Extent of impact of deep-sea nodule mining midwater plumes is influenced by sediment loading, turbulence and thresholds
Carlos Munoz-Royo, Thomas Peacock, Matthew Alford, Jerome Smith, Arnaud Le Boyer, Chinmay Kulkarni, Pierre Lermusiaux, Patrick Haley, C Mirabito, Dayang Wang, Eric Adams, Raphael Ouillon, Alexander Breugem, Boudewijn Decrop, Thijs Lanckreit, Rohit Supekar, Andrew Rzeznik, Amy Gartman, Se-Jong Ju
2021, Communications Earth & Environment (2)
Deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining research activity has substantially increased in recent years, but the expected level of environmental impact is still being established. One environmental concern is the discharge of a sediment plume into the midwater column. We performed a dedicated field study using sediment from...
Comparison of aerial thermal infrared imagery and helicopter surveys of bison (Bison bison) in Grand Canyon National Park, USA
Jacob Daniel Hennig, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Miranda Terwilliger, Gregory W Holm, Jeffrey L. Laake
2021, Sensors (21)
Aerial thermal infrared (TIR) surveys are an attractive option for estimating abundances of large mammals inhabiting extensive and heterogenous terrain. Compared to standard helicopter or fixed-wing aerial surveys, TIR flights can be conducted at higher altitudes translating into greater spatial coverage and increased observer safety; however, monetary costs are much...
Climate change is creating a mismatch between protected areas and suitable habitats for frogs and birds in Puerto Rico
Marconi Campos-Cerqueira, Adam Terando, Brent Murray, Jaime A. Collazo, Mitchell Aide
2021, Biological Conservation (30) 3509-3528
Climate change is altering the spatial distribution of many species around the world. In response, we need to identify and protect suitable areas for a large proportion of the fauna so that they persist through time. This exercise must also evaluate the ability of existing protected areas to provide safe...
Evaluation of a modified rapid viability-polymerase chain reaction method for Bacillus atrophaeus spores in water matrices
Rebecca N. Bushon, Amie M.G. Brady, Christopher M. Kephart, Vicente Gallardo
2021, Journal of Microbiological Methods (188)
A rapid method that provides information on the viability of organisms is needed to protect public health and ensure that remediation efforts following a release of a biological agent are effective. The rapid viability-polymerase chain reaction (RV-PCR) method combines broth culture...
Repeating caldera collapse events constrain fault friction at the kilometer scale
Paul Segall, Kyle R. Anderson
2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (118)
Fault friction is central to understanding earthquakes, yet laboratory rock mechanics experiments are restricted to, at most, meter scale. Questions thus remain as to the applicability of measured frictional properties to faulting in situ. In particular, the slip-weakening distance dc"><span id="MathJax-Span-2"...
Spectral damping scaling factors for horizontal components of ground motions from subduction earthquakes using NGA-Subduction data
Sanaz Rezaeian, L. Al Atik, N. M. Kuehn, N. A. Abrahamson, Y. Bozorgnia, S. Mazzoni, Kyle Withers, K. Campbell
2021, Earthquake Spectra (37) 2453-2492
This article develops global models of damping scaling factors (DSFs) for subduction zone earthquakes that are functions of the damping ratio, spectral period, earthquake magnitude, and distance. The Next Generation Attenuation for subduction earthquakes (NGA-Sub) project has developed the largest uniformly processed database of recorded ground motions...
Chemical and structural degradation of CH3NH3PbI3 propagate from PEDOT:PSS interface in the presence of humidity
Sara A Thomas, J. Clay Hamill Jr., Sarah Jane O. White, Yueh-Lin Loo
2021, Advanced Materials Interfaces (8)
Understanding interfacial reactions that occur between the active layer and charge-transport layers can extend the stability of perovskite solar cells. In this study, the exposure of methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) thin films prepared on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)-coated glass to 70% relative humidity (R.H.) leads to a perovskite...
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2018 annual report
Patrick J. Anderson, Cameron L. Aldridge, Jason S. Alexander, Timothy J. Assal, Steven Aulenbach, Zachary H. Bowen, Anna D. Chalfoun, Geneva W. Chong, Holly Copeland, David R. Edmunds, Steve Germaine, Tabitha A. Graves, Julie A. Heinrichs, Collin G. Homer, Christopher Huber, Aaron N. Johnston, Matthew J. Kauffman, Daniel J. Manier, Ryan R. McShane, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, Kirk A. Miller, Adrian P. Monroe, Michael S. O’Donnell, Anna Ortega, Annika W. Walters, Daniel J. Wieferich, Teal B. Wyckoff, Linda Zeigenfuss
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1067
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) was established in 2007 as a collaborative interagency partnership to develop and implement science-based conservation actions. During the past 11 years, partners from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), State and Federal land management agencies, universities, and the public have collaborated to implement a long-term (more...
System characterization report on Planet’s Dove Classic
Minsu Kim, Seonkyung Park, Cody Anderson, Gregory L. Stensaas
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1030-C
Executive SummaryThis report addresses system characterization of Planet’s Dove Classic satellites 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 methodology and procedures for characterization; present...
Evaluation of factors affecting migration success of adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the Yakima River, Washington, 2020
Tobias J. Kock, Amy C. Hansen, Scott D. Evans, Richard Visser, Brian Saluskin, Andrew Matala, Paul Hoffarth
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1075
A study was conducted during June–October 2020 to evaluate factors affecting the migration success of adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the Yakima River, Washington. A total of 144 adult sockeye salmon were tagged and released during the study. Most fish (112 fish) were collected, tagged with passive integrated...
The spatial-temporal relationship of blue-winged teal to domestic poultry: Movement state modeling of a highly mobile avian influenza host
John M. Humphreys, David C. Douglas, Andrew M. Ramey, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Catherine Soos, Paul T. Link, Patrick Walther, Diann Prosser
2021, Journal of Applied Ecology (58) 2040-2052
1. Migratory waterfowl facilitate long distance dispersal of zoonotic pathogens and are increasingly recognized as contributing to the geographic spread of avian influenza viruses (AIV). AIV are globally distributed and have the potential to produce highly contagious poultry disease, economically impact both large-scale and backyard poultry producers, and raise the...
Water–rock interaction and the concentrations of major, trace, and rare earth elements in hydrocarbon-associated produced waters of the United States
Carleton R. Bern, Justin E. Birdwell, Aaron M. Jubb
2021, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts (23) 1198-1219
Studies of co-produced waters from hydrocarbon extraction across multiple energy-producing basins have generally focused on major ions or a few select tracers, and studies that examine trace elements and involve laboratory experiments have generally been basin specific. Here, new perspective is sought through a broad analysis of concentration data...
Body size and digestive system shape resource selection by ungulates: A cross-taxa test of the forage maturation hypothesis
Saeideh Esmaeili, Brett R. Jesmer, Shannon E. Albeke, Ellen O. Aikens, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Sarah R.B. King, Briana Abrahms, Bayarbaatar Buuveibaatar, Jeffrey L. Beck, Randall Boone, Francesca Cagnacci, Simon Chamaillé-Jammes, Buyanaa Chimeddorj, Paul C. Cross, Nandintsetseg Dejid, Jagdag Enkhbyar, Ilya Fischhoff, Adam T. Ford, Kate Jenks, Mahmoud-Reza Hemami, Jacob D. Hennig, Takehiko Y. Ito, Petra Kaczensky, Matthew Kauffman, John D. C. Linnell, Badamjav Lkhagvasuren, John F. McEvoy, Joerg Melzheimer, Jerod A. Merkle, Thomas Mueller, Jeff Muntifering, Atle Mysterud, Kirk A. Olson, Manuela Panzacchi, John Payne, Luca Pedrotti, Geir R. Rauset, Daniel I. Rubenstein, Hall Sawyer, John D. Scasta, Johannes Signer, Melissa Songer, Jared A. Stabach, Seth Stapleton, Olav Strand, Siva R. Sundaresan, Dorj Usukhjargal, Ganbold Uuganbayar, John Fryxell, Jacob R. Goheen
2021, Ecology Letters (24) 2178-2191
The forage maturation hypothesis (FMH) states that energy intake for ungulates is maximised when forage biomass is at intermediate levels. Nevertheless, metabolic allometry and different digestive systems suggest that resource selection should vary across ungulate species. By combining GPS relocations with remotely sensed data on forage...
Modeling the bioavailability of nickel and zinc to Ceriodaphnia dubia and Neocloeon triangulifer in toxicity tests with Natural Waters
John M. Besser, Chris D. Ivey, Jeffery A. Steevens, Danielle M. Cleveland, David J. Soucek, Amy Dickinson, Eric J. Van Genderen, Adam C. Ryan, Chris E. Schlekat, Emily R. Garman, Elizabeth Middleton, Robert C. Santore
2021, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (40) 3049-3062
We studied biotic ligand model (BLM) predictions of toxicity of nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) in natural waters from Illinois and Minnesota USA which had combinations of pH, hardness, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) more extreme than 99.7% of waters in a nationwide database. We conducted 7-d chronic tests with Ceriodaphnia...
Hydrogeology of the Susquehanna River valley-fill aquifer system in the towns of Conklin and Kirkwood, Broome County, New York
John G. Van Hoesen, Paul M. Heisig, Shannon R. Fisher
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5026
The hydrogeology of the Susquehanna River valley-fill aquifer system and adjacent areas in south-central Broome County, New York, was investigated in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The study area encompasses roughly 55.5 square miles and includes the towns of Conklin and Kirkwood. Multiple small, perhaps...
Managing nonperennial headwater streams in temperate forests of the United States
Stephanie K. Kampf, Kathleen Dwyer, Matthew P. Fairchild, Jason B. Dunham, Craig D. Snyder, Kristin Jaeger, Charles H. Luce, John C. Hammond, Codie Wilson, Margaret Zimmer, Marielle Sidell
2021, Forest Ecology and Management (497)
Forest management guidelines are designed to protect water quality from unintended effects of land use changes such as timber harvest, mining, or forest road construction. Although streams that periodically cease to flow (nonperennial) drain the majority of forested areas, these streams are not consistently included in forest management guidelines. This...
Applying biodiversity metrics as surrogates to a habitat conservation plan
Kenneth G. Boykin, William G. Kepner, Alexa McKerrow
2021, Environments (8)
Unabated urbanization has led to environmental degradation and subsequent biodiversity loss across the globe. As an outcome of unmitigated land use, multi-jurisdictional agencies have developed land use plans that attempt to protect threatened or endangered species across selected areas by which some trade-offs between harm to species and additional conservation...
Interlaboratory comparison of SARS-CoV2 molecular detection assays in use by U.S. veterinary diagnostic laboratories
Kaiping Deng, Steffen Uhlig, Hon S. Ip, Mary Lea Killian, Laura Goodman, Sarah Nemser, Jodie Ulaszek, Shannon Pickens, Robert Newkirk, Matthew Kmet, Kirsten Frost, Karina Hettwer, Bertrand Colson, Kapil Nichani, Anja Schlier, Andriy Tkachenko, Ravinder Reddy, Renate Reimshuessel
2021, Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation (33) 1039-1051
The continued search for intermediate hosts and potential reservoirs for SARS-CoV2 makes it clear that animal surveillance is critical in outbreak response and prevention. Real-time RT-PCR assays for SARS-CoV2 detection can easily be adapted to different host species. U.S. veterinary diagnostic laboratories have used the CDC assays...
Sage-grouse population dynamics are adversely impacted by overabundant feral horses
Peter S. Coates, Shawn T. O’Neil, Diana A. Munoz, Ian Dwight, John C. Tull
2021, Journal of Wildlife Management (85) 1132-1149
In recent decades, feral horse (Equus caballus; horse) populations increased in sagebrush (Artimesia spp.) ecosystems, especially within the Great Basin, to the point of exceeding maximum appropriate management levels (AMLmax), which were set by land administrators to balance resource use by feral horses, livestock, and wildlife. Concomitantly,...
Golden Eagle dietary shifts following wildfire and shrub loss have negative consequences for nestling survivorship
Julie A. Heath, Michael N. Kochert, Karen Steenhof
2021, Ornithological Applications (123)
Wildfires and invasive species have caused widespread changes in western North America’s shrub-steppe landscapes. The bottom–up consequences of degraded shrublands on predator ecology and demography remain poorly understood. We used a before–after paired design to study whether Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) diet and nestling survivorship changed following wildfires in...
The products of primary magma fragmentation finally revealed by pumice agglomerates
Thomas Giachetti, Kathy Trafton, Joshua Wiejaczka, James E. Gardner, James M. Watkins, Tom Shea, Heather M. Wright
2021, Geology (49) 1307-1311
Following rapid decompression in the conduit of a volcano, magma breaks into ash- to block-sized fragments, powering explosive sub-Plinian and Plinian eruptions that may generate destructive pyroclastic falls and flows. It is thus crucial to assess how magma breaks up into fragments. This...
The local responses of aquatic ecosystems to adjacent grassland conservation: Can streams of dreams exist in a degraded riverscape?
David A. Schumann, Katie N. B. Graeb, Jarrett Pfrimmer, Joshua D. Stafford, Steven R. Chipps
2021, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (31) 2481-2495
Landscape homogenization and the removal of riparian areas have altered stream ecosystems worldwide. Numerous conservation programmes attempt to improve water quality and increase instream habitat heterogeneity to elicit desired biological responses. However, the effectiveness of many conservation efforts on isolated stream fragments remains unknown, especially in grassland regions.The effects...
Response to Gard et al.'s (2021) Comments on the Critical Review “Polychlorinated Biphenyl Tissue-Concentration Thresholds for Survival, Growth, and Reproduction in Fish”
Jason P. Berninger, Donald E. Tillitt
2021, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (8) 2098-2109
This response is offered to the critique by Gard et al. (2021) of our meta-analysis of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-induced toxicity data in fish (Berninger and Tillitt 2019). Gard et al. (2021) offered numerous comments, the most substantive suggesting that 1) we should have added no-observable–adverse effect residue (NOAER) data from additional...
Drivers of seedling establishment success in dryland restoration efforts
Nancy Shackelford, Gustavo B. Paterno, Daniel E. Winkler, Todd E. Erickson, Elizabeth A. Leger, Lauren N. Svejcar, Martin F. Breed, Akasha M. Faist, Peter L. Harrison, Michael F. Curran, Qinfeng Guo, Anita Kirmer, Darin J. Law, Kevin Mganga, Seth M. Munson, Lauren M. Porensky, Raul Emiliano Quiroga, Peter Torok, Claire E. Wainwright, Ali Abdullahi, Matt A. Bahm, Elizabeth A. Ballenger, Nichole Barger, Owen W. Baughman, Carina Becker, Manuel Esteban Lucas-Borja, Chad S. Boyd, Carla M. Burton, Philip J. Burton, Eman Calleja, Peter J. Carrick, Alex Caruana, Charlie D. Clements, Kirk W. Davies, Balazs Deak, Jessica Drake, Sandra Dullau, Joshua Eldridge, Erin Espeland, Stephen E. Fick, Magda Garbowski, Enrique G. de la Riva, Peter J. Golos, Penelope A. Grey, Barry Heydenrych, Patricia M. Holmes, Jeremy J. James, Jayne Jonas-Bratten, Reka Kiss, Andrea T. Kramer, Julie E. Larson, Juan Lorite, C. Ellery Mayence, Luis Merino-Martin, Tamas Miglecz, Suanne Jane Milton, Thomas A. Monaco, Arlee M. Montalvo, Jose A. Navarro-Cano, Mark W. Paschke, Pablo Luis Peri, Monica L. Pokorny, Matthew J. Rinella, Nelmarie Saayman, Merilynn C. Schantz, Tina Parkhurst, Eric W. Seabloom, Katharine L. Stuble, Shauna M. Uselman, Orsolya Valko, Kari E. Veblen, Scott D. Wilson, Megan Wong, Zhiwei Xu, Katharine L. Suding
2021, Nature Ecology and Evolution (5) 1283-1290
Restoration of degraded drylands is urgently needed to mitigate climate change, reverse desertification and secure livelihoods for the two billion people who live in these areas. Bold global targets have been set for dryland restoration to restore millions of hectares of degraded land. These targets have...
Submerged aquatic vegetation habitat use of age-0 Florida bass Micropterus floridanus
Audrey Looby, Laura K. Reynolds, Carrie R. Adams, Stephen Walsh, Charles W. Martin
2021, Environmental Biology of Fishes (104) 947-958
Hatchery-raised, age-0 Florida bass Micropterus floridanus are commonly used for fish enhancement efforts to support popular recreational fisheries and are ecologically important as both a food source and consumer. Despite their importance and frequent use of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitats, critical information is lacking on the specific...
