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Publications

These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.

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The role of backbarrier infilling in the formation of barrier island systems The role of backbarrier infilling in the formation of barrier island systems

Barrier islands develop through a variety of processes, including spit accretion, barrier elongation, and inlet filling. New geophysical and sedimentological data provide a means of documenting the presence of a paleoinlet within a barrier lithosome in the western Gulf of Maine, illuminating the process of backbarrier infilling and its effect on barrier and tidal inlet morphodynamics...
Authors
Christopher J. Hein, Duncan M. FitzGerald, Emily A. Carruthers, Byron D. Stone, Allen M. Gontz

Far from superficial: microbial diversity associated with the skin and mucus of fish Far from superficial: microbial diversity associated with the skin and mucus of fish

During horizontal or water-borne infection involving an obligate pathogen (e.g. – Aeromonas salmonicida, cause of furunculosis), the pathogen interacted with and influenced the microbial diversity of the dermal mucus of fish. Prior to infection, the prevalent bacterial flora cultured from juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) included Pseudomonas fluorescens, Comomonas terrigenia...
Authors
Rocco C. Cipriano, Alistair Dove

Surficial geology and benthic habitat of the German Bank seabed, Scotian Shelf, Canada Surficial geology and benthic habitat of the German Bank seabed, Scotian Shelf, Canada

To provide the scientific context for management of a newly opened scallop fishing ground, surficial geology and benthic habitats were mapped on German Bank on the southern Scotian Shelf off Atlantic Canada. To provide a seamless regional dataset, multibeam sonar surveys covered 5320 sqaure kilometres of the bank in water depths of 30–250 m and provided 5 m horizontal resolution...
Authors
Brian J. Todd, Vladimir E. Kostylev

Methane hydrate-bearing seeps as a source of aged dissolved organic carbon to the oceans Methane hydrate-bearing seeps as a source of aged dissolved organic carbon to the oceans

Marine sediments contain about 500–10,000 Gt of methane carbon1, 2, 3, primarily in gas hydrate. This reservoir is comparable in size to the amount of organic carbon in land biota, terrestrial soils, the atmosphere and sea water combined1, 4, but it releases relatively little methane to the ocean and atmosphere5. Sedimentary microbes convert most of the dissolved methane to carbon...
Authors
John W. Pohlman, William F. Waite, James E. Bauer, Christopher L. Osburn, N. Ross Chapman

2011 statistical abstract of the United States 2011 statistical abstract of the United States

The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published since 1878, is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Use the Abstract as a convenient volume for statistical reference, and as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web. Sources of data include the Census Bureau...
Authors
Joseph M. Krisanda

Testing founder effect speciation: Divergence population genetics of the Spoonbills Platalea regia and Pl. minor (Threskiornithidae, Aves) Testing founder effect speciation: Divergence population genetics of the Spoonbills Platalea regia and Pl. minor (Threskiornithidae, Aves)

Although founder effect speciation has been a popular theoretical model for the speciation of geographically isolated taxa, its empirical importance has remained difficult to evaluate due to the intractability of past demography, which in a founder effect speciation scenario would involve a speciational bottleneck in the emergent species and the complete cessation of gene flow following...
Authors
Carol K.L. Yeung, Pi-Wen Tsai, R. Terry Chesser, Rong-Chien Lin, Cheng-Te Yao, Xiu-Hua Tian, Shou-Hsien Li

Spatial capture-recapture models for search-encounter data Spatial capture-recapture models for search-encounter data

1. Spatial capture–recapture models make use of auxiliary data on capture location to provide density estimates for animal populations. Previously, models have been developed primarily for fixed trap arrays which define the observable locations of individuals by a set of discrete points. 2. Here, we develop a class of models for 'search-encounter' data, i.e. for detections of...
Authors
J. Andrew Royle, Marc Kery, Jerome Guelat

Patterns of morphological variation amongst semifossorial shrews in the highlands of Guatemala, with the description of a new species (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Soricidae) Patterns of morphological variation amongst semifossorial shrews in the highlands of Guatemala, with the description of a new species (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Soricidae)

Members of the Cryptotis goldmani group of small-eared shrews (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Soricidae) represent a clade within the genus that is characterized by modifications of the forelimb that include broadened forefeet, elongated and broadened foreclaws, and massive humeri with enlarged processes. These modifications are consistent with greater adaptation to their semifossorial habits...
Authors
Neal Woodman

Teratogenic efects of injected methylmercury on avian embryos Teratogenic efects of injected methylmercury on avian embryos

Controlled laboratory studies with game farm mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and chickens (Gallus gallus) have demonstrated that methylmercury can cause teratogenic effects in birds, but studies with wild species of birds are lacking. To address this need, doses of methylmercury chloride were injected into the eggs of 25 species of birds, and the dead embryos and hatched chicks were...
Authors
Gary Heinz, David J. Hoffman, Jon D. Klimstra, Katherine R. Stebbins, Shannon L. Kondrad, Carol A. Erwin

Factors influencing riverine fish assemblages in Massachusetts Factors influencing riverine fish assemblages in Massachusetts

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, conducted an investigation of fish assemblages in small- to medium-sized Massachusetts streams. The objective of this study was to determine relations between fish-assemblage
Authors
David S. Armstrong, Todd A. Richards, Sara B. Levin

Estimated hydrologic budgets of kettle-hole ponds in coastal aquifers of southeastern Massachusetts Estimated hydrologic budgets of kettle-hole ponds in coastal aquifers of southeastern Massachusetts

Kettle-hole ponds in southeastern Massachusetts are in good hydraulic connection to an extensive coastal aquifer system that includes the Plymouth-Carver aquifer system on the mainland and aquifers underlying Cape Cod. The ponds receive water from, and contribute water to, the underlying glacial aquifer; ponds also receive water from precipitation and lose water to evaporation from the...
Authors
Donald A. Walter, John P. Masterson
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