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Research about Arizona;Utah

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Arizona;Utah.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2014

Traditional cultural use as a tool for inferring biogeography and provenance: a case study involving painted turtles ( Chrysemys picta ) and Hopi Native American culture in Arizona, USA

Inferring the natural distribution and native status of organisms is complicated by the role of ancient and modern humans in utilization and translocation. Archaeological data and traditional cultural use provide tools for resolving these issues. Although the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) has a transcontinental range in the United States, populations in the Desert Southwest are scattered and isolated. This pattern may be related to the fragmentation of a more continuous distribution as a result of climate change after the Pleistocene, or translocation by Native Americans who used turtles for food and ceremonial purposes. Because of these conflicting or potentially confounded possibilities, the distribution and status of C. picta as a native species in the state of Arizona has been questioned in the herpetological literature. We present evidence of a population that once occurred in the vicinity of Winslow, Arizona, far from current remnant populations on the upper Little Colorado River. Members of the Native American Hopi tribe are known to have hunted turtles for ceremonial purposes in this area as far back as AD 1290 and possibly earlier. Remains of C. picta are known from several pueblos in the vicinity including Homol'ovi, Awatovi, and Walpi. Given the great age of records for C. picta in Arizona and the concordance of its fragmented and isolated distribution with other reptiles in the region, we conclude that painted turtles are part of the native fauna of Arizona.

Arizona;Utah↗
USGS2014

The presence and distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and inorganic elements in water and lakebed materials and the potential for bioconcentration in biota at established sampling sites on Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona

The National Park Service is responsible for monitoring the effects of visitor use on the quality of water, lakebed material (bottom sediments), and biota, in Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona. A sampling program was begun in 2010 to assess the presence, distribution, and concentrations of organic and inorganic compounds in the water column and bottom sediment. In response to an Environmental Impact Statement regarding personal watercraft and as a continuation from previous studies by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, water samples were collected and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using semipermeable membrane devices and inorganic elements using a fixed-bottle sampler deployed at established monitoring sites during 2010 and 2011. Lakebed material samples were also analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and inorganic elements, some of which could be harmful to aquatic biota if present at concentrations above established aquatic life criteria. Of the 44 PAH compounds analyzed, 26 individual compounds were detected above the censoring limit in the water column by semipermeable membrane devices. The highest number of compounds detected were at Lone Rock Beach, Wahweap Marina, Rainbow Bridge National Monument, and Antelope Marina which are all located in the southern part of Lake Powell where visitation and boat use is high. Because PAHs can remain near their source, the potential for bioconcentration is highest near these sites. The PAH compound found in the highest concentration was phenol (5,902 nanograms per liter), which is included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s priority pollutants list. The dissolved inorganic chemistry of water samples measured at the sampling sites in Lake Powell defined three different patterns of elements: (1) concentrations were similar between sites in the upper part of the lake near Farley Canyon downstream to Halls Crossing Marina, a distance of about 36 lake miles, (2) concentrations varied depending on the element between Halls Crossing Marina downstream to the mouth of the Escalante River, a distance of about 33 lake miles, and (3) concentrations were similar between sites from below the mouth of the Escalante River to Glen Canyon Dam, a distance of about 68 lake miles. Analysis of lakebed bottom sediment material samples detected PAH compounds at all sampling sites except at Halls Crossing Marina, Stanton Creek, and Forgotten Canyon. Twenty-four of 44 PAHs analyzed in lakebed material were detected above the reporting limit. Perylene was the most prevalent compound detected above the reporting limit in lakebed material and was detected at three sampling sites. Concentrations of perylene ranged from an estimate of 24.0 to 47.9 micrograms per kilogram (μg/kg). Fluoranthene had the highest concentration of any PAH and was detected at the Wahweap Marina with a concentration of 565 μg/kg. The highest sum of concentrations for all compounds found in lakebed material samples at one site was at the Wahweap Marina, which had concentrations five times higher than the next highest site. The three major tributaries to Lake Powell—the Colorado, Escalante, and San Juan Rivers—all showed elevated concentrations of inorganic elements in their delta sediments for most elements relative to the majority of the sediment samples taken from the lake itself. However, there were four lake sites that had concentrations for most inorganic elements that equaled or exceeded those of the tributaries. Two of these sites were at the northeast part of the lake, nearest to the Colorado River as it enters Lake Powell (Farley Canyon and Blue Notch Canyon), one was at the Escalante River below 50-Mile Canyon, and other was at Antelope Marina.

Arizona;Utah↗
USGS2013

Anatomical and genetic variation of western Oxyloma (Pulmonata: Succineidae) concerning the endangered Kanab ambersnail ( Oxyloma haydeni kanabense ) in Arizona and Utah

The land snail genus Oxyloma (Pulmonata: Succineidae) includes the Federally endangered Kanab ambersnail (Oxyloma haydeni kanabense Pilsbry), which is known at the time of this study from only two locations in the United States: Three Lakes, Utah, and Vaseys Paradise, Arizona, on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Since 1994, the Kanab ambersnail has received much attention because its presence at Vaseys Paradise has implications for the ecosystem-wide management of the Colorado River. This attention is primarily because an experimental high-flow release of water from Glen Canyon Dam in 1996 destroyed or degraded Kanab ambersnail habitat at Vaseys Paradise. This experimental high flow was designed to replicate natural flow regimes throughout the Grand Canyon river corridor. However, as a result of the habitat destruction at Vaseys Paradise, in 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled that no further experimental high-discharge floods could be carried out until additional Kanab ambersnail populations were discovered or established. This mandate created a situation where the management of a single endangered species conflicted directly with the management of an entire ecosystem. Although since 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has permitted the use of flows as high as stage heights equivalent to 44,000 cubic feet per second, higher flows were requested by various Grand Canyon stakeholders and scientists but were not possible owing to low storage of Lake Powell. Adding to the controversy about Oxyloma and the Kanab ambersnail were previous anatomical and genetic analyses of the genus, which showed that genetic characteristics of specimens did not correspond with their identifications based on traditional taxonomic criteria, raising questions about the validity of the taxonomy of Oxyloma and the protected status of Kanab ambersnails. Specifically, a previous study suggested that the endangered Kanab ambersnail population at Three Lakes was more closely related to other, non-endangered ambersnail populations across the Southwest. In contrast, the Kanab ambersnail population at Vaseys Paradise appeared to be genetically distinct from all other ambersnail populations studied. Management options for the ambersnail population at Vaseys Paradise, at the time of this study, conflict with ecosystem-wide measures proposed to benefit other natural resources in the Grand Canyon. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not revise the 1995 Kanab Ambersnail Recovery Plan until further genetic and anatomical analyses provide more fine-scale taxonomic resolution of the identity of Oxyloma populations on the Colorado Plateau and elsewhere in the American Southwest. Likewise, interagency cooperators cannot revise down-listing criteria for the Kanab ambersnail until substantial evidence is provided identifying distinct Oxyloma taxa or a larger group of conspecifics that reasonably could be managed as one species. Therefore, given the current controversy about the taxonomy of Oxyloma and the endangered Kanab ambersnail, new detailed analyses were completed of morphological and genetic variation from many Oxyloma specimens collected at 12 western North American locations. These new data have allowed us to evaluate many issues related to Kanab ambersnail taxonomy. Using this dataset, the study of shells and anatomy indicates that the holotype of Oxyloma haydeni kanabense plausibly can be regarded as a member of the same species as the populations of Oxyloma analyzed in this study. Additionally, the presence of gene flow among all populations is evidence that they are members of the same species. Almost all the observed genetic diversity can be accounted for by short-distance or long-distance dispersal events between populations in this study. Our major taxonomic conclusion is that all samples collected for this study were drawn from populations of the same species.

Arizona;Utah↗
USGS2012

Establishment of sentinel sampling sites to monitor changes in water and sediment quality and biota related to visitor use at Lake Powell, Arizona and Utah, 2004-2006

Twenty sentinel sampling sites were established and sampled during 2004–06 at Lake Powell, Arizona and Utah, by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service—Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The sentinel sampling sites provide sampling locations on Lake Powell, the Nation’s second largest reservoir that can be visited and sampled repeatedly over time to monitor changes in water and sediment quality and also biota. The sites were established in response to an Environmental Impact Statement that addressed the use of personal watercraft on Lake Powell. The use of personal watercraft can potentially introduce hydrocarbons and other contaminants and are of concern to the health of visitors and aquatic habitats of these environments. Data from this initial sampling period (2004–06) include (1) discrete measurements of water temperature, specific conductance, pH, and water clarity; (2) major ions, nutrients, and organic carbon; (3) trace elements including rare earths; (4) organic compounds including oil and grease, total petroleum hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds; (5) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in lakebed sediments; and (6) continuous depth profile measurements of water temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity. Also, the National Park Service-Glen Canyon National Recreation Area collected bacteria samples during this initial sampling period.

Arizona;Utah↗
USGS1925

Rock formations in the Colorado Plateau of Southeastern Utah and Northern Arizona

The field work of which this report is a record was done in the summer and fall of 1921 by members of the United States Geological Survey. A project to build a large storage dam at Lees Ferry, on Colorado River in northern Arizona, called for a detailed topographic survey of the area covered by the project, for the purpose of determining the capacity of the reservoir. This work was undertaken by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the Southern California Edison Co. Three surveying parties were sent to the field, each accompanied by a geologist, whose specific duty was to study and report on the rock formations within the area to be flooded. One topographic party, under A. T. Fowler, which started at Lees Ferry and worked up stream in Arizona, was accompanied by Kirk Bryan. Another party, under K. W. Trimble, which started near Bluff and worked down the San Juan and thence down the Colorado, was accompanied by H. D. Miser. The third party, under W. R. Chenoweth, worked from Fremont River to the Waterpocket Fold and then returned to Green River, Utah, and traversed Cataract Canyon during the period of low water. C. R. Longwell was with this party until September, when his place was taken by Sidney Paige. Mr. Paige, in company with the Kolb brothers, E. C. La Rue, and Henry Ranch, left the Chenoweth party after Cataract Canyon had been surveyed and rowed down the Colorado to the mouth of the San Juan, where they were joined by Mr. Miser. Then they took a hurried trip by boat down the Colorado to Lees Ferry, making a few short stops and visiting the famous Rainbow Bridge. Thus the geology of the canyons of Colorado and San Juan rivers and of the lower parts of tributary canyons was examined continuously, and reconnaissance work was done in the country back from the rivers. At the same time a fourth party, under R. C. Moore, was mapping parts of Kane, Garfield, and Wayne counties, Utah, to determine whether oil might be found there. The present paper includes brief descriptions of the rocks of the regions traversed, detailed geologic sections, and columnar sections measured not only by the geologists who accompanied these parties but by other geologists who have worked in the same regions or in adjoining regions. The positions of the columnar sections measured and many of the other sections are shown on Figure 1.

Arizona;Utah↗