Combining statistical inference and decisions in ecology
Perry J. Williams, Mevin Hooten
2016, Ecological Applications (26) 1930-1942
Statistical decision theory (SDT) is a sub-field of decision theory that formally incorporates statistical investigation into a decision-theoretic framework to account for uncertainties in a decision problem. SDT provides a unifying analysis of three types of information: statistical results from a data set, knowledge of the consequences of potential choices...
Evaluation of reproductive status in Atlantic Tripletail by traditional and nonlethal approaches
R. T. Parr, Cecil A. Jennings, N. D. Denslow, K.J. Kroll, R.B. Bringolf
2016, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (8) 16-22
Reproductive biology information is an important tool for fishery management actions such as the identification of spawning areas and the development of protective size limits, bag limits, and seasons. Such information for the management of Atlantic TripletailLobotes surinamensis is currently limited, particularly in the western Atlantic Ocean, as information regarding the...
Raw and processed ground-penetrating radar and postprocessed differential global positioning system data collected from Assateague Island, Maryland, October 2014
Nicholas J. Zaremba, Julie Bernier, Arnell S. Forde, Christopher G. Smith
2016, Data Series 989
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center acquired sediment cores, sediment surface grab samples, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) data from Assateague Island, Maryland, in October 2014. The objectives were to identify washover deposits in the stratigraphic record to aid in understanding...
Sedimentologic characteristics of recent washover deposits from Assateague Island, Maryland
Julie Bernier, Nicholas J. Zaremba, Cathryn J. Wheaton, Alisha M. Ellis, Marci E. Marot, Christopher G. Smith
2016, Data Series 999
The U.S. Geological Survey has a long history of responding to and documenting the impacts of storms along the Nation’s coasts and incorporating these data into storm impact and coastal change vulnerability assessments. Although physical changes caused by tropical and extratropical storms to the sandy beaches and dunes fronting barrier...
Post-release survival and movement of Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) implanted with intracoelomic satellite transmitters
Kyra L. Mills, Joseph K. Gaydos, Christine V. Fiorello, Emily Whitmer, Susan De La Cruz, Daniel M. Mulcahy, L. Ignacio Vilchis, Michael H. Ziccardi
2016, Waterbirds (39) 175-186
The main goal of this study was to gain knowledge on post-release survival and movement of Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) using a modified technique for implanting satellite transmitters. This technique had improved post-surgical survival in an earlier study. Nine Western Grebes, implanted with intracoelomic (within the body cavity) satellite transmitters...
Total Petroleum Systems of the Michigan Basin—Petroleum geology and geochemistry and assessment of undiscovered resources
Christopher S. Swezey
2016, Data Series 1011
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Landscapes of West Africa: A window on a changing world
G. Gray Tappan, W. Matthew Cushing, Suzanne E. Cotillon, John A. Hutchinson, Bruce Pengra, Issifou Alfari, Edwige Botoni, Amadou Soule, Stefanie M. Herrmann
2016, Book
Our global ecosystem is and has always been complex, dynamic, and in constant flux. Science tells us how natural forces of enormous power have shaped and reshaped Earth’s surface, atmosphere, climate, and biota again and again since the planet’s beginnings about 4.5 billion years ago. For most of the planet’s...
Vulnerabilities of national parks in the American Midwest to climate and land use changes
Esther D. Stroh, Matthew A. Struckhoff, David Shaver, Krista A. Karstensen
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5057
Many national parks in the American Midwest are surrounded by agricultural or urban areas or are in highly fragmented or rapidly changing landscapes. An environmental stressor is a physical, chemical, or biological condition that affects the functioning or productivity of species or ecosystems. Climate change is just one of many...
Effects of hydrology, watershed size, and agricultural practices on sediment yields in two river basins in Iowa and Mississippi
Gustavo Henrique Merten, Heather L. Welch, M.D. Tomer
2016, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (71) 267-278
The specific sediment yield (SSY) from watersheds is the result of the balance between natural, scale-dependent erosion and deposition processes, but can be greatly altered by human activities. In general, the SSY decreases along the course of a river as sediments are trapped in alluvial plains and other sinks. However,...
INVASIVESNET towards an International Association for Open Knowledge on Invasive Alien Species
Frances Lucy, Helen Roy, Annie Simpson, James T. Carlton, John Mark Hanson, Kit Magellan, Marnie L. Campbell, Mark John Costello, Shyama Pagad, Chad L Hewitt, Justin McDonald, Phillip Cassey, Sidinei M Thomaz, Stelios Katsanevakis, Argyro Zenetos, Elena Tricarico, Angela Boggero, Quentin J. Groom, Tim Adriaens, Sonia Vanderhoeven, Mark E. Torchin, Ruth A. Hufbauer, Pam Fuller, Mary R Carman, David Bruce Conn, Jean R. S. Vitule, Joao Canning-Clode, Bella S Galil, Henn Ojaveer, Sarah A Bailey, Thomas W Therriault, Renata Claudi, Anna Gazda, Jaimie T A Dick, Joe Caffrey, Arne Witt, Marc Kenis, Maiju Lehtiniemi, Harry Helmisaari, Vadim E Panov
2016, Management of Biological Invasions (7) 131-139
In a world where invasive alien species (IAS) are recognised as one of the major threats to biodiversity, leading scientists from five continents have come together to propose the concept of developing an international association for open knowledge and open data on IAS—termed “INVASIVESNET”. This new association will facilitate greater...
Discharge and nutrient transport between lakes in a hydrologically complex area of Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, 2010-2012
Victoria G. Christensen, Eric Wakeman, Ryan P. Maki
2016, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (52) 578-591
An acoustic Doppler velocity meter (ADVM) was deployed in the narrows between Namakan and Kabetogama Lakes in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, from November 3, 2010, through October 3, 2012. The ADVM can account for wind, seiche, and changing flow direction in hydrologically complex areas. The objectives were to (1) estimate...
Long-term lesser prairie-chicken nest ecology in response to grassland management
Sarah R. Fritts, Blake A. Grisham, David A. Haukos, Clint W. Boal, Michael Patten, Don H. Wolfe, Charles Dixon, Robert D. Cox, Willard R. Heck
2016, Journal of Wildlife Management (80) 527-539
Long-term population and range declines from habitat loss and fragmentation caused the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) to be a species of concern throughout its range. Current lesser prairie-chicken range in New Mexico and Texas is partially restricted to sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii; hereafter shinnery oak) prairies, on which cattle...
Thyroid endocrine disruption and external body morphology of Zebrafish
Prakash Sharma, Timothy B. Grabowski, Reynaldo Patino
2016, General and Comparative Endocrinology (226) 42-49
This study examined the effects thyroid-active compounds during early development on body morphology of Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Three-day postfertilization (dpf) larvae were exposed to goitrogen [methimazole (MZ, 0.15 mM)], combination of MZ (0.15 mM) and thyroxine (T4, 2 nM), T4 (2 nM), or control (reconstituted water) treatments until 33 dpf...
Motivations of female Black Hills deer hunters
Larry M. Gigliotti, Elizabeth Covelli Metcalf
2016, Human Dimensions of Wildlife: An International Journal (21) 371-378
State fish and wildlife agencies are particularly interested in attracting female participation because of the potential to offset declining participation in hunting. Understanding female hunters’ motivations will be critical for designing effective recruitment and retention programs for women hunters. Although female participation in hunting is increasing, males still outnumber females...
Clarifying beliefs underlying hunter intentions to support a ban on lead shot
Susan A. Schroeder, David C. Fulton, Kathy Doncarlos
2016, Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal (29) 852-867
Shot from hunting adds toxic lead to environments worldwide. Existing lead shot regulations have been instituted with little understanding of hunter beliefs and attitudes. This study applied the Theory of Reasoned Action, using a multilevel, multivariate approach, to clarify how positive and negative beliefs relate to attitudes about a ban...
Management decision making for fisher populations informed by occupancy modeling
Angela K. Fuller, Daniel W. Linden, J. Andrew Royle
2016, Journal of Wildlife Management (80) 794-802
Harvest data are often used by wildlife managers when setting harvest regulations for species because the data are regularly collected and do not require implementation of logistically and financially challenging studies to obtain the data. However, when harvest data are not available because an area had not previously supported a...
Understanding landowner intentions to create early successional forest habitat in the northeastern United States
Ashley A. Dayer, Richard C. Stedman, Shorna B. Allred, Kenneth V. Rosenberg, Angela K. Fuller
2016, Wildlife Society Bulletin (40) 59-68
Early successional forest habitat (ESH) and associated wildlife species in the northeastern United States are in decline. One way to help create early successional forest conditions is engaging private forest landowners in even-aged forest management because their limited participation may have contributed to declines in ESH for wildlife species of...
Estimating population density and connectivity of American mink using spatial capture-recapture
Angela K. Fuller, Christopher S. Sutherland, J. Andrew Royle, Matthew P. Hare
2016, Ecological Applications (26) 1125-1135
Estimating the abundance or density of populations is fundamental to the conservation and management of species, and as landscapes become more fragmented, maintaining landscape connectivity has become one of the most important challenges for biodiversity conservation. Yet these two issues have never been formally integrated together in a model that...
Monitoring the status of Gray Bats (Myotis grisescens in Virginia, 2009-2014, and potential impacts of White-nose Syndrome
Karen E. Powers, Richard J. Reynolds, Wil Orndorff, Brenna A. Hyzy, Christopher S. Hobson, W. Mark Ford
2016, Southeastern Naturalist (15) 127-137
Myotis grisescens (Gray Bat) is a federally endangered species distributed over the mid-South with a summer range that extends across the upper Tennessee River Basin, including southwest Virginia. Given the onset of White-nose Syndrome (WNS) in the Commonwealth in the winter of 2009, we initiated yearly surveys in late summer 2009...
Seeing the forest through the trees: Considering roost-site selection at multiple spatial scales
David S. Jachowski, Christopher T. Rota, Christopher A. Dobony, W. Mark Ford, John W. Edwards
2016, PLoS ONE (11)
Conservation of bat species is one of the most daunting wildlife conservation challenges in North America, requiring detailed knowledge about their ecology to guide conservation efforts. Outside of the hibernating season, bats in temperate forest environments spend their diurnal time in day-roosts. In addition to simple shelter, summer roost availability...
Feeding ecology of native and nonnative salmonids during the expansion of a nonnative apex predator in Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park
John M. Syslo, Christopher S. Guy, Todd M. Koel
2016, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (145) 476-492
The illegal introduction of Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush into Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, preceded the collapse of the native population of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri, producing a four-level trophic cascade. The Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout population’s collapse and the coinciding increase in Lake Trout abundance provided a rare opportunity to evaluate...
Efficiency of two-way weirs and prepositioned electrofishing for sampling potamodromous fish migrations
Scott D. Favrot, Thomas J. Kwak
2016, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (36) 167-182
Potamodromy (i.e., migration entirely in freshwater) is a common life history strategy of North American lotic fishes, and efficient sampling methods for potamodromous fishes are needed to formulate conservation and management decisions. Many potamodromous fishes inhabit medium-sized rivers and are mobile during spawning migrations, which complicates sampling with conventional gears...
Age-specific survival of reintroduced swift fox in Badlands National Park and surrounding lands
Indrani Sasmal, Robert W. Klaver, Jonathan A. Jenks, Greg M. Schroeder
2016, Wildlife Society Bulletin (40) 217-223
In 2003, a reintroduction program was initiated at Badlands National Park (BNP), South Dakota, USA, with swift foxes (Vulpes velox) translocated from Colorado and Wyoming, USA, as part of a restoration effort to recover declining swift fox populations throughout its historical range. Estimates of age-specific survival are necessary to evaluate...
Climate change
Thomas M. Cronin
2016, Book chapter, Encyclopedia of estuaries
Climate change (including climate variability) refers to regional or global changes in mean climate state or in patterns of climate variability over decades to millions of years often identified using statistical methods and sometimes referred to as changes in long-term weather conditions (IPCC, 2012). Climate is influenced by changes in...
Archiving and access systems for remote sensing: Chapter 6
John Faundeen, George Percivall, Shirley Baros, Peter Baumann, Peter H. Becker, J. Behnke, Karl Benedict, Lucio Colaiacomo, Liping Di, Chris Doescher, J. Dominguez, Roger Edberg, Mark Ferguson, Stephen Foreman, David Giaretta, Vivian B. Hutchison, Alex Ip, N.L. James, Siri Jodha S. Khalsa, B. Lazorchak, Adam Lewis, Fuqin Li, Leo Lymburner, C.S. Lynnes, Matt Martens, Rachel Melrose, Steve Morris, Norman Mueller, Vivek Navale, Kumar Navulur, D.J. Newman, Simon Oliver, Matthew Purss, H.K. Ramapriyan, Russ Rew, Michael Rosen, John Savickas, Joshua Sixsmith, Tom Sohre, David Thau, Paul Uhlir, Lan-Wei Wang, Jeff Young
2016, Book chapter, Manual of Remote Sensing
Focuses on major developments inaugurated by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, the Group on Earth Observations System of Systems, and the International Council for Science World Data System at the global level; initiatives at national levels to create data centers (e.g. the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Distributed...
