Flow dynamics influence fish recruitment in hydrologically connected river-reservoir landscapes
J. Dattilo, Shannon K. Brewer, D. E. Shoup
2021, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (41) 1752-1763
Hydrologic processes are often important determinants of successful recruitment of native fishes. However, water management practices can result in abnormal changes in daily and seasonal hydrology patterns. Rarely has fish recruitment across river–reservoir landscapes been considered in relation to flow management, despite the direct relationship between reservoir water management and...
Marine distribution and foraging habitat highlight potential threats at sea for Endangered Bermuda Petrel Pterodroma cahow
André F Raine, Carina Gjerdrum, Isabeau Pratte, Jeremy Madeiros, Jonathan J. Felis, Josh Adams
2021, Endangered Species Research (45) 337-356
Marine spatial planning relies on detailed spatial information of marine areas to ensure effective conservation of species. To enhance our understanding of marine habitat use by the highly pelagic Bermuda petrel Pterodroma cahow, we deployed GPS tags on 6 chick-rearing adults in April 2019 and constructed a habitat suitability model using...
Coalescent methods reconstruct contributions of natural colonization and stocking to origins of Michigan inland Cisco (Coregonus artedi)
Jared J. Homola, John D Robinson, Jeannette Kanefsky, Wendylee Stott, Gary Whelan, Kim T Scribner
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) 1781-1792
Fish population structure in previously glaciated regions is often influenced by natural colonization processes and human-mediated dispersal, including fish stocking. Endemic populations are of conservation interest because they may contain rare and unique genetic variation. While coregonines are native to certain Michigan inland lakes, some were stocked with fish from...
An experimental evaluation of the efficacy of imaging flow cytometry (FlowCam) for detecting invasive Dreissened and Corbiculid bivalve veligers
Whitney Hassett, Julie Zimmerman, Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Stephen M. Bollens, Timothy D. Counihan
2021, Lake and Reservoir Management (37) 406-417
Zebra (Dreissena polymorpha) and quagga (D. bugensis) mussels, first introduced from central Asia into the Great Lakes of North America in the late 1980s, have crossed the continental divide and more recently spread across western North America. At the same time, several new technologies have been developed for the early...
Amphibian population responses to mitigation: Relative importance of wetland age and design
Emily Bea Oja, Leah S Swartz, Erin L. Muths, Blake R. Hossack
2021, Ecological Indicators (131)
Wetland creation is a common practice to mitigate for the loss of natural wetlands. However, there is still uncertainty about how effectively created wetlands replace habitat provided by natural wetlands. This uncertainty is due in part because post-construction monitoring of biological...
National seed strategy progress report, 2015-2020
Molly Lutisha Mccormick, Amanda N Carr, Patricia DeAngelis, Margaret Olwell, Regan Murray, Maggie Park
2021, Report
Native plants are the true green infrastructure we rely on for healthy, resilient, and biodiverse ecosystems. They protect us against climate change and natural disasters; create habitat for wildlife, rare species, and pollinators; and are vital for carbon sequestration. Without native plants, especially their seeds, we do not have the...
Adaptive two-stage inverse sampling design to estimate density, abundance, and occupancy of rare and clustered populations
Mohammad Salehi, David R. Smith
2021, PLoS ONE (16)
Sampling rare and clustered populations is challenging because of the effort required to find rare units. Heuristically, a practitioner would prefer to discontinue sampling in areas where rare units of interest are apparently extremely sparse or absent. We take advantage of the characteristics of inverse sampling...
A multi-decadal geochemical record from Rano Aroi (Easter Island/Rapa Nui): Implications for the environment, climate and humans during the last two millennia
Marco Roman, David B. McWethy, Natalie Kehrwald, Evans Osayuki Erhenhi, Amy E. Myrbo, José M. Ramirez Aliaga, Anibal Pauchard, Clara Turetta, Carlo Barbante, Matthew Prebble, Elena Argiriadis, Dario Battistel
2021, Quaternary Science Reviews (268)
The small and remote Easter Island (Rapa Nui) has a complex and still partially unknown history of human colonization and interactions with the environment. Previous research from sedimentary archives collected in the three freshwater bodies of Rapa Nui document dramatic environmental changes over the last two millennia. Yet, the...
Native mammals lack resilience to invasive generalist predator
Paul J. Taillie, Kristen Hart, Adia R. Sovie, Robert A. McCleery
2021, Biological Conservation (261)
Invasive predators have caused catastrophic declines in native wildlife across the globe. Though research has focused on the initial establishment, rapid growth, and spread of invasive predators, our understanding of prey resilience to established invasive predators remains limited. As a direct...
Predicted spatial distribution of the Eastern Spotted Skunk (Spilogale putorius) in Virginia using detection and non-detection records
Emily D. Thorne, W. Mark Ford
2021, Southeastern Naturalist (20) 39-51
The geographic distribution of a species is a fundamental component in understanding its ecology and is necessary for forming effective conservation plans. For rare and elusive species of conservation concern, accurate maps of predicted occurrence are particularly problematic and often highly subjective. Spilogale putorius (Eastern Spotted Skunk) populations have...
Using an unmanned aerial vehicle water sampler to gather data in a pit-lake mining environment to assess closure and monitoring
Brian Straight, Devin Castendyk, Diane M. McKnight, Connor P. Newman, Pierre Filiatreault, Americo Pino
2021, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (193)
Residual pit lakes from mining are often dangerous to sample for water quality. Thus, pit lakes may be rarely (or never) sampled. This study developed new technology in which water-sampling devices, mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), were used to sample three pit lakes in...
Miocene phosphatization of rocks from the summit of Rio Grande Rise, Southwest Atlantic Ocean
Mariana Benites, James R. Hein, Kira Mizell, Luigi Jovane
2021, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology (36)
Marine phosphorites are an important part of the oceanic phosphorus cycle and are related to the effects of long-term global climate changes. We use petrography, mineralogy, rare earth elements contents, and 87Sr/86Sr-determined carbonate fluorapatite (CFA) and calcite ages to investigate the paragenesis and history of phosphatization of...
Integrating telemetry data at several scales with spatial capture–recapture to improve density estimates
Corey I Mitchell, Kevin T. Shoemaker, Todd Esque, Amy G. Vandergast, Steven J. Hromada, Kirsten E. Dutcher, Jill S. Heaton, Kenneth E. Nussear
2021, Ecosphere (12)
Accurate population estimates are essential for monitoring and managing wildlife populations. Mark–recapture sampling methods have regularly been used to estimate population parameters for rare and cryptic species, including the federally listed Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii); however, the methods employed are often plagued by violations of...
Hawai‘i forest review: Synthesizing the ecology, evolution, and conservation of a model system
Kasey Barton, Andrea Westerband, Rebecca Ostertag, Elizabeth Stacy, Kawika Winter, Don Drake, Lucas Fortini, Creighton M Litton, Susan Cordell, Paul Krushelnycky, Kapua Kawelo, Kealoha Feliciano, Gordon Bennett, Tiffany Knight
2021, Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics (52)
As the most remote archipelago in the world, the Hawaiian Islands are home to a highly endemic and disharmonic biota that has fascinated biologists for centuries. Forests are the dominant terrestrial biome in Hawai‘i, spanning complex, heterogeneous climates across substrates that vary...
Reconnaissance study of the major and trace element content of bauxite deposits in the Arkansas bauxite region, Saline and Pulaski Counties, central Arkansas
Bradley S. Van Gosen, LaDonna M. Choate
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1073
The Arkansas bauxite district, which comprises about 275 square miles (710 square kilometers) of central Arkansas, produced an order of magnitude more bauxite and alumina than the other bauxite districts in the United States combined. Bauxite was mined in the region continuously from 1898 to 1982. These bauxites are laterite...
Invader removal triggers competitive release in a threatened avian predator
David Wiens, Katie Dugger, J. Mark Higley, Damon B. Lesmeister, Alan B. Franklin, Keith A. Hamm, Gary C. White, Krista E. Dilione, David C. Simon, Robin R. Bown, Peter C. Carlson, Charles Yackulic, James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Raymond J. Davis, David W. Lamphear, Christopher McCafferty, Trent L. McDonald, Stan G. Sovern
2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) (118)
Invasive species can cause extinctions of native species and widespread biodiversity loss. Invader removal is a common management response, but the use of long-term field experiments to characterize effectiveness of removals in benefitting impacted native species is rare. We used a large-scale removal experiment to investigate the demographic...
Simulating the effort necessary to detect changes in northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) populations using passive acoustic monitoring
Damon B. Lesmeister, Cara L. Appel, Raymond J. Davis, Charles Yackulic, Zachary J. Ruff
2021, Research Paper PNW-RP-618
Passive acoustic monitoring is a promising method for monitoring rare and nocturnal species, and for tracking changes in forest wildlife biodiversity. We conducted simulations to compare and evaluate various passive acoustic sampling designs effectiveness for monitoring spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) population trends. We found that each design was effective...
Establishing conservation units to promote recovery of two threatened freshwater mussel species (Bivalvia: Unionida: Potamilus)
Chase H. Smith, Nathan Johnson, Clinton R. Robertson, Robert D. Doyle, Charles R. Randklev
2021, Ecology and Evolution (11) 11102-11122
Population genomics has significantly increased our ability to make inferences about microevolutionary processes and demographic histories, which have the potential to improve protection and recovery of imperiled species. Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionida) represent one of the most imperiled groups of organisms globally. Despite systemic decline of...
Approach for quantifying rare Earth elements at low keV
Heather A. Lowers
2021, Microscopy and Microanalysis (27) 1864-1866
The challenges of analyzing bastnaesite (REECO3F) and hydroxylbastnaesite (REECO3OH) include beam sensitivity, quantification of light elements in a heavy element matrix, the presence of elements that cannot be analyzed with EPMA (H), and the use of x-ray lines whose physical constants are not well known. To overcome some of these...
Timing and hydrological conditions associated with bigheaded carp movement past navigation dams on the upper Mississippi river
Jonathan M. Vallazza, Kayle J. Mosel, David M. Reineke, Ann L. Runstrom, James H. Larson, Brent C. Knights
2021, Biological Invasions (23) 3409-3425
As the range of non-native bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) continues to expand throughout river systems of the United States, managers are tasked with preventing or slowing the spread of these invasive species. Main stem navigation dams on the upper Mississippi River, long considered a deterrent to fish...
Water–rock interaction and the concentrations of major, trace, and rare earth elements in hydrocarbon-associated produced waters of the United States
Carleton R. Bern, Justin E. Birdwell, Aaron M. Jubb
2021, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts (23) 1198-1219
Studies of co-produced waters from hydrocarbon extraction across multiple energy-producing basins have generally focused on major ions or a few select tracers, and studies that examine trace elements and involve laboratory experiments have generally been basin specific. Here, new perspective is sought through a broad analysis of concentration data...
Predicted distribution of a rare and understudied forest carnivore: Humboldt marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis)
Katie Moriarty, Joel Thompson, Matthew Delheimer, Brent Barry, Mark Linnell, Taal Levi, Keith A. Hamm, Desiree A Early, Holly Gamblin, Micaela Szykman Gunther, Jordan Ellison, Janet S. Prevey, Jennifer Hartman, Raymond J. Davis
2021, PeerJ (9)
Many mammalian species have experienced range contractions. Following a reduction in distribution that has resulted in apparently small and disjunct populations, the Humboldt marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis) was recently designated as federally Threatened and state Endangered. This subspecies of Pacific marten occurring in coastal Oregon and northern California, also known...
Miocene neritic benthic foraminiferal community dynamics, Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA: Species pool, patterns and processes
Stephen J. Culver, Seth R Sutton, David J. Mallinson, Martin A Buzas, Marci M. Robinson, Harry J. Dowsett
2021, Palaios (36) 247-259
The presence/absence and abundance of benthic foraminifera in successive discrete beds (Shattuck “zones”) of the Miocene Calvert and Choptank formations, exposed at the Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA, allows for investigation of community dynamics over space and time. The stratigraphic distribution of benthic foraminifera is documented and interpreted in the context...
Evaluation of camera trap-based abundance estimators for unmarked populations
S M Amburgey, Amy A. Yackel Adams, B. Gardner, N.J. Hostetter, S.R. Siers, B.T. McClintock, Sarah J. Converse
2021, Ecological Applications (31)
Estimates of species abundance are critical to understand population processes and to assess and select management actions. However, capturing and marking individuals for abundance estimation, while providing robust information, can be economically and logistically prohibitive, particularly for species with cryptic behavior. Camera traps can be used to collect data at...
A case for multiscale habitat selection studies of small mammals
Brittany R. Schweiger, Jennifer K. Frey, James W. Cain III
2021, Journal of Mammalogy (102) 1249-1265
Habitat information for small mammals typically consists of anecdotal descriptions or infrequent analyses of habitat use, which often are reported erroneously as signifying habitat preference, requirements, or quality. Habitat preferences can be determined only by analysis of habitat selection, a behavioral process that results in the disproportionate use of...
