Melanin-based color of plumage: role of condition and of feathers' microstructure
Liliana D’Alba, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Karen A. Spencer, Britt J. Heidinger, Lisa Gill, Neil P. Evans, Pat Monaghan, Colleen M. Handel, Matthew D. Shawkey
2014, Integrative and Comparative Biology (54) 633-644
Whether melanin-based colors honestly signal a bird's condition during the growth of feathers is controversial, and it is unclear if or how the physiological processes underlying melanogenesis or color-imparting structural feather microstructure may be adversely affected by condition. Here we report results from two experiments designed to measure the effect...
Geologic and hydrogeologic frameworks of the Biscayne aquifer in central Miami-Dade County, Florida
Michael A. Wacker, Kevin J. Cunningham, John H. Williams
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5138
Evaluations of the lithostratigraphy, lithofacies, paleontology, ichnology, depositional environments, and cyclostratigraphy from 11 test coreholes were linked to geophysical interpretations, and to results of hydraulic slug tests of six test coreholes at the Snapper Creek Well Field (SCWF), to construct geologic and hydrogeologic frameworks for the study area in central...
An enhanced model of land water and energy for global hydrologic and earth-system studies
Paul C.D. Milly, Sergey L. Malyshev, Elena Shevliakova, Krista A. Dunne, Kirsten L. Findell, Tom Gleeson, Zhi Liang, Peter Phillips, Ronald J. Stouffer, Sean Swenson
2014, Journal of Hydrometeorology (15) 1739-1761
LM3 is a new model of terrestrial water, energy, and carbon, intended for use in global hydrologic analyses and as a component of earth-system and physical-climate models. It is designed to improve upon the performance and to extend the scope of the predecessor Land Dynamics (LaD) and LM3V models by...
Use of stable isotopes of nitrogen and water to identify sources of nitrogen in three urban creeks of Durham, North Carolina, 2011-12
Kristen Bukowski McSwain, Megan B. Young, Mary L. Giorgino
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5171
A preliminary assessment of nitrate sources was conducted in three creeks that feed nutrient impaired Falls and Jordan Lakes in the vicinity of Durham County, North Carolina, from July 2011 to June 2012. Cabin Branch, Ellerbe Creek, and Third Fork Creek were sampled monthly to determine if sources of nitrate...
Detecting thermally driven cyclic deformation of an exfoliation sheet with lidar and radar
Brian D. Collins, Greg M. Stock
2014, Conference Paper
Rock falls from steep, exfoliating cliffs are common in many landscapes. Of the many mechanisms known to trigger rock falls, thermally driven deformation is among the least quantified, despite potentially being a prevalent trigger due to its occurrence at all times of year. Here we present the results of a...
Sediment-hosted stratabound copper assessment of the Neoproterozoic Roan Group, central African copperbelt, Katanga Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia
Michael L. Zientek, James D. Bliss, David W. Broughton, Michael Christie, Paul Denning, Timothy S. Hayes, Murray W. Hitzman, John D. Horton, Susan Frost-Killian, Douglas J. Jack, Sharad Master, Heather L. Parks, Cliff D. Taylor, Anna B. Wilson, Niki E. Wintzer, Jon Woodhead
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-T
This study estimates the location, quality, and quantity of undiscovered copper in stratabound deposits within the Neoproterozoic Roan Group of the Katanga Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The study area encompasses the Central African Copperbelt, the greatest sediment-hosted copper-cobalt province in the world, containing 152...
Global research priorities to mitigate plastic pollution impacts on marine wildlife
Amanda C. Vegter, Mario Barletta, Cathy A. Beck, Jose C. Borrero, Harry Burton, Marnie L. Campbell, Monica F. Costa, Marcus Eriksen, Cecilia Eriksson, Andres Estrades, Kirsten V. Gilardi, Britta D. Hardesty, Juliana A. Ivar do Sul, Jennifer L. Lavers, Bojan Lazar, Laurent Lebreton, Wallace J. Nichols, Christine A. Ribic, Peter G. Ryan, Qamar A. Schuyler, Stephen D. A. Smith, Hideshige Takada, Kathy A. Townsend, Colette C. C. Wabnitz, Chris Wilcox, Lindsay C. Young, Mark Hamann
2014, Endangered Species Research (25) 225-247
Marine wildlife faces a growing number of threats across the globe, and the survival of many species and populations will be dependent on conservation action. One threat in particular that has emerged over the last 4 decades is the pollution of oceanic and coastal habitats with plastic debris. The...
Preliminary monitoring protocol for the tidal freshwater wetland restoration herbivory study in national capital parks--east: Appendix B
Cairn Krafft, Jeffrey S. Hatfield
2014, Report, Anacostia Park wetlands and resident Canada goose management plan/ environmental impact statement
Four tidal freshwater wetland restoration projects have been undertaken within Anacostia Park on lands managed by the National Park Service since 1993. Monitoring the impacts of Canada goose (Branta canadensis) herbivory on the wetland vegetation will play a key role in determining the long-term health of these tidal freshwater wetland...
Lesser Scaup
Michael J. Anteau, Jean-Michel DeVink, David N. Koons, Jane E. Austin, Christine M. Custer, Alan D. Afton
2014, Book chapter, The birds of North America online
No abstract available....
Accounting for false-positive acoustic detections of bats using occupancy models
Matthew J. Clement, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Patricia C. Ormsbee, Joseph M. Szewczak, James D. Nichols
2014, Journal of Applied Ecology (51) 1460-1467
1. Acoustic surveys have become a common survey method for bats and other vocal taxa. Previous work shows that bat echolocation may be misidentified, but common analytic methods, such as occupancy models, assume that misidentifications do not occur. Unless rare, such misidentifications could lead to incorrect inferences with significant management...
Environmental correlates of temporary emigration for female Weddell seals and consequences for recruitment
Glenn E. Stauffer, Jay J. Rotella, Robert A. Garrott, William L. Kendall
2014, Ecology (95) 2526-2536
In colonial-breeding species, prebreeders often emigrate temporarily from natal reproductive colonies then subsequently return for one or more years before producing young. Variation in attendance–nonattendance patterns can have implications for subsequent recruitment. We used open robust-design multistate models and 28 years of encounter data for prebreeding female Weddell seals (Leptonychotes...
Spatial structuring within a reservoir fish population: implications for management
David R. Stewart, James M. Long, Daniel E. Shoup
2014, Marine and Freshwater Research (66) 202-212
Spatial structuring in reservoir fish populations can exist because of environmental gradients, species-specific behaviour, or even localised fishing effort. The present study investigated whether white crappie exhibited evidence of improved population structure where the northern more productive half of a lake is closed to fishing to provide waterfowl hunting opportunities....
Chemical complexity and source of the White River Ash, Alaska and Yukon
S.J. Preece, Robert G. McGimsey, J.A. Westgate, N.J.G. Pearce, W.K. Hartmann, W.T. Perkins
2014, Geosphere (10) 1020-1042
The White River Ash, a prominent stratigraphic marker bed in Alaska (USA) and Yukon (Canada), consists of multiple compositional units belonging to two geochemical groups. The compositional units are characterized using multiple criteria, with combined glass and ilmenite compositions being the best discriminators. Two compositional units compose the northern group...
Breeding site selection by coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in relation to large wood additions and factors that influence reproductive success
Steven M. Clark, Jason B. Dunham, Jeffery R. McEnroe, Scott W. Lightcap
2014, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 1498-1507
The fitness of female Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) with respect to breeding behavior can be partitioned into at least four fitness components: survival to reproduction, competition for breeding sites, success of egg incubation, and suitability of the local environment near breeding sites for early rearing of juveniles. We evaluated the relative...
Supplemental feeding alters migration of a temperate ungulate
Jennifer D. Jones, Matthew Kauffman, Kevin L. Monteith, Brandon M. Scurlock, Shannon E. Albeke, Paul C. Cross
2014, Ecological Applications (24) 1769-1779
Conservation of migration requires information on behavior and environmental determinants. The spatial distribution of forage resources, which migration exploits, often are altered and may have subtle, unintended consequences. Supplemental feeding is a common management practice, particularly for ungulates in North America and Europe, and carryover effects on behavior of this...
Transdisciplinary application of the cross-scale resilience model
Shana M. Sundstrom, David G. Angeler, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Jorge H. Garcia, Craig R. Allen
2014, Sustainability (6) 6925-6948
The cross-scale resilience model was developed in ecology to explain the emergence of resilience from the distribution of ecological functions within and across scales, and as a tool to assess resilience. We propose that the model and the underlying discontinuity hypothesis are relevant to other complex adaptive systems, and can...
Depth gradients in food-web processes linking habitats in large lakes: Lake Superior as an exemplar ecosystem
Michael E. Sierszen, Thomas R. Hrabik, Jason D. Stockwell, Anne M Cotter, Joel C. Hoffman, Daniel L. Yule
2014, Freshwater Biology (59) 2122-2136
In large lakes around the world, depth-based changes in the abundance and distribution of invertebrate and fish species suggest that there may be concomitant changes in patterns of resource allocation. Using Lake Superior of the Laurentian Great Lakes as an example, we explored this idea through stable isotope analyses of...
A computer program for uncertainty analysis integrating regression and Bayesian methods
Dan Lu, Ming Ye, Mary C. Hill, Eileen P. Poeter, Gary Curtis
2014, Environmental Modelling and Software (60) 45-56
This work develops a new functionality in UCODE_2014 to evaluate Bayesian credible intervals using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. The MCMC capability in UCODE_2014 is based on the FORTRAN version of the differential evolution adaptive Metropolis (DREAM) algorithm of Vrugt et al. (2009), which estimates the posterior probability density...
Palila restoration research, 1996−2012
Paul C. Banko, Chris Farmer, Carter T. Atkinson, Kevin W. Brinck, Richad Camp, Colleen Cole, Raymond Canner, Steve Dougill, Daniel Goltz, Elizabeth Gray, Steven C. Hess, Jennifer Higashino, Susan I. Jarvi, Luanne Johnson, Leona Laniawe, Megan Laut, Linda Miller, Christopher J. Murray, Daniel Nelson, David L. Leonard, Peter Oboyshi, Leanne Patch-Highfill, David D. Pollock, Kalei Rapozo, Marla Schwarzfeld, John Slotterback, Robert M. Stephens
Paul C. Banko, Chris Farmer, editor(s)
2014, Technical Report HCSU-046
The Palila Restoration Project was initiated in 1996 by the U.S. Geological Survey to assist government agencies mitigate the effects of realigning Saddle Road (Highway 200) through Palila Critical Habitat (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1998, Federal Highway Administration 1999). Ecological research on the palila (Loxioides bailleui), an endangered Hawaiian...
Spatial patterns of lacustrine fish assemblages in a catchment of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Caroline S. Andrews, Leandro E. Miranda, Daniel B. Goetz, Robert Kroger
2014, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (24) 634-644
In the alluvial valley of the lower Mississippi River, floodplain lakes form isolated aquatic fragments that retain differing degrees of connectivity to neighbouring rivers. Within these floodplain lakes it was hypothesized that fish species composition, relative abundance, and biodiversity metrics would be shaped largely by aquatic connectivity...
The role of reserves and anthropogenic elements for functional connectivity and resilience of ephemeral habitats
Daniel R. Uden, Michelle L. Hellman, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen
2014, Ecological Applications (24) 1569-1582
Ecological reserves provide important wildlife habitat in many landscapes, and the functional connectivity of reserves and other suitable habitat patches is crucial for the persistence and resilience of spatially structured populations. To maintain or increase connectivity at spatial scales larger than individual patches, conservation actions may focus on creating and...
Spring migration of waterfowl in the Northern Hemisphere: a management and conservation perspective
Joshua D. Stafford, Adam K. Janke, Michael J. Anteau, Aaron T. Pearse, Anthony D. Fox, Johan Elmberg, Jacob N. Straub, Michael W. Eichholz, Celine Arzel
2014, Wildfowl (2014) 70-85
Spring migration is a key part of the annual cycle for waterfowl populations in the northern hemisphere, due to its temporal proximity to the breeding season and because resources may be limited at one or more staging sites. Research based on field observations during spring lags behind other periods of the year, despite...
Subsurface geometry of the San Andreas-Calaveras fault junction: Influence of serpentinite and the Coast Range Ophiolite
Janet Tilden Watt, David A. Ponce, Russell W. Graymer, Robert C. Jachens, Robert W. Simpson
2014, Tectonics (33) 2025-2044
While an enormous amount of research has been focused on trying to understand the geologic history and neotectonics of the San Andreas-Calaveras fault (SAF-CF) junction, fundamental questions concerning fault geometry and mechanisms for slip transfer through the junction remain. We use potential-field, geologic, geodetic, and seismicity data to investigate the...
Climatic and density influences on recruitment in an irruptive population of Roosevelt elk
Heath D. Starns, Mark A. Ricca, Adam Duarte, Floyd W. Weckerly
2014, Journal of Mammalogy (95) 925-932
Current paradigms of ungulate population ecology recognize that density-dependent and independent mechanisms are not always mutually exclusive. Long-term data sets are necessary to assess the relative strength of each mechanism, especially when populations display irruptive dynamics. Using an 18-year time series of population abundances of Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) inhabiting...
Mississippi River nitrate loads from high frequency sensor measurements and regression-based load estimation
Brian A. Pellerin, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Robert J. Gilliom, Charles G. Crawford, John Franco Saraceno, C. Paul Frederick, Bryan D. Downing, Jennifer C. Murphy
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 12612-12619
Accurately quantifying nitrate (NO3–) loading from the Mississippi River is important for predicting summer hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and targeting nutrient reduction within the basin. Loads have historically been modeled with regression-based techniques, but recent advances with high frequency NO3– sensors allowed us to evaluate model performance relative to...
