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At least 1,639 records · Page 91Linked to original sources

USGS2010

Status of the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) and efforts to achieve its recovery

The California Condor ( Gymnogyps californianus ; hereafter "condor"; Fig. 1) has long been symbolic of avian conservation in the United States. Its large size, inquisitiveness, and association with remote places make it highly charismatic, and its decline to the brink of extinction aroused a continuing public interest in its plight. By 1982, only 22 individuals remained of this species whose range once encompassed much of North America. The last wild bird was trapped and brought into captivity in 1987, which rendered the species extinct in the wild (Snyder and Snyder 1989). In the 1980s, some questioned whether viable populations could ever again exist in the natural environment, and whether limited conservation funds should be expended on what they viewed as a hopeless cause (Pitelka 1981). Nevertheless, since that low point, a captive-breeding and release program has increased the total population by an order of magnitude, and condors fly free again in California, Arizona, Utah, and Baja California, Mexico (Fig. 2). At this writing (summer 2009), more than 350 condors exist, 180 of which are in the wild (J. Grantham pers. comm.). The free-living birds face severe challenges, however, and receive constant human assistance. The intensive management applied to the free-living populations, as well as the ongoing monitoring and captive-breeding programs, are tremendously expensive and become more so as the population grows. Thus, the program has reached a crossroads, caught between the financial and logistical pressures required to maintain an increasing number of condors in the wild and the environmental problems that preclude establishment of naturally sustainable, free-ranging populations.

The Auk↗

USGS2015

Information resources

During recent decades, natural resources agency personnel and others involved with the management and stewardship of wildlife have experienced an increasing need to access information and obtain technical assistance for addressing a diverse array of wildlife disease issues. This Chapter provides a broad overview of selected sources for obtaining supplemental information and technical assistance for addressing wildlife disease issues in North America. Specifically, examples of existing major wildlife disease programs focusing on free-ranging wildlife populations are highlighted; training opportunities for enhancing within-agency wildlife disease response are identified; a selected reading list of wildlife disease references is provided; and selected Web sites providing timely information on wildlife disease are highlighted. No attempt is made to detail all the North American programs and capabilities that address disease in free-ranging wildlife populations. Instead, this Chapter is focused on enhancing awareness of the types of capabilities that exist as potential sources for assistance and collaboration between wildlife conservation agency personnel and others in addressing wildlife disease issues. A wide variety of entities across North America are involved in wildlife disease investigations; however, the formal assembly of multidimensional programs that primarily address disease for the benefit of free-ranging wildlife is rather limited. The Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS), the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), and the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) are selected examples. These programs are highlighted because of the scope of their capabilities and long-term involvement in assisting State and Federal natural resource agencies combat wildlife disease. A variety of other sources for possible assistance in addressing wildlife disease issues exists throughout North America and globally. It is prudent for wildlife conservation field biologists, managers, and administrators to be aware of such local resources. Ideally, awareness and knowledge of the types of assistance those programs can provide should be obtained prior to disease crisis events since appropriate, timely intervention often is required to minimize wildlife losses from disease and prevent the establishment of new infectious diseases within wildlife populations and geographic areas. Increasing recognition of the substantial number of infectious diseases being transferred between wildlife, domestic animals, and humans has led to increased collaborative investigations between wildlife, domestic, and human health programs. That collaboration has led to a heightened focus on wildlife disease within some public health and agriculture agencies. For purposes of this Chapter, wildlife disease is narrowly defined as those diseases (infectious and noninfectious) causing morbidity and mortality in free-ranging wildlife populations. Therefore, there is no focus on the numerous fish disease or environmental contaminant programs that exist on behalf of North American fauna.

Techniques and Methods↗

USGS2025

Habitat and predator influences on the spatial ecology of nine-banded armadillos

Mesopredator suppression has implications for community structure, biodiversity, and ecosystem function, but mesopredators with physical defenses may not avoid apex predators. We investigated nine-banded armadillos ( Dasypus novemcinctus ) in southwestern Oklahoma (USA) to evaluate if a species with physical defenses was influenced by a dominant predator, the coyote ( Canis latrans ). We sampled nine-banded armadillos and coyotes with motion-activated cameras. We used single-species and conditional two-species occupancy models to assess the influences of environmental factors and coyotes on nine-banded armadillo occurrence and site-use intensity (i.e., detection). We used camera-based detections to characterize the diel activity of each species and their overlap. Nine-banded armadillo occupancy was greater at sites closer to cover, with lower slopes, and further from water, whereas coyote space use was greater at higher elevations; both species were positively associated with recent burns. Nine-banded armadillo occurrence was not influenced by coyotes, but site-use intensity was suppressed by the presence of coyotes. Nine-banded armadillos (strictly nocturnal) and coyotes (predominantly nocturnal) had a high overlap in summer diel activity. Nine-banded armadillos are ecosystem engineers but are often considered a threat to species of concern and/or a nuisance. Thus, understanding the role of interspecific interactions on nine-banded armadillos has important implications for conservation and management.

Oklahoma↗

USGS2026

Bright spot in eDNA monitoring: Early detection of invasive New Zealand mudsnails (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) prompted effective rapid response for fish hatchery

The New Zealand mudsnail (NZMS; Potamopyrgus antipodarum ) is a widespread aquatic invasive species that is parthenogenic, requiring only a single individual to initiate an infestation. Fish hatcheries–which are critical infrastructure that raise fish to support conservation, recreation, and subsistence fisheries–frequently use local water sources to provide cool water and are especially vulnerable to NZMS invasion from the contamination of water supplies. If an invasion proceeds undetected, hatcheries pose a risk for compounding the spread of NZMS because their operations transfer live organisms and associated water between hatchery facilities and, when stocking, to rivers and lakes. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Alchesay National Fish Hatchery, located on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Whiteriver, Arizona, produces trout to stock in Tribal reservoirs, lakes, and rivers across the southwestern U.S. New Zealand mudsnails were first documented in Arizona in 1995, are now widespread in this region, and occur at the confluence of the hatchery's outflow with the North Fork White River. Contamination of water supplies is the principal pathway for NZMS invasion into the hatchery. Here, we describe early detection environmental DNA (eDNA) surveillance efforts for NZMS at Alchesay National Fish Hatchery. Positive eDNA detections initiated a chain of events that ultimately led to four NZMS individuals being discovered and a rapid response eradication effort. Follow-up eDNA sampling and visual observation efforts after the eradication effort have yielded no detections of NZMS eDNA. We credit the success of this case with four key elements: rapid turnaround times, a robust quality assurance scheme, a proactive eDNA sampling design, and established partnerships. To our knowledge, this is the first published case of eDNA monitoring being used for early detection and successful rapid response for complete removal of an invasive species in a fish hatchery.

Arizona↗

USGS2011

Learning and adaptation in the management of waterfowl harvests

A formal framework for the adaptive management of waterfowl harvests was adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1995. The process admits competing models of waterfowl population dynamics and harvest impacts, and relies on model averaging to compute optimal strategies for regulating harvest. Model weights, reflecting the relative ability of the alternative models to predict changes in population size, are used in the model averaging and are updated each year based on a comparison of model predictions and observations of population size. Since its inception the adaptive harvest program has focused principally on mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ), which constitute a large portion of the U.S. waterfowl harvest. Four competing models, derived from a combination of two survival and two reproductive hypotheses, were originally assigned equal weights. In the last year of available information (2007), model weights favored the weakly density-dependent reproductive hypothesis over the strongly density-dependent one, and the additive mortality hypothesis over the compensatory one. The change in model weights led to a more conservative harvesting policy than what was in effect in the early years of the program. Adaptive harvest management has been successful in many ways, but nonetheless has exposed the difficulties in defining management objectives, in predicting and regulating harvests, and in coping with the tradeoffs inherent in managing multiple waterfowl stocks exposed to a common harvest. The key challenge now facing managers is whether adaptive harvest management as an institution can be sufficiently adaptive, and whether the knowledge and experience gained from the process can be reflected in higher-level policy decisions.

Journal of Environmental Management↗

USGS2025

Genetic variation and metapopulation structure inform recovery goals in a threatened species

Background: Monitoring genetic parameters is important for setting effective conservation and management strategies, particularly for small, fragmented, and isolated populations. Small, isolated populations face increased rates of genetic drift and inbreeding, which increase extinction risk especially when gene flow is limited. Methods: Here, we applied a Genotyping-in-Thousands by sequencing (GT-seq) panel to inform recovery action for the federally threatened northern Idaho ground squirrel ( Urocitellus brunneus ). We evaluated genetic diversity, structure, connectivity, and effective population size to address species recovery goals. Results: We delineated three types of conservation units: (1) three evolutionarily significant units that represent long-term population structure and variation, (2) nine management units that reflect current demographic connectivity and restrictions to gene flow, and (3) three adaptive units that capture adaptive differentiation across the species range. Effective population sizes per management unit were small overall (mean 38.16, range 2.3–220.9), indicating that recovery goals of 10 subpopulations with N e > 500 have not been reached. Conclusions: Our results support the maintenance of connectivity within evolutionarily significant units through the restoration of dispersal corridors. Next steps could include further sampling of some subpopulations with low sample sizes, unsampled subpopulations, and subpopulations that are geographically isolated. Genotyping future samples with the same GT-seq panel would help to detect dispersal, assess effective population size, monitor the effects of inbreeding, and evaluate adaptive differentiation to monitor the effects of management action and environmental change.

Idaho↗

USGS2016

Ecology and conservation of Lesser Prairie-Chickens in sand shinnery oak prairies

Sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) prairies are unique ecosystems endemic to sandy soils of eastern New Mexico, northwestern Texas, and western Oklahoma; the historic and current distribution of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) overlaps these prairie systems. Lesser Prairie-Chicken populations in sand shinnery oak prairies of the Southern Great Plains have declined substantially since the late 1980s, most likely due to conversion of nesting and brood-rearing habitat to row-crop agriculture and extended periods of drought. In addition to threats universal throughout the species distribution, this population is susceptible to a changing climate in an area that is already representative of an extreme environment for ground-nesting birds. Recent studies of Lesser Prairie-Chicken ecology in sand shinnery oak prairies have expanded our knowledge on the ecology and management of the species, but a thorough review of the historic and current literature is lacking. In addition, current management guidelines exist for Lesser Prairie-Chickens in mixed grass and sand sagebrush prairies, but there are no comprehensive management guidelines for the species in sand shinnery oak prairies. This information is paramount given unique aspects of the vegetation community, relative ecosystem drivers, and environmental variation in sand shinnery oak prairie and the species’ current status as a proposed threatened species under the United States Endangered Species Act. Herein, we provide a thorough synthesis of literature pertaining to the life history, habitat requirements, habitat management, and population management for Lesser Prairie-Chickens in sand shinnery oak prairie, provide management guidelines and recommendations for the species in this ecoregion, and highlight current and future research needs. Within our objectives, we place emphasis on two recently completed long-term investigations into Lesser Prairie-Chicken ecology in sand shinnery oak prairie - a 10-year vegetation data set collected in Roosevelt County, New Mexico, 2001–2011 and a 6-year Lesser Prairie-Chicken data set collected in Roosevelt County, New Mexico and Cochran, Hockley, Terry, and Yoakum counties, Texas, 2006–2012.

Book chapter↗

USGS2020

Trends in oyster populations in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico: An assessment of river discharge and fishing effects over time and space

Within the Big Bend region of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, one of the least developed coastlines in the continental USA, intertidal and subtidal populations of eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica (hereafter referred to as “oyster”) are a critical ecosystem and important economic constituent. We assessed trends in intertidal oyster populations, river discharge, and commercial fishing activity in the Suwannee River estuary within the Big Bend region using fisheries‐independent data from irregular monitoring efforts and publicly available environmental data. We used generalized linear models to evaluate counts of oysters from line‐transect surveys over time and space. We assessed model performance using simulation to understand potential bias and then evaluated whether these counts were related to freshwater inputs from the Suwannee River and commercial oyster fishing effort and landings at different time lags. We found that intertidal oyster counts have declined over time and that most of these declines are found in inshore intertidal oyster bars, which are becoming degraded. We also found a significant relationship between oyster counts and a 1‐year lag on mean daily Suwannee River discharge, but including commercial fishery trips or landings did not improve model fit. It is unclear whether declines in intertidal oyster bars are offset by formation of new oyster reefs elsewhere. These results quantify rapid declines in intertidal oyster reefs in a region of coastline with high conservation value that can be used to inform ongoing and proposed restoration projects in the region.

Florida↗

USGS2012

Residence time, chemical and isotopic analysis of nitrate in the groundwater and surface water of a small agricultural watershed in the Coastal Plain, Bucks Branch, Sussex County, Delaware

Nitrate is a common contaminant in groundwater and surface water throughout the Nation, and water-resource managers need more detailed small-scale watershed research to guide conservation efforts aimed at improving water quality. Concentrations of nitrate in Bucks Branch are among the highest in the state of Delaware and a scientific investigation was performed to provide water-quality information to assist with the management of agriculture and water resources. A combination of major-ion chemistry, nitrogen isotopic composition and age-dating techniques was used to estimate the residence time and provide a chemical and isotopic analysis of nitrate in the groundwater in the surficial aquifer of the Bucks Branch watershed in Sussex County, Delaware. The land use was more than 90 percent agricultural and most nitrogen inputs were from manure and fertilizer. The apparent median age of sampled groundwater is 18 years and the estimated residence time of groundwater contributing to the streamflow for the entire Bucks Branch watershed at the outlet is approximately 19 years. Concentrations of nitrate exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water standard of 10 milligrams per liter (as nitrogen) in 60 percent of groundwater samples and 42 percent of surface-water samples. The overall geochemistry in the Bucks Branch watershed indicates that agriculture is the predominant source of nitrate contamination and the observed patterns in major-ion chemistry are similar to those observed in other studies on the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. The pattern of enrichment in nitrogen and oxygen isotopes (δ15N and δ18O) of nitrate in groundwater and surface water indicates there is some loss of nitrate through denitrification, but this process is not sufficient to remove all of the nitrate from groundwater discharging to streams, and concentrations of nitrate in streams remain elevated.

Delaware↗

USGS2017

The role of driving factors in historical and projected carbon dynamics of upland ecosystems in Alaska

It is important to understand how upland ecosystems of Alaska, which are estimated to occupy 84% of the state (i.e., 1,237,774 km 2 ), are influencing and will influence state‐wide carbon (C) dynamics in the face of ongoing climate change. We coupled fire disturbance and biogeochemical models to assess the relative effects of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), climate, logging and fire regimes on the historical and future C balance of upland ecosystems for the four main Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs) of Alaska. At the end of the historical period (1950–2009) of our analysis, we estimate that upland ecosystems of Alaska store ~50 Pg C (with ~90% of the C in soils), and gained 3.26 Tg C/yr. Three of the LCCs had gains in total ecosystem C storage, while the Northwest Boreal LCC lost C (−6.01 Tg C/yr) because of increases in fire activity. Carbon exports from logging affected only the North Pacific LCC and represented less than 1% of the state's net primary production (NPP). The analysis for the future time period (2010–2099) consisted of six simulations driven by climate outputs from two climate models for three emission scenarios. Across the climate scenarios, total ecosystem C storage increased between 19.5 and 66.3 Tg C/yr, which represents 3.4% to 11.7% increase in Alaska upland's storage. We conducted additional simulations to attribute these responses to environmental changes. This analysis showed that atmospheric CO 2 fertilization was the main driver of ecosystem C balance. By comparing future simulations with constant and with increasing atmospheric CO 2 , we estimated that the sensitivity of NPP was 4.8% per 100 ppmv, but NPP becomes less sensitive to CO 2 increase throughout the 21st century. Overall, our analyses suggest that the decreasing CO 2 sensitivity of NPP and the increasing sensitivity of heterotrophic respiration to air temperature, in addition to the increase in C loss from wildfires weakens the C sink from upland ecosystems of Alaska and will ultimately lead to a source of CO 2 to the atmosphere beyond 2100. Therefore, we conclude that the increasing regional C sink we estimate for the 21st century will most likely be transitional.

Alaska↗

USGS2019

Amphibian monitoring in hardwood forests: Optimizing methods for contaminant‐based compensatory restorations

Amphibians such as frogs, toads, and salamanders provide important services in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and have been proposed as useful indicators of progress and success for ecological restoration projects. Limited guidance is available, however, on the costs and benefits of different amphibian monitoring techniques that might be applied to sites restored in compensation for contaminant injury. We used a variety of methods to document the amphibian communities present at 4 restored bottomland hardwood sites in Indiana, USA, and to compare the information return and cost of each method. For 1 method—automated recording units—we also modeled the effect of varying levels of sampling effort on the number of species detected, using sample-based rarefaction and Bayesian nonlinear (Michaelis–Menten) mixed effects models. We detected 13 amphibian species across the restored sites, including 2 species of conservation concern in Indiana—northern leopard frogs ( Lithobates pipiens ) and Blanchard's cricket frogs ( Acris blanchardi ). Sites across a range of restoration ages demonstrated encouraging returns of amphibian communities. Although more mature sites showed greater species richness, recently restored sites still provided important habitat for amphibians, including species of conservation concern. Among the 4 methods compared, amphibian rapid assessment yielded the highest number of species detected and the greatest catch per unit effort, with the lowest per-site cost. Our analysis of level-of-effort effects in the rarefied acoustic data found that number of nights sampled was a better predictor of observed species richness than the number of hours sampled within a night or minutes sampled within an hour. These data will assist restoration practitioners in selecting amphibian monitoring methods appropriate for their site characteristics and budget.

Indiana↗

USGS2007

Nitrate retention in riparian ground water at natural and elevated nitrate levels in North Central Minnesota

The relationship between local ground water flows and NO3− transport to the channel was examined in three well transects from a natural, wooded riparian zone adjacent to the Shingobee River, MN. The hillslope ground water originated as recharge from intermittently grazed pasture up slope of the site. In the hillslope transect perpendicular to the stream, ground water NO3− concentrations decreased from ∼3 mg N L−1 beneath the ridge (80 m from the channel) to 0.01 to 1.0 mg N L−1 at wells 1 to 3 m from the channel. The Cl− concentrations and NO3/Cl ratios decreased toward the channel indicating NO3− dilution and biotic retention. In the bankside well transect parallel to the stream, two distinct ground water environments were observed: an alluvial environment upstream of a relict beaver dam influenced by stream water and a hillslope environment downstream of the relict beaver dam. Nitrate was elevated to levels representative of agricultural runoff in a third well transect located ∼5 m from the stream to assess the effectiveness of the riparian zone as a NO3− sink. Subsurface NO3− injections revealed transport of up to 15 mg N L−1 was nearly conservative in the alluvial riparian environment. Addition of glucose stimulated dissolved oxygen uptake and promoted NO3− retention under both background and elevated NO3− levels in summer and winter. Disappearance of added NO3− was followed by transient NO2− formation and, in the presence of C2H2, by N2O formation, demonstrating potential denitrification. Under current land use, most NO3− associated with local ground water is biotically retained or diluted before reaching the channel. However, elevating NO3− levels through agricultural cultivation would likely result in increased NO3− transport to the channel.

Minnesota↗

USGS2003

Evidence for chlorine recycling - Hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere - In a forested wet zone on the Canadian Shield

The ability to measure environmental levels of 36Cl by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry and 3H by 3He-ingrowth Mass Spectrometry has made it possible to use the pulses of these two isotopes released into the atmosphere during nuclear weapons testing as tracers of Cl and water movement in soils and groundwater. The authors have investigated the movement of these tracers below a forested wet zone, and have found that both are retarded to a differing extent in the near surface because of vegetative uptake and recycling. Adsorption by clay particles, followed by slow release to the groundwater, may also be significant. The data accumulated in this region of near vertical recharge have gone a considerable distance towards explaining the anomalously low concentrations of 36Cl measured in the 5 Laurentian Great Lakes, as well as indicating possible mechanisms for large scale Cl- recycling in the atmosphere and biosphere. Identification of the near-term non-conservative behaviour of the Cl- is significant, since such a phenomenon could introduce errors in many watershed calculations, e.g. water residence times, evaporation rates, and mixing calculations. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Applied Geochemistry↗

USGS2012

Klamath Mountains Ecoregion: Chapter 13 in Status and trends of land change in the Western United States--1973 to 2000

The Klamath Mountains Ecoregion covers approximately 47,791 km 2 (18,452 mi 2 ) of the Klamath and Siskiyou Mountains of northern California and southern Oregon (fig. 1) (Omernik, 1987; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1997). The ecoregion is flanked by the Coast Range Ecoregion to the west, the Southern and Central California Chaparral and Oak Woodlands Ecoregion to the south, the Cascades and the Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills Ecoregions to the east, and the Willamette Valley Ecoregion to the north. The mild Mediterranean climate of the ecoregion is characterized by hot, dry summers and wet winters; the amount of winter moisture varies within the ecoregion, decreasing from west to east. The Klamath–Siskiyou Mountains region is widely recognized as an important biodiversity hotspot (Whittaker, 1960; Kruckeberg, 1984; Wagner, 1997; DellaSala and others, 1999), containing more than 3,500 plant species, more than 200 of which are endemic (Sawyer, 2007). A biological assessment by DellaSala and others (1999) ranked the Klamath–Siskiyou Mountains region as the fifth richest coniferous forest in terms of species diversity. In addition, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature considers the region an area of notable botanical importance (Wagner, 1997). Twenty-nine different species of conifers can be found in the Klamath Mountains Ecoregion (Sawyer, 1996).

California;Oregon↗

USGS2001

Identification of methyl halide-utilizing genes in strain IMB-1, a methyl bromide-utilizing bacterium suggests a high degree of conservation of methyl halide-specific genes in gram-negative bacteria

Strain IMB-1, an aerobic methylotrophic member of the alpha subgroup of the Proteobacteria, can grow with methyl bromide as a sole carbon and energy source. A single cmu gene cluster was identified in IMB-1 that contained six open reading frames: cmuC, cmuA, orf146, paaE, hutI, and partial metF. CmuA from IMB-1 has high sequence homology to the methyltransferase CmuA from Methylobacterium chloromethanicum and Hyphomicrobium chloromethanicum and contains a C-terminal corrinoid-binding motif and an N-terminal methyl-transferase motif. However, cmuB, identified in M. chloromethanicum and H. chloromethanicum, was not detected in IMB-1.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology↗

USGS2022

Rainforest carnivore ecology in a managed forest reserve: Differential seasonal correlates between habitat components and relative abundance

Studies of relationships between seasons and Neotropical carnivore distributions tend to focus on water and prey availability without considering other habitat components such as escape, foraging, and resting cover. Our goal was to evaluate habitat characteristics that may be important for predicting the seasonal (dry or rainy) relative abundance of four commonly captured Neotropical carnivores (i.e., jaguar [ Panthera onca ], puma [ Puma concolor ], ocelot [ Leopardus pardalis ], and grey fox [ Urocyon cinereoargenteus ]) in Chiquibul Forest Reserve in Belize, Central America. We used trail camera data and random-effect Poisson models to investigate how prey ratios (number of prey detections/total detections), cover (e.g., logs and stumps used for hiding cover from predators), vegetation structure, and environmental site characteristics (e.g., site harvest-history, slope, aspect) were related to carnivore relative abundance. Both prey ratios and vegetation structure appeared in supported models more frequently than other environmental site characteristics and were negatively correlated with carnivore relative abundance. Supported models differed for each season for all species except jaguars for which mammalian prey ratios and prey cover at sites was always negatively correlated with jaguar relative abundance. Carnivores appeared to avoid sites where vegetation created ideal escape and hiding cover for prey even though prey may be less abundant. Our data suggest that vegetation structure and composition can create conditions conducive to carnivore foraging and that these characteristics can differ by season in the tropics.

Biological Conservation↗

USGS2014

Predicted changes in climatic niche and climate refugia of conservation priority salamander species in the northeastern United States

Global climate change represents one of the most extensive and pervasive threats to wildlife populations. Amphibians, specifically salamanders, are particularly susceptible to the effects of changing climates due to their restrictive physiological requirements and low vagility; however, little is known about which landscapes and species are vulnerable to climate change. Our study objectives included, (1) evaluating species-specific predictions (based on 2050 climate projections) and vulnerabilities to climate change and (2) using collective species responses to identify areas of climate refugia for conservation priority salamanders in the northeastern United States. All evaluated salamander species were projected to lose a portion of their climatic niche. Averaged projected losses ranged from 3%–100% for individual species, with the Cow Knob Salamander ( Plethodon punctatus ), Cheat Mountain Salamander ( Plethodon nettingi ), Shenandoah Mountain Salamander ( Plethodon virginia ), Mabee’s Salamander ( Ambystoma mabeei ), and Streamside Salamander ( Ambystoma barbouri ) predicted to lose at least 97% of their landscape-scale climatic niche. The Western Allegheny Plateau was predicted to lose the greatest salamander climate refugia richness ( i.e. , number of species with a climatically-suitable niche in a landscape patch), whereas the Central Appalachians provided refugia for the greatest number of species during current and projected climate scenarios. Our results can be used to identify species and landscapes that are likely to be further affected by climate change and potentially resilient habitats that will provide consistent climatic conditions in the face of environmental change.

Forests↗

USGS2007

Development of a soil conservation standard and guidelines for OHV recreation management in California

In 2004, the California State Parks (CSP) agency contracted with the California Geological Survey (CGS) to update the 1991 Soil Conservation Guide-lines/Standards for Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Recreation Management. Per state legislation, the 1991 standards were updated to establish a generic and measurable standard at least sufficient to allow restoration of OHV areas and trails. Given the rapid increase in OHV use in California, the updated Soil Conservation Standard and Guidelines for OHV Recreation Management also allowed for sustainability of trail systems and recreation opportunities. A key part of the update was interaction with stakeholders, agencies, and other interest groups through public workshops and a Consulting Agency Review Committee composed of representatives from the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Geological Survey, California Department of Conservation, and CSP. CGS also assessed proposed revisions in three representative OHV areas to ensure that the updated Standard and Guidelines provided sufficient flexibility to allow their application to all sites state-wide, ecosystems with multiple geology and soils types, and a variety of vehicle uses. While geology was not the only basis for the guideline revisions, it was a major factor. CGS staff also had the breadth of knowledge and experience in engineering geology, hydrogeology, road and trail construction, erosion control, and OHV riding necessary to coordinate and develop the multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder effort.

Environmental & Engineering Geoscience↗