MTpy: A Python toolbox for magnetotellurics
Lars Krieger, Jared R. Peacock
2014, Computers & Geosciences (72) 167-175
We present the software package MTpy that allows handling, processing, and imaging of magnetotelluric (MT) data sets. Written in Python, the code is open source, containing sub-packages and modules for various tasks within the standard MT data processing and handling scheme. Besides the independent definition of classes and functions, MTpy provides wrappers and...
Evaluating potential effects of an industrial road on winter habitat of caribou in North-Central Alaska
Ryan H. Wilson, David D. Gustine, Kyle Joly
2014, Arctic (67) 472-482
Worldwide, some caribou (Rangifer tarandus) populations are experiencing declines due partially to the expansion of industrial development. Caribou can exhibit behavioral avoidance of development, leading to indirect habitat loss, even if the actual footprint is small. Thus, it is important to understand before construction begins how much habitat might be...
A seasonal agricultural drought forecast system for food-insecure regions of East Africa
Shraddhanand Shukla, Amy McNally, Gregory Husak, Christopher C. Funk
2014, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (11) 3049-3081
The increasing food and water demands of East Africa's growing population are stressing the region's inconsistent water resources and rain-fed agriculture. More accurate seasonal agricultural drought forecasts for this region can inform better water and agricultural management decisions, support optimal allocation of the region's water resources, and mitigate socio-economic losses...
Effects of distributed and centralized stormwater best management practices and land cover on urban stream hydrology at the catchment scale
John V. Loperfido, Gregory B. Noe, S. Taylor Jarnagin, Dianna M. Hogan
2014, Journal of Hydrology (519) 2584-2595
Urban stormwater runoff remains an important issue that causes local and regional-scale water quantity and quality issues. Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) have been widely used to mitigate runoff issues, traditionally in a centralized manner; however, problems associated with urban hydrology have remained. An emerging trend is implementation of BMPs...
The fungus Trichophyton redellii sp. nov. causes skin infections that resemble white-nose syndrome of hibernating bats
Jeffrey M. Lorch, Andrew M. Minnis, Carol U. Meteyer, Jennifer A. Redell, J. Paul White, Heather M. Kaarakka, Laura K. Muller, David L. Lindner, Michelle L. Verant, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, David S. Blehert
2014, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (51) 36-47
Before the discovery of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, there were no reports of fungal skin infections in bats during hibernation. In 2011, bats with grossly visible fungal skin infections similar in appearance to WNS were reported from multiple sites in Wisconsin, USA, a state outside...
Efficacy of plastic mesh tubes in reducing herbivory damage by the invasive nutria (Myocastor coypus) in an urban restoration site
Trevor R. Sheffels, Mark D. Systma, Jacoby Carter, Jimmy D. Taylor
2014, Northwest Science (88) 269-279
The restoration of stream corridors is becoming an increasingly important component of urban landscape planning, and the high cost of these projects necessitates the need to understand and address potential ecological obstacles to project success. The nutria(Myocastor coypus) is an invasive, semi-aquatic rodent native to South America that causes detrimental ecological...
Influence of nonnative and native ungulate biomass and seasonal precipitation on vegetation production in a Great Basin ecosystem
Linda Zeigenfuss, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Jason I. Ransom, Drew A. Ignizio, Tracy Mask
2014, Western North American Naturalist (74) 286-298
The negative effects of equid grazers in semiarid ecosystems of the American West have been considered disproportionate to the influence of native ungulates in these systems because of equids' large body size, hoof shape, and short history on the landscape relative to native ungulates. Tools that can analyze the degree...
A systematic approach towards the identification and protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems
Jeff A. Ardron, Malcolm R. Clark, Andrew J. Penney, Thomas F. Hourigan, Ashley A. Rowden, Piers K. Dunstan, Les Watling, Timothy M. Shank, Di M. Tracey, Matthew R. Dunn, Steven J. Parker
2014, Marine Science (49) 146-154
The United Nations General Assembly in 2006 and 2009 adopted resolutions that call for the identification and protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) from significant adverse impacts of bottom fishing. While general criteria have been produced, there are no guidelines or protocols that elaborate on the process from initial identification through to...
Prevalence of the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, USA
Brent H. Sigafus, Blake R. Hossack, Erin L. Muths, Cecil R. Schwalbe
2014, Herpetological Review (45) 41-42
Information on disease presence can be of use to natural resource managers, especially in areas supporting threatened and endangered species that occur coincidentally with species that are suspected vectors for disease. Ad hoc reports may be of limited utility (Muths et al. 2009), but a general sense of pathogen presence...
Energy demands for maintenance, growth, pregnancy, and lactation of female Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)
Shawn R. Noren, Mark S. Udevitz, Chadwick V. Jay
2014, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology (87) 837-854
Decreases in sea ice have altered habitat use and activity patterns of female Pacific walruses Odobenus rosmarus divergens and could affect their energetic demands, reproductive success, and population status. However, a lack of physiological data from walruses has hampered efforts to develop the bioenergetics models required for fully understanding potential...
Towards understanding the puzzling lack of acid geothermal springs in Tibet (China): Insight from a comparison with Yellowstone (USA) and some active volcanic hydrothermal systems
D. Kirk Nordstrom, Qinghai Guo, R. Blaine McCleskey
2014, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (288) 94-104
Explanations for the lack of acid geothermal springs in Tibet are inferred from a comprehensive hydrochemical comparison of Tibetan geothermal waters with those discharged from Yellowstone (USA) and two active volcanic areas, Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) and Miravalles (Costa Rica) where acid springs are widely distributed and diversified in terms...
A cross comparison of spatiotemporally enhanced springtime phenological measurements from satellites and ground in a northern U.S. mixed forest
Li Li, Mark D. Schwartz, Zhuosen Wang, Feng Gao, Crystal B. Schaaf, Bin Tan, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Xiaoyang Zhang
2014, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (52) 7513-7526
Cross comparison of satellite-derived land surface phenology (LSP) and ground measurements is useful to ensure the relevance of detected seasonal vegetation change to the underlying biophysical processes. While standard 16-day and 250-m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation index (VI)-based springtime LSP has been evaluated in previous studies, it remains...
Demographics of piscivorous colonial waterbirds and management implications for ESA-listed salmonids on the Columbia Plateau
Jessica Y. Adkins, Donald E. Lyons, Peter J. Loschl, Daniel D. Roby, Ken Collis, Allen F. Evans, Nathan J. Hostetter
2014, Northwest Science (88) 344-359
We investigated colony size, productivity, and limiting factors for five piscivorous waterbird species nesting at 18 locations on the Columbia Plateau (Washington) during 2004–2010 with emphasis on species with a history of salmonid (Oncorhynchus spp.) depredation. Numbers of nesting Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia) and double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) were stable at...
Analysis of projected water availability with current basin management plan, Pajaro Valley, California
Randall T. Hanson, Brian Lockwood, Wolfgang Schmid
2014, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (519) 131-147
The projection and analysis of the Pajaro Valley Hydrologic Model (PVHM) 34 years into the future using MODFLOW with the Farm Process (MF-FMP) facilitates assessment of potential future water availability. The projection is facilitated by the integrated hydrologic model, MF-FMP that fully couples the simulation of the use and movement...
Productivity of forest birds at Hakalau Forest NWR
Eben H. Paxton, George C Cummins, Steven J. Kendall
2014, Technical Report HCSU-056
Hawai‘i has some of the most endangered avian species in the world, which face numerous threats from habitat loss, disease, climate change, and introduced species. This report details the results of a two-year productivity study of all forest bird species at Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge, Hawai‘i Island. We found and...
A legacy of divergent fishery management regimes and the resilience of rainbow and cutthroat trout populations in Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington
Samuel J. Brenkman, Jeffrey J. Duda, Philip R. Kennedy, Bruce M. Baker
2014, Northwest Science (88) 280-304
As a means to increase visitation, early fisheries management in the National Park Service (NPS) promoted sport harvest and hatchery supplementation. Today, NPS management objectives focus on the preservation of native fish. We summarized management regimes of Olympic National Park's Lake Crescent, which included decades of liberal sport harvest and...
Last interglacial plant macrofossils and climates from Ziegler Reservoir, Snowmass Village, Colorado, USA
Laura E. Strickland, Richard G. Baker, Robert S. Thompson, Dane M. Miller
2014, Quaternary Research (82) 553-566
Ninety plant macrofossil taxa from the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site near Snowmass Village, Colorado, record environmental changes at high elevation (2705 m asl) in the Rocky Mountains during the Last Interglacial Period. Present-day vegetation is aspen forest (Populus tremuloides) intermixed with species of higher (Picea, Abies) and lower (Artemisia, Quercus) elevations. Stratigraphic units 4–13...
Relationships between annual plant productivity, nitrogen deposition and fire size in low-elevation California desert scrub
Leela E. Rao, John R. Matchett, Matthew L. Brooks, Robert Johns, Richard A. Minnich, Edith B. Allen
2014, International Journal of Wildland Fire (24) 48-58
Although precipitation is correlated with fire size in desert ecosystems and is typically used as an indirect surrogate for fine fuel load, a direct link between fine fuel biomass and fire size has not been established. In addition, nitrogen (N) deposition can affect fire risk through its fertilisation effect on...
A suggestion for computing objective function in model calibration
Yiping Wu, Shuguang Liu
2014, Ecological Informatics (24) 107-111
A parameter-optimization process (model calibration) is usually required for numerical model applications, which involves the use of an objective function to determine the model cost (model-data errors). The sum of square errors (SSR) has been widely adopted as the objective function in various optimization procedures. However, ‘square error’ calculation was...
Predicting probability of occurrence and factors affecting distribution and abundance of three Ozark endemic crayfish species at multiple spatial scales
Matthew S. Nolen, Daniel D. Magoulick, Robert J. DiStefano, Emily M. Imhoff, Brian K. Wagner
2014, Freshwater Biology (59) 2374-2389
Crayfishes and other freshwater aquatic fauna are particularly at risk globally due to anthropogenic demand, manipulation and exploitation of freshwater resources and yet are often understudied. The Ozark faunal region of Missouri and Arkansas harbours a high level of aquatic biological diversity, especially in regard to endemic crayfishes....
Understanding the hydrologic sources and sinks in the Nile Basin using multisource climate and remote sensing data sets
Gabriel Senay, Naga Manohar Velpuri, Stefanie Bohms, Yonas Demissie, Mekonnen Gebremichael
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 8625-8650
In this study, we integrated satellite-drived precipitation and modeled evapotranspiration data (2000–2012) to describe spatial variability of hydrologic sources and sinks in the Nile Basin. Over 2000–2012 period, 4 out of 11 countries (Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda) in the Nile Basin showed a positive water balance while three downstream...
On-orbit performance of the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager
Esad Micijevic, Kelly Vanderwerff, Pat Scaramuzza, Ron Morfitt, Julia A. Barsi, Raviv Levy
2014, Conference Paper, Proc. SPIE 9218, Earth Observing Systems XIX
The Landsat 8 satellite was launched on February 11, 2013, to systematically collect multispectral images for detection and quantitative analysis of changes on the Earth’s surface. The collected data are stored at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center and continue the longest archive of...
The impact of static stress change, dynamic stress change, and the background stress on aftershock focal mechanisms
Jeanne L. Hardebeck
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (119) 8239-8266
The focal mechanisms of earthquakes in Southern California before and after four M ≥ 6.7 main shocks provide insight into how fault systems respond to stress and changes in stress. The main shock static stress changes have two observed impacts on the seismicity: changing the focal mechanisms in a given location to favor...
Population viability of Pediocactus brady (Cactaceae) in a changing climate
Daniel F. Shryock, Todd C. Esque, Lee Huges
2014, American Journal of Botany (101) 1944-1953
• Premise of the study: A key question concerns the vulnerability of desert species adapted to harsh, variable climates to future climate change. Evaluating this requires coupling long-term demographic models with information on past and projected future climates. We investigated climatic drivers of population growth using a 22-yr demographic model for Pediocactus bradyi,...
Diverse coral communities in mangrove habitats suggest a novel refuge from climate change
Kimberly K. Yates, Caroline S. Rogers, James J. Herlan, Gregg R. Brooks, Nathan A. Smiley, Rebekka A. Larson
2014, Biogeosciences (11) 4321-4337
Risk analyses indicate that more than 90% of the world's reefs will be threatened by climate change and local anthropogenic impacts by the year 2030 under "business-as-usual" climate scenarios. Increasing temperatures and solar radiation cause coral bleaching that has resulted in extensive coral mortality. Increasing carbon dioxide reduces seawater pH,...
