Articles

Reducing phosphorus (P) concentrations in aquatic ecosystems, is necessary to improve water quality and reduce the occurrence of harmful cyanobacterial algal blooms. Managing P reduction requires information on the role rivers play in P transport from land to downstream water bodies, but we have a poor understanding of when and where river systems are P sources or sinks. During the...

Resource managers and scientists across western U.S. agencies seek methodologies for identifying environmental attributes important to both wildlife conservation and broad-scale land stewardship. The Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse) exemplifies a species in need of this broad-scale approach given widespread population declines that have resulted...

Rivers and streams export inorganic and organic carbon derived from contributing landscapes and so downstream carbon fluxes are important quantitative indicators of change in ecosystem function and for the full accounting of terrestrial carbon budgets. Carbon concentration-discharge (C-Q) relationships in rivers provide important information about carbon source and behavior in watersheds...

Genetic diversity is critical to a population’s ability to overcome gradual environment change. Large-bodied wildlife existing in regions with relatively high human population density are vulnerable to isolation-induced genetic drift, population bottlenecks, and loss of genetic diversity. Moose (Alces americanus americanus) in eastern North America have a complex history of drastic...

In arid and Mediterranean regions, landscape-scale wetland conservation requires understanding how wildlife responds to dynamic freshwater availability and conservation actions to enhance wetland habitat. Taking advantage of Landsat satellite data and structured and community science bird survey data, we built species distribution models to describe how three duck species, the Northern...

dictors of nesting for snail kites in south Florida. The results of our modeling indicate that hydrology, percent canopy cover, and proximity to recently burned areas were the most important factors associated with nest-site selection for snail kites. Water depths between 75 and 100 cm, water recession rates between 0 and 1.25 cm/day, percent canopy covers

Irregularly flooded wetlands are found above the mean high water tidal datum and are exposed to tides and saltwater less frequently than daily. These wetlands provide important ecosystem services, such as providing habitat for fish and wildlife, enhancing water quality, ameliorating flooding impacts, supporting coastal food webs, and protecting upslope areas from erosion. Mapping...

Differences in the life history pathways (LHPs) of juvenile animals are often associated with differences in demographic rates in later life stages. For migratory animals, different LHPs often result in animals from the same population occupying distinct habitats subjected to different environmental drivers. Understanding how demographic rates differ among animals expressing different...

Thiamine (vitamin B1) metabolism is an important driver of human and animal health and ecological functioning. Some organisms, including species of ferns, mollusks, and fish, contain thiamine-degrading enzymes known as thiaminases, and consumption of these organisms can lead to thiamine deficiency in the consumer. Consumption of fish containing thiaminase has led to elevated mortality...

Mercury (Hg) exposure to fish, wildlife, and humans is widespread and of global concern, thus stimulating efforts to reduce emissions. Because the relationships between rates of inorganic Hg loading, methylmercury (MeHg) production, and bioaccumulation are extremely complex and challenging to predict, there is a need for reliable biosentinels to understand the distribution of Hg in the...

One of the most critical challenges we face today is access to clean water. Climate change, industrialization, high rates of urbanization, and population growth have resulted in many countries suffering from water crises, especially in the arid and semi-arid areas. Countries in different regions of the world have also been struggling over regional water availability and it is anticipated...

Would-be adopters of ecosystem service analysis frameworks might ask, ‘Do such frameworks improve ecosystem service provision or social benefits sufficiently to compensate for any extra effort?’ Here we explore that question by retrospectively applying an ecosystem goods and services (EGS) analysis framework to a large river restoration case study conducted by the US Army Corps of...