Minnesota wolf ear lengths as possible indicators of taxonomic differences
L. David Mech
2011, Northeastern Naturalist (18) 265-274
Genetic findings suggest that 2 types of wolves, Canis lupus (Gray Wolf) and C. lycaon (Eastern Wolf), and/or their hybrids occupy Minnesota (MN), and this study examines adult wolf ear lengths as a possible distinguisher between these two. Photographic evidence suggested that the Eastern Wolf possesses proportionately longer ears than...
Trends in suspended-sediment loads and concentrations in the Mississippi River Basin, 1950–2009
David C. Heimann, Lori A. Sprague, Dale W. Blevins
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5200
Trends in loads and concentrations of suspended sediment and suspended sand generally were downward for stations within the Mississippi River Basin during the 60-, 34-, and 12-year periods analyzed. Sediment transport in the lower Mississippi River has historically been, and continues to be, most closely correlative to sediment contributions from...
Sediment infilling and wetland formation dynamics in an active crevasse splay of the Mississippi River delta
Donald R. Cahoon, David A. White, James C. Lynch
2011, Geomorphology (131) 57-68
Crevasse splay environments provide a mesocosm for evaluating wetland formation and maintenance processes on a decadal time scale. Site elevation, water levels, vertical accretion, elevation change, shallow subsidence, and plant biomass were measured at five habitats along an elevation gradient to evaluate wetland formation and development in Brant Pass Splay;...
Mineralogy, morphology, and textural relationships in coatings on quartz grains in sediments in a quartz-sand aquifer
Shouliang Zhang, Douglas B. Kent, David C. Elbert, Zhi Shi, James A. Davis, David R. Veblen
2011, Journal of Contaminant Hydrology (124) 57-67
Mineralogical studies of coatings on quartz grains and bulk sediments from an aquifer on Western Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA were carried out using a variety of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Previous studies demonstrated that coatings on quartz grains control the adsorption properties of these sediments. Samples for TEM characterization...
Seroepidemiology of TmPV1 infection in captive and wild Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
Maria Gabriella Dona, Manuela Rehtanz, Nicole M. Adimey, Gregory D. Bossart, Alfred B. Jenson, Robert K. Bonde, Shin-je Ghim
2011, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (47) 673-684
In 1997, cutaneous papillomatosis caused by Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris [Tm]) papillomavirus 1 (TmPV1) was detected in seven captive manatees at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Florida, USA, and, subsequently, in two wild manatees from the adjacent Homosassa River. Since then, papillomatosis has been reported in captive manatees...
Mitigating by-catch of diamondback terrapins in crab pots
Kristen M. Hart, Larry B. Crowder
2011, Journal of Wildlife Management (75) 264-272
Chronic by‐catch of diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) in blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) pots is a concern for terrapin conservation along the United States Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Despite the availability of by‐catch reduction devices (BRDs) for crab pots, adoption of BRDs has not been mandated and by‐catch of...
Model and parametric uncertainty in source-based kinematic models of earthquake ground motion
Stephen H. Hartzell, Arthur Frankel, Pengcheng Liu, Yuehua Zeng, Shariftur Rahman
2011, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (101) 2431-2452
Four independent ground-motion simulation codes are used to model the strong ground motion for three earthquakes: 1994 Mw 6.7 Northridge, 1989 Mw 6.9 Loma Prieta, and 1999 Mw 7.5 Izmit. These 12 sets of synthetics are used to make estimates of the variability in ground-motion predictions. In addition, ground-motion predictions...
Sedimentation and response to sea-level rise of a restored marsh with reduced tidal exchange: Comparison with a natural tidal marsh
W. Vandenbruwaene, T. Maris, Donald R. Cahoon, P. Meire, S. Temmerman
2011, Geomorphology (130) 115-126
Along coasts and estuaries, formerly embanked land is increasingly restored into tidal marshes in order to re-establish valuable ecosystem services, such as buffering against flooding. Along the Scheldt estuary (Belgium), tidal marshes are restored on embanked land by allowing a controlled reduced tide (CRT) into a constructed basin, through a...
Secretion of anti-Müllerian hormone in the Florida manatee Trichechus manatus latirostris, with implications for assessing conservation status
Rhian C. Wilson, John E. Reynolds III, Dana L. Wetzel, Leslie Schwierzke-Wade, Robert K. Bonde, Kevin F. Breuel, William E. Roudebush
2011, Endangered Species Research (14) 107-112
Environmental and anthropogenic stressors can affect wildlife populations in a number of ways. For marine mammals (e.g. the Florida manatee Trichechus manatus latirostris), certain stressors or conservation risk factors have been identified, but sublethal effects have been very difficult to assess using traditional methods. The development of 'biomarkers' allows us...
Selenium concentrations and enzyme activities of glutathione metabolism in wild long-tailed ducks and common eiders
J. Christian Franson, David J. Hoffman, Paul L. Flint
2011, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (30) 1479-1481
The relationships of selenium (Se) concentrations in whole blood with plasma activities of total glutathione peroxidase, Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase were studied in long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis) and common eiders (Somateria mollissima) sampled along the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska, USA. Blood Se concentrations were >8 μg/g wet...
Spatial distribution and risk factors of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in China
Vincent Martin, Dirk U. Pfeiffer, Xiaoyan Zhou, Xiangming Xiao, Diann J. Prosser, Fusheng Guo, Marius Gilbert
2011, PLoS Pathogens (7)
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was first encountered in 1996 in Guangdong province (China) and started spreading throughout Asia and the western Palearctic in 2004–2006. Compared to several other countries where the HPAI H5N1 distribution has been studied in some detail, little is known about the environmental correlates of...
Sources of mercury to San Francisco Bay surface sediment as revealed by mercury stable isotopes
Gretchen E. Gehrke, Joel D. Blum, Mark Marvin-DePasquale
2011, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (75) 691-705
Mercury (Hg) concentrations and isotopic compositions were examined in shallow-water surface sediment (0–2 cm) from San Francisco (SF) Bay to determine the extent to which historic Hg mining contributes to current Hg contamination in SF Bay, and to assess the use of Hg isotopes to trace sources of contamination in...
Some possible causes of and corrections for STS-1 response changes in the Global Seismographic Network
C. R. Hutt, A. T. Ringler
2011, Seismological Research Letters (82) 560-571
The Global Seismographic Network (GSN) (Figure 1) plays a key role in providing seismic data for global earthquake monitoring (e.g., Benz et al. 2005), earthquake science (e.g., Tsai et al. 2005), and studies of Earth structure (e.g., Dalton et al. 2008). One of the key GSN design goals is to...
Modeling the potential impact of seasonal and inactive multi-aquifer wells on contaminant movement to public water-supply wells
R.L. Johnson, B.R. Clark, M.K. Landon, L. J. Kauffman, S. M. Eberts
2011, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (47) 588-596
Wells screened across multiple aquifers can provide pathways for the movement of surprisingly large volumes of groundwater to confined aquifers used for public water supply (PWS). Using a simple numerical model, we examine the impact of several pumping scenarios on leakage from an unconfined aquifer to a confined aquifer and...
Amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in coastal and montane California, USA Anurans
Gary M. Fellers, Rebecca A. Cole, David M. Reinitz, Patrick M. Kleeman
2011, Herpetological Conservation and Biology (6) 383-394
We found amphibian chytrid fungus (Bd = Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) to be widespread within a coastalwatershed at Point Reyes National Seashore, California and within two high elevation watersheds at Yosemite NationalPark, California. Bd was associated with all six species that we sampled (Bufo boreas, B. canorus, Pseudacris regilla, Ranadraytonii, R. sierrae,...
A GIS application for assessing, mapping, and quantifying the social values of ecosystem services
Benson C. Sherrouse, Jessica M. Clement, Darius J. Semmens
2011, Applied Geography (31) 748-760
As human pressures on ecosystems continue to increase, research involving the effective incorporation of social values information into the context of comprehensive ecosystem services assessments is becoming more important. Including quantified, spatially explicit social value metrics in such assessments will improve the analysis of relative tradeoffs among ecosystem services. This...
3-D flow and scour near a submerged wing dike: ADCP measurements on the Missouri River
E. C. Jamieson, C. D. Rennie, R. B. Jacobson, R. D. Townsend
2011, Water Resources Research (47)
Detailed mapping of bathymetry and three-dimensional water velocities using a boat-mounted single-beam sonar and acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) was carried out in the vicinity of two submerged wing dikes located in the Lower Missouri River near Columbia, Missouri. During high spring flows the wing dikes become submerged, creating a...
Accounting for non-independent detection when estimating abundance of organisms with a Bayesian approach
Julien Martin, J. Andrew Royle, Darryl I. MacKenzie, Holly H. Edwards, Marc Kery, Beth Gardner
2011, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (2) 595-601
Summary1. Binomial mixture models use repeated count data to estimate abundance. They are becoming increasingly popular because they provide a simple and cost‐effective way to account for imperfect detection. However, these models assume that individuals are detected independently of each other. This...
Paper birch: Sentinels of climate change in the Niobrara River Valley, Nebraska
Esther D. Stroh
2011, Park Science (28) 74-77
The Niobrara River Valley in the northern Great Plains supports scattered stands of paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh), a species more typical of boreal forests. These birch stands are considered to be relictual populations that have persisted since the end of the Wisconsin glaciation. Localized summer microclimates have likely facilitated...
Setting limits: Using air pollution thresholds to protect and restore US ecosystems
Mark E. Fenn, Kathleen F. Lambert, Tamara F. Blett, Douglas A. Burns, Linda H. Pardo, Gary M. Lovett, Richard A. Haeuber, David C. Evers, Charles T. Driscoll, Dean S. Jeffries
2011, Issues in Ecology 1-21
More than four decades of research provide unequivocal evidence that sulfur, nitrogen, and mercury pollution have altered, and will continue to alter, our nation's lands and waters. The emission and deposition of air pollutants harm native plants and animals, degrade water quality, affect forest productivity, and are damaging to human...
Global seabird responses to forage fish depletion - One-third for the birds
Philippe M. Cury, Ian L. Boyd, Sylvain Bonhommeau, Tycho Anker-Nilssen, Robert J.M. Crawford, Robert W. Furness, James A. Mills, Eugene J. Murphy, Henrik Osterblom, Michelle Paleczny, John F. Piatt, Jean-Paul Roux, Lynne Shannon, William J. Sydeman
2011, Science (334) 1703-1706
Determining the form of key predator-prey relationships is critical for understanding marine ecosystem dynamics. Using a comprehensive global database, we quantified the effect of fluctuations in food abundance on seabird breeding success. We identified a threshold in prey (fish and krill, termed “forage fish”) abundance below which seabirds experience consistently...
Exchange of Groundwater and Surface-Water Mediated by Permafrost Response to Seasonal and Long Term Air Temperature Variation
Shemin Ge, Jeffrey McKenzie, Clifford Voss, Qingbai Wu
2011, Geophysical Research Letters (38)
Permafrost dynamics impact hydrologic cycle processes by promoting or impeding groundwater and surface water exchange. Under seasonal and decadal air temperature variations, permafrost temperature changes control the exchanges between groundwater and surface water. A coupled heat transport and groundwater flow model, SUTRA, was modified to simulate groundwater flow and heat...
Spring migration of mallards from Arkansas as determined by satellite telemetry
David G. Krementz, Kwasi Asante, L.M. Naylor
2011, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (2) 156-168
We used satellite telemetry to document spring migration phenology, routes, stopover regions, and nesting sites of mallards Anas platyrhynchos marked in Arkansas during the winters of 2004-2007. Of the 143 marked mallards that migrated from Arkansas, they did so, on average, by mid-March. Mallards flew over the Missouri Ozarks and...
A comparison of avian communities and habitat characteristics in floodplain forests associated with valley plugs and unchannelized streams
Aaron R. Pierce, Sammy L. King
2011, River Research and Applications (27) 1315-1324
Channelization of streams associated with floodplain forested wetlands has occurred extensively throughout the world and specifically in the southeastern United States. Channelization of fluvial systems alters the hydrologic and sedimentation processes that sustain these systems. In western Tennessee, channelization and past land-use practices have caused drastic geomorphic and hydrologic changes,...
Testing the effect of habitat structure and complexity on nekton assemblages using experimental oyster reefs
Austin T. Humphries, Megan K. LaPeyre, Matthew E. Kimball, Lawrence P. Rozas
2011, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (409) 172-179
Structurally complex habitats are often associated with more diverse and abundant species assemblages in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Biogenic reefs formed by the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) are complex in nature and are recognized for their potential habitat value in estuarine systems along the US Atlantic and Gulf of...
