Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Using Unmanned Aerial Systems For Deriving Forest Stand Characteristics In Mixed Hardwoods Of West Virginia, Henry Liebermann, Jamie Schuler, Michael P. Strager, Angela K. Hentz, Aaron Maxwell

Journal of Geospatial Applications in Natural Resources

Forest inventory information is a principle driver for forest management decisions. Information gathered through these inventories provides a summary of the condition of forested stands. The method by which remote sensing aids land managers is changing rapidly. Imagery produced from unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offer high temporal and spatial resolutions to small-scale forest management. UAS imagery is less expensive and easier to coordinate to meet project needs compared to traditional manned aerial imagery. This study focused on producing an efficient and approachable work flow for producing forest stand board volume estimates from UAS imagery in mixed hardwood stands of West …

The Future Of Groundwater In California: Lessons In Sustainable Management From Across The West, Christina Hoffman Babbitt, Katherine E. B. Gibson, Scott Sellers, Nicholas Brozovic, Anthony Saracino, Ann Hayden, Maurice Hall, Sandi Zellmer

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) created, for the first time and on an unprecedented scale, a mandate to change how groundwater is managed statewide in California. While enacting SGMA was a tremendous step forward, communities and water districts now face the considerable challenge of creating successful groundwater management programs. This report is aimed at helping California’s water managers, public water agencies, county commissioners, city planners, and others better understand the suite of tools and approaches that can be used to enhance the sustainable management of groundwater. Specifically, we consider four categories of management tools—regulatory, incentive-based, agency supply augmentation …

Climate Change: Antarctica, Marika Vi

Global Issues in Public Health

Climate change is a public health issue that affects the entire globe. These effects include the rising in sea levels, shrinking of mountain glaciers, accelerating ice melt, and shifts in flower and plant blooming. The cause of climate change is due to what is known as the “greenhouse effect.” This is where certain gases block heat from getting out of the atmosphere. The cause of this effect is due to many factors like the overuse of fossil fuels and overpopulation. The impact of climate change on the Antarctic, to be specific, is that it has been seen to affect the …

Resource Assessment Report Western Australian Sea Cucumber Resource, Anthony M. Hart, D. V. Murphy, N Caputi, Alexander Hesp, E. A. Fisher

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

This document provides a cumulative description and assessment of the Sea Cucumber Resource and all of the fishing activities (i.e. fisheries / fishing sectors) affecting this resource in Western Australia (WA). The overall resource comprises two main species (sandfish Holothuria scabra and redfish Actinopyga echinites), and few minor species that inhabit the tropical shallow continental shelf waters of the North Coast Bioregion.

Annual Report 2018, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership

Publications

CBEP has been collaborating for over 25 years with a multitude of partners working hard to protect Casco Bay. 2018 brought us new and exciting collaborations.

The Casco Bay Nutrient Council, convened by CBEP, met for almost two years and produced a report that laid a path forward for all partners to tackle nutrient pollution.

CBEP worked closely with the EPA to establish the Casco Bay Monitoring Network, made up of over 20 member organizations, aimed at coordinating and upgrading monitoring in the Bay. The Network is currently updating the Casco Bay Monitoring Plan.

CBEP is an active participant in …

Resource Assessment Report Western Australian Octopus Resource, Anthony M. Hart, Daniel Murphy, Alastair Harry, E. A. Fisher

WA Marine Stewardship Council report series

This document provides a cumulative description and assessment of the Octopus Resource and all of the fishing activities (i.e. fisheries / fishing sectors) affecting this resource in Western Australia (WA). The overall resource essentially comprises a single species of octopus, Octopus aff. tetricus, which occurs in inshore waters to 70 m depth from Shark Bay to Esperance.

Growth Rate And Hatch Date Of Age-0 Fishes On Leech Lake, Minnesota Before Zebra Mussel Establishment, Kayla Morey, Emily Larson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The introduction of an invasive species to an ecosystem is considered a very severe environmental problem. Zebra Mussel veligers Dreissena polymorpha have recently been found in Leech Lake, Minnesota, and are likely going to have a large influence on this ecosystem. Zebra Mussels are filter-feeders that rely on phytoplankton and zooplankton as their main source of energy. A shift in populations of plankton due to Zebra Mussels may affect the growth rates of larval fish. Median hatch dates and growth rates were estimated from four age-0 fish species (Yellow Perch Perca flavescens, Walleye Sander vitreus, Smallmouth Bass Micropterus …

Thermal Tolerance Limits Of The Chinese Mystery Snail (Bellamya Chinensis): Implications For Management, Jessica L. Burnett, Kevin L. Pope, Alec Wong, Craig R. Allen, Danielle Haak, Bruce J. Stephen, Daniel R. Uden

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The Chinese mystery snail, Bellamya chinensis (Gray, 1834) is a gastropod native to East Asia and is considered an invasive species in North America where its impacts on native species and ecosystems are not well understood. Scientific literature describing its biology and life history are sparse. Thermal tolerance limits, or the maximum and minimum temperature under which a species can survive, are key to identifying the potential geographical range of a species. The ability of managers to control invasive species is directly impacted by the thermal tolerance limits of a species. We attempted to identify the thermal tolerance limits of …

The Effect Of Size On Juvenile Green Sturgeon (Acipenser Medirostris) Behavior Near Water-Diversion Fish Screens, Jamilynn B. Poletto, Dennis E. Cocherell, Natalie Ho, Joseph J. Cech Jr., A. Peter Klimley, Nann A. Fangue

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Anthropogenic water management projects and facilities that alter the local and regional hydrology of riverine environments greatly influence the behavior, physiology, and survival of native fishes. To mitigate for losses of native fishes at these structures, many are outfitted with fish-exclusion screens to reduce entrainment. The effect of fish size and age on behavior near fish screens, however, is largely unknown. Therefore, we tested two size classes of juvenile green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris; small, early juveniles: 9.2 ± 0.2 cm fork length [FL], 6.9 ± 0.3 g; intermediate juveniles: 18.8 ± 0.2 cm FL, 36.9 ± 0.8 g) …

Resilience In Environmental Risk And Impact Assessment: Concepts And Measurement, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Kevin L. Pope, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr, Micro Bunschuh

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Different resilience concepts have different assumptions about system dynamics, which has implications for resilience-based environmental risk and impact assessment. Engineering resilience (recovery) dominates in the risk assessment literature but this definition does not account for the possibility of ecosystems to exist in multiple regimes. In this paper we discuss resilience concepts and quantification methods. Specifically, we discuss when a system fails to show engineering resilience after disturbances, indicating a shift to a potentially undesired regime. We show quantification methods that can assess the stability of this new regime to inform managers about possibilities to transform the system to a more …

Agroecology For The Shrinking City, Dustin L. Herrmann, Wen-Ching Chuang, Kristen Schawrz, Timothy M. Bowles, Ahjond S. Garmestani, William D. Shuster, Tarsha Eason, Matthew E. Hopton, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Many cities are experiencing long-term declines in population and economic activity. As a result, frameworks for urban sustainability need to address the unique challenges and opportunities of such shrinking cities. Shrinking, particularly in the U.S., has led to extensive vacant land. The abundance of vacant land reflects a loss of traditional urban amenities, economic opportunity, neighbors, businesses, and even basic city services and often occurs in neighborhoods with socially and economically vulnerable or underserved populations. However, vacant land also provides opportunities, including the space to invest in green infrastructure that can provide ecosystem services and support urban sustainability. Achieving desirable …

Droughtscape, Winter 2018, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Year in review: Drought eased in California, developed in Northern Plains

Quarterly Summary: Drought creeps across the country

Annual impact summary: A year of wildfires

Quarterly impact summary: Drought expands in Texas, Colorado

Drought and water crisis book updated

U.S. Drought Monitor available in Spanish

Study shows cities step up when drought occurs

New staff at the NDMC

Drought Summit in photos

Age-0 Walleye Growth Rates Following Spiny Water Flea Bythotrephes Longimanus Invasion, Joseph Amundson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Within Voyageurs National Park, spiny water flea Bythotrephes longimanus has reduced Lake Kabetogama and Rainy Lake native zooplankton biomass during summer peak by 40-60%. Subsequently, planktivorous age-0 Yellow Perch Perca flavescens growth has decreased. A possible trophic cascade may influence predatory fish growth rates like that of age-0 Walleye Sander vitreus. Using seine net and electrofishing data, age-0 Walleye growth rates were modeled as a linear function of growing degree days (GDD) and the slope was compared between pre- and post-spiny water flea establishment. Nearby Lake Vermilion, assumed to have been unaffected by spiny water flea until 2015 and …

Opportunities And Challenges For Big Data Ornithology, Frank A. La Sorte, Christopher A. Lepczyk, Jessica L. Burnett, Allen H. Hurlbert, Morgan W. Tingley, Benjamin Zuckerberg

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Recent advancements in information technology and data acquisition have created both new research opportunities and new challenges for using big data in ornithology. We provide an overview of the past, present, and future of big data in ornithology, and explore the rewards and risks associated with their application. Structured data resources (e.g., North American Breeding Bird Survey) continue to play an important role in advancing our understanding of bird population ecology, and the recent advent of semistructured (e.g., eBird) and unstructured (e.g., weather surveillance radar) big data resources has promoted the development of new empirical perspectives that are generating novel …

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, …

Quantifying Uncertainty And Trade-Offs In Resilience Assessments, Craig R. Allen, Hannah E. Birgé, David G. Angeler, Craig A. Arnold, Brian C. Chaffin, Daniel A. Decaro, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Lance Gunderson

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Several frameworks have been developed to assess the resilience of social-ecological systems, but most require substantial data inputs, time, and technical expertise. Stakeholders and practitioners often lack the resources for such intensive efforts. Furthermore, most end with problem framing and fail to explicitly address trade-offs and uncertainty. To remedy this gap, we developed a rapid survey assessment that compares the relative resilience of social-ecological systems with respect to a number of resilience properties. This approach generates large amounts of information relative to stakeholder inputs. We targeted four stakeholder categories: government (policy, regulation, management), end users (farmers, ranchers, landowners, industry), agency/public …

A Method To Detect Discontinuities In Census Data, Chris Barichievy, David G. Angeler, Tarsha Eason, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Kirsty L. Nash, Craig A. Stow, Shana Sundstrom, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The distribution of pattern across scales has predictive power in the analysis of complex systems. Discontinuity approaches remain a fruitful avenue of research in the quest for quantitative measures of resilience because discontinuity analysis provides an objective means of identifying scales in complex systems and facilitates delineation of hierarchical patterns in processes, structure, and resources. However, current discontinuity methods have been considered too subjective, too complicated and opaque, or have become computationally obsolete; given the ubiquity of discontinuities in ecological and other complex systems, a simple and transparent method for detection is needed. In this study, we present a method …

Effects Of Large-Scale Wetland Loss On Network Connectivity Of The Rainwater Basin, Nebraska, Bram H. F. Verheijen, Dana M. Varner, David A. Haukos

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Context The Rainwater Basin region in south-central Nebraska supports a complex network of spatiallyisolated wetlands that harbor diverse floral and faunal communities. Since European settlement, many wetlands have been lost from the network, which has increased distances among remaining wetlands. As a result, populations of wildlife species with limited dispersal capabilities may have become isolated and face greater local extinction risks.

Objectives We compared the pre-European settlement and current extent of the Rainwater Basin network to assess the effects of wetland losses on network connectivity for a range of maximum dispersal distances.

Methods We constructed network models for a range …

Synchrony - An Emergent Property Of Recreational Fisheries, Mark A. Kaemingk, Christopher J. Chizinski, Keith L. Hurley, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Bipartite Networks Improve Understanding Of Effects Of Waterbody Size And Angling Method On Angler–Fish Interactions, Christopher J . Chizinski, Dustin R. Martin, Daizaburo Shizuka, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Networks used to study interactions could provide insights to fisheries. We compiled data from 27 297 interviews of anglers across waterbodies that ranged in size from 1 to 12 113 ha. Catch rates of fish species among anglers grouped by species targeted generally differed between angling methods (bank or boat). We constructed angler–catch bipartite networks (angling method specific) between anglers and fish and measured several network metrics. There was considerable variation in networks among waterbodies, with multiple metrics influenced by waterbody size. Number of species-targeting angler groups and number of fish species caught increased with increasing waterbody size. Mean number …

Variation In Angler Distribution And Catch Rates Of Stocked Rainbow Trout In A Small Reservoir, Brian S. Harmon, Dustin R. Martin, Christopher J . Chizinski, K. L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We investigated the spatial and temporal relationship of catch rates and angler party location for two days following a publicly announced put-and-take stocking of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Catch rates declined with time since stocking and distance from stocking. We hypothesized that opportunity for high catch rates would cause anglers to fish near the stocking location and disperse with time, however distance between angler parties and stocking was highly variable at any given time. Spatially explicit differences in catch rates can affect fishing quality. Further research could investigate the variation between angler distribution and fish distribution within a …

Population Characteristics Of Shovelnose Sturgeon During Low- And High-Water Conditions In The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Jeremy J. Hammen, Martin J. Hamel, Matthew L. Rugg, Edward J. Peters, Mark A. Pegg

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Cycles of low- and high-water periods (i.e., years) in river systems are natural occurrences, but understanding how cyclical climatological patterns affect fishes, especially long-lived species, is unclear. We assessed Shovelnose Sturgeon population dynamics between a period of low- (2001-2004) and high- (2009-2012) water years in the lower Platte River, Nebraska. Low-flow periods in the lower Platte River can cause disconnection(s) between upstream and downstream reaches resulting in isolated pools and elevated water temperatures leading to stressful situations for aquatic life and possible mortality. Our data show no measurable differences between key population indices between flow condition periods which is consistent …

Resilience Concepts In Psychiatry Demonstrated With Bipolar Disorder, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Maj-Liz Persson

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Background: The term resilience describes stress–response patterns of subjects across scientific disciplines. In ecology, advances have been made to clearly distinguish resilience definitions based on underlying mechanistic assumptions. Engineering resilience (rebound) is used for describing the ability of subjects to recover from adverse conditions (disturbances), and is the rate of recovery. In contrast, the ecological resilience definition considers a systemic change: when complex systems (including humans) respond to disturbances by reorganizing into a new regime (stable state) where structural and functional aspects have fundamentally changed relative to the prior regime. In this context, resilience is an emergent property of complex …

2018 Nebraska Groundwater Quality Monitoring Report

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The 2001 Nebraska Legislature passed LB329 (Neb. Rev. Stat. §46-1304) which, in part, directed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) to report on groundwater quality monitoring in Nebraska. Reports have been issued annually since December 2001. The text of the statute applicable to this report follows: “The Department of Environmental Quality shall prepare a report outlining the extent of ground water quality monitoring conducted by natural resources districts during the preceding calendar year. The department shall analyze the data collected for the purpose of determining whether or not ground water quality is degrading or improving and shall present the …

Application Of Molecular Pathology Techniques To Understand Mechanisms Of Disease In Smallmouth Bass, Heather Leigh Walsh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the Chesapeake Bay drainage, smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu are used as an indicator species of estrogenic contaminant exposure and have been implicated in fish kills and disease since 2005. In the Potomac River drainage, adult smallmouth bass have experienced mortality and disease and males have a high prevalence of intersex (testicular oocytes). Conversely, in the Susquehanna River drainage mortalities and disease of young-of-the-year smallmouth bass (YOY SMB) have occurred and resulted in a population shift to older and larger fish. The exact cause of these events remains unknown; however, factors such as poor water quality, contaminants, pathogens and parasites, …

Incorporating Multi-Spectral Imaging Into Long-Term Upland Breeding Bird Monitoring, Kyle William Schumacher

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas, United States partnered with Fort Hays State University Hays, KS in 2014 to begin a collaborative research project that aimed to develop a long-term monitoring protocol guided by the Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the refuge published in 2013. This plan identified specific wildlife taxa underrepresented in management impact assessments throughout the property. As a result of this plan, surveys were established to monitor interactions between upland breeding birds and the vegetation community. I conducted point count surveys in 2016, 2017, and 2018 for 122 observation points across four transects. I measured seventeen vegetation variables …

Predicting Invasive Carp Habitat Suitability In The Minnesota River, Minnesota, Melissa Oubre

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Since the 1980's invasive carp have been expanding their range northward up the Mississippi River. Consisting of four species, grass carp (Ctenophaygodon idella), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (H. nobilis), and black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), these fish have the potential to naturalize and expand into large Mississippi River tributaries like the Minnesota River (MNR). Thus, understanding the likelihood of naturalization in these tributaries is vital in guiding prevention or mitigation efforts. This study evaluates the environmental suitability of the Minnesota River, the largest tributary to the Mississippi in Minnesota, for invasive carp. Environmental suitability for invasive carp is modeled …

Persistence Of Stream Restoration With Large Wood, Redwood National And State Parks, California, Diedra L. Rodriguez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The conservation and recovery of anadromous salmonids (Oncorhynchus sp.) depend on stream restoration and protection of freshwater habitats. In-stream large wood dictates channel morphology, increases retention of terrestrial inputs such as organic matter, nutrients and sediment, and enhances the quality of fish habitat. Historic land use/land cover changes have resulted in aquatic systems devoid of large wood. Restoration by placement of large wood jams is intended to restore physical and biological processes. An important question for scientists and restoration managers, in addition to the initial effectiveness of restoration, is the persistence and fate of large wood installations. In this …

Geomorphic Consequences Of Hydroelectricity And Transportation Development Near Celilo Falls, Lower Mid-Columbia River, Washington, Noah I. Oliver

All Master's Theses

Along the Columbia River, hundreds of miles of transportation infrastructure and over sixty hydroelectric dams have been constructed. This altered a rich cultural landscape with evidence of 10,000 years of continuous occupation. Researchers have attempted to understand the impacts of anthropogenic factors on the Columbia River, focusing on the riverine environment. However, the effect of transportation and hydroelectricity developments to eolian landforms on the floodplains and adjoining slopes have not been studied. Focusing on 2,800 acres near Celilo Falls, this study 1) establishes a baseline condition of eolian landforms from 1805 to 1900; 2) conducts an air photo increment analysis …

Landscape Scale Spectral-Temporal Modelling Of Bamboo-Dominated Forest Succession Within The Atlantic Forest Of Southern Brazil, Clara Greig

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Tropical and subtropical ecosystems have become vulnerable to biological invasion (i.e., bamboo) due to human induced forest fragmentation. Bamboo ecological processes have been found to impede forest development, resulting in a state of arrested succession, which has been found to significantly reduce biodiversity, thus contributing to biotic homogenization. In this study we use a semi-empirical approach to develop a community-level spatially explicit ecological process model (hybrid model) using a time-series of Landsat imagery to describe single-landscape scale ecological processes of a pervasive bamboo species (Merostachys skvortzovii) found throughout the Araucaria forest, a critically threatened subtype of Atlantic forest …