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Aerial counts and the number of deaths have been a major focus of attention in attempts to understand the population status of the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Uncertainties associated with these data have made interpretation difficult. However, knowledge of manatee life-history attributes increased and now permits the development of...

Long-wave motion in open channels can be expressed mathematically by the one-dimensional de Saint Venant equations describing conservation of fluid mass and momentum. Numerical simulation models, based on either depth/velocity or water-level/discharge dependent-variable formulations of these equations, are typically used to simulate unsteady open-channel flow. However, the implications and significance...

Urban areas in Perris Valley, California, have more than tripled during the last 20 years, resulting in increased storm-runoff volumes and peak discharges. To quantify the effects of increased urbanization, rainfall-runoff models of the basin were developed to simulate runoff for 1970-75 and 1990-93 conditions. Hourly rainfall data for 1949-93...

No abstract available at this time...

In the following overview we discuss progress toward meeting the three objectives of the 1992 workshop: to provide a synthesis of existing information about manatee population biology; to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of current data sets and approaches to research on manatee population biology; and to provide recommendations for...

Turtles have existed virtually unchanged for the last 200 million years. Unfortunately, some of the same traits that allowed them to survive the ages often predispose them to endangerment. Delayed maturity and low and variable annual reproductive success make turtles unusually susceptible to increased mortality through exploitation and habitat modifications...

The Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SOTS) is a mechanism for the transfer of spatial data between dissimilar computer systems. The SOTS specifies exchange constructs, addressing formats, structure, and content for spatially referenced vector and raster (including gridded) data. SOTS components are a conceptual model, specifications for a quality report, transfer module...

As part of its Global Change Hydrology Program, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is investigating the potential effects of climate change on the water resources of several river basins in the United States. The American River Basin in California represents the windward slope of the north-central Sierra Nevada, and the...

During 1987-90, we used high-altitude photography, aerial videography, counts, and models to estimate sizes of breeding populations of dabbling ducks (Anatinae) and duck production and to identify duck habitat on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land and easements and on private land in the prairie pothole region of the United...

No abstract available. ...

Generalized regions of highest damage from three Los Angeles area earthquakes of the 20th century. The area of highest damage from the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, not shown, lay mostly within the area that experience high damage in 19947. The map illustrates that moderate magnitude earthquakes can produce series effects...

The villages of Elkton and Pigeon in Huron County, Michigan, depend on wells completed in the Marshall aquifer to provide a reliable source of potable water. In order to protect the quality of water pumped from these wells, these municipalities need to ensure that potentially harmful contaminants do not enter...

The ability of resource agencies to manage fish, wildlife and freshwater supplies of San Francisco Bay estuary requires an integrated knowledge of the relations between the biota and their physical environment. A key factor in these relations is the role of salinity in determining both the physical and the biological...

This article discusses preliminary results from analyses of USGS hydrodynamic data collected as part of the 1994 Interagency Ecological Program entrapment zone study. The USGS took part in three 30-hour cruises and deployed instruments for measuring currents and salinity from April to June. This article primarily focuses on the analysis...

A simple new classification logic for global vegetation is proposed. The critical features of this classification are that: it is based on simple, observable, unambiguous character- istics of vegetation structure that are important to ecosystem biogeochemistry and can be measured in the field for validation; the structural characteristics can...

A hydrologic investigation of Cache Valley was done to better understand the ground-water system in unconsolidated basin-fill deposits and the interaction between ground water and surface water. Ground-water recharge occurs by infiltration of precipitation and unconsumed irrigation water, seepage from canals and streams, and subsurface inflow from adjacent consolidated rock...

As part of a larger study on global climate change and ozone depletion we are investigating the effects of ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation on fishes. We conducted a number of experiments to explore the possible effects of UVB radiation on the immune response of juvenile rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. In one...

Lake Number, LN, values are shown to be quantitative indicators of deep mixing in lakes and reservoirs that can be used to estimate changes in deep water dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations. LN is a dimensionless parameter defined as the ratio of the moments about the center of volume of the...

One hundred and twenty-three molluscan taxa are reported from four samples collected from a sea level lowstand deposit located between 100 m and 300 m below sea level in Monterey Bay, central California. Ecological interpretations of these mollusks suggest temperatures essentially equivalent to those from Puget Sound, Washington, to southern...

Several studies have used plant community biomass to predict species richness with varying success. In this study we examined the relationship between species richness and biomass for 36 marsh communities from two different watersheds. In addition, we measured several environmental variables and estimated the potential richness (the total number of...

1. We investigated the functional response of wolves (Canis lupus) to varying abundance of ungulate prey to test the hypothesis that switching from alternate prey to preferred prey results in regulation of a caribou (Rangifer tarandus) population at low densities. 2. We determined prey selection, kill rates, and prey abundance...

We estimated and compared errors in field-made (in situ) measurements of lengths and weights of fish. We made three measurements of length and weight on each of 33 common carp Cyprinus carpio, and on each of a total of 34 bluegills Lepomis macrochirus and black crappies Pomoxis nigromaculatus. Maximum total...

Several falcons were trained to fly along a 500 m course to a lure. The air speeds of the more consistent performers averaged about 1.5 times their calculated minimum power speeds, and occasionally reached 2.1 times the minimum power speed. Wing beat frequencies of all the falcons were above those...