Other Earth Sciences Commons^™

Management And Conservation Note: Conserving Waste Rice For Wintering Waterfowl In The Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Jennifer P. Kross, Richard M. Kaminski, Aaron T. Pearse

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV), USA, is an internationally important migration and wintering region for North American waterfowl (Reinecke et al. 1989). The Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture (LMVJV) assumes food availability is the primary factor influencing carrying capacity of wintering waterfowl in this region (Reinecke and Loesch 1996). Because much of the MAV was converted from a seasonally flooded bottomland-hardwood ecosystem to a landscape dominated by agriculture, the LMVJV has incorporated estimates of the abundance of agricultural seeds such as rice into habitat conservation plans (Reinecke et al. 1988, Fredrickson et al. 2005). Biologists designed these plans to provide …

Persistent Near-Bottom Aggregations Of Mesopelagic Animals Along The North Carolina And Virginia Continental Slopes, John V. Gartner Jr., Kenneth J. Sulak, Steve W. Ross, Ann Marie Necaise

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Submersible observations during four missions over the North Carolina and Virginia continental slopes (184–900 m) documented the occurrence of large aggregations of mesopelagic Wshes and macronektonic invertebrates near or on the bottom. Aggregated mesopelagics formed a layer up to tens of meters deep positioned from a few centimeters to 20 m, usually <10 >m, above the substrate. Aggregations were numerically dominated by microvores, notably the myctophid Wsh Ceratoscopelus maderensis and the penaeid shrimp Sergestes arcticus. Consistently present but in relatively lower numbers, were mesopelagic predators, including the paralepidids Notolepis rissoi and Lestidium atlanticum, the eel Nemichthys scolopaceus, the …

Demersal Fishes Associated With Lophelia Pertusa Coral And Hard-Substrate Biotopes On The Continental Slope, Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Kenneth J. Sulak, R. Allen Brooks, Kirsten E. Luke, April D. Norem, Michael Randall, Andrew J. Quaid, George E. Yeargin, Jana M. Miller, William M. Harden, John H. Caruso, Steve W. Ross

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The demersal fish fauna of Lophelia pertusa (Linnaeus, 1758) coral reefs and associated hard-bottom biotopes was investigated at two depth horizons in the northern Gulf of Mexico using a manned submersible and remote sampling. The Viosca Knoll fauna consisted of at least 53 demersal fish species, 37 of which were documented by submersible video. On the 325 m horizon, dominant taxa determined from frame-by-frame video analysis included Stromateidae, Serranidae, Trachichthyidae, Congridae, Scorpaenidae, and Gadiformes. On the 500 m horizon, large mobile visual macrocarnivores of families Stromateidae and Serranidae dropped out, while a zeiform microcarnivore assumed importance on reef “Thicket” biotope, …

Droughtscape, Fall 2007, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Fall 2007 Outlook

Diverse Impacts Reported in Summer of 2007

Decadal Climate Cycles Hold Predictive Potential

Drought Experts Take Roadmap to Congress

NDMC Research Updates

Droughtscape, Summer 2007, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Summer 07 Outlook

Hayes Named Director of NDMC

NDMC & UN Plan for Drought

Book Review: The Worst Hard Time

Drought Tools Workshops Underway

U.S. Drought Monitor Forum October 10-11, 2007 Portland, Oregon

Droughtscape, Spring 2007, National Drought Mitigation Center

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

2007 Spring Drought Outlook & Winter Summary

VegDRI Expands to 15 States, Refines Views

DroughtScape

State Spotlight: Utah

International Panel Foresees Drought as Part of Climate Change

NIDIS Portal Advancing

Unlv Magazine, Grace Russell, Gian Galassi, Shane Bevell, Karyn S. Hollingsworth, Jennifer Lawson, Lori Bachand, Cate Weeks, Erin O'Donnell, Peter Starkweather

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

Downstream Pathway Activation In Cultured Hepatocytes Following Treatment With Francisella Tularensis, Nicole Wakefield

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Francisella tularensis, the intracellular pathogen that causes tularemia, was investigated to determine how it infects and replicates within mammalian hepatocytes. To date, it has been shown that hepatocytes can be infected by F. tularensis and that this causes considerable change in the protein phosphorylation state of several vital signaling molecules within the host cell. Protein kinase pathways can be mapped as signatures of infection. Hepatocytes tend to be susceptible to infection by F. tularensis, thus stimulating internal signaling. The Francisella strains used were selected with the goal of producing a model that can be used to elucidate the cell signaling …

Frequency Of Sublethal Injury In A Deepwater Ophiuroid, Ophiacantha Bidentata, An Important Component Of Western Atlantic Lophelia Reef Communities, R. Allen Brooks, Martha S. Nizinski, Steve W. Ross, Kenneth J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The occurrence and relative abundance of tissue (arm) regeneration in the ophiuroid, Ophiacantha bidentata (Retzius), was examined in individuals collected primarily among colonies of the deep-water coral Lophelia pertusa off the southeastern United States. Seven deep-water coral sites (384–756 m), located between Cape Lookout, NC, and Cape Canaveral, FL, were sampled in June 2004 using a manned submersible. The presence of regenerative tissue was evaluated by visual inspection of each individual ophiuroid, and the proportion of regenerating arms per individual was examined relative to size of individual, geographic location, and depth of collection. Ophiacantha bidentata, the dominant brittle star collected, …

Loess Deposits, Origins And Properties, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess is an eolian (windblown) sediment that is an important archive of Quaternary climate changes. It may provide one of the most complete terrestrial records of interglacial–glacial cycles. Loess is unusual as a record of Quaternary climate change because it is one of the few sediments that is deposited directly from the atmosphere. Thus, it is a geologic deposit that contains a record of atmospheric circulation and can be used to reconstruct synoptic-scale paleoclimatology. Loess is also unusual in that it can be dated directly using ‘trapped electron’ or luminescence methods that require only the sediment itself. Commonly, loess deposits …

Enhancing The Detection And Classification Of Coral Reef And Associated Benthic Habitats: A Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Approach, Deepak R. Mishra, Sunil Narumalani, Donald Rundquist, Merlin P. Lawson, R. Perk

Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies: Publications

Coral reefs and associated benthic habitats are heterogeneous in nature. A remote sensor designed to discriminate these environments requires a high number of narrow, properly placed bands which are not currently available in existing satellite sensors. Optical hyperspectral sensors mounted on aerial platforms seem to be appropriate for overcoming the lack of both high spectral and spatial resolution of satellite sensors. This research presents results of an innovative coral reef application by such a sensor. Using hyperspectral Airborne Imaging Spectroradiometer for Applications (AISA) Eagle data, the approach presented solves the confounding influence of water column attenuation on substrate reflectance on …

Adaptive Data-Driven Models For Estimating Carbon Fluxes In The Northern Great Plains, Bruce K. Wylie, Eugene A. Fosnight, Tagir G. Gilmanov, Albert B. Frank, Jack A. Morgan, Marshall R. Haferkamp, Tilden P. Meyers

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Rangeland carbon fluxes are highly variable in both space and time. Given the expansive areas of rangelands, how rangelands respond to climatic variation, management, and soil potential is important to understanding carbon dynamics. Rangeland carbon fluxes associated with Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) were measured from multiple year data sets at five flux tower locations in the Northern Great Plains. These flux tower measurements were combined with 1-km² spatial data sets of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), temperature, precipitation, seasonal NDVI metrics, and soil characteristics. Flux tower measurements were used to train and select variables for …

Droughtscape, Winter 2007, Kelly Smith

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Subscribe Now!

Policy Update: NIDIS is Law. What’s Next?

What Would You Like to See?

TX, OK, Plains, Southwest Hardest Hit in 2006

Climatologically Speaking, How Bad Was It?

State Spotlight: Arizona

Drought Decision-Support Tools Evolving

Possible Impacts Of Early-11th-, Middle-12th-, And Late-13th-Century Droughts On Western Native Americans And The Mississippian Cahokians, Larry V. Benson, Michael S. Berry, Edward A. Jolie, Jerry D. Spangler, David W. Stahle, Eugene M. Hattori

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

One or more of three intense and persistent droughts impacted some Native American cultures in the early-11th, middle-12th and late- 13th centuries, including the Anasazi, Fremont, Lovelock, and Mississippian (Cahokian) prehistorical cultures. Tree-ring-based reconstructions of precipitation and temperature indicate that warm drought periods occurred between AD 990 and 1060, AD 1135 and 1170, and AD 1276 and 1297. These droughts occurred during minima in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and may have been associated with positive values of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. Each of the Native American cultures was supported, to a greater or lesser degree, by precipitation-dependent resources. Both the …

Hydrologic Connectivity And The Contribution Of Stream Headwaters To Ecological Integrity At Regional Scales1, Mary C. Freeman, Catherine M. Pringle, C. Rhett Jackson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Cumulatively, headwater streams contribute to maintaining hydrologic connectivity and ecosystem integrity at regional scales. Hydrologic connectivity is the water-mediated transport of matter, energy and organisms within or between elements of the hydrologic cycle. Headwater streams compose over two-thirds of total stream length in a typical river drainage and directly connect the upland and riparian landscape to the rest of the stream ecosystem. Altering headwater streams, e.g., by channelization, diversion through pipes, impoundment and burial, modifies fluxes between uplands and downstream river segments and eliminates distinctive habitats. The large-scale ecological effects of altering headwaters are amplified by land uses that alter …

Butterfly Responses To Prairie Restoration Through Fire And Grazing, Jennifer A. Vogel, Diane M. Debinski, Rolf R. Koford, James R. Miller

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The development of land for modern agriculture has resulted in losses of native prairie habitat. The small, isolated patches of prairie habitat that remain are threatened by fire suppression, overgrazing, and invasion by non-native species. We evaluated the effects of three restoration practices (grazing only, burning only, and burning and grazing) on the vegetation characteristics and butterfly communities of remnant prairies. Total butterfly abundance was highest on prairies that were managed with burning and grazing and lowest on those that were only burned. Butterfly species richness did not differ among any of the restoration practices. Butterfly species diversity was highest …

Evaluation And Comparison Of Gross Primary Production Estimates For The Northern Great Plains Grasslands, Li Zhang, Bruce K. Wylie, Thomas Loveland, Eugene A. Fosnight, Larry L. Tieszen, Lei Ji, Tagir G. Gilmanov

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Two spatially-explicit estimates of gross primary production (GPP) are available for the Northern Great Plains. An empirical piecewise regression (PWR) GPP model was developed from flux tower measurements to map carbon flux across the region. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) GPP model is a process-based model that uses flux tower data to calibrate its parameters. Verification and comparison of the regional PWR GPP and the global MODIS GPP are important for the modeling of grassland carbon flux. This study compared GPP estimates from PWR and MODIS models with five towers in the grasslands. Among them, PWR GPP and MODIS …

Conservation Genetics Of Snowy Plovers (Charadrius Alexandrinus) In The Western Hemisphere: Population Genetic Structure And Delineation Of Subspecies, W. Chris Funk, Thomas D. Mullins, Susan M. Haig

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We examined the genetic structure of snowy plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus) in North America, the Caribbean, and the west coast of South America to quantify variation within and among breeding areas and to test the validity of three previously recognized subspecies. Sequences (676 bp) from domains I and II of the mitochondrial control region were analyzed for 166 snowy plovers from 20 breeding areas. Variation was also examined at 10 microsatellite loci for 144 snowy plovers from 14 breeding areas. The mtDNA and microsatellite data provided strong evidence that the Puerto Rican breeding group is genetically divergent from sites …

Sexual Selection Drives Speciation In An Amazonian Frog, Kathryn E. Boul, W. Chris Funk, Catherine R. Darst, David C. Cannatella, Michael J. Ryan

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

One proposed mechanism of speciation is divergent sexual selection, whereby divergence in female preferences and male signals results in behavioural isolation. Despite the appeal of this hypothesis, evidence for it remains inconclusive. Here, we present several lines of evidence that sexual selection is driving behavioural isolation and speciation among populations of an Amazonian frog (Physalaemus petersi). First, sexual selection has promoted divergence in male mating calls and female preferences for calls between neighbouring populations, resulting in strong behavioural isolation. Second, phylogenetic analysis indicates that populations have become fixed for alternative call types several times throughout the species’ range, …

Microsatellite Loci For Distinguishing Spotted Owls (Strix Occidentalis), Barred Owls (Strix Varia), And Their Hybrids, W. Chris Funk, Thomas D. Mullins, Eric D. Forsman, Susan M. Haig

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We identified four diagnostic microsatellite loci that distinguish spotted owls (Strix occidentalis), barred owls (Strix varia), F₁ hybrids and backcrosses. Thirty-four out of 52 loci tested (65.4%) successfully amplified, and four of these loci (11.8%) had allele sizes that did not overlap between spotted and barred owls. The probability of correctly identifying a backcross with these four loci is 0.875. Genotyping potential hybrid owls with these markers revealed that field identifications were often wrong. Given the difficulty of identifying hybrids in the field, these markers will be useful for hybrid identification, law enforcement and spotted …

New Insights Into Marine Migration And Winter Habitat Of Gulf Sturgeon, Randy E. Edwards, Frank M. Parauka, Kenneth J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Migrations and movements of Gulf sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi were determined using satellite pop-up archival transmitting (PAT) tags and acoustic telemetry. Adult Gulf sturgeon from four rivers in northwestern Florida were caught with gill nets and were tagged with PAT and acoustic tags in the fall of 2001 and 2002. PAT tags were programmed to release in early February 2002 and 2003 to provide information about location of late-winter marine habitats. However, only 5 of 25 provided meaningful location information. Three of the PAT-tagged fish were relocated acoustically near the PAT tag pop-up locations, one of which was in Choctawhatchee …

Dune Fields: Mid-Latitudes, J. Sun, Daniel R. Muhs

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Large dune fields, or sand seas, are landscapes often thought to be found only in deserts beneath the great, subtropical high-pressure zones, where subsiding air suppresses rainfall. Dune fields are also quite common in mid-latitude regions, to the north and south of subtropical deserts (Fig. 1). Two major characteristics distinguish many mid-latitude dune fields from the sand seas of lower latitudes. One difference is that many of those in mid-latitudes are in semiarid, rather than arid climates, and therefore are not presently active. In this article, ‘active’ refers to eolian sand bodies that are not covered with vegetation, and where …

Fate Of Fish Production In A Seasonally Flooded Saltmarsh, Philip W. Stevens, Clay L. Montague, Kenneth J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Although saltmarshes are thought to enhance the productivity of open estuarine water, the mechanism by which energy transfer occurs has been debated for decades. One possible mechanism is the transfer of saltmarsh production to estuarine waters by vagile fishes and invertebrates. Monthly estimates of fish standing stock, net fish ingress, and predation were used to develop a bio-mass budget to estimates annual production of fishes and the relative yield to predatory fish, birds, and direct migration to the estuary. Annual production of saltmarsh fishes was estimated to 31.0 gm^-2 saltmarsh, which falls within the range of previously reported values …

Deep-Water Antipatharians: Proxies Of Environmental Change, B. Williams, M.J. Risk, S.W. Ross, K.J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Deep-water (307–697 m) antipatharian (black coral) specimens were collected from the southeastern continental slope of the United States and the north-central Gulf of Mexico. The sclerochronology of the specimens indicates that skeletal growth takes place by formation of concentric coeval layers. We used 210Pb to estimate radial growth rate of two specimens, and to establish that they were several centuries old. Bands were delaminated in KOH and analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes. Carbon values ranged from _16.4‰ to _15.7‰; the oldest specimen displayed the largest range in values. Nitrogen values ranged from 7.7‰ to 8.6‰. …

Anguilliform Larvae Collected Off North Carolina, Steve W. Ross, Tara L. Casazza, Andrea M. Quattrini, Kenneth J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The distinctive larval stage of eels (leptocephalus) facilitates dispersal through prolonged life in the open ocean. Leptocephali are abundant and diverse off North Carolina, yet data on distributions and biology are lacking. The water column (from surface to 1,293 m) was sampled in or near the Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear, North Carolina during summer through fall of 1999–2005, and leptocephali were collected by neuston net, plankton net, Tucker trawl, and dip net. Additional samples were collected nearly monthly from a transect across southern Onslow Bay, North Carolina (from surface to 91 m) from April …

Unlv Magazine, Carol C. Harter, Joe Cockrell, Tony Allen, Regina Bacolas, Lori Bachand, Jennifer Lawson, Bret C. Birdsong, Steve Parker, Erin O'Donnell, Jennifer Robison

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

Predicting The Percent Live Cover Of Corals: An In Situ Remote Sensing Approach, Deepak R. Mishra, Sunil Narumalani, Ronald Bahl, D. Rundquist, Merlin P. Lawson

Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies: Publications

Percent reflectance of corals is perhaps the most important remotely sensed data that can be related to their biophysical properties. Because most of the biophysical variables of corals (i.e., pigment content, live cover and algal overgrowth) are related to their reflectance spectra, the analysis and inversion of the spectra may provide an account of these variables. Our research was aimed at determining the relationship between the percent live cover and reflectance of corals. Two wavelength bands (405–425 nm, and 590–600 nm) were identified to establish the relationship. A linear relationship was observed, which showed higher correlation (R² = …

Taxonomic Considerations In Listing Subspecies Under The U.S. Endangered Species Act, Susan M. Haig, Erik A. Beever, Steven M. Chambers, Hope M. Draheim, Bruce D. Dugger, Susie M. Dunham, Elise Elliott-Smith, Joseph B. Fontaine, Dylan C. Kesler, Brian J. Knaus, Iara F. Lopes, Pete Loschl, Thomas D. Mullins, Lisa M. Sheffield

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) allows listing of subspecies and other groupings below the rank of species. This provides the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service with a means to target the most critical unit in need of conservation. Although roughly one-quarter of listed taxa are subspecies, these management agencies are hindered by uncertainties about taxonomic standards during listing or delisting activities. In a review of taxonomic publications and societies, we found few subspecies lists and none that stated standardized criteria for determining subspecific taxa. Lack of criteria is attributed to a centuries-old debate …

Conserving Biodiversity In Human-Dominated Landscapes, Dale D. Goble, J. Michael Scott, Frank W. Davis

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The two volumes of The Endangered Species Act at Thirty look backward to evaluate the effectiveness of the act over its first three decades (Wilcove and McMillan 2006; Scott et al. 2006, chap. 2; Goble, this volume; Svancara, this volume; Callicott, this volume; Norton, this volume) and also forward to suggest how it can be used as a cornerstone for conserving biological diversity in increasingly human-dominated landscapes (Davis et al. 2006; Bean 2006). The chapters in part 2 of this volume, for example, appraise the science of the 1990s and 2000s at both the large scale (Lomolino, this volume; Naeem …

Endangered Species Time Line, Leona K. Svancara, J. Michael Scott, Dale D. Goble, Frank W. Davis, Donna Brewer

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is embedded in a web of statutes designed to regulate relationships between humans and other species that stretch back nearly a millennium (Goble, this volume; Goble and Freyfogle 2002). This chapter presents a time line of federal actions taken to protect wildlife beginning with passage of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act in 1963 (Act of May 28, 1963). Earlier laws to protect wildlife are discussed elsewhere (Goble, this volume). The time line emphasizes federal actions that conserve species at risk of extinction and significant events in the course of implementing the Endangered Species …