John H. Porter

Automated processing of environmental data is hindered by the wide array of unit representations provided in the metadata of digital datasets. For example, gm/m2, g/m2, gm-2, g/m^2, g.m-2 and gramPerMeterSquared are all representations of a single complex unit that might be human-readable but are not machine-interpretable. Connecting ad hoc units to a single unit concept in an ontology permits the identification of datasets sharing units and provides additional information regarding labels, definitions, dimensions and transformations provided in the ontology. Here we use successive string transformations to link ad hoc unit representations to units in the QUDT ontology (e.g., unit: GM-PER-M2). Although only 896 of 7,110 distinct units in a corpus of ecological metadata from DataONE, the Environmental Data Initiative and the U.S. National Ecological Observatory Network were matched, 324,811 unit uses (instances) out of 355,057 of total unit uses were successfully mapped to QUDT units (91%). The resulting lookup table was used to enable a web service and R functions for adding annotation elements to Ecological Metadata Language documents.

The advent of digital wildlife cameras has led to a dramatic increase in the use of camera traps for mammalian biodiversity surveys, ecological studies and occupancy analyses. For cryptic mammals such as mice and shrews, whose small sizes pose many challenges for unconstrained digital photography, use of camera traps remains relatively infrequent. Here we use a practical, low-cost small mammal camera platform (the “MouseCam”) that is easy and inexpensive to fabricate and deploy and requires little maintenance beyond camera service. We tested the MouseCam in two applications: a study of small mammal species composition on two transects across a barrier island and a study of small mammal occupancy along a subtle elevation gradient in a mainland forest. The MouseCam was reasonably efficient, with over 78% of all images containing a recognizable small mammal (mouse, vole, rat or shrew). We obtained an accurate estimate of species composition on the island transects, as indicated by comparison with both concurrent and long-term trapping records for the same transects. MouseCams required a smaller expenditure of personnel and transportation resources than would be required for live trapping. They also detected subtle elevation-related differences in species occupancy in the mainland forest for the marsh rice rat, with the species occurring at lower elevations in the forest. This is consistent with the typical occurrence of the marsh rice rat in marshes and wetlands. We also tested devices (barriers, runways) designed to reduce disturbance by mesopredators (e.g., raccoons). Adding an internal barrier to the MouseCam did not reduce use by white-footed mice, whereas adding an external runway did. We believe specialized small mammal camera-based sensors may have wide applicability in field studies of small mammal distribution, abundance and biology.

Most information on seagrass carbon burial derives from point measurements, which are sometimes scaled by meadow area to estimate carbon stocks; however, sediment organic carbon (C_org) concentrations may vary with distance from the meadow edge, resulting in spatial gradients that affect the accuracy of stock estimates. We mapped sediment C_org concentrations throughout a large (6 km²) restored seagrass meadow to determine whether C_org distribution patterns exist at different spatial scales. The meadow originated from ≤1-acre plots seeded between 2001 and 2004, so we expected C_org to vary spatially according to the known meadow age at sample sites and with proximity to the meadow edge. Applying spatial autoregressive models allowed us to control for spatial autocorrelation and quantify the relative effects of edge proximity and age on C_org concentrations. We found that edge proximity, not age, significantly predicted the meadow-scale C_org distribution. We also evaluated relationships between C_org and a variety of specific explanatory variables, including site relative exposure, shoot density, sediment grain size, and bathymetry. Factors known to affect carbon burial at the plot-scale, such as meadow age and shoot density, were not significant controls on the meadow-scale C_org distribution. Strong correlations between C_org, grain size, and edge proximity suggest that current attenuation increases fine-sediment deposition and, therefore, carbon burial with distance into the meadow. By mapping the sediment C_org pool, we provide the first accurate quantification of an enhanced carbon stock attributable to seagrass restoration. The top 12 cm of the bed contain 3660 t C_org, approximately 1200 t more C_org than an equal area of bare sediment. Most of that net increase is concentrated in a meadow area with low tidal current velocities. Managers should account for the effects of meadow configuration and current velocity when estimating seagrass blue carbon stocks. Our results suggest that a large, contiguous meadow should store more blue carbon than an equal area of small meadow patches.

The International Long Term Ecological Research (ILTER) Network was established in 1993 and is now composed of thirty‐eight national networks representing a diversity of ecosystems around the globe. Data generated by the ILTER Network are valuable for scientists addressing broad spatial and temporal scale research questions, but only if these data can be easily discovered, accessed, and understood. Challenges to publishing ILTER data have included unequal distribution among networks of information management expertise, user‐friendly tools, and resources. Language and translation have also been issues. Despite these significant obstacles, ILTER information managers have formed grassroots partnerships and collaborated to provide information management training, adopt a common metadata standard, develop information management tools useful throughout the network, and organize scientist/information manager workshops that encourage scientists to share and integrate data. Throughout this article, we share lessons learned from the successes of these grassroots international partnerships to inform others who wish to collaborate internationally on projects that depend on data sharing entailing similar management challenges.

Removal of mammalian mesopredators is a strategy frequently applied to problems of conservation management, such as protection of rare or endangered species. Effectiveness of predator removal is often dependent on the ease with which additional predators can immigrate into the removal area. We applied cost‐distance analysis, coupled to a sensitivity analysis, and least‐cost path analysis to raccoons (Procyon lotor) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) on the Virginia barrier islands to determine the landscape resistance (i.e., difficulty) for mesopredators to reach individual islands from both mainland and island sources, to assess the relative role of mainland versus island populations as sources of immigrants to unoccupied (or depopulated) islands, and to formulate strategies that focus management efforts on a few key predator sources. The minimum energetic resistances to immigration varied over 3 orders of magnitude, making some islands better targets for removal efforts than others. Additionally, because of differences in the distribution of resident populations on the islands, resistance to immigration to a typical island is at least 3 times less for raccoons than for red foxes. Landscape resistance to red fox immigration is typically lower from the mainland, whereas for raccoons inter‐island movements are typically less costly. Empirical data from long‐term field studies of raccoons and red foxes in this system support the resistance structure identified. Overwater transits made by marked and resighted raccoons all were relatively short and relatively low‐cost. Similarly, islands that were recolonized following the removal of raccoons and red foxes all were characterized by very low resistance values. These results are used to identify specific islands for which predator removal efforts are most likely to be successful in aiding the recovery of beach‐nesting and colonial waterbirds in this system. A similar approach may be applied in any landscape where there are distinct differences in the costs of traversing different elements of the landscape. © 2015 The Wildlife Society.