MODIS derived vegetation index for drought detection on the San Carlos Apache Reservation
Zhuoting Wu, Miguel G. Velasco, Jason McVay, Barry R. Middleton, John M. Vogel, Dennis G. Dye
2016, International Journal of Advanced Remote Sensing and GIS (5) 1524-1538
A variety of vegetation indices derived from remotely sensed data have been used to assess vegetation conditions, enabling the identification of drought occurrences as well as the evaluation of drought impacts. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra 8-day composite data were used to compute the Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index...
Dynamic simulation and numerical analysis of hurricane storm surge under sea level rise with geomorphologic changes along the northern Gulf of Mexico
Matthew V. Bilskie, S.C. Hagen, K.A. Alizad, S.C. Medeiros, Davina Passeri, H.F. Needham, A. Cox
2016, Earth's Future (4) 177-193
This work outlines a dynamic modeling framework to examine the effects of global climate change, and sea level rise (SLR) in particular, on tropical cyclone-driven storm surge inundation. The methodology, applied across the northern Gulf of Mexico, adapts a present day large-domain, high resolution, tide, wind-wave, and hurricane storm surge...
A decision framework for identifying models to estimate forest ecosystem services gains from restoration
Zachary Christin, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Michael Verdone
2016, Forest Ecosystems (3)
Restoring degraded forests and agricultural lands has become a global conservation priority. A growing number of tools can quantify ecosystem service tradeoffs associated with forest restoration. This evolving “tools landscape” presents a dilemma: more tools are available, but selecting appropriate tools has become more challenging. We present a Restoration Ecosystem...
Molecular detection of bacteria in the families Rickettsiaceae and Anaplasmataceae in northern crested caracaras (Caracara cheriway)
John A. Erwin, Robert R. Fitak, James F. Dwyer, Joan L. Morrison, Melanie Culver
2016, Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases (7) 470-474
Bacterial pathogens of the families Anaplasmataceae and Rickettsiaceae are often spread to humans or other animals from bites from infected arthropod hosts. Recently, an increasing number of studies have implicated migratory birds in the circulation of these pathogens through the spread of arthropod vectors. However, few studies have examined the potential for resident bird...
Geologic and geochemical results from boreholes drilled in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2007 and 2008
Cheryl Jaworowski, David Susong, Henry Heasler, David Mencin, Wade Johnson, Rick Conrey, Jennipher Von Stauffenberg
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1028
Between 2007 and 2008, seven Earthscope Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) boreholes ranging in depth from about 200 to 800 feet deep were drilled in and adjacent to the Yellowstone caldera in Yellowstone National Park, for the purpose of installing volcano monitoring instrumentation. Five of the seven boreholes were equipped...
Landsat Science Team: 2016 winter meeting summary
Todd Schroeder, Thomas Loveland, Michael A. Wulder, James R. Irons
2016, The Earth Observer 19-23
The winter meeting of the joint U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)–NASA Landsat Science Team (LST) was held January 12-14, 2016, at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, VA. LST co-chairs Tom Loveland [USGS’s Earth Resources Observation and Science Data Center (EROS)—Senior Scientist] and Jim Irons [NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)—Landsat 8...
Future land-use related water demand in California
Tamara Wilson, Benjamin M. Sleeter, D. Richard Cameron
2016, Environmental Research Letters (11)
Water shortages in California are a growing concern amidst ongoing drought, earlier spring snowmelt, projected future climate warming, and currently mandated water use restrictions. Increases in population and land use in coming decades will place additional pressure on already limited available water supplies. We used a state-and-transition simulation model to...
Dimmuborgir: a rootless shield complex in northern Iceland
Alasdair Skelton, Erik Sturkell, Martin Jakobsson, Draupnir Einarsson, Elin Tollefsen, Tim R. Orr
2016, Bulletin of Volcanology (78)
The origin of Dimmuborgir, a shield-like volcanic structure within the Younger Laxá lava flow field near Lake Mývatn, in northern Iceland, has long been questioned. New airborne laser mapping (light detection and ranging (LiDAR)), combined with ground-penetrating radar results and a detailed field study, suggests that Dimmuborgir is a complex...
Number of genera as a potential screening tool for assessing quality of bryophyte communities in Ohio wetlands
William Schumacher, Martin A. Stapanian, Barbara Andreas, Brian Gara
2016, Wetlands (36) 771-778
Bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts) have numerous advantages as indicators of environmental quality. A quality assessment index for bryophyte species assemblages (BQAI) was developed for the State of Ohio, USA. Reliable identification of bryophytes to species often requires considerable training, practice, and time. In contrast, reliable identification to genera for...
The social, economic, and environmental importance of inland fish and fisheries
Abigail J. Lynch, Steven J. Cooke, Andrew M. Deines, Shannon D. Bower, David B. Bunnell, Ian G. Cowx, Vivian M. Nguyen, Joel K. Nohner, Kaviphone Phouthavong, Betsy Riley, Mark W. Rogers, William W. Taylor, Whitney Woelmer, So-Jung Youn, T. Douglas Beard Jr.
2016, Environmental Reviews (24) 115-121
Though reported capture fisheries are dominated by marine production, inland fish and fisheries make substantial contributions to meeting the challenges faced by individuals, society, and the environment in a changing global landscape. Inland capture fisheries and aquaculture contribute over 40% to the world’s reported finfish production from less than 0.01%...
Regional assessment of persistent organic pollutants in resident mussels from New Jersey and New York estuaries following Hurricane Sandy
Kelly L. Smalling, Ashok D. Deshpande, Heather S. Galbraith, Beth Sharack, DeMond Timmons, Ronald J. Baker
2016, Marine Pollution Bulletin (107) 432-441
Resident mussels are effective indicators of ecosystem health and have been utilized in national assessment and monitoring studies for over two decades. Mussels were chosen because contaminant concentrations in their tissues respond to changes in ambient environmental levels, accumulation occurs with little metabolic transformation and a substantial amount of historic...
New challenges for grizzly bear management in Yellowstone National Park
Frank T. van Manen, Kerry A. Gunther
2016, Bulletin of the Shiretoko Museum (Special Issue 1) 79-96
A key factor contributing to the success of grizzly bear Ursus arctos conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has been the existence of a large protected area, Yellowstone National Park. We provide an overview of recovery efforts, how demographic parameters changed as the population increased, and how the bear management...
Mercury accumulation, and the mercury-PCB-sex interaction, in lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)
Charles P. Madenjian, Mark P. Ebener, David P. Krabbenhoft
2016, Environments (3)
We determined whole-fish Hg concentrations of 26 female and 34 male adult lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) from northern Lake Huron captured during November 2010. Subsampling from these 60 fish, Hg concentration was also determined in both the somatic tissue and ovaries (n=5), while methylmercury (MeHg) concentration was determined in whole...
Hydrologic analyses in support of the Navajo Generating Station–Kayenta Mine Complex environmental impact statement
Stanley A. Leake, Jamie P. Macy, Margot Truini
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1088
IntroductionThe U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region (Reclamation) is preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Navajo Generating Station-Kayenta Mine Complex Project (NGS-KMC Project). The proposed project involves various Federal approvals that would facilitate continued operation of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) from December...
Where the wild things are: A research agenda for studying wildlife-wilderness relationship
Michael K. Schwartz, Beth Hahn, Blake R. Hossack
2016, Journal of Forestry (114) 311-319
We explore the connection between US designated wilderness areas and wildlife with the goal of establishing a research agenda for better understanding this complex relationship. Our research agenda has two components. The first, “wildlife for wilderness,” considers the impact of wildlife on wilderness character. Whereas studies show that wildlife is...
Small but tough: What can ecophysiology of croaking gourami Trichopsis vittatus (Cuvier 1831) tell us about invasiveness of non-native fishes in Florida?
Pamela J. Schofield, Jessica Schulte
2016, NeoBiota (28) 51-65
Trichopsis vittata (Cuvier, 1831) is a small, freshwater gourami (Fam: Osphronemidae) native to southeast Asia. It was first detected in Florida in the 1970s and seems to have persisted for decades in a small area. In this study, we documented T. <span...
Design for mosquito abundance, diversity, and phenology sampling within the National Ecological Observatory Network
D. Hoekman, Yuri P. Springer, C.M. Barker, R. Barrera, M.S. Blackmore, W.E. Bradshaw, D. H. Foley, Howard S. Ginsberg, M. H. Hayden, C. M. Holzapfel, S. A. Juliano, L. D. Kramer, S. L. LaDeau, T. P. Livdahl, C. G. Moore, R.S. Nasci, W.K. Reisen, H. M. Savage
2016, Ecosphere (7)
The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) intends to monitor mosquito populations across its broad geographical range of sites because of their prevalence in food webs, sensitivity to abiotic factors and relevance for human health. We describe the design of mosquito population sampling in the context of NEON’s long term continental...
Hierarchical species distribution models
Trevor J. Hefley, Mevin Hooten
2016, Current Landscape Ecology Reports (1) 87-97
Determining the distribution pattern of a species is important to increase scientific knowledge, inform management decisions, and conserve biodiversity. To infer spatial and temporal patterns, species distribution models have been developed for use with many sampling designs and types of data. Recently, it has been shown that count, presence-absence, and...
Seismic envelope-based detection and location of ground-coupled airwaves from volcanoes in Alaska
David Fee, Matthew M. Haney, Robin S. Matoza, Curt A.L. Szuberla, John J. Lyons, Christopher F. Waythomas
2016, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (106) 1024-1035
Volcanic explosions and other infrasonic sources frequently produce acoustic waves that are recorded by seismometers. Here we explore multiple techniques to detect, locate, and characterize ground‐coupled airwaves (GCA) on volcano seismic networks in Alaska. GCA waveforms are typically incoherent between stations, thus we use envelope‐based techniques in our analyses. For...
A low-disturbance capture technique for ground-nesting Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Karen Courtot, Daniel D. Roby, Lauren H. Kerr, Donald E. Lyons, Jessica Y. Adkins
2016, Waterbirds (39) 193-198
Capturing breeding adults of colonially nesting species can entail risks of nest failure and even colony abandonment, especially in species that react strongly to human disturbance. A low-disturbance technique for capturing specific adult Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) at a ground-nesting colony was developed to reduce these risks and is described...
Combined use of thermal methods and seepage meters to efficiently locate, quantify, and monitor focused groundwater discharge to a sand-bed stream
Donald O. Rosenberry, Martin A. Briggs, Geoffrey N. Delin, Danielle K. Hare
2016, Water Resources Research (52) 4486-4503
Quantifying flow of groundwater through streambeds often is difficult due to the complexity of aquifer-scale heterogeneity combined with local-scale hyporheic exchange. We used fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS), seepage meters, and vertical temperature profiling to locate, quantify, and monitor areas of focused groundwater discharge in a geomorphically simple sand-bed stream....
New summer areas and mixing of two greater sandhill crane populations in the Intermountain West
Daniel P. Collins, Blake A. Grisham, Courtenay M. Conring, Jeffrey M. Knetter, Warren C. Conway, Scott A. Carleton, Matthew A. Boggie
2016, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (7) 141-152
Population delineation throughout the annual life cycle for migratory birds is needed to formulate regional and national management and conservation strategies. Despite being well studied continentally, connectivity of sandhill crane Grus canadensis populations throughout the western portion of their North American range remains poorly described. Our objectives were to 1) use global...
Mink predation on brown trout in a Black Hills stream
Jacob L. Davis, Jerry W. Wilhite, Steven R. Chipps
2016, The Prairie Naturalist (48) 4-10
In the early 2000’s, declines in the brown trout (Salmo trutta) fishery in Rapid Creek, South Dakota, caused concern for anglers and fisheries managers. We conducted a radio telemetry study in 2010 and 2011 to identify predation mortality associated with mink, using hatchery-reared (2010) or wild (2011) brown trout....
Book review: Current perspectives on zinc deposits
Karen D. Kelley
2016, Economic Geology (111) 545-546
This book, published in 2015 by the Irish Association for Economic Geology (IAEG), is a compilation of papers and abstracts written by selected authors who attended the ZINC 2010 Conference in Cork, Ireland. Unlike most books produced each decade by the IAEG, which are focused primarily on achievements of the Irish and...
Book review: Advances in reintroduction biology of Australian and New Zealand fauna
Erin L. Muths
2016, Journal of Wildlife Management (80) 579-580
Reintroduction, and other forms of moving animals around the landscape, is an established action that has been used in the...
