Decision context as an essential component of population viability analysis
Abigail Jean Lawson, Brian Folt, Anna Maureen Tucker, Francesca T. Erickson, Conor P. McGowan
2020, Conservation Biology 1683-1685
Population viability analysis (PVA) is a widely used tool that applies demographic data in simulation frameworks to assess extinction risk for species or populations. It is used in diverse conservation applications, including evaluating management effectiveness, relative risk of threats, and potential changes to protective status (Beissinger & McCullough, <a id="#cobi13818-bib-0002R" class="bibLink...
Lampricide residues in sea lamprey larvae carcasses recovered after 3-trifluoromethyl-4- nitrophenol (TFM) or TFM/Bayluscide stream treatments
Jeffry Bernardy, Nicholas Schloesser
2020, Report
Lampricide concentrations in whole larval sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) carcasses collected after lampricide treatments were determined to support risk assessment for non-target organisms that may consume lampricide-laden carcasses. Dead larvae were collected by Sea Lamprey Control personnel following the Ford River (Delta County, Michigan) 4.1 mg·L-1 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) treatment, Sturgeon...
Outside the box: Working with wildlife in biocontainment
Elizabeth Falendysz, Dana Marie Calhoun, Carrie Alison Smith, Jonathan M. Sleeman
2020, ILAR Journal (61) 72-85
Research with captive wildlife in Animal Biosafety Level 2 (ABSL2) and 3 (ABSL3) facilities is becoming increasingly necessary as emerging and re-emerging diseases involving wildlife have increasing impacts on human, animal, and environmental health. Utilizing wildlife species in a research facility often requires outside the box thinking with specialized...
Asian carp population modeling to support an adaptive management framework
Jahn L. Kallis, Richard A. Erickson, Mark W. Fritts
2020, Report, Monitoring Response Plans, Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee
This Monitoring and Response Plan provides the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) with updates on FWS and USGS modeling efforts for the Spatially Explicit Asian carp Population (SEAcarP) model. For FY2020, efforts are underway to parameterize and analyze the SEAcarP model. Themes: invasive species; Asian carp; Great Lakes....
USGS Illinois River monitoring and evaluation
Travis J. Harrison, Kevin D. Hop, Enrika Hlavacek, Brent C. Knights
2020, Report, 2020 Asian Carp Monitoring and Response Plan
Asian carp monitoring and contract removal will continue throughout the Upper Illinois Waterway system as needed for adaptive management to mitigate, control, and contain Asian carp. Compiling data from monitoring and removal efforts into a centralized database (Illinois River Catch Database application) facilitates data standardization, quality, accessibility, sharing, and analysis...
Systems-deposits-commodities-critical minerals table for the earth mapping resources initiative
Albert H. Hofstra, Douglas C. Kreiner
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1042
To define and prioritize focus areas across the United States with resource potential for 35 critical minerals in a few years’ time, the U.S Geological Survey Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) required an efficient approach to streamline workflow. A mineral systems approach based on current understanding of how ore...
Juvenile Coho and Chinook salmon growth, size, and condition linked to watershed-scale salmon spawner abundance
Philip J. Joy, Craig A. Stricker, Renae Ivanoff, Shiao Y. Wang, Mark S. Wipfli, Andrew C. Seitz, Jiaqi Huang, Mathew B. Tyers
2020, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (150) 307-326
Anadromous Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. are semelparous, and resource subsidies from spawning adult salmon (marine-derived nutrients [MDN]) benefit juvenile salmonids while they rear in freshwater. However, it is unclear if juvenile salmon populations respond predictably to the abundance of spawning salmon at the watershed scale. To address whether hypothesized benefits to rearing...
Analysis of remedial scenarios affecting plume movement through a sole-source aquifer system, southeastern Nassau County, New York
Paul E. Misut, Donald A. Walter, Christopher Schubert, Sarken Dressler
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5090
A steady-state three-dimensional groundwater-flow model based on present conditions is coupled with the particle-tracking program MODPATH to assess the fate and transport of volatile organic-compound plumes within the Magothy and upper glacial aquifers in southeastern Nassau County, New York. Particles are forward tracked from locations within plumes defined by surfaces...
Sulfur isotope composition of individual compounds in immature organic-rich rocks and possible geochemical implications
Lubna Shawar, Ward Said-Ahmad, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Alon Amrani
2020, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (274) 20-44
We applied compound-specific sulfur isotope analysis (CSSIA) to organic matter (OM) extracted from ancient and immature organic-rich rocks from the Cretaceous Ghareb (Shefela Basin locality, Israel) and Miocene Monterey (Naples Beach locality, California, USA) Formations. Large variations in the δ34S values of different organosulfur compounds (OSCs), that reach up to...
Debris-flow growth in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria: Preliminary results from analyses of pre- and post-event lidar data
Jeffrey A. Coe, Erin K. Bessette-Kirton, Dianne L. Brien, Mark E. Reid
2020, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Landslides
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria triggered widespread debris flows in Puerto Rico. We used field observations and pre- and post-Maria lidar to study the volumetric growth of long-travelled (>400 m) debris flows in four basins. We found overall growth rates that ranged from 0.7 to 30.4 m3 per meter...
Geothermal play fairway analysis of the Sou Hills, northern Nevada: A major quaternary accommodation zone in the Great Basin region
James E. Faulds, Andrew J. Sadowski, Mark F. Coolbaugh, Drew L. Siler
2020, Conference Paper, Geothermal resources council transactions
To facilitate discovery and development of blind geothermal systems in the Great Basin region, as well as assessment of known systems with surface hot springs, a play fairway approach was developed to evaluate and integrate multiple geologic and geophysical parameters for...
Quantifying microplastics in Indiana’s Lake Michigan watershed and submerged aquatic vegetation
Julie R. Peller, Meredith B. Nevers, Muruleedhara Byappanahalli, Mary Anne Evans
2020, Newsletter
Environmental breakdown of plastics produces synthetic microfibers, a class of microplastics that are most prevalent in surface waters. A main source of these pollutants is wastewater treatment plants which discharge into surface waters, including those that flow into Lake Michigan. Microplastics can settle into aquatic sediment or exist for lengths...
Ecological drivers of brown pelican movement patterns, health, and reproductive success in the Gulf of Mexico
J.S. Lamb, Y.G. Satge, R.A. Streker, Patrick G.R. Jodice
2020, Report
No abstract available....
Testing hypotheses on signatures of precipitation variability in the river and floodplain deposits of the Paleogene San Juan Basin, New Mexico, USA
Kristine L. Zellman, Piret Plink-Bjorklund, Henry Fricke
2020, Journal of Sedimentary Research (90) 1770-1801
Much progress has been made in recent years towards a set of recognition criteria for river discharge variability in river channel deposits, and thus sedimentary proxies for precipitation variability. Despite this progress, there is currently no consensus on how different styles of discharge variability are reflected in river sedimentary records,...
Landsat surface reflectance validation site selection
Emily M. Maddox, Landon Douglas Zavesky
2020, Conference Paper, IGARSS 2020 - 2020 IEEE international geoscience and remote sensing symposium
An investigation was conducted to determine optimal locations within the continental United States for insitu measurements to validate the U.S. Landsat Analysis Ready Data (ARD) Surface Reflectance product. Site assessment involved analysis of aerosol optical depth, precipitable water vapor, land cover, cloud cover, and elevation models. Nineteen sites were selected...
2020 drought in New England
Pamela J. Lombard, Janet R. Barclay, Dee-Ann E. Crozier
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1148
Below average and infrequent rainfall from May through September 2020 led to an extreme hydrologic drought across much of New England, with some areas experiencing a flash drought, reflecting its quick onset. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recorded record-low streamflow and groundwater levels throughout the region. In September, the U.S....
Mapping Phragmites australis live fractional cover in the lower Mississippi River Delta, Louisiana
Amina Rangoonwala, Rebecca J. Howard, Elijah W. Ramsey III
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1131
In response to a co-occurring non-native scale infestation and Phragmites australis dieback in southeast Louisiana, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) satellite mapping was implemented to track P. australis condition in the lower Mississippi River Delta. While the NDVI mapping successfully documented relative condition changes, identification of cause required a quantitative-biophysical...
Reptiles under the conservation umbrella of the greater sage‐grouse
David S. Pilliod, Michelle I. Jeffries, Robert Arkle, Deanna H. Olson
2020, Journal of Wildlife Management (84) 478-491
In conservation paradigms, management actions for umbrella species also benefit co‐occurring species because of overlapping ranges and similar habitat associations. The greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is an umbrella species because it occurs across vast sagebrush ecosystems of western North America and is the recipient of extensive...
Management of the brown-headed cowbird: Implications for endangered species and agricultural damage mitigation
Brian D Peer, Barbara E. Kus, Mary J. Whitfield, Linnea S. Hall, Stephen I Rothstein
2020, Human-Wildlife Interactions (14)
The brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater; cowbird) is unique among North American blackbirds (Icteridae) because it is managed to mitigate the negative effects on endangered songbirds and economic losses in agricultural crops. Cowbird brood parasitism can further affect species that are considered threatened or endangered due to anthropogenic land...
DGMETA (version 1)—Dissolved gas modeling and environmental tracer analysis computer program
Bryant C. Jurgens, J. K. Böhlke, Karl Haase, Eurybiades Busenberg, Andrew G. Hunt, Jeffrey A. Hansen
2020, Techniques and Methods 4-F5
DGMETA (Dissolved Gas Modeling and Environmental Tracer Analysis) is a Microsoft Excel-based computer program that is used for modeling air-water equilibrium conditions from measurements of dissolved gases and for computing concentrations of environmental tracers that rely on air-water equilibrium model results. DGMETA can solve for the temperature, salinity, excess...
Underwater photographic reconnaissance and habitat data collection in the Florida Keys—A procedure for ground truthing remotely sensed bathymetric data
Zachery W. Fehr, Kimberly K. Yates
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1118
Bathymetric geoprocessing analyses of the Florida Reef Tract have provided insights into trends of seafloor accretion and seafloor erosion over time and following major storm events. However, bathymetric surveys sometimes capture manmade structures and vegetation, which do not represent the desired bare-earth data. Therefore, ground truthing is essential to maintain...
Energy and minerals division tight oil and gas committee: Activities and commodity report for 2019-2020
Justin E. Birdwell, Kent Bowker, Ben Burke, Thomas Chidsey, Ursula Hammes, Bo Henk, Zachary Hollon, Shu Jiang, Peng Li, Kristen R. Marra, Jock McCracken, Richard Nyahay, Abbas Seyedolali, Katie Schmid, Beau Tinnin, Katherine J. Whidden
2020, Report
In 2019, total daily tight oil and gas production increased in the United States month over month, with annualized growth of 14% for oil and 12% for gas. Those gains leveled off in the first quarter of 2020 due to aggressive price competition and increases in international production. Then came...
Using biodiversity metrics to guide conservation planning in altered tropical landscapes
K. E. Battle, Krishna Pacifici, Jaime A. Collazo, B. J. Reigh
2020, Caribbean Naturalist (77)
Biodiversity metrics are frequently used to guide conservation planning because they can summarize biogeographical attributes of plant and animal communities quickly and at multiple scales. Attributes include habitat features of high conservation value, representativeness, and redundancy of biological communities. We conducted a rapid ecological assessment of resident avian species in...
Response of the tallest California building during the Mw7.1 July 5, 2019 Ridgecrest, California earthquake
Mehmet Celebi, S. F. Ghahari, Hamid Haddadi, Ertugrul Taciroglu
2020, Conference Paper
The 73-story Wilshire Grand in downtown Los Angeles is the recently constructed tallest building in California. It is designed in conformance with performance-based design procedures. The lateral load resisting system of the building is designed with concrete core shear walls, three outriggers with buckling restrained braces (BRBs) located along the...
North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) scenario planning summary report
Diane Borggaard, Dori Dick, Jonathan Star, Barbara Zoodsma, Michael A. Alexander, Michael J. Asaro, Lynne Barre, Shannon Bettridge, Peter Burns, Julie Crocker, Quay Dortch, Lance Garrison, Frances Gulland, Ben Haskell, Sean Hayes, Allison Henry, K. Hyde, Henry Milliken, David Morin, John Quinlan, Teri Rowles, Vincent Saba, Michelle Staudinger, Harvey Walsh
2020, Technical Memorandum MNFS-OPR-68
Scenario planning provides a structured framework that can be used in strategic planning to help manage risk and prioritize actions (Schwartz 1996; Peterson et al. 2003). By providing a mechanism to communicate about complex situations, scenario planning encourages “out-of-the-box” thinking to help groups assess the impacts of plausible future scenarios...