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1. Plant community responses to removal of functional groups and species along vegetation transects at the Jornada Basin LTER site, 1997-2002

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/66c32b5cad9bb29e23658635bfed35f7  

   Huenneke, Laura F ; Peters, Debra C ( January 2021 )

   Abstract

   This data package contains vegetative cover data of plots that have had various plant functional groups or species experimentally removed at the Jornada Basin LTER site in southern New Mexico, USA. This data was collected in an effort to distinguish the differential effects of plant community biomass, plant community functional groups, and biodiversity within functional groups on plant community function. To make these distinctions, treatments were established by the selective removal of plant species or functional groups within experimental plots. There are eight treatments: control (C, no removals); four functional group removal treatments (PG, perennial grass removed; S, shrubs removed; SSh, subshrubs removed; Succ, succulents removed), and three species richness manipulation treatments. Richness manipulations included a simplified treatment (Simp), where only the single most abundant species of each growth form is preserved and all other species in the growth form are removed, a reduced‐Larrea treatment (rL), where the Larrea is assumed to be the dominant and is removed while minority components remain, and a reduced-Prosopsis treatment (rP), where Prosopis rather than Larrea is removed as the shrub dominant. Following treatments, vegetative data was collected by sampling each plot along three transects twice a year (Spring and Fall) for 5 years from 1997-2002 (no data collected in 1998). This data set consists of the date of collection, plot number, treatment type, transect number, quadrat number, species codes, two diameters, height, condition, count, record IDs, and error codes. This study is complete.
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2. Standards and Best Practices for Monitoring and Benchmarking Insects

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.579193  

   Montgomery, Graham A. ; Belitz, Michael W. ; Guralnick, Rob P. ; Tingley, Morgan W. ( January 2021 , Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution)

   Benchmark studies of insect populations are increasingly relevant and needed amid accelerating concern about insect trends in the Anthropocene. The growing recognition that insect populations may be in decline has given rise to a renewed call for insect population monitoring by scientists, and a desire from the broader public to participate in insect surveys. However, due to the immense diversity of insects and a vast assortment of data collection methods, there is a general lack of standardization in insect monitoring methods, such that a sudden and unplanned expansion of data collection may fail to meet its ecological potential or conservation needs without a coordinated focus on standards and best practices. To begin to address this problem, we provide simple guidelines for maximizing return on proven inventory methods that will provide insect benchmarking data suitable for a variety of ecological responses, including occurrence and distribution, phenology, abundance and biomass, and diversity and species composition. To track these responses, we present seven primary insect sampling methods—malaise trapping, light trapping, pan trapping, pitfall trappings, beating sheets, acoustic monitoring, and active visual surveys—and recommend standards while highlighting examples of model programs. For each method, we discuss key topics such as recommended spatial and temporalmore »scales of sampling, important metadata to track, and degree of replication needed to produce rigorous estimates of ecological responses. We additionally suggest protocols for scalable insect monitoring, from backyards to national parks. Overall, we aim to compile a resource that can be used by diverse individuals and organizations seeking to initiate or improve insect monitoring programs in this era of rapid change.« less
3. Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Sciences: The Expansion and Future of the Model

   Birney, Lauren ; McNamara, Denise ; Catherine Sanders, Catherine ; Luintel, Hari ; Penman, Joshua ( December 2018 , International research in higher education)

   Abstract The CCERS partnership includes collaborators from universities, foundations, education departments, community organizations, and cultural institutions to build a new curriculum. As reported in a study conducted by the Rand Corporation (2011), partnerships among districts, community-based organizations, government agencies, local funders, and others can strengthen learning programs. The curriculum merged project-based learning and Bybee’s 5E model (Note 1) to teach core STEM-C concepts to urban middle school students through restoration science. CCERS has five interrelated and complementary programmatic pillars (see details in the next section). The CCERS curriculum encourages urban middle school students to explore and participate in project-based learning activities restoring the oyster population in and around New York Harbor. In Melaville, Berg and Blank’s Community Based Learning (2001) there is a statement that says, “Education must connect subject matter with the places where students live and the issues that affect us all”. Lessons engage students and teachers in long-term restoration ecology and environmental monitoring projects with STEM professionals and citizen scientists. In brief, partners have created curriculums for both in-school and out-of-school learning programs, an online platform for educators and students to collaborate, and exhibits with community partners to reinforce and extend both the educators’ and their students’more »learning. Currently CCERS implementation involves: • 78 middle schools • 127 teachers • 110 scientist volunteers • Over 5000 K-12 students In this report, we present summative findings from data collected via surveys among three cohorts of students whose teachers were trained by the project’s curriculum and findings from interviews among project leaders to answer the following research questions: 1. Do the five programmatic pillars function independently and collectively as a system of interrelated STEM-C content delivery vehicles that also effectively change students’ and educators’ disposition towards STEM-C learning and environmental restoration and stewardship? 2. What comprises the "curriculum plus community enterprise" local model? 3. What are the mechanisms for creating sustainability and scalability of the model locally during and beyond its five-year implementation? 4. What core aspects of the model are replicable? Findings suggest the program improved students’ knowledge in life sciences but did not have a significant effect on students’ intent to become a scientist or affinity for science. Published by Sciedu Press 1 ISSN 2380-9183 E-ISSN 2380-9205 http://irhe.sciedupress.com International Research in Higher Education Vol. 3, No. 4; 2018 Interviews with project staff indicated that the key factors in the model were its conservation mission, partnerships, and the local nature of the issues involved. The primary mechanisms for sustainability and scalability beyond the five-year implementation were the digital platform, the curriculum itself, and the dissemination (with over 450 articles related to the project published in the media and academic journals). The core replicable aspects identified were the digital platform and adoption in other Keystone species contexts.« less
4. A doubling of stony coral cover on shallow forereefs at Carrie Bow Cay, Belieze from 2014 to 2019

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96799-2  

   de Pablo, Luis X. ; Lefcheck, Jonathan S. ; Harper, Leah ; Paul, Valerie J. ; Jones, Scott ; Duffy, Emmett ( September 2021 , Scientific reports)

   To better understand the decline of one of earth’s most biodiverse habitats, coral reefs, many survey programs employ regular photographs of the benthos. An emerging challenge is the time required to annotate the large volume of digital imagery generated by these surveys. Here, we leverage existing machine-learning tools (CoralNet) and develop new fit-to-purpose programs to process and score benthic photoquadrats using five years of data from the Smithsonian MarineGEO Network’s biodiversity monitoring program at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize. Our analysis shows that scleractinian coral cover on forereef sites (at depths of 3–10 m) along our surveyed transects increased significantly from 6 to 13% during this period. More modest changes in macroalgae, turf algae, and sponge cover were also observed. Community-wide analysis confirmed a significant shift in benthic structure, and follow-up in situ surveys of coral demographics in 2019 revealed that the emerging coral communities are dominated by fast-recruiting and growing coral species belonging to the genera Agaricia and Porites. While the positive trajectory reported here is promising, Belizean reefs face persistent challenges related to overfishing and climate change. Open-source computational toolkits offer promise for increasing the efficiency of reef monitoring, and therefore our ability to assess the future of coralmore »reefs in the face of rapid environmental change.« less
5. Can artificial retreat sites help frogs recover after severe habitat devastation? Insights on the use of “coqui houses” after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico

   Burrowes, Patricia A ; Hernandez-Figueroa, Abner D ; Acevedo, Gustavo D ; Aleman-Rios, Junangel ; Longo, Ana V. ( June 2021 , Amphibian reptile conservation)

   Hassapakis, Craig ; Grieneisen, M. (Ed.)

   On September 2017, Hurricane Maria swept over Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm. Severe canopy loss, augmentation of forest floor debris, and a significant increase in temperature and light reaching the understory were among the most evident changes at El Yunque National Forest, where a population of Eleutherodactylus coqui frogs has been monitored over the past 30 years. When sampling was re-established, the frogs could be heard calling, but it was very difficult to find them among the complexity of vegetation in the forest floor. We inferred that canopy disturbance had left frogs without optimal arboreal habitats for retreat, nocturnal perching, feeding, and reproductive activities, and wondered whether they would use artificial habitats placed in the forest understory. To test this, two types of artificial habitats (i.e., “coqui houses”) were introduced in the forest understory, consisting of either open PVC pipes or single-entrance natural bamboo shoots. Surveys were conducted twice a month for 15 months in an experimental transect with coqui houses, and a control transect without them. Data were collected on the occupancy rate of the artificial sites, type of usage, time of day occupied, and the number of E. coqui observed. The effects of time since themore »hurricane, microhabitat temperature, type of coqui house, and seasonality on the occupancy rate were also evaluated. Results showed that coquis used bamboo houses mostly during daytime as retreat and nesting sites, whereas the PVC houses were used mostly at night as calling sites. Daytime occupancy of coqui houses showed a significant bell-shaped pattern over time since the hurricane. This may be explained by a steady increase in usage after severe forest damage, a peak during the stressful cool-dry season, and a decline afterwards as the forest began to recover. No differences were found in frog counts between experimental and control transects, probably because the coquis could also hide among the fallen vegetation, but either disparities in forest conditions or inappropriateness of the methods for estimating population numbers may have overshadowed this effect. Coquis used artificial houses more often during the most stressful environmental conditions, suggesting that these shelters may serve to enhance habitat quality for amphibians after extreme weather events.« less