National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Science Symposium: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks November 9-10, 2016 ON THIS PAGE Photograph of symposium participants listening to a talk at Saint Anthony Retreat, Three Rivers, California. ON THE COVER Photographs from top left to bottom right: Bullfrog Lake from Kearsarge Pass, Kings Canyon NP (Joan Dudney); Crescent Meadow, Sequoia NP (Evan Wolf); burned forest in Yosemite National Park’s Illilouette Creek Basin (Scott Stephens); Sierra Bighorn Sheep ewe being released (California Department of Fish and Wildlife); and mountain yellow-legged frogs (Roland Knapp). Science Symposium: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks November 9-10, 2016 National Park Service Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 47050 Generals Highway Three Rivers, California 93271 This report is available in digital format from: https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2238518. Please cite this report as: National Park Service. 2017. Science Symposium: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. November 9-10, 2016. Three Rivers, California. Linda Mutch (Sierra Nevada Network) and Koren Nydick, Ginger Bradshaw, and Theresa Fiorino (Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks) compiled and edited this report. i Contents Page Figures ................................................................................................................................................... vi Photographs ........................................................................................................................................... vi Appendices ..........................................................................................................................................viii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................. ix Acronyms .............................................................................................................................................. ix Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Purpose for Symposium ................................................................................................................. 1 Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 1 What We Learned ........................................................................................................................... 2 Purpose of this Report .................................................................................................................... 2 Keynote Addresses ................................................................................................................................. 4 David Graber .................................................................................................................................. 4 Brief summary of the history of science at Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Jim Sickman ................................................................................................................................... 7 Watershed research in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: A window into the effects of global change on the Sierra Nevada .................................................................... 7 Lightning Talks .................................................................................................................................... 11 Annie Esperanza: Air Quality ...................................................................................................... 11 Erik Meyer: Prioritizing Pesticide Monitoring ............................................................................. 11 Danny Boiano: Mountain Yellow-legged Frog Management ...................................................... 12 Koren Nydick: Climate Change and Adaptation .......................................................................... 13 Athena Demetry: Meadow Restoration ........................................................................................ 15 Erik Frenzel: Meadow Monitoring ............................................................................................... 16 Jessie Russett: Archeology and Fire ............................................................................................. 17 Paul Hardwick: Information Resources ........................................................................................ 17 Danny Gammons: Bear Management .......................................................................................... 18 Erik Meyer: Post-fire Assessment Using Soundscapes ................................................................ 19 Christy Brigham: Why SEKI for Research? ................................................................................ 19 ii Sylvia Haultain: Introduction to Inventory and Monitoring ......................................................... 19 Andi Heard: High-elevation Lake Monitoring ............................................................................. 20 Jonny Nesmith: Monitoring of Wetlands and High-elevation Forests ......................................... 21 Linda Mutch: Science Communication ........................................................................................ 21 Michael Mueldner: Internships and Community Science ............................................................ 22 Invited Talks: Day 1 ............................................................................................................................. 23 High Elevation Plant Communities and Values ........................................................................... 23 Evan Wolf: Meadow Restoration: Past, Present, and Future .................................................. 23 Jeff Holmquist: Pack Stock Use and Invertebrates ................................................................. 24 Ron Goode: Restoring Biotic Cultural Resources ................................................................... 25 Jeff Jenkins: Sociocultural Values Mapping ........................................................................... 25 Emily Moran: Modeling Seedling Survival ............................................................................ 25 Danielle Svehla Christianson: Digital Representations in Ecology ........................................ 26 Paul Wilson: Liverwort and Moss Diversity ........................................................................... 27 Nastassja Noell: Lichens as Bioindicators ............................................................................. 28 Introduction: Day 2 .............................................................................................................................. 29 Invited Talks: Day 2 ............................................................................................................................. 30 Current Stressors to Forest Systems ............................................................................................. 30 Adrian Das: Severe Drought and Tree Mortality .................................................................... 30 Jeff Lauder: Drought Resilience in Conifers ........................................................................... 31 Anthony Ambrose: Giant Sequoia Drought Response ............................................................ 31 Bobby Kamansky: Foothill Drought Response ...................................................................... 32 Joan Dudney: White Pine Blister Rust .................................................................................... 33 Kaitlyn Heck and Carley Messex: Climate Change and Corridors ......................................... 34 Aquatic Ecosystems...................................................................................................................... 35 Roland Knapp: Mountain Yellow-legged Frog Research ....................................................... 35 Mary Clapp: Fish and Soundscapes ........................................................................................ 36 Steve Sadro: Climate Change and Emerald Lake .................................................................... 36 Marika Schulhof: Lake Warming and Nitrogen Deposition ................................................... 37 Wildlife ......................................................................................................................................... 38 iii Rachel Mazur: Wildlife Management Priorities ...................................................................... 38 Paul Heady: Winter Ecology of SEKI Bats ............................................................................. 38 Thomas Munton: California Spotted Owl Research ............................................................... 39 Lacey Greene: Bighorn Sheep Demography and Population Modeling ................................. 39 Fire Ecology ................................................................................................................................. 40 Hugh Safford: Historical Forest Density Estimates ...............................................................