Why social values cannot be changed for the sake of conservation
Michael J. Manfredo, Jeremy T. Bruskotter, Tara L. Teel, David C. Fulton, Shalom H. Schwartz, Robert Arlinghaus, Shigehiro Oishi, Ayse K. Uskul, Kent Redford, Shinobu Kitayama, Leeann Sullivan
2017, Conservation Biology (31) 772-780
The hope for creating widespread change in social values has endured among conservation professionals since early calls by Aldo Leopold for a “land ethic.” However, there has been little serious attention in conservation to the fields of investigation that address values, how they are formed, and how they change. We...
A multi-species synthesis of physiological mechanisms in drought-induced tree mortality
Henry D. Adams, Melanie Zeppel, William R.L. Anderegg, Henrik Hartmann, Simon M. Landhausser, David T. Tissue, Travis E. Huxman, Patrick J. Hudson, Trenton E. Franz, Craig D. Allen, Leander D. L. Anderegg, Greg A. Barron-Gafford, David Beerling, David D. Breshears, Timothy J. Brodribb, Harald Bugmann, Richard C. Cobb, Adam D. Collins, L. Turin Dickman, Honglang Duan, Brent E. Ewers, Lucia Galiano, David A. Galvez, Nuria Garcia-Forner, Monica L. Gaylord, Matthew J. Germino, Arthur Gessler, Uwe G. Hacke, Rodrigo Hakamada, Andy Hector, Michael W. Jenkins, Jeffrey M. Kane, Thomas E. Kolb, Darin J. Law, James D. Lewis, Jean-Marc Limousin, David Love, Alison K. Macalady, Jordi Martínez-Vilalta, Maurizio Mencuccini, Patrick J. Mitchell, Jordan D. Muss, Michael J. O’Brien, Anthony P. O’Grady, Robert E. Pangle, Elizabeth A. Pinkard, Frida I. Piper, Jennifer Plaut, William T. Pockman, Joe Quirk, Keith Reinhardt, Francesco Ripullone, Michael G. Ryan, Anna Sala, Sanna Sevanto, John S. Sperry, Rodrigo Vargas, Michel Vennetier, Danielle A. Way, Chonggang Wu, Enrico A. Yepez, Nate G. McDowell
2017, Nature Ecology & Evolution (1) 1285-1291
Widespread tree mortality associated with drought has been observed on all forested continents and global change is expected to exacerbate vegetation vulnerability. Forest mortality has implications for future biosphere–atmosphere interactions of carbon, water and energy balance, and is poorly represented in dynamic vegetation models. Reducing uncertainty requires improved mortality projections...
Automated quantification of surface water inundation in wetlands using optical satellite imagery
Ben DeVries, Chengquan Huang, Megan W. Lang, John Jones, Wenli Huang, Irena F. Creed, Mark L. Carroll
2017, Remote Sensing (9)
We present a fully automated and scalable algorithm for quantifying surface water inundation in wetlands. Requiring no external training data, our algorithm estimates sub-pixel water fraction (SWF) over large areas and long time periods using Landsat data. We tested our SWF algorithm over three wetland sites across North America, including...
Parental care mitigates carry-over effects of poor early conditions on offspring growth
Sonya K. Auer, Thomas E. Martin
2017, Behavioral Ecology (28) 1176-1182
Poor developmental conditions can have long-lasting negative effects on offspring phenotypes, but impacts often differ among species. Contrasting responses may reflect disparities in experimental protocols among single-species studies or inherent differences among species in their sensitivity to early conditions and/or ability to mitigate negative impacts. We used a common experimental...
Empirical estimation of recreational exploitation of burbot, Lota lota, in the Wind River drainage of Wyoming using a multistate capture–recapture model
S. A. Lewandoski, Christopher S. Guy, Alexander V. Zale, Paul C. Gerrity, J. W. Deromedi, K. M. Johnson, D. L. Skates
2017, Fisheries Management and Ecology (24) 298-307
Burbot, Lota lota (Linnaeus), is a regionally popular sportfish in the Wind River drainage of Wyoming, USA, at the southern boundary of the range of the species. Recent declines in burbot abundances were hypothesised to be caused by overexploitation, entrainment in irrigation canals and habitat loss. This study addressed the overexploitation hypothesis...
Celebrating ten years of collaboration
W. Matthew Cushing
2017, GEOSUR Newsletter (4) 4-5
Since the GEOSUR Program launched in 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center has had the honor of collaborating with CAF, PAIGH, and others supporting the Latin America GEOSUR Program. The catalyst for starting the program was the convergence of regional geospatial activities USGS,...
Intra‐annual variability of Silver Carp populations in the Des Moines River, USA
Christopher J. Sullivan, Carlos A. Camacho, Michael J. Weber, Clay Pierce
2017, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (37) 836-849
Since their introduction in the 1970s, Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix have spread throughout the Mississippi River basin. Management of any species relies on an accurate understanding of population characteristics and dynamics. However, Silver Carp seasonal sampling variation is unknown. Sampling during periods of peak catch rates would facilitate Silver Carp assessment and...
The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) immunoglobulin heavy chain suggests the importance of clan III variable segments in repertoire diversity
Breanna Breaux, Thaddeus C. Deiss, Patricia L. Chen, Maria Paula Cruz-Schneider, Leonardo Sena, Margaret E. Hunter, Robert K. Bonde, Michael F. Criscitiello
2017, Developmental and Comparative Immunology (72) 57-68
Manatees are a vulnerable, charismatic sentinel species from the evolutionarily divergent Afrotheria. Manatee health and resistance to infectious disease is of great concern to conservation groups, but little is known about their immune system. To develop manatee-specific tools for monitoring health, we first must have a general knowledge of how...
Connecting crustal seismicity and earthquake-driven stress evolution in Southern California
Frederick Pollitz, Camilla Cattania
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (122) 6473-6490
Tectonic stress in the crust evolves during a seismic cycle, with slow stress accumulation over interseismic periods, episodic stress steps at the time of earthquakes, and transient stress readjustment during a postseismic period that may last months to years. Static stress transfer to surrounding faults has been well documented to...
Managed aquifer recharge through off-season irrigation in agricultural regions
Richard G. Niswonger, Eric D. Morway, Enrique Triana, Justin L. Huntington
2017, Water Resources Research (53) 6970-6992
Options for increasing reservoir storage in developed regions are limited and prohibitively expensive. Projected increases in demand call for new long-term water storage to help sustain agriculture, municipalities, industry, and ecological services. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is becoming an integral component of water resources around the world. However, MAR faces...
Lichens and microfungi in biocrusts: Structure and function now and in the future
Jayne Belnap, Otto L. Lange
J. Dighton, James F. White, editor(s)
2017, Book chapter, The fungal community
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are formed by soil-surface communities of biota that live within, or immediately on top of, the uppermost millimeters of soil. They consist of cyanobacteria, algae, mosses, microfungi, and lichenized fungi (hereafter, lichens). Cyanobacterial and microfungal filaments, rhizinae and rhizomorphs of lichens, and rhizinae and protonemata of...
Uncertainty, variability, and earthquake physics in ground‐motion prediction equations
Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Thomas C. Hanks, Norm A. Abrahamson
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 1754-1772
Residuals between ground‐motion data and ground‐motion prediction equations (GMPEs) can be decomposed into terms representing earthquake source, path, and site effects. These terms can be cast in terms of repeatable (epistemic) residuals and the random (aleatory) components. Identifying the repeatable residuals leads to a GMPE with reduced uncertainty for a...
Climate change and tree-line ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada: Habitat suitability modelling to inform high-elevation forest dynamics monitoring
Peggy E. Moore, Otto Alvarez, Shawn T. McKinney, Wenkai Li, Matthew L. Brooks, Qinghua Guo
2017, Natural Resource Report NPS/SIEN/NRR—2017/1476
Whitebark pine and foxtail pine serve foundational roles in the subalpine zone of the Sierra Nevada. They provide the dominant structure in tree-line forests and regulate key ecosystem processes and community dynamics. Climate change models suggest that there will be changes in temperature regimes and in the timing and magnitude...
Future research needs involving pathogens in groundwater
Scott A. Bradford, Ronald W. Harvey
2017, Hydrogeology Journal (25) 931-938
Contamination of groundwater by enteric pathogens has commonly been associated with disease outbreaks. Proper management and treatment of pathogen sources are important prerequisites for preventing groundwater contamination. However, non-point sources of pathogen contamination are frequently difficult to identify, and existing approaches for pathogen detection are costly and only provide semi-quantitative...
Mapping tree density in forests of the southwestern USA using Landsat 8 data
Kamal Humagain, Carlos Portillo-Quintero, Robert D. Cox, James W. Cain III
2017, Forests (8) 1-15
The increase of tree density in forests of the American Southwest promotes extreme fire events, understory biodiversity losses, and degraded habitat conditions for many wildlife species. To ameliorate these changes, managers and scientists have begun planning treatments aimed at reducing fuels and increasing understory biodiversity. However, spatial variability in tree...
Temporal changes in nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations with comparisons to conservation practices and agricultural activities in the Lower Grand River, Missouri and Iowa, and selected watersheds, 1969–2015
Heather M. Krempa, Allison K. Flickinger
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5067
This report presents the results of a cooperative study by the U.S. Geological Survey and Missouri Department of Natural Resources to estimate total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations at monitoring sites within and near the Lower Grand River hydrological unit. The primary objectives of the study were to...
Distribution and migration chronology of Eastern population sandhill cranes
David L. Fronczak, David E. Andersen, Everett E. Hanna, Thomas R. Cooper
2017, Journal of Wildlife Management (81) 1021-1032
The Eastern Population (EP) of greater sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis tabida; cranes) is expanding in size and geographic range. Little information exists regarding the geographic extent of breeding, migration, and wintering ranges, migration chronology, or use of staging areas for cranes in the EP. To obtain these data, we attached...
Potential impacts of sea level rise on native plant communities and associated cultural sites in coastal areas of the main Hawaiian Islands
James D. Jacobi, Frederick R. Warshauer
2017, Report
Hawaiian coastal vegetation is comprised of plant species that are adapted to growing in extremely harsh conditions (salt spray, wave wash, wind, and substrates with limited nutrients) found in this habitat zone. Prior to human colonization of Hawai‘i coastal vegetation extended as a continuous ring around each of the islands,...
An assessment of food habits, prey availability, and nesting success of golden eagles within the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan Area
Kathleen M. Longshore, Todd Esque, Kenneth Nussear, Diego R. Johnson, Matthew Simes, Richard D. Inman
2017, Report
Within the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan area, which encompasses California’s Mojave Desert, development and operation of renewable energy facilities has the potential to impact golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) populations through loss of habitat and prey base. Developing an effective conservation strategy that aims to mitigate for such operations is necessary to...
Spatial and temporal variability in benthic invertebrate assemblages in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon
Natalie J. Stauffer-Olsen, James L. Carter, Steven V. Fend
2017, Northwest Science (91) 257-271
Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) in southern Oregon has experienced declines in water quality due to excessive nutrient loading. This has led to annual cyanobacterial blooms, primarily of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA). Benthic invertebrates are important food resources for benthic feeding fishes; however, they can increase autochthonous nutrient cycling in lakes and as a...
Geochemical characterization of groundwater discharging from springs north of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, 2009–2016
Kimberly R. Beisner, Fred D. Tillman, Jessica R. Anderson, Ronald C. Antweiler, Donald J. Bills
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5068
A geochemical study was conducted on 37 springs discharging from the Toroweap Formation, Coconino Sandstone, Hermit Formation, Supai Group, and Redwall Limestone north of the Grand Canyon near areas of breccia-pipe uranium mining. Baseline concentrations were established for the elements As, B, Li, Se, SiO2, Sr, Tl, U, and V....
Vegetation history since the last glacial maximum in the Ozark highlands (USA): A new record from Cupola Pond, Missouri
Rachel A. Jones, John W. Williams, Stephen T. Jackson
2017, Quaternary Science Reviews (170) 174-187
The timing and drivers of vegetation dynamics and formation of no-analog plant communities during the last deglaciation in the unglaciated southeastern US are poorly understood. We present a multi-proxy record spanning the past 19,800 years from Cupola Pond in the Ozarks Mountains, consisting of replicate high-resolution pollen records, 25 AMS...
Can personality predict individual differences in brook trout spatial learning ability?
S.L. White, Tyler Wagner, C. Gowan, V.A. Braithwaite
2017, Behavioural Processes (141) 220-228
While differences in individual personality are common in animal populations, understanding the ecological significance of variation has not yet been resolved. Evidence suggests that personality may influence learning and memory; a finding that could improve our understanding of the evolutionary processes that produce and maintain intraspecific behavioural heterogeneity. Here, we...
How hunter perceptions of wildlife regulations, agency trust, and satisfaction affect attitudes about duck bag limits
Susan A. Schroeder, David C. Fulton, Jeffrey S. Lawrence, Steven D. Cordts
2017, Human Dimensions of Wildlife (22) 454-475
This study explored how factors, including the function of bag limits, agency trust, satisfaction, hunting participation, and demographics, related to opinions about duck bag limits. The results are from a survey of 2014 Minnesota resident waterfowl hunters. Analyses identified four dimensions of attitudes about functions of bag limits, including that...
Landscape capability predicts upland game bird abundance and occurrence
Zachary G. Loman, Erik J. Blomberg, William DeLuca, Daniel J. Harrison, Cyndy Loftin, Petra B. Wood
2017, Journal of Wildlife Management (81) 1110-1116
Landscape capability (LC) models are a spatial tool with potential applications in conservation planning. We used survey data to validate LC models as predictors of occurrence and abundance at broad and fine scales for American woodcock (Scolopax minor) and ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). Landscape capability models were reliable predictors of...
