Scale‐dependent population drivers inform avian management in a declining saline lake ecosystem
Aimee M. Van Tatenhove, John Neill, Russell E. Norvell, Erica Francis Stuber, Clark S. Rushing
2024, Ecological Applications (34)
Shrinking saline lakes provide irreplaceable habitat for waterbird species globally. Disentangling the effects of wetland habitat loss from other drivers of waterbird population dynamics is critical for protecting these species in the face of unprecedented changes to saline lake ecosystems, ideally through decision-making frameworks that identify effective management options and...
Airborne gamma-ray spectrometry inversion signatures of Hicks Dome area
Jessica Weihermann, Yaoguo Li, Anne E. McCafferty
2024, Conference Paper
No abstract available....
An invasive predator substantially alters energy flux without changing food web functional state or stability
Hayley Corrine Glassic, James R. Junker, Christopher S. Guy, Lusha M. Tronstad, Michelle A. Briggs, Lindsey K. Albertson, Dominique R. Lujan, Travis O. Brenden, Timothy Walsworth, Todd M. Koel
2024, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (34)
Understanding how invasive species affect the stability and function of ecosystems is critical for conserving ecosystems. Here, we quantified the effect of an actively suppressed invasive species on the Yellowstone Lake, U.S.A. ecosystem using a food-web energetics approach. 2. We compared energy flux, functional state, and stability of four food...
Seasonal movements between mainstem and tributaries may facilitate the persistence of Roundtail Chub and Flannelmouth Sucker within an altered stream system
Alissa C. Magruder, Gabriel M. Barrile, Stephen F. Siddons, John D. Walrath, Annika W. Walters
2024, Transaction of the American Fisheries Society (153) 644-659
Objective Movement enables animals to complete their life history by responding to changing environmental conditions. Linking movement behaviors to life history characteristics can allow more targeted management applications for declining native fish populations. We identified seasonal movement patterns of Roundtail Chub Gila robusta and Flannelmouth Sucker Catostomus latipinnis, two understudied...
Revised timing of rapid exhumation in the West Qinling: Implications for geodynamics of Oligocene-Miocene Tibetan plateau outward expansion
Chaopeng Li, Dewen Zheng, Jingxing Yu, Richard O. Lease, Yizhou Wang, Jianzhang Pang, Ying Wang, Yuqi Hao, Yigang Xu
2024, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (646)
Two contrasting age models for initial mountain building in the northeastern (NE) Tibetan Plateau (Paleocene-early Eocene versus late Oligocene-early Miocene) have led to the debate on how the deformed continental lithosphere absorbs plate convergence in general. The initial compressional deformation in the West Qinling (WQL) of the NE Tibetan Plateau...
RegionGrow3D: A deterministic analysis for characterizing discrete three-dimensional landslide source areas on a regional scale
Nicolas Wahde Mathews, Ben Leshchinksy, Benjamin B. Mirus, Michael J. Olsen, Adam M. Booth
2024, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface (129)
Regional-scale characterization of shallow landslide hazards is important for reducing their destructive impact on society. These hazards are commonly characterized by (a) their location and likelihood using susceptibility maps, (b) landslide size and frequency using geomorphic scaling laws, and (c) the magnitude of disturbance required to cause...
Shifting sands: The influence of coral reefs on shoreline erosion from short-term storm protection to long-term disequilibrium
Stephan Bitterwolf, Borja Reguero, Curt D. Storlazzi, Michael W. Beck
2024, Nature-Based Solutions (6)
Climate change is exacerbating shoreline erosion and flooding, posing significant risks to coastal communities. Although traditional coastal defenses such as seawalls, dykes, and breakwaters offer protection from these hazards, their high environmental and economic costs are driving interest in cost-competitive nature-based solutions. Coral reef restoration is a nature-based solution that...
Learning from a high-severity fire event—Conditions following the 2018 Carr Fire at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
Phillip J. van Mantgem, Micah Wright, Karen M. Thorne, Jill Beckmann, Kevin Buffington, Lyndsay L. Rankin, Audrey Colley, Eamon A. Engber
2024, Open-File Report 2023-1053
The 2018 Carr Fire burned more than 90 percent of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, with much of the park burning at high severity. California yellow pine and mixed conifer forests are not well adapted to large, high-severity fires, and forest recovery after these events may be problematic. Large, high-severity fire...
June 2022 floods in the Upper Yellowstone River Basin
Katherine J. Chase, DeAnn Dutton, William B. Hamilton, Seth A. Siefken, Cassidy Vander Voort, Aroscott Whiteman
2024, Fact Sheet 2024-3035
Extraordinary floods surged down the Yellowstone River and its tributaries in northwestern Wyoming and south-central Montana on June 13–15, 2022. During the flood, U.S. Geological Survey staff worked to maintain real-time data from streamgages by making field measurements of streamflow and repairing damaged equipment while communicating the latest streamflow information...
Projected sea-level rise and high tide flooding at Biscayne National Park, Florida
Hana R. Thurman, Nicholas M. Enwright, Michael J. Osland, Davina L. Passeri, Richard H. Day, Bethanie M. Simons, Jeffrey J. Danielson, William M. Cushing
2024, Fact Sheet 2024-3024
IntroductionNational parks and preserves in the South Atlantic-Gulf Region contain valuable coastal habitats such as tidal wetlands and mangrove forests, as well as irreplaceable historic buildings and archeological sites located in low-lying areas. These natural and cultural resources are vulnerable to accelerated sea-level rise and escalating high tide flooding events....
Numerical modeling of circulation and wave dynamics along the shoreline of Shinnecock Indian Nation in Long Island, New York
Ling Zhu, Hongqing Wang, Qin Chen, William Capurso, Michael Noll
2024, Open-File Report 2024-1050
The Shinnecock Indian Nation on Long Island, New York, faces challenges of shoreline retreat, saltwater intrusion, and flooding of the Tribal lands under changing climate and rising sea level. However, understanding of the dynamics of tidal circulation and waves and their impacts on the Shinnecock Indian Nation’s shoreline remains limited....
Estimated reductions in phosphorus loads from removal of leaf litter in the Lake Champlain drainage area, Vermont
Jason R. Sorenson, James M. Pease, Jeremy K. Foote, Ann T. Chalmers, David H. Ainley, Clayton J. Williams
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5104
Excess nutrient loading and other factors are driving eutrophication and other negative effects on water-quality conditions in Lake Champlain and other receiving waters in Vermont. Two common best management practices were evaluated to determine how these practices can be optimized by targeting maintenance and operation to align better with seasonally...
U.S. Geological Survey Mississippi River Science Forum—Summary of data and science needs and next steps
John C. Nelson, Richard A. Rebich, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Thea M. Edwards, James H. Larson, Dale M. Robertson, Lori A. Sprague, Sarah M. Stackpoole, Katherine M. Summers, Peter J. Cinotto, Paul H. Rydlund Jr., Christopher J. Churchill, Wesley M. Daniel, Owen P. McKenna, Beth Middleton, Jacoby Carter, Stephen B. Hartley, Jeffrey W. Frey, Kelly L. Warner
2024, Open-File Report 2024-1053
The U.S. Geological Survey hosted a Mississippi River Science Forum with Federal agencies; Tribal, State, and local governments located in States that border the Mississippi River; academia; and other interested stakeholders. The purpose of the forum was to share current (2023) science; identify data gaps and areas of concern; and...
Freshwater mussel viromes increase rapidly in diversity and abundance when hosts are released from captivity into the wild
Jordan C. Richard, Tim W. Lane, Rose E. Agbalog, Sarah Colletti, Tiffany Leach, Christopher D. Dunn, Nathan Roy Bollig, Addison R. Plate, Joseph T. Munoz, Eric M. Leis, Susan Knowles, Isaac Standish, Diane L. Waller, Tony L. Golberg
2024, Animals (14)
Freshwater mussels create habitat, filter water, and enhance food webs, but they are also among the world’s most imperiled taxa. Conservation efforts largely rely on captive propagation in which mussels are grown in protected aquaculture environments (hatcheries) for later release. Recent evidence has highlighted the importance of pathogens in...
Gulf Stream intrusion and deep current upwelling drive dynamic patterns of temperature and food supply within cold-water coral reefs
Jane V. Carrick, Furu Mienis, Erik E. Cordes, Amanda Demopoulos, Andrew J. Davies
2024, Limnology and Oceanography (69) 2193-2210
One of the most significant features of the Northwest Atlantic, the Gulf Stream influences high magnitude environmental fluctuations in deep habitats across the South Atlantic Bight. Amid this variability, the Blake Plateau harbors extensive reefs formed by cold-water corals that were previously assumed to...
Substrate Enhancement Pilot Project—Monitoring summary and evaluation, Kootenai River, Idaho, 2012–22
Taylor J. Dudunake
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5070
To assess changes in substrate conditions and the efficacy of artificially placed substrates at select sites on the Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, completed repeat bathymetric, velocimetric, and underwater videography surveys. Collectively, three project sites throughout the...
Bayesian approaches to proxy uncertainty quantification in paleoecology: A mathematical justification and practical integration
Marco A. Aquino-Lopez, Lysanna Anderson, Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabeza, Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernandez, J. Andres Christen
2024, Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics
Paleoenvironmental data are essential for reconstructing environmental conditions in the distant past, and these reconstructions strongly depend on proxies and age–depth models. Proxies are indirect measurements that substitute for variables that cannot be directly measured, such as past precipitation. Conversely, an age–depth model is a tool that correlates the observed...
Methane emissions associated with bald cypress knees across the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley
Melinda Martinez, Robert Bordelon, Beth Middleton, Jorge A. Villa, Hojeong Kang, Inyoung Jang
2024, Wetlands (44)
In freshwater forested wetlands, bald cypress knees (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) have the potential to emit large amounts of methane (CH4), but only a few studies have examined their greenhouse gas contribution. In this study, we measured CH4 fluxes associated with cypress knees across various climate and flooding...
Wave runup and total water level observations from time series imagery at several sites with varying nearshore morphologies
Mark L. Buckley, Daniel Buscombe, Justin J. Birchler, Margaret L. Palmsten, Eric Swanson, Jenna A. Brown, Michael Itzkin, Curt D. Storlazzi, Shawn R. Harrison
2024, Coastal Engineering (193)
Coastal imaging systems have been developed to measure wave runup and total water level (TWL) at the shoreline, which is a key metric for assessing coastal flooding and erosion. However, extracting quantitative measurements from coastal images has typically been done...
The skin I live in: Pathogenesis of white-nose syndrome of bats
Marcos Isidoro-Ayza, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Bruce S. Klein
2024, PLoS Pathogens (20)
The emergence of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in North America has resulted in mass mortalities of hibernating bats and total extirpation of local populations. The need to mitigate this disease has stirred a significant body of research to understand its pathogenesis. Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of WNS,...
Water-level changes impact angler effort in a large lake: Implications for climate change
Matthew L. Maldonado, Taufique H. Mahmood, David P. Coulter, Alison A. Coulter, Steven R. Chipps, Maddy K. Siller, Michaela L. Neal, Ayon Saha, Mark A. Kaemingk
2024, Fisheries Research (279)
Climate change is expected to influence aquatic habitats and associated fish populations, yet we know little about the impact on recreational anglers. Our goal was to explore whether interannual fluctuations in waterbody surface area and other explanatory variables could be used as indicators of changes in angler fishing effort. Our...
Supporting climate adaptation for rural Mekong River Basin communities in Thailand
Holly Susan Embke, Abigail Lynch, Beard Jr.
2024, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change (29)
Climate change impacts on large river basins, such as the Mekong River Basin (MRB), are complex due to shared governance and interconnected socioeconomic areas, making them highly vulnerable to change. The MRB, spanning six countries including Thailand, is crucial for the food and economic security of > 60 million people. However, in...
Hair mercury isotopes, a noninvasive biomarker for dietary methylmercury exposure and biological uptake
Sarah E Rothenburg, Susan A Korrick, Donald Harrington, Sally W Thurston, Sarah E. Janssen, Michael T. Tate, YanFen Nong, Hua Nong, Jihong Liu, Chuan Hong, Fengxiu Ouyang
2024, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts (26) 1975-1985
Background. Fish and rice are the main dietary sources of methylmercury (MeHg); however, rice does not contain the same beneficial nutrients as fish, and these differences can impact the observed health effects of MeHg. Hence, it is important to validate a biomarker, which can distinguish among dietary MeHg sources. Methods. Mercury...
Evolution and current state of continuous volcano gravimetry
Daniele Carbone, Michael P. Poland, Filippo Greco, Danilo Contrafatto, Alfio Messina, Luca Timoteo Mirabella
2024, IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Magazine (27) 32-39
Most processes controlling volcanic activity involve underground mass redistribution (e.g., magma accumulation or withdrawal). Because of its unique ability to provide direct information on subsurface mass/density changes over time, gravimetry has important advantages over other volcano-monitoring techniques. As an example, if pre-eruptive magma accumulation occurs in voids, surface uplift or...
Evidence for recruitment-mediated decline in an Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) population based on a 30-year capture-recapture data set from Maryland
Andy Royle, Mike Quinlan, Christopher Swarth
2024, Preprint
The Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) population at the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, Lothian, MD has been monitored continuously for 29 years (1995-2023). We used open population capture-recapture models (Jolly-Seber) to estimate annual population size, survival probability, and recruitment rate. The model allows for unknown sex of individuals and...
