Multi-year, spatially extensive, watershed-scale synoptic stream chemistry and water quality conditions for six permafrost-underlain Arctic watersheds

Repeated sampling of spatially distributed river chemistry can be used to assess the location, scale, and persistence of carbon and nutrient contributions to watershed exports. Here, we provide a comprehensive set of water chemistry measurements and ecohydrological metrics describing the biogeochemical conditions of permafrost-affected Arctic watersheds. These data were collected in watershed-wide synoptic campaigns in six stream networks across northern Alaska. Three watersheds are associated with the Arctic Long-Term Ecological Research site at Toolik Field Station (TFS), which were sampled seasonally each June and August from 2016 to 2018. Three watersheds were associated with the National Park Service (NPS) of Alaska and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and were sampled annually from 2015 to 2019. Extensive water chemistry characterization included carbon species, dissolved nutrients, and major ions. The objective of the sampling designs and data acquisition was to characterize terrestrial–aquatic linkages and processing of material in stream networks. The data allow estimation of novel ecohydrological metrics that describe the dominant location, scale, and overall persistence of ecosystem processes in continuous permafrost. These metrics are (1) subcatchment leverage, (2) variance collapse, and (3) spatial persistence. Raw data are available at the National Park Service Integrated Resource Management Applications portal (O'Donnell et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9SBK2DZ) and within the Environmental Data Initiative (Abbott, 2021, https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/258a44fb9055163dd4dd4371b9dce945).

Biscayne National Park colonial nesting birds monitoring protocol—Version 1.1

Breeding colonies of wading birds (orders Ciconiiformes, Pelecaniformes) and seabirds (orders Suliformes, Pelecaniformes) serve as important indicators of aquatic ecosystem health, as they respond to changes in food abundance and quality, contaminants, invasive species, and disturbance. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, Restoration Coordination & Verification program (CERP-RECOVER) has identified wading-bird colonies as an important ecosystem restoration indicator. The National Park Service South Florida/Caribbean Inventory & Monitoring Network (SFCN) ranked colonial nesting birds eighth out of 44 vital signs of park natural resource conditions for ecological significance and feasibility. However, while large-scale monitoring efforts are occurring in the rest of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, only minimal historic data collection and no extensive ongoing monitoring of wading bird and seabird nesting have occurred in Biscayne National Park. Consequently, due to their high importance as biological indicators and because they are a gap occurring in regional monitoring efforts, the network has initiated a monitoring program of colonial nesting birds in Biscayne National Park. This protocol provides the rationale, approach, and detailed Standard Operating Procedures for annual colonial bird monitoring within and close to Biscayne National Park and conforms to the Oakley et al. (2003) guidelines for National Park Service long-term monitoring protocols. The specific objectives of this monitoring program are to determine status and long-term trends in: Numbers and locations of active colonies of colonial nesting birds with a special focus on Double-crested Cormorants, Great Egrets, Great White Herons, Great Blue Herons, White Ibises, and Roseate Spoonbills. Annual peak active nest counts of colonial nesting birds in Biscayne National Park with a special focus on the species mentioned above. An annual nesting index (i.e., sum of monthly nest counts) with a special focus on the species mentioned above. Timing of peak nest counts for the focal species.

Climate Change and Odawa Cultural Plants in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore

Climate change has been observed for hundreds of years by plant specialists of three Odawa Tribes in the Upper Great Lakes along Lake Michigan. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is the focus of two National Park Service-funded studies of Odawa Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of plants and ecosystems and climate change impacts on these. Data collected during these ethnobotany studies were designed to contribute to a Plant Gathering Agreement between the tribes and the park. This essay provides an analysis of these observations derived from 95 ethnographic interviews conducted by University of Arizona anthropologists. Odawa people recognize in the park 288 plants and five habitats of traditional and contemporary concern. Tribal representatives explained how 115 of these traditional plants and all five habitats are known from multigenerational eyewitness accounts to have been impacted by climate change.

Bird community monitoring at New River Gorge National River, Gauley River National Recreation Area, and Bluestone National Scenic River, 1997 - 2018

Birds are prominent features of National Park Service lands and are effective indicators for monitoring ecosystem health. Assessing the temporal change of avian species abundance depends on long-term monitoring of bird communities and trends, however long-term monitoring programs are generally uncommon. In this report, we summarize 22 years (1997-2018) of point count data across five sites on West Virginia National Park Service lands (three in New River Gorge National River, one in Gauley River National Recreation Area, and one in Bluestone National Scenic River) and compare these results to our analysis of Breeding Bird Survey data for the same time period across all of West Virginia. The objectives of this analysis are two-fold: 1) describe the biotic integrity of the National Park Service lands in West Virginia and 2) Quantify trends in guilds and species abundance. During the 20-year period of this survey, 85 breeding resident species were detected. The West Virginia National Park Service lands are home to stable populations of Wood Thrush and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, both species of continental concern by Partners in Flight. Seven species have declined precipitously on NPS lands during this time period. Three of these species are also experiencing declines across the rest of West Virginia (Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Carolina Chickadee, Kentucky Warbler), but the other 4 species are stable across West Virginia (Acadian Flycatcher, Black-throated Green Warbler, Northern Parula, Swainson’s Warbler). Four species that are declining across West Virginia (Great Crested Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, Red-eyed Vireo, and Worm-eating Warbler) are stable on southern West Virginia NPS lands. Additionally, the upper-canopy foraging guild of species has decreased significantly on NPS lands in southern West Virginia. An analysis of community biotic integrity revealed that the southern West Virginia NPS lands have been stable at a rating of high biotic integrity every year for the duration of this survey. Future research should delve into the underlying factors that may be driving the trends in abundance at different scales.

Maybe So, Maybe Not: Canis lepophagus at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho, USA

A canid dentary is described from the Pliocene Glenns Ferry Formation at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, south-central Idaho, USA. The specimen possesses traits in alliance with and measurements falling within or exceeding those of Canis lepophagus. The dentary, along with a tarsal IV (cuboid) and an exploded canine come from the base of the fossiliferous Sahara complex within the monument. Improved geochronologic control provided by new tephrochronologic mapping by the U.S. Geological Survey-National Park Service Hagerman Paleontology, Environments, and Tephrochronology Project supports an interpolated age of approximately 3.9 Ma, placing it in the early Blancan North American Land Mammal Age. It is conservatively referred to herein as Canis aff. C. lepophagus with the caveat that it is an early and robust example of that species. A smaller canid, initially assigned to Canis lepophagus and then to Canis ferox, is also known from Hagerman. Most specimens of Canis ferox, including the holotype, were recently reassigned to Eucyon ferox, but specimens from the Hagerman and Rexroad faunas were left as Canis sp. and possibly attributed to C. lepophagus. We agree that these smaller canids belong in Canis and not Eucyon but reject placing them within C. lepophagus; we refer to them here as Hagerman-Rexroad Canis. This study confirms the presence of two approximately coyote-sized canids at Hagerman and adds to the growing list of carnivorans now known from these fossil beds.

National Park Service geologic type section inventory: Mojave Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network

A fundamental responsibility of the National Park Service (NPS) is to ensure that park resources are preserved, protected, and managed in consideration of the resources themselves and for the benefit and enjoyment by the public. Through the inventory, monitoring, and study of park resources, we gain a greater understanding of the scope, significance, distribution, and management issues associated with these resources and their use. This baseline of natural resource information is available to inform park managers, scientists, stakeholders, and the public about the conditions of these resources and the factors or activities that may threaten or influence their stability and preservation. There are several different categories of geologic or stratigraphic units (supergroup, group, formation, member, bed) that represent a hierarchical system of classification. The mapping of stratigraphic units involves the evaluation of lithologies, bedding properties, thickness, geographic distribution, and other factors. Mappable geologic units may be described and named through a rigorously defined process that is standardized and codified by the professional geologic community (North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature 2005). In most instances when a new geologic unit such as a formation is described and named in the scientific literature, a specific and well-exposed section or exposure area of the unit is designated as the type section or other category of stratotype (see “Definitions” below). The type section is an important reference exposure for a named geologic unit which presents a relatively complete and representative example for this unit. Geologic stratotypes are important both historically and scientifically, and should be available for other researchers to evaluate in the future.. The inventory of all geologic stratotypes throughout the 423 units of the NPS is an important effort in documenting these locations in order that NPS staff recognize and protect these areas for future studies. The focus adopted for completing the baseline inventories throughout the NPS was centered on the 32 inventory and monitoring networks (I&M) established during the late 1990s. The I&M networks are clusters of parks within a defined geographic area based on the ecoregions of North America (Fenneman 1946; Bailey 1976; Omernik 1987). These networks share similar physical resources (e.g., geology, hydrology, climate), biological resources (e.g., flora, fauna), and ecological characteristics. Specialists familiar with the resources and ecological parameters of the network, and associated parks, work with park staff to support network-level activities such as inventory, monitoring, research, and data management. Adopting a network-based approach to inventories worked well when the NPS undertook paleontological resource inventories for the 32 I&M networks. The planning team from the NPS Geologic Resources Division who proposed and designed this inventory selected the Greater Yellowstone Inventory & Monitoring Network (GRYN) as the pilot network for initiating this project. Through the research undertaken to identify the geologic stratotypes within the parks of the GRYN methodologies for data mining and reporting on these resources were established. Methodologies and reporting adopted for the GRYN have been used in the development of this report for the Mojave Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network (MOJN). The goal of this project is to consolidate information pertaining to geologic type sections that occur within NPS-administered areas, in order that this information is available throughout the NPS to inform park managers and to promote the preservation and protection of these important geologic landmarks and geologic heritage resources. The review of stratotype occurrences for the MOJN shows there are currently no designated stratotypes for Joshua Tree National Park (JOTR) or Manzanar National Historic Site (MANZ); Death Valley...