Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16783
Decision analysis for conservation breeding: Maximizing production for reintroduction of whooping cranes
Captive breeding is key to management of severely endangered species, but maximizing captive production can be challenging because of poor knowledge of species breeding biology and the complexity of evaluating different management options. In the face of uncertainty and complexity, decision-analytic approaches can be used to identify optimal management options for maximizing captive production. Bu
Authors
Des H.V. Smith, Sarah J. Converse, Keith Gibson, Axel Moehrenschlager, William A. Link, Glenn H. Olsen, Kelly Maguire
Soil and periphyton indicators of anthropogenic water-quality changes in a rainfall-driven wetland
Surface soils and periphyton communities were sampled across an oligotrophic, soft-water wetland to document changes associated with pulsed inputs of nutrient- and mineral-rich canal drainage waters. A gradient of canal-water influence was indicated by the surface-water specific conductance, which ranged between 743 and 963 μS cm−1 in the canals to as low as 60 μS cm−1 in the rainfall-driven wetla
Authors
P.V. McCormick
Historical perspective on seismic hazard to Hispaniola and the northeast Caribbean region
We evaluate the long-term seismic activity of the North-American/Caribbean plate boundary from 500 years of historical earthquake damage reports. The 2010 Haiti earthquakes and other earthquakes were used to derive regional attenuation relationships between earthquake intensity, magnitude, and distance from the reported damage to the epicenter, for Hispaniola and for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Isl
Authors
Uri S. ten Brink, W. H. Bakun, C.H. Flores
Stability of Mg-sulfates at-10C and the rates of dehydration/rehydration processes under conditions relevant to Mars
We report the results of low temperature (−10°C) experiments on the stability fields and phase transition pathways of five hydrous Mg-sulfates. A low temperature form of MgSO4·7H2O (LT-7w) was found to have a wide stability field that extends to low relative humidity (∼13% RH at −10°C). Using information on the timing of phase transitions, we extracted information on the reaction rates of five imp
Authors
A. Wang, J.J. Freeman, I.-Ming Chou, B.L. Jolliff
Tourmaline as a recorder of ore-forming processes
Tourmaline occurs in diverse types of hydrothermal mineral deposits and can be used to constrain the nature and evolution of ore-forming fl uids. Because of its broad range in composition and retention of chemical and isotopic signatures, tourmaline may be the only robust recorder of original mineralizing processes in some deposits. Microtextures and in situ analysis of compositional and isotopic
Authors
John F. Slack, Robert B. Trumbull
Associations between dioxins/furans and dioxin-like PCBs in estuarine sediment and blue crab
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the relationships between the quantity, toxicity, and compositional profile of dioxin/furan compounds (PCDD/Fs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) in estuarine sediment and in the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus). Sediment and blue crab samples were collected in three small urban estuaries that are in relatively close proximity to
Authors
J. Liebens, C.J. Mohrherr, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier, R.A. Snyder, K.R. Rao
Duration and severity of Medieval drought in the Lake Tahoe Basin
Droughts in the western U.S. in the past 200 years are small compared to several megadroughts that occurred during Medieval times. We reconstruct duration and magnitude of extreme droughts in the northern Sierra Nevada from hydroclimatic conditions in Fallen Leaf Lake, California. Stands of submerged trees rooted in situ below the lake surface were imaged with sidescan sonar and radiocarbon analys
Authors
J.A. Kleppe, D.S. Brothers, G.M. Kent, F. Biondi, S. Jensen, N. W. Driscoll
Character of shell beds flanking Herod Point shoal, southeastern Long Island Sound, New York
High biogenic productivity, strong tidal currents, shoal topography, and short transport distances combine to favor shell-bed formation along the lower flanks of a cape-associated shoal off Herod Point on Long Island, New York. This shell bed has a densely packed, clast-supported fabric composed largely of undegraded surf clam (Spisula solidissima) valves. It is widest along the central part of th
Authors
L. J. Poppe, S.J. Williams, Ivar G. Babb
Informal and formal trail monitoring protocols and baseline conditions: Acadia National Park
At Acadia National Park, changing visitor use levels and patterns have contributed to an increasing degree of visitor use impacts to natural and cultural resources. To better understand the extent and severity of these resource impacts and identify effective management techniques, the park sponsored this research to develop monitoring protocols, collect baseline data, and identify suggestions for
Authors
Jeffrey L. Marion, Jeremy F. Wimpey, L. Park
Recreation impacts to cliff resources in the Potomac Gorge: Final report, June 2011
Managers of the National Park Service (NPS) are directed by law to accommodate appropriate types and amounts of visitation while ensuring that: any adverse impacts are the minimum necessary, unavoidable, cannot be further mitigated, and do not constitute impairment or derogation of park resources and values. (NPS 2006). The increasing popularity of the national park system presents substantial man
Authors
Jeffrey L. Marion, C. Carr, C.A. Davis
Formal and informal trail monitoring protocols and baseline conditions: Great Falls Park and Potomac Gorge. Final research report
This report presents the results of research on the conditions of formal and informal (visitorcreated) trails conducted within the Great Falls Park (GFP) portion of George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP), Virginia, and the adjacent Maryland portions of the C&O Canal National Historical Park (CHOH). This research was prompted primarily by concerns about the impact of extensive informal trail net
Authors
Jeremy Wimpey, Jeffrey L. Marion
Introduction
Ecotoxicology is the study of the movement of environmental contaminants through ecosystems and their effects on plants and animals. Examining tissue residues of these contaminants in biota is basic to ecotoxicology, both for understanding the movement of contaminants within organisms and through food chains, and for understanding and quantifying injuries to organisms and their communities. This b
Authors
W. Nelson Beyer, James P. Meador