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A genecological approach was used to explore genetic variation for survival in Artemisia tridentata (big sagebrush). Artemisia tridentata is a widespread and foundational shrub species in western North America. This species has become extremely fragmented, to the detriment of dependent wildlife, and efforts to restore it are now a land manage-ment priority. Common- garden experiments were established at three sites with seed-lings from 55 source- populations. Populations included each of the three predominant subspecies, and cytotype variations. Survival was monitored for 5 years to assess dif-ferences in survival between gardens and populations. We found evidence of adap-tive genetic variation for survival. Survival...
We examined patterns of genetic variation and diversity of extant pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) populations across the species’ current range in Nevada and California. Our aims were to determine population genetic structure and levels of diversity across the southern portion of the species’ range. We genotyped 13 microsatellite loci from 194 fecal samples collected across 14 localities. Our Bayesian cluster analyses found 2 genetically distinct groups: 1 in the Mono Basin of California and the other encompassing all remaining Nevada Great Basin populations. Considering only the Nevada Great Basin group, we found 4 minimally divergent groups that overlap spatially with many individuals maintaining composite...
The Great Basin Landscape Conservation Cooperative’s (Great Basin LCC) Conservation Planning Atlas (CPA) is a new geospatial portal that allows users to create and share unique mapping products. It incorporates over 1000 spatial data layers related to conservation of the Great Basin’s many natural and cultural resources. The CPA provides managers, researchers and planners from state, federal, local, NGO and private partners a valuable suite of tools for collaborative spatial planning. All of this information is housed in a single website where readers can access regional spatial layers, decision support tools, and Great Basin LCC project information and products. The CPA is one key part in the Great Basin LCC’s...
Rising temperatures have begun to shift flowering time, but it is unclear whether phenotypic plasticity canaccommodate projected temperature change for this century. Evaluating clines in phenological traits and the extentand variation in plasticity can provide key information on assessing risk of maladaptation and developing strategiesto mitigate climate change. In this study, flower phenology was examined in 52 populations of big sagebrush (Artemi-sia tridentata) growing in three common gardens. Flowering date (anthesis) varied 91 days from late July to lateNovember among gardens. Mixed-effects modeling explained 79% of variation in flowering date, of which 46% couldbe assigned to plasticity and genetic variation...
A number of modeling approaches have been developed to predict the impacts of climate change on species distributions, performance and abundance. The stronger the agreement from models that represent different processes and are based on distinct and independent sources of information, the greater the confidence we can have in their predictions. Evaluating the level of confidence is particularly important when predictions are used to guide conservation or restoration decisions. We used a multi-model approach to predict climate change impacts on big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), the dominant plant species on roughly 43 million hectares in the western United States and a key resource for many endemic wildlife species....
Understanding how annual climate variation affects population growth rates across a species’ range may help us anticipate the effects of climate change on species distribution and abundance. We predict that populations in warmer or wetter parts of a species’ range should respond negatively to periods of above average temperature or precipitation, respectively, whereas populations in colder or drier areas should respond positively to periods of above average temperature or precipitation. To test this, we estimated the population sensitivity of a common shrub species, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), to annual climate variation across its range. Our analysis includes 8175 observations of year-to-year change in...
We integrated 250-m enhanced Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (eMODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) with land cover, biogeophysical (e.g., soils, topography) and climate data into regression-tree software (Cubist®). We integrated this data to create a time series of spatially explicit predictions of herbaceous annual vegetation cover in sagebrush ecosystems, with an emphasis on annual grasses. Annual grass cover in sagebrush ecosystems is highly variable year-to-year because it is strongly dependent on highly variable weather patterns, particularly precipitation timing and totals. Annual grass cover also reflects past disturbances and management decisions. We produced 17 consecutive...
Environmental conditions recorded at 2,256 Great Basin and Mojave Desert springs that were inventoried from the late 1980s into 2013 are summarized. These records provide information about individual springs and their spatial variability across the landscape. Insight into their changing condition is provided by records compiled at springs visited several times over more than 20 years. Although this summary considers a small proportion of springs in this region, it provides broad insight into their size, basic water chemistry, and conditions that are indicative of springs over a large portion of the southwestern US.
Recent drought, change agents and the spectrum of greater management needs have highlighted the relative dearth of in situ weather and climate measurement stations in the Great Basin. Thus, interest has grown in supplementing or initiating atmospheric and hydrologic measurements. The purpose of this project was to review the existing station networks in the context of management needs by providing examples of how climate observation gaps can be assessed, and by providing some guidelines for the placement of new or augmented stations.The report shows how observation gaps can be discovered utilizing basic geospatial data. Three management applications is used: greater sage-grouse habitat, wildfire and grazing allotments....
Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is one of the most widespread and abundant plant species in the intermountain regions of western North America. This species occupies an extremely wide ecological niche ranging from the semi-arid basins to the subalpine. Within this large niche, three widespread subspecies are recognized. Montane ecoregions are occupied by subspecies vaseyana, while subspecies wyomingensis and tridentata occupy basin ecoregions. In cases of wide-ranging species with multiple subspecies, it can be more practical from the scientific and management perspective to assess the climate profiles at the subspecies level. We focus bioclimatic model efforts on subspecies wyomingensis, which is the most...
This publication identifies areas where big sagebrush populations are most and least vulnerable to climate change and demonstrates where continued investment in sagebrush conservation and restoration could have the most impact.
On November 4, 2016, Dr. Peter Adler, Utah State University, discussed how sagebrush sensitivity to climate change varies across the region and the strengths and weaknesses of various climate modeling approaches. Healthy big sagebrush habitat is essential for the persistence of many high value conservation species across the western US. To gain confidence in predictions of climate change impacts on existing populations of big sagebrush, a research team from Utah State University compared output from four modeling approaches, each based on very different data and assumptions. These models largely agree that rising temperatures will decrease sagebrush cover and biomass in the warmest portions of the region, but increase...
The Great Basin LCC Conservation Planning Atlas (CPA) brings cloud-based functionality and collaborative features to a geospatial platform for conservation initiatives across the Great Basin. The CPA resides within the Data Basin online platform, allowing users and groups to create unique collaborative mapping products for their projects. Drawing on over 16,000 datasets currently in Data Basin–including high-priority datasets from LANDFIRE, BLM, USGS, and others–users are able to share maps within public or private groups and then to dynamically interact with those products as a group. In addition to the collaborative planning features, the CPA also provides the Great Basin LCC with another platform through which...
On July 26, 2017, Bruce Wylie and Stephen Boyte, USGS, discussed their recent research mapping herbaceous annual cover in the Great Basin.The research team utilized regression tree algorithms combined with spectral and ancillary data (for elevation, soils, etc.) to achieve accuracy-focused maps. They used high-resolution satellite data (2m) to scale ground observations to levels compatible with moderate-resolution satellites (Landsat and MODIS). The speakers also discussed data access, selected journal publications and future plans during the webinar.
On August 24, 2016, Tim Brown and Greg McCurdy, Desert Research Institute, and Kathryn Dyer, BLM Nevada, presented a webinar about climate monitoring for land management applications in the Great Basin. Recent drought, change agents and the spectrum of greater management needs have highlighted the relative dearth of in situ weather and climate measurement stations in the Great Basin. Thus, interest has grown in supplementing or initiating atmospheric and hydrologic measurements. This presentation reviews the existing station networks in the context of management needs by providing examples of how climate observation gaps can be assessed, and by providing some guidelines for the placement of new or augmented stations....
The sagebrush steppe is a patchwork of species and subspecies occupying distinctenvironmental niches across the intermountain regions of western North America. These ecosystems facedegradation from disturbances and exotic weeds. Using sagebrush seed that is matched to its appropriateniche is a critical component to successful restoration, improving habitat for the threatened greater sage-grouse and other species. The need for restoration is greatest in basin habitats composed of two subspecies:diploid basin big sagebrush (A. tridentatasubsp.tridentata) and tetraploid Wyoming big sagebrush (subsp.wyomingensis). In this study we assess seed weights across five subspecies-cytotype groups of bigsagebrush and examine...
Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) rely on near-surface groundwater. These systems are receiving more attention with rising air temperature, prolonged drought, and where groundwater pumping captures natural groundwater discharge for anthropogenic use. Phreatophyte shrublands, meadows, and riparian areas are GDEs that provide critical habitat for many sensitive species, especially in arid and semi-arid environments. While GDEs are vital for ecosystem services and function, their long-term (i.e. ~ 30 years) spatial and temporal variability is poorly understood with respect to local and regional scale climate, groundwater, and rangeland management. In this work, we compute time series of NDVI derived from sensors...
This dataset provides a near-real-time estimate of 2017 herbaceous annual cover with an emphasis on annual grass (Boyte and Wylie. 2016. Near-real-time cheatrass percent cover in the Northern Great Basin, USA, 2015. Rangelands 38:278-284.) This estimate was based on remotely sensed enhanced Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (eMODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data gathered through June 19, 2017. This is the second iteration of an early estimate of herbaceous annual cover for 2017 over the same geographic area. The previous dataset used eMODIS NDVI data gathered through May 1 (https://doi.org/10.5066/F7445JZ9). The pixel values for this most recent estimate ranged from 0 to100% with...
Wetland mapping is conducted in defined geographic areas called projects. Imagery is used as the base information to define the type and location of each wetland. The scale, type and date of imagery used in a project is provided in a pop-up window when a wetland polygon is selected on the Wetlands Mapper. Investigators that complete a wetland mapping project record information on the source imagery, collateral data, inventory method, data limitations, geographic features, landforms, wetland types and other specifics in a project metadata document. Wetland identification and interpretation was done “heads-up” using ArcMap versions 10.2-11.0. US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) mapping...
On April 13, 2015, the Great Basin LCC hosted a webinar about new Sage-Grouse conservation data presented by the National Wetlands Inventory.Nevada’s wetlands are important havens for local wildlife. Past and current changes in climate and land use practices have stressed many sensitive wetland systems across Nevada, putting the wildlife they support at risk. For greater sage-grouse, wetlands also play an important role in providing brood rearing habitat. This project is mapping areas of high priority sage grouse habitat in Nevada and will move towards mapping areas of other wetlands in future years with additional funding. Mapping of other important landscapes such as upland riparian habitat are also part of this...