Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Assessment of service and ecological function of constructed wetlands for stormwater management in delaware county, ohio(Montana State University, 2020) Binger, David John; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: William KleindlI conducted a case study in Delaware County, Ohio to assess the service and function of constructed stormwater ponds and their contribution to maintaining wetland functions and values. As a result of population expansion around the City of Columbus, natural wetland cover decreased from 2,471 to 2,250 acres from 1994 to 2019. To manage the excess surface runoff, increasing numbers of stormwater ponds are being constructed to substitute for the absence of wetlands. Stormwater pond land cover was found to have increased from 1,145 to 2,482 acres from 1994 to 2019. When considering the status and trends of the wetlands, the functions and service of constructed systems such as stormwater ponds are not considered. Using the Ohio Rapid Assessment Method (ORAM), nine detention and seven retention ponds were scored providing a numeric representative of the condition of the system's structure necessary to perform functions and were factored into the Delaware County wetland budget. The average ORAM score for the constructed stormwater ponds was 15.06 in comparison to reference wetlands which was 80. If the 221 acres of wetland lost from 1994 to 2019 had the same average ORAM score as the three-reference wetland, it would be a 17,680 loss of wetland "value and function" as defined by ORAM. If the 1,337 acres of stormwater ponds added from 1994 to 2019 had the same average ORAM score as the observed stormwater ponds, it would be a 20,135 gain of "value and function" as defined by ORAM. Overall, this would suggest that even though there has been a loss in total wetland area, wetland functions and values have been maintained by the construction of stormwater ponds. Even with the addition of 1,116 acres of aquatic ecosystem from 1994 to 2019, the representative score of wetland structure remained nearly the same. This estimate of the preservation of wetland functions and values demonstrates both the benefits but shortcomings of stormwater ponds in replacing wetland values such as diverse ecological habitats. By evaluating the differences in metric scores between the stormwater ponds and reference wetlands, I recommended design improvements for future stormwater pond construction to provide the same services, but with improved ecological benefits.Item Effects of road construction on water quality parameters and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) populations in three Montana water bodies(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Thatcher, Hannah Alicen; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Scott PowellRoad construction adjacent to rivers and ensuing clearing of timber and shrubs can lead to alterations in the dynamics and morphology of channel features and water chemistry that provide habitats for aquatic biota. We examined associations between bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) populations and water quality parameters related to road construction in three western Montana rivers over a 15-year study period. Bull trout have specific habitat requirements that can influence their overall abundance and distribution within a watershed, making them an important indicator species of general ecosystem health. We used average annual bull trout population data from Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and daily water quality observations from the United States Geological Survey between 2000 and 2014 to analyze the correlation between the data sets. We used a nonparametric statistical test to determine whether any significant change was observed between the medians of pre- and post-construction water quality parameters and bull trout population numbers. The association between the water quality parameters and bull trout numbers was visually examined with scatter plots created in R where the Y-axis was population numbers and the X was the water quality parameter. The plots were then fit with a linear regression line and from this a visual interpretation of the association and strength of said associated was determined. The analysis yielded unexpected results with only some of the water quality parameters exhibiting a negative relationship with road construction disturbance. Two water bodies (Flathead River and Warm Springs Creek) showed no significant changes in bull trout population numbers, and the control water body with no road construction (the Blackfoot River) displayed significant differences between the pre- and post-construction water quality parameter medians. The parameters that did display expected outcomes (cadmium concentration in the Flathead River; water temperature, pH, and instantaneous discharge in Warm Springs Creek; and instantaneous discharge, pH, and cadmium concentration in the Blackfoot River) were not all strongly correlated with decreased bull trout population numbers. The water quality parameters common to all the study rivers that presented a negative association with bull trout numbers was pH. High levels of recreation and management activities on the Blackfoot River (the control) could explain these unexpected findings. The results do, however, partially corroborate previous studies on the negative association between bull trout population numbers and road construction-related disturbance. A longer study period combined with finer-grained data would be beneficial for future studies.Item The application of mass spectrometry in environmental chemistry: investigating biological cycling of arsenic, mercury and glycine betaine in aquatic ecosystems(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Alowaifeer, Abdullah Mohammed; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Timothy R. McDermott; Brian Bothner (co-chair); Masafumi Yoshinaga, Patricia E. Bigelow, Brian Bothner and Timothy R. McDermott were co-authors of the article, 'Biological cycling of arsenic and mercury in Yellowstone Lake' which is contained within this thesis.; Qian Wang, Brian Bothner and Timothy R. McDermott were co-authors of the article, 'Examining the role of photoautotrophs contributing to glycine betaine, methylated amines and methane in oxic waters' which is contained within this thesis.Elemental cycling is a complex process that occurs abiotically and biotically. While abiotic cycling is well defined, biological cycling is more complex as it involves different microbes, animals and enzymes that govern its form and fate. In my project, I investigated the biological cycling of two of the most toxic elements known, arsenic and mercury. I examine their bioavailability, bioaccumulation and biomagnification in freshwater aquatic systems using Yellowstone Lake as a study model. In addtion, the sources and sinks of glycine betaine, an important aquatic metabolite that contributes to the carbon and nitrogen cycle, is investigated in Yellowstone Lake and three rivers located around the state of Montana. This research presented in this dissertation offers new insight on how arsenic and mercury cycle in aquatic systems and introduces a new hypothesis of the possible source of glycine betaine in freshwater ecosystem. Additionally, this project highlights a new and promising methodology to detect and quatify methylated amines in water samples.Item Willow resilience on Yellowstone's Northern Elk Range : a function of environmental gradients(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2005) Cary, Karri Lee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Duncan T. Patten.Willow, a deciduous, woody shrub, is a characteristic and often dominant riparian species (Amlin and Rood 2002) that has been unable to successfully regenerate throughout much of its western range, and Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is no exception (Singer et al. 1994, NRC 2002a). The primary objective of this study was to understand growth and maintenance of established willow stands as a community and as individual species following winter browse. These were based on the premises that (1) different levels of herbivory produce varying levels of compensatory growth (Brookshire et al. 2002), (2) different channel types provide diverse hydrologic conditions for vegetation establishment and maintenance (Patten 1998, Castelli et al. 2000), (3) riparian biodiversity is a function of fluvial dynamics and is increased by the degree of hydrologic connectivity of the system (Amoros and Bornette 2002), and (4) the possibility of willow species being either generalist (showing water source shifts) or specialist (availability doesn't influence water source) (Dawson and Ehleringer 1991, Busch et al. 1992, Schwinning and Ehleringer 2001). Site selection and design, and sampling scheme were designed to evaluate biophysical gradients both within and between sites over time. Gradients of biophysical parameters were quantified throughout the growing season. Regressions were used to identify relationships among physical and biological parameters or characteristics. Vegetative communities were compared using Sorenson's similarity index. Ecosystem functions that influence willow presence on the Northern Range include establishment, browse pressure, and maintenance and resilience or their ability to recover. Establishment of willow was a result of availability of their preferred water source while winter decline was a function of location and herbivore preferential selection. Maintenance and resilience were dominated by soil water use in the early season and groundwater use later in the season but with distinct variations between hydrologic systems. Nutrient availability and hyporheic connectivity, essential to dispersing those nutrients among the plant communities, also may influence growth and resilience of willow plants. However, excess or even "acceptable" levels of only one of the physical factors was not enough alone to control dominant plant growth and response to herbivory.