Biophysical drivers of coastal treeline elevation
Grace Molino, Joel A. Carr, Neil K. Ganju, Mathew Kirwan
2023, JGR Biogeosciences (128)
Sea level rise is leading to the rapid migration of marshes into coastal forests and other terrestrial ecosystems. Although complex biophysical interactions likely govern these ecosystem transitions, projections of sea level driven land conversion commonly rely on a simplified “threshold elevation” that represents the elevation of the marsh-upland boundary based...
A Buteo sp. hawk predates a hummingbird (Trochilidae) during autumn migration
Theodore J. Zenzal Jr., Emily J. Lain
2023, Southeastern Naturalist (22) N67-N71
Predation can play a significant role on survival during migration as birds find themselves competing for resources in unfamiliar habitats. Here we describe the first documented observation of a Buteo platypterus (Broad-winged Hawk) predating an Archilochus colubris (Ruby-throated Hummingbird) during autumn migration. To our knowledge, this is the first...
The importance of Sky Islands in the annual cycle of the Western (Cordilleran) Flycatcher Empidonax occidentalis
Charles van Riper III, Harold F. Greeney
2023, Newsletter, Tucson Audubon Society Fall 2023 Newsletter
For more than a century and a half the Madrean sky islands, a group of 55 mountain ranges that occur from the middle of Arizona to the southern end of Sonora Mexico and rise from the desert floor to 3,000-10,000 feet elevation, have been a Mecca for ornithologists and natural...
Integrated science strategy for assessing and monitoring water availability and migratory birds for terminal lakes across the Great Basin, United States
Rebecca J. Frus, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael L. Casazza, Collin Eagles-Smith, Garth Herring, Scott A. Hynek, Daniel K. Jones, Susan K Kemp, Thomas M. Marston, Christopher M. Morris, Ramon C. Naranjo, Cee S. Nell, David R. O'Leary, Cory T. Overton, Bryce A. Pulver, Brian E. Reichert, Christine A. Rumsey, Rudy Schuster, Cassandra D. Smith
2023, Circular 1516
Executive SummaryIn 2022, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) established the Saline Lake Ecosystems Integrated Water Availability Assessment (IWAAs) to monitor and assess the hydrology of terminal lakes in the Great Basin and the migratory birds and other wildlife dependent on those habitats. Scientists from across the USGS (with specialties in...
Microfossils and biostratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous Coon Creek Formation Lagerstätte, Mississippi Embayment, USA
Jean Self-Trail, Kristina Frank Gardner, Jennifer M K O’Keefe, Patricia H. Mason, Mark Puckett, Michael A. Gibson, Maeve McCarty
2023, Geological Society, London, Special Publications (545)
The Upper Cretaceous Coon Creek Formation type-locality in McNairy County, Tennessee, is an exceptional marine invertebrate Lagerstätte that was deposited in a nearshore reentrant into the ancestral continent of Appalachia. Extensive taxonomic analysis of the macrofauna has been done for over 100 years. However, documentation of the...
Train, inform, borrow, or combine? Approaches to process-guided deep learning for groundwater-influenced stream temperature prediction
Janet R. Barclay, Simon Nemer Topp, Lauren Elizabeth Koenig, Margaux Jeanne Sleckman, Alison P. Appling
2023, Water Resources Research (59)
Although groundwater discharge is a critical stream temperature control process, it is not explicitly represented in many stream temperature models, an omission that may reduce predictive accuracy, hinder management of aquatic habitat, and decrease user confidence. We assessed the performance of a previously-described process-guided deep learning model...
A decade of death and other dynamics: Deepening perspectives on the diversity and distribution of sea stars and wasting
Michael Dawson, Paige Duffin, Melina Giakoumis, Lauren M Schiebelhut, Rodrigo Beas-Luna, Keith Bosley, Rita Castilho, Christine Ewers-Saucedo, Katie Gavenus, Aimee Keller, Brenda Konar, John L. Largier, Julio Lorda, Melissa Miner, Monica Moritsch, Sergio Navarette, Peter T. Raimondi, Sarah Beth Traiger, Monica Turner, John Wares
2023, Biological Bulletin (244)
Mass mortality events provide valuable insight into biological extremes and also ecological interactions more generally. The sea star wasting epidemic that began in 2013 catalyzed study of the microbiome, genetics, population dynamics, and community ecology of several high-profile species inhabiting the northeastern...
Highway-runoff quality from segments of open-graded friction course and dense-graded hot-mix asphalt pavement on Interstate 95, Massachusetts, 2018–21
Kirk Smith, Alana B. Spaetzel, Phillip A. Woodford
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5127
Highway runoff is a source of sediment and associated constituents to downstream waterbodies that can be managed with the use of stormwater-control measures that reduce sediment loads. The use of open-graded friction course (OGFC) pavement has been identified as a method to reduce loads from highway runoff because it retains...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
Lawrence D. Igl, Jill A. Shaffer, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Amy L. Zimmerman, Jason P. Thiele, Betty R. Euliss
2023, Professional Paper 1842-T
The key to Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) management is providing open grasslands with scattered trees and shrubs for foraging, nesting, and perching. Loggerhead Shrikes have been reported to use habitats with 20–266 centimeters (cm) vegetation height, greater than or equal to (≥) 10 percent grass cover, 3–48 percent forb cover,...
Identifying structural priors in a hybrid differentiable model for stream water temperature modeling
Farshid Rahmani, Alison P. Appling, Dapeng Feng, Kathryn Lawson, Chaopeng Shen
2023, Water Resources Research (59)
Although deep learning models for stream temperature (Ts) have recently shown exceptional accuracy, they have limited interpretability and cannot output untrained variables. With hybrid differentiable models, neural networks (NNs) can be connected to physically based equations (called structural priors) to output intermediate variables such...
How to handle glacier area change in geodetic mass balance
Caitlyn Florentine, Louis C. Sass, Christopher J. McNeil, Emily Baker, Shad O'Neel
2023, Journal of Glaciology (69) 2169-2175
Innovations in geodesy enable widespread analysis of glacier surface elevation change and geodetic mass balance. However, coincident glacier area data are less widely available, causing inconsistent handling of glacier area change. Here we quantify the bias introduced into meters water equivalent (m w.e.) specific geodetic mass balance...
Satellite-derived prefire vegetation predicts variation in field-based invasive annual grass cover after fire
Christopher A Anthony, Cara Applestein, Matthew J. Germino
2023, Applied Vegetation Science (26)
AimsInvasion by annual grasses (IAGs) and concomitant increases in wildfire are impacting many drylands globally, and an understanding of factors that contribute to or detract from community resistance to IAGs is needed to inform postfire restoration interventions. Prefire vegetation condition is often unknown in rangelands but it...
Site fidelity of migratory shorebirds facing habitat deterioration: Insights from satellite tracking and mark-resighting
Ying-Chi Chan, David Tsz-Chung Chan, T. Lee Tibbitts, Chris J. Hassell, Theunis Piersma
2023, Movement Ecology (11)
BackgroundSite fidelity, the tendency to return to a previously visited site, is commonly observed in migratory birds. This behaviour would be advantageous if birds returning to the same site, benefit from their previous knowledge about local resources. However, when habitat quality declines at a site over time, birds...
Water-level data for the Albuquerque Basin and adjacent areas, central New Mexico, period of record through September 30, 2022
Meghan T. Bell, N.Y. Montero
2023, Data Report 1186
The Albuquerque Basin, located in central New Mexico, is about 100 miles long and 25–40 miles wide. The basin is hydrologically defined as the extent of consolidated and unconsolidated deposits of Tertiary and Quaternary age that encompasses the structural Rio Grande Rift between San Acacia to the south and Cochiti...
Achieving success with RISE: A widely implementable, iterative, structured process for mastering interdisciplinary team science collaborations
Martha E. Mather, Gabriel Granco, Jason Bergtold, Marcellus Caldas, Jessica Heier Stamm, Aleksey Sheshukov, Matthew Sanderson, Melinda Daniels
2023, BioScience (73) 891-905
Scientific experts from different disciplines often struggle to mesh their specialized perspectives into the shared mindset that is needed to address difficult and persistent environmental, ecological, and societal problems. Many traditional graduate programs provide excellent research and technical skill training. However, these programs often do not teach a systematic way...
The species status assessment: A framework for assessing species status and risk to support endangered species management decisions
Conor P. McGowan, Nathan Allan, David R. Smith
2023, Book chapter, The codex of the Endangered Species Act, volume II
No abstract available....
Nitrate-nitrogen and total phosphorus river loads
Timothy O. Hodson
2023, Report, Illinois nutrient loss reduction strategy 2023 biennial update
Nitrate-nitrogen and total phosphorus loads from the major rivers draining Illinois were updated through the 2021 water year (Figure 3.1). Beginning with the 2023 biennial update to the Illinois NLRS, nutrient loads were estimated using data from the U.S. Geological Survey continuous monitoring stations rather than the original Illinois EPA...
Evaluating water-quality conditions in the mainstem and tidal reaches of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts, June to September 2020
Kaitlin L. Laabs, Casey Beaudoin, Jason R. Sorenson, Alex Bissell
2023, Data Report 1166
In summer and early fall (June to September) 2020, water-quality data were collected at 13 stations along the mainstem of the Merrimack River and into the Merrimack River estuary. The data are allocated among three different datasets: discrete water sample data, discrete vertical profile data, and continuous data. The collective...
Total shortening estimates across the western Greater Caucasus Mountains from balanced cross sections and area balancing
Charles Cashman Trexler, Eric S. Cowgill, Dylan A Vasey, Nathan A. Niemi
2023, Tektonika (1) 198-208
The Greater Caucasus orogen forms the northern edge of the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone. Although the orogen has long been assumed to exhibit dominantly thick-skinned style deformation via reactivation of high-angle extensional faults, recent work suggests the range may have accommodated several hundred kilometers or more of shortening...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Travis L. Wooten, Betty R. Euliss
2023, Professional Paper 1842-LL
Keys to Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) management are providing large areas of suitable habitat (for example, native or tame grasslands of moderate vegetative height and density, low shrub density, and moderate litter and forb cover), and protecting nesting habitat from disturbance during the breeding season. Bobolinks have been reported to use...
Preliminary geologic map of the Southern Santa Rosa Mountains and Borrego Badlands, San Diego County, Southern California
Jarg R. Pettinga, Stephanie L. Dudash, Pamela M. Cossette
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1076
This investigation delineates the geologic framework of an area of 75 square kilometers (km2) located west of the Salton Sea in southern California (fig. 1, on sheet 1). The study area encompasses the south flank of the Santa Rosa Mountains and the eastern part of the Borrego Badlands (sheet 1)....
Your land, your water—Using research to guide conservation practices on local farms in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
James S. Webber, John W. Clune, Alexander M. Soroka, Kenneth Hyer
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3050
Agricultural lands are an important part of the economy and heritage of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and are a focus of conservation activities. Streams and rivers around farms provide communities with drinking water and recreational opportunities, but these local benefits can be impaired by elevated nutrient and sediment concentrations. Compared...
Influence of a guide net on the presence and behavior of fish near the selective water withdrawal structure in Lake Billy Chinook, Oregon, 2022
Collin D. Smith, Tyson W. Hatton
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1090
Imaging sonar was used to assess the influence of a fish guidance net, installed at the entrances to the selective water withdrawal (SWW) intake structure, in the forebay of Round Butte Dam, Oregon, on behavior, abundance, and timing of fish during the spring of 2022. The purposes of the SWW...
An amplicon genotyping panel suitable for species identification and population genetics in sauger (Sander canadensis) and walleye (Sander vitreus)
Jared Joseph Homola, Wesley A. Larson, Paul Albosta
2023, Conservation Genetics Resources (16) 103-110
Sauger (Sander canadensis) and walleye (Sander vitreus) are closely related North American fish species that are often managed by fishery agencies throughout their ranges. However, genotyping resources for sauger are presently limited to a small set of microsatellite loci. We evaluated whether primers in an existing walleye genotyping-in-thousands panel could...
Examining the complex relations between climate and streamflow in the mid-atlantic region of the United States
Karen C. Rice, Christopher A. Mason, Aaron L. Mills
2023, Environmental Research Communications (5)
We explored the complex relations between climate and streamflow in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. In 124 watersheds across this region, we quantified spatial and temporal variation in air temperature (AT), precipitation (P), and streamflow (Q) from 1981 through 2020. Upward directional trends in monthly...
