Assessment of environments for Mars Science Laboratory entry, descent, and surface operations
Ashwin R. Vasavada, Allen Chen, Jeffrey R. Barnes, P. Daniel Burkhart, Bruce A. Cantor, Alicia M. Dwyer-Cianciolo, Robini L. Fergason, David P. Hinson, Hilary L. Justh, David M. Kass, Stephen R. Lewis, Michael A. Mischna, James R. Murphy, Scot C.R. Rafkin, Daniel Tyler, Paul G. Withers
2012, Space Science Reviews (170) 793-835
The Mars Science Laboratory mission aims to land a car-sized rover on Mars' surface and operate it for at least one Mars year in order to assess whether its field area was ever capable of supporting microbial life. Here we describe the approach used to identify, characterize, and assess environmental...
Transport of biologically important nutrients by wind in an eroding cold desert
Joel B. Sankey, Matthew J. Germino, Shawn G. Benner, Nancy F. Glenn, Amber N. Hoover
2012, Aeolian Research (7) 17-27
Wind erosion following fire is an important landscape process that can result in the redistribution of ecologically important soil resources. In this study we evaluated the potential for a fire patch in a desert shrubland to serve as a source of biologically important nutrients to the adjacent, downwind, unburned ecosystem....
Adult tree swallow survival on the polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated Hudson River, New York, USA, between 2006 and 2010
Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, James E. Hines
2012, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (31) 1788-1792
The upper Hudson River basin in east central New York, USA, is highly contaminated, primarily with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Reduced adult survival has been documented in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) at a similarly PCB-contaminated river system in western Massachusetts. The purpose of the present study was to assess whether adult...
Surface properties of the Mars Science Laboratory candidate landing sites: characterization from orbit and predictions
R.L. Fergason, P. R. Christensen, M.P. Golombek, T. J. Parker
2012, Space Science Reviews (170) 739-773
This work describes the interpretation of THEMIS-derived thermal inertia data at the Eberswalde, Gale, Holden, and Mawrth Vallis Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) candidate landing sites and determines how thermophysical variations correspond to morphology and, when apparent, mineralogical diversity. At Eberswalde, the proportion of likely unconsolidated material relative to exposed bedrock...
Variation in migratory behavior influences regional genetic diversity and structure among American kestrel populations (Falco sparverius) in North America
Mark P. Miller, Thomas D. Mullins, John G. Parrish, Jeffrey R. Walters, Susan M. Haig
2012, Journal of Heredity (103) 503-514
Birds employ numerous strategies to cope with seasonal fluctuations in high-quality habitat availability. Long distance migration is a common tactic; however, partial migration is especially common among broadly distributed species. Under partial migration systems, a portion of a species migrates, whereas the remainder inhabits breeding grounds year round. In this...
Searching for evidence of hydrothermal activity at Apollinaris Mons, Mars
M. Ramy El Maarry, James M. Dohm, Giuseppe A. Marzo, Robin Fergason, Walter Goetz, Essam Heggy, Andreas Pack, Wojciech J. Markiewicz
2012, Icarus (217) 297-314
A multidisciplinary approach involving various remote sensing instruments is used to investigate Apollinaris Mons, a prominent volcano on Mars, as well as the surrounding plains for signs of prolonged hydrologic and volcanic, and possibly hydrothermal activity. The main findings include (1) evidence from laser altimetry indicating the large thickness...
Population dynamics of Hawaiian seabird colonies vulnerable to sea-level rise
Jeff S. Hatfield, Michelle H. Reynolds, Nathaniel E. Seavy, Crystal M. Krause
2012, Conservation Biology (26) 667-678
Globally, seabirds are vulnerable to anthropogenic threats both at sea and on land. Seabirds typically nest colonially and show strong fidelity to natal colonies, and such colonies on low-lying islands may be threatened by sea-level rise. We used French Frigate Shoals, the largest atoll in the Hawaiian Archipelago, as a...
Toxicity of elevated partial pressures of carbon dioxide to invasive New Zealand mudsnails
R. Jordan Nielson, Christine M. Moffitt, Barnaby J. Watten
2012, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (31) 1838-1842
The authors tested the efficacy of elevated partial pressures of CO2 to kill invasive New Zealand mudsnails. The New Zealand mudsnails were exposed to 100 kPa at three water temperatures, and the survival was modeled versus dose as cumulative °C-h. We estimated an LD50 of 59.4°C-h for adult and juvenile...
Geometric derivations of minimal sets of sufficient multiview constraints
Orrin H. Thomas, Edward R. Oshel
2012, Photogrammetric Record (27) 74-93
Geometric interpretations of four of the most common determinant formulations of multiview constraints are given, showing that they all enforce the same geometry and that all of the forms commonly in use in the machine vision community are a subset of a more general form. Generalising the work of Yi...
Time-specific patterns of nest survival for ducks and passerines breeding in North Dakota
Terry L. Shaffer, Todd A. Grant
2012, The Auk (129) 319-328
In many bird species, survival can vary with the age of the nest, with the date a nest was initiated, or among years within the same nesting area. A literature review showed that patterns of survival vary in relation to nest age and date and are often contradictory. Inconsistencies could...
PAH volatilization following application of coal-tar-based pavement sealant
Peter C. Van Metre, Michael S. Majewski, Barbara Mahler, William T. Foreman, Christopher L. Braun, Jennifer T. Wilson, Teresa L. Burbank
2012, Atmospheric Environment (51) 108-115
Coal-tar-based pavement sealants, a major source of PAHs to urban water bodies, have recently been identified as a source of volatile PAHs to the atmosphere. We tracked the volatilization of PAHs for 1 year after application of a coal-tar-based pavement sealant by measuring gas-phase PAH concentrations above the pavement surface...
Experimental investigation of false positive errors in auditory species occurrence surveys
David A.W. Miller, Linda A. Weir, Brett T. McClintock, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Larissa L. Bailey, Theodore R. Simons
2012, Ecological Applications (22) 1665-1674
False positive errors are a significant component of many ecological data sets, which in combination with false negative errors, can lead to severe biases in conclusions about ecological systems. We present results of a field experiment where observers recorded observations for known combinations of electronically broadcast calling anurans under conditions...
The importance of local and landscape-scale processes to the occupancy of wetlands by pond-breeding amphibians
Rick D. Scherer, Erin Muths, Barry R. Noon
2012, Population Ecology (54) 487-498
Variation in the distribution and abundance of species across landscapes has traditionally been attributed to processes operating at fine spatial scales (i.e., environmental conditions at the scale of the sampling unit), but processes that operate across larger spatial scales such as seasonal migration or dispersal are also important. To determine...
Coal-tar pavement sealants might substantially increase children's PAH exposures
E. Spencer Williams, Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre
2012, Environmental Pollution (164) 40-41
Dietary ingestion has been identified repeatedly as the primary route of human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), seven of which are classified as probable human carcinogens (B2 PAHs) by the U.S. EPA. Humans are exposed to PAHs through ingestion of cooked and uncooked foods, incidental ingestion of soil and...
Shallow groundwater mercury supply in a coastal plain stream
Paul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Mark A. Lowery, Mark E. Brigham, Douglas A. Burns, Daniel T. Button, Francis H. Chapelle, Michelle A. Lutz, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Karen Riva-Murray
2012, Environmental Science & Technology (46) 7503-7511
Fluvial methylmercury (MeHg) is attributed to methylation in up-gradient wetland areas. This hypothesis depends on efficient wetland-to-stream hydraulic transport under nonflood and flood conditions. Fluxes of water and dissolved (filtered) mercury (Hg) species (FMeHg and total Hg (FTHg)) were quantified in April and July of 2009 in a reach at...
Estimating abundance of mountain lions from unstructured spatial sampling
Robin E. Russell, J. Andrew Royle, Richard Desimone, Michael K. Schwartz, Victoria L. Edwards, Kristy P. Pilgrim, Kevin S. Mckelvey
2012, Journal of Wildlife Management (76) 1551-1561
Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are often difficult to monitor because of their low capture probabilities, extensive movements, and large territories. Methods for estimating the abundance of this species are needed to assess population status, determine harvest levels, evaluate the impacts of management actions on populations, and derive conservation and management...
Dam removal increases American eel abundance in distant headwater streams
Nathaniel P. Hitt, Sheila Eyler, John E. B. Wofford
2012, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (141) 1171-1179
American eel Anguilla rostrata abundances have undergone significant declines over the last 50 years, and migration barriers have been recognized as a contributing cause. We evaluated eel abundances in headwater streams of Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, to compare sites before and after the removal of a large downstream dam in...
Relative value of managed wetlands and tidal marshlands for wintering northern pintails
Peter S. Coates, Michael L. Casazza, Brian J. Halstead, Joseph P. Fleskes
2012, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (3) 98-109
Northern pintail Anas acuta (hereafter, pintail) populations have declined substantially throughout the western US since the 1970s, largely as a result of converting wetlands to cropland. Managed wetlands have been developed throughout the San Francisco Bay estuaries to provide wildlife habitat, particularly for waterfowl. Many of these areas were historically...
Fungal disease and the developing story of bat white-nose syndrome
David S. Blehert
2012, PLoS Pathogens (8)
Two recently emerged cutaneous fungal diseases of wildlife, bat white-nose syndrome (WNS) and amphibian chytridiomycosis, have devastated affected populations. Fungal diseases are gaining recognition as significant causes of morbidity and mortality to plants, animals, and humans, yet fewer than 10% of fungal species are known. Furthermore, limited antifungal therapeutic drugs...
Evidence, models, conservation programs and limits to management
J.D. Nichols
2012, Animal Conservation (15) 331-333
Walsh et al. (2012) emphasized the importance of obtaining evidence to assess the effects of management actions on state variables relevant to objectives of conservation programs. They focused on malleefowl Leipoa ocellata, ground-dwelling Australian megapodes listed as vulnerable. They noted that although fox Vulpes vulpes baiting is the main management...
Leptophis santamartensis (Serpentes, Colubridae), a junior synonym of Leptophis ahaetulla occidentalis
Nelson R. Albuquerque, Paulo de Passos, Steve W. Gotte
2012, Journal of Herpetology (46) 248-252
Leptophis santamartensis, known only from Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, is one of the more poorly known species of the genus Leptophis. The characters used for its diagnosis largely overlap with those of other Leptophis, mainly with Leptophis ahaetulla occidentalis, the only other Leptophis known to occur in the...
Volatilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from coal-tar-sealed pavement
Peter C. Van Metre, Michael S. Majewski, Barbara Mahler, William T. Foreman, Christopher L. Braun, Jennifer T. Wilson, Teresa L. Burbank
2012, Chemosphere (88) 1-7
Coal-tar-based pavement sealants, a major source of PAHs to urban water bodies, are a potential source of volatile PAHs to the atmosphere. An initial assessment of volatilization of PAHs from coal-tar-sealed pavement is presented here in which we measured summertime gas-phase PAH concentrations 0.03 m and 1.28 m above the...
Dissolved and colloidal trace elements in the Mississippi River Delta outflow after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Moo-Joon Shim, Peter W. Swarzenski, Alan M. Shiller
2012, Continental Shelf Research (42) 1-9
The Mississippi River delta outflow region is periodically disturbed by tropical weather systems including major hurricanes, which can terminate seasonal bottom water hypoxia and cause the resuspension of shelf bottom sediments which could result in the injection of trace elements into the water column. In the summer of 2005, Hurricanes...
Carbon sequestration via reaction with basaltic rocks: geochemical modeling and experimental results
Robert J. Rosenbauer, Burt Thomas, James L. Bischoff, James Palandri
2012, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (89) 116-133
Basaltic rocks are potential repositories for sequestering carbon dioxide (CO2) because of their capacity for trapping CO2 in carbonate minerals. We carried out a series of thermodynamic equilibrium models and high pressure experiments, reacting basalt with CO2-charged fluids over a range of conditions from 50 to 200 °C at 300...
Predicting Impacts of Increased CO2 and Climate Change on the Water Cycle and Water Quality in the Semiarid James River Basin of the Midwestern USA
Yiping Wu, Shu-Guang Liu, Alisa L. Gallant
2012, Science of the Total Environment (430) 150-160
Emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols from human activities continue to alter the climate and likely will have significant impacts on the terrestrial hydrological cycle and water quality, especially in arid and semiarid regions. We applied an improved Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to evaluate impacts of increased atmospheric...
