Body size and lean mass of brown bears across and within four diverse ecosystems
Grant V. Hilderbrand, David Gustine, Buck A. Mangipane, Kyle Joly, William Leacock, Lindsey S. Mangipane, Joy Erlenbach, Mathew Sorum, Matthew Cameron, Jerrold L. Belant, Troy Cambier
2018, Journal of Zoology (305) 53-62
Variation in body size across populations of brown bears (Ursus arctos) is largely a function of the availability and quality of nutritional resources while plasticity within populations reflects utilized niche width with implications for population resiliency. We assessed skull size, body length, and lean mass of adult female and...
Biological responses of Crested and Least auklets to volcanic destruction of nesting habitat in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Gary S. Drew, John F. Piatt, Jeffrey C. Williams
2018, The Auk (135) 477-485
Crested Auklets (Aethia cristatella) and Least Auklets (A. pusilla) are crevice-nesting birds that breed in large mixed colonies at relatively few sites in the Aleutian Island archipelago, Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and Sea of Okhotsk. Many of these colonies are located on active volcanic islands. The eruption of Kasatochi...
Surficial geologic map of the Dillingham quadrangle, southwestern Alaska
Frederic H. Wilson
2018, Scientific Investigations Map 3388
The geologic map of the Dillingham quadrangle in southwestern Alaska shows surficial unconsolidated deposits, many of which are alluvial or glacial in nature. The map area, part of Alaska that was largely not glaciated during the late Wisconsin glaciation, has a long history reflecting local and more distant glaciations. Late Wisconsin...
Development and characterization of 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the sea sandwort, Honckenya peploides
Megan C. Gravley, George K. Sage, Sandra L. Talbot, Matthew L. Carlson
2018, Journal of Plant Research (131) 879-885
Codominant marker systems are better suited to analyze population structure and assess the source of an individual in admixture analyses. Currently, there is no codominant marker system using microsatellites developed for the sea sandwort, Honckenya peploides (L.) Ehrh., an early colonizer in island systems. We developed and characterized...
A comparison of photograph-interpreted and IfSAR-derived maps of polar bear denning habitat for the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
George M. Durner, Todd C. Atwood
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1083
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in Alaska use the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for maternal denning. Pregnant bears den in snow banks for more than 3 months in winter during which they give birth to and nurture young. Denning is one of the most vulnerable times in polar bear...
Use of non-invasive genetics to generate core-area population estimates of a threatened predator in the Superior National Forest, USA
Shannon Barber-Meyer, Daniel Ryan, David Grosshuesch, Timothy Catton, Sarah Malick-Wahls
2018, Canadian Wildlife Biology and Management (7) 46-55
Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) are found in boreal forests of Canada and Alaska and range southward into the contiguous United States. Much less is understood about lynx in their southern range compared to northern populations. Because lynx are currently listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act but have...
Acquisition and dissemination of cephalosporin-resistant E. coli in migratory birds sampled at an Alaska landfill as inferred through genomic analysis
Christina Ann Ahlstrom, Jonas Bonnedahl, Hanna Woksepp, Jorge Hernandez, Olsen Bjorn, Andrew M. Ramey
2018, Scientific Reports (8)
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacterial pathogens threatens global health, though the spread of AMR bacteria and AMR genes between humans, animals, and the environment is still largely unknown. Here, we investigated the role of wild birds in the epidemiology of AMR Escherichia coli. Using next-generation sequencing, we characterized cephalosporin-resistant E....
A snow density dataset for improving surface boundary conditions in Greenland ice sheet firn modeling
Robert Fausto, Jason E. Box, Baptiste Vandecrux, Dirk van As, Konrad Steffen, Michael J. MacFerrin, Horst Machguth, William Colgan, Daniel Mcgrath, Lora S. Koenig, Charalampos Charalampidis, Roger J. Braithwaite
2018, Frontiers in Earth Science (6)
The surface snow density of glaciers and ice sheets is of fundamental importance in converting volume to mass in both altimetry and surface mass balance studies, yet it is often poorly constrained. Site-specific surface snow densities are typically derived from empirical relations based on temperature and wind speed. These parameterizations...
Deformation of the Pacific/North America plate boundary at Queen Charlotte Fault: The possible role of rheology
Uri S. ten Brink, Nathaniel C. Miller, Brian D. Andrews, Daniel S. Brothers, Peter J. Haeussler
2018, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (123) 4223-4242
The Pacific/North America (PA/NA) plate boundary between Vancouver Island and Alaska is similar to the PA/NA boundary in California in its kinematic history and the rate and azimuth of current relative motion, yet their deformation styles are distinct. The California plate boundary shows a broad zone of parallel strike slip...
Reduced arctic tundra productivity linked with landform and climate change interactions
Mark J. Lara, Ingmar Nitze, Guido Grosse, Philip Martin, A. David McGuire
2018, Scientific Reports (8)
Arctic tundra ecosystems have experienced unprecedented change associated with climate warming over recent decades. Across the Pan-Arctic, vegetation productivity and surface greenness have trended positively over the period of satellite observation. However, since 2011 these trends have slowed considerably, showing signs of browning in many regions. It is unclear what...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Susitna Basin, southern Alaska, 2017
Richard G. Stanley, Christopher J. Potter, Kristen A. Lewis, Paul G. Lillis, Anjana K. Shah, Peter J. Haeussler, Jeffrey D. Phillips, Zenon C. Valin, Christopher J. Schenk, Timothy R. Klett, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald M. Drake II, Thomas M. Finn, Seth S. Haines, Debra K. Higley, David W. Houseknecht, Phuong A. Le, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Stanley T. Paxton, Ofori N. Pearson, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall, Margarita V. Zyrianova
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3017
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Susitna Basin of southern Alaska. Using a geology-based methodology, the USGS estimates that mean undiscovered volumes of about 2 million barrels of oil and nearly 1.7 trillion cubic feet of gas...
U.S. Department of the Interior Climate Science Centers and U.S. Geological Survey National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center—Annual report for 2017
Elda Varela Minder
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1049
IntroductionThe year 2017 was a year of review and renewal for the Department of the Interior (DOI) Climate Science Centers (CSCs) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC). The Southeast, Northwest, Alaska, Southwest, and North Central CSCs’ 5-year summary review reports were released...
Supporting natural resource management—The role of economics at the Department of the Interior—A workshop report
Emily Pindilli, Christian S.L. Crowley, Sarah A. Cline, Anthony J. Good, Carl D. Shapiro, Benjamin Simon
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1054
The first U.S. Department of the Interior Economics Workshop was held April 5–7, 2017 in Washington, D.C., to identify, highlight, and better understand needs and opportunities for economic analysis to support the Department of the Interior’s mission. The Economics Workshop, jointly convened by the Department of the Interior Office of...
Are prey remains accurate indicators of chick diet? A comparison of diet quantification techniques for Black Oystercatchers
B.H. Robinson, H.A. Coletti, L.M. Phillips, Abby Powell
2018, Wader Study (125) 20-32
The quantification of prey remains is a common method for estimating the diet of a variety of birds. However, these estimates may be subject to biases based on prey body type, nesting habitat, and collection date. To better understand biases and limitations associated with this method, we compared it with...
Effects of climate change on forest vegetation in the Northern Rockies Region
Robert E. Keane, Mary Frances Mahalovich, Barry L. Bollenbacher, Mary E. Manning, Rachel A. Loehman, Terrie B. Jain, Lisa M. Holsinger, Andrew J. Larson, Meredith M. Webster
2018, General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-374-6
The projected rapid changes in climate will affect the unique vegetation assemblages of the Northern Rockies region in myriad ways, both directly through shifts in vegetation growth, mortality, and regeneration, and indirectly through changes in disturbance regimes and interactions with changes in other ecosystem processes, such as hydrology, snow dynamics,...
Effects of climate change on ecological disturbance in the Northern Rockies Region [Chapter 8]
Rachel A. Loehman, Barbara J. Bentz, Gregg A. DeNitto, Robert E. Keane, Mary E. Manning, Jacob P. Duncan, Joel M. Egan, Marcus B. Jackson, Sandra Kegley, I. Blakey Lockman, Dean E. Pearson, James A. Powell, Steve Shelly, Brytten E. Steed, Paul J. Zambino
2018, General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-374
This chapter describes the ecology of important disturbance regimes in the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USFS) Northern Region and the Greater Yellowstone Area, hereafter called the Northern Rockies region, and potential shifts in these regimes as a consequence of observed and projected climate change. The term disturbance regime...
Department of the Interior metadata implementation guide—Framework for developing the metadata component for data resource management
Raymond C. Obuch, Jennifer Carlino, Lin Zhang, Jonathan Blythe, Christopher Dietrich, Christine Hawkinson
2018, Techniques and Methods 16-A1
The Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Federal agency with over 90,000 employees across 10 bureaus and 8 agency offices. Its primary mission is to protect and manage the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provide scientific and other information about those resources; and honor its trust responsibilities or...
Phenological mismatch in coastal western Alaska may increase summer season greenhouse gas uptake
Katharine C. Kelsey, A. Joshua Leffler, Karen H. Beard, Ryan T. Choi, Joel A. Schmutz, Jeffery M. Welker
2018, Environmental Research Letters (13) 1-10
High latitude ecosystems are prone to phenological mismatches due to climate change- driven advances in the growing season and changing arrival times of migratory herbivores. These changes have the potential to alter biogeochemical cycling and contribute to feedbacks on climate change by altering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of carbon dioxide...
Legacy K/Ar and 40Ar/39Ar geochronologic data from the Alaska-Aleutian Range batholith of south-central Alaska
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1033
Sample descriptions and analytical data for more than 200 K/Ar and 40Ar/39Ar analyses from rocks of the Alaska-Aleutian Range batholith of south-central Alaska are reported here. Samples were collected over a period of 20 years by Bruce R. Reed and Marvin A. Lanphere (both U.S. Geological Survey)...
Influenza A virus recovery, diversity, and intercontinental exchange: A multi-year assessment of wild bird sampling at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Andrew B. Reeves, Jeffery S. Hall, Rebecca L. Poulson, Tyrone F. Donnelly, David E. Stallknecht, Andrew M. Ramey
2018, PLoS ONE (13)
Western Alaska is a potential point-of-entry for foreign-origin influenza A viruses (IAVs) into North America via migratory birds. We sampled waterfowl and gulls for IAVs at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in western Alaska, USA, during late summer and autumn months of 2011–2015, to evaluate the abundance and diversity of...
Montane-breeding bird distribution and abundance across national parks of southwestern Alaska
Courtney L. Amundson, Colleen M. Handel, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, T. Lee Tibbitts, Robert E. Gill Jr.
2018, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (9) 180-207
Between 2004 and 2008, biologists conducted an inventory of breeding birds during May–June primarily in montane areas (>100 m above sea level) in Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve (Aniakchak NMP), Katmai National Park and Preserve (Katmai NPP), and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (Lake Clark NPP) in southwestern Alaska....
Plasticity in physiological condition of female brown bears across diverse ecosystems
Grant V. Hilderbrand, David Gustine, Buck A. Mangipane, Kyle Joly, William Leacock, Lindsey Mangipane, Joy Erlenbach, Mathew Sorum, Matthew Cameron, Jerrold L. Belant, Troy Cambier
2018, Polar Biology (41) 773-780
Variation in life history strategies facilitates the near global distribution of mammals by expanding realized niche width. We investigated physiological plasticity in the spring body composition of adult female brown bears (Ursus arctos) across 4 diverse Alaskan ecosystems. Brown bears are a highly intelligent omnivore with a historic...
Tundra landform and vegetation productivity trend maps for the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska
Mark J. Lara, Ingmar Nitze, Guido Grosse, A. David McGuire
2018, Scientific Data (5) 1-10
Arctic tundra landscapes are composed of a complex mosaic of patterned ground features, varying in soil moisture, vegetation composition, and surface hydrology over small spatial scales (10–100 m). The importance of microtopography and associated geomorphic landforms in influencing ecosystem structure and function is well founded, however, spatial data products describing local...
Lessons learned from research and surveillance directed at highly pathogenic influenza A viruses in wild birds inhabiting North America
Andrew M. Ramey, Thomas J. DeLiberto, Yohannes Berhane, David E. Swayne, David E. Stallknecht
2018, Virology (518) 55-63
Following detections of highly pathogenic (HP) influenza A viruses (IAVs) in wild birds inhabiting East Asia after the turn of the millennium, the intensity of sampling of wild birds for IAVs increased throughout much of North America. The objectives for many research and surveillance efforts were directed towards detecting Eurasian...
Antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli in migratory birds inhabiting remote Alaska
Andrew M. Ramey, Jorge Hernandez, Veronica Tyrlov, Brian D. Uher-Koch, Joel A. Schmutz, Clara Atterby, Josef D. Jarhult, Jonas Bonnedahl
2018, EcoHealth (15) 72-81
We explored the abundance of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli among migratory birds at remote sites in Alaska and used a comparative approach to speculate on plausible explanations for differences in detection among species. At a remote island site, we detected antibiotic-resistant E. coli phenotypes in samples collected from glaucous-winged gulls (<i...
