Cenozoic sea level and the rise of modern rimmed atolls
Michael Toomey, Andrew Ashton, Maureen E. Raymo, J. Taylor Perron
2016, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (451) 73-83
Sea-level records from atolls, potentially spanning the Cenozoic, have been largely overlooked, in part because the processes that control atoll form (reef accretion, carbonate dissolution, sediment transport, vertical motion) are complex and, for many islands, unconstrained on million-year timescales. Here we combine existing observations of atoll morphology and corelog stratigraphy...
The plant phenology monitoring design for the National Ecological Observatory Network
Sarah C Elmendorf, Katherine D. Jones, Benjamin I. Cook, Jeffrey M. Diez, Carolyn A.F. Enquist, Rebecca A. Hufft, Matthew O. Jones, Susan J. Mazer, Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, David J. P. Moore, Mark D. Schwartz, Jake F. Weltzin
2016, Ecosphere (7)
Phenology is an integrative science that comprises the study of recurring biological activities or events. In an era of rapidly changing climate, the relationship between the timing of those events and environmental cues such as temperature, snowmelt, water availability or day length are of particular interest. This article provides an...
Somatic growth dynamics of West Atlantic hawksbill sea turtles: a spatio-temporal perspective
Karen A. Bjorndal, Milani Chaloupka, Vincent S. Saba, Carlos E. Diez, Robert P. van Dam, Barry H. Krueger, Julia A. Horrocks, Armando J.B. Santos, Claudio Bellini, Maria A.G. Marcovaldi, Mabel Nava, Sue Willis, Brendan J. Godley, Shannon Gore, Lucy A. Hawkes, Andrew McGowan, Matthew J. Witt, Thomas B. Stringell, Amdeep Sanghera, Peter B. Richardson, Annette C. Broderick, Quinton Phillips, Marta C. Calosso, John A.B. Claydon, Janice Blumenthal, Felix Moncada, Gonzalo Nodarse, Yosvani Medina, Stephen G. Dunbar, Lawrence D. Wood, Cynthia J. Lagueux, Cathi L. Campbell, Anne B. Meylan, Peter A. Meylan, Virginia R. Burns Perez, Robin A. Coleman, Samantha Strindberg, Vicente Guzman-H, Kristen M. Hart, Michael S. Cherkiss, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Ian Lundgren, Ralf H. Boulon Jr., Stephen Connett, Mark E. Outerbridge, Alan B. Bolten
2016, Ecosphere (7) e01279
Somatic growth dynamics are an integrated response to environmental conditions. Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are long-lived, major consumers in coral reef habitats that move over broad geographic areas (hundreds to thousands of kilometers). We evaluated spatio-temporal effects on hawksbill growth dynamics over a 33-yr period and 24 study sites...
Monitoring plant tissue nitrogen isotopes to assess nearshore inputs of nitrogen to Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington
Stephen E. Cox, Patrick W. Moran, Raegan L. Huffman, Steven C. Fradkin
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5054
Mats of filamentous-periphytic algae present in some nearshore areas of Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington, may indicate early stages of eutrophication from nutrient enrichment of an otherwise highly oligotrophic lake. Natural abundance ratios of stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N) measured in plant tissue growing in nearshore areas of...
Yucca brevifolia fruit production, predispersal seed predation, and fruit removal by rodents during two years of contrasting reproduction
Mark I. Borchert, Lesley DeFalco
2016, American Journal of Botany (103) 830-836
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The distribution of Yucca brevifolia, a keystone species of the Mojave Desert, may contract with climate change, yet reproduction and dispersal are poorly understood. We tracked reproduction, seed predation, and fruit dispersal for two years and discuss whether Y. brevifolia is a masting species. METHODS: Fruit...
The National Wind Erosion Research Network: Building a standardized long-term data resource for aeolian research, modeling and land management
Nicholas P. Webb, Jeffrey E. Herrick, Justin W. Van Zee, Ericha M. Courtright, Ted M Hugenholtz, Ted M Zobeck, Gregory S. Okin, Thomas E Barchyn, Benjamin J Billings, Robert A. Boyd, Scott D Clingan, Brad F Cooper, Michael C. Duniway, Justin D. Derner, Fred A Fox, Kris M. Havstad, Philip Heilman, Valerie LaPlante, Noel A Ludwig, Loretta J Metz, Mark A Nearing, M Lee Norfleet, Frederick B Pierson, Matt A Sanderson, Brenton S Sharrat, Jean L Steiner, John Tatarko, Negussie H Tedela, David Todelo, Robert S Unnasch, R Scott Van Pelt, Larry Wagner
2016, Aeolian Research (22) 23-36
The National Wind Erosion Research Network was established in 2014 as a collaborative effort led by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, to address the need for a long-term research...
Physiological comparisons of plasma and tissue metrics of selected inland and coastal steelhead kelts.
Zachary L. Penney, Christine M. Moffitt, Bryan Jones, Brian Marston
2016, Environmental Biology of Fishes (99) 487-498
The physiological status of migrating steelhead kelts (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from the Situk River, Alaska, and two tributaries of the Clearwater River, Idaho, was evaluated to explore potential differences in post-spawning survival related to energy reserves. Blood plasma samples were analyzed for metrics related to nutritional and osmotic status,...
Immunoglobulin detection in wild birds: Effectiveness of three secondary anti-avian IgY antibodies in direct ELISAs in 41 avian species
Carol A. Fassbinder-Orth, Travis E. Wilcoxen, Tiffany Tran, Raoul K. Boughton, Jeanne M. Fair, Erik K. Hofmeister, Jennifer L. Grindstaff, Jen C. Owen
2016, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (7) 1174-1181
1.Immunological reagents for wild, non-model species are limited or often non-existent for many species. 2. In this study, we compare the reactivity of a new anti-passerine IgY secondary antibody with existing secondary antibodies developed for use with birds. Samples from 41 species from the following six avian orders were analysed: Anseriformes...
Evaluation of Yersinia pestis transmission pathways for sylvatic plague in prairie dog populations in the western U.S.
Katherine L. D. Richgels, Robin E. Russell, Gebbiena Bron, Tonie E. Rocke
2016, EcoHealth (13) 415-427
Sylvatic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is periodically responsible for large die-offs in rodent populations that can spillover and cause human mortalities. In the western US, prairie dog populations experience nearly 100% mortality during plague outbreaks, suggesting that multiple transmission pathways combine to amplify plague dynamics....
Mortality monitoring design for utility-scale solar power facilities
Manuela M. Huso, Thomas Dietsch, Chris Nicolai
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1087
IntroductionSolar power represents an important and rapidly expanding component of the renewable energy portfolio of the United States (Lovich and Ennen, 2011; Hernandez and others, 2014). Understanding the impacts of renewable energy development on wildlife is a priority for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in compliance with Department...
Intraguild predation by shore crabs affects mortality, behavior, growth, and densities of California horn snails
J. Lorda, R. F. Hechinger, S. D. Cooper, A. M. Kuris, Kevin D. Lafferty
2016, Ecosphere (7)
The California horn snail, Cerithideopsis californica, and the shore crabs, Pachygrapsus crassipesand Hemigrapsus oregonensis, compete for epibenthic microalgae, but the crabs also eat snails. Such intraguild predation is common in nature, despite models predicting instability. Using a series of manipulations and field surveys, we examined intraguild predation from several angles, including the effects...
Paying the pipers: Mitigating the impact of anticoagulant rodenticides on predators and scavengers
John E. Elliott, Barnett A. Rattner, Richard F. Shore, Nico W. van den Brink
2016, BioScience (66) 401-407
Anticoagulant rodenticides, mainly second-generation forms, or SGARs, dominate the global market for rodent control. Introduced in the 1970s to counter genetic resistance in rodent populations to first-generation compounds such as warfarin, SGARs are extremely toxic and highly effective killers. However, their tendency to persist and accumulate in the body has...
Holocene evolution of diatom and silicoflagellate paleoceanography in Slocum Arm, a fjord in southeastern Alaska
John A. Barron, David Bukry, Jason A. Addison, Thomas A. Ager
2016, Marine Micropaleontology (126) 1-18
Diatom and silicoflagellate assemblages in cores EW0408-47JC, -47TC, -46MC (57° 34.5278′ N, 136° 3.7764′ W, 114 m water depth) taken from the outer portion of Slocum Arm, a post-glacial fjord in southeastern Alaska, reveal the paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic evolution of the eastern margin of the Gulf of Alaska (GoA) during the...
Seasonal and diel effects on acoustic fish biomass estimates: application to a shallow reservoir with untargeted common carp (Cyprinus carpio)
Imed Djemali, Daniel Yule, Jean Guillard
2016, Marine and Freshwater Research (68) 528-537
The aim of the present study was to understand how seasonal fish distributions affect acoustically derived fish biomass estimates in a shallow reservoir in a semi-arid country (Tunisia). To that end, sampling events were performed during four seasons (spring (June), summer (September), autumn (December) and winter (March)) that included day...
Quantitative evidence for the effects of multiple drivers on continental-scale amphibian declines
Evan H. Campbell Grant, David A. W. Miller, Benedikt R. Schmidt, M. J. Adams, Staci M. Amburgey, Thierry A. Chambert, Sam S. Cruickshank, Robert N. Fisher, David M. Green, Blake R. Hossack, Pieter T.J. Johnson, Maxwell B. Joseph, Tracy A. G. Rittenhouse, Maureen E. Ryan, J. Hardin Waddle, Susan C. Walls, Larissa L. Bailey, Gary M. Fellers, Thomas A. Gorman, Andrew M. Ray, David S. Pilliod, Steven J. Price, Daniel Saenz, Walt Sadinski, Erin L. Muths
2016, Scientific Reports (6)
Since amphibian declines were first proposed as a global phenomenon over a quarter century ago, the conservation community has made little progress in halting or reversing these trends. The early search for a “smoking gun” was replaced with the expectation that declines are caused by multiple drivers. While field observations...
Integrating local pastoral knowledge, participatory mapping, and species distribution modeling for risk assessment of invasive rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) in Ethiopia’s Afar region
Matthew Luizza, Tewodros Wakie, Paul Evangelista, Catherine S. Jarnevich
2016, Ecology and Society (21)
The threats posed by invasive plants span ecosystems and economies worldwide. Local knowledge of biological invasions has proven beneficial for invasive species research, but to date no work has integrated this knowledge with species distribution modeling for invasion risk assessments. In this study, we integrated pastoral knowledge with Maxent modeling...
Cyanotoxins in inland lakes of the United States: Occurrence and potential recreational health risks in the EPA National Lakes Assessment 2007
Keith A. Loftin, Jennifer L. Graham, Elizabeth Hilborn, Sarah Lehmann, Michael T. Meyer, Julie E. Dietze, Christopher Griffith
2016, Harmful Algae (56) 77-90
A large nation-wide survey of cyanotoxins (1161 lakes) in the United States (U.S.) was conducted during the EPA National Lakes Assessment 2007. Cyanotoxin data were compared with cyanobacteria abundance- and chlorophyll-based World Health Organization (WHO) thresholds and mouse toxicity data to evaluate potential recreational risks. Cylindrospermopsins, microcystins, and saxitoxins were...
Baylisascaris Larva Migrans
Kevin R. Kazacos
Rachel C. Abbott, Charles van Riper III, editor(s)
2016, Circular 1412
SummaryBaylisascaris procyonis, the common raccoon roundworm, is the most commonly recognized cause of clinical larva migrans (LM) in animals, a condition in which an immature parasitic worm or larva migrates in a host animal’s tissues, causing obvious disease. Infection with B. procyonis is best known as a cause of fatal...
Suspended sediment delivery to Puget Sound from the lower Nisqually River, western Washington, July 2010–November 2011
Christopher A. Curran, Eric E. Grossman, Christopher S. Magirl, James R. Foreman
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5062
On average, the Nisqually River delivers about 100,000 metric tons per year (t/yr) of suspended sediment to Puget Sound, western Washington, a small proportion of the estimated 1,200,000 metric tons (t) of sediment reported to flow in the upper Nisqually River that drains the glaciated, recurrently active Mount Rainier...
Total cylindrospermopsins, microcystins/nodularins, and saxitoxins data for the 2007 United States Environmental Protection Agency National Lake Assessment
Keith A. Loftin, Julie E. Dietze, Michael T. Meyer, Jennifer L. Graham, Megan M. Maksimowicz, Kathryn D. Toyne
2016, Data Series 929
Phytoplankton communities in freshwater lakes, ponds, and reservoirs may be dominated by cyanobacteria (also called blue-green algae) under certain environmental conditions. Cyanobacteria may cause a range of water-quality impairments, including the potential for toxin production. Cyanobacteria toxins (cyanotoxins) may adversely impact human and ecological health. Microcystins are considered to be...
Improved ground-based remote-sensing systems help monitor plant response to climate and other changes
Dennis G. Dye, Rian Bogle
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3013
Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey are improving and developing new ground-based remote-sensing instruments and techniques to study how Earth’s vegetation responds to changing climates. Do seasonal grasslands and forests “green up” early (or late) and grow more (or less) during unusually warm years? How do changes in temperature and precipitation affect these patterns? Innovations in ground-based remote-sensing instrumentation can help us...
Wetlands postcard
Lianne C. Ball
2016, General Information Product 163
Wetlands Postcard Research conducted by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey provides reliable scientific information for the management of wetlands ranging from small freshwater alpine lakes in the Western United States to coastal wetlands of the Great Lakes and salt marshes along the Southeastern coast. Learn more about USGS wetlands research...
Potential effects of sea-level rise on the depth to saturated sediments of the Sagamore and Monomoy flow lenses on Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Donald A. Walter, Timothy D. McCobb, John P. Masterson, Michael N. Fienen
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5058
In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, the Cape Cod Commission, and the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, began an evaluation of the potential effects of sea-level rise on water table altitudes and depths to water on central and western Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Increases...
Evaluation of flood inundation in Crystal Springs Creek, Portland, Oregon
Adam Stonewall, Glen Hess
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1079
Efforts to improve fish passage have resulted in the replacement of six culverts in Crystal Springs Creek in Portland, Oregon. Two more culverts are scheduled to be replaced at Glenwood Street and Bybee Boulevard (Glenwood/Bybee project) in 2016. Recently acquired data have allowed for a more comprehensive understanding of the...
Purgeable organic compounds at or near the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 2015
Neil V. Maimer, Roy C. Bartholomay
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1083
During 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, collected groundwater samples from 31 wells at or near the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) at the Idaho National Laboratory for purgeable organic compounds (POCs). The samples were collected and analyzed for the...
