Changes in distribution of Canada geese nesting in Arkansas
David G. Krementz, M. Eliese Ronke
2015, Human-Wildlife Interactions (9) 101-109
The reintroduced Canada goose (Branta canadensis) population in Arkansas has grown in range and abundance in recent decades. We determined the geographic range of Arkansas resident Canada geese from 2004 to 2012 using volume contour maps from citizen science observations using eBird, a citizen science website, and hunter recovery locations...
Stratigraphy and morphology of the barrier platform of Breton Island, Louisiana: deltaic, marine and human influences
James G. Flocks, Jack L. Kindinger, Jennifer L. Miselis, Stanley D. Locker
2015, Coastal Sediments
Breton Island, located at the southern end of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, is part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Breton NWR is recognized as an important bird habitat and is host to one of Louisiana's largest historical brown pelican nesting colonies. Loss of island area through relative sea-level...
Understanding the Day Cent model: Calibration, sensitivity, and identifiability through inverse modeling
Magdalena Necpalova, Robert P. Anex, Michael N. Fienen, Stephen J. Del Grosso, Michael J. Castellano, John E. Sawyer, Javed Iqbal, Jose L. Pantoja, Daniel W. Barker
2015, Environmental Modelling and Software (66) 110-130
The ability of biogeochemical ecosystem models to represent agro-ecosystems depends on their correct integration with field observations. We report simultaneous calibration of 67 DayCent model parameters using multiple observation types through inverse modeling using the PEST parameter estimation software. Parameter estimation reduced the total sum of weighted squared residuals by...
Using larval fish community structure to guide long-term monitoring of fish spawning activity
Jeremy J. Pritt, Edward F. Roseman, Jason E. Ross, Robin L. DeBruyne
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 241-252
Larval fishes provide a direct indication of spawning activity and may therefore be useful for long-term monitoring efforts in relation to spawning habitat restoration. However, larval fish sampling can be time intensive and costly. We sought to understand the spatial and temporal structure of larval fish communities in the St....
Characterization of hydraulic fracturing flowback water in Colorado: Implications for water treatment
Yaal Lester, Imma Ferrer, E. Michael Thurman, Kurban A. Sitterley, Julie A. Korak, George R. Aiken, Karl G. Linden
2015, Science of the Total Environment (512-513) 637-644
A suite of analytical tools was applied to thoroughly analyze the chemical composition of an oil/gas well flowback water from the Denver–Julesburg (DJ) basin in Colorado, and the water quality data was translated to propose effective treatment solutions tailored to specific reuse goals. Analysis included bulk quality parameters, trace organic...
Expanding metal mixture toxicity models to natural stream and lake invertebrate communities
Laurie S. Balistrieri, Christopher A. Mebane, Travis S. Schmidt, William (Bill) Keller
2015, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (34) 761-776
A modeling approach that was used to predict the toxicity of dissolved single and multiple metals to trout is extended to stream benthic macroinvertebrates, freshwater zooplankton, and Daphnia magna. The approach predicts the accumulation of toxicants (H, Al, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in organisms using 3 equilibrium accumulation...
Consequences of habitat change and resource selection specialization for population limitation in cavity-nesting birds
Thomas E. Martin
2015, Journal of Applied Ecology (52) 475-485
Resource selection specialization may increase vulnerability of populations to environmental change. One environmental change that may negatively impact some populations is the broad decline of quaking aspen Populus tremuloides, a preferred nest tree of cavity-nesting organisms who are commonly limited by nest-site availability. However, the long-term consequences of...
Post-White-nose syndrome trends in Virginia’s cave bats, 2008-2013
Karen E. Powers, Richard J. Reynolds, Wil Orndorff, W. Mark Ford, Christopher S. Hobson
2015, Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment (7) 113-123
Since its 2009 detection in Virginia hibernacula, the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans causing White-nose Syndrome (WNS) has had a marked impact on cave bats locally. From 2008-2013, we documented numeric and physiologic changes in cave bats through fall swarm (FS), early hibernation (EH), and late hibernation (LH) capture and banding...
A tribute to George Plafker
Gary S. Fuis, Peter J. Haeussler, Brian F. Atwater
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 3-7
In a long and distinguished career, George Plafker made fundamental advances in understanding of megathrust tectonics, tsunami generation, paleoseismology, crustal neotectonics, and Alaskan geology, chiefly by means of geological field observations. George discovered that giant earthquakes result from tens of meters of seismic slip on subduction megathrusts, and he did this...
Twenty-five years of monitoring a Townsend's Big-Eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) maternity roost
Gary M. Fellers, Brian J. Halstead
2015, Northwestern Naturalist (96) 22-36
A Corynorhinus townsendii maternity roost located in an abandoned ranch house in central California was monitored for 25 y. Prior to the discovery of the bats in 1987, the house was broken into regularly and disturbance levels were quite high. Upon discovery of the roost, the house was fortified and vandalism was greatly...
California’s water: The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Jeffrey Mount, Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, James E. Cloern, William Fleenor, Brian Gray, Wim Kimmerer, Peter Moyle
2015, Report
The Delta is the deteriorating, fragile hub of California’s water supply system. Critical decisions about its future are pending. This publication is part of a briefing kit that highlights the state’s most pressing water management issues in nine key areas: Climate change and waterManaging droughtsPaying for waterPreparing for floods<br...
Peregrine falcon predation of endangered Laysan teal and Laysan Finches on remote Hawaiian atolls
Michelle H. Reynolds, Sarah A.B. Nash, Karen Courtot
2015, Report, HCSU Technical Report Series
We report the first records of Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) predation on endangered Laysan teal (or duck; Anas laysanensis) and predation on endangered Laysan finches (Telespiza cantans). At Midway Atoll, vagrant Peregrine falcons killed ≥4% of a newly translocated Laysan teal population in 2006 and ≥2% in 2008. On Laysan...
Testing a small UAS for mapping artisanal diamond mining sites in Africa
Katherine C. Malpeli, Peter G. Chirico
2015, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (81) 258-263
Remote sensing technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate. At the forefront of the new technological developments are unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The advent of small, lightweight, low-cost, and user-friendly UAS is greatly expanding the potential applications of remote sensing technology and improving the set of tools available to researchers...
Coastal evidence for Holocene subduction-zone earthquakes and tsunamis in central Chile
Tina Dure, Marco Cisternas, Benjamin Horton, Lisa Ely, Alan R. Nelson, Robert L. Wesson, Jessica Pilarczyk
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 93-111
The ∼500-year historical record of seismicity along the central Chile coast (30–34°S) is characterized by a series of ∼M 8.0–8.5 earthquakes followed by low tsunamis (<4 m) occurring on the megathrust about every 80 years. One exception is the AD 1730 great earthquake (M 9.0–9.5) and high tsunami (>10 m), but the...
Apparent field safety of a raccoon poxvirus-vectored plague vaccine in free-ranging prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), Colorado, USA
Daniel W. Tripp, Tonie E. Rocke, Sean P. Streich, Rachel C. Abbott, Jorge E. Osorio, Michael W. Miller
2015, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (51) 401-410
Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) suffer high rates of mortality from plague. An oral sylvatic plague vaccine using the raccoon poxvirus vector (designated RCN-F1/V307) has been developed for prairie dogs. This vaccine is incorporated into palatable bait along with rhodamine B as a biomarker. We conducted trials in August and September 2012...
Insufficient sampling to identify species affected by turbine collisions
Julie A. Beston, James E. Diffendorfer, Scott Loss
2015, Journal of Wildlife Management (79) 513-517
We compared the number of avian species detected and the sampling effort during fatality monitoring at 50 North American wind facilities. Facilities with short intervals between sampling events and high effort detected more species, but many facilities appeared undersampled. Species accumulation curves for 2 wind facilities studied for more than...
Wetland habitat disturbance best predicts metrics of an amphibian index of biotic integrity
Martin A. Stapanian, Mick Micacchion, Jean V. Adams
2015, Ecological Indicators (56) 237-242
Regression and classification trees were used to identify the best predictors of the five component metrics of the Ohio Amphibian Index of Biotic Integrity (AmphIBI) in 54 wetlands in Ohio, USA. Of the 17 wetland- and surrounding landscape-scale variables considered, the best predictor for all AmphIBI metrics was habitat alteration...
Using stable isotopes of carbon to investigate the seasonal variation of carbon transfer in a northwestern Arkansas cave
Katherine J. Knierim, Erik Pollock, Phillip D. Hays, Jam Khojasteh
2015, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies (77) 12-27
Stable-isotope analyses are valuable in karst settings, where characterizing biogeochemical cycling of carbon along groundwater flow paths is critical for understanding and protecting sensitive cave and karst water resources. This study quantified the seasonal changes in concentration and isotopic composition (δ13C) of aqueous and gaseous carbon species—dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC)...
Evaluating physical habitat and water chemistry data from statewide stream monitoring programs to establish least-impacted conditions in Washington State
Siri K. Wilmoth, Kathryn M. Irvine, Chad Larson
2015, Report
Various GIS-generated land-use predictor variables, physical habitat metrics, and water chemistry variables from 75 reference streams and 351 randomly sampled sites throughout Washington State were evaluated for effectiveness at discriminating reference from random sites within level III ecoregions. A combination of multivariate clustering and ordination techniques were used. We describe average...
Masked expression of life-history traits in a highly variable environment
Jason A. DeBoer, Joseph J. Fontaine, Christopher J. Chizinski, Kevin L. Pope
2015, Great Plains Research (25) 25-38
Differing life-history strategies may act as a constraint on reproductive expression that ultimately limits the ability of individual species to respond to changes in the magnitude or frequency of environmental variation, and potentially underlies the variation often inherent in phenotypic and evolved responses to anthropogenic change. Alternatively, if there...
Predicting ecological responses of the Florida Everglades to possible future climate scenarios: Introduction
Nicholas G. Aumen, Karl E Havens, G. Ronnie Best, Leonard Berry
2015, Environmental Management (55) 741-748
Florida’s Everglades stretch from the headwaters of the Kissimmee River near Orlando to Florida Bay. Under natural conditions in this flat landscape, water flowed slowly downstream as broad, shallow sheet flow. The ecosystem is markedly different now, altered by nutrient pollution and construction of canals, levees, and water control structures...
Energy development and avian nest survival in Wyoming, USA: A test of a common disturbance index
Matthew G. Hethcoat, Anna D. Chalfoun
2015, Biological Conservation (184) 327-334
Global energy demands continue to result in new and emerging sources of anthropogenic disturbance to populations and systems. Here, we assessed the influence of natural gas development on a critical component of fitness (nest survival) for Brewer’s sparrow (Spizella breweri), sagebrush sparrow (Artemisiospiza nevadensis), and sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus), three...
Landowner perceptions of three types of boating in the Saranac Lakes area of New York State׳s Adirondack Park
Diane Kuehn, Rudy Schuster, Erik Nordman
2015, Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism (9) 53-63
In order for natural resource managers to better understand conflicting landowner perspectives related to non-motorized, motorized, and personal watercraft use, this study examines the demographic and experiential characteristics, values, attitudes, and beliefs of landowners in the Saranac Lakes area of the Adirondack Park in New York State. A mixed-methods approach,...
Polygonal tundra geomorphological change in response to warming alters future CO2 and CH4 flux on the Barrow Peninsula
Mark J. Lara, A. David McGuire, Eugénie S. Euskirchen, Craig E. Tweedie, Kenneth M. Hinkel, Alexei N. Skurikhin, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, Guido Grosse, W. Robert Bolton, Helene Genet
2015, Global Change Biology (21) 1634-1651
The landscape of the Barrow Peninsula in northern Alaska is thought to have formed over centuries to millennia, and is now dominated by ice-wedge polygonal tundra that spans drained thaw-lake basins and interstitial tundra. In nearby tundra regions, studies have identified a rapid increase in thermokarst formation (i.e., pits) over...
Simulated high-latitude soil thermal dynamics during the past four decades
S. Peng, P. Ciais, T. Wang, I. Gouttevin, A. D. McGuire, D. Lawrence, E. Burke, X. Chen, C. Delire, C. Koven, A. MacDougall, A. Rinke, K. Saito, W. Zhang, R. Alkama, T. J. Bohn, B. Decharme, T. Hajima, D. Ji, D.P. Lettenmaier, P.A. Miller, J.C. Moore, B. Smith, T. Sueyoshi
2015, Cryosphere Discussions (9) 2301-2337
Soil temperature (Ts ) change is a key indicator of the dynamics of permafrost. On seasonal and inter-annual time scales, the variability of Ts determines the active layer depth, which regulates hydrological soil properties and biogeochemical processes. On the multi-decadal scale, increasing T 5 s not only drives permafrost thaw/retreat,...
