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The antelope-like pronghorn is the fastest land animal in North America and has the longest land migration in the continental U.S—in fact, the species has been dubbed “the true marathoners of the American West”. While pronghorns are numerous in parts of their range, such as Wyoming and northern Colorado, they are endangered in others, such as the Sonoran Desert. In the arid Southwest, pronghorn populations have been declining since the 1980s—and it’s thought that drought is partially to blame. Average temperatures in the Southwest have increased 1.6°C since 1901, and the area affected by drought from 2001-2010 was the second largest observed since 1901. Drought conditions have reduced the availability of vegetation,...
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Plants and animals undergo certain life cycle events every year, such as breeding or flowering. Known as phenology, these events are very sensitive to changes in climate. Changes in plant phenology can have cascading effects that impact the herbivore species that depend on the affected plants for food, such as elk, moose, and deer. Therefore, characterizing long term vegetation cycles can provide critical insight into how the behavior and health of a number of species may be altered due to climate change. This project sought to identify how drought conditions influence vegetation phenology, in order to better understand the potential effects on herbivores. Specifically, researchers examined (1) if drought causes...
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Native to the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico, the desert bighorn sheep is known for its ability to adapt to harsh, arid environments. However, this does not mean the species is immune to the effects of drought. In fact, the fragmented and isolated distribution of the desert mountain ranges that they inhabit means that they can’t follow distant rain storms without traversing broad valleys at significant risk to mortality. This study examined the effects of a 2002 drought on desert bighorn sheep in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Arizona. Specifically, researchers explored how the drought may have affected habitat selection, behavior, and diet of the sheep. For example, when...
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Species that inhabit the arid Southwest are adapted to living in hot, dry environments. Yet the increasing frequency and severity of drought in the region may create conditions that even these hardy species can’t survive. This project examined the impacts of drought in the southwestern U.S. on four of the region’s iconic species: desert bighorn sheep, American pronghorn, scaled quail, and Rio Grande cutthroat trout. Grasping the impacts of drought on fish and wildlife is critical for management planning in the Southwest, as climate models project warmer, drier conditions for the region in the future. Species are known to respond to environmental changes such as drought in different ways. Often, before changes...
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In the western U.S., rising temperatures and pronounced drought conditions pose significant challenges to public land managers. Widespread declines of multiple plant species have already been observed, providing insight into what the future could look like for vegetation in the region as conditions are projected to become warmer and drier. To understand how vulnerable western ecosystems are to drought, managers need to know which climatic and soil conditions cause habitats to change, and at what rate these changes may occur – important topics on which there is little available data. This project seeks to identify the vulnerability of habitats in the western U.S. to drought. Researchers will compare changes in...
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Severe droughts cause widespread tree mortality and decreased growth in forests across the globe—even in areas with cooler climates. Mitigating the negative effects of climate change, in particular increased drought frequency and severity, poses a major challenge to forest managers. Managers are searching for strategies that minimize the negative effects of drought on forests (i.e. increase their resistance to drought) and maximize the ability of forests to recover after a drought (i.e. improve their resilience). Evidence suggests that forests with certain combinations of tree species, sizes, and stem densities are better able to withstand and recover from drought. The goal of this study was to identify which...
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Climate change is expected to increase the intensity and frequency of drought in the U.S., leading to potentially harmful ecological impacts. The uncertain and relatively rapid changes to precipitation patterns pose a significant challenge to managers and decision-makers. In addition to having negative social and economic implications, long periods without rainfall can alter ecosystems, thereby threatening fish and wildlife species. The term “ecological drought” emphasizes the environmental consequences of future droughts. While it is known that ecological drought places multiple stresses on the environment, many of the specific impacts are not fully understood. To address this need, researchers are working to...
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As global temperatures continue to rise, the frequency and severity of droughts in North America are expected to increase, leading to a wide range of social and ecological impacts. Identifying these impacts and the consequences for ecosystems and human communities are essential for effective drought management. Equally important is to improve the capacity of nature and people to prepare for and cope with drought by identifying management strategies that benefit both. An interdisciplinary working group within the Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) was established by the U.S. Geological Survey, The Wildlife Conservation Society, and The Nature Conservancy to synthesize our current understanding of...
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Increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation threaten the persistence of the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, the southernmost subspecies of cutthroat trout, found only in parts of New Mexico and Colorado. This subspecies appears to be more vulnerable to drought than more northern subspecies, because it occupies small and fragmented streams which are at greater risk of drying up during drought. Most notably, in 2002 drought in the Southwest resulted in the loss of 14 different Rio Grande cutthroat trout populations – about 10% of the total population. While it is known that drought is having an effect on Rio Grande cutthroat trout, the specific ways in which individuals and populations are affected by drought...
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Drought poses a major threat to New Mexico’s state fish, the Rio Grande cutthroat trout. This southernmost subspecies of cutthroat trout, found only in New Mexico and Colorado, has already been restricted to an estimated 12% of its former range. Now climate change, in the form of lower winter snowpack and reduced precipitation, challenges its long-term persistence. This trout tends to occupy small and fragmented streams, which are at higher risk of drying up during drought events. Yet, the full extent of drought impacts to Rio Grande cutthroat trout is unknown. To address this knowledge gap, researchers examined the effects of drought - in particular stream intermittency - on the growth and survival of Rio Grande...
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Migratory birds may be hit especially hard by climate change – particularly waterbirds that depend on wetlands as resting and feeding sites during their journey between breeding and non-breeding grounds. California’s Central Valley and the interior basins of southeastern Oregon and northeastern California provide some of the most critical wetlands resources to migratory waterbirds in the western U.S. However, these wetlands rely heavily on snow pack and precipitation for water supply, both of which have already decreased due to climate change. Of further concern is the fact that drought conditions resulting from climate change could exacerbate existing water allocation issues in the region. Researchers are examining...
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In the Northeastern U.S., climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme precipitation events. However, less rain is predicted to fall in between these extreme events and air temperatures are also expected to rise. This combination of conditions will likely expose the Northeast to both floods and droughts that will have significant ecological, social, and economic implications for the region. Infrastructure damage from extreme storm events, increased competition for water supplies during droughts, and the potential loss of wildlife and habitats are some of the various challenges facing resource managers and decision makers. Management actions that mitigate the damage from extreme floods and droughts...
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These data were compiled to identify potential contributions of drought and inundation tolerance to vegetation composition along the Colorado River. Objective(s) of our study were to quantify physiological and growth responses of different plant species to drought and inundation. These data represent measurements taken on container plants in a greenhouse, and hydrological niche values based on field monitoring data that are published elsewhere. These data were collected in summer of 2022 at the Northern Arizona University Research Greenhouse Complex. These data were collected by Northern Arizona University and U.S. Geological Survey scientists in a greenhouse and laboratory setting. These data can be used to assess...
Categories: Data; Tags: Arizona, Botany, Colorado River, Ecology, Flagstaff, All tags...
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This dataset adds attributes describing the self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) during the observation year of wet/dry streamflow observations collected in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Streamflow observation locations are linked to the nearest National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution (NHD-HR) stream segment to obtain stream order and stream permanence (perennial/non-perennial) from NHD-HR. Additionally, the PDSI and precipitation percentile for 7.5 minute quadrangle map extents, within the extent of the conterminous United States (https://carto.nationalmap.gov/arcgis/rest/services/map_indices/MapServer), during the map survey year are presented. NHD perennial/non-perennial classifications derive...
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This research provides insight on Native Hawaiian relationships to drought historically as well as current practices within community-based management. Of importance are historical records of drought spanning short term in one section of an island to three generations across multiple islands. This dataset represents a survey of the Ulukau, Papakilo Database, and Kuluwaimaka Collection from the Bishop Museum for drought related environmental changes and natural climate indicators, traditional responses to related disasters. First, a review of Hawaiian proverbs (‘ōlelo no‘eau) related to drought and elements impacted by drought (e.g., plants, food resource, death, famine) identify perspectives that reflect household...
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This data release documents time-series analyses of aqueous-chemistry data from public-supply wells (PSWs) and associated potential explanatory factors to characterize responses of groundwater quality to drought and recovery periods in California’s San Joaquin Valley (SJV) during 2000-2022. Annual median nitrate values were computed for PSWs throughout the SJV during the period of study. Median annual nitrate values were calculated at all PSWs with available data in the SJV, resulting in a total of 698 PSWs with complete annual records after single-year linear gap imputation. A total of 237 of these records were classified as “low variance” because they contained proportions of identical values exceeding 80 percent...
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Water in the western United States is disappearing, and several states are facing severe water shortages as drought conditions worsen. Many streams are drying up, and there is growing concern that this trend will only continue as climate change produces warmer and drier conditions. The loss of stream ecosystems has far reaching ecological, social, and economic implications. Species that depend on these ecosystems for habitat will be at greater risk of extinction and humans will lose vital sources of water relied upon for agriculture, drinking water, and recreation. This project aimed to identify how water availability is changing in the West, focusing specifically on when and where streams go dry. Researchers...
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This dataset consists of daily streamflow percentiles for 1981-10-01 to 2020-03-31 relevant to streamflow drought defined using two approaches: Percentiles accounting for flow seasonality (variable threshold percentiles) and those based on the full record of data for each site regardless of season (fixed threshold percentiles). Because of the size of this dataset (99,530,836 rows), it could not be provided as a .csv file, and is instead provided as a .parquet file. Instructions on reading this file using the R programming language are provided in the Processing Step section of this metadata. The daily streamflow percentiles were estimated for ungaged areas of the Colorado River Basin (CRB) using neural network models,...
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Extreme events not only affect people but can have detrimental impacts on natural resources, such as fish and freshwater habitats. Impacts of extreme events, like hurricanes, tornadoes, and extreme flooding, have immediate consequences, but also have the ability to alter habitats and animals far in the future by providing opportunities for exotic species to colonize new areas. Some fish communities in streams, rivers, and lakes may have the natural ability to resist the long-term impacts of extreme weather events. In this project, researchers will investigate the ability of Caribbean fish assemblages in Puerto Rico, which have both economic and cultural importance, to resist the impacts of extreme weather events....
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Quaking aspen populations are declining in much of the West due to altered fire regimes, competition with conifers, herbivory, drought, disease, and insect outbreaks. Aspen stands typically support higher bird biodiversity and abundance than surrounding habitat types, and maintaining current distribution and abundance of several bird species in the northern Great Basin is likely tied to the persistence of aspen in the landscape. This project examined the effects of climate change on aspen and associated bird communities by coupling empirical models of avian-habitat relationships with landscape simulations of vegetation community and disturbance dynamics under various climate change scenarios. Field data on avian...
map background search result map search result map Quantifying Vulnerability of Quaking Aspen Woodlands and Associated Bird Communities to Global Climate Change in the Northern Great Basin The Impacts of Drought on Fish and Wildlife in the Southwestern U.S. The Effects of Drought on Desert Bighorn Sheep The Effects of Drought on Southwestern Pronghorns The Effects of Drought on Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout: The Role of Stream Intermittency The Effects of Drought on Vegetation Phenology and Wildlife Informing and Evaluating Forest Management Strategies to Promote Drought Resistance Assessing the Impacts of Drought on Migratory Waterbirds in Key Conservation Regions of the Western U.S. River’s End: Mapping Patterns of Stream Drying in the Western United States Assessing the Vulnerability of Dryland Ecosystems to Drought in the Western U.S. The Effects of Drought on Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout: The Role of Stream Flow and Temperature Understanding the Ecological Impacts of Drought Across the U.S.: Regional Workshops and National Synthesis Ecological Drought: Assessing Vulnerability and Developing Solutions for People and Nature Slowing the Flow for Climate Resilience: Reducing Vulnerability to Extreme Flood and Drought Events Impacts of Global Change on Biotic Resistance, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services in Caribbean Fish Assemblages, Fisheries, and Aquatic Ecosystems Drought conditions during NHD topographic surveys and other streamflow observations in the Pacific Northwest, USA Experimental inundation and drought response data for twelve riparian plants occurring along a local hydrologic gradient in the Colorado River ecosystem Preliminary streamflow percentile predictions for ungaged areas of the Colorado River Basin, 1981-2020 Synthesis of Data Inputs from the Bishop Museum Collections on Drought Related Environmental Changes and Natural Climate Indicators from Traditional Responses Groundwater-Quality Time-Series Analyses and Potential Explanatory Factors of Drought-Response Patterns at Public-Supply Wells, San Joaquin Valley, California, 2000-2022 Experimental inundation and drought response data for twelve riparian plants occurring along a local hydrologic gradient in the Colorado River ecosystem The Effects of Drought on Desert Bighorn Sheep Impacts of Global Change on Biotic Resistance, Resilience, and Ecosystem Services in Caribbean Fish Assemblages, Fisheries, and Aquatic Ecosystems The Effects of Drought on Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout: The Role of Stream Flow and Temperature The Effects of Drought on Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout: The Role of Stream Intermittency Quantifying Vulnerability of Quaking Aspen Woodlands and Associated Bird Communities to Global Climate Change in the Northern Great Basin Groundwater-Quality Time-Series Analyses and Potential Explanatory Factors of Drought-Response Patterns at Public-Supply Wells, San Joaquin Valley, California, 2000-2022 The Effects of Drought on Vegetation Phenology and Wildlife Synthesis of Data Inputs from the Bishop Museum Collections on Drought Related Environmental Changes and Natural Climate Indicators from Traditional Responses Assessing the Impacts of Drought on Migratory Waterbirds in Key Conservation Regions of the Western U.S. Slowing the Flow for Climate Resilience: Reducing Vulnerability to Extreme Flood and Drought Events Preliminary streamflow percentile predictions for ungaged areas of the Colorado River Basin, 1981-2020 Assessing the Vulnerability of Dryland Ecosystems to Drought in the Western U.S. The Impacts of Drought on Fish and Wildlife in the Southwestern U.S. The Effects of Drought on Southwestern Pronghorns Informing and Evaluating Forest Management Strategies to Promote Drought Resistance Drought conditions during NHD topographic surveys and other streamflow observations in the Pacific Northwest, USA Ecological Drought: Assessing Vulnerability and Developing Solutions for People and Nature Understanding the Ecological Impacts of Drought Across the U.S.: Regional Workshops and National Synthesis