Life Sciences Commons^™

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Quarterly Report, Period Ending September 30, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Project 1: Two advisory team meetings were attended this year; technical input was provided as appropriate; and summaries were prepared and delivered to Kent Turner. The SCOP Selenium Management Plan has been reviewed with two reports provided.

Project 2: Whitepapers on the carp die-off due to Koi Herpes Virus (KHV) and on lead-base paint use on launch ramps were finalized and delivered to Mr. Turner.

Project 3: The Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-MAP) for Quagga Mussels has been approved for implementation.

Project 5: Seven articles based on presentations at the Lake Mead Science Symposium have been approved by the technical …

Interagency Management Action Plan (I-Map) For Quagga Mussels, David Wong, Shawn Gerstenberger

Public Lands Institute Publications

Following the discovery of quagga mussels in Lake Mead, a variety of agencies, including National Park Service (NPS) Lake Mead National Recreational Area (LMNRA), Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS), Clean Water Coalition (CWC), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have set up monitoring programs to evaluate and gain information to help minimize the impacts or potential impacts of quagga mussels to their facilities and lake ecology. Current monitoring activities and anticipated environmental impacts are depicted in Figures 1 and 2. While the agencies have worked closely and …

Long Distance Microbial Transport In Air: Global Change Implications, Bradley J. Davey, J. C. Bruckner, Jenny C. Fisher, Duane P. Moser

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

The first manifestations of global change will most likelv be observed in the Earth's atmosphere. Changing wind patterns, for example, may effect the long distance dispersal of microor-g anisms. The overall objective of this research is to correlate molecular assessments of microbial community structure from cloud water and snow samples, obtained from DRI's Storm Peak Laboratory atop Mt. Werner in Colorado, with atmospheric data and calculated air mass back trajectories. Our activities for summer of 2009 will be a focused proof-of-concept exercise to determine if intact microbial DNA and viable cells can be recovered from cloud water and alpine snow …

Point And Nonpoint Source Analysis Of Nutrients, Metals, And Pathogens In The Sediment And Water Column In Las Vegas Wash, Christine Simmons, Kumud Acharya

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Formerly an ephemeral watercourse, Las Vegas Wash is now a perennial system due to urban runoff and wastewater treatment plant (WWP) effluent. Las Vegas Wash flows into Lake Mead, where the discharge point is only a few miles upstream of Las Vegas’ main water intake. This small water cycle establishes the necessity to evaluate water quality especially due to non point sources pollution, wherein my research lies. Several points along Las Vegas Wash upstream and downstream of WWP have been chosen to represent different landuse types such as commercial, residential, wastewater treatment plants, etc. At each location, parameters including arsenic, …

Baseline Microbial Characterizations Of An Imperiled Aquatic Diversity Hotspot: Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Jessica Newburn, Jim Bruckner, Jenny C. Fisher, Duane P. Moser

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Located in the discharge zone of the Death Valley Flow System, Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is a spring-fed desert oasis and biodiversity hotspot about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. These critical wetlands are potentially threatened by groundwater pumping, exotic species invasions, and climate change. Although a major component of the lower food web, very little is known about the microbial makeup of this ecosystem. As a first step towards understanding the microbial and biogeochemical aspects of this system, a detailed molecular-based characterization of microbial communities, baseline chemistry, and physical characteristics of various springs of Ash Meadows will be …

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Annual Report, Period Ending July 1, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Project 1: Eighteen advisory team meetings were attended this year; technical input was provided as appropriate; and summaries were prepared and delivered to Kent Turner. The SCOP Selenium Management Plan has been reviewed and a report is in preparation.

Project 2: A formal report titled, Surface Water Monitoring for Indicator Bacteria in High-use Sites of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, was delivered in the second quarter of this year. Subsequently, a poster presentation on this topic was delivered at the Lake Mead Science Symposium and a manuscript has been prepared for submission to the journal, Lake and Reservoir Management. …

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Quarterly Report, Period Ending April 1, 2009, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Project 1: Technical input has been provided at two advisory team meetings attended this quarter.

Project 2: Surface Water Monitoring for Indicator Bacteria in High-use Sites of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area (poster) was presented at the Lake Mead Science Symposium; a journal article is in preparation.

Project 3: A draft document titled “Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-MAP): Quagga Mussels in Lakes Mead and Mohave” has been subdivided into four major sections and corresponding sub-groups have been formed to provide review and input. Six oral presentations related to quagga mussels were presented at the Lake Mead Science Symposium. Two …

Unlv Magazine, Michelle Mouton, Tony Allen, Afsha Bawany, Shane Bevell, Phil Hagen, Greg Lacour, Erin O'Donnell, Karyn S. Hollingsworth

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

Diversity Of Estrogen Degrading Microorganisms In Las Vegas Wash And Lake Mead, Nevada, Usa, Susanna Blunt, Jim Bruckner, Jenny C. Fisher, Duane P. Moser

Lake Mead Science Symposium

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a subject of intense research as more studies reveal their persistence in the environment and detrimental effects on wildlife. Steroid hormones, including the natural and synthetic estrogens estrone (E1), 17-beta-estradiol (E2) and 17- alpha-ethinyl estradiol (EE2), are among the most bioactive and have been detected at low concentrations in waterways downstream from wastewater treatment plants. Las Vegas Wash, a stream flowing into Lake Mead and fed primarily by treated wastewater, provides a unique experimental system in which to study the role microorganisms play in the fate and dispersal of these compounds in surface waters.

Assessment Of Endocrine And Gonadal Condition Of Male Largemouth Bass From Lake Mead, Nevada, Reynaldo Patino, Steven L. Goodbred, Erik Orsak, Jill A. Jenkins, Michael R. Rosen

Lake Mead Science Symposium

Las Vegas Bay (LVB) of Lake Mead receives combined flows of tertiary treated wastewater effluent, urban runoff, and groundwater from the Las Vegas metropolitan area. This study examined the potential for endocrine disrupting effects of these anthropogenic inputs on male largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Adult male bass were collected at two sites within Lake Mead: Overton Arm (OA, reference site), and Las Vegas Bay (LVB). Post-spawn fish were collected in July 2007 (n = 6-10 per site) and pre-spawn fish in March 2008 (n = 13 per site). Post-spawn fish were characterized by regressed testes whereas pre-spawn bass had full-grown …

Progress In Strategic Research Areas, Scott R. Abella

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

Three years ago through conversations with resource managers, assessing the status of knowledge of the scientific literature, and our own interests, we set forth several strategic research areas that we believed would be timely for advancing Mojave Desert conservation and management.