A software tool to assess uncertainty in transient-storage model parameters using Monte Carlo simulations
Adam S. Ward, Christa A. Kelleher, Seth J. K. Mason, Thorsten Wagener, Neil McIntyre, Brian L. McGlynn, Robert L. Runkel, Robert A. Payn
2017, Freshwater Science (36) 195-217
Researchers and practitioners alike often need to understand and characterize how water and solutes move through a stream in terms of the relative importance of in-stream and near-stream storage and transport processes. In-channel and subsurface storage processes are highly variable in space and time and difficult to measure. Storage estimates...
A decade of insights into grassland ecosystem responses to global environmental change
Elizabeth T. Borer, James B. Grace, W. Stanley Harpole, Andrew S. MacDougall, Eric W. Seabloom
2017, Nature Ecology & Evolution (1)
Earth’s biodiversity and carbon uptake by plants, or primary productivity, are intricately interlinked, underlie many essential ecosystem processes, and depend on the interplay among environmental factors, many of which are being changed by human activities. While ecological theory generalizes across taxa and environments, most empirical tests of factors controlling diversity...
Coping with historic drought in California rangelands: Developing a more effective institutional response
Joel R. Brown, Pelayo Alvarez, Kristin B. Byrd, Helena Deswood, Emile Elias, Sheri Spiegal
2017, Rangelands (39) 73-78
Drought response is widely varied depending on both the characteristics of the drought and the ability of individual ranchers to respond.Assistance from institutions during drought has not typically considered preemptive, during, and post-drought response as a strategic approach, which recognizes biophysical, sociological, and economic complexities of drought.A USDA Southwest Climate...
Methodological considerations for detection of terrestrial small-body salamander eDNA and implications for biodiversity conservation
Donald M. Walker, Jacob E. Leys, Kelly E. Dunham, Joshua C. Oliver, Emily E. Schiller, Kelsey S. Stephenson, John T. Kimrey, Jessica Wooten, Mark W. Rogers
2017, Molecular Ecology Resources (17) 1223-1230
Environmental DNA (eDNA) can be used as an assessment tool to detect populations of threatened species and provide fine-scale data required to make management decisions. The objectives of this project were to use quantitative PCR (qPCR) to: (i) detect spiked salamander DNA in soil, (ii) quantify eDNA degradation over time,...
Grand challenges in understanding the interplay of climate and land changes
Shuguang Liu, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Lena R. Boysen, James D. Ford, Andrew Fox, Kevin Gallo, Jerry L. Hatfield, Geoffrey M. Henebry, Thomas G. Huntington, Zhihua Liu, Thomas R. Loveland, Richard J. Norby, Terry L. Sohl, Allison L. Steiner, Wenping Yuan, Zhao Zhang, Shuqing Zhao
2017, Earth Interactions (21) 1-43
Half of Earth’s land surface has been altered by human activities, creating various consequences on the climate and weather systems at local to global scales, which in turn affect a myriad of land surface processes and the adaptation behaviors. This study reviews the status and major knowledge gaps in the...
A comparison of age, size, and fecundity of harvested and reference White Sucker populations
Meg Begley, Stephen M. Coghlan Jr., Joseph D. Zydlewski
2017, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (37) 510-523
White Suckers Catostomus commersonii are an important source of fresh bait for the Maine lobster fishery. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife began issuing commercial harvest permits in 1991, without reporting requirements or limits on the number of permits. There is recent concern that overfishing may be occurring. To infer...
Geologic evidence for catastrophic marine inundation in 1200–1480 C.E. near the Puerto Rico Trench at Anegada, British Virgin Islands
Brian F. Atwater, Uri S. ten Brink, Anna Lisa Cescon, Nathalie Feuillet, Zamara Fuentes, Robert B. Halley, Carlos Nunez, Eduard G. Reinhardt, Jean Roger, Yuki Sawai, Michaela Spiske, Martitia P. Tuttle, Yong Wei, Jennifer Weil-Accardo
2017, Geosphere (13) 301-368
Extraordinary marine inundation scattered clasts southward on the island of Anegada, 120 km south of the Puerto Rico Trench, sometime between 1200 and 1480 calibrated years (cal yr) CE. Many of these clasts were likely derived from a fringing reef and from the sandy flat that separates the reef...
Relationships among catch, angler catisfaction, and fish assemblage characteristics of an urban small impoundment fishery
Tomas J. Ivasauskas, Wilson N. Xiong, Augustin C. Engman, Jesse R. Fischer, Thomas J. Kwak, Kirk R. Rundle
2017, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (4) 31-38
Urban fisheries provide unique angling opportunities for people from traditionally underrepresented demographics. Lake Raleigh is a 38-ha impoundment located on the North Carolina State University campus in Raleigh. Like many urban fisheries, little is known about angler use and satisfaction or how angling catch rate is related to fish availability...
Climate drives adaptive genetic responses associated with survival in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
Lindsay Chaney, Bryce A. Richardson, Matthew J. Germino
2017, Evolutionary Applications (10) 313-322
A genecological approach was used to explore genetic variation for survival in Artemisia tridentata(big sagebrush). Artemisia tridentata is a widespread and foundational shrub species in western North America. This species has become extremely fragmented, to the detriment of dependent wildlife, and efforts to restore it are now a land management priority. Common-garden experiments...
2016 status of the Lake Ontario Lower Trophic levels
Kristen T. Holeck, Lars G. Rudstam, Christopher Hotaling, Russ McCullough, Dave Lemon, Web Pearsall, Jana Lantry, Mike Connerton, Steve LaPan, Zy Biesinger, Brian F. Lantry, Maureen Walsh, Brian Weidel
2017, Book chapter, Annual Report Bureau of Fisheries Lake Ontario Unit and St. Lawrence River Unit to Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s Lake Ontario Committee.
Significant Findings for Year 2016: 1) Offshore spring total phosphorus (TP) in 2016 was 6.2 μg/L, higher than 2014 and 2015 (4.0 and 4.2 μg/L); there was no significant decline 2001 - 2016. Offshore soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) was very low in 2016; Apr/May – Oct mean values were <1 μg/L....
Occurrence of cyanobacteria, microcystin, and taste-and-odor compounds in Cheney Reservoir, Kansas, 2001-16
Jennifer L. Graham, Guy M. Foster, Thomas J. Williams, Ariele R. Kramer, Theodore D. Harris
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5016
Cheney Reservoir, located in south-central Kansas, is one of the primary drinking-water supplies for the city of Wichita and an important recreational resource. Since 1990, cyanobacterial blooms have been present occasionally in Cheney Reservoir, resulting in increased treatment costs and decreased recreational use. Cyanobacteria, the cyanotoxin microcystin, and the taste-and-odor...
Twenty years of water-quality studies in the Cheney Reservoir Watershed, Kansas, 1996-2016
Jennifer L. Graham, Guy M. Foster, Ariele R. Kramer
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3019
Since 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the City of Wichita, has done studies in the Cheney Reservoir watershed to understand environmental effects on water-quality conditions. Early studies (1996–2001) determined subwatershed sources of contaminants, nutrient and sediment loading to Cheney Reservoir, changes in reservoir sediment quality over...
Semiautomatic approaches to account for 3-D distortion of the electric field from local, near-surface structures in 3-D resistivity inversions of 3-D regional magnetotelluric data
Brian D. Rodriguez
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1007
This report summarizes the results of three-dimensional (3-D) resistivity inversion simulations that were performed to account for local 3-D distortion of the electric field in the presence of 3-D regional structure, without any a priori information on the actual 3-D distribution of the known subsurface geology. The methodology used a...
A global threats overview for Numeniini populations: synthesising expert knowledge for a group of declining migratory birds.
James W. Pearce-Higgins, Daniel J. Brown, David J.T. Douglas, José A. Alves, Mariagrazia Bellio, Pierrick Bocher, Graeme M. Buchannan, Robert P. Clay, Jesse R. Conklin, Nicola Crockford, Peter Dann, Jaanus Elts, Christian Friis, Richard A. Fuller, Jennifer A. Gill, Ken Gosbell, James A. Johnson, Rocio Marquez-Ferrando, Jose A. Masero, David S. Melville, Spike Millington, Clive Minton, Taej Mundkur, Erika Nol, Hannes Pehlak, Theunis Piersma, Danny I. Rogers, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Nathan R. Senner, Junid Nazeer Shah, Rob D. Sheldon, Sergej A. Soloviev, Pavel S. Tomkovich, Yvonne I. Verkuil
2017, Bird Conservation International (27) 6-34
The Numeniini is a tribe of 13 wader species (Scolopacidae, Charadriiformes) of which seven are Near Threatened or globally threatened, including two Critically Endangered. To help inform conservation management and policy responses, we present the results of an expert assessment of the threats that members of this taxonomic group face...
Five-year external reviews of the eight Department of Interior Climate Science Centers: Alaska Climate Science Center
Mark Shasby, C. Andrew Dolloff, Jeffrey A. Hicke, Bruce G. Marcot, Bruce McCarl, Gerard McMahon, John M. Morton
2017, Report
This report primarily addresses the first two purposes of the review while providing comments on the third as identified by the science review team (SRT). A separate report of recommendations for the recompetition, based upon compiled observation from all three reviews conducted in 2016, was submitted to NCCWSC on April...
U.S. Geological Survey distribution of European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 data
Renee L. Pieschke
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3026
A partnership established between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) allows for USGS storage and redistribution of images acquired by the MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) on the European Union's Sentinel-2 satellite mission. The MSI data are acquired from a pair of satellites, Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B, which...
Reconnaissance sedimentology of selected tertiary exposures in the upland region bordering the Yukon Flats basin, east-central Alaska
David L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley
2017, Preliminary Interpretive Report 2016-6
This report summarizes reconnaissance sedimentologic and stratigraphic observations made during six days of helicopter-supported fieldwork in 2002 on Tertiary sedimentary rocks exposed in the upland region around the flanks of the Yukon Flats basin in east-central Alaska (fig. 1). This project was a cooperative effort between the Alaska Division of...
A model integrating longshore and cross-shore processes for predicting long-term shoreline response to climate change
Sean Vitousek, Patrick L. Barnard, Patrick W. Limber, Li H. Erikson, Blake Cole
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (122) 782-806
We present a shoreline change model for coastal hazard assessment and management planning. The model, CoSMoS-COAST (Coastal One-line Assimilated Simulation Tool), is a transect-based, one-line model that predicts short-term and long-term shoreline response to climate change in the 21st century. The proposed model represents a novel, modular synthesis of process-based...
Long-term spatial heterogeneity in mallard distribution in the Prairie pothole region
Adam K. Janke, Michael J. Anteau, Joshua D. Stafford
2017, Wildlife Society Bulletin (41) 116-124
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of north-central United States and south-central Canada supports greater than half of all breeding mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) annually counted in North America and is the focus of widespread conservation and research efforts. Allocation of conservation resources for this socioeconomically important population would benefit from an...
Quantifying acoustic doppler current profiler discharge uncertainty: A Monte Carlo based tool for moving-boat measurements
David S. Mueller
2017, Conference Paper, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
This paper presents a method using Monte Carlo simulations for assessing uncertainty of moving-boat acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) discharge measurements using a software tool known as QUant, which was developed for this purpose. Analysis was performed on 10 data sets from four Water Survey of Canada gauging...
Effects of the biopesticide Zequanox® on reproduction and early development of the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)
Diane L. Waller, James A. Luoma
2017, Management of Biological Invasions (8) 125-135
The biopesticide, Zequanox®, is registered for dreissenid mussel control in open water systems in the United States. Previous toxicity trials with nontarget organisms, including several young-of-the-year fish species and invertebrates, demonstrated selectivity of Zequanox for dreissenid mussels, but data are lacking on the treatment-related effects on reproduction and early life...
Effects of food resources on the fatty acid composition, growth and survival of freshwater mussels
Michelle R. Bartsch, Lynn A. Bartsch, William B. Richardson, Jonathan M. Vallazza, Brenda Moraska Lafrancois
2017, PLoS ONE (12)
Increased nutrient and sediment loading in rivers have caused observable changes in algal community composition, and thereby, altered the quality and quantity of food resources available to native freshwater mussels. Our objective was to characterize the relationship between nutrient conditions and mussel food quality and examine the effects on fatty...
Live transport of Yellow Perch and Nile Tilapia in AQUI-S 20E (10% Eugenol) at high loading densities
Aaron R. Cupp, Theresa M. Schreier, Susan M. Schleis
2017, North American Journal of Aquaculture (79) 176-182
Fish transport costs are a substantial portion of the operational expenses for aquaculture facilities in the USA. Safely transporting higher loading densities of fish would benefit haulers by increasing efficiency and reducing costs, but research evaluating transport for individual species is generally lacking. In this study, Yellow Perch Perca flavescens...
Lethal and sub-lethal responses of native freshwater mussels exposed to granular Bayluscide®, a sea lamprey larvicide
Teresa Newton, Michael A. Boogaard, Brian R. Gray, Terrance D. Hubert, Nicholas A. Schloesser
2017, Journal of Great Lakes Research (43) 370-378
The invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) poses a substantial threat to fish communities in the Great Lakes. Efforts to control sea lamprey populations typically involve treating tributary streams with lampricides on a recurring cycle. The presence of a substantial population of larval sea lampreys in the aquatic corridor between Lakes...
Simulating ungulate herbivory across forest landscapes: A browsing extension for LANDIS-II
Nathan R. De Jager, Patrick J. Drohan, Brian M. Miranda, Brian R. Sturtevant, Susan L. Stout, Alejandro Royo, Eric J. Gustafson, Mark C. Romanski
2017, Ecological Modelling (350) 11-29
Browsing ungulates alter forest productivity and vegetation succession through selective foraging on species that often dominate early succession. However, the long-term and large-scale effects of browsing on forest succession are not possible to project without the use of simulation models. To explore the effects of ungulates on succession in a...
