. Using LiDAR-derived vegetation metrics for high-resolution, species distribution models for conservation planning. Ecosphere 4(3):42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES12-000352.1Abstract. Advances in remotely sensed data for characterizing habitat have enabled development of spatially explicit predictive species distribution models (SDM) that can be essential tools for management. SDMs commonly use coarse-grain metrics, such as forest patch size or patch connectivity, over broad spatial extents. However, species distributions are likely driven in part by local, fine-grained habitat conditions. Conservation and management are often planned and applied locally, where coarse predictions may be uninformative or not sufficiently precise. We investigated the integration of high-resolution LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) with avian point sampling data to develop a detection-corrected occupancy model to quantify habitat-occurrence relationships for two species with different habitats: the endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) and black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla) on a military installation in central Texas. We compared occupancy models that used only the more conventional, coarse remotely sensed metrics to models that also incorporated high-resolution LiDAR-derived metrics for vegetation height and canopy cover, to assess their use for predicting distributions. Models including LiDAR-derived vegetation height and canopy cover metrics were competitive for both species, and models without LiDAR-derived vegetation height had substantially lower model weights and explanatory strength. Area under curve estimates for the highest ranked models were high for warblers (0.864) and moderate for vireos (0.746). Using the best supported models for each species, we predicted the occurrence distribution for both species. The resulting predictions provide a decision support tool that enables assessment of the status, impacts, and mitigation of impacts to endangered species habitat on the installation due to land management and military training activities that is more standardized and accurate than current assessment approaches based on visual gestalt of habitat and expert opinion. Additionally, although previous species distribution models have been created for our focal species, most fail to match the grain and extent of most management actions or include local, fine-grained metrics that influence distributions. In contrast, we demonstrate that use of LiDAR with species occurrence data can provide precision and resolution at a scale that is relevant ecologically and to the operational scale of most conservation and management actions.

A series of large blocks from the 44-North Slide, offshore Oregon, impacted the seafloor with sufficient force to induce a broad zone of deformation. In 2017, we acquired a seismic profile from the headwall area to the outer toe of this slide. Previous work identified this slide, but it has not been imaged at high resolution before this survey. A striking surficial feature is a collection of blocks that lie downslope from an amphitheater-shaped headwall. The blocks traveled up to 20-km horizontally and about 1200-m vertically down a 13° slope and now cover an area of ~100 km2. The blocks have rough and angular edges that extend up to 400-m above the surrounding seafloor. Seaward of the blocks, a 10-km zone of sediment is deformed, horizontally shortened by 8%. We interpret the strain field to be a result of the dynamic impact forces of the slide. This suggests a high-mobility failure with tsunamigenic potential. It is unclear what preconditioned and triggered this event, however, earthquake-induced failure is one possibility. Gas hydrate dissociation may have also played a role due to the presence of a bottom-simulating reflector beneath the source area. This study underscores the need to understand the dynamic processes of submarine landslides to more accurately estimate their societal impacts.

Methods for monitoring bird nests might influence rates of nest predation, but the effects of various methods (e.g., visual markers and observer visitation rates) are often separately investigated among disparate avian taxa and geographic regions. Few investigators have explored the potential effects observers might have on nest success of grassland birds, despite concerns regarding population declines of these species in North America. We examined the possible effects of three monitoring techniques on daily nest survival of Lark Sparrows (Chondestes grammacus): (1) presence or absence of visible markers near nests, (2) observer visitation frequency, and (3) presence or absence of data loggers in nests. We monitored 113 Lark Sparrow nests during the 2009 breeding season. Of these nests, 88.5% failed due to predation, abandonment, weather, or unknown causes, yielding an overall nest success estimate of 9.8% based on daily survival estimation. Main effects of each monitoring technique appeared in top (ΔAICc <2) logistic exposure models. However, 95% confidence intervals around parameter estimates for each technique included zero, indicating no significant effects on daily nest survival. Our results suggest that the nest‐monitoring techniques we used had no effect on Lark Sparrow nest success and, if true, nest survival of other songbirds in arid grasslands of the Great Plains may also be unaffected by cautious nest monitoring. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that any effects of the various techniques in our study were masked by locally intense nest predation. Therefore, additional study is needed to determine if there may be observable variation in nest survival among various nest‐monitoring treatments in other areas of the southern Great Plains where nest predation is less frequent.

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Rutting calls of male and alarm calls of female red deer (Cervus elaphus), sika deer (C. nippon), and their hybrids were recorded from wild and captive-bred populations. Vocal variations between these species and their hybrids (C. elaphus6C. nippon) were examined using multivariate analysis to determine whether these groups could be successfully discriminated. There were highly signi®cant differences between the vocalizations of each group for both sexes (males: Wilks' L = 0.0233, P<0.0001; females: Wilks' L = 0.1338, P<0.0001). The greatest differences were between analogous calls of red and sika deer. Vocalizations of hybrids from both captive-bred and feral populations were intermediate between the two parent species. The differences between the groups were most highly in¯uenced by the pitch of calls. The results of this study indicate that the vocalizations of deer, rather than being learned or mimicked from similar species in their proximity, are strongly in¯uenced by the genetic background of their parents.