Small forested watershed weathers effects of climate change better than a nearby urban watershed in Northern Virginia, USA
Aaron J. Porter, Karen C Rice
2024, Hydrological Processes (38)
South Fork Quantico Creek (SFQ; 19.8 square kilometre (km2), forested) and Fourmile Run (4MR; 32.4-km2, urban) are small watersheds in northern Virginia, United States. Precipitation and streamflow data for both watersheds were examined from water year (WY) 1952 through 2022. Temporal changes in hydrologic...
Integrative phylogenetic, phylogeographic and morphological characterisation of the Unio crassus species complex reveals cryptic diversity with important conservation implications
Manuel Lopes-Lima, Juergen Geist, Sarah Egg, Lubos Beran, Ani Bikashvili, Bert Van Bocxlaer, Arthur E. Bogan, Ivan N. Bolotov, O. A. Chelpanovskaya, Karel Douda, Vasco Fernandes, André Gomes-dos-Santos, Duarte V. Goncalves, Mustafa E. Gurlek, Nathan Johnson, Ioannis Karaouzas, Umit Kebapci, Alexander V. Kondakov, Ralph Kuehn, Jasna Lajtner, Levan Mumladze, Karl-Otto Nagel, Eike Neubert, Martin Osterling, John M. Pfeiffer, Vincent Prie, Nicoletta Riccardi, Jerzy Sell, Lea D. Schneider, Spase Shumka, Ioan Sirbu, Grita Skujiene, Chase H. Smith, Ronaldo Sousa, Katharina Stockl, Jouni Taskinen, Amílcar Teixeira, Milcho Todorov, Teodora Trichkova, Maria Urbanska, Santtu Valila, Simone Varandas, Joana Verissimo, Ilya V. Vikhrev, G. Woschitz, Katarzyna Zajac, Tadeusz Zajac, David T. Zanatta, Alexandra Zieritz, Stamatis Zogaris, Elsa Froufe
2024, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (195)
The global decline of freshwater mussels and their crucial ecological services highlight the need to understand their phylogeny, phylogeography and patterns of genetic diversity to guide conservation efforts. Such knowledge is urgently needed for Unio crassus, a highly imperilled species originally widespread throughout Europe and southwest...
Rising water temperature in rivers: Ecological impacts and future resilience
Matthew F. Johnson, Lindsey K. Albertson, Adam C. Algar, Stephen J. Dugdale, Patrick Edwards, Judy England, Christopher Gibbins, So Kazama, Daisuke Komori, Andrew Maccoll, Eric Arthur Scholl, Robert Wilby, Fabio de Oliveira Roque, Paul F. Wood
2024, WIREs Water (11)
Rising water temperatures in rivers due to climate change are already having observable impacts on river ecosystems. Warming water has both direct and indirect impacts on aquatic life, and further aggravates pervasive issues such as eutrophication, pollution, and the spread of disease. Animals can survive higher temperatures through physiological and/or...
Writing SMART objectives for natural resource and environmental management
Caleb A. Aldridge, Michael E. Colvin
2024, Ecological Solutions and Evidence (5)
In natural resource and environmental management, well-written objectives are critical for effective decision-making and the achievement of desired outcomes. This article aims to improve practitioners' ability to identify and write SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) objectives for natural resource and environmental management.We differentiate between research and management objectives, define each SMART criterion,...
Potential use of poultry farms by wild waterfowl in California's Central Valley varies across space, times of day, and species: implications for influenza transmission risk
Claire S. Teitelbaum, Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Elliott Matchett, Fiona McDuie, Austen Lorenz, Josh T. Ackerman, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Diann Prosser
2024, Ecosphere (2024)
Interactions between wildlife and livestock can lead to cross-species disease transmission, which incurs economic costs and threatens wildlife conservation. Wild waterfowl are natural hosts of avian influenza viruses (AIVs), are often abundant near poultry farms, and have been linked to outbreaks of AIVs in...
Exploring landscape and geologic controls on spatial patterning of streambank groundwater discharge in a mixed land use watershed
Kevin E. Jackson, Eric M. Moore, Ashley M. Helton, Adam B. Haynes, Janet R. Barclay, Martin A. Briggs
2024, Hydrological Processes (38)
Preferential groundwater discharge features along stream corridors are ecologically important at local and stream network scales, yet we lack quantification of the multiscale controls on the spatial patterning of groundwater discharge. Here we identify physical attributes that best explain variation in the presence and...
Prokaryotic microbial ecology as an ecosurveillance tool for eukaryotic pathogen colonisation: Meiothermus and Naegleria fowleri
Natalia Malinowski, Matthew J. Morgan, Jason Wylie, Tom Walsh, Sergio Domingos, Suzanne Metcalfe, Anna H. Kaksonen, Elliott Barnhart, Rebecca C. Mueller, Brent M. Peyton, Geoffrey J. Puzon
2024, Water Research (254)
Naegleria fowleri has been detected in drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) in Australia, Pakistan and the United States and is the causative agent of the highly fatal disease primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. Previous small scale field studies have shown that Meiothermus may be a potential biomarker for N. fowleri. However,...
Extent and duration of cold-water areas associated with side channels and tributaries of the lower Yakima River, Washington, September 2018–20
Richard W. Sheibley, Marcella Appel, Rachel Little, James R. Foreman
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5140
Previous work on the lower Yakima River, Washington (downstream from Union Gap), has identified several cold-water areas that could be thermal refuges for migrating salmonids. These cold-water areas are characterized by small tributaries that are typically cooler than the main-stem river during summer months (June–August). Twenty-seven temperature sensors were deployed...
Evaluating the context dependency of large river nursery habitats for fishes in the lower Red River catchment
Paul Q. Ramsey, John Dattilo, Dennis DeVries, Shannon K. Brewer
2024, River Research and Applications (40) 761-779
Both fine- and coarse-scale physicochemical conditions affect the quantity and quality of nursery habitats within riverine ecosystems. Nursery habitats in large, braided, and sandbed streams such as the lower Red River of Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas are not well described and likely vary among species. Identification of nursery habitats is...
Prefabricated Zero Ascend Omnispecies (ZAO) modular fish passage modules using advanced manufacturing techniques
Katherine Leighton, Janine Bryan, Kevin Mulligan, Kevin G. Stewart, Paul Jacobson, David Duquette, Ravi Challa
2024, Report
The Zero Ascend Omnispecies (ZAO) fish passage attraction module “ZAO Attractor” is a novel system designed to facilitate upstream passage for a broad spectrum of fish species, with a particular focus on American shad and river herring (alewife and/or blueback herring). Combining the use of prefabricated, modular components with advanced...
A comprehensive assessment of submarine landslides and mass wasting processes offshore southern California
M. Walton, James E. Conrad, Antoinette Gabrielle Papesh, Daniel S. Brothers, Jared W. Kluesner, Mary McGann, Peter Dartnell
2024, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (25)
It is critical to characterize submarine landslide hazards near dense coastal populations, especially in areas with active faults, which can trigger slope failure, subsequent tsunamis, and damage seabed infrastructure during earthquake shaking. Offshore southern California, numerous marine geophysical surveys have been conducted over the past decade, and high-resolution bathymetric and...
Streamflow, base flow, and precipitation trends and simulated effects of Rush Springs aquifer groundwater withdrawals on base flows upgradient from Fort Cobb Reservoir, western Oklahoma
A.R. Trevisan, L.G. Labriola, J.H. Ellis
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5002
To better understand the relation between groundwater use in the Rush Springs aquifer and inflows to the Fort Cobb Reservoir, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, used a previously published numerical groundwater-flow model and historical streamflow records to evaluate four scenarios to investigate how changing...
Molecular sexing of birds using quantitative PCR (qPCR) of sex-linked genes and logistic regression models
Eleni Leto Petrou, Laura Celeste Scott, Cherie Marie Mckeeman, Andrew M. Ramey
2024, Molecular Ecology Resources (24)
The ability to sex individuals is an important component of many behavioural and ecological investigations and provides information for demographic models used in conservation and species management. However, many birds are difficult to sex using morphological characters or traditional molecular sexing methods. In this...
Low flows from drought and water use reduced total dissolved solids fluxes in the Lower Colorado River Basin between 1976 to 2008
Annie L. Putman, Hannah Erin Mcilwain, Christine Rumsey, Thomas M. Marston
2024, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (52)
Study area:We evaluated the Virgin, Verde, Salt, and Gila Rivers in the Lower Colorado River Basin. The watersheds have extents in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, US and Sonora, MX.Study focus:We calculated trends in total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations...
Matching decision support modeling frameworks to disease emergence stages and associated management objectives
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Brittany A. Mosher, Riley Bernard, Alexander Wright, Robin Russell
2024, Conservation Science and Practice (6)
Wildlife disease management decisions often require rapid responses to situations that are fraught with uncertainty. By recognizing that management is implemented to achieve specific objectives, resource managers and science partners can identify an analysis technique and develop a monitoring plan to evaluate management effectiveness. For...
Unravelling spatial heterogeneity of inundation pattern domains for 2D analysis of fluvial landscapes and drainage networks
Pierfranco Costabile, Carmelina Costanzo, Margherita Lombardo, Ethan J. Shavers, Larry Stanislawski
2024, Journal of Hydrology (632)
Fluvial landscape analysis is an essential part of geomorphology, hydrology, ecology, and cartography. It is traditionally focused on the transition between hillslopes and channel domain, in which the network drainage is represented by static flow lines. However, the natural fluctuations of the processes occurring in the watershed induce lateral and...
Seasonal and decadal subsurface thaw dynamics of an Aufeis feature investigated through numerical simulations
Alexi Lainis, Roseanna M. Neupauer, Joshua C. Koch, Michael Gooseff
2024, Hydrological Processes (38)
Aufeis (also known as icings) are large sheet-like masses of layered ice that form in river channels in arctic environments in the winter as groundwater discharges to the land surface and subsequently freezes. Aufeis are important sources of water for Arctic river ecosystems, bolstering late...
Insight into sources of benzene, TCE, and PFOA/PFAS in groundwater at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Florida, through numerical particle-tracking simulations
Eric Swain, James E. Landmeyer, Michael A. Singletary , Shannon E. Provenzano
2024, Hydrology (11)
Past waste-disposal activities at Naval Air Station Whiting Field (NASWF) have led to elevated concentrations of contaminants in the underlying sand and gravel aquifer. Contaminants include two of the most commonly detected chemicals in groundwater in many countries (benzene and trichloroethylene (TCE)) and the “forever chemicals” per- and poly-fluoroalkyl...
The post-emergence period for denning polar bears: Phenology and influence on cub survival
Erik Andersen, Ryan R. Wilson, Karyn D. Rode, George M. Durner, Todd C. Atwood, David Gustine
2024, Journal of Mammalogy
Among polar bears (Ursus maritimus), only parturient females den for extended periods, emerging from maternal dens in spring after having substantially depleted their energy reserves during a fast that can exceed 8 months. Although den emergence coincides with a period of increasing prey availability, polar bears typically do not...
Characterization of change in tree cover state and condition over the conterminous United States
Francis K Dwomoh, Roger F. Auch
2024, Forests (15)
Variability in the effects of disturbances and extreme climate events can lead to changes in tree cover over time, including partial or complete loss, with diverse ecological consequences. It is therefore critical to identify in space and time the change processes that lead to tree cover change. Studies of...
Nonbreeding waterfowl behavioral response to crewed and uncrewed aerial surveys on conservation areas in Missouri
Reid A. Viegut, Elisabeth B. Webb, Andrew H. Raedeke, Zhicheng Tang, Yang Zhang, Yi Shang
2024, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (11) 127-136
Monitoring waterfowl populations provides the basis for improving habitat quantity and quality, establishing harvest regulations, and ensuring sustainable waterfowl populations through appropriate management. Waterfowl biologists currently use a variety of population and habitat monitoring methods ranging from informal ground observations to low-level occupied aircraft surveys. Although unoccupied aerial systems (UAS)...
Comparison of two otolith processing methods for silver carp age estimation
Jeff N. Stevens, Cooper E. Barshinger, Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Michael A. Eggleton, Steve E. Lochmann
2024, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (11) 36-44
Accurate age estimates are critical in the development, implementation, and assessment of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) management plans. Lapilli otoliths are the most commonly used calcified structures for silver carp age estimation, but studies on the precision of two established preparation methods [i.e., grind-and-burn (GB), thin-section (TS)] are lacking. Therefore,...
Delta blue(green)s: The effect of drought and drought-management actions on microcystis in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta
Keith Bouma-Gregson, David Bosworth, Theodore M. Flynn, Amanda Maguire, Jenna Rinde, Rosemary Hartman
2024, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (22)
Cyanobacterial phytoplankton blooms are more prevalent in the freshwater Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) since the late 1990s, including blooms driven by overgrowths of potentially toxigenic organisms of the genus Microcystis. Data from 2014 to 2021 were used to show how flow dynamics, water temperature, and water clarity drive occurrence of Microcystis. We...
Second guessing the maximum likelihood estimator values for bat surveys
W. Mark Ford, Jesse L. De La Cruz, Emily D. Thorne, Alexander Silvis, Michael P. Armstrong, R. Andrew King
2024, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (11) 177-184
TThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows acoustical surveys and automated identification software to determine the presence of the endangered northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) and Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). Analytical software is required to assess presence probability on a site-night basis using a maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) that accounts...
Southern fox squirrel and eastern gray squirrel interactions in a fire-maintained ecosystem
M.H. Guill, J.L. De La Cruz, M. Puckett, S.D. Klopfer, B. Martin, W. Mark Ford
2024, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (11) 215-222
Southern fox squirrels (Sciurus niger niger) have been declining due to habitat fragmentation, cover type conversion, and fire suppression in the Southeast. A decrease in growing season burns has led to hardwood encroachment and forest mesophication that benefit the competing eastern gray squirrels (S. carolinensis). In the southern Coastal Plain...
