Vulnerability of deep groundwater in the Bengal Aquifer System to contamination by arsenic
W.G. Burgess, M.A. Hoque, H.A. Michael, C.I. Voss, G. N. Breit, K.M. Ahmed
2010, Nature Geoscience (3) 83-87
Shallow groundwater, the primary water source in the Bengal Basin, contains up to 100 times the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking-water guideline of 10g l 1 arsenic (As), threatening the health of 70 million people. Groundwater from a depth greater than 150m, which almost uniformly meets the WHO guideline, has...
Estimating black bear density using DNA data from hair snares
B. Gardner, J. Andrew Royle, M.T. Wegan, R.E. Rainbolt, Paul D. Curtis
2010, Journal of Wildlife Management (74) 318-325
DNA-based mark-recapture has become a methodological cornerstone of research focused on bear species. The objective of such studies is often to estimate population size; however, doing so is frequently complicated by movement of individual bears. Movement affects the probability of detection and the assumption of closure of the population required...
Regional seismic stratigraphy and controls on the Quaternary evolution of the Cape Hatteras region of the Atlantic passive margin, USA
D. J. Mallinson, S.J. Culver, S.R. Riggs, E.R. Thieler, D. Foster, J. Wehmiller, K.M. Farrell, J. Pierson
2010, Marine Geology (268) 16-33
Seismic and core data, combined with amino acid racemization and strontium-isotope age data, enable the definition of the Quaternary stratigraphic framework and recognition of geologic controls on the development of the modern coastal system of North Carolina, U.S.A. Seven regionally continuous high amplitude reflections are defined which bound six seismic...
Budget analysis of Escherichia coli at a southern Lake Michigan Beach
P. Thupaki, M.S. Phanikumar, D. Beletsky, D.J. Schwab, M.B. Nevers, R.L. Whitman
2010, Environmental Science & Technology (44) 1010-1016
Escherichia coli (EC) concentrations at two beaches impacted by river plume dynamics in southern Lake Michigan were analyzed using three-dimensional hydrodynamic and transport models. The relative importance of various physical and biological processes influencing the fate and transport of EC were examined via budget analysis and a first-order sensitivity analysis...
Influence of organic matter on the transport of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in a ferric oxyhydroxide-coated quartz sand saturated porous medium
R.A. Abudalo, J. N. Ryan, Ronald W. Harvey, David W. Metge, Lee L. Landkamer
2010, Water Research (44) 1104-1113
To assess the effect of organic matter on the transport of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in a geochemically heterogeneous saturated porous medium, we measured the breakthrough and collision efficiencies of oocysts as a function of dissolved organic matter concentration in a flow-through column containing ferric oxyhydroxide-coated sand. We characterized the surface...
Using occupancy models to understand the distribution of an amphibian pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
M. J. Adams, Nathan Chelgren, David M. Reinitz, Rebecca A. Cole, L.J. Rachowicz, Stephanie Galvan, Brome McCreary, Christopher A. Pearl, Larissa L. Bailey, Jamie B. Bettaso, Evelyn L. Bull, Matthias Leu
2010, Ecological Applications (20) 289-302
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a fungal pathogen that is receiving attention around the world for its role in amphibian declines. Study of its occurrence patterns is hampered by false negatives: the failure to detect the pathogen when it is present. Occupancy models are a useful but currently underutilized tool for analyzing...
Fall may be imminent for Kansas Cherokee basin coalbed gas output
K. David Newell
2010, Oil & Gas Journal (108) 33-40
Natural gas production in the Kansas portion of the Cherokee basin, Southeastern Kansas, for 2008 was 49.1 bcf. The great majority of Cherokee basin gas production is now coal-bed methane (CBM). The major producers are Quest Energy LLC, Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co. LLC, and Layne Energy Operating LLC. Most...
Conceptual hierarchical modeling to describe wetland plant community organization
A.M. Little, G.R. Guntenspergen, T. F. H. Allen
2010, Wetlands (30) 55-65
Using multivariate analysis, we created a hierarchical modeling process that describes how differently-scaled environmental factors interact to affect wetland-scale plant community organization in a system of small, isolated wetlands on Mount Desert Island, Maine. We followed the procedure: 1) delineate wetland groups using cluster analysis, 2) identify differently scaled environmental...
A strong conditional mutualism limits and enhances seed dispersal and germination of a tropical palm
R. Klinger, M. Rejmanek
2010, Oecologia (162) 951-963
Seed predation and seed dispersal can have strong effects on early life history stages of plants. These processes have often been studied as individual effects, but the degree to which their relative importance co-varies with seed predator abundance and how this influences seed germination rates is poorly understood. Therefore, we...
Fire, flow and dynamic equilibrium in stream macroinvertebrate communities
R.S. Arkle, D. S. Pilliod, K. Strickler
2010, Freshwater Biology (55) 299-314
The complex effects of disturbances on ecological communities can be further complicated by subsequent perturbations within an ecosystem. We investigated how wildfire interacts with annual variations in peak streamflow to affect the stability of stream macroinvertebrate communities in a central Idaho wilderness, USA. We conducted a 4-year retrospective analysis of...
Color imaging of Mars by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE)
W. Alan Delamere, Livio L. Tornabene, Alfred S. McEwen, Kris J. Becker, James W. Bergstrom, Nathan T. Bridges, Eric M. Eliason, Dennis Gallagher, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Sarah Mattson, Guy K. McArthur, Michael T. Mellon, Moses P. Milazzo, Patrick S. Russell, Nicolas Thomas
2010, Icarus (205) 38-52
HiRISE has been producing a large number of scientifically useful color products of Mars and other planetary objects. The three broad spectral bands, coupled with the highly sensitive 14 bit detectors and time delay integration, enable detection of subtle color differences. The very high spatial resolution of HiRISE can augment...
Development of a molecular diagnostic system to discriminate Dreissena polymorpha (zebra mussel) and Dreissena bugensis (quagga mussel)
M.S. Hoy, K. Kelly, R. J. Rodriguez
2010, Molecular Ecology Resources (10) 190-192
A 3-primer PCR system was developed to discriminate invasive zebra (Dreissena polymorpha) and quagga (Dreissena bugensis) mussel. The system is based on: 1) universal primers that amplifies a region of the nuclear 28s rDNA gene from both species and 2) a species-specific primer complementary to either zebra or quagga mussel....
Early Pleistocene origin of reefs around Lanai, Hawaii
Jody M. Webster, David A. Clague, Iain D.E. Faichney, Paul D. Fullagar, James R. Hein, James G. Moore, Charles K. Paull
2010, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (290) 331-339
A sequence of submerged terraces (L1–L12) offshore Lanai was previously interpreted as reefal, and correlated with a similar series of reef terraces offshore Hawaii island, whose ages are known to be <500 ka. We present bathymetric, observational, lithologic and 51 87Sr/86Sr isotopic measurements for the submerged Lanai terraces ranging from −300 to...
The ecological limits of hydrologic alteration (ELOHA): A new framework for developing regional environmental flow standards
N.L. Poff, B. D. Richter, A.H. Arthington, S.E. Bunn, R.J. Naiman, E. Kendy, M. Acreman, C. Apse, B.P. Bledsoe, Mary C. Freeman, J. Henriksen, R. B. Jacobson, J.G. Kennen, D.M. Merritt, J. H. O’Keeffe, J. D. Olden, K. Rogers, R.E. Tharme, A. Warner
2010, Freshwater Biology (55) 147-170
The flow regime is a primary determinant of the structure and function of aquatic and riparian ecosystems for streams and rivers. Hydrologic alteration has impaired riverine ecosystems on a global scale, and the pace and intensity of human development greatly exceeds the ability of scientists to assess the effects on...
New seismic hazard maps for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Charles S. Mueller, Arthur D. Frankel, Mark D. Petersen, Edgar V. Leyendecker
2010, Earthquake Spectra (26) 169-185
The probabilistic methodology developed by the U.S. Geological Survey is applied to a new seismic hazard assessment for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Modeled seismic sources include gridded historical seismicity, subduction-interface and strike-slip faults with known slip rates, and two broad zones of crustal extension with seismicity rates...
Influence of shell morphology on distributions of unionids in the upper Mississippi River
M.R. Bartsch, S. J. Zigler, T.J. Newton, J.S. Sauer
2010, Journal of Molluscan Studies (76) 67-76
Attempts to predict the distribution of unionids from readily measurable microhabitat descriptors (i.e. water depth, current velocity, stream size, sediment type) have been largely unsuccessful, but certain biological and calculated hydraulic variables have recently shown some predictive power. We used historic and recent data on unionids (from 1987 to 2003)...
Traveling around Cape Horn: Otolith chemistry reveals a mixed stock of Patagonian hoki with separate Atlantic and Pacific spawning grounds
P.C. Schuchert, A.I. Arkhipkin, A.E. Koenig
2010, Fisheries Research (102) 80-86
Trace element fingerprints of edge and core regions in otoliths from 260 specimens of Patagonian hoki, Macruronus magellanicus L??nnberg, 1907, were analyzed by LA-ICPMS to reveal whether this species forms one or more population units (stocks) in the Southern Oceans. Fish were caught on their spawning grounds in Chile and...
Challenges in merging fisheries research and management: The Upper Mississippi River experience
J. Garvey, B. Ickes, S. Zigler
2010, Hydrobiologia (640) 125-144
The Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) is a geographically diverse basin extending 10?? north temperate latitude that has produced fishes for humans for millennia. During European colonization through the present, the UMRS has been modified to meet multiple demands such as navigation and flood control. Invasive species, notably the common...
The green alga, Cladophora, promotes Escherichia coli growth and contamination of recreational waters in Lake Michigan
A.V. Heuvel, C. McDermott, R. Pillsbury, T. Sandrin, J. Kinzelman, J. Ferguson, M. Sadowsky, M. Byappanahalli, R. Whitman, G.T. Kleinheinz
2010, Journal of Environmental Quality (39) 333-344
A linkage between Cladophora mats and exceedances of recreational water quality criteria has been suggested, but not directly studied. Th is study investigates the spatial and temporal association between Escherichia coli concentrations within and near Cladophora mats at two northwestern Lake Michigan beaches in Door County, Wisconsin. Escherichia coli concentrations...
Growth, carbon-isotope discrimination, and drought-associated mortality across a Pinus ponderosa elevational transect
N.G. McDowell, Craig D. Allen, L. Marshall
2010, Global Change Biology (16) 399-415
Drought- and insect-associated tree mortality at low-elevation ecotones is a widespread phenomenon but the underlying mechanisms are uncertain. Enhanced growth sensitivity to climate is widely observed among trees that die, indicating that a predisposing physiological mechanism(s) underlies tree mortality. We tested three, linked hypotheses regarding mortality using a ponderosa pine...
Prescribed fires as ecological surrogates for wildfires: A stream and riparian perspective
R.S. Arkle, D. S. Pilliod
2010, Forest Ecology and Management (259) 893-903
Forest managers use prescribed fire to reduce wildfire risk and to provide resource benefits, yet little information is available on whether prescribed fires can function as ecological surrogates for wildfire in fire-prone landscapes. Information on impacts and benefits of this management tool on stream and riparian ecosystems is particularly lacking....
Summer spatial patterning of chukars in relation to free water in Western Utah
R.T. Larsen, J.A. Bissonette, J.T. Flinders, M.B. Hooten, T.L. Wilson
2010, Landscape Ecology (25) 135-145
Free water is considered important to wildlife in arid regions. In the western United States, thousands of water developments have been built to benefit wildlife in arid landscapes. Agencies and researchers have yet to clearly demonstrate their effectiveness. We combined a spatial analysis of summer chukar (Alectoris chukar) covey locations...
Emplacement of the youngest flood lava on Mars: A short, turbulent story
Windy L. Jaeger, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, James A. Skinner, Moses P. Milazzo, Alfred S. McEwen, Timothy N. Titus, Mark R. Rosiek, Donna M. Galuszka, Elpitha Howington-Kraus, Randolph L. Kirk, the HiRISE TEam
2010, Icarus (205) 230-243
Recently acquired data from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), Context (CTX) imager, and Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft were used to investigate the emplacement of the youngest flood-lava flow on Mars. Careful mapping finds that...
Microbial arsenic metabolism: New twists on an old poison
J.F. Stolz, P. Basu, Ronald S. Oremland
2010, Microbe (5) 53-59
Phylogenetically diverse microorganisms metabolize arsenic despite its toxicity and are part of its robust iogeochemical cycle. Respiratory arsenate reductase is a reversible enzyme, functioning in some microbes as an arsenate reductase but in others as an arsenite oxidase. As(III) can serve as an electron donor for anoxygenic photolithoautotrophy and chemolithoautotrophy....
Effects of spatial habitat heterogeneity on habitat selection and annual fecundity for a migratory forest songbird
K.L. Cornell, T.M. Donovan
2010, Landscape Ecology (25) 109-122
Understanding how spatial habitat patterns influence abundance and dynamics of animal populations is a primary goal in landscape ecology. We used an information-theoretic approach to investigate the association between habitat patterns at multiple spatial scales and demographic patterns for black-throated blue warblers (Dendroica caerulescens) at 20 study sites in west-central...
