Pelagic nekton abundance and distribution in the northern Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California
Frederick V. Feyrer, Steven B. Slater, Donald E. Portz, Darren Odom, Tara L. Morgan-King, Larry R. Brown
2017, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (146) 128-135
Knowledge of the habitats occupied by species is fundamental for the development of effective conservation and management actions. The collapse of pelagic fish species in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, has triggered a need to better understand factors that drive their distribution and abundance. A study was conducted in summer–fall...
A framework for modeling emerging diseases to inform management
Robin E. Russell, Rachel A. Katz, Katherine L. D. Richgels, Daniel P. Walsh, Evan H. Campbell Grant
2017, Emerging Infectious Diseases (23) 1-6
The rapid emergence and reemergence of zoonotic diseases requires the ability to rapidly evaluate and implement optimal management decisions. Actions to control or mitigate the effects of emerging pathogens are commonly delayed because of uncertainty in the estimates and the predicted outcomes of the control tactics. The development of models...
Origin and evolution of mineralizing fluids and exploration of the Cerro Quema Au-Cu deposit (Azuero Peninsula, Panama) from a fluid inclusion and stable isotope perspective
Isaac Corral, Esteve Cardellach, Merce Corbella, Angels Canals, Albert Griera, David Gomez-Gras, Craig A. Johnson
2017, Ore Geology Reviews (80) 947-960
Cerro Quema is a high sulfidation epithermal Au-Cu deposit with a measured, indicated and inferred resource of 35.98 Mt. @ 0.77 g/t Au containing 893,600 oz. Au (including 183,930 oz. Au equiv. of Cu ore). It is characterized by a large hydrothermal alteration zone which is interpreted to represent the lithocap of...
A modeling study of the impacts of Mississippi River diversion and sea-level rise on water quality of a deltaic estuary
Hongqing Wang, Q. Chen, Kelin Hu, Megan K. LaPeyre
2017, Estuaries and Coasts (40) 1028-1054
Freshwater and sediment management in estuaries affects water quality, particularly in deltaic estuaries. Furthermore, climate change-induced sea-level rise (SLR) and land subsidence also affect estuarine water quality by changing salinity, circulation, stratification, sedimentation, erosion, residence time, and other physical and ecological processes. However, little is known about how the magnitudes...
Ecology of the Opossum Shrimp (Neomysis mercedis) in a Lower Snake River Reservoir, Washington
Kenneth F. Tiffan, John M. Erhardt, Brad K. Bickford
2017, Northwest Science (91) 124-139
The opossum shrimp Neomysis mercedis has expanded its range from the lower Columbia River upstream 695 kilometers into Lower Granite Reservoir where it is now very abundant. We studied Neomysis ecology in the reservoir during 2011–2015 to better understand the physical and biological factors that shape their distribution as well as their potential role...
Observations of pockmark flow structure in Belfast Bay, Maine, Part 1: current-induced mixing
Christina L. Fandel, Thomas C. Lippmann, James D. Irish, Laura L. Brothers
2017, Geo-Marine Letters (37) 1-14
Field observations of current profiles and temperature, salinity, and density structure were used to examine vertical mixing within two pockmarks in Belfast Bay, Maine. The first is located in 21 m water depth (sea level to rim), nearly circular in shape with a 45 m rim diameter and 12 m...
Volume of larvae Is the most important single predictor of mass temperatures in the forensically important Calliphorid, Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae)
S. V. Gruner, D. H. Slone, J.L. Capinera, M. P. Turco
2017, Journal of Medical Entomology (54) 30-34
Calliphorid species form larval aggregations that are capable of generating heat above ambient temperature. We wanted to determine the relationship between volume, number of larvae, and different combinations of instars on larval mass heat generation. We compared different numbers of Chrysomya megacephala (F.) larvae (40, 100, 250, 600, and 2,000),...
Observations of pockmark flow structure in Belfast Bay, Maine, Part 2: evidence for cavity flow
Christina L. Fandel, Thomas C. Lippmann, Diane L. Foster, Laura L. Brothers
2017, Geo-Marine Letters (37) 15-22
Pockmark flow circulation patterns were investigated through current measurements along the rim and center of two pockmarks in Belfast Bay, Maine. Observed time-varying current profiles have a complex vertical and directional structure that rotates significantly with depth and is strongly dependent on the phase of the tide. Observations of the...
Observations of pockmark flow structure in Belfast Bay, Maine, Part 3: implications for sediment transport
Christina L. Fandel, Thomas C. Lippmann, Diane L. Foster, Laura L. Brothers
2017, Geo-Marine Letters (37) 23-34
Current observations and sediment characteristics acquired within and along the rim of two pockmarks in Belfast Bay, Maine, were used to characterize periods of sediment transport and to investigate conditions favorable to the settling of suspended sediment. Hourly averaged Shields parameters determined from horizontal current velocity profiles within the center...
Informing watershed connectivity barrier prioritization decisions: A synthesis
S. K. McKay, A. R. Cooper, M.W. Diebel, D. Elkins, G. Oldford, C. Roghair, Daniel J. Wieferich
2017, River Research and Applications (33) 847-862
Water resources and transportation infrastructure such as dams and culverts provide countless socio-economic benefits; however, this infrastructure can also disconnect the movement of organisms, sediment, and water through river ecosystems. Trade-offs associated with these competing costs and benefits occur globally, with applications in barrier addition (e.g. dam and road construction),...
Primary sources and toxicity of PAHs in Milwaukee-area streambed sediment
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) 1622-1635
High concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in streams can be a significant stressor to aquatic organisms. To understand the likely sources and toxicity of PAHs in Milwaukee-area streams, streambed sediment samples from 40 sites and parking lot dust samples from 6 sites were analyzed for 38 parent PAHs and...
Spatially intensive sampling by electrofishing for assessing longitudinal discontinuities in fish distribution in a headwater stream
Celine Le Pichon, Evelyne Tales, Jerome Belliard, Christian E. Torgersen
2017, Fisheries Research (185) 90-101
Spatially intensive sampling by electrofishing is proposed as a method for quantifying spatial variation in fish assemblages at multiple scales along extensive stream sections in headwater catchments. We used this method to sample fish species at 10-m2 points spaced every 20 m throughout 5 km of a headwater stream in France. The...
Simple, efficient allocation of modelling runs on heterogeneous clusters with MPI
David I. Donato
2017, Environmental Modelling and Software (88) 48-57
In scientific modelling and computation, the choice of an appropriate method for allocating tasks for parallel processing depends on the computational setting and on the nature of the computation. The allocation of independent but similar computational tasks, such as modelling runs or Monte Carlo trials, among the nodes of a...
Bed texture mapping in large rivers using recreational-grade sidescan sonar
Daniel Hamill, Joseph M. Wheaton, Daniel D. Buscombe, Paul E. Grams, Theodore S. Melis
2017, Conference Paper, River Flow 2016--Eighth International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics
The size-distribution and spatial organization of bed sediment, or bed ‘texture’, is a fundamental attribute of natural channels and is one important component of the physical habitat of aquatic ecosystems. ‘Recreational-grade’ sidescan sonar systems now offer the possibility of imaging, and subsequently quantifying bed texture at high resolution with minimal...
A comprehensive survey of faults, breccias, and fractures in and flanking the eastern Española Basin, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico
Jonathan S. Caine, Scott A. Minor, V. J. S. Grauch, James R. Budahn, Tucker T. Keren
2017, Geosphere (13) 1566-1609
A comprehensive survey of geologic structures formed in the Earth’s brittle regime in the eastern Española Basin and flank of the Rio Grande rift, New Mexico, reveals a complex and protracted record of multiple tectonic events. Data and analyses from this representative rift flank-basin pair include measurements from 53 individual...
Effects of varying obliquity on Martian sublimation thermokarst landforms
Colin M. Dundas
2017, Icarus (281) 115-120
Scalloped depressions in the Martian mid-latitudes are likely formed by sublimation of ice-rich ground. The stability of subsurface ice changes with the planetary obliquity, generally becoming less stable at lower axial tilt. As a result, the relative rates of sublimation and creep change over time. A landscape evolution model shows...
Trade-offs and efficiencies in optimal budget-constrained multispecies corridor networks
Bistra Dilkina, Rachel Houtman, Carla P. Gomes, Claire A. Montgomery, Kevin McKelvey, Katherine Kendall, Tabitha A. Graves, Michael K. Schwartz, Richard Bernstein
2017, Conservation Biology (31) 192-202
Conservation biologists recognize that a system of isolated protected areas will be necessary but insufficient to meet biodiversity objectives. Current approaches to connecting core conservation areas through corridors consider optimal corridor placement based on a single optimization goal: commonly, maximizing the movement for a target species across a network of...
Estimating linear temporal trends from aggregated environmental monitoring data
Richard A. Erickson, Brian R. Gray, Eric A. Eager
2017, Ecological Indicators (74) 62-72
Trend estimates are often used as part of environmental monitoring programs. These trends inform managers (e.g., are desired species increasing or undesired species decreasing?). Data collected from environmental monitoring programs is often aggregated (i.e., averaged), which confounds sampling and process variation. State-space models allow sampling variation and process variations to...
Contribution of manipulable and non-manipulable environmental factors to trapping efficiency of invasive sea lamprey
Heather A. Dawson, Gale Bravener, Joshua Beaulaurier, Nicholas S. Johnson, Michael Twohey, Robert L. McLaughlin, Travis O. Brenden
2017, Journal of Great Lakes Research (43) 172-181
We identified aspects of the trapping process that afforded opportunities for improving trap efficiency of invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in a Great Lake's tributary. Capturing a sea lamprey requires it to encounter the trap, enter, and be retained until removed. Probabilities of these events depend on the interplay between...
Estuary-ocean connectivity: Fast physics, slow biology
Melanie Raimonet, James E. Cloern
2017, Global Change Biology (23) 2345-2357
Estuaries are connected to both land and ocean so their physical, chemical, and biological dynamics are influenced by climate patterns over watersheds and ocean basins. We explored climate-driven oceanic variability as a source of estuarine variability by comparing monthly time series of temperature and chlorophyll-a inside San Francisco Bay with...
Estimating occurrence and detection probabilities for stream-breeding salamanders in the Gulf Coastal Plain
Jennifer Y. Lamb, J. Hardin Waddle, Carl P. Qualls
2017, Journal of Herpetology (51) 102-108
Large gaps exist in our knowledge of the ecology of stream-breeding plethodontid salamanders in the Gulf Coastal Plain. Data describing where these salamanders are likely to occur along environmental gradients, as well as their likelihood of detection, are important for the prevention and management of amphibian declines. We used presence/absence...
A computational fluid dynamics modeling study of guide walls for downstream fish passage
Kevin Mulligan, Brett Towler, Alexander J. Haro, David P. Ahlfeld
2017, Ecological Engineering (99) 324-332
A partial-depth, impermeable guidance structure (or guide wall) for downstream fish passage is typically constructed as a series of panels attached to a floating boom and anchored across a water body (e.g. river channel, reservoir, or power canal). The downstream terminus of the wall is generally located nearby to a...
Computing spatial correlation of ground motion intensities for ShakeMap
Sarah Verros, David J. Wald, Charles Worden, Mike Hearne, Mahadevan Ganesh
2017, Computers & Geosciences (99) 145-154
Modeling the spatial correlation of ground motion residuals, caused by coherent contributions from source, path, and site, can provide valuable loss and hazard information, as well as a more realistic depiction of ground motion intensities. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) software package, ShakeMap, utilizes a deterministic empirical approach to estimate...
Multi-species coral Sr/Ca-based sea-surface temperature reconstruction using Orbicella faveolata and Siderastrea siderea from the Florida Straits
Jennifer A. Flannery, Julie N. Richey, Kaustubh Thirumalai, Richard Z. Poore, Kristine L. DeLong
2017, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (466) 100-109
We present new, monthly-resolved Sr/Ca-based sea-surface temperature (SST) records from two species of massive coral, Orbicella faveolata and Siderastrea siderea, from the Dry Tortugas National Park, FL, USA (DTNP). We combine these new records with published data from three additional S. siderea coral colonies to generate a 278-year long multi-species...
Spatially explicit modeling in ecology: A review
Donald L. DeAngelis, Simeon Yurek
2017, Ecosystems (20) 284-300
The use of spatially explicit models (SEMs) in ecology has grown enormously in the past two decades. One major advancement has been that fine-scale details of landscapes, and of spatially dependent biological processes, such as dispersal and invasion, can now be simulated with great precision, due to improvements in computer...