Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Droughtscape, Spring 2017, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

Drought center helps islands reduce drought vulnerability

2017 sees above-average precipitation, warmer temps

California pulls out of drought

After tech transfer, training Tunisia launches first drought map

Drought center releases 2016 annual report

Book chapter focuses on drought and health

U2U wraps up, brings useful tools to farmers

Survey finds drought info leads to better decisions

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- April 2017, Natalie Umphlett, Crystal J. Stiles

Prairie Post: Quarterly Newsletter of the High Plains Regional Climate Center

Inside this issue:

Message from the interim director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Fisheries & wildlife climate workshop...................................2

Product highlights..................3

AWDN information.................4

Update on regional climate conditions..................................4

NCA workshop and outreach activities......................................5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Factors That Influence Vital Rates Of Seaside And Saltmarsh Sparrows In Coastal New Jersey, Usa, Samuel G. Roberts, Rebecca A. Longenecker, Matthew A. Etterson, Katharine J. Ruskin, Chris S. Elphick, Brian J. Olsen, W. Gregory Shriver

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

As saltmarsh habitat continues to disappear, understanding the factors that influence the population dynamics of saltmarsh breeding birds is an important step in the conservation of these declining species. Using 5 yrs (2011–2015) of demographic data, we evaluated and compared apparent adult survival and nest survival of Seaside (Ammodramus maritimus) and Saltmarsh (A. caudacutus) sparrows at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, USA. We determined the effect of site management history (unditched vs. ditched marshes) on adult and nest survival to aid in prioritizing future management or restoration actions. Apparent adult …

On The Relationship Between Spring Nao And Snowmelt In The Upper Southwestern United States, Boksoon Myoung, Seung Hee Kim, Jinwon Kim, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines the relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and snowmelt in spring in the upper southwestern states of the United States (UP_SW) including California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado, using SNOTEL datasets for 34 yr (1980–2014). Statistically significant negative correlations are found between NAO averages in the snowmelt period and timings of snowmelt (i.e., positive NAO phases in spring enhance snowmelt, and vice versa). It is also found that correlations between El Niño–Southern Oscillation and snowmelt are negligible in the region. The NAO–snowmelt relationship is most pronounced below the 2800-m level; above this level, the relationship becomes weaker. …

Feasibility Analysis Of Using Inverse Modeling For Estimating Field-Scale Evapotranspiration In Maize And Soybean Fields From Soil Water Content Monitoring Networks, Foad Foolad, Trenton E. Franz, Teijun Wang, Justin Gibson, Ayse Kilie, Richard Allen, Andrew E. Suyker

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

In this study, the feasibility of using inverse vadose zone modeling for estimating field-scale actual evapotranspiration (ETa/ was explored at a long-term agricultural monitoring site in eastern Nebraska. Data from both point-scale soil water content (SWC) sensors and the areaaverage technique of cosmic-ray neutron probes were evaluated against independent ETa estimates from a co-located eddy covariance tower. While this methodology has been successfully used for estimates of groundwater recharge, it was essential to assess the performance of other components of the water balance such as ETa. In light of recent evaluations of land surface models (LSMs), independent estimates of hydrologic …

Homestead National Monument Of America, Bat Acoustic Monitoring, September 2016, Daniel S. Licht

United States National Park Service: Publications

Abstract

Homestead National Monument of America is a 211-acre park located in an agrarian landscape in southeastern Nebraska. From September 16 to October 1, 2016, park staff deployed acoustic monitors at three sites in the park for purposes of monitoring night-time bat activity. The three sites averaged 179, 48, and 33 bat detections per night. Night-time bat activity was generally highest in the 1-2 hours following sunset.

Based on the acoustic surveys the big brown (Eptesicus fuscus), eastern red (Lasiurus borealis), northern long-eared (Myotis septentrionalis) and evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) were present at the …

What Makes Water Policy Sustainable? An Analysis Of Water Policy In Us Cities, Rebecca Brady David

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation works to create a clearer understanding of sustainability in water policy. Current water policy in four US cities was compared to a matrix of recommended sustainability themes that have been presented in the literature to determine the extent of which these themes have been implemented into water policy. To best analyze policy for sustainability it is necessary to look at the policy of cities that are considered sustainable. This was determined by a city’s inclusion in “Most Sustainable US Cities” lists. The two cities that best represented sustainability were Austin, TX and San Francisco, CA. The research also …

Techno-Economic Approach For Solar Energy Concept Onboard Marine Vehicles, Ibrahim S. Seddiek

MARENER 2017

No abstract provided.

Diet Composition Of Age-0 Fishes In Created Habitats Of The Lower Missouri River, Trevor A. Starks, James M. Long

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Channelization of the Missouri River has greatly reduced the availability of shallow water habitats used by many larval and juvenile fishes and contributed to imperilment of floodplain-dependent biota. Creation of small side channels, or chutes, is being used to restore shallow water habitat and reverse negative environmental effects associated with channelization. In the summer of 2012, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers collected early life stages of fishes from constructed chutes and nearby unrestored shallow habitats at six sites on the Missouri River between Rulo, Nebraska and St. Louis, Missouri. We compared the diets of two abundant species of fishes …

U.S. Drought Monitor, January 17, 2017, Richard Tinker

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for January 17, 2017 (1/17/17) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, January 10, 2017, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for January 10, 2017 (1/10/17) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

The Irreversible Momentum Of Clean Energy, Barack Obama

United States Department of Energy: Publications

The release of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) due to human activity is increasing global average surface air temperatures, disrupting weather patterns, and acidifying the ocean. Left unchecked, the continued growth of GHG emissions could cause global average temperatures to increase by another 4°C or more by 2100 and by 1.5 to 2 times as much in many midcontinent and far northern locations. Although our understanding of the impacts of climate change is increasingly and disturbingly clear, there is still debate about the proper course for U.S. policy—a debate that is very much on display …

U.S. Drought Monitor, January 3, 2017, David Miskus

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for January 3, 2017 (1/3/17) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Long-Term Analysis Of The Asynchronicity Between Temperature And Precipitation Maxima In The United States Great Plains, Paul Flanagan, Jeffrey B. Basara, Xiangming Xiao

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Agriculture is a critical industry to the economy of the Great Plains (GP) region of North America and sensitive to change in weather and climate. Thus, improved knowledge of meteorological and climatological conditions during the growing season and associated variability across spatial and temporal scales is important. A distinct climate feature in the GP is the asynchronicity (AS) between the timing of temperature and precipitation maxima. This study investigated a long-term observational data set to quantify the AS and to address the impacts of climate variability and change. Global Historical Climate Network Daily (GHCN-Daily) data were utilized for this study; …

Enhancing Dynamical Seasonal Predictions Through Objective Regionalization, Saleh Satti, Benjamin F. Zaitchik, Hamaba S. Babr, Tsegaye Tadesse

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Improving seasonal forecasts in East Africa has great implications for food security and water resources planning in the region. Dynamically based seasonal forecast systems have much to contribute to this effort, as they have demonstrated ability to represent and, to some extent, predict large-scale atmospheric dynamics that drive interannual rainfall variability in East Africa. However, these global models often exhibit spatial biases in their placement of rainfall and rainfall anomalies within the region, which limits their direct applicability to forecast-based decision-making. This paper introduces a method that uses objective climate regionalization to improve the utility of dynamically based forecast-system predictions …

Complex Variation In Habitat Selection Strategies Among Individuals Driven By Extrinsic Factors, Edward J. Raynor, Hawthorne L. Beyer, John M. Briggs, Anthony Joern

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Understanding behavioral strategies employed by animals to maximize fitness in the face of environmental heterogeneity, variability, and uncertainty is a central aim of animal ecology. Flexibility in behavior may be key to how animals respond to climate and environmental change. Using a mechanistic modeling framework for simultaneously quantifying the effects of habitat preference and intrinsic movement on space use at the landscape scale, we investigate how movement and habitat selection vary among individuals and years in response to forage quality–quantity tradeoffs, environmental conditions, and variable annual climate. We evaluated the association of dynamic, biotic forage resources and static, abiotic landscape …

Carbon Flux Phenology From The Sky: Evaluation For Maize And Soybean, Alexandria G. Mccombs, Cuizhen Wang, Ankur Desai, Andrew E. Suyker, Sebastien C. Bird

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Carbon flux phenology is widely used to understand carbon flux dynamics and surface exchange processes. Vegetation phenology has been widely evaluated by remote sensors; however, very few studies have evaluated the use of vegetation phenology for identifying carbon flux phenology. Currently available techniques to derive net ecosystem exchange (NEE) from a satellite image use a single generic modeling subgroup for agricultural crops. But, carbon flux phenological processes vary highly with crop types and land management practices; this paper reexamines this assumption. Presented here are an evaluation of ground-truth remotely sensed vegetation indices with in situ NEE measurements and an identification …

The Roles Of Ecology, Behavior And Effective Population Size In The Evolution Of A Community., C.M. Hung, S. Drovetski, R. M. Zink

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Acoustic Characteristics Of Lekking Male Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus Cupido Pinnatus) Vocalizations (Supplement), Cara E. Whalen, Mary Bomberger Brown, Joann Mcgee, Larkin A. Powell, Edward J. Walsh

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Boom

Cackle

Whine

Whoop

Reproductive Ecology Of Interior Least Tern And Piping Plover In Relation To Platte River Hydrology And Sandbar Dynamics, Jason M. Farnsworth, David M. Baasch, Chadwin B. Smith, Kevin L. Werbylo

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Investigations of breeding ecology of interior least tern (Sternula antillarum athalassos) and piping plover (Charadrius melodus) in the Platte River basin in Nebraska, USA, have embraced the idea that these species are physiologically adapted to begin nesting concurrent with the cessation of spring floods. Low use and productivity on contemporary Platte River sandbars have been attributed to anthropomorphically driven changes in basin hydrology and channel morphology or to unusually late annual runoff events. We examined distributions of least tern and piping plover nest initiation dates in relation to the hydrology of the historical central Platte River …

Temporal Migration Shifts In The Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population Of Whooping Cranes (Grus Americana) Across North America, Joel G. Jorgensen, Mary Bomberger Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Birds are altering the phenology of critical life history events, including migration, in response to the effects of global climate change. Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) are one of the most critically endangered birds in the world. Their remnant population, referred to as the Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population, numbers between 300-400 individuals and migrates between the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast and north-central Canada twice each year. Previous analyses suggested Whooping Crane migration was temporally constant in spring and fall. New analyses of observations spanning 1942-2016 show Whooping Crane migration is now occurring earlier in spring by approximately 22 days …

Drivers Of Nitrogen Transfer In Stream Food Webs Across Continents, B. C. Norman, M. R. Whiles, S. M. Collins, A. S. Flecker, S. K. Hamilton, S. L. Johnson, E. J. Rosi-Marshall, L. R. Ashkenas, W. B. Bowden, C. L. Crenshaw, T. Crowl, W. K. Dodds, R. O. Hall, R. El-Sabaawi, N. A. Griffiths, E. Marti, W. H. Mcdowell, S. D. Peterson, H. M. Rantala, T. Riis, K. S. Simon, J. L. Tank, S. A. Thomas, D. Von Schiller, J. R. Webster

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Studies of trophic-level material and energy transfers are central to ecology. The use of isotopic tracers has now made it possible to measure trophic transfer efficiencies of important nutrients and to better understand how these materials move through food webs. We analyzed data from thirteen ¹⁵N-ammonium tracer addition experiments to quantify N transfer from basal resources to animals in headwater streams with varying physical, chemical, and biological features. N transfer efficiencies from primary uptake compartments (PUCs; heterotrophic microorganisms and primary producers) to primary consumers was lower (mean: 11.5%, range:100%). Total N transferred (as a rate) was greater in streams …

Partitioning Assimilatory Nitrogen Uptake In Streams: An Analysis Of Stable Isotope Tracer Additions Across Continents, J. L. Tank, E. Martí, T. Riis, D. Von Schiller, A. J. Reisinger, W. K. Dodds, M. R. Whiles, L. R. Ashkenas, W. B. Bowden, S. M. Collins, C. L. Crenshaw, T. A. Crowl, N. A. Griffiths, N. B. Grimm, S. K. Hamilton, S. L. Johnson, W. H. Mcdowell, B. M. Norman, E. J. Rosi, K. S. Simon, S. A. Thomas, J. R. Webster

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Headwater streams remove, transform, and store inorganic nitrogen (N) delivered from surrounding watersheds, but excessive N inputs from human activity can saturate removal capacity. Most research has focused on quantifying N removal from the water column over short periods and in individual reaches, and these ecosystem-scale measurements suggest that assimilatory N uptake accounts for most N removal. However, cross-system comparisons addressing the relative role of particular biota responsible for incorporating inorganic N into biomass are lacking. Here we assess the importance of different primary uptake compartments on reach-scale ammonium (NH₄⁺-N) uptake and storage across a wide range …

Tolerance: The Forgotten Child Of Plant Resistance, Robert K. D. Peterson, Andrea C. Varella, Leon G. Higley

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Plant resistance against insect herbivory has greatly focused on antibiosis, whereby the plant has a deleterious effect on the herbivore, and antixenosis, whereby the plant is able to direct the herbivore away from it. Although these two types of resistance may reduce injury and yield loss, they can produce selection pressures on insect herbivores that lead to pest resistance. Tolerance, on the other hand, is a more sustainable pest management strategy because it involves only a plant response and therefore does not cause evolution of resistance in target pest populations. Despite its attractive attributes, tolerance has been poorly studied and …

Review Of Great Plains Geology By Robert F. Diffendal, Jon Trevelyan

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Professor Robert Diffendal Jr's little guidebook to the Great Plains of the USA makes for a fascinating read for an Englishman like me, who has never been there (but wants to). As he says in the article opposite, they rarely correspond to the impression most people have of them. For example, they are not just flat plains with cowboys herding longhorn cattle as you might imagine from the movies (in fact, they probably rarely were). Rather, it is clear from the guide that they can provide a visitor with an interesting mixture of geology, palaeontology, ecotourism and archaeology. In addition, …

Parallel Seasonal Patterns Of Photosynthesis, Fluorescence, And Reflectance Indices In Boreal Trees, Kyle R. Springer, Ran Wang, John A. Gamon

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Tree species in the boreal forest cycle between periods of active growth and dormancy alter their photosynthetic processes in response to changing environmental conditions. For deciduous species, these changes are readily visible, while evergreen species have subtler foliar changes during seasonal transitions. In this study, we used remotely sensed optical indices to observe seasonal changes in photosynthetic activity, or photosynthetic phenology, of six boreal tree species. We evaluated the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the photochemical reflectance index (PRI), the chlorophyll/carotenoid index (CCI), and steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence (F_S) as a measure of solar-induced fluorescence (SIF), and compared these …

Parallel Seasonal Patterns Of Photosynthesis, Fluorescence, And Reflectance Indices In Boreal Trees, Kyle R. Springer, Ran Wang, John A. Gamon

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Tree species in the boreal forest cycle between periods of active growth and dormancy alter their photosynthetic processes in response to changing environmental conditions. For deciduous species, these changes are readily visible, while evergreen species have subtler foliar changes during seasonal transitions. In this study, we used remotely sensed optical indices to observe seasonal changes in photosynthetic activity, or photosynthetic phenology, of six boreal tree species. We evaluated the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the photochemical reflectance index (PRI), the chlorophyll/carotenoid index (CCI), and steady-state chlorophyll fluorescence (F_S) as a measure of solar-induced fluorescence (SIF), and compared these …

Potential Of Windbreak Trees To Reduce Carbon Emissions By Agricultural Operations In The Us, William Ballesteros Possu, James R. Brandle, Michele Schoeneberger

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Along with sequestering C in forest, trees on farms are able to contribute to greenhouse mitigation through emission avoidance mechanisms. To evaluate the magnitude of these contributions, emission avoidance contributions for field and farmstead windbreak designs in regions across the United States were estimated, along with greenhouse gas (GHG) emission budgets for corn, soybean, winter wheat, and potato operations. We looked at farming scenarios with large (600 ha), mid (300 ha), and small-size (60 ha) farms containing farmsteads built before and after 2000, and growing different cropping systems. Windbreak scenarios were assumed to be up to 5% of the crop …

Common Carp Disrupt Ecosystem Structure And Function Through Middle-Out Effects, Mark A. Kaemingk, Jeffrey C. Jolley, Craig P. Paukert, David W. Willis, Kjetil Henderson, Richard S. Holland, Greg A. Wanner, Mark L. Lindvall

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Middle-out effects or a combination of top-down and bottom-up processes create many theoretical and empirical challenges in the realm of trophic ecology. We propose using specific autecology or species trait (i.e. behavioural) information to help explain and understand trophic dynamics that may involve complicated and nonunidirectional trophic interactions. The common carp (Cyprinus carpio) served as our model species for whole-lake observational and experimental studies; four trophic levels were measured to assess common carp-mediated middle-out effects across multiple lakes. We hypothesised that common carp could influence aquatic ecosystems through multiple pathways (i.e. abiotic and biotic foraging, early life feeding, nutrient). Both …

How Do Undergraduate Stem Mentors Reflect Upon Their Mentoring Experiences In An Outreach Program Engaging K-8 Youth?, Kari Nelson, Jaime Sabel, Cory Forbes, Neal Grandgenett, William Tapprich, Christine E. Cutucache

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background: Many university students are becoming involved in mentoring programs, yet few studies describe the impact of mentoring on the mentor. Additionally, many studies report that students graduating from college are not prepared to enter the workforce in terms of key career skills and/or content knowledge. Herein, we examine the impact of our program, NE STEM 4U (Nebraska Science, Technology, Engineering and Math for You), in which undergraduate (UG) mentors engage K-8 youth in after-school STEM experiments. The UGs reflected upon their experiences using post-mentoring evaluations, 12- and 24-week interviews, and exit surveys. Many of the questions asked of the …