Master of Science / Department of Statistics / John E. Boyer Jr / The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the methods used for allocating disaster funds to assist commercial fishery participants as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of 2005 and to examine alternative methods to aid in determining an efficient criterion for allocating public funds for fisheries assistance. The trip ticket data managed by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries were used and analyzed using a cluster analysis. Results from the clustering procedures show that commercial fishermen consist of seven clusters, while wholesale/retail seafood dealers consist of six clusters. The three tiers into which commercial fishermen were originally classified can be extended to at least eleven (11) clusters, made up of three (3) clusters in tier 1 and an equal number of clusters (4) clusters in tier 2 and tier 3. Similarly, the original three tiers of wholesale/retail seafood dealers can be reclassified into at least nine (9) clusters with two clusters in tier 1, four (4) clusters in tier 2 and three (3) clusters in tier 3. As a result of the clustering reclassifications, alternative compensation plans were developed for the commercial fishermen and wholesale/retail seafood dealers. These alternative compensation plans suggest a reallocation of disaster assistance funds among individual groups of fishermen and among individual groups of dealers. We finally recommend that alternative classification methods should always be considered in order to select the most efficient criterion for allocating public funds in the future.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / Kevin P. Price / A major strategy in response to rapid degradation and loss of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands has been the construction of siphon diversion projects. The diversions are designed to reintroduce nutrient enriched freshwater from the Mississippi River into wetland ecosystems to combat saltwater intrusion and stimulate marsh growth. The lack of consensus regarding the effects of river diversions on nutrient enrichment of wetland ecosystems is coupled with major concerns about eutrophication. Locating, assessing, and monitoring eutrophic marsh vegetation represent major challenges to understanding the impacts of freshwater diversions. As a result, this study was undertaken to investigate the feasibility of modeling eutrophication vulnerability of a coastal Louisiana marsh receiving turbid Mississippi River water. The major objective was to integrate remotely sensed data with field measurements of vegetation biophysical characteristics and historical ecosystem survey data to delineate landscape patterns suggestive of vulnerability to eutrophication. The initial step in accomplishing this goal was to model the spatial distribution of freshwater impacts using satellite image-based turbidity frequency data associated with siphon diversion operation. Secondly, satellite and spectroradiometer band combinations and vegetation indices optimal for modeling marsh biophysical characteristics related to nutrient enrichment were identified. Finally, satellite image data were successfully integrated with measures of historical and concurrent marsh biophysical characteristics to model the spatial distribution of eutrophication vulnerability and to elucidate the impacts of freshwater diversions.

Master of Science / Division of Biology / Martha E. Mather / Understanding how and why fish distribution is related to specific habitat characteristics underlies many ecological patterns and is crucial for effective research and management. Blue Catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, are an important concern for many fisheries agencies; however, lack of information about their distribution and habitat use remains a hindrance to proper management. Here, over all time periods and across months, I quantified Blue Catfish distribution and environmental correlates of distribution in Milford Reservoir, the largest reservoir in Kansas. I tested relationships among acoustically tagged Blue Catfish and three groups of variables postulated to influence Blue Catfish distribution in the literature (i. localized microhabitat variables, ii. larger-scale mesohabitat variables, iii. biotic variables). Blue Catfish were consistently aggregated in two locations of the reservoir across five months during summer and fall, 2013. Using multiple linear regression and an information theoretic model selection approach, consistent correlates of distribution included localized, microhabitat variables (i.e., dissolved oxygen, slope) larger-scale, mesohabitat variables (i.e., distance to channel, river kilometer from the dam) and a biotic variable (i.e., Secchi depth). This research identified which 5 of the 12 variables identified in the literature were most influential in determining Blue Catfish distribution. As a guide for future hypothesis generation and research, I propose that Blue Catfish distribution was driven by three ecologically-relevant tiers of influence. First, Blue Catfish avoided extremely low dissolved oxygen concentrations that cause physiological stress. Second, Blue Catfish aggregated near the channel, an area of bathymetric heterogeneity that may offer a foraging advantage. Third, Blue Catfish aggregated near low Secchi depths, shown here to be associated with increased productivity and prey abundance. Building on my results, future research into the distribution and habitat use of Blue Catfish should incorporate aggregated distributions of fish into research designs, focus on how both small and large scale relationships interact to produce patterns of distribution, and explore further the mechanisms, consequences, and interactions among the three tiers of influence identified here.

One of the biggest questions surrounding common-pool natural resources (CPRs) lies in understanding the circumstances which increase the likelihood of sustainable use and those that lead to resource degradation. Small-scale fisheries are an example of a CPR that has proven difficult to manage sustainably. I use social network analysis methods to examine the social connectivity of small-scale fishing communities and the association of network structures with collaborative behavior of small-scale fisheries in the Northern Gulf of California, Mexico.I found considerable connectivity of communities via kinship ties of small-scale fishers, both within the region and to other areas in Mexico. Fisher kinship relationships are important mechanisms for information transfer. Identifying communities in the network that are most likely to share information with other communities allows managers to develop more effective and efficient education, outreach, and enforcement efforts.Communities are also connected by their use of the same fishing zones and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). My results provide suggestions for dividing communities based on common use of fishing areas and MPAs. This may help fishers and managers to develop, implement, and enforce boundary rules that will facilitate regional management of small-scale fisheries. My results provided mixed evidence for the role of social structure in impacting positive outcomes for fisher' ability to collaborate and organize. A wide range of factors affect the emergence of institutions for CPR management. Similarly, finding a common network structure that can accurately predict sustainable use of CPRs is unlikely. Knowing how people are connected and the ways in which information about CPR resources moves through (or is hindered from moving through) a network can improve manager's ability to develop more effective strategies and actions. Adding social networks into the CPR management toolbox provides a mechanism by which those working in management and conservation can incorporate social structure into management activities.An understanding of the social networks that connect communities and the potential pathways for information transfer, combined with a system of enforceable rules and policies and effective outreach methods and materials, may help managers and resource users more effectively and sustainably manage CPRs in the long term.

<p>The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to a better understanding of how global seafood trade interacts with the governance of small-scale fisheries (SSFs). As global seafood trade expands, SSFs have the potential to experience significant economic, social, and political benefits from participation in export markets. At the same time, market connections that place increasing pressures on resources pose risks to both the ecological and social integrity of SSFs. This dissertation seeks to explore the factors that mediate between the potential benefits and risks of global seafood markets for SSFs, with the goal of developing hypotheses regarding these relationships. </p><p>The empirical investigation consists of a series of case studies from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. This is a particularly rich context in which to study global market connections with SSFs because the SSFs in this region engage in a variety of market-oriented harvests, most notably for octopus, groupers and snappers, lobster, and sea cucumber. Variation in market forms and the institutional diversity of local-level governance arrangements allows the dissertation to explore a number of examples. </p><p>The analysis is guided primarily by common-pool resource (CPR) theory because of the insights it provides regarding the conditions that facilitate collective action and the factors that promote long-lasting resource governance arrangements. Theory from institutional economics and political ecology contribute to the elaboration of a multi-faceted conceptualization of markets for CPR theory, with the aim of facilitating the identification of mechanisms through which markets and CPR governance actually interact. This dissertation conceptualizes markets as sets of institutions that structure the exchange of property rights over fisheries resources, affect the material incentives to harvest resources, and transmit ideas and values about fisheries resources and governance.</p><p> The case studies explore four different mechanisms through which markets potentially influence resource governance: 1) Markets can contribute to costly resource governance activities by offsetting costs through profits, 2) markets can undermine resource governance by generating incentives for noncompliance and lead to overharvesting resources, 3) markets can increase the costs of resource governance, for example by augmenting monitoring and enforcement burdens, and 4) markets can alter values and norms underpinning resource governance by transmitting ideas between local resource users and a variety of market actors. </p><p>Data collected using participant observation, survey, informal and structured interviews contributed to the elaboration of the following hypotheses relevant to interactions between global seafood trade and SSFs governance. 1) Roll-back neoliberalization of fisheries policies has undermined cooperatives’ ability to achieve financial success through engagement with markets and thus their potential role as key actors in resource governance (chapter two). 2) Different relations of production influence whether local governance institutions will erode or strengthen when faced with market pressures. In particular, relations of production in which fishers own their own means of production and share the collective costs of governance are more likely to strengthen resource governance while relations of production in which a single entrepreneur controls capital and access to the fishery are more likely to contribute to the erosion of resource governance institutions in the face of market pressures (chapter three). 3) By serving as a new discursive framework within which to conceive of and talk about fisheries resources, markets can influence norms and values that shape and constitute governance arrangements.</p><p>In sum, the dissertation demonstrates that global seafood trade manifests in a diversity of local forms and effects. Whether SSFs moderate risks and take advantage of benefits depends on a variety of factors, and resource users themselves have the potential to influence the outcomes of seafood market connections through local forms of collective action.</p> / Dissertation

This is a study on the conditions of collaborative learning in the context of UK ammonia emissions. By conducting an extensive review of over 40 scientific articles, this study identifies and synthesizes a list of nine conditions deemed necessary for successful collaborative learning processes and explores their extent and overall influence between three stakeholders involved in UK ammonia emissions. Hybrid focus group/key informant interviews provided the data for this exploration. This study suggests that the extent of these 9 conditions are present enough between the three stakeholders to initiate a collaborative learning process. By conducting further studies with a wider field of stakeholders, a collaborative learning process could identify possible ways to mitigate UK ammonia emissions.

Throughout northern Fennoscandia, reindeer husbandry is a central part in the cultural heritage of the Sámi people. In its history, Sámi culture and reindeer husbandry have undergone significant adaptations to environmental, social and political challenges. Landscape changes on the winter grazing grounds were mainly driven by resource exploitation, especially by industrialized forestry. Important grazing resources were lost, i.e. terrestrial and arboreal lichens that constitute essential key elements in the herding year. In my thesis, I explore the consequences of these transformations in Swedish boreal forests for reindeer husbandry. The multi-disciplinary approach integrates interview studies, ecological fieldwork and theoretical modeling of forest development. I emphasize the understanding of landscapes as multi-dimensional concepts with ecological, social and economic components. They interact in determining the amount of landscape fragmentation in physical or administrative ways, or in enabling reindeer herders to move between different landscape elements. These elements, e.g. forest stands of different ages, can react differently to winter weather. Thus, they enable reindeer herders to adjust their grazing grounds according to the availability of forage, mediated by snow conditions. However, forestry practices have reduced the abundance of old-growth forests, and therewith the functionality of the landscape. By comparing snow conditions in different forest types, I show that multi-layered canopies can offer a more diverse pattern of snow hardness. However, the interaction between forest characteristics with snow is strongly dependent on weather conditions, e.g. the timing and intensity of warm spells. The prevalence of single-layered forest stands therefore can lead to a reduction in snow variability and potentially restricts the availability of suitable grazing grounds for reindeer. If snow conditions hinder reindeer in foraging on terrestrial lichens, old forests formerly supplied reindeer with arboreal lichens. I show how industrial forestry has reduced the availability of this emergency forage by the reduction of old forests and increased landscape fragmentation and analyze the consequences of different management strategies on future habitat availability for arboreal lichens. By integrating these results into a model of forest management, I offer insights into consequences arising from different priorities that either favor timber production or the development of lichen-rich grazing grounds. In conclusion, I emphasize the importance of landscape diversity, as well as the ability to make use of this diversity, as a source of adaptability of reindeer husbandry to changes in grazing conditions by e.g. winter weather dynamics. A shared future of reindeer husbandry and forestry could be fostered by encouraging the social-ecological co-evolution of multiple use landscapes and the enhancement of the cultural and biological significance of the Swedish boreal forests.

The role of collaboration within conservation is of increasing interest to scholars, managers and forest communities. Collaboration can take many forms, but one under-studied topic is the form and content of public discourses across conservation project timelines. To understand the discursive processes that influence conservation decision-making, this research evaluates the use of collaborative rhetoric and claims about place within discourses of conservation in the Adirondacks. Local newspaper articles and editorials published from January 1996 to December 2013 and concerning six major conservation projects were studied using content analysis. Results show that collaborative rhetoric increased during the study period, and conflict discourses declined, in concert with the rise of collaborative planning efforts. Data also show an increasing convergence between conservation sponsors and local communities regarding the economic benefits of conservation and the importance of public participation. The study has value in examining representations of place and media claims-making strategies within conservation discourses, an important topic as natural resource managers increasingly embrace community-based natural resource management.

This dissertation examines the language-based, discursive processes through which meanings and experiences are socially constituted in outdoor recreation and natural resource environments. Language use and discourse are seen as interactive, constructive processes, approached through the theoretical perspectives of argumentation, social constructionism, and performance. Three qualitative studies, based in data collected at Acadia National Park and forest-related sites throughout Vermont, comprise this dissertation. The first study uses rhetorical analysis to examine the ways National Park Service managers and community leaders argue for the meanings and management of dark night skies in and around Acadia. The second study examines how national park visitors socially construct meanings of night sky experiences, focusing on the structure, functions and styles of language. The third study evaluates forest-oriented environmental interpretation materials produced by Vermont-based agencies through an analysis of performance. Each study analyzes a different type of discourse: semi-formal "expert" language solicited in interviews with managers and leaders (study 1), semi-formal "naive" language solicited in interviews with park visitors (study 2), and formal, written texts produced by agencies (study 3). Results show how language is used to forge agreement across competing ideals; construct meanings despite undeveloped vocabularies and intangible values; and direct visitors to perform forests in ways that develop the meanings of place. These studies contribute to the understanding of how individuals and organizations use language within discourse practices to create the reality in which socially- and culturally-important natural resource environments are managed and experienced, forming a body of work that informs theory and practice.

Master of Science / Department of Chemical Engineering / James Edgar / In the past decade the technique of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has been improved so much that it has become a cost effective method to extract natural gas from shale formations deep below the earth’s surface. Natural gas extraction has boomed in the past few years in the United States, enough that it has driven prices to an all time low. The amount of natural gas reserves in the U.S. has led to claims that it can lead the country to energy independence. It has also been touted as a cleaner fuel for electricity generation and to power vehicles. This report explains hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling particularly with regards to utilizing the techniques for natural gas extraction from shale gas. It also discusses the environmental impact due to the drilling and gas extraction. It demonstrates that although the natural gas beneath the U.S. is a valuable resource, the impacts to the planet and mankind are not to be taken lightly. There is the potential for the effects to be long term and detrimental if measures are not taken now to control them. In addition although on the surface natural gas seems to be a greener fuel, particularly in comparison to gasoline, it is also considered worse for the environment.