Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Land Change Variability And Human–Environment Dynamics In The United States Great Plains, Mark A, Drummond, Roger F. Auch, Krista A. Karstensen, Kristi L. Sayler, Janis L. Taylor, Thomas Loveland

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Land use and land cover changes have complex linkages to climate variability and change, biophysical resources, and socioeconomic driving forces. To assess these land change dynamics and their causes in the Great Plains, we compare and contrast contemporary changes across 16 ecoregions using Landsat satellite data and statistical analysis. Large-area change analysis of agricultural regions is often hampered by change detection error and the tendency for land conversions to occur at the local-scale. To facilitate a regional-scale analysis, a statistical sampling design of randomly selected 10 km × 10 km blocks is used to efficiently identify the types and rates …

Introduction To “Environmental Contaminants In Biota, 2nd Edition”, W. Nelson Beyer, James P. Meador

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Ecotoxicology is the study of the movement of environmental contaminants through ecosystems and their effects on plants and animals. Examining tissue residues of these contaminants in biota is basic to ecotoxicology, both for understanding the movement of contaminants within organisms and through food chains, and for understanding and quantifying injuries to organisms and their communities. This book provides guidance on interpreting tissue concentrations of environmental contaminants.

Tissue concentrations have long been used both to identify the cause of toxicity in animals and as a measure of the severity of toxicity. More recently, they have been incorporated into environmental models, tying …

Lead In Birds, J. Christian Franson, Deborah J. Pain

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Lead is a highly toxic heavy metal that acts as a nonspecific poison affecting all body systems and has no known biological requirement. Absorption of low concentrations may result in a wide range of sublethal effects in animals, and higher concentrations may result in mortality (Demayo et al. 1982).

Lead has been mined and smelted by humans for centuries, but the use of lead-based products increased greatly following the Industrial Revolution. Consequently, lead today is ubiquitous in air, water, and soil, in both urban and rural environments (Eisler 2000). Vertebrates are exposed to lead mainly via inhalation and ingestion. A …

Spatial Patch Occupancy Patterns Of The Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit, Mitchell J. Eaton, Phillip T. Hughes, James D. Nichols, Anne Morkill, Chad Anderson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Reliable estimates of presence or absence of a species can provide substantial information on management questions related to distribution and habitat use but should incorporate the probability of detection to reduce bias. We surveyed for the endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) in habitat patches on 5 Florida Key islands, USA, to estimate occupancy and detection probabilities. We derived detection probabilities using spatial replication of plots and evaluated hypotheses that patch location (coastal or interior) and patch size influence occupancy and detection. Results demonstrate that detection probability, given rabbits were present, was <0.5 and suggest that naı¨ve estimates (i.e., estimates without consideration of imperfect detection) of patch occupancy are negatively biased. We found that patch size and location influenced probability of occupancy but not detection. Our findings will be used by Refuge managers to evaluate population trends of Lower Keys marsh rabbits from historical data and to guide management decisions for species recovery. The sampling and analytical methods we used may be useful for researchers and managers of other endangered lagomorphs and cryptic or fossorial animals occupying diverse habitats.

Estimating Age From Recapture Data: Integrating Incremental Growth Measures With Ancillary Data To Infer Age-At-Length, Mitchell J. Eaton, William A. Link

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Estimating the age of individuals in wild populations can be of fundamental importance for answering ecological questions, modeling population demographics, and managing exploited or threatened species. Significant effort has been devoted to determining age through the use of growth annuli, secondary physical characteristics related to age, and growth models. Many species, however, either do not exhibit physical characteristics useful for independent age validation or are too rare to justify sacrificing a large number of individuals to establish the relationship between size and age. Length-at-age models are well represented in the fisheries and other wildlife management literature. Many of these models …

Spatial Patch Occupancy Patterns Of The Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit, Mitchell J. Eaton, Phillip T. Hughes, James D. Nichols, Anne Morkill, Chad Anderson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Reliable estimates of presence or absence of a species can provide substantial information on management questions related to distribution and habitat use but should incorporate the probability of detection to reduce bias. We surveyed for the endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) in habitat patches on 5 Florida Key islands, USA, to estimate occupancy and detection probabilities. We derived detection probabilities using spatial replication of plots and evaluated hypotheses that patch location (coastal or interior) and patch size influence occupancy and detection. Results demonstrate that detection probability, given rabbits were present, was <0.5 and suggest that naı¨ve estimates (i.e., estimates without consideration of imperfect detection) of patch occupancy are negatively biased. We found that patch size and location influenced probability of occupancy but not detection. Our findings will be used by Refuge managers to evaluate population trends of Lower Keys marsh rabbits from historical data and to guide management decisions for species recovery. The sampling and analytical methods we used may be useful for researchers and managers of other endangered lagomorphs and cryptic or fossorial animals occupying diverse habitats.

Rapid Wetland Expansion During European Settlement And Its Implication For Marsh Survival Under Modern Sediment Delivery Rates, Matthew L. Kirwan, A. Brad Murray, Jeffrey P. Donnelly, D. Reide Corbett

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Fluctuations in sea-level rise rates are thought to dominate the formation and evolution of coastal wetlands. Here we demonstrate a contrasting scenario in which land-use–related changes in sediment delivery rates drive the formation of expansive marshland, and vegetation feedbacks maintain their morphology despite recent sediment supply reduction. Stratigraphic analysis and radiocarbon dating in the Plum Island Estuary (Massachusetts, United States) suggest that salt marshes expanded rapidly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries due to increased rates of sediment delivery following deforestation associated with European settlement. Numerical modeling coupled with the stratigraphic observations suggests that existing marshland could survive, but not …

Adaptive Resource Management And The Value Of Information, Byron K. Williams, Mitchell J. Eaton, David R. Breininger

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The value of information is a general and broadly applicable concept that has been used for several decades to aid in making decisions in the face of uncertainty. Yet there are relatively few examples of its use in ecology and natural resources management, and almost none that are framed in terms of the future impacts of management decisions. In this paper we discuss the value of information in a context of adaptive management, in which actions are taken sequentially over a timeframe and both future resource conditions and residual uncertainties about resource responses are taken into account. Our objective is …

A Loess–Paleosol Record Of Climate And Glacial History Over The Past Two Glacial–Interglacial Cycles (~150 Ka), Southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Kenneth L. Pierce, Daniel R. Muhs, Maynard A. Fosberg, Shannon A. Mahan, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Joseph M. Licciardi, Milan J. Pavich

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess accumulated on a Bull Lake outwash terrace of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 6 (MIS 6) age in southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The 9 m section displays eight intervals of loess deposition (Loess 1 to Loess 8, oldest), each followed by soil development. Our age-depth model is constrained by thermoluminescence, meteoric ¹⁰Be accumulation in soils, and cosmogenic ¹⁰Be surface exposure ages. We use particle size, geochemical, mineral-magnetic, and clay mineralogical data to interpret loess sources and pedogenesis. Deposition of MIS 6 loess was followed by a tripartite soil/thin loess complex (Soils 8, 7, and 6) apparently re!ecting the …

2011-2012 Unlv Mcnair Journal, Cyndy Anang, Sajar Camara, Pamela Cornejo, Carla Antonieta Farcello, Ilse Anahi Garcia, Natiera Magnuson, William L. Mccurdy, Lorena Munoz, Maxym V. Myroshnychenko, Ricardo Rios, Theodore Waldeck, Barbara Wallen, Ana Zuniga, Brenda M. Aguilar, Tiffany Alexandra Alvarez, Daniel N. Erosa, Paige C. Espinosa, Carla Antonieta Farcello, Julienne Jochel Paraiso, Nathaniel Derek Phillipps, Carmen Vallin, Jacent N. Wamala, Ernesto Zamora-Ramos

McNair Journal

Journal articles based on research conducted by undergraduate students in the McNair Scholars Program

Table of Contents

Biography of Dr. Ronald E. McNair

Statements:

Dr. Neal J. Smatresk, UNLV President

Dr. Juanita P. Fain, Vice President of Student Affairs

Dr. William W. Sullivan, Associate Vice President for Retention and Outreach

Mr. Keith Rogers, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach

McNair Scholars Institute Staff

Stable Isotope Studies Of Paleoenvironment And Paleoclimate From Afar, Ethiopia, Zelalem K. Bedaso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The sedimentary deposits of the Hadar Formation at Dikika and the Mount Galili Formation at Galili preserve a wealth of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic records spanning the last 5.29 Ma. Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of herbivore tooth enamel were analyzed for more than 600 specimens of 15 different taxa from 10 stratigraphic intervals. The application of carbon and oxygen isotopes here aims principally at reconstructing shifts in the relative abundance of C₄ grasses, and its implications for climate indicators including temperature, aridity, and seasonality. The full range of δ¹³C_enamel values throughout the Plio-Pleistocene signifies a …

Palaeoclimatic Significance Of Perennial Ice Accumulations In Caves: An Example From Scarisoara Ice Cave, Romania, Aurel Persoiu Tiritu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stable isotopes in ice cores drilled in the polar and high-mountain region have been used intensively to reconstruct past climatic changes and atmospheric dynamics. However, no similar studies have been conducted on perennial ice accumulations in caves due to a limited understanding of the links between the external and cave environments, and the way in which the climatic signal can be recorded by the cave ice.

In this thesis, we successfully designed and build a research methodology for the reconstruction of past climatic changes based on perennial ice accumulation in caves, using as example the Scarisoara Ice Cave, Romania. The …

Ua668/4 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Geography & Geology Administration, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the administration of the Geography & Geology department.

Clay Mineral Cycles Identified By Diffuse Spectral Reflectance In Quaternary Sediments From The Northwind Ridge: Implications For Glacial-Interglacial Sedimentation Patterns In The Arctic Ocean, Lyanne N. Yurco, Joseph D. Ortiz, Leonid Polyak, Dennis A. Darby, Kevin A. Crawford

OES Faculty Publications

A Quaternary record of fine-grained sediment composition is used to investigate Arctic Ocean climate variability on glacial-interglacial time scales. Diffuse spectral reflectance data from sediment core P1-92AR-P25 from the Northwind Ridge, north of Alaska, demonstrates cyclic variations in mineralogy. Varimax-rotated R-mode factor analysis of down-core data revealed three major mineralogical assemblages, which were then compared with the content of manganese, a proxy for basin ventilation, and thus glacial-interglacial cycles. Results indicate that factor 1, a smectite + chlorite clay assemblage, was delivered to the core site during interglacials, either by fluvial discharge or sea-ice drift from Siberian rivers or inflow …

The Toll Of Toxics: Investigating Environmental Contaminants, Donald Sparling, Barnett A. Rattner, John S. Barclay

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Two recent events [the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Asarco settlement] bring to the fore the work of wildlife toxicologists. Focusing on amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, wildlife toxicology is a component of ecotoxicology--the study of toxic effects caused by natural or synthetic pollutants on living organisms and other constituents of ecosystems (Truhaut 1977). Now a distinct discipline within the wildlife profession-practiced by members of The Wildlife Society's own Wildlife Toxicology Working Group, among others-wildlife toxicology has become increasingly important as human populations and industry have spread, causing contaminants to multiply.

Emerging Environmental Contaminants (EECs) include an array of …

Mississippi Canyon 252 Incident Nrda Tier 1 For Deepwater Communities, Gregory Boland, Gary Brewer, Erik Cordes, Amanda Demopoulos, Chuek Fisher, Chris German, Ken Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is geologically diverse basin, described as the most complex continental slope region in the world. Regional topography of the slope consists of basins, knolls, ridges, and mounds derived from the dynamic adjustments of salt and the introduction of large volumes of sediment over long time scales. More than 99% of the sea floor in the GOM consists of soft sediment made up of various mixtures of primarily silt and clay. These wide-spread soft bottom communities are described in reports from major MMS studies by Gallaway et al. (1998) and Rowe and Kennicutt (2009). Relative …

Establishment And Partial Characterization Of A Cell Line From Burbot Lota Lota Maculosa: Susceptibility To Ihnv, Ipnv And Vhsv, Mark P. Polinski, John D. Drennan, William N. Batts, Susan C. Ireland, Kenneth D. Cain

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

This study describes the development and partial characterization of a continuous fibroblastic-like cell line (BEF-1) developed from late stage embryos of North American burbot Lota lota maculosa. This cell line has been maintained for over 5 yr and 100 passages in vitro. Cells were cultured using Eagle’s minimum essential medium with Earle’s salts (MEM) supplemented with GlutaMAX ™, and 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), pH 7.4. The addition of penicillin-streptomycinneomycin (PSN) antibiotic mixture (0.05, 0.05, 0.1 mg ml–1, respectively) did not negatively influence cell replication; however, the antimycotic Fungizone™ (2.5 μg ml–1, amphotericin B) caused cell rounding and …

Analysis Of Fresh Water Resources At The Line Hole Well Field, San Salvador Island, The Bahamas, Scot Allan Russell Jr.

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A major economic constraint in the Bahamas, and other small carbonates islands world-wide, is the lack of fresh water resources. To combat these socio-economic problems on San Salvador Island I sought to gain a more detailed understanding of the extent, behavior, and controls on the island’s fresh-water lens. DC electrical resistivity tomography and time-series geochemical data are used to study the fresh water lens at the Line Hole well field. Electrical Resistivity profiles are used to image the extent of fresh water resources. Time-series geochemical data provide information on the behavior of the fresh water resources as a function of …

Geochemical And Mineralogical Evidence For Sahara And Sahel Dust Additions To Quaternary Soils On Lanzarote, Eastern Canary Islands, Spain, Daniel R. Muhs, James Budahn, Gary Skipp, Joseph M. Prospero, Deanna Patterson, E. Arthur Bettis Iii

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Africa is the most important source of dust in the world today, and dust storms are frequent on the nearby Canary Islands. Previous workers have inferred that the Sahara is the most important source of dust to Canary Islands soils, with little contribution from the Sahel region. Soils overlying a late Quaternary basalt flow on Lanzarote, Canary Islands, contain, in addition to volcanic minerals, quartz and mica, exotic to the island!s bedrock. Kaolinite in the soils also likely has an exotic origin. Trace-element geochemistry shows that the soils are derived from varying proportions of locally derived basalt and African dust. …

Development And Application Of A Pollen-Based Paleohydrologic Reconstruction From The Lower Roanoke River Basin, North Carolina, Usa, Debra Willard, Christopher Bernhardt, Roger Brown, Bryan Landacre, Philip A. Townsend

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We used pollen assemblages to reconstruct late-Holocene paleohydrologic patterns in floodplain deposits from the lower Roanoke River basin (North Carolina, southeastern USA). Using 120 surface samples from 38 transects, we documented statistical relationships between pollen assemblages, vegetation, and landforms. Backswamp pollen assemblages (long hydroperiods) are dominated by Nyssa (tupelo) and Taxodium (cypress) and have high pollen concentrations. Sediments from elevated levees and seasonally flooded forests (shorter hydroperiods) are characterized by dominant Pinus (pine) pollen, variable abundance of hardwood taxa, and low pollen concentrations. We apply the calibration data set to interpret past vegetation and paleohydrology. Pollen from a radiocarbon-dated sediment …

Absorption And Biotransformation Of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers De-71 And De-79 In Chicken (Gallus Gallus), Mallard (Anas Platyrhynchos), American Kestrel (Falco Sparverius) And Black-Crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax Nycticorax) Eggs, Moira A. Mckernan, Barnett A. Rattner, Jeff S. Hatfield, Robert C. Hale, Mary Ann Ottinger

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

We recently reported that air cell administration of penta-brominated diphenyl ether (penta-BDE; DE-71) evokes biochemical and immunologic effects in chicken (Gallus gallus) embryos at very low doses, and impairs pipping (i.e., stage immediately prior to hatching) and hatching success at 1.8 µg g^-1 egg (actual dose absorbed) in American kestrels (Falco sparverius). In the present study, absorption of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners was measured following air cell administration of a penta-BDE mixture (11.1 lg DE-71 g^-1 egg) or an octa-brominated diphenyl ether mixture (octa BDE; DE-79; 15.4 lg DE-79 g^{- …}

Development Of A Spectral 2-D Fast Fourier Transform Analysis For Sand Ripple Morphology Interpretation, Christopher M. Englert

Honors Theses

A MATLAB-based 2-Dimensional Fast Fourier Transform spectral analysis is developed and tested for its applicability to bedform morphology and hydrodynamic data from a hydrodynamically complex field site. The aspects of the procedure tested are (1) the use of an 8 sub-region arrangement for analysis versus five other arrangements, (2) the procedure for averaging the wavelength-and-orientation outputs from each sub-region to produce a single representative value for each image, (3) methods for eliminating and/or filtering poor quality data, and (4) the procedural steps in the spectral analysis that can appropriately incorporate automation versus manual involvement and interpretation. The automated technique is …

Causes Of Tropical Atlantic Paleo-Salinity Variation During Periods Of Reduced Amoc, Xiuquan Wan, Ping Chang, Matthew W. Schmidt

OES Faculty Publications

During periods of reduced Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) associated with a freshening of northern North Atlantic surface water, paleo proxy records indicate a corresponding surface salinity increase over the entire tropical Atlantic. Although latitudinal-shifts in the mean position of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) can explain certain features of the paleo salinity reconstructions, this mechanism does not offer an explanation for the reconstructed basin-wide paleo-salinity response to AMOC change. Here, we present new results from general circulation model simulations that suggest the sea surface salinity (SSS) increase in the tropical north Atlantic during periods of weakened AMOC is …

What Are The Causes, Consequences And Correctives Of Fish Contamination In The Detroit River Aoc That Cause Health Consumption Advisories? (Final Report, Michigan Sea Grant Michu-T-10-001), Donna R. Kashian, Ken G. Drouillard, D. Haffner, Ann E. Krause, Z Liu, Larissa Sano

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

Using an Integrated Assessment (IA) framework, we consolidated and utilized existing data from the Detroit River to develop models that both identify possible drivers of elevated fish contaminant body burdens, and to facilitate a more risk-based approach of tissue trigger-levels for consumption advisories. This integrated assessment approach was particularly useful for consumption advisories as it provided the ability to integrate and organize complex data in a manner that can help inform management decisions. In addition, the IA framework explicitly fosters collaboration and participation of multiple interested groups. We have capitalized on this component of IAs, by seeking the active participation …

Paleogeographic, Paleoceanographic, And Tectonic Controls On Early Late Ordovician Graptolite Diversity Patterns, Daniel Goldman, Shuang-Ye Wu

Department of Earth, Environment and Sustainability Faculty Publications

The Katian Age (early Late Ordovician) was a time of significant decline in marine biodiversity, but whether this decline was a real phenomenon or an artifact of the relatively few studies devoted to this interval requires further research. We examined the pattern of graptolite faunal changes across the boundary between the Climacograptus bicornis and Diplacanthograptus caudatus graptolite zones in North America and on several other continents.

A sharp decline in species diversity occurs in the Appalachian Basin. Scores for normalized diversity dropped from 20 in the C. bicornis Zone to 7 in the D. caudatus Zone. Only 11% of the …

Evidence For Recent Population Bottlenecks In Northern Spotted Owls (Strix Occidentalis Caurina), W. Chris Funk, Eric D. Forsman, Matthew Johnson, Thomas D. Mullins, Susan M. Haig

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) is one of the most controversial threatened subspecies ever listed under the US Endangered Species Act. Despite protection of its remaining forest habitat, recent field studies show continued declines of northern spotted owls. One potential threat to northern spotted owls which has not yet been shown is loss of genetic variation from population bottlenecks. Bottlenecks can increase the probability of mating among related individuals, potentially causing inbreeding depression, and can decrease adaptive potential. Here we report evidence for recent bottlenecks in northern spotted owls using a large genetic dataset (352 individuals …

Subspecies Status And Population Genetic Structure In Piping Plover (Charadrius Melodus), Mark P. Miller, Susan M. Haig, Cheri L. Gratto-Trevor, Thomas D. Mullins

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is a migratory shorebird that is listed as endangered in Canada and the U.S. Great Lakes and as threatened throughout the rest of its breeding and winter range. We undertook a comprehensive molecular-genetic investigation to (1) address subspecific taxonomy, (2) characterize population genetic structure, and (3) infer past bottlenecks and demographic processes in this species. Analyses included individuals from 23 U.S. states and Canadian provinces and were based on mitochondrial DNA sequences (580 base pairs, n = 245) and 8 nuclear microsatellite loci (n = 229). Our findings provide support for separate Atlantic and …

The Cleaning Of Burned And Contaminated Archaeological Maize Prior To 87sr/86sr Analysis, L.V. Benson, H. E. Taylor, T. I. Plowman, D. A. Roth, R. C. Antweiler

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Accurate trace-metal and strontium-isotope analyses of archaeological corn cobs require that metal contaminants be removed prior to chemical analysis. Archaeological cobs are often coated with construction debris, dust, or soilwhich contains mineral particles. In addition, most archaeological cobs are partially or completely burned and the burned parts incorporate mineral debris in their hardened residual structures. Unburned cobs are weak ion exchangers and most metals within a cob are not firmly bound to cob organic matter; therefore, immersing cobs in acids and rinsing them in deionized water to remove mineral contaminants may result in the undesirable loss of metals, including strontium, …

Tree-Ring Dates And Demographic Change In The Southern Colorado Plateau And Rio Grande Regions, Michael S. Berry, Larry Benson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

In this chapter, tree-ring dates from the southern Colorado Plateau, Mogollon Highlands, and Rio Grande areas (fig. 3-1) (hereafter referred to as the study area) are used to estimate regional-scale timber-harvesting and construction activities between AD 600 and 1600 (the Basketmaker III through Pueblo IV periods). Within that time span, we focus our attention particularly on the AD 1045-1300 period, a time when anomalously wet periods alternated with megadroughts (fig. 3.2). Treering- date distributions (histograms) for eight archaeological subregions within the study area have been created using a database of more than twenty-four thousand tree-ring dates from archaeological sites. These …

Barcoding Bushmeat: Molecular Identification Of Central African And South American Harvested Vertebrates, Mitchell J. Eaton, Greta J. Meyers, Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, Matthew S. Leslie, Andrew P. Martin, George Amato

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The creation and use of a globally available database of DNA sequences from a standardized gene region has been proposed as a tool for species identification, assessing genetic diversity and monitoring the legal and illegal trade in wildlife species. Here, we contribute to the Barcode of Life Data System and test whether a short region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) gene would reliably distinguish among a suite of commonly hunted African and South American mammal and reptile species. We used universal primers to generate reference barcode sequences of 645 bp for 23 species from five vertebrate …