Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Impacts Of Environmental Conditions On Fleas In Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Burrows, Julia E. Poje, Tonie Rocke, Michael D. Samuel

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Sylvatic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and transmitted by fleas, occurs in prairie dogs of the western United States. Outbreaks can devastate prairie dog communities, often causing nearly 100% mortality. Three competent flea vectors, prairie dog specialists Oropsylla hirsuta and O. tuberculata, and generalist Pulex simulans, are found on prairie dogs and in their burrows. Fleas are affected by climate, which varies across the range of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), but these effects may be ameliorated somewhat due to the burrowing habits of prairie dogs. Our goal was to assess how temperature and precipitation …

Characterizing El Niño-Southern Oscillation Effects On The Blue Nile Yield And The Nile River Basin Precipitation Using Empirical Mode Decomposition, Justin A. Le, Hesham El-Askary, Mohamed Allali, Eman Sayed, Hani Sweliem, Thomas C. Piechota, Daniele C. Struppa

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Using new mathematical and data-driven techniques, we propose new indices to measure and predict the strength of different El Niño events and how they affect regions like the Nile River Basin (NRB). Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), when applied to Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), yields three Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMF) tracking recognizable and physically significant non-stationary processes. The aim is to characterize underlying signals driving ENSO as reflected in SOI, and show that those signals also meaningfully affect other physical processes with scientific and predictive utility. In the end, signals are identified which have a strong statistical relationship with various physical …

Connections In The Underworld: A Morphological And Molecular Study Of Diversity And Connectivity Among Anchialine Shrimp., Robert Eugene Ditter

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the distribution and population structure of crustaceans, endemic to anchialine systems in the tropical western Atlantic focusing on cave-dwelling shrimp from the family Barbouriidae. Taxonomic and molecular tools (genetic and genomic) are utilized to examine population dynamics and the presence of phenotypic hypervariation (PhyV) of the critically endangered species Barbouria cubensis (von Martens, 1872). The presence of PhyV and its geographic distribution is investigated among anchialine populations of B. cubensis from 34 sites on Abaco, Eleuthera, and San Salvador, Bahamas. Examination of 54 informative morphological characters revealed PhyV present in nearly 90% (n=463) of specimens with no …

Implementation Of An Occupancy-Based Monitoring Protocol For A Widespread And Cryptic Species, The New England Cottontail (Sylvilagus Transitionalis), Colin P. Shea, Mitchell J. Eaton, Darryl I. Mackenzie

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Context. Designing effective long-term monitoring strategies is essential for managing wildlife populations. Implementing a cost-effective, practical monitoring program is especially challenging for widespread but locally rare species. Early successional habitat preferred by the New England cottontail (NEC) has become increasingly rare and fragmented, resulting in substantial declines from their peak distribution in the mid-1900s. The introduction of a possible competitor species, the eastern cottontail (EC),may also have played a role. Uncertainty surrounding how these factors have contributed to NEC declines has complicated management and necessitated development of an appropriate monitoring framework to understand possible drivers of distribution and dynamics.

Aims. …

On Environmental, Climate Change & National Security Law, Mark P. Nevitt

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article offers a new way to think about climate change. Two new climate change assessments — the 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA) and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel’s Special Report on Climate Change — prominently highlight climate change’s multifaceted national security risks. Indeed, not only is climate change a “super wicked” environmental problem, it also accelerates existing national security threats, acting as both a “threat accelerant” and “catalyst for conflict.” Further, climate change increases the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events while threatening nations’ territorial integrity and sovereignty through rising sea levels. It causes both internal displacement …

Algal Biomarkers As A Proxy For Pco2: Constraints From Late Quaternary Sapropels In The Eastern Mediterranean, Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Marcel T.J. Van Der Meer, Brian Blais, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, Stefan Schouten

Science and Technology Department Faculty Journal Articles

Records of carbon dioxide concentrations (partial pressure expressed as pCO2) over Earth’s history provide trends that are critical to understand our changing world. To better constrain pCO2 estimations, here we test organic pCO2 proxies against the direct measurements of pCO2 recorded in ice cores. Based on the concept of stable carbon isotopic fractionation due to photosynthetic CO2 fixation (Ɛp), we use the stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) of the recently proposed biomarker phytol (from all photoautotrophs), as well as the conventionally used alkenone biomarkers (from specific species) for comparison, to reconstruct pCO2 over several Quaternary …

Repetitive Sampling And Control Threshold Improve 16s Rrna Gene Sequencing Results From Produced Waters Associated With Hydraulically Fractured Shale, Jenna L. Shelton, Elliott P. Barnhart, Leslie Ruppert, Aaron M. Jubb, Madalyn S. Blondes, Christina A. Devera

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Sequencing microbial DNA from deep subsurface environments is complicated by a number of issues ranging from contamination to non-reproducible results. Many samples obtained from these environments – which are of great interest due to the potential to stimulate microbial methane generation – contain low biomass. Therefore, samples from these environments are difficult to study as sequencing results can be easily impacted by contamination. In this case, the low amount of sample biomass may be effectively swamped by the contaminating DNA and generate misleading results. Additionally, performing field work in these environments can be difficult, as researchers generally have limited access …

Evaluating Airsoft Electric Guns For Control Of Invasive Brown Treesnakes, Adam J. Knox, Björn Lardner, Amy Yackel Adams, Robert N. Reed

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Firearms are often used in lethal control of invasive vertebrates, but safety and regulatory aspects limit the circumstances under which they can be used. During August 2016 at the Brown Treesnake Project laboratory on Guam, we evaluated hobby‐grade Airsoft Electric Guns (AEGs; a lower powered, less‐hazardous, and less‐regulated alternative to firearms) for capture and control of small animals, with specific emphasis on invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis). Tests of AEGs differing in power with ammunition (plastic pellets) masses ranging from 0.20 to 0.39 g, fired at gelatin blocks from distances of 4, 8, and 12 m, showed that …

Climate Change And Market-Based Insurance Feedbacks, Eric R. Holley, Adam Liska, Cory Walters, Geoffrey C. Friesen, Michael Hayes, Max J. Rudolph, Donald A. Wilhite

Adam Liska Papers

Climatic events have accounted for 91% of $1.05 trillion in insured costs for global catastrophic events from 1980 to 2016. Costs are driven by socio-economic development and increased frequency and severity of climatic disasters driven by climate change. Government policies to reduce systemic risk (e.g., cap-and-trade, carbon tax) have been a predominant approach for mitigation and adaptation. Alternatively, market-based incentives for climate change adaptation and mitigation already operate via the insurance industry to lessen impacts on society. Insurance feedbacks include changes in 1) premiums and insurance policies, 2) non-coverage, and 3) policy making and litigation. Alongside government policies, insurance feedbacks …

Long-Term Ndvi And Recent Vegetation Cover Profiles Of Major Offshore Island Nesting Sites Of Sea Turtles In Saudi Waters Of The Northern Arabian Gulf, Rommel H. Maneja, Jeffrey D. Miller, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary, Ace Vincent B. Flandez, Joshua J. Dagoy, Joselito Francis A. Alcaria, Abdullajid U. Basali, Khaled A. Al-Abdulkader, Ronald A. Loughland, Mohamed A. Qurban

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Vegetation is an important ecological component of offshore islands in the Arabian Gulf (AG), which maintains long-term resilience of these islands. This is achieved by influencing sediment retention and moisture acquisition via condensation during periods of high humidity and by providing a variety of microhabitats for island fauna. The resilience of offshore islands’ ecosystems in the Saudi waters is important because they host the largest number of nesting hawksbill and green turtles in the AG. This study defines the characteristics and the long-term trends in vegetation cover of the offshore islands used by sea turtles as nesting grounds in the …

Conservation Agriculture As A Climate Change Mitigation Strategy In Zimbabwe, Deb O'Dell, Neal Eash, Bruce B. Hicks, Joel Oetting, Thomas J. Sauer, Dayton M. Lambert, Tarirai Muoni, Joanne Logan, James A. Zahn, John J. Goddard

Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science Publications and Other Works

There is a need to quantify agriculture’s potential to sequester carbon (C) to inform global approaches aimed at mitigating climate change effects. Many factors including climate, crop, soil management practices, and soil type can influence the contribution of agriculture to the global carbon cycle. The objective of this study was to investigate the C sequestration potential of conservation agriculture (CA) (defined by minimal soil disturbance, maintaining permanent soil cover, and crop rotations). This study used micrometeorological methods to measure carbon dioxide (CO₂) flux from several alternative CA practices in Harare, central Zimbabwe. Micrometeorological methods can detect differences in …

What Is The U.S. Drought Monitor?, National Drought Mitigation Center

National Drought Mitigation Center: Publications

The USDA uses the map as a trigger for programs that help agricultural producers recover from drought and other natural disasters:

Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP)

Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm Raised Fish Program (ELAP)

Fast-Track Secretarial Disaster Declarations

Emergency Loans Program

The U.S. Drought Monitor Network: Improving Drought Early Warning, The U.S. Drought Monitor Network

National Drought Mitigation Center: Publications

WHAT IS THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR NETWORK?

WHO ARE THE OBSERVERS?

WHAT BENEFITS?

The network in action

HOW DOES IT WORK?

WHO CREATES THE MAP?

Massive Peatland Carbon Banks Vulnerable To Rising Temperatures, A. M. Hopple, R. M. Wilson, M. Kolton, Cassandra A. Zalman, J. P. Chanton, J. Kostka, P. J. Hanson, Jason K. Keller, S. D. Bridgham

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Peatlands contain one-third of the world’s soil carbon (C). If destabilized, decomposition of this vast C bank could accelerate climate warming; however, the likelihood of this outcome remains unknown. Here, we examine peatland C stability through five years of whole-ecosystem warming and two years of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (eCO₂). Warming exponentially increased methane (CH₄) emissions and enhanced CH₄ production rates throughout the entire soil profile; although surface CH₄ production rates remain much greater than those at depth. Additionally, older deeper C sources played a larger role in decomposition following prolonged warming. Most …

Synergistic Use Of Remote Sensing And Modeling For Estimating Net Primary Productivity In The Red Sea With Vgpm, Eppley-Vgpm, And Cbpm Models Intercomparison, Wenzhao Li, Surya Prakash Tiwari, Hesham El-Askary, Mohamed Ali Qurban, Vassilis Amiridis, K. P. Manikandan, Michael J. Garay, Olga V. Kalashnikova, Thomas C. Piechota, Daniele C. Struppa

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Primary productivity (PP) has been recently investigated using remote sensing-based models over quite limited geographical areas of the Red Sea. This work sheds light on how phytoplankton and primary production would react to the effects of global warming in the extreme environment of the Red Sea and, hence, illuminates how similar regions may behave in the context of climate variability. study focuses on using satellite observations to conduct an intercomparison of three net primary production (NPP) models--the vertically generalized production model (VGPM), the Eppley-VGPM, and the carbon-based production model (CbPM)--produced over the Red Sea domain for the 1998-2018 time period. …

Adjusting The Lens Of Invasion Biology To Focus On The Impacts Of Climate-Driven Range Shifts, Piper D. Wallingford, Toni Lyn Morelli, Jenica M. Allen, Evelyn M. Beaury, Dana M. Blumenthal, Bethany A. Bradley, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Regan Early, Emily J. Fusco, Deborah E. Goldberg, Inés Ibáñez, Brittany B. Laginhas, Montserrat Vilà, Cascade J.B. Sorte

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

As Earth’s climate rapidly changes, species range shifts are considered key to species persistence. However, some range-shifting species will alter community structure and ecosystem processes. By adapting existing invasion risk assessment frameworks, we can identify characteristics shared with high-impact introductions and thus predict potential impacts. There are fundamental differences between introduced and range-shifting species, primarily shared evolutionary histories between range shifters and their new community. Nevertheless, impacts can occur via analogous mechanisms, such as wide dispersal, community disturbance and low biotic resistance. As ranges shift in response to climate change, we have an opportunity to develop plans to facilitate advantageous …

Earth Observation And Cloud Computing In Support Of Two Sustainable Development Goals For The River Nile Watershed Countries, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary, Venkat Lakshmi, Thomas Piechota, Daniele Struppa

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In September 2015, the members of United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with universal applicability of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. The SDGs are consequential for the development of the countries in the Nile watershed, which are affected by water scarcity and experiencing rapid urbanization associated with population growth. Earth Observation (EO) has become an important tool to monitor the progress and implementation of specific SDG targets through its wide accessibility and global coverage. In addition, the advancement of algorithms and tools deployed in cloud computing platforms provide an equal opportunity to use EO …

Increased Drought Severity Tracks Warming In The United States’ Largest River Basin, Justin T. Martin, Gregory T. Pederson, Connie A. Woodhouse, Edward R. Cook, Gregory J. Mccabe, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Erika K. Wise, Patrick J. Erger, Larry Dolan, Marketa Mcguire, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Katherine J. Chase, Jeremy S. Litell, Stephen T. Gray, Scott St. George, Jonathan M. Friedman, David J. Sauchyn, Jeannine-Marie St-Jacques, John King

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Across the Upper Missouri River Basin, the recent drought of 2000 to 2010, known as the “turn-of-the-century drought,” was likely more severe than any in the instrumental record including the Dust Bowl drought. However, until now, adequate proxy records needed to better understand this event with regard to long-term variability have been lacking. Here we examine 1,200 y of streamflow from a network of 17 new tree-ring–based reconstructions for gages across the upper Missouri basin and an independent reconstruction of warm-season regional temperature in order to place the recent drought in a long-term climate context. We find that temperature has …

Changes In Atmospheric, Meteorological, And Ocean Parameters Associated With The 12 January 2020 Taal Volcanic Eruption, Feng Jing, Akshansa Chauhan, Ramesh P. Singh, Prasanjit Dash

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The Taal volcano erupted on 12 January 2020, the first time since 1977. About 35 mild earthquakes (magnitude greater than 4.0) were observed on 12 January 2020 induced from the eruption. In the present paper, we analyzed optical properties of volcanic aerosols, volcanic gas emission, ocean parameters using multi-satellite sensors, namely, MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder), OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument), TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) and ground observations, namely, Argo, and AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) data. Our detailed analysis shows pronounced changes in all the parameters, which mainly occurred in the western and south-western regions because the …

Homestead National Monument Of America, Acoustic Monitoring, 2011-2012

United States National Park Service: Publications

Executive Summary

This report presents acoustical data gathered by Student Conservation Association interns and the Natural Resource Specialist at Homestead National Monument of America in 2011 and 2012. Data were collected at four sites to provide park managers with information on the acoustical environment, sources of noise, and the existing ambient sound levels within the monument. The data will also inform the park managers with information regarding the potential impact of traffic on Highway 4.

Monitoring occurred at each site during two different seasons (except HOME002) in order to document seasonal variations. In each deployment, sound pressure level (SPL) was …

The Prairie Post Quarterly Newsletter Of The High Plains Regional Climate Center- January 2020, Natalie Umphlett, Rezaul Mamood, Paul Flanagan, Logan Winters, Kierstin Blomberg, Emilee Lachenmeier, Crystal J. Stiles

HPRCC Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Message from the director........................................1

Staff spotlight...........................1

Year in review............................2

Updates on engagement and tools.....................................3

Observer awards......................3

Overview of regional climate conditions..................................4

AMS annual meeting.............5

Recent and upcoming travel and activities.............................6

Estimating Abiotic Thresholds For Sagebrush Condition Class In The Western United States, Stephen Boyte, Bruce K. Wylie, Yingxin Gu, Donald J. Major

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Sagebrush ecosystems of the western United States can transition from extended periods of relatively stable conditions to rapid ecological change if acute disturbances occur. Areas dominated by native sagebrush can transition from species-rich native systems to altered states where non-native annual grasses dominate, if resistance to annual grasses is low. The non-native annual grasses provide relatively little value to wildlife, livestock, and humans and function as fuel that increases fire frequency. The more land area covered by annual grasses, the higher the potential for fire, thus reducing the potential for native vegetation to reestablish, even when applying restoration treatments. Mapping …

Testing Glacial Isostatic Adjustment Models Of Last-Interglacial Sea Level History In The Bahamas And Bermuda, Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Eugene S. Schweig, Mark P. Rowe

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Part of the spatial variation in the apparent sea-level record of the last interglacial (LIG) period is due to the diverse response of coastlines to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) processes, particularly where coastlines were close to the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the past two glacial periods. We tested modeled LIG paleo-sea levels on New Providence Island (NPI), Bahamas and Bermuda by investigating emergent coral patch reefs and oolitic/peloidal beach deposits. Corals with closed-system histories collected from patch reefs on NPI have ages of 128-118 ka and ooids/peloids from beach ridges have closed-system ages of 128-116 ka. Elevations of patch reefs …

Uptake, Metabolism, And Elimination Of Fungicides From Coated Wheat Seeds In Japanese Quail (Coturnix Japonica), Michael S. Gross, Thomas G. Bean, Michelle L. Hladik, Barnett A. Rattner, Kathryn M. Kuivila

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Pesticides coated to the seed surface potentially pose an ecological risk to granivorous birds that consume incompletely buried or spilled seeds. To assess the toxicokinetics of seeds treated with current-use fungicides, Japanese quail ( Coturnix japonica) were orally dosed with commercially coated wheat seeds. Quail were exposed to metalaxyl, tebuconazole, and fludioxonil at either a low dose (0.0655, 0.0308, and 0.0328 mg/kg of body weight, respectively) or a high dose (0.196, 0.0925, and 0.0985 mg/kg of body weight, respectively). Fungicides were rapidly absorbed and distributed to tissues. Tebuconazole was metabolized into tert-butylhydroxy-tebuconazole. All compounds were eliminated to below detection limits …

Acoustic Space Occupancy: Combining Ecoacoustics And Lidar To Model Biodiversity Variation And Detection Bias Across Heterogeneous Landscapes, Danielle I. Rappaport, J. Andrew Royle, Douglas C. Morton

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

There is global interest in quantifying changing biodiversity in human-modified landscapes. Ecoacoustics may offer a promising pathway for supporting multi-taxa monitoring, but its scalability has been hampered by the sonic complexity of biodiverse ecosystems and the imperfect detectability of animal-generated sounds. The acoustic signature of a habitat, or soundscape, contains information about multiple taxa and may circumvent species identification, but robust statistical technology for characterizing community-level attributes is lacking. Here, we present the Acoustic Space Occupancy Model, a flexible hierarchical framework designed to account for detection artifacts from acoustic surveys in order to model biologically relevant variation in acoustic space …

Droughtscape- 2019 Winter, Cory Matteson

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Contents

From the Director.......... 2

4th quarter climate summary......... 3

2019 year in review summary.......... 5

4th quarter drought impact summary.......... 7

2019 drought impact summary..........9

New form helps ‘see more’ drought............ 11

Landscape photographers invited to submit photos............ 12

Helping Central and South America planning........... 13 Database includes more drought planning.......... 14

Uptake, Metabolism, And Elimination Of Fungicides From Coated Wheat Seeds In Japanese Quail (Coturnix Japonica), Michael S. Gross, Thomas G. Bean, Michelle L. Hladik, Barnett A. Rattner, Kathryn M. Kuivila

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Pesticides coated to the seed surface potentially pose an ecological risk to granivorous birds that consume incompletely buried or spilled seeds. To assess the toxicokinetics of seeds treated with current-use fungicides, Japanese quail ( Coturnix japonica) were orally dosed with commercially coated wheat seeds. Quail were exposed to metalaxyl, tebuconazole, and fludioxonil at either a low dose (0.0655, 0.0308, and 0.0328 mg/kg of body weight, respectively) or a high dose (0.196, 0.0925, and 0.0985 mg/kg of body weight, respectively). Fungicides were rapidly absorbed and distributed to tissues. Tebuconazole was metabolized into tert-butylhydroxy-tebuconazole. All compounds were eliminated to below detection limits …

Characterization Of Pallid Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus Albus) Spawning Habitat In The Lower Missouri River, Caroline M. Elliott, Aaron J. Delonay, Kimberly Chojnacki, Robert B. Jacobson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Acipenseriformes (sturgeons and paddlefish) globally have declined throughout their range due to river fragmentation, habitat loss, overfishing, and degradation of water quality. In North America, pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) populations have experienced poor to no recruitment, or substantial levels of hybridization with the closely related shovelnose sturgeon (S. platorynchus). The Lower Missouri River is the only portion of the species’ range where successful reproduction and recruitment of genetically pure pallid sturgeon have been documented. This paper documents spawning habitat and behavior on the Lower Missouri River, which comprises over 1,300 km of unfragmented river habitat. The …

Human-Associated Species Dominate Passerine Communities Across The United States, Helen R. Sofaer, Curtis H. Flather, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Kristin P. Davis, Liba Pejchar

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Aim: Human development and agriculture can have transformative and homogenizing effects on natural systems, shifting the composition of ecological communities towards non-native and native species that tolerate or thrive under human-dominated conditions. These impacts cannot be fully captured by summarizing species presence, as they include dramatic changes to patterns of species abundance. However, how human land use patterns and species invasions intersect to shape patterns of abundance and dominance within ecological communities is poorly understood even in well-known taxa.

Location: Conterminous United States.

Time period: 2010–2012.

Major taxa studied: Passeriformes.

Methods: We analyse continental-scale monitoring data to study the proportional …

Ecosystem Processes, Land Cover, Climate, And Human Settlement Shape Dynamic Distributions For Golden Eagle Across The Western Us, J.D. Tack, Barry R. Noon, Zachary Bowen, Brad C. Fedy

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Species–environment relationships for highly mobile species outside of the breeding season are often highly dynamic in response to the collective effects of everchanging climatic conditions, food resources, and anthropogenic disturbance. Capturing dynamic space-use patterns in a model-based framework is critical as model inference often drives place-based conservation planning. We applied dynamic occupancy models to broad-scale golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos survey data collected annually from 2006 to 2012 during the late summer post-fledging period in the western US. We defined survey sites as 10 km transect segments with a 1 km buffer on either transect side (n = 3540). Derived estimates …