Survival of European mouflon (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) in Hawai'i based on tooth cementum lines
S.C. Hess, R.M. Stephens, T.L. Thompson, R.M. Danner, B. Kawakami Jr.
2011, Pacific Science (65) 59-67
Reliable techniques for estimating age of ungulates are necessary to determine population parameters such as age structure and survival. Techniques that rely on dentition, horn, and facial patterns have limited utility for European mouflon sheep (Ovis gmelini musimon), but tooth cementum lines may offer a useful alternative. Cementum lines may...
Millennial precipitation reconstruction for the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, reveals changing drought signal
Ramzi Touchan, Connie A. Woodhouse, David M. Meko, Craig D. Allen
2011, International Journal of Climatology (31) 896-906
Drought is a recurring phenomenon in the American Southwest. Since the frequency and severity of hydrologic droughts and other hydroclimatic events are of critical importance to the ecology and rapidly growing human population of this region, knowledge of long-term natural hydroclimatic variability is valuable for resource managers and policy-makers. An...
The ShakeOut earthquake source and ground motion simulations
R.W. Graves, Douglas B. Houston, K.W. Hudnut
2011, Earthquake Spectra (27) 273-291
The ShakeOut Scenario is premised upon the detailed description of a hypothetical Mw 7.8 earthquake on the southern San Andreas Fault and the associated simulated ground motions. The main features of the scenario, such as its endpoints, magnitude, and gross slip distribution, were defined through expert opinion and incorporated information...
Decision analysis for conservation breeding: Maximizing production for reintroduction of whooping cranes
Des Smith, Sarah J. Converse, Keith Gibson, Axel Moehrenschlager, William A. Link, Glenn H. Olsen, Kelly Maguire
2011, Journal of Wildlife Management (75) 501-508
Captive breeding is key to management of severely endangered species, but maximizing captive production can be challenging because of poor knowledge of species breeding biology and the complexity of evaluating different management options. In the face of uncertainty and complexity, decision-analytic approaches can be used to identify optimal management options...
Comparison of Two Parametric Methods to Estimate Pesticide Mass Loads in California's Central Valley
D.K. Saleh, D. L. Lorenz, Joseph L. Domagalski
2011, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (47) 254-264
Mass loadings were calculated for four pesticides in two watersheds with different land uses in the Central Valley, California, by using two parametric models: (1) the Seasonal Wave model (SeaWave), in which a pulse signal is used to describe the annual cycle of pesticide occurrence in a stream, and (2)...
Soil and periphyton indicators of anthropogenic water-quality changes in a rainfall-driven wetland
P.V. McCormick
2011, Wetlands Ecology and Management (19) 19-34
Surface soils and periphyton communities were sampled across an oligotrophic, soft-water wetland to document changes associated with pulsed inputs of nutrient- and mineral-rich canal drainage waters. A gradient of canal-water influence was indicated by the surface-water specific conductance, which ranged between 743 and 963 μS cm−1 in the canals to as low as...
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...
The indication of Martian gully formation processes by slope-area analysis
Susan J. Conway, Matthew R. Balme, John B. Murray, Martin C. Towner, Chris Okubo, Peter M. Grindrod
2011, Geological Society Special Publication (356) 171-201
The formation process of recent gullies on Mars is currently under debate. This study aims to discriminate between the proposed formation processes - pure water flow, debris flow and dry mass wasting - through the application of geomorphological indices commonly used in terrestrial geomorphology. High-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) of...
Mapping rice areas of South Asia using MODIS multitemporal data
M.K. Gumma, A. Nelson, P.S. Thenkabail, A.N. Singh
2011, Journal of Applied Remote Sensing (5)
Our goal is to map the rice areas of six South Asian countries using moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) time-series data for the time period 2000 to 2001. South Asia accounts for almost 40% of the world's harvested rice area and is also home to 74% of the population that lives...
Adaptive finite volume methods with well-balanced Riemann solvers for modeling floods in rugged terrain: Application to the Malpasset dam-break flood (France, 1959)
D.L. George
2011, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids (66) 1000-1018
The simulation of advancing flood waves over rugged topography, by solving the shallow-water equations with well-balanced high-resolution finite volume methods and block-structured dynamic adaptive mesh refinement (AMR), is described and validated in this paper. The efficiency of block-structured AMR makes large-scale problems tractable, and allows the use of accurate and...
Effects of dynamically variable saturation and matrix-conduit coupling of flow in karst aquifers
Thomas Reimann, T. Geyer, W.B. Shoemaker, R. Liedl, M. Sauter
2011, Water Resources Research (47)
Well-developed karst aquifers consist of highly conductive conduits and a relatively low permeability fractured and/or porous rock matrix and therefore behave as a dual-hydraulic system. Groundwater flow within highly permeable strata is rapid and transient and depends on local flow conditions, i.e., pressurized or nonpressurized flow. The characterization of karst...
Impacts of changing food webs in Lake Ontario: Implications of dietary fatty acids on growth of alewives
R.J. Snyder, C.J. Demarche, D. C. Honeyfield
2011, Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management (14) 231-238
Declines in the abundance and condition of Great Lakes Alewives have been reported periodically during the last two decades, and the reasons for these declines remain unclear. To better understand how food web changes may influence Alewife growth and Wisconsin growth model predictions, we fed Alewives isocaloric diets high in...
Structure of the San Fernando Valley region, California: implications for seismic hazard and tectonic history
V.E. Langenheim, T. L. Wright, D. A. Okaya, R.S. Yeats, G. S. Fuis, K. Thygesen, H. Thybo
2011, Geosphere (7) 528-572
Industry seismic reflection data, oil test well data, interpretation of gravity and magnetic data, and seismic refraction deep-crustal profiles provide new perspectives on the subsurface geology of San Fernando Valley, home of two of the most recent damaging earthquakes in southern California. Seismic reflection data provide depths to Miocene–Quaternary horizons;...
Spawning habitat selection of hickory shad
Julianne E. Harris, Joseph E. Hightower
2011, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (31) 495-505
We examined the spawning habitat selectivity of hickory shad Alosa mediocris, an anadromous species on the Atlantic coast of North America. Using plankton tows and artificial substrates (spawning pads), we collected hickory shad eggs in the Roanoke River, North Carolina, to identify spawning timing, temperature, and microhabitat use. Hickory shad eggs...
Spatial modeling for groundwater arsenic levels in North Carolina
D. Kim, M.L. Miranda, J. Tootoo, P. Bradley, A.E. Gelfand
2011, Environmental Science & Technology (45) 4824-4831
To examine environmental and geologic determinants of arsenic in groundwater, detailed geologic data were integrated with well water arsenic concentration data and well construction data for 471 private wells in Orange County, NC, via a geographic information system. For the statistical analysis, the geologic units were simplified into four generalized...
Whole-edifice ice volume change A.D. 1970 to 2007/2008 at Mount Rainier, Washington, based on LiDAR surveying
T. W. Sisson, J.E. Robinson, D.D. Swinney
2011, Geology (39) 639-642
Net changes in thickness and volume of glacial ice and perennial snow at Mount Rainier, Washington State, have been mapped over the entire edifice by differencing between a highresolution LiDAR (light detection and ranging) topographic survey of September-October 2007/2008 and the 10 m lateral resolution U.S. Geological Survey digital elevation...
Using normalized difference vegetation index to estimate carbon fluxes from small rotationally grazed pastures
R.H. Skinner, B.K. Wylie, T.G. Gilmanov
2011, Agronomy Journal (103) 972-979
Satellite-based normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data have been extensively used for estimating gross primary productivity (GPP) and yield of grazing lands throughout the world. However, the usefulness of satellite-based images for monitoring rotationally-grazed pastures in the northeastern United States might be limited because paddock size is often smaller than...
High-resolution three-dimensional imaging and analysis of rock falls in Yosemite valley, California
Gregory M. Stock, Gerald W. Bawden, J.K. Green, E. Hanson, G. Downing, Brian D. Collins, Sandra Bond, M. Leslar
2011, Geosphere (7) 573-581
We present quantitative analyses of recent large rock falls in Yosemite Valley, California, using integrated high-resolution imaging techniques. Rock falls commonly occur from the glacially sculpted granitic walls of Yosemite Valley, modifying this iconic landscape but also posing significant potential hazards and risks. Two large rock falls occurred from the...
Migrating swarms of brittle-failure earthquakes in the lower crust beneath Mammoth Mountain, California
D.R. Shelly, D.P. Hill
2011, Geophysical Research Letters (38)
Brittle-failure earthquakes in the lower crust, where high pressures and temperatures would typically promote ductile deformation, are relatively rare but occasionally observed beneath active volcanic centers. Where they occur, these earthquakes provide a rare opportunity to observe volcanic processes in the lower crust, such as fluid injection and migration, which...
Location and agricultural practices influence spring use of harvested cornfields by cranes and geese in Nebraska
Michael J. Anteau, Mark H. Sherfy, A.A. Bishop
2011, Journal of Wildlife Management (75) 1004-1011
Millions of ducks, geese, and sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis; hereafter cranes) stop in the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of Nebraska to store nutrients for migration and reproduction by consuming corn remaining in fields after harvest. We examined factors that influence use of cornfields by cranes and geese (all mid‐continent...
Age and tectonic setting of the Mesozoic McCoy Mountains Formation in western Arizona, USA
J.E. Spencer, S.M. Richard, G. E. Gehrels, J.D. Gleason, W.R. Dickinson
2011, Geological Society of America Bulletin (123) 1258-1274
The McCoy Mountains Formation consists of Upper Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous siltstone, sandstone, and conglomerate exposed in an east-west–trending belt in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California. At least three different tectonic settings have been proposed for McCoy deposition, and multiple tectonic settings are likely over the ∼80 m.y. age range...
Petroleum prospectivity of the Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean
Arthur Grantz, Patrick E. Hart
2011, Conference Paper, Society of Petroleum Engineers - Arctic Technology Conference 2011
Reconnaissance seismic reflection data indicate that Canada Basin is a >700,000 sq. km. remnant of the Amerasia Basin of the Arctic Ocean that lies south of the Alpha-Mendeleev Large Igneous Province, which was constructed across the northern part of the Amerasia Basin between about 127 and 89–83.5 Ma. Canada Basin...
Modelling detectability of kiore (Rattus exulans) on Aguiguan, Mariana Islands, to inform possible eradication and monitoring efforts
A.A.Y. Adams, J.W. Stanford, A.S. Wiewel, G.H. Rodda
2011, New Zealand Journal of Ecology (35) 145-152
Estimating the detection probability of introduced organisms during the pre-monitoring phase of an eradication effort can be extremely helpful in informing eradication and post-eradication monitoring efforts, but this step is rarely taken. We used data collected during 11 nights of mark-recapture sampling on Aguiguan, Mariana Islands, to estimate introduced kiore...
Neotectonic inversion of the Hindu Kush-Pamir mountain region
C.A. Ruleman
2011, Himalayan Geology (32) 95-111
The Hindu Kush-Pamir region of southern Asia is one of Earth's most rapidly deforming regions and it is poorly understood. This study develops a kinematic model based on active faulting in this part of the Trans-Himalayan orogenic belt. Previous studies have described north-verging thrust faults and some strike-slip faults, reflected...
A case study of alternative site response explanatory variables in Parkfield, California
E.M. Thompson, L.G. Baise, R. E. Kayen, E.C. Morgan, J. Kaklamanos
2011, Conference Paper, Geotechnical Special Publication
The combination of densely-spaced strong-motion stations in Parkfield, California, and spectral analysis of surface waves (SASW) profiles provides an ideal dataset for assessing the accuracy of different site response explanatory variables. We judge accuracy in terms of spatial coverage and correlation with observations. The performance of the alternative models is...