Amphibian population declines: 30 Years of progress in confronting a complex problem
David M. Green, Michael J Lannoo, David LesBarreres, Erin L. Muths
2020, Herpetologica (76) 97-100
In 1989, it dawned on participants at the First World Congress of Herpetology that observed declines in amphibian populations might actually be global in scope and unprecedented in severity. Three decades of research since then has produced an enormous increase in our knowledge of amphibian ecology and appreciation of the...
A synthesis of evidence of drivers of amphibian declines
Evan H. Grant, D. A. W. Miller, Erin L. Muths
2020, Herpetologica (76) 101-107
Early calls for robust long-term time series of amphibian population data, stemming from discussion following the first World Congress of Herpetology, are now being realized after 25 yr of focused research. Inference from individual studies and locations have contributed to a basic consensus on drivers of amphibian declines. Until recently...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—LeConte’s Sparrow (Ammospiza leconteii)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Betty R. Euliss
2020, Professional Paper 1842-JJ
Keys to LeConte’s Sparrow (Ammospiza leconteii) management include controlling succession and providing uplands and lowlands with tall, thick herbaceous vegetation and thick litter. LeConte’s Sparrows have been reported to use habitats with 30–90 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 19–41 cm visual obstruction reading, 35–43 percent grass cover, 16–27 percent forb...
The predictive skills of elastic Coulomb rate-and-state aftershock forecasts during the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence
Simone Mancini, Margarita Segou, Maximillian J Werner, Thomas E. Parsons
2020, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (110) 1736-1751
Operational earthquake forecasting protocols commonly use statistical models for their recognized ease of implementation and robustness in describing the short-term spatiotemporal patterns of triggered seismicity. However, recent advances on physics-based aftershock forecasting reveal comparable performance to the standard statistical counterparts with significantly improved predictive skills when fault and stress field...
Making ‘chemical cocktails’ – Evolution of urban geochemical processes across the periodic table of elements
Sujay S. Kaushal, Kelsey L. Wood, Joseph G. Galella, Austin M. Gion, Shahan Haq, Phillip J. Goodling, Katherine Haviland, Jenna E. Reimer, Carol J. Morel, Barret Wessel, William Nguyen, John W. Hollingsworth, Kevin Mei, Julian Leal, Jacob Widmer, Rahat Sharif, Paul M. Mayer, Tamara A. Newcomer Johnson, Katie D. Newcomb, Evan Smith, Kenneth T. Belt
2020, Applied Geochemistry (119)
Urbanization contributes to the formation of novel elemental combinations and signatures in terrestrial and aquatic watersheds, also known as ‘chemical cocktails.’ The composition of chemical cocktails evolves across space and time due to: (1) elevated concentrations from anthropogenic sources, (2) accelerated weathering and corrosion of the built environment, (3) increased...
NHDPlus High Resolution (NHDPlus HR)---A hydrography framework for the Nation
Susan G. Buto, Rebecca Anderson
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3033
Reliable and accurate high-resolution mapping of the Nation’s waters are critical inputs to models and decision support systems used to predict risk and enable response to impacts on water resources. It is necessary to know where the water is and how it relates to features beyond the stream network like...
Hydrodynamic modeling results showing the effects of the Luce Bayou interbasin transfer on salinity in Lake Houston, TX
Erik A. Smith, Sachin D. Shah
2020, Texas Water Journal (11) 64-88
An overreliance on groundwater resources in the Houston (Texas) metropolitan area led to aquifer drawdowns and land subsidence, so regional water suppliers have been turning to surface water resources to meet water demand. Lake Houston, an important water supply reservoir 24 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of downtown Houston, requires new...
A newly emerging thermal area in Yellowstone
R. Greg Vaughan, Jefferson Hungerford, Bill Keller
2020, Frontiers in Earth Science (8)
Yellowstone is a large restless caldera that contains many dynamic thermal areas that are the surface expression of the deeper magmatic system. In 2018, using a Landsat 8 nighttime thermal infrared image, we discovered the emergence of a new thermal area located near Tern Lake on the northeast margin of...
Surface displacement distributions for the July 2019 Ridgecrest, California earthquake ruptures
Christopher DuRoss, Ryan D. Gold, Timothy E. Dawson, Katherine M. Scharer, Katherine J. Kendrick, Sinan Akciz, Stephen J. Angster, Jeffery Bachhuber, Steven Bacon, Scott E.K. Bennett, Luke Blair, Benjamin A. Brooks, Thomas Bullard, W. Paul Burgess, Colin Chupik, Michael DeFrisco, Jaime Delano, James D. Dolan, Erik Frost, Nick Graehl, Elizabeth Haddon, Alexandra Elise Hatem, Janis Hernandez, Christopher S. Hitchcock, Kennth Hudnut, Jessica Thompson Jobe, Richard D Koehler, Ozgur Kozaci, Tyler C. Ladinsky, Christopher Madugo, Devin McPhillips, Christopher Milliner, Alexander Morelan, Brian Olson, Jason Patton, Belle E. Philibosian, Alexandra J. Pickering, Ian Pierce, Daniel J. Ponti, Gordon G. Seitz, Eleanor Spangler, Brian J. Swanson, Kate Thomas, Jerome Treiman, Francesca Valencia, Alana Williams, Robert Zinke
2020, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (110) 1400-1418
Surface rupture in the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence occurred along two orthogonal cross faults and includes dominantly left‐lateral and northeast‐striking rupture in the Mw">Mw 6.4 foreshock and dominantly right‐lateral and northwest‐striking rupture in the <span class="inline-formula...
Response: Commentary: Variability in Shelf Sedimentation in Response to Fluvial Sediment Supply and Coastal Erosion Over the Past 1,000 Years in Monterey Bay, CA, United States
Joe Carlin, Jason A. Addison, Amy Wagner, Valerie Evelyn Schwartz, Jamie Hayward, Victoria Severin
2020, Frontiers in Earth Science (8)
No abstract available. ...
Sample-size considerations for a study of shorebird nest survival in the 1002 Area, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Emily L. Weiser
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1066
Authorization of lease sales for oil development in the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has highlighted gaps in information about biological communities in the area. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is planning a study to evaluate spatial variation in the nest survival of tundra-breeding shorebirds...
The Fire and Tree Mortality Database, for empirical modeling of individual tree mortality after fire
C. Alina Cansler, Sharon M. Hood, J. Morgan Varner, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Michelle C. Agne, Robert A. Andrus, Matthew P. Ayres, Bruce D. Ayres, Jonathan D. Bakker, Michael A. Battaglia, Barbara J. Bentz, Carolyn R. Breece, James K. Brown, Daniel R. Cluck, Tom W. Coleman, R. Gregory Corace III, W. Wallace Covington, Douglas S. Cram, James B. Cronan, Joseph E. Crouse, Adrian Das, Ryan S. Davis, Darci M. Dickinson, Stephen A Fitzgerald, Peter Z. Fule, Lisa M. Ganio, Lindsay M. Grayson, Charles B. Halpern, Jim L. Hanula, Brian J. Harvey, J. Kevin Hiers, David W. Huffman, MaryBeth Keifer, Tara L. Keyser, Leda N. Kobziar, Thomas E. Kolb, Crystal A. Kolden, Karen E. Kopper, Jason R. Kreitler, Jesse K. Kreye, Andrew M. Latimer, Andrew P. Lerch, Maria J. Lombardero, Virginia L. McDaniel, Charles W. McHugh, Joel D. McMillin, Jason J. Moghaddas, Joseph J. O’Brien, Daniel D. B. Perrakis, David W. Peterson, Susan J. Pritchard, Robert A. Progar, Kenneth F. Raffa, Elizabeth D. Reinhardt, Joseph C. Restaino, John P. Roccaforte, Brendan M. Rogers, Kevin C. Ryan, Hugh D. Safford, Alyson E. Santoro, Timothy M. Shearman, Alice M. Shumate, Carolyn H. Sieg, Sheri L. Smith, Rebecca J. Smith, Nathan L. Stephenson, Mary Stuever, Jens Stevens, Michael T. Stoddard, Walter G. Thies, Nicole M. Vaillant, Shelby A. Weiss, Douglas J. Westlind, Travis J. Woolley, Micah C. Wright
2020, Scientific Data (7)
Wildland fires have a multitude of ecological effects in forests, woodlands, and savannas across the globe. A major focus of past research has been on tree mortality from fire, as trees provide a vast range of biological services. We assembled a database of individual-tree records from prescribed fires and wildfires...
Turtles and tortoises are in trouble
C.B. Stanford, J.B. Iverson, A.G.J. Rhodin, van Dijk, R.A. Mittermeier, G. Kuchling, Kristin H. Berry, A. Bertolero, K.A. Bjorndal, T.E.G. Blanck, K. A. Buhlmann, R.L. Burke, J.D. Congdon, T. Diagne, Taylor Edwards, C.C. Eisemberg, J.R. Ennen, G. Forero-Medina, M. Frankel, U. Fritz, N. Gallego-Garcia, A. Georges, J.W Gibbons, S. Gong, E.V. Goode, H.T. Shi, H. Hoang, M.D. Hofmeyr, B.D Horne, R. Hudson, J.O. Juvik, R.A. Kiester, P.V. Koval, M.-A. Lea, P.V. Lindeman, Jeffrey E. Lovich, L. Luiselli, T.E.M. McCormack, G.A. Meyer, V.P. Paez, K. Platt, S.G. Platt, P.C.H. Pritchard, H.R. Quinn, W.M. Roosenburg, J.A. Seminoff, H.B. Shaffer, R. Spencer, J.U. Van Dyke, R.C. Vogt, A.D. Walde
2020, Current Biology (30) R721-R735
Turtles and tortoises (chelonians) have been integral components of global ecosystems for about 220 million years and have played important roles in human culture for at least 400,000 years. The chelonian shell is a remarkable evolutionary adaptation, facilitating success in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Today, more than half of...
Gas hydrates in sustainable chemistry
Aliakbar Hassanpouryouzband, Edris Joonaki, Mehrdad Vasheghani Farahania, Satoshi Takeya, Carolyn D. Ruppel, Jinhai Yang, Neill English, Judith Schicks, Katriona Edlmann, Hadi Mehrabian, Bahman Tohidi
2020, Chemical Society Reviews (49) 5225-5309
Gas hydrates have received considerable attention due to their important role in flow assurance for the oil and gas industry, their extensive natural occurrence on Earth and extraterrestrial planets, and their significant applications in sustainable technologies including but not limited to gas and energy storage, gas separation, and water desalination....
The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake (California, USA): Ground motions and rupture scenario
Susan E. Hough, Robert Graves
2020, Scientific Reports (10)
We present a synoptic analysis of the ground motions from the 11 March 1933 Mw 6.4 Long Beach, California, earthquake, the largest known earthquake within the central Los Angeles Basin region. Our inferred shaking intensity pattern supports the association of the earthquake with the Newport-Inglewood fault;...
Water-quality, bed-sediment, and invertebrate tissue trace-element concentrations for tributaries in the Clark Fork Basin, Montana, October 2017–September 2018
Gregory D. Clark, Michelle I. Hornberger, Thomas E. Cleasby, Terry L. Heinert, Matthew A. Turner
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1067
Water, bed sediment, and invertebrate tissue were sampled in streams from Butte to near Missoula, Montana, as part of a monitoring program in the Clark Fork Basin. The sampling program was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to characterize aquatic resources in...
Sediment dynamics and implications for management: State of the science from long‐term research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
Gregory E. Noe, Matthew J. Cashman, Katherine Skalak, Allen C. Gellis, Kristina G. Hopkins, Douglas L. Moyer, James S. Webber, Adam J. Benthem, Kelly O. Maloney, John Brakebill, Andrew J. Sekellick, Michael J. Langland, Qian Zhang, Gary W. Shenk, Jennifer L. D. Keisman, Cliff R. Hupp
2020, WIREs Water (4)
This review aims to synthesize the current knowledge of sediment dynamics using insights from long‐term research conducted in the watershed draining to the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., to inform management actions to restore the estuary and its watershed. The sediment dynamics of the Chesapeake are typical...
Balancing fish-energy-cost tradeoffs through strategic basin-wide dam management
Cuihong Song, Andrew O’Malley, Joseph D. Zydlewski, Weiwei Mo
2020, Resources, Conservation and Recycling (161)
Dam management often involves tradeoffs among hydropower generation capacity, environmental impacts, and project costs. However, our understandings of such tradeoffs under a full range of dam management options remain limited, which hinders our ability to make sound and scientifically defensible dam management decisions. In order to assess the scope for...
The influence of hunting pressure and ecological factors on fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in wild elk
David C. Ensminger, Catharine Pritchard, Tracy Langkilde, Tess Gingery, Jeremiah E. Banfield, W. David Walter
2020, Wildlife Biology (2)
Climate change and human population growth have increased anthropogenic threats to biodiversity and habitat fragmentation. Ecologists and conservationists need tools to assess the effect of these ecological and environmental perturbations on organismal fitness. One possibility is glucocorticoids (e.g., cortisol and corticosterone) which integrate various factors such as anthropogenic disturbances, predation,...
Effects of harmful algal blooms and associated water-quality on endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers
Summer M. Burdick, David A. Hewitt, Barbara A. Martin, Liam N. Schenk, Stewart A. Rounds
2020, Harmful Algae (97)
Anthropogenic eutrophication contributes to harmful blooms of cyanobacteria in freshwater ecosystems worldwide. In Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, massive blooms of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae and smaller blooms of other cyanobacteria are associated with cyanotoxins, hypoxia, high pH, high concentrations of ammonia, and potentially hypercapnia. Recovery of the endangered Lost River sucker Deltistes luxatus and shortnose sucker Chasmistes...
Habitat associations and distributions of two endemic crayfishes, Cambarus (Erebicambarus) maculatus Hobbs & Pflieger, 1988 and Faxonius (Billecambarus) harrisonii (Faxon, 1884) (Decapoda: Astacoidea: Cambaridae), in the Meramec River drainage, Missouri, USA
J. Chilton, Amanda E. Rosenberger, Robert J. DiStefano
2020, Article
Understanding the habitat associations and distributions of rare species is important to inform management and policy decisions. Cambarus (Erebicambarus) maculatus Hobbs & Pflieger, 1988, the freckled crayfish, and Faxonius (Billecambarus) harrisonii (Faxon, 1884), the belted crayfish, are two of Missouri’s endemic crayfish species. Both...
Divergent biotic and abiotic filtering of root endosphere and rhizosphere soil fungal communities along ecological gradients
Candice Y Lumibao, Elizabeth Kimbrough, Richard Day, William H. Conner, Ken Krauss, Sunshine A Van Bael
2020, FEMS Microbiology Ecology (96)
Plant roots assemble two distinct microbial compartments: the rhizosphere (microbes in soil surrounding roots) and the endosphere (microbes within roots). Our knowledge of fungal community assembly in these compartments is limited, especially in wetlands. We tested the hypothesis that biotic factors would have direct effects on rhizosphere and endosphere assembly,...
3D fault architecture controls the dynamism of earthquake swarm
Z. Ross, Elizabeth S. Cochran, D. Trugman, Jonathan D. Smith
2020, Science (368) 1357-1361
The vibrant evolutionary patterns made by earthquake swarms are incompatible with standard, effectively two-dimensional (2D) models for general fault architecture. We leverage advances in earthquake monitoring with a deep-learning algorithm to image a fault zone hosting a 4-year-long swarm in southern California. We infer that fluids are naturally injected into...
Using reproductive potential to assess oyster population sustainability
Danielle A. Marshall, Samuel C. Moore, Malinda Sutor, Jerome F. La Peyre, Megan La Peyre
2020, Restoration Ecology (28) 1621-1632
Ensuring that oysters remain sustainable in the face of significant coastal restoration activities, high local subsidence rates, and predicted sea-level rise requires a deeper understanding of basic population demographics, including reproductive potential. We quantified fecundity (eggs ind−1) of oysters at high- and low-salinity sites during a fall and spring spawn...
Envisioning a multi-agency and multi-academic institution geomorphology data exchange portal
Molly S. Wood, Paul M Boyd
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1056
Access to bathymetry and geomorphology data for rivers and reservoirs is a critical need in multiple agencies and academia. These data are needed to make water-resource-management decisions regarding river restoration, resource protection, infrastructure design and sustainability, and flood-risk reduction, and during natural disasters. Sharing of data increases decision-making capacity by...
