Drainage Solutions

Final project for INAG199: Special Problems (Fall 2019). University of Maryland, College Park.The purpose of this document is to provide a drainage plan for the Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation that establishes the purpose and reasoning for implementing new drainage technologies that use the most cost-effective treatment options. This report is based on drainage analysis tests performed at two County golf courses—Paint Branch Golf Complex, a nine-hole, par 33 course and practice facility, and Enterprise Golf Course, an 18-hole facility, par 72 championship course. This report and proposal contains: a site analysis of each golf course initial findings in our visits the analysis and results of two separate soil tests a list of the most effective and available drainage options the recommended drainage option.Prince George's Count

Harford County Department of Parks & Recreation Turf Management Program

The purpose of this document is to provide an agronomic plan for the Harford County Department of Parks & Recreation that establishes a minimum/recreational level turf grass standard for a variety of activities and that uses the most cost-effective treatment options available. The department maintains 91 multi-purpose fields and 58 baseball and softball diamonds. All of these sites consist of native soil and standard grass (mostly fescue and some bluegrass) playing surfaces. Fields are generally used from 5pm to dark on weekdays and games are played on weekends typically from sun-up to sun-down. Prior data collection indicates fields are used approximately 20-30 hours a week. There are instances where fields are used up to 35 hours a week. The current mowing schedule is a seven-day mowing cycle. Current mowing heights are between 2.5” - 3” (which can be adjusted) with a rotating cross-cut direction each week. Mowing occurs from early April until early November. Based on the current budget, we recommend maintaining the mowing schedule at once per week and rotating the direction of cut. Currently, the recreation councils are treating their fields with fertilizer treatment, weed inhibitor, seeding and sodding when needed. The goal is to determine the most cost-effective treatment option for these playing surfaces. Equally important is to create a uniform maintenance regime among all fields.Harford Count

Preserving and Using Germplasm and Dissociated Embryonic Cells for Conserving Caribbean and Pacific Coral

Coral reefs are experiencing unprecedented degradation due to human activities, and protecting specific reef habitats may not stop this decline, because the most serious threats are global (i.e., climate change), not local. However, ex situ preservation practices can provide safeguards for coral reef conservation. Specifically, modern advances in cryobiology and genome banking could secure existing species and genetic diversity until genotypes can be introduced into rehabilitated habitats. We assessed the feasibility of recovering viable sperm and embryonic cells post-thaw from two coral species, Acropora palmata and Fungia scutaria that have diffferent evolutionary histories, ecological niches and reproductive strategies. In vitro fertilization (IVF) of conspecific eggs using fresh (control) spermatozoa revealed high levels of fertilization (>90% in A. palmata; >84% in F. scutaria; P>0.05) that were unaffected by tested sperm concentrations. A solution of 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at cooling rates of 20 to 30°C/min most successfully cryopreserved both A. palmata and F. scutaria spermatozoa and allowed producing developing larvae in vitro. IVF success under these conditions was 65% in A. palmata and 53% in F. scutaria on particular nights; however, on subsequent nights, the same process resulted in little or no IVF success. Thus, the window for optimal freezing of high quality spermatozoa was short (∼5 h for one night each spawning cycle). Additionally, cryopreserved F. scutaria embryonic cells had∼50% post-thaw viability as measured by intact membranes. Thus, despite some differences between species, coral spermatozoa and embryonic cells are viable after low temperature (−196°C) storage, preservation and thawing. Based on these results, we have begun systematically banking coral spermatozoa and embryonic cells on a large-scale as a support approach for preserving existing bio- and genetic diversity found in reef systems

Preserving and using germplasm and dissociated embryonic cells for conserving Caribbean and Pacific coral.

Coral reefs are experiencing unprecedented degradation due to human activities, and protecting specific reef habitats may not stop this decline, because the most serious threats are global (i.e., climate change), not local. However, ex situ preservation practices can provide safeguards for coral reef conservation. Specifically, modern advances in cryobiology and genome banking could secure existing species and genetic diversity until genotypes can be introduced into rehabilitated habitats. We assessed the feasibility of recovering viable sperm and embryonic cells post-thaw from two coral species, Acropora palmata and Fungia scutaria that have diffferent evolutionary histories, ecological niches and reproductive strategies. In vitro fertilization (IVF) of conspecific eggs using fresh (control) spermatozoa revealed high levels of fertilization (>90% in A. palmata; >84% in F. scutaria; P>0.05) that were unaffected by tested sperm concentrations. A solution of 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at cooling rates of 20 to 30°C/min most successfully cryopreserved both A. palmata and F. scutaria spermatozoa and allowed producing developing larvae in vitro. IVF success under these conditions was 65% in A. palmata and 53% in F. scutaria on particular nights; however, on subsequent nights, the same process resulted in little or no IVF success. Thus, the window for optimal freezing of high quality spermatozoa was short (∼5 h for one night each spawning cycle). Additionally, cryopreserved F. scutaria embryonic cells had∼50% post-thaw viability as measured by intact membranes. Thus, despite some differences between species, coral spermatozoa and embryonic cells are viable after low temperature (-196°C) storage, preservation and thawing. Based on these results, we have begun systematically banking coral spermatozoa and embryonic cells on a large-scale as a support approach for preserving existing bio- and genetic diversity found in reef systems

Adult and larval forms of <i>A. palmata</i> and <i>F. scutaria</i>.

<p><b>A</b>) Adult and developing <i>A. palmata</i> larvae (inset) at the cornflake stage at ∼24 h. Scale bar = 50 µm. Adult photo by R. Williams, Smithsonian Institution. <b>B</b>) Adult and developing <i>F. scutaria</i> larvae at the swimming stage. Scale bar = 50 µm. Embryos that reached these stages were scored as successfully developed.</p

Species-specific sperm concentrations were not necessary for successful <i>in vitro</i> fertilization.

<p><b>A</b>) Regardless of the <i>A. palmata</i> sperm concentration used (10⁶ to 10⁸ cells/ml), a successful <i>in vitro</i> fertilization success of >92% was observed regardless of whether the eggs were exposed to the sperm for 5 min (grey bars) or overnight (black bars) (<i>P</i>>0.05; ANOVA). <b>B</b>) Both sperm concentrations for <i>F. scutaria</i> produced uniform IVF results (<i>P</i>>0.05; Mann-Whitney).</p

The effect of cooling rate for successful <i>F. scutaria</i> spermatozoa cryopreservation (no sperm exposed to freezing in any of these treatments).

<p>Two freezing ranges were examined and two cryoprotectant solutions (<i>F. scutaria</i>, n = 3–7 pooled sperm donors/cooling range and n = 16 egg donors) and then the influence of cooling rate on IVF success. Only the 10% DMSO at a cooling rate greater than 20°C produced reasonable post-thaw fertilization. Bars with the same letter were not different (<i>P</i>>0.05; ANOVA), whereas bars with different letters were different (<i>P</i><0.05; ANOVA).</p

Experiment II: <i>In vitro</i> fertilization after exposing fresh sperm to various cryoprotectant treatments.

1<p>Sigma-Aldrich, St Louis, MO, USA.</p>2<p>Acros Organics, Fair Lawn, NJ, USA.</p>*<p>Thirty to 50 fresh eggs were used per pooled sperm sample.</p>***<p>An inseminate concentration of 10⁶ sperm/ml was used for each species.</p

<i>F. scutaria</i> sperm were sensitive to cryoprotectants (no sperm exposed to freezing in any of these treatments).

<p><b>A</b>) If the prefreeze motility data (N = 7) for several spawning periods were averaged across the test cryoprotectants, there was no clear indication which cryoprotectant solution might impact the motility the least, except DMSO solutions might be slightly preferable. For analysis, the % motility was measured in quartiles, which were converted into numbers from 1 (25% or less motile) to 4 (>90% motile). Bars with the same letters were not different (<i>P</i>>0.05; Kruskal-Wallis test), but bars with different letters were different (<i>P</i><0.05; Kruskal-Wallis test). FSW controls included fresh sperm with no cryoprotectant. <b>B</b>) However, if the effect of the cryoprotectants on <i>F. scutaria</i> sperm motility for one individual spawning period in the month of July was examined each day, there was a variability pattern in sperm motility each night. Note on Day 1 and 2, the toxicity of 10% DMSO was high (low motility), whereas on Day 3 it was low (high motility). <b>C</b>) In contrast, 10% DMSO and PG solutions caused a 30 to 40% decrease in fertilization success for fresh <i>F. scutaria</i>, whereas the 5% solutions did not. Bars with the same letters were not different (<i>P</i>>0.05; ANOVA), whereas bars with different letters were different (<i>P</i><0.05; ANOVA).</p