Physical response of a back-barrier estuary to a post-tropical cyclone
Alexis Beudin, Neil Kamal Ganju, Zafer Defne, Alfredo Aretxabaleta
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans (122) 5888-5904
This paper presents a modeling investigation of the hydrodynamic and sediment transport response of Chincoteague Bay (VA/MD, USA) to Hurricane Sandy using the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment-Transport (COAWST) modeling system. Several simulation scenarios with different combinations of remote and local forces were conducted to identify the dominant physical processes. While 80% of...
Seasonal fecundity and costs to λ are more strongly affected by direct than indirect predation effects across species
Joseph A. LaManna, Thomas E. Martin
2017, Ecology (98) 1829-1838
Increased perceived predation risk can cause behavioral and physiological responses to reduce direct predation mortality, but these responses can also cause demographic costs through reduced reproductive output. Such indirect costs of predation risk have received increased attention in recent years, but the relative importance of direct vs. indirect predation costs...
Species distribution models for a migratory bird based on citizen science and satellite tracking data
Christopher L. Coxen, Jennifer K. Frey, Scott A. Carleton, Daniel P. Collins
2017, Global Ecology and Conservation (11) 298-311
Species distribution models can provide critical baseline distribution information for the conservation of poorly understood species. Here, we compared the performance of band-tailed pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) species distribution models created using Maxent and derived from two separate presence-only occurrence data sources in New Mexico: 1) satellite tracked birds and 2) observations...
A cosmopolitan late Ediacaran biotic assemblage: new fossils from Nevada and Namibia support a global biostratigraphic link
E. F. Smith, L. L. Nelson, S. M. Tweedt, H. Zeng, Jeremiah B. Workman
2017, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (284) 1-10
Owing to the lack of temporally well-constrained Ediacaran fossil localities containing overlapping biotic assemblages, it has remained uncertain if the latest Ediacaran (ca 550–541 Ma) assemblages reflect systematic biological turnover or environmental, taphonomic or biogeographic biases. Here, we report new latest Ediacaran fossil discoveries from the lower member of the Wood...
Seven recommendations to make your invasive alien species data more useful
Quentin J. Groom, Tim Adriaens, Peter Desmet, Annie Simpson, Aaike De Wever, Ioannis Bazos, Ana Cristina Cardoso, Lucinda Charles, Anastasia Christopoulou, Anna Gazda, Harry Helmisaari, Donald Hobern, Melanie Josefsson, Frances Lucy, Dragana Marisavljevic, Tomasz Oszako, Jan Pergl, Olivera Petrovic-Obradovic, Celine Prevot, Hans Peter Ravn, Gareth Richards, Alain Roques, Helen Roy, Marie-Anne A. Rozenberg, Riccardo Scalera, Elena Tricarico, Teodora Trichkova, Diemer Vercayie, Argyro Zenetos, Sonia Vanderhoeven
2017, Frontiers in Applied Mathematics and Statistics (3) 1-8
Science-based strategies to tackle biological invasions depend on recent, accurate, well-documented, standardized and openly accessible information on alien species. Currently and historically, biodiversity data are scattered in numerous disconnected data silos that lack interoperability. The situation is no different for alien species data, and this obstructs efficient retrieval, combination, and...
An “EAR” on environmental surveillance and monitoring: A case study on the use of Exposure–Activity Ratios (EARs) to prioritize sites, chemicals, and bioactivities of concern in Great Lakes waters
Brett R. Blackwell, Gerald T. Ankley, Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. DeCicco, Kieth A. Houck, Richard S. Judson, Shibin Li, Matthew T. Martin, Elizabeth Murphy, Anthony L. Schroeder, Edwin R. Smith, Joe Swintek, Daniel L. Villeneuve
2017, Environmental Science & Technology (51) 8713-8724
Current environmental monitoring approaches focus primarily on chemical occurrence. However, based on concentration alone, it can be difficult to identify which compounds may be of toxicological concern and should be prioritized for further monitoring, in-depth testing, or management. This can be problematic because toxicological characterization is lacking for many emerging...
Use of spatial capture–recapture to estimate density of Andean bears in northern Ecuador
Santiago Molina, Angela K. Fuller, Dana J. Morin, J. Andrew Royle
2017, Ursus (28) 117-126
The Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) is the only extant species of bear in South America and is considered threatened across its range and endangered in Ecuador. Habitat loss and fragmentation is considered a critical threat to the species, and there is a lack of knowledge regarding its distribution and abundance....
Population dynamics of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Spruce Creek Pennsylvania: A quarter-century perspective
Gary D. Grossman, Robert F. Carline, Tyler Wagner
2017, Freshwater Biology (62) 1143-1154
We examined the relationship between density-independent and density-dependent factors on the demography of a dense, relatively unexploited population of brown trout in Spruce Creek Pennsylvania between 1985 and 2011.Individual PCAs of flow and temperature data elucidated groups of years with multiple high flow versus multiple low flow...
Complex networks of functional connectivity in a wetland reconnected to its floodplain
Laurel G. Larsen, Susan Newman, Colin Saunders, Judson Harvey
2017, Water Resources Research (53) 6089-6108
Disturbances such as fire or flood, in addition to changing the local magnitude of ecological, hydrological, or biogeochemical processes, can also change their functional connectivity—how those processes interact in space. Complex networks offer promise for quantifying functional connectivity in watersheds. The approach resolves connections between nodes in space based on...
Decadal declines in avian herbivore reproduction: density-dependent nutrition and phenological mismatch in the Arctic
Megan V. Ross, Ray T. Alisaukas, David C. Douglas, Dana K. Kellett
2017, Ecology (98) 1869-1883
A full understanding of population dynamics depends not only on estimation of mechanistic contributions of recruitment and survival, but also knowledge about the ecological processes that drive each of these vital rates. The process of recruitment in particular may be protracted over several years, and can depend on numerous ecological...
Gradients in Catostomid assemblages along a reservoir cascade
Leandro E. Miranda, Kevin R. Keretz, Chelsea R. Gilliland
2017, River Research and Applications (33) 983-990
Serial impoundment of major rivers leads to alterations of natural flow dynamics and disrupts longitudinal connectivity. Catostomid fishes (suckers, family Catostomidae) are typically found in riverine or backwater habitats yet are able to persist in impounded river systems. To the detriment of conservation, there is limited information about distribution of...
Estimating ages of Utah chubs by use of pectoral fin rays, otoliths, and scales
Kayla M Griffin, Zachary S. Beard, John M. Flinders, Michael C. Quist
2017, Western North American Naturalist (77) 189-194
Utah chub Gila atraria is native to the Upper Snake River system in Wyoming and Idaho and to the Lake Bonneville Basin in Utah and southeastern Idaho. However, the Utah chub has been introduced into many other waterbodies in the western United States, where it competes with ecologically and economically important species....
Mapping informal small-scale mining features in a data-sparse tropical environment with a small UAS
Peter G. Chirico, Jessica D. Dewitt
2017, Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems (5) 69-91
This study evaluates the use of a small unmanned aerial system (UAS) to collect imagery over artisanal mining sites in West Africa. The purpose of this study is to consider how very high-resolution imagery and digital surface models (DSMs) derived from structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetric techniques from a small UAS can...
Estimating the number of recreational anglers for a given waterbody
Kevin L. Pope, Larkin A. Powell, Brian S. Harmon, Mark A. Pegg, Christopher J. Chizinski
2017, Fisheries Research (191) 69-75
Knowing how many anglers use a given body of water is paramount for understanding components of a fishery related to angling pressure and harvest, yet no study has attempted to provide an estimate of the population size of anglers for a given waterbody. Here, we use information from creel surveys...
Morphological and molecular characterization of Sarcocystis arctica-like sarcocysts from the Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) from Alaska, USA
Camila K. Cerqueira-Cezar, Peter C. Thompson, Shiv K. Verma, Joseph Mowery, Rafael Calero-Bernal, Fernando H. Antunes Murata, David R. Sinnett, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Benjamin M. Rosenthal, Jitender P. Dubey
2017, Parasitology Research (116) 1871-1878
The muscles of herbivores commonly harbor sarcocysts of parasites belonging to species in the genus Sarcocystis, but such muscle parasites are rare in carnivores. Here, we report Sarcocystis arctica-like sarcocysts in muscles of Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) from Alaska, USA, for the first time. The tongues of...
Reproductive ecology, spawning behavior, and juvenile distribution of Mountain Whitefish in the Madison River, Montana
Jan K. Boyer, Christopher S. Guy, Molly A. H. Webb, Travis B. Horton, Thomas E. McMahon
2017, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (146) 939-954
Mountain Whitefish Prosopium williamsoni were historically common throughout much of the U.S. Intermountain West. However, within the last decade Mountain Whitefish have exhibited population-level declines in some rivers. In the Madison River, Montana, anecdotal evidence indicates Mountain Whitefish abundance has declined and the population is skewed toward larger individuals, which is typically...
Use of eddy-covariance methods to "calibrate" simple estimators of evapotranspiration
David M. Sumner, Jeffrey S. Geurink, Amy Swancar
2017, Conference Paper, 2017 ASABE Annual International Meeting
Direct measurement of actual evapotranspiration (ET) provides quantification of this large component of the hydrologic budget, but typically requires long periods of record and large instrumentation and labor costs. Simple surrogate methods of estimating ET, if “calibrated†to direct measurements of ET, provide a reliable means to quantify ET. Eddy-covariance...
Population characteristics and the influence of discharge on Bluehead Sucker and Flannelmouth Sucker
Zachary B. Klein, Matthew J. Breen, Michael C. Quist
2017, Copeia (105) 375-388
Rivers are among some of the most complex and important ecosystems in the world. Unfortunately, many fishes endemic to rivers have suffered declines in abundance and distribution suggesting that alterations to lotic environments have negatively influenced native fish populations. Of the 35 fishes native to the Colorado River basin (CRB),...
Monitoring water content dynamics of biological soil crusts
Michael H. Young, Lynn F. Fenstermaker, Jayne Belnap
2017, Journal of Arid Environments (142) 41-49
Biological soil crusts (hereafter, “biocrusts”) dominate soil surfaces in nearly all dryland environments. To better understand the influence of water content on carbon (C) exchange, we assessed the ability of dual-probe heat-pulse (DPHP) sensors, installed vertically and angled, to measure changes in near-surface water content. Four DPHP sensors were installed...
Microbial-sized, carboxylate-modified microspheres as surrogate tracers in a variety of subsurface environments: An overview
Ronald W. Harvey, David W. Metge, Denis R. LeBlanc
2017, Procedia Earth and Planetary Science (17) 372-375
Since 1986, fluorescent carboxylate-modified polystyrene/latex microspheres (FCM) have been co-injected into aquifers along with conservative tracers and viruses, bacteria, and (or) protozoa. Use of FCM has resulted in new information about subsurface transport behaviors of microorganisms in fractured crystalline rock, karst limestone, soils, and granular aquifers. FCM have been used...
Challenges to oil spill assessment for seabirds in the deep ocean
J. Christopher Haney, Patrick G.R. Jodice, William Montevecchi, David C. Evers
2017, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (73) 33-39
We synthesize impediments for evaluating effects to seabirds from open ocean hydrocarbon releases. Effects on seabirds from ship discharges, spills, and well blowouts often are poorly detected and monitored far from land. Regulatory regimes for ocean spills can result in monitoring efforts that are not entirely transparent. We illustrate how...
Geomorphology of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
Samuel P. D. Birch, Y. Tang, A. G. Hayes, Randolph L. Kirk, D. Bodewitz, H. Campins, Y. Fernandez, R. de Freitas Bart, N. W. Kutsop, H. Sierks, J. M. Soderblom, S. W. Squyres, J.-B. Vincent
2017, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (469) S50-S67
We present a global geomorphological map of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) using data acquired by the Rosetta Orbiter’s OSIRIS Narrow Angle Camera. The images used in our study were acquired between 2014 August and 2015 May, before 67P/C-G passed through perihelion. Imagery of the Southern hemisphere was included in our study, allowing us...
Glacierized headwater streams as aquifer recharge corridors, subarctic Alaska
Anna K. Lilledahl, Anne Gadeke, Shad O’Neel, T. A. Gatesman, T. A. Douglas
2017, Geophysical Research Letters (44) 6876-6885
Arctic river discharge has increased in recent decades although sources and mechanisms remain debated. Abundant literature documents permafrost thaw and mountain glacier shrinkage over the past decades. Here we link glacier runoff to aquifer recharge via a losing headwater stream in subarctic Interior Alaska. Field measurements in Jarvis Creek (634 km2),...
Subsurface geometry of the San Andreas fault in southern California: Results from the Salton Seismic Imaging Project (SSIP) and strong ground motion expectations
Gary S. Fuis, Klaus Bauer, Mark R. Goldman, Trond Ryberg, Victoria E. Langenheim, Daniel S. Scheirer, Michael J. Rymer, Joann M. Stock, John A. Hole, Rufus D. Catchings, Robert Graves, Brad T. Aagaard
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 1642-1662
The San Andreas fault (SAF) is one of the most studied strike‐slip faults in the world; yet its subsurface geometry is still uncertain in most locations. The Salton Seismic Imaging Project (SSIP) was undertaken to image the structure surrounding the SAF and also its subsurface geometry. We present SSIP studies...
Evaluation of genetic population structure of smallmouth bass in the Susquehanna River basin, Pennsylvania
Megan K. Schall, Meredith L. Bartron, Timothy Wertz, Jonathan M. Niles, Cassidy H. Shaw, Tyler Wagner
2017, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (37) 850-861
The Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu was introduced into the Susquehanna River basin, Pennsylvania, nearly 150 years ago. Since introduction, it has become an economically and ecologically important species that supports popular recreational fisheries. It is also one of the most abundant top predators in the system. Currently, there is no...
