Accuracy testing of steel and electric groundwater-level measuring tapes: Test method and in-service tape accuracy
Janice M. Fulford, Christopher S. Clayton
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1137
The accuracy of groundwater-level tapes was investigated by developing a tape calibration method and device and testing the accuracy of a sample of groundwater-level tapes with the calibration method and device. The sample of tapes included in-service U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Science Center steel and electric groundwater-level tapes. The tape...
Dam removal, connectivity, and aquatic resources in the St. Regis River Watershed, New York
James E. McKenna Jr., Kaitlin Hanak, Katharine DeVilbiss, Anthony David, James H. Johnson
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5116
The decommissioning and planned removal of the Hogansburg Dam on the St. Regis River in New York has stimulated interest in the potential effects of that barrier removal on the St. Regis watershed. There will be immediate and systemic effects of the Hogansburg Dam removal, which may include inundation of...
Identifying trout refuges in the Indian and Hudson Rivers in northern New York through airborne thermal infrared remote sensing
Anne G. Ernst, Barry P. Baldigo, Fred J. Calef, Douglas A. Freehafer, Robert L. Kremens
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1078
The locations and sizes of potential cold-water refuges for trout were examined in 2005 along a 27-kilometer segment of the Indian and Hudson Rivers in northern New York to evaluate the extent of refuges, the effects of routine flow releases from an impoundment, and how these refuges and releases might...
Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, Volume 15
Julie A. Dumoulin, editor(s)
2015, Professional Paper 1814
Summary Professional Paper 1814—Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, Volume 15—continues a long-running series of collected volumes of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientific reports on Alaska. This series presents new and sometimes preliminary findings that are of interest to Earth and biological scientists in academia, government, and industry; to...
Mortality, movement and behaviour of native mussels during a planned water-level drawdown in the Upper Mississippi River
Teresa J. Newton, Steven J. Zigler, Brian R. Gray
2015, Freshwater Biology (60) 1-15
Managers in the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) are using reductions in the River's water levels during summer to mimic historical water regimes and rehabilitate habitats for vegetation and other species. Concerns for the unintended effects of these actions on mussel populations threatened to halt these projects. Our objective...
Bioaccumulation trends of arsenic and antimony in a freshwater ecosystem affected by mine drainage
Meghan A. Dovick, Thomas R. Kulp, Robert S. Arkle, David S. Pilliod
2015, Environmental Chemistry (13) 149-159
We compared As and Sb bioaccumulation and biomagnification when these metalloids co-occurred at varying environmental concentrations in a stream and wetlands near a contaminated mine site in Idaho (USA). We measured As and Sb concentrations in water and substrate samples, and in tissues of organisms representing several trophic levels. Bioaccumulation...
Archive of bathymetry data collected at Cape Canaveral, Florida, 2014
Mark E. Hansen, Nathaniel G. Plant, David M. Thompson, Rodolfo J. Troche, Christine J. Kranenburg, Emily S. Klipp
2015, Data Series 957
Remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements of the sea floor, acquired by boat- and aircraft-based survey systems, were produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, Florida, for the area at Cape Canaveral. The work was conducted as part of a study to...
Installation of a groundwater monitoring-well network on the east side of the Uncompahgre River in the Lower Gunnison River Basin, Colorado, 2014
Judith C. Thomas
2015, Data Series 955
The east side of the Uncompahgre River Basin has been a known contributor of dissolved selenium to recipient streams. Discharge of groundwater containing dissolved selenium contributes to surface-water selenium concentrations and loads; however, the groundwater system on the east side of the Uncompahgre River Basin is not well characterized. The...
Analysis of bathymetric surveys to identify coastal vulnerabilities at Cape Canaveral, Florida
David M. Thompson, Nathaniel G. Plant, Mark E. Hansen
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1180
Cape Canaveral, Florida, is a prominent feature along the Southeast U.S. coastline. The region includes Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and a large portion of Canaveral National Seashore. The actual promontory of the modern Cape falls within the jurisdictional boundaries of...
Biological data for water in Lake Powell and from Glen Canyon Dam releases, Utah and Arizona, 1990–2009
William S. Vernieu
2015, Data Series 959
Biological samples from various locations on Lake Powell and in the Colorado River in the tail water downstream of Glen Canyon Dam were collected by the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Geological Survey from December 1990 through December 2009 as part of a long-term water-quality monitoring program that began in...
Hyla chrysoscelis (Cope’s gray treefrog) x Hyla cinerea (green treefrog): putative natural hybrid
Brad M. Glorioso, J. Hardin Waddle, Jill A. Jenkins, Heather M. Olivier, Rebekah R. Layton
2015, Herpetological Review (46) 410-411
Naturally–occurring hybrid treefrogs have been occasionally found in the eastern United States. However, these hybrids are almost always between members of the same species group. On 10 Jun 2014, at 2145 h, we located an individual making an unusual advertisement call along Bayou Manual Road in Sherburne Wildlife Management Area...
Simulating realistic predator signatures in quantitative fatty acid signature analysis
Jeffrey F. Bromaghin
2015, Ecological Informatics (30) 68-71
Diet estimation is an important field within quantitative ecology, providing critical insights into many aspects of ecology and community dynamics. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is a prominent method of diet estimation, particularly for marine mammal and bird species. Investigators using QFASA commonly use computer simulation to evaluate statistical...
Water availability and subsidence in California's Central Valley
Claudia C. Faunt, Michelle Sneed, Jonathan A. Traum, Justin T. Brandt
2015, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (13)
The Central Valley in California (USA) covers about 52,000 km2 and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. This agriculture relies heavily on surface-water diversions and groundwater pumpage to meet irrigation water demand. Because the valley is semi-arid and surface-water availability varies substantially, agriculture relies heavily on local groundwater. In the southern...
Effectiveness of a refuge for lake trout in western Lake Superior I: Empirical analysis of past performance
Melissa J. Johnson, Michael J. Hansen, Michael J. Seider
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 988-1002
The Gull Island Shoal Refuge was created in 1976 in response to overfishing of the Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush population in the Apostle Islands region of western Lake Superior. Our objective was to evaluate effectiveness of the refuge by determining whether Lake Trout abundance, growth, maturity, and mortality differed inside and outside...
Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Monterey Formation, San Joaquin Basin Province, California, 2015
Marilyn E. Tennyson, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett, Michael E. Brownfield, Janet K. Pitman, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Sarah J. Hawkins, Paul G. Lillis, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Heidi M. Leathers, Christopher J. Schenk, Katherine J. Whidden
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3058
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed mean volumes of 21 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 27 billion cubic feet of gas, and 1 million barrels of natural gas liquids in two assessment units (AUs) that may contain continuous oil resources. Mean volumes of oil for the...
Response of the nitrogen-fixing lichen Lobaria pulmonaria to phosphorus, molybdenum, and vanadium
Jade A Marks, Julie Pett-Ridge, Steven S. Perakis, Jessica L Allen, Bruce McCune
2015, Ecosphere (6)
Nitrogen-fixing lichens (cyanolichens) are an important source of nitrogen (N) in Pacific Northwest forests, but limitation of lichen growth by elements essential for N fixation is poorly understood. To investigate how nutrient limitation may affect cyanolichen growth rates, we fertilized a tripartite cyanobacterial lichen (Lobaria pulmonaria) and a green algal...
Avian community responses to post-fire forest structure: Implications for fire management in mixed conifer forests
Angela M. White, Patricia N. Manley, Gina Tarbill, T.L. Richardson, Robin E. Russell, Hugh D. Safford, Solomon Z. Dobrowski
2015, Animal Conservation
Fire is a natural process and the dominant disturbance shaping plant and animal communities in many coniferous forests of the western US. Given that fire size and severity are predicted to increase in the future, it has become increasingly important to understand how wildlife responds to fire and post-fire management....
Statistical models for the analysis and design of digital polymerase chain (dPCR) experiments
Robert Dorazio, Margaret Hunter
2015, Analytical Chemistry (87) 10886-10893
Statistical methods for the analysis and design of experiments using digital PCR (dPCR) have received only limited attention and have been misused in many instances. To address this issue and to provide a more general approach to the analysis of dPCR data, we describe a class of statistical models for...
Effectiveness of a refuge for Lake Trout in Western Lake Superior II: Simulation of future performance
Andrea L Akins, Michael J. Hansen, Michael J. Seider
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 1003-1018
Historically, Lake Superior supported one of the largest and most diverse Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush fisheries in the Laurentian Great Lakes, but Lake Trout stocks collapsed due to excessive fishery exploitation and predation by Sea Lampreys Petromyzon marinus. Lake Trout stocking, Sea Lamprey control, and fishery regulations, including a refuge...
Classification of rocky headlands in California with relevance to littoral cell boundary delineation
Douglas A. George, John L. Largier, Curt D. Storlazzi, Patrick L. Barnard
2015, Marine Geology (369) 137-152
Despite extensive studies of hydrodynamics and sediment flux along beaches, there is little information on the processes, pathways and timing of water and sediment transport around rocky headlands. In this study, headlands along the California coast are classified to advance understanding of headland dynamics and littoral cell boundaries in support...
Many atolls may be uninhabitable within decades due to climate change
Curt D. Storlazzi, Edwin P.L. Elias, Paul Berkowitz
2015, Scientific Reports (5) 1-9
Observations show global sea level is rising due to climate change, with the highest rates in the tropical Pacific Ocean where many of the world’s low-lying atolls are located. Sea-level rise is particularly critical for low-lying carbonate reef-lined atoll islands; these islands have limited land and water available for human...
Projected wave conditions in the Eastern North Pacific under the influence of two CMIP5 climate scenarios
Li H. Erikson, Christie Hegermiller, Patrick L. Barnard, Peter Ruggiero, Martin van Ormondt
2015, Ocean Modelling (96) 171-185
Hindcast and 21st century winds, simulated by General Circulation Models (GCMs), were used to drive global- and regional-scale spectral wind-wave generation models in the Pacific Ocean Basin to assess future wave conditions along the margins of the North American west coast and Hawaiian Islands. Three-hourly winds simulated by four separate...
Preliminary estimates of annual agricultural pesticide use for counties of the conterminous United States, 2013
Nancy T. Baker
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1176
Summary This report provides preliminary estimates of annual agricultural use of 387 pesticide compounds in counties of the conterminous United States in 2013, compiled by means of methods described in Thelin and Stone (2013) and Baker and Stone (2015). U.S. Department of Agriculture county-level data for harvested-crop acreage were used in...
Structural classification of marshes with Polarimetric SAR highlighting the temporal mapping of marshes exposed to oil
Elijah W. Ramsey III, Amina Rangoonwala, Cathleen E. Jones
2015, Remote Sensing (7) 11295-11321
Empirical relationships between field-derived Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Leaf Angle Distribution (LAD) and polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) based biophysical indicators were created and applied to map S. alterniflora marsh canopy structure. PolSAR and field data were collected near concurrently in the summers of 2010, 2011, and 2012 in...
Fish assemblages in the Upper Esopus Creek, NY: Current status, variability, and controlling factors
Barry P. Baldigo, Scott D. George, Walter T Keller
2015, Northeastern Naturalist (22) 345-371
The Upper Esopus Creek receives water diversions from a neighboring basin through the Shandaken Tunnel (the portal) from the Schoharie Reservoir. Although the portal is closed during floods, mean flows and turbidity of portal waters are generally greater than in Esopus Creek above their confluence. These conditions could potentially affect...
