Environmental & Conservation Sciences Masters Theses: Recent submissions
Now showing items 21-40 of 63
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Impacts of Controlled Drainage and Subirrigation in The Red River Valley
(North Dakota State University, 2020)Drainage water management via controlled drainage (CD) and subirrigation (SI) has shown positive effects on water quality. To determine the impact of CD and SI in the Red River Valley (RRV), data from two fields, each with ... -
Performance of a Retrofit Detention Basin in Fargo, ND
(North Dakota State University, 2019)“The Fargo Project” located in Fargo, North Dakota, is an 18-acre stormwater detention basin that was retrofitted in 2015 to include an earthen-channel, sediment forebay, and various native vegetation within the floodplain ... -
Bat Population Monitoring in National Parks of The Great Lakes Region and Evaluation of Bat Acoustic Analysis Software
(North Dakota State University, 2019)North American bats face multiple threats, prompting an increase in bat research and conservation efforts in recent decades. Researchers often use acoustic monitoring, which entails recording bats’ echolocation calls and ... -
Cosmogenic 10Be Surface Exposure Dating and Numerical Modeling of Late Pleistocene Glaciers and Lakes in Northwestern Nevada
(North Dakota State University, 2019)This thesis focuses on the glacial record in the Pine Forest and Santa Rosa Ranges located in the northwestern Great Basin. Seventeen cosmogenic exposure ages in the two ranges are consistent with observations elsewhere ... -
Ex Situ Analyses of Non-Native Species Impacts on Imperiled Desert Fishes
(North Dakota State University, 2019)This thesis focuses on interactions between two invasive species, the western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) and the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), and two desert fishes, the Amargosa pupfish (Cyprinodon ... -
Antipredator Behavior and Morphology in Isolated Cyprinodont Fishes
(North Dakota State University, 2018)For desert fishes in the American Southwest, predation by invasive species has triggered massive population declines for decades, leaving researchers speculating on the underlying cause. It has been shown that Post-Pleistocene ... -
Migratory Ecology and Wing Morphology of North Dakota Bats
(North Dakota State University, 2019)Understanding links between a species’ migratory behavior, wing morphology, and foraging strategy can provide insight into factors driving the evolution of behavioral and ecological responses. The first chapter of this ... -
Chemical Repellents for Reducing Blackbird Damage on Mature Sunflowers: The Importance of Plant Structure and Avian Behavior in Field Applications
(North Dakota State University, 2019)Across North America, blackbirds (Icteridae) depredate high-energy crops, such as sunflower (Helianthus annuus), placing an economic burden on producers. Chemically-defended crops, in the form of human-applied repellents, ... -
Sedimentology and Stratigraphy of Miocene-Age Glacial Deposits, Friis Hills, Antarctica
(North Dakota State University, 2011)The Friis Hills is an isolated plateau standing as much as 600 m above surrounding topography in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region or Antarctica.Preserved on the plateau surface is a sequence of early to middle Miocene-aged ... -
Influences on Fungal Community Composition in Roots and Soil of Coffee and Other Rubiaceae in Costa Rica
(North Dakota State University, 2019)Belowground fungi interact with plants directly as pathogens and mutualists, and indirectly as nutrient cyclers, yet the factors governing fungal community composition are poorly understood. Here I examined root and soil ... -
Plant-Stand Count and Weed Identification Mapping Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Images
(North Dakota State University, 2018)Modern agriculture encounters several challenges these days. There is a vital need for spatial data about plant and weed distributions. Obtaining accurate knowledge of the plants and weeds distribution in the field with ... -
Evidence of Inbreeding and Divergence in the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid (Platanthera praeclara)
(North Dakota State University, 2018)The conversion of grasslands to agriculture land has made the tall grass prairie one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems and has played a key role in the decline of one particular species of rare endangered orchid, ... -
Selection for Low Calcium Tolerance in Brassica rapa
(North Dakota State University, 2018)Ecosystems across a landscape can vary in their selection pressures and therefore can vary in the species that are able to survive there. Selection pressures applied on a species found in multiple ecosystems may lead to ... -
Evaluating the Potential Utility of Drones to Deter Birds from Areas of Human-Wildlife Conflict
(North Dakota State University, 2018)Predator-prey dynamics shaped the evolution of morphological and behavioral adaptations that foraging animals use to detect and avoid predators. Wildlife managers can potentially exploit antipredator behavior when attempting ... -
Photodegradation of (E)- and (Z)-Endoxifen: Kinetics, By-Products Identification and Toxicity Assessment
(North Dakota State University, 2018)Endoxifen is an effective metabolite of tamoxifen, a commonly used chemotherapy drug, and has been detected at the final effluent of a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Its presence in the environment could bring ... -
Neonicotinoids: Assessing their Distribution and Biological Effects to Prairie Pothole Wetlands
(North Dakota State University, 2018)The use of neonicotinoid pesticides is widespread throughout agricultural regions, including the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America. Recently, there have been growing concerns regarding the use of these pesticides ... -
Glutaraldehyde Removal from Produced Water Using Photolysis and Photocatalysis
(North Dakota State University, 2017)Glutaraldehyde (GA) has been used extensively as a biocide in hydraulic fracturing fluids leading to the contamination of the compound in produced water. In this study, the performances of photolysis and photocatalysis for ... -
The Need to Move: Exploring Landscape Connectivity through the Eyes of the Northern Leopard Frog
(North Dakota State University, 2017)The northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) is a species that depends on landscape connectivity to complete its lifecycle. However, due to historic and present anthropogenic landscape changes, this species encounters a variety ... -
Soil Warming and Drying and the Consquence to Crop Yields among Conservation Tillage Practices in Frigid Corn-Soybean Fields
(North Dakota State University, 2017)Concerns over delayed soil warming and drying have hindered adoption of conservation tillage practices in frigid environments. Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of chisel plow (CP), vertical tillage (VT), strip ... -
Mid-Wisconsinan Climate Reconstruction Based on Fossil Beetles from Six Mile Creek, Ithaca, New York
(North Dakota State University, 2018)The history of the Mid-Wisconsinan sub-stage in northeastern North America is one of large climatic oscillations. Fossil beetles were extracted from two horizons at the Six Mile Creek site, New York. A total of 738 individuals ...