Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Experimental Study Of Local Fire Conditions And Effects On Surface Or Near-Surface Archeological Resources At National Park Service Units – Midwest Region., Jay T. Sturdevant, Rod Skalsky, Cody L. Wienk, Brennan Dolan, Dustin Gonzalez, David Amrine

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Today, park managers must routinely balance the restoration needs of natural resources with the preservation of cultural resources. This project was designed to provide park managers with scientific data on the impacts from wildland fire to archeological resources at National Park Service units in the Midwest Region. Experimental research was conducted at six parks to record data on fire conditions (i.e., fuels, fire temperature, and burn duration) and the impacts on multiple classes of archeological materials routinely observed at sites within the region. The experimental study of fire conditions in different regional environments addresses questions regarding the threats or non-threats …

A Regional Assessment Of The Ecological Effects Of Chipping And Mastication Fuels Reduction And Forest Restoration Treatments., Mike Battaglia, Charles Rhoades, Monique E. Rocca, Michael G. Ryan

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Over the past several years, fire managers have increased their use of mastication treatments, the on-site disposal of shrubs and small-diameter trees through chipping and shredding. Mastication is a relatively untested management practice that alters the chemical and physical conditions of the forest floor and may influence vegetation regrowth and fuel development for years or decades. Eighteen sites were established across four ecosystems of the southern Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Plateau: lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), mixed conifer (Pinus ponderosa, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Pinus flexilis, and Pinus contorta), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), and pinyon pine/juniper …

Enhancing Western Managers’ Knowledge And Use Of Available Economic And Financial Biomass Information And Tools, Todd A. Morgan, Kenneth Skog, Greg Jones, Woodam Chung, Henry Spelter, John Baldridge, Jason Brandt, Dan Loeffler, Jon Songster

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) sponsored this study to enhance the ability of federal land managers to understand and deal with the economic and financial aspects of woody biomass removal as a component of fire hazard reduction treatments. The study objectives were to synthesize the body of economic and financial information and tools currently available to federal land managers in the West, identify managers’ information needs and disconnects from available information, and fill the gaps between existing information and tools versus managers’ awareness of available information and access to tools. The methods used for this study included 1) preparing …

Fire And Fuels Management In Coast Redwood Forests, Steven P. Norman, J. Morgan Varner, Leonel Arguello, Stephen Underwood, Bradley Graham, Greg Jennings, Yana Valachovic, Christopher Lee

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Coast redwood forests rank among the most significant natural features of North America, yet our understanding of how they came to be and how we might sustain them has been beset by scientific and management uncertainty for decades. A key part of this controversy has been the historical importance of fire given the mild coastal climate and small number of lightning ignitions. In the northern part of the coast redwood range, past research found that fire was uncommon, but results conflicted with others that found fire to be as frequent as in any dry forest of western North America. We …

A Chronosequence Feasibility Assessment Of Emergency Fire Rehabilitation Records Within The Intermountain Western United States, Kevin C. Knutson, David A. Pyke, Troy A. Wirth, David S. Pilliod, Matthew L. Brooks, Jeanne C. Chambers

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Department of the Interior (DOI) bureaus have invested heavily (for example, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) spent more than $60 million in fiscal year 2007) in seeding vegetation for emergency stabilization and burned area rehabilitation of non-forested arid lands over the past 10 years. The primary objectives of these seedings commonly are to (1) reduce the post-fire dominance of non-native annual grasses, such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and red brome (Bromus rubens); (2) minimize the probability of recurrent fire; and (3) ultimately produce desirable vegetation characteristics (for example, ability to recover following disturbance [resilience], resistance to invasive species, …

Extending The Reach Of The Fire Effects Planning Framework By Taking A Critical Approach To Science Delivery And Application, Anne E. Black, Carol Miller, Vita Wright, Kate Walker, Carolyn Ballard, Paula Nasiatka, Brett Fay, Linda Chappell, Dave Calkin

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

The Fire Effects Planning Framework (FEPF), developed under JFSP project (99-1-3-16) “Wildland fuels management: evaluating and planning risks and benefits,” was formally completed in June 2004. FEPF is a logical framework that uses available data (e.g., local, LANDFIRE data) and existing software (e.g., GIS, Farsite, FlamMap, expert knowledge) to produce maps of probable fire effects during the pre-season or in advance of a fire front. The initial project included significant technology transfer activities. As that project concluded, however, we continued to receive requests for assistance from field managers (District, Forest and Regional Forest Service offices), international organizations (Interior West Fire …

Droughtscape, Winter 2009, Kelly Smith

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

Bastrop TX: Feb. 12 Central CA: Feb. 24, 26

La Niña May Keep West and Gulf Coast Dry

Big Canoes to Launch

2008 in Review

U.S. Feels Drought Impacts in 2008

NDMC Welcomes Widhalm, Sakamoto

Climate Modelers at Workshop Look to Sea Surface Temperatures for Drought Prediction

Exploring Predation And Animal Coloration Through Outdoor Activity, Joseph J. Fontaine, Karie L. Decker

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Although children often characterize animals by the animals' color or pattern. the children seldom understand the evolutionary and ecological factors that favor particular colors. In this ilrticle. we describe two activities that help students understand the distinct evolutionary stmtegies of warning coloration and camoutlage. Because both of these strategies effectively allow prey animals to avoid predation. they can help explain considerable variation in animal coloration.

Seasonal Patterns Of Song Structure Variation In A Suboscine Passerine, Bruce A. Robertson, Joseph J. Fontaine, Elizabeth Loomis

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Studies of song and its function in suboscine passerines are rare. We examined spatial and temporal variation in song structure in a wild population of Olive-sided Flycatchers (Contopus cooperi) and tested among hypotheses explaining this variation. Repeatable variation in song type was observed both within and among individuals. More than 10% of territorial males expressed atypical song types, i.e., permutations of sequential missing and repeated elements of the typical adult song. Atypical songs were predominantly expressed by unpaired males independent of habitat type. A small fraction of males sang atypical song through the middle of the breeding season, …

Nebraska Cooperative Fish And Wildlife Research Unit—Usgs: Report Of Activities October 2008 – October 2009

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Annual Reports

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .. 1
PERSONNEL AND COOPERATORS . 2
Unit Personnel .. 2
Coordinating Committee Members . 4
Cooperators .. 5
MILESTONES .. 7
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS .. 8
THESES AND DISERTATIONS .. 8
PROJECTS IN FISHERY SCIENCE . 9
Angler Behavior in Response to Management Actions on Nebraska Reservoirs . 10
Geographic Trends in Contamination of Nebraska’s Surface Waters as Indexed by Sex Steroids of Common Carp .. 11
Impact of White Perch on Walleye at Branched Oak and Pawnee Reservoirs . 12
Latitudinal Influence on Age Estimation of Bluegill . 13
Predators of White Perch at Branched Oak …

The Communicator, Volume 5, Issue 1, January 2009

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

Faces – New and Old (Cassie Manhart; Peter Spirk; Nate Gosch; Beth Forbus) Changes (Dustin Martin; Chris Lewis; Thad Miller; Justin Williams) New Federal Staff (Dr. Joseph (TJ) Fontaine) Publications New Research Angler Behavior in Response to Management Actions on Nebraska Reservoirs Missouri River Mitigation: Implementation of Amphibian Monitoring and Adaptive Management for Wetland Restoration Evaluation Current Research Assessing the Relationship between Stable Isotopes and Grassland Bird Productivity on Great Plains National Park Service Properties Cross-Scale Structure in Ecosystems Diversity and Ecological Functions Conferences/Meetings/Workshops Teaching Awards & Recognitions UCARE Project Graduate Student News (Aaron Alai; Aaron Lotz; Ryan Lueckenhoff; Annabel …

The Communicator, Volume 5, Issue 2, August 2009

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

Faces – New and Old (Tony Barada; Jason DeBoer; Caryl Cashmere; Karie Decker; Lucas Kowaleski; Kody Unstad; Michelle Hellman; Carla Knight; Lexi Maple; Thad Miller) Awards & Recognitions (Jason DeBoer; Andrew Furman; Dustin Martin; Kristine Nemec; Sarah Rehme; Amy Williams) Service (Kevin Pope; Valerie Egger) Current Research Angler Behavior in Response to Management Actions on Nebraska Reservoirs Assessing the Relationship between Stable Isotopes and Grassland Bird Productivity on Great Plains National Park Service Properties Diversity and Ecological Functions The Effect of Common Reed (Phragmites australis) on River Otter (Lontra canadensis) Habitat Use Identifying Socio-Ecological Factors Determining Invasions and Extinctions Conferences/Meetings/Workshops …

Variability In Population Abundance Is Associated With Thresholds Between Scaling Regimes, Donald Wardwell, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Discontinuous structure in landscapes may result in discontinuous, aggregated species bodymass patterns, reflecting the scales of structure available to animal communities within a landscape. The edges of these body-mass aggregations reflect transitions between available scales of landscape structure. Such transitions, or scale breaks, are theoretically associated with increased biological variability. We hypothesized that variability in population abundance is greater in animal species near the edge of bodymass aggregations than it is in species that are situated in the interior of body-mass aggregations. We tested this hypothesis by examining both temporal and spatial variability in the abundance of species in the …

A Neotropical Migrant Bird’S Dilemma— Where To Stop For A Good Meal, Joseph J. Fontaine, Charles Van Riper Iii

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

To learn how migrating birds determine where to stop and find food, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Arizona University, and The University of Arizona studied the behavior of 28 species of neotropical migrant songbirds—warblers, flycatchers, tanagers, and vireos—along the lower Colorado River from 2001 to 2004. They found that, like interstate travelers greeted by restaurant billboards, songbirds flying over Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, relied on the flowering of honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) to detect the availability of insects that they prey on. Understanding where and why migrant birds stop will help land managers better protect …

Spatial And Temporal Variation In Climate Change: A Bird’S Eye View, Joseph J. Fontaine, K. L. Decker, S. K. Skagen, C. Van Riper Iii

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Recent changes in global climate have dramatically altered worldwide temperatures and the corresponding timing of seasonal climate conditions. Recognizing the degree to which species respond to changing climates is therefore an area of increasing conservation concern as species that are unable to respond face increased risk of extinction. Here we examine spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the rate of climate change across western North America and discuss the potential for conditions to arise that may limit the ability of western migratory birds to adapt to changing climates. Based on 52 years of climate data, we show that changes in temperature …

Stomach Capacities Of Six Freshwater Fishes, Nathan J.C. Gosch, Kevin L. Pope, Paul H. Michaletz

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We investigated the relationship between stomach capacity and total body length in bluegill (Lepomis macrocirirus), spotted bass (Microplerus punctulatus), white crappie (Pomoxis annularis), black crappie (Pomoxis nigromoculatus), channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) , and white bass (Morone chrysops). The rate of change in stomach capacity for a given change in fish length was greatest for spoiled bass and channel catfish, which may indicate greater ontogenetic shifts in feeding strategies. Fish with larger stomach capacities should have more plastic diets because they are capable of consuming a wider range of …

Toxicity Of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (De-71) In Chicken (Gallus Gallus), Mallard (Anas Platyrhynchos), And American Kestrel (Falco Sparverius) Embryos And Hatchlings, Moira A. Mckernan, Barnett A. Rattner, Robert C. Hales, Mary Ann Ottinger

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Embryonic survival, pipping and hatching success, and sublethal biochemical, endocrine, and histological endpoints were examined in hatchling chickens (Gallus gallus), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and American kestrels (Falco sparverius) following air cell administration of a pentabrominated diphenyl ether (penta-BDE; DE-71) mixture (0.01–20 µg/g egg) or polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener 126 (3,3’,4,4’,5-pentachlorobiphenyl; 0.002 µg/g egg). The penta-BDE decreased pipping and hatching success at concentrations of 10 and 20 µg/g egg in kestrels but had no effect on survival endpoints in chickens or mallards. Sublethal effects in hatchling chickens included ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (EROD) induction and histological …

Historical Geography Of Yellagonga Regional Park, Western Australia, Susan Ujma

Theses : Honours

The principle aim of this study was to reconstruct the land use history of the Yellagonga Regional Park wetland landscape. Located approximately twenty kilometres north of Perth, covering about 1400 hectares, the Park lies within the North-West Corridor of the metropolitan area. This research, assisted by archival sources, demonstrates that prior to early European settlement the Yellagonga wetlands were quintessential summer hunting and gathering sites for the Nyoongar Aboriginal people. The wetlands were utilised for water, food gathering, hunting, corroborees and rituals that governed their tribal lives. Early European settlers, market gardeners, and later subdivision for urban development, have adversely …

Simulation Of Boundary Layer Trajectory Dispersion Sensitivity To Soil Moisture Conditions: Mm5 And Noah-Based Investigation, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A System For Estimating Bowen Ratio And Evaporation From Waste Lagoons, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Near Surface Atmospheric Response To Simulated Changes In Land-Cover, Vegetation Fraction, And Soil Moisture Over Western Kentucky, Rezaul Mahmood

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Empire Expansion On Household Diet: The Inka In Northern Chile’S Atacama Desert, Sheila D. Vinton, Linda Perry, Karl J. Reinhard, Calogero M. Santoro, Isabel Teixeira-Santos

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The impact of expanding civilization on the health of American indigenous societies has long been studied. Most studies have focused on infections and malnutrition that occurred when less complex societies were incorporated into more complex civilizations. The details of dietary change, however, have rarely been explored. Using the analysis of starch residues recovered from coprolites, here we evaluate the dietary adaptations of indigenous farmers in northern Chile’s Atacama Desert during the time that the Inka Empire incorporated these communities into their economic system. This system has been described as ‘‘complementarity’’ because it involves interaction and trade in goods produced at …

Possible Sources Of Archaeological Maize Found In Chaco Canyon And Aztec Ruin, New Mexico, Larry Benson, J. R. Stein, H. E. Taylor

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Maize played a major role in Chaco’s interaction with outlying communities in the southern Colorado Plateau. This paper seeks to determine where archaeological corn cobs brought to Chaco Canyon were grown. Strontium-isotope and trace-metal ratios of 180 soil-water and 18 surface-water sites in the Southern Colorado Plateau have revealed possible source areas for some of 37 archaeological corn cobs from Chaco Canyon and 10 archaeological corn cobs from Aztec Ruin, New Mexico. The most probable source areas for cobs that predate the middle-12th-century drought include several Upper Rio Chaco sites (not including Chaco Canyon). There are many potential source areas …

A Robust, Multisite Holocene History Of Drift Ice Off Northern Iceland: Implications For North Atlantic Climate, John T. Andrews, Dennis Darby, Dennis Eberle, Anne E. Jennings, Matthias Moros, Astrid Ogilvie

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

An important indicator of Holocene climate change is provided by evidence for variations in the extent of drift ice. A proxy for drift ice in Iceland waters is provided by the presence of quartz. Quantitative xray diffraction analysis of the < 2 mm sediment fraction was undertaken on 16 cores from around Iceland. The quartz weight (wt.)% estimates from each core were integrated into 250-yr intervals between −0.05 and 11.7 cal. ka BP. Median quartz wt.% varied between 0.2 and 3.4 and maximum values ranged between 2.8 and 11.8 wt.%. High values were attained in the early Holocene and minimum values were reached 6–7 cal. ka BP. Quartz wt.% then rose steadily during the late Holocene. Our data exhibit no correlation with counts on haematite-stained quartz (HSQ) grains from VM129-191 west of Ireland casting doubt on the ice-transport origin. A pilot study on the provenance of Fe oxide grains in two cores that cover the last 1.3 and 6.1 cal. ka BP indicated a large fraction of the grains between 1 and 6 cal. ka BP were from either Icelandic or presently unsampled sources. However, there was a dramatic increase in Canadian and Russian sources from the Arctic Ocean ~1 cal. ka BP. These data may indicate the beginning of an Arctic Oscillation-like climate mode.

History Of Wildlife Toxicology, Barnett A. Rattner

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The field of wildlife toxicology can be traced to

the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Initial

reports included unintentional poisoning of birds from

ingestion of spent lead shot and predator control agents,

alkali poisoning of waterbirds, and die-offs from maritime

oil spills. With the advent of synthetic pesticides in the

1930s and 1940s, effects of DDT and other pesticides were

investigated in free-ranging and captive wildlife. In

response to research findings in the US and UK, and the

publication of Silent Spring in 1962, public debate on the

hazards of pollutants arose and national contaminant

monitoring programs were initiated. …

Climate Trends Of The North American Prairie Pothole Region 1906–2000, Bruce Millett, W. Carter Johnson, Glenn Guntenspergen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is unique to North America. Its millions of wetlands and abundant ecosystem goods and services are highly sensitive to wide variations of temperature and precipitation in time and space characteristic of a strongly continental climate. Precipitation and temperature gradients across the PPR are orthogonal to each other. Precipitation nearly triples from west to east from approximately 300 mm/year to 900 mm/year, while mean annual temperature ranges from approximately 1°C in the north to nearly 10°C in the south. Twentieth-century weather records for 18 PPR weather stations representing 6 ecoregions revealed several trends. The climate generally …

Climate Trends Of The North American Prairie Pothole Region 1906–2000, Bruce Millett, W. Carter Johnson, Glenn R. Guntenspergen

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is unique to North America. Its millions of wetlands and abundant ecosystem goods and services are highly sensitive to wide variations of temperature and precipitation in time and space characteristic of a strongly continental climate. Precipitation and temperature gradients across the PPR are orthogonal to each other. Precipitation nearly triples from west to east from approximately 300 mm/year to 900 mm/year, while mean annual temperature ranges from approximately 1◦C in the north to nearly 10◦C in the south. Twentieth-century weather records for 18 PPR weather stations representing 6 ecoregions revealed several trends. The climate generally …

Progress In Strategic Research Areas, Scott R. Abella

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Three years ago through conversations with resource managers, assessing the status of knowledge of the scientific literature, and our own interests, we set forth several strategic research areas that we believed would be timely for advancing Mojave Desert conservation and management.

Inside Unlv, Diane Russell, Michelle Mouton, Cate Weeks, Stephanie Strow

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Tall Fescue (Lolium Arundinaceum (Schreb.) S.J. Darbyshire) Cultivar Performance In The Central California Coastal Region, Seril Shimizu

Master's Theses

Tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) S.J. Darbyshire) has long been known as a turfgrass that utilizes lower levels of inputs than most other cool season turfgrasses (Turgeon, 2005). In recent years, turf breeders have been selecting for cultivars of tall fescue that have finer leaf textures. As the use of tall fescue expands, consumers want to now what cultivar to use and how to manage it. This study looked at 18 tall fescue cultivars grown at two mowing heights of five and 10 centimeters and evaluated plant quality based on stand density, leaf texture, and genetic plant color. In the …