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Integrating genetic and demographic data to refine indices of abundance for Atlantic sturgeon in the Hudson River, New York
Critical to Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus recovery and monitoring is the ability to estimate abundance and identify age- and stock-specific threats to survival. As adult Atlantic sturgeon spend much of their lives broadly distributed in marine and estuarine environments, it is challenging to collect data needed to estimate these demographic parameters in the adult population. A
Authors
Shannon L. White, Richard M. Pendleton, Amanda Higgs, Barbara A. Lubinski, Robin L. Johnson, David C. Kazyak
Lava flow impacts on the built environment: Insights from a new global dataset
The recent destruction of thousands of homes by lava flows from La Palma volcano, Canary Islands, and Nyiragongo volcano, Democratic Republic of Congo, serves as a reminder of the devastating impact that lava flows can have on communities living in volcanically active regions. Damage to buildings and infrastructure can have widespread and long-lasting effects on rehabilitation and livelihoods. Our
Authors
Elinor S. Meredith, Susanna F. Jenkins, Josh L. Hayes, David Lallemand, Natalia Irma Deligne, Natalie Teng Rui Xue
Videographic monitoring at caves to estimate population size of the endangered yǻyaguak (Mariana swiftlet) on Guam
The yǻyaguak (Mariana swiftlet; Aerodramus bartschi) is an endangered cave-nesting species historically found on Guam and the southern Mariana Islands, Micronesia. The population on Guam has been severely affected by the introduction of the brown treesnake Boiga irregularis. Population status assessments have, however, been challenging due to the limitations of traditional counting methods, which
Authors
P. Marcos Gorresen, Paul M. Cryan, Megan Parker, Frank Alig, Melia Gail Nafus, Eben H. Paxton
Monitoring of wave, current, and sediment dynamics along the Fog Point Living Shoreline, Glenn Martin National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland
Living shorelines with salt marsh species, rock breakwaters, and sand nourishment were built along the coastal areas in the Glenn Martin National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland, in 2016 in response to Hurricane Sandy (2012). The Fog Point living shoreline at Glenn Martin National Wildlife Refuge was designed with the “headland - breakwater - embayment” pattern. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Surve
Authors
H. Wang, Q. Chen, W.D. Capurso, N. Wang, L.M. Niemoczynski, M. Whitbeck, L. Zhu, G.A. Snedden, C.A. Wilson, M.S. Brownley
Deformation-induced graphitization and muscovite recrystallization in a ductile fault zone
A suite of slate samples collected along a 2 km transect crossing the Lishan fault in central Taiwan were evaluated to assess the role of ductile deformation in natural graphitization at lower greenschist facies metamorphic conditions. The process of natural aromatization, or graphitization, of an organic precursor is well established as a thermally driven process; however, experimental studies ha
Authors
Martha (Rebecca) Stokes, Aaron M. Jubb, Ryan J. McAleer, David Bish, Robert Wintsch
A systematic review of the effects of climate variability and change on black and brown bear ecology and interactions with humans
Climate change poses a pervasive threat to humans and wildlife by altering resource availability, changing co-occurrences, and directly or indirectly influencing human-wildlife interactions. For many wildlife agencies in North America, managing bears (Ursus spp.) and human-bear interactions is a priority, yet the direct and indirect effects of climate change are exacerbating management challenges.
Authors
Katherine Anne Kurth, Kate Malpeli, Joseph D. Clark, Heather E. Johnson, Frank T. van Manen
Identifying conservation introduction sites for endangered birds through the integration of lidar-based habitat suitability models and population viability analyses
Similar to other single-island endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers, the critically endangered ‘ākohekohe (Palmeria dolei) is threatened by climate-driven disease spread. To avert the imminent risk of extinction, managers are considering novel measures, including the conservation introduction (CI) of ‘ākohekohe from Maui to higher elevation habitats on the Island of Hawai’i. This study integrated lidar-
Authors
Lucas Fortini, Erica Gallerani, Christopher C Warren, Eben H. Paxton
Polar bear energetic and behavioral strategies on land with implications for surviving the ice-free period
Declining Arctic sea ice is increasing polar bear land use. Polar bears on land are thought to minimize activity to conserve energy. Here, we measure the daily energy expenditure (DEE), diet, behavior, movement, and body composition changes of 20 different polar bears on land over 19–23 days from August to September (2019–2022) in Manitoba, Canada. Polar bears on land exhibited a 5.2-fold range in
Authors
Anthony M. Pagano, Karyn D. Rode, Nicholas J. Lunn, David McGeachy, Stephen N. Atkinson, Sean D. Farley, Joy A. Erlenbach, Charles T. Robbins
Travertine records climate-induced transformations of the Yellowstone hydrothermal system from the late Pleistocene to the present
Chemical changes in hot springs, as recorded by thermal waters and their deposits, provide a window into the evolution of the postglacial hydrothermal system of the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field. Today, most hydrothermal travertine forms to the north and south of the ca. 631 ka Yellowstone caldera where groundwater flow through subsurface sedimentary rocks leads to calcite saturation at hot s
Authors
Lauren N. Harrison, Shaul Hurwitz, James B. Paces, Cathy Whitlock, Sara Peek, Joseph Licciardi
Environmental variation structures reproduction and recruitment in long-lived mega-herbivores: Galapagos giant tortoises
Migratory, long-lived animals are an important focus for life-history theory because they manifest extreme trade-offs in life-history traits: delayed maturity, low fecundity, variable recruitment rates, long generation times, and vital rates that respond to variation across environments. Galapagos tortoises are an iconic example: they are long-lived, migrate seasonally, face multiple anthropogenic
Authors
Stephen Blake, Fredy Cabrera, Sebastian Cruz, Diego Ellis-Soto, Charles Yackulic, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Martin Wikelski, Franz Kuemmeth, James P. Gibbs, Sharon L. Deem
Thermal traits of anurans database for the southeastern United States (TRAD): A database of thermal trait values for 40 anuran species
Thermal traits, or how an animal responds to changing temperatures, impacts species persistence and thus biodiversity. Trait databases, as repositories of consolidated, measured organismal attributes, allow researchers to link study species with specific trait values, enabling comparisons within and among species. Trait databases also help lay the groundwork to build mechanistic linkages between o
Authors
Traci P. DuBose, Victorjose Catalan, Chloe E. Moore, Vincent R. Farallo, Abigail Benson, Jessica Dade, William A. Hopkins, Meryl C. Mims
Water-level and recoverable water in storage changes, High Plains Aquifer, predevelopment to 2019 and 2017 to 2019
The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.8 million acres (about 175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Water-level declines began in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the beginning of substantial groundwater irrigation (about 1950). This report presents water-level changes and change in recoverable
Authors
Virginia L. McGuire, Kellan R. Strauch