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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16731

Estimated quantity of water in fractured bedrock units on Mt. Desert Island, and estimated ground-water use, recharge, and dilution of nitrogen in septic waste in the Bar Harbor area, Maine Estimated quantity of water in fractured bedrock units on Mt. Desert Island, and estimated ground-water use, recharge, and dilution of nitrogen in septic waste in the Bar Harbor area, Maine

In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the town of Bar Harbor, Maine, and the National Park Service, conducted a study to assess the quantity of water in the bedrock units underlying Mt. Desert Island, and to estimate water use, recharge, and dilution of nutrients from domestic septic systems overlying the bedrock units in several watersheds in rural Bar Harbor. Water...
Authors
Martha G. Nielsen

Test for age-specificity in survival of the common tern Test for age-specificity in survival of the common tern

Much effort in life-history theory has been addressed to the dependence of life-history traits on age, especially the phenomenon of senescence and its evolution. Although senescent declines in survival are well documented in humans and in domestic and laboratory animals, evidence for their occurrence and importance in wild animal species remains limited and equivocal. Several recent...
Authors
I.C.T. Nisbet, E. Cam

Effects of herring gulls and great black-backed gulls on breeding piping plovers, South Monomoy Island, Massachusetts. Final Report Effects of herring gulls and great black-backed gulls on breeding piping plovers, South Monomoy Island, Massachusetts. Final Report

The large population of breeding herring gulls and great black-backed gulls on South Monomoy Island, Cape Cod, Massachusetts has been thought to negatively affect the breeding success of the threatened piping plover. Following the Piping Plover Recovery Plan's call for gull colonies to be removed from piping plover breeding sites, in 1996, the USFWS conducted gull removal on part of...
Authors
S. E. Keane, J.D. Fraser, P. A. Buckley

Final report: Initial ecosystem response of salt marshes to ditch plugging and pool creation: Experiments at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge (Maine) Final report: Initial ecosystem response of salt marshes to ditch plugging and pool creation: Experiments at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge (Maine)

This study evaluates the response of three salt marshes, associated with the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge (Maine), to the practice of ditch plugging. Drainage ditches, originally dug to drain the marsh for mosquito control or to facilitate salt hay farming, are plugged with marsh peat in an effort to impound water upstream of the plug, raise water table levels in the marsh, and...
Authors
S.C. Adamowicz, C. T. Roman

Exposure of free-flying birds to anticholinesterase insecticides in two conventionally managed fruit orchards Exposure of free-flying birds to anticholinesterase insecticides in two conventionally managed fruit orchards

Conventionally managed orchards receive extensive applications of anticholinesterase (anti-ChE) insecticides throughout the growing season. Because many avian species make use of these environments for nesting and foraging, they may receive substantial exposure to anti-ChEs. The model used to assess avian risk in these environments is highly simplified, and indicator species used in risk...
Authors
S.L. Borges

Investigations of potential bias in the estimation of lambda using Pradel's (1996) model for capture-recapture data Investigations of potential bias in the estimation of lambda using Pradel's (1996) model for capture-recapture data

Pradel's (1996) temporal symmetry model permitting direct estimation and modelling of population growth rate, u i , provides a potentially useful tool for the study of population dynamics using marked animals. Because of its recent publication date, the approach has not seen much use, and there have been virtually no investigations directed at robustness of the resulting estimators. Here...
Authors
James E. Hines, James D. Nichols

Ancient impact structures on modern continental shelves: The Chesapeake Bay, Montagnais, and Toms Canyon craters, Atlantic margin of North America Ancient impact structures on modern continental shelves: The Chesapeake Bay, Montagnais, and Toms Canyon craters, Atlantic margin of North America

Three ancient impact craters (Chesapeake Bay - 35.7 Ma; Toms Canyon - 35.7 Ma; Montagnais - 51 Ma) and one multiring impact basin (Chicxulub - 65 Ma) are currently known to be buried beneath modern continental shelves. All occur on the passive Atlantic margin of North America in regions extensively explored by seismic reflection surveys in the search for oil and gas reserves. We limit...
Authors
C. Wylie Poag, J. B. Plescia, P.C. Molzer

Consistency of patterns in concentration‐discharge plots Consistency of patterns in concentration‐discharge plots

Concentration‐discharge (c‐Q) plots have been used to infer how flow components such as event water, soil water, and groundwater mix to produce the observed episodic hydrochemical response of small catchments. Because c‐Q plots are based only on observed streamflow and solute concentration, their interpretation requires assumptions about the relative volume, hydrograph timing, and solute
Authors
Jeffrey G. Chanat, Karen C. Rice, George M. Hornberger

Effects of tidal current phase at the junction of two straits Effects of tidal current phase at the junction of two straits

Estuaries typically have a monotonic increase in salinity from freshwater at the head of the estuary to ocean water at the mouth, creating a consistent direction for the longitudinal baroclinic pressure gradient. However, Mare Island Strait in San Francisco Bay has a local salinity minimum created by the phasing of the currents at the junction of Mare Island and Carquinez Straits. The...
Authors
John C. Warner, David H. Schoellhamer, Jon Burau, Geoffrey Schladow

Environmentalism and natural aggregate mining Environmentalism and natural aggregate mining

Sustaining a developed economy and expanding a developing one require the use of large volumes of natural aggregate. Almost all human activity (commercial, recreational, or leisure) is transacted in or on facilities constructed from natural aggregate. In our urban and suburban worlds, we are almost totally dependent on supplies of water collected behind dams and transported through...
Authors
Lawrence J. Drew, William H. Langer, Janet Somerville Sachs

Effects of an advanced temperature cycle on smolt development and endocrinology indicate that temperature is not a zeitgeber for smolting in Atlantic salmon Effects of an advanced temperature cycle on smolt development and endocrinology indicate that temperature is not a zeitgeber for smolting in Atlantic salmon

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) juveniles were reared under simulated conditions of normal photoperiod (LDN) or short days (LD 9:15) and ambient temperature (AMB: normal temperature increases in April) or an advanced temperature cycle (ADV: temperature increases in February). Under both photoperiod conditions, the timing of increased and peak levels of gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity were not...
Authors
S. D. McCormick, J. M. Shrimpton, S. Moriyama, Bjorn Thrandur Bjornsson
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