New insights of tsunami hazard from the 2011 Tohoku-oki event
K. Goto, C. Chague-Goff, S. Fujino, J. Goff, Bruce Jaffe, Y. Nishimura, Bruce M. Richmond, D. Sugawara, Witold Szczucinski, D.R. Tappin, Robert C. Witter, E. Yulianto
2011, Marine Geology (290) 46-50
We report initial results from our recent field survey documenting the inundation and resultant deposits of the 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami from Sendai Plain, Japan. The tsunami inundated up to 4.5 km inland but the > 0.5 cm-thick sand deposit extended only 2.8 km (62% of the inundation distance). The deposit however continued as a...
Making United States Integrated Ocean Observing System (U.S. IOOS) inclusive of marine biological resources
H. Moustahfid, J. Potemra, P. Goldstein, R. Mendelssohn, A. Desrochers
2011, Conference Paper, OCEANS'11 - MTS/IEEE Kona, Program Book
An important Data Management and Communication (DMAC) goal is to enable a multi-disciplinary view of the ocean environment by facilitating discovery and integration of data from various sources, projects and scientific domains. United States Integrated Ocean Observing System (U.S. IOOS) DMAC functional requirements are based upon guidelines for standardized data...
Use of habitats by female mallards wintering in Southwestern Louisiana
Paul T. Link, A. D. Afton, R. R. Cox Jr., B.E. Davis
2011, Waterbirds (34) 429-438
Habitat use by wintering Mallards (Anas platyrhychos) on the Gulf Coast Chenier Plain (GCCP) has received little study and quantitative data is needed for management of GCCP waterfowl. Radio-telemetry techniques were used to record habitats used by 135 female Mallards during winters 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 in south-western Louisiana. Habitat use...
Microbial community structure of hydrothermal deposits from geochemically different vent fields along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Gilberto E. Flores, James H. Campbell, Julie D. Kirshtein, Jennifer Meneghin, Mircea Podar, Joshua I. Steinberg, Jeffrey S. Seewald, Margaret Kingston Tivey, Mary A. Voytek, Zamin K. Yang, Anna-Louise Reysenbach
2011, Environmental Microbiology (13) 2158-2171
To evaluate the effects of local fluid geochemistry on microbial communities associated with active hydrothermal vent deposits, we examined the archaeal and bacterial communities of 12 samples collected from two very different vent fields: the basalt-hosted Lucky Strike (37°17'N, 32°16.3'W, depth 1600-1750m) and the ultramafic-hosted Rainbow (36°13'N, 33°54.1'W, depth 2270-2330m)...
Fish community and bioassessment responses to stream network position
N.P. Hitt, P. L. Angermeier
2011, Journal of the North American Benthological Society (30) 296-309
If organisms move beyond the boundaries of local sampling units, regional metacommunity dynamics could undermine the ability of bioassessment studies to characterize local environmental quality. We tested the prediction that fish dispersal influences local fish community structure and bioassessment metrics as a function of site position within stream networks. We...
Fe-Ni metal and sulfide minerals in CM chondrites: An indicator for thermal history
M. Kimura, Jeffrey N. Grossman, M.K. Weisberg
2011, Meteoritics and Planetary Science (46) 431-442
CM chondrites were subjected to aqueous alteration and, in some cases, to secondary metamorphic heating. The effects of these processes vary widely, and have mainly been documented in silicate phases. Herein, we report the characteristic features of Fe‐Ni metal and sulfide phases in 13 CM and 2 CM‐related chondrites to...
Environmental controls of wood entrapment in upper Midwestern streams
Eric C. Merten, Jacques Finlay, Lucinda Johnson, Raymond Newman, Heinz Stefan, Bruce C. Vondracek
2011, Hydrological Processes (25) 593-602
Wood deposited in streams provides a wide variety of ecosystem functions, including enhancing habitat for key species in stream food webs, increasing geomorphic and hydraulic heterogeneity and retaining organic matter. Given the strong role that wood plays in streams, factors that influence wood inputs, retention and transport are critical to...
Sensitivity of Pliocene ice sheets to orbital forcing
A.M. Dolan, A.M. Haywood, D.J. Hill, H.J. Dowsett, S.J. Hunter, D.J. Lunt, S.J. Pickering
2011, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (309) 98-110
The stability of the Earth's major ice sheets is a critical uncertainty in predictions of future climate and sea level change. One method of investigating the behaviour of the Greenland and the Antarctic ice sheets in a warmer-than-modern climate is to look back at past warm periods of Earth history,...
Development of an aquatic pathogen database (AquaPathogen X) and its utilization in tracking emerging fish virus pathogens in North America
E.J. Emmenegger, E. Kentop, T.M. Thompson, S. Pittam, A. Ryan, D. Keon, J.A. Carlino, J. Ranson, R.B. Life, R.M. Troyer, K.A. Garver, Gael Kurath
2011, Journal of Fish Diseases (34) 579-587
The AquaPathogen X database is a template for recording information on individual isolates of aquatic pathogens and is freely available for download (http://wfrc.usgs.gov). This database can accommodate the nucleotide sequence data generated in molecular epidemiological studies along with the myriad of abiotic and biotic traits associated with isolates of various...
Accelerated construction of a regional DNA-barcode reference library: Caddisflies (Trichoptera) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
X. Zhou, J.L. Robinson, C.J. Geraci, C.R. Parker, O.S. Flint Jr., D.A. Etnier, D. Ruiter, R.E. DeWalt, L.M. Jacobus, P.D.N. Hebert
2011, Journal of the North American Benthological Society (30) 131-162
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) barcoding is an effective tool for species identification and lifestage association in a wide range of animal taxa. We developed a strategy for rapid construction of a regional DNA-barcode reference library and used the caddisflies (Trichoptera) of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) as a model....
A puzzling migratory detour : Are fueling conditions in Alaska driving the movement of juvenile sharp -tailed sandpipers ?
A. Lindstrom, Robert E. Gill Jr., S.E. Jamieson, B. McCaffery, Liv Wennerberg, M. Wikelski, M. Klaassen
2011, Condor (113) 129-139
Making a detour can be advantageous to a migrating bird if fuel-deposition rates at stopover sites along the detour are considerably higher than at stopover sites along a more direct route. One example of an extensive migratory detour is that of the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (Calidris acuminata), of which large numbers...
The effects of isolation on the demography and genetic diversity of long-lived species: Implications for conservation and management of the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)
J.R. Ennen, R.D. Birkhead, B.R. Kreiser, D.L. Gaillard, C.P. Qualls, J.E. Lovich
2011, Herpetological Conservation and Biology (6) 202-214
In the southeastern United States, habitat loss has fragmented the landscape and isolated many populations of this region's flora and fauna, which has presumably resulted in smaller population sizes and reduced levels of genetic diversity. For example, forestry practices and anthropogenic disturbances are both cited as factors fragmenting the once...
Effect of cryopreservation and in vitro culture of bovine fibroblasts on histone acetylation levels and in vitro development of hand-made cloned embryos
L. Chacon, M.C. Gomez, J.A. Jenkins, S.P. Leibo, G. Wirtu, B.L. Dresser, C.E. Pope
2011, Zygote (19) 255-264
In this study, the relative acetylation levels of histone 3 in lysine 9 (H3K9ac) in cultured and cryopreserved bovine fibroblasts was measured and we determined the influence of the epigenetic status of three cultured (C1, C2 and C3) donor cell lines on the in vitro development of reconstructed bovine embryos. Results...
Cougar survival and source-sink structure on Greater Yellowstone's Northern Range
T.K. Ruth, M.A. Haroldson, K.M. Murphy, P.C. Buotte, M.G. Hornocker, H.B. Quigley
2011, Journal of Wildlife Management (75) 1381-1398
We studied survival and causes of mortality of radiocollared cougars (Puma concolor) on the Greater Yellowstone Northern Range (GYNR) prior to (1987–1994) and after wolf (Canis lupus) reintroduction (1998–2005) and evaluated temporal, spatial, and environmental factors that explain variation in adult, subadult, and kitten survival. Using Program MARK and multimodel...
Predominant bacteria isolated from moribund Fusconaia ebena ebonyshells experiencing die-offs in Pickwick Reservoir, Tennessee River, Alabama
C. E. Starliper, J. Powell, J.T. Garner, W. B. Schill
2011, Journal of Shellfish Research (30) 359-366
Mussel die-offs have been noted in recent years in Pickwick Reservoir, Tennessee River, Alabama. The primary affected species was Fusconaia ebena, but also affected to lesser degrees were Ellipsaria lineolata, Quadrula pustulosa, and Quadrula quadrula. These events were characterized by large numbers of empty shells—fresh-dead and live individuals that were...
Fire, grazing history, lichen abundance, and winter distribution of caribou in Alaska's taiga
William B. Collins, Bruce W. Dale, Layne G. Adams, Darien E. McElwain, Kyle Joly
2011, Journal of Wildlife Management (75) 369-377
In the early 1990s the Nelchina Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) Herd (NCH) began a dramatic shift to its current winter range, migrating at least an additional 100 km beyond its historic range. We evaluated the impacts of fire and grazing history on lichen abundance and subsequent use and distribution by the NCH....
Watershed morphology of highland and mountain ecoregions in eastern Oklahoma
D. K. Splinter, Daniel C. Dauwalter, R. A. Marston, William Fisher
2011, Professional Geographer (63) 131-143
The fluvial system represents a nested hierarchy that reflects the relationship among different spatial and temporal scales. Within the hierarchy, larger scale variables influence the characteristics of the next lower nested scale. Ecoregions represent one of the largest scales in the fluvial hierarchy and are defined by recurring patterns of...
Links between type E botulism outbreaks, lake levels, and surface water temperatures in Lake Michigan, 1963-2008
Brenda Moraska Lafrancois, Stephen C. Riley, David S. Blehert, Anne E. Ballmann
2011, Journal of Great Lakes Research (37) 86-91
Relationships between large-scale environmental factors and the incidence of type E avian botulism outbreaks in Lake Michigan were examined from 1963 to 2008. Avian botulism outbreaks most frequently occurred in years with low mean annual water levels, and lake levels were significantly lower in outbreak years than in non-outbreak years....
New technique for quantification of elemental hg in mine wastes and its implications for mercury evasion into the atmosphere
A.D. Jew, C.S. Kim, James J. Rytuba, M.S. Gustin, Gordon E. Brown Jr.
2011, Environmental Science & Technology (45) 412-417
Mercury in the environment is of prime concern to both ecosystem and human health. Determination of the molecular-level speciation of Hg in soils and mine wastes is important for understanding its sequestration, mobility, and availability for methylation. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy carried out under ambient P-T conditions...
Diet and gut morphology of male mallards during winter in North Dakota
R.E. Olsen, R. R. Cox Jr., A. D. Afton, C.D. Ankney
2011, Waterbirds (34) 59-69
A free-ranging Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) population was investigated during winter (December-January 1996-1999) below the Garrison Dam, North Dakota, USA, to relate diet to gut morphology variation in males. Four explanatory variables (fish consumption, male age, winter, and body size) were evaluated as to whether they influenced five response variables associated...
Critical nitrogen deposition loads in high-elevation lakes of the western US inferred from paleolimnological records
J.E. Saros, David W. Clow, T. Blett, A.P. Wolfe
2011, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (216) 193-202
Critical loads of nitrogen (N) from atmospheric deposition were determined for alpine lake ecosystems in the western US using fossil diatom assemblages in lake sediment cores. Changes in diatom species over the last century were indicative of N enrichment in two areas, the eastern Sierra Nevada, starting between 1960 and...
Developing empirical collapse fragility functions for global building types
K. Jaiswal, D. Wald, D. D’Ayala
2011, Earthquake Spectra (27) 775-795
Building collapse is the dominant cause of casualties during earthquakes. In order to better predict human fatalities, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) program requires collapse fragility functions for global building types. The collapse fragility is expressed as the probability of collapse at discrete...
Growth of plutons by incremental emplacement of sheets in crystal-rich host: Evidence from Miocene intrusions of the Colorado River region, Nevada, USA
C. F. Miller, D.J. Furbish, B.A. Walker, L.L. Claiborne, G.C. Koteas, H.A. Bleick, J.S. Miller
2011, Tectonophysics (500) 65-77
Growing evidence supports the notion that plutons are constructed incrementally, commonly over long periods of time, yet field evidence for the multiple injections that seem to be required is commonly sparse or absent. Timescales of up to several million years, among other arguments, indicate that the dominant volume does...
Distribution and seasonal dynamics of arsenic in a shallow lake in northwestern New Jersey, USA
J. L. Barringer, Z. Szabo, T.P. Wilson, J.L. Bonin, T. Kratzer, K. Cenno, T. Romagna, M. Alebus, B. Hirst
2011, Environmental Geochemistry and Health (33) 1-22
Elevated concentrations of arsenic (As) occurred during warm months in water from the outlet of Lake Mohawk in northwestern New Jersey. The shallow manmade lake is surrounded by residential development and used for recreation. Eutrophic conditions are addressed by alum and copper sulfate applications and aerators operating in the summer....
Gas geochemistry of the Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope: implications for gas hydrate exploration in the Arctic
T.D. Lorenson, T. S. Collett, R.B. Hunter
2011, Marine and Petroleum Geology (28) 343-360
Gases were analyzed from well cuttings, core, gas hydrate, and formation tests at the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, drilled within the Milne Point Unit, Alaska North Slope. The well penetrated a portion of the Eileen gas hydrate deposit, which overlies the more deeply buried Prudhoe Bay,...
