Sensitivity of Na+/K+-ATPase isoforms to acid and aluminum explains differential effects on Atlantic salmon osmoregulation in fresh water and seawater
Amy M. Regish, John T. Kelly, Michael F. O'Dea, Stephen D. McCormick
2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (75) 1319-1328
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts are sensitive to acid rain and associated increases in dissolved inorganic aluminum (Al) resulting in decreased seawater tolerance at this critical life stage. Salmon have two major isoforms of the catalytic alpha subunit of Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA), with NKAα1a being the major freshwater (FW) isoform and...
Convergence of marine megafauna movement patterns in coastal and open oceans
A. M. M. Sequeira, J.P. Rodriguez, V. M. Eguíluz, R. Harcourt, M. Hindell, D.W. Sims, C.M. Duarte, D.P. Costa, J. Fernandez-Gracia, L.C. Ferreira, G.C. Hays, M. R. Heupel, M.G. Meekan, A. Aven, F. Bailleul, A. M. M. Baylis, M. L. Berumen, C. D. Braun, J. Burns, M.J. Caley, R. Campbell, R.H. Carmichael, E. Clua, L. D. Einoder, Ari Friedlaender, M. E. Goebel, S.D. Goldsworthy, C. Guinet, J. Gunn, D. Hamer, N. Hammerschlag, M. Hammill, L.A. Hückstädt, N.E. Humphries, M.-A. Lea, A. Lowther, A. Mackay, E. McHuron, J. Mckenzie, L. McLeay, C.R. McMahon, K. Mengersen, M. M. C. Muelbert, Anthony M. Pagano, B. Page, N. Queiroz, P. W. Robinson, S. A. Shaffer, M. Shivji, G. B. Skomal, S. Thorrold, S. Villegas-Amtmann, M. Weise, R. Wells, B. Wetherbee, A. Wiebkin, B. Wienecke, M. Thums
2018, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (115) 3072-3077
The extent of increasing anthropogenic impacts on large marine vertebrates partly depends on the animals’ movement patterns. Effective conservation requires identification of the key drivers of movement including intrinsic properties and extrinsic constraints associated with the dynamic nature of the environments the animals inhabit. However, the relative importance of intrinsic...
Modeling wildfire-induced permafrost deformation in an Alaskan boreal forest using InSAR observations
Yusef Eshqi Molan, Jin-Woo Kim, Zhong Lu, Bruce K. Wylie, Zhiliang Zhu
2018, Remote Sensing (10)
The discontinuous permafrost zone is one of the world’s most sensitive areas to climate change. Alaskan boreal forest is underlain by discontinuous permafrost, and wildfires are one of the most influential agents negatively impacting the condition of permafrost in the arctic region. Using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) of Advanced...
DEEP SEARCH: Deep sea exploration to advance research on coral/canyon/cold seep habitats
Erik E. Cordes, Amanda W. J. Demopoulos, Gregory Boland, Caitlin Adams
2018, Oceanography (31) 97-98
Launched in August 2017, Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral/Canyon/Cold seep Habitats (DEEP SEARCH) is a multiyear, multi-agency study to characterize the deep-sea ecosystems of the US Mid- and South Atlantic (Figure 1). The study is funded through an interagency partnership between NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy...
A phylogenetic overview of the genus Vertigo O. F. Müller, 1773 (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Pupillidae: Vertigininae)
Jeffrey C. Nekola, Satoshi Chiba, Brian F. Coles, Charles A. Drost, Ted von Proschwitz, Michal Horsak
2018, Malacologia (62) 21-161
We document global phylogenetic pattern in the pupillid land snail genus Vertigo by analyses of nDNA (ITS1 and ITS2) and mtDNA (CytB and 16S) sequence from 424 individuals representing 91 putative specific and subspecific Vertigo taxa. nDNA and mtDNA data were separately subjected to neighbor-joining, minimum evolution, maximum likelihood and Bayesian reconstruction methods, with...
Freshwater mussel salvage and relocation at the Pond Eddy Bridge, Delaware River, New York and Pennsylvania
Heather S. Galbraith, Carrie J. Blakeslee, Jeffrey C. Cole
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1009
In a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, freshwater mussels were salvaged and relocated from the anticipated zone of impact for the Pond Eddy Bridge construction project in New York and Pennsylvania. Five 25-meter (m) by 25-m cells along the Pennsylvania...
ModelArchiver—A program for facilitating the creation of groundwater model archives
Richard B. Winston
2018, Open-File Report 2017-1149
ModelArchiver is a program designed to facilitate the creation of groundwater model archives that meet the requirements of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) policy (Office of Groundwater Technical Memorandum 2016.02, https://water.usgs.gov/admin/memo/GW/gw2016.02.pdf, https://water.usgs.gov/ogw/policy/gw-model/). ModelArchiver version 1.0 leads the user step-by-step through the process of creating a USGS...
Smallmouth bass predation on subyearling fall Chinook salmon in Lower Granite Reservoir, 2016–2017
John M. Erhardt, Kenneth F. Tiffan, Rulon J. Hemingway, Brad K. Bickford, Tobyn N. Rhodes
2018, Report, Snake River fall Chinook salmon life history investigations
Predation by nonnative fishes is one factor that has been implicated in the decline of juvenile salmonids in the Pacific Northwest. Impoundment of much of the Snake and Columbia Rivers has altered food webs and created habitat favorable for species such as smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu. Smallmouth bass are common...
Challenges of forecasting flooding on coral reef–lined coasts
Curt D. Storlazzi
2018, Eos, Earth and Space Science News (99)
Understanding wave-driven coastal flooding is a challenging scientific problem; the need for forecasts is becoming more urgent because of sea level rise, climate change, and ever-growing coastal populations. The tools developed for sandy shorelines are generally not applicable to coral reef–lined coasts with their complex bathymetry, hydrodynamically rough reef platforms,...
Chronic wasting disease—Status, science, and management support by the U.S. Geological Survey
Christina M. Carlson, M. Camille Hopkins, Natalie T. Nguyen, Bryan J. Richards, Daniel P. Walsh, W. David Walter
2018, Open-File Report 2017-1138
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigates chronic wasting disease (CWD) at multiple science centers and cooperative research units across the Nation and supports the management of CWD through science-based strategies. CWD research conducted by USGS scientists has three strategies: (1) to understand the biology, ecology, and causes and distribution of...
Discovering the deep: Exploring remote Pacific marine protected areas
Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Steven Auscavitch, Derek Sowers, Nikolai Pawlenko, Brian R. C. Kennedy
2018, Oceanography (31) 76-77
The 2017 Discovering the Deep expedition provided the first glimpse of the deep-sea geology and ecology of the deepwater regions of Swains Island, the Howland and Baker Islands Unit of PRIMNM, Phoenix Islands Protected Areas (PIPA), and the Tokelau Region (Figure 1). Prior to this expedition, virtually no visual reconnaissance...
Individual species–area relationships in temperate coniferous forests
Adrian J. Das, Andrew J. Larson, James A. Lutz
2018, Journal of Vegetation Science (29) 317-324
QuestionsWhat drives individual species–area relationships in temperate coniferous forests?LocationTwo 25.6‐ha forest plots on the Pacific Slope of North America, one in California, and one in Washington State.MethodsWe mapped all trees ≥1 cm in diameter and examined tree species diversity...
Environmental, anthropogenic, and dietary influences on fine-scale movement patterns of Atlantic salmon through challenging waters
Andrew B. Harbicht, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, Dimitry Gorsky, D.M. Hand, D.J. Fraser, W.R. Ardren
2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (75) 2198-2210
Partial barriers to migration can affect migratory fish population dynamics and be influenced by many biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors, including nutritional deficiencies. We investigated how such variables (including a thiamine deficiency) impact fine-scale movement of landlocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) by treating returning spawners with thiamine and observing their...
Application of imaging spectroscopy for mineral exploration in Alaska: A study over porphyry Cu deposits in the eastern Alaska Range
Garth E. Graham, Raymond F. Kokaly, Karen D. Kelley, Todd M. Hoefen, Michaela Johnson, Bernard E. Hubbard
2018, Economic Geology (113) 489.-510
The U.S. Geological Survey tested the utility of imaging spectroscopy (also referred to as hyperspectral remote sensing) as an aid to regional mineral exploration efforts in remote parts of Alaska. Airborne imaging spectrometer data were collected in 2014 over unmined porphyry Cu deposits in...
Improving predictions of hydrological low-flow indices in ungaged basins using machine learning
Scott C. Worland, William H. Farmer, Julie E. Kiang
2018, Environmental Modelling and Software (101) 169-182
We compare the ability of eight machine-learning models (elastic net, gradient boosting, kernel-k-nearest neighbors, two variants of support vector machines, M5-cubist, random forest, and a meta-learning ensemble M5-cubist model) and four baseline models (ordinary kriging, a unit area discharge model, and two variants of censored regression) to generate estimates of the...
Volcanic aquifers of Hawai‘i—Hydrogeology, water budgets, and conceptual models
Scot K. Izuka, John A. Engott, Kolja Rotzoll, Maoya Bassiouni, Adam G. Johnson, Lisa D. Miller, Alan Mair
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5164
Hawai‘i’s aquifers have limited capacity to store fresh groundwater because each island is small and surrounded by saltwater. Saltwater also underlies much of the fresh groundwater. Fresh groundwater resources are, therefore, particularly vulnerable to human activity, short-term climate cycles, and long-term climate change. Availability of fresh groundwater for human use...
Stability and change in kelp forest habitats at San Nicolas Island
Michael C. Kenner, M. Tim Tinker
2018, Western North American Naturalist (78) 633-643
Kelp forest communities are highly variable over space and time. Despite this complexity it has been suggested that kelp forest communities can be classified into one of 2 states: kelp dominated or sea urchin dominated. It has been further hypothesized that these represent “alternate stable states” because a site can...
Does behavioural thermoregulation underlie seasonal movements in Lake Erie walleye?
Graham D. Raby, Christopher Vandergoot, Todd A. Hayden, Matthew D. Faust, Richard T. Kraus, John M. Dettmers, Steven J. Cooke, Yingming Zhao, Aaron T. Fisk, Charles C. Krueger
2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (75) 488-496
Thermoregulation is presumed to be a widespread determinant of behaviour in fishes, but has not often been investigated as a mechanism shaping long-distance migrations. We used acoustic telemetry and animal-borne thermal loggers to test the hypothesis that seasonal migration in adult walleye (Sander vitreus) in Lake Erie is size- and...
Adaptive influence of extrinsic and intrinsic factors on variation of incubation periods among tropical and temperate passerines
Thomas E. Martin, Riccardo Ton, Juan C. Oteyza
2018, The Auk (135) 101-113
Understanding intrinsic (physiological) and extrinsic (e.g., temperature) causes of variation in embryonic development time (incubation period) is important because they can have different impacts on individual quality. Robert Ricklefs and colleagues have argued that longer incubation periods result primarily from intrinsic physiological programs that increase individual quality and adult survival....
Golden Eagle Monitoring Plan for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan
David Wiens, Patrick Kolar, Todd E. Katzner
2018, Report
This report describes options for monitoring the status and population trends of the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) within the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) area of Southern California in maintaining stable or increasing population in the planning area. The report profiles the ecology of golden eagles in the region...
Fire and climate suitability for woody vegetation communities in the south central United States
Esther Stroh, Matthew Struckhoff, Michael C. Stambaugh, Richard P. Guyette
2018, Fire Ecology (14) 106-124
Climate and fire are primary drivers of plant species distributions. Long-term management of south central United States woody vegetation communities can benefit from information on potential changes in climate and fire frequencies, and how these changes might affect plant communities. We used historical (1900 to 1929) and future (2040 to...
Technical note: False low turbidity readings from optical probes during high suspended-sediment concentrations
Nicholas Voichick, David J. Topping, Ronald E. Griffiths
2018, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (22) 1767-1773
Turbidity, a measure of water clarity, is monitored for a variety of purposes including (1) to help determine whether water is safe to drink, (2) to establish background conditions of lakes and rivers and detect pollution caused by construction projects and stormwater discharge, (3) to study sediment transport in rivers and erosion in catchments, (4) to...
Species‐ and habitat‐specific otolith chemistry patterns inform riverine fisheries management
William Radigan, Andrew K. Carlson, Jeremy Kientz, Steven R. Chipps, Mark J. Fincel, Brian D. S. Graeb
2018, River Research and Applications (34) 279-287
Geology and hydrology are drivers of water chemistry and thus important considerations for fish otolith chemistry research. However, other factors such as species and habitat identity may have predictive ability, enabling selection of appropriate elemental signatures prior to costly, perhaps unnecessary water/age‐0 fish sampling. The goal...
Distinguishing values from science in decision making: Setting harvest quotas for mountain lions in Montana
Michael S. Mitchell, Hilary Cooley, Justin A. Gude, Jay Kolbe, J. Joshua Nowak, Kelly M. Proffitt, Sarah N. Sells, Mike Thompson
2018, Wildlife Society Bulletin (42) 13-21
The relative roles of science and human values can be difficult to distinguish when informal processes are used to make complex and contentious decisions in wildlife management. Structured Decision Making (SDM) offers a formal process for making such decisions, where scientific results and concepts can be disentangled from the values...
Monitoring Least Bitterns (Ixobrychis exilis) in Vermont: Detection probability and occupancy modeling
Aswini Cherukuri, Allan Strong, Therese M. Donovan
2018, Northeastern Naturalist (25) 56-71
Ixobrychus exillis (Least Bittern) is listed as a species of high concern in the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan and is a US Fish and Wildlife Service migratory bird species of conservation concern in the Northeast. Little is known about the population of Least Bitterns in the Northeast because of their...
