Geology topics

Kathleen Semple Delaney

Publications and source records attributed to Kathleen Semple Delaney.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2023

Protocol for the reintroduction of California red-legged frogs to Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Once common and widespread in Southern California, California red-legged frogs ( Rana draytonii ) began declining sometime in the middle of the 20th century. They were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1996. Three small and isolated populations remained in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties by the start of the 21st century. The nearest population of California red-legged frogs to Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is critically small, located 15 km to the north, yet there is evidence of persistence, including successful reproduction each year it has been measured. A potential solution to alleviate small population size and isolation is to reintroduce a species back to habitable historical locations nearby. In 2011, we initiated a project to reintroduce California red-legged frogs back to the Santa Monica Mountains, where historical records showed they were once widespread. We developed a procedure to transfer partial egg masses into tadpole rearing pens located within streams determined to be suitable for the species. This translocation protocol outlines our procedure and results for the first five years of the project. It is our hope that this protocol will guide and inform similar conservation efforts for California red-legged frogs in other parts of their range as well as other amphibian conservation efforts throughout the world.

California↗

USGS2022

Natural and anthropogenic landscape factors shape functional connectivity of an ecological specialist in urban Southern California

Identifying how natural (i.e., unaltered by human activity) and anthropogenic landscape variables influence contemporary functional connectivity in terrestrial organisms can elucidate the genetic consequences of environmental change. We examine population genetic structure and functional connectivity among populations of a declining species, the Blainville's horned lizard ( Phrynosoma blainvillii ), in the urbanized landscape of the Greater Los Angeles Area in Southern California, USA. Using single nucleotide polymorphism data, we assessed genetic structure among populations occurring at the interface of two abutting evolutionary lineages, and at a fine scale among habitat fragments within the heavily urbanized area. Based on the ecology of P. blainvillii , we predicted which environmental variables influence population structure and gene flow and used gravity models to distinguish among hypotheses to best explain population connectivity. Our results show evidence of admixture between two evolutionary lineages and strong population genetic structure across small habitat fragments. We also show that topography, microclimate, and soil and vegetation types are important predictors of functional connectivity, and that anthropogenic disturbance, including recent fire history and urban development, are key factors impacting contemporary population dynamics. Examining how natural and anthropogenic sources of landscape variation affect contemporary population genetics is critical to understanding how to best manage sensitive species in a rapidly changing landscape.

California↗

USGS2022

Looking ahead, guided by the past: The role of U.S. national parks in amphibian research and conservation

Protected areas like national parks are essential elements of conservation because they limit human influence on the landscape, which protects biodiversity and ecosystem function. The role of national parks in conservation, however, often goes far beyond limiting human influence. The U.S. National Park Service and its system of land units contribute substantively to conservation by providing protected lands where researchers can document trends in species distributions and abundances, examine characteristics important for generating these trends, and identify and implement conservation strategies to preserve biodiversity. We reviewed the contribution of U.S. national parks to amphibian research and conservation and highlight important challenges and findings in several key areas. First, U.S. national parks were instrumental in providing strong support that amphibian declines were real and unlikely to be simply a consequence of habitat loss. Second, research in U.S. national parks provided evidence against certain hypothesized causes of decline, like UV-B radiation, and evidence for others, such as introduced species and disease. However, describing declines and identifying causes contributes to conservation only if it leads to management; importantly, U.S. national parks have implemented many conservation strategies and evaluated their effectiveness in recovering robust amphibian populations. Among these, removal of invasive species, especially fishes; conservation translocations; and habitat creation and enhancement stand out as examples of successful conservation strategies with broad applicability. Successful management for amphibians is additionally complicated by competing mandates and stakeholder interests; for example, past emphasis on increasing visitor enjoyment by introducing fish to formerly fishless lakes had devastating consequences for many amphibians. Other potential conflicts with amphibian conservation include increasing development, increased risk of introductions of disease and exotic species with increased visitation, and road mortality. Decision science and leveraging partnerships have proven to be key components of effective conservation under conflicting mandates in national parks. As resource managers grapple with large-scale drivers that are outside local control, public-private partnerships and adaptive strategies are increasing in importance. U.S. national parks have played an important role in many aspects of identifying and ameliorating the amphibian decline crisis and will continue to be essential for the conservation of amphibians in the future.

Ecological Indicators↗

USGS2021

Reptile and amphibian diversity and abundance in an urban landscape: Impacts of fragmentation and the conservation value of small patches

Urbanization is a major contributor to habitat loss and fragmentation and is considered a global threat to biodiversity. We studied reptile and amphibian species diversity and abundance in a highly fragmented landscape adjacent to the second largest metropolitan area in the United States. Habitat patches in our study area were made up of remnant native vegetation surrounded by roads, housing, and other urban development. Species richness and diversity were positively associated with patch size, but patch age was not significantly associated with community characteristics. Four relatively common species were not detected in the small patches, indicating the possibility they had been extirpated by the time monitoring began, and six rarer species were not detected or detected only once in these patches. Although the patch size effect on species diversity was strong, we found that several of the small habitat patches had similar diversity to large patches, indicating potential value of these small habitat patches in protecting species as “microreserves.” In addition, one lizard species was found to be significantly more abundant in the smaller patches. To determine if abundance changed over time, we compared capture rates for four common lizards at the same sites ten years later. For three of the four species, abundance decreased over that period, specifically in the small patches. Although our long-term monitoring has confirmed that the full suite of herpetofauna is currently preserved in the study area overall, declines even in the common species over time hint at the potential severity of the threat of urbanization to rare species.

California↗

USGS2010

A rapid, strong, and convergent genetic response to urban habitat fragmentation in four divergent and widespread vertebrates

Background: Urbanization is a major cause of habitat fragmentation worldwide. Ecological and conservation theory predicts many potential impacts of habitat fragmentation on natural populations, including genetic impacts. Habitat fragmentation by urbanization causes populations of animals and plants to be isolated in patches of suitable habitat that are surrounded by non-native vegetation or severely altered vegetation, asphalt, concrete, and human structures. This can lead to genetic divergence between patches and in turn to decreased genetic diversity within patches through genetic drift and inbreeding. Methodology/Principal Findings: We examined population genetic patterns using microsatellites in four common vertebrate species, three lizards and one bird, in highly fragmented urban southern California. Despite significant phylogenetic, ecological, and mobility differences between these species, all four showed similar and significant reductions in gene flow over relatively short geographic and temporal scales. For all four species, the greatest genetic divergence was found where development was oldest and most intensive. All four animals also showed significant reduction in gene flow associated with intervening roads and freeways, the degree of patch isolation, and the time since isolation. Conclusions/Significance: Despite wide acceptance of the idea in principle, evidence of significant population genetic changes associated with fragmentation at small spatial and temporal scales has been rare, even in smaller terrestrial vertebrates, and especially for birds. Given the striking pattern of similar and rapid effects across four common and widespread species, including a volant bird, intense urbanization may represent the most severe form of fragmentation, with minimal effective movement through the urban matrix.

California↗