In the Wairau Valley 40 km southwest of Blenheim, elevated salinities are present in the groundwater below a depth of approximately 15 m, to the north of the Wairau Fault. Saline water is present very close to the surface between the Southern Hills and the Wairau Fault. Highest concentrations are located in well O28/w/0219 with total dissolved solids concentrations approximately 31,000 mg/L. Only a few wells in the study area have intercepted the saline groundwater. A report by Taylor (2003) has identified the groundwater below the Holocene terrace surface is recharged from Southern Hills runoff, however the Wairau Fault has a significant impact on the groundwater flow on the south bank acting as a semi-permeable barrier to groundwater flow from the southern Hills streams identified by several spring which emerge on the fault trace. The scope of this investigation was to identify the extent of the saline groundwater in the Homelands area and to attempt to define the origin of the highly saline groundwater. Furthermore, to define the groundwater flow path below the upper terrace surface to recharge the Wairau Valley Aquifer. The Multi-Electrode Resistivity technique was used to define the extent of the saline groundwater. This shows the saline groundwater is ubiquitous at depth in the study area. The depth to the freshwater/saline water interface varies laterally in the resistivity profiles. A major control on the presence of the groundwater salinity is considered to be the permeability of the gravel. Gravels with a higher permeability are probably washed of any residual salinity that may have been present in the past. Investigations into the origins of the saline groundwater were completed using stable isotope analysis (¹⁸O, ²H, and ¹³C), hydrochemistry and age dating techniques (³H and ¹⁴C). Due to the complex chemistry a single source could not be identified, however two methods were identified as the most likely. This was evaporative concentration of fresh water in the Wairau Valley, or the upward migration from the Wairau Fault of formation water probably of seawater origin. The stable isotope data fits best with an evaporative concentration of freshwater within the Wairau Valley, however, ratios of chemical constituents are very similar to other formation waters found in other parts of the world. Stream gauging of streams on the south bank show no significant water loss in the reaches north of the Wairau Fault. Therefore, recharge must be crossing the Fault trace as groundwater. Boundary Creek looses all of its surface flow for most of the year upon reaching the valley floor. Bounday Creek has washed out sections of the Wairau Fault and Major terrace riser between Wr 1 and Wr 2 terrace surfaces. It is proposed that groundwater flowing in the gravels reworked by Boundary Creek is the major recharge source for the Wairau Valley Aquifer.

No description available.

For several decades, grassland bird populations have been facing consistent declines throughout North America with population declines >1.5% per year in the past 40 years in the eastern United States. If this current rate persists, the populations will be reduced to half their current size in less than 50 years. Multiple causes have been proposed to explain the decline of grassland birds, but loss of available habitat and declining habitat quality are recognized as key elements in the decline of this guild. The Champlain Valley has the potential to be an important area for the conservation of grassland birds due to large acreage of grassland habitat; however, management practices are not always compatible with grassland bird habitat requirements. Therefore, there is a need to focus conservation efforts in areas that will have the greatest probability of maintaining populations of grassland birds. This project was designed to identify priority areas for implementing conservation programs for grassland birds in the Champlain Valley of Vermont. Using ArcGis, I created detailed layers that included landscape level factors (forest, grassland, development and roads) and patch level factors (size, management and conservation) important in grassland bird habitat selection. Integrating the GIS dataset into a multicriteria decision analysis framework, I produced maps in which grassland patches were ranked on the basis of their quality for grassland birds. The Analytic Hierarchy Process was the decision rule used to identify priority conservation areas. The use of a hierarchical structure distributed the relative weights of different factors deemed important by grassland bird experts, allowing a greater number of criteria to be included while keeping the methodology manageable. These procedures resulted in a series of habitat quality maps that federal, state, and non-governmental land managers will be able to use as a baseline to focus conservation efforts on areas that will have the greatest probability of maintaining viable populations of grassland birds. The maps emphasize the protection of grassland patches larger than 5-10 ha that are 2 km away from roads with high traffic, and the selection of blocks of > 50 ha of protected or bird-friendly grassland habitat. The Analytic Hierarchy Process is a flexible method that can be applied to conservation decisions across a variety of ecosystems and species.

A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science in ful lment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. Johannesburg, 2016. / In this thesis in order to study the complex dynamics of Rift Valley fever (RVF) we combine two modelling approaches: equation-based and simulation-based modelling. In the first approach we first formulate a deterministic model that includes two vector populations, Aedes and Culex mosquitoes with one host population (livestock), while considering both horizontal and vertical transmissions. An easy applicable expression of the basic reproduction number, R0 is derived for both periodic and non-periodic environment. Both time invariant and time varying uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of the model is carried out for quantifying the attribution of model output variations to input parameters over time and novel relationships between R0 and vertical transmission are determined providing important information useful for improving disease management. Then, we analytically derive conditions for stability of both disease-free and endemic equilibria. Using techniques of numerical simulations we perform bifurcation and chaos analysis of the model under periodic environment for evaluating the effects of climatic conditions on the characteristic pattern of disease outbreaks. Moreover, extending this model including vectors other than mosquitoes (such as ticks) we evaluate the possible role of ticks in the spread and persistence of the disease pointing out relevant model parameters that require further attention from experimental ecologists to further determine the actual role of ticks and other biting insects on the dynamics of RVF. Additionally, a novel host-vector stochastic model with vertical transmission is used to analytically determine the dominant period of disease outbreaks with respect to vertical transmission efficiency. Then, novel relationships among vertical transmission, invasion and extinction probabilities and R0 are determined. In the second approach a novel individual-based model (IBM) of complete mosquito life cycle built under daily temperature and rainfall data sets is designed and simulated. The model is applied for determining correlation between abundance of mosquito populations and rainfall regimes and is then used for studying disease inter-epidemic activities. We find that indeed rainfall is responsible for creating intra- and inter-annual variations observed in the abundance of adult mosquitoes and the length of gonotrophic cycle, number of eggs laid per blood meal, adults age-dependent survival and fight behaviour are among the most important features of the mosquito life cycle with great epidemiological impacts in the dynamics of RVF transmission. These indicators could be of great epidemiological significance by allowing disease control program managers to focus their e orts on specific features of vector life cycle including vertical transmission ability and diapause. We argue that our IBM model is an ideal extendible framework useful for further investigations of other relevant host-vector ecological and epidemiological questions for providing additional knowledge important for improving the length and quality of life of humans and domestic animals. / LG2017

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 1981. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 344-366). Also available via Internet as PDF file through Southern Oregon Digital Archives: http://soda.sou.edu. Search Bioregion Collection.

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 1981. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-82). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1974. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the World Wide Web.

The purpose of this report is to investigate the feasibility of irrigating the lands of the Cache Valley Water Conservation District No. 1. The district, as it now stands, is very much in need of many improvements. The main canals are now in use and are in a good condition to serve all the lands with the required amount of water, but the few laterals that are now constructed, are in poor condition, with the remaining laterals yet to be finished. Before successful irrigation can be practiced, a large portion of the land will require leveling and small areas are water-logged, which will require drainage. The soils of the area are of an impervious nature, and alkaline to some extent, which will require a definite method of procedure to put them in condition for plant growth. This report consists of a study of the factors affecting the feasibility of irrigating this district and includes a suggested program of reclamation.

Little current data exist concerning the status and ecology of Owens Valley vole (OVV; Microtus californicus vallicola), despite its California Department of Fish and Game listing as a Species of Special Concern. No formal studies have been undertaken to understand the ecology of OVV or other small mammal species occurring in mesic-vegetative communities in Owens Valley, California. I investigated the relative abundance of small mammal species in mesic-plant associations of Owens Valley, OVV distribution, and OVV use of vegetative types as habitat. Low OVV capture rates decreased the efficiency of systematic trapping surveys. Live trapping and sign surveys yielded contradictory results. The distribution of OVV was associated with irrigation and microhabitat features such as waterways, fence lines, and brush patches. The distribution and use of vegetation types by OVV was similar to that of the California vole (M. californicus).