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Filter Total Items: 171122

The blue carbon reservoirs from Maine to Long Island, NY

In response to the New England Governor and Eastern Canadian Premier 2017 Climate Change Action Plan recommendation to “manage blue carbon resources to preserve and enhance their existing carbon reservoirs,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) convened a New England Blue Carbon Inventory Workgroup, comprised of a variety of federal, state, academic, and non-profit organizations to devel
Authors
Philip D. Colarusso, Zamir Libohova, Emily Shumchenia, Meagan J. Eagle, Megan Christian, Robert Vincent, Beverly Johnson

Evolutionary fire ecology: An historical account and future directions

The idea that fire acts as an evolutionary force contributing to shaping species traits started a century ago, but had not been widely recognized until very recently. Among the first to realize this force were Edward B. Poulton, R. Dale Guthrie, and Edwin V. Komarek in animals and Willis L. Jepson, Walter W. Hough, Tom M. Harris, Philip V. Wells, and Robert W. Mutch in plants. They were all ahead
Authors
Juli G. Pausas, Jon Keeley

Fuel treatments in shrublands experiencing pinyon and juniper expansion result in trade-offs between desired vegetation and increased fire behavior

BackgroundNative pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) trees are expanding into shrubland communities across the Western United States. These trees often outcompete with native sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) associated species, resulting in increased canopy fuels and reduced surface fuels. Woodland expansion often results in longer fire return intervals with potential for high severity crow
Authors
Claire L. Williams, Lisa M. Ellsworth, Eva Strand, Matt C. Reeves, Scott Shaff, Karen Short, Jeanne C. Chambers, Beth Newingham, Claire Tortorelli

Salinization and sedimentation drive contrasting assembly mechanisms of planktonic and sediment-bound bacterial communities in agricultural streams

Agriculture is the most dominant land use globally and is projected to increase in the future to support a growing human population but also threatens ecosystem structure and services. Bacteria mediate numerous biogeochemical pathways within ecosystems. Therefore, identifying linkages between stressors associated with agricultural land use and responses of bacterial diversity is an important step
Authors
Stephen E. DeVilbiss, Jason J. Taylor, Matthew B. Hicks

Variation in flight characteristics associated with entry by eagles into rotor-swept zones of wind turbines

Automated curtailment of wind turbines can reduce fatality rates of wildlife, but the resulting increased number of curtailments can reduce power generation. Tailoring curtailment criteria for each individual turbine could reduce unnecessary curtailment, yet it is unknown whether the risk to wildlife varies among turbines. We demonstrate turbine-specific variation in the speed, altitude, approach
Authors
Brian W. Rolek, Melissa A. Braham, Tricia A. Miller, Adam E. Duerr, Todd E. Katzner, Christopher J W McClure

Why are larger fish farther upstream? Testing multiple hypotheses using Silver Chub in two Midwestern United States riverscapes

ObjectiveThree competing hypotheses might explain the widely documented intrapopulation larger-fish-upstream phenomenon. The age-phased recruitment hypothesis posits that fish spawn downstream and move upstream as they age and grow, the static population with growth and mortality gradients hypothesis posits that fish spawn throughout a riverscape and growth is greater upstream while recruitment is
Authors
Joshuah S. Perkin, Patrick M. Kočovský, Zachary D Steffensmeier, Keith B. Gido

A spatially explicit modeling framework to guide management of subsidized avian predator densities

Anthropogenic resource subsidization across western ecosystems has contributed to widespread increases in generalist avian predators, including common ravens (Corvus corax; hereafter, raven). Ravens are adept nest predators and can negatively impact species of conservation concern. Predation effects from ravens are especially concerning for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter
Authors
Shawn T. O'Neil, Peter S. Coates, Sarah C. Webster, Brianne E. Brussee, Seth J. Dettenmaier, John C. Tull, Pat J. Jackson, Michael L. Casazza, Shawn P. Espinosa

Spatial and temporal overlap between hatchery- and natural-origin steelhead and Chinook salmon during spawning in the Klickitat River, Washington, USA

A goal of many segregated salmonid hatchery programs is to minimize potential interbreeding between hatchery- and natural-origin fish. To assess this on the Klickitat River, Washington, USA, we used radiotelemetry during 2009–2014 to evaluate spatiotemporal spawning overlap between hatchery-origin and natural-origin steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss and spring Chinook Salmon O. tshawytscha. We estimat
Authors
Joseph S. Zendt, Brady Allen, Tobias Kock, Russell Perry, Adam Pope

Validity of the Landsat surface reflectance archive for aquatic science: Implications for cloud-based analysis

Originally developed for terrestrial science and applications, the US Geological Survey Landsat surface reflectance (SR) archive spanning ~ 40 yr of observations has been increasingly utilized in large-scale water-quality studies. These products, however, have not been rigorously validated using in situ measured reflectance. This letter quantifies and demonstrates the quality of the SR products by
Authors
Daniel Andrade Maciel, Nima Pahlevan, Claudio Clemente Faria Barbosa, Evlyn Márcia Leão de Moraes de Novo, Rejane Souza Paulino, Vitor Souza Martins, Eric Vermote, Christopher J. Crawford

Merging machine learning and geostatistical approaches for spatial modeling of geoenergy resources

Geostatistics is the most commonly used probabilistic approach for modeling earth systems, including quality parameters of various geoenergy resources. In geostatistics, estimates, either on a point or block support, are generated as a spatially-weighted average of surrounding samples. The optimal weights are determined through the stationary variogram model which accounts for the spatial structur
Authors
Gamze Erdogan Erten, Oktay Erten, C. Özgen Karacan, Jeff Boisvert, Clayton V. Deutsch

A brave new world: Managing for biodiversity conservation under ecosystem transformation

Traditional conservation practices have primarily relied on maintaining biodiversity by preserving species and habitats in place. Many regions are experiencing unprecedented environmental conditions, shifts in species distribution and habitats, and high turnover in species composition, resulting in ecological transformation. Natural resource managers have lacked tools for identifying and selecting
Authors
Jennifer L. Wilkening, Dawn Robin Magness, Laura Thompson, Abigail Lynch

Analysis of high-resolution single channel seismic data for use in sediment resource evaluation, eastern Texas and western Louisiana Continental Shelf, Gulf of Mexico

Shallow subsurface geologic data recorded as high-resolution seismic profiles are used to interpret the geology of coastal and marine systems. These data were originally recorded on paper rolls that are stored in geophysical archives. Data collection has since converted to entirely digital formats, yet the analog data are still useful for geologic interpretation. This report describes the process
Authors
James G. Flocks, Arnell S. Forde, Stephen T. Bosse