Avian disease assessment in seabirds and non-native passerines birds at Midway Atoll NWR
Dennis A. LaPointe, Carter T. Atkinson, John L. Klavitter
2013, Report, Hawaii Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report
Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands supports the largest breeding colony of Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) in the world and is a proposed site for the translocation of endangered Northwestern Hawaiian Island passerine birds such as the Nihoa finch (Telespiza ultima), Nihoa millerbird (Acrocephalus familiaris kingi), or Laysan finch...
Development of a novel flow cytometric approach to evaluate fish sperm chromatin using fixed samples
Jill A. Jenkins
2013, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 8th Association for Applied Animal Andrology Biennial Conference
The integrity of the paternal DNA is essential for the accurate transmission of genetic information, yet fertilization is not inhibited by chromatin breakage. Some methods are available for the sensitive detection of DNA damage and can be applied in studies of environmental toxicology, carcinogenesis, aging, and assisted reproduction techniques in...
An effective noise-suppression technique for surface microseismic data
Farnoush Forghani-Arani, Mark Willis, Seth S. Haines, Mike Batzle, Jyoti Behura, Michael Davidson
2013, Geophysics (78) KS85-KS95
The presence of strong surface-wave noise in surface microseismic data may decrease the utility of these data. We implement a technique, based on the distinct characteristics that microseismic signal and noise show in the τ‐p domain, to suppress surface-wave noise in microseismic data. Because most microseismic source mechanisms are deviatoric,...
Blind test of methods for obtaining 2-D near-surface seismic velocity models from first-arrival traveltimes
Colin A. Zelt, Seth Haines, Michael H. Powers, Jacob Sheehan, Siegfried Rohdewald, Curtis Link, Koichi Hayashi, Don Zhao, Hua-wei Zhou, Bethany L. Burton, Uni K. Petersen, Nedra D. Bonal, William E. Doll
2013, Journal of Environmental & Engineering Geophysics (18) 183-194
Seismic refraction methods are used in environmental and engineering studies to image the shallow subsurface. We present a blind test of inversion and tomographic refraction analysis methods using a synthetic first-arrival-time dataset that was made available to the community in 2010. The data are realistic in terms of the near-surface...
High-density grass carp stocking effects on a reservoir invasive plant and water quality
A. Brad Garner, Thomas J. Kwak, Kenneth L. Manuel, D. Hugh Barwick
2013, Journal of Aquatic Plant Management (51) 27-33
Stocking grass carp [Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes)] is a commonly applied technique to control nuisance aquatic vegetation in reservoirs. Factors that influence the degree of aquatic vegetation control are fish stocking density, regional climate, abundance and species composition of the aquatic plant community, and relative grass carp feeding preferences for plant...
Body and diet composition of sympatric black and grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Charles C. Schwartz, Jennifer K. Fortin, Justin E. Teisberg, Mark A. Haroldson, Christopher Servheen, Charles T. Robbins, Frank T. van Manen
2013, Journal of Wildlife Management (78) 68-78
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) has experienced changes in the distribution and availability of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) food resources in recent decades. The decline of ungulates, fish, and whitebark pine seeds (Pinus albicaulis) has prompted questions regarding their ability to adapt. We examined body composition and diet of grizzly...
Quantitative and qualitative approaches to identifying migration chronology in a continental migrant
William S. Beatty, Dylan C. Kesler, Elisabeth B. Webb, Andrew H. Raedeke, Luke W. Naylor, Dale D. Humburg
2013, PLoS ONE 1-9
The degree to which extrinsic factors influence migration chronology in North American waterfowl has not been quantified, particularly for dabbling ducks. Previous studies have examined waterfowl migration using various methods, however, quantitative approaches to define avian migration chronology over broad spatio-temporal scales are limited, and the implications for using different...
Connectedness of land use, nutrients, primary production, and fish assemblages in oxbow lakes
Leandro E. Miranda, Caroline S. Andrews, Robert Kroger
2013, Aquatic Sciences (76) 41-50
We explored the strength of connectedness among hierarchical system components associated with oxbow lakes in the alluvial valley of the Lower Mississippi River. Specifically, we examined the degree of canonical correlation between land use (agriculture and forests), lake morphometry (depth and size), nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), primary production...
Hysteresis of unsaturated hydromechanical properties of a silty soil
Ning Lu, Murat Kaya, Brian D. Collins, Jonathan W. Godt
2013, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (139) 507-510
Laboratory tests to examine hysteresis in the hydrologic and mechanical properties of partially saturated soils were conducted on six intact specimens collected from a landslide-prone area of Alameda County, California. The results reveal that the pore-size distribution parameter remains statistically unchanged between the wetting and drying paths; however, the wetting...
Hydraulically controlled discrete sampling from open boreholes
Philip T. Harte
2013, Groundwater (51) 822-827
Groundwater sampling from open boreholes in fractured-rock aquifers is particularly challenging because of mixing and dilution of fluid within the borehole from multiple fractures. This note presents an alternative to traditional sampling in open boreholes with packer assemblies. The alternative system called ZONFLO (zonal flow) is based on hydraulic control...
Factors related to occurrence and distribution of selected bacterial and protozoan pathogens in Pennsylvania streams
Joseph W. Duris, Andrew G. Reif, Donna A. Crouse, Natasha M. Isaacs
2013, Water Research (47) 300-314
The occurrence and distribution of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and bacterial and protozoan pathogens are controlled by diverse factors. To investigate these factors in Pennsylvania streams, 217 samples were collected quarterly from a 27-station water-quality monitoring network from July 2007 through August 2009. Samples were analyzed for concentrations of Escherichia coli (EC)...
First report of fasciation in Pitcher's Thistle, Cirsium pitcheri (Asteraceae)
Noel B. Pavlovic, Megan K Korte, Kathryn McEachern, Ralph Grundel
2013, The Michigan Botanist (52) 58-66
We document the first reported occurrence of fasciation in the federally threatened Pitcher’s thistle, Cirsium pitcheri (Asteraceae). In 2013, we discovered two adult plants of Pitcher’s thistle out of a total of 176 plants at West Beach, near Miller, Indiana, USA, that exhibited both normal and fasciated growth. Unlike plants...
Oryx callotis (Artiodactyla: Bovidae)
Dana N. Lee, Richard W. Dolman, David M. Leslie Jr.
2013, Mammalian Species (45)
Oryx callotis O. Thomas, 1982 (fringe-eared oryx) is a relatively large, long-bodied bovid, with an appropriate common name because of its distinguishing tufts of hair extending from the ends of the ears. It occupies arid lands in Kenya and Tanzania. O. callotis can go up to a month without drinking water if succulent...
A Common Loon incubates rocks as surrogates for eggs
Stephen DeStefano, Kiana K. G. Koenen, Jillian W. Pereira
2013, Northeastern Naturalist (20) 143-147
A nesting Gavia immer (Common Loon) was discovered incubating 2 rocks on a floating nest platform on the Quabbin reservoir in central Massachusetts for 43 days, well beyond the typical period of 28 days, before we moved in to investigate. The rocks were likely unearthed in the soil and vegetation used on...
Case study: Prioritization strategies for reforestation of minelands to benefit Cerulean Warblers
Molly E. McDermott, Matthew B. Shumar, Petra Bohall Wood
2013, Journal American Society of Mining and Reclamation (2) 80-99
The central Appalachian landscape is being heavily altered by surface coal mining. The practice of Mountaintop Removal/Valley Fill (MTRVF) mining has transformed large areas of mature forest to non-forest and created much forest edge, affecting habitat quality for mature forest wildlife. The Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative is working to restore...
Evaluating spatial overlap and relatedness of white-tailed deer in a chronic wasting disease management zone
Michael D. Samuel, Seth B. Magle, Timothy R. Van Deelen, Stacie J. Robinson, Nancy E. Mathews
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
Wildlife disease transmission, at a local scale, can occur from interactions between infected and susceptible conspecifics or from a contaminated environment. Thus, the degree of spatial overlap and rate of contact among deer is likely to impact both direct and indirect transmission of infectious diseases such chronic wasting disease (CWD)...
Identification and specialization as a waterfowl hunter
Susan A. Schroeder, David C. Fulton, Jeffrey S. Lawrence, Steven D. Cordts
2013, Leisure Science (35) 218-234
Like specialization, identity offers a way for differentiating and understanding recreationists and for gaining insight into the question of participant progression in an activity. We examined how identity related to measures of specialization among lapsed and current waterfowl hunters. Lapsed hunters included those who had purchased a Minnesota waterfowl stamp...
A non-marine source of variability in Adélie Penguin demography
William R. Fraser, Donna L. Patterson-Fraser, Christine Ribic, Oscar Schofield, Hugh Ducklow
2013, Oceanography (26) 207-209
A primary research objective of the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program has been to identify and understand the factors that regulate the demography of Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae). In this context, our work has been focused on variability in the marine environment on which this species depends for...
Spatial variation in breeding habitat selection by Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea) throughout the Appalachian Mountains
Than J. Boves, David A. Buehler, James Sheehan, Petra Bohall Wood, Amanda D. Rodewald, Jeffrey L. Larkin, Patrick D. Keyser, Felicity L. Newell, Andrea Evans, Gregory A. George, T.B. Wigley
2013, The Auk (130) 46-59
Studies of habitat selection are often of limited utility because they focus on small geographic areas, fail to examine behavior at multiple scales, or lack an assessment of the fitness consequences of habitat decisions. These limitations can hamper the identification of successful site-specific management strategies, which are urgently needed for...
The overlooked terrestrial impacts of mountaintop mining
James Wickham, Petra Bohall Wood, Matthew C. Nicholson, William Jenkins, Daniel Druckenbrod, Glenn W. Suter, Michael P. Strager, Christine Mazzarella, Walter Galloway, John Amos
2013, BioScience (63) 335-348
Ecological research on mountaintop mining has been focused on aquatic impacts because the overburden (i.e., the mountaintop) is disposed of in nearby valleys, which leads to a wide range of water-quality impacts on streams. There are also numerous impacts on the terrestrial environment from mountaintop mining that have been largely...
Nesting habitat and productivity of Swainson's Hawks in southeastern Arizona
Catherine Nishida, Clint W. Boal, Stephen DeStefano, Royden J. Hobbs
2013, Journal of Raptor Research (47) 377-384
We studied Swainson's Hawks (Buteo swainsoni) in southeastern Arizona to assess the status of the local breeding population. Nest success (≥1 young fledged) was 44.4% in 1999 with an average of 1.43 ± 0.09 (SE) young produced per successful pair. Productivity was similar in 2000, with 58.2% nesting success and...
Landsat imagery reveals declining clarity of Maine’s lakes during 1995-2010
Ian M. McCullough, Cynthia S. Loftin, Steven A. Sader
2013, Freshwater Science (32) 741-752
Water clarity is a strong indicator of regional water quality. Unlike other common water-quality metrics, such as chlorophyll a, total P, or trophic status, clarity can be accurately and efficiently estimated remotely on a regional scale. Satellite-based remote sensing is useful in regions with many lakes where traditional field-sampling techniques may...
Baited lines: An active nondestructive collection method for burrowing crayfish
Zachary J. Loughman, David A. Foltz II, Stuart A. Welsh
2013, Southeastern Naturalist (12) 809-815
A new method (baited lines) is described for the collection of burrowing crayfishes, where fishing hooks baited with earthworms and tied to monofilament leaders are used to lure crayfishes from their burrow entrances. We estimated capture rates using baited lines at four locations across West Virginia for a total of...
The impact environment of the Hadean Earth
Oleg Abramov, David A. Kring Kring, Stephen J. Mojzsis
2013, Chemie der Erde (73) 227-248
Impact bombardment in the first billion years of solar system history determined in large part the initial physical and chemical states of the inner planets and their potential to host biospheres. The range of physical states and thermal consequences of the impact epoch, however, are not well quantified. Here, we...
Larval gizzard shad characteristics in Lake Oahe, South Dakota: A species at the northern edge of its range
Mark J. Fincel, Steven R. Chipps, Brian D. S. Graeb, Kris R. Edwards
2013, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (28) 17-26
Gizzard shad, Dorosoma cepedianum, have generally been restricted to the lower Missouri River impoundments in South Dakota. In recent years, gizzard shad numbers have increased in Lake Oahe, marking the northern-most natural population. These increases could potentially affect recreational fishes. Specifically, questions arise about larval gizzard shad growth dynamics and if age-0...
