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At least 1,657 records · Page 92Linked to original sources
USGS2018

Avian response to shade‐layer restoration in coffee plantations in Puerto Rico

Documenting the evolving processes associated with habitat restoration and how long it takes to detect avian demographic responses is crucial to evaluate the success of restoration initiatives and to identify ways to improve their effectiveness. The importance of this endeavor prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to evaluate their sun‐to‐shade coffee restoration program in Puerto Rico initiated in 2003. We quantified the responses of 12 resident avian species using estimates of local occupancy and extinction probabilities based on surveys conducted in 2015–2017 at 65 restored farms grouped according to time‐since‐initial‐restoration (TSIR): new (2011–2014), intermediate (2007–2010), and old (2003–2006). We also surveyed 40 forest sites, which served as reference sites. Vegetation complexity increased with TSIR, ranging between 35 and 40% forest cover in farms 6–9 years TSIR. Forest specialists (e.g. Loxigilla portoricencis ) exhibited highest average occupancy in farms initially classified as intermediate (6–9 years) and old (>10 years), paralleling occupancy in secondary forests. Occupancy of open‐habitat specialists (e.g. Tiaris olivaceus ) was more variable, but higher in recently restored farms. Restoring the shade layer has the potential to heighten ecological services derived from forest specialists (e.g. frugivores) without losing the services of many open‐habitat specialists (e.g. insectivores). Annual local extinction probability for forest specialists decreased with increasing habitat complexity, strengthening the potential value of shade restoration as a tool to enhance habitat for avifauna that evolved in forested landscapes.

Restoration Ecology↗
USGS2022

Forbs included in conservation seed mixes exhibit variable blooming detection rates and cost-effectiveness: Implications for pollinator habitat design

Although forb-rich plantings for pollinator habitat are becoming more common, natural resource managers lack insight on the cost-effectiveness of forbs seeded in private land conservation programs. Additional information on the possible benefits of including more forb species in a mix may help guide the design of future pollinator habitat. We examined the detection of blooming forbs from seed mixes, colonization of non-seeded blooming forbs, and bee utilization of forbs on private lands enrolled in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs. By obtaining the original seed mixes used on conservation program lands and sampling forbs and bees, we provide a first-hand evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of USDA conservation plantings in a field setting. We identified seeded forbs with the highest blooming detection rates and the most common colonizing forbs across 27 sites, the majority of which were considered young conservation plantings. We additionally designated 16 forbs as the most cost-effective due to their higher-than-average blooming detection rate and lower-than-average seed cost. We found a positive association between seed mix richness and number of blooming, seeded forbs detected and found a negative association with blooming, non-native colonizing forbs, which highlights potential benefits of increasing forb richness in seed mixes. However, we did not observe an association between seed mix richness and wild bee or honey bee counts. Examining the cost-effectiveness of seeded forbs on USDA conservation enrollments and subsequent bee utilization can inform land managers in designing seed mixes for pollinator habitat.

Restoration Ecology↗
USGS2023

Assessing tradeoffs between current and desired vegetation condition in a National Park using historical maps and high resolution lidar data

In the United States, National Park Service Civil War battlefield units are managed for both historical accuracy (i.e., to represent landscape conditions at the time of the conflict for historical interpretation), and for natural resource protection. However, managing for both goals can create conflicts as many battlefields were largely open or in second growth forests historically, but now harbor significant forest resources after more than 100 years of preservation. Managing for historical accuracy therefore may require maintenance of the landscape in a successional stage out of phase with the current landscape. We use historical landscape maps and current high-resolution forest structure data derived from lidar to examine tradeoffs in returning the landscape of a major Civil War battlefield (Wilderness Battlefield) to conditions present at the time of the battle. We demonstrate that National Park battlefield units can harbor significant forest resources in contrast to the surrounding landscape, especially in areas of intense commercial, urban, and suburban development. Managing for or restoring landscapes to historical conditions could have important ecological implications.

Restoration Ecology↗
USGS2024

Effect of water delivery and irrigation for riparian restoration in the Colorado River Delta, Mexico

Along Mexico's arid Colorado River Delta, the riparian corridor lacks water due to a reduction in frequent flows, climate change, human infrastructure, and altered riparian landcover from disturbances to invasive species, fire, and high soil and water salinities, which have led to declines in riparian plant health in recent decades. Restoration efforts focusing on small plots have successfully revitalized habitat, which is the motivation for this research. Accurate estimations of water use by riparian vegetation are crucial in arid environments, where measuring actual evapotranspiration (ETa) poses a significant challenge in these narrow corridors. This study utilizes field-validated remote sensing techniques to quantify ETa at restoration sites. Our methods are twofold; we use the Landsat-8 two-band Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI2) to monitor changes in vegetation greenness—a proxy of plant health—and we integrate EVI2 with potential evapotranspiration (ET) to calculate ETa. Our findings reveal a notable increase in vegetation greenness within the restoration sites over 9 years, with an average increase of 41.3%. Conversely, greenness in adjacent, unrestored control areas declined by 27.3%. The study also indicates a 22.1% increase in ETa in the restored areas, compared to a 30.8% reduction in the unrestored regions. Restored sites in reach 4 experienced ETa increases ranging from 9.2 to 12.2%, whereas their unrestored counterparts show a decline of 21.4%. Valuable estimates are provided of riparian greenness and water use that may assist natural resource managers who are tasked with allocating water and managing habitats within similar riparian corridors.

Colorado River Delta↗
USGS2007

Roadless space of the conterminous United States

Roads encroaching into undeveloped areas generally degrade ecological and watershed conditions and simultaneously provide access to natural resources, land parcels for development, and recreation. A metric of roadless space is needed for monitoring the balance between these ecological costs and societal benefits. We introduce a metric, roadless volume (RV), which is derived from the calculated distance to the nearest road. RV is useful and integrable over scales ranging from local to national. The 2.1 million cubic kilometers of RV in the conterminous United States are distributed with extreme inhomogeneity among its counties.

Science↗
USGS2014

A previously unrecognized path of early Holocene base flow and elevated discharge from Lake Minong to Lake Chippewa across eastern Upper Michigan

It has long been hypothesized that flux of fresh meltwater from glacial Lake Minong in North America's Superior Basin to the North Atlantic Ocean triggered rapid climatic shifts during the early Holocene. The spatial context of recent support for this idea demands a reevaluation of the exit point of meltwater from the Superior Basin. We used ground penetrating radar (GPR), foundation borings from six highway bridges, a GIS model of surface topography, geologic maps, U.S. Department of Agriculture–Natural Resources Conservation Service soils maps, and well logs to investigate the possible linkage of Lake Minong with Lake Chippewa in the Lake Michigan Basin across eastern Upper Michigan. GPR suggests that a connecting channel lies buried beneath the present interlake divide at Danaher. A single optical age hints that the channel aggraded to 225 m as elevated receipt of Lake Agassiz meltwater in the Superior Basin began to wane <10.6 ka. The large supply of sediment required to accommodate aggradation was immediately available at the channel's edge in the littoral shelves of abandoned Lake Algonquin and in distal parts of post-Algonquin fans. As discharge decreased further, the aggraded channel floor was quickly breached and interbasin flow to Lake Chippewa was restored. Basal radiocarbon ages on wood from small lakes along the discharge path and a GIS model of Minong's shoreline are consistent with another transgression of Minong after ca. 9.5 ka. At the peak of the latter transgression, the southeastern rim of the Superior Basin (Nadoway Drift Barrier) failed, ending Lake Minong. Upon Minong's final drop, aggradational sediments were deposited at Danaher, infilling the prior breach.

Michigan↗
USGS2016

Dissolved gases in hydrothermal (phreatic) and geyser eruptions at Yellowstone National Park, USA

Multiphase and multicomponent fluid flow in the shallow continental crust plays a significant role in a variety of processes over a broad range of temperatures and pressures. The presence of dissolved gases in aqueous fluids reduces the liquid stability field toward lower temperatures and enhances the explosivity potential with respect to pure water. Therefore, in areas where magma is actively degassing into a hydrothermal system, gas-rich aqueous fluids can exert a major control on geothermal energy production, can be propellants in hazardous hydrothermal (phreatic) eruptions, and can modulate the dynamics of geyser eruptions. We collected pressurized samples of thermal water that preserved dissolved gases in conjunction with precise temperature measurements with depth in research well Y-7 (maximum depth of 70.1 m; casing to 31 m) and five thermal pools (maximum depth of 11.3 m) in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, USA. Based on the dissolved gas concentrations, we demonstrate that CO 2 mainly derived from magma and N 2 from air-saturated meteoric water reduce the near-surface saturation temperature, consistent with some previous observations in geyser conduits. Thermodynamic calculations suggest that the dissolved CO 2 and N 2 modulate the dynamics of geyser eruptions and are likely triggers of hydrothermal eruptions when recharged into shallow reservoirs at high concentrations. Therefore, monitoring changes in gas emission rate and composition in areas with neutral and alkaline chlorine thermal features could provide important information on the natural resources (geysers) and hazards (eruptions) in these areas.

Idaho, Montana, Wyoming↗
USGS2023

Shallow deformation on the Kirby Hills fault, Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California (USA), revealed from high-resolution seismic reflection data and coring in a fluvial system

The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta) in California (USA) is an important part of the state’s freshwater system and is also a major source of agricultural and natural resources. However, the Delta is traversed by a series of faults that make up the easternmost part of the San Andreas fault system at this latitude and pose seismic hazard to this region. In this study, we use new high-resolution chirp subbottom data to map and characterize the shallow expression of the Kirby Hills fault, where it has been mapped to cross the Sacramento River at the western extent of the Delta. The fault is buried here, but we document a broad zone of deformation associated with the eastern strand of the fault that changes in character, along strike, across ~600 m of the river channel. Radiocarbon dates from sediment cores collected in the Sacramento River provide some minimum constraints on the age of deformation. We do not observe evidence of the western strand as previously mapped. We also discuss difficulties of conducting a paleoseismologic study in a fluvial environment.

California↗
USGS2018

Effects of land use on summer thermal regimes in critical salmonid habitats of the Pacific Northwest

The effect of climate change on stream temperature regimes is of significant concern to natural resource managers focused on protecting cold-water-dependent species. Nevertheless, understanding of how human land-use activities may act to exacerbate the effects of climate change on stream temperature regimes is limited. Using extensive stream temperature data with high-resolution climate and habitat data, we quantified how land management activities are related to summer stream temperatures across the Pacific Northwest, USA. We then described the distribution of land management practices influencing summer thermal regimes relative to the distribution of salmonid fish species of conservation concern. After accounting for climatic and geophysical variation, we detected a strong relationship between livestock grazing and summer thermal regimes. Maximum, average, and diel variation in water temperature was greater where livestock grazing was present. Livestock grazing was widespread, occurring in 43%–100% of sites supporting salmonid species of conservation concern. Thus, current land management practices may be intensifying the effects of ongoing climate change in freshwater habitats, acting to further threaten cold-water fishes of conservation concern.

Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana↗
USGS2002

Submarine landslides: advances and challenges

Due to the recent development of well-integrated surveying techniques of the sea floor, significant improvements were achieved in mapping and describing the morphology and architecture of submarine mass movements. Except for the occurrence of turbidity currents, the aquatic environment (marine and fresh water) experiences the same type of mass failure as that found on land. Submarine mass movements, however, can have run-out distances in excess of 100 km, so their impact on any offshore activity needs to be integrated over a wide area. This great mobility of submarine mass movements is still not very well understood, particularly for cases like the far-reaching debris flows mapped on the Mississippi Fan and the large submarine rock avalanches found around many volcanic islands. A major challenge ahead is the integration of mass movement mechanics in an appropriate evaluation of the hazard so that proper risk assessment methodologies can be developed and implemented for various human activities offshore, including the development of natural resources and the establishment of reliable communication corridors. Key words : submarine slides, hazards, risk assessment, morphology, mobility, tsunami. Le dveloppement rcent de techniques de levs hydrograhiques pour les fonds marins nous a permis d'atteindre une qualit ingale dans la cartographie et la description des glissements sous marins. l'exception des courants de turbidit, on retrouve dans le domaine aquatique les mmes types de mouvements de terrain que sur terre. Par contre, les glissements sous-marins peuvent atteindre des distances excdant 100 km de telle sorte que leur impact sur les activits offshore doit tre pris en compte sur de grandes tendues. La grande mobilit des glissements sous-marins n'est pas encore bien comprise, comme pour le cas des coules de dbris cartographies sur le cne du Mississippi ainsi que pour les grandes avalanches rocheuses sous-marines retrouves au pourtour des les volcaniques. Un dfi majeur auquel nous faisons face est celui de dterminer les alas associs aux divers types de mouvements sous-marins ainsi que les risques associs l'activit humaine, telle que l'exploitation des ressources naturelles et l'tablissement de routes de communications fiables. Mots cls : glissements sous-marins, morphologie, ala, risque, mobilit, tsunami.

Canadian Geotechnical Journal↗
USGS2019

Agri-tourism and rural outdoor recreation in the US: A framework for understanding economic and employment dynamics

Agri-tourism and rural outdoor recreation are positioned at an important intersection between agricultural, natural resource, economic development and rural issues. This chapter summarizes some of the important dynamics of these sectors, including the role of land use, regional drivers, motivations for farmers and travelers, and economic impacts. As a means to illustrate several key points, highlights of several case studies, papers and reports about rural outdoor and agricultural tourism are summarized. To conclude, a research agenda for those interested in the role of tourism to rural economies is framed.

Book chapter↗
USGS2019

Toward a national coastal hazard forecast of total water levels

Storm surge and large waves combine to erode beaches, cause marsh and coral decay, and inundate low-elevation areas, resulting in hazards to coastal communities and loss of natural resources. The USGS, in collaboration with NOAA, is developing a real-time system to provide ∼ 6-day forecasts of total water levels (TWLs) combining tides, storm surge, and wave runup. TWL is compared with dune elevations along sandy coastlines to obtain regional flood and coastal hazard forecasts. The predictions are available online (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/research/twlviewer/) and provide intuitive representations of regional coastal risk. Current efforts include 1) assessing skill by comparing forecasts with observations along sandy coastlines and 2) developing methods more appropriate for non-sandy coastlines (e.g., rocky, reef, marsh, cliff, and built shorelines). The vision of this work is to provide a tool for short- to medium-term coastal hazard forecasts to inform planners and emergency responders along nearly the entire US coastline.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2023

Toward a total water level forecast of the Great Lakes

The combined effect of storm surge and large waves is the main driving mechanism that erodes beaches, inundates low-lying areas, leading to millions of dollars in property damage, loss of natural resources, and lives. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) aims to expand the real-time total water level (TWL) forecast provided in the Operational Total Water Level and Coastal Change Forecasts (TWL&CC) to the Great Lakes short- (0 – 36 hours) to medium-term (3 – 5 days) coastal-hazard forecasts to inform planners and emergency responders. This study assesses the skill of forecast water levels and wave characteristics required as input to the TWL forecasts. It finds that, while skill generally decreases as forecast period increases, these data are suitable as input to the TWL forecast system. As the TWL predictions depend on the water level and wave forecasts, validation against field observations allow evaluation of their suitability for the Great Lakes. These results have implications on the prediction of water levels and their potential impacts on coastal resiliency in North America.

Great Lakes↗
USGS2015

Integrated Environmental Modelling: Human decisions, human challenges

Integrated Environmental Modelling (IEM) is an invaluable tool for understanding the complex, dynamic ecosystems that house our natural resources and control our environments. Human behaviour affects the ways in which the science of IEM is assembled and used for meaningful societal applications. In particular, human biases and heuristics reflect adaptation and experiential learning to issues with frequent, sharply distinguished, feedbacks. Unfortunately, human behaviour is not adapted to the more diffusely experienced problems that IEM typically seeks to address. Twelve biases are identified that affect IEM (and science in general). These biases are supported by personal observations and by the findings of behavioural scientists. A process for critical analysis is proposed that addresses some human challenges of IEM and solicits explicit description of (1) represented processes and information, (2) unrepresented processes and information, and (3) accounting for, and cognizance of, potential human biases. Several other suggestions are also made that generally complement maintaining attitudes of watchful humility, open-mindedness, honesty and transparent accountability. These suggestions include (1) creating a new area of study in the behavioural biogeosciences, (2) using structured processes for engaging the modelling and stakeholder communities in IEM, and (3) using &lsquo;red teams&rsquo; to increase resilience of IEM constructs and use.

Geological Society of London Special Publications↗
USGS2020

Development of microsatellite markers for three at risk tiger beetles Cicindela dorsalis dorsalis, C. d. media, and C. puritana

Objective Tiger beetles inhabiting sandy beaches and cliffs along the east coast of the United States are facing increasing habitat loss due to erosion, urbanization, and sea level rise. The northeastern beach tiger beetle Cicindela dorsalis dorsalis and Puritan tiger beetle Cicindela puritana are both listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, while the white beach tiger beetle Cicindela dorsalis media is not listed but has been declining. Extirpation of these beetles, in some cases from entire states, has isolated many populations reducing gene flow and elevating the risk for the loss of genetic variation. To facilitate investigations of population genetic structure, we developed suites of microsatellite loci for conservation genetic studies. Results Shotgun genomic sequencing of all species identified thousands of candidate microsatellite loci, among which 17 loci were optimized and verified to cross-amplify within C. d. media and C. d. dorsalis , and eight separate loci were optimized for C. puritana . Most loci conformed to Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, showed no evidence of linkage disequilibrium or null alleles, and revealed population genetic characteristics informative for natural resource managers among the populations tested.

BMC Research Notes↗
USGS2020

Do empirical observations support commonly-held climate change range shift hypotheses? A systematic review protocol

Background Among the most widely anticipated climate-related impacts to biodiversity are geographic range shifts, whereby species shift their spatial distribution in response to changing climate conditions. In particular, a series of commonly articulated hypotheses have emerged: species are expected to shift their distributions to higher latitudes, greater elevations, and deeper depths in response to climate change, reflecting an underlying hypothesis that species will move to cooler locations to track spatial changes in the temperature of their current range. Yet, many species are not demonstrating range shifts consistent with these hypotheses. Resolving this discrepancy and providing effective explanations for the observed variability in species’ range shifts is urgently needed to help support a range of natural resource management decisions. Here, we propose a protocol to review the body of evidence for commonly-held climate change range shift hypotheses at the species level focusing on observed latitudinal, longitudinal, elevational, and depth shifts in response to temperature and precipitation changes. We aim to answer the question: what is the impact of anthropogenic climate change (specifically changes in temperature and precipitation) on species ranges? Methods In this review protocol, we propose to conduct a systematic search of literature from internet databases and search engines in English. Articles will be screened in a two-stage process (title/abstract and full text) to evaluate whether they meet a list of eligibility criteria (e.g., presents species-level data, compares >1 time period). Initial data coding and extraction will be completed by four reviewers and checked by a secondary reviewer from among our co-authors. We will perform a formal meta-analysis to document estimated effect size using the subset of available range-shift data expressed in distance per time (e.g., km/decade). We will also use multinomial logistic regression models to assess the probability that species are shifting in a direction that supports our hypotheses (i.e. towards higher latitudes, greater elevations, and deeper depths). We will account for study methodology as a potential source of variation.

Environmental Evidence↗
USGS2017

Climate change refugia and habitat connectivity promote species persistence

Background Climate change refugia, areas buffered from climate change relative to their surroundings, are of increasing interest as natural resource managers seek to prioritize climate adaptation actions. However, evidence that refugia buffer the effects of anthropogenic climate change is largely missing. Methods Focusing on the climate-sensitive Belding’s ground squirrel ( Urocitellus beldingi ), we predicted that highly connected Sierra Nevada meadows that had warmed less or shown less precipitation change over the last century would have greater population persistence, as measured by short-term occupancy, fewer extirpations over the twentieth century, and long-term persistence measured through genetic diversity. Results Across California, U. beldingi were more likely to persist over the last century in meadows with high connectivity that were defined as refugial based on a suite of temperature and precipitation factors. In Yosemite National Park, highly connected refugial meadows were more likely to be occupied by U. beldingi . More broadly, populations inhabiting Sierra Nevada meadows with colder mean winter temperatures had higher values of allelic richness at microsatellite loci, consistent with higher population persistence in temperature-buffered sites. Furthermore, both allelic richness and gene flow were higher in meadows that had higher landscape connectivity, indicating the importance of metapopulation processes. Conversely, anthropogenic refugia, sites where populations appeared to persist due to food or water supplementation, had lower connectivity, genetic diversity, and gene flow, and thus might act as ecological traps. This study provides evidence that validates the climate change refugia concept in a contemporary context and illustrates how to integrate field observations and genetic analyses to test the effectiveness of climate change refugia and connectivity. Conclusions Climate change refugia will be important for conserving populations as well as genetic diversity and evolutionary potential. Our study shows that in-depth modeling paired with rigorous fieldwork can identify functioning climate change refugia for conservation.

California↗