Late Holocene volcanism at Medicine Lake Volcano, northern California Cascades
Julie M. Donnelly-Nolan, Duane E. Champion, Timothy L. Grove
2016, Professional Paper 1822
Late Holocene volcanism at Medicine Lake volcano in the southern Cascades arc exhibited widespread and compositionally diverse magmatism ranging from basalt to rhyolite. Nine well-characterized eruptions have taken place at this very large rear-arc volcano since 5,200 years ago, an eruptive frequency greater than nearly all other Cascade volcanoes....
Patterns and controls on nitrogen cycling of biological soil crusts
Nichole N. Barger, Eli Zaady, Bettina Weber, Ferran Garcia-Pichel, Jayne Belnap
2016, Book chapter
Biocrusts play a significant role in the nitrogen [N ] cycle within arid and semi-arid ecosystems, as they contribute major N inputs via biological fixation and dust capture, harbor internal N transformation processes, and direct N losses via N dissolved, gaseous and erosional loss processes (Fig. 1). Because soil...
How biological soil crusts became recognized as a functional unit: a selective history
Otto L. Lange, Jayne Belnap
2016, Book chapter
It is surprising that despite the world-wide distribution and general importance of biological soil crusts (biocrusts), scientific recognition and functional analysis of these communities is a relatively young field of science. In this chapter, we sketch the historical lines that led to the recognition of biocrusts as a community with...
Biological soil crusts: An organizing principle in dryland ecosystems (aka: the role of biocrusts in arid land hydrology)
Sonia Chamizo, Jayne Belnap, David J Elridge, Oumarou M Issa
2016, Book chapter, Ecological studies
Biocrusts exert a strong influence on hydrological processes in drylands by modifying numerous soil properties that affect water retention and movement in soils. Yet, their role in these processes is not clearly understood due to the large number of factors that act simultaneously and can mask the biocrust effect. The...
Biocrusts in the context of global change
Sasha C. Reed, Fernando T. Maestre, Raul Ochoa-Hueso, Cheryl Kuske, Anthony N. Darrouzet-Nardi, Brian Darby, Bob Sinsabaugh, Mel Oliver, Leo Sancho, Jayne Belnap
2016, Book chapter, Biological soil crusts: An organizing principle in drylands
A wide range of studies show global environmental change will profoundly affect the structure, function, and dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems. The research synthesized here underscores that biocrust communities are also likely to respond significantly to global change drivers, with a large potential for modification to their abundance, composition, and function....
Synthesis on biological soil crust research
Bettina Weber, Jayne Belnap, Burkhard Buedel
2016, Book chapter, Ecological studies
In this closing chapter, we summarize the advances in biocrust research made during the last 1.5 decades. In the first part of the chapter, we discuss how in some research fields, such as the microbial diversity of fungi, bacteria, and microfauna; the interaction between biocrusts and vascular plants; and in...
Carbon budgets of biological soil crusts at micro-, meso-, and global scales
Leopoldo G Sancho, Jayne Belnap, Claudia Colesie, Jose Raggio, Bettina Weber
2016, Book chapter, Ecological studies
The importance of biocrusts in the ecology of arid lands across all continents is widely recognized. In spite of this broad distribution, contributions of biocrusts to the global biogeochemical cycles have only recently been considered. While these studies opened a new view on the global role of biocrusts, they also...
Proceedings of the 12th Biennial Conference of research on the Colorado Plateau
Barbara E. Ralston, editor(s)
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5180
Introduction The Colorado Plateau is a physiographic region that encompasses 330,000 square kilometers in parts of four states in the southwestern United States (Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona). Known for its high deserts, the Colorado Plateau also includes isolated mountains, high plateaus, and rugged canyons. Not only is the region...
Spatially explicit modeling of annual and seasonal habitat for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Nevada and Northeastern California—An updated decision-support tool for management
Peter S. Coates, Michael L. Casazza, Brianne E. Brussee, Mark A. Ricca, K. Benjamin Gustafson, Erika Sanchez-Chopitea, Kimberly Mauch, Lara Niell, Scott Gardner, Shawn Espinosa, David J. Delehanty
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1080
Successful adaptive management hinges largely upon integrating new and improved sources of information as they become available. As a timely example of this tenet, we updated a management decision support tool that was previously developed for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus, hereinafter referred to as “sage-grouse”) populations in Nevada and California....
Interdrainage morphological and genetic differentiation in the Escambia Map Turtle, Graptemys ernsti
Joshua R. Ennen, James Godwin, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Brian R. Kreiser, Brian Folt, Sarah Hazard
2016, Herpetological Conservation and Biology (11) 122-131
Graptemys ernsti, the Escambia Map Turtle, inhabits the Escambia/Conecuh River, the adjacent Yellow River, and the Pea River further to the east, all of which have been distinct drainage systems since the Pleistocene. We used continuous and meristic morphological and genetic data to compare populations of G. ernsti and found...
Genomics reveals historic and contemporary transmission dynamics of a bacterial disease among wildlife and livestock
Pauline L. Kamath, Jeffrey T. Foster, Kevin P. Drees, Gordon Luikart, Christine Quance, Neil J. Anderson, P. Ryan Clarke, Eric K. Cole, Mark L. Drew, William H. Edwards, Jack C. Rhyan, John J. Treanor, Rick L. Wallen, Patrick J. White, Suelee Robbe-Austerman, Paul C. Cross
2016, Nature Communications (7)
Whole-genome sequencing has provided fundamental insights into infectious disease epidemiology, but has rarely been used for examining transmission dynamics of a bacterial pathogen in wildlife. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), outbreaks of brucellosis have increased in cattle along with rising seroprevalence in elk. Here we use a genomic approach...
A possible transoceanic tsunami directed toward the U.S. west coast from the Semidi segment, Alaska convergent margin
Roland E. von Huene, John J. Miller, Peter Dartnell
2016, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (17) 645-659
The Semidi segment of the Alaska convergent margin appears capable of generating a giant tsunami like the one produced along the nearby Unimak segment in 1946. Reprocessed legacy seismic reflection data and a compilation of multibeam bathymetric surveys reveal structures that could generate such a tsunami. A 200 km long...
Waterfowl endozoochory: An overlooked long-distance dispersal mode for Cuscuta (dodder)
Mihai Costea, Sasa Stefanovic, Miguel A. Garcia, Susan De La Cruz, Michael L. Casazza, Andy J. Green
2016, American Journal of Botany (103) 957-962
REMISE OF THE STUDY: Dispersal of parasitic Cuscuta species (dodders) worldwide has been assumed to be largely anthropomorphic because their seeds do not match any previously known dispersal syndrome and no natural dispersal vectors have been reliably documented. However, the genus has a subcosmopolitan distribution and recent phylogeographic results have...
Toward improved simulation of river operations through integration with a hydrologic model
Eric D. Morway, Richard G. Niswonger, Enrique Triana
2016, Environmental Modelling and Software 255-274
Advanced modeling tools are needed for informed water resources planning and management. Two classes of modeling tools are often used to this end–(1) distributed-parameter hydrologic models for quantifying supply and (2) river-operation models for sorting out demands under rule-based systems such as the prior-appropriation doctrine. Within each of these two...
Forest disturbance interactions and successional pathways in the Southern Rocky Mountains
Lu Liang, Todd Hawbaker, Zhiliang Zhu, Xuecao Li, Peng Gong
2016, Forest Ecology and Management 35-45
The pine forests in the southern portion of the Rocky Mountains are a heterogeneous mosaic of disturbance and recovery. The most extensive and intensive stress and mortality are received from human activity, fire, and mountain pine beetles (MPB;Dendroctonus ponderosae). Understanding disturbance interactions and disturbance-succession pathways are crucial for adapting management...
Aquatic Trophic Productivity model: A decision support model for river restoration planning in the Methow River, Washington
Joseph R. Benjamin, J. Ryan Bellmore
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1075
Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed a dynamic food-web simulation model to provide decision support for Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) river restoration projects in the Methow River, Washington. This modeling effort was done to contribute to Reasonable and Prudent Alternative actions 56 and 57of the 2014 Federal Columbia River...
Changing levels of heavy metal accumulation in birds at Tumacacori National Historic Park along the Upper Santa Cruz River Watershed in southern Arizona
Charles van Riper III, Michael B. Lester
2016, Conference Paper, Engagement, education, and expectations - the future of parks and protected areas: Proceedings of the 2015 George Wright Society Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites
National Parks and other protected areas can be influenced by contamination from outside their boundaries. This is particularly true of smaller parks and those in riparian ecosystems, a habitat that in arid environments provides critical habitat for breeding, migratory, and wintering birds. Animals living in contaminated areas are susceptible to...
Development of a CE-QUAL-W2 temperature model for Crystal Springs Lake, Portland, Oregon
Norman L. Buccola, Adam J. Stonewall
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1076
During summer 2014, lake level, streamflow, and water temperature in and around Crystal Springs Lake in Portland, Oregon, were measured by the U.S. Geological Survey and the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services to better understand the effect of the lake on Crystal Springs Creek and Johnson Creek downstream....
Salt marsh-mangrove ecotones: using structural gradients to investigate the effects of woody plant encroachment on plant-soil interactions and ecosystem carbon pools
Erik S. Yando, Michael J. Osland, Jonathan M Willis, Richard H. Day, Ken W. Krauss, Mark W. Hester
2016, Journal of Ecology (104) 1020-1031
Changing winter climate extremes are expected to result in the poleward migration of mangrove forests at the expense of salt marshes. Although mangroves and marshes are both highly valued ecosystems, the ecological implications of mangrove expansion have not been fully investigated. Here, we examined the effects of mangrove...
Storm-event-transport of urban-use pesticides to streams likely impairs invertebrate assemblages
Kurt D. Carpenter, Kathryn Kuivila, Michelle Hladik, Tana Haluska, Michael B. Cole
2016, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (188)
Insecticide use in urban areas results in the detection of these compounds in streams following stormwater runoff at concentrations likely to cause toxicity for stream invertebrates. In this 2013 study, stormwater runoff and streambed sediments were analyzed for 91 pesticides dissolved in water and 118 pesticides on sediment. Detections included...
Predicting tree biomass growth in the temperate-boreal ecotone: is tree size, age, competition or climate response most important?
Jane R. Foster, Andrew O. Finley, Anthony W. D’Amato, John B. Bradford, Sudipto Banerjee
2016, Global Change Biology (22) 2138-2151
As global temperatures rise, variation in annual climate is also changing, with unknown consequences for forest biomes. Growing forests have the ability to capture atmospheric CO2and thereby slow rising CO2 concentrations. Forests’ ongoing ability to sequester C depends on how tree communities respond to changes in climate variation. Much of what...
A partial exponential lumped parameter model to evaluate groundwater age distributions and nitrate trends in long-screened wells
Bryant C. Jurgens, John Karl Bohlke, Leon J. Kauffman, Kenneth Belitz, Bradley K. Esser
2016, Journal of Hydrology (543) 109-126
A partial exponential lumped parameter model (PEM) was derived to determine age distributions and nitrate trends in long-screened production wells. The PEM can simulate age distributions for wells screened over any finite interval of an aquifer that has an exponential distribution of age with depth. The PEM has...
Sensitivity of Pliocene Arctic climate to orbital forcing, atmospheric CO2 and sea ice albedo parameterisation
Fergus W. Howell, Alan M. Haywood, Harry J. Dowsett, Steven J. Pickering
2016, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (441) 133-142
General circulation model (GCM) simulations of the mid-Pliocene Warm Period (mPWP, 3.264 to 3.025 Myr ago) do not reproduce the magnitude of Northern Hemisphere high latitude surface air and sea surface temperature (SAT and SST) warming that proxy data indicate. There is also large uncertainty regarding the state...
Bayesian estimation of magma supply, storage, and eruption rates using a multiphysical volcano model: Kīlauea Volcano, 2000–2012
Kyle R. Anderson, Michael P. Poland
2016, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (447) 161-171
Estimating rates of magma supply to the world's volcanoes remains one of the most fundamental aims of volcanology. Yet, supply rates can be difficult to estimate even at well-monitored volcanoes, in part because observations are noisy and are usually considered independently rather than as part of a holistic system. In...
Groundwater geochemical and selected volatile organic compound data, Operable Unit 1, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, Washington, July 2015
Raegan L. Huffman
2016, Data Series 998
Previous investigations indicate that concentrations of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) are substantial in groundwater beneath the 9-acre former landfill at Operable Unit 1, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport, Washington. The U.S. Geological Survey has continued to monitor groundwater geochemistry to ensure that conditions remain favorable for contaminant...
