Invertebrate prey contributions to juvenile Coho Salmon diet from riparian habitats along three Alaska streams: Implications for environmental change
Jess Grunblatt, Benjamin E. Meyer, Mark S. Wipfli
2019, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (34) 617-631
Stream fish rely on a mix of terrestrial and aquatic prey sources. While the importance of terrestrial invertebrates as a food source for stream fish is well documented, the role of aquatic insects that emerge from the stream as winged adult insects (aquatic winged adults) and return to the stream...
The Yellow-billed Loon
Brian D. Uher-Koch, Mike North, Joel A. Schmutz
2019, Report
The Yellow-billed Loon, known in Europe as the White-billed Diver, is a relatively rare bird nesting in arctic tundra regions of North America and Eurasia. This species was first described by G. R. Gray in 1859 (1), and named (Gavia adamsii) after the surgeon Dr. Edward Adams...
Catalog of earthquake parameters and description of seismograph and infrasound stations at Alaskan volcanoes—January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2017
James P. Dixon, Scott D. Stihler, Matthew M. Haney, John J. Lyons, Dane M. Ketner, Katherine M. Mulliken, Thomas Parker, John Power
2019, Data Series 1115
Between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2017, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) located a total of 28,172 earthquakes at volcanoes in Alaska. The annual totals are 3,840, 5,819, 5,297, 6,151, and 7,065 earthquakes for the years 2013 through 2017, respectively. This represents an average of 5,634 earthquakes per year,...
Potential shifts in zooplankton community structure in response to changing ice regimes and hydrologic connectivity
John R. Beaver, Christopher D. Arp, Claudia E. Tausz, Benjamin M. Jones, Matthew S. Whitman, Thomas R. Renicker, Erin E Samples, David M Ordosch, Kyle C. Scotese
2019, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (51) 327-345
Changing Arctic climate may alter freshwater ecosystems as a result of warmer surface waters, longer open-water periods, reduced wintertime lake ice growth, and altered hydrologic connectivity. This study aims to characterize zooplankton community composition and size structure in the context of hydrologic connectivity and ice regimes in Arctic lakes. Between...
Soil mineralogy and geochemistry along a north-south transect in Alaska and the relation to source-rock terrane
Bronwen Wang, Chad P. Hults, Dennis D. Eberl, Laurel G. Woodruff, William F. Cannon, Larry P. Gough
2019, Professional Paper 1814-E
Soils collected along a predominately north-south transect in Alaska were used to evaluate regional differences in the soil mineralogy and geochemistry in the context of a geotectonic framework for Alaska. The approximately 1,395-kilometer-long transect followed the Dalton, Elliott, and Richardson Highways from near Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. Sites were selected...
Confronting models with data: The challenges of estimating disease spillover
Paul C. Cross, Diann Prosser, Andrew M. Ramey, Ephraim M. Hanks, Kim M. Pepin
2019, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (374)
For pathogens known to transmit across host species, strategic investment in disease control requires knowledge about where and when spillover transmission is likely. One approach to estimating spillover is to directly correlate observed spillover events with covariates. An alternative is to mechanistically combine information on host density, distribution, and pathogen...
An initial assessment of areas where landslides could enter the West Arm of Glacier Bay, Alaska and implications for tsunami hazards
Jeffrey A. Coe, Robert G. Schmitt, Erin Bessette-Kirton
2019, Alaska Park Science (18) 26-37
Tsunamis generated by landslides in Glacier Bay are uncommon, but have potential to be extraordinarily destructive when they occur. This article identifies areas that are susceptible to landslides that could generate tsunamis and discusses approaches to characterize hazard and risk from these events....
Artificial intelligence and avian influenza: Using machine learning to enhance active surveillance for avian influenza viruses
Daniel P. Walsh, Ting Fung Ma, S. Ip, Jun Zhu
2019, Transboundary and Emerging Diseases (66) 2537-2545
Influenza A viruses are one of the most significant viral groups globally with substantial impacts on human, domestic animal and wildlife health. Wild birds are the natural reservoirs for these viruses, and active surveillance within wild bird populations provides critical information about viral evolution forming the basis of risk assessments...
Book review: Discovery of Oyu Tolgoi: A case study of mineral and geological exploration
Douglas C. Kreiner
2019, Economic Geology (114) 1013-1014
No abstract available....
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...
Giving ecological meaning to satellite-derived fire severity metrics across North American forests
Sean Parks, Lisa M. Holsinger, Michael J. Koontz, Luke S. Collins, Ellen Whitman, Marc-Andre Parisien, Rachel A. Loehman, Jennifer L. Barnes, Jean-Francois Bourdon, Jonathan Boucher, Yan Boucher, Anthony C. Caprio, Adam Collingwood, Ron Hall, Jane Park, Lisa Saperstein, Charlotte Smetanka, Rebecca A. Smith, Nick Soverel
2019, Remote Sensing (11)
Satellite-derived spectral indices such as the relativized burn ratio (RBR) allow fire severity maps to be produced in a relatively straightforward manner across multiple fires and broad spatial extents. These indices often have strong relationships with field-based measurements of fire severity, thereby justifying their widespread use in management and science....
The Aleutian Low – Beaufort Sea Anticyclone: A climate index for predicting the timing of springtime melt in the Pacific Arctic cryosphere
Christopher J. Cox, Robert S. Stone, David C. Douglas, Diane Stanitski, Michael Gallagher
2019, Geophysical Research Letters (46) 7464-7473
Early and late extremes in the timing of snowmelt have recently been observed in the Pacific Arctic. Subseasonal-to-seasonal forecasts of this timing are important for industry, environmental management and Arctic communities. In northern Alaska, the timing is influenced by the advection of marine air from the north Pacific by the...
Thermotectonic history of the Kluane Ranges and evolution of the eastern Denali Fault Zone in southwestern Yukon, Canada
Robert G. McDermott, Alexis K. Ault, Jonathan S. Caine, Stuart N. Thomson
2019, Tectonics (38) 2983-3010
Exhumation and landscape evolution along strike‐slip fault systems reflect tectonic processes that accommodate and partition deformation in orogenic settings. We present 17 new apatite (U‐Th)/He (He), zircon He, apatite fission‐track (FT), and zircon FT dates from the eastern Denali fault zone (EDFZ) that bounds the Kluane Ranges in Yukon, Canada....
Filling knowledge gaps in a threatened shorebird flyway through satellite tracking
Yin-Chi Chan, T. Lee Tibbitts, Tamar Lok, Chris Hassell, He-Bo Peng, Zhijun Ma, Zhengwang Zhang, Theunis Piersma
2019, Journal of Applied Ecology (56) 2305-2315
Satellite‐based technologies that track individual animal movements enable the mapping of their spatial and temporal patterns of occurrence. This is particularly useful in poorly studied or remote regions where there is a need for the rapid gathering of relevant ecological knowledge to inform management actions. One such region is...
Improving population estimates of threatened spectacled eiders: Correcting aerial counts for visibility bias
Tyler Lewis, Michael Swaim, Joel A. Schmutz, Julian Fischer
2019, Endangered Species Research (39) 191-206
Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1993, the Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri) population in western Alaska has since rebounded, prompting an assessment of their suitability for delisting. This assessment, however, is limited by aerial-based population estimates that are incompletely corrected for unobserved eiders. Notably, aerial counts of...
Are polar bear habitat resource selection functions developed from 1985-1996 data still useful?
George M. Durner, David C. Douglas, Todd C. Atwood
2019, Ecology and Evolution (9) 8625-8638
1. Greenhouse gas-induced warming in the Arctic has caused declines in sea ice extent and changed its composition, raising concerns by all circumpolar nations for polar bear conservation. 2. Negative impacts have been observed in three well-studied polar bear subpopulations. Most subpopulations, however, receive little or no direct monitoring, hence, resource selection...
Late Miocene to Pleistocene source to sink record of exhumation and sediment routing in the Gulf of Alaska from detrital zircon fission-track and U-Pb double dating
Nathaniel Bootes, Eva Enkelmann, Richard O. Lease
2019, Tectonics (38) 2703-2726
We investigate the late Miocene‐Pleistocene offshore sedimentary record of the Yakutat microplate to evaluate the spatial and temporal variations in rock exhumation and sediment routing patterns at the heavily glaciated and actively converging plate boundary in southeast Alaska. We present 1,456 new fission track ages and 1,372...
Lithosphere and shallow asthenosphere rheology from observations of post-earthquake relaxation
Frederick Pollitz
2019, Physics of Earth and Planetary Interiors (293)
In tectonically active regions, post-earthquake motions are generally shaped by a combination of continued fault slippage (afterslip) on a timescale of days to months and viscoelastic relaxation of the lower crust and upper mantle on a timescale of days to years. Transient crustal motions have been observed following numerous magnitude >~7 earthquakes in various tectonic...
Near-field remote sensing of Alaskan Rivers
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Jonathan M. Nelson, Jeff Conaway, Adam LeWinter, Peter Gadomski, Dominic Filiano
2019, Conference Paper
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory (GSTL), in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), acquired remotely sensed data from several Alaskan rivers in 2017 and 2018 with the goal of developing a methodology for measuring streamflow from...
Synopsis of research programs that can provide baseline and monitoring information for offshore energy activities in the Pacific region: Seabird and marine mammal surveys in the Pacific region
Josh Adams, Kevin D. Lafferty, Emily C. Kelsey, Cora A. Johnston
2019, Report
We assembled and tabulated information about marine bird and mammal research and monitoring programs that could provide data needed to support environmental risk assessments. This included identifying ongoing or completed research programs that contain information on species and habitats sensitive to offshore energy activities and that could provide baseline and...
Trends and carrying capacity of sea otters in Southeast Alaska
M. Tim Tinker, Verena A. Gill, George G. Esslinger, James L. Bodkin, Melissa Monk, Marc Mangel, Daniel Monson, Wendel W. Raymond, Michelle Kissling
2019, Journal of Wildlife Management (83) 1073-1089
Sea otter populations in Southeast Alaska (SEAK) have increased dramatically from fewer than 500 translocated animals in the late 1960s. The recovery of sea otters to ecosystems from which they had been absent has affected coastal food webs, including commercially important fisheries, and thus information on expected growth and equilibrium...
Shorebird subsistence harvest and indigenous knowledge in Alaska: Informing harvest assessment and management, and engaging users in shorebird conservation
Naves. Liliana, Jacqueline Keating, T. Lee Tibbitts, Daniel R. Ruthrauff
2019, The Condor (121)
Limited data on harvest and population parameters are major impediments to assess shorebird harvest sustainability. Because of sharp declines in shorebird populations, timely conservation efforts require approaches that account for uncertainty in harvest sustainability. We combined harvest assessment and ethnographic research to better understand shorebird conservation concerns related to subsistence...
Early emergence of mcr-1-positive Enterobacteriaceae in gulls from Spain and Portugal
Christina Ahlstrom, Andrew M. Ramey, Hanna Woksepp, Jonas Bonnedahl
2019, Environmental Microbiology Reports (11) 669-671
We tested extended‐spectrum β‐lactamase producing bacteria from wild gulls (Larusspp.) sampled in 2009 for the presence of mcr‐1. We report the detection of mcr‐1 and describe genome characteristics of four Escherichia coli and one Klebsiella pneumoniaeisolate from Spain and Portugal that also exhibited colistin resistance. Results represent the earliest evidence for colistin‐resistant bacteria in European...
Repeated detection of carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli in gulls inhabiting Alaska, USA
Christina Ahlstrom, Andrew M. Ramey, Hanna Woksepp, Jonas Bonnedahl
2019, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (63)
We report the first detection of carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli in Alaska and in wildlife in the United States. Wild bird (gull) feces sampled at three locations in Southcentral Alaska yielded isolates that harbored plasmid-encoded blaKPC-2 or chromosomally-encoded blaOXA-48, and genes associated with antimicrobial resistance to up to eight antibiotic classes....
Technical comment on “Global pattern of nest predation is disrupted by climate change in shorebirds”
Martin Bulla, Jeroen Reneerkens, Emily L. Weiser, Aleksandr Sokolov, Audrey R. Taylor, Benoit Sittler, Brian J McCaffery, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Daniel H. Catlin, David C. Payer, David H. Ward, Diana V Solovyeva, Eduardo Santos, Eldar Rakhimberdiev, Erica Nol, Eunbi Kwon, Glen S. Brown, Glenda D Hevia, H. River Gates, James A. Johnson, Jan A. van Gils, Jannik Hansen, Jean-Francois Lamarre, Jennie Rausch, Jesse R. Conklin, Joe Liebezeit, Joel Bety, Johannes Lang, Jose A. Alves, Juan Fernandez-Elipe, Klaus-Michael Exo, Loic Bollache, Marcelo Bertellotti, Marie-Andree Giroux, Martijn van de Pol, Matthew D. Johnson, Megan L. Boldenow, Mihai Valcu, Mikhail Soloviev, Natalya Sokolova, Nathan R. Senner, Nicholas Lecomte, Nicolas Meyer, Niels Martin Schmidt, Olivier Gilg, Paul A Smith, Paula Machin, Rebecca L McGuire, Ricardo AS Cerboncini, Richard Ottvall, Rob van Bemmelen, Rose J Swift, Sara T Saalfeld, Sara E Jamieson, Stephen C. Brown, Theunis Piersma, Tomas Albrecht, Veronica L D’Amico, Richard B. Lanctot, Bart Kempenaers
2019, Science (364)
Kubelka et al. (Report, 9 November 2018, p. 680-683) claim that climate change has disrupted patterns of nest predation in shorebirds. They report that predation rates have increased since the 1950s, especially in the Arctic. We describe methodological problems with their analyses and argue that there is no solid statistical...
