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Results for “Biological Conservation”

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At least 1,207 records · Page 67Linked to original sources

USGS1999

North Dakota

North Dakota prairies contain numerous wetlands. The complex functions of these prairie wetlands have been of interest for decades. The hydrology, water chemistry, and biological characteristics of these wetlands are highly variable because of extreme warm/cold and wet/dry conditions. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been conducting studies (fig. 1) to gain insight into the functions of the prairie wetlands. The USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown has maintained an active wetland research program since the mid-1960’s. Current work in North Dakota began in 1978, and focuses on the response of biological communities to climate-induced variations in hydrology and chemistry, and on evaluating the success of previously drained wetlands restored under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and on similar lands. The information provided from this long-term study has provided the bulk of our knowledge about prairie wetlands, and has provided land managers with valuable information to manage the Nation’s prairie wetland resource.

North Dakota↗

USGS2006

Modeling habitat distribution from organism occurrences and environmental data: Case study using anemonefishes and their sea anemone hosts

We demonstrate the KGSMapper (Kansas Geological Survey Mapper), a straightforward, web-based biogeographic tool that uses environmental conditions of places where members of a taxon are known to occur to find other places containing suitable habitat for them. Using occurrence data for anemonefishes or their host sea anemones, and data for environmental parameters, we generated maps of suitable habitat for the organisms. The fact that the fishes are obligate symbionts of the anemones allowed us to validate the KGSMapper output: we were able to compare the inferred occurrence of the organism to that of the actual occurrence of its symbiont. Characterizing suitable habitat for these organisms in the Indo-West Pacific, the region where they naturally occur, can be used to guide conservation efforts, field work, etc.; defining suitable habitat for them in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific is relevant to identifying areas vulnerable to biological invasions. We advocate distinguishing between these 2 sorts of model output, terming the former maps of realized habitat and the latter maps of potential habitat. Creation of a niche model requires adding biotic data to the environmental data used for habitat maps: we included data on fish occurrences to infer anemone distribution and vice versa. Altering the selection of environmental variables allowed us to investigate which variables may exert the most influence on organism distribution. Adding variables does not necessarily improve precision of the model output. KGSMapper output distinguishes areas that fall within 1 standard deviation (SD) of the mean environmental variable values for places where members of the taxon occur, within 2 SD, and within the entire range of values; eliminating outliers or data known to be imprecise or inaccurate improved output precision mainly in the 2 SD range and beyond. Thus, KGSMapper is robust in the face of questionable data, offering the user a way to recognize and clean such data. It also functions well with sparse datasets. These features make it useful for biogeographic meta-analyses with the diverse, distributed datasets that are typical for marine organisms lacking direct commercial value. ?? Inter-Research 2006.

Marine Ecology Progress Series↗

USGS2022

Spatial scale selection for informing species conservation in a changing landscape

Identifying the relevant spatial scale at which species respond to features in a landscape (scale of effect) is a pressing research need as managers work to reduce biodiversity loss amid a variety of environmental challenges. Until recently, researchers often evaluated a subset of potential scales of effect inferred from previous studies in other locations, often based on different biological responses and environmental variables. These approaches, however, can create uncertainty as to whether relevant spatial scales were identified, and whether the effects of environmental variables at scale were accurately estimated. Identifying scales of effect is particularly relevant for the greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ), a sagebrush-obligate species of conservation concern requiring large areas of intact sagebrush cover ( Artemisia spp.) for habitat. We demonstrate the application of a scale selection approach that jointly estimates the scale of effect and the effect of sagebrush cover on trends in population size using counts from 584 sage-grouse leks in southwestern Wyoming (2003–2019) and annual estimates of sagebrush cover from a remote sensing product. From this approach, we estimated a positive effect of mean sagebrush cover with a 95% probability that the scale of effect occurred within 5.02 km of leks. In an average year, we found that lower levels of sagebrush cover within these estimated scales could support increasing trends in sage-grouse population size when populations were small, but higher levels of sagebrush cover were needed to sustain growing populations when populations were larger. With standardized monitoring and annual estimates of vegetation from remote sensing, this scale selection approach can be applied to identify relevant scales for other populations, species, and biological responses such as demography and movement.

Wyoming↗

USGS2011

Decision analysis for conservation breeding: Maximizing production for reintroduction of whooping cranes

Captive breeding is key to management of severely endangered species, but maximizing captive production can be challenging because of poor knowledge of species breeding biology and the complexity of evaluating different management options. In the face of uncertainty and complexity, decision-analytic approaches can be used to identify optimal management options for maximizing captive production. Building decision-analytic models requires iterations of model conception, data analysis, model building and evaluation, identification of remaining uncertainty, further research and monitoring to reduce uncertainty, and integration of new data into the model. We initiated such a process to maximize captive production of the whooping crane ( Grus americana ), the world's most endangered crane, which is managed through captive breeding and reintroduction. We collected 15 years of captive breeding data from 3 institutions and used Bayesian analysis and model selection to identify predictors of whooping crane hatching success. The strongest predictor, and that with clear management relevance, was incubation environment. The incubation period of whooping crane eggs is split across two environments: crane nests and artificial incubators. Although artificial incubators are useful for allowing breeding pairs to produce multiple clutches, our results indicate that crane incubation is most effective at promoting hatching success. Hatching probability increased the longer an egg spent in a crane nest, from 40% hatching probability for eggs receiving 1 day of crane incubation to 95% for those receiving 30 days (time incubated in each environment varied independently of total incubation period). Because birds will lay fewer eggs when they are incubating longer, a tradeoff exists between the number of clutches produced and egg hatching probability. We developed a decision-analytic model that estimated 16 to be the optimal number of days of crane incubation needed to maximize the number of offspring produced. These results show that using decision-analytic tools to account for uncertainty in captive breeding can improve the rate at which such programs contribute to wildlife reintroductions.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗

USGS2003

Setting priorities for conserving and rehabilitating Detroit River habitats

This chapter discusses habitat for wild animals and plants in the Detroit River. Such habitat has been defined as places in the river where physical, chemical, and biological factors, including soil and water quality sustain all life stages of fish and wildlife, including their reproduction.

Book chapter↗

USGS2023

A decision framework for the management of established biological invasions

In some cases, managing an established invasive species may do more harm to an ecosystem than allowing the invader to persist. Given limited resources available to land managers and the realities of conservation triage, we recognized the need for systematic guidance for management decisions made at the “late end” of the invasion curve. We gathered an interdisciplinary group of experts and practitioners to address the question of “under what circumstances is the active management of an established aquatic invasive species warranted?” Our working group identified three key dimensions to this question: (1) the efficacy of available management options; (2) the net benefits of management actions weighed against the null scenario of no control; and (3) the socio-ecological context that defines management goals, a manager’s ability to achieve said goals, and perceptions of management outcomes. These considerations were used to structure a consensus decision tree that supports a multi-criteria approach to decision-making. Our approach promotes interdisciplinarity and systems thinking and emphasizes the need to consider costs and benefits comprehensively, for example by considering the persistence or reversibility of impacts from both the invasive species and from efforts to suppress or eradicate it.

Facets↗

USGS2005

Advancing migratory bird conservation and management by using radar: An interagency collaboration

Migratory birds face many changes to the landscapes they traverse and the habitats they use. Wind turbines and communications towers, which pose hazards to birds and bats in flight, are being erected or proposed across the United States and offshore. Human activities can also destroy or threaten habitats critical to birds during migratory passage, and climate change appears to be altering migratory patterns. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and other agencies are under increasing pressure to identify and evaluate movement patterns and habitats used during migration and other times. Few tools for deciphering migratory travels exist, but radar-based studies of movements and habitat use patterns in songbirds, waterfowl, and bats hold promise. The U.S. system of over 150 Doppler weather radars provides continental coverage, similar to the scale of bird migration. Although data stored from weather radar represent perhaps the second largest biological data archive in the world, use of those data is currently limited to technically savvy biologists who can handle the obscure data formats. Complementary mobile radar units and thermal and acoustic monitoring are also used in site-specific studies. Efforts to advance bird conservation and management through the use of radar arose independently in several USFWS/USGS collaborations. Recently, this coalition of scientists and resource managers identified the need to work together more closely to foster radar-related research and software development. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists at Fort Collins Science Center, National Wetlands Research Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, and Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, as well as USFWS Migratory Bird biologists across the country, are collaborating with university partners to develop a suite of products for managers. The goals are to identify migratory pathways and stopover sites for conservation, mitigation, and landscape planning; convey the importance of functional landscapes and unobstructed airspaces for migrating wildlife; enable use of radar by the wider biological, wind power, and related communities; and simplify the analysis of radar data. The long term focus is to use radar technologies to better understand movement patterns and habitat associations of migratory birds and other wildlife. Land managers and industry may use the knowledge and tools developed to optimize the siting of energy projects, other facilities, and migratory bird habitat projects. The complementary endeavors, not all of which are funded, concentrate on four fundamentals: (1) develop software, in collaboration with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists, that enables biologists to access unfiltered weather data and integrate it into standard geographic information systems; (2) develop artificial intelligence-based filters that separate bird from nonbird radar echoes; (3) determine characteristics of bird migration in terms of altitude, speed and direction, daily movements, seasonality, and associations with habitats and landforms; and (4) examine specific movement patterns in relation to towers, wind generation facilities, and tall obstructions. Many technical issues make this work difficult, including complex data structures, massive data sets, digital recognition of birds, large areas not covered by weather radar, and model validation; however, progress will only be furthered by tackling the challenge. The new coalition will meets its goals by: (1) facilitating a productive collaboration with NOAA, Department of the Interior bureaus, state wildlife agencies, universities, power companies, and other potential partners; (2) building and strengthening scientific capabilities within USGS; (3) addressing key migratory bird management issues; and (4) ensuring full funding for the collaborative effort.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2017

Multidirectional abundance shifts among North American birds and the relative influence of multifaceted climate factors

Shifts in species distributions are major fingerprint of climate change. Examining changes in species abundance structures at a continental scale enables robust evaluation of climate change influences, but few studies have conducted these evaluations due to limited data and methodological constraints. In this study, we estimate temporal changes in abundance from North American Breeding Bird Survey data at the scale of physiographic strata to examine the relative influence of different components of climatic factors and evaluate the hypothesis that shifting species distributions are multidirectional in resident bird species in North America. We quantify the direction and velocity of the abundance shifts of 57 permanent resident birds over 44 years using a centroid analysis. For species with significant abundance shifts in the centroid analysis, we conduct a more intensive correlative analysis to identify climate components most strongly associated with composite change of abundance within strata. Our analysis focus on two contrasts: the relative importance of climate extremes vs. averages, and of temperature vs. precipitation in strength of association with abundance change. Our study shows that 36 species had significant abundance shifts over the study period. The average velocity of the centroid is 5.89 km·yr −1 . The shifted distance on average covers 259 km, 9% of range extent. Our results strongly suggest that the climate change fingerprint in studied avian distributions is multidirectional. Among 6 directions with significant abundance shifts, the northwestward shift was observed in the largest number of species ( n = 13). The temperature/average climate model consistently has greater predictive ability than the precipitation/extreme climate model in explaining strata‐level abundance change. Our study shows heterogeneous avian responses to recent environmental changes. It highlights needs for more species‐specific approaches to examine contributing factors to recent distributional changes and for comprehensive conservation planning for climate change adaptation.

Global Change Biology↗

USGS2012

Impacts of rural development on Yellowstone wildlife: linking grizzly bear Ursus arctos demographics with projected residential growth

Exurban development is consuming wildlife habitat within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem with potential consequences to the long-term conservation of grizzly bears Ursus arctos. We assessed the impacts of alternative future land-use scenarios by linking an existing regression-based simulation model predicting rural development with a spatially explicit model that predicted bear survival. Using demographic criteria that predict population trajectory, we portioned habitats into either source or sink, and projected the loss of source habitat associated with four different build out (new home construction) scenarios through 2020. Under boom growth, we predicted that 12 km 2 of source habitat were converted to sink habitat within the Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone (RZ), 189 km 2 were converted within the current distribution of grizzly bears outside of the RZ, and 289 km 2 were converted in the area outside the RZ identified as suitable grizzly bear habitat. Our findings showed that extremely low densities of residential development created sink habitats. We suggest that tools, such as those outlined in this article, in addition to zoning and subdivision regulation may prove more practical, and the most effective means of retaining large areas of undeveloped land and conserving grizzly bear source habitat will likely require a landscape-scale approach. We recommend a focus on land conservation efforts that retain open space (easements, purchases and trades) coupled with the implementation of ‘bear community programmes’ on an ecosystem wide basis in an effort to minimize human-bear conflicts, minimize management-related bear mortalities associated with preventable conflicts and to safeguard human communities. Our approach has application to other species and areas, and it has illustrated how spatially explicit demographic models can be combined with models predicting land-use change to help focus conservation priorities.

Yellowstone National Park↗

USGS2018

Incorporating productivity as a measure of fitness into models of breeding area quality of Arctic peregrine falcons

Using empirical location data from individuals to model habitat quality and species distributions is valuable towards understanding habitat use of wildlife, especially for conservation and management planning. Incorporating measures of reproductive success or survival into these models helps address the role of vital rates (a surrogate of fitness) in affecting a species’ distribution. We used 24-year datasets of Arctic peregrine falcon ( Falco peregrinus tundrius ) nest-site locations and productivity from the Colville River Special Area, Alaska, USA to model suitability of breeding habitat and the relative quality of used and potential nest sites. We used zero-inflated negative binomial regression models and covariates describing nest-site productivity, area of surrounding prey habitat, geology, topography, and land-cover type to model and predict intensity of Arctic peregrine falcon nest-site use along the Colville River, and developed a predictive map of intensity of nest-site use. Regions of higher predicted intensity of use were characterized by steeper slopes, greater area of prey habitat, and higher average productivity, which are likely attributed to minimizing predation risk, gaining advantages for hunting, having sufficient prey resources, site quality, and overall fitness. Including productivity in intensity of nest-site use models improved the models, supporting our supposition that adding a fitness parameter enhanced the predictive capability of the species distribution model. Areas predicted to have higher intensity of use by our model can be used to focus efforts of continued protection of areas with frequently occupied and productive nest sites, and conversely, identify areas where protection of nest sites is likely to have few conservation benefits.

Alaska↗

USGS2025

Preserving and increasing water resources—Natural infrastructure in dryland streams in Baja California Sur, Mexico

The Los Planes watershed of Baja California Sur, Mexico, and its underlying aquifer are experiencing groundwater decline owing to low average annual rainfall (28.1 centimeters per year) and rising water demand from population growth and agricultural activities. This decline in water availability can lead to desertification—a process that changes arable land to desert by degrading soil and vegetation—and can pose serious challenges to livelihoods that depend on the land. To address these issues, a ranch in the Los Planes watershed has installed many natural infrastructures in dryland streams (NIDS) in channels for soil and water conservation. In 2022, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began working with regional researchers and land managers to investigate the effects of NIDS on natural biological, geochemical, and physical processes and determine the efficacy of NIDS for water augmentation in the Los Planes watershed. The USGS also worked with local academic institutions and nonprofit organizations to create public educational opportunities focused on the area’s hydrogeology. These and other collaborative efforts with the U.S. Water Partnership and Innovaciones Alumbra aim at enhancing water resources in the Baja California Sur region and promoting water security and safeguarding community well-being. Resume La cuenca de Los Planes, ubicada en Baja California Sur, México, y su acuífero subyacente, están sufriendo una disminución de las aguas subterráneas debido a la baja precipitación media anual (28.1 centímetros por año) y la alta demanda de agua por parte de una población creciente y la actividad agrícola. Esta disminución de la disponibilidad de agua puede conducir a la desertificación—un proceso que por medio de la degradación del suelo y la vegetación convierte a la tierra cultivable en desierto—representando un serio desafío para los medios de vida de las personas. Para abordar estos problemas, un rancho en la cuenca de Los Planes ha instalado numerosas obras de Infraestructura Natural en Arroyos de Tierras Áridas (INATS) para conservación del suelo y del agua. En 2022, el Servicio Geológico de los Estados Unidos (USGS, por sus siglas en inglés) comenzó a trabajar con investigadores regionales y gestores de tierras para estudiar los efectos de INATS en los procesos biológicos, geoquímicos y físicos, y determinar su eficacia en el aumento de los recursos hídricos en la cuenca de Los Planes. El USGS se ha asociado con instituciones académicas y organizaciones locales sin fines de lucro para crear oportunidades educativas públicas centradas en la hidrogeología de la zona. Estos y otros esfuerzos colaborativos con la Asociación del Agua de Estados Unidos (U.S. Water Partnership) e Innovaciones Alumbra, tienen como objetivo mejorar el uso de los recursos hídricos en la región de Baja California Sur, promover la seguridad hídrica y proteger el bienestar de la comunidad.

Baja California Sur↗

USGS2015

Status and threats analysis for the Florida manatee ( Trichechus manatus latirostris ), 2012

The endangered West Indian manatee ( Trichechus manatus ), especially the Florida subspecies (T. m. latirostris), has been the focus of conservation efforts and extensive research since its listing under the Endangered Species Act. On the basis of the best information available as of December 2012, the threats facing the Florida manatee were determined to be less severe than previously thought, either because the conservation efforts have been successful, or because our knowledge of the demographic effects of those threats is increased, or both. Using the manatee Core Biological Model, we estimated the probability of the Florida manatee population on either the Atlantic or Gulf coast falling below 500 adults in the next 150 years to be 0.92 percent. The primary threats remain watercraft-related mortality and long-term loss of warm-water habitat. Since 2009, however, there have been a number of unusual events that have not yet been incorporated into this analysis, including several severely cold winters, a severe red-tide die off, and substantial loss of seagrass habitat in Brevard County, Fla. Further, the version of the Core Biological Model used in 2012 makes a number of assumptions that are under investigation. A revision of the Core Biological Model and an update of this quantitative threats analysis are underway as of 2015.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1975

Water and the South Florida environment

Ecological problems are a major concern to Florida as well as to the Nation. National attention was focused on these problems in September 1968, when the Port Authority of Dade County began to con- struct a jetport for supersonic aircraft on a 39-square-mile tract 6 miles north of Everglades National Park and on the east edge of the Big Cypress Swamp. Conservation groups and citizens raised questions as to the effects of a regional jetport and the attendant satellite growth on the water resources and biological communities of the National Park. The Department of the Interior began studies to investigate the situation. One study, Leopold (1969), reported on the unfavorable ecological effects of the attendant satellite growth. Then Secretary of the Interior, Walter J. Hickel, directed the U.S. Geological Survey to study the water resources of the Big Cypress to determine which parts of the Big Cypress contribute the major part of the water necessary to maintain adequate water supplies for Everglades National Park. This was done in a report by Klein and others (1970). At about the same time, the Departments of interior and Transportation, the State of Florida, and the Dade County Port Authority con-curred in assigning to the Secretary of the Interior certain responsibilities for planning, developing, and coordinating an ecological study of south Florida. A primary objective of the ecological study is to provide information that will assist in the formulation of land-use policy consistent with the protection of the environment of Everglades National Park, the adjacent estuaries, and the public water supplies. The part of the investigation describing the surface-water and ground-water resources of south Florida was assigned to the Geological Survey. The quantity and quality of surface water and ground water and their interrelation with estuarine and marine waters are here considered. Also considered are the problems, present or future, related to the hydrologic environment that involve human, animal, and plant life. Changes taking place, apparent trends, and projections for the future are also considered, as well as alternatives for water management. The Geological Survey effort began in January 1971, when aerial photography and selected qualitative hydrologic data were obtained. However, most of the information upon which this report Is based was obtained by the Geological Survey in cooperative programs with several local, State, and Federal agencies since about 1940. The long-term support of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Park Service, U.S. Navy, Florida Department of Natural Resources, Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District, Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Collier Counties, Miami and Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Naples and others in the collection of data is gratefully acknowledged. A prolonged drought throughout south Florida from September 1970 to May 1971 accentuated the importance and timeliness of the study. The drought brought about a readvance of sea-water intrusion in many coastal areas, which necessitated restrictions on water use. The effect of drought on the regional water supply, continued population growth and increased water demands, and deterioration of the water quality in many of the canals and waterways of the urban areas accentuated the need for improved water management and land-use planning. As a result of the water crisis, the Governor of Florida called a special conference in September 1971. The conference, attended by foremost scientific and government personnel, proposed creation of an agency that would develop and implement comprehensive land and water-use plans for south Florida that would minimize environmental degradation.

Florida↗

USGS2007

Current range of the eastern population of Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). Part II: Winter range

The importance of wintering areas for Neotropical migrants is well established. The wintering range of the eastern population of Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) is described in detail and presented in maps. The paper also discusses extralimital records from islands in the Caribbean Basin as well as scattered wintering individuals outside the winter range. The possibility of eastern birds wintering on the Yucatan Peninsula and adjacent Central America is considered. An extensive treatment of the protected areas of Peninsular Florida, the northern Bahamas, and Cuba describes the importance of upland habitats within these protected areas for wintering buntings. This information should be useful to land management agencies, conservation organizations, and private landholders for the welfare of the bunting and biodiversity in general and may also be of interest to ornithologists, other biological disciplines, naturalists, and birders.

North American Birds↗

USGS2006

Mapping South San Francisco Bay's seabed diversity for use in wetland restoration planning

In an effort to understand the role of sediment of South San Francisco Bay (South Bay) salt ponds, an acoustic seabed classification was performed with the condition of over two hundred sediment samples. The success of the large-scale tidal wetland restoration of up to 15,000 acres of South Bay partly depends on the ability of the converted ponds to acquire and retain enough sediment to support marsh growth. Determining the distribution of South Bay's seabed sediment types and understanding their potential erosive properties helps answer critical planning questions about sediment budgets and sediment transportation. Acoustic seabed classification is the organization of the seafloor into discrete units based on the characteristics of the acoustic response generated by an echosounder. Acoustic diversity is considered a proxy for geoacoustical parameters including acoustic impedance contrast, scatter and volume reverberation which all vary with sediment type. In addition, biological and anthropogenic features can influence the acoustic response. Data for an acoustic seabed classification were collected as a part of a California Coastal Conservancy funded bathymetric survey of South Bay in early 2005. A QTC VIEW seabed classification system recorded echoes from a sungle bean 50 kHz echosounder. Approximately 450,000 seabed classification records were generated from an are of of about 30 sq. miles. Ten district acoustic classes were identified through an unsupervised classification system using principle component and cluster analyses. One hundred and sixty-one grab samples and forty-five benthic community composition data samples collected in the study area shortly before and after the seabed classification survey, further refined the ten classes into groups based on grain size. A preliminary map of surficial grain size of South Bay was developed from the combination of the seabed classification and the grab and benthic samples. The initial seabed classification map, the grain size map, and locations of sediment samples will be displayed along with the methods of acousitc seabed classification.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2022

Individual characteristics and abiotic factors influence out-migration dynamics of juvenile bull trout

Fragmentation of rivers through anthropogenic modifications poses an imminent threat to the persistence of migratory fish, necessitating direct actions such as trap-and-haul programs to restore and conserve the migratory life-history component in populations of partially migratory species such as bull trout Salvelinus confluentus. We used a PIT-tag system to assess how biological and abiotic factors influence the out-migration dynamics of juvenile bull trout in Graves Creek, Montana, USA. The largest fish within a cohort were more likely to out-migrate at age 1 when compared to smaller fish within the cohort, and this was particularly evident in a high-density year-class (2018), where large bull trout out-migrated an average of 115 days earlier than bull trout in the medium size category, and 181 days earlier than bull trout in the small size category. Relative changes in abiotic factors, including discharge, water temperature, and photoperiod, appeared to act as cues to out-migration, with the direction of change varying by season. These results highlight the complex interplay between individual characteristics, population dynamics, and environmental conditions, which influence out-migration dynamics and can be used to inform management actions to conserve the migratory component in bull trout populations.

Idaho, Montana↗

USGS2013

Biodiversity losses and conservation trade-offs: Assessing future urban growth scenarios for a North American trade corridor

The Sonoran Desert and Apache Highlands ecoregions of North America are areas of exceptionally high plant and vertebrate biodiversity. However, much of the vertebrate biodiversity is supported by only a few vegetation types with limited distributions, some of which are increasingly threatened by changing land uses. We assessed the impacts of two future urban growth scenarios on biodiversity in a binational watershed in Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico. We quantified and mapped terrestrial vertebrate species richness using Wildlife Habitat Relation models and validated the results with data from National Park Service biological inventories. Future urban growth, based on historical trends, was projected to the year 2050 for 1) a “Current Trends” scenario and, 2) a “Megalopolis” scenario that represented a transnational growth corridor with open-space conservation attributes. Based on Current Trends, 45% of existing riparian woodland (267 of 451species), and 34% of semi-desert grasslands (215 of 451 species) will be lost, whereas, in the Megalopolis scenario, these types would decline by 44% and 24% respectively. Outcomes of the two models suggest a trade-off at the taxonomic class level: Current Trends would reduce and fragment mammal and herpetofauna habitat, while Megalopolis would result in loss of avian-rich riparian habitat.

International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Eco↗

USGS2015

A formalized approach to making effective natural resource management decisions for Alaska National Parks

A fundamental goal of the National Park Service (NPS) is the long-term protection and management of resources in the National Park System. Reaching this goal requires multiple approaches, including the conservation of essential habitats and the identification and elimination of potential threats to biota and habitats. To accomplish these goals, the NPS has implemented the Alaska Region Vital Signs Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program to monitor key biological, chemical, and physical components of ecosystems at more than 270 national parks. The Alaska Region has four networks—Arctic, Central, Southeast, and Southwest. By monitoring vital signs over large spatial and temporal scales, park managers are provided with information on the status and trajectory of park resources as well as a greater understanding and insight into the ecosystem dynamics. While detecting and quantifying change is important to conservation efforts, to be useful for formulating remedial actions, monitoring data must explicitly relate to management objectives and be collected in such a manner as to resolve key uncertainties about the dynamics of the system (Nichols and Williams 2006). Formal decision making frameworks (versus more traditional processes described below) allow for the explicit integration of monitoring data into decision making processes to improve the understanding of system dynamics, thereby improving future decisions (Williams 2011).

Alaska↗