Status of forest birds on Rota, Mariana Islands
Richard J. Camp, Kevin W. Brinck, P. Marcos Gorresen, Fred A. Amidon, Paul M. Radley, S. Paul Berkowitz, Paul C. Banko
2014, Report, Hawaii Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report
The western Pacific island of Rota is the third largest human inhabited island in the Mariana archipelago, and is designated an Endemic Bird Area. Between 1982 and 2012, 12 point-transect distance sampling surveys were conducted to assess population status. Surveys did not consistently sample the entire island; thus, we used...
Modelling riverine habitat for robust redhorse: assessment for reintroduction of an imperilled species
J. M. Fisk III, Thomas J. Kwak, R. J. Heise
2014, Fisheries Management and Ecology (21) 57-67
A critical component of a species reintroduction is assessment of contemporary habitat suitability. The robust redhorse, Moxostoma robustum (Cope), is an imperilled catostomid that occupies a restricted range in the south-eastern USA. A remnant population persists downstream of Blewett Falls Dam, the terminal dam in the Pee Dee River, North...
Breaking the oceanic lithosphere of a subducting slab: the 2013 Khash, Iran earthquake
William D. Barnhart, Gavin P. Hayes, S. Samsonov, E. Fielding, L. Seidman
2014, Geophysical Research Letters (41) 32-36
[1] Large intermediate depth, intraslab normal faulting earthquakes are a common, dangerous, but poorly understood phenomenon in subduction zones owing to a paucity of near field geophysical observations. Seismological and high quality geodetic observations of the 2013 Mw7.7 Khash, Iran earthquake reveal that at least half of the oceanic lithosphere,...
Litter quality versus soil microbial community controls over decomposition: a quantitative analysis
Cory C. Cleveland, Sasha C. Reed, Adrienne B. Keller, Diana R. Nemergut, Sean P. O’Neill, Rebecca Ostertag, Peter M. Vitousek
2014, Oecologia (174) 283-294
The possible effects of soil microbial community structure on organic matter decomposition rates have been widely acknowledged, but are poorly understood. Understanding these relationships is complicated by the fact that microbial community structure and function are likely to both affect and be affected by organic matter quality and chemistry, thus...
Distal border fragments of the equine navicular bone: association between magnetic resonance imaging characteristics and clinical lameness
Elizabeth H. Yorke, Carter E. Judy, Travis C. Saveraid, Conor P. McGowan, Fred J. Caldwell
2014, Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound (55) 35-44
Distal border fragments of the navicular bone are increasingly being detected due to the improved capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but their clinical significance remains unclear. The purpose of this retrospective study was to describe the location, size, and frequency of fragments in a cohort of horses presented for...
Blocking and guiding adult sea lamprey with pulsed direct current from vertical electrodes
Nicholas S. Johnson, Henry T. Thompson, Christopher M. Holbrook, John A. Tix
2014, Fisheries Research (150) 38-48
Controlling the invasion front of aquatic nuisance species is of high importance to resource managers. We tested the hypothesis that adult sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), a destructive invasive species in the Laurentian Great Lakes, would exhibit behavioral avoidance to dual-frequency pulsed direct current generated by vertical electrodes and that the...
Marsh soils as potential sinks for Bacteroides fecal indicator bacteria, Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, Georgetown, SC, USA
Judith Z. Drexler, Heather E. Johnson, Joseph W. Duris, Ken W. Krauss
2014, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (225) 1-7
A soil core collected in a tidal freshwater marsh in the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge (Georgetown, SC) exuded a particularly strong odor of cow manure upon extrusion. In order to test for manure and determine its provenance, we carried out microbial source tracking using DNA markers for Bacteroides, a noncoliform,...
Forecasting landscape effects of Mississippi River diversions on elevation and accretion in Louisiana deltaic wetlands under future environmental uncertainty scenarios
Hongqing Wang, Gregory D. Steyer, Brady R. Couvillion, John M. Rybczyk, Holly J. Beck, William J. Sleavin, Ehab A. Meselhe, Mead A. Allison, Ronald G. Boustany, Craig J. Fischenich, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy
2014, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (138) 57-68
Large sediment diversions are proposed and expected to build new wetlands to alleviate the extensive wetland loss (5,000 km2) affecting coastal Louisiana during the last 78 years. Current assessment and prediction of the impacts of sediment diversions have focused on the capture and dispersal of both water and sediment on...
A radiogenic isotope tracer study of transatlantic dust transport from Africa to the Caribbean
A. Kumar, W. Abouchami, S.J.G. Galer, V.H. Garrison, E. Williams, M.O. Andreae
2014, Atmospheric Environment (82) 130-143
Many studies have suggested that long-range transport of African desert dusts across the Atlantic Ocean occurs, delivering key nutrients and contributing to fertilization of the Amazon rainforest. Here we utilize radiogenic isotope tracers – Sr, Nd and Pb – to derive the provenance, local or remote, and pathways of dust...
Geologic setting and stratigraphy of the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado
Jeff S. Pigati, Ian M. Miller, Kirk R. Johnson, Jeffrey S. Honke, Paul E. Carrara, Daniel R. Muhs, Gary Skipp, Bruce Bryant
2014, Quaternary Research
The geologic setting of the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site is somewhat unusual – the sediments containing the Pleistocene fossils were deposited in a lake on top of a ridge. The lake basin was formed near the Town of Snowmass Village, Colorado when a glacier flowing down Snowmass Creek Valley...
Contrasting past and current numbers of bears visiting Yellowstone cutthroat trout streams
Mark A. Haroldson, Charles C. Schwartz, Justin E. Teisberg, Kerry A. Gunther, Jennifer K. Fortin, Charles T. Robbins
2014, Journal of Wildlife Management (78) 369-378
Spawning cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri) were historically abundant within tributary streams of Yellowstone Lake within Yellowstone National Park and were a highly digestible source of energy and protein for Yellowstone’s grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and black bears (U. americanus). The cutthroat trout population has subsequently declined since the introduction...
Changing climate and the altitudinal range of avian malaria in the Hawaiian Islands: an ongoing conservation crisis on the island of Kaua'i
Carter T. Atkinson, Ruth B. Utzurrum, Dennis A. LaPointe, Richard J. Camp, Lisa H. Crampton, Jeffrey T. Foster, Thomas W. Giambelluca
2014, Global Change Biology (20) 2426-2436
Transmission of avian malaria in the Hawaiian Islands varies across altitudinal gradients and is greatest at elevations below 1500 m where both temperature and moisture are favorable for the sole mosquito vector, Culex quinquefasciatus, and extrinsic sporogonic development of the parasite, Plasmodium relictum. Potential consequences of global warming on this...
Regional distribution models with lack of proximate predictors: Africanized honeybees expanding north
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Wayne E. Esaias, Peter L.A. Ma, Jeffery T. Morisette, Jaime E. Nickeson, Thomas J. Stohlgren, Tracy R. Holcombe, Joanne M. Nightingale, Robert E. Wolfe, Bin Tan
2014, Diversity and Distributions (20) 193-201
Species distribution models have often been hampered by poor local species data, reliance on coarse-scale climate predictors and the assumption that species–environment relationships, even with non-proximate predictors, are consistent across geographical space. Yet locally accurate maps of invasive species, such as the Africanized honeybee (AHB) in North America, are needed...
Increased flexibility for modeling telemetry and nest-survival data using the multistate framework
Olivier Devineau, William L. Kendall, Paul F. Doherty Jr., Tanya M. Shenk, Gary C. White, Paul M. Lukacs, Kenneth P. Burnham
2014, Journal of Wildlife Management (78) 224-230
Although telemetry is one of the most common tools used in the study of wildlife, advances in the analysis of telemetry data have lagged compared to progress in the development of telemetry devices. We demonstrate how standard known-fate telemetry and related nest-survival data analysis models are special cases of the...
Effects of woody vegetation on overbank sand transport during a large flood, Rio Puerco, New Mexico
Eleanor R. Griffin, Mariela C. Perignon, Jonathan M. Friedman, Gregory E. Tucker
2014, Geomorphology (207) 30-50
Distributions of woody vegetation on floodplain surfaces affect flood-flow erosion and deposition processes. A large flood along the lower Rio Puerco, New Mexico, in August 2006 caused extensive erosion in a reach that had been sprayed with herbicide in September 2003 for the purpose of saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) control. Large...
Thermal-maturity limit for primary thermogenic-gas generation from humic coals as determined by hydrous pyrolysis
Michael Lewan, M.J. Kotarba
2014, AAPG Bulletin (98) 2581-2610
Hydrous-pyrolysis experiments at 360°C (680°F) for 72 h were conducted on 53 humic coals representing ranks from lignite through anthracite to determine the upper maturity limit for hydrocarbon-gas generation from their kerogen and associated bitumen (i.e., primary gas generation). These experimental conditions are below those needed for oil cracking to ensure...
Africa-wide monitoring of small surface water bodies using multisource satellite data: A monitoring system for FEWS NET
Naga Manohar Velpuri, Gabriel B. Senay, James Rowland, James P. Verdin, Henok Alemu
Assefa M. Melesse, Wossenu Abtew, Shimelis G. Setegn, editor(s)
2014, Book chapter, Nile River Basin
Continental Africa has the highest volume of water stored in wetlands, large lakes, reservoirs, and rivers, yet it suffers from problems such as water availability and access. With climate change intensifying the hydrologic cycle and altering the distribution and frequency of rainfall, the problem of water availability and access will...
Methylmercury production in and export from agricultural wetlands in California, USA: the need to account for physical transport processes into and out of the root zone
Philip Bachand, Sandra M. Bachand, Jacob A. Fleck, Charles N. Alpers, Mark Stephenson, Lisamarie Windham-Myers
2014, Science of the Total Environment (472) 957-970
Concentration and mass balance analyses were used to quantify methylmercury (MeHg) loads from conventional (white) rice, wild rice, and fallowed fields in northern California's Yolo Bypass. These analyses were standardized against chloride to distinguish transport pathways and net ecosystem production (NEP). During summer, chloride loads were both exported with surface...
Coupled hydrological and biogeochemical processes controlling variability of nitrogen species in streamflow during autumn in an upland forest
Stephen D. Sebestyen, James B. Shanley, Elizabeth W. Boyer, Carol Kendall, Daniel H. Doctor
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 1569-1591
Autumn is a season of dynamic change in forest streams of the northeastern United States due to effects of leaf fall on both hydrology and biogeochemistry. Few studies have explored how interactions of biogeochemical transformations, various nitrogen sources, and catchment flow paths affect stream nitrogen variation during autumn. To provide...
Quantifying the predictive consequences of model error with linear subspace analysis
Jeremy T. White, John E. Doherty, Joseph D. Hughes
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 1152-1173
All computer models are simplified and imperfect simulators of complex natural systems. The discrepancy arising from simplification induces bias in model predictions, which may be amplified by the process of model calibration. This paper presents a new method to identify and quantify the predictive consequences of calibrating a simplified computer...
Temporal variation in development of ecosystem services from oyster reef restoration
Megan K. LaPeyre, Austin T. Humphries, Sandra M. Casas, Jerome F. La Peyre
2014, Ecological Engineering (63) 34-44
Restoration ecology relies heavily on ecosystem development theories that generally assume development of fully functioning natural systems over time, but often fail to identify the time-frame required for provision of desired functions, or acknowledge different pathways of functional development. In estuaries, a decline of overall habitat quality and functioning has...
Synthesis of nearshore recovery following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill: sea otter liver pathology and survival in Western Prince William Sound, 2001 – 2008
Brenda E. Ballachey, Daniel H. Monson, Kimberly A. Kloecker, George G. Esslinger, F.C. Mohr, T.P. Lipscomb, M.J. Murray, S. Howlin
2014, Report
We examined livers and liver biopsies collected from captured sea otters in WPWS, 2001–2008, to determine whether indicators of liver health correlated with history of oil contamination from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. Sea otters captured in oiled areas had a significantly higher proportion of livers with gross pathological...
Colony social structure in native and invasive populations of the social wasp Vespula pensylvanica
Cause Hanna, Erin D. Cook, Ariel R. Thompson, Lyndzey E. Dare, Amanda L. Palaski, David Foote, Michael A. D. Goodisman
2014, Biological Invasions (16) 283-294
Social insects rank among the most invasive of terrestrial species. The success of invasive social insects stems, in part, from the flexibility derived from their social behaviors. We used genetic markers to investigate if the social system of the invasive wasp, Vespula pensylvanica, differed in its introduced and native habitats...
Disease and predation: Sorting out causes of a bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) decline
Joshua B. Smith, Jonathan A. Jenks, Troy W. Grovenburg, Robert W. Klaver
2014, PLoS ONE (9) 1-9
Estimating survival and documenting causes and timing of mortality events in neonate bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) improves understanding of population ecology and factors influencing recruitment. During 2010–2012, we captured and radiocollared 74 neonates in the Black Hills, South Dakota, of which 95% (70) died before 52 weeks of age. Pneumonia...
Cross-scale interactions: Quantifying multi-scaled cause–effect relationships in macrosystems
Patricia A. Soranno, Kendra S. Cheruvelil, Edward G. Bissell, Mary T. Bremigan, John A. Downing, Carol E. Fergus, Christopher T. Filstrup, Emily N. Henry, Noah R. Lottig, Emily H. Stanley, Craig A. Stow, Pang-Ning Tan, Tyler Wagner, Katherine E. Webster
2014, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (12) 65-73
Ecologists are increasingly discovering that ecological processes are made up of components that are multi-scaled in space and time. Some of the most complex of these processes are cross-scale interactions (CSIs), which occur when components interact across scales. When undetected, such interactions may cause errors in extrapolation from one region...
