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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16731

Evaluating a multispecies adaptive management framework: Must uncertainty impede effective decision-making? Evaluating a multispecies adaptive management framework: Must uncertainty impede effective decision-making?

Application of adaptive management to complex natural resource systems requires careful evaluation to ensure that the process leads to improved decision-making. As part of that evaluation, adaptive policies can be compared with alternative nonadaptive management scenarios. Also, the value of reducing structural (ecological) uncertainty to achieving management objectives can be quantified...
Authors
David R. Smith, Conor P. McGowan, Jonathan P. Daily, James D. Nichols, John A. Sweka, James E. Lyons

Sediment transport due to extreme events: The Hudson River estuary after tropical storms Irene and Lee Sediment transport due to extreme events: The Hudson River estuary after tropical storms Irene and Lee

Tropical Storms Irene and Lee in 2011 produced intense precipitation and flooding in the U.S. Northeast, including the Hudson River watershed. Sediment input to the Hudson River was approximately 2.7 megaton, about 5 times the long-term annual average. Rather than the common assumption that sediment is predominantly trapped in the estuary, observations and model results indicate that
Authors
David K. Ralston, John C. Warner, W. Rockwell Geyer, Gary R. Wall

Smolt physiology and endocrinology Smolt physiology and endocrinology

Hormones play a critical role in maintaining body fluid balance in euryhaline fishes during changes in environmental salinity. The neuroendocrine axis senses osmotic and ionic changes, then signals and coordinates tissue-specific responses to regulate water and ion fluxes. Rapid-acting hormones, e.g. angiotensins, cope with immediate challenges by controlling drinking rate and the...
Authors
Stephen D. McCormick

Hormonal control of euryhalinity Hormonal control of euryhalinity

Hormones play a critical role in maintaining body fluid balance in euryhaline fishes during changes in environmental salinity. The neuroendocrine axis senses osmotic and ionic changes, then signals and coordinates tissue-specific responses to regulate water and ion fluxes. Rapid-acting hormones, e.g. angiotensins, cope with immediate challenges by controlling drinking rate and the...
Authors
Yoshio Takei, Stephen D. McCormick

Hurricane Irene and associated floods of August 27-30, 2011, in New Jersey Hurricane Irene and associated floods of August 27-30, 2011, in New Jersey

Intense rainfall from Hurricane Irene during August 27–30, 2011, inundated streams throughout New Jersey resulting in peak streamflows exceeding the 100-year recurrence interval at many streamgages and causing heavy property and road damage. The rain event affected the entire State. Some notably affected areas were the Passaic and Hackensack River Basins in northeastern New Jersey with...
Authors
Kara M. Watson, Jerilyn V. Collenburg, Robert G. Reiser

Geologic framework of the northern North Carolina, USA inner continental shelf and its influence on coastal evolution Geologic framework of the northern North Carolina, USA inner continental shelf and its influence on coastal evolution

The inner continental shelf off the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina was mapped using sidescan sonar, interferometric swath bathymetry, and high-resolution chirp and boomer subbottom profiling systems. We use this information to describe the shallow stratigraphy, reinterpret formation mechanisms of some shoal features, evaluate local relative sea-levels during the Late Pleistocene...
Authors
E. Robert Thieler, David S. Foster, Emily A. Himmelstoss, David J. Mallinson

Avian response to conservation buffers in agricultural landscapes during winter Avian response to conservation buffers in agricultural landscapes during winter

Native herbaceous vegetation cover along row‐crop field edges (i.e., field buffers) increases breeding densities of many bird species. However, the effect of field buffers on bird species during the non‐breeding season is less understood. We compared density, avian richness, and avian conservation value on row‐crop fields containing buffers strategically designed for wildlife versus...
Authors
Kristine O. Evans, L. Wes Burger, Samuel K. Riffell, Mark D. Smith, Daniel J. Twedt, R. Randy Wilson, Shawchyi Vorisek, Catherine Rideout, Kate Heyden

Geohydrologic and water-quality characterization of a fractured-bedrock test hole in an area of Marcellus shale gas development, Bradford County, Pennsylvania Geohydrologic and water-quality characterization of a fractured-bedrock test hole in an area of Marcellus shale gas development, Bradford County, Pennsylvania

Open-File Miscellaneous Investigation 13–01.1 presents the results of geohydrologic investigations on a 1,664-foot-deep core hole drilled in the Bradford County part of the Gleason 7.5-minute quadrangle in north-central Pennsylvania. In the text, the authors discuss their methods of investigation, summarize physical and analytical results, and place those results in context. Four...
Authors
Dennis W. Risser, John Williams, Kristen L. Hand, Rose-Anna Behr, Antonette K. Markowski

Mass-balance modeling of mineral weathering rates and CO2 consumption in the forested, metabasaltic Hauver Branch watershed, Catoctin Mountain, Maryland, USA Mass-balance modeling of mineral weathering rates and CO2 consumption in the forested, metabasaltic Hauver Branch watershed, Catoctin Mountain, Maryland, USA

Mineral weathering rates and a forest macronutrient uptake stoichiometry were determined for the forested, metabasaltic Hauver Branch watershed in north-central Maryland, USA. Previous studies of Hauver Branch have had an insufficient number of analytes to permit determination of rates of all the minerals involved in chemical weathering, including biomass. More equations in the mass...
Authors
Karen C. Rice, Jason R. Price, David W. Szymanski

Geomorphic characterization of four shelf-sourced submarine canyons along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic continental margin Geomorphic characterization of four shelf-sourced submarine canyons along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic continental margin

Shelf-sourced submarine canyons are common features of continental margins and are fundamental to deep-sea sedimentary systems. Despite their geomorphic and geologic significance, relatively few passive margin shelf-breaching canyons worldwide have been mapped using modern geophysical methods. Between 2007 and 2012 a series of geophysical surveys was conducted across four major canyons...
Authors
Jeffrey Obelcz, Daniel S. Brothers, Jason D. Chaytor, Uri S. ten Brink, Steve W. Ross, Sandra Brooke
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