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Among the wonders of Yellowstone National Park are the spectacular fossil forests of Amethyst Mountain and Specimen Ridge in the northeastern section of the park and the Gallatin Fossil Forests in the northwestern section. In 1898, John Muir, who was instrumental in establishing the US National Park System, wrote: "Yonder is Amethyst Mountain ... beneath the living trees the edges of petrified forests are exposed to view ... standing on ledges tier above tier where they grew, solemnly silent in rigid crystalline beauty after swaying in the wind thousands of centuries ago, opening marvelous views back into the years and climates and life of the past time." Muir's visit to Amethyst Mountain was no doubt prompted by the early descriptions and diagrams showing multiple layers of fossil forests there (Figure 1A) (Holmes 1878, 1879). Specimen Ridge and the Gallatin Fossil Forests also have successive tiers of fossil forests. Erling Dorf's 1964 Scientific American article "The Petrified Forests of Yellowstone Park" includes an illustration of Specimen Ridge with more than 20 layers of fossil forests within a vertical section of some 2,000 feet of volcanics. It is unclear how many different volcanic eruptions were involved in creating these massive accumulations of petrified stumps and logs and the time span represented, as well as how long-lived were the individual forests. The classic paper on the geology of the region is by Smedes and Prostka (1972), who concluded that the Lamar River Formation in which Amethyst Mountain and Specimen Ridge occur and the Sepulcher Formation in which the Gallatin Fossil Forests occur are comparable in age, approximately 50 million years old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a photographic summary of a scientific and touristic expedition carried out in August 2011 in Wyoming State, U.S. to know the natural beauties of the different ecosystems and the structure of the Yellowstone National Park. The photos show some of the Park and wilderness areas structures, important geological formations, and some of the species of flora and fauna registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, cyanobacterial samples were collected from thermal sites in Yellowstone National Park. In this paper, we discuss the considerable richness of representatives of simple filamentous cyanobacteria. Using a polyphasic approach, one new genus, Copelandiella, with two species (C. yellowstonensis and C. thermalis) and eight additional new species Albertania prattii, K. anagnostidisii, Kovacikia brockii, Leptolyngbya tildenae, L. vaporiphila, Nodosilinea calida, N. igneolacustris, and Oculatella castenholzii were described. At the same time, by analyzing our new molecular data, we concluded that other genera of trichal cyanobacteria can be merged with existing genera: species within the genus Plectolyngbya are herein transferred to Leptolyngbya, and if some nomenclatural issues are resolved, species within the genus Leptothermofonsia will be subsequently transferred to the genus Kovacikia, an earlier synonym. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mentorship and collaboration necessarily shaped opportunities for women in science, especially in the late nineteenth century at rapidly expanding public co-educational universities. A few male faculty made space for women to establish their own research programs and professional identities. At the University of Minnesota, botanist Conway MacMillan, an ambitious young department chair, provided a qualified mentorship to Josephine Tilden. He encouraged her research on algae and relied on her to do departmental support tasks even as he persuaded the administration to move her from instructor to assistant professor in 1903. Resulting publications on Minnesota algae led her to look further west, first at Yellowstone National Park and then along the Pacific Northwest coast. After visiting a particularly productive littoral site on Vancouver Island, she suggested that they establish a Minnesota Seaside Station there. Over its seven years in operation under the Midwestern leaders, that location proved remarkably productive. At the remote site, the two operated within their typical but not inevitable gendered roles and deliberately defined their seaside station as unconventional. They expected participants to study productively and, at the same time, find imaginative ways to enjoy nature at a place far from urban amenities. Gendered expectations remained casual as participants moved both within and against them. This study investigates how, in the early twentieth century, the role and expectations of mentorship shifted as Tilden established her own independent research agenda. The Minnesota Seaside Station, in particular, proved significant in developing the leadership skills essential for her to pursue research in the Pacific region at a time when American expansionism and indigenous cooperation made sites accessible to academic researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geyser eruption is one of the most popular signature attractions at the Yellowstone National Park. The interdependence of geyser eruptions and impacts of covariates are of interest to researchers in geyser studies. In this paper, we propose a parametric covariate-adjusted recurrent event model for estimating the eruption gap time. We describe a general bivariate recurrent event process, where a bivariate lognormal distribution and a Gumbel copula with different marginal distributions are used to model an interdependent dual-type event system. The maximum likelihood approach is used to estimate model parameters. The proposed method is applied to analyzing the Yellowstone geyser eruption data for a bivariate geyser system and offers a deeper understanding of the event occurrence mechanism of individual events as well as the system as a whole. A comprehensive simulation study is conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gray wolf (Canis lupus) dietary behavior can be highly variable; prey species for wolves span a range of ungulates to the consumption of smaller animals. While prey species for wolves are well documented, carcass utilization within and between wolf populations is less understood. This paper examines a modern population of wolves from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) with dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) to gauge utilization of bone resources, or durophagy, across biological, physical, social, geographical, and temporal variables. Results indicate gradation in durophagous behavior among GYE wolves does not correlate with sex, intra‐population body size (as inferred from skeletal and soft tissue measurements), pack association, or age class. Together, findings suggest that feeding ecologies for wolves are not specific to these factors. We also found that antemortem tooth breakage rates are not positively correlated with dental microwear textures that infer durophagy. We further compare dental microwear measures with previously published data from Alaskan wolves, who were collected decades before the GYE wolf sample. Results imply elevated carcass exploitation in the contemporary GYE wolf population sample. If minimal inter‐population differences are assumed, data presented here show dietary behaviors of North American gray wolves have changed over the past fifty years, indicating a possible long‐term trend that may be linked to decreased winter severity and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slowing of growth as fish age has long been believed to be related to energy expenditure for maturation, and this rationalization has been used to explain why, across nearly all fish species, the relationship between size at first maturity (Lm) and maximum (Lmax) or asymptotic length (L∞) is relatively constant. In contrast, the Gill‐Oxygen Limitation Theory (GOLT) postulates that (a) fish growth slows because as they grow, their two‐dimensional ability to extract oxygen from the water diminishes relative to their three‐dimensional weight gain, and (b) they can only invest energy for maturation if oxygen supply at their size at first maturity (Qm) exceeds that needed for maintenance metabolism (Q∞). It has been reported previously across dozens of marine fish species that the relationship between Qm and Q∞ is linear and, further, it can be mathematically converted to Lmvs. L∞ by raising both terms to the power of D (the gill surface factor), resulting in a slope of 1.36. If the GOLT is universal, a similar slope should exist for LmDvs. L∞D relationships for freshwater species across multiple individual populations that reside in disparate habitats, although to our knowledge this has never been evaluated. For analysis, we used existing data from previous studies conducted on 51 stream‐dwelling populations of redband trout Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri, Yellowstone cutthroat trout O. clarkii bouvieri and mountain whitefish Prosopium williamsoni. The resulting LmDvs. L∞D slopes combining all data points (1.35) or for all species considered separately (range = 1.29–1.40) were indeed equivalent to the slope originally produced for the marine species from which the GOLT‐derived relationship was first reported. We briefly discuss select papers both supporting and resisting various aspects of the GOLT, note that it could potentially explain shrinking sizes of marine fish, and call for more concerted research efforts combining laboratory and field expertise in fish growth research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results acquired from the study of eight carrot hybrids which are suitable for growing in the climatic zone of woodland steppes, while considering a set of economical and/or biological, biochemical, and organoleptic properties. The carrot hybrids that were studied have a wide range of variation in their economic value indicators, which makes it possible to grow them for storage and processing in various soils and climate conditions without irrigation. The most productive carrot hybrids are White Sabine F1 and Yellowstone F1 with a commercial yield of 55.8-58.7 t ha-1 and an average taproot weight of 118.7-136.2 g. The levels of preservation of the taproot of the hybrids White Sabine F1 and Purple Haze F1 after seven months of storage in conditions that involved the use of a stationary pit storage facility was at 81.4% and 80.2% respectively. The use of the taproots of the hybrids Yellowstone F1 and Viking F1 for drying ensures a yield of a high-quality, biologically-valuable finished product with a yield of 11.4-11.7%. Dry hybrid Evolyutsiya F1 and Mars F1 carrots contain more than 40 mg (100 g)- of β-carotene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although transportation and outdoor recreation are well‐recognized aspects of national parks, few studies have explored these aspects from the perspective of human geography as a means of analyzing historical landscape change. This paper offers an innovative synthesis of methods for studying cultural landscape change over time through a case study of the historical geography of transportation, tourism, and outdoor recreation along the Howard Eaton Trail (HET) in Yellowstone National Park. We conducted research through a field course that combined repeat photography, archival research, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and traditional field methods. Results indicate that a combination of repeat photography and other methods can create an effective means of evaluating cultural landscape change; even short field courses provide opportunities for students and faculty to conduct collaborative research that provides powerful, multidimensional, situated‐learning experiences; and repeat photography creates datasets that may benefit future research and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding fire behavior characteristics and planning for fire management require maps showing the distribution of wildfire fuel loads at medium to fine spatial resolution across large landscapes. Radar sensors from airborne or spaceborne platforms have the potential of providing quantitative information about the forest structure and biomass components that can be readily translated to meaningful fuel load estimates for fire management. In this paper, we used multifrequency polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery acquired over a large area of the Yellowstone National Park by the Airborne SAR sensor to estimate the distribution of forest biomass and canopy fuel loads. Semiempirical algorithms were developed to estimate crown and stem biomass and three major fuel load parameters, namely: 1) canopy fuel weight; 2) canopy bulk density; and 3) foliage moisture content. These estimates, when compared directly to measurements made at plot and stand levels, provided more than 70% accuracy and, when partitioned into fuel load classes, provided more than 85% accuracy. Specifically, the radar-generated fuel parameters were in good agreement with the field-based fuel measurements, resulting in coefficients of determination of R² = 85 for the canopy fuel weight, R² = 0.84 for canopy bulk density, and R² = 0.78 for the foliage biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tracks human–animal entanglements through one particular species, Canis lupus, the wolf, with a view to exploring how this contested predator might be used to unpack normative assumptions about wildlife science, conservation practice and storytelling. The focus of attention here is on Yellowstone National Park and the century-long struggle to eradicate and then restore the wolf based on the shifting rubrics of science and environmental ethics. The ‘wild heart’ of North America and a centre of scientific and popular environmental mythology, Yellowstone presents a useful terrain (both material and contextual) in which to theorize the wolf as an environmental agent and explore its special provenance within an evolving narrative of ecological science. More specifically, the landmark story of restor(y)ation that played out in the national park serves to illuminate the complex web of temporality, narrative and memory that frames our configurations of animal agency. Wiped out in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and ruminated on in the interwar period, the wolf was returned to ancestral haunts in the 1990s (to great fanfare) as a charismatic poster animal for environmental consciousness and a vital ‘missing link’ in the psychological and biotic fabric of the landscape. Ornamented with what conservationist Aldo Leopold famously called a ‘fierce green fire’, the wolf became a carrier animal for Yellowstone's environmental memory, transporting with it the fates of other threatened species and the promise of an enlightened Ecological Age. Beneath this teleological tale of expanding biological knowledge and ethical awakening lies a convoluted (and interesting) story that reveals the sinuous connections between the material and the imagined animal as well as the challenges and the complexities of reading non-human traces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of charcoal particles preserved in lake sediments has been frequently used to reconstruct fire, vegetation and climate history. Larger macroscopic particles (>125 μm) are attributed to local fires, whereas microscopic charcoal particles (<125 μm), observed on pollen slides, are a signal of regional fire. Taxonomic identification of the charcoal particles adds to the fire-history reconstruction by providing information about fuel composition and past fire conditions. Identification of charcoal can unravel one of the longstanding questions regarding past fire regimes, namely what was burning. This paper describes an analysis of charcoal particles preserved in the sediments of a small closed-basin lake in Yellowstone National Park. Blacktail Pond (44.954°N, 110.604°W; 2012 m elev) is located in steppe vegetation surrounded by conifer forest. Previous studies of the site have presented a multi-proxy environmental history of the last 14,650 years. The focus of this investigation was on the fire history of the early-Holocene (11,500–9900 cal yr BP). Thirty-nine sediment samples were taken at 0.5 cm intervals to examine macroscopic charcoal particles, with attention on two large charcoal peaks at 10,970 and 10,200 cal yr BP that registered large or near-site fires. Twenty-eight samples contained 243 large-enough particles (180–250 μm) to be examined with scanning electron microscopy. We were able to identify charcoal of conifers (Pinus , Picea, and Abies or Juniperus), Artemisia and unidentified deciduous shrubs, and unidentified monocotyledons. The first fire burned a mixture of fuels, whereas the second episode burned Artemisia , shrubs and herbs but no conifers. The results are consistent with previous pollen interpretations at Blacktail Pond that indicate an open mixed-conifer forest in the early Holocene prior to 10,750 cal yr BP, replaced by Pinus contorta forest on the slopes and steppe in the valley. The relative dominance of Pinus contorta -type charcoal points to the importance of fire as a catalyst for the spread of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) is the youngest continental flood basalt province, proposed to be sourced from the deep-seated plume that currently resides underneath Yellowstone National Park. If so, the earliest erupted basalts from this province, such as those in the Picture Gorge Basalt (PGB), aid in understanding and modeling plume impingement and the subsequent evolution of basaltic volcanism. Using geochemical and isotopic data, this study explores potential mantle sources and magma evolution of the PGB. Long known geochemical signatures of the PGB include overall large ion lithophile element (LILE) enrichment and relative depletion of high field strength elements (HFSE) typical of other CRBG main-phase units. Basaltic samples of the PGB have 87Sr/86Sr ratios on the low end of the range displayed by other CRBG lavas and mantle-like δ18O values. The relatively strong enrichment of LILE and depletion of HFSE coupled with depleted isotopic signatures suggest a metasomatized upper mantle as the most likely magmatic source for the PGB. Previous geochemical modeling of the PGB utilized the composition of two high-MgO primitive dikes exposed in the northern portion of the Monument Dike swarm as parental melt. However, fractionation of these dike compositions cannot generate the compositional variability illustrated by basaltic lavas and dikes of the PGB. This study identifies a second potential parental PGB composition best represented by basaltic flows in the extended spatial distribution of the PGB. This composition also better reflects the lowest stratigraphic flows identified in the previously mapped extent of the PGB. Age data reveal that PGB lavas erupted first and throughout eruptions of main-phase CRBG units (Steens, Imnaha, Grande Ronde Basalt). Combining geochemical signals with these age data indicates cyclical patterns in the amounts of contributing mantle components. Eruption of PGB material occurred in two pulses, demonstrated by a ~0.4 Ma temporal gap in reported ages, 16.62 to 16.23 Ma. Coupling ages with observed geochemical signals, including relative elemental abundances of LILE, indicates increased influence of a more primitive, potentially plume-like source with time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

States in the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States manage the gray wolf ( Canis lupus) at low population levels through trophy hunting and lethal control. Although protected in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), wolves are subject to removal when they cross park boundaries. Thus, wolf management in the states adjacent to YNP is pitted against a large group of stakeholders interested in park wolves and their well-being. Federal and state decision makers should adopt 'compassionate conservation' for Yellowstone wolves as a matter of equitable public policy and to improve biological and societal outcomes. Humane considerations should be paramount, given the high value and level of public interest in park wolves. This paper addresses the need to make animal welfare an essential aspect of wolf management in the YNP area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public agencies face significant political obstacles when they try to change long-standing policies. This paper examines efforts by the U.S. National Park Service to change long-term policies in Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks. We argue that, to be successful, the agency and pro-change allies must expand the sphere of conflict to engage the support of the broader American public through positive framing, supportive science, compelling economic arguments, consistent goals, and the commitment of other institutional actors. We show that the agency is capable of creating these conditions, as in the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone, but we argue that this is not always the outcome, as in reducing automobile congestion in Yosemite Valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the efforts of widow Mary Lee Hunter Doane to obtain the copyright to the 1870 Yellowstone National Park reconnaissance report of Captain Gustavus Cheyney Doane. Topics included are the inquiries made by Montana Representative John M. Evans to Librarian of Congress Herbert Pittman, Mary Lee's membership in the Society of Montana Pioneers and the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the biography written by historian Merrill Gildea Burlingame.

To analyse the response and recovery characteristics of forest to forest fire, this paper selected the forest fire in the Greater Khingan Mountains (GKM) in China in 1987 and the forest fire in the Yellowstone National Park (YSP) in the United States in 1988. We first used Landsat-5 TM images before and after the fire to extract the burned area and calculate burn severity based on the Differential Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR). Next, we analysed the response of forest vegetation to forest fire with different burn severity using the anomaly value of Leaf area index (LAI) derived from Global Land Surface Satellite (GLASS) products. And the recovery of forest vegetation after forest fire were revealed using time – series LAI data and MODIS Land cover data. The results showed that the LAI decreased rapidly after the forest fire, and the greater the burn severity, the higher the decreasing amplitude of LAI. The maximum decreasing amplitude of LAI in the burned areas with high burn severity were 1.3–3.8 times higher than that in low burn severity areas. The recovery time of LAI is affected by burn severity and manual interference. The recovery time of LAI in burned areas in the GKM is about 5–10 years, which in the burned areas with high burn severity is 2 times than that with low burn severity. The recovery time of LAI in the burned areas with low burn severity in the YSP is at least 20 years, while that with high burn severity will take longer time to recovery. And the manual interference accelerated the recovery of LAI in the GKM. Our research on the response and recovery of vegetation is helpful for formulating and implementing adaptation and mitigation strategies in response to forest fire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geothermal springs house unicellular red algae in the class Cyanidiophyceae that dominate the microbial biomass at these sites. Little is known about host-virus interactions in these environments. We analyzed the virus community associated with red algal mats in three neighboring habitats (creek, endolithic, soil) at Lemonade Creek, Yellowstone National Park (YNP), USA. We find that despite proximity, each habitat houses a unique collection of viruses, with the giant viruses, Megaviricetes, dominant in all three. The early branching phylogenetic position of genes encoded on metagenome assembled virus genomes (vMAGs) suggests that the YNP lineages are of ancient origin and not due to multiple invasions from mesophilic habitats. The existence of genomic footprints of adaptation to thermophily in the vMAGs is consistent with this idea. The Cyanidiophyceae at geothermal sites originated ca. 1.5 Bya and are therefore relevant to understanding biotic interactions on the early Earth. Analysis of the virus community associated with red algal mats in Yellowstone National Park shows it to be dominated by Megaviricetes, with resident virus lineages being of ancient origin and encoding genomic footprints of adaptation to thermophily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A putative β-glucosidase gene, BglAc, was amplified from Acidilobus sp. through metagenome database sampling from a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. BglAc is composed of 485 amino acid residues and bioinformatics analysis showed that it belongs to the GH1 family of β-glucosidases. The gene was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli with a molecular weight of approximately 55.3 kDa. The purified recombinant enzyme showed the maximum activity using p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (pNPG) as the substrate at optimal pH 5.0 and 100 °C. BglAc exhibited extraordinary thermostability, and its half-life at 90 °C was 6 h. The specific activity, Km, Vmax, and Kcat/Km of BglAc toward pNPG were 357.62 U mg−1, 3.41 mM, 474.0 μmol min−1·mg−1, and 122.7 s−1mM−1. BglAc exhibited the characteristic of glucose tolerance, and the inhibition constant Ki was 180.0 mM. Furthermore, a significant ethanol tolerance was observed, retaining 96% relative activity at 10% ethanol, and even 78% at 20% ethanol, suggesting BglAc as a promising enzyme for cellulose saccharification. BglAc also had a strong ability to convert the major soybean isoflavone glycosides (daidzin, genistin, and glycitin) into their corresponding aglycones. Overall, BglAc was actually a new β-glucosidase with excellent thermostability, ethanol tolerance, and glycoside hydrolysis ability, indicating its wide prospects for applications in the food industry, animal feed, and lignocellulosic biomass degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mantle melt generation in response to glacial unloading has been linked to enhanced magmatic volatile release in Iceland and global eruptive records. It is unclear whether this process is important in systems lacking evidence of enhanced eruptions. The deglaciation of the Yellowstone ice cap did not observably enhance volcanism, yet Yellowstone emits large volumes of CO2 due to melt crystallization at depth. Here we model mantle melting and CO2 release during the deglaciation of Yellowstone (using Iceland as a benchmark). We find mantle melting is enhanced 19-fold during deglaciation, generating an additional 250–620 km3. These melts segregate an additional 18–79 Gt of CO2 from the mantle, representing a ~3–15% increase in the global volcanic CO2 flux (if degassed immediately). We suggest deglaciation-enhanced mantle melting is important in continental settings with partially molten mantle – including Greenland and West Antarctica – potentially implying positive feedbacks between deglaciation and climate warming. The retreat of the #Yellowstone ice cap reduced mantle pressures. Using models, we predict this enhanced mantle melting 19-fold, segregating a globally-significant mass of CO2 and potentially contributing to feedbacks between deglaciation and climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The paper presents a quantification of main (hydrogen sulfide and sulfate), as well as of intermediate, sulfur species (zero-valent sulfur (ZVS), thiosulfate, sulfite, thiocyanate) in the Yellowstone National Park (YNP) hydrothermal springs and pools. We combined these measurements with the measurements of quadruple sulfur isotope composition of sulfate, hydrogen sulfide and zero-valent sulfur. The main goal of this research is to understand multiple sulfur isotope fractionation in the system, which is dominated by complex, mostly abiotic, sulfur cycling. Results Water samples from six springs and pools in the Yellowstone National Park were characterized by pH, chloride to sulfate ratios, sulfide and intermediate sulfur concentrations. Concentrations of sulfate in pools indicate either oxidation of sulfide by mixing of deep parent water with shallow oxic water, or surface oxidation of sulfide with atmospheric oxygen. Thiosulfate concentrations are low (<6 μmol L-1) in the pools with low pH due to fast disproportionation of thiosulfate. In the pools with higher pH, the concentration of thiosulfate varies, depending on different geochemical pathways of thiosulfate formation. The δ34S values of sulfate in four systems were close to those calculated using a mixing line of the model based on dilution and boiling of a deep hot parent water body. In two pools δ34S values of sulfate varied significantly from the values calculated from this model. Sulfur isotope fractionation between ZVS and hydrogen sulfide was close to zero at pH < 4. At higher pH zero-valent sulfur is slightly heavier than hydrogen sulfide due to equilibration in the rhombic sulfur - polysulfide - hydrogen sulfide system. Triple sulfur isotope (32S, 33S, 34S) fractionation patterns in waters of hydrothermal pools are more consistent with redox processes involving intermediate sulfur species than with bacterial sulfate reduction. Small but resolved differences of ▵ 33S among species and between pools are observed. Conclusions The variation of sulfate isotopic composition, the origin of differences in isotopic composition of sulfide and zero-valent sulfur, as well as differences in ▵ 33S of sulfide and sulfate are likely due to a complex network of abiotic redox reactions, including disproportionation pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we shall develop a novel family of bimodal univariate distributions (also allowing for unimodal shapes) and demonstrate its use utilizing the well-known and almost classical data set involving durations and waiting times of eruptions of the Old-Faithful geyser in Yellowstone park. Specifically, we shall analyze the Old-Faithful data set with 272 data points provided in Dekkinget al.[3]. In the process, we develop a bivariate distribution using a copula technique and compare its fit to a mixture of bivariate normal distributions also fitted to the same bivariate data set. We believe the fit-analysis and comparison is primarily illustrative from an educational perspective for distribution theory modelers, since in the process a variety of statistical techniques are demonstrated. We do not claim one model as preferred over the other. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Remote sensing techniques can provide information on habitat quality, biodiversity, and cover change at the regional scales of sagebrush-steppe dominated systems and with the repeatability necessary for resource management. In this paper, we present the results of multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis applied to Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AviRis) imagery, comparing affects of seasonality and spectral resolution on the discrimination of soil, grass/forb, and sagebrush abundance in Yellowstone National Park. Our results showed that AVIRIS, despite late season phenology, correlated well with herbaceous and sagebrush cover field measurements (R2 = 0.77 and 0.75, respectively), utilizing high spectral resolution to separate soils from vegetation. However, ASTER-derived values during peak green correlated best with field measurements (0.75 and 0.78). These results demonstrated an effective method to monitor semi-arid regions with readily available imagery and highlight applications for future hyperspectral satellite missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected areas are a cornerstone of many conservation approaches, and concepts of pristineness and wilderness are often considered central to protected area designation and management. However, these concepts are rarely explored through a historical lens that captures the philosophies and assumptions underlying protected area designation. In this paper, we aim to improve our understanding of protected area designation and management by reviewing the history of four main conservation approaches: (1) Wilderness conservation and the Yellowstone Model; (2) Wise use and the Game Reserve Model; (3) Wildlife and Biodiversity conservation; and (4) Ecosystem management. Through examination of the history of these Models, we discuss the values, rationale and assumptions behind each approach, and how these interface with protected area designation. In each case, we explore the extent of dependence on concepts of wilderness and pristineness. We also highlight the evolution of alternative criteria for designating protected areas, and as certain how far these alternative values influence protected area designation and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The snowmobile controversy in Yellowstone National Park not only pits snowmobilers against environmentalists, but it also pits the Bush Administration against the Clinton Administration. Caught in the middle are the National Park Service, scores of natural and social scientists, and Yellowstone’s permanent residents-the flora and fauna. The controversy’s political aspects are the focus of this paper; specifically, the tenuous relationship among research scientists, whose job it is to inform management and policy decisions; politicians, whose job it is to formulate those same decisions in the public arena; and public land management agencies, whose job it is to implement the decisions. The crux of the paper concerns the politicization of natural resource policy and ways in which research scientists tend to get caught up in it. Lessons learned from this Yellowstone episode regarding the role of science in policy-making processes are also considered. Two recent federal court rulings shed additional light on the politics surrounding Yellowstone’s snowmobile controversy, as does the importance of governmental checks and balances in resolving natural resource management disputes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The USA played a pivotal role in developing the idea of the World Heritage Convention just over 30 years ago. This paper begins by examining the history of the World Heritage Convention's practical application in the USA and goes on to discuss the Convention's present-day application at Yellowstone National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the national scale. It may be concluded that although there is a high level of compliance with the requirements of the World Heritage Convention, numerous issues need to be resolved to ensure that World Heritage Site designation remains an effective protection tool for sites of international importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper encourages and challenges tourism researchers struggling in the liminal zones between traditional modernist and critical or postmodernist (non-traditional) research. Using natural area destinations and concepts from critical theory (e.g. Habermas, 1978), it is argued that paralleling the instrumental use and rationalisation of natural areas and everyday life is the rationalisation of the academic research world by (post)positivistic paradigms. These rationalisations are resisted by critical and 'postmodern' paradigms that, ironically, can also contribute to placing the life-world of natural destinations under erasure . So a more diversified and reflexive research praxis is called for, particularly, (1) critical approaches to complement functionalist research orientations, (2) understanding one's own ontological and epistemological assumptions regarding the natural world, and (3) hermeneutic charity that softens the emancipatory gaze of the critical researcher. Yellowstone National Park is used as an example to show how a critical narrative interprets these natural spaces as cultural, political and economic texts mediated by a number of scientific, promotional and symbolic tools serving a diverse range of interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than twenty years, the state of Montana has pursued a controversial policy of lethal control to manage winter migrations of bison from Yellowstone National Park. In the late 1990s, as the state and a number of federal agencies attempted to cooperatively outline a more palatable scenario for bison management, local environmental groups became active participants in the debate. This paper examines the strategies pursued by these organizations in the course of their attempt to construct a new, ecosystem-level territorial space and jurisdictional scale for bison, and places their struggle within the context of existing work in geography on the politics of scale. Ultimately, the failure of their efforts illustrates some of the important constraints faced by social groups that attempt to create new territorial regimes and new scales of resistance in the interstices of existing political structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality and availability of resources are known to influence spatial patterns of animal density. In Yellowstone National Park, relationships between the availability of resources and the distribution of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) have been explored but have yet to be examined in American black bears (Ursus americanus). We conducted non‐invasive genetic sampling during 2017–2018 (mid‐May to mid‐July) and applied spatially explicit capture‐recapture models to estimate density of black bears and examine associations with landscape features. In both years, density estimates were higher in forested vegetation communities, which provide food resources and thermal and security cover preferred by black bears, compared with non‐forested areas. In 2017, density also varied by sex, with female densities being higher than males. Based on our estimates, the northern range of Yellowstone National Park supports one of the highest densities of black bears (20 black bears/100 km2) in the northern Rocky Mountains (6–12 black bears/100 km2 in other regions). Given these high densities, black bears could influence other wildlife populations more than previously thought, such as through displacement of sympatric predators from kills. Our study provides the first spatially explicit estimates of density for black bears within an ecosystem that contains the majority of North America's large mammal species. Our density estimates provide a baseline that can be used for future research and management decisions of black bears, including efforts to reduce human–bear conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central debate in ecology has been the long‐running discussion on the role of apex predators in affecting the abundance and dynamics of their prey. In terrestrial systems, research has primarily relied on correlational approaches, due to the challenge of implementing robust experiments with replication and appropriate controls. A consequence of this is that we largely suffer from a lack of mechanistic understanding of the population dynamics of interacting species, which can be surprisingly complex. Mechanistic models offer an opportunity to examine the causes and consequences of some of this complexity. We present a bioenergetic mechanistic model of a tritrophic system where the primary vegetation resource follows a seasonal growth function, and the herbivore and carnivore species are modeled using two integral projection models (IPMs) with body mass as the phenotypic trait. Within each IPM, the demographic functions are structured according to bioenergetic principles, describing how animals acquire and transform resources into body mass, energy reserves, and breeding potential. We parameterize this model to reproduce the population dynamics of grass, elk, and wolves in northern Yellowstone National Park (USA) and investigate the impact of wolf reintroduction on the system. Our model generated predictions that closely matched the observed population sizes of elk and wolf in Yellowstone prior to and following wolf reintroduction. The introduction of wolves into our basal grass–elk bioenergetic model resulted in a population of 99 wolves and a reduction in elk numbers by 61% (from 14,948 to 5823) at equilibrium. In turn, vegetation biomass increased by approximately 25% in the growing season and more than threefold in the nongrowing season. The addition of wolves to the model caused the elk population to switch from being food‐limited to being predator‐limited and had a stabilizing effect on elk numbers across different years. Wolf predation also led to a shift in the phenotypic composition of the elk population via a small increase in elk average body mass. Our model represents a novel approach to the study of predator–prey interactions, and demonstrates that explicitly considering and linking bioenergetics, population demography and body mass phenotypes can provide novel insights into the mechanisms behind complex ecosystem processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The tiger beetle, Cicindelidia haemorrhagica (LeConte), occurs in the western USA and is associated with wet salt lakes. However, in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) it was observed in a thermal pool in 1891. We examined multiple thermal and non-thermal areas in YNP and discovered that C. haemorrhagica was exclusively associated with thermal springs, both alkaline (as high as pH 9.5) and acid (as low as pH 2.7) and at temperatures as high as 70 °C. Ultimately, we identified 17 locations with C. haemorrhagica populations. We estimated population sizes at multiple springs as greater than 500 individuals at each site. Additionally, we noted that beetles occurred both in the (hot) water of thermal springs and within 8 m of the spring. We observed the tiger beetle species, Cicindelidia haemorrhagica (LeConte), foraging in and reproducing near the thermal pools of Yellowstone National Park (YNP). Although this species was recorded in YNP more than 130 years ago, its distribution, ecology, and association with thermal features are unknown. Therefore, we examined the distribution and habitat characteristics of C. haemorrhagica and evaluated methods for studying its abundance. Given the extreme environments in which these beetles live, typical methods to estimate abundance are challenging. We used a series of presence/absence studies and observations to assess distribution and recorded temperature and pH measurements to determine habitat characteristics. We also conducted visual counts, light trapping, and mark/recapture experiments to assess abundance. The inability to capture C. haemorrhagica with lights led to a phototaxis experiment, which showed minimal attraction to light. Cicindelidia haemorrhagica was found throughout YNP, but it was exclusively associated with thermal springs. The thermal springs ranged from pH 2.7 to 9.0 with temperatures from 29.1 to 75.0 °C and had varying metal concentrations in soil and water. However, all thermal springs with C. haemorrhagica had barren soil with a gradual slope toward the thermal water. Specifically, habitats were thermal pools with gradual margins (a less than five-degree slope) and thermal (i.e., heated) soils for larval burrows by thermal springs or pools. Population sizes of C. haemorrhagica ranged between 500 and 1500 individuals based on visual counts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volcanic volatile emissions provide information about volcanic unrest but are difficult to detect with satellites. Volcanic degassing affects plants by elevating local CO2 and H2O concentrations, which may increase photosynthesis. Satellites can detect plant health, or a reaction to photosynthesis, through a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). This can act as a potential proxy for detecting changes in volcanic volatile emissions from space. We tested this method by analyzing 185 Landsat 5 and 8 images of the Tern Lake thermal area (TLTA) in northeast Yellowstone caldera from 1984 to 2022. We compared the NDVI values of the thermal area with those of similar nearby forests that were unaffected by hydrothermal activity to determine how hydrothermal activity impacted the vegetation. From 1984 to 2000, plant health in the TLTA steadily increased relative to the background forests, suggesting that vegetation in the TLTA was fertilized by volcanic CO2 and/or magmatic water. Hydrothermal activity began to stress plants in 2002, and by 2006, large swathes of trees were dying in the hydrothermal area. Throughout most of the 1990s, the least healthy plants were located in the area which became the epicenter of hydrothermal activity in 2000. These findings suggest that plant-focused measurements are sensitive to minor levels of volcanic unrest which may not be detected by other remote sensing methods, such as infrared temperature measurements. This method could be a safe and effective new tool for detecting changes in volatile emissions in volcanic environments which are dangerous or difficult to access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrothermal systems form at divergent and convergent boundaries of lithospheric plates and within plates due to weakened crust and mantle plumes, playing host to diverse microbial ecosystems. Little is known of how differences in tectonic setting influence the geochemical and microbial compositions of these hydrothermal ecosystems. Here, coordinated geochemical and microbial community analyses were conducted on 87 high‐temperature (>65°C) water and sediment samples from hot springs in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA (n = 41; mantle plume setting), Iceland (n = 41, divergent boundary), and Japan (n = 5; convergent boundary). Region‐specific variation in geochemistry and sediment‐associated 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence variant (ASV) composition was observed, with 16S rRNA gene assemblages being nearly completely distinguished by region and pH being the most explanatory parameter within regions. Several low abundance ASVs exhibited cosmopolitan distributions across regions, while most high‐abundance ASVs were only identified in specific regions. The presence of some cosmopolitan ASVs across regions argues against dispersal limitation primarily shaping the distribution of taxa among regions. Rather, the results point to local tectonic and geologic characteristics shaping the geochemistry of continental hydrothermal systems that then select for distinct microbial assemblages. These results provide new insights into the co‐evolution of hydrothermal systems and their microbial communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negative impacts on bears (Ursus spp.) from human activities associated with roads and developments are well documented. These impacts include displacement of bears from high-quality foods and habitats, diminished habitat effectiveness, and reduced survival rates. Additionally, increased public visitations to national parks accompanied with benign encounters with bears along park roads have caused more bears to habituate to the presence of people. In some contexts, habituation can predispose bears to being exposed to and rewarded by anthropogenic foods, which can also lower survival rates. The managers and staff of Yellowstone National Park located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, USA, and Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming, USA have implemented several proactive strategies to mitigate the negative aspects of bear habituation. These strategies include providing park visitors with educational information on bear viewing etiquette, managing roadside viewing opportunities, installing bear-resistant infrastructure, hazing bears from developments, enforcing food and garbage storage regulations, and making human activities as predictable as possible to bears. Under the current management strategies, thousands of visitors are still able to view, photograph, and appreciate bears while visiting these parks each year. The opportunity to view bears provides a positive visitor experience and contributes millions of dollars to the local economies of park gateway communities. Positive bear viewing experiences also help build an important appreciation and conservation ethic for bears in people that visit national parks. For many years, managers were concerned about decreasing and threatened bear populations. Now more jurisdictions are facing new challenges caused by increasing bear populations. This paper highlights a successful attempt to address these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The well-known inspection paradox of renewal theory states that, in expectation, the inspection interval is larger than a common renewal interval, in general. For a random inspection time, which includes the deterministic case, and a delayed renewal process, representations of the expected length of an inspection interval and related inequalities in terms of covariances are shown. Datasets of eruption times of Beehive Geyser and Riverside Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, as well as several distributional examples, illustrate the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geologic features, particularly volcanic features, have been protected by the National Park Service since its inception. Some volcanic areas were nationally protected even before the National Park Service was established. The first national park, Yellowstone National Park, is one of the most widely known geothermal and volcanic areas in the world. It contains the largest volcanic complex in North America and has experienced three eruptions which rate among the largest eruptions known to have occurred on Earth. Half of the twelve areas established as national parks before the 1916 Organic Act which created the National Park Service are centered on volcanic features. The National Park Service now manages lands that contain nearly every conceivable volcanic resource, with at least seventy-six managed lands that contain volcanoes or volcanic rocks. Given that so many lands managed by the National Park Service contain volcanoes and volcanic rocks, we cannot give an overview of the history of each one; rather we highlight four notable examples of parks that were established on account of their volcanic landscapes. These parks all helped to encourage the creation and success of the National Park Service by inspiring the imagination of the public. In addition to preserving and providing access to the nation's volcanic heritage, volcanic national parks are magnificent places to study and understand volcanoes and volcanic landscapes in general. Scientists from around the world study volcanic hazards, volcanic history, and the inner working of the Earth within U.S. national parks. Volcanic landscapes and associated biomes that have been relatively unchanged by human and economic activities provide unique natural laboratories for understanding how volcanoes work, how we might predict eruptions and hazards, and how these volcanoes affect surrounding watersheds, flora, fauna, atmosphere, and populated areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice patches and the alpine are important elements of the sociocultural landscape of the Greater Yellowstone Area, and they transcend the jurisdictional boundaries that divide the lands on which they occur. The ice patch record complements traditional sources of archaeological knowledge through the addition of well-dated organic artifacts, such as shafts from hunting tools, recovered in a readily recognizable context. This paper examines the types of wood used in the manufacture of hunting implements recovered at Greater Yellowstone Area ice patches through the analysis of nine unique wooden shafts and shaft fragments from five sites. Five shafts are birch ( Betula spp.), two are willow ( Salix spp.), one is fir ( Abies sp.), and one is pine ( Pinus sp.). The shafts included in this analysis range in age from 9230 ± 25 B.P. to 215 ± 20 B.P. Diagnostic Oxbow and Pelican Lake chipped stone projectile points recovered in association with ice patches provide additional temporal resolution regarding use of these features. One of the four sites that yielded wooden shafts contains a record of bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis ) hunting between 3885 ± 25 B.P. and 879 ± 23 B.P. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a multidisciplinary geophysical experiment to study the relationship between wind, waves, bathymetry, and microseisms in Yellowstone Lake—a small, isolated body of water in which wind‐driven gravity waves excite low‐amplitude seismic energy at periods ∼1.0 s with a regular daily pattern. During 25 June–4 August 2018, we deployed 40 short‐period seismometers, four meteorological stations, and two wave gauges in and around Yellowstone Lake. These instruments were complemented by seven permanent seismometers on the lake perimeter, and a contemporaneous deployment of 10 lake bottom seismometers (LBS) on the floor of the north‐central portion of the lake. The daily wind cycle, with southwesterly winds rising from ∼0 m/s in the early morning to maxima of 10–15 m/s in the late afternoon, generated lake waves with significant heights of ∼0.3–0.4 m and dominant periods of 1.5–2.5 s, which in turn generated microseisms with dominant periods of ∼0.8–1.2 s, in excellent agreement with the double‐frequency generation mechanism. Microseism energy was strongest on the lake floor stations, followed by the island stations and those along the northeastern coast of the lake, suggesting that these sites are closest to the source region where interference between incident and shoreline‐reflected waves is responsible for microseism generation. Smaller amplitude single‐frequency microseism energy was observed primarily along the northeastern lake shoreline. Both types of microseism energy are sensitive to shoreline morphology and lake wave dynamics, such that long‐term monitoring of lake microseisms may further our understanding of how these processes change over time. Plain Language Summary: Earth's surface is continuously vibrating because of the interaction of ocean waves with the solid Earth. These tiny vibrations are called microseisms and they can be recorded and studied with seismometers. Microseismic data can be used to image the interior of the Earth, track hurricanes and typhoons in near real time, and monitor changes in storm frequency and strength over time as the Earth's climate evolves. Several recent studies have demonstrated that lake waves can also create microseismic energy; however, lake microseisms are recorded at significantly shorter periods than ocean microseisms and it is unclear how they are generated in a relatively small, shallow water environment. To study this question, we deployed arrays of seismometers on the bottom and along the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake. At the same time, we deployed wave gauges in the lake and weather gauges near several of the land‐based seismometers. Analysis of the data showed that the microseisms are created by interference between lake waves with reflections from the shorelines. We suggest that the shorter period of lake microseisms relative to ocean microseisms is related to the smaller size (fetch) of the lakes and the shorter duration of lake winds. Key Points: We present a geophysical data set combining lake‐bottom and land‐based seismic data with full‐spectrum wave data from the lake surfaceYellowstone Lake microseisms are mainly created by a mechanism related to the interference of direct and shoreline‐reflected wavesThe relatively shallow water of lakes may play a role in the differences observed between lake and ocean microseisms [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past century, most eruptions of Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park's Norris Geyser Basin were mainly clustered in three episodes: 1961–1969, 1982–1984, and ongoing since 2018. These eruptive episodes resulted in extensive disturbance to surrounding trees. To characterize tree response over time as an indicator of geyser activity adjustments to climate variability, aerial and ground images were analyzed to document changes in tree coverage around the geyser since 1954. Radiocarbon dating of silicified tree remnants from within 14 m of the geyser vent was used to examine geyser response to possible variations in decadal to centennial precipitation patterns. We searched for atypical or absent growth rings in cores from live trees in years associated with large geyser eruptions. Photographs indicate that active eruptive phases have adversely affected trees up to 30 m from the vent, primarily in the dominant downwind direction. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the geyser formed before 1878, in contrast to the birthdate reported in historical documents. Further, the ages of the silicified trees cluster within three episodes that are temporally correlated with periods of relative drought in the Yellowstone region during the 15th–17th centuries. The discontinuous growth of trees around the geyser suggests that changes in eruptive patterns occur in response to decadal to multidecadal droughts. This inference is supported by the lack of silicified specimens with more than 20 annual rings and by the existence of atypical or missing rings in live trees during periods of extended geyser activity. Plain Language Summary: Steamboat Geyser, in Yellowstone National Park's Norris Geyser Basin, has the tallest eruptions among the world's active geysers. To examine whether eruptions impact trees in the vicinity of the geyser, we analyzed aerial photos acquired since 1954 which indicate that prior periods of frequent eruptions have adversely affected trees up to 30 m from the vent, primarily in the dominant wind direction. To examine if the limited availability of water may have caused the geyser to stop erupting in past centuries, we dated silicified tree remnants with radiocarbon. Results suggest that trees were growing near Steamboat during three periods when the geyser was not erupting because of prolonged droughts in the Yellowstone region during the 15th–17th centuries. This inference is supported by observations that none of the silicified tree specimens had more than 20 annual rings, implying that the trees did not grow for long periods, and by the presence of atypical or missing rings in live trees during periods of geyser activity. Key Points: Aerial photos indicate that recent eruptive phases of Steamboat Geyser have adversely impacted trees up to 30 m from the vent14C dates of silicified trees cluster in three periods that temporally correlate with regional droughts during the 15th–17th centuriesAtypical or absent tree‐rings suggest that prolonged eruption episodes impacted tree growth around Steamboat Geyser [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disturbances are ubiquitous in ecological systems, and species have evolved a range of strategies to resist or rebound following disturbance. Understanding how the presence and complementarity of regeneration traits will affect community responses to disturbance is increasingly urgent as disturbance regimes shift beyond their historical ranges of variability. We define "disturbance niche" as a species' fitness across a range of disturbance sizes and frequencies that can reflect the fundamental or realized niche, that is, whether the species occurs alone or with other species. We developed a model of intermediate complexity (i.e., a Goldilocks model) to infer the disturbance niche. We parameterized the model for subalpine forests in Yellowstone National Park (USA) adapted to infrequent stand‐replacing fires and included the three major tree‐regeneration strategies: (1) obligate seeders that rely on ex situ seeding into burned areas (non‐serotinous lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta var. latifola), (2) obligate seeders that depend on in situ seedbanks (serotinous lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta var. latifola), and (3) species that can resprout from surviving roots following fire (quaking aspen, Populus tremuloides). Our results showed which regeneration strategies increase or decrease in prevalence as fire rotation declines. Non‐serotinous pines were extirpated when fire rotation was below 50 years in a monoculture and 100 years in a mixed forest; serotinous pines were extirpated when fire rotation was below 20 years; and aspen was extirpated when fire rotation fell below 6 years. The fundamental and realized disturbance niches pinpointed the key mechanisms limiting regeneration for each strategy, namely, increasing fire size for non‐serotinous pine (ex situ seeders), decreasing fire frequency for serotinous pine (in situ seeders), and interspecific competition for aspen (resprouters). In a mixed forest, the three regeneration strategies were complementary and each dominated at different combinations of fire size and frequency. Consequently, diversity of regeneration strategies enhanced forest resilience to declining fire rotations. Despite its simplicity, our Goldilocks model produced realistic dynamics and could be readily adapted to other disturbance‐prone ecosystems to explore the generality of these results. The disturbance niche is a key concept for anticipating community resilience to changing disturbance regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steep Cone Geyser is a unique geothermal feature in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Wyoming, actively gushing silicon-rich fluids along outflow channels possessing living and actively silicifying microbial biomats. To assess the geomicrobial dynamics occurring temporally and spatially at Steep Cone, samples were collected at discrete locations along one of Steep Cone's outflow channels for both microbial community composition and aqueous geochemistry analysis during field campaigns in 2010, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Geochemical analysis characterized Steep Cone as an oligotrophic, surface boiling, silicious, alkaline-chloride thermal feature with consistent dissolved inorganic carbon and total sulfur concentrations down the outflow channel ranging from 4.59 ± 0.11 to 4.26 ± 0.07 mM and 189.7 ± 7.2 to 204.7 ± 3.55 μM, respectively. Furthermore, geochemistry remained relatively stable temporally with consistently detectable analytes displaying a relative standard deviation <32%. A thermal gradient decrease of ~55°C was observed from the sampled hydrothermal source to the end of the sampled outflow transect (90.34°C ± 3.38 to 35.06°C ± 7.24). The thermal gradient led to temperature-driven divergence and stratification of the microbial community along the outflow channel. The hyperthermophile Thermocrinis dominates the hydrothermal source biofilm community, and the thermophiles Meiothermus and Leptococcus dominate along the outflow before finally giving way to more diverse and even microbial communities at the end of the transect. Beyond the hydrothermal source, phototrophic taxa such as Leptococcus, Chloroflexus, and Chloracidobacterium act as primary producers for the system, supporting heterotrophic growth of taxa such as Raineya, Tepidimonas, and Meiothermus. Community dynamics illustrate large changes yearly driven by abundance shifts of the dominant taxa in the system. Results indicate Steep Cone possesses dynamic outflow microbial communities despite stable geochemistry. These findings improve our understanding of thermal geomicrobiological dynamics and inform how we can interpret the silicified rock record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The factors that influence biodiversity and productivity of hydrothermal ecosystems are not well understood. Here we investigate the relationship between fluid mixing, biodiversity, and chemosynthetic primary productivity in three co‐localized hot springs (RSW, RSN, and RSE) in Yellowstone National Park that have different geochemistry. All three springs are sourced by reduced hydrothermal fluid, but RSE and RSN receive input of vapour phase gas and oxidized groundwaters, with input of both being substantially higher in RSN. Metagenomic sequencing revealed that communities in RSN were more biodiverse than those of RSE and RSW in all dimensions evaluated. Microcosm activity assays indicate that rates of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) uptake were also higher in RSN than in RSE and RSW. Together, these results suggest that increased mixing of reduced volcanic fluid with oxidized fluids generates additional niche space capable of supporting increasingly biodiverse communities that are more productive. These results provide insight into the factors that generate and maintain chemosynthetic biodiversity in hydrothermal systems and that influence the distribution, abundance, and diversity of microbial life in communities supported by chemosynthesis. These factors may also extend to other ecosystems not supported by photosynthesis, including the vast subterranean biosphere and biospheres beneath ice sheets and glaciers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Craters of the Moon (COM) Volcanic Field in Idaho is the largest mostly Holocene lava field in the conterminous U.S. and the site of the most recent volcanism in the Yellowstone‐Snake River Plain province. This prominent example of a polygenetic fissure field has produced over 60 eruptions over the past 15,000 years from the Great Rift fissure system. The eight most recent lava flows, known as Period A, were erupted between about 2,500 and 2,000 years ago. In this study, major and trace element and Pb‐Sr‐Nd isotope data were obtained, with several samples collected from each flow from widely spaced locations to evaluate heterogeneity in their source magmas. The results reveal three previously unrecognized compositional groups that may represent separate magma batches, and that assimilation and fractional crystallization (AFC) controlled the evolution of the entire Period A suite. The three oldest flows were periodic withdrawals from a body of highly evolved and poorly homogenized magma, and four later flows represent successive samplings from a stratified body of more primitive magma. These two flow groups are related via variable AFC modeled with Magma Chamber Simulator software, with Neogene rhyolite as a plausible crustal assimilant. A third compositional type that requires a different parent magma and AFC history is represented by a single flow erupted from vents a few km away from the others. The compositional evolution and variability observed in this sequence of flows provide new insights into how magmas are generated, modified, and delivered in such polygenetic fissure systems. Plain Language Summary: The Craters of the Moon Volcanic Field is a prominent example of a long‐lived eruptive fissure system in a continental setting, where lava flows are produced at the Great Rift, a linear zone of fracturing and extending crust on the Snake River Plain in southern Idaho. Craters of the Moon has produced more than 60 eruptions over the past 15,000 years, including young lavas with high‐silica compositions that are relatively uncommon in the region. The eight most recent lava flows, known as Period A, were erupted between about 2,500 and 2,000 years ago. This sequence of flows provides snapshots of the evolving system over time and constrains processes that modify and feed magmas to this type of volcanic system. New chemical and isotope data with higher precision than in previous studies reveal that the flows fall into three compositional groups, likely reflecting separate magma batches with distinct histories of cooling, crystallization, and contamination by wall rock. These results illuminate the processes that deliver and alter magmas in such long‐lived fissure systems. Key Points: Compositions of the eight most recent Craters of the Moon lava flows elucidate magma evolution in this polygenetic fissure systemThis compositional study revealed the flows were fed by three previously unrecognized magma compositions with distinct petrologic historiesThe magmas were heterogenous, stratified, and culminated in the eruption of increasingly less evolved flows [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hedrick et al. (2016) (Negative-assortative mating for color in wolves. Evolution , 70, 757–766) reported on "negative-assortative mating for color in wolves" from Yellowstone National Park, the "first documented case of significant negative-assortative mating in mammals." Here I report a logical inconsistency in their population genetic model that effectively imposes selection against some assortatively mating genotype. After pointing out this inconsistency, I derive new expressions for the frequency of different matings and the equilibrium allele frequencies. Compared to Hedrick et al. (2016) (Negative-assortative mating for color in wolves. Evolution , 70, 757–766), the system rapidly approaches an equilibrium based on observed levels of negative-assortative mating in this population. Hence, the revised model may strengthen the case that assortative mating can maintain polymorphism and provides logically consistent results to inform the study of nonrandom mating in other organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is home to roughly 500 geysers, making it the most concentrated geyser field in the world. Recent studies exploring the mechanics of geyser eruptions utilizing laboratory models were limited by a lack of knowledge of the subsurface geometry of the geyser features. This study presents results from active hydrogeophysical surveys, including ground penetrating radar, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), seismic refraction, electrical resistivity tomography, and transient electromagnetics to image subsurface geyser structure and constrain the geophysical response of the reservoir structure of Spouter Geyser, Yellowstone National Park. Previous geophysical studies on similar geyser systems in Yellowstone characterize the hydrothermal reservoir that supplies the geyser with hydrothermal fluids and vapors as high porosity, low density structures. Whereas our imaging highlights the hydrothermal conduits and reservoir as high resistivity and high velocity structures, interpreted as silica precipitate decreasing the porosity and increasing the bulk modulus (i.e., from unconsolidated media to semi/fully consolidated). Ground penetrating radar identifies sinter thickness around the geyser, NMR provides porosity measurements of the geyser reservoir, and transient electromagnetics maps the depth to the Biscuit Basin Rhyolite bedrock throughout the field site. Electrical resistivity tomography and seismic refraction image the shallow geyser conduit structures to ∼15 m depth and establish the extent of the geyser hydrothermal reservoir structure. Furthermore, a spatial correlation of the electrical resistivity and seismic velocity results establishes the interpreted hydrothermal geyser reservoir as a high resistivity, high velocity structure located to the northeast of Spouter Geyser at depths greater than 15 m. Plain Language Summary: The dynamics of geyser eruptions are uncertain. Much of this uncertainty stems from a lack of knowledge of their subsurface structure. Therefore, to better understand geyser eruption dynamics, we must first establish the subsurface structure of geysers and their associated hydrothermal geyser reservoirs that supply the erupted hydrothermal fluids and vapors. Geophysical imaging provides an opportunity to image these structures, but active geophysical methods have not been extensively explored for this application. In this study, we use various active geophysical methods to (a) constrain the characteristics of the structure and (b) better understand the subsurface geometry of Spouter Geyser (YNP) and its hydrothermal reservoir. We find that Spouter Geyser's structure and its reservoir have high electrical resistivity and seismic velocity responses, indicative of low porosity and highly cohesive characteristics due to silica precipitate from hydrothermal fluids. We also find that Spouter Geyser's subsurface geometry consists of silica‐lined conduits that extend 15 m to a broad, laterally offset geyser hydrothermal reservoir structure. With the knowledge of the characteristics and geometry of Spouter Geyser and its hydrothermal reservoir, an additional study (Geyser Dynamics II) is better positioned to explore the dynamics of geyser eruptions with active geophysical methods. Key Points: Geophysical results reveal a laterally offset, low porosity and highly consolidated geyser reservoir structure at Spouter GeyserDistinct vertical conduit structures extending to the hydrothermal geyser reservoir at 15 m depth are interpreted at Spouter GeyserVelocity and resistivity distribution characterize Spouter Geyser's reservoir structure as high velocity‐high resistivity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geysers are unique hydrothermal features, requiring specific geometry, fluid, and vapor input, and heat to produce eruptions. In a geyser eruption, the decompression of superheated hydrothermal fluids results in a conversion of thermal to kinetic energy. Recent studies conclude that a laterally offset cavity structure (bubble trap) plays an integral role in the geyser eruption process. In this second study of Spouter Geyser, Yellowstone National Park (YNP), we build on the geyser structure developed in the first publication and explore how structural components, such as the bubble trap, control eruption dynamics. We utilize time‐lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and transient electromagnetics (TEM) geophysical methods to track changes in the saturation of conductive hydrothermal fluid and resistive vapor through the eruption cycle. Additionally, we use pressure‐temperature transducer data to measure eruption and recharge durations over the past 23 years at Spouter Geyser, identifying long‐period trends in geyser behavior. The geophysics results support the bubble trap model, capturing an increase in resistivity in the bubble trap structure during the recharge phase interpreted as a vapor saturation increase. The TEM also captures a resistivity increase in the 20–30 m depth interval during the eruption phase, interpreted as a vapor‐dominated "flash eruption zone" where the superheated hydrothermal fluids flash into steam and drive fluid out of this zone during the eruption. From the temperature time‐series detailing 23 years of eruption and recharge durations, we find that eruption durations have remained constant at ∼2 hr while recharge durations have decreased linearly at 6.6 min/year. Plain Language Summary: Current geyser eruption models include a bubble trap structure, a laterally offset, subsurface cavity that pressurizes with hydrothermal fluid and vapor before an eruption. Hydrothermal fluid conducts electrical current more efficiently than hydrothermal vapors, and thus the two phases have different electrical resistivity properties, a measurable geophysical parameter. Here, we pioneer the application of active, time‐lapse electrical and electromagnetic geophysical methods, sensitive to the subsurface electrical resistivity properties, to track hydrothermal fluid and vapor through a geyser system at Spouter Geyser, Yellowstone National Park. Through this, we expand on conclusions of Spouter Geyser's structure (Geyser Dynamics I) by investigating the movement of hydrothermal fluids and vapors to contribute to the understanding of geyser eruption dynamics. We find that electrical resistivity at the top of the geyser hydrothermal reservoir increases while the geyser is not erupting, indicative of vapor buildup in a bubble trap structure. We also find that electrical resistivity increases in a section of the geyser hydrothermal reservoir during the eruption, interpreted as hydrothermal vapors flashing to steam and driving fluids to the surface. Finally, we investigate eruption durations over the past two decades at Spouter Geyser, revealing constant average eruption durations but an increase in eruption frequency. Key Points: Time‐lapse electrical and electromagnetic methods track changes in hydrothermal fluid and vapor saturations in Spouter Geyser's structureTime‐lapse geophysics informs a conceptual model of eruption dynamics at Spouter Geyser that supports the bubble trap geyser modelA 6.6 min/year decrease in Spouter Geyser's average recharge duration over the last 23 years offers insight into long‐duration behavior [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent sesquicentennial of Yellowstone National Park, the nation's first and prototypical national park, marked an opportune nioment for examining the management of the nation's public lands. Public lands are contronting a myriad of challenges, whether from climate change and the elticacy of using the nation's lands for jbssil.fuel development or renewable resources, or from how best to manage them for recreational use and preserve their pristine character and habitat.for wildlife and other resources. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration is promoting its 30/30 campaign while exploring targeted changes to oil, gas, and coal development on public lands. Calls for reforming pointed areas of public land management seem endless and escalating. Most critics today Jocus attention on fixing some identifiable failure of public land management planning. Planning, after all, operates as the engine driving the modern administration Of public lands. Some public land aficionados champion planning reform by accentuating the urgency of folding into the decision-making process Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples, whose land may have been wrested from them to create the public land. Others lament how our planning processes, while moving toward landscape-level planning, have yet to move forward enough in response to modern ecological principles and challenges. Still others float specitic refbrm proposals, often promoting a.lix for a single type of public land. I suggest these critics, while raising legitimate concerns, are ignoring a much larger problem, not yet captured by today's commentary. Our public land laws remain tethered to an antiquated past. This Article reviews how public land planning has become dominant, and that in turn has allowed public land managers too much discretion to allow uses that may be inimical to the sustainability of identifiable landscapes. In sum, we have lost an enforceable vision.fur guiding planning decisions on the use of public lands, whether they are Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, or Bureau oj Land Management administered lands. I review how this occurred and offer a novel path forward. suggesting a paradigm shift. That shiR would elevate the importance of encoding an entbrceable vision®r our public lands capable of circumscribing potentially problematic decisions, while also crafting a new management paradigm that respects the importance of place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]