Arthropods of Rose Atoll with special reference to ants and Pulvinaria Urbicola Scales (Hempitera Coccidae) on Pisonia Grandis trees
Paul C. Banko, Robert W. Peck, Frank Pendleton, Mark Schmaedick, Kelsie Ernsberger
2014, Technical Report HCSU-057
Rose Atoll, at the eastern end of the Samoan Archipelago, is a small but important refuge for seabirds, shorebirds, and sea turtles. While the vertebrate community is relatively well-studied, the terrestrial arthropod fauna, and its role in ecosystem function, are poorly known. Arthropods may be influencing the decline of Pisonia...
Coastal tectonics on the eastern margin of the Pacific Rim: Late Quaternary sea-level history and uplift rates, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Lindsey T. Groves, Stephen B. DeVogel, Scott A. Minor, Deanna Laurel
2014, Quaternary Science Reviews (105) 209-238
The Pacific Rim is a region where tectonic processes play a significant role in coastal landscape evolution. Coastal California, on the eastern margin of the Pacific Rm, is very active tectonically and geomorphic expressions of this include uplifted marine terraces. There have been, however, conflicting estimates of the rate of...
Potential reduction in terrestrial salamander ranges associated with Marcellus shale development
Adrianne B. Brand, Amber N. M. Wiewel, Evan H. Campbell Grant
2014, Biological Conservation (180) 233-240
Natural gas production from the Marcellus shale is rapidly increasing in the northeastern United States. Most of the endemic terrestrial salamander species in the region are classified as ‘globally secure’ by the IUCN, primarily because much of their ranges include state- and federally protected lands, which have been presumed to...
A comparison of passive and active acoustic sampling for a bat community impacted by White-nose syndrome
Laci S. Coleman, W. Mark Ford, Christopher A. Dobony, Eric R. Britzke
2014, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (5) 217-226
In the summers of 2011 and 2012, we compared passive and active acoustic sampling for bats at 31 sites at Fort Drum Military Installation, New York. We defined active sampling as acoustic sampling that occurred in 30-min intervals between the hours of sunset and 0200 with a user present to...
Composition of dust deposited to snow cover in the Wasatch Range (Utah, USA): Controls on radiative properties of snow cover and comparison to some dust-source sediments
Richard L. Reynolds, Harland L. Goldstein, Bruce M. Moskowitz, Ann C. Bryant, S. McKenzie Skiles, Raymond F. Kokaly, Cody B. Flagg, Kimberly Yauk, Thelma S. Berquo, George N. Breit, Michael Ketterer, Daniel Fernandez, Mark E. Miller, Thomas H. Painter
2014, Aeolian Research (15) 73-90
Dust layers deposited to snow cover of the Wasatch Range (northern Utah) in 2009 and 2010 provide rare samples to determine the relations between their compositions and radiative properties. These studies are required to comprehend and model how such dust-on-snow (DOS) layers affect rates of snow melt through changes in...
Estimating true instead of apparent survival using spatial Cormack-Jolly-Seber models
Michael Schaub, J. Andrew Royle
2014, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (5) 1316-1326
Survival is often estimated from capture–recapture data using Cormack–Jolly–Seber (CJS) models, where mortality and emigration cannot be distinguished, and the estimated apparent survival probability is the product of the probabilities of true survival and of study area fidelity. Consequently, apparent survival is lower than true survival unless study area fidelity...
Pollutant sensitivity of the endangered Tar River Spinymussel as assessed by single chemical and effluent toxicity tests
Thomas P. Augspurger, Ning Wang, James L. Kunz, Christopher G. Ingersoll
2014, Report
The federally endangered Tar River spinymussel (Elliptio steinstansana) is endemic to the Tar River and Neuse River systems in North Carolina. The extent to which water quality limits Tar River spinymussels’ recovery is important to establish, and one aspect of that is understanding the species’ pollutant sensitivity. The primary objectives...
Eruptions at Lone Star geyser, Yellowstone National Park, USA: 2. Constraints on subsurface dynamics
Jean Vandemeulebrouck, Robert A. Sohn, Maxwell L. Rudolph, Shaul Hurwitz, Michael Manga, Malcolm J.S. Johnston, S. Adam Soule, Darcy McPhee, Jonathan M. G. Glen, Leif Karlstrom, Fred Murphy
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (119) 8688-8707
We use seismic, tilt, lidar, thermal, and gravity data from 32 consecutive eruption cycles of Lone Star geyser in Yellowstone National Park to identify key subsurface processes throughout the geyser's eruption cycle. Previously, we described measurements and analyses associated with the geyser's erupting jet dynamics. Here we show that seismicity...
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) activities at the Department of the Interior
Bruce K. Quirk, Michael E. Hutt
2014, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (80) 1089-1095
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for protecting and managing the natural resources and heritage on almost 20% of the land in the United States. The DOI’s mission requires access to remotely sensed data over vast lands, including areas that are remote and potentially dangerous to access....
Hidden Markov model for dependent mark loss and survival estimation
Jeffrey L. Laake, Devin S. Johnson, Duane R. Diefenbach, Mark A. Ternent
2014, Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics (19) 522-538
Mark-recapture estimators assume no loss of marks to provide unbiased estimates of population parameters. We describe a hidden Markov model (HMM) framework that integrates a mark loss model with a Cormack–Jolly–Seber model for survival estimation. Mark loss can be estimated with single-marked animals as long as a sub-sample of animals...
The future of nearshore processes research
Nicole A. Elko, Falk Feddersen, Diane Foster, Cheryl J. Hapke, Jesse E. McNinch, Ryan P. Mulligan, H. Tuba Ozkan-Haller, Nathaniel G. Plant, Britt Raubenheimer, editor(s)
2014, Report
The nearshore is the transition region between land and the continental shelf including (from onshore to offshore) coastal plains, wetlands, estuaries, coastal cliffs, dunes, beaches, surf zones (regions of wave breaking), and the inner shelf (Figure ES-1). Nearshore regions are vital to the national economy, security, commerce, and recreation. The...
Coastal fog, climate change, and the environment
Alicia A. Torregrosa, Travis A. O’Brien, Ian C. Faloona
2014, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union (95) 473-474
Coastal marine fog, a characteristic feature of climates generated at the eastern boundaries of ocean basins worldwide, evokes different feelings in those who experience it (see Figure 1). Authors and poets use fog to represent mystery, bleakness, and confusion. Film directors seek out fog to shroud scenes in eerie gloominess. Tourists...
Anuran site occupancy and species richness as tools for evaluating restoration of a hydrologically-modified landscape
Susan C. Walls, J. Hardin Waddle, William J. Barichivich, Ian A. Bartoszek, Mary E. Brown, J. M. Hefner, Melinda J. Schuman
2014, Wetlands Ecology and Management (22) 625-639
A fundamental goal of wetland restoration is to reinstate pre-disturbance hydrological conditions to degraded landscapes, facilitating recolonization by native species and the production of resilient, functional ecosystems. To evaluate restoration success, baseline conditions need to be determined and a reference target needs to be established that will serve as an...
Characterizing riverbed sediment using high-frequency acoustics 2: scattering signatures of Colorado River bed sediment in Marble and Grand Canyons
Daniel D. Buscombe, Paul E. Grams, Matthew A. Kaplinski
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (119) 2692-2710
In this, the second of a pair of papers on the statistical signatures of riverbed sediment in high-frequency acoustic backscatter, spatially explicit maps of the stochastic geometries (length- and amplitude-scales) of backscatter are related to patches of riverbed surfaces composed of known sediment types, as determined by geo-referenced underwater video...
Identifying monitoring gaps for amphibian populations in a North American biodiversity hotspot, the southeastern USA
Susan C. Walls
2014, Biodiversity and Conservation (23) 3341-3357
I review the primary literature to ascertain the status of amphibian monitoring efforts in the southeastern USA, a “hotspot” for biodiversity in North America. This effort revealed taxonomic, geographic and ecological disparities in studies of amphibian populations in this region. Of the species of anurans and caudates known to occur...
Layered hydrothermal barite-sulfide mound field, East Diamante Caldera, Mariana volcanic arc
James R. Hein, Cornel E. J. de Ronde, Randolph A. Koski, Robert G. Ditchburn, Kira Mizell, Yoshihiko Tamura, Robert J. Stern, Tracey Conrad, Osamu Ishizuka, Matthew I. Leybourne
2014, Economic Geology (109) 2179-2206
East Diamante is a submarine volcano in the southern Mariana arc that is host to a complex caldera ~5 × 10 km (elongated ENE-WSW) that is breached along its northern and southwestern sectors. A large field of barite-sulfide mounds was discovered in June 2009 and revisited in July 2010 with...
Relationships between land cover and dissolved organic matter change along the river to lake transition
James H. Larson, Paul C. Frost, Marguerite A. Xenopoulos, Clayton J. Williams, Ana M. Morales-Williams, Jonathan M. Vallazza, J. C. Nelson, William B. Richardson
2014, Ecosystems (17) 1413-1425
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) influences the physical, chemical, and biological properties of aquatic ecosystems. We hypothesized that controls over spatial variation in DOM quantity and composition (measured with DOM optical properties) differ based on the source of DOM to aquatic ecosystems. DOM quantity and composition should be better predicted by...
Late Holocene slip rate and ages of prehistoric earthquakes along the Maacama Fault near Willits, Mendocino County, northern California
Carol S. Prentice, Martin C. Larsen, Harvey M. Kelsey, Judith Zachariasen
2014, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (104) 2966-2984
The Maacama fault is the northward continuation of the Hayward–Rodgers Creek fault system and creeps at a rate of 5.7±0.1 mm/yr (averaged over the last 20 years) in Willits, California. Our paleoseismic studies at Haehl Creek suggest that the Maacama fault has produced infrequent large earthquakes in addition to creep. Fault...
Comparison of the physical and geotechnical properties of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments from offshore India and other gas-hydrate-reservoir systems
William J. Winters, R.W. Wilcox-Cline, P. Long, S.K. Dewri, P. Kumar, Laura A. Stern, Laura A. Kerr
2014, Journal of Marine and Petroleum Geology (58) 139-167
The sediment characteristics of hydrate-bearing reservoirs profoundly affect the formation, distribution, and morphology of gas hydrate. The presence and type of gas, porewater chemistry, fluid migration, and subbottom temperature may govern the hydrate formation process, but it is the host sediment that commonly dictates final hydrate habit, and whether...
Widespread gas hydrate instability on the upper U.S. Beaufort margin
Benjamin J. Phrampus, Matthew J. Hornbach, Carolyn D. Ruppel, Patrick E. Hart
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (119) 8594-8609
The most climate-sensitive methane hydrate deposits occur on upper continental slopes at depths close to the minimum pressure and maximum temperature for gas hydrate stability. At these water depths, small perturbations in intermediate ocean water temperatures can lead to gas hydrate dissociation. The Arctic Ocean has experienced more dramatic warming...
Effects of a dual-pump crude-oil recovery system, Bemidji, Minnesota, USA
Geoffrey N. Delin, William N. Herkelrath
2014, Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation (34) 57-67
A crude-oil spill occurred in 1979 when a pipeline burst near Bemidji, MN. In 1998, the pipeline company installed a dual-pump recovery system designed to remove crude oil remaining in the subsurface at the site. The remediation from 1999 to 2003 resulted in removal of about 115,000 L of crude...
Population dynamics modeling of introduced smallmouth bass in the upper Colorado River basin
André R. Breton, Dana L. Winkelman, Kevin R. Bestgen, John A. Hawkins
2014, Report
The purpose of these analyses was to identify an effective control strategy to further reduce smallmouth bass in the upper Colorado River basin from the current level. Our simulation results showed that “the surge”, an early to mid-summer increase in electrofishing effort targeting nest-guarding male smallmouth bass, should be...
Book review: Implementing the Endangered Species Act on the Platte Basin water commons
Mark H. Sherfy
2014, The Prairie Naturalist (46) 115-116
The Platte River is a unique midcontinent ecosystem that is world-renowned for its natural resources, particularly the spectacular spring concentrations of migratory birds, such as sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis), ducks, and geese. The Platte River basin also provides habitat for four federally listed endangered or threatened species—interior least tern (Sternula...
Verifying success of artificial spawning reefs in the St. Clair-Detroit River System for lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens Rafinesque, 1817)
Emliy K. Bouckaert, Nancy A. Auer, Edward F. Roseman, James Boase
2014, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (30) 1393-1401
Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) were historically abundant in the St. Clair – Detroit River System (SCDRS), a 160 km river/channel network. In the SCDRS, lake sturgeon populations have been negatively affected by the loss/degradation of natural spawning habitat. To address habitat loss for lake sturgeon and other species, efforts are underway...
Paleogeomorphology of the early Colorado River inferred from relationships in Mohave and Cottonwood Valleys, Arizona, California and Nevada
Philip Pearthree, Kyle House
2014, Geosphere (10) 1139-1160
Geologic investigations of late Miocene–early Pliocene deposits in Mohave and Cottonwood valleys provide important insights into the early evolution of the lower Colorado River system. In the latest Miocene these valleys were separate depocenters; the floor of Cottonwood Valley was ∼200 m higher than the floor of Mohave Valley. When...
