Polar bear population status in the northern Beaufort Sea, Canada, 1971-2006
I. Stirling, T. L. McDonald, E.S. Richardson, E.V. Regehr, Steven C. Amstrup
2011, Ecological Applications (21) 859-876
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of the northern Beaufort Sea (NB) population occur on the perimeter of the polar basin adjacent to the northwestern islands of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Sea ice converges on the islands through most of the year. We used open-population capture–recapture models to estimate population size...
Regional long-term production modeling from a single well test, Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well, Alaska North Slope
B.J. Anderson, M. Kurihara, M.D. White, G. J. Moridis, S.J. Wilson, M. Pooladi-Darvish, M. Gaddipati, Y. Masuda, Timothy S. Collett, R.B. Hunter, H. Narita, K. Rose, R. Boswell
2011, Marine and Petroleum Geology (28) 493-501
Following the results from the open-hole formation pressure response test in the BPXA-DOE-USGS Mount Elbert Gas Hydrate Stratigraphic Test Well (Mount Elbert well) using Schlumberger's Modular Dynamics Formation Tester (MDT) wireline tool, the International Methane Hydrate Reservoir Simulator Code Comparison project performed long-term reservoir simulations on three different model reservoirs....
Could residual oil from the Exxon Valdez spill create a long-term population "sink" for sea otters in Alaska?
Daniel H. Monson, Daniel F. Doak, Brenda E. Ballachey, James L. Bodkin
2011, Ecological Applications (21) 2917-2932
Over 20 years ago, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spilled 42 million L of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. At the time of the spill, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) population inhabiting the spill area suffered substantial acute injuries and loss. Subsequent research has...
Seasonal movements and environmental triggers to fall migration of Sage Sparrows
K.A. Fesenmyer, S.T. Knick
2011, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (123) 803-807
Post-breeding ecology of shrubland passerines prior to onset of migration is unknown relative to dynamics of breeding areas. We radiomarked and monitored 38 Sage Sparrows (Amphispiza belli ssp. nevadensis) at one site in Oregon and two in Nevada from September to mid-November 2007 to track local movements, estimate seasonal range...
Population structure and genetic diversity of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in fragmented landscapes at the northern edge of their range
K.L. Bush, C.K. Dyte, B.J. Moynahan, Cameron L. Aldridge, H.S. Sauls, A.M. Battazzo, B.L. Walker, K.E. Doherty, J. Tack, J. Carlson, D. Eslinger, J. Nicholson, M.S. Boyce, D.E. Naugle, C.A. Paszkowski, D.W. Coltman
2011, Conservation Genetics (12) 527-542
Range-edge dynamics and anthropogenic fragmentation are expected to impact patterns of genetic diversity, and understanding the influence of both factors is important for effective conservation of threatened wildlife species. To examine these factors, we sampled greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) from a declining, fragmented region at the northern periphery of the...
Tracking solutes and water from subsurface drip irrigation application of coalbed methane-produced waters, Powder River Basin, Wyoming
Mark A. Engle, Carleton R. Bern, Richard W. Healy, J.I. Sams, J.W. Zupancic, K.T. Schroeder
2011, Environmental Geosciences (18) 169-187
One method to beneficially use water produced from coalbed methane (CBM) extraction is subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) of croplands. In SDI systems, treated CBM water (injectate) is supplied to the soil at depth, with the purpose of preventing the buildup of detrimental salts near the surface. The technology is...
Paleoenvironmental implications of taxonomic variation among δ15N values of chloropigments
Meytal B. Higgins, Felisa Wolfe-Simon, Rebecca S. Robinson, Yelun Qin, Mark A. Saito, Ann Pearson
2011, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (75) 7351-7363
Natural variations in the ratios of nitrogen isotopes in biomass reflect variations in nutrient sources utilized for growth. In order to use δ15N values of chloropigments of photosynthetic organisms to determine the corresponding δ15N values of biomass – and by extension, surface waters – the isotopic offset between chlorophyll and...
Response of non-native lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) to 15 years of harvest in Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park
J.M. Syslo, C.S. Guy, P.E. Bigelow, P.D. Doepke, B.D. Ertel, T.M. Koel
2011, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (68) 2132-2145
Introduced lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) threaten to extirpate native Yellowstone cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri) in the 34 000 ha Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park, USA. Suppression (and eventual eradication) of the lake trout population is deemed necessary for the conservation of Yellowstone cutthroat trout. A US National Park...
The Mairan domes: silicic volcanic constructs on the Moon
Timothy D. Glotch, Justin Hagerty, Paul G. Lucey, B. Ray Hawke, Thomas A. Giguere, Jessica A. Arnold, Jean-Pierre Williams, Bradley L. Jolliff, David A. Paige
2011, Geophysical Research Letters (38)
The Mairan domes are four features located in northern Oceanus Procellarum at ∼312.3E, 41.4N on the Moon. High resolution visible imagery, visible-to-mid-IR spectra, and Lunar Prospector Th abundance data all indicate that these four domes have a composition that is consistent with derivation from a Si-rich, highly evolved magma....
History of plains resurfacing in the Scandia region of Mars
Kenneth L. Tanaka, Corey M. Fortezzo, Rosalyn K. Hayward, J. Alexis P. Rodriguez, James A. Skinner
2011, Planetary and Space Science (59) 1128-1142
We present a preliminary photogeologic map of the Scandia region of Mars with the objective of reconstructing its resurfacing history. The Scandia region includes the lower section of the regional lowland slope of Vastitas Borealis extending about 500–1800 km away from Alba Mons into the Scandia sub-basin below −4800 m...
Implementation of unmanned aircraft systems by the U.S. Geological Survey
J.J. Cress, J.L. Sloan, M.E. Hutt
2011, Geocarto International (26) 133-140
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Project Office is leading the implementation of UAS technology in anticipation of transforming the research methods and management techniques employed across the Department of the Interior. UAS technology is being made available to monitor environmental conditions, analyse the impacts of climate...
Vegetation index-based crop coefficients to estimate evapotranspiration by remote sensing in agricultural and natural ecosystems
E. P. Glenn, C. M. U. Neale, D.J. Hunsaker, P.L. Nagler
2011, Hydrological Processes (25) 4050-4062
Crop coefficients were developed to determine crop water needs based on the evapotranspiration (ET) of a reference crop under a given set of meteorological conditions. Starting in the 1980s, crop coefficients developed through lysimeter studies or set by expert opinion began to be supplemented by remotely sensed vegetation indices (VI)...
Sexual difference in mercury concentrations of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) from Lake Ontario
C.P. Madenjian, M.J. Keir, D.M. Whittle
2011, Chemosphere (83) 903-908
We determined total mercury (Hg) concentrations in 50 female lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and 69 male lake trout from Lake Ontario (Ontario, Canada and New York, United States). Results showed that, on average, males were 8% higher in Hg concentration than females in Lake Ontario. We also used bioenergetics modeling...
Distribution of lake sturgeon in New York: 11 years of restoration management
Marc Chalupnicki, Dawn E. Dittman, D.M. Carlson
2011, American Midland Naturalist (165) 364-371
Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) are native within the Lake Ontario drainage basin and listed as threatened by New York State. In 1995 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) initiated restoration management of lake sturgeon. This management included both protection of extant populations and stocking of uninhabited...
Volcanism on Io: New insights from global geologic mapping
David A. Williams, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, David A. Crown, Jessica A. Yff, Windy L. Jaeger, Paul M. Schenk, Paul E. Geissler, Tammy L. Becker
2011, Icarus (214) 91-112
We produced the first complete, 1:15 M-scale global geologic map of Jupiter’s moon Io, based on a set of monochrome and color Galileo–Voyager image mosaics produced at a spatial resolution of 1 km/pixel. The surface of Io was mapped into 19 units based on albedo, color and surface morphology, and is subdivided as follows:...
Sea-level history of the past two interglacial periods: New evidence from U-series dating of reef corals from south Florida
Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, R. B. Halley
2011, Quaternary Science Reviews (30) 570-590
As a future warm-climate analog, much attention has been directed to studies of the Last Interglacial period or marine isotope substage (MIS) 5.5, which occurred ∼120,000 years ago. Nevertheless, there are still uncertainties with respect to its duration, warmth and magnitude of sea-level rise. Here we present new data from...
Anthropogenic disturbance and landscape patterns affect diversity patterns of aquatic benthic macroinvertebrates
K.O. Maloney, P. Munguia, R.M. Mitchell
2011, Journal of the North American Benthological Society (30) 284-295
Measures of species diversity are valuable tools for assessing ecosystem health. However, most assessments have addressed individual sites or regional taxon pools, with few comparisons of differences in assemblage composition within or among regions. We examined the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on local richness (α diversity) and species turnover (β...
Modeling hot spring chemistries with applications to martian silica formation
G.M. Marion, D.C. Catling, J.K. Crowley, J.S. Kargel
2011, Icarus (212) 629-642
Many recent studies have implicated hydrothermal systems as the origin of martian minerals across a wide range of martian sites. Particular support for hydrothermal systems include silica (SiO2) deposits, in some cases >90% silica, in the Gusev Crater region, especially in the Columbia Hills and at Home Plate. We have developed a model...
A Comparison of seismic instrument noise coherence analysis techniques
A. T. Ringler, C. R. Hutt, J.R. Evans, L.D. Sandoval
2011, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (101) 558-567
The self-noise of a seismic instrument is a fundamental characteristic used to evaluate the quality of the instrument. It is important to be able to measure this self-noise robustly, to understand how differences among test configurations affect the tests, and to understand how different processing techniques and isolation methods (from...
Impacts of changing food webs in Lake Ontario: Implications of dietary fatty acids on growth of alewives
R.J. Snyder, C.J. Demarche, D. C. Honeyfield
2011, Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management (14) 231-238
Declines in the abundance and condition of Great Lakes Alewives have been reported periodically during the last two decades, and the reasons for these declines remain unclear. To better understand how food web changes may influence Alewife growth and Wisconsin growth model predictions, we fed Alewives isocaloric diets high in...
Design of ecoregional monitoring in conservation areas of high-latitude ecosystems under contemporary climate change
Erik A. Beever, Andrea Woodward
2011, Biological Conservation (144) 1258-1269
Land ownership in Alaska includes a mosaic of federally managed units. Within its agency’s context, each unit has its own management strategy, authority, and resources of conservation concern, many of which are migratory animals. Though some units are geographically isolated, many are nevertheless linked by paths of abiotic and biotic...
An ecosystem-scale model for the spread of a host-specific forest pathogen in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
J.A. Hatala, M.C. Dietze, R.L. Crabtree, Katherine C. Kendall, D. Six, P.R. Moorcroft
2011, Ecological Applications (21) 1138-1153
The introduction of nonnative pathogens is altering the scale, magnitude, and persistence of forest disturbance regimes in the western United States. In the high-altitude whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) forests of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) is an introduced fungal pathogen that is...
Turtles and culverts, and alternative energy development: an unreported but potentially significant mortality threat to the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)
J.E. Lovich, J.R. Ennen, S. Madrak, B. Grover
2011, Chelonian Conservation and Biology (10) 124-129
Culverts are often used to increase the permeability of roaded landscapes for wildlife, including turtles. Although the benefits of culverts as safe passages for turtles are well documented, under some conditions culverts can entrap them and cause mortality. Here we report a culvert-related mortality in the federally threatened desert tortoise...
A buoyant plume adjacent to a headland-Observations of the Elwha River plume
Jonathan A. Warrick, Andrew W. Stevens
2011, Continental Shelf Research (31) 85-97
Small rivers commonly discharge into coastal settings with topographic complexities – such as headlands and islands – but these settings are underrepresented in river plume studies compared to more simplified, straight coasts. The Elwha River provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of coastal topography on a buoyant plume,...
Effects of intrusions on grades and contents of gold and other metals in volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits
Donald A. Singer, Vladimir Berger, Dan L. Mosier
2011, Ore Geology Reviews (39) 116-118
The reason some VMS deposits contain more gold or other metals than others might be due to the influence of intrusions. A new approach examining this possibility is based on examining the information about many VMS deposits to test statistically if those with associated intrusions have significantly different grades...
