A genetic assessment of the recovery units for the mojave population of the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii
R. W. Murphy, K.H. Berry, T. Edwards, A.M. McLuckie
2007, Chelonian Conservation and Biology (6) 229-251
In the 1994 Recovery Plan for the Mojave population of the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, the US Fish and Wildlife Service established 6 recovery units by using the best available data on habitat use, behavior, morphology, and genetics. To further assess the validity of the recovery units, we analyzed genetic...
Characterization of microsatellite DNA markers for the alligator snapping turtle, Macrochelys temminckii: Primer note
J.C. Hackler, Ronald A. Van Den Bussche, David M. Leslie Jr.
2007, Molecular Ecology Notes (7) 474-476
Two trinucleotide and seven tetranucleotide microsatellite loci were isolated from an alligator snapping turtle Macrochelys temminckii. To assess the degree of variability in these nine microsatellite loci, we genotyped 174 individuals collected from eight river drainage basins in the southeastern USA. These markers revealed a moderate degree of allelic diversity...
Identifying fecal sources in a selected catchment reach using multiple source-tracking tools
J. R. Vogel, D. M. Stoeckel, R. Lamendella, R. B. Zelt, Domingo J.W. Santo, S.R. Walker, D.B. Oerther
2007, Journal of Environmental Quality (36) 718-729
Given known limitations of current microbial source-tracking (MST) tools, emphasis on small, simple study areas may enhance interpretations of fecal contamination sources in streams. In this study, three MST tools - Escherichia coli repetitive element polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR), coliphage typing, and Bacteroidales 16S rDNA host-associated markers - were evaluated...
Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and zinc in the Danville and Springfield coal members (Pennsylvanian) from Indiana
Maria Mastalerz, A. Drobniak
2007, International Journal of Coal Geology (71) 37-53
Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and zinc contents and distributions are discussed in two major Pennsylvanian coal beds in Indiana: the Danville Coal Member and the Springfield Coal Member. Arsenic contents of the Danville and Springfield coals show similar ranges from 0.5 to 43??ppm for the Danville Coal and 1 to 50??ppm...
Estimation of forest fuel load from radar remote sensing
S. Saatchi, K. Halligan, Don G. Despain, R.L. Crabtree
2007, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (45) 1726-1740
Understanding fire behavior characteristics and planning for fire management require maps showing the distribution of wildfire fuel loads at medium to fine spatial resolution across large landscapes. Radar sensors from airborne or spaceborne platforms have the potential of providing quantitative information about the forest structure and biomass components that can...
Airborne desert dust and aeromicrobiology over the Turkish Mediterranean coastline
Dale W. Griffin, Nilgun Kubilay, Mustafa Kocak, Mike A. Gray, Timothy C. Borden, Eugene A. Shinn
2007, Atmospheric Environment (41) 4050-4062
Between 18 March and 27 October 2002, 220 air samples were collected on 209 of 224 calendar days, on top of a coastal atmospheric research tower in Erdemli, Turkey. The volume of air filtered for each sample was 340 liters. Two hundred fifty-seven bacterial and 2598 fungal colony forming units...
Changes in a population of exotic rainbow smelt in Lake Superior: Boom to bust, 1974-2005
O. T. Gorman
2007, Journal of Great Lakes Research (33) 75-90
Changes in a population of rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) in the Apostle Islands region of Lake Superior were chronicled over a 32-yr time series, 1974–2005. At the beginning of the time series, rainbow smelt was the predominant prey species, abundance of lake herring (Coregonis artedi) was very low, and the...
Distribution and abundance of burrowing mayflies (Hexagenia spp.) in Lake Erie, 1997-2005
K.A. Krieger, M.T. Bur, J.J.H. Ciborowski, D.R. Barton, D. W. Schloesser
2007, Journal of Great Lakes Research (33) 20-33
Burrowing mayflies (Hexagenia limbata and H. rigida) recolonized sediments of the western basin of Lake Erie in the 1990s following decades of pollution abatement. We predicted that Hexageniawould also disperse eastward or expand from existing localized populations and colonize large regions of the other basins. We sampled zoobenthos in parts of the western...
Genetic variability in spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), determined with microsatellite DNA markers
R. Ward, K. Bowers, R. Hensley, B. Mobley, E. Belouski
2007, Fishery Bulletin (105) 197-206
Variation in the allele frequencies of five microsatellite loci was surveyed in 1256 individual spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) obtained from 12 bays and estuaries from Laguna Madre, Texas, to Charlotte Harbor, Florida, to St. John's River on the Florida Atlantic Coast. Texas and Louisiana collection sites were resampled each year...
Quantifying the media bias in intensity surveys: Lessons from the 2001 Bhuj, India, earthquake
S. E. Hough, P. Pande
2007, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (97) 638-645
Many seismologists have looked at the 26 January 2001 Bhuj earthquake as a key modern calibration event that could be used to improve estimates of magnitudes of large historic mainshocks in stable continental regions. Since no instrumental data are available for important historic events such as the 1819 Allah Bund,...
Ground water stratification and delivery of nitrate to an incised stream under varying flow conditions
John Karl Bohlke, M. E. O’Connell, K.L. Prestegaard
2007, Journal of Environmental Quality (36) 664-680
Ground water processes affecting seasonal variations of surface water nitrate concentrations were investigated in an incised first-order stream in an agricultural watershed with a riparian forest in the coastal plain of Maryland. Aquifer characteristics including sediment stratigraphy, geochemistry, and hydraulic properties were examined in combination with chemical and isotopic analyses...
1400 yr multiproxy record of climate variability from the northern Gulf of Mexico
J.N. Richey, R.Z. Poore, B.P. Flower, T. M. Quinn
2007, Geology (35) 423-426
A continuous decadal-scale resolution record of climate variability over the past 1400 yr in the northern Gulf of Mexico was constructed from a box core recovered in the Pigmy Basin, northern Gulf of Mexico. Proxies include paired analyses of Mg/Ca and δ18O in the white variety of the planktic foraminifer...
Winter behavior and ecology of the Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum) in Peru
M.S. Foster
2007, Ornitologia Neotropical (18) 171-186
The winter ecology and behavior of Alder Flycatchers (Empidonax alnorum) were studied along the Manu, a white-water meander river in Manu National Park, Madre de Dios, Peru?? during October and November, 1993 to 1997. The birds occupied territories in primary-succession habitats on growing point bars. They were most common in...
Surface temperature patterns in complex terrain: Daily variations and long-term change in the central Sierra Nevada, California
J.D. Lundquist, D.R. Cayan
2007, Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres (112)
A realistic description of how temperatures vary with elevation is crucial for ecosystem studies and for models of basin-scale snowmelt and spring streamflow. This paper explores surface temperature variability using temperature data from an array of 37 sensors, called the Yosemite network, which traverses both slopes of the Sierra Nevada...
Using drill cutting separates to estimate the strength of narrow shear zones at SAFOD
C. Morrow, J. Solum, S. Tembe, D. Lockner, T.-F. Wong
2007, Geophysical Research Letters (34)
[1] A technique is presented for estimating frictional strength of narrow shear zones based on hand selection of drillhole cuttings separates. Tests were conducted on cuttings from the SAFOD scientific drillhole near Parkfield, California. Since cuttings are mixed with adjacent material as they travel up the...
Quasi-horizontal circulation cells in 3D seawater intrusion
E. Abarca, J. Carrera, X. Sanchez-Vila, Clifford I. Voss
2007, Journal of Hydrology (339) 118-129
The seawater intrusion process is characterized by the difference in freshwater and seawater density that causes freshwater to float on seawater. Many confined aquifers have a large horizontal extension with respect to thickness. In these cases, while buoyancy acts in the vertical direction, flow is confined between the upper and...
Characteristics of vesicomyid clams and their environment at the Blake Ridge cold seep, South Carolina, USA
Taylor P. Heyl, William P. Gilhooly III, Randolph M. Chambers, George W. Gilchrist, Stephen A. Macko, Carolyn D. Ruppel, Cindy L. Van Dover
2007, Marine Ecology Progress Series (339) 169-184
Spatial distributions and patchiness of dominant megafaunal invertebrates in deep-sea seep environments may indicate heterogeneities in the flux of reduced chemical compounds. At the Blake Ridge seep off South Carolina, USA, the invertebrate assemblage includes dense populations of live vesicomyid clams (an undescribed species) as well as extensive clam shell...
Data access and dissemination for emergency response and long-term recovery efforts related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Scott Wilson, Chris Cretini
2007, Circular 1306-4B
The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC) responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by providing geospatial support to Federal, State, and local partners. The NWRC used its data and information management systems to deliver aerial photography and maps to emergency responders in a time of critical need....
GIS for the Gulf: A reference database for hurricane-affected areas
Dave Greenlee
2007, Circular 1306-4C
A week after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, a collaboration among multiple organizations began building a database called the Geographic Information System for the Gulf, shortened to "GIS for the Gulf," to support the geospatial data needs of people in the hurricane-affected area. Data were gathered from diverse sources...
A comparison of conventional capture versus PIT reader techniques for estimating survival and capture probabilities of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus)
L.E. Ellison, T. J. O'Shea, D.J. Neubaum, M.A. Neubaum, R.D. Pearce, R. A. Bowen
2007, Acta Chiropterologica (9) 149-160
We compared conventional capture (primarily mist nets and harp traps) and passive integrated transponder (PIT) tagging techniques for estimating capture and survival probabilities of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) roosting in buildings in Fort Collins, Colorado. A total of 987 female adult and juvenile bats were captured and marked by...
Sequential solvent extraction for the modes of occurrence of selenium in coals of different ranks from the Huaibei Coalfield, China
Y. Zhang, Gaisheng Liu, C. L. Chou, L. Wang, Y. Kang
2007, Geochemical Transactions (8)
Forms of selenium in bituminous coal, anthracite, and cokeite (natural coke) from Huaibei Coalfield, Anhui, China, have been determined by sequential solvent extraction. The selenium content in bulk samples is 4.0, 2.4, and 2.0 ??g/g in bituminous coal, anthracite, and cokeite, respectively. The six forms of selenium determined by six-step...
Prey density and the behavioral flexibility of a marine predator: The common murre (Uria aalge)
A.M.A. Harding, John F. Piatt, Joel A. Schmutz, M.T. Shultz, Thomas I. van Pelt, Arthur B. Kettle, Suzann G. Speckman
2007, Ecology (88) 2024-2033
Flexible time budgets allow individual animals to buffer the effects of variable food availability by allocating more time to foraging when food density decreases. This trait should be especially important for marine predators that forage on patchy and ephemeral food resources. We examined flexible time allocation by a long-lived marine...
Temporal changes of populations and trophic relationships of wintering diving ducks in Chesapeake Bay
Matthew C. Perry, Alicia M. Wells-Berlin, David M. Kidwell, Peter C. Osenton
2007, Waterbirds (30) 4-16
Population and trophic relationships among diving ducks in Chesapeake Bay are diverse and complex as they include five species of bay ducks (Aythya spp.), nine species of seaducks (Tribe Mergini), and the Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis). Here we considered the relationships between population changes and diet over the past half...
First description of the nest, eggs, and breeding behavior of the Mérida Tapaculo (Scytalopus meridanus)
Karie L. Decker, Alina M. Niklison, Thomas E. Martin
2007, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (119) 121-124
We provide the first description of the nest, eggs, and breeding behavior of the Mérida Tapaculo (Scytalopus meridanus). Data are from one pair in the moist cloud forest of Yacambu National Park, Venezuela during April–May 2004. Two nests, constructed by the same pair, were globular in structure and consisted of...
Implications of the 26 December 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake on tsunami forecast and assessment models for great subduction-zone earthquakes
Eric L. Geist, Vasily V. Titov, Diego Arcas, Fred F. Pollitz, Susan L. Bilek
2007, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (97) S249-S270
Results from different tsunami forecasting and hazard assessment models are compared with observed tsunami wave heights from the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Forecast models are based on initial earthquake information and are used to estimate tsunami wave heights during propagation. An empirical forecast relationship based only on seismic...
