Construction and analysis of a giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) population projection model
Jonathan P. Rose, Julia S. M. Ersan, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, Brian J. Halstead
2018, Open-File Report 2017-1164
The giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) is a state and federally threatened species precinctive to California. The range of the giant gartersnake has contracted in the last century because its wetland habitat has been drained for agriculture and development. As a result of this habitat alteration, giant gartersnakes now largely...
Isotopic insights into the degassing and secondary hydration of volcanic glass from the 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens
Angela N Seligman, Ilya N. Bindeman, Alexa R. Van Eaton, Richard P. Hoblitt
2018, Bulletin of Volcanology (80)
The magmatic degassing history of newly erupted volcanic glass is recorded in its remaining volatile content. However, this history is subsequently overprinted by post-depositional (secondary) hydration, the rates and origins of which are not yet adequately constrained. Here, we present the results of a natural experiment...
Fate of antimony and arsenic in contaminated waters at the abandoned Su Suergiu mine (Sardinia, Italy)
Rosa Cidu, Elisabetta Dore, Riccardo Biddau, D. Kirk Nordstrom
2018, Mine Water and the Environment (37) 151-165
We investigated the fate of Sb and As downstream of the abandoned Su Suergiu mine (Sardinia, Italy) and surrounding areas. The mined area is a priority in the Sardinian remediation plan for contaminated sites due to the high concentrations of Sb and As in the mining-related wastes, which may impact...
Bioremediation in fractured rock: 1. Modeling to inform design, monitoring, and expectations
Claire R. Tiedeman, Allen M. Shapiro, Paul A. Hsieh, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Daniel J. Goode, Pierre Lacombe, Mary F. DeFlaun, Scott R. Drew, Carole D. Johnson, John Williams, Gary P. Curtis
2018, Groundwater (56) 300-316
Field characterization of a trichloroethene (TCE) source area in fractured mudstones produced a detailed understanding of the geology, contaminant distribution in fractures and the rock matrix, and hydraulic and transport properties. Groundwater flow and chemical transport modeling that synthesized the field characterization information proved critical for designing bioremediation of the...
Calibration of a field-scale Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model with field placement of best management practices in Alger Creek, Michigan
Katherine R. Merriman, Amy M. Russell, Cynthia M. Rachol, Prasad Daggupati, Raghavan Srinivasan, Brett A. Hayhurst, Todd D. Stuntebeck
2018, Sustainability (10) 1-23
Subwatersheds within the Great Lakes “Priority Watersheds” were targeted by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to determine the effectiveness of the various best management practices (BMPs) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service National Conservation Planning (NCP) Database. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is...
Prey fish returned to Forster’s tern colonies suggest spatial and temporal differences in fish composition and availability
Sarah H. Peterson, Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Mark P. Herzog, C. Alex Hartman
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-23
Predators sample the available prey community when foraging; thus, changes in the environment may be reflected by changes in predator diet and foraging preferences. We examined Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri) prey species over an 11-year period by sampling approximately 10,000 prey fish returned to 17 breeding colonies in south San...
Attribution analysis of the Ethiopian drought of 2015
Sjoukje Philip, Sarah F. Kew, Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, Friederike Otto, Sarah O’Keefe, Karsten Haustein, Andrew L. King, Abiy Zegeye, Zewdu Eshetu, Kinfe Hailemariam, Roop Singh, Eddie Jjemba, Chris Funk, Heidi Cullen
2018, Journal of Climate (31) 2465-2486
In northern and central Ethiopia, 2015 was a very dry year. Rainfall was only from one-half to three-quarters of the usual amount, with both the “belg” (February–May) and “kiremt” rains (June–September) affected. The timing of the rains that did fall was also erratic. Many crops failed, causing food shortages for...
Capture versus capture zones: Clarifying terminology related to sources of water to wells
Paul M. Barlow, Stanley A. Leake, Michael N. Fienen
2018, Groundwater (56) 694-704
The term capture, related to the source of water derived from wells, has been used in two distinct yet related contexts by the hydrologic community. The first is a water‐budget context, in which capture refers to decreases in the rates of groundwater outflow and (or) increases in the rates...
Wetlands inform how climate extremes influence surface water expansion and contraction
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Charles R. Lane, Michael L. McManus, Laurie C. Alexander, Jay R. Christensen
2018, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (22) 1851-1873
Effective monitoring and prediction of flood and drought events requires an improved understanding of how and why surface water expansion and contraction in response to climate varies across space. This paper sought to (1) quantify how interannual patterns of surface water expansion and contraction vary spatially across the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR)...
Conceptual model to assess water use associated with the life cycle of unconventional oil and gas development
Joshua F. Valder, Ryan R. McShane, Theodore B. Barnhart, Roy Sando, Janet M. Carter, Robert F. Lundgren
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5027
As the demand for energy increases in the United States, so does the demand for water used to produce many forms of that energy. Technological advances, limited access to conventional oil and gas accumulations, and the rise of oil and gas prices resulted in increased development of unconventional oil and...
A conservation paradox in the Great Basin—Altering sagebrush landscapes with fuel breaks to reduce habitat loss from wildfire
Douglas J. Shinneman, Cameron L. Aldridge, Peter S. Coates, Matthew J. Germino, David S. Pilliod, Nicole M. Vaillant
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1034
Interactions between fire and nonnative, annual plant species (that is, “the grass/fire cycle”) represent one of the greatest threats to sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems and associated wildlife, including the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). In 2015, U.S. Department of the Interior called for a “science-based strategy to reduce the threat...
Downstream fish passage guide walls: A hydraulic scale model analysis
Kevin Mulligan, Brett Towler, Alexander J. Haro, David P. Ahlfeld
2018, Ecological Engineering (115) 122-138
Partial-depth guide walls are used to improve passage efficiency and reduce the delay of out-migrating anadromous fish species by guiding fish to a bypass route (i.e. weir, pipe, sluice gate) that circumvents the turbine intakes, where survival is usually lower. Evaluation and monitoring studies, however, indicate a high propensity for...
Misleading prioritizations from modelling range shifts under climate change
Helen Sofaer, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Curtis H. Flather
2018, Global Ecology and Biogeography (27) 658-666
AimConservation planning requires the prioritization of a subset of taxa and geographical locations to focus monitoring and management efforts. Integration of the threats and opportunities posed by climate change often relies on predictions from species distribution models, particularly for assessments of vulnerability or invasion risk for multiple taxa. We evaluated...
Stress concentrations at structural discontinuities in active fault zones in the western United States: Implications for permeability and fluid flow in geothermal fields
Drew L. Siler, Nicholas H. Hinz, James E. Faulds
2018, GSA Bulletin (130) 1273-1288
Slip can induce concentration of stresses at discontinuities along fault systems. These structural discontinuities, i.e., fault terminations, fault step-overs, intersections, bends, and other fault interaction areas, are known to host fluid flow in ore deposition systems, oil and gas reservoirs, and geothermal systems. We modeled stress transfer associated with slip...
Restricted access Giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, increases faunal diversity through physical engineering
Robert J. Miller, Kevin D. Lafferty, Thomas Lamy, Li Kui, Andrew Rassweiler, Daniel C. Reed
2018, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (285)
Foundation species define the ecosystems they live in, but ecologists have often characterized dominant plants as foundational without supporting evidence. Giant kelp has long been considered a marine foundation species due to its complex structure and high productivity; however, there is little quantitative evidence to evaluate this. Here, we apply...
Direct fitness benefits and kinship of social foraging groups in an Old World tropical babbler
Sara A. Kaiser, Thomas E. Martin, Juan C. Oteyza, Connor E. Armstad, Robert C. Fleischer
2018, Behavioral Ecology (29) 468-478
Molecular studies have revealed that social groups composed mainly of nonrelatives may be widespread in group-living vertebrates, but the benefits favoring such sociality are not well understood. In the Old World, birds often form conspecific foraging groups that are maintained year-round and offspring usually disperse to other social groups. We...
Nest predation risk explains variation in avian clutch size
Kristen G. Dillon, Courtney J. Conway
2018, Behavioral Ecology (29) 301-311
Questions about the ecological drivers of, and mechanistic constraints on, productivity have driven research on life-history evolution for decades. Resource availability and offspring mortality are considered among the 2 most important influences on the number of offspring per reproductive attempt. We used a factorial experimental design to manipulate food abundance...
The isometric log-ratio (ilr)-ion plot: A proposed alternative to the Piper diagram
Jenna L. Shelton, Mark A. Engle, Antonella Buccianti, Madalyn S. Blondes
2018, Journal of Geochemical Exploration (190) 130-141
The Piper diagram has been a staple for the analysis of water chemistry data since its introduction in 1944. It was conceived to be a method for water classification, determination of potential water mixing between end-members, and to aid in the identification of chemical reactions controlling a sample set. This...
Pleistocene vertical motions of the Costa Rican outer forearc from subducting topography and a migrating fracture zone triple junction
Joel H. Edwards, Jared W. Kluesner, Eli A. Silver, Nathan L. Bangs
2018, Geosphere (14) 1-25
Understanding the links between subducting slabs and upper-plate deformation is a longstanding goal in the field of tectonics. New 3D seismic sequence stratigraphy, mapped within the Costa Rica Seismogenesis Project (CRISP) seismic-reflection volume offshore southern Costa Rica, spatiotemporally constrains several Pleistocene outer forearc processes and provides clearer connections to subducting...
Hydrogeologic applications for historical records and images from rock samples collected at the Nevada National Security Site and vicinity, Nye County, Nevada - A supplement to Data Series 297
David B. Wood
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1011
Rock samples have been collected, analyzed, and interpreted from drilling and mining operations at the Nevada National Security Site for over one-half of a century. Records containing geologic and hydrologic analyses and interpretations have been compiled into a series of databases. Rock samples have been photographed and thin sections...
Investigating the origin of continual radio frequency impulses during explosive volcanic eruptions
Sonja A Behnke, Harald E Edens, Ron J Thomas, Cassandra M Smith, Steve R McNutt, Alexa R. Van Eaton, Corrado Cimarelli, Valeria Cigala
2018, Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres (123) 4157-4174
Volcanic lightning studies have revealed that there is a relatively long‐lasting source of very high frequency radiation associated with the onset of explosive volcanic eruptions that is distinct from radiation produced by lightning. This very high frequency signal is referred to as “continual radio frequency (CRF)” due...
Migratory hummingbirds make their own rules: The decision to resume migration along a barrier
Theodore J. Zenzal, Frank R. Moore, Robert H. Diehl, Michael B. Ward, JIll Deppe
2018, Animal Behaviour (137) 215-224
Knowing how naïve migrants respond to intrinsic and extrinsic factors experienced en route will allow a more thorough understanding of the endogenous migratory programme. To understand how inexperienced individuals respond to ecological features, we tracked the migratory departures of juvenile ruby-throated hummingbirds, Archilochus colubris,...
Assessment of geochemical and hydrologic conditions near Old Yuma Mine in Saguaro National Park, Arizona, 2014–17
Kimberly R. Beisner, Floyd Gray
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5019
The Old Yuma Mine is an abandoned copper, lead, zinc, silver, and gold mine located within the boundaries of Saguaro National Park, Tucson Mountain District, Arizona. This study analyzed the geochemistry of sediments associated with the Old Yuma Mine and assessed hydrologic and geochemical conditions of groundwater to evaluate the...
Winter feeding of elk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and its effects on disease dynamics
Gavin G. Cotterill, Paul C. Cross, Eric K. Cole, Rebecca K. Fuda, Jared D. Rogerson, Brandon Scurlock, Johan T. du Toit
2018, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (373) 1-9
Providing food to wildlife during periods when natural food is limited results in aggregations that may facilitate disease transmission. This is exemplified in western Wyoming where institutional feeding over the past century has aimed to mitigate wildlife–livestock conflict and minimize winter mortality of elk (Cervus canadensis). Here we review research...
Rapid growth of the US wildland-urban interface raises wildfire risk
Volker C. Radeloff, David P. Helmers, H. Anu Kramer, Miranda H. Mockrin, Patricia M. Alexandre, Avi Bar-Massada, Van Butsic, Todd Hawbaker, Sebastian Martinuzzi, Alexandra D. Syphard, Susan I. Stewart
2018, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (115) 3314-3319
The wildland-urban interface (WUI) is the area where houses and wildland vegetation meet or intermingle, and where wildfire problems are most pronounced. Here we report that the WUI in the United States grew rapidly from 1990 to 2010 in terms of both number of new houses (from 30.8 to 43.4...
