Limnogeology, news in brief
Michael R. Rosen, Elizabeth Gierlowski-Kordesch
2015, Environmental Earth Sciences (73) 913-917
We've invited Michael R. Rosen, water quality specialist within the USGS Water Science Field Team in Carson City and Elizabeth Gierlowski-Kordesch, professor of geology at Ohio University, to take a look at the intriguing new developments that are emerging in limnogeologic studies. These studies are increasing our understanding of how...
Entrainment of bed material by Earth-surface mass flows: review and reformulation of depth-integrated theory
Richard M. Iverson, Chaojun Ouyang
2015, Reviews of Geophysics (53) 1-32
Earth-surface mass flows such as debris flows, rock avalanches, and dam-break floods can grow greatly in size and destructive potential by entraining bed material they encounter. Increasing use of depth-integrated mass- and momentum-conservation equations to model these erosive flows motivates a review of the underlying theory. Our review indicates that...
Genomic single-nucleotide polymorphisms confirm that Gunnison and Greater sage-grouse are genetically well differentiated and that the Bi-State population is distinct
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Robert S. Cornman, Kenneth L. Jones, Jennifer A. Fike
2015, The Condor (117) 217-227
Sage-grouse are iconic, declining inhabitants of sagebrush habitats in western North America, and their management depends on an understanding of genetic variation across the landscape. Two distinct species of sage-grouse have been recognized, Greater (Centrocercus urophasianus) and Gunnison sage-grouse (C. minimus), based on morphology, behavior, and variation at neutral genetic...
Coles Hill Uranium Deposit, Virginia, United States, and the Application of UNFC-2009
Susan M. Hall
2015, Book chapter, Application of UNFC to Nuclear Fuel Resources - Selected Case Studies
The case study presented here reviews the uranium resource estimates and summarizes the property situation of the Coles Hill uranium Deposit. Uranium resources at Coles Hill are then classified according to UNFC-2009. The Coles Hill Deposit is located in Pittsylvania County, southern Virginia, United States (Figure 14). Coles Hill was...
A summary of the late Cenozoic stratigraphic and tectonic history of the Santa Clara Valley, California
Victoria E. Langenheim, Robert C. Jachens, Carl M. Wentworth, Russell W. Graymer, Richard G. Stanley, Robert J. McLaughlin, Robert W. Simpson, Robert A. Williams, D. W. Andersen, David A. Ponce
2015, Geosphere (11) 50-62
The late Cenozoic stratigraphic and tectonic history of the Santa Clara Valley illustrates the dynamic nature of the North American–Pacific plate boundary and its effect on basin and landscape development. Prior to early Miocene time, the area that became Santa Clara Valley consisted of eroding Franciscan complex basement structurally interleaved...
Yellowstone grizzly bear investigations — Annual report of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team 2014
Frank T. van Manen, Mark A. Haroldson, Suzanna C. Soileau, editor(s)
2015, Report
This Annual Report summarizes results of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) monitoring and research conducted in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) during 2014. The report also contains a summary of grizzly bear management actions to address conflict situations. ...
Book reviews: The Double-crested Cormorant, plight of a feathered pariah, by L.R. Wires/The birds of New Hampshire by Allan R, Keith and Robert P. Fox
R. Todd Engstrom, Daniel D. Roby, Jon S. Greenlaw
2015, The Auk (132) 315-317
No abstract available....
Population connectivity of deep-sea corals
Cheryl L. Morrison, Amy Baco, Martha S. Nizinski, D. Katharine Coykendall, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Walter Cho, Tim Shank
2015, NOAA Technical Memorandum X-12
Identifying the scale of dispersal among habitats has been a challenge in marine ecology for decades (Grantham et al., 2003; Kinlan & Gaines, 2003; Hixon, 2011). Unlike terrestrial habitats in which barriers to dispersal may be obvious (e.g. mountain ranges, rivers), few absolute barriers to dispersal are recognizable in the...
R for fledglings
Therese Donovan, Michelle Brown, Jonathan Katz
2015, Book
We’ve been asked to provide a short introduction to R and its utility in natural resource management. In this short introduction, we can guarantee one thing: you won’t learn R in a few days. That would be like learning to speak French in a few days. To actually learn R,...
Evaluation of stream flow effects on smolt survival in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, 2012-2014
Ian Courter, Tommy Garrison, Tobias J. Kock, Russell W. Perry
2015, Report
The influence of stream flow on survival of emigrating juvenile (smolts) Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. and steelhead trout O. mykiss is of key management interest. However, few studies have quantified flow effects on smolt migration survival, and available information does not indicate a consistent flow-survival relationship within the typical range...
Contrasting fish assemblages in free-flowing and impounded tributaries to the Upper Delaware River: Implications for conserving biodiversity
Barry P. Baldigo, Mari-Beth Delucia, Walter D. Keller, George E. Schuler, Colin D. Apse, Tara Moberg
2015, Book chapter, Advances in Environmental Research
The Neversink River and the Beaver Kill in southeastern New York are major tributaries to the Delaware River, the longest undammed river east of the Mississippi. While the Beaver Kill is free flowing for its entire length, the Neversink River is subdivided by the Neversink Reservoir, which likely affects the...
Estimating sturgeon abundance in the Carolinas using side-scan sonar
H. Jared Flowers, Joseph E. Hightower
2015, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (7) 1-9
Sturgeons (Acipenseridae) are one of the most threatened taxa worldwide, including species in North Carolina and South Carolina. Populations of Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus in the Carolinas have been significantly reduced from historical levels by a combination of intense fishing and habitat loss. There is a need for estimates of...
Characterization of stormwater runoff from bridges in North Carolina and the effects of bridge runoff on receiving streams
Chad Wagner, Sharon Fitzgerald, Matthew Lauffer
2015, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Ecology & Transportation
The presentation will provide an overview of a collaborative study between USGS, NC Department of Transportation and URS Corporation to characterize stormwater runoff from bridges in North Carolina and the effects of bridge runoff on receiving streams. This investigation measured bridge deck runoff from 15 bridges for 12-15 storms, stream...
Elk habitat suitability map for North Carolina
Steven G. Williams, David T. Cobb, Jaime A. Collazo
2015, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (2) 181-186
Although eastern elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis) were extirpated from the eastern United States in the 19th century, they were successfully reintroduced in the North Carolina portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the early 2000s. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) is evaluating the prospect of reintroducing...
Survival and recovery rates of mottled ducks banded in Texas and Louisiana
David A. Haukos
2015, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (2) 214-220
The Western Gulf Coast population of the mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) is dependent on the Gulf coastal marsh to complete its entire life cycle. Band recovery data can be used to monitor mottled duck populations by estimating annual survival, indexing harvest rate, and assessing movements. Band returns from hunting seasons...
Changes in thyroid parameters of hatchling American kestrels (Falco sparverius) following embryonic exposure to technical short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs; C10-13, 55.5% CL)
Kimberly J. Fernie, Paula F. P. Henry, Robert J. Letcher, Vince P. Palace, Lisa E. Peters, Barnett A. Rattner, Edward Sverko, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier
2015, Organohalogen Compounds (77) 398-400
Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are complex mixtures of polychlorinated n-alkanes categorized according to their carbon chain length: short chain (SCCPs, C10 – C13), medium (C14 - C17), and long chain (C>17), chlorinated paraffins. SCCPs are primarily used in metalworking applications, as flame retardants, and in paints, adhesives, sealants, textiles, plastics and...
Day-roost tree selection by northern long-eared bats - What do non-roost tree comparisons and one year of data really tell us?
Alexander Silvis, W. Mark Ford, Eric R. Britzke
2015, Global Ecology and Conservation (3) 756-763
Bat day-roost selection often is described through comparisons of day-roosts with randomly selected, and assumed unused, trees. Relatively few studies, however, look at patterns of multi-year selection or compare day-roosts used across years. We explored day-roost selection using 2 years of roost selection data for female northern long-eared bats (Myotis...
Suspended-sediment dynamics in the tidal reach of a San Francisco Bay tributary
Gregory Shellenbarger, Maureen A. Downing-Kunz, David H. Schoellhamer
2015, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 17th physics of estuaries and coastal seas (PECS) conference
To better understand suspended-sediment transport in a tidal slough adjacent to a large wetland restoration project, we deployed continuously-measuring temperature, salinity, depth, turbidity, and velocity sensors since 2010, and added a dissolved-oxygen sensor in 2012, at a near-bottom location in Alviso Slough (Alviso, California USA). Alviso Slough is the downstream...
Conservation status of North American freshwater crayfish (Decapoda: Cambaridae) from the southern United States
Zachary J. Loughman, Stuart A. Welsh, James W. Fetzner, Roger F. Thoma
2015, Journal of Crustacean Biology (35) 850-860
A list is provided of all crayfishes (family Cambaridae) in the southern United States, which includes common names, global conservation status, an alternative review of the conservation status based on the IUCN red list criteria, and state distribution. This list includes 357 native crayfishes, of which 12 (3.4%) are critically...
Synopsis of the history of sea otter conservation in the United States
Glenn R. VanBlaricom
2015, Book chapter
In the late 1860s, declining US sea otter populations elicited concern because of prior excessive harvests. Congress mandated protection of Alaskan sea otters in 1868, but hunting continued unrestrained. The Fur Seal Treaty of 1911 (abrogated in 1941) protected sea otters in international waters, but was not applicable to most...
Integrating climate change into northeast and midwest State Wildlife Action Plans
Michelle D. Staudinger, Toni L. Morelli, Alexander Bryan, editor(s)
2015, Report
The Department of Interior Northeast Climate Science Center (NE CSC) conducts research that responds to the regional natural resource management community’s needs to anticipate, monitor, and adapt to climate change. The NE CSC is supported by a consortium of partners that includes the University of Massachusetts Amherst, College of Menominee...
Reaction modeling of drainage quality in the Duluth Complex, northern Minnesota, USA
Robert R. Seal, Kim Lapakko, Nadine M. Piatak, Laurel G. Woodruff
2015, Conference Paper
Reaction modeling can be a valuable tool in predicting the long-term behavior of waste material if representative rate constants can be derived from long-term leaching tests or other approaches. Reaction modeling using the REACT program of the Geochemist’s Workbench was conducted to evaluate long-term drainage quality affected by disseminated Cu-Ni-(Co-)-PGM...
Brittle Faults
Soumyajit Mukherjee
2015, Book chapter
Brittle shear zones/fault zones are usually defined by curved brittle P-planes bound by usually straight Y-planes. These shears may affect as a narrow zone within the rock bodies. Brittle sheared lenses of rocks vary in geometry, and the P-planes may curve only near the Y-planes. Fault gouge zones sometimes contain...
Analyzing high resolution topography for advancing the understanding of mass and energy transfer through landscapes: A review
Paola Passaiacquaa, Patrick Belmont, Dennis M. Staley, Jeffery Simley, J. Ramon Arrowsmith, Collin A. Bode, Christopher Crosby, Stephen DeLong, Nancy Glenn, Sara Kelly, Dimitri Lague, Harish Sangireddy, Keelin Schaffrath, David Tarboton, Thad Wasklewicz, Joseph Wheaton
2015, Earth-Science Reviews (148) 174-193
The study of mass and energy transfer across landscapes has recently evolved to comprehensive considerations acknowledging the role of biota and humans as geomorphic agents, as well as the importance of small-scale landscape features. A contributing and supporting factor to this evolution is the emergence over the last two...
High-speed limnology: Using advanced sensors to investigate spatial variability in biogeochemistry and hydrology
John T. Crawford, Luke C. Loken, Nora J. Casson, Colin Smith, Amanda G. Stone, Luke A. Winslow
2015, Environmental Science & Technology (49) 442-450
Advanced sensor technology is widely used in aquatic monitoring and research. Most applications focus on temporal variability, whereas spatial variability has been challenging to document. We assess the capability of water chemistry sensors embedded in a high-speed water intake system to document spatial variability. This new sensor platform continuously samples...
