Articles

Freshwater mussels are considered the most imperiled group of organisms in North America and systematics research has played an integral role in the development and implementation of their conservation. Despite the importance of systematics in conservation planning, the evolutionary relationships between many mussel taxa remain poorly explored, clearly illustrated by Strophitus undulatus...

Wildfire has been shown to increase, decrease, or have no detectable effect on actual evapotranspiration (ETa) fluxes in the western United States. Where disturbance-induced shifts are significant, source-water hydrology may be impacted as ETa constitutes the largest outgoing water flux in much of the arid West. We conducted pixel-scale analysis of 30-m ETa data and various meteorologic...

Prior to the current era of digital geomorphological mapping, global and regional-scale land surface characterization was advanced by qualitative interpretations that relied on human visualization aided by disciplinary knowledge of geophysical processes combined with extensive field study. In the early twentieth century, Fenneman proposed to devise systematic physiographic divisions of...

The High Plains aquifer (HPA) is the primary water source for agricultural irrigation in the US Great Plains. The water levels in many locations of the aquifer have declined steadily over the past several decades because the rate of water withdrawals exceeds recharge, which has been a serious concern to the water resources management in the region. We evaluated temporal trends and...

Many bat species are highly social, forming groups of conspecifics, particularly during the maternity season. In temperate North America, these social groups are typically comprised of closely related individuals or individuals that share some common trait (i.e. reproductive state or shared hibernacula from the previous winter). In the summer, when bats use forests for day-roosts, these...

Timing of seasonal bird migrations is broadly determined by internal biological clocks, which are synchronized by photoperiod, but individuals often refine their migratory timing decisions in response to external factors. Using 11 years of satellite telemetry data, we show that Pacific Barrow’s Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica), at higher latitudes, initiated spring and molt migrations...

Feral and free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) are invasive predators throughout the world. In some areas, cats occur in higher densities than native mammalian predators and can have severe effects upon prey populations. We set 48 wildlife game cameras in residential yards in Arkansas, USA, to evaluate which landscape and yard features influenced cat abundance occurring in yards. In...

The archaeological record documenting human history in deserts is commonly concentrated along rivers in terraces or other landforms built by river sediment deposits. Today that record is at risk in many river valleys owing to human resource and infrastructure development activities, including the construction and operation of dams. We assessed the effects of the operations of Glen Canyon...

Past studies found that large-amplitude geomagnetically induced current (GIC) related to magnetospheric Ultra Low Frequency (ULF) waves tend to be associated with periods >120 s at magnetic latitudes >60°, with comparatively (a) smaller GIC amplitudes at lower latitudes and shorter wave periods and (b) fewer reports of waves associated with GIC at lower latitudes. ULF wave periods...

Information about population sizes, trends, and habitat use is key for species conservation and management. The Buff-breasted Sandpiper Calidris subruficollis (BBSA) is a long-distance migratory shorebird that breeds in the Arctic and migrates to south-eastern South America, wintering in the grasslands of southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. Most studies of Nearctic migratory species...

Recent scientific evidence shows that genetic diversity must be maintained, managed, and monitored to protect biodiversity and nature's contributions to people. Three genetic diversity indicators, two of which do not require DNA-based assessment, have been proposed for reporting to the Convention on Biological Diversity and other conservation and policy initiatives. These indicators...

Recovering species are not returning to the same environments or communities from which they disappeared. Conservation researchers and practitioners are thus faced with additional challenges in ensuring species resilience in these rapidly changing ecosystems. Assessing the resilience of species in these novel systems can still be guided by species’ ecology, including knowledge of their...