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Publication from the NALCC co-funded project Identifying Important Migratory Landbird Stopover Sites in the Northeast. With many of the world’s migratory bird populations in alarming decline, broad‐scale assessments of responses to migratory hazards may prove crucial to successful conservation efforts. Most birds migrate at night through increasingly light‐polluted skies. Bright light sources can attract airborne migrants and lead to collisions with structures, but might also influence selection of migratory stopover habitat and thereby acquisition of food resources. We demonstrate, using multi‐year weather radar measurements of nocturnal migrants across the northeastern U.S., that autumnal migrant stopover density...
Understanding recent biogeographic responses to climate change is fundamental for improving our predictions of likely future responses and guiding conservation planning at both local and global scales. Studies of observed biogeographic responses to 20th century climate change have principally examined effects related to ubiquitous increases in temperature – collectively termed a warming fingerprint. Although the importance of changes in other aspects of climate – particularly precipitation and water availability – is widely acknowledged from a theoretical standpoint and supported by paleontological evidence, we lack a practical understanding of how these changes interact with temperature to drive biogeographic responses....
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Floods, spatially complex water flows, and organism movements all generate important fluxes of aquatic-derived materials into terrestrial habitats, counteracting the gravity-driven downhill transport of matter from terrestrial-to-aquatic ecosystems. The magnitude of these aquatic subsidies isoften smaller than terrestrial subsidies to aquatic ecosystems but higher in nutritional quality, energy density, and nutrient concentration. The lateral extent of biological aquatic subsidies is typically small, extending only a few meters into riparian habitat; however, terrestrial consumers often aggregate on shorelines to capitalize on these high-quality resources. Although the ecological effects of aquatic subsidies remain...
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How local geomorphic and hydrologic features mediate the sensitivity of stream thermal regimes to variation in climatic conditions remains a critical uncertainty in understanding aquatic ecosystem responses to climate change. We used stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen to estimate contributions of snow and rainfall to 80 boreal streams and show that differences in snow contribution are controlled by watershed topography. Time series analysis of stream thermal regimes revealed that streams in rain-dominated, low-elevation watersheds were 5–8 times more sensitive to variation in summer air temperature compared to streams draining steeper topography whose flows were dominated by snowmelt. This effect was more pronounced...
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Fish occurrence data to support high-resolution distribution models and test various community and macroecological hypotheses have not been available at the national scale. We present IchthyMaps, a database of high-quality historical fish occurrences covering fishes of the conterminous United States. Designed on the principles of metacommunity ecology, IchthyMaps is a compilation of presence records from atlases up to 1990, at the resolution of the 1:100,000 National Hydrography Database Plus (NHDPlus) inter-confluence stream segment, readily aggregated into hierarchically coarser units (e.g. hydrologic unit code 8-digit and 12-digit watersheds). IchthyMaps contains about 606,550 presence records for 1,038 species...
Categories: Data, Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Biological Data, Biological sampling, All tags...
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In this first worldwide synthesis of in situ and satellite-derived lake data, we find that lakesummer surface water temperatures rose rapidly (global mean = 0.34°C decade1) between 1985 and2009. Our analyses show that surface water warming rates are dependent on combinations of climate andlocal characteristics, rather than just lake location, leading to the counterintuitive result that regionalconsistency in lake warming is the exception, rather than the rule. The most rapidly warming lakes are widelygeographically distributed, and their warming is associated with interactions among different climatic factors—from seasonally ice-covered lakes in areas where temperature and solar radiation are increasing whilecloud...
We conducted detailed resurveys of a montane mammal, Urocitellus beldingi, to examine the effects of climate change on persistence along the trailing edge of its range. Of 74 California sites where U. beldingi were historically recorded (1902–1966), 42 per cent were extirpated, with no evidence for colonization of previously unoccupied sites. Increases in both precipitation and temperature predicted site extirpations, potentially owing to snowcover loss. Surprisingly, human land-use change buffered climate change impacts, leading to increased persistence and abundance. Excluding human-modified sites, U. beldingi has shown an upslope range retraction of 255 m. Generalized additive models of past distribution were...
Publication from the NALCC co-funded project Identifying Important Migratory Landbird Stopover Sites in the Northeast.With many of the world’s migratory bird populations in alarming decline, broad‐scale assessments of responses to migratory hazards may prove crucial to successful conservation efforts. Most birds migrate at night through increasingly light‐polluted skies. Bright light sources can attract airborne migrants and lead to collisions with structures, but might also influence selection of migratory stopover habitat and thereby acquisition of food resources. We demonstrate, using multi‐year weather radar measurements of nocturnal migrants across the northeastern U.S., that autumnal migrant stopover density...
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Drylands cover 40% of the global terrestrial surface and provide important ecosystem services. While drylands as a whole are expected to increase in distribution and aridity in coming decades, temperature and precipitation forecasts vary by latitude and geographic region suggesting different trajectories for tropical, subtropical, and temperate drylands. Uncertainty in the future of tropical and subtropical drylands is well constrained, whereas soil moisture and ecological droughts, which drive vegetation productivity and composition, remain poorly understood in temperate drylands. Here we show that, over the 21st century, temperate drylands may contract by a third, primarily converting to subtropical drylands,...
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Sky Island Alliance (SIA) is a non-governmental organizational that works to protect and restore the rich natural heritage of native species and habitats in the Sky Island Region. We work with volunteers, scientists, land-owners, public officials, and government agencies to establish protected areas, restore healthy landscapes, and promote public appreciation of the region’s unique biological diversity. Because of our long-standing collaborative relationships with land managers and our large corps of skilled volunteers, we were in a unique position to spearhead this project.SIA initiated this springs inventory, assessment and management planning project to develop baseline information on springs in the Sky Island...
Categories: Data, Publication; Types: ArcGIS REST Map Service, Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2011, AZ-02, AZ-03, Arizona, Conservation NGOs, All tags...
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Global environmental change has influenced lake surface temperatures, a key driver of ecosystem structureand function. Recent studies have suggested significant warming of water temperatures in individual lakesacross many different regions around the world. However, the spatial and temporal coherence associatedwith the magnitude of these trends remains unclear. Thus, a global data set of water temperature isrequired to understand and synthesize global, long-term trends in surface water temperatures of inlandbodies of water. We assembled a database of summer lake surface temperatures for 291 lakes collectedin situ and/or by satellites for the period 1985–2009. In addition, corresponding climatic drivers (airtemperatures,...
Climate refugia management has been proposed as a climate adaptation strategy in the face of global change. Key to this strategy is identification of these areas as well as an understanding of how they are connected on the landscape. Focusing on meadows of the Sierra Nevada in California, we examined multiple factors affecting connectivity using circuit theory, and determined how patches have been and are expected to be affected by climate change. Connectivity surfaces varied depending upon the underlying hypothesis, although meadow area and elevation were important features for higher connectivity. Climate refugia that would promote population persistence were identified from downscaled climate layers, based on...
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Amphibians and reptiles (herpetofauna) have been linked to specific microhabitat characteristics, microclimates, and water resources in riparian forests. Our objective was to relate variation in herpetofauna abundance to changes in habitat caused by a beetle used for Tamarix biocontrol (Diorhabda carinulata; Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and riparian restoration. During 2013 and 2014, we measured vegetation and monitored herpetofauna via trapping and visual encounter surveys (VES) at locations affected by biocontrol along the Virgin River in the Mojave Desert of the southwestern United States. Twenty-one sites were divided into four riparian stand types based on density and percent cover of dominant trees (Tamarix,...
Categories: Data, Publication; Types: Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2012, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags...
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The ascii grids represent regional probabilities that groundwater in a particular location will have dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations less than selected threshold values representing anoxic groundwater conditions or will have dissolved manganese (Mn) concentrations greater than selected threshold values representing secondary drinking water-quality contaminant levels (SMCL) and health-based screening levels (HBSL) for water quality. The probability models were constrained by the alluvial boundary of the Central Valley to a depth of approximately 300 meters (m). We utilized prediction modeling methods, specifically boosted regression trees (BRT) with a Bernoulli error distribution within a statistical learning...
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Spawning migrations of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) to coastal watersheds provide a rich resource subsidy to freshwater consumers. However, variation in thermal regimes and spawning activity across the landscape constrain the ability of poikilothermic consumers to assimilate eggs and carcasses. We investigated how sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) spawning density and stream temperature affect the growth, body condition, and fatty acid composition of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), a known egg predator, in seven tributaries of the Wood River in Southwest Alaska. We compared mean body size of juvenile coho salmon in late summer among 3–7 years per stream and found that the largest mean size occurred...
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An important unresolved question is how populations of coldwater-dependent fishes will respond to rapidly warming water temperatures. For example, the culturally and economically important group, Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), experience site-specific thermal regimes during early development that could be disrupted by warming. To test for thermal local adaptation and heritable phenotypic plasticity in Pacific salmon embryos, we measured the developmental rate, survival, and body size at hatching in two populations of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) that overlap in timing of spawning but incubate in contrasting natural thermal regimes. Using a split half-sibling design, we exposed embryos of 10 families...
Categories: Data, Publication; Types: Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: Academics & scientific researchers, CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT MODELS, CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT MODELS, DATA REFORMATTING, DATA REFORMATTING, All tags...
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Description: Invasive saltcedar is the third most abundant tree in Southwestern riparian systems. Resource managers must often balance the goals of protecting native wildlife species and habitats with the control of non-native and invasive plants. This project examined the impact of the tamarisk leaf beetle (a biocontrol agent) on amphibian and reptile (herpetofauna) and bird populations and communities along the Virgin River in Utah, Arizona and Nevada.Building on two years of pre-biocontrol monitoring, the researchers tracked changes in herpetofauna communities as the biocontrol entered a system dominated by a non-native plant species. The tamarisk leaf beetle is known to be eaten by several wildlife species....
Categories: Data, Publication; Types: Citation, Map Service, OGC WFS Layer, OGC WMS Layer, OGC WMS Service; Tags: 2012, AZ-01, AZ-02, AZ-03, AZ-04, All tags...
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Dozens of species of landbirds, such as warblers, hummingbirds, and orioles, migrate through the Northeastern United States from their summer breeding grounds in the U.S. and Canada to their nonbreeding grounds as far south as South America. During the migration period, birds must find habitat where they can stop, rest and replenish their energy reserves. Conservation efforts are increasingly focused on identifying stopover sites that are important for sustaining migratory landbird populations. This project builds upon prior work by the University of Delaware and USGS to use weather surveillance data and field surveys to map and predict important migratory bird stopover sites.This project was co-funded by through...
    map background search result map search result map Historical Stream Fish Distribution Database for the Conterminous United States (1950-1990): IchthyMaps Probability distribution grids of dissolved oxygen and dissolved manganese concentrations at selected thresholds in drinking water depth zones, Central Valley, California Report, Inventory and Assessment Protocols, Adaptation Plan, and Presentation for: Springs in the Sky Island Region: Inventory, Assessment, and Management Planning Project Identifying Important Migratory Landbird Stopover Sites in the Northeast Publication: The effects of riparian restoration following saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) biocontrol on habitat and herpetofauna along a desert stream Science Brief for Resource Managers: Effects of Biocontrol and Restoration on Wildlife in Southwestern Riparian Habitats Rapid and highly variable warming of lake surface waters around the globe Watershed geomorphology and snowmelt control stream thermal sensitivity to air temperature Thermal adaptation and phenotypic plasticity in a warming world: Insights from common garden experiments on Alaskan sockeye salmon Thermal constraints on stream consumer responses to a marine resource subsidy Subsidies of Aquatic Resources in Terrestrial Ecosystems A global database of lake surface temperatures collected by in situ and satellite methods from 1985–2009 Publication: The effects of riparian restoration following saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) biocontrol on habitat and herpetofauna along a desert stream Science Brief for Resource Managers: Effects of Biocontrol and Restoration on Wildlife in Southwestern Riparian Habitats Report, Inventory and Assessment Protocols, Adaptation Plan, and Presentation for: Springs in the Sky Island Region: Inventory, Assessment, and Management Planning Project Thermal adaptation and phenotypic plasticity in a warming world: Insights from common garden experiments on Alaskan sockeye salmon Rapid and highly variable warming of lake surface waters around the globe Watershed geomorphology and snowmelt control stream thermal sensitivity to air temperature Thermal constraints on stream consumer responses to a marine resource subsidy Subsidies of Aquatic Resources in Terrestrial Ecosystems A global database of lake surface temperatures collected by in situ and satellite methods from 1985–2009 Probability distribution grids of dissolved oxygen and dissolved manganese concentrations at selected thresholds in drinking water depth zones, Central Valley, California Identifying Important Migratory Landbird Stopover Sites in the Northeast Historical Stream Fish Distribution Database for the Conterminous United States (1950-1990): IchthyMaps