Iowa\u27s Wetlands, Present and Future with a Focus on Prairie Potholes

The vast prairie marsh-pothole complex that historically covered approximately 7 .6 millions acres in Iowa was reduced to less than 30,000 acres by 1980 when it was estimated that only 5,000 acres of prairie marsh and pothole habitat remained in private ownership. A bleak outlook for the future of wetlands was presented by Bishop (1981). This outlook changed with the development of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan and the passage of two important pieces of legislation: the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the Food Security Act of 1985. Protection of existing wetlands was afforded through the Swampbuster provision of the Food Security Act. The North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the Wetland Reserve Program offered through the Food Security Act provided needed funding for the protection and restoration of wetlands in Iowa. Since 1988, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and various county conservation boards together with Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation have purchased over 10,000 ha (25,000 ac) of wetlands and uplands in the Prairie Pothole Region of Iowa and restored over 24,240 ha (6,600 ac) of public and private wetlands. The United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service has enrolled approximately 24,240 ha (60,600 ac) of riparian floodplains and potholes into the Wetland Reserve Program and Emergency Wetland Reserve Program, affording them protection through permanent easements. Public support of wetland legislation will ensure that funding continues to be available to protect and restore Iowa\u27s prairie wetlands

Fish Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Wadeable Iowa Streams: Current Status and Effectiveness of Aquatic Gap Program Distribution Models

Effective conservation of fish species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) requires an understanding of species– habitat relationships and distributional trends. Thus, modeling the distribution of fish species across large spatial scales may be a valuable tool for conservation planning. Our goals were to evaluate the status of 10 fish SGCN in wadeable Iowa streams and to test the effectiveness of IowaAquatic Gap Analysis Project (IAGAP) species distribution models. We sampled fish assemblages from 86 wadeable stream segments in the Mississippi River drainage of Iowa during 2009 and 2010 to provide contemporary, independent fish species presence–absence data. The frequencies of occurrence in stream segments where species were historically documented varied from 0.0% for redfin shiner Lythrurus umbratilis to 100.0% for American brook lamprey Lampetra appendix, with a mean of 53.0%, suggesting that the status of Iowa fish SGCN is highly variable. Cohen’s kappa values and other model performance measures were calculated by comparing field-collected presence–absence data with IAGAP model–predicted presences and absences for 12 fish SGCN. Kappa values varied from 0.00 to 0.50, with a mean of 0.15. The models only predicted the occurrences of banded darter Etheostoma zonale, southern redbelly dace Phoxinus erythrogaster, and longnose dace Rhinichthys cataractae more accurately than would be expected by chance. Overall, the accuracy of the twelve models was low, with a mean correct classification rate of 58.3%. Poor model performance probably reflects the difficulties associated with modeling the distribution of rare species and the inability of the large-scale habitat variables used in IAGAP models to explain the variation in fish species occurrences. Our results highlight the importance of quantifying the confidence in species distribution model predictions with an independent data set and the need for long-term monitoring to better understand the distributional trends and habitat associations of fish SGCN

Habitat Associations of Fish Species of Greatest Conservation Need at Multiple Spatial Scales in Wadeable Iowa Streams

Fish and habitat data were collected from 84 wadeable stream reaches in the Mississippi River drainage of Iowa to predict the occurrences of seven fish species of greatest conservation need and to identify the relative importance of habitat variables measured at small (e.g., depth, velocity, and substrate) and large (e.g., stream order, elevation, and gradient) scales in terms of their influence on species occurrences. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to predict fish species occurrences, starting with all possible combinations of variables (5 large-scale variables, 13 small-scale variables, and all 18 variables) but limiting the final models to a maximum of five variables. Akaike’s information criterion was used to rank candidate models, weight model parameters, and calculate model-averaged predictions. On average, the correct classification rate (CCR = 80%) and Cohen’s kappa (κ = 0.59) were greatest for multiple-scale models (i.e., those including both large-scale and small-scale variables), intermediate for small-scale models (CCR = 75%; κ = 0.49), and lowest for large-scale models (CCR = 73%; κ = 0.44). The occurrence of each species was associated with a unique combination of large-scale and small-scale variables. Our results support the necessity of understanding factors that constrain the distribution of fishes across spatial scales to ensure that management decisions and actions occur at the appropriate scale

Physical Habitat and Fish Assemblage Relationships with Landscape Variables at Multiple Spatial Scales in Wadeable Iowa Streams

Landscapes in Iowa and other midwestern states have been profoundly altered by conversion of native prairies to agriculture. We analyzed landscape data collected at multiple spatial scales to explore relationships with reach-scale physical habitat and fish assemblage data from 93 randomly selected sites on second- through fifth-order wadeable Iowa streams. Ordination of sites by physical habitat showed significant gradients of channel shape, habitat complexity, substrate composition, and stream size. Several landscape variables were significantly associated with the physical habitat ordination. Row crop land use was associated with fine substrates and steep bank angles, whereas wetland land cover and greater sinuosity and catchment land area were associated with complex channel and bank morphology and greater residual pool volume, woody debris, and canopy cover. Thirteen landscape variables were significant predictors of physical habitat variables in multiple linear regressions, with adjusted R 2 values ranging from 0.07 to 0.74. Inclusion of landscape variables with physical habitat variables in multiple regression models predicting fish assemblage metrics and a fish index of biotic integrity resulted in negligible improvements over models based on only physical habitat variables. Physical habitat in wadeable Iowa streams is strongly associated with landscape characteristics. Results of this study and previous studies suggest that (1) landscape factors directly influence physical habitat, (2) physical habitat directly influences fish assemblages, and (3) the influence of landscape factors on fish assemblages is primarily indirect. Understanding how landscape factors, such as human land use, influence physical habitat and fish assemblages will help managers make more informed decisions for improving Iowa\u27s wadeable streams

Evaluating the effects of landscape configuration on site occupancy and movement dynamics of odonates in Iowa

Odonates contribute highly to global biodiversity and are considered good indicators of environmental quality, but they are under-studied and quantitative information on their habitat associations is lacking. Our objective was to examine the effects of landscape configuration on site occupancy and movement dynamics of four odonate species in Iowa: Tramea onusta, Epitheca princeps, Pantala flavescens, and Calopteryx maculata. We conducted standardized visual encounter surveys for odonates at 233 public properties in Iowa from 2007 to 2011 and computed landscape variables within a 200, 600 m, and 1 km radius of each surveyed site. Using a robust design occupancy model in Program MARK, we estimated detection probability and site occupancy, site extinction, and site colonization probabilities for each species. We found few significant effects of landscape variables on site occupancy, extinction, or colonization, although landscape variables at 600 m were included in the best model for all species. Detection probability (SE) ranged from 0.30 (0.04) for Pantala flavescens to 0.49 (0.04) for Calopteryx maculata. Our study provides information to aid habitat restoration and management efforts on sites having suitable characteristics in the surrounding landscape and ultimately help conserve odonates

An Attempt to Determine the Prevalence of Two Inborn Errors of Primary Bile Acid Synthesis: Results of a European survey.

OBJECTIVE: Inborn errors of primary bile acid (BA) synthesis are genetic cholestatic disorders leading to accumulation of atypical BA with deficiency of normal BA. Unless treated with primary BA, chronic liver disease usually progresses to cirrhosis and liver failure before adulthood. We sought to determine the prevalence of two common disorders, 3beta-hydroxy-Delta-C27-steroid dehydrogenase (3beta-HSD) and Delta-3-oxosteroid-5beta-reductase (Delta-3-oxoR) deficiencies and to describe current diagnostic and treatment strategies among different European paediatric hepatology centres. METHODS: 52 clinical paediatric centres were approached and 39 centres in 21 countries agreed to participate in the web based survey. The survey comprised questions regarding general information, number of cases, diagnostic and therapeutic management. RESULTS: 17 centres located in 11 countries reported patients with inborn errors in primary BA synthesis, 22 centres never had cases diagnosed. In total, we could identify 63 patients; 55 with 3beta-HSD and 8 with Delta-3-oxoR deficiency in 21 countries. The minimum estimated combined prevalence of these diseases was 1.13 cases per 10 million (0.99 and 0.14 for 3beta-HSD and Delta-3-oxoR deficiencies, respectively). The surveyed colleagues indicated their main challenges to be the rarity of diseases and the lack of convenient laboratory facilities nearby. CONCLUSION: We have identified the largest cohort of patients with 3beta-HSD or Delta-3-oxoR deficiency described so far. These diseases are likely underdiagnosed mainly due to unawareness of their existence and the lack of laboratory facilities