Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

A Framework For Tracing Social–Ecological Trajectories And Traps In Intensive Agricultural Landscapes, Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Francisco Munoz-Arriola, Gengxin Ou, Nancy Shank

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Charting trajectories toward sustainable agricultural development is an important goal at the food–energy–water–ecosystem services (FEWES) nexus of agricultural landscapes. Social–ecological adaptation and transformation are two broad strategies for adjusting and resetting the trajectories of productive FEWES nexuses toward sustainable futures. In some cases, financial incentives, technological innovations, and/or subsidies associated with the short-term optimization of a small number of resources create and strengthen unsustainable feedbacks between social and ecological entities at the FEWES nexus. These feedbacks form the basis of rigidity traps, which impede adaptation and transformation by locking FEWES nexuses into unsustainable trajectories characterized by control, stability, and efficiency, …

Protected Areas As Social-Ecological Systems: Perspectives From Resilience And Social-Ecological Systems Theory, Graeme S. Cumming, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Conservation biology and applied ecology increasingly recognize that natural resource management is both an outcome and a driver of social, economic, and ecological dynamics. Protected areas offer a fundamental approach to conserving ecosystems, but they are also social-ecological systems whose ecological management and sustainability are heavily influenced by people. This editorial, and the papers in the invited feature that it introduces, discuss three emerging themes in social-ecological systems approaches to understanding protected areas: (1) the resilience and sustainability of protected areas, including analyses of their internal dynamics, their effectiveness, and the resilience of the landscapes within which they occur; (2) …

A Descriptive Analysis Of Regal Fritillary (Speyeria Idalia) Habitat Utilizing Biological Monitoring Data Along The Big Bend Of The Platte River, Ne, Andrew J. Caven, Kelsey C. King, Joshua D. Wiese, Emma M. Brinley Buckley

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Speyeria idalia populations have declined as much as 95 percent over the last three decades. Here we critically evaluate prairie habitat components along the Platte River in central Nebraska that S. idalia populations require in an effort to better inform conservation efforts. We utilized S. idalia count data from biological monitoring transects where vegetation, soils, land management, and flooding frequency data were also collected to describe the habitat constituents associated with S. idalia presence. We utilize comparative statistics, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and random forest analysis to model S. idalia habitat on land owned and managed by a small conservation NGO. …

Management Applications Of Discontinuity Theory, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Chris Barichievy, Tarsha Eason, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Nicholas A.J. Graham, Dean Granholm, Lance H. Gunderson, Melinda Knutson, Kristy L. Nash, R. John Nelson, Magnus Nystrom, Trisha L. Spanbauer, Craig A. Stow, Shana M. Sundstrom

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

1. Human impacts on the environment are multifaceted and can occur across distinct spatiotemporal scales. Ecological responses to environmental change are therefore difficult to predict, and entail large degrees of uncertainty. Such uncertainty requires robust tools for management to sustain ecosystem goods and services and maintain resilient ecosystems.

2. We propose an approach based on discontinuity theory that accounts for patterns and processes at distinct spatial and temporal scales, an inherent property of ecological systems. Discontinuity theory has not been applied in natural resource management and could therefore improve ecosystem management because it explicitly accounts for ecological complexity.

3. Synthesis …

Assessing And Managing Freshwater Ecosystems Vulnerable To Environmental Change, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Hannah E. Birgé, Stina Drakare, Brendan G. Mckie, Richard K. Johnson

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Freshwater ecosystems are important for global biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services. There is consensus in the scientific literature that freshwater ecosystems are vulnerable to the impacts of environmental change, which may trigger irreversible regime shifts upon which biodiversity and ecosystem services may be lost. There are profound uncertainties regarding the management and assessment of the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to environmental change. Quantitative approaches are needed to reduce this uncertainty. We describe available statistical and modeling approaches along with case studies that demonstrate how resilience theory can be applied to aid decision-making in natural resources management. We highlight especially …

Using Posts To An Online Social Network To Assess Fishing Effort, Dustin R. Martin, Christopher J. Chizinski, Kent M. Eskridge, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Fisheries management has evolved from reservoir to watershed management, creating a need to simultaneously gather information within and across interacting reservoirs. However, costs to gather information on the fishing effort on multiple reservoirs using traditional creel methodology are often prohibitive. Angler posts about reservoirs online provide a unique medium to test hypotheses on the distribution of fishing pressure. We show that the activity on an online fishing social network is related to fishing effort and can be used to facilitate management goals. We searched the Nebraska Fish and Game Association Fishing Forum for all references from April 2009 to December …

Slides: Climate Change And The Death Of Stationarity: A New Era For Western Water?, Stephen T. Gray

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Steven T. Gray, Wyoming State Climatologist, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY

48 slides

A Five-Year Management Strategy For Recreational Fishing In The Pilbara/Kimberley Region Of Western Australia. Final Report., Pilbara/Kimberley Recreational Fishing Working Group

Fisheries management papers

The discussion paper (Fisheries Management Paper No. 181 'A quality future for recreational fishing in the Pilbara/Kimberley Region) attracted widespread comment, with around 200 people attending public meetings in the region. In addition, 152 written submissions were received from recreational fishers, angling clubs, and other stakeholders. The Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee (RFAC) and the Pilbara/Kimberley Recreational Fishing Working Group would like to thank those people and organizations that took the time to provide this valuable feedback. All recommendations contained in this final report, along with the action that needs to be taken to protect the long-term sustainability of our fish …