Assessing transmissible spongiform encephalopathy species barriers with an in vitro prion protein conversion assay
Christopher J. Johnson, Christina M. Carlson, Aaron R. Morawski, Alyson Manthei, Neil R. Cashman
2015, Journal of Visualized Experiments (97)
Studies to understanding interspecies transmission of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs, prion diseases) are challenging in that they typically rely upon lengthy and costly in vivo animal challenge studies. A number of in vitro assays have been developed to aid in measuring prion species barriers, thereby reducing animal use and providing quicker results than animal...
Mercury in Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis):bioaccumulation and trans-Pacific Ocean migration
John A. Colman, Jacob I. Nogueira, Oscar C. Pancorbo, Carol A. Batdorf, Barbara A. Block
2015, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (72) 1-9
Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) have the largest home range of any tuna species and are well known for the capacity to make transoceanic migrations. We report the measurement of mercury (Hg) concentrations in wild Pacific bluefin tuna (PBFT), the first reported with known size-of-fish and capture location. The results...
Invasive Species Science Branch: research and management tools for controlling invasive species
Robert N. Reed, Katie D. Walters
2015, Fact Sheet 2014-3076
Invasive, nonnative species of plants, animals, and disease organisms adversely affect the ecosystems they enter. Like “biological wildfires,” they can quickly spread and affect nearly all terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Invasive species have become one of the greatest environmental challenges of the 21st century in economic, environmental, and human health...
Aquatics Systems Branch: transdisciplinary research to address water-related environmental problems
Quan Dong, Katie D. Walters
2015, Fact Sheet 2014-3073
The Aquatic Systems Branch at the Fort Collins Science Center is a group of scientists dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary science and providing science support to solve water-related environmental issues. Natural resource managers have an increasing need for scientific information and stakeholders face enormous challenges of increasing and competing demands for...
Integrated climate and land use change scenarios for California rangeland ecosystem services: wildlife habitat, soil carbon, and water supply
Kristin B. Byrd, Lorraine E. Flint, Pelayo Alvarez, Frank Casey, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Christopher E. Soulard, Alan L. Flint, Terry L. Sohl
2015, Landscape Ecology (30) 729-750
Context In addition to biodiversity conservation, California rangelands generate multiple ecosystem services including livestock production, drinking and irrigation water, and carbon sequestration. California rangeland ecosystems have experienced substantial conversion to residential land use and more intensive agriculture. Objectives To understand the potential impacts to rangeland ecosystem services, we developed...
Adaptive harvest management for the Svalbard population of Pink-Footed Geese: 2014 progress summary
Fred A. Johnson, J. Madsen
2015, Report
This document describes progress to date on the development of an adaptive harvest-management strategy for maintaining the Svalbard population of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) near their agreed target level (60 thousand) by providing for sustainable harvests in Norway and Denmark. Specifically, this report provides an assessment of the most recent...
Using near-real-time monitoring data from Pu'u 'Ō'ō vent at Kīlauea Volcano for training and educational purposes
Rachel Teasdale, Katrien van der Hoeven Kraft, Michael P. Poland
2015, Journal of Applied Volcanology (4)
Training non-scientists in the use of volcano-monitoring data is critical preparation in advance of a volcanic crisis, but it is currently unclear which methods are most effective for improving the content-knowledge of non-scientists to help bridge communications between volcano experts and non-experts. We measured knowledge gains for beginning-(introductory-level students) and...
A Laurentian margin back-arc: the Ordovician Wedowee-Emuckfaw-Dahlonega basin
Clinton I. Barineau, James F. Tull, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma
2015, GSA Field Guides (39) 21-78
Independent researchers working in the Talladega belt, Ashland-Wedowee-Emuckfaw belt, and Opelika Complex of Alabama, as well as the Dahlonega gold belt and western Inner Piedmont of Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas, have mapped stratigraphic sequences unique to each region. Although historically considered distinct terranes of disparate origin, a synthesis of...
Urgent need for warming experiments in tropical forests
Molly A. Calaveri, Sasha C. Reed, W. Kolby Smith, Tana E. Wood
2015, Global Change Biology (21) 2111-2121
Although tropical forests account for only a fraction of the planet's terrestrial surface, they exchange more carbon dioxide with the atmosphere than any other biome on Earth, and thus play a disproportionate role in the global climate. In the next 20 years, the tropics will experience unprecedented warming, yet there...
Heterogeneous movement of insectivorous Amazonian birds through primary and secondary forest: A case study using multistate models with radiotelemetry data
James E. Hines, Luke L. Powell, Jared D. Wolfe, Erik l. Johnson, James D. Nichols, Phillip C. Stouffer
2015, Biological Conservation (188) 100-108
Given rates of deforestation, disturbance, and secondary forest accumulation in tropical rainforests, there is a great need to quantify habitat use and movement among different habitats. This need is particularly pronounced for animals most sensitive to disturbance, such as insectivorous understory birds. Here we use multistate capture–recapture models with radiotelemetry...
The Mw6.0 24 August 2014 South Napa earthquake
Thomas M. Brocher, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Jeanne L. Hardebeck, Fred F. Pollitz, Jessica R. Murray, Andrea L. Llenos, David P. Schwartz, J. Luke Blair, Daniel J. Ponti, James J. Lienkaemper, Victoria E. Langenheim, Timothy E. Dawson, Kenneth W. Hudnut, David R. Shelly, Douglas S. Dreger, John Boatwright, Brad T. Aagaard, David J. Wald, Richard M. Allen, William D. Barnhart, Keith L. Knudsen, Benjamin A. Brooks, Katherine M. Scharer
2015, Seismological Research Letters (86) 309-326
The Mw 6.0 South Napa earthquake, which occurred at 10:20 UTC 24 August 2014 was the largest earthquake to strike the greater San Francisco Bay area since the Mw 6.9 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The rupture from this right‐lateral earthquake propagated mostly unilaterally to the north and up‐dip, directing the strongest shaking toward the...
Laboratory electrical resistivity analysis of geologic samples from Fort Irwin, California
Benjamin R. Bloss, Paul A. Bedrosian
David C. Buesch, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2013-1024-E
Correlating laboratory resistivity measurements with geophysical resistivity models helps constrain these models to the geology and lithology of an area. Throughout the Fort Irwin National Training Center area, 111 samples from both cored boreholes and surface outcrops were collected and processed for laboratory measurements. These samples represent various lithologic types...
On formally integrating science and policy: walking the walk
James D. Nichols, Fred A. Johnson, Byron K. Williams, G. Scott Boomer
2015, Journal of Applied Ecology (52) 539-543
The contribution of science to the development and implementation of policy is typically neither direct nor transparent. In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) made a decision that was unprecedented in natural resource management, turning to an unused and unproven decision process to carry out trust responsibilities mandated...
Improved arrival-date estimates of Arctic-breeding Dunlin (Calidris alpina arcticola)
Andrew C. Doll, Richard B. Lanctot, Craig A. Stricker, Stephen M. Yezerinac, Michael B. Wunder
2015, The Auk (132) 408-421
The use of stable isotopes in animal ecology depends on accurate descriptions of isotope dynamics within individuals. The prevailing assumption that laboratory-derived isotopic parameters apply to free-living animals is largely untested. We used stable carbon isotopes (δ13C) in whole blood from migratory Dunlin (Calidris alpina arcticola) to estimate an in situ...
A new approach for continuous estimation of baseflow using discrete water quality data: Method description and comparison with baseflow estimates from two existing approaches
Matthew P. Miller, Henry M. Johnson, David D. Susong, David M. Wolock
2015, Journal of Hydrology (522) 203-210
Understanding how watershed characteristics and climate influence the baseflow component of stream discharge is a topic of interest to both the scientific and water management communities. Therefore, the development of baseflow estimation methods is a topic of active research. Previous studies have demonstrated that graphical hydrograph separation (GHS) and conductivity...
Life history strategies of fish species and biodiversity in eastern USA streams
Michael R. Meador, Larry M. Brown
2015, Environmental Biology of Fishes (98) 663-677
Predictive models have been used to determine fish species that occur less frequently than expected (decreasers) and those that occur more frequently than expected (increasers) in streams in the eastern U.S. Coupling life history traits with 51 decreaser and 38 increaser fish species provided the opportunity to examine potential mechanisms...
Geotechnical aspects in the epicentral region of the 2011, Mw5.8 Mineral, Virginia earthquake
Russell A. Green, Samuel Lasley, Mark W. Carter, Jeffrey W. Munsey, Brett W. Maurer, Martitia P. Tuttle
2015, GSA Special Papers (509) 151-172
A reconnaissance team documented the geotechnical and geological aspects in the epicentral region of the Mw (moment magnitude) 5.8 Mineral, Virginia (USA), earthquake of 23 August 2011. Tectonically and seismically induced ground deformations, evidence of liquefaction, rock slides, river bank slumps, ground subsidence, performance of earthen dams, damage to public infrastructure...
Rapid isolation of microsatellite DNAs and identification of polymorphic mitochondrial DNA regions in the fish rotan (Perccottus glenii) invading European Russia
Tim L. King, Michael S. Eackles, Andrey N. Reshetnikov
2015, Conservation Genetics Resources (7) 363-368
Human-mediated translocations and subsequent large-scale colonization by the invasive fish rotan (Perccottus glenii Dybowski, 1877; Perciformes, Odontobutidae), also known as Amur or Chinese sleeper, has resulted in dramatic transformations of small lentic ecosystems. However, no detailed genetic information exists on population structure, levels of effective movement, or relatedness among geographic...
Stochastic reservoir simulation for the modeling of uncertainty in coal seam degasification
C. Özgen Karacan, Ricardo A. Olea
2015, Fuel (148) 87-97
Coal seam degasification improves coal mine safety by reducing the gas content of coal seams and also by generating added value as an energy source. Coal seam reservoir simulation is one of the most effective ways to help with these two main objectives. As in all modeling and simulation...
Simulation of groundwater flow and streamflow depletion in the Branch Brook, Merriland River, and parts of the Mousam River watersheds in southern Maine
Martha G. Nielsen, Daniel B. Locke
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5235
Watersheds of three streams, the Mousam River, Branch Brook, and Merriland River in southeastern Maine were investigated from 2010 through 2013 under a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Maine Geological Survey. The Branch Brook watershed previously had been deemed “at risk” by the Maine Geological Survey...
Estimation of occupancy, breeding success, and predicted abundance of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Diablo Range, California, 2014
J. David Wiens, Patrick S. Kolar, Mark R. Fuller, W. Grainger Hunt, Teresa Hunt
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1039
We used a multistate occupancy sampling design to estimate occupancy, breeding success, and abundance of territorial pairs of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Diablo Range, California, in 2014. This method uses the spatial pattern of detections and non-detections over repeated visits to survey sites to estimate probabilities of occupancy...
Empirical evaluation of the conceptual model underpinning a regional aquatic long-term monitoring program using causal modelling
Kathryn M. Irvine, Scott Miller, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Erik Archer, Brett B. Roper, Jeffrey L. Kershner
2015, Ecological Indicators (50) 8-23
Conceptual models are an integral facet of long-term monitoring programs. Proposed linkages between drivers, stressors, and ecological indicators are identified within the conceptual model of most mandated programs. We empirically evaluate a conceptual model developed for a regional aquatic and riparian monitoring program using causal models (i.e., Bayesian path analysis)....
Occupancy modeling for improved accuracy and understanding of pathogen prevalence and dynamics
Michael E. Colvin, James T. Peterson, Michael L. Kent, Carl B. Schreck
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Most pathogen detection tests are imperfect, with a sensitivity < 100%, thereby resulting in the potential for a false negative, where a pathogen is present but not detected. False negatives in a sample inflate the number of non-detections, negatively biasing estimates of pathogen prevalence. Histological examination of tissues as a...
Validation of eDNA markers for New Zealand mudsnail surveillance and initial eDNA monitoring at Mississippi River Basin sites
Christopher M. Merkes, Keith N. Turnquist, Christopher B. Rees, Jon J. Amberg
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1037
The performance of newly developed New Zealand mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum; NZMS) genetic markers for environmental (eDNA) analysis of water were compared across two laboratories. The genetic markers were tested in four quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays targeting two regions of the NZMS mitochondrial genome, specifically the cytochrome c oxidase subunit...
Resilience and risk: a demographic model to inform conservation planning for polar bears
Eric V. Regehr, Ryan H. Wilson, Karyn D. Rode, Michael C. Runge
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1029
Climate change is having widespread ecological effects, including loss of Arctic sea ice. This has led to listing of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and other ice-dependent marine mammals under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Methods are needed to evaluate the effects of climate change on population persistence to...
