Depth gradients in food-web processes linking habitats in large lakes: Lake Superior as an exemplar ecosystem
Michael E. Sierszen, Thomas R. Hrabik, Jason D. Stockwell, Anne M Cotter, Joel C. Hoffman, Daniel L. Yule
2014, Freshwater Biology (59) 2122-2136
In large lakes around the world, depth-based changes in the abundance and distribution of invertebrate and fish species suggest that there may be concomitant changes in patterns of resource allocation. Using Lake Superior of the Laurentian Great Lakes as an example, we explored this idea through stable isotope analyses of...
Assessing the risk persistent drought using climate model simulations and paleoclimate data
Toby R. Ault, Julia E. Cole, Jonathan T. Overpeck, Gregory T. Pederson, David M. Meko
2014, Journal of Climate (27) 7529-7549
Projected changes in global rainfall patterns will likely alter water supplies and ecosystems in semiarid regions during the coming century. Instrumental and paleoclimate data indicate that natural hydroclimate fluctuations tend to be more energetic at low (multidecadal to multicentury) than at high (interannual) frequencies. State-of-the-art global climate models do not...
Thermal ecology of subadult and adult muskellunge in a thermally enriched reservoir
A. J. Cole, Phillip William Bettoli
2014, Fisheries Management and Ecology (21) 410-420
The movement of adult muskellunge, Esox masquinongy Mitchill, has been investigated in a variety of systems, but temperature selection by muskellunge has not been examined where well-oxygenated waters were available over a range of temperatures for much of the year. Thirty subadult and adult muskellunge tagged internally with temperature-sensing radio tags...
Survival of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts through a hydropower complex
D.S. Stich, M.M. Bailey, Joseph D. Zydlewski
2014, Journal of Fish Biology (85) 1074-1096
This study evaluated Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolt survival through the lower Penobscot River, Maine, U.S.A., and characterized relative differences in proportional use and survival through the main-stem of the river and an alternative migration route, the Stillwater Branch. The work was conducted prior to removal of two main-stem dams...
Body morphology differs in wild juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in the Willamette River, Oregon, USA
E.J. Billman, L.D. Whitman, R.K. Schroeder, C.S. Sharpe, David L. G. Noakes, Carl B. Schreck
2014, Journal of Fish Biology (85) 1097-1110
Body morphology of juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in the upper Willamette River, Oregon, U.S.A., was analysed to determine if variation in body shape is correlated with migratory life-history tactics followed by juveniles. Body shape was compared between migrating juveniles that expressed different life-history tactics, i.e. autumn migrants and yearling smolts, and among...
Environmental correlates of temporary emigration for female Weddell seals and consequences for recruitment
Glenn E. Stauffer, Jay J. Rotella, Robert A. Garrott, William L. Kendall
2014, Ecology (95) 2526-2536
In colonial-breeding species, prebreeders often emigrate temporarily from natal reproductive colonies then subsequently return for one or more years before producing young. Variation in attendance–nonattendance patterns can have implications for subsequent recruitment. We used open robust-design multistate models and 28 years of encounter data for prebreeding female Weddell seals (Leptonychotes...
Biscayne aquifer drinking water (USGS45): a new isotopic reference material for δ2H and δ18O measurements of water
Jennifer M. Lorenz, Lauren V. Tarbox, Bryan Buck, Haiping Qi, Tyler B. Coplen
2014, Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry (28) 2031-2034
RATIONALE As a result of the scarcity of isotopic reference waters for daily use, a new secondary isotopic reference material for international distribution has been prepared from drinking water collected from the Biscayne aquifer in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. METHODS This isotopic reference water was filtered, homogenized, loaded into glass ampoules, sealed with a...
Distribution, stock composition and timing, and tagging response of wild Chinook Salmon returning to a large, free-flowing river basin
John H. Eiler, Michele Masuda, Ted R. Spencer, Richard J. Driscoll, Carl B. Schreck
2014, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (143) 1476-1507
Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha returns to the Yukon River basin have declined dramatically since the late 1990s, and detailed information on the spawning distribution, stock structure, and stock timing is needed to better manage the run and facilitate conservation efforts. A total of 2,860 fish were radio-tagged in the lower basin during...
Straddling the tholeiitic/calc-alkaline transition: The effects of modest amounts of water on magmatic differentiation at Newberry Volcano, Oregon
Ben E. Mandler, Julie M. Donnelly-Nolan, Timothy L. Grove
2014, Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (168)
Melting experiments have been performed at 1 bar (anhydrous) and 1- and 2-kbar H2O-saturated conditions to study the effect of water on the differentiation of a basaltic andesite. The starting material was a mafic pumice from the compositionally zoned tuff deposited during the ~75 ka caldera-forming eruption of Newberry Volcano, a rear-arc...
Probabilistic estimation of dune retreat on the Gold Coast, Australia
Margaret L. Palmsten, Kristen D. Splinter, Nathaniel G. Plant, Hilary F. Stockdon
2014, Shore & Beach (82) 35-43
Sand dunes are an important natural buffer between storm impacts and development backing the beach on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia. The ability to forecast dune erosion at a prediction horizon of days to a week would allow efficient and timely response to dune erosion in this highly populated...
Transdisciplinary application of the cross-scale resilience model
Shana M. Sundstrom, David G. Angeler, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Jorge H. Garcia, Craig R. Allen
2014, Sustainability (6) 6925-6948
The cross-scale resilience model was developed in ecology to explain the emergence of resilience from the distribution of ecological functions within and across scales, and as a tool to assess resilience. We propose that the model and the underlying discontinuity hypothesis are relevant to other complex adaptive systems, and can...
The role of reserves and anthropogenic elements for functional connectivity and resilience of ephemeral habitats
Daniel R. Uden, Michelle L. Hellman, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen
2014, Ecological Applications (24) 1569-1582
Ecological reserves provide important wildlife habitat in many landscapes, and the functional connectivity of reserves and other suitable habitat patches is crucial for the persistence and resilience of spatially structured populations. To maintain or increase connectivity at spatial scales larger than individual patches, conservation actions may focus on creating and...
Smolting in coastal cutthroat trout Onchorhynchus clarkii clarkii
Joseph D. Zydlewski, G. Zydlewski, B. Kennedy, W. Gale
2014, Journal of Fish Biology (85) 1111-1130
Gill Na+, K+-ATPase activity, condition factor and seawater (SW) challenges were used to assess the development of smolt characteristics in a cohort of hatchery coastal cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii from the Cowlitz River in Washington State, U.S.A. Gill Na+, K+-ATPase activity increased slightly in the spring, coinciding with an...
Supplemental feeding alters migration of a temperate ungulate
Jennifer D. Jones, Matthew Kauffman, Kevin L. Monteith, Brandon M. Scurlock, Shannon E. Albeke, Paul C. Cross
2014, Ecological Applications (24) 1769-1779
Conservation of migration requires information on behavior and environmental determinants. The spatial distribution of forage resources, which migration exploits, often are altered and may have subtle, unintended consequences. Supplemental feeding is a common management practice, particularly for ungulates in North America and Europe, and carryover effects on behavior of this...
Chemical complexity and source of the White River Ash, Alaska and Yukon
S.J. Preece, Robert G. McGimsey, J.A. Westgate, N.J.G. Pearce, W.K. Hartmann, W.T. Perkins
2014, Geosphere (10) 1020-1042
The White River Ash, a prominent stratigraphic marker bed in Alaska (USA) and Yukon (Canada), consists of multiple compositional units belonging to two geochemical groups. The compositional units are characterized using multiple criteria, with combined glass and ilmenite compositions being the best discriminators. Two compositional units compose the northern group...
Mineral resource of the month: Vermiculite
Arnold O. Tanner
2014, Earth (October 2014)
Vermiculite comprises a group of hydrated, laminar magnesium-aluminum-iron silicate minerals resembling mica. They are secondary minerals, typically altered biotite, iron-rich phlogopite or other micas or clay-like minerals that are themselves sometimes alteration products of amphibole, chlorite, olivine and pyroxene. Vermiculite deposits are associated with volcanic ultramafic rocks rich in magnesium...
Climatic and density influences on recruitment in an irruptive population of Roosevelt elk
Heath D. Starns, Mark A. Ricca, Adam Duarte, Floyd W. Weckerly
2014, Journal of Mammalogy (95) 925-932
Current paradigms of ungulate population ecology recognize that density-dependent and independent mechanisms are not always mutually exclusive. Long-term data sets are necessary to assess the relative strength of each mechanism, especially when populations display irruptive dynamics. Using an 18-year time series of population abundances of Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) inhabiting...
Vegetation dynamics after spring and summer fires in red and white pine stands at Voyageurs National Park
Scott A. Weyenberg, Noel B. Pavlovic
2014, Natural Areas Journal (34) 443-458
Conducting dormant season or springtime prescribed fire treatments has become a common practice in many regions of the United States to restore ecosystems to their natural state. Despite the knowledge that historically, fires often occurred during the summer, the application of summer burns has been deterred, in part, by a...
A geochemical approach to determine sources and movement of saline groundwater in a coastal aquifer
Robert Anders, Gregory O. Mendez, Kiyoto Futa, Wesley R. Danskin
2014, Groundwater (52) 756-768
Geochemical evaluation of the sources and movement of saline groundwater in coastal aquifers can aid in the initial mapping of the subsurface when geological information is unavailable. Chloride concentrations of groundwater in a coastal aquifer near San Diego, California, range from about 57 to 39,400 mg/L. On the basis of...
Effect of bait and gear type on channel catfish catch and turtle bycatch in a reservoir
Evan C. Cartabiano, David R. Stewart, James M. Long
2014, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (30) 407-415
Hoop nets have become the preferred gear choice to sample channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus but the degree of bycatch can be high, especially due to the incidental capture of aquatic turtles. While exclusion and escapement devices have been developed and evaluated, few have examined bait choice as a method to reduce turtle...
Macroevolutionary consequences of profound climate change on niche evolution in marine molluscs over the past three million years
E.E. Saupe, J.R. Hendricks, R.W. Portell, Harry J. Dowsett, A. M. Haywood, S.J. Hunter, B.S. Lieberman
2014, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (281)
In order to predict the fate of biodiversity in a rapidly changing world, we must first understand how species adapt to new environmental conditions. The long-term evolutionary dynamics of species' physiological tolerances to differing climatic regimes remain obscure. Here, we unite palaeontological and neontological data to analyse whether species' environmental...
Palila restoration research, 1996−2012
Paul C. Banko, Chris Farmer, Carter T. Atkinson, Kevin W. Brinck, Richad Camp, Colleen Cole, Raymond Canner, Steve Dougill, Daniel Goltz, Elizabeth Gray, Steven C. Hess, Jennifer Higashino, Susan I. Jarvi, Luanne Johnson, Leona Laniawe, Megan Laut, Linda Miller, Christopher J. Murray, Daniel Nelson, David L. Leonard, Peter Oboyshi, Leanne Patch-Highfill, David D. Pollock, Kalei Rapozo, Marla Schwarzfeld, John Slotterback, Robert M. Stephens
Paul C. Banko, Chris Farmer, editor(s)
2014, Technical Report HCSU-046
The Palila Restoration Project was initiated in 1996 by the U.S. Geological Survey to assist government agencies mitigate the effects of realigning Saddle Road (Highway 200) through Palila Critical Habitat (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998, Federal Highway Administration 1999). Ecological research on the palila (Loxioides bailleui), an endangered Hawaiian...
Population-level effects of egg predation on a native planktivore in a large freshwater lake
David B. Bunnell, Justin G. Mychek-Londer, Charles P. Madenjian
2014, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (23) 604-614
Using a 37-year recruitment time series, we uncovered a field pattern revealing a strong, inverse relationship between bloater Coregonus hoyi recruitment success and slimy sculpin Cottus cognatus biomass in Lake Michigan (United States), one of the largest freshwater lakes of the world. Given that slimy sculpins (and deepwater sculpin Myoxocephalus...
Spatial structuring within a reservoir fish population: implications for management
David R. Stewart, James M. Long, Daniel E. Shoup
2014, Marine and Freshwater Research (66) 202-212
Spatial structuring in reservoir fish populations can exist because of environmental gradients, species-specific behaviour, or even localised fishing effort. The present study investigated whether white crappie exhibited evidence of improved population structure where the northern more productive half of a lake is closed to fishing to provide waterfowl hunting opportunities....
Breeding site selection by coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in relation to large wood additions and factors that influence reproductive success
Steven M. Clark, Jason B. Dunham, Jeffery R. McEnroe, Scott W. Lightcap
2014, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 1498-1507
The fitness of female Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) with respect to breeding behavior can be partitioned into at least four fitness components: survival to reproduction, competition for breeding sites, success of egg incubation, and suitability of the local environment near breeding sites for early rearing of juveniles. We evaluated the relative...