SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Biologist”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 523 records · Page 29Linked to original sources

USGS2012

Transformation through time: How wildlife disease became a focus of conservation

When I began my career as an assistant waterfowl biologist in 1956, wildlife disease was not a major concern for conservation agencies. Some states— such as California, Michigan, New York, Wyoming, and Colorado— had small internal wildlife disease programs to investigate wildlife mortality events, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had a program focused on migratory birds.

The Wildlife Professional↗

USGS2010

The scaup conservation action plan: working toward coherence

The last in a series of three workshops to develop a decision framework for the scaup conservation action plan was conducted in September 2009. Fifteen waterfowl biologists and managers met in Memphis, Tennessee at the Ducks Unlimited Headquarters to review and refine the decision statement, objectives, and prototype model for the continental scaup population, with a special focus on vital rate parameters that are affected during migration and winter. In a significant step toward coherence, the participants also developed models for incorporating human dimensions – hunters – into the decision framework, and to link the population of diving duck hunters with the continental scaup population.

North America↗

USGS2011

Proceedings of the 2011 Elwha River Science Symposium

After years of anticipation, volumes of Environmental Impact Statements, multiple mitigation projects, and the multidisciplinary collection of predam removal data, the deconstruction phase of the Elwha River restoration officially began on September 17th, 2011. With their simultaneous decommissioning, the removal of the 64 m tall Glines Canyon Dam and the 33 m tall Elwha Dam represents one of the largest such projects of its kind in North America. It’s also an excellent opportunity to study large-scale ecosystem restoration, as the majority of the reconnected habitat that will become available to recolonizing salmon occurs in the protected wilderness areas of Olympic National Park. As part of a week-long series of ‘Celebrate Elwha’ events, which culminated with a moving ceremony commemorating the official launch of dam removal, I was proud to work with a number of dedicated people, listed below, to organize the two day 2011 Elwha River Science Symposium. Many of the scientists working on the Elwha project have regularly met, since around 2004, for annual meetings. Loosely organized under the auspices of the Elwha Research and Elwha Nearshore consortia, the annual meetings have been informative for many reasons, including the sharing of study plans, field schedules, and preliminary results. It has been a great way for groups of physical scientists and groups of biologists to learn about the questions of interest to each group and to explore areas of overlap. In some cases, these meetings have spawned new collaborations, synergies, and research directions. In planning for the 2011 Elwha River Science Symposium, we sought to retain this espirit de corps, but realized that the start of dam removal heralded an important new phase of the project and called for an event that celebrated this special occasion.

Washington↗

USGS2013

A simple humane method to euthanize a sea turtle

Increased interconnectedness, communication, and demands of society require that wildlife professionals make every effort to consider animal welfare when handling animals. The challenge can be daunting, particularly when a wild animal needs to be euthanized. In some cases, biologists are in remote areas under conditions that may be less than ideal to properly and swiftly dispatch an animal, either because of a lack of proper supplies or veterinary training. Societal demands for consideration of animal welfare are not limited to wildlife professionals. Native cultures, fishermen and hunters have traditional methods of capturing or killing wildlife that are now under increasing public scrutiny. A current example is in Australia where aborigines were criticized for the practice of dispatching sea turtles by throwing a cement block at the animals’ heads resulting in negative public reaction (Queensland Times 2010).

Marine Turtle Newsletter↗

USGS2013

The challenge of wolf recovery: an ongoing dilemma for state managers

“Dave, would you do another legal declaration on the wolf for us?” The weary voice on the phone belonged to Mike Jimenez, Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Management and Science Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). He was calling from Wyoming to ask me to prepare a document to address a legal challenge to the FWS’s August 2012 delisting of the wolf (Canis lupus) in Wyoming, a highly controversial move. Mike’s tone reflected the reality that — as so many wildlife biologists know and live each day — wildlife management is mainly people management. This contention could not be truer for managing any wildlife species than for managing the wolf. Dubbed “the beast of waste and desolation” by Teddy Roosevelt (The Wilderness Hunter 1893/1900), wolves had been universally hated as prolific predators of valuable livestock and game. Around the turn of the 20th century, members of the U.S. Biological Survey and various state agents, ranchers, cowboys, and other frontiersmen poisoned and persecuted wolves, extirpating them from most of the contiguous United States (Young and Goldman 1944). By 1967, Minnesota and nearby Isle Royale National Park in Michigan held the only remaining wolves in the Lower 48 states, prompting the FWS to place the wolf on the Endangered Species List (established by the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966). The wolf then became the list’s poster species, and the timing was ideal: Silent Spring (Carson 1962) had just seeded and fertilized the environmental movement, which blossomed on Earth Day (April 22, 1970) into the environmental revolution. “Save the wolf!” became one of the movement’s rallying cries. And save the wolf we did.

The Wildlife Professional↗

USGS2013

Identification of metrics to monitor salt marsh integrity on National Wildlife Refuges in relation to conservation and management objectives

Executive Summary Most salt marshes in the US have been degraded by human activities, and threats from physical alterations, surrounding land-use, species invasions, and global climate change persist. Salt marshes are unique and highly productive ecosystems with high intrinsic value to wildlife, and many National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) have been established in coastal areas to protect large tracts of salt marsh and wetland-dependent species. Various management practices are employed routinely on coastal NWRs to restore and enhance marsh integrity and ensure ecosystem sustainability. Prioritizing NWR salt marshes for application of management actions and choosing among multiple management options requires scientifically-based methods for assessing marsh condition. Monitoring is integral to structured decision-making (SDM), a formal process for decomposing a decision into its essential elements. Within a natural resource context, SDM involves identifying management objectives, alternative management actions, and expected management outcomes. The core of SDM is a set of criteria for measuring system performance and evaluating management responses. Therefore, use of SDM to frame natural resource decisions leads to logical selection of monitoring attributes that are linked explicitly to management needs. We used SDM to guide selection of variables for monitoring the ecological integrity of salt marshes within the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). Our objectives were to identify indicators of salt marsh integrity that are effective across large geographic regions, responsive to a wide range of threats, and feasible to implement within funding and staffing constraints of the NWRS. In April, 2008, we engaged interdisciplinary experts in a week-long rapid prototyping SDM workshop to define the essential elements of salt marsh management decisions on refuges throughout the northeastern, southwestern, and northwestern US, corresponding to respective Regions 5, 2, and 1 of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Through this process we identified measurable attributes for monitoring salt marsh ecosystems that are integrated into conservation practice and target management objectives. The following salt marsh attributes were identified through the SDM process either for describing state condition to determine management needs or for evaluating the achievement of management objectives: historical condition and geomorphic setting; ditch density; surrounding land use; ratio of open water area to vegetation area; rate of pesticide application; environmental contaminant concentration; change in marsh surface elevation relative to sea level rise; tidal range and groundwater level; surface topography; salinity; and species composition and abundance of vegetation, invasive species, invertebrates, nekton, and breeding and wintering birds. The identified attributes were too broadly defined to serve as operational monitoring variables. Therefore, we tested specific metrics for quantifying most of these attributes in summers of 2008 and 2009. The first four attributes in the above list can be characterized by office-based analysis of existing GIS data layers. The remaining attributes require field-based methods for assessment. We were forced to exclude a small number of attributes from field tests due to inconsistent data (pesticide application rate, environmental contaminant concentrations) or requirements that exceeded the scope of this project (change in marsh surface elevation; surface topography; benthic invertebrates; wintering birds). We evaluated potential metrics for evaluating all remaining field attributes. In partnership with NWRS biologists, we tested rapid versus intensive metrics for monitoring field attributes (tidal range and groundwater level; marsh surface elevation; salinity; and species composition and abundance of vegetation, invasive species, nekton, and breeding birds) at coastal refuges throughout FWS Region 5. Seven refuges participated in metric testing in 2008: Rachel Carson (ME), Parker River (MA), Wertheim (NY), E. B. Forsythe (NJ), Bombay Hook (DE), Prime Hook (DE), and Eastern Shore of Virginia Complex (VA). These seven and two additional refuges participated in metric testing in 2009: Rhode Island Complex (RI) and Stewart B. McKinney (CT). We based all field metrics on existing protocols for salt marsh assessment. Sampling locations were determined randomly within delineated marsh study units (MSUs) at each refuge. Detailed field methods are provided in appendices to this report. Measurements for individual metrics were averaged across samples within MSUs during each year of sampling. Each year, correlation or regression analysis was conducted on average measurements across MSUs within each attribute set to identify redundant metrics. Statistical redundancy between a pair of metrics within an attribute set (i.e., correlation or regression slopes with p-values < 0.05) was considered justification for eliminating one of the pair from the regional set of monitoring metrics. Decisions regarding metric elimination versus retention were based on feasibility of monitoring, considering such factors as sampling time, resources required, and potential for regional standardization in implementation. The result of these tests is a reduced suite of monitoring metrics that targets NWRS management decisions and is practicable for implementing on a regional scale. Based on these tests, we recommend the following list of metrics for monitoring integrity of NWRS salt marshes (marsh attribute category is in parentheses): (historical condition and geomorphic setting) position of marsh in the landscape, marsh shape, degree of fill and/or fragmentation, degree of tidal flushing, amount of aquatic edge; (ditch density) ranking of ditch density from none to severe; (surrounding land use) relative proportion of agricultural land in a 150-m buffer around the marsh, relative proportion of natural land in a 150-m buffer around the marsh, relative proportion of natural land in a 1-km buffer around the marsh; (ratio of open water area to vegetation area) ratio of open water to emergent herbaceous wetlands within the marsh; (marsh surface elevation) elevation referenced to NAVD88 in a representative area of the marsh; (tidal range and groundwater level) percent of time the marsh surface is flooded during deployment of a continuous water-level monitor at a representative marsh location, mean depth of surface flooding as measured by a continuous water-level monitor at a representative location; (salinity) salinity measured in surface water; (vegetation community) vegetation species richness using the point-intercept method in 100-m diameter survey plots, percent cover of various marsh community types within 100-m diameter survey plots; (invasive species abundance) percent cover of invasive plant species measured using the point-intercept method in 100-m diameter survey plots; (nekton community) nekton density, nekton species richness, length of Fundulus heteroclitus ; (breeding bird community) abundance of Willets counted per point during standard call-broadcast surveys, summed abundance of tidal marsh obligate species (Clapper Rail, Willet, Saltmarsh Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow) counted per point during standard call-broadcast surveys. Metrics describing the historical condition, geomorphic setting, and broad landscape features can be assessed using existing GIS databases. Our results support use of rapid methods to assess the majority of field metrics; only those used to describe the nekton community must be measured using intensive methods (throw traps or ditch nets, dependant on habitat configuration). Implementation of these metrics for quantitative assessment of NWRS salt marsh integrity in FWS Region 5 requires developing sampling designs for each refuge. Additionally, it is important to determine how the monitoring information will be used within a management context. SDM should be used to complete the analysis of salt marsh management decisions. The next steps would involve 1) prioritizing and weighting the management objectives; 2) predicting responses to individual management actions in terms of objectives and metrics; 3) using multiattribute utility theory to convert all measurable attributes to a common utility scale; 4) determining the total management benefit of each action by summing utilities across objectives; and 5) maximizing the total management benefits within cost constraints for each refuge. This process would allow the optimum management decisions for NWRS salt marshes to be selected and implemented based directly on monitoring data and current understanding of marsh responses to management actions. Monitoring the outcome of management actions would then allow new monitoring data to be incorporated into subsequent decisions.

Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New J↗

USGS1953

Chemical and physical quality examination

In a balanced study of water pollution or water utilization a thorough chemical and physical examination is essential. This provides a basis for evaluation of stream conditions, their effects and remedies. Such information is of value to the general public who are interested in clean water and in recreation, hunting, fishing, and wildlife; to the chemist, engineer, hydrologist, and industrialist who are interested in the domestic and industrial use of water both as raw material and as a vehicle for the removal of waste materials; to the sanitarian who is interested in healthful conditions; and to the biologist who is interested in maintaining a favorable biological balance. For every living plant and animal there are optimum physical and chemical conditions and these characteristics are determining factors in the aquatic life of any body of water.

Lake Erie↗

USGS2012

Foreword: Contributions of Arctic PRISM to monitoring western hemispheric shorebirds

Long-term monitoring of populations is of paramount importance to understanding responses of organisms to global environmental change and to evaluating whether conservation practices are yielding intended results through time (Wiens 2009). The population status of many shorebird species, the focus of this volume, remain poorly known. Long-distance migrant shorebirds have proven particularly difficult to monitor, in part because of their highly inaccessible regions. As migrant shorebirds travel the length of the hemisphere, the congregate and disperse in ways that vary among species, locations, and years, presenting serious challenges to designing and implementing monitoring programs. Rigorous field and quantitative methods that estimate population size and monitor trends are vitally needed to direct and evaluate effective conservation measures. Many management efforts depend on unbiased population size estimates; for examples, the shorebird conservation plans for both Canada and the United States seek to restore populations to levels calculated for the 1970s based on the best information available from existing surveys. Further, federal wildlife agencies within the United States and Canada have mandates to understand the state of their nations' resources under various conventions for the protection of migratory birds. Accurate estimates of population size are vital statistics for a variety of conservation activities, such as prioritizing species for conservation action and setting management targets. Areas of essential habitat, such as those designated under the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, the Important Bird Areas program of BirdLife Internationals and the National Audubon Society, or Canada's National Wildlife Areas program, are all evaluated on the basis of proportions of species' populations which they contain. The size, and trends in size, of a species' population are considered key information for assessing its vulnerability and subsequent listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Canadian Species at Risk Act. To meet the need for information on population size and trends, shorebird biologists from Canada and the United States proposed a shared blueprint for shorebird monitoring across the Western Hemisphere in the late 1990s; this effort was undertaken in concert with the development of the Canadian and the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plans. Soon thereafter, partners in the monitoring effort adopted the name "Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring" (PRISM). Among the primary objectives of PRISM were to estimate the population sizes and trends of breeding North American shorebirds and describe their distributions. PRISM members evaluated ongoing and potential monitoring approached to address 74 taxa (including subspecies) and proposed a combination of arctic and boreal breeding surveys, temperate breeding and non-breeding surveys, and neotropical surveys.

Studies in Avian Biology↗

USGS2012

A catalog of Louisiana's nesting seabird colonies

Summarizing his colonial nesting waterbird survey experiences along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico in a paper presented to the Colonial Waterbird Group of the Waterbird Society (Portnoy 1978), bird biologist John W. Portnoy stated, “This huge concentration of nesting waterbirds, restricted almost entirely to the wetlands and estuaries of southern Louisiana, is unmatched in all of North America; for example, a 1975 inventory of wading birds along the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida [Custer and Osborn, in press], tallied 250,000 breeding [waterbirds] of 14 species, in contrast with the 650,000 birds of 15 species just from Sabine Pass to Mobile Bay.” The “650,000 birds” to which Portnoy referred, were tallied by him in a 1976 survey of coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama (see below, under “Major Surveys” section). According to the National Atlas of Coastal Waterbird Colonies in the Contiguous United States: 1976-82 (Spendelow and Patton 1988), the percentages of the total U.S. populations of Laughing Gull (11%), Forster's Tern (52%), Royal Tern (16%), Sandwich Tern (77%), and Black Skimmer (44%) which annually nest in Louisiana are significant – perhaps crucially so in the cases of Forster's Tern, Sandwich Tern, and Black Skimmer. Nearly three decades after Spendelow and Patton's determinations above, coastal Louisiana still stands out as the major center of colonial wading bird and seabird nesting in all of the United States. Within those three intervening decades, however, the collective habitats which comprise Louisiana's now fragile coastal zone have taken major hits from commercial/residential, oil & gas, and other industrial development, primarily in the form of coastal erosion exacerbated by these and other factors (Portnoy 1978, Spendelow and Patton 1988, Martin and Lester 1990, Green, et al. 2006). Moreover, during this same period, both geologic subsidence rates (Tornqvist et al. 2008) and mean sea-level (Tornqvist et al. 2002) have increased, along with significant tropical storm activity; all of which have combined to impact available marsh, barrier island, beach, and dredge spoil nesting habitat for waterbirds, especially seabirds, throughout the coastal zone of Louisiana. The primary objective of this publication is to detail those coastal Louisiana colonial seabird nesting sites for which we have reasonably accurate data, in a tabular, site-by-site format. All major survey (1976-2008) data of site-by-site seabird species counts, as well as several smaller data sets, referred to in the site history tables as “miscellaneous observations” obtained during the May-June seabird breeding period, are included. It is our hope that these data will provide a dependable foundation from which future colonial seabird nesting surveys might be planned and carried out, as well as showcase the importance of coastal Louisiana's seabird rookeries, and contribute to their conservation.

Louisiana↗

USGS2013

ʻŌhiʻa Lehua rainforest: born among Hawaiian volcanoes, evolved in isolation: the story of a dynamic ecosystem with relevance to forests worldwide

In the early 1970s, a multidisciplinary team of forest biologists began a study of Hawaiian ecosystems under the International Biological Program (IBP). Research focus was on the intact native ecosystems in and around Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, in particular the ʻŌhiʻa Lehua rainforest. Patches of dead ʻŌhiʻa stands had been reported from the windward slopes of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. Subsequent air photo analyses by a team of US and Hawai'i State foresters discovered rapidly spreading ʻŌhiʻa dieback, also called ʻŌhiʻa forest decline. A killer disease was suspected to destroy the Hawaiian rain forest in the next 15-25 years. Ecological research continued with a focus on the dynamics of the Hawaiian rainforest. This book explains what really happened and why the ʻŌhiʻa rainforest survived in tact as everyone can witness today.

Hawai'i↗

USGS2013

Spatial capture-recapture

Spatial Capture-Recapture provides a revolutionary extension of traditional capture-recapture methods for studying animal populations using data from live trapping, camera trapping, DNA sampling, acoustic sampling, and related field methods. This book is a conceptual and methodological synthesis of spatial capture-recapture modeling. As a comprehensive how-to manual, this reference contains detailed examples of a wide range of relevant spatial capture-recapture models for inference about population size and spatial and temporal variation in demographic parameters. Practicing field biologists studying animal populations will find this book to be a useful resource, as will graduate students and professionals in ecology, conservation biology, and fisheries and wildlife management.

Book↗

USGS2013

Minnesota wolf 2407: a research pioneer

The International Wolf Center has assembled in this book stories from over 30 wolf biologists from throughout North America and Europe. These tales provide a glimpse into the amazing lives of individual wolves, revealing their unique personalities, highlighting their struggles and triumphs, and illustrating the unique influence the individual can have on the survival of its pack and the population to which it belongs.

Book chapter↗

USGS2011

Understanding the influence of predation by introduced fishes on juvenile salmonids in the Columbia River Basin: Closing some knowledge gaps. Interim Report of Research 2010

Project overview Predation on juvenile salmonids by fish in the Columbia River Basin (CRB) has impacted salmon survival and is a topic that has received considerable attention over the last three decades. Some of the earliest and most detailed research focused on the food habits, consumption rates, abundance, and distribution of predaceous northern pikeminnow Ptychocheilus oregonensis , smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu , walleye Sander vitreus , and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus in John Day Reservoir (Beamesderfer and Rieman 1991; Poe et al. 1991; Vigg et al. 1991). This group of researchers also estimated the loss of juvenile salmonids to predation by some of these predators (Rieman et al. 1991). Since this pioneering effort, others have evaluated various aspects of predation-related mortality on juvenile salmonids in the CRB, focusing mostly on northern pikeminnow and smallmouth bass (e.g., Tabor et al. 1993; Zimmerman 1999; Naughton et al. 2004). Perhaps the most significant finding coming from this body of research was that the native northern pikeminnow was the dominant predator of juvenile salmonids in the CRB. Indeed, Beamesderfer et al. (1996) estimated that northern pikeminnow consumed about 16 million (8%) of the estimated 200 million juvenile salmonids emigrating annually in the CRB, far surpassing the consumption of smallmouth bass, walleye, and channel catfish combined. Because of this, large-scale management fisheries (i.e., the northern pikeminnow management program, or NPMP; see Rieman and Beamesderfer 1990; Beamesderfer et al. 1996) have been implemented in the CRB since 1990 to achieve a 10%–20% exploitation rate on northern pikeminnow and reduce predation on juvenile salmonids. The NPMP has been a success, resulting in up to 38% potential reductions in predation (Friesen and Ward 1999; Knutsen and Ward 1999; Ward and Zimmerman 1999;). In contrast to the NPMP, Oregon and Washington state fish and wildlife agencies manage and enhance recreational fisheries for smallmouth bass and walleye by implementing size and harvest limit regulations. Recently, many biologists and fish managers have become concerned about the impact of non-native predaceous fishes on juvenile salmonid survival. For example, Poe et al. (1994) warned that smallmouth bass, walleye, and channel catfish were expanding their populations in some areas, that these fish could be significant predators on juvenile salmonids, and that they may compete with northern pikeminnow for common prey items, resulting in higher consumption rates of salmonids by the native predator. Sanderson et al. (2009) reported that the impact of non-indigenous species (including piscivorous fishes) on salmon survival within the CRB can be severe and suggested that managing nonindigenous species may be imperative for salmon recovery. Assessing the current ecological impacts of introduced fishes throughout the CRB will fill information gaps associated with their impact on salmonid survival and contribute to the description of CRB food webs. In response to these recent concerns about the potential predatory impact of non-native piscivores on salmon survival, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority (CBFWA) co-hosted a workshop to address predation on juvenile salmonids in the CRB by non-native fish (Halton 2008). The purpose of the workshop was to review, evaluate, and develop strategies to reduce predation by non-native fishes on juvenile salmonids. In the end, discussion at the workshop and at subsequent meetings considered two potential ideas to reduce predation by non-native fish on juvenile salmonids; (1) understanding the role of juvenile American shad Alosa sapidissima in the diet of non-native predators in the fall; and (2) the effects of localized, intense reductions of smallmouth bass in areas of particularly high salmonid predation. In this report, we describe initial efforts to understand the influence of juvenile American shad as a prey item for introduced predators in the middle Columbia River. Our first objective, addressed in Chapter 1, was to evaluate the efficacy of nonlethal methods to describe the physiological condition of smallmouth bass, walleye, and channel catfish from late summer through late fall. Such information will be used to understand the contribution of juvenile American shad to the energy reserves of predaceous fish prior to winter. In Chapter 2, we describe the results of some limited sampling to document the food habits of smallmouth bass, walleye, and channel catfish in three reservoirs of the middle Columbia River during late fall. Collectively, we hope to increase our understanding of the contribution of juvenile American shad to the diets of introduced predators and the contribution of this diet to their energy reserves, growth, and perhaps over-winter survival. Managers should be able to use this information for deciding whether to control the population of American shad in the CRB or for managing introduced predaceous fish in the CRB.

Oregon, Washington↗

USGS2013

Proceedings of a workshop on American Eel passage technologies

Recent concerns regarding a decline in recruitment of American eels ( Anguilla rostrata ) have prompted efforts to restore this species to historic habitats by providing passage for both upstream migrant juveniles and downstream migrant adults at riverine barriers, including low-head and hydroelectric dams (Castonguay et al. 1994, Haro et al. 2000). These efforts include development of management plans and stock assessment reviews in both the US and Canada (COSEWIC 2006, Canadian Eel Working Group 2009, DFO 2010, MacGregor et al. 2010, ASMFC 2000, ASMFC 2006, ASMFC 2008, Williams and Threader 2007), which target improvement of upstream and downstream passage for eels, as well as identification and prioritization of research needs for development of new and more effective passage technologies for American eels. Traditional upstream fish passage structures, such as fishways and fish lifts, are often ineffective passing juvenile eels, and specialized passage structures for this species are needed. Although designs for such passage structures are available and diverse (Knights and White 1998, Porcher 2002, FAO/DVWK 2002, Solomon and Beach 2004a,b, Environment Agency UK 2011), many biologists, managers, and engineers are unfamiliar with eel pass design and operation, or unaware of the technical options available for upstream eel passage, Better coordination is needed to account for eel passage requirements during restoration efforts for other diadromous fish species. Also, appropriately siting eel passes at hydropower projects is critical, and siting can be difficult and complex due to physical restrictions in access to points of natural concentrations of eels, dynamic hydraulics of tailrace areas, and presence of significant competing flows from turbine outfalls or spill. As a result, some constructed eel passes are sited poorly and may pass only a fraction of the number of eels attempting to pass the barrier. When sited and constructed appropriately, however, eel passes can effectively pass thousands of individuals in a season (Appendix D). technologies for preventing impingement and entrainment mortality and injury of downstream migrant eels at hydropower projects are not well developed. Traditional downstream fish passage mitigative techniques originally developed for salmonids and other species are frequently ineffective passing eels (Richkus and Dixon 2003, EPRI 2001, Bruijs and Durif 2009). Large hydropower projects, with high project flows or intake openings that cannot be fitted with racks or screens with openings small enough to exclude eels, pose significant passage problems for this species, and turbine impingement and entrainment mortality of eels can be as high as 100%. Spill mortality and injury may also be significant for eels, given their tendency to move during high flow events when projects typically spill large amounts of flow. Delays in migration of eels that have difficulty locating and utilizing bypass entrances can also be significant. Therefore, downstream passage technologies are at a much more nebulous state of development than upstream passage technologies, and require further evaluation and improvement before rigorous design guidelines can be established. There have been few studies conducted to evaluate effectiveness of current mitigative measures for both upstream and downstream passage of eels. Research is needed to determine eel migratory timing, behavior, and appropriate mitigation technologies for specific sites and eel life history stages. Both upstream and downstream eel passage structures can be difficult to evaluate in terms of performance, and examples of how evaluation and monitoring can be accomplished were reviewed at the workshop.

Report↗

USGS2012

Bats, mines, and citizen science in the Rockies: Volunteers make a difference in Colorado

Biologists at the Colorado Division of Wildlife faced a big problem back in 1990. They wanted to protect important bat roosts in the state’s abandoned mines, but first they had to find the bats. Colorado’s rich mining history had left more than 23,000 old mines scattered across the landscape, few of which had ever been surveyed for bat roosts. The magnitude of the task was overwhelming. So the agency put out a call for volunteers, “citizen scientists” willing to donate their time for bat conservation. Two decades later, the results have surpassed their wildest expectations.

BATS Magazine↗

USGS1982

HEP as a planning tool: an application to waterfowl enhancement

To many, the principal role of wildlife agencies in public and private resource development has been that of impact mitigation. With known or pending habitat damage, biologists have to develop mitigation or compensation plans. Unfortunately, once in a mitigation framework, they are in a no-win situation, seeking remedial action at best. Yet, the potential exists for cooperative project planning, thereby facilitating mitigation of impacts before they occur, and enhancement of environmental amenities through project development. In fact, such planning is mandated by federal legislation (e.g., National Environmental Policy Act, Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, Outdoor Recreation Act, etc.).

Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Na↗

USGS2007

Spatially continuous interpolation of water stage and water depths using the Everglades depth estimation network (EDEN)

The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) is an integrated network of real-time water-level monitoring, ground-elevation modeling, and water-surface modeling that provides scientists and managers with current (2000-present), online water-stage and water-depth information for the entire freshwater portion of the Greater Everglades. Continuous daily spatial interpolations of the EDEN network stage data are presented on a 400-square-meter grid spacing. EDEN offers a consistent and documented dataset that can be used by scientists and managers to (1) guide large-scale field operations, (2) integrate hydrologic and ecological responses, and (3) support biological and ecological assessments that measure ecosystem responses to the implementation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) The target users are biologists and ecologists examining trophic level responses to hydrodynamic changes in the Everglades.

Florida↗

USGS1984

Proceedings of a workshop on fish habitat suitability index models

One of the habitat-based methodologies for impact assessment currently in use by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1980). HEP is based on the assumption that the quality of an area as wildlife habitat at a specified target year can be described by a single number, called a Habitat Suitability Index (HSI). An HSI of 1.0 represents optimum habitat: an HSI of 0.0 represents unsuitable habitat. The verbal or mathematical rules by which an HSI is assigned to an area are called an HSI model. A series of Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) models, described by Schamberger et al. (1982), have been published to assist users in applying HEP. HSI model building approaches are described in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1981). One type of HSI model described in detail requires the development of Suitability Index (SI) graphs for habitat variables believed to be important for the growth, survival, standing crop, or other measure of well-being for a species. Suitability indices range from 0 to 1.0, with 1.0 representing optimum conditions for the variable. When HSI models based on suitability indices are used, habitat variable values are measured, or estimated, and converted to SI's through the use of a Suitability Index graph for each variable. Individual SI's are aggregated into an HSI. Standard methods for testing this type of HSI model did not exist at the time the studies reported in this document were performed. A workshop was held in Fort Collins, Colorado, February 14-15, 1983, that brought together biologists experienced in the use, development, and testing of aquatic HSI models, in an effort to address the following objectives: (1) review the needs of HSI model users; (2) discuss and document the results of aquatic HSI model tests; and (3) provide recommendations for the future development, testing, modification, and use of HSI models. Individual presentations, group discussions, and group decision techniques were used to develop and present information at the meeting. A synthesis of the resulting concepts, results, and recommendations follows this preface. Subsequent papers describe individual tests of selected HSI models. Most of the tests involved comparison of values from HSI models or Suitability index (SI) curves with standing crop, as required contractually. Time and budget constraints generally limited tests to the use of data previously collected for other purposes. These proceedings are intended to help persons responsible for the development, testing, or use of HSI models by increasing their understanding of potential uses and limitations of testing procedures and models based on aggregated Suitability Indices. Problems encountered when testing HSI models are described, model performance during tests is documents, and recommendations for future model development and testing presented by the participants are listed and interpreted.

Biological Report↗