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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Water over the bridge

The March-April issue of American Scientist contains a commentary by Julia K. Parrish and P. Dee Boersma ( Macroscope , "Muddy Waters") that purports to "assess the validity of the claims made concerning seabird mortality as a result of the [Exxon Valdez oil] spill." Parrish and Boersma would have us believe that estimates of seabird mortality made in 1990 by myself and colleagues were exaggerated and that later upward revisions of those estimates were unwarranted. Their assessment, however, is seriously flawed.

American Scientist

Comparison of methods used to estimate numbers of walruses on sea ice

The US and former USSR conducted joint surveys of Pacific walruses on sea ice and at land haul-outs in 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1990. One of the difficulties in interpreting results of these surveys has been that, except for the 1990 survey, the Americans and Soviets used different methods for estimating population size from their respective portions of the sea ice data. We used data exchanged between Soviet and American scientists to compare and evaluate the two estimation procedures and to derive a set of alternative estimates from the 1975, 1980, and 1985 surveys based on a single consistent procedure. Estimation method had only a small effect on total population estimates because most walruses were found at land haul-outs. However, the Soviet method is subject to bias that depends on the distribution of the population on the sea ice and this has important implications for interpreting the ice portions of previously reported surveys for walruses and other pinniped species. We recommend that the American method be used in future surveys. Future research on survey methods for walruses should focus on other potential sources of bias and variation.

Chukchi Sea

Quantifying depuration of methylmercury from fish consumption by travelers

During a two-week field sampling expedition in Gabon, two American scientists consumed fish daily from the Ogooué River watershed. We sampled their scalp and facial hair periodically to evaluate hair as a biomarker to track shifts in methylmercury (MeHg) exposure from diet. Each individual differed in the onset and extent of MeHg accumulation but showed similar depuration rates. Pretrip baseline Hg isotope values between participants were distinct from Gabonese fishes allowing us to detect shifts in MeHg sources in the hair of both individuals. δ 202 Hg values tracked the mass-dependent fractionation of MeHg depuration stemming from in vivo metabolism, leading to δ 202 Hg increases of 0.014 ± 0.001 per mille and total Hg losses of 8.3 ± 1.1 ng g –1 daily. While limited in scope due to minimal participants, our findings reveal a complex interaction between prior MeHg burdens, contemporary MeHg intakes, and sources of consumed fishes (locally caught versus market-sourced) in determining the dynamics of MeHg concentrations and δ 202 Hg in human hair. We also suggest that the offset in δ 202 Hg values used in literature between fish and human hair (1.75 ± 0.25‰) may overlook a time domain that increases starting fish-hair δ 202 Hg offsets (0.94‰), through time.

Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux

Economic development and conservation of biological and cultural diversity in Yunnan Province, China

Chinese and American scientists are co-operating to develop concepts, strategies, agreements, and proposals in support of an economic development and sustainable ecosystems project in Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Yunnan's Provincial Government has initiated a major programme to develop and further utilise its biological resources to help improve economic conditions for its citizens. They are co-operating with the US Geological Survey (USGS) on evaluation and management of biological resources so economic development will be compatible with sustainable ecological systems. Scientists from the USGS and co-operating universities will provide expertise on synthesising biological data, conducting a Gap Analysis for the Province, evaluating innovative economic opportunities, and designing an effective education, training, and outreach programme.

Environmental Development and Sustainability

Early Development of Four Cyprinids Native to the Yangtze River, China

Chapter 1 -- Notes on the Translation and Use of "A Study of the Early Development of Grass Carp, Black Carp, Silver Carp, and Bighead Carp in the Yangtze River, China" By Duane C. Chapman and Ning Wang Chapter 2 -- A Study of the Early Development of Grass Carp, Black Carp, Silver Carp, and Bighead Carp in the Yangtze River, China By Bolu Yi, Zhishen Liang, Zhitang Yu, Randuan Lin, and Mingjue He Translated by Duane C. Chapman and Ning Wang The document A Study of the Early Development of Grass Carp, Black Carp, Silver Carp, and Bighead Carp in the Yangtze River, China (Chapter 2 of this volume) was translated from the Chinese with the approval and assistance of the living authors of that study. It contains the most detailed description available, and approximately 200 drawings, of the early development of the subject fishes. Chapter 1 provides important instructions on the use of the translation, including a description of the Chinese morphometric conventions, which differ from those used by North American scientists. Chapter 1 also provides the historical context in which Chapter 2 was developed, and information on how the larvae of the subject fishes, which have invaded the Mississippi River basin, may be distinguished from other fishes present in the basin.

Data Series

Mechanics of the Panama Canal slides

Dr. Becker visited the Canal Zone in 1913 as a geologist of the United States Geological Survey and since that time has given the problem the benefit of his study. His appointment as a member of the committee of the National Academy of Sciences has made it appropriate for his conclusions, based upon his personal observations and already reported in part to the Canal Commission, to be stated for the benefit of his associates and other American scientists and engineers.

Panama Canal

Foreign literature and translations in earth science

More than 50 percent of the total abstracted geologic literature is in Russian, followed by English at about 30 percent, and French, German, and Japanese from about 8 to 2 percent. Communist Chinese publications ceased as a result of the Cultural Revolution and have not resumed. Less than 2 percent of American earth scientists read and use Russian literature in the original to any significant extent. About 30 percent know some French, German, and Spanish, but only a much smaller proportion uses these languages in practice. The most important sources of knowledge about foreign work are translation journals, almost exclusively from Russian, and foreign scientists who write in American and international journals. Less than 0.5 percent of Russian earth science books are translated or known in the United States. Scientific provincialism is strong and increasing in the United States, owing to or demonstrated by the publications explosion and squeeze on libraries and scientists, weakening or abandonment of language requirements in universities, and cessation of all broad earth science abstracting services in English. Suggestions for improving communication of foreign literature include earlier exposure to languages in schools and stress on critical use rather than perfunctory examinations. A "critical mass" of linguistically competent and active scientists is necessary to find the important, not merely important-sounding, titles in the literature morass and introduce them into widely read earth science media.

Conference Paper

Overview of the International Symposium on Eurasian Ruffe ( Gymnocephalus cernuus ) Biology, Impacts, and Control

The International Symposium on the Biology and Management of Ruffe was organized to address the potential threat ruffe pose to North American fisheries. Scientists in diverse disciplines from Eurasia and North America were brought together in an attempt to examine all aspects of the North American invasion of ruffe, and to highlight the effects of similar introductions in Europe and Asia. The symposium, sponsored by the Minnesota and Michigan Sea Grant College programs, featured 48 oral and poster presentations and was held in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during 21-23 March 1997. Papers from the symposium are published in a special section of this issue of the Journal of Great Lakes Research.

Journal of Great Lakes Research

The global transport of dust: An intercontinental river of dust, microorganisms and toxic chemicals flows through the Earth's atmosphere

The coral reefs in the Caribbean have been deteriorating since the 1970s, and no one is quite sure why. Such environmental devastation is usually blamed on Homo sapiens , but that doesn’t seem to be what’s going on here. Recently, some scientists at the USGS think they’ve solved the puzzle: Bacteria and fungi have been hitching trans-Atlantic rides on dust from the Sahara desert and settling into the warm waters of the Caribbean. Microbiologist Dale Griffin and his colleagues make the case for this hypothesis and explore the dangers of dust and microbe transport across the globe.

American Scientist

Deserts of China

Improving arid land quality requires an understanding of the original state of the land and its relationship to wind, water, and plant regimes, as well as understanding of interactions within the present ecosystem. Chinese scientists and local residents have made significant advances in improving arid environments in gobi and sandy deserts and in less arid sandy lands. Wind patterns are being changed by planting forest belts to protect oases and sandy lands, and on a smaller scale by planting grasses and shrubs or constructing straw grids. Research on reclamation of deserts is now focusing on how sand-fixing plants may be adapted to local environments, and how the resources of grazing land and water may be effectively exploited without being overused.

American Scientist

Charting color from the eye of the beholder

Everyone knows the particular shade of yellow that adorns all school buses across the United States. But how do we define exactly what shade this is, and reproduce the same color from coast to coast? Much of the standardization of colors stems from the century-old work of Alfred Munsell, who created one of the first colorimetry systems defined by how people see color: lightness, hue, and chroma (how much the apparent hue differs from neutral grey). Munsell's color charts have been customized for different fields, and are still in use in areas as diverse as beer brewing and soil science.

American Scientist

Pliocene climate lessons

The middle portion of the Pliocene Epoch—about three million years ago—is the most recent period when global temperatures were sustained at levels comparable to those we may see at the end of this century due to climate change. One way to seek a more accurate view of a warmer Earth is to look closely at that time. Paleoclimate studies of the mid-Pliocene are also emerging as a ground truth for testing the accuracy of computer models used to predict Earth’s future climate.

American Scientist

Aquatic invasive species: Lessons from cancer research

Aquatic invasive species are disrupting ecosystems with increasing frequency. Successful control of these invasions has been rare: Biologists and managers have few tools for fighting aquatic invaders. In contrast, the medical community has long worked to develop tools for preventing and fighting cancer. Its successes are marked by a coordinated research approach with multiple steps: prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment options and rehabilitation. The authors discuss how these steps can be applied to aquatic invasive species, such as the American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), in the Northern Rocky Mountain region of the United States, to expedite tool development and implementation along with achievement of biodiversity conservation goals.

American Scientist

The Chilean nitrate deposits.

The nitrate deposits in the arid Atacama desert of northern Chile consist of saline-cemented surficial material, apparently formed in and near a playa lake that formerly covered the area. Many features of their distribution and chemical composition are unique. The author believes the principal sources of the saline constituents were the volcanic rocks of late Tertiary and Quaternary age in the Andes and that the nitrate is of organic origin. Possible sources of the nitrate, iodate, perchlorate and chromate are discussed. -J.J.Robertson

American Scientist