Why We Are What and Where We Are - J. P. Hart (Science, 2012)
Keywords: Homo sapiens; Human biogeography; Human dispersals; Human evolution

Cultural Resource Monitoring Report for PIN 2650.33.321, Route 10 at Erie Boulevard, Village of Canajoharie, Montgomery County, New York - S. Higgins; Moragne, S.; H. Brown (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Report for Route 9N, Village of Lake George, Warren County, New York - S. Higgins; M.S. LoRusso (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey of the Bronx River Parkway, Bronx Borough, New York - S. Higgins (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Quantifying Seed Dispersal Kernels from Truncated Seed-tracking Data - Hirsch, B. T.; Visser, M. D.; R. W. Kays; Jansen, P. A. (Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2012)
1. Seed dispersal is a key biological process that remains poorly documented because dispersing seeds are notoriously hard to track. While long-distance dispersal is thought to be particularly important, seed-tracking studies typically yield incomplete data sets that are biased against long-distance movements. 2. We evaluate an analytical procedure developed by Jansen, Bongers & Hemerik (2004) to infer the tail of a seed dispersal kernel from incomplete frequency distributions of dispersal distances obtained by tracking seeds. This ‘censored tail reconstruction’ (CTR) method treats dispersal distances as waiting times in a survival analysis and censors nonretrieved seeds according to how far they can reliably be tracked. We tested whether CTR can provide unbiased estimates of long-distance movements which typically cannot be tracked with traditional field methods. 3. We used a complete frequency distribution of primary seed dispersal distances of the palm Astrocaryum standleyanum, obtained with telemetric thread tags that allow tracking seeds regardless of the distance moved. We truncated and resampled the data set at various distances, fitted kernel functions on CTR estimates of dispersal distance and determined how well this function approximated the true dispersal kernel. 4.  Censored tail reconstruction with truncated data approximated the true dispersal kernel remarkably well but only when the best-fitting function (lognormal) was used. We were able to select the correct function and derive an accurate estimate of the seed dispersal kernel even after censoring 50–60% of the dispersal events. However, CTR results were substantially biased if 5% or more of seeds within the search radius were overlooked by field observers and erroneously censored. Similar results were obtained using additional simulated dispersal kernels. 5.  Our study suggests that the CTR method can accurately estimate the dispersal kernel from truncated seed-tracking data if the kernel is a simple decay function. This method will improve our understanding of the spatial patterns of seed movement and should replace the usual practice of omitting nonretrieved seeds from analyses in seed-tracking studies.
Keywords: Censored tail reconstruction; Kernel; Long-distance dispersal; Seed dispersal; Seed tracking; Thread tag

Glacial landsystems and dynamics of the Saginaw Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, Michigan, USA - A. E. Kehew; Esch, J. M.; A. L. Kozlowski; Ewald, S. E. (Quaternary International, 2012)
The surficial terrain of the Saginaw Lobe in southern Michigan is divided into 4 landsystems, numbered sequentially from southwest to northeast, containing related assemblages of sediments and landforms, two of which appear to have a genetic relationship with the bedrock units over which they lie. Landsystem 1 consists of the Sturgis Moraine, a terminal/recessional moraine, and an adjacent drumlin field. The moraine is a high-relief ridge with hummocky topography and ice-walled lake plains at its crest, and thick, coarse outwash fans on its distal margin. The drumlin field extends up-glacier from the Sturgis Moraine across the subcrop of the Mississippian Coldwater Shale to the subcrop of the overlying Marshall Sandstone. The low permeability of the shale may have increased basal pore pressures into a range in which deformation of basal sediment into drumlins occurred. Landsystem 2 overlies the subcrop of the Marshall Sandstone. Stagnation of the lobe behind a discontinuous moraine in this area is indicated by high relief, collapse topography, composed of kames, eskers, and ice-walled lake plains. A system of tunnel valleys terminates and merges in this landsystem with large outwash fans and plains sloping away from the margin. High basal drainage into the sandstone may have facilitated stagnation across a broad area to form this landsystem. Landsystem 3 may have also developed during stagnation of the lobe, but it differs from landsystem 2 by its more subdued relief. It contains a network of evenly spaced, southwest-trending open tunnel valleys that contain discontinuous esker segments. Landsystem 4 consists of till plains and low recessional moraines formed as the Saginaw Lobe retreated downslope into Saginaw Bay of the Lake Huron Basin. Tunnel valleys are absent in this area.
Keywords: glacial geology

Focus on Nature XII: Natural History Illustration Exhibition - Kernan, P.; Naczi, R. (The New York State Education Department, 2012)
Keywords: biology

Phylogenetic Relationships of the Extinct Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) Inferred From DNA Sequence Data - J. J. Kirchman; Schirtzinger, E. E.; Wright, T. F. (The Auk, 2012)
Abstract We obtained the first DNA sequences from the extinct Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) and used these data to infer the phylogenetic relationships of this iconic North American parrot. We compared our sequences of the mitochondrial COI and ND2 genes obtained from multiple Carolina Parakeet museum specimens to homologous sequences from individuals representing 43 species in 28 genera of Neotropical parrots (Tribe Arini), and four species from more distantly related Old World species of the Order Psittaciformes. Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses place C. carolinensis on a long branch within a well-supported clade of parakeets that also includes Aratinga solstitialis, A. auricapillus, and Nandayus nenday. These species of Aratinga (but not N. nenday) closely resemble C. carolinensis in the presence of yellow and orange head plumage and blue feathers in the wings. Our data do not support a close relationship with the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus), with which the Carolina Parakeet shares fully feathered ceres, a putative adaptation for cold tolerance that appears to have evolved independently in both species. Given the high level of sequence divergence from all sampled species, we recommend continued recognition of the monotypic genus Conuropsis. Taxonomic revision of the highly polyphyletic genus Aratinga is needed.
Keywords: Arini; Carolina Parakeet; Conuropsis carolinensis; extinct species; historic DNA; Phylogenetics; systematics

Speciation of Flightless Rails on Islands: A Dna-Based Phylogeny of the Typical Rails of the Pacific - J. J. Kirchman (The Auk, 2012)
The living and extinct flightless rails of the Pacific are among the most species-rich examples of parallel evolution in vertebrates. The “typical” rails of this region comprise a diverse assemblage of long-billed species variously placed in the genera Rallus, Lewinia, Nesoclopeus, Gallirallus, Habropteryx, Tricholimnas, Aramidopsis, Amaurornis, Eulabeornis, and Habroptila. I present a phylogenetic hypothesis for this group based on Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses of 12S, control region, and cytochrome-b data obtained from museum specimens (frozen tissues, toe pads from study skins, and bones from archaeological sites) of living and extinct species. All previously recognized genera are either monotypic or non-monophyletic, and I advocate lumping nearly all species into a broadly defined Gallirallus sensu lato. Volant species are not paraphyletic with respect to nearly all flightless species. Instead flightless species branch off in rapid succession from lineages leading to extant volant species. The nesting of the flightless species G. pendiculentus with G. philippensis suggests that the flightless condition may evolve prior to reproductive isolation. A locally calibrated relaxed molecular clock indicates that species from Oceania evolved only within the last 400,000 years, supporting the hypothesis that speciation proceeds rapidly in flightless rails. These results help resolve a long-standing taxonomic quagmire and have important implications for Pacific biogeography and the tempo and mode of speciation in island birds.
Keywords: Flightless birds; Gallirallus; Oceania; Parallel evolution; Rallidae; Speciation

League for Spiritual Discovery - Lander, D. R. (Virginia Commonwealth University’s World Religions & Spirituality Project, 2012)

Cephalopod Ancestry and Ecology of the Hyolith 'Allatheca' degeeri s.l. in the Cambrian Evolutionary Radiation - E. Landing; Kroger, B. (Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2012)
Pyritized, elongate, conical conchs of “Allatheca” degeeri s.l. are common in dysoxic, dark gray mudstone intervals in the Early Cambrian (upper Terreneuvian–Series 2 boundary interval) Cuslett Formation at Keels, eastern Newfoundland. Wave-oriented, horizontal specimens are most abundant in this cool-water, high latitude, off-shore shelf facies of the Early Palaeozoic Avalon microcontinent. Based on conch morphology, shell microstructure, and the operculum, the species is an orthothecid hyolith. Comparison with the sizes of the early shells of planktic gastropods indicates a non-planktic life mode of “A.” degeeri s.l. hatchlings, although buoyancy calculations show that small juveniles with septate conchs to ca. 17 mm long could have been nektic/planktic. If smaller “A.” degeeri s.l. individuals had a non-benthic mode of life, they and pseudoconodonts were the oldest skeletalized pelagic/nektic animals in the Cambrian Evolutionary Radiation. Most “A.” degeeri s.l. conchs at Keels are horizontally embedded and show a bimodal, wave-determined orientation, but about 10% of the large conchs are vertically embedded with their aperture down. As larger shells were not neutrally buoyant, the vertical orientations of about 10% of the conchs suggests an infaunal, likely detritivore, life mode suggestive of a scaphopod. Available morphologic and taphonomic evidence suggests that the vertically embedded conchs are in situ remains of dead benthic animals that colonized the bottom in better oxygenated intervals. Based on the current knowledge of Early Palaeozoic hyolith and cephalopod larval and adult morphologies, existing hypotheses of a planktic origin of cephalopods from hyolith ancestors are evaluated, and no evidence for such an evolutionary relationship is concluded to exist.
Keywords: Autecology; Avalon; Cambrian; Cephalopoda; Cuslett Formation; Evolution; Newfoundland; Orthothecids

Correction: Proposal of the Four Global Series of the Cambrian - E. Landing (Bulletin of Geosciences, 2012)
Keywords: geology

Extended Abstract--The Great American Carbonate Bank in Eastern Laurentia: Its Births, Deaths, and Linkage to Paleooceanic Oxygenation (Early Cambrian) - E. Landing (The Great American Carbonate Bank: The Geology and Economic Resources of the Cambrian, 2012)
Keywords: geology

First Discovery of Early Palaeozoic Bathysiphon (Foraminifera) - Test Structure and Habitat of a 'Living Fossil' - E. Landing; Reyes, S. P.; Andreas, A. L.; Bowser, S. S. (Geological Magazine, 2012)
Keywords: Avalon; Bathysiphon; Cape Breton Island; Foraminifera; Lower Ordovician; Nova Scotia; stercomata; Tremadocian

The Great American Carbonate Bank in Eastern Laurentia: Its Births, Deaths, and Linkage to Paleooceanic Oxygenation (Early Cambrian - E. Landing (The Great American Carbonate Bank: The Geology and Economic Resources of the Cambrian, 2012)
The Cambrian–Ordovician carbonate platform units on the New York promontory of eastern Laurentia reflect the south tropical location of the area. The slow subsidence of the region through much of the Cambrian–Ordovician meant that strong eustatic rises and falls defined unconformity-bound carbonate formations. These depositional sequences aid in paleooceanographic reconstruction as they correlate with organic-rich dysoxic–anoxic mudstones on the Laurentian continental slope. Eustatic rise increased insolation as epeiric seas covered the platform and produced climate maximums with reduced deep-water circulation. The oldest carbonate platform unit (Forestdale Marble and equivalents, upper Lower Cambrian) overlies rift facies deposited with the Rodinia breakup and origin of the Iapetus Ocean and marks the transition to a passive margin. Drowning of the Forestdale platform occurred, and the overlying anoxic black mudstone (Moosalamoo Phyllite) abruptly shoals up into tidalite sandstone (Cheshire Formation). This depositional history records a decreased rate of sea level rise as the Cheshire Formation continued to onlap middle Proterozoic basement. Super-Cheshire Cambrian carbonate platform units in the northern Appalachian are mostly hydrothermally dolomitized, record eustatic highs (Dunham, Winooski, and Little Falls Formations), and correlate with black mudstone macroscale units on the slope (Browns Pond and Hatch Hill dysoxic–anoxic intervals). The latest Early Cambrian Hawke Bay regression ended carbonate platform deposition of the Dunham Formation, led to quartz arenite or red shaly dolostone offlap or shoaling deposits on the platform, and was coeval with oxic green mudstone on the continental slope (Hawke Bay oxic interval in Taconian allochthons). Subsequent Middle Cambrian eustatic rise is recorded by dolostone (Winooski and upper Stissing), but carbonate deposition was again suppressed as quartz sand swept toward the shelf margin (Danby Formation) coincident with cratonic transgression by the upper Potsdam Formation (uppermost Middle Cambrian–lower Upper Cambrian). Post-Potsdam deposition was carbonate dominated through the middle Late Ordovician and included the Beekmantown, Chazy, Black River, and Trenton Groups. The Cambrian-Ordovician boundary is an unconformity between platform carbonates (Little Falls and Tribes Hill Formations of the Beekmantown Group). The Lower Ordovician–lower Upper Ordovician is a series of unconformity-bound platform depositional sequences (Tribes Hill, Rochdale, Fort Cassin, and Providence Island Formations of the upper Sauk megasequence and Chazy Group of the lower Tippecanoe megasequence). The Ordovician depositional sequences coincide with eustatic highs and show a repeated depositional motif (lower transgressive sandstone, upper highstand carbonate). The Ordovician eustatic highs also correlate with thin (as much as 10 m [33 ft] thick) macroscale dysoxic–anoxic black mudstones on the slope. The black mudstones alternate with oxic greenish mudstones, locally with debris flows with giant carbonate blocks on the upper slope (Levis conglomerates), which indicate platform-margin caving during eustatic falls. Ordovician green mudstones are composed of mesoscale redox-carbonate mudstone cycles (Logan cycles) on the upper slope. A major development was the abrupt formation of the latest Early Cambrian–Early Ordovician Franklin Basin in northwestern Vermont. The dysoxic–anoxic Franklin Basin resulted from fault-driven foundering of part of the carbonate platform that overlay the failed arm of the Ediacaran triple junction. This faulting is coeval with the oldest (late Early Cambrian) onlap in the Ottawa-Bonnechere aulocogen. Late Ordovician collision with the Ammonusuc arc ended carbonate platform deposition in the New York promontory region, as sands and muds eroded from the Taconic orogen filled a fore-arc basin and extinguished carbonate deposition across eastern Laurentia.
Keywords: Cambrian–Ordovician; carbonate platform; eastern Laurentia; New York Promontory

Time-specific Black Mudstones and Global Hyperwarming on the Cambrian-Ordovician Slope and Shelf of the Laurentia Palaeocontinent - E. Landing (Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2012)
The Early Paleozoic featured nine intervals of strong expansion of an upper slope, dysoxic/anoxic (d/a) water mass with eustatic rise or epeirogenic transgression. Strong expansion of this d/a water mass led to deposition of time-specific, macroscale alternations of dark grey-black mudstone within oxic, green to red mudstone on the middle–lower slope. This d/a facies even onlapped warm- (carbonate) and cool-water (siliciclastic) shelves. As in the Mesozoic, d/a muds were deposited in shallow water, perhaps tens of metres deep, with sea-level rise. These nine d/a macroscale alternations correspond to intervals of “global hyperwarming”—times of very intense greenhouse conditions that resulted from a feedback initiated by higher insolation and heat storage as shallow seas onlap tropical palaeocontinents. Warm epeiric seas heated the ocean, and thermal expansion accelerated eustatic rise. Ever more extensive epeiric seas heightened oceanic and global temperature as heat storage capacity increased. Deep ocean circulation intensity fell below that of a greenhouse interval and lead to d/a deposition low on the slope and on the platforms to provide the signature of global hyperwarming. Global hyperwarming differs from a hothouse interval as it does not require CO2 input from large igneous provinces to produce high temperatures and never shows deep-sea anoxia. Late Ordovician and Late Devonian black mudstones that cover much of Laurentia record epeirogenic transgressions that led to global hyperwarming, and suggest that cold water upwelling or plant terrestrialisation had nothing to do with epeiric sea anoxia. Global hyperwarming reduced oxygen solubility in these seas, and erosion of orogens produced muddy water that limited light penetration and promoted shallow-water anoxia. The global hyperwarming hypothesis means that relative eustatic and epeirogenic sea levels complement the effect of global pCO2 on climate, and sea level must also be regarded as a primary driver of Phanerozoic climate.
Keywords: Black shale; Cambrian; Global hyperwarming; Ocean oxygenation; Ordovician

Tribes Hill-Rochdale Formations in East Laurentia: Proxies for Early Ordovician (Tremadocian) Eustasy on a Tropical Passive Margin (New York and West Vermont) - E. Landing; Adrian, J. M.; Westrop, S. R.; Kroger, B. (Geological Magazine, 2012)
Slow subsidence and tectonic quiescence along the New York Promontory margin of Laurentia mean that the carbonate-dominated Tribes Hill and overlying Rochdale formations serve as proxies for the magnitude and timing of Tremadocian eustatic changes. Both formations are unconformity-bound, deepening–shoaling, depositional sequences that double in thickness from the craton into the parautochthonous, western Appalachian Mountains. A consistent, ‘layer cake’ succession of member-level units of the formations persists through this region. The Tribes Hill Formation (late early Tremadocian, late Skullrockian, late Fauna B–Rossodus manitouensis Chron) unconformably overlies the terminal Cambrian Little Falls Formation as the lowest Ordovician unit on the New York Promontory. It was deposited during the strong early Tremadocian, or Stonehenge, transgression that inundated Laurentia, brought dysoxic/anoxic (d/a) slope water onto the shelf and led to deposition of the Schaghticoke d/a interval (black mudstone and ‘ribbon limestone’) on the Laurentian continental slope. The uniform lithofacies succession of the Tribes Hill includes a lower sand-rich member; a middle, dark grey to black mudstone that records d/a in eastern exposures; and an upper, shoaling-up carbonate highstand facies. A widespread (12000+ km2) thrombolitic interval in the highstand carbonate suggests the New York Promontory was rimmed by thrombolites during deposition of the Tribes Hill. Offlap and erosion of the Tribes Hill was followed by the relatively feeble sea-level rise of the Rochdale transgression (new) in Laurentia, and deposition of the Rochdale Formation. The Rochdale transgression, correlated with the Kierograptus Drowning Interval in Baltica, marks a eustatic rise. The Rochdale Formation represents a short Early Ordovician interval (early late Tremadocian, middle–late Stairsian, Macerodus dianae Chron). It correlates with a depositional sequence that forms the middle Boat Harbour Formation in west Newfoundland and with the Rte 299 d/a interval on the east Laurentian slope. The Rochdale has a lower carbonate with abundant quartz silt (Comstock Member, new) and an upper, thrombolitic (Hawk Member, new) high-stand facies. Tribes Hill and Rochdale faunas are mollusc-rich, generally trilobite-poor, and have low diversity, Laurentian faunal province conodonts. Ulrichodina rutnika Landing n. sp. is rare in Rochdale conodont assemblages. Trilobites are also low in diversity, but locally form coquinas in the middle Tribes Hill. The poorly preserved Rochdale trilobites include the bathyurid Randaynia, at least two hystricurid species and Leiostegium.
Keywords: conodonts; eustasy; Laurentia; Lower Ordovician; New York; trilobites; Vermont

Rediscovery of Missing Specimens Once Held at Vassar College, Including the Holotype of Baudo Guan Penelope ortoni - LeCroy, M.; J. J. Kirchman; Horst, L. (Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 2012)
Keywords: biology

The Incomplete Celebration - J. A. Lemak (New York Archives Magazine, 2012)
Keywords: history

Cultural Resources Site Examination Report for PIN 1335.41, Route 40 over the Hoosick, Rensselaer County, New York - M. Lenardi; R. Dean (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1089.72.101, 69 George Street, Village of Fort Ann, Washington County, New York - M.S. LoRusso (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 5809.48.101, Robert Moses Parkway, City of Niagara Falls, New York - M.S. LoRusso (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Paleoindian Occupations in the Hudson Valley, New York - J. C. Lothrop; J. A. Bradley (Late Pleistocene Archaeology and Ecology in the Far Northeast, 2012)
Keywords: anthropology

Mineralogy, Classification, and Tectonic Setting of the Granitic Pegmatites of New York State, USA - M. V. Lupulescu; J. R. Chiarenzelli; Bailey, D. G. (The Canadian Mineralogist, 2012)
Pegmatites in New York State are largely restricted to areas of exposed Precambrian basement rocks, including the Adirondack Mountains and the Hudson Highlands. In the Adirondacks, they were emplaced into rocks that were metamorphosed during the Grenville orogeny to either the upper amphibolite facies (Adirondack Lowlands) or the granulite facies (Adirondack Highlands). Their mineral assemblages range from simple to complex, with localized occurrences of: (a) Be-, Al-, and B-rich species such as beryl, chrysoberyl, sillimanite, dumortierite, and tourmaline-supergroup minerals, (b) rare-element- and rare-earth-element-bearing minerals such as columbite-(Fe), uranopolycrase, fergusonite-(Y), uraninite, xenotime-(Y), and monazite-(Ce), (c) Ca-, F-, and K-dominant amphiboles, (d) phosphates (fluorapatite, isokite, wagnerite), (e) sulfides (bismuthinite, molybdenite), and (f) tungstates (scheelite). The pegmatite bodies from southern New York State and from some of the southern Adirondack locations display mineralogical zoning, typically with a quartz-rich core. Post-emplacement metamorphic features are observed in pegmatites in the northwestern Adirondack Lowlands, but are negligible or obscured in most of those from the southern and eastern Adirondacks. On the basis of the metamorphic grade of the host rocks, all New York pegmatites belong to the Abyssal class, whereas on the basis of mineralogy and inferred tectonic setting, they show affiliations to the NYF and mixed NYF–LCT pegmatite families. Pegmatites in the Adirondack Lowlands are related to the calc-alkaline arc magmatism of the Antwerp–Rossie granite suite and yield U–Pb zircon crystallization ages that indicate intrusion during the late Shawinigan orogeny (~1195 Ma); currently there are no known pegmatites related to the Ottawan and Rigolet orogenies in the Lowlands. Pegmatites in the Highlands yield U–Pb zircon crystallization ages that correspond to: (a) emplacement during the late Elzevirian (~1222 Ma), and metamorphism during the late Shawinigan (~1178 Ma) orogenies; (b) emplacement during the early (1098 Ma) and mid to late Ottawan orogeny (~1062–1025 Ma); (c) intrusion during the early Rigolet orogeny (1009–1003 Ma), and finally, (d) intrusion related to a thermal pulse at 949 Ma, possibly associated with the Cathead Mountain leucocratic dike swarm (935 ± 9.2 Ma). Few, if any, granitic pegmatites were intruded between 1178 and 1098 Ma in the Adirondack Highlands. The main pegmatite bodies in the Adirondack Highlands occur in association with extensional A-type granites such as the Hawkeye and Lyon Mountain Granite suites. These rocks were emplaced in response to orogenic collapse following the Ottawan orogeny. At present, relatively little can be concluded about the tectonic setting of pegmatites in southern New York.
Keywords: geology

Cultural Resource Reconnaissance Survey Report of PIN 9806.09.101, Route 30, Culvert C960051, Town of Fulton, Hamlet of Fultonham, Schoharie County, New York - A. Lynch; V. A. Schmitt (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resource Reconnaissance Survey Report of PIN 9806.09.101, Route 146, Town of Wright, Schoharie County, New York - A. Lynch; V. A. Schmitt (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resource Reconnaissance Survey Report of PIN 9806.09.101, Route 30, Culvert # C960050, Town of Fulton, Hamlet of Fultonham, Schoharie County, New York - A. Lynch; V. A. Schmitt (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 9806.09.101, Route 28 over Knapp Brook, Town of Franklin, Delaware County, New York - A. Lynch; V. A. Schmitt (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report of PIN 9806.09.101, Route 30, Town of Gilboa, Schoharie County, New York - A. Lynch; V. A. Schmitt (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report of PIN 9806.09.101, Route 145, Town of Cobleskill, Schoharie County, New York - A. Lynch; V. A. Schmitt (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey of PIN 0759.54, Town of Riverhead, Suffolk County, New York - D. E. Mazeau; B. R. Dale; H. Brown; Pellerin, J. (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Tree macrofossils of Younger Dryas age from Cohoes, New York State, USA - Miller, N. G.; Griggs, C. B. (Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2012)
Tree macrofossils dating from the middle to end (about 1000 years, ca. 12 600–11 600 cal years BP) of the Younger Dryas chronozone were found in an organic deposit on the southwest side of the Mohawk River, near its junction with the Hudson River in Cohoes, New York, USA. The fossils included substantial wood fragments, associated plant remains, and pollen, which indicate a forest of white spruce (Picea glauca), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), and tamarack (Larix laricina). The presence of white, rather than black (P. mariana) or red (P. rubens) spruce in the Younger Dryas was probably due to a riparian-type environment, confirmed by its location and American beaver tooth marks on some of the wood fragments. The clusters of wood radiocarbon dates indicate periodic changes in erosion and deposition at the site. One possible but very short decline (temperature reversal?) may be indicated by tree-ring growth, but in general, the ring widths of the trees and their growth responses suggest variable but slowly improving conditions over time, possibly from warming temperatures, before the end of the Younger Dryas.

Analysis of Radiotelemetry Data - Millspaugh, J. J.; Gitzen, R. A.; Belant, L. L.; R. W. Kays; Keller, B. J.; Kesler, D. C.; Rota, C. T.; et al. (The Wildlife Techniques Manual: Volume 1 Research, 2012)
Keywords: biology

Wildlife Radiotelemetry and Remote Monitoring - Millspaugh, J. J.; Kesler, D. C.; Gitzen, R. A.; R. W. Kays; Schulz, J. H.; Rota, C. T.; Bodinof, C. M.; et al. (The Wildlife Techniques Manual: Volume 1 Research, 2012)
Keywords: biology

Haplosporidium raabei n. sp. (Haplosporidia): A Parasite of Zebra Mussels, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1771) - D. P. Molloy; L. Giamberini; Stokes, N. A.; Burreson, E. M.; M. A. Ovcharenko (Parasitology, 2012)
Extensive connective tissue lysis is a common outcome of haplosporidian infection. Although such infections in marine invertebrates are well documented, they are relatively rarely observed in freshwater invertebrates. Herein, we report a field study using a comprehensive series of methodologies (histology, dissection, electron microscopy, gene sequence analysis, and molecular phylogenetics) to investigate the morphology, taxonomy, systematics, geographical distribution, pathogenicity, and seasonal and annual prevalence of a haplosporidian observed in zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha. Based on its genetic sequence, morphology, and host, we describe Haplosporidium raabei n. sp. from D. polymorpha – the first haplosporidian species from a freshwater bivalve. Haplosporidium raabei is rare as we observed it in histological sections in only 0·7% of the zebra mussels collected from 43 water bodies across 11 European countries and in none that were collected from 10 water bodies in the United States. In contrast to its low prevalences, disease intensities were quite high with 79·5% of infections advanced to sporogenesis.
Keywords: Dreissena polymorpha; Haplosporidia; Haplosporidium raabei n. sp.; phylogeny; small subunit ribosomal DNA

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 3287.20.101, Route 370 over the Seneca River, Town of Lysander, Onondaga County, New York - Moragne, S. (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

An Archaeological Perspective on the Irish Rural Interior - Orser, C. E. (Rural Ireland: The Inside Story, 2012)
Keywords: anthropology

An Archaeology of Eurocentrism - Orser, C. E. (American Antiquity, 2012)
The role of Europe and Europeans in the archaeology of post-1500 history has recently been critiqued. Some research has been pejoratively labeled Eurocentrism. This paper addresses the problems with adopting an emotional understanding of Eurocentrism and argues instead for its archaeological examination within the framework of an explicit multiscalar modern- world (historical) archaeology. An example comes from seventeenth-century Dutch settlements located in and around present-day Albany, New York.
Keywords: Archaeology; Eurocentrism; Historical archaeology; New York; Racism

Ballykilcline - Orser, C. E. (Atlas of the Great Irish Famine, 2012)
Keywords: anthropology history

Why the Guilded Age...and Why Now? - Orser, C. E. (International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2012)
Keywords: Historical archaeology

Continent-scale Genetic Structure in a Boreal Forest Migrant, the Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata) - Ralston, J.; J. J. Kirchman (The Auk, 2012)
Abstract We describe the range-wide phylogeography of Blackpoll Warblers (Setophaga striata), a migratory passerine with a broad breeding range in North America's boreal forest that encompasses several possible biogeographic barriers but shows no phenotypic geographic variation. We used mitochondrial control-region sequences from 304 individuals in combination with ecological niche models and coalescent simulations to test alternative historical hypotheses about the number of Pleistocene refugial populations and divergences among modern populations. Population pairwise FST and spatial analyses of molecular variance suggested significant genetic structure among western, eastern, and Newfoundland populations, but no structure among sky-island populations at the southeastern periphery of the breeding range. Inferred gene flow fits a model of isolation-by-distance. Coalescent simulations rejected all multiple-refugia hypotheses in favor of a single refugium. Paleodistribution models and modern migratory pathways suggested that the refugium was located in southeastern North America. In contrast to previous studies that have invoked multiple Pleistocene refugia as the cause of genetic structure in North American bird species, our analyses suggest that geographic structure in Blackpoll Warblers results from isolation-by-distance rather than a history of sundered populations.
Keywords: Blackpoll Warbler; boreal forest; coalescent analysis; migratory birds; mitochondrial DNA; Pleistocene refugia; population genetics; Setophaga striata; statistical phylogeography

Cultural Resources Data Recovery Report of the Schoharie Creek II Site (NYSM # 10383): A Multi-Component Site in the Village of Central Bridge, Town of Schoharie, Schoharie County, New York - C. B. Rieth (New York State Museum Cultural Resource Survey Program Series, 2012)
Keywords: anthropology

Cultural Resources Screening Report for PIN 1335.18, Route 40 over the Hoosick River, Rensselaer County, New York - C. B. Rieth (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Historic Preservation Monitoring Report # 18 for the Lake Champlain Bridge Project, Crown Point, New York - C. B. Rieth (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Settlement and Subsistence at a Middle Woodland Camp in Eastern New York - C. B. Rieth (North American Archaeologist, 2012)
Archaeological excavations at the Schoharie Creek II site in Schoharie County, New York were conducted by the New York State Museum's Cultural Resource Survey Program as part of a federally funded bridge replacement project. Stratified deposits produced artifacts dating to the Middle Woodland Period (circa A.D. 100-A.D. 900). The data derived during this excavation provide insights into the settlement and land use practices of these prehistoric populations, and their interaction with other groups in eastern New York. This information is important to understanding the prehistory of the Schoharie Valley and eastern New York.
Keywords: Archaeology; Middle Woodland; New York; Settlement patterns

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 3441.06.121, Route 176 and County Route 7 Intersection Improvement Project, Town of Hannibal, Oswego County, New York - J. Ross (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Architectural Assessment of PIN 2004.08, Architectural Assessment of Remington Arms Facility, Town of Illion, Herkimer County, New York - V. A. Schmitt (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

A New and Rare Spiranthes from the Sierra Nevada - C. J. Sheviak (The Native Orchid Conference Journal, 2012)
Keywords: biology

Outcrop Analog for Trenton-Black River Hydrothermal Dolomite Reservoirs, Mohawk Valley, New York - B. E. Slater; L. B. Smith Jr. (AAPG Bulletin, 2012)
Geochemical analysis and field relations of linear dolomite bodies occurring in outcrop in the Mohawk Valley of New York suggest that the area has undergone a significant fault-related hydrothermal alteration. The dolomite occurs in the Lower Ordovician Tribes Hill Formation, which is regionally a Lower Ordovician shaley limestone with patchy dolomitization. The outcrop has an en echelon fault, fracture, and fold pattern. A three-dimensional (3-D) ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the quarry floor has helped to map out faults, fractures, anticlines, synclines, and the extent of dolomitization. Most of the dolomitization occurs in fault-bounded synclines or sags flanked by anticlines. The dolomite structures are highly localized, occurring around faults, and are absent away from the faults and fractures. Trenches cut across the outcrop help relate offset along faults to the overall geometry of the dolomitized bodies. Geochemical analysis, although helpful in characterizing the conditions of dolomitization, does not define its origin absolutely. This study uses fluid inclusions, stable isotopes, 3-D GPR, core analysis, and surficial observations, which all show a link between faulting, dolomitization, and other hydrothermal alteration. Although the outcrop is much too small and shallow to act as a producing gas field, it serves as a scaled analog for the Trenton–Black River hydrothermal dolomite reservoirs of eastern United States. It may therefore be studied to help petroleum geologists characterize existing gas plays and prospect future areas of exploration.
Keywords: Dolomites; Geochemistry; Hydrothermal alteration

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1043.54.101, Route 9 over Trout Brook, Town of Pottersville, Warren County, New York - Sobik, C.; M.S. LoRusso (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1043.44.101, U.S. Route 9 over the Schroon River, BIN 1005820, Town of North Hudson, Essex County, New York - D. Staley; V. A. Schmitt (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1223.16.101, Route 28N, Towns of Johnsburg and Chester, Warren County, New York - D. Staley; M.S. LoRusso (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1808.92.101, Route 443 Slope Failure Repairs, Town of Bethlehem, Albany County, New York - D. Staley (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 7111.17.121, NYS Route 12E, Village of Chaumont, Town of Lyme, Jefferson County, New York - D. Staley; V. A. Schmitt (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Site Examination Report of the Deansboro Creamery Co. Site, Town of Marshall, Oneida County, New York - D. Staley (New York State Museum Cultural Resource Survey Program Series, 2012)
Keywords: anthropology Cultural Resources

Surprisingly Complex Community Discovered in the mid-Devonian Fossil Forest at Gilboa - Stein, W. E.; Berry, C. M.; L. VanAller Hernick; Mannolini, F. (Nature, 2012)
The origin of trees by the mid-Devonian epoch (398–385 million years ago) signals a major change in terrestrial ecosystems with potential long-term consequences including increased weathering, drop in atmospheric CO2, modified climate, changes in sedimentation patterns and mass extinction<a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v483/n7387/full/nature10819.html#ref1" id="ref-link-1" title=" Evolutionary and Environmental Approaches (eds Gensel, P. G. & Edwards, D.) 213-236 (Columbia Univ. Press, 2001)">1, <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v483/n7387/full/nature10819.html#ref2" id="ref-link-2" title="Davies, N. S. & Gibling, M. R. Paleozoic vegetation and the Siluro-Devonian rise of fluvial lateral accretion sets. Geology 38, 51-54 (2010)">2, <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v483/n7387/full/nature10819.html#ref3" id="ref-link-3" title=" Evolutionary and Environmental Approaches (eds Gensel, P. G. & Edwards, D.) 237-253 (Columbia Univ. Press, 2001)">3. However, little is known about the ecology of early forests or how changes in early terrestrial ecosystems influenced global processes. One of the most famous palaeontological records for this time is the ‘oldest fossil forest’ at Riverside Quarry, Gilboa, New York, USA, discovered in the 1920s<a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v483/n7387/full/nature10819.html#ref4" id="ref-link-4" title="Goldring, W. The Upper Devonian forest of seed ferns in eastern New York. NY State Mus. Bull. 251, 50-72 (1924)">4, 5. Hundreds of large Eospermatopteris sandstone casts, now thought to represent the bases of standing cladoxylopsid trees<a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v483/n7387/full/nature10819.html#ref6" id="ref-link-6" title="Stein, W. E., Mannolini, F., Hernick, L. V., Landing, E. & Berry, C. M. Giant cladoxylopsid trees resolve the enigma of the Earth/'s earliest forest stumps at Gilboa. Nature 446, 904-907 (2007)">6, were recovered from a horizon that was originally interpreted as a muddy swamp. After quarry operations ceased, relatively minor outcrops of similar fossils at nearby localities have provided limited opportunities to evaluate this pervasive view using modern methods<a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v483/n7387/full/nature10819.html#ref7" id="ref-link-7" title="Driese, S., Mora, C. I. & Elick, J. M. Morphology and taphonomy of root and stump casts of the earliest trees (Middle to Late Devonian), Pennsylvania and New York, U.S.A. Palaios 12, 524-537 (1997)">7, <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v483/n7387/full/nature10819.html#ref8" id="ref-link-8" title="Mintz, J. S., Driese, S. G. & White, J. D. Environmental and ecological variability of Middle Devonian (Givetian) forests in Appalachian Basin paleosols, New York, United States. Palaios 25, 85-96 (2010)">8. In 2010, removal of the quarry backfill enabled reappraisal of the palaeoecology of this important site. Here we describe a 1,200 m2 map showing numerous Eospermatopteris root systems in life position within a mixed-age stand of trees. Unexpectedly, large woody rhizomes with adventitious roots and aerial branch systems identified as aneurophytalean progymnosperms run between, and probably climb into, Eospermatopteris trees. We describe the overall habit for these surprisingly large aneurophytaleans, the earliest fossil group having wood produced by a bifacial vascular cambium. The site also provides evidence for arborescence within lycopsids, extending the North American range for trees in this ecologically critical group. The rooting horizon is a dark grey sandy mudstone showing limited root penetration. Although clearly belonging to a wetland coastal plain environment<a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v483/n7387/full/nature10819.html#ref9" id="ref-link-9" title="Greb, S. F., DiMichele, W. A. & Gastaldo, R. A. Evolution and importance of wetlands in earth history. Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Pap. 399, 1-40 (2006)">9, the forest was probably limited in duration and subject to periodic disturbance. These observations provide fundamental clarification of the palaeoecology of this mixed-group early forest, with important implications for interpreting coeval assemblage data worldwide.
Keywords: Earth sciences; Evolution; Palaeontology; Plant sciences

Mastodon herbivory in mid-latitude late-Pleistocene boreal forests of eastern North America - Teale, C. L.; Miller, N. G. (Quaternary Research, 2012)
Skeletal remains of the extinct American mastodon have often been found with deposits of short, decorticated twigs intermixed with plant fragments presumed to be gastrointestinal or fecal material. If such deposits are digesta, paleobotanical evidence may be used to analyze mastodon foraging strategy, with implications for assessing habitat selection, ecological roles, and response to environmental change. To identify components of mastodon diet in mid-latitude late-Pleistocene boreall forests of eastern North America, plant macrofossils and pollen from a molar socket (Hyde Park site, New York) were compared with dispersed deposits associated with skeletal remains (Hiscock and Chemung sites, New York). Similar macrofossil condition and twig morphology among samples, but difference from a modern boreal fen analog, confirmed the deposits were digesta. Comparison of twigs with material from other paleontological sites and modern elephants suggested dimensions generally indicative of digesta. Picea formed the bulk of each sample but Pinus may have been locally important. Wintertime browsing of Salix and Populus, and springtime consumption of Alnus, were indicated. Evidence for Cyperaceae, Gramineae, and Compositae was ambiguous. If conifers, broadleaf trees, shrubs, and herbs were necessary to fulfill dietary requirements, mastodons would have been nutritionally stressed by rapid late-Pleistocene decrease in vegetational diversity.
Keywords: Alnus; Chemung Site; Hiscock Site; Hyde Park mastodon; Mastodon herbivory; northeastern United States; Pleistocene megafaunal extinction; Taphonomy; Vegetation history; Younger Dryas chronozone

The Collapse of 'Chimney Rock'--The Cliffs in Action at Thatcher Park - C. A. Ver Straeten (Friends of Thacher and Thompsons Lake State Parks Newsletter, 2012)
Keywords: geology

Silicic Appalachian magmatism during the Ordovician and Devonian: Perspectives from the Foreland Basin, and the Hinterland - C. A. Ver Straeten; G.C. Baird; Karabinos, P.; Samson, S.; C. Brett (New York State Geological Association, Annual Meeting Guidebook, 2012)
Keywords: geology

Cultural Resource Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 3806.28.121, Culvert Replacement, Village of Mexico, Oswego County, New York - L. J. Xinakes; N. L. Davis; V. A. Schmitt (New York State Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, 2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resource Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 3806.28.121, Culvert Replacement, Village of Mexico, Oswego County, New York - L. J. Xinakes; N. L. Davis; V. A. Schmitt (2012)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Surficial Geology of the Victory Quadrangle, New York - B. Bird; A. L. Kozlowski (Map & Chart Series, 2011)

Sequence Stratigraphy and a Revised Sea-level Curve for the Middle Devonian of Eastern North America - C. Brett; G.C. Baird; Bartholomew, A. J.; DeSantis, M. K.; C. A. Ver Straeten (Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2011)
The well-exposed Middle Devonian rocks of the Appalachian foreland basin (Onondaga Formation; Hamilton Group, Tully Formation, and the Genesee Group of New York State) preserve one of the most detailed records of high-order sea-level oscillation cycles for this time period in the world. Detailed examination of coeval units in distal areas of the Appalachian Basin, as well as portions of the Michigan and Illinois basins, has revealed that the pattern of high-order sea-level oscillations documented in the New York–Pennsylvania section can be positively identified in all areas of eastern North America where coeval units are preserved. The persistence of the pattern of high-order sea-level cycles across such a wide geographic area suggests that these cycles are allocyclic in nature with primary control on deposition being eustatic sea-level oscillation, as opposed to autocylic controls, such as sediment supply, which would be more local in their manifestation. There is strong evidence from studies of cyclicity and spectral analysis that these cycles are also related to Milankovitch orbital variations, with the short and long-term eccentricity cycles (100 kyr and 405 kyr) being the dominant oscillations in many settings. Relative sea-level oscillations of tens of meters are likely and raise considerable issues about the driving mechanism, given that the Middle Devonian appears to record a greenhouse phase of Phanerozoic history. These new correlations lend strong support to a revised high-resolution sea-level oscillation curve for the Middle Devonian for the eastern portion of North America. Recognized third-order sequences are: Eif-1 lower Onondaga Formation, Eif-2: upper Onondaga and Union Springs formations; Eif–Giv: Oatka Creek Formation; Giv-1: Skaneateles, Giv-2: Ludlowville, Giv-3: lower Moscow, Giv-4: upper Moscow–lower Tully, and Giv-5: middle Tully–Geneseo formations. Thus, in contrast with the widely cited eustatic curve of Johnson et al. (1985), which recognizes just one major transgressive–regressive (T–R) cycle in the early–mid Givetian (If) prior to the major late Givetian Taghanic unconformity (IIa, upper Tully–Geneseo Shale), we recognize four T–R cycles: If (restricted), Ig, Ih, and Ii. We surmise that third-order sequences record eustatic sea-level fluctuations of tens of meters with periodicities of 0.8–2 myr, while their medial-scale (fourth-order) subdivisions record lesser variations primarily of 405 kyr duration (long-term eccentricity). This high-resolution record of sea-level change provides strong evidence for high-order eustatic cycles with probable Milankovitch periodicities, despite the fact that no direct evidence for Middle Devonian glacial sediments has been found to date.
Keywords: Cyclostratigraphy; Eastern North America; eustasy; Middle Devonian; Sea-level; sequence stratigraphy

Technology on the Move: Recent and Forthcoming Innovations for Tracking Migratory Birds - Bridge, E.; Thorup, K.; Bowlin, M. S.; Chilson, P. B.; Diehl, R. H.; Fleron, R. W.; Hartl, P.; R. W. Kays; Kelly, J. F.; Robinson, W. D.; M. Wikelski (Bioscience, 2011)
Basic questions about the life histories of migratory birds have confounded scientists for generations, yet we are nearing an era of historic discovery as new tracking technologies make it possible to determine the timing and routes of an increasing number of bird migrations. Tracking small flying animals as they travel over continental-scale distances is a difficult logistical and engineering challenge. Although no tracking system works well with all species, improvements to traditional technologies, such as satellite tracking, along with innovations related to global positioning systems, cellular networks, solar geolocation, radar, and information technology are improving our understanding of when and where birds go during their annual cycles and informing numerous scientific disciplines, including evolutionary biology, population ecology, and global change. The recent developments described in this article will help us answer many long-standing questions about animal behavior and life histories.
Keywords: cellular tracking; geolocators; radar ornithology; satellite transmitter; tracking technology

Cultural Resource Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 3076.16.101, Phase IA, Routes 5 and 20 over the Cayuga and Seneca Canal, Menard Memorial Bridge, Towns of Tyre and Montezuma, Seneca and Cayuga Counties, New York - H. Brown; M.S. LoRusso; Williams, J. (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for DEC-Howland Island, Howland Island Bridge Reconstruction, Towns of Conquest and Savannah, Cayuga and Wayne Counties, New York - H. Brown; Sobik, C. (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1120.52.101, Route 23 Slope Failure Repair, Red Falls, Town of Ashland, Greene County, New York - H. Brown; M.S. LoRusso (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1383.38.101, Route 73 Slope Failure, Town of Keene and North Elba, Essex County, New York - H. Brown (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 2931.54.121, Guy Park Entrance, Crossing of CSX, City of Amsterdam, Montgomery County, New York - H. Brown; Williams, J.; M.S. LoRusso (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey and Site Examination Report for PIN 3804.47.121, ARRA/ADA Sidewalk Replacements, Route 49, Town of Constantia, Oswego County, New York - J. S. Cardinal; J. Ross; C. B. Rieth; Moragne, S. (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Differentiating Shawinigan and Ottawan Orogenesis in the Central Adirondacks - J. R. Chiarenzelli; Valentino, D.; M. V. Lupulescu; Thern, J.; Johnston , S. (Geosphere, 2011)
Keywords: geology

Tectonic Implications of the Discovery of a Shawinigan Ophiolite (Pyrites Complex) in the Adirondack Lowlands - J. R. Chiarenzelli; M. V. Lupulescu; Thern, E.; Cousens, B. (Geosphere, 2011)
Keywords: geology

Causes of Mortality in North American Populations of Large and Medium-sized Mammals - Collins, C.; R. W. Kays (Animal Conservation, 2011)
Keywords: biology

Phantom Lithics at Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico - Dahlin, B.; Bastamow, M.; Beach, T.; Hruby, Z. X.; Hutson, S. R.; D. E. Mazeau (The Technology of Maya Civilization, 2011)
Keywords: anthropology

Cultural Resources Monitoring and Data Recovery Plan for Slope Failure Area, Crown Point Campground, Crown Point, New York - B. R. Dale; A. Gore (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Monitoring and Data Recovery Plan for Slope Failure Repair in a portion of The Crown Point Historic Site and Grenediers' Redoubt Site, DEC Campground, Town of Crown Point, Essex County, New York - B. R. Dale; A. Gore (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Screening Report for 0754.53.321, Hamlets of Calverton and Jamesport, Town of Riverhead, Suffolk County, New York - B. R. Dale; D. E. Mazeau (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Hudson River Fisheries: Once Robust, Now Reduced - R. A. Daniels; Schmidt, R. E.; Limburg, K. E. (Environmental History of the Hudson River: Human Uses that Changed the Ecology, Ecology that Changed Human Uses, 2011)
Keywords: biology history

Legacy of New York State's Watershed Surveys, 1926-1939 - R. A. Daniels (Fisheries, 2011)
On 16 June 1926, A. L. Hazzard was casting flies into Dyke Creek, upper Genessee River, and reeled in two common shiners. That was the beginning of the watershed surveys of New York, which involved scores of individuals and stretched over 15 years. The state legislature authorized surveys of the aquatic life in streams and lakes with a $15,000 appropriation “to determine the most practical methods of increasing fish production.” Under the leadership and insight of Emmeline Moore, the surveys accomplished this mission by providing a basis for assessing the need and appropriateness of what previously had been a general stocking program. Groundwork for the surveys began under John Titcomb, and his writings and management activities influenced Dr. Moore. Her approach led to more than a refinement of stocking policy; she and her staff recognized the importance of assessing watersheds as systems and that policies affecting game fish required information on more than just the game fish. Staff conducted synoptic surveys of biota, assessed chemistry and hydrology, and paid particular attention to pollutants. The importance of vouchering specimens was recognized, and the surveys provided a steady stream of specimens that were used in several taxonomic studies. Finally, Titcomb and Moore recognized that in order to affect change in stocking policy, states needed well-trained biologists knowledgeable in all aspects of freshwater ecology. So, the surveys became the training school for a suite of biologists that dominated fisheries science in universities and in management agencies in the mid- and late 20th century. Perhaps the most important legacy of these surveys is not the reports, illustrations, specimens, or input from the well-trained fisheries scientists; it is a way of thinking about aquatic resources and the role of the manager in developing them
Keywords: Aquatic resources; Fisheries; New York; Watershed surveys

Status of Fishes in Selected Adirondack Lakes: Eight Decades of Changing Assemblage Composition - R. A. Daniels; Bombard, R. T.; Sutherland, J. W.; C. W. Boylen (The Open Fish Science Journal, 2011)
Twenty-six taxa of fish were present in eighteen lakes in the southwestern quadrant of the Adirondack Park, Herkimer and Hamilton Counties, New York. Species richness in the lakes ranged from 1 to 18 species. Here we assess the condition and composition of the fish assemblages in lakes and compare in-lake changes in species composition over an 80-yr period. To examine assemblage condition we estimated population size of species in the lakes using mark-and-recapture techniques. To examine change in composition we compared the assemblage structure of these lakes to that present in two previous surveys. Populations of all but the rarest species comprised several size classes, indicating successful recruitment for all common species in all lakes. Most lakes support a rich, viable assemblage, although all but one includes, and many are dominated by, exotic species. Although the lakes studied are in one ecoregion and often in the same subdrainage, species composition differed among lakes and composition and abundance differed within lakes over time. Assessments of the fish assemblage composition in these lakes, when compared over time showed marked differences. These differences might be the result of several factors, but the presence of exotic taxa and extirpation of native fishes can explain gross changes in fish assemblage composition in these Adirondack lakes.
Keywords: Adirondack Park lakes; fish assemblages; Species richness

Cultural Resouces Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 3806.39.121, ADA Sidewalk Project, Village of Weedsport, Cayuga County, New York - R. Dean; V. A. Schmitt (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Using Replication-Related Techniques to Examine the Significance of Fabrics in Mississippian Society - P. B. Drooker (Ethnoarchaeology, 2011)
Fabrics and other fiber perishables only rarely survive in the archaeological record. To supplement analysis of physical remains, archaeologists have found that replication and related techniques can be useful in many ways. This paper focuses on the role of smaller-scale studies in investigating hypotheses about the significance of fabrics in southeastern North America between about 1000 and 400 years ago, as well as noting ways in which replication-related studies might provide additional useful information in proving or disproving particular hypotheses. As one case study, I discuss how replication-related techniques assisted me in learning more about fabrics made and used around 700 years ago in a particular Mississippian village, including something of their social and economic significance, as well as what sorts of useful information about Mississippian fabrics might be derived through additional work along these lines. Replication-related experimentation can provide important information about the time and skill required to produce particular fabrics, and thus about the socioeconomic significance of such materials and their production within a particular community. To avoid misleading results, however, large-scale projects and multiple experiments are recommended.
Keywords: Mississippian societies; replication stidues; southeastern North America; Textiles

Cultural Resource Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 7720.84.111, County Route 24, Town of Chazy, Clinton County, New York - Dubuque, J.; A. Gore; M.S. LoRusso (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1805.81.101, NYSDOT/Contractor NY Field Office, Town of Crown Point, Essex County, New York - Dubuque, J.; A. Gore (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Collaborative Museum Ethnography - Duggan, B. J. (Practicing Anthropology, 2011)
Keywords: anthropology

Introducing Partnered Collaboration into a Native American Gallery Renewal Project in a State Museum - Duggan, B. J. (Practicing Anthropology, 2011)
It is August 2007, and I am sitting a few rows up and to the side in a partially darkened auditorium, looking down on a rectangle of folding tables. Beside and behind me are perhaps a hundred museum staff members. Around the tables, men and women in business attire gather, arranging folders, notepads, and laptops. Two fiddle with the PowerPoint projector, while others wait, sitting quietly, or whispering to a neighbor. The meeting is called to order, introductions made, the printed agenda handed around, and protocols for commenting are laid out. With the two teams now facing each other, presentations by the contracted design firm begin, with points raised by and clarified for the museum team in between. Today's presentations explain the firm's general design plans, their own team leaders' duties and deadlines for exhibit content development and design production, and preparatory assignments and deadlines for Museum staff in its anthropology and history sections for their respective content development deadlines.
Keywords: Exhibition development; Native American; Partnered collaboration

Introduction: Collaborative Ethnography and the Changing Worlds of Museums - Duggan, B. J. (Practicing Anthropology, 2011)
Collaboration with indigenous peoples has been a hallmark of ethnology since the mid-19th century, and throughout the 20th century numerous anthropologists acknowledged indigenous and local cultural specialists as co-producers of project results and knowledge. In recent decades, converging and co-mingling influences from inside and outside of anthropology - including action anthropology, community heritage studies, and passage of the Native American Graves, Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) - have led increasingly to wide-ranging kinds of consultations and partnered collaborative and participatory projects being conducted within or from museums.
Keywords: Museums; Participatory projects; Partnered collaborations

Global Problems., Global Research - R. S. Feranec (Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum, 2011)
Keywords: biology paleontology

The Sporormiella proxy and End-Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction: A Perspective - R. S. Feranec; N. G. Miller; J. C. Lothrop; Graham, R. W. (Quaternary International, 2011)
Counts of dispersed spores of the pyrenomycete dung-fungus Sporormiella have recently gained prominence as a technique to examine the end-Pleistocene mass extinction. Early investigations were able to identify Sporormiella occurrence on the dung of extinct species, including squirrel and mammoth. These early studies also noted an important trend in Sporormiella abundance over time in North America, such that spore abundances were high during the late Pleistocene, low for most of the Holocene, and again prominent with the introduction of large grazing animals by early explorers. In more recent studies, changes in the abundance of spores of this fungus in sediments have been used as a proxy to define megafaunal population presence, decline, and extinction during the late Pleistocene, and a number of sites in the northeastern USA show a similar pattern of Sporormiella abundance over time. It is our opinion that some critical taxonomic and taphonomic investigations have not been completed for Sporormiella, and because of this, there are complications in interpreting the Sporormiella spore abundance data. We constructively evaluate this analytical technique and propose supporting studies that could enhance its potential as an indicator of megaherbivore extinction and its use as a proxy for the end-Pleistocene extinction.
Keywords: end-Pleistocene extinction; Pleistocene megafauna; Sporormiella

Cultural Resources Monitoring Report for Boring at Lighthouse Point, Ogdensburgh, New York - A. Gore (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for Mecham Lake Campground, Water and Electrical System Improvements, Town of Duane, Franklin County, New York - A. Gore (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 7004.06.121, NY 37B, Massena, St. Lawrence County, New York - A. Gore (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 7088.34.121, NY Route 58/William Street over Oswegatchie River, BIN 1027490, Village of Gouverneur, St. Lawrence County, New York. - A. Gore; V. A. Schmitt (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

State Route 372 Bridge over Battenkill, HAER Report, Greenwich, New York. - A. Gore (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Additional Evidence for cal. Seventh-Century A.D. Maize Consumption at the Kipp Island Site, New York - J. P. Hart; L. M. Anderson; R. S. Feranec (Current Research in New York State Archaeology: A.D. 700-1300, 2011)
The histories of maize in New York have changed radically over the past decade based on the recovery of phytolith assemblages from directly AMS-dated charred cooking residues adhering to the interior surfaces of pottery sherds. We now know that maize was being used as early as ca. cal 300 B.C. at the Vinette site in the Finger Lakes region. Maize phytoliths have also been found in cooking resides dating to ca. cal. A.D. 650 from the Kipp Island site. Here we present additional evidence for maize use at this time through the analysis of human teeth from a cemetery at the site that Ritchie originally dated to ca. A.D. 1000, but that now appears to date primarily to ca. cal. A.D. 650. Dental caries rates and stable carbon isotopes both indicate maize consumption at this time.
Keywords: Kipp Island; maize; New York; Zea mays ssp. mays.

The Death of Owasco--Redux - J. P. Hart (Current Research in New York State Archaeology: A.D. 700-1300, 2011)
Owasco is a culture-historic taxon originally defined by Arthur C. Parker and later refined by William A. Ritchie in the first half of the twentieth century. This taxon was at the heart of a debate on northern Iroquoian origins in the 1990s and early 2000s. In a 2003 article Brumbach and I announced “The Death of Owasco” based on an analysis of the histories of the traits used to establish the boundary between Owasco culture and the earlier Point Peninsula culture. Here I review the research on these traits since that publication that indicate an even more extended and complex set of independent histories. I reiterate the need for archaeologists to move away from culture-historic taxa as units of analysis, interpretation, and summary.
Keywords: archaeological systmatics; New York; Owasco

The Immeasurable Value of Grants - J. P. Hart (Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum, 2011)
Keywords: anthropology biology geology history paleontology

Review of The Headpots of Northeast Arkansas and Southern Pemiscot County, Missouri by James F. Cherry - J. P. Hart (Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, 2011)
Keywords: Archaeology; Head pots; Mississippian; Native American art

Teosinte Inflorescence Phytolith Assemblages Mirror Zea Taxonomy - J. P. Hart; Matson, R. G.; Thompson, R. G.; Blake, M. (PLoS ONE, 2011)
Molecular DNA analyses of the New World grass (Poaceae) genus Zea, comprising five species, has resolved taxonomic issues including the most likely teosinte progenitor (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays). However, archaeologically, little is known about the use of teosinte by humans both prior to and after the domestication of maize. One potential line of evidence to explore these relationships is opaline phytoliths produced in teosinte fruit cases. Here we use multidimensional scaling and multiple discriminant analyses to determine if rondel phytolith assemblages from teosinte fruitcases reflect teosinte taxonomy. Our results indicate that rondel phytolith assemblages from the various taxa, including subspecies, can be statistically discriminated. This indicates that it will be possible to investigate the archaeological histories of teosinte use pending the recovery of appropriate samples.
Keywords: maize; phytoliths; taxonomy; teosinte; Zea mays ssp. mays; Zea mays ssp. parviglumis

Cultural Resource Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1807.07.101, Intersection Improvements, Pangburn Road at Route 7, Town of Princetown, Schenectady County, New York - S. Higgins; M.S. LoRusso (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resource Reconnaissance Survey Report for the Bronx River Parkway, Bronx, New York - S. Higgins (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources End of Field Report for the South Parcel of West Brook Conservation Initiative Project in the Village of Lake George, Warren County, New York. - S. Higgins (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Emergence Time and Foraging Activity in Pallas' Mastiff Bat, Molossus molossus (Chiroptera: Molossidae) in Relation to Sunset/Sunrise and Phase of the Moon - Holland, R. A.; Meyer, C. F. J.; Kalko, E. K. V.; R. W. Kays; M. Wikelski (Acta Chiropterologica, 2011)
Keywords: biology

Camera Traps as Sensor Networks for Monitoring Animal Communities - R. W. Kays; Tilak, S.; Kranstauber, B.; Jansen, P. A.; Carbon, C.; Rowcliffe, M.; Fountain, C.; Eggert, J.; He, Z. (International Journal of Research and Reviews in Wireless Sensor Networks, 2011)
Keywords: biology

The Effect of Feeding Time on Dispersal of Virola Seeds by Toucans Determined from GPS Tracking and Accelerometers - R. W. Kays; Jansen, P. A.; Knecht, E. M. H.; Vohwinkel, R.; M. Wikelski (Acta Oecologica, 2011)
Keywords: biology

Flower Powered - R. W. Kays (BBC Wildlife, 2011)
Keywords: biology

Tracking Animal Location and Activity with an Automated Radio Telemetry System in a Tropical Rainforest - R. W. Kays; Tilak, S.; M. C. Crofoot; Fountain, T.; Obando, D.; Ortega, A.; Kuemmeth, F.; Mandel, J.; Swenson, G.; Lambert, T.; Hirsch, B.; M. Wikelski (The Computer Journal, 2011)
How do animals use their habitat? Where do they go and what do they do? These basic questions are key not only to understanding a species’ ecology and evolution, but also for addressing many of the environmental challenges we currently face, including problems posed by invasive species, the spread of zoonotic diseases and declines in wildlife populations due to anthropogenic climate and land-use changes. Monitoring the movements and activities of wild animals can be difficult, especially when the species in question are small, cryptic or move over large areas. In this paper, we describe an Automated Radio-Telemetry System (ARTS) that we designed and built on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama to overcome these challenges. We describe the hardware and software we used to implement the ARTS, and discuss the scientific successes we have had using the system, as well as the logistical challenges we faced in maintaining the system in real-world, rainforest conditions. The ARTS uses automated radio-telemetry receivers mounted on 40-m towers topped with arrays of directional antennas to track the activity and location of radio-collared study animals, 24 h a day, 7 days a week. These receiving units are connected by a wireless network to a server housed in the laboratory on BCI, making these data available in real time to researchers via a web-accessible database. As long as study animals are within the range of the towers, the ARTS system collects data more frequently than typical animal-borne global positioning system collars (∼12 locations/h) with lower accuracy (approximately 50 m) but at much reduced cost per tag (∼10X less expensive). The geographic range of ARTS, like all VHF telemetry, is affected by the size of the radio-tag as well as its position in the forest (e.g. tags in the canopy transmit farther than those on the forest floor). We present a model of signal propagation based on landscape conditions, which quantifies these effects and identifies sources of interference, including weather events and human activity. ARTS has been used to track 374 individual animals from 38 species, including 17 mammal species, 12 birds, 7 reptiles or amphibians, as well as two species of plant seeds. These data elucidate the spatio-temporal dynamics of animal activity and movement at the site and have produced numerous peer-reviewed publications, student theses, magazine articles, educational programs and film documentaries. These data are also relevant to long-term population monitoring and conservation plans. Both the successes and the failures of the ARTS system are applicable to broader sensor network applications and are valuable for advancing sensor network research.
Keywords: animal tracking; environmental; observing systems; sensor networks

Using Stable Carbon Isotopes to Distinguish Wild from Captive Wolves - R. W. Kays; R. S. Feranec (Northeast Naturalist, 2011)
Morphological and genetic techniques for distinguishing captive vs. wild stock are often insufficient. We found differences in carbon isotope values from Canis latrans (Coyote) and Canis lupus (Wolf) eating wild vs. domestic diets. Wild canids in the Northeast have lower δ13C values because they eat prey that mainly feed on C3 plants. However, canids eating typical domestic diets have more positive δ13C values (≈+6‰) because of the Zea mays (Corn; a C4 plant) fed to domestic stock and used in dog foods. We applied this technique to hair and bone samples from eight Wolves in the northeastern USA, where no natural Wolf populations are known. Three Wolves had strongly negative δ13C values, typical of a wild-food diet, while the other five Wolves had more positive values typical of captive animals. As expected, we found no significant difference in ι15N isotope values between captive and wild animals. This new evidence suggests that, while some Wolves are escaping from captivity, at least three animals have apparently dispersed into the area. This finding adds new urgency to the preparation of conservation plans for the potential natural recovery of this endangered species in the region.
Keywords: Canis latrans; Canis lupus; domesticated wolves; δ13C values

Mineral Industry of New York State 2007-2010 - W. M. Kelly (New York State Museum Record, 2011)
Keywords: geology

Stable Isotope Analysis of Fall Migration Stopover by Six Passerine Species in an Inland Pitch Pine-Scrub Oak Barren - J. J. Kirchman; Ralston, J.; Gifford, N. A. (The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 2011)
We conducted mist-net surveys of migrating songbirds during fall migration 2007–2009 on the 1,300-ha Albany Pine Bush Preserve (APBP), a fire-managed inland pitch pine–scrub oak (Pinus rigida–Quercus spp.) barren in east-central New York. We banded 244 migrating passerines from 32 non-resident species in 8,610 net/m/hr documenting use of northeastern pine barrens as stopover sites for passerines with diverse breeding ecologies. We estimated the breeding site origin of six species (a kinglet, four warblers, and a sparrow) using stable hydrogen isotope measurements from flight feathers. There was a broad range of isotope ratios within each species indicating a large catchment area extending several hundred kilometers north and west of the stopover site. Over half the birds originated >750 km from the APBP. We found no evidence for geographical structure of the timing of migration through APBP; slopes of regression lines for capture date versus hydrogen isotope ratio from feathers (δDf) were not statistically different from zero. This contrasts with previous isotope research that reports both leapfrog and chain migration patterns by different warbler species at stopover sites in the western United States.
Keywords: Albany Pine Bush; migrating songbirds; migration patterns; stable hydrogen isotope

Surficial Geology of the Montezuma Quadrangle, New York - A. L. Kozlowski; B. Bird (Map and Chart Series, 2011)

Surficial Geology of the Savannah Quadrangle, New York - A. L. Kozlowski; B. Bird (Map and Chart Series, 2011)

Surficial Geology of the Unionville Quadrangle, New York - A. L. Kozlowski; B. Bird (Map & Chart Series 75, 2011)

The Movebank Data Model for Animal Tracking - Kranstauber, B.; Cameron, A.; Weinzerl, R.; Fountain, T.; Tilak, A.; M. Wikelski; R. W. Kays (Environmental Modelling & Software, 2011)
Studies of animal movement are rapidly increasing as tracking technologies make it possible to collect more data of a larger variety of species. Comparisons of animal movement across sites, times, or species are key to asking questions about animal adaptation, responses to climate and land-use change. Thus, great gains can be made by sharing and exchanging animal tracking data. Here we present an animal movement data model that we use within the Movebank web application to describe tracked animals. The model facilitates data comparisons across a broad range of taxa, study designs, and technologies, and is based on the scientific questions that could be addressed with the data.
Keywords: Animal movement; Argos; Data model; GPS; Tracking; VHF Telemetry

Start Your Own Religion: New York State’s Acid Churches - Lander, D. R. (Nova Religio, 2011)

The Lawsonian Stage - the Eoconodontus Notchpeakensis FAD and HERB Carbon Isotope Excursion Define a Globally Correlatable Terminal Cambrian Stage - E. Landing; Westrop, S. R.; Adrian, J. M. (Bulletin of Geosciences, 2011)
The best definition for the base of the terminal Cambrian (Stage 10) is the conodont Eoconodontus notchpeakensis FAD ± onset of the HERB carbon isotope excursion. These horizons allow precise intercontinental correlations in deep marine to peritidal facies. The agnostoid Lotagnostus americanus (Billings, 1860) FAD has been suggested as a Stage 10 base, but restudy of types and typotypes shows that the species occurs only in Late Cambrian (Sunwaptan) debris flow boulders in Quebec (Westrop et al., this volume). Non-Quebec reports of "L. americanus" are an amalgum of small samples of often poorly documented specimens with effaced–highly furrowed cephala and pygidia and with or without a highly trisected pygidial posteroaxis. Many of these occurrences have local species names, but no evidence suggests that they record intraspecific variation of a globally distributed taxon. They are not synonyms of L. americanus. Lotagnostus, largely a dysoxic form, does not allow precise correlation into oxygenated platform facies. Another proposal used the conodont Cordylodus andresi FAD as a Stage 10 base, but other work shows this FAD is diachronous. An unrealistic approach to L. americanus’ systematics and the correlation uncertainty of C. andresi are overcome by defining a Stage 10 base at the globally recognizable E. notchpeakensis FAD, with the C. andresi FAD a useful proxy on cool-water continents. The "Lawsonian Stage", named for Lawson Cove in western Utah, has a basal GSSP at the E. notchpeakensis FAD and replaces informal Stage 10. The Lawsonian, ~150 m-thick in western Utah, underlies the basal Ordovician Iapetognathus Zone.
Keywords: agnostoids; Cambrian; conodonts; HERB excursion; Lawsonian Stage; United States; Utah

Left Behind--Delayed Extinction and a Relict Trilobite Fauna in the Cambrian--Ordovician Boundary Succession (East Laurentian Platform, New York) - E. Landing; Westrop, S. R.; Kroger, B.; A. M. English (Geological Magazine, 2011)
Two completely dissimilar faunal changes occur between the Sunwaptan and Skullrockian Stages (Ptychaspid and Symphysurid ‘Biomeres’) in the uppermost Cambrian on the east Laurentian craton. An undolomitized section in the Little Falls Formation in Washington County, New York, shows a typical ‘biomere’ extinction, with highest Sunwaptan trilobites followed by the abrupt appearance of Cordylodus proavus Zone conodonts and the lowest post-extinction trilobites (Parakoldinioidia Endo) 5.0 m higher. This stage boundary interval is very condensed by comparison with coeval Great Basin and Texas sections. Approximately 70 km southwest, typical pre-extinction taxa (the catillicephalid Acheilops Ulrich and several dikelocephalid species) are shown for the first time to persist well beyond the extinction as they occur with middle C. proavus Zone conodonts (Clavohamulus elongatus or, more likely, Hirsutodontus simplex Subzone). The Ritchie Limestone member of the uppermost Little Falls Formation yields a succession of conodont faunas that spans the C. elongatus–H. simplex–Clavohamulus hintzei Subzones (middle–upper C. proavus Zone). These data prove that the trilobites are a relict fauna that persisted into the Symphysurina Zone of the Skullrockian Stage. The massive (burrow-churned), mollusc-dominated Ritchie Limestone, with the second Upper Cambrian cephalopod locality in east Laurentia, represents an inner-shelf refugium for Sunwaptan trilobites that has not been previously encountered. Final extinction of typical Sunwaptan clades is at least locally diachronous, and a simple, genus-based approach to trilobite biostratigraphy in the Cambrian–Ordovician boundary interval is untenable. The relict fauna appears to be distinct at the species level, so it is likely that a viable, species-based biostratigraphy can be developed. Teridontus gallicus Serpagli et al. 2008 is a synonym of T. nakamurai (Nogami, 1967), and T.? francisi Landing sp. nov., with a large base and tiny cusp, is a lower C. proavus Zone form. New trilobites are Acheilops olbermanni Westrop sp. nov. and Parakoldinioidia maddowae Westrop sp. nov. The lowest Ordovician ‘Gailor Dolomite’ is a junior synonym of the Tribes Hill Formation, and the Ritchie Limestone is assigned to the top of the terminal Cambrian Little Falls Formation.
Keywords: conodonts; extinction; Lower Ordovician; New York; North America; trilobites; upper Cambrian

No Late Cambrian Shoreline Ice in Laurentia - E. Landing (GSA Today, 2011)
Keywords: geology paleontology

Tremadocian (Lower Ordovician) Biotas and Sea-level Changes on the Avalon Microcontinent - E. Landing; Fortey, R. A. (Journal of Paleontology, 2011)
The Chesley Drive Group, an Upper Cambrian–Lower Ordovician mudstone-dominated unit, is part of the Ediacaran–Ordovician cover sequence on the North American part of the Avalon microcontinent. The upper Chesley Drive Group on McLeod Brook, Cape Breton Island (previously “McLeod Brook Formation”), has two lithofacies-specific Tremadocian biotas. An older low-diversity benthic assemblage (shallow burrowers, Bathysiphon, phosphatic brachiopods, asaphid trilobites) is in lower upper Tremadocian green-gray mudstone. This wave-influenced, slightly dysoxic facies has Bathysiphon–brachiopod shell lags in ripple troughs. The upper fauna (ca. 483 +/− 1 Ma) is in dysoxic-anoxic (d-a), unburrowed, dark gray-black, upper upper (but not uppermost) Tremadocian mudstone with a “mass kill” of the olenid Peltocare rotundifrons (Matthew)—a provincial trilobite in Avalonian North America that likely tolerated low oxygen bottom waters. Scandodus avalonensis Landing n. sp. and Lagenochitina aff. conifundus (Poumot), probable nektic elements and the first upper Tremadocian conodont and chitinozoan reported from Avalon, occur in diagenetic calcareous nodules in the dark gray–black mudstone. An upper Tremadocian transition from lower greenish to upper black mudstone is not exposed on McLeod Brook, but is comparable to a coeval green-black mudstone transition in Avalonian England. The successions suggest that late late Tremadocian (probable Baltic Hunnebergian Age) sea level was higher in Avalon than is suggested from successions on other paleocontinents. The Tremadocian sea-level history of Avalon was a shoaling–deepening–shoaling sequence from d-a black mudstone (lower Tremadocian), to dysoxic green mudstone (lower upper Tremadocian), and back to black mudstone (upper upper Tremadocian). Scandodus Lindström is emended, with the early species S. avalonensis Landing n. sp. assigned to the emended Family Protopanderodontidae. Triangulodus Van Wamel is considered a junior synonym of Scandodus. Peltocare rotundifrons is emended on the basis of complete specimens.
Keywords: Avalon; Bathysiphon; brachiopods; Cape Breton Island; chitinozoans; conodonts; Lower Ordovician; sea-levels; Tremadocian; trilobites

Advancement Comes Slowly: African American Employment in Rochester, New York During the Great Migration - J. A. Lemak (New York History, 2011)
Keywords: history

The Frog Lady and the Devil - J. A. Lemak (New York Archives Magazine, 2011)
Keywords: history

Human Frogs in the History Collections! - J. A. Lemak (Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum, 2011)
Keywords: history

A Cultural Resource Survey Report for the New York City Hudson River Bulkhead and World Trade Center Site, New York City - M. Lenardi (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cladopodiella - L. Leonardi (Bryophyte Flora of North America, Provisional Publication, 2011)
Keywords: biology

Cultural Resources End of Field Report for NY 85A culvert (C110049), Town of New Scotland, Hamlet of New Salem, Albany County, New York - M.S. LoRusso (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Historic Corridor Plan (PIN 1808.66.101), Various Locations - M.S. LoRusso; Pellerin, J.; McDermott, C. (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1808.64.101, Adirondack Scenic Railroad Culvert, Town of North Elba, Essex County, New York - M.S. LoRusso (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Paleoindians and the Younger Dryas in the New England-Maritimes Region - J. C. Lothrop; P. E. Newby; Spiess, A. E.; J. A. Bradley (Quaternary International, 2011)
This paper examines environmental and archaeological data for the Younger Dryas (YD) (12,900–11,600 calibrated years before present) (cal BP) and early Holocene (11,600–10,000 cal BP) in the New England-Maritimes (NEM) to model environmental changes and possible human responses. For some other regions of North America, researchers argue for negligible environmental changes and human responses, while others suggest that ecological changes associated with cold conditions at the YD onset disrupted regional biota, causing subsistence stress for Paleoindian populations and the end of the Clovis cultural adaptation (circa 13,200–12,900 cal BP). The NEM shows abrupt cooling at the YD onset, which fostered more open habitats favorable to both long-distance migrating and local herds of caribou, and may have encouraged early Paleoindian colonization and settlement of this unoccupied deglacial region. Comparison of the Paleoindian point sequence with calibrated radiocarbon dates indicates fluted point groups probably occupied the NEM during, but not after, the YD. Abrupt warming at the YD terminus (circa 11,600 cal BP) caused a rapid reorganization of the region’s vegetation and prey species populations, coinciding in the archaeological record with a decline in Paleoindian biface fluting technology and altered regional site distributions. In the closed forests of the succeeding early Holocene NEM, late Paleoindian groups (11,600–10,000 cal BP) used unfluted, lanceolate points that may signal post-YD immigration to the NEM.
Keywords: chronology building; Colonization; Paleoindian; Younger Dryas

Crystal Chemistry of Th in Fluorapatite - Lou, Y.; Rakovan, J.; M. V. Lupulescu; Hughes, J. M.; Pan, Y. (American Mineralogist, 2011)
Keywords: geology

Hardwood Ash Nixtamalization May Lead to False Negatives for the Presence of Maize by Depleting Bulk delta13C in Carbonized Residues - Lovis, W. A.; Urquhart, G. R.; Raviele, M. E.; J. P. Hart (Journal of Archaeological Science, 2011)
Among the multiple proxies for detecting maize in precontact economies is the use of δ13C analysis of carbonized residues from ceramic cooking vessels. Although maize horticulture was widely established in Eastern North America (ENA) by A.D. 1000, there are carbonized residues from ceramic assemblages after this date that lack the elevated δ13C values indicative of the presence of maize. This may be due to the true absence of maize, or other factors including the masking of maize. Prior experimental research by Hart et al. demonstrated that the addition of C3 plants or consumers to two part mixes with maize can mask maize presence even when maize is the dominant ingredient. Here we investigate the effect of alkali processing of maize (nixtamalization) on δ13C using the widespread ENA process of boiling maize kernels with wood ash, a C3 product, to create hominy. Our experiments test whether or not the process of hardwood ash nixtamalization can mask the presence of maize in adhering carbonized residues by depleting δ13C values, and whether there is a reciprocal δ13C enrichment effect on the hardwood ash employed in nixtamalization. Overall, there is substantial δ13C depletion of residues when maize is cooked with hardwood ash, and hardwood ash cooked with maize shows the reciprocal enrichment. Therefore, the depleted values after the adoption of maize may be false negatives due to the nixtamalization process.
Keywords: Alkali processing; Bulk δ13C; Hominy; Maize histories; Pottery residue; Prehistoric cooking techniques

Al-rich Chromium-dravite from the #1 Mine, Balmat, St. Lawrence County, New York - M. V. Lupulescu; Rowe, R. (The Canadian Mineralogist, 2011)
Keywords: geology

Tourmaline-Group Minerals - M. V. Lupulescu (Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum, 2011)
Keywords: geology

Using Pegmatite Geochronology to Constrain Temporal Events in the Adirondack Mountains - M. V. Lupulescu; J. R. Chiarenzelli; Pullen, A. T.; Price, J. D. (Geosphere, 2011)
U-Pb laser ablation–multicollector–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) ages have been determined from large zircon crystals separated from pegmatites of the Adirondack Mountains, New York. Emplacement and metamorphic ages ranging from 949 ± 10 to 1222 ± 12 Ma help constrain the timing of igneous, metamorphic, and deformational history of the region, and are associated with Shawinigan, Ottawan, and Rigolet orogenesis. Geologically reasonable ages were obtained from most zircon separates despite large size, a limited number of grains, high uranium and thorium contents, dark and opaque interiors, high density of fractures, and widespread areas of metamictization and Pb loss. However, few grains show zoning or differences in composition when viewed with the backscattered mode on the scanning electron microscope. Large, clear, internally featureless, U-poor grains yield the best constrained ages. U-Th-Pb monazite ages, determined by electron probe, vary from 874 ± 27 Ma to 297 ± 62; the younger age may reflect the timing of hydrothermal fluid infiltration related to late Acadian events. This study suggests that, with appropriate care, zircons from pegmatites are a reasonable target for LA-MC-ICP-MS geochronology, widening the current arsenal of sampling targets.
Keywords: Adirondack Mountains; geochronology; Pegmatite

Cultural Resources Phase IA Survey Report for PIN 3023.08.121, Route 69 over Little Salmon River, Hamlet of Colosse, Town of Mexico, Oswego County, New York - A. Lynch; V. A. Schmitt (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Survey Report of PIN 3023.08.121, Route 69 over Little Salmon River, Hamlet of Colosse, Town of Mexico, Oswego County, New York - A. Lynch (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Site Examination Report for PIN 20134.27.101, The Hotel Site, City of Oneida, Madison County, New York. - D. E. Mazeau (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

The Plant Gall Collection - T. L. McCabe (Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum, 2011)
Keywords: biology

Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) Parasites: Potentially Useful Bioindicators of Freshwater Quality? - Minguez, L.; D. P. Molloy; Guerold, F.; L. Giamberini (Water Research, 2011)
In environmental quality bioassessment studies, analysis of host–parasite interactions may well be a valuable alternative to classical macroinvertebrate sampling approaches. Herein, we investigated whether zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) parasites could be useful biomonitoring tools. Mussel populations were sampled twice at two sites in northeastern France representing different levels of contamination and were characterized for parasite infection following standard histological methods. Our results indicated that sites of different environmental quality (i.e. chemical contamination) exhibited different parasite communities characterized by different trematode species and parasite associations. An additional significant finding was the positive correlation established between the prevalence of Rickettsiales-like organisms and metal contamination. Multivariate analyses were valuable in examining parasite communities.
Keywords: Bioassessment; Dreissena polymorpha; Environmental contamination; Host–parasite interactions

Proterozoic Phytoplankton and Timing of Chlorophyte Algae Origins - Moczydlowska, M.; E. Landing; Zang, W.; Palacio, T. (Palaeontology, 2011)
Abstract:  Morphological and reproductive features and cell wall ultrastructure and biochemistry of Proterozoic acritarchs are used to determine their affinity to modern algae. The first appearance datum of these microbiota is traced to infer a minimum age of the divergence of the algal classes to which they may belong. The chronological appearance of microfossils that represent phycoma-like and zygotic cysts and vegetative cells and/or aplanospores, respectively, interpreted as prasinophyceaen and chlorophyceaen microalgae is related to the Viridiplantae phylogeny. An inferred minimum age of the Chlorophyte origin is before c. 1800 Ma, the Prasinophyceae at c. 1650 Ma and the Chlorophyceae at c. 1450 Ma. These divergence times differ from molecular clock estimates, and the palaeontological evidence suggests that they are older.
Keywords: acritarchs; algae; microfossils; phylogeny; phytoplankton; Proterozoic

Cultural Resource Site Examination Report of the Henry Stacy Site (NYSM # 12283) for PIN 3805.44.121, Culvert Replacement 104-3406-3095, Town of New Haven, Oswego County, New York - Moragne, S. (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1085.39.101, Route 146 from Blue Barns Road to 146A, Town of Clifton Park, Saratoga County, New York - Moragne, S.; V. A. Schmitt (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 3287.20.101, Route 370 over the Seneca River, Towns of Lysander and Salina, Onondaga County, New York - Moragne, S.; V. A. Schmitt (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Screening Survey Report for PIN 5105.38.101, BIN 1024510 and 1024540, NY Route 39, Town of Sardinia, Erie County, New York - Moragne, S. (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

18th-Century Pitt and Liberty Bowls - Orser, C. E. (Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum, 2011)
Keywords: anthropology history

The Archaeology of Poverty and the Poverty of Archaeology - Orser, C. E. (International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2011)
Keywords: anthropology

Beneath the Surface of Tenement Life: The Dialectics of Race and Poverty During America's First Gilded Age - Orser, C. E. (Historical Archaeology, 2011)
Keywords: anthropology

Archaeology at the Watts Blacksmith Shop in Parishville Center - M. Pickands (The St. Lawrence County Historical Association Quarterly, 2011)
Keywords: anthropology history

Cultural Resources Data Recovery Report for the Brumaghim Site, Town of Glenville, Schenectady County, New York - M. Pickands (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Archaeology Project Ideas - C. B. Rieth (Newsletter of the New York State Archaeological Association, 2011)
Keywords: anthropology

Cultural Resources Historic Preservation Monitoring Report # 11 (May) for the Lake Champlain Bridge Project, Crown Point, New York. - C. B. Rieth; B. R. Dale (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Historic Preservation Monitoring Report # 12 for PIN 1805.81.101, Lake Champlain Bridge Project, Crown Point, New York. (June 2011) - C. B. Rieth; A. Gore (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Historic Preservation Monitoring Report # 13 (July 2011), Lake Champlain Bridge Project, Crown Point, New York - C. B. Rieth; A. Gore (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Historic Preservation Monitoring Report # 14 (August 2011) for the Lake Champlain Bridge Project, Town of Crown Point, Crown Point, New York - C. B. Rieth (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Historic Preservation Monitoring Report # 18 (December 2011) for the Lake Champlain Bridge - C. B. Rieth (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Monitoring and Data Recovery Plan for PIN X768.18, Little Bay, Queens, New York - C. B. Rieth (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Historic Preservation Monitoring Report for the Lake Champlain Bridge Project (October 2011), Crown Point, New York - C. B. Rieth; A. Gore (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report # 8 for the Lake Champlain Bridge Reconstruction Project (PIN 1805.81.101), Crown Point, New York - C. B. Rieth (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1808.68, DEC Campground Restoration, Lake Champlain Bridge Project, Crown Point, Essex County, New York - C. B. Rieth; A. Gore (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1935.71, Livingston Avenue Bridge Project, City of Albany and Rensselaer, New York - C. B. Rieth; R. Dean; D. Staley; S. Higgins; Moragne, S.; L. J. Xinakes; Pellerin, J. (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Current Research in New York State Archaeology: A.D. 700-1300 - C. B. Rieth; J. P. Hart (New York State Museum Record, 2011)
This volume is based on a symposium that we organized for theNewYork StateArchaeologicalAssociation’s 94th annual meeting in Ellenville, New York, on April 24, 2010. Our intention for the symposium was to highlight thewide range of current archaeological research in NewYork during the period of time we have referred to as the early Late Prehistoric period (A.D. 700–1300). As anyone following New York archaeology realizes, this is an arbitrary slice of time within the dynamic history of Native Americans in the state, but one that has been quite contentious over the past few decades. This contentiousness has centered on the origins of the ethnic landscape that was recorded by early European missionaries, settlers, and explorers.Was that landscape the result of migrations and displacements, or was it part of a long-evolving, in situ pattern? Can these two alternatives really capture the dynamics of the past, or are they too simplistic in their conceptualizations? There is a wide range of ongoing scholarship on these questions. What we wanted from the symposium and ultimately this volume was to show that while these questions are important, they are far from the only topics of research being addressed by archaeologists working on the early Late Prehistoric period. The symposium comprised nine papers, the abstracts of which follow this preface. Also included in the symposium was a discussion of the papers by James Bradley. The papers included reports on excavations at specific sites, regional settlement pattern analyses, lithic sourcing, ceramic analysis, and a summary of results from an ongoing research program involving a variety of analyses. The symposium certainly captured a wide range of research that demonstrated the dynamic state of archaeological investigations within New York. The present volume comprises updates of six of those papers, an introduction, and an eighth paper that was not presented in the symposium. As such, the volume provides a strong sense of the state of archaeological research on the early Late Prehistoric period in New York at the beginning of the 2010s. Thanks are due to those colleagues who participated in the symposium and to those who contributed to this volume.Meeting deadlines is not always an easy proposition, but in all instances the deadlines we established for chapter authors were met, making the production of this volume not only easier, but also very quick. The many peer reviewers for the volume and its individual chapters met our deadlines and in all instances provided well considered comments, suggestions, and criticisms, which resulted in a stronger volume. Thanks are due to Jonathan Lothrop who coordinated the peer review process for the volume and Janice Morrison for copy editing. Thanks also toMaria Sparks for managing the volume’s production.
Keywords: anthropology

Historic Preservation Monitoring Report for the Lake Champlain Bridge (Report # 17) - C. B. Rieth (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Introduction to Current Research in New York Archaeology A.D. 700-1300 - C. B. Rieth; J. P. Hart (Current Research in New York State Archaeology: A.D. 700-1300, 2011)
The early Late Prehistoric period (A.D. 700–1300) is a time in New York that traditionally has been seen by archaeologists as a period of change, from mobile hunter-gatherers to settled agricultural villagers. This traditional understanding of the past is being replaced by more dynamic understandings based on the applications of new methods, techniques, and theories. As such, archaeologists working on this slice of time in New York are in a period of transition. The works presented in this volume reflect that transition. Here we place the volume in the broader context of research on this vital period of inquiry in New York.
Keywords: anthropology

Review of Archaeology and Cultural Resource Management: Visions for the Future. - C. B. Rieth (Anthropology Review Database, 2011)
Much of the archaeology currently underway in the United States occurs within the framework of cultural resource management. The contributors address cultural resource management’s ability to protect and determine significance of archaeological sites, define professional standards, and incorporate the public into the preservation of the archaeological record, offer suggestions for the future.
Keywords: Archaeology; Cultural resource management

The Schoharie Creek III (NYSM # 10841), Central Bridge, New York - C. B. Rieth (New York Archaeological Council Newsletter, 2011)
Keywords: anthropology Cultural Resources

Trace Element Analysis of Lithic Artifacts from the Trapps Gap Site - C. B. Rieth; Johnson, L. L. (Current Research in New York State Archaeology: A.D. 700-1300, 2011)
Traditional models of Late Prehistoric (A.D. 700–1300) interaction in the middle Hudson Valley suggest strong ties with contemporaneous groups in southern New England. Recent research, in the form of trace element analysis of lithic artifacts from the Trapps Gap site in Ulster County, New York, questions this assumption suggesting a more diverse and complex landscape in which groups interacted. This paper will discuss whether all of the samples were procured from the same deposit, how such procurement patterns may have changed over time, and what such data might reveal about regional behavior.
Keywords: anthropology

Cultural Resources Monitoring Report for Route 370, Onondaga Lake Parkway, Liverpool, New York - J. Ross (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 3057.56.101, Cayuga Heights Road over Route 13, Town of Lansing and Ithaca, Tompkins County, New York - J. Ross; M.S. LoRusso (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 3057.57.101, Route 13 over Carter Creek, Town of Newfield, Tompkins County, New York - J. Ross; M.S. LoRusso (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 3805.44.121, Culvert Replacement, Town of Minetto, Oswego County, New York - J. Ross (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN SR 481, Town of Scriba, Oswego County, New York - J. Ross (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Quantifying the Sensitivity of Camera Traps: An Adapted Distance Sampling Approach - Rowcliffe, J. M.; Carbone, C.; Jansen, P. A.; R. W. Kays; Kranstauber, B. (Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2011)
1. Abundance estimation is a pervasive goal in ecology. The rate of detection by motion-sensitive camera traps can, in principle, provide information on the abundance of many species of terrestrial vertebrates that are otherwise difficult to survey. The random encounter model (REM, Rowcliffe et al. 2008) provides a means estimating abundance from camera trap rate but requires camera sensitivity to be quantified. 2. Here, we develop a method to estimate the area effectively monitored by cameras, which is one of the most important codeterminants of detection rate. Our method borrows from distance sampling theory, applying detection function models to data on the position (distance and angle relative to the camera) where the animals are first detected. Testing the reliability of this approach through simulation, we find that bias depends on the effective detection angle assumed but was generally low at less than 5% for realistic angles typical of camera traps. 3. We adapted standard detection functions to allow for the possibility of smaller animals passing beneath the field of view close to the camera, resulting in reduced detection probability within that zone. Using a further simulation to test this approach, we find that detection distance can be estimated with little or no bias if detection probability is certain for at least some distance from the camera. 4. Applying this method to a 1-year camera trapping data set from Barro Colorado Island, Panama, we show that effective detection distance is related strongly positively to species body mass and weakly negatively to species average speed of movement. There was also a strong seasonal effect, with shorter detection distance during the wet season. Effective detection angle is related more weakly to species body mass, and again strongly to season, with a wider angle in the wet season. 5. This method represents an important step towards practical application of the REM, including abundance estimation for relatively small (<1 kg) species.
Keywords: abundance estimation; animal density; camera detection zone; detection probability; passive infrared motion sensor; Random Encounter Model

An Historical Record of Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) in Lake Champlain - Schmidt, R. E.; R. S. Morse (Northeastern Naturalist, 2011)
Recent establishment of invasive Alosa pseudoharengus (Alewife) in Lake Champlain and in the lake's watershed has been cause for concern. Based on three larval specimens newly discovered in the New York State Museum collections, we document Alewife in Lake Champlain in 1929. Therefore, there has been at least one early unsuccessful introduction of Alewife into Lake Champlain and there may have been others that escaped notice. Changing lake conditions may have allowed Alewife to recently become established.
Keywords: Alewife; Alosa pseudoharengus; Invasive species; Lake Champlain; New York

Testing the Paleo-Maritime Hypothesis for Glacial Lake Iroquois: Implications for Changing Views of Past Culture and Technology - Schultz, M.; S. Winchell-Sweeney; Rush, L. (The Archaeology of Maritime Landscapes, 2011)
Comparison of stone tool assemblages and their associations with paleo-shorelines across North America encourages us to begin thinking in terms of maritime culture dating back as far as 8,000–10,000 years. Locations as diverse as Fort Drum, New York, San Clemente Island, California, and Hill AFB Bombing Range, Utah, all offer sites, collections, and information that can illuminate a possible early type of maritime cultural landscape. Evidence for human adaptation to Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene shoreline environments will emphasize the potential for use and construction of boats with a discussion of the implications for changing archaeological characterization of Paleoindian people.
Keywords: Early Holocene; late Pleistocene; maritime culture; paleo-shorelines; Paleoindian; stone tool assemblages

Cypripedium montanum in the East? - C. J. Sheviak (The Native Orchid Journal, 2011)
Keywords: biology

Cypripedium x alaskanum - C. J. Sheviak (The Native Orchid Conference Journal, 2011)
Keywords: biology

Cypripedium yatabeanum - C. J. Sheviak (The Native Orchid Conference Journal, 2011)
Keywords: biology

The Identity and Occurrence of Platanthera convallariifolia in North America - C. J. Sheviak (The Native Orchid Conference Journal, 2011)
Keywords: biology

New Varieties of Native Orchids - C. J. Sheviak (Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum, 2011)
Keywords: biology

Platanthera huronensis in the North, and the Occurrence of P. hyperborea in North America - C. J. Sheviak (The Native Orchid Conference Journal, 2011)
Keywords: biology

Cultural Resource Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 43387, Great Meadow Correctional Facility, Town of Fort Ann, Washington County, New York - Sobik, C. (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1043.54.101, Route 9 Pottersville, Warren County, New York - Sobik, C. (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report of PIN 1941.23.101, Route 4, Village of Whitehall, Saratoga County, New York - Sobik, C. (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for OGS # 43475, Repair Sewer System, Willard Drug Treatment Facility, Town of Ovid, Seneca County, New York - D. Staley (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 1808.31.101, Addendum to Proposed Stream Mitigation site, Kayaderosseras Creek, Northline Road, City of Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, New York - D. Staley (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 5134.40.101, Route 5 over Big Sister Creek, Town of Evans, Erie County, New York - D. Staley; V. A. Schmitt (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report for PIN 9806.09.101, C96335, Large Culvert Replacement and Repair, Town of Roxbury, Delaware County, New York - D. Staley (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey Report of PIN 9806.09.101, NY Route 23, C963034, Large Culvert Replacement and Repair, Town of Roxbury, Delaware County, New York - D. Staley; M.S. LoRusso (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

Cultural Resources Screening Report for PIN 5134.41, Route 5 over Big Sister Creek, Town of Evans, Erie County, New York. - D. Staley (2011)
Keywords: Cultural Resources

The Provenance and Use of Etowah Palettes - Steponaitis, V. P.; Swanson, S. E.; Wheeler, G.; P. B. Drooker (American Antiquity, 2011)
Based on geological and stylistic evidence, we argue that stone palettes found at Etowah were made locally from nearby raw materials. We also show that they were wrapped in textiles and kept in bundles, i.e., that they were objects used in ritual. Etowah palettes were used as portable altars, perhaps in ceremonies that involved anointing other objects with colorful (and spiritually powerful) substances. The realization that palettes were bundled ritual gear should cause us to rethink common assumptions that such objects moved from site to site by means of "trade," or that they functioned as "prestige goods" in the sense of Frankenstein and Rowlands (1978).
Keywords: Archaeology; Etowah; ritual; Stone tablets

Linguliform Brachiopods from the Terminal Cambrian and Lowest Ordovician of the Oaxaquia Microcontinent (Southern Mexico) - Streng, M.; Melbin, B. B,; E. Landing; Keppie, J. D. (Journal of Paleontology, 2011)
Eighteen taxa of linguliform brachiopods, mainly represented by acrotretoids, are reported from the Upper Cambrian (Furongian, Stage 10) and Lower Ordovician (Tremadocian) Tiñu Formation of Oaxaca State, Mexico. At the time of deposition, this area was part of Oaxaquia, which was either a microcontinent or an integral part of the Gondwanan margin. Whereas certain trilobites seem to indicate a Gondwanan affinity, the Tiñu brachiopod faunas show a less definite paleogeographic relationship. Some taxa have previously only been reported from Laurentia (Eurytreta cf. fillmorensis, Eurytreta cf. campaniformis), and one taxon is best known from the Avalon microcontinent (Eurytreta cf. sabrinae). However, the relatively high percentage of new and potentially endemic taxa (Oaxaquiatreta labrifera n. gen. n. sp., Tapuritreta reclinata n. sp., Oaxaquiatreta sp., Eurytreta? n. sp., Acrotretidae n. gen. n. sp., Obolinae gen. and sp. indet.) and the lack of other typical Laurentian, Gondwanan, or Avalonian taxa suggest either a certain degree of insularity of Oaxaquia or reflects a more temperate, unrestricted marine environment during the Early Paleozoic. Other taxa reported from the Tiñu Formation include Semitreta sp., Lingulella? spp., Obolinae gen. and sp. indet., Eoscaphelasma? sp., Ottenbyella? sp. A and sp. B, and Acrotretidae gen. and sp. indet. A, B, and C. Eurytreta and Semitreta are critically reviewed and several taxa previously assigned to them have been excluded. An emended diagnosis for the genus Eurytreta is presented. The presence of delthyrium and notothyrium-like structures in the siphonotretid Oaxaquiatreta n. gen. further strengthens the previously proposed relationship between the Siphonotretida and Paterinida.
Keywords: Eurytreta; Linguliform brachiopods; Mexico; Paterinida; Siphonotretida

Carbon Dioxide Storage Potential for the Queenston Formation Near the AES Cayuga Coal-fired Power Plant in Tompkins County, New York - Tamulonis, K. L.; Jordan, T. E.; B. E. Slater (Environmental Geosciences, 2011)
Keywords: geology

Associated Terrestrial and Marine Fossils in the Late-glacial Presumpscot Formation, Southern Maine, U.S.A., and the Marine Reservoir Effect on Radiocarbon Ages - Thompson, W. B.; Griggs, C. B.; N. G. Miller; Nelson, R. E.; Weddle, T. K.; Kilian, T. M. (Quaternary Research, 2011)
Keywords: biology paleontology

Bedrock Geology of the Rensselaerville Quadrangle, New York - C. A. Ver Straeten (Map & Chart Series, 2011)

The Marcellus Subgroup in its Type Area, Finger Lakes Area of New York, and Beyond - C. A. Ver Straeten; G.C. Baird; C. Brett; Lash, G.; Over, J.; Karaca, C.; Jordan, T.; Blood, R. (2011)
Keywords: geology

Mudrock Sequence Stratigraphy: A Multi-proxy (Sedimentological, Paleobiological, Geochemical) Approach, Devonian Appalachian Basin - C. A. Ver Straeten; C. Brett; Sageman, B. B. (Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2011)
Delineation of stratigraphic sequences and their component systems tracts in mudrock-dominated facies is generally difficult due to the relatively homogenous, fine-grained nature of the strata. In this study, we apply a multi-proxy analytical approach to a thick Devonian mudrock-dominated succession through detailed analysis of sedimentologic, paleobiologic, and geochemical data through 600 m of mudrock-rich facies. Varied combinations of proxies prove to be most useful in delineating sequence development in anoxic-, dysoxic-, and oxic-dominated mudrock settings, and in mixed mudrock–carbonate and mixed mudrock–sandstone successions. These interpretations are tested against an established sequence stratigraphic framework for 11 Middle to Upper Devonian (mid-Eifelian to lower Famennian) sequences in the Appalachian Basin. The sequences presented here further detail and refine global Devonian T–R cycles Id to IIe of the well known Johnson, Sandberg and Klapper sea-level curve. The usefulness of proxies in delineating depositional sequences and systems tracts varies dependent on depositional, paleoceanographic, paleoecologic, and early diagenetic conditions. Those proxies that show a range of variations in specific settings, such as grain size, degree of bioturbation, and concentrations of TOC and elements/elemental ratios (e.g., CaCO3, Al, Ti, Mg, Sc, Si, Mo, Ni, V; Si/Al and Ti/Al) may help delineate depositional dynamics related to redox conditions, condensation, dilution, and clastic, biologic, and/or authigenic sediment sources. In fine-grained, anoxic-dominated facies, interpreted to represent basinal settings, sequences and systems tracts are best delineated by anoxic-related proxies TOC and Mo. In intermediate, dysoxic-dominated settings, TOC, Mo, bioturbation, and Al remain effective indicators of sequence development. In relatively oxygenated, mudrock-rich and carbonate poor sequences, bioturbation may function as the most effective proxy for recognizing systems tracts. For mixed fine-grained siliciclastic–carbonate successions, concentration and type of CaCO3 (e.g., benthic macroskeletal, pelagic styliolinid/dacryoconarid, and micritic/calcisilt) are useful in identifying position within cycles. In more proximal, carbonate-poor successions, fine- and coarse-grained fractions become increasingly differentiated; these can be distinguished by relatively high Si/Al ratios (Si/Al ≥ ca. 5). Elemental ratios indicative of coarser clastic input (e.g., Si/Al, Zr/Al and Ti/Al) are applicable to identifying position with a sequence, but they may also be affected by input from eolian, volcanogenic, or biogenic sources. In addition, fluxes of siliciclastic, carbonate, and TOC sediment types may dilute the concentration of the others. Multiple lines of evidence should be examined in interpreting relative depth and position within a sequence.
Keywords: Acadian Orogeny; Appalachian Basin; Devonian; Geochemical proxies; Mudrocks; sequence stratigraphy

A Genome-wide Perspective on the Evolutionary History of Enigmatic Wolf-like Canids - vonHoldt, B. M.; Pollinger, J. P.; Earl, D. A.; Knowles, J. C.; Boyko, A. R.; Parker, H.; Geffen, E.; Pilot, M.; Jedrzejewski, W.; Jedrzejewska, B.; Sidorovich, V.; Greco, C.; et al. (Genome Research, 2011)
High-throughput genotyping technologies developed for model species can potentially increase the resolution of demographic history and ancestry in wild relatives. We use a SNP genotyping microarray developed for the domestic dog to assay variation in over 48K loci in wolf-like species worldwide. Despite the high mobility of these large carnivores, we find distinct hierarchical population units within gray wolves and coyotes that correspond with geographic and ecologic differences among populations. Further, we test controversial theories about the ancestry of the Great Lakes wolf and red wolf using an analysis of haplotype blocks across all 38 canid autosomes. We find that these enigmatic canids are highly admixed varieties derived from gray wolves and coyotes, respectively. This divergent genomic history suggests that they do not have a shared recent ancestry as proposed by previous researchers. Interspecific hybridization, as well as the process of evolutionary divergence, may be responsible for the observed phenotypic distinction of both forms. Such admixture complicates decisions regarding endangered species restoration and protection.
Keywords: Evolutionary divergence; Genotyping; Interspecific hybridization; Wolve-like canids

A New Zanclognatha from Eastern North America and a Preliminary Key to the Larvae of the Genus - Wagner, D. L.; T. L. McCabe (ZooKeys, 2011)
The adult of a widespread but previously undescribed species of Zanclognatha Lederer is described from eastern North America. Images of the mature larva and life history datafor Zanclognatha dentata sp. n. are included, along with a preliminary key to the larvae of ten eastern North American Zanclognatha species.
Keywords: detritus feeding; Herminiinae; larvae; species radiation; Zanclognatha

Visions and Reality: Reconsidering the Creation and Development of Lowell's National Park, 1966-1992 - Weible, R. (The Public Historian, 2011)
For more than four decades, historians, historic preservationists, journalists, and public officials have debated the purpose and appropriateness of a national park in Lowell, Massachusetts. This article, written by the first NPS historian in Lowell, builds on existing literature and interprets the founding and early development of Lowell National Historical Park in the context of changing national politics. It locates the concept for the park in the Great Society, documents the contested debate over the park's founding in the 1970s, and argues that the park developed very differently than planned during the radically changed political environment of the 1980s.
Keywords: 1980s politics; Lowell; National Park Service; Patrick Mogan; Paul Tsongas

The Cambrian (Sunwaptan, Furongian) Agnostoid Arthropod Lotagnostus Whitehouse, 1936, in Laurentian and Avalonian North America: Systematics and Biostratigraphic Significance - Westrop, S. R.; Adrain, J. M.; E. Landing (Bulletin of Geosciences, 2011)
Keywords: geology paleontology

Lower Cambrian (Branchian) Eodiscoid Trilobites from the Lower Brigus Formation, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada - Westrop, S. R.; E. Landing (Memoirs of the Association of Australasian Palaeontologists, 2011)
Eodiscoids form a significant component of the Lower Cambrian (Branchian) trilobite fauna of the St. Mary's and lower Jigging Cove members of the Brigus Formation exposed along Conception and Trinity bays, northern Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. Two species of Serrodiscus Richter and Richter, four species of Hebediscus Whitehouse, and rare sclerites of Meniscuchus? pik and Calodiscus Howell are documented; type material of M.? helena (Walcott) is reillustrated. Hebediscus attleborensis (Shaler and Foerste) is restricted to the types, and H. williamsi is new. A parsimony analysis indicates that Serrodiscus is paraphyletic but supports monophyly of Acidiscus Rasetti, Bolboparia Rasetti and Stigmadiscus Rasetti. Above a sparsely fossiliferous interval in the lowest part of the Brigus, three eodiscoid faunas can be identified in the upper St. Mary's and lower Jigging Cove members, in ascending order, the Hebediscus planus, H. williamsi and Calodiscus cf. C. lobatus faunas. The lower two faunas correspond to part of the traditional "Callavia Zone" of previous workers.
Keywords: paleontology