Spatial and temporal variability in the effects of wildfire and drought on thermal habitat for a desert trout

Schultz, Luke D.; Heck, Michael P.; Hockman-Wert, David; Allai, Todd; Wenger, Seth J.; Cook, NA; Dunham, Jason B.

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2017.05.008

Cited by 28 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In addition, some stream reaches synchronously shift from a wet to a dry state, but some sites shift sooner than others. In our study system, a detailed understanding of patterns of flow permanence was critical for identifying potential ecological responses of both aquatic and terrestrial species to seasonally and annually shifting patterns of water availability across the landscape [14]. Furthermore, our proposed method, in combination with modeling of flow duration curves (e.g., [25][26][27]), may be useful to understand shifts between wet and dry conditions or to determine minimum streamflow requirements in non-perennial (intermittent or ephemeral) streams.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the context of possible drying of stream channels due to warming climates and increased probability of drought [14,28], understanding patterns of flow permanence in streams is paramount. Existing efforts to crowd-source stream temperature datasets across the northwest U.S., for example, have proven immensely valuable for predicting stream temperature across drainage networks and evaluating climate vulnerability for coldwater species [8].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The number of data loggers and their distribution within each watershed was driven by objectives from previous studies [14] and thus, an ideal configuration of paired air and stream data loggers at WRC and paired electrical resistors and stream data loggers at WWC was not possible. However, our comparisons are valid and useful for the purposes here.…”

Section: Field Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, our comparisons are valid and useful for the purposes here. Field data collection followed protocols described by Heck et al [15] and Schultz et al [14]. Stream and air temperature measurements were recorded hourly with HOBO U-22 (Onset Computer Corporation, Bourne, MA, USA) waterproof temperature data loggers.…”

Section: Field Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This allowed us to compare results of statistical analyses with known measurements of flow permanence at selected sites. Finally, we applied HMMs across a full network of locations monitored within a large watershed [14] to illustrate patterns in the timing, duration, and frequency of flow permanence in the system [1]. Collectively, these results illustrate a new and readily applied method that can be used to rigorously quantify stream flow permanence regimes from existing records of stream temperature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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A Statistical Method to Predict Flow Permanence in Dryland Streams from Time Series of Stream Temperature

Arisméndi

Dunham

Heck

et al. 2017

Water

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Intermittent and ephemeral streams represent more than half of the length of the global river network. Dryland freshwater ecosystems are especially vulnerable to changes in human-related water uses as well as shifts in terrestrial climates. Yet, the description and quantification of patterns of flow permanence in these systems is challenging mostly due to difficulties in instrumentation. Here, we took advantage of existing stream temperature datasets in dryland streams in the northwest Great Basin desert, USA, to extract critical information on climate-sensitive patterns of flow permanence. We used a signal detection technique, Hidden Markov Models (HMMs), to extract information from daily time series of stream temperature to diagnose patterns of stream drying. Specifically, we applied HMMs to time series of daily standard deviation (SD) of stream temperature (i.e., dry stream channels typically display highly variable daily temperature records compared to wet stream channels) between April and August (2015-2016). We used information from paired stream and air temperature data loggers as well as co-located stream temperature data loggers with electrical resistors as confirmatory sources of the timing of stream drying. We expanded our approach to an entire stream network to illustrate the utility of the method to detect patterns of flow permanence over a broader spatial extent. We successfully identified and separated signals characteristic of wet and dry stream conditions and their shifts over time. Most of our study sites within the entire stream network exhibited a single state over the entire season (80%), but a portion of them showed one or more shifts among states (17%). We provide recommendations to use this approach based on a series of simple steps. Our findings illustrate a successful method that can be used to rigorously quantify flow permanence regimes in streams using existing records of stream temperature.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Field Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Field Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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A Statistical Method to Predict Flow Permanence in Dryland Streams from Time Series of Stream Temperature

Arisméndi

Dunham

Heck

et al. 2017

Water

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Resilience of terrestrial and aquatic fauna to historical and future wildfire regimes in western North America

Jager

Long

Malison

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

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Wildfires in many western North American forests are becoming more frequent, larger, and severe, with changed seasonal patterns. In response, coniferous forest ecosystems will transition toward dominance by fire‐adapted hardwoods, shrubs, meadows, and grasslands, which may benefit some faunal communities, but not others. We describe factors that limit and promote faunal resilience to shifting wildfire regimes for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We highlight the potential value of interspersed nonforest patches to terrestrial wildlife. Similarly, we review watershed thresholds and factors that control the resilience of aquatic ecosystems to wildfire, mediated by thermal changes and chemical, debris, and sediment loadings. We present a 2‐dimensional life history framework to describe temporal and spatial life history traits that species use to resist wildfire effects or to recover after wildfire disturbance at a metapopulation scale. The role of fire refuge is explored for metapopulations of species. In aquatic systems, recovery of assemblages postfire may be faster for smaller fires where unburned tributary basins or instream structures provide refuge from debris and sediment flows. We envision that more‐frequent, lower‐severity fires will favor opportunistic species and that less‐frequent high‐severity fires will favor better competitors. Along the spatial dimension, we hypothesize that fire regimes that are predictable and generate burned patches in close proximity to refuge will favor species that move to refuges and later recolonize, whereas fire regimes that tend to generate less‐severely burned patches may favor species that shelter in place. Looking beyond the trees to forest fauna, we consider mitigation options to enhance resilience and buy time for species facing a no‐analog future.

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Simulating demography, genetics, and spatially explicit processes to inform reintroduction of a threatened char

et al. 2019

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The success of species reintroductions can depend on a combination of environmental, demographic, and genetic factors. Although the importance of these factors in the success of reintroductions is well‐accepted, they are typically evaluated independently, which can miss important interactions. For species that persist in metapopulations, movement through and interaction with the landscape is predicted to be a vital component of persistence. Simulation‐based approaches are a promising technique for evaluating the independent and combined effects of these factors on the outcome of various reintroduction and associated management actions. We report results from a simulation study of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) reintroduction to three watersheds of the Pend Oreille River system in northeastern Washington State, USA. We used an individual‐based, spatially explicit simulation model to evaluate how reintroduction strategies, life history variation, and riverscape structure (e.g., network topology) interact to influence the demographic and genetic characteristics of reintroduced bull trout populations in three watersheds. Simulation scenarios included a range of initial genetic stocks (informed by empirical bull trout genetic data), variation in migratory tendency and life history, and two landscape connectivity alternatives representing a connected network (isolation‐by‐distance) and a fragmented network (isolation‐by‐barrier, using the known existing barriers). A novel feature of these simulations was the ability to consider the interaction of both demographic and genetic (i.e., demogenetic) factors in riverscapes with implicit asymmetric movement probabilities across the barriers. We found that connectivity (presence or absence of barriers) had the largest effect on demographic and genetic outcomes over 200 yr, with a greater effect than both initial genetic diversity and life history variation. We also identified regions of the study system in which bull trout populations persisted across a wide range of demographic, life history, and environmental connectivity parameters. Finally, we found no evidence that initial neutral genetic diversity influenced genetic diversity and structure after 200 yr; instead, genetic drift due to stray rate and population isolation dominated and erased any initial differences in genetic diversity. Our results highlight the utility of spatially explicit demogenetic approaches in exploring and understanding population dynamics—and their implications for management strategies—in fresh waters.

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Spatial and temporal variability in the effects of wildfire and drought on thermal habitat for a desert trout

Cited by 28 publications

References 38 publications

A Statistical Method to Predict Flow Permanence in Dryland Streams from Time Series of Stream Temperature

A Statistical Method to Predict Flow Permanence in Dryland Streams from Time Series of Stream Temperature

Resilience of terrestrial and aquatic fauna to historical and future wildfire regimes in western North America

Simulating demography, genetics, and spatially explicit processes to inform reintroduction of a threatened char

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