FALCON Poster Session
Saturday, December 6, 2008
5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel (Virginia City II Room)
Student Section:
1.
Title: Detection of vegetation changes from 1959-2004 using aerial photos north of the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona
Presenters: Daniel Barbone
Institution/organization: Navajo Technical College
Abstract:
The purpose of my study was to use aerial photos from 1959 to 2004 using geo-referencing as a tool to detect vegetation changes. One of the methods is to use historical photos to get a spatial coverage of past vegetation from 1959. Scan the images with a high resolution of satellite imagery but temporal resolution of these data is low so we increase the temporal resolution to show spatial vegetation changes over a longer period of time. When scanning images it can be stretch and the flight of the airplane may not be parallel with the land base distorting images, therefore it is important these images spatially as well to determine error. Piñon-juniper woodland changed rapidly due to mortality in reaction to a severe drought in the 1950’s and 2002, 2003. Forest patches accelerated more uneven, and high soil erosion rates were initiated in the ecotone shirt.
2.
Title: Renewable Energy programs at Navajo Technical College
Presenters: Erwin Chaco
Institution/organization: Navajo Technical College
Abstract:
Renewable energy is becoming more familiar to the world such as Solar Power and Wind Power. As Native Americans, Mother Earth and Father Sky help us live on this Earth. Mother Earth gives food to nurture the human body and shelter from harm. Father Sky produces oxygen from photosynthesis and keeps the earth at a balance temperature throughout the seasons. Renewable energy is harnessing the Earth’s natural energy from Mother Earth and Father Sky. At Navajo Technical College we are learning a great deal of Wind Power for the past semesters by building a wind turbine at the lowest cost possible. Materials were found in a local hardware store and used wheel hubs from an automobile or trailer. Making Wind Power possible to teach others and having a low cost project for our Native people.
3.
Title: Water Quality on the Northern Navajo Reservation
Presenters: Nichole Cody
Institution/organization: Diné College
Abstract:
Water quality on the Navajo reservation has always been one of the greatest concerns to the Navajo people. In many rural areas on the reservation, water wells provide the only source of water to both the people and their livestock. Unfortunately, many of the wells are unregulated and may pose health threats as a result of natural and biological contaminants. The hypothesis for this research is that: Unregulated water wells contain contaminants that threatened the health of the Navajo people and their livestock. The purpose of the project is to provide an understanding of the distribution and extent of contamination in the Shiprock region, to provide the results of this analysis to the well users, and to provide resources to allow users to monitor their water source. The method is to use water sampling data taken from the water wells and NNDOT 1-meter true color imagery as the background to map the distribution of the contaminants. Results found that many of the water wells were shown to have different sources of contamination such as Escherichia coli, uranium and arsenic. The main priority is to present the results to the communities that use these water wells and letting them be aware of the contaminants that pose a threat. Because many of the communities are not aware of the certain contaminations their water wells hold, the mapping interpretations are sources that will assist in educating the Navajo people. In future research, these data will be used to assist in identifying different sources of contamination affecting these water wells.
4.
Title: Water Quality studies in the EVER internship program
Presenters: Santana Yazzie
Institution/organization: Diné College
Abstract:
Water quality is a term used to describe the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water. It’s hard to label water as “good water” or “bad water.” Because of the chemicals in the water, Fluoride is one kind of element that used in water to prevent tooth and gums disease, but her on the Navajo Nation the Dine people without running water are force to haul water from windmills and water pumps with bacteria and other unknown elements in the water.
The summer internship (EVER) program gave us a special training on how to test the water pH levels and how to uses the GPS unit. During our training we learn the types of bacteria and elements that we could find in the water and the health effect from long term exposure to poor water quality.
Arsenic is an element that could be found in our drinking water. Arsenic is an inorganic crystalline element occurs naturally in the environment. Long term exposure throught drinking water can cause cancer to skin, lung, bladder, and kidney.
Lead is an inorganic metallic element that can be hazards to babies and young children in physical and mental development.
Fluoride is an inorganic, nonmetallic halogen element, is put into the water to make your teeth strong, the health effect is bone disease, mottled teeth.
Copper is metallic element used for house hold plumbing copper can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. Infants under one year of age can sustain permanent kidney and liver damage if they suffer long-term exposure to elevated levels of copper.
These elements like arsenic were our main concerns; the Dine people are still hauling water from windmills for their livestock and domestic uses. So the project began by dividing the interns into two groups, seven people to each group. Before leaving we prepare everything in the evening before leaving work, so that in the morning everything would be already. We got the sample containers and pH strips ready, and the GPS units were pre-calibrated. Every morning we went out to the field and got seven to ten windmills surveyed everyday for two weeks. We were all sign certain job, two people were assign to do the water sample, and when they had to get water from a flat water surface they were told not to put there finger in the water nor put the lid faces down. Another person had to stand next to the water source to get the GPS coordinate. Two other people took radiological readings using a Ludlum-19 Micro-R-Meter, the first reading had to be one meter from the windmill and the second reading was taken 15 feet away from the windmill. Then the radiological meter had to be taking at the ground which we call contact we had to count to ten and record it into the data sheet, the next reading had to be lift radiological meter to chest of the person that is taking record and again count to ten and record. We also had site recorders, they recorded they location of the wind mill and what kind of livestock were using the wind mill. Then the last person would record everything like GPS, pH, water samples, and radiological reading. We alternate all jobs position so that everyone would get the feel of how to work with the other instruments.
After we were done in the field, we would ahead back to Dine College and do a bacteria test on the water we collected. We pour reagent into the water and shook the water in till the substance was gone. Then pour the water with the substance into Quanta tray. Then we sealed it in the Quanta-tray sealer and place in incubator for 24 hours.
The color of the water would tell us if the water had bacteria or any other kind of element. The color yellow means negative for bacteria, the color magenta (purplish red color) meant total coliforms with some type of bacteria, and the color magenta/fluourescent meant it had E.coli.
What we found in the water was mostly Arsenic, Uranium, and E.coli. Red Mesa and Aneth were the locations of high risk for contamination. This is what we found when we got the reports back from Reno.
What are plans are now is to present what we found to the committee, so they could plan and act on it. We test the water to show how the element in the water could be hazard on their health, so we plan on provide pH strips to the Chapter House so that they can test their committee drinking water.
5.
Title: Mapping Disturbed and Undisturbed Lands for Ant Habitat
Presenters: Roberta Hayes
Institution/organization: Diné College
Abstract:
The prevalence of ants is common worldwide therefore an excellent subject to study in a biologically and geographically diverse environment such as the semi-arid region of the Four Corners. This study is a comparison of ant distribution in two sites, one disturbed and one undisturbed. The effects of the disturbance are significant to the ant colonies and may indicate potential problems for the whole environment. The disturbed and undisturbed sites are located on the semi-arid Navajo reservation in NW New Mexico in an area that has been subject to uranium mining. The data that has been utilized are land cover maps, Digital Ortho Quarter Quads (DOQQ’s), Digital Raster Graphics (DRG’s), Digital Elevation Models (DEM’s), radiometric readings collected in the field, historical aerial photos, and field samples of ant populations and species distribution. The tools used were hand held Global Positioning System (GPS) field equipment, ENVI to geocorrect aerial photography and a Geographical Information System (GIS) for mapping and visualization.
6.
Title: Using Social Behaviors to Determine Dominance in Polistes sp. Wasps at Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica
Presenters: Allyson Two Bears
Institution/organization: Sitting Bull College
Abstract:
Sitting Bull College currently participates in a Tropical Ecology program in which students are sent to Costa Rica to perform research projects. I have been fortunate to be a part of this program for two years. While in Costa Rica, we began a study on local insect species. With the help of Ethel Villalobos, a professor at University of Hawaii and originally from Costa Rica, Polistes wasps social activity were studied. The following is the abstract from that study.
By observing the behaviors displayed by the Polistes, a species of paper wasps, the nest will show a dominant individual, or the queen. The individual with the highest level of activity and time spent in the nest will be used to determine the queen. Specimens were collected at Palo Verde National Park, Guanacaste Providence, Costa Rica. All specimens (25 indiv.-2006, 14 indiv.-2007) were marked for identification and a thorax measurement (5.77mm average width) was recorded. Observations were made during our stay at the park between May-June 2006 and 2007 at various times. A dominant individual was shown in all nests in both years of the study. Dominance behavior, previously described in other studies, were also observed in these individuals.
Studies like this one will continue as students travel to Costa Rica. Sitting Bull College plans to continue this program for its Environmental Science students. This is a great opportunity for us, students. The research experience is a rare opportunity to be in a tropical environment. And we also get to be part of another culture that closely resembles the Native American.
7.
Title: Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera) Range Expansion to North Dakota
Presenters: Adam Rookey1, Jamie Murphy1, Jeremy E. Guinn1, and Patrick Isakson2
Institution/organization: 1Sitting Bull College and 2North Dakota Game & Fish Department
Abstract:
The existence of spiny softshell turtles in North Dakota and on the Standing Rock Reservation was confirmed during trapping studies conducted by North Dakota Game & Fish Department (2006) and Sitting Bull College (2007). A total of 35 specimens (23 female, 12 male) were collected along the Missouri River between Washburn, ND (the northern-most occurrence) and the mouth of the Cannonball River at the Missouri River (the southern-most occurrence). The mean curvilinear carapace length was 25.48 cm and average mass was 1495.96 g. These measurements are within the size range reported by other studies in neighboring states. This information indicates that the range of the spiny softshell turtle has expanded by several hundred miles. We recommend further study along the Missouri River and its tributaries in North Dakota to establish a more complete distribution of softshell turtles in this region.
8.
Title: A Marketing Plan for Lakota Popcorn
Presenter: Amy Murphy, Don Torgerson, Don Bad Moccasin, Ardis Bad Moccasin
Institution/organization: Nebraska Indian Community College
Abstract:
The semester class project of the Principles of Marketing class was creating a marketing plan for Lakota Popcorn. The course objectives were aligned with student learning outcomes. The student’s learning outcomes are (1) Students will grow in Native culture; (2) Students will effectively communicate through listening; as well as, written and oral speaking skills in English and Native Language; (3) Students will apply critical, analytical, and creative thinking skills in both academic and community environments; (4) Students will practice research and investigative skills, exploring diverse topics; (5) Through learned time management skills, students will develop and practice balance in careers and academics. The first course objective was to implement marketing concepts and strategies into tribal agri-business. The outcome consisted of students exploring and analyzing a Native owned popcorn production, processing corporation whose philosophy is based on Native traditions. Another outcome illustrated that the project was a team effort developing skills in leadership and group dynamics. This was substantiated by the development of a mission statement and conducting a SWOT analysis. The partnership between the marketing class and Lakota Popcorn provided an avenue for students to implement marketing concepts into practice and interact with the community. The impact of the project on the college was an improvement in attendance and retention after the third week of the semester. Because of the success of this venture, future agri-business courses will expand partnerships with community based businesses.
9.
Title: Using Traditional Culture and Knowledge to Develop New Ways of Alternative Energy
Presenter: Cheryl Hovgaard
Institution/organization: Blackfeet Community College
Abstract:
The Blackfeet Reservation has superb wind energy potential, class 7. The Department of Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory classifies wind speeds that rank from a marginal class of 2 to superb class 7.