High tsunami frequency as a result of combined strike-slip faulting and coastal landslides
Matthew J. Hornbach, Nicole Braudy, Richard W. Briggs, Marie-Helene Cormier, Marcy B. Davis, John B. Diebold, Nicole Dieudonne, Roby Douilly, Cliff Frohlich, Sean P.S. Gulick, Harold E. Johnson III, Paul Mann, Cecilia McHugh, Katherine Ryan-Mishkin, Carol S. Prentice, Leonardo Seeber, Christopher C. Sorlien, Michael S. Steckler, Steeve Julien Symithe, Frederick W. Taylor, John Templeton
2010, Nature Geoscience (3) 783-788
Earthquakes on strike-slip faults can produce devastating natural hazards. However, because they consist predominantly of lateral motion, these faults are rarely associated with significant uplift or tsunami generation. And although submarine slides can generate tsunami, only a few per cent of all tsunami are believed to be triggered in this...
Habitat suitability and conservation of the giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) in the Sacramento Valley of California
Brian J. Halstead, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza
2010, Copeia (2010) 591-599
Resource managers often have little information regarding the habitat requirements and distribution of rare species. Factor analysis-based habitat suitability models describe the ecological niche of a species and identify locations where these conditions occur on the landscape using existing occurrence data.We used factor analyses to assess the suitability of habitats...
Divergent movements of walrus and sea ice in the northern Bering Sea
Chadwick V. Jay, Mark S. Udevitz, Ron Kwok, Anthony S. Fischbach, David C. Douglas
2010, Marine Ecology Progress Series (407) 293-302
The Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens is a large Arctic pinniped of the Chukchi and Bering Seas. Reductions of sea ice projected to occur in the Arctic by mid-century raise concerns for conservation of the Pacific walrus. To understand the significance of sea ice loss to the viability of walruses,...
Distribution patterns of wintering sea ducks in relation to the North Atlantic Oscillation and local environmental characteristics
Elise F. Zipkin, Beth Gardner, Andrew T. Gilbert, Allan F. O’Connell, J. Andrew Royle, Emily D. Silverman
2010, Oecologia (163) 893-902
Twelve species of North American sea ducks (Tribe Mergini) winter off the eastern coast of the United States and Canada. Yet, despite their seasonal proximity to urbanized areas in this region, there is limited information on patterns of wintering sea duck habitat use. It is difficult to gather information on...
Arsenic management through well modification and simulation
Keith J. Halford, Christina L. Stamos, Tracy Nishikawa, Peter Martin
2010, Ground Water (48) 526-537
Arsenic concentrations can be managed with a relatively simple strategy of grouting instead of completely destroying a selected interval of well. The strategy of selective grouting was investigated in Antelope Valley, California, where groundwater supplies most of the water demand. Naturally occurring arsenic typically exceeds concentrations of 10 (mu or...
Ants as a measure of effectiveness of habitat conservation planning in southern California
Milan J. Mitrovich, Tritia Matsuda, Krista H. Pease, Robert N. Fisher
2010, Conservation Biology (24) 1239-1248
In the United States multispecies habitat conservation plans were meant to be the solution to conflicts between economic development and protection of biological diversity. Although now widely applied, questions exist concerning the scientific credibility of the conservation planning process and effectiveness of the plans. We used ants to assess performance...
Geomorphic response of sandbars to the March 2008 high-flow experiment on the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam
Paul E. Grams, Joseph E. Hazel Jr., John C. Schmidt, Matt Kaplinski, Scott Wright, David J. Topping, Theodore S. Melis
2010, Book, Proceedings of the 2nd Joint Federal Interagency Conference on Sedimentation and Hydrologic Modeling
The completion of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963 drastically altered the downstream flow regime and resulted in more than a 90 percent reduction of sand supply to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Sandbars that were maintained by annual floods and a large sediment supply are now fewer...
Geographic variation in the plumage coloration of willow flycatchers Empidonax traillii
Eben H. Paxton, Mark K. Sogge, Thomas J. Koronkiewicz, Mary Anne McLeod, Tad C. Theimer
2010, Journal of Avian Biology (41) 128-138
The ability to identify distinct taxonomic groups of birds (species, subspecies, geographic races) can advance ecological research efforts by determining connectivity between the non-breeding and breeding grounds for migrant species, identifying the origin of migrants, and helping to refine boundaries between subspecies or geographic races. Multiple methods are available to...
Distribution and interplay of geologic processes on Titan from Cassini radar data
R. M. C. Lopes, E. R. Stofan, R. Peckyno, J. Radebaugh, K. L. Mitchell, Giuseppe Mitri, C. A. Wood, R. L. Kirk, S. D. Wall, J. I. Lunine, A. Hayes, R. Lorenz, Tom Farr, L. Wye, J. Craig, R. J. Ollerenshaw, M. Janssen, A. LeGall, F. Paganelli, R. West, B. Stiles, P. Callahan, Y. Anderson, P. Valora, L. Soderblom
2010, Icarus (205) 540-558
The Cassini Titan Radar Mapper is providing an unprecedented view of Titan’s surface geology. Here we use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image swaths (Ta–T30) obtained from October 2004 to December 2007 to infer the geologic processes that have shaped Titan’s surface. These SAR swaths cover about 20% of the surface,...
Genetic introgression and the survival of Florida panther kittens
J. A. Hostetler, David P. Onorato, James D. Nichols, Warren E. Johnson, Melody E. Roelke, Stephen J. O’Brien, Deborah Jansen, Madan K. Oli
2010, Biological Conservation (143) 2789-2796
Estimates of survival for the young of a species are critical for population models. These models can often be improved by determining the effects of management actions and population abundance on this demographic parameter. We used multiple sources of data collected during 1982–2008 and a live-recapture dead-recovery modeling framework to...
Developing an ecosystem services online decision support tool to assess the impacts of climate change and urban growth in the Santa Cruz watershed: Where we live, work, and play
Laura M. Norman, Nita Tallent-Halsell, William Labiosa, Matt Weber, Amy McCoy, Katie Hirschboeck, James B. Callegary, Charles van Riper III, Floyd Gray
2010, Sustainability (2) 2044-2069
Using respective strengths of the biological, physical, and social sciences, we are developing an online decision support tool, the Santa Cruz Watershed Ecosystem Portfolio Model (SCWEPM), to help promote the use of information relevant to water allocation and land management in a binational watershed along the U.S.-Mexico border. The SCWEPM...
An empirical model for global earthquake fatality estimation
Kishor Jaiswal, David Wald
2010, Earthquake Spectra (26) 1017-1037
We analyzed mortality rates of earthquakes worldwide and developed a country/region-specific empirical model for earthquake fatality estimation within the U.S. Geological Survey's Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) system. The earthquake fatality rate is defined as total killed divided by total population exposed at specific shaking intensity level....
Contribution of PAHs from coal-tar pavement sealcoat and other sources to 40 U.S. lakes
Peter C. Van Metre, Barbara Mahler
2010, Science of the Total Environment (409) 334-344
Contamination of urban lakes and streams by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has increased in the United States during the past 40 years. We evaluated sources of PAHs in post-1990 sediments in cores from 40 lakes in urban areas across the United States using a contaminant mass-balance receptor model and including...
Conservation planning for imperiled aquatic species in an urbanizing environment
Seth J. Wenger, Mary Freeman, Laurie A. Fowler, Byron J. Freeman, James T. Peterson
2010, Landscape and Urban Planning (97) 11-21
As the global area devoted to urban uses grows, an increasing number of freshwater species will face imperilment due to urbanization effects. Management of these impacts on both private and public lands is necessary to ensure species persistence. Such management entails several hallenges: (1) development of a management policy appropriate...
Acute toxicity of diphacinone in Northern bobwhite: Effects on survival and blood clotting
Barnett A. Rattner, Katherine E. Horak, Sarah E. Warner, John J. Johnston
2010, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (73) 1159-1164
The anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone was slightly toxic (acute oral LD50 2014 mg/kg) to Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in a 14-day acute toxicity trial. Precise and sensitive assays of blood clotting (prothrombin time, Russell’s Viper venom time, and thrombin clotting time) were adapted for use in quail, and this combination of assays is recommended to measure the effects...
Comparative toxicity of diphacinone to northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and American kestrels (Falco sparverius)
Barnett A. Rattner, Katherine E. Horak, Sarah E. Warner, Daniel D. Day, John J. Johnston
2010, Book
The acute oral toxicity of the anticoagulant rodenticide diphacinone was found to be about 20 times greater to American kestrels (LD50=97 mg/kg) than to northern bobwhite (LD50=2,014 mg/kg). Several precise and sensitive clotting assays (prothrombin time, Russell's Viper venom time, thrombin clotting time) were adapted for use in these species,...
Changes in the timing of snowmelt and streamflow in Colorado: A response to recent warming
David W. Clow
2010, Journal of Climate (23) 2293-2306
Trends in the timing of snowmelt and associated runoff in Colorado were evaluated for the 1978-2007 water years using the regional Kendall test (RKT) on daily snow-water equivalent (SWE) data from snowpack telemetry (SNOTEL) sites and daily streamflow data from headwater streams. The RKT is a robust, nonparametric test that...
Changes in the status of harvested rice fields in the Sacramento Valley, California: Implications for wintering waterfowl.
Michael R. Miller, Jay D. Garr, Peter S. Coates
2010, Wetlands (30) 939-947
Harvested rice fields provide critical foraging habitat for wintering waterfowl in North America, but their value depends upon post-harvest treatments. We visited harvested ricefields in the Sacramento Valley, California, during the winters of 2007 and 2008 (recent period) and recorded their observed status as harvested (standing or mechanically modified stubble),...
Challenges and opportunities for integrating lake ecosystem modelling approaches
Wolf M. Mooij, Dennis Trolle, Erik Jeppesen, George Arhonditsis, Pavel V. Belolipetsky, Deonatus B.R. Chitamwebwa, Andrey G. Degermendzhy, Donald L. DeAngelis, Lisette N. De Senerpont Domis, Andrea S. Downing, J. Alex Elliott, Carlos Ruberto Fragoso Jr., Ursula Gaedke, Svetlana N. Genova, Ramesh D. Gulati, Lars Hakanson, David P. Hamilton, Matthew R. Hipsey, Jochem ’t Hoen, Stephan Hulsmann, F. Hans Los, Vardit Makler-Pick, Thomas Petzoldt, Igor G. Prokopkin, Karsten Rinke, Sebastiaan A. Schep, Koji Tominaga, Anne A. Van Dam, Egbert H. Van Nes, Scott A. Wells, Jan H. Janse
2010, Aquatic Ecology (44) 633-667
A large number and wide variety of lake ecosystem models have been developed and published during the past four decades. We identify two challenges for making further progress in this field. One such challenge is to avoid developing more models largely following the concept of others (‘reinventing the wheel’). The...
Change in avian abundance predicted from regional forest inventory data
Daniel J. Twedt, John M. Tirpak, D. Todd Jones-Farrand, Frank R. Thompson III, William B. Uihlein, Jane A. Fitzgerald
2010, Forest Ecology and Management (260) 1241-1250
An inability to predict population response to future habitat projections is a shortcoming in bird conservation planning. We sought to predict avian response to projections of future forest conditions that were developed from nationwide forest surveys within the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. To accomplish this, we evaluated the...
Carbon exchange in biological soil crust communities under differential temperatures and soil water contents: Implications for global change
Edmund E. Grote, Jayne Belnap, David C. Housman, Jed P. Sparks
2010, Global Change Biology (16) 2763-2774
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are an integral part of the soil system in arid regions worldwide, stabilizing soil surfaces, aiding vascular plant establishment, and are significant sources of ecosystem nitrogen and carbon. Hydration and temperature primarily control ecosystem CO2 flux in these systems. Using constructed mesocosms for incubations under controlled laboratory...
A long-term vegetation history of the Mojave-Colorado Desert ecotone at Joshua Tree National Park
Camille A. Holmgren, Julio L. Betancourt, Kate A. Rylander
2010, Journal of Quaternary Science (25) 222-236
Thirty-eight dated packrat middens were collected from upper desert (930–1357 m) elevations within Joshua Tree National Park near the ecotone between the Mojave Desert and Colorado Desert, providing a 30 ka record of vegetation change with remarkably even coverage for the last 15 ka. This record indicates that vegetation was relatively stable, which...
A dynamic organic soil biogeochemical model for simulating the effects of wildfire on soil environmental conditions and carbon dynamics of black spruce forests
Shuhua Yi, A. David McGuire, Eric Kasischke, Jennifer Harden, Kristen Manies, Michelle Mack, Merritt Turetsky
2010, Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences (115) G04015
Simulation of groundwater flow to assess future withdrawals associated with Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland
Jeff P. Raffensperger, Brandon J. Fleming, William S.L. Banks, Marilee A. Horn, Mark R. Nardi, David C. Andreasen
2010, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5186
Increased groundwater withdrawals from confined aquifers in the Maryland Coastal Plain to supply anticipated growth at Fort George G. Meade (Fort Meade) and surrounding areas resulting from the Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure Program may have adverse effects in the outcrop or near-outcrop areas. Specifically, increased pumping from...
Implementation of the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) ground-motion prediction equations in Fortran and R
James Kaklamanos, David M. Boore, Eric M. Thompson, Kenneth W. Campbell
2010, Open-File Report 2010-1296
This report presents two methods for implementing the earthquake ground-motion prediction equations released in 2008 as part of the Next Generation Attenuation of Ground Motions (NGA-West, or NGA) project coordinated by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER). These models were developed for predicting ground-motion parameters for shallow crustal earthquakes...
