Relaxed selection causes microevolution of seawater osmoregulation and gene expression in landlocked Alewives
Jonathan P. Velotta, Stephen D. McCormick, Rachel J. O’Neill, Eric T. Schultz
2014, Oecologia (175) 1081-1092
Ecological transitions from marine to freshwater environments have been important in the creation of diversity among fishes. Evolutionary changes associated with these transitions likely involve modifications of osmoregulatory function. In particular, relaxed selection on hypo-osmoregulation should strongly affect animals that transition into novel freshwater environments. We used populations of the...
Pulverization provides a mechanism for the nucleation of earthquakes at low stress on strong faults
Karen R. Felzer
2014, Frontiers in Earth Science (2)
An earthquake occurs when rock that has been deformed under stress rebounds elastically along a fault plane (Gilbert, 1884; Reid, 1911), radiating seismic waves through the surrounding earth. Rupture along the entire fault surface does not spontaneously occur at the same time, however. Rather the rupture starts...
Interagency collaboration on an active volcano: A case study at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
James P. Kauahikaua, Cindy Orlando
2014, The George Wright Forum (31) 149-156
Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO) includes two active Hawai‘i shield volcanoes – Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on earth that most recently erupted for three weeks in 1984, and Kīlauea, which has been erupting continuously for more than 31 years. Unlike the steep-sided volcanoes around the rim of the...
Breeding bird community response to establishing intercropped switchgrass in intensively-managed pine stands
Zachary G. Loman, Samuel K. Riffell, Bradley R. Wheat, Darrin A. Miller, James A. Martin, Francisco Vilella
2014, Biomass and Bioenergy (67) 201-211
Intercropping switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) between tree rows within young pine (Pinus spp.) plantations is a potential method to generate lignocellulosic biofuel feedstocks within intensively managed forests. Intensively managed pine supports a diverse avian assemblage potentially affected by establishment and maintenance of an annual biomass feedstock via changes in plant communities, dead...
Valuing ecosystem services using benefit transfer: Separating credible and incredible approaches
John H. Loomis, Leslie Richardson, Timm Kroeger, Frank Casey
2014, Book chapter, Valuing ecosystem services: methodological issues and case studies
Ecosystem goods and services are now widely recognized as the benefits that humans derive from the natural environment around them including abiotic (e.g. atmosphere) and biotic components. The work by Costanza et al. (1997) to value the world’s ecosystem services brought the concept of ecosystem service valuation to the attention...
Unexpected hydrogen isotope variation in oceanic pelagic seabirds
Peggy H. Ostrom, Anne E. Wiley, Sam Rossman, Craig A. Stricker, Helen F. James
2014, Oecologia (175) 1227-1235
Hydrogen isotopes have significantly enhanced our understanding of the biogeography of migratory animals. The basis for this methodology lies in predictable, continental patterns of precipitation δD values that are often reflected in an organism’s tissues. δD variation is not expected for oceanic pelagic organisms whose dietary hydrogen (water and organic hydrogen in prey) is...
Multilocus phylogeography and systematic revision of North American water shrews (genus: Sorex)
Andrew G. Hope, Nicholas Panter, Joseph A. Cook, Sandra L. Talbot, David W. Nagorsen
2014, Journal of Mammalogy (95) 722-738
North American water shrews, which have traditionally included Sorex alaskanus, S. bendirii, and S. palustris, are widely distributed through Nearctic boreal forests and adapted for life in semiaquatic environments. Molecular mitochondrial signatures for these species have recorded an evolutionary history with variable levels of regional divergence, suggesting a strong role...
Behavior of feral horses in response to culling and GnRH immunocontraception
Jason I. Ransom, Jenny G. Powers, Heidi M. Garbe, Michael W. Oehler, Terry M. Nett, Dan L. Baker
2014, Applied Animal Behaviour Science (157) 81-92
Wildlife management actions can alter fundamental behaviors of individuals and groups,which may directly impact their life history parameters in unforeseen ways. This is especially true for highly social animals because changes in one individual’s behavior can cascade throughout its social network. When resources to support populations of social animals are...
Estimating earthquake magnitudes from reported intensities in the central and eastern United States
Oliver S. Boyd, Chris H. Cramer
2014, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (104) 1709-1722
A new macroseismic intensity prediction equation is derived for the central and eastern United States and is used to estimate the magnitudes of the 1811–1812 New Madrid, Missouri, and 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, earthquakes. This work improves upon previous derivations of intensity prediction equations by including additional intensity data, correcting...
Demography of common toads after local extirpation of co-occurring midwife toads
Jaime Bosch, S Fernandez-Beaskoetxea, R. Scherer, Staci Amburgey, Erin L. Muths
2014, Amphibia-Reptilia (35) 293-303
Estimating demographic parameters like survival or recruitment provides insight into the state and trajectory of populations, but understanding the contexts influencing those parameters, including both biotic and abiotic factors, is particularly important for management and conservation. At a high elevation national park in Central Spain, common toads (Bufo bufo) are...
Metamorphosis enhances the effects of metal exposure on the mayfly, Centroptilum triangulifer
Jeff S. Wesner, Johanna M. Kraus, Travis S. Schmidt, David M. Walters, William H. Clements
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 10415-10422
The response of larval aquatic insects to stressors such as metals is used to assess the ecological condition of streams worldwide. However, nearly all larval insects metamorphose from aquatic larvae to winged adults, and recent surveys indicate that adults may be a more sensitive indicator of stream metal toxicity than...
Synthesis of thirty years of surface water quality and aquatic biota data in Shenandoah National Park: Collaboration between the US Geological Survey and the National Park Service
Karen C. Rice, John D. Jastram, John E. B. Wofford, James P. Schaberl
2014, The George Wright Forum (31) 198-204
The eastern United States has been the recipient of acidic atmospheric deposition (hereinafter, “acid rain”) for many decades. Deleterious effects of acid rain on natural resources have been well documented for surface water (e.g., Likens et al. 1996; Stoddard et al. 2001), soils (Bailey et al. 2005), forest health (Long...
Offshore pelagic fish community
Michael Connerton, Jana Lantry, Maureen Walsh, M. E. Daniels, James Hoyle, James Bowlby, James H. Johnson, Daniel Bishop, Ted Schaner
2014, Report, The State of Lake Ontario in 2008
Lake Ontario’s offshore zone, as defined by Stewart et al. (2013), comprises all waters of the lake where the bottom depth is greater than 15 m excluding those in embayments. When the lake is thermally stratified during June-October, the offshore pelagic zone includes the upper-warm and middle-cool layers of water...
Performance and effects of land cover type on synthetic surface reflectance data and NDVI estimates for assessment and monitoring of semi-arid rangeland
Edward M. Olexa, Rick L Lawrence
2014, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (30) 30-41
Federal land management agencies provide stewardship over much of the rangelands in the arid andsemi-arid western United States, but they often lack data of the proper spatiotemporal resolution andextent needed to assess range conditions and monitor trends. Recent advances in the blending of com-plementary, remotely sensed data could provide public...
Initial soil respiration response to biomass harvesting and green-tree retention in aspen-dominated forests of the Great Lakes region
Valerie J. Kurth, John B. Bradford, Robert A. Slesak, Anthony W. D’Amato
2014, Forest Ecology and Management (328) 342-352
Contemporary forest management practices are increasingly designed to optimize novel objectives, such as maximizing biomass feedstocks and/or maintaining ecological legacies, but many uncertainties exist regarding how these practices influence forest carbon (C) cycling. We examined the responses of soil respiration (Rs) to biomass harvesting and green-tree retention in an effort...
Forest stand structure, productivity, and age mediate climatic effects on aspen decline
David M. Bell, John B. Bradford, William K. Lauenroth
2014, Ecology (95) 2040-2046
Because forest stand structure, age, and productivity can mediate the impacts of climate on quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) mortality, ignoring stand-scale factors limits inference on the drivers of recent sudden aspen decline. Using the proportion of aspen trees that were dead as an index of recent mortality at 841 forest...
Continuous estimation of baseflow in snowmelt-dominated streams and rivers in the Upper Colorado River Basin: A chemical hydrograph separation approach
Matthew P. Miller, David D. Susong, Christopher L. Shope, Victor M. Heilweil, Bernard J. Stolp
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 6986-6999
Effective science-based management of water resources in large basins requires a qualitative understanding of hydrologic conditions and quantitative measures of the various components of the water budget, including difficult to measure components such as baseflow discharge to streams. Using widely available discharge and continuously collected specific conductance (SC) data, we...
Site fidelity and condition metrics suggest sequential habitat use by early juvenile snook
Adam B. Brame, Carole McIvor, Ernst B Peebles, David J. Hollander
2014, Marine Ecology Progress Series (509) 255-269
The common snook Centropomus undecimalis is an estuarine-dependent fish that relies on landward wetlands as nursery habitat. Despite its economic importance, portions of the snook's early life history are poorly understood. We compared habitat use of young-of-the-year (YOY) snook in 2 geomorphic mesohabitats (tidal pond and tidal creek) along an...
Rice methylmercury exposure and mitigation: a comprehensive review
Sarah E. Rothenberg, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Joel E. Creswell
2014, Environmental Research (133) 407-423
Rice cultivation practices from field preparation to post-harvest transform rice paddies into hot spots for microbial mercury methylation, converting less-toxic inorganic mercury to more-toxic methylmercury, which is likely translocated to rice grain. This review includes 51 studies reporting rice total mercury and/or methylmercury concentrations, based on rice (Orzya sativa) cultivated...
Aquatic CAM photosynthesis: a brief history of its discovery
Jon E. Keeley
2014, Aquatic Botany (118) 38-44
Aquatic CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) photosynthesis was discovered while investigating an unrelated biochemical pathway concerned with anaerobic metabolism. George Bowes was a significant contributor to this project early in its infancy. Not only did he provide me with some valuable perspectives on peer review rejections, but by working with his...
A mass balance approach to investigating geochemical controls on secondary water quality impacts at a crude oil spill site near Bemidji, MN
Gene-Hua Crystal Ng, Barbara A. Bekins, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Mary Jo Baedecker, Philip C. Bennett, Richard T. Amos
2014, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (164) 1-15
Secondary water quality impacts can result from a broad range of coupled reactions triggered by primary groundwater contaminants. Data from a crude-oil spill research site near Bemidji, MN provide an ideal test case for investigating the complex interactions controlling secondary impacts, including depleted dissolved oxygen and elevated organic carbon, inorganic...
Major element and oxygen isotope geochemistry of vapour-phase garnet from the Topopah Spring Tuff at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA
Richard J. Moscati, Craig A. Johnson
2014, Mineralogical Magazine (78) 1029-1041
Twenty vapour-phase garnets were studied in two samples of the Topopah Spring Tuff of the Paintbrush Group from Yucca Mountain, in southern Nevada. The Miocene-age Topopah Spring Tuff is a 350 m thick, devitrified, moderately to densely welded ash-flow tuff that is zoned compositionally from high-silica rhyolite to latite. During...
Improving tsunami resiliency: California's Tsunami Policy Working Group
Charles R. Real, Laurie Johnson, Lucile M. Jones, Stephanie L. Ross
Y.A. Kontar, V. Santiago-Fandino, T. Takahashi, editor(s)
2014, Book chapter, Tsunami events and lessons learned: environmental and societal significance
California has established a Tsunami Policy Working Group to facilitate development of policy recommendations for tsunami hazard mitigation. The Tsunami Policy Working Group brings together government and industry specialists from diverse fields including tsunami, seismic, and flood hazards, local and regional planning, structural engineering, natural hazard policy, and coastal engineering....
Preliminary geologic map of the eastern Willapa Hills, Cowlitz, Lewis, and Wahkiakum Counties, Washington
Ray E. Wells, Michael G. Sawlan
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1063
This digital map database and the PDF derived from the database were created from the analog geologic map: Wells, R.E. (1981), “Geologic map of the eastern Willapa Hills, Cowlitz, Lewis, and Wahkiakum Counties, Washington.” The geodatabase replicates the geologic mapping of the 1981 report with minor exceptions along water boundaries...
Time-averaged discharge rate of subaerial lava at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, measured from TanDEM-X interferometry: Implications for magma supply and storage during 2011-2013
Michael P. Poland
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (119) 5464-5481
Differencing digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from TerraSAR add-on for Digital Elevation Measurements (TanDEM-X) synthetic aperture radar imagery provides a measurement of elevation change over time. On the East Rift Zone (EZR) of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, the effusion of lava causes changes in topography. When these elevation changes are summed...
