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Publications

Filter Total Items: 1990

Conservation research across scales in a national program: How to be relevant to local management yet general at the same time

Successfully addressing complex conservation problems requires attention to pattern and process at multiple spatial scales. This is challenging from a logistical and organizational perspective. In response to indications of worldwide declines in amphibian populations, the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) of the United States Geological Survey was established in 2000. This nation
Authors
Michael J. Adams, Erin L. Muths

Songbird feathers as indicators of mercury exposure: High variability and low predictive power suggest limitations

Although feathers are commonly used to monitor mercury (Hg) in avian populations, their reliability as a sampling matrix has not been thoroughly assessed for many avian species, including most songbirds (Order Passeriformes). To better understand relationships between total Hg (THg) concentrations in feathers and other tissues for birds in the thrush and sparrow families, we (1) examined variation
Authors
Katherine E. Low, Danielle K. Ramsden, Allyson K. Jackson, Colleen Emery, W. Douglas Robinson, Jim Randolph, Collin A. Eagles-Smith

Effects of climate change on habitat and connectivity for populations of a vulnerable, endemic salamander in Iran

Habitat loss and fragmentation are among the biggest threats to amphibian populations and anthropogenic climate change may exacerbate these. The response of Iran's amphibians to climate change is uncertain and yet making an accurate prediction of how the species will respond is critical for conservation. We assessed how expected future climate scenarios before the years 2050 and 2070 might influen
Authors
Mohammad Reza Ashrafzadeh, Ali Asghar Naghipour, Maryam Haidarian, Szilvia Kusza, David S. Pilliod

The ecological uncertainty of wildfire fuel breaks: Examples from the sagebrush steppe

Fuel breaks are increasingly being implemented at broad scales (100s to 10,000s of square kilometers) in fire‐prone landscapes globally, yet there is little scientific information available regarding their ecological effects (eg habitat fragmentation). Fuel breaks are designed to reduce flammable vegetation (ie fuels), increase the safety and effectiveness of fire‐suppression operations, and ultim
Authors
Douglas J. Shinneman, Matthew J. Germino, David S. Pilliod, Cameron L. Aldridge, Nicole Vaillant, Peter S. Coates

Spatial variation in aquatic invertebrate and riparian songbird mercury exposure across a river-reservoir system with a legacy of mercury contamination

Mercury (Hg) loading and methylation in aquatic systems causes a variety of deleterious effects for fish and wildlife populations. Relatively little research has focused on Hg movement into riparian food webs and how this is modulated by habitat characteristics. This study characterized differences in Hg exposure in aquatic invertebrates and riparian songbirds across a large portion of the Willame
Authors
Allyson K. Jackson, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Colleen Emery

An experimental test of weed-suppressive bacteria effectiveness in rangelands in southwestern Idaho, 2016–18

Approaches and techniques for control of exotic annual grasses are a high priority in sagebrush-steppe and other rangelands. Strains of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf) have been proposed to be selectively pathogenic to multiple species of exotic annual grasses with effects evident by the second year, and with no effect on native or desirable species including native bunchgrasses. H
Authors
Brynne E. Lazarus, Matthew J. Germino

Integration and tradeoffs

Managing for sagebrush ecosystems that are resilient to disturbance and resistant to invasive plants often requires managers to make tough decisions in the face of considerable complexity and uncertainty. The deci¬sion making environment is often characterized by multiple management objectives, limited manage¬ment authorities and capabilities, dynamic ecosystems and plant communities, and uncertai
Authors
Michele R. Crist, Karen Prentice, Jeanne C. Chambers, Sue Phillips, Lief A. Wiechman

Movements of immature bald eagles: Implications for bird aircraft strike hazard

Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) aircraft strikes have increased dramatically over the last 20 years as their populations have recovered to near historic sizes. Their attraction to airfields and their large body size makes them a danger to aircraft and therefore important to airfield wildlife managers. However, their management is complicated by their special protected status and the iconic p
Authors
Tricia A. Miller, Jeff L Cooper, Adam E. Duerr, Melissa A. Braham, James T. Anderson, Todd E. Katzner

Changing climates and challenges to Charadrius plover success throughout the annual cycle

The Arctic tundra, as well as coastal and inland mudflats and beaches occupied by the 63 Charadrius plover species and subspecies around the world encompass some of the habitats most threatened by current climatic challenges. The migratory habits of most plover species further intensifies these effects as the birds occupy more than one major biome during the annual cycle. And yet there have only
Authors
Susan M. Haig

Future challenges for Charadruis Plovers

No abstract available.
Authors
Susan M. Haig, Mark A Colwell

Adaptive Management and Monitoring

This is a chapter in a technical report that is the second of two works describing longer-term actions to implement policies and strategies for preventing and suppressing rangeland fire and restoring rangeland landscapes affected by fire in the Western United States. The first part, Chambers et al 2017, "Science Framework for conservation and restoration of the sagebrush biome: Linking the Depar
Authors
Lief A. Wiechman, David A. Pyke, Michele R. Crist, Seth Munson, Matthew Brooks, Jeanne C. Chambers, Mary M. Rowland, Emily J Kachergis, Zoe Davidson

Mechanisms of a coniferous refugium persistence under drought and heat

Predictions of warmer droughts causing increasing forest mortality are becoming abundant, yet few studies have investigated the mechanisms of forest persistence. To examine the resistance of forests to warmer droughts, we used a five-year precipitation reduction (~45% removal), heat (+4 °C above ambient) and combined drought and heat experiment in an isolated stand of mature Pinus edulis-Juniperus
Authors
Nate G. McDowell, Charlotte Grossiord, Henry D. Adams, Sara Pinzón-Navarro, D. Scott MacKay, Dave Breshears, Craig D. Allen, Isaac Borrego, L. Turin Dickman, Adam D. Collins