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Science Applications - Region 2

The primary objective is to provide guidance to conservation agencies and programs such as Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Louisiana Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 2 and 4 National Wildlife Refuges, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Migratory Bird Office Region 2 to focus banding activities (i.e., where and when) and minimum sample sizes necessary to meet harvest management objectives for mottled ducks. A secondary objective is to investigate alternate marking techniques (e.g., PIT tags, NANO tags) to supplement or replace assessments derived from band recoveries. The banding needs assessment will be a two part analysis. The first part will use multi-state simulation...
In Texas, the USFWS is currently reviewing 11 mussel species for ESA protection and several of these species (e.g., Cyclonaias petrina, Texas Pimpleback, and Lampsilis bracteata, Texas Fatmucket) have been the primary focus of controlled propagation by several federal hatcheries. To date, information on genetic diversity within and across known populations for these species is incomplete and so the justification for their controlled propagation is unclear, and a genetic management plan to guide propagation activities does not exist. These unknowns raise serious questions about whether any of the 11 proposed species are truly in need of and would benefit from controlled propagation. The overall goal of this project...
Pectis imberbis A. Gray is an endemic plant species native to southern Arizona with fewer than 400 known individuals in existence. A total of 6 putative populations, each consisting of between ca. 10 and 180 individuals, occur at elevations of 1100-1700 m in a variety of habitats, including oak woodlands, desert grasslands, oak savannas, and disturbed areas in Arizona (road cuts, arroyos) (USFWS 2012). In the past, populations were also identified in Mexico (Keil 1978, USFWS 2012); however, Mexican populations have not been relocated in recent years (Keil 1982, Falk and Warren 1994, Sanchez-Escalante 2018a, 2018b). Resurveys of known P. imberbis sites suggest significant decline in abundance over the last two decades...
The mottled duck is a resident dabbling duck that is distributed throughout the western Gulf Coast, primarily in Louisiana and Texas (WGC population), and also in a second population in peninsular Florida (Florida population). Within the WGC, several indices of abundance suggest that the mottled duck has declined over the last several decades, but the ability of many of these indices to detect changes in mottled duck abundance is unknown. Additionally, the surveys often provide different and sometimes conflicting results, causing confusion in interpreting WGC population trends. Also, differences in timing and coverage of surveys further complicate our understanding of the population trend. Overall, none of the surveys...
Categories: Data, Project; Tags: Project, onGoing
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This report summarizes the methods and results of utilizing the Edwards to Gulf Conservation Blueprint to achieve specific tasks for various conservation entities. The goal of this effort is to provide real world examples of the use of our spatial products to ensure that stakeholders understand how to use and incorporate the blueprint into their own decision-making processes. This report covers a suite of demonstration projects that illustrate a variety of tasks likely to be of interest to the broader stakeholder community. These include using the habitat protection rankings to prioritize areas within a predefined focal area within the Edwards to Gulf region (Figure 1), mapping a route of least impact for a proposed...
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