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AimSpecies distribution models (SDMs) are valuable for rare species conservation and are commonly used to extrapolate predictions of habitat suitability geographically to regions where species occurrence is unknown (i.e., transferability). Spatially structured cross-validation can be used to infer transferability, yet, few studies have evaluated how delineation of...

Hydrodynamic processes can lead to the accumulation and/or dispersal of water column constituents, including sediment, phytoplankton, and particulate detritus. Using a combination of field observations and stable isotope tracing tools, we identified how hydrodynamic processes influenced physical habitat, pelagic communities, and food web structure in a freshwater tidal system. The...

Climatic shifts, disturbances, and land-use change can alter hydrologic flowpaths, water quality, and water supply to downstream communities. Prior research investigating streamflow generation processes in mountainous areas has largely focused on high-elevation alpine and subalpine catchments; less is known about these processes in lower-elevation foothills and montane catchments. In these lower-elevation ecoregions, precipitation shifts...

Forage fish populations often undergo large and rapid fluctuations in abundance. However, most of their predators are buffered against such fluctuations owing to their slower pace of life, which allows them to maintain more stable populations, at least during short periods of food scarcity. In this...

Artificial nightlight is increasingly recognized as an important environmental disturbance that influences the habitats and fitness of numerous species. However, its effects on wide‐ranging vertebrates and their interactions remain unclear. Light pollution has the potential to amplify land‐use change, and as such, answering the question of how this sensory stimulant...

Despite a multitude of small catchment studies, we lack a deep understanding of how variations in critical zone architecture lead to variations in hydrologic states and fluxes. This study characterizes hydrologic dynamics of 15 catchments of the U.S. Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) network where we hypothesized that our understanding of...

Bayesian hierarchical models allow ecologists to account for uncertainty and make inference at multiple scales. However, hierarchical models are often computationally intensive to fit, especially with large datasets, and researchers face trade-offs between capturing ecological complexity in statistical models and implementing these models.We present...

Increasing aridity is a challenge for forest managers and reducing stand density to minimize competition is a recognized strategy to mitigate drought impacts on growth. In many dry forests, the most widespread and common forest management programs currently being implemented focus on restoration of historical stand...

Hunting is a popular activity but continued use of lead ammunition poses risks to wildlife and human health. To inform adoption of the voluntary use of nonlead ammunition, natural resource professionals were surveyed to understand their attitudes about threats to bald eagles, lead poisoning in bald eagles, human...

Postfire shifts in vegetation composition will have broad ecological impacts. However, information characterizing postfire recovery patterns and their drivers are lacking over large spatial extents. In this analysis, we used Landsat imagery collected when snow cover (SCS) was present, in combination with growing season (GS) imagery,...

Seasonal timing is important for many critical life history events of vertebrates, and photoperiod is often used as a reliable seasonal cue. In mammals and birds, it has been established that a photoperiod-driven seasonal clock resides in the brain and pituitary,...

Releases of oil and gas (OG) wastewaters can have complex effects on stream-water quality and downstream organisms, due to sediment-water interactions and groundwater/surface water exchange. Previously, elevated concentrations of sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), barium (Ba), strontium (Sr), and lithium...

The eastern Adirondack Highlands of northern New York host dozens of iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposits containing magnetite and rare earth element (REE)-bearing apatite. We use new aeromagnetic, aeroradiometric, ground gravity, and sample petrophysical and geochemical data to image and understand these deposits and their geologic framework. Aeromagnetic total field data...

Personal conservation behavior and compliance with natural resource regulations are important to wildlife conservation. We examined how waterfowl hunting involvement, motivations, satisfaction, and experience, along with institutional trust and demographics, correlated with support for waterfowl regulations and personal conservation actions. Regulations included zones, splits, and motorized decoys, while conservation behaviors...

River aufeis (ow′ fīse) are widespread features of the arctic cryosphere. They form when river channels become locally restricted by ice, resulting in cycles of water overflow and freezing and the accumulation of ice, with some aufeis attaining areas of ~ 25 + km2 and thicknesses of 6+ m. During winter, unfrozen sediments beneath the insulating ice layer provide perennial...

Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are part of the near billion-dollar rodenticide industry. Numerous studies have documented the presence of ARs in non-target wildlife, with evidence of repeated exposure to second-generation ARs. While birds are generally less sensitive to ARs than target rodent species, in some locations predatory and scavenging...

Understanding the temporal and spatial roles of nutrient limitation on phytoplankton growth is necessary for developing successful management strategies. Chesapeake Bay has well-documented seasonal and spatial variations in nutrient limitation, but it remains unknown whether these patterns of nutrient limitation have changed in response to nutrient management...

Bioaccumulation of environmental contaminants in mammalian predators can serve as an indicator of ecosystem health. We examined mercury concentrations of raccoons (Procyon lotor; n = 37 individuals) and striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis; n = 87 individuals) in Suisun Marsh, California, a large brackish marsh that is characterized...

Groundwater discharge zones in streams are important habitats for aquatic organisms. The use of discharge zones for thermal refuge and spawning by fish and other biota renders them susceptible to potential focused discharge of groundwater contamination. Currently, there is a paucity of information about discharge zones as a potential exposure...

Various abiotic and biotic factors affect fish and their habitats at macroscales. For example, changes in global temperatures will likely alter demographic rates, including growth. However, to date, there is no statistical framework for assessing the ability to detect macroscale effects on fish growth under different sampling scenarios. We provide...

We measured polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in multiple age and size classes of Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), including eggs, young-of-the year, and adults to evaluate maternal transfer as a pathway for contaminant uptake and to add to the limited information on the occurrence of...

In the southern Great Lakes Region, North America, between 19,000 and 8,000 years ago, temperatures rose by 2.5–6.5°C and spruce Picea forests/woodlands were replaced by mixed-deciduous or pine Pinus forests. The demise of Picea forests/woodlands during the last deglaciation offers a model system for studying how changing climate and disturbance regimes interact to trigger declines of...

The landslide complex at Gold Basin, Washington, has been drawing considerable attention after a catastrophic runout of the nearby landslide at Oso, Washington, in 2014. To evaluate potential threats of the Gold Basin landslide to the campground down the slope, remote sensing and numerical modeling were integrated to monitor recent landslide...

A growing body of research indicates that rock slope failures, particularly from exfoliating cliffs, are promoted by rock deformations induced by daily temperature cycles. Although previous research has described how these deformations occur, full three-dimensional monitoring of both the deformations and the associated temperature changes has not yet been performed....

High-pressure minerals provide records of processes not normally preserved in Earth’s crust. Reidite, a quenchable polymorph of zircon, forms at pressures >20 GPa during shock compression. However, there is no broad consensus among empirical, experimental, and theoretical studies on the nature of the polymorphic transformation. Here we decipher a multistage...