Identification of larval Pacific lampreys (Lampetra tridentata), river lampreys (L. ayresi), and western brook lampreys (L. richardsoni) and thermal requirements of early life history stages of lampreys. Annual report 2002-2003
M.H. Meeuwig, J.M. Bayer, J.G. Seelye, R.A. Reiche
2003, Report
Two fundamental aspects of lamprey biology were examined to provide tools for population assessment and determination of critical habitat needs of Columbia River Basin (CRB) lampreys (the Pacific lamprey, Lampetra tridentata, and the western brook lamprey, L. richardsoni). We evaluated the usefulness of current diagnostic characteristics for identification of larval...
Crustal structure of the Peninsular Ranges batholith from magnetic data: Implications for Gulf of California rifting
V.E. Langenheim, R.C. Jachens
2003, Geophysical Research Letters (30) 51-1
A 70-km-wide belt of magnetic highs extends ???1200 km northwest from the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula into southern California. The anomalies are caused by the mafic western belt of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, which is exposed extensively along the northern 800 km length of the magnetic belt....
Effects of methyl mercury exposure on the growth of juvenile common loons
K.P. Kenow, S. Gutreuter, R. K. Hines, M.W. Meyer, F. Fournier, W. H. Karasov
2003, Ecotoxicology (12) 171-182
We conducted a dose–response laboratory study to quantify the level of mercury exposure associated with negative effects on the development of common loon chicks reared in captivity from hatch to 105 days. A dose regimen was implemented that provided exposure levels that bracketed relevant exposure levels of methyl mercury found...
Trace elements in lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) from the Mississippi flyway
Christine M. Custer, T. W. Custer, M.J. Anteau, A. D. Afton, D.E. Wooten
2003, Ecotoxicology (12) 47-54
Previous research reported that concentrations of selenium in the livers of 88a??95% of lesser scaup from locations in Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair, and Lake Michigan, USA were either elevated (10a??33 A?g/g dry weight [dw]) or in the potentially harmful range (>33 A?g/g dw). In order to determine the geographic...
Exposure and effects of chemical contaminants on tree swallows nesting along the Housatonic River, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, USA, 1998-2000
Christine M. Custer, T. W. Custer, P.M. Dummer, K.L. Munney
2003, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (22) 1605-1621
Hatching success of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) was assessed for three years in relation to chemical contamination along the Housatonic River, Berkshire County (MA, USA), in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Nest boxes were erected at five sites along the Housatonic River and its tributaries and at one reference location. Concentrations...
Tidal truncation and barotropic convergence in a channel network tidally driven from opposing entrances
J.C. Warner, D. Schoellhamer, G. Schladow
2003, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (56) 629-639
Residual circulation patterns in a channel network that is tidally driven from entrances on opposite sides are controlled by the temporal phasing and spatial asymmetry of the two forcing tides. The Napa/Sonoma Marsh Complex in San Francisco Bay, CA, is such a system. A sill on the west entrance to...
Modeling tritium transport through a deep unsaturated zone, Amargosa Desert Research Site, Nye County, Nevada
C.J. Mayers
2003, Thesis
No abstract available....
Immune function and hematology of male cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) in response to food supplementation and methionine
R.E. Webb, David M. Leslie Jr., R.L. Lochmiller, R.E. Masters
2003, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology (136) 577-589
We examined effects of supplementation of food quantity and quality (=enhanced methionine) on hematologic and immunologic parameters of wild, but enclosed, adult male cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) in north-central Oklahoma. Sheet metal enclosures were stocked with a high density of wild-caught cotton rats (160 animals/ha) and randomly assigned a treatment...
Biology, ecology and management of Elaeagnus angustifolia L. (Russian olive) in western North America
G.L. Katz, P.B. Shafroth
2003, Wetlands (23) 763-777
Elaeagnus angustifolia (Russian olive) is an alien tree that is increasingly common in riparian habitats of western North America. This paper reviews the pertinent scientific literature in order to determine the status of E. angustifolia as a riparian invader and to suggest ecological reasons for its success. Elaeagnus angustifolia meets...
Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in Greater Sage-Grouse (Centlocerus urophasianus)
S.E. Taylor, S.J. Oyler-McCance, T.W. Quinn
2003, Molecular Ecology Notes (3) 262-264
Primers for five polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed for Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) using an enrichment/detection protocol. The high level of polymorphism (nine to 33 alleles) suggests that these loci will be applicable for investigating mating systems and paternity analysis as well as population genetics. Cross-species amplification was successful for...
Isotope variations in white-tailed kites from various habitats in California: Possible limitations in assessing prey utilization and population dynamics
W.M. Iko, C.L. Kester, C.R. Bern, Rey C. Stendell, R. O. Rye
2003, Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies (39) 159-167
White-tailed kite (Elanus leucurus) populations in the 1930s were close to extirpation in the United States. But by the 1940s, an upward trend towards recovery was apparent and continued to their current stable population levels. These dramatic fluctuations in kite numbers may have been related to changes in rodent prey...
Conclusion
L. David Mech, Luigi Boitani
L. David Mech, Luigi Boitani, editor(s)
2003, Book chapter, Wolves: Behavior, Ecology and Conservation
Wolves can live almost anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, and almost everywhere they do, they are an issue. In the vast emptiness of the northern tundra or the Arabian desert, on the outskirts of a European town or in the safety of an American national park, in meager agricultural lands...
Helping to combat chronic wasting disease
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2003, Fact Sheet 2005-3076
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a disease of the nervous system that results in distinctive brain lesions. CWD affects elk, white-tailed deer, and mule deer, but has not been documented in livestock or humans. The origins of the disease, as well as the modes of transmission, remain unknown. Infected deer...
Relating geomorphic change and grazing to avian communities in riparian forests
M. L. Scott, S. K. Skagen, M.F. Merligliano
2003, Conservation Biology (17) 284-296
Avian conservation in riparian or bottomland forests requires an understanding of the physical and biotic factors that sustain the structural complexity of riparian vegetation. Riparian forests of western North America are dependent upon flow-related geomorphic processes necessary for establishment of new cottonwood and willow patches. In June 1995, we examined...
Recent ecological and biogeochemical changes in alpine lakes of Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado, USA): A response to anthropogenic nitrogen deposition
A.P. Wolfe, A.C. Van Gorp, Jill Baron
2003, Geobiology (1) 153-168
Dated sediment cores from five alpine lakes (>3200 m asl) in Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado Front Range, USA) record near-synchronous stratigraphic changes that are believed to reflect ecological and biogeochemical responses to enhanced nitrogen deposition from anthropogenic sources. Changes in sediment proxies include progressive increases in the frequencies of mesotrophic...
The high-elevation population of Mountain Plovers in Colorado
Michael B. Wunder, F.L. Knopf, C.A. Pague
2003, The Condor (105) 654-662
We surveyed a discrete population of Mountain Plovers (Charadrius montanus) in South Park, Park County, Colorado, to determine the size and relative contribution of this geographically isolated area to the global population of plovers. First, we mapped potential plover habitat within South Park based on landform and vegetation descriptors. Second,...
The rich get richer: Patterns of plant invasions in the United States
T.J. Stohlgren, D.T. Barnett, J.T. Kartesz
2003, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (1) 11-14
Observations from islands, small-scale experiments, and mathematical models have generally supported the paradigm that habitats of low plant diversity are more vulnerable to plant invasions than areas of high plant diversity. We summarize two independent data sets to show exactly the opposite pattern at multiple spatial scales. More significant, and...
Monitoring the shorebirds of North America: Towards a unified approach
S. K. Skagen, J. Bart, B. Andres, S. Brown, G. Donaldson, B. Harrington, V. Johnston, S.L. Jones, R. I. G. Morrison
2003, Wader Study Group Bulletin (100) 102-104
The Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) has recently developed a single blueprint for monitoring shorebirds in Canada and the United States in response to needs identified by recent shorebird conservation plans. The goals of PRISM are to: (1) estimate the size of breeding populations of 74 shorebird...
Isotopic study of sulfate sources and residence times in a subalpine watershed
C.L. Kester, Jill Baron, J.T. Turk
2003, Environmental Geology (43) 606-613
Stable sulfur and oxygen isotope ratios and naturally occurring 35SSO4 activities were used to examine sulfate sources, address the role of sulfur dynamics, and estimate residence times of atmospherically derived sulfate in Loch Vale Watershed, Colorado. In 1996, surface water samples from small streams flowing through talus, forest, and wetland...
Do ungulates accelerate or decelerate nitrogen cycling?
F. J. Singer, K.A. Schoenecker
2003, Forest Ecology and Management (181) 189-204
Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient for plants and animals, and N may be limiting in many western US grassland and shrubland ungulate winter ranges. Ungulates may influence N pools and they may alter N inputs and outputs (losses) to the ecosystem in a number of ways. In this paper...
Effects of spatial and temporal variability of turbidity on phytoplankton blooms
Christine L. May, Jeffrey R. Koseff, Lisa Lucas, James E. Cloern, David H. Schoellhamer
2003, Marine Ecology Progress Series (254) 111-128
A central challenge of coastal ecology is sorting out the interacting spatial and temporal components of environmental variability that combine to drive changes in phytoplankton biomass. For 2 decades, we have combined sustained observation and experimentation in South San Francisco Bay (SSFB) with numerical modeling analyses to search for general...
Electrofishing and its harmful effects on fish
Darrel E. Snyder
2003, Information and Technology Report 2003-0002
Electrofishing, a valuable sampling technique in North America for over half a century, involves a very dynamic and complex mix of physics, physiology, and behavior that remains poorly understood. New hypotheses have been advanced regarding "power transfer" to fish and the epileptic nature of their responses to electric fields, but...
Trends in the sediment yield of the Sacramento River, 1957-2001
S.A. Wright, D. H. Schoellhamer
2003, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 2003 CALFED Science Conference
No abstract available....
Lessons from monitoring water quality in San Francisco Bay
J. E. Cloern, T.S. Schraga, C.B. Lopez, R. Labiosa
2003, Report
San Francisco Bay is the defining landscape feature of the place we call ‘The Bay Area,’ but most of us only experience the Bay as we view it from an airplane window or drive across one of its bridges. These views from afar suggest that the Bay is static and...
Cross-channel variability in benthic habitat
Marc Vayssieres, Heather Peterson
2003, Interagency Ecological Program Newsletter (16) 51-56
Benthic invertebrates play an important role in estuarine food webs and biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nutrients, and contaminants. The generally sedentary benthic invertebrates continuously integrate local water, sediment, and food conditions. This makes them good indicators of the type and quality of aquatic habitat at the location where they are...
