Evaluation of the relation between evapotranspiration and normalized difference vegetation index for downscaling the simplified surface energy balance model
Jonathan V. Haynes, Gabriel B. Senay
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5197
The Simplified Surface Energy Balance (SSEB) model uses satellite imagery to estimate actual evapotranspiration (ETa) at 1-kilometer resolution. SSEB ETa is useful for estimating irrigation water use; however, resolution limitations restrict its use to regional scale applications. The U.S. Geological Survey investigated the downscaling potential of SSEB ETa from 1...
Persistence and extirpation in invaded landscapes: patch characteristics and connectivity determine effects of non-native predatory fish on native salamanders
David S. Pilliod, Robert S. Arkle, Bryce A. Maxell
2012, Biological Invasions (15) 671-685
Studies have demonstrated negative effects of non-native, predatory fishes on native amphibians, yet it is still unclear why some amphibian populations persist, while others are extirpated, following fish invasion. We examined this question by developing habitat-based occupancy models for the long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) and nonnative fish using survey data...
Natural growth and diet of known-age pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) early life stages in the upper Missouri River basin, Montana and North Dakota
P.J. Braaten, D.B. Fuller, R.D. Lott, T.M. Haddix, L.D. Holte, R.H. Wilson, M.L. Bartron, J.A. Kalie, P.W. DeHaan, W.R. Ardren, R.J. Holm, M.E. Jaeger
2012, Journal of Applied Ichthyology (28) 496-504
Prior to anthropogenic modifications, the historic Missouri River provided ecological conditions suitable for reproduction, growth, and survival of pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus. However, little information is available to discern whether altered conditions in the contemporary Missouri River are suitable for feeding, growth and survival of endangered pallid sturgeon during the...
Matrix population models from 20 studies of perennial plant populations
Martha M. Ellis, Jennifer L. Williams, Peter Lesica, Timothy J. Bell, Paulette Bierzychudek, Marlin Bowles, Elizabeth E. Crone, Daniel F. Doak, Johan Ehrlen, Albertine Ellis-Adam, Kathryn McEachern, Rengaian Ganesan, Penelope Latham, Sheila Luijten, Thomas N. Kaye, Tiffany M. Knight, Eric S. Menges, William F. Morris, Hans den Nijs, Gerard Oostermeijer, Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio, J. Stephen Shelly, Amanda Stanley, Andrea Thorpe, Ticktin Tamara, Teresa Valverde, Carl W. Weekley
2012, Ecology (93) 951-951
Demographic transition matrices are one of the most commonly applied population models for both basic and applied ecological research. The relatively simple framework of these models and simple, easily interpretable summary statistics they produce have prompted the wide use of these models across an exceptionally broad range of taxa. Here,...
Status of groundwater quality in the Coastal Los Angeles Basin, 2006-California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Dara A. Goldrath, Miranda S. Fram, Michael Land, Kenneth Belitz
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5048
Groundwater quality in the approximately 860-square-mile (2,227-square-kilometer) Coastal Los Angeles Basin study unit (CLAB) was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study area is located in southern California in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. The GAMA Priority Basin...
Microgravity methods for characterization of groundwater-storage changes and aquifer properties in the karstic Madison aquifer in the Black Hills of South Dakota, 2009-12
Karl R. Koth, Andrew J. Long
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5158
A study of groundwater storage in the karstic Madison aquifer in the Black Hills of South Dakota using microgravity methods was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with West Dakota Water Development District, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Lawrence County. Microgravity measurements from 2009...
Resource and hazard implications of gas hydrates in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Results of the 2009 Joint Industry Project Leg II Drilling Expedition
Timothy S. Collett, Ray Boswell
2012, Marine and Petroleum Geology (34) 1-3
In the 1970's, Russian scientists were the first to suggest that gas hydrates, a crystalline solid of water and natural gas, and a historical curiosity to physical chemists, should occur in abundance in the natural environment. Since this early start, the scientific foundation has been built for the realization that...
Groundwater quality in the Coastal Los Angeles Basin, California
Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3096
The Coastal Los Angeles Basin study unit is approximately 860 square miles and consists of the Santa Monica, Hollywood, West Coast, Central, and Orange County Coastal Plain groundwater basins (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). The basins are bounded in part by faults, including the Newport-Inglewood fault zone, and are...
More than a meal: integrating non-feeding interactions into food webs
Sonia Kéfi, Eric L. Berlow, Evie A. Wieters, Sergio A. Navarrete, Owen L. Petchey, Spencer A. Wood, Alice Boit, Lucas N. Joppa, Kevin D. Lafferty, Richard J. Williams, Neo D. Martinez, Bruce A. Menge, Carol A. Blanchette, Alison C. Iles, Ulrich Brose
2012, Ecology Letters (15) 291-300
Organisms eating each other are only one of many types of well documented and important interactions among species. Other such types include habitat modification, predator interference and facilitation. However, ecological network research has been typically limited to either pure food webs or to networks of only a few (<3) interaction...
New parasites and predators follow the introduction of two fish species to a subarctic lake: implications for food-web structure and functioning
Per-Arne Amundsen, Kevin D. Lafferty, Rune Knudsen, Raul Primicerio, Roar Kristoffersen, Anders Klemetsen, Armand M. Kuris
2012, Oecologia (171) 993-1002
Introduced species can alter the topology of food webs. For instance, an introduction can aid the arrival of free-living consumers using the new species as a resource, while new parasites may also arrive with the introduced species. Food-web responses to species additions can thus be far more complex than anticipated....
Shading decreases the abundance of the herbivorous California horn snail, Cerithidea californica
Julio Lorda, Kevin D. Lafferty
2012, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (432-433) 148-155
Most of the intertidal zone in estuaries of California, USA and Baja California, Mexico is covered with vascular vegetation. Shading by these vascular plants influences abiotic and biotic processes that shape benthic community assemblages. We present data on the effects of shading on the California horn snail, Cerithidea californica. This...
Effects of spatial subsidies and habitat structure on the foraging ecology and size of geckos
Amy A. Briggs, Hillary S. Young, Douglas J. McCauley, Stacie A. Hathaway, Rodolfo Dirzo, Robert N. Fisher
2012, PLoS ONE (7)
While it is well established that ecosystem subsidies—the addition of energy, nutrients, or materials across ecosystem boundaries—can affect consumer abundance, there is less information available on how subsidy levels may affect consumer diet, body condition, trophic position, and resource partitioning among consumer species. There is also little information on whether...
Cryptic extinction of a common Pacific lizard Emoia impar (Squamata, Scincidae) from the Hawaiian Islands.
Robert Fisher, Ivan Ineich
2012, Oryx (46) 187-195
Most documented declines of tropical reptiles are of dramatic or enigmatic species. Declines of widespread species tend to be cryptic. The early (1900s) decline and extinction of the common Pacific skink Emoia impar from the Hawaiian Islands is documented here through an assessment of literature, museum vouchers and recent fieldwork....
Streamflow gain and loss and water quality in the upper Nueces River Basin, south-central Texas, 2008-10
J. Ryan Banta, Rebecca B. Lambert, Richard N. Slattery, Darwin J. Ockerman
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5181
The U.S. Geological Survey-in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The Nature Conservancy, the Real Edwards Conservation and Reclamation District, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department-investigated streamflow gain and loss and water quality in the upper Nueces River Basin, south-central Texas, specifically in the watersheds of the...
Temporal changes in aquatic-invertebrate and fish assemblages in streams of the north-central and northeastern U.S.
Jonathan G. Kennen, Daniel J. Sullivan, Jason T. May, Amanda H. Bell, Karen M. Beaulieu, Donald E. Rice
2012, Ecological Indicators (18) 312-329
Many management agencies seek to evaluate temporal changes in aquatic assemblages at monitoring sites, but few have sites with ecological time series that are long enough for this purpose. Trends in aquatic-invertebrate and fish assemblage composition were assessed at 27 long-term monitoring sites in the north-central and northeastern United States....
Assessment of groundwater, soil-gas, and soil contamination at the Vietnam Armor Training Facility, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2009-2011
Wladmir B. Guimaraes, W. Fred Falls, Andral W. Caldwell, W. Hagan Ratliff, John B. Wellborn, James Landmeyer
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1160
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Georgia, assessed the groundwater, soil gas, and soil for contaminants at the Vietnam Armor Training Facility (VATF) at Fort Gordon, from October...
Dissolved organic carbon and chromophoric dissolved organic matter properties of rivers in the USA
Robert G.M. Spencer, Kenna D. Butler, George R. Aiken
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences (117)
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) parameters were measured over a range of discharge in 30 U.S. rivers, covering a diverse assortment of fluvial ecosystems in terms of watershed size and landscape drained. Relationships between CDOM absorption at a range of wavelengths (a254, a350, a440)...
Specific conductance measurements in central and western New York streams - A retrospective characterization
William M. Kappel, Gaylen J. Sinclair, James E. Reddy, David A. Eckhardt, M. Peter deVries, Margaret E. Phillips
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1174
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data Rescue Program funds were used to recover data from paper records for 139 streamgages across central and western New York State; 6,133 different streamflow measurement forms, collected between 1970-80, contained field water-quality measurements. The water-quality data were entered, reviewed, and uploaded into the USGS National...
Guidelines for a graph-theoretic implementation of structural equation modeling
James B. Grace, Donald R. Schoolmaster Jr., Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Amanda M. Little, Brian R. Mitchell, Kathryn M. Miller, E. William Schweiger
2012, Ecosphere (3)
Structural equation modeling (SEM) is increasingly being chosen by researchers as a framework for gaining scientific insights from the quantitative analyses of data. New ideas and methods emerging from the study of causality, influences from the field of graphical modeling, and advances in statistics are expanding the rigor, capability, and...
Groundwater data for selected wells within the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Subbasin, California, 2003-8
Dennis A. Clark, John A. Izbicki, Loren F. Metzger, Rhett R. Everett, Gregory A. Smith, David R. O’Leary, Nicholas F. Teague, Matthew K. Burgess
2012, Data Series 696
Data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from 2003 through 2008 in the Eastern San Joaquin Groundwater Subbasin, 80 miles east of San Francisco, California, as part of a study of the increasing chloride concentrations in groundwater processes. Data collected include geologic, geophysical, chemical, and hydrologic data collected during...
Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2011
Joseph E. Beman
2012, Data Series 714
The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift within the basin. Drinking-water supplies throughout the basin were...
Ecosystem development after mangrove wetland creation: plant-soil change across a 20-year chronosequence
Michael J. Osland, Amanda C. Spivak, Janet A. Nestlerode, Jeannine M. Lessmann, Alejandro E. Almario, Paul T. Heitmuller, Marc J. Russell, Ken W. Krauss, Federico Alvarez, Darrin D. Dantin, James E. Harvey, Andrew S. From, Nicole Cormier, Camille L. Stagg
2012, Ecosystems (15) 848-866
Mangrove wetland restoration and creation efforts are increasingly proposed as mechanisms to compensate for mangrove wetland losses. However, ecosystem development and functional equivalence in restored and created mangrove wetlands are poorly understood. We compared a 20-year chronosequence of created tidal wetland sites in Tampa Bay, Florida (USA) to natural reference...
Unsupervised classification of lidar-based vegetation structure metrics at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
Christine J. Kranenburg, Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Amar Nayegandhi, John Brock, Robert Woodman
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1096
Traditional vegetation maps capture the horizontal distribution of various vegetation properties, for example, type, species and age/senescence, across a landscape. Ecologists have long known, however, that many important forest properties, for example, interior microclimate, carbon capacity, biomass and habitat suitability, are also dependent on the vertical arrangement of branches and...
Frequency of nest use by golden eagles in southwestern Idaho
Michael N. Kochert, Karen Steenhof
2012, Journal of Raptor Research (46) 239-247
We studied nest use by Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) from 1966 to 2011 to assess nest reuse within territories, ascertain the length of time that elapses between uses of nests, and test the hypotheses that reproductive success and adult turnover influence nest switching. Golden Eagles used 454 nests in 66...
Mapping wintering waterfowl distributions using weather surveillance radar
Jeffrey J. Buler, Lori A. Randall, Joseph P. Fleskes, Wylie C. Barrow, Tianna Bogart, Daria Kluver
2012, PLoS ONE (7)
The current network of weather surveillance radars within the United States readily detects flying birds and has proven to be a useful remote-sensing tool for ornithological study. Radar reflectivity measures serve as an index to bird density and have been used to quantitatively map landbird distributions during migratory stopover by...
