Treesearch

The flow of organic matter (OM) along rivers and retention within floodplains contributes significantly to terrestrial carbon storage and ecosystem function. The storage and cycling of OM largely depend upon hydrogeomorphic characteristics of streams and valleys, including channel geometry and the connectivity of water across and within the floodplain. To examine the role of river morphology on carbon dynamics in mountain streams, we (a) quantify organic carbon (OC) storage in fine sediment, litter, and wood along 24 forested gravel-bed stream reaches in the Rocky Mountains of CO, USA, (b)...

Understanding the environmental and anthropogenic factors influencing habitat selection of multiple species is a foundation for quantifying human impacts on biodiversity and developing effective conservation measures.

The 2019 Museum Fire burned ~8 km2 of ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests in mountainous terrain ~2 km north of Flagstaff, Arizona, USA (Figure 1). The fire ignited on Sunday July 21, 2019 and became the highest priority fire in the nation due to the steep terrain and proximity to Flagstaff, northern Arizona's population center. The region has been in the Early 21st century drought since the mid-1990's (Hereford, 2007). This fire represents a common wildfire event that is becoming more likely in the western US due to climate change, a longer fire season and larger, more severe fires...

Current expectation is that projected climate change may have adverse effects on fish habitats and survival. The analysis leading to these concerns is typically done at large scale with limited possibility to quantify the local biological response and compare with previous conditions. Our research investigated the effects of recorded climate conditions on Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) spawning and rearing habitats and growth responses to the local climate and compared those conditions to predicted responses to a climate change. The study site was a 7 km long reach of Bear...

Iran lies at the southernmost range limit of brown bears globally. Therefore, understanding the habitat associations and patterns of population connectivity for brown bears in Iran is relevant for the species' conservation. We applied species distribution modeling to predict habitat suitability and connectivity modeling to identify population core areas and corridors. Our results showed that forest density, topographical roughness, NDVI and human footprint were the most influential variables in predicting brown bear distribution. The most crucial core areas and corridor networks for brown...

Southern Iran is a conservation priority area for the endangered Persian onager (Equus hemionus onager), which is threatened by habitat fragmentation and conflict with local communities. To better understand factors that influence onager conservation, we administered a questionnaire in local communities to survey their ecological knowledge, personal experience related to onager, and attitudes toward traditional solutions for reducing crop damage by onager. In addition, we used resistant kernel and factorial least‑cost path analyses to identify core areas and corridors for onager movement,...

Invasive species surveillance programs can utilize environmental DNA sampling and analysis to provide information on the presence of invasive species. Wider utilization of eDNA techniques for invasive species surveillance may be warranted. This paper covers topics directed towards invasive species managers and eDNA practitioners working at the intersection of eDNA techniques and invasive species surveillance. It provides background information on the utility of eDNA for invasive species management and points to various examples of its use across federal and international programs. It...

Anthropogenic land use changes have broad impacts on biological diversity, often resulting in shifts in community composition. While many studies have documented negative impacts on occurrence and abundance of species, less attention has been given to native species that potentially benefit from anthropogenic land use changes. For many species reaching high densities in human-dominated landscapes, it is unclear whether these environments represent higher quality habitat than more natural environments. We examined the influence of landscape ecological integrity on relative abundance and...

The objectives of the effectiveness monitoring plan for the marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) include mapping nesting habitat at the start of the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) and estimating changes in that habitat every 5 years. Using Maxent species distribution models, we modeled the amount and distribution of probable nesting habitat in the murrelet’s range in the NWFP area in 1993, 1 year prior to the start of the NWFP, and 25 years later (2017). Within the higher probability nesting habitat, we then estimated the amount of contiguous habitat (core) versus the amount of...

Adapting to the growing frequency of catastrophic wildfires in Greece and mitigating their effects is a complex socio-ecological problem. We used an online survey to query more than 100 engaged stakeholders who can potentially influence possible legislation and fire management organizational reform, emphasizing civil protection agencies and research entities. We focused the questionnaire on the importance of different wildfire effects to understand which were considered negative or unacceptable, indifferent, or positive. For fire prevention, we examined the range of acceptance and views on...