Fish assemblages in a Mississippi reservoir mudflat with low structural complexity
H. R. Hatcher, Leandro E. Miranda, M. E. Colvin, G. Coppola, M. A. Lashley
2019, Hydrobiologia (841) 163-175
In shallow reservoirs, seasonal water drawdowns expose littoral areas and over time produce barren mudflats. When flooded, mudflats provide homogeneous substrates, turbid water, and eroding shorelines of limited ecological value. We hypothesized that in mudflats structurally complex habitats are occupied by more fish, smaller fish of a larger range in...
Filling knowledge gaps in a threatened shorebird flyway through satellite tracking
Yin-Chi Chan, T. Lee Tibbitts, Tamar Lok, Chris Hassell, He-Bo Peng, Zhijun Ma, Zhengwang Zhang, Theunis Piersma
2019, Journal of Applied Ecology (56) 2305-2315
Satellite‐based technologies that track individual animal movements enable the mapping of their spatial and temporal patterns of occurrence. This is particularly useful in poorly studied or remote regions where there is a need for the rapid gathering of relevant ecological knowledge to inform management actions. One such region is...
Improving population estimates of threatened spectacled eiders: Correcting aerial counts for visibility bias
Tyler Lewis, Michael Swaim, Joel A. Schmutz, Julian Fischer
2019, Endangered Species Research (39) 191-206
Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1993, the Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri) population in western Alaska has since rebounded, prompting an assessment of their suitability for delisting. This assessment, however, is limited by aerial-based population estimates that are incompletely corrected for unobserved eiders. Notably, aerial counts of...
Effects of manure and tillage on edge-of-field phosphorus loss in seasonally frozen landscapes
Zachariah P. Zopp, Matthew D. Ruark, Anita M. Thompson, Todd D. Stuntebeck, Eric Cooley, Amber Radatz, Timothy Radatz
2019, Journal of Environmental Quality (48) 966-977
Environmental conditions and management practices affect nutrient losses in surface runoff, but their relative impacts on phosphorus (P) loss during frozen and nonfrozen ground periods have not been well quantified. More specifically, the relative importance of manure application, tillage, and soil-test P (STP) has not been assessed at the field...
Freezing resistance, safety margins, and survival vary among big sagebrush populations across the western United States
Brynne Lazarus, Matthew J. Germino, Bryce A. Richardson
2019, American Journal of Botany (106) 922-934
PremisePhysiological responses to temperature extremes are considered strong drivers of species’ demographic responses to climate variability. Plants are typically classified as either avoiders or tolerators in their freezing‐resistance mechanism, but a gradient of physiological‐threshold freezing responses may exist among individuals of a species. Moreover, adaptive significance of...
Coexisting discrete bodies of rhyolite and punctuated volcanism characterize Yellowstone's post‐Lava Creek Tuff caldera evolution
Christy B Till, Jorge A. Vazquez, Mark E. Stelten, Hannah I Shamloo, Jamie S Shaffer
2019, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (20) 3861-3881
Ion‐microprobe 206Pb/238U geochronology and trace element geochemistry of the unpolished rims and sectioned interiors of zircons from Yellowstone caldera's oldest post‐caldera lavas provide insight into the magmatic system during the prelude and aftermath of the caldera‐forming Lava Creek supereruption. The post‐caldera lavas compose the Upper Basin Member of the Plateau Rhyolite...
Effects of infiltration characteristics on the spatial-temporal evolution of stability of an interstate highway embankment
Eric Hinds, Ning Lu, Benjamin B. Mirus, Alexandra Wayllace
2019, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (145)
Infiltration-induced landslides are among the most common natural disasters threatening modern civilization, but conventional methods for studying the triggering mechanisms and predicting the occurrence of these slides are limited by incomplete consideration of underlying physical processes and the lack of precision inherent in limit-equilibrium analyses. To address this problem the...
The dream and the reality: Meeting decision-making time frames while incorporating ecosystem and economic models into management strategy evaluation
J.J. Deroba, S.K. Gaichas, Min-Yang Lee, Rachael G. Feeney, D. Boelke, Brian J. Irwin
2019, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (76)
Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) in the Northwest Atlantic have been managed with interim harvest control rules (HCRs). A stakeholder-driven management strategy evaluation (MSE) was conducted that incorporated a broad range of objectives. The MSE process was completed within 1 year. Constant catch, conditional constant catch, and a biomass-based (BB) HCR...
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and biological data (October 2016 through September 2017) and statistical summaries of data for streams in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana
Tom Cleasby, Michelle I. Hornberger, Terry L. Heinert, Matthew A. Turner
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1060
Water, bed sediment, and biota were sampled in selected streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the Clark Fork Basin of western Montana. The sampling program was led by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to characterize...
Black bears alter movements in response to anthropogenic features with time of day and season
Katherine A. Zeller, David Wattles, Laura Conlee, Stephen DeStefano
2019, Movement Ecology (7)
BackgroundWith the growth and expansion of human development, large mammals will increasingly encounter humans, elevating the likelihood of human-wildlife conflicts. Understanding the behavior and movement of large mammals, particularly around human development, is important for crafting effective conservation and management plans for these species.MethodsWe used GPS...
Heat flow in the Western Arctic Ocean (Amerasian Basin)
Carolyn D. Ruppel, A.H. Lachenbruch, Deborah Hutchinson, Robert Munroe, David Mosher
2019, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (124) 7562-7587
From 1963 to 1973 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured heat flow at 356 sites in the Amerasian Basin (Western Arctic Ocean) from a drifting ice island (T-3). The resulting measurements, which are unevenly distributed on Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge (AMR) and in Canada and Nautilus basins, greatly expand available heat flow...
A phylogenomic supertree of birds
Rebecca T Kimball, Carl H Oliveros, Ning Wang, Noor D White, F. Keith Barker, Daniel J Field, Daniel T Ksepka, Terry Chesser, Robert G Moyle, Michael J Braun, Robb T Brumfield, Brant C Faircloth, Brian Tilston-Smith, Edward L Braun
2019, Diversity (11) 35
It has long been appreciated that analyses of genomic data (e.g., whole genome sequencing or sequence capture) have the potential to reveal the tree of life, but it remains challenging to move from sequence data to a clear understanding of evolutionary history, in part due to the computational challenges of...
Extent of the Last Glacial Maximum (Tioga) glaciation in Yosemite National Park and vicinity, California
Clyde Wahrhaftig, Greg M. Stock, Reba G. McCracken, Peri Sasnett, Andrew J. Cyr
2019, Scientific Investigations Map 3414
Yosemite National Park, located in the central Sierra Nevada in California, is an icon of the U.S. National Park system. It is famous for its many spectacular geologic features, which include the towering cliffs and hanging waterfalls of Yosemite Valley and the rounded granite domes, deep blue lakes, and jagged...
Bundle adjustment using space based triangulation method for improving the Landsat global ground reference
James C. Storey, R. Rengarajan, Mike Choate
Michael J. Choate, editor(s)
2019, Remote Sensing (11)
There is an ever-increasing interest and need for accurate geo-registration of remotely sensed data products to a common global geometric reference. Although the geo-registration has improved significantly in the last decade, the lack of an accurate global ground reference dataset poses serious issues for data providers seeking to make geometrically stackable...
First examination of diet items consumed by wild-caught black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) in the U.S.
Barry C. Poulton, Patrick Kroboth, George Aiken, Duane Chapman, J. Bailey, Stephen E. McMurray, John S. Faiman
2019, The American Midland Naturalist (182) 89-108
Black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) were imported to the U.S. in the 1970s to control snails in aquaculture ponds and have since escaped from captivity. The increase in captures of wild fish has raised concerns of risk to native and imperiled unionid mussels given previous literature classified this species a molluscivore....
Status of the Topeka shiner in Iowa
Clay Pierce, Nicholas T. Simpson, Alexander P. Bybel, Courtney L. Zambory, Michael J. Weber, Kevin J. Roe
2019, American Midland Naturalist (182) 109-117
The Topeka shiner Notropis topeka is native to Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota and has been federally listed as endangered since 1998. Our goals were to determine the present distribution and qualitative status of Topeka shiners throughout its current range in Iowa and characterize the extent of decline in...
Climate, environment, and disturbance history govern resilience of western North American Forests
Paul F. Hessburg, Carol Miller, Sean A. Parks, Nicholas A. Povak, Alan H. Taylor, Philip E. Higuera, Susan Prichard, Malcolm P. North, Brandon M. Collins, Matthew D. Hurteau, Andrew J. Larson, Craig D. Allen, Scott L. Stephens, Hiram Rivera-Huerta, Camile S Stevens-Rumann, Lori D. Daniels, Ze’ev Gedalof, Robert W. Gray, Van R. Kane, Derek J. Churchill, R. Keala Hagmann, Thomas A. Spies, C. Alina Cansler, R. Travis Belote, Thomas T. Veblen, Mike A. Battaglia, Chad Hoffman, Carl N. Skinner, Hugh D. Safford, R. Brion Salter
2019, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (7)
Before the advent of intensive forest management and fire suppression, western North American forests exhibited a naturally occurring resistance and resilience to wildfires and other disturbances. Resilience, which encompasses resistance, reflects the amount of disruption an ecosystem can withstand before its structure or organization qualitatively shift to a different basin...
Connectivity dynamics in dryland litter cycles: Moving decomposition beyond spatial stasis
Heather L. Throop, Jayne Belnap
2019, BioScience (69) 602-614
Drylands (arid and semiarid ecosystems) cover nearly half of Earth's terrestrial surface, but biogeochemical pools and processes in these systems remain poorly understood. Litter can account for a substantial portion of carbon and nutrient pools in these systems, with litter decomposition exerting important controls over biogeochemical cycling. Dryland decomposition...
Nest structure affects auditory and visual detectability, but not predation risk, in a tropical songbird community
James C. Mouton, Thomas E. Martin
2019, Functional Ecology (33) 1973-1981
Offspring mortality varies dramatically among species with critical demographic and evolutionary ramifications, yet the causes of this variation remain unclear. Nests are widely used for breeding across taxa and thought to influence offspring mortality risk. Traditionally, more complex, enclosed nest structures are thought to reduce offspring predation by reducing...
Precipitation regime change in Western North America: The role of atmospheric rivers
Alexander Gerhunov, Tamara Shulgina, Rachel Clemesha, Kristen Guirguis, David Pierce, Michael D. Dettinger, David A. Lavers, Daniel Cayan, Suraj Polade, Julie Kalansky, Martin Ralph
2019, Scientific Reports (9)
Daily precipitation in California has been projected to become less frequent even as precipitation extremes intensify, leading to uncertainty in the overall response to climate warming. Precipitation extremes are historically associated with Atmospheric Rivers (ARs). Sixteen global climate models are evaluated for realism in modeled historical AR behavior and contribution...
Safety in numbers: Cost-effective endangered species management for viable populations
Pierce Donovan, Lucas S. Bair, Charles B. Yackulic, Michael R. Springborn
2019, Land Economics (95) 435-453
We develop a bioeconomic model to identify the cost-effective control of an invasive species (rain-bow trout) to achieve a population viability goal for an endangered species (humpback chub) in the Grand Canyon of the U.S. southwest. The population viability optimization problem is no-toriously difficult to solve due to a probabilistic...
Predictive analysis using chemical-gene interaction networks consistent with observed endocrine activity and mutagenicity of U.S. streams
Jason P. Berninger, David M. DeMarini, Sarah H. Warren, Jane Ellen Simmons, Vickie S. Wilson, Justin M. Conley, Mikayla D. Armstrong, Dana W. Kolpin, Kathryn Kuivila, Timothy J. Reilly, Kristin M. Romanok, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Paul M. Bradley, Luke R. Iwanowicz
2019, Environmental Science & Technology (53) 8611-8620
In a recent U.S. Geological Survey/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study assessing >700 organic compounds in 38 streams, in vitro assays indicated generally low estrogen, androgen, and glucocorticoid receptor activities, but identified 13 surface waters with 17β estradiol equivalent (E2Eq) activities greater than the 1 ng/L level of concern for feminization...
Landscape-scale greater prairie-chicken–habitat relations and the Conservation Reserve Program
Kalysta Adkins, Charlotte L. Roy, David E. Andersen, Robert G. Wright
2019, Journal of Wildlife Management (83) 1415-1426
Both the abundance of greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) and the area of grassland enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in northwestern Minnesota, USA, have recently declined. Although wildlife conservation is a stated objective of the CRP, the impact of the CRP on greater prairie-chicken populations has not been...
Hydrologic study at Farm Creek Marsh, Dorchester County, Maryland, from April 2015 to April 2016
Charles W. Walker, Todd R. Lester, Christopher W. Nealen
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5032
In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey began a 1-year hydrologic study to investigate the extent and cause of inundation at Farm Creek Marsh, in Dorchester County, Maryland. In combination with a tide and precipitation gage, a representative section of the marsh was instrumented with surface-water monitors and shallow groundwater piezometers...
Examination of movements and survival of Pahranagat roundtail chub (Gila robusta jordani) in the Pahranagat River and adjacent waters, Nevada, 2014–18
Barbara A. Martin, Brian S. Hayes, Alta C. Harris
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1075
Executive SummaryThe Pahranagat roundtail chub (Gila robusta jordani; hereinafter “chub”) was federally listed as endangered in 1970 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1970). In the decades following the listing, the chub has declined to extremely low numbers (Tuttle and others, 1990; Guadalupe, 2014). Loss of available habitat appears to...
