Geology topics

Pam Fuller

Publications and source records attributed to Pam Fuller.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2021

The unsung success of injurious wildlife listing under the Lacey Act

Previous papers discussing the effectiveness of injurious wildlife listings under 18 U.S.C. 42(a) of the Lacey Act have emphasized failures while ignoring the many successes. We looked at the 120-year history of injurious listing and then determined the effectiveness of the listings since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) gained the listing authority in 1940. We measured success by the effectiveness of listing relative to the stage of the invasion process – that is, whether or not a species was established at the time of listing, if it since established, and if it subsequently spread to other States. The USFWS started listing preemptively with its first rule in 1952 and has added the majority of species preemptively since then. We analyzed the 307 species that were listed for invasiveness (excluding species listed for other injurious reasons). Of those species, 288 (94%) were listed preemptively (before they became established). Although we acknowledge that other factors may play a role, we consider species that were listed before establishment and remained not established as “very effective” listings. All 288 remained not established – a 100% prevention rate when listed preemptively. Only 19 of the 307 species (6%) were listed after establishment, and they remain established. The listings are considered “effective” for the 4% that remained within the State(s) they were established in at listing and “ineffective” or “not applicable” for the 2% that spread to other States. The rationale for listing established species is explained herein. We conclude that injurious species listings can be effective at any stage, but prohibiting the importation into the United States of high-risk species prior to their introduction and establishment into U.S. environments is very effective in preventing invasions, and this success has heretofore been overlooked.

Management of Biological Invasions↗

USGS2020

Community for data integration 2018 funded project report

The U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration annually funds small projects focusing on data integration for interdisciplinary research, innovative data management, and demonstration of new technologies. This report provides a summary of the 10 projects funded in fiscal year 2018, outlining their goals, activities, and accomplishments.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2019

Envisioning a national invasive species information framework

With a view toward creating a national Early Detection and Rapid Response Program (EDRR) program, the United States National Invasive Species Council Management Plan for 2016–2018 calls for a series of assessments of federal EDRR capacities, including the evaluation of “relevant federal information systems to provide the data and other information necessary for risk analyses/horizon scanning, rapid specimen identification, and rapid response planning.” This paper is a response to that directive. We provide an overview of information management needs for enacting EDRR and discuss challenges to meeting these needs. We then review the history of relevant US policy directives for advancing invasive species information systems and provide an overview of federal invasive species information system capacities, including current gaps and inconsistencies. We conclude with a summary of key principles and needs for establishing a national invasive species information framework. Our findings are consistent with earlier studies and, thus, emphasize the need to act on long-recognized needs. As a supplement to this paper, we have cataloged federal invasive species databases and information tools identified through this work.

Biological Invasions↗

USGS2019

Interactive mapping of nonindigenous species in the Laurentian Great Lakes

Nonindigenous species pose significant risks to the health and integrity of ecosystems around the world. Tracking and communicating the spread of these species has been of interest to ecologists and environmental managers for many years, particularly in the bi-national Laurentian Great Lakes of North America. In this paper, we introduce the Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System (GLANSIS) Map Explorer. The Map Explorer provides access to records of documented nonindigenous species and their spatial distributions. Users may view the distributions of well-known nonindigenous species (such as zebra mussels) as well as perform custom queries. Additional map layers allow users to compare the distribution of nonindigenous species to environmental conditions. This tool serves to communicate knowledge to diverse stakeholder groups and to enable further in-depth research on nonindigenous species.

Laurentian Great Lakes↗

USGS2018

Evaluating potential distribution of high-risk aquatic invasive species in the water garden and aquarium trade at a global scale based on current established populations

Aquatic non‐native invasive species are commonly traded in the worldwide water garden and aquarium markets, and some of these species pose major threats to the economy, the environment, and human health. Understanding the potential suitable habitat for these species at a global scale and at regional scales can inform risk assessments and predict future potential establishment. Typically, global habitat suitability models are fit for freshwater species with only climate variables, which provides little information about suitable terrestrial conditions for aquatic species. Remotely sensed data including topography and land cover data have the potential to improve our understanding of suitable habitat for aquatic species. In this study, we fit species distribution models using five different model algorithms for three non‐native aquatic invasive species with bioclimatic, topographic, and remotely sensed covariates to evaluate potential suitable habitat beyond simple climate matches. The species examined included a frog (Xenopus laevis), toad (Bombina orientalis), and snail (Pomacea spp.). Using a unique modeling approach for each species including background point selection based on known established populations resulted in robust ensemble habitat suitability models. All models for all species had test area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values greater than 0.70 and percent correctly classified values greater than 0.65. Importantly, we employed multivariate environmental similarity surface maps to evaluate potential extrapolation beyond observed conditions when applying models globally. These global models provide necessary forecasts of where these aquatic invasive species have the potential for establishment outside their native range, a key component in risk analyses.

Risk Analysis↗

USGS2018

Trends in nonindigenous aquatic species richness in the United States reveal shifting spatial and temporal patterns of species introductions

Understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics underlying the introduction and spread of nonindigenous aquatic species (NAS) can provide important insights into the historical drivers of biological invasions and aid in forecasting future patterns of nonindigenous species arrival and spread. Increasingly, public databases of species observation records are being used to quantify changes in NAS distributions across space and time, and are becoming an important resource for researchers, managers, and policy-makers. Here we use publicly available data to describe trends in NAS introduction and spread across the conterminous United States over more than two centuries of observation records. Available data on first records of NAS reveal significant shifts in dominance of particular introduction patterns over time, both in terms of recipient regions and likely sources. These spatiotemporal trends at the continental scale may be subject to biases associated with regional variation in sampling effort, reporting, and data curation. We therefore also examined two additional metrics, the number of individual records and the spatial coverage of those records, which are likely to be more closely associated with sampling effort. Our results suggest that broad-scale patterns may mask considerable variation across regions, time periods, and even entities contributing to NAS sampling. In some cases, observed temporal shifts in species discovery may be influenced by dramatic fluctuations in the number and spatial extent of individual observations, reflecting the possibility that shifts in sampling effort may obscure underlying rates of NAS introduction.

Aquatic Invasions↗

USGS2017

Global hotspots and correlates of alien species richness across taxonomic groups

Human-mediated transport beyond biogeographic barriers has led to the introduction and establishment of alien species in new regions worldwide. However, we lack a global picture of established alien species richness for multiple taxonomic groups. Here, we assess global patterns and potential drivers of established alien species richness across eight taxonomic groups (amphibians, ants, birds, freshwater fishes, mammals, vascular plants, reptiles and spiders) for 186 islands and 423 mainland regions. Hotspots of established alien species richness are predominantly island and coastal mainland regions. Regions with greater gross domestic product per capita, human population density, and area have higher established alien richness, with strongest effects emerging for islands. Ants and reptiles, birds and mammals, and vascular plants and spiders form pairs of taxonomic groups with the highest spatial congruence in established alien richness, but drivers explaining richness differ between the taxa in each pair. Across all taxonomic groups, our results highlight the need to prioritize prevention of further alien species introductions to island and coastal mainland regions globally.

Nature Ecology & Evolution↗

USGS2017

Distribution and status of five non-native fish species in the Tampa Bay drainage (USA), a hot spot for fish introductions

The Tampa Bay region of Florida (USA) is a hot spot for non-native freshwater fishes. However, published information on most non-native fishes in the basin is not current. Systematic sampling efforts targeting non-native fishes in the region were conducted from 2013–2015 by the University of Florida Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory. Data from these recent surveys were analyzed, along with historic and new data from published and unpublished sources, to assess current fish distributions and determine status. We focus on five of the non-native species sampled: pike killifish Belonesox belizanus Kner, 1860, green swordtail Xiphophorus hellerii Heckel, 1848, southern platyfish Xiphophorus maculatus (Günther, 1866), Mayan cichlid Mayaheros urophthalmus (Günther, 1862), and Jack Dempsey Rocio octofasciata (Regan, 1903). All five were found to have reproducing populations in the basin, each showing broader distributions than previously indicated. Non-native populations of four of the species have persisted in the Tampa Bay region since at least the 1990s. In contrast, the presence of Mayan cichlid in the basin was not confirmed until 2004. Based on numbers, distributions, and years of persistence, these five species all maintain established populations. Pike killifish and Mayan cichlid are established and spreading throughout multiple habitat types, while green swordtail, southern platyfish, and Jack Dempsey are localized and found primarily in more marginal habitats (e.g., small ditches and first order tributary streams). Factors affecting continued existence and distributions likely include aquaculture, biotic resistance, and thermal and salinity tolerances. We also clarify non-native species status determination using a multi-agency collaborative approach, and reconcile differences in terminology usage and interpretation.

Florida↗

USGS2016

INVASIVESNET towards an International Association for Open Knowledge on Invasive Alien Species

In a world where invasive alien species (IAS) are recognised as one of the major threats to biodiversity, leading scientists from five continents have come together to propose the concept of developing an international association for open knowledge and open data on IAS—termed “INVASIVESNET”. This new association will facilitate greater understanding and improved management of invasive alien species (IAS) and biological invasions globally, by developing a sustainable network of networks for effective knowledge exchange. In addition to their inclusion in the CBD Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, the increasing ecological, social, cultural and economic impacts associated with IAS have driven the development of multiple legal instruments and policies. This increases the need for greater co-ordination, co-operation, and information exchange among scientists, management, the community of practice and the public. INVASIVESNET will be formed by linking new and existing networks of interested stakeholders including international and national expert working groups and initiatives, individual scientists, database managers, thematic open access journals, environmental agencies, practitioners, managers, industry, non-government organisations, citizens and educational bodies. The association will develop technical tools and cyberinfrastructure for the collection, management and dissemination of data and information on IAS; create an effective communication platform for global stakeholders; and promote coordination and collaboration through international meetings, workshops, education, training and outreach. To date, the sustainability of many strategic national and international initiatives on IAS have unfortunately been hampered by time-limited grants or funding cycles. Recognising that IAS initiatives need to be globally coordinated and ongoing, we aim to develop a sustainable knowledge sharing association to connect the outputs of IAS research and to inform the consequential management and societal challenges arising from IAS introductions. INVASIVESNET will provide a dynamic and enduring network of networks to ensure the continuity of connections among the IAS community of practice, science and management.

Management of Biological Invasions↗

USGS2016

Pathways of fish invasions in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States

Non-native fish introductions are a major threat to biodiversity and fisheries, and occur through numerous pathways that vary regionally in importance. A key strategy for managing invasions is to focus prevention efforts on pathways posing the greatest risk of future introductions. We identified high-risk pathways for fish establishment in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States based on estimates of probability of establishment and records of previous introductions, which were considered in the context of emerging socioeconomic trends. We used estimates of propagule pressure, species’ environmental tolerance, and size of species pool to assess the risk of establishment by pathway. Pathways varied considerably in historic importance and species composition, with the majority of species introduced intentionally via stocking (primarily for sport, forage, or biocontrol) or bait release. Bait release, private stocking, illegal introductions intended to establish reproducing populations (e.g., of sport fish), aquaculture, and the sale of live organisms all create risks for future invasions in the Mid-Atlantic region. Of these pathways, bait release probably poses the greatest risk of introductions for the Mid-Atlantic region because propagule pressure is moderate, most released species are tolerant of local environmental conditions, and the pool of species available for transplantation is large. Our findings differ considerably from studies in other regions (e.g., bait release is a dominant pathway in the Mid-Atlantic region, whereas illegal introduction of sport fish is dominant in the western US and aquarium releases are dominant in Florida), demonstrating the need for regional-scale assessments of, and management strategies for, introduction pathways.

Delaware, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Penn↗

USGS2016

Lithobates sylvaticus (wood frog)

A single specimen found southwest of Hattiesburg in Timberton (31.270391oN, 89.327675oW; WGS 84). 23 July 2015. Gary, Kat, and Ron Lukens. Verifi ed by Kenneth Krysko, Florida Museum of Natural History (UF-Herpetology 176455). This species has never been recorded from the state of Mississippi before (Dodd 2013. Frogs of the United States and Canada – Volume 2. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 982 pp.). According to Dodd (2013), the closest population is located in east central Alabama, approximately 400 km to the northeast, as documented by Davis and Folkerts (1986. Brimleyana 12:29-50).

Mississippi↗

USGS2016

Through a fish's eye: The status of fish habitats in the United States 2015

This report updates and revises the 2010 “ Status of Fish Habitats in the United States” that summarized initial results of a comprehensive national assessment of aquatic habitats at an unprecedented scale and level of detail. This 2015 report provides even greater detail and improves our knowledge of the condition of fish habitat in the United States. The 2010 inland streams assessment characterized fish habitat condition using stream fish data from more than 26,000 stream reaches, while the 2015 assessment was based on fish data from more than 39,000 stream reaches nationally. To increase accuracy, the 2015 inland stream assessment incorporated 12 additional human disturbance variables into the fish analysis when compared to the 2010 assessment. Associations between all human disturbance variables summarized in both catchments as well as stream buffers were tested against stream fish metrics to develop assessment scores. Additional variables incorporated into the 2015 assessment and their summary within catchments and buffers allowed for more explicit characterization of the diverse set of disturbances to stream fish habitats occurring across the Nation than what occurred in 2010, and this was made possible due in part to advances in available GIS layers. With the incorporation of these additional disturbances, managers and decision makers can use assessment results to more explicitly identify limits to stream fish habitats. Even with the additional disturbances incorporated into 2015 assessment, results may overestimate fish habitat condition, as localized and regionally-specific disturbances are still not available in some cases.

Report↗