Continuous water-quality and suspended-sediment transport monitoring in the San Francisco Bay, California, water years 2011–13
Paul A. Buchanan, Maureen A. Downing-Kunz, David H. Schoellhamer, Gregory Shellenbarger, Kurt Weidich
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3090
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitors water quality and suspended-sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay. The San Francisco Bay area is home to millions of people, and the bay teems with both resident and migratory wildlife, plants, and fish. Fresh water mixes with salt water in the bay, which...
A new map of global ecological land units — An ecophysiographic stratification approach
Roger Sayre, Jack Dangermond, Charlie Frye, Randy Vaughan, Peter Aniello, Sean P. Breyer, Douglas Cribbs, Dabney Hopkins, Richard Nauman, William Derrenbacher, Dawn J. Wright, Clint Brown, Charles Convis, Jonathan H. Smith, Laurence Benson, D. Paco VanSistine, Harumi Warner, Jill Janene Cress, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Sharon L. Hamann, Thomas Cecere, Ashwan D. Reddy, Devon Burton, Andrea Grosse, Diane TRUE, Marc Metzger, Jens Hartmann, Nils Moosdorf, Hans Durr, Marc Paganini, Pierre Defourny, Olivier Arino, Simone Maynard, Mark Anderson, Patrick Comer
2014, Book
In response to the need and an intergovernmental commission for a high resolution and data-derived global ecosystem map, land surface elements of global ecological pattern were characterized in an ecophysiographic stratification of the planet. The stratification produced 3,923 terrestrial ecological land units (ELUs) at a base resolution of 250 meters....
New imaging of submarine landslides from the 1964 earthquake near Whittier, Alaska, and a comparison to failures in other Alaskan fjords
Peter J. Haeussler, Thomas E. Parsons, David P. Finlayson, Patrick J. Hart, Jason D. Chaytor, Holly F. Ryan, Homa J. Lee, Keith A. Labay, Andrew Peterson, Lee Liberty
2014, Book chapter, Submarine mass movements and their consequences, Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research Vol. 37
The 1964 Alaska M w 9.2 earthquake triggered numerous submarine slope failures in fjords of southern Alaska. These failures generated local tsunamis, such as at Whittier, where they inundated the town within 4 min of the beginning of shaking. Run-up was up to 32 m, with 13 casualties....
Predicting impacts of future human population growth and development on occupancy rates of forest-dependent birds
Michelle L. Brown, Therese Donovan, W. Scott Schwenk, David M. Theobald
2014, Biological Conservation (170) 311-320
Forest loss and fragmentation are among the largest threats to forest-dwelling wildlife species today, and projected increases in human population growth are expected to increase these threats in the next century. We combined spatially-explicit growth models with wildlife distribution models to predict the effects of human development on 5 forest-dependent...
Incorporating detection probability into northern Great Plains pronghorn population estimates
Christopher N. Jacques, Jonathan A. Jenks, Troy W. Grovenburg, Robert W. Klaver, Christopher S. DePerno
2014, Journal of Wildlife Management (78) 164-174
Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) abundances commonly are estimated using fixed-wing surveys, but these estimates are likely to be negatively biased because of violations of key assumptions underpinning line-transect methodology. Reducing bias and improving precision of abundance estimates through use of detection probability and mark-resight models may allow for more responsive pronghorn...
A hydrogeomorphic river network model predicts where and why hyporheic exchange is important in large basins
Jesus D. Gomez-Velez, Judson Harvey
2014, Geophysical Research Letters (41) 6403-6412
Hyporheic exchange has been hypothesized to have basin-scale consequences; however, predictions throughout river networks are limited by available geomorphic and hydrogeologic data and by models that can analyze and aggregate hyporheic exchange flows across large spatial scales. We developed a parsimonious but physically based model of hyporheic flow for application...
Changes in vegetation and biological soil crust communities on sand dunes stabilizing after a century of grazing on San Miguel Island, Channel Island National Park, California
Kristine L. Zellman
2014, Monographs of the Western North American Naturalist (7) 225-245
San Miguel Island is the westernmost of the California Channel Islands and one of the windiest areas on the west coast of North America. The majority of the island is covered by coastal sand dunes, which were stripped of vegetation and subsequently mobilized due to droughts and sheep ranching during...
The temperature-productivity squeeze: Constraints on brook trout growth along an Appalachian river continuum
J. Todd Petty, David Thorne, Brock M. Huntsman, Patricia M. Mazik
2014, Hydrobiologia (727) 151-166
We tested the hypothesis that brook trout growth rates are controlled by a complex interaction of food availability, water temperature, and competitor density. We quantified trout diet, growth, and consumption in small headwater tributaries characterized as cold with low food and high trout density, larger tributaries characterized as cold with...
Influence of variable rainbow smelt and gizzard shad abundance on walleye diets and growth
Mark J. Fincel, Daniel J. Dembkowski, Steven R. Chipps
2014, Lake and Reservoir Management (30) 258-267
Prey availability influences growth and condition of walleye (Sander vitreus) in large systems. In Lake Oahe, South Dakota, rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) and gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) are primary prey of walleye, but their abundance varies substantially year to year. To evaluate the influence of gizzard...
Winter feeding, growth and condition of brown trout Salmo trutta in a groundwater-dominated stream
William E. French, Bruce C. Vondracek, Leonard C. Ferrington Jr., Jacques C. Finlay, Douglas J. Dieterman
2014, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (29) 187-200
Winter can be a stressful period for stream-dwelling salmonid populations, often resulting in reduced growth and survival. Stream water temperatures have been identified as a primary mechanism driving reductions in fitness during winter. However, groundwater inputs can moderate water temperature and may reduce winter severity. Additionally, seasonal reductions in prey...
Survivorship and longevity of adult Diamesa mendotae Muttkowski, 1915 (Diptera: Chironomidae) at controlled, sub-freezing temperatures
Jane E. Mazack, Petra Kranzfelder, Alyssa M. Anderson, William Bouchard Jr., James Perry, Bruce C. Vondracek, Leonard C. Ferrington Jr.
2014, Aquatic Insects (36) 35-42
Diamesa mendotae Muttkowski, 1915 is a winter-active species common in groundwater-buffered streams of Minnesota and Wisconsin. This species is capable of surviving under snow cover for at least 28 days. Field collections of adult D. mendotae were used to determine survivorship under long-term exposure to controlled sub-freezing conditions. Specimens were placed into a controlled...
Learning rate and temperament in a high predation risk environment
C. DePasquale, Tyler Wagner, G.A. Archard, B. Ferguson, V.A. Braithwaite
2014, Oecologia (176) 661-667
Living in challenging environments can influence the behavior of animals in a number of ways. For instance, populations of prey fish that experience frequent, nonlethal interactions with predators have a high proportion of individuals that express greater reaction to risk and increased activity and exploration—collectively known as temperament traits. Temperament...
Spectroscopy from Space
Roger N. Clark, Gregg A. Swayze, Robert R. Carlson, Will Grundy, Keith Noll
2014, Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry (78) 399-446
This chapter reviews detection of materials on solid and liquid (lakes and ocean) surfaces in the solar system using ultraviolet to infrared spectroscopy from space, or near space (high altitude aircraft on the Earth), or in the case of remote objects, earth-based and earth-orbiting telescopes. Point spectrometers and imaging spectrometers...
Effects of iron on optical properties of dissolved organic matter
Brett Poulin, Joseph N. Ryan, George R. Aiken
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 10098-10106
Iron is a source of interference in the spectroscopic analysis of dissolved organic matter (DOM); however, its effects on commonly employed ultraviolet and visible (UV–vis) light adsorption and fluorescence measurements are poorly defined. Here, we describe the effects of iron(II) and iron(III) on the UV–vis absorption and fluorescence of solutions...
2013 status of the Lake Ontario lower trophic levels
Kristen T. Holeck, Lars G. Rudstam, Christopher Hotaling, Russ D. McCullough, Dave Lemon, Web Pearsall, Jana R. Lantry, Michael J. Connerton, Steve LaPan, Betsy Trometer, Brian F. Lantry, Maureen Walsh, Brian Weidel
2014, NYSDEC Lake Ontario Annual Report 2013-16
Phosphorus showed high variation across nearshore (10 m depth) sites but was more stable at offshore (20 m and deeper) stations. In June and July, sites at the mouth of the Niagara River and at Oak Orchard had high phosphorus concentrations (20 – 46 μg/L). Epilimnetic average April-Oct total phosphorus...
A design for a sustained assessment of climate forcings and feedbacks on land use land cover change
Thomas Loveland, Rezaul Mahmood
2014, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (95) 1563-1572
Land use and land cover change (LULCC) significantly influences the climate system. Hence, to prepare the nation for future climate change and variability, a sustained assessment of LULCC and its climatic impacts needs to be undertaken. To address this objective, not only do we need to determine contemporary trends in...
Geochemistry of a marine phosphate deposit: A signpost to phosphogenesis
David Z. Piper, R.B. Perkins
2014, Book chapter, Treatise on geochemistry
The Permian age Phosphoria Formation in southeastern Idaho and adjoining states represents possibly the largest marine phosphate deposit in the world. The Meade Peak Member, which contains the highest concentrations and amount of carbonate fluorapatite in the formation, was not significantly altered by mechanical reworking during deposition or subsequently by...
Hydroclimatic regimes: a distributed water-balance framework for hydrologic assessment, classification, and management
Peter K. Weiskel, David M. Wolock, Phillip J. Zarriello, Richard M. Vogel, Sara B. Levin, Robert M. Lent
2014, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (18) 3855-3872
Runoff-based indicators of terrestrial water availability are appropriate for humid regions, but have tended to limit our basic hydrologic understanding of drylands – the dry-subhumid, semiarid, and arid regions which presently cover nearly half of the global land surface. In response, we introduce an indicator framework that gives equal weight...
Gear and seasonal bias associated with abundance and size structure estimates for lentic freshwater fishes
Jesse R. Fischer, Michael C. Quist
2014, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (5) 394-412
All freshwater fish sampling methods are biased toward particular species, sizes, and sexes and are further influenced by season, habitat, and fish behavior changes over time. However, little is known about gear-specific biases for many common fish species because few multiple-gear comparison studies exist that have incorporated seasonal dynamics. We...
Strategic conservation planning for the Eastern North Carolina/Southeastern Virginia Strategic Habitat Conservation Team
Louise B. Alexander-Vaughn, Jaime A. Collazo, C. Ashton Drew
2014, Technical Bulletin 337
The Eastern North Carolina/Southeastern Virginia Strategic Habitat Conservation Team (ENCSEVA) is a partnership among local federal agencies and programs with a mission to apply Strategic Habitat Conservation to accomplish priority landscape-level conservation within its geographic region. ENCSEVA seeks to further landscape-scale conservation through collaboration with local partners. To accomplish this...
Rates and style of Cenozoic deformation around the Gonghe Basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau
William H. Craddock, Eric Kirby, Huiping Zhang, Marin K. Clark, Jean-Daniel Champagnac, Daoyang Yuan
2014, Geosphere (10) 1255-1282
The northeastern Tibetan Plateau constitutes a transitional region between the low-relief physiographic plateau to the south and the high-relief ranges of the Qilian Shan to the north. Cenozoic deformation across this margin of the plateau is associated with localized growth of fault-cored mountain ranges and associated basins. Herein, we combine...
Latest Quaternary paleoseismology and evidence of distributed dextral shear along the Mohawk Valley fault zone, northern Walker Lane, California
Ryan D. Gold, Richard W. Briggs, Stephen Personius, Anthony J. Crone, Shannon A. Mahan, Stephen Angster
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (119) 5014-5032
The dextral-slip Mohawk Valley fault zone (MVFZ) strikes northwestward along the eastern margin of the Sierra Nevada in the northern Walker Lane. Geodetic block modeling indicates that the MVFZ may accommodate ~3 mm/yr of regional dextral strain, implying that it is the highest slip-rate strike-slip fault in the region; however,...
Triggered aseismic slip adjacent to the 6 February 2013 Mw 8.0 Santa Cruz Islands megathrust earthquake
Gavin P. Hayes, Kevin P. Furlong, Harley M. Benz, Matthew W. Herman
2014, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (388) 265-272
Aseismic or slow slip events have been observed in many subduction zones, but whether they affect the occurrence of earthquakes or result from stress changes caused by nearby events is unclear. In an area lacking direct geodetic observations, inferences can be made from seismological studies of co-seismic slip, associated stress...
Change-in-ratio
Mark S. Udevitz
2014, Book chapter, Encyclopedia of Environmetrics
Change-in-ratio (CIR) methods are used to estimate parameters for ecological populations subject to differential removals from population subclasses. Subclasses can be defined according to criteria such as sex, age, or size of individuals. Removals are generally in the form of closely monitored sport or commercial harvests. Estimation is based on...
Toxicokinetics and coagulopathy threshold of the rodenticide diphacinone in eastern screech-owls (Megascops asio)
Barnett A. Rattner, K.E. Horak, Rebecca S. Lazarus, D.A. Goldade, J. J. Johnston
2014, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (33) 74-81
In the United States, new regulations on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides will likely be offset by expanded use of first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides. In the present study, eastern screech-owls (Megascops asio) were fed 10 µg diphacinone/g wet weight food for 7 d, and recovery was monitored over a 21-d postexposure period. By day...
