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The use of nest boxes by the hellbender salamander in Western North Carolina
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The hellbender salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) is a unique, large-bodied amphibian that serves as an excellent water quality indicator species in Western North Carolina. This animal has suffered substantial population declines over the past four decades throughout its range. Increased stream siltation largely attributed to human development fills the concave undersides of large rocks, consequently destroying hellbender breeding habitat. Habitat degradation has contributed to reductions in North Carolinian populations to such a degree that the species is now considered of Special Concern in the state. In order to restore hellbender population sizes under current land use conditions, researchers have recently begun developing artificial nest boxes that exclude sediment and promote increased reproduction. To identify the short-term efficacy of these shelters as substitutes for natural hellbender habitat in Western North Carolina, I constructed and placed 54 boxes across five river sites throughout the region. Following summer nest box installment, I examined each shelter through the breeding season for hellbender in habitation and to determine the quality of water passing through the structures. Additionally, I created a maximum entropy species distribution model and conducted a spatial connectivity analysis for the hellbenders of Western North Carolina to identify ideal locations for nest boxes installation in the future. Although no hellbenders have yet been detected in the artificial shelters, additional structural improvements and time may reveal nest boxes to be useful conservation tools for this iconic species of Special Concern.
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Research
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Artificial Nest Box Research
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Theory and practice of the hydrodynamic redesign of artifical hellbender habitat
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The success of nest boxes in Missouri led researchers to test whether similar management tools could increase C. a. alleganiensis populations in the streams of western North Carolina, where these salamanders are listed as a Species of Special Concern (Messerman 2014). Fifty-four nest boxes were constructed following the boot-shaped design of Briggler and Ackerson (2012) in May 2013, and were installed across five known C. alleganiensis stream sites between late June and early August 2013. Messerman (2014) then monitored each nest box every three to four weeks through November 2013, and the boxes were revisited in August 2014 and July 2015 to observe structural condition and occupancy (Messerman, pers. obs.). Of the 54 nest boxes, only two structures at a single site were confirmed as inhabited in 2014 and 2015, and no breeding events were detected (Messerman, pers. obs.). Moreover, many of these ~50 lb concrete boxes moved in flood events or accumulated sediment at the downstream tunnel entrance (Messerman 2014). The low success of the boot-shaped nest box design in North Carolina may be attributed to the sites generally being narrower and shallower than those in Missouri, with much of the substrate consisting of bedrock slabs covered by relatively thin layers of rock, gravel and silt. Here we address the observed shortcomings of the original North Carolina design through the lens of engineering, and present a new and easily implemented nest box model for use in streams like those found in western North Carolina.
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Artificial Nest Box Research
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Toward rigorous use of expert knowledge in ecological research
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Practicing ecologists who excel at their work (‘‘experts’’) hold a wealth of knowledge. This knowledge offers a wide range of opportunities for application in ecological research and natural resource decision-making. While experts are often consulted ad-hoc, their contributions are not widely acknowledged. These informal applications of expert knowledge lead to concerns about a lack of transparency and repeatability, causing distrust of this knowledge source in the scientific community. Here, we address these concerns with an exploration of the diversity of expert knowledge and of rigorous methods in its use. The effective use of expert knowledge hinges on an awareness of the spectrum of experts and their expertise, which varies by breadth of perspective and critical assessment. Also, experts express their knowledge in different forms depending on the degree of contextualization with other information. Careful matching of experts to application is therefore essential and has to go beyond a simple fitting of the expert to the knowledge domain. The standards for the collection and use of expert knowledge should be as rigorous as for empirical data. This involves knowing when it is appropriate to use expert knowledge and how to identify and select suitable experts. Further, it requires a careful plan for the collection, analysis and validation of the knowledge. The knowledge held by expert practitioners is too valuable to be ignored. But only when thorough methods are applied, can the application of expert knowledge be as valid as the use of empirical data. The responsibility for the effective and rigorous use of expert knowledge lies with the researchers.
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Reports & Documents
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Tribal Nation Boundary Feature on Drought Maps
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NIDIS, in partnership with NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, has launched a new map customization feature for Tribal Nations on the Drought.gov. This feature allows users to display reservation boundaries on any map on Drought.gov.
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Climate Links
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University at Buffalo
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The University at Buffalo, New York State’s flagship, is consistently recognized as one of the world's most exceptional, most affordable universities, making it a top choice for students and faculty around the globe.
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Organizations Search
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University of Florida
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At the University of Florida, we are a people of purpose. We're committed to challenging convention and ourselves. We see things not as they are, but as they could be. And we strive for a greater impact: one measured in people helped and lives improved.
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Organizations Search
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USDA Agricultural Research Service National Programs
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ARS research is organized into National Programs. These programs serve to bring coordination, communication, and empowerment to approximately 690 research projects carried out by ARS. The National Programs focus on the relevance, impact, and quality of ARS research.
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General Resources Holdings
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USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network
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The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network is a new network developing national strategies for the sustainable intensification of agricultural production.
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General Resources Holdings
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USDA Regional Biomass Research Centers (RBRC)
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This USDA-led effort (RBRC), which is coordinated by ARS and the U.S. Forest Service, is tasked with ensuring that dependable feedstock supplies use agricultural and forestry feedstocks to produce advanced biofuels that meet legislated goals and market demand, and maximizing participation of U.S. rural areas in an emerging and profitable biofuels and biobased products economy.
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General Resources Holdings
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Uwharries to Sandhills Landscape Collaborative
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The Uwharries to Sandhills Landscape Collaborative (USLC) will improve forest health by restoring privately and publicly owned pine forests to an open-canopy condition in and around Uwharrie National Forest (UNF), and in a habitat corridor between the Uwharries and the NC Sandhills ecoregion.
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Projects
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Prescribed Burn
