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...
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 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...
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...
A semi-automated tool for reducing the creation of false closed depressions from a filled LIDAR-derived digital elevation model
John Wall, Daniel H. Doctor, Silvia Terziotti
2015, Conference Paper, National Cave and Karst Research Institute Symposium 5, Proceedings of the 14th Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst
Closed depressions on the land surface can be identified by ‘filling’ a digital elevation model (DEM) and subtracting the filled model from the original DEM. However, automated methods suffer from artificial ‘dams’ where surface streams cross under bridges and through culverts. Removal of these false depressions from an elevation model...
Diel resource partitioning among juvenile Atlantic Salmon, Brown Trout, and Rainbow Trout during summer
James H. Johnson, James E. McKenna Jr.
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 586-597
Interspecific partitioning of food and habitat resources has been widely studied in stream salmonids. Most studies have examined resource partitioning between two native species or between a native species and one that has been introduced. In this study we examine the diel feeding ecology and habitat use of three species...
Evaluation of multiple-frequency, active and passive acoustics as surrogates for bedload transport
Molly S. Wood, Ryan L. Fosness, Gregory Pachman, Mark Lorang, Diego Tonolla
2015, Conference Paper
The use of multiple-frequency, active acoustics through deployment of acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) shows potential for estimating bedload in selected grain size categories. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the University of Montana (UM), evaluated the use of multiple-frequency, active and passive acoustics as surrogates for bedload...
Mineral potential tracts for polymetallic Pb-Zn-Cu vein deposits (phase V, deliverable 71): Chapter I in Second projet de renforcement institutionnel du secteur minier de la République Islamique de Mauritanie (PRISM-II)
Georges Beaudoin
2015, Open-File Report 2013-1280-I
In Mauritania, mineral occurrences of the polymetallic Pb-Zn-Cu vein deposit type are found near the Florence-El Khdar shear zone in northeast Mauritania. The deposits visited were deemed representative of other similar occurrences and consist of quartz veins with trace sulfides. The low sulfide and Pb-Zn-Cu content in the quartz veins...
Mineral potential tracts for shoreline Ti-Zr placer deposits (phase V, deliverable 85): Chapter P in Second projet de renforcement institutionnel du secteur minier de la République Islamique de Mauritanie (PRISM-II)
Georges Beaudoin
2015, Open-File Report 2013-1280-P
Shoreline placer Ti deposits are composed of ilmenite, rutile, zircon, monazite, and magnetite in well-sorted, fine- to medium-grained sand in coastal dunes, beaches and inlets. In addition to titanium, zirconium, in particular, and rare earth elements (REE) have become a major source of value in shoreline placer deposits. Shoreline placer...
GOES-derived fog and low cloud indices for coastal north and central California ecological analyses
Alicia A. Torregrosa, Cindy Combs, Jeff Peters
2015, Earth and Space Science (3) 46-67
Fog and low cloud cover (FLCC) changes the water, energy, and nutrient flux of coastal ecosystems. Easy-to-use FLCC data are needed to quantify the impacts of FLC on ecosystem dynamics during hot, dry Mediterranean climate summers. FLCC indices were generated from 26,000 hourly night and day FLCC maps derived from...
Interactive access to LP DAAC satellite data archives through a combination of open-source and custom middleware web services
Brian N. Davis, Jason Werpy, Aaron M. Friesz, Kevin Impecoven, Robert Quenzer, Tom Maiersperger, David J. Meyer
2015, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters (3) 8-20
Current methods of searching for and retrieving data from satellite land remote sensing archives do not allow for interactive information extraction. Instead, Earth science data users are required to download files over low-bandwidth networks to local workstations and process data before science questions can be addressed. New methods of extracting...
Mercury concentrations of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) vary by sex
Charles P. Madenjian, James T. Francis, Jeffrey J. Braunscheidel, Joseph R. Bohr, Matthew J. Geiger, G. Mark Knottnerus
2015, Environments (2) 546-564
Patterns in relative differences in contaminant concentrations between the sexes across many species of fish may reveal clues for important behavioral and physiological differences between the sexes, and may also be useful in developing fish consumption advisories and efficient designs for programs meant to monitor contaminant levels in fish. We...
U.S. States and Territories National Tsunami Hazard Assessment: Historical record and sources for waves – Update
Paula K. Dunbar, Craig S. Weaver
2015, Report
The first U.S. Tsunami Hazard Assessment (Dunbar and Weaver, 2008) was prepared at the request of the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP). The NTHMP is a partnership formed between federal and state agencies to reduce the impact of tsunamis through hazard assessment, warning guidance, and mitigation. The assessment was...
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...
On the existence of maximum likelihood estimates for presence-only data
Trevor J. Hefley, Mevin Hooten
2015, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (6) 648-655
Presence-only data can be used to determine resource selection and estimate a species’ distribution. Maximum likelihood is a common parameter estimation method used for species distribution models. Maximum likelihood estimates, however, do not always exist for a commonly used species distribution model – the Poisson point process. We...
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...
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....
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...
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...
Double point source W-phase inversion: Real-time implementation and automated model selection
Jennifer Nealy, Gavin P. Hayes
2015, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors (249) 68-81
Rapid and accurate characterization of an earthquake source is an extremely important and ever evolving field of research. Within this field, source inversion of the W-phase has recently been shown to be an effective technique, which can be efficiently implemented in real-time. An extension to the W-phase source inversion is...
Bees: An up-close look at pollinators around the world
Sam Droege, Laurence Packer
2015, Book
While we eat, work, and sleep, bees are busy around the world. More than 20,000 species are in constant motion! They pollinate plants of all types and keep our natural world intact. In Bees, you'll find a new way to appreciate these tiny wonders. Sam Droege and Laurence Packer present...
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...
Serologic evidence of influenza A (H14) virus introduction into North America
Neus Latorre-Margalef, Andrew M. Ramey, Alinde Fojtik, David E. Stallknecht
2015, Emerging Infectious Diseases (21) 2257-2259
Although a diverse population of influenza A viruses (IAVs) is maintained among ducks, geese, shorebirds, and gulls, not all of the 16 avian hemagglutinin (HA) subtypes are equally represented (1). The 14th HA subtype, commonly known as the H14 subtype, was historically limited to isolates from the former Soviet Union...
Climate change and wildfire risk in an expanding wildland–urban interface: a case study from the Colorado Front Range Corridor
Zhihua Liu, Michael C. Wimberly, Aashis Lamsal, Terry L. Sohl, Todd Hawbaker
2015, Landscape Ecology (30) 1943-1957
Context Wildfire is a particular concern in the wildland–urban interface (WUI) of the western United States where human development occurs close to flammable natural vegetation. Objectives (1) Assess the relative influences of WUI expansion versus climate-driven fire regime change on spatial and temporal...
Kelp, cobbles, and currents: Biologic reduction of coarse grain entrainment stress
Claire C Masteller, Noah J Finnegan, Jonathan A. Warrick, Ian M. Miller
2015, Geology (43) 543-546
Models quantifying the onset of sediment motion do not typically account for the effect of biotic processes because they are difficult to isolate and quantify in relation to physical processes. Here we investigate an example of the interaction of kelp (Order Laminariales) and coarse sediment transport in the coastal zone,...
