1984–2010 trends in fire burn severity and area for the conterminous US
Joshua J. Picotte, Birgit E. Peterson, Gretchen Meier, Stephen M. Howard
2016, International Journal of Wildland Fire (25) 413-420
Burn severity products created by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) project were used to analyse historical trends in burn severity. Using a severity metric calculated by modelling the cumulative distribution of differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) and Relativized dNBR (RdNBR) data, we examined burn area and burn severity...
It’s what’s inside that counts: Egg contaminant concentrations are influenced by estimates of egg density, egg volume, and fresh egg mass
Mark P. Herzog, Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, C. Alex Hartman
2016, Ecotoxicology (25) 770-776
In egg contaminant studies, it is necessary to calculate egg contaminant concentrations on a fresh wet weight basis and this requires accurate estimates of egg density and egg volume. We show that the inclusion or exclusion of the eggshell can influence egg contaminant concentrations, and we provide estimates of egg...
Determining the 95% limit of detection for waterborne pathogen analyses from primary concentration to qPCR
Joel P. Stokdyk, Aaron D. Firnstahl, Susan K. Spencer, Tucker R Burch, Mark A. Borchardt
2016, Water Research (96) 105-113
The limit of detection (LOD) for qPCR-based analyses is not consistently defined or determined in studies on waterborne pathogens. Moreover, the LODs reported often reflect the qPCR assay alone rather than the entire sample process. Our objective was to develop an approach to determine the 95% LOD (lowest concentration at...
Tarangire revisited: Consequences of declining connectivity in a tropical ungulate population
Thomas A. Morrison, William A. Link, William D. Newmark, Charles A.H. Foley, Douglas T. Bolger
2016, Biological Conservation (197) 53-60
The hyper-abundance of migratory wildlife in many ecosystems depends on maintaining access to seasonally available resources. In Eastern and Southern Africa, land-use change and a loss of connectivity have coincided with widespread declines in the abundance and geographic range of ungulate populations. Using photographic capture-mark-recapture, we examine the historical pattern...
Desert tortoise annotated bibliography, 1991-2015
Kristin H. Berry, Lisa M. Lyren, Jeremy S. Mack, L. Arriana Brand, Dustin A. Wood
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1023
Introduction Agassiz’s desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, was considered a single species for 150 years after its discovery by James Cooper (1861), with a geographic range extending from southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah southward into northern Sinaloa, Mexico (Murphy and others, 2011). What was once G. agassizii is now...
Establishing a pre-mining geochemical baseline at a uranium mine near Grand Canyon National Park, USA
David L. Naftz, Katherine Walton-Day
2016, Geoderma (7) 76-92
During 2012, approximately 404,000 ha of Federal Land in northern Arizona was withdrawn from consideration of mineral extraction for a 20-year period to protect the Grand Canyon watershed from potentially adverse effects of U mineral exploration and development. The development, operation, and reclamation of the Canyon Mine during the withdrawal...
Optimized methods for total nucleic acid extraction and quantification of the bat white-nose syndrome fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, from swab and environmental samples
Michelle Verant, Elizabeth A. Bohuski, Jeffrey M. Lorch, David S. Blehert
2016, Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation (28) 110-118
The continued spread of white-nose syndrome and its impacts on hibernating bat populations across North America has prompted nationwide surveillance efforts and the need for high-throughput, noninvasive diagnostic tools. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis has been increasingly used for detection of the causative fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, in both bat-...
Available data support protection of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher under the Endangered Species Act
Tad C. Theimer, Aaron D. Smith, Sean M. Mahoney, Kirsten E. Ironside
2016, The Condor (118) 289-299
Zink (2015) argued there was no evidence for genetic, morphological, or ecological differentiation between the federally endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) and other Willow Flycatcher subspecies. Using the same data, we show there is a step-cline in both the frequency of a mtDNA haplotype and in plumage variation roughly...
Habitat use and foraging patterns of molting male Long-tailed Ducks in lagoons of the central Beaufort Sea, Alaska
Paul L. Flint, John A. Reed, Deborah Lacroix, Richard Lanctot
2016, Arctic (69) 19-28
From mid-July through September, 10 000 to 30 000 Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis) use the lagoon systems of the central Beaufort Sea for remigial molt. Little is known about their foraging behavior and patterns of habitat use during this flightless period. We used radio transmitters to track male Long-tailed Ducks...
Amphibian mortality events and ranavirus outbreaks in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Debra A. Patla, Sophia St-Hilaire, Andrew P. Rayburn, Blake R. Hossack, Charles R. Peterson
2016, Herpetological Review (47) 50-54
Mortality events in wild amphibians go largely undocumented, and where events are detected, the numbers of dead amphibians observed are probably a small fraction of actual mortality (Green and Sherman 2001; Skerratt et al. 2007). Incidental observations from field surveys can, despite limitations, provide valuable information on the presence, host...
Flow regime effects on mature Populus fremontii (Fremont cottonwood) productivity on two contrasting dryland river floodplains
Douglas C. Andersen
2016, Southwestern Naturalist (61) 8-17
I compared riparian cottonwood (Populus fremontii) productivity-discharge relationships in a relictual stand along the highly regulated Green River and in a naturally functioning stand along the unregulated Yampa River in semiarid northwest Colorado. I used multiple regression to model flow effects on annual basal area increment (BAI) from 1982 to...
Reevaluating the age of the Walden Creek Group and the kinematic evolution of the western Blue Ridge, southern Appalachians
J. Ryan Thigpen, Robert D. Hatcher Jr., Linda C. Kah, John E. Repetski
2016, American Journal of Science (316) 279-308
An integrated synthesis of existing datasets (detailed geologic mapping, geochronologic, paleontologic, geophysical) with new paleontologic and geochemical investigations of rocks previously interpreted as part of the Neoproterozoic Walden Creek Group in southeastern Tennessee suggest a necessary reevaluation of the kinematics and structural architecture of the Blue Ridge Foothills....
Predictive mapping of seabirds, pinnipeds and cetaceans off the Pacific Coast of Washington
Charles Menza, Jeffery B. Leirness, Tim White, Arliss Winship, Brian P. Kinlan, Laura Kracker, Jeannette E. Zamon, Lisa Ballance, Elizabeth Becker, Karin A. Forney, Jay Barlow, Josh Adams, David Pereksta, Scott Pearson, John Pierce, Steven J. Jeffries, John Calambokidis, Annie Douglas, Bradford C. Hanson, Scott R. Benson, Liam Antrim
2016, Report
About this report This report supports Washington-led marine spatial planning and responsible stewardship of natural and cultural resources by the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Washington state agencies and the sanctuary continually seek the best available science to improve management of marine uses and stewardship of resources (Etheridge et al., 2010;...
Riparian groundwater and baseflow studies in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Lindsay Reynolds, Patrick B. Shafroth
2016, Report, Ruth Powell Hutchins Water Center Scientific and technical report series
Executive summary As part of an ongoing effort to understand baseflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) and implications for stream-dependent ecosystems, we conducted a brief review of literature related to groundwater and baseflow in the UCRB. We included primary literature, federal and state resources, databases and gray literature studies...
Reduced population variance in strontium isotope values informs domesticated turkey use at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA
Deanna N Grimstead, Amanda C Reynolds, Adam M Hudson, Nancy J Akins, Julio L. Betancourt
2016, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory (23) 127-149
Traditionally strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) have been used as a sourcing tool in numerous archaeological artifact classes. The research presented here demonstrates that 87Sr/86Srbioapatite ratios also can be used at a population level to investigate the presence of domesticated animals and methods of management. The proposed methodology combines ecology, isotope geochemistry,...
Isotope hydrology of the Chalk River Laboratories site, Ontario, Canada
Zell E. Peterman, Leonid A. Neymark, K.J. King-Sharp, Mel Gascoyne
2016, Applied Geochemistry (66) 149-161
This paper presents results of hydrochemical and isotopic analyses of groundwater (fracture water) and porewater, and physical property and water content measurements of bedrock core at the Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) site in Ontario. Density and water contents were determined and water-loss porosity values were calculated for core samples. Average...
Thorium as a nuclear fuel
Bradley S. Van Gosen, Harikrishnan Tulsidas
Ian Hore-Lacy, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Uranium for nuclear power: Resources, mining and transformation to fuel
No abstract available....
Breeding sites and winter site fidelity of Piping Plovers wintering in The Bahamas, a previously unknown major wintering area
Cheri Gratto-Trevor, Susan M. Haig, Mark P. Miller, Thomas D. Mullins, Sidney Maddock, Erin A. Roche, Predensa Moore
2016, Journal of Field Ornithology (87) 29-41
Most of the known wintering areas of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) are along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States and into Mexico, and in the Caribbean. However, 1066 threatened/endangered Piping Plovers were recently found wintering in The Bahamas, an area not previously known to be important for...
Mercury transformation and release differs with depth and time in a contaminated riparian soil during simulated flooding
Brett Poulin, George R. Aiken, Kathryn L. Nagy, Alain Manceau, David P. Krabbenhoft, Joseph N. Ryan
2016, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (176) 118-138
Riparian soils are an important environment in the transport of mercury in rivers and wetlands, but the biogeochemical factors controlling mercury dynamics under transient redox conditions in these soils are not well understood. Mercury release and transformations in the Oa and underlying A horizons of a contaminated riparian soil were...
Spatial patterns of native freshwater mussels in the Upper Mississippi River
Patricia R. Ries, Nathan R. De Jager, Steven J. Zigler, Teresa Newton
2016, Freshwater Science (35) 934-947
Multiple physical and biological factors structure freshwater mussel communities in large rivers, and their distributions have been described as clumped or patchy. However, few surveys of mussel populations have been conducted over areas large enough and at resolutions fine enough to quantify spatial patterns in their distribution. We used global...
Detection of an enigmatic plethodontid Salamander using Environmental DNA
Todd W. Pierson, Anna M. McKee, Stephen F. Spear, John C. Maerz, Carlos D. Camp, Travis C. Glenn
2016, Copeia (104) 78-82
The isolation and identification of environmental DNA (eDNA) offers a non-invasive and efficient method for the detection of rare and secretive aquatic wildlife, and it is being widely integrated into inventory and monitoring efforts. The Patch-Nosed Salamander (Urspelerpes brucei) is a tiny, recently discovered species of plethodontid salamander known only...
Capsule- and disk-filter procedure
Stanley C. Skrobialowski
2016, Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations 9-A5
Capsule and disk filters are disposable, self-contained units composed of a pleated or woven filter medium encased in a polypropylene or other plastic housing that can be connected inline to a sample-delivery system (such as a submersible or peristaltic pump) that generates sufficient pressure (positive or negative) to force water...
Lake Ontario benthic prey fish assessment, 2015
Brian Weidel, Maureen Walsh, Jeremy P. Holden, Michael J. Connerton
2016, NYSDEC Lake Ontario Annual Report 2015-12b
Benthic prey fishes are a critical component of the Lake Ontario food web, serving as energy vectors from benthic invertebrates to native and introduced piscivores. Since the late 1970’s, Lake Ontario benthic prey fish status was primarily assessed using bottom trawl observations confined to the lake’s south shore, in waters...
Updating movement estimates for American black ducks (Anas rubripes)
Orin J. Robinson, Conor P. McGowan, Patrick K. Devers
2016, PeerJ (4) 1-11
Understanding migratory connectivity for species of concern is of great importance if we are to implement management aimed at conserving them. New methods are improving our understanding of migration; however, banding (ringing) data is by far the most widely available and accessible movement data for researchers. Here, we use band...
Afterslip behavior following the M6.0, 2014 South Napa earthquake with implications for afterslip forecasting on other seismogenic faults
James J. Lienkaemper, Stephen B. DeLong, Carolyn J Domrose, Carla M. Rosa
2016, Seismological Research Letters (87) 609-619
The M6.0, 24 Aug. 2014 South Napa, California, earthquake exhibited unusually large slip for a California strike-slip event of its size with a maximum coseismic surface slip of 40-50 cm in the north section of the 15 km-long rupture. Although only minor (<10 cm) surface slip occurred coseismically in the...
