Modified items

All recently modified items, latest first.

Percentage of Karst Area within Grid Cell: Each cell represents the percent of karst within a 20 x 20 kilometer grid cell, a measure of habitat quantity. This attribute can be used to predict presence/absence of particular ecological groups in caves.

Terrestrial Records: The karst map provides the basic template for analyzing the distribution of cave species. Almost without exception, all caves occur within the karst areas. There were a few records of cave-dwelling species from outside karst areas (mostly springs) but the data was trimmed to fit within the karst areas, with a 1 km buffer to allow for errors in georeferencing). This map displays the aquatic records within karst areas in the Appalachian region.

Aquatic Records: The karst map provides the basic template for analyzing the distribution of cave species. Almost without exception, all caves occur within the karst areas. There were a few records of cave-dwelling species from outside karst areas (mostly springs) but the data was trimmed to fit within the karst areas, with a 1 km buffer to allow for errors in georeferencing). This map displays the aquatic records within karst areas in the Appalachian region.

Study Area Carbonate Bedrock Exposure Map: This map depicts the carbonate bedrock exposure within the study area.

Cave Count per 20km Grid Cell: Total number of caves within a 20 kilometer grid cell. Each cell represents a range of caves found within that area.

Probability of Presence by Species Group: Prediction maps for each of the nine groups. These are potentially important both to predict areas where to find particular groups and to determine regions of overall high habitat quality where species richness is expected to be high.

Land Use and Potential Risk Maps: This folder contains maps of land use and potential risk.

Study Overview Maps and Foundational Datasets: Overview maps for the Classification and Mapping of Cave and Karst Resources within the Appalachian region.

Bat Summary for Appalachian LCC Cave/Karst Study: This document contains a list of the bat species that regularly use caves and mines in the Appalachian LCC region, federal status of these species, and sources of bat data.

Guidelines for Using the NatureServe Climate Change Vulnerability Index: Motivated by the need to rapidly assess the vulnerability of species to climate change, NatureServe developed a Climate Change Vulnerability Index. The Index uses a scoring system that integrates a species’ predicted exposure to climate change within an area and three sets of factors associated with climate change sensitivity, each supported by published studies: 1) indirect exposure to climate change, 2) species-specific sensitivity and adaptive capacity factors and 3) documented response to climate change. Our primary goal for the Index is to provide valuable input for key planning documents, such as revisions of state wildlife action plans, to allow consideration of climate change impacts together with other stressors. We also hope this tool will help land managers develop and prioritize strategies for climate change adaptation that lead to actions that increase the resilience of species to climate change.

County Distribution of Assessed Species: County distribution for the climate change vulnerability of 41 newly assessed species is available for download. The entire package is available at the link provided.

Previous Climate Assessments on 700 Species: Find here Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments from previous research. Each excel file contains a subset of data from a compilation of climate change vulnerability scores for 700 species in the Appalachian LCC.

Phase II: Vulnerability Assessments: The second phase of this project provides the results of a number of climate change vulnerability assessments along with a final report.

Final Report: Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments in the Appalachian LCC: The Appalachian LCC tasked NatureServe with a two-phase project that explores the understanding of climate change in the Appalachian landscape. The first phase focused on assembling a panel of experts to provide guidance on a) prioritizing species and habitats to assess for vulnerability to climate change; b) selecting approaches to conduct vulnerability assessments, and c) identifying appropriate climate data to use in the assessments. Guided by the recommendations of the Panel, Phase II analyzes the results of 700 existing species assessments, and conducts vulnerability analyses on 41 additional species and 3 habitats. We used the recommendations of the Expert Panel, as well as the existing compilation to guide our recommended list of additional species and habitats to be assessed in Phase II. Criteria included a focus on the Interior Low Plateau and on plants, neither of which were well represented in existing assessments, as well as species of high conservation significance, keystone or species otherwise important to the habitat, and those of high value as indicators of climate change. This report summarizes Phase II of this effort.

Review of Subterranean Faunal Studies of the Appalachians and Models of Subterranean Species Richness: Historically, cave fauna, and any biota for that matter, were largely studied from a taxonomic perspective. With the advent of interest in species diversity in the late 1960’s and especially with the interest in biodiversity and biodiversity hotspots in the late 1980’s, the focus changed. Studies of cave fauna reflected the changing research agendas. In this bibliographic review, we examine five areas of interest: 1) National cave fauna studies; 2) Regional and local cave fauna studies in the Appalachians; 3) A summary of the major taxonomic studies; 4) Previous mapping of biodiversity in the region and the techniques employed; 5) Models for explaining subterranean biodiversity patterns, both in the Appalachians and elsewhere.

Cave/Karst Resources Across the Appalachian LCC: A Visual Guide: This visual guide documents the work gathering and analyzing data on caves and karst resources in the Appalachian LCC. The maps and files provide a comprehensive overview of data available for examining relationships between environmental factors and biological diversity and distribution within karst areas in the region. This visual survey is intended to be a guide to what the researchers have accomplished, and a guide to what new questions and results would be interesting to end-users.

Literature Review of Freshwater Classification Frameworks: Identifying aquatic ecosystems requires a classification of stream and lake features into recognizable categories. Although a number of nationally recognized terrestrial community classifications exist, currently there is no national or international standard for classifying aquatic communities or ecosystems. Despite the lack of a national aquatic community classification, aquatic ecosystem classifications and frameworks have been developed at a variety of spatial scales to reflect the distribution of aquatic biological communities. This report reviews these freshwater classification frameworks, providing detailed analysis and application examples of taxonomic, environmental, and hydrologic classifications in use within the Appalachian region.