Open Access Kent State (OAKS)

There are many approaches to detecting in-water constituents, like color producing agents, in the field of remote sensing. Previously, harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring practices via satellite imagery analysis have held a similar goal of identifying a single constituent associated with HAB’s, particularly chlorophyll. Recently, the Kent State University Spectral Decomposition Method has been developed to better distinguish multiple water constituents, such as phylum level Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, and Ochrophyta, as well as constituents of HAB’s, color dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and sediment within large water bodies. Using this technique, we can more effectively monitor HAB’s by separating mixed water signals using a varimax-rotated principal component analysis to remotely detect in-water constituents including HAB-causing cyanobacteria. The KSU Spectral Decomposition Method has been successful using sensors such as the Malvern Panalytical Fieldspec HH2, the NASA Glenn second-generation hyperspectral imagery (HSI2), MODIS, Landsat 8 OLI, and Sentinel 3A/B OLCI. It is apparent that better monitoring practices make better management practices possible, and our goal is to provide a method that will trailblaze the path to better water management practices globally. Case studies in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Lake Okeechobee, Florida are presented to document the success of the KSU Spectral Decomposition Method.

Lily Pond is a man-made urban pond located within Mill Creek Park in Youngstown, OH. The park is surrounded by suburban residential neighborhoods with Lily Pond having residential homes situated atop steep inclines to the north and the west. This year, park staff installed an aeration system within the pond in an attempt to reduce occurrences of fish die offs that happen once every few years. It is hypothesized that the addition of the aeration system will improve dissolved oxygen and overall quality of the pond for wildlife. Field readings from May to October were sampled at four location, three in the pond and one at the small creek outflow. Water quality parameters were measured using standard methods including dissolved oxygen at various depths, temperature, pH, solids, phosphorus, and E. Coli. The first three sampling times were prior to installation of the aeration system which showed a trend of decrease dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. After the aeration system was installed, DO levels increased and were maintain to greater than 6 mg/L for most of the summer. Soluble phosphorus as well as total volatile solid levels spiked in late July. The cause behind this spike is still being investigated. Preserved samples were analyzed for diatoms in December. Further sampling and analysis will aid park officials in management practices for future pond activities.

Transitional areas between ecosystems, called ecotones, are areas of biotic and abiotic change leading to differences in plant communities and soil conditions. Insect communities using surrounding plants and soil are likely to be structured by these resources. However, flying insects have unique advantages for avoiding obstacles giving them a large potential range to gather resources. As a result, flying insect communities should not be structured by surrounding plant communities or abiotic factors. We conducted a survey of the flying insect communities to compare with existing tree and soil surveys. This study was conducted in Jennings Woods, a temperate hardwood forest in Northeast Ohio comprised of riparian, upland, and bottomland forests separated by elevational gradients and soil parameters. We used baited traps to collect flying insects during 4 separate collection time periods and sight-identified to lowest practical taxonomic level. As expected, the flying insect community was not structured by the tree community nor the soil. However, community structure was significantly related to ecosystem type. We found that Shannon’s diversity and taxonomic richness were significantly different between ecosystems and dates. Taxonomic richness was highest in fall sampling dates while diversity was highest in spring and summer sampling dates. In addition, we did not find a significant change in community structure near the ecotones specifically. This suggests that edge effects do not play a critical role in structuring flying insect communities and that ecosystem and time differences structure flying insect communities, but communities are not limited by the surrounding soil or tree communities.

Harvest Village, in Oxford, Ohio, is a Net-Zero energy ecological community located adjacent to the former Maude Marshall elementary school which has been redeveloped into the new Sowing Seeds Academy. The master plan for our project envisions a synergistic relationship between our proposed housing community and the school as an integrative and holistic experience for students, faculty and residents alike. This unique connection is strengthened by an innovative pollinator prairie, planted with a diverse mix of native flowers and grasses, enriching the greater ecosystem of the surrounding community by inviting the appearance of native birds, a bee population essential to food production, and a dynamic butterfly habitat. This also provides a unique opportunity for outdoor education and passive enjoyment with walking trails and informational signage that extend to connect the school to the Harvest Village community. Our project works to build off of recent efforts to make Oxford a Pollinator City, which is being developed by students in the Department of Architecture and the Institute for Environment and Sustainability at Miami University. Our attached housing community also aspires to be energy efficient, reduce embodied carbon and promote effective and efficient water use. We have designed a variety of housing sizes to encourage a diverse mix of community members interested in experiencing engaged community living in a regenerative landscape environment. Students focusing on architecture, engineering and sustainability have come together to propose this collaborative design focusing on ten distinct disciplines including energy performance, engineering, financial feasibility and affordability, resilience, architecture, operations, market potential, comfort and environmental quality, and innovation.