Publications
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Reliability of satellite-based vegetation maps for planning wildfire-fuel treatments in shrub steppe: Inferences from two contrasting national parks Reliability of satellite-based vegetation maps for planning wildfire-fuel treatments in shrub steppe: Inferences from two contrasting national parks
Protecting habitat threatened by increasing wildfire size and frequency requires identifying the spatial intersection of wildfire behavior and ecological conditions that favor positive management outcomes. In the perennial sagebrush steppe of Western North America, invasions by fire-prone annual grasses are a key concern, and management of them requires reliable maps of vegetation cover...
Authors
Samuel J. Price, Chad Raymond Kluender, Matthew J. Germino, Thomas Rodhouse
Effects of riparian forest thinning on resident salmonid fishes in coastal northern California catchments Effects of riparian forest thinning on resident salmonid fishes in coastal northern California catchments
Resource managers are interested in whether thinning second-growth forests may be a viable restoration strategy for stream and riparian habitats, but may be concerned about the potential impacts that increases in stream temperature associated with riparian thinning treatments may have on cold-water salmonid fishes.We evaluated the effects of riparian forest thinning on resident...
Authors
David A. Roon, Jason B. Dunham, Joseph R. Benjamin, Bret C. Harvey, James R Bellmore
New technology for an ancient fish: A lamprey life cycle modeling tool with an R Shiny application New technology for an ancient fish: A lamprey life cycle modeling tool with an R Shiny application
Lampreys (Petromyzontiformes) are an ancient group of fishes with complex life histories. We created a life cycle model that includes an R Shiny interactive web application interface to simulate abundance by life stage. This will allow scientists and managers to connect available demographic information in a framework that can be applied to questions regarding lamprey biology and...
Authors
Dylan Gerald-Everett Gomes, Joseph R. Benjamin, Benjamin J. Clemens, Ralph Lampman, Jason B. Dunham
A partner-driven decision support model to inform the reintroduction of bull trout A partner-driven decision support model to inform the reintroduction of bull trout
Assessments of species reintroductions involve a series of complex decisions that include human perspectives and ecological contexts. Here, we present a reintroduction assessment involving bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) using a structured decision-making process. We approached this assessment by engaging partners representing public utilities, government agencies, and Tribes with...
Authors
Joseph R. Benjamin, Judith Neibauer, Hugh Anthony, Jose Vazquez, Ashley Rawhouser, Jason B. Dunham
Climate-driven deoxygenation of lakes alters the nutrient-toxin profile of a food fish Climate-driven deoxygenation of lakes alters the nutrient-toxin profile of a food fish
Climate change is rapidly altering fisheries supporting aquatic ecosystems. The implications for food security depend not only on harvest biomass but also concentrations of nutrients and toxins in fish. Using brook trout from Adirondack lakes (New York, USA), we tested whether ongoing lake deoxygenation trends will affect fish muscle omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, and mercury...
Authors
Stephen F. Jane, Sebastian A. Heilpern, J. Thomas Brenna, Thomas M. Detmer, Charles T. Driscoll, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Shree K. Giri, Raymond P. Glahn, Kurt J. Jirka, Julia Kim, Mario R. Montesdeoca, Connor I. Olson, Hui Gyu Park, Eileen A. Randall, Peter B. McIntyre
Sampling dragonflies for mercury analysis in Grand Canyon National Park, 2018–2024: A contribution of the Dragonfly Mercury Project Sampling dragonflies for mercury analysis in Grand Canyon National Park, 2018–2024: A contribution of the Dragonfly Mercury Project
The Dragonfly Mercury Project is a collaborative initiative that utilizes dragonfly larvae as biosentinels to monitor mercury concentrations across 180 national parks and other protected lands, including Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA). These indicators serve as surrogates for environmental risk and can indicate where fish consumption could pose health risks through exposure to mercury...
Authors
Colleen M. Flanagan Pritz, Colleen Emery, Branden L. Johnson, James Willacker, Christopher James Kotalik, Katherine Ko, Michael A. Bell, David Walters, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
Mercury trophic transfer to a freshwater biosentinel: Quantifying controlled bioaccumulation in larval dragonflies Mercury trophic transfer to a freshwater biosentinel: Quantifying controlled bioaccumulation in larval dragonflies
Mercury bioavailability and biomagnification in freshwater systems can be highly variable; thus, tissue data from biosentinel taxa can be useful to assess risk. Dragonfly larvae have emerged as biological indicators of mercury impairment, yet their mercury biodynamics over time and across exposure levels are not well understood. Evaluating these attributes using controlled experimental...
Authors
Cailin A. Sinclair, Tiffany S. Garcia, Rachel Vasta, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
Safety and immunogenicity of poultry vaccine for protecting critically endangered avian species against highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, United States Safety and immunogenicity of poultry vaccine for protecting critically endangered avian species against highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, United States
In 2023, an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza occurred among critically endangered California condors (Gymnogyps californianus), and >21 died. We evaluated safety, immunogenicity, vaccination strategies, and correlates of antibody response of an influenza vaccine for poultry in black vultures (Coragyps atratus) and then California condors. We noted differences in antibody...
Authors
Todd E. Katzner, Ashleigh V. Blackford, Mary Donahue, Samantha E.J. Gibbs, Julianna B. Lenoch, Michael K. Martin, Tonie E. Rocke, J. Jeffrey Root, Darren Styles, Sunny Cooper, Kristin Dean, Zachary Dvornicky-Raymond, Dominique Keller, Carlos Sanchez, Brett Dunlap, Thomas Grier, Michael P. Jones, Gregory Nitzel, Erin Patrick, Maureen Purcell, Aaron J. Specht, David L. Suarez
Ecological thresholds and transformations due to climate change: The role of abiotic stress Ecological thresholds and transformations due to climate change: The role of abiotic stress
An ecological threshold is the point at which a comparatively small environmental change triggers an abrupt and disproportionately large ecological response. In the face of accelerating climate change, there is concern that abrupt ecosystem transformations will become more widespread as critical ecological thresholds are crossed. There has been ongoing debate, however, regarding the...
Authors
Michael Osland, John B. Bradford, Lauren Toth, Matthew J. Germino, James Grace, Judith Z. Drexler, Camille Stagg, Eric E. Grossman, Karen M. Thorne, Stephanie Romanach, Davina Passeri, Gregory Noe, Jessica R. Lacy, Ken Krauss, Kurt P. Kowalski, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Neil K. Ganju, Nicholas Enwright, Joel A. Carr, Kristin B. Byrd, Kevin Buffington
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Geographic Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center
Costs of land treatments on public lands in the western United States Costs of land treatments on public lands in the western United States
Public land managers often conduct rehabilitation and restoration actions to achieve desired conditions or specific natural resource objectives. These “land treatments” include a variety of techniques, such as biomass removal or manipulation, seeding, and herbicide application. Limited information exists on the costs of conducting many common types of land treatments, but such...
Authors
James R. Meldrum, Christopher Huber, Adrian P. Monroe, Bryan C. Tarbox, Michelle Jeffries, David Pilliod, Cameron L. Aldridge
Invasion of perennial sagebrush steppe by shallow-rooted exotic cheatgrass reduces stable forms of soil carbon in a warmer but not cooler ecoregion Invasion of perennial sagebrush steppe by shallow-rooted exotic cheatgrass reduces stable forms of soil carbon in a warmer but not cooler ecoregion
Soil organic carbon ('SOC') in drylands comprises nearly a third of the global SOC pool and has relatively rapid turnover and thus is a key driver of variability in the global carbon cycle. SOC is also a sensitive indicator of longer-term directional change and disturbance-responses of ecosystem C storage. Biome-scale disruption of the dryland carbon cycle by exotic annual grass...
Authors
Sydney Maya Katz, Toby Matthew Maxwell, Marie-Anne de Graaff, Matthew J. Germino
Cytotype and local adaptation drive phenotypic variation in two subspecies of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) Cytotype and local adaptation drive phenotypic variation in two subspecies of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is a widespread and locally dominant shrub throughout many ecosystems in western North America. A. tridentata ssps. tridentata and wyomingensis are two subspecies whose populations occupy the warm-arid regions of the species range and whose trailing edge is threatened by climate change. Previous studies have presented conflicting results in relation...
Authors
Spencer R. Roop, Keith Reinhardt, Ken A. Aho, Matthew J. Germino, Bryce A. Richardson