Resolving species boundaries in the critically imperiled freshwater mussel species, Fusconaia mitchelli (Bivalvia: Unionidae)
Chase H. Smith, Nathan Johnson, Kaitlyn Havlik, Robert D. Doyle, Charles R. Randklev
2021, Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research (59) 60-77
Species are a fundamental unit of biology, and defining accurate species boundaries is integral to effective conservation and management of imperiled taxa. Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) are among the most imperiled groups of organisms in North America, yet species boundaries remain uncertain for many taxa. The False Spike, Fusconaia mitchelli (Simpson in...
Detecting population declines via monitoring the effective number of breeders (Nb)
Gordon Luikart, Tiago Antao, Brian K. Hand, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Matthew C. Boyer, Ted Corsart, Brian Trethewey, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Robin S. Waples
2021, Molecular Ecology Resources (21) 379-393
Estimating the effective population size and effective number of breeders per year (Nb) can facilitate early detection of population declines. We used computer simulations to quantify bias and precision of the one-sample LDNe estimator of Nb in age-structured populations using a range of published species life history types, sample sizes, and DNA markers. Nb estimates...
Profiling lunar dust dissolution in aqueous environments: The design concept
Russell Kerschmann, Daniel Winterhalter, Kathleen Scheiderich, David Damby, David Loftus
2021, Acta Astronautica (178) 308-313
Published studies and internal NASA reports indicate that when native lunar dust is suspended in an aqueous solution a variety of metal and other ions are released. This release has implications for future lunar missions, ranging from effects on mission hardware,...
Loss of coastal islands along Florida’s Big Bend region: Implications for breeding American oystercatchers
N. Vitale, J. Brush, Abby Powell
2021, Estuaries and Coasts (44) 1173-1182
Many coastal-dependent species have undergone large-scale population declines due to impacts from habitat loss, including American oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus). Islands along the Big Bend region of Florida’s Gulf Coast provide important nesting habitat for oystercatchers, but reproductive success here is low and habitat degradation and loss...
Landsat 9 mission update and status
Brian Markham, Del Jenstrom, Steven Pszcolka, Vicki Dulski, Jason Hair, Joel McCorkel, Geir Kvaran, Kurtis Thome, Matthew Montanaro, Jeffery Pedelty, Cody Anderson, Michael J. Choate, Julia Barsi, Ed Kaita, Jeffery Miller
2021, Conference Paper, Proceedings volume 11501, Earth observing systems XXV
Landsat 9 is currently undergoing testing at the integrated observatory level in preparation for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in 2021. Landsat 9 will replace Landsat 7 in orbit, 8 days out of phase with Landsat 8. Landsat 9 is largely a copy of Landsat 8 in terms of...
Weed-suppressive bacteria effects differ in culture compared to in soils and with or without microbial competition and separation of active ingredient
Brynne E. Lazarus, Kevin Feris, Matthew Germino
2021, Biological Control (152)
Weed-suppressive bacteria (WSB), specifically the D7 and ACK55 strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens, were previously reported to selectively inhibit growth of invasive annual grasses (IAGs) that have caused severe ecosystem degradation across much of the western US. However, recent studies show highly mixed...
Complexity of groundwater age mixing near a seawater intrusion zone based on multiple tracers and Bayesian inference
YeoJin Ju, Arash Massoudieh, Christopher Green, Kang-Kun Lee, Dugin Kaown
2021, Science of the Total Environment (753)
Aquifer flow systems near seawater interfaces can be complicated by density-driven flows and the formation of stagnation zones, which inevitably introduces uncertainty into groundwater age-dating. While age-dating has proved effective to understand the seawater intrusion and aquifer salinization process in coastal aquifers, further efforts...
Quantifying model structural uncertainty using airborne electromagnetic data
Burke J. Minsley, N. Leon Foks, Paul A. Bedrosian
2021, Geophysical Journal International (224) 590-607
The ability to quantify structural uncertainty in geological models that incorporate geophysical data is affected by two primary sources of uncertainty: geophysical parameter uncertainty and uncertainty in the relationship between geophysical parameters and geological properties of interest. Here, we introduce an open-source, trans-dimensional Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (McMC) algorithm...
High‐resolution dynamically downscaled rainfall and temperature projections for ecological life zones within Puerto Rico and for the U.S. Virgin Islands
Jared H. Bowden, Adam J. Terando, Vasu Misra, Adrienne Wootten, Amit Bhardwaj, Ryan Boyles, William A. Gould, Jaime A. Collazo, Tanya Spero
2021, International Journal of Climatology (41) 1305-1327
The weather research and forecasting (WRF) model and a combination of the regional spectral model (RSM) and the Japanese Meteorological Agency Non‐Hydrostatic Model (NHM) were used to dynamically downscale selected CMIP5 global climate models to provide 2‐km projections with hourly model output for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands....
Step increase in eastern U.S. precipitation linked to Indian Ocean warming
Courtenay Strong, Gregory J. McCabe, Alexander Weech
2021, Geophysical Research Letters (47)
A step increase in annual precipitation over the eastern U.S. in the early 1970’s commenced five decades of invigorated hydroclimate, with ongoing impacts on streamflow and water resources. Despite its far-reaching impacts, the dynamical origin of this change is unknown. Here, analyses of a century of atmospheric and oceanic data...
The processes of preferential flow in the unsaturated zone
John R. Nimmo
2021, Soil Science Society of America Journal (85) 1-27
Preferential flow, a major influence in unsaturated soil and rock almost everywhere, occurs by multiple phenomenologically distinct hydraulic processes. For the mode known as funneled flow, concentrated in particularly conductive portions of the medium, the surface-tension/viscous-flow processes of traditional unsaturated flow theory predominate. Fingered flow, through conductive paths of higher...
Winter severity, fish community, and availability to traps explain most of the variability in estimates of adult sea lamprey in Lake Superior
Nicholas S. Johnson, Jean V. Adams, Gale Bravener, Jessica Barber, Ted Treska, Michael J Siefkes
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) S347-S356
Animal populations are assessed to estimate rates of artificial and natural mortality at ecologically relevant spatial and temporal scales to develop exploitation quotas. But how the population’s natural mortality rate and how the ability to observe the population changes through time are poorly understood in most invasive fishes, despite efforts...
Status of the major aquaculture carps of China in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin
Duane Chapman, Amy J. Benson, Holly S. Embke, Nicole R. King, Patrick Kocovsky, Teresa D. Lewis, Nicholas E. Mandrak
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) 3-13
There is concern of economic and environmental damage occuring if any of the four major aquacultured carp species of China, black carp Mylopharyngodon piceus, bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, silver carp H. molitrix, or grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, were to establish in the Laurentian Great Lakes....
Institutional trust, beliefs, and evaluation of regulations, and management of chronic wasting disease (CWD)
Susan A. Schroeder, Adam Landon, Louis J. Cornicelli, David C. Fulton, Leslie McInenly
2021, Human Dimensions of Wildlife (26) 228-244
Institutional trust and perceptions of regulatory efficacy can affect support for management. This study examined how institutional trust, specific trust related to information/management, and support for/perceived efficacy of current regulations related to deer hunters’ attitudes about chronic wasting disease (CWD) management. Results are from a survey of southeastern Minnesota deer...
Using simulation to understand annual sea lamprey marking rates on lake trout
Jean V. Adams, Michael L. Jones, James R. Bence
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) S628-S638
Sea lampreys attack fish, killing some and leaving marks on others. Great Lakes fishery managers rely on observed marking rates to assess the success of the sea lamprey control program and estimate sea lamprey-induced mortality of lake trout. Because marking rates are only observed on survivors of sea lamprey attacks,...
Evidence of host switching: Sea lampreys disproportionately attack Chinook salmon when lake trout abundance is low in Lake Ontario
Jean V. Adams, Michael L. Jones
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) S604-S611
Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) is the presumed preferred host of the invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in the Great Lakes, but little is understood about this preference outside of laboratory experiments. By preference we mean sea lamprey attacks on hosts are disproportionate to host relative abundance. The purpose of this...
Environmental gradients of selection for an alpine-obligate bird, the white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura)
Shawna J Zimmerman, Cameron L. Aldridge, Kathryn M. Langin, Gregory T Wann, Robert S. Cornman, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
2021, Heredity (126) 117-131
The warming climate will expose alpine species adapted to a highly seasonal, harsh environment to novel environmental conditions. A species can shift their distribution, acclimate, or adapt in response to a new climate. Alpine species have little suitable habitat to shift their distribution, and the limits of acclimation will likely...
Architecture of remnant trees influences native woody plant recruitment in abandoned Hawaiian pastures
Evan M Rehm, Stephanie G. Yelenik, Marley Puanani Smith, Carla M. D’Antonio
2021, Plant Ecology (222) 659-667
Abandoned tropical pastures offer opportunities for passive and active restoration of native forest communities. Tree architecture of remnant canopy trees may be one important factor that can facilitate native plant recruitment in abandoned pastures but has largely been overlooked. Here, we evaluated patterns of native woody plant recruitment under remnant...
Assessing the assumptions of classification agreement, accuracy, and predictable healing time of sea lamprey wounds on lake trout
Tyler Firkus, Cheryl Murphy, Jean V. Adams, Ted Treska, Gregory J. Fischer
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) S368-S377
Sea lamprey control in the Laurentian Great Lakes relies on records of sea lamprey wounds on lake trout to assess whether control efforts are supporting fisheries management targets. Wounding records have been maintained for 70 years under the assumption that they are a reliable and accurate reflection of sea lamprey damage...
Elemental and radionuclide exposures and uptakes by small rodents, invertebrates, and vegetation at active and post-production uranium mines in the Grand Canyon watershed
Danielle M. Cleveland, Jo Ellen Hinck, Julia S. Lankton
2021, Chemosphere (263)
The effects of breccia pipe uranium mining in the Grand Canyon watershed (Arizona) on ecological and cultural resources are largely unknown. We characterized the exposure of biota to uranium and co-occurring ore body elements during active ore production and at a site where ore production had recently concluded. Our results...
Movement of synthetic organic compounds in the food web after the introduction of invasive quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) in Lake Mead, Nevada and Arizona, USA
Steven L. Goodbred, Michael R. Rosen, Reynaldo Patino, David A. Alvarez, Kathy R. Echols, Kerensa King, John Umek
2021, Science of the Total Environment (752)
Introductions of dreissenid mussels in North America have been a significant concern over the last few decades. This study assessed the distribution of synthetic organic compounds (SOCs) in the food web of Lake Mead, Nevada/Arizona, USA and how this distribution was influenced by the...
Integrating the evidence for a terrestrial carbon sink caused by increasing atmospheric CO2
Anthony P. Walker, Martin G De Kauwe, Ana Bastos, Soumaya Belmecheri, Katerina Georgiou, Ralph F. Keeling, Sean M. McMahon, Belinda E. Medlyn, David J P Moore, Richard J. Norby, Sonke Zaehle, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Giovanna Battipaglia, Roel J W Brienen, Kristine G Cabugao, Maxime Cailleret, Elliott Campbell, Josep G Canadell, Philippe Ciais, Matthew E Craig, David S Ellsworth, Graham D Farquhar, Simone Fatichi, Joshua B. Fisher, David C Frank, Heather Graven, Lianhong Gu, Vanessa Haverd, Kelly A Heilman, Martin Heimann, Bruce A Hungate, Colleen M. Iverson, Fortunat Joos, Mingkai Jiang, Trevor F. Keenan, Jurgen Knauer, Christian Korner, Victor O Leshyk, Sebastian Leuzinger, Yao Liu, Natasha MacBean, Yadvinder Malhi, Tim R McVicar, Josep Penuelas, Julia Pongratz, A Shafer Powell, Terhi Riutta, Manon E B Sabot, Juergen Schleucher, Stephen Sitch, William K. Smith, Benjamin N. Sulman, Benton Taylor, Cesar Terrer, Margaret S. Torn, Kathleen K Treseder, Anna T Trugman, Susan E. Trumbore, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Steve L Voelker, Mary E Whelan, Peiter A Zuidema.
2021, New Phytologist (229) 2413-2445
Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) is increasing, which increases leaf‐scale photosynthesis and intrinsic water‐use efficiency. These direct responses have the potential to increase plant growth, vegetation biomass, and soil organic matter; transferring carbon from the atmosphere into terrestrial ecosystems (a carbon sink). A substantial global terrestrial carbon sink would slow...
Processes influencing marsh elevation change in low- and high-elevation zones of a temperate salt marsh
Linda K. Blum, Robert R. Christian, Donald Cahoon, Patricia L. Wiberg
2021, Estuaries and Coasts (44) 818-833
The movement of salt marshes into uplands and marsh submergence as sea level rises is well documented; however, predicting how coastal marshes will respond to rising sea levels is constrained by a lack of process-based understanding of how various marsh zones adjust to changes in sea level. To assess the...
Disentangling the effects of multiple fires on spatially interspersed sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) communities
Douglas J. Shinneman, Susan McIlroy, Marie-Anne de Graaff
2021, Journal of Vegetation Science (32)
QuestionsRelative to a landscape with a mosaic of two sagebrush community types and increasing fire frequency, we asked: (a) do vegetation characteristics vary significantly with number of times burned for each sagebrush community; (b) how do vegetation responses to different fire frequencies compare between the two sagebrush...
Larval Coregonus spp. diets and zooplankton community patterns in the Apostle Islands, Lake Superior
Verena S. Lucke, Taylor R. Stewart, Mark Vinson, Jay D. Glase, Jason D. Stockwell
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (46) 1391-1401
With the exception of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), relatively little is known about the early life history of larval coregonines in the Laurentian Great Lakes. For example, our knowledge of the feeding ecology of larval coregonines (excluding lake whitefish) is based on only 900 stomachs reported in the literature. Here,...
