Using Cape Sable seaside sparrow distribution data for water management decision support
James M. Beerens, Stephanie S. Romanach
2016, Report, Report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis; hereafter sparrow) is endemic to south Florida and a key indicator species of marl prairie, the most diverse freshwater community in the Florida Everglades. Marl prairie habitat is shaped by intermediate levels of disturbances such as flooding, drying, and fire, which maintain...
Demography of an apex predator at the edge of its range: impacts of changing sea ice on polar bears in Hudson Bay
Nicholas J. Lunn, Sabrina Servanty, Eric V. Regehr, Sarah J. Converse, Evan S. Richardson, Ian Stirling
2016, Ecological Applications (26) 1302-1320
Changes in the abundance and distribution of wildlife populations are common consequences of historic and contemporary climate change. Some Arctic marine mammals, such as the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), may be particularly vulnerable to such changes due to the loss of Arctic sea ice. We evaluated the impacts of environmental...
Density-dependent home-range size revealed by spatially explicit capture–recapture
M.G. Efford, Deanna K. Dawson, Y.V. Jhala, Q. Qureshi
2016, Ecography (39) 676-688
The size of animal home ranges often varies inversely with population density among populations of a species. This fact has implications for population monitoring using spatially explicit capture–recapture (SECR) models, in which both the scale of home-range movements σ and population density D usually appear as parameters, and both may...
Hyperspectral surveying for mineral resources in Alaska
Raymond F. Kokaly, Garth E. Graham, Todd M. Hoefen, Karen D. Kelley, Michaela R. Johnson, Bernard E. Hubbard
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3029
Alaska is a major producer of base and precious metals and has a high potential for additional undiscovered mineral resources. However, discovery is hindered by Alaska’s vast size, remoteness, and rugged terrain. New methods are needed to overcome these obstacles in order to fully evaluate Alaska’s geology and mineral resource...
Geologic map of the Murray Quadrangle, Newton County, Arkansas
Mark R. Hudson, Kenzie J. Turner
2016, Scientific Investigations Map 3360
This map summarizes the geology of the Murray quadrangle in the Ozark Plateaus region of northern Arkansas. Geologically, the area is on the southern flank of the Ozark dome, an uplift that has the oldest rocks exposed at its center, in Missouri. Physiographically, the Murray quadrangle is within the Boston...
Identifying bird and reptile vulnerabilities to climate change in the southwestern United States
James R. Hatten, J. Tomasz Giermakowski, Jennifer A. Holmes, Erika M. Nowak, Matthew J. Johnson, Kirsten E. Ironside, Charles van Riper III, Michael Peters, Charles Truettner, Kenneth L. Cole
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1085
Current and future breeding ranges of 15 bird and 16 reptile species were modeled in the Southwestern United States. Rather than taking a broad-scale, vulnerability-assessment approach, we created a species distribution model (SDM) for each focal species incorporating climatic, landscape, and plant variables. Baseline climate (1940–2009) was characterized with Parameter-elevation...
External quality assurance project report for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program’s National Trends Network and Mercury Deposition Network, 2013–14
Gregory A. Wetherbee, RoseAnn Martin
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5069
The U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Quality Systems operated five distinct programs to provide external quality assurance monitoring for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program’s (NADP) National Trends Network and Mercury Deposition Network during 2013–14. The National Trends Network programs include (1) a field audit program to evaluate sample contamination and...
A goodness-of-fit test for occupancy models with correlated within-season revisits
Wilson Wright, Kathryn M. Irvine, Thomas J. Rodhouse
2016, Ecology and Evolution (6) 5404-5415
Occupancy modeling is important for exploring species distribution patterns and for conservation monitoring. Within this framework, explicit attention is given to species detection probabilities estimated from replicate surveys to sample units. A central assumption is that replicate surveys are independent Bernoulli trials, but this assumption becomes untenable when ecologists serially...
Preserving reptiles for research
Steve W. Gotte, Jeremy F. Jacobs, George R. Zug
C. Kenneth Dodd, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Reptile ecology and conservation
What are voucher specimens and why do we collect them? Voucher specimens are animals and/or their parts that are deposited in a research museum to document the occurrence of a taxon at a specific location in space and time (Pleijel et al., 2008; Reynolds and McDiarmid, 2012). For field biologists,...
A framework for effective use of hydroclimate models in climate-change adaptation planning for managed habitats with limited hydrologic response data
Rachel A. Esralew, Lorraine E. Flint, James H. Thorne, Ryan Boynton, Alan L. Flint
2016, Environmental Management (58) 60-75
Climate-change adaptation planning for managed wetlands is challenging under uncertain futures when the impact of historic climate variability on wetland response is unquantified. We assessed vulnerability of Modoc National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) through use of the Basin Characterization Model (BCM) landscape hydrology model, and six global climate models, representing projected...
Assessing landslide potential on coastal bluffs near Mukilteo, Washington—Geologic site characterization for hydrologic monitoring
Benjamin B. Mirus, Joel B. Smith, Benjamin Stark, York Lewis, Abigail Michel, Rex L. Baum
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1082
During the summer 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey collected geologic and geotechnical data for two sites on coastal bluffs along the eastern shore of Puget Sound, Washington. The U.S. Geological Survey also installed hydrologic instrumentation at the sites and collected specimens for laboratory testing. The two sites are located on...
Exploration review
David R. Wilburn, Nick Karl
2016, Mining Engineering 30-51
This summary of international mineral exploration activities for the year 2015 draws upon information from industry sources, published literature, the SNL Metals & Mining (SNL) (Charlottesville, VA) data base, and specialists in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Minerals Information Center. The summary provides data on exploration budgets by region...
Contemporary deformation in the Yakima fold and thrust belt estimated with GPS
Robert McCaffrey, Robert W. King, Ray E. Wells, Matthew Lancaster, M. Meghan Miller
2016, Geophysical Journal International (207) 1-11
Geodetic, geologic and palaeomagnetic data reveal that Oregon (western USA) rotates clockwise at 0.3 to 1.0° Ma−1 (relative to North America) about an axis near the Idaho–Oregon–Washington border, while northeast Washington is relatively fixed. This rotation has been going on for at least 15 Ma. The Yakima fold and thrust...
Discovery of alunite in Cross crater, Terra Sirenum, Mars: Evidence for acidic, sulfurous waters
Bethany L. Ehlmann, Gregg A. Swayze, Ralph E. Milliken, John F. Mustard, Roger N. Clark, Scott L. Murchie, George N. Breit, James J. Wray, Brigitte Gondet, Francois Poulet, John Carter, Wendy M. Calvin, William Benzel, Kimberly D. Seelos
2016, American Mineralogist (101) 1527-1542
Cross crater is a 65 km impact crater, located in the Noachian highlands of the Terra Sirenum region of Mars (30°S, 158°W), which hosts aluminum phyllosilicate deposits first detected by the Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, L’Eau, les Glaces et l’Activitié (OMEGA) imaging spectrometer on Mars Express. Using high-resolution data from...
Hibernal habitat selection by Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) in a northern New England montane landscape
Luke A. Groff, Aram J.K. Calhoun, Cynthia S. Loftin
2016, Journal of Herpetology (50) 559-569
Poikilothermic species, such as amphibians, endure harsh winter conditions via freeze-tolerance or freeze-avoidance strategies. Freeze-tolerance requires a suite of complex, physiological mechanisms (e.g., cryoprotectant synthesis); however, behavioral strategies (e.g., hibernal habitat selection) may be used to regulate hibernaculum temperatures and promote overwintering survival. We investigated the hibernal ecology of the...
Acoustic surveys of Hawaiian Hoary Bats in Kahikinui Forest Reserve and Nakula Natural Area Reserve on the Island of Maui
Christopher M. Todd, Corinna A. Pinzari, Frank Bonaccorso
2016, Hawai‘i Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report HCSU-078
The Kahikinui Forest Reserve and the adjoining Nakula Natural Area Reserve (KFR-NNAR) was established in 2011 as a conservation area on the leeward slope of Haleakalā Volcano on the island of Maui to protect unique natural features and endangered species including the Hawaiian hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus semotus. We recorded...
Contrasts between channels and backwaters in a large, floodplain river: Testing our understanding of nutrient cycling, phytoplankton abundance, and suspended solids dynamics
Jeffrey N. Houser
2016, Freshwater Science (35) 457-473
In floodplain rivers, variability in hydraulic connectivity interacts with biogeochemistry to determine the distribution of suspended and dissolved substances. Nutrient, chlorophyll a, and suspended solids data spanning longitudinal (5 study reaches across 1300 river km), lateral (main channel and backwaters), and temporal (1994–2011) gradients in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR)...
Tracking the timing of subduction and exhumation using 40Ar/39Ar phengite ages in blueschist- and eclogite-facies rocks (Sivrihisar, Turkey)
Katherine F. Fornash, Michael A. Cosca, Donna L. Whitney
2016, Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (171) 1-37
Geochronologic studies of high-pressure/low-temperature rocks can be used to determine the timing and rates of burial and exhumation in subduction zones by dating different stages of the pressure–temperature history. In this study, we present new in situ UV laser ablation 40Ar/39Ar phengite ages from a suite of lawsonite blueschist- and...
National Park Service Vegetation Mapping Inventory Program: Natchez Trace Parkway vegetation mapping project report
Kevin D. Hop, Andrew C. Strassman, Carl Nordman, Milo Pyne, Rickie White, Joseph Jakusz, Erin E. Hoy, Jennifer Dieck
2016, Natural Resource Report NPS/GULN/NRR—2016/1255
The National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Mapping Inventory (VMI) Program is an effort to classify, describe, and map existing vegetation of national park units for the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. The NPS VMI Program is managed by the NPS I&M Division and provides baseline vegetation information...
Automated mapping of persistent ice and snow cover across the western U.S. with Landsat
David J. Selkowitz, Richard R. Forster
2016, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (117) 126-140
We implemented an automated approach for mapping persistent ice and snow cover (PISC) across the conterminous western U.S. using all available Landsat TM and ETM+ scenes acquired during the late summer/early fall period between 2010 and 2014. Two separate validation approaches indicate this dataset provides...
Application of a hybrid model to reduce bias and improve precision in population estimates for elk (Cervus elaphus) inhabiting a cold desert ecosystem
Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Bruce C. Lubow
2016, Journal of King Saud University - Science (28) 205-215
Accurately estimating the size of wildlife populations is critical to wildlife management and conservation of species. Raw counts or “minimum counts” are still used as a basis for wildlife management decisions. Uncorrected raw counts are not only negatively biased due to failure to account for undetected animals, but also provide...
Predicting arsenic in drinking water wells of the Central Valley, California
Joseph D. Ayotte, Bernard T. Nolan, JoAnn M. Gronberg
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (50) 7555-7563
Probabilities of arsenic in groundwater at depths used for domestic and public supply in the Central Valley of California are predicted using weak-learner ensemble models (boosted regression trees, BRT) and more traditional linear models (logistic regression, LR). Both methods captured major processes that affect arsenic concentrations, such as the chemical...
Variability in the sensitivity among model simulations of permafrost and carbon dynamics in the permafrost region between 1960 and 2009
A. David McGuire, Charles Koven, David M. Lawrence, Joy S. Clein, Jiangyang Xia, Christian Beer, Eleanor J. Burke, Guangsheng Chen, Xiaodong Chen, Christine Delire, Elchin Jafarov, Andrew H. MacDougall, Sergey S. Marchenko, Dmitry J. Nicolsky, Shushi Peng, Annette Rinke, Kazuyuki Saito, Wenxin Zhang, Ramdane Alkama, Theodore J. Bohn, Philippe Ciais, Bertrand Decharme, Altug Ekici, Isabelle Gouttevin, Tomohiro Hajima, Daniel J. Hayes, Duoying Ji, Gerhard Krinner, Dennis P. Lettenmaier, Yiqi Luo, Paul A. Miller, John C. Moore, Vladimir Romanovsky, Christina Schädel, Kevin Schaefer, Edward A.G. Schuur, Benjamin Smith, Tetsuo Sueyoshi, Qianlai Zhuang
2016, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (30) 1015-1037
A significant portion of the large amount of carbon (C) currently stored in soils of the permafrost region in the Northern Hemisphere has the potential to be emitted as the greenhouse gases CO2and CH4 under a warmer climate. In this study we evaluated the variability in the sensitivity of permafrost and...
Large herbivores surf waves of green-up during spring
Jerod Merkle, Kevin L. Monteith, Ellen O. Aikens, Matthew M. Hayes, Kent Hersey, Arthur D. Middleton, Brendan Oates, Hall Sawyer, Brandon Scurlock, Matthew J. Kauffman
2016, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (283) 1-8
The green wave hypothesis (GWH) states that migrating animals should track or ‘surf’ high-quality forage at the leading edge of spring green-up. To index such high-quality forage, recent work proposed the instantaneous rate of green-up (IRG), i.e. rate of change in the normalized difference vegetation index over time. Despite this...
Slab melting and magma formation beneath the southern Cascade arc
Kristina J. Walowski, Paul J. Wallace, Michael A. Clynne, D.J. Rasmussen, D. Weis
2016, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (446) 100-112
The processes that drive magma formation beneath the Cascade arc and other warm-slab subduction zones have been debated because young oceanic crust is predicted to largely dehydrate beneath the forearc during subduction. In addition, geochemical variability along strike in the Cascades has led to contrasting interpretations about the role of...
