Critique On The Use Of The Standardized Avian Acute
Oral Toxicity Test For First Generation Anticoagulant
Rodenticides,
2012
United States Geological Survey
Critique On The Use Of The Standardized Avian Acute Oral Toxicity Test For First Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides, Nimish B. Vyas, Barnett A. Rattner
United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications
Avian risk assessments for rodenticides are often driven by the results of standardized acute oral toxicity tests without regards to a toxicant’s mode of action and time course of adverse effects. First generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) generally require multiple feedings over several days to achieve a threshold concentration in tissue and cause adverse effects. This exposure regimen is much different than that used in the standardized acute oral toxicity test methodology. Median lethal dose values derived from standardized acute oral toxicity tests underestimate the environmental hazard and risk of FGARs. Caution is warranted when FGAR toxicity, physiological effects, and pharmacokinetics …
Climate Change And Infectious Disease Dynamics,
2012
Pennsylvania State University
Climate Change And Infectious Disease Dynamics, Raina K. Plowright, Paul C. Cross, Gary M. Tabor, Emily Almberg, Leslie Bienen, Peter J. Hudson
United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications
The International Panel on Climate Change has made an unequivocal case that the earth's climate is changing in profound ways, and that human activities are contributing significantly to climate disruption (IPCC 2007). The weight of evidence demonstrates warming global temperatures, changing patterns of precipitation, and increasing climate variability, with more extreme events. Thus, the physical underpinnings of ecology are changing, with pervasive effects on disease dynamics. Interactions among environment, hosts, and pathogens drive disease processes, and climate change will influence every interaction in this triad, directly and indirectly.
Wildlife Toxicology: Environmental Contaminants And Their National And International Regulation,
2012
Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
Wildlife Toxicology: Environmental Contaminants And Their National And International Regulation, K. Christiana Grim, Anne Fairbrother, Barnett A. Rattner
United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications
Wildlife toxicology is the study of potentially harmful effects of toxic agents in wild animals, focusing on amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Fish and aquatic invertebrates are not usually included as part of wildlife toxicology since they fall within the field of aquatic toxicology, but collectively both disciplines often provide inSight into one another and both are integral parts of ecotoxicology (Hoffman et al. 2003). It entails monitoring, hypothesis testing, forensics, and risk assessment; encompasses molecular through ecosystem responses and various research venues (laboratory, mesocosm, field); and has been shaped by chemical use and misuse, ecological mishaps, and biomedical research. …
Sorta Situ: The New Reality Of Management Conditions For Wildlife Populations In The Absence Of "Wild" Spaces,
2012
Wildlife and Conservation Medicine
Sorta Situ: The New Reality Of Management Conditions For Wildlife Populations In The Absence Of "Wild" Spaces, Barbara A. Wolfe, Roberto F. Aguilar, A. Alonso Aguirre, Glenn H. Olsen, Evan S. Blumer
United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications
The rate of species loss today is approaching catastrophic levels. Scientists project that over the next two decades, more than 1 million species of plants and animals will become extinct. E.O. Wilson has estimated that "the rate ofloss may exceed 50,000 a year, 137 a day ... this rate, while horrendous, is actually the minimal estimate, based on the species/area relationship alone" (Kellert and Wilson 1993, p. 16; Aguirre 2009). Ever-expanding communities, strained natural resources, changes in land use, and other anthropogenic drivers are compromising ecosystems and rapidly changing the landscape and the availability of "wild" spaces.
Agricultural Drought Monitoring In Kenya Using Evapotranspiration Derived From Remote Sensing And
Reanalysis Data,
2012
University of California, Santa Barbara
Agricultural Drought Monitoring In Kenya Using Evapotranspiration Derived From Remote Sensing And Reanalysis Data, Michael T. Marshall, Christopher Funk, Joel Michaelsen
United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications
More than half of the people in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than US$ 1.25 per day, and nearly 30% do not receive sufficient nourishment to maintain daily health (UN, 2009a). These figures are expected to rise as a result of the recent global financial crisis that has led to an increase in food prices. Food for Peace (FFP), the program that administers more than 85% of U.S. international food aid, recently reported that the seven largest recipient countries of food aid worldwide are in sub-Saharan Africa (FFP, 2010). In Kenya, the fifth largest recipient of food aid from FFP …
Fire And The Invasive Annual Grass Microstegium Vimineum In Eastern Deciduous Forests,
2012
University of Florida
Fire And The Invasive Annual Grass Microstegium Vimineum In Eastern Deciduous Forests, S. Luke Flory, Keith Clay, Sarah Emery, Joseph Robb
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
Non-native plant invasions have the potential to change natural and prescribed fire regimes by increasing fuel loads, continuity of fuels, and fuel composition, which may alter fire intensity, damage native species, and promote further invasions. In this project we sought to evaluate the interaction between fire and the invasive annual grass Microstegium vimineum in eastern deciduous forests. Our goal was to determine if invasions enhance fire intensity, including fire temperatures, flame heights, and fire duration, and negatively affect tree regeneration, and stimulate further invasions. We also sought to determine how prescribed fires and the timing of fires affect the density …
Wildfire Regime Shifts In Temperate Forest Ecosystems: International Symposium In New Zealand,
2012
University of Colorado
Wildfire Regime Shifts In Temperate Forest Ecosystems: International Symposium In New Zealand, Tomas Veblen, Alan Tepley, Andres Holz
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
This project consisted of organizing and executing a one-day symposium on “Wildfire Regime Shifts in Temperate Forest Ecosystems” in conjunction with the triennial meeting of the Southern Connection Congress. The VIIth Southern Connection Congress drew together more than 350 environmental scientists and resource managers for its triennial meeting in Dunedin, New Zealand from January 25 to 30, 2013. The Southern Connection Congress (SCC) is a meeting of interdisciplinary researchers and natural resource managers who are interested in the biota and ecosystems of the temperate latitudes of the southern hemisphere. Attendees are from a wide range of research and professional disciplines …
Wildland Fire Suppression And Land Development In The Wildland/Urban Interface,
2012
Resources for the Future
Wildland Fire Suppression And Land Development In The Wildland/Urban Interface, Sheila Olmstead, Carolyn Kousky, Roger Sedjo
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
This project has explored the hypothesis that public fire suppression in fire‐prone areas acts as a subsidy to landowners, incentivizing conversion of land to residential and commercial development. Landowners do not bear the full cost of their choice to build on land in fire‐prone areas, since they do not pay for suppression, though they reap all of the benefits, potentially resulting in economically inefficient levels of development. To test this hypothesis, we performed an econometric analysis of U.S. land use change between 1970 and 2000. Statistically, we identified the impacts of changes in fire suppression policy by exploiting a natural …
To Burn Or Not To Burn Oriental Bittersweet: A Fire Manager’S Conundrum,
2012
U.S. Geological Survey
To Burn Or Not To Burn Oriental Bittersweet: A Fire Manager’S Conundrum, Noel B. Pavlovic, Stacey A. Leicht-Young, Ralph Grundel, Scott A. Weyenberg, Neal Mulconrey
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) is an introduced liana (woody vine) that has invaded much of the Eastern United States and is expanding west into the Great Plains. In forests, it can girdle and damage canopy trees. At Indiana Dunes, we have discovered that it is invading non-forested dune habitats as well. Anecdotal evidence suggests that fire might facilitate its spread, but the relationship between fire and this aggressive invader is poorly understood. We investigated four areas important to fire management of oriental bittersweet, each of which we will briefly summarize here. 1) What fire temperatures cause seed mortality? For seeds, …
Using Escaped Prescribed Fire Reviews To Improve Organizational Learning,
2012
USDA Forest Service
Using Escaped Prescribed Fire Reviews To Improve Organizational Learning, Anne E. Black Dr., James Saveland Dr., Dave Thomas, Jennifer Ziegler Dr.
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
The US wildland fire community has been interested in cultivating organizational learning to improve safety and overall performance for a number of years. A key focus has been on understanding the difference between culpability (to be guilty) and accountability (to explain) and on re-orienting review processes towards building a collective account of (as opposed to finding individual blame for) unwanted outcomes. A variety of innovative methodologies have been developed, yet until this project, there has been no systematic reflection to determine whether or how any of the existing review processes might be assisting organizational learning. Through a series of five …
A Decision-Support System For Assessing The Impact Of Fire Management On Threatened And Endangered Species,
2012
USDA Forest Service
A Decision-Support System For Assessing The Impact Of Fire Management On Threatened And Endangered Species, Gordon Reeves, Rebecca Flitcroft, Lee E. Benda, Pete Bisson, Steve Wondzell, Jeff Falke, Kris Mcnyset, Ken Vance-Borland, Dan Miller
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
Historically, wildfire was an important agent of change in landscapes across the western United States. Fires of varying magnitudes and extents contributed to a mosaic of dynamic landscape conditions. For the past century, fire management that focuses on fire suppression has effectively altered the composition of many vegetation communities across the landscape. Fire management and other landuse practices associated with natural resource use, agriculture, and residential development have changed the complexity of terrestrial landscapes. Aquatic systems have not been exempt from these changes: alterations in disturbance processes on the landscape have changed inputs into the stream environment, and practices such …
A Fire Prevention Effectiveness Assessment For Multiple Ownerships,
2012
USDA Forest Service
A Fire Prevention Effectiveness Assessment For Multiple Ownerships, Jeffrey P. Prestemon Dr., Karen L. Abt, David T. Butry, Douglas S. Thomas, Sam Scranton, Scott L. Goodrick, Parker T. Mothershead, Terry K. Haimes, Susan Marzec, John Owens, Suzanne Romero, Reid Shelley, Loren Walker, Angela Yearwood
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
This study first summarized findings of fire prevention education statistical modeling from the State of Florida from a study originally led by the Principal Investigator and two major collaborators (Karen Abt, USDA Forest Service, and David T. Butry, National Institute of Standards and Technology). The study next measured the statistical effects of wildfire prevention programs occurring on tribal lands administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, with primary involvement of major collaborator Sam Scranton (Bureau of Indian Affairs). Using first a binary variable indicating the presence or absence of a wildfire prevention program on lands managed by the tribe or …
Affecting Risk: Improving Hazard Communication In The Wildland-Urban Interface,
2012
Pennsylvania State University
Affecting Risk: Improving Hazard Communication In The Wildland-Urban Interface, Melissa Wright Dr., Destiny Aman
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
Wildfire hazard is a growing problem in many areas of the United States, especially in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where homes and other structures border or intermingle with forests, shrubs and grasslands. Despite years of educational outreach by fire management officials promoting effective and affordable mitigation strategies, research shows that residents, especially seasonal residents and those new to an area, still tend to under-invest in mitigation, even when they perceive their risk to be high. Meanwhile, the social and economic costs of wildfire have increased with fire size and intensity and far exceed the costs of mitigation. This problem has …
Age-Class Mosaics And Wind-Driven Fire: Further Fuel For The Debate,
2012
U.S. Forest Service
Age-Class Mosaics And Wind-Driven Fire: Further Fuel For The Debate, Jan L. Beyers, Philip J. Riggan, David Weise, Timothy Paysen, Marcia Narog
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
In 2006 the Santa Ana wind-driven Esperanza fire burned through the North Mountain Experimental Area (NMEA) and vicinity, including the scars of 10 previous fires. Multiple images of the fire’s progression were taken using PSW Research Station’s airborne FireMapper thermal-imaging system. Existing fuels data and historic NMEA maps plus new fire images were used to investigate relationships between vegetation history, fire behavior and severity, and fuel consumption. Soil samples were collected at a subset of fire severity sample points to assess seed bank survival. Coordinated documentation of vegetation recovery addressed the effects of age class and fire severity on chaparral …
Assessing Fuels Treatments In Southern California National Forests In The Context Of Climate Change,
2012
Desert Research Institute
Assessing Fuels Treatments In Southern California National Forests In The Context Of Climate Change, Timothy J. Brown, Crystal A. Kolden, John T. Abatzoglou
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
One of the key uncertainties in fuels treatments is their longevity under a changing climate. Several recent studies have assessed fuel treatment effectiveness during historic fires, and in many cases found the treatment less effective than desired, particularly during extreme or record conditions. In 2007, southern California experienced one of the most severe fire seasons to-date due to record low fuel moistures early in the fire season (a key driver of the two-month long Zaca fire) and historic Santa Ana winds late in the season (resulting in several large late October fires). Climate change projections for the region suggest that …
Can Climate Change Increase Fire Severity Independent Of Fire Intensity?,
2012
USGS
Can Climate Change Increase Fire Severity Independent Of Fire Intensity?, Phil Van Mantgem, Marybeth Keifer, Rob Klinger, Eric Knapp
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
We tested the idea that climate may affect forest fire severity independent of fire intensity. Pervasive warming can lead to chronic stress on forest trees (McDowell et al. 2008; Raffa et al. 2008), resulting in higher sensitivity to fire-induced damage (van Mantgem et al. 2003). Thus, there may be ongoing increases in fire severity (the number of trees killed), even when there is no change in fire intensity (the amount of heat released during a fire). We examined this question at a subcontinental scale by synthesizing existing information from plot-based prescribed fire monitoring databases across the western United States of …
Phase 1 Of The Smoke And Emissions Model Intercomparison Project (Semip): Creation Of Semip And Evaluation Of Current Models,
2012
U.S. Forest Service
Phase 1 Of The Smoke And Emissions Model Intercomparison Project (Semip): Creation Of Semip And Evaluation Of Current Models, Narasimhan K. Larkin, Tara M. Strand, Stacy A. Drury, Sean M. Raffuse, Robert C. Solomon, Susan M. O'Neill, Neill Wheeler, Shihming Huang, Miriam Roring, Hilary R. Hafner
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
Managers, regulators, and others often need information on the emissions from wildland fire and their expected smoke impacts. In order to create this information, combinations of models are utilized. The modeling steps follow a logical progression from fire activity through to emissions and dispersion. In general, several models and/or datasets are available for each modeling step, resulting in a large number of combinations that can be created to produce fire emissions or smoke impacts. Researchers, managers, and policy makers need information on how different model choices affect the resulting output, and guidance on what choices to make in selecting the …
A National Study Of The Consequences
Of Fire And Fire Surrogate Treatments,
2012
USDA
A National Study Of The Consequences Of Fire And Fire Surrogate Treatments, Phil Weatherspoon, Jim Agee, Phil Aune, Jim Baldwin, Jamie Barbour, Frank Beall, Julio Betancourt, Ralph Boerner, Matt Busse, Carl Edminster, Gary Fiddler, Carl Fiedler, Sally Haase, Kathy Harchsen, Mick Harrington, Ron Hodgson, Sue Husari, Jon Keeley, Mike Landram, Bill Laudenslayer, Jim Mciver, Dan Neary, Bill Otrosina, Roger Ottmar, Martin Ritchie, Kevin Ryan, Patrick Shea, Carl Skinner, Scott Stephens, Nate Stephensen, Elaine Kennedy Sutherland, Bob Vihanek, Dale Wade, Tom Waldrop, Dan Yaussy, Andy Youngblood, Steve Zack
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
Many U.S. forests, especially those with historically short-interval, low- to moderate-severity fire regimes, are too dense and have excessive quantities of fuels. Widespread treatments are needed to restore ecological integrity and reduce the high risk of destructive, uncharacteristically severe fires in these forests. Among possible treatments, however, the appropriate balance among cuttings, mechanical fuel treatments, and prescribed fire is often unclear. For improved decisionmaking, resource managers need much better information about the consequences of alternative management practices involving fire and mechanicaVmanual "fire surrogates." Long-term, interdisciplinary research thus should be initiated to quantify the consequences and tradeoffs of alternative fire and …
Cumulative Effects Of Fire And Fuels Management On Stream Water Quality And Ecosystem Dynamics,
2012
U.S. Geological Survey
Cumulative Effects Of Fire And Fuels Management On Stream Water Quality And Ecosystem Dynamics, David S. Pilloid, Robert S. Arkle
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
Prescribed fires and wildland fire-use are increasingly important management tools used to reduce fuel loads and restore the ecological integrity of western forests. Although a basic understanding of the effects of fire on aquatic ecosystems exists, the cumulative and possibly synergistic effects of wildfire following prescribed fire are unknown. Wildfires following prescribed fire may produce different burn severities and effects on riparian and stream ecosystems than wildfires in fire suppressed forests (e.g., fires absent >70 yrs) or prescribed fires alone. The goal of this study was to quantify and compare the effects of wildfire on stream and riparian ecosystems under …
Effects Of Fires And Insects On Fuel Structures In Piñon-Juniper And Post-Fire Invasive Communities,
2012
Prescott College
Effects Of Fires And Insects On Fuel Structures In Piñon-Juniper And Post-Fire Invasive Communities, Lisa Floyd-Hanna Dr., Tim Crews Dr., William H. Romme, David Hanna, Monique Rocca Dr., Dustin Hanna, George San Miguel
Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports
In the last decade, piñon-juniper (Pinus edulis-Juniperus osteosperma) woodlands of southwestern Colorado have been heavily impacted by wildfires and insects, and the effects on fuel structures and future fire intervals have been unclear. In these piñon-juniper woodlands, pre-historic fire rotations of up to 400 years were documented, but in recent climatic conditions, large stand-replacing wildfires burned between 1989 and 2008. Since the 1990s, a period of drought and rising temperatures, portions of the post-fire landscape were targets for invasive Carduus nutans, muskthistle and Bromus tectorum, cheatgrass, whose presence create unprecedented fuels, may shorten fire intervals, and reduce native biodiversity. We …
