Value of sample information in dynamic, structurally uncertain resource systems
Byron K. Williams, Fred A. Johnson
2018, PLoS ONE (13)
Few if any natural resource systems are completely understood and fully observed. Instead, there almost always is uncertainty about the way a system works and its status at any given time, which can limit effective management. A natural approach to uncertainty is to allocate time and effort to the collection...
Post-spring migration colony-site prospecting by Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii)
Jeffrey A. Spendelow, Adam J. Eichenwald
2018, North American Bird Bander (43) 1-6
We recorded banded Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) and unbanded individuals mated to banded individuals in May and the first third of June in 2001 and 2002 to quantify post spring migration prospecting by this species at Falkner Island, Connecticut, USA. In 2001, more than one quarter: 34/125 (27.2%) of those...
Rapid, remote assessment of Hurricane Matthew impacts using four-dimensional structure-from-motion photogrammetry
Christopher R. Sherwood, Jonathan A. Warrick, Andrew D. Hill, Andrew C. Ritchie, Brian D. Andrews, Nathaniel G. Plant
2018, Journal of Coastal Research (34) 1303-1316
Timely assessment of coastal landforms and structures after storms is important for evaluating storm impacts, aiding emergency response and restoration, and initializing and assessing morphological models. Four-dimensional multiview photogrammetry, also known as structure from motion (4D SfM), provides a method for generating three-dimensional reconstructions of landscapes at two times (before...
An update on Toxoplasma gondii infections in northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) from Washington State, USA
Shiv K. Verma, Susan Knowles, Camila K. Cerqueira-Cezar, Oliver C. Kwok, Tiantian Jiang, Chunlei Su, Jitender P. Dubey
2018, Veterinary Parasitology (258) 133-137
Toxoplasmosis in marine mammals is epidemiologically and clinically important. Toxoplasma gondii antibodies (by modified agglutination test, cut-off ≥1:25) were detected in serum of 65 of 70 (92.9%) northern sea otters (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) from Washington State, USA. Brains and/or muscles of 44 sea otters were bioassayed in mice (INF-γ knock-out...
On the reliability of N‐mixture models for count data
Richard J. Barker, Matthew J. Schofield, William A. Link, John R. Sauer
2018, Biometrics (74) 369-377
N‐mixture models describe count data replicated in time and across sites in terms of abundance N and detectability p. They are popular because they allow inference about N while controlling for factors that influence p without the need for marking animals. Using a capture–recapture perspective, we show that the loss...
Candidate products for operational earthquake forecasting illustrated using the HayWired planning scenario, including one very quick (and not‐so‐dirty) hazard‐map option
Edward H. Field, Kevin R. Milner
2018, Seismological Research Letters (89) 1420-1434
In an effort to help address debates on the usefulness of operational earthquake forecasting (OEF), we illustrate a number of OEF products that could be automatically generated in near‐real time. To exemplify, we use an M">M 7.1...
An updated method for estimating landslide‐event magnitude
Hakan Tanyas, Kate E. Allstadt, Cees J. van Weston
2018, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (43) 1836-1847
Summary statistics derived from the frequency–area distribution (FAD) of inventories of triggered landslides allows for direct comparison of landslides triggered by one event (e.g. earthquake, rainstorm) with another. Such comparisons are vital to understand links between the landslide‐event and the environmental characteristics of the area affected. This could lead to...
Modeling the distributions of tegu lizards in native and potential invasive ranges
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Mark Hayes, Lee A. Fitzgerald, Amy Yackel, Bryan Falk, Michelle Collier, Lea Bonewell, Page Klug, Sergio Naretto, Robert Reed
2018, Scientific Reports (8)
Invasive reptilian predators can have substantial impacts on native species and ecosystems. Tegu lizards are widely distributed in South America east of the Andes, and are popular in the international live animal trade. Two species are established in Florida (U.S.A.) - Salvator merianae (Argentine black and white tegu) and Tupinambis...
A semi-arid river in distress: Contributing factors and recovery solutions for three imperiled freshwater mussels (Family Unionidae) endemic to the Rio Grande basin in North America
Charles R. Randklev, Tom Miller, Michael Hart, Jennifer Morton, Nathan A. Johnson, Kevin Skow, Kentaro Inoue, Eric Tsakiris, Susan Oetker, Ryan Smith, Clint Robertson, Roel Lopez
2018, Science of the Total Environment (631-632) 733-744
Freshwater resources in arid and semi-arid regions are in extreme demand, which creates conflicts between needs of humans and aquatic ecosystems. The Rio Grande basin in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico exemplifies this issue, as much of its aquatic biodiversity is in peril as a result of human...
Metamodeling for groundwater age forecasting in the Lake Michigan Basin
Michael N. Fienen, B. Thomas Nolan, Leon J. Kauffman, Daniel T. Feinstein
2018, Water Resources Research (54) 4750-4766
Groundwater age is an important indicator of groundwater susceptibility to anthropogenic contamination and a key input to statistical models for forecasting water quality. Numerical models can provide estimates of groundwater age, enabling interpretation of measured age tracers. However, to extend to national‐scale groundwater systems where numerical models are not routinely...
Applying high-resolution imagery to evaluate restoration-induced changes in stream condition, Missouri River Headwaters Basin, Montana
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Clifton Burt
2018, Remote Sensing (10) 1-28
Degradation of streams and associated riparian habitat across the Missouri River Headwaters Basin has motivated several stream restoration projects across the watershed. Many of these projects install a series of beaver dam analogues (BDAs) to aggrade incised streams, elevate local water tables, and create natural surface water storage by reconnecting...
Rearing performance of juvenile brown trout Salmo trutta fed a bioprocessed soybean meal diet with differing velocity regimes
Jill M. Voorhees, Michael Barnes, Steven R. Chipps, Michael Browne
2018, Open Journal of Animal Sciences (8) 303-328
This 121-day experiment evaluated the rearing performance of brown trout Salmo trutta fed one of two isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets (46% protein, 16% lipid) and reared at velocities of either 2.8 or 16.1 cm/s. Fishmeal was the primary protein source for the reference diet, which was compared to a bioprocessed...
A multiscale natural community and species-level vulnerability assessment of the Gulf Coast, USA
Joshua S. Reece, Amanda Watson, Patricia (Soupy) Dalyander, C. Edwards, Laura Geselbracht, Megan K. LaPeyre, Blair Tirpak, John M. Tirpak, Mark Woodrey
2018, PLoS ONE (13)
Vulnerability assessments combine quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of species or natural communities to current and future threats. When combined with the economic, ecological or evolutionary value of the species, vulnerability assessments quantify the relative risk to regional species and natural communities and can...
Pharmaceuticals, hormones, pesticides, and other bioactive contaminants in water, sediment, and tissue from Rocky Mountain National Park, 2012–2013
William A. Battaglin, Paul M. Bradley, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Celeste A. Journey, Heather L. Walsh, Vicki S. Blazer
2018, Science of the Total Environment (643) 651-673
Pharmaceuticals, hormones, pesticides, and other bioactive contaminants (BCs) are commonly detected in surface water and bed sediment in urban and suburban areas, but these contaminants are understudied in remote locations. In Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), Colorado, USA, BCs may threaten the reproductive success and survival of native aquatic species,...
Cinnamon gulch revisited: Another look at separating natural and mining-impacted contributions to instream metal load
Robert L. Runkel, Philip L. Verplanck, Briant Kimball, Katherine Walton-Day
2018, Applied Geochemistry (95) 206-217
Baseline, premining data for streams draining abandoned mine lands is virtually non existent, and indirect methods for estimating premining conditions are needed to establish realistic, cost effective cleanup goals. One such indirect method is the proximal analog approach, in which premining conditions are estimated using data from nearby mineralized areas...
Before-after, control-impact analysis of evidence for the impacts of water level on Walleye, Northern Pike and Yellow Perch in lakes of the Rainy-Namakan complex (MN, USA and ON, CA)
James H. Larson, Ryan P. Maki, Benjamin A. Vondra, Kevin E. Peterson
2018, PLoS ONE (13)
Water level (WL) fluctuations in lakes influence many aspects of ecosystem processes. Concern about the potential impact of WL fluctuations on fisheries was one of the factors that motivated the decision in 2000 to alter the management of WL in the Rainy-Namakan reservoir complex (on the border between the U.S. state of Minnesota...
Fungal loop transfer of nitrogen depends on biocrust constituents and nitrogen form
Zachary T. Aanderud, Trevor B. Smart, Nan Wu, Alexander S. Taylor, Yuanming Zhang, Jayne Belnap
2018, Biogeosciences (15) 3831-3840
Besides performing multiple ecosystem services individually and collectively, biocrust constituents may also create biological networks connecting spatially and temporally distinct processes. In the fungal loop hypothesis rainfall variability allows fungi to act as conduits and reservoirs, translocating resources between soils and host plants. To evaluate the extent to which biocrust...
Use of Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) burrows as shelter by Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) chicks
Peter C. McGowan, Kaitlyn Reintsma, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Katie P. DeVoss, Jennifer L. Wall, Mia D. Zimnik, Carl R. Callahan, Bill Schultz, Diann J. Prosser
2018, Waterbirds (41) 179-182
The availability of shelter to avoid predation and ameliorate physiologically stressful conditions is often important to the survival of avian hatchlings. However, as changes in habitat availability force birds to nest in nontraditional locations, young must quickly adapt to using novel sources of shelter. Two Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) colonies...
Origin of methane and sources of high concentrations in Los Angeles groundwater
Justin T. Kulongoski, Peter B. McMahon, Michael Land, Michael Wright, Theodore Johnson, Matthew K. Landon
2018, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (123) 818-831
In 2014, samples from 37 monitoring wells at 17 locations, within or near oil fields, and one site >5 km from oil fields, in the Los Angeles Basin, California, were analyzed for dissolved hydrocarbon gas isotopes and abundances. The wells sample a variety of depths of an aquifer system composed...
A simple, cost-effective emitter for controlled release of fish pheromones: development, testing, and application to management of the invasive sea lamprey
C. Michael Wagner, James E. Hanson, Trevor D. Meckley, Nicholas S. Johnson, Jason D. Bals
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-17
Semiochemicals that elicit species-specific attraction or repulsion have proven useful in the management of terrestrial pests and hold considerable promise for control of nuisance aquatic species, particularly invasive fishes. Because aquatic ecosystems are typically large and open, use of a semiochemical to control a spatially dispersed invader will require the...
A framework for identifying and characterising coral reef “oases” against a backdrop of degradation
James R. Guest, Peter J. Edmunds, Ruth D. Gates, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Andreas J Andersson, Brian B. Barnes, Iliana Chollett, Travis A. Courtney, Robin Elahi, Kevin Gross, Elizabeth A. Lenz, Satoshi Mitarai, Peter J. Mumby, Hannah R. Nelson, Britt A. Parker, Hollie M. Putnam, Caroline S. Rogers, Lauren T. Toth
2018, Journal of Applied Ecology (55) 2865-2875
Human activities have led to widespread ecological decline; however, the severity of degradation is spatially heterogeneous due to some locations resisting, escaping, or rebounding from disturbances.We developed a framework for identifying oases within coral reef regions using long‐term monitoring data. We calculated standardised estimates of coral cover (z‐scores) to...
Estimating lag to peak between rainfall and peak streamflow with a mixed-effects model
Pamela J. Lombard, David Holtschlag
2018, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) (54) 949-961
We test the use of a mixed-effects model for estimating lag to peak for small basins in Maine (drainage areas from 0.8 to 78 km2). Lag to peak is defined as the time between the center of volume of the excess rainfall during a storm event and the resulting peak...
Suspended-sediment concentrations and loads in the lower Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers decreased by half between 1980 and 2015
Scott Mize, Jennifer C. Murphy, Timothy H. Diehl, Dennis K. Demcheck
2018, Journal of Hydrology (564) 1-11
The Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) model was used to derive estimates of suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) and suspended-sediment load (SSL), their dependence on discharge, and their trends with confidence intervals, for one site each on the lowermost Mississippi...
Rapid crop cover mapping for the conterminous United States
Devendra Dahal, Bruce K. Wylie, Daniel Howard
2018, Scientific Reports (8)
Timely crop cover maps with sufficient resolution are important components to various environmental planning and research applications. Through the modification and use of a previously developed crop classification model (CCM), which was originally developed to generate historical annual crop cover maps, we hypothesized that such crop cover maps could be...
Divergent effects of land-use, propagule pressure, and climate on woody riparian invasion
Laura G Perry, Lindsay V. Reynolds, Patrick B. Shafroth
2018, Biological Invasions (20) 3271-3295
Landscape-scale analyses of biological invasion are needed to understand the relative importance of environmental drivers that vary at larger scales, such as climate, propagule pressure, resource availability, and human disturbance. One poorly understood landscape-scale question is, how does human land-use influence riparian plant invasion? To evaluate...
