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411 research outputs found
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Avian richness increases following group-selection timber harvests in west-central New Hampshire
Full text linkRapid loss of neotropical migrant songbirds (44% overall decline in the past 50 years) necessitates an urgent call for conservation. Disturbance-dependent early-successional species have experienced an especially large decrease at 58%. The greatest cause for these declines is loss of both breeding and overwintering habitat. Throughout the northeastern United States, post-European arrival, cultural shifts in land use have led to even-aged, mid-successional forests becoming the dominant forested habitat types on the landscape. This has resulted in a loss of young forest habitats required by earlysuccessional birds for nesting and by many forest-interior birds for critical postfledging cover and foraging. We used point counts to assess songbird community response to group-selection harvesting (0.2-1.0 ha openings) in a mixed hardwood/softwood forest in Canaan, NH and in an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) dominated forest in Lyme, NH. Counts in the mixed-wood forest were part of a 9-year-post-harvest study, while those in the eastern hemlock forest were conducted a year before and a year after a timber harvest. Group-selection openings in the mixed-wood stand created a multi-aged forest mosaic, leading to a fluctuation of species richness as the shrub layer grew in. Overall a net significant increase of species by year 9 post-harvest was observed during a period with no significant changes in background levels of avian richness in the region. Further, in the mixedwood forest we mapped territories of 60 individuals from 5 species in 2019 and 2020 and found territory sizes were generally smaller for young forest species than for forest-interior species. However, all mapped species utilized the early-successional habitat created from the timber harvest during the breeding season. We also documented pairing and fledging rates for several species and found high rates of pairing success and average rates of fledging success compared with other studies. In the eastern hemlock property immediately post-harvest, we observed a significant increase in bird species richness and abundance. As we continue monitoring the eastern hemlock property, we expect an overall increase in species richness that will last longer due to a slower regeneration time characteristic of eastern hemlock forests compared to mixed-wood forests. These results have forest management ramifications demonstrating how different approaches can be used to promote early-successional habitat, crucial habitat for disturbance-dependent species, generalists, and woodland dependent species. The findings of our project may aid in strategic consultation with landowners in the region, where a majority of timberlands are family owned and managed, to demonstrate how forest management strategies can support avian habitat.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
Principal turnover: identifying the factors that influence it in rural New Hampshire
Full text linkPrincipal turnover in rural areas of the United States, remains problematic yet studies have predominately focused on urban schools with few studies focused on principal turnover in rural schools. This study explored specific factors known to influence principal turnover in rural schools, including salary, community engagement, and town population size. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis were used to investigate potential difference between these factors in New Hampshire based on principal gender and geographic region. Findings identified significant differences between factors based on both gender and geographic region. The results of this study can be used by state agencies, professional organizations, and local school districts to further examine principal turnover and identify areas to improve principal retention in rural schools.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
Localized freezing rain events in coastal Maine and New Hampshire
No full textFreezing rain is one of the most disruptive forms of wintertime precipitation, impacting air and ground travel, as well as utilities. It was observed that a particular kind of freezing rain event occurs along the coastal plain of southwest Maine and New Hampshire, in which precipitation changes from snow to rain to freezing rain in the presence of synoptic warm air advection across the greater region. Numerical models often missed this progression, which had been noted by local forecasters. This project conducted several case studies, which were then used to build a climatology of events by categorizing freezing rain based on similarities in precipitation type progression from 1988-2018 at KPWM (Portland, ME), and Portsmouth, NH (KPSM) using hourly METAR data. A background on Cold Air Damming (CAD) and local geography is provided, and their role in the development of these events is established. For each of the event categories of interest, sea surface temperature (SST) data from nearby weather buoys, and temperature and dew point data from Bangor, ME (KBGR) were gathered. NARR SLP composites were created for each type of events of interest for KPWM and KPSM. It was shown that snow to rain to freezing rain events were rare, but events of snow to freezing rain were much more common at both KPWM and KPSM, and were still significant. Trends in seasonal, diurnal, and synoptic patterns were established and discussed. Significant differences in the progression of low pressure systems were found to exist between KPWM and KPSM in similar events. The influence of secondary low pressure development offshore proved to be a critical factor in the events, which was discussed in detail. Issues of composite smearing and changes to data collection methods, such as a transition to automated data collection, during the time period were discussed. A framework for future work is established to conduct a more comprehensive upper level analysis.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
Impacts of sediment deposition on stream fishes in the Dan and Roanoke River basins
Full text linkElectronic Thesis or DissertationExcess fine sediment is a leading cause of impairment to river biota worldwide and greater understanding of how instream fine sediment influences fish occurrence is needed. Understanding the relationship between species traits and their habitat has been recognized as a valuable tool to help predict lotic species’ distribution. Traits that influence the presence and absence of a species will change along environmental gradients, making traits vulnerable to habitat degradation, like sediment loading. This study aims to examine how fish species occurrences (presence or absence) vary across a gradient of fine sediment and if traits can predict which species’ occupancies are more sensitive to sediment. We sampled riffle-run transects (2-4 times each) in 29 reaches selected to represent a gradient of fine sediment conditions in the Piedmont region of North Carolina and Virginia. For the first section of this analysis, we categorized the observed species by their predicted sensitivity to sediment based upon their feeding and reproductive traits, then used binomial logistic regressions to predict each species’ occupancy based upon a suite of sediment metrics. Silt cover and embeddedness, commonly used fishery’s metrics, did not explain as much variability in occupancy as anticipated among the species and other metrics like stream size and upland watershed variables may be more important in explaining occupancy. More species’ occupancy significantly and negatively associated with embeddedness than silt cover, suggesting this form of sediment deposition could be more threatening to fish habitat. For some species, their association with these variables were context dependent on the stream’s benthic substrate size. Overall, our groupings of sediment sensitivity could likely be better developed to by considering more traits and providing a dynamic, as opposed to equal scoring, for the traits of a species. The second section of this study takes a heuristic approach to define species sensitivity to deposited sediment via functional traits related to feeding and reproduction based on prior studies for fish species, focusing on species in our study area. We then analyzed cooccurrence patterns between traits and two snapshot measurements of deposited sediment, silt cover and embeddedness and compared these results back to our literature-based trait scores of sediment sensitivity. We analyzed these relationships through canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and Kendal-tau correlation analysis utilizing fish and habitat surveys. Our results indicate that feeding preference and spawning behavior may influence species responses to deposited sediment. Herbivory and nest association were negatively associated, whereas generalism, omnivory, piscivory, and open-water spawning was positively associated with the presence of deposited sediment. The research presented here provides insight into what species and what traits may be particularly sensitive to sediment
A mixed-methods analysis of supports and barriers for rural college students
Full text linkThis article outlines an exploratory sequential mixed-methods study on the environmental supports and barriers for students attending a rural college. Data collected through six focus group interviews (N = 19) indicated 20 themes associated with student success; faculty practices with students; administrative issues; or president, cabinet, and board of trustee vision. An 86-item survey, grounded in qualitative themes, yielded evidence of convergence and divergence for an initial sample of 256 students.Article
A climatological study of National Weather Service watches, warnings and advisories in association with atmospheric rivers in the western U.S. 2006-18
Full text linkA recently published scale to characterize the intensity and duration of atmospheric rivers (AR) by Ralph et al. (2019) summarizes a range of typical impacts associated with these storms from weak and beneficial to strong and hazardous. This study investigates the spatial and temporal relationship between landfalling ARs along the U.S. West Coast and potentially hazardous weather as identified by National Weather Service watches, warnings, and advisories (WWAs) during 2006-18. The results of this study re-affirm that landfalling ARs occur in association with various types of high-impact weather including high wind, hydrologic extremes (e.g., heavy rainfall and flooding), and cold precipitation (e.g., snow) by presenting qualitative relationships between NWS products and ARs. Across the western U.S., 30-70% of days with any type of WWA were associated with landfalling ARs of any intensity. In the northern (Pacific Northwest) and central (Northern California and Great Basin) regions hydrologic-related and wind-related WWAs were more frequently (40-80%) associated with more intense and longer duration ARs classified as AR3, AR4, or AR5 events according to the Ralph et al. (2019) scale as compared to less intense and shorter duration AR1 or AR2 events. This relationship decreases for cold precipitation-related WWAs, where stronger ARs were more likely to result in rain than snow. While an approximate majority of days with WWAs occurred in association with landfalling ARs, not all landfalling ARs are associated with high-impact weather. For example, days with landfalling ARs occurred in association with WWA days of any type on 20-50% of cool-season days across high-elevation regions of the northern Cascades, Sierra Nevada, and southern California coastal ranges. This association increased to 40-60% for more intense and longer duration AR3, AR4, and AR5 events, especially for landfalling ARs in southern California and hydrologic-related WWAs over the southwest U.S. These results are summarized by an investigation of the WWA hazard footprint association with landfalling ARs that illustrates a quasi-exponential increase in the average cumulative area headlined by WWAs across the Western Region as the intensity and duration of a landfalling AR increases from an AR1 to an AR5 event, particularly for landfalling ARs in California and for hydrologic- and wind-related WWAs.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
An investigation of the influences on the residency aspirations of youth in the present-day rural context
Full text linkThis study examined the residency aspirations of rural youth in the context of the globalized economy. Past research on the outmigration of rural youth pointed to academic achievers being pushed towards pursing higher education and leaving the community for white-collar careers. Gains in technology, connectivity, and other features of the modern economy open rural locales to new possibilities from remote work in knowledge-worker career fields to the ability to tap into the global marketplace. Given these temporal changes to the rural circumstance, this study sought to investigate how the career aspirations of rural students were being influenced, and correspondingly, how that influenced their plans for settling down in the future. Set in the Northern Forest Region, this natural amenity rich rural community once thrived with relatively high-wage blue-collar jobs at its economic core. This collective case study involved interviews with five high school seniors, a parent of each student, and an educator or other influential adult identified by the student. Perceptions regarding careers and employment opportunities were found to be the leading driver in shaping residency aspirations. Despite positive feelings towards rurality and desires to reside in non-metropolitan areas, participants appeared to believe that quality employment opportunities were not possible in their hometown. The recommendations consider how schools and communities might work in partnership to cultivate place-consciousness while fostering careers that leverage today's more placeless economy.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
Development of a cold-air damming index for northern New England
Full text linkNorthern New England Cold Air Damming (CAD) is an important example of complex mesoscale flow interactions with orography that have an impact on low stratus, freezing rain, and sleet precipitation types. These wintry precipitation phenomena can have significant impact on the transportation industry if not forecasted and identified with high accuracy. While cold-air damming has been extensively studied in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region east of the Appalachians, only very limited research has been conducted on events where cold air becomes entrenched east and south of the northern Appalachians of New England. In this study, cold-air damming events are identified using hourly surface station data to calculate a Cold-Air Damming Index (CADINX). The index is calculated as the average surface potential temperature gradient between five "central" stations located in the cold air along the eastern edge of the Appalachians (in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts) and stations located in the warmer air west of the mountains (in Quebec, Vermont, New York) and stations located in the warmer air along the southern New England coast (in Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island). The index is set to zero if the central station is not colder than the surrounding stations. In addition, the index is only non-zero when higher sea level pressure is located to the north and east in the along mountain direction. CAD events are objectively determined by applying the CADINX to hourly data for the five central stations. A CAD event is identified when three of the five stations have nonzero CADINX values for at least 6 consecutive hours. Once CAD events are identified, the following information is collected for each event: start/end time, peak time, average/max/min CADINX value. Initially, CAD events have been identified for a test month (Jan 2012) and for all of 2016. During these periods 28 northern New England CAD events have been identified. Examination of RUC analyses and observations show that these events exhibit 揷lassic� CAD characteristics as described by Bell and Bosart (1988), where a thermal trough (ridge) of potential temperature exists east (west) of the mountain barrier with a surface anticyclone situated to the north of the damming region. While the synoptic configuration during these cases is similar and expected, the mesoscale features differ significantly from case to case. In approximately half of the CAD events examined thus far, the typical mesoscale pressure ridge associated with the low-level cold air is easily identified. The other half, however, indicated the presence of the low-level cold air with no sign of an associated mesoscale pressure ridge. Future work will extend the analysis to create a 15-year climatology of New England cold-air damming events using the CADINX, investigating the spectrum of CAD events, and exploring the dynamical and thermodynamical mechanisms of CAD life cycles.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
The relationship between the Utah 50/50 Dual-Language Immersion model and literacy in the Alpine, Davis, and Granite school districts in Utah: considerations for and implications of students with disabilities and limited English proficiency in fourth grade
Full text linkLiteracy is the pillar of our society. The students who cannot read by fourth-grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school and live in poverty (Hartmann, 2016). Despite educators’ effort to remediate literacy deficiency, according to the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 36% of all students, 14% of Students with Disabilities (SwD) and 9% of Limited English learners (LEP) were English Language Arts (ELA) proficient. In 2006, Utah created a Dual Language Immersion model (DLI) in elementary schools to promote bilingualism and biliteracy. Under this model, 50% of the classes were in English and the other 50% in a target language. The Utah state assessments, Criterion-Referenced Test (CRT) (1999-2013), and Student Achievement Growth and Excellence (SAGE) (2014-2017) presented a higher level of ELA proficiency for students in DLI programs. Therefore, the hypothesis was that DLI programs could enhance ELA proficiency non only for all but also for Students with Disabilities (SwD) and Limited English Proficient LEP students. Incidentally, there was no significant difference between SAGE and NAEP fourth-grade ELA test scores in 2015. The methodology followed a qualitative descriptive study. Five interviews were conducted and were supported by a collection of quantitative data gathered from fourthgrade SAGE ELA test scores from the website Datagateway and the USBOE. SAGE ELA test scores for All, SwD, and LEP students in DLI and non-DLI schools for years 2014 to 2017 were recorded, analyzed, and compared. The result of the analysis suggested a positive relationship between DLI programs and ELA proficiency for All but also for SwD and LEP students in DLI programs.Electronic Thesis or Dissertatio
Public school principal retention in the state of New Hampshire and the relationship of gender, grade level, isolation and task overload
No full textThe purpose of this ex post facto study was to investigate New Hampshire (NH) public school principal retention and tile relationships of gender. grade level and task overload. The current role of a principal requires a dynamic sci of strengths and skills to lead their school community in a manner that produces positive student and staff growth (Fullan 2014). This study is essential, at this time, as the mean for national principal retention is 4.2 years with NH falling to a mean of 3.6 years (Goldring & Taie, 2018; Principal retention, 2010-2020). The current national and state means are below the necessary five years of principal tenure to effect school change (Fullan, 201, 2015; Miller, 2015). The study consisted of the use of a secondary data set, NH School Leader Survey (Foster, 2018) to examine the role of gender, grade level, isolation and task overload on tenure and likelihood of choosing school leadership in the future. The study sample was 428 current NH school principals or 55% of the available 519 NH principals during the 2018 school year. The findings of the study suggest the NH female secondary principals were the least likely to choose school leadership in the future in addition to yielding a mean of 2.7 years which is below the 3.29 national mean. The findings for female middle and high school principals also showed that they were less likely to meet with districtElectronic Thesis or Dissertatio