Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, 2011
Julie A. Dumoulin, Cynthia Dusel-Bacon
2012, Professional Paper 1795
The collection of papers that follow continues the series of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigative reports in Alaska under the broad umbrella of the geologic sciences. This series represents new and sometimes-preliminary findings that are of interest to Earth scientists in academia, government, and industry; to land and resource managers;...
Development of invertebrate community indexes of stream quality for the islands of Maui and Oahu, Hawaii
Reuben H. Wolff
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5055
In 2009-10 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected physical habitat information and benthic macroinvertebrates at 40 wadeable sites on 25 perennial streams on the Island of Maui, Hawaiʻi, to evaluate the relations between the macroinvertebrate assemblages and environmental characteristics and to develop a multimetric invertebrate community index (ICI) that could...
Economic filters for evaluating porphyry copper deposit resource assessments using grade-tonnage deposit models, with examples from the U.S. Geological Survey global mineral resource assessment: Chapter H in Global mineral resource assessment
Gilpin R. Robinson Jr., W. David Menzie
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-H
An analysis of the amount and location of undiscovered mineral resources that are likely to be economically recoverable is important for assessing the long-term adequacy and availability of mineral supplies. This requires an economic evaluation of estimates of undiscovered resources generated by traditional resource assessments (Singer and Menzie, 2010). In...
Critique on the use of the standardized avian acute oral toxicity test for first generation anticoagulant rodenticides
Nimish B. Vyas, Barnett A. Rattner
2012, Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (18) 1069-1077
Avian risk assessments for rodenticides are often driven by the results of standardized acute oral toxicity tests without regards to a toxicant's mode of action and time course of adverse effects. First generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) generally require multiple feedings over several days to achieve a threshold concentration in tissue...
Occupancy in continuous habitat
Murray G. Efford, Deanna K. Dawson
2012, Ecosphere (3) 1-15
The probability that a site has at least one individual of a species ('occupancy') has come to be widely used as a state variable for animal population monitoring. The available statistical theory for estimation when detection is imperfect applies particularly to habitat patches or islands, although it is also used...
Breeding colonies of least terns (Sternula antillarum) in northern Sonora, Mexico, 2006-2008
Alyssa Rosemartin, Charles van Riper III
2012, Southwestern Naturalist (57) 342-345
We document distribution of breeding least terns (Sternula antillarum) in northern Sonora, Mexico, 2006-2008. We report breeding activity at six sites with active colonies, including three previously undocumented colonies....
Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis
2012, Data Series 709
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Mapped versus actual burned area within wildfire perimeters: Characterizing the unburned
Carl H Key, James Lutz, Carl H. Key, Jonathan Kane, Jan W Van Wagtendonk
2012, Forest Ecology and Management (286) 38-47
For decades, wildfire studies have utilized fire occurrence as the primary data source for investigating the causes and effects of wildfire on the landscape. Fire occurrence data fall primarily into two categories: ignition points and perimeter polygons which are used to calculate a ‘burned...
Importance of tributary streams for rainbow trout reproduction: insights from a small stream in Georgia and a bi-genomic approach
D. Lee, Justin B. Lack, Ronald A. Van Den Bussche, James M. Long
2012, River Research and Applications (28) 1587-1593
Tributaries of tailwater fisheries in the southeastern USA have been used for spawning by stocked rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), but their importance may have been underestimated using traditional fish survey methods such as electrofishing and redd counts. We used a bi-genomic approach, mitochondrial DNA sequences and nuclear microsatellite loci, to...
The shallow-water fish assemblage of Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica: Structure and patterns in an isolated, predator-dominated ecosystem
Alan M. Friedlander, Brian J. Zgliczynski, Enric Ballesteros, Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, Allan Bolanos, Enric Sala
2012, Revista de Biología Tropical: International Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation (60) 321-338
Fishes at Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica, were surveyed as part of a larger scientific expedition to the area in September 2009. The average total biomass of nearshore fishes was 7.8 tonnes per ha, among the largest observed in the tropics, with apex predators such as sharks, jacks,...
MiniSipper: A new in situ water sampler for high-resolution, long-duration acid mine drainage monitoring
Thomas P. Chapin, Andrew S. Todd
2012, Science of the Total Environment (439) 343-353
Abandoned hard-rock mines can be a significant source of acid mine drainage (AMD) and toxic metal pollution to watersheds. In Colorado, USA, abandoned mines are often located in remote, high elevation areas that are snowbound for 7–8 months of the year. The difficulty in accessing these remote sites, especially during...
Species-specific and transgenerational responses to increasing salinity in sympatric freshwater gastropods
Jamie G. Suski, Christopher J. Salice, Reynaldo Patino
2012, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (31) 2517-2524
Freshwater salinization is a global concern partly attributable to anthropogenic salt contamination. The authors examined the effects of increased salinity (as NaCl, 250-4,000 µS/cm, specific conductance) on two sympatric freshwater gastropods (Helisoma trivolvis and Physa pomillia). Life stage sensitivities were determined by exposing naive eggs or naive juveniles (through adulthood...
Population ecology of breeding Pacific common eiders on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska
Heather M. Wilson, Paul L. Flint, Abby N. Powell, J. Barry Grand, Christine L. Moral
2012, Wildlife Monographs (182)
Populations of Pacific common eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum) on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) in western Alaska declined by 50–90% from 1957 to 1992 and then stabilized at reduced numbers from the early 1990s to the present. We investigated the underlying processes affecting their population dynamics by collection and analysis of...
Free tropospheric transport of microorganisms from Asia to North America
D. Smith, Dan Jaffe, Michele Birmele, Dale W. Griffin, Andrew Schuerger, J. Hee, Michael Roberts
2012, Microbial Ecology (64) 973-985
Microorganisms are abundant in the troposphere and can be transported vast distances on prevailing winds. This study measures the abundance and diversity of airborne bacteria and fungi sampled at the Mt. Bachelor Observatory (located 2.7 km above sea level in North America) where incoming free tropospheric air routinely arrives from...
Mapping temperature and radiant geothermal heat flux anomalies in the Yellowstone geothermal system using ASTER thermal infrared data
R. Greg Vaughan, Jacob B. Lowenstern, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Cheryl Jaworowski, Henry Heasler
2012, Geothermal Resources Council Transactions (36) 1403-1409
The purpose of this work was to use satellite-based thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing data to measure, map, and monitor geothermal activity within the Yellowstone geothermal area to help meet the missions of both the U.S. Geological Survey Yellowstone Volcano Observatory and the Yellowstone National Park Geology Program. Specifically, the...
Incorporating movement patterns to improve survival estimates for juvenile bull trout
Tracy Bowerman, Phaedra Budy
2012, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (32) 1123-1136
Populations of many fish species are sensitive to changes in vital rates during early life stages, but our understanding of the factors affecting growth, survival, and movement patterns is often extremely limited for juvenile fish. These critical information gaps are particularly evident for bull trout Salvelinus confluentus, a threatened Pacific...
2011 Kiwikiu (Maui Parrotbill) and Maui 'Alauahio abundance estimates and the effect of sampling effort on power to detect a trend
Kevin W. Brinck, Richard J. Camp, P. Marcos Gorresen, David L. Leonard, Hanna L. Mounce, Kelly J. Iknayan, Eben H. Paxton
2012, Report
The Kiwikiu (Pseudonestor xanthophrys), also called the Maui Parrotbill, is an endangered, forest bird found only in high elevation, wet forest of the eastern portion of Maui Island. Recent surveys, conducted at five year intervals, have revealed wide variation in abundance estimates (Camp et al. 2009). Effective management and conservation...
Using geochemistry to identify the source of groundwater to Montezuma Well, a natural spring in Central Arizona, USA: Part 2
Raymond H. Johnson, Ed DeWitt, Laurie Wirt, Andrew H. Manning, Andrew G. Hunt
2012, Environmental Earth Sciences (67) 1837-1853
Montezuma Well is a unique natural spring located in a sinkhole surrounded by travertine. Montezuma Well is managed by the National Park Service, and groundwater development in the area is a potential threat to the water source for Montezuma Well. This research was undertaken to better understand the sources of...
Eruptive history of Mount Katmai, Alaska
Edward Hildreth, Judith Fierstein
2012, Geosphere (8) 1527-1567
Mount Katmai has long been recognized for its caldera collapse during the great pyroclastic eruption of 1912 (which vented 10 km away at Novarupta in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes), but little has previously been reported about the geology of the remote ice-clad stratovolcano itself. Over several seasons,...
Difference infiltrometer: a method to measure temporally variable infiltration rates during rainstorms
John A. Moody, Brian A. Ebel
2012, Hydrological Processes (26) 3312-3318
We developed a difference infiltrometer to measure time series of non-steady infiltration rates during rainstorms at the point scale. The infiltrometer uses two, tipping bucket rain gages. One gage measures rainfall onto, and the other measures runoff from, a small circular plot about 0.5-m in diameter. The small size allows...
Morphological and chemical evidence of stromatolitic deposits in the 2.75 Ga Carajás banded iron formation, Brazil
Beatriz Ribeiro da Luz, James K. Crowley
2012, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (355-356) 60-72
We describe evidence of biogenicity in the morphology and carbon content of well-preserved, Neoarchean samples of banded iron formation (BIF) from Carajás, Brazil. Silica-rich BIF layers contain translucent ellipsoidal or trapezoidal structures (∼5–10 μm diameter) composed of silica, hematite, and kerogen, which are arranged in larger ring-like forms (rosettes). Stable...
Uncertainty quantification for environmental models
Mary C. Hill, Dan Lu, Dmitri Kavetski, Martyn P. Clark, Ming Ye
2012, SIAM News (45)
Environmental models are used to evaluate the fate of fertilizers in agricultural settings (including soil denitrification), the degradation of hydrocarbons at spill sites, and water supply for people and ecosystems in small to large basins and cities—to mention but a few applications of these models. They also play a role...
Effect of Feeding-Fasting Cycles on Oxygen Consumption and Bioenergetics of Yellow Perch
Steven R. Chipps, Travis W. Schaeffer, Daniel E. Spengler, Casey W. Schoenebeck, Michael L. Brown
2012, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (141) 1480-1491
We measured growth and oxygen consumption of age-1 yellow perch Perca flavescenssubjected to ad libitum (control) or variable feeding cycles of 2 (i.e., 2 d of feed, 2 d of deprivation), 6, or 12 d for a 72-d period. Individual, female yellow perch (initial weight = 51.9 ± 0.9 g [mean...
Regional regression models of watershed suspended-sediment discharge for the eastern United States
David C. Roman, Richard M. Vogel, Gregory E. Schwarz
2012, Journal of Hydrologic Engineering (472-4723) 53-62
Estimates of mean annual watershed sediment discharge, derived from long-term measurements of suspended-sediment concentration and streamflow, often are not available at locations of interest. The goal of this study was to develop multivariate regression models to enable prediction of mean annual suspended-sediment discharge from available basin characteristics useful for most...
Water quality and mass transport in four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico: Chapter E in Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico
Robert F. Stallard, Sheila F. Murphy
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert F. Stallard, editor(s)
2012, Professional Paper 1789-E
Water quality of four small watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico has been monitored since 1991 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets program. These watersheds represent a montane, humid-tropical environment and differ in geology and land cover. Two watersheds are located on granitic rocks, and...
