Estimates of abundance are critical to manage and conserve waterfowl and their habitats. Most surveys of wintering waterfowl do not use probability sampling; therefore, development of more rigorous methods is needed. In response, I designed and evaluated an aerial transect survey to estimate abundance of wintering ducks in western Mississippi during winters 2002?2004. I designed a probability-based survey using stratified random and unequal probability sampling of fixed-width transects. To correct for visibility bias inherent in aerial surveys, I conducted an experiment to model bias and incorporated correction factors into estimation procedures to produce adjusted estimates. Bias-corrected estimates were most accurate. Precision of abundance estimates of total ducks met a priori goals (CV ≤ 15%) in 10 of 14 surveys. Based on a simulation study, the implemented survey design provided the most precise estimates, yet certain refinements remained possible. I also illustrated potential applications of survey results in the context of conservation and management of wintering waterfowl populations and habitats. I described patterns of abundance within and among winters, including a comparison with surveys conducted during winters 1988?1990 that revealed mallard abundance decreased 65% from the late 1980s. I developed a method to illustrate population abundance spatially for scientific and public education. I attempted to explain temporal variation in abundance estimates relative to variables potentially representing hypotheses explaining regional distributions of ducks. I concluded the data provided stronger support for factors related to energy conservation by ducks than factors related to energy acquisition. Finally, I determined associations between duck distributions and habitat and landscape features in accordance with the habitat-complex conceptual model. Landscapes with greater interspersion and diversity of wetlands attracted increased numbers of ducks, a though other factors such as wetland area also were important. I concluded that this study advanced methodologies to survey wintering waterfowl. Although improvements were warranted, I recommend this survey design for continued monitoring of wintering ducks in western Mississippi. Furthermore, I suggest habitat management on public and private lands should include complexes of seasonally flooded cropland, moist-soil, forested, and permanent wetlands to potentially increase wintering duck numbers in western Mississippi.

Grain sorghum provides energy-rich seeds for waterfowl. I conducted experiments in 22 sorghum fields in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana during falls 2006 – 2007 to evaluate abundance of ratoon grain (i.e., second crop after harvest), waste grain, and natural seeds. I also conducted surveys of wintering waterfowl in flooded croplands and moist-soil wetlands to evaluate if ducks and geese differentially used habitats. Fertilized plots in 2007 produced >4 times more ratoon grain (x = 219.57 ± 39.65 [SE] kg/ha) than other treatments. Fertilized plots in southern regions of my study area produced ~5 times more ratoon grain (x = 262.93 ± 50.28 kg/ha) than others. Mallards and other ducks used moist-soil wetlands (x >65 ducks/ha) more than other habitats. I did not observe geese using flooded sorghum. I recommend not manipulating sorghum stubble after harvest, fertilizing, and flooding it after ratoon grain has matured, and integrating moist-soil wetlands into agricultural lands.

No description available.

No description available.

Dramatic alterations have occurred on agricultural landscapes throughout North America, reducing the quantities of herbaceous habitat that once dominated field margins. A concomitant decrease of grassland bird populations paralleled these modifications. Conservation buffers, in the form of field borders, are a method of habitat establishment that effectively balances wildlife and landowner needs. Recent popularity of field borders led to their establishment throughout the southeastern US despite a paucity of knowledge regarding avian response to management regimes. This research evaluated wintering and breeding avian communities, as well as nesting ecology in response to field border establishment. Results indicated that birds utilize field borders for various life history requirements. Field borders provided enhanced avian benefits over traditional farm practices; and borders of widths >10 m were superior nesting habitat than more narrow borders. Based on these results, we strongly recommend field border establishment to enhance ecosystem integrity on farm landscapes.

A combination of geological and hydraulic techniques represents the most sensible approach to flood hazard analysis on alluvial fans. Hydraulic models efficiently yield predictions of flood depths and velocities, but the assumptions on which the models are based do not lead to accurate portrayals of natural fan processes. Geomorphological mapping, facies, mapping, and hydraulic reconstructions of past floods provide data on the location, types, and magnitude of flood hazards, respectively. Geological reconstructions of past floods should be compared with the results of hydraulic modeling before, potentially unsound, floodplain management decisions are implemented. The controversial Federal Emergency Management Agency procedure for delineating flood-hazard zones underestimated the extent, velocity, and depth of flow during recent floods on two alluvial fans by over 100, 25, and 70 percent, respectively. Flow on the alluvial fans occurs in one or more discontinuous ephemeral stream systems characterized by alternating sheetflood zones and channelized reaches. The importance of sheetflooding is greater on fans closer to the mountain front and with unstable channel banks. Channel diversions on five alluvial fans repeatedly occurred along low channel banks and bends where the greatest amount of overland flow is generated. Channel migration occurs through stream capture whereby overland flow from the main channel accelerates and directs erosion of adjacent secondary channels. The recurrence interval of major channel shifts is greater than 100 years, but minor changes occurred on all five fans during this century. Small aggrading flows are important, because they decrease bank heights and alter the location of greatest overland flow during subsequent floods. The results of this study demonstrate that (1) geological reconstructions of past floods can check the results of hydraulic models, (2) the character of flooding on alluvial fans can vary significantly in the same tectonic and climatic setting due to differences in drainage-basin characteristics, and (3) flood-hazard assessments on alluvial fans must be updated after each flood, because the location and timing of channel diversions can be affected by small floods.

In South Central Cut Bank Sand Unit (SCCBSU) of Cut Bank field, primary production and waterflood projects have resulted in recovery of only 29 % of the original oil in place from heterogeneous, fluvial sandstone deposits. Using highresolution sequence stratigraphy and geostatistical analysis, I developed a geologic model that may improve the ultimate recovery of oil from this field. In this study, I assessed sequence stratigraphic concepts for continental settings and extended the techniques to analyze low-accommodation alluvial systems of the Cut Bank and Sunburst members of the lower Kootenai formation (Cretaceous) in Cut Bank field. Identification and delineation of five sequences and their bounding surfaces led to a better understanding of the reservoir distribution and variability. Recognition of stacking patterns allowed for the prediction of reservoir rock quality. Within each systems tract, the best quality reservoir rocks are strongly concentrated in the lowstand systems tract. Erosional events associated with falling baselevel resulted in stacked, communicated (multistory) reservoirs. The lowermost Cut Bank sandstone has the highest reservoir quality and is a braided stream parasequence. Average net-to-gross ratio value (0.6) is greater than in other reservoir intervals. Little additional stratigraphically untapped oil is expected in the lowermost Cut Bank sandstone. Over most of the SCCBSU, the Sunburst and the upper Cut Bank strata are valley-fill complexes with interfluves that may laterally compartmentalize reservoir sands. Basal Sunburst sand (Sunburst 1, average net-to-gross ratio ~0.3) has better reservoir quality than other Sunburst or upper Cut Bank sands, but its reservoir quality is significantly less than that of lower Cut Bank sand. Geostatistical analysis provided equiprobable representations of the heterogeneity of reservoirs. Simulated reservoir geometries resulted in an improved description of reservoir distribution and connectivity, as well as occurrences of flow barriers. The models resulting from this study can be used to improve reservoir management and well placement and to predict reservoir performance in Cut Bank field. The technical approaches and tools from this study can be used to improve descriptions of other oil and gas reservoirs in similar depositional systems.

Three seasons of initial succession were followed in the frame of this thesis after a restoration project in a section of the Stropnice River and its floodplain. The succession tends towards formation of community of alluvial meadows, which is prevailing biotope in the neighborhood of the restored part. Strong factor influencing the course of succession is wetness of the substrate, which is partially given by distance of a site from the water-course and by the difference in the altitude of a site and of the river water table. Synantrophic species were most abundant in the first year (2014), followed by meadow and wetland species (2015, 2016).

Le développement industriel et urbain accroit la pollution des eaux au Cameroun. Il faut donc rechercher des méthodes de dépollution peu onéreuses et de mise en oeuvre facile. L'objectif de ce travail était d'éliminer les métaux lourds (Cu2+, Pb2+, Hg2+, Cr3+) des eaux usées, par adsorption sur de l'argile brute ou traité thermiquement. L'argile alluviale prélevée dans la région de l'Extrême Nord du Cameroun est essentiellement composée de smectite (46%), kaolinite (38%), interstratifiés (10%) et quartz (5%). Les formules structurales sont (Si3,42Al0,58)(Al0,87Fe0,96Mg0,17)O10(OH)2(C+)0,75 , pour la smectite et Si2Al1,95Fe0,05O5(OH)4. pour la kaolinite. Les cations de métaux lourds s'adsorbent très rapidement sur l'argile brute ; la température et le pH de la solution influencent peu leur adsorption. L'affinité de l'argile pour Cu2+, et Pb2+ est très forte mais faible pour Hg2+ et Cr3+. Le mécanisme proposé est l'échange cationique et la complexation de surface pour l'adsorption de Cu2+, Pb2+ et Cr3+ et un mécanisme de spéciation pour l'adsorption de Hg2+. Les boulettes obtenues par traitement thermique de l'argile au dessus de 500°C sont stables en solution et montrent une bonne capacité d'adsorption des métaux lourds. Les boulettes sont moins efficaces que l'argile brute, mais leur utilisation, évitant la séparation solide-liquide, après adsorption est plus facile / The industrial and urban development increases the water pollution in Cameroon. It becomes imperative to develop inexpensive and easy to manage remediation methods. This work aimed at eliminating heavy metals (Cu2+, Pb2+, Hg2+, Cr3+) from water by adsorption on raw or heat treated clay. The alluvial clay sampled in the far North of Cameroon mainly contains smectite (46%), kaolinite (38%), interlayers (10%) and quartz (5%). The structural formulas are : (Si3,42Al0,58)(Al0,87Fe0,96Mg0,17)O10(OH)2(C+)0,75 for the smectite and Si2Al1,95Fe0,05O5(OH)4 for the kaolinite. The heavy metals cations fastly adsorb on raw clay, the temperature and the pH have not much influence on their adsorption. The clay affinity in relation to Cu2+, and Pb2+ is very strong whereas it is low for Hg2+, Cr3+. For the adsorption of Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cr3+ the proposed mechanisms are the cation exchange and the complexation while for the Hg2+, a mechanism of speciation is involved. The pellets obtained by thremic treatment of the clay above 500°C are stable in solution and they have a good capacity for heavy metals adsorption. Performances of the pellets are lower than those of raw clay, however, their use is easier since they do not need solid-liquid separation after adsorption

Análises de proveniência sedimentar são tradicionalmente utilizadas com o objetivo de reconstruir a relação entre depósitos sedimentares e suas respectivas áreas fonte, de forma a permitir a composição do contexto tectônico regional. Uma aplicação menos explorada dos métodos de análise de proveniência sedimentar é a avaliação detalhada das variações de áreas fonte ao longo da história de preenchimento de uma bacia sedimentar e das variações locais de proveniência em intervalos estratigráficos específicos. Tais estudos podem trazer importantes inferências sobre a configuração dos alto estruturais vizinhos à bacia sedimentar, assim como informações a respeito de eventos tectônicos capazes de mudar o padrão das drenagens que alimentam a bacia sedimentar. Na Bacia Camaquã (Ediacarano-Cambriano, RS) o Grupo Santa Bárbara e o Grupo Guaritas registram eventos de atividade de altos estruturais durante a sedimentação, responsáveis pela segmentação da bacia em sub-bacias. O Grupo Santa Bárbara compreende sucessões siliciclásticas distribuídas em três sub-bacias separadas pelos altos de Caçapava do Sul e da Serra das Encantadas. Na sub-bacia ocidental esse grupo apresenta depósitos de arenitos e conglomerados aluviais, depósitos siltoarenosos de ambientes fluviais distais e lacustres e depósitos conglomeráticos de leques aluviais, que compõem um ciclo retrogradacional inicial, seguido por dois ciclos progradacionais separados por uma superfície brusca. O Grupo Santa Bárbara na sub-bacia central, por sua vez, apresenta uma sucessão siltoarenosa com base conglomerática, que se estende até a porção média da sucessão sedimentar, quando dá lugar a depósitos conglomeráticos de leques aluviais que são depois sucedidos por nova sucessão siltoarenosa no topo da unidade. O Grupo Guaritas apresenta depósitos de rios entrelaçados na base e no topo da unidade, com interdigitação de sistemas deposicionais eólicos, de rios entrelaçados e de leques aluviais na porção intermediária da sucessão. Os depósitos do Grupo Santa Bárbara na sub-bacia ocidental foram investigados em detalhe por meio de levantamentos sistemáticos de dados de proveniência em escala de afloramento, em lâmina delgada e por meio de análises isotópicas em zircões detríticos. Os resultados mostram áreas fonte distintas entre os depósitos aluviais da base e do topo da unidade, sendo que em ambos a proveniência é local. Os depósitos da base têm áreas fonte a oeste e sudoeste da bacia, enquanto os depósitos do topo da unidade têm áreas fonte a leste da bacia, no alto de Caçapava da Sul, sugerindo uma mudança na configuração das áreas fonte que teria início correspondente ao primeiro nível conglomerático da sucessão aluvial intermediária da unidade. Adicionalmente os dados de proveniência indicam ausência de deslocamento entre áreas fonte e depósitos sedimentares indicando que o rejeito das falhas de borda é normal, como esperado para bacias do tipo rift. As sucessões sedimentares do Grupo Santa Bárbara na sub-bacia central foram investigadas de maneira preliminar por meio de análise de proveniência macroscópica. Os dados indicam pouca variação de áreas fonte na história da bacia, com áreas fonte predominantemente no Alto da Serra das Encantadas, que estaria então soerguido. Nos depósitos conglomeráticos superiores há uma contribuição de litoclastos atribuídos ao Alto de Caçapava do Sul. O Grupo Guaritas teve depósitos sedimentares do topo de sua sucessão estudados por meio de análise de proveniência macroscópica em depósitos de leques aluviais e em depósitos fluviais, que cobrem os anteriores em contato erosivo. Os dados apontam para proveniência estritamente local, do Alto da Serra das Encantadas nos depósitos de leques aluviais, enquanto que os depósitos fluviais contam com áreas fonte mais distantes, sugerindo que o Alto da Serra das Encantadas sofreu subsidência e foi recoberto nesse intervalo de tempo. Os dados indicam que o soerguimento do Alto de Caçapava do Sul, que se deu durante a deposição do Grupo Santa Bárbara e individualizou a sub-bacia ocidental, teria provocado uma progradação instantânea dos depósitos sedimentares, ao contrário do previsto em modelos tectônicos disponíveis, em consequência do aumento do aporte sedimentar pela erosão de sedimentos pouco litificados depositados sobre o Alto de Caçapava do Sul e de uma queda na taxa de subsidência das bacias provocado por um amplo domeamento antes da nucleação da falha de borda. Tal progradação está registrada nas sucessões aluviais intermediárias do Grupo Santa Bárbara nas sub-bacias ocidental e central. Após o estabelecimento da falha normal na borda leste do alto estrutural há uma passagem brusca para depósitos mais distais, na sub-bacia ocidental seguida de progradação de cunhas clásticas no topo da unidade, enquanto que na sub-bacia central há uma retrogradação sugerindo que o soerguimento do Alto de Caçapava do Sul tenha resultado na captura de um sistema de drenagem que alimentava toda a bacia para o graben da bacia ocidental, diminuindo assim o aporte sedimentar na sub-bacia central. O Grupo Guaritas indica, por sua vez, uma situação inversa, com mudança nos sistemas deposicionais provocada pela subsidência do Alto da Serra das Encantadas, que teria permitido a captura de sistemas de drenagem para dentro da bacia, promovendo o aumento do aporte sedimentar e a substituição dos sistemas eólicos e de leques aluviais por sistemas fluviais entrelaçados. / Sedimentary provenance is generally used aiming the reconstruction of the relations between sedimentary deposits and their source areas, in order to interpret the regional tectonic setting. An application that is less frequent in sedimentary provenance analysis is the detailed assessment of the changes in the source areas during the infilling history of a sedimentary basin and of the local variation of the provenance data in specific stratigraphic intervals. Such studies can result in important inferences concerning the configuration of adjacent structural highs, as well as information about tectonic events that are capable of changing the drainage network feeding the sedimentary basin. In the Camaquã Basin (RS) the Santa Bárbara and Guaritas groups register events of syn-sedimentary movement of structural highs, which caused the segmentation of the basin into sub-basins. The Santa Bárbara Group comprises siliciclastic successions distributed in three sub-basins separated by the Caçapava do Sul and Serra das Encantadas structural highs. The western sub-basin contains alluvial sandstones and conglomerates, siltstones and sandstones of fluvial and lacustrine environments, and alluvial fan conglomerates, disposed in a initial retrogradatinoal cycle, and two overlying progradational cycles, which are separated by a abrupt flooding surface. In the central sub-basin, the Santa Bárbara Group comprises a siltstone and sandstone succession with conglomerates at its base, followed by alluvial fan conglomeratic deposits in the middle part of the sedimentary succession, which in turn is succeeded by another succession of siltstones and sandstones at the top of the group. The Guaritas Group shows braided river deposits both at the base and the top of the unit, with interfingering of eolian, braided river and alluvial fan systems in the intermediate part of the succession. The deposits of the Santa Bárbara Group in the western sub-basin were investigated in detail through systematic studies of provenance both at the outcrop scale and in thin sections and by detrital zircon isotope analysis. The results show distinct source areas for the alluvial deposits of the base and the top of the unit, with a local sources for both of them. The lower deposits had source areas to the west and southwest of the basin, while the upper ones had source areas to the east of the basin, on the Caçapava do Sul High, suggesting a change in the configuration of the source areas, with its onset corresponding to the first conglomeratic level of the intermediate alluvial succession of the Santa Bárbara Group. The provenance data also shows that there is no significant lateral displacement deposits relative to their source areas, suggesting that the main displacement of the border faults was normal, as expected for rift basins. The sedimentary successions of the Santa Bárbara Group in the central sub-basin were preliminarily investigated through macroscopic provenance analysis. The data implies only in small changes of the source areas through the history of the basin, with source areas in the Serra das Encantadas High, which was then uplifted. In the upper conglomeratic deposits there is some contribution of lithoclasts from the Caçapava do Sul High. The sedimentary deposits of the top of the Guaritas Group were studied through macroscopic provenance analysis in alluvial fan and fluvial deposits, the latter covering the alluvial fans in erosive contact. The data points to strictly local provenance, from the Serra das Encantadas High in the alluvial fan deposits, while the fluvial deposits had also more distant source areas. This suggests that the Serra das Encantadas High subsided during this period, and was covered by the younger fluvial deposits. The collected data suggests that the Caçapava do Sul High uplift, which took place during the deposition of the Santa Bárbara Group and individualized the western sub-basin, triggered a progradation of the sedimentary deposits. This is not in accordance with the existing models, and could be explained as a result of both of an increase in the sedimentary input by erosion of unlithified sediments deposited on the Caçapava do Sul High and of the fall in the subsidence rates of the sedimentary basins due to a wide doming before the nucleation of the main border fault. Such progradation is registered in the alluvial successions of the Santa Bárbara Group in the western and central sub-basins. After the definition of the normal faulting in the eastern border of the structural high, an abrupt passage to distal facies took place in the occidental sub-basin, which was in turn was followed by progradation of clastic wedges on the top of the unit, while in the central sub-basin there is a retrogradation, suggesting that the uplift of the Caçapava do Sul High would have resulted in the capture of a main drainage system, that fed the entire basin, to the western basin graben, and so decreasing the sedimentary input to the central sub-basin. The Guaritas Group in its turn indicates a change in the depositional systems caused by the subsidence of the Serra das Encantadas High, which allowed the capture of drainage systems to the basin, thus increasing the sedimentary input and the substitution of the eolian and alluvial fan systems by braided fluvial systems.