Modified items

All recently modified items, latest first.

Percentage of Karst Area within Grid Cell by Jessica Rhodes, last updated: Mar 11, 2016 09:47 AM: Each cell represents the percent of karst within a 20 x 20 kilometer grid cell, a measure of habitat quantity. This attribute can be used to predict presence/absence of particular ecological groups in caves.

Terrestrial Records by Jessica Rhodes, last updated: Mar 11, 2016 09:47 AM: The karst map provides the basic template for analyzing the distribution of cave species. Almost without exception, all caves occur within the karst areas. There were a few records of cave-dwelling species from outside karst areas (mostly springs) but the data was trimmed to fit within the karst areas, with a 1 km buffer to allow for errors in georeferencing). This map displays the aquatic records within karst areas in the Appalachian region.

Aquatic Records by Jessica Rhodes, last updated: Mar 11, 2016 09:47 AM: The karst map provides the basic template for analyzing the distribution of cave species. Almost without exception, all caves occur within the karst areas. There were a few records of cave-dwelling species from outside karst areas (mostly springs) but the data was trimmed to fit within the karst areas, with a 1 km buffer to allow for errors in georeferencing). This map displays the aquatic records within karst areas in the Appalachian region.

Study Area Carbonate Bedrock Exposure Map by Jessica Rhodes, last updated: Mar 11, 2016 09:47 AM: This map depicts the carbonate bedrock exposure within the study area.

Cave Count per 20km Grid Cell by Jessica Rhodes, last updated: Mar 11, 2016 09:47 AM: Total number of caves within a 20 kilometer grid cell. Each cell represents a range of caves found within that area.

Probability of Presence by Species Group by Jessica Rhodes, last updated: Mar 11, 2016 09:46 AM: Prediction maps for each of the nine groups. These are potentially important both to predict areas where to find particular groups and to determine regions of overall high habitat quality where species richness is expected to be high.

Land Use and Potential Risk Maps by Jessica Rhodes, last updated: Mar 11, 2016 09:46 AM: This folder contains maps of land use and potential risk.

Study Overview Maps and Foundational Datasets by Jessica Rhodes, last updated: Mar 11, 2016 09:46 AM: Overview maps for the Classification and Mapping of Cave and Karst Resources within the Appalachian region.

Bat Summary for Appalachian LCC Cave/Karst Study by Jessica Rhodes, last updated: Mar 10, 2016 03:55 PM: This document contains a list of the bat species that regularly use caves and mines in the Appalachian LCC region, federal status of these species, and sources of bat data.

Guidelines for Using the NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index by Lesley Sneddon, last updated: Mar 10, 2016 12:26 PM: Motivated by the need to rapidly assess the vulnerability of species to climate change, NatureServe developed a Climate Change Vulnerability Index. The Index uses a scoring system that integrates a species’ predicted exposure to climate change within an area and three sets of factors associated with climate change sensitivity, each supported by published studies: 1) indirect exposure to climate change, 2) species-specific sensitivity and adaptive capacity factors and 3) documented response to climate change. Our primary goal for the Index is to provide valuable input for key planning documents, such as revisions of state wildlife action plans, to allow consideration of climate change impacts together with other stressors. We also hope this tool will help land managers develop and prioritize strategies for climate change adaptation that lead to actions that increase the resilience of species to climate change.

County Distribution of Assessed Species by Matthew Cimitile, last updated: Mar 10, 2016 12:23 PM: County distribution for the climate change vulnerability of 41 newly assessed species is available for download. The entire package is available at the link provided.

Previous Climate Assessments on 700 Species by Matthew Cimitile, last updated: Mar 10, 2016 12:21 PM: Find here Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments from previous research. Each excel file contains a subset of data from a compilation of climate change vulnerability scores for 700 species in the Appalachian LCC.

Phase II: Vulnerability Assessments by Lesley Sneddon, last updated: Mar 10, 2016 12:08 PM: The second phase of this project provides the results of a number of climate change vulnerability assessments along with a final report.

Final Report: Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments in the Appalachian LCC by NatureServe, last updated: Mar 10, 2016 12:04 PM: The Appalachian LCC tasked NatureServe with a two-phase project that explores the understanding of climate change in the Appalachian landscape. The first phase focused on assembling a panel of experts to provide guidance on a) prioritizing species and habitats to assess for vulnerability to climate change; b) selecting approaches to conduct vulnerability assessments, and c) identifying appropriate climate data to use in the assessments. Guided by the recommendations of the Panel, Phase II analyzes the results of 700 existing species assessments, and conducts vulnerability analyses on 41 additional species and 3 habitats. We used the recommendations of the Expert Panel, as well as the existing compilation to guide our recommended list of additional species and habitats to be assessed in Phase II. Criteria included a focus on the Interior Low Plateau and on plants, neither of which were well represented in existing assessments, as well as species of high conservation significance, keystone or species otherwise important to the habitat, and those of high value as indicators of climate change. This report summarizes Phase II of this effort.

Stream Classification Story Map by Web Editor, last updated: Mar 10, 2016 11:09 AM

Literature Review of Freshwater Classification Frameworks by The Nature Conservancy, last updated: Mar 10, 2016 10:54 AM: Identifying aquatic ecosystems requires a classification of stream and lake features into recognizable categories. Although a number of nationally recognized terrestrial community classifications exist, currently there is no national or international standard for classifying aquatic communities or ecosystems. Despite the lack of a national aquatic community classification, aquatic ecosystem classifications and frameworks have been developed at a variety of spatial scales to reflect the distribution of aquatic biological communities. This report reviews these freshwater classification frameworks, providing detailed analysis and application examples of taxonomic, environmental, and hydrologic classifications in use within the Appalachian region.

Data Access by Matthew Cimitile, last updated: Mar 10, 2016 10:53 AM: The entire stream classification dataset is available for download as a zip file.