Using an individual-based model to assess common biases in lek-based count data to estimate population trajectories of lesser prairie-chickens
Beth Ross, Daniel S. Sullins, David A. Haukos
2019, PLoS ONE
Researchers and managers are often interested in monitoring the underlying state of a population (e.g., abundance), yet error in the observation process might mask underlying changes due to imperfect detection, availability for sampling, and heterogeneity in abundance. Additional heterogeneity can be introduced into a monitoring program when male-based surveys are...
Encylopedia of Caves
Katherine J. Knierim, Phillip D. Hays
2019, Book chapter, Encyclopedia of Caves
For many people, a visit to a cave is a wondrous event directing our minds to ponder the mysteries presented by these unique places and inspiring questions: How old is the cave? What was the role of water in forming the cave and where did the water come from? How is the...
Assessment of coal mine methane (CMM) and abandoned mine methane (AMM) resource potential of longwall mine panels: example from Northern Appalachian Basin, USA
C. Ozgen Karacan, Peter D. Warwick
2019, International Journal of Coal Geology (208) 37-53
"Coal mine methane (CMM) and abandoned mine methane (AMM), are by-products of underground coal mining. The quantity and the emission rate of CMM and AMM may vary depending on the type of mine, gas content of the mined coal seam, and gas sourced from strata and coal beds in overlying...
Investigating (a)symmetry in a small mammal’s response to warmingand cooling events across western North America over the late Quaternary
Meghan A. Balk, Julio L. Betancourt, Felisa A. Smith
2019, Quaternary Research (92) 408-415
Many mammalian populations conform spatially and temporally to Bergmann’s rule. This ecogeographic pattern is driven by selection for larger body masses by cooler temperatures and smaller ones by warming temperatures. However, it is unclear whether the response to warming or cooling temperatures is (a)symmetrical. Studies of the evolutionary record suggest...
Linking management planning for coastal wetlands to potential future wave attenuation under a range of relative sea-level rise scenarios
Ann Hijuelos, Jasper Dijkstra, Tim J. B. Carruthers, Karel Heynert, Denise Reed, Bregje van Wesenbeeck
2019, PLoS ONE (14) 1-19
Understanding changes in wave attenuation by emergent vegetation as wetlands degrade or accrete over time is crucial for incorporation of wetlands into holistic coastal risk management. Linked SLAMM and XBeach models were used to investigate potential future changes in wave attenuation over a 50-year period in a degrading,...
A comparison of chlorophyll a values obtained from an autonomous underwater vehicle to satellite-based measures for Lake Michigan
David Bennion, David Warner, Peter C. Esselman, Brett Hobson, Brian Kieft
2019, Journal of Great Lakes Research (45) 726-734
Accurate methods to track changes in lake productivity through time and space are critical to fisheries management. Chlorophyll a is the most widely studied proxy for ecosystem primary production, and has been the topic of many studies. The main sources of chlorophyll a measurements are ship-based measures or multi-spectral satellite...
State of knowledge on current exposure, fate and potential health effects of contaminants in polar bears from the circumpolar Arctic
Heli Routti, Todd C. Atwood, Thea Bechshoft, Andrei N. Boltunov, Tomasz M. Ciesielski, Jean-Pierre Desforges, Rune Dietz, Geir W. Gabrielsen, Bjorn Munro Jenssen, Robert J. Letcher, Melissa A. McKinney, A. Morris, F. Riget, Christian Sonne, Bjarne Styrishave, Sabrina Tartu
2019, Science of Total Environment (664) 1063-1083
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is among the Arctic species exposed to the highest concentrations of long-range transported bioaccumulative contaminants, such as halogenated organic compounds and mercury. Contaminant exposure is considered to be one of the largest threats to polar bears after the loss...
Spatial integration of biological and social objectives to identify priority landscapes for waterfowl habitat conservation
Anastasia Krainyk, James E. Lyons, Michael G. Brasher, Dale D. Humburg, Greg J. Souilliere, John M. Coluccy, Mark J. Petrie, David W. Howerter, Stuart M. Slattery, Mindy B. Rice, Joe C. Fuller
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1029
Waterfowl population management and habitat conservation compose one of the oldest and most successful adaptive management frameworks in the world. Since its inception, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) has emphasized strategically targeted conservation investments in regions that most affect waterfowl population dynamics. By 2012, regional conservation had progressively...
Control of invasive sea lampreys using the piscicides TFM and niclosamide: Toxicology, successes & future prospects
Michael Wilkie, Terrance Hubert, Michael A. Boogaard, Oana Birceanu
2019, Aquatic Toxicology (211) 235-252
The invasion of the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America by sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) in the early 20th century contributed to the depletion of commercial, recreational and culturally important fish populations, devastating the economies of communities that relied on the fishery. Sea lamprey populations were subsequently controlled using an...
Resilience of benthic macroinvertebrates to extreme floods in a Catskill Mountain river, New York, USA: Implications for water quality monitoring and assessment
Alexander J. Smith, Barry P. Baldigo, Brian T Duffy, Scott D. George, Brian Dresser
2019, Ecological Indicators (104) 107-115
Changes in the timing, magnitude, frequency, and duration of extreme hydrologic events are becoming apparent and could disrupt species assemblages and stream ecosystems across the Northeastern United States. Between August 28 and 29 of 2011, an average of 31 cm of rain from Tropical Storm Irene fell across Eastern New...
Integrated modeling reveals shifts in waterfowl population dynamics under climate change
Qing Zhao, Scott Boomer, J. Andrew Royle
2019, Ecography (42) 1470-1481
1. Climate change has been identified as one of the most important drivers of wildlife populations. The development of appropriate conservation strategies relies on reliable predictions of population responses to climate change, which require in-depth understanding of the complex relationships between climate and population dynamics through density dependent demographic processes....
Using the beta distribution to analyze plant cover data
Christian Damgaard, Kathryn M. Irvine
2019, Journal of Ecology (107) 2747-2759
Most plant species are spatially aggregated. Local demographic and ecological processes (e.g. vegetative growth and limited seed dispersal) result in a clustered spatial pattern within an environmentally homogenous area. Spatial aggregation should be considered when modelling plant abundance data.Commonly, plant abundance is quantified by measuring cover within multiple areal plots...
Assessing water-quality changes in U.S. rivers at multiple geographic scales using results from probabilistic and targeted monitoring
Lori A. Sprague, Richard M. Mitchell, Amina I. Pollard, James A. Falcone
2019, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (191)
Two commonly used approaches for water quality monitoring are probabilistic and targeted. In a probabilistic approach like the US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Rivers and Streams Assessment, monitoring sites are selected using a statistically representative approach. In a targeted approach like that used by many monitoring organizations, monitoring...
Establishment of Salsola tragus on aeolian sands: A Southern Colorado Plateau case study
Kathryn A. Thomas, Margaret Hiza
2019, Invasive Plant Science and Management (12) 124-132
Russian-thistle (Salsola tragus L.), is a nonnative, C4 photosynthesizing, annual plant that infests disturbed and natural areas in the arid U.S. Southwest. Land managers of natural areas may need to decide whether a S. tragus infestation is potentially harmful and whether it should be actively managed. One factor informing that...
A synthesis of ecosystem management strategies for forests in the face of chronic N deposition
Christopher M. Clark, J. Richkus, Philip W Jones, Jennifer Phelan, Douglas A. Burns, Wim deVries, Enzai Du, Mark E. Fenn, Laurence Jones, Shaun A. Watmough
2019, Environmental Pollution (248) 1046-1058
The relative importance of nitrogen (N) deposition as a stressor to global forests is likely to increase in the future, as N deposition increases in Asia and Africa, and as sulfur declines more than nitrogen in Europe, the US, and Canada. Even so, it appears that decreased N deposition may...
Historical changes in New York State streamflow: Attribution of temporal shifts and spatial patterns from 1961 to 2016
Robin Glas, Douglas A. Burns, Laura K. Lautz
2019, Journal of Hydrology (574) 308-323
To better understand the effects of climate change on streamflow, the hydrologic response to both temperature and precipitation needs to be examined at the mesoscale. New York State provides a hydrologically diverse mesoscale region, where sub-regional clusters of watersheds may respond...
Virally-vectored vaccine candidates against white-nose syndrome induce anti-fungal immune response in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus)
Tonie E. Rocke, Brock Kingstad-Bakke, Marcel Wuthrich, Ben Stading, Rachel C. Abbott, Marcos Isidoro Ayza, Hannah E. Dobson, Lucas dos Santos Dias, Kevin Galles, Julia S. Lankton, Elizabeth Falendysz, Jeffrey M. Lorch, J. Scott Fites, Jaime Lopera-Madrid, Bruce Klein, Jorge E. Osorio, J. Paul White
2019, Scientific Reports (9)
White-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) has killed millions of North American hibernating bats. Currently, methods to prevent the disease are limited. We conducted two trials to assess potential WNS vaccine candidates in wild-caught Myotis lucifugus. In a pilot...
A federal-state partnership for mapping Florida's coast and seafloor
Cheryl J. Hapke, Ryan Druyor, Rene D. Baumstark, Philip Kramer, Ekaterina Fitos, Xan Fredericks, Elizabeth H. Fetherston-Resch
2019, Coastal Sediments 2150-2158
The Florida Coastal Mapping Program, a partnership of state and federal agencies, has a goal of having modern, consistent, high- resolution sea-floor data for all of Florida’s coastal zone in the next decade to support a myriad of coastal zone science and management applications. One of the early steps in...
Effects of exercise and bioprocessed soybean meal diets during rainbow trout rearing
Jill M. Voorhees, Michael E. Barnes, Steven R. Chipps, Michael L. Brown
2019, The Open Biology Journal (7) 1-13
Background: Alternative protein sources to fishmeal in fish feeds are needed.Objectives: Evaluate rearing performance of adult rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) (initial weight 139.0 ±1.5 g, length 232.9 ± 0.8 mm, mean ± SE) fed one of the two isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets (46% protein, 16% lipid) and reared at one...
Case studies in groundwater contaminant fate and transport
Barbara A. Bekins
2019, Environmental Science
A case study of groundwater contamination is a detailed study of a single site contaminated with a chemical or mixture that is known to be a problem at many sites. The goal of case studies is to provide insights into the physical, chemical, and biological processes controlling migration, natural...
Arsenic concentrations after drinking water well installation: Time-varying effects on arsenic mobilization
Melinda L. Erickson, Helen F. Malenda, Emily C. Berquist, Joseph D. Ayotte
2019, Science of the Total Environment (678) 681-691
Chronic exposure to geogenic arsenic via drinking water is a worldwide health concern. However, effects of well installation and operation on arsenic concentrations and mobilization are not well understood. This knowledge gap impacts both reliable detection of arsenic in drinking water and effective public health recommendations to reduce exposure to...
Comment on “Particle fluxes in groundwater change subsurface rock chemistry over geologic time”
Carleton R. Bern, Tiffany Yesavage
2019, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (514) 166-168
Over the last decade, studies at the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (Shale Hills) have greatly expanded knowledge of weathering in previously understudied, shale-mantled terrains, as well as Earth's Critical Zone as a whole. Among the many discoveries made was the importance of redistribution and losses of micron-sized particles during development of shale-derived...
Estimation bias in water-quality constituent concentrations and fluxes: A synthesis for Chesapeake Bay rivers and streams
Qian Zhang, Joel D. Blomquist, Douglas L. Moyer, Jeffrey G. Chanat
2019, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (7)
Flux quantification for riverine water-quality constituents has been an active area of research. Statistical approaches are often employed to make estimation for days without observations. One such approach is the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) method. While WRTDS has been used in many investigations, there is...
Efficacy of eDNA as an early detection indicator for Burmese pythons in the ARM Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem
Margaret Hunter, Gaia Meigs-Friend, Jason Ferrante, Brian Smith, Kristen Hart
2019, Ecological Indicators (102) 617-622
Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection of invasive species can be used to delimited occupied ranges and estimate probabilities to inform management decisions. Environmental DNA is shed into the environment through skin cells and bodily fluids and can be detected in water samples collected from lakes, rivers, and swamps. In south Florida,...
Evaluation of a Chicken 600K SNP genotyping array in non-model species of grouse
Piotr Minias, Peter O. Dunn, Linda A. Whittingham, Jeff A. Johnson, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
2019, Scientific Reports (9)
The use of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays to generate large SNP datasets for comparison purposes have recently become an attractive alternative to other genotyping methods. Although most SNP arrays were originally developed for domestic organisms, they can be effectively applied to wild relatives to obtain...
