Evaluating nurse plants for restoring native woody species to degraded subtropical woodlands
Stephanie G. Yelenik, Nicole DiManno, Carla M. D’Antonio
2015, Ecology and Evolution (5) 300-313
Harsh habitats dominated by invasive species are difficult to restore. Invasive grasses in arid environments slow succession toward more desired composition, yet grass removal exacerbates high light and temperature, making the use of “nurse plants” an appealing strategy. In this study of degraded subtropical woodlands dominated by alien grasses in...
Understanding protected area resilience: a multi-scale, social-ecological approach
Graeme S. Cumming, Craig R. Allen, Natalie C. Ban, Duan Biggs, Harry C. Biggs, David H.M Cumming, Alta De Vos, Graham Epstein, Michel Etienne, Kristine Maciejewski, Raphael Mathevet, Christine Moore, Mateja Nenadovic, Michael Schoon
2015, Ecological Applications (25) 299-319
Protected areas (PAs) remain central to the conservation of biodiversity. Classical PAs were conceived as areas that would be set aside to maintain a natural state with minimal human influence. However, global environmental change and growing cross-scale anthropogenic influences mean that PAs can no longer be thought of as ecological...
Implementation of a framework for multi-species, multi-objective adaptive management in Delaware Bay
Conor P. McGowan, David R. Smith, James D. Nichols, James E. Lyons, John A. Sweka, Kevin Kalasz, Lawrence J. Niles, Richard Wong, Jeffrey Brust, Michelle C. Davis, Braddock Spear
2015, Biological Conservation (191) 759-769
Decision analytic approaches have been widely recommended as well suited to solving disputed and ecologically complex natural resource management problems with multiple objectives and high uncertainty. However, the difference between theory and practice is substantial, as there are very few actual resource management programs that represent formal applications of decision...
Scale-appropriate adaptation strategies and actions in the Northeast and Midwest United States
Michelle D. Staudinger, Laura Hilberg, Maria Janowiak, Chris Caldwell, Anthony W. D’Amato, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Radley M. Horton, Rachel A. Katz, Chris Neiil, Keith H. Nislow, Ken Potter, Erika Rowland, Chris Swanston, Frank Thompson, Kristopher J. Winiarski
2015, Report, Integrating climate change into northeast and midwest State Wildlife Action Plans
Climate Change Adaptation is a growing field within conservation and natural resource management. Actions taken toward climate change adaptation account for climate impacts and ecological responses, both current and projected into the future. These actions attempt to accomplish a number of goals, including the conservation of wildlife and ecosystems by...
Assessing distribution and movement of blue catfish in Kansas reservoirs
Martha E. Mather, Kayla M. Gerber, Zachary Peterson
2015, Cooperator Science Series FWS/CSS-117-2015
This report is organized into three chapters that address six objectives. The first chapter addresses objectives 1-3. The second chapter addresses objectives 4-5. The third chapter addresses objective 6. The objectives for the project are listed below for reference....
Arsenic and antimony geochemistry of mine wastes, associated waters and sediments at the Giant Mine, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Skya E. Fawcett, Heather E. Jamieson, D. Kirk Nordstrom, R. Blaine McCleskey
2015, Applied Geochemistry (62) 3-17
Elevated levels of arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) in water and sediments are legacy residues found downstream from gold-mining activities at the Giant Mine in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. To track the transport and fate of As and Sb, samples of mine-waste from the mill, and surface water, sediment,...
Geologic framework and evidence for neotectonism in the epicentral area of the 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake
William C. Burton, Richard W. Harrison, David B. Spears, Nicholas H. Evans, Shannon A. Mahan
2015, GSA Special Papers (509) 345-376
The epicenters of the main shock and associated aftershocks of the 2011 moment magnitude, Mw 5.8 Mineral, Virginia (USA), earthquake, and the updip projection of the possible fault plane that triggered the quakes, are contained in the areas of 2 adjoining 7.5′ quadrangles in the central Virginia Piedmont. These quadrangles...
Oceanic and atmospheric forcing of Larsen C Ice-Shelf thinning
P. R. Holland, A. Brisbourne, H. F. J. Corr, Daniel Mcgrath, K. Purdon, J. Paden, H. A. Fricker, F. S. Paolo, A.H. Fleming
2015, The Cryosphere (9) 1005-1024
The catastrophic collapses of Larsen A and B ice shelves on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula have caused their tributary glaciers to accelerate, contributing to sea-level rise and freshening the Antarctic Bottom Water formed nearby. The surface of Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS), the largest ice shelf on the peninsula, is...
R for fledglings
Therese Donovan, Michelle Brown, Jonathan Katz
2015, Book
We’ve been asked to provide a short introduction to R and its utility in natural resource management. In this short introduction, we can guarantee one thing: you won’t learn R in a few days. That would be like learning to speak French in a few days. To actually learn R,...
Monitoring Eastern Spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii) response to weather with the use of a passive integrated transponder (PIT) system
Kevin J. Ryan, Aram J.K. Calhoun, Brad C. Timm, Joseph D. Zydlewski
2015, Journal of Herpetology (49) 257-263
Eastern Spadefoots (Scaphiopus holbrookii) are probably one of the least-understood amphibian species in the United States. In New England, populations are localized and it is likely that some populations go undocumented because of the species' cryptic habits. We used passive integrated transponders (PIT tags) to monitor burrow emergence with the...
Draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental impact statement-Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
2015, Report
The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge Complex, consisting of some of the newer properties in the National Wildlife Refuge System, is a work in progress. Offering unique assets to surrounding communities, these lands promise to become some of the premier urban wildlife refuges in the country. At the heart...
Study 8: Prevalence and load of Nanophyetus salmincola infection in outmigrating steelhead trout from five Puget Sound rivers
M.F. Chen, B.A. Stewart, Kevin Senkvik, Paul Hershberger
2015, Book chapter, Puget Sound steelhead marine survival: 2013-2015 research findings summary
Nanophyetus salmincola is a parasitic trematode, or flatworm, that infects salmonid fishes in the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, Oregon, and portions of California. The adult worm lives in the intestine of fish-eating birds and mammals. Eggs shed into the water hatch into miracidia which penetrate the first intermediate host, one...
Estimating mean long-term hydrologic budget components for watersheds and counties: An application to the commonwealth of Virginia, USA
Ward E. Sanford, David L. Nelms, Jason P. Pope, David L. Selnick
2015, Hydrology: Current Research (6) 1-22
Mean long-term hydrologic budget components, such as recharge and base flow, are often difficult to estimate because they can vary substantially in space and time. Mean long-term fluxes were calculated in this study for precipitation, surface runoff, infiltration, total evapotranspiration (ET), riparian ET, recharge, base flow (or groundwater discharge) and...
Mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) movements in the Texas Chenier Plain Region
Jena A. Moon, David A. Haukos, Warren C. Conway
2015, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (2) 255-267
As a surrogate species for Strategic Habitat Conservation, the mottled duck (Anas fulgivula) is an indicator species to coastal marsh health and function. Currently, biologists have a relatively poor understanding of regional mottled duck movements. We outfitted adult female mottled ducks with solar satellite transmitters during summer 2009–2011. Movement patterns...
Broadening the regulated-river management paradigm: A case study of the forgotten dead zone hindering Pallid Sturgeon recovery
Christopher S. Guy, Hilary B. Treanor, Kevin M. Kappenman, Eric A. Scholl, Jason E. Ilgen, Molly A. H. Webb
2015, Fisheries (40) 6-14
The global proliferation of dams within the last half century has prompted ecologists to understand the effects of regulated rivers on large-river fishes. Currently, much of the effort to mitigate the influence of dams on large-river fishes has been focused on downriver effects, and little attention has been given to...
Bayesian models: A statistical primer for ecologists
N. Thompson Hobbs, Mevin Hooten
2015, Book
Bayesian modeling has become an indispensable tool for ecological research because it is uniquely suited to deal with complexity in a statistically coherent way. This textbook provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the latest Bayesian methods—in language ecologists can understand. Unlike other books on the subject, this one emphasizes...
Geologic setting of the proposed Fallon FORGE Site, Nevada: Suitability for EGS research and development
James E. Faulds, Douglas Blankenship, Nicholas H. Hinz, Andrew Sabin, Josh Nordquist, Stephen H. Hickman, Jonathan M.G. Glen, Mack Kennedy, Drew Siler, Ann Robinson-Tait, Colin F. Williams, Peter Drakos, Wendy M. Calvin
2015, GRC Transactions (39) 293-302
The proposed Fallon FORGE site lies within and adjacent to the Naval Air Station Fallon (NASF) directly southeast of the town of Fallon, Nevada, within the large basin of the Carson Sink in west-central Nevada. The site is located on two parcels that include land owned by the NASF and...
Net ecosystem production and organic carbon balance of U.S. East Coast estuaries: A synthesis approach
Maria Herrmann, Raymond G. Najjar, W. Michael Kemp, Richard B. Alexander, Elizabeth W. Boyer, Wei-Jun Cai, Peter C. Griffith, Kevin D. Kroeger, S. Leigh McCallister, Richard A. Smith
2015, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (29) 96-111
Net ecosystem production (NEP) and the overall organic carbon budget for the estuaries along the East Coast of the United States are estimated. We focus on the open estuarine waters, excluding the fringing wetlands. We developed empirical models relating NEP to loading ratios of dissolved inorganic nitrogen to total organic...
Duckling survival, fecundity, and habitat selection of mottled duck broods on the upper Texas Gulf Coast
Elizabeth A. Rigby, David A. Haukos
2015, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (2) 156-163
Mottled ducks (Anas fulvigula) on the western Gulf Coast have exhibited a steep population decline since the mid 1990s. Low rates of breeding incidence and nest success have been implicated in this decline, but duckling survival and the habitat needs of broods have not been previously investigated in this region....
Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge: Draft comprehensive conservation plan and environmental impact statement
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Elizabeth Donovan, William Gascoigne, Catherine Cullinane Thomas
2015, Report
The Connecticut River is treasured by all for its majesty and significance in supporting life along its winding 410-mile passage through urban and rural communities in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Working with our partners, we are inspired to protect and enhance the natural and cultural richness throughout the...
2014 status of the Lake Ontario lower trophic levels
Kristen T. Holeck, Lars G. Rudstam, Christopher Hotaling, Russ D. McCullough, Dave Lemon, Web Pearsall, Jana Lantry, Michael J. Connerton, Steve LaPan, Zy Biesinger, Brian F. Lantry, Maureen Walsh, Brian Weidel
2015, NYSDEC Lake Ontario Annual Report 2014-16
Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations have been stable in nearshore and offshore habitats since 1998 (0.4 – 3.3 μg/L). SRP concentrations were low in 2014; Apr/May – Oct mean values were <1 μg/L at most sites. Spring TP concentrations at individual sites exceeded 10 μg/L on occasion, but spring means...
Population connectivity of deep-sea corals
Cheryl L. Morrison, Amy Baco, Martha S. Nizinski, D. Katharine Coykendall, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Walter Cho, Tim Shank
2015, NOAA Technical Memorandum X-12
Identifying the scale of dispersal among habitats has been a challenge in marine ecology for decades (Grantham et al., 2003; Kinlan & Gaines, 2003; Hixon, 2011). Unlike terrestrial habitats in which barriers to dispersal may be obvious (e.g. mountain ranges, rivers), few absolute barriers to dispersal are recognizable in the...
Preliminary analysis of suspended sediment rating curves for the Kalamazoo River and its tributaries from Marshall to Kalamazoo, Michigan
David T. Soong, Christopher J. Hoard, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Ronald B. Zelt
2015, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the Joint Federal Interagency Conference 2015
Suspended sediment concentration (SSC) rating curves for the Kalamazoo River and its tributaries from Marshall to Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.A., were developed based on measured data. The slopes of the atsite SSC rating curves were of two general types: either increasing or decreasing with increasing discharges. By examining the basin characteristics...
Biodiversity influences plant productivity through niche–efficiency
Jingjing Liang, Mo Zhou, Patrick C. Tobin, A. David McGuire, Peter B. Reich
2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (112) 5738-5743
The loss of biodiversity is threatening ecosystem productivity and services worldwide, spurring efforts to quantify its effects on the functioning of natural ecosystems. Previous research has focused on the positive role of biodiversity on resource acquisition (i.e., niche complementarity), but a lack of study on resource utilization efficiency, a link...
Management applications of discontinuity theory
David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Chris Barichievy, Tarsha Eason, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Nicholas A.J. Graham, Dean Granholm, Lance H. Gunderson, Melinda Knutson, Kirsty L. Nash, R. John Nelson, Magnus Nystrom, Trisha Spanbauer, Craig A. Stow, Shana M. Sundstrom
2015, Journal of Applied Ecology (53) 688-698
Human impacts on the environment are multifaceted and can occur across distinct spatiotemporal scales. Ecological responses to environmental change are therefore difficult to predict, and entail large degrees of uncertainty. Such uncertainty requires robust tools for management to sustain ecosystem goods and services and maintain resilient ecosystems.We...
