Gene transcription in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from disparate populations
Lizabeth Bowen, A. Keith Miles, Shannon C. Waters-Dynes, Randi Meyerson, Karyn D. Rode, Todd C. Atwood
2015, Polar Biology (38) 1413-1427
Polar bears in the Beaufort (SB) and Chukchi (CS) Seas experience different environments due primarily to a longer history of sea ice loss in the Beaufort Sea. Ecological differences have been identified as a possible reason for the generally poorer body condition and reproduction of Beaufort polar bears compared to...
The influence of grain size, grain color, and suspended-sediment concentration on light attenuation: why fine-grained terrestrial sediment is bad for coral reef ecosystems
Curt D. Storlazzi, Benjamin Norris, Kurt J. Rosenberger
2015, Coral Reefs (34) 967-975
Sediment has been shown to be a major stressor to coral reefs globally. Although many researchers have tested the impact of sedimentation on coral reef ecosystems in both the laboratory and the field and some have measured the impact of suspended sediment on the photosynthetic response of corals, there has...
Sensitivity of intermittent streams to climate variations in the USA
Ken Eng, David M. Wolock, Mike Dettinger
2015, River Research and Applications (32) 885-895
There is a great deal of interest in the literature on streamflow changes caused by climate change because of the potential negative effects on aquatic biota and water supplies. Most previous studies have primarily focused on perennial streams, and there have been only a few studies examining the effect of...
Survival, growth, and tag retention in age-0 Chinook Salmon implanted with 8-, 9-, and 12-mm PIT tags
Kenneth F. Tiffan, Russell W. Perry, William P. Connor, Frank L. Mullins, Craig Rabe, Doug D Nelson
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 845-852
The ability to represent a population of migratory juvenile fish with PIT tags becomes difficult when the minimum tagging size is larger than the average size at which fish begin to move downstream. Tags that are smaller (e.g., 8 and 9 mm) than the commonly used 12-mm PIT tags are...
Peclet number as affected by molecular diffusion controls transient anomalous transport in alluvial aquifer-aquitard complexes
Yong Zhang, Christopher T. Green, Geoffrey R. Tick
2015, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (177-178) 220-238
This study evaluates the role of the Peclet number as affected by molecular diffusion in transient anomalous transport, which is one of the major knowledge gaps in anomalous transport, by combining Monte Carlo simulations and stochastic model analysis. Two alluvial settings containing either short- or long-connected hydrofacies are generated and...
Long-term shifts in the phenology of rare and endemic Rocky Mountain plants
Seth M. Munson, Anna A Sher
2015, American Journal of Botany (102) 1268-1276
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Mountainous regions support high plant productivity, diversity, and endemism, yet are highly vulnerable to climate change. Historical records and model predictions show increasing temperatures across high elevation regions including the Southern Rocky Mountains, which can have a strong influence on the performance and distribution of...
Months between rejuvenation and volcanic eruption at Yellowstone caldera, Wyoming
Christy B. Till, Jorge A. Vazquez, Jeremy W Boyce
2015, Geology (43) 695-698
Rejuvenation of previously intruded silicic magma is an important process leading to effusive rhyolite, which is the most common product of volcanism at calderas with protracted histories of eruption and unrest such as Yellowstone, Long Valley, and Valles, USA. Although orders of magnitude smaller in volume than rare caldera-forming super-eruptions,...
Lilac and honeysuckle phenology data 1956–2014
Alyssa H. Rosemartin, Ellen G. Denny, Jake F. Weltzin, R. Lee Marsh, Bruce E. Wilson, Hamed Mehdipoor, Raul Zurita-Milla, Mark D. Schwartz
2015, Scientific Data (2)
The dataset is comprised of leafing and flowering data collected across the continental United States from 1956 to 2014 for purple common lilac (Syringa vulgaris), a cloned lilac cultivar (S. x chinensis ‘Red Rothomagensis’) and two cloned honeysuckle cultivars (Lonicera tatarica ‘Arnold Red’ and L. korolkowii ‘Zabeli’). Applications of this observational dataset range from detecting...
Natural recharge estimation and uncertainty analysis of an adjudicated groundwater basin using a regional-scale flow and subsidence model (Antelope Valley, California, USA)
Adam J. Siade, Tracy Nishikawa, Peter Martin
2015, Hydrogeology Journal (23) 1267-1291
Groundwater has provided 50–90 % of the total water supply in Antelope Valley, California (USA). The associated groundwater-level declines have led the Los Angeles County Superior Court of California to recently rule that the Antelope Valley groundwater basin is in overdraft, i.e., annual pumpage exceeds annual recharge. Natural recharge consists...
Landscapes for energy and wildlife: conservation prioritization for golden eagles across large spatial scales
Jason D. Tack, Bradley C. Fedy
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Proactive conservation planning for species requires the identification of important spatial attributes across ecologically relevant scales in a model-based framework. However, it is often difficult to develop predictive models, as the explanatory data required for model development across regional management scales is rarely available. Golden eagles are a large-ranging predator...
Multiscale analysis of river networks using the R package linbin
Ethan Z. Welty, Christian E. Torgersen, Samuel J. Brenkman, Jeffrey J. Duda, Jonathan B. Armstrong
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (4) 802-809
Analytical tools are needed in riverine science and management to bridge the gap between GIS and statistical packages that were not designed for the directional and dendritic structure of streams. We introduce linbin, an R package developed for the analysis of riverscapes at multiple scales. With this software, riverine data...
Terrain parameters of glide snow avalanches and a simple spatial glide snow avalanche model
Erich H. Peitzsch, Jordy Hendrikx, Daniel B. Fagre
2015, Cold Regions Science and Technology (120) 237-250
Glide snow avalanches are dangerous and difficult to predict. Despite substantial recent research there is still inadequate understanding regarding the controls of glide snow avalanche release. Glide snow avalanches often occur in similar terrain or the same locations annually, and repeat observations and prior work suggest that specific topography...
Mortality patterns and detection bias from carcass data: An example from wolf recovery in Wisconsin
Jennifer L. Stenglein, Timothy R. Van Deelen, Adrian P. Wydeven, David J. Mladenoff, Jane E. Wiedenhoft, Nancy K. Businga, Julia A. Langenberg, Nancy J. Thomas, Dennis M. Heisey
2015, Journal of Wildlife Management (79) 1173-1184
We developed models and provide computer code to make carcass recovery data more useful to wildlife managers. With these tools, wildlife managers can understand the spatial, temporal (e.g., across time periods, seasons), and demographic patterns in mortality causes from carcass recovery datasets. From datasets of radio-collared and non-collared carcasses, managers...
Numerical simulation of groundwater flow, resource optimization, and potential effects of prolonged drought for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, central Oklahoma
Derek W. Ryter, Christopher D. Kunkel, Steven M. Peterson, Jonathan P. Traylor
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5167
A hydrogeological study including two numerical groundwater-flow models was completed for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area of central Oklahoma. One numerical groundwater-flow model, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation model, encompassed the jurisdictional area and was based on the results of a regional-scale hydrogeological study and numerical groundwater flow model...
Desert grassland responses to climate and soil moisture suggest divergent vulnerabilities across the southwestern United States
Jennifer Gremer, John B. Bradford, Seth M. Munson, Michael C. Duniway
2015, Global Change Biology (21) 4049-4062
Climate change predictions include warming and drying trends, which are expected to be particularly pronounced in the southwestern United States. In this region, grassland dynamics are tightly linked to available moisture, yet it has proven difficult to resolve what aspects of climate drive vegetation change. In part, this is because...
Assessing juvenile salmon rearing habitat and associated predation risk in a lower Snake River reservoir
Kenneth F. Tiffan, James R. Hatten, David A Trachtenbarg
2015, River Research and Applications (32) 1030-1038
Subyearling fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Columbia River basin exhibit a transient rearing strategy and depend on connected shoreline habitats during freshwater rearing. Impoundment has greatly reduced the amount of shallow-water rearing habitat that is exacerbated by the steep topography of reservoirs. Periodic dredging creates opportunities to strategically place...
Detecting mismatches of bird migration stopover and tree phenology in response to changing climate
Jherime L. Kellermann, Charles van Riper III
2015, Oecologia (178) 1227-1238
Migratory birds exploit seasonal variation in resources across latitudes, timing migration to coincide with the phenology of food at stopover sites. Differential responses to climate in phenology across trophic levels can result in phenological mismatch; however, detecting mismatch is sensitive to methodology. We examined patterns of migrant abundance and tree...
Hydrologic budget and conditions of Permian, Pennsylvanian, and Mississippian aquifers in the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province
Kurt J. McCoy, Richard M. Yager, David L. Nelms, David E. Ladd, Jack Monti, Jr., Mark D. Kozar
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5106
In response to challenges to groundwater availability posed by historic land-use practices, expanding development of hydrocarbon resources, and drought, the U.S. Geological Survey Groundwater Resources Program began a regional assessment of the Appalachian Plateaus aquifers in 2013 that incorporated a hydrologic landscape approach to estimate all components of the hydrologic...
Strong ground motion inferred from liquefaction caused by the 1811-1812 New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes
Thomas L. Holzer, Thomas E. Noce, Michael J. Bennett
2015, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (105) 2589-2603
Peak ground accelerations (PGAs) in the epicentral region of the 1811–1812 New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes are inferred from liquefaction to have been no greater than ∼0.35g. PGA is inferred in an 11,380 km2 area in the Lower Mississippi Valley in Arkansas and Missouri where liquefaction was extensive in 1811–1812. PGA was inferred...
U.S. Geological Survey Noble Gas Laboratory’s standard operating procedures for the measurement of dissolved gas in water samples
Andrew G. Hunt
2015, Techniques and Methods 5-A11
This report addresses the standard operating procedures used by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Noble Gas Laboratory in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., for the measurement of dissolved gases (methane, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide) and noble gas isotopes (helium-3, helium-4, neon-20, neon-21, neon-22, argon-36, argon-38, argon-40, kryton-84, krypton-86, xenon-103, and xenon-132) dissolved...
Distribution and movements of Alaska-breeding Steller's Eiders in the nonbreeding period
Philip D. Martin, David C. Douglas, Tim Obritschkewitsch, Shannon Torrence
2015, The Condor (117) 341-353
Streamflow gains and losses in the Colorado River in northwestern Burnet and southeastern San Saba Counties, Texas
Christopher L. Braun, Scott D. Grzyb
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5098
In October 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District, began an assessment to better understand if and where groundwater from the Ellenburger-San Saba aquifer is discharging to the Colorado River, and if and where Colorado River streamflow is recharging the Ellenburger-San Saba...
Simulation of groundwater flow and analysis of the effects of water-management options in the North Platte Natural Resources District, Nebraska
Steven M. Peterson, Amanda T. Flynn, Joseph Vrabel, Derek W. Ryter
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5093
The North Platte Natural Resources District (NPNRD) has been actively collecting data and studying groundwater resources because of concerns about the future availability of the highly inter-connected surface-water and groundwater resources. This report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the North Platte Natural Resources District, describes a...
Organic and inorganic composition and microbiology of produced waters from Pennsylvania shale gas wells
Denise M. Akob, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Darren S. Dunlap, Elisabeth L. Rowan, Michelle M. Lorah
2015, Applied Geochemistry (60) 116-125
Hydraulically fractured shales are becoming an increasingly important source of natural gas production in the United States. This process has been known to create up to 420 gallons of produced water (PW) per day, but the volume varies depending on the formation, and the characteristics of individual hydraulic fracture. PW...
Normalization of stable isotope data for carbonate minerals: implementation of IUPAC guideline
Sang-Tae Kim, Tyler B. Coplen, Juske Horita
2015, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (158) 276-289
Carbonate minerals provide a rich source of geochemical information because their δ13C and δ18O values provide information about surface and subsurface Earth processes. However, a significant problem is that the same δ18O value is not reported for the identical carbonate sample when analyzed in different isotope laboratories in spite...
