Larval fish dynamics in spring pools in middle Tennessee
Phillip William Bettoli, C.A. Goldsworthy
2011, Southeastern Naturalist (10) 145-154
We used lighted larval traps to assess reproduction by fishes inhabiting nine spring pools in the Barrens Plateau region of middle Tennessee between May and September 2004. The traps (n = 162 deployments) captured the larval or juvenile forms of Etheostoma crossopterum (Fringed Darter) (n = 188), Gambusia affinis (Western...
Migration And wintering areas Of Glaucous-winged Gulls From south-central Alaska
Scott A. Hatch, V.A. Gill, Daniel M. Mulcahy
2011, The Condor (113) 340-351
We used satellite telemetry to investigate the migration patterns and wintering areas of Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) from Middleton Island, Alaska, where this species' population increased tenfold from the 1970s to the 1990s. Fall migration spanned 11 weeks, including numerous stopovers en route, apparently for feeding. Spring migration from wintering...
Effects of climate change on nutrition and genetics of White-tailed Ptarmigan
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Craig A. Stricker, Judy St. John, Clait E. Braun, Gregory T. Wann, Cameron L. Aldridge
Brett K. Sandercock, Kathy Martin, Gernot Segelbacher, editor(s)
2011, Book chapter, Ecology, conservation, and management of grouse (Studies in Avian Biology no. 39)
White-tailed Ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura) are well suited as a focal species for the study of climate change because they are adapted to cool, alpine environments that are expected to undergo unusually rapid climate change. We compared samples collected in the late 1930s, the late 1960s, and the late 2000s...
Effects of eradication and restoration treatments on Italian thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus)
Thomas McGinnis, Jon Keeley
2011, Madroño (58) 207-213
Low elevation grasslands in California long have been dominated by Mediterranean grasses, but many areas still have large native forb populations. Alien forbs invade these grasslands, displacing both native and other alien species. Italian thistle is a noxious alien herb that has recently invaded these grasslands, including ungrazed blue oak...
Fine scale movements and habitat use of black brant during the flightless Wing Molt in Arctic Alaska
Tyler L. Lewis, Paul L. Flint, Dirk V. Derksen, Joel A. Schmutz
2011, Waterbirds (34) 177-185
Thousands of Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) migrate annually to the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area (TLSA), Alaska, to undergo the flightless wing molt on tundra lakes and wetlands. GPS transmitters were attached to Brant over two summers (2007–2008) to examine patterns of movement and habitat use of molting Brant, including...
Marine West Coast forests
Steven S. Perakis, Linda H. Geiser, Erik A. Lilleskov
Linda H. Pardo, Molly J. Robin-Abbott, Charles T. Driscoll, editor(s)
2011, General Technical Report NRS-80-9
No abstract available....
Assessing first-order emulator inference for physical parameters in nonlinear mechanistic models
Mevin Hooten, William B. Leeds, Jerome Fiechter, Christopher K. Wikle
2011, Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics (16) 475-494
We present an approach for estimating physical parameters in nonlinear models that relies on an approximation to the mechanistic model itself for computational efficiency. The proposed methodology is validated and applied in two different modeling scenarios: (a) Simulation and (b) lower trophic level ocean ecosystem model. The approach we develop...
An assessment of stressor extent and biological condition in the North American mid-continent great rivers (USA)
Ted R. Angradi, David W. Bolgriend, Terri M. Jicha, Mark S. Pearson, Debra L. Taylor, Mary F. Moffett, Karen A. Blocksom, David M. Walters, Colleen M. Elonen, Leroy E. Anderson, James M. Lazorchak, Euan D. Reavie, Amy R. Kireta, Brian H. Hill
2011, River Systems (19) 48-68
We assessed the North American mid-continent great rivers (Upper Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio). We estimated the extent of each river in most- (MDC) or least-disturbed condition (LDC) based on multiple biological response indicators: fish and macroinvertebrate, trophic state based on chlorophyll a, macrophyte cover, and exposure of fish-eating wildlife to...
High throughput computing: a solution for scientific analysis
M. O'Donnell
2011, Report
Public land management agencies continually face resource management problems that are exacerbated by climate warming, land-use change, and other human activities. As the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center (FORT) works with managers in U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) agencies and other federal, state, and private entities,...
Status and distribution of mangrove forests of the world using earth observation satellite data
Chandra Giri, E. Ochieng, Larry L. Tieszen, Zhi-Liang Zhu, Ashbindu Singh, Thomas R. Loveland, Jeffery G. Masek, Norm Duke
2011, Global Ecology and Biogeography (20) 154-159
Aim Our scientific understanding of the extent and distribution of mangrove forests of the world is inadequate. The available global mangrove databases, compiled using disparate geospatial data sources and national statistics, need to be improved. Here, we mapped the status and distributions of global mangroves using recently available Global Land...
An innovative method for nondestructive analysis of cast iron artifacts at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, Pennsylvania
Ronald A. Sloto, Martin F. Helmke
2011, Park Science (27) 50-53
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting research at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site (fig. 1; see sidebar, page 53) in southeastern Pennsylvania to determine the fate of trace metals, such as arsenic, cobalt, and lead, released into the environment during the iron-smelting process. Arsenic is a carcinogen, cobalt is...
Status and distribution of breeding secretive marshbirds in the Delta of Arkansas
Michael J. Budd, David G. Krementz
2011, Southeastern Naturalist (10) 687-702
We surveyed the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Arkansas ("the Delta") during the breeding seasons of 2005 and 2006 using the national marshbird monitoring protocol for secretive marshbirds. We detected and documented breeding by Podilymbus podiceps (Pied-billed Grebe), Ixobrychus exilis (Least Bittern), Rallus elegans (King Rail), and Gallinula chloropus (Common...
Seasonal movement and mesohabitat usage of adult and juvenile lake sturgeon in the Grasse River, New York
D.G. Trested, Matthew D. Chan, W. C. Bridges, J. Jeffery Isely
2011, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (140) 1006-1014
Long-term restoration efforts for lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens populations will benefit from better understanding of this species' movements and habitat use in riverine systems. Radio transmitters were implanted in both juvenile and adult lake sturgeon in the Grasse River, New York, and individuals were relocated over a 2-year period. Adult...
The ichthyofauna of drifting macrophyte mats in the Ivinhema River, upper Paraná River basin, Brazil
C. K. Bulla, Luiz Carlos Gomes, Leandro E. Miranda, A. A. Agostinho
2011, Neotropical Ichthyology (9) 403-409
We describe the fish assemblages associated with drifting macrophyte mats and consider their possible role as dispersal vectors in the Ivinhema River, a major tributary of the upper Paraná River, Brazil. Fish associated with drifting mats were sampled in the main river channel during January and March 2005, when the...
Estimating geographic variation on allometric growth and body condition of blue suckers with quantile regression
Brian S. Cade, James W. Terrell, Ben Neely
2011, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (140) 1657-1669
Increasing our understanding of how environmental factors affect fish body condition and improving its utility as a metric of aquatic system health require reliable estimates of spatial variation in condition (weight at length). We used three statistical approaches that varied in how they accounted for heterogeneity in allometric growth to...
Breeding chorus indices are weakly related to estimated abundance of Boreal Chorus Frogs
Paul Stephen Corn, Erin Muths, Amanda Kissel, Rick D. Scherer
2011, Copeia (3) 365-371
Call surveys used to monitor breeding choruses of anuran amphibians generate index values that are frequently used to represent the number of male frogs present, but few studies have quantified this relationship. We compared abundance of male Boreal Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris maculata), estimated using capture–recapture methods in two populations...
Electrical properties of methane hydrate + sediment mixtures
Wyatt L. Du Frane, Laura A. Stern, Karen A. Weitemeyer, Steven Constable, Jeffery J. Roberts
2011, Fire in the Ice: NETL Methane Hydrate Newsletter (11) 10-13
As part of our DOE-funded proposal to characterize gas hydrate in the Gulf of Mexico using marine electromagnetic methods, a collaboration between SIO, LLNL, and USGS with the goal of measuring the electrical properties of lab-created methane (CH4) hydrate and sediment mixtures was formed. We examined samples with known characteristics...
Effects of hypoxia on consumption, growth, and RNA:DNA ratios of young Yellow Perch
James J. Roberts, Stephen B. Brandt, David Fanslow, Stuart A. Ludsin, Steven A. Pothoven, Donald Scavia, Tomas O. Hook
2011, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (140) 1574-1586
As in various freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems worldwide, seasonal bottom water hypoxia is a recurring phenomenon in Lake Erie’s central basin. While bottom hypoxia can strongly affect sessile benthic animals, its effects on mobile organisms such as fish are less understood. We evaluated the potential for bottom hypoxia to affect the growth...
Seasonal and interannual effects of hypoxia on fish habitat quality in central Lake Erie
Kristin K. Arend, Dmitry Beletsky, Joseph DePinto, Stuart A. Ludsin, James J. Roberts, Daniel K. Rucinski, Donald Scavia, David J. Schwab, Tomas O. Hook
2011, Freshwater Biology (56) 366-383
1. Hypoxia occurs seasonally in many stratified coastal marine and freshwater ecosystems when bottom dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations are depleted below 2–3 mg O2 L-1. 2. We evaluated the effects of hypoxia on fish habitat quality in the central basin of Lake Erie from 1987 to 2005, using bioenergetic growth rate...
Hibernacula selection by Townsend's big-eared bat in Southwestern Colorado
Mark A. Hayes, Robert A. Schorr, Kirk W. Navo
2011, Journal of Wildlife Management (75) 137-143
In western United States, both mine reclamations and renewed mining at previously abandoned mines have increased substantially in the last decade. This increased activity may adversely impact bats that use these mines for roosting. Townsend's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) is a species of conservation concern that may be impacted by...
Stability of steep slopes in cemented sands
Brian D. Collins, Nicholas Sitar
2011, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (137) 43-51
The analysis of steep slope and cliff stability in variably cemented sands poses a significant practical challenge as routine analyses tend to underestimate the actually observed stability of existing slopes. The presented research evaluates how the degree of cementation controls the evolution of steep sand slopes and shows that the...
Hydrologic effects of urbanization and climate change on the Flint River Basin, Georgia
Roland J. Viger, Lauren E. Hay, Steven L. Markstrom, John W. Jones, Gary R. Buell
2011, Earth Interactions (15)
The potential effects of long-term urbanization and climate change on the freshwater resources of the Flint River basin were examined by using the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS). PRMS is a deterministic, distributed-parameter watershed model developed to evaluate the effects of various combinations of precipitation, temperature, and land cover on streamflow...
Analytical characterization of selective benthic flux components in estuarine and coastal waters
Jeffrey N. King
2011, Book chapter, Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Science
Benthic flux is the rate of flow across the bed of a water body, per unit area of bed. It is forced by component mechanisms, which interact. For example, pressure gradients across the bed, forced by tide, surface gravity waves, density gradients, bed–current interaction, turbulence, and terrestrial hydraulic gradients, drive...
An evaluation of agreement between pectoral spines and otoliths for estimating ages of catfishes
J.A. Olive, Harold Schramm Jr., Patrick D. Gerard, E. Irwin
2011, American Fisheries Society Symposium (77) 679-688
Otoliths have been shown to provide more accurate ages than pectoral spine sections for several catfish populations; but sampling otoliths requires euthanizing the specimen, whereas spines can be sampled non-lethally. To evaluate whether, and under what conditions, spines provide the same or similar age estimates as otoliths, we examined data...
Perceptions of fish habitat conditions in Oklahoma tailwater fisheries: a survey of fisheries managers
James M. Long
2011, Proceedings of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (65) 119-124
While the downstream effects of dams on fish habitat have long been recognized, broad-scale assessments of tailwater fish habitat have rarely been conducted. In this paper, I report on the status of tailwater fisheries in Oklahoma as determined through a web-based survey of fisheries biologists with the Oklahoma Department of...
