Ecology and management of plague in diverse communities of rodents and fleas
David A. Eads, Dean E. Biggins, Kenneth L. Gage
2020, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases (20) 888-896
Plague originated in Asia as a flea-borne zoonosis of mammalian hosts. Today, the disease is distributed nearly worldwide. In western United States of America, plague is maintained, transmitted, and amplified in diverse communities of rodents and fleas. We examined flea diversity on three species of prairie dogs (Cynomys spp., PDs) and...
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of Southeast Asia, 2020
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Thomas M. Finn, Phuong A. Le, Kristen R. Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Ronald M. Drake II
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3046
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 10.5 billion barrels of oil and 271.5 trillion cubic feet of gas within 33 geologic provinces of Southeast Asia....
Critical shifts in trace metal transport and remediation performance under future low river flows
Patrick A. Byrne, Patrizia Onnis, Robert L. Runkel, Ilaria Frau, Sarah F. L. Lynch, Paul Edwards
2020, Environmental Science & Technology (54) 15742-15750
Exceptionally low river flows are predicted to become more frequent and more severe across many global regions as a consequence of climate change. Investigations of trace metal transport dynamics across streamflows reveal stark changes in water chemistry, metal transformation processes, and...
Deep-sea coral and sponge taxa increase demersal fish diversity and the probability of fish presence
Mark J. Henderson, D.D. Huff, M.M Yoklavich
2020, Frontiers in Marine Science (7)
Fishes are known to use deep-sea coral and sponge (DSCS) species as habitat, but it is uncertain whether this relationship is facultative (circumstantial and not restricted to a particular function) or obligate (necessary to sustain fish populations). To explore whether DSCS provide essential habitats for demersal fishes, we analyzed 10...
Assessment of Ambystomatid salamander populations and their breeding habitats in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Craig D. Snyder, John A. Young, James T. Julian, Tim L. King, Shanon E. Julian
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5081
This report presents abundance and occurrence data for three species of ambystomad salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum, A. jeffersonianum, and A. opacum) collected over a 3-year period (2000, 2001, and 2002) at 200 potentional breeding sies within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DEWA). In addition, numerous measures of inpond, near-pond,...
U.S. mineral supply chain security in the age of pandemics and trade wars
Nedal Nassar, Steven M. Fortier
2020, The Science Breaker
Modern technology makes use of numerous mineral commodities whose production is concentrated in a few countries. New research identifies the commodities whose supply disruption poses the greatest risk to the manufacturing sector. While the analysis is applied to the U.S. manufacturing sector, the principles are equally applicable to other economies...
Linking mosquito surveillance to dengue fever through Bayesian mechanistic modeling
Clinton B. Leach, Jennifer A. Hoeting, Kim M. Pepin, Alvaro E. Eiras, Mevin Hooten, Colleen T. Colleen T. Webb
2020, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (14) 1-20
Our ability to effectively prevent the transmission of the dengue virus through targeted control of its vector, Aedes aegypti, depends critically on our understanding of the link between mosquito abundance and human disease risk. Mosquito and clinical surveillance data are widely collected, but linking them requires a modeling framework that accounts...
Evaluation of Arctic warming in mid-Pliocene climate simulations
Wesley de Nooijer, Qiong Zhang, Qiang Li, Qiang Zhang, Xiangyu Li, Zhongshi Zhang, Chuncheng Guo, Kerim H Nisancioglu, Alan M Haywood, Julia C. Tindall, Harry J. Dowsett, Christian Stepanek, Gerrit Lohman, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, Ran Feng, Linda E Sohl, Mark Chandler, Ning Tan, Camille Contoux, Gilles Ramstein, Michiel Baatsen, Anna S von der Heydt, Deepak Chandan, W. Richard Peltier, A. Abe-Ouchi, W-L Chan, Youichi Kamae, Chris M Brierley
2020, Climate of the Past (16) 2325-2341
Palaeoclimate simulations improve our understanding of the climate, inform us about the performance of climate models in a different climate scenario, and help to identify robust features of the climate system. Here, we analyse Arctic warming in an ensemble of 16 simulations of the mid-Pliocene Warm Period (mPWP), derived...
Evaluating wildlife translocations using genomics: A bighorn sheep case study
Elizabeth P Flesch, Tabitha A. Graves, Jennifer Thomson, Kelly Proffitt, P.J. White, Thomas R Stephenson, Robert A. Garrott
2020, Ecology and Evolution (10) 13687-13704
Wildlife restoration often involves translocation efforts to reintroduce species and supplement small, fragmented populations. We examined the genomic consequences of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) translocations and population isolation to enhance understanding of evolutionary processes that affect population genetics and inform future restoration strategies. We conducted a population genomic analysis of...
Perceived ecological threats and economic benefits of non-native black bass in the United States
Lauren Seguy, James M. Long
2020, Fisheries Magazine (46) 56-65
Black bass Micropterus spp. are highly sought-after sport fish and, where introduced, are emblematic of the tradeoffs between ensuring productive fisheries and conserving native biodiversity. To disentangle these potentially conflicting interests, we administered a survey of fisheries biologists in the United States to assess perceptions regarding ecological and economic impacts of non-native...
Anadromous coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii as a host for Argulus pugettensis (Crustacea, Branchiura): Parasite prevalence, intensity and distribution
James P Losee, Simon R M Jones, Caitlin A E McKinstry, William N. Batts, Paul Hershberger
2020, Northwest Science (94) 111-117
Coastal cutthroat trout [Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii (Richardson, 1836)] from the marine waters of Puget Sound, WA, was documented as a new host for the ectoparasite Argulus pugettensis (Dana, 1852). The prevalence of A. pugettensis was 66% (49 of 74) on cutthroat trout and 0% (0 of 55) on coho salmon [O. kisutch (Walbaum, 1792)] collected during...
Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)
Karyn D. Rode, Martyn E. Obbard, Stanislav Belikov, Andrew E. Derocher, George M. Durner, Gregory Thiemann, Morten Tryland, Robert J. Letcher, Randi Meyersen, Christian Sonne, Bjorn Jenssen, Rune Dietz, Dag Vongraven
2020, Book chapter, Bears of the world: Ecology, conservation and management
This chapter comprises the following sections: names, taxonomy, subspecies and distribution, descriptive notes, habitat, movements and home range, activity patterns, feeding ecology, reproduction and growth, behavior, parasites and diseases, status in the wild, and status in...
How Is climate change affecting polar bears and giant pandas?
Melissa Songer, Todd C. Atwood, David C. Douglas, Qiongyu Huang, Renqiang Li, Nicholas Pilfold, Ming Xu, George M. Durner
2020, Book chapter, Bears of the world: Ecology, conservation, and management
Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are the primary cause of climate change and an estimated increase of 3.7 to 4.8 °C is predicted by the year 2100 if emissions continue at current levels. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus)...
Development of a novel framework for modeling field-scale conservation effects of depressional wetlands in agricultural landscapes
Owen P. McKenna, Javier M. Osorio, Katherine D. Behrman, Luca Doro, David M. Mushet
2020, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (6) 695-703
The intermixed cropland, grassland, and wetland ecosystems of the upper mid-western United States combine to provide a suite of valuable ecological services. Grassland and wetland losses in the upper midwestern United States have been extensive, but government-funded conservation programs have protected and restored hundreds of thousands...
Origin and properties of hydrothermal tremor at Lone Star Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, USA
Avinash Nayak, Michael Manga, Shaul Hurwitz, Atsuko Namiki, Phillip B. Dawson
2020, Journal of Geophysical Research (125)
Geysers are rare geologic features that intermittently discharge liquid water and steam driven by heating and decompression boiling. The cause of variability in eruptive styles and the associated seismic signals are not well understood. Data collected from five broadband seismometers at Lone Star Geyser, Yellowstone National...
Seismic attenuation monitoring of a critically stressed San Andreas fault
Luca Malagnini, Thomas E. Parsons
2020, Geophysical Research Letters (47)
We show that seismic attenuation ( ) along the San Andreas fault (SAF) at Parkfield correlates with the occurrence of moderate‐to‐large earthquakes at local and regional distances. Earthquake‐related anomalies are likely caused by changes in permeability from dilatant static stress changes, damage by strong...
Agricultural land-use change alters the structure and diversity of Amazon riparian forests
Leonardo Maracahipes-Santos, Divino Vicente Silverio, Marcia Nunes Macedo, Leandro Maracahipes, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Lucas Navarro Paolucci, Christopher Neill, Paulo Monteiro Brando
2020, Biological Conservation (252)
Riparian forests play key roles in protecting biodiversity and water resources, making them priorities for conservation in human-dominated landscapes, but fragmentation associated with expanding tropical croplands threatens their ecological integrity. We compared the structure of tropical riparian forests within intact and cropland catchments in a region...
Rockhopper Penguin–Imperial Cormorant mixed colonies in the Falkland Islands: A stroke of luck for late breeders
Virginia Morandini, Katie M. Dugger, David Ainley, Miguel Ferrer
2020, Ecosphere (11)
Mixed-species colonies occur frequently, especially among seabirds, and may provide mutual benefits among associated species including antipredator advantages. The “protector” species in such associations may provide early warning signals or by aggressively defending their own nests, may expel predators from the area. We explored costs and benefits to Rockhopper Penguins...
Cytology reveals diverse cell morphotypes and cellin-cell interactions in normal collector sea urchins Tripneustes gratilla
Thierry M. Work, Elena Millard, Daniela B. Mariani, Tina M. Weatherby, Robert Rameyer, Julie Dagenais, Renee Breeden, Allison Beale
2020, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (142) 63-73
Echinoderms such as sea urchins are important in marine ecosystems, particularly as grazers, and unhealthy sea urchins can have important ecological implications. For instance, unexplained mortalities of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean were followed by algal overgrowth and subsequent collapse of coral reef ecosystems. Unfortunately, few tools exist to evaluate echinoderm...
Landscape and climatic influences on actual evapotranspiration and available water using the Operational Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEBop) Model in eastern Bernalillo County, New Mexico, 2015
Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin, Ryan J. McCutcheon, Aurelia C. Mitchell, Gabriel B. Senay
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5095
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bernalillo County Public Works Division, conducted a 1-year study in 2015 to assess the spatial and temporal distribution of evapotranspiration (ET) and available water within the East Mountain area in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. ET and available water vary spatiotemporally because of...
Effectiveness of submerged vanes for stabilizing streamside bluffs
Benjamin O. Lee, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, John A. Hoopes
2020, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (147)
The effectiveness of submerged vanes for stabilizing streamside bluffs varied over a 10-year monitoring period in a tributary to Lake Superior, United States. Submerged vanes are a river training device used to divert river flows away from eroding banks along meander bends and ultimately hold constant or...
Reproduction and denning by San Clemente Island Foxes: Age, sex, and polygamy
Emily E. Hamblen, William F. Andelt, Thomas R. Stanley
2020, The Southwestern Naturalist (64) 164-172
Channel Island foxes (Urocyon littoralis) live on six of the eight California Channel Islands, and each island is inhabited by a distinct subspecies. Until recently, four of these subspecies were listed under the Endangered Species Act as endangered. Although three of the four subspecies have been delisted, and one subspecies...
Impacts of environmental conditions on fleas in black-tailed prairie dog burrows
Julia E. Poje, Tonie E. Rocke, Michael D. Samuel
2020, Journal of Vector Ecology (45) 356-365
Sylvatic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and transmitted by fleas, occurs in prairie dogs of the western United States. Outbreaks can devastate prairie dog communities, often causing nearly 100% mortality. Three competent flea vectors, prairie dog specialists Oropsylla hirsuta and O. tuberculata, and generalist Pulex simulans, are found on prairie dogs...
Ensemble ShakeMaps for magnitude 9 earthquakes on the Cascadia Subduction Zone
Erin A. Wirth, Alex R. Grant, Nasser A. Marafi, Arthur D. Frankel
2020, Seismological Research Letters (92) 199-211
We develop ensemble ShakeMaps for various magnitude 9 (M">MM 9) earthquakes on the Cascadia megathrust. Ground‐shaking estimates are based on 30 M">MM 9...
Brood parasitism of greater sage-grouse by California Quail in Idaho
Jordan C. Rabon, Sarah E McIntire, Peter S. Coates, Mark A. Ricca, Tracey N. Johnson
2020, Western North American Naturalist (80) 569-572
We describe a case of brood parasitism of a Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse) nest by California Quail (Callipepla californica; hereafter, quail) in southwestern Idaho during 2019. We observed one quail egg in the parasitized nest; the egg partially hatched, but the chick was dead upon the final nest...
