Geothermal solute flux monitoring and the source and fate of solutes in the Snake River, Yellowstone National Park, WY
R. Blaine McCleskey, Jacob B. Lowenstern, Jonas Schaper, D. Kirk Nordstrom, Henry P. Heasler, Dan Mahony
2016, Applied Geochemistry (73) 142-156
The combined geothermal discharge from over 10,000 features in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) can be can be estimated from the Cl flux in the Madison, Yellowstone, Falls, and Snake Rivers. Over the last 30 years, the Cl flux in YNP Rivers has been calculated using discharge measurements and Cl concentrations...
Experimental warming in a dryland community reduced plant photosynthesis and soil CO2 efflux although the relationship between the fluxes remained unchanged
Timothy M. Wertin, Jayne Belnap, Sasha C. Reed
2016, Functional Ecology (31) 297-305
1. Drylands represent our planet's largest terrestrial biome and, due to their extensive area, maintain large stocks of carbon (C). Accordingly, understanding how dryland C cycling will respond to climate change is imperative for accurately forecasting global C cycling and future climate. However, it remains difficult to predict how increased...
Organic petrology and geochemistry of mudrocks from the lacustrine Lucaogou Formation, Santanghu Basin, northwest China: Application to lake basin evolution
Paul C. Hackley, Neil Fishman, Tao Wu, Gregory Baugher
2016, International Journal of Coal Geology (168) 20-34
Exploration for tight oil in the frontier Santanghu Basin of northwest China has resulted in recent commercial discoveries sourced from the lacustrine Upper Permian Lucaogou Formation, already considered a “world class source rock” in the Junggar Basin to the west. Here we apply an integrated analytical program to carbonate-dominated mudrocks...
Maxent modeling for predicting potential distribution of goitered gazelle in central Iran: the effect of extent and grain size on performance of the model
Rasoul Khosravi, Mahmoud-Reza Hemami, Mansoureh Malekian, Alan L. Flint, Lorraine E. Flint
2016, Turkish Journal of Zoology (40) 574-585
The spatial scale of environmental layers is an important factor to consider in developing an understanding of ecological processes. This study employed Maxent modeling to investigate the geographic distribution of goitered gazelle, Gazella subgutturosa (Güldenstädt, 1780), in central Iran using uncorrelated variables at a spatial resolution of 250 m. We...
Evaluating integration of inland bathymetry in the U.S. Geological Survey 3D Elevation Program, 2014
Cynthia Miller-Corbett
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1126
Inland bathymetry survey collections, survey data types, features, sources, availability, and the effort required to integrate inland bathymetric data into the U.S. Geological Survey 3D Elevation Program are assessed to help determine the feasibility of integrating three-dimensional water feature elevation data into The National Map. Available data from wading, acoustic,...
Differences found in the macroinvertebrate community composition in the presence or absence of the invasive alien crayfish, Orconectes hylas
Brandye T. Freeland-Riggert, Stefan H. Cairns, Barry C. Poulton, Chris M. Riggert
2016, PLoS ONE (11)
Introductions of alien species into aquatic ecosystems have been well documented, including invasions of crayfish species; however, little is known about the effects of these introductions on macroinvertebrate communities. The woodland crayfish (Orconectes hylas (Faxon)) has been introduced into the St. Francis River watershed in southeast Missouri and has displaced...
Regulation of the hunting season as a tool for adaptive harvest management — First results for pink-footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus
Jesper Madsen, Kevin K. Clausen, Thomas K. Christensen, Fred A. Johnson
2016, Wildlife Biology (22) 204-208
Adjustment of hunting season length is often used to regulate harvest of waterbirds but the effects are disputed. We describe the first results of season length extension on the harvest of the pink-footed goose, which has been selected as the first test case of adaptive harvest management of waterbirds in...
First steps for mitigating bycatch of Pink-footed Shearwaters Ardenna creatopus: Identifying overlap of foraging areas and fisheries in Chile
Ryan Carle, Jonathan J. Felis, Verónica López, Josh Adams, Peter Hodum, Jessie Beck, Valentina Colodro, Rodrigo Vega, Andres Gonzalez
2016, Conference Paper, Seventh Meeting of the Seabird Bycatch Working Group
The Pink-footed Shearwater, Ardenna creatopus, is listed as in danger of extinction by Chile and under Annex 1 of ACAP, with an estimated global population of approximately 56,000 individuals. Incidental bycatch of this species in fisheries is thought to be an important cause in population decline (i.e. annual estimated mortality...
Groundwater-quality data in the Monterey–Salinas shallow aquifer study unit, 2013: Results from the California GAMA Program
Dara A. Goldrath, Justin T. Kulongoski, Tracy A. Davis
2016, Data Series 987
Groundwater quality in the 3,016-square-mile Monterey–Salinas Shallow Aquifer study unit was investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from October 2012 to May 2013 as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program’s Priority Basin Project. The GAMA Monterey–Salinas Shallow Aquifer...
Geomorphic responses of Duluth-area streams to the June 2012 flood, Minnesota
Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Christopher A. Ellison, Christiana R. Czuba, Benjamin M. Young, Molly M. McCool, Joel T. Groten
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5104
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, completed a geomorphic assessment of 51 Duluth-area stream sites in 20 basins to describe and document the stream geomorphic changes associated with the June 2012 flood. Heavy rainfall caused flood peaks with annual exceedance probabilities of...
Pleistocene Lake Bonneville as an analog for extraterrestrial lakes and oceans
M.A. Chan, P. Jewell, T. J. Parker, J. Ormo, Chris Okubo, G. Komatsu
2016, Book chapter, Developments in earth surface processes, Volume 20
Geomorphic confirmation for a putative ancient Mars ocean relies on analog comparisons of coastal-like features such as shoreline feature attributes and temporal scales of process formation. Pleistocene Lake Bonneville is one of the few large, geologically young, terrestrial lake systems that exemplify well-preserved shoreline characteristics that formed quickly, on the...
Delta smelt habitat in the San Francisco Estuary: A reply to Manly, Fullerton, Hendrix, and Burnham’s “Comments on Feyrer et al. Modeling the effects of future outflow on the abiotic habitat of an imperiled estuarine fish"
Frederick V. Feyrer, Ken B. Newman, Matthew Nobriga, Ted Sommer
2016, Estuaries and Coasts (39) 287-289
Manly et al. (2015) commented on the approach we (Feyrer et al. 2011) used to calculate an index of the abiotic habitat of delta smelt Hypomesus transpacificus. The delta smelt is an annual fish species endemic to the San Francisco Estuary (SFE) in California, USA. Conserving the delta smelt population...
Arctic sea ice a major determinant in Mandt's black guillemot movement and distribution during non-breeding season
G.J. Divoky, David C. Douglas, I. J. Stenhouse
2016, Biology Letters (12)
Mandt's black guillemot (Cepphus grylle mandtii) is one of the few seabirds associated in all seasons with Arctic sea ice, a habitat that is changing rapidly. Recent decreases in summer ice have reduced breeding success and colony size of this species in Arctic Alaska. Little is known about the species'...
Synthesis of common management concerns associated with dam removal
Desiree D. Tullos, Mathias J. Collins, J. Ryan Bellmore, Jennifer A. Bountry, Patrick J. Connolly, Patrick B. Shafroth, Andrew C. Wilcox
2016, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (52) 1179-1206
Managers make decisions regarding if and how to remove dams in spite of uncertainty surrounding physical and ecological responses, and stakeholders often raise concerns about certain negative effects, regardless of whether or not these concerns are warranted at a particular site. We used a dam-removal science database supplemented with other...
Invariant polar bear habitat selection during a period of sea ice loss
Ryan H. Wilson, Eric V. Regehr, Karyn D. Rode, Michelle St. Martin
2016, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (283)
Climate change is expected to alter many species' habitat. A species' ability to adjust to these changes is partially determined by their ability to adjust habitat selection preferences to new environmental conditions. Sea ice loss has forced polar bears (Ursus maritimus) to spend longer periods annually over less productive waters,...
Elucidating the role of vegetation in the initiation of rainfall-induced shallow landslides: Insights from an extreme rainfall event in the Colorado Front Range
Luke McGuire, Francis K. Rengers, Jason W. Kean, Jeffrey A. Coe, Benjamin B. Mirus, Rex L. Baum, Jonathan W. Godt
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 9084-9092
More than 1100 debris flows were mobilized from shallow landslides during a rainstorm from 9 to 13 September 2013 in the Colorado Front Range, with the vast majority initiating on sparsely vegetated, south facing terrain. To investigate the physical processes responsible for the observed aspect control, we made measurements of...
Preservation of ancient impact ages on the R chondrite parent body: 40Ar/39Ar age of hornblende-bearing R chondrite LAP 04840
Kevin Righter, Michael A. Cosca, Leah E. Morgan
2016, Meteoritics and Planetary Science (51) 1678-1684
The hornblende- and biotite-bearing R chondrite LAP 04840 is a rare kind of meteorite possibly containing outer solar system water stored during metamorphism or postshock annealing deep within an asteroid. Because little is known regarding its age and origin, we determined 40Ar/39Ar ages on hornblende-rich separates of the meteorite, and...
Land use effects on pesticides in sediments of prairie pothole wetlands in North and South Dakota
Scott T. McMurry, Jason B. Belden, Loren M. Smith, Shane A. Morrison, Dale W. Daniel, Betty R. Euliss, Ned H. Jr. Euliss, Bart J. Kensinger, Brian Tangen
2016, Science of the Total Environment (565) 682-689
Prairie potholes are the dominant wetland type in the intensively cultivated northern Great Plains of North America, and thus have the potential to receive pesticide runoff and drift. We examined the presence of pesticides in sediments of 151 wetlands split among the three dominant land use types, Conservation Reserve Program...
The water content of recurring slope lineae on Mars
Christopher S. Edwards, Sylvain Piqueux
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 8912-8919
Observations of recurring slope lineae (RSL) from the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment have been interpreted as present-day, seasonally variable liquid water flows; however, orbital spectroscopy has not confirmed the presence of liquid H2O, only hydrated salts. Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) temperature data and a numerical heat transfer model definitively...
Carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of coal and carbon dioxide derived from laboratory coal combustion: A preliminary study
Peter D. Warwick, Leslie F. Ruppert
2016, International Journal of Coal Geology (166) 128-135
The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has dramatically increased from the start of the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s to present levels exceeding 400 ppm. Carbon dioxide derived from fossil fuel combustion is a greenhouse gas and a major contributor to on-going climate change. Carbon and oxygen...
Environmental covariates associated with Cambarus veteranus (Decapoda: Cambaridae), an imperiled Appalachian crayfish endemic to West Virginia, USA
Zachary J. Loughman, Stuart A. Welsh, Nicole M. Sadecky, Zachary W. Dillard, R. Katie Scott
2016, Journal of Crustacean Biology (36) 642-648
Cambarus veteranus Faxon, 1914, a narrow endemic crayfish native to the Upper Guyandotte River Basin (UGB) in West Virginia, USA, was petitioned in 2014 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to be listed as endangered, but a status survey was recommended to determine if...
Effects of microhabitat and large-scale land use on stream salamander occupancy in the coalfields of Central Appalachia
Sara E. Sweeten, W. Mark Ford
2016, Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment (8) 129-141
Large-scale coal mining practices, particularly surface coal extraction and associated valley fills as well as residential wastewater discharge, are of ecological concern for aquatic systems in central Appalachia. Identifying and quantifying alterations to ecosystems along a gradient of spatial scales is a necessary first-step to aid in mitigation of negative...
Yosemite Hydroclimate Network: Distributed stream and atmospheric data for the Tuolumne River watershed and surroundings
Jessica D. Lundquist, James W. Roche, Harrison Forrester, Courtney Moore, Eric Keenan, Gwyneth Perry, Nicoleta Cristea, Brian Henn, Karl Lapo, Bruce McGurk, Daniel R. Cayan, Michael D. Dettinger
2016, Water Resources Research (52) 7478-7489
Regions of complex topography and remote wilderness terrain have spatially varying patterns of temperature and streamflow, but due to inherent difficulties of access, are often very poorly sampled. Here we present a data set of distributed stream stage, streamflow, stream temperature, barometric pressure, and air temperature from the Tuolumne River...
Factors affecting wetland connectivity for wintering semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) in the Caribbean
Morgan A. Parks, Jaime A. Collazo, Katsi R. Ramos Alvarez
2016, Waterbirds (39) 250-259
Wetland connectivity provides migratory shorebirds varying options to meet energy requirements to survive and complete their annual cycle. Multiple factors mediate movement and residency of spatially segregated wetlands. Information on these factors is lacking in the tropics, yet such information is invaluable for conservation design. The influence of seven biotic...
Test of a foraging-bioenergetics model to evaluate growth dynamics of endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus)
David Deslauriers, Laura B. Heironimus, Steven R. Chipps
2016, Ecological Modelling (336) 1-12
Factors affecting feeding and growth of early life stages of the federally endangered pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) are not fully understood, owing to their scarcity in the wild. In this study was we evaluated the performance of a combined foraging-bioenergetics model as a tool for assessing growth of age-0 pallid...
