Environmental & Conservation Sciences Masters Theses: Recent submissions
Now showing items 41-60 of 63
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Characterization of Road Dust in Western North Dakota
(North Dakota State University, 2015)Samples were collected during summer 2014, at three locations: along 15th St. SW near agricultural test plots, along an access road leading to a newly built oil drilling pad, and adjacent to the pad. MiniVol™ TAS Samplers ... -
The "Fathead Minnow Factory": Exploring How a Changing Climate Has Influenced Fish and Salamander Communities in the Prairie Pothole Region
(North Dakota State University, 2015)Global climate change has been linked to changing many ecosystem processes. Early literature on climate change and biological systems predominately focused on individual species responses to temperature gradients. However, ... -
Morphological Differences and Diversity of Small Mammal Species
(North Dakota State University, 2016)Small mammals play important roles in ecosystems, but are often overlooked due to their small size and plentiful abundance. Two studies evaluated the morphological differences and diversity of small mammal species based ... -
Relationships Between Winter Social Dominance Hierarchies and Immune Function in the Black-Capped Chickadee
(North Dakota State University, 2016)social species, dominance rank has implications for an individual’s health and fitness. Dominant individuals often receive greater access to resources, protection from predators, higher quality t ... -
In Vitro Enrichment of Phosphorylated Proteins From Synchronously Excysted Cryptosporidium Parvum
(North Dakota State University, 2014)Cryptosporidium is an enteric protozoan parasite that causes cryptosporidiosis and there is no effective drug treatment available. Two studies were conducted. In the first, a novel protocol was developed for the rapid in ... -
OSL Dating of High-Elevation Alluvial Sediments: McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
(North Dakota State University, 2015)High-elevation alluvial fans in the McMurdo Dry Valleys are a record of short-term, occasional melting events along the margins of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Sediment samples were dated from five fans using Optically ... -
Economic Analyses of Agricultural Land-Use Change and Agro-Ecosystem Services for Waterfowl in North Dakota
(North Dakota State University, 2014)Understanding the relationship between crop production and wildlife habitat in North Dakota - which contains a large portion of the Prairie Pothole Region - will be essential to the continuation of both in a region facing ... -
Use of Biopolymer Entrapped Sulfate Reducing Bacteria and Metal Nanoparticles for Effective Aqueous Sulfate Removal
(North Dakota State University, 2013)Sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) isolated from activated sludge were used to investigate sulfate removal from aqueous solution using calcium alginate entrapped SRB in batch studies with ethanol and lactose as the carbon ... -
Interactions between Ultraviolet Light and Soybean Aphid, Aphis Glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae)
(North Dakota State University, 2013)Global increases in ultraviolet (UV) radiation have led to greater interest in its current and potential effects on organisms, including insects and plants. Here we report the short-term effects of UV on soybean aphids ... -
Development and Genetic Regulation of the Novel Abdominal Appendages in the Male Sepsid Fly, Themira Biloba
(North Dakota State University, 2013)Evolutionary novel structures are structures with no known homology. Novel structures often provide a novel function to the organism. Some species of sepsid flies (family Sepsidae) have evolved novel abdominal appendages ... -
Multi-Element Analysis on Riparian Wetlands and River Sediment in North Dakota
(North Dakota State University, 2014)River sediment, transfer metals, nutrients and pollutants from various sources and tributaries within a catchment, and deposit sediment whenever the flow rate of water is low. Multi-element fingerprinting technique could ... -
Evaluation of a Nitrate-Assimilating Bacterium for Potential Use in Nitrate Bioremediation
(North Dakota State University, 2013)Increasing levels of nitrate (NO3-N) in water resources have brought about the need to find ever more versatile forms of NO3-N removal from contaminated water. The ability of several microorganisms to transform NO3-N has ... -
First Flowering Date Trends in Clay County, Minnesota and Pollination and Life History Characteristics of Hoary Puccoon (Lithospermum Canescens)
(North Dakota State University, 2013)Plant species in Clay County, Minnesota have been changing their first flowering dates (FFDs) in response to climate changes. To document those shifts, in 2011 and 2012 I recorded phenological data for Clay County, Minnesota. ... -
Alluvial Fans in the McMurdo Dry Valleys: A Proxy for Melting Along Terrestrial Margins of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet
(North Dakota State University, 2013)Surface melting along Antarctic ice sheet margins is the most poorly understood input in models of future sea level rise. Alluvial fans in the McMurdo Dry Valleys originate from meltwater produced from high-elevation ... -
Multi-Element Fingerprinting of Wetland Soil for Rapid Assessment
(North Dakota State University, 2013)Wetland functions and conditions are determined by hydrologic, soil physiochemical, and biotic states. Information obtained from soil analysis can convey wetland history due to hydrologic regime, soil chemical changes, ... -
Population Genetics of the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid
(North Dakota State University, 2012)The Western Prairie Fringed Orchid (WPFO) Platanthera praeclara is listed as a federally threatened species in the United States. The habitat of the WPFO is highly fragmented, causing the possibility of genetic isolation ... -
Developmental Changes in Fat Metabolism of Tobacco Hornworm, Manduca Sexta
(North Dakota State University, 2012)Insects fed high carbohydrate diets have increased fat storage, and excess fat storage in insects may have fitness costs. M. sexta larvae reared on 5.6% fat diet had lower body mass and growth rate compared to those on ... -
Identification and Characterization of Fibrous Zeolites in Western North Dakota
(North Dakota State University, 2012)The fibrous zeolite mineral erionite is a concern due to its potential for causing lung disease in humans. Studies have shown that exposure to altered volcanic bedrock containing erionite may be the explanation for a high ... -
Development and Scale Up of Aqueous Surfactant-Assisted Extraction of Canola Oil for Use as Biodiesel Feedstock
(North Dakota State University, 2012)In oilseed extraction, alternative extraction media have been studied to replace the traditional solvent, hexane, due to health, safety, and environmental concerns. In this work, aqueous surfactant-assisted extraction was ... -
Micro-Pore Parametrics for Optimal Hyperfiltration of Conservative Contaminants
(North Dakota State University, 2012)In compacted Na-montmorillonite membranes, the pore-size, and surface charge will influence filtration processes of solutes. A dead-end hyperfiltration setup was utilized to: (a) study the intrinsic retention, membrane ...