Submarine landslides in Arctic sedimentation: Canada Basin
David C. Mosher, John Shimeld, Deborah R. Hutchinson, N Lebedova-Ivanova, C. Chapman
2016, Book chapter, Submarine mass movements and their consequences
Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean is the least studied ocean basin in the World. Marine seismic field programs were conducted over the past 6 years using Canadian and American icebreakers. These expeditions acquired more than 14,000 line-km of multibeam bathymetric and multi-channel seismic reflection data over abyssal plain, continental...
Changing times, changing stories: Generational differences in climate change perspectives from four remote indigenous communities in Subarctic Alaska
Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Elli Matkin, Melinda J. Laituri, Ryan C. Toohey, Maggie Massey, Kelly Elder, Paul F. Schuster, Edda A. Mutter
2016, Ecology and Society (21)
Indigenous Arctic and Subarctic communities currently are facing a myriad of social and environmental changes. In response to these changes, studies concerning indigenous knowledge (IK) and climate change vulnerability, resiliency, and adaptation have increased dramatically in recent years. Risks to lives and livelihoods are often the focus of adaptation research;...
Shale-gas assessment: Comparison of gas-in-place versus performance-based approaches
H. Stueck, David W. Houseknecht, D. Franke, Donald L. Gautier, A. Bahr, S. Ladage
2016, Natural Resources Research (25) 315-329
The recent interest in exploration for shale gas increases the demand for a reliable, compatible resource assessment. Many different assessment methods are used, commonly depending on types and quantity of data available, which may lead to significantly divergent results for the same shale-gas play. This study compares results obtained using...
Timing of ice retreat alters seabird abundances and distributions in the southeast Bering Sea
Martin Renner, Sigrid Salo, Lisa B. Eisner, Kathy J. Kuletz, Jarrod A. Santora, Patrick Ressler, Carol Ladd, John F. Piatt, Gary S. Drew, George L. Hunt
2016, Biology Letters (12)
Timing of spring sea-ice retreat shapes the southeast Bering Sea food web. We compared summer seabird densities and average bathymetry depth distributions between years with early (typically warm) and late (typically cold) ice retreat. Averaged over all seabird species, densities in early-ice-retreat-years were 10.1% (95% CI: 1.1–47.9%) of that in...
Arctic sea ice a major determinant in Mandt's black guillemot movement and distribution during non-breeding season
G.J. Divoky, David C. Douglas, I. J. Stenhouse
2016, Biology Letters (12)
Mandt's black guillemot (Cepphus grylle mandtii) is one of the few seabirds associated in all seasons with Arctic sea ice, a habitat that is changing rapidly. Recent decreases in summer ice have reduced breeding success and colony size of this species in Arctic Alaska. Little is known about the species'...
Invariant polar bear habitat selection during a period of sea ice loss
Ryan H. Wilson, Eric V. Regehr, Karyn D. Rode, Michelle St. Martin
2016, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (283)
Climate change is expected to alter many species' habitat. A species' ability to adjust to these changes is partially determined by their ability to adjust habitat selection preferences to new environmental conditions. Sea ice loss has forced polar bears (Ursus maritimus) to spend longer periods annually over less productive waters,...
Nesting ecology of Whimbrels in boreal Alaska
Christopher M. Harwood, Robert E. Gill Jr., Abby Powell
2016, Wader Study (123) 99-113
Breeding ecology studies of boreal waders have been relatively scarce in North America. This paucity is due in part to boreal habitats being difficult to access, and boreal waders being widely dispersed and thus difficult to monitor. Between 2008 and 2014 we studied the nesting ecology of Whimbrels Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus in...
SNP discovery in candidate adaptive genes using exon capture in a free-ranging alpine ungulate
Gretchen H. Roffler, Stephen J. Amish, Seth Smith, Ted F. Cosart, Marty Kardos, Michael K. Schwartz, Gordon Luikart
2016, Molecular Ecology Resources (16) 1147-1164
Identification of genes underlying genomic signatures of natural selection is key to understanding adaptation to local conditions. We used targeted resequencing to identify SNP markers in 5321 candidate adaptive genes associated with known immunological, metabolic and growth functions in ovids and other ungulates. We selectively targeted 8161 exons in protein-coding...
H9N2 influenza A virus isolated from a Greater White-fronted wild goose (Anser albifrons) in Alaska has a mutation in the PB2 gene, which is associated with pathogenicity in human pandemic 2009 H1N1
Andrew B. Reeves, S. Ip
2016, Genome Announcements (4)
We report here the genomic sequence of an H9N2 influenza A virus [A/greater white-fronted goose/Alaska/81081/2008 (H9N2)]. This virus shares ≥99.8% identity with a previously reported virus. Both strains contain a G590S mutation in the polymerase basic 2 (PB2) gene, which is a pathogenicity marker in the pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus...
Evidence for wild waterfowl origin of H7N3 influenza A virus detected in captive-reared New Jersey pheasants
Andrew M. Ramey, Mia Kim Torchetti, Rebecca L. Poulson, Deborah L. Carter, Andrew B. Reeves, Paul Link, Patrick Walther, Camille Lebarbenchon, David E. Stallknecht
2016, Archives of Virology (161) 2519-2526
In August 2014, a low-pathogenic H7N3 influenza A virus was isolated from pheasants at a New Jersey gamebird farm and hunting preserve. In this study, we use phylogenetic analyses and calculations of genetic similarity to gain inference into the genetic ancestry of this virus and to identify potential routes of...
Holocene climate changes in eastern Beringia (NW North America) – A systematic review of multi-proxy evidence
Darrell S. Kaufman, Yarrow L. Axford, Andrew C.G. Henderson, Nicolas P. McKay, W. Wyatt Oswald, Casey Saenger, R. Scott Anderson, Hannah L. Bailey, Benjamin Clegg, Konrad Gajewski, Feng Sheng Hu, Miriam C. Jones, Charly Massa, Cody C. Routson, Al Werner, Matthew J. Wooller, Zicheng Yu
2016, Quaternary Science Reviews (147) 312-339
Reconstructing climates of the past relies on a variety of evidence from a large number of sites to capture the varied features of climate and the spatial heterogeneity of climate change. This review summarizes available information from diverse Holocene paleoenvironmental records across eastern Beringia (Alaska, westernmost Canada and adjacent seas),...
A strategy for recovering continuous behavioral telemetry data from Pacific walruses
Anthony S. Fischbach, Chadwick V. Jay
2016, Wildlife Society Bulletin (40) 599-604
Tracking animal behavior and movement with telemetry sensors can offer substantial insights required for conservation. Yet, the value of data collected by animal-borne telemetry systems is limited by bandwidth constraints. To understand the response of Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) to rapid changes in sea ice availability, we required continuous...
Spatial distribution of thermokarst terrain in Arctic Alaska
Louise Farquharson, Dan H Mann, Guido Grosse, Benjamin M. Jones, Vladimir Romanovsky
2016, Geomorphology (273) 116-133
In landscapes underlain by ice-rich permafrost, the development of thermokarst landforms can have drastic impacts on ecosystem processes and human infrastructure. Here we describe the distribution of thermokarst landforms in the continuous permafrost zone of Arctic Alaska, analyze linkages to the underlying surficial geology, and discuss the vulnerability of different...
Time-slice maps showing age, distribution, and style of deformation in Alaska north of 60° N.
Thomas E. Moore, Stephen E. Box
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1138
The structural architecture of Alaska is the product of a complex history of tectonism that occurred along the Cordilleran and Arctic margins of North America through interactions with ancient and modern ocean plates and with continental elements derived from Laurentia, Siberia, and Baltica. To unravel the tectonic history of Alaska,...
Northwest Boreal Landscape Conservation Cooperative strategic plan 2015 - 2025
Carl Markon, Eric Schroff
2016, Report
The Northwest Boreal Landscape Conservation Cooperative (NWB LCC) is a voluntary, diverse, self-directed management-science partnership, informing and promoting integrated science, sustainable natural and cultural resource management, and conservation to address impacts of climate change and other stressors within and across ecosystems. The NWB LCC area includes parts of Alaska, Yukon,...
U.S. Geological Survey science strategy for highly pathogenic avian influenza in wildlife and the environment (2016–2020)
M. Camille Harris, John M. Pearce, Diann J. Prosser, C. LeAnn White, A. Keith Miles, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Christopher J. Brand, James P. Cronin, Susan De La Cruz, Christine L. Densmore, Thomas W. Doyle, Robert J. Dusek, Joseph P. Fleskes, Paul L. Flint, Gerald F. Guala, Jeffrey S. Hall, Laura E. Hubbard, Randall J. Hunt, S. Ip, Rachel A. Katz, Kevin W. Laurent, Mark P. Miller, Mark D. Munn, Andrew M. Ramey, Kevin D. Richards, Robin E. Russell, Joel P. Stokdyk, John Y. Takekawa, Daniel P. Walsh
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1121
IntroductionThrough the Science Strategy for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Wildlife and the Environment, the USGS will assess avian influenza (AI) dynamics in an ecological context to inform decisions made by resource managers and policymakers from the local to national level. Through collection of unbiased scientific information on the...
Alaska Arctic marine fish ecology catalog
Lyman K. Thorsteinson, Milton S. Love, editor(s)
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5038
The marine fishes in waters of the United States north of the Bering Strait have received new and increased scientific attention over the past decade (2005–15) in conjunction with frontier qualities of the region and societal concerns about the effects of Arctic climate change. Commercial fisheries are negligible in the...
Paramyxoviruses of fish
Theodore R. Meyers, William N. Batts
Frederick S. B. Kibenge, Marcos Godoy, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Aquaculture virology
The first fish paramyxovirus was isolated from normal adult Chinook salmon returning to a coastal hatchery in Oregon in the fall of 1982. Subsequently, the virus was isolated from other stocks of adult Chinook salmon and one stock of adult coho salmon in California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, leading to...
Observations and modeling of fjord sedimentation during the 30 year retreat of Columbia Glacier, AK
Katherine B Love, Bernard Hallet, Thomas L. Pratt, Shad O’Neel
2016, Journal of Glaciology (62) 778-793
To explore links between glacier dynamics, sediment yields and the accumulation of glacial sediments in a temperate setting, we use extensive glaciological observations for Columbia Glacier, Alaska, and new oceanographic data from the fjord exposed during its retreat. High-resolution seismic data indicate that 3.2 × 108 m3 of...
Seasonal movements and habitat use of Potamodromous Rainbow Trout across a complex Alaska riverscape
Kevin M. Fraley, Jeffrey A. Falke, Richard Yanusz, Sam S. Ivey
2016, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (145) 1077-1092
Potamodromous Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss are an important ecological and recreational resource in freshwater ecosystems of Alaska, and increased human development, hydroelectric projects, and reduced escapement of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha may threaten their populations. We used aerial and on-the-ground telemetry tracking, a digital landscape model, and resource selection functions...
Landscape effects of wildfire on permafrost distribution in interior Alaska derived from remote sensing
Dana R. N. Brown, M. Torre Jorgenson, Knut Kielland, David L. Verbyla, Anupma Prakash, Joshua C. Koch
2016, Remote Sensing (8) 1-22
Climate change coupled with an intensifying wildfire regime is becoming an important driver of permafrost loss and ecosystem change in the northern boreal forest. There is a growing need to understand the effects of fire on the spatial distribution of permafrost and its associated ecological consequences. We focus on the...
Transmission of influenza reflects seasonality of wild birds across the annual cycle
Nichola J. Hill, Brandt W. Meixell, Eric J. Ma, Mark S. Lindberg, Walter M. Boyce, Jonathan A. Runstadler
2016, Ecology Letters (19) 915-925
Influenza A Viruses (IAV) in nature must overcome shifting transmission barriers caused by the mobility of their primary host, migratory wild birds, that change throughout the annual cycle. Using a phylogenetic network of viral sequences from North American wild birds (2008–2011) we demonstrate a shift from intraspecific to interspecific transmission...
First record of the common sandpiper for the Hawaiian Islands
Thane K. Pratt
2016, Western Birds (47) 167-169
With a breeding range spanning Eurasia and a winter range extending from Africa to Australasia, the Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) is indeed the common and familiar sandpiper of the Old World. It is the Old World counterpart of the Spotted Sandpiper (A. macularius) of the Americas and its only congener....
Soil data for a vegetation gradient located at Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research Site, interior Alaska
Kristen L. Manies, Jennifer W. Harden, Christopher C. Fuller, Xiaomei Xu, John P. McGeehin
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1034
Boreal soils play an important role in the global carbon cycle owing to the large amount of carbon stored within this northern region. To understand how carbon and nitrogen storage varied among different ecosystems, a vegetation gradient was established in the Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site,...
Osmoregulatory physiology and rapid evolution of salinity tolerance in threespine stickleback recently introduced to fresh water
Jeffrey N Divino, Michelle Y. Monette, Stephen D. McCormick, Paul H. Yancey, Kyle G. Flannery, Michael A. Bell, Jennifer L. Rollins, Frank A. von Hippel, Eric T. Schultz
2016, Evolutionary Ecology Research (17) 179-201
Background: Post-Pleistocene diversification of threespine stickleback in fresh water offers a valuable opportunity to study how changes in environmental salinity shape physiological evolution in fish. In Alaska, the presence of both ancestral oceanic populations and derived landlocked populations, including recent lake introductions, allows us to examine rates and direction of evolution...
