Depredation of the California Ridgway’s rail: Causes and distribution
Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, Thuy-Vy D. Bui, John Y. Takekawa, Angela M. Merritt, J.M. Hull
2016, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 27th Vertebrate Pest Conference
We studied the causes of mortality for the California Ridgway’s rail at multiple tidal marshes in the San Francisco Bay Estuary, California. We radio-marked 196 individual rails and examined the evidence from 152 recovered California Ridgway’s rail mortalities from our radio-marked sample and determined plausible cause of death from a...
Design and testing of a mesocosm-scale habitat for culturing the endangered Devils Hole Pupfish
Olin Feuerbacher, Scott A. Bonar, Paul J. Barrett
2016, North American Journal of Aquaculture (78) 259-269
aptive propagation of desert spring fishes, whether for conservation or research, is often difficult, given the unique and often challenging environments these fish utilize in nature. High temperatures, low dissolved oxygen, minimal water flow, and highly variable lighting are some conditions a researcher might need to recreate to simulate their...
Predicting arsenic in drinking water wells of the Central Valley, California
Joseph D. Ayotte, Bernard T. Nolan, JoAnn M. Gronberg
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (50) 7555-7563
Probabilities of arsenic in groundwater at depths used for domestic and public supply in the Central Valley of California are predicted using weak-learner ensemble models (boosted regression trees, BRT) and more traditional linear models (logistic regression, LR). Both methods captured major processes that affect arsenic concentrations, such as the chemical...
Variability in the sensitivity among model simulations of permafrost and carbon dynamics in the permafrost region between 1960 and 2009
A. David McGuire, Charles Koven, David M. Lawrence, Joy S. Clein, Jiangyang Xia, Christian Beer, Eleanor J. Burke, Guangsheng Chen, Xiaodong Chen, Christine Delire, Elchin Jafarov, Andrew H. MacDougall, Sergey S. Marchenko, Dmitry J. Nicolsky, Shushi Peng, Annette Rinke, Kazuyuki Saito, Wenxin Zhang, Ramdane Alkama, Theodore J. Bohn, Philippe Ciais, Bertrand Decharme, Altug Ekici, Isabelle Gouttevin, Tomohiro Hajima, Daniel J. Hayes, Duoying Ji, Gerhard Krinner, Dennis P. Lettenmaier, Yiqi Luo, Paul A. Miller, John C. Moore, Vladimir Romanovsky, Christina Schädel, Kevin Schaefer, Edward A.G. Schuur, Benjamin Smith, Tetsuo Sueyoshi, Qianlai Zhuang
2016, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (30) 1015-1037
A significant portion of the large amount of carbon (C) currently stored in soils of the permafrost region in the Northern Hemisphere has the potential to be emitted as the greenhouse gases CO2and CH4 under a warmer climate. In this study we evaluated the variability in the sensitivity of permafrost and...
Potential evapotranspiration and continental drying
Paul C.D. Milly, Krista A. Dunne
2016, Nature Climate Change (6) 946-949
By various measures (drought area and intensity, climatic aridity index, and climatic water deficits), some observational analyses have suggested that much of the Earth’s land has been drying during recent decades, but such drying seems inconsistent with observations of dryland greening and decreasing pan evaporation. ‘Offline’ analyses of climate-model...
Infectious diseases of wolves in Yellowstone
Emily S. Almberg, Paul C. Cross, Peter J. Hudson, Andrew P. Dobson, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Stahler
2016, Yellowstone Science (24) 47-49
The summer of 2005 began with such promise for wolves in Yellowstone. The population had been at an all-time high the last few years, and the wolves appeared to be in good condition. Several packs had been particularly busy during the breeding season, and early summer pup counts suggested another...
Detection and quantification of hydrocarbons in sediments
Jeff Wynn, Mike Williamson, Jeff Frank
2016, Conference Paper, OCEANS 2016 MTS/IEEE Monterey
A new technology developed by the US Geological Survey now allows for fast, direct detection of hydrocarbon plumes both in rivers and drifting in the deep ocean. Recent experiments show that the method can also detect and quantify hydrocarbons buried in river sediments and estuaries. This approach uses a variant...
Finite-element modelling of physics-based hillslope hydrology, Keith Beven, and beyond
Keith Loague, Brian A. Ebel
2016, Hydrological Processes (30) 2432-2437
Keith Beven is a voice of reason on the intelligent use of models and the subsequent acknowledgement/assessment of the uncertainties associated with environmental simula-tion. With several books and hundreds of papers, Keith’s work is widespread, well known, and highly referenced. Four of Keith’s most notable contributions are the iconic TOPMODEL...
Community fisheries in eastern South Dakota: Angler demographics, use, and factors influencing satisfaction
Michael J. Greiner, David O. Lucchesi, Steven R. Chipps, Larry M. Gigliotti
2016, Human Dimensions of Wildlife (21) 254-263
We surveyed anglers on five community fishing lakes near Brookings, South Dakota to assess angler use and satisfaction. The community lakes attracted younger anglers when compared to statewide and national averages. Overall, satisfaction was generally high (74%) among anglers fishing community lakes. Logistic regression analysis showed that harvest rate, anglers...
Decision-making for foot-and-mouth disease control: Objectives matter
William J. M. Probert, Katriona Shea, Christopher J. Fonnesbeck, Michael C. Runge, Tim E. Carpenter, Salome Durr, M. Graeme Garner, Neil Harvey, Mark A. Stevenson, Colleen T. Webb, Marleen Werkman, Michael J. Tildesley, Matthew J. Ferrari
2016, Epidemics (15) 10-19
Formal decision-analytic methods can be used to frame disease control problems, the first step of which is to define a clear and specific objective. We demonstrate the imperative of framing clearly-defined management objectives in finding optimal control actions for control of disease outbreaks. We illustrate an analysis that can be...
Bayesian nitrate source apportionment to individual groundwater wells in the Central Valley by use of elemental and isotopic tracers
Katherine M Ransom, Mark N. Grote, Amanda Deinhart, Gary Eppich, Carol Kendall, Matthew E. Sanborn, A. Kate Sounders, Joshua Wimpenny, Qing-zhu Yin, Megan B. Young, Thomas Harter
2016, Water Resources Research (52) 5577-5597
Groundwater quality is a concern in alluvial aquifers that underlie agricultural areas, such as in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Shallow domestic wells (less than 150 m deep) in agricultural areas are often contaminated by nitrate. Agricultural and rural nitrate sources include dairy manure, synthetic fertilizers, and septic waste....
Probability distributions of bed load particle velocities, accelerations, hop distances, and travel times informed by Jaynes's principle of maximum entropy
David Furbish, Mark Schmeeckle, Rina Schumer, Siobhan Fathel
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (121) 1373-1390
We describe the most likely forms of the probability distributions of bed load particle velocities, accelerations, hop distances, and travel times, in a manner that formally appeals to inferential statistics while honoring mechanical and kinematic constraints imposed by equilibrium transport conditions. The analysis is based on E. Jaynes's elaboration of...
A point mutation in the polymerase protein PB2 allows a reassortant H9N2 influenza isolate of wild-bird origin to replicate in human cells.
Islam T.M. Hussein, Eric J. Ma, Brandt W. Meixell, Nichola J. Hill, Mark S. Lindberg, Randy A. Albrecht, Justin Bahl, Jonathan A. Runstadler
2016, Infection, Genetics and Evolution (41) 279-288
H9N2 influenza A viruses are on the list of potentially pandemic subtypes. Therefore, it is important to understand how genomic reassortment and genetic polymorphisms affect phenotypes of H9N2 viruses circulating in the wild bird reservoir. A comparative genetic analysis of North American H9N2 isolates of wild bird origin identified a...
Discovery of alunite in Cross crater, Terra Sirenum, Mars: Evidence for acidic, sulfurous waters
Bethany L. Ehlmann, Gregg A. Swayze, Ralph E. Milliken, John F. Mustard, Roger N. Clark, Scott L. Murchie, George N. Breit, James J. Wray, Brigitte Gondet, Francois Poulet, John Carter, Wendy M. Calvin, William Benzel, Kimberly D. Seelos
2016, American Mineralogist (101) 1527-1542
Cross crater is a 65 km impact crater, located in the Noachian highlands of the Terra Sirenum region of Mars (30°S, 158°W), which hosts aluminum phyllosilicate deposits first detected by the Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, L’Eau, les Glaces et l’Activitié (OMEGA) imaging spectrometer on Mars Express. Using high-resolution data from...
Contemporary deformation in the Yakima fold and thrust belt estimated with GPS
Robert McCaffrey, Robert W. King, Ray E. Wells, Matthew Lancaster, M. Meghan Miller
2016, Geophysical Journal International (207) 1-11
Geodetic, geologic and palaeomagnetic data reveal that Oregon (western USA) rotates clockwise at 0.3 to 1.0° Ma−1 (relative to North America) about an axis near the Idaho–Oregon–Washington border, while northeast Washington is relatively fixed. This rotation has been going on for at least 15 Ma. The Yakima fold and thrust...
The impact of onsite wastewater disposal systems on groundwater in areas inundated by Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey
Irene Fisher, Patrick J. Phillips, Kaitlyn Colella, Shawn C. Fisher, Tristen N. Tagliaferri, William T. Foreman, Edward T. Furlong
2016, Marine Pollution Bulletin (107) 509-517
Coastal onsite wastewater disposal systems (OWDS) were inundated by Hurricane Sandy's storm tide. This study compares the shallow groundwater quality (nutrients, pharmaceuticals, and hormones) downgradient of OWDS before and after Hurricane Sandy, where available, and establishes a baseline for wastewater influence on groundwater in coastal communities inundated by Hurricane Sandy....
Rare earths: Market disruption, innovation, and global supply chains
Roderick Eggert, Cyrus Wadia, Corby Anderson, Diana Bauer, Fletcher Fields, Lawrence D. Meinert, Patrick Taylor
2016, Environment and Resources (41) 199-222
Rare earths, sometimes called the vitamins of modern materials, captured public attention when their prices increased more than ten-fold in 2010 and 2011. As prices fell between 2011 and 2016, rare earths receded from public view—but less visibly they became a major focus of innovative activity in companies, government laboratories...
Episodic bedrock erosion by gully-head migration, Colorado High Plains, USA
Francis K. Rengers, G.E. Tucker, Shannon Mahan
2016, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (41) 1574-1582
This study explores the frequency of bedrock exposure in a soil-mantled low-relief (i.e. non-mountainous) landscape. In the High Plains of eastern Colorado, gully headcuts are among the few erosional features that will incise through the soil mantle to expose bedrock. We measured the last time of bedrock exposure using optically...
Comparison of wastewater-associated contaminants in the bed sediment of Hempstead Bay, New York, before and after Hurricane Sandy
Shawn C. Fisher, Patrick J. Phillips, Bruce J. Brownawell, James Browne
2016, Marine Pollution Bulletin (107) 499-508
Changes in bed sediment chemistry of Hempstead Bay (HB) have been evaluated in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which resulted in the release of billions of liters of poorly-treated sewage into tributaries and channels throughout the bay. Surficial grab samples (top 5 cm) collected before and (or) after Hurricane...
Flood-inundation maps for Lake Champlain in Vermont and in northern Clinton County, New York
Robert H. Flynn, Laura Hayes
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5060
Digital flood-inundation maps for an approximately100-mile length of Lake Champlain in Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties in Vermont and northern Clinton County in New York were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the International Joint Commission (IJC). The flood-inundationmaps, which can be accessed through...
Updated logistic regression equations for the calculation of post-fire debris-flow likelihood in the western United States
Dennis M. Staley, Jacquelyn A. Negri, Jason W. Kean, Jayme L. Laber, Anne C. Tillery, Ann M. Youberg
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1106
Wildfire can significantly alter the hydrologic response of a watershed to the extent that even modest rainstorms can generate dangerous flash floods and debris flows. To reduce public exposure to hazard, the U.S. Geological Survey produces post-fire debris-flow hazard assessments for select fires in the western United States. We use...
Regional variability in bed-sediment concentrations of wastewater compounds, hormones and PAHs for portions of coastal New York and New Jersey impacted by hurricane Sandy
Patrick J. Phillips, Cathy A Gibson, Shawn C. Fisher, Irene Fisher, Timothy J. Reilly, Kelly L. Smalling, Kristin M. Romanok, William T. Foreman, Rhiannon C. ReVello, Michael J. Focazio, Daniel K. Jones
2016, Marine Pollution Bulletin (107) 489-498
Bed sediment samples from 79 coastal New York and New Jersey, USA sites were analyzed for 75 compounds including wastewater associated contaminants, PAHs, and other organic compounds to assess the post-Hurricane Sandy distribution of organic contaminants among six regions. These results provide the first assessment of wastewater compounds, hormones, and...
Use of multiple sequencing technologies to produce a high-quality genome of the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of bat White-Nose syndrome
Kevin P. Drees, Jonathan M. Palmer, Robert Sebra, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Cynthia Chen, ChengCang Wu, Jin Woo Bok, Nancy F. Keller, David S. Blehert, Christina A. Cuomo, Daniel L. Linder, Jeffrey T. Foster
2016, Genome Announcements (4)
White-Nose syndrome has recently emerged as one of the most devastating wildlife diseases recorded, causing widespread mortality in numerous bat species throughout eastern North America. Here, we present an improvised reference genome of the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans for use in comparative genomic studies....
Application of SPARROW modeling to understanding contaminant fate and transport from uplands to streams
Scott Ator, Ana Maria Garcia
2016, JAWRA (52) 685-704
Understanding spatial variability in contaminant fate and transport is critical to efficient regional water-quality restoration. An approach to capitalize on previously calibrated spatially referenced regression (SPARROW) models to improve the understanding of contaminant fate and transport was developed and applied to the case of nitrogen in the 166,000 km2 Chesapeake Bay watershed....
Historical habitat barriers prevent ring-like genetic continuity throughout the distribution of threatened Alameda Striped Racers (Coluber lateralis euryxanthus)
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Dustin A. Wood, Karen Swaim, Robert N. Fisher, Amy G. Vandergast
2016, Herpetologica (72) 202-213
We used microsatellites and mtDNA sequences to examine the mixed effects of geophysical, habitat, and contemporary urban barriers on the genetics of threatened Alameda Striped Racers (Coluber lateralis euryxanthus), a species with close ties to declining coastal scrub and chaparral habitat in the eastern San Francisco Bay area of California....
