Environmental factors influence lesser scaup migration chronology and population monitoring
Taylor A. Finger, Alan D. Afton, Michael L. Schummer, Scott A. Petrie, Shannon S. Badzinski, Michael A. Johnson, Michael L. Szymanski, Kevin J. Jacobs, Glenn H. Olsen, M.E. Mitchell
2016, Journal of Wildlife Management (80) 1437-1449
Identifying environmental metrics specific to lesser scaup (Aythya affinis; scaup) spring migration chronology may help inform development of conservation, management and population monitoring. Our objective was to determine how environmental conditions influence spring migration of lesser scaup to assess the effectiveness of the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey in...
Application of dimensionless sediment rating curves to predict suspended-sediment concentrations, bedload, and annual sediment loads for rivers in Minnesota
Christopher A. Ellison, Joel T. Groten, David L. Lorenz, Karl S. Koller
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5146
Consistent and reliable sediment data are needed by Federal, State, and local government agencies responsible for monitoring water quality, planning river restoration, quantifying sediment budgets, and evaluating the effectiveness of sediment reduction strategies. Heightened concerns about excessive sediment in rivers and the challenge to reduce costs and eliminate data gaps...
Decoupling processes and scales of shoreline morphodynamics
Cheryl J. Hapke, Nathaniel G. Plant, Rachel E. Henderson, William C. Schwab, Timothy R. Nelson
2016, Marine Geology (381) 42-53
Behavior of coastal systems on time scales ranging from single storm events to years and decades is controlled by both small-scale sediment transport processes and large-scale geologic, oceanographic, and morphologic processes. Improved understanding of coastal behavior at multiple time scales is required for refining models that predict potential erosion hazards...
Food webs of the Delta, Suisun Bay and Suisun Marsh: an update on current understanding and possibilities for management
Larry R. Brown, Wim J. Kimmerer, Louise Conrad, Sarah Lesmeister, Anke Mueller-Solger
2016, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (14) 1-41
This paper reviews and highlights recent research findings on foodweb processes since an earlier review by Kimmerer et al. (2008). We conduct this review within a conceptual framework of the Delta-Suisun food web, which includes both temporal and spatial components. The temporal component is based on knowledge that the landscape...
Dynamic reusable workflows for ocean science
Richard P. Signell, Filipe Fernandez, Kyle Wilcox
2016, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (4)
Digital catalogs of ocean data have been available for decades, but advances in standardized services and software for catalog search and data access make it now possible to create catalog-driven workflows that automate — end-to-end — data search, analysis and visualization of data from multiple distributed sources. Further, these workflows...
Joint analysis of geodetic and earthquake fault-plane solution data to constrain magmatic sources: A case study from Kīlauea Volcano
Christelle Wauthier, Diana C. Roman, Michael P. Poland
2016, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (455) 38-48
A joint analysis of geodetic and seismic datasets from Kīlauea Volcano during a period of magmatic unrest in 2006 demonstrates the effectiveness of this combination for testing and constraining models of magma dynamics for a complex, multi-source system. At the end of 2003, Kīlauea's summit began a four-year-long period of...
Extending ordinal regression with a latent zero-augmented beta distribution
Kathryn M. Irvine, T.J. Rodhouse, Ilai. N. Keren
2016, Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics (21) 619-640
Ecological abundance data are often recorded on an ordinal scale in which the lowest category represents species absence. One common example is when plant species cover is visually assessedwithin bounded quadrats and then assigned to pre-defined cover class categories.We present an ordinal beta hurdle model that directly models ordinal category probabilitieswith a biologically realistic...
Assessment of hydrogeologic terrains, well-construction characteristics, groundwater hydraulics, and water-quality and microbial data for determination of surface-water-influenced groundwater supplies in West Virginia
Mark D. Kozar, Katherine S. Paybins
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5048
In January 2014, a storage tank leaked, spilling a large quantity of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol into the Elk River in West Virginia and contaminating the water supply for more than 300,000 people. In response, the West Virginia Legislature passed Senate Bill 373, which requires the West Virginia Department of Health and...
Estimating denning date of wolves with daily movement and GPS location fix failure
Patrick B. Walsh, Suresh Sethi, Bryce C. Lake, Buck A. Mangipane, Ryan Nielson, Stacey Lowe
2016, Wildlife Society Bulletin (40) 663-668
We used Global Positioning System (GPS) radiotelemetry data from 7 breeding female wolves (Canis lupus; n = 14 dennings) in 3 regions across Alaska, USA, during 2008–2011 to develop and compare methods for estimating the onset of denning, and thus infer timing of parturition. We developed and tested 2 estimators based on a...
Statistical correction of lidar-derived digital elevation models with multispectral airborne imagery in tidal marshes
Kevin J. Buffington, Bruce D. Dugger, Karen M. Thorne, John Y. Takekawa
2016, Remote Sensing of Environment (186) 616-625
Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) is a valuable tool for collecting large amounts of elevation data across large areas; however, the limited ability to penetrate dense vegetation with lidar hinders its usefulness for measuring tidal marsh platforms. Methods to correct lidar elevation data are available, but a reliable method...
Simulated effects of groundwater withdrawals from aquifers in Ocean County and vicinity, New Jersey
Stephen J. Cauller, Lois M. Voronin, Mary M. Chepiga
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5035
Rapid population growth since the 1930s in Ocean County and vicinity, New Jersey, has placed increasing demands upon the area’s freshwater resources. To examine effects of groundwater withdrawals, a three-dimensional groundwater-flow model was developed to simulate the groundwater-flow systems of five area aquifers: the unconfined Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system and...
Importance of regional variation in conservation planning: A rangewide example of the Greater Sage-Grouse
Kevin Doherty, Jeffrey S. Evans, Peter S. Coates, Lara Juliusson, Bradley C. Fedy
2016, Ecosphere (7)
We developed rangewide population and habitat models for Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) that account for regional variation in habitat selection and relative densities of birds for use in conservation planning and risk assessments. We developed a probabilistic model of occupied breeding habitat by statistically linking habitat characteristics within 4 miles of...
Incorporating imperfect detection into joint models of communites: A response to Warton et al.
Steven R. Beissinger, Kelly J. Iknayan, Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita, Elise Zipkin, Robert Dorazio, J. Andrew Royle, Marc Kery
2016, Trends in Ecology and Evolution (31) 736-737
Warton et al. [1] advance community ecology by describing a statistical framework that can jointly model abundances (or distributions) across many taxa to quantify how community properties respond to environmental variables. This framework specifies the effects of both measured and unmeasured (latent) variables on the...
Low-δD hydration rinds in Yellowstone perlites record rapid syneruptive hydration during glacial and interglacial conditions
Ilya N. Bindeman, Jacob B. Lowenstern
2016, Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology (171) 1-24
Hydration of silicic volcanic glass forms perlite, a dusky, porous form of altered glass characterized by abundant “onion-skin” fractures. The timing and temperature of perlite formation are enigmatic and could plausibly occur during eruption, during post-eruptive cooling, or much later at ambient temperatures. To learn more about the origin of...
Probing the volcanic-plutonic connection and the genesis of crystal-rich rhyolite in a deeply dissected supervolcano in the Nevada Great Basin: Source of the late Eocene Caetano Tuff
Kathryn E. Watts, David A. John, Joseph P. Colgan, Christopher D. Henry, Ilya N. Bindeman, Axel K. Schmitt
2016, Journal of Petrology (57) 1599-1644
Late Cenozoic faulting and large-magnitude extension in the Great Basin of the western USA has created locally deep windows into the upper crust, permitting direct study of volcanic and plutonic rocks within individual calderas. The Caetano caldera in north–central Nevada, formed during the mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up, offers one of the...
Flood-inundation maps for the Peckman River in the Townships of Verona, Cedar Grove, and Little Falls, and the Borough of Woodland Park, New Jersey, 2014
Michal J. Niemoczynski, Kara M. Watson
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5105
Digital flood-inundation maps for an approximate 7.5-mile reach of the Peckman River in New Jersey, which extends from Verona Lake Dam in the Township of Verona downstream through the Township of Cedar Grove and the Township of Little Falls to the confluence with the Passaic River in the Borough of...
Water levels and groundwater and surface-water exchanges in lakes of the northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Minnesota, 2002 through 2015
Perry M. Jones, Jared J. Trost, Melinda L. Erickson, editor(s)
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5139
OverviewThis study assessed lake-water levels and regional and local groundwater and surface-water exchanges near northeast Twin Cities Metropolitan Area lakes applying three approaches: statistical analysis, field study, and groundwater-flow modeling. Statistical analyses of lake levels were completed to assess the effect of physical setting and climate on lake-level fluctuations of...
Maximum magnitude (Mmax) in the central and eastern United States for the 2014 U.S. Geological Survey Hazard Model
Russell L. Wheeler
2016, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (106) 2154-2167
Probabilistic seismic‐hazard assessment (PSHA) requires an estimate of Mmax, the moment magnitude M of the largest earthquake that could occur within a specified area. Sparse seismicity hinders Mmax estimation in the central and eastern United States (CEUS) and tectonically similar regions worldwide (stable continental regions [SCRs]). A new global catalog...
Trophic feasibility of reintroducing anadromous salmonids in three reservoirs on the north fork Lewis River, Washington: Prey supply and consumption demand of resident fishes
Mark H. Sorel, Adam G. Hansen, Kristin A. Connelly, David A. Beauchamp
2016, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (145) 1331-1347
The reintroduction of anadromous salmonids in reservoirs is being proposed with increasing frequency, requiring baseline studies to evaluate feasibility and estimate the capacity of reservoir food webs to support reintroduced populations. Using three reservoirs on the north fork Lewis River as a case study, we demonstrate a method to determine...
Recovery of sockeye salmon in the Elwha River, Washington, after dam removal: Dependence of smolt production on the resumption of anadromy by landlocked kokanee
Adam G. Hansen, Jennifer R. Gardner, David A. Beauchamp, Rebecca Paradis, Thomas P. Quinn
2016, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (145) 1303-1317
Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. are adept at colonizing habitat that has been reopened to anadromous passage. Sockeye Salmon O. nerka are unique in that most populations require lakes to fulfill their life history. Thus, for Sockeye Salmon to colonize a system, projects like dam removals must provide access to lakes....
Book review: Mapping gendered routes and spaces in the early modern world
Dalia E. Varanka
2016, Renaissance Quarterly (69) 1092
This book encapsulates and extends many seminal ideas presented at the eighth “Attending to Early Modern Women” conference held at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in June 2012. Merry Wiesner-Hanks has done a masterful job editing these papers within a central theme of the interaction of spatial domains with gender-based phenomena....
Estimating spatially and temporally varying recharge and runoff from precipitation and urban irrigation in the Los Angeles Basin, California
Joseph A. Hevesi, Tyler D. Johnson
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5068
A daily precipitation-runoff model, referred to as the Los Angeles Basin watershed model (LABWM), was used to estimate recharge and runoff for a 5,047 square kilometer study area that included the greater Los Angeles area and all surface-water drainages potentially contributing recharge to a 1,450 square kilometer groundwater-study area...
Interaction between climate, volcanism, and isostatic rebound in Southeast Alaska during the last deglaciation
Summer Praetorius, Alan Mix, Britta Jensen, Duane Froese, Glenn A. Milne, Matthew Wolhowe, Jason A. Addison, Fred Prahl
2016, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (452) 79-89
Observations of enhanced volcanic frequency during the last deglaciation have led to the hypothesis that ice unloading in glaciated volcanic terrains can promote volcanism through decompression melting in the shallow mantle or a reduction in crustal magma storage time. However, a direct link between regional climate change, isostatic adjustment, and...
Comparison of mercury mass loading in streams to atmospheric deposition in watersheds of Western North America: Evidence for non-atmospheric mercury sources
Joseph L. Domagalski, Michael S. Majewski, Charles N. Alpers, Chris S. Eckley, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Liam N. Schenk, Susan Wherry
2016, Science of the Total Environment (568) 638-650
Annual stream loads of mercury (Hg) and inputs of wet and dry atmospheric Hg deposition to the landscape were investigated in watersheds of the Western United States and the Canadian-Alaskan Arctic. Mercury concentration and discharge data from flow gauging stations were used to compute annual mass loads with regression models....
FishVis, A regional decision support tool for identifying vulnerabilities of riverine habitat and fishes to climate change in the Great Lakes Region
Jana S. Stewart, S. Alex Covert, Nick J. Estes, Stephen M. Westenbroek, Damon Krueger, Daniel J. Wieferich, Michael T. Slattery, John D. Lyons, James E. McKenna Jr., Dana M. Infante, Jennifer L. Bruce
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5124
Climate change is expected to alter the distributions and community composition of stream fishes in the Great Lakes region in the 21st century, in part as a result of altered hydrological systems (stream temperature, streamflow, and habitat). Resource managers need information and tools to understand where fish species and stream...