Stressor identification framework of biological impairment in Mississippi streams to support watershed restoration and TMDL development
Matthew B. Hicks, Jennifer M. Cartwright
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5098
The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires States to identify waters that are impaired for designated uses. These waters are published through a State’s §303(d) list. The CWA also requires that a total maximum daily load (TMDL) be completed for each water body to calculate the maximum amount of contaminants that...
Climate has contrasting direct and indirect effects on armed conflicts
David Helman, Benjamin F. Zaitchik, Chris Funk
2020, Environmental Research Letters (15)
There is an active debate regarding the influence that climate has on the risk of armed conflict, which stems from challenges in assembling unbiased datasets, competing hypotheses on the mechanisms of climate influence, and the difficulty of disentangling direct and indirect climate effects. We use gridded historical non-state conflict records,...
Ultrasonic Acoustic Surveys of State Endangered Northern Flying Squirrels in the Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania
Corinne A. Diggins, L. Michelle Gilley, Gregory G. Turner, W. Mark Ford
2020, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (11) 644-653
Surveying for flying squirrels by using traditional techniques produces extremely low detection rates compared with ultrasonic acoustics. Within Pennsylvania, the northern flying squirrel subspecies Glaucomys sabrinus macrotis is state listed as endangered due to habitat loss and parasite-mediated competition by and hybridization with the southern flying squirrel Glaucomys volans. This subspecies is isolated...
Temporal and spatial changes in Myotis lucifugus acoustic activity before and after white-nose syndrome on Fort Drum Army Installation, New York, USA
W. Mark Ford, Tomás Nocera, Alexander Silvis, Christopher A. Dobony
2020, Acta Chiropterologica (22) 121-134
Changes to bat distribution and habitat associations at the local to sub-landscape scale in the post white-nose syndrome (WNS) environment have received little attention to date despite being critical information for managers. To better understand the spatial nature of bat population declines, we modelled both activity patterns and occupancy from...
A demographic projection model to support conservation decision making for an endangered snake with limited monitoring data
A. M. Tucker, Conor P. McGowan, E. Mulero Oliveras, N.F. Angeli, J.P. Zegarra
2020, Animal Conservation (24) 291-301
Conservation planning for rare and threatened species is often made more difficult by a lack of research and monitoring data. In such cases, managers may rely on qualitative assessments of species risk that lack explicit acknowledgement of uncertainty. Snakes are a group of conservation concern that are also notoriously difficult...
Neonicotinoid insecticide concentrations in agricultural wetlands and associations with aquatic invertebrate communities
T.J. Schepker, Elisabeth B. Webb, Donald E. Tillitt, T. LaGrange
2020, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (287)
Neonicotinoids are considered a superior insecticide for agricultural pest management, although their impacts on non-target insects is a rising concern. Aside from laboratory and mesocosm studies, limited research has been directed towards the role neonicotinoids may have in structuring aquatic invertebrate communities...
Ultra‐high‐resolution mapping of biocrusts with Unmanned Aerial Systems
Caroline Havrilla, Miguel L. Villarreal, Jacob DiBiase, Michael C. Duniway, Nichole Barger
2020, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation (6) 441-456
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) occur in drylands globally where they support ecosystem functioning by increasing soil stability, reducing dust emissions and modifying soil resource availability (e.g. water, nutrients). Determining biocrust condition and extent across landscapes continues to present considerable challenges to scientists and land managers. Biocrusts...
Ecohydrological responses to surface flow across borders: Two decades of changes in vegetation greenness and water use in the riparian corridor of the Colorado River Delta
Pamela L. Nagler, Armando Barreto-Muñoz, Sattar Chavoshi Borujeni, Christopher J. Jarchow, Marth M. Gómez‐Sapiens, Hamideh Nouri, Stefanie M. Herrmann, Kamel Didan
2020, Hydrological Processes (34) 4851-4883
Hydrological and bioclimatic processes that lead to drought may stress plants and wildlife, restructure plant community type and architecture, increase monotypic stands and bare soils, facilitate the invasion of non‐native plant species and accelerate soil erosion. Our study focuses on the impact of a paucity of Colorado River surface flows...
Application of a new species-richness based flow ecology framework for assessing flow reduction effects on aquatic communities
Jennifer Rapp, Robert W. Burgholzer, Joseph D Kleiner, Durelle R Scott, Elaina M Passero
2020, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (6) 967-980
Water‐resources managers are challenged with maintaining a balance among beneficial uses throughout river networks and need robust means of assessing potential risks to aquatic life resulting from flow alterations. This study generated ecological limit functions from species‐streamflow relations to quantify potential fish richness response to flow...
Satellite and airborne remote sensing of gross primary productivity in boreal Alaskan lakes
Catherine D. Kuhn, Matthew J. Bogard, Sarah Ellen Johnston, Aji John, Eric Vermote, Rob Spencer, Mark M. Dornblaser, Kimberly P. Wickland, Robert G. Striegl, David Butman
2020, Environmental Research Letters (10)
In terrestrial and marine ecosystems, remote sensing has been used to estimate gross primary productivity (GPP) for decades, but few applications exist for shallow freshwater ecosystems.Here we show field-based GPP correlates with satellite and airborne lake color across a range of optically and limnologically diverse lakes in interior Alaska. A...
Reliability of external characteristics to age Barrow’s goldeneye
Tyler L. Lewis, Daniel Esler, Danica H. Hogan, W. Sean Boyd, Timothy D. Bowman, Jonathan Thompson
2020, Wildlife Society Bulletin (44) 654-661
Accurate assignment of age class is critical for understanding most demographic processes. For waterfowl, most techniques for determining age class require birds in hand, reducing utility for quickly and efficiently sampling a large portion of the population. As an alternative, we sought to establish an observation‐based methodology, achievable in the...
Endocrine and physiological responses of hatchling American kestrels (Falco sparverius) following embryonic exposure to technical short-chain chlorinated paraffins (C10-13)
Kim J. Fernie, Natalie Karouna-Renier, R. J. Letcher, Sandra L. Schultz, L. E. Peters, V. Palace, Paula F. P. Henry
2020, Environment International (145)
Short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) are complex mixtures of polychlorinated n-alkanes, shown to bioaccumulate but with unknown effects in wild birds. The present study examined development-related effects of SCCPs on captive American kestrels (Falco sparverius) treated in ovo on embryonic day (ED) 5 by injection with technical Chloroparaffin® (C10-13, 55.5% Cl) at environmentally...
Unfamiliar territory: Emerging themes for ecological drought research and management
Shelley D. Crausbay, Julio L. Betancourt, John B. Bradford, Jennifer M. Cartwright, William C. Dennison, Jason B. Dunham, Carolyn Armstrong Enquist, Abby G. Frazier, Kimberly R. Hall, Jeremy Littell, Charlie H. Luce, Richard Palmer, Aaron R. Ramirez, Imtiaz Rangwala, Laura Thompson, Brianne M. Walsh, Shawn Carter
2020, One Earth (3) 337-353
Novel forms of drought are emerging globally, due to climate change, shifting teleconnection patterns, expanding human water use, and a history of human influence on the environment that increases the probability of transformational ecological impacts. These costly ecological impacts cascade to human communities, and understanding this changing drought landscape is...
Satellite transmitters reveal previously unknown migratory behavior and wintering locations of Yuma Ridgway’s Rails
Eamon Harrity, Courtney J. Conway
2020, Journal of Field Ornithology (91) 300-312
Preventing or reversing population declines of rare species often requires an understanding of their complete annual life cycle, but this information is lacking for many species. Such has been the case for Yuma Ridgway’s Rails (Rallus obsoletus yumanensis), a federally endangered marsh bird endemic to the Lower Colorado River Basin...
The influence of soil age on ecosystem structure and function across biomes
Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Peter B. Reich, Richard D. Bardgett, David J. Eldridge, Hans Lambers, David A. Wardle, Sasha C. Reed, Cesar Plaza, Guochen K. Png, Sigrid Neuhauser, Asmeret A. Berhe, Stephen C. Hart, Hang-Wei Hu, Ji-Zheng He, Felipe Bastida, Sebastian R. Abades, Fernando D. Alfaro, Nick A. Cutler, Antonio Gallardo, Laura García-Velázquez, Patrick E. Hayes, Zeng-Yei Hseu, Cecilia A. Perez, Fernanda Santos, Christina Siebe, Pankaj Trivedi, Benjamin W. Sullivan, Luis Weber-Grullon, Mark A. Williams, Noah Fierer
2020, Nature Communications (11)
The importance of soil age as an ecosystem driver across biomes remains largely unresolved. By combining a cross-biome global field survey, including data for 32 soil, plant, and microbial properties in 16 soil chronosequences, with a global meta-analysis, we show that soil age is a significant ecosystem driver, but only...
A new decision support tool for collaborative adaptive vegetation management in northern Great Plains national parks
Isabel W. Ashton, Amy Symstad, Heather Baldwin, Max Post van der Burg, Steven Bekedam, Erin Borgman, Milton Haar, Terri Hogan, Stephanie Rockwood, Daniel J Swanson, Carmen Thomson, Cody Wienk
2020, Parks Stewardship Forum (3)
National Park Service (NPS) units in the northern Great Plains (NGP) were established to preserve and interpret the history of America, protect and showcase unusual geology and paleontology, and provide a home for vanishing large wildlife. A unifying feature among these national parks, monuments, and historic sites is mixed-grass prairie,...
Use of time domain electromagnetic soundings and borehole electromagnetic induction logs to delineate the freshwater/saltwater interface on southwestern Long Island, New York, 2015–17
Frederick Stumm, Michael D. Como, Marie A. Zuck
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1093
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, used surface and borehole geophysical methods to delineate the freshwater/saltwater interface in coastal plain aquifers along the southwestern part of Long Island, New York. Over pumping of groundwater in the early 20th century combined with...
Landsat Collection 2 geometric calibration updates
R. Rengarajan, Michael J. Choate, James C. Storey, Shannon Franks, Esad Micijevic
2020, Conference Paper, Proceedings: Earth observing systems XXV
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) changed the management and delivery of Landsat products to the public in its archive through the implementation of Collections. The Collections process ensures consistent data quality through time and across all the Landsat sensors with a few modifications to the metadata. The consistent data products...
U.S. Geological Survey sagebrush ecosystem research annual report for 2020
Steve E. Hanser, Lief A. Wiechman, editor(s)
2020, Circular 1470
The sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem extends across 251,473 square miles over portions of 13 western States. Affected by multiple stressors, including interactions among fire, invasive plants, and human land uses, this ecosystem has experienced significant loss, fragmentation, and degradation of landscapes once dominated by sagebrush. In turn, wildlife populations have...
Bisphenol A and 17α-ethinylestradiol-induced transgenerational gene expression differences in the brain–pituitary–testis axis of medaka, Oryzias latipes
Albert J. Thayil, Xuegeng Wang, Pooja Bhandari, Frederick S. vom Saal, Donald E. Tillitt, Ramji K. Bhandari
2020, Biology of Reproduction (103) 1324-1335
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as bisphenol A (BPA) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), can have far reaching health effects, including transgenerational abnormalities in offspring that never directly contacted either chemical. We previously reported reduced fertilization rates and embryo survival at F2 and F3 generations caused by 7-day embryonic exposure (F0)...
Comparability and reproducibility of biomarker ratio values measured by GC-QQQ-MS
Katherine L. French, Arne Leider, Christian Hallmann
2020, Organic Geochemistry (150)
The Norwegian Geochemical Standard North Sea Oil-1 was analyzed by gas chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-QQQ-MS) on two instruments using independently developed analytical methods. Biomarker ratios determined by GC-QQQ-MS were compared to each other and to previously reported values determined by gas chromatography single quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-Q-MS) or...
Palaeotsunamis in the Sino-Pacific region
James Goff, Robert C. Witter, James Terry, Michaela Spiske
2020, Earth-Science Reviews (210)
Palaeotsunami research in the Sino-Pacific region has increased markedly following the 2011 Tōhoku-oki tsunami. Recent studies encompass a variety of potential sources and cover a full range of research activities from detailed studies at individual sites through to region-wide data collation...
Temperature and water-quality diversity and the effects of surface-water connection in off-channel features of the Willamette River, Oregon, 2015–16
Cassandra D. Smith, Joseph F. Mangano, Stewart A. Rounds
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5068
Water-quality conditions (including temperature) in the Willamette River and many of its adjacent off-channel features, such as alcoves and side channels, were monitored between river miles 67 (near Salem, Oregon) and 168 (near Eugene, Oregon) during the summers of 2015 and 2016. One or more parameters (water temperature, dissolved...
Very‐long‐period (VLP) seismic artifacts during the 2018 caldera collapse at Kīlauea, Hawaii
Ashton F. Flinders, Ingrid A. Johanson, Phillip B. Dawson, Kyle R. Anderson, Matthew M. Haney, Brian Shiro
2020, Seismological Research Letters (91) 3417-3432
Throughout the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano (Hawai‘i), episodic collapses of a portion of the volcano’s summit caldera produced repeated Mw">Mw 4.9–5.3 earthquakes. Each of these 62 events was characterized by a very‐long‐period (VLP)...
How and why is the timing and occurrence of seasonal migrants in the Gulf of Maine changing due to climate?
Adrian Jordaan, Daniel Pendleton, Chris Sutherland, Michelle Staudinger
2020, Report
Plants and animals undergo certain recurring life-cycle events, such as migrations between summer and winter habitats or the annual blooming of plants. Known as phenology, the timing of these events is very sensitive to changes in climate (and changes in one species’ phenology can impact entire food webs and ecosystems)....
