Vegetation, substrate, and eolian sediment transport at Teesto Wash, Navajo Nation, 2009-2012
Amy E. Draut, Margaret Hiza Redsteer, Lee Amoroso
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5095
On the Navajo Nation, southwestern United States, warming temperatures and recent drought have increased eolian (windblown) sediment mobility such that large, migrating sand dunes affect grazing lands, housing, and road access. We present an assessment of seasonal variations in sand transport, mobility, and ground cover (vegetation and substrate) within a...
North Central Climate Science Center--science agenda 2012-2017
Jeffrey T. Morisette
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1265
The information presented here provides the five-year science agenda for the North Central Climate Science Center. It is meant to be a high-level guide that describes the spatial context of the center, the primary partners and stakeholders, and the strategic framework the center will use in applying climate science to...
Successional change in the Lake Superior fish community: Population trends in ciscoes, rainbow smelt, and lake trout, 1958-2008
Owen T. Gorman
2012, Advances in Limnology (63) 337-362
The Lake Superior fish community underwent massive changes in the second half of the 20th century. Those changes are largely reflected in changes in abundance of the adults of principal prey species, the ciscoes (Coregonus spp.), the invasive rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), and the principal predator, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)....
Borehole geophysical, fluid, and hydraulic properties within and surrounding the freshwater/saline-water transition zone, San Antonio segment of the Edwards aquifer, south-central Texas, 2010-11
Jonathan V. Thomas, Gregory P. Stanton, Rebecca B. Lambert
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5285
The freshwater zone of the San Antonio segment of the Edwards aquifer is used by residents of San Antonio and numerous other rapidly growing communities in south-central Texas as their primary water supply source. This freshwater zone is bounded to the south and southeast by a saline-water zone with an...
Acanthocephalan parasites of slimy sculpin, Cottus cognatus, and Ninespine Stickleback, Pungitius pungitius, from Lake Michigan, U.S.A.
Patrick M. Muzzall, Michael Lima, Alex Gentile, Jacob Gunn, Amanda Jones, Jamie Morrison, John R. P. French III
2012, Comparative Parasitology (79) 15-22
In total, 288 slimy sculpins, Cottus cognatus, were collected in September 2003 from 6 Lake Michigan, U.S.A., ports, along with 220 ninespine sticklebacks, Pungitius pungitius, from 3 ports. The ports included Waukegan, Illinois; Port Washington (PW) and Sturgeon Bay (SB), Wisconsin; and Manistique (MS), Frankfort (FF), Ludington (LD), and Saugatuck,...
Floods of June 2012 in northeastern Minnesota
Christiana R. Czuba, James D. Fallon, Erich W. Kessler
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5283
During June 19–20, 2012, heavy rainfall, as much as 10 inches locally reported, caused severe flooding across northeastern Minnesota. The floods were exacerbated by wet antecedent conditions from a relatively rainy spring, with May 2012 as one of the wettest Mays on record in Duluth. The June 19–20, 2012, rainfall...
Evidence for occurrence, persistence, and growth potential of Escherichia coli and enterococci in Hawaii’s soil environments
Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli, Bruce M. Roll, Roger S. Fujioka
2012, Microbes and Environments (27) 164-170
High densities of Escherichia coli and enterococci are common in freshwaters on Oahu and other Hawaiian Islands. Soil along stream banks has long been suspected as the likely source of these bacteria; however, the extent of their occurrence and distribution in a wide range of soils remained unknown until the...
Availability and distribution of low flow in Anahola Stream, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Chui Ling Cheng, Reuben H. Wolff
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5264
Anahola Stream is a perennial stream in northeast Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi, that supports agricultural, domestic, and cultural uses within its drainage basin. Beginning in the late 19th century, Anahola streamflow was diverted by Makee Sugar Company at altitudes of 840 feet (upper intake) and 280 feet (lower intake) for irrigating sugarcane...
Changing Arctic ecosystems - measuring and forecasting the response of Alaska's terrestrial ecosystem to a warming climate
John M. Pearce, Anthony R. DeGange, Paul L. Flint, Tom F. Fondell, David D. Gustine, Leslie E. Holland-Bartels, Andrew G. Hope, Jerry W. Hupp, Joshua C. Koch, Joel A. Schmutz, Sandra L. Talbot, David H. Ward, Mary E. Whalen
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3144
The Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska is a complex landscape of lakes, streams, and wetlands scattered across low relief tundra that is underlain by permafrost. This region of the Arctic has experienced a warming trend over the past three decades, leading to thawing of on-shore permafrost and the disappearance...
Validation of ground-motion simulations for historical events using SDoF systems
C. Galasso, F. Zareian, I. Iervolino, R.W. Graves
2012, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (102) 2727-2740
The study presented in this paper is among the first in a series of studies toward the engineering validation of the hybrid broadband ground‐motion simulation methodology by Graves and Pitarka (2010). This paper provides a statistical comparison between seismic demands of single degree of freedom (SDoF) systems subjected to past...
USGS National Wildlife Health Center quarterly mortality report – April 2012 to June 2012
U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center Field Investigations Team
2012, Wildlife Disease Association Newsletter 14-17
No abstract available....
Thermodynamic method for generating random stress distributions on an earthquake fault
Michael Barall, Ruth A. Harris
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1226
This report presents a new method for generating random stress distributions on an earthquake fault, suitable for use as initial conditions in a dynamic rupture simulation. The method employs concepts from thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. A pattern of fault slip is considered to be analogous to a micro-state of a...
Using spatially detailed water-quality data and solute-transport modeling to improve support total maximum daily load development
Katherine Walton-Day, Robert L. Runkel, Briant A. Kimball
2012, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (48) 949-969
Spatially detailed mass-loading studies and solute-transport modeling using OTIS (One-dimensional Transport with Inflow and Storage) demonstrate how natural attenuation and loading from distinct and diffuse sources control stream water quality and affect load reductions predicted in total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). Mass-loading data collected during low-flow from Cement Creek (a...
Reversion to virulence and efficacy of an attenuated canarypox vaccine in Hawai'i 'Amakihi (Hemignathus Virens)
Carter T. Atkinson, Kimberly C. Wiegand, Dennis Triglia, Susan I. Jarvi
2012, Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine (Vol. 43) 808-819
Vaccines may be effective tools for protecting small populations of highly susceptible endangered, captive-reared, or translocated Hawaiian honeycreepers from introduced Avipoxvirus, but their efficacy has not been evaluated. An attenuated Canarypox vaccine that is genetically similar to one of two passerine Avipoxvirus isolates from Hawai‘i and distinct from Fowlpox was tested to evaluate...
Thermal and hydrologic suitability of Lake Erie and its major tributaries for spawning of Asian carps
Patrick M. Kocovsky, Duane Chapman, James E. McKenna
2012, Journal of Great Lakes Research (38) 159-166
Bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, silver carp H. molitrix, and grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella (hereafter Asian carps) have expanded throughout the Mississippi River basin and threaten to invade Lakes Michigan and Erie. Adult bighead carp and grass carp have been captured in Lake Erie, but self-sustaining populations probably do not exist....
Wave-induced mass transport affects daily Escherichia coli fluctuations in nearshore water
Zhongfu Ge, Richard L. Whitman, Meredith B. Nevers, Mantha S. Phanikumar
2012, Environmental Science & Technology (46) 2204-2211
Characterization of diel variability of fecal indicator bacteria concentration in nearshore waters is of particular importance for development of water sampling standards and protection of public health. Significant nighttime increase in Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentration in beach water, previously observed at marine sites, has also been identified in summer...
USGS National Wildlife Health Center mortality report October-December 2011
Barbara Bodenstein
2012, Wildlife Disease Association Newsletter (2012) 9-10
USGS National Wildlife Health Center quarterly mortality report – January 2012 to March 2012
U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center Field Investigations Team
2012, Wildlife Disease Association Newsletter 11-13
No abstract available....
Timing of large earthquakes during the past 500 years along the Santa Cruz Mountains segment of the San Andreas fault at Mill Canyon, near Watsonville, California
Thomas E. Fumal
2012, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (102) 1099-1119
A paleoseismic investigation across the Santa Cruz Mountains section of the San Andreas fault at Mill Canyon indicates that four surface‐rupturing earthquakes have occurred there during the past ~500 years. At this site, right‐lateral fault slip has moved a low shutter ridge across the mouth of the canyon, ponding latest Holocene...
Absence of fractionation of mercury isotopes during trophic transfer of methylmercury to freshwater fish in captivity
Sae Yun Kwon, Joel D. Blum, Michael J. Carvan, Niladri Basu, Jessica A. Head, Charles P. Madenjian, Solomon R. David
2012, Environmental Science & Technology (46) 7527-7534
We performed two controlled experiments to determine the amount of mass-dependent and mass-independent fractionation (MDF and MIF) of methylmercury (MeHg) during trophic transfer into fish. In experiment 1, juvenile yellow perch (Perca flavescens) were raised in captivity on commercial food pellets and then their diet was either maintained on unamended...
A vectorial capacity product to monitor changing malaria transmission potential in epidemic regions of Africa
Pietro Ceccato, Christelle Vancutsem, Robert Klaver, James Rowland, Stephen J. Connor
2012, Journal of Tropical Medicine (2012) 1-6
Rainfall and temperature are two of the major factors triggering malaria epidemics in warm semi-arid (desert-fringe) and high altitude (highland-fringe) epidemic risk areas. The ability of the mosquitoes to transmit Plasmodium spp. is dependent upon a series of biological features generally referred to as vectorial capacity. In this study, the...
Characterizing invertebrate traits in wadeable streams of the contiguous US: differences among ecoregions and land uses
Robert E. Zuellig, Travis S. Schmidt
2012, Freshwater Science (31) 1042-1056
Much is known about invertebrate community traits in basins across Europe, but no comprehensive description of traits exists for the continental US. Little is known about the trait composition of invertebrates in reference or least-disturbed basins of the US, how trait composition varies among ecoregions, or how consistently traits respond...
Thiamine status of rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) eggs in the Great Lakes, USA
Marc A. Chalupnicki, H. George Ketola, Micheal H. Zehfus, Jonathan R. Crosswait, Jacques Rinchard
2012, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (27) 31-39
During spring 2006–2009, eggs were collected for analysis of total thiamine from gravid rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) captured in each of the Great Lakes and two other waters as references for comparison. Mean standard length (mm ± standard error) of gravid females significantly differed between sample waters, with the Atlantic Ocean population...
Diel feeding periodicity of Ephemera simulans nymphs in summer and winter
James H. Johnson, Jack E. Ruggirello, Christopher C. Nack
2012, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (27) 305-308
We examined diel feeding periodicity of Ephemera simulans nymphs during summer and winter in a third-order stream in central New York. A total of 245 nymphs were collected at 4-h intervals over two 24 h periods and were immediately preserved in 80% ethanol. In the laboratory, we weighed each nymph and...
Competitive Interactions of Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and Damesrocket (Hesperis matronalis)
Stacey A. Leicht-Young, Noel B. Pavlovic, Jean V. Adams
2012, Invasive Plant Science and Management (5) 27-36
Competitive interactions between native plants and nonnative, invasive plant species have been extensively studied; however, within degraded landscapes, the effect of interspecific interactions among invasive plants is less explored. We investigated a competitive interaction between two sympatric, invasive mustard species that have similar life history strategies and growth forms: garlic...
