Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Publications
Differing modes of biotic connectivity within freshwater ecosystem mosaics
We describe a collection of aquatic and wetland habitats in an inland landscape, and their occurrence within a terrestrial matrix, as a “freshwater ecosystem mosaic” (FEM). Aquatic and wetland habitats in any FEM can vary widely, from permanently ponded lakes, to ephemerally ponded wetlands, to groundwater‐fed springs, to flowing rivers and...
Mushet, David M.; Alexander, Laurie C.; Bennet, Micah; Schofield, Kate; Christensen, Jay R.; Ali, Genevieve; Pollard, Amina I.; Fritz, Ken M.; Lang, Megan Biological connectivity of seasonally ponded wetlands across spatial and temporal scales
Many species that inhabit seasonally ponded wetlands also rely on surrounding upland habitats and nearby aquatic ecosystems for resources to support life stages and to maintain viable populations. Understanding biological connectivity among these habitats is critical to ensure that landscapes are protected at appropriate scales to conserve species...
Smith, Lora L.; Subalusky, Amanda; Atkinson, Carla L.; Earl, Julia E.; Mushet, David M.; Scott, David E.; Lance, Stacey L.; Johnson, Steve A. The influence of spatiotemporally decoupled land use on honey bee colony health and pollination service delivery
Societal dependence on insects for pollination of agricultural crops has risen amidst concerns over pollinator declines. Habitat loss and lack of forage have been implicated in the decline of both managed and native pollinators. Land use changes in the Northern Great Plains of the US, a region supporting over 1 million honey bee colonies...
Smart, Matthew; Otto, Clint R.; Carlson, Benjamin; Roth, Cali Past role and future outlook of the Conservation Reserve Program for supporting honey bees in the Great Plains
Human dependence on insect pollinators continues to grow even as pollinators face global declines. The Northern Great Plains (NGP), a region often referred to as America’s last honey bee (Apis mellifera) refuge, has undergone rapid land-cover change due to cropland expansion and weakened land conservation programs. We conducted a trend analysis...
Otto, Clint R.; Zheng, Haochi; Gallant, Alisa L.; Iovanna, Rich; Carlson, Benjamin L.; Smart, Matthew; Hyberg, Skip Diurnal patterns of methane flux from a seasonal wetland: mechanisms and methodology
Methane emissions from wetlands are temporally dynamic. Few chamber-based studies have explored diurnal variation in methane flux with high temporal replication. Using an automated sampling system, we measured methane flux every 2.5 to 4 h for 205 diel cycles during three growing seasons (2013–2015) from a seasonal wetland in the Prairie...
Bansal, Sheel; Tangen, Brian; Finocchiaro, Raymond Prairie Pothole Region wetlands and subsurface drainage systems: Key factors for determining drainage setback distances
Use of agricultural subsurface drainage systems in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America continues to increase, prompting concerns over potential negative effects to the Region's vital wetlands. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protects a large number of wetlands through conservation easements that often utilize standard lateral setback...
Tangen, Brian; Wiltermuth, Mark T. Density and success of upland duck nests in native‐ and tame‐seeded conservation fields
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) generates substantial benefits to continental duck populations by providing grassland nesting habitat in rested cropland. Seeding mixes of CRP grasslands vary among numerous conservation practices, but one contrast of interest in the Prairie Pothole Region is the use of introduced, or “tame” versus native...
Sherfy, Mark H.; Anteau, Michael J.; Shaffer, Terry L.; Johnson, Michael A.; Reynolds, Ronald E.; Ringelman, James K. Use of non-invasive genetics to generate core-area population estimates of a threatened predator in the Superior National Forest, USA
Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) are found in boreal forests of Canada and Alaska and range southward into the contiguous United States. Much less is understood about lynx in their southern range compared to northern populations. Because lynx are currently listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act but have recently been recommended for...
Barber-Meyer, Shannon; Ryan, Daniel; Grosshuesch, David; Catton, Timothy; Malick-Wahls, Sarah Opportunistically collected data reveal habitat selection by migrating Whooping Cranes in the U.S. Northern Plains
The Whooping Crane (Grus americana) is a federally endangered species in the United States and Canada that relies on wetland, grassland, and cropland habitat during its long migration between wintering grounds in coastal Texas, USA, and breeding sites in Alberta and Northwest Territories, Canada. We combined opportunistic Whooping Crane sightings...
Niemuth, Neil D.; Ryba, Adam J.; Pearse, Aaron T.; Kvas, Susan M.; Brandt, David; Wangler, Brian; Austin, Jane; Carlisle, Martha J. Estimating the effects of wetland conservation practices in croplands: Approaches for modeling in CEAP–Cropland Assessment
Quantifying the current and potential benefits of conservation practices can be a valuable tool for encouraging greater practice adoption on agricultural lands. A goal of the CEAP-Cropland Assessment is to estimate the environmental effects of conservation practices that reduce losses (exports) of soil, nutrients, and pesticides from farmlands to...
De Steven, Diane; Mushet, David Developing a framework for evaluating tallgrass prairie reconstruction methods and management
The thousands of hectares of prairie reconstructed each year in the tallgrass prairie biome can provide a valuable resource for evaluation of seed mixes, planting methods, and post-planting management if methods used and resulting characteristics of the prairies are recorded and compiled in a publicly accessible database. The objective of this...
Larson, Diane L.; Ahlering, Marissa; Drobney, Pauline; Esser, Rebecca; Larson, Jennifer L.; Viste-Sparkman, Karen Delineating and identifying long-term changes in the whooping crane (Grus americana) migration corridor
Defining and identifying changes to seasonal ranges of migratory species is required for effective conservation. Historic sightings of migrating whooping cranes (Grus americana) have served as sole source of information to define a migration corridor in the Great Plains of North America (i.e., Canadian Prairies and United States Great Plains) for...
Pearse, Aaron T.; Rabbe, Matt; Juliusson, Lara M.; Bidwell, Mark T.; Craig-Moore, Lea; Brandt, David; Harrell, Wade C.