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An AMS radiocarbon-dated pollen record from a peat deposit on Mitkof Island, southeastern Alaska provides a vegetation history spanning ∼12,900 cal yr BP to the present. Late Wisconsin glaciers covered the entire island; deglaciation occurred > 15,400 cal yr BP. The earliest known vegetation to develop on the island (∼12,900...

This report describes the validation of an avian influenza virus (AIV) H7 subtype-specific real-time reverse transcriptasePCR (rRT-PCR) assay developed at the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SEPRL) for the detection of H7 AI in North and South American wild aquatic birds and poultry. The validation was a collaborative effort by the...

The land-cover thematic accuracy of NLCD 2001 was assessed from a probability-sample of 15,000 pixels. Nationwide, NLCD 2001 overall Anderson Level II and Level I accuracies were 78.7% and 85.3%, respectively. By comparison, overall accuracies at Level II and Level I for the NLCD 1992 were 58% and 80%. Forest and...

This study evaluates the efficacy of remote sensing technology to monitor species composition, areal extent and density of aquatic plants (macrophytes and filamentous algae) in impoundments where their presence may violate water-quality standards. Multispectral satellite (IKONOS) images and more than 500 in situ hyperspectral samples were acquired to map aquatic...

We investigated aquatic insect utilization and PCB exposure in riparian spiders at the Lake Hartwell Superfund site (Clemson, SC). We sampled sediments, adult chironomids, terrestrial insects, riparian spiders (Tetragnathidae, Araneidae, and Mecynogea lemniscata), and upland spiders (Araneidae) along a sediment contamination gradient. Stable isotopes (?13C, ? 15N) indicated that riparian...

[No abstract available]...

Two uppermost Carboniferous–Lower Triassic fluvial–lacustrine sections in the Tarlong–Taodonggou half-graben, southern Bogda Mountains, NW China, comprise a 1834 m-thick, relatively complete sedimentary and paleoclimatic record of the east coast of mid-latitude NE Pangea. Depositional environmental interpretations identified three orders (high, intermediate, and low) of sedimentary cycles. High-order cycles (HCs) have five...

Santa Barbara Basin (SBB) diatom and silicoflagellate assemblages are quantified from a box core record spanning AD 1940-2001 and an Ocean Drilling Program Hole 893A record from ???220 BC to AD 1880. The combined relative abundance of the diatoms Fragilariopsis doliolus and Nitzschia interrupteseriata from continuous two-year sampling intervals in...

New optically stimulated and radiocarbon ages for alluvial fan and lake deposits in the Mojave Desert are presented, which greatly improves the temporal resolution of surface processes. The new Mojave Desert climate-landscape record is particularly detailed for the late Holocene. Evidence from...

Five certain impact craters and 44 additional nearly certain and probable ones have been identified on the 22% of Titan's surface imaged by Cassini's high-resolution radar through December 2007. The certain craters have morphologies similar to impact craters on rocky planets, as well as two with radar bright, jagged rims....

We identified an objective set of 25 commonly available ecosystem metrics applicable across the world's large continental freshwater and brackish aquatic ecosystem. These metrics measure trophic structure, exploited species, habitat alteration, and catchment changes. We used long-term trends in these metrics as indicators of perturbations that represent an ecosystem not...

Each year thousands of Pacific Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) undergo flightless wing molt in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area (TLSA), Alaska, in two distinct habitats: inland, freshwater lakes and coastal, brackish wetlands. Brant lose body mass during wing molt and likely must add reserves upon regaining flight to help...

Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and brown trout Salmo trutta are the world's two most widespread exotic fishes, dominate the fish communities of most cold-temperate waters in the southern hemisphere and are implicated in the decline and extirpation of native fish species. Here, we provide the first direct comparison of the...

Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) lay their eggs on an existing substrate in the dark recesses of a variety of natural sites (Kirk and Mossman 1998). Although an important requirement of Turkey Vulture nest-site selection is isolation from human disturbances (<a class="ref"...

Rates of reproduction and survival are dependent upon adequate body size and condition of individuals. Declines in size and condition have provided early indicators of population decline in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) near the southern extreme of their range. We tested whether patterns in body size, condition, and cub recruitment...

Lead poisoning is a primary factor impeding the survival and recovery of the critically endangered California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus). However, the frequency and magnitude of lead exposure in condors is not well-known in part because most blood lead monitoring occurs biannually, and biannual blood samples capture only ∼10% of a...

A reliable and effective technique for capturing rails would improve researchers' ability to study these secretive marsh birds. The time effectiveness and capture success of four methods for capturing rails in emergent marsh and agricultural wetlands in southern Louisiana and Texas were evaluated during winter and breeding seasons. Methods were...

The enantiomeric composition of chiral PCB congeners was determined in Twelvemile Creek (Clemson, SC) to examine potential mechanisms of biotransformation in a stream food web. We measured enantiomeric fractions (EFs) of six PCB atropisomers (PCBs 84, 91, 95, 136, 149, and 174) in surface sediment, fine benthic organic matter (FBOM),...

We measured mercury (Hg) concentrations in whole fish from the Upper Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers to characterize the extent and magnitude of Hg contamination and to identify environmental factors influencing Hg accumulation. Concentrations were generally lower (80% of values between 20?200 ng g1 wet weight) than those reported for...

Measurements of Hg concentrations in avian eggs can be used to predict possible harm to reproduction, but it is not always possible to sample eggs. When eggs cannot be sampled, some substitute tissue, such as female blood, the diet of the breeding female, or down feathers of hatchlings, must be...

Understanding thermal habitat use by migratory fish has been limited by difficulties in matching fish locations with water temperatures. To describe spatial and temporal patterns of thermal habitat use by migratory adult bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, that spawn in the Lostine River, Oregon, we employed a combination of archival temperature...

The polar bear has become the flagship species in the climate-change discussion. However, little is known about how past climate impacted its evolution and persistence, given an extremely poor fossil record. Although it is undisputed from analyses of mitochondrial (mt) DNA that polar bears constitute a lineage within the genetic...

Organic intermediates in coal fluids produced by anaerobic biodegradation of geopolymers in coal play a key role in the production of methane in natural gas reservoirs. Laboratory biodegradation experiments on sub-bituminous coal from Texas, USA, were conducted using bioreactors to examine the organic intermediates relevant to methane production. Production of...

Mollusk shells provide brief (<5 yr per shell) records of past marine conditions, including marine radiocarbon reservoir age (R) and upwelling. We report 21 14C ages and R calculations on small (∼2 mg) samples from 2 Mesodesma donacium (surf clam) shells. These shells were excavated from a semi-subterranean house floor stratum <span...

Ice formation and breakup on Arctic rivers strongly influence river flow, sedimentation, river ecology, winter travel, and subsistence fishing and hunting by Alaskan Natives. We use time-series ground imagery ofthe Meade River to examine the process at high temporal and spatial resolution. Freezeup from complete liquid cover to complete ice...