Bird Marking and Location Data in Support of the Saline Lake Ecosystems Integrated Water Availability and Assessment (Provisional Release, Updated October 2024)
Dates
Release Date
2024-09-27
Start Date
2024-04-01
End Date
2024-06-30
Last Update
2024-10-22
Citation
Overton, C.T., Casazza, M.L., and Western Ecological Research Center, 2024, Bird marking and location data in support of the Saline Lake Ecosystems Integrated Water Availability and Assessment (Provisional Release, Updated October 2024): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/66db43c1d34eef5af66d9332
Summary
These data are preliminary or provisional and are subject to revision. They are being provided to meet the need for timely best science. The data have not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and are provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the data. In 2022, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) established the Saline Lake Ecosystems Integrated Water Availability Assessment (IWAAs) to monitor and assess the hydrology of terminal lakes in the Great Basin and the migratory birds and other wildlife dependent on those habitats. The U.S. Congress requested the USGS to establish the Saline Lake Ecosystems [...]
Summary
These data are preliminary or provisional and are subject to revision. They are being provided to meet the need for timely best science. The data have not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and are provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the data.
In 2022, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) established the Saline Lake Ecosystems Integrated Water Availability Assessment (IWAAs) to monitor and assess the hydrology of terminal lakes in the Great Basin and the migratory birds and other wildlife dependent on those habitats. The U.S. Congress requested the USGS to establish the Saline Lake Ecosystems (SLE) IWAAs in response to historically low water levels at terminal lakes and associated wetlands across the Great Basin (Frus et al. 2023). Focus questions identified by the SLE IWAAs include:
1. Waterbird Habitat Condition and Use: What terminal lake ecosystem characteristics (e.g., quantity and quality of water, invertebrate prey availability, and habitat) are related to waterbird use, and what is waterbird response to these drivers at scales ranging from focal area lake scale to that of the Great Basin?
a. What are waterbird prey (invertebrate) populations densities and how do they vary spatially and temporally across Great Basin terminal lake ecosystems?
b. What terminal lake ecosystem characteristics (e.g., quantity and quality of water, invertebrate availability, and habitat) are related to waterbird use, and what is waterbird response to these drivers at scales ranging from landscape scale to that of the Great Basin?
2. Water Quantity and Quality: What is the status of water quantities and qualities in selected terminal lakes in the Great Basin and how is this impacted by consumptive use from agriculture, industry, municipalities, open water, phreatophyte shrubland, and wetlands.
a. What are the water budgets, as well as the consumptive use from agriculture, industry, municipalities, open water, phreatophyte shrubland, and wetlands at the individual basin scale?
b. Are hydro-climatically driven trends in water depth, lake volume, wetland extent, and water quality (especially salinity) regionally synchronous or is the magnitude and timing of these responses modulated by the hydrologic function of the individual basins including water use? (Using remotely sensed data and other knowledge).
3. Terminal Lake and Waterbird Habitat Resiliency: What are the potential implications of increasing hydroclimatic and anthropogenic pressures on terminal lake ecosystem water availability quantity and quality and resultant waterbird habitat resiliency? This Focus Topic Question integrates insights from questions #1 and #2 to establish terminal lake function and status and to advance insights toward predictive capacity for the ability of Great Basin terminal lake habitats to support waterbird populations in the face of changing hydroclimatic conditions and human water-use patterns. Related sub-questions that may be addressed include:
a. What are the consequences to waterbirds if lakes either completely disappear or no longer function for habitat and invertebrate resources (e.g., salinity concentrations that result in food webs collapsing)?
b. Can short- and long-term patterns of water availability quantity be used to understand hydroecologic resilience both of individual basins and the regional network of terminal lakes?
c. How might climate change translate to changes in basin-scale water budgets, and how could such shift(s) affect water availability quantity and quality in the different types of Great Basin habitats? What are management choices (e.g., reducing groundwater pumping, reducing surface water withdrawals) that may ameliorate and/or mitigate the risk of desiccation or salinization in selected terminal lakes?
References:
Frus, R.J., Aldridge, C.L., Casazza, M.L., Eagles-Smith, C.A., Herring, G., Hynek, S.A., Jones, D.K., Kemp, S.K., Marston, T.M., Morris, C.M., Naranjo, R.C., Nell, C.S., O’Leary, D.R., Overton, C.T., Pulver, B.A., Reichert, B.E., Rumsey, C.A., Schuster, R., and Smith, C.D., 2023, Integrated science strategy for assessing and monitoring water availability and migratory birds for terminal lakes across the Great Basin, United States: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1516, 68 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/cir1516.
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SLE_IWAA_preliminary.xml Original FGDC Metadata
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SLE_IWAA_VerHistory.txt
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Material Request Instructions
Questions pertaining to the intended use of, or assistance with understanding limitations or interpretation of these data are to be directed to the individuals/organization listed in the Point of Contact section. Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata, and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Purpose
The overarching objective of the SLE IWAA is to improve understanding of the impacts of water management decisions on migratory waterbirds of the Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin. Understanding if water management decisions can sustain or increase waterbird populations in the face of hydroclimatic change and complex water use dynamics is critical to land, water, and resource managers. Determining the potential implications of increasing hydroclimatic and anthropogenic pressures on terminal lake ecosystems, water quantity and quality and resultant waterbird habitat resiliency is essential to answering these questions and have become the science pillars of the SLE IWAA.
