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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16727

Spatially explicit feedbacks between seagrass meadow structure, sediment and light: Habitat suitability for seagrass growth Spatially explicit feedbacks between seagrass meadow structure, sediment and light: Habitat suitability for seagrass growth

In shallow coastal bays where nutrient loading and riverine inputs are low, turbidity, and the consequent light environment are controlled by resuspension of bed sediments due to wind-waves and tidal currents. High sediment resuspension and low light environments can limit benthic primary productivity; however, both currents and waves are affected by the presence of benthic plants such...
Authors
Joel A. Carr, Paul D’Odorico, Karen McGlathery, Patricia L. Wiberg

A comparison of three macroinvertebrate sampling devices for use in conducting rapid-assessment procedures of Delmarva Peninsula wetlands A comparison of three macroinvertebrate sampling devices for use in conducting rapid-assessment procedures of Delmarva Peninsula wetlands

Three types of macroinvertebrate collecting devices, Gerking box traps, D-shaped sweep nets, and activity traps, have commonly been used to sample macroinvertebrates when conducting rapid biological assessments of North American wetlands. We compared collections of macroinvertebrates identified to the family level made with these devices in 6 constructed and 2 natural wetlands on the...
Authors
T. Peter Lowe, Kerry Tebbs, Donald W. Sparling

Diadophis Puntatus Puntatus (Southern Ring-neck Snake) Predation Diadophis Puntatus Puntatus (Southern Ring-neck Snake) Predation

DIADOPHIS PUNCTATUS PUNCTATUS (Southern Ring-necked Snake). PREDATION. Here I present the first record of Buteo lineatus (Red-shouldered Hawk) predator on a Diadophis p. punctatus. At ca. 1100h on l2 February2 013,I observed a B. lineatus eating a katydid in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (26.2730'N, 81.6079"W;WGS 84), Collier Co., Florida, USA. The hawk was in a Pond Cypress tree on the edge...
Authors
Steve W. Gotte

Estimation of upstream water use with Ohio’s StreamStats application Estimation of upstream water use with Ohio’s StreamStats application

This report describes the analytical methods and results of a pilot study to enhance the Ohio StreamStats application by adding the ability to obtain water-use information for selected areas in the northeast quadrant of Ohio. Water-use estimates are determined in StreamStats through a simple multistep process. Water-use data used to develop the Ohio StreamStats water-use application were...
Authors
G. F. Koltun, Mark R. Nardi, Kimberly H. Shaffer

Spatial modeling of wild bird risk factors to investigate highly pathogenic A(H5N1) avian influenza virus transmission Spatial modeling of wild bird risk factors to investigate highly pathogenic A(H5N1) avian influenza virus transmission

One of the longest-persisting avian influenza viruses in history, highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) A(H5N1), continues to evolve after 18 years, advancing the threat of a global pandemic. Wild waterfowl (family Anatidae), are reported as secondary transmitters of HPAIV, and primary reservoirs for low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses, yet spatial inputs for disease risk...
Authors
Diann J. Prosser, Laura L. Hungerford, R. Michael Erwin, Mary Ann Ottinger, John Y. Takekawa, Scott H. Newman, Xianming Xiao, Erie C. Ellis

Object-based forest classification to facilitate landscape-scale conservation in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley Object-based forest classification to facilitate landscape-scale conservation in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley

The Mississippi Alluvial Valley is a floodplain along the southern extent of the Mississippi River extending from southern Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico. This area once encompassed nearly 10 million ha of floodplain forests, most of which has been converted to agriculture over the past two centuries. Conservation programs in this region revolve around protection of existing forest and
Authors
Michael Mitchell, R. Randy Wilson, Daniel J. Twedt, Anne Mini, J. Dale James

Resetting the bar: Establishing baselines for persistent contaminants after Hurricane Sandy in the coastal environments of New Jersey and New York, USA Resetting the bar: Establishing baselines for persistent contaminants after Hurricane Sandy in the coastal environments of New Jersey and New York, USA

In the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, public health officials and other first responders engage in many activities to protect the public and ecosystems in the affected area. These activities include critical tasks designed to minimize adverse consequences resulting from chemical and microbial contaminant exposures, such as acute disease incidence and transmission. However...
Authors
Timothy J. Reilly, Michael J. Focazio, Dale L. Simmons

Effect of phenology on agonistic competitive interactions between invasive and native sheet-web spiders Effect of phenology on agonistic competitive interactions between invasive and native sheet-web spiders

The phenologies of introduced relative to native species can greatly influence the degree and symmetry of competition between them. The European spider Linyphia triangularis (Clerck, 1757) (Linyphiidae) reaches very high densities in coastal Maine (USA). Previous studies suggest thatL. triangularis negatively affects native linyphiid species, with competition for webs as one mechanism...
Authors
Jeremy D. Houser, Adam H. Porter, Howard S. Ginsberg, Elizabeth M. Jakob

Catalog of type specimens of recent mammals: Orders Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla, and Cetacea in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution Catalog of type specimens of recent mammals: Orders Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla, and Cetacea in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

The type collection of Recent mammals in the Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, contains 612 specimens bearing names of 604 species-group taxa of Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla, and Cetacea as of May 2016. This catalog presents an annotated list of these holdings comprising 582 holotypes; 16 lectotypes, two of which are newly...
Authors
Robert D. Fisher, Craig A. Ludwig

A new specimen of Agorophius pygmaeus (Agorophiidae, Odontoceti, Cetacea) from the Early Oligocene Ashley Formation of South Carolina, USA A new specimen of Agorophius pygmaeus (Agorophiidae, Odontoceti, Cetacea) from the Early Oligocene Ashley Formation of South Carolina, USA

The holotype partial skull of Agorophius pygmaeus (the monotypic form for both the genus Agorophius and the Family Agorophiidae) has been missing for approximately 140 years. Since the discovery of Agorophius pygmaeus, many additional taxa and specimens have been placed in the Family Agorophiidae, only to be reclassified and removed later. This has created confusion as to what is and...
Authors
Stephen J. Godfrey, Mark D. Uhen, Jason E. Osborne, Lucy E. Edwards

United States copper metal and scrap use and trade patterns, 1995‒2014 United States copper metal and scrap use and trade patterns, 1995‒2014

In 1995, China accounted for 10 percent of world copper consumption. By 2014, China accounted for about 49 percent of world copper consumption. This change has affected global copper and copper scrap prices, the sources of copper supply, and U.S. trade of copper-containing materials. This report considers changes to the copper and copper scrap industries of the United States. For the...
Authors
Thomas G. Goonan

Estimating species – area relationships by modeling abundance and frequency subject to incomplete sampling Estimating species – area relationships by modeling abundance and frequency subject to incomplete sampling

Models and data used to describe species–area relationships confound sampling with ecological process as they fail to acknowledge that estimates of species richness arise due to sampling. This compromises our ability to make ecological inferences from and about species–area relationships. We develop and illustrate hierarchical community models of abundance and frequency to estimate...
Authors
Yuichi Yamaura, Edward F. Connor, Andy Royle, Katsuo Itoh, Kiyoshi Sato, Hisatomo Taki, Yoshio Mishima
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