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At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
USGS2016

Ecology and conservation of Lesser Prairie-Chickens

Lesser Prairie-Chickens have experienced substantial declines in terms of population and the extent of area that they occupy. While they are an elusive species, making it difficult at times to monitor them, current evidence indicates that they have been persistently decreasing in number since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s dramatically affected their core range. In May of 2014, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed Lesser Prairie-Chickens as a threatened species, granting them federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, which included a special rule recognizing significant conservation planning efforts made by state and federal wildlife agencies within the geographical range of the species. Although the listing was vacated by judicial ruling in September 2015, concern for persistence of the species persists. These actions illustrate the uncertain legal status and future conservation challenges for Lesser Prairie-Chickens.

Book↗
USGS2021

Bridging the research-implementation gap in avian conservation with translational ecology

The recognized gap between research and implementation in avian conservation can be overcome with translational ecology, an intentional approach in which science producers and users from multiple disciplines work collaboratively to co-develop and deliver ecological research that addresses management and conservation issues. Avian conservation naturally lends itself to translational ecology because birds are well studied, typically widespread, often exhibit migratory behaviors transcending geopolitical boundaries, and necessitate coordinated conservation efforts to accommodate resource and habitat needs across the full annual cycle. In this perspective, we highlight several case studies from bird conservation practitioners and the ornithological and conservation social sciences exemplifying the 6 core translational ecology principles introduced in previous studies: collaboration, engagement, commitment, communication, process, and decision-framing. We demonstrate that following translational approaches can lead to improved conservation decision-making and delivery of outcomes via co-development of research and products that are accessible to broader audiences and applicable to specific management decisions (e.g., policy briefs and decision-support tools). We also identify key challenges faced during scientific producer–user engagement, potential tactics for overcoming these challenges, and lessons learned for overcoming the research-implementation gap. Finally, we recommend strategies for building a stronger translational ecology culture to further improve the integration of these principles into avian conservation decisions. By embracing translational ecology, avian conservationists and ornithologists can be well positioned to ensure that future management decisions are scientifically informed and that scientific research is sufficiently relevant to managers. Ultimately, such teamwork can help close the research-implementation gap in the conservation sciences during a time when environmental issues are threatening avian communities and their habitats at exceptional rates and at broadening spatial scales worldwide.

Ornithological Applications↗
USGS2022

Projecting the remaining habitat for the western spadefoot (Spea hammondii) in heavily urbanized southern California

Extensive urbanization in coastal southern California has reduced natural habitat in this biodiversity hotspot. To better conserve ecological communities, state and federal agencies, along with local jurisdictions and private stakeholders, developed regional conservation plans for southern California. Although many protected areas exist within this region, the patchwork nature of these protected areas might not provide good coverage for species that require multiple habitat components, such as amphibians with complex life histories. Because of declines in the past century, the status of the western spadefoot ( Spea hammondii ) in southern California is of concern to state and federal wildlife agencies. Species distribution models (SDMs) can aid in determining the conservation status of imperiled species by projecting where suitable habitat remains and how much is protected from further development. We built SDMs that integrated site-occupancy data from systematic pitfall trapping surveys and presence-only data from biodiversity databases and citizen science platforms to project the current distribution of western spadefoots in southern California. Western spadefoot occurrence was positively related to the cover of grassland or shrub/scrub and the % sand in the soil within a 1000 m buffer, and was negatively related to slope, elevation, and distance to ephemeral streams or vernal pools . Most of the remaining unprotected habitat for western spadefoots is in the southern half of its historical range in western San Diego and Riverside counties. A few large tracts of spadefoot habitat exist on U.S. Department of Defense lands and smaller tracts remain on ecological reserves owned by state and local government agencies. Only small patches of habitat remain in the northern half of this clade’s historical range in Ventura, Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties. Existing regional conservation plans provide ostensible spatial coverage of the majority of extant habitat for western spadefoots in southern California, but most of the habitat within the jurisdiction of these plans lacks formal protection, exposing this species to further declines as urbanization continues in the 21st century.

California↗
USGS2014

Thresholds for conservation and management: structured decision making as a conceptual framework

A conceptual framework is provided for considering the threshold concept in natural resource management and conservation. We define three kinds of thresholds relevant to management and conservation. Ecological thresholds are values of system state variables at which small changes bring about substantial or specified changes in system dynamics. They are frequently incorporated into ecological models used to project system responses to management actions. Utility thresholds are components of management objectives and are values of state or performance variables at which small changes yield substantial changes in the value of the management outcome. Decision thresholds are values of system state variables at which small changes prompt changes in management actions in order to reach specified management objectives. Decision thresholds are derived from the other components of the decision process.We advocate a structured decision making (SDM) approach within which the following components are identified: objectives (possibly including utility thresholds), potential actions, models (possibly including ecological thresholds), monitoring program, and a solution algorithm (which produces decision thresholds). Adaptive resource management (ARM) is described as a special case of SDM developed for recurrent decision problems that are characterized by uncertainty. We believe that SDM, in general, and ARM, in particular, provide good approaches to conservation and management. Use of SDM and ARM also clarifies the distinct roles of ecological thresholds, utility thresholds, and decision thresholds in informed decision processes.

Book↗
USGS2005

Fire as a global ‘herbivore’: the ecology and evolution of flammable ecosystems

It is difficult to find references to fire in general textbooks on ecology, conservation biology or biogeography, in spite of the fact that large parts of the world burn on a regular basis, and that there is a considerable literature on the ecology of fire and its use for managing ecosystems. Fire has been burning ecosystems for hundreds of millions of years, helping to shape global biome distribution and to maintain the structure and function of fire-prone communities. Fire is also a significant evolutionary force, and is one of the first tools that humans used to re-shape their world. Here, we review the recent literature, drawing parallels between fire and herbivores as alternative consumers of vegetation. We point to the common questions, and some surprisingly different answers, that emerge from viewing fire as a globally significant consumer that is analogous to herbivory.

Trends in Ecology and Evolution↗
USGS2010

Models for inference in dynamic metacommunity systems

A variety of processes are thought to be involved in the formation and dynamics of species assemblages. For example, various metacommunity theories are based on differences in the relative contributions of dispersal of species among local communities and interactions of species within local communities. Interestingly, metacommunity theories continue to be advanced without much empirical validation. Part of the problem is that statistical models used to analyze typical survey data either fail to specify ecological processes with sufficient complexity or they fail to account for errors in detection of species during sampling. In this paper, we describe a statistical modeling framework for the analysis of metacommunity dynamics that is based on the idea of adopting a unified approach, multispecies occupancy modeling, for computing inferences about individual species, local communities of species, or the entire metacommunity of species. This approach accounts for errors in detection of species during sampling and also allows different metacommunity paradigms to be specified in terms of species‐ and location‐specific probabilities of occurrence, extinction, and colonization: all of which are estimable. In addition, this approach can be used to address inference problems that arise in conservation ecology, such as predicting temporal and spatial changes in biodiversity for use in making conservation decisions. To illustrate, we estimate changes in species composition associated with the species‐specific phenologies of flight patterns of butterflies in Switzerland for the purpose of estimating regional differences in biodiversity.

Ecology↗
USGS2024

Managing ecosystems with resist-accept-direct (RAD)

In recent years considerable interest has been generated in a new approach known as resist – accept – direct , or RAD, for managing ecosystems in the face of climate change. Under RAD, strategic responses to climate change are described in terms of three broad categories: resisting climate transformation, accepting the transformation and continuing to manage as best one can, and directing the transformed system toward novel ecological conditions. In particular, the potential for integrating RAD and adaptive management has been broadly considered, though absent a decision-making framework needed for implementation. We propose a hierarchical decision scheme for RAD that accounts for strategy selection among the three RAD options, as well as adaptive decision making within each option. We use stochastic models and uncertainties about ecosystem processes to account for the dynamics of climate-transformed ecosystems, and show how these features can be used to inform RAD strategies. Operationally, the approach involves decisions at two levels: one level involves choosing a policy for each strategy, and the second level involves deciding which strategy has the greatest policy value. The structure described here extends recent work in climate change adaptation, by including Markovian decisions under climate change, strategy-specific policies, and value functions for assessing and selecting RAD strategies. We provide a hierarchical accounting of decisions and responses, and develop rules for the timing of those decisions. Combining RAD and adaptive management can help to organize thinking about ecological conservation under climate change, and focus attention on mechanisms for making decisions. We believe the structure presented here can facilitate conservation efforts under the non-stationary climate conditions we are sure to face for the foreseeable future.

Methods in Ecology and Evolution↗
USGS2024

A guide to environmental DNA extractions for non-molecular trained biologists, ecologists, and conservation scientists

Ecologists, biologists, and conservation scientists are increasingly interested in the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) data for research and potentially decision-making. While commercial DNA extraction kits are typically user-friendly and accessible, they may fail to deliver the desired results with inherently complex eDNA samples, necessitating protocol optimization or educated selection of alternative approaches. To this end, knowledge of the basic steps and principles of DNA extractions is essential, but traditional education tracks in ecology, conservation, and environmental management typically do not include in-depth training in molecular methods. The primary objective of this paper is to enable scientists with an ecological background and limited molecular training to understand the four key steps of eDNA isolations, and to use this expertise to their advantage. We describe the purpose of commonly used reagents and chemicals, point out alternatives for each key step, explain the impact of certain choices regarding isolation approaches on DNA integrity and purity, and highlight the possibility of a tailor-made “mix and match” approach. We anticipate that this paper will enable field ecologists to develop a deeper understanding of the mechanisms and chemistry underlying eDNA extractions, thus allowing them to make informed decisions regarding the best eDNA extraction method for their research goals. Our intention is not to provide comprehensive, step-by-step protocols, but to offer guiding principles while highlighting alternative solutions. Finally, we hope that this paper will act as a useful resource to support knowledge transfer and teaching.

Environmental DNA↗
USGS2009

FishTraits: a database of ecological and life-history traits of freshwater fishes of the United States

The need for integrated and widely accessible sources of species traits data to facilitate studies of ecology, conservation, and management has motivated development of traits databases for various taxa. In spite of the increasing number of traits-based analyses of freshwater fishes in the United States, no consolidated database of traits of this group exists publicly, and much useful information on these species is documented only in obscure sources. The largely inaccessible and unconsolidated traits information makes large-scale analysis involving many fishes and/or traits particularly challenging. We have compiled a database of > 100 traits for 809 (731 native and 78 nonnative) fish species found in freshwaters of the conterminous United States, including 37 native families and 145 native genera. The database, named Fish Traits, contains information on four major categories of traits: (1) trophic ecology; (2) body size, reproductive ecology, and life history; (3) habitat preferences; and (4) salinity and temperature tolerances. Information on geographic distribution and conservation status was also compiled. The database enhances many opportunities for conducting research on fish species traits and constitutes the first step toward establishing a central repository for a continually expanding set of traits of North American fishes.

Fisheries↗
USGS2016

Book review: Black bass diversity: Multidisciplinary science for conservation

These proceedings are from the third symposium dedicated to management and conservation of black basses in the genus Micropterus . The first symposium was held in 1975 (R. H. Stroud and H. Clepper. Black Bass Biology and Management . Washington (DC): Sport Fishing Institute) followed 25 years later by Black Bass 2000 (D. P. Philipp and M. S. Ridgway. 2002. Black Bass: Ecology, Conservation, and Management . Bethesda (MD): American Fisheries Society). Although the previous books discussed conservation of genetic variation and distinct strains of basses, the bulk of the papers in those tomes emphasized management of largemouth and smallmouth bass. In contrast, this third symposium is focused on the rarer bass species and challenges for their successful management. Review info: Black bass diversity: Multidisciplinary science for conservation . Edited by Michael D. Tringali, James M. Long, Timothy W. Birdsong, and Michael S. Allen, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-934874-40-0, 685 pp.

The Quarterly Review of Biology↗
USGS2015

Sustainable water management under future uncertainty with eco-engineering decision scaling

Managing freshwater resources sustainably under future climatic and hydrological uncertainty poses novel challenges. Rehabilitation of ageing infrastructure and construction of new dams are widely viewed as solutions to diminish climate risk, but attaining the broad goal of freshwater sustainability will require expansion of the prevailing water resources management paradigm beyond narrow economic criteria to include socially valued ecosystem functions and services. We introduce a new decision framework, eco-engineering decision scaling (EEDS), that explicitly and quantitatively explores trade-offs in stakeholder-defined engineering and ecological performance metrics across a range of possible management actions under unknown future hydrological and climate states. We illustrate its potential application through a hypothetical case study of the Iowa River, USA. EEDS holds promise as a powerful framework for operationalizing freshwater sustainability under future hydrological uncertainty by fostering collaboration across historically conflicting perspectives of water resource engineering and river conservation ecology to design and operate water infrastructure for social and environmental benefits.

Nature Climate Change↗