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The rugged landscapes of northern Idaho and western Montana support biodiverse ecosystems, and provide a variety of natural resources and services for human communities. However, the benefits provided by these ecosystems may be at risk as changing climate magnifies existing stressors and allows new stressors to emerge. Preparation for and response to these potential changes can be most effectively addressed through multi-stakeholder partnerships, evaluating vulnerability of important resources to climate change, and developing response and preparation strategies for managing key natural resources in a changing world. This project supports climate-smart conservation and management across forests of northern Idaho...
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As the impacts of climate change amplify, understanding the consequences for wetlands will be critical for their sustainable management and conservation, particularly in arid regions such as the Columbia Plateau. The depressional wetlands in this region (wetlands located in topographic depressions where water can accumulate) are an important source of surface water during the summer months. However, their health depends directly on precipitation and evaporation, making them susceptible to changes in temperature and precipitation. Yet few tools for monitoring water movement patterns (hydrology) in and out of these landscapes currently exist, hindering efforts to model how they are changing. This project provided...
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Report on research that has shown that management of river connectivity of channels to floodplains is an effective mitigation strategy to remove nutrients, sediment, and carbon from river flows. The confluence of the Maquoketa and Mississippi Rivers is a unique site because: 1) the Maquoketa River carries some of the highest documented sediment and nutrient loads in the Upper Mississippi River (Garrett 2013, Robertson et al 2009); 2) the delta at the confluence with the Mississippi River is heavily managed by a State-Federai-NGO partnership and includes several Habitat Rehabilitation Projects designed to enhance fish and wildlife production and recreational access; 3) a recent nonreparable break in the levy near...
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Coastal wetlands and the many beneficial services they provide (e.g., purifying water, buffering storm surge, providing habitat) are changing and disappearing as a result of sea-level rise brought about by climate change. Scientists have developed a wealth of information and resources to predict and aid decision-making related to sea-level rise. However, while some of these resources are easily accessible by coastal managers, many others require more expert knowledge to understand or utilize. The goal of this project was to collate science and models pertaining to the effects of sea-level on coastal wetlands into a format that would be accessible and useful to resource managers. Researchers conducted training sessions...
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Assessing the impact of flow alteration on aquatic ecosystems has been identified as a critical area of research nationally and in the Southeast U.S. This project aimed to address the Ecohydrology Priority Science Need of the SE CSC FY2012 Annual Science Work Plan by developing an inventory and evaluation of current efforts and knowledge gaps in hydrological modeling for flow-­‐ecology science in global change impact studies across the Southeast. To accomplish this goal, we completed a thorough synthesis and evaluation of hydrologic modeling efforts in the Southeast region (including all states of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,...
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National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) along the East Coast of the United States protect habitat for a host of wildlife species, while also offering storm surge protection, improving water quality, supporting nurseries for commercially important fish and shellfish, and providing recreation opportunities for coastal communities. Yet in the last century, coastal ecosystems in the eastern U.S. have been severely altered by human development activities as well as sea-level rise and more frequent extreme events related to climate change. These influences threaten the ability of NWRs to protect our nation’s natural resources and to sustain their many beneficial services. Through this project, researchers are collaborating with...
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In the northern Gulf of Mexico, mangrove forests have been expanding their northern range limits in parts of Texas, Louisiana, and north Florida since 1989. In response to warming winter temperatures, mangroves, which are dominant in warmer climates, are expected to continue migrating northward at the expense of salt marshes, which fare better in cooler climates. The ecological implications and timing of mangrove expansion is not well understood, and coastal wetland managers need information and tools that will enable them to identify and forecast the ecological impacts of this shift from salt marsh to mangrove-dominated coastal ecosystems. To address this need, researchers will host workshops and leverage existing...
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The Southeastern U.S. spans broad ranges of physiographic settings and contains a wide variety of aquatic systems that provide habitat for hundreds of endemic aquatic species that pose interesting challenges and opportunities for managers of aquatic resources, particularly in the face of climate change. For example, the Southeast contains the southernmost populations of the eastern brook trout and other cold-water dependent species. Climate change is predicted to increase temperatures in the South and is likely to have a substantial effect on extant populations of cold-water biota. Thus, aquatic managers are tasked with developing strategies for preserving cold-water dependent biota, such as eastern brook trout,...
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Water scarcity is a growing concern in Texas, where surface water is derived almost entirely from rainfall. Changes in air temperature and precipitation patterns associated with global climate change are anticipated to regionally affect the quality and quantity of inland surface waters and consequently their suitability as habitat for freshwater life. In addition to directly affecting resident organisms and populations, these changes in physicochemical traits of aquatic habitats may favor the establishment of harmful invasive species. As conflicts over the use of water resources grow in intensity, this information will become important for fish and wildlife managers to anticipate impacts of climate change on trust...
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Covering 120 million acres across 14 western states and 3 Canadian provinces, sagebrush provides critical habitat for species such as pronghorn, mule deer, and sage-grouse – a species of conservation concern. The future of these and other species is closely tied to the future of sagebrush. Yet this important ecosystem has already been affected by fire, invasive species, land use conversion, and now, climate change. In the western U.S., temperatures are rising and precipitation patterns are changing. However, there is currently a limited ability to anticipate the impacts of climate change on sagebrush. Current methods suffer from a range of weakness that limits the reliability of results. In fact, the current uncertainty...
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We mapped eleven years of cheatgrass dieoff in the northern Great Basin. If we estimated that a dieoff occurred in a pixel anytime during that eleven year period, then the pixel was coded as dieoff. If no dieoff occurred, the pixel was coded as a non dieoff. The cheatgrass dieoff probability map was produced by inputting the coded data into a decision-tree model along with topographic data, edaphic data, land cover data, and climate data. A proxy for latitude was included. The resulting model was input into a mapping application that generated a map of cheatgrass dieoff probability.
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Climate change is already affecting ecosystems, and will likely trigger significant and permanent changes in both ecological and human communities. Such transformations are already occurring in the Arctic region of Alaska, where temperatures are warming at twice the global average and causing some ecosystems to transition to new states. Arctic warming has led to coastal erosion that has forced human communities to relocate and a loss of sea ice that has forced marine mammals, such as polar bears and walrus, to adapt to a more terrestrial mode of living. Meanwhile, in the Great Plains of the U.S., past interactions between land and water use during the Dust Bowl and recent high rates of depletion of the Ogallala...
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The western coast of Alaska is a remote region, rich in wildlife and providing critical nesting habitat for many of Alaska’s seabirds. It is also home to indigenous communities who rely upon the region’s natural resources to support a traditional lifestyle of hunting, gathering, and fishing. Although the region is frequently subject to extensive inland flooding from Bering Sea storms, little is known about the extent and frequency of flooding and its impacts on vegetation, wildlife, and water quality. Furthermore, information is lacking about how climate change and sea-level rise (which can influence the frequency and intensity of storms and subsequent flooding) are affecting this area, its communities, and their...
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Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing natural resource management. The disruptions it is causing require that we change the way we consider conservation and resource management in order to ensure the future of habitats, species, and human communities. Practitioners often struggle with how to identify and prioritize specific climate adaptation actions (CAAs). Management actions may have a higher probability of being successful if they are informed by available scientific knowledge and findings; a systematic review process provides a mechanism to scientifically assess management questions. By evaluating specific actions on scientific knowledge and findings, we may be able to increase management...
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Of the vital rates that determine recruitment, breeding propensity (i.e., the proportion of females that lay at least one egg) and nest success appear to have the greatest influence, but breeding propensity remains poorly studied. The few studies that have been conducted reveal it to be highly variable among years (15–77%), likely in response to environmental conditions (e.g., precipitation and wetland availability), and lower than estimates from other dabbling ducks. Thus, quantifying breeding propensity across the mottled duck range in the WGC and identifying factors responsible for its variation remain high priorities for future investigation. Breeding propensity is also among the most difficult vital rates to...
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Researchers with U.S. Geological Survey Water Science Centers in Iowa, Kansas and Massachusetts collaborated to conduct a comprehensive literature search of both published and ongoing research (2000-present) that sheds light on the interactions between climate change, agriculture and water quality across the combined geographies of the Eastern Tallgrass Prairie and Big Rivers LCC and neighboring Upper Midwest and Great Lakes LCC. Project investigators compiled the information in a resource library by geographic location, providing an organized structure for future examination of all research related to interactions between climate change, agriculture and water quality in these two regions.
map background search result map search result map Modeling and Projecting the Influence of Climate Change on Texas Surface Waters and their Aquatic Biotic Communities USGS-USFS Partnership to Help Managers Evaluate Conservation Strategies for Aquatic Ecosystems Based on Future Climate Projections Evaluating the Use of Models for Projecting Future Water Flow in the Southeast A Handbook for Resource Managers to Understand and Utilize Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Wetland Models Modeling Future Storm Impacts on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Mapping Cheatgrass Dieoff Probability in the Northern Great Basin using a Decision-tree Model Creating a detailed vegetation classification and digital vegetation map for Squaw Creek NWR Moving from Awareness to Action: Informing Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments and Adaptation Planning for Idaho and Montana National Forests The Available Science Assessment Process (ASAP): Evaluating the Science behind Climate Adaptation Actions Literature search on environmental affects of agricultural practices Forecasting Future Changes in Sagebrush Distribution and Abundance Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal National Wildlife Refuges Can We Conserve Wetlands Under a Changing Climate? Mapping Wetland Hydrology in the Columbia Plateau Using light-level geolocators to measure breeding propensity of mottled ducks in the Western Gulf Coast Maquoketa River Floodplain Connectivity Research reports Identifying the Ecological and Management Implications of Mangrove Migration in the Northern Gulf of Mexico Adaptation Strategies in the Face of Climate-Driven Ecological Transformation: Case Studies from Arctic Alaska and the U.S. Great Plains Creating a detailed vegetation classification and digital vegetation map for Squaw Creek NWR Maquoketa River Floodplain Connectivity Research reports Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal National Wildlife Refuges Modeling Future Storm Impacts on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Moving from Awareness to Action: Informing Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments and Adaptation Planning for Idaho and Montana National Forests Can We Conserve Wetlands Under a Changing Climate? Mapping Wetland Hydrology in the Columbia Plateau Using light-level geolocators to measure breeding propensity of mottled ducks in the Western Gulf Coast Mapping Cheatgrass Dieoff Probability in the Northern Great Basin using a Decision-tree Model Modeling and Projecting the Influence of Climate Change on Texas Surface Waters and their Aquatic Biotic Communities The Available Science Assessment Process (ASAP): Evaluating the Science behind Climate Adaptation Actions Forecasting Future Changes in Sagebrush Distribution and Abundance USGS-USFS Partnership to Help Managers Evaluate Conservation Strategies for Aquatic Ecosystems Based on Future Climate Projections Identifying the Ecological and Management Implications of Mangrove Migration in the Northern Gulf of Mexico Literature search on environmental affects of agricultural practices A Handbook for Resource Managers to Understand and Utilize Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Wetland Models Evaluating the Use of Models for Projecting Future Water Flow in the Southeast Adaptation Strategies in the Face of Climate-Driven Ecological Transformation: Case Studies from Arctic Alaska and the U.S. Great Plains