Geology Reports⌕ Search

SEARCH · Geology Reports

Results for “Ecological Restoration”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,441 records · Page 80Linked to original sources
USGS2017

Food web conceptual model

This chapter describes a general model of food webs within tidal wetlands and represents how physical features of the wetland affect the structure and function of the food web. This conceptual model focuses on how the food web provides support for (or may reduce support for) threatened fish species. This model is part of a suite of conceptual models designed to guide monitoring of restoration sites throughout the San Francisco Estuary (SFE), but particularly within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) and Suisun Marsh. The conceptual models have been developed based on the Delta Regional Ecosystem Restoration Implementation Plan (DRERIP) models, and are designed to aid in the identification and evaluation of monitoring metrics for tidal wetland restoration projects. Many tidal restoration sites in the Delta are being constructed to comply with environmental regulatory requirements associated with the operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. These include the Biological Opinions for Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) and salmonids (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2008; National Marine Fisheries Service 2009), and the Incidental Take Permit for Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthyes) (California Department of Fish and Wildlife 2009). These regulatory requirements are based on the hypothesis that the decline of listed fish species is due in part to a decline in productivity of the food web (phytoplankton and zooplankton in particular) or alterations in the food web such that production is consumed by other species in the Estuary (Sommer et al. 2007; Baxter et al. 2010; Brown et al. 2016a). Intertidal wetlands and shallow subtidal habitat can be highly productive, so restoring areas of tidal wetlands may result in a net increase in productivity that will provide food web support for these fish species. However, other factors such as invasive bivalves that reduce phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass and invasive predatory fishes that may compete with or prey upon listed fishes can limit the utility of tidal wetlands for food web support (Lucas and Thompson 2012; Herbold et al. 2014). This model utilizes information from the previous DRERIP models for Delta food webs (Durand 2008) and tidal wetlands (Kneib et al. 2008), an updated DRERIP model (Durand 2015), and the State of BayDelta Science 2016 review of recent Delta food web literature (Brown et al. 2016a).

Interagency Ecological Program Technical Report↗
USGS2022

Presence of the herbaceous marsh species Schoenoplectus americanus enhances surface elevation gain in transitional coastal wetland communities exposed to elevated CO2 and sediment deposition events

Coastal wetlands are dynamic ecosystems that exist along a landscape continuum that can range from freshwater forested wetlands to tidal marsh to mudflat communities. Climate-driven stressors, such as sea-level rise, can cause shifts among these communities, resulting in changes to ecological functions and services. While a growing body of research has characterized the landscape-scale impacts of individual climate-driven stressors, little is known about how multiple stressors and their potential interactions will affect ecological functioning of these ecosystems. How will coastal wetlands respond to discrete climate disturbances, such as hurricane sediment deposition events, under future conditions of elevated atmospheric CO 2 ? Will these responses vary among the different wetland communities? We conducted experimental greenhouse manipulations to simulate sediment deposition from a land-falling hurricane under future elevated atmospheric CO 2 concentrations (720 ppm CO 2 ). We measured responses of net primary production, decomposition, and elevation change in mesocosms representing four communities along a coastal wetland landscape gradient: freshwater forested wetland, forest/marsh mix, marsh, and mudflat. When Schoenoplectus americanus was present, above- and belowground biomass production was highest, decomposition rates were lowest, and wetland elevation gain was greatest, regardless of CO 2 and sediment deposition treatments. Sediment addition initially increased elevation capital in all communities, but post-deposition rates of elevation gain were lower than in mesocosms without added sediment. Together these results indicate that encroachment of oligohaline marshes into freshwater forested wetlands can enhance belowground biomass accumulation and resilience to sea-level rise, and these plant-mediated ecosystem services will be augmented by periodic sediment pulses from storms and restoration efforts.

Plants↗
USGS2018

Effects of watershed and in-stream liming on macroinvertebrate communities in acidified tributaries to an Adirondack lake

Liming techniques are being explored as a means to accelerate the recovery of aquatic biota from decades of acid deposition in many regions. The preservation or restoration of native sportfish populations has typically been the impetus for liming programs, and as such, less attention has been given to its effects on other biological assemblages such as macroinvertebrates. Furthermore, the differing effects of various lime application strategies such as in-stream and watershed applications are not well understood. In 2012, a program was initiated using in-stream and aerial (whole-watershed) liming to improve water quality and Brook Trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) recruitment in three acidified tributaries of a high-elevation Adirondack lake in New York State. Concurrently, macroinvertebrates were sampled annually between 2013 and 2016 at 3 treated sites and 3 untreated reference sites to assess the effects of each liming technique on this community. Despite improvements in water chemistry in all three limed streams, our results generally suggest that neither liming technique succeeded in improving the condition of macroinvertebrate communities. The watershed application caused an immediate and unsustained decrease in the density of macroinvertebrates and increase in the proportion of sensitive taxa. These changes were driven primarily by a one-year 71 percent reduction of the acid-tolerant Leuctra stoneflies and likely represent an initial chemistry shock from the lime application rather than a recovery response. The in-stream applications appeared to reduce the density of macroinvertebrates, particularly in one stream where undissolved lime covered the natural substrate. The close proximity of our study sites to the in-stream application points (50 and 1230 m) may partly explain these negative effects. Our results are consistent with prior studies of in-stream liming which indicate that this technique often fails to restore macroinvertebrate communities to a pre-acidification condition, especially at distances <1.5 km downstream of the lime application point. The inability of either liming technique to improve the condition of macroinvertebrate communities may be partly explained by the persistence of acidic episodes in all three streams. This suggests that in order to be effective, liming programs should attempt to eliminate even temporary episodes of unsuitable water chemistry rather than just meeting minimal criteria the majority of the time. Because watershed liming produced a more stable water chemistry regime than in-stream liming, this technique may have greater future potential to eliminate toxic episodes and accelerate the recovery of acid-impacted macroinvertebrate communities.

New York↗
USGS2026

Epigenetics in captivity: Restoring wild phenotypes in captive-reared salmonids

Captive rearing is a common practice for the stocking, conservation, and supplementation of fish species worldwide, but captive-reared fish can exhibit altered phenotypes leading to reduced fitness in nature compared to wild conspecifics. In salmonids, certain studies have found limited genetic differentiation between wild and captive-reared fish. However, documented changes in gene expression in hatchery fish have led scientists to investigate epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, as a source of these differences. In this binational collaborative piece, we synthesize the knowledge and efforts of academics and government scientists to highlight how interactions between captive rearing and the epigenome elicit parallel phenotypic changes across salmonid species. We examine the known and potential links between DNA methylation and the phenotypic effects of captive rearing including changes in behavior, color, gut microbiomes, and developmental abnormalities. We review efforts to minimize these phenotypic and epigenetic effects including attempts to modify the hatchery environment and rearing protocols. We provide a framework to integrate epigenetic considerations into hatchery rearing protocols by weighing the heritable nature of DNA methylation with the goals of different captive rearing programs and explore whether minimizing the phenotypic and epigenetic effects of captive rearing is worthwhile. We examine heritability and persistence of epigenetic effects, and we propose the exploitation of heritable bet-hedging as an epigenetic buffer to increase post-release survival. We also suggest novel applications of epigenomic biomarkers as a non-lethal method for post-release monitoring. Ultimately, collaborative multi-disciplinary research across species is needed to understand the comprehensive effects of captive rearing, reduce the ecological impacts of captive fish in the wild, and increase population resilience. Integrating epigenetics into fish hatchery management will provide new opportunities for optimizing and improving captive rearing.

Evolutionary Applications↗
USGS2022

Continuous water-quality and suspended-sediment transport monitoring in San Francisco Bay, California, water years 2020–21

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has continuously monitored real-time water quality and suspended-sediment transport in San Francisco Bay (the Bay) since 1989 as part of a multi-agency effort (see “Acknowledgments” section) to address estuary management, water supply, and ecological concerns. The San Francisco Bay area is home to millions of people and biologically diverse marine and terrestrial flora and fauna. Freshwater mixes with saltwater in the Bay and is subject to riverine influences (floods, droughts, managed reservoir releases, and freshwater diversions) and marine influences (tides, waves, and effects of saltwater). Water temperature, salinity, suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), and turbidity, are used by State and Federal resources managers and are monitored at eight key locations throughout the Bay (fig. 1). Water temperature and salinity affect the density of water, which controls gravity-driven circulation patterns and stratification in the water column. Salinity indicates the relative mixing of fresh and ocean waters in the Bay and is derived from specific conductance measurements. Turbidity is a measure of light scattered from suspended particles in the water that is used to estimate suspended-sediment concentration. Suspended-sediment concentrations also are directly measured through depth-integrated water sampling. Suspended sediment affects Bay water quality in multiple ways. Suspended sediment affects phytoplankton growth by attenuating sunlight in the water column. Suspended sediment deposition on tidal marshes and intertidal mudflats helps to restore and sustain these habitats as sea level rises. Settling of suspended sediment in ports and shipping channels creates the need for more dredging. In addition, suspended sediment often carries adsorbed contaminants as it is transported in the water column, which affects the distributions and concentrations of adsorbed contaminants in the environment. Excessive concentrations of sediment-adsorbed contaminants in deposits on the bottom of the Bay can affect ecosystem health. External factors, such as tidal currents, waves, and wind can also affect water quality in the Bay. Tidal currents in the Bay change direction four times daily, and wind direction and intensity typically fluctuate on a daily cycle. Consequently, salinity, water temperature, and suspended-sediment concentration differ spatially and temporally throughout the Bay. Therefore, high-frequency measurements at multiple locations are needed to monitor these changes. Data collected at eight stations throughout the Bay are transmitted in near real-time using cellular telemetry and posted to the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS; https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis ). The purposes of this fact sheet are to (1) provide information about the USGS San Francisco Bay water-quality monitoring network; (2) highlight various applications in which these data can be used; and (3) provide internet links to access the resulting continuous water-quality data collected by the USGS.

California↗
USGS2015

Linking dynamic habitat selection with wading bird foraging distributions across resource gradients

Species distribution models (SDM) link species occurrence with a suite of environmental predictors and provide an estimate of habitat quality when the variable set captures the biological requirements of the species. SDMs are inherently more complex when they include components of a species' ecology such as conspecific attraction and behavioral flexibility to exploit resources that vary across time and space. Wading birds are highly mobile, demonstrate flexible habitat selection, and respond quickly to changes in habitat quality; thus serving as important indicator species for wetland systems. We developed a spatio-temporal, multi-SDM framework using Great Egret ( Ardea alba ), White Ibis ( Eudocimus albus ), and Wood Stork ( Mycteria Americana ) distributions over a decadal gradient of environmental conditions to predict species-specific abundance across space and locations used on the landscape over time. In models of temporal dynamics, species demonstrated conditional preferences for resources based on resource levels linked to differing temporal scales. Wading bird abundance was highest when prey production from optimal periods of inundation was concentrated in shallow depths. Similar responses were observed in models predicting locations used over time, accounting for spatial autocorrelation. Species clustered in response to differing habitat conditions, indicating that social attraction can co-vary with foraging strategy, water-level changes, and habitat quality. This modeling framework can be applied to evaluate the multi-annual resource pulses occurring in real-time, climate change scenarios, or restorative hydrological regimes by tracking changing seasonal and annual distribution and abundance of high quality foraging patches.

PLoS ONE↗
USGS2026

Long-term aridity shapes grassland drought resistance and modulates the roles of plant diversity and functional composition

Understanding the drivers of plant community stability is crucial for predicting ecosystem responses to extreme drought events. In grasslands, drought resistance supports the maintenance of key functions such as above-ground primary productivity, making the identification of resistance drivers essential to guide management under climate change. Proposed factors contributing to grassland stability include multiple diversity facets, functional traits and long-term climate, but most assessments focus on temporal invariability under historical disturbance regimes, leaving mechanisms of extreme drought resistance and their variation across climatic contexts relatively underexplored. Here, we analysed data from 54 grassland sites of the International Drought Experiment to examine the resistance of above-ground net primary productivity to a short-term (i.e. 1 year) extreme drought. We investigated the relative importance and joint influence of functional composition (i.e. community-weighted means of leaf and root traits), plant diversity facets (taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic) and climate (aridity and rainfall variability) on drought resistance. We used structural equation models to disentangle direct, indirect, and moderating pathways linking these drivers to drought resistance. Long-term aridity appeared as one of the most important drivers of grassland resistance to drought, with more arid sites showing lower resistance. Moreover, aridity impacted resistance through indirect effects by shaping functional composition and plant diversity, and by moderating the influence of plant diversity and functional composition. Functional composition related to dehydration avoidance and dehydration tolerance was also positively associated with resistance, while diversity had a weaker relationship with resistance, mostly through functional and phylogenetic facets. Interannual rainfall variability also influenced resistance, with different effects in more arid versus humid and less arid sites. Synthesis . Widely studied stability drivers such as plant diversity and functional composition have only partial explanatory power for short-term drought resistance of above-ground productivity in grasslands at a global scale. The abiotic context, particularly long-term aridity, is crucial for understanding ecosystem responses to rainfall variation and can improve predictive models for advancing the study of ecosystem resistance to drought. Along with management practices that target high species diversity or specific traits, restoration and conservation practices should support vulnerable sites experiencing high aridity

Journal of Ecology↗
USGS2017

Historical analysis of riparian vegetation change in response to shifting management objectives on the Middle Rio Grande

Riparian ecosystems are valuable to the ecological and human communities that depend on them. Over the past century, they have been subject to shifting management practices to maximize human use and ecosystem services, creating a complex relationship between water policy, management, and the natural ecosystem. This has necessitated research on the spatial and temporal dynamics of riparian vegetation change. The San Acacia Reach of the Middle Rio Grande has experienced multiple management and river flow fluctuations, resulting in threats to its riparian and aquatic ecosystems. This research uses remote sensing data, GIS, a review of management decisions, and an assessment of climate to both quantify how riparian vegetation has been altered over time and provide interpretations of the relationships between riparian change and shifting climate and management objectives. This research focused on four management phases from 1935 to 2014, each highlighting different management practices and climate-driven river patterns, providing unique opportunities to observe a direct relationship between river management, climate, and riparian response. Overall, we believe that management practices coupled with reduced surface river-flows with limited overbank flooding influenced the compositional and spatial patterns of vegetation, including possibly increasing non-native vegetation coverage. However, recent restoration efforts have begun to reduce non-native vegetation coverage.

New Mexico↗
USGS2019

One hundred pressing questions on the future of global fish migration science, conservation, and policy

Migration is a widespread but highly diverse component of many animal life histories. Fish migrate throughout the world's oceans, within lakes and rivers, and between the two realms, transporting matter, energy, and other species (e.g., microbes) across boundaries. Migration is therefore a process responsible for myriad ecosystem services. Many human populations depend on the presence of predictable migrations of fish for their subsistence and livelihoods. Although much research has focused on fish migration, many questions remain in our rapidly changing world. We assembled a diverse team of fundamental and applied scientists who study fish migrations in marine and freshwater environments to identify pressing unanswered questions. Our exercise revealed questions within themes related to understanding the migrating individual's internal state, navigational mechanisms, locomotor capabilities, external drivers of migration, the threats confronting migratory fish including climate change, and the role of migration. In addition, we identified key requirements for aquatic animal management, restoration, policy, and governance. Lessons revealed included the difficulties in generalizing among species and populations, and in understanding the levels of connectivity facilitated by migrating fishes. We conclude by identifying priority research needed for assuring a sustainable future for migratory fishes.

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution↗
USGS2015

Determining habitat quality for species that demonstrate dynamic habitat selection

Determining habitat quality for wildlife populations requires relating a species' habitat to its survival and reproduction. Within a season, species occurrence and density can be disconnected from measures of habitat quality when resources are highly seasonal, unpredictable over time, and patchy. Here we establish an explicit link among dynamic selection of changing resources, spatio-temporal species distributions, and fitness for predictive abundance and occurrence models that are used for short-term water management and long-term restoration planning. We used the wading bird distribution and evaluation models (WADEM) that estimate (1) daily changes in selection across resource gradients, (2) landscape abundance of flocks and individuals, (3) conspecific foraging aggregation, and (4) resource unit occurrence (at fixed 400 m cells) to quantify habitat quality and its consequences on reproduction for wetland indicator species. We linked maximum annual numbers of nests detected across the study area and nesting success of Great Egrets (Ardea alba), White Ibises (Eudocimus albus), and Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) over a 20-year period to estimated daily dynamics of food resources produced by WADEM over a 7490 km2 area. For all species, increases in predicted species abundance in March and high abundance in April were strongly linked to breeding responses. Great Egret nesting effort and success were higher when birds also showed greater conspecific foraging aggregation. Synthesis and applications: This study provides the first empirical evidence that dynamic habitat selection processes and distributions of wading birds over environmental gradients are linked with reproductive measures over periods of decades. Further, predictor variables at a variety of temporal (daily-multiannual) resolutions and spatial (400 m to regional) scales effectively explained variation in ecological processes that change habitat quality. The process used here allows managers to develop short- and long-term conservation strategies that (1) consider flexible behavioral patterns and (2) are robust to environmental variation over time.

Florida↗
USGS2022

Utilization of genetic data to inform native Brook Trout conservation in North Carolina

As North Carolina’s only native salmonid, Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis is a fish of considerable ecological and cultural significance in the state, but anthropogenic alterations to the landscape and introductions of nonnative salmonids have fragmented and reduced its native range. As a result, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) has enacted numerous efforts to help conserve the species. Annual demographic surveys of self-sustaining Brook Trout populations have been on-going since 1978, which have also included successful efforts to document previously unidentified populations. Beginning in earnest during the 1990s, allozyme testing was used to assess patterns of hatchery introgression, with over 480 collections genotyped at the creatine kinase locus. In 2010, the NCWRC began using microsatellite markers to conduct an extensive survey of Brook Trout genetic diversity and variation. To date, 541 Brook Trout collections representing 11,090 individuals have been genotyped at 12 microsatellite loci. These data have provided insights into evolutionary relationships among populations, spatial patterns of genetic diversity, and the extent of hatchery introgression within populations. Ultimately, increased understanding of genetic diversity and relatedness have been informative for determining that Brook Trout management in North Carolina is likely best enacted at the level of individual populations. Moreover, we have used these data to actively guide stream restoration and population reintroduction activities. Over the last 15 years, NCWRC and its partners have used genetic data to prioritize habitat enhancement activities and guide 17 Brook Trout population reintroduction projects. In the future, we plan to continue expanding the microsatellite genetic baseline while also exploring the utility of phylogenomic analyses to inform Brook Trout conservation activities. Genetic and genomic approaches have great potential to improve the efficacy of conservation actions for Brook Trout in North Carolina and throughout its native range.

North Carolina↗
USGS2018

Thresholds and hotspots for shrub restoration following a heterogeneous megafire

Context Reestablishing foundational plant species through aerial seeding is an essential yet challenging step for restoring the vast semiarid landscapes impacted by plant invasions and wildfire-regime shifts. A key component of the challenge stems from landscape variability and its effects on plant recovery. Objectives We assessed landscape correlates, thresholds, and tipping points for sagebrush presence from fine-scale sampling across a large, heterogeneous area burned the previous year, where we were able to quantify soil surface features that are typically occluded yet can strongly affect recovery patterns. Methods Hypothesis testing and binary-decision trees were used to evaluate factors affecting initial sagebrush establishment, using 2171 field plots (totaling ~ 2,000,000 m 2 sampled) over a 113,000-ha region. Results Sagebrush established in 50% of plots where it was seeded, a > 12-fold greater establishment frequency than in unseeded areas. Sagebrush establishment was enhanced in threshold-like ways by elevation (> 1200 m ASL), topographic features that alter heatload and soil water, and by soil-surface features such as “fertile islands” that bore the imprint of pre-fire sagebrush. Sagebrush occupancy had a negative, linear relationship with exotic-annual grass cover and parabolic relationship with perennial bunchgrasses (optimal at 40% cover). Conclusions Our approach revealed interactive, ecological relationships such as novel soil-surface effects on first year establishment of sagebrush across the burned landscape, and identified “hot spots” for recovery. The approach could be expanded across sites and years to provide the information needed to explain past seeding successes or failures, and in designing treatments at the landscape scale.

Idaho↗
USGS2022

Warming in the upper San Francisco Estuary: Patterns of water temperature change from five decades of data

Temperature is a key controlling variable from subcellular to ecosystem scales. Thus, climatic warming is expected to have broad impacts, especially in economically and ecologically valuable systems such as estuaries. The heavily managed upper San Francisco Estuary supplies water to millions of people and is home to fish species of high conservation, commercial, and recreational interest. Despite a long monitoring record (> 50 yr), we do not yet know how water temperatures have already changed or how trends vary spatially or seasonally. We fit generalized additive models on an integrated database of discrete water temperature observations to estimate long-term trends with spatio-seasonal variability. We found that water temperatures have increased 0.017°C yr −1 on average over the past 50 yr. Rates of temperature change have varied over time, but warming was predominant. Temperature increases were most widespread in the late-fall to winter (November to February) and mid-spring (April to June), coinciding with the winter development of juvenile Chinook salmon and spring spawning window of the endangered delta smelt. Warming was fastest in the northern regions, a key fish migration corridor with important tidal wetland habitat. However, no long-term temperature trends were detected in October and were only observed in some regions in May, July, and August. These results can help identify optimal areas for restoration or refugia to buffer the effects of a warming climate, and the methods can be leveraged to understand the spatiotemporal variability in climate warming patterns in other aquatic systems.

California↗
USGS2025

Double agents: Invasive Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) and Argentine black and white tegus (Salvator merianae) as potential seed dispersers in south Florida

Invasive species can reshape ecological processes, including seed dispersal, through both direct and indirect pathways. In this study, we explore how invasive reptiles influence seed dispersal dynamics in the Greater Everglades ecosystem using two case studies: the Burmese python ( Python bivittatus ) and the Argentine black and white tegu ( Salvator merianae ). Guided by a conceptual framework, we investigate three primary mechanisms through which invasive species may alter seed outcomes: direct seed consumption, predation on seed dispersers before seed ingestion, and secondary seed dispersal via predation on animals that have already consumed seeds. Burmese pythons, as apex predators, may contribute to seed dispersal through diploendozoochory while simultaneously driving trophic cascades that restructure the seed disperser community. Tegus, as omnivorous frugivores, directly consume and disperse a wide diversity of plant seeds. We documented 25 seed morphotypes in python diets and 73 in tegu diets, spanning a broad 38 families and including native, endangered, and invasive plant species. Using a binary interaction network, we found that these reptiles exhibit high generalization, nestedness, and connectance—suggesting they are becoming functionally integrated into Everglades seed dispersal networks. These findings reveal that invasive reptiles not only disrupt native plant–animal interactions but may also reshape them, with implications for ecosystem stability, restoration, and management.

Florida↗
USGS2018

Measuring and evaluating ecological flows from streams to regions: Steps towards national coverage

Living aquatic communities are largely determined and maintained by the volume and quality of flowing waters, both within lotic systems and in receiving waters of coastal systems. However, flow is one of the most frequently and extensively altered features of rivers and streams; alteration effects are likely to be exacerbated by climate change. Lotic systems vary and different fish species need different environmental conditions, and distinct problems are evident at various spatial scales. New synoptic flow and biological information now make it possible to evaluate the effects of altered flows throughout the Great Lakes Region at scales from the stream reach to the Region. We used estimates of river and streamflow and observed fish abundances to develop tools that specify the response of fish to alterations in those flows. We fit the logistic model to a cumulative fish abundance curve as a function of yield providing an empirical means to develop models of the response of cumulative fish abundance to flows. Response zones of yield for each species in each system type (based on size and thermal class) illustrate how criteria may be developed that can be used in decision‐making for management of flows. In our example application, we evaluate both the general response of brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ) abundances (and fish diversity) to changes in flows and assess the sensitivity of each stream fish community to flow alteration. Mapping stream sensitivity to flow alteration throughout the US Great Lakes Region with a multiscale spatial framework showed how regional variability in sensitivity for any fish species or assemblage may be evaluated and provides managers with information to help determine where the best opportunities for protection or restoration of streamflows and associated communities exist. These results provide valuable tools and critical information to managers responsible for balancing water uses and maintaining high quality lotic ecosystems. These methods may be applied to any geographic region and can be extended nationally or globally, where flow, temperature, fish and landscape data are available.

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, ↗
USGS2021

Submerged aquatic vegetation habitat use of age-0 Florida bass Micropterus floridanus

Hatchery-raised, age-0 Florida bass Micropterus floridanus are commonly used for fish enhancement efforts to support popular recreational fisheries and are ecologically important as both a food source and consumer. Despite their importance and frequent use of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitats, critical information is lacking on the specific characteristics of SAV that influence habitat occupancy. Using the SAV species Vallisneria americana and Potamogeton illinoensis , which are native to the southeast USA , and the invasive SAV Hydrilla verticillata , we conducted seven different habitat choice experiments to examine hatchery-raised, age-0 M . floridanus habitat use of different SAV populations (i.e., hydrologically isolated collection sources of varied physical characteristics), population diversity (i.e., increased richness of genotypically and phenotypically variable SAV), species, and species diversity (i.e., increased species richness). Fish spent more time in taller, larger V. americana but did not seem to favor any particular P. illinoensis population, SAV species, or species diversity tested. Additionally, fish spent more time in increased V. americana population diversity when the populations used were randomized, but fish spent more time in decreased population diversity when their favored V. americana population was used in all choices. This research adds additional nuance to our understanding of optimal vegetation for fish habitat use and is informative for future SAV plantings and invasive SAV management aimed at maximizing fish habitat and restoring recreational fisheries.

Environmental Biology of Fishes↗
USGS2015

Effects of microhabitat and land use on stream salamander abundance in the southwest Virginia coalfields

Large-scale land uses such as residential wastewater discharge and coal mining practices, particularly surface coal extraction and associated valley fills, are of particular ecological concern in central Appalachia. Identification and quantification of both alterations across scales are a necessary first-step to mitigate negative consequences to biota. In central Appalachian headwater streams absent of fish, salamanders are the dominant, most abundant vertebrate predator providing a significant intermediate trophic role. Stream salamander species are considered to be sensitive to aquatic stressors and environmental alterations, and past research has shown linkages among microhabitat parameters, large-scale land use such as urbanization and logging with salamander abundances. However, little is known about these linkages in the coalfields of central Appalachia. In the summer of 2013, we visited 70 sites (sampled three times each) in the southwest Virginia coalfields to survey salamanders and quantify stream and riparian microhabitat parameters. Using an information-theoretic framework we compared the effects of microhabitat and large-scale land use on salamander abundances. Our findings indicate that dusky salamander (Desmognathus spp.) abundances are more correlated to microhabitat parameters such as canopy cover than to subwatershed land uses. Brook salamander (Eurycea spp.) abundances show strong negative associations to the suspended sediments and stream substrate embeddedness. Neither Desmognathus spp. nor Eurycea spp. abundances were influenced by water conductivity. These suggest protection or restoration of riparian habitats and erosion control is an important conservation component for maintaining stream salamanders in the mined landscapes of central Appalachia.

Virginia↗
USGS2017

Advancing mangrove macroecology

Mangrove forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services to society, yet they are among the most anthropogenically impacted coastal ecosystems in the world. In this chapter, we discuss and provide examples for how macroecology can advance our understanding of mangrove ecosystems. Macroecology is broadly defined as a discipline that uses statistical analyses to investigate large-scale, universal patterns in the distribution, abundance, diversity, and organization of species and ecosystems, including the scaling of ecological processes and structural and functional relationships. Macroecological methods can be used to advance our understanding of how non-linear responses in natural systems can be triggered by human impacts at local, regional, and global scales. Although macroecology has the potential to gain knowledge on universal patterns and processes that govern mangrove ecosystems, the application of macroecological methods to mangroves has historically been limited by constraints in data quality and availability. Here we provide examples that include evaluations of the variation in mangrove forest ecosystem structure and function in relation to macroclimatic drivers (e.g., temperature and rainfall regimes) and climate change. Additional examples include work focused upon the continental distribution of aboveground net primary productivity and carbon storage, which are rapidly advancing research areas. These examples demonstrate the value of a macroecological perspective for the understanding of global- and regional-scale effects of both changing environmental conditions and management actions on ecosystem structure, function, and the supply of goods and services. We also present current trends in mangrove modeling approaches and their potential utility to test hypotheses about mangrove structural and functional properties. Given the gap in relevant experimental work at the regional scale, we also discuss the potential use of mangrove restoration and rehabilitation projects as macroecological studies that advance the critical selection and conservation of ecosystem services when managing mangrove resources. Future work to further incorporate macroecology into mangrove research will require a concerted effort by research groups and institutions to launch research initiatives and synthesize data collected across broad biogeographic regions.

Book chapter↗