Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16727
On the reliability of N‐mixture models for count data On the reliability of N‐mixture models for count data
N‐mixture models describe count data replicated in time and across sites in terms of abundance N and detectability p. They are popular because they allow inference about N while controlling for factors that influence p without the need for marking animals. Using a capture–recapture perspective, we show that the loss of information that results from not marking animals is critical, making...
Authors
Richard J. Barker, Matthew J. Schofield, William A. Link, John R. Sauer
Transient coastal landscapes: Rising sea level threatens salt marshes Transient coastal landscapes: Rising sea level threatens salt marshes
Salt marshes are important coastal environments that provide key ecological services. As sea level rise has accelerated globally, concerns about the ability of salt marshes to survive submergence are increasing. Previous estimates of likely survival of salt marshes were based on ratios of sea level rise to marsh platform accretion. Here we took advantage of an unusual, long-term (1979...
Authors
Ivan Valiela, Javier Lloret, Tynan Bowyer, Simon Miner, David P. Remsen, Elizabeth Elmstrom, Charlotte Cogswell, E. Robert Thieler
On the robustness of N‐mixture models On the robustness of N‐mixture models
N‐mixture models provide an appealing alternative to mark–recapture models, in that they allow for estimation of detection probability and population size from count data, without requiring that individual animals be identified. There is, however, a cost to using the N‐mixture models: inference is very sensitive to the model's assumptions. We consider the effects of three violations of...
Authors
William A. Link, Matthew R. Schofield, Richard J. Barker, John R. Sauer
Female hatchling American kestrels have a larger hippocampus than males: A link with sexual size dimorphism? Female hatchling American kestrels have a larger hippocampus than males: A link with sexual size dimorphism?
The brain and underlying cognition may vary adaptively according to an organism’s ecology. As with all raptor species, adult American kestrels (Falco sparverius) are sexually dimorphic with females being larger than males. Related to this sexual dimorphism, kestrels display sex differences in hunting and migration, with females ranging more widely than males, suggesting possible sex...
Authors
Melanie F. Guigueno, Natalie Karouna-Renier, Paula F. P. Henry, Jessica A. Head, Lisa E. Peters, Vince P. Palace, Robert J. Letcher, Kimberly J. Fernie
Shifts in the relationship between mRNA and protein abundance of gill ion-transporters during smolt development and seawater acclimation in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) Shifts in the relationship between mRNA and protein abundance of gill ion-transporters during smolt development and seawater acclimation in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
Smolting Atlantic salmon exhibit a seasonal increase in seawater tolerance that is associated with changes in the abundance of major gill ion-transporter transcripts and proteins. In the present study, we investigate how the transcript and protein abundance of specific ion-transporter isoforms relate to each other during smolt development and seawater acclimation, and how each correlates...
Authors
Arne K. Christensen, Amy M. Regish, Stephen D. McCormick
Environmental controls, emergent scaling, and predictions of greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in coastal salt marshes Environmental controls, emergent scaling, and predictions of greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in coastal salt marshes
Coastal salt marshes play an important role in mitigating global warming by removing atmospheric carbon at a high rate. We investigated the environmental controls and emergent scaling of major greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in coastal salt marshes by conducting data analytics and empirical modeling. The underlying hypothesis is that the salt...
Authors
Omar I. Abdul-Aziz, Khandker S. Ishitaq, Jianwu Tang, Serena Moseman-Valtierra, Kevin D. Kroeger, Meagan Gonneea Eagle, Jordan Mora, Kate Morkeski
The Santa Cruz Basin submarine landslide complex, southern California: Repeated failure of uplifted basin sediment The Santa Cruz Basin submarine landslide complex, southern California: Repeated failure of uplifted basin sediment
The Santa Cruz Basin (SCB) is one of several fault-bounded basins within the California Continental Borderland that has drawn interest over the years for its role in the tectonic evolution of the region, but also because it contains a record of a variety of modes of sedimentary mass transport (i.e., open slope vs. canyon-confined systems). Here, we present a suite of new high-resolution...
Authors
Daniel S. Brothers, Katherine L. Maier, Jared W. Kluesner, James E. Conrad, Jason Chaytor
Understanding and distinguishing reflectance measurements of solid bitumen and vitrinite using hydrous pyrolysis: Implications to petroleum assessment Understanding and distinguishing reflectance measurements of solid bitumen and vitrinite using hydrous pyrolysis: Implications to petroleum assessment
Solid bitumen is a common organic component of thermally mature shales and typically is identified by embayment against euhedral mineral terminations and by groundmass textures. However, because these textures are not always present, solid bitumen can be easily misidentified as vitrinite. Hydrous-pyrolysis experiments (72 hr, 300°C–360°C) on shale and coal samples show that solid-bitumen
Authors
Paul C. Hackley, Michael Lewan
An evaluation of the toxicity of potassium chloride, active compound in the molluscicide potash, on salmonid fish and their forage base An evaluation of the toxicity of potassium chloride, active compound in the molluscicide potash, on salmonid fish and their forage base
Potash, with the active ingredient potassium chloride (KCl) is a chemical that is currently being evaluated for potential use as a molluscicide to combat invasive zebra mussels and quagga mussels in Western United States waters. Although data available for other freshwater fishes indicate that recommended treatment levels of potash as a molluscicide are sublethal, this has not been...
Authors
Christine L. Densmore, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Anne P. Henderson, Vicki S. Blazer, Baileigh M. Reed-Grimmett, Lakyn R. Sanders