Shale Gas Development and Brook Trout: Scaling Best Management Practices to Anticipate Cumulative Effects
David Smith, Craig D. Snyder, Nathaniel P. Hitt, John A. Young, Stephen P. Faulkner
2012, Environmental Practice (14) 366-381
Shale gas development may involve trade-offs between energy development and benefits provided by natural ecosystems. However, current best management practices (BMPs) focus on mitigating localized ecological degradation. We review evidence for cumulative effects of natural gas development on brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and conclude that BMPs should account for potential...
Estrogenic compounds decrease growth hormone receptor abundance and alter osmoregulation in Atlantic salmon
Darren T. Lerner, Mark A. Sheridan, Stephen D. McCormick
2012, General and Comparative Endocrinology (179) 196-204
Exposure of Atlantic salmon smolts to estrogenic compounds is shown to compromise several aspects of smolt development. We sought to determine the underlying endocrine mechanisms of estrogen impacts on the growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) axis. Smolts in freshwater (FW) were either injected 3 times over 10 days...
Arctic shorebirds in North America: A decade of monitoring
Jonathan R. Bart, Victoria H. Johnston, editor(s)
2012, Studies in Avian Biology 44
Each year shorebirds from North and South America migrate thousands of miles to spend the summer in the Arctic. There they feed in shoreline marshes and estuaries along some of the most productive and pristine coasts anywhere. With so much available food they are able to reproduce almost explosively; and...
Effects of supplemental feeding and aggregation on fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations in elk
Victoria E. Forristal, Scott Creel, Mark L. Taper, Brandon M. Scurlock, Paul C. Cross
2012, Journal of Wildlife Management (76) 76-4
Habitat modifications and supplemental feeding artificially aggregate some wildlife populations, with potential impacts upon contact and parasite transmission rates. Less well recognized, however, is how increased aggregation may affect wildlife physiology. Crowding has been shown to induce stress responses, and increased glucocorticoid (GC) concentrations can reduce immune function and increase...
Impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a deep-water coral community in the Gulf of Mexico
Helen K. White, Pen-Yuan Hsing, Walter Cho, Timothy M. Shank, Erik E. Cordes, Andrea M. Quattrini, Robert K. Nelson, Richard Camilli, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Christopher R. German, James M. Brooks, Harry H. Roberts, William Shedd, Christopher M. Reddy, Charles R. Fisher
2012, PNAS (109) 20303-20308
To assess the potential impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on offshore ecosystems, 11 sites hosting deep-water coral communities were examined 3 to 4 mo after the well was capped. Healthy coral communities were observed at all sites >20 km from the Macondo well, including seven sites previously visited...
Nuclear and mitochondrial markers reveal evidence for genetically segregated cryptic speciation in giant Pacific octopuses from Prince William Sound, Alaska
Rebecca K. Toussaint, David Scheel, G. Kevin Sage, Sandra L. Talbot
2012, Conservation Genetics (13) 1483-1497
Multiple species of large octopus are known from the north Pacific waters around Japan, however only one large species is known in the Gulf of Alaska (the giant Pacific octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini). Current taxonomy of E. dofleini is based on geographic and morphological characteristics, although with advances in genetic technology...
Dinocyst taphonomy, impact craters, cyst ghosts, and the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM)
Lucy E. Edwards
2012, Palynology (36) 80-95
Dinocysts recovered from sediments related to the Chesapeake Bay impact structure in Virginia and the earliest Eocene suboxic environment in Maryland show strange and intriguing details of preservation. Features such as curled processes, opaque debris, breakage, microborings and cyst ghosts, among others, invite speculation about catastrophic depositional processes, rapid burial...
Drainage network structure and hydrologic behavior of three lake-rich watersheds on the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska
C.D. Arp, M.S. Whitman, Benjamin M. Jones, R. Kemnitz, G. Grosse, F.E. Urban
2012, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (44) 385-394
Watersheds draining the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) of Alaska are dominated by permafrost and snowmelt runoff that create abundant surface storage in the form of lakes, wetlands, and beaded streams. These surface water elements compose complex drainage networks that affect aquatic ecosystem connectivity and hydrologic behavior. The 4676 km2 Fish...
Dwarf char, a new form of chars (the genus Salvelinus) in Lake Kronotskoe
S.D. Pavlov, E.A. Pivovarov, Carl O. Ostberg
2012, Doklady Biological Sciences (442) 20-23
Lake Kronotskoe is situated in the Kronotskii State Nature Reserve and is a unique natural heritage of Kamchatka. The lake–river system of the reserve includes numerous springs and small streams and three large inflowing rivers, Listvennichnaya, Unana, and Uzon, which form the main bays of...
Bulk rock composition and geochemistry of olivine-hosted melt inclusions in the Grey Porri Tuff and selected lavas of the Monte dei Porri volcano, Salina, Aeolian Islands, southern Italy
Angela L. Doherty, Robert J. Bodnar, Benedetto De Vivo, Wendy A. Bohrson, Harvey E. Belkin, Antonia Messina, Robert J. Tracy
2012, Central European Journal of Geosciences (4) 338-355
The Aeolian Islands are an arcuate chain of submarine seamounts and volcanic islands, lying just north of Sicily in southern Italy. The second largest of the islands, Salina, exhibits a wide range of compositional variation in its erupted products, from basaltic lavas to rhyolitic pumice. The Monte dei Porri eruptions...
Development of a real-time PCR assay for detection of planktonic red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius 1815)) larvae
Pamela C. Jensen, Maureen K. Purcell, J. Frank Morado, Ginny L. Eckert
2012, Journal of Shellfish Research (31) 917-924
The Alaskan red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) fishery was once one of the most economically important single-species fisheries in the world, but is currently depressed. This fishery would benefit from improved stock assessment capabilities. Larval crab distribution is patchy temporally and spatially, requiring extensive sampling efforts to locate and track...
A horizon scanning assessment of current and potential future threats to migratory shorebirds
William J. Sutherland, José A. Alves, Tatsuya Amano, Charlotte H. Chang, Nicholas C. Davidson, C. Max Finlayson, Jennifer A. Gill, Robert E. Gill Jr., Patricia M. González, Tomas Gretar Gunnarsson, David Kleijn, Chris J. Spray, Tamás Székely, Des B.A. Thompson
2012, Ibis (154) 663-679
We review the conservation issues facing migratory shorebird populations that breed in temperate regions and use wetlands in the non-breeding season. Shorebirds are excellent model organisms for understanding ecological, behavioural and evolutionary processes and are often used as indicators of wetland health. A global team of experienced shorebird researchers identified...
Constraints on the history and topography of the Northeastern Sierra Nevada from a Neogene sedimentary basin in the Reno-Verdi area, Western Nevada
James Trexler, Patricia Cashman, Michael Cosca
2012, Geosphere (8) 548-561
Neogene (Miocene–Pliocene) sedimentary rocks of the northeastern Sierra Nevada were deposited in small basins that formed in response to volcanic and tectonic activity along the eastern margin of the Sierra. These strata record an early phase (ca. 11–10 Ma) of extension and rapid sedimentation of boulder conglomerates and debrites deposited...
Linking soil moisture balance and source-responsive models to estimate diffuse and preferential components of groundwater recharge
M.O. Cuthbert, R. Mackay, J. R. Nimmo
2012, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (9) 8455-8492
Results are presented of a detailed study into the vadose zone and shallow water table hydrodynamics of a field site in Shropshire, UK. A conceptual model is developed and tested using a range of numerical models, including a modified soil moisture balance model (SMBM) for estimating groundwater recharge in the...
Calving seismicity from iceberg-sea surface interactions
T.C. Bartholomaus, C.F. Larsen, Shad O’Neel, M.E. West
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (117)
Iceberg calving is known to release substantial seismic energy, but little is known about the specific mechanisms that produce calving icequakes. At Yahtse Glacier, a tidewater glacier on the Gulf of Alaska, we draw upon a local network of seismometers and focus on 80 hours of concurrent, direct observation of...
Farallon slab detachment and deformation of the Magdalena Shelf, southern Baja California
Daniel S. Brothers, Alistair J. Harding, Antonio Gonzalez-Fernandez, W.S. Steven Holbrook, Graham M. Kent, Neal W. Driscoll, John M. Fletcher, Daniel Lizarralde, Paul J. Umhoefer, Gary Axen
2012, Geophysical Research Letters (39)
Subduction of the Farallon plate beneath northwestern Mexico stalled by ~12 Ma when the Pacific-Farallon spreading-ridge approached the subduction zone. Coupling between remnant slab and the overriding North American plate played an important role in the capture of the Baja California (BC) microplate by the Pacific Plate. Active-source seismic reflection...
Assessing confidence in Pliocene sea surface temperatures to evaluate predictive models
Harry J. Dowsett, Marci M. Robinson, Alan M. Haywood, Daniel J. Hill, Aisling M. Dolan, Danielle K. Stoll, Wing-Le Chan, Ayako Abe-Ouchi, Mark A. Chandler, Nan A. Rosenbloom, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, Fran J. Bragg, Daniel J. Lunt, Kevin M. Foley, Christina R. Riesselman
2012, Nature Climate Change (2) 365-371
In light of mounting empirical evidence that planetary warming is well underway, the climate research community looks to palaeoclimate research for a ground-truthing measure with which to test the accuracy of future climate simulations. Model experiments that attempt to simulate climates of the past serve to identify both similarities and...
Deep Arctic Ocean warming during the last glacial cycle
T. M. Cronin, G. S. Dwyer, J. Farmer, H.A. Bauch, R.F. Spielhagen, M. Jakobsson, J. Nilsson, W. M. Briggs Jr., A. Stepanova
2012, Nature Geoscience (5) 631-634
In the Arctic Ocean, the cold and relatively fresh water beneath the sea ice is separated from the underlying warmer and saltier Atlantic Layer by a halocline. Ongoing sea ice loss and warming in the Arctic Ocean have demonstrated the instability of the halocline, with implications for further sea ice...
2014 Update of the United States National Seismic Hazard Maps
M.D. Petersen, C.S. Mueller, K. M. Haller, M. Moschetti, S. C. Harmsen, E. H. Field, K.S. Rukstales, Y. Zeng, D. M. Perkins, P. Powers, S. Rezaeian, N. Luco, A. Olsen, R. Williams
2012, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (15WCEE), Lisbon, Portugal, September 24-28
The U.S. National Seismic Hazard Maps are revised every six years, corresponding with the update cycle of the International Building Code. These maps cover the conterminous U.S. and will be updated in 2014 using the best-available science that is obtained from colleagues at regional and topical workshops, which are convened...
Calibration and intercomparison of acetic acid measurements using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS)
K.B. Haase, W.C. Keene, A.A.P. Pszenny, H.R. Mayne, R.W. Talbot, B.C. Sive
2012, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (5) 4635-4665
Acetic acid is one of the most abundant organic acids in the ambient atmosphere, with maximum mixing ratios reaching into the tens of parts per billion by volume (ppbv) range. The identities and associated magnitudes of the major sources and sinks for acetic acid are poorly characterized, due in part...
Allowable levels of take for the trade in Nearctic songbirds
Fred A. Johnson, Matthew A.H. Walters, G. Scott Boomer
2012, Ecological Applications (22) 1114-1130
The take of Nearctic songbirds for the caged-bird trade is an important cultural and economic activity in Mexico, but its sustainability has been questioned. We relied on the theta-logistic population model to explore options for setting allowable levels of take for 11 species of passerines that were subject to legal...
Determination of nonylphenol isomers in landfill leachate and municipal wastewater using steam distillation extraction coupled with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry
Caixiang Zhang, Robert P. Eganhouse, James Pontolillo, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Yanxin Wang
2012, Journal of Chromatography A (1230) 110-116
4-Nonylphenols (4-NPs) are known endocrine disruptors and by-products of the microbial degradation of nonylphenol polyethoxylate surfactants. One of the challenges to understanding the toxic effects of nonylphenols is the large number of isomers that may exist in environmental samples. In order to attribute toxic effects to specific compounds, a method...
Developing spatially explicit footprints of plausible land-use scenarios in the Santa Cruz Watershed, Arizona and Sonora
Laura M. Norman, Mark Feller, Miguel L. Villarreal
2012, Landscape and Urban Planning (107) 225-235
The SLEUTH urban growth model is applied to a binational dryland watershed to envision and evaluate plausible future scenarios of land use change into the year 2050. Our objective was to create a suite of geospatial footprints portraying potential land use change that can be used to aid binational decision-makers...
Fold-to-fault progression of a major thrust zone revealed in horses of the North Mountain fault zone, Virginia and West Virginia, USA
Randall C. Orndorff
2012, Journal of Geological Research (2012)
The method of emplacement and sequential deformation of major thrust zones may be deciphered by detailed geologic mapping of these important structures. Thrust fault zones may have added complexity when horse blocks are contained within them. However, these horses can be an important indicator of the fault development holding information...
Downscaling future climate projections to the watershed scale: A north San Francisco Bay estuary case study
Elisabeth Micheli, Lorraine Flint, Alan Flint, Stuart Weiss, Morgan Kennedy
2012, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (10)
We modeled the hydrology of basins draining into the northern portion of the San Francisco Bay Estuary (North San Pablo Bay) using a regional water balance model (Basin Characterization Model; BCM) to estimate potential effects of climate change at the watershed scale. The BCM calculates water balance components, including runoff,...
