Seasonal movements, winter range use, and migratory connectivity of the Black Oystercatcher
Matthew Johnson, Peter Clarkson, Michael I. Goldstein, Susan M. Haig, Richard B. Lanctot, David F. Tessler, Denny Zwiefelhofer
2010, The Condor (112) 731-743
The Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) is an intertidal obligate along North America's Pacific coast and a species of high conservation concern (population size 8900–11 000 individuals). Understanding birds' movements and space use throughout the annual cycle has become paramount in the face of changing environmental conditions, and intertidal species may...
Analysis and simulation of water-level, specific conductance, and total phosphorus dynamics of the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, 1995-2006
Paul Conrads, Edwin A. Roehl Jr.
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5244
The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) was established in 1951 through a license agreement between the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as part of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act. Under the license agreement, the State of Florida owns the land...
Reconnaissance dating: a new radiocarbon method applied to assessing the temporal distribution of Southern Ocean deep-sea corals
Andrea Burke, Laura F. Robinson, Ann P. McNichol, William J. Jenkins, Kathryn M. Scanlon, Dana S. Gerlach
2010, Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers (57) 1510-1520
We have developed a rapid 'reconnaissance' method of preparing graphite for 14C/12C analysis. Carbonate (~15 mg) is combusted using an elemental analyzer and the resulting CO2 is converted to graphite using a sealed tube zinc reduction method. Over 85% (n=45 replicates on twenty-one individual corals) of reconnaissance ages measured on...
Projected climate impacts for the amphibians of the western hemisphere
Joshua J. Lawler, Sarah L. Shafer, Betsy A. Bancroft, Andrew R. Blaustein
2010, Conservation Biology (24) 38-50
Given their physiological requirements, limited dispersal abilities, and hydrologically sensitive habitats, amphibians are likely to be highly sensitive to future climatic changes. We used three approaches to map areas in the western hemisphere where amphibians are particularly likely to be affected by climate change. First, we used bioclimatic models to...
Introduction - The impacts of the 2008 eruption of Kasatochi Volcano on terrestrial and marine ecosystems in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Anthony R. DeGange, G. Vernon Byrd, Lawrence R. Walker, C. F. Waythomas
2010, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (42) 245-249
The Aleutian Islands are situated on the northern edge of the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a 40,000-km-long horseshoe-shaped assemblage of continental landmasses and islands bordering the Pacific Ocean basin that contains many of the world's active and dormant volcanoes. Schaefer et al. (2009) listed 27 historically active volcanoes in...
The inverse niche model for food webs with parasites
Christopher P. Warren, Mercedes Pascual, Kevin D. Lafferty, Armand M. Kuris
2010, Theoretical Ecology (3) 285-294
Although parasites represent an important component of ecosystems, few field and theoretical studies have addressed the structure of parasites in food webs. We evaluate the structure of parasitic links in an extensive salt marsh food web, with a new model distinguishing parasitic links from non-parasitic links among free-living species. The...
Patterns of organic contaminants in eggs of an insectivorous, an omnivorous, and a piscivorous bird nesting on the Hudson River, New York, USA
Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Paul M. Dummer
2010, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (29) 2286-2296
Belted kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon), spotted sandpiper (Actitus macularia), and tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) eggs were collected in 2004 from the upper Hudson River, New York, USA. This area is one of the most polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)‐contaminated locations in North America. Multivariate analyses indicated among species differences in the concentration and...
North American osprey populations and contaminants: Historic and contemporary perspectives
Charles J. Henny, Robert A. Grove, James L. Kaiser, Branden L. Johnson
2010, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B: Critical Reviews (13) 579-603
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) populations were adversely affected by DDT and perhaps other contaminants in the United States and elsewhere. Reduced productivity, eggshell thinning, and high DDE concentrations in eggs were the signs associated with declining osprey populations in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The species was one of the first...
Non-native salmonids affect amphibian occupancy at multiple spatial scales
David S. Pilliod, Blake R. Hossack, Peter F. Bahls, Evelyn L. Bull, Paul Stephen Corn, Grant Hokit, Bryce A. Maxell, James C. Munger, Aimee Wyrick
2010, Diversity and Distributions (16) 959-974
Aim The introduction of non-native species into aquatic environments has been linked with local extinctions and altered distributions of native species. We investigated the effect of non-native salmonids on the occupancy of two native amphibians, the long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) and Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris), across three spatial...
Metal exposure and effects in voles and small birds near a mining haul road in Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Alaska
William G. Brumbaugh, Miguel A. Mora, Thomas W. May, David N. Phalen
2010, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (170) 73-86
Voles and small passerine birds were live-captured near the Delong Mountain Regional Transportation System (DMTS) haul road in Cape Krusenstern National Monument in northwest Alaska to assess metals exposure and sub-lethal biological effects. Similar numbers of animals were captured from a reference site in southern Cape Krusenstern National Monument for...
Impact craters on Titan
Charles A. Wood, Ralph Lorenz, Randy Kirk, Rosaly Lopes, Karl Mitchell, Ellen Stofan, Cassini RADAR Team
2010, Icarus 334-344
Five certain impact craters and 44 additional nearly certain and probable ones have been identified on the 22% of Titan's surface imaged by Cassini's high-resolution radar through December 2007. The certain craters have morphologies similar to impact craters on rocky planets, as well as two with radar bright, jagged rims....
Food-web structure of seep sediment macrobenthos from the Gulf of Mexico
Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Daniel Gualtieri, Kaitlin Kovacs
2010, Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography (57) 1972-1981
The slope environment of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) supports dense communities of seep megafaunal invertebrates that rely on endosymbiotic bacteria for nutrition. Seep sediments also contain smaller macrofaunal invertebrates whose nutritional pathways are not well understood. Using stable-isotope analysis, we investigate the utilization of chemosynthetically fixed and methane-derived organic...
Identifying sources of dissolved organic carbon in agriculturally dominated rivers using radiocarbon age dating: Sacramento-San Joaquin River Basin, California
James O. Sickman, Carol L. DiGiorgio, M. Lee Davisson, Delores M. Lucero, Brian A. Bergamaschi
2010, Biogeochemistry (99) 79-96
We used radiocarbon measurements of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to resolve sources of riverine carbon within agriculturally dominated landscapes in California. During 2003 and 2004, average Δ14C for DOC was −254‰ in agricultural drains in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, −218‰ in the San Joaquin River, −175‰ in the California State...
Feeding preferences of West Indian manatees in Florida, Belize, and Puerto Rico as indicated by stable isotope analysis
Christy D. Alves-Stanley, Graham A.J. Worthy, Robert K. Bonde
2010, Marine Ecology Progress Series (402) 255-267
The endangered West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus has 2 recognized subspecies: the Florida T. m. latirostris and Antillean T. m. manatus manatee, both of which are found in freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats. A better understanding of manatee feeding preferences and habitat use is essential to establish criteria on which conservation plans can be based. Skin...
Distribution patterns of wintering sea ducks in relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation and local environmental characteristics
Elise F. Zipkin, Beth Gardner, Andrew T. Gilbert, Allan F. O’Connell, J. Andrew Royle, Emily D. Silverman
2010, Oecologia (163) 893-902
Twelve species of North American sea ducks (Tribe Mergini) winter off the eastern coast of the United States and Canada. Yet, despite their seasonal proximity to urbanized areas in this region, there is limited information on patterns of wintering sea duck habitat use. It is difficult to gather information on...
Ants as a measure of effectiveness of habitat conservation planning in southern California
Milan J. Mitrovich, Tritia Matsuda, Krista H. Pease, Robert N. Fisher
2010, Conservation Biology (24) 1239-1248
In the United States multispecies habitat conservation plans were meant to be the solution to conflicts between economic development and protection of biological diversity. Although now widely applied, questions exist concerning the scientific credibility of the conservation planning process and effectiveness of the plans. We used ants to assess performance...
Global positioning system and associated technologies in animal behaviour and ecological research
Stanley M. Tomkiewicz, Mark R. Fuller, John G. Kie, Kirk K. Bates
2010, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (365) 2163-2176
Biologists can equip animals with global positioning system (GPS) technology to obtain accurate (less than or equal to 30 m) locations that can be combined with sensor data to study animal behaviour and ecology. We provide the background of GPS techniques that have been used to gather data for wildlife...
Geographic variation in the plumage coloration of willow flycatchers Empidonax traillii
Eben H. Paxton, Mark K. Sogge, Thomas J. Koronkiewicz, Mary Anne McLeod, Tad C. Theimer
2010, Journal of Avian Biology (41) 128-138
The ability to identify distinct taxonomic groups of birds (species, subspecies, geographic races) can advance ecological research efforts by determining connectivity between the non-breeding and breeding grounds for migrant species, identifying the origin of migrants, and helping to refine boundaries between subspecies or geographic races. Multiple methods are available to...
GPS tracking devices reveal foraging strategies of black-legged kittiwakes
Jana Kotzerka, Stefan Garthe, Scott A. Hatch
2010, Journal of Ornithology (151) 459-467
The Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla is the most abundant gull species in the world, but some populations have declined in recent years, apparently due to food shortage. Kittiwakes are surface feeders and thus can compensate for low food availability only by increasing their foraging range and/or devoting more time to...
Contribution of PAHs from coal-tar pavement sealcoat and other sources to 40 U.S. lakes
Peter C. Van Metre, Barbara Mahler
2010, Science of the Total Environment (409) 334-344
Contamination of urban lakes and streams by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has increased in the United States during the past 40 years. We evaluated sources of PAHs in post-1990 sediments in cores from 40 lakes in urban areas across the United States using a contaminant mass-balance receptor model and including...
Characterization of highly informative cross-species microsatellite panels for the Australian dugong (Dugong dugon) and Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) including five novel primers
Margaret Kellogg Hunter, Damien Broderick, Jennifer R. Ovenden, Kimberly Pause Tucker, Robert K. Bonde, Peter M. McGuire, Janet M. Lanyon
2010, Molecular Ecology Resources (10) 368-377
The Australian dugong (Dugong dugon) and Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) are threatened species of aquatic mammals in the order Sirenia. Sirenian conservation and management actions would benefit from a more complete understanding of genetic diversity and population structure. Generally, species-specific microsatellite markers are employed in conservation genetic studies; however,...
Challenges and opportunities for integrating lake ecosystem modelling approaches
Wolf M. Mooij, Dennis Trolle, Erik Jeppesen, George Arhonditsis, Pavel V. Belolipetsky, Deonatus B.R. Chitamwebwa, Andrey G. Degermendzhy, Donald L. DeAngelis, Lisette N. De Senerpont Domis, Andrea S. Downing, J. Alex Elliott, Carlos Ruberto Fragoso Jr., Ursula Gaedke, Svetlana N. Genova, Ramesh D. Gulati, Lars Hakanson, David P. Hamilton, Matthew R. Hipsey, Jochem ’t Hoen, Stephan Hulsmann, F. Hans Los, Vardit Makler-Pick, Thomas Petzoldt, Igor G. Prokopkin, Karsten Rinke, Sebastiaan A. Schep, Koji Tominaga, Anne A. Van Dam, Egbert H. Van Nes, Scott A. Wells, Jan H. Janse
2010, Aquatic Ecology (44) 633-667
A large number and wide variety of lake ecosystem models have been developed and published during the past four decades. We identify two challenges for making further progress in this field. One such challenge is to avoid developing more models largely following the concept of others (‘reinventing the wheel’). The...
Effects of water hardness on size and hatching success of silver carp eggs
Jeff J. Rach, Greg G. Sass, James A. Luoma, Mark P. Gaikowski
2010, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (30) 230-237
Eggs of silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix absorb water after release from the female, causing them to become turgid and to increase substantially in size. The volume of water that diffuses within an egg is most likely determined by (1) the difference in ionic concentration between the egg and the water...
Intraperitoneal injections as a possible means of generating varied levels of methylmercury in the eggs of birds in field studies
Gary Heinz, David J. Hoffman, Jon D. Klimstra, Katherine R. Stebbins
2010, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (29) 1079-1083
The ideal study of the effects of methylmercury on the reproductive success of a species of bird would be one in which eggs contained mercury concentrations ranging from controls to very heavily contaminated, all at the same site. Such a study cannot be realized at a mercury contaminated area or...
Differential growth of U and M type infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus in a rainbow trout–derived cell line, RTG-2
Jeong Woo Park, Chang Hoon Moon, Andrew Wargo, Maureen K. Purcell, Gael Kurath
2010, Journal of Fish Diseases (33) 583-591
Infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is one of the most important viral pathogens of salmonids. In rainbow trout, IHNV isolates in the M genogroup are highly pathogenic, while U genogroup isolates are significantly less pathogenic. We show here that, at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 1, a representative U...
