A5090251969- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Fire dynamics and safety research
- Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
- Marine animal studies overview
- Flood Risk Assessment and Management
- Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications
- Urban Green Space and Health
- Avian ecology and behavior
- Disaster Management and Resilience
- Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies
- Landslides and related hazards
- Identification and Quantification in Food
- Forest ecology and management
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Evacuation and Crowd Dynamics
- Plant and animal studies
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Remote Sensing in Agriculture
University of Wisconsin–Madison
2016-2025
US Forest Service
2022
Centro de Investigación y Extensión Forestal Andino Patagónico
2019
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
2019
University of California, Berkeley
2013-2018
Pacific Southwest Research Station
2013
University of California System
2011
Significance When houses are built close to forests or other types of natural vegetation, they pose two problems related wildfires. First, there will be more wildfires due human ignitions. Second, that occur a greater risk lives and homes, hard fight, letting fires burn becomes impossible. We examined the number have been since 1990 in United States near an area known as wildland-urban interface (WUI), found large there. Approximately one three ten hectares now WUI. These WUI growth trends...
Wildfire risks to homes are increasing, especially in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where wildland vegetation and houses close proximity. Notably, we found that more exposed destroyed by grassland shrubland fires than forest United States. Destruction was likely fires, but they burned less WUI. The number of within wildfire perimeters has doubled since 1990s because both housing growth (47% additionally houses) area (53%). Most were WUI, which grew substantially during 2010s (2.6...
Globally, and in the US, wildfires pose increasing risk to people their homes. Wildfire management assumes that buildings burn primarily wildland–urban interface (WUI), where homes are either ignited directly (especially intermix WUI areas, houses wildland fuels intermingle), or via firebrands, main threat (areas with minimal fuel, yet close dense vegetation). However, even urban areas can succumb wildfires. We examined wildfire damages occur among urban, rural (intermix interface) for...
Over the past 30 years, cost of wildfire suppression and homes lost to in US have increased dramatically, driven part by expansion wildland–urban interface (WUI), where buildings wildland vegetation meet. In response, management community has devoted substantial effort better understand co-occur, establish outreach programs reduce damage homes. However, extent which location affected overlaps WUI, when are established relative wildfire, is unclear. We found that most threatened destroyed...
Abstract Fire shapes biodiversity in many forested ecosystems, but historical management practices and anthropogenic climate change have led to larger, more severe fires that threaten animal species where such disturbances do not occur naturally. As predators, owls can play important ecological roles biological communities, how changing fire regimes affect individual assemblages is largely unknown. Here, we examined the impact of severity, history, configuration over past 35 years on an...
Abstract Climate change and a long legacy of fire suppression are leading to an increased prevalence ‘mega‐disturbances’ such as drought wildfire in terrestrial ecosystems. Evidence for the immediate effects these novel disturbances on wildlife is accumulating, but little information exists longer term impacts species We studied occurrence dynamics iconic old‐forest species, spotted owl ( Strix occidentalis ), long‐term study area Sierra Nevada, CA, USA from 1989 2020 evaluate their...
We investigated the relationship between LiDAR and ladder fuels in northern Sierra Nevada, California USA. Ladder are often targeted hazardous fuel reduction treatments due to their role propagating fire from forest floor tree crowns. Despite importance, difficult quantify. One common approach is calculate canopy base height, but this has many potential sources of error. may be a way forward better characterize fuels, only been used address question peripherally few instances. After...
The wildland–urban interface (WUI) is a focal area for human environmental conflicts including wildfires. WUI grows because new houses are built, and in developed countries, housing growth can be very rapid areas with natural amenities. However, it not clear if amenity-driven limited to or also prevalent developing countries. Amenity-driven may particularly there, owing rapidly growing middle class. Our objectives were (i) map the current WUI; (ii) quantify recent growth; (iii) analyse...
Monitoring population size at ecosystem scales is difficult for most species of conservation concern. While assessing site occupancy broad has proven feasible, rigorous tracking changes in over time not – even though it can provide a stronger basis status and conservation-decision making. Therefore, we demonstrate how relatively low-intensity, ecosystem-scale passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) be linked to local-density estimate the native California spotted owls (Strix occidentalis...
Forests historically associated with frequent fire have changed dramatically due to suppression and past harvesting over the last century. The buildup of ladder fuels, which carry from surface forest floor tree crowns, is one critical changes, it has contributed uncharacteristically large severe fires. abundance fuels makes difficult return these forests their natural regime or meet management objectives. Despite importance methods for quantifying them are limited imprecise. LiDAR (Light...
Abstract Predators are among the most threatened animal groups globally, with prey declines contributing to their endangerment. However, assessments of habitat conditions that influence successful capture different species rare, especially for small, cryptic predators. Accordingly, predator conservation plans based on relative importance habitats inferred from coarse-scale studies do not consider features hunting success, which can vary species. To address this limitation, we integrated...
Abstract Mountain ecosystems contain strong elevational gradients in climate and vegetation that shape species distributions the structure of animal communities. Nevertheless, studies habitat selection for individual rarely account such often result being managed uniformly across their range, which may not improve conservation as intended. Therefore, we characterized variation nocturnal by 18 GPS‐tagged California spotted owls ( Strix occidentalis ) along a 1400‐m gradient Sierra Nevada,...
Fire activity during 2020 to 2021 in California, USA, was unprecedented the modern record. More than 19,000 km2 of forest vegetation burned (10× more historical average), potentially affecting habitat 508 vertebrate species. Of >9,000 that at high severity, 89% occurred large patches exceeded estimates maximum high-severity patch size. In this 2-y period, 100 species experienced fire across >10% their geographic range, 16 which were conservation concern. These 5 14% ranges, underscoring...
Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is an increasingly common method for studying populations of vocally active species. However, the detection individuals not resident to a site may obfuscate inferences about occurrence and population change. Here, we provide framework distinguishing from non-resident estimate territory—rather than site—occupancy in PAM programs by leveraging datasets on vocal behavior detections spotted owls (Strix occidentalis) Sierra Nevada, California, USA. Based...
Abstract Species worldwide have begun to shift their range boundaries in response climate change and other anthropogenic causes, with population declines at the trailing edge of a species' often foreshadowing future changes core parts range. Therefore, we analyzed 30‐year (1991–2019) data set for California spotted owl ( Strix occidentalis ) near its southern boundary California, USA, that included largest regional (San Bernardino Mountains) estimate trends territory occupancy reproduction....
Vocal territory defense can vary within a species due to many factors such as sex and breeding status, influencing size thus population density across landscape. Therefore, understanding what influences variation in territorial vocalizations help illuminate trade‐offs between territoriality other life history demands, which benefits our general of animal ecology well helps inform emerging passive acoustic monitoring approaches. Here, we investigated how status affected vocal behavior the...
Abstract Predator–prey interactions can be profoundly influenced by vegetation conditions, particularly when predator and prey prefer different habitats. Although such have proven challenging to study for small cryptic predators, recent methodological advances substantially improve opportunities understanding how influences acquisition strengthen conservation planning this group. The California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) is well known as an old-forest species of concern,...
ABSTRACT Western dry conifer forests continue to experience increased severe, stand‐replacing wildfire that is outside of historical precedent. Fuels treatments, landscape‐scale modifications forest fuels and structure, are likely remain a management tool modify fire behavior restore ecological resilience. The impacts treatments listed species such as spotted owls ( Strix occidentalis ) uncertain contested because limited available information. To evaluate owl foraging habitat selection in...