State of Great Lakes 2017 Technical Report: Indicators to assess the status and trends of the Great Lakes ecosystem
Dale Van Stempvoort, George Zhang, Christopher J. Hoard, John Spoelstra, Norman Granneman, Scott MacRitchie, Stacey Cherwaty
2017, Report
No abstract available....
Detecting spatial regimes in ecosystems
Shana M. Sundstrom, Tarsha Eason, R. John Nelson, David G. Angeler, Chris Barichievy, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Nicholas A.J. Graham, Dean Granholm, Lance Gunderson, Melinda Knutson, Kirsty L. Nash, Trisha Spanbauer, Craig A. Stow, Craig R. Allen
2017, Ecology Letters (20) 19-32
Research on early warning indicators has generally focused on assessing temporal transitions with limited application of these methods to detecting spatial regimes. Traditional spatial boundary detection procedures that result in ecoregion maps are typically based on ecological potential (i.e. potential vegetation), and often fail to account for ongoing changes due...
Improved vertical streambed flux estimation using multiple diurnal temperature methods in series
Dylan J. Irvine, Martin A. Briggs, Ian Cartwright, Courtney R. Scruggs, Laura K. Lautz
2017, Groundwater (55) 73-80
Analytical solutions that use diurnal temperature signals to estimate vertical fluxes between groundwater and surface water based on either amplitude ratios (Ar) or phase shifts (Δϕ) produce results that rarely agree. Analytical solutions that simultaneously utilize Ar and Δϕ within a single solution have more recently been derived, decreasing uncertainty...
Geology along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia
Mark W. Carter, C. Scott Southworth, Richard P. Tollo, Arthur J. Merschat, Sara Wagner, Ava Lazor, John N. Aleinikoff
2017, Book chapter, From the Blue Ridge to the beach: Geological field excursions across Virginia
Detailed geologic mapping and new SHRIMP (sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe) U-Pb zircon, Ar/Ar, Lu-Hf, 14C, luminescence (optically stimulated), thermochronology (fission-track), and palynology reveal the complex Mesoproterozoic to Quaternary geology along the ~350 km length of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. Traversing the boundary of the central and southern Appalachians, rocks...
Geology of the Petersburg batholith, eastern Piedmont, Virginia
Brent E. Owens, Mark W. Carter, Christopher M. Bailey
2017, Book chapter, From the Blue Ridge to the beach Geological field excursions across Virginia
The 295-300 Ma Petersburg batholith in east-central Virginia forms one of the largest and northernmost of the Alleghanian plutonic complexes in the southern Appalachian Piedmont. The batholith is primarily composed of granite including massive and foliated (both magmatic and solid-state fabrics) varieties. The plutonic complex intruded medium-grade metamorphosed volcanic/plutonic rocks...
Drivers of Holocene sea-level change in the Caribbean
Nicole Khan, Erica Ashe, Benjamin P. Horton, Andrea Dutton, Robert E. Kopp, Gilles Brocard, Simon E. Engelhart, David F. Hill, W.R. Peltier, Christopher H. Vane, Fred N. Scatena
2017, Quaternary Science Reviews (155) 13-36
We present a Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) database for the Caribbean region (5°N to 25°N and 55°W to 90°W) that consists of 499 sea-level index points and 238 limiting dates. The database was compiled from multiple sea-level indicators (mangrove peat, microbial mats, beach rock and acroporid and massive corals). We...
Ecological risk assessment of Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) for the Great Lakes Basin
Cynthia S. Kolar, Becky Cudmore
2017, Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Central and Arctic Region Science Advisory Report 2016/057
Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is an herbivorous, freshwater fish that was first introduced in the United States in the early 1960s for use in biological control of aquatic vegetation. It has since escaped and dispersed through the Mississippi River basin towards the Great Lakes. To characterize the risk of Grass...
Mercury bioaccumulation in estuarine fishes: Novel insights from sulfur stable isotopes
James J. Willacker, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Joshua T. Ackerman
2017, Environmental Science & Technology (51) 2131-2139
Estuaries are transitional habitats characterized by complex biogeochemical and ecological gradients that result in substantial variation in fish total mercury concentrations (THg). We leveraged these gradients and used carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and sulfur (δ34S) stable isotopes to examine the ecological and biogeochemical processes underlying THg bioaccumulation in fishes from...
Geologic influence on induced seismicity: Constraints from potential field data in Oklahoma
Anjana K. Shah, G. Randy Keller
2017, Geophysical Research Letters (44) 152-161
Recent Oklahoma seismicity shows a regional correlation with increased wastewater injection activity, but local variations suggest that some areas are more likely to exhibit induced seismicity than others. We combine geophysical and drill hole data to map subsurface geologic features in the crystalline basement, where most earthquakes are occurring, and...
An integrated moral obligation model for landowner conservation norms
Amit K. Pradhananga, Mae A. Davenport, David C. Fulton, Geoffrey M. Maruyama, Dean Current
2017, Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal (30) 212-227
This study applies an integrated moral obligation model to examine the role of environmental and cultural values, and beliefs in the activation of landowner conservation norms. Data for this study were collected through a self-administered survey of riparian landowners in two Minnesota watersheds: Sand Creek and Vermillion River watersheds. Study...
Spatio-temporal development of vegetation die-off in a submerging coastal marsh
Lennert Schepers, Matthew Kirwan, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Stijn Temmerman
2017, Limnology and Oceanography (62) 137-150
In several places around the world, coastal marsh vegetation is converting to open water through the formation of pools. This is concerning, as vegetation die-off is expected to reduce the marshes' capacity to adapt to sea level rise by vegetation-induced sediment accretion. Quantitative analyses of the spatial and temporal development...
Behavioral connectivity among bighorn sheep suggests potential for disease spread
Nathan J. Borg, Michael S. Mitchell, Paul M. Lukacs, Curt M. Mack, Lisette P. Waits, Paul R. Krausman
2017, Journal of Wildlife Management (81) 38-45
Connectivity is important for population persistence and can reduce the potential for inbreeding depression. Connectivity between populations can also facilitate disease transmission; respiratory diseases are one of the most important factors affecting populations of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). The mechanisms of connectivity in populations of bighorn sheep likely have implications...
Reexamination of the magnitudes for the 1906 and 1922 Chilean earthquakes using Japanese tsunami amplitudes: Implications for source depth constraints
M. Carvajal, M. Cisternas, A. Gubler, P. A. Catalan, P. Winckler, Robert L. Wesson
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (122) 4-17
Far-field tsunami records from the Japanese tide gauge network allow the reexamination of the moment magnitudes (Mw) for the 1906 and 1922 Chilean earthquakes, which to date rely on limited information mainly from seismological observations alone. Tide gauges along the Japanese coast provide extensive records of tsunamis triggered by six...
Mapping tree canopy cover in support of proactive prairie grouse conservation in western North America
Michael J. Falkowski, Jeffrey S. Evans, David E. Naugle, Christian A. Hagen, Scott A. Carleton, Jeremy D. Maestas, Azad Henareh Khalyani, Aaron J. Poznanovic, Andrew J. Lawrence
2017, Rangeland Ecology and Management (70) 15-24
Invasive woody plant expansion is a primary threat driving fragmentation and loss of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) and prairie habitats across the central and western United States. Expansion of native woody plants, including conifer (primarily Juniperus spp.) and mesquite (Prosopis spp.), over the past century is primarily attributable to wildfire suppression, historic periods of intensive...
Replication and shedding kinetics of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in juvenile rainbow trout
Andrew R. Wargo, Robert J. Scott, Benjamin Kerr, Gael Kurath
2017, Virus Research (227) 200-211
Viral replication and shedding are key components of transmission and fitness, the kinetics of which are heavily dependent on virus, host, and environmental factors. To date, no studies have quantified the shedding kinetics of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), or how they are associated with...
Extreme geomagnetic storms: Probabilistic forecasts and their uncertainties
Pete Riley, Jeffrey J. Love
2017, Space Weather (15) 53-64
Extreme space weather events are low-frequency, high-risk phenomena. Estimating their rates of occurrence, as well as their associated uncertainties, is difficult. In this study, we derive statistical estimates and uncertainties for the occurrence rate of an extreme geomagnetic storm on the scale of the Carrington event (or worse) occurring within...
Investigating impacts of oil and gas development on greater sage-grouse
Adam Green, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael S. O’Donnell
2017, Journal of Wildlife Management (81) 46-57
The sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem is one of the largest ecosystems in western North America providing habitat for species found nowhere else. Sagebrush habitats have experienced dramatic declines since the 1950s, mostly due to anthropogenic disturbances. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a sagebrush-obligate species that has experienced population declines over...
Adaptive management of rangeland systems
Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Joseph J. Fontaine, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Noelle M. Hart, Kevin L. Pope, Dirac Twidwell
2017, Book chapter, Rangeland Systems: Processes, Management and Challenges
Adaptive management is an approach to natural resource management that uses structured learning to reduce uncertainties for the improvement of management over time. The origins of adaptive management are linked to ideas of resilience theory and complex systems. Rangeland management is particularly well suited for the application of adaptive management,...
Pathogen transport in groundwater systems: Contrasts with traditional solute transport
Randall J. Hunt, William P. Johnson
2017, Hydrogeology Journal (25) 921-930
Water quality affects many aspects of water availability, from precluding use to societal perceptions of fit-for-purpose. Pathogen source and transport processes are drivers of water quality because they have been responsible for numerous outbreaks resulting in large economic losses due to illness and, in some cases, loss of life. Outbreaks...
The history of late holocene surface-faulting earthquakes on the central segments of the Wasatch fault zone, Utah
Christopher DuRoss, Stephen Personius, Susan S Olig, Anthony J. Crone, Michael D. Hylland, William R. Lund, David P. Schwartz
2017, Book chapter, Geology and resources of the Wasatch: Back to front, Utah Geological Association Publication 46
The Wasatch fault (WFZ)—Utah’s longest and most active normal fault—forms a prominent eastern boundary to the Basin and Range Province in northern Utah. To provide paleoseismic data for a Wasatch Front regional earthquake forecast, we synthesized paleoseismic data to define the timing and displacements of late Holocene surface-faulting earthquakes on...
Remote measurement of surface-water velocity using infrared videography and PIV: a proof-of-concept for Alaskan rivers
Paul J. Kinzel, Carl J. Legleiter, Jonathan M. Nelson, Jeffrey S. Conaway
2017, Conference Paper, E-proceedings of the 37th IAHR World Congress
Thermal cameras with high sensitivity to medium and long wavelengths can resolve features at the surface of flowing water arising from turbulent mixing. Images acquired by these cameras can be processed with particle image velocimetry (PIV) to compute surface velocities based on the displacement of thermal features as they advect...
Preliminary viability assessment of Lake Mendocino forecast informed reservoir operations
Jay Jasperse, Marty Ralph, Michael Anderson, Levi D. Brekke, Mike Dillabough, Michael D. Dettinger, Alan Haynes, Robert Hartman, Christy Jones, Joe Forbis, Patrick Rutten, Cary Talbot, Robert H. Webb
2017, Report
This report describes the preliminary viability assessment (PVA) of forecast informed reservoir operations (FIRO) for Lake Mendocino, which is located on the East Fork Russian River three miles east of Ukiah, California. The results described in this report represent the collective activities of the Lake Mendocino FIRO Steering Committee (SC)...
Sub-indicator: Prey fish
Brian Weidel, Erin Dunlop
2017, Report, Sate of the Great Lakes 2017 Technical Report
Prey fish communities across the Great Lakes continue to change, although the direction and magnitude of those changes are not consistent across the lakes. The metrics used to categorize prey fish status in this and previous periods are based on elements that are common among each of the lake’s Fish...
Low thinning and crown thinning of two severities as restoration tools at Redwood National Park
Jason R Teraoka, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Christopher R. Keyes
2017, General Technical Report PSW-GTR-258
Interest in the restoration of second-growth forests has continued to increase in the redwood region, which has further increased the importance of evaluating restoration-based silvicultural strategies. This study assessed the short-term effectiveness of four silvicultural treatments (two silvicultural thinning methods, low thinning and crown thinning, and two basal area retentions,...
Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus virological and genetic surveillance 2000–2012
Rachel Breyta, Ilana L. Brito, Gael Kurath, Shannon L. LaDeau
2017, Ecology (98) 283-283
Surveillance records of the acute RNA pathogen of Pacific salmonid fish infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus are combined for the first time to enable landscape-level ecological analyses and modeling. The study area is the freshwater ecosystems of the large Columbia River watershed in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho,...
