Our objectives are to:
       1. Review the LCA literature to determine the dominant environmental impact categories in
           wild-caught fisheries in order to evaluate which phases are causing the greatest impacts.
       2. Determine how these impacts can best be mitigated and develop a framework that seeks
           to incorporates LCA into sustainable seafood guides so that consumers can make better-
           informed decisions.

This framework will include developing meaningful LCA impact categories for sustainable seafood guides. Despite their importance, we considered social factors beyond the scope of this paper.

Globally, the incidental capture of non-target species in fisheries (bycatch) has been linked to declines of ecologically, economically, and culturally important marine species. Gillnet fisheries have especially high bycatch due to their non-selective nature, necessitating the development of new bycatch reduction technologies (BRTs). Net illumination is an emerging BRT that has shown promise in reducing bycatch of marine megafauna, including sea turtles, cetaceans, and seabirds. However, little research has been conducted to understand the effects of net illumination on fish assemblages, including bony fish and elasmobranchs (i.e. sharks, rays, and skates). Here, I assessed a 7-year dataset of paired net illumination trials using four different types of light (green LEDs, green chemical glowsticks, ultraviolet (UV) lights, and orange lights) to examine the effects of net illumination on fish catch and bycatch in a gillnet fishery at Baja California Sur, Mexico. Analysis revealed no significant effect on bony fish target catch or bycatch for any light type. There was a significant decrease in elasmobranch bycatch using UV and orange lights, with orange lights showing the most promise for decreasing elasmobranch bycatch, resulting in a 50% reduction in bycatch rates. Analysis of the effects of net illumination on elasmobranch target catch was limited due to insufficient data. These results indicate that the illumination of gillnets may offer a practical solution for reducing fish bycatch while maintaining target catch. More research should be conducted to understand the effects of net illumination in different fisheries, how net illumination affects fisher profit and efficiency, and how net illumination affects fish behavior. Further optimization of net illumination is also necessary before the technology can be recommended on a broader scale.

Drylands, though one of the largest biomes, are also one of the most understudied biomes on the planet. This leaves scientists with limited understanding of unique life forms that have adapted to live in these arid environments. One such life form is the hypolithic microbial community; these are autotrophic cyanobacteria colonies that can be found on the underside of translucent rocks in deserts. With the light that filters through the rock above them, the microbes can photosynthesize and fix carbon from the atmosphere into the soil. In this study I looked at hypolith-like rock distribution in the Namib Desert by using image recognition software. I trained a Mask R-CNN network to detect quartz rock in images from the Gobabeb site. When the method was analyzed using the entire data set, the distribution of rock sizes between the manual annotations and the network predictions was not similar. When evaluating rock sizes smaller than 0.56 cm2 the method showed statistical significance in support of being a promising data collection method. With more training and corrective effort on the network, this method shows promise to be an accurate and novel way to collect data efficiently in dryland research.

Drylands cover almost half of the land surface on Earth, yet there is still little understood of the processes in these ecosystems. This project studied the impact of macroclimate (precipitation and temperature in large regions) in comparison to microclimate (the climate under canopy versus in the open) to learn more about the drivers of litter decomposition in drylands.

Due to what is known as the “biologically desert fallacy” and the pervasive westernized ideal of wilderness that has influenced widespread American Conservation culture for millennia, urban areas have long been deemed as areas devoid of biodiversity. However, cities can contribute significantly to regional biodiversity and provide vital niches for wildlife, illuminating the growing awareness that cities are crucial to the future of conservation and combating the global biodiversity crisis. In terms of the biodiversity crisis, bats are a relevant species of concern. In many studies, different bat species have been broadly classified according to their ability to adapt to urban environments. There is evidence that urban areas can filter bat species based on traits and behavior, with many bats possessing traits that do not allow them to live in cities. The three broad categories are urban avoiders, urban adapters, or urban exploiters based upon where their abundance is highest along a gradient of urban intensity. A common example of an urban exploiter bat is a Mexican Free-tailed bat, which can thrive and rely on urban environments and it is found in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. Bats are important as even in urban environments they play vital ecological roles such as cactus pollination, insect management, and seed dispersal. Bat Crazy is a thesis project focused on urban enhancement and the field of urban biodiversity. The goals of this thesis are to observe how bio-conscious urban cities that work to promote species conservation can serve as a positive tool to promote biodiversity and foster community education and engagement for their urban environment.

The Arizona Board of Education decides the science curricula for students K-6. The standards lack an in depth knowledge of marine life, marine science, ocean conservation, and more related topics. Through interviews with teachers, faculty, and research on ocean literacy and coral reefs, My Coral Reef Booklet assembles various learning activities to cater to students from a variety of education, financial and impairment backgrounds. My Coral Reef Booklet addresses coral reef basics and how students can play their part in coral reef conservation despite their location.