Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness
Peter B. Adler, Eric W. Seabloom, Elizabeth T. Borer, Helmut Hillebrand, Yann Hautier, Andy Hector, W. Stanley Harpole, Lydia R. O’Halloran, James B. Grace, T. Michael Anderson, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lori A. Biederman, Cynthia S. Brown, Yvonne M. Buckley, Laura B. Calabrese, Cheng-Jin Chu, Elsa E. Cleland, Scott L. Collins, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Michael J. Crawley, Ellen Ingman Damschen, Kendi F. Davies, Nicole M. DeCrappeo, Philip A. Fay, Jennifer Firn, Paul Frater, Eve I. Gasarch, Daneil S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Hope Humphries, Virginia L. Jin, Adam D. Kay, Kevin P. Kirkman, Julia A. Klein, Johannes M.H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, John G. Lambrinos, Wei Li, Andrew S. MacDougall, Rebecca L. McCulley, Brett A. Melbourne, Charles E. Mitchell, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, Brent Mortensen, John L. Orrock, Suzanne M. Prober, David A. Pyke, Anita C. Risch, Martin Schuetz, Melinda D. Smith, Carly J. Stevens, Lauren L. Sullivan, Gang Wang, Peter D. Wragg, Justin P. Wright, Louie H. Yang
2011, Science (333) 1750-1753
For more than 30 years, the relationship between net primary productivity and species richness has generated intense debate in ecology about the processes regulating local diversity. The original view, which is still widely accepted, holds that the relationship is hump-shaped, with richness first rising and then declining with increasing productivity....
Changes in nutrient dynamics of midcontinent greater white-fronted geese during spring migration
Aaron T. Pearse, Ray T. Alisauskas, Gary L. Krapu, Robert R. Cox Jr.
2011, Journal of Wildlife Management (75) 1716-1723
Waterfowl and other migratory birds commonly store nutrients at traditional staging areas during spring for later use during migration and reproduction. We investigated nutrient‐storage dynamics in the midcontinent population of greater white‐fronted geese (Anser albifrons; hereafter white‐fronted geese) at spring staging sites in the Rainwater Basin of Nebraska during February–April...
Quantifying differences in the impact of variable chemistry on equilibrium uranium(VI) adsorption properties of aquifer sediments
Deborah L. Stoliker, Douglas B. Kent, John M. Zachara
2011, Environmental Science & Technology (45) 8733-8740
Uranium adsorption-desorption on sediment samples collected from the Hanford 300-Area, Richland, WA varied extensively over a range of field-relevant chemical conditions, complicating assessment of possible differences in equilibrium adsorption properties. Adsorption equilibrium was achieved in 500-1000 h although dissolved uranium concentrations increased over thousands of hours owing to changes in...
Seasonal seepage investigation on an urbanized reach of the lower Boise River, southwestern Idaho, water year 2010
Marshall L. Williams
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5181
The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Idaho Department of Water Resources Treasure Valley Comprehensive Aquifer Management Planning effort investigated seasonal groundwater gains and losses on the Boise River, Idaho, starting in November 2009 through August 2010. The investigation was conducted using seepage runs in 11 subreaches over a...
Provenance and tectonic significance of the Palaeoproterozoic metasedimentary successions of central and nothern Madagascar
B. De Waele, Ronald J. Thomas, P. H. Macey, M. S. A. Horstwood, R. D. Tucker, P. E. J. Pitfield, D. I. Schofield, K. M. Goodenough, W. Bauer, R. M. Key, C. J. Potter, R. A. Armstrong, J. A. Miller, T. Randriamananjara, V. Ralison, J. M. Rafahatelo, M. Rabarimanana, M. Bejoma
2011, Precambrian Research (189) 18-42
New detrital zircon U–Pb age data obtained from various quartzite units of three spatially separated supracrustal packages in central and northern Madagascar, show that these units were deposited between 1.8 and 0.8 Ga and have similar aged provenances. The distribution of detrital zircon ages indicates an overwhelming contribution of sources with...
Constraints on the long‐period moment‐dip tradeoff for the Tohoku earthquake
Victor C. Tsai, Gavin P. Hayes, Zacharie Duputel
2011, Geophysical Research Letters (38)
Since the work of Kanamori and Given (1981), it has been recognized that shallow, pure dip‐slip earthquakes excite long‐period surface waves such that it is difficult to independently constrain the moment (M0) and the dip (δ) of the source mechanism, with only the product M0 sin(2δ) being well constrained. Because of this,...
Pythons in Burma: Short-tailed python (Reptilia: Squamata)
George R. Zug, Steve W. Gotte, Jeremy F. Jacobs
2011, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (124) 112-136
Short-tailed pythons, Python curtus species group, occur predominantly in the Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. The discovery of an adult female in Mon State, Myanmar, led to a review of the distribution of all group members (spot-mapping of all localities of confirmed occurrence) and an examination of morphological variation in...
Rapid cooling rates at an active mid-ocean ridge from zircon thermochronology
Axel K. Schmitt, Michael R. Perfit, Kenneth H. Rubin, Daniel F. Stockli, Matthew C. Smith, Laurie A. Cotsonika, Georg F. Zellmer, W. Ian Ridley
2011, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (302) 349-358
Oceanic spreading ridges are Earth's most productive crust generating environment, but mechanisms and rates of crustal accretion and heat loss are debated. Existing observations on cooling rates are ambiguous regarding the prevalence of conductive vs. convective cooling of lower oceanic crust. Here, we report the discovery and dating of zircon...
Deposit model for closed-basin potash-bearing brines
Greta J. Orris
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1283
Closed-basin potash-bearing brines are one of the types of potash deposits that are a source of potash production within the United States, as well as other countries. Though these deposits are of highly variable size, they are important sources of potash on a regional basis. In addition, these deposits have...
Simulating the impacts of disturbances on forest carbon cycling in North America: Processes, data, models, and challenges
Shuguang Liu, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Jeffrey A. Hicke, Rodrigo Vargas, Shuqing Zhao, Jing Chen, Steven L. Edburg, Yueming Hu, Jinxun Liu, A. David McGuire, Jingfeng Xiao, Robert Keane, Wenping Yuan, Jianwu Tang, Yiqi Luo, Christopher Potter, Jennifer Oeding
2011, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (116) 1-22
Forest disturbances greatly alter the carbon cycle at various spatial and temporal scales. It is critical to understand disturbance regimes and their impacts to better quantify regional and global carbon dynamics. This review of the status and major challenges in representing the impacts of disturbances in modeling the carbon dynamics...
Restoration of the fire-grazing interaction in Artemisia filifolia shrubland of the Southern Great Plains, North America
Stephen L. Winter, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Carla L. Goad, Craig A. Davis, Karen R. Hickman, David M. Leslie Jr.
2011, Journal of Applied Ecology (49) 242-250
1. Patterns of landscape heterogeneity are crucial to the maintenance of biodiversity in shrublands and grasslands, yet management practices in these ecosystems typically seek to homogenize landscapes. Furthermore, there is limited understanding of how the interaction of ecological processes, such as fire and grazing, affects patterns of heterogeneity at different spatial...
Monitoring coastal inundation with Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite data
Yukihiro Suzuoki, Amina Rangoonwala, Elijah W. Ramsey III
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1208
Maps representing the presence and absence of surface inundation in the Louisiana coastal zone were created from available satellite scenes acquired by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Advanced Land Observing Satellite and by the European Space Agency's Envisat from late 2006 through summer 2009. Detection of aboveground surface flooding relied...
New U.S. Geological Survey method for the assessment of reserve growth
Timothy R. Klett, Emil D. Attanasi, Ronald R. Charpentier, Troy A. Cook, Philip A. Freeman, Donald L. Gautier, Phuong A. Le, Robert T. Ryder, Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Mahendra K. Verma
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5163
Reserve growth is defined as the estimated increases in quantities of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids that have the potential to be added to remaining reserves in discovered accumulations through extension, revision, improved recovery efficiency, and additions of new pools or reservoirs. A new U.S. Geological Survey...
Water resources of Bossier Parish
Lawrence B. Prakken, Jason M. Griffith
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3087
In 2005, about 15.8 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, including 4.12 Mgal/d from groundwater sources and about 11.7 Mgal/d from surface-water sources. Public-supply use accounted for about 78 percent (12.4 Mgal/d) of the total water withdrawn. Other categories of use included industry,...
Water resources of Webster Parish
Lawrence B. Prakken, Jason M. Griffith
2011, Fact Sheet 2011-3088
In 2005, about 9.52 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Webster Parish, Louisiana (fig. 1), including about 9.33 Mgal/d from groundwater sources and 0.19 Mgal/d from surface-water sources1 (table 1). Publicsupply use accounted for about 70 percent of the total water withdrawn. Other categories of use...
Assessment of Hyporheic Zone, Flood-Plain, Soil-Gas, Soil, and Surface-Water Contamination at the McCoys Creek Chemical Training Area, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2009-2010
Wladmir B. Guimaraes, W. Fred Falls, Andral W. Caldwell, W. Hagan Ratliff, John B. Wellborn, James Landmeyer
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1267
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Georgia, assessed the hyporheic zone, flood plain, soil gas, soil, and surface water for contaminants at the McCoys Creek Chemical Training Area...
Predicting phenology by integrating ecology, evolution and climate science
Stephanie Pau, Elizabeth M. Wolkovich, Benjamin I. Cook, T. Jonathan Davies, Nathan J. B. Kraft, Kjell Bolmgren, Julio L. Betancourt, Elsa E. Cleland
2011, Global Change Biology (17) 3633-3643
Forecasting how species and ecosystems will respond to climate change has been a major aim of ecology in recent years. Much of this research has focused on phenology – the timing of life‐history events. Phenology has well‐demonstrated links to climate, from genetic to landscape scales; yet our ability to explain...
Prediction and assimilation of surf-zone processes using a Bayesian network: Part II: Inverse models
Nathaniel G. Plant, K. Todd Holland
2011, Coastal Engineering (58) 256-266
A Bayesian network model has been developed to simulate a relatively simple problem of wave propagation in the surf zone (detailed in Part I). Here, we demonstrate that this Bayesian model can provide both inverse modeling and data-assimilation solutions for predicting offshore wave heights and depth estimates given limited wave-height...
Probability of detecting perchlorate under natural conditions in deep groundwater in California and the Southwestern United States
Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2011, Environmental Science & Technology (45) 1271-1277
We use data from 1626 groundwater samples collected in California, primarily from public drinking water supply wells, to investigate the distribution of perchlorate in deep groundwater under natural conditions. The wells were sampled for the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Priority Basin Project. We develop a logistic regression model...
Prediction and assimilation of surf-zone processes using a Bayesian network: Part I: Forward models
Nathaniel G. Plant, K. Todd Holland
2011, Coastal Engineering (58) 119-130
Prediction of coastal processes, including waves, currents, and sediment transport, can be obtained from a variety of detailed geophysical-process models with many simulations showing significant skill. This capability supports a wide range of research and applied efforts that can benefit from accurate numerical predictions. However, the predictions are only as...
Preface: Multiscale feedbacks in ecogeomorphology
Joseph M. Wheaton, Chris Gibbins, John Wainwright, Laurel G. Larsen, Brandon McElroy
2011, Geomorphology (126) 265-268
Geomorphic systems are known to exhibit nonlinear responses to physical–biological feedbacks (Thornes, 1985; Baas, 2002; Reinhardt et al., 2010). These responses make understanding and/or predicting system response to change highly challenging. With growing concerns over ecosystem health, a pressing need exists for research that tries to elucidate these feedbacks (Jerolmack,...
Predator removal enhances waterbird restoration in Chesapeake Bay (Maryland)
R. Michael Erwin, Peter C. McGowan, Jan Reese
2011, Ecological Restoration (29) 20-21
This report represents an update to an earlier report(Erwin et al. 2007a) on wildlife restoration on the largest dredge material island project in the United States underway in Talbot County, Maryland (Figure 1) in the mid–Chesapeake Bay region, referred to as the Paul Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island...
Pharmaceutical compounds in Merrimack River water used for public supply, Lowell, Massachusetts, 2008-09
Andrew J. Massey, Marcus C. Waldron
2011, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5192
This report presents results of a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, to determine the occurrence of 14 commonly used human-health pharmaceutical compounds and fecal-indicator bacteria in Merrimack River water used as a drinking-water source by 135,000 residents in...
Conservation Effects Assessment Project-Wetlands assessment in California's Central Valley and Upper Klamath River Basin
Walter G. Duffy, Sharon N. Kahara, Rosemary M. Records, editor(s)
2011, Open-File Report 2011-1290
Executive Summary-Ecosystem Services Derived from Wetlands Reserve Program Conservation Practices in California's Central Valley and Oregon's Upper Klamath River Basin. The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) is one of several programs implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Since the WRP's inception in 1990, it has resulted in the restoration...
Lead exposure and poisoning of songbirds using the Coeur d'Alene River Basin, Idaho, USA
James A. Hansen, Daniel Audet, Brian L. Spears, Kate A. Healy, Roy E. Brazzle, David J. Hoffman, Anne Dailey, W. Nelson Beyer
2011, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (7) 587-595
Previous studies have found widespread Pb poisoning of waterfowl in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin in northern Idaho, USA, which has been contaminated by mining and smelting activities. We studied the exposure of ground-feeding songbirds to Pb, sampling 204 American robins (Turdus migratorius), song sparrows (Melospiza melodia), and Swainson's thrushes...
