Desert fires fueled by native annual forbs: Effects of fire on communities of plants and birds in the Lower Sonoran Desert of Arizona
Todd C. Esque, Robert H. Webb, Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Charles van Riper III, Chris McCreedy, Lindsay A. Smythe
2013, Southwestern Naturalist (58) 223-233
In 2005, fire ignited by humans swept from Yuma Proving Grounds into Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, burning ca. 9,255 ha of Wilderness Area. Fuels were predominantly the native forb Plantago ovata. Large fires at low elevations were rare in the 19th and 20th centuries, and fires fueled by native...
Report A: Fish distribution and population dynamics in Rock Creek, Klickitat County, Washington
Brady Allen, Carrie S. Munz, Elaine Harvey
2013, Report, Rock Creek fish and habitat assessment for prioritization of restoration and protection actions
The U.S. Geological Survey collaborated with the Yakama Nation starting in fall of 2009 to study the fish populations in Rock Creek, a Washington State tributary of the Columbia River 21 kilometers upstream of John Day Dam. Prior to this study, very little was known about the ESA-listed (threatened) Mid-Columbia...
Reactivation of the Archean-Proterozoic suture along the southern margin of Laurentia during the Mazatzal orogeny: Petrogenesis and tectonic implications of ca. 1.63 Ga granite in southeastern Wyoming
Daniel S. Jones, Calvin G. Barnes, Wayne R. Premo, Arthur W. Snoke
2013, Geological Society of America Bulletin (125) 164-183
The presence of ca. 1.63 Ga monzogranite (the “white quartz monzonite”) in the southern Sierra Madre, southeastern Wyoming, is anomalous given its distance from the nearest documented plutons of similar age (central Colorado) and the nearest contemporaneous tectonic margin (New Mexico). It is located immediately south of the Cheyenne belt—a...
Origin of the Blytheville Arch, and long-term displacement on the New Madrid seismic zone, central United States
Thomas L. Pratt, Robert Williams, Jackson K. Odum, William J. Stephenson
2013, GSA Special Papers (493) 1-15
The southern arm of the New Madrid seismic zone of the central United States coincides with the buried, ~110 km by ~20 km Blytheville Arch antiform within the Cambrian–Ordovician Reelfoot rift graben. The Blytheville Arch has been interpreted at various times as a compressive structure, an igneous intrusion, or a...
Temporal and spatial variation in bird and human use of beaches in southern California
Kevin D. Lafferty, Donald A. Rodriguez, Angela Chapman
2013, SpringerPlus (2) 1-14
Southern California’s beaches can support a remarkable diversity of birds along the Pacific Flyway. We asked whether seasonal, annual, and spatial factors affect bird richness and abundance on public beaches. To do so, we conducted three years of monthly bird surveys on 12 sandy beaches in Ventura California. Across all...
Persistence and potential effects of complex organic contaminant mixtures in wastewater-impacted streams
Larry B. Barber, Steffanie H. Keefe, Greg K. Brown, Edward T. Furlong, James L. Gray, Dana W. Kolpin, Michael T. Meyer, Mark W. Sandstrom, Steven D. Zaugg
2013, Environmental Science & Technology (47) 2177-2188
Natural and synthetic organic contaminants in municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents can cause ecosystem impacts, raising concerns about their persistence in receiving streams. In this study, Lagrangian sampling, in which the same approximate parcel of water is tracked as it moves downstream, was conducted at Boulder Creek, Colorado and...
Semidiurnal temperature changes caused by tidal front movements in the warm season in seabed habitats on the Georges Bank northern margin and their ecological implications
Vincent G. Guida, Page C. Valentine, Leslie B. Gallea
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
Georges Bank is a large, shallow feature separating the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic Ocean. Previous studies demonstrated a strong tidal-mixing front during the warm season on the northern bank margin between thermally stratified water in the Gulf of Maine and mixed water on the bank. Tides transport warm...
Deformational and erosional history for the Abiquiu and contiguous area, north-central New Mexico: Implications for formation of the Abiquiu embayment and a discussion of new geochronological and geochemical analysis
Florian Maldonado, Daniel P. Miggins, James R. Budahm
2013, GSA Special Papers (494) 125-155
Geologic mapping, age determinations, and geochemistry of rocks exposed in the Abiquiu area of the Abiquiu embayment of the Rio Grande rift, north-central New Mexico, provide data to determine fault-slip and incision rates. Vertical-slip rates for faults in the area range from 16 m/m.y. to 42 m/m.y., and generally...
Accumulation of organic carbon-rich strata along the western margin and in the center of the North American western interior seaway during the Cenomanian-Turonian Transgression: Chapter 3
W.E. Dean, E.G. Kauffman, M.A. Arthur
A. L. Titus, M. A. Loewen, editor(s)
2013, Book chapter, At the top of the Grand Staircase: The Late Cretaceous of Southern Utah
No abstract available....
Reliability of fish size estimates obtained from multibeam imaging sonar
Joseph E. Hightower, Kevin J. Magowan, Lori M. Brown, Dewayne A. Fox
2013, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (4) 86-96
Multibeam imaging sonars have considerable potential for use in fisheries surveys because the video-like images are easy to interpret, and they contain information about fish size, shape, and swimming behavior, as well as characteristics of occupied habitats. We examined images obtained using a dual-frequency identification sonar (DIDSON) multibeam sonar for...
Telemetry-based mortality estimates of juvenile spot in two North Carolina estuarine creeks
Sarah E. Friedl, Jeffery A. Buckel, Joseph E. Hightower, Frederick S. Scharf, Kenneth H. Pollock
2013, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (142) 399-415
We estimated natural mortality rates (M) of age-1 Spot Leiostomus xanthurus by using a sonic telemetry approach. Sonic transmitters were surgically implanted into a total of 123 age-1 Spot in two North Carolina estuarine creeks during spring 2009 and 2010, and the fish were monitored by using a stationary acoustic...
The Cambrian-Ordovician rocks of Sonora, Mexico, and southern Arizona, southwestern margin of North America (Laurentia)
William R. Page, Alta C. Harris, John E. Repetski
James R. Derby, R.D. Fritz, S.A. Longacre, W.A. Morgan, C.A. Sternbach, editor(s)
2013, Book chapter, The great American carbonate bank: The geology and economic resources of the Cambrian-Ordovician Sauk megasequence of Laurentia
Cambrian and Ordovician shelf, platform, and basin rocks are present in Sonora, Mexico, and southern Arizona and were deposited on the southwestern continental margin of North America (Laurentia). Cambrian and Ordovician rocks in Sonora, Mexico, are mostly exposed in scattered outcrops in the northern half of the state. Their discontinuous nature results...
Geochemistry and geophysics field maps used during the USGS 2011 field season in southwest Alaska
Stuart A. Giles
2013, Book chapter, Esri Map Book
The US Geological Survey (USGS) has been studying a variety of geochemical and geophyscial assessment techniques for concealed mineral deposits. The 2011 field season for this project took place in southwest Alaska, northeast of Bristol Bay between Dillingham and Iliamna Lake. Four maps were created for the geochemistry and geophysics...
Phylogeography, post-glacial gene flow, and population history of North American goshawks (Accipeter gentilis)
Shelley Bayard De Volo, Richard T. Reynolds, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Sandra L. Talbot, Michael F. Antolin
2013, The Auk (130) 342-354
Climate cycling during the Quaternary played a critical role in the diversification of avian lineages in North America, greatly influencing the genetic characteristics of contemporary populations. To test the hypothesis that North American Northern Goshawks (Accipitergentilis) were historically isolated within multiple Late Pleistocene refugia, we assessed diversity and population genetic...
Research strategies for addressing uncertainties
David E. Busch, Levi D. Brekke, Kristen Averyt, Angela Jardine, Leigh Welling
Gregg Garfin, Angela Jardine, Robert W. Merideth, Mary Black, Sarah LeRoy, editor(s)
2013, Book chapter, Assessment of climate change in southwest United States: a report prepared for the National Climate Assessment
Research Strategies for Addressing Uncertainties builds on descriptions of research needs presented elsewhere in the book; describes current research efforts and the challenges and opportunities to reduce the uncertainties of climate change; explores ways to improve the understanding of changes in climate and hydrology; and emphasizes the use of research...
Diversidad haplotípica en el manatí Trichechus manatus en Cuba: resultados preliminares
Damir Hernandez-Martinez, Anmari Alvarez-Aleman, Robert K. Bonde, James A. Powell, Erik Garcia-Machado
2013, Revista de investigación (33) 58-61
The aim of this analysis was to obtain information regarding the mtDNA haplotype composition of the manatee (T. manatus) occupying the Cuban archipelago. A fragment of 410 bp of the non-coding region was analyzed for 12 individual manatees from Cuba and one from Florida, USA. Only two haplotypes were identified....
Biochar effect on maize yield and soil characteristics in five conservation farming sites in Zambia
Gerard Cornelissen, Vegard Martinsen, Victor Shitumbanuma, Vanja Alling, Gijs D. Breedveld, David W. Rutherford, Magnus Sparrevik, Sarah E. Hale, Alfred Obia, Jan Mulder
2013, Agronomy Journal (3) 256-274
Biochar addition to agricultural soils can improve soil fertility, with the added bonus of climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration. Conservation farming (CF) is precision farming, often combining minimum tillage, crop rotation and residue retention. In the present farmer-led field trials carried out in Zambia, the use of a low...
Sorption of pure N2O to biochars and other organic and inorganic materials under anhydrous conditions
Gerard Cornelissen, David W. Rutherford, Hans Peter H. Arp, Peter Dorsch, Charlene N. Kelly, Colleen E. Rostad
2013, Environmental Science & Technology (47) 7704-7712
Suppression of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from soil is commonly observed after amendment with biochar. The mechanisms accounting for this suppression are not yet understood. One possible contributing mechanism is N2O sorption to biochar. The sorption of N2O and carbon dioxide (CO2) to four biochars was measured in an anhydrous...
Vegetation ecogeomorphology, dynamic equilibrium, and disturbance
Cliff R. Hupp, W. R. Osterkamp
2013, Book chapter, Ecogeomorphology: Volume 12 in Treatise in Geomorphology
Early ecologists understood the need to document geomorphic form and process to explain plant species distributions. Although this relationship has been acknowledged for over a century, with the exception of a few landmark papers, only the past few decades have experienced intensive research on this interdisciplinary topic. Here the authors...
Characterization and remediation of iron(III) oxide-rich scale in a pipeline carrying acid mine drainage at Iron Mountain Mine, California, USA
Kate M. Campbell, Charles N. Alpers, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Alex E. Blum, Amy Williams
A. Brown, L. Figueroa, C. Wolkersdorfer, editor(s)
2013, Conference Paper, Reliable mine water technology: Proceedings of the International Mine Water Association Annual Conference 2013, August 6-9, 2013, Golden, Colorado, USA
http://imwa.info/docs/imwa_2013/IMWA2013_Campbell_481.pdf...
Chalcopyrite—bearer of a precious, non-precious metal
Bryn E. Kimball
2013, Geology Today (29) 30-35
The mineral chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) is the world's most abundant source of copper, a metal component in virtually every piece of electrical equipment. It is the main copper mineral in several different ore deposit types, the most important of which are porphyry deposits. Chalcopyrite is unstable at the Earth's surface, so...
Tree-ring records of variation in flow and channel geometry
M.F. Merigliano, J.M. Friedman, M. L. Scott
2013, Book chapter, Reference module in earth systems and environmental sciences; Treatise on geomorphology, Volume 12
We review the use of tree rings to date flood disturbance, channel change, and sediment deposition, with an emphasis on rivers in semi-arid landscapes in the western United States. As watershed area decreases and aridity increases, large floods have a more pronounced and sustained effect on channel width and location,...
Estimating abundance of the Southern Hudson Bay polar bear subpopulation using aerial surveys, 2011 and 2012
Martyn E. Obbard, Kevin R. Middel, Seth P. Stapleton, Isabelle Thibault, Vincent Brodeur, Charles Jutras
2013, Wildlife Research Series 2013-01
The Southern Hudson Bay (SH) polar bear subpopulation occurs at the southern extent of the species’ range. Although capture-recapture studies indicate that abundance remained stable between 1986 and 2005, declines in body condition and survival were documented during the period, possibly foreshadowing a future decrease in abundance. To obtain a...
Future distribution of tundra refugia in northern Alaska
Andrew G. Hope, Eric Waltari, David C. Payer, Joseph A. Cook, Sandra L. Talbot
2013, Nature Climate Change (3) 931-938
Climate change in the Arctic is a growing concern for natural resource conservation and management as a result of accelerated warming and associated shifts in the distribution and abundance of northern species. We introduce a predictive framework for assessing the future extent of Arctic tundra and boreal biomes in northern...
Spatio-temporal dynamics of pneumonia in bighorn sheep
E. Frances Cassirer, Raina K. Plowright, Kezia R. Manlove, Paul C. Cross, Andrew P. Dobson, Kathleen A. Potter, Peter J. Hudson
2013, Journal of Animal Ecology (82) 518-528
Bighorn sheep mortality related to pneumonia is a primary factor limiting population recovery across western North America, but management has been constrained by an incomplete understanding of the disease. We analysed patterns of pneumonia-caused mortality over 14 years in 16 interconnected bighorn sheep populations to gain insights into underlying disease...
