Properties and acid risk assessment of soils in two parts of the Cherry River watershed, West Virginia

The Cherry River watershed project area is underlain by acid-forming geology. The objectives of this study were to determine the physical and chemical properties of the soils, classify the soils, and to assess the acid risk to the forests. Sixty-seven soil pedons were sampled by horizon across six landscape positions and the soil samples were analyzed. The soils of the watershed were all acid. The east area soils were more acid than the west area soils. The shoulder soils showed the highest risk and the floodplain soils showed the lowest risk of forest productivity decline. While both areas showed high acidification and forest productivity risk, the east area soils have higher risk for forest productivity decline in the future. While a few forest regeneration failures are known to have occurred after harvesting in this area, further acidification potentially will reduce the regeneration of a marketable timber stand

Larval transport and dispersal in the coastal ocean and consequences for population connectivity

Author Posting. © Oceanography Society, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 20, 3 (2007): 22-39.Many marine species have small, pelagic early life stages. For those species, knowledge of population connectivity requires understanding the origin and trajectories of dispersing eggs and larvae among subpopulations. Researchers have used various terms to describe the movement of eggs and larvae in the marine environment, including larval dispersal, dispersion, drift, export, retention, and larval transport. Though these terms are intuitive and relevant for understanding the spatial dynamics of populations, some may be nonoperational (i.e., not measurable), and the variety of descriptors and approaches used makes studies difficult to compare. Furthermore, the assumptions that underlie some of these concepts are rarely identified and tested. Here, we describe two phenomenologically relevant concepts, larval transport and larval dispersal. These concepts have corresponding operational definitions, are relevant to understanding population connectivity, and have a long history in the literature, although they are sometimes confused and used interchangeably. After defining and discussing larval transport and dispersal, we consider the relative importance of planktonic processes to the overall understanding and measurement of population connectivity. The ideas considered in this contribution are applicable to most benthic and pelagic species that undergo transformations among life stages. In this review, however, we focus on coastal and nearshore benthic invertebrates and fishes.We thank the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for supporting our work

Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions of Instructional Strategies for Reading

The problem investigated in this study was decreasing annual reading proficiency among students in intermediate elementary grades (Grades 3-5). Deficiencies in reading proficiency can negatively impact overall student achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate intermediate elementary teachers’ perceptions of their instructional strategies to improve students’ reading proficiency and potentially increase Generalized Summative Assessment scores. The conceptual framework was Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development theory. The key research questions were about elementary reading teachers’ perceptions of effective instructional practices used to increase students’ reading proficiency and elementary reading teachers’ perceptions about teachers’ instructional strengths and challenges associated with student reading proficiency. A basic qualitative design was used, using semistructured interviews to acquire data from 10 participants. Data analysis from the interviews consisted of a priori, lean, and in vivo coding. The findings revealed six themes: motivation through engagement, intrinsic engagement vs. accountability for motivation, the impact of technology, parental engagement, data-driven small group instruction, and phonemic awareness. The outcome of this project study is a three-day professional development addressing the needs of teachers based on the data. School and district leaders could benefit from this study by providing professional development to improve instructional strategies for reading. Parents may benefit by learning of the use of instructional strategies for reading and how those strategies could be applied to supporting student reading proficiency during the school year and at home. Students may benefit with enhanced overall student achievement

Paths to the unknown: dispersal during the early life of fishes

The special issue brings together selected contributions from the 39th Annual Larval Fish Conference hosted by the University of Vienna, Austria, and presents the latest research and understanding of dispersal patterns and processes of early life stages of fishes of various aquatic environments around the world (open ocean, coastal areas, estuaries, and rivers). An important component of this compendium is to indicate new approaches and to outline the importance of integration of information about movements and dispersal for recruitment, population dynamics, species conservation, and management issue

Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions of Instructional Strategies for Reading

The problem investigated in this study was decreasing annual reading proficiency among students in intermediate elementary grades (Grades 3-5). Deficiencies in reading proficiency can negatively impact overall student achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate intermediate elementary teachers’ perceptions of their instructional strategies to improve students’ reading proficiency and potentially increase Generalized Summative Assessment scores. The conceptual framework was Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development theory. The key research questions were about elementary reading teachers’ perceptions of effective instructional practices used to increase students’ reading proficiency and elementary reading teachers’ perceptions about teachers’ instructional strengths and challenges associated with student reading proficiency. A basic qualitative design was used, using semistructured interviews to acquire data from 10 participants. Data analysis from the interviews consisted of a priori, lean, and in vivo coding. The findings revealed six themes: motivation through engagement, intrinsic engagement vs. accountability for motivation, the impact of technology, parental engagement, data-driven small group instruction, and phonemic awareness. The outcome of this project study is a three-day professional development addressing the needs of teachers based on the data. School and district leaders could benefit from this study by providing professional development to improve instructional strategies for reading. Parents may benefit by learning of the use of instructional strategies for reading and how those strategies could be applied to supporting student reading proficiency during the school year and at home. Students may benefit with enhanced overall student achievement