Shale gas development effects on the songbird community in a central Appalachian forest
Laura S. Farwell, Petra Wood, James Sheehan, Gregory A. George
2016, Biological Conservation (201) 78-91
In the last decade, unconventional drilling for natural gas from the Marcellus-Utica shale has increased exponentially in the central Appalachians. This heavily forested region contains important breeding habitat for many neotropical migratory songbirds, including several species of conservation concern. Our goal was to examine effects of unconventional gas development on...
Associations of stream health to altered flow and water temperature in the Sierra Nevada, California
Daren M. Carlisle, S. Mark Nelson, Jason T. May
2016, Ecohydrology (9) 930-941
Alteration of streamflow and thermal conditions may adversely affect lotic invertebrate communities, but few studies have assessed these phenomena using indicators that control for the potentially confounding influence of natural variability. We designed a study to assess how flow and thermal alteration influence stream health – as indicated by the...
Mapping changing distributions of dominant species in oil-contaminated salt marshes of Louisiana using imaging spectroscopy
Michael Beland, Dar A. Roberts, Seth H. Peterson, Trent W. Biggs, Raymond F. Kokaly, Sarai Piazza, Keely L. Roth, Shruti Khanna, Susan L. Ustin
2016, Remote Sensing of Environment (182) 192-207
The April 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill was the largest coastal spill in U.S. history. Monitoring subsequent change in marsh plant community distributions is critical to assess ecosystem impacts and to establish future coastal management priorities. Strategically deployed airborne imaging spectrometers, like the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS),...
Elucidating the role of vegetation in the initiation of rainfall-induced shallow landslides: Insights from an extreme rainfall event in the Colorado Front Range
Luke McGuire, Francis K. Rengers, Jason W. Kean, Jeffrey A. Coe, Benjamin B. Mirus, Rex L. Baum, Jonathan W. Godt
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 9084-9092
More than 1100 debris flows were mobilized from shallow landslides during a rainstorm from 9 to 13 September 2013 in the Colorado Front Range, with the vast majority initiating on sparsely vegetated, south facing terrain. To investigate the physical processes responsible for the observed aspect control, we made measurements of...
Test of a foraging-bioenergetics model to evaluate growth dynamics of endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus)
David Deslauriers, Laura B. Heironimus, Steven R. Chipps
2016, Ecological Modelling (336) 1-12
Factors affecting feeding and growth of early life stages of the federally endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) are not fully understood, owing to their scarcity in the wild. In this study was we evaluated the performance of a combined foraging-bioenergetics model as a tool for assessing growth of age-0 pallid...
Carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of coal and carbon dioxide derived from laboratory coal combustion: A preliminary study
Peter D. Warwick, Leslie F. Ruppert
2016, International Journal of Coal Geology (166) 128-135
The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has dramatically increased from the start of the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s to present levels exceeding 400 ppm. Carbon dioxide derived from fossil fuel combustion is a greenhouse gas and a major contributor to on-going climate change. Carbon and oxygen...
The water content of recurring slope lineae on Mars
Christopher S. Edwards, Sylvain Piqueux
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 8912-8919
Observations of recurring slope lineae (RSL) from the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment have been interpreted as present-day, seasonally variable liquid water flows; however, orbital spectroscopy has not confirmed the presence of liquid H2O, only hydrated salts. Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) temperature data and a numerical heat transfer model definitively...
Holocene climate changes in eastern Beringia (NW North America) – A systematic review of multi-proxy evidence
Darrell S. Kaufman, Yarrow L. Axford, Andrew C.G. Henderson, Nicolas P. McKay, W. Wyatt Oswald, Casey Saenger, R. Scott Anderson, Hannah L. Bailey, Benjamin Clegg, Konrad Gajewski, Feng Sheng Hu, Miriam C. Jones, Charly Massa, Cody C. Routson, Al Werner, Matthew J. Wooller, Zicheng Yu
2016, Quaternary Science Reviews (147) 312-339
Reconstructing climates of the past relies on a variety of evidence from a large number of sites to capture the varied features of climate and the spatial heterogeneity of climate change. This review summarizes available information from diverse Holocene paleoenvironmental records across eastern Beringia (Alaska, westernmost Canada and adjacent seas),...
Graptemys pearlensis Ennen, Lovich, Kreiser, Selman, and Qualls 2010 – Pearl River Map Turtle
Joshua R. Ennen, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Robert L. Jones
A. G. J. Rhodin, P. C. H. Pritchard, P. P. van Dijk, Raymond A. Saumure, K.A. Buhlmann, J. B. Iverson, R.A. Mittermeier, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Conservation biology of freshwater turtles and tortoises: A compilation project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group
The Pearl River Map Turtle, Graptemys pearlensis (Family Emydidae), is a moderate-sized aquatic turtle endemic to the Pearl River drainage of Louisiana and Mississippi. This taxon has long been a cryptic species, as it was considered part of G. pulchra before 1992 and part of G. gibbonsi until 2010. Graptemys...
Estimating microcystin levels at recreational sites in western Lake Erie and Ohio
Donna S. Francy, Amie M.G. Brady, Christopher D. Ecker, Jennifer L. Graham, Erin A. Stelzer, Pamela Struffolino, Keith A. Loftin
2016, Harmful Algae (58) 23-34
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) and associated toxins, such as microcystin, are a major global water-quality issue. Water-resource managers need tools to quickly predict when and where toxin-producing cyanoHABs will occur. This could be done by using site-specific models that estimate the potential for elevated toxin concentrations that cause public...
Panarchy use in environmental science for risk and resilience planning
David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Lance H. Gunderson, Igor Linkov
2016, Environment Systems and Decisions (36) 225-228
Environmental sciences have an important role in informing sustainable management of built environments by providing insights about the drivers and potentially negative impacts of global environmental change. Here, we discuss panarchy theory, a multi-scale hierarchical concept that accounts for the dynamism of complex socio-ecological systems, especially for those systems with...
Geomorphic responses of Duluth-area streams to the June 2012 flood, Minnesota
Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Christopher A. Ellison, Christiana R. Czuba, Benjamin M. Young, Molly M. McCool, Joel T. Groten
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5104
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, completed a geomorphic assessment of 51 Duluth-area stream sites in 20 basins to describe and document the stream geomorphic changes associated with the June 2012 flood. Heavy rainfall caused flood peaks with annual exceedance probabilities of...
Use of free water by nesting lesser prairie-chickens
Samantha G. Robinson, David A. Haukos, Daniel S. Sullins, Reid T. Plumb
2016, Southwestern Naturalist (61) 187-193
The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is a grassland grouse of semiarid regions. Use of free water has been hypothesized as necessary for egg formation during drought. We assessed the use of hydrogen isotopes (deuterium, δ2H) to determine if female lesser prairie-chickens use and incorporate free water during egg formation by...
Forward modeling of gravity data using geostatistically generated subsurface density variations
Geoffrey Phelps
2016, Geophysics (81) G81-G94
Using geostatistical models of density variations in the subsurface, constrained by geologic data, forward models of gravity anomalies can be generated by discretizing the subsurface and calculating the cumulative effect of each cell (pixel). The results of such stochastically generated forward gravity anomalies can be compared with the observed gravity...
Restoring sand shinnery oak prairies with herbicide and grazing in New Mexico
Jennifer C. Zavaleta, David A. Haukos, Blake A. Grisham, Clint W. Boal, Charles Dixon
2016, Southwestern Naturalist (61) 225-232
Sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) prairies are increasingly disappearing and increasingly degraded in the Southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico. Restoring and managing sand shinnery oak prairie can support biodiversity, specific species of conservation concern, and livestock production. We measured vegetation response to four treatment combinations of herbicide...
A global review of freshwater crayfish temperature tolerance, preference, and optimal growth
Jacob T. Westhoff, Amanda E. Rosenberger
2016, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (26) 329-349
Conservation efforts, environmental planning, and management must account for ongoing ecosystem alteration due to a changing climate, introduced species, and shifting land use. This type of management can be facilitated by an understanding of the thermal ecology of aquatic organisms. However, information on thermal ecology for entire taxonomic groups is...
Delta smelt habitat in the San Francisco Estuary: A reply to Manly, Fullerton, Hendrix, and Burnham’s “Comments on Feyrer et al. Modeling the effects of future outflow on the abiotic habitat of an imperiled estuarine fish"
Frederick V. Feyrer, Ken B. Newman, Matthew Nobriga, Ted Sommer
2016, Estuaries and Coasts (39) 287-289
Manly et al. (2015) commented on the approach we (Feyrer et al. 2011) used to calculate an index of the abiotic habitat of delta smelt Hypomesus transpacificus. The delta smelt is an annual fish species endemic to the San Francisco Estuary (SFE) in California, USA. Conserving the delta smelt population...
Regulation of the hunting season as a tool for adaptive harvest management — First results for pink-footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus
Jesper Madsen, Kevin K. Clausen, Thomas K. Christensen, Fred A. Johnson
2016, Wildlife Biology (22) 204-208
Adjustment of hunting season length is often used to regulate harvest of waterbirds but the effects are disputed. We describe the first results of season length extension on the harvest of the pink-footed goose, which has been selected as the first test case of adaptive harvest management of waterbirds in...
Radiometric calibration updates to the Landsat collection
Esad Micijevic, Obaidul Haque, Nischal Mishra
2016, Conference Paper, Proceedings Volume 9972, Earth Observing Systems XXI
The Landsat Project is planning to implement a new collection management strategy for Landsat products generated at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. The goal of the initiative is to identify a collection of consistently geolocated and radiometrically calibrated images across the entire Landsat...
Landsat-7 ETM+ radiometric calibration status
Julia A. Barsi, Brian L. Markham, J. S. Czapla-Myers, Dennis L. Helder, Simon Hook, John R. Schott, Obaidul Haque
2016, Conference Paper, Proceedings Volume 9972, Earth Observing Systems XXI
Now in its 17th year of operation, the Enhanced Thematic Mapper + (ETM+), on board the Landsat-7 satellite, continues to systematically acquire imagery of the Earth to add to the 40+ year archive of Landsat data. Characterization of the ETM+ on-orbit radiometric performance has been on-going since its launch in...
Genetic variation at the MHC DRB1 locus is similar across Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) colonies regardless of plague history
Kacy R. Cobble, Katy J. Califf, Nathan E. Stone, Megan M. Shuey, Dawn Birdsell, Rebecca E. Colman, James M. Schupp, Maliha Aziz, Roger Van Andel, Tonie E. Rocke, David M. Wagner, Joseph D. Busch
2016, Ecology and Evolution (6) 2624-2651
Yersinia pestis was introduced to North America around 1900 and leads to nearly 100% mortality in prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) colonies during epizootic events, which suggests this pathogen may exert a strong selective force. We characterized genetic diversity at an MHC class II locus (DRB1) in Gunnison's prairie dog (C. gunnisoni)...
Balanced sediment fluxes in southern California’s Mediterranean-climate zone salt marshes
Jordan A. Rosencranz, Neil K. Ganju, Richard F. Ambrose, Sandra M. Brosnahan, Patrick J. Dickhudt, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Glen M. MacDonald, John Y. Takekawa, Karen M. Thorne
2016, Estuaries and Coasts (39) 1035-1049
Salt marsh elevation and geomorphic stability depends on mineral sedimentation. Many Mediterranean-climate salt marshes along southern California, USA coast import sediment during El Niño storm events, but sediment fluxes and mechanisms during dry weather are potentially important for marsh stability. We calculated tidal creek sediment fluxes within a...
National protocol framework for the inventory and monitoring of bees
Sam Droege, Joseph D. Engler, Elizabeth A. Sellers, Lee O’Brien
2016, Report
This national protocol framework is a standardized tool for the inventory and monitoring of the approximately 4,200 species of native and non-native bee species that may be found within the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). However, this protocol framework may also...
Pleistocene Lake Bonneville as an analog for extraterrestrial lakes and oceans
M.A. Chan, P. Jewell, T. J. Parker, J. Ormo, Chris Okubo, G. Komatsu
2016, Book chapter, Developments in earth surface processes, Volume 20
Geomorphic confirmation for a putative ancient Mars ocean relies on analog comparisons of coastal-like features such as shoreline feature attributes and temporal scales of process formation. Pleistocene Lake Bonneville is one of the few large, geologically young, terrestrial lake systems that exemplify well-preserved shoreline characteristics that formed quickly, on the...
The effects of anthropogenic land cover change on pollen-vegetation relationships in the American Midwest
Ellen Ruth Kujawa, Simon Goring, Andria Dawson, Randy Calcote, Eric Grimm, Sara C. Hotchkiss, Stephen T. Jackson, Elizabeth A. Lynch, Jason S. McLachlan, Jeannine-Marie St-Jacques, Charles Umbanhowar Jr., John W. Williams
2016, Anthropocene (15) 60-71
Fossil pollen assemblages provide information about vegetation dynamics at time scales ranging from centuries to millennia. Pollen-vegetation models and process-based models of dispersal typically assume stable relationships between source vegetation and corresponding pollen in surface sediments, as well as stable parameterizations of dispersal and productivity. These assumptions, however, are...
