This study assessed the influence of terrestrial invertebrate abundance and vegetation characteristics on northwest Minnesota greater prairie chicken brood success. Radio telemetry was used to determine movements of greater prairie chicken hens and their broods. Invertebrate abundance indices were collected using a sweep net and vegetation data were recorded with overhead and dot-board photographs. Invertebrates were dried, sorted by size and order, and weighed and counted. Vegetation was classified according to life form and height was measured. Greater prairie chicken broods appear to use those habitats most readily available with increased invertebrate resources. Invertebrate biomass was not related to the occurrence of uncultivated forbs which averaged < 17% in Minnesota habitats where greater prairie chicken broods were located. Relatively undisturbed grasslands produce sufficient invertebrate resources to fledge greater prairie chicken chicks. However, location data and invertebrate-habitat indices suggest increased brood success would be likely with improved habitat placement/availability and irregular disturbance regimes that produce beneficial mixed grass/forb vegetation attractive to both greater prairie chicken broods and their invertebrate prey.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1926. / Includes vita. Includes index. Bibliography: p. 257-264.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1926. / Includes vita. Includes index. Bibliography: p. 257-264.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1957. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [373]-380).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. M.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1937. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Although the adverse auditory effects of noise have been the focus of occupational health research for decades, little is known about the nonauditory health effects that result from noise exposure. The focus of this research was the nonauditory health effects of exposure to commercial aircraft noise (CAN) overflights. It was theorized that CAN exposure resulted in an ongoing stress-response that had the potential to be harmful to human health over time. Two aspects of CAN were considered; the sound level intensity (dBA), and the frequency of overflights. Data were collected by a stratified random sampling design in the CAN exposed neighborhoods of Eagan, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Bloomington, and in control communities of Shoreview and Mounds View, all located in Minnesota (n=4000). A written questionnaire was used to measure; (1) health (MOS-36 Scale), (2) behavioral and emotional coping strategies, (3) noise sensitivity, (4) annoyance levels, and (5) demographic data. Aircraft noise levels and overflight data were obtained in cooperation with the Metropolitan Airport Sound Abatement Commission. Results showed significantly higher stress levels and lower health measures by CAN exposure type. These findings occurred primarily in communities exposed to high frequencies of aircraft overflights. Multivariate analysis revealed significant reductions for the three main health measures of General Health (GH), Sense of Vitality (Vitality), and Mental Health (MH), based on CAN exposure type. Post-hoc contrast analysis indicated that GH, Vitality, and MH scores were worst with high frequency of overflights. Behavioral copers had significantly fewer stress symptoms and used fewer stress medications than non-behavioral copers. Non-normalized emotional copers had significant negative associations with Gil, Vitality, and MH; however, these correlations were weak. Noise sensitivity levels were not significantly different among the CAN exposed communities; however noise annoyance levels were significantly higher than controls, and were the highest with high frequency of overflights. Finally, multivariate analysis of covariance indicated significant reduction for health measures based on CAN exposure types after adjusting for all effect modifiers (covariates) in the study. Vitality was the most consistently impacted by CAN exposure, and this was particularly the case for subjects exposed to high frequency of aircraft overflights. / Graduation date: 1996

Thesis (M.B.A)--Boston University

xi, 43 p. : ill. (some col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Car use has become the dominant form of transportation, contributing to the health, environmental, and sprawl issues our nation is facing. Alternative modes of transport within urban environments are viable options in alleviating many of these problems. This thesis looks the habits and trends of bicyclists along the Midtown Greenway, a bicycle/pedestrian pathway that runs through Minneapolis, Minnesota and questions whether implementing non-auto throughways has encouraged bicyclists to bike further and to more destinations since its completion in 2006. The methods used to gather data were in-person five-minute surveys given to bicyclists, and analysis of existing data provided by non-profit organizations. Results included mapping each surveyed trip to see taken routes as well as qualitative and quantitative answers. Answers varied, but overall, it seemed that both commuting and leisure riders have increased their trips and distance within Minneapolis since completion of the path, advocating for off-street routes within the city. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Jean Stockard; Dr. Marc Schlossberg, AICP; Lisa Peterson-Bender, AICP

Stearns County, Minnesota is the number-one dairy-producing county in the number-one dairy-producing region--the Midwest--in the country. The area has been home to German-Catholic immigrants from the Rheinland region of Germany since the mid- to late-1850s, when they traveled across Canada and the northeastern United States before finally settling on homesteads in Central Minnesota. 150 years later, the descendants of these settlers still live and farm the same area. Through it all, these farmers have kept a similar schedule: six days of fieldwork, Sunday for rest. And, nearly since the day they arrived in the area, that day of rest has featured one sacred leisure activity: baseball. The state of Minnesota boasts over 250 amateur baseball teams, the most of any state in the country. In the summer of 2012, I moved to Spring Hill, Minnesota, a town of 85, to play for the Spring Hill Chargers and work on the farm. My thesis lies at the intersection of farming and baseball, showing the reader both how little and how much has changed for these men who still farm their land of their forebears and still play America's game. A Summer in the Land of Milk tells my story of living and working in a rural area where the past hangs like a shadow and the future is frighteningly uncertain.