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...
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...
Reduced thermal tolerance during salinity acclimation in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) can be rescued by prior treatment with cortisol
Ciaran A. Shaugnessy, Stephen D. McCormick
2018, Journal of Experimental Biology (221)
The aims of this study were to assess whether thermal tolerance of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is affected during seawater (SW) acclimation and to investigate the role of cortisol in osmoregulation and thermal tolerance during SW acclimation. Freshwater (FW)-acclimated brook trout at 18°C (Tacc) were exposed to SW for 16 days,...
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...
High pressure size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) determination of dissolved organic matter molecular weight revisited: Accounting for changes in stationary phases, analytical standards, and isolation methods
Brandon C. McAdams, George R. Aiken, Diane M. McKnight, William A. Arnold, Yu-Ping Chin
2018, Environmental Science & Technology (52) 722-730
We reassessed the molecular weight of dissolved organic matter (DOM) determined by high pressure size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) using measurements made with different columns and various generations of polystyrenesulfonate (PSS) molecular weight standards. Molecular weight measurements made with a newer generation HPSEC column and PSS standards from more recent lots...
Plasticity in physiological condition of female brown bears across diverse ecosystems
Grant V. Hilderbrand, David Gustine, Buck A. Mangipane, Kyle Joly, William Leacock, Lindsey Mangipane, Joy Erlenbach, Mathew Sorum, Matthew Cameron, Jerrold L. Belant, Troy Cambier
2018, Polar Biology (41) 773-780
Variation in life history strategies facilitates the near global distribution of mammals by expanding realized niche width. We investigated physiological plasticity in the spring body composition of adult female brown bears (Ursus arctos) across 4 diverse Alaskan ecosystems. Brown bears are a highly intelligent omnivore with a historic...
Associating sex-biased and seasonal behaviour with contact patterns and transmission risk in Gopherus agassizii
Christina M. Aiello, Todd Esque, K. E. Nussear, P. G. Emblidge, Peter J. Hudson
2018, Behaviour (155) 585-619
Interactions between wildlife hosts act as transmission routes for directly transmitted pathogens and vary in ways that affect transmission efficiency. Identifying drivers of contact variation can allow both contact inference and estimation of transmission dynamics despite limited data. In desert tortoises, mating strategy, burrow use and seasonal change influence numerous...
Bat activity following restoration prescribed burning in the central Appalachian Upland and riparian habitats
Lauren V. Austin, Alexander Silvis, W. Mark Ford, Michael Muthersbaugh, Karen E. Powers
2018, Natural Areas Journal (38) 183-195
After decades of fire suppression in eastern North America, land managers now are prioritizing prescribed fire as a management tool to restore or maintain fire-adapted vegetation communities. However, in long—fire-suppressed landscapes, such as the central and southern Appalachians, it is unknown how bats will respond to prescribed fire in both...
Increased scientific rigor will improve reliability of research and effectiveness of management
Sarah N. Sells, Sarah B. Bassing, Kristin J. Barker, Shannon C. Forshee, Allison Keever, James W. Goerz, Michael S. Mitchell
2018, Journal of Wildlife Management (82) 485-494
Rigorous science that produces reliable knowledge is critical to wildlife management because it increases accurate understanding of the natural world and informs management decisions effectively. Application of a rigorous scientific method based on hypothesis testing minimizes unreliable knowledge produced by research. To evaluate the prevalence of scientific rigor in wildlife...
2018 one‐year seismic hazard forecast for the central and eastern United States from induced and natural earthquakes
Mark D. Petersen, Charles Mueller, Morgan P. Moschetti, Susan M. Hoover, Kenneth S. Rukstales, Daniel E. McNamara, Robert A. Williams, Allison Shumway, Peter M. Powers, Paul S. Earle, Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael, Justin L. Rubinstein, Jack Norbeck, Elizabeth S. Cochran
2018, Seismological Research Letters (89) 1049-1061
This article describes the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 2018 one‐year probabilistic seismic hazard forecast for the central and eastern United States from induced and natural earthquakes. For consistency, the updated 2018 forecast is developed using the same probabilistic seismicity‐based methodology as applied in the two previous forecasts. Rates of earthquakes...
Factors impacting hunter access to private lands in southeast Minnesota
Eric Walberg, Louis Cornicelli, David C. Fulton
2018, Human Dimensions of Wildlife (23) 101-114
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have important socioeconomic and ecological impacts in the United States. Hunting is considered to be important for the effective management of deer and relies on access to privately owned lands. In 2013, we surveyed nonindustrial private landowners in southeast Minnesota and created two logit models to...
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...
From top to bottom: Do Lake Trout diversify along a depth gradient in Great Bear Lake, NT, Canada?
Louise Chavarie, Kimberly L. Howland, Les N. Harris, Michael J. Hansen, William J. Harford, Colin P. Gallagher, Shauna M. Baillie, Brendan Malley, William M. Tonn, Andrew M. Muir, Charles C. Krueger
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-28
Depth is usually considered the main driver of Lake Trout intraspecific diversity across lakes in North America. Given that Great Bear Lake is one of the largest and deepest freshwater systems in North America, we predicted that Lake Trout intraspecific diversity to be organized along a depth axis within this...
New petrological, geochemical, and geochronological perspectives on andesite-dacite magma genesis at Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand
Chris E Conway, John A Gamble, Colin J.N. Wilson, Graham S. Leonard, Dougal B. Townsend, Andrew T. Calvert
2018, American Mineralogist (103) 565-581
Time–composition relationships in eruptive sequences at composite volcanoes can show how the ongoing intrusion of magmas progressively affects the lithosphere at continental convergent margins. Here, new whole-rock and microanalytical major and trace element data from andesite-dacite lava flows are integrated with previous...
The bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Louisiana: an updated, annotated checklist
Brittany E. Owens, Larry K. Allain, Eric C. VanGorder, Janice L. Bossart, Christopher E. Carlton
2018, Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington (120) 272-307
An annotated checklist is provided for 243 species and subspecies of bees collected from or thought to occur in the state of Louisiana, where 163 are confirmed records, 46 are probable records, and 34 are possible records. We also list twelve records considered to be “dubious” because of the absence...
Estimating the effects of wetland conservation practices in croplands: Approaches for modeling in CEAP–Cropland Assessment
Diane De Steven, David Mushet
2018, Report
Quantifying the current and potential benefits of conservation practices can be a valuable tool for encouraging greater practice adoption on agricultural lands. A goal of the CEAP-Cropland Assessment is to estimate the environmental effects of conservation practices that reduce losses (exports) of soil, nutrients, and pesticides from farmlands to streams...