Sampling animal sign in heterogeneous environments: how much is enough?
Joseph D. Holbrook, Robert S. Arkle, Janet L. Rachlow, Kerri T. Vierling, David S. Pilliod
2015, Journal of Arid Environments (119) 51-55
Animal ecologists often use animal sign as a surrogate for direct observation of organisms, especially when species are secretive or difficult to observe. Spatial heterogeneity in arid environments makes it challenging to consistently detect and precisely characterize animal sign, which can bias estimates of animal abundance or habitat use. Piute...
Targeting climate diversity in conservation planning to build resilience to climate change
Nicole E. Heller, Jason R. Kreitler, David Ackerly, Stuart Weiss, Amanda Recinos, Ryan Branciforte, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, Elisabeth Micheli
2015, Ecosphere (6) 1-20
Climate change is raising challenging concerns for systematic conservation planning. Are methods based on the current spatial patterns of biodiversity effective given long-term climate change? Some conservation scientists argue that planning should focus on protecting the abiotic diversity in the landscape, which drives patterns of biological diversity, rather than focusing...
Patterns and causes of observed piñon pine mortality in the southwestern United States
Arjan J.H. Meddens, Jeff H. Hicke, Alison K. Macalady, P.C. Buotte, T.R. Cowles, Craig D. Allen
2015, New Phytologist (206) 91-97
Recently, widespread piñon pine die-off occurred in the southwestern United States. Here we synthesize observational studies of this event and compare findings to expected relationships with biotic and abiotic factors. Agreement exists on the occurrence of drought, presence of bark beetles and increased mortality of larger trees. However, studies disagree...
Developing objectives with multiple stakeholders: adaptive management of horseshoe crabs and Red Knots in the Delaware Bay
Conor P. McGowan, James E. Lyons, David Smith
2015, Environmental Management (55) 972-982
Structured decision making (SDM) is an increasingly utilized approach and set of tools for addressing complex decisions in environmental management. SDM is a value-focused thinking approach that places paramount importance on first establishing clear management objectives that reflect core values of stakeholders. To be useful for management, objectives must be...
Soil respiration patterns and controls in limestone cedar glades
Jennifer M. Cartwright, Dafeng Hui
2015, Plant and Soil (389) 157-169
Aims Drivers of soil respiration (Rs) in rock outcrop ecosystems remain poorly understood. We investigated these drivers in limestone cedar glades, known for their concentrations of endemic plant species and for seasonal hydrologic extremes (xeric and saturated conditions), and compared our findings to those in temperate grasslands and semi-arid ecosystems. Methods We measured...
Summer diel diet and feeding periodicity of four species of cyprinids in the Salmon River, New York
James H. Johnson
2015, American Midland Naturalist (173) 326-334
The diel diet composition and feeding periodicity of Luxilus cornutus (common shiner), Exoglossum maxillingua (cutlip minnow), Semotilus corporalis (fallfish), and Notropis hudsonius (spottail shiner) were examined in the Salmon River, New York over a 24 h period during the summer. Chironomids were the major prey of common shiner (60.6%) and...
Terrestrial ecology of semi-aquatic giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas)
Brian J. Halstead, Shannon M. Skalos, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza
2015, Herpetological Conservation and Biology (10) 633-644
Wetlands are a vital component of habitat for semiaquatic herpetofauna, but for most species adjacent terrestrial habitats are also essential. We examined the use of terrestrial environments by Giant Gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) to provide behavioral information relevant to conservation of this state and federally listed threatened species. We used radio...
Hydrologic conditions in Massachusetts during water year 2014
Richard J. Verdi
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1056
Hydrologic data and conditions throughout Massachusetts during water year 2014 (October 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014) are presented in this report. Stream discharge and groundwater levels during water year 2014 varied geographically across the State. The data are described as being above, below, or near normal in relation to...
Radar attenuation and temperature within the Greenland Ice Sheet
Joseph A MacGregor, Jilu Li, John D Paden, Ginny A Catania, Gary D. Clow, Mark A Fahnestock, Prasad S. Gogineni, Robert E. Grimm, Mathieu Morlighem, Soumyaroop Nandi, Helene Seroussi, David E Stillman
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (120) 1-26
The flow of ice is temperature-dependent, but direct measurements of englacial temperature are sparse. The dielectric attenuation of radio waves through ice is also temperature-dependent, and radar sounding of ice sheets is sensitive to this attenuation. Here we estimate depth-averaged radar-attenuation rates within the Greenland Ice Sheet from airborne radar-sounding...
Evaluation of the Ott Hydromet Qliner for measuring discharge in laboratory and field conditions
Jason C. McVay
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1052
The U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the University of Iowa IIHR – Hydroscience and Engineering, evaluated the use of the Ott Hydromet Qliner using laboratory flume tests along with field validation tests. Analysis of the flume testing indicates the velocities measured by the Qliner at a 40-second exposure time...
Climatology of extreme daily precipitation in Colorado and its diverse spatial and seasonal variability
Kelly M. Mahoney, F. Martin Ralph, Klaus Walter, Nolan Doesken, Michael D. Dettinger, Daniel Gottas, Timothy Coleman, Allen White
2015, Journal of Hydrometeorology (16) 781-792
The climatology of Colorado’s historical extreme precipitation events shows a remarkable degree of seasonal and regional variability. Analysis of the largest historical daily precipitation totals at COOP stations across Colorado by season indicates that the largest recorded daily precipitation totals have ranged from less than 60 mm day−1 in some areas...
Geologic control on the evolution of the inner shelf morphology offshore of the Mississippi barrier islands, northern Gulf of Mexico, USA
James G. Flocks, Jack L. Kindinger, Kyle W. Kelso
2015, Continental Shelf Research (101) 59-70
Between 2008 and 2013, high-resolution geophysical surveys were conducted around the Mississippi barrier islands and offshore. The sonar surveys included swath and single-beam bathymetry, sidescan, and chirp subbottom data collection. The geophysical data were groundtruthed using vibracore sediment collection. The results provide insight into the evolution of the inner shelf...
Associations between water physicochemistry and Prymnesium parvum presence, abundance, and toxicity in west Texas reservoirs
Matthew M. VanLandeghem, Mukhtar Farooqi, Greg M. Southard, Reynaldo Patino
2015, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (51) 471-486
Toxic blooms of golden alga (Prymnesium parvum) have caused substantial ecological and economic harm in freshwater and marine systems throughout the world. In North America, toxic blooms have impacted freshwater systems including large reservoirs. Management of water chemistry is one proposed option for golden alga control in these systems. The...
Prevalence and genetic diversity of haematozoa in South American waterfowl and evidence for intercontinental redistribution of parasites by migratory birds
Matthew M. Smith, Andrew M. Ramey
2015, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife (4) 22-28
To understand the role of migratory birds in the movement and transmission of haematozoa within and between continental regions, we examined 804 blood samples collected from eleven endemic species of South American waterfowl in Peru and Argentina for infection by Haemoproteus, Plasmodium, and/or Leucocytozono blood parasites. Infections were detected in...
Episodic Holocene eruption of the Salton Buttes rhyolites, California, from paleomagnetic, U-Th, and Ar/Ar dating
Heather M. Wright, Jorge A. Vazquez, Duane E. Champion, Andrew T. Calvert, Margaret T. Mangan, Mark E. Stelten, Kari M. Cooper, Charles Herzig, Alexander Schriener
2015, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (16) 1198-1210
In the Salton Trough, CA, five rhyolite domes form the Salton Buttes: Mullet Island, Obsidian Butte, Rock Hill, North and South Red Hill, from oldest to youngest. Results presented here include 40Ar/39Ar anorthoclase ages, 238U-230Th zircon crystallization ages, and comparison of remanent paleomagnetic directions with the secular variation curve, which indicate...
Desertification, salinization, and biotic homogenization in a dryland river ecosystem
S. Miyazono, Reynaldo Patino, C.M. Taylor
2015, Science of the Total Environment (511) 444-453
This study determined long-term changes in fish assemblages, river discharge, salinity, and local precipitation, and examined hydrological drivers of biotic homogenization in a dryland river ecosystem, the Trans-Pecos region of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte (USA/Mexico). Historical (1977-1989) and current (2010-2011) fish assemblages were analyzed by rarefaction analysis (species...
Spatiotemporal associations of reservoir nutrient characteristics and the invasive, harmful alga Prymnesium parvum in West Texas
Matthew M. VanLandeghem, Mukhtar Farooqi, Greg M. Southard, Reynaldo Patino
2015, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (51) 487-501
Golden alga (Prymnesium parvum) is a harmful alga that has caused ecological and economic harm in freshwater and marine systems worldwide. In inland systems of North America, toxic blooms have nearly eliminated fish populations in some systems. Modifying nutrient profiles through alterations to land or water use may be a...
Modeled intermittency risk for small streams in the Upper Colorado River Basin under climate change
Lindsay V. Reynolds, Patrick B. Shafroth, N. LeRoy Poff
2015, Journal of Hydrology (523) 768-780
Longer, drier summers projected for arid and semi-arid regions of western North America under climate change are likely to have enormous consequences for water resources and river-dependent ecosystems. Many climate change scenarios for this region involve decreases in mean annual streamflow, late summer precipitation and late-summer streamflow in the coming...
A real-time, quantitative PCR protocol for assessing the relative parasitemia of Leucocytozoon in waterfowl
Matthew M. Smith, Joel A. Schmutz, Chloe Apelgren, Andrew M. Ramey
2015, Journal of Microbiological Methods (111) 72-77
Microscopic examination of blood smears can be effective at diagnosing and quantifying hematozoa infections. However, this method requires highly trained observers, is time consuming, and may be inaccurate for detection of infections at low levels of parasitemia. To develop a molecular methodology for identifying and quantifying Leucocytozoon parasite infection in...
Characterization of Missouri surface waters near point sources of pollution reveals potential novel atmospheric route of exposure for bisphenol A and wastewater hormonal activity pattern
Christopher D. Kassotis, David A. Alvarez, Julia A. Taylor, Frederick S. vom Saal, Susan C. Nagel, Donald E. Tillitt
2015, Science of the Total Environment (524-525) 384-393
Surface water contamination by chemical pollutants increasingly threatens water quality around the world. Among the many contaminants found in surface water, there is growing concern regarding endocrine disrupting chemicals, based on their ability to interfere with some aspect of hormone action in exposed organisms, including humans. This study assessed water...
Foraging range movements of the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus semotus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)
Frank J. Bonaccorso, Christopher M. Todd, Adam C. Miles, P. Marcos Gorresen
2015, Journal of Mammalogy (96) 64-71
We documented nightly movements of Hawaiian hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) on the island of Hawai’i. Based on data from 28 radiotagged individuals mean foraging range (FR) was 230.7±72.3 ha, core-use area (CUA) was 25.5±6.9 ha (or 11.1% of mean FR), and the mean long axis (LAX) across the FR...
Relative sensitivity of an amphipod Hyalella azteca, a midge Chironomus dilutus, and a unionid mussel Lampsilis siliquoidea to a toxic sediment
Christopher G. Ingersoll, James L. Kunz, Jamie P. Hughes, Ning Wang, D. Scott Ireland, David R. Mount, J. Russell Hockett, Ted W Valenti
2015, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (34) 1134-1144
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the relative sensitivity of test organisms in exposures to dilutions of a highly toxic sediment contaminated with metals and organic compounds. One dilution series was prepared using control sand (low total organic carbon [TOC; <0.1%, low binding capacity for contaminants]) and...
Clutch size declines with elevation in tropical birds
A.J. Boyce, Benjamin G. Freeman, Adam E. Mitchell, Thomas E. Martin
2015, The Auk (132) 424-432
Clutch size commonly decreases with increasing elevation among temperate-zone and subtropical songbird species. Tropical songbirds typically lay small clutches, thus the ability to evolve even smaller clutch sizes at higher elevations is unclear and untested. We conducted a comparative phylogenetic analysis using data gathered from the literature to test whether...
Characterisation of a natural quartz crystal as a reference material for microanalytical determination of Ti, Al, Li, Fe, Mn, Ga and Ge
Andreas Audetat, Dieter Garbe-Schonberg, Andreas Kronz, Thomas Pettke, Brian G. Rusk, John J. Donovan, Heather Lowers
2015, Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research (39) 171-184
A natural smoky quartz crystal from Shandong province, China, was characterised by laser ablation ICP-MS, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and solution ICP-MS to determine the concentration of twenty-four trace and ultra trace elements. Our main focus was on Ti quantification because of the increased use of this element for titanium-in-quartz...
The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) surface-water model, version 2
Pamela A. Telis, Zhixiao Xie, Zhongwei Liu, Yingru Li, Paul Conrads
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5209
The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) is an integrated network of water-level gages, interpolation models that generate daily water-level and water-depth data, and applications that compute derived hydrologic data across the freshwater part of the greater Everglades landscape. The U.S. Geological Survey Greater Everglades Priority Ecosystems Science provides support for...
