Fire severity and changing composition of forest understory plant communities
Jens Stevens, Jesse Miller, Paula J. Fornwalt
2019, Journal of Vegetation Science (30) 1099-1109
QuestionsGradients of fire severity in dry conifer forests can be associated with variation in understory floristic composition. Recent work in dry conifer forests in California, USA, has suggested that more severely burned stands contain more thermophilic taxa (those associated with warmer and drier conditions), and that forest...
Reduced soil macropores and forest cover reduce warm-season baseflow below ecological thresholds in the upper Delaware River Basin
Theodore A. Endreny, Peter Yong Seuk Kwon, Tanja N. Williamson, Richard Evans
2019, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (55) 1268-1287
We examined the impacts of changes in land cover and soil conditions on the flow regime of the upper Delaware River Basin using the Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER). We simulated flows for two periods, circa 1600 and 1940, at three sites using the same temperature and precipitation...
Characterizing crop water use dynamics in the Central Valley of California using landsat-derived evapotranspiration
Matthew Schauer, Gabriel Senay
2019, Remote Sensing (15)
Understanding how different crops use water over time is essential for planning and managing water allocation, water rights, and agricultural production. The main objective of this paper is to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of crop water use in the Central Valley of California using Landsat-based annual actual evapotranspiration (ETa) from...
Rupture branching structure of the 2014 Mw 6.0 South Napa, California earthquake inferred from explosion-generated fault-zone trapped waves
Yong-Gang Li, Rufus D. Catchings, Mark Goldman
2019, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (109) 1907-1921
We present evidence for multiple fault branches of the West Napa fault zone (WNFZ) based on fault‐zone trapped waves (FZTWs) generated by two explosions that were detonated within the main surface rupture zone produced by the 24 August 2014 Mw 6.0 South Napa earthquake. The FZTWs were recorded by a...
Introduction to special issue on gas hydrate in porous media: Linking laboratory and field‐scale phenomena
Carolyn D. Ruppel, Joo Yong Lee, Ingo Pecher
2019, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (124) 7525-7537
The proliferation of drilling expeditions focused on characterizing natural gas hydrate as a potential energy resource has spawned widespread interest in gas hydrate reservoir properties and associated porous media phenomena. Between 2017 and 2019, a Special Section of this journal compiled contributed papers elucidating interactions between gas hydrate and sediment...
Impacts of suspended sediment on nearshore benthic light availability following dam removal in a small mountainous river:In situ observations and statistical modeling
H E Glover, A S Ogston, I M Miller, E F Eidam, Steve Rubin, H D Berry
2019, Estuaries and Coasts (42) 1804-1820
The 2011–2014 removal of two dams from the Elwha River, WA, delivered ~ 19 Mt of sediment to the marine environment, creating an opportunity to study the sensitivity of a coastal ecosystem to large-scale sediment input. Macroalgae, the primary habitat-forming species in the nearshore, disappeared from the region. It was hypothesized...
Evaluation of stream and wetlands restoration using UAS-based thermal infrared mapping
Mark Harvey, Danielle K. Hare, Alex Hackman, Glorianna Davenport, Adam Haynes, Ashley Helton, John W. Lane, Martin Briggs
2019, Water (11)
Large-scale wetland restoration often focuses on repairing the hydrologic connections degraded by anthropogenic modifications. Of these hydrologic connections, groundwater discharge is an important target, as these surface water ecosystem control points are important to thermal stability, among other ecosystem services. However, evaluating the effectiveness of the restoration activities on establishing...
See how they ran: Morphological and functional aspects of skeletons from ancient Egyptian shrew mummies (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae: Crocidurinae)
Neal Woodman, Alec T. Wilken, Salima Ikram
2019, Journal of Mammalogy (100) 1199-1210
Animals served important roles in the religious cults that proliferated during the Late (ca. 747–332 BCE) and Greco-Roman periods (332 BCE–CE 337) of ancient Egypt. One result was the interment of animal mummies in specialized necropolises distributed throughout the country. Excavation of a rock-tomb that was re-used during the Ptolemaic...
Growth and mortality of invasive Flathead Catfish in the tidal James River, Virginia
Corbin D. Hilling, Aaron J. Bunch, Jason A. Emmel, Joseph Schmitt, Donald J. Orth
2019, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (10) 641-652
Invasive species are a major threat to biodiversity of native fishes in North America. In Atlantic coastal rivers of the United States, large catfishes introduced from the Gulf of Mexico drainages have become established and contributed to native species declines. Flathead Catfish Pylodictis olivaris were introduced to the Chesapeake Bay drainage in...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds — An introduction to North American grasslands and the practices used to manage grasslands and grassland birds
Jill A. Shaffer, John P. DeLong
2019, Professional Paper 1842-A
The Great Plains of North America is defined as the land mass that encompasses the entire central portion of the North American continent that, at the time of European settlement, was an unbroken expanse of primarily herbaceous vegetation. The Great Plains extend from central Saskatchewan and Alberta to central Mexico...
The 2016 Lamplugh rock avalanche, Alaska: Deposit structures and emplacement dynamics
A. Dufresne, G. Wolken, C Hibert, Erin Bessette-Kirton, Jeffrey A. Coe, M. Geertsema, G Ekström
2019, Landslides (16) 2301-2319
Supraglacial landslides result from the catastrophic failure of periglacial rock slopes and deposit large volumes of rock and ice onto the glacier surface. The most remarkable features of these landslides are their prominent long flowbands and a high mobility that exceeds that of their counterparts in other environments. Based on...
Demographic factors affecting population growth in giant gartersnakes
Jonathan P. Rose, Julia Ersan, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, Brian J. Halstead
2019, Journal of Wildlife Management (83) 1540-1551
Demographic models provide insight into which vital rates and life stages contribute most to population growth. Integral projection models (IPMs) offer flexibility in matching model structure to a species’ demography. For many rare species, data are lacking for key vital rates, and uncertainty might dissuade researchers from attempting to build...
A spatial model of streaked horned lark breeding habitat in the Columbia River, USA
James Hatten, Gary L. Slater, Jerrmaine L. Treadwell, Matthew R. Stevenson
2019, Ecological Modelling (409)
The streaked horned lark (hereafter “lark”; Eremophila alpestris strigata) is a federally listed bird subspecies of the Pacific Northwest that occupies open landscapes with short vegetation and abundant bare ground. Across its breeding range, which has contracted dramatically, the lark relies primarily on human-modified habitats maintained in early successional states...
Three-layered silver nanoparticles to trace dissolution and association to a green alga
Dominic Ponton, Marie Noele Croteau, Samuel N Luoma, Sahar Pourhoseini, Ruth Merrifield, Jamie Lead
2019, Nanotoxicology (13) 1149-1160
Core-shell silver nanoparticles (NPs) consisting of an inner Ag core and successive layers of Au and Ag (Ag@Au@Ag) were used to measure the simultaneous association of Ag NPs and ionic Ag by the green alga Chlamydomonas (C.) reinhardtii. Dissolution of the inner Ag core was prevented by a gold (Au)...
Wetland management strategy to reduce mercury export in water and bioaccumulation in fish
Joshua T. Ackerman, Jacob Fleck, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Mark P. Herzog, Harry L. McQuillen
2019, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (38) 2178-2196
Wetland environments provide numerous ecosystem services but also facilitate methylmercury (MeHg) production and bioaccumulation. We developed a wetland‐management technique to reduce MeHg concentrations in wetland fish and water. We physically modified seasonal wetlands by constructing open‐ and deep‐water treatment cells at the downstream end of seasonal wetlands to promote naturally...
The effect of stress changes on time-dependent earthquake probabilities for the central Wasatch Fault Zone, Utah, USA
A. Verdecchia, S. Carena, B. Pace, Christopher B. DuRoss
2019, Geophysical Journal International (219) 1065-1081
Static and quasi-static Coulomb stress changes produced by large earthquakes can modify the probability of occurrence of subsequent events on neighboring faults. This approach is based on physical (Coulomb stress changes) and statistical (probability calculations) models, which are influenced by the quality and quantity of data available in the study...
Alongshore momentum balance over shoreface-connected ridges, Fire Island, NY
Conor Ofsthun, Xiaodong Wu, George Voulgaris, John C. Warner
2019, Continental Shelf Research (186) 21-33
Hydrodynamic and hydrographic data collected on the inner shelf of Fire Island, NY, over a region of shoreface-connected ridges (SFCRs) are used to describe wind-driven circulation over uneven topographies along relatively straight coastlines. The data revealed a predominantly alongshore flow, under westward wind forcing, with localized offshore current veering over...
Towards recovery of an endangered island endemic: Distributional and behavioral responses of Key Largo woodrats associated with exotic predator removal
Michael V. Cove, Theodore Simons, Beth Gardner, Allan F. O’Connell
2019, Biological Conservation (237) 423-429
Exotic predators create novel ecological contexts for native species, particularly when prey exhibit predator naïve behaviors. Population recovery of island endemic species following predator eradication has been documented broadly, but studies examining mammalian prey behavioral responses to exotic predator removal are less common. The Key Largo woodrat (Neotoma floridana smalli)...
Population dynamics and evaluation of management scenarios for white sturgeon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River basin
Shannon E. Blackburn, Marty L. Gingras, Jason DuBois, Zachary J. Jackson, Michael C. Quist
2019, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (39) 896-912
Recent surveys suggest a declining population of White Sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River basin (SSJ), California. Probable reasons for the decline include overharvest and habitat degradation compounded by poor recruitment during recent droughts. Despite the importance and status of White Sturgeon, knowledge of their population dynamics in the SSJ...
Using a Bayesian network to understand the importance of coastal storms and undeveloped landscapes for the creation and maintenance of early successional habitat
Sara L. Zeigler, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Emily J. Sturdivant, Daniel H. Catlin, James D. Fraser, A. Hecht, Sarah M. Karpanty, Nathaniel G. Plant, E. Robert Thieler
2019, PLoS ONE (14)
Coastal storms have consequences for human lives and infrastructure but also create important early successional habitats for myriad species. For example, storm-induced overwash creates nesting habitat for shorebirds like piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). We examined how piping plover habitat extent and location changed on barrier islands in New York, New...
Decision analysis for the reintroduction of Bull Trout into the lower Pend Oreille River, Washington
Joseph R. Benjamin, William R. Brignon, Jason B. Dunham
2019, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (39) 1026-1045
The decision to reintroduce a species can be difficult owing to conflicting opinions and objectives, as well as uncertainty of the outcome. Structured decision making addresses these considerations by identifying realistic fundamental objectives and building achievable management alternatives, within a quantitative modeling framework. The process is driven by participation of...
Spatial and temporal variation of ecosystem properties at macroscales
Patricia A. Soranno, Tyler Wagner, Sarah M. Collins, Jean-Francois Lapierre, Samantha K. Oliver
2019, Ecology Letters (22) 1587-1598
Although spatial and temporal variation in ecological properties has been well-studied, crucial knowledge gaps remain for studies conducted at macroscales and for ecosystem properties related to material and energy. We test four propositions of spatial and temporal variation in ecosystem properties within a macroscale (1000 km's) extent. We fit Bayesian hierarchical...
Climate vulnerability assessment for Pacific salmon and steelhead in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem
Lisa G Crozier, Michelle M McClure, Tim J. Beechie, Steven J. Bograd, David A. Boughton, Mark H. Carr, Thomas D. Cooney, Jason B. Dunham, Correigh M. Greene, Melissa A Haltuch, Elliott L. Hazen, Damon M Holzer, David D. Huff, Rachel C. Johnson, Chris E Jordan, Issac C Kaplan, Steven T Lindley, Nathan J Mantua, Peter B. Moyle, James M Myers, Mark W Nelson, Brian C Spence, Laurie A. Weitkamp, Thomas H. Williams, Ellen Willis-Norton
2019, PLoS ONE (14)
Major ecological realignments are already occurring in response to climate change. To be successful, conservation strategies now need to account for geographical patterns in traits sensitive to climate change, as well as climate threats to species-level diversity. As part of an effort to provide such information, we conducted...
Resource Assessment Economic Filter (RAEF)—A graphical user interface supporting implementation of simple engineering mine cost analyses of quantitative mineral resource assessment simulations
Jason L. Shapiro, Robinson Jr.
2019, Techniques and Methods 7-C23
Economic evaluations of undiscovered mineral resources provide important context in which to consider the results of quantitative mineral resource assessments. The U.S. Geological Survey economic analysis method uses a simple engineering cost model approach developed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines that applies mine and mill engineering cost equations to...
Endless forams: >34,000 modern planktonic foraminiferal images for taxonomic training and automated species recognition using convolutional neural networks
Allison Y. Hsiang, Anieke Brombacher, Marina Costa Rillo, Maryline J. Mleneck-Vautravers, Stephen Connett, Sian Lordsmith, Anna Jentzen, Michael J. Henehan, Brett Metcalfe, Isabel Fenton, Bridget Wade, Lyndsey Fox, Julie Meilland, Catherine V. Davis, Ulrike Baranowski, Jeroen Groeneveld, Kirsty M. Edgar, Aurore Movellan, Tracy Aze, Harry J. Dowsett, Giles Miller, Nelson Rios, Pincelli M. Hull
2019, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology (34) 1157-1177
Accurate planktonic foraminiferal species identification is central to many paleoceanographic studies, from selecting specific species for geochemical research to elucidating the biotic dynamics of microfossil communities relevant to physical oceanographic processes and interconnected phenomena such as climate change. However, species identification varies among taxonomic schools, few resources exist to train...
