Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Conservancy of Southwest Florida'

The global phenomenon of burgeoning coastal population growth has led to coastal watershed landscape transformation and ecosystem degradation, prompting policy-makers to set limits on freshwater withdrawals and labile nutrient loads. Important components of Florida’s economies lie in the state’s expansive coastal zone; the organisms driving the billion-dollar recreational fishing industry are rooted in coastal habitats, while the agriculture and real-estate industries sprawl throughout numerous coastal watersheds. This study aimed to identify the connections between anthropogenic land use and essential juvenile fish nursery habitats within the coastal zone, which is the first critical step for sustaining the ecology and related economies of the region. The need for this study arises from the fact that these economies are interconnected through nitrogen, and therefore nitrogen management can influence their prosperity or collapse. Juvenile fish nursery habitats are located in waters that receive nitrogen from adjacent landscapes. Runoff delivers nitrogen derived from human nitrogen use and processing within the watersheds to the juvenile fish nursery habitats. Ecosystem managers must understand that although copious amounts of nitrogen applied to land may ultimately support nursery habitat foodwebs, overwhelming nitrogen loads may also create algal blooms that decay and cause lethal hypoxic events leading to ecosystem degradation. This study aims to pinpoint the specific nitrogen sources that support primary production and ultimately fish production in watersheds dominated by agricultural landscapes and residential neighborhoods. Stable isotopes are versatile tools used to identify these connections. The nitrogen and carbon compounds that make up the moieties of an ecosystem inherently carry information on major nitrogen sources, trophic structure as well as the crucial information concerning dominant nitrogen removal and transformative processes that occur within sediments. Specifically in this study, the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen of dissolved inorganic nitrogen, primary producers, and fish were used to identify 1) the connections between urban and agricultural landscapes and the nutrients that percolate through the foodweb, 2) the primary producers that support fish biomass, 3) the origins of sedimentary organic matter that can provide new nitrogen via recycling, and 4) the heterogeneous function of fish nursery habitats in polluted systems. This study was conducted during the region’s wet and dry seasons and in over thirty watersheds that differ from each other in terms of size and anthropogenic influence. In agricultural watersheds, nitrogen derived from row crops and tree crops ultimately supported fish production during the wet season. Convective afternoon thunderstorms coupled with runoff delivered nitrogen from the landscape to receiving waters. These nutrients supported phytoplankton which deposited into the sediments and supported benthic foodwebs. During the dry season, nitrogen derived from row crops and nitrogen transformation in the sediments ultimately supported fish production. In this case, irrigation water used for agriculture delivered nitrogen from lands covered with row crops to the nursery habitats in receiving waters. The dry season was characterized by the nitrogen transformation process known as dissimilatory nitrogen reduction to ammonium (DNRA), where biologically available nitrate is converted to biologically available ammonium. Phytoplankton deposits, most likely delivered during the wet season, were recycled through the slow burning DNRA processes, which provided nitrogen for the benthic microalgae that dominated in the dry season. These organisms in turn supported benthic communities which ultimately supported dry season fish production.  In small urban watersheds, nitrogen derived from septic tanks, lawn irrigation, leaky sewage pipes, and atmospheric deposition ultimately supported fish production via phytoplankton, but unlike the nitrogen sources in agricultural watersheds, these sources (with the exception of atmospheric deposition) were seasonally consistent because a mechanisms to deliver nitrogen derived from septic tanks, lawn fertilizer, and leaky sewage pipes were, at least to some extent, available during both seasons. In polluted, tidal, fish-nursery habitats, the specific mechanism that allowed nursery habitats to decrease the ratio of mortality over growth rates of juvenile fish was not consistent among systems. These mechanisms were likely dependent on physical-chemical parameters and stream geomorphology. If the geomorphology or physical-chemical characteristics of nursery habitats are not adequate to set up an efficient nitrogen transfer process to fish, these habitats become more of a haven from predators rather than a source of food for fish.  This study has several implications for management. Managers must first recognize that microalgae are dominant supporters of tidal nursery foodwebs. Managers must define the relationship between nitrogen loads and fish abundance. If this relationship is unknown, the results of increasing nitrogen loads on fish production will remain uncertain; foodwebs in nursery habitats may collapse due to eutrophication, or fish abundance may increase due to increases in food supply. Connectivity factors derived from stable isotope mechanistic mass-balance models can be used as measurable targets for groups of watersheds. The use of wetlands as nitrogen remediation tools may not be effective at removing nitrogen; nitrogen transformation processes such as DNRA likely outweigh removal processes in wetland soils.

The United States Department of Education predicts that the nation will need more than one million new teachers by the year 2010 (U.S.DOE, 1996). At the same time, 43% of teachers leave the profession within their first five years of employment. Southwest Florida is experiencing a tremendous growth rate. This growth rate pattern has been predicted to continue through the year 2010. The school districts of Southwest Florida find themselves scrambling to build new schools in order to keep pace with the growth. These new schools must be staffed with qualified teachers. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 coupled with the Class Size Reduction Amendment IX, has also increased the demand for qualified teachers. A child's teacher, next to the family, is the single most influential entity in their educational experience. A competent, caring, qualified teacher will make a lifelong impact on both the learning and development of a child. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that caused dissatisfaction for beginning teachers, and to determine if there was a relationship to attrition. A total of 99 full-time Southwest Florida teachers participated in this study. The number of teachers from Charlotte County was 20, the number of teachers from Hendry County was 17, and the number of teachers from Lee County was 62. Data regarding dissatisfaction factors were analyzed to determine if a significant difference was observable between the three counties. In addition, the study addressed the racial and gender variables between counties as it related to dissatisfaction factors. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the dissatisfaction factors between the races and counties. Analysis of the data suggested that there was no significant difference between race and county for any of the six factors. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also used to compare the dissatisfaction factors between the gender and counties. Analysis of the data suggested that there was no significant difference between gender and county for five of the factors but there was a significant difference observed in factor 3, Safe Equipment, for gender. The results of this study indicate that there are distinct factors that cause dissatisfaction for beginning teachers. The results presented in the current study offer implications that although a single factor cannot be directly linked to teacher attrition, it does suggest that a combination of factors may lead to attrition. This data can inform educators that supervise beginning teachers of areas of concern. Decreasing the number of dissatisfaction factors can increase the probability that beginning teachers will not leave the profession within their first five years of employment.
Ed.D.
Department of Educational Studies
Education
Curriculum and Instruction

This research used Geographical Information System (GIS) data to estimate the acreage of wetland loss due to small-scale activities (taking into account exempt, permitted, and unauthorized activities) in the Southwest District of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) between 2006 and 2011 and compared that net loss with the unmitigated wetland net loss that DEP documented during that time for authorized activities and violations that were discovered. The comparison allowed an estimation of the extent of undocumented small-scale unmitigated wetland loss that occurred during those six years. DEP records show that 88% of non-compliance cases remain unresolved, and the net loss of wetlands that was documented by DEP is 28.66 acres. The change in acreage of DEP-regulated wetlands (and wetlands on agricultural parcels) as determined by GIS analysis is 1,250 acres gained. However, evidence shows that some of the water features categorized as wetlands in the GIS interface are reservoirs which may not be providing the functions necessary to mitigate for wetland loss. Evidence also shows that many small-scale wetland alterations were not detected by remote sensing, indicating that there is a great level of uncertainty in the GIS interpretation. Consequently, achievement of the No Net Loss goal in Florida cannot be determined using documented alterations, nor can it be determined by use of medium-high resolution aerial imagery. The analysis can be extrapolated to the rest of Florida, where State wetland protection regulations are constant.

Recordings of fish sound production were made in Charlotte Harbor, Florida using Long Term Acoustic Recording Systems (LARS) programmed to record 10 seconds of sound every 10 minutes. Results demonstrated a strong circadian pattern in fish sound production that occurred within a few hours of dusk each evening. Sound production lasted on average 8.7 hrs each evening during the peak spawning season. LARS were deployed when Hurricane Charley crossed Charlotte Harbor in August, 2004. The hurricane did not inhibit nightly chorusing events of spawning fish. Rather, sound levels produced by spawning fish on the night of and 3 days after the hurricane were higher and lasted longer than any of the 9 days recorded prior to the hurricane. Acoustic time series data recorded at multiple sites in Charlotte Harbor during 2005 revealed changes in the spatial distribution of fish sound production in response to increased freshwater inflow and consequent decreased bottom dissolved oxygen concentrations in early June. Fish sound production decreased rapidly over several days at study sites in the northern portion of the harbor most immediately affected by changes in environmental conditions. Meanwhile, fish sound production increased at the study site furthest seaward where normoxic levels were sustained. By August levels of fresh water inflow decreased substantially, bottom dissolved oxygen levels increased and sound production resumed at sites previously affected by these conditions. Fish sound production began intermittently in February and ended in November. Peak levels were reached by mid-late April / early May and continued throughout the summer time. Seasonal patterns of sound production match the reported spawning periods of estuarine sciaenid species recorded. Black drum sound production was measured in the canal systems of Cape Coral and Punta Gorda, Florida during the 2004-2006 spawning seasons. The circadian pattern of sound production was similar to other sciaenids documented in Charlotte Harbor. Seasonal patterns of black drum sound production occurred during October through April and peaked in February. This seasonal period of sound production also matched patterns of black drum reproductive readiness and spawning reported in the literature for the Gulf of Mexico. A hydrophone array was used in the Cape Coral canal system to localize calling black drum and measure source levels and propagation of calls. Source level estimates averaged 165 dBRMS re: 1muPa SPL (SD=1.0) (n = 1,025). Call energy was concentrated in the fundamental frequency (94 Hz) and first two harmonics (188 Hz and 282 Hz). A square root model best described propagation of the fundamental frequency and first harmonic and a log 10 model best described the second harmonic. Based on the mean RMS source level, signal propagation, background levels, and hearing sensitivity, the communication range of black drum at the study site was estimated at between 33 and 108 meters and was limited by background levels, not auditory sensitivity. The timing and levels of sound production and egg production were compared in black drum. Eggs were collected hourly from 1800 - 0400 by surface plankton tows on two consecutive evenings while black drum sound production was continuously recorded. This sampling effort was conducted five separate times from January through April, 2006. Evidence of the time of spawning was indicated by the collection of blastodiscs (fertilized single cell eggs) or back calculated early cleavage stage eggs. Neither the timing nor the quantity of sound production was positively correlated with egg production on a nightly basis and the greatest densities of eggs were collected on evenings which had the lowest levels of sound production. This may have been due to differences in the fecundity of individual females spawning on the evenings when sampling was conducted.

“Whiting” is a term used to describe a sharply defined patch of water that contains high levels of suspended, fine-grained calcium carbonate (CaCO3). These features are named for their bright (at times white) appearance when compared to surrounding waters, and have been found to occur globally, persisting for multiple consecutive days. Although whitings have been widely studied using chemical, biological, geological, and physical techniques, there has been little effort to document their spatio-temporal distributions in a systematic way, not to mention the lack of consensus on what generates whitings and allows them to persist for days to weeks at a time. In particular, although fishermen and aircraft pilots have reported whiting-like features off southwest Florida (e.g., a sighting off the Ten Thousand Islands was reported on October 29, 2013), there has been no targeted study on these features in this area. Therefore, the objective of this study is two fold: 1) to document the spatial-temporal distributions of whitings in southwest Florida (SWFL) coastal waters from 2003 through 2015 using satellite imagery to study how their occurrence is related to several environmental variables and 2) to conduct field and laboratory measurements to determine the particle composition and water characteristics in and outside the whiting features. To achieve objective one, a multi-year time series from 2003 through 2015 was developed over SWFL using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations. Customized processing was used in order to removed clouds and other artifacts and to delineate the surface whiting features. From this, statistics and distribution maps of whiting occurrence were generated. Annual mean whiting coverage peaked in 2011 (11 km2), when whiting reached a maximum daily visible coverage of 92 km2 on February 23. For the entire time series, the highest daily coverage observed was 126 km2 on December 6, 2008. Over all, whitings had higher spatial coverage during the spring and autumn, with 88% of all whiting coverage occurring within 40 km of the coastline. Images of average seasonal spatial distributions showed that over 90% of whitings located between 40 and 70 km of shore occurred specifically during the winter and autumn. A multivariate linear regression was performed, which found little to no correlation between annual whiting coverage and environmental factors such as sea surface temperature (SST), wind, and river discharge. This analysis was also applied to spatial distributions of whiting events within and outside of 20 km and 40 km from shore. The only statistically significant result was that of SST, as well as SST with river discharge and whiting events distributed more than 20 km from shore. In order to accomplish objective two, several field campaigns were conducted to collect in-situ data and water samples of pre-, post-, and occurring whiting event conditions to provide information on composition, driving forces, and variables that cannot be derived via satellites. Samples were collected for taxonomic identification, chemical analysis, bottom sediment grain size fractionation, in-situ remote sensing reflectance (Rrs), particle backscattering (bbp), chlorophyll-a concentration ([chl-a]), particulate absorption (ap), and gelbstoff (otherwise known as color dissolved organic matter, or CDOM) absorption (ag). Taxonomic identification of marine phytoplankton within whiting water revealed the presence of a dominant, small (<5 >μm), centric diatom species during a sampled whiting event. Through the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), these were identified as Thalassiosira sp. Amorphous to fully formed crystals of calcium carbonate were present, attached to cells of Thalassiosira sp., localized to the girdle bands. All other diatom species were devoid of similar growths. In comparing the waters within a whiting area to outside waters, no significant differences were found in ap, ag, nor [chl-a]. The carbonate parameters of whiting water differed from outside water, however due to low sample numbers these results are inconclusive. Average backscattering was twice as high within whiting waters compared to non-whiting water, and measured in-situ Rrs was higher at all wavelengths (400 – 700 nm) within whiting water, with a spectral shape similar to outside waters. Overall, this is the first time that SWFL whiting events have been characterized systematically using satellite imagery, field and laboratory as well as meteorological data to diagnose whiting causes and maintenance mechanisms. Although these results are inconclusive, they add new information to the existing literature on this phenomenon.

The purpose of this study explored if police officers wearing body-worn cameras contributed to an increased perception of safety among community members. Further emphasis centered on community support of body-worn cameras, officers who deployed the technology, and perceived trust of citizens geared at improving relations between police and the community. The current study set out to provide an evaluation of police body-worn cameras and their perceived safety impact on citizens (n=166). Perceptions of police officers (n=200) supporting the cameras were also examined in the sampling. A One-Same Binomial Test proved ninety-one percent of citizen respondents believed the cameras would enhance safety between officers and the public while objectively documenting police-citizen encounters. Public support for police deploying body-worn cameras exists. Officers who support the wearing of body-worn cameras in the performance of an assigned work shift favored 65% while the remaining 35% of respondents did not. Lastly, 58% of officers either “agree” or “strongly agree” that body-worn cameras are capable of improving documentation between their encounters with the public. Results of the researcher’s hypothesis concluded there is no difference supporting the use of body-worn cameras between citizens and police. Proven to fit into a larger progression of research, future studies are recommended to increase the generalizibility of the study and expand same to other regions of the country while considering an increased sample population.

Future climate change has been the subject of considerable speculation with scientists called upon to predict timing, magnitude, and impact of these changes. The Pliocene Warm Period serves as the best-available, pre-modern analog to predicted climate changes, and Pliocene climate anomalies are examined as possible scenarios for future climate change. Comparing modern conditions to the mean climate state of the Pliocene is essential for better constrained predictions of future climate change, and seasonal paleoenvironmental records provide a data set more analogous to instrumental observations and thereby reducing the uncertainty in modeled climate changes. This study first examines the potential of large gastropod shells as a paleoclimate proxy. Specimens of Busycon sinistrum, active in winter, and Fasciolaria tulipa , active in the summer, were collected alive from Tampa Bay and St. Joseph Bay in the hope of establishing a multi-year record of seasonality. The δ18O time series of each shell were compared with predicted δ18O, based on local marine temperature variations, and both species cease shell growth during the winter months, despite opposing seasons of feeding activity. As none of the profiles provide information on winter environmental parameters, this sclerochronological system was replaced by work on pristine specimens of the scleractinian coral Siderastrea spp.  Seasonal δ18O and Sr/Ca time series from two Pliocene corals, collected from the Lower Pinecrest Member of the Tamiami Formation in southwest Florida, were used to calculate seawater δ18O variations. Inferred salinity in the Pliocene has a reversed seasonal pattern from that of modern annual salinity variations, and is interpreted to be a response to an increase in winter precipitation, a teleconnection of the Pliocene “Super El Niño.” Concentrations of variance in the typical ENSO frequency band are not apparent above the 95% confidence interval, suggesting that the Pliocene was dominated by a perennial, rather than an intermittent, El Niño-like state.  Further geochemical analyses from both Pliocene and Pleistocene Siderastrea spp. corals indicate a high nutrient nearshore marine environment in south Florida. Marine phosphates, inferred from P/Ca analyses, were significantly higher in the Pliocene Tamiami Fm. than in the Early Pleistocene Caloosahatchee and Bermont Fms, and the decline in nutrients preceded local extinction by > 0.5 Ma. Additionally, high-resolution P/Ca analyses of an individual coral reveal no evidence of seasonality required by a previously hypothesized upwelling-based nutrient delivery mechanism The Pliocene nearshore marine environment in southwest Florida was characterized by higher nutrients than in the Pleistocene and precipitation patterns similar to modern El Niño teleconnections.

MARKET VALUE is a collection of stories about people in Southwest Florida struggling to make sense of their lives when faced with shifting economic realities. The characters in the collection reevaluate their relationships and uncover secrets, forced to navigate a new American landscape of stalled opportunities and uncertain futures. In “Call the Storage King,” Walt assumes that his girlfriend has total faith in their relationship, but accidentally discovers evidence to the contrary. In “Luxury Living,” a resident of a mostly-empty riverfront condo gives a guided tour to a prospective buyer, revealing the building’s short but sordid history along the way. Influenced by the suburban satire of Tom Perotta and A.M. Homes, MARKET VALUE presents a changing landscape where characters form unexpected alliances and sever old ties, in order to come closer to their downsized American Dreams.

This applied anthropology dissertation aims to enhance public policy and best practices for conserving potable water resources, using the Tampa Bay region of southwest Florida as a case study. It addresses not how humans conserve, but why they may or may not choose to do so. To date, a limited anthropological focus on water conservation behavior in western, urban settings has created a gap in the role culture plays in understanding why people conserve. The research problem is to identify how water conservation behavior in Tampa, Florida can be enhanced through a better understanding of beliefs and values reflected in individual mental models of water users, and subsequent cultural models that emerge. Applied anthropologists are paying increasing attention to "cultural models," those shared, simplified, formal representations of explicit and implicit knowledge, interests, beliefs, and values that help individuals understand the world and their behavior in it. Environmental anthropologists, especially, have recognized the power of this analytic tool to find solutions to complex environmental problems by incorporating cultural and political contexts. Though Florida’s water resources appear abundant, they are highly variable in time and space with a well documented flood and drought recurrence, 90% of the 2007 population of 18.7 million living in coastal areas and most fresh ground water, which 93% of the population relies on for drinking supplies, situated inland. By 2020, Florida’s projected total water use will grow from 7.2 to 9.1 billion gallons per day, with public significant water “source” by overcoming public apathy and better understanding conserving behavior. The research methodology emphasizes a qualitative approach to address beliefs and values most related to water conservation, and identify cultural models. Key methods employed were: a comprehensive contextual analysis of Florida’s history, environment and water law; use of recent results of a Tampa Bay Water Conservation Public Opinion Survey; and semi-structured interviews with twenty City of Tampa households (half high water users and half low water users) and seven water resource experts. All twenty-seven interviews were recorded and transcribed for textual analysis to reveal mental and cultural models, and let informants speak for themselves to share their beliefs and values. Direct quotations were coded and used to illustrate key points, including the three cultural domains that emerged: 1) Why conserve water?; 2) Sources of conservation values; and 3) Lack of water conservation awareness and involvement. The primary beliefs and values identified by informants included: 1) the need to avoid waste and greed protect existing water supply sources perception of fairness among water users . Both the archival research (past opinion surveys, media coverage) and semi-structured interviews indicate people feel conservation is not being shared fairly among water users. This view is closely linked to waste and greed values, and applies to watering lawns excessively as well as use by other sectors (agriculture, golf courses, businesses, etc.). Informants felt strongly rules are not being enforced equitably. The clear danger is this perception may serve as rationale for non-conserving behavior. , both for current benefits and generations to come; and 3) the perception of fairness among water users . Both the archival research (past opinion surveys, media coverage) and semi-structured interviews indicate people feel conservation is not being shared fairly among water users. This view is closely linked to waste and greed values, and applies to watering lawns excessively as well as use by other sectors (agriculture, golf courses, businesses, etc.). Informants felt strongly rules are not being enforced equitably. The clear danger is this perception may serve as rationale for non-conserving behavior. Two other shared beliefs and values were put forward by informants. A significant majority believe existing policy areas of education, regulation and incentives should be used to achieve water conservation . Finally, the predominant role of family as the source of conservation values was strongly supported. The specific “cultural model” for water conservation in Tampa would be based in family as a source of conservation values, emphasize avoidance of waste while protecting existing sources and directly address widespread perceptions of inequity among water users. The theory and methods of anthropology, including cultural models, can contribute to enhancing water conservation. This dissertation is an example of those possibilities, setting the stage for ongoing research, including: • Refinement of methods specific to the water use culture of the Tampa region. • Exploring cultural models of diverse sub-cultures such as youth, Hispanics and others to enhance water conservation. • Overcoming social desirability impacts as part of refining cultural models.

Experts and organizations involved in freshwater resources management have emphasized the importance of long-term urban resource planning and management that considers the tight coupling which exists between human - nature - technology systems. The resistance of contemporary urban growth efforts to consider resource carrying capacities and ecosystem requirements has led to costly unintended consequences including the deterioration of natural capital and their associated ecosystem services, and the degradation of water resource flows. As these problems continue to worsen, resource experts have called for the development of a new water resource management paradigm inclusive of various sustainability criteria. Historically water-rich Florida has demonstrated increased resource strain over the past four decades, in spite of the creation of some of the nation's most comprehensive water resource and growth management legislation. The Southwest Florida Water Management District was originally created to manage regional flooding in 1961 and has undergone a tremendous expansion in statutorily mandated resource responsibilities over the past 40 years. This case study utilized semi-structured surveys of current and former agency employees to examine the agency's expansion into integrated water resource management amidst rapid regional urbanization.

Recent research has proposed that an increase in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) interpreted to be caused by anthropogenic climate change has lead to an increase in the frequency of intense hurricanes. However, this theory has been challenged on the basis that the instrumental record is too short (approximately 160 years) and unreliable to reveal any long-term trends in intense hurricane activity. This limitation can be addressed by the means of paleotempestology, a field that studies past hurricane activity by means of geological and biological proxy techniques. Hurricane-induced overwash deposits that become preserved in the sediments of back-barrier lagoons, lakes and marshes can provide scientists a unique opportunity to study past hurricane landfalls. It also provides an opportunity to study their associated climate drivers over much longer time-scales (centuries to millennia).

This study investigates overwash deposits (paleo-tempestites) at 10 sites along the Southwest Florida coastline, focusing on two. The Sanibel Island marsh and Keewaydin Island lagoon have a high potential for recording hurricane-induced paleo-tempestites. The Sanibel Island marsh record was constructed using loss-on-ignition, grain size analysis, percent calcium carbonate, and chronologically dated using 210Pb analysis. Proxy and dating results of three sediment cores revealed two prominent paleo-tempestites—likely representing Hurricane Donna (1960) and the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926. These layers were deposited as both fine-grained sand and shell hash, and contribute to our understanding of storm overwash in the modern record. Three sediment cores were also extracted from a back-barrier lagoon (Island Bay), behind Keewaydin Island in Collier County, Florida. Core samples were analyzed for grain size, percent calcium carbonate, fossil shells species and dated using the ²¹⁰Pb and ¹⁴C dating methods. These methods revealed a 1 thousand year old record of hurricane overwash. Two prominent paleo-tempestites, deposited as both fine-grained sand and shell hash, were also observed at this site and may possibly replicate the most recent storm events documented on Sanibel Island. This suggests that only the most intense hurricanes are being recorded in the geologic record.

"Active" (1000-500 yrs. BP) and "inactive" (500-0 yrs. BP) periods of hurricane overwash were identified in the Island Bay record. These correlate well with the reconstructed SSTs from the Main Development Region in the North Atlantic Ocean during the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age. Results from this initial Southwest Florida study point to SSTs of the North Atlantic Main Development Region as a potential climatic driver of hurricane landfalls in Southwest Florida over the past 1 thousand years. This is in opposition to SSTs in the Gulf of Mexico and El Niño Southern Oscillation as hypothesized by other studies in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean regions. These results are the first proxy records of past hurricane strikes in Southwest Florida.

Despite multiple campaigns by the American Cancer Society, reports indicate that Latinas living in the United States who contract breast cancer are more likely than Anglos to die. These findings correlate with low participation in breast cancer screenings among Latinas. The objective of this study was to identify key obstacles that influence Latinas' low participation in breast cancer screenings, based on their health beliefs, knowledge of screenings, acculturation, and socio-economic factors.The study was a face-to-face informal interview, combined with a survey questionnaire conducted at churches, social clubs and/or at the participants' homes in a southwest Florida urban community. The sample consisted of a total of 50 women: all of the participants were Latinas 40 years of age and over; they had to be fluent in Spanish or English or both. A Spanish-English bilingual individual conducted a personal interview in the preferred language of each participant. The first part of the interview was to identify barriers that affect screenings. The second part used a survey to weigh the identified factors in order to determine their importance to the participants' health decisions. This study used a health belief model scale to evaluate women's beliefs about breast cancer, and the benefits of screenings.The research results revealed that Latinas who participated in this study were acculturated to the United States culture; the largest group of participants reported being from Colombia, followed by Cuba and Puerto Rico; only two of the participants were Mexican. Seventy-eight percent of the participants self- reported having yearly mammograms, and 74% performed monthly breast self examination BSE; 60% were bilingual; 68% had some kind of health insurance. These results differ from earlier studies from the western United States where the majority of Latinas were of Mexican or Central American origin. This suggested that Latinas from Southwest Florida are different from Latinas in other areas of the United States. A weak but significant correlation was found between acculturation and perceived barriers to breast cancer screenings, (r = 0.45, p = .01); Latinas who are more acculturated perceived more barriers than those who are less acculturated. There was not significant difference between participants who had health insurance and those who did not (t = 0.96, p = .35). The results of this study are significant for nurses and especially for advanced practice nurses, who can assess patients' knowledge about cancer in general, and breast cancer in particular when caring for Latinas; of particular concern should be the evaluation of patients' levels of acculturation, health beliefs, and understanding of the English language. Still the fundamental barrier to Latinas not bilingual in Spanish and English may be the lack of resources and information in Spanish.

Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) is a strategy in which water is injected into an aquifer when it is plentiful and pumped from the aquifer when water is scarce. An impediment to ASR in Florida is leaching of naturally-occurring arsenic from limestone of the Upper Floridan Aquifer System (UFAS) into stored water. The concentration of arsenic in surface water, which serves as the recharge water for many ASR systems, and native groundwater is usually much less than 3.0 µ/L. However, data from ASR wells in Florida show that arsenic in recovered water frequently exceeded the 10 µg/L maximum contaminant level (MCL) established by the Environmental Protection Agency and were as high as 130.0 µg/L. The cause of elevated arsenic concentrations is displacement of reduced native groundwater with oxygenated surface water that dissolves arsenic-bearing pyrite in limestone. Although arsenic can be removed from recovered water during final treatment, mobilization of arsenic in the aquifer at levels that exceed the MCL is problematic under federal regulations.

This dissertation investigated a number of aspects of the ASR/arsenic problem to provide additional insights into the mechanisms of arsenic mobilization and measures that could be taken to avoid or reduce the release of arsenic during ASR operations.

Chapter 2, involved development of a geochemical model to simulate an ASR system’s injection of oxygenated surface water into reduced groundwater to determine whether aquifer redox conditions could be altered to the degree of pyrite instability. Increasing amounts of injection water were added to the storage-zone in a series of steps and resulting reaction paths were plotted on pyrite stability diagrams. Unmixed storage-zone water in wells plotted within the pyrite stability field indicating that redox conditions were sufficiently reducing to allow for pyrite stability. Thus arsenic is immobilized in pyrite and its concentration in groundwater should be low. During simulation, as the injection/storage-zone water ratio increased, redox conditions became less reducing and pyrite became unstable. The result would be release of arsenic from limestone into storage-zone water.

Chapter 3 examined the importance of maintaining a substantial volume of stored water around an ASR well to prevent recovery of reduced native groundwater to the vicinity of the well. Depleting the stored water and recovering reduced native groundwater would result in dissolution of arsenic-bearing hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) and release of arsenic into water recovered from the ASR well. Injection/recovery volumes for each cycle for each well were tracked to determine if a substantial volume of stored water was maintained for each cycle or if it was depleted so that reduced native groundwater was brought back to the well. Each well was assigned to either the “storage zone maintained group” where a zone of stored water was established in early cycles and largely maintained through the period of investigation, or the “storage-zone depleted group” where a zone of stored water was either established in later cycles and/or was depleted during the period of investigation. Graphical and statistical analyses verified that maximum arsenic concentrations for storage-zone maintained wells were nearly always lower in each cycle and declined below the MCL after fewer cycles than those of storage-zone depleted wells.

Chapter 4 was a mineralogical investigation of cores located at 20 m (ASR core 1), 152 m (ASR core 2), and 452 m (ASR core 3) from operating ASR wells to determine where mobilized arsenic in limestone is precipitated during ASR. If arsenic is precipitated distally, reduced concentrations of elements in pyrite, (iron, sulfur, arsenic, etc.) would be expected in ASR core 1 relative to more distant cores and there would be noticeable changes in appearance of pyrite crystals due to enhanced oxidation. The results showed that mean concentrations of the elements were lowest in ASR core 2, which did not support distal precipitation. However, scanning electron microscopy identified well-defined pyrite framboids only in core 3 while framboids in ASR cores 1 and 2 were less clear and distinct, indicating pyrite oxidation in cores closest to ASR wells.

Statistical comparison of concentrations of iron, sulfur, and arsenic between the three ASR cores and 19 control cores not subject to ASR, showed that mean concentrations in ASR cores 1 and 2 were statistically similar to concentrations in control cores. This indicated that concentrations in ASR cores 1 and 2 had not been significantly reduced by ASR. The concentrations of elements were higher in ASR core 3 than in ASR cores 1 and 2 and control cores and statistically dissimilar to all but one control core. This indicated natural heterogeneity in core 3 rather than diminution of elements in ASR cores 1 and 2 due to ASR. The statistical analysis supported local precipitation. Once arsenic is mobilized from dissolved pyrite, it is rapidly complexed with precipitated HFO near the well. As long as all of the stored water is not removed during recovery so that reduced native groundwater is brought back to the well, HFO remains stable and complexed with arsenic. The concentration of elements would not have been lowest in ASR core 1 for this reason and because calculations showed that the mass of arsenic removed during recovery events prior to coring was minor compared to the total in limestone surrounding the well. The implications of this are that while large quantities of arsenic are present near the ASR well, only a small percentage may be available for dissolution. Most arsenic occurs with pyrite in limestone, which may insulate it from exposure to oxidized injection water. Water recovered from ASR wells may continue to have low concentrations of arsenic indefinitely because as limestone is dissolved, more pyrite becomes exposed and available for dissolution.

The primary contribution of this dissertation to understanding and overcoming the arsenic problem in ASR systems is the empirical data developed to support or challenge important ASR/arsenic hypotheses. These data were used to 1) establish that background concentrations of arsenic in groundwater of the Suwannee Limestone were less than 1µg/L, 2) demonstrate that redox conditions necessary for pyrite in limestone to become unstable and dissolve occur when oxygenated surface water is injected into the aquifer, 3) demonstrate that the concentration of pyrite in the Suwannee Limestone is spatially variable to a high degree, 4) support the hypothesis that following injection of oxygenated surface water, pyrite in limestone dissolves and releases arsenic into solution and HFO forms and complexes with the arsenic near the ASR well, 5) propose that only a small percentage of pyrite near an ASR well may be available for dissolution during each cycle because most occurs in the limestone matrix and is isolated from injection water, 6) propose that as a result of the previous conclusion, water recovered from ASR systems may continue to have low concentrations of arsenic indefinitely because as limestone that contains pyrite is dissolved with each cycle, additional pyrite is exposed and is available for dissolution, and 7) support the effectiveness of maintaining a zone of stored water in an ASR well as an effective means of minimizing arsenic in recovered water during ASR.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 2001.
Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains xxii, 501 p.; also contains graphics. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

South Florida has been subject to considerable changes during the last 100 years. This study provides a detailed survey of the presence, concentration levels, and spatial distribution of organic and inorganic contaminants in sediment samples collected within the coastal environments of southwest Florida. It evaluates the potential contributions and effects of the urban and agricultural development to the pollution loading of the estuarine sediments. And it also provides information regarding chronology of contamination at impacted sites. Copper was found to be the most critical contaminant among the trace metals. 12% of the samples exceeded the Threshold Effects Level (TEL). None of organic contaminants measured exceeded the Probable Effects Level (PEL) criteria. Total PAHs concentrations exceeded the TEL criteria in 6% of the samples. The evaluation for the chronology of contamination showed a significant increase with time of every contaminant analyzed. Fluorescence spectroscopy proves to be a good method for fast screening PAHs.

Estuaries are dynamic on many spatial and temporal scales. Distinguishing effects of unpredictable events from cyclical patterns can be challenging but important to predict the influence of press and pulse drivers in the face of climate change. Diatom assemblages respond rapidly to changing environmental conditions and characterize change on multiple time scales. The goals of this research were to 1) characterize diatom assemblages in the Charlotte Harbor watershed, their relationships with water quality parameters, and how they change in response to climate; and 2) use assemblages in sediment cores to interpret past climate changes and tropical cyclone activity. Diatom assemblages had strong relationships with salinity and nutrient concentrations, and a quantitative tool was developed to reconstruct past values of these parameters. Assemblages were stable between the wet and dry seasons, and were more similar to each other than to assemblages found following a tropical cyclone. Diatom assemblages following the storm showed a decrease in dispersion among sites, a pattern that was consistent on different spatial scales but may depend on hydrological management regimes. Analysis of sediment cores from two southwest Florida estuaries showed that locally-developed diatom inference models can be applied with caution on regional scales. Large-scale climate changes were suggested by environmental reconstructions in both estuaries, but with slightly different temporal pacing. Estimates of salinity and nutrient concentrations suggested that major hydrological patterns changed at approximately 5.5 and 3 kyrs BP. A highly temporally-resolved sediment core from Charlotte Harbor provided evidence for past changes that correspond with known climate records. Diatom assemblages had significant relationships with the three-year average index values of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the El Niño Southern Oscillation. Assemblages that predicted low salinity and high total phosphorus also had the lowest dispersion and corresponded with some major storms in the known record, which together may provide a proxy for evidence of severe storms in the paleoecological record.

The literacy mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) swiftly and directly have an impact on reading teachers. The literacy directives of the act constitute a paradigm shift in reading reform, especially at the secondary level. Literacy directives require state and district level administrator's to focus on secondary reading teacher pre and in service training. Effecive secondary reading teachers must be well versed in the foundation sof Scientifically Based Reading Research. Florida is among the first states to implement six comptencies of professional development that leads to endorsement in the teaching of reading. Florida teachers of secondary reading are required to earn a reading endorsement. Professional development founded in Scientifically Based Reading Research is a knowledge-driven process. The process requires teachers to be actively engaged in action research that links theory to practice. School districts are to train teachers to implement recommended strategic teaching tools in their classrooms. learning the teaching strategies of reading requires educators to commit time and mental energy to complete a robust professional development track With concern for the success of reading teachers, this qualitative study utilized case studies and the interpretive approach to investigate the question: Will secondary reading teachers implement Scientifically Based Reading Research in the classroom? The research examined the attitudes, reactions, and classroom practices of eight teachers who were assigned to teach secondary reading. data gathering spanned two semesters and an intervening summer in an urban Southwest Florida school district. The results of this dissertation are encouraging but mixed. The researcher discovered that secondary teachers of reading who experienced at least one class of reading professional development were discovering a climate of collaboration, a body of research, and inconstant implementation success. The research also uncovered teacher perspectives of the negative factors of mandated professional development: time pressures, curriculum frustrations, needs for follow-up collaborations and assumptions about administrator neglect.
Ed.D.
Department of Educational Studies
Education
Curriculum and Instruction

The success of exceptional student education, although dependent upon the teachers involved, is largely made possible both by the role the school principal performs and the organizational support provided by the school district. The primary purpose of this study was to identify the sources and components of organizational support required to implement the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education classrooms. The provision of resources by administrators, particularly the building principal, is an example of an organizational support that helps students with disabilities learn successfully in this setting. These resources include funding, special curricula, adaptive technology, organizational resources such as time for training, and hiring of additional personnel to assist these students. The role of educational leader in inclusive education has evolved beginning with changes in federal and state legislation that were initiated in the early 1970s. Administrators are legally responsible for the education of students with special needs in the least restrictive environment. This study identifies organizational supports as well as attitudes toward inclusion reported by teachers and principals in a medium sized southwest Florida school district.
Ed.D.
Department of Educational Research, Technology and Leadership
Education
Educational Leadership

This research examines and compares the distributions of archaeological sites and materials in order to investigate native settlement patterns and resources use throughout 12,000 years of prehistory and protohistoric time within the Apalachicola/Lower Chattahoochee River valley of northwest Florida, southwest Georgia, and southeast Alabama. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used to map the distributions of sites from different time periods and to explore their relation to various environmental characteristics that are now available in digital format. I employ tools now available in GIS to examine several longstanding research questions and expand upon archaeological interpretations within this region, where the University of South Florida (USF) has an ongoing research program. The results of this work illustrate change through time and space as cultures begin to adapt to post-Pleistocene ecological change, develop food production and complex societies, and react to the appearance of European groups.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2000.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 91 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.) Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 34-37).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2009.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Jun. 26, 2009). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Geological Sciences." Discipline: Geology; Department/School: Geological Sciences.

In November 1992, a landfill gas collection system for the Alachua County Southwest Landfill was activated and set so that it was collecting gas from all the wells in a 30- acre area (operational from 1972 to 1985) , and all the wells from an 11-acre area (operational from 1985 to 1988) at a flow rate in excess of 1,000 scfm. In February 1993, an analysis of the system commenced in an effort to optimize the flow and the quality of the extracted gas...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2009.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Mar. 10, 2010). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Public Policy." Discipline: Public Policy; Department/School: Public Policy.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2006.
Advisor: John T. Scholz, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Dept. of Political Science. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 18, 2007). Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 189 pages. Includes bibliographical references.