Demographic rates of two southeastern populations of Painted Bunting, 2007–2015
Liani M. Yirka, Jaime A. Collazo, Brian J. O’Shea, J.A. Gerwin, James A. Rotenberg, David T. Cobb
2018, The Condor (120) 319-329
Painted Buntings (Passerina ciris) have been declining in the southeastern United States since the 1970s. A recent demographic assessment highlighted the importance of estimating demographic parameters, which have received little attention to date. The dearth of information is troublesome because attempts to reverse declining trends require a better understanding of...
Process convolution approaches for modeling interacting trajectories
Henry R. Scharf, Mevin Hooten, Devin S. Johnson, John W. Durban
2018, Environmetrics (29)
Gaussian processes are a fundamental statistical tool used in a wide range of applications. In the spatiotemporal setting, several families of covariance functions exist to accommodate a wide variety of dependence structures arising in different applications. These parametric families can be restrictive and are insufficient in some situations. In contrast,...
Numerical model of geochronological tracers for deposition and reworking applied to the Mississippi subaqueous delta
Justin J. Birchler, Courtney K. Harris, Tara A. Kniskern, Christopher R. Sherwood
2018, Journal of Coastal Research (Special Issue 85) 456-460
Measurements of naturally occurring, short-lived radioisotopes from sediment cores on the Mississippi subaqueous delta have been used to infer event bed characteristics such as depositional thicknesses and accumulation rates. Specifically, the presence of Beryllium-7 (7Be) indicates recent riverine-derived terrestrial sediment deposition; while Thorium-234 (234Th) provides evidence of recent suspension in...
Groundwater-level data from an earthen dam site in southern Westchester County, New York
Michael L. Noll, Anthony Chu
2018, Data Series 1075
In 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey began a cooperative study with New York City Department of Environmental Protection to characterize the local groundwater-flow system and identify potential sources of seeps on the southern embankment of the Hillview Reservoir in Westchester County, New York. Groundwater levels were collected at 49 wells...
Operational nowcasting of electron flux levels in the outer zone of Earth's radiation belt
Tim Coleman, James P. McCollough, Shawn L. Young, E. Joshua Rigler
2018, Space Weather (16) 501-518
We describe a lightweight, accurate nowcasting model for electron flux levels measured by the Van Allen probes. Largely motivated by Rigler et al. (2004, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003SW000036), we turn to a time‐varying linear filter of previous flux levels and Kp. We train and test this model on data gathered from the 2.10 MeV channel...
Multi-year high-frequency hydrothermal monitoring of selected high-threat Cascade Range volcanoes
I.M. Crankshaw, Stacey A. Archfield, A. C. Newman, Deborah Bergfeld, Laura E. Clor, Peter J. Kelly, William C. Evans, Kurt R. Spicer, Steven E. Ingebritsen
2018, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (356) 24-35
From 2009 to 2015 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) systematically monitored hydrothermal behavior at selected Cascade Range volcanoes in order to define baseline hydrothermal and geochemical conditions. Gas and water data were collected regularly at 25 sites on 10 of the highest-risk volcanoes in the Cascade Range. These sites include...
Estimating fluvial discharges coincident with 21st century coastal storms modeled with CoSMoS
Li H. Erikson, Andrea C. O'Neill, Patrick L. Barnard
2018, Journal of Coastal Research (Special Issue No. 85) 791-795
On the open coast, flooding is largely driven by tides, storm surge, waves, and in areas near coastal inlets, the magnitude and co-occurrence of high fluvial discharges. Statistical methods are typically used to estimate the individual probability of coastal storm and fluvial discharge occurrences for use in sophisticated flood hazard...
Interaction between hydraulic fracture and a preexisting fracture under triaxial stress conditions
Saied Mighani, David A. Lockner, Brian D. Kilgore, Farrokh Sheibani, Brian Evans
2018, Conference Paper, SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference and Exhibition
Enhanced reservoir connectivity generally requires maximizing the intersection between hydraulic fracture (HF) and preexisting underground natural fractures (NF), while having the hydraulic fracture cross the natural fractures (and not arrest). We have studied the interaction between a hydraulic fracture and a polished saw-cut fault. The experiments include a hydraulic fracture...
Identifying and eliminating sources of recreational water quality degradation along an urban coast
Meredith B. Nevers, Muruleedhara Byappanahalli, Dawn Shively, Paul M. Buszka, P. Ryan Jackson, Mantha S. Phanikumar
2018, Journal of Environmental Quality (47) 1042-1050
Restoration of highly degraded urban coastal waters often requires large-scale, complex projects, but in the interim, smaller-scale efforts can provide immediate improvements to water quality conditions for visitor use. We examined short-term efforts to improve recreational water quality near the Grand Calumet River (GC) in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Identified...
The influence of sea level rise on the regional interdependence of coastal infrastructure
Ruo-Quian Wang, Mark T. Stacey, Liv M. Herdman, Patrick L. Barnard, Li H. Erikson
2018, Earth's Future (6) 677-688
Sea level rise (SLR) is placing both immediate and long‐term pressures on coastal communities to take protective actions. Projects in the United States, and in many locations throughout the world, generally involve local jurisdictions raising the elevation of shoreline protection elements, with limited or no analysis of the feedback between...
Effects of water-level management and hatchery supplementation on kokanee recruitment in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho
Steven L. Whitlock, Michael C. Quist, Andrew M. Dux
2018, Article
Resource managers have been attempting to recover the kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) population in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho for more than three decades using an annual stocking program and an experimental water-level management strategy. This study evaluated the effect of both management actions on kokanee recruitment. A bootstrap-based generalized Ricker model...
Warming is driving decreases in snow fractions while runoff efficiency remains mostly unchanged in snow-covered areas of the western United States
Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock, Melissa Valentin
2018, Journal of Hydrometeorology (19) 803-814
Winter snowfall and accumulation is an important component of the surface water supply in the western United States. In these areas, increasing winter temperatures T associated with global warming can influence the amount of winter precipitation P that falls as snow S. In this study we examine long-term trends in the fraction of winter P that falls...
Research, monitoring, and evaluation of emerging issues and measures to recover the Snake River fall Chinook salmon ESU
Kenneth Tiffan, John M. Plumb, Russell W. Perry, John Erhardt, Rulon J. Hemingway, Brad Bickford, Tobyn N. Rhodes, William P. Connor, Frank L. Mullins
2018, Report
The portion of the Snake River fall Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ESU that spawns upstream of Lower Granite Dam transitioned from low to high abundance during 1992–2017 in association with U.S. Endangered Species Act recovery efforts and other federally mandated actions. This annual report focuses on (1) numeric and habitat...
Wetlands receiving water treated with coagulants improve water quality by removing dissolved organic carbon and disinfection byproduct precursors
Angela M. Hansen, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Sandra M. Bachand, William R. Horwath, Philip Bachand
2018, Science of the Total Environment (622-623) 603-613
Constructed wetlands are used worldwide to improve water quality while also providing critical wetland habitat. However, wetlands have the potential to negatively impact drinking water quality by exporting dissolved organic carbon (DOC) that upon disinfection can form disinfection byproducts (DBPs) like trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs). We used a replicated field-scale study located on organic rich...
Genetic structure in Elk persists after translocation
Lisa I Muller, Jennifer L. Murrow, Jason L. Lupardus, Joseph D. Clark, Joseph G. Yarkovich, William H. Stiver, E. Kim Delozier, Brittany L. Slabach, John L. Cox, Bradley F. Miller
2018, Journal of Wildlife Management (82) 1124-1134
Elk (Cervus canadensis) translocation success is thought to be facilitated by high post‐release herd cohesion and limited movements; both should ensure genetic mixing following release. Such mixing is important to reduce potential effects of inbreeding or genetic drift, which can be especially important in small founding...
Examining natural attenuation and acute toxicity of petroleum-derived dissolved organic matter with optical spectroscopy
David C. Podgorski, Phoebe Zito, Jennifer McGuire, Dalma Martinovic-Weigelt, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Barbara A. Bekins, Robert G. M. Spencer
2018, Environmental Science & Technology (52) 6157-6166
Groundwater samples containing petroleum-derived dissolved organic matter (DOMHC) originating from the north oil body within the National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Research Site near Bemidji, MN, USA were analyzed by optical spectroscopic techniques (i.e., absorbance and fluorescence) to assess relationships that can be used to examine natural...
Reduced arctic tundra productivity linked with landform and climate change interactions
Mark J. Lara, Ingmar Nitze, Guido Grosse, Philip Martin, A. David McGuire
2018, Scientific Reports (8)
Arctic tundra ecosystems have experienced unprecedented change associated with climate warming over recent decades. Across the Pan-Arctic, vegetation productivity and surface greenness have trended positively over the period of satellite observation. However, since 2011 these trends have slowed considerably, showing signs of browning in many regions. It is unclear what...
Co‐occurrence dynamics of endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbits and free‐ranging domestic cats: Prey responses to an exotic predator removal program
Michael V. Cove, Beth Gardner, Theodore R. Simons, Allan F. O’Connell
2018, Ecology and Evolution (8) 4042-4052
The Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) is one of many endangered endemic species of the Florida Keys. The main threats are habitat loss and fragmentation from sea‐level rise, development, and habitat succession. Exotic predators such as free‐ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) pose an additional threat to these endangered...
A suite of exercises for verifying dynamic earthquake rupture codes
Ruth A. Harris, Michael Barall, Brad T. Aagaard, Shuo Ma, Daniel Roten, Kim Olsen, Benchun Duan, Dunyu Liu, Bin Luo, Kangchen Bai, Jean-Paul Ampuero, Yoshihiro Kaneko, Alice-Agnes Gabriel, Kenneth Duru, Thomas Ulrich, Stephanie Wollherr, Zheqiang Shi, Eric Dunham, Sam Bydlon, Zhenguo Zhang, Xiaofei Chen, Surendra N. Somala, Christian Pelties, Josue Tago, Victor Manuel Cruz-Atienza, Jeremy Kozdon, Eric Daub, Khurram Aslam, Yuko Kase, Kyle Withers, Luis Dalguer
2018, Seismological Research Letters (89) 1146-1162
We describe a set of benchmark exercises that are designed to test if computer codes that simulate dynamic earthquake rupture are working as intended. These types of computer codes are often used to understand how earthquakes operate, and they produce simulation results that include earthquake size, amounts of fault slip,...
Demographic response of Louisiana Waterthrush, a stream obligate songbird of conservation concern, to shale gas development
Mack W. Frantz, Petra B. Wood, James Sheehan, Gregory George
2018, Condor (120) 265-282
Shale gas development continues to outpace the implementation of best management practices for wildlife affected by development. We examined demographic responses of the Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) to shale gas development during 2009–2011 and 2013–2015 in a predominantly forested landscape in West Virginia, USA. Forest cover across the study area...
Rivers are social–ecological systems: Time to integrate human dimensions into riverscape ecology and management
Jason B. Dunham, Paul L. Angermeier, Shelley D. Crausbay, Amanda E. Cravens, Hannah Gosnell, Jamie McEvoy, Max A. Moritz, Nejem Raheem, Todd Sanford
2018, WIREs Water (5) 1-10
Incorporation of concepts from landscape ecology into understanding and managing riverine ecosystems has become widely known as riverscape ecology. Riverscape ecology emphasizes interactions among processes at different scales and their consequences for valued ecosystem components, such as riverine fishes. Past studies have focused strongly on understanding the ecological processes in...
Response of moose to a high‐density road network
David W. Wattles, Katherine A. Zeller, Stephen DeStefano
2018, Journal of Wildlife Management (82) 929-939
Road networks and the disturbance associated with vehicle traffic alter animal behavior, movements, and habitat selection. The response of moose (Alces americanus) to roads has been documented in relatively rural areas, but less is known about moose response to roads in more highly roaded landscapes. We examined road‐crossing frequencies and...
Population dynamics of the northern tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda carinulata) in the Colorado River Basin
Levi R. Jamison, Charles van Riper III
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1070
Throughout the Southwestern United States, riparian systems contain narrow belts of vegetation along streams and rivers. Although only a small percentage of the total land cover, this ecosystem is important for maintaining high species diversity and population densities of birds. Anthropogenic changes to Western riverine systems have enhanced their susceptibility...
Book review: Handbook of cyanobacterial monitoring and cyanotoxin analysis
Jennifer L. Graham, Keith A. Loftin
2018, Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin (27) 61-62
Review of Meriluoto, Jussi, Lisa Spoof, and GeoffreyA. Codd [eds.]. 2017. Handbook of Cyanobacterial Monitoring and Cyanotoxin Analysis. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.: Chichester, West Sussex, UK, ISBN 978‐1‐119‐06868‐6 (978‐1‐119‐06876‐1 eBook), DOI 10.1002/9781119068761....
Fusing MODIS with Landsat 8 data to downscale weekly normalized difference vegetation index estimates for central Great Basin rangelands, USA
Stephen P. Boyte, Bruce K. Wylie, Matthew B. Rigge, Devendra Dahal
2018, GIScience and Remote Sensing (55) 376-399
Data fused from distinct but complementary satellite sensors mitigate tradeoffs that researchers make when selecting between spatial and temporal resolutions of remotely sensed data. We integrated data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor aboard the Terra satellite and the Operational Land Imager sensor aboard the Landsat 8 satellite...
