Developing an outcome-based biodiversity metric in support of the field to market project: Final report
C. Ashton Drew, Louise B. Alexander-Vaughn, Jaime A. Collazo, Alexa McKerrow, John Anderson
2013, Technical Bulletin 334
Our objective was to create a metric that would calculate the relative impact of common commercial agricultural practices on terrestrial vertebrate richness. We sought to define impacts in fields (including field borders) of the southeastern region’s commercial production of corn, wheat, soy, and cotton. The metric is intended to serve...
Consideration of reference points for the management of renewable resources under an adaptive management paradigm
Brian J. Irwin, Michael J. Conroy
2013, Environmental Conservation (40) 302-309
The success of natural resource management depends on monitoring, assessment and enforcement. In support of these efforts, reference points (RPs) are often viewed as critical values of management-relevant indicators. This paper considers RPs from the standpoint of objective-driven decision making in dynamic resource systems, guided by principles of structured decision...
Next generation of global land cover characterization, mapping, and monitoring
Chandra Giri, Bruce Pengra, J. Long, Thomas R. Loveland
2013, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (25) 30-37
Land cover change is increasingly affecting the biophysics, biogeochemistry, and biogeography of the Earth's surface and the atmosphere, with far-reaching consequences to human well-being. However, our scientific understanding of the distribution and dynamics of land cover and land cover change (LCLCC) is limited. Previous global land cover assessments performed using...
Regional assessment of North America: Urbanization trends, biodiversity patterns, and ecosystem services
Timon McPhearson, Roger F. Auch, Marina Alberti
2013, Book chapter, Urbanization, biodiversity and ecosystem services: Challenges and opportunities
North America contains some of the most urbanized landscapes in the world. In the United States (U.S.) and Canada, approximately 80 % of the population is urban, with Mexico slightly less (Kaiser Family Foundation 2013). Population growth combined with economic growth has fueled recent urban land expansion in North America....
Book review: Too hot to touch: The problem of high-level nuclear waste, by William M. Alley and Rosemarie Alley (Cambridge University Press, 2013)
Leonard F. Konikow
2013, Hydrogeology Journal (21) 1909-1910
No abstract available....
The suitability of a simplified isotope-balance approach to quantify transient groundwater-lake interactions over a decade with climatic extremes
Laura A. Sacks, Terrie M. Lee, Amy Swancar
2013, Journal of Hydrology (519) 3042-3053
Groundwater inflow to a subtropical seepage lake was estimated using a transient isotope-balance approach for a decade (2001–2011) with wet and dry climatic extremes. Lake water δ18O ranged from +0.80 to +3.48 ‰, reflecting the 4 m range in stage. The transient δ18O analysis discerned large differences in semiannual groundwater...
Estimating reef fish discard mortality using surface and bottom tagging: effects of hook injury and barotrauma
Paul J. Rudershausen, Jeffrey A. Buckel, Joseph E. Hightower
2013, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 514-520
We estimated survival rates of discarded black sea bass (Centropristis striata) in various release conditions using tag–recapture data. Fish were captured with traps and hook and line from waters 29–34 m deep off coastal North Carolina, USA, marked with internal anchor tags, and observed for release condition. Fish tagged on...
Evidence of Hybridization between Common Gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) and Butler’s Gartersnakes (Thamnophis butleri) in Wisconsin (USA).
Joshua M. Kapfer, Brian L. Sloss, Gregor W. Schuurman, Rori A. Paloski, Jeffrey M. Lorch
2013, Journal of Herpetology (47) 400-405
Snakes within the genus Thamnophis (Gartersnakes and Ribbonsnakes) are often found in sympatry throughout their geographic distributions. Past work has indicated that some sympatric species within this genus may hybridize, but research of this nature is limited. We attempted to determine whether hybridization occurs between two Thamnophis species native to the upper midwestern United...
ASARCO Incorporated’s Car Project, 1990-94, western Gabbs Valley, Mineral Co., Nevada: precious metal exploration transitioned to geothermal exploration
Peter G. Vikre, Fleetwood Koutz
Larry J. Garside, editor(s)
2013, Book chapter, Geothermal and petroleum developments in several extensional basins of the central Walker Lane, Nevada: Nevada Petroleum and Geothermal Society 2013 field trip guidebook
No abstract available....
Multiple factors affect a population of Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in the Northwestern Mojave Desert
Kristin H. Berry, Julie L. Yee, Ashley A. Coble, William M. Perry, Timothy A. Shields
2013, Herpetological Monographs (27) 87-109
Numerous factors have contributed to declines in populations of the federally threatened Agassiz's Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and continue to limit recovery. In 2010, we surveyed a low-density population on a military test facility in the northwestern Mojave Desert of California, USA, to evaluate population status and identify potential factors...
Public lakes, private lakeshore: Modeling protection of native aquatic plants
Susan A. Schroeder, David C. Fulton
2013, Environmental Management (52) 99-112
Protection of native aquatic plants is an important proenvironmental behavior, because plant loss coupled with nutrient loading can produce changes in lake ecosystems. Removal of aquatic plants by lakeshore property owners is a diffuse behavior that may lead to cumulative impacts on lake ecosystems. This class of behavior is challenging...
Hydrologic monitoring and selected hydrologic and environmental studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Georgia, 2011–2013
John S. Clarke, Melinda J. Dalton (compiler)
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1278
This compendium of papers describes results of hydrologic monitoring and hydrologic and environmental studies completed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Georgia during 2011–2013. The USGS addresses a wide variety of water issues in the State of Georgia working with local, State, and Federal partners. As the primary Federal...
Flood-inundation maps for the Elkhart River at Goshen, Indiana
Kellan R. Strauch
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3269
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, created digital flood-inundation maps for an 8.3-mile reach of the Elkhart River at Goshen, Indiana, extending from downstream of the Goshen Dam to downstream from County Road 17. The inundation maps, which can be...
Occurrence of fungicides and other pesticides in surface water, groundwater, and sediment from three targeted-use areas in the United States, 2009
James L. Orlando, Kelly L. Smalling, Timothy J. Reilly, Adam Boehlke, Michael T. Meyer, Kathryn Kuivila
2013, Data Series 797
Surface-water, groundwater, and suspended- and bedsediment samples were collected in three targeted-use areas in the United States where potatoes were grown during 2009 and analyzed for an extensive suite of fungicides and other pesticides by gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Fungicides were detected in all...
Changes in nitrogen loading to the Northeast Creek Estuary, Bar Harbor, Maine, 2000 to 2010
Martha G. Nielsen
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1256
Since 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service have been monitoring land use and nitrogen loading in a 26.3-square-kilometer (10-square-mile) estuarine watershed at Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine. The initial study linking land use and nitrogen loads entering the Northeast Creek estuary was completed in...
First evidence of grass carp recruitment in the Great Lakes Basin
Duane Chapman, J. Jeremiah Davis, Jill A. Jenkins, Patrick M. Kocovsky, Jeffrey G. Miner, John Farver, P. Ryan Jackson
2013, Journal of Great Lakes Research (39) 547-554
We use aging techniques, ploidy analysis, and otolith microchemistry to assess whether four grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella captured from the Sandusky River, Ohio were the result of natural reproduction within the Lake Erie Basin. All four fish were of age 1 +. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that these fish...
Modeling the effects of fire severity and climate warming on active layer and soil carbon dynamics of black spruce forests across the landscape in interior Alaska
H. Genet, Anthony D. McGuire, K. Barrett, A. Breen, E.S. Euskirchen, J.F. Johnstone, E.S. Kasischke, A.M. Melvin, A. Bennett, M.C. Mack, T.S. Rupp, A.E.G. Schuur, M.R. Turetsky, F. Yuan
2013, Environmental Research Letters (8)
There is a substantial amount of carbon stored in the permafrost soils of boreal forest ecosystems, where it is currently protected from decomposition. The surface organic horizons insulate the deeper soil from variations in atmospheric temperature. The removal of these insulating horizons through consumption by fire increases the vulnerability of...
Geophysical-log and hydraulic-test analyses of groundwater-production wells at the Hannahville Indian Community, Menominee County, Michigan
E. Randall Bayless, J. Alton Anderson, David C. Lampe, John H. Williams
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5172
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Hannahville Indian Community, evaluated the geohydrology of the bedrock formations and hydraulic properties of groundwater-production wells at the Hannahville Indian Community in Menominee County, Michigan. Geophysical logs were collected from five wells at two sites during September 2012. The logs were analyzed...
Modeling earthquake rate changes in Oklahoma and Arkansas: possible signatures of induced seismicity
Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael
2013, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (103) 2850-2861
The rate of ML≥3 earthquakes in the central and eastern United States increased beginning in 2009, particularly in Oklahoma and central Arkansas, where fluid injection has occurred. We find evidence that suggests these rate increases are man‐made by examining the rate changes in a catalog of ML≥3 earthquakes in Oklahoma,...
Sea-floor geology and topography offshore in northeastern Long Island Sound
L. J. Poppe, K. Y. McMullen, S. D. Ackerman, K.A. Glomb
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1060
Datasets of gridded multibeam bathymetry, covering approximately 52.9 square kilometers, were used to interpret character and geology of the sea floor in northeastern Long Island Sound. Although originally collected for charting purposes during National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hydrographic survey H12012, these acoustic data and the sea-floor sampling and photography...
Nearshore temperature findings for the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona: Possible implications for native fish
Robert P. Ross, William S. Vernieu
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3104
Since the completion of Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona, in 1963, downstream water temperatures in the main channel of the Colorado River in Glen, Marble, and Grand Canyons are much colder in summer. This has negatively affected humpback chub (Gila cypha) and other native fish adapted to seasonally warm water, reducing...
Estimation of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in streams of the Middle Columbia River Basin (Oregon, Washington, and Idaho) using SPARROW models, with emphasis on the Yakima River Basin, Washington
Henry M. Johnson, Robert W. Black, Daniel R. Wise
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5199
The watershed model SPARROW (Spatially Related Regressions on Watershed attributes) was used to predict total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads and yields for the Middle Columbia River Basin in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The new models build on recently published models for the entire Pacific Northwest, and provide...
Extreme ground motions and Yucca Mountain
Thomas C. Hanks, Norman A. Abrahamson, Jack W. Baker, David M. Boore, Mark Board, James N. Brune, C. Allin Cornell, John W. Whitney
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1245
Yucca Mountain is the designated site of the underground repository for the United States' high-level radioactive waste (HLW), consisting of commercial and military spent nuclear fuel, HLW derived from reprocessing of uranium and plutonium, surplus plutonium, and other nuclear-weapons materials. Yucca Mountain straddles the western boundary of the Nevada Test...
USGS National Wildlife Health Center quarterly mortality report
Anne E. Ballmann, C. LeAnn White, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Jennifer L. Buckner
2013, Wildlife Disease Association Newsletter 6-8
No abstract available....
Assessment of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas resources of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico-U.S. Virgin Islands Exclusive Economic Zone, 2013
Christopher J. Schenk, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Janet K. Pitman, Michael E. Brownfield, Tracey J. Mercier, Craig J. Wandrey, Jean N. Weaver
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3101
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 19 million barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 244 billion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas in the Puerto Rico–U.S. Virgin Islands Exclusive Economic Zone....
