Hydrologic response for a high-elevation storm in the South Dakota Black Hills
Matthew J. Bunkers, Melissa Smith, Daniel G. Driscoll, Galen K. Hoogestraat
2015, Internal Report 2015-01
A group of thunderstorms produced >4 in of rain during four periods of progressively more intense rainfall across a small part of a relatively high-elevation area of the northern Black Hills on 5 August 2014. The resulting hydrologic response was noteworthy in two very small headwater drainage basins, where the...
Development and characterization of polymorphic microsatellitemarkers for the crested caracara, Caracara cheriway
Erin E. Vaughn, James F. Dwyer, Joan L. Morrison, Melanie Culver
2015, Conservation Genetics Resources (7) 557-559
We isolated novel microsatellites from the crested caracara (Caracara cheriway) with a shotgun pyrosequencing approach. We tested 80 loci for polymorphism among 20 individuals from the threatened Florida population. Fourteen loci were polymorphic. The mean number of alleles was 2.21 (range 2–3) and the mean observed heterozygosity was 0.41 (range...
Density-dependent effects of omnivorous stream crayfish on benthic trophic dynamics
J.P. Ludlam, B. T. Banks, Daniel D. Magoulick
2015, Freshwater Crayfish (21) 165-170
Crayfish are abundant and important consumers in aquatic food webs and crayfish invasions have demonstrated strong effects of crayfish on multiple trophic levels. Density may be an important factor determining the role of omnivorous crayfish in benthic communities, especially if density alters the strength of trophic interactions. The effect of...
Biology and ecology of Neosho Smallmouth Bass and the genetically distinct Ouachita lineage
Shannon K. Brewer, James M. Long
Michael D. Tringali, James M. Long, Timothy W. Birdsong, Michael S. Allen, editor(s)
2015, Book chapter, Black Bass diversity: Multidisciplinary science for conservation
We reviewed the published and gray literature associated with Neosho Smallmouth Bass and the genetically-distinct Ouachita lineage. Substantial inter-stream variation appears to occur among these populations, particularly related to age. The Neosho subspecies is more abundant, grows faster, and lives longer than the genetically-distinct Ouachita lineage. Recruitment is highly variable...
Great Lakes prey fish populations: A cross-basin Overview of status and trends based on bottom trawl surveys, 1978-2014
Owen T. Gorman, Brian Weidel
2015, Report, Compiled reports to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission of the Annual Bottom Trawl and Acoustics Surveys, 2014
The assessment of Great Lakes prey fish stocks have been conducted annually with bottom trawls since the 1970s by the Great Lakes Science Center, sometimes assisted by partner agencies. These stock assessments provide data on the status and trends of prey fish that are consumed by important commercial and recreational...
Combining split-beam and dual-frequency identification sonars to estimate abundance of anadromous fishes in the Roanoke River, North Carolina
Jacob B. Hughes, Joseph E. Hightower
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 229-240
Riverine hydroacoustic techniques are an effective method for evaluating abundance of upstream migrating anadromous fishes. To use these methods in the Roanoke River, North Carolina, at a wide site with uneven bottom topography, we used a combination of split-beam sonar and dual-frequency identification sonar (DIDSON) deployments. We aimed a split-beam...
Fecal indicator and pathogenic bacteria and their antibiotic resistance in alluvial groundwater of an irrigated agricultural region with dairies
Xunde Li, Edward R. Atwill, Elizabeth Antaki, Olin Applegate, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Ronald F. Bond, Jennifer T. Chase, Katherine M Ransom, William B. Samuels, Naoko Watanabe, Thomas Harter
2015, Journal of Environmental Quality (44) 1435-1447
Surveys of microbiological groundwater quality were conducted in a region with intensive animal agriculture in California, USA. The survey included monitoring and domestic wells in eight concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and 200 small (domestic and community supply district) supply wells across the region. Campylobacter was not detected in groundwater,...
2014 M=6.0 South Napa earthquake triggered widespread aftershocks and stressed several major faults and exotic fault clusters
Shinji Toda, Ross Stein
2015, Seismological Research Letters (86) 1593-1602
The strongest San Francisco Bay area earthquake since the 1989 Mw 7.0 Loma Prieta shock struck near Napa on 24 August 2014. Field mapping (Dawson et al., 2014; Earthquake Engineering Research Institute [EERI], 2014; Brocher et al., 2015) and seismic and geodetic source inversions (Barnhart et al., 2015; Dreger et...
Spatiotemporal analysis of gene flow in Chesapeake Bay Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin)
Paul E. Converse, Shawn R Kuchta, Willem R Roosenburg, Paula F. P. Henry, G. Michael Haramis, Tim L. King
2015, Molecular Ecology (24) 5864-5876
There is widespread concern regarding the impacts of anthropogenic activities on connectivity among populations of plants and animals, and understanding how contemporary and historical processes shape metapopulation dynamics is crucial for setting appropriate conservation targets. We used genetic data to identify population clusters and quantify gene flow over historical and...
Regulating services as measures of ecological resilience on DoD lands
Paul L. Angermeier, Amy M. Villamagna
2015, Report
Knowledge of the capacity and flow of ecosystem services can help DoD land managers make decisions that enhance cost-effectiveness, minimize environmental damage, and maximize resources available for military missions. We demonstrated a methodology to quantify and map selected regulating services (RS), which helps land managers envision tradeoffs. Our objectives were...
Science foundation Chapter 5 Appendix 5.1: Case study dabbling ducks
Gregory S. Yarris, Joshua T. Ackerman
2015, Report, The baylands and climate change what we can do: Baylands ecosystem habitat goals science update 2015
Dabbling ducks are the most abundant group of waterfowl that overwinter in the shallow wetlands and ponds of San Francisco Bay (SFB). Species within this group are primarily omnivorous, feeding on both plant material and macroinvertebrate prey by “tipping” to access benthic foods in bottom sediments or by foraging in...
Shaking intensity from injection-induced versus tectonic earthquakes in the central-eastern United States
Susan E. Hough
2015, The Leading Edge (34) 690-697
Although instrumental recordings of earthquakes in the central and eastern United States (CEUS) remain sparse, the U. S. Geological Survey's “Did you feel it?” (DYFI) system now provides excellent characterization of shaking intensities caused by induced and tectonic earthquakes. Seventeen CEUS events are considered between 2013 and 2015. It is...
The effect of UV-C exposure on larval survival of the dreissenid quagga mussel
Alecia Stewart-Malone, Michael Misamore, Siri K. Wilmoth, Alejandro Reyes, Wai Hing Wong, Jackson Gross
2015, PLoS ONE (10 )
The rapid spread of quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) has lead to their invasion of Lake Mead, Nevada, the largest reservoir in North America and partially responsible for providing water to millions of people in the southwest. Current strategies for mitigating the growth and spread of quagga mussels primarily include...
Geologic framework for the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in sandstone reservoirs of the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Cotton Valley Group, U.S. Gulf of Mexico region
Jennifer D. Eoff, Russell F. Dubiel, Ofori N. Pearson, Katherine J. Whidden
2015, Conference Paper
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is assessing the undiscovered oil and gas resources in sandstone reservoirs of the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous Cotton Valley Group in onshore areas and State waters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region. The assessment is based on geologic elements of a total petroleum system. Four...
Gopherus Agassizii (Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise). Mechanical Injury
Amanda Smith, Laura A. Tennant, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Terence R. Arundel
2015, Herpetological Review (46) 423-424
On 3 June 2015 at 1024 h, a team of U.S. Geological Survey scientists located an immature Gopherus agassizii (Agassiz’s desert tortoise) at Joshua Tree National Park, near the southern Cottonwood Canyon entrance. The habitat in the area is typical of the Sonoran Desert in that part of California with...
A comparative study of surface waves inversion techniques at strong motion recording sites in Greece
Panagiotis C. Pelekis, Alexandros Savvaidis, Robert E. Kayen, Vasileios S. Vlachakis, George A. Athanasopoulos
2015, Conference Paper, Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems 2015
Surface wave method was used for the estimation of Vs vs depth profile at 10 strong motion stations in Greece. The dispersion data were obtained by SASW method, utilizing a pair of electromechanical harmonic-wave source (shakers) or a random source (drop weight). In this study, three inversion techniques were used...
Head-of-tide bottleneck of particulate material transport from watersheds to estuaries
Scott H. Ensign, Gregory E. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Katherine Skalak
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 10671-10679
We measured rates of sediment, C, N, and P accumulation at four floodplain sites spanning the nontidal through oligohaline Choptank and Pocomoke Rivers, Maryland, USA. Ceramic tiles were used to collect sediment for a year and sediment cores were collected to derive decadal sedimentation rates using 137Cs. The results showed...
Point-source stochastic-method simulations of ground motions for the PEER NGA-East Project
David Boore
2015, Report, NGA-East Median Ground-Motion Models for the Central and Eastern North America Region
Ground-motions for the PEER NGA-East project were simulated using a point-source stochastic method. The simulated motions are provided for distances between of 0 and 1200 km, M from 4 to 8, and 25 ground-motion intensity measures: peak ground velocity (PGV), peak ground acceleration (PGA), and 5%-damped pseudoabsolute...
Detection probabilities of electrofishing, hoop nets, and benthic trawls for fishes in two western North American rivers
Christopher D. Smith, Michael C. Quist, Ryan S. Hardy
2015, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (6) 371-391
Research comparing different sampling techniques helps improve the efficiency and efficacy of sampling efforts. We compared the effectiveness of three sampling techniques (small-mesh hoop nets, benthic trawls, boat-mounted electrofishing) for 30 species in the Green (WY, USA) and Kootenai (ID, USA) rivers by estimating conditional detection probabilities (probability of detecting...
The cost of karst subsidence and sinkhole collapse in the United States compared with other natural hazards
David J. Weary
2015, Conference Paper, 14th Sinkhole Conference
Rocks with potential for karst formation are found in all 50 states. Damage due to karst subsidence and sinkhole collapse is a natural hazard of national scope. Repair of damage to buildings, highways, and other infrastructure represents a significant national cost. Sparse and incomplete data show that the average cost...
Factors affecting female space use in ten populations of prairie chickens
Virginia L. Winder, Kaylan M. Carrlson, Andrew J. Gregory, Christian A. Hagen, David A. Haukos, Dylan C. Kesler, Lena C. Larsson, Ty W. Matthews, Lance B. McNew, Michael Patten, Jim C. Pitman, Larkin A. Powell, Jennifer A. Smith, Tom Thompson, Donald H. Wolfe, Brett K. Sandercock
2015, Ecosphere (6) 1-17
Conservation of wildlife depends on an understanding of the interactions between animal movements and key landscape factors. Habitat requirements of wide-ranging species often vary spatially, but quantitative assessment of variation among replicated studies at multiple sites is rare. We investigated patterns of space use for 10 populations of two closely...
Construction ages of the Upton Stone Chamber: Preliminary findings and suggestions for future luminescence research
Shannon A. Mahan, Frederick Martin, Cathy Taylor
2015, Quaternary Geochronology (30 ) 422-430
The Upton Chamber in Massachusetts, an earth-covered stone structure 3.4 meters (m) in diameter, with a corbelled stone dome, and a 4.3 m long entrance passageway, is studied with the aim of determining whether optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods can be used to establish the approximate construction date of...
Potential application of radiogenic isotopes and geophysical methods to understand the hydrothermal dystem of the Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
James B. Paces, Andrew J. Long, Karl R. Koth
2015, Natural Resource Report NPS/YELL/NRR—2015/1077
Numerous geochemical and geophysical studies have been conducted at Yellowstone National Park to better understand the hydrogeologic processes supporting the thermal features of the Park. This report provides the first 87Sr/86Sr and 234U/238U data for thermal water from the Upper Geyser Basin (UGB) intended to evaluate whether heavy radiogenic isotopes...
Geologic maps of the eastern Alaska Range, Alaska (1:63,360 scale)
Warren J. Nokleberg, John N. Aleinikoff, Gerard C. Bond, Oscar J. Ferrians Jr., Paige L. Herzon, Ian M. Lange, Ronny T. Miyaoka, Donald H. Richter, Carl E. Schwab, Steven R. Silva, Thomas E. Smith, Richard E. Zehner
2015, Report
This report provides a description of map units for a suite of 44 inch-to-mile (1:63,360-scale) geologic quadrangle maps of the eastern Alaska Range. This report also contains a geologic and tectonic summary and a comprehensive list of references pertaining to geologic mapping and specialized studies of the region. In addition...
Regional tectonic setting for the Trinidad earthquake swarms (2000-2012) from gravity and magnetic data
Carol A. Finn, Mason A. Kass, Bruce D. Smith
2015, Conference Paper, Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems
Earthquakes in the Raton basin near Trinidad, Colorado, (Figure 1) are located (Rubenstein et. al., 2014) near a major gravity and magnetic boundary. These earthquakes also occur in an area of hydrocarbon production that includes several high-capacity produced water injection wells. This presentation gives a very basic outline of the...
