Estuaries are valuable ecosystems that are easily affected by human activities within the watershed. One determinant of water quality for in an estuary is the presence of suspended sediments. The use of satellite sensors to remotely sense visible and near-infrared reflectance allows for suspended particulate matter (SPM) and suspended particulate inorganic matter (SPIM) concentrations to be monitored on a repetitive synoptic scale. Previously presented algorithms for relating remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) and SPM/SPIM concentrations were evaluated for the Weeks Bay estuary in Alabama. Additionally, numerous potential SPM/SPIM concentration retrieval algorithms using the Landsat-8 satellite were determined through regression analysis, as well as through the consideration of the inherent optical properties of the water body. The most robust empirical algorithm produced an RMSE of 12.50% and utilized the band combination of Ln(Band4)/Ln(Band3), while the most robust semi-analytical algorithm produced an RMSE of 16.34% and utilized the band combination of Band4/Band3.

Interest in, and rates of, wetland restoration have increased over the past several decades. However, despite proliferations of restored wetlands across the landscape, the structural and functional restoration success of these systems is unclear. Thus, understanding factors and processes that influence wetland characteristics is of considerable interest. This study focuses on herbaceous wetlands in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (MAV), a largely agricultural region interspersed with restored and naturally occurring wetlands. Chapter I is an introduction and provides a background to wetlands, wetland ecology, and the current state of wetland restoration in the United States. Chapter II focuses on factors which affect seedling density and similarities between standing vegetation, germinated seedlings, and early successional stage assemblages. Seedling density was heavily influenced by hydrology while richness and diversity were similar between restored and non-managed wetlands. Landscape-level factors affected seedling density, while germinated seedlings did not reflect standing vegetation in MAV wetlands. In Chapter III, I examine the impact of agricultural stressors on wetland plant assemblage development. Resulting assemblages showed strong fidelity to wetland soil site of origin while richness and diversity were negatively affected by elevated stressor levels. In Chapter IV, I compare characteristics between non-managed and restored wetlands in the MAV. These wetlands differed hydrologically, had different levels of soil organic matter, were dissimilar in plant assemblage composition, and varied by surrounding land use/cover. Finally, Chapter V is a discussion of the results and places this work within a larger context.

Imported fire ants are invasive and cause injury to people, crops, livestock and wildlife. Disturbance may increase abundance and activity of fire ants. However, native grass field buffers established for grassland birds require periodic disturbance. I experimentally tested if fire ant mound density and foraging activity changed after burning and disking in native grass buffers and examined relationships among fire ants, vegetation, and grassland bird and butterfly metrics in undisturbed buffers. In 2008, disking increased mound density and foraging activity, but burning did not. In 2009, disking had no effect, but effects of disking the previous season persisted. Fire ant metrics were not related generally to bird or butterfly metrics. Mound density and foraging activity were related negatively to grass cover and related positively to forbs. Burning had less influence on abundance and activity of fire ants, and may better conserve grassland habitats in areas with fire ants.

No description available.

No description available.

Although water covers 70% of the earth's surface, less than 1% of it is freshwater that can be used for drinking. Even in Canada, where there is an abundance of freshwater in groundwater and in rivers and lakes, there are many indigenous communities that lack a sustainable source of drinking water. Such is the case for the Six Nations of the Grand River, the largest indigenous Reserve in Canada, located within an hour drive from major urban centers in southern Ontario and where less than 9% of the residents have access to safe, treated potable water. The major tributaries that drain the Six Nations reserve are part of the McKenzie Creek Watershed, which has been characterized as having the highest loading of sediments and nutrients to the lower Grand River, which eventually drains into the eastern basin of Lake Erie. This research project was initiated by the Six Nations community, who wanted an update on the prevalence of fecal contamination in their drinking water sources (wells, cisterns). Secondly, the community wanted to know the ecosystem health status of tributaries flowing through the Six Nations Reserve (McKenzie and Boston Creeks), and to determine if land uses in the watershed were negatively affecting the health of these streams. A study conducted in the summer of 2018 confirmed that 29% of the tap water tested in 75 households were contaminated with E. coli; 40% of the wells and 15% of the cisterns were contaminated and these were distributed throughout the Reserve with no apparent pattern. A study conducted in the summer of 2019 found that the McKenzie Creek was highly polluted with total phosphorus (P), total suspended solids, turbidity and total-ammonia nitrogen (N), while Boston Creek was highly polluted with soluble reactive P and E. coli as well as total-nitrate N. Nitrogen concentrations at 14 stations were highly and significantly related to percentage of agricultural land in catchments. Elevated levels of pollutants have been observed in the two creeks for three decades, indicating that conditions will not improve without remedial actions. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Performance tests are used to gauge swimmer fitness and guide training prescription. While some traditional protocols, such as, best average swimming (Bavg) lack scientific support, the three-minute all-out test (3MT) is validated to measure critical speed (CS) and distance capacity above CS (D’) from a single maximal swimming bout. In collegiate swimming, a 3MT could be convenient and time efficient. Yet, issues arise with calculating 3MT parameters. Moreover, anthropometry, resistance training, and stroke technique may influence swimming performance and physiological thresholds including 3MT parameters. Hence, this dissertation focused on evaluating the 3MT parameter calculation methods using the interval and lap split methods. Then, we assessed the influence of body anthropometrics, resistance training, and stroke techniques on 3MT parameters throughout a season. Bland-Altman plots showed that CS did not present remarkable behavior while D’ had systematic bias. Furthermore, there were no statistical differences between CS calculation methods (p = 0.83). However, D’ had moderate effect differences (p = 0.01, d = -0.70). Bavg showed very large correlations with maximum sprint speed (MSS) (r = 0.78) and CS (r = 0.81), but improvements after 6-weeks of concurrent training (p < 0.001, d = -0.85) seemed mainly driven by CS (p < 0.001, d = -1.68). Significant moderate to near perfect correlations were found between anthropometrics, 3MT parameters, and medicine ball pulldown throw (MBT) performance during pre- and post-season. Body composition changes may have influenced MBT performance changes (r = 0.46 – 0.55). CS increased at the expense of D’ while both reached stabilization point with no changes in MSS. There were moderate to large differences in 3MT parameters for the backstroke, but only MSS and CS differed in breaststroke, with no D’ differences in either group. Large to near perfect correlations were found between freestyle and secondary stroke 3MT parameter counterparts (r = 0.62 – 0.93), except for D’ in backstroke. Actual and predicted CS in both backstroke (p = 0.27) and breaststroke (p = 0.97) did not significantly differ. The lap split method during a 3MT seems like a practical and useful protocol to monitor CS and D’ in collegiate swimmers.

Quantitative Easing is an unconventional instrument when conducting monetary policy with the aim of stimulating the economy. The instrument is a complementary tool when changing the nominal interest rate is no longer effective. In the United States this unconventional instrument has been used through three different waves between December 2008 to October 2014. This research paper investigates two different regressions, one for the dependent variable consumption and one for the dependent variable investments to capture the effects on households and firms respectively. The results are used to study whether the unconventional monetary policy has had any effects on these variables and if the dependent variables are affected to different degrees. Data for this paper is collected between the first quarter of 2005 until the fourth quarter of 2019. The modelling used is the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) for the two different regressions. All variables in the regressions are critically tested for unit roots, autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity and misspecification to validate the analysis. The findings of our ARDL models indicate that investments are affected by quantitative easing to a larger degree than consumption by 3.8 times the change of the coefficients at its optimal lags.

(Field Trip Activities in Prague Focusing on the Star Game Reserve and Their Application and Use in the Teaching of Biology) The subject of this diploma thesis are organizational forms of teaching with a focus on excursion activities in science classes at the 2nd level of primary school and in the corresponding years of lower grammar school. The work is clearly divided into several parts. The first part deals with general information about the excursion activity as a whole. It deals with the division of individual excursions, their preparation and course. Subsequently, the possibilities of educational programs in Prague and the surrounding area are characterized, which are prepared from various institutions. Furthermore, the work specifically focuses on the Prague forest in the field of the Star game reserve, because in the last part of the text is made an educational walk connecting the history and nature of this place. An integral part of the work is a questionnaire survey dealing with the use of excursions in science teaching.

For decades, union membership and activity has been declining in North America; employers have demanded greater flexibility and have successfully weakened workplace and worker protections. Modern workers increasingly use alternative strategies to negotiate conditions of employment with managers who have limited their discretionary power. Negotiated order theory provides a useful tool for analyzing the mesostructural arrangements of bargaining parties during labor disputes. This thesis applies negotiated order theory to explore how and why the National Football League (NFL) players have twice decertified their union and sought court intervention to challenge the legitimacy of the League's highly restrictive reserve system. An outcome-focused content analysis was designed as a preliminary investigation to ascertain why an alternative strategy was sought and if the strategy proved more effective in securing the players' preferred ends than conventional collective bargaining. The NFL case offers a fixed market from which to formulate a negotiation context of the interorganizational structures and bargaining interactions of its members.