Reducing leaf litter contributions of phosphorus and nitrogen to urban stormwater through municipal leaf collection and street cleaning practices
William R. Selbig, Nicolas H. Buer, Roger T. Bannerman, Phillip Gaebler
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5109
As the boundaries of urban land use continue to expand, environmental managers are looking for innovative ways to reduce export of nutrients from urban sources. Municipal services such as leaf collection and street cleaning have the potential to reduce nutrient pollution at its source while continuing to offer services valued...
Arsenic and uranium occurrence in private wells in Connecticut, 2013–18—A spatially weighted and bedrock geology assessment
Eliza L. Gross, Craig J. Brown
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1111
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, conducted a study to determine the presence of arsenic and uranium in private drinking water wells in Connecticut. Samples were collected during 2013–18 from wells completed in 115 geologic units, with 2,433 samples analyzed for arsenic and...
Effect of stream permanence on predation risk of lotic crayfish by riparian predators
A.N. Yarra, Daniel D. Magoulick
2020, Southeastern Naturalist (19)-673
Given the importance of crayfish in stream ecosystems, gaining insight into the role of stream permanence in maintaining predator–prey interactions is critical. Our objectives were to determine the influence of stream permanence and season on crayfish predation and assess the role of stream permanence and...
Improving the ability to include freshwater wetland plants in process-based models
Amber S. Williams, David M. Mushet, Megan Lang, Gregory W. McCarty, Jill A. Shaffer, Sharon N. Kahara, Mari-Vaughn V. Johnson, James R. Kiniry
2020, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (75) 704-712
Considerable effort and resources have been placed into conservation programs designed to reduce or alleviate negative environmental effects of crop production and into evaluation of the benefits of these programs. Wetlands are an important source of ecosystem services, but modeling wetland plants is an emerging science....
Contemporary fire regimes provide a critical perspective on restoration needs in the Mexico-United States borderlands
Miguel L. Villarreal, Jose M. Iniguez, Aaron D. Flesch, Jamie S. Sanderlin, Citlali Cortes Montano, Caroline Rose Conrad, Sandra L. Haire
2020, Air, Soil and Water Research (13) 1-18
The relationship between people and wildfire has always been paradoxical: fire is an essential ecological process and management tool, but can also be detrimental to life and property. Consequently, fire regimes have been modified throughout history through both intentional burning to promote benefits and active suppression to reduce risks. Reintroducing...
Ungulate migrations of the western United States, Volume 1
Matthew Kauffman, Holly Copeland, Jodi Berg, Scott Bergen, Eric K. Cole, Matthew Cuzzocreo, Sarah Dewey, Julien Fattebert, Jeff Gagnon, Emily R. Gelzer, Chris Geremia, Tabitha A. Graves, Kent Hersey, Mark Hurley, Rusty Kaiser, James Meacham, Jerod Merkle, Arthur Middleton, Tristan Nunez, Brendan Oates, Daniel Olson, Lucas Olson, Hall Sawyer, Cody Schroeder, Scott Sprague, Alethea Steingisser, Mark Thonhoff
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5101
Across the western United States, many ungulate herds must migrate seasonally to access resources and avoid harsh winter conditions. Because these migration paths cover vast landscapes (in other words migration distances up to 150 miles [241 kilometers]), they are increasingly threatened by roads, fencing, subdivisions, and other development. Over the...
Recent and projected precipitation and temperature changes in the Grand Canyon area with implications for groundwater resources
Fred D. Tillman, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Tom Pruitt
2020, Scientific Reports (10)
Groundwater is a critical resource in the Grand Canyon region, supplying nearly all water needs for residents and millions of visitors. Additionally, groundwater discharging at hundreds of spring locations in and near Grand Canyon supports important ecosystems in this mostly arid environment. The security of groundwater supplies is of critical...
Using remote sensing products to predict recovery of vegetation across space and time following energy development
Adrian P. Monroe, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael S. O’Donnell, Daniel Manier, Collin Homer, Patrick J. Anderson
2020, Ecological Indicators (110)
Using localized studies to understand how ecosystems recover can create uncertainty in recovery predictions across landscapes. Large archives of remote sensing data offer opportunities for quantifying the spatial and temporal factors influencing recovery at broad scales and predicting recovery. For example, energy production is a widespread and expanding land use...
Leave no trace communication: Effectiveness based on assessments of resource conditions
Nita Settina, Jeffrey L. Marion, Forrest Schwartz
2020, Journal of Interpretation Research (25) 5-25
The efficacy of different Leave No Trace (LNT) communication interventions designed to persuade forest visitors to practice low-impact camping behaviors were evaluated. Three depreciative campsite behaviors—littering, tree damage, and surface disposal of human waste—were evaluated by before-and-after resource condition assessments. Three LNT communication interventions were evaluated against...
Developing behavioral and evidence-based programs for wildfire risk mitigation
Hilary Byerly, James R. Meldrum, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Patricia A. Champ, Jamie Gomez, Lilia C. Falk, Christopher M. Barth
2020, Fire (3)
The actions of residents in the wildland–urban interface can influence the private and social costs of wildfire. Wildfire programs that encourage residents to take action are often delivered without evidence of effects on behavior. Research from the field of behavioral science shows that simple, often low-cost changes...
2018 Kaua'i forest bird population estimates and trends
Eben H. Paxton, Kevin W. Brinck, Lisa H. Crampton, Justin Hite, Maria Costantini
2020, Report
Kaua‘i's native forest birds have experienced steep declines since the beginning of systematic surveys in 1981, and declines have accelerated in recent decades. This report details the analysis of the most recent surveys conducted in 2018. Incorporating the new survey results, long-term trends continue to...
Quality assurance/quality control procedure for New Jersey’s water-use data for the New Jersey Water Transfer Data System (NJWaTr)
Jennifer L. Shourds
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1085
This report is an instructional reference document that describes methods developed and used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New Jersey Water Science Center (NJWSC) to assure the quality and completeness of water-use data as provided by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Bureau of Water Allocation. These...
Trends in recent historical and projected climate data for the Colorado River Basin and potential effects on groundwater availability
Fred D. Tillman, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Tom Pruitt
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5107
Understanding recent historical and projected trends in precipitation and temperature in the Colorado River Basin, and estimating what the projected changes in these climate parameters may mean for groundwater resources in the region, is important for water managers and policymakers to sustainably manage water resources in the basin. Historical (1896–2019)...
Alkalic-type epithermal gold deposit model
Karen D. Kelley, Paul G. Spry, Virginia T. McLemore, David L. Fey, Eric D. Anderson
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5070-R
This report summarizes the primary characteristics of alkalic-type epithermal gold (Au) deposits and provides an updated descriptive model. These deposits, primarily of Mesozoic to Neogene age, are among the largest epithermal gold deposits in the world. Considered a subset of low-sulfidation epithermal deposits, they are spatially and genetically linked to...
History of U.S. Geological Survey scientific peer review and approval, 1879–2019
Keith Kirk, Carolyn Reid, Sandra Cooper
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3050
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a bureau within the U.S. Department of the Interior, has valued and used a scientific peer review and approval process since its creation in 1879. Bureau approval, formerly called Director’s approval, has been described in several USGS documents since 1900, and peer review has been...
Spatial variability in seasonal snowpack trends across the Rio Grande headwaters (1984 - 2017)
Graham A. Sexstone, Colin A. Penn, Glen Liston, Kelly Gleason, C. David Moeser, David W. Clow
2020, Journal of Hydrometeorology (21) 2713-2733
This study evaluated the spatial variability of trends in simulated snowpack properties across the Rio Grande headwaters of Colorado using the SnowModel snow evolution modeling system. SnowModel simulations were performed using a grid resolution of 100 m and 3-hourly time step over a 34-yr period (1984–2017). Atmospheric forcing was provided...
A synthesis of patterns of environmental mercury inputs, exposure and effects in New York State
David C. Evers, Amy K. Sauer, Douglas A. Burns, Nicholas S Fisher, Diane Bertok, Evan M. Adams, Mark E H Burton, Charles T. Driscoll
2020, Ecotoxicology (29) 1565-1589
Mercury (Hg) pollution is an environmental problem that adversely affects human and ecosystem health at local, regional, and global scales—including within New York State. More than two-thirds of the Hg currently released to the environment originates, either directly or indirectly, from human activities. Since the early...
Global challenges for nitrogen science-policy interactions: Towards the International Nitrogen Management System (INMS) and improved coordination between multi-lateral environmental agreements
Mark A. Sutton, Clare M. Howard, Will J. Brownlie, David Kanter, Wim de Vries, Tapan Adhya, Jean Ometto, Jill S. Baron, Wilfried Winiwarter, Xiaotang Ju, Cargele Masso, Oene Oenema, N. Raghuram, Hans J.M. van Grinsven, Isabelle Van der Beck, Christopher J. Cox, Steffen Hansen, Ramesh Ramachandran, W. Kevin Hicks
2020, Book chapter, Just enough nitrogen
Human interference with the nitrogen cycle has doubled reactive nitrogen inputs to the global biosphere over the past century, leading to changes across multiple environmental issues that require urgent action. Nitrogen fertilizers and biological nitrogen fixation have allowed benefits of increased crop harvest and livestock production, while in...
Trihalomethane precursors: Land use hot spots, persistence during transport, and management options
Robert S. Eckard, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Brian A. Pellerin, Tamara E. C. Kraus, Peter J. Hernes
2020, Science of the Total Environment (742)
To meet drinking water regulations, rather than investing in costly treatment plant operations, managers can look for ways to improve source water quality; this requires understanding watershed sources and fates of constituents of concern. Trihalomethanes (THMs) are one of the major classes of regulated disinfection byproducts, formed when a specific fraction of the organic...
The INI North American Regional Nitrogen Center: 2011–2015 nitrogen activities in North America
Jill S. Baron, Eric A. Davidson
2020, Book chapter, Just enough nitrogen
The North American Nitrogen Center (NANC) carries out three main charges: (1) conducting assessments on nitrogen (N) flows within North America and the consequences for human health, water resources, biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emissions; (2) facilitating efforts to develop solutions to the problem of excess nitrogen in agricultural,...
Exploring overlap of feather molting and migration in Tundra Swans using δ2H analysis
Nathan Wolf, T. Scott Smeltz, Jeffrey Welker, Matthew Rogers, Craig R. Ely
2020, Animal Migration (7) 58-66
Determining the processes that shape the relative timing of energetically-costly events in the annual cycle of migrating birds is important to our understanding of avian phenology and ecology. We paired satellite tracking and hydrogen stable isotope analysis (δ2H) to examine the relative timing of two such events – migration and...
Diets of double-crested cormorants in the Winnebago System, Wisconsin
Ryan P. Koenigs, Daniel J. Dembkowski, Charles D. Lovell, Daniel A. Isermann, Adam Nickel
2020, Fisheries Management and Ecology (28) 183-193
Double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorox auritus Lesson (cormorant) populations have increased throughout the Great Lakes region of North America causing concern related to the impact of cormorant predation on fish communities. A recent decline in yellow perch Perca flavescens (Mitchill) abundance within the Lake Winnebago System, Wisconsin, USA, prompted an assessment of cormorant diets to evaluate...
Shorebird reproductive response to exceptionally early and late springs varies across sites in Arctic Alaska
Rebecca L McGuire, Richard B. Lanctot, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Joe Liebezeit
2020, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (8)
While increases in overall temperatures are widely reported in the Arctic, large inter-annual variation in spring weather, with extreme early and late conditions, is also occurring. Using data collected from three sites in Arctic Alaska, we explored how shorebird breeding density, nest initiation, nest synchrony, nest survival, and...
Ecological insights from three decades of animal movement tracking across a changing Arctic
Sarah C Davidson, Gil Bohrer, Eliezer Gurarie, Scott LaPoint, Peter J Mahoney, Natalie Boelman, Jan UH Eitel, Laura R. Prugh, Lee A. Vierling, Jyoti Jennewein, Emma Grier, Ophelie Couriot, Allicia P Kelly, Arjan JH Meddens, Ruth Y Oliver, Roland Kays, Martin Wikelski, Tomas Aarvak, Joshua T. Ackerman, Monica Almeida e Silva, José A. Alves, Erin Bayne, Bryan Bedrosian, Jerrold L. Belant, Andrew M Berdahl, Alicia Berlin, Dominique Berteaux, Joel Bety, Dmitrij Boiko, Travis L. Booms, Bridget L Borg, Stan Boutin, W. Sean Boyd, Kane Brides, Stephen C. Brown, Victor N. Bulyuk, Kurt K Burnham, David Cabot, Michael L. Casazza, Katherine S. Christie, Erica H. Craig, Shanti E. Davis, Tracy Davison, Dominic Demma, Christopher R. DeSorbo, Andrew E. Dixon, Robert Domenech, Gotz Eichhorn, Kyle Elliott, Joseph R. Evenson, Klaus-Michael Exo, Steven Ferguson, Wolfgang Fiedler, Aaron T. Fisk, J. Fort, Alastair Franke, Mark R. Fuller, Stefan Garthe, Gilles Gauthier, Grant Gilchrist, Petr Glazov, Carrie E. Gray, David Gremillet, Larry Griffin, Mike Hallworth, Autumn-Lynn Harrison, Holly Hennin, J Mark Hipfner, James Hodson, James A. Johnson, Kyle Joly, Kimberly Jones, Todd E. Katzner, Jeff W Kidd, Elly Knight, Michael N. Kochert, Andrea Kolzsch, Helmut Kruckenberg, Benjamin J Lagassé, Sandra Lai, Jean-François Lamarre, Richard B. Lanctot, Nicholas C Larter, A David Latham, Christopher J. Latty, James P. Lawler, Don-Jean Léandri-Breton, Hansoo Lee, Stephen B. Lewis, Oliver P. Love, Jesper Madsen, Mark Maftei, Mark L. Mallory, Buck Mangipane, Mikhail Y. Markovets, Peter P. Marra, Rebecca L McGuire, Carol McIntyre, Emily A McKinnon, Tricia A. Miller, Sander Moonen, Tong Mu, Gerhard JDM Muskens, Janet Ng, Kerry L Nicholson, Ingar Jostein Oien, Cory T. Overton, Patricia A Owen, Allison G. L. Patterson, Aevar Petersen, Ivan Pokrovsky, Luke L. Powell, Rui Prieto, Petra Quillfeldt, Jennie Rausch, Kelsey Russell, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Hans Schekkerman, Joel A. Schmutz, Philipp Schwemmer, Dale R. Seip, Adam Shreading, Mónica A. Silva, Brian W. Smith, Fletcher Smith, Jeff P. Smith, Katherine RS Snell, Aleksandr Sokolov, Vasiliy Sokolov, Diana V Solovyeva, Mathew S Sorum, Grigori Tertitski, J. F. Therrien, Kasper Thorup, T. Lee Tibbitts, Ingrid Tulp, Brian D. Uher-Koch, Rob van Bemmelen, Steve Van Wilgenburg, Andrew L. Von Duyke, Jesse Watson, Bryan D Watts, Judy A Williams, Matthew Wilson, Jay Wright, Michael A Yates, David Yurkowski, Ramūnas Žydelis, Mark Hebblewhite
2020, Science (370) 712-715
The Arctic is entering a new ecological state, with alarming consequences for humanity. Animal-borne sensors offer a window into these changes. Although substantial animal tracking data from the Arctic and subarctic exist, most are difficult to discover and access. Here, we present the new Arctic Animal Movement Archive (AAMA), a...
Bedrock geologic map of the 15' Sleetmute A-2 quadrangle, southwestern Alaska
Robert Blodgett, Frederic H. Wilson, Nora B. Shew, James G. Clough
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3450
Twelve unnamed, bedrock stratigraphic units are recognized within the Sleetmute A-2 1:63,360-scale quadrangle of southwestern Alaska. These units range in age from late(?) Proterozoic through Devonian and can be divided into two distinct facies belts: (1) a southern facies of dominantly shallow-water platform carbonate and minor siliciclastic rocks (including Early...
