Evaluating the effects of downscaled climate projections on groundwater storage and simulated base-flow contribution to the North Fork Red River and Lake Altus, southwest Oklahoma (USA)
L.G. Labriola, J.H. Ellis, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Tom Pruitt, Pierre Kirstetter, Yang Hong
2021, Hydrogeology Journal (28) 2903-2916
Potential effects of projected climate variability on base flow and groundwater storage in the North Fork Red River aquifer, Oklahoma (USA), were estimated using downscaled climate model data coupled with a numerical groundwater-flow model. The North Fork Red River aquifer discharges groundwater to the North Fork Red River, which provides...
Direct and indirect effects of a keystone engineer on a shrubland-prairie food web
Courtney J. Duchardt, Lauren M. Porensky, Ian S. Pearse
2021, Ecology (102)
Keystone engineers are critical drivers of biodiversity throughout ecosystems worldwide. Within the North American Great Plains, the black‐tailed prairie dog is an imperiled ecosystem engineer and keystone species with well‐documented impacts on the flora and fauna of rangeland systems. However, because this species affects ecosystem structure and function in myriad...
Select techniques for detecting and quantifying seepage from unlined canals
Evan J. Lindenbach, Jong Beom Kang, Justin B. Rittgers, Ramon C. Naranjo
2021, Final Report ST-2020-19144-01
Canal seepage losses affect the ability of water conveyance structures to maximize efficiency and can be a precursor to canal failure. Identification and quantification of canal seepage out of unlined canals is a complex interaction affected by geology, canal stage, operations, embankment geometry, siltation, animal burrows, structures, and other physical...
A multiproxy database of western North American Holocene paleoclimate records
Cody C. Routson, Darrell S. Kaufman, Nicholas P. McKay, Michael Erb, S. H. Arcusa, Kendrick Brown, Matthew E. Kirby, Jeremiah Marsicek, R. Scott Anderson, Gonzalo Jimenez-Moreno, Jessica R. Rodysill, M. S. Lachniet, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Joseph Bennett, Michelle F. Goman, Sarah E. Metcalfe, J. M. Galloway, G. Schoups, David Wahl, Jesse L. Morris, F. Staines-Urias, A. Dawson, B. N. Shuman, Daniel G. Gavin, Jeffrey S. Munroe, Brian F. Cumming
2021, Earth System Science Data (13) 1613-1632
Holocene climate reconstructions are useful for understanding the diverse features and spatial heterogeneity of past and future climate change. Here we present a database of western North American Holocene paleoclimate records. The database gathers paleoclimate time series from 184 terrestrial and marine sites, including 381 individual proxy records. The records...
Moderate susceptibility to subcutaneous plague (Yersinia pestis) challenge in vaccine-treated and untreated Sonoran deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus sonoriensis) and northern grasshopper mice (Onychomys leucogaster)
Gebbiena Bron, Susan Smith, Judy L. Williamson, Daniel W. Tripp, Tonie E. Rocke
2021, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (57) 632-636
The variable response of wild mice to Yersinia pestis infection, the causative agent of plague, has generated much speculation concerning their role in the ecology of this potentially lethal disease. Researchers have questioned the means by which Y. pestis is maintained in nature and also sought methods for managing the disease. Here we assessed...
The influence of legacy contamination on the transport and bioaccumulation of mercury within the Mobile River Basin
Sarah E. Janssen, Michael T. Tate, David P. Krabbenhoft, John F. DeWild, Jacob M. Ogorek, Christopher L. Babiarz, Anthony Sowers, Peter L. Tuttle
2021, Journal of Hazardous Materials (404)
Past industrial use and subsequent release of mercury (Hg) into the environment have resulted in severe cases of legacy contamination that still influence contemporary Hg levels in biota. While the bioaccumulation of legacy Hg is commonly assessed via concentration measurements within fish tissue, this practice...
Elucidating controls on cyanobacteria bloom timing and intensity via Bayesian mechanistic modeling
Dario Del Giudice, Shiqi Fang, Donald Scavia, Timothy W. Davis, Mary Anne Evans, Daniel R Obenour
2021, Science of the Total Environment (755)
The adverse impacts of harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing worldwide. Lake Erie is a North American Great Lake highly affected by cultural eutrophication and summer cyanobacterial HABs. While phosphorus loading is a known driver of bloom size, more nuanced yet crucial questions remain. For...
Negative effects of an allelopathic invader on AM fungal plant species drive community‐level responses
Morgan Roche, Ian Pearse, Lalasia Bialic-Murphy, Stephanie N Kivlin, Helen Sofaer, Susan Kalisz
2021, Ecology (102)
The mechanisms causing invasive species impact are rarely empirically tested, limiting our ability to understand and predict subsequent changes in invaded plant communities. Invader disruption of native mutualistic interactions is a mechanism expected to have negative effects on native plant species. Specifically, disruption of native plant‐fungal mutualisms may provide non‐mycorrhizal...
Leveraging deep learning in global 24/7 real-time earthquake monitoring at the National Earthquake Information Center
William L. Yeck, John Patton, Zachary E. Ross, Gavin P. Hayes, Michelle M. Guy, Nicholas Ambruz, David R. Shelly, Harley M. Benz, Paul S. Earle
2021, Seismological Research Letters (92) 4469-480
Machine‐learning algorithms continue to show promise in their application to seismic processing. The U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) is exploring the adoption of these tools to aid in simultaneous local, regional, and global real‐time earthquake monitoring. As a first step, we describe a simple framework to incorporate...
Multidecadal comparison of Red-footed Booby Sula sula diet at Ulupa'u Crater, O'ahu, Hawai'i
Sarah E. Donahue, Josh Adams, K David Hyrenbach
2021, Marine Onithology (49) 51-55
We describe the diet of Red-footed Boobies Sula sula nesting at Ulupaʻu Crater, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi based on 106 regurgitations collected during 2014 and 2015. We also compare our results to a diet study at this colony five decades earlier. Both studies indicate that flying squid (Ommastrephidae) and flyingfish (Exocoetidae) are...
Seasonality of acarological risk of exposure to Borrelia miyamotoi from questing life stages of Ixodes scapularis collected from Wisconsin and Massachusetts, USA
Seungeun Han, Graham J. Hickling, Nicholas H. Ogden, Howard S. Ginsberg, Vishvapali Kobbekaduwa, Eric L. Rulison, Lorenza Beati, Jean I. Tsao
2021, Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases (12)
Measures of acarological risk of exposure to Ixodes scapularis-borne disease agents typically focus on nymphs; however, the relapsing fever group spirochete, Borrelia miyamotoi can be transmitted transovarially, and I. scapularis larvae are capable of transmitting B. miyamotoi to their hosts. To quantify the larval contribution to acarological risk, relative to nymphs and adults, we collected questing I. scapularis for...
Genetic analysis of the diet of red‐footed boobies (Sula sula) provisioning chicks at Ulupa'u Crater, O'ahu
Sarah E. Donahue, Josh Adams, Mark A Renshaw, K David Hyrenbach
2021, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (31) 324-339
The diet of red‐footed boobies (Sula sula) provisioning chicks was quantified using 106 regurgitations collected from 81 adults over two study years with contrasting oceanographic conditions: 2014 and 2015.A total of 1,049 prey items were sorted into three broad categories (fish, squid, and other, consisting of highly‐digested ‘mush’ and...
Net-spinning caddisfly distribution in large regulated rivers
Anya Metcalfe, Jeffrey Muehlbauer, Theodore Kennedy, Charles Yackulic, Kimberly L. Dibble, Jane C. Marks
2021, Freshwater Biology (66) 89-101
Most of the world's large rivers are dammed for the purposes of water storage, flood control, and power production. Damming rivers fundamentally alters water temperature and flows in tailwater ecosystems, which in turn affects the presence and abundance of downstream biota.We collaborated with more than 200 citizen scientists to...
Trends in nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment concentrations and loads in streams draining to Lake Tahoe, California, Nevada, USA
Joseph L. Domagalski, Eric D. Morway, Nancy L. Alvarez, Juliet Hutchins, Michael R. Rosen, Robert Coats
2021, Science of the Total Environment (STOTEN) (752)
Lake Tahoe, a large freshwater lake of the eastern Sierra Nevada in California and Nevada, has 63 tributaries that are sources of nutrients and sediment to the lake. The Tahoe watershed is relatively small, and the surface area of the lake occupies about 38% of the watershed area (1313 km2). Only...
An integrative ecological drought framework to span plant stress to ecosystem transformation
Seth M. Munson, John B. Bradford, Kevin R. Hultine
2021, Ecosystems (24) 739-754
Droughts have increased globally in the twenty-first century and are expected to become more extreme and widespread in the future. Assessments of how drought affects plants and ecosystems lack consistency in scope and methodology, confounding efforts to mechanistically interpret structural and functional impacts and predict future transformations under climate change....
Hydrocarbons to carboxyl-rich alicyclic molecules: A continuum model to describe biodegradation of petroleum-derived dissolved organic matter in contaminated groundwater plumes
David C. Podgorski, Phoebe Zito, Anne M. Kellerman, Barbara A. Bekins, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Donald F. Smith, Xiaoyan Cao, Klaus Schmidt-Rohr, Sasha Wagner, Aron Stubbins, Robert G. M. Spencer
2021, Journal of Hazardous Materials (402)
Relationships between dissolved organic matter (DOM) reactivity and chemical composition in a groundwater plume containing petroleum-derived DOM (DOMHC) were examined by quantitative and qualitative measurements to determine the source and chemical composition of the compounds that persist downgradient. Samples were collected from a transect down...
Environmental DNA is an effective tool to track recolonizing migratory fish following large‐scale dam removal
Jeffrey J. Duda, Marshal Hoy, Dorothy M. Chase, George R. Pess, Samuel J. Brenkman, Michael M McHenry, Carl Ostberg
2021, Environmental DNA (3) 121-141
Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a potentially powerful tool for use in conservation and resource management, including for tracking the recolonization dynamics of fish populations. We used eDNA to assess the effectiveness of dam removal to restore fish passage on the Elwha River in Washington State (USA). Using a...
Impacts of small dams on stream temperature
Peter A. Zaidel, Allison H. Roy, Kristopher M. Houle, Beth Lambert, Benjamin Letcher, Keith H. Nislow, Christopher Smith
2021, Ecological Indicators (120)
Small, surface-release dams are ubiquitous features of the landscape that typically slow water flow and decrease canopy cover through impounded reaches, potentially increasing stream temperatures. However, reported effects of small dams on water temperature are variable, likely due to differences in landscape and dam characteristics. To quantify the range of...
Genetic diversity, population structure, and historical demography of a highly vagile and human‐impacted seabird in the Pacific Ocean: The red‐tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda
Andrea I Varela, Katherina Brokordt, Stefanie M.H. Ismar‐Rebitz, Chris P Gaskin, Nicholas Carlile, Terence O’Dwyer, Josh Adams, Eric A. Vanderwerf, Guillermo Luna‐Jorquera
2021, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (31) 367-377
Many seabird breeding colonies have recovered from heavy anthropogenic disturbance after conservation actions. The widely distributed red‐tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, was used as a model species to assess potential anthropogenic impacts on the genetic diversity of breeding colonies in the Pacific Ocean.Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and control region sequences analyses were...
Responding to ecosystem transformation: Resist, accept, or direct?
Laura Thompson, Abigail Lynch, Erik A. Beever, Agustin C. Engman, Jeffrey A. Falke, Stephen Jackson, Trevor J. Krabbenhoft, David J Lawrence, Douglas Limpinsel, Robert T. Magill, Tracy A. Melvin, John M. Morton, Robert A. Newman, Jay Peterson, Mark T. Porath, Frank J. Rahel, Suresh Sethi, Jennifer L. Wilkening
2021, Fisheries (46) 8-21
Ecosystem transformation can be defined as the emergence of a self‐organizing, self‐sustaining, ecological or social–ecological system that deviates from prior ecosystem structure and function. These transformations are occurring across the globe; consequently, a static view of ecosystem processes is likely no longer sufficient for managing fish, wildlife, and other species....
A bird's-eye view of reservoirs in the Mississippi Basin tips a need for large-scale coordination
Leandro E. Miranda, G. Coppoloa, H. R. Hatcher, M. B. Jargowsky, Z.S. Moran, M. C. Rhodes
2021, Fish and Fisheries (22) 128-140
Reservoirs are mostly managed at local scales as spatially independent units. A basin-scale perspective may increase awareness at a broader scope and generate insight not evident at local scales. We examined the array of reservoir attributes and fisheries in the Mississippi Basin to identify management opportunities. The basin is the...
Comparison of anadromous and landlocked Atlantic salmon genomes reveals signatures of parallel and relaxed selection across the northern hemisphere
Erik Kjaerner-Semb, Rolf B Edvardsen, Fernando Ayllon, Petra Vogelsang, Tomasz Furmanek, Carl Johan Rubin, Alexey E. Vaselov, Tom Ole Nilsen, Stephen D. McCormick, Craig R Primmer, Anna Wargelius
2021, Evolutionary Applications (14) 446-461
Most Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) populations follow an anadromous life cycle, spending early life in freshwater, migrating to the sea for feeding and returning to rivers to spawn. At the end of the last ice age ~10,000 years ago, several populations of Atlantic salmon became landlocked. Comparing their genomes to...
Latitudinal patterns of alien plant invasions
Qinfeng Guo, Brian S. Cade, Wayne Dawson, Franz Essl, Holger Kreft, Jan Pergl, Mark van Kleunen, Patrick Weigelt, Marten Winter, Petr Pyšek
2021, Journal of Biogeography (48) 253-262
Latitudinal patterns of biodiversity have long been a central topic in ecology and evolutionary biology. However, while most previous studies have focused on native species, little effort has been devoted to latitudinal patterns of plant invasions (with a few exceptions based on data from sparse locations). Using the most up‐to‐date...
Assessing the ecological risks of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Current state‐of‐the science and a proposed path forward
Gerald T. Ankley, Philippa Cureton, Robert A. Hoke, Magali Houde, Anupama Kumar, Jessy Kurias, Roman P. Lanno, Chris McCarthy, John L. Newsted, Christopher J. Salice, Bradley E. Sample, Maria S. Sepúlveda, Jeffery A. Steevens, Sara Valsecchi
2021, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (40) 564-605
Per‐ and poly‐fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) encompass a large, heterogenous group of chemicals of potential concern to human health and the environment. Based on information for a few relatively well‐understood PFAS such as perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate, there is ample basis to suspect that at least a subset can be considered...
Estimating abundance of an unmarked, low-density species using camera traps
Kenneth E. Loonam, David E. Ausband, Paul M. Lukacs, Michael S. Mitchell, Hugh S. Robinson
2021, Journal of Wildlife Management (85) 87-96
Estimating abundance of wildlife populations can be challenging and costly, especially for species that are difficult to detect and that live at low densities, such as cougars (Puma concolor). Remote, motion-sensitive cameras are a relatively efficient monitoring tool, but most abundance estimation techniques using remote cameras rely on some or...
