Groundwater quality in western New York, 2011
James E. Reddy
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1095
Water samples collected from 16 production wells and 15 private residential wells in western New York from July through November 2011 were analyzed to characterize the groundwater quality. Fifteen of the wells were finished in sand and gravel aquifers, and 16 were finished in bedrock aquifers. Six of the 31...
Interactions between brown bears and chum salmon at McNeil River, Alaska
Joshua Peirce, Edward O. Otis, Mark S. Wipfli, Erich H. Follmann
2013, Ursus (24) 42-53
Predation on returning runs of adult salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) can have a large influence on their spawning success. At McNeil River State Game Sanctuary (MRSGS), Alaska, brown bears (Ursus arctos) congregate in high numbers annually along the lower McNeil River to prey upon returning adult chum salmon (O. keta). Low...
The role of airborne mineral dusts in human disease
Suzette A. Morman, Geoffrey S. Plumlee
2013, Aeolian Research (9) 203-212
Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) is generally acknowledged to increase risk for human morbidity and mortality. However, particulate matter (PM) research has generally examined anthropogenic (industry and combustion by-products) sources with few studies considering contributions from geogenic PM (produced from the Earth by natural processes, e.g., volcanic ash, windborne...
The giant Pebble Cu-Au-Mo deposit and surrounding region, southwest Alaska: Introduction
Karen D. Kelley, James R. Lang, Robert G. Eppinger
2013, Economic Geology (108) 397-404
The Pebble deposit is located about 320 km southwest of and 27 km northwest of the village of Iliamna in Alaska (Fig. 1A). It is one of the largest porphyry deposits in terms of contained Cu (Fig. 2A) and it has the largest Au endowment of any porphyry deposit in...
Evidence of territoriality and species interactions from spatial point-pattern analyses of subarctic-nesting geese
Matthew Reiter, David E. Andersen
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
Quantifying spatial patterns of bird nests and nest fate provides insights into processes influencing a species’ distribution. At Cape Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, recent declines in breeding Eastern Prairie Population Canada geese (Branta canadensis interior) has coincided with increasing populations of nesting lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) and Ross’s geese...
Water resources of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana
Robert B. Fendick Jr., Larry B. Prakken, Jason M. Griffith
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3012
In 2005, about 33.8 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) was withdrawn from water sources in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Surface water sources accounted for about 86 percent (29.2 Mgal/d) of all withdrawals whereas groundwater sources accounted for about 14 percent (4.62 Mgal/d). Withdrawals for industrial use accounted for about 42 percent...
Water resources of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
Larry B. Prakken
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3031
In 2010, about 85.1 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Surface-water sources accounted for almost all withdrawals; groundwater sources accounted for only 0.04 Mgal/d. Industrial use accounted for about 92 percent of the total water withdrawn. Other categories of use included public supply,...
Multi-species call-broadcast improved detection of endangered Yuma clapper rail compared to single-species call-broadcast
Christopher P. Nadeau, Courtney J. Conway, Linden Piest, William P. Burger
2013, Wetlands (33) 699-706
Broadcasting calls of marsh birds during point-count surveys increases their detection probability and decreases variation in the number of birds detected across replicate surveys. However, multi-species monitoring using call-broadcast may reduce these benefits if birds are reluctant to call once they hear broadcasted calls of other species. We compared a...
Tamarix and Diorhabda leaf beetle interactions: implications for Tamarix water use and riparian habitat
Pamela Nagler, Edward P. Glenn
2013, JAWRA (49) 534-548
Tamarix leaf beetles (Diorhabda carinulata) have been widely released on western United States rivers to control introduced shrubs in the genus Tamarix, with the goals of saving water through removal of an assumed high water-use plant, and of improving habitat value by removing a competitor of native riparian trees. We...
Sediment accretion rates and sediment composition in Prairie Pothole wetlands under varying land use practices, Montana, United States
T.M. Preston, R.S. Sojda, R.A. Gleason
2013, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (68) 199-211
Increased sedimentation and nutrient cycle changes in Prairie Pothole Region wetlands associated with agriculture threaten the permanence and ecological functionality of these important resources. To determine the effects of land use on sedimentation and nutrient cycling, soil cores were analyzed for cesium-137 (137Cs), lead-210 (210Pb), and potassium-40 (40K) activities; textural...
Contaminants assessment in the coral reefs of Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument
Timothy A. Bargar, Virginia H. Garrison, David A. Alvarez, Kathy Echols
2013, Marine Pollution Bulletin (70) 281-288
Coral, fish, plankton, and detritus samples were collected from coral reefs in Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS) and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICR) to assess existing contamination levels. Passive water sampling using polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) and semi-permeable membrane devices found a few emerging pollutants of...
Water resources of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
Larry B. Prakken
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3030
In 2010, about 261 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, almost entirely from surface-water sources. Industrial use accounted for about 97 percent (253 Mgal/d) of the total water withdrawn. Other categories of use included public supply, rural domestic, and livestock. Water-use data...
Inferring fault rheology from low-frequency earthquakes on the San Andreas
Nicholas M. Beeler, Amanda Thomas, Roland Bürgmann, David R. Shelly
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research (118) 5976-5990
Families of recurring low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) within nonvolcanic tremor (NVT) on the San Andreas fault in central California show strong sensitivity to shear stress induced by the daily tidal cycle. LFEs occur at all levels of the tidal shear stress and are in phase with the very small, ~400 Pa, stress...
A domain decomposition approach to implementing fault slip in finite-element models of quasi-static and dynamic crustal deformation
Brad T. Aagaard, M.G. Knepley, C.A. Williams
2013, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (118) 3059-3079
We employ a domain decomposition approach with Lagrange multipliers to implement fault slip in a finite-element code, PyLith, for use in both quasi-static and dynamic crustal deformation applications. This integrated approach to solving both quasi-static and dynamic simulations leverages common finite-element data structures and implementations of various boundary conditions, discretization...
Fragmentation and thermal risks from climate change interact to affect persistence of native trout in the Colorado River basin
James J. Roberts, Kurt D. Fausch, Douglas P. Peterson, Mevin Hooten
2013, Global Change Biology (19) 1383-1398
Impending changes in climate will interact with other stressors to threaten aquatic ecosystems and their biota. Native Colorado River cutthroat trout (CRCT; Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus) are now relegated to 309 isolated high-elevation (>1700 m) headwater stream fragments in the Upper Colorado River Basin, owing to...
Spatial occupancy models for large data sets
Devin S. Johnson, Paul B. Conn, Mevin Hooten, Justina C. Ray, Bruce A. Pond
2013, Ecology (94) 801-808
Since its development, occupancy modeling has become a popular and useful tool for ecologists wishing to learn about the dynamics of species occurrence over time and space. Such models require presence–absence data to be collected at spatially indexed survey units. However, only recently have researchers recognized the need to correct...
Age-specific survival of tundra swans on the lower Alaska Peninsula
Brandt W. Meixell, Mark S. Lindberg, Paul B. Conn, Christian P. Dau, John E. Sarvis, Kristine M. Sowl
2013, The Condor (115) 280-289
The population of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus columbianus) breeding on the lower Alaska Peninsula represents the southern extremity of the species' range and is uniquely nonmigratory. We used data on recaptures, resightings, and recoveries of neck-collared Tundra Swans on the lower Alaska Peninsula to estimate collar loss, annual apparent survival,...
Taming wildlife disease: bridging the gap between science and management
Maxwell B. Joseph, Joseph R. Mihaljevic, Ana Lisette Arellano, Jordan G. Kueneman, Paul C. Cross, Pieter T.J. Johnson
2013, Journal of Applied Ecology (50) 702-712
1.Parasites and pathogens of wildlife can threaten biodiversity, infect humans and domestic animals, and cause significant economic losses, providing incentives to manage wildlife diseases. Recent insights from disease ecology have helped transform our understanding of infectious disease dynamics and yielded new strategies to better manage wildlife diseases. Simultaneously, wildlife disease...
Inferential consequences of modeling rather than measuring snow accumulation in studies of animal ecology
Paul C. Cross, Robert W. Klaver, Angela Brennan, Scott Creel, Jon P. Beckmann, Megan D. Higgs, Brandon M. Scurlock
2013, Ecological Applications (23) 643-653
Abstract. It is increasingly common for studies of animal ecology to use model-based predictions of environmental variables as explanatory or predictor variables, even though model prediction uncertainty is typically unknown. To demonstrate the potential for misleading inferences when model predictions with error are used in place of direct measurements, we...
A quantitative analysis of the state of knowledge of turtles of the United States and Canada
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Joshua R. Ennen
2013, Amphibia-Reptilia (34) 11-23
The “information age” ushered in an explosion of knowledge and access to knowledge that continues to revolutionize society. Knowledge about turtles, as measured by number of published papers, has been growing at an exponential rate since the early 1970s, a phenomenon mirrored in all scientific disciplines. Although knowledge about turtles,...
Circuit theory and model-based inference for landscape connectivity
Ephraim M. Hanks, Mevin Hooten
2013, Journal of the American Statistical Association (108) 22-33
Circuit theory has seen extensive recent use in the field of ecology, where it is often applied to study functional connectivity. The landscape is typically represented by a network of nodes and resistors, with the resistance between nodes a function of landscape characteristics. The effective distance between two locations on...
Aggregation of carbon dioxide sequestration storage assessment units
Madalyn S. Blondes, John H. Schuenemeyer, Ricardo A. Olea, Lawrence J. Drew
2013, Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment (27) 1839-1859
The U.S. Geological Survey is currently conducting a national assessment of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage resources, mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Pre-emission capture and storage of CO2 in subsurface saline formations is one potential method to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the negative impact of...
Geologic map of the Winslow 30’ × 60’ quadrangle, Coconino and Navajo Counties, northern Arizona
George H. Billingsley, Debra L. Block, Margaret Hiza Redsteer
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3247
The Winslow 30’ × 60’ quadrangle encompasses approximately 5,018 km2 (1,960 mi2) within Coconino and Navajo Counties of northern Arizona. It is characterized by gently dipping Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata that dip 1° to 2° northeastward in the southwestern part of the quadrangle and become nearly flat-lying in the northeastern...
Database for the Geologic Map of Newberry Volcano, Deschutes, Klamath, and Lake Counties, Oregon
Joseph A. Bard, David W. Ramsey, Norman S. MacLeod, David R. Sherrod, Lawrence A. Chitwood, Robert A. Jensen
2013, Data Series 771
Newberry Volcano, one of the largest Quaternary volcanoes in the conterminous United States, is a broad shield-shaped volcano measuring 60 km north-south by 30 km east-west with a maximum elevation of more than 2 km. Newberry Volcano is the product of deposits from thousands of eruptions, including at least 25...
At-sea behavior varies with lunar phase in a nocturnal pelagic seabird, the swallow-tailed gull
Sebastian M. Cruz, Mevin Hooten, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Carolina B. Proano, David J. Anderson, Vsevolod Afanasyev, Martin Wikelski
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
Strong and predictable environmental variability can reward flexible behaviors among animals. We used long-term records of activity data that cover several lunar cycles to investigate whether behavior at-sea of swallow-tailed gulls Creagrus furcatus, a nocturnal pelagic seabird, varied with lunar phase in the Galápagos Islands. A Bayesian hierarchical model showed...
