Invaded invaders: Infection of invasive Brown Treesnakes on Guam by an exotic larval cestode with a life cycle comprised of non-native hosts
Elden T Holldorf, Shane R. Siers, Jonathan Q. Richmond, Page E. Klug, Robert Reed
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Background Multiple host introductions to the same non-native environment have the potential to complete life cycles of parasites incidentally transported with them. Our goal was to identify a recently detected parasitic flatworm in the invasive Brown Treesnake (Boiga irregularis) on the remote Pacific island of Guam. We considered possible factors influencing...
Efficient wetland surface water detection and monitoring via Landsat: Comparison with in situ data from the Everglades Depth Estimation Network
John W. Jones
2015, Remote Sensing (9) 12503-12538
The U.S. Geological Survey is developing new Landsat science products. One, named Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE), is focused on the representation of ground surface inundation as detected in cloud-/shadow-/snow-free pixels for scenes collected over the U.S. and its territories. Characterization of DSWE uncertainty to facilitate its appropriate use in...
Population and genetic outcomes 20 years after reintroducing bobcats (Lynx rufus) to Cumberland Island, Georgia USA
Duane R. Diefenbach, Leslie A. Hansen, Justin H. Bohling, Cassandra Miller-Butterworth
2015, Ecology and Evolution (5) 4885-4895
In 1988–1989, 32 bobcats Lynx rufus were reintroduced to Cumberland Island (CUIS), Georgia, USA, from which they had previously been extirpated. They were monitored intensively for 3 years immediately post-reintroduction, but no estimation of the size or genetic diversity of the population had been conducted in over 20 years since reintroduction. We returned to...
A guide to Bayesian model selection for ecologists
Mevin Hooten, N.T. Hobbs
2015, Ecological Monographs (85) 3-28
The steady upward trend in the use of model selection and Bayesian methods in ecological research has made it clear that both approaches to inference are important for modern analysis of models and data. However, in teaching Bayesian methods and in working with our research colleagues, we have noticed a...
Estimating spawning times of Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula) in Lake Texoma, Oklahoma
Richard A. Snow, James M. Long
2015, Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science (95) 46-53
In 2013, juvenile Alligator Gar were sampled in the reservoir-river interface of the Red River arm of Lake Texoma. The Red River, which flows 860 km along Oklahoma’s border with Texas, is the primary in-flow source of Lake Texoma, and is impounded by Denison Dam. Minifyke nets were deployed using...
Forecasting the effects of fertility control on overabundant ungulates: White-tailed deer in the National Capital Region
Ann M. Raiho, Mevin Hooten, Scott Bates, N. Thompson Hobbs
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Overabundant populations of ungulates have caused environmental degradation and loss of biological diversity in ecosystems throughout the world. Culling or regulated harvest is often used to control overabundant species. These methods are difficult to implement in national parks, other types of conservation reserves, or in residential areas where public hunting...
A 2-D process-based model for suspended sediment dynamics: A first step towards ecological modeling
F. M. Achete, M. van der Wegen, D. Roelvink, B. Jaffe
2015, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (19) 2837-2857
In estuaries suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is one of the most important contributors to turbidity, which influences habitat conditions and ecological functions of the system. Sediment dynamics differs depending on sediment supply and hydrodynamic forcing conditions that vary over space and over time. A robust sediment transport model is a...
Context of ancient aqueous environments on Mars from in situ geologic mapping at Endeavour Crater
L.S. Crumpler, R. E. Arvidson, J. Bell, B. C. Clark, B. A. Cohen, W. H. Farrand, Ralf Gellert, M. Golombek, J. A. Grant, E. Guinness, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, J. R. Johnson, B. Jolliff, D. W. Ming, D. W. Mittlefehldt, T. Parker, J. W. Rice Jr., S. W. Squyres, R. Sullivan, A. S. Yen
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (120) 538-569
Using the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, we have compiled one of the first field geologic maps on Mars while traversing the Noachian terrain along the rim of the 22 km diameter Endeavour Crater (Latitude −2°16′33″, Longitude −5°10′51″). In situ mapping of the petrographic, elemental, structural, and stratigraphic characteristics of outcrops and rocks...
Evaluation of methods for assessing physiological biomarkers of stress in freshwater mussels
Andrea K. Fritts, James T. Peterson, Peter D. Hazelton, Robert B. Bringolf
2015, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (72) 1450-1459
Freshwater mussel populations are highly susceptible to environmental alterations because of their diminished numbers and primarily sessile behaviors; nonlethal biomonitoring programs are needed to evaluate the health of populations prior to mass mortality events. Our objectives were to determine (i) which biochemical parameters in freshwater mussel hemolymph could be consistently...
Evaluating multi-level models to test occupancy state responses of Plethodontid salamanders
Andrew J. Kroll, Tiffany S. Garcia, Jay E. Jones, Katie M. Dugger, Blake Murden, Josh Johnson, Summer Peerman, Ben Brintz, Michael Rochelle
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Plethodontid salamanders are diverse and widely distributed taxa and play critical roles in ecosystem processes. Due to salamander use of structurally complex habitats, and because only a portion of a population is available for sampling, evaluation of sampling designs and estimators is critical to provide strong inference about Plethodontid ecology...
Brumation of introduced Black and White Tegus, Tupinambis merianae (Squamata: Teiidae), in southern Florida
Michelle McEachern, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Page E. Klug, Lee A. Fitzgerald, Robert N. Reed
2015, Southeastern Naturalist (14) 319-328
An established population of Tupinambis merianae (Black and White Tegu) in southeastern Florida threatens the Everglades ecosystem. Understanding the behavioral ecology of Black and White Tegus could aid in management and control plans. Black and White Tegus are seasonally active and brumate during the winter in their native range, but...
Accelerating advances in continental domain hydrologic modeling
Stacey A. Archfield, Martyn Clark, Berit Arheimer, Lauren E. Hay, Hilary McMillan, Julie E. Kiang, Jan Seibert, Kirsti Hakala, Andrew R. Bock, Thorsten Wagener, William H. Farmer, Vazken Andreassian, Sabine Attinger, Alberto Viglione, Rodney Knight, Steven L. Markstrom, Thomas M. Over
2015, Water Resources Research (51) 10078-10091
In the past, hydrologic modeling of surface water resources has mainly focused on simulating the hydrologic cycle at local to regional catchment modeling domains. There now exists a level of maturity among the catchment, global water security, and land surface modeling communities such that these communities are converging toward continental...
Factors influencing capture of invasive sea lamprey in traps baited with a synthesized sex pheromone component
Nicholas S. Johnson, Michael J. Siefkes, C. Michael Wagner, Gale Bravener, Todd Steeves, Michael Twohey, Weiming Li
2015, Journal of Chemical Ecology (41) 913-923
The sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, is emerging as a model organism for understanding how pheromones can be used for manipulating vertebrate behavior in an integrated pest management program. In a previous study, a synthetic sex pheromone component 7α,12α, 24-trihydroxy-5α-cholan-3-one 24-sulfate (3kPZS) was applied to sea lamprey traps in eight...
Using time-varying asymptotic length and body condition of top piscivores to indicate ecosystem regime shift in the main basin of Lake Huron: a Bayesian hierarchical modeling approach
Ji X. He, James R. Bence, Edward F. Roseman, David G. Fielder, Mark P. Ebener
2015, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (73) 1092-1103
We evaluated the ecosystem regime shift in the main basin of Lake Huron that was indicated by the 2003 collapse of alewives, and dramatic declines in Chinook salmon abundance thereafter. We found that the period of 1995-2002 should be considered as the early phase of the final regime shift. We...
Functional role of an endophytic Bacillus amyloliquefaciens in enhancing growth and disease protection of invasive English ivy (Hedera helix L.)
Marcos Antonio Soares, Jai-Yan Li, Marshall Bergen, Joaquim Manoel da Silva, Kurt P. Kowalski, James Francis White
2015, Plant and Soil (405) 107-123
BackgroundWe hypothesize that invasive English ivy (Hedera helix) harbors endophytic microbes that promote plant growth and survival. To evaluate this hypothesis, we examined endophytic bacteria in English ivy and evaluated effects on the host plant.MethodsEndophytic bacteria were isolated...
Isotopic insights into biological regulation of zinc in contaminated systems
Richard B. Wanty, Laurie S. Balistrieri, Jeff S. Wesner, David Walters, Travis S. Schmidt, Francesca Podda, G. De Giudici, Craig A. Stricker, Johanna M. Kraus, Pierfranco Lattanzi, Ruth E. Wolf, R. Cidu
2015, Procedia Earth and Planetary Science (13) 60-63
Aquatic organisms use a variety of biogeochemical reactions to regulate essential and non-essential trace metals. Many of these mechanisms can lead to isotopic fractionation, thus measurement of metal isotopes may yield insights into the processes by which organisms respond to metal exposure. We illustrate these concepts with two case studies,...
Construction ages of the Upton Stone Chamber: Preliminary findings and suggestions for future luminescence research
Shannon A. Mahan, Frederick Martin, Cathy Taylor
2015, Quaternary Geochronology (30 ) 422-430
The Upton Chamber in Massachusetts, an earth-covered stone structure 3.4 meters (m) in diameter, with a corbelled stone dome, and a 4.3 m long entrance passageway, is studied with the aim of determining whether optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods can be used to establish the approximate construction date of...
The effect of UV-C exposure on larval survival of the dreissenid quagga mussel
Alecia Stewart-Malone, Michael Misamore, Siri K. Wilmoth, Alejandro Reyes, Wai Hing Wong, Jackson Gross
2015, PLoS ONE (10 )
The rapid spread of quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) has lead to their invasion of Lake Mead, Nevada, the largest reservoir in North America and partially responsible for providing water to millions of people in the southwest. Current strategies for mitigating the growth and spread of quagga mussels primarily include...
Earthquake geology of the Bulnay Fault (Mongolia)
Magali Rizza, Jean-Franciois Ritz, Carol S. Prentice, Ricardo Vassallo, Regis Braucher, Christophe Larroque, A. Arzhannikova, S. Arzhanikov, Shannon A. Mahan, M. Massault, J-L. Michelot, M. Todbileg
2015, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (105) 72-93
The Bulnay earthquake of July 23, 1905 (Mw 8.3-8.5), in north-central Mongolia, is one of the world's largest recorded intracontinental earthquakes and one of four great earthquakes that occurred in the region during the 20th century. The 375-km-long surface rupture of the left-lateral, strike-slip, N095°E trending Bulnay Fault associated with...
GEAR1: A Global Earthquake Activity Rate model constructed from geodetic strain rates and smoothed seismicity
Peter Bird, David D. Jackson, Yan Y. Kagan, Corne Kreemer, Ross Stein
2015, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (105) 2538-2554
Global earthquake activity rate model 1 (GEAR1) estimates the rate of shallow earthquakes with magnitudes 6–9 everywhere on Earth. It was designed to be reproducible and testable. Our preferred hybrid forecast is a log–linear blend of two parent forecasts based on the Global Centroid Moment Tensor (CMT) catalog (smoothing 4602...
Refinements to the Graves and Pitarka (2010) Broadband Ground Motion Simulation Method
Robert Graves, Arben Pitarka
2015, Seismological Research Letters (86) 75-80
This brief article describes refinements to the Graves and Pitarka (2010) broadband ground motion simulation methodology (GP2010 hereafter) that have been implemented in version 14.3 of the SCEC Broadband Platform (BBP). The updated version of our method on the current SCEC BBP is referred to as GP14.3. Our simulation technique...
The evolution of mapping habitat for northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina): A comparison of photo-interpreted, Landsat-based, and lidar-based habitat maps
Steven H. Ackers, Raymond J. Davis, K. Olsen, Katie M. Dugger
2015, Remote Sensing of Environment (156) 361-373
Wildlife habitat mapping has evolved at a rapid pace over the last few decades. Beginning with simple, often subjective, hand-drawn maps, habitat mapping now involves complex species distribution models (SDMs) using mapped predictor variables derived from remotely sensed data. For species that inhabit large geographic areas, remote sensing technology...
A laboratory investigation of the suspension, transport, and settling of silver carp eggs using synthetic surrogates
Tatiana Garcia, Carlo Zuniga Zamalloa, P. Ryan Jackson, Elizabeth A. Murphy, Marcelo H. Garcia
2015, PLoS ONE 1-19
Asian carp eggs are semi-buoyant and must remain suspended in the water to survive, supported by the turbulence of the flow, until they hatch and develop the ability to swim. Analysis of the transport and dispersal patterns of Asian carp eggs will facilitate the development and implementation of control strategies...
Taxonomic characterization of honey bee (Apis mellifera) pollen foraging based on non-overlapping paired-end sequencing of nuclear ribosomal loci
Robert S. Cornman, Clint Otto, Deborah D. Iwanowicz, Jeffery S Pettis
2015, PLoS ONE (10) 1-26
Identifying plant taxa that honey bees (Apis mellifera) forage upon is of great apicultural interest, but traditional methods are labor intensive and may lack resolution. Here we evaluate a high-throughput genetic barcoding approach to characterize trap-collected pollen from multiple North Dakota apiaries across multiple years. We used the Illumina MiSeq...
An apparatus reconstruction of the conodont Caenodontus serrulatus Behnken 1975
Merlynd K. Nestell, Bruce R. Wardlaw
2015, Micropaleontology (v. 61) 293-300
The conodont species Caenodontus serrulatus Behnken is a rare coniform element first described in 1975 from Guadalupian strata exposed in the Guadalupe and Delaware Mountains of West Texas. Because it is rare, coniform, and occurs long after most coniform elements supposedly disappeared, it has been hauntingly mysterious. Based on new...
