Digital Commons Network^™

Winter And Summer Upwelling Modes And Their Biological Importance In The California Current Ecosystem, Bryan A. Black, Isaac D. Schroeder, William J. Sydeman, Steven J. Bograd, Brian K. Wells, Franklin B. Schwing

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Analysis of monthly coastal upwelling intensities revealed two seasonal and biologically relevant upwelling ‘modes’ in the California Current Ecosystem (CCE). The first mode reflected upwelling during the summer months and was characterized by low-frequency (multidecadal) processes, including significant (Po0.01) linear trends at some latitudes. In contrast, the second mode reflected wintertime upwelling and was defined by higher-frequency variability associated with the North Pacific High and El Niño Southern Oscillation events. These modes were compared with multidecadal time series of splitnose rockfish (Sebastes diploproa) otolith growth, yelloweye rockfish (S. ruberrimus) otolith growth, Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha …

Age Estimation And Growth Layer Patterns In Teeth Of Commerson’S Dolphins (Cephalorhynchus C. Commersonii) In Subantarctic Waters, Natalia A. Dellabianca, Aleta A. Hohn, R. Natalie P. Goodall

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The Commerson’s dolphin, Cephalorhynchus c. commersonii, one of the world’s smallest cetaceans, occurs in the southwestern South Atlantic from about 41°30'S to near Cape Horn (56°S), including the central and eastern Strait of Magellan and the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands (Goodall 1978, Goodall et al. 1988). Along the coasts of Patagonia, northern Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, and the eastern Strait of Magellan, Chile, this is the cetacean most often seen near shore, where the animals feed and surf in the breakers. They seldom strand, but are commonly taken incidentally in shore-based gill nets set perpendicular to the coast over the …

Seasonality Of Calving And Predation Risk In Bottlenose Dolphins On Little Bahama Bank, Holly Fearnbach, John Durban, Kim Parsons, Diane Claridge

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Most studies of seasonal reproduction in odontocetes have considered bottom-up forcing through seasonal changes in the physical environment and/or prey availability (Wells et al. 1987, Read 1990, Urian et al. 1996, Mann et al. 2000, McGuire and Aliaga-Rossel 2007,Westgate and Read 2007), which are typically more pronounced in high latitudes. In contrast, there has been little consideration of top-down selection through seasonal changes in predation pressure. Predation pressure by sharks has been shown to affect delphinid habitat use and group size (Norris and Dohl 1980, Wells et al. 1987, Heithaus 2001, Heithaus and Dill 2002), but the influence of predation …

Understanding And Estimating Effective Population Size For Practical Application In Marine Species Management, Matthew P. Hare, Leonard Nunney, Michael K. Schwartz, Daniel E. Ruzzante, Martha Burford, Robin S. Waples, Kristen Ruegg, Friso Palstra

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Effective population size (N_e) determines the strength of genetic drift in a population and has long been recognized as an important parameter for evaluating conservation status and threats to genetic health of populations. Specifically, an estimate of N_e is crucial to management because it integrates genetic effects with the life history of the species, allowing for predictions of a population’s current and future viability. Nevertheless, compared with ecological and demographic parameters, N_e has had limited influence on species management, beyond its application in very small populations. Recent developments have substantially improved N_e estimation; however, some …

Estimating The Carrying Capacity Of French Frigate Shoals For The Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal Using Ecopath With Ecosim, Frank A. Parrish, Evan A. Howell, George A. Antonelis, Sara J. Iverson, Charles L. Littnan, James D. Parrish, Jeffrey J. Polovina

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The carrying capacity of the French Frigate Shoals (FFS) region for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal was appraised using an updated version of the original FFS Ecopath model (Polovina 1984). Model parameters were updated using recent literature, and data from surveys of the seal population and its bottom-associated prey. Together they produced a static mass balance model for 1998 when the prey surveys began. The Ecopath-estimated monk seal biomass was 0.0045 t/km², which was in close agreement with the biomass calculated from monk seal field beach counts (0.0046 t/km²). Model simulations through time were done in …

Tropospheric Temperature Trends: History Of An Ongoing Controversy, Peter W. Thorne, John R. Lanzante, Thomas C. Peterson, Dian J. Seidel, Keith P. Shine

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Changes in atmospheric temperature have a particular importance in climate research because climate models consistently predict a distinctive vertical profile of trends. With increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, the surface and troposphere are consistently projected to warm, with an enhancement of that warming in the tropical upper troposphere. Hence, attempts to detect this distinct ‘fingerprint’ have been a focus for observational studies. The topic acquired heightened importance following the 1990 publication of an analysis of satellite data which challenged the reality of the projected tropospheric warming. This review documents the evolution over the last four decades of understanding of tropospheric temperature …

Evaluating The Utility Of Cox1 For Cetacean Species Identification, A. Viricel, P. E. Rosel

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (cox1) gene has been promoted as a universal reference gene, or barcode, to identify organisms to the species level. We evaluated whether cox1 would be appropriate to diagnose cetacean species. The 5' end of cox1 (686 base pairs, bp) was sequenced for 46 of 86 recognized species of cetaceans. In addition, we included 105 sequences from GenBank, increasing our taxonomic coverage to 61 species. Particular focus was placed on sampling two subfamilies that contain closely related taxa: the Delphininae and the Globicephalinae. Species-specific sequences were observed for all but three taxa ( …

Interplay Of Individual Interactions And Turbidity Affects The Functional Response Of Three-Spined Sticklebacks Gasterosteus Aculeatus, K. W. Vollset, K. M, Bailey

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The effects of turbidity, size and the presence of conspecifics on the functional response, feeding latency and activity in the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus were examined. A significant interaction between standard length and presence of conspecifics demonstrated an increase in attack rates of larger individuals in the presence of conspecifics. Attack rate was also higher in turbid water. Feeding latency decreased with prey concentration and presence of conspecifics, but was not affected by turbidity. Activity level did not change with prey levels, but increased with turbidity. These results can help to better understand how individual flexibility in the functional response …

Recovery Of Logbooks And International Marine Data: The Reclaim Project, Clive Wilkinson, Scott D. Woodruff, Philip Brohan, Stefan Claesson, Eric Freeman, Frits Koek, Sandra J. Lubker, Catherine Marzin, Dennis Wheeler

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The RECovery of Logbooks and International Marine data (RECLAIM) project is a concerted, international effort to facilitate and encourage the recovery – through imaging and digitisation – of archived marine weather observations, platform and instrumental metadata and historical documentation, from many different countries. Non-instrumental observations of wind and weather have been recorded in ships’ logbooks for hundreds of years, augmented by systematic instrumental observations of sea surface and air temperatures, barometric pressure and other meteorological (and oceanographic) elements largely since the mid-nineteenth century. Once digitised, these data are widely useful for climate studies and other avenues of scientific research – …

The Evolutionary Origins Of Syngnathidae: Pipefishes And Seahorses, A. B. Wilson, J. W. Orr

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Despite their importance as evolutionary and ecological model systems, the phylogenetic relationships among gasterosteiforms remain poorly understood, complicating efforts to understand the evolutionary origins of the exceptional morphological and behavioural diversity of this group. The present review summarizes current knowledge on the origin and evolution of syngnathids, a gasterosteiform family with a highly developed form of male parental care, combining inferences based on morphological and molecular data with paleontological evidence documenting the evolutionary history of the group. Molecular methods have provided new tools for the study of syngnathid relationships and have played an important role in recent conservation efforts. Despite …

Eddies As Offshore Foraging Grounds For Melon-Headed Whales (Peponocephala Electra), Phoebe A. Woodworth, Gregory S. Schorr, Robin W. Baird, Daniel L. Webster, Daniel J. Mcsweeney, M. Bradley Hanson, Russel D. Andrews, Jeffrey J. Polovina

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Movements of upper trophic level predators in an open ocean environment should be driven, in part, by the distribution, density, and movements of their prey. Surveys have shown that cetacean densities are higher closer to shore around the main Hawaiian Islands than in offshore waters (Barlow 2006), presumably reflecting increased productivity or spatial and temporal predictability of prey associated with island effects (Baird et al. 2008a). A number of high trophic level pelagic species have been shown to concentrate around and/or use mesoscale eddies as foraging habitat (e.g., Davis et al. 2002, Seki et al. 2002, Bakun 2006, Polovina et …

Cross-Species Comparison Of Orthologous Gene Expression In Human Bladder Cancer And Carcinogen-Induced Rodent Models, Yan Lu, Pengyuan Liu, Weidong Wen, Clinton J. Grubbs, Reid R. Townsend, James P. Malone, Ronald A. Lubet, Ming You

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Deep Small Rna Sequencing From The Nematode Ascaris Reveals Conservation, Functional Diversification, And Novel Developmental Profiles, Jianbin Wang, Benjamin Czech, Amanda Crunk, Adam Wallace, Makedonka Mitreva, Gregory J. Hannon, Richard E. Davis

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Fourteen-Genome Comparison Identifies Dna Markers For Severe-Disease- Associated Strains Of Clostridium Difficile, Vincenzo Forgetta, Matthew T. Oughton, Pascale Marquis, Ivan Brukner, Ruth Blanchette, Kevin Haub, Vince Magrini, Elaine R. Mardis, Dale N. Gerding, Vivian G. Loo, Mark A. Miller, Michael R. Mulvey, Maja Rupnik, Andre Dascal, Ken Dewar

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Procurement Of Human Tissues For Research Banking In The Surgical Pathology Laboratory: Prioritization Practices At Washington University Medical Center, Sandra A. Mcdonald, Rebecca D. Chernock, Tracey A. Leach, Ajaz A. Kahn, James H. Yip, Joan Rossi, John D. Pfeifer

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

A High-Sugar Diet Produces Obesity And Insulin Resistance In Wild-Type Drosophila, Laura Palanker Musselman, Jill L. Fink, Kirk Narzinski, Prasanna Venkatesh Ramachandran, Sumitha Sukumar Hathiramani, Ross L. Cagan, Thomas J. Baranski

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Can We Manage For Resilience? The Integration Of Resilience Thinking Into Natural Resource Management In The United States, Melinda Harm Benson, Ahjond S. Garmestani

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

The concept of resilience is now frequently invoked by natural resource agencies in the US. This reflects growing trends within ecology, conservation biology, and other disciplines acknowledging that social–ecological systems require management approaches recognizing their complexity. In this paper, we examine the concept of resilience and the manner in which some legal and regulatory frameworks governing federal natural resource agencies have difficulty accommodating it. We then use the U.S. Forest Service’s employment of resilience as an illustration of the challenges ahead.

A Multi-Year Comparison Of Ipci Scores For Prairie Pothole Wetlands: Implications Of Temporal And Spatial Variation, Ned H. Euliss Jr., David M. Mushet

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

In the prairie pothole region of North America, development of Indices of Biotic Integrity (IBIs) to detect anthropogenic impacts on wetlands has been hampered by naturally dynamic inter-annual climate fluctuations. Of multiple efforts to develop IBIs for prairie pothole wetlands, only one, the Index of Plant Community Integrity (IPCI), has reported success. We evaluated the IPCI and its ability to distinguish between natural and anthropogenic variation using plant community data collected from 16 wetlands over a 4-year-period. We found that under constant anthropogenic influence, IPCI metric scores and condition ratings varied annually in response to environmental variation driven primarily by …

Prototyping An Online Wetland Ecosystem Services Model Using Open Model Sharing Standards, Min Feng, Shuguang Liu, Ned H. Euliss Jr., Claudia Young, David M. Mushet

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Great interest currently exists for developing ecosystem models to forecast how ecosystem services may change under alternative land use and climate futures. Ecosystem services are diverse and include supporting services or functions (e.g., primary production, nutrient cycling), provisioning services (e.g., wildlife, groundwater), regulating services (e.g., water purification, floodwater retention), and even cultural services (e.g., ecotourism, cultural heritage). Hence, the knowledge base necessary to quantify ecosystem services is broad and derived from many diverse scientific disciplines. Building the required interdisciplinary models is especially challenging as modelers from different locations and times may develop the disciplinary models needed for ecosystem simulations, and …

Accuracy Of Estimating Wolf Summer Territories By Daytime Locations, Dominic J. Demma, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

We used locations of 6 wolves (Canis lupus) in Minnesota from Global Positioning System (GPS) collars to compare day-versus-night locations to estimate territory size and location during summer. We employed both minimum convex polygon (MCP) and fixed kernel (FK) methods. We used two methods to partition GPS locations for day-versusnight home-range comparisons: (1) daytime 5 0800–2000 h; nighttime 5 2000–0800 h; and (2) sunup versus sundown. Regardless of location-partitioning method, mean area of daytime MCPs did not differ significantly from nighttime MCPs. Similarly, mean area of daytime FKs (95% probability contour) were not significantly different from nightime FKs. FK core …

Wolves, Canis Lupus, Carry And Cache The Collars Of Radio-Collared White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, They Killed, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Wolves (Canis lupus) in northeastern Minnesota cached six radio-collars (four in winter, two in spring-summer) of 202 radio-collared White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) they killed or consumed from 1975 to 2010. A Wolf bedded on top of one collar cached in snow. We found one collar each at a Wolf den and Wolf rendezvous site, 2.5 km and 0.5 km respectively, from each deer’s previous locations.

Peer Review Report 2011

United States Department of Transportation: Publications

The purpose of this document is to report findings from the research peer reviews held April 14, April 20, April 26 & April 27, 2011 for PHMSA’s Pipeline Safety Research and Development Program. The findings and recommendations in this report are derived from the scoring and comments collected from the peer review panelists.

Department of Transportation (DOT) Operating Agencies (OA) are required to develop and execute a systematic process for peer reviews and for all influential and highly influential information that the OA plans to disseminate in the foreseeable future.

Through the Information Quality Act, Congress directed the Office of …

Evidence For Multiple Modes Of Uranium Immobilization By An Anaerobic Bacterium, Allison E. Ray, John R. Bargar, Vaideeswaran Sivaswamy, Alice C. Dohnalkova, Yoshiko Fujita, Brent M. Peyton, Timothy S. Magnuson

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Microbial reduction of hexavalent uranium has been studied widely for its potential role in bioremediation and immobilization of soluble U(VI) in contaminated groundwater. More recently, some microorganisms have been examined for their role in immobilization of U(VI) via precipitation of uranyl phosphate minerals mediated by microbial phosphate release, alleviating the requirement for long-term redox control. Here, we investigated the mechanism of U(VI) removal mediated by an environmental isolate, strain UFO1, that is indigenous to the Field Research Center (FRC) in Oak Ridge, TN and has been detected in U(VI)- contaminated sediments. Changes in U(VI) speciation were examined in the presence …

Spatial And Temporal Patterns And The Influence Of Abiotic Factors On Larval Fish Catches In The Lower Niobrara River, Nebraska, Greg A. Wanner, Kristen L. Grohs, Robert A. Klumb

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

The Niobrara River has a natural hydrograph and temperature regime with the lower 32 km protected under the National Wild and Scenic River system managed by the National Park Service. The largest threat to this river is decreased instream flows due to water withdrawals for agriculture. The Niobrara River a large tributary to the Missouri River may positively influence fish production. However, no information exists regarding phenology of fish spawning or what abiotic factors may influence spawning. Our objectives were to examine the taxonomic composition and the spatial and temporal patterns of the larval fish assemblage in relation to environmental …

Status And Harvests Of Sandhill Cranes: Mid-Continent, Rocky Mountain, Lower Colorado River Valley And Eastern Populations, Kammie L. Kruse, James A. Dubovsky, Thomas R. Cooper

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Compared to increases recorded in the 1970s, annual indices to abundance of the Mid-Continent Population (MCP) of sandhill cranes have been relatively stable since the early 1980s. The spring 2011 index for sandhill cranes in the Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska, uncorrected for visibility bias, was 363,356 birds. The photo-corrected, 3-year average for 2008-10 was 600,892, which is above the established population-objective range of 349,000-472,000 cranes. All Central Flyway States, except Nebraska, allowed crane hunting in portions of their States during 2010-11. An estimated 8,738 hunters participated in these seasons, which was 10% higher than the number that participated in …

Adaptive Harvest Management: 2011 Hunting Season

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

The process of setting waterfowl hunting regulations is conducted annually in the United States (Blohm 1989). This process involves a number of meetings where the status of waterfowl is reviewed by the agencies responsible for setting hunting regulations. In addition, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) publishes proposed regulations in the Federal Register to allow public comment. This document is part of a series of reports intended to support development of harvest regulations for the 2011 hunting season. Specifically, this report is intended to provide waterfowl managers and the public with information about the use of adaptive harvest management …

American Woodcock Population Status 2011, Thomas R. Cooper, Keri Parker

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Singing-ground Survey data for 2011 indicate that indices for singing American woodcock (Scolopax minor) males in the Eastern and Central Management Regions are not significantly different from 2010. There was no significant 10-year trend for woodcock heard in the Eastern or Central Management Regions during 2001-11. This marks the eighth consecutive year that the 10-year trend estimate was not significant in the Eastern Region, while the 10-year trend in the Central Management Region returns to non-significance after being negative last year. Both regions have a long-term (1968-11) declining trend of -1.0% per year. The 2010 recruitment index for …

Band-Tailed Pigeon Population Status, 2011, Todd A. Sanders

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

This report summarizes information on the abundance and harvest of band-tailed pigeons (Patagioenas fasciata) in the western United States and British Columbia from 1968 through 2010. The all-bird Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) provides an annual index to abundance of Pacific Coast and Interior band-tailed pigeons since 1968, while the Mineral Site Survey (MSS), implemented in 2004, was developed specifically to index abundance of Pacific Coast band-tailed pigeons. Harvest and hunter participation are estimated from the Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program. The BBS provided evidence that the abundance of Pacific Coast band-tailed pigeons decreased (–2.6% per year, credible interval …

Priority Information Needs For Band-Tailed Pigeons, Zenaida Doves, White-Tipped Doves And Scaly-Naped Pigeons, David J. Case, Sarah J. Hughes

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Table of Contents

Executive Summary............................i

Introduction............................1

Status of band-tailed pigeons, Zenaida doves, white-tipped doves and scaly-naped pigeons............................2

Priority Information Needs............................7

Priority 1. Reliable demographics of band-tailed pigeons............................8

Priority 2. Association of food availability with abundance and distribution of band-tailed pigeons............................9

Priority 3. Status assessment of white-tipped doves in south Texas to determine distribution, population abundance and biology............................10

Priority 4. Population and harvest data collected annually for Zenaida doves and scaly-naped pigeons............................11

Priority 5. Adaptive harvest strategy for Zenaida doves and scaly-naped pigeons............................12

Measuring Success............................13

Literature Cited............................14

Appendix A: 2010 Strategy Development Participants............................16

Figure 1. Distribution of Pacific Coast and Interior …

Organotins In Aquatic Biota: Occurrence In Tissue And Toxicological Significance, James P. Meador

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Organotins are organometallic compounds that exhibit complex environmental chemistry and toxicity. The handbook of Chemistry and Physics (CRC 1975) lists more than 250 organotin compounds. Even though a number of these are specific compounds (e.g., triphenyltin [TPT]) that are listed as various salts (e.g., TPT chloride, sulfide, hydroxide, and bromide), there are dozens of unique compounds. Because a number of organotins will be considered here, Table 7.1 lists the compounds and their abbreviations.

The focus for this chapter is the occurrence of organotin compounds in aquatic organisms and the associated toxic responses. For aquatic organisms, we traditionally define the effective …