Experimental investigation of observation error in anuran call surveys
B.T. McClintock, L.L. Bailey, K. H. Pollock, T.R. Simons
2010, Journal of Wildlife Management (74) 1882-1893
Occupancy models that account for imperfect detection are often used to monitor anuran and songbird species occurrence. However, presenceabsence data arising from auditory detections may be more prone to observation error (e.g., false-positive detections) than are sampling approaches utilizing physical captures or sightings of individuals. We conducted realistic, replicated field...
Reference condition approach to restoration planning
J.M. Nestler, C.H. Theiling, S.J. Lubinski, D.L. Smith
2010, River Research and Applications (26) 1199-1219
Ecosystem restoration planning requires quantitative rigor to evaluate alternatives, define end states, report progress and perform environmental benefits analysis (EBA). Unfortunately, existing planning frameworks are, at best, semi-quantitative. In this paper, we: (1) describe a quantitative restoration planning approach based on a comprehensive, but simple mathematical framework that can be...
Lake temperature and ice cover regimes in the Alaskan Subarctic and Arctic: Integrated monitoring, remote sensing, and modeling
C.D. Arp, Benjamin M. Jones, Matthew Whitman, A. Larsen, F.E. Urban
2010, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (46) 777-791
Lake surface regimes are fundamental attributes of lake ecosystems and their interaction with the land and atmosphere. High latitudes may be particularly sensitive to climate change, however, adequate baselines for these lakes are often lacking. In this study, we couple monitoring, remote sensing, and modeling techniques to generate baseline datasets...
Morphologic dating of fault scarps using airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM) data
G.E. Hilley, S. Delong, C. Prentice, K. Blisniuk, J.R. Arrowsmith Jr.
2010, Geophysical Research Letters (37)
Models of fault scarp morphology have been previously used to infer the relative age of different fault scarps in a fault zone using labor-intensive ground surveying. We present a method for automatically extracting scarp morphologic ages within high-resolution digital topography. Scarp degradation is modeled as a diffusive mass transport process...
Individual and colony-specific wintering areas of Pacific northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis)
Scott A. Hatch, Verena A. Gill, Daniel M. Mulcahy
2010, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (67) 386-400
Seabird mortality associated with longline fishing in the eastern Bering Sea occurs mainly from September to May, with northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) comprising the majority (60%) of the bycatch. Along the west coast of North America, winter dieoffs of fulmars may be increasing in frequency and magnitude, the most severe...
On the specification of structural equation models for ecological systems
James B. Grace, T. Michael Anderson, Han Olff, S.M. Scheiner
2010, Ecological Monographs (80) 67-87
The use of structural equation modeling (SEM) is often motivated by its utility for investigating complex networks of relationships, but also because of its promise as a means of representing theoretical concepts using latent variables. In this paper, we discuss characteristics of ecological theory and some of the challenges for...
MTBE, TBA, and TAME attenuation in diverse hyporheic zones
James Landmeyer, Paul M. Bradley, D.A. Trego, K.G. Hale, J.E. Haas II
2010, Ground Water (48) 30-41
Groundwater contamination by fuel-related compounds such as the fuel oxygenates methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME) presents a significant issue to managers and consumers of groundwater and surface water that receives groundwater discharge. Four sites were investigated on Long Island, New York, characterized by...
Faunal assemblages and multi-scale habitat patterns in headwater tributaries of the South Fork Trinity River - an unregulated river embedded within a multiple-use landscape
H.H. Welsh, G.R. Hodgson, J.J. Duda, J.M. Emlen
2010, Animal Biodiversity and Conservation (33) 63-87
Headwaters can represent 80% of stream kilometers in a watershed, and they also have unique physical and biological properties that have only recently been recognized for their importance in sustaining healthy functioning stream networks and their ecological services. We sampled 60 headwater tributaries in the South Fork Trinity River, a...
Earth system sensitivity inferred from Pliocene modelling and data
D.J. Lunt, A.M. Haywood, G.A. Schmidt, U. Salzmann, P.J. Valdes, H.J. Dowsett
2010, Nature Geoscience (3) 60-64
Quantifying the equilibrium response of global temperatures to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is one of the cornerstones of climate research. Components of the Earths climate system that vary over long timescales, such as ice sheets and vegetation, could have an important effect on this temperature sensitivity, but...
A rain splash transport equation assimilating field and laboratory measurements
T. Dunne, D.V. Malmon, S.M. Mudd
2010, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (115)
Process-based models of hillslope evolution require transport equations relating sediment flux to its major controls. An equation for rain splash transport in the absence of overland flow was constructed by modifying an approach developed by Reeve (1982) and parameterizing it with measurements from single-drop laboratory experiments and simulated rainfall on...
The ShakeOut earthquake scenario: Verification of three simulation sets
J. Bielak, R.W. Graves, K.B. Olsen, R. Taborda, L. Ramirez-Guzman, S.M. Day, G.P. Ely, D. Roten, T.H. Jordan, P.J. Maechling, J. Urbanic, Y. Cui, G. Juve
2010, Geophysical Journal International (180) 375-404
This paper presents a verification of three simulations of the ShakeOut scenario, an Mw 7.8 earthquake on a portion of the San Andreas fault in southern California, conducted by three different groups at the Southern California Earthquake Center using the SCEC Community Velocity Model for this region. We conducted two...
Estimating length of avian incubation and nestling stages in afrotropical forest birds from interval-censored nest records
T.R. Stanley, W.D. Newmark
2010, The Auk (127) 79-85
In the East Usambara Mountains in northeast Tanzania, research on the effects of forest fragmentation and disturbance on nest survival in understory birds resulted in the accumulation of 1,002 nest records between 2003 and 2008 for 8 poorly studied species. Because information on the length of the incubation and nestling...
Laboratory chalcopyrite oxidation by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans: Oxygen and sulfur isotope fractionation
R.S. Thurston, K.W. Mandernack, Wayne C. Shanks III
2010, Chemical Geology (269) 252-261
Laboratory experiments were conducted to simulate chalcopyrite oxidation under anaerobic and aerobic conditions in the absence or presence of the bacterium Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. Experiments were carried out with 3 different oxygen isotope values of water (??18OH2O) so that approach to equilibrium or steady-state isotope fractionation for different starting conditions could...
A California statewide three-dimensional seismic velocity model from both absolute and differential times
G. Lin, C.H. Thurber, H. Zhang, E. Hauksson, P.M. Shearer, F. Waldhauser, T.M. Brocher, J. Hardebeck
2010, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (100) 225-240
We obtain a seismic velocity model of the California crust and uppermost mantle using a regional-scale double-difference tomography algorithm. We begin by using absolute arrival-time picks to solve for a coarse three-dimensional (3D) P velocity (VP) model with a uniform 30 km horizontal node spacing, which we then use as...
Decadal-timescale estuarine geomorphic change under future scenarios of climate and sediment supply
N. K. Ganju, D. H. Schoellhamer
2010, Estuaries and Coasts (33) 15-29
Future estuarine geomorphic change, in response to climate change, sea-level rise, and watershed sediment supply, may govern ecological function, navigation, and water quality. We estimated geomorphic changes in Suisun Bay, CA, under four scenarios using a tidal-timescale hydrodynamic/sediment transport model. Computational expense and data needs were reduced using the morphological...
Calibration and use of continuous heat-type automated seepage meters for submarine groundwater discharge measurements
B.M. Mwashote, W. C. Burnett, J. Chanton, I.R. Santos, N. Dimova, P.W. Swarzenski
2010, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (87) 1-10
Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) assessments were conducted both in the laboratory and at a field site in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, using a continuous heat-type automated seepage meter (seepmeter). The functioning of the seepmeter is based on measurements of a temperature gradient in the water between downstream and upstream...
HiRISE observations of gas sublimation-driven activity in Mars' southern polar regions: III. Models of processes involving translucent ice
Ganna Portyankina, Wojciech J. Markiewicz, Nicolas Thomas, Candice J. Hansen, Moses P. Milazzo
2010, Icarus (205) 311-320
Enigmatic surface features, known as 'spiders', found at high southern martian latitudes, are probably caused by sublimation-driven erosion under the seasonal carbon dioxide ice cap. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) has imaged this terrain in unprecedented details throughout southern spring. It has been postulated...
Effects of egg order on organic and inorganic element concentrations and egg characteristics in tree swallows, tachycineta bicolor
Christine M. Custer, Brian R. Gray, Thomas W. Custer
2010, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (29) 909-921
The laying order of tree swallow eggs was identified from the Housatonic River, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA, and eggs were chemically analyzed individually to document possible effects of laying order on organic contaminant and inorganic element concentrations. Effects of laying order on other parameters such as egg weight, size, and...
Hydrodynamic modeling of juvenile mussel dispersal in a large river: The potential effects of bed shear stress and other parameters
J.A. Daraio, L.J. Weber, T.J. Newton
2010, Conference Paper, Journal of the North American Benthological Society
Because unionid mussels have a parasitic larval stage, they are able to disperse upstream and downstream as larvae while attached to their host fish and with flow as juveniles after excystment from the host. Understanding unionid population ecology requires knowledge of the processes that affect juvenile dispersal prior to establishment....
Predicting the retreat and migration of tidal forests along the northern Gulf of Mexico under sea-level rise
T.W. Doyle, K. W. Krauss, W.H. Conner, A.S. From
2010, Forest Ecology and Management (259) 770-777
Tidal freshwater forests in coastal regions of the southeastern United States are undergoing dieback and retreat from increasing tidal inundation and saltwater intrusion attributed to climate variability and sea-level rise. In many areas, tidal saltwater forests (mangroves) contrastingly are expanding landward in subtropical coastal reaches succeeding freshwater marsh and forest...
Long-term variability in Northern Hemisphere snow cover and associations with warmer winters
G.J. McCabe, D.M. Wolock
2010, Climatic Change (99) 141-153
A monthly snow accumulation and melt model is used with gridded monthly temperature and precipitation data for the Northern Hemisphere to generate time series of March snow-covered area (SCA) for the period 1905 through 2002. The time series of estimated SCA for March is verified by comparison with previously published...
Relevance of risk predictions derived from a chronic species sensitivity distribution with cadmium to aquatic populations and ecosystems
C.A. Mebane
2010, Risk Analysis (30) 203-223
Criteria to protect aquatic life are intended to protect diverse ecosystems, but in practice are usually developed from compilations of single-species toxicity tests using standard test organisms that were tested in laboratory environments. Species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) developed from these compilations are extrapolated to set aquatic ecosystem criteria. The protectiveness...
Housing growth in and near United States protected areas limits their conservation value
V. C. Radeloff, S. I. Stewart, T. J. Hawbaker, U. Gimmi, A.M. Pidgeon, C.H. Flather, R. B. Hammer, D.P. Helmers
2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (107) 940-945
Protected areas are crucial for biodiversity conservation because they provide safe havens for species threatened by land-use change and resulting habitat loss. However, protected areas are only effective when they stop habitat loss within their boundaries, and are connected via corridors to other wild areas. The effectiveness of protected areas...
On the application of multilevel modeling in environmental and ecological studies
Song S. Qian, Thomas F. Cuffney, Ibrahim Alameddine, Gerard McMahon, Kenneth H. Reckhow
2010, Ecology (91) 355-361
This paper illustrates the advantages of a multilevel/hierarchical approach for predictive modeling, including flexibility of model formulation, explicitly accounting for hierarchical structure in the data, and the ability to predict the outcome of new cases. As a generalization of the classical approach, the multilevel modeling approach explicitly models the hierarchical...
Patterns of mercury dispersion from local and regional emission sources, rural Central Wisconsin, USA
A. Kolker, M.L. Olson, David P. Krabbenhoft, Michael T. Tate, Mark A. Engle
2010, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions (10) 1823-1846
Simultaneous real-time changes in mercury (Hg) speciation-reactive gaseous Hg (RGM), elemental Hg (Hg??), and fine particulate Hg (Hg-PM2.5), were determined from June to November 2007, in ambient air at three locations in rural Central Wisconsin. Known Hg emission sources within the airshed of the monitoring sites include: 1) a 1114...
