Paltry past-precipitation: Predisposing prairie dogs to plague?
David Eads, Dean E. Biggins
2017, Journal of Wildlife Management (81) 990-998
The plague bacterium Yersinia pestis was introduced to California in 1900 and spread rapidly as a sylvatic disease of mammalian hosts and flea vectors, invading the Great Plains in the United States by the 1930s to 1940s. In grassland ecosystems, plague causes periodic, devastating epizootics in colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys...
Temporal changes in nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations with comparisons to conservation practices and agricultural activities in the Lower Grand River, Missouri and Iowa, and selected watersheds, 1969–2015
Heather M. Krempa, Allison K. Flickinger
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5067
This report presents the results of a cooperative study by the U.S. Geological Survey and Missouri Department of Natural Resources to estimate total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations at monitoring sites within and near the Lower Grand River hydrological unit. The primary objectives of the study were to...
Empirical estimation of recreational exploitation of burbot, Lota lota, in the Wind River drainage of Wyoming using a multistate capture–recapture model
S. A. Lewandoski, Christopher S. Guy, Alexander V. Zale, Paul C. Gerrity, J. W. Deromedi, K. M. Johnson, D. L. Skates
2017, Fisheries Management and Ecology (24) 298-307
Burbot, Lota lota (Linnaeus), is a regionally popular sportfish in the Wind River drainage of Wyoming, USA, at the southern boundary of the range of the species. Recent declines in burbot abundances were hypothesised to be caused by overexploitation, entrainment in irrigation canals and habitat loss. This study addressed the overexploitation hypothesis...
Climate-induced trends in predator–prey synchrony differ across life-history stages of an anadromous salmonid
Donovan A. Bell, Ryan Kovach, Scott C. Vulstek, John E. Joyce, David A. Tallmon
2017, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (74) 1431-1438
Differential climate-induced shifts in phenology can create mismatches between predators and prey, but few studies have examined predator–prey mismatch across multiple life-history stages. We used long-term data from a warming stream with shifting salmonid migration timings to quantify intra-annual migration synchrony between predatory Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) and Pacific salmon...
Characterizing meteorological and hydrologic conditions associated with shallow landslide initiation in the coastal bluffs of the Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey
Francis Ashland, Alex R. Fiore, Pamela A. Reilly
Jerome V. De Graff, Abdul Shakoor, editor(s)
2017, Conference Paper, Landslides: Putting Experience, Knowledge and Emerging Technologies into Practice:Special Publication 27
Meteorological and hydrologic conditions associated with shallow landslide initiation in the coastal bluffs of the Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey remain undocumented despite a history of damaging slope movement extending back to at least 1903. This study applies an empirical approach to quantify the rainfall conditions leading to shallow landsliding based...
Connecting crustal seismicity and earthquake-driven stress evolution in Southern California
Frederick Pollitz, Camilla Cattania
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (122) 6473-6490
Tectonic stress in the crust evolves during a seismic cycle, with slow stress accumulation over interseismic periods, episodic stress steps at the time of earthquakes, and transient stress readjustment during a postseismic period that may last months to years. Static stress transfer to surrounding faults has been well documented to...
Post-glacial flooding of the Bering Land Bridge dated to 11 cal ka BP based on new geophysical and sediment records
Martin Jakobsson, Christof Pearce, Thomas M. Cronin, Jan Backman, Leif G. Anderson, Natalia Barrientos, Goran Bjork, Helen Coxhall, Agatha de Boer, Larry Mayer, Carl-Magnus Morth, Johan Nilsson, Jayne Rattray, Christian Sranne, Igor Semiletov, Matt O’Regan
2017, Climate of the Past (13) 991-1005
The Bering Strait connects the Arctic and Pacific oceans and separates the North American and Asian landmasses. The presently shallow ( ∼ 53 m) strait was exposed during the sea level lowstand of the last glacial period, which permitted human migration across a land bridge today referred to as the Bering Land Bridge....
Response to comment on “Primary sources and toxicity of PAHs in Milwaukee-area streambed sediments”—The authors' reply
Austin K. Baldwin, Steven R. Corsi, Michelle A. Lutz, Christopher G. Ingersoll, Rebecca A. Dorman, Christopher Magruder, Matthew Magruder
2017, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (36) 1981-1983
No abstract available....
Rapid prototyping for decision structuring: An efficient approach to conservation decision analysis
Georgia E. Garrard, Libby Rumpff, Michael C. Runge, Sarah J. Converse
Nils Bunnefeld, editor(s)
2017, Book chapter, Decision-making in conservation and natural resource management; Conservation Diology Series No. 22
No abstract available....
Can personality predict individual differences in brook trout spatial learning ability?
S.L. White, Tyler Wagner, C. Gowan, V.A. Braithwaite
2017, Behavioural Processes (141) 220-228
While differences in individual personality are common in animal populations, understanding the ecological significance of variation has not yet been resolved. Evidence suggests that personality may influence learning and memory; a finding that could improve our understanding of the evolutionary processes that produce and maintain intraspecific behavioural heterogeneity. Here, we...
How hunter perceptions of wildlife regulations, agency trust, and satisfaction affect attitudes about duck bag limits
Susan A. Schroeder, David C. Fulton, Jeffrey S. Lawrence, Steven D. Cordts
2017, Human Dimensions of Wildlife (22) 454-475
This study explored how factors, including the function of bag limits, agency trust, satisfaction, hunting participation, and demographics, related to opinions about duck bag limits. The results are from a survey of 2014 Minnesota resident waterfowl hunters. Analyses identified four dimensions of attitudes about functions of bag limits, including that...
Mapping tree density in forests of the southwestern USA using Landsat 8 data
Kamal Humagain, Carlos Portillo-Quintero, Robert D. Cox, James W. Cain III
2017, Forests (8) 1-15
The increase of tree density in forests of the American Southwest promotes extreme fire events, understory biodiversity losses, and degraded habitat conditions for many wildlife species. To ameliorate these changes, managers and scientists have begun planning treatments aimed at reducing fuels and increasing understory biodiversity. However, spatial variability in tree...
The skill we all need
Scott A. Bonar, Jesse Trushenski
2017, Fisheries (42) 398-398
No abstract available....
Winter habitat associations of eastern spotted skunks in Virginia
Emily D. Thorne, Charles Waggy, David S. Jachowski, Marcella J. Kelly, W. Mark Ford
2017, Journal of Wildlife Management (81) 1042-1050
Eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) populations have declined throughout much of their range in the eastern United States over recent decades. Declines have been attributed to habitat loss or change, increased competition with sympatric mesocarnivore species, or disease. To better understand the extant distribution of spotted skunks in the Appalachian...
A validation of 11 body-condition indices in a giant snake species that exhibits positive allometry
Bryan Falk, Ray W. Snow, Robert N. Reed
2017, PLoS ONE (12) 1-20
Body condition is a gauge of the energy stores of an animal, and though it has important implications for fitness, survival, competition, and disease, it is difficult to measure directly. Instead, body condition is frequently estimated as a body condition index (BCI) using length and mass measurements. A desirable BCI...
Geochemical characterization of groundwater discharging from springs north of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, 2009–2016
Kimberly R. Beisner, Fred D. Tillman, Jessica R. Anderson, Ronald C. Antweiler, Donald J. Bills
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5068
A geochemical study was conducted on 37 springs discharging from the Toroweap Formation, Coconino Sandstone, Hermit Formation, Supai Group, and Redwall Limestone north of the Grand Canyon near areas of breccia-pipe uranium mining. Baseline concentrations were established for the elements As, B, Li, Se, SiO2, Sr, Tl, U, and V....
The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) immunoglobulin heavy chain suggests the importance of clan III variable segments in repertoire diversity
Breanna Breaux, Thaddeus C. Deiss, Patricia L. Chen, Maria Paula Cruz-Schneider, Leonardo Sena, Margaret E. Hunter, Robert K. Bonde, Michael F. Criscitiello
2017, Developmental and Comparative Immunology (72) 57-68
Manatees are a vulnerable, charismatic sentinel species from the evolutionarily divergent Afrotheria. Manatee health and resistance to infectious disease is of great concern to conservation groups, but little is known about their immune system. To develop manatee-specific tools for monitoring health, we first must have a general knowledge of how...
Methodology for time-domain estimation of storm time geoelectric fields using the 3-D magnetotelluric response tensors
Anna Kelbert, Christopher Balch, Antti Pulkkinen, Gary D. Egbert, Jeffrey J. Love, E. Joshua Rigler, Ikuko Fujii
2017, Space Weather (15) 874-894
Geoelectric fields at the Earth's surface caused by magnetic storms constitute a hazard to the operation of electric power grids and related infrastructure. The ability to estimate these geoelectric fields in close to real time and provide local predictions would better equip the industry to mitigate negative impacts on their...
Piscivore diet response to a collapse in pelagic prey populations
Steven Zeug, Frederick V. Feyrer, Annie Brodsky, Jenny Melgo
2017, Environmental Biology of Fishes (100) 947-958
Pelagic fish populations in the upper San Francisco Estuary have experienced significant declines since the turn of the century; a pattern known as the pelagic organism decline (POD). This study investigated food habits of piscivorous fishes over two consecutive fall seasons following the decline of pelagic fish prey. Specifically, this...
Retrospective analysis of seasonal ocean growth rates of two sea winter Atlantic Salmon in eastern Maine using historic scales
Lisa K. Izzo, Joseph D. Zydlewski
2017, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (9) 357-372
Substantial declines of anadromous Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar have occurred throughout its range, with many populations at the southern extent of the distribution currently extirpated or endangered. While both one sea winter (1SW) and two sea winter (2SW) spawner numbers for the North American stocks have declined since the 1950s, the decline...
Variation and plasticity and their interaction with urbanization in Guadalupe Bass populations on and off the Edwards Plateau
Jessica E. Pease, Timothy B. Grabowski, Allison A. Pease
2017, Report
The Colorado River Basin in Texas has experienced major alterations to its hydrologic regime due to changing land and water use patterns. These anthropogenic influences on hydrologic variability have had major implications for riparian and aquatic ecosystems and the species dependent upon them. However, impacts are often assessed at a...
Integrating geographically isolated wetlands into land management decisions
Heather E. Golden, Irena F. Creed, Genevieve Ali, Nandita Basu, Brian Neff, Mark C. Rains, Daniel L. McLaughlin, Laurie C. Alexander, Ali A. Ameli, Jay R. Christensen, Grey R. Evenson, Charles N. Jones, Charles R. Lane, Megan Lang
2017, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (15) 319-327
Wetlands across the globe provide extensive ecosystem services. However, many wetlands – especially those surrounded by uplands, often referred to as geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) – remain poorly protected. Protection and restoration of wetlands frequently requires information on their hydrologic connectivity to other surface waters, and their cumulative watershed‐scale effects....
An assessment of food habits, prey availability, and nesting success of golden eagles within the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan Area
Kathleen M. Longshore, Todd Esque, Kenneth Nussear, Diego R. Johnson, Matthew Simes, Richard D. Inman
2017, Report
Within the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan area, which encompasses California’s Mojave Desert, development and operation of renewable energy facilities has the potential to impact golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) populations through loss of habitat and prey base. Developing an effective conservation strategy that aims to mitigate for such operations is necessary to...
Incorporating Allee effects into the potential biological removal level
Humza Hadier, Sarah Oldfield, Tiffany Tu, Rosa Moreno, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Eric A. Eager, Richard A. Erickson
2017, Natural Resource Modeling (30) 1-16
Potential biological removal (PBR) is an approach used to calculate sustainable harvest and “take” limits for populations. PBR was originally derived assuming logistic growth while ignoring the effects of small population size (i.e., an Allee effect). We derived a version of PBR that includes an Allee effect (i.e., small population...
Compilation of geospatial data for the mineral industries and related infrastructure of Latin America and the Caribbean
Michael S. Baker, Spencer D. Buteyn, Philip A. Freeman, Michael H. Trippi, Loyd M. Trimmer III
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1079
This report describes the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) ongoing commitment to its mission of understanding the nature and distribution of global mineral commodity supply chains by updating and publishing the georeferenced locations of mineral commodity production and processing facilities, mineral exploration and development sites, and mineral commodity exporting ports in...
