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Results for “Nature Conservation”

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At least 775 records · Page 43Linked to original sources

USGS1998

Impact of alternative regeneration methods on genetic diversity in coastal Douglas-fir

Genetic implications of natural and artificial regeneration following three regeneration methods (group selection, shelterwood, and clearcut) were investigated in coastal Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) using genetic markers (17 allozyme loci). In general, harvesting followed by either natural or artificial regeneration resulted in offspring populations little altered from those in the previous generation. Cutting the smallest trees to form shelterwoods, however, resulted in the removal of rare, presumably deleterious, alleles, such that slightly fewer alleles per locus were observed among residual trees (2.76) and natural regeneration (2.75) than found in uncut (control) stands (2.86). Thus, although the shelterwood regime appears quite compatible with gene conservation, it would be best to leave parent trees of a range of sizes in shelterwoods designated as gene conservation reserves, in order to maximize the number of alleles (regardless of current adaptive value) in naturally regenerated offspring. Seedling stocks used for artificial regeneration in clearcut, shelterwood, and group selection stands (7 total) had significantly greater levels of genetic diversity, on average, than found in natural regeneration. This is probably because the seeds used in artificial seedling stocks came from many wild stands and thus, sampled more diversity than found in single populations. For. Sci. 44(3): 390-396.

Forest Science↗

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↗

USGS2011

Resolving structural uncertainty in natural resources management using POMDP approaches

In recent years there has been a growing focus on the uncertainties of natural resources management, and the importance of accounting for uncertainty in assessing management effectiveness. This paper focuses on uncertainty in resource management in terms of discrete-state Markov decision processes (MDP) under structural uncertainty and partial observability. It describes the treatment of structural uncertainty with approaches developed for partially observable resource systems. In particular, I show how value iteration for partially observable MDPs (POMDP) can be extended to structurally uncertain MDPs. A key difference between these process classes is that structurally uncertain MDPs require the tracking of system state as well as a probability structure for the structure uncertainty, whereas with POMDPs require only a probability structure for the observation uncertainty. The added complexity of the optimization problem under structural uncertainty is compensated by reduced dimensionality in the search for optimal strategy. A solution algorithm for structurally uncertain processes is outlined for a simple example in conservation biology. By building on the conceptual framework developed for POMDPs, natural resource analysts and decision makers who confront structural uncertainties in natural resources can take advantage of the rapid growth in POMDP methods and approaches, and thereby produce better conservation strategies over a larger class of resource problems.

Ecological Modelling↗

USGS1976

Nature . . . an environmental yardstick

To one who has spent his professional career in geologic science, conservation always has had special meaning. In the measurements so necessary to his work the geologist develops an integrity in the use of numbers and in the qualifications attending the validity of numbers. Scientific analysis of geologic events and sequence develops a keen sense of what is coincidental, correlative, and consequential. The geologist applies his science in evaluating hazards to man as natural catastrophes and/or benefits to man such as earth materials that form the resource base of his society. But more than these the geologist has acquired a deep appreciation for the planet as a whole, its inner structure, its landscape, and the living things that abound.

Information and Technology Report↗

USGS2022

Engaging stakeholders to develop a decision support model of conservation risk and management capacity to prioritize investments in Bull Trout recovery

Rarely are sufficient resources available to support the full suite of management actions to promote recovery of a species across their entire distribution. Decision support models are a tool that can inform natural resource management decisions with consideration of the perspectives from a variety of stakeholders who work across large geographic and jurisdictional extents. We offer an example of a decision support model that was developed by several Federal and State natural resource agencies to rank Bull Trout Salvelinus confluentus core areas for prioritizing conservation investment within Oregon, USA. We engaged State level decision makers to identify parameters believed to be influential in determining funding allocations for Bull Trout core areas. Parameters were linked in a model framework that was further refined with input from local Bull Trout experts with knowledge specific to the various core areas. The model produces a relative priority value that is a combination of the conservation risk to the species and the management capacity to address threats. A series of sensitivity analyses suggests that Bull Trout persistence and threat score are most influential in determining the relative priority of a core area, and life-history and genetic diversity are least influential. One of the more powerful products from this work is an interactive web-based application ( https://das.ecosphere.fws.gov/public/obts/ ) that anyone can use to explore how their beliefs in parameter values will affect the relative priority of Bull Trout core areas across Oregon. Our modeling effort is an example of engaging stakeholders with different roles in species recovery and across a large geographic area to create a clearer path forward in allocating limited resources for species recovery. This approach can be employed to address a number of natural resource management situations across species and habitats.

Oregon↗

USGS2021

Review of ESA SYMP 7: A dynamic perspective on ecosystem restoration–establishing temporal connectivity at the intersection between paleoecology and restoration ecology

Landscape connectivity is vital not only spatially, but also temporally; as ecosystems change, it is important to be aware of past, present, and future variables that may impact ecosystem function and biodiversity. As climate and environments continue to change, choosing appropriate restoration targets is becoming more challenging. By considering the paleoecological and paleoenvironmental record for a given region, restoration practitioners are not only able to bear witness to that region’s dynamic history, but also potentially identify multiple, alternative natural ecosystem states. Indeed, one of the deliverables of conservation paleobiology, a field that applies paleontological data and methods to present-day conservation, is to inform restoration targets. Consideration of future change is equally important, and paleoecological and paleoclimatological data are essential for informing models that can help us understand how climate change is affecting species and ecosystems at different temporal scales. The symposium “A dynamic perspective on ecosystem restoration: Establishing temporal connectivity at the intersection between paleoecology and restoration ecology” gathered representatives from macroecology, paleoecology, and restoration ecology to share their perspectives on temporal connectivity and how consideration of an ecosystem’s past, present, and future can positively impact restoration and conservation. Some speakers approached the topic theoretically, while others considered it from a more practical and applied standpoint. The goals of the symposium were to build a stronger relationship among the subdisciplines, stimulate new ideas, and identify data and/or products that would be useful to share across subdisciplines.

Bulletin Ecological Society of America↗

USGS2006

When landscaping goes bad: The incipient invasion of Mahonia bealei in the southeastern United States

Woodlots are forest islands embedded within an urban matrix, and often represent the only natural areas remaining in suburban areas. Woodlots represent critical conservation areas for native plants, and are important habitat for wildlife in urban areas. Invasion by non-indigenous (NIS) plants can alter ecological structure and function, and may be especially severe in remnant forests where NIS propagule pressure is high. Woody shrubs in the Family Berberidaceae have been well documented as invaders of the forest-urban matrix in North America. Mahonia bealei (Berberidaceae) is a clonal shrub native to China, and is a popular ornamental in the Southeastern United States. Mahoni bealei is listed as "present" on some local and state floras, but almost nothing is known regarding its invasion potential in the United States. We sampled 15 woodlots in Clemson, South Carolina, to assess the invasion of M. bealei and other woody non-indigenous species (NIS). M. bealei invaded 87% of the woodlots surveyed and species richness of NIS on these woodlots varied from 5 to 14. Stepwise-multiple regression indicated that less canopy cover and older M. bealei predicted greater abundance of M. bealei , and that not all subdivisions were equally invaded (P < 0.0001; r 2 = 0.88). The impact of M. bealei on native flora and fauna may be considerable, and it is likely to continue to spread in the Southeastern United States. M. bealei should be recognized as an aggressive invader in the Southeastern United States, with the potential for negative impacts on native flora and fauna. ?? Springer 2006.

Biological Invasions↗

USGS2022

Population genetics of three at-risk tiger beetles Habroscelimorpha dorsalis dorsalis, H. d. media, and Ellipsoptera puritana

Many tiger beetles (Family Cicindelidae ) are critically imperiled due to their dependence on small patches of suitable habitat that are frequently threatened by natural and anthropogenic disturbances. In the eastern United States, conservation of three tiger beetles - Habroscelimorpha dorsalis dorsalis , H. dorsalis media , and Ellipsoptera puritana - has been inhibited by the absence of population genetic information that is needed for effective recovery planning and potential reintroductions. Using microsatellite panels, we performed population genetic analyses and compared patterns in diversity and differentiation within and between taxa. Nearly all collections of the three taxa had less observed heterozygosity than expected under Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, and there was a strong latitudinal gradient in genetic diversity in H. d. dorsalis distributed along the eastern and western shores of the Chesapeake Bay. We also found clear spatial patterns of genetic differentiation which reflected strong isolation-by-distance within all three taxa and between collections of H. d. dorsalis and H. d. media. However, there was evidence of admixture in current (mouth of the Chesapeake Bay) and former (coastal New Jersey) contact zones of H. d. dorsalis and H. d. media . Taken together, our study suggests that relatively few adult tiger beetles may maintain many populations, and that gene flow among nearby habitat patches is common in all three taxa – a characteristic that may help tiger beetles persist in dynamic coastal environments. Results of our analyses can be used to support conservation and management by identifying the spatial scale of metapopulation connectivity and locating populations at the greatest risk of extirpation.

Maryland, Virginia↗

USGS2021

Integrating wildlife habitat models with state-and-transitions models to enhance the management of rangelands for multiple objectives

State-and-transition models (STMs) are tools used in rangeland management to describe linear and nonlinear vegetation dynamics as conceptual models. STMs can be improved by including additional ecosystem services, such as wildlife habitat, so that managers can predict how local populations might respond to state changes and to illustrate the tradeoffs in managing for different ecosystem services. Our objective was to incorporate songbird density into an STM developed for sagebrush rangelands in northwest Colorado to guide local management of sagebrush birds. The STM included two shrub-dominated community phases, a native grassland state, and a shrubland and grassland phase within an exotic-dominated state. We surveyed plots for songbirds, collected a suite of vegetation indicators at each plot, and quantified songbird habitat relationships with count-based regression models. We then used the estimated models to predict songbird density based on average vegetation conditions per state or community phase. Moderate or increasing shrub cover were important predictors for shrubland-associated species, and responses to understory components varied by species. In the STM, we predicted higher densities of shrubland-associated bird species in the shrub-dominated phases and higher densities of grassland-associated bird species in the state and phase lacking shrub cover. No single state or phase captured the highest density for all songbirds, illustrating the value of alternative states. Our results also demonstrate the utility of displaying traditional wildlife count models against the range of vegetation conditions associated with each state or phase to understand how wildlife density can vary within states and phases. Our approach can assist land managers to gauge the potential impacts of land-use decisions and natural vegetation variability on wildlife, especially for species of conservation concern.

Rangeland Ecology and Management↗

USGS2022

Understanding local adaptation to prepare populations for climate change

Adaptation within species to local environments is widespread in nature. Better understanding this local adaptation is critical to conserving biodiversity. However, conservation practices can rely on species’ trait averages or can broadly assume homogeneity across the range to inform management. Recent methodological advances for studying local adaptation provide the opportunity to fine-tune efforts for managing and conserving species. The implementation of these advances will allow us to better identify populations at greatest risk of decline because of climate change, as well as highlighting possible strategies for improving the likelihood of population persistence amid climate change. In the present article, we review recent advances in the study of local adaptation and highlight ways these tools can be applied in conservation efforts. Cutting-edge tools are available to help better identify and characterize local adaptation. Indeed, increased incorporation of local adaptation in management decisions may help meet the imminent demands of managing species amid a rapidly changing world.

BioScience↗

USGS2021

Why disease ecology needs life-history theory: A host perspective

When facing an emerging infectious disease of conservation concern, we often have little information on the nature of the host‐parasite interaction to inform management decisions. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the life‐history strategies of host species can be predictive of individual‐ and population‐level responses to infectious disease, even without detailed knowledge on the specifics of the host‐parasite interaction. Here, we argue that a deeper integration of life‐history theory into disease ecology is timely and necessary to improve our capacity to understand, predict and mitigate the impact of endemic and emerging infectious diseases in wild populations. Using wild vertebrates as an example, we show that host life‐history characteristics influence host responses to parasitism at different levels of organisation, from individuals to communities. We also highlight knowledge gaps and future directions for the study of life‐history and host responses to parasitism. We conclude by illustrating how this theoretical insight can inform the monitoring and control of infectious diseases in wildlife.

Ecology Letters↗

USGS2010

Vegetation response to early holocene warming as an analog for current and future changes: Special section

Temperatures in southwestern North America are projected to increase 3.5-4 ??C over the next 60-90 years. This will precipitate ecological shifts as the ranges of species change in response to new climates. During this shift, rapid-colonizing species should increase, whereas slow-colonizing species will at first decrease, but eventually become reestablished in their new range. This successional process has been estimated to require from 100 to over 300 years in small areas, under a stable climate, with a nearby seed source. How much longer will it require on a continental scale, under a changing climate, without a nearby seed source? I considered this question through an examination of the response of fossil plant assemblages from the Grand Canyon, Arizona, to the most recent rapid warming of similar magnitude that occurred at the start of the Holocene, 11,700 years ago. At that time, temperatures in southwestern North America increased about 4 ??C over less than a century. Grand Canyon plant species responded at different rates to this warming climate. Early-successional species rapidly increased, whereas late-successional species decreased. This shift persisted throughout the next 2700 years. I found two earlier, less-extreme species shifts following rapid warming events around 14,700 and 16,800 years ago. Late-successional species predominated only after 4000 years or more of relatively stable temperature. These results suggest the potential magnitude, duration, and nature of future ecological changes and have implications for conservation plans, especially those incorporating equilibrium assumptions or reconstituting past conditions. When these concepts are extended to include the most rapid early-successional colonizers, they imply that the recent increases in invasive exotics may be only the most noticeable part of a new resurgence of early-successional vegetation. Additionally, my results challenge the reliability of models of future vegetation and carbon balance that project conditions on the basis of assumptions of equilibrium within only a century. ?? 2009 Society for Conservation Biology.

Conservation Biology↗

USGS2012

DOI Climate Science Centers--Regional science to address management priorities

Our Nation's lands, waters, and ecosystems and the living and cultural resources they contain face myriad challenges from invasive species, the effects of changing land and water use, habitat fragmentation and degradation, and other influences. These challenges are compounded by increasing influences from a changing climate—higher temperatures, increasing droughts, floods, and wildfires, and overall increasing variability in weather and climate. The Department of the Interior (DOI) has established eight regional Climate Science Centers (CSC) (fig. 1) that will provide scientific information and tools to natural and cultural resource managers as they plan for conserving these resources in a changing world. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) is managing the CSCs on behalf of the DOI.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2024

The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting Ohio's economy

Introduction High-quality elevation data are proving to be a resource of great economic value in dealing with many important issues in Ohio. Current and accurate high-resolution elevation data support flood risk management, water quantity and quality assessment, precision farming, conservation planning, impervious-surface modeling, forest and other natural resources management, abandoned mine and geologic hazard assessment, karst mapping, and siting of wellhead pads for horizontal drilling. These data also support coastal zone management, traffic safety and preliminary engineering site-selection studies for transportation infrastructure, solar potential and other renewable energy planning, aviation safety, and identification of features of interest or concern such as archaeological sites and orphan oil and gas wells. Critical applications that meet the State’s management needs depend on light detection and ranging (lidar) data that provide a highly detailed three-dimensional (3D) model of the Earth’s surface and aboveground features.

Ohio↗

USGS2004

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge: A survey of visitor experiences: Report to respondents

In the fall of 2000, researchers from the Policy Analysis and Science Assistance Program (PASA) of the Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) met with the staff of the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge (CPNWR) to discuss the issues related to social, economic, and human dimensions of natural resource management as it related to the Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) planning process. As a result of the meeting a research study was designed to better understand how visitors are affected by environmental management decisions and provide information to assist the refuge managers in making decisions regarding public use and recreational management related to the goals of the proposed CCP. More specifically, information was collected to document the type and frequency of visitor use; assess the importance of recreational activities; and to determine visitor attitudes about recreation management decisions within the refuge. To this end, we designed a study to assess the effects of the no-action and alternative management plans for the Refuge visitors’ perceptions and likely visitation patterns. In fall of 2002 a questionnaire was developed in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the CCP planning team and mailed to 1090 people who visited the refuge between June 2001 and June 2002. We used standard research methods in designing and administering the questionnaire. Six hundred and eightyfive (685) completed questionnaires (74%) were considered usable. We developed the questionnaire (OMB Control Number 1040-00) to answer the following questions: What are the important differences in visitors’ attitudes and perception regarding recreation and visitor use at CPNWR? What are the factors that explain the differences in visitor attitudes and perception regarding recreation and visitor use at CPNWR? What are the regional economic impacts of visitor spending? In general the respondents indicated support for current management practices of CPNWR. We found that people came to the Refuge to experience a connection with the resource and the environment. More than half of the respondents said that viewing the desert scenery, seeking wilderness solitude and viewing wildlife were the most important reasons for making the visit to the refuge.

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge↗

USGS2022

Evolutionary and ecological connectivity in westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi) and mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) in relation to the potential influences of Boundary Dam, Washington, Idaho, and parts of British Columbia

In this report, we consider evolutionary and ecological connectivity for westslope cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi ) and mountain whitefish ( Prosopium williamsoni ) within the Pend Oreille River in northeastern Washington State, northern Idaho, and adjacent portions of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. Specifically, we focused on the rationale for active translocation of individuals of these species upstream from Boundary Dam both in the context of natural patterns of pre-dam evolutionary connectivity as well as preserving contemporary ecological and evolutionary characteristics of local extant populations. Boundary Dam impounds the Pend Oreille River (called the Pend d’Oreille River in Canada) with the resulting reservoir inundating two historical barriers to upstream movement of fish (Metaline Falls and Z Canyon). Historically, it was thought these barriers impeded the upstream movement of westslope cutthroat trout and mountain whitefish, as well as Pacific salmon ( Oncorhynchus spp.), steelhead trout ( O. mykiss ), and other resident species such as bull trout ( Salvelinus confluentus ). To address connectivity, we consider historical and contemporary processes and features. This review includes an assessment of postglacial processes within the Pend Oreille River and systems upstream that include Priest Lake, Lake Pend Oreille, the Clark Fork River, features of Boundary Reservoir and its tributaries, and areas downstream in the Pend Oreille River such as the Salmo River. Based on this information, we then give a more detailed review of existing genetic and ecological data to summarize what is known about connectivity for westslope cutthroat trout and mountain whitefish. Our assessment of the collective evidence leads us to conclude that moving fish upstream over Boundary Dam is not warranted if the management objective is to maintain natural patterns of evolutionary and ecological connectivity or to conserve unique ecological and evolutionary characteristics of extant local populations of these species in the system. These findings parallel that of a previous analysis of bull trout. Although we were able to arrive at well-supported conclusions in relation to Boundary Dam, we suggest that more work on connectivity further upstream in the Pend Oreille River would help to better understand the role of historical processes and dams further up in the system.

British Columbia, Idaho, Washington↗

USGS2023

The benefits of big-team science for conservation: Lessons learned from trinational monarch butterfly collaborations

Many pressing conservation issues are complex problems caused by multiple social and environmental drivers; their resolution is aided by interdisciplinary teams of scientists, decision makers, and stakeholders working together. In these situations, how do we generate science to effectively guide conservation (resource management and policy) decisions? This paper describes elements of successful big-team science in conservation, as well as shortcomings and lessons learned, based on our work with the monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ) in North America. We summarize literature on effective science teams, extracting information about elements of success, effective implementation approaches, and barriers or pitfalls. We then describe recent and ongoing conservation science for the monarch butterfly in North America. We focus primarily on the activities of the Monarch Conservation Science Partnership–an international collaboration of interdisciplinary scientists, policy experts and natural resource managers spanning government, non-governmental and academic institutions—which developed science to inform imperilment status, recovery options, and monitoring strategies. We couch these science efforts in the adaptative management framework of Strategic Habitat Conservation, the business model for conservation employed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to inform decision-making needs identified by stakeholders from Canada, the United States, and Mexico. We conclude with elements critical to effective big-team conservation science, discuss why science teams focused on applied conservation problems are unique relative to science teams focusing on traditional or theoretical research, and list benefits of big team science in conservation.

Frontiers in Environmental Science↗

USGS2005

Predicting bird response to alternative management scenarios on a ranch in Campeche, Mexico

We developed models to predict the potential response of wintering Neotropical migrant and resident bird species to alternative management scenarios, using data from point counts of birds along with habitat variables measured or estimated from remotely sensed data in a Geographic Information System. Expected numbers of occurrences at points were calculated for 100 species of birds, under current habitat conditions and under habitat conditions that would result from seven alternative management scenarios for Rancho Sandoval, a cattle ranch and private nature reserve in Campeche, Mexico. Most bird species of conservation concern would benefit from management scenarios that increase the amount of forest, but the highest priority resident species would not. To balance the somewhat conflicting habitat needs of these species and the concerns of ranch managers, we recommend that forest area and connectivity be increased, and pastures be maintained but more efficiently managed to support cattle and the priority resident and migrant birds that require open habitats.

Book chapter↗