Muscovy ducks are native only to Central and South America, Mexico, and parts of southern Texas and are considered invasive in some areas outside of their native range. Although they have been introduced worldwide, they remain largely unstudied. The primary focus of this study was to relate Muscovy duck abundance to habitat characteristics of wetlands in Tampa, Florida. Muscovy abundance was measured using point count methods at 21 wetland sites that occur within an eight km radius of the University of South Florida’s main campus. Habitat features at these sites were assessed using field methods and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (Arc 10.1v). Mann-Whitney U tests and Chi-squared tests were performed to identify significant differences between quantitative data groups. A Chi-squared test determined that there was not a positive correlation between Muscovy abundance and fountains or water regime, yet identified a significant relationship between Muscovy abundance and fencing, in which Muscovies did not frequently occupy ponds with fencing. Mann-Whitney U tests did not identify significances between Muscovy abundance and other habitat groups. Since Muscovy ducks are listed as an invasive species, identifying habitat preferences and deterrents will assist land managers and property owners with habitat modifications in preventing or controlling nuisance Muscovy populations.

abstract: Drawn from a trio of manuscripts, this dissertation evaluates the sustainability contributions and implications of deploying underutilized spaces for alternative uses at multiple scales: urban, regional and continental. The first paper considers the use of underutilized spaces at the urban scale for urban agriculture (UA) to meet local sustainability goals in Phoenix, Arizona. Through a data-driven analysis, it demonstrates UA can meet 90% of annual demand for fresh produce, supply local produce in all food deserts, reduce areas underserved by public parks by 60%, and displace >50,000 tons of carbon-dioxide emissions from buildings. The second paper considers marginal agricultural land use for bioenergy crop cultivation to meet future liquid fuels demand from cellulosic biofuels sustainably and profitably. At a wholesale fuel price of $4 gallons-of-gasoline-equivalent, 30 to 90.7 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels can be supplied by converting 22 to 79.3 million hectares of marginal lands in the Eastern United States (U.S.). Displacing marginal croplands (9.4-13.7 million hectares) reduces stress on water resources by preserving soil moisture. This displacement is comparable to existing land use for first-generation biofuels, limiting food supply impacts. Coupled modeling reveals positive hydroclimate feedback on bioenergy crop yields that moderates the land footprint. The third paper examines the sustainability implications of expanding use of marginal lands for corn cultivation in the Western Corn Belt, a commercially important and environmentally sensitive U.S. region. Corn cultivation on lower quality lands, which tend to overlap with marginal agricultural lands, is shown to be nearly three times more sensitive to changes in crop prices. Therefore, corn cultivation disproportionately expanded into these lands following price spikes. Underutilized spaces can contribute towards sustainability at small and large scales in a complementary fashion. While supplying fresh produce locally and delivering other benefits in terms of energy use and public health, UA can also reduce pressures on croplands and complement non-urban food production. This complementarity can help diversify agricultural land use for meeting other goals, like supplying biofuels. However, understanding the role of market forces and economic linkages is critical to anticipate any unintended consequences due to such re-organization of land use. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geography 2020

Title: “Where the Feral Things Are: An analysis of how the USDA and Department of the Interior’s Agencies Manage Feral Hogs, Horses and Burros” Author: Elizabeth Poczobut, MPA Candidate, Department of Political Science, Public Policy and International Affairs, College of Arts and Sciences, ETSU. Abstract: Many Americans cannot picture the “Wild West” without also picturing the majesty, liberty and mystique of wild horses roaming the plains. This deeply held cultural view of wild horses lead to the 1971 passage of the Wild, Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. This act tasked the Department of the Interior, and subsequently the Bureau of Land Management, with protecting wild horses and burros from “capture, branding, harassment, or death…as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.” In 1971, there were approximately 25,000 free-roaming horses and burros on public land in the western United States. That number has grown to over 70,000 animals today, and the Bureau of Land Management alone spends approximately $81 million in taxpayer money every year to continue carrying out the management objectives set in 1971. Wild horses and burros are a uniquely protected and managed non-native species in the United States due to a variety of administrative, cultural and legal management constraints. They are protected from many forms of eradication and have virtually no natural predators. When feral horses are compared with other non-native species like wild hogs, the management inequalities are obvious. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that there are 5 million feral hogs roaming the United States, and that they are responsible for about $1.5 million in damages to natural resources. Unlike feral horses, feral hogs are managed by a variety of means up to and including unrestricted eradication. This paper will analyze the non-native, mammal management practices of five major United States agencies and compare legislation, cultural expectations and administrative regulations of these two major feral species. The attempted resolutions and new management proposals are also discussed, and the potential implications of these are taken into consideration.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Nigeria has over 100 million people living below the US$1.90 poverty line. Most of these poor people are rural smallholder farmers. Agricultural interventions are ongoing to alleviate poverty and food insecurity amongst smallholder farmers in Nigeria, but these interventions have been less successful when compared to similar interventions implemented by developed countries. One such intervention in Nigeria is the Fadama III project. It is against this background that this study evaluated the development impact of the Fadama III project on the agricultural yield, food security, and income of smallholder farmers. The aim was to draw lessons from the evaluated project that would guide the design of future agricultural projects that are more effective. Using primary data from 300 farmers, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, probit regression, propensity score matching, and a quasi-experimental research design, this study found that the Fadama III project increases agricultural yield (rice yield), three dimensions of food security (food availability, food access, food utility), and some type of income (income from cassava production) of smallholder farmers in Ebonyi State. However, Fadama III does not significantly cause an increase in the food stability dimension of food security and other types of income like income from rice production. It also found that youth and female farmers are under-represented in Fadama III project. Also

Wild free-roaming horses in the American West continue to exist in tension with the land they inhabit, the government that “manages” them, and the people that are impacted by them. The problem, argued here, is the result of the ideological construction of mustangs in American culture, and it calls forth questions about human-nature relationships as well as contemporary understandings of Environmentalism. This research follows in the theoretical foundations of Raymond Geuss and Tommie Shelby to unpack the epistemic properties (empirical evidence of the contexts from which ideologies are formed), functional properties (consequences of suffering and benefits as a result of ideologies), and genetic histories (historical contexts the construct the ideologies in a culture) of ideologies relating to wild horses in the West; by doing so it also provides insight into nature identification, the borders and barriers of human creations, and the limitations of access for performing environmentalism. This text focuses primarily on the life and experiences of Velma Bronn Johnston as an exemplar of environmental change in unexpected ways. Her narrative culminates in the passing of the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 that created material changes for the lives of mustangs in the West as well as long-term consequences for citizens of the United States of America. Consequentially, mustangs of the West face a population “problem” that costs the United States more than $80 million annually with almost no signs of decreasing.

To assess sustainability of privately owned rangeland, a questionnaire was used to gathered data from ranches in Cooke, Montague, Clay, Wise, Parker, and Jack counties in North Central Texas. Information evaluated included: management philosophy, economics, grazing practices, environmental condition, quality of life, and demographics. Sustainability indices were created based on economic and land health indicator variables meeting a minimum Cronbach‘s alpha coefficient (α = 0.7). Hierarchical regression analysis was used to create models explaining variance in respondents’ indices scores. Five predictors explained 36% of the variance in rangeland economic sustainability index when respondents: 1) recognized management inaction has opportunity costs affecting economic viability; 2) considered forbs a valuable source of forage for wildlife or livestock; 3) believed governmental assistance with brush control was beneficial; 4) were not absentee landowners and did not live in an urban area in Texas, and; 5) valued profit, productivity, tax issues, family issues, neighbor issues or weather issues above that of land health. Additionally, a model identified 5 predictors which explained 30% of the variance for respondents with index scores aligning with greater land health sustainability. Predictors indicated: 1) fencing cost was not an obstacle for increasing livestock distribution; 2) land rest was a component of grazing plans; 3) the Natural Resource Conservation Service was used for management information; 4) fewer acres were covered by dense brush or woodlands, and; 5) management decisions were not influenced by friends. Finally, attempts to create an index and regression analysis explaining social sustainability was abandoned, due to the likely-hood of type one errors. These findings provide a new line of evidence in assessing rangeland sustainability, supporting scientific literature concerning rangeland sustainability based on ranch level indicators. Compared to measuring parameters on small plots, the use of indices allows for studying replicated whole- ranch units using rancher insight. Use of sustainability indices may prove useful in future rangeland research activities.

The battle over federal Wilderness designation of Bureau of Land Management lands in southern Utah has entered its third decade. Throughout this lengthy debate numerous stakeholders have maintained involvement, including members of Utah's conservation community. Two of the most prominent wilderness advocacy groups in Utah are notable not only for their sustained involvement with the issue, but also for their divergent positions on how to resolve this public land dispute. This research examines those two organizations, the Utah Wilderness Association and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, through an analysis of their respective structural, organizational, philosophical, and tactical perspectives. Ultimately, the background of each organization's leadership, their organizational structures, their ability to mobilize resources, and their distinctive wilderness philosophies offer an understanding of how each organization perceived its mission and its ability to provide a construct for resolution of the Utah Wilderness debate.

Declining bat populations necessitates a need to understand how different land management techniques influence bat activity. This study assessed the influences of different coastal upland habitat management techniques, such as mulching, prescribed fire, and select cut, on forest bat activity within the Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge and National Estuarine Research Reserve. Acoustic recorders were used to monitor bat activity and insect and vegetation surveys were used to assess influences on bat activity across different land management techniques. Results demonstrate that overall bat activity was similar across different land management techniques, however larger species adapted for open-space flying were shown to be less active within dense forest such as the select cut technique areas. Findings from this study suggest that various land management techniques can influence bat activity differently.

Mapping their location and extent is a critical step in noxious weed management. One of the most common methods of mapping noxious weeds is to walk the perimeter of each patch with a handheld GPS receiver. This is the method used at Camp Williams, a National Guard Bureau training facility in Utah where this study was conducted. It was proposed that a low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that made use of a hobbyist remote control airplane equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and digital camera could be used along with automated post-processing techniques to reduce the cost of weed mapping compared to the on foot method. Two noxious weeds were studied: musk thistle (Carduus nutans) and dalmation toadflax (Linaria dalmatica). The musk thistle was visually identifiable in the imagery but the dalmation toadflax was confused with yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis). It was found that after the automated post-processing the photos were not positioned well enough to produce a consistent and accurate weed perimeter. A supervised classification was attempted with imagery of the musk thistle, however, the accuracy of the classification was too low to be able to identify the weed perimeter from the classification. To achieve accurate results the photos had to be registered to a base image and the perimeter of each patch hand digitized. The time it took to do so increased the costs well above the on foot method. A number of improvements to the UAV could make the image registration step unnecessary. There are other applications for which this low cost UAV could be used.

Anthropogenic landscape changes threaten our ecologically and economically critical honey bees by decreasing the availability of quality foraging resources. Importantly, waggle dance analysis provides a versatile and relatively cost-effective tool for investigating the obstacles that honey bees face, such as habitat loss, in our changing landscapes. While this emerging tool has improved our understanding of honey bee foraging in specific landscape contexts, additional research is needed to identify broad trends that span across landscapes. For this dissertation, I used waggle dance decoding and analysis to investigate honey bee foraging, and sublethal stress responses, across three ecologically distinct landscapes in Virginia. In Chapter 1, I introduce waggle dances as a model study system for investigating honey bee foraging and sublethal stress responses by summarizing modern methodological advances in its analysis and emerging research gaps. In Chapter 2, I tested the effects of sublethal imidacloprid exposure on honey bee foraging and recruitment using a semi-field feeder experiment. In doing so, I report that honey bees decreased their foraging, but not recruitment, to an imidacloprid-laced sucrose solution, compared to a control solution. Together, these effects could potentially harm honey bee health by increasing their exposure to pesticides and decreasing their food intake. In Chapter 3, I compared the foraging distances communicated by waggle dancing nectar and pollen foragers across landscapes to explore the economic forces driving foraging to these resources. I observed higher overall and monthly nectar foraging distances compared to pollen foraging distances. Such results suggest that nectar foraging cost dynamics are driven by supply, while pollen foraging cost dynamics are driven by demand. In Chapter 4, I used waggle dance decoding to map and quantify foraging to agricultural grasslands in a mixed-use landscape. In doing so, I demonstrate that honey bees recruit to agricultural grasslands throughout the season, but that this land type was not more attractive than the broader landscape after correcting for foraging distance, which is a relevant cost that flying bees must consider. Additionally, I qualitatively observe a foraging hot spot, representing high honey bee interest, over a highly heterogenous section of the landscape. The collective results of this chapter identify agricultural grasslands as a potential management target and support the importance of landscape heterogeneity to honey bees/pollinators. In Chapter 5, I used waggle dance decoding to investigate honey bee foraging spatial patterns in the context of optimal foraging theory. In particular, I explore whether co-localized honey bee colonies forage optimally by converging on the same resource patches, or by partitioning the landscape in to distinct foraging territories. Spatial analysis revealed that the colonies widely distributed their foraging at the landscape-scale, with dances from the same and different colonies being similarly distributed, while also establishing distinct, patch-scale, colony-specific, foraging aggregations. Together, these results suggest that the honey bee foraging system produces an emergent foraging pattern that may decrease both within- and among-colony foraging competition. Finally, in Chapter 6, I place my research findings in the context of historical and current trends in honey bee behavioral ecology. Overall, my dissertation improves our understanding of honey bee foraging ecology across landscape contexts using waggle dance analysis, while demonstrating its versatility and effectiveness as a tool for ecologists. / Doctor of Philosophy / Honey bees collect nectar (carbohydrate source) and pollen (protein source) from flowers as their food for survival and reproduction. Human activities, such urbanization, change landscapes and threaten our critically important honey bees by decreasing the availability of flower-rich habitats. Importantly, honey bees share the location of good food sources with their nest mates using a communication behavior called the waggle dance. Interestingly, scientists can estimate the approximate location of the food sources communicated by waggle dancing bees through close observation and cutting-edge analysis. Therefore, we can "decode" honey bees' waggle dances to map their food collection, or foraging, patterns and investigate the obstacles that they face in our changing landscapes. For this dissertation, I used waggle dance decoding and analysis to investigate honey bee foraging across three different landscapes in Virginia. In Chapter 1, I introduce waggle dances as a tool for investigating honey bee behavior by summarizing the modern improvements in its analysis and areas where research is needed. In Chapter 2, I tested the effects of a sublethal exposure to a pesticide, imidacloprid, by observing the foraging and waggle dance behavior of bees visiting feeders with artificial food. I report that honey bees decreased their foraging, but not recruitment, while collecting an imidacloprid-laced sugar solution, compared to a solution without imidacloprid. In Chapter 3, I compared the foraging distances communicated by waggle dancing nectar and pollen foragers across landscapes to explore the economic forces driving foraging to these resources. I observed higher overall and monthly nectar foraging distances compared to pollen foraging distances. Such results suggest that nectar foraging is driven by supply, while pollen foraging is more driven by demand. In Chapter 4, I used waggle dance decoding to map and quantify foraging to agricultural grasslands (pastures and hay fields) in a landscape characterized by diverse land uses. In doing so, I demonstrate that honey bees recruit to agricultural grasslands throughout the season, but that this land type was not more attractive than the broader landscape after correcting for foraging distance. Additionally, I qualitatively observe a foraging hot spot, representing high honey bee interest, over a highly heterogenous section of the landscape. The collective results of this chapter identify agricultural grasslands as a potential management target and support the importance of landscape heterogeneity to honey bees/pollinators. In Chapter 5, I used waggle dance decoding to investigate the spatial patterns of honey bee foraging in the context of optimal foraging theory, which attempts to explain efficient resource collection strategies. In particular, I explore whether neighboring honey bee colonies forage optimally by converging on the same resource patches, or by dividing the landscape in to distinct foraging territories. We found that colonies distributed their foraging widely at the landscape-scale, with dances locations from the same and different colonies being similarly distributed, while also establishing distinct, patch-scale, colony-specific, foraging areas. Together, these results suggest that honey bees use a foraging strategy that decreases both within- and among-colony foraging competition. Finally, in Chapter 6, I place my research findings in the context of historical and current trends in honey bee behavioral ecology. Overall, my dissertation uses waggle dance analysis to improve our understanding of honey bee foraging behavior, while demonstrating its versatility and effectiveness as a tool for ecologists.