IAN is committed to producing practical, user-centered communications that foster a better understanding of science and enable readers to pursue new opportunities in research, education, and environmental problem-solving. Our publications synthesize scientific findings using effective science communication techniques.

An approach for decomposing river water-quality trends into different flow classes (Page 1)

An approach for decomposing river water-quality trends into different flow classes

Zhang Q, Webber JS, Moyer DL, Chanat JG ·
2021

A number of statistical approaches have been developed to quantify the overall trend in river water quality, but most approaches are not intended for reporting separate trends for different flow conditions. We propose an approach called FN2Q, which is an extension of the flow-normalization (FN) procedure of the well-established WRTDS (“Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season”) method.

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How to Protect Free Flowing Rivers: The Bita River Ramsar Site as an Example of Science and Management Tools Working Together (Page 1)

How to Protect Free Flowing Rivers: The Bita River Ramsar Site as an Example of Science and Management Tools Working Together

Suárez CF, Paez-Vasquez M, Trujillo F, Usma JS, Thieme M, Bassi AM, Naranjo LG, Costanzo S, Manrique O, Pallaske G, and Flechas J ·
2021

The Orinoco river basin is the third largest river in the world by volume. Its catchment encompasses 27 major sub-basins including the Bita with a catchment area of about 825,000 ha, which originates in the Colombian high plains in the Llanos ecoregion.

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Susan Lynn Williams: the Life of an Exceptional Scholar, Leader, and Friend (1951–2018) (Page 1)

Susan Lynn Williams: the Life of an Exceptional Scholar, Leader, and Friend (1951–2018)

Dennison WC, Bracken MES, Brown M, Bruno JF, Carlton JT, Carpenter RC, Carruthers TJB, Dethier MN, Duarte CM, Fisher TR, Fourqurean JW, Grosberg RK, Hamdan LJ, Heck KL, Howard DJ, Hughes AR, Hughes BB, Kendrick GA, Kenworthy WJ, Mars F, McRoy CP, Naylor RL, Nyden B, Ogden JC, Olyarnik S, Orth RJ Short FT, Sorte CJB, Stachowicz JJ Strong DR, Sur C, Waycott M ·
2021

Susan Lynn Williams (1951–2018) was an exceptional marine ecologist whose research focused broadly on the ecology of benthic nearshore environments dominated by seagrasses, seaweeds, and coral reefs. She took an empirical approach founded in techniques of physiological ecology. Susan was committed to applying her research results to ocean management through outreach to decision-makers and resource managers.

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Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton in Chesapeake Bay: Development of an empirical approach for water-quality management (Page 1)

Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton in Chesapeake Bay: Development of an empirical approach for water-quality management

Zhang Q, Fisher TR, Trentacoste EM, Buchanan C, Gustafson AB, Karrh R, Murphy RR, Keisman J, Wu C, Tian R, Testa JM, Tango PJ ·
2021

Understanding the temporal and spatial roles of nutrient limitation on phytoplankton growth is necessary for developing successful management strategies. Chesapeake Bay has well-documented seasonal and spatial variations in nutrient limitation, but it remains unknown whether these patterns of nutrient limitation have changed in response to nutrient management efforts.

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Temporal inequality of nutrient and sediment transport: a decision-making framework for temporal targeting of load reduction goals (Page 1)

Temporal inequality of nutrient and sediment transport: A decision-making framework for temporal targeting of load reduction goals

Preisendanz HE, Veith TL, Zhang Q, Shortle J ·
2021

Nutrient and sediment transport exhibit strong spatial and temporal inequality, with a small percentage of locations and events contributing to the vast majority of total annual loads. The processes for determining how to reduce total annual loads at a watershed scale often target spatial, but not temporal, components of inequality.

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Unfamiliar Territory: Emerging Themes for Ecological Drought Research and Management (Page 1)

Unfamiliar Territory: Emerging Themes for Ecological Drought Research and Management

Crausbay SD, Betancourt J, Bradford J, Cartwright J, Dennison WC, Dunham J, Enquist CAF, Frazier AG, Hall KR, Littell JS, Luce CH, Palmer R, Ramirez AR, Rangwala I, Thompson L, Walsh BM, Carter S ·
2020

Novel forms of drought are emerging globally, due to climate change, shifting teleconnection patterns, expanding human water use, and a history of human influence on the environment that increases the probability of transformational ecological impacts. These costly ecological impacts cascade to human communities, and understanding this changing drought landscape is one of today’s grand challenges.

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Anthropogenic, Direct Pressures on Coastal Wetlands (Page 1)

Anthropogenic, Direct Pressures on Coastal Wetlands

Newton A, Icely J, Cristina S, Perillo GME, Turner RE, Ashan D, Cragg S, Luo Y, Tu C, Li Y, Zhang H, Ramesh R, Forbes DL, Solidoro C, Béjaoui B, Gao S, Pastres R, Kelsey RH, Taillie D, Nguyen Nhan N, Brito AC, Lima RD, Kuenzer C ·
2020

Coastal wetlands, such as saltmarshes and mangroves that fringe transitional waters, deliver important ecosystem services that support human development. Coastal … wetlands are complex social-ecological systems that occur at all latitudes, from polar … regions to the tropics. This overview covers wetlands in five continents. The wetlands … are of varying size, catchment size, human population and stages of economic … development.

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Quantifying the Response of Nitrogen Speciation to Hydrology in the Chesapeake Bay  Watershed Using a Multilevel Modeling Approach (Page 1)

Quantifying the Response of Nitrogen Speciation to Hydrology in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Using a Multilevel Modeling Approach

Bertani I, Bhatt G, Shenk GW, Linker LC ·
2020

Excessive nitrogen (N) inputs to coastal waters can lead to severe eutrophication and different chemical forms of N exhibit varying levels of effectiveness in fueling primary production. Efforts to mitigate N fluxes from coastal watersheds are often guided by models that predict changes in N loads as a function of changes in land use, management practices, and climate. However, relatively little is known on the impacts of such changes on the relative fractions of different N forms.

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Sediment dynamics and implications for management: State of the science from long-term research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA (Page 1)

Sediment dynamics and implications for management: State of the science from long-term research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA

Noe GB, Cashman MJ, Skalak K, Gellis A, Hopkins KG, Moyer D, Webber J, Benthem A, Maloney K, Brakebill J, Sekellick A, Langland M, Zhang Q, Shenk G, Keisman J, Hupp C ·
2020

This review aims to synthesize the current knowledge of sediment dynamics using insights from long-term research conducted in the watershed draining to the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., to inform management actions to restore the estuary and its watershed. The sediment dynamics of the Chesapeake are typical of many impaired watersheds and estuaries around the world, and this synthesis is intended to be relevant and transferable to other sediment-impaired systems.

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