Differing modes of biotic connectivity within freshwater ecosystem mosaics
David M. Mushet, Laurie C. Alexander, Micah Bennet, Kate Schofield, Jay R. Christensen, Genevieve Ali, Amina I. Pollard, Ken M. Fritz, Megan Lang
2018, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (55) 307-317
We describe a collection of aquatic and wetland habitats in an inland landscape, and their occurrence within a terrestrial matrix, as a “freshwater ecosystem mosaic” (FEM). Aquatic and wetland habitats in any FEM can vary widely, from permanently ponded lakes, to ephemerally ponded wetlands, to groundwater‐fed springs, to flowing rivers...
Research to improve ShakeAlert earthquake early warning products and their utility
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Brad T. Aagaard, Richard M. Allen, Jennifer Andrews, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Andrew J. Barbour, Paul Bodin, Benjamin A. Brooks, Angela Chung, Brendan W. Crowell, Douglas D. Given, Thomas C. Hanks, J. Renate Hartog, Egill Hauksson, Thomas H. Heaton, Sara K. McBride, Men-Andrin Meier, Diego Melgar, Sarah E. Minson, Jessica R. Murray, Jennifer A. Strauss, Douglas Toomey
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1131
Earthquake early warning (EEW) is the rapid detection of an earthquake and issuance of an alert or notification to people and vulnerable systems likely to experience potentially damaging ground shaking. The level of ground shaking that is considered damaging is defined by the specific application; for example, manufacturing equipment may...
Back to full interseismic plate locking decades after the giant 1960 Chile earthquake
Daniel Melnick, Shaoyang Li, Marcos Moreno, Macro Cisternas, Julius Jara-Munoz, Robert L. Wesson, Alan R. Nelson, Juan Carlos Baez, Zhiguo Deng
2018, Nature Communications (9)
Great megathrust earthquakes arise from the sudden release of energy accumulated during centuries of interseismic plate convergence. The moment deficit (energy available for future earthquakes) is commonly inferred by integrating the rate of interseismic plate locking over the time since the previous great earthquake. But accurate integration requires knowledge of...
Ancient convergent losses of Paraoxonase 1 yield potential risks for modern marine mammals
Wynn K. Meyer, Jerrica Jamison, Rebecca Richter, Stacy E. Woods, Raghavendran Partha, Amanda Kowalczyk, Charles Kronk, Maria Chikina, Robert K. Bonde, Daniel E. Crocker, Joseph C. Gaspard, Janet M. Lanyon, Judit Marsillach, Clement E. Furlong, Nathan L. Clark
2018, Science (361) 591-594
Mammals diversified by colonizing drastically different environments, with each transition yielding numerous molecular changes, including losses of protein function. Though not initially deleterious, these losses could subsequently carry deleterious pleiotropic consequences. We have used phylogenetic methods to identify convergent functional losses across independent marine mammal lineages....
Contaminants of emerging concern in urban stormwater: Spatiotemporal patterns and removal by iron-enhanced sand filters (IESFs)
David J. Fairbairn, Sarah M. Elliott, Richard L. Kiesling, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Mark L. Ferrey, Benjamin J. Westerhoff
2018, Water Research (145) 332-345
Numerous contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) typically occur in urban rivers. Wastewater effluents are a major source of many CECs. Urban runoff (stormwater) is a major urban water budget component and may constitute another major CEC pathway. Yet, stormwater-based CEC field studies are rare. This research investigated 384 CECs in 36 stormwater samples in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, USA....
Elevated aeolian sediment transport on the Colorado Plateau, USA: The role of grazing, vehicle disturbance, and increasing aridity
Travis W. Nauman, Michael C. Duniway, Nichloas P. Webb, Jayne Belnap
2018, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (43) 2897-2914
Dryland wind transport of sediment can accelerate soil erosion, degrade air quality, mobilize dunes, decrease water supply, and damage infrastructure. We measured aeolian sediment horizontal mass flux (q) at 100 cm height using passive aspirated sediment traps to better understand q variability on the Colorado Plateau. Measured q‘hot spots’ rival the highest ever...
Using United States Geological Survey stream gages to predict flow and temperature conditions to maintain freshwater mussel habitat
Jeffrey C. Cole, Phillip A. Townsend, Keith N. Eshleman, Barbara St. John White, Heather S. Galbraith, William A. Lellis
2018, River Research and Applications (34) 977-992
Habitat conditions necessary to support freshwater mussels can be difficult to characterize and predict, particularly for rare or endangered species such as the federally endangered dwarf wedgemussel, Alasmidonta heterodon. In this study, we evaluate flow and temperature conditions in three areas of the mainstem Delaware River known to consistently support A. heterodon, and...
Sensitivity of mangrove range limits to climate variability
Kyle C. Cavanaugh, Michael J. Osland, Remi Bardou, Gustavo Hinojosa-Arango, Juan M. Lopez-Vivas, John D. Parker, Andre S. Rovai
2018, Global Ecology and Biogeography (27) 925-935
AimCorrelative distribution models have been used to identify potential climatic controls of mangrove range limits, but there is still uncertainty about the relative importance of these factors across different regions. To provide insights into the strength of climatic control of different mangrove range limits, we tested...
A bioassay assessment of a zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) eradication treatment
Matthew Barbour, Jeremy K. Wise, James A. Luoma
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1138
Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha, Pallas, 1771) are an aquatic invasive species in theUnited States, and new infestations of zebra mussels can rapidly expand into dense colonies. Zebramussels were first reported in Marion Lake, Dakota County, Minnesota, in September 2017, andsurveys indicated the infestation was likely isolated near a public boat...
Exploring drivers of regional water-quality change using differential spatially referenced regression – A pilot study in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Jeffrey G. Chanat, Guoxiang Yang
2018, Water Resources Research (54) 8120-8145
An understanding of riverine water-quality dynamics in regional mixed-land use watersheds is the foundation for advances in landscape biogeochemistry and informed land management. A differential implementation of the statistical/process-based model SPAtially Referenced Regressions on Watershed attributes (SPARROW; Smith et al., https://doi.org/10.1029/97wr02171) is proposed to empirically relate a regional...
Effects of proposed navigation channel improvements on sediment transport in Mobile Harbor, Alabama
Davina Passeri, Joseph W. Long, Robert L. Jenkins III, David M. Thompson
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1123
A Delft3D model was developed to evaluate the potential effects of proposed navigationchannel deepening and widening in Mobile Harbor, Alabama. The model performance wasassessed through comparisons of modeled and observed data of water levels, velocities, and bedlevel changes; the model captured hydrodynamic and sediment transport patterns in the studyarea with...
Intensities, aftershock sequences, and the location of the 1936 Milton‐Freewater earthquake near the Oregon–Washington border, U.S.A.
Thomas M. Brocher, Brian L. Sherrod
2018, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (108) 2594-2613
The epicenter of the 16 July 1936 M">MM 6 Milton‐Freewater earthquake, also known as the State Line earthquake and the largest historical earthquake in northeastern Oregon or southeastern Washington, is uncertain. Various studies place the epicenter of...
Conceptual and numerical models of dissolved solids in the Colorado River, Hoover Dam to Imperial Dam, and Parker Dam to Imperial Dam, Arizona, California, and Nevada
David W. Anning, Alissa L. Coes, Jon P. Mason
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5108
Conceptual and numerical models were developed to understand and simulate monthly flow-weighted dissolved-solids concentrations in the Colorado River at Imperial Dam. The ability to simulate dissolved-solids concentrations at this location will help the Bureau of Reclamation satisfy the binational agreement on the volume and salinity of Colorado River water delivered...
Before the storm: Antecedent conditions as regulators of hydrologic and biogeochemical response to extreme climate events
Sara K. McMillan, Henry F. Wilson, Christina L. Tague, Daniel M. Hanes, Shreeram Inamdar, Diana L. Karwan, Terry Loecke, Jonathan Morrison, Sheila F. Murphy, Philippe Vidon
2018, Biogeochemistry (141) 487-501
While the influence of antecedent conditions on watershed function is widely recognized under typical hydrologic regimes, gaps remain in the context of extreme climate events (ECEs). ECEs are those events that far exceed seasonal norms of intensity, duration, or impact upon the physical environment or ecosystem. In this synthesis, we...
Input data processing tools for the integrated hydrologic model GSFLOW
Murphy A. Gardner, Charles G. Morton, Justin L. Huntington, Richard G. Niswonger, Wesley R. Henson
2018, Environmental Modelling and Software (109) 41-53
Integrated hydrologic modeling (IHM) encompasses a vast number of processes and specifications, variable in time and space, and development of models can be arduous. Model input construction techniques have not been formalized or made easily reproducible. Creating the input files for integrated hydrologic models requires complex GIS processing of raster and vector datasets from...
Twelve questions for the participatory modeling community
Rebecca Jordan, Steven Gray, Moira Zellner, Pierre D. Glynn, Alexey Voinov, Beatrice Hedelin, Eleanor J. Sterling, Kirsten Leong, Laura Schmitt Olabisi, Klaus Hubacek, Pierre Bommel, Todd K. BenDor, Antonie J. Jetter, Bethany Laursen, Alison Singer, Philippe J. Giabbanelli, Nagesh Kolagani, Laura Basco Carrera, Karen Jenni, Christina Prell, National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center Participatory Modeling Pursuit Working Group
2018, Earth's Future (6) 1046-1057
Participatory modeling engages the implicit and explicit knowledge of stakeholders to create formalized and shared representations of reality and has evolved into a field of study as well as a practice. Participatory modeling researchers and practitioners who focus specifically on environmental resources met at the National Socio‐Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC)...
Designing a protected area to safeguard imperiled species from urbanization
Stephanie S. Romanach, Bradley Stith, Fred A. Johnson
2018, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (9) 446-458
Reserve design is a process that can address ecological, social, and political factors to identify parcels of land needed to sustain wildlife populations and other natural resources. Acquisition of parcels for a large terrestrial reserve is difficult because it typically occurs over a long timeframe and thus invokes consideration of...
Life history characteristics may be as important as climate projections for defining range shifts: An example for common tree species in the intermountain western US
Stella M. Copeland, John B. Bradford, Michael C. Duniway, Bradley J. Butterfield
2018, Diversity and Distributions (24) 1844-1859
AimPredictions of future suitable habitat for plant species with climate change are known to be affected by uncertainty associated with statistical approaches, climate models and occurrence records. However, life history characteristics related to dispersal and establishment processes as well as sensitivity to barriers created by land‐use...
STEPWAT2: An individual‐based model for exploring the impact of climate and disturbance on dryland plant communities
Kyle A. Palmquist, John B. Bradford, Trace E. Martin, Daniel R. Schlaepfer, William K. Lauenroth
2018, Ecosphere (9) 1-23
The combination of climate change and altered disturbance regimes is directly and indirectly affecting plant communities by mediating competitive interactions, resulting in shifts in species composition and abundance. Dryland plant communities, defined by low soil water availability and highly variable climatic regimes, are particularly vulnerable to climatic changes that exceed...
Increasing connectivity between metapopulation ecology and landscape ecology
Paige E. Howell, Erin L. Muths, Blake Hossack, Brent Sigafus, Richard Chandler
2018, Ecology (99) 1119-1128
Metapopulation ecology and landscape ecology aim to understand how spatial structure influences ecological processes, yet these disciplines address the problem using fundamentally different modeling approaches. Metapopulation models describe how the spatial distribution of patches affects colonization and extinction, but often do not account for the heterogeneity in the landscape between...
Effects of urbanization, and habitat composition on site occupancy of two snake species using regional monitoring data from southern California
Milan J. Mitrovich, James E. Diffendorfer, Cheryl S. Brehme, Robert N. Fisher
2018, Global Ecology and Conservation (15) 1-10
Detection data from a regional, reptile-monitoring program conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey were analyzed to understand the effects of urbanization and habitat composition on site occupancy of the coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum) and striped racer (M. lateralis) in coastal southern California. Likelihood-based occupancy models indicated striped racers responded to habitat...
Quantifying functional connectivity: The role of breeding habitat, abundance, and landscape features on range‐wide gene flow in sage‐grouse
Jeffery R. Row, Kevin E. Doherty, Todd B. Cross, Michael K. Schwartz, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Dave E. Naugle, Steven T. Knick, Bradley C. Fedy
2018, Evolutionary Applications (11) 1305-1321
Functional connectivity, quantified using landscape genetics, can inform conservation through the identification of factors linking genetic structure to landscape mechanisms. We used breeding habitat metrics, landscape attributes, and indices of grouse abundance, to compare fit between structural connectivity and genetic differentiation within five long‐established Sage‐Grouse Management Zones (MZ) I‐V using...
Global Modern Charcoal Dataset (GMCD): A tool for exploring proxy-fire linkages and spatial patterns of biomass burning
Donna Hawthorne, Colin J. Courtney Mustaphi, Julie C. Aleman, Olivier Blarquez, Daniele Colombaroli, Anne-Laure Daniau, Jennifer R. Marlon, Mitchell Power, Boris Vanniere, Youngming Han, Stijn Hantson, Natalie M. Kehrwald, Brian I. Magi, Xu Yue, Christopher Carcaillet, Rob Marchant, Ayodele Ogunkoya, Esther N. Githumbi, Rebecca M. Muriuki
2018, Quaternary International (488) 3-17
Progresses in reconstructing Earth's history of biomass burning has motivated the development of a modern charcoal dataset covering the last decades through a community-based initiative called the Global Modern Charcoal Dataset (GMCD). As the frequency, intensity and spatial scale of fires are predicted to increase regionally and globally in conjunction with changing climate, anthropogenic...
Tools and methods in participatory modeling: Selecting the right tool for the job
Alexey Voinov, Karen Jenni, Steven Gray, Nagesh Kolagani, Pierre D. Glynn, Pierre Bommel, Christina Prell, Moira Zellner, Michael Paolisso, Rebecca Jordan, Eleanor J. Sterling, Laura Schmitt Olabasi, Philippe J. Giabbanelli, Zhanli Sun, Christophe Le Page, Sondoss Elsawah, Todd K. BenDor, Klaus Hubacek, Bethany K. Laursen, Antonie J. Jetter, Laura Basco Carrera, Alison Singer, Laura G. Young, Jessica Brunacini, Alex Smajgl
2018, Environmental Modeling and Software (109) 232-255
Various tools and methods are used in participatory modelling, at different stages of the process and for different purposes. The diversity of tools and methods can create challenges for stakeholders and modelers when selecting the ones most appropriate for their projects....
Sentinel-2A MSI and Landsat-8 OLI radiometric cross comparison over desert sites
Julia Barsi, Bahjat Alhammoud, Jeffrey Czapla-Myers, Ferran Gascon, Obaidul Haque, Morakot Kaewmanee, Larry Leigh, Brian Markham
2018, European Journal of Remote Sensing (51) 822-837
The Sentinel-2A and Landsat-8 satellites carry on-board moderate resolution multispectral imagers for the purpose of documenting the Earth’s changing surface. Though they are independently built and managed, users will certainly take advantage of the opportunity to have higher temporal coverage by combining the datasets. Thus it is important for the...
