Genetic signatures of historical dispersal of fish threatened by biological invasions: the case of galaxiids in South America
Delphine Vanhaecke, Carlos Garcia de Leaniz, Gonzalo Gajardo, Jason Dunham, Guillermo Giannico, Sofia Consegura
2015, Journal of Biogeography (42) 1942-1952
Aim The ecological effects of biological invasions are well documented, but little is known about the effects of invaders on the genetic structure of native species. We examined the phylogeography, genetic variation and population structuring of two galaxiid fishes, Aplochiton zebraand A. taeniatus, threatened by non-native salmonids, and whose conservation is...
Moisture rivals temperature in limiting photosynthesis by trees establishing beyond their cold-edge range limit under ambient and warmed conditions
Andrew B. Moyes, Matthew J. Germino, Lara M. Kueppers
2015, New Phytologist (207) 1005-1014
Climate change is altering plant species distributions globally, and warming is expected to promote uphill shifts in mountain trees. However, at many cold-edge range limits, such as alpine treelines in the western United States, tree establishment may be colimited by low temperature and low moisture, making recruitment patterns...
Soil organic matter regulates molybdenum storage and mobility in forests
Jade A Marks, Steven S. Perakis, Elizabeth K. King, Julie Pett-Ridge
2015, Biogeochemistry (125) 167-183
The trace element molybdenum (Mo) is essential to a suite of nitrogen (N) cycling processes in ecosystems, but there is limited information on its distribution within soils and relationship to plant and bedrock pools. We examined soil, bedrock, and plant Mo variation across 24 forests spanning wide soil pH gradients...
Rethinking the longitudinal stream temperature paradigm: region-wide comparison of thermal infrared imagery reveals unexpected complexity of river temperatures
Aimee H. Fullerton, Christian E. Torgersen, Joshua J. Lawler, Russell N. Faux, E. Ashley Steel, Timothy J. Beechie, Joseph L. Ebersole, Scott J. Leibowitz
2015, Hydrological Processes (29) 4719-4737
Prevailing theory suggests that stream temperature warms asymptotically in a downstream direction, beginning at the temperature of the source in the headwaters and leveling off downstream as it converges to match meteorological conditions. However, there have been few empirical examples of longitudinal patterns of temperature in large rivers due to...
Habitat manipulation influences northern bobwhite resource selection on a reclaimed surface mine
Jarred M. Brooke, David C. Peters, Ashley M. Unger, Evan P. Tanner, Craig A. Harper, Patrick D. Keyser, Joseph D. Clark, John J. Morgan
2015, Journal of Wildlife Management (79) 1264-1276
More than 600,000 ha of mine land have been reclaimed in the eastern United States, providing large contiguous tracts of early successional vegetation that can be managed for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). However, habitat quality on reclaimed mine land can be limited by extensive coverage of non-native invasive species, which are...
Effects of changing climate on aquatic habitat and connectivity for remnant populations of a wide-ranging frog species in an arid landscape
David S. Pilliod, Robert S. Arkle, Jeanne M. Robertson, Melanie Murphy, W. Chris Funk
2015, Ecology and Evolution (5) 3979-3994
Amphibian species persisting in isolated streams and wetlands in desert environments can be susceptible to low connectivity, genetic isolation, and climate changes. We evaluated the past (1900–1930), recent (1981–2010), and future (2071–2100) climate suitability of the arid Great Basin (USA) for the Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) and assessed whether...
Loss of eelgrass in Casco Bay, Maine, linked to Green Crab disturbance
Hilary A. Neckles
2015, Northeastern Naturalist (22) 478-500
Over half of the Zostera marina (Eelgrass) cover disappeared from Casco Bay, ME, largely between 2012 and 2013. Eelgrass decline coincided with a population explosion of the invasive crab Carcinus maenas (European Green Crab). Green Crabs have been found to damage Eelgrass in Atlantic Canada through foraging activity, but destruction of established beds had...
Temperate forest health in an era of emerging megadisturbance
Constance I. Millar, Nathan L. Stephenson
2015, Science (349) 823-826
Although disturbances such as fire and native insects can contribute to natural dynamics of forest health, exceptional droughts, directly and in combination with other disturbance factors, are pushing some temperate forests beyond thresholds of sustainability. Interactions from increasing temperatures, drought, native insects and pathogens, and uncharacteristically severe wildfire are resulting...
Discovery of a novel hepatovirus (Phopivirus of seals) related to human hepatitis A virus
Anthony. S.J., J.A St. Leger, E. Liang, A.L. Hicks, M.D Sanchez-Leon, S. Ip, K. Jain, J. H. Lefkowitch, I. Navarrete-Macias, N. Knowles, T. Goldstein, K. Pugliares, T. Rowles, W.I. Lipkin
2015, mBio (6)
Describing the viral diversity of wildlife can provide interesting and useful insights into the natural history of established human pathogens. In this study, we describe a previously unknown picornavirus in harbor seals (tentatively named phopivirus) that is related to human hepatitis A virus (HAV). We show that phopivirus shares several...
Review of the USA National Phenology Network
Pierre D. Glynn, Timothy W. Owen, editor(s)
2015, Circular 1411
In January 2014, leadership from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Ecosystems Mission Area commissioned a review of the USA National Phenology Network (USA–NPN) Program. The Ecosystems Mission Area has a key stake in the USA–NPN, providing both supervision of its Director and most of the appropriated funds. The products and...
Flood-inundation maps for the St. Marys River at Decatur, Indiana
Kellan R. Strauch
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5099
Digital flood-inundation maps for an 8.9-mile reach of the St. Marys River at Decatur, Indiana, were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site...
Evaluation of statistical and rainfall-runoff models for predicting historical daily streamflow time series in the Des Moines and Iowa River watersheds
William H. Farmer, Rodney R. Knight, David A. Eash, Kasey J. Hutchinson, S. Mike Linhart, Daniel E. Christiansen, Stacey A. Archfield, Thomas M. Over, Julie E. Kiang
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5089
Daily records of streamflow are essential to understanding hydrologic systems and managing the interactions between human and natural systems. Many watersheds and locations lack streamgages to provide accurate and reliable records of daily streamflow. In such ungaged watersheds, statistical tools and rainfall-runoff models are used to estimate daily streamflow. Previous...
Local variability mediates vulnerability of trout populations to land use and climate change
Brooke E. Penaluna, Jason B. Dunham, Steve F. Railsback, Ivan Arismendi, Sherri L. Johnson, Robert E Bilby, Mohammad Safeeq, Arne E. Skaugset
2015, PLoS ONE (8)
Land use and climate change occur simultaneously around the globe. Fully understanding their separate and combined effects requires a mechanistic understanding at the local scale where their effects are ultimately realized. Here we applied an individual-based model of fish population dynamics to evaluate the role of local stream variability in...
Sea-level rise modeling handbook: Resource guide for coastal land managers, engineers, and scientists
Thomas W. Doyle, Bogdan Chivoiu, Nicholas M. Enwright
2015, Professional Paper 1815
Global sea level is rising and may accelerate with continued fossil fuel consumption from industrial and population growth. In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted more than 30 training and feedback sessions with Federal, State, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) coastal managers and planners across the northern Gulf of Mexico coast...
Application of MC1 to Wind Cave National Park: Lessons from a small-scale study: Chapter 8
David A. King, Dominique M. Bachelet, Amy J. Symstad
2015, Book chapter, Global Vegetation Dynamics: Concepts and Applications in the MC1 Model
MC1 was designed for application to large regions that include a wide range in elevation and topography, thereby encompassing a broad range in climates and vegetation types. The authors applied the dynamic global vegetation model MC1 to Wind Cave National Park (WCNP) in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota,...
Diet shifts by planktivorous and benthivorous fishes in northern Lake Michigan in response to ecosystem changes
David B. Bunnell, Bruce M. Davis, Margret Ann Chriscinske, Kevin M. Keeler, Justin G. Mychek-Londer
2015, Journal of Great Lakes Research (41) 161-171
In Lake Michigan, diets of planktivorous and benthivorous fishes have varied over the past decades, in part owing to food web changes. To update diet information and compare them to a similar effort in 1994–1995, we analyzed the diets of seven benthivorous and planktivorous fish species collected along two northern...
Estimating the effects of habitat and biological interactions in an avian community
Robert M. Dorazio, Edward F. Connor, Robert A. Askins
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
We used repeated sightings of individual birds encountered in community-level surveys to investigate the relative roles of habitat and biological interactions in determining the distribution and abundance of each species. To analyze these data, we developed a multispecies N-mixture model that allowed estimation of both positive and negative correlations between...
Ground-survey and water-quality data for selected wetlands on or near the Lower Brule Indian Reservation in South Dakota, 2012-13
Kathleen M. Neitzert, Ryan F. Thompson
2015, Data Series 949
Numerous lakes, ponds, and wetlands are located within the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. Wetlands are an important resource providing aquatic habitat for plants and animals, and acting as a natural water filtration system. Several of the wetlands on or near the reservation are of particular interest, but information on the...
Flood-inundation maps for White River at Petersburg, Indiana
Kathleen K. Fowler
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5107
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 7.7-mile reach of the White River at Petersburg, Indiana, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site at...
Flood-inundation maps for Big Creek from the McGinnis Ferry Road bridge to the confluence of Hog Wallow Creek, Alpharetta and Roswell, Georgia
Jonathan W. Musser
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3338
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 12.4-mile reach of Big Creek that extends from 260 feet above the McGinnis Ferry Road bridge to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgage at Big Creek below Hog Wallow Creek at Roswell, Georgia (02335757), were developed by the USGS in cooperation with the cities of...
Mercury and selenium accumulation in the Colorado River food web, Grand Canyon, USA
David M. Walters, E.J. Rosi-Marshall, Theodore A. Kennedy, W.F. Cross, C.V. Baxter
2015, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (34) 2385-2394
Mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) biomagnify in aquatic food webs and are toxic to fish and wildlife. The authors measured Hg and Se in organic matter, invertebrates, and fishes in the Colorado River food web at sites spanning 387 river km downstream of Glen Canyon Dam (AZ, USA). Concentrations were relatively...
Evaluation of fisher (Pekania pennanti) restoration in Olympic National Park and the Olympic Recovery Area: 2014 annual progress report
Patricia J. Happe, Kurt J. Jenkins, Thomas J. Kay, Kristy L. Pilgrim, Michael K. Schwartz, Jeffrey C. Lewis, Keith B. Aubry
2015, Natural Resource Data Series 2015-804
With the translocation and release of 90 fishers (Pekania pennanti) from British Columbia to Olympic National Park during 2008–2010, the National Park Service and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife accomplished the first phase of fisher restoration in Washington State. Beginning in 2013, we initiated a new research project to...
First national-scale reconnaissance of neonicotinoid insecticides in streams across the USA
Michelle Hladik, Dana W. Kolpin
2015, Environmental Chemistry (13) 12-20
To better understand the fate and transport of neonicotinoid insecticides, water samples were collected from streams across the United States. In a nationwide study, at least one neonicotinoid was detected in 53 % of the samples collected, with imidacloprid detected most frequently (37 %), followed by clothianidin (24 %), thiamethoxam (21 %), dinotefuran (13 %),...
Isolated cases of remote dynamic triggering in Canada detected using cataloged earthquakes combined with a matched-filter approach
Wang Bei, Rebecca M. Harrington, Yajing Liu, Hongyu Yu, Alex Carey, Nicholas van der Elst
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 5187-5196
Here we search for dynamically triggered earthquakes in Canada following global main shocks between 2004 and 2014 with MS > 6, depth < 100 km, and estimated peak ground velocity > 0.2 cm/s. We use the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) earthquake catalog to calculate β statistical values in 1° × 1° bins in 10 day windows before and after the main shocks. The statistical...
Sharpening the boundaries - 3D terracing applied to physical property inversions
Jeffrey Phillips, Robert W. Simpson
2015, Conference Paper, SEG 2015 technical program expanded abstracts
Physical property inversions typically result in smooth property distributions, without the sharp boundaries expected of true geologic sources. Here we explore the use of 3D terracing as a way to force the inverted physical properties to have sharp boundaries. Terracing during inversion is preferable to post-inversion terracing because it results...
