Does coat colour influence survival? A test in a cyclic population of snowshoe hares
Madan K. Oli, Alice J Kenny, Rudy Boonstra, Stan Boutin, Dennis L. Murray, Michael J.L. Peers, B. Scott Gilbert, Thomas S. Jung, Vratika Chaudhary, James E. Hines, Charles J Krebs
2023, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Ser B. (290)
Some mammal species inhabiting high-latitude biomes have evolved a seasonal moulting pattern that improves camouflage via white coats in winter and brown coats in summer. In many high-latitude and high-altitude areas, the duration and depth of snow cover has been substantially reduced in the last five decades....
Calibration of imperfect geophysical models by multiple satellite interferograms with measurement bias
Mengyang Gu, Kyle R. Anderson, Erika McPhillips
2023, Technometrics (65) 453-464
Model calibration consists of using experimental or field data to estimate the unknown parameters of a mathematical model. The presence of model discrepancy and measurement bias in the data complicates this task. Satellite interferograms, for instance, are widely used for calibrating geophysical models in geological hazard quantification....
Investigating spatio-temporal variability of initial 230Th/232Th in intertidal corals
Hong-Wei Chiang, Belle E. Philibosian, Aron J. Meltzner, Chung-Che Wu, Chuan-Chou Shen, R. Lawrence Edwards, Chih-Kai Chuang, Bambang W. Suwargadi, Danny H. Natawidjaja
2023, Quaternary Science Reviews (307)
One of the key factors in obtaining precise and accurate 230Th ages of corals, especially for corals with ages less than a few thousand years, is the correction for non-radiogenic 230Th based on an initial 230Th/232Th value (230Th/232Th0). Studies that consider coral 230Th/232Th0 values in intertidal environments are limited, and it is in these environments...
Population dynamics and harvest management of eastern mallards
Anthony J. Roberts, Jeffrey A. Hostetler, Joshua C. Stiller, Patrick K. Devers, William Link
2023, Journal of Wildlife Management (87)
Managing sustainable harvest of wildlife populations requires regular collection of demographic data and robust estimates of demographic parameters. Estimates can then be used to develop a harvest strategy to guide decision-making. Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) are an important species in the Atlantic Flyway for many...
Predicting climate change impacts on poikilotherms using physiologically guided species abundance models
Tyler Wagner, Erin M. Schliep, Joshua S. North, Holly Kundel, Christopher A. Custer, Jenna K. Ruzich, Gretchen J.A. Hansen
2023, Ecology (120)
Poikilothermic animals comprise most species on Earth and are especially sensitive to changes in environmental temperatures. Species conservation in a changing climate relies upon predictions of species responses to future conditions, yet predicting species responses to climate change when temperatures exceed the bounds of observed data is fraught with challenges....
Appendix A: Modeling appendix for the Northwestern and Southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata , Actinemys pallida )
Kaili M. Gregory, Conor P. McGowan
2023, Report, Species status assessment report for Northwestern Pond Turel (Actinemys marmorata) and Southwestern Pond Turtle (Actinemys pallida)
To predict future status of the northwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata) and southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida) species, we developed a stochastic stage-based matrix population model to simulate future population conditions. We constructed a demographic population viability analysis for each species based on a post-breeding, single sex, stage-based life history diagram...
Automated soft pressure sensor array-based sea lamprey detection using machine learning
Hongyang Shi, Yu Mei, Ian González-Afanador, Claudia Chen, Scott M. Miehls, Christopher M. Holbrook, Nelson Sepulveda, Xiaobo Tan
2023, IEEE Sensors Journal (23) 7546-7557
Sea lamprey, a destructive invasive species in the Great Lakes in North America, is among very few fishes that rely on oral suction during migration and spawning. Recently, soft pressure sensors have been proposed to detect the attachment of sea lamprey as part of the monitoring and control effort. However,...
The NEON Ecological Forecasting Challenge
R. Quinn Thomas, Carl Boettiger, Cayelan C. Carey, Michael Dietze, Leah R. Johnson, Melissa A. Kenney, Jason S. McLachlan, Jody A. Peters, Eric R. Sokol, Jake Weltzin, Alyssa Willson, Whitney M. Woelmer
2023, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (21) 112-113
The 21st century continues to be characterized by major changes to the environment and the ecosystem services upon which society depends. Anticipating and responding to these changes requires that scientists explicitly forecast future conditions in real time (Dietze et al. 2018). Ecological forecasting, like weather and...
National preparedness strategy & action plan for potentially hazardous near-Earth objects and planetary defense
Matthew Daniels, Lindley Johnson, Renata Kommel, Patrick Besha, Perry Brody, Kevin Conole, Kelly Fast, Angelo Fernandez, Ralph Gaume, Kevin Greenaugh, Ryan Guglietta, Diane Howard, Grace Hu, Christine Joseph, Brig Gen Traci Keuker-Murphy, L.A. Lewis, Lindsay Millard, Joel Mozer, Dianne Poster, Timothy N. Titus, Ashley Vanderley
2023, Report
Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that orbit the Sun, but have orbits that can bring them into Earth’s neighborhood—within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. Planetary defense is “applied planetary science” to address the NEO impact risks on Earth. This National Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan for Near-Earth...
Dynamics of streamflow permanence in a headwater network: Insights from catchment-scale model simulations
D. Tyler Mahoney, J.R. Christensen, H.E. Golden, C.R. Lane, G.R. Evenson, Elaheh White, K.M. Fritz, E D’Amico, Chris D. Barton, Tanja N. Williamson, Kenton Sena, C.T. Agouridis
2023, Journal of Hydrology (620)
The hillslope and channel dynamics that govern streamflow permanence in headwater systems have important implications for ecosystem functioning and downstream water quality. Recent advancements in process-based, semi-distributed hydrologic models that build upon empirical studies of streamflow permanence in well-monitored headwater catchments...
Potential factors controlling benthic algae in the upper White River Basin, Colorado, 2018–21
Rachel G. Gidley, Natalie K. Day
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3005
Nuisance levels of benthic algae are becoming increasingly common in surface waters of the western United States and can compromise aesthetic quality, limit recreational activities, block water infrastructure, and negatively affect aquatic life. In cooperation with the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control...
Investigation of potential factors controlling benthic algae in the upper White River Basin, Colorado, 2018–21
Natalie K. Day, Mark F. Henneberg
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5009
Nuisance levels of benthic filamentous green algae are becoming increasingly common in surface waters of Colorado and the western United States. In 2018 the U.S. Geological Survey began a study in cooperation with the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, and the Colorado...
Sediment deposition, erosion, and bathymetric change in San Francisco Bay, California, 1971–1990 and 1999–2020
Theresa A. Fregoso, Amy C. Foxgrover, Bruce E. Jaffe
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1031
Bathymetric change analyses document historical patterns of sediment deposition and erosion, providing valuable insight into the sediment dynamics of coastal systems, including pathways of sediment and sediment-bound contaminants. In 2014 and 2015, the Office for Coastal Management, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Coastal...
Magnitude conversion and earthquake recurrence rate models for the central and eastern United States
Rasool Anooshehpoor, Thomas Weaver, Jon Ake, Cliff Munson, Morgan P. Moschetti, David R. Shelly, Peter M. Powers
2023, Research Information Letter 2023-03
Development of Seismic Source Characterization (SSC) models, which is an essential part of Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analyses (PSHA), can help forecast the temporal and spatial distribution of future damaging earthquakes (𝑀w≥ 5) in seismically active regions. Because it is impossible to associate all earthquakes with known faults, seismic source models...
Using decision analysis to determine the feasibility of a conservation translocation
Laura Keating, Lea Randall, Rebecca Stanton, Casey McCormack, Michael Lucid, Travis Seaborn, Sarah J. Converse, Stefano Canessa, Axel Moehrenschlager
2023, Decision Analysis (20) 295-310
Conservation translocations, intentional movements of species to protect against extinction, have become widespread in recent decades and are projected to increase further as biodiversity loss continues worldwide. The literature abounds with analyses to inform translocations and assess whether they are successful, but the fundamental question of whether they should be...
The new Self Anchored Suspension (SAS) Bridge of the San Francisco Bay Bridge System: A preliminary study of its response and behavior during a small earthquake
Mehmet Celebi
2023, Journal of Structural Engineering (149)
Seismic behavior and performance of the new Self- Anchored Suspension (SAS) Bridge of the San Francisco Bay Bridge System is studied using response data recorded during the October 14, 2019, 𝑀𝑤4.6 Pleasant Hill earthquake. The new bridge went into service within the last decade as a replacement for the older truss bridge...
Drivers and timing of grass carp movement within the Sandusky River, Ohio: Implications to potential spawning barrier response strategy
Justin Bopp, Travis O. Brenden, Matthew D. Faust, Christopher Vandergoot, Richard Kraus, James Roberts, Lucas Nathan
2023, Biological Invasions (25) 2439-2459
Understanding the timing and drivers of migration can be beneficial for improving response efforts aimed at reducing invasive species densities. Efforts by management agencies to remove grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), an invasive species to the Laurentian Great Lakes, have been ongoing in Lake Erie tributaries since 2018. To bolster efforts,...
The Everglades vulnerability analysis: Linking ecological models to support ecosystem restoration
Laura D’Acunto, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Saira M. Haider, Caitlin E. Hackett, Dilip Shinde, Stephanie Romanach
2023, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (11)
Understanding of the Everglades’ ecological vulnerabilities and restoration needs has advanced over the past decade but has not been applied in an integrated manner. To address this need, we developed the Everglades Vulnerability Analysis (EVA), a decision support tool that uses modular Bayesian networks to predict the ecological outcomes...
Fusing geophysical and remotely sensed data for observing overwash occurrence, frequency, and impact
Nicholas Enwright, P. Soupy Dalyander, Robert L Jenkins, Elizabeth S. Godsey, Spencer J. Stelly
2023, Conference Paper, The proceedings of the coastal sediments 2023
Overwash is an important process that enables a barrier island to migrate landward to adapt to rising sea levels but can also impact vegetated areas and create coastal hazards for populated barrier islands. Our overall objectives were to hindcast overwash events from September 2008 to November 2009 and assess whether...
The pathogenesis of a 2022 North American highly pathogenic clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 avian influenza virus in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)
Erica Spackman, Mary J. Pantin-Jackwood, Scott A. Lee, Diann Prosser
2023, Avian Pathology (52) 219-228
Highly pathogenic (HP) avian influenza viruses (AIVs) of the clade 2.3.4.4 goose/Guangdong/1996 H5 lineage continue to be a problem in poultry and wild birds in much of the world. The recent incursion of a H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b HP AIV from this lineage into North America has resulted...
Monkeypox virus in animals: Current knowledge of viral transmission and pathogenesis in wild animal reservoirs and captive animal models
Elizabeth Falendysz, Juan G. Lopera, Tonie E. Rocke, Jorge E. Osorio
2023, Viruses (15)
Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, is now the most serious orthopoxvirus (OPXV) infection in humans. This zoonotic disease has been gradually re-emerging in humans with an increasing frequency of cases found in endemic areas, as well as an escalating frequency and size of epidemics outside of endemic areas in Africa....
Assessing arthropod diversity metrics derived from stream environmental DNA: Spatiotemporal variation and paired comparisons with manual sampling
Aaron W. Aunins, Sara J. Mueller, Jennifer A. Fike, Robert S. Cornman
2023, PeerJ (11)
BackgroundBenthic invertebrate (BI) surveys have been widely used to characterize freshwater environmental quality but can be challenging to implement at desired spatial scales and frequency. Environmental DNA (eDNA) allows an alternative BI survey approach, one that can potentially be implemented more rapidly and cheaply than traditional methods.MethodsWe evaluated...
Ediacaran-Ordovician magmatism and REE mineralization in the Wet Mountains, Colorado, USA: Implications for failed continental rifting
Benjamin Patrick Magnin, Yvette Kuiper, Eric D. Anderson
2023, Tectonics (42)
Structures associated with Ediacaran-Ordovician alkaline magmatism and the timing of rare earth element (REE) mineralization in the Wet Mountains, CO, were analyzed using field, geophysical, and U-Th-Pb isotope methods to interpret their tectonic setting in the context of previously proposed rift models. The Wet Mountains are known...
The invasive plant data landscape: A synthesis of spatial data and applications for research and management in the United States
Emily J. Fusco, Evelyn M. Beaury, Bethany A. Bradley, Michelle Cox, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Adam L. Mahood, R. Chelsea Nagy, Ty Nietupski, Jessica E. Halofsky
2023, Landscape Ecology (38) 3825-3843
ContextAn increase in the number and availability of datasets cataloging invasive plant distributions offers opportunities to expand our understanding, monitoring, and management of invasives across spatial scales. These datasets, created using on-the-ground observations and modeling techniques, are made both for and by researchers and managers.ObjectivesThe large...
Geochronologic and geochemical data from metasedimentary and associated rocks in the Lane Mountain area, San Bernardino County, California
Paul Stone, M. Robinson Cecil, Howard J. Brown, Jorge A. Vazquez
2023, Open-File Report 2022-1115
Eugeoclinal metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks in the Lane Mountain area, California, are considered part of the El Paso terrane, which is commonly thought to have been displaced several hundred kilometers (km) southeastward from its place of origin during late Paleozoic truncation of the North American continental margin. Uranium-lead dating of...
