We compared three existing ecoregional classification schemes (Bailey, Omernik, and World Wildlife Fund) with two derived schemes (Omernik Revised and Climate Zones) to explore their effectiveness in explaining species distributions and to better understand natural resource geography in the Klamath Region, USA. We analyzed presence/absence data derived from digital distribution maps for trees, amphibians, large mammals, small mammals, migrant birds, and resident birds using three statistical analyses of classification accuracy (Analysis of Similarity, Canonical Analysis of Principal Coordinates, and Classification Strength). The classifications were roughly comparable in classification accuracy, with Omernik Revised showing the best overall performance. Trees showed the strongest fidelity to the classifications, and large mammals showed the weakest fidelity. We discuss the implications for regional biogeography and describe how intermediate resolution ecoregional classifications may be appropriate for use as natural areas management domains.

A resilient coastal wetland is naturally dynamic and responds to disturbances by maintaining the regimes defining structures and functions. Methods to monitor resilience have been difficult to develop, yet are essential to either prevent or actively navigate a regime shift. As others have reported, ecosystem behavior becomes more variable when resilience decreases and feedbacks begin to weaken. To advance the practice of conservation within protected areas, a resilience-based approach to monitoring was explored within Fathom Five National Marine Park, Canada. By means of a multivariate distance-based control chart, the variability of fish assemblages in eight coastal wetlands over an eight-year period (2005–2012) was monitored. The control chart identified occasions when variance in three of the park's wetlands deviated more than expected (i.e., acted “out of control”). To explain the exceedances. an ordination of fish assemblages was completed using principal components analysis (PCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA). Colonization by the invasive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) and the prolonged period of low lake levels and stranding were discussed as possible explanations for the exceedances. In conclusion, the control chart and ordination methods provided valuable insight and understanding of wetland dynamics and were recommended as part of a long-term resilience-based approach to monitoring.

Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle) is an aggressive alien shrub that invades many habitat types in the eastern United States, including riparian zones. The effects of L. maackii have been well documented in terrestrial ecosystems and can range from alteration of plant and insect communities to changes in ecosystem processes; however, the effects on aquatic ecosystems are less well known. Research on other invasive species has shown that replacement of native trees with exotic species can have significant influences on decomposition rates in nearby streams. This study investigated the direct and indirect effects of L. maackii invasion and management (removal) on leaf litter decomposition in an urban stream by placing leaf litter packs of L. maackii and the native Acer saccharum (sugar maple) in stream segments invaded by or managed for L. maackii. We found that L. maackii litter decomposed two times faster than A. saccharum litter, and that A. saccharum leaf litter supported a higher abundance of macroinvertebrates than L. maackii. Functional feeding groups of macroinvertebrates were also affected by the invasive species; significantly more scrapers were associated with A. saccharum litter, and predators were positively associated with both A. saccharum and invaded sites. Indirect effects of L. maackii presence along streambanks on leaf decomposition and macroinvertebrate communities were negligible, possibly due to overriding effects of urbanization on the stream. These results have important implications for stream ecosystems that run through terrestrial areas invaded by L. maackii, as stream diversity and nutrient retention are strongly influenced by allochthonous inputs.

All forms of recreation and tourism, including wildlife viewing, have the potential to alter wildlife habitat, behavior, survival, and/or reproductive success. The increasing number of visitors pursuing bear-viewing activities in coastal British Columbia, Canada, and Alaska, United States, has led to a number of studies assessing the impact of wildlife viewing on bear behavior. This study, the first to assess the impact of boat-based bear viewing in this region, used focal sampling to measure bear activity budgets in the absence and presence of nonresearch bear-viewing vessels. We found that: (1) some grizzly bears were clearly tolerant of wildlife viewing activities while others were not; (2) individual variation of bears' response to tourists was significant, introducing considerable uncertainty in attempting to assess medium- to long-term impacts of wildlife viewing; (3) males were rarely observed outside of the mating season, suggesting females (especially those with cubs) may use viewing areas as refuges from male grizzly bears; and (4) overt reaction distances varied greatly, suggesting that one appropriate management option may be to ensure boat captains can recognize potential displacement behavior in bears to avoid affecting subject animals. Some of the uncertainty arising from the biological research could be tempered by examining the social perspective of bear viewing tours to create an appropriate management plan for the K'tzim-a-deen Inlet Conservancy.

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) forests are experiencing numerous impediments across North America. In the West, recent drought, fire suppression, insects, diseases, climate trends, inappropriate management, and ungulate herbivory are impacting these high biodiversity forests. Additionally, ecological tension zones are sometimes created at residential-wildland interfaces with divergent management directives. For example, private conservation reserves bordering public land may be degraded from browsing where game species find refuge from hunting and plentiful forage. We examined putative herbivore impacts to nearly pure aspen forests at Wolf Creek Ranch (WCR), a sparsely developed residential landscape in northern Utah. Forty-three one-hectare monitoring plots were established to measure forest attributes including site characteristics, tree and vegetation condition, and herbivore use. Additionally, we tested the ability of a plot-level visual rating system to characterize objective field measures. Results suggest elk (Cervus elaphus) herbivory is currently having a strong effect on aspen in the study area, reducing many locations to nearly single-layer aspen forests dominated by aging canopy trees. Regeneration (<2 m tall stems) is experiencing moderate to high browse impacts, and recruitment (2–6 m stems) is below replacement levels on approximately half of WCR's aspen forests. The visual rating system accurately reflected significant trends in forest cover, canopy height, plot aspect, regeneration, recruitment, and tree mortality. Ordination of plot and forest data indicated a strong negative relationship between elk presence and recruitment success. We make recommendations for addressing difficult herbivore-aspen interactions where publicly managed wildlife present barriers to conservation within residential forest reserves.

The Colorado Plateau supports one of the highest levels of endemism in the United States, with more than 10% of the plant species estimated to be endemic. Many endemic plants are considered rare and may be susceptible to climate change. To determine the potential impacts of climate change on the range extent on plants endemic to the Colorado Plateau, we used two future climate scenarios and the Maxent algorithm to predict present and future potential suitable habitat for 239 endemic plants. Climate scenario, biogeographic distribution, and dispersal model all influenced predicted suitable habitat extents. Both climate change scenarios predicted 104 species to have range contractions of potential suitable habitat for all future time periods and dispersal models. Plants predicted to be widespread today are predicted to continue to gain habitat when dispersal is allowed, 31 species always gain habitat with all future scenarios. Matching species with actual dispersal ability influenced results; 194 species are predicted to lose potential habitat for both climate scenarios, while only 24 are predicted to gain habitat. Many Colorado Plateau endemic plants are predicted to experience significant range reductions by the end of the century as a result of two conditions; (1) current occupied habitats will become climatically unsuitable, and (2) most Colorado Plateau endemics lack the ability to disperse to future suitable habitats. Thus, the risk of range collapse is generally high, but may be mitigated by management efforts, including managed relocation to future suitable habitats outside the dispersal abilities of these endemic plants.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats to global biodiversity, altering both habitat structure and availability. Small preserves nested within landscapes dominated by human commerce can serve as long-term storehouses of biodiversity, yet they are vulnerable to threats such as exotic plant invasion and disturbance. The Drew Woods State Nature Preserve (DWSNP) in Darke County, Ohio, provided an opportunity to understand the capacity of a small old-growth preserve for maintaining regional floristic biodiversity and assessing ecological threats. A series of six approximately biweekly herbaceous layer samplings were conducted across 32 1-m² circular plots within DWSNP, and percent vegetative cover was estimated for each herbaceous species identified. The vascular flora of this 6-ha site was inventoried and used for a Floristic Quality Assessment. Spatial patterns were visualized using ArcGIS software, and linear regression analyses and non-metric multidimensional scaling were used to test for relationships between measures of diversity and cover and environmental variables. A total of 176 species were identified across 124 genera and 67 families, and the majority of species were native (89.2%). Characteristic native herb species included Jeffersonia diphylla (twinleaf), Trillium sessile (toad trillium), Allium tricoccum (wild leek), and Erythronium americanum (trout lily), all of which are indicative of high-quality forest. A north—south gradient of species richness was found across all samplings, with the southernmost plots tending to be most species-rich (P < 0.01, r² ≤ 0.42). This pattern appeared to be linked with gradients of light and temperature that are likely driven by edge effects. Old-growth forests are known for their resiliency, a trait that was evident in the high-quality flora of DWSNP; however, they are not immune to invasion by exotic species. We discovered a significant, nascent, invasion of Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard), which has the potential to negatively impact the biological integrity of the site if left unchecked. Small forest fragments in agricultural landscapes can act as important reservoirs of biodiversity, but effective preservation and management of these sites requires an understanding of the threats to their ecological integrity as well as environmental drivers of diversity.

Conservation zoning is a planning process that has been used within protected areas to spatially establish and communicate conservation goals and reduce user conflicts. Here, we explored a resilience-based approach to zoning in Fathom Five National Marine Park, Lake Huron, Canada, using the decision support tool Marxan with Zones, a command line program that we interfaced with our Geographic Information System (GIS). Conservation features were identified and organized into general themes of ecosystem structure, ecosystem function, and social structure. Target values for these features were set to achieve representativeness, replication, and connectivity goals, while minimizing social, political, and economic costs. Although 100 different near-optimal solutions were generated, we paid particular attention to the “best” and “summed” solutions. Implementation recommendations also included considerations for active learning, adaptive management, and good governance. The tools and methods provide an example for managers of other protected areas interested in maintaining and building ecosystem resilience..

Clipping of Vinca minor followed by fall treatment with 2% glyphosate, controlled Vinca minor without adversely affecting Trillium recurvatum or other plant species in a second growth, mesic southern forest in southwestern Michigan.

We employed tree-ring analysis to reconstruct the fire history of High Park, Toronto, Canada, in one of the largest remnants of black oak (Quercus velutina) savanna in Ontario. This heavily urbanized area has a long history of fire suppression, which has degraded the native savanna. Efforts to reintroduce fire would benefit from a fire history record. Ring width patterns were quantified for 38 black oak chronologies on 14 cross-sections and 10 cores using dendrochronology software that employs scanned (digital) ring sequences. Scar and sealing patterns and rapid growth responses following scarring were dated to indicate the timing of fire events. These dates were compared with the timing of regeneration pulses and the establishment of multistemmed individuals that would have sprouted in response to fire disturbance. Our records suggest that most of the mature black oak stems established synchronously, around 1865, following an apparently extensive fire event or set of events. We have evidence of four other fires in the century that followed. Dendrochronology in black oak savanna presents challenges due to this tree species' thick bark, and the low intensity savanna fires that do not breach all individuals in a stand. Further, the present black oak population has succumbed to disease and old age, leading to decay of the central stem and the loss of the oldest rings that were more likely to be scarred as they formed during the tree's youth. This is likely to be a limitation in other savanna communities in long-settled regions of North America. We suggest inclusion of corroborative evidence, such as that employed in the present study, including the use of multistemmed individuals as indicators of stem recruitment following fire, and demographic data for the population.

The North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation manages 32,063 ha of coastal plain lands divided among 26 properties comprised of state parks, state natural areas, and a state recreation area. Of 35 invasive plant species found at 25 reporting sites, Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and privets (Ligustrum spp.) occurred most frequently, followed by sericea (Lespedeza cuneata), Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum), alligatorweed (Alternanthera philoxeroides), Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), common reed (Phragmites australis ssp. australis), silverberries (Elaeagnus spp.), mimosa (Albizia julibrissin), and wisterias (Wisteria spp.). Current management measures for these species and others include herbicide applications, hand pulling to intensively focused labor with equipment, or use of biological controls. These activities challenge missions, budgets, and staff time of each park unit such that early detection and rapid response are difficult. A dedicated staff position, an invasive plant management team, and the development of simple control guidelines for vines and herbs are recommended to enhance on-site efforts and provide consistency, whereas contractual assistance and collaborative efforts will be needed to control difficult or widespread populations. Regular monitoring and proactive management at sites with few to no invasive species should be given priority to avoid future problems. In addition to current challenges posed by invasive plant populations found at most sites, species introductions and spread as a function of climate change, sea level rise, and tropical storms are likely.

Monitoring is used to detect changes in the abundance of threatened, dominant, or invasive species in natural areas. Management actions will be more effective if change is detected quickly. Ecological theory suggests that changes will often occur first at the margin of a plant's occurrence, rather than in the center of distribution. Ecological monitoring at these occurrence margins, or ecotones, should allow more rapid detection of change and mitigation actions. An example of ecotone monitoring is provided.