Fish community and bioassessment responses to stream network position
N.P. Hitt, P. L. Angermeier
2011, Journal of the North American Benthological Society (30) 296-309
If organisms move beyond the boundaries of local sampling units, regional metacommunity dynamics could undermine the ability of bioassessment studies to characterize local environmental quality. We tested the prediction that fish dispersal influences local fish community structure and bioassessment metrics as a function of site position within stream networks. We...
Environmental controls of wood entrapment in upper Midwestern streams
Eric C. Merten, Jacques Finlay, Lucinda Johnson, Raymond Newman, Heinz Stefan, Bruce C. Vondracek
2011, Hydrological Processes (25) 593-602
Wood deposited in streams provides a wide variety of ecosystem functions, including enhancing habitat for key species in stream food webs, increasing geomorphic and hydraulic heterogeneity and retaining organic matter. Given the strong role that wood plays in streams, factors that influence wood inputs, retention and transport are critical to...
Development of an aquatic pathogen database (AquaPathogen X) and its utilization in tracking emerging fish virus pathogens in North America
E.J. Emmenegger, E. Kentop, T.M. Thompson, S. Pittam, A. Ryan, D. Keon, J.A. Carlino, J. Ranson, R.B. Life, R.M. Troyer, K.A. Garver, Gael Kurath
2011, Journal of Fish Diseases (34) 579-587
The AquaPathogen X database is a template for recording information on individual isolates of aquatic pathogens and is freely available for download (http://wfrc.usgs.gov). This database can accommodate the nucleotide sequence data generated in molecular epidemiological studies along with the myriad of abiotic and biotic traits associated with isolates of various...
Monitoring the Earthquake source process in North America
Robert B. Herrmann, H. Benz, C.J. Ammon
2011, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (101) 2609-2625
With the implementation of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response system (PAGER), rapid determination of earthquake moment magnitude is essential, especially for earthquakes that are felt within the contiguous United States. We report an implementation of moment tensor processing for application to broad,...
The distribution and abundance of a nuisance native alga, Didymosphen Didymosphenia geminata, in streams of Glacier National Park: Climate drivers and management implications
Schweiger E. William, I.W. Ashton, C.C. Muhlfeld, L.A. Jones, L.L. Bahls
2011, Park Science (28)
Didymosphenia geminata (didymo) is a freshwater alga native to North America, including Glacier National Park, Montana. It has long been considered a cold-water species, but has recently spread to lower latitudes and warmer waters, and increasingly forms large blooms that cover streambeds. We used a comprehensive monitoring data set from...
Critical nitrogen deposition loads in high-elevation lakes of the western US inferred from paleolimnological records
J.E. Saros, David W. Clow, T. Blett, A.P. Wolfe
2011, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution (216) 193-202
Critical loads of nitrogen (N) from atmospheric deposition were determined for alpine lake ecosystems in the western US using fossil diatom assemblages in lake sediment cores. Changes in diatom species over the last century were indicative of N enrichment in two areas, the eastern Sierra Nevada, starting between 1960 and...
Data logging of body temperatures provides precise information on phenology of reproductive events in a free-living arctic hibernator
C. T. Williams, M.J. Sheriff, Joel A. Schmutz, F. Kohl, O. Toien, C.L. Buck, B.M. Barnes
2011, Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology (181) 1101-1109
Precise measures of phenology are critical to understanding how animals organize their annual cycles and how individuals and populations respond to climate-induced changes in physical and ecological stressors. We show that patterns of core body temperature (T b) can be used to precisely determine the timing of...
Social network models predict movement and connectivity in ecological landscapes
R. J. Fletcher Jr., M.A. Acevedo, Brian E. Reichert, Kyle E. Pias, W.M. Kitchens
2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (108) 19282-19287
Network analysis is on the rise across scientific disciplines because of its ability to reveal complex, and often emergent, patterns and dynamics. Nonetheless, a growing concern in network analysis is the use of limited data for constructing networks. This concern is strikingly relevant to ecology and conservation biology, where network...
Spatiotemporal distribution and population characteristicsof a nonnative lake trout population, with implications for suppression
A.M. Dux, C.S. Guy, W.A. Fredenberg
2011, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (31) 187-196
We evaluated the distribution and population characteristics of nonnative lake trout Salvelinus namaycush in Lake McDonald,Glacier National Park,Montana, to provide biological data in support of a potential suppression program. Using ultrasonic telemetry, we identified spatial and temporal distribution patterns by tracking 36 adult lake trout (1,137 relocations). Lake trout rarely...
Evaluation of groundwater discharge into small lakes based on the temporal distribution of radon-222
N. T. Dimova, W. C. Burnett
2011, Limnology and Oceanography (56) 486-494
In order to evaluate groundwater discharge into small lakes we constructed a model that is based on the budget of 222Rn (radon, t1/2=3.8 d) as a tracer. The main assumptions in our model are that the lake's waters are well‐mixed horizontally and vertically; the only significant 222Rn source is via groundwater discharge;...
Using multilevel spatial models to understand salamander site occupancy patterns after wildfire
Nathan Chelgren, M. J. Adams, Larissa L. Bailey, R. Bruce Bury
2011, Ecology (92) 408-421
Studies of the distribution of elusive forest wildlife have suffered from the confounding of true presence with the uncertainty of detection. Occupancy modeling, which incorporates probabilities of species detection conditional on presence, is an emerging approach for reducing observation bias. However, the current likelihood modeling framework is restrictive for handling...
Thorium abundances of basalt ponds in South Pole-Aitken basin: Insights into the composition and evolution of the far side lunar mantle
Justin Hagerty, D. J. Lawrence, B. R. Hawke
2011, Journal of Geophysical Research E: Planets (116) 1-23
Imbrian-aged basalt ponds, located on the floor of South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, are used to provide constraints on the composition and evolution of the far side lunar mantle. We use forward modeling of the Lunar Prospector Gamma Ray Spectrometer thorium data, to suggest that at least five different and distinct...
Informal and formal trail monitoring protocols and baseline conditions: Acadia National Park
Jeffrey L. Marion, Jeremy F. Wimpey, L. Park
2011, Report
At Acadia National Park, changing visitor use levels and patterns have contributed to an increasing degree of visitor use impacts to natural and cultural resources. To better understand the extent and severity of these resource impacts and identify effective management techniques, the park sponsored this research to develop monitoring protocols,...
Near-surface shear-wave velocity measurements in unlithified sediment
B.T. Richards, D. Steeples, R. Miller, J. Ivanov, S. Peterie, S.D. Sloan, J.R. McKenna
2011, SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts (30) 1416-1420
S-wave velocity can be directly correlated to material stiffness and lithology making it a valuable physical property that has found uses in construction, engineering, and environmental projects. This study compares different methods for measuring S-wave velocities, investigating and identifying the differences among the methods' results, and prioritizing the different methods...
Constraints on the long-period moment-dip tradeoff for the Tohoku earthquake
V.C. Tsai, Gavin P. Hayes, Z. Duputel
2011, Geophysical Research Letters (38)
Since the work of Kanamori and Given (1981), it has been recognized that shallow, pure dip‐slip earthquakes excite long‐period surface waves such that it is difficult to independently constrain the moment (M0) and the dip (δ) of the source mechanism, with only the product M0 sin(2δ) being well constrained. Because of this,...
Coordinating standards and applications for optical water quality sensor networks
B. Bergamaschi, B. Pellerin
2011, Conference Paper, Eos
Joint USGS-CUAHSI Workshop: In Situ Optical Water Quality Sensor Networks; Shepherdstown, West Virginia, 8-10 June 2011; Advanced in situ optical water quality sensors and new techniques for data analysis hold enormous promise for advancing scientific understanding of aquatic systems through measurements of important biogeochemical parameters at the time scales over...
Mineralogic sources of metals in leachates from the weathering of sedex, massive sulfide, and vein deposit mining wastes
S. F. Diehl, P. L. Hageman, R.R. Seal II, N.M. Piatak, H. Lowers
2011, Conference Paper, SME Annual Meeting and Exhibit and CMA 113th National Western Mining Conference 2011
Weathered mine waste consists of oxidized primary minerals and chemically unstable secondary phases that can be sources of readily soluble metals and acid rock drainage. Elevated concentrations of metals such as Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn are observed in deionized water-based leachate solutions derived from complex sedex...
Nitrogen uptake by the shoots of smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora
T. J. Mozdzer, M. Kirwan, K. J. McGlathery, J. C. Zieman
2011, Marine Ecology Progress Series (433) 43-52
The smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora is the foundation species in intertidal salt marshes of the North American Atlantic coast. Depending on its elevation within the marsh, S. alterniflora may be submerged for several hours per day. Previous ecosystem-level studies have demonstrated that S. alterniflora marshes are a net sink for nitrogen (N), and that removal of...
Estimation of suspended-sediment concentration from total suspended solids and turbidity data for Kentucky, 1978-1995
Tanja N. Williamson, Charles G. Crawford
2011, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (47) 739-749
Suspended sediment is a constituent of water quality that is monitored because of concerns about accelerated erosion, nonpoint contamination of water resources, and degradation of aquatic environments. In order to quantify the relationship among different sediment parameters for Kentucky streams, long‐term records were obtained from the National Water Information System...
Islands at bay: Rising seas, eroding islands, and waterbird habitat loss in Chesapeake Bay (USA)
R. Michael Erwin, D.F. Brinker, B.D. Watts, G.R. Costanzo, D.D. Morton
2011, Journal of Coastal Conservation (15) 51-60
Like many resources in the Chesapeake Bay region of the U.S., many waterbird nesting populations have suffered over the past three to four decades. In this study, historic information for the entire Bay and recent results from the Tangier Sound region were evaluated to illustrate patterns of island erosion and...
Shortnose sturgeon use small coastal rivers: The importance of habitat connectivity
Gayle B. Zydlewski, M.T. Kinnison, P.E. Dionne, Joseph D. Zydlewski, Gail S. Wippelhauser
2011, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (27) 41-44
Contrary to conventional wisdom for shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum), we document shortnose sturgeon use of habitats beyond large rivers. Telemetry data from 2008 to 2010 in the Gulf of Maine demonstrates that adult shortnose sturgeon (up to 70%) frequently move between Maine’s two largest rivers, the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers....
Predicting breeding bird occurrence by stand- and microhabitat-scale features in even-aged stands in the Central Appalachians
M.E. McDermott, Petra B. Wood, G.W. Miller, B.T. Simpson
2011, Forest Ecology and Management (261) 373-380
Spatial scale is an important consideration when managing forest wildlife habitat, and models can be used to improve our understanding of these habitats at relevant scales. Our objectives were to determine whether stand- or microhabitat-scale variables better predicted bird metrics (diversity, species presence, and abundance) and to examine breeding bird...
A data-driven approach for modeling post-fire debris-flow volumes and their uncertainty
Michael J. Friedel
2011, Environmental Modelling and Software (26) 1583-1598
This study demonstrates the novel application of genetic programming to evolve nonlinear post-fire debris-flow volume equations from variables associated with a data-driven conceptual model of the western United States. The search space is constrained using a multi-component objective function that simultaneously minimizes root-mean squared and unit errors for the evolution...
Effects of stop-level habitat change on cerulean warbler detections along breeding bird survey routes in the central appalachians
Patrick M. McElhone, Petra B. Wood, Deanna K. Dawson
2011, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (123) 699-708
- We examined the effects of habitat change on Cerulean Warbler ( Dendroica cerulea) populations at stops along Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes in the central Appalachians. We used aerial photographs to compare early (1967/1971), middle (1982/1985), and late (2000/2003) periods and compared 1992 and 2001 National Land Cover...
Chronic toxicity of erythromycin thiocyanate to Daphnia magna in a flow-through, continuous exposure test system
J.R. Meinertz, Theresa M. Schreier, J.A. Bernardy
2011, Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (87) 621-625
Approval of a new animal drug application for AQUAMYCIN 100® (erythromycin thiocyanate; ET) to treat freshwater salmonid species with bacterial kidney disease is being pursued in the US. As part of the approval process, ET’s impact on an aquatic environment had to be described in an environmental assessment. The environmental assessment...
