Kathryn A Thomas

Landscape-scale wildlife species richness metrics

These raster data represent the results of a case study in Arizona on how vertebrate richness metrics can be used with existing state and federal guidance in wind and solar energy facility siting. Each of the four geodatabases (see Cross References) contain eight native terrestrial wildlife group models in Arizona: 1) all vertebrates, 2) amphibians, 3) reptiles, 4) birds, 5) mammals, 6) bats, 7) raptors and 8) long-distant migratory birds. An XML workbook is included that lists all terrestrial native vertebrate species in Arizona which cross-walks these species to the name of the National Gap Analysis Project species distribution model.

Tags: Amphibians, Arizona, Bats, Birds, Energy, All tags... High richness, Long distance migrants, Long distance migratory birds, Mammals, Raptors, Raster data, Reptiles, Southwest United States, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), United States, Vertebrates, Wildlife, [u'Ecology', u'Energy Resources', u'Geography', u'Information Sciences', u'Remote Sensing', u'Wildlife Biology'], Fewer tags

Russian-thistle field and seed bank data at Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, 2015-2016

These data were compiled as part of a field and growth chamber study of the establishment of Salsola tragus (Russian thistle), an invasive non-native annual plant in North America. Field work was conducted at Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona in 2015 and 2016 and the growth chamber study was conducted in 2016. The data represent field measurements of Salsola germination and growth (cover) and sediment movement at two field sites, one a stabilized sand sheet (SS) and the other on the ridge of a sand dune (SD). The data also represent a growth chamber assessment of the soil and litter seed bank from representative samples take at the two field sites.

Tags: Arizona, Botany, Colorado Plateau, Ecology, Geography, All tags... Information Sciences, Land Use Change, North America, Petrifield Forest National Park, Salsola, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), annual plants, biota, cover, field data, field measurements, field monitoring, field observation, germination, growth, growth chamber, invasive plant, invasive species, litter seed bank, non-native plant, non-native species, plants (organisms), sand dune ridge, sediment, sediment movement, seed bank, seed germination, soil seed bank, southwest United States, stabilized sand sheet, Fewer tags

Non-native insect invasions increasingly cause widespread ecological and economic damage in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Non-native insects specialized for feeding on specific plant groups are particularly problematic as they can potentially eliminate an entire genus of native plant species across a wide area. For example, emerald ash borer has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America since its accidental introduction from Asia, including more than 99% of all trees in forests near the epicenter of the invasion. However, most introduced insects do not become high-impact pests. Our goal is to develop a framework that allows us to predict whether non-native herbivorous insects in natural ecosystems...

Categories: Project; Tags: Active, All Working Groups, Ecosystems, Insects, Natural Hazards

USGS Earthmap Capacity Assessment Dataset

The U.S. Geological Survey provides a wide range of scientific information to an even wider group of stakeholders. Understanding what capacities are needed and if and or where these capacities exist across the USGS landscape is critical in moving science to the next level of use, implementation, and visualization. The concept behind the groups organized to conduct and interpret the survey that collected these data took advantage of the USGS’s position as a science organization with expertise spanning a wide range of science disciplines, stakeholders, and responsibilities. A survey was conducted of USGS employees (Sep 20-Nov 20) to get a current sample of the capacities that exist across the USGS.

Categories: Data; Types: Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Aquatic Biology, Botany, Climatology, Ecology, Economic Geology, All tags... Energy Resources, Environmental Health, Forestry, Genetics, Geochemistry, Geography, Geomorphology, Geophysics, Glaciology, Hydrology, Information Sciences, Land Use Change, Limnology, Marine Geology, Mineral Resources, Planetary Sciences, Remote Sensing, Sedimentology, Seismology, Soil Sciences, Stratigraphy, Structural Geology, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), United States, Volcanology, Water Quality, Water Resources, Wildlife Biology, Wildlife Disease, capability, capacity, survey, Fewer tags

Traits and Factors Catalog (TRAFAC): Conifer specialists of North America

These data were compiled in support of the 'Predicting the next high-impact insect invasion: Elucidating traits and factors determining the risk of introduced herbivorous insects on North American native plants' project, supported by the U.S. Geological Survey John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis. The project working group compiled data for non-native insects herbivorous on three or fewer North American conifer families. Data were synthesized from existing resources for a variety of insect traits, traits of their North American conifer host trees, divergence time between the North American host trees and the host tree in the insects' native range, and native insects that feed on the same North American...

Tags: British Columbia, California, Canada, Connecticut, District of Columbia, All tags... Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Brunswick, New Jersey, North America, North American conifers, North Carolina, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), United States, Virginia, Washington, biogeography, biota, co-evolved, conifer pests, coniferous forests, conifers, ecology, environmental impact, forest ecosystems, host range, host trees, impact, insect ecology, insect traits, insects, insects, invasive herbivorous insects, native insects, native range, native species, non-native insects, pests, traits, trees, vegetation, Fewer tags