Discoveries and novel insights in ecology using structural equation modeling
Daniel C. Laughlin, James Grace
2019, Ecology and Evolution (12) 28-34
As we enter the era of data science (Lortie 2018), quantitative analysis methodologies are proliferating rapidly, leaving ecologists with the task of choosing among many alternatives. The use of structural equation modeling (SEM) by ecologists has increased in recent years, prompting us to ask users a number of questions about...
Dome formation on Ceres by sold-state flow analogous to terrestrial salt tectonics
Michael T. Bland, D. L Buczkowski, H. G. Sizemore, A. I. Ermakov, S. D King, M. M. Sori, C. A. Raymond, J. C. Castillo-Rogez, C. T. Russell
2019, Nature Geoscience (12) 797-801
The dwarf planet Ceres’s outer crust is a complex, heterogeneous mixture of ice, clathrates, salts and silicates. Numerous large domes on Ceres’s surface indicate a degree of geological activity. These domes have been attributed to cryovolcanism, but that is difficult to reconcile with Ceres’s small size and lack of long-lived...
Growth response of the ichthyotoxic haptophyte, Prymnesium parvum Carter, to changes in sulfate and fluoride concentrations
Rakib B. Rashel, Reynaldo Patino
2019, PLoS ONE (14) 1-19
Golden alga Prymnesium parvum Carter is a euryhaline, ichthyotoxic haptophyte (Chromista). Because of its presumed coastal/marine origin where SO42- levels are high, the relatively high SO42- concentration of its brackish inland habitats, and the sensitivity of marine chromists to sulfur deficiency, this study examined whether golden alga growth is sensitive...
Survival and movements of head‐started Mojave desert tortoises
J. A. Daly, K. A. Buhlmann, B. D. Todd, Clinton T. Moore, J. M. Peaden, T. D. Tuberville
2019, Journal of Wildlife Management (83) 1700-1710
Head‐starting is a conservation strategy in which young animals are protected in captivity temporarily before their release into the wild at a larger size, when their survival is presumably increased. The Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is in decline, and head‐starting has been identified as one of several conservation measures...
The hydrologic system of the south Florida peninsula—Development and application of the Biscayne and Southern Everglades Coastal Transport (BISECT) model
Eric D. Swain, Melinda A. Lohmann, Carl R. Goodwin
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5045
The Biscayne and Southern Everglades Coastal Transport (BISECT) model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey under the Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystem Studies Initiative to evaluate, both separately and in conjunction, the likely effects on surface-water stages and flows, hydroperiod, and groundwater levels and salinity in south Florida of (1)...
A collaborative approach to bridging the gap between wildlife managers and researchers
Jerod Merkle, Neil J. Anderson, Danna L. Baxley, Matthew Chopp, Laura C. Gigliotti, Justin A. Gude, Tyler M. Harms, Heather E. Johnson, Evelyn H. Merrill, Michael S. Mitchell, Tony W. Mong, Jerry Nelson, Andrew S. Norton, Michael J. Sheriff, Eric Tomasik, Kelly R. VanBeek
2019, Journal of Wildlife Management (83) 1644-1651
Although most wildlife professionals agree that science should inform wildlife management decisions, disconnect still exists between researchers and managers. If researchers are not striving to incorporate their findings into management decisions, support for research programs by managers can wane. If managers are not using research findings to inform management decisions,...
The importance of turtle populations to wetland restoration in the upper Mississippi embayment of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Max A Nickerson, Joseph C. Mitchell, Brad Glorioso
2019, Wetlands Ecology and Management (27) 683-692
The Upper Mississippi Embayment (UME) ecoregion covers approximately 141,895 km2 and historically supported 9,712,455 ha of bottomland deciduous forests, swamps, bayous, and rivers. Only about 500 ha (< 0.01%) of pre-settlement bottomland hardwood forest habitat in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) in the UME remained by the 1940s because the timber...
Climate-driven shifts in soil temperature and moisture regimes suggest opportunities to enhance assessments of dryland resilience and resistance
John B. Bradford, Daniel R. Schlaepfer, William K. Lauenroth, Kyle A. Palmquist, Jeanne C. Chambers, Jeremy D. Maestas, Steven B. Campbell
2019, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (7)
Assessing landscape patterns in climate vulnerability, as well as resilience and resistance to drought, disturbance, and invasive species, requires appropriate metrics of relevant environmental conditions. In dryland systems of western North America, soil temperature and moisture regimes have been widely utilized as an indicator of resilience to disturbance and resistance...
Comparison of physical to numerical mixing with different tracer advection schemes in estuarine environments
Tarandeep S. Kalra, Xiangyu Li, John C. Warner, W. R. Geyer, Hui Wu
2019, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (10)
The numerical simulation of estuarine dynamics requires accurate prediction for the transport of tracers such as temperature and salinity. During the simulation of these processes, all numerical models introduce two kinds of tracer mixing: 1) by parameterizing the tracer eddy diffusivity through turbulence models leading to a source of physical...
Survival and recruitment dynamics of Black-legged Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla at an Alaskan colony
Cyndy Loftin, Aly McKnight, Erik J. Blomberg, David B. Irons, Shawn T. McKinney
2019, Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation (47) 209-222
The majority of seabirds breed colonially and exhibit considerable site fidelity over the course of their long lifespans. Initial colony selection can therefore have substantial fitness consequences; however, factors contributing to recruitment into colonies and subsequent fidelity remain unclear. We used multi-state capture-recapture models to test several hypotheses related to...
Clustered BSRs: Evidence for gas hydrate-bearing turbidite complexes in folded regions, example from the Perdido Fold Belt, northern Gulf of Mexico
Alexy Portnov, Ann Cook, Derek E. Sawyer, Chen Yang, Jess Hillman, William F. Waite
2019, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (528)
We describe previously undocumented but extensive gas hydrate accumulations in the mouth of Perdido Canyon in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The accumulations are located within central parts of structural domes (four-way closures) and are characterized by stacked, high-amplitude bottom simulating reflections (BSRs) that we call clustered BSRs. Seismic data...
Stormwater-quality performance of line permeable pavement systems
William R. Selbig, Nicolas Buer, Mari Danz
2019, Journal of Environmental Management (251)
Three permeable pavements were evaluated for their ability to improve the quality of stormwater runoff over a 22-month period in Madison, Wisconsin. Using a lined system with no internal water storage, permeable interlocking concrete pavers (PICP), pervious concrete (PC), and porous asphalt (PA) were able to significantly remove sediment and...
Effects of stream temperature and substrate type on emergence patterns of Plecoptera and Trichoptera from northeastern United States headwater streams
Kristin N. Cheney, Allison H. Roy, Robert F. Smith, Edward R. DeWalt
2019, Environmental Entomology (48) 1349-1359
The timing and spatial distribution of aquatic insect emergence is linked to the abiotic and biotic environment in streams. Studies of aquatic insect emergence are needed to generate baseline data to identify potential shifts in phenology and habitat-related emergence with global change. The purpose of this study was to...
Experimental study on the impact of thermal maturity on shale microstructures using hydrous pyrolysis
Kouqi Liu, M. Ostadhassan, Paul C. Hackley, T. Gentzis, J. Zou, Y. Yuan, H. Carvajal-Ortiz, R. Rezaee, B. Bubach
2019, Energy & Fuels (33) 9702-9719
Hydrous pyrolysis was applied to four low-maturity aliquots from the Utica, Excello, Monterey, and Niobrara Shale Formations in North America to create artificial maturation sequences, which could be used to study the impact of maturation on geochemical and microstructural properties. Modified Rock-Eval pyrolysis, reflectance, organic petrology, and Fourier transform infrared...
Map of the approximate inland extent of saltwater at the base of the Biscayne aquifer in Miami-Dade County, Florida, 2018
Scott T. Prinos
2019, Scientific Investigations Map 3438
The inland extent of saltwater at the base of the Biscayne aquifer in eastern Miami-Dade County, Florida, was mapped in 2011, and it was mapped in the Model Land Area in 2016. The saltwater interface has continued to move inland in some areas and is now near several active well...
An evaluation of methods for computing annual water-quality loads
Casey J. Lee, Robert M. Hirsch, Charles G. Crawford
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5084
The U.S. Geological Survey publishes information on the mass, or load, of water-quality constituents transported through rivers and streams sampled as part of the operation of the National Water Quality Network (NWQN). This study evaluates methods for computing annual water-quality loads, specifically with respect to procedures currently (2019) used at...
Landsat 1-5 Multispectral Scanner System (MSS) sensors radiometric calibration update
Cibele Teixeira Pinto, Obaidul Haque, Esad Micijevic, Dennis Helder
2019, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (57) 7378-7394
First launched in 1972, the Landsat satellite sensors have provided the longest continuous record of high quality images of the Earth’s surface that are used in both civilian and military applications. The Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) sensor was on-board Landsat-1 through Landsat-5. In fact, the MSS sensors provide the only...
Mortality, perception, and scale: Understanding how predation shapes space use in a wild prey population
L. N. Messinger, E. S. Stuber, C. J. Chizinski, Joseph J. Fontaine
2019, PLoS ONE (14)
Attempts to assess behavioral responses of prey to predation risk are often confounded by depredation of prey. Moreover, the scale at which the response of prey is assessed has important implications for discovering how predation risk alters prey behavior. Herein, we assessed space use of wild Ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus)...
Designing multi-scale hierarchical monitoring frameworks for wildlife to support management: A sage-grouse case study
Michael S. O’Donnell, David R. Edmunds, Cameron L. Aldridge, Julie A. Heinrichs, Peter S. Coates, Brian G. Prochazka, Steve E. Hanser
2019, Ecosphere (10)
Population monitoring is integral to the conservation and management of wildlife; yet, analyses of population demographic data rarely consider processes occurring across spatial scales, potentially limiting the effectiveness of adaptive management. Therefore, we developed a method to identify hierarchical levels of organization (i.e., populations) to define multiple spatial scales, specifically...
Tidal variation in cohesive sediment distribution in an idealized, partially-mixed estuary
D. Tarpley, Courtney K. Harris, Carl T. Friedrichs, Christopher R. Sherwood
2019, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (7)
Particle settling velocity and erodibility are key factors that govern the transport of sediment through coastal environments including estuaries. These are difficult to parameterize in models that represent mud, whose properties can change in response to many factors, including tidally varying suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and shear...
Exploring silica stoichiometry on a large floodplain riverscape
Joanna C. Carey, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Paul Julian, Lienne Sethna, Patrick Thomas, Jason J. Rohweder
2019, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (7)
Freshwater ecosystems are critical zones of nutrient and carbon (C) processing along the land-sea continuum. Relative to our understanding of C, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) cycling within the freshwater systems, the controls on silicon (Si) cycling and export are less understood. Understanding Si biogeochemistry and its coupled biogeochemical processing...
Status of Pacific martens (Martes caurina) on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington
K. M. Moriarty, K. B. Aubry
C. N. Morozumi, B. L. Howell, P. J. Happe, Kurt J. Jenkins, K. L. Pilgrim, M. K. Schwartz, editor(s)
2019, Northwest Science (93) 122-139
Pacific martens (Martes caurina) remain common in montane regions of the Pacific states, yet their distribution and status on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, is uncertain. Between 1968– 2008, six reliable marten detections exist; a dead juvenile female (2008) indicates martens were reproducing on the Peninsula within the last decade. To assess the status...
We ain’t afraid of no ghosts: Tracking habitat interactions and movement dynamics of ghost PIT tags under differing flow conditions in a sand bed river
J. Benjamin Stout, Mary Conner, Phaedra E. Budy, Peter Mackinnon, Mark McKinstry
2019, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (39) 1337-1347
The use of PIT tags has rapidly proliferated since their introduction, and new mobile detection methods have been developed. However, the presence of ghost tags (i.e., PIT tags left in the system after a fish dies) creates uncertainty about the status (live or dead) of tags...
Estimated use of water in the Cumberland River watershed in 2010 and projections of public-supply water use to 2040
John A. Robinson
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5130
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Nashville District, is conducting ongoing water-supply analyses of USACE reservoirs in the Cumberland River watershed to identify areas where potential water-resources issues may arise in the future. To assist the USACE in their efforts, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the USACE,...
Regional-scale associations between indicators of biological integrity and indicators of streamflow modification
Daren Carlisle, Theodore E. Grantham, Ken Eng, David M. Wolock
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1088
Although streamflow is widely recognized as a controlling factor in stream health, empirical relations between indicators of anthropogenic modification of streamflow and ecological indicators have been elusive. The objective of this report is to build upon specific findings reported in recent publications by providing a library of empirical models that...
