Modeling structured population dynamics using data from unmarked individuals
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Elise Zipkin, James T. Thorson, Kevin See, Heather J. Lynch, Yoichiro Kanno, Richard Chandler, Benjamin H. Letcher, J. Andrew Royle
2014, Ecology (95) 22-29
The study of population dynamics requires unbiased, precise estimates of abundance and vital rates that account for the demographic structure inherent in all wildlife and plant populations. Traditionally, these estimates have only been available through approaches that rely on intensive mark–recapture data. We extended recently developed N-mixture models to demonstrate how...
Response of reef corals on a fringing reef flat to elevated suspended-sediment concentrations: Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i
Paul L. Jokiel, Ku'ulei S. Rodgers, Curt D. Storlazzi, Michael E. Field, Claire V. Lager, Dan Lager
2014, PeerJ
A long-term (10 month exposure) experiment on effects of suspended sediment on the mortality, growth, and recruitment of the reef corals Montipora capitata and Porites compressa was conducted on the shallow reef flat off south Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi. Corals were grown on wire platforms with attached coral recruitment tiles along a suspended solid concentration (SSC)...
Applying threshold concepts to conservation management of dryland ecosystems: Case studies on the Colorado Plateau
Matthew A. Bowker, Mark E. Miller, Steven L. Garman, Travis Belote
Glenn R. Guntenspergen, editor(s)
2014, Book chapter, Application of threshold concepts in natural resource decision making
Ecosystems may occupy functionally distinct alternative states, some of which are more or less desirable from a management standpoint. Transitions from state to state are usually associated with a particular trigger or sequence of triggers, such as the addition or subtraction of a disturbance. Transitions are often not linear, rather...
Ebullitive methane emissions from oxygenated wetland streams
John T. Crawford, Emily H. Stanley, Seth A. Spawn, Jacques C. Finlay, Robert G. Striegl
2014, Global Change Biology (20) 3408-3422
Stream and river carbon dioxide emissions are an important component of the global carbon cycle. Methane emissions from streams could also contribute to regional or global greenhouse gas cycling, but there are relatively few data regarding stream and river methane emissions. Furthermore, the available data do not typically include the...
Use of multi-sensor active fire detections to map fires in the United States: the future of monitoring trends in burn severity
Joshua J. Picotte, Michael Coan, Stephen M. Howard
2014, Conference Paper, Proceedings: Wildland fire in the Appalachians: Discussions among managers and scientists. General Technical Report SRS-199
The effort to utilize satellite-based MODIS, AVHRR, and GOES fire detections from the Hazard Monitoring System (HMS) to identify undocumented fires in Florida and improve the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) mapping process has yielded promising results. This method was augmented using regression tree models to identify burned/not-burned pixels...
Management and monitoring of the endangered Shenandoah salamander under climate change: Workshop report 10-12 April 2012
Evan H. Campbell Grant, John E. B. Wofford, D. R. Smith, J. Dennis, C. Hawkins-Hoffman, J. Schaberl, M. Foley, M. Bogle
2014, Natural Resource Report NPS/SHEN/NRR—2014/867
Here we report on a structured decision making (SDM) process to identify management strategies to ensure persistence of the federally endangered Shenandoah salamander (Plethodon shenandoah), given that it may be at increased extinction risk under projected climate change. The focus of this report is the second of two SDM workshops;...
The misconception of ecosystem disservices: How a catchy term may yield the wrong messages for science and society
Ferdinando Villa, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Brian Voigt, Gary W. Johnson, Ioannis N Athanasiadis, Stefano Balbi
2014, Ecosystem Services (10) 52-53
In their recent article, Shapiro and Báldi (2014) build on the long-running narrative of “ecosystem services and disservices” (e.g., Zhang et al., 2007 ; Lyytimäki et al., 2008), describing how nature yields both benefits and harms to society. These harms include crop pests, floods, landslides, wildfires, and zoonotic disease transmission,...
Development and characterization of 12 microsatellite markers for the Island Night Lizard (Xantusia riversiana), a threatened species endemic to the Channel Islands, California, USA
Ryan P. O’Donnell, Charles A. Drost, Karen E. Mock
2014, Conservation Genetics Resources (6) 699-700
The Island Night Lizard is a federally threatened species endemic to the Channel Islands of California. Twelve microsatellite loci were developed for use in this species and screened in 197 individuals from across San Nicolas Island, California. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 6 to 21. Observed heterozygosities...
Projecting future grassland productivity to assess thesustainability of potential biofuel feedstock areas in theGreater Platte River Basin
Yingxin Gu, Bruce K. Wylie, Stephen P. Boyte, Khem P. Phuyal
2014, GCB Bioenergy (6) 35-43
This study projects future (e.g., 2050 and 2099) grassland productivities in the Greater Platte River Basin (GPRB) using ecosystem performance (EP, a surrogate for measuring ecosystem productivity) models and future climate projections. The EP models developed from a previous study were based on the satellite vegetation index, site geophysical and...
Water quality monitoring protocol for wadeable streams and rivers in the Northern Great Plains Network
Marcia H. Wilson, Barbara L. Rowe, Robert A. Gitzen, Stephen K. Wilson, Kara J. Paintner-Green
2014, Natural Resource Report NPS/NGPN/NRR—2014/868
Preserving the national parks unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations is a fundamental purpose of the National Park Service (NPS). To address growing concerns regarding the overall physical, chemical, and biological elements and processes of park ecosystems, the NPS implemented science-based management through “Vital Signs” monitoring in 270 national...
Explosive dome eruptions modulated by periodic gas-driven inflation
Jeffrey B. Johnson, John J. Lyons, B. J. Andrews, J.M. Lees
2014, Geophysical Research Letters (41) 6689-6697
Volcan Santiaguito (Guatemala) “breathes” with extraordinary regularity as the edifice's conduit system accumulates free gas, which periodically vents to the atmosphere. Periodic pressurization controls explosion timing, which nearly always occurs at peak inflation, as detected with tiltmeters. Tilt cycles in January 2012 reveal regular 26 ± 6 min inflation/deflation cycles corresponding to at...
Tracking changes in volcanic systems with seismic Interferometry
Matthew M. Haney, Alicia J. Hotovec-Ellis, Ninfa L. Bennington, Silvio De Angelis, Clifford Thurber
2014, Book chapter, Encyclopedia of Earthquake Engineering
The detection and evaluation of time-dependent changes at volcanoes form the foundation upon which successful volcano monitoring is built. Temporal changes at volcanoes occur over all time scales and may be obvious (e.g., earthquake swarms) or subtle (e.g., a slow, steady increase in the level of tremor). Some of the...
Meteorological variables associated with deep slab avalanches on persistent weak layers
Alex Marienthal, Jordy Hendrikx, Karl Birkeland, Kathryn M. Irvine
2014, Conference Paper, Proceedings, International Snow Science Workshop, Banff, 2014
Deep slab avalanches are a particularly challenging avalanche forecasting problem. These avalanches are typically difficult to trigger, yet when they are triggered they tend to propagate far and result in large and destructive avalanches. For this work we define deep slab avalanches as those that fail on persistent weak layers...
USGS reservoir and lake gage network: Elevation and volumetric contents data, and their uses
Anita C. Kroska
2014, Lakeline (Spring 2014) 8-12
In December of 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) marked the 125th anniversary of the installation of its first official water level and streamflow gage, on the Rio Grande at Embudo, New Mexico. The gage was installed because it was recognized that water data were important to expanding irrigation needs....
Using lead isotopes and trace element records from two contrasting Lake Tanganyika sediment cores to assess watershed – Lake exchange
Kingsley Odigie, A.D. Cohen, Peter W. Swarzenski, R Flegal
2014, Applied Geochemistry (51) 184-190
Lead isotopic and trace element records of two contrasting sediment cores were examined to reconstruct historic, industrial contaminant inputs to Lake Tanganyika, Africa. Observed fluxes of Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in age-dated sediments collected from the lake varied both spatially and temporally over the past two to...
A new species of freshwater eel-tailed catfish of the genus Tandanus (Teleostei: Plotosidae) from the Wet Tropics Region of Eastern Australia
Stuart A. Welsh, Dean R. Jerry, Damien Burrows
2014, Copeia (2014) 136-142
Tandanus tropicanus, new species, is described based on specimens from streams in the wet tropics region of northeast Queensland. Previously, two species were recognized in the genus Tandanus: T. tandanus of eastern Australia and T. bostocki of Western Australia. A combination of meristic and morphometric characters distinguishes the new species from all congeners. Further, taxonomic...
Carcass analog provides marine subsidies for macroinvertebrates and juvenile Atlantic 8 salmon in temperate oligotrophic streams
Margaret Q. Guyette, Cynthia S. Loftin, Joseph D. Zydlewski, Richard Cunjak
2014, Freshwater Biology (59) 392-406
Anadromous fish populations entering freshwater ecosystems provide organic matter and marine-derived nutrients during spawning and subsequent mortalities of adults. Dams and other impediments to connectivity in rivers and streams have affected anadromous fish populations in many regions and prevented or reduced this influx of organic materials and...
Self-recognition in corals facilitates deep-sea habitat engineering
Sebastian J Hennige, Cheryl L. Morrison, Armin U. Form, Janina Buscher, Nicholas A. Kamenos, J. Murray Roberts
2014, Scientific Reports (4) 1-7
The ability of coral reefs to engineer complex three-dimensional habitats is central to their success and the rich biodiversity they support. In tropical reefs, encrusting coralline algae bind together substrates and dead coral framework to make continuous reef structures, but beyond the photic zone, the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa also...
Distribution and habitat associations of juvenile Common Snook in the lower Rio Grande, Texas
Caleb G. Huber, Timothy B. Grabowski, Reynaldo Patino, Kevin L. Pope
2014, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (6) 170-180
Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis were once abundant off the Texas coast, but these populations are now characterized by low abundance and erratic recruitment. Most research concerning Common Snook in North America has been conducted in Florida and very little is known about the specific biology and habitat needs of Common Snook in...
Bathymetric Terrain Model of the Puerto Rico Trench and the Northeastern Caribbean Region for Marine Geological Investigations
Brian D. Andrews, Uri S. ten Brink, William W. Danforth, Jason D. Chaytor, J Granja-Bruna, A Carbo-Gorosabel
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1125
Multibeam bathymetry data collected in the Puerto Rico Trench and Northeast Caribbean region are compiled into a seamless bathymetric terrain model for broad-scale geological investigations of the trench system. These data, collected during eight separate surveys between 2002 and 2013, covering almost 180,000 square kilometers are published here in large...
Assessing distribution of migratory fishes and connectivity following complete and partial dam removals in a North Carolina River
Joshua K. Raabe, Joseph E. Hightower
2014, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (34) 955-969
Fish, especially migratory species, are assumed to benefit from dam removals that restore connectivity and access to upstream habitat, but few studies have evaluated this assumption. Therefore, we assessed the movement of migratory fishes in the springs of 2008 through 2010 and surveyed available habitat in the Little River, North...
Fluorescence and dissolved organic matter: A chemist’s perspective
George R. Aiken
Paula G. Coble, Jamie Lead, Andy Baker, Darren M. Reynolds, Robert G. M. Spencer, editor(s)
2014, Book chapter, Aquatic organic matter fluorescence
No abstract available. ...
Growth and smolting in lower-mode Atlantic Salmon stocked into the Penobscot River, Maine
Joseph D. Zydlewski, Andrew O’Malley, Oliver Cox, Peter Ruksznis, Joan G. Trial
2014, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (34) 147-158
Restoration of Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar in Maine has relied on hatchery-produced fry and smolts for critical stocking strategies. Stocking fry minimizes domestication selection, but these fish have poor survival. Conversely, stocked smolts have little freshwater experience but provide higher adult returns. Lower-mode (LM) fish, those not growing fast enough to ensure...
A method and example of seismically imaging near‐surface fault zones in geologically complex areas using Vp, Vs, and their ratios
Rufus D. Catchings, Michael J. Rymer, Mark R. Goldman, Robert R. Sickler, Coyn J. Criley
2014, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (104) 1989-2006
The determination of near‐surface (vadose zone and slightly below) fault locations and geometries is important because assessment of ground rupture, strong shaking, geologic slip rates, and rupture histories occurs at shallow depths. However, seismic imaging of fault zones at shallow depths can be difficult due to near‐surface complexities, such as...
Fine-grained linings of leveed channels facilitate runout of granular flows
B.P. Kokelaar, R. L. Graham, J.M.N.T. Gray, James W. Vallance
2014, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (385) 172-180
Catastrophic dense granular flows, such as occur in rock avalanches, debris flows and pyroclastic flows, move as fully shearing mixtures that have approximately 60 vol.% solids and tend to segregate to form coarse-grained fronts and leveed channels. Levees restrict spreading of unconfined flows and form as coarse particles that become...
