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At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
USGS1999

Stream and aquifer biology of south-central Texas — A literature review, 1973-97

This report summarizes in table format 32 aquatic vertebrate (primarily fish), 54 aquatic invertebrate, and 13 aquatic plant studies available for the area of the South-Central Texas study unit of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment. The studies, published mostly during 1973–97, pertain to the Guadalupe, San Antonio, and Nueces River Basins, the San Antonio-Nueces and Nueces-Rio Grande Coastal Basins, and the Edwards aquifer where it underlies the upper parts of the three river basins. The biology of the study-unit streams is determined mostly by the characteristics of the ecoregions they transect—the Edwards Plateau, Texas Blackland Prairies, East Central Texas Plains, Western Gulf Coastal Plain, and Southern Texas Plains. About 20 percent of the previous fish and invertebrate studies and about 75 percent of the aquatic plant surveys have centered on Comal Springs in Comal County and San Marcos Springs in Hays County. Although several important studies are available for the San Antonio region, documentation of aquatic biology for the remainder of the study unit is relatively sparse. The streams in the study unit, particularly in the Edwards Plateau, support three dominant biological groups—fish, aquatic invertebrates, and plants. Potential threats to these organisms include impoundments and flood-control projects, siltation from erosion, ground-water pumping, recreational activities, wastewater discharge, and introduction of non-native species. More than 30 non-native fish, invertebrate, and plant species have been introduced into the region. Of the 19 aquatic species Federally listed as endangered or threatened in Texas, 8 are associated with springs and spring runs in the study unit. All of the endangered species in the study unit are associated with springs and spring runs. A large number of endemic species in the study unit are associated with subterranean aquatic ecosystems, most likely a consequence of the unique proximity of the varied topographic and hydrologic conditions of the area and of the geological development of the Edwards aquifer. Ninety-one endemics, including 44 species found solely underground, are associated with the aquatic ecosystems (including springs) of the Edwards aquifer.

Texas↗
USGS2009

A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Information Related to the Biology and Management of Species of Special Concern at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina

The U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC) conducted a study for the National Park Service (NPS) Southeast Region, Atlanta, GA, and Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CAHA) in North Carolina to review, evaluate, and summarize the available scientific information for selected species of concern at CAHA (piping plovers, sea turtles, seabeach amaranth, American oystercatchers, and colonial waterbirds). This work consisted of reviewing the scientific literature and evaluating the results of studies that examined critical life history stages of each species, and focused on the scientific findings reported that are relevant to the management of these species and their habitats at CAHA. The chapters that follow provide the results of that review separately for each species and present scientifically based options for resource management at CAHA. Although no new original research or experimental work was conducted, this synthesis of the existing information was peer reviewed by over 15 experts with familiarity with these species. This report does not establish NPS management protocols but does highlight scientific information on the biology of these species to be considered by NPS managers who make resource management decisions at CAHA. To ensure that the best available information is considered when assessing each species of interest at CAHA, this review included published research as well as practical experience of scientists and wildlife managers who were consulted in 2005. PWRC scientists evaluated the literature, consulted wildlife managers, and produced an initial draft that was sent to experts for scientific review. Revisions based on those comments were incorporated into the document. The final draft of the document was reviewed by NPS personnel to ensure that the description of the recent status and management of these species at CAHA was accurately represented and that the report was consistent with our work agreement. The following section summarizes the biological information relevant to resource management for the species of concern at CAHA.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1993

A model of the productivity of the northern pintail

We adapted a stochastic computer model to simulate productivity of the northern pintail (Anas acuta). Researchers at the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service originally developed the model to simulate productivity of the mallard (A. platyrhynchos). We obtained data and descriptive information on the breeding biology of pintails from a literature review and from discussions with waterfowl biologists. All biological parameters in the productivity component of the mallard model (e.g, initial body weights, weight loss during laying and incubation, incubation time, clutch size, nest site selection characteristics) were compared with data on pintails and adjusted accordingly. The function in the mallard model that predicts nest initiation in response to pond conditions adequately mimicked pintail behavior and did not require adjustment.Recruitment rate was most sensitive to variations in parameters that control nest success, seasonal duckling survival rate, and yearling and adult body weight. We simulated upland and wetland habitat conditions in central North Dakota and compared simulation results with observed data. Simulated numbers were not significantly different from observed numbers of successful nests during wet, average, and dry wetland conditions. The simulated effect of predator barrier fencing in a study area in central North Dakota increased recruitment rate by an average of 18.4%. This modeling synthesized existing knowledge on the breeding biology of the northern pintail, identified necessary research, and furnished a useful tool for the examination and comparison of various management options.

Biological Report↗
USGS1991

The interaction between biology and the management of aquatic macrophytes

‘Management’ refers to controlling nuisance aquatic species and to restoring or restructing aquatic plant communities. Producing stable, diverse, aquatic plant communities containing a high percentage of desirable species is a primary management goal. There are a variety of techniques including harvesting, herbicides, water-level fluctuation, sediment alteration, nutrient limitation, light alteration, and biological controls which can be used for managing macrophytes. These techniques are briefly reviewed along with discussions of biological considerations important to the efficacy of the technique and the environmental impacts of the technique. There is a growing interest in restoring and restructing aquatic plant communities. Techniques for community restoration are discussed as are emerging management technologies using growth regulators and bioengineering. New management technologies will probably be limited by costs and environmental impacts. In the near future, better macrophyte management will come through better planning and more effective use of present technology. The challenge is to make current planning and management techniques more effective through increased biological inputs. The potential for biological input ranges from subcellular biology to species biology, to community and ecosystem biology. Some information needs are identified.

Aquatic Botany↗
USGS1996

Planar PCB Hazards to Fish, Wildlife, and Invertebrates: A Synoptic Review

Ecological and toxicological aspects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the environment are reviewed with emphasis on biologically active congeners and fish and wildlife. Subtopics include sources and uses, chemical and biochemical properties, concentrations in field collections, lethal and sublethal effects, and recommendations for the protection of sensitive resources. All production of PCBs in the United States ceased in 1977. Of the 1.2 million tons of PCBs manufactured to date, about 65% are still in use in electrical equipment and 31% in various environmental compartments, and 4% were degraded or incinerated. The 209 PCB congeners and their metabolites show wide differences in biological effects. A significant part of the toxicity associated with commercial PCB mixtures is related to the presence of about 20 planar congeners, i.e., congeners without chlorine substitution in the ortho position. Toxic planar congeners, like other PCB congeners, have been detected in virtually all analyzed samples, regardless of collection locale. Planar PCB concentrations were usually highest in samples from near urban areas and in fat and liver tissues, filter-feeding bivalve mollusks, fish-eating birds, and carnivorous marine mammals. Adverse effects of planar PCBs on growth, survival, and reproduction are highly variable because of numerous biotic and abiotic modifiers, including interaction with other chemicals. In general, embryos and juveniles were the most sensitive stages tested to planar PCBs, and the chinook salmon, domestic chicken, mink, rhesus macaque, and laboratory white rat were among the most sensitive species. for protection of natural resources, most authorities now recommend (1) analyzation of environmental samples for planar and other potentially hazardous congeners; (2) exposure studies with representative species and specific congeners, alone and in combination with other environmental contaminants; (3) clarification of existing structure-induction-metabolism relations; and (4) more research on physiological and biochemical indicators of PCB-stress.

Contaminant Hazard Reviews↗
USGS2020

A synthesis of the biology and ecology of sculpin species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and implications for the adaptive capacity of the benthic ecosystem

The Laurentian Great Lakes have experienced recent ecosystem changes that could lead to reductions in adaptive capacity and ultimately a loss of biodiversity and production throughout the food web. Observed changes in Great Lakes benthic communities include declines of native species and widespread success of invasive species like dreissenid mussels in all but Lake Superior. Understanding the ecology of native benthic deepwater preyfish and the reasons for their declines is important for predicting future losses in adaptive capacity and diversity, as well as managing the Great Lakes ecosystem to avoid such losses. Native sculpin species ( Cottus bairdii , C. cognatus , C. ricei , Myoxocephalus thompsonii ) historically were among the most abundant of the Great Lakes native deepwater benthic preyfish community and are an important link between offshore benthic and pelagic food webs. With one exception, these species have declined in abundance throughout the Great Lakes in recent years, but relatively little is known about their biology and ecology. This review synthesizes the available knowledge for the Great Lakes sculpin species and provides suggestions for future research efforts, which include understanding reproductive ecology and spawning behavior, connectivity and dispersal of populations, early life history, and influences of interactions with native and non-native species.

Great Lakes↗
USGS2010

Assessing macroinvertebrate biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems: Advances and challenges in dna-based approaches

Assessing the biodiversity of macroinvertebrate fauna in freshwater ecosystems is an essential component of both basic ecological inquiry and applied ecological assessments. Aspects of taxonomic diversity and composition in freshwater communities are widely used to quantify water quality and measure the efficacy of remediation and restoration efforts. The accuracy and precision of biodiversity assessments based on standard morphological identifications are often limited by taxonomic resolution and sample size. Morphologically based identifications are laborious and costly, significantly constraining the sample sizes that can be processed. We suggest that the development of an assay platform based on DNA signatures will increase the precision and ease of quantifying biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems. Advances in this area will be particularly relevant for benthic and planktonic invertebrates, which are often monitored by regulatory agencies. Adopting a genetic assessment platform will alleviate some of the current limitations to biodiversity assessment strategies. We discuss the benefits and challenges associated with DNA-based assessments and the methods that are currently available. As recent advances in microarray and next-generation sequencing technologies will facilitate a transition to DNA-based assessment approaches, future research efforts should focus on methods for data collection, assay platform development, establishing linkages between DNA signatures and well-resolved taxonomies, and bioinformatics. ?? 2010 by The University of Chicago Press.

The Quarterly Review of Biology↗
USGS2015

Book Reivew: A chance for lasting survival: Ecology and behavior of wild giant pandas

“If we watch species going extinct in front of us, how useful is that we publish 100 or even 1,000 papers by studying them?” (p. 330). This quote from senior author Pan Wenshi captures an important essence of this book. A translation of a 2001 monograph originally published in Chinese, this volume details the findings of a 15-year research program in the Qinling Mountains by Wenshi and his students. Starting in 1984, this Chinese research team from Peking University was only the second to study free-ranging pandas. This is the remarkable journey of a devoted group of field researchers who helped changed the course of giant panda conservation, events that few conservationists outside of China have been aware of until now. Review info: A chance for lasting survival: Ecology and behavior of wild giant pandas. By Pan Wenshi, Lü Zhi, Zhu Xiaojian, Wang Dajun, Wang Hao, Long Yu, Fu Dali, and Zhou Xin; edited by, William J. McShea, Richard B. Harris, David L. Garshelis, and Wang Dajun, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-935623-17-5, 349pp.

The Quarterly Review of Biology↗
USGS2020

Determinants and consequences of dispersal in vertebrates with complex life cycles: a review of pond-breeding amphibians

Dispersal is a central process in ecology and evolution. It strongly influences the dynamics of spatially structured populations, by affecting population growth rate and local colonization-extinction processes. Dispersal can also influence evolutionary processes because it determines rates and patterns of gene flow in spatially structured populations and is closely linked to local adaptation. For these reasons, dispersal has received considerable attention from ecologists and evolutionary biologists. However, although it has been studied extensively in taxa such as birds and mammals, much less is known about dispersal in vertebrates with complex life cycles such as pond-breeding amphibians. Over the past two decades, researchers have taken an interest in amphibian dispersal and initiated both fundamental and applied studies, using a broad range of experimental and observational approaches. This body of research reveals complex dispersal patterns, causations and syndromes, with dramatic consequences for the demography and genetics of amphibian populations. In this review, our goals are to (1) redefine and clarify the concept of amphibian dispersal, (2) review current knowledge about the effects of individual (i.e., condition-dependent dispersal) and environmental (i.e., context-dependent dispersal) factors during the three stages of dispersal (i.e., emigration, immigration, transience), (3) identify the demographic and genetic consequences of dispersal in spatially structured amphibian populations, and (4) propose new research avenues to extend our understanding of amphibian dispersal. In particular, we emphasize the need to (1) quantify dispersal rate and distance rigorously using suitable model systems, (2) investigate the genetic basis and dispersal evolution patterns, and (3) examine dispersal-related eco-evolutionary dynamics. These proposed research avenues tap from the recent advances in quantitative and molecular methods and have the potential to improve our understanding of dispersal in organisms with complex life cycles.

The Quarterly Review of Biology↗
USGS2024

Observing systems, modeling, and forecasting

Predicting harmful algal blooms (HABs) requires integrating physical, chemical, and biological data collected from observing networks and then assimilating these data into models, which are used to generate forecasts. In 2005, the Harmful Algal Research and Response: A National Environmental Science Strategy 2005-2015 (HARRNESS, 2005) made recommendations on how to improve HAB modeling and forecasting over the next decade. Key HARRNESS recommendations related to sensing, networking, and modeling HABs included: ● Support the development and validation of new and improved technologies for remote cell and toxin detection, and for modeling and forecasting, ● Improve coordination of monitoring/ and modeling efforts, both at national and regional levels, ● Improve the use of networking technologies for monitoring and modeling efforts, ● Conduct sustained time series measurements of the biotic, chemical, and physical environments impacted by HABs, ● Develop food web models on the ecosystem fate and effects of toxins, ● Develop and improve species-specific models that link to physical-biological models. Here we review HAB observing, modeling, and forecasting advances and technologies and recommend research and management priorities for the next decade and beyond. Our report encompasses sensing technologies, sensor networking and data management, models and forecasts, and the paths to operationalize forecasts. Continued improvements of deployable sensors are foundational to improving early warning indicators, models, and forecasts, which are only as good as the underlying data. Sensing technology has advanced considerably in the last decade; for example, more capable fluorometric pigment sensors can track changes in bloom biomass in real-time. Additionally, automated imaging/classifying systems to identify and quantify key harmful algal (HA) taxa are being routinely deployed. However, deployable toxin sensors are available for only some HAB toxins and continue to be identified as a critical need by researchers and managers. As more and improved sensors and technologies become available, the data quality associated with each sensor needs to be assessed. Data quality encompasses the reliability, accuracy, and uncertainty associated with sensor-generated data. These data need to be of known quality so that researchers, managers, and end-users can reliably determine if the information is appropriate for their intended applications. Many of the data quality recommendations from HARRNESS (2005) are still relevant and have been reiterated within the management community. Understanding and documenting data quality, and when applicable, standardizing best practices for sensor use, continue to be recommended.

Report↗
USGS2005

A hierarchical perspective of plant diversity

Predictive models of plant diversity have typically focused on either a landscapea??s capacity for richness (equilibrium models), or on the processes that regulate competitive exclusion, and thus allow species to coexist (nonequilibrium models). Here, we review the concepts and purposes of a hierarchical, multiscale model of the controls of plant diversity that incorporates the equilibrium model of climatic favorability at macroscales, nonequilibrium models of competition at microscales, and a mixed model emphasizing environmental heterogeneity at mesoscales. We evaluate the conceptual model using published data from three spatially nested datasets: (1) a macroscale analysis of ecoregions in the continental and western U.S.; (2) a mesoscale study in California; and (3) a microscale study in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon and California. At the macroscale (areas from 3889 km2 to 638,300 km2), climate (actual evaporation) was a strong predictor of tree diversity (R2 = 0.80), as predicted by the conceptual model, but area was a better predictor for vascular plant diversity overall (R2 = 0.38), which suggests different types of plants differ in their sensitivity to climatic controls. At mesoscales (areas from 1111 km2 to 15,833 km2 ), climate was still an important predictor of richness (R2 = 0.52), but, as expected, topographic heterogeneity explained an important share of the variance (R2 = 0.19), showed positive correlations with diversity of trees, shrubs, and annual and perennial herbs, and was the primary predictor of shrub and annual plant species richness. At microscales (0.1 ha plots), spatial patterns of diversity showed a clear unimodal pattern along a climatea??driven productivity gradient and a negative relationship with soil fertility. The strong decline in understory and total diversity at the most productive sites suggests that competitive controls, as predicted, can override climatic controls at this scale. We conclude that this hierarchical, multiscale model provides a sound basis to understand and analyze plant species diversity. Specifically, future research should employ the principles in this paper to explore climatic controls on species richness of different life forms, better quantify environmental heterogeneity in landscapes, and analyze how these largea??scale factors interact with local nonequilibrium dynamics to maintain plant diversity.

The Quarterly Review of Biology↗