A decade of Indigenous knowledge research in the Yukon River basin: Reflection on “Indigenous observations of change in the lower Yukon River basin, Alaska”
Nicole M. Herman-Mercer
2021, Human Organization (80) 234-245
Herman-Mercer reflects on her first article" Indigenous Observations of Change in the Lower Yukon River Basin, Alaska." The observations and knowledge presented in this study have become part of an ever-growing catalog of studies representing, and part of a chorus of Indigenous communities across the Arctic and Subarctic conveying, the...
Assessing potential stock structure of adult Coho Salmon in a small Alaska watershed: Quantifying run timing, spawning locations, and holding areas with radiotelemetry
M. E. Stratton, H. Finkle, Jeffrey A. Falke, P. A. H. Westley
2021, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (41) 1423-1435
Run timing and spatial locations of spawning habitats are often used to identify stocks for conservation planning or management of salmonid fishes. Although complex stock structure is most common within large watersheds with diverse habitats, even small drainages can produce multiple co-occurring spatially or temporally isolated populations or “stocks.” This...
Dynamic selection for forage quality and quantity in response to phenology and insects in an Arctic ungulate
Heather E. Johnson, Trevor Golden, Layne G. Adams, David Gustine, Elizabeth A. Lenart, Perry Barboza
2021, Ecology and Evolution (11) 11664-11688
Spatiotemporal variation in forage is a primary driver of ungulate behavior, yet little is known about the nutritional components they select, and how selection varies across the growing season with changes in forage quality and quantity. We addressed these uncertainties in barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus), which...
Storm-scale and seasonal dynamics of carbon export from a nested subarctic watershed underlain by permafrost
Joshua C. Koch, Mark Dornblaser, Rob Striegl
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences (126)
Subarctic catchments underlain by permafrost sequester a major stock of frozen organic carbon (C), which may be mobilized as the Arctic warms. Warming can impact C export from thawing soils by altering the depth and timing of runoff related to changing storm and fire regimes and altered soil thaw depths....
Energetic and health effects of protein overconsumption constrain dietary adaptation in an apex predator
Karyn D. Rode, Charles T. Robbins, Craig A. Stricker, Brian D. Taras, Troy N Tollefson
2021, Scientific Reports (11)
Studies of predator feeding ecology commonly focus on energy intake. However, captive predators have been documented to selectively feed to optimize macronutrient intake. As many apex predators experience environmental changes that affect prey availability, limitations on selective feeding can affect energetics and health. We estimated the...
Spectral damping scaling factors for horizontal components of ground motions from subduction earthquakes using NGA-Subduction data
Sanaz Rezaeian, L. Al Atik, N. M. Kuehn, N. A. Abrahamson, Y. Bozorgnia, S. Mazzoni, Kyle Withers, K. Campbell
2021, Earthquake Spectra (37) 2453-2492
This article develops global models of damping scaling factors (DSFs) for subduction zone earthquakes that are functions of the damping ratio, spectral period, earthquake magnitude, and distance. The Next Generation Attenuation for subduction earthquakes (NGA-Sub) project has developed the largest uniformly processed database of recorded ground motions...
The spatial-temporal relationship of blue-winged teal to domestic poultry: Movement state modeling of a highly mobile avian influenza host
John M. Humphreys, David C. Douglas, Andrew M. Ramey, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Catherine Soos, Paul T. Link, Patrick Walther, Diann Prosser
2021, Journal of Applied Ecology (58) 2040-2052
1. Migratory waterfowl facilitate long distance dispersal of zoonotic pathogens and are increasingly recognized as contributing to the geographic spread of avian influenza viruses (AIV). AIV are globally distributed and have the potential to produce highly contagious poultry disease, economically impact both large-scale and backyard poultry producers, and raise the...
Managing nonperennial headwater streams in temperate forests of the United States
Stephanie K. Kampf, Kathleen Dwyer, Matthew P. Fairchild, Jason B. Dunham, Craig D. Snyder, Kristin Jaeger, Charles H. Luce, John C. Hammond, Codie Wilson, Margaret Zimmer, Marielle Sidell
2021, Forest Ecology and Management (497)
Forest management guidelines are designed to protect water quality from unintended effects of land use changes such as timber harvest, mining, or forest road construction. Although streams that periodically cease to flow (nonperennial) drain the majority of forested areas, these streams are not consistently included in forest management guidelines. This...
Is the grass always greener? Land surface phenology reveals differences in peak and season-long vegetation productivity responses to climate and management
David J. A. Wood, Scott Powell, Paul C. Stoy, Lindsey Thurman, Erik A. Beever
2021, Ecology and Evolution (11) 11168-11199
Vegetation phenology—the seasonal timing and duration of vegetative phases—is controlled by spatiotemporally variable contributions of climatic and environmental factors plus additional potential influence from human management. We used land surface phenology derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer and climate data to examine variability in...
Response of forage plants to alteration of temperature and spring thaw date: Implications for geese in a warming Arctic
Paul L. Flint, Brandt W. Meixell
2021, Ecosphere (12)
Changes in summer temperatures in Arctic Alaska have led to longer and warmer growing seasons over the last three decades. Corresponding with these changes in climate, the abundance and distributions of geese have increased and expanded over the same period. We used an experimental approach to assess the response of...
Herring Disease Program - Annual Project Report 2012011-E, February 1, 2010-January 31, 2021
Paul Hershberger, Maureen K. Purcell
2021, Report
We will investigate fish health factors that may be contributing to the failed recovery of Pacific herring populations in Prince William Sound. Field samples will provide infection and disease prevalence data from Prince William Sound and Sitka Sound to inform the age structured assessment (ASA) model, serological data will indicate...
Demographic responses to climate change in a threatened Arctic species
K.D. Dunham, A.M. Tucker, D.N. Koons, A. Abebe, F.S. Dobson, J. Barry Grand
2021, Ecology and Evolution (11) 10627-10643
The Arctic is undergoing rapid and accelerating change in response to global warming, altering biodiversity patterns, and ecosystem function across the region. For Arctic endemic species, our understanding of the consequences of such change remains limited. Spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri), a large Arctic sea duck, use remote regions in the...
Preliminary assessment of the wave generating potential from landslides at Barry Arm, Prince William Sound, Alaska
Katherine R. Barnhart, Ryan P. Jones, David L. George, Jeffrey A. Coe, Dennis M. Staley
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1071
We simulated the concurrent rapid motion of landslides on an unstable slope at Barry Arm, Alaska. Movement of landslides into the adjacent fjord displaced fjord water and generated a tsunami, which propagated out of Barry Arm. Rather than assuming an initial sea surface height, velocity, and location for the tsunami,...
Managing for RADical ecosystem change: Applying the Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework
Abigail Lynch, Laura Thompson, Erik A. Beever, Augustin C. Engman, Cat Hawkins Hoffman, Stephen T. Jackson, Trevor J. Krabbenhoft, David J Lawrence, Douglas Limpinsel, Robert T. Magill, Tracy Melvin, John M. Morton, Robert Newman, Jay Peterson, Mark T. Porath, Frank J. Rahel, Gregor Schuurman, Suresh Sethi, Jennifer L. Wilkening
2021, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (19) 461-469
Ecosystem transformation involves the emergence of persistent ecological or social–ecological systems that diverge, dramatically and irreversibly, from prior ecosystem structure and function. Such transformations are occurring at increasing rates across the planet in response to changes in climate, land use, and other factors. Consequently, a dynamic...
Factors influencing distributional shifts and abundance at the range core of a climate-sensitive mammal
Peter D Billman, Erik A. Beever, Dave B. McWethy, Lindsey Thurman, Kenny C Wilson
2021, Global Change Biology (27) 4498-4515
Species are frequently responding to contemporary climate change by shifting to higher elevations and poleward to track suitable climate space. However, depending on local conditions and species’ sensitivity, the nature of these shifts can be highly variable and difficult to predict. Here, we examine how the...
Predicting wildfire impacts on the prehistoric archaeological record of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, USA
Megan Friggens, Rachel A. Loehman, Connie Constan, Rebekah Kneifel
2021, Fire Ecology (17)
Wildfires of uncharacteristic severity, a consequence of climate changes and accumulated fuels, can cause amplified or novel impacts to archaeological resources. The archaeological record includes physical features associated with human activity; these exist within ecological landscapes and provide a unique long-term perspective on human–environment interactions. The potential for fire-caused damage...
The Sedimentary Geochemistry and Paleoenvironments Project
Una Farrell, Rifaat Samawi, Savitha Anjanappa, Roman Klykov, Oyeleye Adeboye, Heda Agic, Anne-Sofie Ahm, Thomas Boag, Fred Bowyer, Jochen J. Brocks, Tessa Brunoir, Donald Canfield, Xiaoyan Chen, Meng Cheng, Matthew Clarkson, Devon B. Cole, David Cordie, Peter W. Crockford, Huan Cui, Tais Dahl, Lucas Del Mouro, Keith Dewing, Stephen Dornbos, Nadja Drabon, Julie A. Dumoulin, Jospeh Emmings, Cecilia R. Endringa, Tiffani A. Fraser, Robert R. Gaines, Richard M. Gaschnig, Timothy M. Gibson, Geoffrey J. Gilleaudeau, Benjamin C. Gill, Karin Goldberg, Romain Guilbaud, Galen P. Halverson, Emma U. Hammarlund, Kalev G. Hantsoo, Miles A. Henderson, Malcolm S. W. Hodgskiss, Tristan Horner, Jon M. Husson, Benjamin Johnson, Pavel Kabanov, C. Brenhin Keller, Julien Kimmig, Michael A. Kipp, Andrew H. Knoll, Timmu Kreitsmann, Marcus Kunzmann, Florian Kurzweil, Matthew A. LeRoy, Chao Li, Alex Lipp, David K. Loydell, Xinze Lu, Francis A. Macdonald, Joseph M. Magnall, Kaarel Mand, Akshay Mehra, Michael J. Melchin, Austin J. Miller, Chiza N. Mwinde, Brennan O'Connell, Lawrence M. Och, Frantz Ossa Ossa, Anais Pages, Kart Paiste, Camille A. Partin, Shanan Peters, Peter Petrov, Tiffany L. Playter, Stephanie Plaza-Torres, Susannah M. Porter, Simon W. Poulton, Sara B. Pruss, Sylvain Richoz, Samantha R. Ritzer, Alan D. Rooney, Swapan K. Sahoo, Shane D. Schoepfer, Judith A. Sclafani, Yanan Shen, Oliver Shorttle, Sarah P. Slotznick, Emily F. Smith, Sam Spinks, Richard G. Stockey, J. V. Strauss, Eva E. Stueken, Sabrina Tecklenburg, Danielle Thomson, N. J. Tosca, Gabriel J. Uhlein, Maoli N. Vizcaino, Huajian Wang, Tristan White, Philip R. Wilby, Christina R. Woltz, Rachel A. Wood, Lei Xiang, Inessa A. Yurchenko, Tianran Zhang, Noah J. Planavsky, Kimberly V. Lau, David T. Johnston, Erik A. Sperling
2021, Geobiology (19) 545-556
Geobiology explores how Earth's system has changed over the course of geologic history and how living organisms on this planet are impacted by or are indeed causing these changes. For decades, geologists, paleontologists, and geochemists have generated data to investigate these topics. Foundational efforts in sedimentary geochemistry utilized spreadsheets for...
Human-polar bear interactions
Todd C. Atwood, James Wilder
Randall W. Davis, Anthony M. Pagano, editor(s)
2021, Book chapter, Ethology and behavioral ecology of sea otters and polar bears
Human-wildlife interactions (HWI) are driven fundamentally by overlapping space and resources. As competition intensifies, the likelihood of interaction and conflict increases. In turn, conflict may impede conservation efforts by lowering social tolerance of wildlife, especially when human-wildlife conflict (HWC) poses a threat to human safety and economic well-being. Thus, mitigating...
Sea otter foraging behavior
Randall W. Davis, James L. Bodkin
2021, Book chapter, Ethology and behavioral ecology of sea otters and polar bears
Sea otters are marine specialists but diet generalists, which feed primarily on benthic mega-invertebrates (i.e., body dimension >1 cm). They locate and capture epibenthic and infaunal prey with their forepaws by relying on vision and tactile sensitivity during short-duration dives (generally <2 min) in shallow waters (routine dives <30 m and maximum dive depth...
The petrologic and degassing behavior of sulfur and other magmatic volatiles from the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea, Hawaiʻi: Melt concentrations, magma storage depths, and magma recycling
Allan Lerner, Paul J. Wallace, Thomas Shea, Adrien Mourey, Peter J. Kelly, Patricia A. Nadeau, Tamar Elias, Christoph Kern, Laura E. Clor, Cheryl Gansecki, R. Lopaka Lee, Lowell Moore, Cynthia A. Werner
2021, Bulletin of Volcanology (83)
Kīlauea Volcano’s 2018 lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption produced exceptionally high lava effusion rates and record-setting SO2 emissions. The eruption involved a diverse range of magmas, including primitive basalts sourced from Kīlauea’s summit reservoirs. We analyzed LERZ matrix glasses, melt inclusions, and host minerals to identify...
Vulnerability of Pacific salmon to invasion of northern pike (Esox lucius) in Southcentral Alaska
Chase S. Jalbert, Jeffrey A. Falke, Andrés López, Kristine J. Dunker, Adam Sepulveda, Peter A. H. Westley
2021, PLoS ONE (16)
The relentless role of invasive species in the extinction of native biota requires predictions of ecosystem vulnerability to inform proactive management strategies. The worldwide invasion and range expansion of predatory northern pike (Esox lucius) has been linked to the decline of native...
Exploring GPS observations of postseismic deformation following the 2012 MW7.8 Haida Gwaii and 2013 MW7.5 Craig, Alaska Earthquakes: Implications for viscoelastic Earth structure
Katherine A. Guns, Frederick Pollitz, Thorne Lay, Han Yue
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (126)
The Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault (QC-FF) system off the coast of British Columbia and southeast Alaska is a highly active dextral strike-slip plate boundary that accommodates ∼50 mm/yr of relative motion between the Pacific and North America plates. Nine MW ≥ 6.7 earthquakes have occurred along the QC-FF system since 1910, including a MS(G-R)8.1 event in...
Alaska Landbird Conservation Plan
Travis L. Booms, Melissa N. Cady, Cheryl A. Carrothers, Lucas H. DeCicco, Maureen L. de Zeeuw, Melanie J. Flamme, Julie Hagelin, Colleen M. Handel, James A. Johnson, Matthew D. Kirchoff, Michelle L. Kissling, Stephen B. Lewis, Steven M. Matsuoka, Debora A. Nigro, Deborah E. Perkins, Heather M. Renner, Susan E. Savage, Kristine M. Sowl, Susan M. Sharbaugh, Iain J Stenhouse, Caroline R. Van Hemert
Colleen M. Handel, Iain Stenhouse, Steven M. Matsuoka, editor(s)
2021, Report
Alaska is a land of extremes. The diversity of its avifauna reflects the heterogeneity of its landscape, with more than 500 species of birds recorded in the state. Species inhabiting primarily terrestrial habitats, known collectively as landbirds, constitute the largest and most ecologically diverse component of the Alaska avifauna. Habitats...
Assessing recovery of spectacled eiders using a Bayesian decision analysis
K.D. Dunham, E.E. Osnas, C. Frost, J.B. Fischer, J. Barry Grand
2021, PLoS ONE (16)
Assessing species status and making classification decisions under the Endangered Species Act is a critical step towards effective species conservation. However, classification decisions are liable to two errors: i) failing to classify a species as threatened or endangered that should be classified (underprotection), or ii) classifying a species as threatened...
The distribution of anadromy in steelhead / rainbow trout in the Eel River, northwestern California
Bret C. Harvey, Rodney J. Nakamoto, Adam J.R. Kent, Christian E. Zimmerman
2021, California Fish and Wildlife Journal (107) 77-88
To inform management and conservation of the species, we investigated the distribution of anadromy and residency of steelhead/rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Eel River of northwestern California. We determined maternal anadromy versus residency for 106 juvenile O. mykiss using otolith microchemistry. To attempt to relate patterns of anadromy with...
