Prevalence of Anguillicoloides crassus and growth variation in migrant yellow-phase American eels of the upper Potomac River drainage
Jennifer L. Zimmerman, Stuart A. Welsh
2012, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (101) 131-137
Prevalence of the non-native swim bladder nematode Anguillicoloides crassus has recently increased in American eels from estuaries of the North American Atlantic coast, but little is known about parasite prevalence or conditions of previous infection in upstream migrant eels within upper watersheds. This study is the first to confirm presence of A....
The walk is never random: subtle landscape effects shape gene flow in a continuous white-tailed deer population in the Midwestern United States
Stacie J. Robinson, Michael D. Samuel, Davin L. Lopez, Paul Shelton
2012, Molecular Ecology (21) 4190-4205
One of the pervasive challenges in landscape genetics is detecting gene flow patterns within continuous populations of highly mobile wildlife. Understanding population genetic structure within a continuous population can give insights into social structure, movement across the landscape and contact between populations, which influence ecological interactions, reproductive dynamics or pathogen...
Long-term change along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park (1889-2011)
R. H. Webb, J. Belnap, M. L. Scott, J.M. Friedman, T.C. Esque
2012, Newsletter
The Colorado River and its riverine resources have undergone profound changes since completion of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, as every river runner with any history in Grand Canyon will attest. Long-term monitoring data are difficult to obtain for high-value resource areas (Webb et al. 2009), particularly in remote parts...
Estrogenic compounds decrease growth hormone receptor abundance and alter osmoregulation in Atlantic salmon
Darren T. Lerner, Mark A. Sheridan, Stephen D. McCormick
2012, General and Comparative Endocrinology (179) 196-204
Exposure of Atlantic salmon smolts to estrogenic compounds is shown to compromise several aspects of smolt development. We sought to determine the underlying endocrine mechanisms of estrogen impacts on the growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) axis. Smolts in freshwater (FW) were either injected 3 times over 10 days...
Estimating occupancy in large landscapes: evaluation of amphibian monitoring in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem
William R. Gould, Debra A. Patla, Rob Daley, Paul Stephen Corn, Blake R. Hossack, Robert E. Bennetts, Charles R. Peterson
2012, Wetlands (32) 379-389
Monitoring of natural resources is crucial to ecosystem conservation, and yet it can pose many challenges. Annual surveys for amphibian breeding occupancy were conducted in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks over a 4-year period (2006–2009) at two scales: catchments (portions of watersheds) and individual wetland sites. Catchments were selected...
Mineral resource of the month: boron
Robert D. Crangle Jr.
2012, Earth (57) 23-23
The article offers information on the mineral, boron. Boron compounds, particularly borates, have more commercial applications than its elemental relative which is a metalloid. Making up the 90% of the borates that are used worldwide are colemanite, kernite, tincal, and ulexite. The main borate deposits are located in the Mojave...
Spot-mapping underestimates song-territory size and use of mature forest by breeding golden-winged warblers in Minnesota, USA
Henry M. Streby, John P. Loegering, David E. Andersen
2012, Wildlife Society Bulletin (36) 40-46
Studies of songbird breeding habitat often compare habitat characteristics of used and unused areas. Although there is usually meticulous effort to precisely and consistently measure habitat characteristics, accuracy of methods for estimating which areas are used versus which are unused by birds remains generally untested. To examine accuracy of spot-mapping...
Evaluation of otoliths Salt Creek pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus salinus) for use in analyses of age and growth
Maria C. Dzul, D. Bailey Gaines, Jesse R. Fischer, Michael C. Quist, Stephen J. Dinsmore
2012, Southwestern Naturalist (57) 412-416
We collected Salt Creek pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus salinus) from Salt Creek, Death Valley, California, in November 2009 and May 2010. The purpose of our study was to determine whether otoliths displayed interpretable marks that might be used for estimating age and growth. Otoliths exhibited alternating bands of opaque and translucent...
Density-dependent nest predation in waterfowl: the relative importance of nest density versus nest dispersion
Joshua T. Ackerman, Kevin M. Ringelman, J.M. Eadie
2012, Oecologia (169) 695-702
When nest predation levels are very high or very low, the absolute range of observable nest success is constrained (a floor/ceiling effect), and it may be more difficult to detect density-dependent nest predation. Density-dependent nest predation may be more detectable in years with moderate predation rates, simply because there can...
Fluorspar
M. Miller
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 51-52
World fluorspar demand continued to show signs of recovery from 2008-2009 recession. In 2011, nearly all fluorspar (CaF2) consumed in the United States was imported. Hastie Mining and Trucking Co. produced some fluorspar as a byproduct from its limestone quarry operations in Illinois. In addition, a small amount of usable...
Bromine
Joyce A. Ober
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 40-41
The element bromine is found principally as a dissolved species in seawater, evaporitic (salt) lakes and underground brines associated with petroleum deposits. Seawater contains about 65 parts per million of bromine or an estimated 100 Tt (110 trillion st). In the Middle East, the highly saline waters of the Dead...
Earthworm bioassays and seedling emergence for monitoring toxicity, aging and bioaccumulation of anthropogenic waste indicator compounds in biosolids-amended soil
Chad A. Kinney, Bryan R. Campbell, Regina Thompson, Edward T. Furlong, Dana W. Kolpin, Mark R. Burkhardt, Steven D. Zaugg, Stephen L. Werner, Anthony G. Hay
2012, Science of the Total Environment (433) 507-515
Land application of biosolids (treated sewage sludge) can be an important route for introducing xenobiotic compounds into terrestrial environments. There is a paucity of available information on the effects of biosolids amendment on terrestrial organisms. In this study, the influence of biosolids and biosolids aging on earthworm (Eisenia fetida) reproduction...
Drought drove forest decline and dune building in eastern upper Michigan, USA, as the upper Great Lakes became closed basins
Walter L. Loope, Henry M. Loope, Ronald J. Goble, Timothy G. Fisher, David E. Lytle, Robert J. Legg, Douglas A. Wysocki, Paul R. Hanson, Aaron R. Young
2012, Geology (40) 315-318
Current models of landscape response to Holocene climate change in midcontinent North America largely reconcile Earth orbital and atmospheric climate forcing with pollen-based forest histories on the east and eolian chronologies in Great Plains grasslands on the west. However, thousands of sand dunes spread across 12,000 km2 in eastern upper...
Bauxite and alumina
E.L. Bray
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 35-36
The United States is import-reliant for nearly all of the bauxite that it consumes. Small amounts of bauxite and bauxitic clays are produced in Alabama, Arkansas and Georgia for nonmetallurgical uses. Metallurgical-grade bauxite (crude dry) imports in 2011 totaled 9.54 Mt (10.5 million st), 18 percent more than the quantity...
Morphological evidence for discrete stocks of yellow perch in Lake Erie
Patrick M. Kocovsky, Carey T. Knight
2012, Journal of Great Lakes Research (38) 534-539
Identification and management of unique stocks of exploited fish species are high-priority management goals in the Laurentian Great Lakes. We analyzed whole-body morphometrics of 1430 yellow perch Perca flavescens captured during 2007–2009 from seven known spawning areas in Lake Erie to determine if morphometrics vary among sites and management units...
ShakeMap Atlas 2.0: an improved suite of recent historical earthquake ShakeMaps for global hazard analyses and loss model calibration
D. Garcia, R.T. Mah, K. L. Johnson, M.G. Hearne, K. D. Marano, K.-W. Lin, D.J. Wald
2012, Conference Paper, The 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering: September 24-28, 2012, Lisbon, Portugal
We introduce the second version of the U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap Atlas, which is an openly-available compilation of nearly 8,000 ShakeMaps of the most significant global earthquakes between 1973 and 2011. This revision of the Atlas includes: (1) a new version of the ShakeMap software that improves data usage and...
Determination of nonylphenol isomers in landfill leachate and municipal wastewater using steam distillation extraction coupled with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry
Caixiang Zhang, Robert P. Eganhouse, James Pontolillo, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Yanxin Wang
2012, Journal of Chromatography A (1230) 110-116
4-Nonylphenols (4-NPs) are known endocrine disruptors and by-products of the microbial degradation of nonylphenol polyethoxylate surfactants. One of the challenges to understanding the toxic effects of nonylphenols is the large number of isomers that may exist in environmental samples. In order to attribute toxic effects to specific compounds, a method...
Relationship between mid-water trawling effort and catch composition uncertainty in two large lakes (Huron and Michigan) dominated by alosines, osmerids, and coregonines
David M. Warner, Randall M. Claramunt, Jeffrey S. Schaeffer, Daniel L. Yule, Tom R. Hrabik, Bernie Peintka, Lars G. Rudstam, Jeffrey D. Holuszko, Timothy P. O’Brien
2012, Fisheries Research (123-124) 62-69
Because it is not possible to identify species with echosounders alone, trawling is widely used as a method for collecting species and size composition data for allocating acoustic fish density estimates to species or size groups. In the Laurentian Great Lakes, data from midwater trawls are commonly used for such...
Calibration and intercomparison of acetic acid measurements using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS)
K.B. Haase, W.C. Keene, A.A.P. Pszenny, H.R. Mayne, R.W. Talbot, B.C. Sive
2012, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (5) 4635-4665
Acetic acid is one of the most abundant organic acids in the ambient atmosphere, with maximum mixing ratios reaching into the tens of parts per billion by volume (ppbv) range. The identities and associated magnitudes of the major sources and sinks for acetic acid are poorly characterized, due in part...
Industrial garnet
D.W. Olson
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 64-64
Garnet has been used as a gemstone since the Bronze Age. However, garnet's angular fractures, relatively high hardness and specific gravity, chemical inertness, and nontoxicity make it ideal for many industrial applications. It is also free of crystalline silica and can be recycled....
Magnesium compounds
D.A. Kramer
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 73-74
Seawater and natural brines accounted for about 57 percent of magnesium compounds produced in the United States in 2011. Dead-burned magnesia was produced by Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties LLC from well brines in Michigan. Caustic-calcined magnesia was recovered from seawater by Premier Magnesia LLC in Florida, from well brines in...
Mineral resource of the month: aluminum
E. Lee Bray
2012, Earth (57) 25-25
The article offers information on aluminum, a mineral resource which is described as the third-most abundant element in Earth's crust. According to the article, aluminum is the second-most used metal. Hans Christian Oersted, a Danish chemist, was the first to isolate aluminum in the laboratory. Aluminum is described as lightweight,...
Improving PAGER's real-time earthquake casualty and loss estimation toolkit: a challenge
K. S. Jaiswal, D.J. Wald
2012, Conference Paper, The 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering: September 24-28, 2012, Lisbon, Portugal
We describe the on-going developments of PAGER’s loss estimation models, and discuss value-added web content that can be generated related to exposure, damage and loss outputs for a variety of PAGER users. These developments include identifying vulnerable building types in any given area, estimating earthquake-induced damage and loss statistics by...
Impact-based earthquake alerts with the U.S. Geological Survey's PAGER system: what's next?
D.J. Wald, K. S. Jaiswal, K. D. Marano, D. Garcia, E. So, M. Hearne
2012, Conference Paper, The 15th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering: September 24-28, 2012, Lisbon, Portugal
In September 2010, the USGS began publicly releasing earthquake alerts for significant earthquakes around the globe based on estimates of potential casualties and economic losses with its Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) system. These estimates significantly enhanced the utility of the USGS PAGER system which had been,...
Gypsum
R.D. Crangle Jr.
2012, Mining Engineering (64) 59-59
The United States is the world's fourth leading producer and consumer of gypsum. Production of gypsum in the U.S. during 2011 was estimated to be 9.4 Mt (103 million st), an increase of 6 percent compared with 2010 production. The average price of mined crude gypsum was $7/t ($6.35/st). Synthetic...
