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Continuing outbreaks of H5N1 highly pathogenic (HP) avian influenza virus (AIV) infections of wild birds and poultry worldwide emphasize the need for global surveillance of wild birds. To support the future surveillance activities, we developed a SYBR green-based, real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR) for detecting nucleoprotein (NP) genes and subtyping...

There is an ongoing effort to improve the understanding of the correlation of soil properties with apparent soil electrical conductivity as measured by low‐induction‐number electromagnetic‐induction (LIN FEM) instruments. At a minimum, the dimensions of LIN FEM instruments' sample volume, the spatial distribution of sensitivity within that volume, and implications for...

1. We tested the hypothesis that lifetime mortality patterns and their corresponding rates and causal factors differ among populations of stream‐living salmonids. To this end, we examined the lifetime mortality patterns of several successive cohorts of two stream‐living brown trout (Salmo trutta) populations in Spain and Denmark.2. In the southern...

Reliable information on catchment scale suspended sediment sources is required to inform the design of management strategies for helping abate the numerous environmental issues associated with enhanced sediment mobilization and off‐site loadings. Since sediment fingerprinting techniques avoid many of the logistical constraints associated with using more traditional indirect measurement methods...

The dynamic watershed acid-base chemistry model of acidification of groundwater in catchments (MAGIC) was used to calculate target loads (TLs) of atmospheric sulfur and nitrogen deposition expected to be protective of aquatic health in lakes in the Adirondack ecoregion of New York. The TLs were calculated for two future dates...

Changing environments can have divergent effects on biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships at alternating trophic levels. Freshwater mussels fertilize stream foodwebs through nutrient excretion, and mussel species-specific excretion rates depend on environmental conditions. We asked how differences in mussel diversity in varying environments influence the dynamics between primary producers and consumers. We...

Aeolian sediment transport is a fundamental process redistributing sediment, nutrients, and contaminants in dryland ecosystems. Over time frames of centuries or longer, horizontal sediment fluxes and associated rates of contaminant transport are likely to be influenced by succession, disturbances, and changes in climate, yet models of horizontal sediment transport that...

Efforts to develop selective agonists for dopamine D1-like receptors led to the discovery of dihydrexidine and doxanthrine, two bioisosteric β-phenyldopamine-type full agonist ligands that display selectivity and potency at D1-like receptors. We report herein an improved methodology for the synthesis of substituted chromanoisoquinolines (doxanthrine derivatives) and the evaluation of several new compounds for their...

Extended post-fledging parental care is an important aspect of parental care in birds, although little studied due to logistic difficulties. Commonly, the brood is split physically (brood division) and/or preferential care is given to a subset of the brood by one parent or the other (care division). Among gulls and...

This progress report summarizes the final year of activities of Phase I of the Olympic fisher restoration project. The intent of the Olympic fisher reintroduction project is to reestablish a self-sustaining population of fishers on the Olympic Peninsula. To achieve this goal, the Olympic fisher reintroduction project released 90 fishers...

The flux of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from mangrove swamps accounts for 10% of the global terrestrial flux of DOC to coastal oceans. Recent findings of high concentrations of mercury (Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in mangroves, in conjunction with the common co-occurrence of DOC and Hg species, have raised concerns...

Chlorinated ethenes are commonly found in contaminated groundwater. Remediation strategies focus on transformation processes that will ultimately lead to nontoxic products. A major concern with these strategies is the possibility of incomplete dechlorination and accumulation of toxic daughter products (cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE), vinyl chloride (VC)). Ethene mass balance can be used...

River-floodplain ecosystems offer some of the most diverse and dynamic environments in the world. Accordingly, floodplain habitats harbor diverse fish assemblages. Fish biodiversity in floodplain lakes may be influenced by multiple variables operating on disparate scales, and these variables may exhibit a hierarchical organization depending on whether one variable governs...

Distributed hydrologic models typically require spatial estimates of precipitation interpolated from sparsely located observational points to the specific grid points. We compare and contrast the performance of regression-based statistical methods for the spatial estimation of precipitation in two hydrologically different basins and confirmed that widely used regression-based estimation schemes fail...

Free embryos of wild pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus were released in the Missouri River and captured at downstream sites through a 180-km reach of the river to examine ontogenetic drift and dispersal processes. Free embryos drifted primarily in the fastest portion of the river channel, and initial drift velocities for...

A molluscan analogue dataset is presented in conjunction with a weighted-averaging technique as a tool for estimating past salinity patterns in south Florida’s estuaries and developing targets for restoration based on these reconstructions. The method, here referred to as cumulative weighted percent (CWP), was tested using modern surficial samples collected...

Genetic diversity and species diversity are expected to covary according to area and isolation, but may not always covary with environmental heterogeneity. In this study, we examined how patterns of genetic and species diversity in stream fishes correspond to local and regional environmental conditions. To do so, we compared population...

In the arid Southwest, migratory birds are known to use riparian stopover habitats; we know less about how migrants use other habitat types during migratory stopover. Using radar data and satellite land-cover data, we determined the habitats with which birds are associated during migration stopover. Bird densities differed significantly by...

There is a growing concern that human health impacts from exposure to wildfire smoke are ignored in estimates of monetized damages from wildfires. Current research highlights the need for better data collection and analysis of these impacts. Using unique primary data, this paper quantifies the economic cost of health effects...

Speciation of Hg and conversion to methyl-Hg were evaluated in stream sediment, stream water, and aquatic snails collected downstream from the Bonanza Hg mine, Oregon. Total production from the Bonanza mine was >1360t of Hg, during mining from the late 1800s to 1960, ranking it as an intermediate sized Hg...

This subset of a Landsat-5 image shows part of the upper Klamath Basin. The original images were obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS). EROS is responsible for archive management and distribution of Landsat data products. The Landsat-5 satellite is part of an ongoing...

This subset of a Landsat-5 image shows part of the upper Klamath Basin. The original images were obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS). EROS is responsible for archive management and distribution of Landsat data products. The Landsat-5 satellite is part of an ongoing...

Volcanoes are critical geologic hazards that challenge our ability to make long-term forecasts of their eruptive behaviors. They also have direct and indirect impacts on human lives and society. As is the case with many geologic phenomena, the time scales over which volcanoes evolve greatly exceed that of a human...

We estimated urbanization rates (2001–2006) in the Gulf of Mexico region using the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001 and 2006 impervious surface products. An improved method was used to update the NLCD impervious surface product in 2006 and associated land cover transition between 2001 and 2006. Our estimation reveals...

The increasing world demand for energy has led to an increase in the exploration and extraction of natural gas, condensate, and oil from unconventional organic-rich shale plays. However, little is known about the quantity, transport, and disposal method of wastes produced during the extraction process. We examined the quantity of...