Publications
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Climate change's impact on key ecosystem services and the human well-being they support in the US Climate change's impact on key ecosystem services and the human well-being they support in the US
Climate change alters the functions of ecological systems. As a result, the provision of ecosystem services and the well-being of people that rely on these services are being modified. Climate models portend continued warming and more frequent extreme weather events across the US. Such weather-related disturbances will place a premium on the ecosystem services that people rely on. We...
Authors
Erik J. Nelson, Peter Kareiva, Mary Ruckelshaus, Katie K. Arkema, Gary Geller, Evan Girvetz, Dave Goodrich, Virginia Matzek, Malin Pinsky, Walt Reid, Martin Saunders, Darius J. Semmens, Heather Tallis
Moving across the border: Modeling migratory bat populations Moving across the border: Modeling migratory bat populations
The migration of animals across long distances and between multiple habitats presents a major challenge for conservation. For the migratory Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana), these challenges include identifying and protecting migratory routes and critical roosts in two countries, the United States and Mexico. Knowledge and conservation of bat migratory routes is...
Authors
Wiederholt Ruscena, Laura López-Hoffman, Jon Cline, Rodrigo Medellin, Paul M. Cryan, Amy Russell, Gary McCracken, Jay Diffendorfer, Darius J. Semmens
National valuation of monarch butterflies indicates an untapped potential for incentive-based conservation National valuation of monarch butterflies indicates an untapped potential for incentive-based conservation
The annual migration of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) has high cultural value and recent surveys indicate monarch populations are declining. Protecting migratory species is complex because they cross international borders and depend on multiple regions. Understanding how much, and where, humans place value on migratory species can facilitate market‐based conservation approaches...
Authors
James E. Diffendorfer, John Loomiz, Leslie Ries, Karen Oberhauser, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, Darius J. Semmens, Brice Semmens, Bruce Butterfield, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Josh Goldstein, Ruscena Wiederholt, Brady Mattson, Wayne E. Thogmartin
Ecological thresholds as a basis for defining management triggers for National Park Service vital signs: case studies for dryland ecosystems Ecological thresholds as a basis for defining management triggers for National Park Service vital signs: case studies for dryland ecosystems
Threshold concepts are used in research and management of ecological systems to describe and interpret abrupt and persistent reorganization of ecosystem properties (Walker and Meyers, 2004; Groffman and others, 2006). Abrupt change, referred to as a threshold crossing, and the progression of reorganization can be triggered by one or more interactive disturbances such as land-use...
Authors
Matthew A. Bowker, Mark E. Miller, R. Travis Belote, Steven L. Garman
Evaluation of Pleistocene groundwater flow through fractured tuffs using a U-series disequilibrium approach, Pahute Mesa, Nevada, USA Evaluation of Pleistocene groundwater flow through fractured tuffs using a U-series disequilibrium approach, Pahute Mesa, Nevada, USA
Groundwater flow through fractured felsic tuffs and lavas at the Nevada National Security Site represents the most likely mechanism for transport of radionuclides away from underground nuclear tests at Pahute Mesa. To help evaluate fracture flow and matrix–water exchange, we have determined U-series isotopic compositions on more than 40 drill core samples from 5 boreholes that represent...
Authors
James B. Paces, Paul J. Nichols, Leonid A. Neymark, Harihar Rajaram
Oceanographic controls on sedimentary and geochemical facies on the Peru outer shelf and upper slope Oceanographic controls on sedimentary and geochemical facies on the Peru outer shelf and upper slope
Concentrations and characteristics of organic matter in surface sediments deposited under an intense oxygen-minimum zone (OMZ) on the Peru margin were mapped and studied in samples from deck-deployed box cores and push cores acquired by submersible on two east-west transects spanning depths of 75 to 1,000 meters (m) at 12°S and 13.5°S. On the basis of sampling and analyses of the top 1–2
Authors
Michael A. Arthur, Walter E. Dean
The role of dust storms in total atmospheric particle concentrations at two sites in the western U.S. The role of dust storms in total atmospheric particle concentrations at two sites in the western U.S.
Mineral aerosols are produced during the erosion of soils by wind and are a common source of particles (dust) in arid and semiarid regions. The size of these particles varies widely from less than 2 µm to larger particles that can exceed 50 µm in diameter. In this study, we present two continuous records of total suspended particle (TSP) concentrations at sites in Mesa Verde and...
Authors
Jason C. Neff, Richard L. Reynolds, Seth M. Munson, Daniel Fernandez, Jayne Belnap
A comparative assessment of tools for ecosystem services quantification and valuation A comparative assessment of tools for ecosystem services quantification and valuation
To enter widespread use, ecosystem service assessments need to be quantifiable, replicable, credible, flexible, and affordable. With recent growth in the field of ecosystem services, a variety of decision-support tools has emerged to support more systematic ecosystem services assessment. Despite the growing complexity of the tool landscape, thorough reviews of tools for identifying...
Authors
Kenneth J. Bagstad, Darius J. Semmens, Sissel Waage, Robert Winthrop
Wyoming Basin Rapid Ecoregional Assessment Wyoming Basin Rapid Ecoregional Assessment
The overall goal of the Wyoming Basin Rapid Ecoregional Assessment (REA) is to provide information that supports regional planning and analysis for the management of ecological resources. The REA provides an assessment of baseline ecological conditions, an evaluation of current risks from drivers of ecosystem change (including energy development, fire, and invasive species), and a...
Authors
Natasha B. Carr, Robert E. Means
Comparing approaches to spatially explicit ecosystem service modeling: a case study from the San Pedro River, Arizona Comparing approaches to spatially explicit ecosystem service modeling: a case study from the San Pedro River, Arizona
Although the number of ecosystem service modeling tools has grown in recent years, quantitative comparative studies of these tools have been lacking. In this study, we applied two leading open-source, spatially explicit ecosystem services modeling tools – Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) – to the...
Authors
Kenneth J. Bagstad, Darius J. Semmens, Robert Winthrop
Onset of deglacial warming in West Antarctica driven by local orbital forcing Onset of deglacial warming in West Antarctica driven by local orbital forcing
The cause of warming in the Southern Hemisphere during the most recent deglaciation remains a matter of debate. Hypotheses for a Northern Hemisphere trigger, through oceanic redistributions of heat, are based in part on the abrupt onset of warming seen in East Antarctic ice cores and dated to 18,000 years ago, which is several thousand years after high-latitude Northern Hemisphere summer
Authors
WAIS Divide Project Members, T. J. Fudge, Eric J. Steig, Bradley R. Markle, Spruce W. Schoenemann, Qinghua Ding, Kendrick C. Taylor, Joseph R. McConnell, Edward J. Brook, Todd Sowers, James W. C. White, Richard B. Alley, Hai Cheng, Gary D. Clow, Jihong Cole-Dai, Howard Conway, Kurt M. Cuffey, Jon S. Edwards, R. Lawrence Edwards, Ross Edwards, John M. Fegyveresi, David Ferris, Joan J. Fitzpatrick, Jay Johnson, Geoffrey Hargreaves, James E. Lee, Olivia J. Maselli, William Mason, Kenneth C. McGwire, Logan E. Mitchell, Nicolai B. Mortensen, Peter Neff, Anais J. Orsi, Trevor J. Popp, Andrew J. Schauer, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Michael Sigl, Matthew K. Spencer, Bruce H. Vaughn, Donald E. Voigt, Edwin D. Waddington, Xianfeng Wang, Gifford J. Wong
Locations and attributes of wind turbines in New Mexico, 2011 Locations and attributes of wind turbines in New Mexico, 2011
This dataset represents an update to U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 596. Locations and attributes of wind turbines in New Mexico, 2009 (available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/596/).This updated New Mexico wind turbine Data Series provides geospatial data for all 562 wind turbines established within the State of New Mexico as of June 2011, an increase of 155 wind turbines from 2009...
Authors
Natasha B. Carr, James B. Diffendorfer, Tammy S. Fancher, Sarah J. Hawkins, Natalie Latysh, Kenneth J. Leib, Anne Marie Matherne