Examining the natural history and biogeography of an endemic timberline pine (Pinus balfouriana)

The foxtail pine of the Southern Sierra (Pinus balfouriana ssp. austrina Grev & Balf) is a relatively unstudied timberline pine species. It inhabits the high country of the Sierra Nevada between the 37th and 36th parallels between 2700 and 3550 m, and often is the sole tree of the subalpine ecosystem. In this project, three sites on the margin and one site in the center of the foxtail pine\u27s distribution were examined to identify how the tree\u27s ecological characteristics change over its range. In addition, a raw ring-width database for three sites was analyzed to obtain a foxtail pine ring-growth index for the last 1000 years. From field visits it appears that the western and eastern margins of ditribution are altitude limited, while the northern and southern limits may be due to ecological displacement from other timberline tree species: by limber pine (P. flexilis) in the south and by whitebark pine (P. albicaulis) in the north. Common ecological characteristics across the tree\u27s range were the dominant granitic substrate, the omnipresent chinquapin (Chrysolepis sempervirens) understory shrub, and sightings of Clark\u27s Nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana). Foxtail pine growth is temperature sensitive, so paleoclimatic data can be inferred from a tree-ring index analysis. From this study\u27s analysis, it was inferred that significant climatic departures of at least a 30-year length have occurred in the last 500 years. Interpolation of paleoclimatic data should be used to inform current climate and resource management policies, given that many current policies are only adequate to compensate for trends far shorter than 30 years. Further studies of the foxtail pine are necessary so that a greater understanding of its sensitivity to climate change and clues to its evolutionary history can be obtained

Report for NMDGF Permit: 2018, 2006

Document from New Mexico Department of Game & Fish Scientific permit

CH₄ and N₂O from waste composting

This research programme aimed to investigate methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20) emissions from large-scale composting facilities, with particular emphasis on advanced and newly emerging composting technologies. The atmospheric concentrations of CH4 and N20 are increasing, and they are respectively the second and third largest contributors to the global greenhouse effect after carbon dioxide. During field trials at large-scale composting facilities and in laboratory studies, the generation of CH4 and N20 was detected from a range of composting processes. Gaseous emissions from composting result from the interaction of a complex combination of controlling factors influencing the microbial production of CH4 and N20. Waste biodegradability in particular was shown to have significant influence on emission of CH4 and N20. Compliance with the EU landfill directive will result in the composting of wastes of varying biodegradability, the effect of this compliance on emission of CH4 and N20 from composting requires further investigation. Emissions of CH4 and N20 during composting have not been adequately quantified in the UK. A future projection of the contribution of composting to the UK greenhouse gas inventory was an estimated 24.6 Kt CH4 year-1 and 2.5 Kt N20 year-1 from open windrows, which currently account for 80% of the composting systems employed. There is urgent need for further study into the emission of CH4 and N20 from the UK composting sector as the Kyoto protocol requires emissions from all sources to be accounted for. While significant emission of CH4 and N20 was recorded for open air mechanically turned windrow systems, the level of emissions from in-vessel composting facilities was more difficult to determine. The combination of in-vessel composting and open air windrow composting would appear to greatly mitigate emissions compared to windrow systems alone, but more research into the environmental benefits of combining composting systems is required

Systematic relationships of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in southwestern North America

We examined specimens of five subspecies of gray wolves from southwestern North America and assessed their systematic affinities using both univariate and multivariate statistical procedures. Because wolves exhibit considerable sexual dimorphism the sexes were separated for the analyses. Principal components analyses revealed considerable overlap among the individuals, but tended to separate the Mexican wolf (C. l. baileyi) from northern wolves (C. l. youngi). Specimens from other subspecies were intermediate to these two. Discriminant function analyses using various groupings of wolves supported these results. Within the southwestern part of North America, we recognize only three subspecies: C. l. baileyi, C. l. youngi, and C. l. nubilus. Wolves formerly assigned to C. l. mogollonensis and C. l. monstrabilis are referred to C. l. baileyi. As an adjunct to our study, we compared recently collected specimens and captive animals with target groups from the southwest. Recent specimens show clear affinities with C. l. baileyi. Captives, although closest to baileyi, show some tendencies. toward dogs, but whether these tendencies are from hybridization or from the effects of captivity is unknown

How Accurate Is Students’ Self Assessment Of Computer Skills?

Self-evaluation by students is commonly used as a key element in program and course assessment plans. Such instruments are intended to provide crucial feedback for program improvement and thus play a significant role in closing our assessment loop. For many of the program outcomes, self-assessment by current students and graduates augments other, more objective measures. However, for some outcomes there are no practical means of obtaining objective assessment and we must rely on self-assessment. The heavy reliance on this metric begs the question “How accurate is student self-assessment?” This paper provides data from a second-semester engineering course in which students develop proficiency using computer tools to solve typical engineering problems. Students’ self-assessments in several areas are compared with the instructor’s assessment of these students. Some work reported in the literature addresses the accuracy of student self-assessment in specific academic areas. In the medical field, literature exists which addresses medical students’ selfassessment of specific skills. Other comparisons have been published to compare students’ expected grades with actual results. Little was found that is relevant to engineering student and in particular to their assessment of professional skills. The work reported here relates to the assessment of ABET’s program outcome k: “an ability to use the techniques, skills and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice. Methods of Engineering Analysis is a course taken by all engineering majors during their second semester at the University of New Haven. In this course, students are introduced to engineering topics and a variety of numerical methods for solving these problems. The current platform used is a spreadsheet with Visual Basic for Applications programming. Students complete a 30- question survey the first day of class in which they rate their expertise in three broad categories: basic spread-sheet usage, advanced spread-sheet usage and programming. The same survey is completed at the end of the class, thus providing a pre and post view from the students perspective. Quizzes given throughout the course and the final exam were structured to enable instructors to assess student performance in these same areas with composite measures. Data is presented to compare the instructor assessment of performance with students’ self-assessment at the individual level

Introducing Feedback Control to First Year Engineering Students Using LabVIEW

This paper discusses the introduction of basic feedback control concepts and applications specifically selected for first year engineering & applied science students. These activities are introduced in the second half of a first semester class that is part of a sequence of first and second year courses used to develop a strong foundation for programs in various engineering disciplines. This sequence of courses uses a Multidisciplinary Engineering Foundation Spiral¹ in the form of a four-semester sequence of engineering courses, matched closely with the development of students’ mathematical sophistication and analytical capabilities and integrated with coursework in the sciences. 1 . M. Collura, et al, “Development of a Multidisciplinary Engineering Foundation Spiral”, Educational Research & Method s - Session 2630 , Proceedings of the 2004 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Femtosecond Diffractive Imaging with a Soft-X-Ray Free-Electron Laser

Theory predicts that with an ultrashort and extremely bright coherent X-ray pulse, a single diffraction pattern may be recorded from a large macromolecule, a virus, or a cell before the sample explodes and turns into a plasma. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of this principle using the FLASH soft X-ray free-electron laser. An intense 25 fs, 4 x 10{sup 13} W/cm{sup 2} pulse, containing 10{sup 12} photons at 32 nm wavelength, produced a coherent diffraction pattern from a nano-structured non-periodic object, before destroying it at 60,000 K. A novel X-ray camera assured single photon detection sensitivity by filtering out parasitic scattering and plasma radiation. The reconstructed image, obtained directly from the coherent pattern by phase retrieval through oversampling, shows no measurable damage, and extends to diffraction-limited resolution. A three-dimensional data set may be assembled from such images when copies of a reproducible sample are exposed to the beam one by one

CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD MINERAL ENCRUSTATION: LONG-LIVED AQUATIC INSECTS ACCUMULATE CALCIUM CARBONATE DEPOSITS IN A MONTANE DESERT STREAM

Aquatic ecosystems overlying regions of limestone bedrock can feature active deposition of calcium carbonate in the form of travertine or tufa. Although most travertine deposits form a cement-like layer on stream substrates, mineral deposits can also form on benthic invertebrates. However, little is known about which taxa may be prone to calcium carbonate encrustation and which life history traits may make taxa more susceptible to becoming encrusted. Here we report the presence of calcium carbonate deposits on live insects collected from a montane stream in the Madrean Sky Islands (Huachuca Mountains) of Arizona between 2011 and 2013. Life history differences are examined between taxa with and without travertine deposits. Thirteen genera of aquatic insects were found with calcium carbonate deposits on the exoskeleton as well as 22 other genera, also encountered in the study stream, that have not previously been found with such deposits. Taxa with calcium carbonate encrustation had significantly longer-lived aquatic stages than those without encrustation. Furthermore, encrustation presence did not differ among aerial dispersal modes. These results suggest that the extent of calcium carbonate deposition on aquatic insects is primarily related to the length of time they are in the stream. Since mineral encrustation may reduce predation pressure and mobility, changes in patterns of travertine formation in these systems may have profound effects on ecological interactions. Los ecosistemas dulceacuícolas ubicados en regiones de roca caliza pueden contener depósitos de carbonato de calcio en forma de travertino o tufa. Aunque muchos depósitos de travertino se encuentran como una capa o manto de cemento sobre el fondo del arroyo, los depósitos también pueden formarse sobre los invertebrados bentónicos. Sin embargo, poco se sabe acerca de las especies que son propensas a los depósitos de travertino, o acerca de las características de estas especies que influyen en tal proceso. En este manuscrito reportamos la presencia de depósitos de travertino en insectos vivos y recolectados en un arroyo montañoso en el Archipiélago Madrense de Arizona durante 2011–2013 y examinamos las diferencias en las historias de vida entre taxones con o sin depósitos de travertino. Encontramos trece géneros de insectos acuáticos con travertino sobre el exoesqueleto y vientedos géneros sin travertino. Los taxones con travertino tienen una fase acuática significativamente más larga que los taxones sin travertino. Además, la presencia de travertino no difirió entre especies con distintas maneras de dispersión aérea. Estos resultados sugieren que las diferencias en los depósitos de travertino en insectos acuáticos ocurren principalmente a causa de la duración del período de vida acuática del insecto. Aunque los depósitos de travertino pueden reducir la presión por depredación y movilidad, cambios en los patrones de formación de travertino en estos sistemas pueden afectar profundamente las interacciones ecológicas

Project Planning & Development for Engineering Freshmen

The nature and background of students seeking an engineering education has changed drastically in the last decade, as has the expectations of industrial employers. Many students lack the organizational skills needed for academic success. Similar organizational skills, although more advanced, are required for managing engineering projects. A new course was developed by the faculty at the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of New Haven. Through this course, a key component of the Multidisciplinary Engineering Foundation Spiral, seeks to promote higher retention rates, increase student motivation and begin a confidence-building transition to professional practice. Project management concepts are integrated for application by students to project activities. Thus students develop the project and self-management skills required to successfully plan and implement selected projects within budgetary and time constraints using Microsoft Project. Projects use LabVIEW programming1 for data acquisition and control and CAD tools for technical communication of design information. Students gain proficiency in each of these areas as they are applied to a series of projects spanning the course. A novel feature of this course is the subdivision of a large highly complex project into multiple interdependent components with each team responsible for a specific component. Traditional project-based classes typically subdivide a project to minimize interaction among the teams or to limit each team to a single disciplinary perspective. This course uses the project subdivision to force a broader multidisciplinary attitude among the students. Each team must resolve the interface issues, so when assembled all components will operate together according to the specifications. Developed and taught by a multi-disciplinary team of faculty from the University of New Haven, this course provides a foundation for subsequent engineering courses with exposure to content in areas such as mechanics, electrical phenomena and programming logic. In addition the course contributes significantly to the development of time management, teamwork, and oral and written communication skills

Drought, dispersal, and community dynamics in arid-land streams

Understanding the mechanisms that regulate local species diversity and community structure is a perennial goal of ecology. Local community structure can be viewed as the result of numerous local and regional processes; these processes act as filters that reduce the regional species pool down to the observed local community. In stream ecosystems, the natural flow regime (including the timing, magnitude, and duration of high and low flow events) is widely recognized as a primary regulator of local diversity and community composition. This is especially true in aridland streams, where low- and zero-flow events can occur frequently and for extended periods of time (months to years). Additionally, wetted habitat patches in arid-land stream networks are often fragmented within and among stream networks. Thus dispersal between isolated aquatic patches may also play a large role in regulating local communities. In my dissertation, I explored the roles that drought, dispersal, and local habitat factors play in structuring arid-land stream communities. I examined the impact of flow permanence and seasonal variation in flow and other abiotic factors on aquatic communities at both fine spatial scales over a long time period (8 years; Chapter 2) and at a broad spatial scale over a shorter time period (1-2 years; Chapter 4). Additionally, I quantified aquatic invertebrate aerial dispersal over moderate spatial scales (≤ 0.5 km) by conducting a colonization experiment using artificial stream pools placed along and inland from two arid-land streams (Chapter 4). Finally, I examined the roles of spatial isolation, microhabitat type, and local abiotic and biotic factors in structuring aquatic communities in freshwater oases scattered across one of the most arid regions of North America, the southern Sonoran Desert (Chapter 5). In Chapter 2, I found that severe drought caused an unprecedented drying event in isolated perennial stream pools, and that several additional drying events occurred over the following four years. This transition to intermittent flow caused the extirpation of several large, long-lived species with low dispersal abilities (including the top predator) and drove the local community into an alternative state. In the colonization experiment described in Chapter 3, I found that several arid-land stream invertebrate taxa disperse widely and frequently. The widespread dispersers identified by this experiment included several of the earliest colonist taxa observed following the severe drought described in Chapter 2. Other taxa, though, only dispersed overland after receiving an environmental cue (rainfall) or preferentially dispersed along stream corridors. In Chapter 4, where I examined invertebrate community structure across a large network of well-connected intermittent and perennial reaches, I found low diversity in intermittent reaches, regardless of their connectivity to diverse upstream perennial reaches. These species-poor, intermittent communities were composed of a unique suite of species with lifehistory adaptations that conferred desiccation resistance, including extended egg and larval diapause stages. The short flow duration of intermittent reaches (<100 days) likely precluded upstream perennial taxa from establishing populations in downstream intermittent reaches before drying occurred, while the relative predictability of flow timing (Dec-Apr) likely allowed for a small number of species to develop appropriate life-history traits (e.g., diapause stage, rapid development time) to exploit these temporally-fleeting habitats. In Chapter 5, I found over 220 species of aquatic animals (including ≥ 5 undescribed species) in the 19 desert oases that were sampled across the southern Sonoran Desert. Local community composition in these oases was strongly driven by microhabitat type. Additionally, native aquatic species richness and abundance in these oases were significantly reduced by the introduction of tilapia, an exotic fish species. The threats to arid-land streams presented by increased drought severity, anthropogenic water withdrawals, and local habitat degradation (e.g., introduced species, unmanaged recreational use) are grave across the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico. I hope that in addition to furthering our understanding of ecological processes in arid-land streams, this dissertation makes a small contribution towards the efforts to preserve these habitats