The role of satellite telemetry data in 21st century conservation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus)
Kristin L. Laidre, George M. Durner, Nicholas J Lunn, Eric V. Regehr, Todd C. Atwood, Karyn D. Rode, Jon Aars, Heli Routti, Oystein Wiig, Markus Dyck, Evan S. Richardson, Stephen D Atkinson, Stanislav Belikov, Ian Stirling
2022, Frontiers in Marine Science (9)
Satellite telemetry (ST) has played a critical role in the management and conservation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) over the last 50 years. ST data provide biological information relevant to subpopulation delineation, movements, habitat use, maternal denning, health, human-bear interactions, and accurate estimates of vital rates and abundance. Given that...
Aquatic-life criteria compared to concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in streams near Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, December 2015–August 2016
Roland W. Tollett
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5101
The primary focus of this study was to document cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in selected streams near the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Fort Polk Military Reservation and to compare those values to Federal and State aquatic-life criteria guidelines. The acute aquatic-life criteria used for...
Improved resolution across the Global Seismographic Network: A new era in low-frequency seismology
Adam T. Ringler, Robert E. Anthony, P. Thompson Davis, Carl Ebeling, K. Hafner, R. Mellors, S. Schneider, David C. Wilson
2022, The Seismic Record (2) 78-87
The Global Seismographic Network (GSN)—a global network of ≈150 very broadband stations—is used by researchers to study the free oscillations of the Earth (≈0.3–10 mHz) following large earthquakes. Normal‐mode observations can provide information about the radial density and anisotropic velocity structure of the Earth (including near the core–mantle boundary), but only...
Monitoring climate impacts on annual forage production across U.S. semi-arid grasslands
Marketa Podebradska, Bruce K. Wylie, Deborah J. Bathke, Yared A. Bayissa, Devendra Dahal, Justin D. Derner, Philip A. Fay, Michael J. Hayes, Walter H. Schacht, Jerry D. Volesky, Pradeep Wagle, Brian D. Wardlow
2022, Remote Sensing (14)
The ecosystem performance approach, used in a previously published case study focusing on the Nebraska Sandhills, proved to minimize impacts of non-climatic factors (e.g., overgrazing, fire, pests) on the remotely-sensed signal of seasonal vegetation greenness resulting in a better attribution of its changes to climate variability. The...
Fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine-scale environmental heterogeneity in old-growth coastal forest: The importance of integrated land–sea management for protecting amphibious animals
Christopher G. Lowe, Gunnar Keppel, Kalisi Waqa, Stefan Peters, Robert N. Fisher, Annette Scanlon, Tamara Osborne-Naikatini, Nunia Thomas-Moko
2022, Ecology and Evolution (12)
The importance of terrestrial coastal ecosystems for maintaining healthy coral reef ecosystems remains understudied. Sea kraits are amphibious snakes that require healthy coral reefs for foraging, but little is known about their requirements of terrestrial habitats, where they slough their skin, digest prey, and breed. Using...
Using a mechanistic framework to model the density of an aquatic parasite Ceratonova shasta
H. E. Robinson, Julie D Alexander, Jerri L Bartholomew, Sascha L Hallett, Nicholas J. Hetrick, Russell Perry, Nicholas A. Som
2022, PeerJ (10)
Ceratonova shasta is a myxozoan parasite endemic to the Pacific Northwest of North America that is linked to low survival rates of juvenile salmonids in some watersheds such as the Klamath River basin. The density of C. shasta actinospores in the water column is typically highest in the spring (March–June), and directly...
Collaborative hubs: Making the most of predictive epidemic modeling
Nicholas G. Reich, Justin Lessler, Sebastian Funk, Cecile Viboud, Alessandro Vespignani, Ryan J Tibshirani, Katriona Shea, Melanie Schienle, Michael C. Runge, Roni Rosenfeld, Evan L Ray, Rene Niehus, Helen C Johnson, Michael A Johansson, Harry Hochheiser, Lauren Gardner, Johannes Bracher, Rebecca K. Borchering, Matthew Biggerstaff
2022, American Journal of Public Health (112) 839-842
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that epidemic models play an important role in how governments and the public understand and respond to infectious disease crises. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, models were used first to estimate the true number of infections, then to provide estimates...
Middle and late Miocene marine mammal assemblages from the Monterey Formation of Orange County, California
James F. Parham, John A. Barron, Jorge Velez-Juarbe
Ivano Aiello, John A. Barron, A. C. Ravelo, editor(s)
2022, Book chapter, Understanding the Monterey Formation and similar biosiliceous units across space and time
This study provides new stratigraphic data and identifications for fossil marine mammals from the Monterey Formation in the Capistrano syncline, Orange County, California, showing that there are two distinct marine mammal assemblages. Until now, marine mammals from the Monterey Formation of Orange County have been considered to represent a single...
Water availability drives instream conditions and life-history of an imperiled desert fish: A case study to inform water management
Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Roger Peka, Erik Horgen, Daniel J. Kaus, Tim Loux, Lisa Heki
2022, Science of the Total Environment (832)
In arid ecosystems, available water is a critical, yet limited resource for human consumption, agricultural use, and ecosystem processes—highlighting the importance of developing management strategies to meet the needs of multiple users. Here, we evaluated how water availability influences stream thermal regimes and life-history expressions of...
Forest bird populations at the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Hawai‘i
Steven J. Kendall, Rachel A. Rounds, Richard J. Camp, Ayesha Genz
2022, Report
Endemic Hawaiian forest birds have experienced dramatic population declines. The Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex (BINWRC) was created for conservation of endangered Hawaiian forest birds and their habitats. Surveys have been conducted at two units of BINWRC to monitor forest bird populations and their response to management actions. We...
Ecological consequences of neonicotinoid mixtures in streams
Travis S. Schmidt, Janet L. Miller, Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre, Lisa H. Nowell, Mark W. Sandstrom, Daren M. Carlisle, Patrick W. Moran, Paul M. Bradley
2022, Science Advances (8)
Neonicotinoid mixtures are common in streams worldwide, but corresponding ecological responses are poorly understood. We combined experimental and observational studies to narrow this knowledge gap. The mesocosm experiment determined that concentrations of the neonicotinoids imidacloprid and clothianidin (range of exposures, 0 to 11.9 μg/liter) above the hazard concentration...
Working with dynamic earthquake rupture models: A practical guide
Marlon D. Ramos, Prithvi Thakur, Yihe Huang, Ruth A. Harris, Kenny J. Ryan
2022, Seismological Research Letters (93) 2096-2110
Dynamic rupture models are physics‐based simulations that couple fracture mechanics to wave propagation and are used to explain specific earthquake observations or to generate a suite of predictions to understand the influence of frictional, geometrical, stress, and material parameters. These simulations can model single...
Soil depth and precipitation moderate soil textural effects on seedling survival of a foundation shrub species
Kari E. Veblen, Kyle C. Nehring, Michael C. Duniway, Anna C. Knight, Thomas A. Monaco, Eugene W. Schupp, Janis L Boettinger, Juan J Villalba, Steven Fick, Colby C. Brungard, Eric Thacker
2022, Restoration Ecology (30)
In drylands, there is a need for controlled experiments over multiple planting years to examine how woody seedlings respond to soil texture and the potentially interactive effects of soil depth and precipitation. Understanding how multiple environmental factors interactively influence plant establishment is critical to restoration ecology and in this case...
Summer/fall diet and macronutrient assimilation in an Arctic predator
Craig A. Stricker, Karyn D. Rode, Brian D. Taras, Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Lara Horstmann, Lori T. Quakenbush
2022, Oecologia (198) 917-931
Free-ranging predator diet estimation is commonly achieved by applying molecular-based tracers because direct observation is not logistically feasible or robust. However, tracers typically do not represent all dietary macronutrients, which likely obscures resource use as prey proximate composition varies and tissue consumption can be specific. For example, polar bears (Ursus...
Surface-water-quality data to support implementation of revised freshwater aluminum water-quality criteria in Massachusetts, 2018–19
David S. Armstrong, Jennifer G. Savoie, Leslie A. DeSimone, Kaitlin L. Laabs, Richard O. Carey
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5144
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, performed a study to inform the development of the department’s guidelines for the collection and use of water-chemistry data to support calculation of site-dependent aluminum criteria values. The U.S. Geological Survey collected and analyzed discrete water-quality samples...
Seed menus: An integrated decision-support framework for native plant restoration in the Mojave Desert
Daniel F. Shryock, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd Esque
2022, Ecology and Evolution (12)
The combination of ecosystem stressors, rapid climate change, and increasing landscape-scale development has necessitated active restoration across large tracts of disturbed habitats in the arid southwestern United States. In this context, programmatic directives such as the National Seed Strategy for Rehabilitation and Restoration have increasingly emphasized improved restoration practices that...
Global genetic diversity status and trends: Towards a suite of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) for genetic composition
Sean M. Hoban, Frederick I. Archer, Laura D. Bertola, Jason G. Bragg, Martin F. Breed, Michael W. Bruford, Melinda A. Coleman, Robert Ekblom, W. Chris Funk, Catherine E. Grueber, Brian K. Hand, Rodolfo Jaffé, Evelyn Jensen, Jeremy S. Johnson, Francine Kershaw, Libby Liggins, Anna J. MacDonald, Joachim Mergeay, Joshua M. Miller, Frank Muller-Karger, David O'Brien, Ivan Paz-Vinas, Kevin M. Potter, Orly Razgour, Cristiano Vernesi, Margaret Hunter
2022, Biological Reviews (97) 1511-1538
Biodiversity underlies ecosystem resilience, ecosystem function, sustainable economies, and human well-being. Understanding how biodiversity sustains ecosystems under anthropogenic stressors and global environmental change will require new ways of deriving and applying biodiversity data. A major challenge is that biodiversity data and knowledge are scattered, biased, collected...
Bathymetric contour maps, surface area and capacity tables, and bathymetric change maps for selected water-supply lakes in northwestern Missouri, 2019 and 2020
Richard J. Huizinga, Lindi D. Oyler, Benjamin C. Rivers
2022, Scientific Investigations Map 3486
Bathymetric data were collected at 12 water-supply lakes in northwestern Missouri by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and in collaboration with various local agencies, as part of a multiyear effort to establish or update the surface area and capacity tables for the...
The potential of using fiber optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) in earthquake early warning applications
Noha Farghal, Jessie Kate Saunders, Grace Alexandra Parker
2022, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (112) 1416-1435
As the seismological community embraces fiber optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), DAS arrays are becoming a logical, scalable option to obtain strain and ground‐motion data for which the installation of seismometers is not easy or cheap, such as in dense offshore arrays. The potential...
Groundwater resources of the Harney Basin, southeastern Oregon
Stephen B. Gingerich, Henry M. Johnson, Darrick E. Boschmann, Gerald H. Grondin, C. Amanda Garcia
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5103
Groundwater development has increased substantially in southeastern Oregon’s Harney Basin since 2010, mainly for the purpose of large-scale irrigation. Concurrently, some areas of the basin experienced groundwater-level declines of more than 100 feet, and some shallow wells have gone dry. The Oregon Water Resources Department has limited new groundwater...
Hydrologic budget of the Harney Basin groundwater system, southeastern Oregon
C. Amanda Garcia, Nicholas T. Corson-Dosch, Jordan P. Beamer, Stephen B. Gingerich, Gerald H. Grondin, Brandon T. Overstreet, Jonathan V. Haynes, Mellony D. Hoskinson
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5128
Groundwater-level declines and limited quantitative knowledge of the groundwater-flow system in the Harney Basin prompted a cooperative study between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oregon Water Resources Department to evaluate the groundwater-flow system and budget. This report provides a hydrologic budget of the Harney Basin groundwater system that...
Composite regional groundwater hydrographs for selected principal aquifers in New Mexico, 1980–2019
Nathan C. Myers
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1008
Groundwater is an important source of water for New Mexico. An estimated 48 percent of the total water used comes from groundwater sources, and groundwater levels generally are declining over large areas of New Mexico. Groundwater levels are affected by local and regional recharge or discharge processes. Groundwater hydrographs show...
Colville Foreland Basin and Arctic Alaska Prograded Margin Tectono-Sedimentary Elements, northern Alaska and southwestern Canada Basin
David W. Houseknecht
2022, Book chapter, Sedimentary successions of the Arctic Region and their hydrocarbon prospectivity
Cretaceous (post-Neocomian)–Quaternary Brookian strata of Arctic Alaska include the Colville Foreland Basin (CFB) and Arctic Alaska Prograded Margin (AAPM) Tectono-Sedimentary Elements (TSEs). The CFB TSE lies beneath the Alaska North Slope and Chukchi Sea shelf, and the AAPM TSE lies beneath the Arctic Alaska continental terrace of the Beaufort Sea...
Extent of sedge-grass meadow in a Lake Michigan drowned river mouth wetland dictated by topography and lake level
Douglas A. Wilcox, John A Bateman, Kurt P. Kowalski, James E Meeker, Nicole Dunn
2022, Wetlands (42)
Water-level fluctuations are critical in maintaining diversity of plant communities in Great Lakes wetlands. Sedge-grass meadows are especially sensitive to such fluctuations. We conducted vegetation sampling in a sedge-grass dominated Lake Michigan drowned river mouth wetland in 1995, 2002, and 2010 following high lake levels in 1986 and 1997. We...
Community-powered urban stream restoration: A vision for sustainable and resilient urban ecosystems
Mateo Scoggins, Derek B. Booth, Tim Fletcher, Megan Fork, Ana Gonzalez, Rebecca Hale, Robert J. Hawley, Allison H. Roy, Erika E. Bilger, Nick Bond, Matthew James Burns, Kristina G. Hopkins, Marissa Ann Alessi, Eugenia Marti, S. Kyle McKay, Martin W. Neale, Michael J. Paul, Blanca Rios-Touma, Kathryn L Russell, Robert F. Smith, Staryn Wagner, Seth J. Wenger
2022, Freshwater Science (41) 404-419
Urban streams can provide amenities to people living in cities, but those benefits are reduced when streams become degraded, potentially even causing harm (disease, toxic compounds, etc.). Governments and institutions invest resources to improve the values and services provided by urban streams; however, the conception, development, and implementation of such...
