Development of a molecular diagnostic system to discriminate Dreissena polymorpha (zebra mussel) and Dreissena bugensis (quagga mussel)
M.S. Hoy, K. Kelly, R. J. Rodriguez
2010, Molecular Ecology Resources (10) 190-192
A 3-primer PCR system was developed to discriminate invasive zebra (Dreissena polymorpha) and quagga (Dreissena bugensis) mussel. The system is based on: 1) universal primers that amplifies a region of the nuclear 28s rDNA gene from both species and 2) a species-specific primer complementary to either zebra or quagga mussel....
Patterns of Tamarix water use during a record drought
J.B. Nippert, J.J. Butler Jr., Gerard J. Kluitenberg, Donald O. Whittemore, D. Arnold, S.E. Spal, J.K. Ward
2010, Oecologia (162) 283-292
During a record drought (2006) in southwest Kansas, USA, we assessed groundwater dynamics in a shallow, unconfined aquifer, along with plant water sources and physiological responses of the invasive riparian shrub Tamarix ramosissima. In early May, diel water table fluctuations indicated evapotranspirative consumption of groundwater by vegetation. During the summer...
Trail Pheromone Disruption of Argentine Ant Trail Formation and Foraging
D.M. Suckling, R.W. Peck, L.D. Stringer, K. Snook, P.C. Banko
2010, Journal of Chemical Ecology (36) 122-128
Trail pheromone disruption of invasive ants is a novel tactic that builds on the development of pheromone-based pest management in other insects. Argentine ant trail pheromone, (Z)-9-hexadecenal, was formulated as a micro-encapsulated sprayable particle and applied against Argentine ant populations in 400 m2 field plots in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park....
Using ecological function to develop recovery criteria for depleted species: Sea otters and kelp forests in the Aleutian archipelago
James A. Estes, M. Tim Tinker, James L. Bodkin
2010, Conservation Biology (24) 852-860
Recovery criteria for depleted species or populations normally are based on demographic measures, the goal being to maintain enough individuals over a sufficiently large area to assure a socially tolerable risk of future extinction. Such demographically based recovery criteria may be insufficient to restore the functional roles of strongly interacting...
Increase in lake trout reproduction in Lake Huron following the collapse of alewife: Relief from thiamine deficiency or larval predation?
J.D. Fitzsimons, S. Brown, L. Brown, D. Honeyfield, J. He, J.E. Johnson
2010, Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management (13) 73-84
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...
Desert wildfire and severe drought diminish survivorship of the long-lived Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia; Agavaceae)
L.A. DeFalco, T. C. Esque, S. J. Scoles-Sciulla, J. Rodgers
2010, American Journal of Botany (97) 243-250
Extreme climate events are transforming plant communities in the desert Southwest of the United States. Abundant precipitation in 1998 associated with El Ni??o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) stimulated exceptional alien annual plant production in the Mojave Desert that fueled wildfires in 1999. Exacerbated by protracted drought, 80% of the burned Yucca...
Distribution and conservation standing of West Virginia crayfishes
Zachary J. Loughman, Stuart A. Welsh
2010, Southeastern Naturalist 63-78
The diversity of crayfishes in West Virginia represents a transition between the species-rich southern Appalachian faunas and the depauperate crayfish diversity in the northeastern United States. Currently, 22 described species occur in the state, of which 6 are given S1 status, and 3 are introduced species. One species, Orconectes limosus...
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) during MRO's Primary Science Phase (PSP)
Alfred S. McEwen, Maria E. Banks, Nicole Baugh, Kris J. Becker, Aaron Boyd, James W. Bergstrom, Ross A. Beyer, Edward Bortolini, Nathan T. Bridges, Shane Byrne, Bradford Castalia, Frank C. Chuang, Larry S. Crumpler, Ingrid J. Daubar, Alix K. Davatzes, Donald G. Deardorff, Alaina DeJong, W. Alan Delamere, Eldar Z. Noe Dobrea, Colin M. Dundas, Eric M. Eliason, Yisrael Espinoza, Audrie Fennema, Kathryn E. Fishbaugh, Terry Forrester, Paul E. Geissler, John A. Grant, Jennifer L. Griffes, John P. Grotzinger, Virginia C. Gulick, Candice J. Hansen, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Rodney Heyd, Windy L. Jaeger, Dean Jones, Bob Kanefsky, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Robert King, Randolph L. Kirk, Kelly J. Kolb, Jeffrey Lasco, Alexandra Lefort, Richard Leis, Kevin W. Lewis, Sara Martinez-Alonso, Sarah Mattson, Guy K. McArthur, Michael T. Mellon, Joannah Metz, Moses P. Milazzo, Ralph E. Milliken, Tahirih Motazedian, Chris Okubo, Albert Ortiz, Andrea J. Philippoff, Joseph Plassmann, Anjani Polit, Patrick S. Russell, Christian Schaller, Mindi L. Searls, Timothy Spriggs, Steve W. Squyres, Steven Tarr, Nicolas Thomas, Bradley J. Thomson, Livio L. Tornabene, Charlie Van Houten, Circe Verba, Catherine M. Weitz, James J. Wray
2010, Icarus (205) 2-37
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) acquired 8 terapixels of data in 9137 images of Mars between October 2006 and December 2008, covering ∼0.55% of the surface. Images are typically 5–6 km wide with 3-color coverage over the central 20% of the swath, and their...
Enzyme stabilization by glass-derived silicates in glass-exposed aqueous solutions
J.A. Ives, J.R. Moffett, P. Arun, D. Lam, T.I. Todorov, A.B. Brothers, D.J. Anick, J. Centeno, M.A.A. Namboodiri, W.B. Jonas
2010, Homeopathy (99) 15-24
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...
Summer spatial patterning of chukars in relation to free water in Western Utah
R.T. Larsen, J.A. Bissonette, J.T. Flinders, M.B. Hooten, T.L. Wilson
2010, Landscape Ecology (25) 135-145
Free water is considered important to wildlife in arid regions. In the western United States, thousands of water developments have been built to benefit wildlife in arid landscapes. Agencies and researchers have yet to clearly demonstrate their effectiveness. We combined a spatial analysis of summer chukar (Alectoris chukar) covey locations...
Vulnerability of age-0 pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus to fish predation
William E. French, B. D. S. Graeb, S. R. Chipps, K.N. Bertrand, T.M. Selch, Robert A. Klumb
2010, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (26) 6-10
Stocking is a commonly employed conservation strategy for endangered species such as the pallid sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus albus. However, decisions about when, where and at what size pallid sturgeon should be stocked are hindered because vulnerability of pallid sturgeon to fish predation is not known. The objective of this study was...
Event-driven sediment flux in Hueneme and Mugu submarine canyons, southern California
J. P. Xu, P.W. Swarzenski, M. Noble, A.-C. Li
2010, Marine Geology (269) 74-88
Vertical sediment fluxes and their dominant controlling processes in Hueneme and Mugu submarine canyons off south-central California were assessed using data from sediment traps and current meters on two moorings that were deployed for 6 months during the winter of 2007. The maxima of total particulate flux, which reached as...
New seismic hazard maps for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Charles S. Mueller, Arthur D. Frankel, Mark D. Petersen, Edgar V. Leyendecker
2010, Earthquake Spectra (26) 169-185
The probabilistic methodology developed by the U.S. Geological Survey is applied to a new seismic hazard assessment for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Modeled seismic sources include gridded historical seismicity, subduction-interface and strike-slip faults with known slip rates, and two broad zones of crustal extension with seismicity rates...
Patterns of mercury dispersion from local and regional emission sources, rural Central Wisconsin, USA
A. Kolker, M.L. Olson, David P. Krabbenhoft, Michael T. Tate, Mark A. Engle
2010, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions (10) 1823-1846
Simultaneous real-time changes in mercury (Hg) speciation-reactive gaseous Hg (RGM), elemental Hg (Hg??), and fine particulate Hg (Hg-PM2.5), were determined from June to November 2007, in ambient air at three locations in rural Central Wisconsin. Known Hg emission sources within the airshed of the monitoring sites include: 1) a 1114...
Fall may be imminent for Kansas Cherokee basin coalbed gas output
K. David Newell
2010, Oil & Gas Journal (108) 33-40
Natural gas production in the Kansas portion of the Cherokee basin, Southeastern Kansas, for 2008 was 49.1 bcf. The great majority of Cherokee basin gas production is now coal-bed methane (CBM). The major producers are Quest Energy LLC, Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co. LLC, and Layne Energy Operating LLC. Most...
Effects of altered groundwater chemistry upon the pH-dependency and magnitude of bacterial attachment during transport within an organically contaminated sandy aquifer
Ronald W. Harvey, David W. Metge, Larry B. Barber, George R. Aiken
2010, Water Research (44) 1062-1071
The effects of a dilute (ionic strength = 5 × 10−3 M) plume of treated sewage, with elevated levels (3.9 mg/L) of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), upon the pH-dependency and magnitude of bacterial transport through an iron-laden, quartz sand aquifer (Cape Cod, MA) were evaluated using sets of replicate, static minicolumns. Compared with uncontaminated groundwater, the...
Early Pleistocene origin of reefs around Lanai, Hawaii
Jody M. Webster, David A. Clague, Iain D.E. Faichney, Paul D. Fullagar, James R. Hein, James G. Moore, Charles K. Paull
2010, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (290) 331-339
A sequence of submerged terraces (L1–L12) offshore Lanai was previously interpreted as reefal, and correlated with a similar series of reef terraces offshore Hawaii island, whose ages are known to be <500 ka. We present bathymetric, observational, lithologic and 51 87Sr/86Sr isotopic measurements for the submerged Lanai terraces ranging from −300 to...
Alexandria's Eastern Harbor, Egypt: Pollen, microscopic charcoal, and the transition from natural to human-modified basin
J.-D. Stanley, C.E. Bernhardt
2010, Journal of Coastal Research (26) 67-79
Pollen and microscopic charcoal examined in Holocene sediment core samples record major environmental modifications affecting Alexandria's Eastern Harbor through time. We assess whether such changes on Egypt's coastal margin were influenced primarily by natural, or natural plus human, or primarily human factors. We focus on (1) the times when pollen...
Stomach nematodes (Mastophorus Muris) in rats (Rattus rattus) are associated with coconut (Cocos nucifera) Habitat at palmyra atoll
K. D. Lafferty, S.A. Hathaway, A.S. Wegmann, F.S. Shipley, A.R. Backlin, J. Helm, Robert N. Fisher
2010, Journal of Parasitology (96) 16-20
Black rats (Rattus rattus) and their stomach nematodes (Mastophorus muris) were historically introduced to islets at Palmyra Atoll in the central Pacific Line Islands. To investigate patterns of parasitism, we trapped rats and quantified nematodes on 13 islets of various sizes and habitat types. Most rats were parasitized (59) with...
Nearshore concentration of pink shrimp (Farfantepenaeus duorarum) postlarvae in northern Florida bay in relation to nocturnal flood tide
Maria M. Criales, M. B. Robblee, Joan A. Browder, H. Cardenas, Thomas L. Jackson
2010, Bulletin of Marine Science (86) 53-74
We address the question of whether the low abundance of juvenile pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum (Burkenroad, 1939) in northern-central Florida Bay results from (i) limiting environmental conditions, (ii) a reduced postlarval transport, or (iii) both. To explore this question, postlarvae were collected during the new moon in both summer and...
Historical deposition of mercury and selected trace elements to high-elevation National Parks in the Western U.S. inferred from lake-sediment cores
M. Alisa Mast, David J. Manthorne, David A. Roth
2010, Atmospheric Environment (44) 2577-2586
Atmospheric deposition of Hg and selected trace elements was reconstructed over the past 150 years using sediment cores collected from nine remote, high-elevation lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and Glacier National Park in Montana. Cores were age dated by 210Pb, and sedimentation rates were determined using the...
Long-term variability in Northern Hemisphere snow cover and associations with warmer winters
G.J. McCabe, D.M. Wolock
2010, Climatic Change (99) 141-153
A monthly snow accumulation and melt model is used with gridded monthly temperature and precipitation data for the Northern Hemisphere to generate time series of March snow-covered area (SCA) for the period 1905 through 2002. The time series of estimated SCA for March is verified by comparison with previously published...
Conceptual hierarchical modeling to describe wetland plant community organization
A.M. Little, G.R. Guntenspergen, T. F. H. Allen
2010, Wetlands (30) 55-65
Using multivariate analysis, we created a hierarchical modeling process that describes how differently-scaled environmental factors interact to affect wetland-scale plant community organization in a system of small, isolated wetlands on Mount Desert Island, Maine. We followed the procedure: 1) delineate wetland groups using cluster analysis, 2) identify differently scaled environmental...
A strong conditional mutualism limits and enhances seed dispersal and germination of a tropical palm
R. Klinger, M. Rejmanek
2010, Oecologia (162) 951-963
Seed predation and seed dispersal can have strong effects on early life history stages of plants. These processes have often been studied as individual effects, but the degree to which their relative importance co-varies with seed predator abundance and how this influences seed germination rates is poorly understood. Therefore, we...
Propagule pressure and stream characteristics influence introgression: Cutthroat and rainbow trout in British Columbia
S.N. Bennett, J.R. Olson, J. L. Kershner, P. Corbett
2010, Ecological Applications (20) 263-277
Hybridization and introgression between introduced and native salmonids threaten the continued persistence of many inland cutthroat trout species. Environmental models have been developed to predict the spread of introgression, but few studies have assessed the role of propagule pressure. We used an extensive set of fish stocking records and geographic...
