Scholarship & Research
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/1
Browse
24 results
Search Results
Item On the Road Without a Map: Why We Need an “Ethic of Road Ecology”(Frontiers Media SA, 2021-11) Moore, Lauren J.; Arietta, A. Z. Andis; Spencer, Daniel T.; Huijser, Marcel P.Over the past two decades, our knowledge of the ecological impacts of roads has increased rapidly. It is now clear that the environmental effects of transportation infrastructure are inextricable from transportation benefits to economic, social, and cultural values. Despite the necessity of optimizing these multiple values, road planners, scientists, and practitioners have no established methodology or pluralistic approach to address growing ethical complexities. We articulate five ethical issues that could be addressed by developing an ethic of road ecology in order to facilitate the identification, reasoning, and harmonization of ethical dimensions of road planning and development. This inquiry into road ecology can draw lessons from existing applied ethics, such as in ecological restoration and urban planning, to build a narrative that is informed by both science and ethics. We illustrate five ethical issues presented through case studies that elaborate on the motivations, responsibilities, and duties that should be considered in ethically and scientifically complicated road building decisions. To address these issues, we encourage the development of a code of ethics, dedicated intellectual forums, and practical guidance to assist road planners, and more broadly transportation practitioners, to resolve complex ethical quandaries systematically. We hope this perspective encourages conversation for a holistic yet pragmatic approach to this applied ethics problem, while also assisting responsible parties as they navigate difficult moral terrain.Item Nutrient resupplementation arrests bio-oil accumulation in Phaeodactylum tricornutum(2013-08) Valenzuela, Jacob J.; Carlson, Ross P.; Gerlach, Robin; Cooksey, Keith E.; Peyton, Brent M.; Bothner, Brian; Fields, Matthew W.Phaeodactylum tricornutum is a marine diatom in the class Bacillariophyceae and is important ecologically and industrially with regards to ocean primary production and lipid accumulation for biofuel production, respectively. Triacylglyceride (TAG) accumulation has been reported in P. tricornutum under different nutrient stresses, and our results show that lipid accumulation can occur with nitrate or phosphate depletion. However, greater lipid accumulation was observed when both nutrients were depleted as observed using a Nile Red assay and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles. Nitrate depletion had a greater effect on lipid accumulation than phosphate depletion. Lipid accumulation in P. tricornutum was arrested upon resupplementation with the depleted nutrient. Cells depleted of nitrogen showed a distinct shift from a lipid accumulation mode to cellular growth post resupplementation with nitrate, as observed through increased cell numbers and consumption of accumulated lipid. Phosphate depletion caused lipid accumulation that was arrested upon phosphate resupplementation. The cessation of lipid accumulation was followed by lipid consumption without an increase in cell numbers. Cells depleted in both nitrate and phosphate displayed cell growth upon the addition of both nitrate and phosphate and had the largest observed lipid consumption upon resupplementation. These results indicate that phosphate resupplementation can shut down lipid accumulation but does not cause cells to shift into cellular growth, unlike nitrate resupplementation. These data suggest that nutrient resupplementation will arrest lipid accumulation and that switching between cellular growth and lipid accumulation can be regulated upon the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus.Item Enzymatic cleaning of biofouled thin-film composite reverse osmosis (RO) membrane operated in a biofilm membrane reactor(2014-06) Khan, Mohiuddin M. T.; Danielsen, S.; Johansen, K.; Nelson, Sara E.; Camper, Anne K.Application of environmentally friendly enzymes to remove thin-film composite (TFC) reverse osmosis (RO) membrane biofoulants without changing the physico-chemical properties of the RO surface is a challenging and new concept. Eight enzymes from Novozyme A/S were tested using a commercially available biofouling-resistant TFC polyamide RO membrane (BW30, FilmTech Corporation, Dow Chemical Co.) without filtration in a rotating disk reactor system operated for 58 days. At the end of the operation, the accumulated biofoulants on the TFC RO surfaces were treated with the three best enzymes, Subtilisin protease and lipase; dextranase; and polygalacturonase (PG) based enzymes, at neutral pH (~7) and doses of 50, 100, and 150 ppm. Contact times were 18 and 36 h. Live/dead staining, epifluorescence microscopy measurements, and 5 µm thick cryo-sections of enzyme and physically treated biofouled membranes revealed that Subtilisin protease- and lipase-based enzymes at 100 ppm and 18 h contact time were optimal for removing most of the cells and proteins from the RO surface. Culturable cells inside the biofilm declined by more than five logs even at the lower dose (50 ppm) and shorter incubation period (18 h). Subtilisin protease- and lipase-based enzyme cleaning at 100 ppm and for 18 h contact time restored the hydrophobicity of the TFC RO surface to its virgin condition while physical cleaning alone resulted in a 50° increase in hydrophobicity. Moreover, at this optimum working condition, the Subtilisin protease- and lipase-based enzyme treatment of biofouled RO surface also restored the surface roughness measured with atomic force microscopy and the mass percentage of the chemical compositions on the TFC surface estimated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to its virgin condition. This novel study will encourage the further development and application of enzymes to remove biofoulants on the RO surface without changing its surface properties.Item Potential health risks from uranium in home well water: An investigation by the Apsaalooke (Crow) tribal research group(2015-03) Eggers, Margaret J.; Moore-Nall, Anita L.; Doyle, John T.; Lefthand, M. J.; Young, Sara L.; Bends, Ada L.; Crow Environmental Health Steering Committee; Camper, Anne K.Exposure to uranium can damage kidneys, increase long term risks of various cancers, and cause developmental and reproductive effects. Historically, home well water in Montana has not been tested for uranium. Data for the Crow Reservation from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) database showed that water from 34 of 189 wells tested had uranium over the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 30 μg/L for drinking water. Therefore the Crow Water Quality Project included uranium in its tests of home well water. Volunteers had their well water tested and completed a survey about their well water use. More than 2/3 of the 97 wells sampled had detectable uranium; 6.3% exceeded the MCL of 30 μg/L. Wells downgradient from the uranium-bearing formations in the mountains were at highest risk. About half of all Crow families rely on home wells; 80% of these families consume their well water. An explanation of test results; associated health risks and water treatment options were provided to participating homeowners. The project is a community-based participatory research initiative of Little Big Horn College; the Crow Tribe; the Apsaalooke Water and Wastewater Authority; the local Indian Health Service Hospital and other local stakeholders; with support from academic partners at Montana State University (MSU) Bozeman.Item Comparative metagenomics reveals impact of contaminants on groundwater microbiomes(2015-10) Hemme, C. L.; Tu, Qichao; Shi, Zhou; Qin, Yujia; Gao, W.; Deng, Ye; VanNostrand, J. D.; Wu, Liyou; He, Zhili; Chain, P. S.; Fields, Matthew W.; Rubin, E. M.; Tiedje, J. M.; Hazen, Terry C.; Arkin, Adam P.; Zhou, JizhongTo understand patterns of geochemical cycling in pristine versus contaminated groundwater ecosystems, pristine shallow groundwater (FW301) and contaminated groundwater (FW106) samples from the Oak Ridge Integrated Field Research Center (OR-IFRC) were sequenced and compared to each other to determine phylogenetic and metabolic difference between the communities. Proteobacteria (e.g., Burkholderia, Pseudomonas) are the most abundant lineages in the pristine community, though a significant proportion ( >55%) of the community is composed of poorly characterized low abundance (individually <1%) lineages. The phylogenetic diversity of the pristine community contributed to a broader diversity of metabolic networks than the contaminated community. In addition, the pristine community encodes redundant and mostly complete geochemical cycles distributed over multiple lineages and appears capable of a wide range of metabolic activities. In contrast, many geochemical cycles in the contaminated community appear truncated or minimized due to decreased biodiversity and dominance by Rhodanobacter populations capable of surviving the combination of stresses at the site. These results indicate that the pristine site contains more robust and encodes more functional redundancy than the stressed community, which contributes to more efficient nutrient cycling and adaptability than the stressed community.Item Modification of grain drill openers to place fertilizer below the seed(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1985) Palmer, John ThomasItem Potential for on-farm biomass gasification in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1987) Molde, Clinton WadeItem Sprinkler irrigation system design model and application(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1977) ElHanbali, Usaid Izzat SulimanItem The effect of off-season irrigation practices on crop growth(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1980) Ekholt, Bruce AlanItem Wind powered irrigation in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1986) Cahoon, Joel
- «
- 1 (current)
- 2
- 3
- »