Gut microbial ecology of the Critically Endangered Fijian crested iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis): Effects of captivity status and host reintroduction on endogenous microbiomes
Samuel J. Eliades, Josehp C. Brown, Timothy J. Colston, Robert N. Fisher, Jone B. Niukula, Kim Gray, Jhabar Vadada, Sia Rasalato, Cameron D. Siler
2021, Ecology and Evolution (11) 4731-4743
Animals often exhibit distinct microbial communities when maintained in captivity as compared to when in the wild. Such differentiation may be significant in headstart and reintroduction programs where individuals spend some time in captivity before release into native habitats. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we (i)...
Rapid-response unsaturated zone hydrology: Small-scale data, small-scale theory, big problems
John R. Nimmo, Kimberlie Perkins, Michelle R. Plampin, Michelle A. Walvoord, Brian A. Ebel, Benjamin B. Mirus
2021, Frontiers in Earth Science (9)
The unsaturated zone (UZ) extends across the Earth’s terrestrial surface and is central to many problems related to land and water resource management. Flow of water through the UZ is typically thought to be slow and diffusive, such that it could attenuate fluxes and dampen variability between atmospheric...
Comparing sample bias correction methods for species distribution modeling using virtual species
Richard D. Inman, Janet Franklin, Todd Esque, Kenneth E. Nussear
2021, Ecosphere (12)
A key assumption in species distribution modeling (SDM) with presence‐background (PB) methods is that sampling of occurrence localities is unbiased and that any sampling bias is proportional to the background distribution of environmental covariates. This assumption is rarely met when SDM practitioners rely on federated museum...
The species–area relationship for a highly fragmented temperate river system
Leon M. Carl, Peter C. Esselman, Beth L Sparks-Jackson, Christopher C. Wilson
2021, Ecosphere (12)
Despite the importance of species–area relationships (SARs) to conservation, SARs in human‐fragmented rivers have received little attention. Our aim was to test for the presence and strength of SARs for littoral fish assemblages of an extensively dammed river in south‐central Ontario, Canada, and to examine long‐running hypotheses for the drivers...
Drivers of methane flux differ between lakes and reservoirs, complicating global upscaling efforts
Bridget Deemer, Meredith A. Holgerson
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences (126)
Methane is an important greenhouse gas with growing atmospheric concentrations. Freshwater lakes and reservoirs contribute substantially to atmospheric methane concentrations, but the magnitude of this contribution is poorly constrained. Uncertainty stems partially from whether the sites currently sampled represent the global population as well as incomplete knowledge of which environmental...
Evaluation and application of the Purge Analyzer Tool (PAT) to determine in-well flow and purge criteria for sampling monitoring wells at the Stringfellow Superfund site in Jurupa Valley, California, in 2017
Philip T. Harte, Tomas Perina, Kent Becher, Herb Levine, Daewon Rojas-Mickelson, Lesley Walther, Anthony A. Brown
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5140
The U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are developing analytical tools to assess the representativeness of groundwater samples from fractured-rock aquifers. As part of this effort, monitoring wells from the Stringfellow Superfund site in Jurupa Valley in Riverside County, California, approximately 50 miles east of Los Angeles, were...
High-resolution soil-moisture maps over landslide regions in northern California grassland derived From SAR backscattering coefficients
Tien-Hao Liao, Seung-bum Kim, Alexander L. Handwerger, Eric J. Fielding, Michael H. Cosh, William H. Schulz
2021, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing (14) 4547-4560
Slow-moving landslides are destabilized by accumulated precipitation and consequent soil moisture. Yet, the continuous high-resolution soil-moisture measurements needed to aid the understanding of landslide processes are generally absent in steep terrain. Here, we produce soil-moisture time-series maps for a seasonally active grassland landslide in the northern California coast ranges, USA,...
Fipronil pellets reduce flea abundance on black-tailed prairie dogs: Potential tool for plague management and black-footed ferret conservation
David A. Eads, Travis M. Livieri, Phillip Dobesh, Eddie Childers, Lauren Noble, Michele Vasquez, Dean E. Biggins
2021, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (57) 434-438
In western North America, sylvatic plague (a flea-borne disease) poses a significant risk to endangered black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) and their primary prey, prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.). Pulicides (flea-killing agents) can be used to suppress fleas and thereby manage plague. In South Dakota, US, we tested edible “FipBit” pellets,...
Physics‐based evaluation of the maximum magnitude of potential earthquakes induced by the Hutubi (China) underground gas storage
Guoyan Jiang, Lin Liu, Andrew J. Barbour, Renqi Lu, Hongfeng Yang
2021, JGR Solid Earth (126)
The world’s largest underground gas storage facility in Hutubi (HUGS), China, is a unique case where cyclic gas injection‐extraction induced both seismicity and ground deformation. To assess the potential for future induced seismicity, we develop a framework physically based on a well‐constrained hydro‐geomechanical model and on fully...
Reconnaissance of cumulative risk of pesticides and pharmaceuticals in Great Smoky Mountains National Park streams
Paul M. Bradley, Matt A. Kulp, Bradley J. Huffman, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly L. Smalling, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Jimmy Clark, Celeste A. Journey
2021, Science of the Total Environment (781)
The United States (US) National Park Service (NPS) manages protected public lands to preserve biodiversity. Exposure to and effects of bioactive organic contaminants in NPS streams are challenges for resource managers. Recent assessment of pesticides and pharmaceuticals in protected-streams within the urbanized NPS Southeast Region (SER) indicated the importance of...
Embryo deformities and nesting trends in Kemp’s ridley sea turtles Lepidochelys kempii before and after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Donna J. Shaver, Christian Gredzens, J. Shelby Walker, Céline A. J. Godard-Codding, Janet E. Yacabucci, Amy Frey, Peter H. Dutton, Christopher J. Schmitt
2021, Endangered Species Research (44) 277-289
Kemp’s ridley sea turtles Lepidochelys kempii were disproportionately affected by the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, which began on 20 April 2010. Embryo deformities were documented in inviable L. kempii eggs before (2008-2010) and after (2011-2013) the DWH spill in 2 Texas (USA) nesting areas (Upper Texas Coast and Padre Island National Seashore). Additional nesting trends,...
Hydroacoustic survey standardization: Inter-vessel differences in fish densities and potential effects of vessel avoidance
Mark D. DuFour, Patrick Kocovsky, J Deller, Paul W. Simonin, Lars G. Rudstam
2021, Fisheries Research (239)
Hydroacoustics is used broadly to assess fish populations in marine and freshwater systems. Large-scale surveys often employ multiple vessels to complete a survey. Vessels can be a source of variation in multi-vessel surveys, and accounting for this variation is critical to precise...
Investigation of algal toxins in a multispecies seabird die-off in the Bering and Chukchi seas
Caroline R. Van Hemert, Robert J. Dusek, Matthew M. Smith, Robert Kaler, Gay Sheffield, Lauren M. Divine, Kathy J. Kuletz, Susan Knowles, Julia S. Lankton, D. Ransom Hardison, R. Wayne Litaker, Timothy Jones, Hillary K. Burgess, Julia K. Parrish
2021, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (57) 399-407
Between 2014 and 2017, widespread seabird mortality events were documented annually in the Bering and Chukchi seas, concurrent with dramatic reductions of sea ice, warmer than average ocean temperatures, and rapid shifts in marine ecosystems. Among other changes in the marine environment, harmful algal blooms (HABs) that produce the neurotoxins...
Suitability of an upper Mississippi River tributary for invasive carp reproduction
Carlos A. Camacho, Christopher J. Sullivan, Michael J. Weber, Clay Pierce
2021, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (43) 12-24
Invasive carp are expanding throughout the upper Mississippi River basin and are of great concern due to their potential economic and ecological impacts. Identification of spawning locations provides critical information on recruitment sources to evaluate potential management strategies. Our objective was to create and validate a spawning habitat suitability model...
Assessment of continuous gas resources in the Horn River Basin, Cordova Embayment, and Liard Basin, Canada, 2019
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Thomas M. Finn, Phuong A. Le, Michael E. Brownfield, Kristen R. Marra, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Janet K. Pitman
2021, Fact Sheet 2020-3015
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 135.4 trillion cubic feet of continuous gas in Devonian–Mississippian shales in the Horn River Basin, Cordova Embayment, and Liard Basin of Canada....
Assessment of water quality and discharge in the Herring River, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, November 2015 to September 2017
Thomas G. Huntington, Alana B. Spaetzel, John A. Colman, Kevin D. Kroeger, Robert T. Bradley
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5120
The U.S. Geological Survey, Cape Cod National Seashore of the National Park Service, and Friends of Herring River cooperated from 2015 to 2017 to assess nutrient concentrations and fluxes across the ocean-estuary boundary at a dike on the Herring River in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. The purpose of this assessment was to...
Groundwater conditions and trends, 2009–19, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Jackson N. Mitchell, Todd K. Presley, Robert L. Carruth
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5129
Groundwater is the primary source of municipal water for Saipan. Nearly all groundwater for the municipal water supply is withdrawn from a freshwater-lens system with a limited amount of freshwater that is susceptible to saltwater intrusion. The status of Saipan’s groundwater resources has not been thoroughly assessed since 2003. The...
Exploration of the 2016 Yellowstone River fish kill and proliferative kidney disease in wild fish populations
Patrick Ross Hutchins, Adam Sepulveda, Hanna Hartikainen, Ken D. Staigmiller, Scott T. Opitz, Renee M. Yamamoto, Amberly Huttinger, Rick J. Cordes, Tammy Weiss, Lacey R. Hopper, Maureen K. Purcell, Beth Okamura
2021, Ecosphere (3)
Proliferative kidney disease (PKD) is an emerging disease that recently resulted in a large mortality event of salmonids in the Yellowstone River (Montana, USA). Total PKD fish mortalities in the Yellowstone River were estimated in the tens of thousands, which resulted in a multi‐week river closure and an estimated economic...
Assessment of contaminant trends in plumes and wells and monitoring network optimization at the Badger Army Ammunition Plant, Sauk County, Wisconsin
Matthew Pajerowski, Phillip J. Goodling, Marina J. Metes
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5106
Soil and groundwater at the Badger Army Ammunition Plant (BAAP), Sauk County, Wisconsin, were affected by several contaminants as a result of production and waste disposal practices common during its operation from 1942 to 1975. Three distinct plumes of contaminated groundwater originate on BAAP property and extend off-site, as identified...
A revised position for the primary strand of the Pleistocene-Holocene San Andreas fault in southern California
Kim Blisniuk, Katherine M. Scharer, Warren Sharp, Roland Burgmann, Colin Amos, Michael Rymer
2021, Science Advances (7)
The San Andreas fault has the highest calculated time-dependent probability for large-magnitude earthquakes in southern California. However, where the fault is multistranded east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, it has been uncertain which strand has the fastest slip rate and, therefore, which has the highest probability of a destructive...
Across borders: External factors and prior behaviour influence North Pacific albatross associations with fishing vessels
Rachael A Orben, Josh Adams, Michelle M. Hester, Scott A. Shaffer, Robert M. Suryan, Tomo Deguchi, Kiyoaki Ozaki, Fumio Sato, Lindsay C. Young, Corey A. Clatterbuck, Melinda G. Conners, David A Kroodsma, Leigh G Torres
2021, Journal of Applied Ecology (58) 1272-1283
Understanding encounters between marine predators and fisheries across national borders and outside national jurisdictions offers new perspectives on unwanted interactions to inform ocean management and predator conservation. Although seabird–fisheries overlap has been documented at many scales, remote identification of vessel encounters has lagged because vessel movement data often are...
Forecasting ecological responses for wetland restoration planning in Florida's Everglades
Stephanie Romanach, Leonard G. Pearlstine
2021, Book chapter, Reference module in earth systems and environmental sciences
The Everglades wetland was once a river of grass, with water flowing slowly through the sawgrass, southward across the landscape. As developers took hold of south Florida, water was sent away from the heart of the Everglades through canals and levees...
Exploring VIIRS continuity with MODIS in an expedited capability for monitoring drought-related vegetation conditions
Trenton D Benedict, Jesslyn F. Brown, Stephen P. Boyte, Daniel Howard, Brian Fuchs, Brian D. Wardlow, Tsegaye Tadesse, Kirk Evenson
2021, Remote Sensing (13)
Vegetation has been effectively monitored using remote sensing time-series vegetation index (VI) data for several decades. Drought monitoring has been a common application with algorithms tuned to capturing anomalous temporal and spatial vegetation patterns. Drought stress models, such as the Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI), often use VIs like the...
Assessment of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) diet using DNA metabarcoding of feces
Nicholas S. Johnson, Sean A. Lewandoski, Christopher M. Merkes
2021, Ecological Indicators (125)
Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) are invasive in the Laurentian Great Lakes, parasitize large-bodied fishes, and therefore are the focus of an international control program. However, damage caused by sea lamprey to modern day fish stocks remains uncertain because diet analysis of juvenile sea lamprey has been challenging; they feed on...
Geological constraints on the mechanisms of slow earthquakes
James D. Kirkpatrick, Ake Fagereng, David R. Shelly
2021, Nature Reviews Earth and Environment (2) 285-301
The recognition of slow earthquakes in geodetic and seismological data has transformed the understanding of how plate motions are accommodated at major plate boundaries. Slow earthquakes, which slip more slowly than regular earthquakes but faster than plate motion velocities, occur in a range of tectonic and metamorphic settings. They exhibit...
