Geographic coincidence of richness, mass, conservation value, and response to climate of U.S. land birds
Ralph Grundel, Krystal Frohnapple, David N. Zaya, Gary A. Glowacki, Chelsea J. Weiskerger, Tamatha A. Patterson, Noel B. Pavlovic
2014, Ecological Applications (24) 791-811
Distributional patterns across the United States of five avian community breeding-season characteristics—community biomass, richness, constituent species' vulnerability to extirpation, percentage of constituent species' global abundance present in the community (conservation index, CI), and the community's position along the ecological gradient underlying species composition (principal curve ordination score, PC)—were described, their...
Loess records
Daniel R. Muhs, Stephen R. Cattle, Onn Crouvi, Denis-Didier Rousseau, Jiimin Sun, Marcelo A. Zarate
2014, Book chapter, Mineral dist: a key player in the Earth system
Loess is aeolian sediment, dominated by silt-sized particles, that is identifiable in the field as a distinct sedimentary body. It covers a significant portion of the land surface of the Earth and as such constitutes one of the most important archives of long-term dust deposition. Large tracts of loess cover...
The historical distribution of Gunnison Sage-Grouse in Colorado
Clait E. Braun, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Jennifer A. Nehring, Michelle L. Commons, Jessica R. Young, Kim M. Potter
2014, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (126) 207-217
The historical distribution of Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus) in Colorado is described based on published literature, observations, museum specimens, and the known distribution of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.). Historically, Gunnison Sage-Grouse were widely but patchily distributed in up to 22 counties in south-central and southwestern Colorado. The historical distribution of this...
Drought and the California Delta: A matter of extremes
Mike Dettinger, Daniel R. Cayan
2014, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (12)
No abstract available....
Continental-scale, seasonal movements of a heterothermic migratory tree bat
Paul M. Cryan, Craig A. Stricker, Michael B. Wunder
2014, Ecological Applications (24) 602-616
Long-distance migration evolved independently in bats and unique migration behaviors are likely, but because of their cryptic lifestyles, many details remain unknown. North American hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus cinereus) roost in trees year-round and probably migrate farther than any other bats, yet we still lack basic information about their migration...
Toxicity of a traditional molluscicide to asian clam veligers
Megan J. Layhee, Bahram Farokhkish, Jackson A. Gross, Miho Yoshioka, Adam Sepulveda
2014, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (5) 141-145
Aquaculture and hatchery industries are in need of effective control methods to reduce the risk of spreading aquatic invasive species, such as the Asian clam Corbicula fluminea, through aquaculture and hatchery activities. The planktonic nature of Asian clam veligers enables this life stage to enter water-based infrastructure undetected, including hatchery...
Effects of cave gating on population trends at individual hibernacula of the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalist)
Shawn M. Crimmins, Patrick C. McKann, Jennifer A. Szymanski, Wayne E. Thogmartin
2014, Acta Chiropterologica (16) 129-137
Installing gates at cave entrances to protect hibernating bat colonies is a widespread conservation action, particularly for endangered bat species such as the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). However, there is surprisingly little evidence on the efficacy of gates for improving population growth rates. We used change-point models to determine the...
Sex-biased gene flow among elk in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem
Brian K. Hand, Shanyuan Chen, Neil Anderson, Albano Beja-Pereira, Paul C. Cross, Michael R. Ebinger, Hank Edwards, Robert A. Garrott, Marty D. Kardos, Matthew J. Kauffman, Erin L. Landguth, Arthur Middleton, Brandon M. Scurlock, P.J. White, Pete Zager, Michael K. Schwartz, Gordon Luikart
2014, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (5) 124-132
We quantified patterns of population genetic structure to help understand gene flow among elk populations across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We sequenced 596 base pairs of the mitochondrial control region of 380 elk from eight populations. Analysis revealed high mitochondrial DNA variation within populations, averaging 13.0 haplotypes with high mean...
Associations of wintering birds with habitat in semidesert and plains grasslands in Arizona
Janet M. Ruth, Thomas R. Stanley, Caleb E. Gordon
2014, Southwestern Naturalist (59) 199-211
We studied associations with winter habitat for seven species of birds, one species-group (eastern and western meadowlarks combined), and total sparrows at seven sites in the semidesert and plains grasslands of southeastern Arizona from 1999–2001, sampling with mist-nets and survey-transects. We measured structure and composition of vegetation, assessing vegetative differences...
Effects of smectite on the oil-expulsion efficiency of the Kreyenhagen Shale, San Joaquin Basin, California, based on hydrous-pyrolysis experiments
Michael D. Lewan, Michael P. Dolan, John B. Curtis
2014, AAPG Bulletin (98) 1091-1109
The amount of oil that maturing source rocks expel is expressed as their expulsion efficiency, which is usually stated in milligrams of expelled oil per gram of original total organic carbon (TOCO). Oil-expulsion efficiency can be determined by heating thermally immature source rocks in the presence of liquid water (i.e.,...
Pesticides in Mississippi air and rain: A comparison between 1995 and 2007
Michael S Majewski, Richard H. Coupe, William T. Foreman, Paul D. Capel
2014, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (33) 1283-1293
A variety of current-use pesticides were determined in weekly composite air and rain samples collected during the 1995 and 2007 growing seasons in the Mississippi Delta (MS, USA) agricultural region. Similar sampling and analytical methods allowed for direct comparison of results. Decreased overall pesticide use in 2007 relative to 1995...
The UCERF3 grand inversion: Solving for the long‐term rate of ruptures in a fault system
Morgan T. Page, Edward H. Field, Kevin Milner, Peter M. Powers
2014, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (104) 1181-1204
We present implementation details, testing, and results from a new inversion‐based methodology, known colloquially as the “grand inversion,” developed for the Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast (UCERF3). We employ a parallel simulated annealing algorithm to solve for the long‐term rate of all ruptures that extend through the seismogenic thickness on...
Size-selective mortality of steelhead during freshwater and marine life stages related to freshwater growth in the Skagit River, Washington
Jamie N. Thompson, David A. Beauchamp
2014, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (143) 910-925
We evaluated freshwater growth and survival from juvenile (ages 0–3) to smolt (ages 1–5) and adult stages in wild steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss sampled in different precipitation zones of the Skagit River basin, Washington. Our objectives were to determine whether significant size-selective mortality (SSM) in steelhead could be detected between early and later...
Assessing landscape constraints on species abundance: Does the neighborhood limit species response to local habitat conservation programs?
Christopher F. Jorgensen, Larkin A. Powell, Jeffrey J. Lusk, Andrew A. Bishop, Joseph J. Fontaine
2014, PLoS ONE (9) 1-13
Landscapes in agricultural systems continue to undergo significant change, and the loss of biodiversity is an ever-increasing threat. Although habitat restoration is beneficial, management actions do not always result in the desired outcome. Managers must understand why management actions fail; yet, past studies have focused on assessing habitat attributes at...
Effect of temperature on feeding period of larval blacklegged ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) on eastern fence lizards
Eric L. Rulison, Roger A. LeBrun, Howard S. Ginsberg
2014, Journal of Medical Entomology (51) 1308-1311
Ambient temperature can influence tick development time, and can potentially affect tick interactions with pathogens and with vertebrate hosts. We studied the effect of ambient temperature on duration of attachment of larval blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say, to eastern fence lizards, Sceloporus undulatus (Bose & Daudin). Feeding periods of larvae that attached to lizards...
Occupancy patterns of regionally declining grassland sparrow populations in a forested Pennsylvania landscape
Jason M. Hill, Duane R. Diefenbach
2014, Conservation Biology (28) 735-744
Organisms can be affected by processes in the surrounding landscape outside the boundary of habitat areas and by local vegetation characteristics. There is substantial interest in understanding how these processes affect populations of grassland birds, which have experienced substantial population declines. Much of our knowledge regarding patterns of occupancy and...
A reconstruction of sea surface temperature variability in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico from 1734 to 2008 C.E. using cross-dated Sr/Ca records from the coral Siderastrea siderea
Kristine L. DeLong, Christopher R. Maupin, Jennifer A. Flannery, Terrence M. Quinn, CC Shen
2014, Paleoceanography (29) 403-422
This study uses skeletal variations in coral Sr/Ca from three Siderastrea siderea coral colonies within the Dry Tortugas National Park in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico (24°42′N, 82°48′W) to reconstruct monthly sea surface temperature (SST) variations from 1734 to 2008 Common Era (C.E.). Calibration and verification of the replicated coral...
Food consumption and growth rates of juvenile black carp fed natural and prepared feeds
Nathaniel C. Hodgins, Harold L. Schramm Jr., Patrick D. Gerard
2014, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (5) 35-45
The introduced mollusciphagic black carp Mylopharyngodon piceus poses a significant threat to native mollusks in temperate waters throughout the northern hemisphere, but consumption rates necessary to estimate the magnitude of impact on mollusks have not been established. We measured food consumption and growth rates for small (77–245 g) and large (466–1,071 g) triploid black...
Transformation products and human metabolites of triclocarban and tricllosan in sewage sludge across the United States
Benny F.G. Pycke, Isaac B. Roll, Bruce J. Brownawell, Chad A. Kinney, Edward T. Furlong, Dana W. Kolpin, Rolf U. Halden
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 7881-7890
Removal of triclocarban (TCC) and triclosan (TCS) from wastewater is a function of adsorption, abiotic degradation, and microbial mineralization or transformation, reactions that are not currently controlled or optimized in the pollution control infrastructure of standard wastewater treatment. Here, we report on the levels of eight transformation products, human metabolites,...
Ecological change on California's Channel Islands from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene
Torben C. Rick, T. Scott Sillett, Cameron K. Ghalambor, Courtney A. Hofman, Katherine Ralls, R. Scott Anderson, Christina L. Boser, Todd J. Braje, Daniel R. Cayan, R. Terry Chesser, Paul W. Collins, Jon M. Erlandson, Kate R. Faulkner, Robert C. Fleischer, W. Chris Funk, Russell Galipeau, Ann Huston, Julie King, Lyndal L. Laughrin, Jesus Maldonado, Kathryn McEachern, Daniel R. Muhs, Seth D. Newsome, Leslie Reeder-Myers, Christopher Still, Scott A. Morrison
2014, BioScience
Historical ecology is becoming an important focus in conservation biology and offers a promising tool to help guide ecosystem management. Here, we integrate data from multiple disciplines to illuminate the past, present, and future of biodiversity on California's Channel Islands, an archipelago that has undergone a wide range of land-use...
Application of spatially gridded temperature and land cover data sets for urban heat island analysis
Kevin Gallo, George Z. Xian
2014, Urban Climate (8) 1-10
Two gridded data sets that included (1) daily mean temperatures from 2006 through 2011 and (2) satellite-derived impervious surface area, were combined for a spatial analysis of the urban heat-island effect within the Dallas-Ft. Worth Texas region. The primary advantage of using these combined datasets included the capability to designate...
Global ocean conveyor lowers extinction risk in the deep sea
Lea-Anne Henry, Norbert Frank, Dierk Hebbeln, Claudia Weinberg, Laura Robinson, Tina van de Flierdt, Mikael Dahl, Melanie Douarin, Cheryl L. Morrison, Matthias Lopez Correa, Alex D. Rogers, Mario Ruckelshausen, J. Murray Roberts
2014, Deep Sea Research Part A, Oceanographic Research Papers (88) 8-16
General paradigms of species extinction risk are urgently needed as global habitat loss and rapid climate change threaten Earth with what could be its sixth mass extinction. Using the stony coral Lophelia pertusa as a model organism with the potential for wide larval dispersal, we investigated how the global ocean...
Vulnerability of age-0 pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus to predation; effects of predator type, turbidity, body size, and prey density
William E. French, Brian D. S. Graeb, Steven R. Chipps, Robert A. Klumb
2014, Environmental Biology of Fishes (97) 635-646
Predation can play an important role in the recruitment dynamics of fishes with intensity regulated by behavioral (i.e., prey selectivity) and/or environmental conditions that may be especially important for rare or endangered fishes. We conducted laboratory experiments to quantify prey selection and capture efficiency by three predators employing distinct foraging...
Habitat availability is a more plausible explanation than insecticide acute toxicity for U.S. grassland bird species declines
Jason M. Hill, J. Franklin Egan, Glenn E. Stauffer, Duane R. Diefenbach
2014, PLoS ONE (9) 1-8
Grassland bird species have experienced substantial declines in North America. These declines have been largely attributed to habitat loss and degradation, especially from agricultural practices and intensification (the habitat-availability hypothesis). A recent analysis of North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) “grassland breeding” bird trends reported the surprising conclusion that insecticide...
Nest site characteristics, nesting movements, and lack of long-term nest site fidelity in Agassiz's desert tortoises at a wind energy facility in southern California
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Mickey Agha, Charles B. Yackulic, Kathie Meyer-Wilkins, Curtis Bjurlin, Joshua R. Ennen, Terry R. Arundel, Meaghan Austin
2014, California Fish and Game (100) 404-416
Nest site selection has important consequences for maternal and offspring survival and fitness. Females of some species return to the same nesting areas year after year. We studied nest site characteristics, fidelity, and daily pre-nesting movements in a population of Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) at a wind energy facility...
