Changing water dynamics: The consequences of shifting snow, ice, and running water for ecosystems, people, and national forests in Alaska
Greg Hayward, Erik Johnson, Nathan Walker, Jeremy S. Littell, Julianne Thompson
2017, Report
Ecosystems of Alaska are rain-, snow-, and ice-driven systems. Consequently, the status of water—liquid or solid—strongly in uences resources and the people using ecosystem services. This document examines changes in water dynamics, the resulting consequences for ecosystems and people, and management options for adapting to changing conditions. Changes in snow, ice,...
Using science to inform management and improve biological conservation in the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan
Todd Esque, Amy Fesnock-Parker, Brian Croft, Felicia Chen, Amy G. Vandergast
2017, Conference Paper, Transactions of the 82nd North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference
The Mojave and Colorado deserts of southern California have been viewed as vast wilderness since early exploration and, until recently, were considered the most untrammeled among western landscapes in the contiguous lower 48 states (United States Department of Agriculture 1893; Leu et al. 2008). However, the factors that define desert...
A report on genetic affinities and relatedness of Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) at opposite ends of the Coachella Valley in California
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Taylor Edwards, Brian Kreiser, Shellie R. Puffer, Mickey Agha
2017, Report, Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan—2017 Annual Report
This report summarizes the results for mtDNA and STR genotyping of 41 desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) DNA samples from opposite sides of the Coachella Valley: one sample from the west side at the Mesa wind energy facility in the Whitewater Hills and the other from the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon...
Ecology of the Eastern Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula) at Rainey Slough, Florida: A vanished Eden
J. Steve Godley, Brian J. Halstead, Roy W. McDiarmid
2017, Herpetological Monographs (31) 47-68
Eastern Kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getula) are an important component and predator in herpetofaunal communities, but many Eastern Kingsnake populations have declined precipitously in the last few decades, particularly in the southeastern United States. Here, we describe an intensive capture–mark–recapture study of L. getula conducted during 1974–1978 in a canal bank–Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia...
Impacts of mastication fuel treatments on California, USA, chaparral vegetation structure and composition
Teresa J. Brennan, Jon E. Keeley
2017, Fire Ecology (13) 120-138
Mechanical fuel treatments are a primary pre-fire strategy for potentially mitigating the threat of wildland fire, yet there is limited information on how they impact shrubland ecosystems. Our goal was to assess the impact of mechanical mastication fuel treatments on chaparral vegetation and to determine the extent to which they...
Climate change and collapsing thermal niches of Mexican endemic reptiles
Barry Sinervo, Donald B. Miles, Rafael A. Lara Resendiz, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Joshua R. Ennen, Johannes Muller, Robert D. Cooper, Philip C. Rosen, Joseph A. E. Stewart, Juan Carlos Santos, Jack W. Sites Jr., Paul Gibbons, Eric Goode, L. Scott Hillard, Luke Welton, Mickey Agha, Gabriel Caetano, Mercy Vaughn, Cristina Melendez Torres, Hector Gadsden, Gamaliel Castenada Gaytan, Patricia Galina-Tessaro, Fernando I. Valle Jimenez, Jorge H. Valdez-Villavicencio, Norberto Martinez Mendez, Guillermo Woolrich Pina, Victor Luja Molina, Anibal Diaz de la Vega Perez, Diego M. Arenas Moreno, Saul Dominguez Guerrero, Natalia Fierro, Scott Butterfield, Michael Westpha, Raymond B. Huey, William Mautz, Víctor Sánchez-Cordero, Fausto R. Mendez de la Cruz
2017, Report
Recent climate change should result in expansion of species to northern or high elevation range margins, and contraction at southern and low elevation margins due to extinction. Climate models predict dramatic extinctions and distributional shifts in the next century, but there are few ground-truths of these dire forecasts leading to...
Strontium isotopic systematics of mineralized and background water samples, Montezuma Mining District, Colorado
Philip L. Verplanck, Robert L. Runkel
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Applied Isotope Geochemistry (AIG-12)
Surface and groundwater samples within the Montezuma mining district were sampled to evaluate the use of strontium isotopic compositions as signatures of different water types. Waters draining Precambrian metamorphic units had distinctly higher 87Sr/ 86Sr values (0.72893 to 0.73833) than waters draining Tertiaryage plutonic rocks (0.71064 and 0.71114). Waters draining...
Adaptive harvest management for the Svalbard population of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus)
2017, EGMP Technical Report 5
This document describes progress to date on the development of an adaptive harvest-management strategy for maintaining the Svalbard population of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) near their target level (60,000) by providing for sustainable harvests in Norway and Denmark. Specifically, this report provides an assessment of the most recent monitoring information...
For what it's worth : appreciating the economic value of wildlife
P. Howensee, Michael D. Samuel, D. Drake
2017, The Wildlife Professional (11) 43
No abstract available....
Yellowstone grizzly bear investigations — Annual report of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team 2016
Frank T. van Manen, Mark A. Haroldson, Bryn Karabensh, editor(s)
2017, Report
This Annual Report summarizes results of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) monitoring and research conducted in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) during 2016. The report also contains a summary of grizzly bear management actions to address conflict situations. ...
Scientific records appraisal process: U.S. Geological Survey case study
John Faundeen
Lisa R. Johnston, editor(s)
2017, Book chapter, Curating research data, volume two: A handbook of current practice
No abstract available....
USGS revision of global iron ore production data—Clarification of the reporting of iron ore production in China and application of a uniform comparison methodology (2000-2015)
Candice C. Tuck, Sean Xun, Sheryl A. Singerling
2017, Mining Engineering (69) 20-23
Iron ore is the source of primary iron for the world’s iron and steel industries. Its production can be reported as crude ore, usable ore or iron content of ore. Historically, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) used reported crude ore production from China in tabulations of world iron ore production...
Geology and vertebrate paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada, USA
Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Eric Scott
2017, Book chapter, Field excursions in Southern California: Field guides to the 2016 Geological Society of American cordilleran section meeting
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK) preserves 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash in the northern Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, USA. TUSK is home to extensive and stratigraphically complex groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits, called the Las Vegas Formation, which represent springs and desert wetlands that covered much...
Mapping marginal croplands suitable for cellulosic feedstock crops in the Great Plains, United States
Yingxin Gu, Bruce K. Wylie
2017, GCB Bioenergy (9) 836-844
Growing cellulosic feedstock crops (e.g., switchgrass) for biofuel is more environmentally sustainable than corn-based ethanol. Specifically, this practice can reduce soil erosion and water quality impairment from pesticides and fertilizer, improve ecosystem services and sustainability (e.g., serve as carbon sinks), and minimize impacts on global food supplies. The main goal...
Behavioral connectivity among bighorn sheep suggests potential for disease spread
Nathan Borg, Michael S. Mitchell, Paul M. Lukacs, Curt M. Mack, Lisette P. Waits, Paul R. Krausman
2017, Journal of Wildlife Management (81) 38-45
Connectivity is important for population persistence and can reduce the potential for inbreeding depression. Connectivity between populations can also facilitate disease transmission; respiratory diseases are one of the most important factors affecting populations of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). The mechanisms of connectivity in populations of bighorn sheep likely have implications...
Spatio-temporal development of vegetation die-off in a submerging coastal marsh
Lennert Schepers, Matt L. Kirwan, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Stijn Temmerman
2017, Limnology and Oceanography (62) 137-150
In several places around the world, coastal marsh vegetation is converting to open water through the formation of pools. This is concerning, as vegetation die-off is expected to reduce the marshes' capacity to adapt to sea level rise by vegetation-induced sediment accretion. Quantitative analyses of the spatial and temporal development...
A primer to living shorelines
Donna Marie Bilkovic, Molly M. Mitchell, Jason D. Toft, Megan K. LaPeyre
2017, Book chapter, Living shorelines: The science and management of nature-based coastal protection
No abstract available....
Comparison of oyster populations, shoreline protection service, and site characteristics at seven created fringing reefs in Louisiana: Key parameters and responses to consider
Megan K. LaPeyre, Lindsay Schwarting Miller, Shea Miller, Earl Melancon
2017, Book chapter, Living shorelines: The science and management of nature-based coastal protection
Coastal erosion threatens many low-lying areas around the globe. Rising sea levels from climate change are expected to increase coastal erosion and exacerbate flooding and storm surges. This is particularly true in low-lying coastal Louisiana, which developed as the Mississippi River changed course (delta switching) over the past 7000 years....
Determination of habitat requirements for Apache Trout
Sally J. Petre, Scott A. Bonar
2017, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (146) 1-15
The Apache Trout Oncorhynchus apache, a salmonid endemic to east-central Arizona, is currently listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Establishing and maintaining recovery streams for Apache Trout and other endemic species requires determination of their specific habitat requirements. We built upon previous studies of Apache Trout habitat by...
New techniques to measure cliff change from historical oblique aerial photographs and structure-from-motion photogrammetry
Jonathan A. Warrick, Andy Ritchie, Gabrielle Adelman, Ken Adelman, Patrick W. Limber
2017, Journal of Coastal Research (33) 39-55
Oblique aerial photograph surveys are commonly used to document coastal landscapes. Here it is shown that adequate overlap may exist in these photographic records to develop topographic models with Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetric techniques. Using photographs of Fort Funston, California, from the California Coastal Records Project, imagery were combined with ground...
Large decadal-scale changes in uranium and bicarbonate in groundwater of the irrigated western U.S
Karen R. Burow, Kenneth Belitz, Neil M. Dubrovsky, Bryant C. Jurgens
2017, Science of the Total Environment (586) 87-95
Samples collected about one decade apart from 1105 wells from across the U.S. were compiled to assess whether uranium concentrations in the arid climate are linked to changing bicarbonate concentrations in the irrigated western U.S. Uranium concentrations in groundwater were high in the arid climate in the western U.S, where...
Influence of the Eastern California Shear Zone on deposition of the Mio-Pliocene Bouse Formation: Insights from the Cibola area, Arizona
Rebecca J. Dorsey, Brennan O’Connell, Mindy B. Homan, Scott E.K. Bennett
2017, Conference Paper, 2017 Desert Symposium Field Guide and Proceedings - ECSZ does it: Revisiting the eastern California Shear Zone
The Eastern California Shear Zone (ECSZ) is a wide zone of late Cenozoic strike-slip faults and related diffuse deformation that currently accommodates ~20–25% of relative Pacific–North America plate motion in the lower Colorado River region (Fig. 1A; Dokka and Travis, 1990; Miller et al., 2001; Guest et al., 2007; Mahan...
Replication and shedding kinetics of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in juvenile rainbow trout
Andrew R. Wargo, Robert J. Scott, Benjamin Kerr, Gael Kurath
2017, Virus Research (227) 200-211
Viral replication and shedding are key components of transmission and fitness, the kinetics of which are heavily dependent on virus, host, and environmental factors. To date, no studies have quantified the shedding kinetics of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), or how they are associated with...
Mudflat morphodynamics and the impact of sea level rise in South San Francisco Bay
Mick Van der Wegen, Bruce E. Jaffe, Amy C. Foxgrover, Dano Roelvink
2017, Estuaries and Coasts (40) 37-49
Estuarine tidal mudflats form unique habitats and maintain valuable ecosystems. Historic measurements of a mudflat in San Fancsico Bay over the past 150 years suggest the development of a rather stable mudflat profile. This raises questions on its origin and governing processes as well as on the mudflats’ fate under scenarios...
Crop modeling applications in agricultural water management
Isaya Kisekka, Kendall C. DeJonge, Liwang Ma, Joel Paz, Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin
2017, Transactions of the ASABE (60) 1959-1964
This article introduces the fourteen articles that comprise the “Crop Modeling and Decision Support for Optimizing Use of Limited Water” collection. This collection was developed from a special session on crop modeling applications in agricultural water management held at the 2016 ASABE Annual International Meeting (AIM) in Orlando, Florida. In...
