Foundations for a Practical Approach to Considering Sea-Level Rise in Coastal Projects

Sea-level rise (SLR) is a hazard multiplier already impacting coastal communities and ecosystems across all sectors including transportation, utilities, health, community planning, emergency management, and natural resource management. Fortunately, our ability to understand future conditions and how they may exacerbate hazards has been rapidly increasing. Unfortunately, this rapid advancement in the science has led to gaps among the generation, access, and application of information for coastal decision making. Coastal professionals including engineers, environmental consultants, floodplain managers, and natural resource stewards are often challenged when it comes to integrating SLR into planning and project design. The professional community lacks transparent, repeatable, science-based approaches that utilize existing tools for determining how much SLR to consider while also specifically integrating the community's values. Further, related data and data products such as where to find locally relevant projections of future conditions and impacts remain woefully underutilized. This paper reviews how to access locally relevant SLR projections, a risk-based framework for how to narrow down the available projections to a planning range, and how that information can be translated into relevant information about future conditions. Examples from projects in Jackson County, MS, and Dauphin Island, AL, are used to demonstrate how relative SLR can be integrated into projects across timelines while considering adaptability and scale. Finally, key limitations, such as aging information and complexities of risk tolerance, are described.

Sensory Evaluation of Plant-Based Protein Entrees for the National School Lunch Program

Objectives To assess the acceptability of two newly developed plant-based protein entrees to be served in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) among middle school students in the state of Georgia. Methods Two newly developed plant-based entrees (sweet potato chili fries, lentil-based sloppy joes) were introduced at lunch and sensory evaluation was conducted using a nine-point hedonic scale were used to evaluate overall liking (OL) and specific sensory attributes (appearance, flavor, texture) of lunch entrees immediately following lunch. Recipe formulations were designed to meet NSLP standards, to address the recent popularity of plant-based meat alternatives, and to incorporate the flavor preferences of student populations. Sensory evaluation of both plant-based entrees and all other entrees sold at lunch or brought from home were assessed. Results A total of 964 sensory evaluations were collected from middle school students in grades 6–8 in the Jackson County School District in Jefferson, Georgia. The plant-based entrees had a mean OL = 2.43, appearance = 3.00, texture = 3.58, flavor = 2.63. The regular hotline entrees had a mean OL = 5.66, appearance = 5.21, texture = 5.16, flavor = 5.75. A la carte entrees had a mean OL = 6.07, appearance = 5.65, texture = 5.64, flavor = 5.95. Entrees brought from home had a mean OL = 8.14, appearance = 7.82, texture = 7.84, flavor = 8.19. Regressions and t-tests were used to determine significant differences in waste using the statistical software Stata. Conclusions Little research has been conducted utilizing sensory evaluation to determine student liking of plant-based entrees. Plant-based entrees were liked least out of all entrees offered at school or brought from home. Sensory evaluation may be utilized to develop healthy school meals, ensure recipes are responsive to the taste preferences of children and profitable on the school lunch menu. Funding Sources Jackson County School District, Georgia Department of Education.

Digital record of specimens, including voucher material, from the study of a pollinator habitat restoration site under a commercial solar array in Jackson County, Oregon, 2019

Photovoltaic solar energy installation is booming, frequently near agricultural lands. Traditionally, the land underneath ground-mounted photovoltaic panels is unused, though some are repurposing it as habitat for pollinating insects. However, the impact of the solar panel canopy on the pollinator-plant community understory is unknown. In this study (Graham et al., 2020), we investigated the effects of solar arrays on plant composition, bloom timing and foraging behavior of pollinators in open fields (control), and in full shade and partial shade areas under solar panels in a predominant agricultural region of southern Oregon. Pollinating insect specimens were collected using hand nets, and identified to the lowest taxonomic group possible by M. Graham, A.R. Moldenke, and L.R. Best. A total of 85 voucher specimens were deposited into the Oregon State Arthropod Collection; accession record: OSAC_AC_2021_03_11_001-01.

Opuntia humifusa sensu stricto (Cactaceae): New to Kentucky (U.S.A.) and confirmed in the Unglaciated Appalachian Plateaus

A new population of Opuntia humifusa (Raf.) Raf. was found in Pike County, Kentucky. Consequent examination of other misidentified populations in Kentucky (Harlan and Pike counties) and West Virginia (Jackson County) provides the first known occurrences of Opuntia humifusa (sensu stricto) in Kentucky and a confirmed range extension into the Unglaciated Appalachian Plateaus Province.

Four new species of the genus Anillinus Casey (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Anillini) from Alabama, U.S.A., with a revised key to the Alabama species

Four new species of anilline ground beetles are described from Alabama. Two species from Jackson County, Anillinus clinei new species, and Anillinus folkertsioides new species, are troglobitic and litter species, respectively. Anillinus hildebrandti new species, is a troglobitic species from a cave in Morgan County. Anillinus humicolus new species, from Jefferson County is supposedly an endogean species. All new species are illustrated with images and drawings; a distribution map and a modified key to the Alabama species are provided. With these new discoveries, the known fauna of Anillinus of Alabama now includes twelve species. Species compositions of Anillinus based on habitat preferences of taxa satisfactorily explain the variations in total species numbers and number of endemics among Alabama and other eastern American states.

Context-Dependent Accuracy of the BG-Counter Remote Mosquito Surveillance Device in North Carolina

ABSTRACT There is a clear need for improved vector surveillance approaches that are affordable, labor efficient, and safer than traditional methods. The BG-Counter (Biogents USA, Moorefield, WV) is a device for remotely monitoring mosquito activity in combination with the BG-Sentinel (Biogents USA), a widely used trap for the collection of host-seeking mosquitoes. The BG-Counter uses a wireless connection to provide real-time counts of mosquitoes captured by the BG-Sentinel, allowing users to remotely monitor mosquito populations. This study tested the effectiveness of the BG-Counter in 5 North Carolina counties. A total of 96 trap-days resulted in the collection of >45,000 individual mosquitoes representing 35 species. Aedes albopictus was the most common species collected in all counties, except for New Hanover County where Culex nigripalpus was the most common. The mean daily accuracy ranged from 80.1% (New Hanover County) to 9.4% (Jackson County). There was a significant linear relationship between the actual number of mosquitoes collected and the device counts at all sites except Jackson County, the site with the lowest relative mosquito abundance compared with nontarget organisms. A linear regression of daily BG-Counter accuracy and the daily proportion of mosquitoes to the total number of arthropods collected revealed a significant positive linear relationship, supporting the premise that the BG-Counter is less effective when the relative abundance of mosquitoes is low. Mosquito surveillance programs using the BG-Counter should recognize its context-dependent accuracy and routinely evaluate the accuracy of the device based on local conditions.

Field of dreams: Restoring estuarine habitat and structure in Mississippi after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

This paper presents a Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR), Office of Coastal Restoration and Resiliency, perspective on adaptation and innovation in restoration permitting, collaboration, and design in an era shaped by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH). These adaptations and innovations lay groundwork to support Mississippi’s future address of challenges stemming from its ongoing geomorphic evolution and loss of primary landforms. The Round Island project in Jackson County, Mississippi (MS), will serve as a principal example. Completed through the efforts of four agencies via a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) this project helped break a long-standing practice of dumping large quantities of federal navigation channel dredged materials in an Offshore Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS). Not only were 220 acres of new island and marsh habitat created in the Mississippi Sound, the Round Island project saved millions in federal navigation dollars because it could be more efficiently accessed than the ODMDS site. The Round Island project represents a collective, multi-agency step toward strategic scale, nature-based approaches more capable of managing Mississippi’s burgeoning restoration and resource needs.

Treehopper voucher specimens collected in 2018 from Jackson County, Oregon

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