Predicting outcomes of restored Everglades high flow: A model system for scientifically managed floodplains
Jay Choi, Judson Harvey
2017, Restoration Ecology (25) S39-S47
Restoration of higher flows through the Everglades is intended to reestablish sheetflow to rebuild a well-functioning ridge and slough landscape that supports a productive and diverse ecosystem. Our objective of the study was to use hydrologic simulations and biophysical analysis to predict restoration outcomes for five major subbasins of the...
Submersed aquatic vegetation in Chesapeake Bay: Sentinel species in a changing world
Robert J. Orth, William C. Dennison, Jonathon S. Lefcheck, Cassie Gurbisz, Michael P. Hannam, Jennifer L. Keisman, J. Brooke Landry, Kenneth A. Moore, Rebecca Murphy, Christopher J. Patrick, Jeremy Testa, Donald E. Weller, David J. Wilcox
2017, BioScience (67) 698-712
Chesapeake Bay has undergone profound changes since European settlement. Increases in human and livestock populations, associated changes in land use, increases in nutrient loadings, shoreline armoring, and depletion of fish stocks have altered the important habitats within the Bay. Submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) is a critical foundational habitat and provides...
Updated polychlorinated biphenyl mass budget for Lake Michigan
Jiehong Guo, Kevin Romanak, Stephen M. Westenbroek, An Li, Russell Kreis, Ronald A. Hites, Marta Venier
2017, Environmental Science & Technology (51) 12455-12465
This study revisits and updates the Lake Michigan Mass Balance Project (LMMBP) for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that was conducted in 1994–1995. This work uses recent concentrations of PCBs in tributary and open lake water, air, and sediment to calculate an updated mass budget. Five of the 11 LMMBP tributaries were...
Detecting spatial patterns of rivermouth processes using a geostatistical framework for near-real-time analysis
Wenzhao Xu, Paris D. Collingsworth, Barbara Bailey, Martha L. Carlson Mazur, Jeff Schaeffer, Barbara Minsker
2017, Environmental Modelling and Software (97) 72-85
This paper proposes a geospatial analysis framework and software to interpret water-quality sampling data from towed undulating vehicles in near-real time. The framework includes data quality assurance and quality control processes, automated kriging interpolation along undulating paths, and local hotspot and cluster analyses. These methods are implemented in an interactive...
Basis function models for animal movement
Mevin Hooten, Devin S. Johnson
2017, Journal of the American Statistical Association (112) 578-589
Advances in satellite-based data collection techniques have served as a catalyst for new statistical methodology to analyze these data. In wildlife ecological studies, satellite-based data and methodology have provided a wealth of information about animal space use and the investigation of individual-based animal–environment relationships. With the technology for data collection...
Alternative pathways to landscape transformation: Invasive grasses, burn severity and fire frequency in arid ecosystems
Robert C. Klinger, Matthew L. Brooks
2017, Journal of Ecology (105) 1521-1533
Arid ecosystems are often vulnerable to transformation to invasive-dominated states following fire, but data on persistence of these states are sparse. The grass/fire cycle is a feedback process between invasive annual grasses and fire frequency that often leads to the formation of alternative vegetation states dominated by...
Tools to minimize interlaboratory variability in vitellogenin gene expression monitoring programs
Aaron Jastrow, Denise A. Gordon, Kasie M. Auger, Elizabeth C. Punska, Kathleen F. Arcaro, Kristen Keteles, Dana L. Winkelman, David Lattier, Adam Biales, James M. Lazorchak
2017, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (36) 3102-3107
The egg yolk precursor protein vitellogenin is widely used as a biomarker of estrogen exposure in male fish. However, standardized methodology is lacking and little is known regarding the reproducibility of results among laboratories using different equipment, reagents, protocols, and data analysis programs. To address this data gap we tested...
Breeding biology of an endemic Bornean turdid, the Fruithunter (Chlamydochaera jefferyi), and life history comparisons with Turdus species of the world
Adam E. Mitchell, Fred Tuh, Thomas E. Martin
2017, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (129) 36-45
We present the first description of the breeding biology for the Fruithunter (Chlamydochaera jefferyi), a member of the cosmopolitan family Turdidae, and a montane endemic to the tropical Asian island of Borneo. We also compile breeding biology traits from the literature to make comparisons between the Fruithunter and the thrush...
Skin and fur bacterial diversity and community structure on American southwestern bats: effects of habitat, geography and bat traits
Ara S. Winter, Jennifer J. M. Hathaway, Jason C. Kimble, Debbie C. Buecher, Ernest W. Valdez, Andrea Porras-Alfaro, Jesse M. Young, Kaitlyn J. H. Read, Diana E. Northup
2017, PeerJ (5)
Microorganisms that reside on and in mammals, such as bats, have the potential to influence their host’s health and to provide defenses against invading pathogens. However, we have little understanding of the skin and fur bacterial microbiota on bats, or factors that influence the structure of these communities. The southwestern...
A model-based approach to wildland fire reconstruction using sediment charcoal records
Malcolm S. Itter, Andrew O. Finley, Mevin Hooten, Philip E. Higuera, Jennifer R. Marlon, Ryan Kelly, Jason S. McLachlan
2017, Environmetrics (28) 1-15
Lake sediment charcoal records are used in paleoecological analyses to reconstruct fire history, including the identification of past wildland fires. One challenge of applying sediment charcoal records to infer fire history is the separation of charcoal associated with local fire occurrence and charcoal originating from regional fire activity. Despite a...
Suspended sediment, turbidity, and stream water temperature in the Sauk River Basin, western Washington, water years 2012-16
Kristin L. Jaeger, Christopher A. Curran, Scott W. Anderson, Scott T. Morris, Patrick W. Moran, Katherine A. Reams
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5113
The Sauk River is a federally designated Wild and Scenic River that drains a relatively undisturbed landscape along the western slope of the North Cascade Mountain Range, Washington, which includes the glaciated volcano, Glacier Peak. Naturally high sediment loads characteristic of basins draining volcanoes like Glacier Peak make the...
Top-down and bottom-up interactions influence fledging success at North America’s largest colony of Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia)
Stefanie Collar, Daniel D. Roby, Donald E. Lyons
2017, Estuaries and Coasts (40) 1808-1818
Our study investigated the influence of bottom-up and top-down drivers on the declining fledging success at a once thriving breeding colony of Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia). Situated at the mouth of the Columbia River, OR, East Sand Island (ESI) is home to the largest Caspian tern breeding colony...
Defining a Safe Operating Space for inland recreational fisheries
Stephen R. Carpenter, William A. Brock, Gretchen J. A. Hansen, Jonathan F. Hansen, Joseph M. Hennessy, Daniel A. Isermann, Eric J. Pedersen, K. Martin Perales, Andrew L. Rypel, Greg G. Sass, Tyler D. Tunney, M. Jake Vander Zanden
2017, Fish and Fisheries (18) 1150-1160
The Safe Operating Space (SOS) of a recreational fishery is the multidimensional region defined by levels of harvest, angler effort, habitat, predation and other factors in which the fishery is sustainable into the future. SOS boundaries exhibit trade-offs such that decreases in harvest can compensate to some degree for losses...
Perspectives on chemical oceanography in the 21st century: Participants of the COME ABOARD Meeting examine aspects of the field in the context of 40 years of DISCO
Andrea J. Fassbender, Hilary I. Palevsky, Todd R. Martz, Anitra E. Ingalls, Martha Gledhill, Sarah E. Fawcett, Jay Brandes, Lihini Aluwihare, Robert M. Anderson, Sara Bender, Ed Boyle, Debbie Bronk, Ken Buesseler, David J. Burdige, Karen Casciotti, Hilary G. Close, Maureen Conte, Greg Cutter, Meg Estapa, Katja Fennel, Sara Ferron, Brian Glazer, Miguel Goni, Max Grand, Chris Guay, Mariko Hatta, Chris Hayes, Tristan Horner, Ellery Ingall, Kenneth G. Johnson, Laurie Juranek, Angela Knapp, Phoebe Lam, George Luther, Paty Matrai, David Nicholson, Adina Paytan, Robert Pellenbarg, Kim Popendorf, Christopher M. Reddy, Kathleen Ruttenberg, Chris Sabine, Frank Sansone, Nayrah Shaltout, Liz Sikes, Eric T. Sundquist, David Valentine, Zhao Wang, Sam Wilson, Pamela Barrett, Melanie Behrens, Anna Belcher, Lauren Biermann, Rene Boiteau, Jennifer Clarke, Jamie Collins, Alysha Coppola, Alina M. Ebling, Fenix Garcia-Tigreros, Johanna Goldman, Elisa F. Guallart, William Haskell, Sarah Hurley, David Janssen, Winn Johnson, Sinikka Lennhartz, Shuting Liu, Shaily Rahman, Daisy Ray, Amit Sarkar, Zvika Steiner, Brittany Widner, Bo Yang
2017, Marine Chemistry (196) 181-190
The questions that chemical oceanographers prioritize over the coming decades, and the methods we use to address these questions, will define our field's contribution to 21st century science. In recognition of this, the U.S. National Science Foundation and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration galvanized a community effort (the Chemical Oceanography...
High altitude flights by ruddy shelduck Tadorna ferruginea during trans-Himalayan migrations
N. Parr, S. Bearhop, David C. Douglas, J.Y. Takekawa, Diann J. Prosser, S.H. Newman, W.M. Perry, S. Balachandran, M.J. Witt, Y. Hou, Z. Lu, L.A. Hawkes
2017, Journal of Avian Biology (48) 1310-1315
Birds that migrate across high altitude mountain ranges are faced with the challenge of maintaining vigorous exercise in environments with limited oxygen. Ruddy shelducks are known to use wintering grounds south of the Tibetan Plateau at sea level and breeding grounds north of Himalayan mountain range. Therefore, it is likely...
Environmental niche models for riverine desert fishes and their similarity according to phylogeny and functionality
James E. Whitney, Joanna B. Whittier, Craig P. Paukert
2017, Ecosphere (8) 1-21
Environmental filtering and competitive exclusion are hypotheses frequently invoked in explaining species' environmental niches (i.e., geographic distributions). A key assumption in both hypotheses is that the functional niche (i.e., species traits) governs the environmental niche, but few studies have rigorously evaluated this assumption. Furthermore, phylogeny could be associated with these...
Pleistocene glaciers, lakes, and floods in north-central Washington State
Richard B. Waitt
Ralph A. Haugerud, Harvey M. Kelsey, editor(s)
2017, Book chapter, From the Puget Lowland to east of the Cascade Range—Geologic excursions in the Pacific Northwest: Geological Society of America Field Guide 49
The Methow, Chelan, Wenatchee, and other terrane blocks accreted in late Mesozoic to Eocene times. Methow valley is excavated in an exotic terrane of folded Mesozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks faulted between crystalline blocks. Repeated floods of Columbia River Basalt about 16 Ma drowned a backarc basin to the southeast. Cirques,...
Changes in movements of Chinook Salmon between lakes Huron and Michigan after Alewife population collapse
Richard D. Clark, James R. Bence, Randall M. Claramunt, John A. Clevenger, Matthew S. Kornis, Charles R. Bronte, Charles P. Madenjian, Edward F. Roseman
2017, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (37) 1311-1331
Alewives Alosa pseudoharengus are the preferred food of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Alewife populations collapsed in Lake Huron in 2003 but remained comparatively abundant in Lake Michigan. We analyzed capture locations of coded-wire-tagged Chinook Salmon before, during, and after Alewife collapse (1993–2014). We contrasted the pattern of tag recoveries...
Restoration of contaminated ecosystems: adaptive management in a changing climate
Aida Farag, Diane L. Larson, Jenny Stauber, Ralph Stahl, John Isanhart, Kevin T. McAbee, Christopher J. Walsh
2017, Restoration Ecology (25) 884-893
Three case studies illustrate how adaptive management (AM) has been used in ecological restorations that involve contaminants. Contaminants addressed include mercury, selenium, and contaminants and physical disturbances delivered to streams by urban stormwater runoff. All three cases emphasize the importance of broad stakeholder input early and consistently throughout decision analysis...
Climate and land-use change in wetlands: A dedication
Beth A. Middleton
2017, Ecosystem Health and Sustainability (3) 1-2
Future climate and land-use change may wreak havoc on wetlands, with the potential to erode their values as harbors for biota and providers of human services. Wetlands are important to protect, particularly because these provide a variety of ecosystem services including wildlife habitat, water purification, flood storage, and storm protection...
The gold tegu, Tupinambis teguixin (Linnaeus, 1758) sensu lato (Squamata: Teiidae): evidence for an established population in Florida
Jake R. Edwards, Jennifer K. Ketterlin, Michael R. Rochford, Rodney Irwin, Kenneth L. Krysko, James G. Duquesnel, Frank J. Mazzotti, Robert Reed
2017, BioInvasions Records (6) 407-410
Gold tegus, Tupinambis teguixin (Linnaeus, 1758), are generalist predators from South America and are ecologically similar to Argentine black and white tegus (Salvator merianae), a successful invader in Florida. We trapped gold tegus in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, Florida, USA. In Miami-Dade County, collection occurred from 2008 through 2016. We combined new...
Inference of timber harvest effects on survival of stream amphibians is complicated by movement
Nathan Chelgren, M. J. Adams
2017, Copeia (105) 714-727
The effects of contemporary logging practices on headwater stream amphibians have received considerable study but with conflicting or ambiguous results. We posit that focusing inference on demographic rates of aquatic life stages may help refine understanding, as aquatic and terrestrial impacts may differ considerably. We investigated in-stream survival and movement...
Distribution and status of five non-native fish species in the Tampa Bay drainage (USA), a hot spot for fish introductions
Katelyn M. Lawson, Quenton M. Tuckett, Jared L. Ritch, Leo Nico, Pam Fuller, Richard E. Matheson, Jeffrey E. Hill
2017, BioInvasions Records (6) 393-406
The Tampa Bay region of Florida (USA) is a hot spot for non-native freshwater fishes. However, published information on most non-native fishes in the basin is not current. Systematic sampling efforts targeting non-native fishes in the region were conducted from 2013–2015 by the University of Florida Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory. Data...
Simulation of groundwater flow and pumping scenarios for 1900–2050 near Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Jason M. Fine, Matthew D. Petkewich, Bruce G. Campbell
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5128
Groundwater withdrawals from the Upper Cretaceous-age Middendorf aquifer in South Carolina have created a large, regional cone of depression in the potentiometric surface of the Middendorf aquifer in Charleston and Berkeley Counties, South Carolina. Groundwater-level declines of as much as 249 feet have been observed in wells over the past...
Compositional variations in sands of the Bagnold Dunes, Gale Crater, Mars, from visible-shortwave infrared spectroscopy and comparison with ground truth from the Curiosity Rover
Mathieu G.A. Lapotre, B. L. Ehlmann, Sarah E. Minson, R. E. Arvidson, F. Ayoub, A. A. Fraeman, R. C. Ewing, N. T. Bridges
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (122) 2489-2509
During its ascent up Mount Sharp, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover traversed the Bagnold Dune Field. We model sand modal mineralogy and grain size at four locations near the rover traverse, using orbital shortwave infrared single scattering albedo spectra and a Markov-Chain Monte Carlo implementation of Hapke's radiative transfer...
