Seasonal abundance and habitat associations of American Kestrels on the Southern High Plains of Texas
Kristen Linner-Warren, Brent D. Bibles, Clint W. Boal
2023, Journal of Raptor Research (57) 251-263
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) populations are generally declining across the species' North American distribution but the population in the Southern High Plains region currently appears to be stable. Historical evidence suggests the region formerly had a low abundance of kestrels, and that their current numbers are due to...
Earthquake detection with tinyML
Timothy Hugh Clements
2023, Seismological Research Letters (94) 2030-2039
Earthquake detection is the critical first step in earthquake early warning (EEW) systems. For robust EEW systems, detection accuracy, detection latency, and sensor density are critical to providing real‐time earthquake alerts. Traditional EEW systems use fixed sensor networks or, more recently, networks of mobile phones equipped with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)...
A coupled human and natural systems framework to characterize emerging infectious diseases: The case of fibropapillomatosis in marine turtles
Costanza Manes, Raymond Carthy, Vanessa Hull
2023, Animals (13)
Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife have markedly increased in the last few decades. Unsustainable, continuous, and rapid alterations within and between coupled human and natural systems have significantly disrupted wildlife disease dynamics. Direct and indirect anthropogenic effects, such as climate change, pollution, encroachment, urbanization, travel, and trade, can promote outbreaks...
Chapter 12 - Explainable AI for understanding ML-derived vegetation products
Geetha Satya Mounika Ganji, Wai Hang Chow Lin
2023, Book chapter, Artificial intelligence in earth science: Best practices and fundamental challenges
Current machine learning applications and algorithms have developed promise to produce autonomous systems that automatically perceive, learn, predict, and act on their own. However, the effectiveness of these systems is limited by the machine's current inability to explain their decisions, algorithmic paths, and actions to human users. The purpose of...
Exploring the relevance of the multidimensionality of wildlife recreationists to conservation behaviors: A case study in Virginia
Bennett Grooms, Ashley A. Dayer, Jessica Barnes, Ashley Peele, Jonathan D. Rutter, Nicholas W. Cole
2023, Conservation Science and Practice (5)
Wildlife recreationists' participation in conservation behaviors could provide key support to the conservation efforts of state fish and wildlife agencies. However, little is known about how identifying with multiple forms of wildlife recreation (i.e., hunters, anglers, birders, wildlife viewers) may influence participation in conservation behaviors,...
Estimating the impact of climate and vegetation changes on runoff risk across the Hawaiian landscape
Lucas Berio Fortini, Lauren R. Kaiser, Kimberlie Perkins, Lulin Xue, Yaping Wang
2023, Conservation and resource management. (3) 291-302
In Hawai’i, ecosystem conservation practitioners are increasingly considering the potential ecohydrological benefits from applied conservation action to mitigate the degrading impacts of runoff on native and restored ecosystems. One determinant of runoff is excess rainfall events where rainfall rates exceed the infiltration capacity of soils. To help understand runoff...
The energy–water limitation threshold explains divergent drought responses in tree growth, needle length, and stable isotope ratios
Joan Dudney, Andrew M. Latimer, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Harold S. Zald, Claire E Willing, Jonathan Nesmith, Jennifer E Cribbs, Elizabeth R. Milano
2023, Global Change Biology (29) 4368-4382
Predicted increases in extreme droughts will likely cause major shifts in carbon sequestration and forest composition. Although growth declines during drought are widely documented, an increasing number of studies have reported both positive and negative responses to the same drought. These divergent growth patterns...
Geoelectric monitoring of the electric potential field of the Lower Rio Grande before, during, and after Intermittent Streamflow, May–October, 2022
Scott Ikard, Kenneth C. Carroll, Dale F. Rucker, Andrew Teeple, Jason D. Payne, Chia-Hsing Tsai, Erek H. Fuchs, Ahsan Jamil
2023, Water (15)
Understanding the intermittent hydraulic connectivity between ephemeral streams and alluvial aquifers is a key challenge for managing water resources in arid environments. The lower Rio Grande flows for short, discontinuous periods during the irrigation season through the Mesilla Basin in southeastern New Mexico and southwestern Texas. Hydraulic connections between...
Improving ecological data science with workflow management software
Matthew R. Brousil, Alessandro Filazzola, Michael Frederick Meyer, Sapna Sharma, Stephanie E. Hampton
2023, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (14) 1381-1388
Pressing environmental research questions demand the integration of increasingly diverse and large-scale ecological datasets as well as complex analytical methods, which require specialized tools and resources.Computational training for ecological and evolutionary sciences has become more abundant and accessible over the past decade, but tool development has outpaced the availability...
Quantifying uncertainty in coastal salinity regime for biological application using quantile regression
Simeon Yurek, Micheal S Allen, Mitchell J. Eaton, David Chagaris, Nathan Reaver, Julien Martin, Peter C Frederick, Mark Dehaven
2023, Ecosphere (14)
Salinity regimes in coastal ecosystems are highly dynamic and driven by complex geomorphic and hydrological processes. Estuarine biota are generally adapted to salinity fluctuation, but are vulnerable to salinity extremes. Characterizing coastal salinity regime for ecological studies therefore requires representing extremes of salinity ranges...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Dickcissel (Spiza americana)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Betty R. Euliss
2023, Professional Paper 1842-OO
Keys to Dickcissel (Spiza americana) management include providing dense, moderate-to-tall vegetation, particularly with a well-developed forb component, and moderately deep litter. Dickcissels have been reported to use grassland habitats with 4–166 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 6–85 cm visual obstruction reading, 11–68 percent grass cover, 1–86 percent forb cover, less...
The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise
Lauren T. Toth, Curt D. Storlazzi, Elizabeth M. Whitcher, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Ellen Quataert, Johan Reyns, Robert T. McCall, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Nathaniel H. Holloway, Kristin A. Ewen, Clayton G. Pollock, Tess Code, Richard B. Aronson
2023, Nature Communications (14)
The ability of reefs to protect coastlines from storm-driven flooding hinges on their capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise. Here, we show how and whether coral restoration could achieve the often-cited goal of reversing the impacts of coral-reef degradation to preserve this essential function. We...
Parallel shifts in trout feeding morphology suggest rapid adaptation to alpine lake environments
Lucia L. Combrink, William C. Rosenthal, Lindsey J. Boyle, Jessica A. Rick, Amy C Krist, Elizabeth G. Mandeville, Annika W. Walters, Catherine E. Wagner
2023, Evolution (77) 1522-1538
Eco-evolutionary interactions following ecosystem change provide critical insight into the ability of organisms to adapt to shifting resource landscapes. Here we explore evidence for the rapid parallel evolution of trout feeding morphology following eco-evolutionary interactions with zooplankton in alpine lakes stocked at different points in time in the Wind...
Modeling impacts of saltwater intrusion on methane and nitrous oxide emissions in tidal forested wetlands
Hongqing Wang, Zhaohua Dai, Ken Krauss, Carl C. Trettin, Gregory E. Noe, Andrew J. Burton, Eric Ward
2023, Ecological Applications (33)
Emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from soils to the atmosphere can offset the benefits of carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation. While past study has suggested that both CH4 and N2O emissions from tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFW) are generally low, the...
Investigating geomorphic change using a structure from motion elevation model created from historical aerial imagery: A case study in northern Lake Michigan, USA
Jessica D. DeWitt, Francis Ashland
2023, ISPRS International Journal of Geo-information (12)
South Manitou Island, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Lake Michigan, is a post-glacial lacustrine landscape with substantial geomorphic changes including landslides, shoreline and bluff retreat, and sand dune movement. These changes involve interrelated processes, and are influenced to different extents by lake level, climate change, and...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
Robert K. Murphy, John P. DeLong, Lawrence D. Igl, Jill A. Shaffer
2023, Professional Paper 1842-O
Keys to Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) management in western North America’s grasslands, particularly those of the Great Plains region, include maintaining open, mostly undeveloped landscapes that sustain at least modest population levels of suitable prey (most typically rabbits [Leporidae] and prairie dogs or ground squirrels [Sciuridae]); safeguarding nesting territories (that...
Hydrology, water-quality, and watershed characteristics in 15 watersheds in Gwinnett County, Georgia, water years 2002–20
Brent T. Aulenbach, Joshua C. Henley, Kristina G. Hopkins
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5035
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources, established the Long-Term Trend Monitoring program in 1996 to monitor and analyze the hydrologic and water-quality conditions in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Gwinnett County is a suburban to urban area northeast of the city of Atlanta in north-central...
Method for identification of reservoir regulation within U.S. Geological Survey streamgage basins in the Central United States using a decadal dam impact metric
Mackenzie K. Marti, Karen R. Ryberg
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1034
Researchers routinely study streamflow data to understand the effects of natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change, and to develop methods for estimating streamflow at ungaged locations. These studies require streamflow data that are not modified or largely altered by other anthropogenic activities, such as reservoirs or diversions. This report...
An integrated hydrologic model to support the Central Platte Natural Resources District Groundwater Management Plan, central Nebraska
Jonathan P. Traylor, Moussa Guira, Steven M. Peterson
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5024
The groundwater and surface-water supply of the Central Platte Natural Resources District supports a large agricultural economy from the High Plains aquifer and Platte River, respectively. This study provided the Central Platte Natural Resources District with an advanced numerical modeling tool to assist with the update of their Groundwater Management...
Redefinition of the Petersburg batholith and implications for crustal inheritance in the Dinwiddie terrane, Virginia, USA
Mark W. Carter, Ryan J. McAleer, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Marcie E. Occhi, Brent E. Owens, Jorge A. Vazquez
2023, Geosphere (19) 900-932
Field relations as well as geochemical and petrologic studies of metaigneous rocks assigned to the Pennsylvanian–Permian Petersburg batholith identify at least two distinct rock types: foliated metagranitoid gneiss and massive to porphyritic granite. Foliated metagranitoid gneiss of mostly granodioritic composition is geochemically distinct from associated massive and porphyritic granitic rocks....
Revealing the extent of sea otter impacts on bivalve prey through multi-trophic monitoring and mechanistic models
Clinton B. Leach, Benjamin P. Weitzman, James L. Bodkin, Daniel Esler, George G. Esslinger, Kimberly A. Kloecker, Daniel Monson, Jamie N. Womble, Mevin B. Hooten
2023, Journal of Animal Ecology (92) 1230-1243
Sea otters are apex predators that can exert considerable influence over the nearshore communities they occupy. Since facing near extinction in the early 1900s, sea otters are making a remarkable recovery in Southeast Alaska, particularly in Glacier Bay, the largest protected tidewater glacier fjord in the world. The expansion...
Movement ecology of adult and juvenile spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in a seasonally dynamic environment
Ellery Lassiter, Jinelle Sperry, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
2023, Wildlife Research
ContextUnderstanding the temporal and spatial scales at which wildlife move is vital for conservation and management. This is especially important for semi-aquatic species that make frequent inter-wetland movements to fulfil life-history requirements.AimsWe aimed to investigate the drivers of movement and space-use of the imperilled spotted turtle...
Survey evaluation of Florida’s freshwater fisheries long-term monitoring program
Kimberly I. Bonvechio, Ramesh Paudyal, Chelsey Crandall, Andrew Kenneth Carlson
2023, Fishes (8)
Natural resource monitoring programs benefit from routine evaluation. Here, Florida’s statewide Freshwater Fisheries Long-Term Monitoring (LTM) program is used to show how stakeholder surveys can be integral to this process. In 2022, an online questionnaire was sent to internal stakeholders, i.e., state agency personnel who collect, enter, or use freshwater...
Haliaeetus leucocephalus (bald eagle) and Aquila chrysaetos (golden eagle) mortality and exposure to lead, mercury, and anticoagulant rodenticides in eight western and midwestern States, 2014–17
Barbara L. Bodenstein, Julia S. Lankton, Robin E. Russell, Matthew S. Schwarz
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1016
The U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center measured environmental contaminants in Haliaeetus leucocephalus (bald eagles) and Aquila chrysaetos (golden eagles) to evaluate dietary exposure to lead, mercury, and anticoagulant rodenticides (AR), all of which were identified by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a priority issue of concern for...
Characterization of maternal immunity following vaccination of broodstock against IHNV or Flavobacterium psychrophilum in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Jie Ma, Jesse T. Trushenski, Evan M. Jones, Timothy J. Bruce, Doug G. McKenney, Gael Kurath, Kenneth D. Cain
2023, Fish and Shellfish Immunology (137)
Infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) is a significant viral disease affecting salmonids, whereas Flavobacterium psychrophilum (Fp), the causative agent of bacterial coldwater disease (BCWD), remains one of the most significant bacterial pathogens of salmonids. We explored maternal immunity in the context of IHN and BCWD management in rainbow...
