Accommodation space in a high-wave-energy inner-shelf during the Holocene marine transgression: Correlation of onshore and offshore inner-shelf deposits (0–12 ka) in the Columbia River littoral cell system, Washington and Oregon, USA
C. D. Peterson, D. C. Twichell, M. C. Roberts, S. Vanderburgh, Steven W. Hostetler
2016, Marine Geology (379) 140-156
The Columbia River Littoral Cell (CRLC), a high-wave-energy littoral system, extends 160 km alongshore, generally north of the large Columbia River, and 10–15 km in across-shelf distance from paleo-beach backshores to about 50 m present water depths. Onshore drill holes (19 in number and 5–35 m in subsurface depth) and offshore vibracores (33 in...
Dense lower crust elevates long-term earthquake rates in the New Madrid seismic zone
William Brower Levandowski, Oliver S. Boyd, Leonardo Ramirez-Guzman
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 8499-8510
Knowledge of the local state of stress is critical in appraising intraplate seismic hazard. Inverting earthquake moment tensors, we demonstrate that principal stress directions in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) differ significantly from those in the surrounding region. Faults in the NMSZ that are incompatible with slip in the...
Nesting ecology of Whimbrels in boreal Alaska
Christopher M. Harwood, Robert E. Gill Jr., Abby Powell
2016, Wader Study (123) 99-113
Breeding ecology studies of boreal waders have been relatively scarce in North America. This paucity is due in part to boreal habitats being difficult to access, and boreal waders being widely dispersed and thus difficult to monitor. Between 2008 and 2014 we studied the nesting ecology of Whimbrels Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus in...
Life history characteristics and vital rates of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout in two headwater basins
Patrick Uthe, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Alexander V. Zale, Bradley B. Shepard, Thomas E. McMahon, Tracy Stephens
2016, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (36) 1240-1253
The Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri is native to the Rocky Mountains and has declined in abundance and distribution as a result of habitat degradation and introduced salmonid species. Many of its remaining strongholds are in headwater basins with minimal human disturbances. Understanding the life histories, vital rates, and...
Effects of microhabitat and large-scale land use on stream salamander occupancy in the coalfields of Central Appalachia
Sara E. Sweeten, W. Mark Ford
2016, Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment (8) 129-141
Large-scale coal mining practices, particularly surface coal extraction and associated valley fills as well as residential wastewater discharge, are of ecological concern for aquatic systems in central Appalachia. Identifying and quantifying alterations to ecosystems along a gradient of spatial scales is a necessary first-step to aid in mitigation of negative...
Land use effects on pesticides in sediments of prairie pothole wetlands in North and South Dakota
Scott T. McMurry, Jason B. Belden, Loren M. Smith, Shane A. Morrison, Dale W. Daniel, Betty R. Euliss, Ned H. Jr. Euliss, Bart J. Kensinger, Brian Tangen
2016, Science of the Total Environment (565) 682-689
Prairie potholes are the dominant wetland type in the intensively cultivated northern Great Plains of North America, and thus have the potential to receive pesticide runoff and drift. We examined the presence of pesticides in sediments of 151 wetlands split among the three dominant land use types, Conservation Reserve Program...
Synthesis and revision of the lithostratigraphic groups and formations in the Upper Permian?–Lower Jurassic Newark Supergroup of eastern North America
Robert E. Weems, Lawrence H. Tanner, Spencer G. Lucas
2016, Stratigraphy (13) 111-153
The Upper Permian? - Lower Jurassic Newark Supergroup of eastern North America has a strikingly uniform succession of lithologic units. This uniformity is seen regardless of whether these units are characterized on the basis of their lithostratigraphy, allostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, or chemostratigraphy. After deposition, these units were broken up tectonically and...
Environmental covariates associated with Cambarus veteranus (Decapoda: Cambaridae), an imperiled Appalachian crayfish endemic to West Virginia, USA
Zachary J. Loughman, Stuart A. Welsh, Nicole M. Sadecky, Zachary W. Dillard, R. Katie Scott
2016, Journal of Crustacean Biology (36) 642-648
Cambarus veteranus Faxon, 1914, a narrow endemic crayfish native to the Upper Guyandotte River Basin (UGB) in West Virginia, USA, was petitioned in 2014 by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to be listed as endangered, but a status survey was recommended to determine if...
SNP discovery in candidate adaptive genes using exon capture in a free-ranging alpine ungulate
Gretchen H. Roffler, Stephen J. Amish, Seth Smith, Ted F. Cosart, Marty Kardos, Michael K. Schwartz, Gordon Luikart
2016, Molecular Ecology Resources (16) 1147-1164
Identification of genes underlying genomic signatures of natural selection is key to understanding adaptation to local conditions. We used targeted resequencing to identify SNP markers in 5321 candidate adaptive genes associated with known immunological, metabolic and growth functions in ovids and other ungulates. We selectively targeted 8161 exons in protein-coding...
Safety of the molluscicide Zequanox (R) to nontarget macroinvertebrates Gammarus lacustris (Amphipoda: Gammaridae) and Hexagenia spp. (Ephemeroptera: Ephemeridae)
Diane L. Waller, James A. Luoma, Richard A. Erickson
2016, Management of Biological Invasions (7) 269-280
Zequanox® is a commercial formulation of the killed bacterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens (strain CL145A), that was developed to control dreissenid mussels. In 2014, Zequanox became the second product registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for use in open water environments as a molluscicide. Previous nontarget studies demonstrated the...
Regional chloride distribution in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to North Carolina
Emmanuel G. Charles
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5034
The aquifers of the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain are the principal source of water supply for the region’s nearly 20 million residents. Water quality and water levels in the aquifers, and maintenance of streamflow, are of concern because of the use of this natural resource for water supply and because...
Assessment of groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system From Long Island, New York, to North Carolina
John P. Masterson, Jason P. Pope, Michael N. Fienen, Jack Monti, Jr., Mark R. Nardi, Jason S. Finkelstein
2016, Professional Paper 1829
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey began a multiyear regional assessment of groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain (NACP) aquifer system in 2010 as part of its ongoing regional assessments of groundwater availability of the principal aquifers of the Nation. The goals of this national assessment are to document...
Documentation of a groundwater flow model developed to assess groundwater availability in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to North Carolina
John P. Masterson, Jason P. Pope, Michael N. Fienen, Jack Monti, Jr., Mark R. Nardi, Jason S. Finkelstein
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5076
The U.S. Geological Survey developed a groundwater flow model for the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system from Long Island, New York, to northeastern North Carolina as part of a detailed assessment of the groundwater availability of the area and included an evaluation of how these resources have changed over...
Sustainability of groundwater supplies in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system
John P. Masterson, Jason P. Pope
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3046
Groundwater is the Nation’s principal reserve of freshwater. It provides about half our drinking water, is essential to food production, and facilitates business and industry in developing economic well-being. Groundwater is also an important source of water for sustaining the ecosystem health of rivers, wetlands, and estuaries throughout the country....
Probabilistic assessment of erosion and flooding risk in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Nathaniel G. Plant, Thomas Wahl, Joseph W. Long
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans (121) 3029-3043
We assess erosion and flooding risk in the northern Gulf of Mexico by identifying interdependencies among oceanographic drivers and probabilistically modeling the resulting potential for coastal change. Wave and water level observations are used to determine relationships between six hydrodynamic parameters that influence total water level and therefore erosion and...
Model calibration criteria for estimating ecological flow characteristics
Marc Vis, Rodney Knight, Sandra Poole, William J. Wolfe, Jan Seibert
Lutz Breuer, Philipp Kraft, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Hydro-ecological modeling
Quantification of streamflow characteristics in ungauged catchments remains a challenge. Hydrological modeling is often used to derive flow time series and to calculate streamflow characteristics for subsequent applications that may differ from those envisioned by the modelers. While the estimation of model parameters for ungauged catchments is a challenging research...
Methods for exploring uncertainty in groundwater management predictions
Joseph H. A. Guillaume, Randall J. Hunt, Alessandro Comunian, Baihua Fu, Rachel S Blakers
Anthony J. Jakeman, Olivier Barreteau, Randall J. Hunt, Jean-Daniel Rinaudo, Andrew Ross, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Integrated groundwater management
Models of groundwater systems help to integrate knowledge about the natural and human system covering different spatial and temporal scales, often from multiple disciplines, in order to address a range of issues of concern to various stakeholders. A model is simply a tool to express what we think we know....
Temperature is better than precipitation as a predictor of plant community assembly across a dryland region
Bradley J. Butterfield, Seth M. Munson
2016, Journal of Vegetation Science (27) 938-947
QuestionHow closely do plant communities track climate? Research suggests that plant species converge toward similar environmental tolerances relative to the environments that they experience. Whether these patterns apply to severe environments or scale up to plant community-level patterns of relative climatic tolerances is poorly understood. Using estimates of species' climatic...
Summer-autumn habitat use of yearling rainbow trout in two streams in the Lake Ontario watershed
James H. Johnson, James E. McKenna Jr., Marc Chalupnicki
2016, Open Fish Science Journal (9) 45-50
Understanding the habitat requirements of salmonids in streams is an important component of fisheries management. We examined the summer and autumn habitat use of yearling Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in relation to available habitat in two streams in the Lake Ontario watershed. Little interstream variation in trout habitat use was...
Spatial distribution of thermokarst terrain in Arctic Alaska
Louise M. Farquharson, Daniel H. Mann, Guido Grosse, Benjamin M. Jones, Vladimir Romanovsky
2016, Geomorphology (273) 116-133
In landscapes underlain by ice-rich permafrost, the development of thermokarst landforms can have drastic impacts on ecosystem processes and human infrastructure. Here we describe the distribution of thermokarst landforms in the continuous permafrost zone of Arctic Alaska, analyze linkages to the underlying surficial geology, and discuss the vulnerability of different...
Approaches to stream solute load estimation for solutes with varying dynamics from five diverse small watershed
Brent T. Aulenbach, Douglas A. Burns, James B. Shanley, Ruth D. Yanai, Kikang Bae, Adam Wild, Yang Yang, Dong Yi
2016, Ecosphere (7)
Estimating streamwater solute loads is a central objective of many water-quality monitoring and research studies, as loads are used to compare with atmospheric inputs, to infer biogeochemical processes, and to assess whether water quality is improving or degrading. In this study, we evaluate loads and associated errors to determine the...
Streamflow of 2015—Water year national summary
Xiaodong Jian, David M. Wolock, Harry F. Lins, Steve Brady
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3055
IntroductionThe maps and graphs in this summary describe national streamflow conditions for water year 2015 (October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015) in the context of the 86-year period 1930–2015, unless otherwise noted. The illustrations are based on observed data from the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Streamflow Information Program...
Grant opportunities for academic research and training
U.S. Geological Survey
2016, General Information Product 165
As an unbiased, multidisciplinary science organization, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the health of our ecosystems and environment, our natural resources, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the natural hazards that affect our lives. Grant opportunities for researchers...
Student and recent graduate employment opportunities
U.S. Geological Survey
2016, General Information Product 166
As an unbiased, multidisciplinary science organization, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is dedicated to the timely, relevant, and impartial study of the health of our ecosystems and environment, our natural resources, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the natural hazards that affect our lives. Opportunities for undergraduate and...
Key ecological responses to nitrogen are altered by climate change
T.L. Greaver, C.M. Clark, J.E. Compton, D. Vallano, A. F. Talhelm, C.P. Weaver, L.E. Band, Jill Baron, E.A. Davidson, C.L. Tague, E. Felker-Quinn, J.A. Lynch, J.D. Herrick, L. Liu, C.L. Goodale, K. J. Novak, R. A. Haeuber
2016, Nature Climate Change (6) 836-843
Climate change and anthropogenic nitrogen deposition are both important ecological threats. Evaluating their cumulative effects provides a more holistic view of ecosystem vulnerability to human activities, which would better inform policy decisions aimed to protect the sustainability of ecosystems. Our knowledge of the cumulative effects of these stressors is growing,...
