Technical assistance to our State and Federal cooperators is an integral part of the mission of the CRU program. The scientific and technical expertise of CRU scientists in areas such as natural resource management, experimental design, data analysis, modeling, and spatial statistics. Though extremely varied in scope across the program, a few common forms of technical assistance including involvement in species status assessments (Alexander Archipelago wolves, grey wolves, western gray squirrel, bluestripe darter, plains spotted skunk, and snail kite, facilitating structured decision making events for decision makers (candy darters, rosy finch, mountain lions, and fish passage projects), participating in recovery teams for select species (for example, Mexican wolf, flatwoods salamander, sharpnose shringer, smalleye shiners, and Niangua darter, and conducting data analysis a number of State and Federal agency cooperators.
The River Basin Council and Dr. Luke Bower
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles and Dr. Quinton Phelps
Through the application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles an agricultural legacy concept, Dr. Quinton Phelps lead an ongoing effort with Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to eradicate invasive carp from Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. The ultimate goal of the project is to protect the long-term sustainability of its multi-million-dollar recreational fishery. This comprehensive approach integrates targeted removal strategies, telemetry, and biological monitoring, while promoting recreational species of interest (e.g., largemouth bass, white crappie, paddlefish). Together, Dr. Phelps, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation are using innovative technologies, including live-view sonar and telemetry to detect and track invasive carp in real time to significantly improve removal precision and efficiency. By treating invasive carp as aquatic pests (similar to agriculture industry) within a broader ecological framework, they are not only restoring balance to the lake's ecosystem but also ensuring its continued value as a premier recreational fishing destination for future generations.
Chesapeake Bay Tidal Waters and Dr. Tyler Wagner
In 2010 a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) was created for that aims to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, by 25 and 24% percent, respectively. To achieve this goal the TMDL requires the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs), which are accepted land management practices for reducing pollutant runoff to nearby bodies of water. While the TMDL requires that the necessary management actions be in place by 2025 to eventually reach targeted nutrient loads, the ability to detect an effect of BMPs while assuming that one has occurred (i.e. statistical power) is still not well understood. The goal of this study was to investigate the power and required timelines to detect nutrient reductions in streams and rivers as the result of BMP implementation at the Chesapeake Watershed scale. This work provided managers and stakeholders with estimates of the reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus flux reaching the Chesapeake Bay’s tidal waters needed to confidently detect them. We also provide managers with estimates of the timelines necessary to detect reductions in nitrogen flux entering the bay.
- McLaughlin, P., R. Alexander, J. Blomquist, O. Devereux, G. Noe, K. Smalling, and T. Wagner. 2022. Power Analysis for Detecting the Effects of Best Management Practices on Reducing Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fluxes to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, USA. Ecological Indicators 136:108713.
Technical assistance to our State and Federal cooperators is an integral part of the mission of the CRU program. The scientific and technical expertise of CRU scientists in areas such as natural resource management, experimental design, data analysis, modeling, and spatial statistics. Though extremely varied in scope across the program, a few common forms of technical assistance including involvement in species status assessments (Alexander Archipelago wolves, grey wolves, western gray squirrel, bluestripe darter, plains spotted skunk, and snail kite, facilitating structured decision making events for decision makers (candy darters, rosy finch, mountain lions, and fish passage projects), participating in recovery teams for select species (for example, Mexican wolf, flatwoods salamander, sharpnose shringer, smalleye shiners, and Niangua darter, and conducting data analysis a number of State and Federal agency cooperators.
The River Basin Council and Dr. Luke Bower
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles and Dr. Quinton Phelps
Through the application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles an agricultural legacy concept, Dr. Quinton Phelps lead an ongoing effort with Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to eradicate invasive carp from Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. The ultimate goal of the project is to protect the long-term sustainability of its multi-million-dollar recreational fishery. This comprehensive approach integrates targeted removal strategies, telemetry, and biological monitoring, while promoting recreational species of interest (e.g., largemouth bass, white crappie, paddlefish). Together, Dr. Phelps, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation are using innovative technologies, including live-view sonar and telemetry to detect and track invasive carp in real time to significantly improve removal precision and efficiency. By treating invasive carp as aquatic pests (similar to agriculture industry) within a broader ecological framework, they are not only restoring balance to the lake's ecosystem but also ensuring its continued value as a premier recreational fishing destination for future generations.
Chesapeake Bay Tidal Waters and Dr. Tyler Wagner
In 2010 a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) was created for that aims to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, by 25 and 24% percent, respectively. To achieve this goal the TMDL requires the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs), which are accepted land management practices for reducing pollutant runoff to nearby bodies of water. While the TMDL requires that the necessary management actions be in place by 2025 to eventually reach targeted nutrient loads, the ability to detect an effect of BMPs while assuming that one has occurred (i.e. statistical power) is still not well understood. The goal of this study was to investigate the power and required timelines to detect nutrient reductions in streams and rivers as the result of BMP implementation at the Chesapeake Watershed scale. This work provided managers and stakeholders with estimates of the reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus flux reaching the Chesapeake Bay’s tidal waters needed to confidently detect them. We also provide managers with estimates of the timelines necessary to detect reductions in nitrogen flux entering the bay.
- McLaughlin, P., R. Alexander, J. Blomquist, O. Devereux, G. Noe, K. Smalling, and T. Wagner. 2022. Power Analysis for Detecting the Effects of Best Management Practices on Reducing Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fluxes to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, USA. Ecological Indicators 136:108713.