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At least 955 records · Page 53Linked to original sources

USGS1990

National water summary 1987: Hydrologic events and water supply and use

Water use in the United States, as measured by freshwater withdrawals in 1985, averaged 338,000 Mgal/d (million gallons per day), which is enough water to cover the 48 conterminous States to a depth of about 2.4 inches. Only 92,300 Mgal/d, or 27.3 percent of the water withdrawn, was consumptive use and thus lost to immediate further use; the remainder of the withdrawals (72.7 percent) was return flow available for reuse a number of times as the water flowed to the sea. The 1985 freshwater withdrawals were much less than the average 30 inches of precipitation that falls on the conterminous States each year; consumptive use accounted for only 7 percent of the estimated annual runoff of 1,230,000 Mgal/d. Nonetheless, as the State summaries on water supply and use clearly show, water is not always available when and where it is needed. Balancing water demands with available water supplies constitutes one of the major resource allocation issues that will face the United States in the coming decade. Of the 1985 freshwater withdrawals, 78.3 percent (265,000 Mgal/d) came from surface-water sources (streams and lakes), and 21.7 percent (73,300 Mgal/d) came from ground water. Surface water provided drinking water for about 47 percent of the Nation's total population. It was the source of 59.9 percent of the Nation's public-supply systems. For self-supplied withdrawals, surface water accounted for 1.6 percent of the domestic and commercial uses; 64.0 percent of the industrial and mining use; 99.4 percent of the thermoelectric generation withdrawals, mainly for cooling water; and 65.6 percent of the agricultural withdrawals. Eight States accounted for 43 percent of the surface-water use; California, Colorado, and Idaho used surface water primarily for irrigation, and Dlinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas used surface-water primarily for cooling condensers or reactors in thermoelectric plants. Ground water provided drinking water for 53 percent of the Nation's total population and nearly all the rural population. It was the source of 40.1 percent of the public-supply systems withdrawals. For self-supplied withdrawals, ground water accounted for 11.3 percent of the domestic and commercial use, 17.3 percent of the industrial and mining withdrawals, less than 1 percent of the thermoelectric generation withdrawals, and 34.4 percent of the agricultural withdrawals (irrigation and livestock). Eight States Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas accounted for 66 percent of the ground water used. In each of those States, as in many other States, irrigation was the major use of ground water. Each offstream-use category described in the State summaries public supply, domestic and commercial, industrial and mining, thermoelectric power, and agriculture (irrigation and livestock) followed its own geographic pattern as described below. Consumptive use of water effectively removes the water from immediate further use downstream of the withdrawal point. Of the total amount of consumptive water use in 1985, agricultural use accounted for about 82.5 percent. More than one-half (53 percent) of irrigation water is consumptively used by evapotranspiration or is incorporated into the crop. This is a good indication of the effect that irrigated agriculture can have in a river basin where irrigation is a major activity. The availability of return flows for reuse depends largely on where the water reenters the system. If the return flows are discharged to a stream, they usually can be reused; if they are discharged to a saltwater estuary, they are effectively lost to further use because of water-quality degradation just as if the water had been consumptively used. Similarly, water that recharges a highly transmissive aquifer can be available for reuse either through pumpage from a well or as discharge to a local stream. Thus, much of the water withdrawn for different uses can and does become available for further use although the quality might degrade with each additional use. The allocation and the management of water resources are the responsibilities of the individual States and water institutions within the States. These institutions are evolving in response to the challenges of water management problems. As the individual State summaries indicate, recent State legislation deals with facilitating water transfers within the States as a means of reducing imbalances between water supplies and use, with emphasizing water conservation in times of drought and at places where groundwater depletion is a problem of long standing, and with reducing threats to public health and the environment from water pollution. Most of the State summaries indicate the expectation that water use will continue to increase in the future and that water contamination will continue to be a major water concern. Both issues will require increasingly intensive water management in the future. Whether the water resources under management are considered to be fully appropriated or over appropriated, as in some Western States, or whether the resource could support additional development, as is the situation in most States, improved water-use information will play a key role in future water management efforts.

Water Supply Paper↗

USGS2023

Lessons learned from community and citizen science monitoring projects on the Elwha River Restoration Project

Community and citizen science (CCS) projects – initiatives that involve public participation in scientific research – can both sustain and expand long-term monitoring of large dam removal projects. In this article, we discuss our perspectives on CCS associated with the Elwha River dam removals. We summarize how the public has been or could be involved in monitoring and distill lessons learned for other large dam removal projects. Much of the Elwha monitoring involved technical field work requiring training and incurring potential liability risks, guiding projects towards smaller-scale public involvement. Partnering with organizations that have capacity for volunteer management expanded CCS opportunities and provided logistical support to project managers committed to public engagement. We found that many projects engaged with students and/or with paid or unpaid interns; compensating participants in various ways can help to create reciprocal relationships that support long-term monitoring. In the future, other large dam removals could consider planning ahead for community involvement in dam removal monitoring to accommodate the technical and potentially hazardous nature of the work – broadening who may be able to participate. In addition, involving community members in setting research agendas could be an important first step in engaging them in long-term monitoring, in turn facilitating multi-generational research at the timescale of landscape-level changes. Finally, explicit relationship-building with Indigenous communities can enhance the benefits of community engagement in dam removal science for all involved.

Washington↗

USGS2025

Scientific opportunities in the National Landscape Conservation System

The National Landscape Conservation System consists of unique and beautiful places across America’s landscapes where identified resources and values are protected and science is highlighted. The mission of the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS), which is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and is often referred to as the agency’s National Conservation Lands, is to conserve, protect, and restore nationally significant landscapes for their cultural, ecological, and scientific values. This clear inclusion of science in the NLCS mission sets the stage for individual units to serve as places of learning, teaching, discovery, and innovation. Science is an integral part of managing the National Conservation Lands, and science conducted within and across the more than 900 units that make up the NLCS can inform and influence conservation and public land management well beyond its boundaries. Here, we highlight seven core aspects of National Conservation Lands that present valuable science opportunities: (1) the scientific values for which individual units are designated; (2) the many other resources, objects, and values within units; (3) the value of units as “control” sites for understanding the effects of activities such as mineral extraction that commonly occur elsewhere on multiple-use public lands but are often prohibited within National Conservation Lands; (4) the value of units for studying the effects of activities such as recreation that regularly occur and may be intensified on National Conservation Lands; (5) the high visibility of units, which draws strong interest and engagement from scientists, partners, and the public; (6) the functioning of the units as a network managed for a common purpose, which provides an opportunity to explore cross-cutting science questions across widely varying contexts and geographies; and (7) the opportunities units provide to promote and apply Indigenous Knowledge to scientific research to manage natural and cultural resources. Because of all of these characteristics, National Conservation Lands can serve as hubs for basic and applied science that can inform management of all public lands and resources into the future. We highlight these science opportunities through examples from existing units and suggest two actions that could help further science activities and impact on National Conservation Lands.

Parks Stewardship Forum↗

USGS2012

A history of herpetologists and herpetology in the U.S. Department of the Interior

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has a long and distinguished history of employing herpetologists to conduct basic and applied research to better manage amphibian and reptile populations on public lands and even outside the boundaries of the United States. This history extends back over 125 years with roots in the U.S. Biological Survey, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and later, the National Biological Service. In more recent times, the DOI employed more professional herpetologists than any single organization in the world, especially in the U.S. Geological Survey. In 1938, Henry Fitch was the first Interior scientist hired who conducted substantial herpetological research. William and Lucille Stickel of the Fish and Wildlife Service conducted herpetological research throughout the period from the 1940s-1980s but most DOI herpetologists were hired from 1975-80 with another hiring spike from 2000-2005. The former spike was congruent with early versions of the Endangered Species Act while the latter reflected growing recognition of global amphibian decline and the creation of the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative in DOI. Collectively, these herpetologists produced hundreds of books, scientific publications and other scholarly publications, many of which are classics in the literature. In addition, many have served as officers and on the boards of numerous scientific societies particularly those specializing in amphibian and reptile research. The DOI shows a continuing commitment to funding herpetological research by hiring young scientists to replace the aging ranks of herpetologists who started their careers in the 1970s. This commitment is critical given the global decline of both amphibians and reptiles, including those found on public lands in the United States.

Herpetological Conservation and Biology↗

USGS1999

Design approaches in quarrying and pit-mining reclamation

Reclaimed mine sites have been evaluated so that the public, industry, and land planners may recognize there are innovative designs available for consideration and use. People tend to see cropland, range, and road cuts as a necessary part of their everyday life, not as disturbed areas despite their high visibility. Mining also generates a disturbed landscape, unfortunately one that many consider waste until reclaimed by human beings. The development of mining provides an economic base and use of a natural resource to improve the quality of human life. Equally important is a sensitivity to the geologic origin and natural pattern of the land. Wisely shaping out environment requires a design plan and product that responds to a site's physiography, ecology, function, artistic form, and publication perception. An examination of selected sites for their landscape design suggested nine approaches for mining reclamation. The oldest design approach around is nature itself. Humans may sometimes do more damage going to an area in the attempt to repair it. Given enough geologic time, a small-site area, and stable adjacent ecosystems, disturbed areas recover without mankind's input. Visual screens and buffer zones conceal the facility in a camouflage approach. Typically, earth berms, fences, and plantings are used to disguise the mining facility. Restoration targets social or economic benefits by reusing the site for public amenities, most often in urban centers with large populations. A mitigation approach attempts to protect the environment and return mined areas to use with scientific input. The reuse of cement, building rubble, macadam meets only about 10% of the demand from aggregate. Recognizing the limited supply of mineral resources and encouraging recycling efforts are steps are steps in a renewable resource approach. An educative design approach effectively communicates mining information through outreach, land stewardship, and community service. Mine sites used for art show a celebration of beauty and experience -- abstract geology. The last design approach combines art and science in a human-nature ecosystem termed integration. With environmental concerns, an operating or reclaimed mine site can no longer be considered isolated from its surroundings. Site analysis of mine works needs to go beyond site-specific information and relate to the regional context of the greater landscape. Understanding design approach can turn undesirable features (mines and pits) into something perceived as desirable by the public.

Book↗

USGS2011

Catfish science: Status and trends in the 21st century

Catfish science, the study of the fish order Siluriformes, is a diverse and expanding field in terms of advances and breadth of topics. We compiled literature from primary fisheries journals as an index of interest and advances in catfish science to examine temporal trends in the field. The number of catfish scientific publications varied over the past century with strong peaks during 1975–1979 and 2005–2010, which may be the result of interactive scientific and societal influences. Catfish biology was the predominant publication topic until the late 1990s, when ecology, techniques, and management publications became more prevalent. Articles on catfish ecology were most numerous in both the first and second international catfish symposia, but publications on techniques and conservation were more numerous in the second catfish symposium than the first. We summarize the state of knowledge, recent advances, and areas for future attention among topics in catfish science, including sampling and aging techniques, population dynamics, ecology, fisheries management, species diversity, nonnative catfish, and human dimensions, with an emphasis on the gains in this second symposium. Areas that we expect to be pursued in the future are development of new techniques and validation of existing methods; expansion of research to less-studied catfish species; broadening temporal, spatial, and organizational scales; interdisciplinary approaches; and research on societal views and constituent demands. Meeting these challenges will require scientists to span beyond their professional comfort zones to effectively reach higher standards. We look forward to the coming decade and the many advances in the conservation, ecology, and management of catfish that will be shared.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2016

Energy development

Large areas of the desert southwest are currently developed or being evaluated for construction of utility-scale renewable energy projects. These projects include numerous solar and wind energy facilities some of which will be massive. Unfortunately, peer-reviewed scientific publications are not yet available to evaluate the potential effects of solar-based utility-scale renewable energy development (USRED) on any species of wildlife, including amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna). Scientific publications on the effects of wind-based USRED and operation (USREDO) are focused almost exclusively on flying wildlife including birds and bats. To the best of our knowledge the only publications on the effects of wind-based USREDO on herpetofauna are three publications on desert tortoise ecology at a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, California. Those studies suggested that not all effects of USREDO were detrimental in the short-term. However, additional research is required to determine if wind energy operation is compatible with conservation of this long-lived species over longer periods of time.

Book chapter↗

USGS1996

Ground-water development in Utah and effects on ground-water levels and chemical quality

Systematic ground-water development began in Utah shortly after settlement by Mormon pioneers in 1847. By 1939, about 230,000 acrefeet per year of ground water was being withdrawn from wells for irrigation, public supply, industrial use, and rural-domestic and stock supply. Withdrawals increased from about 600,000 to 700,000 acre-feet per year during 1963-67 to about 800,000 to 900,000 acre-feet per year during 1989-93, with a peak of 940,000 acre-feet in 1990. Most ground-water withdrawals from wells have been from unconsolidated basin-fill deposits in 13 areas along or near the eastern edge of the Basin and Range Province, which extends from the northern edge of Utah to its southwestern part. The proportions of withdrawals for various uses have changed; in 1964, 72 percent of withdrawals was for irrigation and II percent for public supply, whereas in 1993,64 percent was for irrigation and 21 percent for public supply. Long-term withdrawals from wells have caused declines in water levels in parts of western Utah from the 1940's and 1950's to 1994; the withdrawals apparently have caused local increases in dissolved-solids concentrations in ground water. Water levels have declined as much as 67 feet owing to withdrawals for public supply and industrial use in northwestern Utah, and as much as 88 feet owing to withdrawals for irrigation in southwestern Utah. Declines of this magnitude, however, are confined to local areas of large withdrawals. Withdrawals for irrigation apparently have caused increases in dissolved-solids concentrations in ground water in at least six irrigated areas of western Utah. Minor land subsidence related to compaction of basin-fill deposits caused by water-level declines has been observed locally in southwestern Utah.

Utah↗

USGS2019

A draft decision framework for the National Park Service Interior Region 5 bison stewardship strategy

The Department of the Interior Bison Conservation Initiative calls for its bureaus to plan and implement collaborative American bison conservation and to ensure involvement by tribal, state, and local governments and the public in that conservation. Four independently managed and geographically separated National Park Service (NPS) units in Interior Region 5 (IR5) preserve bison and other components of a formerly contiguous Great Plains landscape. Management of bison in IR5 parks has historically been specific to each park, and livestock and range management science informed much of the decision making. In the past two decades, NPS has shifted away from managing bison from this livestock-based perspective towards a wildlife stewardship approach, including ensuring their long-term adaptive potential and considering them as just one part of a complex ecosystem. This shift requires a more holistic and cooperative approach to stewardship that is challenging not only because of limitations in funding and fluctuations in leadership priorities, but also because of the constraints imposed by the parks’ relatively small, fenced areas. The IR5 NPS Bison Stewardship Strategy (“Strategy”) will help the NPS to meet its responsibilities in cooperative stewardship of bison. The Strategy will serve to organize and consolidate the NPS’s legal and policy responsibilities within a framework of collectively defined values and objectives to support the careful and transparent decision-making processes that both guide and transcend park-specific planning. This report describes a preliminary decision framework for the Strategy, including the context, the fundamental objectives, and a range of alternative strategies developed and considered through two workshops and a series of conference calls with NPS personnel, stakeholders, and outside experts with an interest in IR5 NPS bison stewardship. Although not the Strategy itself, this framework serves as the Strategy’s starting point and identifies 14 fundamental objectives, falling in four major themes: Persistence of Wild and Healthy Bison 1. Maximize the long-term persistence of bison in IR5 parks 2. Maximize the long-term adaptive capacity of bison in North America 3. Maximize the wildness of the bison herds 4. Maximize humane treatment of bison, while allowing natural processes to occur Supporting Tribal Buffalo Culture 5. Improve relationships, trust, and communication with Tribes to enhance shared stewardship of bison within and beyond IR5 6. Maximize the number of live, healthy bison that can be transferred to tribal herds Persistence of Native Ecological Communities and Processes 7. Maximize structural and compositional heterogeneity of native prairie plant communities across space and time within each park 8. Maximize the abundance and diversity of animal species of special concern 9. Minimize the loss of native grassland within each park 10. Minimize the abundance of exotic plants in the park landscape 11. Maximize riparian area and wetland integrity Public Outreach 12. Maximize the number of healthy, wild bison that are visible to the public 13. Maximize the safety of visitors 14. Maximize public understanding of the past, present, and future of bison and Native Americans in the Great Plains The terms “minimize” and “maximize” in these objectives describe the desired direction for each individual objective. Finding the right balance among these objectives and any others identified in further work is one of the central challenges in developing the Strategy. To that end, this report also demonstrates and describes potential methods for evaluating how well alternative strategies would achieve each of the fundamental objectives.

Natural Resource Report↗

USGS2021

ShakeAlert® earthquake warning: The challenge of transforming ground motion into protective actions

The USGS ShakeAlert® earthquake early warning (EEW) system is operational and providing public alerting in three West Coast states: California, Washington, and Oregon. Since 2006 the USGS has pursued a strategy of incrementally developing and rolling out EEW for increasingly larger areas and uses. As funding from federal and state budgets grew the system became more capable, detection methods were developed and improved, core network sensor stations were built or upgraded, and partners were enlisted to deliver alerts and implement protective actions. In the fall of 2018, the system became sufficiently functional to publicly declare it “open for business” in all three states for use by licensed partners to alert personnel in limited settings and take automated machine-to-machine actions. State-wide public alerting began in California in October of 2019, expanded to Oregon in March of 2021, and to Washington in May of 2021. Today millions of people can receive ShakeAlert-powered EEW through a variety of delivery methods and dozens of machine-to-machine protective systems are in place in transportation systems, utilities, fire stations, schools, hospitals, and public and private buildings. The ShakeAlert System implementation plan calls for a supporting network of 1,675 seismic stations. 1,129 (73%) have been completed and the rest should be done by 2025.

California, Oregon, Washington↗

USGS1989

Effects of fire in the Northern Great Plains

This publication is a review of selected literature about prescribed burning in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) for management of wildlife. It also will be useful to other resource managers and researchers and to persons interested in the NGP. It is more 'descriptive' than 'interpretative.'The publication is a joint effort of the South Dakota State Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (SDCFWRU), South Dakota State University, Brookings; the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC), Jamestown, N.D.; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Fergus Falls, Minn. Manuscript typing and library services were shared between SDCFWRU and NPWRC.This publication (EC 761) is the second of three SDSU Extension circulars on grassland fires. EC 760 is Prescribed burning guidelines in the Northern Great Plains; EC 762 is Annotated bibliography of fire literature relative to northern grasslands in South-Central Canada and North-Central United States and contains many more citations than presented in this publication. All three circulars may be obtained from either the Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department; SDSU Box 2206; ph (605) 688-6121; or from the Ag Communications Bulletin Room; SDSU Box 2231; ph (605) 688-5628; both in Brookings, S.D. 57007.

Report↗

USGS1970

Common marsh plants of the United States and Canada

This is the fourth of a series of publications on field identification of North American marsh and water plants. It describes the emergent and semiemergent plants most likely to be found in inland and coastal marshes. It omits hundreds of uncommon marsh plants and plants less characteristic of marshes than of marsh edges, lake and stream shores, or wet meadows. The first of the series, "Pondweeds and Pondweedlike Plants of Eastern North America," Circular 187, was broadened in scope as Resource Publication 44, "Underwater and Floating-leaved Plants of the United States and Canada," and is superseded by it. The present publication, widens the scope of "Bulrushes and Bulrushlike Plants of Eastern North America," Circular 221, and contains most of the species listed therein. This guide is designed for identification of marsh plants without recourse to technical botanical keys. To use it, read pages 1 to 4 and then look at the drawings. To identify a plant, find the group in which it fits, then find a drawing and description that match it.

Resource Publication↗

USGS2009

Aspects and implications of bear reintroduction: Chapter 6

Bear reintroduction has been practiced worldwide with varying degrees of success. Homing is a significant issue for American black bears, Ursus americanus , and winter-release techniques of females with cubs have been successfully used to improve settling rates and survival. Reintroduction success for all bear species appears to be positively correlated with translocation distance, and success is greater for subadults and females. Animals bred or held in captivity are usually poor candidates for reintroduction, but that may be the only option for some rare species. Habitat analyses are routinely performed, but patch size and configuration may also be important considerations for choosing future reintroduction sites for these wide-ranging species. Biological realities aside, socio-political impediments are more difficult to overcome because of real and perceived threats to human safety and property. Poor public acceptance and understanding were the most important reasons for some bear reintroduction failures, and conservation biologists need to develop methods for identifying areas where co-habitation suitability is high. Citizen-led approaches to develop acceptable restoration strategies may be useful for gaining public acceptance of large-carnivore reintroduction efforts, and public acceptance is where the greatest challenge lies.

Book chapter↗

USGS2020

Inexpensive, underwater filming of rare fishes in high definition

Generating public interest in fish and their biology is often challenging. Many aquatic species are cryptic and largely invisible to the public. Therefore, increasing public awareness of cryptic fishes and elevating their visibility to broad audiences requires innovation. Inexpensive technological advancements now provide fisheries biologists, managers, and researchers with means never before possible for documenting fish in their natural habitat via underwater videography. We investigated cost efficient and simple methods for capturing and creating high quality, high definition, and informative underwater videos that could be used by people with little or no previous experience in videography. We tested 1) a variety of filming equipment including cameras and camera recording settings, lenses, batteries, and memory cards; 2) active and passive camera deployment techniques; and 3) a variety of free and paid postproduction software and compared them for ease of use, expense, and quality of output. Highest quality footage, i.e., highest resolution, clearest, and most stable, was obtained using a GoPro action camera deployed underwater in a stationary position mounted to a metal base plate using a combination of stock and macro lenses, and filming in 4K resolution at 30 frames per second. Final production videos were created using Adobe Premiere Pro.

Fisheries Magazine↗

USGS2013

Spatial, seasonal, and source variability in the stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition of tap waters throughout the USA

To assess spatial, seasonal, and source variability in stable isotopic composition of human drinking waters throughout the entire USA, we have constructed a database of δ 18 O and δ 2 H of US tap waters. An additional purpose was to create a publicly available dataset useful for evaluating the forensic applicability of these isotopes for human tissue source geolocation. Samples were obtained at 349 sites, from diverse population centres, grouped by surface hydrologic units for regional comparisons. Samples were taken concurrently during two contrasting seasons, summer and winter. Source supply (surface, groundwater, mixed, and cistern) and system (public and private) types were noted. The isotopic composition of tap waters exhibits large spatial and regional variation within each season as well as signiﬁcant at-site differences between seasons at many locations, consistent with patterns found in environmental (river and precipitation) waters deriving from hydrologic processes inﬂuenced by geographic factors. However, anthropogenic factors, such as the population of a tap’s surrounding community and local availability from diverse sources, also inﬂuence the isotopic composition of tap waters. Even within a locale as small as a single metropolitan area, tap waters with greatly differing isotopic compositions can be found, so that tap water within a region may not exhibit the spatial or temporal coherence predicted for environmental water. Such heterogeneities can be confounding factors when attempting forensic inference of source water location, and they underscore the necessity of measurements, not just predictions, with which to characterize the isotopic composition of regional tap waters. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Hydrological Processes↗

USGS2016

Habitat selection by juvenile Mojave Desert tortoises

Growing pressure to develop public lands for renewable energy production places several protected species at increased risk of habitat loss. One example is the Mojave desert tortoise ( Gopherus agassizii ), a species often at the center of conflicts over public land development. For this species and others on public lands, a better understanding of their habitat needs can help minimize negative impacts and facilitate protection or restoration of habitat. We used radio-telemetry to track 46 neonate and juvenile tortoises in the Eastern Mojave Desert, California, USA, to quantify habitat at tortoise locations and paired random points to assess habitat selection. Tortoise locations near burrows were more likely to be under canopy cover and had greater coverage of perennial plants (especially creosote [ Larrea tridentata ]), more coverage by washes, a greater number of small-mammal burrows, and fewer white bursage ( Ambrosia dumosa ) than random points. Active tortoise locations away from burrows were closer to washes and perennial plants than were random points. Our results can help planners locate juvenile tortoises and avoid impacts to habitat critical for this life stage. Additionally, our results provide targets for habitat protection and restoration and suggest that diverse and abundant small-mammal populations and the availability of creosote bush are vital for juvenile desert tortoises in the Eastern Mojave Desert.

California↗

USGS2002

Can non-breeding be a cost of breeding dispersal?

Breeding habitat selection and dispersal are crucial processes that affect many components of fitness. Breeding dispersal entails costs, one of which has been neglected: dispersing animals may miss breeding opportunities because breeding dispersal requires finding a new nesting site and mate, two time- and energy-consuming activities. Dispersers are expected to be prone to non-breeding. We used the kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) to test whether breeding dispersal influences breeding probability. Breeding probability was associated with dispersal, in that both were negatively influenced by private information (previous individual reproductive success) and public information (average reproductive success of conspecifics) about patch quality. Furthermore, the probability of skipping breeding was 1.7 times higher in birds that settled in a new patch relative to those that remained on the same patch. Finally, non-breeders that resumed breeding were 4.4 times more likely to disperse than birds that bred in successive years. Although private information may influence breeding probability directly, the link between breeding probability and public information may be indirect, through the influence of public information on breeding dispersal, non-breeding thus being a cost of dispersal. These results support the hypothesis that dispersal may result in not being able to breed. More generally, non-breeding (which can be interpreted as an extreme form of breeding failure) may reveal costs of various previous activities. Because monitoring the non-breeding portion of a population is difficult, non-breeders have been neglected in many studies of reproduction trade-offs.

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology↗

USGS2018

Prepublication communication of research results

Publishing of scientific findings is central to the scientific process, and it is traditional to consider findings “provisional” until accepted by a peer-reviewed journal. Until publication, communication of provisional findings beyond participants in the study is typically limited. This practice helps assure scientific integrity. However, a dilemma arises when a provisional finding has urgent societal consequences that may be exacerbated by delay. This dilemma may be particularly pronounced when a discovery concerns wildlife health, which could have implications for conservation, public health (i.e., zoonoses), or domestic animal health (e.g., avian influenza). A scientist may see a need for prepublication communication but consider such communication to be problematic. We suggest that common concerns about directed prepublication communication are generally misplaced. Our perspective comes from natural resources science and management, but we suspect that this situation could arise in any branch of science and that discussing these issues will help scientists who may not routinely work with public officials navigate an unfamiliar situation.

EcoHealth↗