Life-history tradeoffs and reproductive cycles in Spotted Owls
Ricka E. Stoelting, R. J. Gutierrez, William L. Kendall, M. Zachariah Peery
2015, The Auk (132) 46-64
The study of tradeoffs among life-history traits has long been key to understanding the evolution of life-history strategies. However, more recently, evolutionary ecologists have realized that reproductive costs have the potential to influence population dynamics. Here, we tested for costs of reproduction in the California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis), and...
The continuing medical mystery of Balkan Endemic Nephropathy
Lynn M. Crosby, Calin A. Tatu, William H. Orem, Nikola Pavlovic MD PhD
2015, Journal of Rare Diseases (3) 22-37
Balkan Endemic Nephropathy (BEN) is a disease of subtle onset and insidious progression that typically occurs between the 4th and 6th decade in long‐resident individuals in highly specific geographic locations of the Balkan region and affects 1 – 5% of the population. Though it does not follow typical Mendelian genetics,...
Could high salinity be used to control bullfrogs in small ponds?
David L. Ward, Colton Finch, Heidi Blasius
2015, Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science (46) 50-52
We examined survival of bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) eggs and tadpoles at 3 ppt and 6 ppt salinity in the laboratory to determine if low-level salinity could be used to eradicate bullfrogs from small ponds that contain native fishes. Bullfrog eggs and tadpoles <10 days old experienced 100% mortality when held...
Spatial and temporal migration of a landfill leachate plume in alluvium
Jason R. Masoner, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
2015, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (226)
Leachate from unlined or leaky landfills can create groundwater contaminant plumes that last decades to centuries. Understanding the dynamics of leachate movement in space and time is essential for monitoring, planning and management, and assessment of risk to groundwater and surface-water resources. Over a 23.4-year period (1986–2010), the spatial extent...
Adaptive management
Craig R. Allen, Ahjond S. Garmestani
Craig R. Allen, Ahjond S. Garmestani, editor(s)
2015, Book chapter, Adaptive management of social-ecological systems
Adaptive management is an approach to natural resource management that emphasizes learning through management where knowledge is incomplete, and when, despite inherent uncertainty, managers and policymakers must act. Unlike a traditional trial and error approach, adaptive management has explicit structure, including a careful elucidation of goals, identification of alternative management...
Karst of the Mid-Atlantic region in Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia
Daniel H. Doctor, David J. Weary, David K. Brezinski, Randall C. Orndorff, Lawrence E. Spangler
David K. Brezinski, Jeffrey Halka, Richard A. Ortt Jr., editor(s)
2015, Book chapter, Tripping from the Fall Line: Field Excursions for the GSA Annual Meeting, Baltimore, 2015
The Mid-Atlantic region hosts some of the most mature karst landscapes in North America, developed in highly deformed rocks within the Piedmont and Valley and Ridge physiographic provinces. This guide describes a three-day excursion to examine karst development in various carbonate rocks by following Interstate 70 west from Baltimore across...
Spatial and temporal variation in marine birds in the north Gulf of Alaska: The value of marine bird monitoring within Gulf Watch Alaska
Kathy J. Kuletz, Daniel Esler
2015, Report, Quantifying temporal and spatial ecosystem variability across the Northern Gulf of Alaska to understand mechanisms of change: Science synthesis report for the Gulf Watch Alaska Program
Birds offer useful insights into marine ecosystems. Marine birds are responsive to spatial and temporal variation in the environment, that often originates with fluctuations in oceanographic and climatic drivers and permeates up through food webs to conspicuous top predators such as seabirds (Coyle and Pinchuk 2005, Speckman et al. 2005,...
Hydraulic modeling development and application in water resources engineering
Francisco J. Simoes
Chih Ted Yang, Lawrence K. Wang, editor(s)
2015, Book chapter, Advances in water resources engineering
The use of modeling has become widespread in water resources engineering and science to study rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal regions. For example, computer models are commonly used to forecast anthropogenic effects on the environment, and to help provide advanced mitigation measures against catastrophic events such as natural and dam-break...
Implications of climate and land use change
Jefferson S. Hall, Enrique Murgueitio, Zoraida Calle, Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne, Robert F. Stallard, Patricia Balvanera
Jefferson S. Hall, Vanessa Kirn, Estrella Yanguas-Fernandez, editor(s)
2015, Book chapter, Managing watersheds for ecosystem services in the steepland neotropics
This chapter relates ecosystem services to climate change and land use. The bulk of the chapter focuses on ecosystem services and steepland land use in the humid Neotropics – what is lost with land-cover changed, and what is gained with various types of restoration that are sustainable given private ownership....
A 2-D process-based model for suspended sediment dynamics: A first step towards ecological modeling
F. M. Achete, M. van der Wegen, D. Roelvink, B. Jaffe
2015, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (19) 2837-2857
In estuaries suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is one of the most important contributors to turbidity, which influences habitat conditions and ecological functions of the system. Sediment dynamics differs depending on sediment supply and hydrodynamic forcing conditions that vary over space and over time. A robust sediment transport model is a...
Cr(VI) occurrence and geochemistry in water from public-supply wells in California
John A. Izbicki, Michael Wright, Whitney A. Seymour, R. Blaine McCleskey, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz, Bradley K. Esser
2015, Applied Geochemistry (63) 203-217
Hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), in 918 wells sampled throughout California between 2004 and 2012 by the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment-Priority Basin Project (GAMA-PBP) ranged from less than the study reporting limit of 1 microgram per liter (μg/L) to 32 μg/L. Statewide, Cr(VI) was reported in 31 percent of wells and equaled...
A spatial individual-based model predicting a great impact of copious sugar sources and resting sites on survival of Anopheles gambiae and malaria parasite transmission
Lin Zhu, Whitney A. Qualls, John M Marshall, Kris L. Arheart, Donald L. DeAngelis, John W. McManus, Sekou F. Traore, Seydou Doumbia, Yosef Schlein, Gunter C. Muller, John C. Beier
2015, Malaria Journal (14)
BackgroundAgent-based modelling (ABM) has been used to simulate mosquito life cycles and to evaluate vector control applications. However, most models lack sugar-feeding and resting behaviours or are based on mathematical equations lacking individual level randomness and spatial components of mosquito life. Here, a spatial individual-based...
Context of ancient aqueous environments on Mars from in situ geologic mapping at Endeavour Crater
L.S. Crumpler, R. E. Arvidson, J. Bell, B. C. Clark, B. A. Cohen, W. H. Farrand, Ralf Gellert, M. Golombek, J. A. Grant, E. Guinness, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, J. R. Johnson, B. Jolliff, D. W. Ming, D. W. Mittlefehldt, T. Parker, J. W. Rice Jr., S. W. Squyres, R. Sullivan, A. S. Yen
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (120) 538-569
Using the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, we have compiled one of the first field geologic maps on Mars while traversing the Noachian terrain along the rim of the 22 km diameter Endeavour Crater (Latitude −2°16′33″, Longitude −5°10′51″). In situ mapping of the petrographic, elemental, structural, and stratigraphic characteristics of outcrops and rocks...
Effects of gill-net trauma, barotrauma, and deep release on postrelease mortality of Lake Trout
Elizabeth L. Ng, Jim P. Fredericks, Michael C. Quist
2015, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (6) 265-277
Unaccounted postrelease mortality violates assumptions of many fisheries studies, thereby biasing parameter estimates and reducing efficiency. We evaluated effects of gill-net trauma, barotrauma, and deep-release treatment on postrelease mortality of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush. Lake trout were captured at depths up to 65 m with gill nets in Priest Lake, Idaho,...
Effects of climate and plant phenology on recruitment of moose at the southern extent of their range
Kevin L. Monteith, Robert W. Klaver, Kent Hersey, A. Andrew Holland, Timothy P. Thomas, Matthew Kauffman
2015, Oecologia (178) 1137-1148
Climate plays a fundamental role in limiting the range of a species, is a key factor in the dynamics of large herbivores, and is thought to be involved in declines of moose populations in recent decades. We examined effects of climate and growing-season phenology on recruitment (8–9 months old) of...
Baseline blood Pb levels of black-necked stilts on the upper Texas coast
Thomas V. Riecke, Warren C. Conway, David A. Haukos, Jena A. Moon, Christopher E. Comer
2015, Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (95) 465-469
There are no known biological requirements for lead (Pb), and elevated Pb levels in birds can cause a variety of sub-lethal effects and mortality. Historic and current levels of Pb in mottled ducks (Anas fulvigula) suggest that environmental sources of Pb remain available on the upper Texas coast....
Population density influences dispersal in female white-tailed deer
Clayton L. Lutz, Duane R. Diefenbach, Christopher S. Rosenberry
2015, Journal of Mammalogy (96) 494-501
Dispersal behavior in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) predominantly occurs in 1-year-old males; however, females of the same age also disperse. The timing of female dispersal during fawning season and low dispersal rates suggest that competition for mates and reduced inbreeding are not ultimate causes of female dispersal, as suggested for...
The effects of flow and stream characteristics on the variation in freshwater mussel growth in a Southeast US river basin
Justin C. Dycus, Jason M. Wisniewski, James T. Peterson
2015, Freshwater Biology (60) 395-409
Summary The evaluation of the age and growth of animal populations is essential for understanding and predicting how populations will respond to changes in environmental conditions and anthropogenic stressors. We used a novel, von Bertalanffy hierarchical modelling approach to quantify relationships between the growth of three freshwater mussel...
Book review: Bumble bees of North America
Samuel O’Dell
2015, The Prairie Naturalist (47) 117-118
Bumblebee identification is generally considered straightforward, yet mistakes often are made due to the degree of similarity between the color patterns of different species. Bumble Bees of North America aims to improve the accuracy of identifications by both casual observers and professionals through the use of intuitive diagrams, descriptions, and...
Evidence for skipped spawning in a potamodromous cyprinid, humpback chub (Gila cypha), with implications for demographic parameter estimates
Kristen Nicole Pearson, William L. Kendall, Dana L. Winkelman, William R. Persons
2015, Fisheries Research (170) 50-59
Our findings reveal evidence for skipped spawning in a potamodromous cyprinid, humpback chub (HBC; Gila cypha ). Using closed robust design mark-recapture models, we found, on average, spawning HBC transition to the skipped spawning state (<img class="imgLazyJSB inlineImage" title="View the MathML source" src="http://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0165783615001563-si1.gif"...
Breeding habitat associations and predicted distribution of an obligate tundra-breeding bird, Smith's Longspur
Teri C. Wild, Steven J. Kendall, Nikki Guldager, Abby N. Powell
2015, The Condor (117) 3-17
Smith's Longspur (Calcarius pictus) is a species of conservation concern which breeds in Arctic habitats that are expected to be especially vulnerable to climate change. We used bird presence and habitat data from point-transect surveys conducted at 12 sites across the Brooks Range, Alaska, 2003–2009, to identify breeding areas, describe...
Blood lead exposure concentrations in mottled ducks (Anas fulvigula) on the upper Texas coast
Stephen K. McDowell, Warren C. Conway, David A. Haukos, Jena A. Moon, Christopher E. Comer, I-Kuai Hung
2015, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (2) 221-228
The mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) is a non-migratory waterfowl species dependent upon coastal marsh systems, including those on the Texas Chenier Plain National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex, and considered a regional indicator species of marsh habitat quality. Research from the early 1970s, 1990s, and early-2000s indicated that mottled ducks continued...
Using spatiotemporal statistical models to estimate animal abundance and infer ecological dynamics from survey counts
Paul B. Conn, Devin S. Johnson, Jay M. Ver Hoef, Mevin Hooten, Joshua M. London, Peter L. Boveng
2015, Ecological Monographs (85) 235-252
Ecologists often fit models to survey data to estimate and explain variation in animal abundance. Such models typically require that animal density remains constant across the landscape where sampling is being conducted, a potentially problematic assumption for animals inhabiting dynamic landscapes or otherwise exhibiting considerable spatiotemporal variation in density. We...
Monitoring digestibility of forages for herbivores: a new application for an old approach
Lindsey L. Vansomeren, Perry S. Barboza, Daniel P. Thompson, David D. Gustine
2015, Canadian Journal of Zoology (93) 187-195
Ruminant populations are often limited by how well individuals are able to acquire nutrients for growth, maintenance, and reproduction. Nutrient supply to the animal is dictated by the concentration of nutrients in feeds and the efficiency of digesting those nutrients (i.e., digestibility). Many different methods have been used to measure...
Predicting effects of environmental change on a migratory herbivore
R. A. Stillman, K. A. Wood, Whelan Gilkerson, E. Elkinton, J. M. Black, David H. Ward, M. Petrie
2015, Ecosphere (6) 1-19
Changes in climate, food abundance and disturbance from humans threaten the ability of species to successfully use stopover sites and migrate between non‐breeding and breeding areas. To devise successful conservation strategies for migratory species we need to be able to predict how such changes will affect both individuals and populations....
