Competitive interactions and resource partitioning between northern spotted owls and barred owls in western Oregon
J. David Wiens, Robert G. Anthony, Eric D. Forsman
2014, Wildlife Monographs (185) 1-50
The federally threatened northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) is the focus of intensive conservation efforts that have led to much forested land being reserved as habitat for the owl and associated wildlife species throughout the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Recently, however, a...
Water movement through the unsaturated zone of the High Plains Aquifer in the Central Platte Natural Resources District, Nebraska, 2008-12
Gregory V. Steele, Jason J. Gurdak, Christopher M. Hobza
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5008
Uncertainty about the effects of land use and climate on water movement in the unsaturated zone and on groundwater recharge rates can lead to uncertainty in water budgets used for groundwater-flow models. To better understand these effects, a cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Central Platte Natural...
Capacitively coupled and direct-current resistivity surveys of selected reaches of Cozad, Thirty-Mile, Orchard-Alfalfa, Kearney, and Outlet Canals in Nebraska, 2012-13
Christopher M. Hobza, Bethany L. Burton, Jeffrey E. Lucius, Ryan E. Tompkins
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1007
Understanding the spatial characteristics of leakage from canals is critical to effectively managing and utilizing water resources for irrigation and hydroelectric purposes. Canal leakage in some parts of Nebraska is the primary source of water for groundwater recharge and helps maintain the base flow of streams. Because surface-water supplies depend...
Geologic and geophysical maps of the eastern three-fourths of the Cambria 30' x 60' quadrangle, central California Coast Ranges
R. W. Graymer, V.E. Langenheim, M. A. Roberts, Kristin McDougall
2014, Scientific Investigations Map 3287
The Cambria 30´ x 60´ quadrangle comprises southwestern Monterey County and northwestern San Luis Obispo County. The land area includes rugged mountains of the Santa Lucia Range extending from the northwest to the southeast part of the map; the southern part of the Big Sur coast in the northwest; broad...
Variability in seroprevalence of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies and associated factors in a Colorado population of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus)
Thomas J. O’Shea, Richard A. Bowen, Thomas R. Stanley, Vidya Shankar, Charles E. Rupprecht
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
In 2001–2005 we sampled permanently marked big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) at summer roosts in buildings at Fort Collins, Colorado, for rabies virus neutralizing antibodies (RVNA). Seroprevalence was higher in adult females (17.9%, n = 2,332) than males (9.4%, n = 128; P = 0.007) or volant juveniles (10.2%, n...
Quantitative study of tectonic geomorphology along Haiyuan fault based on airborne LiDAR
Tao Chen, Pei Zhen Zhang, Jing Liu, Chuan You Li, Zhi Kun Ren, Kenneth W. Hudnut
2014, Chinese Science Bulletin (59) 2396-2409
High-precision and high-resolution topography are the fundamental data for active fault research. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) presents a new approach to build detailed digital elevation models effectively. We take the Haiyuan fault in Gansu Province as an example of how LiDAR data may be used to improve the study...
Ecological site-based assessments of wind and water erosion: informing accelerated soil erosion management in rangelands
Nicholas P. Webb, Jeffrey E. Herrick, Michael C. Duniway
2014, Ecological Applications (24) 1405-1420
Accelerated soil erosion occurs when anthropogenic processes modify soil, vegetation or climatic conditions causing erosion rates at a location to exceed their natural variability. Identifying where and when accelerated erosion occurs is a critical first step toward its effective management. Here we explore how erosion assessments structured in the context...
Application of threshold concepts to ecological management problems: Occupancy of Golden Eagles in Denali National Park, Alaska
Mitchell J. Eaton, Julien Martin, James D. Nichols, Carol McIntyre, Maggie C. McCluskie, Joel A. Schmutz, Bruce L. Lubow, Michael C. Runge
Glenn R. Guntenspergen, editor(s)
2014, Book chapter, Application of threshold concepts in natural resource decision making
In this chapter, we demonstrate the application of the various classes of thresholds, detailed in earlier chapters and elsewhere, via an actual but simplified natural resource management case study. We intend our example to provide the reader with the ability to recognize and apply the theoretical concepts of utility, ecological...
Regression models for estimating salinity and selenium concentrations at selected sites in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Colorado, 2009-2012
Joshua I. Linard, Keelin R. Schaffrath
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1015
Elevated concentrations of salinity and selenium in the tributaries and main-stem reaches of the Colorado River are a water-quality concern and have been the focus of remediation efforts for many years. Land-management practices with the objective of limiting the amount of salt and selenium that reaches the stream have focused...
Cenozoic planktonic marine diatom diversity and correlation to climate change
David Lazarus, John Barron, Johan Renaudie, Patrick Diver, Andreas Turke
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
Marine planktonic diatoms export carbon to the deep ocean, playing a key role in the global carbon cycle. Although commonly thought to have diversified over the Cenozoic as global oceans cooled, only two conflicting quantitative reconstructions exist, both from the Neptune deep-sea microfossil occurrences database. Total diversity shows Cenozoic increase...
Magnetic susceptibility data for some exposed bedrock in the western conterminous United States
Mark E. Gettings, Mark W. Bultman
2014, Data Series 804
In-place rock magnetic susceptibility measurements for 746 sites in the western conterminous United States are reported in a database. Of these 746 sites, 408 sites are in the Silverton Caldera area of the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Of the 408 sites in the Silverton Caldera area, 106 sites...
Influence of stocking, site quality, stand age, low-severity canopy disturbance, and forest composition on sub-boreal aspen mixedwood carbon stocks
Michael Reinikainen, Anthony W. D’Amato, John B. Bradford, Shawn Fraver
2014, Canadian Journal of Forest Research (44) 230-242
Low-severity canopy disturbance presumably influences forest carbon dynamics during the course of stand development, yet the topic has received relatively little attention. This is surprising because of the frequent occurrence of such events and the potential for both the severity and frequency of disturbances to increase as a result of...
A spatial modeling framework to evaluate domestic biofuel-induced potential land use changed and emissions
Joshua Elliot, Bhavna Sharma, Neil Best, Michael Glotter, Jennifer B. Dunn, Ian Foster, Fernando Miguez, Steffen Mueller, Michael Wang
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 2488-2486
We present a novel bottom-up approach to estimate biofuel-induced land-use change (LUC) and resulting CO2 emissions in the U.S. from 2010 to 2022, based on a consistent methodology across four essential components: land availability, land suitability, LUC decision-making, and induced CO2 emissions. Using high-resolution geospatial data and modeling, we construct probabilistic assessments...
Gunnison sage-grouse lek site suitability modeling
Douglas S. Ouren, Drew A. Ignizio, Melissa Siders, Theresa Childers, Karen Tucker, Nathan Seward
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1010
In order to better understand and protect species with minimal or decreasing populations, it is imperative to determine their actual existing population size. The focal species for this project is the Gunnison sage-grouse (GUSG), which became a proposed endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, thus confirming the need for...
Disruptions of El Niño–Southern Oscillation teleconnections by the Madden–Julian Oscillation
Andrew Hoell, Mathew Barlow, Mathew Wheeler, Christopher C. Funk
2014, Geophysical Research Letters (41) 998-1004
The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the leading mode of interannual variability, with global impacts on weather and climate that have seasonal predictability. Research on the link between interannual ENSO variability and the leading mode of intraseasonal variability, the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), has focused mainly on the role of MJO...
Survival of bacterial indicators and the functional diversity of native microbial communities in the Floridan aquifer system, south Florida
John T. Lisle
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1011
The Upper Floridan aquifer in the southern region of Florida is a multi-use, regional scale aquifer that is used as a potable water source and as a repository for passively recharged untreated surface waters, and injected treated surface water and wastewater, industrial wastes, including those which contain greenhouse gases (for...
Structural equation models of VMT growth in US urbanised areas.
Reid Ewing, Shima Hamidi, Frank Gallivan, Arthur C. Nelson, James B. Grace
2014, Urban Studies (51) 3079-3096
Vehicle miles travelled (VMT) is a primary performance indicator for land use and transportation, bringing with it both positive and negative externalities. This study updates and refines previous work on VMT in urbanised areas, using recent data, additional metrics and structural equation modelling (SEM). In a cross-sectional model for 2010,...
Assessing mobility and redistribution patterns of sand and oil agglomerates in the surf zone
P. Soupy Dalyander, Joesph W. Long, Nathaniel G. Plant, David M. Thompson
2014, Marine Pollution Bulletin (80) 200-209
Heavier-than-water sand and oil agglomerates that formed in the surf zone following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill continued to cause beach re-oiling 3 years after initial stranding. To understand this phenomena and inform operational response now and for future spills, a numerical method to assess the mobility and alongshore movement...
Perception, experience, and indigenous knowledge of climate change and variability: the case of Accra, a sub-Saharan African city
Samuel N.A. Codjoe, George Owusu, Virginia Burkett
2014, Regional Environmental Change (14) 369-383
Several recent international assessments have concluded that climate change has the potential to reverse the modest economic gains achieved in many developing countries over the past decade. The phenomenon of climate change threatens to worsen poverty or burden populations with additional hardships, especially in poor societies with weak infrastructure and...
The effect of adjusting model inputs to achieve mass balance on time-dynamic simulations in a food-web model of Lake Huron
Brian J. Langseth, Michael L. Jones, Stephen C. Riley
2014, Ecological Modelling (273) 44-54
Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) is a widely used modeling tool in fishery research and management. Ecopath requires a mass-balanced snapshot of a food web at a particular point in time, which Ecosim then uses to simulate changes in biomass over time. Initial inputs to Ecopath, including estimates for biomasses, production...
Identifying objectives and alternative actions to frame a decision problem.
Michael C. Runge, Terry Walshe
2014, Book chapter
In this chapter, we discuss the role of objectives and alternative actions in framing a natural resource management decision problem, with particular attention to thresholds. We outline a number of considerations in developing objectives and measurable attributes, including when utility thresholds may be needed to express the decision-makers’ values.We also...
Active tensor magnetic gradiometer system final report for Project MM–1514
David V. Smith, Jeffrey D. Phillips, S. Raymond Hutton
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1228
An interactive computer simulation program, based on physical models of system sensors, platform geometry, Earth environment, and spheroidal magnetically-permeable targets, was developed to generate synthetic magnetic field data from a conceptual tensor magnetic gradiometer system equipped with an active primary field generator. The system sensors emulate the prototype tensor magnetic...
Geochemistry of groundwater in the Beaver and Camas Creek drainage basins, eastern Idaho
Gordon W. Rattray, Michael L. Ginsbach
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5226
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, is studying the fate and transport of waste solutes in the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in eastern Idaho. This effort requires an understanding of the natural and anthropogenic geochemistry...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for New York
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3006
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of New York, elevation data are critical for coastal zone management, natural resources conservation, agriculture and precision farming, flood risk management, infrastructure and...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Maryland
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3005
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Maryland, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation such as the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed, flood...
