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Because unionid mussels have a parasitic larval stage, they are able to disperse upstream and downstream as larvae while attached to their host fish and with flow as juveniles after excystment from the host. Understanding unionid population ecology requires knowledge of the processes that affect juvenile dispersal prior to establishment....

In much of northern Sweden moose Alces alces browse rowan Sorbus aucuparia heavily and commonly revisit previously browsed plants. Repeated browsing of rowan by moose has created some concern for its long-term survival in heavily browsed areas. We therefore measured how four years of simulated moose browsing at four population...

HiRISE has been producing a large number of scientifically useful color products of Mars and other planetary objects. The three broad spectral bands, coupled with the highly sensitive 14 bit detectors and time delay integration, enable detection of subtle color differences. The very high spatial resolution of HiRISE can augment...

The complex effects of disturbances on ecological communities can be further complicated by subsequent perturbations within an ecosystem. We investigated how wildfire interacts with annual variations in peak streamflow to affect the stability of stream macroinvertebrate communities in a central Idaho wilderness, USA. We conducted a 4-year retrospective analysis of...

In situations where limited knowledge of a system exists and the ratio of data points to variables is small, variable selection methods can often be misleading. Freedman (Am Stat 37:152-155, 1983) demonstrated how common it is to select completely unrelated variables as highly "significant" when the number of data points...

Objectives: To analyze the solutes leaching from glass containers into aqueous solutions, and to show that these solutes have enzyme activity stabilizing effects in very dilute solutions. Methods: Enzyme assays with acetylcholine esterase were used to analyze serially succussed and diluted (SSD) solutions prepared in glass and plastic containers. Aqueous...

Seabird mortality associated with longline fishing in the eastern Bering Sea occurs mainly from September to May, with northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) comprising the majority (60%) of the bycatch. Along the west coast of North America, winter dieoffs of fulmars may be increasing in frequency and magnitude, the most severe...

In the Great Lakes there is still uncertainty as to the population level effects of a thiamine deficiency on salmonines caused by high consumption of alewives Alosa pseudoharengus. A resurgence of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush reproduction in Lake Huron following the crash of alewife stocks between 2002 and 2004 provided...

During a survey of the terrestrial diatom flora of some sub-Antarctic islands in the southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans and of the Antarctic continent, more than 15 taxa belonging to the genus Muelleria were observed. Nine of these taxa are described as new species using light and scanning electron microscopy....

Migratory shorebirds frequently forage and roost in agricultural habitats, where they may be exposed to cholinesterase-inhibiting pesticides. Exposure to organophosphorus and carbamate compounds, common anti-cholinesterases, can cause sublethal effects, even death. To evaluate exposure of migratory shorebirds to organophosphorus and carbamates, we sampled birds stopping over during migration in North...

The use of structural equation modeling (SEM) is often motivated by its utility for investigating complex networks of relationships, but also because of its promise as a means of representing theoretical concepts using latent variables. In this paper, we discuss characteristics of ecological theory and some of the challenges for...

Groundwater contamination by fuel-related compounds such as the fuel oxygenates methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME) presents a significant issue to managers and consumers of groundwater and surface water that receives groundwater discharge. Four sites were investigated on Long Island, New York, characterized by...

HiRISE images of Mars with ground sampling down to 25 cm/pixel show that the dust-rich mantle covering the surfaces of the Tharsis Montes is organized into ridges whose form and distribution are consistent with formation by aeolian saltation. Other dusty areas near the volcanoes and elsewhere on the planet exhibit...

Groundwater evaporation can play an important role in crop-water use where the water table is shallow. Lysimeters are often used to quantify the groundwater evaporation contribution influenced by a broad range of environmental factors. However, it is difficult for such field facilities, which are operated under limited conditions within limited...

Soil turnover by tree uprooting in primary and secondary forests on the island of Puerto Rico was measured in 42 study plots in the months immediately after the passage of a Category 3 hurricane. Trunk basal area explained 61% of the variability of mound volume and 53% of the variability...

We measured the initial mortality (fish judged nonreleasable at weigh-in), prerelease mortality (fish judged nonreleasable 1–2 h after weigh-in [which includes initial mortality]), and postrelease mortality (fish that died during a 5-d retention in net-pens) in 14 live-release tournaments for walleye Sander vitreus conducted in April–October 2006 and April–July 2007 in lakes...

Pyrethroid insecticide use in California, USA, is growing, and there is a need to understand the fate of these compounds in the environment. Concentrations and toxicity were assessed in streambed sediment of the San Joaquin Valley of California, one of the most productive agricultural regions of the United States. Concentrations...

Thiaminase activity of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) is variable across Lake Michigan, yet factors that contribute to the variability in alewife thiaminase activity are unknown. The fatty acid content of Lake Michigan alewife has not been previously reported. Analysis of 53 Lake Michigan alewives found a positive correlation between thiaminase activity...

The Wenlock Epoch of the Silurian Period has become one of the chronostratigraphically best-constrained intervals of the Paleozoic. The integration of multiple chronostratigraphic tools, such as conodont and graptolite biostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy, and ??13Ccarb chemostratigraphy, has greatly improved global chronostratigraphic correlation and portions of the Wenlock can now be correlated...

We present new U/Pb ages for detrital zircons separated from six quartzose metagraywackes collected from different Franciscan Complex imbricate nappes around San Francisco Bay. All six rocks contain a broad spread of Late Jurassic-Cretaceous grains originating from the Klamath-Sierra Nevada volcanic-plutonic arc. Units young structurally downward, consistent with models of...

Thirteen new chronometric dates for Illinois proboscideans are considered in relation to well-dated pollen records from northeastern and central Illinois. These dates span an interval from 21,228 to 12,944 cal BP. When compared to pollen spectra, it is evident that Mammut americanum inhabited spruce (Picea) and black ash (Fraxinus nigra)...

Numerous new specimens reveal a greater presence of chitons in Upper Cambrian rocks than previously suspected. Evidence is presented showing that the chiton esthete sensory system is present in all chiton species in this study at the very beginning of the known polyplacophoran fossil record. The stratigraphic occurrences and paleobiogeography...

We utilize two-and-three-quarter years of vertical-component recordings made by the Transportable Array (TA) component of Earthscope to constrain three-dimensional (3-D) seismic shear wave velocity structure in the upper 200 km of the western United States. Single-taper spectral estimation is used to compile measurements of complex spectral amplitudes from 44 317...

A discriminant function analysis (DFA) model was developed with DNA sex verification so that external morphology could be used to sex 203 adult California Gulls (Larus californicus) in San Francisco Bay (SFB). The best model was 97% accurate and included head-to-bill length, culmen depth at the gonys, and wing length....

The ecoregions of the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain, Southeastern Plains, Piedmont, and Blue Ridge provide a continuum of land cover from the Atlantic Ocean to the highest mountains in the East. From 1973 to 2000, each ecoregion had a unique mosaic of land covers and land cover changes. The forests...