White Sands National Monument Research Articles

The Lepidoptera of Cuatrociénegas Protected Area 1. A new species in the genus Callistege Hübner, [1823] (Erebidae, Erebinae, Euclidiini) from the Chihuahuan Desert, Coahuila, Mexico.

A new species of Callistege Hübner, [1823] (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Erebinae, Euclidiini) is described from Cuatrociénegas Protected Area and Biosphere Preserve in Coahuila, Mexico. Adult male and female moths are illustrated, including genitalia. Callistege clara Homziak & Metzler, sp. nov. is one of 27 new species of insects discovered during an inventory survey of arthropods of White Sands National Monument, USA, and Cuatrociénegas Protected Area (Mexico), funded by the U.S. National Park Service. The Cuatrociénegas Basin is known for high endemism of aquatic and wetland biota within the Chihuahuan Desert. Callistege clara Homziak & Metzler, sp. nov. was found in a wetland environment.

Subsurface Microbial Ecology at Sediment-Groundwater Interface in Sulfate-Rich Playa; White Sands National Monument, New Mexico.

The hypersaline sediment and groundwater of playa lake, Lake Lucero, at the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico were examined for microbial community composition, geochemical gradients, and mineralogy during the dry season along a meter and a half depth profile of the sediment vs. the groundwater interface. Lake Lucero is a highly dynamic environment, strongly characterized by the capillary action of the groundwater, the extreme seasonality of the climate, and the hypersalinity. Sediments are predominantly composed of gypsum with minor quartz, thenardite, halite, quartz, epsomite, celestine, and clays. Geochemical analysis has revealed the predominance of nitrates over ammonium in all of the analyzed samples, indicating oxygenated conditions throughout the sediment column and in groundwater. Conversely, the microbial communities are primarily aerobic, gram-negative, and are largely characterized by their survival adaptations. Halophiles and oligotrophs are ubiquitous for all the samples. The very diverse communities contain methanogens, phototrophs, heterotrophs, saprophytes, ammonia-oxidizers, sulfur-oxidizers, sulfate-reducers, iron-reducers, and nitrifiers. The microbial diversity varied significantly between groundwater and sediment samples as their temperature adaptation inferences that revealed potential psychrophiles inhabiting the groundwater and thermophiles and mesophiles being present in the sediment. The dynamism of this environment manifests in the relatively even character of the sediment hosted microbial communities, where significant taxonomic distinctions were observed. Therefore, sediment and groundwater substrates are considered as separate ecological entities. We hope that the variety of the discussed playa environments and the microorganisms may be considered a useful terrestrial analog providing valuable information to aid future astrobiological explorations.

Turbulence Coherence Within Canonical and Realistic Aeolian Dune-Field Roughness Sublayers

Large-eddy simulation has been used to study the formation and spatial nature of inertia-dominated turbulent flows responding to aeolian sand dunes. The former is recovered from simulations initialized with a Reynolds-averaged flow, without any small-scale features, which highlights the emergence of salient structures within the dune-field roughness sublayer (RSL). The latter is based upon computation of integral lengths. In the interest of generality, these exercises are based upon flow over canonical dune geometries—which serve as a comparative benchmark—and flow over a section of the White Sands National Monument aeolian dune field in southern New Mexico. These cases, thus, capture a vast range of complexity. In both applications, we report the emergence of mixing-layer-like processes—as per results for other canopy flows—although the distinct geometric nature of the dunes shows the prevalence of a persistent interdune roller, which is aligned most closely with the streamwise direction. In order to demonstrate underlying similarities in the processes occuring above idealized and natural dune fields, we normalize the integral lengths by characteristic length scales: vorticity thickness, attached-eddy-hypothesis mixing length, and dissipation length. This exercise reveals a distinct growth and collapse pattern that is robust across all considered dune arrangements. Herein, ‘growth’ refers to the stage of downflow thickening of vortices produced via vortex shedding off the upflow dune; growth is regulated by the lesser of the distance to the wall or distance to the upflow dune, where the latter marks the beginning of the ‘collapse’ stage. Both are compliant with the notion of wall-attached eddies. In the RSL, we demonstrate that the integral lengths exhibit an optimal collapse when normalized by vorticity thickness, while inertial layer scaling is attained as close as one dune height above the top of the dune canopy. These results help to establish dune-field RSL dynamics within the broader context of canopy turbulence, which is important given the relatively greater efforts devoted to flows over vegetative canopies and urban environments.

Rapid In Situ Characterization of Soil Erodibility With a Field Deployable Robot

Predicting the susceptibility of soil to wind erosion is difficult because it is a multivariate function of grain size, soil moisture, compaction, and biological growth. Erosive agents like plowing and grazing also differ in mechanism from entrainment by fluid shear; it is unclear if and how erosion thresholds for each process are related. Here we demonstrate the potential to rapidly assemble empirical maps of erodibility while also examining what controls it, using a novel “plowing” test of surface‐soil shear resistance (τr) performed by a semi‐autonomous robot. Field work at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, United States, examined gradients in erodibility at two scales: (i) soil moisture changes from dry dune crest to wet interdune (tens of meters) and (ii) downwind‐increasing dune stabilization associated with growth of plants and salt and biological crusts (kilometers). We found that soil moisture changes of a few percent corresponded to a doubling of τr, a result confirmed by laboratory experiments, and that soil crusts conferred stability that was comparable to moisture effects. We then compared different mechanisms of mechanical perturbation in a controlled laboratory setting. A new “kick‐out” test determines peak shear resistance of the surface soil as a proxy for yield strength. Kick‐out resistance exhibited a relation with soil moisture that was distinct from the plowing test and that was correlated with the independently measured threshold‐fluid stress for wind erosion. Results show that our new method maps soil erodibility in arid environments and provides an understanding of environmental controls on variations in soil erodibility.

Soft-sediment deformation below mammoth tracks at White Sands National Monument (New Mexico) with implications for biomechanical inferences from tracks

Implicit in any biomechanical analysis of tracks (footprints), whatever the animal, is the assumption that depth distribution within the track reflects the applied plantar pressure in some way. Here we describe sub-track deformation structures produced by Proboscidea (probably Mammuthus columbi) at White Sands National Monument (WHSA) in New Mexico. Patterns of sub-surface deformation are consistent with the plantar pressure data for modern Proboscidea, but do not reflect track morphology. Our work cautions against overinterpreting track topology of any large animal, including extinct animals such as sauropods, in terms of their biomechanics unless the subsurface stratigraphy and associated variation in shear strength is known.

Dunefield geoarchaeology at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA: Site formation, resource use, and dunefield dynamics

AbstractA recent reconnaissance survey at White Sands National Monument highlighted the importance of understanding the unique geology of the gypsum dunefield in order to interpret the archaeological record. Our geoarchaeological studies, carried out in conjunction with that survey and follow‐up excavations, generated insights into site formation processes, the timing of past occupations, the landscape context of sites, and the resource procurement strategies of the people who visited the dunefield during the past several millennia. Our research also produced information about natural processes that can create landscape features superficially similar to archaeological sites, illuminated soil formation processes, and highlighted the importance of biotic soil crusts in the dunefield environment. The results are useful for interpreting archaeological data produced by other studies and will be helpful in guiding future archaeological investigations. In addition, our study suggests that continued archaeological research could contribute significantly to understanding rates of dune migration, the long‐term trajectory of dunefield growth, and local impacts of climate change.

The Lepidoptera in White Sands National Monument, Otero County, New Mexico, USA 13. The Description of another White Species (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Eucosmini:EucosmaHübner)

In 2006, the U.S. National Park Service invited the first author to conduct a 10-year study of the moths at White Sands National Monument, in the Tularosa Basin in southern New Mexico. Eucosma gypsumana (Tortricidae, Olethreutinae, Eucosmini) Metzler and Porter, new species, discovered during the study is described. Adult moths and male and female genitalia are illustrated. A graph illustrating an unexplained temporal population irregularity of E. gypsumana is presented. A list of species of Eucosma from the Monument is provided.

Use of magnetometry for detecting and documenting multi-species Pleistocene megafauna tracks at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, U.S.A

Tracks and trackways of a range of Pleistocene megafauna can be found in White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, U.S.A. These tracks occur is several forms, not all of which are visible and some of which are only intermittently visible depending on lighting and moisture conditions. Here we present the result of a successful test of cesium vapor magnetometry to detect a known Columbian mammoth trackway. This initial test found that not only the known mammoth tracks were easily detected by the method, but that the tracks of additional species, though not visible to the eye, were detected in the vicinity of the mammoth tracks, including likely giant sloth tracks. Our initial results indicate that resolution may be suitable to distinguish between the tracks of various species, including possibly humans which are known archaeologically to have overlapped temporally with these species in the southwestern U.S. This preliminary result has immediate implications for the detection and documentation of Pleistocene track sites, and further refinement of the procedure is planned in the coming months.

Footprints preserve terminal Pleistocene hunt? Human-sloth interactions in North America.

Predator-prey interactions revealed by vertebrate trace fossils are extremely rare. We present footprint evidence from White Sands National Monument in New Mexico for the association of sloth and human trackways. Geologically, the sloth and human trackways were made contemporaneously, and the sloth trackways show evidence of evasion and defensive behavior when associated with human tracks. Behavioral inferences from these trackways indicate prey selection and suggest that humans were harassing, stalking, and/or hunting the now-extinct giant ground sloth in the terminal Pleistocene.

Microbial Diversity of Hypersaline Sediments from Lake Lucero Playa in White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA.

Lake Lucero is a gypsum-rich, hypersaline, ephemeral playa located on the southern part of the Alkali Flat at the White Sands National Monument (WSNM), New Mexico, USA. This modern playa setting provides a dynamic extreme environment that changes from a freshwater lake to a hypersaline dry desert during the year. We investigated the microbial diversity (bacteria, archaea, and microbial eukaryotes) of the Lake Lucero sediments using 16S- and 18S-based amplicon sequencing approach and explored the diversity patterns in different geochemical microenvironments. Our results indicated that similar microbial communities, in particular bacterial communities colonized, were remarkably consistent across our depth profiles. Therefore, these communities show a first-order relevance on the environmental conditions (moisture content, oxygen content, and mineral composition). We found that Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Gemmatimonadetes were the major bacterial phyla, while Cyanobacteria were present in relatively low abundances and appeared only at the surface. Genus level assessment reflected that Truepera, Delftia, and Pseudomonas were the predominant bacterial genera across all samples. Euryarchaeota was the major archaeal phylum in all the samples, while Candidatus Halobonum and Candidatus Nitrososphaera were the main genera. Diatoms were the dominant eukaryotic group in surface samples and Fungi, Ciliophora, Metazoa, and Nematodes were the other major groups. As expected, metabolic inference indicated that aerobic microbial communities were near surface colonizers, with anaerobic communities dominating with increasing depth. We demonstrated thatthese microbial communities could be used to characterize unique geochemical microenvironments enabling us to extrapolate these results into other terrestrial and possibly extraterrestrial environments with comparable geochemical characteristics.

Determining mineralogical variations of aeolian deposits using thermal infrared emissivity and linear deconvolution methods

Abstract We apply linear deconvolution methods to derive mineral and glass proportions for eight field sample training sites at seven dune fields: (1) Algodones, California; (2) Big Dune, Nevada; (3) Bruneau, Idaho; (4) Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, Alaska; (5) Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado; (6) Sunset Crater, Arizona; and (7) White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. These dune fields were chosen because they represent a wide range of mineral grain mixtures and allow us to gauge a better understanding of both compositional and sorting effects within terrestrial and extraterrestrial dune systems. We also use actual ASTER TIR emissivity imagery to map the spatial distribution of these minerals throughout the seven dune fields and evaluate the effects of degraded spectral resolution on the accuracy of mineral abundances retrieved. Our results show that hyperspectral data convolutions of our laboratory emissivity spectra outperformed multispectral data convolutions of the same data with respect to the mineral, glass and lithic abundances derived. Both the number and wavelength position of spectral bands greatly impacts the accuracy of linear deconvolution retrieval of feldspar proportions (e.g. K-feldspar vs. plagioclase) especially, as well as the detection of certain mafic and carbonate minerals. In particular, ASTER mapping results show that several of the dune sites display patterns such that less dense minerals typically have higher abundances near the center of the active and most evolved dunes in the field, while more dense minerals and glasses appear to be more abundant along the margins of the active dune fields.

The Lepidoptera of White Sands National Monument, Otero County, New Mexico, USA 9. A new species of Givira Walker (Cossidae, Hypoptinae) dedicated to Delinda Mix, including a list of species of Cossidae recorded from the Monument.

The U.S. National Park Service initiated a 10-year study of the Lepidoptera at White Sands National Monument, Otero County, New Mexico in late 2006. Givira delindae sp. n., discovered in 2007 during the first year of study, is described here. The male and female adult moths and genitalia are illustrated. The name is dedicated to Delinda Mix, mother of Steve Mix. The species of Cossidae recorded from the Monument during the study are listed.

Phase-ratio imaging as applied to desert sands for tracking human presence.

The phase function is a measure of the light-scattered intensity, or radiance, as a function of scattering angle θ. A phase ratio is the ratio of two values of the phase function measured at different scattering angles and relates to the slope of the phase function. By taking the ratio of two images acquired at different illumination or observation conditions, a phase-ratio image can be constructed. Such images accentuate differences in the phase curves, rather than their intensities, and are more sensitive to microtopography than to material properties. We produce phase-ratio images from intensity images acquired at different observation times and locations in the desert environment of White Sands National Monument. Because of the lack of surface features, coregistration of the images is challenging, especially for images acquired from different observation locations. However, we do demonstrate that phase-ratio images can be used to identify disturbed sands. We also produce polarimetric and color-ratio images. These latter images do not suggest the possibility of identifying topographical differences due to human presence.

The Lepidoptera of White Sands National Monument, Otero County, New Mexico, USA 11. A New Species ofArotruraWalsingham 1888 (Scythrididae), Another Iconic Species from the Monument

ABSTRACT. The U.S. National Park Service initiated a 10-year study of the Lepidoptera at White Sands National Monument, Otero County, New Mexico in late 2006. Arotrura landryorum sp. n., described here, was discovered in 2007, during the first year of the study. The male and female adult moths and genitalia are illustrated.

Sedimentary differentiation of aeolian grains at the White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA

Abstract Gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) has been identified as a major component of part of Olympia Undae in the northern polar region of Mars, along with the mafic minerals more typical of Martian dune fields. The source and age of the gypsum is disputed, with the proposed explanations having vastly different implications for Mars’ geological history. Furthermore, the transport of low density gypsum grains relative to and concurrently with denser grains has yet to be investigated in an aeolian setting. To address this knowledge gap, we performed a field study at White Sands National Monument (WSNM) in New Mexico, USA. Although gypsum dominates the bulk of the dune field, a dolomite-rich [CaMg(CO3)2] transport pathway along the northern border of WSNM provides a suitable analog site to study the transport of gypsum grains relative to the somewhat harder and denser carbonate grains. We collected samples along the stoss slope of a dune and on two coarse-grained ripples at the upwind margin of the dune field where minerals other than gypsum were most common. For comparison, additional samples were taken along the stoss slope of a dune outside the dolomite transport pathway, in the center of the dune field. Visible and near-infrared (VNIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and Raman analyses of different sample size fractions reveal that dolomite is only prevalent in grains larger than ∼1 mm. Other minerals, most notably calcite, are also present in smaller quantities among the coarse grains. The abundance of these coarse grains, relative to gypsum grains of the same size, drops off sharply at the upwind margin of the dune field. In contrast, gypsum dominated the finer fraction (

The Lepidoptera of White Sands National Monument, Otero County, New Mexico, USA 10. A remarkable new white species of Chionodes Hübner (Gelechiidae).

The U.S. National Park Service initiated a 10-year study, in late 2006, of the Lepidoptera at White Sands National Monument, Otero County, New Mexico. Chionodes bustosorum sp. n., described here, was discovered in 2010, during the third year of the study. The male imago and male genitalia are illustrated, and its DNA barcode is compared to that of seven other species of Chionodes from western North America.

Voltammetry of Layered Black Phosphorus: Electrochemistry of Multilayer Phosphorene

AbstractThe front cover artwork is provided by Pumera’s group at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Sofer’s group at UCT, Prague. The image shows the structure of black phosphorus on a backdrop of White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA. Find out what this unique design represents by reading the Communication at 10.1002/celc.201402363.

The application of occupancy modeling to evaluate intraguild predation in a model carnivore system

Intraguild predation (IGP) is an extreme form of competition that involves a dominant predator (IG predator), a subordinate predator that is also a superior exploitative competitor (IG prey), and their shared prey. Theory predicts three possible equilibria, which parallel increasing resource enrichment: exclusion of the IG predator, stable coexistence, and exclusion of the IG prey. Here, we report on the existence of two concurrent states in a model carnivore system dominated by IGP. Using species occurrence data obtained from randomly distributed remote cameras, we modeled the probabilities of detection and occupancy of the kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) and its IG predator, the coyote (Canis latrans), at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA, using a recently developed conditional two‐species occupancy model. Kit foxes persisted in habitats of low resource abundance, which could not support coyotes. Coexistence occurred in adjacent habitats of higher resource enrichment, with coyote occupancy strongly correlated with small mammal abundance. The odds of a coyote being present vs. absent in prey‐rich habitats was 332:1 (± 0.006; SE) whereas the odds of a coyote being present vs. absent in prey‐poor habitats was 1:4 (± 0.11); thus, coyotes were much more likely to be present in prey‐rich habitats. Kit foxes were more frequently photographed in prey‐poor habitats avoided by coyotes. The odds of kit foxes being present vs. absent at a site where coyotes were absent was 7.9:1 (± 0.082), which was greater than the odds of kit foxes being present vs. absent at a site where coyotes were present (2.2:1 ± 0.081). These findings indicate that kit foxes avoid coyotes, but that their adaptations to arid conditions enable them to exploit habitats unsuitable for coyotes. Consequently, the primary driver of this spatial separation is the inability of coyotes to use prey‐poor habitats, rather than kit fox avoidance of coyotes. Our results reveal the existence of concurrent IGP states within the same ecological community, which is consistent with theoretical predictions, and highlight the power of the conditional two‐species occupancy model to illuminate how the abundance of shared prey shapes the competitive dynamic in ecological systems dominated by IGP.

The Lepidoptera of White Sands National Monument 7: A New Species of the Genus Areniscythris (Scythrididae), a Recently Discovered Iconic Species from the Monument

A new species of Scythrididae, Areniscythris whitesands sp. nov. Metzler and Lightfoot, is described from a series of specimens that were found active during the daytime on open bare sand of the white gypsum dunes at White Sands National Monument, Otero Co., New Mexico. Adults and genitalia of the male and female are illustrated, and the bionomy of the species is shortly discussed.

The Lepidoptera of White Sands National Monument 6: A New Species ofChionodesHübner, [1825] (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae, Gelechiinae) Dedicated to Ronald W. Hodges and Elaine R. Snyder Hodges in the Year of Ron's 80th Birthday, 2014

ABSTRACT. A new species of Chionodes Hubner, [1825] (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae, Gelechiinae), C. hodgesorum, is described from White Sands National Monument, Otero County, New Mexico. Ron and Elaine Hodges were special mentors in my study of Lepidoptera. Thus this description to honor Ron and Elaine is published in the year of Ronald W. Hodges' 80th birthday, 2014. Images of the imago and male and female genitalia are included, and a map of New Mexico showing the type-locality is provided.