Geographic coincidence of richness, mass, conservation value, and response to climate of U.S. land birds
Ralph Grundel, Krystal Frohnapple, David N. Zaya, Gary A. Glowacki, Chelsea J. Weiskerger, Tamatha A. Patterson, Noel B. Pavlovic
2014, Ecological Applications (24) 791-811
Distributional patterns across the United States of five avian community breeding-season characteristics—community biomass, richness, constituent species' vulnerability to extirpation, percentage of constituent species' global abundance present in the community (conservation index, CI), and the community's position along the ecological gradient underlying species composition (principal curve ordination score, PC)—were described, their...
Loess records
Daniel R. Muhs, Stephen R. Cattle, Onn Crouvi, Denis-Didier Rousseau, Jiimin Sun, Marcelo A. Zarate
2014, Book chapter, Mineral dist: a key player in the Earth system
Loess is aeolian sediment, dominated by silt-sized particles, that is identifiable in the field as a distinct sedimentary body. It covers a significant portion of the land surface of the Earth and as such constitutes one of the most important archives of long-term dust deposition. Large tracts of loess cover...
The historical distribution of Gunnison Sage-Grouse in Colorado
Clait E. Braun, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Jennifer A. Nehring, Michelle L. Commons, Jessica R. Young, Kim M. Potter
2014, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (126) 207-217
The historical distribution of Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus) in Colorado is described based on published literature, observations, museum specimens, and the known distribution of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.). Historically, Gunnison Sage-Grouse were widely but patchily distributed in up to 22 counties in south-central and southwestern Colorado. The historical distribution of this...
Drought and the California Delta: A matter of extremes
Mike Dettinger, Daniel R. Cayan
2014, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (12)
No abstract available....
Continental-scale, seasonal movements of a heterothermic migratory tree bat
Paul M. Cryan, Craig A. Stricker, Michael B. Wunder
2014, Ecological Applications (24) 602-616
Long-distance migration evolved independently in bats and unique migration behaviors are likely, but because of their cryptic lifestyles, many details remain unknown. North American hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus cinereus) roost in trees year-round and probably migrate farther than any other bats, yet we still lack basic information about their migration...
Toxicity of a traditional molluscicide to asian clam veligers
Megan J. Layhee, Bahram Farokhkish, Jackson A. Gross, Miho Yoshioka, Adam Sepulveda
2014, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (5) 141-145
Aquaculture and hatchery industries are in need of effective control methods to reduce the risk of spreading aquatic invasive species, such as the Asian clam Corbicula fluminea, through aquaculture and hatchery activities. The planktonic nature of Asian clam veligers enables this life stage to enter water-based infrastructure undetected, including hatchery...
Effects of cave gating on population trends at individual hibernacula of the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalist)
Shawn M. Crimmins, Patrick C. McKann, Jennifer A. Szymanski, Wayne E. Thogmartin
2014, Acta Chiropterologica (16) 129-137
Installing gates at cave entrances to protect hibernating bat colonies is a widespread conservation action, particularly for endangered bat species such as the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). However, there is surprisingly little evidence on the efficacy of gates for improving population growth rates. We used change-point models to determine the...
Sex-biased gene flow among elk in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem
Brian K. Hand, Shanyuan Chen, Neil Anderson, Albano Beja-Pereira, Paul C. Cross, Michael R. Ebinger, Hank Edwards, Robert A. Garrott, Marty D. Kardos, Matthew J. Kauffman, Erin L. Landguth, Arthur Middleton, Brandon M. Scurlock, P.J. White, Pete Zager, Michael K. Schwartz, Gordon Luikart
2014, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (5) 124-132
We quantified patterns of population genetic structure to help understand gene flow among elk populations across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We sequenced 596 base pairs of the mitochondrial control region of 380 elk from eight populations. Analysis revealed high mitochondrial DNA variation within populations, averaging 13.0 haplotypes with high mean...
Use of water developments by female elk at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
Glen A. Sargeant, Michael W. Oehler, Chad L. Sexton
2014, California Fish and Game (100) 538-549
Development of water sources for wildlife is a widespread management practice with a long history; however, needs of wildlife and availability of water depend on myriad interacting factors that vary among species and localities. Benefits are therefore situational, establishing a need for evaluation of water use in varied settings. We...
Associations of wintering birds with habitat in semidesert and plains grasslands in Arizona
Janet M. Ruth, Thomas R. Stanley, Caleb E. Gordon
2014, Southwestern Naturalist (59) 199-211
We studied associations with winter habitat for seven species of birds, one species-group (eastern and western meadowlarks combined), and total sparrows at seven sites in the semidesert and plains grasslands of southeastern Arizona from 1999–2001, sampling with mist-nets and survey-transects. We measured structure and composition of vegetation, assessing vegetative differences...
Evaluation of road expansion and connectivity mitigation for wildlife in southern California
Robert S. Alonso, Lisa M. Lyren, Erin E. Boydston, Christopher D. Haas, Kevin R. Crooks
2014, Southwestern Naturalist (59) 181-187
We designed a remote-camera survey to study how the expansion of California State Route 71 (CA-71) and implementation of connectivity mitigation affected the use of underpasses by large mammals in southern California. Based on detections by cameras, the use of underpasses by bobcats (Lynx rufus) was higher within the area...
Minimizing the cost of keeping options open for conservation in a changing climate
Morena Mills, Samuel Nicol, Jessie A. Wells, Jose J. Lahoz-Monfort, Brendan Wintle, Michael Bode, Martin Wardrop, Terry Walshe, William J. M. Probert, Michael C. Runge, Hugh P. Possingham, Eve McDonald Madden
2014, Conservation Biology (28) 646-653
Policy documents advocate that managers should keep their options open while planning to protect coastal ecosystems from climate-change impacts. However, the actual costs and benefits of maintaining flexibility remain largely unexplored, and alternative approaches for decision making under uncertainty may lead to better joint outcomes for conservation and other societal...
Food consumption and growth rates of juvenile black carp fed natural and prepared feeds
Nathaniel C. Hodgins, Harold L. Schramm Jr., Patrick D. Gerard
2014, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (5) 35-45
The introduced mollusciphagic black carp Mylopharyngodon piceus poses a significant threat to native mollusks in temperate waters throughout the northern hemisphere, but consumption rates necessary to estimate the magnitude of impact on mollusks have not been established. We measured food consumption and growth rates for small (77–245 g) and large (466–1,071 g) triploid black...
Effects of smectite on the oil-expulsion efficiency of the Kreyenhagen Shale, San Joaquin Basin, California, based on hydrous-pyrolysis experiments
Michael D. Lewan, Michael P. Dolan, John B. Curtis
2014, AAPG Bulletin (98) 1091-1109
The amount of oil that maturing source rocks expel is expressed as their expulsion efficiency, which is usually stated in milligrams of expelled oil per gram of original total organic carbon (TOCO). Oil-expulsion efficiency can be determined by heating thermally immature source rocks in the presence of liquid water (i.e.,...
Ecological change on California's Channel Islands from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene
Torben C. Rick, T. Scott Sillett, Cameron K. Ghalambor, Courtney A. Hofman, Katherine Ralls, R. Scott Anderson, Christina L. Boser, Todd J. Braje, Daniel R. Cayan, R. Terry Chesser, Paul W. Collins, Jon M. Erlandson, Kate R. Faulkner, Robert C. Fleischer, W. Chris Funk, Russell Galipeau, Ann Huston, Julie King, Lyndal L. Laughrin, Jesus Maldonado, Kathryn McEachern, Daniel R. Muhs, Seth D. Newsome, Leslie Reeder-Myers, Christopher Still, Scott A. Morrison
2014, BioScience
Historical ecology is becoming an important focus in conservation biology and offers a promising tool to help guide ecosystem management. Here, we integrate data from multiple disciplines to illuminate the past, present, and future of biodiversity on California's Channel Islands, an archipelago that has undergone a wide range of land-use...
Home range and movements of North American tortoises
Joan E. Berish, Phil A. Medica
2014, Book chapter, Biology and conservation of North American tortoises
No abstract available....
Small mammals from the Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala
Jason O. Matson, Nicte Ordonez-Garza, Neal Woodman, Walter Bulmer, Ralph P. Eckerlin, J. Delton Hanson
2014, Southwestern Naturalist (59) 258-262
We surveyed the small mammals of remnant mixed hardwood-coniferous cloud forest at elevations ranging from 2,100–2,300 m in the Chelemhá Cloud Forest Reserve, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Removal-trapping using a combination of live traps, snap traps, and pitfall traps for 6 days in January 2007 resulted in 175 captures of 15...
Nest site characteristics, nesting movements, and lack of long-term nest site fidelity in Agassiz's desert tortoises at a wind energy facility in southern California
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Mickey Agha, Charles B. Yackulic, Kathie Meyer-Wilkins, Curtis Bjurlin, Joshua R. Ennen, Terry R. Arundel, Meaghan Austin
2014, California Fish and Game (100) 404-416
Nest site selection has important consequences for maternal and offspring survival and fitness. Females of some species return to the same nesting areas year after year. We studied nest site characteristics, fidelity, and daily pre-nesting movements in a population of Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) at a wind energy facility...
The vertical structure of the circulation and dynamics in Hudson Shelf Valley
Steven J. Lentz, Bradford Butman, Courtney K. Harris
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research (119) 3694-3713
Hudson Shelf Valley is a 20–30 m deep, 5–10 km wide v-shaped submarine valley that extends across the Middle Atlantic Bight continental shelf. The valley provides a conduit for cross-shelf exchange via along-valley currents of 0.5 m s−1 or more. Current profile, pressure, and density observations collected during the winter of...
Adverse outcome pathway and risks of anticoagulant rodenticides to predatory wildlife
Barnett A. Rattner, Rebecca S. Lazarus, John E. Elliott, Richard F. Shore, Nico van den Brink
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 8433-8445
Despite a long history of successful use, routine application of some anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) may be at a crossroad due to new regulatory guidelines intended to mitigate risk. An adverse outcome pathway for ARs was developed to identify information gaps and end points to assess the effectiveness of regulations. This...
Lake trout in northern Lake Huron spawn on submerged drumlins
Stephen C. Riley, Thomas Binder, Nigel J. Wattrus, Matthew D. Faust, John Janssen, John Menzies, J. Ellen Marsden, Mark P. Ebener, Charles R. Bronte, Ji X. He, Taaja R. Tucker, Michael J. Hansen, Henry T. Thompson, Andrew M. Muir, Charles C. Krueger
2014, Journal of Great Lakes Research (40) 415-420
Recent observations of spawning lake trout Salvelinus namaycush near Drummond Island in northern Lake Huron indicate that lake trout use drumlins, landforms created in subglacial environments by the action of ice sheets, as a primary spawning habitat. From these observations, we generated a hypothesis that may in part explain locations...
Assessing effects of variation in global climate data sets on spatial predictions from climate envelope models
Stephanie S. Romanach, James I. Watling, Robert J. Fletcher Jr., Carolina Speroterra, David N. Bucklin, Laura A. Brandt, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Yesenia Escribano, Frank J. Mazzotti
2014, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (5) 14-25
Climate change poses new challenges for natural resource managers. Predictive modeling of species–environment relationships using climate envelope models can enhance our understanding of climate change effects on biodiversity, assist in assessment of invasion risk by exotic organisms, and inform life-history understanding of individual species. While increasing interest has focused on...
Evaluation of the importance of clay confining units on groundwaterflow in alluvial basins using solute and isotope tracers: the case of Middle San Pedro Basin in southeastern Arizona (USA)
Candice B. Hopkins, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Chris Eastoe, Jesse E. Dickinson, Thomas Meixner
2014, Hydrogeology Journal (22) 829-849
As groundwater becomes an increasingly important water resource worldwide, it is essential to understand how local geology affects groundwater quality, flowpaths and residence times. This study utilized multiple tracers to improve conceptual and numerical models of groundwater flow in the Middle San Pedro Basin in southeastern Arizona (USA) by determining...
Mercury cycling in agricultural and managed wetlands, Yolo Bypass, California: Spatial and seasonal variations in water quality
Charles N. Alpers, Jacob A. Fleck, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Craig A. Stricker, Mark Stephenson, Howard E. Taylor
2014, Science of the Total Environment (484) 276-287
The seasonal and spatial variability of water quality, including mercury species, was evaluated in agricultural and managed, non-agricultural wetlands in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, an area managed for multiple beneficial uses including bird habitat and rice farming. The study was conducted during an 11-month period (June 2007 to April...
Forcing functions governing salt transport processes in coastal navigation canals and connectivity to surrounding marshes in South Louisiana using Houma Navigation Canal as a surrogate
Gregg Snedden
2014, Report
Understanding how circulation and mixing processes in coastal navigation canals influence the exchange of salt between marshes and coastal ocean, and how those processes are modulated by external physical processes, is critical to anticipating effects of future actions and circumstance. Examples of such circumstances include deepening the channel, placement of...
