Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16904
The 2003-2008 summary of the North American Breeding Bird Survey The 2003-2008 summary of the North American Breeding Bird Survey
Data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey were used to estimate continental and regional changes in bird populations for the 6-yr period 2003-2008 and the 2-yr period 2007-2008. These short-term changes were placed in the context of population trends estimated over the 1966-2008 interval. Across the entire survey area, a higher proportion of species exhibited positive growth...
Authors
David J. Ziolkowski, Keith L. Pardieck, John R. Sauer
Spatially explicit inference for open populations: Estimating demographic parameters from camera-trap studies Spatially explicit inference for open populations: Estimating demographic parameters from camera-trap studies
We develop a hierarchical capture–recapture model for demographically open populations when auxiliary spatial information about location of capture is obtained. Such spatial capture–recapture data arise from studies based on camera trapping, DNA sampling, and other situations in which a spatial array of devices records encounters of unique individuals. We integrate an individual‐based...
Authors
Beth Gardner, Juan Reppucci, Mauro Lucherini, J. Andrew Royle
Reproduction in mallards exposed to dietary concentrations of methylmercury Reproduction in mallards exposed to dietary concentrations of methylmercury
The purpose of this experiment was to use mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) tested under controlled conditions to determine how much harm to reproduction resulted from various concentrations of mercury in eggs. Breeding pairs of mallards were fed a control diet or diets containing 1, 2, 4, or 8 μg/g mercury, as methylmercury chloride. Mean concentrations of mercury in eggs laid by parents...
Authors
Gary Heinz, David J. Hoffman, Jon D. Klimstra, Katherine R. Stebbins
The impact of conservation on the status of the world's vertebrates The impact of conservation on the status of the world's vertebrates
Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world's vertebrates. One-fifth of species are classified as Threatened, and we show that this figure is increasing: On average, 52 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians move one category closer to extinction each year. However, this...
Authors
Michael Hoffmann, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Ariadne Angulo, Monika Bohm, Thomas M. Brooks, Stuart H.M. Butchart, Kent E. Carpenter, Janice Chanson, Ben Collen, Neil A. Cox, William R.T. Darwall, Nicholas K. Dulvy, Lucy R. Harrison, Vineet Katariya, Caroline M. Pollock, Suhel Quader, Nadia I. Richman, Ana S.L. Rodrigues, Marcelo F. Tognelli, Jean-Christophe Vie, John M. Aguiar, David J. Allen, Gerald R. Allen, Giovanni Amori, Natalia B. Ananjeva, Franco Androene, Paul Andrew, Aida Luz Aquino Ortiz, Jonathan E.M. Baillie, Ricardo Baldi, Ben D. Bell, S.D. Biju, Jeremy P. Bird, Patricia Black-Decima, J. Julian Blanc, Federico Bolanos, Wilmar Bolivar-G., Ian J. Burfield, James A. Burton, David R. Capper, Fernando Castro, Gianluca Catullo, Rachel D. Cavanagh, Alan Channing, Ning Labbish Chao, Anna M. Chenery, Federica Chiozza, Viola Clausnitzer, Nigel J. Collar, Leah C. Collett, Bruce B. Collette, Claudia F. Cortez Fernandez, Matthew T. Craig, Michael J. Crosby, Neil Cumberlidge, Annabelle Cuttelod, Andrew E. Derocher, Arvin C. Diesmos, John S. Donaldson, J.W. Duckworth, Guy Dutson, S.K. Dutta, Richard H. Emslie, Aljos Farjon, Sarah Fowler, Jorg Freyhof, David L. Garshelis, Justin Gerlach, David J. Gower, Tandora D. Grant, Geoffrey A. Hammerson, Richard B. Harris, Lawrence R. Heaney, S. Blair Hedges, Jean-Marc Hero, Baz Hughes, Syed Ainul Hussain, Javier M. Icochea, Robert F. Inger, Nobuo Ishii, Djoko T. Iskandar, Richard K.B. Jenkins, Yoshio Kaneko, Maurice Kottelat, Kit M. Kovacs, Sergius L. Kuzmin, Enrique La Marca, John F. Lamoreux, Michael W.N. Lau, Esteban O. Lavilla, Kristin Leus, Rebecca L. Lewison, Gabriela Lichtenstein, Suzanne R. Livingstone, Vimoksolehi Lukoschek, David P. Mallon, Philip J.K. McGowan, Anna McIvor, Patricia D. Moehlman, Sanjay Molur, Antonio Munoz Alonso, John A. Musick, Kristin Nowell, Ronald A. Nussbaum, Wanda Olech, Nikolay L. Orlov, Theodore J. Papenfuss, Gabriela Parra-Olea, William F. Perrin, Beth A. Polidoro, Mohammad Pourkazemi, Paul A. Racey, James S. Ragle, Mala Ram, Galen Rathbun, Robert P. Reynolds, Anders G.J. Rhodin, Stephen J. Richards, Lily O. Rodriguez, Santiago R. Ron, Carlo Rondinini, Anthony B. Rylands, Yvonne Sadovy de Mitcheson, Jonnell C. Sanciangco, Kate L. Sanders, Georgina Santos-Barrera, Jan Schipper, Caryn Self-Sullivan, Yichuan Shi, Alan Shoemaker, Frederick T. Short, Claudio Sillero-Zubiri, Debora L. Silvano, Kevin G. Smith, Andrew T. Smith, Jos Snoeks, Alison J. Stattersfield, Andrew J. Symes, Andrew B. Taber, Bibhab K. Talukdar, Helen J. Temple, Rob Timmins, Joseph A. Tobias, Katerina Tsytsulina, Denis Tweddle, Carmen Ubeda, Sarah V. Valenti, Peter Paul van Dijk, Liza M. Veiga, Alberto Veloso, David C. Wege, Mark Wilkinson, Elizabeth A. Williamson, Feng Xie, Bruce E. Young, H. Resit Akcakaya, Leon Bennun, Tim M. Blackburn, Luigi Boitani, Holly T. Dublin, Gustavo A. B. da Fonseca, Claude Gascon, Thomas E. Lacher, Georgina M. Mace, Susan A. Mainka, Jeffery A. McNeely, Russell A. Mittermeier, Gordon McGregor Reid, Jon Paul Rodriguez, Andrew A. Rosenberg, Michael J. Samways, Jane Smart, Bruce A. Stein, Simon N. Stuart
Climate change, sea-level rise, and coastal wetlands Climate change, sea-level rise, and coastal wetlands
No abstract available.
Authors
Donald R. Cahoon, G.R. Guntenspergen
Mineralogy and the release of trace elements from slag from the Hegeler Zinc smelter, Illinois (USA) Mineralogy and the release of trace elements from slag from the Hegeler Zinc smelter, Illinois (USA)
Slag from the former Hegeler Zn-smelting facility in Illinois (USA) is mainly composed of spinifex Ca-rich plagioclase, fine-grained dendritic or coarse-grained subhedral to anhedral clinopyroxenes, euhedral to subhedral spinels, spherical blebs of Fe sulfides, silicate glass, and less commonly fayalitic olivine. Mullite and quartz were also identified in one sample as representing...
Authors
Nadine M. Piatak, Robert R. Seal
Serving ocean model data on the cloud Serving ocean model data on the cloud
The NOAA-led Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and the NSF-funded Ocean Observatories Initiative Cyberinfrastructure Project (OOI-CI) are collaborating on a prototype data delivery system for numerical model output and other gridded data using cloud computing. The strategy is to take an existing distributed system for delivering gridded data and redeploy on the cloud, making...
Authors
Michael Meisinger, Claudiu Farcas, Emilia Farcas, Charles Alexander, Matthew Arrott, Jeff de La Beaujardiere, Paul Hubbard, Roy Mendelssohn, Richard P. Signell
Meteoric 10Be in soil profiles - A global meta-analysis Meteoric 10Be in soil profiles - A global meta-analysis
In order to assess current understanding of meteoric 10Be dynamics and distribution in terrestrial soils, we assembled a database of all published meteoric 10Be soil depth profiles, including 104 profiles from 27 studies in globally diverse locations, collectively containing 679 individual measurements. This allows for the systematic comparison of meteoric 10Be concentration to other...
Authors
Joseph A. Graly, Paul R. Bierman, Lucas J. Reusser, Milan J. Pavich
Intraperitoneal injections as a possible means of generating varied levels of methylmercury in the eggs of birds in field studies Intraperitoneal injections as a possible means of generating varied levels of methylmercury in the eggs of birds in field studies
The ideal study of the effects of methylmercury on the reproductive success of a species of bird would be one in which eggs contained mercury concentrations ranging from controls to very heavily contaminated, all at the same site. Such a study cannot be realized at a mercury contaminated area or under laboratory conditions, but could be achieved by introducing methylmercury into breeding...
Authors
Gary Heinz, David J. Hoffman, Jon D. Klimstra, Katherine R. Stebbins
Mineral resource of the month: sulfur Mineral resource of the month: sulfur
The article presents information on sulfur. Sulfur is said to be among the few solid elements found in elemental form in nature and has industrial uses. Changes in the sulfur production process over the years are discussed as well as the mining process developed by German engineer Herman Frasch that involves melting the sulfur underground and pumping it to the surface.
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral resource of the month: platinum group metals Mineral resource of the month: platinum group metals
The article focuses on platinum group metals (PGMs) and their properties. According to the author, PGMs, which include iridium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium, are among the rarest mineral commodities in the Earth's crust. PGMs are primarily used as catalytic converters that clean harmful exhaust from vehicle engines. They are also used in the chemical industry as...
Authors
Patricia J. Loferski
Magnesium compounds Magnesium compounds
Seawater and natural brines accounted for about 40 percent of U.S. magnesium compounds production in 2009. Dead-burned magnesia was produced by Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties from well brines in Michigan. Caustic-calcined magnesia was recovered from seawater by Premier Chemicals in Florida, from well brines in Michigan by Martin Marietta and from magnesite in Nevada by Premier...
Authors
D.A. Kramer