Phase 1 studies summary of major findings of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, South San Francisco Bay, California
Laura Valoppi
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1039
Executive SummaryThe South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project (Project) is one of the largest restoration efforts in the United States. It is located in South San Francisco Bay of California. It is unique not only for its size—more than 15,000 acres—but also for its location adjacent to one of...
Reduced swimming performance repeatedly evolves upon loss of migration in landlocked populations of Alewife
Jonathan P. Velotta, Stephen D. McCormick, Andrew W. Jones, Eric T. Schultz
2018, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology (91) 814-825
Whole-organism performance tasks are accomplished by the integration of morphological traits and physiological functions. Understanding how evolutionary change in morphology and physiology influences whole-organism performance will yield insight into the factors that shape its own evolution. We demonstrate that nonmigratory populations of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) have evolved reduced swimming performance...
Sperm quality biomarkers complement reproductive and endocrine parameters in investigating environmental contaminants in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) from the Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Jill A. Jenkins, Michael R. Rosen, Rassa O. Dale, Kathy R. Echols, Leticia Torres, Carla M. Wieser, Constance A. Kersten, S. Goodbred
2018, Environmental Research (163) 149-164
Lake Mead National Recreational Area (LMNRA) serves as critical habitat for several federally listed species and supplies water for municipal, domestic, and agricultural use in the Southwestern U.S. Contaminant sources and concentrations vary among the sub-basins within LMNRA. To investigate whether exposure to environmental contaminants is associated with alterations in...
Ancient Martian aeolian processes and palaeomorphology reconstructed from the Stimson formation on the lower slope of Aeolis Mons, Gale crater, Mars
Steve G. Banham, Sanjeev Gupta, David M. Rubin, Jessica A. Watkins, Dawn Y. Sumner, Kenneth S. Edgett, John P. Grotzinger, Kevin W. Lewis, Lauren A. Edgar, Kathryn M. Stack, Robert Barnes, James F. Bell III, Mackenzie D. Day, Ryan C. Ewing, Mathieu G.A. Lapotre, Nathan T. Stein, Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Ashwin R. Vasavada
2018, Sedimentology (65) 993-1042
Reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental context of Martian sedimentary rocks is central to studies of ancient Martian habitability and regional palaeoclimate history. This paper reports the analysis of a distinct aeolian deposit preserved in Gale crater, Mars, and evaluates its palaeomorphology, the processes responsible for its deposition, and its implications for...
Common hydraulic fracturing fluid additives alter the structure and function of anaerobic microbial communities
Adam C. Mumford, Denise M. Akob, J. Grace Klinges, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
2018, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (84) 1-16
The development of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) resources results in the production of large volumes of wastewater containing a complex mixture of hydraulic fracturing chemical additives and components from the formation. The release of these wastewaters into the environment poses potential risks that are poorly understood. Microbial communities in...
Computational fluid dynamics simulations of the Late Pleistocene Lake Bonneville flood
Jose M. Abril-Hernandez, Raul Perianez, Jim E. O'Connor, Daniel Garcia-Castellanos
2018, Journal of Hydrology (561) 1-15
At approximately 18.0 ka, pluvial Lake Bonneville reached its maximum level. At its northeastern extent it was impounded by alluvium of the Marsh Creek Fan, which breached at some point north of Red Rock Pass (Idaho), leading to one of the largest floods on Earth. About 5320 km3 of water was discharged into...
Trends and habitat associations of waterbirds using the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, San Francisco Bay, California
Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Lacy M. Smith, Stacy M. Moskal, Cheryl Strong, John Krause, Yiwei Wang, John Y. Takekawa
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1040
Executive SummaryThe aim of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project (hereinafter “Project”) is to restore 50–90 percent of former salt evaporation ponds to tidal marsh in San Francisco Bay (SFB). However, hundreds of thousands of waterbirds use these ponds over winter and during fall and spring migration. To...
James Dwight Dana and John Strong Newberry in the US Pacific Northwest: The roots of American fluvialism
Jim E. O'Connor
2018, Journal of Geology (126) 229-247
Recognition of the power of rivers to carve landscapes transformed geology and geomorphology in the late nineteenth century. Wide acceptance of this concept—then known as “fluvialism”—owes to many factors and people, several associated with exploration of western North America. Especially famous are the federal geographic and geologic surveys of the...
Validation of stable isotope ratio analysis to document the biodegradation and natural attenuation of RDX, ESTCP Project ER-201208
Paul B. Hatzinger, Mark E. Fuller, Neil C. Sturchio, J.K. Bohlke
2018, Report
Hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) is a common soil contaminant at current and former military facilities, including many training and testing ranges. Because RDX is readily transported through soils to the subsurface, this nitramine explosive now also impacts groundwater and drinking water at numerous locations across the country. A significant issue with RDX...
Characterizing the source of potentially asbestos-bearing commercial vermiculite insulation using in situ IR spectroscopy
Gregg A. Swayze, Heather A. Lowers, William Benzel, Roger N. Clark, Rhonda L. Driscoll, Zac S. Perlman, Todd M. Hoefen, M. Darby Dyar
2018, American Mineralogist (103) 517-549
Commercially produced vermiculite insulation from Libby, Montana, contains trace levels of asbestiform amphibole, which is known to cause asbestos-related diseases. When vermiculite insulation is found in a building, evaluation for its potential asbestos content traditionally involves collecting a sample from an attic or wall and submitting it for time-consuming analyses...
Spatial factors of white-tailed deer herbivory assessment in the central Appalachian Mountains
Andrew B. Kniowski, W. Mark Ford
2018, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (190) 1-13
Because moderate to over-abundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) herbivory impacts biodiversity and can alter community function, ecological benchmarks of herbivory impact are needed to assess deer impacts. We evaluated spatial patterns of deer herbivory and their relation to herbivory assessment by evaluating woody vegetation along 20 transects at...
Incorporating spatially heterogeneous infiltration capacity into hydrologic models with applications for simulating post‐wildfire debris flow initiation
Luke A. McGuire, Francis K. Rengers, Jason W. Kean, Dennis M. Staley, Benjamin B. Mirus
2018, Hydrological Processes (32) 1175-1187
Soils in post‐wildfire environments are often characterized by a low infiltration capacity with a high degree of spatial heterogeneity relative to unburned areas. Debris flows are frequently initiated by run‐off in recently burned steeplands, making it critical to develop and test methods for incorporating spatial variability in infiltration capacity into...
Plague in a colony of Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) despite three years of infusions of burrows with 0.05% deltamethrin to kill fleas
John L. Hoogland, Dean E. Biggins, Nathaniel Blackford, David Eads, Dustin Long, Mariana Rivera Rodriguez, Lauren M. Ross, Sarah Tobey, Emma M. White
2018, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (54) 347-351
At Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico, US, infusing Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) burrows with an insecticide dust containing 0.05% deltamethrin killed fleas which transmit bubonic plague. The reduction in the number of fleas per prairie dog was significant and dramatic immediately after infusions, with a suggestion that...
Defining “atmospheric river”: How the Glossary of Meteorology helped resolve a debate
F. Martin Ralph, Michael D. Dettinger, Mary M. Cairns, Thomas J. Galarneau, John Eylander
2018, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (99) 837-839
Since the term “atmospheric river” (AR) first appeared in modern scientific literature in the early 1990s, it has generated debate about the meaning of the concept. A common popular definition is something along the lines of a “river in the sky,” albeit as a river of water vapor rather than...
Genetic integrity, population status, and long-term viability of isolated populations of shoal bass in the upper Chattahoochee River basin, Georgia
Andrew T. Taylor, James M. Long
2018, Natural Resource Report NPS/CHAT/NRR-2018/1620
This report characterizes the status of multiple isolated Shoal Bass (Micropterus cataractae) populations in the upper Chattahoochee River basin (UCRB), Georgia. The Shoal Bass, a sport fish endemic to the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River (ACF) basin, is a fluvial-specialist species considered vulnerable to local extirpations and extinction due to habitat fragmentation and...
Assessing the risk of dreissenid mussel invasion in Texas based on lake physical characteristics and potential for downstream dispersal
Matthew A Barnes, Reynaldo Patino
2018, Report
ebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) were likely introduced from Ponto-Caspian Eurasia to the Laurentian Great Lakes inadvertently via ballast water release in the 1980s and have since spread across the US, including Texas. Their spread into the state, including reservoirs in both Brazos River and Colorado...
Identifying cost-effective invasive species control to enhance endangered species populations in the Grand Canyon, USA
Lucas S. Bair, Charles B. Yackulic, Michael R. Springborn, Matthew N. Reimer, Craig A. Bond, Lewis G. Coggins
2018, Biological Conservation (220) 12-20
Recovering endangered species populations when confronted with the threat of invasive species is an ongoing natural resource management challenge. While eradication of the invasive species is often the optimal economic solution, it may not be a feasible nor desirable management action in other cases. For example, when invasive species are desired in one area, but disperse...
T.D.A. Cockerell (1866–1948) of the University of Colorado: His contributions to the natural history of the California islands and the establishment of Channel Islands National Monument
Daniel R. Muhs
2018, Western North American Naturalist (78) 247-271
Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell was a naturalist at the University of Colorado from 1904 to 1947 and studied botany, zoology, and paleontology in North and South America, Asia, Australia, Africa, and Europe. In the latter part of his career, he studied the California islands and published many papers on their...
Groundwater flow and heat transport for systems undergoing freeze-thaw: Intercomparison of numerical simulators for 2D test cases
Christophe Grenier, Hauke Anbergen, Victor F. Bense, Quentin Chanzy, Ethan Coon, Nathaniel Collier, François Costard, Michel Ferry, Andrew Frampton, Jennifer M. Frederick, Julio Goncalves, Johann Holmen, Anne Jost, Samuel Kokh, Barret L. Kurylyk, Jeffrey M. McKenzie, John W. Molson, Emmanuel Mouche, Laurent Orgogozo, Romain Pannetier, Agnes Riviere, Nicolas Roux, Wolfram Ruhaak, Johanna Scheidegger, Jan-Olof Selroos, Rene Therrien, Patrik Vidstrand, Clifford I. Voss
2018, Advances in Water Resources (114) 196-218
In high-elevation, boreal and arctic regions, hydrological processes and associated water bodies can be strongly influenced by the distribution of permafrost. Recent field and modeling studies indicate that a fully-coupled multidimensional thermo-hydraulic approach is required to accurately model the evolution of these permafrost-impacted landscapes and groundwater systems. However, the relatively...
Monogenetic origin of Ubehebe Crater maar volcano, Death Valley, California: Paleomagnetic and stratigraphic evidence
Duane E. Champion, Andrew J. Cyr, Judith Fierstein, Edward Hildreth
2018, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (354) 67-73
Paleomagnetic data for samples collected from outcrops of basaltic spatter at the Ubehebe Crater cluster, Death Valley National Park, California, record a single direction of remanent magnetization indicating that these materials were emplaced during a short duration, monogenetic eruption sequence ~ 2100 years ago. This conclusion is supported by geochemical data encompassing a narrow...
Evaluating the conservation potential of tributaries for native fishes in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Brian G. Laub, Gary P. Thiede, William W. Macfarlane, Phaedra Budy
2018, Fisheries Magazine (43) 194-206
We explored the conservation potential of tributaries in the upper Colorado River basin by modeling native fish species richness as a function of river discharge, temperature, barrier‐free length, and distance to nearest free‐flowing main‐stem section. We investigated a historic period prior to large‐scale water development and a contemporary period. In...
Tundra landform and vegetation productivity trend maps for the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska
Mark J. Lara, Ingmar Nitze, Guido Grosse, A. David McGuire
2018, Scientific Data (5) 1-10
Arctic tundra landscapes are composed of a complex mosaic of patterned ground features, varying in soil moisture, vegetation composition, and surface hydrology over small spatial scales (10–100 m). The importance of microtopography and associated geomorphic landforms in influencing ecosystem structure and function is well founded, however, spatial data products describing local...
Developing a shared understanding of the Upper Mississippi River: the foundation of an ecological resilience assessment
Kristen L. Bouska, Jeffrey N. Houser, Nathan R. De Jager, Jon S. Hendrickson
2018, Ecology and Society (23) 1-6
The Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) is a large and complex floodplain river ecosystem that spans the jurisdictions of multiple state and federal agencies. In support of ongoing ecosystem restoration and management by this broad partnership, we are undertaking a resilience assessment of the UMRS. We describe the UMRS in...
Incorporating an approach to aid river and reservoir fisheries in an altered landscape
Shannon K. Brewer, Daniel E. Shoup, John Dattillo
2018, Cooperator Science Series 129-2018
Reservoir construction for human-use services alters connected riverine flow patterns and influences fish production. We sampled two pelagic fishes from two rivers and two reservoirs and related seasonal and annual hydrology patterns to the recruitment and growth of each species. River and reservoir populations of Freshwater Drum Aplodinotus grunniens reached...
River flow and riparian vegetation dynamics - implications for management of the Yampa River through Dinosaur National Monument
Michael L. Scott, Jonathan M. Friedman
2018, Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/WRD/NRR—2018/1619
This report addresses the relation between flow of the Yampa River and occurrence of herbaceous and woody riparian vegetation in Dinosaur National Monument (DINO) with the goal of informing management decisions related to potential future water development. The Yampa River in DINO flows through diverse valley settings, from the relatively...
