GIS-based spatial regression and prediction of water quality in river networks: A case study in Iowa
X. Yang, W. Jin
2010, Journal of Environmental Management (91) 1943-1951
Nonpoint source pollution is the leading cause of the U.S.'s water quality problems. One important component of nonpoint source pollution control is an understanding of what and how watershed-scale conditions influence ambient water quality. This paper investigated the use of spatial regression to evaluate the impacts of watershed characteristics on...
Multivariate analysis of the geochemistry and mineralogy of soils along two continental-scale transects in North America
L.J. Drew, E.C. Grunsky, D. M. Sutphin, L. G. Woodruff
2010, Science of the Total Environment (409) 218-227
Soils collected in 2004 along two North American continental-scale transects were subjected to geochemical and mineralogical analyses. In previous interpretations of these analyses, data were expressed in weight percent and parts per million, and thus were subject to the effect of the constant-sum phenomenon. In a new approach to the...
Effects of exploitation on black bear populations at White River National Wildlife Refuge
J. D. Clark, R. Eastridge, M.J. Hooker
2010, Journal of Wildlife Management (74) 1448-1456
We live-trapped American black bears (Ursus americanus) and sampled DNA from hair at White River National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas, USA, to estimate annual population size (N), growth (λ), and density. We estimated N and λ with open population models, based on live-trapping data collected from 1998 through 2006, and robust...
Meteoric 10Be in soil profiles - A global meta-analysis
Joseph A. Graly, Paul R. Bierman, Lucas J. Reusser, Milan J. Pavich
2010, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (74) 6814-6829
In order to assess current understanding of meteoric 10Be dynamics and distribution in terrestrial soils, we assembled a database of all published meteoric 10Be soil depth profiles, including 104 profiles from 27 studies in globally diverse locations, collectively containing 679 individual measurements. This allows for the systematic comparison of meteoric...
Effects of ungulate management on vegetation at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, Hawai'i Island
S.C. Hess, J.J. Jeffrey, L.W. Pratt, D.L. Ball
2010, Pacific Conservation Biology (16) 144-150
We compiled and analysed data from 1987-2004 on vegetation monitoring during feral ungulate management at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, a tropical montane rainforest on the island of Hawai'i All areas in the study had previously been used by ungulates, but cattle (Bos taurus) were removed and feral pig (Sus...
Assessing macroinvertebrate biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems: Advances and challenges in dna-based approaches
M.E. Pfrender, L.C. Ferrington Jr., C.P. Hawkins, P.L. Hartzell, M. Bagley, S. Jackson, G.W. Courtney, D. P. Larsen, B.R. Creutzburg, C.A. Levesque, J.H. Epler, J.C. Morse, S. Fend, M.J. Petersen, D. Ruiter, D. Schindel, M. Whiting
2010, The Quarterly Review of Biology (85) 319-340
Assessing the biodiversity of macroinvertebrate fauna in freshwater ecosystems is an essential component of both basic ecological inquiry and applied ecological assessments. Aspects of taxonomic diversity and composition in freshwater communities are widely used to quantify water quality and measure the efficacy of remediation and restoration efforts. The accuracy and...
Landscape characteristics affecting streams in urbanizing regions of the Delaware River Basin (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, U.S.)
K. Riva-Murray, R. Riemann, P. Murdoch, J.M. Fischer, R. Brightbill
2010, Landscape Ecology (25) 1489-1503
Widespread and increasing urbanization has resulted in the need to assess, monitor, and understand its effects on stream water quality. Identifying relations between stream ecological condition and urban intensity indicators such as impervious surface provides important, but insufficient information to effectively address planning and management needs in such areas. In...
A simple physical model for deep moonquake occurrence times
R.C. Weber, B.G. Bills, C.L. Johnson
2010, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors (182) 152-160
The physical process that results in moonquakes is not yet fully understood. The periodic occurrence times of events from individual clusters are clearly related to tidal stress, but also exhibit departures from the temporal regularity this relationship would seem to imply. Even simplified models that capture some of the relevant...
Determining sources of dissolved organic carbon and disinfection byproduct precursors to the McKenzie River, Oregon
Tamara E.C. Kraus, Chauncey W. Anderson, Karl Morgenstern, Bryan D. Downing, Brian A. Pellerin, Brian A. Bergamaschi
2010, Journal of Environmental Quality (39) 2100-2112
This study was conducted to determine the main sources of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursors to the McKenzie River, Oregon (USA). Water samples collected from the mainstem, tributaries, and reservoir outflows were analyzed for DOC concentration and DBP formation potentials (trihalomethanes [THMFPs] and haloacetic acids [HAAFPs])....
Using multiple chemical indicators to characterize and determine the age of groundwater from selected vents of the silver springs group, Central Florida, USA
L. Knowles Jr., B. G. Katz, D. J. Toth
2010, Hydrogeology Journal (18) 1825-1838
The Silver Springs Group, Florida (USA), forms the headwaters of the Silver River and supports a diverse ecosystem. The 30 headwater springs divide into five subgroups based on chemistry. Five selected spring vents were sampled in 2007 to better understand the contaminant sources and groundwater flow system. Elevated nitrate-N concentrations...
Allocating monitoring effort in the face of unknown unknowns
B.A. Wintle, M.C. Runge, S.A. Bekessy
2010, Ecology Letters (13) 1325-1337
There is a growing view that to make efficient use of resources, ecological monitoring should be hypothesis-driven and targeted to address specific management questions. 'Targeted' monitoring has been contrasted with other approaches in which a range of quantities are monitored in case they exhibit an alarming trend or provide ad...
Population dynamics of spotted owls in the Sierra Nevada, California
J.A. Blakesley, M.E. Seamans, M.M. Conner, A.B. Franklin, Gary C. White, R. J. Gutierrez, J.E. Hines, J.D. Nichols, T.E. Munton, D.W.H. Shaw, J.J. Keane, G.N. Steger, T. L. McDonald
2010, Wildlife Monographs 1-36
The California spotted owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) is the only spotted owl subspecies not listed as threatened or endangered under the United States Endangered Species Act despite petitions to list it as threatened. We conducted a meta-analysis of population data for 4 populations in the southern Cascades and Sierra Nevada,...
Sedimentary basins reconnaissance using the magnetic Tilt-Depth method
A. Salem, S. Williams, E. Samson, D. Fairhead, D. Ravat, R.J. Blakely
2010, Exploration Geophysics (41) 198-209
We compute the depth to the top of magnetic basement using the Tilt-Depth method from the best available magnetic anomaly grids covering the continental USA and Australia. For the USA, the Tilt-Depth estimates were compared with sediment thicknesses based on drilling data and show a correlation of 0.86 between the...
A methodology for ecosystem-scale modeling of selenium
Theresa S. Presser, Samuel N. Luoma
2010, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (6) 685-710
The main route of exposure for selenium (Se) is dietary, yet regulations lack biologically based protocols for evaluations of risk. We propose here an ecosystem-scale model that conceptualizes and quantifies the variables that determinehow Se is processed from water through diet to predators. This approach uses biogeochemical and physiological factors...
Dynamics and spatio-temporal variability of environmental factors in Eastern Australia using functional principal component analysis
J.K. Szabo, E.M. Fedriani, M. M. Segovia-Gonzalez, L.B. Astheimer, M.J. Hooper
2010, Journal of Biological Systems (18) 763-785
This paper introduces a new technique in ecology to analyze spatial and temporal variability in environmental variables. By using simple statistics, we explore the relations between abiotic and biotic variables that influence animal distributions. However, spatial and temporal variability in rainfall, a key variable in ecological studies, can cause difficulties...
Geology and undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Madison Group, Williston Basin, North Dakota and Montana
Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Paul G. Lillis, Richard M. Pollastro, Lawrence O. Anna
2010, Mountain Geologist (47) 71-80
Two of the total petroleum systems (TPS) defined as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of the Williston Basin contain Mississippian Madison Group strata: 1) the Bakken-Lodgepole TPS, which includes the Lodgepole Formation; and 2) the Madison TPS, which includes the Mission Canyon, Charles, and Spearfish formations. The...
Growth, condition factor, and bioenergetics modeling link warmer stream temperatures below a small dam to reduced performance of juvenile steelhead
S.T. Sauter, P.J. Connolly
2010, Northwest Science (84) 369-377
We investigated the growth and feeding performance of juvenile steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss using field measures and bioenergetics modeling. Juvenile steelhead populations were sampled from mid-June through August 2004 at study sites upstream and downstream of Hemlock Dam. The growth and diet of juvenile steelhead were determined for a warm (summer)...
National ecosystem assessments supported by scientific and local knowledge
J. E. Herrick, V.C. Lessard, K.E. Spaeth, P.L. Shaver, R.S. Dayton, D.A. Pyke, L. Jolley, J.J. Goebel
2010, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (8) 403-408
An understanding of the extent of land degradation and recovery is necessary to guide land-use policy and management, yet currently available land-quality assessments are widely known to be inadequate. Here, we present the results of the first statistically based application of a new approach to national assessments that integrates scientific...
Shallow magma accumulation at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, revealed by microgravity surveys
Daniel J. Johnson, Albert A. Eggers, Marco Bagnardi, Maurizio Battaglia, Michael P. Poland, Asta Miklius
2010, Geology (38) 1139-1142
Using microgravity data collected at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i (United States), between November 1975 and January 2008, we document significant mass increase beneath the east margin of Halema‘uma‘u Crater, within Kīlauea's summit caldera. Surprisingly, there was no sustained uplift accompanying the mass accumulation. We propose that the positive gravity residual in...
Comparison of watershed disturbance predictive models for stream benthic macroinvertebrates for three distinct ecoregions in western US
Ian R. Waite, Larry R. Brown, Jonathan G. Kennen, Jason T. May, Thomas F. Cuffney, James L. Orlando, Kimberly A. Jones
2010, Ecological Indicators (10) 1125-1136
The successful use of macroinvertebrates as indicators of stream condition in bioassessments has led to heightened interest throughout the scientific community in the prediction of stream condition. For example, predictive models are increasingly being developed that use measures of watershed disturbance, including urban and agricultural land-use, as explanatory variables to...
Predicting species distributions from checklist data using site-occupancy models
M. Kery, B. Gardner, C. Monnerat
2010, Journal of Biogeography (37) 1851-1862
Aim: (1) To increase awareness of the challenges induced by imperfect detection, which is a fundamental issue in species distribution modelling; (2) to emphasize the value of replicate observations for species distribution modelling; and (3) to show how 'cheap' checklist data in faunal/floral databases may be used for the rigorous...
Occurrence and distribution of Indian primates
K.K. Karanth, J.D. Nichols, J.E. Hines
2010, Biological Conservation (143) 2891-2899
Global and regional species conservation efforts are hindered by poor distribution data and range maps. Many Indian primates face extinction, but assessments of population status are hindered by lack of reliable distribution data. We estimated the current occurrence and distribution of 15 Indian primates by applying occupancy models to field...
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources, onshore Claiborne Group, United Statespart of the northern Gulf of Mexico Basin
P.C. Hackley, T.E. Ewing
2010, American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin (94) 1607-1636
The middle Eocene Claiborne Group was assessed for undiscovered conventional hydrocarbon resources using established U.S. Geological Survey assessment methodology. This work was conducted as part of a 2007 assessment of Paleogene-Neogene strata of the northern Gulf of Mexico Basin, including the United States onshore and state waters (Dubiel et al.,...
Inter-regional comparison of land-use effects on stream metabolism
M. J. Bernot, D. J. Sobota, R.O. Hall, P. J. Mulholland, W. K. Dodds, J.R. Webster, J. L. Tank, L. R. Ashkenas, L. W. Cooper, Clifford N. Dahm, S.V. Gregory, N. B. Grimm, S. K. Hamilton, S. L. Johnson, W. H. McDowell, J.L. Meyer, B. Peterson, G. C. Poole, Valett H.M. Maurice, C. Arango, J. J. Beaulieu, A. J. Burgin, C. Crenshaw, A. M. Helton, L. Johnson, J. Merriam, B.R. Niederlehner, J. M. O’Brien, J. D. Potter, R.W. Sheibley, S. M. Thomas, K. Wilson
2010, Freshwater Biology (55) 1874-1890
1. Rates of whole-system metabolism (production and respiration) are fundamental indicators of ecosystem structure and function. Although first-order, proximal controls are well understood, assessments of the interactions between proximal controls and distal controls, such as land use and geographic region, are lacking. Thus, the influence of land use on stream...
Probabilistic seismic hazard estimates incorporating site effects - An example from Indiana, U.S.A
J.S. Hasse, C.H. Park, R.L. Nowack, J.R. Hill
2010, Environmental & Engineering Geoscience (16) 369-388
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has published probabilistic earthquake hazard maps for the United States based on current knowledge of past earthquake activity and geological constraints on earthquake potential. These maps for the central and eastern United States assume standard site conditions with Swave velocities of 760 m/s in the...
