Building the vegetation drought response index for Canada (VegDRI-Canada) to monitor agricultural drought: first results
Tsegaye Tadesse, Catherine Champagne, Brian D. Wardlow, Trevor A. Hadwen, Jesslyn F. Brown, Getachew B. Demisse, Yared A. Bayissa, Andrew M. Davidson
2017, GIScience and Remote Sensing (54) 230-257
Drought is a natural climatic phenomenon that occurs throughout the world and impacts many sectors of society. To help decision-makers reduce the impacts of drought, it is important to improve monitoring tools that provide relevant and timely information in support of drought mitigation decisions. Given that drought is a complex...
Comparison of in vitro estrogenic activity and estrogen concentrations insource and treated waters from 25 U.S. drinking water treatment plants
Justin M. Conley, Nicola Evans, Heath Mash, Laura Rosenblum, Kathleen Schenck, Susan Glassmeyer, Edward T. Furlong, Dana W. Kolpin, Vickie S. Wilson
2017, Science of the Total Environment (579) 1610-1617
In vitro bioassays have been successfully used to screen for estrogenic activity in wastewater and surface water, however, few have been applied to treated drinking water. Here, extracts of source and treated water samples were assayed for estrogenic activity using T47D-KBluc cells and analyzed by liquid chromatography-Fourier transform mass spectrometry (LC-FTMS) for natural...
Tracer-based characterization of hyporheic exchange and benthic biolayers in streams
Julia L.A. Knapp, Ricardo Gonzalez-Pinzon, Jennifer D. Drummond, Laurel G. Larsen, Olaf A. Cirpka, Judson W. Harvey
2017, Water Resources Research (53) 1575-1594
Shallow benthic biolayers at the top of the streambed are believed to be places of enhanced biogeochemical turnover within the hyporheic zone. They can be investigated by reactive stream tracer tests with tracer recordings in the streambed and in the stream channel. Common in-stream measurements of such reactive tracers cannot...
Dynamic strains for earthquake source characterization
Andrew J. Barbour, Brendan W. Crowell
2017, Seismological Research Letters (88) 354-370
Strainmeters measure elastodynamic deformation associated with earthquakes over a broad frequency band, with detection characteristics that complement traditional instrumentation, but they are commonly used to study slow transient deformation along active faults and at subduction zones, for example. Here, we analyze dynamic strains at Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) borehole strainmeters...
Expanding the role of reactive transport models in critical zone processes
Li Li, Kate Maher, Alexis Navarre-Sitchler, Jennifer Druhan, Christof Meile, Corey Lawrence, Joel Moore, Julia Perdrial, Pamela Sullivan, Aaron Thompson, Lixin Jin, Edward W. Bolton, Susan L. Brantley, William E. Dietrich, K. Ulrich Mayer, Carl Steefel, Albert J. Valocchi, John M. Zachara, Benjamin D. Kocar, Jennifer McIntosh, Benjamin M. Tutolo, Mukesh Kumar, Eric Sonnenthal, Chen Bao, Joe Beisman
2017, Earth-Science Reviews (165) 280-301
Models test our understanding of processes and can reach beyond the spatial and temporal scales of measurements. Multi-component Reactive Transport Models (RTMs), initially developed more than three decades ago, have been used extensively to explore the interactions of geothermal, hydrologic, geochemical, and geobiological processes in subsurface systems. Driven by extensive...
Hard choices in assessing survival past dams — a comparison of single- and paired-release strategies
Joseph D. Zydlewski, Daniel S. Stich, Douglas B. Sigourney
2017, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (74) 178-190
Mark–recapture models are widely used to estimate survival of salmon smolts migrating past dams. Paired releases have been used to improve estimate accuracy by removing components of mortality not attributable to the dam. This method is accompanied by reduced precision because (i) sample size is reduced relative to a single,...
Confirmation of the southwest continuation of the Cat Square terrane, southern Appalachian Inner Piedmont, with implications for middle Paleozoic collisional orogenesis
Matthew T. Huebner, Robert D. Hatcher Jr., Arthur J. Merschat
2017, American Journal of Science (317) 95-176
Detailed geologic mapping, U-Pb zircon geochronology and whole-rock geochemical analyses were conducted to test the hypothesis that the southwestern extent of the Cat Square terrane continues from the northern Inner Piedmont (western Carolinas) into central Georgia. Geologic mapping revealed the Jackson Lake fault, a ∼15 m-thick, steeply dipping sillimanite-grade...
Managing American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) population qrowth by targeting nesting season vital rates
Shilo K. Felton, Nathan J. Hostetter, Kenneth H. Pollock, Theodore R. Simons
2017, Waterbirds (40) 44-54
In populations of long-lived species, adult survival typically has a relatively high influence on population growth. From a management perspective, however, adult survival can be difficult to increase in some instances, so other component rates must be considered to reverse population declines. In North Carolina, USA, management to conserve the...
The American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) Working Group: 15 years of collaborative focal species research and management
Theodore R. Simons
2017, Waterbirds (40) 1-9
The American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) Working Group formed spontaneously in 2001 as coastal waterbird biologists recognized the potential for American Oystercatchers to serve as focal species for collaborative research and management. Accomplishments over the past 15 years include the establishment of rangewide surveys, color-banding protocols, mark-resight studies, a revision of...
Inhibition of an aquatic rhabdovirus demonstrates promise of a broad-spectrum antiviral for use in aquaculture
Bethany F. Balmer, Rachel L. Powers, Ting-Hu Zhang, Jihye Lee, Frederic Vigant, Benhur Lee, Michael E. Jung, Maureen K. Purcell, Kevin Snekvik, Hector C. Aguilar
2017, Journal of Virology (91)
Many enveloped viruses cause devastating disease in aquaculture, resulting in significant economic impact. LJ001 is a broad-spectrum antiviral compound that inhibits enveloped virus infections by specifically targeting phospholipids in the lipid bilayer via the production of singlet oxygen (1O2). This stabilizes positive curvature and decreases membrane fluidity, which inhibits virus-cell...
Nationwide reconnaissance of contaminants of emerging concern in source and treated drinking waters of the United States: Pharmaceuticals
Edward T. Furlong, Angela L. Batt, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Mary C. Noriega, Dana W. Kolpin, Heath Mash, Kathleen M. Schenck
2017, Science of the Total Environment (579) 1629-1642
Mobile and persistent chemicals that are present in urban wastewater, such as pharmaceuticals, may survive on-site ormunicipal wastewater treatment and post-discharge environmental processes. These pharmaceuticals have the potential to reach surface and groundwaters, essential drinking-water sources. A joint, two-phase U.S. Geological Survey-U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study examined source and treated waters from 25 drinking-water...
Donor life stage influences juvenile American eel Anguilla rostrata attraction to conspecific chemical cues
Heather S. Galbraith, Carrie J. Blakeslee, Andrew K. Schmucker, Nicholas S. Johnson, Michael J. Hansen, Weiming Li
2017, Journal of Fish Biology (90) 384-395
The present study investigated the potential role of conspecific chemical cues in inland juvenile American eel Anguilla rostrata migrations by assessing glass eel and 1 year old elver affinities to elver washings, and elver affinity to adult yellow eel washings. In two-choice maze assays, glass eels were attracted to elver washings,...
Using silver and bighead carp cell lines for the identification of a unique metabolite fingerprint from thiram-specific chemical exposure
Joel G. Putnam, Justine Nelson, Eric M. Leis, Richard A. Erickson, Terrance D. Hubert, Jon J. Amberg
2017, Chemosphere (168) 1477-1485
Conservation biology often requires the control of invasive species. One method is the development and use of biocides. Identifying new chemicals as part of the biocide registration approval process can require screening millions of compounds. Traditionally, screening new chemicals has been done in vivo using test organisms. Using in vitro (e.g.,...
Critical zone properties control the fate of nitrogen during experimental rainfall in montane forests of the Colorado Front Range
Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley, Brian A. Ebel, Rebecca T. Barnes, Sheila F. Murphy, Suzanne P. Anderson
2017, Biogeochemistry (132) 213-231
Several decades of research in alpine ecosystems have demonstrated links among the critical zone, hydrologic response, and the fate of elevated atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition. Less research has occurred in mid-elevation forests, which may be important for retaining atmospheric N deposition. To explore the fate of N in the montane...
Evaluating simplistic methods to understand current distributions and forecast distribution changes under climate change scenarios: An example with coypu (Myocastor coypus)
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Nicholas E. Young, Trevor R. Sheffels, Jacoby Carter, Mark D. Systma, Colin Talbert
2017, NeoBiota (32) 107-125
Invasive species provide a unique opportunity to evaluate factors controlling biogeographic distributions; we can consider introduction success as an experiment testing suitability of environmental conditions. Predicting potential distributions of spreading species is not easy, and forecasting potential distributions with changing climate is even more difficult. Using the globally invasive coypu...
The importance of quality control in validating concentrationsof contaminants of emerging concern in source and treateddrinking water samples
Angela L. Batt, Edward T. Furlong, Heath E. Mash, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Dana W. Kolpin
2017, Science of the Total Environment (579) 1618-1628
A national-scale survey of 247 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including organic and inorganic chemical compounds, andmicrobial contaminants, was conducted in source and treated drinkingwater samples from 25 treatment plants across the United States.Multiplemethodswere used to determine these CECs, including six analytical methods tomeasure 174 pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides. A three-component quality...
Changes in aquatic vegetation and floodplain land cover in the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers (1989–2000–2010)
Nathan R. De Jager, Jason J. Rohweder
2017, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (189) 1-14
Quantifying changes in the cover of river-floodplain systems can provide important insights into the processes that structure these landscapes as well as the potential consequences to the ecosystem services they provide. We examined net changes in 13 different aquatic and floodplain land cover classes using photo interpreted maps of the...
Predicting animal home-range structure and transitions using a multistate Ornstein-Uhlenbeck biased random walk
Greg A. Breed, Emily A. Golson, M. Tim Tinker
2017, Ecology (98) 32-47
The home‐range concept is central in animal ecology and behavior, and numerous mechanistic models have been developed to understand home range formation and maintenance. These mechanistic models usually assume a single, contiguous home range. Here we describe and implement a simple home‐range model that can accommodate multiple...
Merging paleobiology with conservation biology to guide the future of terrestrial ecosystems
Anthony D. Barnosky, Elizabeth A. Hadly, Jason Head, Patrick Gonzalez, P. David Polly, A. Michelle Lawing, Jussi T. Eronen, David D. Ackerly, Ken Alex, Eric Biber, Jessica L. Blois, Justin Brashares, Gerardo Ceballos, Edward Davis, Gregory P. Dietl, Rodolfo Dirzo, Holly Doremus, Mikael Fortelius, Harry W. Greene, Jessica Hellmann, Thomas Hickler, Stephen T. Jackson, Melissa Kemp, Paul L. Koch, Claire Kremen, Emily L. Lindsey, Cindy Looy, Charles R. Marshall, Chase Mendenhall, Andreas Mulch, Alexis M. Mychajliw, Carsten Nowak, Uma Ramakrishnan, Jan Schnitzler, Kashish Das Shrestha, Katherine Solari, Lynn Stegner, M. Allison Stegner, Nils Chr. Stenseth, Marvalee H. Wake, Zhibin Zhang
2017, Science (355) 1-10
The current impacts of humanity on nature are rapid and destructive, but species turnover and change have occurred throughout the history of life. Although there is much debate about the best approaches to take in conservation, ultimately, we need to permit or enhance the resilience of natural systems so that...
Suppression of invasive lake trout in an isolated backcountry lake in Glacier National Park
C. R. Fredenberg, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Christopher S. Guy, Vincent S. D'Angelo, Christopher C. Downs, John M. Syslo
2017, Fisheries Management and Ecology (24) 33-48
Fisheries managers have implemented suppression programmes to control non-native lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush (Walbaum), in several lakes throughout the western United States. This study determined the feasibility of experimentally suppressing lake trout using gillnets in an isolated backcountry lake in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, for the conservation of threatened...
Flood-inundation maps for the St. Joseph River at Elkhart, Indiana
Zachary W. Martin
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5179
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.6-mile reach of the St. Joseph River at Elkhart, Indiana, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site...
The Chief Joseph Hatchery Program 2014 Annual Report
Andrea Pearl, Matthew Laramie, Casey Baldwin, John Rohrback, Pat Phillips
2017, Report
The Chief Joseph Hatchery Program is comprised of both operations and maintenance of the Chief Joseph Hatchery, located near Bridgeport, Washington and the monitoring and evaluation of natural- and hatchery-origin Chinook salmon in the Okanogan Subbasin. In 2014, the Chief Joseph Hatchery released 44,267 yearling and 186,050 subyearling integrated Chinook...
Simulation of earthquake ground motions in the eastern United States using deterministic physics‐based and site‐based stochastic approaches
Sanaz Rezaeian, Stephen H. Hartzell, Xiaodan Sun, Carlos Mendoza
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 149-168
Earthquake ground‐motion recordings are scarce in the central and eastern United States (CEUS) for large‐magnitude events and at close distances. We use two different simulation approaches, a deterministic physics‐based method and a site‐based stochastic method, to simulate ground motions over a wide range of magnitudes. Drawing...
Modeling strong‐motion recordings of the 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule, Chile, earthquake with high stress‐drop subevents and background slip
Arthur D. Frankel
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 372-386
Strong‐motion recordings of the Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake were modeled using a compound rupture model consisting of (1) a background slip distribution with large correlation lengths, relatively low slip velocity, and long peak rise time of slip of about 10 s and (2) high stress‐drop subevents (asperities) on the deeper portion of the rupture...
Assessing conditions influencing the longitudinal distribution of exotic brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a mountain stream: a spatially-explicit modeling approach
Christy S. Meredith, Phaedra E. Budy, Mevin Hooten, Marcos Oliveira Prates
2017, Biological Invasions (19) 503-519
Trout species often segregate along elevational gradients, yet the mechanisms driving this pattern are not fully understood. On the Logan River, Utah, USA, exotic brown trout (Salmo trutta) dominate at low elevations but are near-absent from high elevations with native Bonneville cutthroat trout (Onchorhynchus clarkii utah)....
