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open access

Aquatic Heterotrophic Bacteria Active in the Biotransformation of Anthracene and Pentachlorophenol

Description: Dominant genera of bacteria were isolated from three river waters during anthracene and pentachlorophenol biotransformation studies. The genera Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Micrococcus, Chromobacterium, Alcaligenes, Azomonos, Bacillus, and Flavobacterium were capable of biotransforming one or both of these compounds. These isolates were subjected to further biotransformation tests, including river water and a basal salt medium with and without additional glucose. The results of these experiments… more
Date: August 1985
Creator: Entezami, Azam A. (Azam Alsadat)
open access

Aspects of the Thermal Ecology of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) in North Central Texas

Description: The coefficient of body temperature change (K) ranged from -0.53 to -0.072 for bass weighing 73-1440 g. The double log regression of K on weight was similar to that reported for other poikilotherms (slope = -0.57; R = 0.93). Fingerling bass were eurythermal, being capable of surviving instantaneous temperature changes over a 20 C range at acclimation temperatures of 15, 25 and 30 C and over a 15 C range at acclimation temperatures of 20 and 35 C. Preferred temperatures for adult bass measured i… more
Date: December 1976
Creator: Venables, Barney J.
open access

Assessing Regional Gully Erosion Risk: A Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems Approach

Description: Gully erosion has been established as a major source of sediment pollution in the upper Trinity River watershed in north-central Texas. This fact, along with a lack of models appropriate for a large-area gully erosion analysis established a need for a gully erosion study in the upper Trinity basin. This thesis project attempted to address this need by deriving an index indicative of gully erosion risk using remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) methodology. In context of previ… more
Date: August 1995
Creator: Sill, Paul E. (Paul Eric)
open access

Assessing the Effects of a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent on Zooplankton, Phytoplankton and Corbicula Flumina in a Constructed Wetland

Description: Wetland wastewater treatment offers low-cost, energy efficient alternatives to conventional wastewater technologies. In this study, an artificial wetland was constructed at the City of Denton, Texas Pecan Creek Water Reclamation Plant to facilitate diazinon removal from treated effluent.
Date: May 1995
Creator: Hymel, Stephanie Ramick
open access

Assessing the Spatial and Temporal Distribution of MTBE and BTEX Compounds in Lake Lewisville, Texas February 1999 - February 2000

Description: The spatial and temporal distribution of Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE) and BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Xylenes) compounds were assessed in a multipurpose reservoir, Lake Lewisville, Texas between February 1999 and February 2000. Concentrations of MTBE ranged from 0.0 - 16.7 mg/L. Levels of MTBE in the lake were related to watercraft. BTEX concentrations were never detected above 2.0 mg/L during the sampling period. Finished drinking water from Denton and the Upper Trinity Regio… more
Date: August 2000
Creator: Lee, Anne W.
open access

An Assessment of Storm Water Toxicity from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and Denton, Texas

Description: With the advent of national storm water regulations, municipalities with populations greater than 100,000 are required to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permits (NPDES) for storm water discharges. In addition to the sampling required for the permit process, the City of Fort Worth contracted with the University of North Texas' Institute of Applied Sciences to conduct acute toxicity testing using Pimephales prcmelas and Ceriodaphnia dubia on storm water samples received fr… more
Date: August 1995
Creator: Keating, Paul Redmond
open access

An Assessment of the Use of Seeding, Mowing, and Burning in the Restoration of an Oldfield to Tallgrass Prairie in Lewisville, Texas

Description: An examination of the effectiveness of seeding, burning, and mowing in the reestablishment of tallgrass prairie species on overgrazed and abandoned pastureland. The study site is a 20 acre tract on U.S. Corps of Engineers land below Lake Lewisville in Denton County, Texas. The site was partitioned into thirty-nine 40 by 40 meter plots with seeding (carried out in 1996) and management treatment (burning, mowing, and no maintenance carried out in 1998) randomly applied following a two level desig… more
Date: August 1999
Creator: Windhager, Steven
open access

Biodiversity of Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) of the South-Central Nearctic and Adjacent Neotropical Biotic Provinces

Description: The south-central United States serves as an important biogeographical link and dispersal corridor between Nearctic and Neotropical elements of western hemisphere odonate faunas. Its species are reasonably well known because of substantial collections, but there has been no concerted effort to document the extent of biodiversity and possible geographic affinities of dragonflies and damselflies of this region. The recent discoveries of Argia leonorae Garrison, Gomphus gonzalezi Dunkle and Erpeto… more
Date: May 1999
Creator: Abbott, John C.
open access

Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Two Southwestern Reservoirs

Description: This investigation has determined the presence of biological nitrogen fixation in two reservoirs in the southwestern United States: Lake Arlington and Lake Ray Hubbard. Subsequent tests have gathered baseline data on the effects of various biological, chemical, and physical parameters on in situ nitrogen fixation in these reservoirs. Of specific importance is the relationship between nitrogen fixation arid occasional blooms of blue-green algae which produce such problems as testes and odors in … more
Date: August 1973
Creator: Lawley, Gary G.
open access

Biology and Energetics of Tropisternus Lateralis Nimbatus (SAY) (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) in a Playa on the Southern High Plains of Texas and Aquatic Coleoptera Diversity from Seven Playas on the Southern High Plains of Texas

Description: A study of the biology of Tropisternus lateralis, a hydrophilid beetle, was conducted during the flood period of a single playa on the Southern High Plains of Texas from early June 1995 through early September 1995. Mechanism of colonization, tolerance/avoidance to drought, larval density, and secondary production were analyzed. T. lateralis colonized playas from surrounding aquatic habitats and avoided drought through aerial dispersion. Once in the playa, larval density increased over time. Se… more
Date: December 1997
Creator: Cook, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1969-

Biomonitoring at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport: Relating Watershed Land Use with Aquatic Life Use

Description: The Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport is located in a densely urbanized area with one of the fastest-growing populations in the U.S.A. The airport property includes a large tract of "protected" riparian forest that is unique to the urban surroundings. This dissertation explores variables that influence the benthic macroinvertebrate community structure found in urbanized prairie streams that were initially assessed by the University of North Texas (UNT) Benthic Ecology Lab during fou… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Harlow, Megann Mae Lewis
open access

The Bobwhite Population Decline: Its History, Genetic Consequences, and Studies on Techniques for Locating and Assessing Current Populations

Description: The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) population decline is a severe, rangewide phenomenon beginning >150 years ago and continuing today. In this investigation, I: 1. document the timeline of bobwhite population decline and unintended genetic consequences of attempted remedies, 2) develop a model useful for predicting possible locations of potentially sustainable bobwhite populations in semiarid rangeland in Texas and Oklahoma, and 3) examine the relationship between population monitoring… more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Whitt, Jeffrey Glen
open access

Carbon Flux in Reservoir Sediments

Description: The central objective of the study was to fractionate sedimenting organic materials according to their source (allochthonous or autochthonous) and ultimately to determine the degree of biodegradability of contributions from either source with particular reference to activities at the mud-water interface.
Date: May 1973
Creator: Newton, Charles Eugene

Characterizing the Municipal Solid Waste Stream in Denton, Texas

Description: Forty-two commercially collected dumpsters from Denton’s Municipal Solid Waste Stream were emptied, sorted and weighed to characterize the material types and make preliminary recycling policy recommendations. The general composition of Denton’s solid waste stream was not significantly different from the composition of the nation’s solid waste stream. Fifty-eight percent of the observed waste stream was recyclable. Paper made up the largest portion of recyclable materials and the "grocery" sourc… more
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Date: August 2000
Creator: Brady, Patricia D.
open access

Comparative Chemistry of Thermally Stressed North Lake and Its Water Source, Elm Fork Trinity River

Description: To better understand abiotic dynamics in Southern reservoirs receiving heated effluents, water was analyzed before and after impoundment in 330 ha North Lake. Macronutrients, metals, and chlorinated hydrocarbons were measured. Concentrations of nutrients and metals in sediments were quantified in this 2 yr study. River water prior to impoundment contained 16 times more total phosphorus, and supported 23 times more Selenastrum capricornutum cells in an algal assay than reservoir water. The reser… more
Date: December 1976
Creator: Sams, Barry L.
open access

Degradation of Phenolic Acids by Azotobacter Species Isolated from Sorghum Fields

Description: Sorghum plants excrete phenolic acids which reduce subsequent crop yields. These acids accumulate in field soil by combining with soil and clay particles to form stable complexes which remain until degraded by bacterial metabolism. The amount of phenolic acids in soil samples were obtained by gas chromatography measurements, while Azotobacter populations were obtained by plate counts in 40 sorghum field samples from Denton County, Texas. One can conclude that increasing the Azotobacter populati… more
Date: August 1989
Creator: Al-Hadhrami, Mohamed N. (Mohamed Nasser)
open access

Descriptions, Life History and Case-Building Behavior of Culoptila cantha (Trichoptera: Glossosomatidae) in the Brazos River, Texas

Description: Larval, pupal and adult samples of Culoptila cantha, from a large riffle of the Brazos River in north-central Texas from January, 1995 to March, 1997, indicated a predominately trivoltine cycle during both years; the over-wintering generation spanned 6-7 months and warm-season generations spanned 2-3 months. Eggs, larvae of all instars, larval cases, case reconstruction progression and behavior, pupae, and adults are described.
Date: August 1997
Creator: Houghton, David Charles
open access

The Detection of Poliovirus in Denton Sewage by Immunofluorescence and Immunodiffusion Techniques

Description: Several final sewage effluents from the Denton Disposal Plant were demonstrated to contain Poliovirus types II and III. Pleated encapsulated filters at pH3.5 enhanced the recovery of the Poliovirus at a higher tier in comparison with nitrocellulose filter (Millipore) and glass fiber filter of pore size 0.45u. This thesis explores problems that face us today in our quest to eliminate viral pathogens from the natural and waste water needed for human, domestic, and industrial consumption. Prelimin… more
Date: August 1975
Creator: Olaiya, Felix Ayodele
open access

Developing a Forest Gap Model to Be Applied to a Watershed-scaled Landscape in the Cross Timbers Ecoregion Using a Topographic Wetness Index

Description: A method was developed for extending a fine-scaled forest gap model to a watershed-scaled landscape, using the Eastern Cross Timbers ecoregion as a case study for the method. A topographic wetness index calculated from digital elevation data was used as a measure of hydrologic across the modeled landscape, and the gap model modified to have with a topographically-based hydrologic input parameter. The model was parameterized by terrain type units that were defined using combinations of USDA soil… more
Date: August 2014
Creator: Goetz, Heinrich (Heinrich Erwin)
open access

Distribution, Abundance, and Food Habits of Larval Fish in a Cooling Reservoir

Description: Analysis of larval fish collected at four stations in a 330-ha cooling reservoir indicated Dorosoma spp. were most numerous at all stations, followed by Lepomis spp. and Percina Macrolepida. Largest numbers and greatest diversity of larval fish were found at the station least affected by thermal effluent; the mid-lake station provided the smallest numbers and least diversity. The two warmwater stations were intermediate, with similar numbers and diversity. Diversity and abundance of zooplankton… more
Date: December 1978
Creator: Mitterer, Lana Gayle
open access

The Distribution of Pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Sewage

Description: The purpose of this study was to extend our understanding of the ecological relationships of P. aeruginosa by investigating the differences or similarities between the strains of this organism found in sewage and those found as pathogens in human infections. This research was approached by comparing the serological types of P. aeruginosa isolated from sewage contaminated waters in Argentina (South America) to those isolated from sewage contaminated waters in Texas. They were typed with sera obt… more
Date: May 1974
Creator: Labay, Joseph Edward
open access

Effects of a Water Conservation Education Program on Water Use in Single-family Homes in Dallas, Texas

Description: The City of Dallas Environmental Education Initiative (EEI) is a hands-on, inquiry-based, K-12 water conservation education program that teaches students concepts about water and specific water conservation behaviors. Few descriptions and evaluations, especially quantitative in nature, of water conservation education programs have previously been conducted in the literature. This research measured the quantitative effects and impacts of the education program on water use in single-family homes … more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Serna, Victoria Faubion
open access

Effects of Water Quality, Instream Toxicity, and Habitat Variability on Fish Assemblages in the Trinity River, Texas

Description: The Trinity River flows through the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex in north central Texas where it receives effluents from numerous point sources including seven large regional wastewater treatment facilities. Historically, the Trinity River has been impacted by massive wastewater loadings which often constitute > 80% of the total river discharge during low flow periods. Normally, high mass loadings correspond to the summer months, compounding the effects of a naturally stressful period, characteri… more
Date: December 1989
Creator: Arnold, Winfred R., 1960-
open access

Eutrophication Potential of Reclaimed Wastewater: An Ecological Study of Water Reuse in an Urban Texas Reservoir

Description: This study determined effects of addition of secondarily treated municipal wastewater effluent on an urban reservoir receiving system. Monthly water quality monitoring of the receiving reservoir and the wastewater, chemical analysis, and monthly laboratory algal assays, were conducted from September 1984 to September 1985. The nutrient status and algal growth potential of the receiving water and the wastewater confirmed the biostimulatory properties of the wastewater. Field validation studies w… more
Date: May 1987
Creator: Dodson, Susan Boyd
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