Articles

Explicitly representing an agent’s context has been shown to have many benefits, which should also apply to machine learning. In this paper, we describe an approach to do this called context-dependent deep learning (CDDL), which is based on earlier work in context-mediated behavior (CMB) that uses contextual schemas (c-schemas) to represent clas-ses of situations along with knowledge...

Assessing species status and making classification decisions under the Endangered Species Act is a critical step towards effective species conservation. However, classification decisions are liable to two errors: i) failing to classify a species as threatened or endangered that should be classified (underprotection), or ii) classifying a species as threatened or endangered when it is not...

By the mid-20th Century, giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) had lost more than 90% of their Central Valley marsh habitat and were extirpated from more than two-thirds of their range. This massive habitat loss led to their inclusion in the inaugural list of rare species under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). Listing under the CESA provided giant gartersnakes legal...

Methane (CH4) emissions from Arctic lakes are a large and growing source of greenhouse gas to the atmosphere with critical implications for global climate. Because Arctic lakes are ice covered for much of the year, understanding the metabolic flexibility of methanotrophs under anoxic conditions would aid in characterizing the mechanisms responsible for limiting CH4 emissions from high...

Developing detailed rearing methods and describing the onset of gonadal differentiation in Red Shiners Cyprinella lutrensis could facilitate the development of novel techniques to control or enhance populations, enable toxicology studies, and help construct bioassays. In this study, we develop and report aquaculture practices for Red Shiner that ensure consistent year-round production in

A provisional Red List Assessment of the widespread Desert Tortoise, Gopherus agassizii (sensu lato), was performed at a Desert Tortoise Council workshop in 2010 and updated by the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) in 2011, at which time the Mojave Desert subpopulation, now considered G. agassizii (sensu stricto) following taxonomic analysis and splitting into...

Coastal wetland restoration can be used to offset past wetland losses and/or reduce future losses due to land-use changes, rising sea levels, and accelerating climate change. However, there is a need for information regarding the restoration-relevant performance of foundation species like mangrove and marsh plants, including their responses to acute and chronic stressors that can affect

Context Urban-rural gradients are useful tools when examining the influence of human disturbances on ecological, social and coupled systems, yet the most commonly used gradient definitions are based on single broad measures such as housing density or percent forest cover that fail to capture landscape patterns important for conservation.Objectives We present an approach to defining urban...

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To inform management and conservation of the species, we investigated the distribution of anadromy and residency of steelhead/rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Eel River of northwestern California. We determined maternal anadromy versus residency for 106 juvenile O. mykiss using otolith microchemistry. To attempt to relate patterns of anadromy with environmental factors known to...

Breeding dispersal, the movement from one breeding territory to another, is rare for philopatric species that evolved within relatively stable environments, such as the old-growth coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest. Although dispersal is not inherently maladaptive, the consequences of increased dispersal on population dynamics in populations whose historical dispersal rates are...

Dam construction threatens global aquatic biodiversity by fragmenting stream networks and altering flow regimes. The negative effects of dams are exacerbated by increased drought periods and associated water withdrawals, especially in semi-arid regions. Stream fishes are particularly threatened owing to their mobile nature and requirement for multiple habitats to complete their life...