Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products (Ppcps) In Treated Wastewater Discharges Into Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, Melanie Lea Hedgespeth, Yelena Sapozhnikova, Paul Pennington, Allan Clum, Andy Fairey, Edward Wirth

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

This study assessed seasonal and regional trends of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) detected in monthly samples from two local wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, over the period of one year. Surface water of Charleston Harbor was also analyzed to examine environmental distribution in an estuarine ecosystem. Of the 19 compounds examined, 11 were quantified in wastewater influent, 9 in effluent, and 7 in surface water. Aqueous concentrations of many PPCPs were reduced by >86% in wastewater effluent compared with influent, though some compounds showed low removal and greater effluent concentrations compared with influent (e.g. …

Reconstructing Disturbance History Using Satellite-Based Assessment Of The Distribution Of Land Cover In The Russian Far East, T.V. Loboda, Z. Zhang, K.J. O'Neal, G. Sun, I.A. Csiszar, H.H. Shugart, N.J. Sherman

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Russian boreal forests are the largest forested zone on Earth and a tremendous pool of organic carbon. Current limited records on forest structure, composition, successional stage and disturbances contribute to large uncertainties in estimates of carbon stocks and fluxes in this zone. Our ability to monitor ongoing changes in forest cover has improved with the influx of remotely sensed data products since 2000 from multiple satellite platforms. Here we present a method aimed at reconstructing disturbance history from a known distribution of land cover. We developed and tested the method over a biologically and topographically diverse region of the Russian …

Disease Will Limit Future Food Supply From The Global Crustacean Fishery And Aquaculture Sectors, G.D. Stentiford, D.M. Neil, E.J. Peeler, J.D. Shields, H.J. Small, T.W. Flegel, J.M. Vlak, B. Jones, F. Morado, S. Moss, J. Lotz, L. Bartholomay, D.C. Behringer, C. Hauton, D.V. Lightner

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Seafood is a highly traded food commodity. Farmed and captured crustaceans contribute a significant proportion with annual production exceeding 10 M metric tonnes with first sale value of $40bn. The sector is dominated by farmed tropical marine shrimp, the fastest growing sector of the global aquaculture industry. It is significant in supporting rural livelihoods and alleviating poverty in producing nations within Asia and Latin America while forming an increasing contribution to aquatic food supply in more developed countries. Nations with marine borders often also support important marine fisheries for crustaceans that are regionally traded as live animals and commodity products. …

The Effect Of Soil Surface Litter Residue On Energy And Carbon Fluxes In A Deciduous Forest, T.B. Wilson, T.P. Meyers, J. Kochendorfer, M. C. Anderson, M. Heuer

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The Atmosphere–Land Exchange Surface Energy (ALEX) balance model is an analytical formulation of the energy and mass transport within the soil and the vegetation canopy used for simulating energy, evapotranspiration, and CO2 fluxes in a wide range of vegetation environments. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of ALEX to simulate the effect of soil-surface leaf litter residue on soil heat conduction (G), sensible heat (H), evapotranspiration (ET) (or latent heat (LE) when expressed as rate of energy loss) and CO₂ fluxes in a deciduous forest. The model was evaluated in a deciduous forest in Oak …

Validation Of The Goes-R Abi Flood And Standing Water Algorithm Using Gauging Station Measurements And Interpretation Maps, Rui Zhang, Donglian Sun, Yunyue Yu, Anthony Stefanidis, Mitchell D. Goldberg

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Validation is an important task in the development of satellite remote sensing products. Strategies for validation vary depending on the nature of the products. The validation process of the flood and standing water product (FSW) for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite - R series (GOES-R) is presented in this paper. Amajor challenge in the validation of the FSWproduct is the lack of ground truth floodmaps and similar reference products from other satellite systems and other sources. To overcome this limitation, a two-level validation scheme for the FSW product is developed using the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data as a proxy. …

Mercury In The Gulf Of Mexico: Sources To Receptors, Reed Harris, Curtis Pollman, William Landing, David Evans, Donald Axelrad, David Hutchinson, Steven L. Morey, Darren Rumbold, Dmitry Dukhovskoy, Douglas H. Adams, Krish Vijayaraghavan, Christopher Holmes, R. Dwight Atkinson, Tom Myers, Elsie Sunderland

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) fisheries account for 41% of the U.S. marine recreational fish catch and 16% of the nation's marine commercial fish landings. Mercury (Hg) concentrations are elevated in some fish species in the Gulf, including king mackerel, sharks, and tilefish. All five Gulf states have fish consumption advisories based on Hg. Per-capita fish consumption in the Gulf region is elevated compared to the U.S. national average, and recreational fishers in the region have a potential for greater MeHg exposure due to the higher levels of fish consumption. Atmospheric we Hg deposition is estimated to be higher in the …

Corrigendum To “Recent Changes In Primary Production And Phytoplankton In The Offshore Region Of Southeastern Lake Michigan” [J. Great Lakes Res. 36 (Supplement 3) (2010) 20–29], G. Fahnenstiel, Steven A. Pothoven, H. Vanderploeg, D. Klarer, T. F. Nalepa, D. Scavia

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The authors regret that there is an error on the labels of two figures that were published in the paper referenced above. For Figs. 5b, c, and d and 7b and c the y-axes have the wrong labels.

The following are the correct y-axis labels: Fig. 5b — the y-axis should range from 0 to 5, Fig. 5c — the y-axis should range from 0 to 2, Fig. 5d — the y-axis label should range from 0 to 3, Fig. 7b — the y-axis should range from 0 to 40, and for Fig. 7c — the y-axis should range from …

Seasonal Zooplankton Dynamics In Lake Michigan: Disentangling Impacts Of Resource Limitation, Ecosystem Engineering, And Predation During A Critical Ecosystem Transition, Henry A. Vanderploeg, Steven A. Pothoven, Gary L. Fahnenstiel, Joann F. Cavaletto, James R. Liebig, Craig A. Stow, Thomas F. Nalepa, Charles P. Madenjian, David B. Bunnell

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We examined seasonal dynamics of zooplankton at an offshore station in Lake Michigan from 1994 to 2003 and 2007 to 2008. This period saw variable weather, declines in planktivorous fish abundance, the introduction and expansion of dreissenid mussels, and a slow decline in total phosphorus concentrations. After the major expansion of mussels into deep water (2007–2008), chlorophyll in spring declined sharply, Secchi depth increased markedly in all seasons, and planktivorous fish biomass declined to record-low levels. Overlaying these dramatic ecosystem-level changes, the zooplankton community exhibited complex seasonal dynamics between 1994–2003 and 2007–2008. Phenology of the zooplankton maximum was affected by …

Pacific Cod (Gadus Macrocephalus) As A Paleothermometer: Otolith Oxygen Isotope Reconstruction, Catherine F. West, Stephen Wischniowski, Christopher Johnston

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Stable isotope studies are increasingly important for understanding past environmental and cultural developments along the North Pacific Rim. In this paper, we present methods for using Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) otoliths as a paleothermometer using a case study from Kodiak Island, Alaska. The results of this study indicate that Pacific cod otoliths record variable paleoenvironmental conditions during the Little Ice Age. The broad distribution of Pacific cod and success in using the otoliths as a paleothermometer makes this method widely applicable to researchers working throughout the northern Pacific Rim.

Responses Of Antarctic Pack-Ice Seals To Environmental Change And Increasing Krill Fishing, Jaume Forcada, Philip N. Trathan, Peter L. Boveng, Ian L. Boyd, Jennifer M. Burns, Daniel P. Costa, Michael Fedak, Tracey L. Rogers, Colin J. Southwell

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The compound effects of changing habitats, ecosystem interactions, and fishing practices have implications for the management of Antarctic krill and conservation of its predators. For Antarctic pack-ice seals, an important group of krill predators, we estimate the density and krill consumption in the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP)–Western Weddell Sea area, the main fishery region; and we consider long-term changes in suitable pack-ice habitat, increased fishing pressure and potential krill declines based upon predictions from declines in sea ice cover. More than 3 million crabeater seals consumed over 12 million tonnes of krill each year. This was approximately 17% of the …

Coupling Planktonic Ecosystem And Fisheries Food Web Models For A Pelagic Ecosystem: Description And Validation For The Subarctic Pacific, Kelly A. Kearney, Charles Stock, Kerim Aydin, Jorge L. Sarmiento

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We provide a modeling framework that fully couples a one-dimensional physical mixed layer model, a biogeochemical model, and an upper trophic level fisheries model. For validation purposes, the model has been parameterized for the pelagic Eastern Pacific Subarctic Gyre ecosystem. This paper presents a thorough description of the model itself, as well as an ensemble-based parameterization process that allows the model to incorporate the high level of uncertainty associated with many upper trophic level predator-prey processes. Through a series of model architecture experiments, we demonstrate that the use of a consistent functional response for all predator-prey interactions, as well as …

The Development Of A New Optical Total Suspended Matter Algorithm For The Chesapeake Bay, Michael Ondrusek, Eric Stengel, Christopher Kinkade, Ronald Vogel, Phillip Keegstra, Craig Hunter, Chunai Kim

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Sediment loading is one of the primary threats to the health of the Chesapeake Bay.We have developed a high resolution (250 m) ocean color satellite tool to monitor sediment concentrations in the Bay. In situ optical and sediment sampling is used to develop a total suspended matter (TSM) algorithm for the Chesapeake Bay. The Coastal Optical Characterization Experiment (COCE) is part of an ongoing effort to optically characterize processes and to develop regional remote sensing ocean color algorithms in the coastalwaters. The goal is to characterize sediment concentrations and to develop a tool to track plumes cascading down the Bay …

Validation Of The Goes-R Abi Flood And Standing Water Algorithm Using Gauging Station Measurements And Interpretation Maps, Rui Zhang, Donglian Sun, Yunyue Yu, Anthony Stefanidis, Mitchell D. Goldberg

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Validation is an important task in the development of satellite remote sensing products. Strategies for validation vary depending on the nature of the products. The validation process of the flood and standing water product (FSW) for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite - R series (GOES-R) is presented in this paper. A major challenge in the validation of the FSW product is the lack of ground truth flood maps and similar reference products from other satellite systems and other sources. To overcome this limitation, a two-level validation scheme for the FSW product is developed using the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data …

Spatial Variation In Rna:Dna Ratios Of Diporeia Spp. In The Great Lakes Region, Daniel J. Ryan, Maria S. Sepúlveda, Thomas F. Nalepa, Tomas O. Höök

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Over the past two decades, Diporeia in all of the Laurentian Great Lakes, except Superior, have declined dramatically. These declines have seemingly coincided with expansion of invasive Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis, however the exact mechanisms underlying decreasing Diporeia densities are obscure. We explored the use of RNA:DNA (R/D) ratios as a conditional index for Diporeia by experimentally demonstrating that Diporeia R/D responds to periods of starvation. Moreover, during 2008–2009 we collected Diporeia from throughout the Great Lakes and Cayuga Lake (New York, USA), and used R/D ratios to index condition of these in situ collected animals. We evaluated …

Characterization Of Turbidity In Florida’S Lake Okeechobee And Caloosahatchee And St. Lucie Estuaries Using Modis-Aqua Measurements, Menghua Wang, Carl J. Nim, Seunghyun Son, Wei Shi

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

This paper describes the use of ocean color remote sensing data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Aqua satellite to characterize turbidity in Lake Okeechobee and its primary drainage basins, the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries from 2002 to 2010. Drainage modification and agricultural development in southern Florida transport sediments and nutrients from watershed agricultural areas to Lake Okeechobee. As a result of development around Lake Okeechobee and the estuaries that are connected to Lake Okeechobee, estuarine conditions have also been adversely impacted, resulting in salinity and nutrient fluctuations. The measurement of water turbidity in lacustrine and …

Effect Of Fires On Soil Organic Carbon Pool And Mineralization In A Northeastern China Wetland, Hongmei Zhao, Daniel Q. Tong, Qianxin Lin, Xianguo Lu, Guoping Wang

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Fire occurs frequently over wetland, but little is known of its impact on soil carbon variations and carbon mineralization, process that are potentially important in global carbon cycle. To investigate this issue, we have designed and implemented a two-year field campaign to quality the effects of fire seasonality and frequency on soil carbon abundance and carbon mineralization in a wetland of the Sanjiang Plain in Northeastern China. A total of 4 burning experiments were conducted over 12 wetland plots from autumn 2007 to spring 2009. Our results show that after burning soil organic carbon (OC) increased in the burned soils …

Predicting The Hypoxic-Volume In Chesapeake Bay With The Streeter–Phelps Model: A Bayesian Approach, Yong Liu, George B. Arhonditsis, Craig A. Stow, Donald Scavia

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Hypoxia is a long-standing threat to the integrity of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. In this study, we introduce a Bayesian framework that aims to guide the parameter estimation of a Streeter–Phelps model when only hypoxic volume data are available. We present a modeling exercise that addresses a hypothetical scenario under which the only data available are hypoxic volume estimates. To address the identification problem of the model, we formulated informative priors based on available literature information and previous knowledge from the system. Our analysis shows that the use of hypoxic volume data results in reasonable predictive uncertainty, although the variances …

Small Founding Number And Low Genetic Diversity In An Introduced Species Exhibiting Limited Invasion Success (Speckled Dace, Rhinichthys Osculus), Andrew P. Kinziger, Rodney J. Nakamoto, Eric C. Anderson, Bret C. Harvey

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Molecular evaluations of successful invaders are common, however studies of introduced species that have had limited invasion success, or have died out completely, are rare. We studied an introduced population of speckled dace (Rhinichthys osculus) from northern California, USA that has rapidly increased in abundance but remained restricted to a 25-km stretch of river since its introduction in the mid-1980s. Field and laboratory analyses indicate that invasion success of speckled dace is constrained by the combined effects of multiple predators. The role of bottleneck effects associated with the introduction has not been studied. We assayed variation in seven …

Water Chemistry And Its Effects On The Physiology And Survival Of Atlantic Salmon Salmo Salar Smolts, T. Liebich, S. D. Mccormick, D. Kircheis, K. Johnson, R. Regal, T. Hrabik

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The physiological effects of episodic pH fluctuations on Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts in eastern Maine, U.S.A., were investigated. During this study, S. salar smolts were exposed to ambient stream-water chemistry conditions at nine sites in four catchments for 3 and 6 day intervals during the spring S. salar smolt migration period. Plasma chloride, plasma glucose, gill aluminium and gill Na⁺- and K⁺-ATPase levels in S. salar smolts were assessed in relation to ambient stream-water chemistry during this migration period. Changes in both plasma chloride and plasma glucose levels of S. salar smolts were strongly correlated …

Long-Term Survival Of Humpback Whales Radio-Tagged In Alaska From 1976 Through 1978, Sally A. Mizroch, Michael F. Tillman, Susan Jurasz, Janice M. Straley, Olga Von Ziegesar, Louis M. Herman, Adam A. Pack, Scott Baker, Jim Darling, Debbie Glockner-Ferrari, Mark Ferrari, Dan R. Salden, Phillip J. Clapham

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Invasive tags designed to provide information on animal movements through radio or satellite monitoring have tremendous potential for the study of whales and other cetaceans. However, to date there have been no published studies on the survival of tagged animals over periods of years or decades. Researchers from the National Marine Mammal Laboratory and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution tracked five humpback whales with implanted radio tags in southeastern Alaska in August 1976 and July 1977, and tracked two humpback whales in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in June 1978. All seven of these individually identified humpback whales were resighted at …

A Climatological Analysis Of Heatbursts In Oklahoma (1994–2009), Renee A. Mcpherson, Justin D. Lane, Kenneth C. Crawford, William G. Mcpherson Jr.

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Heatbursts are characterized by a sudden and highly localized increase in air temperature, a simultaneous decrease in relative humidity and dewpoint temperature, and strong gusty winds, typically associated with decaying thunderstorms. The small spatial extent and short duration of most heatbursts makes detailed study of these events difficult using the standard federal observation network (e.g. hourly observations) established in most countries. Thus, many discussions of heatbursts note that they are ‘rare’ phenomena. However, observations from the Oklahoma Mesonet indicate that although heatbursts are meso-alpha scale phenomena, they are not rare. Using multi-criteria analysis, 207 heatburst events of various magnitudes, areal …

Use Of Fatty Acid Analysis To Determine Dispersal Of Caspian Terns In The Columbia River Basin, U.S.A., Christina J. Maranto, Julia K. Parrish, David P. Herman, André E. Punt, Julian D. Olden, Michael T. Brett, Daniel D. Roby

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Lethal control, which has been used to reduce local abundances of animals in conflict with humans or with endangered species, may not achieve management goals if animal movement is not considered. In populations with emigration and immigration, lethal control may induce compensatory immigration, if the source of attraction remains unchanged. Within the Columbia River Basin (Washington, U.S.A.), avian predators forage at dams because dams tend to reduce rates of emigration of juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.), artificially concentrating these prey. We used differences in fatty acid profiles between Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia) at coastal and inland breeding colonies …

Estimated Field Metabolic Rates And Prey Requirements Of Resident Killer Whales, Dawn P. Noren

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Killer whales are large animals that often feed in groups and thus have the potential to deplete prey populations. Determining predator energy requirements is essential to assessing whether prey availability is sufficient. This is important because one risk factor facing the endangered Southern Resident killer whale distinct population segment is limited prey availability. Body mass, field metabolic rate (FMR), and daily prey energy requirements (DPERs) were estimated for each individual in the population. FMRs were calculated from body mass, assuming they range from five to six times Kleiber-predicted basal metabolic rates. FMRs of adults were also calculated from resident killer …

Using Aerial Photography To Investigate Evidence Of Feeding By Bowhead Whales, Julie A. Mocklin, David J. Rugh, Sue E. Moore, Robyn P. Angliss

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Aerial photographs were analyzed to investigate the feeding habits of the Bering- Chukchi-Beaufort (BCB) population of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), particularly epibenthic feeding near Barrow, Alaska. Evidence of epibenthic feeding was based on mud visible on the dorsal surface of whales, resulting from feeding near the seafloor. Other cues used to assess feeding were an open mouth or the presence of feces in photographs. Over 3,600 photographs were analyzed including photos from surveys in spring and late summer and in both the western and eastern Beaufort Sea. Of all the photographs analyzed, 64% were scored as definitively muddy. …

Bayesian State-Space Model Of Fin Whale Abundance Trends From A 1991–2008 Time Series Of Line-Transect Surveys In The California Current, Jeffrey E. Moore, Jay Barlow

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

1. Estimating temporal trends in animal abundance is central to ecology and conservation, but obtaining useful trend estimates is challenging when animal detection rates vary across surveys (e.g. because of differences in observers or conditions). Methods exist for obtaining abundance estimates using capture–recapture and distance sampling protocols, but only recently have some of these been extended to allow direct estimation of abundance trends when detection rates vary. Extensions to distance sampling for >2surveys have not yet been demonstrated.

2. We demonstrate a Bayesian approach for estimating abundance and population trends, using a time series of line-transect data for endangered fin …

High Species Density Patterns In Macrofaunal Invertebrate Communities In The Marine Benthos, John Oliver, Kamille Hammerstrom, Erika Mcphee-Shaw, Peter Slattery, James Oakden, Stacy Kim, S. Ian Hartwell

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Species density of macrofaunal invertebrates living in marine soft sediments was highest at the shelf-slope break (100–150 m) in Monterey Bay (449 m^-2). There were 337 species m^-2 in the mid-shelf mud zone (80 m). There were fewer species along the slope: 205 m^-2 from the lower slope (950-2000 m) and 335 m^-2 on the upper slope (250-750 m). Species density was highest inside the bay (328-446 m^-2) compared to outside (336-339 m^-2), when examining samples at selected water depths (60-1000 m). There was little difference in local species density from …

The Effect Of Stimulation Frequency On The Transmural Ventricular Monophasic Action Potential In Yellowfin Tuna Thunnus Albacares, S. M. Patrick, E. White, R. W. Brill, H. A. Shiels

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Monophasic action potentials (MAPs) were recorded from the spongy and compact layers of the yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares ventricle as stimulation frequency was increased. MAP duration decreased with increase in stimulation frequency in both the spongy and compact myocardial layers, but no significant difference in MAP duration was observed between the layers.

Recreational Fishing Depredation And Associated Behaviors Involving Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) In Sarasota Bay, Florida, Jessica R. Powell, Randall S. Wells

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Odontocete depredation involves stealing or damaging bait or prey already captured by fishing gear. The increase in depredation is of concern for small stocks of cetaceans because interactions with fishing gear can lead to serious injury or mortality through entanglement or ingestion. Using long-term data sets available for the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) community in Sarasota Bay, Florida, we investigated recreational fishing gear interactions by (1) examining temporal patterns in depredation and associated behaviors from 2000 to 2007; (2) quantifying the behavior of dolphins that depredate or engage in associated behaviors; and (3) identifying factors associated with the …

Quality Assessment Of Filtered Smoked Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus Albacares) Steaks, Lori F. Pivarnik, Cameron Faustman, Santiago Rossi, Surendranath P. Suman, Catherine Palmer, Nicole L. Richard, P. Christopher Ellis, Michael Diliberti

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Filtered smoke (FS) has been used to preserve taste, texture, and/or color in tuna and other fish species. This treatment is particularly important in color preservation during frozen storage. The objective of this study was to compare changes in the quality profiles of FS-treated and untreated (UT) yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) steaks stored in 3 ways: room temperature (21 to 22 °C), refrigerated (4 to 5 °C), and iced (0 °C). FS and UT steaks were processed from the same lot of fish and analyzed for chemical, microbiological, lipid oxidation, color, and sensory profiles. Similar trends were seen …

Revisiting The Lower Stratospheric Water Vapour Trend From The 1950s To 1970s, H. K. Roscoe, K. H. Rosenlof

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Previous work showed a near-continuous increase in stratospheric water vapour between the 1950s and 1990s from a variety of instruments, without recourse to fits between instruments. We reassess the trend from the earliest, the UK frost-point hygrometer, 1954–1976. An error in previous work omitted to transform values from ppmm to ppmv. When corrected, they fit more convincingly with measurements by later frost-point hygrometers. Minor instrument changes between the 1950s and 1970s do not introduce a potential bias to the trend but do increase its error. If the full 1970s data are included, the trend becomes 2.1 ± 0.8%/year (two-sigma).