In this study, the U.S. Geological Survey investigated the use of insects as bioindicators of climate change in sagebrush steppe shrublands and grasslands in the Upper Columbia Basin. The research was conducted in the Stinkingwater and Pueblo mountain ranges in eastern Oregon on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. We used a “space-for-time” sampling design that related insect communities to climate and weather along elevation gradients. We analyzed our insect dataset at three levels of organization: (1) whole-community, (2) feeding guilds (detritivores, herbivores, nectarivores, parasites, and predators) and (3) orders within nectarivores (i.e., pollinators). This dataset contains information about insects, vegetation, and weather in 2012 and 2013 at four sites that span elevation gradients in sagebrush steppe habitats in eastern Oregon. Each site contained nine sampling plots, arranged in groups of three at low, mid, and high elevations. Insects were collected using blue and yellow Japanese beetle flight traps and pitfall traps several times throughout the active season in 2012 and 2013. All insects were identified to the level of family and abundance. Abundances of families collected in pitfall traps, blue Japanese beetle flight traps, and yellow Japanese beetle flight traps are reported separately. Weather data was collected using iButton data loggers and weather stations. Hourly data was summarized into daily values which are reported here. When weather stations were not available, weather variables were estimated using data from nearby NOAA weather stations (see methods section of associated publication for details). Vegetation density data were collected using photo-grid analysis and point-quarter analysis. Vegetation data were collected at every sampling plot once per year.

We conducted the first investigation of insect community responses to post-fire seeding on public rangelands by comparing the composition of insect communities at burned-and-seeded (treatment) and burned-and-unseeded (control) sagebrush-steppe ecological sites in southwestern Idaho. Insect communities in burned areas were compared to unburned (reference) areas. We collected insect and vegetation data within and around the burn perimeter of the 2007 Murphy Fire (652,209 ha), 2002 Big Crow Fire (1,134 ha), and 1995 Clover Fire (78,102 ha) in southwestern Idaho, USA. We captured and identified 24,862 insects from 130 families at the three study sites in 2010. We used a nadir photogrid and point-centered quarter method to estimate the percent cover of vegetation at plots within the sampling sites. To estimate the effect of surrounding landscape on the measured insect communities, we measured the relative percent cover of shrublands and grasslands surrounding each sampling plot using ArcGIS 10 and a LANDFIRE vegetation cover shapefile (LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Type Layer. U.S. Department of Interior, Geological Survey. Available: http://landfire.cr.usgs.gov [2013, June 26]). We measured interannual variability of insect and vegetation community composition at the 1995 Clover Fire (78, 102 ha) from 2009 through 2011. We captured 10,104 individual insects from 145 families during this sampling effort. We used a nadir photogrid method each of the three years and point-centered quarter method in 2009 and 2011 (but not 2010) to estimate the percent cover of vegetation at plots within the sampling site.

We conducted the first investigation of insect community responses to post-fire seeding on public rangelands by comparing the composition of insect communities at burned-and-seeded (treatment) and burned-and-unseeded (control) sagebrush-steppe ecological sites in southwestern Idaho. Insect communities in burned areas were compared to unburned (reference) areas. We collected insect and vegetation data within and around the burn perimeter of the 2007 Murphy Fire (652,209 ha), 2002 Big Crow Fire (1,134 ha), and 1995 Clover Fire (78,102 ha) in southwestern Idaho, USA. We captured and identified 24,862 insects from 130 families at the three study sites in 2010. We used a nadir photogrid and point-centered quarter method to estimate the percent cover of vegetation at plots within the sampling sites. To estimate the effect of surrounding landscape on the measured insect communities, we measured the relative percent cover of shrublands and grasslands surrounding each sampling plot using ArcGIS 10 and a LANDFIRE vegetation cover shapefile (LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Type Layer. U.S. Department of Interior, Geological Survey. Available: http://landfire.cr.usgs.gov [2013, June 26]). We measured interannual variability of insect and vegetation community composition at the 1995 Clover Fire (78, 102 ha) from 2009 through 2011. We captured 10,104 individual insects from 145 families during this sampling effort. We used a nadir photogrid method each of the three years and point-centered quarter method in 2009 and 2011 (but not 2010) to estimate the percent cover of vegetation at plots within the sampling site.

Summary of proposed field methods and activities: We propose to sample aquatic insects from streams in various locations within the GSMNP. Sampling will occur with a D-frame kick net. Samples are sorted in the field such that we only collect taxa that we will be working with in laboratory experiments. We anticipate collecting 30-50 individuals per species in a given sampling trip, with 1-4 species collected in each sampling trip. We anticipate conducting 8-10 such trips per year for the duration of the project. Sampling efforts in the park with be distributed among several sites.

The study includes lower elevation sites outside the park. Wood-feeding insects were chosen because of the importance of their roll in the forest ecosystem, their relative abundance, and their relative ease to work with. While the original study included carpenter bees, crickets, millipedes and beetles, not all of the target species could be located so the study focuses on wood roaches, a single genus of centipede, and a single genus of termite.

We produced 13 hierarchically nested cluster levels that reflect the results from developing a hierarchical monitoring framework for greater sage-grouse across the western United States. Polygons (clusters) within each cluster level group a population of sage-grouse leks (sage-grouse breeding grounds) and each level increasingly groups lek clusters from previous levels. We developed the hierarchical clustering approach by identifying biologically relevant population units aimed to use a statistical and repeatable approach and include biologically relevant landscape and habitat characteristics. We desired a framework that was spatially hierarchical, discretized the landscape while capturing connectivity (habitat and movements), and supported management questions at different spatial scales. The spatial variability in the amount and quality of habitat resources can affect local population success and result in different population growth rates among smaller clusters. Equally so, the spatial structure and ecological organization driving scale-dependent systems in a fragmented landscape affects dispersal behavior, suggesting inclusion in population monitoring frameworks. Studies that compare conditions among spatially explicit hierarchical clusters may elucidate the cause of differing growth rates at local scales affected by changes in habitat quality compared to larger scaled processes affecting growth rates, such as regional climate/vegetation communities. Therefore, the use of multiple scales (hierarchical cluster levels) that group demographic data can provide information driving population changes at different spatial scales, thereby providing a tool for population monitoring and adaptive management.

These data were compiled in support of the "Predicting the next high-impact insect invasion: Elucidating traits and factors determining the risk of introduced herbivorous insects on North American native plants" project supported by the U.S. Geological Survey John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, as well as the "Forecasting high-impact insect invasions by integrating probability models with i-Tree from urban to continental scales" project supported by the USDA Forest Service National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council. The project working group compiled data for non-native, tree-feeding insects in North America. Data were synthesized from existing resources for a variety of insect traits, traits of their North American host plants, divergence time between the North American host species and the host species in the insects' native range, and native insects that feed on the same North American host as the non-native insect (co-evolved). This dataset supports analysis performed by the working group on quantifying host breadth and determining the drivers of non-native insect impact on North American tree species.

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) are at the center of state and national land-use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for health of sagebrush ecosystems. This updated population trend analysis provides state and federal land and wildlife managers with the best-available science to help guide management and conservation plans aimed at benefitting sage-grouse populations and the ecosystems they inhabit. This analysis relied on previously published population trend modeling methodology from Coates and others (2021, 2022) and incorporates population lek count data for 1960-2024. Included in this report are methodological updates to lek count data aggregation, state-space model forecasting, and targeted annual warning system signals, which are detailed under individual Modification sections. State-space models estimated 2.9-percent average annual decline in sage-grouse populations between 1966 and 2021 (Period 1, six population oscillations) across their geographical range. Average annual decline among climate clusters for the same number of oscillations ranged between 2.2 and 3.4 percent. Cumulative declines were 41.2, 64.1, and 78.8 percent range-wide during Period 5 (19 years), Period 3 (35 years), and Period 1 (55 years), respectively. Definitions: Watch: Assigned to populations that exhibit evidence of population decline below those of their respective climate cluster (slow signal) over 2 consecutive years. Warning: Assigned to populations that experienced slow signals in 3 out of 4 consecutive years OR a relatively strong magnitude (fast signal) of evidence for 2 out of 3 years. Watches may identify the need for intensive monitoring whereas warnings may identify the need for management intervention aimed at stabilizing populations. References: Coates, P.S., Prochazka, B.G., O’Donnell, M.S., Aldridge, C.L., Edmunds, D.R., Monroe, A.P., Ricca, M.A., Wann, G.T., Hanser, S.E., Wiechman, L.A., and Chenaille, M.P., 2021, Range-wide greater sage-grouse hierarchical monitoring framework-Implications for defining population boundaries, trend estimation, and a targeted annual warning system: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2020-1154, 243 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20201154. Coates, P.S., Prochazka, B.G., Aldridge, C.L., O’Donnell, M.S., Edmunds, D.R., Monroe, A.P., Hanser, S.E., Wiechman, L.A., and Chenaille, M.P., 2022, Range-wide population trend analysis for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)-Updated 1960-2021: U.S. Geological Survey Data Report 1165, 16 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/dr1165