Species insurance trumps spatial insurance in stabilizing biomass of a marine macroalgal metacommunity
Thomas Lamy, Shaopeng Wang, Delphine Renard, Kevin D. Lafferty, Daniel C. Reed, Robert J. Miller
2019, Ecology (100)
Because natural ecosystems are complex, it is difficult to predict how their variability scales across space and levels of organization. The species‐insurance hypothesis predicts that asynchronous dynamics among species should reduce variability when biomass is aggregated either from local species populations to local multispecies communities, or from metapopulations to metacommunities....
Groundwater quality of a public supply aquifer in proximity to oil development, Fruitvale Oil Field, Bakersfield, California
Michael Wright, Peter B. McMahon, Matthew K. Landon, Justin T. Kulongoski
2019, Applied Geochemistry (106) 82-95
Due to concerns over the effects of oil production activities on groundwater quality in California, chemical, isotopic, dissolved gas and age-dating tracers were analyzed in samples collected from public-supply wells and produced-water sites in the Fruitvale oil field (FVOF). A combination of newly collected and historical data was used to...
Monitoring live vegetation in semiarid and arid rangeland environments with satellite remote sensing in northern Kenya
Amina Rangoonwala, Elijah W. Ramsey III
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1037
As part of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) commitment to provide technical assistance to the Kenyan Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the DOI International Technical Assistance Program and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s regional mission in East Africa, created a high...
Analysis for agreement of the Northern Gulf of Mexico topobathymetric digital elevation model with 3-Dimensional Elevation Program 1/3 arc-second digital elevation models
Cynthia Miller-Corbett
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1016
Topographical differencing and edge-matching analyses were used to evaluate agreement of the Coastal National Elevation Database Applications Project’s Northern Gulf of Mexico topobathymetric digital elevation model (TBDEM) with The National Map 3-Dimensional Elevation Program (3DEP) 1/3 arc-second digital elevation models (DEMs). In addition to topographic map products provided through the...
Managing for multiple species: Greater sage‐grouse and sagebrush songbirds
Jennifer M. Timmer, Cameron L. Aldridge, Maria E Fernandez-Gimenez
2019, Journal of Wildlife Management (83) 1043-1056
Human activity has altered 33–50% of Earth's surface, including temperate grasslands and sagebrush rangelands, resulting in a loss of biodiversity. By promoting habitat for sensitive or wide‐ranging species, less exigent species may be protected in an umbrella effect. The greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage‐grouse) has been proposed as an umbrella...
Seismological, geological, and geotechnical engineering aspects of the 2018 MW 6.6 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake
Robert Kayen, Brad Wham, Alex R. Grant, Mikami Atsushi, Donald Anderson, Paolo Zimmaro, Pengfei Wang, Yi Tyan Tsai, Jeff Bachhuber, Chris L M Madugo, Joseph Sun, Christopher S. Hitchcock, Matthew Motto
2019, Report
The 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi MW6.6 earthquake struck the southern coast of the north island of Japan in the early morning (3:08 AM JST) on September 6, 2018. The event had a hypocentral depth of 35 km, centered beneath the port city of Tomakomai. Extremely strong shaking with peak ground...
A comparative analysis of common methods to identify waterbird hotspots
Allison L. Sussman, Beth Gardner, Evan M. Adams, Leo Salas, Kevin P. Kenow, David R. Luukkonen, Michael J. Monfils, William P. Mueller, Kate A. Williams, Michelle Leduc-Lapierre, Elise F. Zipkin
2019, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (10) 1454-1468
1. Hotspot analysis is a commonly used method in ecology and conservation to identify areas of high biodiversity or conservation concern. However, delineating and mapping hotspots is subjective and various approaches can lead to different conclusions with regard to the classification of particular areas as hotspots, complicating long-term conservation planning...
Identifying common decision problem elements for the management of emerging fungal diseases of wildlife
R. F. Bernard, Evan H. Campbell Grant
2019, Society and Natural Resources (32) 1040-1055
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of wildlife have characteristics that make them difficult to manage, leading to reactive and often ineffective management strategies. Currently, two fungal pathogens, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), are causing declines in novel host species. To improve the application of management strategies addressing the risk...
Emperor geese (Anser canagicus) are exposed to a diversity of influenza A viruses, are infected during the non-breeding period and contribute to intercontinental viral dispersal
Andrew M. Ramey, Brian D. Uher-Koch, Andrew B. Reeves, Joel A. Schmutz, Rebecca L. Poulson, David E. Stallknecht
2019, Transboundary and Emerging Diseases (66) 1958-1970
Emperor geese (Anser canagicus) are endemic to coastal areas within Beringia and have previously been found to have antibodies to or to be infected with influenza A viruses (IAVs) in Alaska. In this study, we use virological, serological and tracking data to further elucidate the role of emperor geese in...
Microbial assemblages reflect environmental heterogeneity in alpine streams
Scott Hotaling, Mary E. Foley, Lydia Zeglin, Debra S. Finn, Lusha M. Tronstad, J. Joseph Giersch, Clint C. Muhlfeld, David W. Weisrock
2019, Global Change Biology (25) 2576-2590
Alpine streams are dynamic habitats harboring substantial biodiversity across small spatial extents. The diversity of alpine stream biota is largely reflective of environmental heterogeneity stemming from varying hydrological sources. Globally, alpine stream diversity is under threat as meltwater sources recede and stream conditions become increasingly homogeneous. Much attention has been...
Postfire population dynamics of a fire-dependent cypress
Teresa J. Brennan, Jon Keeley
2019, Plant Ecology (220) 605-617
Tecate cypress (Hesperocyparis forbesii) is a rare species restricted to four metapopulations in southern California, USA and a few isolated stands in northern Baja California, Mexico. It is a closed-cone, fire-dependent tree of conservation concern due to an increase in human-caused wildfires that have shortened the interval between fires in...
Eradication of two non-native cichlid fishes in Miami, Florida (USA)
Pamela J. Schofield, Howard L. Jelks, Kelly B. Gestring
2019, Management of Biological Invasions (10) 296-310
The proliferation of non-native fishes in Florida is a serious problem, and new species continue to be introduced to the state. Fishes in the Family Cichlidae have been especially successful colonizers of south Florida freshwater habitats. Herein we report a multi-agency effort to eradicate two non-native cichlid fishes in Miami,...
A comparison of chlorophyll a values obtained from an autonomous underwater vehicle to satellite-based measures for Lake Michigan
David Bennion, David Warner, Peter C. Esselman, Brett Hobson, Brian Kieft
2019, Journal of Great Lakes Research (45) 726-734
Accurate methods to track changes in lake productivity through time and space are critical to fisheries management. Chlorophyll a is the most widely studied proxy for ecosystem primary production, and has been the topic of many studies. The main sources of chlorophyll a measurements are ship-based measures or multi-spectral satellite...
Variation in Bluegill catch rates and total length distributions among four sampling gears used in two Wisconsin lakes dominated by small Ffsh
Christopher J. Sullivan, Holly S. Embke, K. Martin Perales, Stephen R. Carpenter, M. Jake Vander Zanden, Daniel A. Isermann
2019, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (39) 714-724
Many Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus populations are dominated by fish ≤125 mm total length (TL) that may be underrepresented when using standard sampling gears. To identify efficient sampling methods for these populations, we compared catch per unit effort (CPUE) and TL frequency distributions of Bluegill captured in cloverleaf traps, boat electrofishing,...
A field evaluation of the growth and survival of age-0 Oncorhynchus mykiss tagged with 8-mm passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags
Kenneth Tiffan, Ian Jezorek, Russell Perry
2019, Animal Biotelemetry (7)
BackgroundIn fish tagging studies, tag size limits the size of fish that can be tagged, the fraction of a population that can be represented, and ultimately inferences that can be made about the study population, particularly when juvenile fish are the subject of interest. Introduction of an...
State of knowledge on current exposure, fate and potential health effects of contaminants in polar bears from the circumpolar Arctic
Heli Routti, Todd C. Atwood, Thea Bechshoft, Andrei N. Boltunov, Tomasz M. Ciesielski, Jean-Pierre Desforges, Rune Dietz, Geir W. Gabrielsen, Bjorn Munro Jenssen, Robert J. Letcher, Melissa A. McKinney, A. Morris, F. Riget, Christian Sonne, Bjarne Styrishave, Sabrina Tartu
2019, Science of Total Environment (664) 1063-1083
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is among the Arctic species exposed to the highest concentrations of long-range transported bioaccumulative contaminants, such as halogenated organic compounds and mercury. Contaminant exposure is considered to be one of the largest threats to polar bears after the loss...
Genetic variation among island and continental populations of Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) subspecies in North America
Alberto Macias-Duarte, Courtney J. Conway, Geoffrey L. Holroyd, Hector E. Valdez-Gomez, Melanie Culver
2019, Journal of Raptor Research (53) 127-133
Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) have a large geographic range spanning both North and South America and resident populations occur on many islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Many owl populations are isolated and disjunct from other populations, but studies on genetic variation within and among populations...
Aluminum- and iron-based coagulation for in-situ removal of dissolved organic carbon, disinfection byproducts, mercury and other constituents from agricultural drain water
Sandra M. Bachand, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Dylan Stern, Yan Ling Liang, William R. Horwath, Philip A. M. Bachand
2019, Ecological Engineering (134) 26-38
Agricultural production on wetland soils can be significant sources of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), disinfection byproduct precursors, mercury and nutrients to downstream water bodies and accelerate land subsidence. Presented as a potential solution for in-situ water quality improvement and land subsidence mitigation, chemically enhanced treatment wetlands (CETWs) were used to...
oSCR: A spatial capture–recapture R package for inference about spatial ecological processes
Chris Sutherland, J. Andrew Royle, Dan Linden
2019, Ecography (42) 1459-1469
Spatial capture–recapture (SCR) methods have become widely applied in ecology. The immediate adoption of SCR is due to the fact that it resolves some major criticisms of traditional capture–recapture methods related to heterogeneity in detectabililty, and the emergence of new technologies (e.g. camera traps, non‐invasive genetics) that have vastly improved...
Connections between Eocene Lakes Uinta and Gosiute with emphasis on the infilling stage of Lake Uinta in Piceance Basin
Ronald C. Johnson, Justin E. Birdwell, Michael E. Brownfield, Tracey J. Mercier, Paula L. Hansley
2019, Mountain Geologist (56) 143-183
Late in its history, Eocene saline Lake Gosiute in the Greater Green River Basin, Wyoming and Colorado was progressively filled from north to south with coarse volcaniclastic sediments. During the infilling, Lake Gosiute began to drain southward across the Axial arch into saline Lake Uinta in the Piceance and Uinta...
Distribution of mineral phases in the Eocene Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, Colorado – Implications for the evolution of Lake Uinta
Justin E. Birdwell, Ronald C. Johnson, Michael E. Brownfield
2019, Mountain Geologist (56) 73-141
The mineralogy of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin, Colorado, has been the subject of numerous studies since the 1920s. Most previous work has focused on the resource potential of these lacustrine mudrocks, which in addition to substantial oil shale potential (in-place resources of 353 billion barrels...
Spatial integration of biological and social objectives to identify priority landscapes for waterfowl habitat conservation
Anastasia Krainyk, James E. Lyons, Michael G. Brasher, Dale D. Humburg, Greg J. Souilliere, John M. Coluccy, Mark J. Petrie, David W. Howerter, Stuart M. Slattery, Mindy B. Rice, Joe C. Fuller
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1029
Waterfowl population management and habitat conservation compose one of the oldest and most successful adaptive management frameworks in the world. Since its inception, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) has emphasized strategically targeted conservation investments in regions that most affect waterfowl population dynamics. By 2012, regional conservation had progressively...
Rapid station and network quality analysis for temporary deployments
David C. Wilson, Adam T. Ringler, Tyler Storm, Robert E. Anthony
2019, Seismological Research Letters (90) 1494-1501
Seismic station data quality is commonly defined by metrics such as data completeness or background seismic noise levels in specific frequency bands. However, for temporary networks such as aftershock deployments or induced seismicity monitoring, the most critical metric is often how well the station performs when recording events of...
When volcanoes fall down—Catastrophic collapse and debris avalanches
Lee Siebert, Mark E. Reid, James W. Vallance, Thomas C. Pierson
2019, Fact Sheet 2019-3023
Despite their seeming permanence, volcanoes are prone to catastrophic collapse that can affect vast areas in a matter of minutes. Large collapses begin as gigantic landslides that quickly transform to debris avalanches—chaotically tumbling masses of rock debris that can sweep downslope at extremely high velocities, inundating areas far beyond the...
Monitoring long-term changes in forage fish distribution, abundance and body condition
Mayumi L. Arimitsu, John F. Piatt
2019, Report
We collected data on forage fish abundance, distribution and body condition in Prince William Sound, Alaska during summers in 2012 through 2016. This included acoustic – trawl surveys, aerial-acoustic surveys, opportunistic sampling where we encountered forage aggregations, and concurrent measurements of forage fish habitat. Acoustic indices of density suggest low...
