The Experts below are selected from a list of 1152 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Aram J K Calhoun - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Efficiency and Detection Accuracy Using Print and Digital Stereo Aerial Photography for Remotely Mapping Vernal Pools in New England Landscapes
Wetlands, 2016Co-Authors: Fred J. Dibello, Aram J K Calhoun, Dawn E. Morgan, Amanda F. ShearinAbstract:Aerial imagery has been used to identify potential Vernal Pools (PVPs) using stereo photographic prints. Stereoplotter photogrammetry now allows digital aerial images to be viewed in stereo (3-Dimensional) to enhance remote sensing capabilities. We used both print and digital imagery to map PVPs in 10 towns in Maine, USA. We used field verification of 771 PVPs to explore efficiency and accuracy of the two methodologies and to determine effects of pool size and land cover on accuracy. We compared known pool locations with National Wetland Inventory (NWI) data. The stereoplotter was more efficient and easier to use than prints. In the towns where print imagery was used, 77.4 % of surveyed PVPs were confirmed as compared to 60.8 % of PVPs surveyed in the towns with digital photography. The higher commission errors using the digital method were likely due to enhanced ability to detect smaller features. Omission errors were common using both print and digital methods. Only 43 % of confirmed Vernal Pools were located in areas mapped by NWI, suggesting that NWI information does not improve detection accuracy. Aerial photo interpretation continues to be effective for PVP identification in our region and is improved with the use of digital stereoplotters.
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improving management of small natural features on private lands by negotiating the science policy boundary for maine Vernal Pools
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2014Co-Authors: Aram J K Calhoun, Jessica S Jansujwicz, Kathleen P Bell, Malcolm L HunterAbstract:Vernal Pools are far more important for providing ecosystem services than one would predict based on their small size. However, prevailing resource-management strategies are not effectively conserving Pools and other small natural features on private lands. Solutions are complicated by tensions between private property and societal rights, uncertainties over resource location and function, diverse stakeholders, and fragmented regulatory authority. The development and testing of new conservation approaches that link scientific knowledge, stakeholder decision-making, and conservation outcomes are important responses to this conservation dilemma. Drawing from a 15-y history of Vernal pool conservation efforts in Maine, we describe the coevolution of pool conservation and research approaches, focusing on how research-based knowledge was produced and used in support of management decisions. As management shifted from reactive, top-down approaches to proactive and flexible approaches, research shifted from an ecology-focused program to an interdisciplinary program based on social–ecological systems. The most effective strategies for linking scientific knowledge with action changed as the decision-makers, knowledge needs, and context for Vernal pool management advanced. Interactions among stakeholders increased the extent to which knowledge was coproduced and shifted the objective of stakeholder engagement from outreach to research collaboration and development of innovative conservation approaches. New conservation strategies were possible because of the flexible, solutions-oriented collaborations and trust between scientists and decision-makers (fostered over 15 y) and interdisciplinary, engaged research. Solutions to the dilemma of conserving small natural features on private lands, and analogous sustainability science challenges, will benefit from repeated negotiations of the science–policy boundary.
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the maine Vernal pool mapping and assessment program engaging municipal officials and private landowners in community based citizen science
Environmental Management, 2013Co-Authors: Jessica S Jansujwicz, Aram J K Calhoun, Robert J LilieholmAbstract:The Vernal Pool Mapping and Assessment Program (VPMAP) was initiated in 2007 to create a Vernal pool database as a planning tool to foster local compliance with new state Vernal pool regulations. In the northeastern United States, Vernal Pools are seasonal wetlands that provide critical breeding habitat for a number of amphibians and invertebrates and provide important resting and foraging habitat for some rare and endangered state-listed species. Using participant observation, interviews, and focus groups, we examined the engagement of municipal officials and private landowners in VPMAP. Important outcomes of municipal and landowner engagement included mobilization of town support for proactive planning, improved awareness and understanding of Vernal Pools, and increased interactions between program coordinators, municipal officials, and private landowners. Challenges to municipal and landowner engagement included an inconsistency in expectations between coordinators and municipal officials and a lack of time and sufficient information for follow-up with landowners participating in VPMAP. Our study highlights the importance of developing relationships among coordinators, municipal officials, and private landowners in facilitating positive outcomes for all stakeholders and for effective resource management. We suggest an expanded citizen science model that focuses on improving two-way communication among project coordinators, municipal officials, and local citizens and places communication with private landowners on par with volunteer citizen scientist recruitment and field training. Lessons learned from this research can inform the design and implementation of citizen science projects on private land.
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an evaluation of Vernal pool creation projects in new england project documentation from 1991 2000
Environmental Management, 2003Co-Authors: Lesley E Lichko, Aram J K CalhounAbstract:Vernal Pools are vulnerable to loss through development and agricultural and forestry practices owing to their isolation from open water bodies and their small size. Some Vernal pool-dependent species are already listed in New England as Endangered, Threatened, or Species of Special Concern. Vernal pool creation is becoming more common in compensatory mitigation as open water ponds, in general, may be easier to create than wooded wetlands. However, research on Vernal pool creation is limited. A recent National Research Council study (2001) cites Vernal Pools as “challenging to recreate.” We reviewed documentation on 15 Vernal pool creation projects in New England that were required by federal regulatory action. Our purpose was to determine whether Vernal pool creation for compensatory mitigation in New England replaced key Vernal pool functions by assessing project goals and documentation (including mitigation plans, pool design criteria, monitoring protocols, and performance standards). Our results indicate that creation attempts often fail to replicate lost pool functions. Pool design specifications are often based on conjecture rather than on reference wetlands or created Pools that function successfully. Project monitoring lacks consistency and reliability, and record keeping by regulatory agencies is inadequate. Strengthening of protection of isolated wetlands in general, and standardization across all aspects of Vernal pool creation, is needed to ensure success and to promote conservation of the long-term landscape functions of Vernal Pools.
Shannon E Julian - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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novel tetranucleotide microsatellite dna markers for the wood frog rana sylvatica
Molecular Ecology Notes, 2003Co-Authors: Shannon E Julian, Tim L KingAbstract:Fifteen tetranucleotide microsatellite loci were identified and characterized for wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) collected from three Vernal Pools in the southeastern US. These markers revealed a high degree of genetic diversity (nine to 34 alleles per locus), heterozygosity (30.6–92.3%) and allelic heterogeneity (69% of comparisons were statistically significant). Considerable differentiation among populations was observed as genetic distances (chord) ranged between 0.40 and 0.55 and all FST values (0.02–0.05) were statistically significant. Genotypic assignment tests correctly classified 103 of 113 individuals to their respective collection. These markers should prove useful for investigating fine-scale population structure and metapopulation dynamics.
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novel jefferson salamander ambystoma jeffersonianum microsatellite dna markers detect population structure and hybrid complexes
Molecular Ecology Notes, 2003Co-Authors: Shannon E Julian, Tim L King, W K SavageAbstract:Twenty polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers were isolated and characterized in Ambystoma jeffersonianum collected from three Vernal Pools in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. These markers revealed a high degree of genetic diversity (7–23 alleles per locus), heterozygosity (46.7% to 100%), and allelic heterogeneity (96% of comparisons were statistically significant). Genetic distances were greatest in comparisons between collections, intermediate within collections, and least among sibling pairs. Six markers were trisomic in A. jeffersonianum-A. laterale hybrids. These microsatellite DNA loci should allow delineation of genetic structure within and among populations of the diploid A. jeffersonianum and provide an effective method for identification of triploid hybrid individuals.
Tim L King - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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novel tetranucleotide microsatellite dna markers for the wood frog rana sylvatica
Molecular Ecology Notes, 2003Co-Authors: Shannon E Julian, Tim L KingAbstract:Fifteen tetranucleotide microsatellite loci were identified and characterized for wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) collected from three Vernal Pools in the southeastern US. These markers revealed a high degree of genetic diversity (nine to 34 alleles per locus), heterozygosity (30.6–92.3%) and allelic heterogeneity (69% of comparisons were statistically significant). Considerable differentiation among populations was observed as genetic distances (chord) ranged between 0.40 and 0.55 and all FST values (0.02–0.05) were statistically significant. Genotypic assignment tests correctly classified 103 of 113 individuals to their respective collection. These markers should prove useful for investigating fine-scale population structure and metapopulation dynamics.
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novel jefferson salamander ambystoma jeffersonianum microsatellite dna markers detect population structure and hybrid complexes
Molecular Ecology Notes, 2003Co-Authors: Shannon E Julian, Tim L King, W K SavageAbstract:Twenty polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers were isolated and characterized in Ambystoma jeffersonianum collected from three Vernal Pools in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. These markers revealed a high degree of genetic diversity (7–23 alleles per locus), heterozygosity (46.7% to 100%), and allelic heterogeneity (96% of comparisons were statistically significant). Genetic distances were greatest in comparisons between collections, intermediate within collections, and least among sibling pairs. Six markers were trisomic in A. jeffersonianum-A. laterale hybrids. These microsatellite DNA loci should allow delineation of genetic structure within and among populations of the diploid A. jeffersonianum and provide an effective method for identification of triploid hybrid individuals.
Malcolm L Hunter - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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improving management of small natural features on private lands by negotiating the science policy boundary for maine Vernal Pools
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2014Co-Authors: Aram J K Calhoun, Jessica S Jansujwicz, Kathleen P Bell, Malcolm L HunterAbstract:Vernal Pools are far more important for providing ecosystem services than one would predict based on their small size. However, prevailing resource-management strategies are not effectively conserving Pools and other small natural features on private lands. Solutions are complicated by tensions between private property and societal rights, uncertainties over resource location and function, diverse stakeholders, and fragmented regulatory authority. The development and testing of new conservation approaches that link scientific knowledge, stakeholder decision-making, and conservation outcomes are important responses to this conservation dilemma. Drawing from a 15-y history of Vernal pool conservation efforts in Maine, we describe the coevolution of pool conservation and research approaches, focusing on how research-based knowledge was produced and used in support of management decisions. As management shifted from reactive, top-down approaches to proactive and flexible approaches, research shifted from an ecology-focused program to an interdisciplinary program based on social–ecological systems. The most effective strategies for linking scientific knowledge with action changed as the decision-makers, knowledge needs, and context for Vernal pool management advanced. Interactions among stakeholders increased the extent to which knowledge was coproduced and shifted the objective of stakeholder engagement from outreach to research collaboration and development of innovative conservation approaches. New conservation strategies were possible because of the flexible, solutions-oriented collaborations and trust between scientists and decision-makers (fostered over 15 y) and interdisciplinary, engaged research. Solutions to the dilemma of conserving small natural features on private lands, and analogous sustainability science challenges, will benefit from repeated negotiations of the science–policy boundary.
W K Savage - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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novel jefferson salamander ambystoma jeffersonianum microsatellite dna markers detect population structure and hybrid complexes
Molecular Ecology Notes, 2003Co-Authors: Shannon E Julian, Tim L King, W K SavageAbstract:Twenty polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers were isolated and characterized in Ambystoma jeffersonianum collected from three Vernal Pools in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. These markers revealed a high degree of genetic diversity (7–23 alleles per locus), heterozygosity (46.7% to 100%), and allelic heterogeneity (96% of comparisons were statistically significant). Genetic distances were greatest in comparisons between collections, intermediate within collections, and least among sibling pairs. Six markers were trisomic in A. jeffersonianum-A. laterale hybrids. These microsatellite DNA loci should allow delineation of genetic structure within and among populations of the diploid A. jeffersonianum and provide an effective method for identification of triploid hybrid individuals.
