Although the unprotected lands of northern Tanzania support large numbers of elephants, and provide critical linkages for wildlife movements across the region, there is little information on the dispersal patterns of elephants in these unprotected lands. Our home range measures (100% MCP) of 21 elephants with satellite collars in four study regions were highly variable (191 to 3,698 km2). Home range sizes (95% fixed kernel) of bulls were typically larger than those of females, and wet season ranges were typically larger than dry season ranges. There were large differences in average home range sizes reflected varying strategies for obtaining food and water and avoiding humans. All eight radio-collared elephants (3 bulls, 5 females) in the West Kilimanjaro study region crossed the Tanzania-Kenya border, but typically elephants crossed more frequently in the wet than the dry season, and bulls crossed 47% more frequently than females. These extensive transboundary movements indicate that the elephant populations of West Kilimanjaro and Amboseli NP constitute a single transboundary population. Based upon 14,287 fixes from eight collared elephants, the vast majority of time was spent in unprotected (X¯ =91.5%) versus protected (X¯ =8.5%) areas. Amboseli NP was visited by all eight elephants and was the protected area most utilized (X¯ =8%, range 2-24%). Based upon the movements of 15 GPS-collared elephants in northern Tanzania, we identified eight areas that we considered important for wildlife conservation corridors/linkages for elephants. Our conservation priorities for these corridors were based upon the levels of threats and conservation potential. Community interviews and hilltop surveys were used in two Maasai villages to determine the extent of wildlife conflict, community attitudes towards elephants, and if elephants were using a vegetation corridor to move between Tanzania and southern Kenya. Elephants were the most problematic wildlife species and were considered a nuisance. However, they believed they attracted tourists, and generally did not believe elephant numbers should be reduced. Based upon elephant conflict and use and the communities' need to maintain areas for cattle grazing and medicinal plant collection, the two communities established the first wildlife conservation corridor in Tanzania.

Television contributes to social learning. Most people believe in supporting the environment yet high-polluting, gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks are the most popular vehicles purchased by Americans. The literature supports the view entertainment television talks very little about the environment and the causes or solutions to pollution. Television informational programming rarely reports on environmental issues and may actually vilify the environment by emphasizing natural disasters, storms, etc. Some informational programs trivialize nature. Into this milieu, ubiquitous ads trumpet the automobile as a means to access and dominate nature. Mobility and the status of owning an automobile are lifestyle values advanced by the Dominant Social Paradigm and its cultural arm, television. The automobile is the most advertised product in history. Manufacturers have made automobiles an integral part of the American lifestyle by placing automobiles prominently in cultural products such as movies, songs and television shows and supporting the products with billions of dollars in advertising. For over 100 years, ads portrayed the automobile as a means to access and dominate nature, a form of status and an integral component of the American Dream. This project documents the role of automobiles and mobility in popular culture through a cultural history of the automobile. A content analysis of 200 automobile commercials was conducted to investigate natural images in television ads. Finally, focus group research was used to hear discourses about automobiles, the environment and automobile advertising. Americans privilege mobility. The role of the automobile in American society and culture is quite salient. Although people articulate concern for the environment in the abstract, the root causes of these problems do not seem apparent to most people. Immediate action or action by individuals to address environmental problems is not critical. There is considerable faith that technology, industry or the government will solve environmental problems before they impact lifestyle. Industry causes pollution, not people or the consumerist lifestyle.

As numerical models of turbulent flow in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) improve in their temporal and spatial resolution, high-resolution remote sensing measurements become increasingly important for validation and improved understanding. The Turbulent Eddy Profiler, a recently developed UHF imaging radar, provides a tool both to observe the three dimensional structure of clear-air scattering from refractive index turbulence with fine spatial and temporal resolution and to explore the limits to this resolution. This dissertation focuses on the space-time statistics of the clear-air radar signal and their implications on measurements of winds, temperature, and spatial coherence. A theoretical analysis of the statistics of the radar echo is presented, resulting in a general expression of the space-time autocorrelation of the radar signal. This expression is later used in the analysis of wind profiling techniques, where Spaced Antennas (SA) algorithms are compared to Doppler Beam Swinging (DBS) methods. The relation between SA and DBS methods is studied, leading to the conclusion that DBS methods are better suited for use with imaging radars where beams may be electronically steered. The implementation of a TEP-based Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) to retrieve temperature fields is described. Using TEP, the spatial structure of RASS echoes using a UHF radar is revealed for the first time. Three-dimensional RASS-measurements of virtual temperature are used to explicitly calculate structure functions, and to retrieve profiles of the structure function parameter of virtual temperature. The stream-wise spectral coherence of the vertical wind field in the convective boundary layer is studied using TEP data. Results are compared to theoretical curves that include the effect of volume averaging inherent to radar data, and to Large Eddy Simulation data. There is scant experimental validation of these relationships. Experimental results are found to be in good agreement with both simulations and theory under convective conditions. This promising result suggests multiple beam radars may study spatial coherence under neutral or stable conditions.

Marstonia lustrica is a poorly understood aquatic snail, relatively rare throughout its range and listed in the State of Massachusetts as Endangered (MNHESP 2010, Hershler et al. 1987). It is the northern-most cold temperate species of its genus, with other members of the genus occurring along the southern edge of its range and in the southeastern United States (Thompson 1977). The current range of M. lustrica appears to follow the maximum extent of the Laurentide Glacier (20–25 kya), extending from Minnesota to western Massachusetts. Research regarding the distribution, ecology, and phylogeny of M. lustrica in the State of Massachusetts and eastern New York raised the possible role of glaciers and pro-glacial lakes in the establishment and distribution of the snail, leading to the hypothesis that its distribution and evolution may be dependent upon glacial processes. A full range survey was completed in 2007 and 2008, with populations identified in 20 water bodies from Minnesota to Massachusetts, and Ohio to Ontario, Canada. Fifty-seven specimens from the 20 populations were sequenced for two mtDNA markers (COI and NDI), developing both phylogenetic trees and haplotype networks. Here I present those trees and networks, and correlate the distribution of these populations and their representative haplotypes with both glacial events and contemporary watersheds, using AMOVAs and Mantel tests to examine several phylogeographic models. In addition to the results for M. lustrica, the unexpected occurrence of several other species of Marstonia spp. found across the range of M. lustrica are presented, including M. pachyta, M. comalensis , and M. hershleri.

The first essay, "Federalism in Environmental Policy," explores the question of how Congress should decide on implementation of environmental statutes. This issue arises from the hypothesis that the historical pattern of U.S. federalism has led to ineffective implementation of environmental laws at the state level. We use a case-study approach to focus on the transboundary pollution problem of acid rain. Drawing from the basic philosophy of federalism, we analyze the strengths and weaknesses of four arguments for state policy responses to pollution problems, including: (1) severity, (2) wealth, (3) partisanship, and (4) organizational capacity. These arguments are evaluated using a geographic information system and then incorporated into an econometric model to identify the determinants of state decisions on transboundary air pollution. Based on the econometric results and the basic theory of federalism, we develop economic criteria to explore how congressional decisionmakers may more systematically choose state, regional, or national implementation of environmental laws based on instate and external benefits and costs of the individual statute. In the second essay, "Compliance and Enforcement Issues, A Case Study of Massachusetts' Environmental Results Program," we present a theoretical model of a firm's decision to comply with performance standards. The model is motivated by recent efforts in Massachusetts to adopt a more flexible environmental management strategy, the "Environmental Results Program" (ERP). This program has two main components: (1) development of performance standards, and (2) implementation of a self-certification program for environmental compliance. Because the standard pollution control model fails to capture the importance of monitoring, enforcement, and penalties, we modified it to incorporate a firm's private compliance decisions. The resulting marginal private benefit function represents the avoided costs of punishment based on a probability of being caught in non-compliance. Finally, the third essay, "The Penalty-Compliance Tradeoff in Enforcement by States," presents a game theoretic model of a firm's compliance with performance standards and self-certification. The model builds on standard enforcement theory and the case study of the ERP in an effort to evaluate the strategic interaction between control agencies and regulated facilities.

This study uses habitats that have been naturally fragmented throughout the Holocene to examine the effects of habitat fragmentation on a much longer time scale. To investigate the long-term effects of habitat fragmentation on population genetic structure of Carex bigelowii, Diapensia lapponica , and Minuartia groenlandica, isozyme variation in fragmented patches of alpine tundra was compared to variation in sites from continuous alpine tundra. The questions posed by this study include: Is genetic variation reduced in fragmented habitat? Does gene flow occur between habitat fragments? What is the effect of fragment size on genetic variation? Have populations from fragments diverged more than populations separated by a similar distance in continuous habitat? Some of the results agree with the predictions of population genetic theory, and some do not. Dipensia lapponica and C. bigelowii have significantly less genetic variation in fragmented habitat. Contrary to theoretical predictions, M. groenlandica has significantly more genetic variation in fragmented habitat. Gene flow between populations of D. lapponica and C. bigelowii in fragmented habitat appears to be absent or reduced compared to unfragmented habitat. Gene flow between populations of M. groenlandica does not seem to have been affected by the scale of habitat fragmentation in this study. Correlation of genetic variation with fragment size is positive for C. bigelowii, not significant for D. lapponica and negative for M. groenlandica. Contrary to theoretical predictions, populations of M. groenlandica have significantly more genetic variation in small habitat patches than in large ones. Populations of D. lapponica and C. bigelowii have diverged more in fragmented habitat than in unfragmented habitat, possibly as a result of genetic drift. Minuartia groenlandica populations have not diverged more in fragmented than in unfragmented habitat. Diapensia lapponica, C. bigelowii, and M. groenlandica have virtually identical distributions in the northeast, and must have migrated into the region contemporaneously (on a geologic time scale) from southern refugia, yet have strikingly different patterns of genetic variation. This observation should serve as a cautionary note in attempts to infer past migration patterns from current patterns of genetic variation. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Poly(β-hydroxyalkanoates), PHAs, are thermoplastic polyesters, which have potential for use as biodegradable plastics. The material properties of PHAs depend upon their chemical structure. Pseudomonas oleovorans accumulates medium chain length (MCL) PHAs whose structure depends upon the carbon source used for PHA synthesis. In this study, P. oleovorans was used for the production of functionalized PHAs, using a range of carbon sources, including sodium octanoate, nonanoic acid, ω-bromoalkanoic acids, oleic acid, and 11-undecylenic acid, as well as alternative feed stocks such as tall oil, cuphea oil and vernonia oil. The PHAs produced from these substrates were characterized using gas chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry, and gel permeation chromatography. The biodegradability of a wide range of PHAs, including both short chain length (SCL) and MCL PHAs, as well as that of a crosslinked PHA and several synthetic polyesters, was assessed using the bacterium Comamonas Strain P37C. This organism was isolated from residential compost for its ability to degrade MCL PHAs. A number of growth and enzyme assays were used to analyze the biodegradability of the aliphatic polyesters used in this study. These assays included overlay plates, clear zone tubes, respirometry, and colorimetric assays. With the exception of the crosslinked PHA, strain P37C was found to be capable of degrading all of the PHAs to which it was exposed. Enzyme assays using cell-free enzyme preparations indicated that strain P37C produces at least two enzymes for the hydrolysis of SCL and MCL PHA. The SCL and MCL PHA depolymerases were concentrated and partially purified using ammonium sulfate fractionation, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, PHA affinity assays, gel electrophoresis, and activity gels. Ammonium sulfate fractionation led to a three-fold increase in specific activity of the MCL PHA depolymerase. The activity of this enzyme preparation was found to become increasingly unstable with degree of purification. Activity gels were prepared by overlaying isoelectric focusing gels with turbid PHA-containing polyacrylamide gels. The SCL PHA depolymerase activity was confined to two distinct bands which produced clear zones in a PHB overlay gel, suggesting that strain P37C produces two SCL PHA depolymerases.

Surface drinking water sources are threatened with non-point fecal contamination usually originated from runoff that carries fecal material from wild and farm animals, and from leaking septic and sewerage systems. Identification of the specific source(s) of contamination would allow for more effective management and control programs in a watershed. Sorbitol-fermenting Bifidobacteria and Rhodococcus coprophilus have been suggested as bacterial indicators of fecal contamination from human and animal origin, respectively. The ecology of the bacteria was investigated. Detection and enumeration methods for the two indicators were evaluated and optimized. The effect of environmental and experimental factors in the recovery, detection levels, and false-positive/false-negative incidences were investigated. Membrane filtration, incubation on Human Bifid Sorbitol Agar, followed by confirmation tests is the recommended method for sorbitol-fermenting Bifidobacteria. Filtration-resuspension, spread-plating and incubation on MM3 agar is recommended for R. coprophilus . A survey of animal and human fecal samples confirmed the potential of sorbitol-fermenting Bifidobacteria as a human-fecal indicator and of R. coprophilus as a grazing (farm) animal fecal indicator. The detection/absence of the indicators in the water samples collected during a one-year survey around the Wachusett Reservoir and its watershed in Central Massachusetts agreed with the potential sources suggested by land use in the sampling areas. The usefulness of a typing procedure to characterize strains of R. coprophilus originated from different animals was investigated. A total of 45 strains of R. coprophilus were isolated from the fecal samples and subjected to a set of biochemical and antibiotic sensitivity tests. The resulting data was analyzed statistically in an attempt to develop a biotyping method that allows for the classification of the isolates according to their animal of origin. The method included carbohydrate utilization tests, growth on sole carbon source tests and antibiotic resistance tests. This method still needs further development, but could be used for the identification of the source(s) of R. coprophilus detected and isolated from water samples.

Time of planting plays a critical role in nitrogen (N) uptake by rye cover crop (CC). Even a few days of delay in planting can severely decrease CC performance. Evaluating the amount of N accumulation related to time of planting is critical to the farmer who has to optimize the winter rye planting date based on completion of corn harvest, suitable weather conditions and time availability for fall manure application. Winter rye cover crop was planted at 6 planting dates in fall from mid August to early October at weekly intervals from 2004 to 2009. The results suggest that delay from critical planting date (CPD) will decrease rye N uptake dramatically. Suggested CPDs for northwest parts of Massachusetts are not applicable because they are too early (third to fourth week of August). CPDs for central parts of the State are from first to second week of September. Farmers in these zones can take advantage of cover crop by a better time management and planting no later than CPD. In Eastern areas of Massachusetts CPD is the third week of September. By evaluating the effect of planting date on rye growth and N accumulation throughout the State, this model provides a powerful decision making tool for increasing N recovery and reducing nutrient leaching. Sixteen units of cost effective and accurate automated lysimeters were designed and installed to measure post-harvest nitrate leaching from a rye cover crop field during the falls and winters of 2007 to 2009. The electronic system was designed to monitor soil tension and apply the equal amount of suction to the sampling media. Hourly data from soil tension and vacuum applied to the system were collected and stored by each unit. A safety system was designed for protecting vacuum pump against unexpected major vacuum leakage events. The controller can be easily reprogrammed for different performance strategies. Other major parts of lysimeter included the power supply systems, vacuum pump, vacuum tanks, sampling jars, suction cups and plates, and electronic valves. The electronic system showed a very reliable and accurate performance in the field condition.

A method was developed for the quantification of alkylmercury species in complex matrix, biological marine materials. The extraction procedure consists of sample acidification followed by extraction into toluene. Copper powder is added to the extraction vessel to eliminate sulfur interferences. High molecular weight pigments and lipid materials are removed from the sample extracts by preparative gel permeation chromatography prior to gas chromatographic analysis. Separation of the extracted alkylmercury bromides is achieved with a poly(14%-cyanopropylphenyl-86%-dimethylsiloxane) stationary phase capillary column. The organomercury species are detected with a commercial microwave-induced plasma atomic emission detector using atomic emission detector (GC-AED) using the mercury 253.652 nm emission line. Chromatographic and detection parameters were optimized for the quantification of alkylmercury halides. The method was validated with four certified biological tissue reference materials. The methylmercury contents of 19 reference materials of various matrix compositions were determined, including 9 marine standard reference materials from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Multiple subsamples of each material were analyzed to demonstrate method reproducibility and evaluate material homogeneity. Relative standard deviations below 10% were found for most materials. Trends in methylmercury content and percentage of methylmercury with respect to total mercury were observed for species at differing levels in the marine food web. Agreement among results obtained using the GC-AED method and those obtained using cold vapor atomic absorbtion spectrometry and gas chromatography with atomic fluorescence detection was observed. Beluga whale livers from the Alaskan Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project were analyzed for methylmercury content. Methylmercury levels increased with whale length, but not with approximate age. Trends were observed in methylmercury content and percentage of methylmercury with respect to total mercury for different whale populations. No relationship between sex and methylmercury content was observed.