SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
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Habitat Associations of Ixodes Scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in Syracuse, New York
Get PDFHabitat associations of Ixodes scapularis Say were described at six publicuse sites within Syracuse, New York. Adult, host-seeking blacklegged ticks were collected using tick flags in October and November, 2015 along two 264 m transects at each site, each within a distinct forest patch. We examined the association of basal area, leaf litter depth, and percent understory cover with tick abundance using negative binomial regression models. Models indicated tick abundance was negatively associated with percent understory cover, but was not associated with particular canopy or understory species. These results may assist park-goers and land managers in considering local risk factors for exposure to Ixodes scapularis and the diseases they transmit
Student Spotlight on Research and Outreach Proceedings
Get PDFESF\u27s annual Spotlight Symposium is a dynamic forum where graduate and undergraduate students share the results of their research and community service projects. The Spotlight is a student poster session highlighting scholarly efforts
Development of a Plant Care Guide for the Veterans Hospital Horticultural Therapy Program
Get PDFThe goal of this project is to provide a resource for both staff and patients at the Syracuse Veteran\u27s Affairs Medical Center (VA) to learn to care for the collection of plants in the therapeutic horticulture program and to also learn about the history and uses of the plants. The therapeutic horticulture program is designed to enhance the in-patient activities during short and long-term hospital stays for patients suffering from spinal cord disabilities or disease, and for those patients in long-term residential care. The horticultural therapy program has been active for three years, but until now, there was no information available to the patients regarding what plants were being grown in the patient rooms, common areas, or in the outside gardens, nor any guidance for their care. During the academic years, students from ESF guide the patients in plant care, but outside that time, hospital staff generously tends to the plants, and they themselves did not always have all the necessary knowledge to maintain the plants. This project was to compile information about all plants, outside garden plants, seed grown edibles and houseplants, into one living document, that would be both educational and entertaining. Each species is clearly detailed with care instructions, images, and some interesting information about history and uses. Additional copies of the pages for each plant are available if patients get released from the hospital and wish to take their plants home with them; thus having the resources they need to bring therapeutic horticulture into their own home. This project involved considerable in-depth research into over SO plant species, including ideal growing conditions, history, medical uses, and more. It also incorporated interpretive design into compiling these facts into a digestible and approachable form for any reader. One of the unique features of this project is that it intends to be a living document so that as more species are brought into the program, additional pages can be created and added
Using Oblique Imagery to Identify Invasive Plant Species in Onondaga County, NY : a Feasibility Study
Get PDFAs the world becomes increasingly connected, the risk of species spreading across previously impermeable boundaries becomes much higher. Many plant and animal species are establishing themselves in entirely new environments, often with significant consequences for indigenous species. This study focused on three non-native plant species-Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife), Fallopiajaponica (Japanese knotweed), and Phragmites australis (phragmites or common reed)-- invasives abundant in Onondaga County. This study aimed to test the feasibility of using readily available oblique imagery to identify the presence of these invasive species. Imagery used in the study came from Google Maps Street View photographs of addresses reported to have dense populations of phragmites, Japanese knotweed, or purple loosestrife. Images were uploaded to ERDAS Imagine 2015 and extraction of plant species was tested using both pixel- and object-based classification approaches. Results largely showed these images were not suitable for positive species identification. The oblique images used for testing varied in spatial resolution and time of capture, which may have impacted success of the classifiers. For example, purple loosestrife is more easily separated from its surroundings when blooming; but the available images did not allow us to capitalize on such phenological distinctions. Future research requires a more targeted data set with confirmed species identification, ground validation, and more consistent image quality. Identifying the presence of invasive plant species within imagery is suggested as an important step toward invasive species mitigation efforts
Design of a Small Scale Power Loss Tolerant Water Treatment System in Nepal
Get PDFThe Kevin Rohan Memorial Eco Foundation (KRMEF) is a non-profit in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal dedicated to a variety of methods of helping its surrounding community. To achieve these goals, the foundation works extensively with volunteers from other countries, who often come to stay at the foundation. In the kitchen, tap water is used to cook and clean vegetables. While cooking kills many of the bacteria, sometimes food is not cooked hot enough, or simply was not cooked in the case of the raw vegetables they serve, to kill said bacteria. While the incidence of water borne disease is very low in the area of the village; non-treated water has plenty of bacteria in it to make the unaccustomed volunteers sick. There is a small UV sterilizer in the kitchen, but frequent blackouts when people are actually cooking means the UV sterilizer often lacks electricity. A new system was designed, and built, to solve this problem. The filtration method was simple, a biosand filter combined with UV sterilization. After the biosand filter, there was a reservoir to collect the filtered water. When it is predicted that the power will be on for long enough, the UV sterilizer will be turned on, the water from the biosand reservoir will flow throw the UV sterilizer. There are two tanks at the end of the UV sterilizer for the water to go into. The water in the end tanks should be used within two days, to prevent any new growth of bacteria or algae, since there is no continuing disinfectant in the water. One reservoir can be completely emptied, while the other is filled, to ensure that no water is in the tanks for more than two days. The sterilized water tanks are then directly connected to the kitchen tap water
Hydrogenation of Phenolic Oligomers in Bio-Oil
Get PDFIncreasing pressure from economic, environmental, and regulatory drivers is motivating research into bio-derived liquid fuels for transportation as well as other applications. Fast pyrolysis of biomass has shown potential as a means to produce biofuels. However, pyrolytic oils are acidic and viscous, properties which our current infrastructure is not equipped to handle. Traditionally, hydrotreating of fossil oil is used to decrease viscosity and increase the energy content of the fuel. These methods are energy intensive and may not be necessary for the more oxygen rich and reactive pyrolytic oil. Previous work has demonstrated the potential of mild condition hydrogenation for improving the properties of the bio-oil but only at bench scale in a batch reactor. This work expands upon this basis by using a small scale flow through hydrogenation apparatus (H-Cube Pro, ThalesNano, Hungary). Hydrogenation conditions were varied with respect to the amount of hydrogen present, amount of catalyst, temperature, and pressure of reaction. Final products were analyzed with reference to ASTM standards. These conditions were manipulated to minimize the dynamic viscosity and modified acid number (MAN) of the product. The oil hydrogenated under optimal conditions showed improve energy content, decreased water content, decreased viscosity, and an increased MAN. Products were also analyzed by 1H NMR and demonstrated expected changes in functional groups
The Impact of Electron Beam Pretreatment on the Fermentation of Wood-based Sugars
Get PDFLignocellulosic biomass has the potential to become an integral feedstock in the production of alternative fuels. The presence of a recalcitrant matrix of polymeric materials consisting of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin complicates the retrieval of valuable constituent sugars. Effective and efficient pretreatment is required to reduce this recalcitrance. Electron beam (EB) pretreatment is an option which has been shown to enhance the liberation of sugars from hardwood biomass and enhance the fermentation of wood-derived sugars, as opposed to other pretreatment options which create inhibitory by-products. In this study, untreated white pine extract was shown to inhibit ethanol production, and EB pretreatment was seen to mitigate this effect. Sugar yields from the saccharification of white pine treated with EB were much higher than untreated samples, with samples treated with high dosages approaching 40% conversion of cellulose after 24 hours. Additionally, the presence of EB pretreated biomass was seen to inhibit the growth of P. stipitis under fermentation conditions. The enhancement effect previously seen in hardwoods was explored with respect to soluble ion concentration and lignin content, and a link was established suggesting a higher content of both components enhance fermentation
Progress towards the Kinetic Characterization of PhaG, a Key Enzyme in the Biosynthesis of Poly-[(R)-3-hydroxyalkanoates] in Bacteria
Get PDFPoly-[(R)-3-hydroxyalkanoates] (PHAs) are biodegradable polyesters produced by diverse microbial strains and genetically modified organisms. Increasing our understanding of different metabolic pathways within PHA-producing organisms is highly desired so as to bolster PHAs as economically competitive alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. Some pseudomonads, including Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Pseudomonas oleovorans, commonly biosynthesize PHA polyesters composed of side chains containing between 6-14 carbons (medium chain length or MCL PHAs) derived from intracellular fatty acid feedstocks. The metabolic link between fatty acids and PHA biosynthesis is the enzyme PhaG, which was reported to exhibit 3-hydroxyacyl-ACP:CoA transferase activity. However, recent studies have suggested PhaG can alternatively function as a 3-hydroxyacyl-ACP thioesterase to produce free 3-hydroxyfatty acids which, coupled with a 3-hydroxyfatty acid:CoA ligase (AlkK), yields the CoA-activated substrates needed for polymerization by the PHA synthase, PhaC. In this study, we hypothesize that PhaG acts preferentially as a 3- hydroxyacyl-ACP thioesterase, effectively increasing the pool of free 3-hydroxyfatty acids available for their downstream CoA activation and polymerization. To test our hypothesis we cloned phaG (PP 1408) from P. putida KT2440 into expression plasmids, and heterologously expressed/purified PhaG fused with either N or C terminal polyhistidine tags. To investigate the enzyme\u27s activity in vitro, an N-acetylcysteamine (SNAC) thioester of rac-3-hydroxydecanoic acid was synthesized. Additionally, we are performing the enantioselective syntheses of (R)-3-hydroxydecanoic acid and its SNAC analog to carry out a thorough kinetic analysis of PhaG
Biochemical Conversion of Biomass into Butanol Using Clostridium acetobutylicum
Get PDFButanol is a potential transportation fuel which could eventually replace fossil- derived petroleum and transition the world towards a more sustainable future. This fuel can be produced by enzymatically hydrolyzing pretreated lignocellulosic biomass, and simultaneously fermenting the resultant sugars with specific bacterial strains. In this experiment switchgrass was chemically pretreated in a 75% (v/v) ethanol and 1% H2SO4 (1% v/v) solution and subjected to simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) with hydrolytic enzymes and Clostridium acetobutylicum. The pH control method for the SSF apparatus was varied between a 50 mM acetate buffer solution (HOAc), and the addition of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) powder. Cellular products were quantified by HPLC analysis, and results were compared to identical procedures conducted on microcrystalline cellulose. The microcrystalline cellulose SSF procedures yielded 4.33 g/L (HOAc) and 4.27 g/L (CaCO3) of butanol, with 0.037 g/L/min (HOAc) and 0.038 g/L/min (CaCO3) butanol production rates. No butanol was produced from switchgrass, regardless of the pH control method. Butyric acid, the chemical precursor to butanol, was produced from switchgrass samples however, which suggests the final conversion step to butanol was most likely hindered. It is believed that the pH levels of the switchgrass SSF apparatuses were unsatisfactory, or that the acid-pretreated biomass released inhibitory compounds which prevented the biosynthesis of butanol
Predator Recognition Behaviors and Stress Hormones in an Endangered Captive Mammal: Implications for Reintroduction
Get PDFOne purpose of captive breeding programs for endangered species is the potential reestablishment of wild populations. However, behavioral problems resulting from relaxed selection or adaptation to captivity can lead to decreased predator recognition and increased mortality in reintroduced individuals. Predator training of prey animals can reduce this mortality, but a species must have some instinctual response to the signs of predators as a prerequisite for successful training. The Tadjik markhor (Capra falconeri heptneri) is one of the most endangered mammals in the world and may be reintroduced to portions of its former range in the future. We assessed the potential of captive Tadjik markhor to recognize signs from their natural predators using visual and olfactory cues, and compared their behavior and stress hormone levels to baseline levels and to novel but non-threatening cues. Mean percent time in vigilance behavior did not differ between predator and control cues, but both were higher than baseline (ANOVA; P \u3c 0.001). However, markhor exhibited more alarm calls and ear flicks when faced with predator cues than when faced with control cues or during baseline observations (MRPP, P \u3c 0.001). We found no difference, however, in fecal glucocorticoid (GC) levels among the three treatment types. These results suggest that captive markhor have not entirely lost their ability to recognize threats from potential predators and may respond to pre-release training in the event of a reintroduction program that uses captive-raised individuals