Habitat modelling locates nesting areas of the endangered Black-capped Petrel Pterodroma hasitata on Hispaniola and identifies habitat loss
Y. G. Satge, E. Rupp, A. J. Brown, Patrick G.R. Jodice
2021, Bird Conservation International (31) 573-590
The Black-capped Petrel or Diablotin Pterodroma hasitata has a fragmented and declining population estimated at c.1,000 breeding pairs. On land, the species nests underground in steep ravines with dense understorey vegetation. The only confirmed breeding sites are located in the mountain ranges of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, where habitat loss and...
Surface elevation change evaluation in mangrove forests using a low‐cost, rapid‐scan terrestrial laser scanner
Ali Rouzbeh Kargar, Richard A. MacKenzie, Alexander Fafard, Ken Krauss, Jan van Aardt
2021, Limnology and Oceanography Methods (19) 8-20
Mangrove forests have adapted to sea level rise (SLR) increases by maintaining their forest floor elevation via belowground root growth and surface sediment deposits. Researchers use surface elevation tables (SETs) to monitor surface elevation change (SEC) in mangrove forests, after which this information is used to...
Resistance and resilience of pelagic and littoral fishes to drought in the San Francisco Estuary
Brian Mahardja, Vanessa Tobias, Shruti Khanna, Lara Mitchell, Peggy W. Lehman, Ted Sommer, Larry R. Brown, Steven Culberson, Louise Conrad
2021, Ecological Applications (31)
Many estuarine ecosystems and the fish communities that inhabit them have undergone substantial changes in the past several decades, largely due to multiple interacting stressors that are often of anthropogenic origin. Few are more impactful than droughts, which are predicted to increase in both frequency and...
Relative abundance of coyotes (Canis latrans) influences gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) occupancy across the eastern United States
Michael E. Egan, Casey C. Day, Todd E. Katzner, Patrick A. Zollner
2021, Canadian Journal of Zoology (99) 63-72
Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus (Schreber, 1775)) populations in portions of the eastern United States have experienced declines whose trajectories differ from those of other mesocarnivore populations. One hypothesis is that gray fox declines may result from interspecific interactions, particularly competition with abundant coyotes (Canis latrans Say, 1823). Alternatively, gray foxes may respond...
Tall building performance-based seismic design using SCEC broadband platform site-specific ground motion simulations
Kuanshi Zhong, Ting Lin, Greg Deierlein, Robert Graves, Fabio Silva, Nico Luco
2021, Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics (50) 81-98
The scarcity of strong ground motion records presents a challenge for making reliable performance assessments of tall buildings whose seismic design is controlled by large-magnitude and close-distance earthquakes. This challenge can be addressed using broadband ground-motion simulation methods to generate records with site-specific characteristics of large-magnitude events. In this paper,...
Artificial nightlight alters the predator-prey dynamics of an apex carnivore
Mark A. Ditmer, David C. Stoner, Clinton D. Francis, Jesse R. Barber, James D. Forester, David M. Choate, Kristen E. Ironside, Kathleen Longshore, Kent R. Hersey, Randy T. Larson, Brock R. McMillan, Daniel Olson, Alyson M. Andreasen, Jon P. Beckmann, Brandon P. Holton, Neil H. Carter, Terry A. Messmer
Jon P. Beckmann, editor(s)
2021, Ecography (44) 1492-161
Artificial nightlight is increasingly recognized as an important environmental disturbance that influences the habitats and fitness of numerous species. However, its effects on wide‐ranging vertebrates and their interactions remain unclear. Light pollution has the potential to amplify land‐use change, and as such, answering the question of how this sensory stimulant...
Signatures of hydrologic function across the critical zone observatory network
Adam N. Wlostowski, Noah P. Molotch, Suzanne P. Anderson, Susan L. Brantley, Jon Chorover, David Dralle, Praveen Kumar, Li Li, Kathleen A. Lohse, John Mallard, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Sheila F. Murphy, Eric Parrish, Mohammad Safeeq, Mark Seyfried, Yuning Shi, Ciaran Harman
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
Despite a multitude of small catchment studies, we lack a deep understanding of how variations in critical zone architecture lead to variations in hydrologic states and fluxes. This study characterizes hydrologic dynamics of 15 catchments of the U.S. Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) network where we hypothesized that our understanding of...
Hierarchical computing for hierarchical models in ecology
Hanna M. McCaslin, Abigail B. Feuka, Mevin Hooten
2021, Article
Bayesian hierarchical models allow ecologists to account for uncertainty and make inference at multiple scales. However, hierarchical models are often computationally intensive to fit, especially with large datasets, and researchers face trade-offs between capturing ecological complexity in statistical models and implementing these models.We present...
Tracking rates of postfire conifer regeneration vs. deciduous vegetation recovery across the western United States
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Andrea Ming Ku, Kyle Merriam, Erin Berryman, Megan Cattau
2021, Ecological Applications (31)
Postfire shifts in vegetation composition will have broad ecological impacts. However, information characterizing postfire recovery patterns and their drivers are lacking over large spatial extents. In this analysis, we used Landsat imagery collected when snow cover (SCS) was present, in combination with growing season (GS) imagery,...
Integrated geophysical imaging of rare-earth-element-bearing iron oxide-apatite deposits in the eastern Adirondack Highlands, New York
Anjana K. Shah, Ryan D. Taylor, Gregory J. Walsh, Jeffrey Phillips
2021, Geophysics (86) B37-B54
The eastern Adirondack Highlands of northern New York host dozens of iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposits containing magnetite and rare earth element (REE)-bearing apatite. We use new aeromagnetic, aeroradiometric, ground gravity, and sample petrophysical and geochemical data to image and understand these deposits and their geologic framework. Aeromagnetic total field data...
Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton in Chesapeake Bay: Development of an empirical approach for water-quality management
Qian Zhang, Thomas R. Fisher, Emily M. Trentacoste, Claire Buchanan, Anne B. Gustafson, Renee Karrh, Rebecca R. Murphy, Jennifer L. Keisman, Cuiyin Wu, Richard Tian, Jeremy M. Testa, Peter J. Tango
2021, Water Research (188)
Understanding the temporal and spatial roles of nutrient limitation on phytoplankton growth is necessary for developing successful management strategies. Chesapeake Bay has well-documented seasonal and spatial variations in nutrient limitation, but it remains unknown whether these patterns of nutrient limitation have changed in response to nutrient management...
VS30 and Dominant Site Frequency (fd) as Provisional Station ML Corrections (dML) in California
Alan Yong, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Jennifer Andrews, Kenneth Hudson, Ellen Yu, Antony Martin, Julie A. Herrick, Jessica Dozal
2021, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (111) 61-76
New seismic stations added to a regional seismic network cannot be used to calculate local magnitude (ML">ML) until a revised regionwide amplitude decay function is developed. Each station must record a minimum...
Free-roaming horses disrupt greater sage-grouse lekking activity in the Great Basin
Diana A. Munoz, Peter S. Coates, Mark A. Ricca
2021, Journal of Arid Environments (184)
Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse) and free-roaming horses (Equus caballus) co-occur within large portions of sagebrush ecosystems within the Great Basin of western North America. In recent decades, sage-grouse populations have declined substantially while concomitant free-roaming horse populations have increased drastically....
A checklist for crisis operations within volcano observatories
Christopher Newhall, John S. Pallister, C. Dan Miller
2021, Book chapter, Forecasting and planning for volcanic hazards, Risks, and disasters
We draw on our experience in assisting with international crises through the volcano disaster assistance program (VDAP) and during the eruptions of Mount St. Helens in 1980–1986 and 2004–2008 to offer recommendations for successful observatory operations during times of crisis. The degree of success in responding to a...
Volcano geodesy: A critical tool for assessing the state of volcanoes and their potential for hazardous eruptive activity
Michael Poland, Elske de Zeeuw-van Dalfsen
2021, Book chapter, Forecasting and planning for volcanic hazards, risks, and disasters
Since the beginning of the 20th century, volcano geodesy has evolved from time- and personnel-intensive methods for collecting discrete measurements to automated and/or remote tools that provide data with exceptional spatiotemporal resolution. By acknowledging and overcoming limitations related to data collection and interpretation, geodesy becomes a powerful tool for forecasting...
Variation of lead isotopic composition and atomic weight in terrestrial materials (IUPAC Technical Report)
Xiang-Kun Zhu, Jacqueline Benefield, Tyler B. Coplen, Zhaofu Gao, Norman E. Holden
2021, Pure and Applied Chemistry (93) 155-166
The isotopic composition and atomic weight of lead are variable in terrestrial materials because its three heaviest stable isotopes are stable end-products of the radioactive decay of uranium (238U to 206Pb; 235U to 207Pb) and thorium (232Th to 208Pb). The lightest stable isotope, 204Pb, is primordial. These variations in isotope...
Evaluating the effects of downscaled climate projections on groundwater storage and simulated base-flow contribution to the North Fork Red River and Lake Altus, southwest Oklahoma (USA)
L.G. Labriola, J.H. Ellis, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Tom Pruitt, Pierre Kirstetter, Yang Hong
2021, Hydrogeology Journal (28) 2903-2916
Potential effects of projected climate variability on base flow and groundwater storage in the North Fork Red River aquifer, Oklahoma (USA), were estimated using downscaled climate model data coupled with a numerical groundwater-flow model. The North Fork Red River aquifer discharges groundwater to the North Fork Red River, which provides...
Select techniques for detecting and quantifying seepage from unlined canals
Evan J. Lindenbach, Jong Beom Kang, Justin B. Rittgers, Ramon C. Naranjo
2021, Final Report ST-2020-19144-01
Canal seepage losses affect the ability of water conveyance structures to maximize efficiency and can be a precursor to canal failure. Identification and quantification of canal seepage out of unlined canals is a complex interaction affected by geology, canal stage, operations, embankment geometry, siltation, animal burrows, structures, and other physical...
A multiproxy database of western North American Holocene paleoclimate records
Cody C. Routson, Darrell S. Kaufman, Nicholas P. McKay, Michael Erb, S. H. Arcusa, Kendrick Brown, Matthew E. Kirby, Jeremiah Marsicek, R. Scott Anderson, Gonzalo Jimenez-Moreno, Jessica R. Rodysill, M. S. Lachniet, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Joseph Bennett, Michelle F. Goman, Sarah E. Metcalfe, J. M. Galloway, G. Schoups, David Wahl, Jesse L. Morris, F. Staines-Urias, A. Dawson, B. N. Shuman, Daniel G. Gavin, Jeffrey S. Munroe, Brian F. Cumming
2021, Earth System Science Data (13) 1613-1632
Holocene climate reconstructions are useful for understanding the diverse features and spatial heterogeneity of past and future climate change. Here we present a database of western North American Holocene paleoclimate records. The database gathers paleoclimate time series from 184 terrestrial and marine sites, including 381 individual proxy records. The records...
Elucidating controls on cyanobacteria bloom timing and intensity via Bayesian mechanistic modeling
Dario Del Giudice, Shiqi Fang, Donald Scavia, Timothy W. Davis, Mary Anne Evans, Daniel R Obenour
2021, Science of the Total Environment (755)
The adverse impacts of harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing worldwide. Lake Erie is a North American Great Lake highly affected by cultural eutrophication and summer cyanobacterial HABs. While phosphorus loading is a known driver of bloom size, more nuanced yet crucial questions remain. For...
Leveraging deep learning in global 24/7 real-time earthquake monitoring at the National Earthquake Information Center
William L. Yeck, John Patton, Zachary E. Ross, Gavin P. Hayes, Michelle M. Guy, Nicholas Ambruz, David R. Shelly, Harley M. Benz, Paul S. Earle
2021, Seismological Research Letters (92) 4469-480
Machine‐learning algorithms continue to show promise in their application to seismic processing. The U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) is exploring the adoption of these tools to aid in simultaneous local, regional, and global real‐time earthquake monitoring. As a first step, we describe a simple framework to incorporate...
Net-spinning caddisfly distribution in large regulated rivers
Anya Metcalfe, Jeffrey Muehlbauer, Theodore Kennedy, Charles B. Yackulic, Kimberly L. Dibble, Jane C. Marks
2021, Freshwater Biology (66) 89-101
Most of the world's large rivers are dammed for the purposes of water storage, flood control, and power production. Damming rivers fundamentally alters water temperature and flows in tailwater ecosystems, which in turn affects the presence and abundance of downstream biota.We collaborated with more than 200 citizen scientists to...
Latitudinal patterns of alien plant invasions
Qinfeng Guo, Brian S. Cade, Wayne Dawson, Franz Essl, Holger Kreft, Jan Pergl, Mark van Kleunen, Patrick Weigelt, Marten Winter, Petr Pyšek
2021, Journal of Biogeography (48) 253-262
Latitudinal patterns of biodiversity have long been a central topic in ecology and evolutionary biology. However, while most previous studies have focused on native species, little effort has been devoted to latitudinal patterns of plant invasions (with a few exceptions based on data from sparse locations). Using the most up‐to‐date...
Resolving species boundaries in the critically imperiled freshwater mussel species, Fusconaia mitchelli (Bivalvia: Unionidae)
Chase H. Smith, Nathan Johnson, Kaitlyn Havlik, Robert D. Doyle, Charles R. Randklev
2021, Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research (59) 60-77
Species are a fundamental unit of biology, and defining accurate species boundaries is integral to effective conservation and management of imperiled taxa. Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) are among the most imperiled groups of organisms in North America, yet species boundaries remain uncertain for many taxa. The False Spike, Fusconaia mitchelli (Simpson in...
Profiling lunar dust dissolution in aqueous environments: The design concept
Russell Kerschmann, Daniel Winterhalter, Kathleen Scheiderich, David Damby, David Loftus
2021, Acta Astronautica (178) 308-313
Published studies and internal NASA reports indicate that when native lunar dust is suspended in an aqueous solution a variety of metal and other ions are released. This release has implications for future lunar missions, ranging from effects on mission hardware,...
