EPA and Army’s New WOTUS Definition and Another Finalized Rule This Spring

On December 30, 2022, the EPA finalized its rule interpreting waters of the United States, which redefined the boundaries of the Clean Water Act\u27s jurisdiction. In this article, Joe Retzer discusses the new rule that attempts to implement public input by providing a definition that is clear and consistent for stakeholders and discusses future rules that may be on the horizon.https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lawjournalonline/1111/thumbnail.jp

Facts from a Year of Drought: Forage Competition between Livestock and the Mongolian Pika (\u3ci\u3eOchotona pallasi\u3c/i\u3e) and Its Effects on Livestock Densities and Body Condition

Burrowing small mammals in grasslands have long been regarded as pests because they compete for forage with livestock and reduce the forage availability for livestock by destroying pastures through their intensive digging activity. In order to investigate forage competition between the Mongolian Pika (Ochotona pallasi) and livestock an exclosure experiment consisting of four different treatments was set up. The treatments were: 1) accessible only for pikas, (only pika) 2) accessible only for livestock, (only livestock) 3) accessible for both herbivore groups (pika & livestock) and 4) no grazing (no grazing). During the investigation period all requirements for forage competition, namely overlap of habitat use, overlap of forage use, and forage scarcity were met. The results of the exclosure experiment show that in the year of this study pikas consume a higher percentage of the vegetation than livestock does. Therefore, pikas are competitively superior to livestock. Nevertheless, both groups can coexist as they have access to mutually exclusive forage resources. For pikas this resource probably is the forage below the biting height of livestock, whereas livestock can reach forage on pastures far away by migration

New Records and Range Extensions of Twelve Species of Fishes in the Gulf of Mexico

New records and range extensions for twelve species of fishes, Isistius brasiliensis (Squalidae), Lycenchelys bullisi (Zoarcidae), Grammicolepis brachiusculus and Xenolepidichthys brachiusculus (Grammicolepididae), Antigonia capros (Caproidae), three species of Rypticus (Grammistidae), Decapterus macarellus and Decapterus tabi (Carangidae), and two species of Etropus (Bothidae) in the Gulf of Mexico are documented. These records reinforce the belief that the Gulf of Mexico possesses a rich fish fauna but contradicts some ideas concerning the patterns of fish distributions in the region

Is Degradation a Major Problem in Semi-Desert Environments of the Gobi Region in Southern Mongolia?

This paper tests predictions derived from the non-equilibrium theory of rangeland science. Data were collected in livestock enclosures situated in the relatively moist desert steppes of the Gobi Gurvan Saykhan region of southern Mongolia from 2000 to 2003. Plant community composition and species’ richness in enclosures showed clear differences between years, but these were equally strong in ungrazed controls. Thus, changes were mainly attributed to differences in precipitation between years as opposed to grazing, as no significant effects thereof were detected. This was also confirmed by data on above-ground standing biomass. This changed tremendously over the years, with differences between various grazing regimes (factorial combination of grazing by livestock and small mammals) being smaller than interannual changes. The results support the idea that on a local scale desert steppes experience non-equilibrium dynamics with water availability being far more important than livestock impact. As a result, it can be presumed that the danger of anthropo-zoogenic degradation is small. However, a nomadic way of life appears to be a crucial precondition for sustainable land use of these environments, thus, further aspects than precipitation data alone need to be taken into account when assessing the dynamics of the ecosystem