Publications

From 1930 to 1995, the Upper Columbia River (UCR) of northeast Washington State received approximately 12 million metric tons of smelter slag and associated effluents from a large smelter facility located in Trail, British Columbia, approximately 10 km north of the United States–Canadian border. Studies conducted during the past two decades have demonstrated the presence of toxic...

The Mekong River in Southeast Asia travels through a basin rich in natural resources. The river originates on the northern slope of the world's tallest mountains, the Himalaya Range, and then drops elevation quickly through steep mountain gorges, tumbling out of China into Myanmar (Burma) and the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). The precipitous terrain of Lao PDR and Thailand...

The production water from coalbed natural gas (CBNG) extraction contains many constituents. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established aquatic life criteria for some of these constituents, and it is therefore possible to evaluate their risk to aquatic life. However, of the major ions associated with produced waters, chloride is the only one with an established aquatic life...

The most unique feature of Earth is the existence of life, and the most extraordinary feature of life is its diversity. Approximately 9 million types of plants, animals, protists and fungi inhabit the Earth. So, too, do 7 billion people. Two decades ago, at the first Earth Summit, the vast majority of the world's nations declared that human actions were dismantling the Earth's ecosystems

Treated wastewater effluent from Las Vegas, Nevada and surrounding communities' flow through Las Vegas Wash (LVW) into the Lake Mead National Recreational Area at Las Vegas Bay (LVB). Lake sediment is a likely sink for many hydrophobic synthetic organic compounds (SOCs); however, partitioning between the sediment and the overlying water could result in the sediment acting as a secondary

Emerging contaminants (ECs) (e.g., pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, personal care products) have been detected in waters across the United States. The objective of this study was to evaluate point sources of ECs along the Colorado River, from the headwaters in Colorado to the Gulf of California. At selected locations in the Colorado River Basin (sites in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona...

In 2005, approximately 29.2 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Allen Parish, Louisiana, including about 26.8 Mgal/d from groundwater sources and 2.45 Mgal/d from surface-water sources. Rice irrigation accounted for 74 percent (21.7 Mgal/d) of the total water withdrawn. Other categories of use included public supply, industrial, rural domestic, livestock, general...

Feral swine (Sus scrofa) is an invasive species that was first introduced to the continental United States in the 1500s by European explorers. Also known as feral hogs or feral pigs, the animals typically weigh about 200 pounds (up to 400 pounds), have characteristic tusks up to 3 inches long, are territorial, and live in groups, except for the boars, who are solitary and typically...

In 2005, about 6.67 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, including about 6.46 Mgal/d from groundwater sources and 0.21 Mgal/d from surface-water sources. Public-supply use accounted for about 76 percent (5.06 Mgal/d) of the total water withdrawn. Other categories of use included rural domestic, livestock, general irrigation, and...

Tidal freshwater forested wetlands (tidal swamps) are periodically affected by salinity intrusion at seaward transitions with marsh, which, along with altered hydrology, may affect the balance of gaseous carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) losses from soils. We measured greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O) from healthy, moderately degraded, and degraded tidal swamp soils undergoing sea-level...

Ecological studies involving counts of abundance, presence–absence or occupancy rates often produce data having a substantial proportion of zeros. Furthermore, these types of processes are typically multivariate and only adequately described by complex nonlinear relationships involving externally measured covariates. Ignoring these aspects of the data and implementing standard approaches...

The Global Change Ecology and Wetlands book series will highlight the latest research from the world leaders in the field of climate change in wetlands. Global Change and the Function and Distribution of Wetlands highlights information of importance to wetland ecologists. The chapters include syntheses of international studies on the effects of drought on function and regeneration in...