The Shinnecock Indian Nation on Long Island, New York, faces challenges of shoreline retreat, saltwater intrusion, and flooding of the Tribal lands under changing climate and rising sea level. However, understanding of the dynamics of tidal circulation and waves and their impacts on the Shinnecock Indian Nation’s shoreline remains limited. This numerical study employs the integrated modeling capabilities of the hydrodynamic model Delft3D-FLOW and the spectral-wave model Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) to investigate the circulation and wave dynamics along the shoreline of Shinnecock Indian Nation. The results of the 1-year long simulation indicate the majority of wind waves approach the Shinnecock Nation shorelines at normal wave angles, with yearly averaged offshore wave height of around 0.2 meter, maximum wave height reaching 0.65 meter, and yearly averaged offshore wave power of approximately 50 watts per meter. Boulders, acting as natural barriers, have been placed along the shoreline to reduce erosive wave forcing. Simulation results indicate the boulders to the north end effectively attenuate wave energy and reduce annual wave power, while the boulders near the two tidal ponds adjacent to the Tribal cemetery only have a slight influence on wave energy. There are large spatial variabilities in wave attenuation and current velocity reduction by the boulders. The model framework developed in this study can be utilized for the optimal design of nature-based solutions, guiding decisions on the placement of living shoreline structures and determining their optimal size. This study further identifies data and knowledge gaps as well as future research opportunities that can enhance the performance of numerical models and contribute to the scientific understanding of coastal processes and facilitate the optimal design of hybrid living shorelines in the future to achieve the maximum protective efficacy. This research can help to inform strategies for safeguarding vulnerable coastal communities and promoting resilience and sustainability of shoreline along the Shinnecock Indian Nation.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241050","issn":"2331-1258","collaboration":"Prepared in collaboration with Northeastern University","usgsCitation":"Zhu, L., Wang, H., Chen, Q., Capurso, W., and Noll, M., 2024, Numerical modeling of circulation and wave dynamics along the shoreline of Shinnecock Indian Nation in Long Island, New York: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1050, 32 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241050.","productDescription":"Report: viii, 32 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"44","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-163925","costCenters":[{"id":17705,"text":"Wetland and Aquatic Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":434899,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241050/full","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"},"description":"OFR 2024-1050 HTML"},{"id":433221,"rank":6,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9OG0AAO","text":"USGS Data Release","linkHelpText":"Three-dimensional point cloud data collected with a scanning total station on the western shoreline of the Shinnecock Nation Tribal lands, Suffolk County, New York, 2022"},{"id":433217,"rank":2,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1050/images"},{"id":433215,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1050/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":433218,"rank":3,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1050/ofr20241050.pdf","size":"3.53 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024-1050"},{"id":433219,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1050/ofr20241050.XML","linkFileType":{"id":8,"text":"xml"},"description":"OFR 2024-1050 XML"},{"id":499260,"rank":7,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_117308.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}}],"country":"United States","state":"New York","otherGeospatial":"Shinnecock Indian Nation relative to Shinnecock Bay","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -72.53273633004311,\n 40.90389205501435\n ],\n [\n -72.53273633004311,\n 40.82631366731101\n ],\n [\n -72.40468479043905,\n 40.82631366731101\n ],\n [\n -72.40468479043905,\n 40.90389205501435\n ],\n [\n -72.53273633004311,\n 40.90389205501435\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
700 Cajundome Blvd.
Lafayette, LA 70506–3152
Contact Us- USGS Publications Warehouse
","tableOfContents":"The U.S. Geological Survey hosted a Mississippi River Science Forum with Federal agencies; Tribal, State, and local governments located in States that border the Mississippi River; academia; and other interested stakeholders. The purpose of the forum was to share current (2023) science; identify data gaps and areas of concern; and to prioritize next steps needed to advance the goals of improving water quality, restoring habitat and natural systems, improving navigation, eliminating aquatic invasive species, and building local resilience to natural disasters along the Mississippi River. The forum was a directive for the U.S. Geological Survey in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 (Public Law 117—103, 136 Stat. 49).
Participants and stakeholders that attended the Mississippi River Science Forum indicated the following.
This report highlights data gaps and areas of concern discussed during the forum, and it identifies needs to advance the goals of improving water quality, restoring habitat and natural systems, improving navigation, eliminating aquatic invasive species, and building local resilience to natural disasters with specific emphasis on data collection and measurement, and scientific investigation. The report also summarizes stakeholder input and feedback and outlines next steps identified by forum participants.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241053","usgsCitation":"Nelson, J.C., Rebich, R.A., Jankowski, K., Edwards, T.M., Larson, J.H., Robertson, D.M., Sprague, L.A., Stackpoole, S.M., Summers, K.M., Cinotto, P.J., Rydlund, P.H., Churchill, C.J., Daniel, W.M., Mckenna, O.P., Middleton, B.A.,\nCarter, J., Hartley, S.B., Frey, J.W., and Warner, K.L., 2024, U.S. Geological Survey Mississippi River Science Forum—Summary of data and science needs and next steps: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1053, 4 p.,\nhttps://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241053.","productDescription":"iii, 4 p.","numberOfPages":"12","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-159348","costCenters":[{"id":82110,"text":"Midcontinent Regional Director's Office","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":433267,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241053/full"},{"id":433266,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1053/images/"},{"id":433265,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1053/ofr20241053.XML"},{"id":433264,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1053/ofr20241053.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.5 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024–1053"},{"id":433263,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1053/coverthb.jpg"}],"otherGeospatial":"Mississippi River basin","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"type\": \"Polygon\",\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -88.59374999999999,\n 30.14512718337613\n ],\n [\n -90.263671875,\n 31.12819929911196\n ],\n [\n -90.52734374999999,\n 33.063924198120645\n ],\n [\n -88.505859375,\n 35.460669951495305\n ],\n [\n -86.66015624999999,\n 35.10193405724606\n ],\n [\n -84.0234375,\n 35.31736632923788\n ],\n [\n -81.82617187499999,\n 36.73888412439431\n ],\n [\n -79.89257812499999,\n 37.996162679728116\n ],\n [\n -78.92578124999999,\n 39.70718665682654\n ],\n [\n -76.201171875,\n 42.032974332441405\n ],\n [\n -76.025390625,\n 42.87596410238256\n ],\n [\n -77.080078125,\n 42.87596410238256\n ],\n [\n -79.189453125,\n 41.31082388091818\n ],\n [\n -83.232421875,\n 40.38002840251183\n ],\n [\n -86.748046875,\n 41.178653972331674\n ],\n [\n -88.41796875,\n 41.376808565702355\n ],\n [\n -89.296875,\n 44.402391829093915\n ],\n [\n -90.17578124999999,\n 44.33956524809713\n ],\n [\n -89.384765625,\n 46.558860303117164\n ],\n [\n -92.900390625,\n 46.49839225859763\n ],\n [\n -93.955078125,\n 47.69497434186282\n ],\n [\n -96.767578125,\n 46.01222384063236\n ],\n [\n -103.18359375,\n 48.69096039092549\n ],\n [\n -109.86328125,\n 49.15296965617042\n ],\n [\n -112.06054687499999,\n 48.980216985374994\n ],\n [\n -112.763671875,\n 48.86471476180277\n ],\n [\n -112.412109375,\n 47.754097979680026\n ],\n [\n -111.97265625,\n 46.31658418182218\n ],\n [\n -112.32421875,\n 45.398449976304086\n ],\n [\n -113.5546875,\n 45.460130637921004\n ],\n [\n -111.796875,\n 44.08758502824516\n ],\n [\n -108.369140625,\n 42.16340342422401\n ],\n [\n -105.46875,\n 41.50857729743935\n ],\n [\n -105.29296874999999,\n 39.90973623453719\n ],\n [\n -105.8203125,\n 39.436192999314095\n ],\n [\n -105.29296874999999,\n 38.54816542304656\n ],\n [\n -104.58984375,\n 36.31512514748051\n ],\n [\n -105.1171875,\n 35.88905007936091\n ],\n [\n -105.29296874999999,\n 35.38904996691167\n ],\n [\n -103.095703125,\n 32.84267363195431\n ],\n [\n -99.931640625,\n 32.175612478499325\n ],\n [\n -95.625,\n 31.653381399664\n ],\n [\n -93.955078125,\n 31.052933985705163\n ],\n [\n -93.955078125,\n 29.458731185355344\n ],\n [\n -90.52734374999999,\n 28.459033019728043\n ],\n [\n -88.857421875,\n 28.536274512989916\n ],\n [\n -88.59374999999999,\n 30.14512718337613\n ]\n ]\n ]\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Midcontinent Regional Director’s Office
U.S. Geological Survey
1992 Folwell Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
The Coastal California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica: “gnatcatcher”) is a resident species restricted to coastal sage scrub habitat in southern California. Listed as federally threatened, the gnatcatcher is subject to multiple threats, including habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation, particularly in association with the increasing frequency of large wildfires. The California Gnatcatcher is a focal species under several habitat conservation plans and is monitored to determine population trends and evaluate the success of the plans in protecting the species.
Historically, gnatcatcher monitoring has been limited in geographic scope and has used differing methodologies, limiting the extent to which findings can be generalized across larger spatial scales and multiple populations. In 2015, we completed the first of an intended series of surveys following a standardized protocol designed to address two broad objectives. First, we sought to determine gnatcatcher occupancy at the regional scale, including habitat from throughout the species’ range in southern California, as well as in two subregions: Orange County and San Diego County, to address specific management objectives within those jurisdictions. In addition, we collected vegetation data to better understand gnatcatcher habitat associations that affect occupancy. In a parallel objective, we evaluated the effect of fire on gnatcatchers and their habitat by comparing occupancy and vegetation characteristics across sites varying in the length of time since the last fire. Data collected in 2020 allowed us to expand the study to include analyses of colonization (sites unoccupied in one year and occupied the next) and extinction (sites occupied in one year but not the next).
In 2020, we surveyed 327 regional points and 180 subregional points each in Orange and San Diego Counties. In addition, we surveyed 95–106 points within 4 postfire categories based on the year of the last fire at each point: before or during 2002 (“unburned”), 2003–06, 2007–10, and 2011–14. We surveyed for gnatcatchers during three area searches centered on each point at 2-week intervals commencing in mid-March. Vegetation data were collected during May–June using a modified point-intercept method along fixed transects.
Shrub and tree cover at our plots was dominated by California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), laurel sumac (Malosma laurina), sage (including Salvia mellifera and S. leucophylla), and sunflowers (including Encelia californica, E. farinosa, and Bahiopsis laciniata); however, most of the vegetation at plots consisted of non-native grass and herbaceous plants, indicating a high level of disturbance associated with fire. We documented vegetation differences at the subregional scale indicative of differences in fire history: in Orange County, overall shrub/tree cover was higher and herbaceous cover lower than in San Diego, where three large fires had burned within 17 years of this study. Both woody and herbaceous cover increased between 2016 and 2020 at the regional and two subregional scales, likely a response to above-average precipitation during 2 years preceding the 2020 surveys. Herbaceous vegetation also increased at postfire points; however, woody vegetation cover changed little between 2016 and 2020.
We modeled the effects of vegetation and physical (elevation, distance to Pacific coast, slope) covariates on gnatcatcher occupancy, colonization, and extinction probabilities in the regional, subregional, and postfire datasets. Cover of California sagebrush was the strongest predictor of gnatcatcher occupancy and appeared in the top models for every dataset. California buckwheat was another strong positive predictor of gnatcatcher occupancy in all datasets. Cover of sunflowers was a positive predictor of occupancy in the Orange County subregion, and both sunflowers and sage were positive predictors of occupancy at postfire points. In contrast, laurel sumac was negatively related to gnatcatcher occupancy in postfire habitats, with occupancy unlikely when sumac exceeded 50 percent cover. Herbaceous vegetation, including invasive grass, negatively affected gnatcatcher occupancy regionwide.
Covariates that were strong positive predictors of occupancy were also positive predictors of colonization and (or) negative predictors of extinction, and vice versa. Outside of the positive effects of California sagebrush and California buckwheat, and the negative effect of total herbaceous cover, we identified few covariates influencing colonization. In contrast, we identified many more predictors of extinction, including cover of laurel sumac and grass, which increased extinction risk, and cover of California sagebrush, sunflowers, and bare ground, along with time since last fire, which reduced extinction risk.
We used our modelled estimates of colonization and extinction probabilities to derive occupancy in 2020 based on starting occupancy in 2016. Gnatcatcher occupancy increased in 2020 at regional and subregional scales and in unburned habitat, growing by 19–35 percent since 2016. Among burned sites, occupancy tripled from 2016 to 2020 at points burned during 2011–14 but was unchanged at the 2007–10 postfire points and declined by 28 percent at points burned in 2003–06. The slow recovery of the gnatcatcher population in this latter category, which makes up 16 percent of the suitable habitat in San Diego County, is a matter of conservation concern warranting further attention.
Collectively, our rangewide results reveal a widespread and long-term effect of wildfire on California Gnatcatcher habitat, particularly in San Diego County. These data provide a baseline from which future monitoring can be used to evaluate changes in habitat condition over time and to improve our understanding of the factors and processes influencing gnatcatcher occupancy.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241015","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the San Diego Association of Governments, Natural Communities Coalition, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service","programNote":"Ecosystems Mission Area—Species Management Research Program","usgsCitation":"Kus, B.E., Houston, A., and Preston, K.L., 2024, Occupancy dynamics of the Coastal California Gnatcatcher in southern California: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1015, 34 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241015.","productDescription":"Report: viii, 34 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"34","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-156536","costCenters":[{"id":651,"text":"Western Ecological Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":433034,"rank":6,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241015/full"},{"id":433032,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1015/ofr20241015.xml"},{"id":433031,"rank":3,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1015/ofr20241015.pdf","text":"Report","size":"15 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"}},{"id":433029,"rank":1,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/F7PC30JX","text":"USGS Data Release","description":"Kus, B.E., and Houston, A., 2021, Rangewide occupancy and post-fire recovery of California gnatcatchers in southern California (ver 2.0, March 2023): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7PC30JX.","linkHelpText":"Rangewide occupancy and post-fire recovery of California gnatcatchers in southern California (ver 2.0, March 2023)"},{"id":433033,"rank":5,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1015/images"},{"id":433030,"rank":2,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1015/covrthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -119.95012019018054,\n 35.34010394860475\n ],\n [\n -119.95012019018054,\n 32.347823604041594\n ],\n [\n -116.28068659643058,\n 32.347823604041594\n ],\n [\n -116.28068659643058,\n 35.34010394860475\n ],\n [\n -119.95012019018054,\n 35.34010394860475\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3020 State University Drive East
Sacramento, California 95819
The purpose of this report is to provide the Marine Corps with an annual summary of abundance, breeding activity, demography, and habitat use of endangered Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP or “Base”). Surveys for the Least Bell's Vireo were completed at MCBCP, California, between April 4 and July 12, 2022. Core survey areas and a subset of non-core areas in drainages containing riparian habitat suitable for vireos were surveyed two to four times. We detected 571 territorial male vireos and 14 transient vireos in core survey areas. An additional 90 territorial male vireos and 2 transients were detected in non-core survey areas. Transient vireos were detected on 7 of the 11 drainages/sites surveyed (core and non-core areas). Of the vireo territories in core areas, 90 percent were on the four most populated drainages, with the Santa Margarita River containing 73 percent of all territories in areas surveyed on Base. In core areas, 81 percent of male vireos were confirmed as paired; 61 percent of male vireos in non-core areas were confirmed as paired.
The number of documented Least Bell’s Vireo territories in core survey areas on MCBCP increased 4 percent from 2021 to 2022. In three core survey area drainages, the number of territories increased by at least two, and in five core survey area drainages, the number of vireo territories decreased by at least two between 2021 and 2022. The increase in the number of vireo territories on MCBCP was consistent with population changes at the lower San Luis Rey River (7-percent increase), but not with Marine Corps Air Station, Camp Pendleton (10-percent decrease).
A wildfire in July 2021 burned approximately 22 hectares of vireo habitat on the Santa Margarita River. There was no difference in the number of vireo territories within the fire perimeter before the fire (three territories in 2021) and after the fire (three territories in 2022).
Most core-area vireos (52 percent, including transients) used mixed willow (Salix spp.) riparian habitat. An additional 8 percent of birds occupied willow habitat co-dominated by Western sycamores (Platanus racemosa) or Fremont cottonwoods (Populus fremontii). Riparian scrub composed of mule fat (Baccharis salicifolia), sandbar willow (S. exigua), or blue elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) was used at 37 percent of vireo territories. Upland scrub was used by 2 percent of the vireos, and 1 percent of vireo territories were in drier habitats co-dominated by coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) and sycamore.
In 2019, MCBCP began operating an artificial seep along the Santa Margarita River; then, in 2021, two additional artificial seeps became operational. The artificial seeps pumped water to the surface starting in March and ending in August each year during daylight hours and were designed to increase the amount of surface water to enhance Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) breeding habitat. Although this enhancement was designed to benefit flycatchers, few flycatchers have inhabited the seep areas within the past several years; therefore, vireos were selected as a surrogate species to determine effects of the habitat enhancement. This report presents the third year of analyses of vireo and vegetation response to the artificial seeps.
We sampled vegetation in two Seep sites and two Reference sites to determine the effects of surface water enhancement by seep pumps installed along the Santa Margarita River. Total vegetation cover below 2 meters (m) was greater at Seep sites than at Reference sites. Conversely, there was more non-native vegetation cover above 2 m (from 2 to 4 m) at Reference sites than at Seep sites. Soil moisture was greater at Seep sites than at Reference sites and decreased with increasing distance from the seep outlets. Soil moisture was positively correlated with total foliage cover and woody cover at most height categories. Soil moisture was not correlated with total herbaceous cover at any height category, although it was positively correlated with native herbaceous cover from 1 to 2 m and negatively correlated with non-native cover from 2 to 4 m. The number of vireo fledglings produced per egg was positively correlated with woody cover from 0 to 2 m but negatively correlated with herbaceous cover from 0 to 2 m. The number of fledglings produced per pair was negatively correlated with herbaceous and non-native vegetation cover below 2 m.
The U.S. Geological Survey has been color banding Least Bell’s Vireos on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton since 1995. By the end of 2021, 978 Least Bell’s Vireos had been color banded on Base. In 2022, we continued to color band and resight color banded Least Bell’s Vireos to evaluate adult site fidelity, between-year movement, and the effect of surface-water enhancement on vireo site fidelity and between-year movement. We banded 135 Least Bell's Vireos for the first time during the 2022 season. Birds banded included 4 adult vireos and 131 juveniles. All adult vireos were banded with unique color combinations. The juvenile vireos (all nestlings) were banded with a single gold numbered federal band on the left leg.
There were 43 Least Bell's Vireos banded before the 2022 breeding season that were resighted and identified on Base in 2022. Of these vireos, 39 were banded on Base, 3 were originally banded on the San Luis Rey River, and 1 was banded at Marine Corps Air Station, Camp Pendleton. Adult birds of known age ranged from 1 to at least 7 years old.
Base-wide survival of vireos was affected by sex, age, and year. Males had a significantly higher survival rate than females. Adults had a higher survival rate than first-year vireos. Survival for adults and first-year birds was lowest from 2020 to 2021 and highest from 2012 to 2013. The return rate of adult vireos to Seep or Reference sites was not affected by whether they were originally banded at a Seep versus Reference site.
Most of the returning adult vireos showed strong between-year site fidelity. Of the adults detected in 2021 and 2022, 89 percent (92 percent of males; 67 percent of females) returned to within 100 m of their previous territory. The average between-year movement for returning adult vireos was 0.1±0.2 kilometers (km). The average movement of first-year vireos detected in 2022 that fledged from a known nest on MCBCP in 2021 was 1.6±1.8 km.
Vireo territory density at the Seep and Reference sites was similar before the seep pumps were installed. Although vireo territory density at Seep sites appeared greater than at Reference sites after the seep pumps were installed, the difference was not significant.
We monitored Least Bell’s Vireo pairs to evaluate the effects of surface-water enhancement on nest success and breeding productivity. We monitored vireo nesting activity at 25 territories in 2 Seep sites and 25 territories in 2 Reference sites between March 31 and July 28. All territories except one were occupied by pairs, and all were “fully monitored,” meaning all nesting attempts were monitored at these territories. During the monitoring period, 97 nests (49 in Seep sites and 48 in Reference sites) were monitored.
Breeding productivity was similar at the Seep and Reference sites (2.7 and 3.3 young fledged per pair, respectively), although more pairs at Reference sites than Seep sites fledged at least one young (96 versus 76 percent, respectively). There were no other differences in breeding productivity between Seep site pairs and Reference site pairs. According to the best model, daily nest survival in 2022 was not related to whether the territory was in a Seep versus a Reference site. Completed nests at the Seep sites had similar fledging success as nests at Reference sites in 2022. At Seep sites, 56 percent of nests fledged young whereas 67 percent of Reference nests successfully fledged young. Predation was believed to be the primary source of nest failure at both sites. Predation accounted for 80 percent and 73 percent of nest failures at Seep and Reference sites, respectively. Failure of the remaining nests was attributed to infertile eggs and other unknown causes.
Vireos placed their nests in 12 plant species in 2022. We detected no differences in nest placement between successful and unsuccessful vireo nests or between Seep and Reference sites.
Precipitation appeared to play a role in fluctuations in the vireo population on MCBCP; however, it could not be directly linked to annual vireo breeding productivity. One possible factor that may be confounding the relationship between vireo breeding productivity and precipitation may be nest parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in the region, especially on the nearby San Luis Rey River.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241006","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Assistant Chief of Staff, Environmental Security, U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton","programNote":"Ecosystems Mission Area—Species Management Research Program","usgsCitation":"Lynn, S., Treadwell, M., and Kus, B.E., 2024, Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Least Bell's Vireo at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2022 annual report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1006, 82 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241006.","productDescription":"x, 82 p.","numberOfPages":"82","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-147619","costCenters":[{"id":651,"text":"Western Ecological Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":433041,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241006/full"},{"id":433040,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1006/images"},{"id":433039,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1006/ofr20241006.xml"},{"id":433038,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1006/ofr20241006.pdf","text":"Report","size":"16 MB"},{"id":433037,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1006/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -118.00752092448062,\n 33.74785275971904\n ],\n [\n -118.00752092448062,\n 33.11976647292282\n ],\n [\n -116.85834882258109,\n 33.11976647292282\n ],\n [\n -116.85834882258109,\n 33.74785275971904\n ],\n [\n -118.00752092448062,\n 33.74785275971904\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3020 State University Drive East
Sacramento, California 95819
The purpose of this report is to provide the Marine Corps with an annual summary of abundance, breeding activity, demography, and habitat use of endangered Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP or “Base”). Surveys for the Least Bell's Vireo were completed at MCBCP, California, between April 5 and July 13, 2021. Core survey areas and a subset of non-core areas in drainages containing riparian habitat suitable for vireos were surveyed three to four times. We detected 551 territorial male vireos and 26 transient vireos in core survey areas. An additional 98 territorial male vireos were detected in non-core survey areas. Transient vireos were detected on 8 of the 10 drainages/sites surveyed (core and non-core areas). Of the vireo territories in core areas, 89 percent were on the four most populated drainages, with the Santa Margarita River containing 70 percent of all territories in areas surveyed on Base. In core areas, 75 percent of male vireos were confirmed as paired; 76 percent of male vireos in non-core areas were confirmed as paired.
The number of documented Least Bell’s Vireo territories in core survey areas on MCBCP decreased 18 percent from 2020 to 2021. The number of territories in all but two core survey area drainages decreased by one or more between 2020 and 2021. The decrease in vireo numbers on MCBCP (18 percent) was consistent with population changes in surrounding areas, including the lower San Luis Rey River (24-percent decrease) and the middle San Luis Rey River (6-percent decrease).
Most core-area vireo territories (59 percent of males) were in willow (Salix spp.) riparian habitat. An additional 7 percent of birds occupied willow habitat co-dominated by Western sycamores (Platanus racemosa) or Fremont cottonwoods (Populus fremontii). Of all the territories surveyed, 25 percent were in riparian scrub dominated by mule fat (Baccharis salicifolia) or sandbar willow (S. exigua). Upland scrub was used by 8 percent of vireos; 1 percent of vireo territories were in non-native vegetation, and less than 1 percent of vireo territories were in alder or drier habitats co-dominated by coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) and sycamore.
In 2019, MCBCP began operating an artificial seep along the Santa Margarita River; then, in 2021, two additional artificial seeps became operational. The artificial seeps pumped water to the surface starting in March and ending in August each year during daylight hours and were designed to increase the amount of surface water present to enhance Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) breeding habitat. Although this enhancement was designed to benefit flycatchers, few flycatchers have inhabited the seep areas within the past several years; therefore, vireos were selected as a surrogate species to determine effects of the habitat enhancement. This report presents the second year of analyses of vireo and vegetation response to the artificial seeps.
We sampled vegetation in two Seep sites and two Reference sites to determine the effects of a new water diversion dam that was completed in 2019 and two seep pumps that were installed to enhance surface water along the Santa Margarita River in 2019 and 2021. We measured higher total vegetation cover below 2 meters (m) at Seep sites than at Reference sites and lower total vegetation cover above 5 m at Seep sites than at Reference sites. Native herbaceous cover was also higher below 4 m at Seep sites than at Reference sites. Woody cover was lower above 5 m at Seep sites than at Reference sites. Soil moisture did not differ between Seep and Reference sites.
The U.S. Geological Survey has been color banding Least Bell’s Vireos on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton since 1995. In 2021, we continued to color band and resight color banded Least Bell’s Vireos to evaluate adult site fidelity, between-year movement, and the effect of surface-water enhancement on vireo site fidelity and between-year movement. We banded 164 Least Bell's Vireos for the first time during the 2021 season. Birds banded included 3 adult vireos and 161 juvenile vireos. All adult vireos were banded with unique color combinations. The juvenile vireos (all nestlings) were banded with a single gold numbered federal band on the right leg.
There were 52 Least Bell's Vireos banded before the 2021 breeding season that were resighted and identified on Base in 2021. Of these vireos, 45 were banded on Base, 6 were originally banded on the San Luis Rey River, and 1 was banded at Marine Corps Air Station, Camp Pendleton. Adult birds of known age ranged from 1 to at least 7 years old.
Base-wide survival of vireos was affected by sex, age, and year. Males had a slightly but significantly higher survival rate than females. Adults had a higher survival rate than first-year vireos. Survival of both adults and first-year birds was high from 2007 to 2008 and from 2012 to 2013 and low from 2020 to 2021. The return rate of adult vireos to Seep or Reference sites ranged from 45 to 57 percent.
Most returning adult vireos showed strong between-year site fidelity. Of the adults present in 2020 and 2021, 84 percent (94 percent of males; no females) returned to within 100 m of their previous territory. The average between-year movement for returning adult vireos was 0.1±0.2 kilometer (km). The average movement of first-year vireos detected in 2021 that fledged from a known nest on MCBCP in 2020 was 1.1±0.7 km.
We monitored Least Bell's Vireo pairs to evaluate the effects of surface-water enhancement on nest success and breeding productivity. Vireos were monitored at two Seep sites and two Reference sites. Early in 2021, a seep was installed in a 2020 Reference site, which changed the status of this monitoring site from Reference to Seep.
Nesting activity was monitored between April 5 and July 22 in 50 territories within the Seep and Reference sites (25 at Seep sites and 25 at Reference sites). All territories, except one, were occupied by pairs and all were fully monitored, meaning all nesting attempts were monitored at these territories. During the monitoring period, 97 nests (42 in Seep sites and 55 in Reference sites) were monitored.
Breeding productivity was similar at the Seep site and Reference sites (3.6 and 3.4 young per pair, respectively), with 84 percent of Seep pairs and 88 percent of Reference pairs successfully fledging at least one young in 2021. Seep sites had a higher proportion of all eggs that hatched and also a higher proportion of nests with eggs that hatched than Reference sites. Seep sites and References sites had similar proportions of hatchlings that fledged and nests with hatchlings that fledged. According to the best model, daily nest survival in 2021 was higher in Seep sites than in Reference sites. Completed nests at the Seep site were more likely to be successful than nests at Reference sites in 2021. At Seep sites, 75 percent of nests fledged young, whereas 53 percent of nests at Reference successfully fledged young. Vireos at Reference sites had to expend more energy in extra nest-building and egg-laying to produce a similar number of young as vireos at Seep sites. Predation was believed to be the primary source of nest failure at both sites. Predation accounted for 100 percent and 83 percent of nest failures at Seep and Reference sites, respectively. Failure of the remaining nests was attributed to infertile eggs and other unknown causes.
There were 11 plant species used as hosts for vireo nests in 2021. Successful vireo nests at Reference sites were further from the edge of host plants (closer to the center) and further from the edge of the nest plant clump than unsuccessful nests. Vireo nests at Seep sites were further from the edge of the host plant and the nest plant clump than vireo nests at Reference sites.
Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3020 State University Drive East
Sacramento, California 95819
Residents of Carson Valley, Douglas County, Nevada, rely on the basin-fill alluvial aquifer underlying the valley for drinking water. Since the 1980s, groundwater levels and water-quality data have been collected to monitor the status of the aquifer system and to assist in planning efforts to address current (2024) and future demand. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with Douglas County, Nevada, evaluated trends in water levels, nitrate, and arsenic concentrations from a network of monitoring and domestic wells in Carson Valley. This work also assessed the monitoring well network to determine the suitability of wells for characterizing the occurrence of arsenic in the groundwater. Monitoring of constituents, such as nitrate and arsenic concentrations, is needed to assess changes in contaminant distribution and to evaluate the effect that changing land use and groundwater pumping has on their occurrence and transport.
Results of the trend analysis indicate water levels are declining (p<0.05) in 17 of 26 selected monitoring wells (65 percent). Areas with the largest change in water levels, with more than 20 feet of declines, were within the community areas of Johnson Lane, Ruhenstroth, South Agricultural, East Valley, and Fish Springs. Variations in water levels measured in wells from the Central Agricultural, Minden, Foothill, Alpine County (one well), and Gardnerville Ranchos areas show periods of increase and decrease over time, but they also maintain long-term declining trends (p<0.05).
Increases in nitrate concentrations in groundwater samples collected from 9 out of 14 selected monitoring wells (64 percent) are statistically significant (p<0.05) within the Ruhenstroth, Gardnerville Ranchos, East Valley, Genoa, and Johnson Lane community areas. Samples collected from a well in Indian Hills/Jacks Valley indicated a decreasing trend in nitrate concentration over time. Nitrate concentrations in samples collected from wells in East Valley, Genoa, Johnson Lane, and Indian Hills/Jack Valley were consistently low (less than 3 milligrams per liter [mg/L]) and stable. Nitrate concentrations from selected wells in Johnson Lane and Garnerville Ranchos exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 mg/L (as nitrogen) and have trends that are increasing over time. In 2022, a sample collected from Johnson Lane had a concentration (7.3 mg/L) below the MCL with an increasing trend over time.
Temporal trend analyses for groundwater arsenic concentrations in Carson Valley could not be done because of a lack of temporal data. However, using available historical data, arsenic concentrations seem to be greater in groundwater from wells located on the eastern and northern areas of the valley than in wells located on the western or southern areas. Groundwater arsenic concentrations exceed 5 micrograms per liter (μg/L) in most samples collected from wells in Johnson Lane, Airport, Central Agricultural, and East Valley areas and in many cases exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) MCL of 10 μg/L. Data indicate that groundwater from domestic wells screened at deeper intervals are likely more vulnerable to elevated arsenic concentrations than shallower wells.
A groundwater network evaluation for Carson Valley identified potential modifications in the sampling locations and frequency to better understand the effect of groundwater pumping in communities where municipal and domestic demand are greatest, potentially enhancing understanding of contaminant transport in these areas. Potential modifications to the active well network include reducing the frequency of sample collection from existing network wells (6 out of 11) that have consistently shown low and stable nitrate concentrations, adding wells in areas where data are sparse, and increasing the number of wells in areas with elevated groundwater nitrate concentrations. Including the analysis of arsenic in samples from the active groundwater monitoring well network will provide more detail on the temporal and spatial variability of arsenic concentrations.
A visualization tool for the Carson River Basin was developed to provide access to discrete and near real-time hydrologic and water-quality data. The Carson River Basin Hydro Mapper (CBH; U.S. Geological Survey, 2023b) shows active and historical discrete water levels measured by the USGS and the State of Nevada Division of Water Resources, discrete groundwater nitrate and arsenic concentration data collected by the USGS, near real-time streamflow, and surface water levels for select waterbodies. The hydrologic data in the CBH provides resource managers, the public, and the scientific community with an easily accessible tool to present and communicate the most up-to-date information available about local and basin-wide water resources.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241045","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Douglas County, Nevada","programNote":"Water Resources Mission Area—Water's Cooperative Matching Funds","usgsCitation":"Naranjo, R.C., and Bubiy, A., 2024, Assessment of water levels, nitrate, and arsenic in the Carson Valley Alluvial Aquifer and the development of a data visualization tool for the Carson River Basin, Nevada (ver. 1.1, September 2024): U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1045, 29 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241045.","productDescription":"vii, 29 p.","numberOfPages":"29","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-154652","costCenters":[{"id":465,"text":"Nevada Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":48595,"text":"Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":434792,"rank":7,"type":{"id":25,"text":"Version History"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1045/versionHist.txt","size":"5 KB","linkFileType":{"id":2,"text":"txt"}},{"id":432958,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1045/covrthb.jpg"},{"id":432959,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1045/ofr20241045.pdf","text":"Report","size":"4 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"}},{"id":432960,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1045/ofr20241045.xml"},{"id":432961,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1045/images"},{"id":432962,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241045/full"},{"id":497966,"rank":8,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_117224.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":433077,"rank":6,"type":{"id":4,"text":"Application Site"},"url":"https://webapps.usgs.gov/carsonriverbasinhydromapper/","text":"Carson River Basin Hydro Mapper Webapp"}],"country":"United States","state":"Nevada","otherGeospatial":"Carson River Basin","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -119.6,\n 39.05\n ],\n [\n -119.6,\n 38.5\n ],\n [\n -119.3,\n 38.5\n ],\n [\n -119.3,\n 39.05\n ],\n [\n -119.6,\n 39.05\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","edition":"Version 1.0: August 2024; Version 1.1: September 2024","contact":"Director,
Nevada Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2730 N. Deer Run Road
Carson City, Nevada 89701
The U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration annually funds small projects focusing on data integration for interdisciplinary research, innovative data management, and demonstration of new technologies. This report provides a summary of the 12 projects funded in fiscal year 2020, outlining their goals, activities, and accomplishments.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241027","programNote":"Science Synthesis, Analysis, and Research Program","usgsCitation":"Hsu, L., Chapin, E.G., Barnhart, T.B., Cravens, A.E., Erickson, R.A., Ferrante, J., Fox, A., Hitt, N.P., Hunter, M., Kolb, K., Peacock, J.R., Petkewich, M.D., Reed, S.C., Sohl, T.L., and Williamson, T.N., 2024, Community for Data Integration 2020 project report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1027, 21 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241027.","productDescription":"iv, 21 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-157501","costCenters":[{"id":291,"text":"Fort Collins Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":568,"text":"Southwest Biological Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":606,"text":"Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":17705,"text":"Wetland and Aquatic Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":38128,"text":"Science Analytics and Synthesis","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":433035,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1027/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":433075,"rank":3,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1027/images"},{"id":433076,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1027/ofr20241027.xml"},{"id":433036,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1027/ofr20241027.pdf","text":"Report","size":"3.52 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024-1027"},{"id":433331,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241027/full","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"},"description":"OFR 2024-1027"}],"contact":"Director, Science Analytics and Synthesis Program
U.S. Geological Survey
P.O. Box 25046, Mail Stop 302
Denver, CO 80225
This report presents accuracy assessment results of the light detection and ranging (lidar) data collected in Colorado during a pilot project in fall 2019. The purpose of the pilot project was to assess the accuracy of lidar and imagery data collected simultaneously for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agriculture Imagery Program and the U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program 3D Elevation Program (3DEP). A multiagency group consisting of U.S. Department of the Interior agencies and USDA agencies participated in the effort. Department of the Interior agencies included Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Geological Survey; USDA agencies included the Farm Services Agency, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and U.S. Forest Service. This pilot project was designed to help determine if a lidar sensor system has the potential to meet future 3DEP topographic lidar collection requirements, ideally at the same altitudes and leaf-on times that National Agriculture Imagery Program is flown.
The airborne sensor system from Leica Geosystems (part of Hexagon) (hereafter referred to as dual sensor system) was used in the pilot project and can collect imagery and three-dimensional point cloud data concurrently. This report examines the characteristics of lidar data from a geometric accuracy perspective. Field surveys were performed to evaluate the three-dimensional absolute and relative accuracy of the airborne lidar data and to determine if the data met 3DEP specifications.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241036","usgsCitation":"Sampath, A., Irwin, J., and Kim, M., 2024, Airborne lidar accuracy analysis for dual photogrammetric and lidar sensor pilot project in Colorado, 2019: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1036, 22 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241036.","productDescription":"Report: v, 22 p.; Data Release","ipdsId":"IP-145014","costCenters":[{"id":222,"text":"Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":499258,"rank":7,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_117220.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":432948,"rank":6,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241036/full"},{"id":432946,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1036/ofr20241036.XML"},{"id":432945,"rank":3,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1036/images/"},{"id":432944,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1036/ofr20241036.pdf","text":"Report","size":"4.6 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024–1036"},{"id":432943,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1036/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":432947,"rank":5,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9CPDWUU","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Hybrid lidar/imagery sensor validation survey data, 2019"}],"country":"United States","state":"Colorado","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -105.41673062084341,\n 40.689427754445916\n ],\n [\n -105.41673062084341,\n 40.45990268267724\n ],\n [\n -104.91983118255482,\n 40.45990268267724\n ],\n [\n -104.91983118255482,\n 40.689427754445916\n ],\n [\n -105.41673062084341,\n 40.689427754445916\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -106.24129047491809,\n 40.22901702069382\n ],\n [\n -106.24129047491809,\n 39.9645466499631\n ],\n [\n -105.60981370231355,\n 39.9645466499631\n ],\n [\n -105.60981370231355,\n 40.22901702069382\n ],\n [\n -106.24129047491809,\n 40.22901702069382\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Earth Resources Observation and Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
47914 252nd Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57198
Surveys for the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) were done at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP or “Base”), California, between May 9 and July 20, 2022. All of MCBCP’s historically occupied riparian habitat (core survey area) was surveyed for flycatchers in 2022. None of the non-core survey area was surveyed in 2022.
Eight transient Willow Flycatchers of unknown subspecies were observed on three of the five drainages surveyed in 2022. Willow Flycatchers were not detected at Fallbrook or Pilgrim Creeks. Transients occurred in a range of habitat types, including mixed willow (Salix spp.) riparian, riparian scrub, and upland scrub habitat. Exotic vegetation, primarily poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), was present in most of the flycatcher locations.
In 2022, for the second time since monitoring began in 2000, resident Southwestern Willow Flycatchers were not detected on Base. The decline was not isolated to MCBCP; similar declines have been documented across California in recent years.
The one uniquely banded adult female flycatcher present during the 2021 breeding season did not return to MCBCP in 2022. None of the transients observed during surveys were seen to carry bands.
From 2000 to 2022, adult annual survival of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers on MCBCP was 60±3 percent, whereas first-year survival was 20±3 percent.
A conspecific attraction study was initiated on Base in 2018 and repeated annually through 2022; flycatchers were not observed near automated playback units in 2022.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20231080","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Assistant Chief of Staff, Environmental Security, U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton","programNote":"Ecosystems Mission Area—Species Management Research Program","usgsCitation":"Howell, S.L., and Kus, B.E., 2024, Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2022 annual report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2023–1080, 27 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20231080.","productDescription":"vi, 27 p.","numberOfPages":"27","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-147621","costCenters":[{"id":651,"text":"Western Ecological Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":423448,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20231080/full"},{"id":423447,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2023/1080/images"},{"id":423446,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2023/1080/ofr20231080.xml","size":"200 KB","linkFileType":{"id":8,"text":"xml"}},{"id":423445,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2023/1080/ofr20231080.pdf","text":"Report","size":"7 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"}},{"id":423444,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2023/1080/covrthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -117.97155578495742,\n 33.68843828437876\n ],\n [\n -117.97155578495742,\n 33.07385423406275\n ],\n [\n -116.90578319960974,\n 33.07385423406275\n ],\n [\n -116.90578319960974,\n 33.68843828437876\n ],\n [\n -117.97155578495742,\n 33.68843828437876\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3020 State University Drive East
Sacramento, California 95819
The purpose of this report is to provide the Marine Corps with an annual summary of abundance, breeding activity, demography, and habitat use of the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP). Surveys for the flycatcher were completed at MCBCP between May 5 and July 31, 2021. All of MCBCP’s historically occupied riparian habitat (core survey area) was surveyed for flycatchers in 2021. Additionally, one-fifth of the non-historically occupied riparian habitat (non-core survey area C) was surveyed for flycatchers. Twenty-four transient Willow Flycatchers of unknown subspecies were observed on five of the seven drainages surveyed in 2021. No Willow Flycatchers were detected at French or Las Flores Creeks. Transients occurred in a range of habitat types, including mixed willow (Salix spp.) riparian, riparian scrub, willow-sycamore (Platanus sp.) dominated or oak (Quercus spp.) sycamore-dominated riparian, and non-native-dominated riparian habitat. Exotic vegetation, primarily poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), was present in most flycatcher locations.
The resident population of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers on MCBCP declined 50 percent, from two individuals in 2020 to one individual in 2021. In 2021, the resident Southwestern Willow Flycatcher population on MCBCP consisted of one unpaired female occupying one territory. No males were observed in 2021. The resident flycatcher population was restricted to the Santa Margarita River, and distribution was limited to the Pueblitos breeding area. The resident flycatcher territory was located in mixed willow riparian habitat.
Nesting was initiated in late May and continued into late July. Two nesting attempts were documented, neither of which were successful. Infertile eggs likely accounted for both nest failures. No instances of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism were observed. The female flycatcher placed her nests in native sandbar willow (Salix exigua) and used the same nest location for both nesting attempts.
Of resident birds that were present at MCBCP in 2021, 100 percent were banded in previous years; no unbanded birds were detected. Of the two uniquely banded adult flycatchers (one male, one female) present during the 2020 breeding season, 50 percent (one female) returned to MCBCP in 2021. The banded female returned to the same breeding area and territory she occupied in 2020. Neither of the two nestlings banded in 2020 returned to MCBCP in 2021, and neither were detected off Base. From 2000 to 2021, adult over-winter survival of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers on MCBCP was 60±3 percent (mean±standard error [SE]), and first-year survival was 20±3 percent.
A conspecific attraction study that used automatic playback units to broadcast flycatcher vocalizations in order to encourage flycatchers to settle on MCBCP was initiated in 2018 and repeated annually through 2021. The single resident flycatcher (female) detected in 2021 settled close to an automated playback unit.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241039","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Assistant Chief of Staff, Environmental Security, U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton","programNote":"Ecosystems Mission Area—Species Management Research Program","usgsCitation":"Howell, S.L., and Kus, B.E., 2024, Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2021 annual report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1039, 35 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241039.","productDescription":"viii, 35 p.","numberOfPages":"35","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-156551","costCenters":[{"id":651,"text":"Western Ecological Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":432891,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1039/covrthb.jpg"},{"id":432892,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1039/ofr20241039.pdf","text":"Report","size":"15 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"}},{"id":432893,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1039/ofr20241039.xml"},{"id":432894,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1039/images"},{"id":432895,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241039/full"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -117.79672069647273,\n 33.56385799493502\n ],\n [\n -117.79672069647273,\n 33.155239670288594\n ],\n [\n -117.12032821171901,\n 33.155239670288594\n ],\n [\n -117.12032821171901,\n 33.56385799493502\n ],\n [\n -117.79672069647273,\n 33.56385799493502\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3020 State University Drive East
Sacramento, California 95819
A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954 (New Jersey v. New York, 347 U.S. 995), established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes the diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from certain reservoirs owned by New York City be made under the supervision and direction of the River Master. The Decree stipulates that the River Master provide reports to the Court, not less frequently than annually. This report is the 64th annual report of the River Master of the Delaware River. The report covers the 2017 River Master report year, from December 1, 2016, to November 30, 2017.
During the report year, precipitation in the upper Delaware River Basin was 47.85 inches or 108 percent of the long-term average. On December 1, 2016, combined useable storage in the New York City reservoirs in the upper Delaware River Basin was 110.115 billion gallons or 40.7 percent of combined storage capacity, the lowest combined storage of the 2017 report year. The reservoirs were at about 100 percent of useable capacity on May 31, 2017. Combined storage remained above 80 percent of combined capacity until September 2017.
A lower basin drought watch issued by the Delaware River Basin Commission in 2016 extended from the beginning of this report year to January 18, 2017. The drought watch was ended on January 18, 2017, due to increased precipitation in December 2016. River Master operations during the year were conducted as stipulated by the Decree and the Flexible Flow Management Programs.
Diversions from the Delaware River Basin by New York City and New Jersey fully complied with the Decree. Reservoir releases were made as directed by the River Master at rates designed to meet the flow objective for the Delaware River at Montague, New Jersey (N.J.), on 52 days during the report year. Interim Excess Release Quantity and conservation releases, designed to relieve thermal stress and protect the fishery and aquatic habitat in the tailwaters of the reservoirs, were made during the report year. Excess Release Quantity and Interim Excess Release Quantity Bank releases were also made during the report year.
The water quality in the Delaware River estuary between the streamgages at Trenton, N.J., and Reedy Island Jetty, Delaware, was monitored at various locations. The data on water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, and pH were collected continuously by electronic instruments at four sites.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241022","isbn":"978-1-4113-4580-5","usgsCitation":"Russell, K.L., Andrews, W.J., DiFrenna, V.J., Norris, J.M., and Mason, R.R., Jr., 2024, Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2016–November 30, 2017: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1022, 109 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241022.","productDescription":"xi, 109 p.","numberOfPages":"109","onlineOnly":"N","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-153026","costCenters":[{"id":509,"text":"Office of the Associate Director for Water","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":499249,"rank":6,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_117174.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":432667,"rank":5,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1022/images/"},{"id":432666,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1022/ofr20241022.XML","description":"OFR 2024-1022 XML"},{"id":432665,"rank":3,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241022/full","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"},"description":"OFR 2024-1022 HTML"},{"id":432664,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1022/ofr20241022.pdf","text":"Report","size":"10.8 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024-1022 PDF"},{"id":432663,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1022/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -76,\n 43\n ],\n [\n -76,\n 39.31354002356349\n ],\n [\n -74,\n 39.31354002356349\n ],\n [\n -74,\n 43\n ],\n [\n -76,\n 43\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Delaware River Master
Office of the Delaware River Master
U.S. Geological Survey
We completed four protocol surveys for Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus; hereinafter vireo) during the breeding season, supplemented by weekly territory monitoring visits between April 6 and July 20 at the San Luis Rey Flood Risk Management Project Area (hereinafter Project Area). We identified a total of 136 territorial male vireos; 121 were confirmed as paired, and 4 were confirmed as single males. For the remaining 11 territories, we were unable to confirm breeding status. In 2023, two transient vireos were detected. The vireo population in the Project Area increased by 2 percent from 2022 to 2023. Populations in southern San Diego County also increased (by 6 percent on the Otay River) or were stable (Salt Creek/Wolf Canyon). In contrast, the vireo population at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP) and at Marine Corps Air Station decreased by 2 and 10 percent, respectively.
We used an index of treatment (hereinafter Treatment Index) to evaluate the effect of ongoing vegetation clearing on the Project Area vireo population. The Treatment Index measures the cumulative effect of vegetation treatment within a territory by using the percentage area treated weighted by the number of years since treatment. We determined that the Treatment Index for an unoccupied habitat was more than four times higher than that of an occupied habitat, indicating that vireos selected habitats that were less treated in which to settle.
We monitored vireo nests at three general site types: (1) within the flood channel where non-native and native vegetation removal has occurred regularly (hereinafter Channel), (2) three sites near the flood channel where limited non-native and native vegetation removal has occurred (hereinafter Off-channel), and (3) three sites that have been actively restored by planting native vegetation (hereinafter Restoration). Nesting activity was monitored in 84 territories, 4 of which were occupied by single males. Overall, 46 percent of completed nests were successful, and nest success did not differ among the three sites. In 2023, we found that territories in the Channel had greater hatching success per egg compared to Off-channel, but there were no other differences with regard to clutch size, hatching, or fledging success among Channel, Off-channel, and Restoration sites. Overall breeding success and productivity were slightly higher in 2023 than in 2022, with pairs fledging an average±standard deviation of 3.1±2.1 young and 79 percent of pairs fledging at least 1 young.
To investigate if the cumulative years of treatment had an effect on vireo reproductive effort, we looked at the effects of the Treatment Index on reproductive parameters. Results from generalized linear models indicated that treatment did not have an effect on vireo nesting effort (the number of nest attempts) or the number of vireo fledglings per pair produced in 2023. Similarly, we did not detect an effect of Treatment Index on the daily survival rate (DSR) of nests.
Analysis of vegetation data collected at vireo nests from 2006 to 2023 did not reveal an effect of vegetation cover at the nest on DSR. We did find, however, that Channel nests were placed higher in and farther from the edge of the host plant than Off-channel nests. Within sites, we did not detect any differences in vegetation cover between successful and unsuccessful nests.
Red/arroyo willow (Salix laevigata or Salix lasiolepis) and mule fat (Baccharis salicifolia) were the species most commonly selected for nesting by vireos in all three site types. Black willow (Salix gooddingii) and sandbar willow (Salix exigua) also were commonly used. Vireos used a wider variety of species for nesting in Channel and Off-channel sites (10 and 13 species, respectively) compared to Restoration sites (2 species), although there was limited nesting in Restoration sites in 2023.
There were 51 vireos banded before the 2023 breeding season that were resighted and identified at the Project Area in 2023. Two of these vireos were originally banded outside of the Project Area, at the Santa Margarita River on MCBCP. Adult birds of known age ranged from 1 to 7 years old. Between 2006 and 2023, survival of males (66±11 percent) was consistently higher than that of females (60±12 percent). First-year birds from 2006 to 2022 had an average annual survival of 15±5 percent.
First-year dispersal in 2023 averaged 20.2±31.3 kilometers (km), with the longest dispersal (76.3 km) by a female that was recaptured at Wolf Canyon, a tributary to Otay River. From 2007 to 2012, most returning first-year vireos returned to the Project Area, whereas from 2014 to 2016, a greater proportion of returning birds dispersed to areas outside of the Project Area. From 2018 to 2022, the trend shifted, and more first-year vireos returned to the Project Area, except for 2022 when only one out of five first-year vireos returned to the Project Area. This trend continued in 2023: 71 percent of all first-year vireos returned to the Project Area, and 29 percent dispersed to areas outside of the Project Area (San Diego River and Wolf Canyon).
Most of the returning adult male vireos showed strong between-year fidelity to their previous territories. In 2023, 94 percent of males (34/36) occupied a territory that they had defended in 2022 (within 100 meters [m]). In 2023, 33 percent of females (1/3) detected returned to a territory they occupied in 2022. The average between-year movement for returning adult vireos was 0.2±0.9 km. The amount of treatment at adults’ 2022 territories did not affect the distance adults moved to their 2023 territories.
We completed four protocol surveys for the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus; hereinafter flycatcher) at the Project Area between May 15 and July 21, 2023. In 2023, four transient Willow Flycatchers were detected in the Project Area. Two transients were detected in Reach 1, one in Reach 3a, and one in Whelan Mitigation. No resident flycatchers were documented in the Project Area in 2023.
A total of 46 vegetation transects (516 points) were sampled in the Project Area in 2023. There were 71 percent (368/516) of points located in the Channel, and 22 percent (113/516) were in Upper Pond. The remaining 7 percent (35/516) of points were at the Whelan Restoration site. Foliage cover below 1 m was higher at the Channel points and Upper Pond compared to Whelan Restoration. From 1 to 3 m, foliage cover was similar at all 3 sites; however, above 3 m foliage cover was higher in the Channel compared to the Upper Pond and Whelan Restoration sites. Average canopy height was higher in the Channel (5.6±3.8 m) compared to Upper Pond (4.7±2.7 m) and Whelan Restoration (4.0±2.0 m). From 2006 to 2023, total foliage cover declined from 2 to 3 m and above 6 m in the Channel, in contrast to Upper Pond and Whelan Restoration, where little directional change in vegetation cover has occurred and where vegetation cover has largely recovered to 2006 levels. Within the Channel, the steepest declines occurred between 2009 and 2013 and between 2014 and 2016. Since 2016, we observed an increase in foliage cover, largely herbaceous, between 0 and 2 m within the Channel. Although increases were observed at all height classes after 2016, percentage cover has remained below levels measured before 2009.
We sampled vegetation at 45 vireo nests and 45 random plots (territory plots) within territories in the Channel and Upper Pond after the 2023 breeding season. Vireos in the Channel established territories in areas with significantly more cover from 3 to 7 m but less cover below 1 m relative to the available habitat. Within territories, Channel vireos selected nest sites largely at random, but with significantly less foliage cover from 4 to 5 m. Vireos at Upper Pond established territories in areas with significantly more foliage cover below 4 m and from 5 to 6 m relative to available habitat. Within territories, Upper Pond vireos also selected nest sites at random except for a preference for sites with significantly less foliage cover below 1 m.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241040","programNote":"Ecosystems Mission Area—Species Management Research Program","usgsCitation":"Houston, A., Allen, L.D., Mendia, S.M., and Kus, B.E., 2024, Least Bell's Vireos and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers at the San Luis Rey Flood Risk Management Project Area in San Diego County, California: Breeding activities and habitat use—2023 Annual report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1040, 77 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241040.","productDescription":"x, 77 p.","numberOfPages":"77","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-163418","costCenters":[{"id":651,"text":"Western Ecological Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":432608,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241040/full"},{"id":432607,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1040/images"},{"id":432606,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1040/ofr20241040.xml"},{"id":432605,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1040/ofr20241040.pdf","text":"Report","size":"5.7 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"}},{"id":432604,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1040/covrthb.jpg"}],"contact":"Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3020 State University Drive East
Sacramento, California 95819
Fish stranding has been studied in select rivers worldwide, often with the purpose of determining how to mitigate adverse effects of dam operations on highly valued salmon and trout populations. However, where a reduction in trout population size is desired by resource managers, as is the case downstream of the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, flow manipulations termed trout management flows (TMFs) may be used to optimize fish stranding and mortality. To inform the design and implementation of potential future TMFs, we reviewed relevant literature to identify key factors that influence fish stranding. We found that key factors were highly interdependent and site-specific, but general trends suggest that down-ramping (decreasing flow) at rapid rates in daytime during the late spring to summer emergence period would lead to stranding of age-0 rainbow trout in shallow shoreline habitat. A hypsometric analysis was then used to predict stranding risk for age-0 rainbow trout in Glen Canyon for a range of TMFs, which incorporated existing bathymetric data and flow and habitat suitability models. Our results indicate that a TMF with a steady high flow ranging from 12,000 to 16,000 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) combined with a minimum flow ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 ft3/s may effectively strand age-0 fish while also minimizing risk to water storage in Lake Powell and other resources. This strategy implemented under normal hydropeaking operations was predicted to lead to a substantive stranding risk when paired with low flows of 5,000 ft3/s, and especially 3,000 ft3/s. However, there remains uncertainty associated with elements of implementing an effective TMF downstream from Glen Canyon Dam. The main uncertainties include (1) the down-ramp rate that maximizes stranding of age-0 trout, (2) the duration of drawdown to maximize stranding mortality while minimizing impact to downstream resources, (3) duration of high flows required for age-0 fish to colonize newly created shoreline habitat (this is only for certain TMF hydrographs), (4) number of repetitions of TMF cycles to minimize compensatory survival response, and (5) recruitment threshold of both rainbow and brown trout populations to trigger TMF implementation.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241033","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Ecometric Research Inc.","usgsCitation":"Giardina, M., Korman, J., Yard, M.D., Wright, S., Kaplinski, M., and Bennett, G., 2024, A literature review and hypsometric analysis to support decisions on trout management flows on the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1033, 50 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241033.","productDescription":"Report: viii, 50 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"50","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-133316","costCenters":[{"id":154,"text":"California Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":568,"text":"Southwest Biological Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":432181,"rank":6,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241033/full"},{"id":432178,"rank":3,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9L1XEZO","text":"USGS Data Release","description":"Korman, J., Giardina, M.A., Yard, M.D., Wright, S.A., Kaplinski, M., and Bennett, G., 2024, Colorado River milage system and ancillary attribute data for connecting to hydrodynamic model output in Glen Canyon, AZ: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9L1XEZO.","linkHelpText":"Colorado River milage system and ancillary attribute data for connecting to hydrodynamic model output in Glen Canyon, AZ"},{"id":432177,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1033/ofr20241033.pdf","text":"Report","size":"9 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"}},{"id":432179,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1033/ofr20241033.xml"},{"id":432180,"rank":5,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1033/images"},{"id":432176,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1033/covrthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"Arizona","otherGeospatial":"Colorado River, Glen Canyon","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -111.636412112225,\n 36.82347668968964\n ],\n [\n -111.44233548505323,\n 36.82347668968964\n ],\n [\n -111.44233548505323,\n 36.96315377672772\n ],\n [\n -111.636412112225,\n 36.96315377672772\n ],\n [\n -111.636412112225,\n 36.82347668968964\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Southwest Biological Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2255 N. Gemini Drive
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Kansas Water Science Center (KSWSC) has published time-series computations of water-quality concentrations and loads based on in situ sensor data since 1995. Water-quality constituent concentrations or densities are computed using regression models that relate in situ sensor values to laboratory analyses of periodically collected samples. These regression models currently (2024) follow no uniform published guidance and are individually documented through USGS reports. This report describes updated (2024) procedures designed to improve the consistency, quality, and timeliness of computed continuous water-quality data produced by the USGS KSWSC. Beginning in 2024, models developed by the USGS KSWSC that follow specific procedures and requirements related to sample collection, model fit, and model documentation outlined in this report are planned to be published and stored in the USGS National Real-Time Water Quality Data for the Nation Data Service. This report also describes USGS KSWSC procedures for evaluating and publishing time-series water-quality computations after initial model development and documentation. This guidance can be used to improve USGS KSWSC model development and data computation consistency and streamline the time-series water-quality computation process from model development to publication.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241049","usgsCitation":"Stone, M.L., Lee, C.J., Rasmussen, T.J., Williams, T.J., Kramer, A.R., and Klager, B.J., 2024, Methods for computing water-quality concentrations and loads at sites operated by the U.S. Geological Survey Kansas Water Science Center: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1049, 10 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241049.","productDescription":"Report: iii, 10 p.; 2 Appendixes","numberOfPages":"18","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-160483","costCenters":[{"id":353,"text":"Kansas Water Science Center","active":false,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":431715,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1049/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":431716,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1049/ofr20241049.pdf","text":"Report","size":"628 kB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024–1049"},{"id":431717,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1049/ofr20241049.XML"},{"id":431718,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1049/images/"},{"id":431720,"rank":6,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241049/full"},{"id":431719,"rank":5,"type":{"id":3,"text":"Appendix"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1049/downloads/","text":"Appendixes 1 and 2"}],"contact":"Director, Kansas Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
1217 Biltmore Drive
Lawrence, KS 66049
Modern transportation and land-use planning efforts include information from many sources to address topics such as safety, efficiency, commercial, and social needs. This wide breadth of topics provides opportunities for collaboration and development of common tools for diverse users. In many cases, different information systems provide the spatial data and geographic content necessary for transportation and land-use planners to consider multiple lines of evidence. The Federal Highway Administration Office of Federal Lands Highway (FLH) and Federal Land Management Agency partners use detailed spatial and quantitative data to inform transportation decisions. However, logistic challenges to data sharing exist because data are often managed by separate agencies; data-exchange frameworks and interagency data agreements are insufficient; and consistency from aggregated data requires maintenance, coordination, and supporting infrastructure.
The FLH and U.S. Geological Survey collaboratively examined (1) use and availability of spatial data for transportation planning and (2) a possible mechanism to use more shared and consistent data in a common planning environment. The goals of this collaborative effort were to describe data needs from the perspective of planners and to identify opportunities for shared data resources. Results presented here focus on two workshops and a subsequent investigation of data and tools available from partner agencies. The objectives of this report are to (1) describe information used in transportation planning with geographic data; (2) identify spatially explicit data that inform transportation plans and could be shared among all partners; and (3) describe current platforms, planning and administrative opportunities, and potential barriers to developing an integrated planning tool.
Key information and data needs were identified in three major classes: system, user, and influential factors. System data are parts of the transportation network and information about the condition of individual segments and the network. User data provide details about the function of the system and insights into potential needs; for example, user trips between source and destinations inform road and network demands that can lead to congestion and safety issues (in the future, user data might also include scenarios and projections based on land-use plans). Influential data represent social and environmental factors that influence transit demands and network conditions. These factors could be popular locations or seasonal events that influence demand and congestion; wildlife habitat or migration intersections that affect safety and management priorities; or geologic features that influence hazards, maintenance, and safety. Responses described here provide specific information for web-tool design and give a framework for interagency communication and cooperation to address specific information needs for integrated planning. Existing web-mapping and web-services, and the data that inform them, are also described. Commonly, these data are created and published by one agency, and the core users are outside of that agency; for example, threatened species distributions are published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for consideration by planners in advance of National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) evaluation.
This report is provided to inform FLH leaders and Federal Land Management Agency partners by articulating user needs and requirements for integrated planning tool(s). Programmers creating a secure web-based data-sharing platform (with data-viewing, -analysis and -download functions) can use the information presented here to organize data and user interfaces. This integrated perspective can help FLH and Federal Land Management Agency partners develop transportation networks that better serve the needs of people in local communities and across States and the Nation.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241038","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Lands Highway Divisions","programNote":"Climate Adaptation Science Center & Land Change Science","usgsCitation":"Manier, D., Grisham, N., Armstrong, A., Henley, E., Doolittle, J., and Inman, R., 2024, Identifying transportation data and system needs for a Federal lands transportation data platform: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1038, 37 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241038.","productDescription":"vi, 37 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-153797","costCenters":[{"id":291,"text":"Fort Collins Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":431727,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1038/ofr20241038.xml"},{"id":431726,"rank":3,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1038/images"},{"id":431683,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1038/ofr20241038.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.42 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024-1038"},{"id":431682,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1038/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":431765,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241038/full","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"},"description":"OFR 2024-1038"}],"contact":"Director, Fort Collins Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2150 Centre Ave., Bldg. C
Fort Collins, CO 80526-8118
Earthquakes have the potential to substantially affect mining operations, potentially leading to supply chain disruptions and adversely affecting the global economy. This study explores the quantification of earthquake risk to copper and rhenium commodity supply by examining the spatial concentration of high earthquake hazard areas and the commodity-specific mining, smelting, and refining operations across the globe. Because many of the largest facilities are concentrated geographically near the highly seismic regions of South America, East Asia, and the Pacific, there is a potential for cascading effects on the entire supply chain. The analysis indicates that the expected annual disruption of global production is 0.3–1.1 percent for copper mines, 1.8–4.0 percent for smelters, and 1.5–3.3 percent for refineries. Expected annual disruption of global rhenium production capacity is 0.32–1.32 percent. The research highlights that the potential lost revenue from earthquake disruptions is from $315 million to $1.29 billion for copper mining, $1.92 billion to $4.33 billion for copper smelting, $2.06 billion to $4.52 billion for copper refining, and $337,000 to $1.40 million for rhenium production capacity.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241028","programNote":"Earthquake Hazards Program and Mineral Resources Program","usgsCitation":"Jaiswal, K.S., Luco, N., Schnebele, E.K., Nassar, N.T., and Otarod, D., 2024, Quantitative risk of earthquake disruption to global copper and rhenium supply: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1028, 19 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241028.","productDescription":"iv, 19 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-155335","costCenters":[{"id":432,"text":"National Minerals Information Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":78686,"text":"Geologic Hazards Science Center - Seismology / Geomagnetism","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":499250,"rank":6,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_117153.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":431677,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241028/full","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"},"description":"OFR 2024-1028"},{"id":431623,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1028/ofr20241028.xml"},{"id":431622,"rank":3,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1028/images"},{"id":430730,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1028/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":430732,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1028/ofr20241028.pdf","text":"Report","size":"17.1 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024-1028"}],"contact":"Director, Geologic Hazards Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
Box 25046, Mail Stop 966
Denver, CO 80225
The Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling platform exploded on April 20, 2010. The resulting massive oil spill injured natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, including wintering common loons (Gavia immer). We report on activities completed under the “Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota” project in calendar year 2023, which was funded by the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group. In 2022, a subset of monitored breeding territories was identified as focal territories, which are sampling units for the study. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, monitored 98 common loon focal territories and an additional 43 nonfocal territories in 2023 across 56 study lakes in Minnesota. We collaborated with lake associations and private citizens to deploy 42 artificial nesting platforms within 44 focal treatment territories. The remaining 54 focal territories were controls. Territorial surveys were completed from May 8 to August 11, 2023, to evaluate occupancy, nest success, and chick survival. At least one nest attempt was observed in 31 of 44 treatment territories and a second nest attempt was observed after a failed initial attempt in 6 treatment territories. However, only one nest was on an artificial nesting platform in a treatment territory; the remaining nest locations were natural. At least one nest attempt was observed in 37 of 54 control territories, and a second nest attempt was observed after a failed initial attempt in 5 control territories. Chicks or other evidence of hatching were observed in 17 of 54 control territories and 17 of 44 treatment territories, with 1 of those successful treatment nests occurring on an artificial nesting platform. This report includes no formal analysis, but we plan to analyze data after collection of all field data in subsequent years.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241044","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency","usgsCitation":"Beatty, W.S., Amoth, K., Bergstrom, K., Fara, L.J., Gray, B.R., Houdek, S.C., Jech, J., Kenow, K.P., Rabasco, R., Rettler, S., Wellik, M., and Yang, S., 2024, Restoration of common loon (Gavia immer) in Minnesota—2023 annual report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1044, 6 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241044.","productDescription":"Report: vi, 6 p.; 2 Data Releases","numberOfPages":"16","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-162805","costCenters":[{"id":606,"text":"Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":431372,"rank":7,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P13YB3AF","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Summary of detection data for breeding common loons in north-central Minnesota (2023)"},{"id":431366,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1044/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":431367,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1044/ofr20241044.pdf","text":"Report","size":"5.3 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024–1044"},{"id":431368,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1044/ofr20241044.XML"},{"id":431369,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1044/images/"},{"id":431370,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241044/full"},{"id":431371,"rank":6,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P9LA536E","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Summary of detection data for breeding common loons in north-central Minnesota (2021–2022)"}],"country":"United States","state":"Minnesota","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -96.57221262524712,\n 48.473840582024934\n ],\n [\n -96.57221262524712,\n 46.234012124497895\n ],\n [\n -93.01264231274689,\n 46.234012124497895\n ],\n [\n -93.01264231274689,\n 48.473840582024934\n ],\n [\n -96.57221262524712,\n 48.473840582024934\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2630 Fanta Reed Road
La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603
A Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954 (New Jersey v. New York, 347 U.S. 995), established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes the diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from reservoirs owned by New York City to be made under the supervision and direction of the River Master. The Decree stipulates that the River Master provide reports to the Court not less frequently than annually. This report is the 63rd annual report of the River Master of the Delaware River. The report covers the 2016 River Master report year, which is the period from December 1, 2015, to November 30, 2016.
During the report year, precipitation in the upper Delaware River Basin was 38.6 inches or 87 percent of the long-term average. Combined storage remained high (above 80 percent of combined capacity) for much of the year and did not decline below 80 percent of combined capacity until August 2016. The lowest combined storage was 106.406 billion gallons or 39 percent of combined capacity on November 28, 2016. Delaware River Basin Commission Resolution 2016–07 necessitated a basinwide drought watch on November 23, 2016. The drought watch continued through the remainder of the 2016 report year. Delaware River Master operations during the year were conducted as stipulated by the Decree and the Flexible Flow Management Program. New York City and New Jersey fully complied with the terms of the Decree and, during drought watch conditions, with the Delaware River Basin Commission Resolution 2016–07 terms. Diversions from the Delaware River Basin by New York City and New Jersey fully complied with the Decree. The reservoir releases were made as directed by the River Master at rates designed to meet the flow objective for the Delaware River at Montague, New Jersey, on 126 days during the report year. Interim Excess Release Quantity and conservation releases, designed to relieve thermal stress and protect the fishery and aquatic habitat in the tailwaters of the reservoirs, were also made during the report year.
Water quality in the Delaware River estuary between the streamgages at Trenton, New Jersey, and Reedy Island Jetty, Delaware, was monitored at several locations. Data on water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, and pH were collected continuously by electronic instruments at four sites.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241012","isbn":"978-1-4113-4551-5","usgsCitation":"Russell, K.L., Andrews, W.J., DiFrenna, V.J., Norris, J.M., and Mason, R.R., Jr., 2024, Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2015–November 30, 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1012, 105 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241012.","productDescription":"xi, 105 p.","numberOfPages":"105","onlineOnly":"N","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-144909","costCenters":[{"id":509,"text":"Office of the Associate Director for Water","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":430729,"rank":5,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1012/images/"},{"id":430728,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1012/ofr20241012.XML","linkFileType":{"id":8,"text":"xml"},"description":"OFR 2024-1012 XML"},{"id":499229,"rank":6,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_117124.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":430727,"rank":3,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241012/full","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"},"description":"OFR 2024-1012 HTML"},{"id":430725,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1012/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":430726,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1012/ofr20241012.pdf","text":"Report","size":"9.43 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024-1012 PDF"}],"country":"United States","state":"Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania","otherGeospatial":"Delaware River basin","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -76,\n 40\n ],\n [\n -74,\n 40\n ],\n [\n -74,\n 42.5\n ],\n [\n -76,\n 42.5\n ],\n [\n -76,\n 40\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Delaware River Master
Office of the Delaware River Master
U.S. Geological Survey
The 2-aminoethanol salt of niclosamide (2′,5-dichloro-4′-nitrosalicylanilide) is a pesticide known as Bayluscide that is used in conjunction with TFM (4-nitro-3-[trifluoromethyl]phenol), also known as 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol) to treat tributaries to the Great Lakes infested with invasive parasitic Petromyzon marinus (sea lamprey). Adding 0.5 to 2 percent Bayluscide with TFM can substantially reduce the amount of TFM required to achieve effective control. Currently, an emulsifiable concentrate (EC) formulation of Bayluscide is used in combination with TFM during some stream treatments completed by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s binational sea lamprey control program. The Bayluscide EC formulation is highly effective; however, it degrades application tubing, adheres to application equipment, and raises concerns for worker safety because of the solvent in the formulation, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone.
We collaborated with a pesticide formulation company to develop a Bayluscide 20-percent suspension concentrate (SC) formulation as a potential replacement for the Bayluscide 20-percent EC formulation. The 20-percent SC formulation was specifically developed using inert ingredients approved for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Health Canada Pest Management Regulatory Agency. Although approved for use, the inclusion of a small quantity of an antimicrobial in the formulation warranted evaluating the toxicological profile to sea lamprey and select nontarget fish species. We evaluated and compared the toxicity of the 20-percent SC formulation to the 20-percent EC formulation using continuous-flow diluter systems and larval sea lamprey and select cold-, cool-, and warm-water fish as test animals. Our results demonstrate comparable toxicological profiles between the two formulations with the 20-percent SC formulation being slightly less toxic to the nontarget species evaluated.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241037","usgsCitation":"Luoma, J.A., Schueller, J.R., Schloesser, N.A., Kirkeeng, C.A., and Wolfe, S.L., 2024, Comparative toxicity of emulsifiable concentrate and suspension concentrate formulations of 2′,5-dichloro-4′-nitrosalicylanilide ethanolamine salt: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1037, 10 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241037.","productDescription":"Report: vii, 10 p.; Data Release","numberOfPages":"22","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-161507","costCenters":[{"id":606,"text":"Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":430974,"rank":6,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P1473X4B","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Data and code release—Comparative toxicity of emulsifiable concentrate and suspension concentrate formulations of 2′,5-dichloro-4′-nitrosalicylanilide ethanolamine salt"},{"id":430973,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241037/full"},{"id":430971,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1037/ofr20241037.XML"},{"id":430969,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1037/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":430970,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1037/ofr20241037.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.5 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024–1037"},{"id":430972,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1037/images/"}],"contact":"Director, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
U.S. Geological Survey
2630 Fanta Reed Road
La Crosse, WI 54603
In 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Minerals Information Center (NMIC) completed the project titled \"Compilation of geospatial data for the mineral industries and related infrastructure of Africa.\" This project aimed to leverage the expertise and capabilities of the NMIC to collect, synthesize, and interpret geospatial data to inform on the extractive resources of the African region and expand the NMIC's understanding on the impact of mineral industry of African nations in the global economy. The African region, which comprises the independent nations that make up the African continent and its associated islands and dependencies, consists of a total of 58 mineral producing countries. The primary objective of this effort was to create a fully attributed Geographic Information System (GIS) portraying existing mining infrastructure, resources, and development capacity across Africa along with the related infrastructure capable of supporting current (for the reference year 2018) and future extractive industry operations in the region. The compiled GIS geodatabase with supporting documentation including comprehensive metadata was published as a USGS data release titled \"Compilation of Geospatial Data (GIS) for the Mineral Industries and Related Infrastructure of Africa.\"
This georeferenced portable document format (GeoPDF) map sheet presents a new geographic information product containing a partial representation of the GIS data. This GeoPDF map provides a visual comparison of the distribution of mineral industry and related infrastructure GIS data, which contributes to a deeper understanding of the intersections and complexities of the extractive industries within Africa.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241041","usgsCitation":"Neustaedter, E.R., Kemna, R.F., Padilla, A.J., and Otarod, D., 2024, Geospatial PDF map of the compilation of GIS data for the mineral industries and related infrastructure of Africa: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1041, 1 geospatial map, scale 1:38,504,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241041.","productDescription":"1 Map: 18.00 x 12.00 inches; Data Release","numberOfPages":"1","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-130230","costCenters":[{"id":432,"text":"National Minerals Information Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":431024,"rank":3,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241041/full"},{"id":431025,"rank":5,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1041/images/"},{"id":430978,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1041/ofr20241041.XML","description":"OFR 2024-1041 XML"},{"id":430674,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1041/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":430676,"rank":6,"type":{"id":30,"text":"Data Release"},"url":"https://doi.org/10.5066/P97EQWXP","text":"USGS data release","linkHelpText":"Compilation of geospatial data (GIS) for the mineral industries and related infrastructure of Africa"},{"id":430675,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1041/ofr20241041.pdf","text":"Report","size":"12.2 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024-1041 PDF"}],"otherGeospatial":"Africa","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -22.324219500055847,\n 41.39808853602034\n ],\n [\n -22.324219500055847,\n -37.83510956130807\n ],\n [\n 53.9648429999433,\n -37.83510956130807\n ],\n [\n 53.9648429999433,\n 41.39808853602034\n ],\n [\n -22.324219500055847,\n 41.39808853602034\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, National Minerals Information Center
U.S. Geological Survey
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
988 National Center
Reston, VA 20192
Total phosphorus (TP) and suspended-sediment concentrations (SSC) and loads were computed at two U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages in the upper Klamath River Basin on the Sprague (USGS site ID 11501000) and Williamson (USGS site ID 11502500) Rivers using high temporal resolution turbidity and streamflow data to develop surrogate regression models. Regression models were updated and validated for TP at the Williamson River site, and additional data improved a prior published TP model, increasing the coefficient of determination (R2) from 0.73 to 0.88. A new TP regression model was developed for the Sprague River site using 2 years of data and showed promising results with an R2 of 0.93. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) surrogate models were also updated at these sites using a longer period of record than the TP models and improved characterization of sediment transport conditions at these monitoring sites.
Computations of TP loads were compared to the annual loading capacity dictated by the total maximum daily load (TMDL) for Upper Klamath Lake and showed that the combined TP load of the Williamson and Sprague Rivers approaches the annual loading capacity in water years with high annual streamflow. TP loads were also compared to loads computed by the Klamath Tribes using a long-term dataset and a regression and interpolation algorithm (RIA). The comparison showed that the two methods report similar annual loads, with the surrogate regression method generally reporting lower loads than the RIA, and the RIA annual loads falling within the range of uncertainty of the surrogate regression model results. Determining the effect of habitat and stream restoration on basin-scale TP and suspended-sediment loading is challenging using the surrogate regression method at these sites given the short period of record that TP and suspended-sediment load (SSL) data are available. However, long-term analysis by the Klamath Tribes in their larger monitoring network could provide insight into the impact of restoration at smaller spatial scales compared to the basin-wide assessment produced in this study.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241034","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the Klamath Tribes and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board","usgsCitation":"Schenk, L.N., and Simeone, C., 2024, Total phosphorus and suspended-sediment concentrations and loads from two main tributaries to Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2014–20: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1034, 18 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241034.","productDescription":"viii, 18 p.","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-155613","costCenters":[{"id":518,"text":"Oregon Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":430574,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1034/ofr20241034.pdf","text":"Report","size":"4 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024-1034"},{"id":430573,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1034/ofr20241034.jpg"},{"id":430577,"rank":5,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1034/ofr20241034.XML"},{"id":430576,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1034/images"},{"id":430575,"rank":3,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241034/full","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"},"description":"OFR 2024-1034"},{"id":499255,"rank":6,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_117101.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}}],"country":"United States","state":"Oregon","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -122.39459049262162,\n 42.010424780518264\n ],\n [\n -119.81143415588565,\n 42.010424780518264\n ],\n [\n -119.81143415588565,\n 43.21983555337732\n ],\n [\n -122.39459049262162,\n 43.21983555337732\n ],\n [\n -122.39459049262162,\n 42.010424780518264\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, Oregon Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
601 SW Second Avenue, Suite 1950
Portland, Oregon 97204
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provided technical assistance to the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the USGS-NPS Water-Quality Partnership, by gathering references related to water-quality research conducted in the three units of Gateway National Recreation Area (GATE): Jamaica Bay and Staten Island in New York, and Sandy Hook in New Jersey. As part of this effort, a literature search was performed to compile previous water-quality research conducted within the boundaries of GATE. The resulting bibliography is meant to assist GATE resource managers in understanding the extent of available data and developing plans to close data gaps.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241035","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with the National Park Service","usgsCitation":"Savoy, P., Marionkova, M., and Schubert, C., 2024, Bibliography of water-quality studies in Gateway National Recreation Area, New York and New Jersey: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1035, 7 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241035.","productDescription":"iii, 7 p.","numberOfPages":"7","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-161856","costCenters":[{"id":474,"text":"New York Water Science Center","active":true,"usgs":true},{"id":37277,"text":"WMA - Earth System Processes Division","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":499256,"rank":6,"type":{"id":36,"text":"NGMDB Index Page"},"url":"https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_117097.htm","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"}},{"id":430428,"rank":5,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1035/images/"},{"id":430427,"rank":4,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1035/ofr20241035.XML","linkFileType":{"id":8,"text":"xml"},"description":"OFR 2024-1035 XML"},{"id":430426,"rank":3,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241035/full","text":"Report","linkFileType":{"id":5,"text":"html"},"description":"OFR 2024-1035 HTML"},{"id":430425,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1035/ofr20241035.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.25 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2024-1035 PDF"},{"id":430424,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1035/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"New Jersey, New York","otherGeospatial":"Gateway National Recreation Area","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -73.85513729439843,\n 40.654551507838846\n ],\n [\n -73.89381273583244,\n 40.62388973104002\n ],\n [\n -73.9579556996699,\n 40.537441746266865\n ],\n [\n -73.8554944605876,\n 40.56042638081682\n ],\n [\n -73.85236012115627,\n 40.58267541112733\n ],\n [\n -73.83876809711201,\n 40.58418418537727\n ],\n [\n -73.82517607306771,\n 40.58569296761614\n ],\n [\n -73.7681617378135,\n 40.606390031110664\n ],\n [\n -73.7722763223719,\n 40.62727653623955\n ],\n [\n -73.81698658676503,\n 40.65139922165838\n ],\n [\n -73.85513729439843,\n 40.654551507838846\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -74.03359844094561,\n 40.48300783959223\n ],\n [\n -74.00884376460158,\n 40.40869619490783\n ],\n [\n -73.96483206082176,\n 40.405554701601744\n ],\n [\n -73.99371377377663,\n 40.48823772192023\n ],\n [\n -74.03359844094561,\n 40.48300783959223\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n },\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -74.13918165624833,\n 40.5462145867333\n ],\n [\n -74.13082225121698,\n 40.54483184944499\n ],\n [\n -74.1300961800887,\n 40.53681505828524\n ],\n [\n -74.1417287594383,\n 40.53488174204816\n ],\n [\n -74.13701209880821,\n 40.526583892279575\n ],\n [\n -74.04424809693685,\n 40.58020576969048\n ],\n [\n -74.03879133708992,\n 40.602581719859955\n ],\n [\n -74.05916439950865,\n 40.60892165585267\n ],\n [\n -74.06716503242002,\n 40.602004600980564\n ],\n [\n -74.0631653942842,\n 40.59593339538253\n ],\n [\n -74.09372089641063,\n 40.56998116301571\n ],\n [\n -74.10679839509868,\n 40.576050498707474\n ],\n [\n -74.10971340310442,\n 40.56970029742831\n ],\n [\n -74.09954055858626,\n 40.56307272953646\n ],\n [\n -74.11445006764852,\n 40.558650678011816\n ],\n [\n -74.1293363756321,\n 40.56141089836322\n ],\n [\n -74.13918165624833,\n 40.5462145867333\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Director, New York Water Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
425 Jordan Road
Troy, NY 12180–8349
Gaofen-6 represents a series of Chinese high-resolution Earth observation satellites. More than 12 satellites have been launched in the Gaofen series, beginning with Gaofen-1 in 2013. Satellites within the series have varying infrared, radar, and optical imaging capabilities. The primary goal for the satellites in this series is to provide near real-time observations for climate change monitoring, geographical mapping, precision agriculture support, environmental and resource surveying, and disaster prevention. More information on Chinese satellites and sensors is available in the “2022 Joint Agency Commercial Imagery Evaluation—Remote Sensing Satellite Compendium.”
The Earth Resources Observation and Science Cal/Val Center of Excellence system characterization team completed data analyses to characterize the geometric (interior and exterior), radiometric, and spatial performances of Gaofen-6. Results of these analyses indicate that Gaofen-6 has an interior geometric performance root mean square error ranging from 2.84 meters (m; 0.18 pixel) to 7.42 m (0.46 pixel) in easting and from 2.84 m (0.18 pixel) to 11.57 m (0.72 pixel) in northing in band-to-band registration, an exterior geometric performance root mean square error ranging from 154.50 m (8.80 pixels) in easting to 14.65 m (0.80 pixel) in northing in comparison to a corresponding Sentinel-2 scene, a radiometric performance ranging from 0.018 to 0.055 (in offset) and from 0.620 to 0.858 (in slope), and a spatial performance ranging from 2.10 to 2.30 pixels at full width at half maximum, with a modulation transfer function at a Nyquist frequency ranging from 0.040 to 0.055.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20211030M","usgsCitation":"Sampath, A., Christopherson, J., Park, S., Kim, M., Stensaas, G.L., and Anderson, C., 2024, System characterization report on the Gaofen-6, chap. M of Ramaseri Chandra, S.N., comp., System characterization of Earth observation sensors: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2021–1030, 9 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211030M.","productDescription":"iv, 9 p.","numberOfPages":"18","onlineOnly":"Y","additionalOnlineFiles":"N","ipdsId":"IP-133753","costCenters":[{"id":222,"text":"Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":430388,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1030/m/coverthb.jpg"},{"id":430389,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1030/m/ofr20211030m.pdf","text":"Report","size":"1.7 MB","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"},"description":"OFR 2021–1030–M"},{"id":430390,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2021/1030/m/ofr20211030m.XML"}],"contact":"Director, Earth Resources Observation and Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
47914 252nd Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57198
The purpose of this report is to provide the Marine Corps with an annual summary of abundance, breeding activity, demography, and habitat use of endangered Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP, or Base). Surveys for the Least Bell's Vireo were conducted at MCBCP, California, between April 1 and July 10, 2020. Core survey areas and a subset of non-core areas in drainages containing riparian habitat suitable for vireos were surveyed 3–4 times. We detected 669 territorial male vireos and 16 transient vireos in core survey areas. An additional 156 territorial male vireos were detected in non-core survey areas. Territorial vireos were detected on all 10 drainages/sites surveyed (core and non-core areas). Of the vireo territories in core areas, 88 percent were on the 4 most populated drainages, with the Santa Margarita River containing 69 percent of all territories. In core areas, 79 percent of male vireos were confirmed as paired; 83 percent of male vireos in non-core areas were confirmed as paired.
The number of documented Least Bell’s Vireo territories in core survey areas on MCBCP (669) increased 39 percent from 2019 to 2020. The number of territories in all core survey area drainages increased by one or more between 2019 and 2020. The substantial increase in vireo numbers on MCBCP (39 percent) was consistent with population changes in surrounding areas, including the lower San Luis Rey River (26 percent), Marine Corps Air Station, Camp Pendleton (58 percent), and the middle San Luis Rey River (7 percent).
Most core-area vireo territories (69 percent of males) occurred in willow (Salix spp.) riparian habitat. An additional 4 percent of birds occupied willow habitat co-dominated by Western sycamores (Platanus racemosa) or Fremont cottonwoods (Populus fremontii). Eighteen percent of territories were found in riparian scrub dominated by mule fat (Baccharis salicifolia) or sandbar willow (S. exigua). Upland scrub was used by 7 percent or fewer vireos; 1 percent of territories occurred in non-native vegetation, and less than 1 percent of vireo territories occurred in habitat co-dominated by coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) and sycamore.
In 2019, MCBCP began operating an artificial seep along the Santa Margarita River. The artificial seep pumped water to the surface from March through August each year during daylight hours and was designed to increase the amount of surface water present to enhance Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) breeding habitat. Although this enhancement was designed to benefit flycatchers, few flycatchers have inhabited the seep and proposed seep areas within the past several years. Therefore, vireos were selected as a surrogate species to determine effects of the habitat enhancement. This report presents preliminary analyses of vireo and vegetation response to the existing artificial seep.
We sampled vegetation in the Seep site and three Reference sites to determine the effects of a new water diversion dam that was completed in 2019 and a surface water enhancement seep pump installed along the Santa Margarita River. We found minor differences in non-native vegetation cover between Reference sites and the Seep site. However, soil moisture was higher at the Reference sites compared to the Seep site. The effect of the seep pump may have been masked by high precipitation in the bio-year (July 1‒June 30) before 2020, limited time for the water diversion to have an effect, well-draining soil, and the non-operation of two to three of the six seep outlets.
We color banded and resighted color banded Least Bell’s Vireos to evaluate adult site fidelity, between-year movement, and the effect of surface water enhancement on vireo site fidelity and between-year movement. We banded 146 Least Bell's Vireos for the first time during the 2020 season. Birds banded included 27 adult vireos and 119 juvenile vireos. All adult vireos were banded with unique color combinations. The juvenile vireos (all nestlings) were banded with a single gold numbered federal band on the left leg.
We resighted and identified 85 Least Bell's Vireos banded before the 2020 breeding season on Base in 2020. Of the 85, 13 vireos were originally banded on the San Luis Rey River, 2 were banded in Baja California Sur, 1 was banded at Marine Corps Air Station, Camp Pendleton, and the remaining birds were banded at MCBCP. Adult birds of known age ranged from 1 to 8 years old.
Most returning adult vireos showed strong between-year site fidelity. Of the adults present in 2019 and 2020, 74 percent, (79 percent of males; 40 percent of females) returned to within 100 m of their previous territory. The average between-year movement for returning adult vireos was 0.3 plus or minus (±) 0.8 kilometer (km). The average movement of first-year vireos detected in 2020 that fledged from a known nest on MCBCP in 2019 was 4.7±7.0 km. One first-year vireo that originated at MCBCP moved off Base and was detected at Murrieta Creek, 23.0 km from his natal territory.
We monitored Least Bell's Vireo pairs to evaluate the effects of surface water enhancement on nest success and breeding productivity. Vireos were monitored at one Seep site and three Reference sites. Base personnel plan to install a second seep pump at one of the Reference sites in the future, at which time the status of the monitoring site will change from Reference to Seep.
Nesting activity was monitored between March 31 and July 28 in 52 territories within the Seep and Reference sites (12 at the Seep site and 40 at Reference sites). All territories were occupied by pairs, and all but one territory was fully monitored, meaning all nesting attempts were monitored at these territories. One vireo territory within a Reference site was partially monitored. During the monitoring period, 94 nests (25 in the Seep site and 69 in Reference sites) were monitored.
Breeding productivity was similar at the Seep site and Reference sites (3.7 and 2.9 young per pair, respectively), with 75 percent of Seep pairs and 79 percent of Reference pairs successfully fledging at least 1 young in 2020. Compared to Reference sites, the Seep site had a higher proportion of all eggs that hatched and also a higher proportion of nests with eggs that hatched. Conversely, a lower proportion of hatchlings and nests that had hatchlings fledged at the Seep site than at Reference sites. According to the best model, nest survival in 2020 was not affected by treatment (Seep versus Reference), although the second best model that included treatment was also well supported.
Completed nests at the Seep site were likely to be as successful as nests at Reference sites in 2020 (57 percent and 59 percent, respectively). Predation was believed to be the primary source of nest failure at both sites. Predation accounted for 90 percent and 73 percent of nest failures at Seep and Reference sites, respectively. Failure of the remaining eight nests was attributed to the collapse of the nesting substrate, exposure to rain and flooding, and other unknown reasons.
Fourteen plant species were used as hosts for vireo nests in 2020. In 2020, we found that at the Seep site, successful nests were placed in taller host plants and further from the edge of host plants (closer to the center) than unsuccessful nests. We found no difference in nest placement between the Seep site and the Reference sites.
Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3020 State University Drive East
Sacramento, California 95819
Surveys for the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) were done at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP or “Base”), California, between May 4 and July 31, 2020. All of MCBCP’s historically occupied riparian habitat (core survey area) was surveyed for flycatchers in 2020. Additionally, one-fifth of the unoccupied riparian habitat (non-core survey area) was surveyed for flycatchers. Thirteen transient Willow Flycatchers of unknown subspecies were observed on four of the seven drainages surveyed in 2020. No Willow Flycatchers were detected at Fallbrook Creek, Pilgrim Creek, or San Mateo Creek. Transients occurred in a range of habitat types, including mixed willow (Salix spp.) riparian, riparian scrub, willow-sycamore (Platanus racemosa) or willow-cottonwood (Populus fremontii) dominated riparian vegetation, and upland scrub. Exotic vegetation, primarily poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), was present in most flycatcher locations.
The resident population of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers on MCBCP declined 33 percent from three individuals in 2019 to two individuals in 2020. In 2020, the resident Southwestern Willow Flycatcher population on Base consisted of one male and one female. No single males or non-territorial floaters were observed in 2020. Overall, one territory was established consisting of one monogamous pair. Resident flycatchers were restricted to the Santa Margarita River, and distribution was limited to the Pueblitos breeding area. All resident flycatchers were located in mixed willow riparian habitat.
Nesting was initiated in late May and continued into early August. Three nesting attempts were documented, of which 33 percent (1/3) were successful. Predation and substrate failure accounted for the two nest failures. Two fledglings were produced, yielding a seasonal productivity of two young/pair. No instances of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism were observed. Flycatchers placed nests in two plant species: native sandbar willow (Salix exigua) and exotic poison hemlock.
One hundred percent of resident birds that were present at MCBCP in 2020 were banded in previous years; no unbanded birds were detected. Of the three uniquely banded adult flycatchers present during the 2019 breeding season, 100 percent (1/1) of males and 50 percent (1/2) of females returned to MCBCP in 2020, and both banded flycatchers returned to the same breeding area they occupied in 2019. None of the seven nestlings banded in 2019 returned to MCBCP in 2020, and none were detected off Base. Six nestlings from two nests were banded in 2020; only two survived to fledging.
From 2000 to 2020, overall adult survival of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers on MCBCP was 60 percent, while first-year survival was 20 percent.
A conspecific attraction study initiated on Base in 2018 and repeated annually through 2020 found that 100 percent of breeding flycatchers detected in 2020 settled close to automated playback units.
","language":"English","publisher":"U.S. Geological Survey","publisherLocation":"Reston, VA","doi":"10.3133/ofr20241005","collaboration":"Prepared in cooperation with Assistant Chief of Staff, Environmental Security, U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton","programNote":"Ecosystems Mission Area—Species Management Research","usgsCitation":"Howell, S.L., and Kus, B.E., 2024, Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2020 annual report: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2024–1005, 35 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20241005.","productDescription":"viii, 35 p.","numberOfPages":"35","onlineOnly":"Y","ipdsId":"IP-125132","costCenters":[{"id":651,"text":"Western Ecological Research Center","active":true,"usgs":true}],"links":[{"id":429419,"rank":5,"type":{"id":39,"text":"HTML Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20241005/full"},{"id":429418,"rank":4,"type":{"id":34,"text":"Image Folder"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1005/images"},{"id":429417,"rank":3,"type":{"id":31,"text":"Publication XML"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1005/ofr20241005.xml"},{"id":429416,"rank":2,"type":{"id":11,"text":"Document"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1005/ofr20241005.pdf","text":"Report","size":"12 Mb","linkFileType":{"id":1,"text":"pdf"}},{"id":429415,"rank":1,"type":{"id":24,"text":"Thumbnail"},"url":"https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2024/1005/coverthb.jpg"}],"country":"United States","state":"California","otherGeospatial":"Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton","geographicExtents":"{\n \"type\": \"FeatureCollection\",\n \"features\": [\n {\n \"type\": \"Feature\",\n \"properties\": {},\n \"geometry\": {\n \"coordinates\": [\n [\n [\n -117.75538962036684,\n 33.058231363884246\n ],\n [\n -117.02638396742665,\n 33.058231363884246\n ],\n [\n -117.02638396742665,\n 33.773009424685426\n ],\n [\n -117.75538962036684,\n 33.773009424685426\n ],\n [\n -117.75538962036684,\n 33.058231363884246\n ]\n ]\n ],\n \"type\": \"Polygon\"\n }\n }\n ]\n}","contact":"Western Ecological Research Center
U.S. Geological Survey
3020 State University Drive East
Sacramento, California 95819