Temperate and boreal forest mega-fires: characteristics and challenges
Scott L. Stephens, Neil Burrows, Alexander Buyantuyev, Robert W. Gray, Robert E. Keane, Rick Kubian, Shirong Liu, Francisco Seijo, Lifu Shu, Kevin G. Tolhurst, Jan W. Van Wagtendonk
2014, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (12) 115-122
Mega-fires are often defined according to their size and intensity but are more accurately described by their socioeconomic impacts. Three factors – climate change, fire exclusion, and antecedent disturbance, collectively referred to as the “mega-fire triangle” – likely contribute to today's mega-fires. Some characteristics of mega-fires may emulate historical fire...
InSAR imaging of Aleutian volcanoes: Monitoring a volcanic arc from space
Zhong Lu, Daniel Dzurisin
2014, Book
No abstract available....
How much land is needed for feral pig hunting in Hawai'i?
Steven C. Hess, James D. Jacobi
2014, Pacific Conservation Biology (30) 54-56
Hunting is often considered to be incompatible with conservation of native biota and watershed functions in Hawai'i. Management actions for conservation generally exclude large non-native mammals from natural areas, thereby reducing the amount of land area available for hunting activities and the maintenance of sustainable game populations. An approach which...
Wetland Accretion Rate Model of Ecosystem Resilience (WARMER) and its application to habitat sustainability for endangered species in the San Francisco Estuary
Kathleen M. Swanson, Judith Z. Drexler, David H. Schoellhamer, Karen M. Thorne, Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, John C. Callaway, John Y. Takekawa
2014, Estuaries and Coasts (37) 476-492
Salt marsh faunas are constrained by specific habitat requirements for marsh elevation relative to sea level and tidal range. As sea level rises, changes in relative elevation of the marsh plain will have differing impacts on the availability of habitat for marsh obligate species. The Wetland Accretion Rate Model for...
The key role of dry days in changing regional climate and precipitation regimes
Suraj Polade, David W. Pierce, Daniel R. Cayan, Alexander Gershunov, Michael D. Dettinger
2014, Scientific Reports (4)
Future changes in the number of dry days per year can either reinforce or counteract projected increases in daily precipitation intensity as the climate warms. We analyze climate model projected changes in the number of dry days using 28 coupled global climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, version...
Aspidoscelis deppii (black-bellied racerunner). Predation by turkey vulture.
Robert P. Reynolds, Christina A. Gebhard
2014, Herpetological Review (45) 124-124
Aspidoscelis deppii is widely distributed from Veracruz and Michoacan, Mexico, to Costa Rica (Köhler et al. 2006. The Amphibians and Reptiles of El Salvador, Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida. 238 pp.). Neotropical lizards are abundant and common prey to all classes of terrestrial vertebrates, and bird predation of lizards is...
Toxicity and accumulation of silver nanoparticles during development of the marine polychaete Platynereis dumerilii
Javier Garcia-Alonso, Neus Rodriguez-Sanchez, Superb K. Misra, Eugenia Valsami-Jones, Marie-Noële Croteau, Samuel N. Luoma, Philip S. Rainbow
2014, Science of the Total Environment (476-477) 688-695
Pollutants affecting species at the population level generate ecological instability in natural systems. The success of early life stages, such as those of aquatic invertebrates, is highly affected by adverse environmental conditions. Silver released into the environment from emerging nanotechnology represents such a threat. Sediments are sinks for numerous pollutants,...
Water resources management in the Ganges Basin: a comparison of three strategies for conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water
Mahfuzur R. Khan, Clifford I. Voss, Winston Yu, Holly A. Michael
2014, Water Resources Management (28) 1235-1250
The most difficult water resources management challenge in the Ganges Basin is the imbalance between water demand and seasonal availability. More than 80 % of the annual flow in the Ganges River occurs during the 4-month monsoon, resulting in widespread flooding. During the rest of the year, irrigation, navigation, and...
Suppressing bullfrog larvae with carbon dioxide
Mark Abbey-Lambert, Andrew Ray, Megan J. Layhee, Christine L. Densmore, Adam Sepulveda, Jackson A. Gross, Barnaby J. Watten
2014, Journal of Herpetology (48) 59-66
Current management strategies for the control and suppression of the American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus = Rana catesbeiana Shaw) and other invasive amphibians have had minimal effect on their abundance and distribution. This study evaluates the effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) on pre- and prometamorphic Bullfrog larvae. Bullfrogs are a model organism...
Hybridization of an invasive shrub affects tolerance and resistance to defoliation by a biological control agent
Wyatt I. Williams, Jonathan M. Friedman, John F. Gaskin, Andrew P. Norton
2014, Evolutionary Applications (7) 381-393
Evolution has contributed to the successful invasion of exotic plant species in their introduced ranges, but how evolution affects particular control strategies is still under evaluation. For instance, classical biological control, a common strategy involving the utilization of highly specific natural enemies to control exotic pests, may be negatively affected...
Watershed-scale modeling of streamflow change in incised montane meadows
Hedeff I. Essaid, Barry R. Hill
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 2657-2678
Land use practices have caused stream channel incision and water table decline in many montane meadows of the Western United States. Incision changes the magnitude and timing of streamflow in water supply source watersheds, a concern to resource managers and downstream water users. The hydrology of montane meadows under natural...
Statistical evaluation of variables affecting occurrence of hydrocarbons in aquifers used for public supply, California
Matthew K. Landon, Carmen A. Burton, Tracy A. Davis, Kenneth Belitz, Tyler D. Johnson
2014, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (50) 179-195
The variables affecting the occurrence of hydrocarbons in aquifers used for public supply in California were assessed based on statistical evaluation of three large statewide datasets; gasoline oxygenates also were analyzed for comparison with hydrocarbons. Benzene is the most frequently detected (1.7%) compound among 17 hydrocarbons analyzed at generally low...
Predictions of barrier island berm evolution in a time-varying storm climatology
Nathaniel G. Plant, James Flocks, Hilary F. Stockdon, Joseph W. Long, Kristy K. Guy, David M. Thompson, Jamie M. Cormier, Christopher G. Smith, Jennifer L. Miselis, P. Soupy Dalyander
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (119) 300-316
Low-lying barrier islands are ubiquitous features of the world's coastlines, and the processes responsible for their formation, maintenance, and destruction are related to the evolution of smaller, superimposed features including sand dunes, beach berms, and sandbars. The barrier island and its superimposed features interact with oceanographic forces (e.g., overwash) and...
Methods to estimate distribution and range extent of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Mark A. Haroldson, Charles C. Schwartz, Daniel J. Thompson, Daniel D. Bjornlie, Kerry A. Gunther, Steven L. Cain, Daniel B. Tyers, Kevin L. Frey, Bryan C. Aber
2014, Wildlife Society Bulletin (38) 182-187
The distribution of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) population has expanded into areas unoccupied since the early 20th century. Up-to-date information on the area and extent of this distribution is crucial for federal, state, and tribal wildlife and land managers to make informed decisions regarding grizzly bear...
Rapid earthquake characterization using MEMS accelerometers and volunteer hosts following the M 7.2 Darfield, New Zealand, Earthquake
J. F. Lawrence, E.S. Cochran, A. Chung, A. Kaiser, C. M. Christensen, R. Allen, J.W. Baker, B. Fry, T. Heaton, Debi Kilb, M.D. Kohler, M. Taufer
2014, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (104) 184-192
We test the feasibility of rapidly detecting and characterizing earthquakes with the Quake‐Catcher Network (QCN) that connects low‐cost microelectromechanical systems accelerometers to a network of volunteer‐owned, Internet‐connected computers. Following the 3 September 2010 M 7.2 Darfield, New Zealand, earthquake we installed over 180 QCN sensors in the Christchurch region to...
Seismological analyses of the 2010 March 11, Pichilemu, Chile Mw 7.0 and Mw 6.9 coastal intraplate earthquakes
Javier A. Ruiz, Gavin P. Hayes, Daniel Carrizo, Hiroo Kanamori, Anne Socquet, Diana Comte
2014, Geophysical Journal International (196)
On 2010 March 11, a sequence of large, shallow continental crust earthquakes shook central Chile. Two normal faulting events with magnitudes around Mw 7.0 and Mw 6.9 occurred just 15 min apart, located near the town of Pichilemu. These kinds of large intraplate, inland crustal earthquakes are rare above the...
Nitrogen deposition effects on diatom communities in lakes from three National Parks in Washington State
Richard W. Sheibley, Mihaela Enache, Peter W. Swarzenski, Patrick W. Moran, James R. Foreman
2014, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (225)
The goal of this study was to document if lakes in National Parks in Washington have exceeded critical levels of nitrogen (N) deposition, as observed in other Western States. We measured atmospheric N deposition, lake water quality, and sediment diatoms at our study lakes. Water chemistry showed that our study...
Fishing for resilience
Kevin L. Pope, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler
2014, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (143) 467-478
Management approaches that focus on social–ecological systems—systems comprised of ecosystems, landscapes, and humans—are needed to secure the sustainability of inland recreational fisheries without jeopardizing the integrity of the underlying social and ecological components. Resilience management can be useful because it focuses on providing recreational capacity for fishermen under a variety...
Historic and recent nesting records of Turkey Vultures in South Dakota
Lawrence D. Igl, Brian J. Chepulis, Kyle E. McLean
2014, South Dakota Bird Notes (66) 8-17
Present-day vultures are generally classified into two distinct groups: Old World vultures and new World vultures. The two groups share morphological and behavioral characters (e.g. scavenger diet, energy-efficient soaring, mostly featherless head), but historically the two groups were considered phylogenetically distant with long and independent histories (Rich 198., Wink 1995,...
Estrogen and androgen receptor activities of hydraulic fracturing chemicals and surface and ground water in a drilling-dense region
Christopher D. Kassotis, Donald E. Tillitt, J. Wade Davis, Anette M. Hormann, Susan C. Nagel
2014, Endocrinology (155) 897-907
The rapid rise in natural gas extraction using hydraulic fracturing increases the potential for contamination of surface and ground water from chemicals used throughout the process. Hundreds of products containing more than 750 chemicals and components are potentially used throughout the extraction process, including more than 100 known...
Effects of wetland management on carrying capacity of diving ducks and shorebirds in a coastal estuary
L. Arriana Brand, John Y. Takekawa, Joel Shinn, Tanya Graham, Kevin Buffington, K. Benjamin Gustafson, Lacy M. Smith, Sarah E. Spring, A. Keith Miles
2014, Waterbirds (37) 52-67
With global loss of natural wetlands, managed wetlands increasingly support energy requirements for wintering shorebirds and waterfowl. Despite numerous studies of avian bioenergetics in freshwater systems, less is known of the energetic capacity of estuarine systems. In San Francisco Bay, managed saline ponds converted from former commercial salt evaporation ponds...
Assessment of floodplain vulnerability during extreme Mississippi River flood 2011
Allison E. Goodwell, Zhenduo Zhu, Debsunder Dutta, Jonathan A. Greenberg, Praveen Kumar, Marcelo H. Garcia, Bruce L. Rhoads, Robert R. Holmes Jr., Gary Parker, David P. Berretta, Robert B. Jacobson
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 2619-2625
Regional change in the variability and magnitude of flooding could be a major consequence of future global climate change. Extreme floods have the capacity to rapidly transform landscapes and expose landscape vulnerabilities through highly variable spatial patterns of inundation, erosion, and deposition. We use the historic activation of the Birds...
A methodology for adaptable and robust ecosystem services assessment
Ferdinando Villa, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Brian Voigt, Gary W. Johnson, Rosimeiry Portela, Miroslav Honzak, David Batker
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
Ecosystem Services (ES) are an established conceptual framework for attributing value to the benefits that nature provides to humans. As the promise of robust ES-driven management is put to the test, shortcomings in our ability to accurately measure, map, and value ES have surfaced. On the research side, mainstream methods...
Soil-plant-microbial relations in hydrothermally altered soils of Northern California
S.W. Blecker, L.L. Stillings, N.M. DeCrappeo, J.A. Ippolito
2014, Soil Science Society of America Journal (78) 509-519
Soils developed on relict hydrothermally altered soils throughout the Western USA present unique opportunities to study the role of geology on above and belowground biotic activity and composition. Soil and vegetation samples were taken at three unaltered andesite and three hydrothermally altered (acid-sulfate) sites located in and around Lassen VolcanicNational...
Linking bovine tuberculosis on cattle farms to white-tailed deer and environmental variables using Bayesian hierarchical analysis
W. David Walter, Rick Smith, Mike Vanderklok, Kurt C. VerCauterren
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
Bovine tuberculosis is a bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis in livestock and wildlife with hosts that include Eurasian badgers (Meles meles), brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Risk-assessment efforts in Michigan have been initiated on farms to minimize interactions of cattle with wildlife hosts but research onM. bovis on...
