Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16727
Knowing your limits: Estimating range boundaries and co-occurrence zones for two competing plethodontid salamanders Knowing your limits: Estimating range boundaries and co-occurrence zones for two competing plethodontid salamanders
Understanding threats to species persistence requires knowledge of where species currently occur. We explore methods for estimating two important facets of species distributions, namely where the range limit occurs and how species interactions structure distributions. Accurate understanding of range limits is crucial for predicting range dynamics and shifts in response to interspecific
Authors
S. M. Amburgey, D. A. W. Miller, Adrianne B. Brand, Andrea M. Dietrich, Evan H. Campbell Grant
Assessing water quality from highway runoff at selected sites in North Carolina with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) Assessing water quality from highway runoff at selected sites in North Carolina with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)
In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) entered into a cooperative agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to develop a North Carolina-enhanced variation of the national Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) with available North Carolina-specific streamflow and water-quality data and to demonstrate use of the model by documenting...
Authors
J. Curtis Weaver, Gregory E. Granato, Sharon A. Fitzgerald
Context matters: Using reinforcement learning to develop human-readable, state-dependent outbreak response policies Context matters: Using reinforcement learning to develop human-readable, state-dependent outbreak response policies
The number of all possible epidemics of a given infectious disease that could occur on a given landscape is large for systems of real-world complexity. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the control actions that are optimal, on average, over all possible epidemics are also best for each possible epidemic. Reinforcement learning (RL) has been used to develop machine-readable context...
Authors
William J. M. Probert, Sandya Lakkur, Christopher J Fonnesbeck, Katriona Shea, Michael C. Runge, Michael J. Tildesley, Matthew J. Ferrari
Effect of corolla slitting and nectar robbery by the Eastern Carpenter Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on fruit quality of Vaccinium corymbosum, L.; (Ericales: Ericaceae). Effect of corolla slitting and nectar robbery by the Eastern Carpenter Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) on fruit quality of Vaccinium corymbosum, L.; (Ericales: Ericaceae).
Eastern carpenter bees, Xylocopa virginica (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), are among the most abundant native bee visitors to highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L., flowers in the northeastern United States, and they sometimes display corolla-slitting behavior to rob nectar. We studied foraging behavior of X. virginica on 14 blueberry cultivars in an experimental planting in Rhode...
Authors
Sara K Tucker, Howard S. Ginsberg, Steven R. Alm
Relationships between regional coastal land cover distributions and elevation reveal data uncertainty in a sea-level rise impacts model Relationships between regional coastal land cover distributions and elevation reveal data uncertainty in a sea-level rise impacts model
Understanding land loss or resilience in response to sea-level rise (SLR) requires spatially extensive and continuous datasets to capture landscape variability. We investigate sensitivity and skill of a model that predicts dynamic response likelihood to SLR across the northeastern U.S. by exploring several data inputs and outcomes. Using elevation and land cover datasets, we determine...
Authors
Erika E. Lentz, Nathaniel G. Plant, E. Robert Thieler
Identifying common decision problem elements for the management of emerging fungal diseases of wildlife Identifying common decision problem elements for the management of emerging fungal diseases of wildlife
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of wildlife have characteristics that make them difficult to manage, leading to reactive and often ineffective management strategies. Currently, two fungal pathogens, Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), are causing declines in novel host species. To improve the application of management strategies addressing...
Authors
R. F. Bernard, Evan H. Campbell Grant
oSCR: A spatial capture–recapture R package for inference about spatial ecological processes oSCR: A spatial capture–recapture R package for inference about spatial ecological processes
Spatial capture–recapture (SCR) methods have become widely applied in ecology. The immediate adoption of SCR is due to the fact that it resolves some major criticisms of traditional capture–recapture methods related to heterogeneity in detectabililty, and the emergence of new technologies (e.g. camera traps, non‐invasive genetics) that have vastly improved our ability to collection...
Authors
Chris Sutherland, J. Andrew Royle, Dan Linden
Spatial integration of biological and social objectives to identify priority landscapes for waterfowl habitat conservation Spatial integration of biological and social objectives to identify priority landscapes for waterfowl habitat conservation
Waterfowl population management and habitat conservation compose one of the oldest and most successful adaptive management frameworks in the world. Since its inception, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) has emphasized strategically targeted conservation investments in regions that most affect waterfowl population dynamics. By 2012, regional conservation had...
Authors
Anastasia Krainyk, James E. Lyons, Michael G. Brasher, Dale D. Humburg, Greg J. Souilliere, John M. Coluccy, Mark J. Petrie, David W. Howerter, Stuart M. Slattery, Mindy B. Rice, Joe C. Fuller
Geology of the Cornwall Quadrangle, Virginia Geology of the Cornwall Quadrangle, Virginia
No abstract available.
Authors
Matthew J. Heller, Mark W. Carter, G.P. Wilkes, R.L. Coiner
Integrated modeling reveals shifts in waterfowl population dynamics under climate change Integrated modeling reveals shifts in waterfowl population dynamics under climate change
1. Climate change has been identified as one of the most important drivers of wildlife populations. The development of appropriate conservation strategies relies on reliable predictions of population responses to climate change, which require in-depth understanding of the complex relationships between climate and population dynamics through density dependent demographic processes...
Authors
Qing Zhao, Scott Boomer, Andy Royle
Remote sensing of river flow in Alaska—New technology to improve safety and expand coverage of USGS streamgaging Remote sensing of river flow in Alaska—New technology to improve safety and expand coverage of USGS streamgaging
The U.S. Geological Survey monitors water level (water surface elevation relative to an arbitrary datum) and measures streamflow in Alaska rivers to compute and compile river flow records for use by water resource planners, engineers, and land managers to design infrastructure, manage floodplains, and protect life, property, and aquatic resources. Alaska has over 800,000 miles of rivers...
Authors
Jeff Conaway, John R. Eggleston, Carl J. Legleiter, John Jones, Paul J. Kinzel, John W. Fulton
Xenon hydrate as an analogue of methane hydrate in geologic systems out of thermodynamic equilibrium Xenon hydrate as an analogue of methane hydrate in geologic systems out of thermodynamic equilibrium
Methane hydrate occurs naturally under pressure and temperature conditions that are not straightforward to replicate experimentally. Xenon has emerged as an attractive laboratory alternative to methane for studying hydrate formation and dissociation in multiphase systems, given that it forms hydrates under milder conditions. However, building reliable analogies between the two hydrates...
Authors
Xiaojing Fu, William F. Waite, Luis Cueto-Felgueroso, Ruben Juanes