Skip to main content

Cami Dixon

thumbnail
This database contains records of grassland bird abundance and vegetation structure on tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Specifically, under the adaptive-management decision framework (Native Prairie Adaptive Management [NPAM] intiative), we surveyed breeding birds and sampled vegetation on 89 native prairie NPAM units managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, including 55 units in 2011, 87 units in 2012, and 87 units in 2013. The NPAM units occurred in 19 USFWS refuge complexes and wetland management districts, including 14 complexes in USFWS Region 6 (North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana) and five complexes in USFWS Region 3 (Minnesota).
thumbnail
Understanding How Climate and Land Use Change Will Impact Wetland-Dependent Birds: Are Waterfowl Effective Surrogates for Other Species?
The Prairie Pothole Region spans parts of North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Iowa and south-central Canada and contains millions of wetlands that provide habitat for breeding and migrating birds. Because it is the continent’s most important breeding area for waterfowl, conservation and management largely focuses on protecting habitat for nesting ducks. However, other wetland-dependent birds also rely on this region, and it is important to understand the degree to which habitat conserved for ducks provides habitat for other species, and how the quality of this habitat will be affected by climate change. Project researchers tested whether waterfowl are effective representatives, or surrogates, for other wetland-dependent...
thumbnail
Climate Effects on Prescribed Fire Implementation and Efficacy in Northern Mixed-Grass Prairie
Prescribed burning – planned, controlled fires conducted under weather and fuel conditions designed for safety and effectiveness – is a common practice used to maintain and restore native prairies in the Northern Great Plains. However, climate change will affect the number of days in a year, and when, suitable conditions for prescribed fires occur. For instance, warmer temperatures may shift these “good prescribed-fire days” earlier in the spring and later in the fall, but uncertainty about future climate makes it hard to predict how large shifts will be and if the number of good fire days each year will generally increase or decrease. Further, it’s hard to know whether prescribed fires will continue to achieve...
thumbnail
Model-Based Scenario Planning to Inform Climate Change Adaptation in the Northern Great Plains
One of the biggest challenges facing resource managers today is not knowing exactly when, where, and how climate change effects will unfold. While models can be used to predict the types of impacts that climate change might have on a landscape, uncertainty remains surrounding factors such as how quickly changes will occur and how specific resources will respond. In order to plan for this uncertain future, managers have begun to use a tool known as scenario planning. In this approach, a subset of global climate model projections are selected that represent a range of plausible future climate scenarios for a particular area. Through a series of facilitated workshops, managers can then explore different management...
ScienceBase brings together the best information it can find about USGS researchers and offices to show connections to publications, projects, and data. We are still working to improve this process and information is by no means complete. If you don't see everything you know is associated with you, a colleague, or your office, please be patient while we work to connect the dots. Feel free to contact sciencebase@usgs.gov.