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Aquatic Classification Crosswalk
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Crosswalk between UMass classification used for Ecological Integrity and TNC Classification developed for Northeast States
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Projects
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Aquatic Technical Subteam
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Background/General Information
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Aquatic Classification Crosswalk
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Crosswalk between UMass classification used for Ecological Integrity and TNC Classification developed for Northeast States
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Projects
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Aquatic Technical Subteam
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Aquatic Subteam Meeting 04-25-2014
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Aquatic Ecological Flows Phase 1 Report
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The 1st phase of the Aquatic Ecological Flows project involved reviewing existing tools and gathering available data within the project area on hydrologic and ecological flow model(s) that would be suitable for the region. This Report details that work.
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Workspace
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Deliverables
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Aquatic Ecological Flows Project Update
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This presentation from Dr. Todd Walter of Cornell University provides an update to the Steering Committee on the Appalachian LCC funded research project. The Aquatic Ecological Flows project is providing a report assessing availability of hydrologic and ecological flow model(s) suitable for the region, a georeference assessment of available ecological data to inform the ecological flow model(s), the application of the model(s) to anticipate how altered flow regimes will affect critical conditions, and a report that forecasts changes in hydrology and associated predicted biological responses in relation to different water resource development scenarios for critical watersheds.
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Cooperative
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Past SC Meetings and Materials
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Steering Committee Call 3/6/14
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Aquatic Species Richness
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Distribution of aquatic species richness by 20 kilometers grids throughout the Appalachian LCC region. At this scale, the hotspots of aquatic species richness are in southern Indiana (the Mitchell Plain) and central Kentucky (Mammoth Cave).
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Research
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Gallery: Cave and Karst Maps
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Study Overview Maps and Foundational Datasets
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Aquatic Species Richness by County
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Distribution of aquatic species at the county scale throughout the Appalachian LCC region.
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Research
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Gallery: Cave and Karst Maps
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Study Overview Maps and Foundational Datasets
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Aquatic Subteam Meeting 05-08-2014
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Meeting materials
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Projects
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Connecticut River Watershed Pilot
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Aquatic Technical Subteam
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Are we in the midst of the sixth mass extinction? A view from the world of amphibians
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Many scientists argue that we are either entering or in the midst of the sixth great mass extinction. Intense human pressure, both direct and indirect, is having profound effects on natural environ- ments. The amphibians—frogs, salamanders, and caecilians—may be the only major group currently at risk globally. A detailed worldwide assessment and subsequent updates show that one- third or more of the 6,300 species are threatened with extinction. This trend is likely to accelerate because most amphibians occur in the tropics and have small geographic ranges that make them susceptible to extinction. The increasing pressure from habitat destruction and climate change is likely to have major impacts on narrowly adapted and distributed species. We show that salamanders on tropical mountains are particularly at risk. A new and significant threat to amphibians is a virulent, emerging infec- tious disease, chytridiomycosis, which appears to be globally distributed, and its effects may be exacerbated by global warming. This disease, which is caused by a fungal pathogen and implicated in serious declines and extinctions of >200 species of amphibians, poses the greatest threat to biodiversity of any known disease. Our data for frogs in the Sierra Nevada of California show that the fungus is having a devastating impact on native species, already weakened by the effects of pollution and introduced predators. A general message from amphibians is that we may have little time to stave off a potential mass extinction.
chytridiomycosis climate change population declines Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis emerging disease
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Resources
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Climate Science Documents
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Beaver (Castor canadensis) mitigate the effects of climate on the area of open water in boreal wetlands in western Canada
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Shallow open water wetlands provide critical habitat for numerous species, yet they have become increasingly vulnerable to drought and warming temperatures and are often reduced in size and depth or disappear during drought. We examined how temperature, precipitation and beaver (Castor canadensis) activity influenced the area of open water in wetlands over a 54- year period in the mixed-wood boreal region of east-central Alberta, Canada. This entire glacial landscape with intermittently connected drainage patterns and shallow wetland lakes with few streams lost all beaver in the 19th century, with beaver returning to the study area in 1954. We assessed the area of open water in wetlands using 12 aerial photo mosaics from 1948 to 2002, which covered wet and dry periods, when beaver were absent on the landscape to a time when they had become well established. The number of active beaver lodges explained over 80% of the variability in the area of open water during that period. Temperature, precipitation and climatic variables were much less important than beaver in maintaining open water areas. In addition, during wet and dry years, the presence of beaver was associated with a 9-fold increase in open water area when compared to a period when beaver were absent from those same sites. Thus, beaver have a dramatic influence on the creation and maintenance of wetlands even during extreme drought. Given the important role of bea- ver in wetland preservation and in light of a drying climate in this region, their removal should be considered a wetland disturbance that should be avoided.
Beaver
Castor canadensis
Drought East-central Alberta Elk Island National Park Mixed-wood boreal Wetland conservation
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Resources
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Climate Science Documents
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Central Appalachian Climate Change Vulnerability Species Assessments
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These results are a compilation of climate change vulnerability assessments in the northern-most portion of the LCC, covering the area from New York south to West Virginia and Virginia, west to Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.
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Vulnerability
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Climate Change Vulnerability
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Vulnerability Assessment Foundational Data by Subregion
