Importance of lunar and temporal conditions for spotlight surveys of adult black-footed ferrets
David A. Eads, David S. Jachowski, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Dean E. Biggins
2012, Western North American Naturalist (72) 179-190
Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) spend most daylight hours underground in prairie dog (Cynomys) burrows and exhibit aboveground movements primarily at night. Moonlight can influence the activity patterns of ferrets and, consequently, might influence the efficiency of spotlight surveys used by biologists to monitor ferret populations. We related detection of adult...
Seafloor geology and benthic habitats, San Pedro Shelf, southern California
Florence L. Wong, Peter Dartnell, Brian D. Edwards, Eleyne L. Phillips
2012, Data Series 552
Seafloor samples, videography, still photography, and real-time descriptions of geologic and biologic constituents at or near the seafloor of the San Pedro Shelf, southern California, advance the study of natural and man-made processes on this coastal area off the metropolitan Los Angeles area. Multibeam echo-sounder data collected by the U.S....
Use of multi-opening burrow systems by black-footed ferrets
Dean E. Biggins
2012, Western North American Naturalist (72) 134-139
Multi-opening burrow systems constructed by prairie dogs (Cynomys) ostensibly provide escape routes when prairie dogs are pursued by predators capable of entering the burrows, such as black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), or by predators that can rapidly dig into the tunnels, such as American badgers (Taxidea taxus). Because badgers also prey...
Patterns of surface burrow plugging in a colony of black-tailed prairie dogs occupied by black-footed ferrets
David E. Eads, Dean E. Biggins
2012, Western North American Naturalist (72) 172-178
Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) can surface-plug openings to a burrow occupied by a black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes). At a coarse scale, surface plugs are more common in colonies of prairie dogs occupied by ferrets than in colonies without ferrets. However, little is known about spatial and temporal patterns of...
Geologic map of the north polar region of Mars
Kenneth L. Tanaka, Corey M. Fortezzo
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3177
The north polar region of Mars occurs within the central and lowest part of the vast northern plains of Mars and is dominated by the roughly circular north polar plateau, Planum Boreum. The northern plains formed very early in Martian time and have collected volcanic flows and sedimentary materials shed...
Data resources for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) Integrated Assessment (IA)
Timothy J. Assal, Steven L. Garman, Zachary H. Bowen, Patrick J. Anderson, Daniel J. Manier, Robert R. McDougal
2012, Data Series 700
The data contained in this report were compiled, modified, and analyzed for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) Integrated Assessment (IA). The WLCI is a long-term science based effort to assess and enhance aquatic and terrestrial habitats at a landscape scale in southwest Wyoming while facilitating responsible energy development through...
Quantity and quality of stormwater collected from selected stormwater outfalls at industrial sites, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2011
Doug D. Nagle, Wladmir B. Guimaraes
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1035
An assessment of the quantity and quality of stormwater runoff associated with industrial activities at Fort Gordon was conducted from January through December 2011. The assessment was provided to satisfy the requirements from a general permit that authorizes the discharge of stormwater under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System from...
WaterSMART-The Colorado River Basin focus-area study
Breton W. Bruce
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3114
Increasing demand for the limited water resources of the United States continues to put pressure on water-resource agencies to balance the competing needs of ecosystem health with municipal, agricultural, and recreational uses. In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) identified a National Water Census as one of six pivotal future...
Hydrological information products for the Off-Project Water Program of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement
Daniel T. Snyder, John C. Risley, Jonathan V. Haynes
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1199
The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) was developed by a diverse group of stakeholders, Federal and State resource management agencies, Tribal representatives, and interest groups to provide a comprehensive solution to ecological and water-supply issues in the Klamath Basin. The Off-Project Water Program (OPWP), one component of the KBRA, has...
A simple method for estimating basin-scale groundwater discharge by vegetation in the basin and range province of Arizona using remote sensing information and geographic information systems
F.D. Tillman, J.B. Callegary, P.L. Nagler, E. P. Glenn
2012, Journal of Arid Environments (82) 44-52
Groundwater is a vital water resource in the arid to semi-arid southwestern United States. Accurate accounting of inflows to and outflows from the groundwater system is necessary to effectively manage this shared resource, including the important outflow component of groundwater discharge by vegetation. A simple method for estimating basin-scale groundwater...
Population estimate of Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) in a Nebraska reservoir
Noelle M. Chaine, Craig R. Allen, Kent A. Fricke, Danielle M. Haak, Michelle L. Hellman, Robert A. Kill, Kristine T. Nemec, Kevin L. Pope, Nicholas A. Smeenk, Bruce J. Stephen, Daniel R. Uden, Kody M. Unstad, Ashley E. VanderHam
2012, BioInvasions Records (1) 283-287
The Chinese mystery snail (Bellamya chinensis) is an aquatic invasive species in North America. Little is known regarding this species’ impacts on freshwater ecosystems. It is believed that population densities can be high, yet no population estimates have been reported. We utilized a mark-recapture approach to generate a population estimate...
Ecological correlates of invasion impact for Burmese pythons in Florida
R.N. Reed, J.D. Willson, G.H. Rodda, M.E. Dorcas
2012, Integrative Zoology (7) 254-270
An invasive population of Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) is established across several thousand square kilometers of southern Florida and appears to have caused precipitous population declines among several species of native mammals. Why has this giant snake had such great success as an invasive species when many established reptiles...
Desulfohalophilus alkaliarsenatis gen. nov., sp. nov., an extremely halophilic sulfate- and arsenate-respiring bacterium from Searles Lake, California
Jodi Switzer Blum, Thomas R. Kulp, Sukkyun Han, Brian Lanoil, Chad W. Saltikov, John F. Stolz, Laurence G. Miller, Ronald S. Oremland
2012, Extremophiles (16) 727-742
A haloalkaliphilic sulfate-respiring bacterium, strain SLSR-1, was isolated from a lactate-fed stable enrichment culture originally obtained from the extreme environment of Searles Lake, California. The isolate proved capable of growth via sulfate-reduction over a broad range of salinities (125–330 g/L), although growth was slowest at salt-saturation. Strain SLSR-1 was also...
Long-term demographic consequences of habitat fragmentation to a tropical understory bird community
N.M. Korfanta, W.D. Newmark, M. J. Kauffman
2012, Ecology (93) 2548-2559
Tropical deforestation continues to cause population declines and local extinctions in centers of avian diversity and endemism. Although local species extinctions stem from reductions in demographic rates, little is known about how habitat fragmentation influences survival of tropical bird populations or the relative importance of survival and fecundity in ultimately...
Drivers of change in estuarine-coastal ecosystems: Discoveries from four decades of study in San Francisco Bay
J. E. Cloern, A.D. Jassby
2012, Reviews of Geophysics (50)
Poised at the interface of rivers, ocean, atmosphere and dense human settlement, estuaries are driven by a large array of natural and anthropogenic forces. San Francisco Bay exemplifies the fast-paced change occurring in many of the world's estuaries, bays and inland seas in response to these diverse forces. We use...
Nitrogen limitation, 15N tracer retention, and growth response in intact and Bromus tectorum-invaded Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis communities
Dana L. Witwicki, Paul S. Doescher, David A. Pyke, Nicole M. DeCrappeo, Steven S. Perakis
2012, Oecologia (171) 1013-1023
Annual grass invasion into shrub-dominated ecosystems is associated with changes in nutrient cycling that may alter nitrogen (N) limitation and retention. Carbon (C) applications that reduce plant-available N have been suggested to give native perennial vegetation a competitive advantage over exotic annual grasses, but plant community and N retention responses...
Tissue loss (white syndrome) in the coral Montipora capitata is a dynamic disease with multiple host responses and potential causes
Thierry M. Work, Robin Russell, Greta S. Aeby
2012, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (279) 4334-4341
Tissue loss diseases or white syndromes (WS) are some of the most important coral diseases because they result in significant colony mortality and morbidity, threatening dominant Acroporidae in the Caribbean and Pacific. The causes of WS remain elusive in part because few have examined affected corals at the cellular level....
Digging behaviors of radio-tagged black-footed ferrets near Meeteetse, Wyoming, 1981-1984
Dean E. Biggins, Louis R. Hanebury, Kathleen A. Fagerstone
2012, Western North American Naturalist (72) 148-157
Intensive radio-tracking during August–December enabled us to collect detailed information on digging behaviors of a small sample of black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) occupying colonies of white-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys leucurus). A sample of 33 prairie dogs, also radio-tagged, progressively ceased aboveground activity during late summer and fall, presumably as they...
Black-footed ferrets and recreational shooting influence the attributes of black-tailed prairie dog burrows
Dean E. Biggins, Shantini Ramakrishnan, Amanda R. Goldberg, David A. Eads
2012, Western North American Naturalist (72) 158-171
Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) plug burrows occupied by black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), and they also plug burrows to entomb dead prairie dogs. We further evaluated these phenomena by sampling connectivity and plugging of burrow openings on prairie dog colonies occupied by ferrets, colonies where recreational shooting was allowed, and...
Distributional records of shrews (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Soricidae) from Northern Central America with the first record of Sorex from Honduras
Neal Woodman, John O. Matson, Timothy J. McCarthy, Ralph P. Eckerlin, Walter Bulmer, Nicte Ordonez-Garza
2012, Annals of Carnegie Museum (80) 207-237
Short term surveys for small mammals in Guatemala and Honduras during 1992–2009 provided important new records for 12 taxa of shrews from 24 localities. These locality records expand the known geographic distributions for five species and for the genus Sorex Linnaeus, 1758: the geographic range of Cryptotis goodwini Jackson, 1933, now includes the Sierra...
Climatic limits on foliar growth during major droughts in the Southwestern U.S.A.
Jeremy L. Weiss, Julio L. Betancourt, Jonathan T. Overpeck
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences (117)
Pronounced droughts during the 1950s and 2000s in the Southwestern U.S.A. (SW) provide an opportunity to compare mesoscale ecosystem responses to anomalously dry conditions before and during the regional warming that started in the late 1970s. This year-round warming has produced fewer cool season freezes, losses in regional snowpack, an...
Candidate cave entrances on Mars
Glen E. Cushing
2012, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies (74) 33-47
This paper presents newly discovered candidate cave entrances into Martian near-surface lava tubes, volcano-tectonic fracture systems, and pit craters and describes their characteristics and exploration possibilities. These candidates are all collapse features that occur either intermittently along laterally continuous trench-like depressions or in the floors of sheer-walled atypical pit craters....
Development of a new method for the determination of residues of the neonictinoid insecticide imidacloprid in juvenile Chinook (Oncorhynchus tyshawytscha) using ELISA detection
John A. Frew, Christian E. Grue
2012, Journal of Environmental Monitoring (14) 1024-1034
The neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid (IMI) has been proposed as an alternative to carbaryl for controlling indigenous burrowing shrimp on commercial oyster beds in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor, Washington. A focus of concern over the use of this insecticide in an aquatic environment is the potential for adverse effects from...
Efficacy, fate, and potential effects on salmonids of mosquito larvicides in catch basins in Seattle, Washington
Morgan Sternberg, Christian Grue, Loveday Conquest, James Grassley, Kerensa King
2012, Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association (28) 206-218
We investigated the efficacy, fate, and potential for direct effects on salmonids of 4 common mosquito larvicides (Mosquito Dunks® and Bits® (AI: Bacillis thuringiensis var. israelensis, [Bti]), VectoLex® WSP (AI: Bacillus sphaericus [Bs], VectoLex CG [AI: Bs], and Altosid® Briquets [AI: s-methoprene]) in Seattle, WA, during 3 summers. During efficacy...
An experimental evaluation of potential scavenger effects on snake road mortality detections
Kaylan A. Hubbard, Anna D. Chalfoun
2012, Herpetological Conservation and Biology (7) 150-156
As road networks expand and collisions between vehicles and wildlife become more common, accurately quantifying mortality rates for the taxa that are most impacted will be critical. Snakes are especially vulnerable to collisions with vehicles because of their physiology and behavior. Reptile road mortality is typically quantified using driving or...
