I conducted field studies to determine the effect of insect herbivory and
intraspecific plant competition on ragwort Senecio jacobaea. The objectives were to
determine the patterns and causes in the distribution of the ragwort flea beetle
Longitarsus jacobaeae foraging among varying densities of ragwort, to measure the
behavioral and numerical...
Designing tensor fields in the plane and on surfaces
is a necessary task in many graphics applications, such as
painterly rendering, pen-and-ink sketch of smooth surfaces, and
anisotropic remeshing. In this paper, we present an interactive
design system that allows a user to create a wide variety of
surface tensor...
Due to public and regulatory restrictions, genetic containment technology is critical for research and development of transgenic trees in forestry. A multi-year field trial demonstrated that the RNAi-LFY construct successfully induces sexual sterility in 6K10 poplar (Populus alba) without visible effects on vegetative development. However, its limited number of replicates...
A method is presented for estimating bathymetry in a river, based on observations of depth-averaged velocity during steady flow. The estimator minimizes a cost function that combines known information in the form of a prior estimate and measured data (including measurement noise). State augmentation is used to relate the measured...
Quarantines and control programs are two policy tools used to prevent and reduce the damages caused by invasive species. Quarantines restrict the movement of material that could spread invasive species. Their requirements impose costs on businesses within the quarantine zone by creating barriers to trade and increasing production costs, which...
Eastern boundary current (EBC) upwelling zones are among the most productive of marine ecosystems globally and have been generalized in terms of their food web structure. Little empirically based evidence exists to suggest that there is any one form of trophic control of EBC systems and, because of logistical constraints,...
The hepatotoxicity of CB was studied in the Sprague-Dawley rat and rainbow trout. In rats, an ip dosage of 9.8 mmol/kg CB (~̲ LD10) produced evidence of liver toxicity over a 72 hr time course. Sulfobromophthalein (BSP) retention maximized 3-16 hr post treatment and normalized after 72 hr whereas plasma...
Youth in foster care often perform at lower levels academically than those not in foster care. Prior research on the nature of the relationships that affect former foster youth's educational path has been inconclusive. Though it is widely believed that positive relationships with faculty, staff and peers is beneficial for...
A process-based forest growth model, 3-PG (Physiological Principles Predicting
Growth), parameterized with values of soil properties constrained by satellite-derived
estimates of maximum leaf area index (LAI[subscript max]), was run for Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii) to contrast the extent to which site growth potential might vary across western
North America between a...
Vegetation can protect communities by reducing nearshore wave height and altering sediment transport processes. However, quantitative approaches for evaluating the coastal protection services, or benefits, supplied by vegetation to people in a wide range of coastal environments are lacking. To begin to fill this knowledge gap, we propose an integrated...