Range-wide persistence of the endangered arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus) for 20+ years following a prolonged drought
Cynthia Joan Hitchcock, Elizabeth Gallegos, Adam R. Backlin, Russell Barabe, Peter H. Bloom, Kimberly Boss, Cheryl S. Brehme, Christopher W. Brown, Denise Clark, Elizabeth R. Clark, Kevin Cooper, Julie Donnell, Edward L Ervin, Peter Famolaro, Kim M. Guilliam, Jaquelyn Hancock, Nicholas Hess, Steven Howard, Valerie Hubbartt, Patrick Lieske, Robert E. Lovich, Tritia Matsuda, Katherin Meyer-Wilkins, Kamarul Muri, Barry Nerhus, Jeffrey A. Nordland, Brock Ortega, Robert Packard, Ruben Ramirez, Sam C. Stewart, Samuel Sweet, Manna L. Warburton, Jeffrey Wells, Ryan Winkleman, Kirsten Winter, Brian Zitt, Robert N. Fisher
2022, Ecology and Evolution (12)
Prolonged drought due to climate change has negatively impacted amphibians in southern California, U.S.A. Due to the severity and length of the current drought, agencies and researchers had growing concern for the persistence of the arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus), an endangered endemic amphibian in this region. Range-wide surveys for this...
Sensitivity of headwater streamflow to thawing permafrost and vegetation change in a warming Arctic
Joshua C. Koch, Ylva Sjoberg, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Michael P. Carey, Pamela Sullivan, A. Terskaia
2022, Environmental Research Letters (17)
Climate change has the potential to impact headwater streams in the Arctic by thawing permafrost and subsequently altering hydrologic regimes and vegetation distribution, physiognomy and productivity. Permafrost thaw and increased subsurface flow have been inferred from the chemistry of large rivers, but there is limited empirical evidence of the impacts...
Improving the Development Pipelines for USGS Earthquake Hazards Program Real-Time and Scenario Products
Brad T. Aagaard, David J. Wald, Eric M. Thompson, Mike Hearne, Lisa Sue Schleicher
2022, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 12th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering
The real-time and scenario products of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program, such as the ComCat catalog, Did You Feel It?, ShakeMap, ShakeCast, and PAGER, are highly visible and used by a wide variety of stakeholders. We propose two significant enhancements to the development pipelines for the Earthquake...
The economic effects of the HayWired Scenario using the association of Bay Area governments regional growth forecast—A focus on network disruption and resilience
Cynthia Kroll, Bobby Lu, Anne Wein, Aksel Olsen
2022, Conference Paper
This paper describes how impacts to infrastructure networks within the San Francisco Bay Area may exacerbate the effects of building damage and how policies addressing these networks can improve resilience before and after the earthquake. The analysis uses existing modeling techniques...
Extreme rainstorms drive exceptional organic carbon export from forested humid-tropical rivers in Puerto Rico
Kasey E. Clark, Robert Stallard, Sheila F. Murphy, Martha A. Scholl, Grizelle Gonzalez, Alain F. Plante, William H. McDowell
2022, Nature Communications (13)
Extreme rainfall events in the humid-tropical Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico export the bulk of suspended sediment and particulate organic carbon. Using 25 years of river carbon and suspended sediment data, which targeted hurricanes and other large rainstorms, we estimated biogenic particulate organic carbon yields of 65 ± 16...
Noninvasive sampling of mountain lion hair using modified foothold traps
Tricia S. Rossettie, Travis W. Perry, James W. Cain III
2022, Wildlife Society Bulletin (46)
Genetic analysis of non-invasively obtained samples is an increasingly affordable option for many wildlife studies, but it has remained difficult to obtain high-quality samples from many species. We modified 8” Belisle foot snares (Belisle Enterprises, Quebec, Canada) to non-invasively obtain mountain lion (Puma concolor) hair samples in unbaited trail sets....
System characterization report on PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa (PRISMA)
Minsu Kim, Seonkyung Park, Cody Anderson, Gregory L. Stensaas
2022, Open-File Report 2021-1030-K
Executive SummaryThis report addresses system characterization of the Italian Space Agency’s PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa (PRISMA) and is part of a series of system characterization reports produced and delivered by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Cal/Val Center of Excellence. These reports present and detail the...
Development of continuous bathymetry and two-dimensional hydraulic models for the Willamette River, Oregon
James S. White, J. Rose Wallick
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5025
The Willamette River is home to at least 69 species of fish, 33 of which are native, including Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss). These fish need suitable hydraulic conditions, such as water depth and velocity, to fulfill various stages of their life. Hydraulic conditions are driven...
Introduction to the Delta Smelt flow alteration white papers
Larry R. Brown
2022, Book chapter, IEP technical report #98: White papers providing a synthesis of knowledge relating to Delta Smelt biology in the San Francisco Estuary, emphasizing effects of flow
The management of the quantity and timing of freshwater flow into and through the San Francisco Estuary (SFE) is a perennial source of controversy in California. It is well known that freshwater outflow is a major environmental driver in estuarine ecosystems, including the SFE. However, the estuary is also the...
Dynamic abiotic habitat
Larry R. Brown, Steven B. Slater, Michael L. MacWilliams
2022, Book chapter, IEP technical report #98: White papers providing a synthesis of knowledge relating to Delta Smelt biology in the San Francisco Estuary, emphasizing effects of flow
The factors affecting an organism can be divided into two general classes, abiotic and biotic. Abiotic factors include features of the physical and chemical environment, such as climate, water movement, and many aspects of water quality. Biotic factors refer to those involving living organisms and their interactions, such as the...
Conceptual models of groundwater flow in the Grand Canyon region, Arizona
Jacob E. Knight, Peter W. Huntoon
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5037
The conceptual models of groundwater flow outlined herein synthesize what is known and hypothesized about the groundwater-flow systems that discharge to the Grand Canyon of Arizona. These models interpret the hydrogeologic characteristics and hydrologic dynamics of the physical systems into a framework for understanding key aspects of the physical systems...
Harmful algal blooms in the Alaskan Arctic: An emerging threat as oceans warm
Donald Anderson, Evangeline Fachon, Katherine Hubbard, Kathi Lefebvre, Peigen Lin, Robert Pickart, Mindy Richlen, Gay Sheffield, Caroline R. Van Hemert
2022, Oceanography (35)
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) present an emerging threat to human and ecosystem health in the Alaskan Arctic. Two HAB toxins are of concern in the region: saxitoxins (STXs), a family of compounds produced by the dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella, and domoic acid (DA), produced by multiple species in the diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia. These...
Detection of Splendidofilaria sp. (Onchocercidae:Splendidofilariinae) Microfilaria within Alaskan ground-dwelling birds in the grouse subfamily tetraoninae using taqman probe-based real-time PCR
Stephen E. Greiman, Robert E. Wilson, Briana Sesmundo, Jack Reakoff, Sarah A. Sonsthagen
2022, Journal of Parasitology (108) 192-198
Grouse and ptarmigan (Galliformes) harbor fairly diverse helminth faunas that can impact the host's health, including filarial nematodes in the genus Splendidofilaria. As host and parasite distributions are predicted to shift in response to recent climate change, novel parasites may be introduced into a region...
Great diversity of KSα sequences from bat-associated microbiota suggests novel sources of uncharacterized natural products
Paris S. Hamm, Jennifer J.M. Hathaway, Ara S. Winter, Nicole A. Caimi, Debbie C. Buecher, Ernest W. Valdez, Diana E. Northup
2022, FEMS Microbiology Ecology (3)
Polyketide synthases (PKSs) are multidomain enzymes in microorganisms that synthesize complex, bioactive molecules. PKS II systems are iterative, containing only a single representative of each domain: ketosynthase alpha (KSα">α�), ketosynthase beta and the acyl carrier protein....
A review of empirical evidence that examines the effectiveness of harvest regulation evaluations in freshwater systems: A systematic, standardized collaborative approach
Kristen Chestnut- Faull, Martha E. Mather, Quinton Phelps, Dan Shoup
2022, Fisheries Magazine (47) 423-434
Harvest regulations are important tools that fisheries professionals use to impact fish abundance, alter population size structure, and improve fishing opportunities. Fisheries professionals often assume that specialized harvest regulations will have specific effects on target fish populations, but these predictions are not always realized because...
Resource selection and species interactions between native and non-native fishes in a simulated stream system
Philip R. Branigan, Michael Quist, Bradley Shepard, Susan Ireland
2022, Fisheries Management and Ecology (29) 627-637
Effective fishery management necessitates understanding of resource partitioning by fishes that inhabit complex systems composed of biotic and abiotic features. Evaluations of non-native species introductions have continually demonstrated adverse effects associated with abundance and distribution of native fishes. Therefore, understanding resource selection and interactions between native and non-native species is...
Using microbial source tracking to identify fecal contamination sources in Lake Montauk on Long Island, New York
Tristen N. Tagliaferri, Shawn C. Fisher, Christopher M. Kephart, Natalie Cheung, Ariel P. Reed, Robert J. Welk
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5038
The U.S. Geological Survey worked in cooperation with the Concerned Citizens of Montauk and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the potential sources of fecal contamination entering Lake Montauk, an artificial embayment on the tip of the southern fork of Suffolk County, Long Island, New York....
Spatial effects in relation to reproductive performance of Common Murres (Uria aalge) at a re-established colony
Gerard J. McChesney, Julie L. Yee, Michael W. Parker, William M. Perry, Harry R. Carter, Richard T. Golightly, Stephen W. Kress
2022, Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation (50) 23-34
A main goal of seabird colony restoration is for the colony to become self-sustaining. To do so, elevated rates must be attained in (1) reproductive success and (2) recruitment by immigrants and birds produced at the colony. Thus, an understanding of the factors affecting reproductive success and recruitment at restoration...
Prescribed fire and other fuel-reduction treatments alter ground spider assemblages in a Southern Appalachian hardwood forest
Joshua W. Campbell, Steven Mark Grodsky, Marc Milne, Patrick Viguiera, Cynthia C. Viguiera, Emily Stern, Cathryn H. Greenberg
2022, Forest Ecology and Management (510)
Prescribed burns and understory thinnings are forest management practices aimed at reducing fuel loads to lessen wildfire threat in the Southern Appalachians, USA. Spiders play a critical role in forest ecosystems by controlling insect populations and providing an important food source for vertebrates. We used pitfall and colored pan traps...
Hawaiian forest bird conservation strategies for minimizing the risk of extinction: biological and biocultural considerations
Eben H. Paxton, Megan Laut, Stanton Enomoto, Michelle Bogardus
2022, Hawaii Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report 103
The iconic forest birds of Hawai‘i are facing a conservation crisis. Across the Hawaiian Islands, native forest birds have been experiencing population declines that have accelerated in the last one to two decades. While habitat loss, invasive species, and non-native predators have negatively affected forest bird species for hundreds of...
How effective is the Birdsbesafe® cat collar at reducing bird mortality by domestic cats?
M.B. Jensen, S.K. Willson, Abby Powell
2022, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (13) 182-191
The global decline of songbird populations is a well-recognized conservation issue. Domestic cats kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds each year in the United States alone—more than most other anthropogenic threats combined. As many pet owners are reluctant to keep their cats inside, collar-mounted antipredation devices for domestic cats may...
Potentiometric surface, 2014–15, and water-level differences, 2009 to 2014–15, in the Chicot equivalent aquifer system in southeastern Louisiana
C. Paul Frederick
2022, Scientific Investigations Map 3488
The U.S. Geological Survey constructed the potentiometric surface of the Upland terrace and upper Ponchatoula aquifers and the “400-foot” sand using the altitude of water levels from 121 wells measured January 2014 to March 2015. Differences in water levels in the Upland terrace and upper Ponchatoula aquifers and “400-foot” sand...
The role of satellite telemetry data in 21st century conservation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus)
Kristin L. Laidre, George M. Durner, Nicholas J Lunn, Eric V. Regehr, Todd C. Atwood, Karyn D. Rode, Jon Aars, Heli Routti, Oystein Wiig, Markus Dyck, Evan S. Richardson, Stephen D Atkinson, Stanislav Belikov, Ian Stirling
2022, Frontiers in Marine Science (9)
Satellite telemetry (ST) has played a critical role in the management and conservation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) over the last 50 years. ST data provide biological information relevant to subpopulation delineation, movements, habitat use, maternal denning, health, human-bear interactions, and accurate estimates of vital rates and abundance. Given that...
Aquatic-life criteria compared to concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in streams near Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, December 2015–August 2016
Roland W. Tollett
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5101
The primary focus of this study was to document cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in selected streams near the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Fort Polk Military Reservation and to compare those values to Federal and State aquatic-life criteria guidelines. The acute aquatic-life criteria used for...
Improved resolution across the Global Seismographic Network: A new era in low-frequency seismology
Adam T. Ringler, Robert E. Anthony, P. Thompson Davis, Carl Ebeling, K. Hafner, R. Mellors, S. Schneider, David C. Wilson
2022, The Seismic Record (2) 78-87
The Global Seismographic Network (GSN)—a global network of ≈150 very broadband stations—is used by researchers to study the free oscillations of the Earth (≈0.3–10 mHz) following large earthquakes. Normal‐mode observations can provide information about the radial density and anisotropic velocity structure of the Earth (including near the core–mantle boundary), but only...
