Analyzing vegetation change in a sagebrush ecosystem using long-term field observations and Landsat imagery in Wyoming
Hua Shi, Collin Homer, Matthew B. Rigge, Kory Postma, George Z. Xian
2020, Ecosphere (11)
The importance of monitoring shrublands to detect and understand changes through time is increasingly recognized as critical to management. This research focuses on ecological change observed over 10 yr of field observation at 126 plots and over 35 yr of the Landsat archive in a shrubland ecosystem. Field data consisting of the...
Population estimates for selected breeding seabirds at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kauaʻi, in 2019
Jonathan J. Felis, Emily C. Kelsey, Josh Adams, Jennilyn G. Stenske, Laney M. White
2020, Data Series 1130
Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (KPNWR) is an important seabird breeding site located at the northeastern tip of Kauaʻi in the main Hawaiian Islands. Despite the regional significance of KPNWR as one of the most important breeding sites for red-tailed tropicbirds (Phaethon rubricauda), red-footed boobies (Sula sula), and wedge-tailed shearwaters...
Non-analog increases to air, surface, and belowground temperature extreme events due to climate change
M.D. Petrie, John B. Bradford, W.K. Lauenroth, D.R. Schlaepfer, Caitlin M. Andrews, D.M. Bell
2020, Climate Change (163) 2233-2256
Air temperatures (Ta) are rising in a changing climate, increasing extreme temperature events. Examining how Ta increases are influencing extreme temperatures at the soil surface and belowground in the soil profile can refine our understanding of the ecological consequences of rising temperatures. In this paper, we validate surface and soil...
Water resources of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
Vincent E. White
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3054
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. In 2014, 364...
Occupancy and detectability of northern long-eared bats in the Lake States Region
Brenna A. Hyzy, Robin E. Russell, Alexander Silvis, W. Mark Ford, Jason D. Riddle, Kevin R. Russell
2020, Wildlife Society Bulletin (44) 732-740
The northern long‐eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) is one of the bat species most affected by white‐nose syndrome. Population declines attributed to white‐nose syndrome contributed to the species’ listing as federally threatened under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. Although one of the most abundant Myotine bats in eastern North America prior...
Investigation of U.S. Foreign Reliance on Critical Minerals—U.S. Geological Survey technical input document in response to Executive Order No. 13953 Signed September 30, 2020
Nedal T. Nassar, Elisa Alonso, Jamie L. Brainard
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1127
Over the past few decades (1990–2019), the United States has become reliant on foreign sources to meet domestic demand for a large and growing number of mineral commodities. In combination with recent trends towards progressively concentrated supply of mineral commodities from a limited number of countries, this heightened import reliance...
Evidence of an extreme weather‐induced phenological mismatch and a local extirpation of the endangered Karner blue butterfly
Tamatha Patterson, Ralph Grundel, Jason D. K. Dzurisin, Randy L. Knutson, Jessica Hellmann
2020, Conservation Science and Practice (2)
In 2011, an experiment was undertaken to examine spring synchrony between the endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) (Kbb) and its obligate host plant, wild blue lupine (Lupinus perennis) at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (INDU), where the southernmost population of Kbb occurred at the time of this study. From...
The elephant in the lab (and field): Contamination in aquatic environmental DNA studies
Adam Sepulveda, Patrick R. Hutchins, Meghan Forstchen, Madeline Mckeefry, Anna M Swigris
2020, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (8)
The rapid evolution of environmental (e)DNA methods has resulted in knowledge gaps in smaller, yet critical details like proper use of negative controls to detect contamination. Detecting contamination is vital for confident use of eDNA results in decision-making. We conducted two literature reviews to summarize (a) the types of quality...
Source-tracking approach for detecting and identifying sources of wastewater in waters of Hawaiʻi
Adam G. Johnson
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5112
Elevated concentrations of nutrients and the fecal-indicator bacteria enterococci are occasionally detected in Hawai‘i’s surface waters by the State of Hawai‘i Department of Health Clean Water Branch. Management efforts to improve the water quality of surface waters are complicated by the fact that nutrients and enterococci can originate from several...
Western purple martin (Progne subis arboricola) occurrence on the Siuslaw National Forest, Summer 2019
Joan Hagar, Eric Branch
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1130
The western subspecies of the purple martin (Progne subis arboricola) is currently listed as a “critically” sensitive species in four ecoregions of western Oregon: Coast Range, Klamath Mountains, West Cascades, and Willamette Valley (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2019). Importantly distinct from the abundant and widespread eastern subspecies (Progne...
Compilation of mercury data and associated risk to human and ecosystem health, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Wisconsin
Douglas A. Burns
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1095
Mercury is an environmentally ubiquitous neurotoxin, and its methylated form presents health risks to humans and other biota, primarily through dietary intake. Because methylmercury bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in living tissue, concentrations progressively increase at higher trophic positions in ecosystem food webs. Therefore, the greatest health risks are for organisms at...
Geologic map of Jezero crater and the Nili Planum region, Mars
Vivian Z. Sun, Kathryn M. Stack
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3464
The cratered highlands located northwest of Isidis Planitia have been recognized as one of the best preserved Noachian landscapes currently exposed on Mars; the area hosts a record of diverse surface processes, diagenesis, and aqueous alteration. This region has consistently been considered a high priority for landed-mission exploration and includes...
Low-flow characteristics of streams from Wailua to Hanapēpē, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Chui Ling Cheng
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5128
The purpose of this study is to characterize streamflow availability under natural (unregulated) low-flow conditions for streams in southeast Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i. The nine main study-area basins, from north to south, include Wailua River, Hanamā‘ulu, Nāwiliwili, Pūʻali, Hulēʻia, Waikomo, Lāwaʻi, and Wahiawa Streams, and Hanapēpē River. The results of this study...
Considerations for incorporating quality control into water quality sampling strategies for the U.S. Geological Survey
Laura Medalie
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1109
This report describes considerations for incorporating routine quality-assessment and quality-control evaluations into U.S. Geological Survey discrete water-sampling programs and projects. U.S. Geological Survey water-data science in 2020 is characterized by robustness, external reproducibility, collaborative large-volume data analysis, and efficient delivery of water-quality data. Confidence in data, or robustness, can be...
Quality of data from the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Network for water years 2013–17
Laura Medalie, Laura M. Bexfield
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5116
Water samples from 122 sites in the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Network were collected in 2013–17 to document ambient water-quality conditions in surface water of the United States and to determine status and trends of loads and concentrations for nutrients, contaminants, and sediment to estuaries and streams. Quality-control...
Exploring the potential value of satellite remote sensing to monitor chlorophyll-a for U.S. lakes and reservoirs
Michael Papenfus, Blake Schaeffer, Amina Pollard, Keith A. Loftin
2020, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (192)
Assessment of chlorophyll-a, an algal pigment, typically measured by field and laboratory in situ analyses, is used to estimate algal abundance and trophic status in lakes and reservoirs. In situ-based monitoring programs can be expensive, may not be spatially, and temporally comprehensive and results may not...
Infectious diseases in Yellowstone’s wolves
Ellen E. Brandell, Emily S. Almberg, Paul C. Cross, Andrew P Dobson, Douglas W. Smith, Peter J. Hudson
2020, Book chapter, Yellowstone wolves: Science and discovery in the world's first national park
No abstract available....
Beyond neonicotinoids – Wild pollinators are exposed to a range of pesticides while foraging in agroecosystems
A.R. Main, Michelle L. Hladik, Elisabeth B. Webb, K. W. Goyne, D. Mengel
2020, Science of the Total Environment (742)
Pesticide exposure is a growing global concern for pollinator conservation. While most current pesticide studies have specifically focused on the impacts of neonicotinoid insecticides toward honeybees and some native bee species, wild pollinators may be exposed to a broader range of agrochemicals. In 2016 and 2017 we collected a total...
Bioaccumulation of the pesticide imidacloprid in stream organisms and sublethal effects on salamanders
Sara M. Crayton, Petra B. Wood, Donald J. Brown, Alice R. Millikin, Terence J. McManus, Tyler J. Simpson, Kang-Mo Ku, Yong-Lak Park
2020, Global Ecology and Conservation (24) 1-15
Neonicotinoids are one of the most widely used classes of insecticides in the world. The neonicotinoid imidacloprid is commonly applied to hemlock (Tsuga spp.) stands in eastern North America to reduce tree mortality from infestations of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae). While laboratory and mesocosm studies have determined...
Council Monitoring and Assessment Program (CMAP): User guide for the Gulf Coast Monitoring and Assessment Portal
Kevin Suir, Hana R. Thurman, Anthony Kuczynski, Philip Quibodeaux, Sumani Chimmula, Jake Howell, Heidi Burkart, Nicholas Enwright, Kari Cretini, Mark McKelvy
2020, Report
The Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act Final Rule at 31 C.F.R. Part 34) was signed into law on July 6, 2012. The RESTORE Act calls for a regional approach to restoring the long-term health of the valuable natural...
Comparing native bee communities on reconstructed and remnant prairie in Missouri
J. P. LaRose, Elisabeth B. Webb, D. L. Finke
2020, Prairie Naturalist (52) 33-44
The tallgrass prairie of North America is an imperiled ecosystem that has been the subject of considerable restoration effort and research in the past two decades. While native prairie plant species are purposely introduced during restoration, prairie invertebrates, including native bees (Anthophila), are not, and must colonize from surrounding remnants....
Coleonyx variegatus (Western Banded Gecko). Sterility
Phil A. Medica
2020, Herpetological Review (51) 847-848
No abstract available....
North American commission on stratigraphic nomenclature report 14 – Revision of articles 25-27 of the North American stratigraphic code to formalize subseries and subepochs
Marie-Pierre Aubry, Richard H. Fluegeman, Lucy E. Edwards, Brian R. Pratt, Carlton E. Brett
2020, Stratigraphy (17) 315-316
At the 75th Annual Meeting of the North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature, 22 October, 2020, in connection with GSA 2020 Connects Online, the Commission voted unanimously to accept the revision of Articles 73, 81 and 82 of the North American Stratigraphic Code (North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature, 2005...
An evaluation of noninvasive sampling techniques for Malayan sun bears
Thye Lim Tee, Wai Ling Lai, Terence Kok Ju Wei, Ooi Zhuan Shern, Frank T. van Manen, Stuart P. Sharp, Siew Te Wong, Jactty Chew, Shyamala Ratnayeke
2020, Ursus (31)
Traditional mark–recapture studies to estimate abundance and trends of Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) populations are impeded by logistics of live-trapping wild individuals. The development of noninvasive sampling techniques for monitoring sun bear populations is therefore crucial for targeted conservation action. Sun bears have short fur, and conventional hair-snagging devices...
A test of the Niche Variation Hypothesis in a ruminant herbivore
Brett R. Jesmer, Matthew Kauffman, Melanie A. Murphy, Jacob R. Goheen
2020, Journal of Animal Ecology (89) 2825-2839
Despite the shared prediction that the width of a population's dietary niche expands as food becomes limiting, the Niche Variation Hypothesis (NVH) and Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT) offer contrasting views about how individuals alter diet selection when food is limited.Classical OFT predicts that dietary preferences do not change as...
