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...
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...
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...
Total protein concentration and diagnostic test results for gray wolf (Canis lupus) serum using Nobuto filter paper strips
Rocio F. Jara, Carolina Sepulveda, S. Ip, Michael D. Samuel
2015, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (51) 475-478
Nobuto filter paper strips are widely used for storing blood-serum samples, but the recovery of proteins from these strips following rehydration is unknown. Poor recovery of proteins could reduce the concentration of antibodies and antigens and reduce the sensitivity of diagnostic assays. We compared the protein concentration, and its association...
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...
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...
Sources of fine-grained sediment in the Linganore Creek watershed, Frederick and Carroll Counties, Maryland, 2008-10
Allen C. Gellis, Gregory B. Noe, John W. Clune, Michael K. Myers, Cliff R. Hupp, Edward R. Schenk, Gregory E. Schwarz
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5147
Sediment fingerprinting quantifies the delivery of fine-grained sediment from a watershed and sediment-budget measurements quantify the erosion and deposition of fine-grained sediment. Both approaches were used in the agricultural and forested 147-square-kilometer (km2) Linganore Creek watershed in Maryland from August 1, 2008 through December 31, 2010, to determine the sources...
A comparison between boat-based and diver-based methods for quantifying coral bleaching
David G. Zawada, Rob Ruzicka, Michael A. Colella
2015, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (467) 39-44
Recent increases in both the frequency and severity of coral bleaching events have spurred numerous surveys to quantify the immediate impacts and monitor the subsequent community response. Most of these efforts utilize conventional diver-based methods, which are inherently time-consuming, expensive, and limited in spatial scope unless they deploy large teams...
U.S. Geological Survey Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Roadmap 2014
Jill J. Cress, Michael E. Hutt, Jeff L. Sloan, Mark A. Bauer, Mark R. Feller, Susan E. Goplen
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1032
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for protecting the natural resources and heritage contained on almost 20 percent of the land in the United States. This responsibility requires acquisition of remotely sensed data throughout vast lands, including areas that are remote and potentially dangerous to access. One...
A pan-Arctic synthesis of CH4 and CO2 production from anoxic soil incubations
Claire C. Treat, Susan M. Natali, Jessica Ernakovich, Colleen M. Iverson, Massimo Lupasco, A. David McGuire, Richard J. Norby, Taniya Roy Chowdhury, Andreas Richter, Hana Santruckova, C. Schädel, Edward A.G. Schuur, Victoria L. Sloan, Merritt R. Turetsky, Mark P. Waldrop
2015, Global Change Biology (21) 2787-2803
Permafrost thaw can alter the soil environment through changes in soil moisture, frequently resulting in soil saturation, a shift to anaerobic decomposition, and changes in the plant community. These changes, along with thawing of previously frozen organic material, can alter the form and magnitude of greenhouse gas production from permafrost...
A 30-year chronosequence of burned areas in Arizona: effects of wildfires on vegetation in Sonoran Desert Tortoise (Gopherus morafkai) habitats
Daniel F. Shryock, Todd C. Esque, Felicia C. Chen
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1060
Fire is widely regarded as a key evolutionary force in fire-prone ecosystems, with effects spanning multiple levels of organization, from species and functional group composition through landscape-scale vegetation structure, biomass, and diversity (Pausas and others, 2004; Bond and Keeley 2005; Pausas and Verdu, 2008). Ecosystems subjected to novel fire regimes...
Simulating the effect of climate change on stream temperature in the Trout Lake Watershed, Wisconsin
William R. Selbig
2015, Science of the Total Environment (511-522) 11-18
The potential for increases in stream temperature across many spatial and temporal scales as a result of climate change can pose a difficult challenge for environmental managers, especially when addressing thermal requirements for sensitive aquatic species. This study evaluates simulated changes to the thermal regime of three northern Wisconsin streams...
Coastal Change Processes Project data report for oceanographic observations near Fire Island, New York, February through May 2014
Brandy N. Armstrong, John C. Warner, Jeffrey H. List, Marinna A. Martini, Ellyn T. Montgomery, Peter A. Traykovski, George Voulgaris
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1033
An oceanographic field study during February through May 2014 investigated processes that control the sediment-transport dynamics along the western part of Fire Island, New York. This report describes the project background, field program, instrumentation configuration, and locations of the sensors deployed. The data collected, including meteorological observations, are presented as...
Soil nutrient budgets following projected corn stover harvest for biofuel production in the conterminous United States
Zhengxi Tan, Shuguang Liu
2015, GCB Bioenergy (7) 175-183
Increasing demand for food and biofuel feedstocks may substantially affect soil nutrient budgets, especially in the United States where there is great potential for corn (Zea mays L) stover as a biofuel feedstock. This study was designed to evaluate impacts of projected stover harvest scenarios on budgets of soil nitrogen (N),...
Cryovolcanism in the outer solar system
Paul E. Geissler
2015, Book chapter, The encyclopedia of volcanoes
Cryovolcanism is defined as the extrusion of liquids and vapors of materials that would be frozen solid at the planetary surface temperatures of the icy bodies of the outer solar system. Active cryovolcanism is now known to occur on Saturn's moon Enceladus and on Neptune's moon Triton and is suspected...
Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey data of the Paradox and San Luis Valleys, Colorado
Lyndsay B. Ball, Benjamin R. Bloss, Paul A. Bedrosian, V. J. S. Grauch, Bruce D. Smith
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1024
In October 2011, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) contracted airborne magnetic and electromagnetic surveys of the Paradox and San Luis Valleys in southern Colorado, United States. These airborne geophysical surveys provide high-resolution and spatially comprehensive datasets characterizing the resistivity structure of the shallow subsurface of each survey region, accompanied by...
Archive of sediment data from vibracores collected in 2010 offshore of the Mississippi barrier islands
Kyle W. Kelso, James G. Flocks
2015, Data Series 903
In 2010, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center collected sediment cores from coastal waters offshore of the Mississippi barrier islands. With funding support from the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility project, 65 subaqueous sediment cores were collected over...
Chemicals of emerging concern in water and bottom sediment in the Great Lakes Basin, 2012: collection methods, analytical methods, quality assurance, and study data
Kathy Lee, Susan K. Langer, Michael A. Menheer, Donald S. Hansen, William T. Foreman, Edward T. Furlong, Zachary G. Jorgenson, Steven J. Choy, Jeremy N. Moore, JoAnn Banda, Daniel J. Gefell
2015, Data Series 910
In synoptic surveys of surface-water quality across the United States, a large group of organic chemicals associated with agricultural, household, and industrial waste have been detected. These chemicals are referred to collectively as chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) and include prescription drugs and antibiotics, over-the-counter medications, reproductive hormones, personal-care products,...
Impacts of climate change on the formation and stability of late Quaternary sand sheets and falling dunes, Black Mesa region, southern Colorado Plateau, USA
Amy L. Ellwein, Shannon Mahan, Leslie D. McFadden
2015, Quaternary International (362) 87-107
Detailed geomorphic mapping and analysis of soil-stratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of eolian sand dunes on Black Mesa, Arizona, reveal eolian sediment deposition occurred from 30 to 16 ka, followed by a period of widespread dune stabilization from 12 to 8 ka. Localized reactivation of the previously stabilized dune...
Luminescence dating of anthropogenic features of the San Luis Valley, Colorado: from stone huts to stone walls
Shannon Mahan, Rebecca A. Donlan, Barbara Maat Kardos
2015, Quaternary International (362) 50-62
The Snake Nest Wall site and the Crestone Stone Huts are in the northern San Luis Valley, Colorado, and provide a unique opportunity to date high-altitude archeological sites of unknown age and origin using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). We sampled sediment underlying foundation stones of these structures to establish a...
Integrating gene transcription-based biomarkers to understand desert tortoise and ecosystem health
Lizabeth Bowen, A. Keith Miles, K. Kristina Drake, Shannon C. Waters-Dynes, Todd C. Esque, Kenneth E. Nussear
2015, EcoHealth (12) 501-512
Tortoises are susceptible to a wide variety of environmental stressors, and the influence of human disturbances on health and survival of tortoises is difficult to detect. As an addition to current diagnostic methods for desert tortoises, we have developed the first leukocyte gene transcription biomarker panel for the desert tortoise...
Ecological drivers of variation in tool-use frequency across sea otter populations
Jessica Fujii, Katherine Ralls, M. Tim Tinker
2015, Behavioral Ecology (26) 519-526
Sea otters are well-known tool users, employing objects such as rocks or shells to break open hard-shelled invertebrate prey. However, little is known about how the frequency of tool use varies among sea otter populations and the factors that drive these differences. We examined 17 years of observational data on...
Embryonic and larval development and early behavior in grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella: implications for recruitment in rivers
Amy E. George, Duane Chapman
2015, PLoS ONE (10) 1-14
With recent findings of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella in tributaries of the Great Lakes, information on developmental rate and larval behavior is critical to efforts to assess the potential for establishment within the tributaries of that region. In laboratory experiments, grass carp were spawned and eggs and larvae reared at...
Hydrologic remediation for the Deepwater Horizon incident drove ancillary primary production increase in coastal swamps
Beth A. Middleton, Darren Johnson, Brian J Roberts
2015, Ecohydrology (8) 838-850
As coastal wetlands subside worldwide, there is an urgency to understand the hydrologic drivers and dynamics of plant production and peat accretion. One incidental test of the effects of high rates of discharge on forested wetland production occurred in response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident, in which all diversions...
Mark-recapture and mark-resight methods for estimating abundance with remote cameras: a carnivore case study
Robert S. Alanso, Brett T. McClintock, Lisa M. Lyren, Erin E. Boydston, Kevin R. Crooks
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Abundance estimation of carnivore populations is difficult and has prompted the use of non-invasive detection methods, such as remotely-triggered cameras, to collect data. To analyze photo data, studies focusing on carnivores with unique pelage patterns have utilized a mark-recapture framework and studies of carnivores without unique pelage patterns have used...
