Predicting the Success of Invasive Species in the Great Bay Estuarine Researve

The University of New Hampshire Zoology Department reports on a study designed to continue monitoring the distribution of invasive species in the Great Bay Estuary and to carry out laboratory experiments designed to test the effects of salinity on ascidian mortality and determine predators of ascidian species. Researchers collected presence/absence and abundance data of invasive species at four sites within the Great Bay Estuarine System. The report gives a brief description of the results of the monitoring program to compare results obtained from 2006 to 2007 and to assess the response of ascidians to varying salinity and predators. This report specifically includes monitoring data from 2007 and results of laboratory and field experiments examining the effects of salinity and predators on ascidian distribution

Does settlement plate material matter? The influence of substrate type on fouling community development

Benthic community composition and ascidian abundance can differ dramatically between adjacent man-made and natural substrates. Although multiple factors, including light exposure, surface orientation, predation exposure, and habitat type, are known to contribute to these patterns, few studies have directly tested the influence of substrate identity on community development. We compared fouling communities on settlement plates composed of commonly occurring natural (granite) and artificial (concrete, high density polyethylene, and PVC) marine materials deployed from late May to mid November 2014 from a floating dock in Newcastle, NH. We sought to determine if observed patterns resulted from differential recruitment onto substrate materials or post-settlement survival and growth. To do this, half of the plates were cleaned during bi-weekly examinations, and half were left un-cleaned. Preliminary analyses indicate that community composition differs between substrate types. These results will help us understand how substrate features contribute to non-native species establishment and habitat dominance, and may inform decisions regarding material usage in marine construction. These findings also underline the importance of settlement substrate choice in scientific studies, as plate material may influence experimental conclusions

Commerce Clause - States Lose Power to Prescribe Highway Safety Regulations

Since Gibbons v. Ogden, courts have wrestled with the problem of state legislation which affects interstate commerce. This problem is due to the fact that the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution is silent as to whether states can regulate interstate commerce in the absence of federal regulation. Some authorities argue that federal power is exclusive. Others argue that, absent federal legislation, states are free to regulate interstate commerce. The United States Supreme Court has taken a middle ground, usually upholding nondiscriminatory state regulations in areas which do not require uniform national standards. The Supreme Court has been reluctant to overturn state highway safety regulations, according them a strong presumption of validity. In particular, limitations on truck lengths have been considered especially appropriate for state regulation. But in the recent case of Kassel v. Consolidated Freightways Corp., the Supreme Court held unconstitutional as violative of the Commerce Clause an Iowa statute generally barring sixty-five-foot twin-trailer trucks from state highways. Kassel marks a departure from the Supreme Court hands-off policy towards state highway safety regulations and could further restrict states\u27 powers to prescribe such regulations

Multicultural Education and the Future of America

Schools can provide a viable tool for creating the future

Marine Invasive Species and Changes in Benthic Ecology in the Gulf of Maine (2010 State of the Bay Presentation)

https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cbep-presentations/1046/thumbnail.jp

Commerce Clause - States Lose Power to Prescribe Highway Safety Regulations

Since Gibbons v. Ogden, courts have wrestled with the problem of state legislation which affects interstate commerce. This problem is due to the fact that the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution is silent as to whether states can regulate interstate commerce in the absence of federal regulation. Some authorities argue that federal power is exclusive. Others argue that, absent federal legislation, states are free to regulate interstate commerce. The United States Supreme Court has taken a middle ground, usually upholding nondiscriminatory state regulations in areas which do not require uniform national standards. The Supreme Court has been reluctant to overturn state highway safety regulations, according them a strong presumption of validity. In particular, limitations on truck lengths have been considered especially appropriate for state regulation. But in the recent case of Kassel v. Consolidated Freightways Corp., the Supreme Court held unconstitutional as violative of the Commerce Clause an Iowa statute generally barring sixty-five-foot twin-trailer trucks from state highways. Kassel marks a departure from the Supreme Court hands-off policy towards state highway safety regulations and could further restrict states\u27 powers to prescribe such regulations

Tracking environmental trends in the Great Bay Estuarine System through comparisons of historical and present-day green and red algal community structure and nutrient content

Monitoring macroalgae populations is an effective means of detecting long term water quality changes in estuarine systems. To investigate the environmental status of New Hampshire’s Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, this study assessed the abundance/distribution of macrophytes, particularly Gracilaria and Ulva species, relative to eutrophication patterns; compared historical (1970s-1990s) and current algal biomass/cover at several sites; and compared Ulva and Gracilaria tissue N/P content to ambient and historical levels. Ulva and Gracilaria biomass/cover have increased significantly at several sites. Cover by Ulva species, at seasonal maxima, was over 90 times the value recorded in the 1970s at Lubberland Creek, and exceeded 50% at all sites in the upper estuary. Gracilaria cover was greater than 25% at Depot Road in the upper estuary, whereas the historical measure was 1%. Sequencing of ITS2, rbcL and CO1 revealed the presence of previously undetected Ulva and Gracilaria species, including Gracilaria vermiculophylla (Ohmi) Papenfuss, an invasive species of Asian origin. Gracilaria vermiculophylla has exceeded G. tikvahiae as the dominant Gracilaria species in Great Bay. Historical voucher specimen screening suggests G. vermiculophylla was introduced as recently as 2003. Nitrogen and phosphorus levels are elevated in the estuary. We should expect continued seasonal nuisance algal blooms

Updating the Farm Bill Safety Net in an Expanding Sea of Risk

Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, H10,

An Analysis of Published Informal Reading Inventories

Believing that IRIs have genuine value in a comprehensive diagnostic program if used properly, we decided it would be useful to examine a number of the commercially prepared IRIs currently available for the purpose of comparing them and describing their unique features for teachers

The Context of Comprehension

We enter the teachers\u27 lounge at Woodmere School, where Mrs. Stephens and Ms. Kelly are asking Mrs. Forester, the reading teacher, for advice in developing an effective program in reading comprehension. Mrs. Stephens describes the comprehension ability of each of her students. She is confident that she accurately diagnosed her students as either good comprehenders or poor comprehenders. To do so she administered a test and interpreted the results. Ms. Kelly administered the same test but she is not as comfortable as her colleague in categorizing her readers\u27 abilities