera Adabrah-Danquah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable agricultural production is a systematic concept that integrates environmental health, economic profitability, and social/economic equity goals. Improving the sustainability of food production is of utmost importance to the human race, given the growing population and the increased depletion of natural resources. Improving sustainability is particularly important for rice, a global food staple with a significant environmental footprint. Rice accounts for 10% of global methane emissions. The Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) standard is the first globally recognized certified sustainable production standard for rice. This study focuses on consumers' preferences for sustainable rice in Ghana, including consumers’ perceptions of different SRP's …

Effects Of Landscape And Yard Features On Mammals In Residential Yards In Northwest Arkansas, Emily Johansson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The human footprint is rapidly expanding, and wildlife habitat is continuously being converted to human residential properties. Most wildlife residing in developing areas are displaced to nearby undeveloped areas. However, some animals can coexist with humans and acquire the necessary resources (food, water, shelter) within the human environment. This may be particularly true when development is low intensity, as in suburban yards. Due to the wide variety in how homeowners utilize their yards, they can be considered individually managed “greenspaces.” These yards can provide a range of food (e.g., bird feeders, compost, gardens), water (bird baths and garden ponds), and …

Evaluation Of Hydrogeochemical Characteristics Of San Joaquin, Tulare, And Mojave Aquifers, Southern California, Maedeh Hassanvand

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Before making attempts to enhance and manage the quality of water, a thorough understanding of these processes is necessary since the chemical quality of groundwater is impacted by a number of linked processes. This would be more important in arid and semiarid regions like the southern part of California where more rely on groundwater for agriculture and drinking water uses than the other states. As a result, fundamental knowledge of the governing processes of groundwater chemistry is required for effective water resource management. Thus, this study is primarily concerned with three aspects in Mojave, Tulare, and San Joaquin aquifers: The …

Storm Surge Risk Assessment In Coastal Communities In The Rio Grande Valley: An Application Of Gis-Based Spatial Multicriteria Decision Analysis With Analytical Hierarchy Process, Dean Kyne

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cameron County, which is located in the Rio Grande Valley, maintains records of storm surges associated with noticeable property damage, fatalities, and injuries. This study investigates storm surge inundation risk in Cameron County using storm surge hazard datasets from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with American Community Survey 2019 block group datasets. Using a GIS-based spatial multicriteria decision analysis with an analytical hierarchy process method, the study estimates that storm surge water levels could be above 6.1 m (20 ft) in category 4 and 5 hurricane events, whereas about 37% of the county’s population (159,659 people) could be …

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter, May 2023, University Of Northern Iowa. Iowa Waste Reduction Center.

Iowa Waste Reduction Center Newsletter

Contents:

--- Iowa Strategic Goals Program Workshop
--- Two Iowa Green Breweries Walk Away with World Beer Cup Awards
--- Jennifer Trent is Guest on the Eat Your Heartland Out Podcast
--- 2023 Energy Trends Workshop
--- IWRC Welcomes Summer Environmental Intern
--- IWRC Says Farewell to Jordan Burrows and Nikayla Hoffmann
--- Free Energy Assessments
--- Industry News

Optimal R&D Investment In The Management Of Invasive Species, William Haden Chomphosy, Dale T. Manning, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Stephan Weiler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive alien species (IAS) threaten world biodiversity, ecosystem services, and economic welfare. While existing literature has characterized the optimal control of an established IAS, it has not considered how research and development (R&D) into new removal methods or technologies can affect management decisions and costs over time. R&D can lower the costs of control in a management plan and creates an intertemporal trade-off between quick but costly control and gradual but cheaper removal over time. In this paper, we develop and solve a continuous time dynamic optimization model to study how investment in R&D influences the optimal control of an …

Detection Of Nitrogen Dioxide Via Graphene-Enhanced Raman Scattering, Spencer Hazeslip

Chemistry & Biochemistry Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper presents the development of a nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) sensor that utilizes the phenomenon of graphene-enhanced Raman scattering (GERS). The sensor consists of monolayer graphene on a silicon wafer, functionalized noncovalently with Copper(II) 2,9,16,23-tetra-tert-butyl-29H,31H-phthalocyanine (CuTTPc) via the solution soaking method. A custom sensing chamber was constructed to enable Raman spectra to be collected during NO₂ exposure. The response of the sensor was found to be linear between 10 and 100 ppm NO₂, indicating that it could be used for both detection and quantification. Furthermore, the sensor was shown to be reusable after …

The Last Drought Frontier: Building A Drought Index For The State Of Alaska, Olivia Campbell

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

Drought is characterized by periods of below average precipitation. There are five major types of drought recognized in the literature: meteorological, hydrological, agricultural, socioeconomic, and ecological. A relatively new concept in the drought literature is “snow drought.” A key part of the definition of drought is that it is not always accompanied by extreme heat. This means drought can occur even in cold climates, cold seasons, and higher latitudes and altitudes, like Alaska. Drought is a natural part of climate variability, but Alaska’s climate is changing faster than any other state in the United States. Alaska is no stranger to …

Effects Of Nonnative Plants On Space-Use In Eastern Box Turtles, Emily Ilene Crago

Graduate Theses

Introduction of nonnative plants outside their natural range has caused widespread reduction in the abundance and diversity of native plant species. Nonnative plants typically form dense, often monotypic, thickets that affect the ability of animals to find food, reproduce, avoid predation risk, and thermoregulate. By doing so, nonnative plants have the potential to displace resident animals from areas otherwise suitable as animal habitat. However, limited studies have investigated whether resident animals avoid areas dominated by nonnative plants. This study investigated impacts of nonnative plants on eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina), a species that has been declining throughout their range. …

Climate Change And Labor Reallocation: Evidence From Six Decades Of The Indian Census, Maggie Liu, Yogita Shamdasani, Vis Taraz

Environmental Science and Policy: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Closing The Loop Of Food Systems: Analyzing Compost Within Community Bounds, Ellen A. Getter

Honors Theses

The aim of this thesis is to construct a philosophical and ecological argument that places great value on localized food systems in terms of waste. This composition develops the claim that building composting infrastructure on a community scale will curb the global climate crisis and enhance the interconnectedness humans have within themselves, each other, and the natural world. The first prong of this thesis entails a theoretical framework we must function under in order to implement such radical food revolutions in our communities informed by Buddhist principles. This proceeds an international case study of the composting infrastructure of Fort Albany …

An Analysis Of Changes In Seasonal Dynamics And Generational Differences In The Maine Lobster Fishery, Emily Fitting

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American lobster (Homarus americanus) supports the most valuable single species fishery in the US. Lobster landings have been increasing steadily for the last three decades, but before that landings were more variable. The high value of the lobster fishery combined with the decline of other commercially important species in this region has created increasing dependence on the resource, and previous research questions the resilience of the fishery in the face of social and environmental changes.

Important lobster life history processes, including migration patterns, growth rates, and reproduction, are driven by ocean bottom temperature, which creates a strong seasonal cycle …

A Programmatic Geographic Information Systems Analysis Of Plant Hardiness Zones, Andrew Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Plant Hardiness Zone Map consists of thirteen geographical zones that describe whether a plant can survive based on average annual minimal temperatures. As climate change progresses, minimum temperatures in all regions are expected to change. This work programmatically evaluates predicted future climate projection data and converts it to United States Department of Agriculture-defined hardiness zones. Through the next 80 years, hardiness zones are projected to move poleward; in effect, colder zones will lose area and warmer zones will gain area globally. Some implications include changes in crop growing degree days, which could alter crop productivity, migration and settlement of …

Amazon Deforestation And Its Effects On Local Climate, Andrew Baker

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The Amazon has been faced with extensive deforestation beginning in the 1960’s mainly for the purpose of cattle ranching and agriculture, as well as logging and mining making up smaller but noticeable portions. This rainforest is a place rich in its biodiversity of plants and animals, and until recently it was also one of the planet’s largest natural carbon sinks. This is important to help offset anthropogenic carbon emissions that are accelerating climate change, but because of the land use changes it has been subjected to, it has become another source of carbon release. This study aims to determine what …