Waterbird use of catfish ponds and migratory bird habitat initiative wetlands in Mississippi
James S. Feaga, Francisco Vilella, Richard M. Kaminski, J. Brian Davis
2015, Waterbirds (38) 269-281
Aquaculture can provide important surrogate habitats for waterbirds. In response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the National Resource Conservation Service enacted the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative through which incentivized landowners provided wetland habitats for migrating waterbirds. Diversity and abundance of waterbirds in six production and four idled aquaculture...
Factors controlling the abundance of rainbow trout in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon in a reach utilized by endangered humpback chub
Josh Korman, Michael D. Yard, Charles B. Yackulic
2015, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (73) 105-124
We estimated the abundance, survival, movement, and recruitment of non-native rainbow trout in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon to determine what controls their abundance near the Little Colorado River (LCR) confluence where endangered humpback chub rear. Over a 3-year period, we tagged more than 70,000 trout and recovered over...
How spatio-temporal habitat connectivity affects amphibian genetic structure
Alexander G. Watts, P Schlichting, S Billerman, B Jesmer, S Micheletti, M.-J. Fortin, W. C. Funk, P Hapeman, Erin L. Muths, M.A. Murphy
2015, Frontiers in Genetics (6)
Heterogeneous landscapes and fluctuating environmental conditions can affect species dispersal, population genetics, and genetic structure, yet understanding how biotic and abiotic factors affect population dynamics in a fluctuating environment is critical for species management. We evaluated how spatio-temporal habitat connectivity influences dispersal and genetic structure in a population of...
Paleolimnological records of nitrogen deposition in shallow, high-elevation lakes of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA
Sarah A. Spaulding, Megan K. Otu, Alexander P. Wolfe, Jill Baron
2015, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (47) 703-717
Reactive nitrogen (Nr) from anthropogenic sources has been altering ecosystem function in lakes of the Rocky Mountains, other regions of western North America, and the Arctic over recent decades. The response of biota in shallow lakes to atmospheric deposition of Nr, however, has not been considered. Benthic algae are dominant...
Water from air: An overlooked source of moisture in arid and semiarid regions
Theresa McHugh, Ember M. Morrissey, Sasha C. Reed, Bruce A. Hungate, Egbert Schwartz
2015, Scientific Reports (5) 13767
Water drives the functioning of Earth’s arid and semiarid lands. Drylands can obtain water from sources other than precipitation, yet little is known about how non-rainfall water inputs influence dryland communities and their activity. In particular, water vapor adsorption – movement of atmospheric water vapor into soil when soil air...
The Palos Verdes Fault offshore southern California: late Pleistocene to present tectonic geomorphology, seascape evolution and slip rate estimate based on AUV and ROV surveys
Daniel S. Brothers, James E. Conrad, Katherine L. Maier, Charles K. Paull, Mary L. McGann, David W. Caress
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (120) 4734-4758
The Palos Verdes Fault (PVF) is one of few active faults in Southern California that crosses the shoreline and can be studied using both terrestrial and subaqueous methodologies. To characterize the near-seafloor fault morphology, tectonic influences on continental slope sedimentary processes and late Pleistocene to present slip rate, a grid...
Seismicity of the Earth 1900‒2013 Mediterranean Sea and vicinity
Matthew W. Herman, Gavin P. Hayes, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Rebecca Turner, Bethan Turner, Jennifer Jenkins, Sian Davies, Amy Parker, Allison Sinclair, Harley M. Benz, Kevin P. Furlong, Antonio Villaseñor
2015, Open-File Report 2010-1083-Q
The Mediterranean region is seismically active due to the convergence of the Africa Plate with the Eurasia plate. Present day Africa-Eurasia motion ranges from ~4 millimeters per year (mm/yr) in a northwest-southeast direction in the western Mediterranean to ~10 mm/yr (north-south) in the eastern Mediterranean. The Africa-Eurasia plate boundary is...
Bistability of mangrove forests and competition with freshwater plants
Jiang Jiang, Douglas O Fuller, Su Yean Teh, Lu Zhai, Hock Lye Koh, Donald L. DeAngelis, L.D.S.L. Sternberg
2015, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (213) 283-290
Halophytic communities such as mangrove forests and buttonwood hammocks tend to border freshwater plant communities as sharp ecotones. Most studies attribute this purely to underlying physical templates, such as groundwater salinity gradients caused by tidal flux and topography. However, a few recent studies hypothesize that self-reinforcing feedback between vegetation and...
Subglacial discharge at tidewater glaciers revealed by seismic tremor
Timothy C. Bartholomaus, Jason M. Amundson, Jacob I. Walter, Shad O’Neel, Michael E. West, Christopher F. Larsen
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 6391-6398
Subglacial discharge influences glacier basal motion and erodes and redeposits sediment. At tidewater glacier termini, discharge drives submarine terminus melting, affects fjord circulation, and is a central component of proglacial marine ecosystems. However, our present inability to track subglacial discharge and its variability significantly hinders our understanding of these processes....
Corn Belt soil carbon and macronutrient budgets with projected sustainable stover harvest
Zhengxi Tan, Shu-Guang Liu
2015, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (212) 119-126
Corn (Zea mays L.) stover has been identified as a prime feedstock for biofuel production in the U.S. Corn Belt because of its perceived abundance and availability, but long-term stover harvest effects on regional nutrient budgets have not been evaluated. We defined the minimum stover requirement (MSR) to maintain current soil...
Ground motion simulation for the 23 August 2011, Mineral, Virginia earthquake using physics-based and stochastic broadband methods
Xiaodan Sun, Stephen H. Hartzell, Sanaz Rezaeian
2015, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (105) 2641-2661
Three broadband simulation methods are used to generate synthetic ground motions for the 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake and compare with observed motions. The methods include a physics‐based model by Hartzell et al. (1999, 2005), a stochastic source‐based model by Boore (2009), and a stochastic site‐based model by Rezaeian and Der...
Range-wide network of priority areas for greater sage-grouse - a design for conserving connected distributions or isolating individual zoos?
Michele R. Crist, Steven T. Knick, Steven E. Hanser
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1158
The network of areas delineated in 11 Western States for prioritizing management of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) represents a grand experiment in conservation biology and reserve design. We used centrality metrics from social network theory to gain insights into how this priority area network might function. The network was...
Acoustical deterrence of Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
Brooke J. Vetter, Aaron R. Cupp, Kim T. Fredricks, Mark P. Gaikowski, Allen F. Mensinger
2015, Biological Invasions (17) 3383-3392
The invasive Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) dominate large regions of the Mississippi River drainage and continue to expand their range northward threatening the Laurentian Great Lakes. This study found that complex broadband sound (0–10 kHz) is effective in altering the behavior of Silver Carp with implications for deterrent barriers...
Potential direct and indirect effects of climate change on a shallow natural lake fish assemblage
Jason J. Breeggemann, Mark A. Kaemingk, T.J. DeBates, Craig P. Paukert, J. Krause, Alexander P. Letvin, Tanner M. Stevens, David W. Willis, Steven R. Chipps
2015, Ecology of Freshwater Fish
Much uncertainty exists around how fish communities in shallow lakes will respond to climate change. In this study, we modelled the effects of increased water temperatures on consumption and growth rates of two piscivores (northern pike [Esox lucius] and largemouth bass [Micropterus salmoides]) and examined relative effects of consumption by...
Methods for evaluating potential sources of chloride in surface waters and groundwaters of the conterminous United States
Gregory E. Granato, Leslie A. DeSimone, Jeffrey R. Barbaro, Lillian C. Jeznach
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1080
Chloride exists as a major ion in most natural waters, but many anthropogenic sources are increasing concentrations of chloride in many receiving waters. Although natural concentrations in continental waters can be as high as 200,000 milligrams per liter, chloride concentrations that are suitable for freshwater ecology, human consumption, and agricultural...
Changes in seismic velocity during the first 14 months of the 2004–2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington
A.J. Hotovec-Ellis, J.E. Vidale, Joan S. Gomberg, Weston A. Thelen, Seth C. Moran
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (120) 6226-6240
Mount St. Helens began erupting in late 2004 following an 18 year quiescence. Swarms of repeating earthquakes accompanied the extrusion of a mostly solid dacite dome over the next 4 years. In some cases the waveforms from these earthquakes evolved slowly, likely reflecting changes in the properties of the volcano that affect...
A conceptual framework and monitoring strategy for movement of saltwater in the coastal plain aquifer system of Virginia
E. Randolph Mcfarland
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5117
A conceptual framework synthesizes previous studies to provide an understanding of conditions, processes, and relations of saltwater to groundwater withdrawal in the Virginia Coastal Plain aquifer system. A strategy for monitoring saltwater movement is based on spatial relations between the saltwater-transition zone and 612 groundwater-production wells that were regulated during...
Book review: Mosquito eradication: The story of killing Campto
Dennis Lapointe
2015, American Entomologist (61) 192-192
In 1826, the paradise that was the Hawaiian Islands was changed forever when the first mosquito species was accidentally introduced to the island of Maui. Though it has not lived up to its potential as a vector of human disease in the islands, Culex quinquefasciatus and the avian pathogens it transmits laid waste to perhaps...
Soil bacterial and fungal community responses to nitrogen addition across soil depth and microhabitat in an arid shrubland
Rebecca C. Mueller, Jayne Belnap, Cheryl R. Kuske
2015, Frontiers in Microbiology (6)
Arid shrublands are stressful environments, typified by alkaline soils low in organic matter, with biologically-limiting extremes in water availability, temperature, and UV radiation. The widely-spaced plants and interspace biological soil crusts in these regions provide soil nutrients in a localized fashion, creating a mosaic pattern of plant- or crust-associated...
Documentation of input datasets for the soil-water balance groundwater recharge model of the Upper Colorado River Basin
Fred D. Tillman
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1160
The Colorado River and its tributaries supply water to more than 35 million people in the United States and 3 million people in Mexico, irrigating more than 4.5 million acres of farmland, and generating about 12 billion kilowatt hours of hydroelectric power annually. The Upper Colorado River Basin, encompassing more...
Chronicling long-term predator responses to a shifting forage base in Chesapeake Bay: an energetics approach
Anthony S. Overton, Jennifer C. Griffin, F. Joseph Margraf, Eric B. May, Kyle J. Hartman
2015, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (144) 956-966
The population of Striped Bass Morone saxatilis in Chesapeake Bay has increased significantly since the 1980s because of management efforts while the relative abundance of some key prey fish has declined since the 1970s. We examined the trophic interactions and prey consumption patterns of Striped Bass in Chesapeake Bay to determine how...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Uteland Butte Member of the Eocene Green River Formation, Uinta Basin, Utah
Ronald C. Johnson, Justin E. Birdwell, Tracey J. Mercier, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett, Heidi M. Leathers, Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3052
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered resources of 214 million barrels of oil, 329 billion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 14 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the informal Uteland Butte member of the Green River Formation, Uinta Basin, Utah....
Geophysical investigation of the pressure field produced by water guns at a pond site in La Crosse, Wisconsin
Ryan F. Adams, William S. Morrow
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1130
Three different geophysical sensor types were used to characterize the underwater pressure waves generated by the underwater firing of a seismic water gun and their suitability for establishing a pressure barrier to potentially direct or prevent the movement of the Asian carps. The sensors used to collect the seismic information...
Seasonally-dynamic presence-only species distribution models for a cryptic migratory bat impacted by wind energy development
Mark A. Hayes, Paul M. Cryan, Michael B. Wunder
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Understanding seasonal distribution and movement patterns of animals that migrate long distances is an essential part of monitoring and conserving their populations. Compared to migratory birds and other more conspicuous migrants, we know very little about the movement patterns of many migratory bats. Hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus), a cryptic, wide-ranging,...
Not to put too fine a point on it - does increasing precision of geographic referencing improve species distribution models for a wide-ranging migratory bat?
Mark A. Hayes, Katharine Ozenberger, Paul M. Cryan, Michael B. Wunder
2015, Acta Chiropterologica (17) 159-169
Bat specimens held in natural history museum collections can provide insights into the distribution of species. However, there are several important sources of spatial error associated with natural history specimens that may influence the analysis and mapping of bat species distributions. We analyzed the importance of geographic referencing and error...
