Using resistance and resilience concepts to reduce impacts of annual grasses and altered fire regimes on the sagebrush ecosystem and sage-grouse- A strategic multi-scale approach
Jeanne C. Chambers, David A. Pyke, Jeremy D. Maestas, Chad S. Boyd, Steve Campbell, Shawn Espinosa, Doug Havlina, Kenneth F. Mayer, Amarina Wuenschel
2014, Report
This Report provides a strategic approach for conservation of sagebrush ecosystems and Greater Sage- Grouse (sage-grouse) that focuses specifically on habitat threats caused by invasive annual grasses and altered fire regimes. It uses information on factors that influence (1) sagebrush ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive annual grasses...
Uncertainty in the fate of soil organic carbon: A comparison of three conceptually different soil decomposition models
Yujie He, Jinyan Yang, Qianlai Zhuang, A. David McGuire, Qing Zhu, Yaling Liu, Robert O. Teskey
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences (119) 1892-1905
Conventional Q10 soil organic matter decomposition models and more complex microbial models are available for making projections of future soil carbon dynamics. However, it is unclear (1) how well the conceptually different approaches can simulate observed decomposition and (2) to what extent the trajectories of long-term simulations differ when using...
List of recent land mammals from Mexico, 2014
Jose Ramirez-Pulido, Noe Gonzalez-Ruiz, Alfred L. Gardner, Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales
2014, Book
We provide an updated list of the Recent land mammals of Mexico and include information on the taxonomy of certain species, and where appropriate, the endemic and threatened status of all species listed. Several taxonomic and nomenclatural changes have been made since publication of the last list of the Mexican...
Heterogeneous occupancy and density estimates of the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in waters of North America
Tara E. Chestnut, Chauncey W. Anderson, Radu Popa, Andrew R. Blaustein, Mary Voytek, Deanna H. Olson, Julie Kirshtein
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
Biodiversity losses are occurring worldwide due to a combination of stressors. For example, by one estimate, 40% of amphibian species are vulnerable to extinction, and disease is one threat to amphibian populations. The emerging infectious disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the aquatic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), is a contributor to amphibian declines worldwide. Bd research...
Comparison of radio-telemetric home range analysis and acoustic detection for Little Brown Bat habitat evaluation
Laci S. Coleman, W. Mark Ford, Christopher A. Dobony, Eric R. Britzke
2014, Northeastern Naturalist (21) 431-445
With dramatic declines of bat populations due to mortality caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans (White-nose Syndrome), assessing habitat preferences of bats in the northeastern US is now critical to guide the development of regional conservation efforts. In the summer of 2012, we conducted fixed-station simultaneous telemetry to determine nocturnal spatial use...
Variation in the terrestrial isotopic composition and atomic weight of argon
John Karl Böhlke
2014, Pure and Applied Chemistry (86) 1421-1432
The isotopic composition and atomic weight of argon (Ar) are variable in terrestrial materials. Those variations are a source of uncertainty in the assignment of standard properties for Ar, but they provide useful information in many areas of science. Variations in the stable isotopic composition and atomic weight of Ar...
Earliest record of the invasive Foraminifera Trochammina hadai in San Francisco Bay, California, USA
Mary McGann
2014, Marine Biodiversity Records (7)
In 1995, Trochammina hadai, a benthic Foraminifera prevalent in Japanese estuaries, was found in San Francisco Bay, California, USA. Subsequent field investigations determined that the species was also present in nearly all of the major ports and estuaries along the western United States. Because of its widespread colonization, it is...
Daily survival rates for nests of Black Skimmers from a core breeding area of the Southeastern USA
Gillian L. Brooks, Felicia J. Sanders, Patrick D. Gerard, Patrick G.R. Jodice
2014, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (126) 443-450
Little is known about the reproductive success of Black Skimmers (Rynchops niger) throughout the southeastern USA where availability of undisturbed beaches for nesting is limited. Daily survival rates (DSR) of nests were examined at three nesting sites in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge (CRNWR), South Carolina, USA, 2009–2010. The percent...
Effects of management legacies on stream fish and aquatic benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages
Michael C. Quist, Randall D. Schultz
2014, Environmental Management (54) 449-464
Fish and benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages often provide insight on ecological conditions for guiding management actions. Unfortunately, land use and management legacies can constrain the structure of biotic communities such that they fail to reflect habitat quality. The purpose of this study was to describe patterns in fish and benthic macroinvertebrate...
Age-specific survival of male golden-cheeked warblers on the Fort Hood Military Reservation, Texas
Adam Duarte, James E. Hines, James D. Nichols, Jeffrey S. Hatfield, Floyd W. Weckerly
2014, Avian Conservation and Ecology (9)
Population models are essential components of large-scale conservation and management plans for the federally endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia; hereafter GCWA). However, existing models are based on vital rate estimates calculated using relatively small data sets that are now more than a decade old. We estimated more current, precise adult...
Structure and tectonics of the northwestern United States from EarthScope USArray magnetotelluric data
Paul A. Bedrosian, Daniel W. Feucht
2014, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (402) 275-289
The magnetotelluric component of the EarthScope USArray program has covered over 35% of the continental United States. Resistivity tomography models derived from these data image lithospheric structure and provide constraints on the distribution of fluids and melt within the lithosphere. We present a three-dimensional resistivity model of the northwestern United...
Changes in Mauna Kea Dry Forest Structure 2000-2014
Paul C. Banko, Kevin W. Brinck
2014, Technical Report HCSU-054
Changes in the structure of the subalpine vegetation of Palila Critical Habitat on the southwestern slope of Mauna Kea Volcano, Hawai‘i, were analyzed using 12 metrics of change in māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) and naio (Myoporum sandwicense) trees surveyed on plots in 2000 and 2014. These two dominant species were analyzed...
Accounting for rate variation among lineages in comparative demographic analyses
Andrew G. Hope, Simon Y. W. Ho, Jason L. Malaney, Joseph A. Cook, Sandra L. Talbot
2014, Evolution (68) 2689-2700
Genetic analyses of contemporary populations can be used to estimate the demographic histories of species within an ecological community. Comparison of these demographic histories can shed light on community responses to past climatic events. However, species experience different rates of molecular evolution, and this presents a major obstacle to comparative...
Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for the Hawaiian coot, Fulica alai, and Hawaiian gallinule, Gallinula galeata sandvicensis, through next-generation sequencing
Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Robert E. Wilson, Jared G. Underwood
2014, Conservation Genetics Resources (6) 765-767
We used next generation shotgun sequencing to develop novel microsatellite markers for two endangered waterbirds; the Hawaiian coot (Fulica alai) and Hawaiian gallinule (Gallinula galeata sandvicensis). The 20 loci polymorphic in the Hawaiian coot displayed moderate allelic diversity (average 3.8 alleles/locus) and heterozygosity (average 59.5 %). The 12 loci variable for...
Circulating fat-soluble vitamin concentrations and nutrient composition of aquatic prey eaten by American oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus) in the southeastern United States
Daphne Carlson-Bremer, Terry M. Norton, Felicia J. Sanders, Brad Winn, Mark D. Spinks, Batsheva A. Glatt, Lisa Mazzaro, Patrick G.R. Jodice, Tai C. Chen, Ellen S. Dierenfeld
2014, Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery (28) 216-224
The American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus palliatus) is currently listed as a species of high concern by the United States Shorebird Conservation Plan. Because nutritional status directly impacts overall health and reproduction of individuals and populations, adequate management of a wildlife population requires intimate knowledge of a species' diet and nutrient...
Lake Ontario zooplankton in 2003 and 2008: Community changes and vertical redistribution
Lars G. Rudstam, Kristen T. Holeck, Kelly L. Bowen, James M. Watkins, Brian Weidel, Frederick J. Luckey
2014, Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management (18) 43-62
Lake-wide zooplankton surveys are critical for documenting and understanding food web responses to ecosystem change. Surveys in 2003 and 2008 during the binational intensive field year in Lake Ontario found that offshore epilimnetic crustacean zooplankton declined by a factor of 12 (density) and factor of 5 (biomass) in the summer...
Evaluation of a regional monitoring program's statistical power to detect temporal trends in forest health indicators
Stephanie J. Perles, Tyler Wagner, Brian J. Irwin, Douglas R. Manning, Kristina K. Callahan, Matthew R. Marshall
2014, Environmental Management (54) 641-655
Forests are socioeconomically and ecologically important ecosystems that are exposed to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stressors. As such, monitoring forest condition and detecting temporal changes therein remain critical to sound public and private forestland management. The National Parks Service’s Vital Signs monitoring program collects information on many...
Pollen dispersal by catapult: Experiments of Lyman J. Briggs on the flower of mountain laurel
John R. Nimmo, Paula M. Hermann, M.B. Kirkham, Edward R. Landa
2014, Physics in Perspective (16) 371-389
The flower of Kalmia latifolia L. employs a catapult mechanism that flings its pollen to considerable distances. Physicist Lyman J. Briggs investigated this phenomenon in the 1950s after retiring as longtime director of the National Bureau of Standards, attempting to explain how hydromechanical effects inside the flower’s stamen could make...
230Th/U ages Supporting Hanford Site‐Wide Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis
James B. Paces
2014, Report
This product represents a USGS Administrative Report that discusses samples and methods used to conduct uranium-series isotope analyses and resulting ages and initial 234U/238U activity ratios of pedogenic cements developed in several different surfaces in the Hanford area middle to late Pleistocene. Samples were collected and dated to provide calibration...
2012 volcanic activity in Alaska: Summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Julie A. Herrick, Christina A. Neal, Cheryl E. Cameron, James P. Dixon, Robert G. McGimsey
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5160
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) responded to eruptions, possible eruptions, volcanic unrest, or suspected unrest at 11 volcanic centers in Alaska during 2012. Of the two verified eruptions, one (Cleveland) was clearly magmatic and the other (Kanaga) was most likely a single phreatic explosion. Two other volcanoes had notable seismic...
ShakeAlert—An earthquake early warning system for the United States west coast
Erin R. Burkett, Douglas D. Given, Lucile M. Jones
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3083
Earthquake early warning systems use earthquake science and the technology of monitoring systems to alert devices and people when shaking waves generated by an earthquake are expected to arrive at their location. The seconds to minutes of advance warning can allow people and systems to take actions to protect life...
2011 volcanic activity in Alaska: summary of events and response of the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Robert G. McGimsey, J. Zebulon Maharrey, Christina A. Neal
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5159
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) responded to eruptions, possible eruptions, and volcanic unrest at or near three separate volcanic centers in Alaska during 2011. The year was highlighted by the unrest and eruption of Cleveland Volcano in the central Aleutian Islands. AVO annual summaries no longer report on activity at...
Hydraulic assessment of existing and alternative stream crossings providing fish and wildlife passage at seven sites in Massachusetts
Phillip J. Zarriello, Jeffrey R. Barbaro
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5146
Seven existing road crossing structures at streams in Massachusetts were evaluated hydraulically and compared to hypothetical alternative structures designed for Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) using standards developed by the Massachusetts River Continuity Partnership. Hydraulic simulations made for flood flows ranging from 20- to 0.2-percent annual exceedance probability (AEP) indicate that...
Geochemical and modal data for igneous rocks associated with epithermal mineral deposits
Edward A. du Bray
2014, Data Series 875
The purposes of this report are to (1) present available geochemical and modal data for igneous rocks associated with epithermal mineral deposits and (2) to make those data widely and readily available for subsequent, more in-depth consideration and interpretation. Epithermal precious and base-metal deposits are commonly associated with subduction-related calc-alkaline...
Manganese: it turns iron into steel (and does so much more)
William F. Cannon
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3087
Manganese is a common ferrous metal with atomic weight of 25 and the chemical symbol Mn. It constitutes roughly 0.1 percent of the Earth’s crust, making it the 12th most abundant element. Its early uses were limited largely to pigments and oxidants in chemical processes and experiments, but the significance...
