Publications

Science has played a mixed role in guiding conservation and sustainability-oriented decision-making by individuals, policymakers, institutions, and governments. Not all science-based conservation and sustainability initiatives that address issues facing humanity and ecosystems and global problems have gained public support. Conservation decisions and policy prescriptions are and may be...

This study examined the association of air, land, and water variables with the first historical occurrence and current distribution of toxic Prymnesium parvum blooms in reservoirs of the Brazos River and Colorado River, Texas (USA). One impacted and one reference reservoir were selected per basin. Land cover and use variables were estimated for the whole watershed (WW) and a 0.5-km zone...

Methods are being developed to capitalize on citizen science data for research and monitoring, but these data are rarely used within established decision-making frameworks of wildlife agencies. Citizen science data are often collected at higher resolution and extent than targeted monitoring programs, and may provide complementary information. Here, we demonstrate that carefully filtered...

Imperiled species face numerous and diverse anthropogenic threats to their persistence, and wildlife managers charged with making conservation decisions benefit from a sound understanding of how populations, species, and ecosystems will respond to future changes in threats to biodiversity. In southeastern North America, the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a keystone species in...

Stream fish movement in response to changing resource availability and habitat needs is important for fish growth, survival and reproduction. The authors used radio telemetry to evaluate individual movements, daily movement rates, home ranges and habitat-use characteristics of adult (278–464 mm LT) Neosho smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu velox in three Ozark Highlands streams from...

Most applications of single-scale occupancy models do not differentiate between availability and detectability, even though species availability is rarely equal to one. Species availability can be estimated using multi-scale occupancy models; however, for the practical application of multi-scale occupancy models, it can be unclear what a robust sampling design looks like and what the...

Management objectives for long-lived species are difficult to define because many taxa have delayed maturity and variable recruitment. White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus is an example of a species with a complex life history that complicates long-term status monitoring and establishment of management objectives. Historically, White Sturgeon in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River basin...

Spawning stock biomass (SSB) is often used as an index for reproductive potential (RP) in fisheries stock assessments. This method assumes that mature female biomass is proportional to total egg production and implies that (1) the fecundity–length relationship follows a cubic function or (2) relative fecundity is constant. For many marine fishes, adequate fecundity estimates to evaluate...

Contributory citizen science projects (hereafter “contributory projects”) are a powerful tool for avian conservation science. Large-scale projects such as eBird have produced data that have advanced science and contributed to many conservation applications. These projects also provide a means to engage the public in scientific data collection. A common challenge across contributory...

Management actions intended to benefit fish in large rivers can directly or indirectly affect multiple ecosystem components. Without consideration of the effects of management on non-target ecosystem components, unintended consequences may limit management efficacy. Monitoring can help clarify the effects of management actions, including on non-target ecosystem components, but only if...

Henrys Lake, Idaho, is a renowned trophy trout fishery that faces an uncertain future following the establishment of Utah Chub (UTC) Gila atraria. Utah Chub were first documented in the lake in 1993 and have become abundant over the past two decades. Little is known about the ecology of UTC, but they typically have negative effects on salmonids in systems where they have been introduced...

Invertebrate drift is a key process in riverine ecosystems controlling aquatic invertebrate movement, distribution, and availability to fish as prey. However, accurately sampling drift across a wide range of invertebrate sizes is difficult because small invertebrates slip through coarse-mesh drift nets, and fine mesh clogs more easily, which reduces filtration efficiency and measurement...