Community Ecology of Stream Fishes: Concepts, Approaches, and Techniques

Community Ecology of Stream Fishes: Concepts, Approaches, and Techniques ◽

10.47886/9781934874141.ch15 ◽

2010 ◽

Keyword(s):

Endemic Species ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

The United States ◽

Common Species ◽

Biotic Homogenization ◽

Generalist Species ◽

European Settlement ◽

New Locations ◽

Biotic Differentiation

<em>Abstract</em>.—Widespread introduction of common species coupled with extirpation of endemic species can cause fish assemblages to lose much of their regional uniqueness. This process of biotic homogenization contrasts with biotic differentiation, whereby initially similar fish faunas diverge due to introductions of different species. The relative importance of homogenization and differentiation in altering fish faunas has been examined across the world. Synthesis of these studies indicates that homogenization of fish faunas has been widespread and that introductions, especially of sport fishes, have played a bigger role in altering fish faunas than extirpations. In the United States, pairs of states now average 15.4 more species in common than before European settlement. Additionally, the 89 pairs of states that formerly had no fish species in common now share an average of 25.2 species. While homogenization is prevalent at large spatial scales, differentiation of fish faunas is evident at intermediate spatial scales such as among watersheds within an ecoregion. This differentiation is largely the result of the idiosyncratic nature of fish introductions among individual lakes and streams. In general, translocated species (i.e., species that are native somewhere in the region but that have been moved to new locations) cause homogenization, whereas exotic species (species not native to the region) cause differentiation. Habitat and flow homogenization are major drivers of biotic homogenization because altered habitats create conditions that favor a few generalist species at the expense of more-specialized endemic species.

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Community Ecology of Stream Fishes: Concepts, Approaches, and Techniques

Community Ecology of Stream Fishes: Concepts, Approaches, and Techniques ◽

10.47886/9781934874141.ch5 ◽

2010 ◽

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Life History ◽

Environmental Change ◽

Fish Assemblages ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

The United States ◽

Life History Strategies ◽

Population Responses ◽

Hydrologic Variability ◽

Reproductive Life

<em>Abstract</em>.—The flow regime is considered the primary driver of physical processes in riverine ecosystems; thus we expect that the trait composition of fish assemblages might respond similarly to hydrologic variability, even at broad spatial scales. Here, we test the hypothesis that freshwater fish life history strategies on two continents (southern United States and eastern Australia) converge along gradients of hydrologic variability and primary productivity at the drainage scale. Our results show that the fishes of the United States and Australia conform to the three-dimensional adaptive space arising from the trade-offs among three basic demographic parameters of survival, fecundity, and onset and duration of reproductive life. Species from both continents represent the endpoints in adaptive space defining the periodic (19% versus 33% for the United States and Australia, respectively), opportunistic (69% versus 52%), and equilibrium life history strategies (12% versus 15%). We found evidence that fish life history composition of drainage basins in the two continents have converged across similar gradients of hydrologic variability and productivity despite phylogenetic and historical differences. Moreover, these relationships were largely consistent with predictions from life history theory. Increasing hydrologic variability has promoted the greater prevalence of opportunistic strategists (a strategy that should maximize fitness in environmental settings dominated by unpredictable environmental change) while concurrently minimizing the persistence of periodic-type species (a strategy typically inhabits seasonal, periodically suitable environments). Our study provides a conceptual framework of management options for species in regulated rivers because life history strategies are the underlying determinants for population responses to environmental change and therefore can be used to classify typical population responses to flow alteration or mitigation via environmental flow prescriptions.

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First Hemispheric Report of Invasive Tick Species Haemaphysalis Punctata Canestrini Et Fanzago, 1878, First State Report of Haemaphysalis Longicornis Neumann, and Range Expansion of Native Tick Species in Rhode Island, USA

10.21203/rs.3.rs-359304/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Danielle M Tufts ◽

Maria A Diuk-Wasser

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Rhode Island ◽

Range Expansion ◽

Tick Species ◽

The United States ◽

Western Hemisphere ◽

Avian Host ◽

Haemaphysalis Longicornis ◽

New Locations ◽

Block Island

Abstract Invasive arthropod vectors and the range expansions of native vectors can lead to public and veterinary health concerns, as these vectors may introduce novel pathogens or spread endemic pathogens to new locations. Recent tick invasions and range expansion in the United States has been attributed to climate and land use change, an increase in global travel, and importations of exotic animals. A 10 year surveillance study was conducted on Block Island, Rhode Island from 2010–2020 including sampling ticks from small mammal and avian hosts. We report the discovery and establishment of the red sheep tick for the first time in the western hemisphere and in the United States. This invasive species was first collected in 2010 on Block Island, was collected continuously throughout the study, and was collected from an avian host. We document the first report of the invasive Asian longhorned tick in the state of Rhode Island, first observed at our sites in 2018. Finally, we present data on the range expansion and establishment of two native tick species, the lone star tick and the rabbit tick on Block Island. This study emphasized the importance of long-term surveillance to detect changes in tick host communities, including invasive and expanding native vectors of potential significance to humans and wildlife.

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A multiscale approach to balance trade-offs among dam infrastructure, river restoration, and cost

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1807437115 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 115 (47) ◽

pp. 12069-12074 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Samuel G. Roy ◽

Emi Uchida ◽

Simone P. de Souza ◽

Ben Blachly ◽

Emma Fox ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New England ◽

River Restoration ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Dam Removal ◽

The United States ◽

Multiscale Approach ◽

Funding Policy ◽

Net Benefit ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Aging Infrastructure

Aging infrastructure and growing interests in river restoration have led to a substantial rise in dam removals in the United States. However, the decision to remove a dam involves many complex trade-offs. The benefits of dam removal for hazard reduction and ecological restoration are potentially offset by the loss of hydroelectricity production, water supply, and other important services. We use a multiobjective approach to examine a wide array of trade-offs and synergies involved with strategic dam removal at three spatial scales in New England. We find that increasing the scale of decision-making improves the efficiency of trade-offs among ecosystem services, river safety, and economic costs resulting from dam removal, but this may lead to heterogeneous and less equitable local-scale outcomes. Our model may help facilitate multilateral funding, policy, and stakeholder agreements by analyzing the trade-offs of coordinated dam decisions, including net benefit alternatives to dam removal, at scales that satisfy these agreements.

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Performance of Excess Heat Factor Severity as a Global Heatwave Health Impact Index

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph15112494 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (11) ◽

pp. 2494 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

John Nairn ◽

Bertram Ostendorf ◽

Peng Bi

Keyword(s):

Human Health ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Health Sector ◽

Early Warning Systems ◽

Health Impact ◽

The United States ◽

Excess Heat ◽

Excess Heat Factor ◽

History Of ◽

The Uk

The establishment of an effective policy response to rising heatwave impacts is most effective when the history of heatwaves, their current impacts and future risks, are mapped by a common metric. In response meteorological agencies aim to develop seamless climate, forecast, and warning heat impact services, spanning all temporal and spatial scales. The ability to diagnose heatwave severity using the Excess Heat Factor (EHF) has allowed the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau) to publicly release 7-day heatwave severity maps since 2014. National meteorological agencies in the UK and the United States are evaluating global 7-day and multi-week EHF heatwave severity probability forecasts, whilst the Bureau contributes to a Copernicus project to supply the health sector with global EHF severity heatwave projection scenarios. In an evaluation of impact skill within global forecast systems, EHF intensity and severity is reviewed as a predictor of human health impact, and extended using climate observations and human health data for sites around the globe. Heatwave intensity, determined by short and long-term temperature anomalies at each locality, is normalized to permit spatial analysis and inter-site comparison. Dimensionless heatwave event moments of peak severity and accumulated severity are shown to correlate with noteworthy events around the globe, offering new insights into current and future heatwave variability and vulnerability. The EHF severity metric permits the comparison of international heatwave events and their impacts, and is readily implemented within international heatwave early warning systems.

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Forest birds respond to the spatial pattern of exurban development in the Mid-Atlantic region, USA

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.2039 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. e2039 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Marcela Suarez-Rubio ◽

Todd R. Lookingbill

Keyword(s):

Spatial Pattern ◽

Spatial Scale ◽

Forest Fragmentation ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

The United States ◽

Forest Edge ◽

Forest Birds ◽

Bird Diversity ◽

Forest Loss ◽

Exurban Development

Housing development beyond the urban fringe (i.e., exurban development) is one of the fastest growing forms of land-use change in the United States. Exurban development’s attraction to natural and recreational amenities has raised concerns for conservation and represents a potential threat to wildlife. Although forest-dependent species have been found particularly sensitive to low housing densities, it is unclear how the spatial distribution of houses affects forest birds. The aim of this study was to assess forest bird responses to changes in the spatial pattern of exurban development and also to examine species responses when forest loss and forest fragmentation were considered. We evaluated landscape composition around North American Breeding Bird Survey stops between 1986 and 2009 by developing a compactness index to assess changes in the spatial pattern of exurban development over time. Compactness was defined as a measure of how clustered exurban development was in the area surrounding each survey stop at each time period considered. We used Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis to detect the response of forest and forest-edge species in terms of occurrence and relative abundance along the compactness gradient at two spatial scales (400-m and 1-km radius buffer). Our results showed that most forest birds and some forest-edge species were positively associated with high levels of compactness at the larger spatial scale; the proportion of forest in the surrounding landscape also had a significant effect when forest loss and forest fragmentation were accounted for. In contrast, the spatial configuration of exurban development was an important predictor of occurrence and abundance for only a few species at the smaller spatial scale. The positive response of forest birds to compactness at the larger scale could represent a systematic trajectory of decline and could be highly detrimental to bird diversity if exurban growth continues and creates more compacted development.

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The Value of Citizen Science in Increasing Our Knowledge of Under-Sampled Biodiversity: An Overview of Public Documentation of Auchenorrhyncha and the Hoppers of North Carolina

Frontiers in Environmental Science ◽

10.3389/fenvs.2021.710396 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Kyle D. Kittelberger ◽

Solomon V. Hendrix ◽

Çağan Hakkı Şekercioğlu

Keyword(s):

North Carolina ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

The United States ◽

Undescribed Species ◽

The Past ◽

Global Biodiversity ◽

Temporal And Spatial

Due to the increasing popularity of websites specializing in nature documentation, there has been a surge in the number of people enthusiastic about observing and documenting nature over the past 2 decades. These citizen scientists are recording biodiversity on unprecedented temporal and spatial scales, rendering data of tremendous value to the scientific community. In this study, we investigate the role of citizen science in increasing knowledge of global biodiversity through the examination of notable contributions to the understanding of the insect suborder Auchenorrhyncha, also known as true hoppers, in North America. We have compiled a comprehensive summary of citizen science contributions—published and unpublished—to the understanding of hopper diversity, finding over fifty previously unpublished country and state records as well as dozens of undescribed and potentially undescribed species. We compare citizen science contributions to those published in the literature as well as specimen records in collections in the United States and Canada, illuminating the fact that the copious data afforded by citizen science contributions are underutilized. We also introduce the website Hoppers of North Carolina, a revolutionary new benchmark for tracking hopper diversity, disseminating knowledge from the literature, and incorporating citizen science. Finally, we provide a series of recommendations for both the entomological community and citizen science platforms on how best to approach, utilize, and increase the quality of sightings from the general public.

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Discovery of a spatially and temporally persistent core microbiome of the common bean rhizosphere

10.1101/2020.01.20.913202 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nejc Stopnisek ◽

Ashley Shade

Keyword(s):

Common Bean ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

The United States ◽

Plant Health ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Full Potential ◽

Core Microbiome ◽

Starting Point ◽

The Common ◽

Plant Microbiome

AbstractPlants recruit soil microbes that provide nutrients, promote growth and protect against pathogens1–3. However, the full potential of microbial communities for supporting plant health and agriculture is unrealized4–6, in part because rhizosphere members key for plant health are difficult to prioritize7. Microbes that ubiquitously associate with a plant species across large spatial scales and varied soil conditions provide a practical starting point for discovering beneficial members7. Here, we quantified the structures of bacterial/archaeal and fungal communities in the common bean rhizosphere (Phaseolus vulgaris), and assessed its core membership across space and time. To assess a spatial core, two divergent bean genotypes were grown in field conditions across five major growing regions in the United States, and then also compared to eight genotypes grown in Colombian soil. To assess a temporal core, we conducted a time course of rhizosphere and rhizoplane microbiome members over bean development in the field. Surprisingly, there were 48 persistent bacterial taxa that were detected in all samples, inclusive of U.S. and Colombian-grown beans and over plant development, suggesting cosmopolitan enrichment and time-independence. Neutral models of abundance-occupancy relationships and co-occurrence networks show that many of these core taxa are deterministically selected and likely in intimate relationships with the plant. Many of the core taxa were yet-uncultured and affiliated with Proteobacteria; these taxa are prime targets in support of translational plant-microbiome management. More generally, this work reveals that core members of the plant microbiome can have both broad ranges and temporal persistence with their host, suggesting intimate, albeit possibly opportunistic, interactions.

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Flood Risk Assessment and Quantification at the Community and Property Level in the State of Iowa

10.31223/x5tc92 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Enes Yildirim ◽

Ibrahim Demir

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

High Resolution ◽

Flood Risk ◽

Large Scale ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

The United States ◽

Flood Risk Assessment ◽

Study Region ◽

Study Results ◽

Flood Maps

Flood risk assessment contributes to identifying at-risk communities and supports mitigation decisions to maximize benefits from the investments. Large-scale risk assessments generate invaluable inputs for prioritizing regions for the distribution of limited resources. High-resolution flood maps and accurate parcel information are critical for flood risk analysis to generate reliable outcomes for planning, preparedness, and decision-making applications. Large-scale damage assessment studies in the United States often utilize the National Structure Inventory (NSI) or HAZUS default dataset, which results in inaccurate risk estimates due to the low geospatial accuracy of these datasets. On the other hand, some studies utilize higher resolution datasets, however they are limited to focus on small scales, for example, a city or a Hydrological United Code (HUC)-12 watershed. In this study, we collected extensive detailed flood maps and parcel datasets for many communities in Iowa to carry out a large-scale flood risk assessment. High-resolution flood maps and the most recent parcel information are collected to ensure the accuracy of risk products. The results indicate that the Eastern Iowa communities are prone to a higher risk of direct flood losses. Our model estimates nearly $10 million in average annualized losses, particularly in large communities in the study region. The study highlights that existing risk products based on FEMA's flood risk output underestimate the flood loss, specifically in highly populated urban communities such as Bettendorf, Cedar Falls, Davenport, Dubuque, and Waterloo. Additionally, we propose a flood risk score methodology for two spatial scales (e.g., HUC-12 watershed, property) to prioritize regions and properties for mitigation purposes. Lastly, the watershed-scale study results are shared through a web-based platform to inform the decision-makers and the public.

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Fine-Scale Population Genetic Structure and Within-Tree Distribution of Mating Types of Venturia effusa, Cause of Pecan Scab in the United States

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-02-18-0068-r ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 108 (11) ◽

pp. 1326-1336 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Clive H. Bock ◽

Carolyn A. Young ◽

Katherine L. Stevenson ◽

Nikki D. Charlton

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Genetic Diversity ◽

Asexual Reproduction ◽

Population Genetic ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

The United States ◽

Source Population ◽

Mating Types ◽

Fine Scale ◽

Scale Population

Scab (caused by Venturia effusa) is the major disease of pecan in the southeastern United States. There is no information available on the fine-scale population genetic diversity or the occurrence of clonal types at small spatial scales that provides insight into inoculum sources and dispersal mechanisms, and potential opportunity for sexual reproduction. To investigate fine-scale genetic diversity, four trees of cultivar Wichita (populations) were sampled hierarchically: within each tree canopy, four approximately evenly spaced terminals (subpopulations) were selected and up to six leaflets (sub-subpopulations) were sampled from different compound leaves on each terminal. All lesions (n = 1 to 8) on each leaflet were sampled. The isolates were screened against a panel of 29 informative microsatellite markers and the resulting multilocus genotypes (MLG) subject to analysis. Mating type was also determined for each isolate. Of 335 isolates, there were 165 MLG (clonal fraction 49.3%). Nei’s unbiased measure of genetic diversity for the clone-corrected data were moderate to high (0.507). An analysis of molecular variance demonstrated differentiation (P = 0.001) between populations on leaflets within individual terminals and between terminals within trees in the tree canopies, with 93.8% of variance explained among isolates within leaflet populations. Other analyses (minimum-spanning network, Bayesian, and discriminant analysis of principal components) all indicated little affinity of isolate for source population. Of the 335 isolates, most unique MLG were found at the stratum of the individual leaflets (n = 242), with similar total numbers of unique MLG observed at the strata of the terminal (n = 170), tree (n = 166), and orchard (n = 165). Thus, the vast majority of shared clones existed on individual leaflets on a terminal at the scale of 10s of centimeters or less, indicating a notable component of short-distance dispersal. There was significant linkage disequilibrium (P < 0.001), and an analysis of Psex showed that where there were multiple encounters of an MLG, they were most probably the result of asexual reproduction (P < 0.05) but there was no evidence that asexual reproduction was involved in single or first encounters of an MLG (P > 0.05). Overall, the MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1 idiomorphs were at equilibrium (73:92) and in most populations, subpopulations, and sub-subpopulations. Both mating types were frequently observed on the same leaflet. The results provide novel information on the characteristics of populations of V. effusa at fine spatial scales, and provide insights into the dispersal of the organism within and between trees. The proximity of both mating idiomorphs on single leaflets is further evidence of opportunity for development of the sexual stage in the field.

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