Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) abundance in a National Conservation Area in Idaho has increased since the 1970s–1990s
Steven Alsup, James R. Belthoff, Karen Steenhof, Michael N. Kochert, Todd E. Katzner
2025, Journal of Raptor Research (59) 1-13
The Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA), in southwestern Idaho, USA supports a large population of breeding Prairie Falcons (Falco mexicanus). Abundance of Prairie Falcons in the NCA was previously monitored in 1976–1978 and 1990–1994. That research indicated maximum counts for each period in 1976...
Perpetuation of avian influenza from molt to fall migration in wild Swan Geese (Anser cygnoides): An agent-based modeling approach
John Takekawa, Chang-Yong Choi, Diann J. Prosser, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Nyambaya Batbayar, Xiangming Xiao
2025, Viruses (17)
Wild waterfowl are considered to be the reservoir of avian influenza, but their distinct annual life cycle stages and their contribution to disease dynamics are not well understood. Studies of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus have primarily focused on wintering grounds, where human and poultry densities are high...
Combining multisite tsunami and deformation modeling to constrain slip distributions for the 1700 C.E. Cascadia earthquake
David Small, Diego Melgar, SeanPaul La Selle, Andrew J Meigs
2025, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (115) 431-451
A major earthquake ruptured the Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) on 26 January 1700. Key paleoseismic evidence associated with this event include tsunami deposits, stratigraphic evidence of coastal coseismic subsidence, written Japanese records of a tsunami unaccompanied by earthquake shaking, and margin‐wide turbidites found offshore and in lacustrine environments. Despite this...
3D viscoelastic models of slip-deficit rate along the Cascadia subduction zone
Frederick Pollitz
2025, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (130)
Interseismic deformation in the Pacific Northwest is constrained by the horizontal crustal velocity field derived from the Global Positioning System (GPS) in addition to vertical rates derived from GPS, leveling, and tide gauge measurements. Such measurements were folded in to deformation models of fault slip rates as part of the...
The relative influence of geographic and environmental factors on rare plant translocation outcomes
Joe Bellis, Matthew A. Albrecht, Joyce Maschinski, Sarah E. Dalrymple, Matthew J. Keir, Timothy Chambers, Jennifer Possley, Edith D. Adkins, Elliott W. Parsons, Michael Kunz, Carrie Radcliffe, Emily Coffey, Thomas N. Kaye, Cheryl L. Peterson, David Aaron, Sterling A. Herron, Eric Menges, Timothy J. Bell, Michelle Coppoletta, Caityn Elam, Mceachern A. Kathryn, Paula Williamson, Deanna Boensch, Megan Bontrager, Breeden Cooper, Noah Frade, Doria R. Gordon, Steven O. Link, Tara Littlefield, Shelia Murray, Ryan O’Dell, Noel B. Pavlovic, Charlotte M. Reemts, David D. Taylor, Jonathan H. Titus, Priscilla J. Titus, Tina A. Stanley, Katherine D. Heineman
2025, Journal of Applied Ecology (62) 638-650
Conservation translocations are an established method for reducing the extinction risk of plant species through intentional movement within or outside the indigenous range. Unsuitable environmental conditions at translocation recipient sites and a lack of understanding of species–environment relationships are often identified as critical barriers to translocation success. However, previous...
Recovering the American horseshoe crab through a commitment to collaboration
David R. Smith, Mark Botton, Paul Shin
2025, Fisheries (50) 255-267
American horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus populations are recovering because of cooperation among diverse stakeholders and data-driven collective action. Limulus polyphemus is one of four extant species facing common threats, and conservation successes and limitations hold lessons applicable to all the species. We review the advancement in management and monitoring over recent decades, discuss the...
Considering multiecosystem trade-offs is critical when leveraging systematic conservation planning for restoration
Nicholas J. Van Lanen, C.J. Duchardt, L. Pejchar, J.E. Shyvers, Cameron L. Aldridge
2025, Global Change Biology (31)
Conservationists are increasingly leveraging systematic conservation planning (SCP) to inform restoration actions that enhance biodiversity. However, restoration frequently drives ecological transformations at local scales, potentially resulting in trade-offs among wildlife species and communities. The Conservation Interactions Principle (CIP), coined more than 15 years ago, cautions SCP practitioners regarding the importance of jointly and...
Timing of and pressure-temperature constraints on deformation in the Toxaway dome, eastern Blue Ridge: Evidence for continuous deformation from the Neoacadian orogeny to the Alleghanian orogeny
Jamie S.F. Levine, Nicholas Edwin Powell, Gabriele Casale, Claire P. Martin
2025, Geosphere (21) 179-205
Many mountain belts are built through repeated collision, and in the case of orogenies closely spaced in time, determining when one orogeny ends and another begins can be challenging. The southern Appalachian mountains were formed by three mountain-building events closely spaced in time, including the Taconic (ca. 480–440 Ma), Neoacadian...
Forecasting water levels using the ConvLSTM algorithm in the Everglades, USA
Raidan Bassah, Gerald A. Corzo Perez, Biswa Bhattacharya, Saira M. Haider, Eric D. Swain, Nicholas Aumen
2025, Journal of Hydrology (652)
Forecasting water levels in complex ecosystems like wetlands can support effective water resource management, ecological conservation, and understanding surface and groundwater hydrology. Predictive models can be used to simulate the complex interactions among natural processes, hydrometeorological factors, and human activities. The Greater Everglades in the USA is a well-known example...
Accurate simulation of flow through dipping aquifers with MODFLOW 6 using enhanced cell connectivity
Alden M. Provost, Kerry Bardot, Christian D. Langevin, James L. McCallum
2025, Groundwater (63) 399-408
In simulations of groundwater flow through dipping aquifers, layers of model cells are often “deformed” to follow the top and bottom elevations of the aquifers. When this approach is used in MODFLOW, adjacent cells within the same model layer are vertically offset from one another, and the standard conductance-based (two-point)...
Disease, environment, and pollution: Understanding drivers behind tumour outbreaks in sea turtles
Costanza Manes, Richard M. Herren, Evan Cooper, Margaret Lilyestrom, David Godfrey, Marianne Kuzoch, Raymond R. Carthy, Ilaria Capua
2025, One Health Cases 307-322
Various wildlife diseases of the Anthropocene (the Anthropocene currently has no formal status in the Divisions of Geologic Time https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2018/3054/fs20183054.pdf, accessed 4 June 2024) have root causes that are found in human-driven environmental disturbances. Fibropapillomatosis of sea turtles is exemplary of a human-exacerbated wildlife disease, and this...
Enhancing One Health outcomes using decision science and negotiation
Jonathan D. Cook, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Howard S. Ginsberg, Diann Prosser, Michael C. Runge
2025, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (23)
One Health initiatives have advanced zoonotic disease management by recognizing the interconnectedness of three sectors of governance (human, ecosystem, and animal) and by identifying options that can improve full-system health. Although One Health has had many successes, its full realization may be inhibited by a lack of strategies to overcome...
DNA metabarcoding of biocrust lichen-forming fungi detects responses to disturbance and invasion
Heather T Root, Bruce McCune, David A. Pyke, Steven D. Leavitt
2025, Bryologist (128) 1-15
Biocrusts dominated by bryophytes and lichens perform important functions in dryland ecosystems but monitoring these communities can be cost prohibitive over broad scales. We explored DNA metabarcoding as a potential tool for monitoring biocrust lichen communities at a site in Washington (U.S.A.) that had...
Sampling mass mortality events to enable diagnoses: A protocol using freshwater mussels
Daniel A. Cossey, Michelle Dennis, Jordan C. Richard, Camilla D. Torre, Andrew McElwain, Diane L. Waller, Susan Knowles, Joshua I. Brian, Eric Leis, Ericka A. Burioli, David C. Aldridge
2025, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (16) 250-268
Many taxa around the globe are threatened by often unexplained mass mortality events (MMEs), which can decimate populations and compromise key ecosystem functions. One example of a highly threatened taxon facing frequent MMEs is freshwater mussels (Unionida).There has been a recent increase in interest in understanding the causes of...
Challenges and opportunities for data integration to improve estimation of migratory connectivity
J. A. Hostetler, Emily B. Cohen, Christen M. Bossu, Amy L. Scarpignato, Kristen Ruegg, Andrea Contina, Clark S. Rushing, Michael T. Hallworth
2025, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (16) 362-376
Understanding migratory connectivity, or the linkage of populations between seasons, is critical for effective conservation and management of migratory wildlife. A growing number of tools are available for understanding where migratory individuals and populations occur throughout the annual cycle. Integration of the diverse measures of migratory movements can help...
Evaluation of the sensitivity of a federally endangered freshwater mussel (Venustaconcha trabalis) to selected chemicals
Ning Wang, Chris D. Ivey, Danielle M. Cleveland, James L. Kunz, Rebecca Schapansky, Timothy W. Lane, M. Christopher Barnhart
2025, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Protection of critically endangered species requires identification of factors limiting their survival and growth. Previous studies have demonstrated that unionid mussels are sensitive to some chemicals and the sensitivity was similar among different taxonomic families and tribes of mussels. However, common species of mussels were generally used in these previous...
Potential for biological effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in Great Lakes tributaries and associations with land cover and wastewater effluent
Steven R. Corsi, Luke C. Loken, Gerald T. Ankley, David A. Alvarez, Daniel L. Villeneuve
2025, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (44) 1706-1722
Surface water concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and potential for resulting biological effects were estimated in a study using polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) from 60 tributary sites within 20 watersheds in the Great Lakes Basin in 2018. Sites represented a range of urban to agricultural, forested,...
The progression of basaltic–rhyolitic melt storage at Yellowstone Caldera
Ninfa Lucia Bennington, Adam Schultz, Paul A. Bedrosian, Esteban Bowles-Martinez, Kendra J. Lynn, Mark E. Stelten, Xiaolei Tu, Clifford Thurber
2025, Nature (637) 97-102
Yellowstone Caldera is one of the largest volcanic systems on Earth, hosting three major caldera-forming eruptions in the past two million years, interspersed with periods of less explosive, smaller-volume eruptions<a id="ref-link-section-d1654952e503" title="Christiansen, R. L. The Quaternary and Pliocene Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana Vol. 729 (US...
Sex differences in migration routes and non-breeding areas of a declining shorebird
Ann E. McKellar, Cheri L Gratto-Trevor, T. Lee Tibbitts
2025, Avian Conservation and Ecology (20)
Migratory birds face different threats and pressures across their annual cycle, and understanding the impact of these factors on individuals is critical to the conservation of avian populations. Individuals from the same breeding population may share the same non-breeding areas, and thus experience similar conditions, or they may travel to...
Potential 2050 distributions of World Terrestrial Ecosystems from projections of changes in World Climate Regions and Global Land Cover
Roger Sayre, Charlie Frye, Sean Breyer, Patrick Roehrdanz, Paul Elsen, Kevin Butler, Clint Brown, Jill Janene Cress, Deniz Karagulle, Madeline T. Martin, Florencia Sangermano, Regan Smyth, Terry Sohl, Nicholas Wolff, Dawn Wright, Zhuoting Wu
2025, Global Ecology and Conservation (57)
The urgency to address ecosystem loss is paramount, as both land use change and climate change will continue to rapidly alter and degrade natural ecosystems and reduce the many services they provide. To support conservation actions that mitigate impacts from these dual threats, we have developed potential World Terrestrial Ecosystem...
Practical application of time-lapse camera imagery to develop water-level data for three hydrologic monitoring sites in Wisconsin during water year 2020
Keegan Eland Johnson, Paul Reneau, Matthew J. Komiskey
2025, Journal of Hydrology X (26)
Using camera imagery to measure water level (camera-stage) is a well-researched area of study. Previous camera-stage studies have shown promising results when implementing this technology with tight constraints on test conditions. However, there is a need for a more comprehensive evaluation of the extensibility of camera-stage to practical applications. Therefore,...
SCEC/USGS Community Stress Drop Validation Study: How spectral fitting approaches influence measured source parameters
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Shanna Chu, Rachel E. Abercrombie, Dino Bindi, X. Chen, Grace Alexandra Parker, Colin Pennington, Peter M. Shearer, Daniel T. Trugman
2025, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (115) 760-776
Spectral source parameters used to estimate an earthquake’s stress drop (Δσ) can vary significantly across measurement approaches. The Statewide California Earthquake Center/U.S. Geological Survey Community Stress-Drop Validation Study was initiated to compare source parameter estimates, focusing initially on a dataset from the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence. As part of that...
First records distribution models to guide biosurveillance for non-native species
Helen Sofaer, Demetra A. Williams, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Keana S. Shadwell, Caroline Kittle, Ian S. Pearse, Lucas Berio Fortini, Kelsey C. Brock
2025, Ecography (2025)
Quickly locating new populations of non-native species can reduce the ecological and economic costs of species invasions. However, the difficulty of predicting which new non-native species will establish, and where, has limited active post-border biosurveillance efforts. Because pathways of introduction underlie spatial patterns of establishment risk, an intuitive approach is...
Neonate morphometrics and lambing season characteristics of desert bighorn sheep
Grace L. Parikh, Rebekah C. Karsch, James W. Cain III, Eric M. Rominger, Elise J. Goldstein
2025, Mammalia (89) 121-130
Desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) populations often occur in remote areas at low densities, leading to gaps in knowledge of life history. In November 2011, we translocated 11 female desert bighorn sheep from the Fra Cristobal Mountains and 9 from Red Rock Wildlife Management Area (RRWMA) to the Peloncillo Mountains...
Roles of host and environment in shift of primary anthrax host species in Kruger National Park
Sunday O. Ochai, Lourens Snyman, Amelie C. Dolfi, Abel Ramoelo, Brian K. Reilly, Judith M. Botha, Edgar H. Dekker, O. Louis van Schalkwyk, Pauline L. Kamath, Emma Archer, Wendy Christine Turner, Henriette van Heerden
2025, PLoS ONE (19)
Environmental and climatic factors, as well as host demographics and behaviour, significantly influence the exposure of herbivorous mammalian hosts to pathogens such as Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. Until the early 1990s in Kruger National Park (KNP), kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) was the host species most affected by anthrax, with...
