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At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
USGS2018

Response of moose to a high‐density road network

Road networks and the disturbance associated with vehicle traffic alter animal behavior, movements, and habitat selection. The response of moose ( Alces americanus ) to roads has been documented in relatively rural areas, but less is known about moose response to roads in more highly roaded landscapes. We examined road‐crossing frequencies and habitat use of global positioning system (GPS)‐collared moose in Massachusetts, USA, where moose home ranges have road densities approximately twice that of previous studies. We compared seasonal road‐crossing frequencies of moose with a null movement model. We estimated moose travel speeds during road‐crossing events and compared them with speeds during other home range movements. To estimate the extent of the road effect zone and determine how roads influenced moose habitat use, we fit a third‐order resource selection function. With the exception of the lowest use road class (<10 vehicles/day), we found moose crossed roads less than expected based on the null movement model and frequency decreased with increasing road size and traffic. Moose crossed roads faster than they traveled during other times. This effect increased with increasing road use intensity. Overall, roads were a major factor determining what portions of Massachusetts moose used and how they moved among habitat patches. Our results suggest that moose in Massachusetts can adapt to a high‐density road network, but the road effect is still strongly negative and, in some cases, is more pronounced than in study areas with lower road densities. Future road construction and the expansion of road networks may have a large effect on moose and other wildlife.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS2019

Black bears alter movements in response to anthropogenic features with time of day and season

Background With the growth and expansion of human development, large mammals will increasingly encounter humans, elevating the likelihood of human-wildlife conflicts. Understanding the behavior and movement of large mammals, particularly around human development, is important for crafting effective conservation and management plans for these species. Methods We used GPS collar data from American black bears ( Ursus americanus ) to determine how seasonal food resources and human development affected bear movement patterns and resource use across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Results We found that though bears moved more and avoided human development during crepuscular and daylight hours than at night, bears preferentially moved through human dominated areas at night. This indicates bears were mitigating the risk of human development by altering their behavior to exploit these areas when human activity is low. This behavioral shift was most prominent in the spring, when natural foods are scarce, and fall, when energetic demands are high. We also observed a high degree of inter-individual variability among our sample of bears. Bears with a higher density of houses in their home ranges (~ 75 houses/km2) displayed less avoidance of human development than more rural bears. Furthermore, bear movement models had different explanatory variables, with preference or avoidance of a variable being dependent on the individual bear. To account for this individuality in our predictive surfaces, we projected the probability of movement for each season and time of day using a spatially weighted surface centered on each bear’s home range. Conclusions We found that black bears in Massachusetts are operating in a landscape of fear and are altering their movement patterns to use developed areas when human activity is low. We also found seasonal and diel differences among individual bears in resource selection during movement. Accounting for these individual, seasonal, and diel differences when assessing movement for large mammals is especially important if predictive surfaces are to be used in identifying areas for conservation and management.

Movement Ecology↗
USGS2004

Evaluation of strategies for balancing water use and streamflow reductions in the upper Charles River basin, eastern Massachusetts

The upper Charles River basin, located 30 miles southwest of Boston, Massachusetts, is experiencing water shortages during the summer. Towns in the basin have instituted water-conservation programs and water-use bans to reduce summertime water use. During July through October, streamflow in the Charles River and its tributaries regularly falls below 0.50 cubic foot per second per square mile, the minimum streamflow used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as its Aquatic Base Flow standard for maintaining healthy freshwater ecosystems. To examine how human water use could be changed to mitigate these water shortages, a numerical ground-water flow model was modified and used in conjunction with response coefficients and optimization techniques. Streamflows at 10 locations on the Charles River and its tributaries were determined under various water-use scenarios and climatic conditions. A variety of engineered solutions to the water shortages were examined for their ability to increase water supplies and summertime streamflows. Results indicate that although human water use contributes to the problem of low summertime streamflows, human water use is not the only, or even the primary, cause of low flows in the basin. The lowest summertime streamflows increase by 12 percent but remain below the Aquatic Base Flow standard when all public water-supply pumpage and wastewater flows in the basin are eliminated in a simulation under average climatic conditions. Under dry climatic conditions, the same measures increase the lowest average monthly streamflow by 95 percent but do not increase it above the Aquatic Base Flow standard. The most promising water-management strategies to increase streamflows and water supplies, based on the study results, include wastewater recharge to the aquifer, altered management of pumping well schedules, regional water-supply sharing, and water conservation. In a scenario that simulated towns sharing water supplies, streamflow in the Charles River as it exits the basin increased by 18 percent during July through September and an excess water-supply capacity of 13.4 cubic feet per second, above and beyond average use, would be available to all towns in the basin. These study results could help water suppliers and regulators evaluate strategies for balancing ground-water development and streamflow reductions in the basin.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2022

Range-wide population projections for Northern Red-Bellied Cooters (Pseudemys rubriventris)

Northern Red-Bellied Cooters ( Pseudemys rubriventris ) have a disjunct distribution with a relictual population in southeastern Massachusetts and a larger range across the mid-Atlantic United States. The relictual population is currently listed with protections under the U.S. Endangered Species Act but the status of the population in the remainder of the species' range has not been assessed, and there is concern that it may be at risk of extinction without protection. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requires scientific information of the species' status to inform conservation decisions. There is little empirical information available from P. rubriventris populations and, furthermore, the majority of what exists comes from the disjunct northern subpopulation. To fill data gaps in the species' life history and reduce geographic bias, we supplement available data from P. rubriventris with demographic rate estimates from other Pseudemys species to parameterize an age-structured population projection model. Our estimate of mean population growth rate was 0.987 (0.92–1.04), indicating that P. rubriventris populations may be in decline. However, there was considerable uncertainty in our results, with 35% of projections resulting in stable or increasing populations. Additional uncertainty about parameter values, geographic variation, and current threats limit the assessment. We discuss the merits and limitations of our population projection modeling (PPM) approach where other analytical methods are precluded by lack of available data.

Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolin↗
USGS2006

Estimating site occupancy and detection probability parameters for meso- and large mammals in a coastal eosystem

Large-scale, multispecies monitoring programs are widely used to assess changes in wildlife populations but they often assume constant detectability when documenting species occurrence. This assumption is rarely met in practice because animal populations vary across time and space. As a result, detectability of a species can be influenced by a number of physical, biological, or anthropogenic factors (e.g., weather, seasonality, topography, biological rhythms, sampling methods). To evaluate some of these influences, we estimated site occupancy rates using species-specific detection probabilities for meso- and large terrestrial mammal species on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. We used model selection to assess the influence of different sampling methods and major environmental factors on our ability to detect individual species. Remote cameras detected the most species (9), followed by cubby boxes (7) and hair traps (4) over a 13-month period. Estimated site occupancy rates were similar among sampling methods for most species when detection probabilities exceeded 0.15, but we question estimates obtained from methods with detection probabilities between 0.05 and 0.15, and we consider methods with lower probabilities unacceptable for occupancy estimation and inference. Estimated detection probabilities can be used to accommodate variation in sampling methods, which allows for comparison of monitoring programs using different protocols. Vegetation and seasonality produced species-specific differences in detectability and occupancy, but differences were not consistent within or among species, which suggests that our results should be considered in the context of local habitat features and life history traits for the target species. We believe that site occupancy is a useful state variable and suggest that monitoring programs for mammals using occupancy data consider detectability prior to making inferences about species distributions or population change.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS1971

Blood parasites of wood ducks

Examination of blood films from wood ducks ( Aix sponsa ) from several northeastern states revealed Haemoproteus , Leucocytozoon , Plasmodium and a typanosome. Haemoproteus occurred in all areas sampled and birds of the year from Massachusetts demonstrated the highest incidence during the last 2 weeks in August. Leucocytozoon was most prevalent in more northern areas. P. circumflexum and a trypanosome are reported for the first time from this host.

Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Ve↗
USGS1983

Organochlorine residues and shell characteristics of roseate tern eggs, 1981

Roseate Terns ( Sterna dougallii ) breed in two areas in the Western Hemisphere: in northeastern North America between Long Island, New York, and Nova Scotia, and around the Caribbean Sea from the Florida Keys and the Bahamas to the Netherlands Lesser Antilles (Bent 1921, Bond 1956, Nisbet 1980). Both populations are small, and concern recently has been expressed about their status (Nisbet 1980, Buckley and Buckley 1981). The northeastern population has decreased from a peak of about 8500 pairs in the 1940s to between 2500 and 3000 pairs in 1978-1982, and has become largely concentrated into 4 colonies (Nisbet 1980). The Caribbean population has been affected by egg collecting and other forms of human disturbance in its main stronghold in the U.S. Virgin Islands (U.S. Virgin Islands Bureau of Fish and Wildlife 1976-1979, Norton 1980, 1981). One factor which may have affected the northeastern population is chemical pollution. Hays and Risebrough (1972) reported high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and l,l-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chloro phenyl) ethylene (DDE) in 3 Roseate Tern chicks found with congenital abnormalities at Great Gull Island, New York, in 1970. High levels of PCBs were also found in chicks found dead at Bird Island, Massachusetts, in 1970 (Nisbet 1981). A close relative, the Common Tern ( S. hirundo ), is relatively sensitive to the effects of DDE; elevated residues of DDE in eggs are associated with eggshell-thinning (Switzer et al. 1973), reduction in the porosity of eggshells, and embryonic mortality (Fox 1976). The present paper reports the results of a survey of organochlorine residues in Roseate Terns in 1981. The main objectives of the survey were to determine the levels of organochlorine contamination in eggs of the Roseate Tern in its major colonies and to investigate whether changes in eggshell characteristics similar to those reported by Fox (1976) may have occurred in this species. A secondary objective was to determine geographic patterns of organochlorine contamination within the northeastern U.S. population of Roseate Terns and to compare them with patterns observed in Common Terns

Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York↗
USGS2021

Cape Romain partnership for coastal protection

This final report summarizes activities, outcomes, and lessons learned from a 3-year project titled “Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal National Wildlife Refuges” with the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and local partners in the surrounding South Carolina Lowcountry. The Lowcountry is classified as the 10-county area encompassing the coastal plain of South Carolina (this report specifically focuses on Berkeley, Charleston, and Georgetown Counties). The goals of this work, sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (SECASC), were to foster active engagement with stakeholders; to develop a comprehensive definition of adaptation problems faced by agencies, organizations, and individuals near the Cape Romain NWR that accounts for global change, local values, knowledge and perceptions; and to encourage social learning and building of effective networks and trust across South Carolina Lowcountry organizations and individuals. Although project scoping began at the scale of the Atlantic seaboard, by engaging with NWRs from Massachusetts to Florida, participating refuge personnel eventually selected the Cape Romain NWR to serve as a case study for testing our goals. The Cape Romain Partnership for Coastal Conservation was established to address global change impacts at a regional level and includes representation from Federal and State resource agencies, local conservation nongovernmental organizations, and organizations representing underserved community interests. Research topics, originating from discussions with Cape Romain Partnership for Coastal Conservation members, focused on quantifying key drivers of change including localized sea-level rise (SLR) predictions, estimates of coastal hurricane inundation as amplified by SLR, and urban growth trends and forecasts. These key drivers provided a foundation to engage stakeholders in planning exercises to begin a process of collective understanding and collaborative decision making. The goal of this process was to develop collective strategies of adaptation to enhance community and ecosystem resilience in the South Carolina Lowcountry. South Carolina’s Lowcountry is experiencing rapid environmental and social transformation because of SLR rates approaching twice the global average, chronic tidal flooding and catastrophic storm surges, erosion and loss of habitats that provide essential services to wildlife and humans, and increasing social polarization fueled by aggressive low-density urban growth and other forms of land conversion. To support characterizations of plausible future scenarios, we used available or, in some cases, developed new models to project future conditions of key environmental and social-economic drivers. Because of the imprecision of mean global SLR projections, the SECASC commissioned a climatological study to account for local conditions and multiple representative concentration pathways to project a tailored distribution of future sea levels. These projections were matched to SLR scenarios provided by existing models to anticipate the range of future coastal habitat changes in the South Carolina Lowcountry. SLR scenarios were also incorporated into existing storm-surge models, which do not account for alternate baseline sea levels, to project the local effects of future hurricanes. To evaluate the extent and effects of population growth and urban expansion, we relied on an existing urban-growth model to map the spatial distribution of land-conversion probabilities, the total area of which is predicted to increase twofold to threefold over the next 60 years. In addition to this simplified model, an econometric model is in development to account for nonlinear feedback dynamics in land value, land use, and ecosystem service production. Although not yet completed, the goals of this model are to produce more-detailed projections of growth dynamics and to allow predictions of development patterns resulting from alternate land-use planning policies and incentives. Collaborative planning for an uncertain future requires more than providing decision makers with information on future physical and ecological conditions; developing effective and consensual strategies must also integrate sociological values, multiple cultural perspectives, and an understanding of human behavior. To support broad stakeholder engagement in integrative approaches to adaptation planning, emphasis was placed on the importance of considering differences in how individuals perceive their environment and create meaning. Because cultural frameworks form the basis for perceptions and, ultimately, the behaviors of individuals and institutions, we describe a model of human behavior and how it can be used to understand the effect of cultural complexity and variation in perception on choices, behavioral change, and long-term maintenance of behaviors. We consider a model commonly used in the field of behavioral health that accommodates variation in human perception when describing stages of behavior and the dynamics of behavioral change. Tailoring communication and engagement activities to targeted stakeholders is likely to benefit from increased understanding of behavioral change processes. The complex nature of this problem limited the usefulness of a traditional decision-analytic approach, we explored alternative methods for engagement, collaborative learning and decision making. Recognizing that project partners and Lowcountry stakeholders may be at different stages of preparedness and interest level for modifying behavior as a function of global change, we facilitated a scenario-planning exercise to familiarize partners with this well-established approach for communicating the opportunities and threats arising under alternative, plausible futures. We developed narratives for four alternative South Carolina Lowcountry scenarios to be used in later strategic planning that focus on quantitative trends for three primary drivers with high impact and high uncertainty: manifestations of climate change, social-political shifts at a global level, and forces of local value and power structures. This scenario-planning exercise underscored the complex relation between the temporospatial scale of the production of ecological goods and services and the institutional scale at which they are managed. We then guided the partners through an assessment of the relevant strengths and weaknesses of the Cape Romain Partnership for Coastal Protection, using the threats and opportunities characterized by each scenario to understand how the partnership might respond when attempting to meet conservation and societal objectives. The partnership identified key strengths including partnership experience, outreach and technical capacities, a substantial conservation land base, and high social cohesion in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Limited communication expertise, institutional inertia, and insufficient staffing and funding were recognized as important weaknesses across the partnership. By examining and scoring combinations of internal strengths and weaknesses and external threats and opportunities, the partnership developed sets of prioritized strategies to consider in the context of a given scenario. Although we had insufficient time to examine all scenarios in detail, the intent was to identify a portfolio of strategic actions to address threats and opportunities represented in multiple plausible futures. Top-ranking strategies encompassed a range of actions that focused on strengthening the conservation community and communicating the benefits of nature (that is, ecosystem services) to leveraging partnerships to expand land protection. This report also details the methods and preliminary results of several models developed or applied in support of this project. Two parcel-selection algorithms were used to evaluate anticipated habitat changes and patterns of urban growth to guide decisions on optimal conservation reserve design to protect habitat communities. One approach used a widely available planning software (MARXAN) to maximize conservation benefits near the Cape Romain NWR, whereas the other approach was a novel application of economic theory to account for uncertainty in future conditions and for the risks of unanticipated habitat loss. This latter model applies modern portfolio theory to estimate the risk of investing in any portfolio of land parcels (that is, candidate “reserves”) under climate-change uncertainty by quantifying the variation and spatial correlation of conservation benefits derived from each portfolio. We expanded the range of actions beyond simply whether or not to invest in a set of land parcels, an approach commonly used in spatial conservation planning, to also include consideration of divestment from currently protected lands. Such refinements allow for better accounting of system dynamics and can evaluate the benefits of flexible conservation tools such as rolling easements. Model results were conditional on a decision maker’s risk tolerance but highlighted general strategies of land conservation to increase future habitat representation beyond what is expected under the current protected land base. We built models that may help inform coastal planning by estimating salinity dynamics and the performance of oyster reef restoration efforts to predict the combined effects of global change and management of freshwater flows on coastal habitats and the processes that contribute to their resilience. These models can support restoration decisions by evaluating the expected benefits of site locations for shoreline protection and fisheries production. Lastly, we developed a spatially explicit economic model that predicts feedback dynamics among land value, land-use change, and effects on ecosystem service provision to explore zoning policies and incentives on urban growth and ecosystem services. We summarize these efforts with insights and considerations for the Cape Romain Partnership for Coastal Protection to continue to engage stakeholders in effective adaptation planning. First, notions of place attachment (referred to as sense of place), and the role of culture in social discourse are increasingly being used to understand the complex interactions between society and the environment and how societies respond and adapt to climate change. Sense of place was a unifying theme whenever the future of the South Carolina Lowcountry was discussed. The contribution of the South Carolina Lowcountry’s environmental wealth, rich cultural heritage, and quality of life to sense of place has important implications for how adaptation planning might best be pursued. More community-based governance of the commons (in other words, natural and cultural resources held in common), in which broad stakeholder participation and power sharing are key elements, is considered important. This devolution of governance is characterized by polycentric institutions and self-organizing social networks that promote a local culture of knowledge sharing, problem solving, and learning. These so-called bridging organizations (or individuals) often provide the leadership necessary to bring together potentially disparate Government agencies and institutions, private organizations, and individuals in a collective process of problem solving. Our observations also suggest that the conservation community in the South Carolina Lowcountry views its activities as integral to the broader governance of social-ecological systems, in which responses to the forces of global change are mediated through culture, economics, and politics. Rather than directly competing with other interests, the South Carolina Lowcountry conservation community seems to embrace an interpretation of conservation in which the fundamental objective is the quality of human life rather than environmental protection. Fundamental to the types of governance reforms described above is the notion of coproduction, in which experts and users collaborate to develop a shared body of knowledge. In this approach, scientists work with stakeholders to help frame questions, design research, and collect and analyze data. Such sustained collaborations are increasingly believed to be an effective way to produce useable (or actionable) science. The emphasis on social learning, leveraging strong social networks, coordinating and deliberating among diverse stakeholders, and applying principles of adaptive management is an essential contribution to adaptive capacity. The diverse and robust set of scientific approaches, methods to help stakeholders collaborate in effective and goal-driven planning processes, and decision tools resulting from this project hopefully will assist Cape Romain NWR and its partners prepare for climatic, ecological, and social changes over the coming decades.

South Carolina↗
USGS2018

Effects of early-successional shrubland management on breeding wood thrush populations

In forested landscapes, creation of habitat for early-successional shrubland birds is controversial because of perceived conflicts with the conservation of mature-forest birds. Nonetheless, many mature-forest birds, especially fledglings, readily use early-successional stands during the post-breeding period. This suggests that for mature-forest birds, creating habitat for early-successional birds could involve a tradeoff: reduced abundance and nest survival due to the loss of nesting habitat versus enhanced fledgling survival in early-successional stands. Our research addressed the effects of the creation of early-successional habitat for shrubland birds on wood thrushes ( Hylocichla mustelina ) in western Massachusetts, USA. We compared wood thrush abundance, nest success, fecundity, and post-fledging survival in landscapes with high (∼20%) or low (∼1%) cover of early-successional stands suitable for shrubland birds. We found no differences in nest success, fecundity, and post-fledging survival between the 2 types of landscapes. Abundance of breeders, however, was significantly greater on the sites with high cover of early-successional habitat. We conclude that in forested landscapes, creation of early-successional habitat at levels recommended for the conservation of shrubland birds is compatible with viable wood thrush populations. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2012

A multi-metric assessment of environmental contaminant exposure and effects in an urbanized reach of the Charles River near Watertown, Massachusetts

The Charles River Project provided an opportunity to simultaneously deploy a combination of biomonitoring techniques routinely used by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Program, the Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends Project, and the Contaminant Biology Program at an urban site suspected to be contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In addition to these standardized methods, additional techniques were used to further elucidate contaminant exposure and potential impacts of exposure on biota. The purpose of the study was to generate a comprehensive, multi-metric data set to support assessment of contaminant exposure and effects at the site. Furthermore, the data set could be assessed to determine the relative performance of the standardized method suites typically used by the National Water Quality Assessment Program and the Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends Project, as well as the additional biomonitoring methods used in the study to demonstrate ecological effects of contaminant exposure. The Contaminant Effects Workgroup, an advisory committee of the U.S. Geological Survey/Contaminant Biology Program, identified polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as the contaminant class of greatest concern in urban streams of all sizes. The reach of the Charles River near Watertown, Massachusetts, was selected as the site for this study based on the suspected presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination and the presence of common carp ( Cyprinus carpio ), largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ), and white sucker ( Catostomus commersoni ). All of these fish have extensive contaminant-exposure profiles related to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other environmental contaminants. This project represented a collaboration of universities, Department of the Interior bureaus including multiple components of the USGS (Biological Resources Discipline and Water Resources Discipline Science Centers, the Contaminant Biology Program, and the Status and Trends of Biological Resources Program), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Samples for analyzing water chemistry, sediment chemistry and toxicity, fish community structure, tissue chemistry, and fish (20 carp, 20 bass, and 40 white sucker) and invertebrate pathology were collected in late August, 2005. This report provides results from the analyses of fish pathology, biomarkers of exposure and effects (reproductive, carcinogenic, genotoxic, and immunologic), sediment chemistry, toxicity, and fish and invertebrate community structure.

Massachusetts↗
USGS1994

Two hybrid common x roseate terns fledge at Falkner Island, Connecticut

Although these two similarly-sized species are sympatric throughout much of their breeding range, there are few published records of hybridization between Roseate ( Sterna dougallii ) and Common ( S. hirundo ) Terns. Records include at least five from Europe (Witherby and Ticehurst 1908, Perry 1972, Robbins 1974, Burggraeve 1977, van den Berg 1980) and only one from North America (Hays 1975), but we are aware of several unpublished records of hybridization at colonies in Massachusetts (I. Nisbet, pers. comm.) and New York (J. Burger, pers. comm.). Differences in sexual display probably serve as the principal barrier to hybridization (Palmer 1941 ), and in the northeastem United States where both species breed, Common Terns tend to nest in more open areas while Roseate Terns tend to nest in or under cover (Hays 1975, Nisbet 1981, Spendelow 1982, Burger and Gochfeld 1988). From 1984 through 1993, we recorded several instances of interbreeding in a mixed colony of several thousand Common Terns and a few hundred Roseates at the Falkner Island Unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. This 2-ha island is located at 41 °13'N and 72° 39'W in Long Island Sound, approximately 5 km off the coast of Guilford, Connecticut. Spendelow (1982) briefly described the island and the areas used by the nesting terns; a more detailed description of the island is in Helander (1988). The mixed pair we observed in 1993 nested in a subcolony of about 25 pairs of Roseates on the southeast section of the island's rocky beach, where we put out 30 boxes to create more protected nest sites for Roseate Terns. Here we present a summary of their successful nesting, which we followed almost daily from several days prior to the laying of the first egg until departure of these birds from the colony site.

Connecticut↗
USGS2020

Wildlife resistance and protection in a changing New England landscape

Rapid changes in climate and land use threaten the persistence of wildlife species. Understanding where species are likely to occur now and in the future can help identify areas that are resistant to change over time and guide conservation planning. We estimated changes in species distribution patterns and spatial resistance in five future scenarios for the New England region of the northeastern United States. We present scenario-specific distribution change maps for nine harvested wildlife species, identifying regions of increasing, decreasing, or stable habitat suitability within each scenario. Next, we isolated areas of greatest resistance across all future scenarios. Resistance was also evaluated relative to current land protection to identify patterns in and out of Protected Areas (PAs). Generally, species distributions declined in area over the 50-year assessment period (2010-2060), with the greatest declines occurring for moose (62.4%) and wild turkey (24.2%). Species resistance varied considerably across the region with coyote demonstrating the highest regional resistance (91.81% of the region) and moose demonstrating the lowest (0.76 % of the region). At the state level, average focal species resistance was highest in Maine and lowest in Massachusetts. Many of the focal species showed high overlap in resistance and land protection. Coyote, white-tailed deer, and black bear had the highest representation of resistance within PAs, while moose and wild turkey had the largest proportions of regional resistance occurring within PAs. Overall, relatively small portions of New England – ranging between 0.25% and 21.12% – were both protected and resistant for the focal species. Our results provide estimates of resistance that can inform conservation planning for commonly harvested species that are important ecologically, economically, and culturally to the region. Expanding protected area coverage to include resistant areas may provide longer term benefits to these species.

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, ↗
USGS2022

Fishway Entrance Palisade

This technical report summarizes the work that was conducted by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the United States Geological Survey (USGS), along with other project partners, on the Fishway Entrance Palisade (EP), a projected funded through the Department of Energy’s (DOE) funding opportunity titled ‘Innovative Solutions for Fish Passage at Hydropower Dams’ (DE‐FOA‐0001662). The period of performance ranged from September 1, 2018 through September 30, 2021. The EP is a novel fish passage engineering technology designed to provide more favorable entry conditions for fish and to reduce costs relative to conventional fishway auxiliary water systems (AWS). The EP project has four primary components. First, the Northeast United States Auxiliary Water Systems Database was created (Northeast Fishway Auxiliary Water Systems Database Section). The database, developed with material provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, contains information on fishway type (e.g., lift, Denil, pool and weir) and Auxiliary Water System (AWS) details (e.g., water conveyance method, diffuser type) for 60 hydroelectric sites in the region. Findings indicate that nearly 4 out of every 10 fishway in the region is a fish lift and approximately 1 out of every 4 is a Denil ladder. The remainder are a mix of vertical slot fishways, pool and weirs, and Ice Harbor fishways. Furthermore, over half of all AWS systems use floor diffusers to discharge the auxiliary (or attraction) water into the entrance of a fishway, whereas only 14% use wall diffusers. Second, limited experiments on a conventional AWS with live, actively migrating fish were conducted at the USGS Easter Ecological Science Center (EESC) S.O. Conte Research Laboratory (Conventional Auxiliary Water System Experiments Section). This study determined how water velocity through a wall diffuser, without turning vanes or timber baffles to distribute the flow, affects the behavior and passage of adult American shad, a conservative surrogate species for migratory fish on the East Coast. Two gross diffuser velocity treatments were examined, 0.5 ft/s and 1.0 ft/s. These wall diffuser velocities represented current (0.5 ft/s) and past (1.0 ft/s) design criteria guidelines set forth by the USFWS North Atlantic-Appalachian Region (Rojas 2020; USFWS 2019). Six trials with a total of 151 American Shad were conducted in June of 2019 for the two treatments. No differences in American shad passage efficiency were discovered between the two treatments, while approximately 3 in every 4 attempts were successful at passing the diffuser. While these results may appear to indicate that the generally accepted gross wall diffuser velocity criteria for American shad of 0.5 ft/s could be safely increased to 1.0 ft/s, further analysis is warranted. Furthermore, it is unknown how other migratory and resident fish species that traverse these structures would be impacted by such a change. Studying the wall diffuser hydraulics led to an important AWS observation. Without turning vanes or timber baffles in this study, doubling the diffuser area was insufficient at producing the type of flow field change one may expect by halving the gross diffuser velocity. Instead, the flow fields throughout each treatments study area were similar, which led to similar results in shad performance. This not only highlights the importance of installing flow guidance devices like turning vanes, but also to the importance of properly maintaining them, which can be costly. Third, more expansive experiments on the novel EP were conducted in the spring of 2019 and 2021 (Fishway Entrance Palisade Experiments). The goal of this study was to determine how adult American shad responded to a variety of conditions at a full-scale EP. A total of six treatments were examined by changing the average auxiliary channel velocity between 1.0 and 5.0 ft/s in intervals of 1.0 ft/s and by inserting/removing an entrance gate at the opening of the fishway. Thirty trials with a total of 1,273 shad were conducted over the two years. In all treatments, at least ~7 out of every 10 fish successfully passed the EP diffuser and swam into the entrance channel within the 3.5-hour long trial, highlighting the general effectiveness of the novel AWS technology. In both study years, lower velocities through the EP diffuser led to increased shad performance, though performance peaked for the 2 ft/s velocity treatment. This treatment condition represents an approximate six-fold increase in gross diffuser velocity relative to conventional auxiliary water systems, which in turn presents opportunities for cost savings (e.g., reduction in diffuser size). Shad performance, in general, was worse in 2019 than in 2021, potentially due to the different run timing when our trials were conducted (2019 trials occurred near the end of the migration season, unlike in 2021). Treatments in 2019 had approximately a 20% reduction in entrance efficiency by the trial end, including a 16.7% drop for the 3 ft/s velocity treatment in 2019 relative to 2021 (the only carryover treatment between years). Lastly, adding an entrance gate caused a significant delay to entry. The time to 25% entry raised ~20 minutes from the near instantaneous 25% entry that was reported for the other treatments conducted in the same year (2021). Though by the end of the 3.5-hour trial, the overall entrance efficiency nearly matched those of the other 2021 treatments. The fourth and final component of the EP project was an economic analysis that focused on the cost of attraction and environmental flows (Modeling Power Generation Losses Due to Environmental and Fish Passage Attraction Flows at a Run-Of-River Hydroelectric Operation in the Northeast). The study assessed the economic impact of meeting environmental flow requirements at a representative hydroelectric facility and fish lift in the Northeast. An initial finding of the study was that there is a paucity of published data on the costs of meeting attraction and environmental flows. This is due, in part, to the proprietary nature of this data. To explore the costs associated with these flows, three types of environmental flows were assessed: upstream fishway attraction flows, downstream fishway attraction flows, and habitat maintenance minimum flows. A physics-based model was developed and calibrated with three years of hourly generation and flow data as inputs. Gage flow inputs were adjusted and used to calculate power generated. To address hydrologic variability, the model was executed to simulate 30 years of historical flows. Results indicate that both interannual and seasonal climatic factors impact the costs of meeting environmental flow requirements. Generation potential is most strongly curtailed during dry years in terms of maximizing the capacity factor (the percent of time a plant generates at capacity). Dry years, and especially dry summers, have the most significant costs associated with mitigation flows. Of the three types of flows, habitat flows are most costly in terms of power production, followed by upstream attraction flows. Downstream attraction flows are least costly. This finding is the likely result of differences in both flow rates and duration of the seasonal requirement for each flow. Overall, environmental flows represented a 2-12% loss in annual generation, but losses during a dry summer can reach over 20%.

Final Technical Report↗
USGS2018

Range expansion in unfavorable environments through behavioral responses to microclimatic conditions: Moose (Alces americanus) as the model

Wildlife populations occurring at the edge of their range boundaries are thought to be the most sensitive to climate change due to temperatures being at or near the limit of a species’ thermal envelope. Moose ( Alces americanus ) are a cold adapted species that are showing population declines in some portions of the southern edge of their range. However, other moose populations are actively expanding southward into thermally stressful areas. The direct effects of temperature on moose have not yet been studied in these southwardly expanding populations and may offer insights into how moose are successfully establishing in areas at the edge of their thermal envelope. We used ambient temperature and GPScollar data from moose to quantify the direct effect of temperature on moose habitat use in Massachusetts, USA, which is one of these southwardly expanding populations. The mean daily temperature in our study area exceeded the reported physiological tolerances of moose in over 90% of daytime and 75% of nighttime locations in summer and in over 80% of daytime and 67% of nighttime locations in winter. Across seasons and times of day, moose preferred regenerating forest, but as ambient air temperatures increased, selection for regenerating forest declined and selection for forested wetlands and coniferous forestincreased. This response indicates moose are altering their behavior to utilize thermal shelters when temperatures are high. We observed higher temperatures and stronger behavioral responses than other studies at the southern edge of moose range. We found habitat for moose in Massachusetts is climatically marginal and loss of habitat, increase in parasites, and further climatic warming may cause population declines in the future.

Mammalian Biology↗
USGS2017

Prevalence and distribution of Wellfleet Bay virus exposure in the Common Eider ( Somateria mollissima )

Between 1998 and 2014, recurrent mortality events were reported in the Dresser's subspecies of the Common Eider ( Somateria mollissima dresseri ) on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA near Wellfleet Harbor. The early die-offs were attributed to parasitism and emaciation, but beginning in 2006 a suite of distinct lesions was observed concomitant with the isolation of a previously unknown RNA virus. This novel pathogen was identified as an orthomyxovirus in the genus Quaranjavirus and was named Wellfleet Bay virus (WFBV). To assess evidence of exposure to this virus in Common Eiders, we conducted a longitudinal study of the prevalence of WFBV antibodies at multiple locations from 2004–14; we collected 2,258 serum samples from six locations and analyzed each using a microneutralization assay. Results corroborate the emergence of WFBV in 2006 based on the first detection of antibodies in that year. Significantly higher prevalence was detected in Common Eiders sampled in Massachusetts compared to those in Maine, Nova Scotia, and Québec. For birds breeding and wintering in Massachusetss, viral exposure varied by age, sex, and season of sampling, and prevalence by season and sex were highly interrelated with greater numbers of antibody-positive males in the autumn and females in the spring. No evidence of viral exposure was detected in the Northern subspecies ( Somateria mollissima borealis ). Among the locations sampled, Massachusetts appears to be the epicenter of Common Eider exposure to WFBV. Further research is warranted to understand the factors controlling the epidemiology of WFBV in Massachussetts, including those that may be limiting geographic expansion of this virus.

Journal of Wildlife Diseases↗
USGS2004

Changes in lagoonal marsh morphology at selected northeastern Atlantic coast sites of significance to migratory waterbirds

Five lagoonal salt marsh areas, ranging from 220 ha to 3,670 ha, were selected from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to the southern DelMarVa peninsula, Virginia, USA to examine the degree to which Spartina marsh area and microhabitats had changed from the early or mid- 1900s to recent periods. We chose areas based on their importance to migratory bird populations, agency concerns about marsh loss and sea-level rise, and availability of historic imagery. We georeferenced and processed aerial photographs from a variety of sources ranging from 1932 to 1994. Of particular interest were changes in total salt marsh area, tidal creeks, tidal flats, tidal and non-tidal ponds, and open water habitats. Nauset Marsh, within Cape Cod National Seashore, experienced an annual marsh loss of 0.40% (19% from 1947 to 1994) with most loss attributed to sand overwash and conversion to open water. At Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in southern New Jersey, annual loss was 0.27% (17% from 1932 to 1995), with nearly equal attribution of loss to open water and tidal pond expansion. At Curlew Bay, Virginia, annual loss was 0.20% (9% from 1949 to 1994) and almost entirely due to perimeter erosion to open water. At Gull Marsh, Virginia, a site chosen because of known erosional losses, we recorded the highest annual loss rate, 0.67% per annum, again almost entirely due to erosional, perimeter loss. In contrast, at the southernmost site, Mockhorn Island Wildlife Management Area, Virginia, there was a net gain of 0.09% per annum (4% from 1949 to 1994), with tidal flats becoming increasingly vegetated. Habitat. implications for waterbirds are considerable; salt marsh specialists such as laughing gulls ( Larus atricilla ), Forster's terns ( Sterna forsteri ), black rail, ( Laterallus jamaicensis ), seaside sparrow ( Ammodramus maritimus ), and saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow ( Ammodramus caudacutus ) are particularly at risk if these trends continue, and all but the laughing gull are species of concern to state and federal managers.

Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia↗
USGS2014

A versatile technique for capturing urban gulls during winter

The capture of birds is a common part of many avian studies but often requires large investments of time and resources. We developed a novel technique for capturing gulls during the non-breeding season using a net launcher that was effective and efficient. The technique can be used in a variety of habitats and situations, including urban areas. Using this technique, we captured 1,326 gulls in 125 capture events from 2008 to 2012 in Massachusetts, USA. On average, 10 ring-billed gulls ( Larus delawarensis ; range = 1–37) were captured per trapping event. Capture rate (the number of birds captured per trapping event) was influenced by the type of bait used and also the time of the year (greatest in autumn, lowest in winter). Our capture technique could be adapted to catch a variety of urban or suburban birds and mammals that are attracted to bait.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2025

Public support for puma reintroduction in the eastern United States

Pumas ( Puma concolor ) are among the species identified as having the potential to enhance ecosystem function. Previous research highlights sufficient ecological habitat to support pumas in the eastern United States; however, their reintroduction requires social and institutional support as well. To this end, we conducted research to assess attitudes about puma reintroduction among key constituencies like hunters, rural residents, and young people. We sampled 2756 respondents across seven states (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia). Ratios of strong support (for puma reintroduction) to strong opposition across states ranged from 4:1 to 13:1, and support outweighed opposition in every state. Our results contrasted with common assumptions that hunters, rural residents, and people who identify as politically conservative oppose carnivore conservation and reintroduction. We found marginal differences among categories of people, but overall little variation in support exhibited by different groups. People who identified very strongly as hunters were more supportive of reintroduction than those who did not identify as hunters at all. Taken together, the presence of quality habitat and support for puma restoration warrant further exploration. However, federal funding for state-based restoration efforts likely requires the inclusion of pumas in State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs), which are currently under a 10-year revision due to be published this year (2025).

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pen↗