Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Extreme Group Sizes In A Colonial Bird Favored During A Rare Climatic Event, Charles R. Brown, Mary B. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

What maintains stasis in animal group-size distributions is an unresolved problem in behavioral ecology. One potential driver could be rare climatic events that favor certain group sizes in ways that do not occur in normal conditions. We investigated mortality among colonially nesting cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) during a rare climatic event in western Nebraska in 1996 that led to the starvation of thousands of adult birds. Colonies at the extreme end of the size distribution exhibited less size reduction (higher adult survival) than those of intermediate size. That this event resulted in disruptive selection on colony size was …

Enhancing Quantitative Approaches For Assessing Community Resilience, W. C. Chuang, A. Garmestani, T. N. Eason, T. L. Spanbauer, H. B. Fried-Peterson, C. P. Roberts, S. M. Sundstrom, J. L. Burnett, D. G. Angeler, B. C. Chaffin, L. Gunderson, D. Twidwell, C. R. Allen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Scholars from many different intellectual disciplines have attempted to measure, estimate, or quantify resilience. However, there is growing concern that lack of clarity on the operationalization of the concept will limit its application. In this paper, we discuss the theory, research development and quantitative approaches in ecological and community resilience. Upon noting the lack of methods that quantify the complexities of the linked human and natural aspects of community resilience, we identify several promising approaches within the ecological resilience tradition that may be useful in filling these gaps. Further, we discuss the challenges for consolidating these approaches into a more …

Tiered Approach To Resilience Assessment, Igor Linkov, Cate Fox-Lent, Laura Read, Craig R. Allen, James C. Arnott, Emanuele Bellini, Jon Coaffee, Marie-Valentine Florin, Kirk Hatfield, Iain Hyde, William Hynes, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Roger Kasperson, John Katzenberger, Patrick W. Keys, James H. Lambert, Richard Moss, Peter S. Murdoch, Jose Palma-Oliveira, Roger S. Pulwarty, Dale Sands, Edward A. Thomas, Mari R. Tye, David Woods

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Regulatory agencies have long adopted a three-tier framework for risk assessment. We build on this structure to propose a tiered approach for resilience assessment that can be integrated into the existing regulatory processes. Comprehensive approaches to assessing resilience at appropriate and operational scales, reconciling analytical complexity as needed with stakeholder needs and resources available, and ultimately creating actionable recommendations to enhance resilience are still lacking. Our proposed framework consists of tiers by which analysts can select resilience assessment and decision support tools to inform associated management actions relative to the scope and urgency of the risk and the capacity of …

River Otter Distribution In Nebraska, Nathan R. Bieber, Samuel P. Wilson, Craig R. Allen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The river otter (Lontra canadensis) was extirpated from Nebraska, USA, in the early 1900s and reintroduced starting in 1986. Information is needed regarding the distribution of river otters in Nebraska before decisions can be made regarding its conservation status. Understanding distribution of a species is critically important for effective management. We investigated river otter distribution in Nebraska with occupancy modeling and maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling using 190 otter sign observations on Nebraska’s navigable rivers and 380 historical otter records from November 1977 to April 2014. Both methods identified the Platte River, Elkhorn River, central and eastern Niobrara River, …

The Distribution And Role Of Functional Abundance In Cross‐Scale Resilience, Shana M. Sundstrom, David G. Angeler, Chris Barichievy, Tarsha Eason, Ahjond Garmestani, Lance Gunderson, Melinda Knutson, Kirsty L. Nash, Trisha Spanbauer, Craig Stow, Craig R. Allen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The cross-scale resilience model suggests that system-level ecological resilience emerges from the distribution of species’ functions within and across the spatial and temporal scales of a system. It has provided a quantitative method for calculating the resilience of a given system and so has been a valuable contribution to a largely qualitative field. As it is currently laid out, the model accounts for the spatial and temporal scales at which environmental resources and species are present and the functional roles species play but does not inform us about how much resource is present or how much function is provided. In …

The Perpetual State Of Emergency That Sacrifices Protected Areas In A Changing Climate, Dirac Twidwell, Carissa L. Wonkka, Christine H. Bielski, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Jacob Drozda, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Julia Johnson, Larkin A. Powell, Caleb P. Roberts

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A modern challenge for conservation biology is to assess the consequences of policies that adhere to assumptions of stationarity (e.g., historic norms) in an era of global environmental change. Such policies may result in unexpected and surprising levels of mitigation given future climate-change trajectories, especially as agriculture looks to protected areas to buffer against production losses during periods of environmental extremes. We assessed the potential impact of climate-change scenarios on the rates at which grasslands enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) are authorized for emergency harvesting (i.e., biomass removal) for agricultural use, which can occur when precipitation for the …

Comparison Of Agricultural Stakeholder Survey Results And Drought Monitoring Datasets During The 2016 Us Northern Plains Flash Drought, Jason A. Otkin, Tonya Haigh, Anthony Mucia, Martha Anderson, Christopher Hain

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessing Responses Of Betula Papyrifera To Climate Variability In A Remnant Population Along The Niobrara River Valley In Nebraska, U.S.A., Through Dendroecological And Remote-Sensing Techniques, E. Bumann, T. Awada, B. Wardlow, M. Hayes, J. Okalebo, C. Helzer, A. Mazis, J. Hiller, P. Cherubini

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ranchers: Perceptions Of Vegetation Heterogeneity In The Northern Great Plains, Maggi Sliwinski, Mark Burbach, Larkin A. Powell, Walter Schacht

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Agreement Between Volunteer- And Researcher-Collected Urban Tree Inventory Data, Nick Bancks, Eric A. North, Gary R. Johnson

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Changes In Co2 During The Ocean Anoxic Event 1d Indicate Similarities To Other Carbon Cycle Perturbations, Jon D. Richey, Garland R. Upchurch, Isabel P. Montanez, Barry H. Lomax, Marina B. Suarez, Neil M.J. Crout, R.M. Joeckel, Greg A. Ludvigson, Jon J. Smith

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Water In Society: An Interdisciplinary Course To Support Undergraduate Students' Water Literacy, Cory T. Forbes, Nicholas Brozovic, Trenton E. Franz, Diane E. Lally, Destini N. Petitt

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Tree Rings Of Pinus Ponderosa And Juniperus Virginiana Show Different Responses To Stand Density And Water Availability In The Nebraska Grassland, R. Aus Der Au, Tala Awada, J. Hiller, G. Battipaglia, M. Saurer, P. Cherubini

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Ups And Downs Of Nebraska: Recognizing Gilgai In The State, R.M. Joeckel, L.M. Howard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Supporting Science Teachers In Creating Lessons With Explicit Conceptual Storylines, Dante Cisterna, Kelsey Lipsitz, Deborah Hanuscin, Zandra De Araujo, Delinda Van Garderen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

African Lion (Panthera Leo) Space Use In The Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area, Andrei Snyman, Edward Raynor, Chris Chizinski, Larkin Powell, John Carroll

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Anthropogenic Hydrological Cycle Disturbance At A Regional Scale: State-Wide Evapotranspiration Trends (1979-2015) Across Nebraska, Usa, Jozsef Szilagyi

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Conforming To Or Defying Gender Stereotypes? Empathy Nudging Vs. Financial Incentives In Environmental Context, Natalia V. Czap, Hans J. Czap, Marianna Khachaturyan, Mark E. Burbach

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Enactment Of Ongoing Formative Assessment: Challenges And Opportunities For Professional Development And Practice, Dante Cisterna, Amelia Wenk Gotwals

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Experiments On Empathy Conservation: Implications For Environmental Policy, Natalia V. Czap, Hans J. Czap, Marianna Khachaturyan, Mark E. Burbach, Gary D. Lynne

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evapotranspiration Trends (1979-2015) In The Central Valley Of California, Usa: Contrasting Tendencies During 1981-2007, Jozsef Szilagyi, Janos Jozsa

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Performance Metrics For Street And Park Trees In Urban Forests, Eric A. North, Anthony W. D'Amato, Matthew B. Russell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

First U-Pb Zircon Ages For Late Miocene Ashfall Konservat-Lagerstatte And Grove Lake Ashes From Eastern Great Plains, Usa, Jon J. Smith, Elijah Turner, Andreas Moller, R.M. Joeckel, Rick E. Otto

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Integrating Authentic Scientific Research In A Conservation Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience, Amanda E. Sorensen, Lucia Corral, Jenny M. Dauer, Joseph J. Fontaine

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bayesian Model Selection Of Regular Vine Copulas, Lutz F. Gruber, Claudia Czado

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Regular vine copulas are a flexible class of dependence models, but Bayesian methodology for model selection and inference is not yet fully developed. We propose sparsity-inducing but otherwise non-informative priors, and present novel proposals to enable reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo posterior simulation for Bayesian model selection and inference. Our method is the first to jointly estimate the posterior distribution of all trees of a regular vine copula. This represents a substantial improvement over existing frequentist and Bayesian strategies, which can only select one tree at a time and are known to induce bias. A simulation study demonstrates the …

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 …

Environmental Studies 129: Water Policy In The Western U.S., Costanza Rampini

Faculty Publications, Environmental Studies

Water, or lack of it, is the defining characteristic of development in the Western United States. Using multiple analytical frameworks, including history, law, economics, environmental science, and sociology, we will investigate the interrelationships of key policies, players, and projects involved in Western water. More specifically, we will critically examine how important federal, state, and local water policies arose and how they affect different stakeholder groups (e.g., irrigators, environmentalists, indigenous peoples, the local citizenry, government entities, public water resource agencies). We will also learn about how stakeholder values and corresponding water policies have changed, or failed to change, over time. Case …

Water Scarcity: Sudan, Catherine Priebe

Global Issues in Public Health

Water scarcity is an environmental global problem that will only become more pressing as time goes on. It is a public health issue that affects every continent, although certain areas of the world are facing more serious water scarcity than others such as Sudan. Populations that are more vulnerable to the effects of water scarcity are the poor, women, children, and those living in areas of political unrest. For example, South Sudan’s urban water systems have been damaged during recent warfare. Water scarcity is also an issue that disproportionately affects women who are forced from a young age to travel …

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 …