Inferring invasive species abundance using removal data from management actions
Amy J. Davis, Mevin Hooten, Ryan S. Miller, Matthew L. Farnsworth, Jesse S. Lewis, Michael Moxcey, Kim M. Pepin
2016, Ecological Applications (26) 2339-2346
Evaluation of the progress of management programs for invasive species is crucial for demonstrating impacts to stakeholders and strategic planning of resource allocation. Estimates of abundance before and after management activities can serve as a useful metric of population management programs. However, many methods of estimating population size are too...
Potential interactions among disease, pesticides, water quality and adjacent land cover in amphibian habitats in the United States
William A. Battaglin, Kelly L. Smalling, Chauncey W. Anderson, Daniel L. Calhoun, Tara E. Chestnut, Erin L. Muths
2016, Science of the Total Environment (566-567) 320-332
To investigate interactions among disease, pesticides, water quality, and adjacent land cover, we collected samples of water, sediment, and frog tissue from 21 sites in 7 States in the United States (US) representing a variety of amphibian habitats. All samples were analyzed for > 90 pesticides and pesticide degradates, and...
Determining the flux of methane into Hudson Canyon at the edge of methane clathrate hydrate stability
A. Weinsten, L Navarrete, Carolyn D. Ruppel, T.C. Weber, M. Leonte, M. Kellermann, E. Arrington, D.L. Valentine, M.L Scranton, John D. Kessler
2016, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (17) 3882-3892
Methane seeps were investigated in Hudson Canyon, the largest shelf-break canyon on the northern US Atlantic Margin. The seeps investigated are located at or updip of the nominal limit of methane clathrate hydrate stability. The acoustic identification of bubble streams was used to guide water column sampling in a 32...
A Lota lota consumption: Trophic dynamics of nonnative Burbot in a valuable sport fishery
Stephen L. Klobucar, W. Carl Saunders, Phaedra Budy
2016, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (145) 1386-1398
Unintentional and illegal introductions of species disrupt food webs and threaten the success of managed sport fisheries. Although many populations of Burbot Lota lota are declining in the species’ native range, a nonnative population recently expanded into Flaming Gorge Reservoir (FGR), Wyoming–Utah, and threatens to disrupt predator–prey interactions within this popular sport...
Sex-biased survivorship and differences in migration of wild steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts from two coastal Oregon rivers
Neil F. Thompson, Camille A. Leblanc, Jeremy D. Romer, Carl B. Schreck, Michael S. Blouin, David L. G. Noakes
2016, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (25) 642-651
In salmonids with partial migration, females are more likely than males to undergo smoltification and migrate to the ocean (vs. maturing in freshwater). However, it is not known whether sex affects survivorship during smolt migration (from fresh water to entry into the ocean). We captured wild steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts in...
Book review: Foundations of wildlife diseases
Charles van Riper III
2016, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (52) 976-979
A new textbook for practitioners and students of wildlife disease is available. Rick Botzler and Richard Brown have provided an excellent addition to the wildlife disease literature with Foundations of Wildlife Diseases. It has been 8 years since the last major wildlife disease book (Wobeser 2006),...
Magma decompression rates during explosive eruptions of Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii, recorded by melt embayments
David J. Ferguson, Helge M. Gonnermann, Philipp Ruprecht, Terry Plank, Erik H. Hauri, Bruce F. Houghton, Donald A. Swanson
2016, Bulletin of Volcanology (78)
The decompression rate of magma as it ascends during volcanic eruptions is an important but poorly constrained parameter that controls many of the processes that influence eruptive behavior. In this study, we quantify decompression rates for basaltic magmas using volatile diffusion in olivine-hosted melt tubes (embayments) for three contrasting eruptions...
Efficacy of GPS cluster analysis for predicting carnivory sites of a wide-ranging omnivore: the American black bear
Sarah R. Kindschuh, James W. Cain III, David Daniel, Mark A. Peyton
2016, Ecosphere (7) 1-17
The capacity to describe and quantify predation by large carnivores expanded considerably with the advent of GPS technology. Analyzing clusters of GPS locations formed by carnivores facilitates the detection of predation events by identifying characteristics which distinguish predation sites. We present a performance assessment of GPS cluster analysis as applied...
Blood serum chemistry of wild Alaskan Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) with avian keratin disorder
Caroline R. Van Hemert, Colleen M. Handel
2016, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (52) 927-930
We measured serum chemistries in wild Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) from Alaska to test for potential differences associated with beak deformities characteristic of avian keratin disorder. Lower uric acid in affected birds was the only difference detected between groups, although sample sizes were small. This difference could be associated with...
Integrating seasonal information on nutrients and benthic algal biomass into stream water quality monitoring
Christopher P. Konrad, Mark D. Munn
2016, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (52) 1223-1237
Benthic chlorophyll a (BChl a) and environmental factors that influence algal biomass were measured monthly from February through October in 22 streams from three agricultural regions of the United States. At-site maximum BChl a ranged from 14 to 406 mg/m2 and generally varied with dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN): 8 out of...
Near-real-time cheatgrass percent cover in the Northern Great Basin, USA, 2015
Stephen P. Boyte, Bruce K. Wylie
2016, Rangelands (38) 278-284
Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) dramatically changes shrub steppe ecosystems in the Northern Great Basin, United States.Current-season cheatgrass location and percent cover are difficult to estimate rapidly.We explain the development of a near-real-time cheatgrass percent cover dataset and map in the Northern Great Basin for the current year (2015), display the...
Simulation modeling to explore the effects of length-based harvest regulations for Ictalurus fisheries
David R. Stewart, James M. Long, Daniel E. Shoup
2016, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (36) 1190-1204
Management of Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus and Channel Catfish I. punctatus for trophy production has recently become more common. Typically, trophy management is attempted with length-based regulations that allow for the moderate harvest of small fish but restrict the harvest of larger fish. However, the specific regulations used vary considerably...
Negative impacts of invasive plants on conservation of sensitive desert wildlife
K. Kristina Drake, Lizabeth Bowen, Kenneth E. Nussear, Todd C. Esque, Andrew J. Berger, Nathan Custer, Shannon C. Waters-Dynes, Jay D. Johnson, A. Keith Miles, Rebecca L. Lewison
2016, Ecosphere (7)
Habitat disturbance from development, resource extraction, off-road vehicle use, and energy development ranks highly among threats to desert systems worldwide. In the Mojave Desert, United States, these disturbances have promoted the establishment of nonnative plants, so that native grasses and forbs are now intermixed with, or have been replaced by...
Synthesising empirical results to improve predictions of post-wildfire runoff and erosion response
Richard A. Shakesby, John A. Moody, Deborah A. Martin, Peter R. Robichaud
2016, International Journal of Wildland Fire (25) 257-261
Advances in research into wildfire impacts on runoff and erosion have demonstrated increasing complexity of controlling factors and responses, which, combined with changing fire frequency, present challenges for modellers. We convened a conference attended by experts and practitioners in post-wildfire impacts, meteorology and related research, including modelling, to focus on...
DOM composition and transformation in boreal forest soils: The effects of temperature and organic-horizon decomposition state
Jonathan A. O’Donnell, George R. Aiken, Kenna D. Butler, Francois Guillemette, David C. Podgorski, Robert G. M. Spencer
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (121) 2727-2744
The boreal region stores large amounts of organic carbon (C) in organic-soil horizons, which are vulnerable to destabilization via warming and disturbance. Decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) contributes to the production and turnover of dissolved organic matter (DOM). While temperature is a primary control on rates of SOM and...
Dynamic distributions and population declines of Golden-winged Warblers
Kenneth V. Rosenberg, Tom Will, David A. Buehler, Sara Barker Swarthout, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Ruth E. Bennett, Richard Chandler
2016, Book chapter, Golden-winged Warbler ecology, conservation, and habitat management (Studies in Avian Biology, volume 49)
With an estimated breeding population in 2010 of 383,000 pairs, the Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) is among the most vulnerable and steeply declining of North American passerines. This species also has exhibited among the most dynamic breeding distributions, with populations expanding and then contracting over the past 150 years in...
Seismic imaging beneath an InSAR anomaly in eastern Washington State: Shallow faulting associated with an earthquake swarm in a low-hazard area
William J. Stephenson, Jackson K. Odum, Charles W. Wicks Jr., Thomas L. Pratt, Richard J. Blakely
2016, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (106) 1461-1469
In 2001, a rare swarm of small, shallow earthquakes beneath the city of Spokane, Washington, caused ground shaking as well as audible booms over a five‐month period. Subsequent Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data analysis revealed an area of surface uplift in the vicinity of the earthquake swarm. To investigate...
Combining landscape variables and species traits can improve the utility of climate change vulnerability assessments
Christopher P. Nadeau, Angela K. Fuller
2016, Biological Conservation (202) 30-38
Conservation organizations worldwide are investing in climate change vulnerability assessments. Most vulnerability assessment methods focus on either landscape features or species traits that can affect a species vulnerability to climate change. However, landscape features and species traits likely interact to affect vulnerability. We compare a landscape-based assessment, a trait-based assessment,...
Linking field-based metabolomics and chemical analyses to prioritize contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes basin
John M. Davis, Drew R. Ekman, Quincy Teng, Gerald T. Ankley, Jason P. Berninger, Jenna E. Cavallin, Kathleen M. Jensen, Michael D. Kahl, Anthony L. Schroeder, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Zachary G. Jorgenson, Kathy Lee, Timothy W. Collette
2016, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (35) 2493-2502
The ability to focus on the most biologically relevant contaminants affecting aquatic ecosystems can be challenging because toxicity-assessment programs have not kept pace with the growing number of contaminants requiring testing. Because it has proven effective at assessing the biological impacts of potentially toxic contaminants, profiling of endogenous metabolites (metabolomics)...
Comparative use of side and main channels by small-bodied fish in a large, unimpounded river
Ann Marie Reinhold, Robert G. Bramblett, Alexander V. Zale, David W. Roberts, Geoffrey C. Poole
2016, Freshwater Biology (61) 1611-1626
Ecological theory and field studies suggest that lateral floodplain connectivity and habitat heterogeneity provided by side channels impart favourable habitat conditions for lotic fishes, especially fluvial fishes dependent on large patches of shallow, slow velocity habitats for some portion of their life cycle. However, anthropogenic modification of...
Evaluating methods to establish habitat suitability criteria: A case study in the upper Delaware River Basin, USA
Heather S. Galbraith, Carrie J. Blakeslee, Jeffrey C. Cole, Colin Talbert, Kelly O. Maloney
2016, River Research and Applications (32) 1765-1775
Defining habitat suitability criteria (HSC) of aquatic biota can be a key component to environmental flow science. HSC can be developed through numerous methods; however, few studies have evaluated the consistency of HSC developed by different methodologies. We directly compared HSC for depth and velocity developed by the Delphi method...
Results of the eruptive column model inter-comparison study
Antonio Costa, Yujiro Suzuki, M. Cerminara, Ben J. Devenish, T. Esposti Ongaro, Michael Herzog, Alexa R. Van Eaton, L.C. Denby, Marcus Bursik, Mattia de’ Michieli Vitturi, S. Engwell, Augusto Neri, Sara Barsotti, Arnau Folch, Giovanni Macedonio, F. Girault, G. Carazzo, S. Tait, E. Kaminski, Larry G. Mastin, Mark J. Woodhouse, Jeremy C. Phillips, Andrew J. Hogg, Wim Degruyter, Costanza Bonadonna
2016, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (326) 2-25
This study compares and evaluates one-dimensional (1D) and three-dimensional (3D) numerical models of volcanic eruption columns in a set of different inter-comparison exercises. The exercises were designed as a blind test in which a set of common input parameters was given for two reference eruptions, representing a strong and a...
Trends in mercury wet deposition and mercury air concentrations across the U.S. and Canada
Peter S. Weiss-Penzias, David A. Gay, Mark E. Brigham, Matthew T. Parsons, Mae S. Gustin, Arnout ter Shure
2016, Science of the Total Environment (568) 546-556
This study examined the spatial and temporal trends of mercury (Hg) in wet deposition and air concentrations in the United States (U.S.) and Canada between 1997 and 2013. Data were obtained from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) and Environment Canada monitoring networks, and other...
Effects of lake trout refuges on lake whitefish and cisco in the Apostle Islands Region of Lake Superior
Chiara M. Zuccarino-Crowe, William W. Taylor, Michael J. Hansen, Michael J. Seider, Charles C. Krueger
2016, Journal of Great Lakes Research (42) 1092-1101
Lake trout refuges in the Apostle Islands region of Lake Superior are analogous to the concept of marine protected areas. These refuges, established specifically for lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and closed to most forms of recreational and commercial fishing, were implicated as one of several management actions leading to successful...
Climate change and dissolved organic carbon export to the Gulf of Maine
Thomas G. Huntington, William M. Balch, George R. Aiken, Justin Sheffield, Lifeng Luo, Collin S. Roesler, Philip Camill
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (121) 2700-2716
Ongoing climate change is affecting the concentration, export (flux), and timing of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) exported to the Gulf of Maine (GoM) through changes in hydrologic regime. DOC export was calculated for water years 1950 through 2013 for 20 rivers and for water years 1930 through 2013 for 14...
