A global assessment of the conservation status of the American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus
Robert P. Clay, Arne J. Lesterhuis, Shiloh A. Schulte, Stephen Brown, Debra Reynolds, Theodore R. Simons
2014, International Wader Studies (20) 62-82
The American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus is the most widely distributed of the four oystercatcher species in the Western Hemisphere. Its range covers almost the entire Atlantic Coast from northeastern United States to southern Argentina; on the Pacific Coast it is found from northern Mexico to central Chile. This assessment covers the entire range of the...
Satellite tracking of the migration of Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus wintering in Japan
Tetsuo Shimada, Noriyuki M. Yamaguchi, N. Hijikata, Emiko N. Hiraoka, Jerry W. Hupp, Paul L. Flint, Ken-ichi Tokita, Go Fujita, Kiyoshi Uchida, F. Sato, Masayuki Kurechi, John M. Pearce, Andrew M. Ramey, Hiroyoshi Higuchi
2014, Ornithological Science (13) 67-75
We satellite-tracked Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus wintering in northern Japan to document their migration routes and timing, and to identify breeding areas. From 47 swans that we marked at Lake Izunuma-Uchinuma, Miyagi Prefecture, northeast Honshu, and at Lake Kussharo, east Hokkaido, we observed 57 spring and 33 autumn migrations from...
Nitrogen cycling processes and microbial community composition in bed sediments in the Yukon River at Pilot Station
Deborah A. Repert, Jennifer C. Underwood, Richard L. Smith, Bongkeun Song
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (119) 2328-2344
Information on the contribution of nitrogen (N)-cycling processes in bed sediments to river nutrient fluxes in large northern latitude river systems is limited. This study examined the relationship between N-cycling processes in bed sediments and N speciation and loading in the Yukon River near its mouth at the Bering Sea....
The role of protected area wetlands in waterfowl habitat conservation: implications for protected area network design
William S. Beatty, Dylan C. Kesler, Elisabeth B. Webb, Andrew H. Raedeke, Luke W. Naylor, Dale D. Humburg
2014, Biological Conservation (176) 144-152
The principal goal of protected area networks is biodiversity preservation, but efficacy of such networks is directly linked to animal movement within and outside area boundaries. We examined wetland selection patterns of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) during non-breeding periods from 2010 to 2012 to evaluate the utility of protected areas to...
Status of whitebarkpine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: A step-trend analysis comparing 2004-2007 to 2008-2011
Erin Shanahan, Kathryn M. Irvine, Dave Roberts, Andrea R. Litt, Kristin Legg, Rob Daley, Nina Chambers
2014, Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/GRYN/NRTR—2014/917
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is a foundation and keystone species in upper subalpine environments of the northern Rocky Mountains that strongly influences the biodiversity and productivity of high-elevation ecosystems (Tomback et al. 2001, Ellison et al. 2005). Throughout its historic range, whitebark pine has decreased significantly as a major component...
Characterizing lentic freshwater fish assemblages using multiple sampling methods
Jesse R. Fischer, Michael C. Quist
2014, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (186) 4461-4474
Characterizing fish assemblages in lentic ecosystems is difficult, and multiple sampling methods are almost always necessary to gain reliable estimates of indices such as species richness. However, most research focused on lentic fish sampling methodology has targeted recreationally important species, and little to no information is available regarding the influence...
Chemistry and texture of the rocks at Rocknest, Gale Crater: Evidence for sedimentary origin and diagenetic alteration
Diana L. Blaney, R. C. Wiens, S. Maurice, S.M. Clegg, Ryan B. Anderson, L.C. Kah, S. Le Mouélic, A. Ollila, N. Bridges, R. Tokar, G. Berger, J.C. Bridges, A. Cousin, B. Clark, M.D. Dyar, P.L. King, N. Lanza, N. Mangold, P.-Y. Meslin, H. Newsom, S. Schroder, S. Rowland, J. Johnson, L. Edgar, O. Gasnault, O. Forni, M. Schmidt, W. Goetz, K. Stack, D. Sumner, M. Fisk, M.B. Madsen
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (119) 2109-2131
A suite of eight rocks analyzed by the Curiosity Rover while it was stopped at the Rocknest sand ripple shows the greatest chemical divergence of any potentially sedimentary rocks analyzed in the early part of the mission. Relative to average Martian soil and to the stratigraphically lower units encountered as...
Aquatic invasive species: Lessons from cancer research
Adam J. Sepulveda, Andrew Ray, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Robert E. Gresswell, Jackson A. Gross, Jeffrey L. Kershner
2014, American Scientist (100) 234-242
Aquatic invasive species are disrupting ecosystems with increasing frequency. Successful control of these invasions has been rare: Biologists and managers have few tools for fighting aquatic invaders. In contrast, the medical community has long worked to develop tools for preventing and fighting cancer. Its successes are marked by a coordinated...
A multi-scaled approach to evaluating the fish assemblage structure within southern Appalachian streams USA.
Joseph Kirsch, James Peterson
2014, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (143) 1358-1371
There is considerable uncertainty about the relative roles of stream habitat and landscape characteristics in structuring stream-fish assemblages. We evaluated the relative importance of environmental characteristics on fish occupancy at the local and landscape scales within the upper Little Tennessee River basin of Georgia and North Carolina. Fishes were sampled...
The effects of harvest on waterfowl populations
Evan G. Cooch, Matthieu Guillemain, G Scott Boomer, Jean-Dominique Lebreton, James D. Nichols
2014, Wildfowl (Special Issue 4) 220-276
Change in the size of populations over space and time is, arguably, the motivation for much of pure and applied ecological research. The fundamental model for the dynamics of any population is straightforward: the net change in the abundance is the simple difference between the number of individuals entering the population and the number...
Assessing the importance of terrain parameters on glide avalanche release
Erich H. Peitzsch, Jordy Hendrikx, Daniel B. Fagre
2014, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop
Glide snow avalanches are dangerous and difficult to predict. Despite recent research there is still a lack of understanding regarding the controls of glide avalanche release. Glide avalanches often occur in similar terrain or the same locations annually and observations suggest that topography may be critical. Thus, to gain an...
The critical role of islands for waterbird breeding and foraging habitat in managed ponds of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, South San Francisco Bay, California
Joshua T. Ackerman, C. Alex Hartman, Mark P. Herzog, Lacy M. Smith, Stacy M. Moskal, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Julie L. Yee, John Y. Takekawa
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1263
The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project aims to restore 50–90 percent of former salt evaporation ponds into tidal marsh in South San Francisco Bay, California. However, large numbers of waterbirds use these ponds annually as nesting and foraging habitat. Islands within ponds are particularly important habitat for nesting, foraging,...
Maximizing the social and ecological value of Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina as the effects of global change processes increase.
Raye Nilius, Sarah Dawsey, Mitchell J. Eaton, Julien Martin, Stephanie S. Romanach, Suzanne Baird, Michael Bryant, David J. Case, Fred A. Johnson, Gerard McMahon, Nancy Pau, Elizabeth Pienaar, Mary Ratnaswamy, Steven Seibert, Pamela Wingrove, Nathan J. Wood
2014, Conference Paper, Structured decision making workshop - Report
Coastal ecosystems in the eastern U.S. have been severely altered by processes associated with human development, including drainage of coastal wetlands, changes in hydrology that alter sediment and freshwater delivery to the coast, land clearing, agricultural and forestry activity, and the construction of seawalls and other structures that “harden” the...
Northwest
Philip W. Mote, Amy K. Snover, Susan M. Capalbo, Sanford D. Eigenbrode, Patricia Glick, Jeremy S. Littell, Richard Raymondi, Spencer Reeder
2014, Book chapter, National Climate Assessment
Key Messages 1. Changes in the timing of streamflow related to changing snowmelt are already observed and will continue, reducing the supply of water for many competing demands and causing far-reaching ecological and socioeconomic consequences. 2. In the coastal zone, the effects of sea level rise, erosion, inundation, threats to...
Yellowstone River Compact Commission sixty-third annual report, 2014
Wayne R. Berkas
2014, Report
No abstract available....
Sharp increase in central Oklahoma seismicity 2009-2014 induced by massive wastewater injection
Kathleen M. Keranen, Geoffrey A. Abers, Matthew Weingarten, Barbara A. Bekins, Shemin Ge
2014, Science (345) 448-451
Unconventional oil and gas production provides a rapidly growing energy source; however high-producing states in the United States, such as Oklahoma, face sharply rising numbers of earthquakes. Subsurface pressure data required to unequivocally link earthquakes to injection are rarely accessible. Here we use seismicity and hydrogeological models to show that...
Land-use and land-cover change
Daniel G. Brown, Colin Polsky, Paul V. Bolstad, Samuel D. Brody, David Hulse, Roger Kroh, Thomas Loveland, Allison Thompson
J. M. Melillo, Terese Richmond, G.W. Yohe, editor(s)
2014, Report, Climate change impacts in the United States: The third national climate assessment
No abstract available....
A large mantle water source for the northern San Andreas Fault System: A ghost of subduction past
Stephen H. Kirby, Kelin Wang, Thomas M. Brocher
2014, Earth, Planets and Space (66-67)
Recent research indicates that the shallow mantle of the Cascadia subduction margin under near-coastal Pacific Northwest U.S. is cold and partially serpentinized, storing large quantities of water in this wedge-shaped region. Such a wedge probably formed to the south in California during an earlier period of subduction. We show by...
Using dissolved organic matter age and composition to detect permafrost thaw in boreal watersheds of interior Alaska
Jonathan A. O’Donnell, George R. Aiken, Michelle Ann Walvoord, Peter A. Raymond, Kenna D. Butler, Mark M. Dornblaser, Katherine Heckman
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (119) 2155-2170
Recent warming at high latitudes has accelerated permafrost thaw, which can modify soil carbon dynamics and watershed hydrology. The flux and composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from soils to rivers are sensitive to permafrost configuration and its impact on subsurface hydrology and groundwater discharge. Here, we evaluate the utility...
Concealed basalt-matrix diatremes with Cu-Au-Ag-(Mo)-mineralized xenoliths, Santa Cruz Porphyry Cu-(Mo) System, Pinal County, Arizona
Peter G. Vikre, Frederick Graybeal, Fleetwood R. Koutz
2014, Economic Geology (109) 1271-1289
The Santa Cruz porphyry Cu-(Mo) system near Casa Grande, Arizona, includes the Sacaton mine deposits and at least five other concealed, mineralized fault blocks with an estimated minimum resource of 1.5 Gt @ 0.6% Cu. The Late Cretaceous-Paleocene system has been dismembered and rotated by Tertiary extension, partially eroded, and...
Effects of fine sediment, hyporheic flow, and spawning site characteristics on survival and development of bull trout embryos
Tracy Bowerman, Bethany Neilson, Phaedra Budy
2014, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 1059-1071
Successful spawning is imperative for the persistence of salmonid populations, but relatively little research has been conducted to evaluate factors affecting early life-stage survival for bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), a threatened char. We conducted a field experiment to assess the relationship between site-specific environmental factors and bull trout embryo survival...
Auroral omens of the American Civil War
Jeffrey J. Love
2014, Weatherwise (67) 34-41
Aurorae are a splendid night-time sight: coruscations of green, purple, and red fluorescent light in the form of gently wafting ribbons, billowing curtains, and flashing rays. Mostly seen at high latitudes, in the north aurorae are often called the northern lights or aurora borealis, and, in the south, the southern...
Is white-nose syndrome causing insectivory release and altering ecosystem function in the eastern US?
W. Mark Ford, David S. Jachowski, Cahterine M.B. Jachowski
2014, Bat Research News (55) 21-24
No abstract available....
Preslip and cascade processes initiating laboratory stick slip
Gregory C. McLaskey, David A. Lockner
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (119) 6323-6336
Recent modeling studies have explored whether earthquakes begin with a large aseismic nucleation process or initiate dynamically from the rapid growth of a smaller instability in a “cascade-up” process. To explore such a case in the laboratory, we study the initiation of dynamic rupture (stick slip) of a smooth saw-cut...
Comparison of fishes in nearshore areas of the St. Lawrence River, New York over 35 years
Douglas M. Carlson, James E. McKenna Jr.
2014, NYSDEC Lake Ontario Annual Report 2013-21
Fishes of the nearshore waters of the St. Lawrence River provide forage for valuable sport fisheries and are important biological indicators of condition and change. This fish community differs slightly among various reaches of the St. Lawrence River from New York to Quebec (Carlson et al. 2006, Eckert and Hanlon...
