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The enigmatic Rattlesnake Knoll, Spring Valley, east-central Nevada—A geophysical perspective

Rattlesnake Knoll is a small, 30-meter-high mound of igneous breccia in the center of Spring Valley, east-central Nevada. In the past, researchers have disagreed as to whether the unusual-looking outcrop is intrusive or volcanic. The breccia possesses a normal magnetic polarity, but this is not apparent in aeromagnetic survey data. These data instead show that the knoll lies within a small aeromag
Authors
Edward A. Mankinen, Peter D. Rowley, Edwin H. McKee

Geomorphic classification framework for assessing reproductive ecology of Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon), Fort Peck segment, Upper Missouri River, Montana and North Dakota

The segment of the Upper Missouri River between Fort Peck Dam and the headwaters of Lake Sakakawea is home to a population of the endangered Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon). Lack of population growth (recruitment failure) has been attributed to inadequate dispersal distance of larvae between spawning locations and the headwaters of Lake Sakakawea, where conventional wisdom holds that anoxic
Authors
Robert B. Jacobson, Caroline M. Elliott, Edward Bulliner

Application of the Stream Salmonid Simulator (S3) model to assess fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) production in the American River, California

Executive SummaryAnadromous fish returning to the lower American River are restricted to 36 kilometers of free-flowing river between Nimbus Dam and American River’s confluence with the Sacramento River, California. Salmon in the American River provide an important freshwater recreational fishery. However, annual salmon production in the American River in recent years has been low relative to the m
Authors
John M. Plumb, Russell W. Perry, Tyson W. Hatton, Collin D. Smith, John M. Hannon

Toward invasive mussel genetic biocontrol: Approaches, challenges, and perspectives

Invasive freshwater mussels, such as the zebra (Dreissena polymorpha), quagga (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis), and golden (Limnoperna fortunei) mussel have spread outside their native ranges throughout many regions of the North American, South American, and European continents in recent decades, damaging infrastructure and the environment. This review describes ongoing efforts by multiple groups
Authors
Victor H. Hernandez Elizarraga, Scott Ballantyne, Lindsey Gengelbach, Juliana A. Americo, Steven T. Suhr, Marie-Claude Senut, Ben Minerich, Christopher M. Merkes, Thea Margaret Edwards, Katy E. Klymus, Cathy A. Richter, Diane L. Waller, Yale J. Passamaneck, Mauro de F. Rebelo, Daryl M. Gohl

Using explainable machine learning methods to evaluate vulnerability and restoration potential of ecosystem state transitions

Ecosystem state transitions can be ecologically devastating or be a restoration success. State transitions are common within aquatic systems worldwide, especially considering human-mediated changes to land use and water use. We created a transferable conceptual framework to enable multiscale assessments of state resilience and early warnings of state transitions that can inform strategic restorati
Authors
John T. Delaney, Danelle M. Larson

Bioavailability and toxicity models of copper to freshwater life: The state of regulatory science

Efforts to incorporate bioavailability adjustments into regulatory water quality criteria in the United States have included four major procedures: hardness-based single-linear regression equations, water-effect ratios (WERs), biotic ligand models (BLMs), and multiple-linear regression models (MLRs) that use dissolved organic carbon, hardness, and pH. The performance of each with copper (Cu) is ev
Authors
Christopher A. Mebane

Recent, widespread nitrate decreases may be linked to persistent dissolved organic carbon increases in headwater streams recovering from past acidic deposition

Long-term monitoring of water quality responses to natural and anthropogenic perturbation of watersheds informs policies for managing natural resources. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrate (NO3−) in streams draining forested landscapes provide valuable information on ecosystem function due to their biogeochemical reactivity and solubility in water. Here we evaluate a 20-year record (2001−20
Authors
Kevin Alexander Ryan, Gregory B. Lawrence

Leveraging the strengths of citizen science and structured surveys to achieve scalable inference on population size

Population size is a key metric for management and policy decisions, yet wildlife monitoring programmes are often limited by the spatial and temporal scope of surveys. In these cases, citizen science data may provide complementary information at higher resolution and greater extent.We present a case study demonstrating how data from the eBird citizen science programme can be combined with regional
Authors
Andrew N. Stillman, Paige E. Howell, Guthrie S. Zimmerman, Emily R. Bjerre, Brian A. Millsap, Orin J. Robinson, Daniel Fink, Erica Francis Stuber, Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez

LANDFIRE

Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE) is a key national geospatial data source for strategic fire and resource management planning and analysis. LANDFIRE is the first complete, nationally consistent collection of more than 25 geospatial layers, databases, and ecological models at a 30-meter resolution that describe disturbance, vegetation, fire, and fuel characteristics.
Authors
Jennifer L. Long, Timothy D. Hatten

The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting Idaho’s economy

IntroductionDue to Idaho’s inland location approximately 350 miles from the Pacific Ocean and its 80 recognized mountain ranges, the State’s climate varies widely, with maritime influence in the northern and western parts of Idaho and continental influence on the eastern side. The weather in the abundant mountains is unpredictable and often associated with natural hazards such as severe thunder an
Authors
Tom Carlson

Assay validation of saliva glucocorticoids in Columbia spotted frogs and effects of handling and marking

Non-invasive methods are important to the field of conservation physiology to reduce negative effects on organisms being studied. Glucocorticoid (GC) hormones are often used to assess health of individuals, but collection methods can be invasive. Many amphibians are imperiled worldwide, and saliva is a non- or semi-invasive matrix to measure GCs that has been partially validated for only four amph
Authors
Brian J. Tornabene, Blake R. Hossack, Creagh W. Breuner

Combining resilience and resistance with threat-based approaches for prioritizing management actions in sagebrush ecosystems

The sagebrush biome is a dryland region in the western United States experiencing rapid transformations to novel ecological states. Threat-based approaches for managing anthropogenic and ecosystem threats have recently become prominent, but successfully mitigating threats depends on the ecological resilience of ecosystems. We used a spatially explicit approach for prioritizing management actions t
Authors
Jeanne C. Chambers, Jessi L. Brown, John B. Bradford, Kevin Doherty, Michele R. Crist, Daniel Rodolphe Schlaepfer, Alexandra K. Urza, Karen Short