Native American fire management at an ancient wildland–urban interface in the Southwest United States
Christopher Roos, Thomas W. Swetnam, T. J. Ferguson, Matthew J. Liebmann, Rachel A. Loehman, John Welch, Ellis Margolis, Christopher H. Guiterman, William Hockaday, Michael Aiuvalasit, Jenna Battillo, Joshua Farella, Christopher Kiahtipes
2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (4)
The intersection of expanding human development and wildland landscapes—the “wildland–urban interface” or WUI—is one of the most vexing contexts for fire management because it involves complex interacting systems of people and nature. Here, we document the dynamism and stability of an ancient WUI that was apparently sustainable for more than...
Predictors of invertebrate biomass and rate of advancement of invertebrate phenology across eight sites in the North American Arctic
Rebecca Shaftel, Daniel J. Rinella, Eunbi Kwon, Stephen C. Brown, H. River Gates, Steve Kendall, David B. Lank, Joseph R. Liebezeit, David C. Payer, Jennie Rausch, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Brett K. Sandercock, Paul A. Smith, David H. Ward, Richard B. Lanctot
2021, Polar Biology (44) 237-257
Average annual temperatures in the Arctic increased by 2–3 °C during the second half of the twentieth century. Because shorebirds initiate northward migration to Arctic nesting sites based on cues at distant wintering grounds, climate-driven changes in the phenology of Arctic invertebrates may lead to a mismatch between the nutritional demands...
USGS permafrost research determines the risks of permafrost thaw to biologic and hydrologic resources
Mark P. Waldrop, Lesleigh Anderson, Mark Dornblaser, Li H. Erikson, Ann E. Gibbs, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Stephanie R. James, Miriam C. Jones, Joshua C. Koch, Mary-Cathrine Leewis, Kristen L. Manies, Burke J. Minsley, Neal J. Pastick, Vijay Patil, Frank Urban, Michelle A. Walvoord, Kimberly P. Wickland, Christian Zimmerman
2021, Fact Sheet 2020-3058
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with university, Federal, Tribal, and independent partners, conducts fundamental research on the distribution, vulnerability, and importance of permafrost in arctic and boreal ecosystems. Scientists, land managers, and policy makers use USGS data to help make decisions for development, wildlife habitat, and other needs....
Poecivirus is present in individuals with beak deformities in seven species of North American birds
Maxine Zylberberg, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Colleen M. Handel, Rachel Liu, Joseph L. DeRisi
2021, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (57) 273-281
Avian keratin disorder (AKD), a disease of unknown etiology characterized by debilitating beak overgrowth, has increasingly affected wild bird populations since the 1990s. A novel picornavirus, poecivirus, is closely correlated with disease status in Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) in Alaska. However, our knowledge of the relationship between poecivirus and beak...
Re-examination of population structure in Arctic ringed seals using DArTseq genotyping
Aimee R. Lang, Peter L. Boveng, L. Quakenbush, K. Robertson, M. Lauf, Karyn D. Rode, H. Ziel, B .L. Taylor
2021, Endangered Species Research (44) 11-31
Although Arctic ringed seals Phoca hispida hispida are currently abundant and broadly distributed, their numbers are projected to decline substantially by the year 2100 due to climate warming. While understanding population structure could provide insight into the impact of environmental changes on this subspecies, detecting demographically important levels of exchange can be...
Geochemistry of coastal permafrost and erosion-driven organic matter fluxes to the Beaufort Sea near Drew Point, Alaska
Emily M. Bristol, Craig T. Connolly, Thomas Lorenson, Bruce M. Richmond, Anastasia G. Ilgen, Charles R. Choens, Diana L. Bull, Mikhail Z. Kanevskiy, Go Iwahana, Benjamin M. Jones, James W. McClelland
2021, Frontiers in Earth Science (8)
Accelerating erosion of the Alaska Beaufort Sea coast is increasing inputs of organic matter from land to the Arctic Ocean, and improved estimates of organic matter stocks in eroding coastal permafrost are needed to assess their mobilization rates under contemporary conditions. We collected three permafrost cores (4.5–7.5 m long)...
Coding-Complete Genome Sequence of Avian Orthoavulavirus 16, isolated from Emperor Goose (Anser canagica) feces, Alaska, USA
Andrew B. Reeves, Mary Lea Killian, Michael E Tanner, Benjamin Joel Lagasse, Andrew M. Ramey, David E. Stallknecht, Rebecca L. Poulson
2021, Microbiology Resource Announcements (10)
We sequenced the coding-complete genome of an avian orthoavulavirus serotype 16 (AOAV-16) isolate recovered from emperor goose (Anser canagicus) feces collected in Alaska. The detection of AOAV-16 in North America and genomic sequencing of the resultant isolate confirms that...
Freezing in a warming climate: Marked declines of a subnivean hibernator after a snow drought
Aaron N. Johnston, Roger G Christophersen, Erik A. Beever, Jason I. Ransom
2021, Ecology and Evolution (11) 1264-1279
Recent snow droughts associated with unusually warm winters are predicted to increase in frequency and affect species dependent upon snowpack for winter survival. Changes in populations of some cold‐adapted species have been attributed to heat stress or indirect effects on habitat from unusually warm summers, but little is known about...
Effects of increased temperature on arctic slimy sculpin Cottus cognatus is mediated by food availability: Implications for climate change
Casey A. Pennock, Phaedra E. Budy, Carla Atkinson, Nick Barrett
2021, Freshwater Biology (66) 549-561
Lakes are vulnerable to climate change, and warming rates in the Arctic are faster than anywhere on Earth. Fishes are sensitive to changing temperatures, which directly control physiological processes. Food availability should partly dictate responses to climate change because energetic demands change with temperature, but few studies have simultaneously...
Evidence for continental-scale dispersal of antimicrobial resistant bacteria by landfill-foraging gulls
Christina Ahlstrom, Marielle L. van Toor, Hanna Woksepp, Jeffrey C Chandler, John Reed, Andrew B. Reeves, Jonas Waldenström, Alan B. Franklin, David C. Douglas, Jonas Bonnedahl, Andrew M. Ramey
2021, Article
Anthropogenic inputs into the environment may serve as sources of antimicrobial resistant bacteria and alter the ecology and population dynamics of synanthropic wild animals by providing supplemental forage. In this study, we used a combination of phenotypic and genomic approaches to characterize antimicrobial resistant indicator bacteria, animal telemetry to describe...
Identification of seasonal streamflow regimes and streamflow drivers for daily and peak flows in Alaska
Janet H. Curran, Frances E. Biles
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
Alaska is among northern high‐latitude regions where accelerated climate change is expected to impact streamflow properties, including seasonality and primary flow drivers. Evaluating changes to streamflow, including flood characteristics, across this large and diverse environment can be improved by identifying the distribution and influence of flow drivers. Using metrics of...
Novel diagnostic tests for the putative agent of bacterial gill disease in Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula)
Brooke A Travis, William N. Batts, Maya Groner, Paul Hershberger, Steven C. Fradkin, Carla M. Conway, Linda Park, Maureen K. Purcell
2021, Journal of Invertebrate Pathology (178)
Nuclear inclusion X (NIX) is a gamma proteobacteria that infects the nuclei of gill epithelial cells in Pacific razor clams. NIX has been associated with clam die-offs in coastal Washington. A quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay was developed to detect NIX in Pacific razor clams, and assay specificity was confirmed by chromogenic in...
The Alaska convergent margin backstop splay fault zone, a potential large tsunami generator between the frontal prism and continental framework
Roland von Huene, John J. Miller, Anne Krabbenhoeft
2021, Geochemistry, Geophysics, and Geosystems (22)
The giant tsunami that swept the Pacific from Alaska to Antarctica in 1946 was generated along one of three Alaska Trench instrumentally recorded aftershock areas following great and giant earthquakes. Aftershock areas were investigated during the past decade with multibeam bathymetry, ocean bottom seismograph wide‐angle seismic, reprocessed legacy, and new...
Permafrost promotes shallow groundwater flow and warmer headwater streams
Ylva Sjoberg, Adam K. Janke, S Painter, E. Coonradt, Michael P. Carey, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Joshua C. Koch
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
The presence of permafrost influences the flow paths of water through Arctic landscapes and thereby has the potential to impact stream discharge and thermal regimes. Observations from eleven headwater streams in Alaska showed that July water temperatures were higher in catchments with more near‐surface permafrost. We apply a fully coupled...
Shifts in the wintering distribution and abundance of Emperor Geese in Alaska
Brian D. Uher-Koch, Raymond M. Buccheit, Charles R. Eldermire, Heather M. Wilson, Joel A. Schmutz
2021, Global Ecology and Conservation (25)
For wildlife species that winter at northern latitudes, harsh overwinter conditions can play an important role in population dynamics. Recent changes in global temperatures have resulted in distributional shifts of wildlife species, as well as amelioration of winter climates in northern...
Dating by cosmogenic nuclides
Paul R. Bierman, Adrian Bender, Andrew J. Christ, Lee B. Corbett, Christopher T. Halsted, Eric W. Portenga, Amanda H. Schmidt
2021, Book chapter, Encyclopedia of geology
Since the 1990s, cosmogenic nuclides have revolutionized the study of Earth surface processes, particularly the understanding of rates and dates. These nuclides, including 3He, 10Be, 14C, 21Ne, 26Al, and 36Cl, enable dating of landforms and the measurement of erosion rates both at the scale of drainage basins and at specific locations on Earth's surface. Cosmogenic nuclides are produced...
Basalt geochemistry and mantle flow during early backarc basin evolution: Havre Trough and Kermadec Arc, southwest Pacific
James B Gill, Kaj Hoernle, Erin Todd, Folkmar Hauff, Reinhard Werner, Christian Timm, Dieter Garbe-Schönberg, Marcus Gutjahr
2021, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems (22)
The Havre Trough (HT) backarc basin in the southwest Pacific is in the rifting stage of development. We distinguish five types of basalt there based on their amount and kind of slab component: backarc basalts (BAB) with little or no slab component, modified BAB with slight amounts,...
Record fledging count from a seven-egg clutch in the Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Robert N. Rosenfield, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Ann Elizabeth Riddle-Berntsen, Evan Kuhel
2021, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (132) 460-463
Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) typically lay 3–5 eggs per clutch, rarely 6 eggs, and there are 2 accounts of 7-egg clutches and 1 record of a maximum 8-egg clutch for the species. Brood sizes of 3–5 young are common and the previous maximum brood count is 6 young. However, in...
Generation of calc-alkaline magmas during crystallization at high oxygen fugacity: An experimental and petrologic study of tephras from Buldir Volcano, western Aleutian Arc, Alaska, USA
Laura Waters, Elizabeth Cottrell, Michelle L. Coombs, Katherine A. Kelley
2021, Journal of Petrology (62)
Despite agreement that calc-alkaline volcanism occurs at subduction zones and is responsible for the genesis of continental landmasses, there is no consensus on the source of the Fe-depleted signature hallmark to calc-alkaline volcanism. In this study, we utilize mafic tephras collected from Buldir Volcano to address the genesis of...
Hydrogeochemistry in the Yukon-Tanana Upland region of east-central Alaska: Possible exploration tool for porphyry-style deposits
Karen D. Kelley, Garth E. Graham
2021, Applied Geochemistry (124)
A hydrogeochemical study using high resolution ICP-MS was undertaken at the Taurus and other porphyry Cu-Mo(-Au) occurrences and Ag-Au-Cu (+/- Pb, Zn) occurrences with epithermal-style characteristics in the Yukon-Tanana upland region of eastern Alaska. Surface water samples were collected from 30...
Multiple physical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediments recovered from Alaska North Slope 2018 Hydrate-01 Stratigraphic Test Well
Jun Yoneda, Yusuke Jin, Michihiro Muraoka, Motoi Oshima, Kiyofumi Suzuki, Mike Walker, Donald Westacott, Satoshi Otsuki, Kenichi Kumagai, Timothy Collett, Ray Boswell, Norihiro Okinaka
2021, Journal of Marine and Petroleum Geology (123)
Knowledge of the petrophysical and geomechanical properties of gas hydrate-bearing sediments is essential for predicting reservoir responses to gas production from gas hydrate reservoirs. In December 2018, Stratigraphic Test Well Hydrate-01 was drilled in the western part of the Prudhoe Bay...
Seabird‐induced natural mortality of forage fish varies with fish abundance: Evidence from five ecosystems
Claire Saraux, William J. Sydeman, John F. Piatt, Tycho Anker-Nilssen, Jonas Hentati-Sundberg, Sophie Bertrand, Philippe M. Cury, Robert W. Furness, James A. Miller, Henrik Österblom, Giannina Passuni, Jean-Paul Roux, Lynne Shannon, Robert J.M. Crawford
2021, Fish and Fisheries (22) 262-279
Forage fish populations often undergo large and rapid fluctuations in abundance. However, most of their predators are buffered against such fluctuations owing to their slower pace of life, which allows them to maintain more stable populations, at least during short periods of food scarcity. In this...
Aufeis fields as novel groundwater-dependent ecosystems in the arctic cryosphere
Alexander D. Huryn, M. Gooseff, P. Hendrickson, Martin A. Briggs, K. Tape, Neil Terry
2021, Limnology and Oceanography (66) 607
River aufeis (ow′ fīse) are widespread features of the arctic cryosphere. They form when river channels become locally restricted by ice, resulting in cycles of water overflow and freezing and the accumulation of ice, with some aufeis attaining areas of ~ 25 + km2 and thicknesses of 6+ m. During winter, unfrozen sediments beneath the insulating ice layer provide perennial...
Environmental gradients of selection for an alpine-obligate bird, the white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura)
Shawna J Zimmerman, Cameron L. Aldridge, Kathryn M. Langin, Gregory T Wann, Robert S. Cornman, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
2021, Heredity (126) 117-131
The warming climate will expose alpine species adapted to a highly seasonal, harsh environment to novel environmental conditions. A species can shift their distribution, acclimate, or adapt in response to a new climate. Alpine species have little suitable habitat to shift their distribution, and the limits of acclimation will likely...
Lake trout growth is sensitive to spring temperature in southwest Alaska lakes
Vanessa R. von Biela, Bryan A. Black, Daniel B. Young, Peter van der Sleen, Krista K. Bartz, Christian E. Zimmerman
2021, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (30) 88-99
In high‐latitude lakes, air temperature is an important driver of ice cover thickness and duration, which in turn influence water temperature and primary production supporting lake consumers and predators. In lieu of multidecadal observational records necessary to assess the response of lakes to long‐term warming, we used otolith‐based growth records...
