Publications
Filter Total Items: 1994
Reservoir stratification modulates the influence of impoundments on fish mercury concentrations along an arid land river system
Impoundment is among the most common hydrologic alterations with impacts on aquatic ecosystems that can include effects on mercury (Hg) cycling. However, landscape-scale differences in Hg bioaccumulation between reservoirs and other habitats are not well characterized nor are the processes driving these differences. We examined total Hg (THg) concentrations of Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu
Authors
James Willacker, Collin Eagles-Smith, Jim Chandler, Jesse Naymik, Ralph Myers, David P. Krabbenhoft
Long-term biocrust responses to wildfires in Washington, USA
PremiseDryland ecosystems in the western United States are affected by invasive species, wildfires, livestock grazing, and climate change in ways that are difficult to distinguish. Biocrusts perform important ecological roles in these systems and are sensitive to all of these pressures.MethodsWe revisited a Washington, USA, site sampled for biocrusts in 1999 to focus on effects of exotic annual gr
Authors
Heather T. Root, Julian Chan, Jeanne M Ponzetti, David A. Pyke, Bruce McCune
Acclimation capacity of critical thermal maximum varies among populations: Consequences for estimates of vulnerability
Adaptive plasticity in thermal tolerance traits may buffer organisms against changing temperatures, making such responses of particular interest in the face of global climate change. Although population variation is integral to the evolvability of this trait, many studies inferring proxies of physiological vulnerability from thermal tolerance traits extrapolate data from one or a few populations t
Authors
Amanda S. Cicchino, Alisha A. Shah, Brenna R. Forester, Jason B. Dunham, N. LeRoy Poff, Cameron K. Ghalambor, W. Chris Funk
Broad-scale assessment of methylmercury in adult amphibians
Mercury (Hg) is a toxic contaminant that has been mobilized and distributed worldwide and is a threat to many wildlife species. Amphibians are facing unprecedented global declines due to many threats including contaminants. While the biphasic life history of many amphibians creates a potential nexus for methylmercury (MeHg) exposure in aquatic habitats and subsequent health effects, the broad-scal
Authors
Brian J. Tornabene, Blake R. Hossack, Brian J. Halstead, Collin Eagles-Smith, Michael J. Adams, Adam R. Backlin, Adrianne Brand, Colleen Emery, Robert N. Fisher, Jillian Elizabeth Fleming, Brad Glorioso, Daniel A. Grear, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Patrick M. Kleeman, David Miller, Erin L. Muths, Christopher Pearl, Jennifer Rowe, Caitlin Teresa Rumrill, J. Hardin Waddle, Megan Winzeler, Kelly L. Smalling
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Systematic process for determining field-sampling effort required to know vegetation changes in large, disturbed rangelands where management treatments have been applied
Adequate numbers of replicated, dispersed, and random samples are the basis for reliable sampling inference on resources of concern, particularly vegetation cover across large and heterogenous areas such as rangelands. Tools are needed to predict and assess data precision, specifically the sampling effort required to attain acceptable levels of precision, before and after sampling. We describe and
Authors
Cara Applestein, Matthew Germino
Biocrusts indicators of livestock grazing effects on soil stability in sagebrush steppe: A case study from a long-term experiment in the northern Great Basin
Biocrusts are sensitive to changes in livestock grazing intensity in arid rangelands and may be useful indicators of ecosystem functions, particularly soil properties like soil stability, which may suggest the potential for soil erosion. We compared biocrust community composition and surface soil stability in a big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) steppe rangeland in the northwestern Great Basin i
Authors
Stella M. Copeland, Lea A. Condon, Roger Rosentreter, Jesse E.D. Miller, Maya Kahn-Abrams
Population dynamics of the threatened Oregon spotted frog before and after drought mitigation
Amphibians are among the most sensitive taxa to climate change, and species inhabiting arid and semiarid landscapes at the extremes of their range are especially vulnerable to drought. The Jack Creek, Oregon, USA, population of Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) faces unique challenges because it occupies the highest elevation site in the species' extant range and one that has been transformed b
Authors
Jennifer Rowe, Christopher Pearl, Adam Duarte, Brome McCreary, Michael J. Adams
A nontarget, disturbance-resilient native species influences post-fire recovery and multiphasic herbicide-seeding outcomes in drylands threatened by exotic annual grasses
Native species that are abundant and persistent across disturbance-succession cycles can affect recovery and restoration of plant communities, especially in drylands. In the sagebrush-steppe deserts of North America, restoring deep-rooted perennial bunchgrasses (DRPBGs) is key to the strategy for breaking an increasingly problematic cycle of wildfire promoted by exotic annual grasses (EAGs) and di
Authors
Chad Raymond Kluender, Matthew Germino
Social and biological perspectives to investigate and address illegal shooting of raptors
Humans have shot raptors for centuries. However, in many countries these actions have been illegal since the mid-twentieth century. Despite this history, there is not a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of this activity, its frequency, and why it occurs. We used literature review and principles drawn from ecology, sociology, and criminology to understand this problem. First, we re
Authors
Eve C. Thomason, Kenneth Wallen, Todd E. Katzner
Leaf nitrogen affects photosynthesis and water use efficiency similarly in nitrogen-fixing and non-fixing trees
Nitrogen (N)-fixing trees are thought to break a basic rule of leaf economics: higher leaf N concentrations do not translate into higher rates of carbon assimilation. Understanding how leaf N affects photosynthesis and water use efficiency (WUE) in this ecologically important group is critical.We grew six N-fixing and four non-fixing tree species for 4–5 years at four fertilization treatments in f
Authors
Thomas A. Bytnerowicz, Jennifer L. Funk, Duncan N. L. Menge, Steven Perakis, Amelia A. Wolf