Soils mediate the impact of fine woody debris on invasive and native grasses as whole trees are mechanically shredded into firebreaks in piñon-juniper woodlands
Zachary T. Aanderud, Donald R. Schoolmaster Jr., Deborah Rigby, Jordon Bybee, Tayte Campbell, Bruce A. Roundy
2017, Journal of Arid Environments (137) 60-68
To stem wildfires, trees are being mechanically shredded into firebreaks with the resulting fine woody debris (FWD) potentially exerting immense control over soil and plants. We linked FWD-induced changes in microbial activity and nutrient availability to the frequency of Bromus tectorum and three native, perennial grasses across 31 piñon-juniper woodlands,...
Rare earth element behavior during groundwater – seawater mixing along the Kona Coast of Hawaii
Karen H. Johannesson, C. Dianne Palmore, Joseph Fackrell, Nancy G. Prouty, Peter W. Swarzenski, Darren A. Chevis, Katherine Telfeyan, Christopher D. White, David J. Burdige
2017, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (198) 229-258
Groundwater and seawater samples were collected from nearshore wells and offshore along the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii to investigate rare earth element (REE) behavior in local subterranean estuaries. Previous investigations showed that submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is the predominant flux of terrestrial waters to the coastal...
Can private land conservation reduce wildfire risk to homes? A case study in San Diego County, California, USA
Van Butsic, Alexandra D. Syphard, Jon E. Keeley, Avi Bar-Massada
2017, Landscape and Urban Planning (157) 161-169
The purchase of private land for conservation purposes is a common way to prevent the exploitation of sensitive ecological areas. However, private land conservation can also provide other benefits, one of these being natural hazard reduction. Here, we investigated the impacts of private land conservation on fire risk to homes...
Cryptic invasion of Northern Leopard Frogs (Rana pipiens) across phylogeographic boundaries and a dilemma for conservation of a declining amphibian
Ryan P. O’Donnell, Charles A. Drost, Karen E. Mock
2017, Biological Invasions (19) 1039-1052
Anthropogenic introduction of species is a major contributor to loss of biodiversity. Translocations within the range of a species are less frequently recognized, but have the potential for negative effects as well. Genetic mixing may lead to loss of local adaptations or further decline through outbreeding depression. These cryptic invasions...
Patterns and drivers for wetland connections in the Prairie Pothole Region, United States
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Jay R. Christensen, Laurie C. Alexander
2017, Wetlands Ecology and Management (25) 275-297
Ecosystem function in rivers, lakes and coastal waters depends on the functioning of upstream aquatic ecosystems, necessitating an improved understanding of watershed-scale interactions including variable surface-water flows between wetlands and streams. As surface water in the Prairie Pothole Region expands in wet years, surface-water connections occur between many depressional wetlands...
A serosurvey of Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Nevada, USA
Nancy L Sinai, Peter S. Coates, Katelyn M. Andrle, Chad Jefferis, C. Gabriel Sentíes–Cué, Maurice E. Pitesky
2017, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (53) 136-139
To better understand the potential avian diseases in Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in the Great Basin in Nevada, we collected 31 blood samples March–April 2014 and tested for antibodies to eight viruses and two bacteria. Specifically, sera were tested for antibodies to avian leukosis virus type A, B, and J...
Extinction debt as a driver of amphibian declines: An example with imperiled flatwoods salamanders
Raymond D Semiltsch, Susan C. Walls, William J. Barichivich, Katherine M. O’Donnell
2017, Journal of Herpetology (51) 12-18
A comprehensive view of population declines and their underlying causes is necessary to reverse species loss. Historically, in many cases, a narrow view may have allowed species declines to continue, virtually undetected, for long periods of time (perhaps even decades). We suggest that extinction debt is likely responsible for numerous...
AnimalFinder: A semi-automated system for animal detection in time-lapse camera trap images
Jennifer L. Price Tack, Brian S. West, Conor P. McGowan, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Stanley J. Reeves, Allison Keever, J. Barry Grand
2017, Ecological Informatics (36) 145-151
Although the use of camera traps in wildlife management is well established, technologies to automate image processing have been much slower in development, despite their potential to drastically reduce personnel time and cost required to review photos. We developed AnimalFinder in MATLAB® to identify animal presence in time-lapse camera trap...
Removing sun glint from optical remote sensing images of shallow rivers
Brandon T. Overstreet, Carl J. Legleiter
2017, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (42) 318-333
Sun glint is the specular reflection of light from the water surface, which often causes unusually bright pixel values that can dominate fluvial remote sensing imagery and obscure the water-leaving radiance signal of interest for mapping bathymetry, bottom type, or water column optical characteristics. Although sun glint is ubiquitous in...
Endocrine active contaminants in aquatic systems and intersex in common sport fishes
Crystal S. D. Lee Pow, J. Mac Law, Thomas J. Kwak, W. Gregory Cope, James A. Rice, Seth W. Kullman, D. Derek Aday
2017, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (36) 959-968
Male fish are susceptible to developing intersex, a condition characterized by the presence of testicular oocytes. In the present study, the relationship between intersex and exposure to estrogenic endocrine active contaminants (EACs) was assessed for 2 genera of sport fish, Micropterus and Lepomis, at 20 riverine sites. Seasonal trends and...
Development of the oriental latrine fly, Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae), at five constant temperatures
S. V. Gruner, D. H. Slone, J.L. Capinera, M. P. Turco
2017, Journal of Medical Entomology (54) 290-298
Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) is a forensically important fly that is found throughout the tropics and subtropics. We calculated the accumulated development time and transition points for each life stage from eclosion to adult emergence at five constant temperatures: 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 °C. For each transition, the 10th, 50th,...
Climate-induced glacier and snow loss imperils alpine stream insects
J. Joseph Giersch, Scott Hotaling, Ryan Kovach, Leslie A. Jones, Clint C. Muhlfeld
2017, Global Change Biology (23) 2577-2589
Climate warming is causing rapid loss of glaciers and snowpack in mountainous regions worldwide. These changes are predicted to negatively impact the habitats of many range-restricted species, particularly endemic, mountaintop species dependent on the unique thermal and hydrologic conditions found only in glacier-fed and snowmelt-driven alpine streams. Though progress has...
Fine‐resolution conservation planning with limited climate‐change information
Payal Shah, Mindy L. Mallory, Amy W. Ando, Glenn R. Guntenspergen
2017, Conservation Biology (31) 278-289
Climate‐change induced uncertainties in future spatial patterns of conservation‐related outcomes make it difficult to implement standard conservation‐planning paradigms. A recent study translates Markowitz's risk‐diversification strategy from finance to conservation settings, enabling conservation agents to use this diversification strategy for allocating conservation and restoration investments across space to minimize the risk...
Mercury and drought along the lower Carson River, Nevada: IV. Snowy egret post-fledging dispersal, timing of migration and survival, 2002–2004
Charles J. Henny, Elwood F. Hill, Robert A. Grove, Nathan Chelgren, Patricia K. Haggerty
2017, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (135) 358-367
This telemetry study is an extension of our 1997–2006 research on historical mercury contamination on snowy egrets (Egretta thula) up to ~ 20 days of age. Findings from initial studies at the mercury-contaminated Carson River colony at Lahontan Reservoir (LR) and a similar-sized reference (REF) colony on the Humboldt River...
A synthesis of radial growth patterns preceding tree mortality
Maxime Cailleret, Steven Jansen, Elisabeth M.R. Robert, Lucia Desoto, Tuomas Aakala, Joseph A. Antos, Barbara Beikircher, Christof Bigler, Harald Bugmann, Marco Caccianiga, Vojtech Cada, Jesus J. Camarero, Paolo Cherubini, Herve Cochard, Marie R. Coyea, Katarina Cufar, Adrian J. Das, Hendrik Davi, Sylvain Delzon, Michael Dorman, Guillermo Gea-Izquierdo, Sten Gillner, Laurel J. Haavik, Henrik Hartmann, Ana-Maria Heres, Kevin R. Hultine, Pavel Janda, Jeffrey M. Kane, Vyacheslav I. Kharuk, Thomas Kitzberger, Tamir Klein, Koen Kramer, Frederic Lens, Tom Levanic, Juan C. Linares Calderon, Francisco Lloret, Raquel Lobo-Do-Vale, Fabio Lombardi, Rosana Lopez Rodriguez, Harri Makinen, Stefan Mayr, IIona Meszaros, Juha M. Metsaranta, Francesco Minunno, Walter Oberhuber, Andreas Papadopoulos, Mikko Peltoniemi, Any M. Petritan, Brigitte Rohner, Gabriel Sanguesa-Barreda, Dimitrios Sarris, Jeremy M. Smith, Amanda B. Stan, Frank Sterck, Dejan B. Stojanovic, Maria L. Suarez, Miroslav Svoboda, Roberto Tognetti, Jose M. Torres-Ruiz, Volodymyr Trotsiuk, Ricardo Villalba, Floor Vodde, Alana R. Westwood, Peter H. Wyckoff, Nikolay Zafirov, Jordi Martínez-Vilalta
2017, Global Change Biology (23) 1675-1690
Tree mortality is a key factor influencing forest functions and dynamics, but our understanding of the mechanisms leading to mortality and the associated changes in tree growth rates are still limited. We compiled a new pan-continental tree-ring width database from sites where both dead and living trees were sampled (2970...
Detection limits of quantitative and digital PCR assays and their influence in presence-absence surveys of environmental DNA
Margaret Hunter, Robert M. Dorazio, John S. Butterfield, Gaia Meigs-Friend, Leo Nico, Jason A. Ferrante
2017, Molecular Ecology Resources (17) 221-229
A set of universal guidelines is needed to determine the limit of detection (LOD) in PCR-based analyses of low concentration DNA. In particular, environmental DNA (eDNA) studies require sensitive and reliable methods to detect rare and cryptic species through shed genetic material in environmental samples. Current strategies for assessing detection...
How will predicted land-use change affect waterfowl spring stopover ecology? Inferences from an individual-based model
William S. Beatty, Dylan C. Kesler, Elisabeth B. Webb, Luke W. Naylor, Andrew H. Raedeke, Dale D. Humburg, John M. Coluccy, Gregory J. Soulliere
2017, Journal of Applied Ecology (54) 926-934
Habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, overexploitation and climate change pose familiar and new challenges to conserving natural populations throughout the world. One approach conservation planners may use to evaluate the effects of these challenges on wildlife populations is scenario planning.We developed an individual-based model to evaluate the effects...
Evaluating nest supplementation as a recovery strategy for the endangered rodents of the Florida Keys
Michael V. Cove, Theodore R. Simons, Beth Gardner, Andrew S. Maurer, Allan F. O’Connell
2017, Restoration Ecology (25) 253-260
The Key Largo woodrat (Neotoma floridana smalli) and Key Largo cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola) are federally endangered subspecies endemic to the tropical hardwood hammocks of Key Largo, Florida. Woodrats are considered generalists in habitat and diet, yet a steady decline in natural stick nests and capture rates over the...
Combining citizen science species distribution models and stable isotopes reveals migratory connectivity in the secretive Virginia rail
Auriel M. V. Fournier, Alexis R. Sullivan, Joseph K. Bump, Marie Perkins, Mark C. Shieldcastle, Sammy L. King
2017, Journal of Applied Ecology (54) 618-627
Stable hydrogen isotope (δD) methods for tracking animal movement are widely used yet often produce low resolution assignments. Incorporating prior knowledge of abundance, distribution or movement patterns can ameliorate this limitation, but data are lacking for most species. We demonstrate how observations reported by citizen scientists can...
Hydrologic restoration in a dynamic subtropical mangrove-to-marsh ecotone
Rebecca J. Howard, Richard H. Day, Ken W. Krauss, Andrew S. From, Larry K. Allain, Nicole Cormier
2017, Restoration Ecology (25) 471-482
Extensive hydrologic modifications in coastal regions across the world have occurred to support infrastructure development, altering the function of many coastal wetlands. Wetland restoration success is dependent on the existence of hydrologic regimes that support development of appropriate soils and the growth and persistence of wetland vegetation. In Florida, United...
Groundwater response to the 2014 pulse flow in the Colorado River Delta
Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Eliana Rodriguez-Burgueno, Jorge Ramirez-Hernandez
2017, Ecological Engineering (106) 715-724
During the March-May 2014 Colorado River Delta pulse flow, approximately 102 × 106 m3 (82,000 acre-feet) of water was released into the channel at Morelos Dam, with additional releases further downstream. The majority of pulse flow water infiltrated and recharged the regional aquifer. Using groundwater-level and microgravity data we mapped the spatial and...
Breeding birds in managed forests on public conservation lands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Daniel J. Twedt, R. Randy Wilson
2017, Forest Ecology and Management (384) 180-190
Managers of public conservation lands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley have implemented forest management strategies to improve bottomland hardwood habitat for target wildlife species. Through implementation of various silvicultural practices, forest managers have sought to attain forest structural conditions (e.g., canopy cover, basal area, etc.) within values postulated to benefit wildlife....
Assessments of species' vulnerability to climate change: From pseudo to science
Alisa A. Wade, Brian K. Hand, Ryan Kovach, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Robin S. Waples, Gordon Luikart
2017, Biodiversity and Conservation (26) 223-229
Climate change vulnerability assessments (CCVAs) are important tools to plan for and mitigate potential impacts of climate change. However, CCVAs often lack scientific rigor, which can ultimately lead to poor conservation prioritization and associated ecological and economic costs. We discuss the need to improve comparability and consistency of CCVAs and...
Climate, invasive species and land use drive population dynamics of a cold-water specialist
Ryan P. Kovach, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Diane C. Whited, David A. Schmetterling, Andrew M. Dux, Clint C. Muhlfeld
2017, Journal of Applied Ecology (54) 638-647
Climate change is an additional stressor in a complex suite of threats facing freshwater biodiversity, particularly for cold-water fishes. Research addressing the consequences of climate change on cold-water fish has generally focused on temperature limits defining spatial distributions, largely ignoring how climatic variation influences population dynamics in...
A history of the 2014 Minute 319 environmental pulse flow asdocumented by field measurements and satellite imagery
Steven M. Nelson, Jorge Ramirez-Hernandez, J. Eliana Rodriguez-Burgeueno, Jeff Milliken, Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Francisco Zamora-Arroyo, Karen Schlatter, Edith Santiago-Serrano, Edgar Carrera-Villa
2017, Ecological Engineering (106) 733-748
As provided in Minute 319 of the U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty of 1944, a pulse flow of approximately 132 million cubic meters (mcm) was released to the riparian corridor of the Colorado River Delta over an eight-week period that began March 23, 2014 and ended May 18, 2014. Peak flows were...
