Models for inference in dynamic metacommunity systems
Robert M. Dorazio, Marc Kery, J. Andrew Royle, Matthias Plattner
2010, Ecology (91) 2466-2475
A variety of processes are thought to be involved in the formation and dynamics of species assemblages. For example, various metacommunity theories are based on differences in the relative contributions of dispersal of species among local communities and interactions of species within local communities. Interestingly, metacommunity theories continue to be...
Microbial production of isotopically light iron(II) in a modern chemically precipitated sediment and implications for isotopic variations in ancient rocks
G.E. Tangalos, B.L. Beard, C.M. Johnson, Charles N. Alpers, E.S. Shelobolina, H. Xu, H. Konishi, E. E. Roden
2010, Geobiology (8) 197-208
The inventories and Fe isotope composition of aqueous Fe(II) and solid-phase Fe compounds were quantified in neutral-pH, chemically precipitated sediments downstream of the Iron Mountain acid mine drainage site in northern California, USA. The sediments contain high concentrations of amorphous Fe(III) oxyhydroxides [Fe(III)am] that allow dissimilatory iron reduction (DIR) to...
Phytoestrogens and mycotoxins in Iowa streams: An examination of underinvestigated compounds in agricultural basins
Dana W. Kolpin, Corinne C. Hoerger, Michael T. Meyer, Felix E. Wettstein, Laura E. Hubbard, Thomas D. Bucheli
2010, Journal of Environmental Quality (39) 2089-2099
This study provides the first broad-scale investigation on the spatial and temporal occurrence of phytoestrogens and mycotoxins in streams in the United States. Fifteen stream sites across Iowa were sampled five times throughout the 2008 growing season to capture a range of climatic and crop-growth conditions. Basin size upstream from...
Isle Royale study affirms the ability of wolves to persist
Dave Mech, Matthew A. Cronin
2010, Biological Conservation (143) 535-536
Intraspecific variation in gill morphology of juvenile Nile perch, Lates niloticus, in Lake Nabugabo, Uganda
Jaclyn A. Paterson, Lauren J. Chapman, Pamela J. Schofield
2010, Environmental Biology of Fishes (88) 97-104
Several studies have demonstrated intraspecific variation in fish gill size that relates to variation in dissolved oxygen (DO) availability across habitats. In Lake Nabugabo, East Africa, ecological change over the past 12 years has coincided with a shift in the distribution of introduced Nile perch such that a larger proportion...
Interfacing models of wildlife habitat and human development to predict the future distribution of puma habitat
Christopher L. Burdett, Kevin R. Crooks, David M. Theobald, Kenneth R. Wilson, Erin E. Boydston, Lisa A. Lyren, Robert N. Fisher, T. Winston Vickers, Scott A. Morrison, Walter M. Boyce
2010, Ecosphere (1) Article 4
The impact of human land uses on ecological systems typically differ relative to how extensively natural conditions are modified. Exurban development is intermediate-intensity residential development that often occurs in natural landscapes. Most species-habitat models do not evaluate the effects of such intermediate levels of human development and even fewer predict...
Interacting parasites
Kevin D. Lafferty
2010, Science (330) 187-188
Parasitism is the most popular life-style on Earth, and many vertebrates host more than one kind of parasite at a time. A common assumption is that parasite species rarely interact, because they often exploit different tissues in a host, and this use of discrete resources limits competition (<a id="xref-ref-1-1"...
Inter-nesting habitat-use patterns of loggerhead sea turtles: Enhancing satellite tracking with benthic mapping
Kristen M. Hart, David G. Zawada, Ikuko Fujisaki, Barbara H. Lidz
2010, Aquatic Biology (11) 77-90
The loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta faces declining nest numbers and bycatches from commercial longline fishing in the southeastern USA. Understanding spatial and temporal habitat-use patterns of these turtles, especially reproductive females in the neritic zone, is critical for guiding management decisions. To assess marine turtle habitat use within the...
Streamflow of 2009--Water year summary
Jian Xiaodong, David M. Wolock, Harry F. Lins, Steve Brady
2010, Fact Sheet 2010-3058
The maps and graph in this summary describe streamflow conditions for water-year 2009 (October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009) in the context of the 80-year period 1930-2009, unless otherwise noted. The illustrations are based on observed data from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Streamflow Information Program. The period 1930-2009...
Influence of potential sea level rise on societal vulnerability to hurricane storm-surge hazards, Sarasota County, Florida
Tim G. Frazier, Nathan Wood, Brent Yarnal, Denise H. Bauer
2010, Applied Geography (30) 490-505
Although the potential for hurricanes under current climatic conditions continue to threaten coastal communities, there is concern that climate change, specifically potential increases in sea level, could influence the impacts of future hurricanes. To examine the potential effect of sea level rise on community vulnerability to future hurricanes, we assess...
Influence of environmental factors on biotic responses to nutrient enrichment in agricultural streams
Terry R. Maret, Christopher P. Konrad, Andrew W. Tranmer
2010, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (46) 498-513
The influence of environmental factors on biotic responses to nutrients was examined in three diverse agricultural regions of the United States. Seventy wadeable sites were selected along an agricultural land use gradient while minimizing natural variation within each region. Nutrients, habitat, algae, macroinvertebrates, and macrophyte cover were sampled during a...
Evidence for a novel marine harmful algal bloom: Cyanotoxin (Microcystin) transfer from land to sea otters
Melissa A. Miller, Raphael M. Kudela, Abdu Mekebri, Dave Crane, Stori C. Oates, M. Tim Tinker, Michelle Staedler, Woutrina A. Miller, Sharon Toy-Choutka, Clare Dominik, Dane Hardin, Gregg Langlois, Michael Murray, Kim Ward, David A. Jessup
2010, PLoS ONE (5) 1-11
"Super-blooms" of cyanobacteria that produce potent and environmentally persistent biotoxins (microcystins) are an emerging global health issue in freshwater habitats. Monitoring of the marine environment for secondary impacts has been minimal, although microcystin-contaminated freshwater is known to be entering marine ecosystems. Here we confirm deaths of marine mammals from microcystin...
Evaluation of nontarget effects of methoprene applied to catch basins for mosquito control
Mari Butler, Howard S. Ginsberg, Roger A. LeBrun, Alan Gettman
2010, Journal of Vector Ecology (35) 372-384
The mosquito larvicide methoprene is a juvenile growth hormone mimic that is widely used to control mosquito larvae in stormwater catch basins. This study addresses two concerns pertaining to methoprene's use for mosquito control. First, measurements of methoprene concentrations were made from water in catch basins that had been treated...
Defensible decision making: Harnessing the power of adaptive resource management
M. Knutson, H. Laskowski, Christine Moore, E. Lonsdorf, S. Lor, L. Stevenson
2010, The Wildlife Professional (4) 58-62
Characterizing 6 August 2007 Crandall Canyon mine collapse from ALOS PALSAR InSAR
Zhong Lu, Charles Wicks Jr.
2010, Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk (1) 85-93
We used ALOS InSAR images to study land surface deformation over the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah, which collapsed on 6 August 2007 and killed six miners. The collapse was registered as a ML 3.9 seismic event. An InSAR image spanning the time of the collapse shows 25–30 cm surface...
Seeding method influences warm-season grass abundance and distribution but not local diversity in grassland restoration
Kathryn A. Yurkonis, Brian J. Wilsey, Kirk A. Moloney, Pauline Drobney, Diane L. Larson
2010, Restoration Ecology (18) 344-353
Ecological theory predicts that the arrangement of seedlings in newly restored communities may influence future species diversity and composition. We test the prediction that smaller distances between neighboring seeds in drill seeded grassland plantings would result in lower species diversity, greater weed abundance, and larger conspecific patch sizes than otherwise...
Estimating migratory game-bird productivity by integrating age ratio and banding data
G.S. Zimmerman, W.A. Link, M.J. Conroy, J.R. Sauer, K.D. Richkus, G. Scott Boomer
2010, Wildlife Research (37) 612-622
Context: Reproduction is a critical component of fitness, and understanding factors that influence temporal and spatial dynamics in reproductive output is important for effective management and conservation. Although several indices of reproductive output for wide-ranging species, such as migratory birds, exist, there has been no theoretical justification for their estimators...
Effects of hydrologic infrastructure on flow regimes of California's Central Valley rivers: Implications for fish populations
Larry R. Brown, Marissa L. Bauer
2010, River Research and Applications (26) 751-765
Alteration of natural flow regimes is generally acknowledged to have negative effects on native biota; however, methods for defining ecologically appropriate flow regimes in managed river systems are only beginning to be developed. Understanding how past and present water management has affected rivers is an important part of developing such...
Old data, new problems
Beth Middleton
2010, SWS Research Brief (2010-0002)
Old data are a gold standard in climate change research, and much more use should be made of these data sets to document changes in wetlands in recent decades. Key data sets for the study of climate or land use change effects on wetlands may include historical field studies. Old...
A comparison of litter production in young and old baldcypress (Taxodium distichum L.) stands at Caddo Lake, Texas
John W. McCoy, Rassa O. Draugelis-Dale, Bobby D. Keeland, Roy Darville
2010, Texas Journal of Science (62) 25-40
Aboveground primary productivity for cypress forests was assessed from measurements of litter production in two age groups and in two hydrological regimes (standing water and free-flowing). Caddo Lake, located in northeast Texas on the Texas-Louisiana border, offered a unique study site since it is dominated by extensive stands composed entirely...
A new methodology for the quantitative visualization of coherent flow structures in alluvial channels using multibeam echo-sounding (MBES)
Jim Best, Stephen Simmons, Daniel Parsons, Kevin Oberg, Jonathan Czuba, Chris Malzone
2010, Geophysical Research Letters (37)
In order to investigate the interactions between turbulence and suspended sediment transport in natural aqueous environments, we ideally require a technique that allows simultaneous measurement of fluid velocity and sediment concentration for the whole flow field. Here, we report on development of a methodology using the water column acoustic backscatter...
Bayesian change point analysis of abundance trends for pelagic fishes in the upper San Francisco Estuary
James R. Thompson, Wim J. Kimmerer, Larry R. Brown, Ken B. Newman, Ralph Mac Nally, William A. Bennett, Frederick Feyrer, Erica Fleishman
2010, Ecological Applications (20) 1431-1448
We examined trends in abundance of four pelagic fish species (delta smelt, longfin smelt, striped bass, and threadfin shad) in the upper San Francisco Estuary, California, USA, over 40 years using Bayesian change point models. Change point models identify times of abrupt or unusual changes in absolute abundance (step changes)...
Analysis of pelagic species decline in the upper San Francisco Estuary using multivariate autoregressive modeling (MAR)
Ralph Mac Nally, James R. Thomson, Wim J. Kimmerer, Frederick Feyrer, Ken B. Newman, Andy Sih, William A. Bennett, Larry R. Brown, Erica Fleishman, Steven D. Culberson, Gonzalo Castillo
2010, Ecological Applications (20) 1417-1430
Four species of pelagic fish of particular management concern in the upper San Francisco Estuary, California, USA, have declined precipitously since ca. 2002: delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus), longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), and threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense). The estuary has been monitored since the late 1960s with...
Systematic status of wild Canis in North-central Texas
L. David Mech, Ronald M. Nowak
2010, Southeastern Naturalist (9) 587-594
Skulls of wild Canis collected 2003–2004 in north-central Texas are morphometrically similar to a series taken there and in nearby areas in 1964–1971, which was considered to represent a population of Coyotes (C. latrans) modified through introgression from Red Wolves (C. rufus). A few of the new specimens closely resemble...
Prolonged intensive dominance behavior between gray wolves, Canis lupus
L. David Mech, H. Dean Cluff
2010, Canadian Field-Naturalist (124) 215-218
Dominance is one of the most pervasive and important behaviors among wolves in a pack, yet its significance in free-ranging packs has been little studied. Insights into a behavior can often be gained by examining unusual examples of it. In the High Arctic near Eureka, Nunavut, Canada, we videotaped and...
