Interactions among commercial fisheries and birds have been studied in open ocean ecosystems and at aquaculture facilities. On the Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah, USA, a commercial harvest of brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) eggs (i.e. cysts) occurs annually during fall and winter. Coinciding with commercial harvest is the use of the GSL by millions of waterbirds which has the potential to result in conflict among industry and birds. The objectives of my research were to examine fall and winter ecology of birds using the GSL and interactions with the brine shrimp cyst harvest. I examined the influence of temperature and food availability on the number and distribution of waterfowl and eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis). I also assessed the diets of the same species to see how much cyst biomass is being consumed by birds compared to removal by commercial harvest. A mass die-off (i.e. downing) of migrating eared grebes occurred during my research, so I assessed differences among birds that died and those that did not to better explain this phenomenon. Finally, I assessed the breeding origin of northern shovelers (Anas clypeata) wintering on the GSL using stable isotopeand banding data.I found that commercial harvest boats did not influence duck population numbersor distribution; rather temperature and food availability most influenced abundance and distribution, though this influence varied by species. Compared to commercial harvest, northern shovelers, green-winged teal (Anas crecca), and eared grebes removed a small fraction of the total amount of cysts that were removed from the GSL. Waterfowl diets were mainly wetland plant seeds during fall and spring, but when freshwater marshes were frozen in winter, ducks ate mostly brine shrimp cysts and brine fly (Ephydra spp.) larvae. Eared grebes are highly associated with saltwater habitats and they consumed adult brine shrimp most of the fall. Eared grebes that perished during the downing had mercury and selenium concentrations above levels seen in pre- and post-downing birds and higher than observed concentration that impact bird species, providing a potential ultimate cause of death during snowstorms that accompany most downings. Stable isotope analysis indicated northern shovelers that winter on the GSL had breeding origins throughout the specie’s range, but most came from local or southern Prairie Pothole Region breeding populations.

Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) are migratory birds that build their nests over water and in large groups called colonies. Their typical breeding range is in central southern Canada and northern United States; however, a previously uncertain number of Eared Grebes (grebes) also nest around the Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah, at the southern edge of their breeding range. Little is known about the habitat requirements for grebe nesting colonies at such low latitudes and if they are different from colonies found elsewhere. My objectives for this research were to determine the status of the grebe nesting population as well as their habitat characteristics along the GSL in freshwater wetlands. I found over 4,280 grebe nests distributed among 35 colonies. Grebes built nests by mounding submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) beginning the first week of June. The results from my habitat study show that grebes prefer to nest in areas with an average water depth of 48 cm, high invertebrate density, and abundant areas of floating SAV. Water depth and vegetation type at colony sites as well as timing of nesting and average number of eggs per nest of GSL colonies differed from colonies located at more northern latitudes. The differences in nesting could be attributed to the need to wait for SAV to grow and form mats on the water’s surface, or a need to wait for their food source to reach harvestable size. After grebes leave their nesting grounds, they stop at the GSL where they prepare for their final migration southward by consuming their fill of brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana). Brine shrimp are tiny invertebrates that are well-adapted to salty environments; they produce hard-walled eggs called cysts which are of great economic value and are commercially harvested from the GSL. I compared cyst viability, which is the percentage of cysts in a condition conducive to hatching, for cysts that had passed through the digestive tract of grebes and cysts samples obtained from the GSL. Only 30% of the cysts that had passed through grebes were viable, whereas 63% of cysts from the GSL were viable.

The influence of human activity on surrounding environments is an important field of research. With respect to aquatic settings, lacustrine deposits provide excellent proxies of environmental change since the sediment accumulates at a relatively constant rate, recording environmental change. This study employs isotopic, mineral, and chemical records from Farmington Bay freeze cores, in particular δ13C, δ15N, and 210Pb isotopes as well as phosphorus level fluctuation and trace metal analysis. In particular, 210Pb isotopes permit estimation of the age of sediment with depth and δ15N, δ13C, and concentration of P provides a record of changing nutrient sources and level of eutrophication. Results from 210Pb isotopes have allowed ages to be assigned to depths along the core dating back roughly 100 years at 30 cm. At this depth, a dramatic shift in the δ15N isotope is observed. Initial δ15N levels indicated a nutrient source related to agriculture. However, beginning around 100 years ago, the δ15N shows the main nutrient source for the bay became wastewater which correlates to the completion of a sewage canal in 1911 that began routing wastewater directly into the bay. Results have also shown a large rise in phosphorus levels beginning around 1970 which may be due to the construction of the automobile causeway that isolated Farmington Bay from the rest of the Great Salt Lake.

Invasive plants can outcompete native plants, replacing diverse plant communities with monocultures, which can negatively impact the whole ecosystem. One invasive plant, Phragmites australis, has invaded wetlands across North America. In Utah’s Great Salt Lake, it has greatly reduced the area of native plants that are important habitat for migratory birds. Here we describe experiments that assess multiple treatments for Phragmites removal and evaluate the return of native plants after Phragmites management. The treatments were applied to Phragmites patches at two scales (small 1/4-acre plots and large 3-acre plots) and across multiple sites to evaluate how patch size and environmental differences can influence the plants that return after Phragmites removal. The treatments (applied over 3 years and monitored two more) compared two different herbicides (glyphosate and imazapyr) and different herbicide and mowing timings. The treatments evaluated in the large patch study were 1.) untreated control 2.) fall glyphosate, winter mow, 3.) summer imazapyr, winter mow, 4.) summer glyphosate, winter mow. The treatments evaluated in the small patch study included treatments 1-4 above plus 5.) summer mow, fall glyphosate, 6.) summer mow, then black plastic solarization. In the small patches, we also monitored the seeds in the soil to assess how Phragmites management treatments can change the densities of Phragmites and native seeds. Fall glyphosate treatments were superior for Phragmites cover reduction. After the initial treatment, summer herbicide and mow treatments reduced Phragmites seed production, while fall glyphosate did not. Phragmites seeds were plentiful in the soil but were reduced following three years of all herbicide treatments. Native plant recovery following Phragmites management was extremely variable across sites. Sites with high soil moisture had better Phragmites removal and more native plants. But when flooding was deep, native plants were rare. Native seed density in the soil did not change due to Phragmites management, but soil seed densities were different across sites, which influenced native plant recruitment. Phragmites was removed more effectively and native plants returned in greater numbers in small patches compared with large. This was because small patches were typically near established native plant communities, which likely provided more native plant seeds and had hydrology that was less disturbed by human activity. In sites where native plants do not return after Phragmites management, practitioners may need to try revegetation with native plant seeds to restore important native plant communities.

Snowy plovers (Charadrius nivosus) are small, ground-nesting shorebirds that are a species of conservation concern throughout North America. Despite increased efforts to understand factors contributing to the decline of snowy plover, little is known about habitat selection and breeding ecology of snowy plover for the large population found in the Great Basin. We tested hypotheses concerning the occupancy and nesting success of snowy plover. First, we identified factors influencing snowy plover nest survival at Great Salt Lake, Utah. We hypothesized that snowy plover would demonstrate differences in nest survival rates across years due to differences in habitat characteristics, predator abundance, human influence, resource availability, and fluctuating water levels. We conducted nest surveys at five sites along the Great Salt Lake to locate new nests or monitor known nests until nest fate was determined. We found 608 nests between 2003, 2005-2010, and 2012. The most common cause of nest failure was predation, followed by weather, abandonment, and trampling. Nest survival estimates ranged from 4.6 -- 46.4% with considerable yearly variation. There was no correlation between researcher activity (visits to nests and trapping of adults) and nest survival. Nests in close proximity to roads had lower survival than nests far from roads. Nests located on barren mudflats also had lower survival than nests in vegetated areas or near debris. We found that nests had a higher probability of survival as they increased in incubation stage. Because nesting areas around the Great Salt Lake host some of the largest concentrations of breeding snowy plover in North America, we suggest that managers consider measures to maintain suitable nesting habitat for snowy plover. Second, we determined factors affecting snowy plover occupancy and detection probabilities in western Utah between 2011 and 2012. We hypothesized that snowy plover would be associated with spring water flows and sparsely vegetated salt flats. We made repeated visits to randomly selected survey plots recording the number of snowy plover adults and habitat characteristics within each plot. We modeled the relationship between snowy plover detection probability and habitat and environmental characteristics. The detection probability was 77% (95% CI = 64 -- 86%) and did not vary by year. There was a positive relationship between ambient temperature and detection probability. Next, we modeled the relationship between snowy plover occupancy and individual habitat characteristics including distance to water, distance to roads, land cover types, and vegetative characteristics. Snowy plover occupancy did not vary by year and was estimated at 12% (95% CI = 7 -- 21%). Occupancy was best predicted by close proximity to water, playa land cover, and minimal shrub cover. We used habitat characteristics that best predicted snowy plover occupancy to generate a predictive habitat model that can help prioritize future snowy plover surveys and guide conservation efforts.

Les microbialithes sont des dépôts organosédimentaires benthiques résultant de la minéralisation et de la lithification de tapis microbiens, et dont les plus anciennes formes, se développant il y a 3.4 Ga, constituèrent les premiers écosystèmes terrestres. Ils forment alors une archive sédimentaire unique incluant des périodes clés de l’histoire géologique. Ce travail de thèse se propose d’analyser et de comparer les processus et produits de minéralisation dans les tapis microbiens actuels de deux environnements contrastés : un exemple de lac intracontinental hypersalin, le Grand Lac salé (GSL) aux USA ; une lagune hypersaline à alimentation marine, à Cayo Coco (Cuba) (CCLN). Le devenir des minéraux au cours de la diagenèse précoce, ainsi que leur potentiel d’enregistrement de biosignatures seront particulièrement analysés. Cette thèse se focalisera spécialement sur l’influence de trois facteurs majeurs contrôlant la minéralogie et la fabrique des microbialithes : (i) le rôle de la chimie du milieu (ii) le rôle des métabolismes microbiens (le moteur de l’alcalinité) ; (iii) le rôle de la production et de la dégradation des matrices organiques extracellulaires (EOM). Les deux cas d’études démontrent un rôle prépondérant de la production d’EOM par les cyanobactéries et leur dégradation par les bactéries hétérotrophes dans la minéralisation : (1) Dans les deux systèmes, la première phase minérale a précipiter sur les EOM alvéolaires est une phase riche en magnésium et en silicium. Ce type de minéraux nécessite des pH>8.6-8.7 pour cristalliser. (2) Une autre observation commune est que les carbonates cristallisent souvent dans des zones de forte activité des bactéries sulfato-réductrices (SRB). Notre hypothèse est que les SRB dégradent les EOM, libérant des cations (Mg2+ et Ca2+) disponibles pour la cristallisation des carbonates. Dans les tapis du CCLN et contrairement au GSL, nos résultats démontrent une forte activité de photosynthèse anoxygénique par les bactéries pourpres sulfureuses (PSB). La limite entre la zone oxique et la zone anoxique est caractérisée par un pH maximum et coïncide avec la formation d’une lamine de carbonates. Deux différences majeures sont observées entre les paragenèses du GSL et du CCLN : (1) le locus initial de la précipitation des carbonates. Dans le GSL, l’aragonite précipite dans les cyanobactéries, perminéralise leur paroi et enfin la matrice organique. Pour Cuba, une calcite magnésienne péloïdale précipite sur les EOM puis rempli les bactéries ; (2) la minéralogie et l’évolution des carbonates lors de la diagenèse précoce. Les microbialithes du GSL montrent une aragonite partiellement dissoute et une dolomite venant se développer à sa périphérie. Au CCLN, de l’aragonite se développe en surcroissance des peloïdes de HMC précédemment formés. Les différences minéralogiques des carbonates entre les deux systèmes pourraient s’expliquer par un changement du rapport Mg/Ca. Les résultats pourront être utilisés afin de mieux interpréter les conditions paléoenvironnementales et les processus microbiens en jeu dans des microbialithes de registres fossiles analogues. / Microbialites are benthic organosedimentary deposits resulting of the mineralization and lithification of the microbial mats, and the most ancient forms, developing there are 3.4 Ga, are the first earthly ecosystem. They form a unique sedimentary archive including key periods of the geological history. This study proposes to analyze and compare the processes and the products of mineralization in the modern microbial mats of two different environments: an example of intracontinental modern lake, the Great Salt Lake (USA; GSL); a lagoonal marine sea fed in Cayo Coco (Cuba; CCLN). The mineral product during of the primary diagenesis, as that them potential of biosignatures recording will be particularly detailed. This work will focus on the influence of three major factors controlling the mineralogy and the fabric of the microbialites: (i) environment chemistry role, (ii) microbial metabolisms role, (iii) role of the production and degradation of the extracellular organic matrix (EOM). Both environments studied show a high role of the EOM production by cyanobacteria and them degradation by the heterotrophic bacteria in the mineralization: (1) In both systems, the first phase to precipitate on the alveolar EOM is a rich magnesium and silica phase. This type of mineral needs pH around 8.6/8.7 to precipitate. (2) An other common observation is that carbonate precipitate generally in the high sulfate-reducing activity zones. Our hypothesis is that the sulfato-reducing bacteria (SRB) degrade the EOM, releasing cations (Mg2+ and Ca2+) available for carbonate crystallization. The limit between the oxic and anoxic zones is characterized by maximum pH coinciding with the precipitation of carbonate lamina. Two mains differences have been observed between the paragenesis both systems: (1) initial locus of the carbonate precipitation. In the GSL, the aragonite precipitates in the bacteria and then permineralizes the wall of bacteria and then the EOM network. In Cuba, the peloidal magnesian calcite precipitates on the EOM then fill the bacteria; (2) the mineralogy and the evolution of the carbonate during the preliminary diagenesis. The microbialithes of GSL show the aragonite partly dissolved and a dolomite developing next to the aragonite. In the CCLN, aragonite developing around the magnesian calcite peloids. The mineralogical carbonate differences between both systems could explain by a change of the Mg/Ca. The results could be used to better understand and interpret the paleoenvironmental conditions and the microbial processes stake in ancient microbialite analogs.

The Ghost Water exhibition of artworks by Michael Sharp was comprised of four main works titled: 30 x 60 Minute Grid Series, Suspension, History/Prehistory, and Lake Bonneville Remnants. The artwork was created as a reaction to the land that once held the prehistoric Lake Bonneville and to its current remnant Great Salt Lake. The work explores the dialogue between absence and presence.

Durch die Entwicklungen der Digitalisierung scheint 2013 die Obsoleszenz des analogen Filmmediums besiegelt. Während ein Großteil der Filmindustrie über die Flexibilität digitaler Filmaufnahmen erleichtert ist, betrauern KünsterInnen wie Tacita Dean den drohenden Verlust des analogen Mediums. Dem Anliegen, analogen Film in seinen intrinsischen Qualitäten zu erkennen, zu würdigen und zu erhalten, widmet die Künstlerin Arbeiten wie Kodak (2006) oder FILM (2011). Auch in Deans Film JG (2013) setzt sich die Künstlerin mit dem drohenden Ende des Mediums auseinander. Aufgrund seiner Rätselhaftigkeit und gesteigerten Polysemie nimmt der Film allerdings eine Sonderstellung in Deans Werk ein. Die vorliegende Arbeit sucht die Rätsel zu entziffern und zeigt auf, wie in JG dem Untergang des ‚Universums Film‘ über die Figur eines allegorischen Dramas Gestalt verliehen wird und wie über Fragmente des analogen Films ein Erinnerungsbild an die technischen und chemischen Bedingungen sowie strukturellen Eigenheiten des Mediums geschaffen wird, das allein für diejenigen in JG erkennbar wird, die mit dem Wissen um diese Bedingungen vertraut sind. In einem zweiten Schritt widmet sich die Untersuchung den Werken des britischen Science-Fiction-Schriftstellers J.G. Ballard und des US-amerikanischen Land-Art-Künstlers Robert Smithson, auf die sich Dean in JG bezieht. Über ‚close-reading‘-Analysen von Ballards The Voices of Time (1960) und Prisoner of the Coral Deep (1964) sowie Roberts Smithsons Spiral Jetty (1970) lässt sich zeigen, dass die Künstlerin Strategien zur Anwendung bringt, mit denen sie JG in unmittelbare Nähe zum Science-Fiction-Genre und zu Smithsons Land Art rückt, worüber es ihr gelingt, neben der zeitlichen auch die räumliche Dimension des Films, seine skulpturale Dimension, auf eindrückliche Weise auszustellen. / By 2013, the obsolescence of analog film seemed to be sealed as a result of progress in digitalization. While much of the film industry rejoiced in the greater flexibility provided by digital film, artists such as Tacita Dean mourned the impending loss of their analog medium. Tacita Dean had already dedicated works such as Kodak (2006) and FILM (2011) to the recognition, appreciation, and preservation of film in its intrinsic qualities. In her film JG (2013) the artist continues to deal with the impending end of the medium. JG’s enigmatic nature and heightened polysemy lends it a unique position in Dean’s œuvre. The Dissertation seeks to decipher the enigma JG and tries to show how the artist in JG confronts the impending loss of her medium. It is argued that she does this in two ways: through the figure of an allegorical drama reflecting the end of the 'universe of film’; and, secondly, through a collection of analog film fragments that, to those with the requisite knowledge, become recognizable as a commemorative picture of the technical and chemical conditions and structural characteristics of the medium. In a second step, the study is dedicated to works of British science fiction writer J.G. Ballard and American Land Art artist Robert Smithson on which Dean draws in JG. Through close-reading analyses of Ballard’s The Voices of Time (1960) and Prisoner of the Coral Deep (1964) as well as Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (1970), it becomes clear that Dean employs strategies that bring JG into close proximity with the genre of Science Fiction and with Smithson’s Land Art. By these means she achieves an impressive demonstration not merely of film’s temporal but of its spatial, sculptural dimension.