Adaptive management for improving species conservation across the captive-wild spectrum
Stefano Canessa, Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita, Jose J. Lahoz-Monfort, Darren M Southwell, Doug P. Armstrong, Iadine Chades, Robert C Lacy, Sarah J. Converse
2016, Biological Conservation (199) 123-131
Conservation of endangered species increasingly envisages complex strategies that integrate captive and wild management actions. Management decisions in this context must be made in the face of uncertainty, often with limited capacity to collect information. Adaptive management (AM) combines management and monitoring, with the aim of updating knowledge and improving...
A method for examining the geospatial distribution of CO2 storage resources applied to the Pre-Punta Gorda Composite and Dollar Bay reservoirs of the South Florida Basin, U.S.A
Tina Roberts-Ashby, Brandon N. Ashby
2016, Marine and Petroleum Geology (77) 141-159
This paper demonstrates geospatial modification of the USGS methodology for assessing geologic CO2 storage resources, and was applied to the Pre-Punta Gorda Composite and Dollar Bay reservoirs of the South Florida Basin. The study provides detailed evaluation of porous intervals within these reservoirs and utilizes GIS to evaluate the potential...
Low-flow characteristics for streams on the Islands of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi, State of Hawaiʻi
Chui Ling Cheng
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5103
Statistical models were developed to estimate natural streamflow under low-flow conditions for streams with existing streamflow data at measurement sites on the Islands of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. Streamflow statistics used to describe the low-flow characteristics are flow-duration discharges that are equaled or exceeded between 50 and 95...
Changes in groundwater recharge under projected climate in the upper Colorado River basin
Fred D. Tillman, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Tom Pruitt
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 6968-6974
Understanding groundwater-budget components, particularly groundwater recharge, is important to sustainably manage both groundwater and surface water supplies in the Colorado River basin now and in the future. This study quantifies projected changes in upper Colorado River basin (UCRB) groundwater recharge from recent historical (1950–2015) through future (2016–2099) time periods, using...
First detection of bat white-nose syndrome in western North America
Jeffrey M. Lorch, Jonathan M. Palmer, Daniel L. Lindner, Anne Ballmann, Kyle George, Kathryn M. Griffin, Susan Knowles, John R. Huckabee, Katherine H. Haman, Christopher D. Anderson, Penny A. Becker, Joseph B. Buchanan, Jeffrey T. Foster, David S. Blehert
2016, mSphere (1)
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging fungal disease of bats caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Since it was first detected near Albany, NY, in 2006, the fungus has spread across eastern North America, killing unprecedented numbers of hibernating bats. The devastating impacts of WNS on Nearctic bat species are attributed to...
Formation of the Isthmus of Panama
Aaron O’Dea, Orangel Aguilera, Marie-Pierre Aubry, William A. Berggren, Alberto L. Cione, Anthony G. Coates, Laurel S. Collins, Simon E. Coppard, Mario A. Cozzuol, Alan de Queiroz, Herman Duque-Caro, Ron I. Eytan, David W. Farris, German M. Gasparini, Ethan L. Grosmman, Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Kenneth G. Johnson, Lloyd D. Keigwin, Nancy Knowlton, Egbert G. Leigh, Jill S. Leonard-Pingel, Hailaos A. Lessios, Peter B. Marko, Richard D. Norris, Paola G. Rachello-Dolmen, Sergio A. Restrepo-Moreno, Leopoldo Soibelzon, Robert F. Stallard, Jonathan A. Todd, Geerat J. Vermeiju, Michael O. Woodburne
2016, Science Advances (2) 1-11
The formation of the Isthmus of Panama stands as one of the greatest natural events of the Cenozoic, driving profound biotic transformations on land and in the oceans. Some recent studies suggest that the Isthmus formed many millions of years earlier than the widely recognized age of approximately 3 million...
Ectoparasitism on deep-sea fishes in the western North Atlantic: In situ observations from ROV surveys
Andrea Quattrini, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos
2016, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife (5) 217
A complete understanding of how parasites influence marine ecosystem functioning requires characterizing a broad range of parasite-host interactions while determining the effects of parasitism in a variety of habitats. In deep-sea fishes, the prevalence of parasitism remains poorly understood. Knowledge of ectoparasitism, in particular, is limited because collection methods often...
Preliminary results from exploratory sampling of wells for the California oil, gas, and groundwater program, 2014–15
Peter B. McMahon, Justin T. Kulongoski, Michael T. Wright, Michael T. Land, Matthew K. Landon, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Avner Vengosh, George R. Aiken
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1100
Introduction In 2014 and 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampled water wells in the Los Angeles Basin and southern San Joaquin Valley, California, and oil wells in the San Joaquin Valley for analysis of multiple chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers. The purpose of this reconnaissance sampling was to evaluate the utility of tracers for assessing the effects of oil...
Barriers to and opportunities for landward migration of coastal wetlands with sea-level rise
Nicholas M. Enwright, Kereen T. Griffith, Michael J. Osland
2016, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (14) 307-316
In the 21st century, accelerated sea-level rise and continued coastal development are expected to greatly alter coastal landscapes across the globe. Historically, many coastal ecosystems have responded to sea-level fluctuations via horizontal and vertical movement on the landscape. However, anthropogenic activities, including urbanization and the construction of flood-prevention infrastructure, can...
Mihi Breccia: A stack of lacustrine sediments and subaqueous pyroclastic flows within the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand
Drew T. Downs
2016, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (327) 180-191
The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand, encompasses a wide variety of arc-related strata, although most of its small-volume (non-caldera-forming) eruptions are poorly-exposed and extensively hydrothermally altered. The Mihi Breccia is a stratigraphic sequence consisting of interbedded rhyolitic pyroclastic flows and lacustrine sediments with eruption ages of 281 ± 18 to at...
Relationships of three species of bats impacted by white-nose syndrome to forest condition and management
Alexander Silvis, Roger W. Perry, W. Mark Ford
2016, General Technical Report SRS–214
Forest management activities can have substantial effects on forest structure and community composition and response of wildlife therein. Bats can be highly influenced by these structural changes, and understanding how forest management affects day-roost and foraging ecology of bats is currently a paramount conservation issue. With populations of many cave-hibernating...
Coastal bathymetry data collected in June 2014 from Fire Island, New York—The wilderness breach and shoreface
Timothy R. Nelson, Jennifer L. Miselis, Cheryl J. Hapke, Kathleen E. Wilson, Rachel E. Henderson, Owen T. Brenner, Billy J. Reynolds, Mark E. Hansen
2016, Data Series 1007
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, collected bathymetric data along the upper shoreface and within the wilderness breach at Fire Island, New York, in June 2014. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map...
Climate change perils for dioecious plant species
Kevin R. Hultine, Kevin C. Grady, Troy E. Wood, Stephen M. Shuster, John C. Stella, Thomas G. Whitham
2016, Nature Plants (2)
Climate change, particularly increased aridity, poses a significant threat to plants and the biotic communities they support. Dioecious species may be especially vulnerable to climate change given that they often exhibit spatial segregation of the sexes, reinforced by physiological and morphological specialization of each sex to different microhabitats. In dimorphic species, the overexpression...
Hepeviruses of fish
William N. Batts
Frederick S. B. Kibenge, Marcos Godoy, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Aquaculture virology
Originally reported from California, the cutthroat trout virus (CTV) has now been isolated from eight species of salmonids in North America. Early work focused on the replication and physical characteristics of the small, round virus, but not until 20 years later was it determined to be most closely related to...
Paramyxoviruses of fish
Theodore R. Meyers, William N. Batts
Frederick S. B. Kibenge, Marcos Godoy, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Aquaculture virology
The first fish paramyxovirus was isolated from normal adult Chinook salmon returning to a coastal hatchery in Oregon in the fall of 1982. Subsequently, the virus was isolated from other stocks of adult Chinook salmon and one stock of adult coho salmon in California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, leading to...
Comment on "No evidence of displacement due to wind turbines in breeding grassland songbirds"
Douglas H. Johnson
2016, The Condor (118) 674-675
A recent article published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications by Hale et al. (2014) is entitled, “No evidence of displacement due to wind turbines in breeding grassland songbirds.” The conclusion stated in that title, unfortunately, is based on inappropriate statistical analysis of data collected by the authors. In fact, their data provide evidence...
North American sturgeon otolith morphology
Marc A. Chalupnicki, Dawn E. Dittman
2016, Copeia (104) 260-266
Accurate expedient species identification of deceased sturgeon (Acipenseridae) when external physical characteristic analysis is inconclusive has become a high priority due to the endangered or threatened status of sturgeon species around the world. Examination of otoliths has provided useful information to aid in population management, age and size-class analysis, understanding...
Diel diet of fantail darter in a tributary to Lake Ontario, New York, USA
Marc A. Chalupnicki, James H. Johnson
2016, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (31) 659-664
The foraging behavior of benthic fishes in streams is seldom examined but is vital to the health of the aquatic community. We examined the feeding ecology of the fantail darter (Etheostoma flaballere) in Trout Brook, a tributary of the Salmon River in central New York, USA. Of the six...
Stratigraphy of the north polar layered deposits of Mars from high-resolution topography
Patricio Becerra, Shane Byrne, Michael M. Sori, Sarah Sutton, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (121) 1445-1471
The stratigraphy of the layered deposits of the polar regions of Mars is theorized to contain a record of recent climate change linked to insolation changes driven by variations in the planet's orbital and rotational parameters. In order to confidently link stratigraphic signals to insolation periodicities, a description of the...
Analysis of seafloor change at Breton Island, Gosier Shoals, and surrounding waters, 1869–2014, Breton National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana
James G. Flocks, Joseph F. Terrano
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1069
Characterizing bathymetric change in coastal environments is an important component in understanding shoreline evolution, especially along barrier island platforms. Bathymetric change is a function of the regional sediment budget, long-term wave and current patterns, and episodic impact from high-energy events such as storms. Human modifications may also cause changes in...
Baseline coastal oblique aerial photographs collected from Navarre Beach, Florida, to Breton Island, Louisiana, September 18–19, 2015
Karen L. M. Morgan
2016, Data Series 1008
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of the National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project, conducts baseline and storm-response photography missions to document and understand the changes in vulnerability of the Nation's coasts to extreme storms. On September 18–19, 2015, the USGS conducted an oblique aerial photographic survey...
Archive of bathymetry and backscatter data collected in 2014 nearshore Breton and Gosier Islands, Breton National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana
Nancy T. DeWitt, Jake J. Fredericks, James G. Flocks, Jennifer L. Miselis, Stanley D. Locker, Jack L. Kindinger, Julie Bernier, Kyle W. Kelso, Billy J. Reynolds, Dana S. Wiese, Trevor Browning
2016, Data Series 1005
As part of the Barrier Island Monitoring Project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted nearshore geophysical surveys off Breton and Gosier Islands, Louisiana, in July and August of 2014. To assist the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) with restoration...
Future frequencies of extreme weather events in the National Wildlife Refuges of the conterminous U.S.
Sebastian Martinuzzi, Andrew J. Allstadt, Brooke L. Bateman, Patricia J. Heglund, Anna M. Pidgeon, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Stephen J. Vavrus, Volker C. Radeloff
2016, Biological Conservation (201) 327-335
Climate change is a major challenge for managers of protected areas world-wide, and managers need information about future climate conditions within protected areas. Prior studies of climate change effects in protected areas have largely focused on average climatic conditions. However, extreme weather may have stronger effects on wildlife populations and...
The international river interface cooperative: Public domain flow and morphodynamics software for education and applications
Jonathan M. Nelson, Yasuyuki Shimizu, Takaaki Abe, Kazutake Asahi, Mineyuki Gamou, Takuya Inoue, Toshiki Iwasaki, Takaharu Kakinuma, Satomi Kawamura, Ichiro Kimura, Tomoko Kyuka, Richard R. McDonald, Mohamed Nabi, Makoto Nakatsugawa, Francisco J. Simoes, Hiroshi Takebayashi, Yasunori Watanabe
2016, Advances in Water Resources (93) 62-74
This paper describes a new, public-domain interface for modeling flow, sediment transport and morphodynamics in rivers and other geophysical flows. The interface is named after the International River Interface Cooperative (iRIC), the group that constructed the interface and many of the current solvers included in iRIC. The interface is entirely...
Multispecies cccupancy modeling as a tool for evaluating the status and distribution of Darters in the Elk River, Tennessee
Kathryn M. Potoka, Colin P. Shea, Phillip William Bettoli
2016, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (145) 1110-1121
Sixteen darter species, including the federally endangered Boulder Darter Etheostoma wapiti, are known to occur in the Elk River, a large, flow-regulated tributary of the Tennessee River, Tennessee–Alabama. Since the construction of Tims Ford Dam (TFD) in 1970, habitat modification caused by cold, hypolimnetic water releases and peak-demand hydropower generation...
