Non-genetic data supporting genetic evidence for the eastern wolf
L. David Mech
2011, Northeastern Naturalist (18) 521-526
Two schools of thought dominate the molecular-genetics literature on Canis spp. (wolves) in the western Great Lakes region of the US and Canada: (1) they are hybrids between Canis lupus (Gray Wolf) and Canis latrans (Coyote), or (2) they are hybrids between the Gray Wolf and Canis lycaon (Eastern Wolf)....
Nomenclatural notes and identification of small-eared shrews (Mammalia: genus Cryptotis) from Cobán, Guatemala, in The Natural History Museum, London
Neal Woodman
2011, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (124) 249-258
A small series of shrews collected in Guatemala and registered in the British Museum between 1843 and 1907 includes parts of type series for three species: Corsira tropicalis Gray (1843), Sorex micrurus Tomes (1862), and Blarina tropicalis Merriam (1895). These three names are now considered equivalent, but my recent review...
Serum amyloid A (SAA) as a biomarker of chronic infection due to boat strike trauma in a free-ranging Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) with incidental polycystic kidneys
Kendal E. Harr, Renee Rember, Pamela E. Ginn, Jessica Lightsey, Martha Keller, James Reid, Robert K. Bonde
2011, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (47) 1026-1031
Watercraft-related trauma is the predominant cause of human-induced mortality in manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris), a federal- and state-listed endangered species. Pyothorax (documented in this case report) and other secondary infections are common sequelae of inhalation of water and the open wounds caused by boat propellers. These secondary infections can lead...
Soil warming alters seed-bank responses across the geographic range of freshwater Taxodium distichum (Cupressaceae) swamps
Beth A. Middleton, Karen L. McKee
2011, American Journal of Botany (98) 1943-1955
Premise of the Study: Climate warming is predicted to have far‐reaching effects on the distribution of species, but those effects may depend on the flexibility of regenerating species in responding to climate gradients. We conducted a study to determine whether the variation in the response of seed banks to temperature varied...
Colorimetric determination of nitrate plus nitrite in water by enzymatic reduction, automated discrete analyzer methods
Charles J. Patton, Jennifer R. Kryskalla
2011, Techniques and Methods 5-B8
This report documents work at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) to validate enzymatic reduction, colorimetric determinative methods for nitrate + nitrite in filtered water by automated discrete analysis. In these standard- and low-level methods (USGS I-2547-11 and I-2548-11), nitrate is reduced to nitrite with nontoxic,...
Potential water-quality effects of coal-bed methane production water discharged along the upper Tongue River, Wyoming and Montana
Stacy M. Kinsey, David A. Nimick
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5196
Water quality in the upper Tongue River from Monarch, Wyoming, downstream to just upstream from the Tongue River Reservoir in Montana potentially could be affected by discharge of coal-bed methane (CBM) production water (hereinafter referred to as CBM discharge). CBM discharge typically contains high concentrations of sodium and other ions...
Geographic information system (GIS) representation of coal-bearing areas in India and Bangladesh
Michael H. Trippi, Susan J. Tewalt
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1296
Geographic information system (GIS) information may facilitate energy studies, which in turn provide input for energy policy decisions. Prior to this study, no GIS file representing the occurrence of coal-bearing units in India or Bangladesh was known to exist. This Open-File Report contains downloadable shapefiles representing the coalfields of India...
Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic geophysical survey data of the Yukon Flats and Fort Wainwright areas, central Alaska, June 2010
Lyndsay B. Ball, Bruce D. Smith, Burke J. Minsley, Jared D. Abraham, Clifford I. Voss, Beth N. Astley, Maria Deszcz-Pan, James C. Cannia
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1304
In June 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted airborne electromagnetic and magnetic surveys of the Yukon Flats and Fort Wainwright study areas in central Alaska. These data were collected to estimate the three-dimensional distribution of permafrost at the time of the survey. These data were also collected to evaluate the...
Effects of brush management on the hydrologic budget and water quality in and adjacent to Honey Creek State Natural Area, Comal County, Texas, 2001-10
J. Ryan Banta, Richard N. Slattery
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5226
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Edwards Region Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, the San Antonio River Authority, the Edwards Aquifer Authority, Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority, and...
Top 40 priorities for science to inform conservation and management policy in the United States
Erica Fleishman, David E. Blockstein, John A. Hall, Michael B. Mascia, Murray A. Rudd, J. Michael Scott, William J. Sutherland, Ann M. Bartuska, A. Gordon Brown, Catherine A. Christen, Joel P. Clement, Dominick DellaSala, Clifford D. Duke, Shirley J. Fiske, Hannah Gosnell, J. Christopher Haney, Michael Hutchins, Mary L. Klein, Jeffrey Marqusee, Barry R. Noon, John R. Nordgren, Paul M. Orbuch, Jimmie Powell, Steven P. Quarles, Kathryn A. Saterson, Bruce A. Stein, Michael S. Webster, Amy Vedder
2011, BioScience (61) 290-300
To maximize the utility of research to decisionmaking, especially given limited financial resources, scientists must set priorities for their efforts. We present a list of the top 40 high-priority, multidisciplinary research questions directed toward informing some of the most important current and future decisions about management of species, communities, and...
Tidal Boundary Conditions in SEAWAT
Ann E. Mulligan, Christian Langevin, Vincent Post
2011, Ground Water (49) 866-879
SEAWAT, a U.S. Geological Survey groundwater flow and transport code, is increasingly used to model the effects of tidal motion on coastal aquifers. Different options are available to simulate tidal boundaries but no guidelines exist nor have comparisons been made to identify the most effective approach. We test seven methods...
The role of surface and subsurface processes in keeping pace with sea level rise in intertidal wetlands of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia
Catherine E. Lovelock, Vicki Bennion, Alistair Grinham, Donald R. Cahoon
2011, Ecosystems (14) 745-757
Increases in the elevation of the soil surfaces of mangroves and salt marshes are key to the maintenance of these habitats with accelerating sea level rise. Understanding the processes that give rise to increases in soil surface elevation provides science for management of landscapes for sustainable coastal wetlands. Here, we...
The role of demographic compensation theory in incidental take assessments for endangered species
Conor P. McGowan, Mark R. Ryan, Michael C. Runge, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Jean Fitts Cochrane
2011, Biological Conservation (144) 730-737
Many endangered species laws provide exceptions to legislated prohibitions through incidental take provisions as long as take is the result of unintended consequences of an otherwise legal activity. These allowances presumably invoke the theory of demographic compensation, commonly applied to harvested species, by allowing limited harm as long as the...
The relation of harvesting intensity to changes in soil, soil water, and stream chemistry in a northern hardwood forest, Catskill Mountains, USA
Jason Siemion, Douglas A. Burns, Peter S. Murdoch, Rene H. Germain
2011, Forest Ecology and Management (261) 1510-1519
Previous studies have shown that clearcutting of northern hardwood forests mobilizes base cations, inorganic monomeric aluminum (Alim), and nitrate (NO3--N) from soils to surface waters, but the effects of partial harvests on NO3--N have been less frequently studied. In this study we describe the effects of a series of partial...
The present and future role of coastal wetland vegetation in protecting shorelines: Answering recent challenges to the paradigm
Keryn B. Gedan, Matthew L. Kirwan, Eric Wolanski, Edward B. Barbier, Brian R. Silliman
2011, Climatic Change (106) 7-29
For more than a century, coastal wetlands have been recognized for their ability to stabilize shorelines and protect coastal communities. However, this paradigm has recently been called into question by small-scale experimental evidence. Here, we conduct a literature review and a small meta-analysis of wave attenuation data, and we find...
Nest survival of American Coots relative to grazing, burning, and water depths
Jane E. Austin, Deborah A. Buhl
2011, Avian Conservation and Ecology (6) 1-14
Water and emergent vegetation are key features influencing nest site selection and success for many marsh-nesting waterbirds. Wetland management practices such as grazing, burning, and water-level manipulations directly affect these features and can influence nest survival. We used model selection and before-after-control-impact approaches to evaluate the effects of water depth...
Interface between black-footed ferret research and operational conservation
Dean E. Biggins, Travis M. Livieri, Stewart W. Breck
2011, Journal of Mammalogy (92) 699-704
Questions and problems that emerged during operational conservation of black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) have been addressed by a wide variety of studies. Early results from such studies often were communicated orally during meetings of recovery groups and in written form using memoranda, unpublished reports, and theses. Typically, implementation of results...
The influence of the Atlantic Warm Pool on the Florida panhandle sea breeze
Vasubandhu Misra, Lauren Moeller, Lydia Stefanova, Steven Chan, James J. O’Brien, Thomas J. Smith III, Nathaniel Plant
2011, Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres (116)
In this paper we examine the variations of the boreal summer season sea breeze circulation along the Florida panhandle coast from relatively high resolution (10 km) regional climate model integrations. The 23 year climatology (1979–2001) of the multidecadal dynamically downscaled simulations forced by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction–Department...
Hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation and agricultural crops: Knowledge gain and knowledge gap after 40 years of research
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete, editor(s)
2011, Book chapter, Hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation
The focus of this chapter was to summarize the advances made over last 40+ years, as reported in various chapters of this book, in understanding, modeling, and mapping terrestrial vegetation using hyperspectral remote sensing (or imaging spectroscopy) using sensors that are ground-based, truck-mounted, airborne, and spaceborne. As we have seen...
Advances in hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation and agricultural croplands
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete
Prasad S. Thenkabail, John G. Lyon, Alfredo Huete, editor(s)
2011, Book, Hyperspectral remote sensing of vegetation
Recent advances in hyperspectral remote sensing (or imaging spectroscopy) demonstrate a great utility for a variety of land monitoring applications. It is now possible to be diagnostic in sensing species and plant communities using remotely sensed data and to do so in a direct and informed manner using modern tools...
Hydrostratigraphic interpretation of test-hole and geophysical data, Upper Loup River Basin, Nebraska, 2008-10
Christopher M. Hobza, Theodore H. Asch, Paul A. Bedrosian
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1289
Nebraska's Upper Loup Natural Resources District is currently (2011) participating in the Elkhorn-Loup Model to understand the effect of various groundwater-management scenarios on surface-water resources. During Phase 1 of the Elkhorn-Loup Model, a lack of subsurface geological information in the Upper Loup Natural Resources District, hereafter referred to as the...
Trends in lake chemistry in response to atmospheric deposition and climate in selected Class I wilderness areas in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, 1993-2009
M. Alisa Mast, George P. Ingersoll
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5123
In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Air Resource Management, began a study to evaluate long-term trends in lake-water chemistry for 64 high-elevation lakes in selected Class I wilderness areas in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming during 1993 to 2009. The...
Pathogenic bacteria and microbial-source tracking markers in Brandywine Creek Basin, Pennsylvania and Delaware, 2009-10
Joseph W. Duris, Andrew G. Reif, Leif E. Olson, Heather E. Johnson
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5164
The City of Wilmington, Delaware, is in the downstream part of the Brandywine Creek Basin, on the main stem of Brandywine Creek. Wilmington uses this stream, which drains a mixed-land-use area upstream, for its main drinking-water supply. Because the stream is used for drinking water, Wilmington is in need of...
Response of lake chemistry to atmospheric deposition and climate in selected Class I wilderness areas in the western United States, 1993-2009
M. Alisa Mast
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3084
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Air Resource Management, conducted a study to evaluate long-term trends in lake-water chemistry for 64 high-elevation lakes in selected Class I wilderness areas in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming during 1993 to 2009. Understanding how and...
Trends in sea otter population abundance in western Prince William Sound, Alaska: Progress toward recovery following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill
James L. Bodkin, Brenda E. Ballachey, George G. Esslinger
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5213
Sea otters in western Prince William Sound (WPWS) and elsewhere in the Gulf of Alaska suffered widespread mortality as a result of oiling following the 1989 T/V Exxon Valdez oil spill. Following the spill, extensive efforts have been directed toward identifying and understanding long-term consequences of the spill and the...
