Articles

Invasive species threaten both ecological systems and economies. Successful establishment is governed partly by demographic stochasticity, where random individual-level variation can significantly influence invasion dynamics. A critical factor is the Allee effect, which describes reduced population growth at low densities, potentially serving as a barrier to persistence. Size-dependent...

Zircon crystals from Plešovice hyperpotassic granulite (HPG) have been widely used as a reference material for LA-ICP-MS dating. Detailed cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging and trace element analysis reveal a complex internal structure of Plešovice zircon linked to extreme chemical heterogeneity, which allows us to distinguish different zircon domains formed during its crystallization: (i)...

Existing estimates of irrigation areas and water use in the Nile River Basin vary widely and are based on inconsistent data and methodologies. This study leverages advances in remote sensing to provide an up-to-date and consistent basin-wide reassessment of water use in the Nile River Basin. Land cover and actual evapotranspiration data from 2013 to 2022 were used to quantify irrigated...

Otoliths are useful tools to estimate daily age, growth, and ontogenetic shifts in the early life stages of fish, providing information to support management efforts. Little effort, however, has gone into the examination of pre-hatch increment development. To assess variation in pre-hatch otolith size and increment formation, lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) sagittal otoliths were...

Corner frequency (fc) and seismic moment (M0) are key parameters derived from seismic signals that are used to characterize earthquake stress drop, rupture area, and slip. These parameters are also affected by fault geometry and boundary conditions. However, the systematic study of these effects in laboratory settings has been challenging. This study presents laboratory earthquake...

The United States National Marine Fisheries Service determines “essential fish habitat (EFH)” for federally managed species in coordination with regional fishery management councils, considers adverse effects to those habitats, and provides information to further habitat conservation and enhancement. Identifying discrete subsets of EFH as “habitat areas of particular concern (HAPC)” can...

The U.S. Geological Survey collects remote sensing data to support national scientific assessments of natural resources, hazards, and landscape change. Spectrometers and spectroradiometers are essential for gathering point-based spectral measurements used in applications such as uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) multispectral image calibration, validation, and analysis. Evaluating how...

King Rails (Rallus elegans), a declining species of secretive marsh bird, have a mixed migratory strategy, with some individuals migrating and some being year-round residents. Determining the distribution of migratory versus resident King Rails is critical to guiding habitat management and assessing risks to populations. We examined the migratory status of adult King Rails at the Choctaw...

Recent advances in Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) leverage physics‐based ground‐motion simulations to estimate seismic hazard, such as the CyberShake project. However, computational costs quickly escalate when performing PSHA for numerous faults or sites and can become prohibitively expensive. To reduce computational demands, CyberShake uses reciprocity and interpolates...

Restoration of dry forest landscapes of the Pacific Northwest often involves the removal of some closed-canopy forest that has expanded due to fire exclusion, but this can conflict with species conservation when species require closed-canopy forest as part of their habitat. Fire refugia—areas within fire perimeters that burn less severely or frequently—might provide a solution to this...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses an empirical model developed with logistic regression (the ‘M1’ model) to rapidly assess debris-flow likelihood and to identify quantitative rainfall thresholds for debris flows after wildfire in the western United States. The M1 model was calibrated to a debris-flow inventory from southern California (United States) and has been applied throughout...

Advances in remote sensing, spatial data collection, hydraulic and geospatial models, and the maturation of landscape ecology during the early 2000s spurred the concept of rivers as landscapes or ‘riverscapes’. Since that time, the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program - one of the world’s longest running large-river ecosystem restoration and monitoring programs - has...