Landsat 8: The plans, the reality, and the legacy
Thomas R. Loveland, James R. Irons
2016, Remote Sensing of Environment (185) 1-6
Landsat 8, originally known as the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) partnership that continues the legacy of continuous moderate resolution observations started in 1972. The conception of LDCM to the reality of Landsat 8 followed an arduous path extending...
When winners become losers: Predicted nonlinear responses of arctic birds to increasing woody vegetation
Sarah J. Thompson, Colleen M. Handel, Rachel M. Richardson, Lance B. McNew
2016, PLoS ONE (11) 1-17
Climate change is facilitating rapid changes in the composition and distribution of vegetation at northern latitudes, raising questions about the responses of wildlife that rely on arctic ecosystems. One widely observed change occurring in arctic tundra ecosystems is an increasing dominance of deciduous shrub vegetation. Our goals were to examine...
Microrefuges and the occurrence of thermal specialists: implications for wildlife persistence amidst changing temperatures
L. Embere Hall, Anna D. Chalfoun, Erik A. Beever, Anne E. Loosen
2016, Climate Change Responses (3) 1-12
BackgroundContemporary climate change is affecting nearly all biomes, causing shifts in animal distributions, phenology, and persistence. Favorable microclimates may buffer organisms against rapid changes in climate, thereby allowing time for populations to adapt. The degree to which microclimates facilitate the local persistence of climate-sensitive species,...
Low-cost floating emergence net and bottle trap: Comparison of two designs
Pete Cadmus, Justin Pomeranz, Johanna M. Kraus
2016, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (31) 653-658
Sampling emergent aquatic insects is of interest to many freshwater ecologists. Many quantitative emergence traps require the use of aspiration for collection. However, aspiration is infeasible in studies with large amounts of replication that is often required in large biomonitoring projects. We designed an economic, collapsible pyramid-shaped floating emergence trap...
Estimation of time-variable fast flow path chemical concentrations for application in tracer-based hydrograph separation analyses
Scott C. Kronholm, Paul D. Capel
2016, Water Resources Research (52) 6881-6896
Mixing models are a commonly used method for hydrograph separation, but can be hindered by the subjective choice of the end-member tracer concentrations. This work tests a new variant of mixing model that uses high-frequency measures of two tracers and streamflow to separate total streamflow into water from slowflow and...
Multiple browsers structure tree recruitment in logged temperate forests
Edward K. Faison, Stephen DeStefano, David R. Foster, Joshua M. Rapp, Justin A. Compton
2016, PLoS ONE (11) 1-14
Historical extirpations have resulted in depauperate large herbivore assemblages in many northern forests. In eastern North America, most forests are inhabited by a single wild ungulate species, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and relationships between deer densities and impacts on forest regeneration are correspondingly well documented. Recent recolonizations by moose (Alces...
Biodynamics of copper oxide nanoparticles and copper ions in an oligochaete - Part II: Subcellular distribution following sediment exposure
Amalie Thit, Tina Ramskov, Marie Noele Croteau, Henriette Selck
2016, Aquatic Toxicology (180) 25-35
The use and likely incidental release of metal nanoparticles (NPs) is steadily increasing. Despite the increasing amount of published literature on metal NP toxicity in the aquatic environment, very little is known about the biological fate of NPs after sediment exposures. Here, we compare the bioavailability and subcellular distribution of...
Prediction of pesticide toxicity in Midwest streams
Megan E. Shoda, Wesley W. Stone, Lisa H. Nowell
2016, Journal of Environmental Quality (45) 1856-1864
The occurrence of pesticide mixtures is common in stream waters of the United States, and the impact of multiple compounds on aquatic organisms is not well understood. Watershed Regressions for Pesticides (WARP) models were developed to predict Pesticide Toxicity Index (PTI) values in unmonitored streams in the Midwest and are...
A glacier runoff extension to the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System
Ashley E. Van Beusekom, Roland J. Viger
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (121) 2001-2021
A module to simulate glacier runoff, PRMSglacier, was added to PRMS (Precipitation Runoff Modeling System), a distributed-parameter, physical-process hydrological simulation code. The extension does not require extensive on-glacier measurements or computational expense but still relies on physical principles over empirical relations as much as is feasible while maintaining model usability....
Response of imperiled Okaloosa darters to stream restoration
David B. Reeves, William B. Tate, Howard L. Jelks, Frank Jordan
2016, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (36) 1375-1385
The Okaloosa Darter Etheostoma okaloosae is a small percid endemic to six stream drainages in northwestern Florida. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed Okaloosa Darters as endangered in 1973 and downlisted them to threatened in 2011 because of habitat improvements and increasing abundance across much of their geographic range....
Do rivermouths alter nutrient and seston delivery to the nearshore?
James H. Larson, Paul C. Frost, Jon M. Vallazza, John C. Nelson, William B. Richardson
2016, Freshwater Biology (61) 1935-1949
Tributary inputs to lakes and seas are often measured at riverine gages, upstream of lentic influence. Between these riverine gages and the nearshore zones of large waterbodies lie rivermouths, which may retain, transform and contribute materials to the nearshore zone. However, the magnitude and timing of these...
Bacterial genomics reveal the complex epidemiology of an emerging pathogen in arctic and boreal ungulates
Taya L. Forde, Karin Orsel, Ruth N. Zadoks, Roman Biek, Layne G. Adams, Sylvia L. Checkley, Tracy Davison, Jeroen De Buck, Mathieu Dumond, Brett T. Elkin, Laura Finnegan, Bryan J. Macbeth, Cait Nelson, Amanda Niptanatiak, Shane Sather, Helen M. Schwantje, Frank van der Meer, Susan J. Kutz
2016, Frontiers in Microbiology (7) 1-14
Northern ecosystems are currently experiencing unprecedented ecological change, largely driven by a rapidly changing climate. Pathogen range expansion, and emergence and altered patterns of infectious disease, are increasingly reported in wildlife at high latitudes. Understanding the causes and consequences of shifting pathogen diversity and host-pathogen interactions in these ecosystems is...
Spatio-temporal variation in age structure and abundance of the endangered snail kite: Pooling across regions masks a declining and aging population
Brian E. Reichert, William L. Kendall, Robert J. Fletcher Jr., Wiley M. Kitchens
2016, PLoS ONE (11) 1-18
While variation in age structure over time and space has long been considered important for population dynamics and conservation, reliable estimates of such spatio-temporal variation in age structure have been elusive for wild vertebrate populations. This limitation has arisen because of problems of imperfect detection, the potential for temporary emigration...
The use of amino acid indices for assessing organic matter quality and microbial abundance in deep-sea Antarctic sediments of IODP Expedition 318
Stephanie A Carr, Christopher T. Mills, Kevin W Mandernack
2016, Marine Chemistry (186) 72-82
The Adélie Basin, located offshore of the Wilkes Land margin, experiences unusually high sedimentation rates (~ 2 cm yr− 1) for the Antarctic coast. This study sought to compare depthwise changes in organic matter (OM) quantity and quality with changes in microbial biomass with depth at this high-deposition site and an offshore continental margin...
Positive biodiversity-productivity relationship predominant in global forests
Jingjing Liang, Thomas W. Crowther, Nicolas Picard, Susan Wiser, Mo Zhou, Giorgio Alberti, Ernst-Detlef Schulze, Anthony D. McGuire, et al.
2016, Science (354)
The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem productivity has been explored in detail in herbaceous vegetation, but patterns in forests are far less well understood. Liang et al. have amassed a global forest data set from >770,000 sample plots in 44 countries. A positive and consistent relationship can be discerned between...
Pb-Sr isotopic and geochemical constraints on sources and processes of lead contamination in well waters and soil from former fruit orchards, Pennsylvania, USA: A legacy of anthropogenic activities
Robert A. Ayuso, Nora K. Foley
2016, Journal of Geochemical Exploration (170) 125-147
Isotopic discrimination can be an effective tool in establishing a direct link between sources of Pb contamination and the presence of anomalously high concentrations of Pb in waters, soils, and organisms. Residential wells supplying water containing up to 1600 ppb Pb to houses built on the former Mohr orchards commercial site,...
Holocene volcanism of the upper McKenzie River catchment, central Oregon Cascades, USA
Natalia I. Deligne, Richard M. Conrey, Katharine V. Cashman, Duane E. Champion, William H. Amidon
2016, Geological Society of America Bulletin (128) 1618-1635
To assess the complexity of eruptive activity within mafic volcanic fields, we present a detailed geologic investigation of Holocene volcanism in the upper McKenzie River catchment in the central Oregon Cascades, United States. We focus on the Sand Mountain volcanic field, which covers 76 km2 and consists of 23 vents,...
A suspended dive-net technique for catching territorial divers
Brian D. Uher-Koch, Daniel Rizzolo, Kenneth G. Wright, Joel A. Schmutz
2016, Ringing and Migration (31) 19-22
A variety of methods such as night-lighting and lift nets have been used to catch divers (Gavidae), although 24-hour daylight in the Arctic summer and the remote nature of field sites can make the use of these traditional methods impossible. Our research required capture of adult divers at remote locations...
Effects of consumption-oriented versus trophy-oriented fisheries on Muskellunge population size structure in northern Wisconsin
Matthew D. Faust, Michael J. Hansen
2016, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (36) 1336-1346
To determine whether a consumption-oriented fishery was compatible with a trophy-oriented fishery for Muskellunge Esox masquinongy, we modeled effects of a spearing fishery and recreational angling fishery on population size structure (i.e., numbers of fish ≥ 102, 114, and 127 cm) in northern Wisconsin. An individual-based simulation model was used...
Analyses of infrequent (quasi-decadal) large groundwater recharge events in the northern Great Basin: Their importance for groundwater availability, use, and management
Melissa D. Masbruch, Christine Rumsey, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, David D. Susong, Tom Pruitt
2016, Water Resources Research (52) 7819-7836
There has been a considerable amount of research linking climatic variability to hydrologic responses in the western United States. Although much effort has been spent to assess and predict changes in surface water resources, little has been done to understand how climatic events and changes affect groundwater resources. This study...
Development of novel microsatellite markers for the Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) and their utility in cross-species amplification
Christy Haughey, George K. Sage, Gabriel Degange, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Sandra L. Talbot
2016, Avian Biology Research (9) 195-199
The Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) is a large forest raptor with a Holarctic distribution and, in some portions of its range, a species of conservation concern. To augment previously reported genetic markers, 13 novel polymorphic microsatellite markers were developed to establish individual identification and familial relationships, to assess levels of...
Regional meteorological drivers and long term trends of winter-spring nitrate dynamics across watersheds in northeastern North America
Jill Crossman, M Catherine Eimers, Nora J. Casson, Douglas A. Burns, John L. Campbell, Gene E Likens, Myron J Mitchell, Sarah J. Nelson, James B. Shanley, Shaun A. Watmough, Kara L Webster
2016, Biogeochemistry (130) 247-265
This study evaluated the contribution of winter rain-on-snow (ROS) events to annual and seasonal nitrate (N-NO3) export and identified the regional meteorological drivers of inter-annual variability in ROS N-NO3 export (ROS-N) at 9 headwater streams located across Ontario, Canada and the northeastern United States. Although on average only 3.3 %...
Long-term continuous acoustical suspended-sediment measurements in rivers – Theory, evaluation, and results from 14 stations on five rivers
David J. Topping, Scott Wright, Ronald E. Griffiths, David J. Dean
2016, Conference Paper, River Flow 2016, Proceedings of the International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics
We have developed a physically based method for using two acoustic frequencies to measure suspended-silt-and-clay concentration, suspended-sand concentration, and suspended-sand median grain size in river cross sections at 15-minute intervals over decadal timescales. The method is strongly grounded in the extensive scientific literature on the scattering of sound by...
Effects of land use and sample location on nitrate-stream flow hysteresis descriptors during storm events
Lawrence S. Feinson, Jacob Gibs, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Jessica D. Garrett
2016, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (52) 1493-1508
The U.S. Geological Survey's New Jersey and Iowa Water Science Centers deployed ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometric sensors at water-quality monitoring sites on the Passaic and Pompton Rivers at Two Bridges, New Jersey, on Toms River at Toms River, New Jersey, and on the North Raccoon River near Jefferson, Iowa to continuously measure...
Evaluation of gas production potential from gas hydrate deposits in National Petroleum Reserve Alaska using numerical simulations
Manish S. Nandanwar, Brian J. Anderson, Taiwo Ajayi, Timothy S. Collett, Margarita V. Zyrianova
2016, Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering (36) 760-772
An evaluation of the gas production potential of Sunlight Peak gas hydrate accumulation in the eastern portion of the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA) of Alaska North Slope (ANS) is conducted using numerical simulations, as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gas hydrate Life Cycle Assessment program. A field...
