Snakes in the wrong places: Gordon Rodda’s career in invasive species research
Jim Wilson
2012, Report
When USGS research zoologist Gordon G. Rodda was a graduate student at Cornell University studying behavioral biology of alligators —or later, completing a post-doc at the Smithsonian Institute studying the social behavior of green iguanas in Venezuela or following that, as a statistics and sociobiology instructor at the University of...
Divergence in morphology, but not habitat use, despite low genetic differentiation among insular populations of the lizard Anolis lemurinus in Honduras
M. L. Logan, Chad E. Montgomery, Scott M. Boback, Robert Reed, J. A. Campbell
2012, Journal of Tropical Ecology (28) 215-222
Studies of recently isolated populations are useful because observed differences can often be attributed to current environmental variation. Two populations of the lizard Anolis lemurinus have been isolated on the islands of Cayo Menor and Cayo Mayor in the Cayos Cochinos Archipelago of Honduras for less than 15 000 y. We...
Where eagles nest, the wind also blows: consolidating habitat and energy needs
J. Tack, Jim Wilson
2012, Report
Energy development is rapidly escalating in resource-rich Wyoming, and with it the risks posed to raptor populations. These risks are of increasing concern to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is responsible for protecting the persistence of protected species, including raptors. In support of a Federal mandate to protect...
Standardizing texture and facies codes for a process-based classification of clastic sediment and rock
K.M. Farrell, W.B. Harris, D. J. Mallinson, S.J. Culver, S.R. Riggs, J. Pierson, Self-Trail J.M., J.C. Lautier
2012, Journal of Sedimentary Research (82) 364-378
Proposed here is a universally applicable, texturally based classification of clastic sediment that is independent from composition, cementation, and geologic environment, is closely allied to process sedimentology, and applies to all compartments in the source-to-sink system. The classification is contingent on defining the term "clastic" so that it is independent...
The Geomyces fungi: ecology and distribution
Mark A. Hayes
2012, BioScience (62) 819-823
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a devastating disease affecting hibernating bats, first documented in winter 2006 in eastern North America. Over 5.5 million bats of several species may have died as a result of this disease. The fungus Geomyces destructans is now considered the causal agent of WNS, and this species...
Weather effects on avian breeding performance and implications of climate change
Susan K. Skagen, Amy A. Yackel Adams
2012, Ecological Applications (22) 1131-1145
The influence of recent climate change on the world’s biota has manifested broadly, resulting in latitudinal range shifts, advancing dates of arrival of migrants and onset of breeding, and altered community relationships. Climate change elevates conservation concerns worldwide because it will likely exacerbate a broad range of identified threats to...
Assessing long-term variations in sagebrush habitat: characterization of spatial extents and distribution patterns using multi-temporal satellite remote-sensing data
George Xian, Collin G. Homer, Cameron L. Aldridge
2012, International Journal of Remote Sensing (33) 2034-2058
An approach that can generate sagebrush habitat change estimates for monitoring large-area sagebrush ecosystems has been developed and tested in southwestern Wyoming, USA. This prototype method uses a satellite-based image change detection algorithm and regression models to estimate sub-pixel percentage cover for five sagebrush habitat components: bare ground, herbaceous, litter,...
Restoration of freshwater cypress-tupelo wetlands in the southeastern U.S. following severe hurricanes
William H. Conner, Ken W. Krauss, Gary P. Shaffer
2012, Book chapter, A goal-oriented approach to forest landscape restoration
Freshwater forested wetlands commonly occur in the lower Coastal Plain of the southeastern US with baldcypress (Taxodium distichum [L.] L.C. Rich.) and water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica L.) often being the dominant trees. Extensive anthropogenic activities combined with eustatic sea-level rise and land subsidence have caused widespread hydrological changes...
Sirenian pathology and mortality assessment: Chapter 17
Robert K. Bonde, Antonio Mignucci-Giannoni, Gregory D. Bossart
Ellen M. Hines, John E. Reynolds III, Lemnuel V. Aragones V., Antonio Mignucci-Giannoni, Miriam Marmontel, editor(s)
2012, Book chapter, Sirenian conservation: Issues and strategies in developing countries
No abstract available....
Thermal maturation history of Arctic Alaska and the southern Canada Basin
David W. Houseknecht, W. Matthew Burns, Kenneth J. Bird
2012, Book chapter, Analyzing the thermal history of sedimentary basins: Methods and case studies
The emerging global focus on the oil and gas potential of the Arctic underscores the importance of understanding petroleum systems with limited data. Geohistory modeling of Arctic Alaska (including the Chukchi shelf) and the southern Canada basin indicates that regional patterns of thermal maturity and timing of petroleum generation reflect...
Investigating global change, environmental response, and adaptation: Jill Baron's 30 years as an ecosystem ecologist
J.T. Wilson
2012, Report
Three decades of research, 145 publications (including two books), 15 graduate students, leadership in scientific organizations, invited talks around the world, and two collaborative entities that facilitate scientific synthesis—it’s a lot to pack into one career. But USGS research ecologist and Colorado State University senior scientist Jill Baron isn’t finished...
Integrated science and interdisciplinary research for parks and protected areas
Charles van Riper III, Robert Powell, Jan W. van Wagtendonk, Gary Machlis, Russell Galipeau, Carena J. van Riper, Eick von Ruschkowski
Samantha Weber, editor(s)
2012, Conference Paper, Rethinking Protected Areas in a Changing World: Proceedings of the 2011 GWS Biennial Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites
This paper summarizes presentations and discussion that focused on integrated science and the use of interdisciplinary research during a panel session held at the George Wright Society Meeting in New Orleans, March 14, 2011. The panel brought together nationally recognized members from the social and biological scientific communities, along with decision-makers and managers of...
Effects of smectite to illite transformation on the frictional strength and sliding stability of intact marine mudstones
Demian M. Saffer, David A. Lockner, Alex McKiernan
2012, Geophysical Research Letters (39)
At subduction zones, earthquake nucleation and coseismic slip occur only within a limited depth range, known as the “seismogenic zone”. One leading hypothesis for the upper aseismic-seismic transition is that transformation of smectite to illite at ∼100–150°C triggers a change from rate-strengthening frictional behavior that allows only stable sliding, to...
Competition favors elk over beaver in a riparian willow ecosystem
B.W. Baker, H.R. Peinetti, M.C. Coughenour, T. L. Johnson
2012, Ecosphere (3) 1-15
Beaver (Castor spp.) conservation requires an understanding of their complex interactions with competing herbivores. Simulation modeling offers a controlled environment to examine long-term dynamics in ecosystems driven by uncontrollable variables. We used a new version of the SAVANNA ecosystem model to investigate beaver (C....
Remote sensing of evapotranspiration for operational drought monitoring using principles of water and energy balance
Gabriel B. Senay, Stefanie Bohms, James P. Verdin, Martha C. Anderson, Christopher Hain, Brian D. Wardlow, Agustin Pimstein, John R. Mecikalski, William P. Kustas
Brian D. Wardlow, Martha C. Anderson, James P. Verdin, editor(s)
2012, Book chapter, Remote sensing of drought: Innovative monitoring approaches
Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of the hydrologic budget because it režects the exchange of mass and energy between the soil-water-vegetation system and the atmosphere. Prevailing weather conditions inžuence potential or reference ET through variables such as radiation, temperature, wind, and relativity humidity. In addition to these weather variables,...
Will inundation and salinity levels associated with projected sea level rise reduce the survival, growth, and reproductive capacity of Sarcocornia pacifica (pickleweed)?
I. Woo, John Y. Takekawa
2012, Aquatic Botany (102) 8-14
In the San Francisco Bay Estuary, CA, USA, sea level rise (SLR) is projected to increase by 1.4 m during the next 90 years resulting in increased inundation and salt water intrusion up-estuary. Since inundation and salinity are critical factors that drive vegetation structure and composition in coastal wetlands, we...
Blackrock: biological hotspot and hotbed of collaboration
Erin Muths, Jim Wilson
2012, Report
Amphibian decline is a problem of global importance, with over 40 percent of species considered at risk. This phenomenon is not limited to the tropics or to other countries; amphibian species in the United States are also declining, contributing to the larger global phenomenon. For example, in Wyoming, the Wyoming...
Prevalent flucocorticoid and androgen activity in US water sources
Diana A. Stavreva, Anuja A. George, Paul Klausmeyer, Lyuba Varticovski, Daniel Sack, Ty C. Voss, R. Louis Schiltz, Vicki Blazer, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Gordon L. Hager
2012, Scientific Reports (2)
Contamination of the environment with endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is a major health concern. The presence of estrogenic compounds in water and their deleterious effect are well documented. However, detection and monitoring of other classes of EDCs is limited. Here we utilize a high-throughput live cell assay based on sub-cellular...
Translocation as a conservation tool for Agassiz's desert tortoises: survivorship, reproduction, and movements
K.E. Nussear, C.R. Tracy, P.A. Medica, D.S. Wilson, R.W. Marlow, P.S. Corn
2012, Journal of Wildlife Management (76) 1341-1353
We translocated 120 Agassiz's desert tortoises to 5 sites in Nevada and Utah to evaluate the effects of translocation on tortoise survivorship, reproduction, and habitat use. Translocation sites included several elevations, and extended to sites with vegetation assemblages not typically associated with desert tortoises in order to explore the possibility...
Restoration of movement patterns of the Hawaiian Goose
Steven C. Hess, Christina R. Leopold, Kathleen Misajon, Darcy Hu, John J. Jeffrey
2012, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (124) 478-486
We used visual observations of banded individuals and satellite telemetry from 2007 to 2011 on Hawai′i Island to document movement patterns of the Hawaiian Goose (Branta sandvicensis), commonly known as Nene. Visual observations of numbered leg bands identified >19% and ≤10% of 323 geese at one of two breeding sites...
Trajectory of early tidal marsh restoration: elevation, sedimentation and colonization of breached salt ponds in the northern San Francisco Bay
L. Arriana Brand, Lacy M. Smith, John Y. Takekawa, Nicole D. Athearn, Karen Taylor, Gregory Shellenbarger, David H. Schoellhamer, Renee Spenst
2012, Ecological Engineering (42) 19-29
Tidal marsh restoration projects that cover large areas are critical for maintaining target species, yet few large sites have been studied and their restoration trajectories remain uncertain. A tidal marsh restoration project in the northern San Francisco Bay consisting of three breached salt ponds (≥300 ha each; 1175 ha total)...
User Manual for SAHM package for VisTrails
C.B. Talbert, M.K. Talbert
2012, Report
The Software for Assisted Habitat I\•1odeling (SAHM) has been created to both expedite habitat modeling and help maintain a record of the various input data, pre-and post-processing steps and modeling options incorporated in the construction of a species distribution model. The four main advantages to using the combined VisTrail: SAHM...
The spatial scale for cisco recruitment dynamics in Lake Superior during 1978-2007
Benjamin J. Rook, Michael J. Hansen, Owen T. Gorman
2012, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (32) 499-514
The cisco Coregonus artedi was once the most abundant fish species in the Great Lakes, but currently cisco populations are greatly reduced and management agencies are attempting to restore the species throughout the basin. To increase understanding of the spatial scale at which density‐independent and density‐dependent factors influence cisco recruitment dynamics in...
The paradox of extreme high-altitude migration in bar-headed geese Anser indicus
L.A. Hawkes, S. Balachandran, N. Batbayar, P.J. Butler, B. Chua, David C. Douglas, P.B. Frappell, Y. Hou, W.K. Milsom, S. H. Newman, D.J. Prosser, P. Sathiyaselvam, G. R. Scott, John Y. Takekawa, T. Natsagdorj, M. Wikelski, M.J. Witt, B. Yan, C.M. Bishop
2012, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (280)
Bar-headed geese are renowned for migratory flights at extremely high altitudes over the world's tallest mountains, the Himalayas, where partial pressure of oxygen is dramatically reduced while flight costs, in terms of rate of oxygen consumption, are greatly increased. Such a mismatch is paradoxical, and it is not clear why...
Population dynamics of Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) in mesohaline and oligohaline habitats: Invasion success in a Southern Europe estuary
J.N. Franco, F.R. Ceia, J. Patricio, Janet K. Thompson, J.C. Marques, J.M. Neto
2012, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (112) 31-39
Due to its range expansion and potential ecological effects, Corbicula fluminea is considered one of the most important non-indigenous species (NIS) in aquatic ecosystems. Its presence since 2003 in the upstream area of Mondego estuary (oligohaline and mesohaline sectors) was studied during thirteen months, from December 2007 to December 2008....
