Influence of observers and stream flow on northern two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata bislineata) relative abundance estimates in Acadia and Shenandoah National Parks, USA
J.B. Crocker, M.S. Bank, Cynthia S. Loftin, R.E. Jung Brown
2007, Journal of Herpetology (41) 325-329
We investigated effects of observers and stream flow on Northern Two-Lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata bislineata) counts in streams in Acadia (ANP) and Shenandoah National Parks (SNP). We counted salamanders in 22 ANP streams during high flow (May to June 2002) and during low flow (July 2002). We also counted salamanders...
Mapping the information landscape: Discerning peaks and valleys for ecological monitoring
L.J. Moniz, J.D. Nichols, J.M. Nichols
2007, Journal of Biological Physics (33) 171-181
We investigate previously unreported phenomena that have a potentially significant impact on the design of surveillance monitoring programs for ecological systems. Ecological monitoring practitioners have long recognized that different species are differentially informative of a system's dynamics, as codified in the well-known concepts of indicator or keystone species. Using a...
Adaptive harvest management of North American waterfowl populations: a brief history and future prospects
J.D. Nichols, M.C. Runge, Fred A. Johnson, B. Kenneth Williams
2007, Journal of Ornithology (148) S343-S349
Since 1995, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has used an adaptive approach to the management of sport harvest of mid-continent Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) in North America. This approach differs from many current approaches to conservation and management in requiring close collaboration between managers and scientists. Key elements of...
A sampling device for the fauna of storm water catch basins
M. Butler, R. Casagrande, R. LeBrun, H. Ginsberg, A. Gettman
2007, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the New Jersey Mosquito Control Association (94) 70-74
Storm water drainage catch basins provide habitat to a variety of different aquatic organisms including arthropods, molluscs and annelid worms. Arthropods such as mosquitoes are known to use these environments as larval habitat. Because of health concerns, catch basins are often targeted for mosquito control exposing all inhabitants...
Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project: Challenges in waterbird restoration on an island in Chesapeake Bay
R.M. Erwin, J. Miller, J.G. Reese
2007, Ecological Restoration (25) 256-262
At 460 hectares, the Paul Sarbanes Environmental Restoration Project at Poplar Island, Talbot County, Maryland, represents the largest 'beneficial use' dredged material project of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (a cooperative project with Maryland Port Administration). Begun in 1998, the 15-year restoration project will ultimately consist of roughly...
Water level management and contaminant exposure to tree swallows nesting on the Upper Mississippi River
T. W. Custer, P.M. Dummer, Christine M. Custer, A.U. Li, D. Warburton, M. J. Melancon, D. J. Hoffman, C. W. Matson, J. W. Bickham
2007, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (133) 335-345
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a water drawdown on Navigation Pool 8 of the Upper Mississippi River during the summers of 2001 and 2002 to increase aquatic vegetation production and thereby improve fish and wildlife habitat. Flooding of previously dried wetlands, however, may increase the rate of...
Biomechanical factors contributing to self-organization in seagrass landscapes
M.S. Fonseca, M.A.R. Koehl, B.S. Kopp
2007, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (340) 227-246
Field observations have revealed that when water flow is consistently from one direction, seagrass shoots align in rows perpendicular to the primary axis of flow direction. In this study, live Zostera marina shoots were arranged either randomly or in rows perpendicular to the flow direction and tested in a seawater...
Natural communities in catch basins in southern Rhode Island
M. Butler, H. S. Ginsberg, R.A. LeBrun, A.D. Gettman, F. Pollnak
2007, Northeastern Naturalist (14) 235-250
Storm-water drainage catch basins are manmade structures that often contain water and organic matter, making them suitable environments for various organisms. We censused organisms inhabiting catch basins in southern Rhode Island in 2002 in an effort to begin to describe these communities. Catch-basin inhabitants were mostly detritivores, including...
Model estimation of land-use effects on water levels of northern Prairie wetlands
R.A. Voldseth, W.C. Johnson, T. Gilmanov, G.R. Guntenspergen, B.V. Millett
2007, Ecological Applications (17) 527-540
Wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region exist in a matrix of grassland dominated by intensive pastoral and cultivation agriculture. Recent conservation management has emphasized the conversion of cultivated farmland and degraded pastures to intact grassland to improve upland nesting habitat. The consequences of changes in land-use cover that...
Chytridiomycosis widespread in Anurans of Northeastern United States
J. R. Longcore, J.E. Longcore, Allan P. Pessier, W.A. Halteman
2007, Journal of Wildlife Management (71) 435-444
An emerging disease of amphibians caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has been associated with morbidity, mortality, and extinction of species. Typically, researchers have detected B. dendrobatidis only when examining amphibians for causes of mortalities; few data exist on infection rates where mortalities are lacking. During May-September 2000-2002 we...
Winter behavior and ecology of the Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum) in Peru
M.S. Foster
2007, Ornitologia Neotropical (18) 171-186
The winter ecology and behavior of Alder Flycatchers (Empidonax alnorum) were studied along the Manu, a white-water meander river in Manu National Park, Madre de Dios, Peru during October and November, 1993 to 1997. The birds occupied territories in primary-succession habitats on growing point bars. They were most...
Adult tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) survival on the polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated Housatonic River, Massachusetts, USA
Christine M. Custer, T. W. Custer, J.E. Hines, J.D. Nichols, P.M. Dummer
2007, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (26) 1056-1065
Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) were captured and banded at six sites that differed in polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination levels in the Housatonic River watershed, western Massachusetts, USA, from 2000 through 2004 to test the prediction that apparent survival rates of females in more contaminated areas were lower than those from...
A multivariate assessment of changes in wetland habitat for waterbirds at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Maine, USA
L.A. Hierl, C.S. Loftin, J. R. Longcore, D.G. McAuley, D.L. Urban
2007, Wetlands (27) 141-152
We assessed changes in vegetative structure of 49 impoundments at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR), Maine, USA, between the periods 1984-1985 to 2002 with a multivariate, adaptive approach that may be useful in a variety of wetland and other habitat management situations. We used Mahalanobis Distance (MD) analysis to...
Herbivory by resident geese: The loss and recovery of wild rice along the tidal Patuxent River
G. Michael Haramis, Gregory D. Kearns
2007, Journal of Wildlife Management (71) 788-794
Well known for a fall spectacle of maturing wild rice (Zizania aquatica) and migrant waterbirds, the tidal freshwater marshes of the Patuxent River, Maryland, USA, experienced a major decline in wild rice during the 1990s. We conducted experiments in 1999 and 2000 with fenced exclosures and discovered herbivory by resident...
Hydrologic connectivity and the contribution of stream headwaters to ecological integrity at regional scales
Mary C. Freeman, C. M. Pringle, C.R. Jackson
2007, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (43) 5-14
Cumulatively, headwater streams contribute to maintaining hydrologic connectivity and ecosystem integrity at regional scales. Hydrologic connectivity is the water-mediated transport of matter, energy and organisms within or between elements of the hydrologic cycle. Headwater streams compose over two-thirds of total stream length in a typical river drainage and...
[Book Review] Waterfowl ecology and management by Guy A. Baldassarre and Eric G. Bolen
Glenn H. Olsen
2007, The Quarterly Review of Biology (82) 73-74
A review of: Waterfowl Ecology and Management. Second Edition. By Guy A Baldassarre and , Eric G Bolen; illustrated by , Tamara R Sayre. Malabar (Florida): Krieger Publishing. $112.50. xii + 567 p; ill.; index. ISBN: 1‐57524‐260‐5. 2006...
Evaluation of Streamflow Gain-Loss Characteristics of Hubbard Creek, in the Vicinity of a Mine-Permit Area, Delta County, Colorado, 2007
Barbara C. Ruddy, Cory A. Williams
2007, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5271
In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Bowie Mining Company, initiated a study to characterize the streamflow and streamflow gain-loss in a reach of Hubbard Creek in Delta County, Colorado, in the vicinity of a mine-permit area planned for future coal mining. Premining streamflow characteristics and streamflow gain-loss...
South San Francisco Bay, California
Peter Dartnell, Helen Gibbons
2007, General Information Product 57
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the California Coastal Conservancy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, mapped the floor of south San Francisco Bay and adjoining land using single-beam sonar and airborne lidar (light detection and ranging). To learn more, visit http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2007/2987/. View eastward. Elevations in mapped area color...
Evaluation of marsh development processes at Fire Island National Seashore: Recent and historic perspectives
C. T. Roman, D.R. King, Donald R. Cahoon, J.C. Lynch, P.G. Appleby
2007, Report
Purpose and significance of the study: Salt marshes are dynamic environments, increasing in vertical elevation and migrating, often landward, as sea level rises. With sea level rise greater than marsh elevation increase, marshes can be submerged, marsh soils become waterlogged, and plant growth becomes stressed, often resulting in...
Waterbirds of the Chesapeake Bay and Vicinity: Harbingers of Change?
2007, Waterbirds (30)
Assessment of Alternative Substrates for Culturing Lumbriculus variegatus
P. J. Lasier
2007, Book chapter, 28th Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry North America, Midwest Express Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA), 11-15 Nov.
The freshwater oligochaete, Lumbriculus variegatus, is tank-cultured to provide organisms for aquatic-habitat assessments, regeneration research and as a clean source of live food for aquarium fishes. Shredded paper is the typical substrate in cultures used to rear L. variegatus for these purposes. However, the effort needed to separate...
Soras in tidal marsh: Banding and telemetry studies on the Patuxent River, Maryland
G. Michael Haramis, Gregory D. Kearns
2007, Waterbirds (30) 105-121
From 1993 to 1999, we conducted banding and telemetry studies of fall migrant Soras (Porzana carolina) in the historic rail hunting and exceptional stopover habitat of the Wild Rice (Zizania aquatica) marshes of the tidal Patuxent River. Drift traps equipped with audio lures produced 3,897 Sora and 417 Virginia Rail...
Restoration of waterbird habitats in Chesapeake Bay: Great expectations or Sisyphus revisited?
R.M. Erwin, R.A. Beck
R. Michael Erwin, Bryan D. Watts, G.Michael Haramis, Matthew C. Perry, Keith A. Hobson, editor(s)
2007, Book chapter, Waterbirds of the Chesapeake Bay and Vicinity: Harbingers of Change?
In the past half century, many waterbird populations in Chesapeake Bay have declined or shifted ranges, indicating major ecological changes have occurred. While many studies have focused on the problems associated with environmental degradation such as the losses of coastal wetlands and submerged vegetation, a number of restoration efforts...
Changes in food and habitats of waterbirds
Matthew C. Perry
S.W. Phillips, editor(s)
2007, Book chapter, Synthesis of U.S. Geological Survey science for the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and implications for environmental management
Factors affecting coastal wetland loss and restoration
Donald R. Cahoon
S.W. Phillips, editor(s)
2007, Book chapter, Synthesis of U.S. Geological Survey science for the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and implications for environmental management
Opening paragraph: Tidal and nontidal wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay watershed provide vital hydrologic, water-quality, and ecological functions. Situated at the interface of land and water, these valuable habitats are vulnerable to alteration and loss by human activities including direct conversion to non-wetland habitat by dredge-and-fill activities from land...
