Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone / The study investigates how local-level efforts at sustainability have been implemented in developing countries and Caribbean islands. In order to protect resources and longevity of these regions, communities often adopt sustainable development initiatives with assistance of external support. The goal of this study is to evaluate initiatives taken by similar communities and organizations that have met the needs of ecosystems through sustainable action plans. The combined information gathered in this study will aid St. Croix, USVI in evaluating current practices as well as planning for future actions. The purpose of this research is to develop a case study of local-level sustainable development initiatives for St. Croix, USVI in order to address the needs of community members and environment through evaluations and successful frameworks of similar island communities. Through information collected, an analysis that addresses issues related to improving community for healthier communities via an improved built environment design, will investigate possible forms and systems of successful urban populations. This thesis addresses some of the issues related to improving community design for better civiv health outcomes via an improved design and framework policy for the built environment. In order to explore this, the thesis seeks sustainable potentials in urban inner cities and island communities to develop an action plan and design for St. Croix. USVI.

Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone / The study investigates how local-level efforts at sustainability have been implemented in developing countries and Caribbean islands. In order to protect resources and longevity of these regions, communities often adopt sustainable development initiatives with assistance of external support. The goal of this study is to evaluate initiatives taken by similar communities and organizations that have met the needs of ecosystems through sustainable action plans. The combined information gathered in this study will aid St. Croix, USVI in evaluating current practices as well as planning for future actions. The purpose of this research is to develop a case study of local-level sustainable development initiatives for St. Croix, USVI in order to address the needs of community members and environment through evaluations and successful frameworks of similar island communities. Through information collected, an analysis that addresses issues related to improving community for healthier communities via an improved built environment design, will investigate possible forms and systems of successful urban populations. This thesis addresses some of the issues related to improving community design for better civic health outcomes via an improved design and framework policy for the built environment. In order to explore this, the thesis seeks sustainable potentials in urban inner cities and island communities to develop an action plan and design for St. Croix. USVI.

The relationships of estradiol-17-beta, progesterone, and LH in the early postpartum St. Croix ewe were monitored during the breeding season in 1988. A second group of non-postpartum, ovariectomized St. Croix ewes were used to determine non-ovarian levels of progesterone for comparison. Results of this study indicate that: 1. The short duration rise in progesterone exhibited by some ewes is indicative of an ovulation. 2. Ewes that do exhibit a short luteal phase prior to the first "normal" luteal phase have a longer period from parturition to the first "normal" luteal phase. 3. Serum levels of LH increase beginning 3 days postpartum. 4. There is a strong relationship between the concentration of estradiol and the exhibition of behavioral estrus in the postpartum ewe. 5. There appears to be a definite but somewhat irregular pulsatile release pattern of estradiol from the follicle of the postpartum ewe. The ability of the endocrine system of the St. Croix to return to functional levels of production and release during the first 15 days postpartum is likely related to their relatively short postpartum intervals and subsequent pregnancies.

This study argues that there are temporally and socially observable trends present in a sample of Protestant cemeteries from St. Croix’s Danish Colonial Period, as evidenced by the analysis of gravestone characteristics including iconography, morphology, and epitaph. Specifically, gravestones within the sample became noticeably more simplistic in the mid-19th century, which directly reflects St. Croix’s economic decline following emancipation. Although the iconographic and morphological characteristics of the gravestones for men and women and children and adults are largely identical, the epitaphic inscriptions for these groups exhibit a great deal of differentiation. Through analysis of these epitaphs, we discover that society on St. Croix was extremely similar to that of Europe and North America, in which men inhabit the public sphere, women the private sphere, and children are recognized for their cultural importance and biological vulnerability. However, I posit that women, while limited in public autonomy, did possess a degree of authority over familial structure.

The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is a South American native introduced in Alabama in the early 20th century. This predatory species has rapidly spread throughout the southeastern US and parts of the West Indies, inflicting great ecological and economic damage. For example, Solenopsis invicta is known to attack the eggs and hatchlings of ground nesting birds and reptiles. The ants swarm into the nests attacking hatchlings and diminishing their chance for survival. My thesis research aimed to survey the distribution of ants on sea turtle nesting beaches in South Florida and St. Croix, USVI, and to evaluate the possible threat of Solenopsis invicta and other predatory ants to sea turtle hatchlings. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

The St. Croix ground lizard, Ameiva polops, is a United States endangered species endemic to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It was extirpated from St. Croix Proper by invasive mongooses, and remaining populations are on small, nearby cays. In the summer of 2008, as part of the recovery plan for this species, I worked in a multi-agency effort to translocate a population of A. polops to Buck Island Reef National Monument, U.S. Virgin Islands to focus on two main objectives: 1) examine the detection probability of A. polops and infer the consequences of it on population estimates; and 2) examine whether A. polops may deplete its prey base or alter the arthropod assemblage at the translocation site. We used a soft-release strategy for the translocation, in which 57 lizards were initially contained in a series of eight 10 m x 10 m enclosures in the habitat on Buck Island for monitoring. As part of the initial monitoring I conducted visual surveys through all enclosures, with the known number of lizards, to calculate the detection probability and to demonstrate how many individuals would be estimated using visual encounter surveys of this known population. Adjacent to enclosures housing A. polops were control enclosures, without A. polops, which I used to test whether the translocated lizards would impact their prey base over 6 weeks. I found that the detection probability of A. polops is very low (<0.25), which causes population sizes to be severely underestimated, even using some mark-resight techniques. My study of A. polops on the prey community indicated that the lizards generally had no effect on abundance or diversity of arthropods in general, though they may cause small changes for particular taxa. My results help corroborate other evidence that accuracy of population enumeration techniques needs to be improved in order to adequately understand the status of wildlife populations. Additionally, prey resources do not seem to be limiting A. polops in the short-term, and I expect the population will grow, expanding through Buck Island. Future monitoring will be carried out by the National Park Service using robust mark-resight techniques.

A collection of eight nonfiction stories by Missy Bowen about the Minnesota State Fair, owls, winter, summer, stairs, lumber, and the rock and roll life.

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Lake St. Croix is a natural impoundment located at the southern end of the St. Croix River. Land use changes since European settlement (c. 1850) have resulted in nutrient runoff, eutrophication, and periodic oxygen depletion in the hypolimnion of Lake St. Croix. Establishing sound lake management practices requires knowledge of historical conditions obtained through paleoecological studies. Remains of non-biting midges (Insecta: Diptera Chironomidae) in lake sediments have been shown to be reliable indicators of past hypolimnetic oxygen conditions. Cores from two sub-basins in the lake were collected in 2006. Midge analysis indicated that shifts in species assemblages correspond to the times of land use change. Chironomus and Procladius, which are tolerant of low oxygen levels, increased in relative abundance as land use changes adversely impacted the St. Croix River’s watershed. Volume-weighted hypolimnetic oxygen concentrations were estimated using a transfer function developed for southern Ontario. Mean post-settlement chironomid reconstructed average volume-weighted hypolimnetic oxygen values were 0.73 mg/L lower than mean pre-settlement values for sub-basin 1, near Prescott, WI and 0.45 mg/L lower for sub-basin 3, near Lakeland, MN. These results indicate that oxygen depletion has occurred in the lake since the time of European settlement, and are supported by increases in the relative abundance of eutrophic midge bioindicators and the decrease in relative abundance of bioindicators of less productive conditions since the 1850s. This study, in conjunction with other historical and paleoecological studies of Lake St. Croix, provides historical data for setting management goals and strategies for Lake St. Croix.

No description available.