Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16780
North-facing slopes and elevation shape asymmetric genetic structure in the range-restricted salamander Plethodon shenandoah
Species with narrow environmental preferences are often distributed across fragmented patches of suitable habitat, and dispersal among subpopulations can be difficult to directly observe. Genetic data collected at population centers can help quantify gene flow, which is especially important for vulnerable species with a disjunct range. Plethodon shenandoah is a Federally Endangered salamander know
Authors
KP Mulder, Nandadevi Córtes-Rodríguez, Adrianne B. Brand, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Robert C. Fleischer
Eastern Carpenter Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Nest structure, nest cell provisions, and trap nest acceptance in Rhode Island
Analysis of pollen provisions in Xylocopa virginica (L.) nests in southern Rhode Island showed that this species produced pollen loaves from 21 different genera of plants in 2016, 19 in 2017, and 39 in 2018. Antirrhinium majus L. (garden snapdragon) pollen was the most common type collected in all three years (21.4%). Overall, wind-pollinated tree pollen comprised 22.1% of all pollen loaves. Blueb
Authors
Sara K Tucker, Howard S. Ginsberg, Steven R. Alm
Hurricane Sandy impacts on coastal wetland resilience
The goal of this research was to evaluate the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on surface elevation trends in estuarine marshes located across the northeast region of the United States from Virginia to Maine using data from an opportunistic (in other words, not strategic) and collaborative network (from here on, an opportunistic network) of surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) stations. First
Authors
Donald R. Cahoon, Jennifer H. Olker, Alice G. Yeates, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, James B. Grace, Susan C. Adamowicz, Shimon C. Anisfeld, Andrew H. Baldwin, Nels Barrett, Leah Beckett, Alice Benzecry, Linda K. Blum, David M. Burdick, William Crouch, Marci Cole Ekberg, Sarah Fernald, Kristin Wilson Grimes, Joseph Grzyb, Ellen Kracauer Hartig, Danielle A. Kreeger, Marit Larson, Scott Lerberg, James C. Lynch, Nicole Maher, Martha Maxwell-Doyle, Laura R. Mitchell, Jordan Mora, Victoria O'Neill, Angela Padeletti, Diann J. Prosser, Tracy Quirk, Kenneth B. Raposa, William G. Reay, Drexel Siok, Christopher Snow, Adam Starke, J. Court Stevenson, Lorie Staver, Vincent Turner
Annual survival, site fidelity, and longevity in the eastern coastal population of the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) based on a 20-year mark-recapture/resighting study
A long-term study of annual survival, longevity, and site fidelity in the eastern coastal population of the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) during the breeding season was conducted from 1999 through 2018 in the outer coastal plain of the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States. Painted Buntings were uniquely color-banded from 1999 through 2003 at 40 study sites that were paired at 20 lo
Authors
Paul W. Jr Sykes, Mary Freeman, Joan J. Sykes, John T. Seginak, M. David Oleyar, Joshua P. Egan
The complex spatial distribution of trichloroethene and the probability of NAPL occurrence in the rock matrix of a mudstone aquifer
Methanol extractions for chloroethene analyses are conducted on rock samples from seven closely spaced coreholes in a mudstone aquifer that was subject to releases of the nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) form of trichloroethene (TCE) between the 1950's and 1990's. Although TCE concentration in the rock matrix over the length of coreholes is dictated by proximity to subhorizontal bedding planefractur
Authors
Allen M. Shapiro, Daniel J. Goode, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Michelle M. Lorah, Claire R. Tiedeman
Revisiting the avian Eco-SSL for lead: Recommendations for revision
The avian ecological soil screening level (Eco-SSL) for lead (11 mg/kg) is within soil background concentrations for >90% of the US. Consequently, its utility as a soil screening level is limited. Site-specific ecological risk-based remedial goals for lead are frequently many times greater. Toxicity reference values (TRVs) play a major role in defining Eco-SSLs. The lead Eco-SSL TRV is driven by r
Authors
Bradley Sample, W. Nelson Beyer, Randall Wentsel
Future directions to escalate benefits of stepping-stone approach for conservation translocations
Through a reintroduction case study on the critically endangered Vancouver Island marmot (Marmota vancouverensis), we introduced a ‘stepping-stone’ approach which utilizes the transition of released individuals among populations to maximize demographic growth potential (Lloyd et al. 2019). We greatly appreciate and hereby reflect on the thoughtful commentaries by Chauvenet (2019), Hayward (2019)
Authors
N.A. Lloyd, N.J. Hostetter, C.L. Jackson, Sarah J. Converse, A. Moehrenschlager
Coelomic disorders of fishes
Dropsy is a commonly applied term for coelomic distention due to ascites, or the effusion and collection of fluid freely throughout the coelomic cavity. Dropsy, or ascites, is generally a sign of another ongoing disease process, oftentimes one that is multisystemic and impacting coelomic organs and tissues. Dropsy may be caused by a variety of potential etiological agents, both infectious and noni
Authors
Christine L. Densmore
The Value of Data – The Qatar Geologic Mapping Project
The State of Qatar is in a period of rapid development, modernization, and population growth. One of the most important factors influencing the long-term success and sustainability of future development is a comprehensive understanding of the region’s geologic regime, geotechnical conditions, natural resources, and environmental constraints. To obtain this understanding, the Ministry of Municipal
Authors
Joseph T. Krupansky, Michael A. Knight, Randall Orndorff, Khaled M. Al-Akhras, Ara G. Mouradian, Ali F. Saleh
Perfluoroalkyl contaminant exposure in tree swallows nesting at Clarks Marsh, Oscoda, Michigan, USA
A site in north eastern Michigan, Oscoda Township, has some of the highest recorded exposure in birds to perfluorinated substances (PFASs) in the U.S. Some egg and plasma concentrations at that location exceeded the lowest reproductive effect threshold established for two avian laboratory species. The objectives of this study were to determine whether there were reproductive effects or physiolog
Authors
Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Robert Delaney, Paul Dummer, Sandra L. Schultz, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier
Seasonal, tidal, and geomorphic controls on sediment export to Amazon River tidal floodplains
Mainstem–floodplain material exchange in the tidal freshwater reach of ma jor rivers may lead to significant sequestration of riverine sediment, but this zone remains understudied compared to adjacent fluvial and marine environ ments. This knowledge gap prompts investigation of floodplain-incising tidalchannels found along the banks of tidal rivers and their role in facilitating water and suspende
Authors
Daniel J. Nowacki, Andrea S. Ogston, Charles A. Nittrouer, Aaron Fricke, Nils Asp, Pedro Walfir M. Souza Filho
Detecting the undetectable: Characterization, optimization, and validation of an eDNA detection assay for the federally endangered dwarf wedgemussel, Alasmidonta heterodon (Bivalvia: Unionoida)
Environmental (e)DNA assays are valuable tools for monitoring presence and distribution of cryptic species. Like many freshwater mussels, the dwarf wedgemussel, Alasmidonta heterodon numbers have dwindled and its range has diminished. As of its listing in 1993, only 10 to 20 locations were known to persist of the 70 Atlantic slope locations known historically. A qPCR assay to detect the presence
Authors
W. Bane Schill, Heather S. Galbraith