Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2009. / Vita: p. 152. Thesis director: Thomas E. Jordan. Thesis director: Donald P. Kelso. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science and Public Policy. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed June 10, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 140-151). Also issued in print.

Economists take an interest in property rights structures because of their importance in the definition of incentive structures. Fisheries have been analyzed as open access resources because they are not often organized around private property rights. The lack of private property rights though should not be taken to imply unlimited access. There is a need to differentiate between situations in which an institutional structure supports a system of common property rights from those in which access to a resources is truly limited. In this study, a conceptual framework of the structure and workings of property rights to natural resources is developed. This includes a taxonomy of possible property rights structures that differentiates among types and degrees of common and private property. The study then compares and contrasts the differing views in the economics literature on the process by which property rights evolve. This conceptual framework is used to develop a set of research questions that will structure the inquiry about the evolution of property rights to a specific natural resource, the Chesapeake Bay oyster grounds. The conventional and Institutionalist perspectives are related to fishery management policy and their differences assessed. The Institutionalist perspective is shown to raise questions about the historical development of property rights that would not be considered by conventional economists. The resulting research questions are used to explain the economic history of the property rights to the Chesapeake Bay oyster grounds from 1607 to 1986. In Maryland and Virginia certain grounds of the Chesapeake Bay are reserved as a public oyster fishery, but, they have been regulated and managed by the states. In the history of the fishery, those who harvest from the public grounds have continually resisted the extension, or even encouragement of oyster cultivation on private leaseholds. The primary advocates of greater privatization of the bottoms have been economists and biologists. The governments of each state have chosen to maintain the commons in order to provide employment for watermen and to more widely distribute income among them. The results of a survey of Virginia's oyster harvesters are presented. These provide further insights for discussing the role of the watermen in the evolution of property rights, and help to form conclusions on the future of the fishery. This case study leads to the discussion of conclusions on the theory of the economics of property rights. / Ph. D.

<p>The paper examines the 1985 Farm Bill-version of the Conservation ReselVe Program (CRP) as a potential water-quality improvement tool in the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia. Participation levels. bidding behavior. land use options and other conditions in Richmond county. a predominantly agricultural county in Virginia's Northern Neck region. were analyzed.</p> / Master of Science

The movement patterns, range areas and energetics of canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria) wintering in the upper Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, were investigated. Eighty-seven juvenile female canvasbacks were radio-tracked between 30 December 1988 and 25 March 1989. Diurnal time and energy budgets were constructed for a time of day-season matrix for canvasbacks using riverine and main bay habitats. Canvasbacks were very active at night, making regular and often lengthy crepuscular movements (x = 11.7 km) from near shore habitats during the day to off shore habitats at night. Movement patterns were similar for birds using habitats on the eastern and western shores of the Bay. Canvasbacks had extensive home ranges averaging 14,286 ha, and used an average of 1.97 core areas. Sleeping was the predominant diurnal behavior. Telemetry indicated that canvasbacks actively fed at night. Canvasbacks spent more time in active behaviors (e.g. swimming, alert) on the eastern shore than on the the western shore. Similarly, canvasbacks were more active during daytime hours at locations where artificial feeding occurred. Behavioral patterns were only weakly correlated with weather patterns. Canvasbacks appeared to reduce energy expenditure in mid-winter by reducing distances moved, reducing feeding activities and increasing the amount of time spent sleeping. This pattern was observed even though 1988-89 mid-winter weather conditions were very mild. / Master of Science

Ruppia maritima is a euryhaline hydrophyte found as a cosmopolitan inhabitant of shallow water habitats. In Chesapeake Bay, Ruppia maritima L. (Potamogetonaceae) and Zostera marina L. (Zosteraceae) form an important submerged aquatic vegetation community. Research in Chesapeake Bay has focused primarily on Zostera marina. Ruppia maritima occurs abundantly in large monospecific stands as well as in mixed stands with Zostera marina. Recent surveys have shown that natural revegetation in some areas has occurred and Ruppia maritima was the primary colonizer in the natural revegetation of some areas. The objective of this study was to investigate the reproductive biology of Ruppia maritima including the possible function of seed banks and vegetative and sexual propagules on the colonization of new habitats, and the plant's ecological impact around Goodwin Islands, York County, Virginia. Ruppia maritima rapidly colonized experimental plots that have historically been mixed beds or have been monospecific beds of Zostera marina because it utilized a combination of sexual and asexual reproduction. Ruppia maritima colonized plots by rapid rhizome growth. Seed reserves were probably more important in re-establishing populations than in "maintenance" of populations. Ruppia produces energy costly Post-reproductive shoots. These shoots which produce inflorescences (and then seeds) remain viable after seeds mature and can detach, disperse, and colonize sites. First year plants were not found to produce an inflorescence. This is significant in the establishment of new habitats. If a fledgling population is distressed by poor water quality or sediment disturbance, the possibility of producing seeds seems to be eliminated unless the plants have been established for one full growing season. This may explain the ephemeral nature of some Ruppia populations. / Ph. D.

Forested shoreline is important perching habitat for bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Bald eagles hunt, feed and loaf on shoreline perches. I measured trees suitable for bald eagle perches along the northern Chesapeake Bay during 1990-1991 to determine the influence of shoreline perch tree availability on bald eagle distribution. The shoreline was divided into 250 x 50 m segments. A segment was considered used if at least 1 eagle had perched on it during 1985-1992. I determined the number of suitable shoreline perch trees, percent forest cover, and distance from the water to the nearest suitable perch tree for each segment. Segments along the Chesapeake Bay had an average of 1 suitable perch tree per 10 m of shoreline. Shoreline segments used by eagles had more suitable perch trees (P = 0.0008) and a larger percent of forest cover (P = 0.0008). Suitable trees on segments with eagle use were closer to water than suitable trees on segments without eagle use (P = 0.0087). The differences in segments with and without eagle use appear to be largely due to the lack of trees in marshes which were used only seldomly. Marsh had few suitable perch trees, less forest cover and a greater mean distance from water to the nearest suitable perch tree than the other land types (P < 0.0001). These factors are unfavorable for foraging eagles and most marsh segments (66.7%) were unused, probably for this reason. The number of suitable perch trees and the percent of forest cover were lower on developed areas than undeveloped, forested areas (P < 0.01 for both tests). Also the distance from water to the nearest suitable perch tree was greater on developed land than forested land (P < 0.01). Thus, development appears to decrease the availability of suitable shoreline perch trees when compared to forested areas. Logistic regression models were created to predict the probability of eagle use, given the conditions at the time of this study. Varying values of development density, percent forest cover, number of suitable perch trees and distance from water to the nearest suitable tree were inputs used in these models to create curves to predict eagle use under different conditions. These curves indicated that, for a given development density, the probability of eagle use increased as the number of suitable perch trees or percent forest cover on the segment increased. Also, for a given development density, the probably of eagle use increases as the distance to water decreases. / Master of Science

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Geological Sciences and Environmental Studies, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

One of the primary concerns of science studies scholars is the translation and utilization of theory in practice. In this thesis, I address this concern as it applies to theories of environmental ethics by analyzing the present use in and the applicability of Green philosophy to a current environmental public policy debate. Namely, through a history and analysis of the debate over the proposed introduction of a foreign species of oyster to the Chesapeake Bay, show that the Green perspective can, if adopted, be a valuable aid to solving current environmental problems. / Master of Science

During the winter 1988-89, diurnal and nocturnal habitat use by juvenile female canvasbacks wintering on the upper Chesapeake Bay was determined. Radio-implanted canvasbacks used shallow water (0-2 m) areas near artificial feeding sites during the day, and deeper water (2-6 m) that had an abundant (> 200/m²) population of small (< 25 mm) Macoma balthica at night. Because of poorer Macoma populations on the east side of the Bay, canvasbacks there may feed more during the day and are in lower Macoma densities at night than west shore canvasbacks. Management of Chesapeake Bay canvasback populations should focus on providing natural foods and rest areas. / Master of Science

Nonpoint source pollution from cropland has been identified as the primary source of nitrogen and sediment, and a significant source of phosphorus in the Chesapeake Bay. These pollutants, whether from point or nonpoint sources, have been found to be the primary cause of declining water quality in the Bay. Numerous studies have indicated that, for many watersheds, a few critical areas are responsible for a disproportionate amount of the nutrient and sediment yield. Consequently, if pollution control activities are concentrated in these critical areas, then a far greater improvement in downstream water quality can be expected with limited funds. In this research a phosphorus transport model is incorporated into ANSWERS, a distributed parameter watershed model. The version of ANSWERS used has an extended sediment transport model which is capable of simulating the transport of individual particle classes in a sediment mixture during the overland flow process. The phosphorus model uses a nonequilibrium desorption equation to account for the desorption of phosphorus from the soil surface into surface runoff. The sediment-bound phosphorus is modeled as a function of the specific surface area of the soil and transported sediment. The equilibrium between the soluble and sediment-bound phosphorus is modeled using a Langmuir isotherm. The extended ANSWERS model was verified using water quality data collected from rainfall simulator plot studies conducted on the Prices Fork Research Farm in Blacksburg, Virginia. The plots consisted of four 5.5 m wide by 18.3 m long strips with average slopes ranging from 6.2 to 11 percent. Two of the plots were tilled conventionally, and the remaining two were no-till. Simulated rainfall at an intensity of 5 cm/h was applied to the plots and runoff samples were analysed for sediment and phosphorus. The model was then verified by comparing the simulated responce with the observed data. The results of the verification runs ranged from satisfactory to excellent. Also developed is a technique for selecting a design storm for ANSWERS. The technique creates an n-year recurrence interval storm with a duration equal to the time of concentration of the watershed. The intensity pattern is simulated on a ten-minute interval using a first-order Markov model with a lognormal distribution. Using a two-year recurrence interval design storm, the use of the model is demonstrated for evaluating the application of conservation practices to critical areas on a Virginia watershed. Application of BMP's to critical areas is shown to be substantially more cost effective in terms of pollutant reduction than nonselective placement of BMP's if cost sharing funds are involved. / M.S.