USGS Science⌕ Search

SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Journal of Ecological Society”

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

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

96 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
USGS2013

Location-only and use-availability data: analysis methods converge

This Special Feature arose from a session on a topic of the same name that took place during The Wildlife Society meeting in Kona, Hawaii, from 5 to 10 November, 2011. The purpose of that session and this Special Feature is to compare methods for predictive modelling of species geographical distributions and the modelling of habitat (resource) selection by animals. The predictive modelling of species geographical distributions and the modelling of habitat selection based on the environmental conditions at sites where animals are known to occur are essentially the same problem. Presence-only and used-available data both consist of a sample of locations with known presence of a species or an individual. A separate sample of locations from a study area, with unknown presence (pseudo-absence), is also assumed to exist. The probability or relative probability of presence of a species or individual is modelled and estimated across a certain time implicitly defined by the sampling mechanism, for example, by the time period during which museum specimens or radiotelemetry data were collected. A number of modelling methods have appeared in the literature over the last couple of decades. Many of these methods were made feasible by the availability of geographical information systems (GIS), global positioning system (GPS) radiotelemetry and public online data access initiatives (e.g. global biodiversity information facility). The papers in this Special Feature are intended to present the state of the methodological art in their subject area, with particular attention paid to contrasting the advantages and disadvantages of alternative methods of analysis for data.

Journal of Animal Ecology↗
USGS2021

Ecological disturbance through patch-burn grazing influences lesser prairie-chicken space use

Across portions of the western Great Plains in North America, natural fire has been removed from grassland ecosystems, decreasing vegetation heterogeneity and allowing woody encroachment. The loss of fire has implications for grassland species requiring diverse vegetation patches and structure or patches that have limited occurrence in the absence of fire. The lesser prairie-chicken ( Tympanuchus pallidicinctus ) is a declining species of prairie-grouse that requires heterogeneous grasslands throughout its life history and fire has been removed from much of its occupied range. Patch-burn grazing is a management strategy that re-establishes the fire-grazing interaction to a grassland system, increasing heterogeneity in vegetation structure and composition. We evaluated the effects of patch-burn grazing on lesser prairie-chicken space use, habitat features, and vegetation selection during a 4-year field study from 2014–2017. Female lesser prairie-chickens selected 1- and 2-year post-fire patches during the lekking season, ≥4-year post-fire patches during the nesting season, and year-of-fire and 1-year post-fire patches during post-nesting and nonbreeding seasons. Vegetation selection during the lekking season was not similar to available vegetation in selected patches, suggesting that lesser prairie-chickens cue in on other factors during the lekking season. During the nesting season, females selected nest sites with greater visual obstruction, which was available in ≥4-year post-fire patches; during the post-nesting season, females selected sites with 15–25% bare ground, which was available in the year-of-fire, 1-year post-fire, and 2-year post-fire patches; and during the nonbreeding season they selected sites with lower visual obstruction, available in the year-of-fire and 1-year post-fire patches. Because lesser prairie-chickens selected all available time-since-fire patches during their life history, patch-burn grazing may be a viable management tool to restore and maintain lesser prairie-chicken habitat on the landscape. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.

Kansas↗
USGS1996

Ecology and pathology of European chestnut (Castanea sativa) in the deciduous forests of the Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia

Chestnut-dominated forests of the Caucasus Mountain area of Russia are very similar to former chestnut-dominated forests in eastern North America. The distribution, pathology, and reproductive status of European chestnut ( Castanea sativa ) in the Caucasus are described and compared to that of American chestnut ( C. dentata ). Chestnut forests are distributed continuously along the southern slope of the Caucasus mountains near the Black Sea, and are found in isolated populations on the north side of the Caucasus, at elevations ranging from 200 to 1300 meters. Chestnut blight was apparently introduced into the region after 1880 and continues to destroy chestnut forests today. Chestnut in the Caucasus is also infected by several other fungal and bacterial parasites and the joint infection of blight and bacteria may be especially dangerous for chestnut trees. Chestnut-dominated forests comprise only a few percent of total forest cover in the Caucasus Biosphere Preserve, and usually occur in mountain valleys or coves with deep brown soil. The age structure and reproductive status of chestnut in the Caucasus was investigated on six study plots in the Caucasus Biosphere Forest Preserve near the upper altitudinal limit of chestnut. Although chestnut is at least 70 percent of the overstory on these sites, there are very few trees less than 50 years old, and very few recent seedlings on any of the plots. Most large chestnut trees appear to have originated as basal spouts from previously established stems. Although chestnut seed production appears adequate, we suspect that competition with shrubs and other tree seedlings, and predation by herbivores and rodents, now prevent the establishment and survival of chestnut seedlings in the Biosphere Preserve.

Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society↗
USGS2016

Validation of a stream and riparian habitat assessment protocol using stream salamanders in the southwest Virginia coalfields

Within the central Appalachia Coalfields, the aquatic impacts of large-scale land uses, such as surface mining, are of particular ecological concern. Identification and quantification of land use impacts to aquatic ecosystems are a necessary first step to aid in mitigation of negative consequences to biota. However, quantifying physical environmental quality such as stream and riparian habitat often can be quite difficult, particularly when there is time or fiscal limitations. As such, standard protocols such as the U.S. EPA’s Stream Habitat Rapid Bioassessment Protocol have been established to be cost- and time-effective. This protocol estimates ten different stream and riparian conditions on a scale of 0 to 20. Unfortunately, using estimations can be problematic because of large potential variation in the scoring depending on differences in training, experience, and opinion of the personnel doing the estimations. In order to help negate these biases and provide a simplified process, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) developed a functional assessment for streams that measures 11 stream and riparian variables along with watershed land use to calculate three different scores, a hydrology score, biogeochemical score, and habitat score. In our study, we examined the correlation of stream salamander presence and abundance to the three USACE scores. In the summer of 2013, we visited 70 sites in the southwest Virginia Coalfields multiple times to collect salamanders and quantify stream and riparian microhabitat parameters. Using occupancy and abundance analyses, we found strong relationships among three Desmognathus spp. and the USACE Habitat FCI score. Accordingly, the Habitat FCI score provides a reasonable assessment of physical instream and riparian conditions that may serve as a surrogate for understanding the community composition and integrity of aquatic salamander in the region.

Virginia↗
USGS1989

Acid rain publications by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1979-1989

Pollution of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems has been a concern to society since the burning of fossil fuels began in the industrial revolution. In the past decade or so, this concern has been heightened by evidence that chemical transformation in the atmosphere of combustion by-products and subsequent long-range transport can cause environmental damage in remote areas. The extent of this damage and the rates of ecological recovery were largely unknown. "Acid rain" became the environmental issue of the 1980's. To address the increasing concerns of the public, in 1980 the Federal government initiated a 10-year interagency research program to develop information that could be used by the President and the Congress in making decisions for emission controls. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been an active participant in acid precipitation research. The Service provided support to a number of scientific conferences and forums, including the Action Seminar on Acid Precipitation held in Toronto, Canada, in 1979, an international symposium on Acidic Precipitation and Fishery Impacts in Northeastern North America in 1981, and a symposium on Acidic Precipitation and Atmospheric Deposition: A Western Perspective in 1982. These meetings as well as the growing involvement with the government's National Acidic Precipitation Assessment Program placed the Service in the lead in research on the biological effects of acidic deposition. Research projects have encompassed water chemistry, aquatic invertebrates, amphibians, fish, and waterfowl. Water quality surveys have been conducted to help determine the extent of acid precipitation effects in the northeast, Middle Atlantic, and Rocky Mountain regions. In addition to lake and stream studies, research in wetland and some terrestrial habitats has also been conducted. Specific projects have addressed important sport species such as brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and striped bass (Morone saxatilis). Trace metal accumulation in fish has been investigated and a symposium sponsored on related work. U.S> Fish and Wildlife Service scientists serve as advisors and participants in research being conducted by industry, nonprofit groups, State and other Federal agencies. Researcher have worked closely with colleagues in Canada, England, Norway, Scotland, the Soviet Union, and Sweden to gain additional understanding of the problem. In 1982, the Service implemented a mitigation research program to provide resource managers with information to help them protect sensitive ecosystems, and rehabilitation methods for resources already affected by acidification. An international workshop was convened to outline the research needs. Several conferences were organized to develop appropriate field and laboratory procedures. Scientists with the mitigation research program are evaluating the ecological effects of liming (addition of base material) surface waters and surrounding watershed to provide buffering against acidic inputs. Through long-term cooperative project with States and other organizations, investigations are studying possible abatement methods for regions most affected by acidic deposition. To date, more than 200 reports the describe these studies have been published. These products include conference proceedings, journal articles, and in-house scientific publications. An education poster describing the effects of acid rain on aquatic ecosystems was developed and distributed to individuals, conservations and State organizations, and the public education system. This annotated bibliography lists current publications by Service authors, cooperators, or contractors on acid rain and related quality. Entire are arranged alphabetically by author surname. For further information about the research program, contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Acid Precipitation Section, National Fishery Research Center -- Leetown, Box 700, Kearneysville, WV 25430.

Biological Report↗
USGS2022

Upper Rio Grande Basin water-resource status and trends: Focus area study review and synthesis

The Upper Rio Grande Basin (URGB) is a critical international water resource under pressure from a myriad of climatic, ecological, infrastructural, water-use, and legal constraints. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the spatial distribution and temporal trends of selected water-budget components (snow processes, evapotranspiration (ET), streamflow processes, and groundwater storage) using integrated analyses, such as watershed modeling and water availability and use data in the URGB over the past three decades. A spatially distributed snow evolution modeling system simulated snowpack processes over 34 years (1984–2017). It highlighted snow water equivalent declines from -35 to -77 mm/decade with widespread variability across elevation zones and land cover types. Gridded actual ET data from the SSEBop model were developed and tested for the URGB and demonstrated that all land-cover types had significant decreasing trends (1986-2015) ranging from -14 to -80 mm/decade. Conductivity-mass-balance (CMB) hydrograph separation results found that baseflow forms a large component of total streamflow, ranging from 29 to 69% (49% average) of total streamflow at 17 URGB sites upstream of Albuquerque, NM. Three of 4 graphical hydrograph separation methods in the U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Toolbox were found to be inappropriate for estimating baseflow in the URGB; the most promising method, baseflow index (BFI) Standard, was optimized using CMB data and tested at three URGB sites, with resulting overestimation of 0 to 47%. Simulated changes in groundwater storage were extracted from historical and recent groundwater-flow models of select alluvial basins (San Luis, Española, Middle Rio Grande, and Tularosa-Hueco). In general, decreases in groundwater storage were observed from 1903 to 2013 except for the San Luis alluvial basin (Colorado), where periods of recovery are observed. The PRMS hydrologic model was successfully calibrated for 9 near-native subbasins (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency 0.47 to 0.85) and parameters translated to the remaining subbasins; compared to simulated near-native flows (with minimal influence of reservoirs or diversions), observed Rio Grande streamgage flows demonstrated reductions of 40% or more for New Mexico and Texas areas of the basin. Significant decreasing trends (1980-2015) in precipitation, snowmelt rate, streamflow, and baseflow were observed at many of the 12 streamgage basins studied, which suggests that the decreasing trends for actual ET may be related to overall decreasing water availability in the basin, with negative implications for agricultural production and groundwater abstraction. Water security concerns arise from our findings of higher fraction precipitation as rain, slower snowmelt rates leading to decreasing streamflow production, and an increasing fraction of baseflow, all of which will affect the timing and magnitude of water available for human needs in the basin.

Upper Rio Grande Basin↗