From anecdotes to quantification: Advances in characterizing volcanic eruption impacts on the built environment
Natalia I. Deligne, Susanna F. Jenkins, Elinor S. Meredith, George T. Williams, Graham S. Leonard, Carol Stewart, Thomas M. Wilson, Sebastien Biass, Daniel M. Blake, Russell J. Blong, Costanza Bonadonna, Rodrigo Calderon, Josh L. Hayes, David M. Johnston, Ben M. Kennedy, Christina R. Magill, Robin Spence, Kristi L. Wallace, John Wardman, Alanna M. Weir, Grant Wilson, Giulio Zuccaro
2021, Bulletin of Volcanology (84)
Over the past 20 years, our understanding of volcanic eruption impacts on the built environment has transformed from being primarily observational with small datasets to one grounded in field investigations, laboratory experiments, and quantitative modeling, with an emphasis on stakeholder collaboration and co-creation. Here, we summarize key...
Plant community succession following ungulate exclusion in a temperate rainforest
Andrea Woodward, Kurt Jenkins, Mark E Harmon
2021, Ecosphere (12)
Ecosystem structure and processes of coastal temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest are thought to be strongly influenced by herbivory primarily of Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) and secondarily of Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus). Two large (0.5-ha) exclosures were built in old-growth coniferous rainforest...
Fatal infection with Versteria sp. in a muskrat, with implications for human health
Kevin D. Niedringhaus, Laken S. Ganoe, Matthew Lovallo, W. David Walter, Michael J. Yabsley, Justin Brown
2021, Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation (34) 314-318
The Taeniidae tapeworms are a family of helminths that have a similar life cycle, with intermediate hosts developing characteristic cysts in visceral organs. We describe here a case in Pennsylvania, USA, of fatal Versteria infection in a muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), which, to our knowledge, has not been reported to develop disease associated with infection....
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Betty R. Euliss
2021, Professional Paper 1842-Q
The key to Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) management is providing large grasslands and wetlands, particularly those that can support high densities of voles (Microtus species). Short-eared Owls have been reported to use habitats with 30–90 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 7–47 cm visual obstruction reading, 31–85 percent grass cover, 8–26...
Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) fine-scale habitat selection and preference, Kootenai River near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 2017
Ryan L. Fosness, Taylor J. Dudunake, Richard R. McDonald, Ryan S. Hardy, Shawn Young, Susan Ireland, Gregory C. Hoffman
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5132
To quantify fine-scale Kootenai River white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) staging and spawning habitat selection and preference within a recently restored reach of the Kootenai River, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, integrated acoustic telemetry data with two-dimensional hydraulic model simulations within a...
Growth, survival, and cohort formation of juvenile Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir, California—2019 Monitoring Report
Ryan J. Bart, Caylen M. Kelsey, Summer M. Burdick, Marshal S. Hoy, Carl O. Ostberg
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1119
Populations of federally endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir (hereinafter, Clear Lake), California, are experiencing long-term decreases in abundance. Upper Klamath Lake populations are decreasing not only due to adult mortality, which is relatively low, but...
Synthesis of habitat availability and carrying capacity research to support water management decisions and enhance conditions for Pacific salmon in the Willamette River, Oregon
Tobias J. Kock, Russell W. Perry, Gabriel S. Hansen, James White, Laurel E. Stratton Garvin, J. Rose Wallick
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1114
Flow management is complex in the Willamette River Basin where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns and operates a system of 13 dams and reservoirs (hereinafter Willamette Project), which are spread throughout three large tributaries including the Middle Fork Willamette, McKenzie, and Santiam Rivers. The primary purpose of...
Estimating actual evapotranspiration over croplands using vegetation index methods and dynamic harvested area
Neda Abbasi, Hamideh Nouri, Kamel Didan, Armando Barreto Munez, Sattar Chavoshi Borujeni, Hamidreza Salemi, Christian Opp, Stefan Siebert, Pamela L. Nagler
2021, Remote Sensing (13)
Advances in estimating actual evapotranspiration (ETa) with remote sensing (RS) have contributed to improving hydrological, agricultural, and climatological studies. In this study, we evaluated the applicability of Vegetation-Index (VI) -based ETa (ET-VI) for mapping and monitoring drought in arid agricultural systems in a region where a lack...
Golden eagle population surveys in the vicinity of the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, California, 2014–21
J. David Wiens, Patrick S. Kolar
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1107
Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are among the highest profile species killed by collisions with wind turbines at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA) in the northern Diablo Range of west-central California. Understanding the distribution, site occupancy, and nesting status of eagles near the APWRA is needed to identify...
Whence Orycteropus? The correct authorship and date for the generic name of the aardvark (Mammalia, Tubulidentata, Orycteropodidae)
Neal Woodman
2021, Bionomina (25) 21-34
All else being equal, the principle of priority in zoological taxonomic nomenclature gives precedence to the earliest name for a particular taxon. Determining the origin of some late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century taxonomic names, however, can be vexing, particularly when the history of a name was never completely documented in...
Paleohydrological context for recent floods and droughts in the Fraser River Basin, British Columbia, Canada
Rebecca Lynn Brice, Bethany Coulthard, Inga Homfeld, Laura Dye, Kevin Anchukaitis
2021, Environmental Research Letters (16)
The recent intensification of floods and droughts in the Fraser River Basin (FRB) of British Columbia has had profound cultural, ecological, and economic impacts that are expected to be exacerbated further by anthropogenic climate change. In part due to short instrumental runoff records, the long-term stationarity of...
Streamflow response to potential changes in climate in the Upper Rio Grande Basin
C. David Moeser, Shaleene B. Chavarria, Adrienne M. Wootten
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5138
The Rio Grande is a vital water source for the southwestern States of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas and for northern Mexico. The river serves as the primary source of water for irrigation in the region, has many environmental and recreational uses, and is used by more than 13 million...
Groundwater chemistry, hydrogeologic properties, bioremediation potential, and three-dimensional numerical simulation of the sand and gravel aquifer at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, near Milton, Florida, 2015–20
James Landmeyer, Eric D. Swain, Carole D. Johnson, John T. Lisle, W. Scott McBride, David H. Chung, Michael A. Singletary
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5124
The U.S. Geological Survey completed a study between 2015 and 2020 of groundwater contamination in the sand and gravel aquifer at a Superfund site in northwestern Florida. Groundwater-quality samples were collected from representative monitoring wells located along a groundwater-flow pathway and analyzed in the field and laboratory. In general, ambient...
Substrate particle-size distribution, dissolved-oxygen concentrations, sediment temperatures, and groundwater/surface-water exchange in shoreline spawning habitat of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) of Lake Ozette, Western Washington
Andrew S. Gendaszek, Rich W. Sheibley
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5134
Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) spawn at beaches along Lake Ozette’s shoreline and within its tributary streams including Umbrella Creek and Big River in western Washington. The tributary-spawning aggregate of the Lake Ozette sockeye salmon population has been increasing from very low abundance through hatchery supplementation, but the beach-spawning...
Evaluating hydrophones for detecting underwater-calling frogs
Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Patrick J. Wolff, Aaron N. Rice
2021, Herpetological Conservation and Biology (16) 513-524
Amphibians are declining and disappearing worldwide at an alarming rate, emphasizing the need for accurate surveys to document the distribution and abundance of this imperiled taxon. Automated recorders are a powerful tool for surveyors to continuously monitor for calling amphibians. However, we are discovering that many species of frog call...
Ontogenetic shifts from social to experiential learning drive avian migration timing
Briana Abrahms, Claire S. Teitelbaum, Thomas Mueller, Sarah J. Converse
2021, Nature Communications (12)
Migrating animals may benefit from social or experiential learning, yet whether and how these learning processes interact or change over time to produce observed migration patterns remains unexplored. Using 16 years of satellite-tracking data from 105 reintroduced whooping cranes, we reveal an interplay between social and experiential learning in migration...
Foreword to this special issue on climate change and the critical zone geophysics
Dan R. Glaser, Stephanie R. James
2021, FastTIMES
Welcome to this special issue on the use of geophysics in climate change and critical zone (CZ) research. The importance of these research areas cannot be overstated, and yet when we were selecting contributions for this special issue, we wrestled with the fundamental question: are climate change and the critical zone...
Oral sylvatic plague vaccine does not adequately protect prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) for endangered black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) conservation
Marc R. Matchett, Thomas Stanley, Matthew F. McCollister, David A. Eads, Jesse Boulerice, Dean E. Biggins
2021, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases (21) 921-940
The plague bacterium Yersinia pestis is lethal to endangered black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes, BFF) and the prairie dogs (Cynomys spp., PD) on which they depend for habitat and prey. We assessed the effectiveness of an oral sylvatic plague vaccine delivered in baits to black-tailed PD (Cynomys ludovicianus, BTPD) from 2013...
Predicting thermal responses of an Arctic lake to whole-lake warming manipulation
Qunhui Zhang, Jiming Jin, Phaedra E. Budy, Sarah E. Null, Xiaochun Wang, Casey A. Pennock
2021, Geophysical Research Letters (48)
We investigated how lake thermal processes responded to whole lake warming manipulation in an arctic lake through observations and numerical modeling. The warming manipulation was conducted by artificially heating the epilimnion as a proxy for climate warming. We performed numerical modeling with an improved lake scheme based on the Community...
Integrated science for the study of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment—A strategic science vision for the U.S. Geological Survey
Andrea K. Tokranov, Paul M. Bradley, Michael J. Focazio, Douglas B. Kent, Denis R. LeBlanc, Jeff W. McCoy, Kelly L. Smalling, Jeffery A. Steevens, Patricia L. Toccalino
2021, Circular 1490
Concerns related to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in sources of drinking water and in natural and engineered environments have captured national attention over the last few decades. This report provides an overview of the science gaps that exist in the fields of study related to PFAS that are relevant...
Pelagic forage versus abiotic factors as drivers of walleye growth in northern Wisconsin lakes
Austin M. Noring, Greg G. Sass, Stephen R. Midway, Justin A. VanDeHey, Joshua K. Raabe, Daniel A. Isermann, Jeffrey M. Kampa, Timothy P. Parks, John Lyons, Martin J. Jennings
2021, Advances in Limnology (66) 207-223
Understanding ecological relationships among fishes and their environments are important for informing management policies. We conducted a statewide assessment of cisco (Coregonus artedi) in inland lakes of Wisconsin to better understand the status of this pelagic, coldwater forage fish. We then used long-term (2005–2014), standardized walleye (Sander vitreus) survey data...
Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations of the Williston Basin Province, North Dakota and Montana, 2021
Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Sarah E. Gelman, Christopher J. Schenk, Cheryl A. Woodall, Andrea D. Cicero, Ronald M. Drake II, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Thomas M. Finn, Michael H. Gardner, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Phuong A. Le, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kira K. Timm, Scott S. Young
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3058
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 4.3 billion barrels of oil and 4.9 trillion cubic feet of gas (associated) in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations of the Williston Basin Province, North Dakota and Montana....
Historic coregonine habitat use and assessment of larval nursery locations in Lake Erie
Hannah M Schaefer, Edward F. Roseman, Robin L. DeBruyne, Christopher Vandergoot, James S. Diana
2021, Advances in Limnology (66) 245-259
Coregonine fishes (Coregonus spp.) are important components of Great Lake food webs and support lucrative commercial and recreational fisheries. Due to a combination of several factors including habitat loss, over-exploitation, and introduction of exotic species, the distribution and abundance of coregonines have been reduced. Examples of these declines are...
Export of pelagic fish larvae from a large Great Lakes connecting channel
Edward F. Roseman, Mark DuFour, Jeremy Pritt, J. Fischer, Robin DeBruyne, David Bennion
2021, Advances in Limnology (66)
The St. Clair-Detroit River System is located in the heart of the North American Laurentian Great Lakes, connecting lakes Huron and Erie, contributing over 90% of the inflow to Lake Erie, and providing spawning habitat for many fishes including walleye (Sander vitreus), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and lake whitefish (Coregonus...
Effects of low pH on the coral reef cryptic invertebrate communities near CO2 vents in Papua New Guinea
Laetitia Plaisance, Kenan O. Matterson, Katharina Fabricius, Sergei V. Drovetski, Christoph F. J. Meyer, Nancy Knowlton
2021, PLoS ONE (16)
Small cryptic invertebrates (the cryptofauna) are extremely abundant, ecologically important, and species rich on coral reefs. Ongoing ocean acidification is likely to have both direct effects on the biology of these organisms, as well as indirect effects through cascading impacts on their habitats and trophic relationships. Naturally acidified habitats have...
