Other Earth Sciences Commons^™

Geogram 2006, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Sparrow Surface Water-Quality Model: Theory, Application And User Documentation, G. E. Schwarz, A. B. Hoos, R. B. Alexander, R. A. Smith

United States Geological Survey: Publications

SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes) is a watershed modeling technique for relating water-quality measurements made at a network of monitoring stations to attributes of the watersheds containing the stations. The core of the model consists of a nonlinear regression equation describing the non-conservative transport of contaminants from point and diffuse sources on land to rivers and through the stream and river network. The model predicts contaminant flux, concentration, and yield in streams and has been used to evaluate alternative hypotheses about the important contaminant sources and watershed properties that control transport over large spatial scales.

This report provides …

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 …

Isotope Sourcing Of Prehistoric Willow And Tule Textiles Recovered From Western Great Basin Rock Shelters And Caves: Proof Of Concept, Larry V. Benson, E. M. Hattori, H. E. Taylor, S. R. Poulson, E. A. Jolie

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Isotope and trace-metal analyses were used to determine the origin of plants used to manufacture prehistoric textiles (basketry and matting) from archaeological sites in the western Great Basin. Research focused on strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and oxygen (¹⁸O/¹⁶O) isotope ratios of willow (Salix sp.) and tule (Schoenoplectus sp.), the dominant raw materials in Great Basin textiles. The oxygen-isotope data indicated that the willow and tule used to produce the textiles were harvested from the banks of rivers or in marshes characterized by flowing water and not from lakes or sinks. The strontium-isotope …

The Agricultural Productivity Of Chaco Canyon And The Source(S) Of Pre-Hispanic Maize Found In Pueblo Bonito, Larry Benson, John Stein, Howard Taylor, Richard Friedman, Thomas C. Windes

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Agricultural productivity estimates suggest that the core area of Chaco Canyon could have sustained only a few hundred individuals. Modern analogues of existing Pueblo populations and their domestic habitations with Chaco structures suggest that Chaco at times had a resident population exceeding 2000 people. These data suggest that maize would have had to be imported to feed permanent residents and those visiting Chaco during ritual–political gatherings and those who participated in the accelerated construction and modification of great houses between AD 1030 and 1130. Comparison of strontium-isotope and trace-element ratios of synthetic soil and natural waters from sites within the …

Use Of Mammal Manure By Nesting Burrowing Owls: A Test Of Four Functional Hypotheses, Matthew D. Smith, Courtney J. Conway

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Animals have evolved an impressive array of behavioural traits to avoid depredation. Olfactory camouflage of conspicuous odours is a strategy to avoid depredation that has been implicated only in a few species of birds. Burrowing owls, Athene cunicularia, routinely collect dried manure from mammals and scatter it in their nest chamber, in the tunnel leading to their nest and at the entrance to their nesting burrow. This unusual behaviour was thought to reduce nest depredation by concealing the scent of adults and juveniles, but a recent study suggests that manure functions to attract arthropod prey. However, burrowing owls routinely …

Renewing The Conservation Commitment, Frank W. Davis, Dale D. Goble, J. Michael Scott

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

As we write this in early 2005 there are several ESA-related pieces of legislation pending before Congress. Most of the proposed legislation is championed by Republican leaders from western states, who promise to strengthen the use of science or ensure fairer treatment of private landowners. Ir has become a perennial drama on the American political stage: "conservatives" rally to rein in a law that they believe has reached too far and "conservationists" mobilize ro defend the law that they believe offers the best ho pe for protecting biodiversity from relentless economic exploitation. There is much posturing, finger pointing, and, ultimately, …

Introduction To "The Endangered Species Act At Thirty, Volume 2", Frank W. Davis, J. Michael Scott, Dale D. Goble

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

More than thirty years after its passage, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 continues to be a corners tone of U.S. biodiversity policy and among our most powerful environmentallaws. The ESA set the nation's biodiversity conservation policy on a path that emphasized species-based conservation and triggered action only when a species faced imminent extinction. However, promoting recovery has proven more challenging than the original designers of the law anticipated. The number of listed species has mushroomed from 78 in 1973 to 1,267 in 2005, while in that time only 13 species have recovered sufficiently to be removed from the …

Introduction To "The Endangered Species Act At Thirty, Volume 1", J. Michael Scott, Dale D. Goble, Frank W. Davis

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

This book examines one legislative effoft to resolve the dilemma, the Endangered Speeies Aet of 1973 (ESA 1973). The ESA was an idealistic and perhaps naive attempt to preserve humanity by preserving other species in the ecological support system that makes life possible. In the words of the House report accompanying the bill:

A certain humility, and a sense of urgency seem indicated .... One might analogize the case to one in which one copy of all the books ever printed were gathered together in one huge building. The position in which we find ourselves today is that of custodians …

By The Numbers, J. Michael Scott, Dale D. Goble, Leona K. Svancara, Anna Pidgorna

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The current endangered species list has its administrative beginnings in 1964 when the Department of the Interior's Committee on Rare and Endangered Wildlife Species published a preliminary list of 62 species at risk of extinction (Goble, forthcoming). Following the enactment of the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 (ESPA), the secretary of the interior in 1967 published the first official list of 78 "native fish and wildlife threatened with extinction" (ESPA sec. l(c); U.S. Department of the Interior 1967; Wilcove and McMillan, this volume). By the time the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was adopted in 1973, there were 392 species …

Breeding Biology And Success Of A Reintroduced Population Of The Critically Endangered Puaiohi (Myadestes Palmeri), Erik J. Tweed, Jeffrey T. Foster, Bethany L. Woodworth, William B. Monahan, Jherime L. Kellerman, Alan Lieberman

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The ultimate success of reintroduction programs for endangered species depends on the ability of reintroduced animals to breed in the wild. We studied the nesting success and breeding biology of a reintroduced population of Puaiohi (Myadestes palmeri) on the island of Kaua‛i, Hawaii. Thirty-four captive-bred Puaiohi were released into the Alaka‛i Swamp in 1999–2001 and monitored using radiotelemetry. Ten females and two males paired with wild and other released birds, including one polygynous trio. From March to September, 31 nests were built. Mean clutch size was 2.0 eggs, daily nest survival was 0.97 ± 0.01 (mean ± SE) …

Reply To The Discussion By F. Lagroix And S.K. Banerjee Of “Geochemical Evidence For The Origin Of Late Quaternary Loess In Central Alaska”, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We thank F. Lagroix and S.K. Banerjee (2006) for their Muhs and Budahn 1895 interest in our recent paper and welcome this opportunity to clarify our thoughts on the issues they raise. ...

The loess deposits of central Alaska contain a long and detailed record of sedimentation and soil formation. However, we are convinced that this history is a complex one and, therefore, we again thank Lagroix and Banerjee (2006) for the opportunity to articulate some additional thoughts on the geologic record here. We applaud the use of new methods, such as those of Lagroix and Banerjee (2002, 2004), in …

Geogram 2005, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.

Nonlinear Dynamics In Ecosystem Response To Climatic Change: Case Studies And Policy Implications, Virginia R. Burkett, Douglas A. Wilcox, Wilcox Stottlemyer, Wylie Barrow, Dan Fagre, Jill Baron, Jeff Price, Jennifer L. Nielsen, Craig D. Allen, David L. Peterson, Greg Ruggerone, Thomas Doyle

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Many biological, hydrological, and geological processes are interactively linked in ecosystems. These ecological phenomena normally vary within bounded ranges, but rapid, nonlinear changes to markedly different conditions can be triggered by even small differences if threshold values are exceeded. Intrinsic and extrinsic ecological thresholds can lead to effects that cascade among systems, precluding accurate modeling and prediction of system response to climate change. Ten case studies from North America illustrate how changes in climate can lead to rapid, threshold-type responses within ecological communities; the case studies also highlight the role of human activities that alter the rate or direction of …

Patterns Of Fish Use And Piscivore Abundance Within A Reconnected Saltmarsh Impoundment In The Northern Indian River Lagoon, Florida, Philip W. Stevens, Clay L. Montague, Kenneth J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Nearly all saltmarshes in east-central, Florida were impounded for mosquito control during the 1960s. The majority of these marshes have since been reconnected to the estuary by culverts, providing an opportunity to effectively measure exchange of aquatic organisms. A multi-gear approach was used monthly to simultaneously estimate fish standing stock (cast net), fish exchange with the estuary (culvert traps), and piscivore abundance (gill nets and bird counts) to document patterns of fish use in a reconnected saltmarsh impoundment. Changes in saltmarsh fish abundance, and exchange of fish with the estuary reflected the seasonal pattern of marsh flooding in the northern …

Use Of Tracers And Isotopes To Evaluate Vulnerability Of Water In Domestic Wells To Septic Waste, Ingrid M. Verstraeten, Gregory S. Fetterman, Michael T. Meyer, Thomas D. Bullen, Sonja Sebree

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

In Nebraska, a large number (>200) of shallow sand-point and cased wells completed in coarse alluvial sediments along rivers and lakes still are used to obtain drinking water for human consumption, even though construction of sand-point wells for consumptive uses has been banned since 1987. The quality of water from shallow domestic wells potentially vulnerable to seepage from septic systems was evaluated by analyzing for the presence of tracers and multiple isotopes. Samples were collected from 26 sand-point and perforated, cased domestic wells and were analyzed for bacteria, coliphages, nitrogen species, nitrogen and boron isotopes, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), …

The Benthic Community Of The Eastern Us Continental Shelf: A Literature Synopsis Of Benthic Faunal Resources, R. Allen Brooks, Carla N. Purdy, Susan S. Bell, Kenneth J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The existing scientific literature on offshore benthic assemblages (OBA) residing along the US East and Gulf of Mexico continental shelf was reviewed. Identification was made of any associations between the dominant OBA and particular sediment types and/or bathymetry. Of special interest was the evaluation of reported effects of sand dredge/mining activities on the dominant OBA and recognition of data deficiencies. One hundred and twenty-two references were selected and classified as to type of study with pertinent results extracted. Polychaetes were predominantly cited as the principal infaunal taxa present in studies from both the Gulf of Mexico and US Atlantic coast. …

Auditory Brainstem Responses In The Eastern Screech Owl: An Estimate Of Auditory Thresholds, Elizabeth F. Brittan-Powell, Bernard Lohr, Dana L. Hahn, Robert J. Dooling

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The auditory brainstem response (ABR), a measure of neural synchrony, was used to estimate auditory sensitivity in the eastern screech owl (Megascops asio). The typical screech owl ABR waveform showed two to three prominent peaks occurring within 5 ms of stimulus onset. As sound pressure levels increased, the ABR peak amplitude increased and latency decreased. With an increasing stimulus presentation rate, ABR peak amplitude decreased and latency increased. Generally, changes in the ABR waveform to stimulus intensity and repetition rate are consistent with the pattern found in several avian families. The ABR audiogram shows that screech owls hear best between …

Contaminant Concentrations And Biomarker Responses Of Fish From The Mobile, Apalachicola, Savannah, And Pee Dee River Basins, Jo Ellen Hinck, V. S. Blazer, N. D. Denslow, T. S. Gross, T. W. May, C. E. Orazio, J. J. Coyle, P. J. Anderson, D. E. Tillitt

United States Geological Survey: Publications

No abstract provided.

Taxonomic Relationships Among Phenacomys Voles As Inferred By Cytochrome B, M. Renee Bellinger, Susan M. Haig, Eric D. Forsman, Thomas D. Mullins

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Taxonomic relationships among red tree voles (Phenacomys longicaudus longicaudus, P. l. silvicola), the Sonoma tree vole (P. pomo), the white-footed vole (P. albipes), and the heather vole (P. intermedius) were examined using 664 base pairs of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Results indicate specific differences among red tree voles, Sonoma tree voles, white-footed voles, and heather voles, but no clear difference between the 2 Oregon subspecies of red tree voles (P. l. longicaudus and P. l. silvicola). Our data further indicated a close relationship between tree voles and albipes, …

Comparison Of Individual And Pooled Sampling Methods For Detecting Bacterial Pathogens Of Fish, Sonia Mumford, Chris Patterson, Joy Evered, Ray Brunson, Jay Levine, Jim Winton

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Examination of finfish populations for viral and bacterial pathogens is an important component of fish disease control programs worldwide. Two methods are commonly used for collecting tissue samples for bacteriological culture, the currently accepted standards for detection of bacterial fish pathogens. The method specified in the Office International des Epizooties Manual of Diagnostic Tests for Aquatic Animals permits combining renal and splenic tissues from as many as 5 fish into pooled samples. The American Fisheries Society (AFS) Blue Book/US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Inspection Manual specifies the use of a bacteriological loop for collecting samples from the kidney of …

Auditory Brainstem Responses In The Eastern Screech Owl: An Estimate Of Auditory Thresholds, Elizabeth F. Brittan-Powell, Bernard Lohr, D. Caldwell Hahn, Robert J. Dooling

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The auditory brainstem response (ABR), a measure of neural synchrony, was used to estimate auditory sensitivity in the eastern screech owl (Megascops asio). The typical screech owl ABR waveform showed two to three prominent peaks occurring within 5 ms of stimulus onset. As sound pressure levels increased, the ABR peak amplitude increased and latency decreased. With an increasing stimulus presentation rate, ABR peak amplitude decreased and latency increased. Generally, changes in the ABR waveform to stimulus intensity and repetition rate are consistent with the pattern found in several avian families. The ABR audiogram shows that screech owls hear best between …

High Dispersal In A Frog Species Suggest That It Is Vulnerable To Habitat Fragmentation, W. Chris Funk, Allison E. Greene, Paul Stephen Corn, Fred W. Allendorf

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Global losses of amphibian populations are a major conservation concern and have generated substantial debate over their causes. Habitat fragmentation is considered one important cause of amphibian decline. However, if fragmentation is to be invoked as a mechanism of amphibian decline, it must first be established that dispersal is prevalent among contiguous amphibian populations using formal movement estimators. In contrast, if dispersal is naturally low in amphibians, fragmentation can be disregarded as a cause of amphibian declines and conservation efforts can be focused elsewhere. We examined dispersal rates in Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris) using capture– recapture analysis …

Population Structure Of Columbia Spotted Frogs (Rana Luteiventris) Is Strongly Affected By The Landscape, W. Chris Funk, Michael S. Blouin, Paul Stephen Corn, Bryce A. Maxell, David S. Pilliod, Stephen Amish, Fred W. Allendorf

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Landscape features such as mountains, rivers, and ecological gradients may strongly affect patterns of dispersal and gene flow among populations and thereby shape population dynamics and evolutionary trajectories. The landscape may have a particularly strong effect on patterns of dispersal and gene flow in amphibians because amphibians are thought to have poor dispersal abilities. We examined genetic variation at six microsatellite loci in Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris) from 28 breeding ponds in western Montana and Idaho, USA, in order to investigate the effects of landscape structure on patterns of gene flow. We were particularly interested in addressing …

Late-Holocene Flooding And Drought In The Northern Great Plains, Usa, Reconstructed From Tree Rings, Lake Sediments And Ancient Shorelines, M. D. Shapley, W. C. Johnson, D. R. Engstrom, W. R. Osterkamp

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

During the AD 1990s the Waubay Lakes complex in eastern South Dakota experienced historically unprecedented high water levels. Property damage from this flooding led to an examination of the occurrence of past pluvial episodes and their relation to climate. A lOOO-year hydroclimate reconstruction was developed from local bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) tree-ring records and lake-sediment cores. Analysis of lake shoreline and drainage features provides late-Quaternary geomorphic context for this high-resolution record. Tree-ring width and shell geochemistry of the ostracode Candona rawsoni show marked coherence, indicating synchronous responses to moisture balance in vegetation and lake salinity; geomorphic evidence …

Geogram 2004, David J. Keeling Editor, Wku Department Of Geography And Geology

Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences Publications

No abstract provided.