Research and Publications - Department of Geography

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    Reviews of Science for Science Librarians: A Bibliographic Examination of Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) Science
    (2012) Sandy, John H.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Grizzly bears inhabit wilderness areas in the northwestern region of the lower forty-eight states, western Canada, and areas of Alaska. Because of the settlement of the west and loss of prime habitat, populations declined rapidly in the nineteenth century, and in 1975 federal action was taken to protect grizzlies under the Endangered Species Act. Since 1950 about 722 technical papers have been written on the grizzly bear. Major research has focused on ecology, conservation, reproductive biology, behavior, dietetics, anatomy, and physiology, among other topics. Due to geographic distribution of the species, much of the research has been carried out by authors and organizations in western regions of the United States and Canada where major grizzly populations exist. A significant number of technical papers appear in three key journals: Ursus, the Journal of Wildlife Management, and the Canadian Journal of Zoology. According to data in WorldCat, about 1,167 records, covering monographs and technical reports, contain information on grizzlies and present research findings. The bulk of monographs appeal mainly to a general audience. However, citation analysis reveals a core of highly cited technical papers, many written with an emphasis on special themes or topics, whereas others focus on the grizzly itself, all together advancing the science on this species. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
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    FIRE IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN OAK ECOSYSTEMS: FILLING THE GAPS
    (Springer, 2016) Varner, J. Morgan; Arthur, Mary A.; Clark, Stacy L.; Dey, Daniel C.; Hart, Justin L.; Schweitzer, Callie J.; Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University; University of Kentucky; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); United States Forest Service; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    This special issue of Fire Ecology is focused on the fire ecology of eastern USA oak (Quercus L.) forests, woodlands, and savannas. The papers were presented as part of the Fifth Fire in Eastern Oak Forests Conference in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA, in 2015. The topic of fire in Eastern oak ecosystems is one that has received insufficient interest from the broader fire ecology community. Specific papers in this issue address the historical role of fire in the region, the response and adaptations of plant and animal species to fire and fuels treatments, and the future of these important ecosystems under a future of global change. We hope that this issue provokes future research on the past, present, and future of fire in eastern North American oak ecosystems.
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    Stability of Chloropyromorphite in Ryegrass Rhizosphere as Affected by Root-Secreted Low Molecular Weight Organic Acids
    (PLOS, 2016) Wei, Wei; Wang, Yu; Wang, Zheng; Han, Ruiming; Li, Shiyin; Wei, Zhenggui; Zhang, Yong; Nanjing Normal University; Anqing Normal University; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Understanding the stability of chloropyromorphite (CPY) is of considerable benefit for improving risk assessment and remediation strategies in contaminated water and soil. The stability of CPY in the rhizosphere of phosphorus-deficient ryegrass was evaluated to elucidate the role of root-secreted low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) on the dissolution of CPY. Results showed that CPY treatments significantly reduced the ryegrass biomass and rhizosphere pH. The presence of calcium nitrate extractable lead (Pb) and phosphorus (P) suggested that CPY in the rhizosphere could be bioavailable, because P and Pb uptake by ryegrass potentially provided a significant concentration gradient that would promote CPY dissolution. Pb accumulation and translocation in ryegrass was found to be significantly higher in P-sufficient conditions than in P-deficient conditions. CPY treatments significantly enhanced root exudation of LMWOAs irrigated with P-nutrient solution or P-free nutrient solution. Oxalic acid was the dominant species in root-secreted LMWOAs of ryegrass under P-free nutrient solution treatments, suggesting that root-secreted oxalic acid may be the driving force of root-induced dissolution of CPY. Hence, our work, provides clarifying hints on the role of LMWOAs in controlling the stability of CPY in the rhizosphere.
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    The Colorado and Virgin Rivers before Lake Mead
    (Taylor & Francis, 2018) Weber, Joe; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    In 1936, the completion of Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in Nevada and Arizona created Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States. When the lake reached capacity in 1941 several canyons and valleys were flooded, along with two towns, several mines, farm fields, and roads. The area had not been surveyed archaeologically and little detailed information exists about the vegetation and geology of this region. The map reconstructions the geography of the area in 1930 before Lake Mead was constructed, showing roads, towns, mines, physical features, and private property, and was created using a range of historical United States Geological Survey (USGS) maps, a digital elevation model (DEM) providing underwater elevations, and other historical sources. The map includes portions of southern Nevada and northwest Arizona, United States, and is at a scale of 1: 210,000. It is hoped that the map may draw attention to the lost geographies of other localities across the United States due to the more than 84,000 dams and reservoirs in the country.
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    Effects of Forest Roads on Runoff Initiation in Low-Order Ephemeral Streams
    (American Geophysical Union, 2018-11-05) Ramos-Scharron, C. E.; LaFevor, M. C.; University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Understanding hydrologic connectivity is essential for managing ephemeral head water streams where upstream land use influences downstream aquatic habitats. This study relies on a field-based approach to evaluate how precipitation and roads affect runoff generation in low-order ephemeral streams of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Logistic regression analyses show that runoff delivery from unroaded catchments agrees with a water storage conceptual model typical for subsurface storm and saturation overland flow-dominated settings. Without roads, runoff occurs only about 4 times per year in response to 10 and 78 mm of storm rainfall, depending on antecedent precipitation. In contrast, maximum 15-min rainfall intensities are a better predictor of runoff generation on unpaved roads than are total rainfall and antecedent conditions. Intensities surpassing similar to 10 mm/hr lead to road runoff, and this occurs about 40 times per year. Road-influenced streams represent an intermediate setting for which runoff generation depends on storm and antecedent rainfall, as well as the road surface area captured by drains and flow path distance. In our focus area, roads can provoke streams to deliver runoff to coral bearing waters 10 to 13 times every year as a response to 9.3- to 50-mm storms, depending on antecedent rainfall and road drain characteristics. These results highlight the sensitivity of road connectivity to specific road drain characteristics and display the potential for connectivity as a guiding watershed restoration principle.
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    Modeling cocaine traffickers and counterdrug interdiction forces as a complex adaptive system
    (National Academy of the Sciences, 2019) Magliocca, Nicholas R.; McSweeney, Kendra; Sesnie, Steven E.; Tellman, Elizabeth; Devine, Jennifer A.; Nielsen, Erik A.; Pearson, Zoe; Wrathall, David J.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Ohio State University; United States Department of the Interior; US Fish & Wildlife Service; Northern Arizona University; Arizona State University; Arizona State University-Tempe; Texas State University San Marcos; University of Wyoming; Oregon State University
    Counterdrug interdiction efforts designed to seize or disrupt cocaine shipments between South American source zones and US markets remain a core US "supply side" drug policy and national security strategy. However, despite a long history of US-led interdiction efforts in the Western Hemisphere, cocaine movements to the United States through Central America, or "narcotrafficking," continue to rise. Here, we developed a spatially explicit agent-based model (ABM), called "NarcoLogic", of narco-trafficker operational decision making in response to interdiction forces to investigate the root causes of interdiction ineffectiveness across space and time. The central premise tested was that spatial proliferation and resiliency of narco-trafficking are not a consequence of ineffective interdiction, but rather part and natural consequence of interdiction itself. Model development relied on multiple theoretical perspectives, empirical studies, media reports, and the author's own years of field research in the region. Parameterization and validation used the best available, authoritative data source for illicit cocaine flows. Despite inherently biased, unreliable, and/or incomplete data of a clandestine phenomenon, the model compellingly reproduced the "cat-and-mouse" dynamic between narco-traffickers and interdiction forces others have qualitatively described. The model produced qualitatively accurate and quantitatively realistic spatial and temporal patterns of cocaine trafficking in response to interdiction events. The NarcoLogic model offers a much-needed, evidence-based tool for the robust assessment of different drug policy scenarios, and their likely impact on trafficker behavior and the many collateral damages associated with the militarized war on drugs.
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    Understanding drivers of demand, researching consumption of illegal wildlife products: A reply to Bergin et al.
    (Pergamon, 2020) Margulies, Jared D.; Wong, Rebecca W. Y.; Duffy, Rosaleen; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; City University of Hong Kong; University of Sheffield
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    Korean ‘Housewives’ and ‘Hipsters’ Are Not Driving a New Illicit Plant Trade: Complicating Consumer Motivations Behind an Emergent Wildlife Trade in Dudleya farinosa
    (2020) Margulies, Jared; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Illegal trade in wild plants receives less scientific and policy attention than illegal trade in wild animals and animal-derived products. One exception to this generalizable trend is the recent emergence of an illegal trade in the California succulent species Dudleya farinosa. US officials and mainstream media reporting on these incidents suggest the final destination of these plants is succulent consumer markets in South Korea and other East Asian countries. It is believed that this illegal trade emerged in response to sudden and widespread consumer demand for succulents due to: (1) the increasing popularity of succulent plants in mainstream South Korean and East Asian cultures writ large; and (2) the preferential valuing of ‘wild’ versus cultivated plants by succulent consumers. Based on findings from content analysis of media reports and in-depth qualitative interviews in California and South Korea, I argue instead for a more nuanced perspective of the drivers of this emergent trade, with the primary motivational desire for these plants coming from a selective and highly skilled community of succulent enthusiasts, rather than mainstream plant consumer groups. In presenting these findings I demonstrate the importance of in-depth, critical qualitative research for exploring the emergence of particular trades in wildlife in order to inform more sustainable and legal trades. I clarify the primary drivers of this new trade in Dudleya farinosa as an illegal but logical response to the economics and temporalities of plant trade. I offer suggestions on how these findings can inform more sustainable solutions to the illicit extraction of wild plants in meeting consumer demand.
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    Crop climate suitability mapping on the cloud: a geovisualization application for sustainable agriculture
    (Nature Portfolio, 2020) Peter, Brad G.; Messina, Joseph P.; Lin, Zihan; Snapp, Sieglinde S.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Michigan State University
    Climate change, food security, and environmental sustainability are pressing issues faced by today's global population. As production demands increase and climate threatens crop productivity, agricultural research develops innovative technologies to meet these challenges. Strategies include biodiverse cropping arrangements, new crop introductions, and genetic modification of crop varieties that are resilient to climatic and environmental stressors. Geography in particular is equipped to address a critical question in this pursuit-when and where can crop system innovations be introduced? This manuscript presents a case study of the geographic scaling potential utilizing common bean, delivers an open access Google Earth Engine geovisualization application for mapping the fundamental climate niche of any crop, and discusses food security and legume biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa. The application is temporally agile, allowing variable growing season selections and the production of 'living maps' that are continually producible as new data become available. This is an essential communication tool for the future, as practitioners can evaluate the potential geographic range for newly-developed, experimental, and underrepresented crop varieties for facilitating sustainable and innovative agroecological solutions.
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    Leveraging big data for public health: Mapping malaria vector suitability in Malawi with Google Earth Engine
    (PLOS, 2020) Frake, April N.; Peter, Brad G.; Walker, Edward D.; Messina, Joseph P.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Michigan State University
    In an era of big data, the availability of satellite-derived global climate, terrain, and land cover imagery presents an opportunity for modeling the suitability of malaria disease vectors at fine spatial resolutions, across temporal scales, and over vast geographic extents. Leveraging cloud-based geospatial analytical tools, we present an environmental suitability model that considers water resources, flow accumulation areas, precipitation, temperature, vegetation, and land cover. In contrast to predictive models generated using spatially and temporally discontinuous mosquito presence information, this model provides continuous fine-spatial resolution information on the biophysical drivers of suitability. For the purposes of this study the model is parameterized forAnopheles gambiaes.s. in Malawi for the rainy (December-March) and dry seasons (April-November) in 2017; however, the model may be repurposed to accommodate different mosquito species, temporal periods, or geographical boundaries. Final products elucidate the drivers and potential habitat ofAnopheles gambiaes.s. Rainy season results are presented by quartile of precipitation; Quartile four (Q4) identifies areas most likely to become inundated and shows 7.25% of Malawi exhibits suitable water conditions (water only) forAnopheles gambiaes.s., approximately 16% for water plus another factor, and 8.60% is maximally suitable, meeting suitability thresholds for water presence, terrain characteristics, and climatic conditions. Nearly 21% of Malawi is suitable for breeding based on land characteristics alone and 28.24% is suitable according to climate and land characteristics. Only 6.14% of the total land area is suboptimal. Dry season results show 25.07% of the total land area is suboptimal or unsuitable. Approximately 42% of Malawi is suitable based on land characteristics alone during the dry season, and 13.11% is suitable based on land plus another factor. Less than 2% meets suitability criteria for climate, water, and land criteria. Findings illustrate environmental drivers of suitability for malaria vectors, providing an opportunity for a more comprehensive approach to malaria control that includes not only modeled species distributions, but also the underlying drivers of suitability for a more effective approach to environmental management.
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    Self-Care Instruments to Measure Nutrition Practices in Children and Parents: Psychometric Analysis
    (MDPI, 2021) Pawloski, Lisa R.; Moore, Jean B.; Treffinger, Patricia; Baghi, Heibatollah; Gaffney, Kathleen; Jaimovich, Sonia; Campos, Cecilia; Curtin, Kevin M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; George Mason University; Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
    The purposes of this study were to evaluate the psychometric properties of English and Spanish instruments that measure the nutrition behavior and practices of children and their parents. Orem's self-care deficit nursing theory was used in this methodological study. A convenience sample of 333 children and 262 mothers participated from two schools in Washington, D.C. and two schools in Santiago, Chile. Principal component analysis indicated three component per instrument corresponding to Orem's Theory of operations demonstrating construct validity of the instrument. The study findings showed evidence for validity and reliability of the English and Spanish versions and indicated that the instruments appropriately represented Orem's operations. The results have implications for the development of health behavior measurement instruments that are valid, reliable, designed for children, culturally appropriate, and efficient. Measuring the nutrition behavior of children and parents is critical for determining the effectiveness of nutrition intervention programs. Furthermore, instruments are needed so that researchers can compare corresponding child and parent behaviors or compare behaviors across cultures.
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    Impacts of streamflow alteration on benthic macroinvertebrates by mini-hydro diversion in Sri Lanka
    (Nature Portfolio, 2021) Munasinghe, Dinuke S. N.; Najim, Mohamed M. M.; Quadroni, Silvia; Musthafa, Muneeb M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; University Kelaniya; South Eastern University of Sri Lanka; University of Insubria
    Our study focused on quantifying the alterations of streamflow at a weir site due to the construction of a mini-hydropower plant in the Gurugoda Oya (Sri Lanka), and evaluating the spatial responses of benthic macroinvertebrates to altered flow regime. The HEC-HMS 3.5 model was applied to the Gurugoda Oya sub-catchment to generate streamflows for the time period 1991-2013. Pre-weir flows were compared to post-weir flows with 32 Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration using the range of variability approach (RVA). Concurrently, six study sites were established upstream and downstream of the weir, and benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled monthly from May to November 2013 (during the wet season). The key water physico-chemical parameters were also determined. RVA analysis showed that environmental flow was not maintained below the weir. The mean rate of non-attainment was similar to 45% suggesting a moderate level of hydrologic alteration. Benthic macroinvertebrate communities significantly differed between the study sites located above and below the weir, with a richness reduction due to water diversion. The spatial distribution of zoobenthic fauna was governed by water depth, dissolved oxygen content and volume flow rate. Our work provides first evidence on the effects of small hydropower on river ecosystem in a largely understudied region. Studies like this are important to setting-up adequate e-flows.
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    Spatial Targeting of Agricultural Support Measures: Indicator-Based Assessment of Coverages and Leakages
    (MDPI, 2021) LaFevor, Matthew C.; Ponette-Gonzalez, Alexandra G.; Larson, Rebecca; Mungai, Leah M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; University of North Texas System; University of North Texas Denton
    Agricultural support programs distribute payments to farms based on a diverse set of policy objectives. Adequate targeting of this support to priority areas is key to efficient and effective policy. We evaluated the targeting strategy of a national-level program in Mexico that distributed support based on seven criteria that prioritized poor smallholder farming communities at high risk of cropland failure. We used a series of logistic models to assess the coverage and leakage rates of the program's targeting strategy and found rates of about 80 and 20 percent, respectively. We also found significant differences between the targeting priorities specified in program rules and the observed distribution of support measures. In general, the program favored arid and semi-arid regions at high risk of soil erosion but neglected smallholder farms in high-poverty regions with elevated rates of cropland failure. Our findings highlight the continued lack of financial support for smallholder agriculture in Mexico, despite program rules and priority statements that stress the vulnerability of this sector. This study also illustrates the important role of spatial targeting in better aligning agricultural support payments with stated policy priorities. This alignment is often overlooked in ex-post assessment, but it is critical for improving targeting precision, equity, and overall policy effectiveness.
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    A baseline analysis of marine debris on southern islands of Belize
    (Pergamon, 2021) Blanke, Jayla M.; Steinberg, Michael K.; Donlevy, James P.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Marine debris is a global issue with acute impacts. Using beach transect surveys, this study investigates debris prevalence on 7 islands in the Caribbean country of Belize. 1754 items were cataloged based on object size, form, material, condition, and economic use. Most of the litter was plastics (68.1%). Styrofoam was the second highest in abundance (9.46%), followed by foam/rubber items (8.04%), glass (3.82%), metal (2.57%), and aluminum (1.94%). Most litter was associated with an urban source (74.8%), while 4.2% and 2.1% were linked to industrial and fishing activities respectively. This study provides a novel baseline for future studies in the scarcely studied region, especially as Belize's economy continues in the conscious shift away from single-use plastic and styrofoam products.
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    Resilience of a Fire-Maintained Pinus palustris Woodland to Catastrophic Wind Disturbance: 10 Year Results
    (MDPI, 2021) Goode, J. Davis; Kleinman, Jonathan S.; Hart, Justin L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Increased interest in ecosystem recovery and resilience has been driven by concerns over global change-induced shifts in forest disturbance regimes. In frequent-fire forests, catastrophic wind disturbances modify vegetation-fuels-fire feedbacks, and these alterations may shift species composition and stand structure to alternative states relative to pre-disturbance conditions. We established permanent inventory plots in a catastrophically wind-disturbed and fire-maintained Pinus palustris woodland in the Alabama Fall Line Hills to examine ecosystem recovery and model the successional and developmental trajectory of the stand through age 50 years. We found that sapling height was best explained by species. Species with the greatest mean heights likely utilized different regeneration mechanisms. The simulation model projected that at age 50 years, the stand would transition to be mixedwood and dominated by Quercus species, Pinus taeda, and P. palustris. The projected successional pathway is likely a function of residual stems that survived the catastrophic wind disturbance and modification of vegetation-fuels-fire feedbacks. Although silvicultural interventions will be required for this system to exhibit pre-disturbance species composition and structure, we contend that the ecosystem was still resilient to the catastrophic disturbance because similar silvicultural treatments were required to create and maintain the P. palustris woodland prior to the disturbance event.
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    Extinctionscapes: Spatializing the commodification of animal lives and afterlives in conservation landscapes
    (Routledge, 2021-01-22) Bersaglio, Brock; Margulies, Jared; University of Birmingham; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    This article advances a more-than-human perspective on geographies of death and dying, engaging with extinctionscapes as spaces where the memorialization of nonhuman life generates affective and commodifiable experiences with species loss in conservation landscapes. Bringing geographical concepts, such as absence-presence, into conversation with recent literature on lively commodities, we describe how animals at the threshold of life and death are made to work for conservation as well as how their afterlives are subjected to ongoing forms of commodification through acts of memorialization in landscape. Specifically, our analysis focuses on the stories of three rhinos at a conservancy in Kenya to consider the themes of death and dying, value, and commodification in relation to endangered species conservation. By situating the lives and afterlives of these rhinos in the history of settler colonialism and capitalism in Kenya, we examine how commodification, as a social and cultural process, becomes entangled with the corporeal and discorporate lives of animals and contributes to the reproduction of historic injustices through extinctionscapes. Ultimately, we argue for ongoing critical engagement with the amorphous borderland of life and death in geographies of conservation, which represents an important space of biopolitics and commodification.
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    Prominent Peaks of Otter Tail County, Minnesota
    (2022) Sandy, John H.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
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    Long Prairie River Region: Natural Environment and Land Use
    (2022) Sandy, John H.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa