Water storage decisions and consumptive use may constrain ecosystem management under severe sustained drought
Lindsey Ann Bruckerhoff, Kevin Wheeler, Kimberly L. Dibble, B.A. Mihalevich, B.T. Nielson, J. Wang, Charles Yackulic, J.C. Schmidt
2022, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (58) 654-672
Drought has impacted the Colorado River basin for the past 20 years and is predicted to continue. In response, decisions about how much water should be stored in large reservoirs and how much water can be consumptively used will be necessary. These decisions have the potential to...
Dissolved organic matter within oil and gas associated wastewaters from U.S. unconventional petroleum plays: Comparisons and consequences for disposal and reuse
Bonnie McDevitt, Aaron M. Jubb, Matthew S. Varonka, Madalyn S. Blondes, Mark A Engle, Tanya J. Gallegos, Jenna L. Shelton
2022, Science of the Total Environment (838)
Wastewater generated during petroleum extraction (produced water) may contain high concentrations of dissolved organics due to their intimate association with organic-rich source rocks, expelled petroleum, and organic additives to fluids used for hydraulic fracturing of unconventional (e.g., shale) reservoirs. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) within...
Assessment of mercury in sediments and waters of Grubers Grove Bay, Wisconsin
Evan J. Routhier, Sarah E. Janssen, Michael T. Tate, Jacob M. Ogorek, John F. DeWild, David P. Krabbenhoft
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1051
Mercury is a global contaminant that can be detrimental to wildlife and human health. Anthropogenic emissions and point sources are primarily responsible for elevated mercury concentrations in sediments and waters. Mercury can physically move and chemically transform in the environment, resulting in biomagnification of mercury, in the form of methylmercury,...
Addressing stakeholder science needs for integrated drought science in the Colorado River Basin
Anne C. Tillery, Sally House, Rebecca J. Frus, Sharon L. Qi, Daniel K. Jones, William J. Andrews
2022, Fact Sheet 2022-3010
Stakeholders need scientific data, analysis, and predictions of how drought the will impact the Colorado River Basin in a format that is continuously updated, intuitive, and easily accessible. The Colorado River Basin Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology Pilot Project was formed to demonstrate the effectiveness of addressing complex...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Paul A. Rabie, Jason P. Thiele, Betty R. Euliss
2022, Professional Paper 1842-P
Keys to Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) management include providing areas of short, sparse vegetation and maintaining populations of prey species and of burrowing mammals to ensure availability of burrows as nest sites. In particular, the conservation of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) and Richardson’s ground squirrel (Urocitellus richardsonii) colonies...
Surface elevation change dynamics in coastal marshes along the northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Anticipating effects of rising sea-level and intensifying hurricanes
Jena A. Moon, Laura Feher, Tiffany C. Lane, William Vervaeke, Michael Osland, Douglas M. Head, Bogdan Chivoiu, David R. Stewart, Darren Johnson, James Grace, Kristine L. Metzger, Nicole M. Rankin
2022, Wetlands (42)
Accelerated sea-level rise and intensifying hurricanes highlight the need to better understand surface elevation change in coastal wetlands. We used the surface elevation table-marker horizon approach to measure surface elevation change in 14 coastal marshes along the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, within five National Wildlife Refuges in Texas (USA). During...
Decadal-scale phenology and seasonal climate drivers of migratory baleen whales in a rapidly warming marine ecosystem
Dan Pendleton, Morgan Tingley, Laura Ganley, Kevin Friedland, Charlie Mayo, Moria Brown, Brigid McKenna, Adrian Jordaan, Michelle Staudinger
2022, Global Change Biology (28) 4989-5005
Species' response to rapid climate change can be measured through shifts in timing of recurring biological events, known as phenology. The Gulf of Maine is one of the most rapidly warming regions of the ocean, and thus an ideal system to study phenological and biological responses to climate change. A...
Histochemical evidence for nitrogen‐transfer Endosymbiosis in non‐photosynthetic cells of leaves and inflorescence bracts of angiosperms
April Micci, Qiuwei Zhang, Xiaoqian Chang, Kathryn Kingsley, Linsey Park, Peerapol Chiaranunt, Raquele Strickland, Fernando Velazquez, Sean Lindert, Matthew T. Elmore, Philip L. Vines, Sharron Crane, Ivelisse Irizarry, Kurt P. Kowalski, David Johnston-Monje, James F. White
2022, Biology (11)
We used light and confocal microscopy to visualize bacteria in leaf and bract cells of more than 30 species in 18 families of seed plants. Through histochemical analysis, we detected hormones (including ethylene and nitric oxide), superoxide, and nitrogenous chemicals (including nitric oxide and nitrate) around bacteria within plant cells....
Can’t see the flowers for the trees: Factors driving floral abundance within early-successional forests in the central Appalachian Mountains
Codey L. Mathis, Daren J. McNeil Jr., Monica R. Lee, Christina M. Grozinger, Clint Otto, Jeffery L. Larkin
2022, Canadian Journal of Forest Research (52) 1002-1013
Silviculture can be a powerful tool for restoring and enhancing habitat for forest-dependent wildlife. In eastern North America, regenerating timber harvests support abundant wildflowers that provide essential forage for native pollinators. Factors driving floral resource availability within regenerating forests remain almost entirely unstudied. Recent efforts to increase the area of...
The Pliocene-to-present course of the Tennessee River
William Elijah Odom, Darryl E. Granger
2022, Journal of Geology (130) 325-333
The Tennessee River, a primary drainage of the southern Appalachians and significant sediment source for the Gulf of Mexico, is generally considered to be the product of captures that rerouted the river from a more direct gulfward course. Sedimentary and genetic evidence indicates that a paleo-Tennessee flowed...
Grassy–herbaceous land moderates regional climate effects on honey bee colonies in the Northcentral US
Gabriela Quinlan, Douglas B. Sponsler, Hannah Gaines-Day, Harper McMinn-Sauder, Clint Otto, Autumn Smart, Theotime Colin, Claudio Gratton, Rufus Isaacs, Reed Johnson, Meghan O. Milbrath, Christina M. Grozinger
2022, Environmental Research Letters (17)
The lack of seasonally sustained floral resources (i.e. pollen and nectar) is considered a primary global threat to pollinator health. However, the ability to predict the abundance of flowering resources for pollinators based upon climate, weather, and land cover is difficult due to insufficient monitoring over adequate...
Rub tree use and selection by American black bears and grizzly bears in northern Yellowstone National Park
Nathaniel R. Bowersock, H. Okada, Andrea R. Litt, Kerry A. Gunther, Frank T. van Manen
2022, Ursus (2022) 1-12
Several of the world's bear species exhibit tree-rubbing behavior, which is thought to be a form of scent-marking communication. Many aspects of this behavior remain unexplored, including differences in rub tree selection between sympatric bear species. We compiled rub tree data collected on Yellowstone National...
Ephemeral stream network extraction from lidar-derived elevation and topographic attributes in urban and forested landscapes
Marina J. Metes, Daniel K. Jones, Matthew E. Baker, Andrew J. Miller, Dianna M. Hogan, J.V. Loperfido, Kristina G. Hopkins
2022, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (58) 547-565
Under-representations of headwater channels in digital stream networks can result in uncertainty in the magnitude of headwater habitat loss, stream burial, and watershed function. Increased availability of high-resolution (<2 m) elevation data makes the delineation of headwater channels more attainable. In this study, elevation data derived from...
Repeated genetic targets of natural selection underlying adaptation of euryhaline fishes to changing salinity
Jonathan P Velotta, Stephen D. McCormick, Andrew Whitehead, Catherine S Durso, Eric T. Schultz
2022, Integrative and Comparative Biology (62) 357-375
Ecological transitions across salinity boundaries have led to some of the most important diversification events in the animal kingdom, especially among fishes. Adaptations accompanying such transitions include changes in morphology, diet, whole-organism performance, and osmoregulatory function, which may be particularly prominent since divergent salinity regimes make opposing demands on systems...
Tracking heat in the Willamette River system, Oregon
Stewart A. Rounds, Laurel E. Stratton Garvin
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5006
The Willamette River Basin in northwestern Oregon is home to several cold-water fish species whose habitat has been altered by the Willamette Valley Project, a system of 13 dams and reservoirs operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Water-resource managers use a variety of flow- and temperature-management strategies...
The thermal landscape of the Willamette River—Patterns and controls on stream temperature and implications for flow management and cold-water salmonids
Laurel E. Stratton Garvin, Stewart A. Rounds
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5035
Water temperature is a primary control on the health, diversity, abundance, and distribution of aquatic species, but thermal degradation resulting from anthropogenic influences on rivers is a challenge to threatened species worldwide. In the Willamette River Basin, northwestern Oregon, spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and winter-run steelhead (O. mykiss)...
Assessment of habitat availability for juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) in the Willamette River, Oregon
James S. White, James T. Peterson, Laurel E. Stratton Garvin, Tobias J. Kock, J. Rose Wallick
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5034
The Willamette River, Oregon, is home to two salmonid species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, Upper WIllamette River spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Upper Willamette River winter steelhead (O. mykiss). Streamflow in the Willamette River is regulated by upstream dams, 13 of which are operated...
Updates to models of streamflow and water temperature for 2011, 2015, and 2016 in rivers of the Willamette River Basin, Oregon
Laurel E. Stratton Garvin, Stewart A. Rounds, Norman L. Buccola
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1017
Mechanistic river models capable of simulating hydrodynamics and stream temperature are valuable tools for investigating thermal conditions and their relation to streamflow in river basins where upstream water storage and management decisions have an important influence on river reaches with threatened fish populations. In the Willamette River Basin in...
Geologic map of the Stibnite mining area, Valley County, Idaho
Niki E. Wintzer
2022, Technical Report T-22-03
The Stibnite mining area, as used herein, is bounded by the map extent that includes the Yellow Pine, West End, and Hangar Flats ore bodies. Other ore bodies are nearby, but the purpose of this map is to offer a detailed (1:8,000 scale) geologic map with new cross sections in...
Managing macropods without poisoning ecosystems
Jordan O Hampton, James M. Pay, Todd E. Katzner, Jon M Arnemo, Mark A Pokras, Eric Buenz, Niels Kanstrup, Vernon G Thomas, Marcela Uhart, Sergio A Lambertucci, Oliver Krone, Navinder J Singh, Vinny Naidoo, Mayumi Ishizuka, Keisuke Saito, Bjorn Helander, Rhys E. Green
2022, Ecological Management & Restoration (23) 153-157
A recent review of the management of hyperabundant macropods in Australia proposed that expanded professional shooting is likely to lead to better biodiversity and animal welfare outcomes. While the tenets of this general argument are sound, it overlooks one important issue for biodiversity and animal health and welfare: reliance on...
Subspecies differentiation and range-wide genetic structure are driven by climate in the California gnatcatcher, a flagship species for coastal sage scrub conservation
Amy G. Vandergast, Barbara E. Kus, Dustin A. Wood, Elizabeth R. Milano, Kristine L. Preston
2022, Evolutionary Applications (15) 1201-1217
Understanding genetic structure and diversity within species can uncover associations with environmental and geographic attributes that highlight adaptive potential and inform conservation and management. The California gnatcatcher, Polioptila californica, is a small songbird found in desert and coastal scrub habitats from the southern end of Baja California...
Sample size estimation for savanna monitoring protocol development
Deborah A. Buhl
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1053
When designing data collection protocols for a new research project, it is important to have a large enough sample size to detect a desired effect, but not so large to be wasting time collecting more data than needed. Power analysis methods can be used to estimate this sample size. In...
Regional walrus abundance estimate in the United States Chukchi Sea in autumn
Anthony S. Fischbach, Rebecca L. Taylor, Chadwick V. Jay
2022, Journal of Wildlife Management (86)
Human activities (e.g., shipping, tourism, oil, gas development) have increased in the Chukchi Sea because of declining sea ice. The declining sea ice itself and these activities may affect Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) abundance; however, previous walrus abundance estimates have been notably imprecise. When sea...
Damage assessment for the 2018 lower East Rift Zone lava flows of Kīlauea volcano, Hawaiʻi
Elinor S. Meredith, Susanna F. Jenkins, Josh L. Hayes, Natalia I. Deligne, David Lallemant, Matthew R. Patrick, Christina A. Neal
2022, Bulletin of Volcanology (84)
Cataloguing damage and its correlation with hazard intensity is one of the key components needed to robustly assess future risk and plan for mitigation as it provides important empirical data. Damage assessments following volcanic eruptions have been conducted for buildings and other structures following hazards such...
Maize yield forecasts for Sub-Saharan Africa using Earth Observation data and machine learning
Donghoon Lee, Frank Davenport, Shraddhanand Shukla, Gregory Husak, W. Chris Funk, Laura Harrison, Amy McNally, Michael Budde, James Rowland, James Verdin
2022, Global Food Security (33)
Food insecurity continues to grow in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In 2019, chronically malnourished people numbered nearly 240 million, or 20% of the population in SSA. Globally, numerous efforts have been made to anticipate potential droughts, crop conditions, and food shortages in order to improve...
