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Evaluating The Efficacy And Ecological Impacts Of Baer Slope Stabilization Treatments On The Pot Peak/Deep Harbor Wildfire Complex, David W. Peterson, Richy J. Harrod, Terry Lillybridge, Mel Bennett

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Post-fire slope stabilization treatments are often prescribed for severely burned areas of a wildfire, through burned area emergency response (BAER), to reduce erosion, maintain soil productivity, protect water quality, and reduce risks to human life and property. Prescribed slope stabilization treatments can include seeding of cereal grains or grasses, fertilization, mulching, and installation of physical barriers across slope contours (e.g., contour-felled logs and straw wattles). Seeding and fertilization treatments have been proposed following several high severity wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. These treatments are designed to reduce erosion by supplementing native vegetation recovery with additional populations of fast-growing species (seeding) …

Evaluation Of Science Delivery Of Joint Fire Science Program Research, David Seesholtz

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Since its inception in 1998, the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) has funded over 400 projects. The Joint Fire Science Program has long recognized that the investments made in wildland fire science need to be accompanied by an emphasis on science interpretation and delivery. Program success is ultimately measured by how well information from research efforts is being conveyed to resource managers and end users, and whether this information is improving management decisions. This study reviewed a sample of environmental documents from three JFSP sponsoring agencies to determine to what extent JFSP research is being incorporated into local planning efforts …

Successful Use Of Alarm And Alert Calls To Reduce Emerging Crop Damage By Resident Canada Geese Near Horicon Marsh, Wisconsin, Philip Whitford

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 11th (2009)

Increased populations of resident Canada geese create major crop loss problems for farmers, especially in areas that become traditional sites for brood-rearing. Such sites concentrate geese and goslings in locations where food is abundant and flightless adults and young find escape safety on adjacent lakes or rivers. Emerging corn, winter wheat, and soybeans are favorite foods, and these sustain extensive crop damage when near water and brood-rearing sites. From 16 May to 28 August 2007, alarm and alert call playbacks from GooseBuster call units were used with and without other scare reinforcement to assess efficacy of different methods at reducing …

The History Of The Unl Water Center From 1964, Water Center, School Of Natural Resources

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

Water is an integral part of Nebraska’s economy and well being in a state that depends on an adequate supply for all uses, including agricultural, municipal, industrial, recreational and wildlife habitat.

Nebraska is fortunate with regard to its water supply, having tremendous groundwater reserves which are estimated to be in excess of two billion acrefeet (an acre-foot being enough water to cover one acre of land with a foot of water, or approximately 325,000 gallons), combined with an estimated annual precipitation of 86 million acre-feet and annual average surface water inflows of 1.7 million acre-feet, give the state adequate supplies …

Population Abundance And Growth Rate Of Western Gray Whales Eschrichtius Robustus, Amanda L. Bradford, David W. Weller, Paul R. Wade, Alexander M. Burdin, Robert L. Brownell Jr.

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The western population of gray whales Eschrichtius robustus is one of the most endangered whale populations in the world. Recent studies of this population off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia, have produced a photographic dataset that was utilized for the first mark-recapture assessment of western gray whale abundance. Given encounter histories of 129 individually identified whales spanning 25 monthly capture occasions from 1997 to 2003, a closed capture estimator was employed to estimate the number of individuals using the study area in each year. Temporary emigration probabilities were then applied to the closed capture estimates to enumerate the …

Flower Power: Tree Flowering Phenology As A Settlement Cue For Migrating Birds, Laura J. Mcgrath, Charles Van Riper Iii, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

1.Neotropical migrant birds show a clear preference for stopover habitats with ample food supplies; yet, the proximate cues underlying these decisions remain unclear. 2.For insectivorous migrants, cues associated with vegetative phenology (e.g. flowering, leaf flush, and leaf loss) may reliably predict the availability of herbivorous arthropods. Here we examined whether migrants use the phenology of five tree species to choose stopover locations, and whether phenology accurately predicts food availability. 3.Using a combination of experimental and observational evidence, we show migrant populations closely track tree phenology, particularly the flowering phenology of honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), and preferentially forage in …

Lure-Size Restrictions In Recreational Fisheries, Gene R. Wilde, Kevin L. Pope, Bart W. Durham

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We conducted angling experiments to examine the potential use of lure-size restrictions to effect or reinforce length limits. We used four sizes of lures and five color patterns to assess effects of lure size and color on the number and length of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) captured by angling. There was a significant (F = 12.03; df = 1, 177; P = 0.0007) lure-size effect on the total length (TL) of captured largemouth bass. Catch rates of fish ≥305-mm TL ranged from 0 to 0.5 fish per hour and were unrelated to lure size. Lure color pattern had …

Design And Field Methods For Sighting Surveys Of Cetaceans In Coastal And Riverine Habitats, Steve Dawson, Paul Wade, Elisabeth Slooten, Jay Barlow

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

1. Dolphins and porpoises in coastal and/or riverine habitats face serious conservation threats, yet surveys of their abundance are often especially difficult due to the challenges imposed by the habitats. Because many of these species occur in developing countries, lack of resources imposes a further set of challenges.

2. We offer advice on designing and conducting line-transect surveys with a focus on sound, practical, design rather than analytical sophistication, and we attempt, where possible, to offer simple, inexpensive solutions.

3. We guide the reader through the questions of what kind of survey should be done, whether by boat or aircraft, …

The Communicator, Volume 4, Issue 1, March 2008

The Communicator: News from the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Changing Faces Annual Meeting New Research Assessing Local and Regional Variability in Productivity and Fidelity of Grassland Birds on National Park Service Units in the Great Plains Population Assessment of Channel Catfish in Nebraska Current Research Cross-Scale Structure in Ecosystems Diversity and Ecological Functions Evaluation of Landowner Incentives Program (LIP) for Species at Risk Impact of White Perch on Walleye; and Predators of White Perch at Branched Oak and Pawnee Reservoirs Monitoring, Mapping and Risk Assessment for Non-Indigenous Invasive Species in Nebraska (a.k.a. Nebraska Invasive Species Project) Conferences/Meetings/Workshops Graduate Student News (Aaron Alai; Nathan (Nate) Gosch; Christopher (Chris) Lewis; Aaron …

Mullewa Research Annexe Spring Field Day Future Farming Systems For North-Eastern Districts 21 August 2008, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Grain and other field crops research reports

Papers:

• Mullewa Research Annexe activities 2008

• Wheat for today and the future

• Consequences of strongly acidic and alkaline soils

• Break crop influence on low rainfall heavy soil

• Chemical fallow options for the north-east agricultural region

• Herbicide tolerance of new wheat varieties

• Lowrainfall oilseed crops for food and biofuel

• Utilising stock to reduce business risk in Binnu! A case study

To Beef Or Not To Beef: Defining Food Security And Insecurity In Tucumán Argentina, Ariela Zycherman

Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (University of Georgia)

Anthropologists have had a long and rich history of drawing out the cultural importance of diet and the beliefs and rituals that are associated with it. Many anthropologists combine this knowledge with biological data to create a more comprehensive understanding of the diet. This skill becomes particularly important in understanding the difficulties of defining terms like food security and food insecurity among vulnerable populations. Popular working definitions focus primarily on the diet as being a nutritious entity that leads to a healthy and active lifestyle. While these definitions weigh heavily on the biological importance of diet, they deal with the …

A Methodology For Assessing Rural Livelihood Strategies In West/Central Africa: Lessons From The Field, Ruth Malleson, Stella Asaha, Terry Sunderland, Philip Burnham, Martins Egot, Kwaku Obeng-Okrah, Imabong Ukpe, Wendy Miles

Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (University of Georgia)

This paper critically evaluates and discusses some of the methodological practicalities of applying a combined participatory and small-scale survey approach to investigating rural livelihood strategies of people living in the humid forest zone of Southwest Cameroon, Southeast Nigeria and Southwest Ghana, with particular reference to assessing the economic importance of non-timber forest products. It describes the sampling methods used to select study zones, settlements and households as well as the participatory techniques and instruments used to differentiate households and gather information on rural incomes. Details of the successes and problems encountered during implementation are presented. The challenges faced by those …

A Landscape Of Possibilities: Seeking Food Security In Matutúine District, Mozambique, L. Jen Shaffer

Ecological and Environmental Anthropology (University of Georgia)

Food security for many Africans requires exploiting a wide variety of resources. People living on the coastal savanna of southern Mozambique use the landscape’s diversity to supplement domestic food production. This photo essay highlights the variety of resources used and problems faced in achieving food security in two communities in Matutúine District, Mozambique.

Use Of Passive Integrated Transponders In Hatchling Texas Horned Lizards, Scott E. Henke

The Prairie Naturalist

The Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) is a Texas state-threatened species and acquisition of data related to the species' ecology is essential. To accomplish this task individual animals need to be marked. Many marking techniques are available for lizards, however the majority of techniques have been tested on adults only. Studies involving hatchling and juvenile horned lizards are scarce due to problems associated with marking and relocating individuals in these age classes. I demonstrated that injection of passive integrated transponders (PIT's) can safely be used as a marking method in young Texas horned lizards. Thirty-two captive bred hatchling lizards were …

Mortality Of An American Marten From An Off-Highway Vehicle, Joshua B. Smith, Jonathan A. Jenks

The Prairie Naturalist

While there are several reviews of the effects of OHVs and recreational activity on wildlife populations (Knight and Gutzwiller 1995, Joslin and Youmans 1999), most studies have focused on physiological (Creel et al. 2002) or behavioral (Van Dyke et al. 1986, Riley et al. 2003) responses to disturbance; none have addressed the potential for direct mortality. In 2005, we documented the death from an OHV of a juvenile, female American marten (F299) that had been radiocollared during a study documenting the distribution and abundance of American marten in the Black Hills, South Dakota (Smith 2007); the Institutional Animal Care and …

Late Cenozoic Climate History Of The Ross Embayment From The And-1b Drill Hole: Culmination Of Three Decades Of Antarctic Margin Drilling, T. R. Naish, R. D. Powell, Peter J. Barrett, R. H. Levy, S. Henrys, G. S. Wilson, L. A. Krissek, F. Niessen, M. Pompilio, J. Ross, R. Scherer, F. Talarico, A. R. Pyne, Andrill-Mis Science Team

ANDRILL Research and Publications

Because of the paucity of exposed rock, the direct physical record of Antarctic Cenozoic glacial history has become known only recently and then largely from offshore shelf basins through seismic surveys and drilling. The number of holes on the continental shelf has been small and largely confined to three areas (McMurdo Sound, Prydz Bay, and Antarctic Peninsula), but even in McMurdo Sound, where Oligocene and early Miocene strata are well cored, the late Cenozoic is poorly known and dated. The latest Antarctic geological drilling program, ANDRILL, successfully cored a 1285-m-long record of climate history spanning the last 13 m.y. from …

Palaeontological Characterisation And Analysis Of The And-2a Core, Andrill Southern Mcmurdo Sound Project, Antarctica, M. Taviani, M. Hannah, D. M. Harwood, S. E. Ishman, K. Johnson, M. Olney, C. Riesselman, E. Tuzzi, A. G. Beu, S. Blair, V. Cantarelli, A. Ceregato, S. Corrado, B. Mohr, S. H.H. Nielson, D. Persico, S. Petrushak, J. I. Raine, S. Warny, Andrill-Sms Science Team

ANDRILL Research and Publications

The palaeontological yield of the 1138.54 metre-long AND-2A sedimentary rock core provides unique documentation of Neogene environments in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. Especially important is the biological legacy of the climatically crucial ‘mild’ middle Miocene phase. Diatom-bearing units provide key information for stratigraphic intervals never previously recovered from locations proximal to the Antarctic continent and constrain the age model for the AND-2A core. Benthic calcareous (and agglutinated) foraminifera were present at many levels; remarkable is the occurrence of planktonic taxa only seldom found in the Neogene nearshore record of the Ross Sea region. The sporadic occurrence of calcareous …

2008 Bird Strike Committee–Usa/Canada Meeting Program

Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada Joint Annual Meeting: 10th (2008)

No abstract provided.

Global Climate Change: Leadership In The Pacific West Region, Jonathan B. Jarvis

United States National Park Service: Publications

Twenty years ago, I became the first chief of resource management at North Cascades National Park Complex. One of the first things I did was to bring in a team of scientists who sat around with me and my staff and we talked about the future of the park. I asked each one to suggest what we should do to better understand the challenges before us. Jim Agee, then with the Cooperative Park Study Unit at the University of Washington, suggested that we deploy remote weather stations every one thousand feet from the lowest to the highest range in the …

Cost-Effective Mapping Of Invasive Plants Using Systematic Reconnaissance Flights (Srfs), Tony Pernas, Amy Ferriter

United States National Park Service: Publications

The quarantine strategy is recognized as one of the most effective strategies for controlling invasive plant populations. The quarantine strategy as described by Woodall 1981 is where the least-infested areas (outliers) are addressed first in order to stop the progression of the existing population. Detection of individual trees and scattered small clusters is imperative for the success of the quarantine strategy.Attempts to map individual trees and small clusters of invasive plants in south Florida such as Melaleuca quinquenervia through remote sensing have not been successful. For example, in 1988 efforts to detect Melaleuca from false color infrared (1:10,000) in Everglades …

Research Learning Centers: Promoting Resource Stewardship Through Partnerships, Susan Sachs, Theresa Thom, Mac Brock, Kim Tripp

United States National Park Service: Publications

National parks throughout the system are encouraged to engage in partnerships that allow us to most effectively fulfill our mission. Research learning centers (RLCs) are directed to increase the amount and effectiveness of research and research education through partner projects. Each RLC has its own unique partnerships; the range includes bringing together organizations with overlapping goals, to collaborating on funding and facilitating science and research education efforts. Four RLCs highlight the scope of collaboration.

Citizen Science: A Best Practices Manual And How It Can Be Applied, Susan Sachs, Paul E. Super, Michelle Prysby

United States National Park Service: Publications

These examples are all forms of “citizen science” happening at environmental education centers, National Park research learning centers, nature centers, and other non-formal education institutions. Citizen science is a research and education tool that involves everyday people in real and meaningful forms of science, including biological inventory, long-term monitoring, and investigative research. All of these examples demonstrate ways that these institutions are using citizen science as a tool for furthering their missions of educating the public about the environment, teaching people about the process of science, and connecting people to the natural world. They also demonstrate ways that citizens are …

Beyond Hunting: Increasing Options For Effective Wildlife Management In The National Park System, Margaret A. Wild, Therese Johnson, Michael Mayer, Gary Johnston

United States National Park Service: Publications

The National Park Service (NPS) goal is to maintain natural processes (NPS Management Policies 2006, 4.4.2: “Whenever possible, natural processes will be relied upon to maintain native plant and animal species and influence natural fluctuations in populations of these species”). As mentioned, animal populations can be expected to fluctuate under natural conditions. Some would argue that animal overabundance in parks is just part of this natural fluctuation, and this may be the case in some situations. However, if a system is disturbed, flux may be greater—for example, when predators are removed and populations of prey are released from …

A Comparison Of Wildlife Management In Mid-Size Parks In South Africa And The United States, Daniel S. Licht, Rob Slotow, Joshua Millspaugh

United States National Park Service: Publications

In many parts of the world, national parks are the last remaining wild areas and the best hope for conserving native wildlife and natural processes. This is true in the United States and in South Africa, where both countries are viewed as leaders in wildlife conservation. However, both countries face similar threats and issues when attempting to conserve native grassland wildlife, especially large fauna. For example, many native grassland ungulates historically traveled great distances in response to changing environmental conditions, yet landscape fragmentation and societal concerns (e.g., impacts on cropland) now prevent largescale movements. Hence, parks in both countries often …

The Effects Of Fire On Beach Grass (Ammophila Breviligulata) At Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Peggy Burkman

United States National Park Service: Publications

Unique land features at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore include rocky cliff faces, clay banks, sandscapes, and bogs. Clay banks contain a high percentage of sand which is eroded rapidly and transported by long shore currents to form a variety of coastal sand features or sandscapes. Sandscapes include several unique landforms such as barrier beaches (Julian Bay on Stockton Island) and spits (Long Island); cuspate forelands, which are triangular- shaped seaward extentions (Raspberry and South Twin islands); tombolos, which are sand or gravel bars stretching from an island to the mainland or another island; a double tombolo (Stockton Island); and sand …

Developing Integrated Assessments For National Capital Region Network Parks: An Example From Rock Creek Park, Lisa N. Florkowski, William C. Dennison, Todd R. Lookingbill, Tim J.B. Carruthers, Jane M. Hawkey, Shawn L. Carter

United States National Park Service: Publications

The National Capital Region Network (NCRN) contains 11 parks within the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia (Figure 1a): Antietam National Battlefield (ANTI), Catoctin Mountain Park (CATO), Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park (CHOH), George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP), Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (HAFE), Manassas National Battlefield Park (MANA), Monocacy National Battlefield (MONO), National Capital Parks–East (NACE), Prince William Forest Park (PRWI), Rock Creek Park (ROCR), and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (WOTR). These parks are some of the most visited in the National Park Service (NPS) system due to the urban context …

Evaluation Of An Augmentation Of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep At Badlands National Park, South Dakota, Teresa J. Zimmerman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Audubon’s (a.k.a. Badlands) bighorn (Ovis canadensis auduboni [Merriam 1901] now O. c. Canadensis [Shaw 1804]), described as a subspecies of bighorn sheep, was extirpated from its range by 1924. In 1964, 22 Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep were translocated from Pikes Peak, Colorado, to Badlands National Park (BNP) in southwestern South Dakota. Based on the estimated effective population size and analysis of molecular data, the bighorn sheep population at BNP underwent a population bottleneck at founding. Recommendations to restore genetic diversity in the BNP population included a mixed-sex augmentation (n > 30) from an outbred, native population of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. …

Lakes And Forests As Determinants Of Downstream Nutrient Concentrations In Small Mountain Watersheds, P. D. Brown, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, K. Nydick

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Lakes are dynamic processors of nutrients and may hold an active role in modifying the water chemistry of stream systems. In this study, we examine the influence of lakes and an important terrestrial component—forest cover—on the nutrient levels of stream water in 11 Rocky Mountain (Idaho) watersheds. Water samples were collected from the inflow and outflow of lakes with varying amounts of upstream lakes and forested area during spring runoff and summer base flow. During base flow, mean total nitrogen concentrations at the inflow of final lakes were significantly related to relative upstream lake area, increasing from 34 to 103 …

Assessment Of Water Quality Trends In The North Fork Of Kentucky River Basin: Focus On Pathogen Impairment, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

KWRRI Research Reports

This project consisted of analyzing existing water quality data for streams in the Upper Forks of Kentucky River Basin, with a particular focus on pathogen trends. According to the most recent 303(d) list of Kentucky waters, the majority of streams assessed in the Upper Forks of Kentucky River Basin are impaired for primary recreational contact as a result of pathogens. The state pathogen standard for primary contact recreation is expressed in a dual form which specifies that the 30-day geometric mean of fecal coliform counts not exceed 200 colonies per 100 mL (on a minimum of five samples) and not …

Separating People And Wildlife: Zoning As A Conservation Strategy For Large Carnivores, Courtney L. Larson

Honors Theses

Large carnivores are some of the world’s most difficult species to conserve because of their large spatial requirements, low population density, and high potential for conflict with humans. However, large carnivores are valuable for ecological, cultural, and ethical reasons. Carnivore management can take a wide variety of forms, including translocation, sterilization, livestock compensation programs, regulated hunting, improved livestock husbandry practices, and zoning, among others. The objective of this thesis was to conduct a comparative analysis of examples of zoning from around the world to examine whether it is an effective carnivore management strategy.

Analysis of twelve case studies showed that …