Comparative status and assessment of Limulus polyphemus with emphasis on the New England and Delaware Bay populations
David Smith, Michael J. Millard, Ruth H. Carmichael
2009, Book chapter, Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs
Increases in harvest of the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) during the 1990s, particularly for whelk bait, coupled with decreases in species that depend on their eggs has reduced horseshoe crab abundance, threatened their ecological relationships, and dictated precautionary management of the horseshoe crab resource. Accordingly, population assessments and monitoring...
Behavior of steelhead fry in a laboratory stream is affected by fish density but not rearing environment
Stephen C. Riley, Christopher P. Tatara, Barry A. Berejikian, Thomas A. Flagg
2009, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (29) 1806-1818
We quantified the aggression, feeding, dominance, position choice, and territory size of naturally reared steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss fry stocked with two types of hatchery-reared fry (from conventional and enriched rearing environments) at two densities in experimental flumes to determine how rearing environment and fish density affect the behavior of steelhead...
The increasing wildfire and post-fire debris-flow threat in western USA, and implications for consequences of climate change
Susan H. Cannon, Jerry DeGraff
2009, Book chapter, This is a chapter in the book <i>Landslides � Disaster Risk Reduction</i>
In southern California and the intermountain west of the USA, debris flows generated from recently-burned basins pose significant hazards. Increases in the frequency and size of wildfires throughout the western USA can be attributed to increases in the number of fire ignitions, fire suppression practices, and climatic influences. Increased urbanization...
Integrating terrestrial LiDAR and stereo photogrammetry to map the Tolay lakebed in northern San Francisco Bay
Isa Woo, Rune Storesund Rune, John Y. Takekawa, Rachel J. Gardiner, Steve Ehret Steve
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation
The Tolay Creek Watershed drains approximately 3,520 ha along the northern edge of San Francisco Bay. Surrounded by a mosaic of open space conservation easements and public wildlife areas, it is one of the only watersheds in this urbanized estuary that is protected from its headwaters to the bay. Tolay...
Modeling fuel succession
Brett Davis, Jan W. Van Wagtendonk, Jen Beck, Kent A. van Wagtendonk
2009, Fire Management Today (69) 18-21
Surface fuels data are of critical importance for supporting fire incident management, risk assessment, and fuel management planning, but the development of surface fuels data can be expensive and time consuming. The data development process is extensive, generally beginning with acquisition of remotely sensed spatial data such as aerial photography...
Sexing California Clapper Rails using morphological measurements
Cory T. Overton, Michael L. Casazza, John Y. Takekawa, Tobias M. Rohmer
2009, North American Bird Bander (34) 58-64
California Clapper Rails (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) have monomorphic plumage, a trait that makes identification of sex difficult without extensive behavioral observation or genetic testing. Using 31 Clapper Rails (22 females, 9 males), caught in south San Francisco Bay, CA, and using easily measurable morphological characteristics, we developed a discriminant function...
Movement and habitat use of sika and white-tailed deer on Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland
Duane R. Diefenbach, Sonja Christensen
2009, Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR—2009/140
This research project was conducted to describe habitat use of sika deer (Cervus nippon) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and possibly attribute the effects of ungulate herbivory to specific deer species, if spatial separation in habitat use could be identified. Sturm (2007) conducted an exclosure study to document the effect...
A decade of U.S. Air Force bat strikes
Suzanne C. Peurach, Carla J. Dove, Laura Stepko
2009, Human-Wildlife Conflicts (3) 199-207
From 1997 through 2007, 821 bat strikes were reported to the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Safety Center by aircraft personnel or ground crew and sent to the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, for identification. Many samples were identified by macroscopic and or microscopic comparisons with bat specimens housed...
Primary factors affecting water quality and quantity in four watersheds in Eastern Puerto Rico
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert F. Stallard
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
As part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB) program, four small watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico were monitored to identify and evaluate the effects of geology, landcover, atmospheric deposition, and other factors on stream water quality and quantity. Two catchments are located on coarse-grained...
Facilitating adaptive management in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed through the use of online decision support tools
Cassandra Mullinx, Scott Phillips, Kelly Shenk, Paul Hearn, Olivia Devereux
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) is attempting to more strategically implement management actions to improve the health of the Nation’s largest estuary. In 2007 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) CBP office began a joint effort to develop a suite of Internetaccessible decision-support tools and...
Aquatic ecosystems in Central Colorado are influenced by mineral forming processes and historical mining
T.S. Schmidt, S. E. Church, W.H. Clements, K.A. Mitchell, D. L. Fey, R. B. Wanty, P. L. Verplanck, Juan C.A. San, T. L. Klein, E.H. deWitt, B.W. Rockwell
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
Stream water and sediment toxicity to aquatic insects were quantified from central Colorado catchments to distinguish the effect of geologic processes which result in high background metals concentrations from historical mining. Our sampling design targeted small catchments underlain by rocks of a single lithology, which allowed the development of biological...
Responses of benthic macroinvertebrates to urbanization in nine metropolitan areas of the conterminous United States
T. F. Cuffney, G. McMahon, R. Kashuba, J. T. May, I.R. Waite
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
The effects of urbanization on benthic macroinvertebrates were investigated in nine metropolitan areas (Boston, MA; Raleigh, NC; Atlanta, GA; Birmingham, AL; Milwaukee–Green Bay, WI; Denver, CO; Dallas–Fort Worth, TX; Salt Lake City, UT; and Portland, OR) as a part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Program. Several...
Flowpath contributions of weathering products to stream fluxes at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Georgia
Norman E. Peters, Brent T. Aulenbach
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
Short-term weathering rates (chemical denudation) of primary weathering products were derived from an analysis of fluxes in precipitation and streamwater. Rainfall, streamflow (runoff), and related water quality have been monitored at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) since 1985. Regression relations of stream solute concentration of major ions including weathering...
Using high-frequency sampling to detect effects of atmospheric pollutants on stream chemistry
Stephen D. Sebestyen, James B. Shanley, Elizabeth W. Boyer
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
We combined information from long-term (weekly over many years) and short-term (high-frequency during rainfall and snowmelt events) stream water sampling efforts to understand how atmospheric deposition affects stream chemistry. Water samples were collected at the Sleepers River Research Watershed, VT, a temperate upland forest site that receives elevated atmospheric deposition...
Using a coupled groundwater/surfacewater model to predict climate-change impacts to lakes in the Trout Lake watershed, Northern Wisconsin
John F. Walker, Randall J. Hunt, Steven L. Markstrom, Lauren E. Hay, John Doherty
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR2009-5049)
A major focus of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Trout Lake Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB) project is the development of a watershed model to allow predictions of hydrologic response to future conditions including land-use and climate change. The coupled groundwater/surface-water model GSFLOW was chosen for this purpose because it...
Water velocity, turbulence, and migration rate of subyearling fall Chinook salmon in the free-flowing and impounded Snake River
Kenneth F. Tiffan, Tobias J. Kock, Craig A. Haskell, William P. Connor, R. Kirk Steinhorst
2009, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (138) 373-384
We studied the migratory behavior of subyearling fall Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in free-flowing and impounded reaches of the Snake River to evaluate the hypothesis that velocity and turbulence are the primary causal mechanisms of downstream migration. The hypothesis states that impoundment reduces velocity and turbulence and alters the migratory...
Evaluation of strobe lights to reduce turbine entrainment of juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Washington
Tobias J. Kock, Scott D. Evans, Theresa L. Liedtke, Dennis W. Rondorf, Mike Kohn
2009, Northwest Science (83) 308-314
We conducted a radiotelemetry evaluation to determine if strobe lights could be used to decrease turbine entrainment of juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Washington. We found that radio-tagged juvenile steelhead approached and entered two spillbays (one lighted, one unlighted) in equal proportions. However, the presence of strobe...
U.S. Geological Survey research in Handcart Gulch, Colorado—An alpine watershed with natural acid-rock drainage
Andrew H. Manning, Jonathan S. Caine, Philip L. Verplanck, Dana J. Bove, Katherine G. Kahn
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
Handcart Gulch is an alpine watershed along the Continental Divide in the Colorado Rocky Mountain Front Range. It contains an unmined mineral deposit typical of many hydrothermal mineral deposits in the intermountain west, composed primarily of pyrite with trace metals including copper and molybdenum. Springs and the trunk stream have...
Environmental effects of hydrothermal alteration and historical mining on water and sediment quality in Central Colorado
S. E. Church, D. L. Fey, T. L. Klein, T.S. Schmidt, R. B. Wanty, E.H. deWitt, B.W. Rockwell, Juan C.A. San
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted an environmental assessment of 198 catchments in a 54,000-km2 area of central Colorado, much of which is on Federal land. The Colorado Mineral Belt, a northeast-trending zone of historical base- and precious-metal mining, cuts diagonally across the study area. The investigation was intended to test...
Evaluating hydrological response to forecasted land-use change—scenario testing with the automated geospatial watershed assessment (AGWA) tool
William G. Kepner, Darius J. Semmens, Mariano Hernandez, David C. Goodrich
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
Envisioning and evaluating future scenarios has emerged as a critical component of both science and social decision-making. The ability to assess, report, map, and forecast the life support functions of ecosystems is absolutely critical to our capacity to make informed decisions to maintain the sustainable nature of our ecosystem services...
Engaging stakeholders for adaptive management using structured decision analysis
Elise R. Irwin, D. Kathryn, Mickett Kennedy
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
Adaptive management is different from other types of management in that it includes all stakeholders (versus only policy makers) in the process, uses resource optimization techniques to evaluate competing objectives, and recognizes and attempts to reduce uncertainty inherent in natural resource systems. Management actions are negotiated by stakeholders, monitored results...
An ecosystem services framework for multidisciplinary research in the Colorado River headwaters
D.J. Semmens, J.S. Briggs, D.A. Martin
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
A rapidly spreading Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic is killing lodgepole pine forest in the Rocky Mountains, causing landscape change on a massive scale. Approximately 1.5 million acres of lodgepoledominated forest is already dead or dying in Colorado, the infestation is still spreading rapidly, and it is expected that in excess...
Selected achievements, science directions, and new opportunities for the WEBB small watershed research program
Pierre D. Glynn, Matthew C. Larsen, Earl A. Greene, Heather L. Buss, David W. Clow, Randall J. Hunt, M. Alisa Mast, Sheila F. Murphy, Norman E. Peters, Stephen D. Sebestyen, James B. Shanley, John F. Walker
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
Over nearly two decades, the Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets (WEBB) small watershed research program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has documented how water and solute fluxes, nutrient, carbon, and mercury dynamics, and weathering and sediment transport respond to natural and humancaused drivers, including climate, climate change, and atmospheric...
Adaptive management of watersheds and related resources
Byron K. Williams
2009, Conference Paper, Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation (SIR 2009-5049)
The concept of learning about natural resources through the practice of management has been around for several decades and by now is associated with the term adaptive management. The objectives of this paper are to offer a framework for adaptive management that includes an operational definition, a description of conditions...
Linking habitat quality with trophic performance of steelhead along forest gradients in the South Fork Trinity River Watershed, California
Sarah G. McCarthy, Jeffrey J. Duda, John M. Emlen, Garth R. Hodgson, David A. Beauchamp
2009, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (138) 506-521
We examined invertebrate prey, fish diet, and energy assimilation in relation to habitat variation for steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss (anadromous rainbow trout) and rainbow trout in nine low-order tributaries of the South Fork Trinity River, northern California. These streams spanned a range of environmental conditions, which allowed us to use bioenergetics...
