Fix success and accuracy of GPS radio collars in old-growth temperate coniferous forests
Kimberly A. Sager-Fradkin, Kurt J. Jenkins, Robert L. Hoffman, P. Happe, J. Beecham, R.G. Wright
2007, Journal of Wildlife Management (71) 1298-1308
Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry is used extensively to study animal distribution and resource selection patterns but is susceptible to biases resulting from data omission and spatial inaccuracies. These data errors may cause misinterpretation of wildlife habitat selection or spatial use patterns. We used both stationary test collars and collared...
A rapid method to characterize seabed habitats and associated macro-organisms
T.J. Anderson, G.R. Cochrane, D.A. Roberts, H. Chezar, G. Hatcher
Todd B.J.Greene H.G., editor(s)
2007, Special Paper - Geological Association of Canada 71-79
This study presents a method for rapidly collecting, processing, and interrogating real-time abiotic and biotic seabed data to determine seabed habitat classifications. This is done from data collected over a large area of an acoustically derived seabed map, along multidirectional transects, using a towed small camera-sled. The seabed, within the...
Empirical evaluation of decision support systems: Needs, definitions, potential methods, and an example pertaining to waterfowl management
R.S. Sojda
2007, Environmental Modelling and Software (22) 269-277
Decision support systems are often not empirically evaluated, especially the underlying modelling components. This can be attributed to such systems necessarily being designed to handle complex and poorly structured problems and decision making. Nonetheless, evaluation is critical and should be focused on empirical testing whenever possible. Verification and validation, in...
Responses of pond-breeding amphibians to wildfire: Short-term patterns in occupancy and colonization
B. R. Hossack, P.S. Corn
2007, Ecological Applications (17) 1403-1410
Wildland fires are expected to become more frequent and severe in many ecosystems, potentially posing a threat to many sensitive species. We evaluated the effects of a large, stand-replacement wildfire on three species of pond-breeding amphibians by estimating changes in occupancy of breeding sites during the three years before and...
Weirs: Counting and sampling adult salmonids in streams and rivers
Christian E. Zimmerman, Laura M. Zabkar
2007, Book chapter, Salmonid field protocols handbook: techniques for assessing status and trends in salmon and trout populations.
Weirs—which function as porous barriers built across stream—have long been used to capture migrating fish in flowing waters. For example, the Netsilik peoples of northern Canada used V-shaped weirs constructed of river rocks gathered onsite to capture migrating Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus (Balikci 1970). Similarly, fences constructed of stakes and...
Preliminary analysis of the earthquake (MW 8.1) and tsunami of April 1, 2007, in the Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean
Michael A. Fisher, Eric L. Geist, Ray Sliter, Florence L. Wong, Carol Reiss, Dennis M. Mann
2007, Science of Tsunami Hazards (26) 3-18
On April 1, 2007, a destructive earthquake (Mw 8.1) and tsunami struck the central Solomon Islands arc in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The earthquake had a thrust-fault focal mechanism and occurred at shallow depth (between 15 km and 25 km) beneath the island arc. The combined effects of the earthquake...
Chesapeake Inundation Prediction System (CIPS): A regional prototype for a national problem
B. Stamey, W. Smith, K. Carey, D. Garbin, F. Klein, Hongfang Wang, J. Shen, W. Gong, J. Cho, D. Forrest, C. Friedrichs, W. Boicourt, M. Li, M. Koterba, D. King, J. Titlow, E. Smith, A. Siebers, J. Billet, J. Lee, Douglas R. Manning, G. Szatkowski, D. Wilson, P. Ahnert, J. Ostrowski
2007, Conference Paper, Oceans Conference Record (IEEE)
Recent Hurricanes Katrina and Isabel, among others, not only demonstrated their immense destructive power, but also revealed the obvious, crucial need for improved storm surge forecasting and information delivery to save lives and property in future storms. Current operational methods and the storm surge and inundation products do not adequately...
Understanding the genetic effects of recent habitat fragmentation in the context of evolutionary history: Phylogeography and landscape genetics of a southern California endemic Jerusalem cricket (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae: Stenopelmatus)
Amy G. Vandergast, A.J. Bohonak, D.B. Weissman, Robert N. Fisher
2007, Molecular Ecology (16) 977-992
Habitat loss and fragmentation due to urbanization are the most pervasive threats to biodiversity in southern California. Loss of habitat and fragmentation can lower migration rates and genetic connectivity among remaining populations of native species, reducing genetic variability and increasing extinction risk. However, it may be difficult to separate the...
Physical limits on ground motion at Yucca Mountain
D.J. Andrews, Thomas C. Hanks, J.W. Whitney
2007, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (97) 1771-1792
Physical limits on possible maximum ground motion at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the designated site of a high-level radioactive waste repository, are set by the shear stress available in the seismogenic depth of the crust and by limits on stress change that can propagate through the medium. We find in dynamic...
Applying radar technology to migratory bird conservation and management: Strengthening and expanding a collaborative
Janet M. Ruth, Albert Manville, Ron Larkin, Wylie C. Barrow, Lori Johnson-Randall, Deanna K. Dawson, Robert H. Diehl, Yufang Wang, Richard S. Sojda, Rafal Angryk, Robert W. Klaver, Reggie Mead, John Paxton, Patricia J. Heglund, Eileen Kirsch, Manuel J. Suarez, Larry Robinson, Sidney A. Gauthreaux Jr., Carroll G. Belser, Steven J. Franke, Bruno Bruderer, Jeffrey J. Buler, Frank R. Moore, David S. Mizrahi, Robert Fogg, T. Adam Kelly, Paul M. Cryan, Tim Crum, Terry J. Schuur, Dave Krueper, Robb Diehl, Tom Will
Janet M. Ruth, editor(s)
2007, Open-File Report 2007-1361
Executive Summary Understanding the factors affecting migratory bird and bat populations during all three phases of their life cycle—breeding, nonbreeding, and migration—is critical to species conservation planning. This includes the need for information about these species’ responses to natural challenges, as well as information about the effects of human activities and...
San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) Rare Plant Monitoring Review and Revision
Kathryn McEachern, Bruce M. Pavlik, Jon Rebman, Rob Sutter
2007, Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5016
Introduction The San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) was developed for the conservation of plants and animals in the south part of San Diego County, under the California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act of 1991 (California Department of Fish and Game) and the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as...
Simulation of flow and habitat conditions under ice, Cache la Poudre River - January 2006
Terry Waddle
2007, Open-File Report 2007-1282
The U.S. Forest Service authorizes the occupancy and use of Forest Service lands by various projects, including water storage facilities, under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. Federal Land Policy and Management Act permits can be renewed at the end of their term. The U.S. Forest Service analyzes the...
Hydrology and Flood Profiles of Duck Creek and Jordan Creek Downstream from Egan Drive, Juneau, Alaska
Janet H. Curran
2007, Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5323
Hydrologic and hydraulic updates for Duck Creek and the lower part of Jordan Creek in Juneau, Alaska, included computation of new estimates of peak streamflow magnitudes and new water-surface profiles for the 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year floods. Computations for the 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-year...
Estimating the amount of eroded section in a partially exhumed basin from geophysical well logs: An example from the North Slope
W. Matthew Burns, Daniel O. Hayba, Elisabeth L. Rowan, David W. Houseknecht
2007, Professional Paper 1732-D
The reconstruction of burial and thermal histories of partially exhumed basins requires an estimation of the amount of erosion that has occurred since the time of maximum burial. We have developed a method for estimating eroded thickness by using porosity-depth trends derived from borehole sonic logs of wells in the...
Aerial population estimates of wild horses (Equus caballus) in the adobe town and salt wells creek herd management areas using an integrated simultaneous double-count and sightability bias correction technique
Bruce C. Lubow, Jason I. Ransom
2007, Open-File Report 2007-1274
An aerial survey technique combining simultaneous double-count and sightability bias correction methodologies was used to estimate the population of wild horses inhabiting Adobe Town and Salt Wells Creek Herd Management Areas, Wyoming. Based on 5 surveys over 4 years, we conclude that the technique produced estimates consistent with the known...
Fish assemblages of the upper Little Sioux River basin, Iowa, USA: Relationships with stream size and comparison with historical assemblages
D. Palic, L. Helland, B.R. Pedersen, J.R. Pribil, R.M. Grajeda, Anna Loan-Wilsey, C.L. Pierce
2007, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (22) 69-79
We characterized the fish assemblages in second to fifth order streams of the upper Little Sioux River basin in northwest Iowa, USA and compared our results with historical surveys. The fish assemblage consisted of over twenty species, was dominated numerically by creek chub, sand shiner, central stoneroller and other cyprinids,...
Seismoelectric imaging of shallow targets
S.S. Haines, S.R. Pride, S.L. Klemperer, B. Biondi
2007, Geophysics (72)
We have undertaken a series of controlled field experiments to develop seismoelectric experimental methods for near-surface applications and to improve our understanding of seismoelectric phenomena. In a set of off-line geometry surveys (source separated from the receiver line), we place seismic sources and electrode array receivers on opposite sides of...
Ra and Rn isotopes as natural tracers of submarine groundwater discharge in Tampa Bay, Florida
P.W. Swarzenski, C. Reich, K.D. Kroeger, M. Baskaran
2007, Marine Chemistry (104) 69-84
A suite of naturally occurring radionuclides in the U/Th decay series (222Rn, 223,224,226,228Ra) were studied during wet and dry conditions in Tampa Bay, Florida, to evaluate their utility as groundwater discharge tracers, both within the bay proper and within the Alafia River/estuary — a prominent free-flowing river that empties into...
Management of fluid mud in estuaries, bays, and lakes. II: Measurement, modeling, and management
W.H. McAnally, A. Teeter, David H. Schoellhamer, C. Friedrichs, D. Hamilton, E. Hayter, P. Shrestha, H. Rodriguez, A. Sheremet, R. Kirby
2007, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (133) 23-38
Techniques for measurement, modeling, and management of fluid mud are available, but research is needed to improve them. Fluid mud can be difficult to detect, measure, or sample, which has led to new instruments and new ways of using existing instruments. Multifrequency acoustic fathometers sense neither density...
Multiobjective analysis of a public wellfield using artificial neural networks
E.A. Coppola Jr., F. Szidarovszky, D. Davis, S. Spayd, M.M. Poulton, E. Roman
2007, Ground Water (45) 53-61
As competition for increasingly scarce ground water resources grows, many decision makers may come to rely upon rigorous multiobjective techniques to help identify appropriate and defensible policies, particularly when disparate stakeholder groups are involved. In this study, decision analysis was conducted on a public water supply wellfield to balance water...
Seismicity associated with the Sumatra-Andaman Islands earthquake of 26 December 2004
J. W. Dewey, G. Choy, B. Presgrave, S. Sipkin, Arthur C. Tarr, H. Benz, P. Earle, D. Wald
2007, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (97)
The U.S. Geological Survey/National Earthquake Information Center (USGS/ NEIC) had computed origins for 5000 earthquakes in the Sumatra-Andaman Islands region in the first 36 weeks after the Sumatra-Andaman Islands mainshock of 26 December 2004. The cataloging of earthquakes of mb (USGS) 5.1 and larger is essentially complete for the time...
Wind erodibility of soils at Fort Irwin, California (Mojave Desert), USA, before and after trampling disturbance: Implications for land management
J. Belnap, S. L. Phillips, J. E. Herrick, J.R. Johansen
2007, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (32) 75-84
Recently disturbed and 'control' (i.e. less recently disturbed) soils in the Mojave Desert were compared for their vulnerability to wind erosion, using a wind tunnel, before and after being experimentally trampled. Before trampling, control sites had greater cyanobacterial biomass, soil surface stability, threshold friction velocities (TFV, i.e. the wind speed...
Role of burning season on initial understory vegetation response to prescribed fire in a mixed conifer forest
E. E. Knapp, D.W. Schwilk, J.M. Kane, Jon E. Keeley
2007, Canadian Journal of Forest Research (37) 11-22
Although the majority of fires in the western United States historically occurred during the late summer or early fall when fuels were dry and plants were dormant or nearly so, early-season prescribed burns are often ignited when fuels are still moist and plants are actively growing. The purpose of this...
Olivine friction at the base of oceanic seismogenic zones
M.S. Boettcher, G. Hirth, B. M. Evans
2007, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (112)
We investigate the strength and frictional behavior of olivine aggregates at temperatures and effective confining pressures similar to those at the base of the seismogenic zone on a typical ridge transform fault. Triaxial compression tests were conducted on dry olivine powder (grain size ???60 ??m) at effective confining pressures between...
Lateral variation in geochemistry, petrology, and palynology in the Elswick coal bed, Pike County, Kentucky
J.C. Hower, L.F. Ruppert, C.F. Eble
2007, International Journal of Coal Geology (69) 165-178
The Middle Pennsylvanian/Langsettian (Westphalian A) Elswick coal bed, correlative to the Upper Banner of Virginia, is a rare example of a mined high-sulfur (> 2%) coal in Eastern Kentucky, a region known for low-sulfur coals. To characterize lateral variation in the geochemistry, petrography, and palynology of the Elswick coal bed,...
